Tim quietly slides out of bed, the three mares are all sleeping peacefully. He pads quietly into the restroom, taking a few minutes to run through the shower. The smell of sex has been permeating his nostrils most of the night, and while the scent is quite pleasant, he’s quite ready for something else at this point. As he scrubs his body, he finds it amazing, after nearly a year without any sex at all. He’s had more sex in the last month or so than he ever had in his life.

He puts his head on the smooth tile, letting the water wash the suds away. He wouldn’t have his arrangement with Citrus and Cayenne any other way, but if North Point really wants to join the herd, he doesn’t know how he’s going to satisfy all of them, or answer her. He had passed out pretty late last night, and just the thought of another round makes his body ache. The girls are insatiable! He looks down, “Traitor,” he growls at his half-hardened member. His body seems to have other ideas about the matter. Perhaps there is something to the idea of having more than one stallion in the herd?

The dryer does its job quite effectively and he walks quietly into the closet. It’s early summer here in Canterlot, so some dark canvas shorts along with a light green t-shirt, again emblazoned on the pocket of his chest with Citrus and Cayenne’s cutie marks. He looks at the girls, sleeping together in bed -- will he be adding a new cutie mark to his shirts soon? The girls seemed so happy when he got the shirts. That white mare at the Canterlot Boutique said it was so romantic for him to get shirts like that. Though she’s also called him in several times, him being the only human in Equestria, she wants him to practice different fashion ideas on. She always pays him well for that, even though the clothing can only be used for him. He sighs and closes the bedroom door quietly.

He’s not always the first one up in the morning. More often, he’s the last one to awaken, most often to an empty apartment, with breakfast left on the counter. All he has to do is tap the top of the cover to dissipate the spell one of the girls puts over it before they leave, and it’s as fresh as though they had just cooked it. Sometimes the magic these ponies have is very useful. This morning, though, is going to be him making food for all of them. He opens the refrigerator, and with a smile he brings out two dozen eggs, along with some buttermilk and a few other ingredients. He knows there is plenty of bread, so assembly takes very little time. Two pans of French Toast casserole make it into the hot oven and he turns around to see a unicorn standing there. He smiles as she yawns. “Good morning, North Point.”

She brings her hoof down from covering the yawn, “Good morning, Tim. You don’t look worse for the wear after last night.”

He nods, “Just needed some sleep -- breakfast will be ready soon.”

“Oh, you didn’t need to do that, I was coming down to make breakfast.”

He smiles, “Oh, I don’t mind.”

She cocks her head to the side, her ears perking forward, “You are certainly a different kind of creature, Tim.” She smiles brightly, “I think I like you.” Her horn glows, and a stool is drug back slightly, allowing her to hop up. Tim pulls out his own and sits across from her.

After last night, it would be more odd for the conversation to be awkward. It’s not just the sex, but the fact that conversing between bouts has become the norm for his new herd. He’s actually found out a lot about her, but not about one thing specific about her, “So, North Point, tell me about your cutie mark.”

To his surprise, she glances at the drawing compass on her flank and flushes bright red. He leans a bit closer, “I’ve never seen a pony react that way; most are immensely proud of their cutie mark and finding out their special talents.”

She very nearly hides her face. She glances around the room, and after a long time, she looks at him, her orchid eyes bright, “I’m not certain that I have the right cutie mark.” She says very softly, almost too quietly for him to hear.

Tim stops for a moment, he looks back at North Point. She’s sitting on the chair, inspecting her forehooves, looking like she’s trying to draw into herself. He glances down at her cutie mark, a drawing compass, he thinks. “What do you do?” Tim asks softly.

“I’m an architect.” She whispers, looking down at her flank, “I’m really good at it.” She sighs, “But…”

Tim watches her, she’s so different than the happy, lusty mare he had met the evening before. Within an hour of her arriving, they were in bed together. And now, she’s almost ready to cry. He comes around and puts his arms around her, “North, I won’t pretend to know everything about cutie marks,” he glances back at the stairs to the bedrooms, then back at her, “but something that both Citrus and Cayenne has told me about them. It was a moment of clarity. When they knew what made them what they are.”

