For Lack of a Better Word

Chapters

Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter One
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Two

A hard impact on my back jolts me awake. The air is knocked out of me, and I cough a few times, squeezing my eyes more closed than they already are in pain. The pain comes from not only my back, but from inside my head, in my legs, and in my side, like I've been running too much. I am attempting to regain a hold on why I'm in pain, why I woke up like that, and a multitude of other questions, when I hear a scratchy female voice call out.

"Twilight! Twilight! I found Bighoof! Spike, go get Twilight, tell her I found Bighoof!" The voice comes from above me, slightly to my right, where I assume whoever is talking is standing.

"Whoa...alright, Rainbow Dash, one sec..." This voice sounds farther away, and sounds like a boy's voice. I hear some small footsteps, then the boy, who seems to be named 'Spike', continues. "Twi, Dash's here with Bighoof! Come see, quick!" What's a 'Bighoof'? Am I a 'Bighoof'? 'Spike', 'Twilight', 'Rainbow Dash'? What kind of names are those? The hell is going on...? I slowly roll to one side, placing a hand on the surface of what I lie on. It feels like wood, like a wooden floor. I open my eyes, and despite some blurriness being present, I can tell I am indeed lying on a wooden floor. I blink a few times, trying to focus.

I hear someone else, maybe a small group of people, coming towards the room from another. "Spike, Rainbow Dash, how many times do I have to tell you that Bighoof isn't--" Yet another voice, another one that is certainly female and is much more...generic?...than the other, cuts off upon entering the room. I hear what sounds like the dull thud of a heavy book hitting the floor. "...real?"

"See? Told you! Bighoof is totally real, and I found him!" the scratchy voice brags to the other. I continue trying to clear my vision while steadily pushing myself away from the floor, albeit slowly. "You shoulda' seen it! I was out flying, in my usual spot, that big field out by Luna Lake? And then I saw something, and I was like, 'hey, that's weird'. So I went down, and it was Bighoof! And he started running! But I totally beat him, then he passed out, and I brought him here!" she explains excitedly. I'm able to bring up my other arm, placing my elbow on the floor.

"Rainbow, you brought a wild animal here! Don't you remember last time, with the wolf puppy you thought was the Chupacabra? The whole pack almost destroyed Ponyville!"

"Oh, c'mon, Twi, it's a Bighoof! It's like, the rarest thing ever! It's a myth! A legend! And now it's here, for real!" I place the palm of my left hand on the floor, pushing myself up farther. I shake my head, trying to clear away the fog.

"I don't know...a few things don't seem right about it. For one, it's wearing clothes. Two, I don't see any hooves, so I doubt it could even be a Bighoof, if they were real." There is a short moment of silence, only broken by the sound of my pant leg brushing against the floor as I place the first of my feet flat on the surface.

"Ponyfeathers! I don't see any hooves, either. And clothes are kinda' weird for a Bighoof. They're supposed to be all hairy and stuff, and have really big hooves. That's why all the hoofprints ponies find are so big." Another pause as I begin standing, keeping my hands on the ground for balance. "So if it's not a Bighoof, what is it?"

"I...I'm not sure," the other voice, the one who I believe is named 'Twilight', answers thoughtfully. "It almost appears to be a Diamond Dog, but its frame is too small, and it is nearly hairless. Maybe we can ask it? It seems to be waking up...Spike, can you get me the Encyclopedia of Equestrian Inhabitants?" I stand up a little more, pulling my other hand off of the floor and balancing on my feet. I stumble, but catch myself against a nearby wall. My hands lie against what feels like a row of old books; I continue blinking and shaking my head every so often in an attempt to regain my focus.

The sound of rapidly flipping pages fills the air. "No...no...aha! Wait, no, not enough legs...no...and no. I'm not finding anything. Rainbow Dash, you may not have found Bighoof, but you did find...something." I hear 'Twilight' say. I use the bookshelves that the books rest on to pull myself up to full height; I turn around, leaning my back against the bookshelves. I rub my eyes with my fingers for a moment, then look forward.

I appear to be standing in some sort of library. A circle of bookcases lines the edge of the room, all of them filled to the brim with many colors of books, none of which I can even see a title on. They just look like colorful, upright rectangles. Both the floor and ceiling are wooden, and have a pattern similar to that of a tree's trunk, a spiral of sorts. It actually looks like I'm inside a tree. A few small windows fill the room; beneath one is a wooden desk, covered in various books, scrolls of paper, feathers, ink jars, and even a bird cage containing a sleeping owl.

However, these are all minor details compared to what stands before me. A group of three creatures stand a short distance away, watching me with anticipation. One I recognize, the light blue and rainbow colored Pegasus that both does and does not resemble a horse. There is another similar to it, at least in body shape. It is mainly violet in color, and has a trimmed mane of the same color bearing only a pink streak through it. This one has a horn atop its head, rather than wings at its sides; a unicorn. Lastly, a smaller creature stands on two legs between them; it is purple in color, and has green spikes protruding from its head, neck, back and tail. The offset white color of its belly, the claws extending from its hands, and its general shape lead me to believe it is a reptile of a sort, a large lizard, maybe.

And, everything still looks incorrect to my eyes. The pastel colors, the lack of detail, the disfiguration of the bodies of those that stand before me in a way that reminds me of cartoon characters, everything. My focus locks onto the small group, darting between each of them. The silence is so great that I can actually hear my heart rate speeding up rapidly.

"Excuse me, erm, sir...ma'am? What is your name?" the purple one...says. This time I know my heart skips a beat. I assume what I am feeling is fear, a paralyzing fear that keeps me pinned against the wall, clutching at the rows of books behind me.

The purple unicorn frowns, looking at me with curious eyes of the same color. "Do you have a name?" I continue to stare at it, unable to do anything else. "Do you understand me?" I respond with an unblinking stare.

I'm almost relieved when the panic kicks in. My head spins around, searching for a door, a window large enough for me, some form of escape. I spot a wooden door with a small window, and bolt for it. I get about three steps towards it when a blur of color races ahead of me, stopping in front of the door. It is the light blue creature with the rainbow-colored mane and tail; it is angled down, low to the ground, wings spread out to its sides and a confident smirk on its face. Surprised, I go to turn around, but end up slipping and landing on my rear, instead. I kick towards the floor, propelling myself backwards, away from the thing. I go to push myself to my feet, but instead slam against one of the bookcases. I look around frantically, searching for another way out, but finding none.

