Author's Note

TRIGGER WARNING!! This is the chapter where Christian themes become more prevalent, and will be seen throughout the rest of the story. They will NOT try to shove a religious message down your throat, but the uses will be pretty noticeable - so if you aren't religious, just try to ignore it if you can.

Don't say I didn't warn you, because I definitely did.

That being said and done, thank you so much for the support!!! I hope those of you who remained for this closing chapter enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I can't believe it was featured within the month of beginning it, and even more astounded at the support it has received since. May you all experience an overwhelming surplus of diggity in the years to come.

For those of you who are thinking that this ending is a bit abrupt, I know, I know. I have become severely unmotivated to write much of this, making the content slowly worsen as I write. So yeah... sorry. If someone wants to write a sequel or something, cool, just hit me up with your ideas first. I'm just at my dead point as far as the story goes.

Chapter 20

Toby could hardly sleep that night - did all of that really just happen?

All of a sudden, Luna seemed to share mutual feelings about him - or was that all a dream, an orchestration of his own mind? No - if that were a dream, chances were that it would have actually been Luna, since she could (and often did) visit his dreams. So... what did this mean?

He woke up early the morning after, unable to keep himself still. Luna said she wanted to come by later - whether she actually would, only time would tell. If the events of the night prior actually happened (which made sense logically), he would know within the next couple hours.

He had never been so nervous to see Luna in his entire life.

Luna had never been so nervous to see Toby in her life.

Moments after she had kissed him the night before, she was terrified that she had crossed a line. Broken his trust. Severed the ties to their friendship. Instead, she found herself astounded after the human blushed harder than she had ever seen him blush before - he felt the same way.

It was too good to be true. Even after she had told him weeks ago that she didn't love him... there was something about him that stuck with her. Something that drew her towards him, night after night. He just seemed to understand her in a way nopony else could, which was an outstanding thing to comprehend.

After Luna had left Toby the night before, she immediately departed by wing for Canterlot. She had probably waited too long for this, but something in her gut told her that it needed to be done. The journey was not long when traveling by alicorn wings, and within minutes the fair mountainside city came into view. She directed herself towards the castle. As far as she knew, Twilight was still in Ponyville, which meant that Spike was probably here alone to lead the interim court.

As she soared up to one of the balconies, she set herself down lightly onto the smooth marble. The guards stationed at the entrances recognized the ex-princess immediately, and granted her entrance into the castle.

How strange it was to be walking these halls when you no longer owned them - as familiar as they looked, they seemed so foreign to her now, as if to say, Why did you come back? She ignored these feelings, though - she had an appointment to make.

She entered the throne room and gazed towards the throne. It surprised her to see that Twilight was sitting there, writing something down on a long slip of parchment. The purple alicorn's eyes flickered up slightly, and she smiled as Luna approached.

"Luna! How can I help you?" she asked brightly as she rolled up the parchment in her magic aura, then teleported it away.

"I am here on an appointment?" Luna inquired. "One considering Tobias O'Leary - I thought you were still in Ponyville."

"I'll be there tomorrow; I'm having breakfast with my friends," Twilight replied. "So now, what about Toby were you here for...?"

"The book," Luna replied.

Twilight furrowed her brows briefly before her face lit up. "Oh! Right! The book! Do - Do you really think it was a good idea to keep it from him? It was found on his body when he first appeared here, so it's definitely his."

"I know... I almost forgot that I kept it from him," Luna replied nervously. "Back when I - you know - hated him... I feel like things needs to change."

"You're going to give it back to him?" Twilight asked with a hint of awe in her voice. "Man, you must be confident in how comfortable you think he is around you."

"I'm extremely nervous to how he will take it, actually," Luna answered sheepishly. "It was wrong of me to treat him in the way I did..."

"But you're sorry," Twilight said consolingly, placing a hoof on Luna's withers. "I'm sure he'll believe you. Now, let's go, so you can give it to him in the morning tomorrow."