North Point looks down, “That’s how it goes, apparently.”

“What were you doing?” He asks softly.

She looks up at him, “It was Canterlot Filly scouts. I was a blank flank when I joined, but one of the most fun parts of it, was the cookie drives.”

He lifts one eyebrow, struggling not to laugh and bring up an earth parallel. “Canterlot Filly scout cookies?”

She nods, a happy, almost childlike smile on her face for a moment. “I would sit down and plot the route for all of us to sell the cookies. We were on hoof, of course, pulling these little wagons, so we didn’t want to cross over our path too much. Each of us, though, needed to hit as many houses as we could. I’d do maps up for all the fillies in my troop, giving them areas to go to that covered the most ground, but gave every filly an equal chance to sell as many cookies as possible.”

She closes her eyes, rocking slowly as she talks, memories of the past dancing through her mind, “There were contests for the troop that sold the most cookies. I used to love doing the maps; I could lay down and spend hours finding the best routes. My time and work paid off for us in the end, our troop outsold all others and we won a special prize, a trip!”

"A trip?"

“We got to go to Manehattan as a troop to go see Hinny of the Hills!” She opens her eyes looking at him and giggles at his confused look, “It’s a very famous play. Our troop got to see it performed live, and in Manehattan of all places!” She squeals a bit for a moment before calming down and clearing her throat, “Well, after the play, we had some tours of the city that we got to go on.” Her ears flatten back, “Three other fillies and I got lost; we were separated from the group. We were coming back from the statue in the harbor when we got caught in a crowd. They didn’t notice us and we got pushed off at the wrong ferry dock and stranded.” She sighs softly and shakes her head once, “It started to rain, so we really couldn’t stay put and wait for help. Everypony was scared and the other fillies turned to me. They said that since I was able to plot all those routes, I could navigate us through Manehattan I could find a way back. The trouble was, the tourist map we had was pretty useless.”

“Useless?”

She nods, “Oh yeah, it was more of a novelty map. It gave basics, but nothing was really labeled, it was hard to know what streets were what. It did, however, show the locations of the buildings and landmarks. From that, I was able to work out the distance, directions, and such based on what I could see on the map, and what I could see from the dock. I had to draw in some extra buildings to act as landmarks while since not every one could be seen from different streets.” She giggles, “It took us some time but I made it back to the hotel with the other fillies safe in tow. The counselors were so worried about us, and we made it back, they were shocked that I had managed to bring everypony through. They said for my good work, I had earned my navigation badge that day. When they gave it to me, I realized that I could find my way around anywhere and help others find their way too, and that was when my mark came in.”

He smiles, "Tell me more."

Her smile slowly falls off her face as she stretches out her leg a bit looking at her hip, “My dad was so proud of me, so proud to show me off. He told me that drawing the buildings, what I used to find my way through the city, showed what I was good at. He said that I was a natural architect, I could recognize building types and styles, and then I can draw them. He told everyone that I was meant to make big buildings for big cities. He told me that I would have gotten my cutie mark much sooner if I hadn’t been focusing on the silly cookie maps and focused on the buildings.” She sighs softly, “So. I don’t know.”

Tim moves over and gives her a hug, “I don’t know much about architecture or blueprint work, but your compass is a divider compass.”

She nods slowly and looks back down at her hip, “I know. We use it for moving measurements on blueprints. Though we tend to use rulers more for that. It’s hard sometimes. I feel like I'm just going through the motions without any real goals. But dad says my mark is the measure of my worth."

He nods, “I had an aunt that was an architect, she had a whole set of compasses, she said each was for a different task.” He runs a finger along her cutie mark, noting the soft shudder that runs through her as he does so causing her to bite her lower lip slightly, “The catch is, this is more like a cartographer’s compass. They use them for reading distances on maps, or on globes, since a ruler doesn’t work well on a sphere.” He smiles. “Most architect’s compasses have a removable tip here.” He says, rubbing over the bottom of her cutie mark, “This lets them change it out for a pencil.”