My heart pounds in my ears as I look towards the blue, horse-like thing, then towards the violet one, then to the small reptile. The three begin approaching me slowly; I try to press further into the books as they near. I hold out my hands with my palms facing them, trying to keep them from getting any closer.

To my surprise, they actually stop. My brow furrows in some confusion. I was expecting them to eat, kill or maim me in some way, but I don't think I've ever seen a predator that abides by the pleas of its prey. I slowly lower my hands, watching them cautiously.

"Why's it all freaked out?" The blue one asks. It has the voice of the one called 'Rainbow Dash', so I pin the voice to the face, whether it is really its...her?...name, or not.

The purple one glances over to 'Rainbow Dash' with a frown. "Well, it got dragged away from its home by something it was trying to run away from, to start..." This one has the voice of 'Twilight'; I assume the lizard is 'Spike'.

'Rainbow Dash' winces, smiling bashfully. Their attention returns to me. 'Twilight's' face twists in some confusion. "Wait, where is your home?"

What? My confusion becomes evident on my face; I blink a few times at the question. It is a simple one, yet seems hard for me to answer.

"I think something's wrong with it," says 'Rainbow Dash'. "Why isn't it talking, or doing anything?"

"Well, I can check and see. One moment..." Much to my surprise, the violet unicorn's horn begins to glow. A purple aura surrounds it, pulsating and rippling on its own accord. I begin to feel a tingling sensation, beginning at my toes. It travels up my body, passing through my legs, torso, arms, and head before disappearing altogether. I tense up at the feeling, surprised at its presence.

"No, nothing's wrong. It seems to be suffering from fatigue and dehydration, though, but it isn't bad."

"Then why isn't it saying anything? Can't it talk?"

"Yes, but I think we might be scaring it. Just give it some time, Rainbow."

I watch the odd-looking horses for a moment longer. Well...they seem to have good intentions in mind...The negative part of my mind reminds me they are violating every rule in nature just by existing, that I have no idea where I am, that everything looks wrong...I push it away. I decide to talk to the creatures, see if they can help explain...well, everything.

I glance about, past the group of three; my eyes lock onto the desk below the window, opposite me in the circular room. Determined, I stand, walking past them and straight for the desk at a good clip. Approaching it, I find the desk much shorter than I, and kneel down to access it. I pick up a few scrolls, opening each until I find an empty one. I then grab a plain, white feather, along with an ink jar, pulling the cork out of it.

I turn around, sitting down and rolling out a portion of the blank scroll on the wooden floor. I set the ink next to me, then dip the feather in it. I find the best grip that I can on the lightweight writing utensil, then carefully bring the tip of the feather to the paper. I make a splotch of ink the first time; I frown, dipping my feather in the ink and trying again. Hate writing with these things. After a few more attempts, I manage to messily spell out a word.

Help

I turn the scroll, showing it to the three, who are now standing close to me, watching with curiosity. 'Twilight' looks at me with question.

"Help?" I nod, pointing a finger to my chest and tapping my sternum. "You want us to help you?" I nod rapidly, pulling the scroll back towards me. Priorities, what's most important? I scribble for a moment on the paper, my next word coming out a little less splotchy.

Where

All three of them look fairly confused now. 'Twilight' speaks for them. "Where?" I gesture all around, waving about the room. Damn it, I don't want to play charades right now... "Where are you? You're in the Ponyville Library, which also happens to be my house."

I frown, looking at her. Ponyville? What the hell? I tap my finger against my written word again.

"More? The Ponyville Library, in Ponyville, Equestria...?" 'Twilight' answers hesitantly. "That's all."

My frown deepens. Equestria...? Where am I? I again go to the scroll, scribbling furiously.

Earth?

I again show them the scroll. I get the feeling I'm confusing them as much as they are me.

"You're on the earth, though. Or do you mean something related to Earth Ponies?" I squeeze my eyes shut, furrowing my brow. I pick up the quill, writing more. I accidentally tear the paper with the sharp tip of the feather, and drop down a few inches to start anew. I think for a moment, drumming my fingers on the floor. The quill bounces around as I write.

Home

I draw a crude arrow from the word 'home' to the phrase 'Earth?', trying my best to imply it is where I am from, where I want to be. 'Rainbow Dash' is the first to look up from the scroll.

"Oh, your home is earth? Like in the ground?" I frown again. Well, that was a pretty good try. I take back the scroll, moving my right hand next to 'Earth?' and starting another word.

Planet

'Twilight' looks up, realization dawning on her face. "Your home is Earth, a planet? You aren't from Equestria?" I shake my head back and forth, feeling some slight relief that they understand. The purple unicorn looks over to the small lizard. "Spike, please go get every book on inter-space and inter-dimensional travel."

'Spike' looks at her in disbelief. "But, Twilight, there's like, thirty books on that!"

"Spike!"

A sigh. "Fine..." The lizard trudges off to the bookcases, starting to climb up one in search of the books he needs. My focus returns to the two technicolor talking-horse-things before me. The rainbow-haired one looks at me, cocking her head a few degrees.

"So, you can understand us, right?" I nod cautiously in reply. "Why do you have to write to talk to us, then? Twilight, didn't you say everything was okay with it? It should be able to talk, right?" she questions, directing her attention to her fellow equine.

The same look of wonder crosses 'Twilight's' face. "Well, yes, it should...I've been wondering the same thing." Their focus returns to me. "Can you talk?"

My jaw tightens a little, almost on instinct. I slowly spin the scroll so it faces me again, dipping the quill in the ink jar and writing slowly.

The unicorn frowns. "But, your vocal cords are in working order, or they should be. Your body structure is certainly much more different from other natives, though..." she trails off in thought. I pull the scroll back, this time writing more. It's almost painful to write with the quill from how difficult it is to write legibly.

Don't talk

They both frown at me. I see the lizard stumbling around with a tall stack of books in the background; a smile touches my face as I watch for a moment. Reality returns to me when the blue one begins talking again.

"So, wait, you can talk, but you don't? Why not?"

I shake my head back and forth. A distant memory starts to return to me; I push it away before it can begin. Living it once was bad enough; re-living it over and over is...I shake my head again, looking away from the large, questioning eyes of the creatures. I look back after a moment; 'Rainbow Dash' looks confused, and 'Twilight' looks worried. I sigh inwardly. Those seem to be the usual reactions I get.

"Do you have a name?" the purple one asks. I silently thank her for changing the subject, and take to my scroll again.

Mark

"'Mark'?" the Pegasus questions. "That's a weird name." I let out a quiet snort of laughter. Yeah, I have the weird name. In response, I raise my eyebrows and gesture towards each of them. 'Twilight' catches on after a moment.

