The pegasus stallion stood outside of the home that Celestia had made sure would be set aside for him and stared at it.

Yes, it was an old building, probably about half as old as the town itself. But it was also a massive building. It was probably just a little under the requirements for a mansion and a staff to take care of it. It was far too large for just one pony to live in, especially a pony like himself.

Celestia had made another move before this game had ever started, and he had been too caught up with the dragon and looking for a job to think about countering it.

“So like I said,” the stallion wearing a hard-hat next to him said, “The building checks out. There were a few spots where the floor, walls, or wallpaper needed a bit of replacing, but we took care of that for ya. This place should hold up for the next twenty years, easy, before you need to think about fixing anything.”

“How wonderful,” Aspect said through gritted teeth. Now he just had to come up with a use for all these rooms. As well as clean it up. He could only imagine the dust in there.

“Not a problem, guv,” the stallion said before nodding at him. “You watch yourself in there, it’s easy to get lost if you don’t know the layout.”

How many rooms were in this bloody house that that was a concern?!

“I’ll be sure to draw up a map if I need to,” Balanced said before sighing. “Oh dear daughter of mine,” he muttered. “What have you done…”

The inside of the house was just as dirty and filthy as he imagined, but that was to be expected. He didn’t know how long it had lain without an owner, so it was only natural some dirt would build up. He let out a sigh as he took in the condition of the place. It was probably only as good as it was because of the work those construction ponies had done, but it was still unlivable.

After looking around and making sure the door was shut behind him, the stallion flashed into his alicorn form and put his saddlebags on the floor, bobbing his head to an unseen beat as a glow built around his horn.

He’d had time to practice his magic as a unicorn, yes, but his more...primal magic. Anything that was beyond normal telekinesis. It always worked better if he did it in rhyme. It was classified, in this day and age, as a form of freeform sorcery, as there was no real way to control it beyond the initial parameters, and if it got beyond those that were set, it was often troublesome to dispel.

Fortunately, he’d had plenty of practice not only in thinking and putting his desires to rhyme, but also in managing a simple null-spell. Still, he shouldn’t need it. With a soft glow of magic on his saddlebags, the stallion began his spell with a simple chant.

Mold and mildew, dust and grime,

Let’s clean them all up this time.

An ancient house, far too large,

Let’s show the dirt who’s in charge.

My implements, I summon thee,

Upon this filth, your reign is free.

Clean this house, get it done,

So that I might have some fun.

From the saddlebags, a broom emerged. Then a feather duster, a dustpan, a mop, a bucket, and a towel. Then a second set. And a third.

And they were all moving of their own volition as they seemingly took in the state of the house and then turned to face the stallion that had called on them.

“Yes yes, I know, but Celestia gave me the house after its last owner passed some time ago,” Aspect said with a roll of his eyes. “So it falls to me to get it clean. Which means it falls to you.”

One broom stood in front of the other implements and started pointing at various messes with its handle, before pointing at some of the cleaning utensils. The various devices floated off and began cleaning the house with vigor.

“You all take care now,” Aspect said as he flashed into his pegasus guise. “I’m going to go buy some soap for you. Do what you can without it, naturally, but I shouldn’t be long.”

It wasn’t long after he left his front door again, the sound of a faint tune playing through the house, that Aspect was interrupted. This time, from above, as a familiar form landed in front of him. One with a rainbow tail and mane.

“Hey Balanced,” she said. “This your place?”

“Yes, my daughter just gave it to me,” the stallion said with a sigh. “There is no way I can use all those rooms. She’s outwitted me once again.”

A majority of the ponies that Aspect might have said that to might have taken it to mean that his daughter was wildly successful and clever. However, six mares knew better. Rainbow Dash was one of them.

Rainbow looked at the simply massive house and whistled. “Wow, who knew Celestia was such a ‘Daddy’s Little Princess’.”

“You wouldn’t know it by the way she keeps trying to stick it to me,” the stallion grumbled. “So what if I saved the ponies a dozen times. I was just doing what I’m meant to. Don’t need a reward for that. And I don’t see anyone else lifting this sword.”

“Pfft, I could totally rock that sword,” Rainbow puffed out her chest. “Don’t wanna show you up or anything buuuut…”

Aspect merely raised an eyebrow as the sword...its sapphire pommel somehow seemed to be glinting. Ominously. “You know, the guard said that too,” the stallion said as he continued his trek into town.