"I should have given it back to him long ago," Luna said bitterly as they began their descent into the lower levels of the castle.

"Has he ever brought it up?" Twilight asked curiously. "Did he ever asked where it was, or even tell you about it?"

Luna paused. "No... come to think of it, he never has - although once I did ask if he missed his belongings on his homeworld, but he claimed to miss nothing at all."

"Nothing??" Twilight gasped. "It must have been bad..."

"I will go into no more detail than that - it's a sensitive topic," put in Luna simply. "He has enough troubles on his plate to last him a lifetime."

"He is healing, though, right?" Twilight asked nervously. "I mean, today I received a letter from Fluttershy telling me in his change of mood towards ponies."

"He is on the path, yes, but only time will tell," Luna sighed. "Besides..." A slight grin and blush crept up onto her face. "He is surrounded by ones who deeply care for him."

Twilight gave the lunar mare a strange look, but chose not to reply.

The two of them traveled through the winding corridors with ease. Luna knew where they were heading - to the lab in the Royal Archives, where specialists examined anything from ancient documents to recent newspaper headlines that would be saved for future reference. It was one of the most fascinating places in the castle.

They rounded a corner, and a large pair of doors made from a golden alloy loomed into view. Luna knew it was heavily protected, however - there was a magical seal of security on the door, one only a princess or somepony who wore an Identification Amulet could pass through. Twilight lifted the barrier briefly so Luna could enter.

Tables lined the room in the chamber beyond, with papers, maps, documents, and books of all sorts lay scattered across the tables. There were only two ponies present; both were hunched over a book on the far side of the room, muttering to one another. When they heard the approaching company, they turned and bowed.

"Princess Twilight," said the one on the left, a stallion with a tan coat and blonde mane. A pair of large, circular glasses rested on his muzzle. "How can we help you?"

"Greetings, Dr. Glass and Dr. Whinny - Luna is here to extract a book that was found on - er - an anomaly several months ago," Twilight announced casting a look at Luna that said, no offense.

The mare on the right - Dr. Whinny - straightened up. She had a light lavender coat and a white mane, with a pencil resting on her tight ear. "You mean the alien literature, your highness? We haven't finished examining it..."

"Well, what have you accomplished so far?" Twilight asked, and Dr. Glass beckoned her to the table.

"Quite a bit, actually, the translation spell proved quite useful, your highness," Dr. Glass said appraisingly, straightening his glasses. "We've been able to read through it, and some of this stuff is pretty deep - no doubt written by some kind of philosopher."

"A human philosopher?" Twilight asked curiously. When the two specialists gave her a questioning look, she added, "Toby is from a species called 'humans'."

Luna looked down at the soft leather cover of the book. She read the large gold words on the front cover.

Holy Bible

"What are the contents of this book?" Luna asked inquisitively.

"From what we guessed, a bunch of human fairy tales," Dr. Whinny sighed. "There are a lot of crazy stories in there - most of them seem to use magic of some sort, but..." She shuddered. "Something about them gives me these strange chills."

"How much have you read?" Twilight asked.

"We've read it cover to cover," Dr. Glass replied. "Unfortunately, we have made little progress as far as interpretation - perhaps this Toby fellow could help?"

"I can try to send reports if he obliges," Luna offered. "It belongs to him anyway - he should know what it means."

"Can you at least summarize it for us?" Twilight asked brightly.

Dr. Glass and Dr. Whinny exchanged a look that seemed to say, Oh crud. The whole thing?

Dr. Glass cleared his throat. "Erm... are you sure? It's kind of... long. The timeline in the book spans thousands of years, with hundreds of different little stories. Hay, there's even several incredibly long chapters that are purely poetic!"

"Interesting," Luna hummed, but Twilight frowned.

"That's it? Surely you can summarize that," she grunted.

"Perhaps you would like to read it yourself, your highness," Dr. Whinny bowed. Luna giggled at the slight display of sarcasm.

