Aversion's day got off to a great start. For now that he had received praise from Princess Luna herself, he felt far better about himself than he usually did. As he strutted though Ponyville, rather than his usual hunched, droopy walk cycle, he was upright, striding long, and keeping his maw and gaze pointed straight ahead, his head tipped slightly back. Anypony who saw him could tell that he now had a great deal of confidence.

He decided to go on yet another walk, around the loop that he typically liked to take. Only this time, he saw the scenery around him for what it truly was; bright, colorful, and beautiful, as opposed to when he saw it being monochrome, bland, and the same everywhere when he was in his usual apathetic state. It, for once, felt actually pleasant to go outside and take in the scenery.

"Hm..." Aversion thought. "...maybe I'll log onto the Ponynet later and see if there's any acting positions available in Canterlot or something. Surely the Princess could hook me up!"

Now that Luna had given him plenty of encouragement, the young stallion felt like he was able to do anything he put his mind to... especially what he was passionate about. His orphanage roommates, and especially... his mother... have all noted that he had excellent acting capacity.

While he was walking, Aversion happened to be glancing off to the side, and spotted a changeling who was looking at something on the ground in curiosity. Walking a bit closer, he noticed that it was Scolus, and that he was playing with a caterpillar by blocking its path with his hoof, forcing it to crawl in a different direction.

"Scolus!" Aversion said as he approached. "Hey, what's up?"

The changeling looked up from the smaller insect, and saw his friend approaching him. He also happened to notice his lively mood and confident smile... which was unusual for Aversion.

"Well... you seem really perky today, Av!" Scolus remarked.

"You bet!" Aversion said. "So, just playing with your fellow insects, I see?"

"Yeah, I was able to get a day off from my hive duties." Scolus said.

"That's good. Everypony needs a break from time to time." Aversion remarked.

Scolus stood up and let the caterpillar slink off on its way to some nearby vegetation to eat.

"So, what's up? Did, like... something really good happen to you yesterday or something?" Scolus asked.

Aversion's lip curled up on one side. "...You have no idea!"

"Oh, dude, tell!" Scolus said eagerly. "What went down that turned everything topsy-turvy for ya?"

Aversion shuffled his hooves nervously. "Well... I don't know if you would... believe me."

"Hey, c'mon buddy!" Scolus said. "I'm your friend! I'll believe what you tell me! Especially if it turned you from the reserved pony you once were to the bright-and-cheery one you are now!"

Aversion chuckled. "Well, would you really take me seriously if I told you something that happened to me that couldn't have happened to, well... anypony else?"

Scolus shrugged. "Just tell me! I want to know, so I can make sure it happens again if you ever get sucked back into your well of sadness!"

"Okay, okay..." Aversion relented, just before smirking. "...Princess Luna called me to Canterlot Castle, and she befriended me. There, ya happy?"

Scolus laughed. "Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh... you've really perked right up, I'll give ya that, Av... 'cuz you weren't always so funny!"

Aversion's face flushed, and he hung his head down. "Yeah... pretty funny, isn't it?"

"So, like... seriously, what happened?" Scolus asked again.

Aversion thought for a moment... but realized Scolus probably wasn't going to take him seriously.

"...You'll find out soon." he said. "Anyway, wanna come with me and get a bite to eat? It's on me!"

Scolus' eyes lit up. "Sure! But... dude, don't go sacrificing your hard-earned income just for me; let me help out!"

"Oh... I couldn't do that to you, Scol." Aversion said.

"No," Scolus responded, "friends help each other out when they need it. Besides, Chrysalis has a massive stash of stolen Bits... and I hardly see anything wrong with stealing something that's already stolen."

With that, Scolus was enveloped in a flash of green light... and in his place was a random earth pony stallion with brown hide, blonde mane and tail, orange eyes, and a fountain pen as a cutie mark.

"Anyway, until I change back, my name is 'Scripting Scribe'." the stallion said in Scolus' voice.

"Alright..." Aversion said, "...so, let's be on our way to Ponyville, 'Scribe'..."

Luna spent her day manifesting the dream reports she took and filing them correctly. Then, she tended to anything else that required her attention, as per her sister's requests. However, she was doing it very positively, since she was eager to see her new friend again later that evening, once everything had settled down and she could call him again when nopony would know he was there.

In any case, she did not have very many dream reports from one of the previous nights; the night she first encountered Aversion. She hoped her sister would not notice, despite neither Celestia nor herself ever inspected the archives.

Luna was sorting the dream reports on each pony in alphabetical order of their names, when Celestia walked in on her.

"Hello, Lulu!" she said. "I just finished presiding over the charity drive to the Foals' Hospital of Canterlot! How is your progress coming along?"

Luna stilled her feathered quill and looked at her sister and co-ruler. "Oh! 'Tia, I didn't hear you walk in!"

The Princess of the Day narrowed her eyes at her sister. "...You haven't been slacking off behind my back, have you?"

"W-well..." Luna began, hesitantly. "...everything is accounted for. I looked at as many dreams as I could in the span of one night, and warded off any nightmares I encountered. Then, I archived my findings and put them into the Archives of Subconsciousness."

Celestia chuckled. "I'm just pulling your leg, sis. You really need to learn to lighten up at times and take a little joke!"

"Ah, yes... heh heh..." Luna managed to emulate a chuckle herself.

"In any case, it's good that you manage to stay on top of things, all without complaining!" Celestia remarked.

Luna nodded. "And I believe the same can be said for you, 'Tia."

"And I have to say... I've been stalking you a bit throughout the day..." Celestia spoke.

Luna felt like her organs turned to liquid in that instant.