“Pfft, well the guard can’t really hold a candle to the best flyer in Equestria now, can they?” Rainbow flapped lazily beside him. “I mean, I’d have totally taken that dragon if Shy hadn’t stepped in.”

“As would I have,” Aspect nodded. “My more...noble form would have gotten him to back off,” Aspect said. “It’s how me and Smaug met.” Fortunately, Rainbow Dash was not the element of Honesty. “So, still feel like trying out the sword?”

“Can I?” Rainbow squeaked before coughing into her hoof and looking away. “I-I mean, sure. I could give it a go. No complaining when I’m better than you though.”

“Give a try,” Aspect said as the town loomed closer. “Just keep in mind, the sword chose the wielder, not the other way around.”

“Alrighty then!” Rainbow nodded and landed in front of him. “Hoof it over B.A.”

Aspect let out a chuckle and pulled the sword from beneath his saddlebags, laying on on the ground between them, the hilt pointing towards her. “I’ll come back once I’m done buying some soap to clean my house with,” the stallion said as he just walked further into the town.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow grabbed the hilt and went to run after him, only to fall roughly when the sword refused to move. “H-Huh? Hey! What the hay!?”

The sword seemed to weigh a ton. How had Aspect moved with it on?!

“He musta used some sort of spell on it,” she muttered as she stared at the offending object. “Haha Balanced, real funny…”

The sword’s sapphire flashed once. Almost as if it was looking at her.

“What the buck are you looking at?” she frowned and yelled at it. “I’m totally gonna lift the hay out of you!!” She grabbed the hilt with both hooves and started to beat her wings as hard as she could. “You’re. Not gonna. BEAT MEEEEEE!!!!!”

The sword, however, was just as immobile as ever. It lay on the road and the sapphire flashed multiple times. If you really were paranoid, you might think that it was doing more than looking at the pegasus. Perhaps even laughing at her.

“Oh, so you’re gonna laugh at me now?” she panted and wiped her brow. “Okay. Now it’s on! She tightened her grip and started flapping harder and faster…

She was going at it for quite a while, long enough that Balanced started heading back. And as he got closer, he saw the mare was rather red in the face…

Then a loud ‘pop’ filled the air and she gave a high-pitched yelp before falling over, her right leg hanging limply at her side.

“Okay, that’s not good,” he said as he calmly walked over, picked the sword up, and stuck it under his saddlebags before inspecting her. “Yup, you went and dislocated your leg because you tried to pick up a magical artifact just a little too hard. I can fix it, though you’re gonna want to be laying down when I do. And probably want something to bite on.”

“Doesn’t… hurt…” she mumbled, the mare was obviously in pain, but her stubbornness made her refuse reality. Aspect poked her leg gently with one of his hooves. She let out a loud yelp and glared at him

“That hurt! You stupid Celestia-damned motherb-”

“My point exactly,” Aspect said calmly. “And please refrain from talking about her like that.”

“Mmrrrr, fine…” she muttered. “Just… hurry up and fix it.”

“My place,” Aspect said. “We’ll fix it there. I saw a sofa that should be clean enough to lay on by now.”

Rainbow groaned as she tried to move, but seeing as how her shoulder and wing muscles were connected…

That started a tirade of inventive swears that even Aspect hadn’t heard of before.

“Yup, looks like I’m carrying you there,” he said as he managed to maneuver the mare onto his back with no small amount of effort. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to carry a pony as a pony.

“Urgh, being carried around by a stallion…” she muttered, blushing about having to be carried. “You better not tell anypony about this. Or I will prank you so hard!”

“First, I raised Tia and Lulu. The world’s experts on pranking. Second, you chose to keep trying to lift the magical artifact after I gave you several hints that that might not be the wisest idea, so this situation is all of your making.” There was silence for a moment before the stallion spoke again. “Granted, I probably didn’t help matters at all by not telling you directly that if you haven’t drunk from the now-extinct well, that you can’t lift the sword…”

“Oh wow, you’re such an ass,” she muttered. “I’m pranking you anyway. And even if the Princesses are prankers, which I doubt, I have a Pinkie Pie. So check and mate!”