"Maybe I will!" Twilight huffed, but Luna placed a wing on her withers.

"This doesn't belong to us, remember?" she said smoothly. "I thought you cared about Toby's interests."

"... Fine," Twilight sighed. "Do you think he could read it to us, at least?"

"If your royal schedule permits it," Luna chuckled.

"Okay, okay - let's get his book back to him," Twilight replied, levitating it over to Luna. "Thank you, Dr. Glass - Dr. Whinny."

The two specialists bowed them out of the chamber. The two friends made their goodbyes and parted ways, Luna with the book in her possession.

"Say, while we're here on Toby's account..." Twilight said as they walked down the corridor beyond. "Do you remember Clarity?"

"The guard stationed at the dungeons that immensely cared for Toby's well-being?" Luna responded. "Of course I remember her - is she well? Is she aware of Toby's - er, existence?"

"As far as I know, she's aware of the rumors going around of a tall ape-like creature in Ponyville," Twilight said simply. "Beyond that, I don't know. She may still think that he's dead."

Luna was literally shaking. Would he push her away? Would he get mad?

No - that was silly. He definitely had a crush on her, it had been clear since they had started bowling. If she hadn't been one hundred percent convinced that Toby had a crush on her, she wouldn't have kissed him. Still, it seemed impossible to predict the outcome of the situation she was putting herself in.

The sun was just above the horizon, bathing the land in a pink and orange glow - but even beholding the wonderful distraction of a beautiful sunrise wasn't enough to still her nerves.

She tried to keep her thoughts rational as she approached Toby's front door. Would he turn her away? Would all that time spent earning his trust have been for nothing? On top of that, this was the first time she had seen him since she kissed him...

Mustering all the confidence she could, she strode up the front steps and rapped smartly on the door. A large THUD resonated from beyond, but after that everything fell quiet.

A minute passed by, and there was no sign of him. Was he avoiding her, or just up and at 'em early today?

The door was suddenly pulled open, making her jump, revealing a very red-faced Toby. The two of them locked eyes for a second, then simultaneously looked away, feeling thoroughly embarrassed.

"Er - hi," both of them murmured shyly, perfectly at the same time. They both looked at one another in surprise.

"I'm sorry," they both said again. Again, at the same time. "No, go ahead... how is this happening???"

They both held eye contact for a long moment before bursting out into laughter. Toby leaned against the doorway while Luna used the railing on the front porch to support her, and both of them were blushing profusely.

"Good morning, Luna," Toby sighed, wiping a tear from his eye. "I can't say that that's ever happened to me before."

"Neither can I," Luna chuckled. "May I come in?"

"Sure, I guess," Toby replied, scratching his head. "Fluttershy won't be along for a little bit, so I have nothing to eat. Is that alright?"

Luna nodded, and Toby stepped aside to allow her in. Her eyes fell on Pacificae, who was sleeping peacefully on the mantle next to the fireplace, which glowed with old embers.

"Oh, she's so cute," Luna squeaked, watching the jackalope's form slightly rise and fall as it slept. "Is she aware of our - erm - excursion last night?"

Toby turned a deep cherry red. "Th-That happened, then?? It wasn't a dream??"

Luna looked down to one side bashfully. "N-No, it wasn't - is that alright w-with you?"

Toby stared at her as if he could hardly believe it. "I - I - yeah..."

Luna grinned nervously and levitated a chair over to the fire. "Do you mind if I sit over here?"

Toby shook his head. "I can get a fire going, too, if you want."

"That would be lovely," Luna replied with a soft smile.

Toby smiled at her, then disappeared out the door. Luna watched Pacificae while she waited for the human to return, slowly studying the steady rhythm of her breaths as well as the peaceful expression on her muzzle. Could jackalopes dream? She knew Pacificae had a certain level of sentience, so she probably could.

Toby returned minutes later with his arms full of chopped wood. He placed them precariously in the fireplace, then retreated to his bed, muttering something about matches.