She turns, bending her torso a bit, and looks at her cutie mark for a long time, then up at him, then back at her flank. With a slow nod she stands up on the stool and drapes her forehooves over his shoulders looking into his eyes and softly says, “Thank you.” As he opens his mouth to respond, she lunges in and kisses him. Her tongue enters his open mouth and he finds his arms wrapping around her barrel to hug her back.

“Awww, how cute.” Comes a voice.

She pulls away and looks over at Cayenne. The mare in question comes over and hops up on another chair, “Hope you have some for me, too.”

Tim smiles as he goes over to collect a kiss from Cayenne. After time immemorial, he pulls away from Cayenne, moving over and opening the oven a bit to inspect the breakfast, “It’s almost ready; where’s Citrus?”

Cayenne smiles, “She’s still passed out.”

That gets a laugh from the other two. Cayenne wiggles her eyebrows, “I think we wore her out, Love.” She moves over to Tim, her lips puckered for a kiss. He obliges her, enjoying her softly spicy flavor. A small whine catches his attention after a few moments, North Point is sitting there, her eyes wide, her tail wrapped around her rear.

“Hng! Okay, you are too adorable.” Tim says. North Point smiles brightly as he comes over and gives her a kiss as well. His nose flares as he is lost in the kiss with North, though after a few moments, he has to pull away. “I think breakfast is ready.” He moves over and grabs the earth pony oven mitts and pulls the food from the oven. He uses a foot to close the oven as he sets the pans down. He pulls out some plates and dishes up generous servings for the girls. Soft humming grabs his attention and he turns around. Both mares are sitting there, nearly identical smirks on their face, he looks at them, “What gives?”

Cayenne blinks a few times and seems to shake her head a little bit, she smiles, “Nothing, just enjoying the view.”

Tim rolls his eyes as he places a plate in front of each mare. Both their horns light up as they each pick up a fork and start eating. Tim sits down himself and digs into his own breakfast. After a few minutes, soft hoofsteps announce a yellow mare’s entrance.

“Citrus!” Tim chirps after quickly swallowing. “Good morning.”

Her nose is twitching as she walks into the kitchen. “Good morning, love,” She says softly, “It smells like Prench Toast.”

He nods, “It’s a casserole, but yes, it’s French Toast.”

She smiles as she hops onto her own chair as Tim moves to get her some food as well, and in a matter of moments, all four are happily eating the meal. The constant hum of magic permeates the room as juice is pulled from the fridge and the unicorns eat.

After he pushes his empty plate away, Tim leans back, “So, what’s on the menu for today?”

Citrus looks at North Point, and both smile, “Shopping!” They say in unison.

Tim shakes his head as Cayenne giggles, “I’m going to work.”

Citrus smirks, “You are missing out, love.”

Cayenne arches and eyebrow, “Somepony has to keep the bits flowing.”

That gets a snort from Citrus, “I know, and what flows in must flow out,” She smiles cutely, “I’m helping.”

Tim suppresses a laugh as Cayenne uses her magic to flick a piece of the casserole at Citrus, who catches the morsel adeptly. She munches happily, offering a smug smirk back at the rose colored mare. And after a few moments, both dissolve into giggles, “Good one,” Cayenne says with a laugh.

Soon enough, the apartment is empty though. Tim occupies himself for a little while cleaning up from breakfast, then he pulls out one of the books that Twilight had given him. Briefly wondering when he will see her again, she’s missed the last two appointments, the first with a letter explaining other commitments that had magically appeared right in front of him, the second was missed without any explanation. He hasn’t seen her since she turned him back human. After only a few minutes, he’s slamming the book closed; he’s read all the books she had brought. There’s no television here, he doesn’t have a phone or internet service to occupy his attention. And sitting around the house holds no appeal for him at the moment. He sits there for a long time, looking out the expansive windows in the living room, then he finally makes his decision and walks into the bedroom.