"Oh! I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is Rainbow Dash," she says, placing one of her hooves on her chest and then aiming the same hoof at the horse who believed me to be a creature of legend. Twilight Sparkle points back at the small lizard. "That's Spike, my assistant. It's nice to meet you, Mark." She extends a violet foreleg towards me; I look at it for a moment, then reach out with my right arm, grasping onto the hoof and slowly shaking up and down. Her coat is surprisingly soft, more like fur than the usual hair of horses. I release my grip, automatically moving my arm over to Rainbow Dash before me. She looks at my hand hesitantly, then puts out her hoof, sliding it into my hand. Her fur is even softer, and I can feel some warmth coming from her, seeping into my hand. I pull away from the odd feeling.

Spike returns to the others, now carrying a stack of books around three times his own height. He trembles under the weight, and just as he is about to collapse, the books begin levitating. I watch in awe as a violet aura carries the books around, separating them and sending them revolving around Twilight. Every so often, a book will come up to her face, flip through its pages, then get sent back into the air. I watch as the unicorn flips through book after book for a few minutes, utterly confused and shocked by whatever it is I'm seeing. Eventually, the books return to an orderly pile on the floor; Twilight Sparkle wears a look of dismay.

"I couldn't find anything even remotely similar to a situation like this..." she says, more to herself than anyone. "Maybe I could ask Princess Celestia, or have somepony search the Canterlot archives..." Her attention comes back to me. "Mark, I don't know what to do. Do you know how you got here?" I shake my head, only remembering awaking in the field earlier. Twilight brings a hoof to her mouth, looking down in thought. "Well...Rainbow Dash, can you keep an eye on him for a while? I need to write a letter and do some research."

"Aww, what?!" Rainbow Dash exclaims. "Why can't...oh, yeah, you can't be interrupted when you're researching." Twilight nods in response, then looks at me again.

"Is there anything you need, Mark? You should at least get comfortable while I try to figure something out."

I don't have to think for very long, and scribble with the annoying quill for a moment.

Pencil/pen?

The unicorn takes a second to read the scroll. "Oh, I think the schoolhouse has some pencils, probably some paper as well. I suppose writing with a quill might be harder for a non-unicorn..." she realizes. "Rainbow, could you take him there, make sure he gets what he needs?"

Rainbow Dash sighs, rolling her eyes in an exaggerated manner. "Fine...should I just bring him back here when he gets his stuff, or what?"

"I think that will be alright. Just keep an eye on him, and try not to attract too much attention, okay?"

Rainbow gives a short laugh. "Me? Not attract any attention? Ponies can't keep their eyes off me!"

"Just stick to back roads and outskirts, Rainbow Dash!"

"Okay, okay!" The light blue...pony?...looks at me, spreading her wings. I blink a few times, leaning back upon seeing the wings from only a few feet away. They seem a little small for her body, but nonetheless appear quite majestic in nature, like the wings of a large bird of prey. "C'mon, let's go." I nod shakily, pushing myself to my feet and walking with the pony to the exit.

Chapter Three

Rainbow Dash trots through the door ahead of me, looking back to make sure I'm following. I notice that she is only about stomach-height at her head in comparison to me; though I am fairly tall, these things are definitely too small to be actual horses. Even for ponies, they're pretty short. My musings fade as I duck through the doorway, out into the open.

It is still bright outside, the sun only a little past its midpoint. The air is warm and clear, and the day seems nice. My focus is quickly diverted from the good weather as I nearly go into information overload. A town filled with these 'ponies' lies before me. They mill about, conversing with other ponies, going in and out of the various houses filling the area, which appear almost medieval, and seem to generally go about their daily business. There is quite the variety of them, in all colors, some being normal-looking ponies, some with wings, some with horns. My mouth falls open as I look about, watching them do everything ponies should not be able to do. One pony is holding a broom in their mouth, brushing dirt off of their front porch. Another is guiding a pair of smaller ponies, foals, through the activity of the area. I see a group walking along, laughing amongst each other.

What shocks me the most is that everything they do looks so...human. My eyes wander around, absorbing all of what I see. Eventually I turn around; I see that I am standing before a very large tree, which seems to have windows, doors, and even a porch built into it, a literal tree house. I gape at the tree for a while, then turn back to the town full of ponies. I see a few beginning to look in my direction with curiosity. A few taps on my leg direct my attention downwards.

"Hey, c'mon! Everypony's starting to look!" Rainbow Dash says sharply, beckoning with a light blue foreleg for me to follow her. I take a last look at the colorful creatures, then quickly follow her away from the library. She trots between a few small houses, eventually coming to a clearing. The Pegasus jumps into the air, flaring her wings and beating them to keep herself aloft. I watch in awe for a moment; a flying horse isn't something you see every day. At least, not for me.

"What?" she questions, watching me as I watch her. My focus goes to her face, and I shake my head, waving my hand dismissively. The hovering pony looks at me a second longer, then continues. "We're just going to go around Ponyville. Probably the fastest way to get to the school, seeing as you don't have wings an' all." I nod, and she begins flying forward. I can't help but watch her out of curiosity as she flies along. She'll look back every once in a while, and I'll glance away, afraid she'll be insulted from me staring at her. People usually don't take kindly to awkward staring, so I doubt these things do, either.

After a few minutes of silence, something I'm fairly familiar with, she speaks up, maybe sick of the quiet. "Uh...sorry about thinking you were Bighoof." I wave my hand again, as if to say it was a mistake anyone could have made. Sure, anyone could mistake me for a mythical creature with big hooves and a lot of hair, despite the fact I have neither. I seem to end conversations fairly quickly, being that I can't carry one too well without a better form of communication than my hands.

Should've learned sign language. I think for a moment. Suppose that wouldn't help me much here, though. I frown to myself. God, where am I? Talking, mythical, colorful ponies that don't even look like ponies? How did I even get here? I mentally make a note to ask Rainbow Dash about that once I found something better to write with.

Upon another thought I check my pockets, finding them empty. Damn. The small notepad and pencil I usually keep on me are gone. I always have those on me...I look up, slightly dismayed. I see what looks like an old one-room schoolhouse a little ways away. I look up at the light blue Pegasus pony, but her focus remains on the school. She looks bored; escorting an unfamiliar creature who can't talk to a school isn't my idea of a fun time, either, though.