“The worst pranking spree back in the hidden valley was when Surprise and Tia and Lulu waged war on one another,” the stallion said. “No chair was safe. No drink escaped being treated with hot-sauce. And lemon juice on all the food. Doorways with buckets as far as the eye could see. I had to escape outside for a week as they burned themselves out.”

“Sounds like a Friday,” Rainbow nodded. Speaking of… they hadn’t pranked Twilight enough yet. The disappearing ink was fun and all, but they needed something that would really drive her nuts.

“Pinkie Pie once filled every bottle of shampoo with itching powder, then glued bubble wrap to everypony’s hooves while they slept.”

“Once my daughters were capable of more than simple magic,” Aspect said as they neared the house, “They routinely practiced their illusions. Dressing up as each other, just to mess with my head. I’ve been a dad to the two most troublesome fillies in Equestria. You can’t top that.”

“I’d respond with ‘Pinkie Pie’, but my leg still hurts,” she replied and groaned. “Are we there yet? You’re walking like a snail.”

“Pardon me if I want to avoid jostling you and if this house is quite a distance from the main town,” the stallion replied as they finally neared the front door. “Now, brace yourself. This is probably going to seem a little odd…”

“Oh yeah, cause an immortal sword-wielding stallion is your typical Thursday,” Rainbow’s snark could have choked a hydra.

Then the door was open, and they were both witness to the army of cleaning implements working without a glow of magic on them to make the house more livable.

“What. The. Buuuuuuck?’ Rainbow blinked.

“Just a small bit of sorcery that I set into motion before leaving,” the stallion said as he noticed that the couch had indeed been cleaned and walked over next to it. “Okay, I’m gonna try to move you to the couch without jostling your leg...oh, wait, duh. We’re inside now.” There was a flash, and suddenly Rainbow was on top of an alicorn.

“Heh, knew I could make you rise to the occasion,” she chuckled.

“Would you like to be jostled?” he returned. “Magic is the safest way to do it. So up we go.” With that, a soft glow surrounded her form and lifted her gently from his back before placing her on the couch.

“Just can’t take a joke,” she mumbled and lay back. This couch was pretty darned comfy actually. She’d make a note to make it one of her napping spots later.

Aspect shrugged his saddlebags off before sticking his muzzle into one...before sticking even more than could logically fit into the saddlebag. Rainbow heard things rustling and clanking from in there.

What the heck was he keeping in there?

“So uh…” she fumbled around for a topic. “What was your wife like? You know, the Princess's Mom. Is she still around?”

Aspect’s ears flicked as he grabbed ahold of something and started pulling it out, revealing itself to be a long tree branch shaped to look like a staff. “Well,” he said once his mouth was clear, “Written Script was a lovely mare. She was kind and understanding and far more patient than I ever was. She helped me when it mattered most, and I did my best to defend her.” Then he sighed. “But...see, she drank from the Fountain of Eternity when she was pregnant. So most of the power from the fountain went to the two lives she was carrying...she was only ageless. Not immortal.”

“Ageless?” Rainbow forgot about her pain for a moment. “So like, she’s still around then? And, how come they don't teach this in school?”

“There was a manticore,” Aspect whispered. “It came by one day when I wasn’t there.”

Rainbow gasped. “You-you mean she…?”

“I found it and gave her a decent burial,” he said with a shake of his head. “It was the least I could do at that point.”

“I’m… I'm really sorry,” Rainbow said, her bravado bleeding away as her ears folded back. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine,” the stallion said with a wave of his hoof. “I came to terms with it years ago.” He held the long staff up with the other hoof and smiled at her. “Now, we’re here for you, yes? You’re going to want to bite down on this, so say ‘aaah’.”

Her expression said it all really. Still, she vocalised it nonetheless.

“Seriously?”

“I don’t want to have you screaming profanities or my daughter’s name when I fix your leg, so yes, seriously. Open wide and bite down on this.”

Begrudgingly, the mare bit down on the stick as she glared at him.

“Now this,” he said as he drew close and grasped her dislocated leg with both of his forehooves. “Is going to hurt like a son of a diamond dog. But it will only be for a moment, and it will be fixed. Brace yourself.”

Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath…

Then the stallion wrenched her leg back into its normal position with all the strength of an Earth Pony.