***

Tim is standing before the door to the Spitfire Grill. He looks up at the sign, he knows where this place is, but reading the crazy script of the ponies is beyond him, Twilight’s only started teaching him their alphabet. He looks around quickly, after going out quite often with his herd, the fear factor for the ponies of Canterlot has seemed to subside for the most part. Some ponies do a double take when seeing him still, and quite often little foals are dragged away by parents as they seem to be fascinated by such a tall creature as him. But the unofficially imposed bubble from his first time walking these streets isn’t nearly as pronounced. In fact, a few faces seem to offer hesitant smiles. Though the ponies seem to notice the cutie marks emblazoned on his shirt, and that seems to offer them some measure of comfort, even though he’s not with any members of their species at the moment.

He takes a deep breath and follows three mares and a stallion through the doors. The same pegasus from before is greeting the small herd like they are close friends. She smiles at him quickly before she takes them back. Tim waits patiently for her to return, and in a matter of minutes, she comes back into the entry foyer, “Good afternoon, Tim, Cayenne is pretty busy at the moment, but I can see if…” She stumbles to a stop as he holds out a hand for her to shush.

“Orange Swirl, I need some help.” He says quickly.

She blinks several times, “You need…” Her eyes dart towards the office, “my help?” She breaks into a smile. “What for?”

“I want a job.”

A dark look passes over her face as she again glances at Cayenne’s office, “I didn’t know your herd was hurting for bits.”

Tim blinks, “What? No, the girls don’t discuss finances with me, I’m not even asking for money.” Her face screws up in confusion as he continues, “I’m bored, I’ve read all the books, I don’t have anything to do at home. When they are home, it’s wonderful to spend time with them, we talk all the time, and it’s great. But when they aren’t there…”

“You get lonely?”

He nods.

She smiles, “You wouldn’t be the first stallion to get stable fever.” Orange glances back at the office again, then gestures for him to come closer. “I don’t think you could work out in the front end; I think some ponies would be put off by you.” He flinches, and she reaches out a wing, cupping his cheek with it, “but no worries, hon. I’ll take you back, our kitchen manager can find something for you to do.”

Tim thinks back, he had worked at a pizza joint in his teens, he can do it. He smiles brightly, “That would be wonderful!”

She smiles brightly as she turns, gesturing for him to follow. He dutifully follows the mare through the dining room and finally she pushes through a swinging door. She looks around the relatively quiet kitchen, finally picking a direction and she moves over to a light purple unicorn with a green mane and tail. She has two green apples on her flank.

“Orange Swirl, what is Cayenne’s stallion doing here?” She says with a curious look.

Orange Swirl smiles brightly, “Apple Stars, Tim here is looking for a job.”

The other mare looks sharply at Tim, then back at Orange Swirl. “Seriously?”

Orange Swirl nods, “He’s got too much time on his hooves, and he’s bored. I know you can find him something.” She flicks her tail and turns around, nudging his hip with her head as she passes. “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

Tim watches Orange Swirl depart, then he turns back to Apple Stars.

She glances at the clock on the wall. “Dinner service will be starting soon.” She looks down and sighs heavily, “One of our dishwashers called in sick, so you are going to be on dish duty.” She looks at him sharply, “You can do dishes, right?” He nods, she points with a hoof, “Okay, just remember to keep your hooves clean, and keep your mane and tail tied up.”

Tim looks down at his hands. “You do know I don’t have those, right?"

She growls, “And? Are you expecting special treatment from me because of that?” She comes closer, “Listen here, little mister, I treat everypony that works in my kitchen the same--nopony gets special treatment here.” Tim is slightly stunned; ponies are seldom so gruff, or direct. They would rather avoid an entire mane than muss a few hairs. He opens his mouth, and she steamrolls right over any objection, “I don’t care if you are mounting the boss -- get to the sinks and get busy.”

Something about the tone of her voice gets him moving, he smiles as he heads in the indicated direction, “Yes, ma’am!"

