To Soften Stone

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 1

Author's note: Well, I've had this story planned out in my head for months now. When I saw August was National Pony Writing Month, I finally got off my butt and got this thing started! I haven't written anything that isn't a paper for a class for years, so I'm sorry if this is terrible. Still, I'm gonna write it now, and it many not be 50,000 words for the NaPoWriMo, but I have to start somewhere! Anyways, I hope you enjoy my first fanfic ever, and I hope I can get it updated pretty quickly.

On another note, I tagged it sad, but it shouldn't be anything too terribly depressing. There is no 'melancholy' tag, so we're going with this. Anyways, Enjoy!

Finding the book she was looking for, Twilight trotted her way over to her favorite reading table. She glared at the front door for a moment, almost daring it to disturb her again. That door had been nothing but trouble this morning. First it was Ditzy Doo with part of her mail, then Rarity to steal Spike for some errand of some sort, then Ditzy again with a box clearly labeled “Fluttershy”, and then Pinkie Pie came over and did…something. She had come over, started singing something about a party and partway through her song gasped and ran away, mentioning something missing. When the offending door had nothing to say for itself, she grinned and sat down, eager to start taking notes without any more interruptions. Just as the quill barely graced the parchment, a loud knock broke her freshly-made concentration. It seemed the universe was determined for her not to get any work done today. She looked down at her paper, covered in one large ink stain and two halves of a now-snapped quill. She sighed as the sound came again; obviously somepony very impatient was waiting at her door.

“Just a minute!” she called out, pausing to stretch her stiff neck before making her way to the door. It was a shame Spike wasn’t here, maybe he could deal with this and she could get something useful done. The handle on the door glowed softly for a moment then turned, revealing a waiting Rainbow Dash outside.

“Hey Twilight, Ditzy gave me this pile of books to give to you. She said something about an order from Canterlot, and not wanting to deliver here a third time or something. Anyways, what’cha up to?”

Twilight gladly took the stack her friend was carrying, and let her in before looking over the latest additions to her growing library. “Hey Dash, thanks for bringing these over! Yes, I ordered a few books from the Royal Library; they're finally here! The World in Motion: A guide to Earthquakes and Volcanoes and their Formation, Geology and You, and The Richter Scale: A Brief Reference Guide. The mountain to the north was started rumbling a few days ago, and I thought it would be good to brush up on my geology. I was going to head over and set up some instruments later today, want to come?” A large stack of books was well worth another interruption to her morning; it would take a few days to work through all these texts.

“Huh. That sounds…really boring. No offence Twi, but looking a really big rock doesn’t sound like my idea of fun. What’s up with those other books? I was looking at them on the way over, and all it says for an author is R.F. What kinda name is that?” Just mentioning those two letters got a pair of purple ears perked up.

“R.F.? Oh they finally came! I’ve been waiting for those for weeks now! I can’t wait to see what’s in those! They’re different treatises on magic theory that the university published recently. And the best part is nopony knows who wrote them! Somepony left all the manuscripts at one of my professor’s doors, and the only signature on them was those two letters!” Twilight picked up one of the books and started paging through eagerly. “Ooo, Practical Applications of Ley Lines: A Theory on more Efficient Transport of Goods though Magical Energy, this is great! I can’t wait to see what else is in here!”

“Uh huh.” While reading may not be as much of an egghead pursuit as she used to think it was, this was way too much for Dash. “So whoever wrote these just dropped off a bunch of papers and left them there? Sounds kinda weird to me. Who takes the time to write all this and just leaves it at a door?”

“That’s just it, nopony knows! There have been tons of stories about who it could be. A professor who wants to hide his name about theories he isn’t sure about, a griffon who wants her work in an Equestrian archive without revealing who she is, and somepony even suggested that R.F. is actually Princess Luna in disguise, and that these ideas were lost knowledge from hundreds of years ago! The first edition I read was fantastic, and there was this wonderful piece about drawing spell circles. You see, spell circles are great for casting larger more complicated spells, but they require careful planning and precision. There was a great theory on how multiple animate spells could be used to quickly create more complex circles as long as you make sure that…”

Twilight kept going on, but Dash simply quit listening. She wandered her way past the window, but stopped for a moment. What was that weird noise she heard? “Hey Twilight, sorry to cut you short, but do you hear that? Sounds like something big is moving.”

Both of them leaned over, ears cocked to better catch the rumbling off in the distance. As Twilight made her way toward the spyglass she had set up facing the peak, the now-stronger rumbling made its way towards them. Twilight frowned as she tried to get a clear view of what was happening, but the instrument refused to focus on one location for some reason, almost as if the whole thing was shaking. She peered over to inspect the dials on it, but found them shaking back and forth too. As she leaned in to observe them more carefully a huge shudder hit the treehouse, sending both telescope and unicorn crashing to the ground. “Rainbow! I think there’s an earthquake happening!”

“You think there’s an earthquake?!?” was all Dash managed to spurt out while weaving between falling books and trying to make her way across the room. Scooping her friend across her back, she flew her way back and outside the shuddering tree house. Helping her disheveled friend down she glanced her way toward the offending rock pile that started all this, mouth agape. “Uh, Twi, I don’t think there’s just an earthquake; that looks like a volcano!”

“What? That’s impossible! Dragon’s Rest isn’t active! The only smoke coming from it in the last hundred years was from an actual dragon! Resting! That’s why the mountain’s called Dragon’s Rest!”

“ Oh yeah? Well then what the hay is that?” she barked, jabbing a hoof out towards the now-forming lava flows that could be seen near the top.

“Well I’m sure it’s nothing. See? All that’s there is just a big…Oh my Celestia! It is a volcano! Okay, don’t panic. I’m going to find Mayor Mare and make sure everypony in town is safe. Rainbow, can you fly over there? Make sure there’s no lava headed towards the town. Don’t fly too close to it, just look from a distance. Be safe!” With a nod, Dash took off towards the mountain. She turned towards town center with a few rushed glances at the multicolored contrail blazing its way across the sky.

Fast as she was, it still took a few minutes to get near the base of the mountain. By this point, over half the surface of it was covered in angry lava that threatened to consume anything that got too near. The few trees that dared grow on its slopes seemed to regret that decision as one touch from the lava set their branches aflame. An ominous cloud formed above the peak, forcing her to fly close the ground. She only had a few minutes before the ash would be raining down onto her.

“Hey!” She paused. Was that really a pony’s voice she just heard? Who would be dumb enough to be out here? Well, other than her, but she was just checking it out for a little bit.

“Down here! Help!” That was definitely a pony. Glancing about, she finally found where the noise was coming from. Stranded on a tall rock completely surrounded by lava stood a frantically waving unicorn. “Ha Ha, somepony came out here! As fun as it is being stranded out here then burned to death, can you get me out of here?”

Dash smiled a bit. While she didn’t seek out trouble as much as before she would still help anypony who needed saving. “Never fear, your friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash is here!” she exclaimed, taking time to pose. With a flap, she dove down under him and plopped him down onto her back in one fluid motion. With a big flap, she took off away from the mountain. “Lucky for you I came out here when I did! Where would you be if I wasn’t here to save your sorry flank?”

“Whoa-Whaaaa!” was all the he managed. Most ponies aren’t used to being lifted off the ground and sped away. Shifting a bit, he managed to glance down at the rushing ground below him. “Okay…okay. And…we’re flying. Not on the ground. In the air. And not on the ground.”

“Ow Ow OW, Not so tight! You’re squeezing my neck!” He managed to breathe a bit, and loosened his grip on his savior’s neck. Rainbow continued, “You’re fine now, and I’m gonna bring you back to town. Now what the hay were you doing out there?”