“MRRPH FOF AFFF—!!!” Rainbow screeched through her impromptu bit, biting down so hard it’d leave teeth marks in the wood. Tears stung the corners of her eyes as she tried blinking them away, if the pain wasn’t so bad that she could open them in the first place.

“And that is that,” Aspect said. “It’ll die down over time. It’ll probably be nothing more than a dull throb in a few minutes. Still, you should stay off that leg for the rest of the day.”

Rainbow spat the stick out and groaned. “I don’t know what’s worse,” she said and a tiny smirk appeared on her face. “The sore shoulder, or the fact I had your wood in my mouth…”

“Eh, it’s not the first time I’ve done this,” Aspect said with a shrug as he picked the staff up and stuck it back in his bags.

“I don’t wanna know, on either account,” Rainbow replied as she rubbed her leg. “Well this is a great way to spend the night huh?”

“As long as you promise to take it easy on that leg, you can help me explore this place. Haven’t even learned the layout yet. Oh, that reminds me…” The stallion cleared his throat and called out, “Atten-SHUN!”

Instantly, the tools that had been hard at work cleaning the house lined up in front of him. The stallion nodded and pulled out no less than three bottles of soap from his saddlebags. “Right, I brought back the soap like I said I would,” he said, before pouring a little into the buckets and onto the towels. “As you were,” he told them, causing the tools to fly off again, back at cleaning the house up.

“That… is so weird,” Rainbow said. “So, they just do whatever you tell them to?”

“A bit of rhyming magic and freeform sorcery brought them to a state of awareness,” the stallion said. “They’ll be animate until the house is clean, at which point, contract filled, and they’ll go back to normal. They can take simple instructions, but they won’t really stop until the house is more livable than it was when I walked in.”

“So like, if I told that scrubbing brush there to do… like, I dunno. ‘Scrub your hooves’?”

The brush floated over and started polishing the stallion’s hooves. He shot Rainbow Dash an unamused look...before the brush floated over to her and started doing the same thing to her. Well he tried, expect the mare was now clinging to the rafters, a dotted outline was all that remained of her on the couch.

“Don’t. Touch. My hooves,” she growled not unlike an angry cat. The brush just did the best impression of a shrug it could before going back to its job.

“Does somepony have sensitive hooves?” the stallion asked seriously. “I think there’s a lotion for that…”

“I just hate ponies touching my hooves alright!” She lowered herself back down to the ground. She sat there in silence for a moment. “Thanks for fixing my leg… even if it was totally your fault in the first place.”

“Yeah, I know,” the stallion said. “I really didn’t expect you to try so hard, but then again, I should expect as such from the mare to bear Loyalty.”

“Yeah, well…” She just mumbled something and got up to head for the door. “Thanks Aspect, but I should really—” She was cut off as a loud peal of thunder cracked, lighting up the house for a second. Rainbow blinked and facehooved. “I forgot about the storm…”

“Hey, I got plenty of space here,” the stallion said with a wave of one wing. “Feel free to stick around if you want. I just need to find all the rooms in here.”

“Stay… with a stallion?” The mare couldn’t help as a small blush crept across her face. “Y-Yeah, sure… why not.” Her sentence was punctuated by a loud rumble of her stomach.

“First order, kitchen,” he said. “Good thing I also thought to buy food in the town. Didn’t think this place would come with any.”

Rainbow nodded and followed him. She had no idea where she was going anyway. It took them three rooms before they found what looked like a miniature banquet hall, which cheered the stallion up a little.

“Okay, so the kitchen should be off of this one,” he said. “I’ll take that door in the back.”

“And I’ll take this one I suppose…” Rainbow looked around and shrugged. “I’m half-expecting your butler to pop up or something…”

“Don’t give her ideas,” Aspect said with a roll of his eyes. “Don’t have one, don’t need one. I hardly need this place, but I don’t have a plan to give it back in play just yet.”

“Iiiiinteresting,” Rainbow laughed as she walked in her door, only to find a pantry filled with dust and cobwebs. “Whelp, this isn’t it… unless you wanna serve up some spiders and dust bunnies for dinner.”

“Nope, but thanks for finding that. Leave it open and the tools will clean it up when they get to here,” Aspect said as he opened his door. “Aha, found it! Hey boys! We could use your help over here!”

A team of tools floated into the banquet hall before taking note of the pantry and kitchen. The duster and dustpan split over to the pantry, while the mop, broom, and bucket went to the kitchen.

