I shifted uncomfortably when the entirety of the group continued to spy on us when we were alone in the same room. There was a few moments when i thought that we were alone, but Wench was there hiding in a bush. It was like they didn't trust us. I took up teaching Vrika how to speak beak language. Our meeting was tonight, and our relationship was not ready to endure that kind of pressure so soon. If we could barely sneak around without Virka with us, how could we get out to go to the meeting?

Virka, as I had to adjust myself to calling him, was Xander's real name, by the way.

The answer of course, was that they had to bring the little boy with us. It was the only conceivable option we had. I gave a small sigh and looked at the little boy with blonde hair as he played with a dog that looked suspiciously like Winnona. I gave a small chortle when he fell over, and I covered my mouth. We were outside, and we were vulnerable. I stopped dead in my tracks when that thought occurred to me. He was... He was laughing.

I ran over and picked him up in a panic, covering his mouth so he couldn't make any sound. He gave a confused squeal as I tried to hold him in place.

"Buddy remember- humans here can't laugh or smile. You just laughed. What if someone heard?" I felt adrenaline press through my veins as I started running. His face turned pale and I felt the sweat of fear drip down his face. I ran as fast as I could, looking around. I had to get back to the room. I ran through the hall, tearing down the halls like a race dog with the child on my back. I never stopped, even if we got the worried attention of the guards around me. I could feel the fear in the air as I slammed open the door to Fylakas's and my room. He was sitting alone and reading. He jumped, yelping when I slammed the door open.

"What are you doing Baladia?!" He looked at me like I had just tried to kill him, but he saw me carrying Virka on my back, looking terrified and pale. Him, not me.

"He and I were outside and we laughed and I panicked and came here." I glanced around, hoping no one was here.

"We have to bring him with us or we'll never be able to sneak out." I closed the door slowly and glanced around with a look of fear.

"But you know how he gets at night. He fusses to much, you know that!" His voice quieted like he was being monitored by the FBI. I set Virka down and he looked confused.

he sat down on the floor and looked at us as we moved to the corner, hearing the previous things we had heard. He knew that right now, something was going on and it involved getting home. The poor little one just wanted to be involved in his own future, more than likely.

"I... I won't fuss! I won't cry tonight! I swear! I promise! Please let me come!" We both stopped our quiet argument in the corner and we just looked at him. I felt my heart break when I looked at him. We were talking in front of him how we would talk in front of Vinney. He's not a baby. He's like, what, six years old?

"Al... Alright buddy. It's gonna be OK. You, me and Fylakas are going out tonight, and you're coming along. I promise we won't leave you out of our plans anymore, but only if they're for something like this. Alright? You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about plans like this." It took only a mild nod from him and we both let out a breath of relief. I was glad he was going to be more involved in what we had planned in the future.

"Alright. Let's get some sleep, and then we'll meet tonight at midnight." Fylakas spoke as if he were just coming up with that part of the plan, so that we could make Virka feel even more involved. Virka nodded and went straight to the bed, climbing in and under the blanket. I climbed in next to him, and Fylakas was across the bed, still standing. Virka stretched and curled up so that he could get comfy. He ended up cuddling as close to me as he possibly could. He smiled and closed his eyes, hugging me tightly. I relaxed and rubbed his head, tilting my head with a small yawn. I felt the bed dip behind me, and then something wrap around my body. I felt my face flush for a moment, but relaxed and closed my eyes as I drifted off to sleep.

When I awoke, it was dark, and there was a soft snoring sound from behind me. I bit my lip to keep from laughing, and gently squirmed to wake them both up. Both of the beings in the bed awoke, grumbling a little when it happened. I clawed my way out of the bed and began quietly stretching. Fylakas was the second one to stir, and he slowly got up. He gently shook Virka awake, and Virka was ready to go as soon as he saw me standing up with a blanket over my shoulders, and Fylakas wearing a warm coat on, both of us holding up a sweater for him. he ran over, pulled it on, and we all three set out for the night meeting.

We waited for a few minutes, in the cold of the night, and waited. It was only a few weeks before Crystalmas, but here in Equestria it's called hearths warming eve. I loved that. it was the same thing, but a different name. A few different traditions. Kind of like Christmas and Hanuka.

There was the crunch of snow, and we pressed ourselves into the darkness, me using my blanket to shield us all from the oncoming viewer. Me and Fylakas kept our eyes out. We saw a purple glow and the tall figure of a human along side a silhouette of a purple alicorn. I wrapped the blanket back around myself and sighed with relief. I took a shaky breath and glanced at Fylakas. All that stared back was a ball of anxiety.

"H... Hello." Her voice was a little shaky and easily cracking. I shook a little, either from the cold or the fear.

"Hello, Twilight." I did it. I mustered speech. I mustered the ability to talk. She and I made eye contact, and she stayed frozen. We stared at each other like we were waiting for an alien invasion to happen. Her human gave a small gasp when he heard me speak. I felt my anxiety raise when she took a step closer to look at us. Her gaze wondered across the different body shapes of us, stopping last on Virka, who was in the middle of us.

"Can all three of you speak?" I stopped and shook a little, glancing at her.

"Yes. But they might be absorbed with shock. Can yours talk?" I looked at him like he was ready to attack us. He shook his head no, obviously dazed.

"You... You wanted to meet us. Why?" I calmed myself and looked at her. She smiled and I did too, trying to make her feel more calm.

"We wanted to know... How did we get here? Do you know how many more of us there are? And why we were brought here?" Fylakas looked at her in despair as Virka spoke, his little voice shocking Twilight like a bolt of lightning. she didn't expect him to talk.

"I... I don't know... Anything. I know as much as you do..." This made us all flinch in despair. Virka teared up and hugged Fylakas's leg. She looked upset, like we had just called her something racist, as far as ponies go.

"I'm sorry... I am." I picked Virka up and held him with me under the blanket. He fell asleep, shivering a bit. I gave a small sigh as he hugged me.

"Come by again soon ok? To the west wing of the castle that's been isolated for the Rue and Claw. Come by and we can chat more." She nodded, looking shocked and dazed. We turned around and walked back inside, quickly running back to our room as to not be suspected.

We were freezing cold, and needless to say, we were tired again.

Author's Note

if this wasn't made clear I was trying to make it so this is an AU... Of the AU this is based off of.