We approach the front door of the school, and Rainbow turns to me. "I'll go inside and get what you need, don't need you freaking out any foals." I snort in laughter, smiling in agreement. "So, what, you need a pencil, stuff to write on?" I nod in reply. She nods back, settling down on the ground before trotting inside. I lean up against the outside wall of the schoolhouse, taking care to stay away from windows. After a few minutes, the light blue pony comes back out. She holds a yellow pencil and a small stack of blank paper in her mouth. I smile in gratitude, kneeling down to take the items. The pony spits out the writing materials into my hand with a 'pleh'. I take one sheet of paper off the small stack, folding the rest and sticking it into my pocket. I fold the sheet into a smaller, stiffer form, grasping the pencil in my fingers and scribbling for a moment. I show the folded paper to Rainbow Dash.

Thanks.

She nods. "Yeah, no prob'. Should probably get back to Twilight, now." I stand in agreement, and she again takes to the air, leveling out at eye level with me. We begin heading back to the tree house, keeping away from the eyes of those living in the town by skirting around it. I begin writing again, starting right below my first statement.

Do you know how I got here?

Rainbow reads through the question, then looks at me, frowning. "Nah, just found you in my field." I rub a hand on my chin, both in apprehension and in thought. I attempt to think of another question to ask, but the only ones I can think of would likely sound...well, stupid. Why are ponies talking? Why doesn't anything look right? Why am I here? Why? I sigh quietly. Maybe a question less direct, explain a little at a time instead of all at once. My hand jerks around above the paper, and I raise my arm to show it to the flying pony.

You're a Pegasus. How?

The Pegasus in question gives me an odd look, as expected. "Whaddya' mean, how? I was just born with wings, I guess. I don't choose whether I want to be a Pegasus, Unicorn, or Earth Pony, it just kinda' works out that way. Not that I'd want to be anything else; being a Pegasus is totally awesome," she adds with a confident smirk. I smile back, then continue writing.

Pegasus, unicorn, earth pony. Explain?

Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow, chuckling softly in disbelief. "Really? It's not that hard, is it? Pegasi can fly, mess with clouds and make the weather, Unicorns can use magic and spells and whatever, and Earth Ponies are really good at growing stuff." I nod in understanding, despite little of it making logical sense. Returning my gaze forward, I spot the large tree in the distance, sticking out amidst the various homes that sit much lower to the ground. My mind wanders to another question.

What is Spike?

The rainbow-maned pony looks at me. "He's a baby dragon...are you telling me you've never seen a dragon?" My eyes widen a little. So, talking ponies and dragons. I shake my head 'no', starting to feel numb, maybe brain-dead. I glance back at the tree, slowly nearing, then up at Rainbow Dash. I recall her comment before I passed out, how it seemed like she thought I was trying to race her. Maybe I'll humor her. She's bored, anyways. Graphite (or maybe lead; I make note not to chew on my pencil) spreads about the surface of the paper.

Race you there.

She looks at me, smirking. "You know you're gonna lose, right?" I give a lopsided smile, shrugging as if to say you never know. "Alright, but I'm not going easy." I stop, lowering to the ground in a semi-exaggerated racing stance. She drops down a foot or so, narrowing her eyes and focusing on the tree house. "Okay...ready...set...go!"

As soon as she says 'go', I feel a blast of air beside me. I begin sprinting forward, a little stunned. Looking ahead, I can see a flat streak of rainbow trailing her, marking her path. The pony now appears as a small blue figure at the end of the rainbow, stopped beside the tree. Damn, she wasn't kidding. I continue running, watching with a bemused smile as Rainbow Dash starts to come towards me. She stops a few feet ahead, hovering backwards and matching my speed.

"Wow, you are really slow. Really, really, really, really...sssloooooow," she jokes, dragging out the word 'slow'. I just chuckle and continue running steadily. To my amusement, she begins flying circles around me, still managing to keep my speed even while messing around. I can't say I'm not impressed. I eventually reach the base of the library, and slow to a stop. The light blue Pegasus trots around me, heading towards the front door. "Sheesh, Tank could beat you in a race..." I assume 'Tank' is someone who is very, very slow, and give a snort of laughter between my panting. I follow her into the tree house.

Twilight Sparkle sits in the middle of the main room, and a book hovers before her face. Spike quickly walks over to Rainbow Dash and I, holding a claw to his mouth. We oblige, waiting quietly while the violet unicorn mumbles to herself, a frown growing on her face. After a minute, she gives a sigh of disgust, setting the book down on a tall stack using her light purple magic. She seems to just now notice we've returned, and her face brightens a little.

"Rainbow Dash, Mark, you're back! Did you get what you needed?" In response I pull out the folded stack of blank paper and the pencil, smiling. "Good!" Twilight's smile begins to fade. "I have some bad news. I haven't been able to find anything on you or your kind, Mark. They seem to be nonexistent in Equestria. Until now, that is."

I nod solemnly. I'm not even from here. And no one else is with me? I'm alone? The thought sinks deeper into my mind. I shake my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts, feeling a tinge of hope. I pull out my pencil and current piece of paper, using my hand as a flat surface to write on. I walk over to Twilight, pointing out my question among the other writings on the paper.

Found any way for me to get home? Inter-dimensional travel, inter-planetary, how did I get here?

Her frown returns. "No, the most I've found is on teleportation, time-travel, things that only involve Equestria, not other planets or dimensions. I don't know how you got here, Mark, I'm sorry." I nod again, internally scolding myself for getting my hopes up even a little. "However, I did write a letter to Princess Celestia, and she may respond at any--"

Twilight is cut off by what sounds like someone about to throw up. I turn towards the noise, and see Spike, clutching his stomach. I start to approach him, but am held back by a purple hoof against my leg. Glancing over at Twilight Sparkle in worry, I see she is just watching Spike with...anticipation? Confused, I look back to the small dragon. To my surprise, he gives a loud belch; with this belch, a gout of green fire shoots out of his mouth, evaporating harmlessly into the air. Once the fire clears, I see a scroll, emblazoned with a golden seal that resembles a sun. Spike walks over to Twilight, handing her the scroll while rubbing his stomach. I try and wipe the mild horror off my face, focusing on the scroll.

The purple unicorn unravels the scroll with her magic, horn softly glowing as she does so. Her eyes dart back and forth, reading through the scroll quickly. After a moment, Twilight Sparkle looks at me with some confusion, and levitates the open scroll towards me. I grasp onto the thick paper, holding the scroll open at the top and bottom as Twilight releases her magical grip. I begin reading through the letter.

To my ever-faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,

The creature you describe is indeed not one present in Equestria in great abundance, if any at all. Sadly, I do not know of any way to return this being to where it came before. Perhaps we can discover a way. Until then, 'Mark' is to be treated like everypony else; as a friend. Show him the magic of friendship, Twilight, as you have so many others.