“And in about ten minutes, give or take, we should have a place to make dinner in,” Aspect said as he sat back and watched.

“This is like some little filly’s movie,” Rainbow said as she watched the implements bounce around.

“Well I’m certainly not going to clean every inch of this massive place by myself,” Aspect huffed. “Had enough of that back in the hidden valley.”

“So what’s this ‘hidden valley’ you keep mentioning?” Rainbow asked as she sat at the large dining table. “Your old home or something?”

“Something like that, yes,” Aspect said as he watched the tools at work. “There was Dream Valley, which was the original home of the ponies, and then there was a hidden valley between a few mountains not too far from Paradise Estate. It’s where Written Script and I settled down to raise her children.”

“Dream Valley?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow as the pegasus completely missed the meaning of his words. “Where in Equestria is that?”

“It was located somewhere to the north-east,” Aspect said. “Before the Windegos came and tried to freeze it all over anyways. I led the ponies to the country that would become Equestria, made sure they were safe and all, and then went back to try and fix the problem.”

“‘Try and fix’?” Rainbow echoed, leaning forward in her seat. “So… you failed?”

“Well, the Windegos and their leader are some of my kids, so-”

“WHAT!?” Rainbow was suddenly in his face. “Whaddaya mean ‘your kids’? I thought the Princesses were.”

“They are,” Aspect said with a groan. “This is where it gets complicated.” He thought for a moment, before nodding and taking the sword off of his back and putting it on the floor. “Okay, think of it like this. Anything that drank from the Fountain of Eternity became at the very least, ageless. If they drank enough, immortal. And if they gorged themselves, became an Aspect of Equus. My...job, for a lack of better words, was to go around and right all the wicked Aspects.” He tapped the sword for emphasis. “Then I took the essence they embodied, and crafted something new with it.”

Rainbow's head slowly tilted and Aspect could swear he heard her ticking.

“Uh… wat?”

“Example,” Aspect said, holding up a hoof as the sword flashed. Suddenly, his hoof was on fire. Though he didn’t seem to be in pain.

“Whoa!” Rainbow leapt back and stared at him. “That… That is so cool!”

“From Lavan, the fiend of lava and flames, I got the essence of fire,” Aspect said, before the fire died down. “I took it and molded it, shaped it, and gave the dragons of the day and age magical fire breath, but that didn’t come close to using it all up. So I made a species with it. Technically, all Phoenixes are related to me.”

“...I'd like to call horseapples on that,” Rainbow said. “But I've seen weirder. Unicorn fights in Cloudsdale is up there somewhere.”

“They were weird to watch back in Dream Valley as well,” Aspect chuckled. “Anyways, King Charlatan and his son surrendered their essence of ice to me, so I made the Windegos and their king to watch over the north. Apparently, that whole ‘heart of ice’ thing went a little too far…”

“Yeesh, and I thought foals could be trouble,” Rainbow chuckled before her stomach growled again. “Urgh, are your friends done yet?”

“Just about,” Aspect said as the mop, bucket, and broom floated out of the kitchen. The dustpan and feather duster floated from the pantry into the kitchen for a moment, before they too floated away. “And done. Let’s unload this food and see about dinner.”

“Awesome,” Rainbow grinned as she grabbed the bags and zipped into the kitchen, a fading rainbow trail was all that was left. “Come on slowpoke,” she called from the kitchen.

“You’re really not one for doing things slow at all,” Aspect chuckled as he walked into the kitchen. “You remind me a lot of Firefly. She even spoke fast.”

That was when Rainbow came to a screeching halt. She slowly turned her head and looked at him.

“You… you knew… my mom?”

“Probably not your mom, more like your ancestor, most likely,” Aspect said with a shrug. “Remember, I’m old. I haven’t been in Equestria for a thousand years.”

“Y-Yeah. O’course…” Rainbow shook her head and forced a smile. “Right, so what's on the menu? I'm starving!”

“Right saddlebag,” Aspect said. “I put the food in there, to keep it away from the soap.”

Rainbow fished the food out and looked at it thoughtfully. “Hmm, I bet I could whip up a mean chilli salad with this. Maybe add a little pasta to it?”

“Feel free,” Aspect said with a wave of one wing. “I got plenty. The stipend Celly got me is pretty generous.”