Luna grinned as he rummaged about, and lit up her horn. The fireplace in front of her instantly blazed to life. Toby froze.

"Did... you do that?"

"I did," Luna replied casually.

"Wish I had magic," Toby added wistfully, pulling a chair over next to Luna. "I could've fixed so many things - heck, I could have prevented so many things..."

"Are you feeling alright?" Luna asked as a concerned frown formed on her face. "Are you still feeling messed up from...?"

"Not a day goes by that I don't," Toby sighed. "I feel a lot better now that I know I'm not alone anymore, but... it doesn't go away - I still have all these painful regrets - no matter how much I forgive myself, Luna, those who I've killed won't do the same. Neither will those I let die..."

"Is there anything I can do?" asked Luna in a worried tone.

"I - don't know," Toby sighed. "To be honest, I feel like I'm fine as far as support goes - but I still feel empty, I guess, like a glass that will always feel only partially full."

"Well - if you're sure," Luna said softly, "I won't push it. Besides, you'll come to me if you have any troubles, right?"

"Right," Toby agreed. He then suddenly blushed. "Also, speaking of which... something is kinda bugging me..."

"O-Oh," Luna replied in what she hoped was a calm tone. She knew this moment would come. "Do you want to - to talk about it?"

"Er - y-yeah, actually," Toby stammered. "About last night... why?"

Luna felt her face burn like it had never burned before. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"You kissed me," Toby put bluntly. His face was entirely red now. "Wh-Why? I thought you said you didn't... you know..."

Luna sighed. "Toby, do - do you promise to c-continue being my friend after what I have to say?"

"Of course," Toby replied nervously. "You can tell me."

Luna inhaled very deeply, trying to calm all the screaming nerves inside her. Finally, she said, "To be honest, Toby - I think I really do love you... when you asked me back in the dreamscape if I did then, I thought I was right. I thought I was just using something I didn't really understand to explain my destructive behaviors - but as I began to spend every night with you, saving you from your tortured past being reflected in your nightmares, I realized that you were genuine.

"We had so much in common! I soon became attracted to all the little things - your jokes, your laugh, the way you care for others, your intelligence - I couldn't help it after you complimented my earrings..." She faltered off into an embarrassed silence.

Toby's mouth hung open. He made to speak, but the words died in his throat every time he tried. Finally, he muttered, "I - I was definitely not expecting that..."

Luna chuckled nervously for a second, then fell back into an uneasy silence. "Did - d-did you not like it? The kiss?"

Toby stared back at her. "Well... it's not every day you get kissed by a pony - but for what it's worth... yes, I mean - I l-liked it..."

Luna blushed deeply, and the two of them sat in an immensely awkward silence for the longest time. They would occasionally steal a glance at one another, but both were to busy shaking with nervousness and blushing to say anything. Finally, after about ten minutes in this cycle, Toby broke it.

"So... what are we?"

Luna looked at him intently for a moment, then began to giggle. That giggle quickly turned into a chortle, and before long she was bellowing with laughter. Toby had no idea what kind of meaning this bared, but decided to laugh along anyway.

"I-I don't know," Luna sighed as she began to calm down. "It depends on how we both f-feel, I guess..."

"What do you feel, then?" Toby asked. "I mean, it's not like this could get any more awkward, right?"

"I suppose..." Luna replied nervously, twirling a strand of her mane around her hoof. "I... if I'm being completely honest with you, I would suggest we give it a try... but only if it's one hundred percent mutual..."

Toby felt his muscles turn to stone. This was it - the sort of scene he had been childishly playing out in his mind for the past two weeks - and it was now a reality. He mustered all of his remaining courage and looked Luna in the eye.

Drawing a deep breath, he said quietly, "I - I think it wouldn't hurt... I trust you..."

Next thing he knew, he was being wrapped up in the tightest, warmest hug he had ever received. Luna's chest heaved slightly with emotion. Toby could hear her heartbeat racing, something he could seriously relate to in that very moment.