And please, give this new Equestrian the knowledge that I would like to speak to him personally, as soon as could possibly be. I apologize again for not being able to help, but I feel you and your friends will be of more help to him than I could ever be.

An elegant signature is scrawled across the bottom of the letter. I roll the scroll shut, handing it to Twilight Sparkle. As if my reaction has yet to set in, I decide to ask another question, removing my pencil and makeshift notepad again.

Who is 'Princess Celestia'?

Twilight looks at me as if I have committed blasphemy; I wonder for a moment if I have. "Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria, alongside her sister, Princess Luna. Celestia raises the sun each day, and Luna raises the moon each night. Both are omniscient and wise, and are the most powerful beings in Equestria," she tells me factually. My mind begins churning, and I start writing once more.

Like goddesses, except they are tangible?

The unicorn frowns. "I...suppose so? What is a 'goddess'?" It's my turn to frown.

All-knowing, all-powerful female being that is believed in, but is not proven to exist.

"Well, then, yes, because the Princesses do exist." I stare blankly at Twilight, trying to comprehend the idea of a world with gods that are actually living, breathing things. And they raise the sun and moon? What about gravitational pull? What about...? I carry on for a while, questioning just about everything there is to question. My mind conflicts with itself, unable to decide between what I have been taught is reality my entire life, and what I see before me, my current reality. If magical talking ponies exist, why shouldn't they be able to control the sun, and the moon, and the weather, and everything? I try to tell myself that it's because they aren't possible, that none of that is possible. My senses deceive me, though; everything about this place feels real, is real.

I slowly sit down on the floor of the library. And if a goddess says she has no clue how to get me out of here, or how I even got here...A numb feeling begins to spread throughout me. I see some movement out of the corner of my eye, and focus on it. I see Rainbow Dash standing near me, only a trace of worry on her face.

"You alright, Mark? You don't look so good..."

I hold her gaze for a moment. Her large, cerise eyes seem so friendly, welcoming...I blink a few times, nodding lightly. She nods as well, seemingly reassured. I glance to the floor, taking in a deep breath and sighing it out.

"Rainbow Dash?" I look up, over at Twilight. She has a sheepish look on her face. "You have the day off tomorrow, right?"

The sky-blue Pegasus gives a look of confusion at first. "Yeah, the team doesn't have anything planned for tomorrow. Why are you--?" A look of realization crosses her face, and the pony glances down towards me. "Really? I was going to practice tomorrow! He's way too slow, I can't watch him all day!" I brush off the insult, showing Twilight Sparkle a look that says 'she's right, you know'.

"Just keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't go wandering into the Everfree or anything. You can still practice your tricks while watching him from the air, right?" Twilight pleads. "I need to keep looking into this, and nopony else knows about him. Maybe you could show him around, introduce him to everypony?" She smiles big; I swear her pupils triple in size.

Rainbow Dash holds Twilight's stare for a long time, then sighs, relaxing her shoulders. "Fine..."

"Thank you," Twilight responds cheerfully. She faces me. "Now, Mark, you can stay in one of two places. Here, in the library, or with Dash, in the clouds. And I really don't see how we can get you up there without the balloon and a cloud walking spell, and the balloon takes a few hours to fill. It looks like you'll be staying with me for the night."

***

I lie down on a makeshift bed composed of a few blankets and a pillow, positioned off to one side of the main room of the library. After some stern, silent refusal from me, Twilight eventually agreed to take her own bed for the night, allowing me to sleep on the floor. I think I heard her mumble something about me being 'more stubborn than an applejack', but I didn't really understand that.

I find it hard to get to sleep, my mind constantly reliving the events of the day, trying to sort things out.

Chapter Four

The sound of a door opening a few yards away startles me awake. I turn over, placing my hands on the wooden floor and pushing myself to a kneel, eyes snapping open and moving to where the sound came from. I relax as I see a familiar light blue pony trot in. She looks over at me, cocking an eyebrow and smiling upon seeing my odd stance.

"Calm down, there, tough guy. Just me, your friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash."

I soundlessly chuckle, moving my legs forward and sitting down on my small pile of blankets. I pull my knees up, resting my arms on them. Blinking tiredly, I twist my back to pop the ligaments in it. Sleeping on the floor always makes my back hurt; it doesn't help that my back is already weakened from my taller height. I rub my eyes with one hand for a moment, my surprise replaced by tiredness.

"Not much of a morning pony?" I remove my hand, looking at the colorful creature and shaking my head. She gives a short, scratchy laugh, smiling. "Yeah, right there with yah'."

I sit idly for a while longer, then stand up. Bending and twisting every limb I can, I stretch and loosen myself up for the day. I'm rewarded with some nice crackling from my knuckles, and a large pop from my neck. When I'm feeling less of the morning rigor mortis, my gaze goes down to the rainbow-maned Pegasus near me. She stares at me with an odd mixture of worry and curiosity on her face.

"You alright? That didn't sound too healthy..." I nod and smile in reply, showing I'm unhurt. She shrugs, then glances around as if searching for something. Rainbow Dash looks back at me after a few seconds. "Twilight and Spike here?" I shrug, raising my palms. "Looks like she was serious, then...ugh. I really didn't want to spend my day off showing you around. No offense," she adds. Saying 'no offense' doesn't negate the offensiveness. I wave dismissively anyways. "Well, you ready?" I glance down, shoving my hands in my pockets. I feel some paper and the pencil, and nod. The pony turns, heading for the door. I take a look around, then follow her out.

I immediately squint as we step out of the library. The day seems flawless, literally; the sun shines brightly, warming the air around me as it hangs near midday, a light breeze flows through the air, and not a single cloud dots the blue sky. In a way, it isn't right; it's too perfect. It might look more normal if there were at least a few wisps of cirrus clouds high in the air. I avert my focus to my more direct surroundings.

As with yesterday, ponies of all sorts fill the streets as far as I can see. I wonder for a moment if this is more of a town or a city. It looks like a town, but seems to have the population of a city. Maybe it's the fact that there seems to be a lot of ponies because they all stand out to me. I'm ready to go back to good, old-fashioned humans, but judging by what everyone has been saying...

I think back to the letter from the ruler-slash-goddess of wherever-the-hell-I-am. A frown begins to work its way onto my face. Not even a supposedly-omniscient being knows how I got here. I know for sure I don't belong here. Anyone could see that, from the fact that I lack the sort of cartoon-ish look the rest of this place has to that there isn't anything even remotely similar to me as far as the natives go.