“Sweet,” Rainbow nodded as she started. The mare paused and turned her head to look at him. “Just so we're clear. We are not telling anyone that I'm cooking for you, yeah?”

“Fine by me,” Aspect said with a shrug. “My cooking is decent, but I always called on Surprise to help me when she could spare the time.”

“The Wonderbolt?” Rainbow asked before facehooving. “Right, long time ago. I keep forgetting.” She turned back to the counter and went to work. The brash, tomcolt pegasus was surprisingly capable in the kitchen. First boiling the pasta, and once that was cooked and put in the fridge to chill, she started on the salad.

“She and that Pinkie friend of yours remind me a lot of each other,” Aspect said. “She liked to pop out of random places and say her name. Often at the worst times. Still a good friend to have around, but I don’t think the old Applejack of Dream Valley would have had near as many accidents if Surprise hadn’t been around to cause them.”

“Wait, you knew an Applejack?” Rainbow gave a scratchy laugh. “Next thing you know, you'll tell me you knew a Rainbow Dash as well.”

“No, but like I said, you remind me of the Firefly of Dream Valley, and I can point out another similarity, at least in the look department. There was a castle in the valley once, and looking over it was a graceful white unicorn with a beautiful violet mane and tail. She was kind and thoughtful to all the ponies that lived there...and I mistook your friend Rarity for Majesty when we first met.”

“Hah! Seriously? I think Rarity likes to think she's a Princess,” Rainbow chortled as she tossed the salad. “Prissy Prima Princess.” Rainbow switched her voice into a scarily good imitation of the mare. “I decree that all the ponies must dress in style and be fabulous!”

“Majesty was scarily powerful, though,” Aspect said with a smile. “She could turn trolls into trees, grant wishes, and perform all manner of transformation spells, to help her deal with any threat to the ponies that lived with her in her castle.”

“Whoa…” Rainbow gave a low whistle as she fetched the pasta from the fridge and mixed it with the salad. “I kinda wish I could meet these old friends of yours. Even if I'd totally beat Firefly in a race.”

“Well, I did put up a monument to them all before we left Dream Valley,” the stallion mused. “I suppose that’s about as close as you could really get these days. I’m not even sure if the old castles are still standing anymore.”

Rainbow paused and rubbed her head. “Sorry if I brought up any bad memories. I have a habit of not thinking before I talk…”

“You’d be surprised what an extended lifespan can do for giving you time to come to terms with situations,” Aspect smiled gently. “Plus, I know my old friends. They wouldn’t want me to mourn the fact that they’d died, but celebrate each new day as it came to me.” He sighed, before looking over at Rainbow. “Wanna know who Twilight reminds me of?”

“Huh? The egghead reminds you of somepony?” Rainbow got two plates and lay filled each with a generous serving.

“Two ponies, actually,” Aspect said as he pulled his plate closer. “The first is who she shares a name and general coloration with. Twilight the Wish-Granter, from Dream Valley. She could grant any wish made around her, if she so chose. She even gave up her own wish one starry night so that others could still wish on the stars. She was never selfish with her talent, only generous and kind.”

“First this Majesty, and now your Twilight? Sounds like wish granting was popular in the old days huh?” Rainbow sat down at the table and took a bite of her food. “Whoofs the sefond?”

“Well, the way she talks when she thinks nobody is listening reminds me a lot of Wind Whistler. She was a pegasus that used the longest, most convoluted words possible to explain something. She never did it to show off her intellect, that’s just how she was. And she was always the one with the soundest of plans.”

“Now that sounds more like Twilight,” Rainbow laughed. “Hey, maybe she'll sprout a pair of wings and really take after her.”

Aspect fell silent as he munched on his food, his ears twitching as he considered the possibility.

“So what about Flutters?” Rainbow asked as she munched on her salad, her face a little red from the heat of the chilli. “She remind you of anypony?”

“Oh, yes,” Aspect said as he was jolted out of the little ‘chat’ he’d had with Yggdrasil. “Posey. She was the gardener for the estate, and she just loved taking care of all the little flowers. Every single one got her love and care.”

“Sounds like Fluttershy alright,” Rainbow nodded her head as she sipped some milk. She found herself at a loss for a moment before a question popped into her head. “So, seeing as how you're not from around here. You got any questions?”