“I thought that mountain might be active, but it shouldn’t have erupted today! All the measurements I took pointed to this not happening for a few weeks at the earliest! Hang on a sec, we’re going south! You said we were going to a city, and we’re going south!”

“Uh, yeah Ponyville is this way. You’re not from around here, are you? Anyway, don’t worry; we’ll be there in a minute. You’re riding on Equestria’s fastest flyer, don’t you know?”

“That’s bad! Really bad! The main lava flow is coming down the south side of the mountain. We have to get over there!”
“The lava’s headed right for Ponyville? Hang on buddy. I don’t know who you are, but you’re in for a fast ride!” With a gulp he gripped on a little tighter (but not too tight, breathing is important for your savior) and Dash sped off full speed. It didn’t take long before they were just outside of town.

“That’s gotta be the town! Alright Rainbow erm…”

“Dash.”

“Right. I need you to do two things for me. First fly into town and get everyone to safety. If there’s any unicorns good with magic, send em out to this side of the town.”

“Easy. I know just the pony to get out here. What’s the other thing?”

“Another easy one. Don’t try to catch me!”

“Huh, what!?!” Dash stammered as her passenger let go of her back. She watched in horror as the silver pony streaked towards the ground, horn aglow. They were too close the ground when he jumped; she knew she’d never close the gap in time.

“Why let me save you if you’re just gonna jump off like that?” She turned away and shut her eyes, not wanting to watch the inevitable crash she knew would happen. After a few seconds though, she still heard nothing. He’d have to have landed by now! She snuck a peek earthward, than stared in shock at what she saw. There, on the ground, was…nothing. No silver pony, no crash site, just a bare road that lead into Ponyville. Half dazed, she flew the rest of the way into the town where all ponies were already gathered. Spotting Twilight up on stage next to the mayor, she landed by her friend.

“Rainbow Dash! Thank goodness you’re safe! You were gone a while, we got worried! What did you see over there?”

“You’re not gonna believe this, Twilight, but you have got to come with me!”

Chapter 2

“Come on you guys, hurry up!” Rainbow Dash struggled to keep a slow pace; it wasn’t even that far of a run. Yet seeing her friend covered in sweat told Rainbow all she needed to know about Twilight’s endurance. Seriously, that pony needed to get out and just run more. Rarity was even farther behind, barely breaking a canter and fussing with her mane. Seriously, what did this crazy pony want unicorns to help with? Dash and Applejack could handle pretty much anything together, and the two of them would be out there already!

“I’m coming! Anyway, why are we running out here anyway? I know that pony told you to get some unicorns, but he just disappeared you said! So why are we running out to meet nopony at all?” Twilight huffed.

“I agree with Twilight. Natural disaster or not, I see no good reason to ruin my hooficure running willy-nilly after some stallion that you dropped on the way to town!”

“Hey, I didn’t drop him! He jumped off! How was I supposed to deal with some crazy pony like that? Come on, even if he doesn’t have a plan, I still don’t want to leave him out there. What if he did get hurt jumping and I just didn’t find him? I can’t just leave a hurt pony out there especially with a volcano erupting!” Rainbow shouted back, looking at her two far-less athletic friends. Flying backwards works well for talking to your friends, but not so well at avoiding obstacles. With a loud thwack, she smacked tail first into something hard, and slid down it with a moan.

“Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?” worriedly asked Twilight. Seeing her friend stand up she sighed in relief. “You should really look out! Flying backwards like that is a great way to run into a huge wall! Although for that matter, when did this wall get here?” A large wall was now blocking the road out, about six feet high. It extended fifty feet out to the left of where they were, but only a short ways to the right of Rainbows accidental discovery. “Look at that! There’s grass on top of this thing! It almost looks like someone grew this thing right out of the ground! But how? This is massive!”

Finally nearing the pair, Rarity glanced over to see a crumpled heap of a silver coated unicorn. “Well I would say to ask him over there, but he seems to be out cold at the moment. Oh I do hope he is all right!” She trotted over to the unconscious pony and enveloped him in a soft blue glow, yet he didn’t budge an inch. “Twilight, be a dear and come help me please? Ugh, somepony give this stallion some soap! He’s covered in ash, and is just lying on some drawing in the dirt! If you’re going to collapse unconscious, at least magic yourself a blanket or something!” The blue glow was quickly replaced with a pink one, and the pony finally lifted off the ground and laid nearby on the softer grass. With a satisfied nod, Twilight cantered over to where he used to lay.

“This is a magic circle! I wonder if he was trying to use it when he fell unconscious! That would mean…oh no! It must have been magical burnout that knocked him out!”

“Burnout you say? Good heavens, that’s positively dreadful! He should be out cold for the rest of the day, and then…” her eyes went wide with the realization, “completely without magic after that! Oh how horrid! Oh you poor thing, what was so important that you completely burnt all your magic on?” With a small washcloth Rarity began wiping the soot and ash from the fallen pony.

Dash rubbed at her rump where the wall decided to smash into her. “Magic circles, magic burnout, magic magic magic! All I know is we should get this guy back into town. Somepony wanna tell me what else is going on out here, like why there's a giant wall around Ponyville?” Twilight seemed far too intent on studying the ground, so Dash went over to help Rarity move the lump further to safety.

“I think I’ve got it! This circle has to be a drawn spell designed to make this wall! These lines here represent growth, and this symbol here implies it’s an earth magic spell. Then, if you look at this section, it has to-”

Rainbow stomped at the ground and bit at the tail of the still sleeping unicorn, ready to drag him all the way to safety by herself. “Enough about that, let’s just get this guy inside the town! We gotta get him over to the nurse!”

“Now careful Rainbow! I agree he definitely needs medical attention soon. Twilight, are you coming with? You really should get back in here as well.” With a bit of magic, Rarity lifted the stallion’s head so at least that would stay off the dirt as he was dragged, wiping off a bit more ash as she went along.

“You go ahead girls. I think if I do this right I should be able to finish the spell he started. I think this wall is supposed to keep the lava out!” Closing her eyes, a soft pink glow enveloped her horn. As it began to shine brighter, a bright light began to race along the lines of the complex drawing in front of her, until it shone far too bright to look at. With a flash, the light jumped up to the wall, and began racing down the side toward the unfinished end of it. From there, the glow raced along the ground far out of sight. If you could see the town from the sky, it would have been completely encircled by the glow. Gritting her teeth, her horn shone even brighter, and the ground along the town began to rumble. The ground shuddered softly at first, and then suddenly shoot upwards, erecting a sizable defense around the town. Less than a minute after she started working on it, Twilight’s horn suddenly blinked out, and she opened her eyes, panting a bit. Looking up, she saw the wall curving around the town to both sides. With another hint of concentration, she teleported herself atop the new structure, and looked around. Looking inside, she could see the other side of the wall across town. Looking outside, she gasped at the lava making its steady way towards them, a slow but steady wave of destruction with burnt trees sticking out of the fiery path every so often. She was done in plenty of time; it would take ten minutes or more for it to reach the edge of the new defenses. With another glow, she popped herself off the wall and staggered a bit. Shaking it off, she headed back into town to see what else she could do to help.

“Gently now, dear!” A quick grunt from Applejack was all the response she got. This was no small filly she was carrying, but a full grown stallion! Undaunted, Rarity continued her directions, “We are trying to take care of him, not make things any worse! I’ll get the door to the bathroom open for you! Good, good…gently now! And…there into the tub! Celestia knows you need a bath more than anything else at this point.” Rarity stopped to look at the colt in her care once again. Nurse Redheart had given him a few bandages for some of his burns, but it was high time this pony was cleaned up in her mind. With the faucet flowing, she began her work of gently washing his mane.