"Hey, anypony home?" I see a blur of light blue in front of my face, and my eyes refocus. Rainbow Dash waves her hoof in front of my eyes, hovering in front of me. I blink a few times, and she lowers her foreleg. "Equestria to Mark. Lost yah' there for a sec'." I go to pull out my conversation paper to explain that I had 'zoned out'. "C'mon, we have a town to see. Maybe if we get done fast enough, I'll get in some practice..." she trails off. "Uh...I guess we're pretty close to Rarity's place, so we'll go see her first."

We begin making our way down one of the paths lying before us, the Pegasus flying only a short distance ahead. I notice ponies staring at me, some in wonder, some in disgust, some in fear. I hear the phrase 'diamond dog' murmured quite a bit, as well as 'dragon' and the general question of 'what is that thing'. I don't enjoy the experience at all; attention is something I have never liked. One of the nicer aspects of being tall and very, very quiet; people stay away from you. That seems to be working against me, now. I keep my focus on either the street ahead or to the pony hovering near me.

I follow Rainbow as she turns onto another road. I note that this place has a sort of medieval feel, given the lack of cars and the people--ponies--using the street as their sidewalk. I also see that the streets seem to clear before me like the Red Sea, if the Red Sea was colorful and filled with ponies instead of water. Eventually, a building that seems to stick out from the others catches my eye. It seems to be a few stories tall, and appears completely circular. Various ribbons, drapes, and other decor spruce up the white structure. Atop it is what looks like a small carousel. I'm tempted to question what it is, but it seems to be where we are going, so I patiently continue walking towards it.

The light blue pony and I arrive at the front door of the building; Rainbow Dash glances over at me. "This is Carousel Boutique, me and Twilight's friend Rarity's place. She's really fancy, so just...act fancy, or something." I smile, bringing my feet together and bowing to the hovering Pegasus, twirling my hand in as fancy a manner I know. She snorts in amusement, then knocks on the door with her foreleg. While we wait, I move to a position with my feet together and my hands clasped at my waist. After a moment, the door opens a little ways.

The head of a white pony, a unicorn, with a curled purple mane pops into the opening created by the half-opened door. She appears to be wearing makeup, and it occurs to me that she seems to care about her appearance quite a bit. Not saying that hasn't paid off; she looks quite nice. 'Rarity' notices Rainbow Dash first.

"Rainbow Dash, darling! What brings you here?" the white pony questions in an accent that does come off as high-class to me. It sounds British, yet isn't a full British accent; maybe it's just the way she pronounces her vowels. "Don't tell me you're going to cancel our spa day on--"

"Actually, Rarity, Twilight told me to show somepony new around town today!" Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rainbow Dash blushing furiously. And I had her pinned for the tomboy type, I joke to myself. She directs Rarity's attention over to me with a hoof.

Rarity's eyes widen considerably, pupils shrinking. "Oh, my..." she says shakily. Her face changes, showing a forced smile. "...ah, where are my manners? I'm Rarity." She holds out a white hoof, letting it hang limply. It doesn't look like a normal handshake. Fancy, think fancy. I kneel down to her level, grasping her hoof with my hand. I kiss it lightly, then release, standing again.

"Oh, my!" she repeats. "What a gentlecolt! You must tell me your name, sir." I reach into my pocket, grabbing my crumpled-up paper and pencil. After a second I turn the paper to her.

My name is Mark.

She raises an eyebrow in question, looking up at me. Rainbow Dash steps towards the white unicorn, whispering in her ear, "He doesn't talk." I quietly thank my light blue tour guide for explaining for me. Rarity looks at me for a moment, then smiles sincerely.

"It is very nice to meet you, Mark. Please, come inside, both of you." She opens the door all the way, allowing us to enter. "And don't forget to wipe your hooves!" she calls out behind her. I look down, noticing a doormat, and scuff my sneakers on it. The Pegasus drops to the ground, hastily wiping her hooves on the scratchy surface of the doormat. I swing my arms into the building, bowing towards her.

She grins, giving me a look. "Show off." I follow the small pony inside, making sure to shut the door behind me. I look around, taking in the room I stand in. It appears to be a shop of some sort, one which sells dresses. Dresses made specifically for ponies, that is. Pony-shaped mannequins line the room, all of them bearing different styles of dresses. Some are very flashy and modern-looking, others are refined and elegant; there are even a few designed specifically for Pegasi, with holes for wings to fit through. The shop is pristine; everything is orderly and aligned with the rest of the room, the floor is spotless, and there is not one loose item to be seen. It pleases the minor OCD I seem to possess.

I see Rarity tending to one of the mannequins, adjusting the dress on it for a reason I cannot discern. It looks fine to me. "So, Rainbow, you said Mark here is new in Ponyville?" she questions, her focus elsewhere. I glance over at Rainbow Dash, who glances back before replying.

"Yeah, uhm...well, he's sorta' new...everywhere. Like, to Equestria. He's not from here, I guess." Her magenta eyes dart over to mine in question, and I nod in confirmation. Looking back at Rarity, I see she stops messing with the dress.

"I see..." the fashionista unicorn replies. She peers at me for a while, as if observing me more closely than before. "...well, darling, I can assure you that you've already made some very good friends here. Who else knows of this?" she asks, aiming the question at Rainbow Dash.

"Just me, you, Twilight, and everypony we passed getting from Twilight's to here, so far. Oh, and the Princess."

Rarity nods, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "Alright. Is there anything I can do to help, Mark?" I don't feel a need for any dresses, so I shake my head. As if reading my mind, she replies, "I don't just make dresses, you know. I can see you have a much more...casual style. If you ever need new clothing, do not hesitate to ask." I nod and smile gratefully. "And you, Rainbow Dash?"

The pony in question shakes her head. "Nah', we'd better get going, introduce him to everypony else. Later, Rares."

As Rainbow and I begin heading for the exit, Rarity calls out behind us, "Goodbye, Rainbow Dash! It was very nice to meet you, Mark!" I wave, then exit the boutique. Once we get outside, the light blue Pegasus again takes the slight lead, hovering at eye level with me. After we get a short distance away from the building, heading towards a new destination that I am unaware of, she looks over at me, a look of curiosity on her face. I notice she looks up and down my body; I wonder with a little fear if she's checking me out.

"Why do you wear clothes all the time? I mean, don't you get hot or anything?" she asks. I internally sigh in relief, pulling out my writing utensils.

Humans (which is what I am) don't have very much fur, so we get cold easily.