She snorts as she whirls away and moves over to another pony as he finally finds the three sink setup he remembered from his limited time working in food service. He looks at the stack of dishes. There is some kind of machine resembling an industrial dish washer, complete with trays to put the dishes in sitting next to the sink. He smiles. He can do this. He fills the first sink and finds the soap, glad it’s the same brand as what they use at home. He guesses another bottle is for sanitizer, which he pours into the third sink, and the second sink is for fresh water for washing off the soap. There aren't many dishes or pots and pans to deal with at the moment, so he gets busy. Dinner service is going to be hectic, so it will be best to keep ahead of the dishes piled on his left.

He loses track of time as ponies come in, dropping off stacks of dishes, and the kitchen itself generates plenty of pots and pans for him to work on. Washing dishes has never been his favorite thing to do, but after so long dealing with boredom, this is actually fun.

Things are really starting to get frantic, judging by the general din of the kitchen. Tim looks up from the sink as the volume increases quite a bit. Over by one of the ovens, a unicorn is ranting and screaming. Tim turns off the water and edges closer.

"Who here was the last to use the oven!" She shouts, stomping her hoof. "Own up to it now, or I will have you demoted to aboyeur.” She growls, “No, that's too good, pouliche de cuisine, you hear me, you ungrateful nags?" She shouts, getting much of the kitchen staff to shy away.

Apple Stars trots over to the chef. "What’s wrong?"

"The oven is out, dead cold and won't start, and whichever broomtail was the last to use it didn't report it. How can we be a functioning kitchen without a proper oven?” She shouts while Apple Stars tries to talk, “Are we going to have to lower ourselves to fry cooks tonight? Serve pan dishes only?"

Tim moves forward. “Can I take a look at it?”

The chef flattens her ears, snorting, “You, little hay burner? Cayenne's toy bell stallion?” The way the final word alone was enunciated carries more unpleasantness than his mares entire confrontation with Twilight.

Tim frowns, “I’m pretty good with fixing things, can I take a look?”

She glances at Apple Stars, then back at Tim, she trots away after giving the oven a savage kick. “If you can get it to work, dinner might be saved. I’ll work on what appetizers I can get out for now, but I need it quickly!” Her horn lights and several pans are moved over to a cooktop. “If some little fuzztail thinks he can fix a ten thousand bit oven in fifteen minutes, let him," She grumbles as she stirs something in a pot.

Tim, for his part, lies down on the floor and slides under the bottom of the oven. The ponies are meticulous about cleaning; even underneath the oven, everything is spotless. He looks up at the access panel. “Hey, anyone got a tool box?”

He can see Apple Star’s hooves move away, and in a few moments she’s back, a heavy tool box clunks down to the floor, “What do you need?”

“A flat head screwdriver.” He calls out, and quickly one floats underneath the oven, allowing him to grab it. He works quickly, removing the screws, and the plate. He reaches up. “I need a wrench,” He calls out, and in moments a serviceable set of channel lock pliers floats into his grasp. A few minutes of work has the gas regulator in his hands. He takes the small device and cleans it, it seems to be in fairly good condition from the outside, but the inside seems to be caked with something that looks like char. He brings the port to his lips and blows hard, his cheeks puff out as it doesn’t allow anything through. He presses the small button on the outside to open the valve manually, and it doesn’t move. He growls and cleans it out quickly. He tries again, and the valve moves a little bit. With a grim smile, he continues cleaning it. And soon the valve moves the way it’s supposed to. He re-installs the small part and slides out from under the oven. He turns on the gas and presses the igniter, and smiles as he hears the satisfying whoosh of the burner igniting. He slides underneath again, putting the access plate back in place and he threads the first screw back in.

“What the hell is going on here?” Comes a familiar voice. Tim cringes as he can feel his foot encased in magic, he finds himself sliding out from under the oven, “Tim, what are you doing here?”

"Oh, hi, Cayenne," Tim says as he fakes a smile, "Just looking for a cloth and some good grease cutting soap." Holding up his hand, he shows her the black grime on his fingers.

She rolls her eyes, “Oh, har har.” Her ears splay back, “What are you doing here?”

He sits up, “I’ve been asking to get a job,” he looks down, “"I'm starting to feel like a caged animal. No matter how gilded the cage, no matter how pretty the walls, a cage is still a cage."