When they broke the hug, he looked at the Lunar mare, very well aware of the fact that his face felt like it was oozing lava at that point. "So - is that's that? We're... dating now?"

Luna hesitated, then nodded, beaming and blushing.

Toby laughed nervously. "I-I'm glad that we're on the same page, then - I mean, groovy - that would have been really embarrassing if we weren't."

Luna laughed. "I agree. I for one would have been mortified."

"Yeah..." Toby said softly. In attempt to make things less awkward, he grinned at Luna, who grinned back. "What are your plans for today, then?"

Luna froze. "... Funny you asked... was there anything you remember having on you when you first came to Equestria?"

"No," Toby said blankly. "Should I?"

"I don't know," Luna replied, now feeling very confused. "We found a book on your body when you first came here, but we examined it. It seems to be some sort of book full of tall tales."

"I don't remember having a book full of stories," Toby said blankly again. "Can I see it? Do you know where it is?"

"I have it with me - I felt that it should find its way back into the hands of its owner," Luna replied, opening the saddlebag she had brought along that rested against a leg on her chair. She handled the book with extreme care as she pulled it out, as if it could shatter in the slightest breeze. She set it gently on Toby's lap, biting her lip nervously.

His expression was close to unreadable - he had this look in his eyes that seemed to prove that he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Despite this, they glinted slightly with a look of betrayal.

"Toby...?" Luna asked meekly.

In one swift motion, Toby leaped to his feet and hurled the book to a far corner of the room. It collided with the wall, then fell down to the ground with a dull and saddening plop.

"I don't know how, or why, but I don't need it," Toby grunted. "It hasn't done me any favors."

"Did you have to throw it, though?" Luna asked, a bit taken aback by his actions. "It's merely a storybook!!"

"No, it isn't," Toby replied, and sighed as he slumped down into his chair. "It's hard to explain, but the meaning of it is intended to represent things that are beyond simple stories - even though that's all they are - stories." His tone sounded hurt, but in a very complicated way - it was a mixture of confusion, bitterness, spite, contempt, and even forlornness.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

Toby sighed, then looked into her eyes. "Have you ever participated in a religion of any sort during your life?"

Luna shrugged. "Such a thing was discouraged during my time as a royal... sister was too preoccupied with running the country in my absence to dabble in such things. Is this book a religious book??"

"It's one-hundred percent religious," Toby replied, casting the book a nasty look. "Allow me to explain - this book is the holy text for a religion back on my world called 'Christianity'. I used to be a Christian myself - the belief was that there was one divine power that created everything and everyone, but despite all that power he humbled himself to bring us back when we went astray."

"Come again?" Luna asked blankly.

Toby groaned. "Fine. So basically, this power - we call him God - supposedly created each one of us to be special in our own way. The religion claims that he loves us more than we could possibly imagine, and therefore sent a flesh-incarnation of himself to Earth to die for us - apparently that allows us to get into Heaven now."

"So these Christians believe in Heaven, then?" Luna asked with genuine curiosity. "Interesting - does Christianity have any requirements for getting into Heaven?"

"A lot, from what I know," Toby grunted, resting his cheeks on the palms of his hands. "There's a list of commandments, telling you what you shouldn't do, but I know I've broken every single one anyway. It's complicated."

"Ah - I see," Luna replied, giving him a strange look. "You seem bitter - were you a Christian once?"

"Yes," Toby answered sourly. "But I soon learned that none of it was true - I mean, if God loved me so much, he wouldn't have let Vietnam ruin my life. He wouldn't have let my friends die - he wouldn't have let my family and old flame turn on me!!!" He slammed a fist onto his knee, gritting his teeth. His vision was full of red.

Luna cast the book in the corner a wary look. "Toby, I'm sorry you feel this way - and I can take the book away if you want."

"Do whatever you please," Toby replied in a grumpy tone. "It doesn't bother me. Also, it's called a Bible - even though it is just a book."