I show her the folded paper, then think of something that somehow seems necessary to add.

Also, it covers more private areas.

She raises an eyebrow, looking over at me with a smirk. "Wait, you guys are scared of being naked?" Trying to suppress the heat rising in my face, I nod. The pony brings a light blue hoof to her mouth, trying to stifle a laugh; some of it escapes anyways. I give her a look. What's so funny? She notices, and lowers her foreleg, still smiling with mirth. "Sorry, that's just kinda' weird. I mean, look around, everypony's naked." I don't look around, instead keeping my gaze locked onto her face. I can't control my blushing at this point; Rainbow Dash giggles as she watches my embarrassment grow. Face, focus on faces, nothing else, faces.

After a fairly awkward silence, I recall a question of my own. I scribble down my question, smiling like a fox as I show the hovering pony the writing.

So a spa day, huh?

My smirk widens as I watch Rainbow's cheeks flare pink, eyes widening. She shoves her foreleg into my palm, attempting to crumple up the paper. I pull it away, shaking with laughter as I shove the paper in my pocket. She swings a hoof at me, slugging me in the shoulder. Quite honestly, it hurts like hell; I did not expect a pony to possess enough strength to not know they had it. Maybe she intentionally hit me hard, though. I rub my shoulder, continuing to chuckle quietly, my smile also serving as a grimace. Damn, that's gonna' leave a bruise...

Rainbow Dash looks at me with a mixture of anger, embarrassment, and some leftover happiness. She leans down, lowering her voice. "If you tell anypony about that, I will buck you to the moon. Got it?" I nod, but can't help but continue smiling at her. "You gotta' Pinkie Promise," she says seriously. Man, she's pretty touchy about doing girly stuff. I raise my right hand up to her, extending my pinkie finger. She looks at it, frowning. Wait, how would they even pinkie promise wihout pinkies?

Rainbow lets out a sigh. "Just repeat after me, okay?" She begins flying sideways, drawing some question and awe from me, and begins moving her forelegs about. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." As she says this, she draws an 'x' across her chest with her hoof, then follows it up by moving the hoof to her eye. "Now you." I raise an eyebrow at first, but assume she just wants me to do half. I use my pointer finger to draw an 'x' across my chest, then jab the finger near my eye, nearly poking myself. The A Christmas Story version of a pinkie promise, I guess.

"You can't ever tell anypony, ever. You Pinkie Promised." I nod solemnly. Why would I tell anyone that you like doing something girly? Got an image to keep up? For the time being, I assume she does. Rainbow Dash stops, and I look forward, surprised at how fast we arrived at the next stop on my grand tour of...Ponyville? Yeah, that's it.

The building we stand (or hover) before also seems to stand out from the rest of the cottage-like houses filling the town. It looks like some sort of confectionary, as there are various desserts sitting in a large window at the front of the shop. A wooden sign hangs above the door, one which reads Sugarcube Corner. I step forward and push the door open, holding it there for Rainbow Dash. I may not have Rarity's idea of good manners, but that doesn't mean I don't have any at all. I follow the pony inside.

The first thing I notice about this place is the smell. Scents of vanilla, chocolate, sugar, spices, and general baking fill the air, combining to make a tasty smell. throughout the room are various tables, at which a few ponies sit, eating desserts such as cupcakes and doughnuts. A glass display case, which also serves as a counter, sits at the back of the room, showing off every kind of dessert imaginable, from cupcakes of all colors, to birthday and wedding cakes, and even what appears to be a moose made out of mousse.

The second is a vibrantly-colored pony standing behind said counter. I believe it to be a she, as it is colored pink with a frizzy, pink mane. I mean, I suppose pink can be masculine on polo shirts or something of the like, but not with this much pink involved. The pink pony appears fairly normal, otherwise, lacking any wings or a horn. For a normal pony, though, she seems...well, abnormal.

"Hey, Pinkie! Come meet Mark. He's..." Rainbow Dash pauses, giving me a sly grin. "new in Ponyville." Wait, why did she emphasize--

To my surprise, the pink pony, aptly called 'Pinkie', apparently, begins bouncing behind the counter. In one deft leap, she jumps over the counter, landing near me. She begins bouncing up and down rapidly in a manner I can compare to a jackhammer when in use. Pinkie bounces in circles around me, twirling about as she does so.

"Oh my gosh, somepony new in Ponyville?! I'm Pinkie Pie! It's nice to meet you, Mark! I know everypony in Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie takes in an impossibly huge gasp of air. While she does, I look at Rainbow Dash. What have you done? "We have to throw you a party! A 'Welcome-to-Ponyville-Mark-Party'! With balloons! And streamers! And confetti! And more balloons! No, less balloons...more confetti! And electro music, because you like that stuff! I don't, it just sounds like a bunch of beeps and boops to me. Oh, wait, you haven't told the reader that you like that yet, have you? Oops! Oh, well. Okay, I actually have eight more parties today, so we'll have to work you in some other time, maybe a few chapters from now..."

I silently mouth the words 'help me' to Rainbow Dash, who is trying her best not to burst out laughing. She wipes a tear from her eye, then decides to have mercy on me. "Okay, Pinks, we've got to go visit everypony else, so we'll talk to you later." I count my blessings.

Pinkie Pie freezes, mid-bounce, still hanging in the air. "Okay, Dashie! See you guys later! Bye, Mark, nice meeting you!" I smile quickly, then walk as quickly as I can to the door.

Rainbow chuckles. "Pinkie Pie, you are so random." She follows me outside, immediately taking to the air beside me. I grab my pencil and paper, scribbling for a moment.

What's wrong with her?

I receive a laugh in reply. "Pinkie Pie," she says, as if it's supposed to explain everything. I just decide to go with it, writing down my next question and holding it up to the Pegasus.

'Pinkie Promise'?

"What about it?" I point back towards Sugarcube Corner. "Oh, yeah, that's where it comes from." Thinking of my last question, a smile begins to form on my face as I jot it down.

'Dashie'?

The sky-blue pony blushes for a moment at the pet name, then scowls at me. "Don't. Say. Anything," she says, in that odd mixture of anger and playfulness. After a second, we both realize the irony of the statement. Laughing, we head towards the outskirts of the town.

Chapter Five

I've always enjoyed just going for a walk. Maybe it seems...well, lame, but it allows me to just relax, do something without really doing anything. The air gets steadily quieter as we distance ourselves from the last few houses marking the edge of the pony-filled town, conversations and the sound of hooves on dirt roads becoming soft sounds of nature and the timed thump of beating wings. I glance over and up at the light blue Pegasus, watching her fly for a while. It occurs to me that her wings should be larger to keep her in the air; I then wonder how light she is. Hollow bones, maybe, like a bird? I contemplate asking her, but decide to leave her be for the moment.