Cayenne’s ears drop, "I know,” she sighs. “I just worry about you; you’re not as fast or as strong as an earth pony, you don't have magic, you can't fly...” Her ears flick back and forth “you’re..."

He smiles, “I know, love. We’ve talked about this, I'm like a foal... But I don't need to be protected. For some things, I need to find my own way and have my own free time"

“That doesn’t mean it’s okay to go behind our flanks, Citrus and I have been discussing what to do.” She sighs, her ears flicking back and forth, “Go home, and we will discuss things later.”

“Hold on!” Comes another voice, Cayenne looks at Apple Star as she steps forward aggressively, “Tim, you don’t go anywhere.” Cayenne’s mouth drops open as Apple Star continues, “You hired me to run the kitchen, I hired him to help with dishes, and it turned out he’s good at more than that.”

Cayenne’s ears flick back, “This is my herd’s business, Apple Star.”

“No, it’s not.” Apple Star says as she slams a hoof into the tile, “This is your restaurant’s business. He came here, he was bored, he LOOKED like a foal who wanted to help. He needed something to do."

“But…”

“But nothing,” She says firmly, "I gave him a job. I made him feel useful. And if you fire him, you had better be looking for a new kitchen manager."

“Apple Star, you don’t need to put your neck out like that, I’ll go.”

Apple Star whirls around at Tim, stalking towards him slowly, “Don’t be a frizzmane, the staff talks, and in the few hours you’ve been here, you’ve done an excellent job with the dishes.” She taps the oven, “And if you can save us a couple of hundred bits on a service call, as well as saving a potentially ruined dinner service, I am hiring you on full time. There are plenty of little projects that you can help with, keep this kitchen in tip top shape, and keep things going smoothly.” She glares back at Cayenne, then back at Tim, “You keep doing a good job and I’ll keep you on, and the only way you are leaving is if I’m following you out the door.” She whirls back to Cayenne, “Don’t treat him like a foal; you said when you hired me, that it’s my kitchen and I run it. Well, I’m running it, and he stays!”

Cayenne’s jaw works a couple of times. She looks up at Tim, then back at Apple Stars, her ears flicking back and forth. “I did say that…” she allows. She looks up at Tim. “Are you enjoying working here, Tim?”

He nods, “I like it; I miss working with my hands.” Cayenne seems to be fighting with herself mentally, so he walks over to her. Kneeling down, he gives her a hug, “I’m going to be fine. Remember, I was herding trucks that weigh tens of thousands of pounds down the road without a problem, I can handle some dishes and the occasional odd maintenance job.”

She sniffles a bit, her eyes watery, “So, this isn’t to escape us?”

He shakes his head vigorously, “No, home is where the heart is, and my heart is with you.”

“Awww, how sweet,” Apple Stars snarks, getting a glare from Cayenne, which turns into a fierce blush.

Cayenne reaches and kisses him on the cheek, then moves away, “Well, what are you all waiting for? Dinner is still being served, and we’ve got a lot of hungry ponies out there. Get busy!”

Tim stands up and offers a mock salute., “Yes ma’am!” He starts to walk away, then turns back to Cayenne. “I think I got some grease on your coat.”

She looks at her shoulder, and the greasy hand print on it, she looks up at him, “You know you are going to pay for that later, love.”

He smiles as he walks back over to the oven, “I think I will enjoy that.” He says as he slides back underneath the oven, he grabs a second screw and works to thread it into its hole. In a matter of minutes, the plate is back in place and tightened down, he slides back out from under the oven, “All good,” Tim says softly.

“About time,” the chef responds as her magic encases the temperature control, the oven again whooshes to life, getting a small smile from the unicorn. She looks at Tim, “Well, back to your dishes, fuzztail.”

He smiles as he picks up the tool box, “Yes, chef.”

***

Cayenne had left before it got really late. She had said that she was going to let Citrus know what was going on, after she brought him into the office and apologized for her earlier outburst. Tim didn’t have any problem forgiving her, though. He had finished the rest of the night getting caught up with the dishes and had finally bussed the last of the tables after the majority of the customers had left. After an evening full of work, he’s actually pleasantly tired. The mare that works the bar for Cayenne locks up the door of the restaurant and turns to him. “You okay to walk home?” She asks as she levitates the keys back into her little day pack.