“Nah, I got a recap from Yggdrasil,” Aspect said with a shake of his head. “He’s been a good son, keeping watch over the magic of the land and taming it ever since I made him. I know general things about Equestria. Plus I’m much more the learn-as-I-go type.”

“Fair enough,” Rainbow nodded and wolfed down the rest of her salad, before grabbing her glass and downing that too. “Haaaaah! That's much better.”

“I gotta say,” Aspect said with a nod as he finally finished his own dinner, “You make a pretty good simple meal. I hope I’ll be able to more fully stock this place in the near future, maybe get a preservation charm laid into the pantry. Keep things fresher longer. Then I’ll be able to make a good dinner regardless of the season.” He sighed as he looked at the table. “I miss the valley some days…”

“I can’t say I know how you feel,” Rainbow said, before looking away and blushing slightly. What? It was the chilli alright! “But, you seem like a cool guy, so I guess we can be friends if you want.”

“That’s sort of the reason my daughter sent me here,” the stallion chuckled. “Apparently wandering the world for a thousand years doesn’t make you many friends, and she’d like to see me rectify that.”

“So, you're the ‘New Twilight’ huh?” Rainbow giggled and hopped off of her chair. “Just be careful though Aspect. You’re making Pinkie wait for that party… she might just explode if you keep her too long. And Ponyville can't afford to clean up that much confetti and cake batter.”

“I told her to wait until I got a place of my own and was comfortable in it,” the stallion said with a shrug. “I’m honestly expecting any day after today.”

He could swear that the howling wind outside carried a Pink-flavoured giggle with it.

“I'll keep tomorrow free if I can,” Rainbow stretched. “You got a bathroom in here?”

“Maybe?” the stallion said with a shrug of his wings. “I only just got the place after all. I’m pretty sure it should have come with a map.”

“Well,” she hopped from side to side. “Imma go find one.” And like that, the mare vanished from the room and he could hear the sounds of slamming doors coming from deeper within the house.

“I sure hope this place came with one,” the stallion said. “It’d be downright irresponsible if it didn’t.”

He heard a victorious shout, followed by silence. A few minutes later, Rainbow returned and sighed happily.

“Down that corridor and the fifth door on the right,” she said. “Oh, and there's a bigass bedroom in the third door on the left and some massive room at the end of the hall. But it's only got a huge metal, light thingy on the roof and nothing else.”

“Sounds like a ballroom,” Aspect said with one ear flicking. “We had one in the Everfree. That castle is in such a state...Ah well. Celestia went and made another, so no real big deal.” He snorted once. “Seriously, I think she took some inspiration from Dream Valley. One castle is no longer used? Or can’t be used? Just make another, nobody will notice!”

“Well, I don't think anypony knows about the Everfree Castle, so… it worked?”

“And that’s the only slightly upsetting thing about it,” Aspect nodded. “Though I’m pretty sure I’m the last one who gets to complain about unnecessary castles.”

“Considering you practically live in one now?” Rainbow laughed as she looked around. “Oh man, I bet Spoiled and Filthy Rich are gonna be pissed you have a bigger house than them.”

“And also due to what I did the moment I managed to get my hooves on the Flashstone. It was another of those wish-granting artifacts back in Dream Valley, and I persuaded the last holder of it to give it over, promising I’d put it to better use.” A beat passed, and the stallion grinned. “Not one hour later in the hidden valley, did I conjure a castle into existence for us to live in.”

“I just cobbled some clouds together,” Rainbow shrugged. “I change and add to it every now and then.”

“I’m gonna have to see that at some point,” Aspect said. “Never thought giving pegasi the ability to interact with clouds the way they do would turn out this way, but I am not complaining.”

“Oh man, I should drag you off to Cloudsdale sometime,” Rainbow said with a smile. “Actually… the Young Fliers Competition comes up sometime soon. You should totally come see me blow everypony else out of the sky.”

“Sounds like a good time,” Aspect chuckled. “I’ll look into a bit of freeform sorcery to get my storm-causing nature under control before I go. From the name, it implies a city made of clouds, and I’d rather avoid turning the entire place into one giant storm cell.”

“Uh… yeah, that's probably a really good idea,” Rainbow gulped. A storm that big could probably wipe out Equestria. “And with that unsettling thought in my head. I'm gonna head off to bed. There’s gonna be a lot to clean up tomorrow.”