There was a very tense moment of silence during which Toby stared morosely at the floor.

"Would some fresh air help?" Luna asked. "The sun has risen, I'm sure there will be a couple cafes we could visit."

Toby smiled slightly and looked up at her. "Yeah - I would like that. Maybe I'll see Twilight, too - is today the day she leaves for Canterlot?"

Luna nodded. "She has been in Canterlot for some time, apparently. She'll be here today, though - why do you ask?"

"I still need to apologize," Toby replied, heading for the door.

Ponyville seemed brighter than usual that morning to Twilight. After walking through the town half-a-million times, one would think that it would be old news - but something was definitely different. Even the very air smelled of change; whether it was good or bad had yet to be discovered.

She had a good feeling about that weird morning after she had congregated with her friends at Sugarcube Corner for an unofficial sendoff breakfast. After today, she would be staying in Canterlot indefinitely, with no visits. With everything that had been going on recently, she had a lot to catch up on - Spike could only do so much.

When she arrived at Sugarcube Corner, she immediately scanned the mostly-empty room for her friends, who could be seen waving her over to a window-side booth.

"Pinkie, has your Pinkie-Sense gone off for any reason?" Twilight asked as she took her seat with her friends.

"That's a weird question ta start off with," Applejack commented, raising an eyebrow.

"Nopety-nope!!" chirped Pinkie, who was the only one who wasn't seated. "Why do you ask?"

"Something about this morning seemed really off, but I can't put my hoof on it," Twilight replied. "Am I the only one that feels this way?"

"I felt it too, darling," Rarity agreed. "Something seemed very... oh, what's the word?"

"Different?" Rainbow suggested.

"No, more than different, but you get what I'm trying to say, right, Twilight??" Rarity continued.

Twilight nodded, and Fluttershy smiled at her. "My animals were a bit rowdier than they usually are, but that was the only thing for me."

"Hmm..." Twilight sighed, looking at the table. "It just worries me, I guess."

"C'mon, no need to let it ruin our time together, sugarcube," Applejack said with a hint of indignation. "If somethin' happens, we'll deal with it. Like we always do!"

"You're right, I'm being silly," Twilight giggled nervously. "Pinkie, what have you got for us today?"

"Whatever you'd like, silly!!" Pinkie squeaked. "Oh-oh-oh!! The Triple Fudge Raspberry Cake Pop Supreme is really good - it's a new flavor!!"

"I'm in," Rainbow responded almost immediately, licking her chops.

Pinkie hopped up and clicked her hooves together. "I'll go tell Mrs. Cake right away!!"

Twilight subconsciously tapped a hoof on the table, her eyes drifted towards the door. When she saw the two figures walking towards the door, she recoiled in surprise.

Toby pushed open the door with a tired but bright look in his eye. Luna was at his side, looking beside herself with happiness. There was an odd air of closeness between the two, more so than before. She found her eyes flicking towards Rainbow Dash, who also had seemed to notice the newcomers. Her face had gone extremely pale as her eyes seemed to be looking for a hiding place.

"Rainbow -" Twilight began, but a pair of footsteps sounded off to her right. To her horror, she looked around to see Toby standing there. His eyes were fixed on Rainbow Dash, who was now starting to sweat.

"Uh - Toby!! What a surprise!!" Twilight said in desperation, trying to avoid the inevitable confrontation. "How are you today?"

"Better than I have been," Toby replied calmly, not taking his eyes off of Rainbow. "Rainbow... do you need some water?"

His tone was not angry, nor aggressive in any sort of way. It was simply a normal tone.

"I- uh, I-" Rainbow stammered, and Toby's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Ah. I see now," he said quietly. Everyone stared at him, confused. He made eye contact with Rainbow and took a deep breath.

The words he said next seemed to pour life and opportunity into the room.

"Listen, Rainbow Dash... I forgive you."

Chapter updates from here on out will be few and far between, (maybe like a month or so between each chapter). I will bring this story to life again, mark my words.