Tim shrugs, “Yeah, it’s not that far, and Canterlot is pretty quiet.”

She nods as she trots off, bidding him good night. Tim breathes in deeply, enjoying the night air. It’s now well after midnight, and the majority of the ponies are at home, asleep. Tim turns and walks down the nearly deserted street. Canterlot is certainly a safe place compared to his childhood home in Pennsylvania. Heck, it’s probably safer than almost any city on Earth. The night guard walks through the streets from time to time, but the ponies tend to be peaceful, so there doesn’t seem much for them to do. Tim watches a stallion, obviously with too much to drink in his belly, walk slowly down the street. The pegasus doesn’t even look at him as he shambles on, getting a smile from Tim.

Tim turns and heads down another street. He’s been slowly learning more about this city on the mountain, with its narrow streets along with wide boulevards, it is surprisingly big. He looks at a group of large apartment buildings, and a turn of his head brings large storefronts and office buildings. Not the glass, steel and concrete of home, but the construction seems to be fairly modern in method. A crane that would have been at home in any Earth city is attached to another building in the process of being built. And just a block away is a fanciful building, sculpted to look like wave crashing, though Tim has no idea what the sign on the establishment in that building means. The streets are well lit at night, with lanterns distributed all throughout the streets, though the technology keeping them lit is beyond him. It could be more magic for all he knows.

At the center of a cross street, a fountain stands to form the heart of a roundabout. A cut marble foal sits on a pedestal pouring water endlessly into a basin below. The fountain sits on a small circular patch of grass with a raised lip around it. The sound of the water flowing is mixed with soft singing.

A dark mare looks up at the foal, her voice carrying a sadness Tim hasn't heard before.

"I lose my way, no pony cares." The mare raises her hoof gently to stroke foal on the statue. "The words I say, no pony hears."

A shudder goes down Tim’s back as he looks at her, her voice cracking a bit as she goes on, "My life, it seems, is a world of dreams."

She sits down looking up at the sky, her ethereal mane blowing in the night wind, the stars mirroring those in the sky. "Deep in the night, you'll find me." Lowering her head, she looks down at the fountain, touching the water with her hoof, "Dream and you're right behind me, stay..."

Her hoof dripping, she lifts it to touch the face of the statue, water droplets forming on the foal’s face and running down like tears. "If you could only stay..."

Looking down, her own tears fall to the ground. "We'd dream the night.... away..."

Tim steps forward, watching the alicorn as she stands looking at the statue, her tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. He clears his throat, getting her to flinch and turn towards him, “Good evening, Princess.” He says softly.

Princess Luna folds her wings, emotions war on her face, and finally she offers a watery smile, “Given the hour, I would think good morning would be the proper greeting.”

He frowns at the look on her face. “I thought you would be in the dream, helping the ponies.”

She tosses her ethereal mane slightly. “I have spent much of my night in the dream realm, but occasionally I prefer to walk the streets, to keep a closer eye on my little ponies.”

Tim starts to walk down the street, and to his surprise, the large princess moves to walk next to him. She seems content to merely walk next to him as he continues on his way home. But, after a few moments, he notices something riding on her back, “Ummm, Princess.” He says softly, looking at the dark mass.

She stops and looks at him expectantly. “Is there something amiss, young Timothy?”

He points, “What is…” He stretches out his hand only to have something latch onto it, “Gah!”

“ O, Tiberie, nolle ludere vehementer cum nostro amico.” Luna says softly.

Tim looks at the bundle of fur in the process of climbing his arm to his shoulder. The dark fur with the white face and naked tail. “It’s a possum.”

“Yes, and his name is Tiberius.”

Tim looks at the possum sitting on his shoulder, “Hello, Tiberius.” He says gently, offering a finger. Tiberius sniffs his finger, chitters for a moment, and then he hops back onto Luna’s back. He skitters around her neck and ends up lying on her horn, his tail wrapped around the base. Tim’s eyebrows rise. “He doesn’t talk?”