Applejack stood back a bit to give her room to work. She was more than happy to help carry this pony over to the bath, but dainty work like this was more Rarity’s style. “While I’m mighty sure he’ll be grateful for gettin washed up an’ all, but is there a reason ya’ll brought him to Twilight’s library? Seems a strange place to keep a busted up pony.”

“It’s simple my dear, he’s burnt out all his magic. While he is unconscious now, he’ll probably wake up tomorrow, completely unable to cast spells. While that should come back in a week or so, he’ll need someplace to stay until then. Twilight has a spare room she offered, so he’ll stay here for a bit until he feels better. Anyplace would have worked fine, but I think Twilight wanted a chance to talk with him more before he leaves. She was going on about how he must have learned to draw that spell in a university, and how she wants someone else to talk about magic with.” Rinsing his hair clean, Rarity leaned in closer to whisper, “That is, unless she has a more…intimate reason for wanting to keep a handsome stallion in her home.”

“Heh, you think that every time somepony does something nice for some other pony, it’s cause they’re all in love or some hooey. If he did learn all that fancy magic in some big higher-learnin school, maybe him and Twi were classmates? Anyhow, wherever he learned that magic it did come in mighty handy.”

“I’ll have you know there’s nothing wrong with being a romantic! Hmph, you’re no fun to gossip with at all. Still, it would have been nice if there was a more elegant way to stop that volcano, now we’re left with that dreadful looking black rock outside the town. With all the rain the weather teams are pouring down it will be safe soon, but it’s still too horrid looking a landscape. Anyway, all finished! He’s much better looking without all that dreadful ash in his mane.”

She stepped back to look at her finished work. His blue mane shone much brighter and smelled much nicer than it had before. Lavender would not have been her first choice for a shampoo, but she had to make do with Twilight’s puny hair care collection. A plain bottle of shampoo and only one conditioner! How that librarian managed to survive on such a meager stock was well beyond Rarity’s comprehension. His silver coat was free from the gritty ash as well, revealing his cutie mark. A blue hexagonal gemstone floated over a small black circle, similar to the one that made the wall around town.
“Now then, if you don’t mind lending a hoof again, let’s get him up the stairs to that bed, shall we?” Soon the still sleeping colt was tucked away into bed, and the two of them shut the door to let him get some rest.

“I tell ya buddy, you’re one lucky pony. Twilight never lets me sleep in past noon.” Spike set the water glass on the nightstand then leaned on his broom. “I wonder where you’re from. Rainbow Dash says she found you on the volcano itself. What a crazy place to be! Anyway, I hope you wake up soon. But if it was me, I’d probably sleep right until Thursday.”

He heard Twilight call up to him, “Spike, don’t bother that pony! Burnout takes a lot of rest to recover, so the more he sleeps the better! That means without dragons nearby!”

“Alright, I was just leaving some water for him! He might want it when he wakes up!”

“Another voice called up, this one from Rainbow, “Come on Spike, don’t interrupt nap time for him! It’s the most important time of the day! …Hey, what’s with that look Twi? Come on, naps are important!” As Spike turned to leave, the mass on the bed groaned and shifted a bit.

“Huh? Hey guys, I think he’s waking up!” He called down to them. Another groan, and the blob in the sheets rolled over, eyes still clamped shut.

“…Dad? Is that you?” Eyelids wearily parted, ever so slightly. “Dad, you look a lot more…purple. And…shorter.”
“Finally waking up, huh? Sorry I’m not dad, but here’s some water. I’m Spike. Are you feeling okay?”

“Water sounds good. Ugh, my horn feels like it’s gonna burst!” He rolled onto his back, a hoof clutching his throbbing forehead. Twilight and Rainbow Dash both slowly walked in, Twilight’s horn glowing as she came nearer.

“I’m not surprised after all the magic you tried to do. Here, I know a spell to dull the pain for you.” Tapping her horn to his caused him to jerk away with a grimace, but a second try got the spell to go off, and he relaxed.

“Ahh, that’s gotta be the best spell ever. Now what did you say about that glass of water?” Sitting up a bit, he glanced over to the waiting cup and downed a large gulp. “Spike was it? Thanks big guy. Oh hey, you’re the one from the mountain. Let’s see…Rainy Dash? I don’t think I thanked you for that pick up.”

“It’s Rainbow Dash, and no problem! Glad to see you’re okay especially after jumping off midair like that. What kinda crazy trick did you pull?”

“Heh, sorry about that. I got a spell to dive underground, and I really, REALLY wanted to get down fast. No offense, but flying’s not my thing. It’s too…not on the ground. Anyway, the name’s Terra Firma. So am I in Ponyville? This place looks nice and…not on fire.”

“The whole town is saved, no injuries or anything! Other than yours, that is.” Twilight’s perked ears gave away her obvious curiosity, “But that spell you drew out! Why did you try such a massively complex spell all by yourself? I mean, the spell work was fantastic and you must have drawn it out fairly quickly, how did you do it?”

“Yeah, I should have waited. I had no idea how much of a drain trying that spell would be! I’ll bet you had what, six ponies trying to cast it together to finish it?”

“No, I finished it myself. You had it started; it just needed more magic fed into it, that’s all!” All Terra could manage was to at least aim his spit take onto the bed and not at the two ponies (and dragon) nearby.

“Y-You finished it by yourself? That’s a huge amount of magic! I made the spell work and got like what, part of the road kind of covered. You made that the rest of the way? That’s crazy cool!” Twilight turned away to hide her blush, sudden praise wasn’t really her thing.

Rainbow, however, was totally about the sudden praise showered on them. Wings flared, she strutted around with swagger, “You know it! First you get saved by the fastest flyer in Equestria, and then you’re wall spell thingy gets finished by the greatest unicorn mage of all! Aww yeah, go Twilight Sparkle! Way to do the…whatever magicy thing you did!”

Terra was not so lucky as to aim this mouthful this time, and Spike got a face full of water. “Twilight Sparkle? I wound up in the one town with THE Twilight Sparkle?”

“Um, yes, that is who I am. Have you heard of me before?”

“Heard of you? HEARD OF YOU?” Terra flared, “The whole damn University’s heard of you! Great, the one town I get to help save just happens to have the…the…HER in it!” With a huff, he tore of his sheets and started to climb out of bed.

“H-Hey, careful! You still have burnout symptoms, and you’ve got burns on your legs! You can’t get up yet, you’ll hurt yourself!”

“What, did Celestia herself teach you that?!? Outta my way, I’m…ouch!...I’m outta here.” He wobbly made it to his feet, and headed for the staircase muttering, “Twilight Sparkle. Unbelievable.” Pausing at the head of the stairs, he turned slightly, “I suppose I should still probably thank you for….whoa, whaaaaaa!” His footing slipped, and he bounced his way down the staircase, landing with a thud and slipping back into unconsciousness. The trio at the top stared dumbfounded for a moment.

“Hey Twilight?”

“Yeah Rainbow?”

“Who IS that pony?”

“I have NO idea.”

Chapter 3

A brief note: Thanks to everyone reading this so far! I threw this up expecting it to be some insignificant story in some side-corner of this site, but instead its an insignificant story in some side-corner of this site that people actually like! Anyways, one small note. The map of Equestria is actually official! EQD link here if you haven't seen it. But I'm excited cause there is a mountain range to the northeast, so it turns out I didn't lie about where the mountain was! Thus the day is saved due to dumb luck and geography. Ranting aside, I hope you're enjoying reading this, and I would love any comments/critiques/hatemail you may have. Thanks!

“I’m tellin ya Rarity, that pony’s just trouble! He awake for two minutes and just started yelling at Twilight! She didn’t do anything! She doesn’t even know who he is!”

“Well I’m sure there has to be some explanation. I’m not saying it was right to yell at her, but he did just wake up after quite a grueling ordeal, I’m certain he will have calmed down and will be just as civil as any other pony around.”