Oh, no! PLEASE don't tell me she's found out about Aversion...! she thought.

"...and I've noticed that, since you've walked out of your room this morning, you've seemed quite a bit... happier." Celestia said. "Now, that's, of course, not a bad thing, but I was just wondering... did something good happen?"

Luna mentally sighed in relief. Good... she doesn't know that I violated royal protocol...

"Well... see..." Luna began, trying to think quickly. "...for a while now... I was feeling... very restless... and I needed to... relieve it, by--"

"UHHH... say no more, Lulu..." Celestia said. "...sounds like it's no business of mine..."

Luna was a bit confused for a moment... and then her face went red upon realizing what she was implying. At least, in her sister's mind.

"Nevermind... anyway, I've been keeping up on my duties, and have been able to boost my morale as of recently." Luna said.

Celestia smiled. "Well, that's good. I'm glad you've found a way to motivate yourself."

Damn bucking straight! Luna thought. The very thing you've been teaching to Twilight Sparkle, your little Mare E. Sue protege, all these years... it's now something that I have for myself, in spite of your telling me it would take up too much of my time!

"So, I'll let you proceed with your work. I was just checking up to see if all was well." Celestia said.

Luna nodded. "I appreciate your concern for me, 'Tia."

With that, Celestia walked out of the room, leaving the Princess of the Night to finish her filing task. As she was working... her thoughts wandered to Aversion, and how depressed he had been before meeting her. She knew that there was quite a lot more going on, given the turmoil she could sense within him.

"Maybe once I can make time... I'll check up on him to see how he's faring." Luna said to herself.

Aversion and Scolus decided to eat at the local Ponyville diner, right after Scolus snuck back to the hive for a moment and swiped some Bits when the changeling praetorian guards wouldn't notice (he had to resort to turning himself into a housefly just to sneak in unnoticed, and throw a couple of Bits over their heads to lure them away with a noise distraction).

They had both been chatting about each other's time over the past few months when they had not seen each other. Up until Aversion wanted to ask Scolus something that he was sure he would know the answer to.

" 'Scribe'... I have to wonder..." Aversion said. "...what do you do... when something that seems too good to be true... is suddenly dropped into your life?"

"Hm..." Scolus, under the guise of 'Scripting Scribe', hummed. "...well, that is a good question. First, I would want to know for sure if it is something legit, and if it is... go for it. You never turn down a genuinely good opportunity when it presents itself!"

"That's just it, 'Scribe'... I don't really know if... whomever is doing this for me... has an ulterior motive..." Aversion said.

"Well, just see if they go out of their way to do something good for you, and if they really mean it. Just pick up on subtle body language to see if they are lying about it or not." Scolus said.

Aversion was well aware of how to pick up on lying, as he had been working on covering up such signals upon learning about them so as to become a skilled liar. Of course, he only ever lied if he had a good reason for doing so.

"Yeah... I think you're right..." Aversion said. "...it's just... so much for me to take in... a good thing that happens out of nowhere, after a long string of bad things..."

"I don't blame you! It must be really tough to be going through all this, only to feel unsure when a good thing finally happens. But take my advice, and take this chance!" Scolus urged.

Aversion nodded, in genuine agreement. "Fair enough. I won't pass this up! I'll go for it!"

Scolus gave an approving grin to his friend.

"See? What'd I tell ya the other day?" he said. "Your life has taken a turn for the better!"

Aversion, thinking heavily about the new opportunity he had to become a real friend to Princess Luna... it made him practically delirious with uplift. He knew that this would be something that would change his life forever... so long as it all went according to plan.

Later that same evening, Aversion had already parted with Scolus, who had to get back to the hive as soon as he could. The former then fixed himself some dinner, and proceeded to step outside onto his patio. Now, all he had to do was wait for Luna to summon him again.

"Shouldn't be too long, now..." Aversion said to himself, peeking inside at the clock on the kitchen wall. "...she said eight o'clock."

The clock read seven-fifty-eight. Needless to say, the young earth pony was quite anxious to meet up with his Princess friend again. This was what he had endured the entire day for. It made him very glad to know that she wanted to be with him, but it also made him very impatient.

The clock was now only seconds from eight PM. Aversion counted down the second-hand.

"Ten more seconds..." he said. "...eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one!"

The exact instant the second-hand aligned with the minute-hand over the twelve... Aversion felt a familiar, weightless sensation overtake him. He felt his hooves lifting off the ground, and his mane and tail began to be suspended by the antigravity spell Luna had placed on him.

"Finally!" Aversion said, his voice still working. "I've been waiting all day for this!"

With that, the young stallion floated straight up until he was high above the roofs of Ponyville, and then began to fly straight toward Canterlot Mountain. He was a bit anxious, being afraid of heights, as well as being afflicted with vertigo... but his excitement to see his new friend again was able to negate it sufficiently.

"Here, I come, Luna!" Aversion said.

After flying for several minutes, Aversion eventually entered the city limits of Canterlot, and eventually made it to Luna's room on the tallest spire of the castle, right below Celestia's room. He floated into Luna's room, and the situation was identical to their first encounter, with Luna sitting in a meditation pose, hovering a few inches above the floor, and her horn glowing.

Once he was right in front of her, Luna opened her eyes, smiling upon seeing him. Both of them set back down to the floor once she stopped channeling her magic.

"Hello again, new friend!" she said.

"Hi, Luna!" Aversion responded.

Author's Note

Credit for the background of Aversion's flight pic goes to "StarshineCelestalis."

Sorry to end it on such a cliffhanger; I didn't have enough personal time to get it all in one go. But I will get the next chapter up within the next few days!