Luna giggles, “No, he does not; not everything talks in our world, young Timothy.”

They continue walking, Tim watches her as they continue, her emotions certainly seem to continue to be rather raw. He watches her choke back a sob every so often, and occasionally a tear drops onto the cobblestones as they continue, “Princess...?”

She flinches, and Tiberius leaps from her horn onto her back, she clicks her tongue, “I’m sorry, I was not expecting company tonight. I’m…” She pauses as she continues to walk, but finally she stops and sits on her haunches. “I find myself thinking of the past.”

“From before you were banished to the moon?” Tim asks gently, getting a sniffle and a nod from her.

“Everypony I knew, everypony that meant something to me, with the exception of my dear sister, is dead.”

Tim looks down, “Well, a thousand years is a very long time, Princess.”

“There were some that were very dear to me.” A few tears leak down her cheeks. “Some were very special,” she says, choking back a sob, “I never got to tell them I was sorry for what I did -- how I nearly destroyed everything in my thirst for power. I was so wrong, so greedy.”

“From what you’ve told me, the magic of that nightmare was overwhelming.”

She nods. “The power was seductive. But what was causing me to feel so strongly about that this night was you.”

“Me, Princess?”

She nods again, “Yes, and when you weren’t among the stars of dreams, I decided to walk the city.” She smiles, “It is by happy coincidence that you find me. I did not expect to have you to come upon me tonight.”

Tim furrows his brow. “But why me?”

She looks intently at him, “Because if a way to send you home is not found, those you grew up with, those who defined your life until happenstance brought you to Equestria will live out their lives…” She looks down, “without you in them, just like those who were important to me lived out the rest of their lives, missing me as much as I miss them now.”

Tim blinks a few times, he opens his mouth, then shuts it. Karen, his mom and dad, his sister. He had never had all that many friends, but the ones he had, he was really close with. He’s been gone for over a year. Have they moved on? Does Karen have a new boyfriend? Have they moved on?

A light touch of a feather on his cheek brings him back to the present, Princess Luna leans closer. “I know what you are feeling right now, Tim.” She touches his cheek with her wing, “I have shed many tears in the time since I’ve come home.”

Tim scrubs his face with a sleeve; he wasn’t even aware of the tears. “Sorry, Princess.”

She nuzzles his cheek for a moment, though this is different. He can feel she’s simply trying to be a supportive friend. He takes a chance and throws his arms around her, she stands stock still for several seconds, then her wings fold gently around him, after a few moments, he pulls away and offers her a small smile.

She cocks her head to the side, “What was that for?”

“You seemed to need a hug.”

She smiles for a moment, “I have not gotten a hug from somepony other than my sister in over a thousand years. The ponies see that I am a Princess; they don’t hug me.”

Tim nods, “Well, you looked like you needed it.”

She looks down, “I…” words fail her, and after a few moments, she comes up and wraps her wings around him, bringing him into a hug, “I think I do.” She murmurs softly.

Finally he pulls away as she folds her wings, “Thank you Tim.” She says quietly.

“You are very welcome, Princess,” Tim says as they start walking again.

They finally get to Tim’s building, she looks at the door, “Well, I shall let you get back to your herd.”

He smiles, she continues, “We are still working on getting you home.”

Tim stops for a moment, “Princess?”

She looks at him expectantly, he sighs, “A part of me wants to go home,” He looks up at the top floor of the building, “But…”

She smiles and again nuzzles him softly, “You don’t want to lose Citrus and Cayenne?”

He shakes his head, “I don’t want to lose them, but I miss home.” He looks up then back at her, “I don’t know, Princess... perhaps not permanently, I...”

“Tim, the research will continue, and we will leave the decision up to you if it comes to that.”

He nods and turns back to the door, he can hear Princess Luna behind him as he walks inside. “Sleep well, young human.”

Author's Note

Once again, a big shout out and thanks to Kalash93 for his editing work!