“Some ponies are just no good, and that’s one of them right up there! It’s bad enough he has to stay in town, much less here at Twilight’s place! The second he’s up and moving, I’m personally gonna run him out of here and out of our lives!”

“Rainbow Dash! What a horrible thing to say! Some ponies are just no good, what’s the matter with you?!”

“You remember that showmare Trixie don’t you? Or those cider brothers? He’s just the same. Nothing but a big pain in the flank.”

“Well, I’ve heard just about enough of this! Certainly it’s a good idea to keep him away from Twilight for a bit given whatever history there may be there, but we must be gracious hosts! He has to be at least a somewhat decent pony; he did help save the town, and injured himself to do so! So whatever you plan on doing afterwards, I for one plan on having some breakfast ready for him when he awakes. Now if you will excuse me, I believe there are some pancakes that require my attention!” Spinning around with a great ‘hmph!’ she marched back to the sizzling stove top, head held defiantly high.

“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you!” Trotting outside, Rainbow took off towards the group of weather ponies awaiting directions. She sighed. There was far too much to be done to spend all day arguing with Rarity, at this rate she wouldn’t even get a nap in!

With a flip of the pan, a trio of pancakes flew through the air onto a small plate held by a young dragon. “Tell me Spike, you were there too. What’s your opinion on our guest?”

“You want to know what I think?” trying his hardest to hide his enthusiasm that she wanted his opinion he disclosed, “I’m…not really sure. I mean, he seemed kinda cool until he learned who Twilight was. After that it was all crazy though. He could be an okay pony, I don’t know. Sorry I can’t help ya any more than that, Rares.”

“Oh, you’ve been more than enough help Spikey-wikey. Now be a dear and finish setting up down here, I do believe there’s some movement upstairs.” The pancakes slid their way dangerously close to the edge of the plate as their holder watched a purple tail bounce up and down on the way out of the room. With her gone, he snapped back to reality, and hurried off to get the rest of breakfast finished.

Making her way up the stairs, Rarity had to wonder if Rainbow Dash was right. This could easily be a terrible mistake she was making. Still, he deserved at least a chance to prove himself. If nothing else, she was determined to find out what his apparent grudge with Twilight was about. With an upbeat smile and a sing-song voice learned from years of customer service, she rapped lightly on the door to the guest room, “Good morning, I do hope you are feel better today! May I come in?”

“Huh? Oh, um, sure why not” came the timid sounding reply from the other side. Swinging the door open, Rarity stepped in to see their guest sitting on the bed wrapping a bandage around his right foreleg.

“I hope you don’t mind the intrusion, I thought I heard you waking up. We haven’t been properly introduced yet, my name is Rarity.”

“Terra Firma.” He reached out a hoof to shake hers, forgetting about the wrapping he was working on. Without him holding on, the whole wrap uncoiled and slid off into a heap on the floor, revealing a large patch of missing hair and some red patchy skin. He managed a meek red-faced smile, then tried his best at wrangling the wrappings back onto his hoof.

“Oh! Here, let me help you with those. My, that does look painful, does it hurt?” With a small blue glow, the bandage looped its way around, then tied itself in a neat bow.

“Nah, I’m fine,” he shrugged off the question, wincing a bit in the process. He turned the limb over a few times, inspecting her handiwork. “That’s quite a wrapping, are you a nurse by chance?”

“Seamstress, but I do know fabric. When you’re ready, there’s breakfast downstairs.”

“That sounds great. It does smell delicious, and I haven’t had a proper home-cooked breakfast in far too long!” Making his way over to the stairs, he did his best to hide his limp. Rarity watched on behind, concerned about his taking the stairs just one at a time. She glanced over towards the table, which was completely laid out with a veritable breakfast feast. Pancakes, waffles, toast, jams, three different syrups, two types of juice, and a dainty arrangement of different scones all beckoned out an invitation impossible to refuse. Spike was just finishing setting the plates as Terra neared the bottom of the arduous staircase.

“Uh hey, Terra. I helped get everything ready for breakfast for you, but I’ve gotta run. I told Twi— ah,” he caught Rarity’s frantic waving, “Twi-, erm, Twinkleshine! Yeah, I told Twinkleshine I’d help her after I finished. So um, bye!” Rarity breathed a sigh of relief as the young assistant ran out the door. That name was sure to be a disaster she hoped to avoid as long as possible.

“Uh, bye, I guess. He must be late or something.” Terra tottered his way to the table and sat down. “Wow, look at all this! Did you make all this?”

“Well, Spike did his fair share of helping. I know I’m famished and you must be as well, so feel free to dig in!” Rarity sat across and grabbed a scone took a dainty bite, watching her fellow diner devour a stack of pancakes on his plate drenched in syrup. After a few minutes of her well-mannered refined dining and his near-ravenous attack on his plate, she broke the silence. “So, Terra Firma, was it? What is it that you do?”

He looked up bewildered; too distracted by the food to remember there was another pony in the room with him. He took a sip of juice to clear his throat then began, “Wander, mostly. I go wherever there’s an interesting geologic phenomenon or a curious magical aura I find out about. You’d be surprised how often the two go together. And you? Seamstress you said, do you have a shop here?”

“I do in fact! The Carousel Boutique, right in the middle of town. You should stop by while you’re staying here. I mostly do dresses, but I could make quite the suit for you if you wanted.”

“Well I may have too. Of course I’d need to find some work in town first to compensate you for what I’m sure would be a fantastic suit, and for that I’ll need my magic back.”

“Work you say? Other than the volcano that just happened there’s not much in the way of exciting rocks here. Although, if you don’t mind me asking, how exactly do…interesting phenomenons, as you put it, make a living for you?”

“Oh no, I just enjoy studying. Whenever I need to restock supplies, I can usually find some work in town. I can move earth and rocks with magic fairly well, so there’s usually somepony building something that needs a foundation dug, or sheet rock hung up, or something of that sort. As often as I can, I’ll take up a commission for a sculpture. Much better work, and much better pay as well.”

“Sculpting? So have you made any famous pieces by chance?” With a sly smile, she added, “perhaps anything I may have heard of?”

“Nice of you to believe that, but I somewhat doubt it. Usually it’s something like a wealthy family wanting some great-great-grandfather immortalized in their gardens, or a pompous mayor wanting a fountain of themselves in the middle of the square. Just a few months ago some singer wanted a dozen identical statues of herself made to line her walkway. Still, I like the work and it pays for food, so I really can’t complain at all.”

“Well, if you keep at it somepony is bound to notice your talent. Who knows, you might be in the Canterlot Gardens someday.” A few compliments and a batted eyelash got more stallions talking than all the bits in the bank ever could, and Rarity could make a jailbird sing if she needed to. So it took her a bit by surprise when her playful banter earned her not a smile, but instead a crestfallen sulk.

“I did just one statue in Canterlot, and I dunno if it’s still even there.” Ears flopped, he went back to poking at the pancakes in front of him.

Clearly a sensitive topic, she thought. No matter, this conversation could still be salvaged. “Eherm, yes. So then Terra, you say you wander around Equestria a lot, but where are you from originally? Do you have any family? Parents somewhere?” She flipped her hair in an attempt to keep his interest, but in vain.

His gaze held fast on his plate, and he barely even recognized the question. “My parents? Urim and Thummim still live in Canterlot, probably. I…,” he stammered, his breath caught in his throat, “I think I need to go outside for a while. Get some air.” With his head still bowed, he slid out of his seat and headed for the door. Pausing for a moment at the frame, he turned ever so slightly back, “Thank you for breakfast, Rarity. It was refreshing.” Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but sat helplessly as his silver frame stumbled on the front steps, then was gone.

Chapter 4

Alone.