At the mention of those words, the various implements that had been cleaning the house lined up in the dining hall and promptly stopped being animated by magic. Fortunately, the buckets had been on the floor when that had happened. Apparently, the entire house was now clean.

“And I have picking up to do before I can look for my own bedroom,” Aspect said as he moved his saddlebags over to where the cleaning supplies had fallen. “You take care, miss Dash. See you in the morning.”

“Yeah, if you're up early enough,” Rainbow nodded and smiled. “And no ‘Miss’ stuff. Just Rainbow, Dash or any combination of the above.”

“As you will, Dash,” Aspect said with a smile. “Just so you know, I already know you’re faster than Firefly. She kept dreaming of a pony that could one day be faster than a rainbow.”

Rainbow Dash paused and smiled. “She sounds like a pretty cool pony Aspect.” She watched him leave as she fell back onto the couch and closed her eyes.

…

A moment later, they opened as her brow creased. “Wait… ‘watched her kids’? What does he mean by… ASPECT!!”

The stallion stuck his head back out of the hallway he’d walked down with a cheeky smile on his face. “Yeeeees?”

“You… you…!!” She waved a hoof at him. “The princesses… aren't your kids are they?”

“Full marks,” the stallion said with a nod. “I’m just their foster father. I’d say I adopted them, but really, they adopted me into their family.”

“Unbelievable…” Dash sighed and lay on the couch before smirking. “So, you haven't… for a thousand years?”

“Longer, if you can believe that,” Aspect said with a shrug. “I have no biological kids on Equus. All my children, I made with magic.”

“Maybe the stork will bring you some,” Rainbow snorted. “Well, on that note, g’night Aspect.”

“Night Rainbow,” the stallion said as he walked off to find that bedroom she’d talked about.

The next morning, when Aspect awoke from his restful night. The first thing he noticed was that Rainbow was gone, and the second was a plate of eggs and salad on the table with a small note.

‘Thanks for letting me crash here. The couch was comfy~

Next time, you can swing by my place and cook me dinner.

From Rainbow Awesome Dash.’

Aspect smiled and sat at the table, munching on the simple food she’d thrown together and nodding thoughtfully. She knew how to make some things really well. He’d have to look into repressing most of Arabus’ nature sooner than he thought so he could share some recipes from Dream Valley.

Though...he might have to ask the Applejack of this day and age if his land was capable of holding a tree like he’d like to plant. She was a farmer. Ah well, all a matter of course.

Rainbow looked around and sighed, there were leaves and tree branches everywhere. “Urgh, this is gonna take forever to clear up,” she groaned as she passed by Twilight’s place. She saw the mare standing on her balcony, sipping some coffee and a wide grin crossed the Pegasi’s muzzle. She landed on the railing, perching there as she stared at Twilight.

“Sup egghead?” She smiled widely. “I hope the storm wasn’t too rough on ya.”

“It was a little tumultuous, but Applejack, Rarity, and I all had a nice sleepover...well, it was at the very least enjoyable once we all worked out our differences,” Twilight said before sipping her coffee again.

“Hah, Aspect was right. You really do use big words like Wind Whistler.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Did you talk to him about some of his friends?” she asked. “He barely said anything to me when he was staying here…”

Rainbow nodded and rubbed her chest. “Huh? Oh yeah, I got caught out in the storm last night and Aspect let me crash at his place for the night. He told me a ton about his old friends and Dream Valley and his other kids. Oh, and I got to see some weird, freaky and cool magic. No biggie really.” She smirked and turned around, “Anyway, I got a ton to do. Later Twi!”

And with that, she rocketed off above the clouds...leaving Twilight to make several...interesting facial expressions as she considered all the information she’d had dumped on her. Eventually she settled on one word, shouted to the heavens.

“ASPECT!” she screamed, expressing all of her frustration in a single word.

And across the town, the stallion felt a chill go down his spine…

Author's Note

So hey, copying this entire mess after it was imported into another Gdoc, then using find and replace?

Really easy on the whole editing part. The tags weren't a problem at all.

Granted, I still would like to not have to USE that workaround...but you take what you can get.

Like the story? Consider tipping Aus and I a dollar on my Patreon. It's always appreciated and does help.

Half the funds will not go towards secret plans.