That’s the way it was most days for him, why should today be different? Aimlessly wandering around some town he hardly knew, with no destination in mind.

Alone.

He knew where he wanted to go. Well, maybe not, but at the very least he knew where he didn’t want to be anymore. But anyway out of town would take either bits, or four working hooves. Gingerly, he tried to put a bit more weight on his right foreleg, only to recoil it just as fast. So for now, he was stuck here. In this stupid town.

Alone.

Finally giving up with his staring contest with the ground, he glanced up to see he was close the town entrance. Hobbling forward, he made his way to the sudden shift in terrain that sprung up in the past few days. Green grass and a well maintained road came to an abrupt end at an invisible line only to be replaced by a sea of black stone. A few dark rainclouds still floated above the now-cooled sea that stretched from the mountainside to the village, stragglers that the weather patrol hadn’t gotten to yet. Two days of hard rain had changed the mass of lava into the igneous rock that now dominated the landscape. Reaching a hoof out, he gave it a quick poke and found it cool to the touch. He wondered where the lava had gone to next on its path with the town off limits to its advances, but quickly decided it was far too much work to find out.

He slumped down onto the cool grass, far too tired to care. This seemed a good enough place to sleep as any. He shut his eyes and focused, trying to bring up the slanted earthen wall he would normally use as shelter while traveling. It didn’t provide much, just enough to stop the wind or rain. A few moments later a solitary spark leaped from his horn before fading into nothing. Still no magic either, he thought. At least his horn didn’t hurt anymore.

He thought about the white unicorn he had just left with a grimace, and for a moment he wasn’t sure if it was from pain or regret. Deciding he owed her at least an explanation, he lifted himself just barely off the ground, only to fall back a moment later. Defeated, he resigned to at least talk to her later, although maybe not about home.

Home. He mulled over the word a few times in his mind, until it lost all meaning. Although maybe it never had any meaning; he hadn’t even thought about the word in years, much less the place it was supposed to represent. The faintest of smiles brushed his lips as he closed his eyes and thought of that apartment he used to live in, so long ago. Dad, just getting home from a lecture and plopping down on the couch with a book. Mom grading papers, adding more to the haphazard explosion of page and ink that littered the desk and a few foot blast radius around it. He chuckled to himself, half surprised he could even picture the place anymore. He thought he heard somepony calling his name, and an eyelid barely moved enough to see some pony moving closer before sealing itself shut again. But that didn’t matter. One final sigh and he drifted off away, back to the slumber that dominated his time as of late.

Twilight shock her head slowly as she made her way back to the staircase, away from the guest room where she had just laid an unconscious Terra Firma. Again. This was starting to become a regular pattern. She watched her friend wipe off the large table, removing the last bit of evidence of the morning’s meal once and for all. Rarity fretted with the rag nervously a bit, before bursting out, “Well is he alright?”

Twilight smiled weakly as she made her way downstairs and farther out of earshot of any sleeping ponies. “He should be fine, he’s just overly tired. Frankly, I’m surprised he even got out of bed this morning, although I’m glad you were able to get him some food.”

Rarity concern faded into relief, and she sat down. “Well that’s good at least. Honestly, I just don’t know what to make of him. I’m sorry Twilight; I was only trying to help.”

Her friend sat next to her, and gave her a small hug. “I know you were, you don’t have to be sorry. So you said you were talking about Canterlot before he left, did he say anything about why he was there? Did he live there? Was he a student?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have much to tell you. He told me about a statue he made before he left if that helps any. Oh, and his parents, although not much about them. I he mentioned their names, let’s see now, I believe one of them was Urim, and the other one I’m afraid I cannot recall.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed for a moment while she tried to rack her brain. She knew that name, but from where? Then it hit her. “Oh, Urim! I know who he is! Urim and Thummim were some of my favorite professors in Canterlot! I never knew they had any children though. With both his parents teaching here, I’ll bet he was enrolled in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns!”

“Well that certainly explains why he was in Canterlot, but what of this apparent grudge? You’re certain you’ve never met him?” Twilight shook her head, so Rarity continued, “Well there must be something that happened that he blames you for. You don’t remember… knocking over any statues or anything, do you?”

“No, but you may be on the right track with that statue. I think I’ve got a few books on modern sculptures, and I think I might even have a Canterlot statuary in this library. Maybe, I can find Terra’s piece in there! Oh, I’d better get to work; I’ve got a whole library to find one statue!” Rarity giggled as her friend bounced up out of her seat toward the shelves, a few books flying off to hover around her eager purple horn.

“Well, I think I’ll leave you to your little project then. Be a dear and tell me if you find anything, will you?” Rarity got up to take her leave, watching the purple pony flitting from shelf to shelf, muttering about which volumes might be useful.

Terra woke up in a now-familiar room, tucked into a neatly-made guest bed. Again. This was starting to become a regular pattern. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked out the window to see Luna’s moon just starting its assent into the sky. He briefly debated going back to sleep, but his stomach had other ideas. This morning’s breakfast had been delicious, and had been his first full meal in a few days. His gut liked the idea of food so much it demanded more. And so, rather reluctantly, he shuffled his way out of bed and downstairs towards the kitchen, and an awaiting snack he hadn’t decided on yet.

He was glad the moon was waxing its way towards full, it provided enough light for him to find a fridge he hoped was stocked. Scrounging enough supplies to make a small daisy sandwich he hoped would be enough for his rumbling gut, he shut the door and started his trudge back towards that dreaded, way-too-tall staircase. But just as he started his way up he paused, ears twitching to pick up what he thought sounded like a faint murmur. There, slumped over a book, was a sleeping pony next to a still lit candle. The soft, warm glow gave him just enough light to see the mess of books and notes strewn about, but not quite enough to tell who lay before him. Sleepily smiling, he abandoned his midnight (or whatever time it was) snack and made his over towards the sleeping pony. The mare was draped in a very comfortable looking blanket, comfortable looking enough to make want to get back to sleeping himself. Still, he’d rather go upstairs to sleep than lay here; the book she was using for a pillow seemed less inviting to lie on. Figuring he wouldn’t know her anyways, he shrugged and started gathering up the books lying about then paused finding an volume that looked interesting: Canterlot Forever: An Illustrated Guide to the Statues of our Capitol. With a smile, he sat down and slid the candle away from the napper to the other side of the table and began paging through the guide. So engrossed in his perusal, he never noticed his roommate stir and finally sit up. She sat rubbing the sleep from her eyes for a moment before breaking the silence, “Got some late night reading there Terra?”

He recoiled in surprise then found that gravity decided to take over for his now-missing balance, and toppled over. “Oh, man you scared me good!” Sitting back up he smiled at the giggling mare in front of him. “I could ask you the same. I came over to clean up the pile of books, and sort of got carried away in one of em.”

“Happens to me all the time. Oh, and sorry about the scare.” She peered over at the book on the table, recognizing her own collection instantly and the image on the page it was turned to. “Ah, Welcoming Dawn. I remember that statue! It used to be right in the center of the University square!” She turned the book closer to her and stared at the photograph in the image. The image showed a large stone effigy of Celestia with one extended wing, looking as if she was beckoning somepony before her to come closer.

Terra leaned closer to the page and smiled at the picture. “I miss that statue. I used to sit and read under it all the time. That left wing always made just the perfect amount of shade to sit under.”

“It was nice. Celestia just seems so…inviting in it. It’s a shame they tore it down.”

Terra fidgeted, his ears hanging a bit lower than they were a moment ago. “I…um…yeah. It’s too bad I… it got broken.”

Now it was her turn to be too engrossed in the book, she barely noticed he responded at all. “Yeah. Still, it’s not all bad that its gone. The statue they put in the square to replace it is probably one of my favorites. It’s called the Repentant Foal. Here, it should be in this book too.” She started flipping pages, searching for the newer monument.

Terra’s ears shot straight back up at that. “R-really? One of your favorites?” he questioned to the still-flipping pony.

“Oh, definitely! Ah, found it!” The images showed the new statue, this one of two characters. The first, a small foal with his head bowed, and towering above the young figure stood Celestia, knees bent to reach down to his level. Her wing extended out towards the meek colt inviting him in for a hug. “I don’t know if you’ve seen it before. Here.” She pushed the book towards him continuing, “The colt in it seems sorry for something, like he did something wrong and he knows it. And Celestia just seems so motherly here. Its like no matter what he did, she would be able to make it better. It’s a really touching piece.”

He sat in awe, entranced by the description given to him. He tried to speak, but couldn’t remember what words were supposed to sound like.

“Its really quite fascinating actually, apparently parts of Welcoming Dawn made their way into Repentant Foal. See this wing here? The outer section of it is actually just reused stone, magically reshaped and fused to the rest of the piece. Same with the tail and mane, they all have borrowed pieces of stonework. I’ve always wondered why they chose to reuse pieces of it instead of carving out new ones. And did you know they have no idea who carved it? After the old statue was torn down, the new one was almost immediately in its place with no artist name, just the title carved into the base in front of it! It really is a fascinating piece of art, don’t you agree?”

She finally looked up from the book at him and smiled, and almost as quickly the smile turned to worry. Terra sat there, tears streaking down his face. “That was… Thank you. Just…Thank you.” He shut his eyes to hold back the tears, and reached over and gave her an enormous heartfelt hug. She was completely taken aback by the sudden outburst of emotion, but returned the hug anyways. The two of them sat there in silence for a minute, locked together for what seemed an eternity, and yet only just a moment.

Wiping away some of the saltiness staining his cheeks, he finally opened his eyes. Noticing the blanket had fallen away, he finally got a view of the cutie mark of the pony he had been talking to. There before him, revealed in the flickering candlelight, was a six pointed starbust and five smaller bursts around it. There was only one pony with a cutie mark like that.

Her.

Twilight Sparkle.

Chapter 5

Author's notes: So far this was the most difficult chapter to write, even if it is fairly short. Angry dialogue is hard! Let me know what you think about it, or what could improve in it. The comment button is your friend!

“You!” Terra pulled away and shoved the pony he was hugging to the ground in disgust. Twilight yelped, more out of shock than pain as the heartfelt embrace was quickly replaced by violence. “Of course it would be you I find in here. Just my luck. The one pony I turn to in this stupid town, the ONE good thing that happens here, and it has to be YOU that shows up to ruin it.” He fumed, pacing around the little table, kicking a stray book clear across the room.

Twilight shirked away, unhurt, but still wanting to put some distance between them. “I’m…I’m sorry? I didn’t know that you’d-”

“Oh there’s a first! The great Twilight Sparkle doesn’t know something! Prized student of Celestia? What a joke,” he snorted still pacing around.

“Augh! That’s it! I’m sick of all these insults! Why? What strange problem is my fault? I had your parents for teachers in school, and they were my favorite professors! But until I found you by that wall I didn’t even know you existed, much less that you were their son! The whole time you’ve been in Ponyville you’ve been staying in MY library! That sandwich you got for a snack there is made with daises I bought!” She turned away, thinking for a moment. “Well, I think Spike did the shopping this week, and I guess it is the city’s library not specifically mine per se,” She re-focused, stomping her foot down for emphasis, “but you get the point! Why in Celestia’s name do you hate me so?!?”

“Why? WHY? I’ll tell you why, Twilight Sparkle!” His words dripped with venom and rage. “Let me tell you a little story. A story about a young colt and his parents. All this foal wanted, more than anything, was to go to school where they taught at. That’s it! That’s all I wanted, was for them to be proud of me as a student! Is that really too much to ask? And everything was great, just dandy, until YOU showed up.” He jabbed an accusing hoof in her direction.

“Hatching a dragon from an egg wasn’t good enough for you was it? That’s all you had to do for that stupid test! But NO, you had to grow the stupid dragon up twenty feet tall too! Thummim was at your little show you put on, and couldn’t stop raving about how great that little Twilight was, how PERFECT that little Twilight was. And you know what? IT DIDN’T STOP! Day after day after day, that’s all I heard about. ‘Oh, Twilight finished all her reading for the semester; it’s only the third day!’ ‘Did you hear? Twilight can already teleport across the room, and she just barely got her cutie mark!’ Believe me, I KNOW you were their student.”

He took a few menacing steps forward. “And you know what else? They were so spellbound, so blinded by how perfect you were, nothing I did could even shine a candle in front of them. Dad quit giving me lessons in magic in the evenings, so he could tutor you more! I didn’t have a birthday that year, they forgot it!” The tears he was crying before started flowing again, causing him to shake them away.

“But you know what? I just tried harder, but nothing mattered! So one year after your little escapade, when it was my turn to take the entrance exam, I went all out to impress them. And they didn’t even show up to watch! The single worst day of my life, when my whole life was ruined, and they weren’t even there because YOU were presenting a practicum. Now do you get it, miss Twilight Sparkle? Does that make sense to your little head?” He panted, eyes burning with an unwavering hatred as she stood there, enthralled by his ranting. For a few moments they stood there, eyes locked and unmoving.

After a while, she spoke up, “That’s it? THAT’S your big reason for hating me? I’m sorry about your parents, but you can’t possibly believe that it’s all my fault! I didn’t even know you! I still barely know you! How can you really blame me for all that?”

Jaw clenched, he tried to hold back the raw emotion from bursting forth. He failed. “SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!” He broke into a charge, tackling the unsuspecting unicorn to the ground. Pinning her down, he raised a hoof and punched down, hard. As he raised up again, a light burst forth from Twilight’s horn, and wrapped his whole body in a pink glow. With a quick telekinetic fling, she sent him sailing towards the bookshelf where he crashed hard. Lying on his back, he struggled to get up when another flash of light burst out, and Twilight teleported over his ragged form. There she stood, mane askew, pinning him down.

She leaned in closer, wanting to make sure he heard every word she said. “Enough! I’ve got just one thing to say to you, Terra Firma-”

“Whoo! Who’s ready to party?”

Pinkie Pie burst through the door, streamers and balloons flying everywhere. She bounced right over to the two ponies, noisemaker blaring.

“Pinkie Pie? What are you doing here? And why all the balloons?” Twilight stammered out.

“For the anniversary of Ponyville party, duh! I gave you an invitation before, silly!”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You remember! I came over here and gave you the…” she gasped, “Oh my gosh I DIDN’T get you an invitation! I ran out and never got more! Oh I’m so so SOOOO sorry Twilight!”

“I, well, that’s fine Pinkie, but it’s the middle of the night! WHY in Celestia’s name is there a party NOW?”
She bounced back and forth over the two completely stunned ponies. “Well I wanted to make an all day party for this, right? So I had all these super-fun games to play, all ready for the break of dawn! But then I thought, why wait for the sun? We’d be missing out on six hours of prime party-time! So I told everypony the party starts at midnight! And it’s almost midnight now, so who wants to party?” Pinkie did a few more bounces, then stopped one bounce mid-air. She rubbed her chin, looking over one completely disheveled Twilight, pinning an equally unkempt looking Terra Firma. All of a sudden it hit her.

“Oh. Oh! OH! You two were having your own special party right here! Congratulations you two! That’s funny, the story isn’t tagged shipping, but I guess that’s okay! You make a great looking couple! I’ll let you two lovebirds finish up, then the party’s gonna be in the middle of town, right by the giant fountain! See you there!”

“I, WHAT? No, Pinkie we’re not, I mean we weren’t, I mean…” But Pinkie had already bounded her way out the open front door, leaving the two alone. Just stared at the still open door for a minute, completely unsure of what just happened there. They finally turned to look at each other, and stared blankly for a moment. With a grunt, Terra pushed the purple pony off him, and stood up and walked away towards the door himself. Twilight shook her head a bit to try and wrap her head around what just happened. Failing at that, she got up and headed for the door herself listlessly.

Chapter 6

The full moon shone brightly over the town, although hardly anyone noticed it through the jungle of streamers and ribbons across the town. Pinkie Pie decorations usually look like a multicolored bombshell the area, and sometimes it quite literally was. The party cannon isn’t the only weaponized party (or is that party-ized weapon?) in her arsenal. But this night was different. This was the Little Boy of party favors. Mayor Mare wasn’t sure if letting Pinkie have the entire town square to decorate was her best idea ever or her worst one. Either way, almost everyone looked to be having fun. Over half the town came out to start the party now, with everyone else deciding midnight is a wee bit too early to get up. The dance floor was crowded with ponies enjoying themselves, but on opposite sides of the square from each other were two unicorns who very much did NOT feel like dancing. On one side there was Terra Firma nursing a sore foreleg and a drink at the same time, and on the other side was Twilight with an icepack, hoping to stop her eye from swelling too much. The difference between the two right now was that one of them had friends around to talk to, while the other stayed with the company of his punch glass.

“He did WHAT? See? I told you he was no good! You shoulda let me kick his flank outta town before! Where is he, I’ll do it right now!” Rainbow Dash started her takeoff, only to have her tail yanked back by a strong earth pony’s bite.

“Easy there Rainbow!” Applejack let go after Dash landed, arms crossed in a huff. “So you two had a bit of a tussle, I got that. But what else happened there? You’re the only pony that was there, so what do you make of this, Twi?”

Twilight lowered the icepack, revealing a nice hoof-shaped bruise around her right eye. She gingerly touched at it, and immediately winced back. She sighed. “I don’t know. You want to know what the weirdest part was? At first when we were talking he seemed like an okay pony. But when we started talking about statues, he started crying! I don’t know what it was, but something really touched him. Then he recognized who I was and well, this happened.”

“But what do ya’ll think we should do? Kick him out like Rainbow says?”

Twilight paused a bit, then barely eked out, “I still feel bad about kicking him out while he’s still hurt. Just… wait a few days then he’ll leave. I’m just… not going to talk to him.” Rainbow opened her mouth to protest, but shut it when she saw Applejack glare at her. They both moved in for a group hug, and while embraced by her friends a tiny smile lit up the purple mare’s face, just for a bit.

“Thanks guys. We can talk about this later. This is a party right? If I’ve learned anything from Pinkie while living here, it’s that parties are supposed to be fun.” The three of them laughed, then got up to see what else was happening.

Excusing herself from the other two, Applejack made her way across the square with one goal in mind. Once she found her sulking target, she swiftly rapped him on the shoulder a few times. “Terra Firma?”

He turned towards the mare in front of him. “Huh? Yeah, that’s me. Do ya need something? Grab you a drink?”

“Ya, I need something all right. I need you to listen real close.” She leaned in, glaring at him. “Now I wasn’t there, so I didn’t see the whole thing go down, but I saw all I needed to by lookin’ at Twilight’s eye. Now Twilight says you can stay in town and I don’t know if that’s the best choice, but I’ll go along with what she says. But you better keep your head down till you’re up and outta here, you hear me? Cause if I hear one peep about you hurting my friends again, I’ll make sure you ain’t never gonna leave this town. You got that?”

He gulped, then leaned back and turned back toward his drink, eyes down. “Yeah I got it. If it means anything, I’m sorry. It’s… been a rough few days.” He looked back up at her and smiled weakly.

“I don’t even wanna hear it. Just get on outta town, and stay clear away from Twi.” Satisfied, she turned to leave. After a few steps she paused. Without bothering to face him again she added, “Enjoy the party.”

He finished his glass, and then got up to head back towards the treehouse. Silently he prayed Twilight would stay at the party for a while, and not head back. Although it didn’t matter who was at the treehouse anyways; he didn’t have anywhere else to sleep in this town. Trudging his way along, he spotted three fillies peeking out from behind a lamp post. When he turned toward them, they ducked down to hide, but a small pink and purple tail stuck way out from the otherwise perfect hiding spot. He chuckled a bit, and then kept walking.

It wasn’t too much further when he stopped again, this time from a small hoof tugging on his tail. Looking back, he smiled at the white filly. With a small ‘eep!’, she scooted back to hide behind the two other fillies standing there. He just waited, a small grin on his face as he watched the three of them bicker.

“Sweetie Belle! You got to say something, not just poke at him!” The orange filly stepped out of the way, leaving Sweetie Belle fully visible again.

She shrunk back to hide behind her remaining friend for cover “I don’t wanna! Applebloom, you ask him!”
“I dun wanna go either! Scootaloo, you got talk to him!”

“Ugh! I swear it’s you two who are the chickens! Fine, I’ll talk to him!” Scootaloo stepped out slowly, and stood before the still-grinning Terra. She glanced back to the other two, who motioned her to go on. She cleared her throat, and then stammered out, “Uh, Mister Terra? I know you’re new in town and all, and you got a cutie mark, and um… What I mean is the three of us are trying to get our cutie marks, and we figured if we knew how other ponies got theirs it might…”

“Hurry up and ask him!” the yellow one called out.

“I’m getting there!” she called back. Turning back to him, she laughed meekly, and then continued, “Well, uh, we were hoping you’d tell us about your cutie mark. You know, how you got it and all.” She looked back to her friends again, who both nodded in agreement. All three of them stared back at him waiting hopefully.

The smile on his face slowly faded as he realized what they wanted. He just sat there for a moment, considering his response. “Are you sure about that? It’s not what I would call a happy story, you see.”

The three of them looked at each other a bit perplexed. Applebloom spoke out, “What do ya mean ‘not a happy story?’ Isn’t gettin your cutie mark supposed to be a good thing?”

He paused again, weighing his options. “Alright, I’ll tell you. Have any of you been to Canterlot before?” He sat down as three small heads all shook no. “It’s a beautiful city. I used to live in the middle of Canterlot, right on the university grounds many years ago…

“Alright, Terra Firma, remember what we taught you!” The older mare fussed with the blue mane of her son, trying to get a stubborn cowlick in the back to behave.

“That’s right son, we know you can do this! I’m sorry we can’t be in the room with you, but you know we’ll be right down the hall, right? It’s a shame that Twilight’s speech is the same day, but we have to go grade her presentation. We’ll be right back to see you when you’re done!” The anxious stallion checked the clock on the wall. “Honey, we do have to get going here, we’ll be late soon.”

“Just a second dear. Now Terra, remember to be polite to the judges, and introduce yourself clearly. Be sure to answer any questions they have, and remember: no matter what happens, your father and I love you very much. Good luck dear!” With a quick nuzzle, the two of them left hurriedly down the hall. With that, the young blank-flank Terra Firma took a seat on one of the benches to wait until his name was called. He looked around the small waiting room at the other foals, many of them sitting next to older ponies, presumably their parents.

One small white filly down a few seats watched him with a puzzled look on her face. After a minute or two, she worked up the courage to scoot down closer to the silver colt. “Uh, excuse me, are you here for the entrance exam?” she asked.

“Yeah, I am! I’m Terra Firma, what’s your name?”

“I’m Moondancer. Um…you know the test is supposed to be an animation spell this year, right? To pass you gotta make something move, or dance around.”

“Yeah, I know that. Why?”

“Well, I brought my doll here, and I’m gonna make her dance. Most ponies here brought a doll or a toy too.”

“Yeah, I see that.”

“It’s just that, well, you brought a ladder.”

He looked over at the small ladder sitting on the bench next to him, and then smiled. “Yep, I brought a ladder.”

She looked at him, more confused than ever. She didn’t have too long to ponder however, as a grey unicorn stuck his head out of the double doors at the end of the hall, looking over a clipboard hovering in front of him. Perusing it for a moment, he finally called out, “Moondancer?”

“That’s me! I’m coming!” The white filly jumped off the bench and started towards the door. She turned back to Terra for a moment, “Good luck with your ladder I guess.”

“Thanks, good luck in there! Let me know how you do tomorrow!”

She smiled at him and nodded. When the professor cleared his throat impatiently, she rushed over and through the doors to the exam room. Terra watched with a small blush as the cute filly ran through the massive double doors. With her gone, he went right back to waiting his turn. Another twenty minutes passed, and many fillies and colts disappeared behind the ominous doors. Finally the stallion came out with his clipboard and called out for Terra. He got up, fighting the urge to sprint forward, and walked into the exam room as calmly as he could.

He knew exactly what room he was in, and which windows would face the courtyard. Having two teachers for parents and an apartment on the school grounds helped when it comes to knowing the layout. He walked up to the panel of judges and bowed like he was taught to. “Terra Firma, for your consideration.” The judge on the end nodded for him to proceed, and Terra quickly walked over to the side, set up his small ladder, and opened the large bay window overlooking the campus square. He smiled, happy all his preparations were paying off. Ever since he heard the test was to be an animation spell, he racked his brain for something big he could do. Something massive, something that would not just pass the test but leave the judges stunned. Something he could do that would make his parents proud to have him for a son. He gazed over the Welcoming Dawn, the statue in the center of the square, and smiled. What better way to impress the judges than to have Celestia herself leap into the room? Ready to show everypony what he could do, he started his spell.

His horn began to glow with a soft grey aura as the panel looked on with bored expressions. Around the base of the statue a black circle started to fade into view. Terra had drawn out the spell on the ground a few days back, and had learned how to hide the circle there. Moving something as big as a life-sized statue would take way too much magic for an inexperienced young colt, but the circle helped focus the magic into a useful pattern. He smiled as the intricate patterns weaved their way about the stone Celestia’s legs until the full pattern emerged. That spell finished, he closed his eyes to work on the big part of his show. With another glow of his horn, the circle began to give off a glow of its own. The light slowly snaked its way around, then latched on to the alabaster hooves and began to climb up the statue. Soon the whole statue glowed brightly, much to the awe of ponies walking around the area. The glow began to sink into the stone, and just as quickly as it started, the glow was gone, and the statue remained in place.

Terra stood still for a moment, his breath held fast. His part was done; all he could do now was wait and pray that it had worked. After an agonizingly long wait, one outstretched wing twitched. Soon, it twitched again, then flexed in and out a bit. He looked on with glee as the artificial Celestia began to rustle, shifting back and forth slowly.

The judges across the room were not impressed by a young colt starring out the window. One of them, with a glance at his watch, had enough of the waiting. “Well, Mister Firma? Do you plan on showing us some magic today, or just gaze out the window?”

Terra jumped off the ladder and turned towards him to start an explanation, but didn’t need to. Just as soon as he opened his mouth to speak the statue chose to grace the room with its presence, leaping from the ground up to the second story room. It mostly fit through the opening but its wingspan was far larger than the bay window, and it took some of the framework and two good chunks of sheetrock with it when it burst inside. Terra cringed a bit at the bits of wall inside, but was far too ecstatic to care. If the judges’ dropped jaws were any indication, they didn’t care for a few bits of stone either. Celestia turned its head a few times, then looked right at the panel and spread its wings in a triumphant display. Terra trotted up next to his handiwork and beamed. He knew nopony had even come close to his display for this year’s exam. Slowly, the unicorns filed across the hall towards the animate rock on display.

Unfortunately what Terra thought was the reason for the spread wings was not the case. While it was an impressive display, the statue wanted to fly, not look cool. A slight groan could be heard from the stone feathers grinding against one another as it flapped its wings a few times. Then, without warning, it took off on a full gallop, trying to get a running start. One professor was trampled under hoof (Terra later learned he broke two ribs and a foreleg in the process) as Celestia tried to take off. With a great leap and a flap of enormous wings, it flew majestically… for about three seconds. After that it collided with the wall opposite the windows it leaped in, leaving a much larger mess than the tiny pile of rubble its entrance caused. Terra could do nothing but look on in horror as he saw the few fillies and parents waiting for their turns scream in terror at his alabaster creation tried its best to fly. Each flap of its huge wings tore sections of the hallway apart, and each leap into the air caused another wall to give way.

After a few twists and turns, the juggernaut of stone found another room with a view outside, and leaped into the fresh air of the courtyard where it had first gained life. It was far too heavy to fly and crashed into the ground not far from the now-empty base. One of the teachers in the room, finally having a clear view of the stone terror, fired a blast of magic at the edifice. The blast shattered the stonework, leaving many large chunks scattered around the nearby area. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad the destruction had come to an end.

The young Terra looked on, horrified, at the ruins of his work. He looked over to the crowd of professors, now attending to their injured comrade. He struggled to find any words to cover what had happened. “I…I’m so sorry! I just wanted it to…I mean I didn’t want it to do, well, this.” he barely stammered out.

The grey stallion who had been calling names earlier rose from his friend’s side and towered over the cowering silver colt before him. With a hoof he pointed to the door, or what was left of it, and bellowed, “Out. Just go, you’ve caused enough destruction for one day. Leave, and I never want to see you on these grounds again!”

The colt stood there for a moment, trying to grasp any words to say at all. The older stallion bellowed out, “NOW!” and Terra took off, tears steaming his face as he sprinted out of the halls…

“Applebloom! What do you think you’re doing out here at this hour?” Applejack stormed over towards her sister, who was clearly not in bed as she was supposed to be. All three fillies jumped, too engrossed in the tale to notice her approach. “You’re supposed to be in bed little missy! And I’m sure you two are supposed to be sleeping right now too!”

“I’m sorry Applejack! We couldn’t sleep knowing there was a party going on in town here! Then Mister Firma here was just telling us a story and...”

“I don’t even wanna hear it! Granny Smith’s been up worried about you and Big Mac’s out here searching as well! Now get on back home, right now! Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, I’m sure your families don’t know you’re here either, so get moving!” With that, all three little ones dashed off, each going their own way, and each (hopefully) headed home.

Satisfied the fillies were headed off, Applejack turned to Terra. “And you! It hasn’t been two hours since I told you not to cause more trouble, and here you are getting my sister into trouble! What kinda lies were you spewing at them anyways? You know what, don’t tell me. You’d probably just make that up too!

“I’m…I’m sorry? The girls just asked me about my cutie mark, and I was telling them a story. I didn’t do anything.” He stood up, wincing as he put a bit too much weight on his leg.

“Uh huh, I’m sure. You know what, Twi did say you could stay for a bit, but I won’t have it anymore! Get on outta here, before I make you get out!”

His started to protest, but stopped. Ears drooped, he resigned. “I…fine. I’ll go. I don’t want any more trouble. I’m sorry that I…well, I’m sorry.” He turned away from the angry mare and walked a bit. He paused for a bit asking, “I don’t suppose I could get some directions…” But one glance at the furious pony changed his mind. “Right, never mind.” He sighed and headed for the closest exit to the town.

Applejack, satisfied that he was leaving, turned back to check on Applebloom and get her to bed. With her gone, nopony was around to watch as Terra Firma headed off out of the city headed south. Nopony was around to warn him to pick a different route out of town. There was nopony to warn him that there was only one thing that he’d find that was just south of Ponyville. And that one thing was the Everfree Forest.