We cross over a bridge, my footsteps becoming audible for a moment as my sneakers hit stone. The noise directs my focus ahead of me again. The road ahead forks off, the path to the right winding a bit before leading up to a cottage on a small hill. The house is infused with a lot of overgrowth, but isn't quite a tree house like the library. Rainbow Dash pulls ahead a little, taking the path towards the house. She settles down on the ground, ruffling her wings before folding them against her sides. I observe for a moment longer, then pull my gaze away.

The rainbow-maned pony approaches the wooden door of the cottage, raising her hoof. She taps ever-so-lightly on the door, then steps back, awaiting a response. I hang back so the Pegasus can be the first to greet her friend, rather than me. The door slowly opens, revealing a pale-yellow pony with a flowing, light pink mane and tail. A pair of wings open at her sides, and she smiles happily upon seeing the light blue pony at the door.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash!" she says in what is basically a loud whisper.

"Hey, Fluttershy. Guess what?" Rainbow asks playfully.

"What?"

"We found someone quieter than you!" She aims a blue foreleg in my direction, looking towards me. The yellow pony follows her hoof, eyes widening when her gaze reaches me. She lets out an 'eep' of terror, and the door slams shut. I wince, raising an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash. "She's a little shy." I wouldn't have guessed.

She knocks on the door again. "Fluttershy, it's okay. He's not going to eat you or anything." The sky-blue pony pauses, glancing at me. "Right?" she asks, a little more quietly. I rub my hand against my chin, feigning deep thought. After a moment, I shake my head, smiling. "Yeah, he's not going to eat you. Just open the door, please? Twilight said I have to show him around."

A few seconds pass, then the door opens a crack. One large, blue eye peeks through, locking on to me. I open my palms and smile, trying to show I have good intentions. The door opens a little wider, then all the way. I hear the quietest of whispers come from within the cottage.

"Thanks, Fluttershy." Rainbow jerks her head towards the house, looking at me. I walk up the rest of the path, then follow her inside, ducking through the doorway. The inside of the home is slightly warmer, making me uncomfortable with the added heat of the summer day. As I look around, I see various quilts, blankets, pillows, and rugs decorating the room, as well as quite a few potted flowers and plants. Movement causes me to look down, to my feet. There stands a small, white rabbit, looking up at me with what appears to be a scowl. I'm surprised by the fact a rabbit would actually approach me; maybe the wildlife is less timid here.

The rabbit continues staring menacingly at me for a while; I hold its gaze, smiling back. Eventually, it raises two small toes to its eyes, then turns its paw around and points a single toe at me. I feel my eyes widen, but I nod; the rabbit nods in satisfaction, then scampers off. Did a rabbit just imply it was going to be watching me? I think for a moment. Wait, why does that strike me as odd? I've been visiting talking ponies all afternoon in a place that looks like something out of a kids' cartoon. I shake my head to clear it, looking back into the room I stand in.

I notice a small form at the back of the room, pressed up against the wall opposite me and Rainbow Dash. It is the pink-maned Pegasus, whom I believe to be named 'Fluttershy'. She trembles violently, looking like she just wants to disappear. I frown, assuming this is my doing. I think for a moment, then take a cautious step forward. The frightened pony presses harder against the wall. I look down, thinking again, then kneel down. I extend my right hand towards her, smiling in as friendly a manner as I can.

I hold my hand out for some time, wondering if she'll ever accept it. She slowly begins to calm down, first coming off of the wall. I continue to remain fairly motionless, watching her trembling stop, then as she draws herself back up to normal height. Fluttershy approaches me hesitantly, then extends her foreleg, leaning away from it as if the second I touch it, it will explode. I gently take her hoof, shaking lightly before releasing my grip and moving back, standing again. That wasn't so hard, was it?

The yellow pony looks up at me, fear again entering her eyes as she sees me at full height, but then disappearing soon after, quelled from within. "Uhm...sorry," she says quietly, looking away. "I-I'm Fluttershy." The Pegasus lets out another 'eep', then what sounds like another apology in the form of a whisper only dogs could hear.

"This is Mark," Rainbow begins. "He's new to Equestria, so Twilight told me to show him around. I guess he'll be staying a while, so, yeah."

Fluttershy's face lights up after a moment. "A new animal in Equestria?" She looks at me, stepping closer. "You are new, aren't you?" she asks rhetorically. I soon find that Fluttershy is almost as talkative as Pinkie Pie. "You understand us? Can you talk? Do you have a name? Does your species have its own language? I want to know everything!"

I look at the pale yellow Pegasus in some surprise at her new-found confidence. Slowly removing my paper and pencil, I begin recalling her questions in order.

Yes, I do. I can, but I do not. Yes, it is Mark, like Rainbow Dash said. Yes, we have many, but I speak yours most fluently. Everything is too much.

She reads the paper, then looks up at me, something like sadness or pity on her face. "Oh, you don't talk? Is something wrong? Can I do anything to help?" I shake my head quickly, clamping my jaws together. My gaze drifts off to a nearby wall. No. Not now. I blink, shaking my head and forcing myself to focus on the pink-maned pony. I realize her wings have been moving as she talks, almost seeming to reflect her emotions; with her look of pity, they are only half-raised. I recall them being spread out when she was excited. My eyes move over to Rainbow Dash, looking at the wings folded at her sides. Do all Pegasi do that? I wonder idly.

"Oh, okay," Fluttershy says, looking downcast. Her face brightens after a moment, and she looks over at Rainbow. "Can I get you two anything? Some tea, maybe?"

The light blue Pegasus shakes her head, smiling. "Sorry, 'Shy, got places to be, ponies to see. Maybe soon, okay?"

Fluttershy nods happily. "Okay, Rainbow." She gives her friend a quick hug, then steps back, looking at me. "It was nice meeting you, Mark." I smile and nod. Rainbow Dash turns for the door, and I follow her outside, leaving Fluttershy's cottage.

We begin down a path that appears to skirt around the town. I figure we're in for a bit of traveling, so I get out my pencil and paper, figuring I may as well try to pass the time by learning some more about where I happen to be. I show my flying companion-for-the-day a new section of my paper, clear of all but one new question.

Are wings affected by emotions?

She reads my handwriting, then looks at me with a raised eyebrow and a cocky grin. "Checking out Fluttershy, eh?" My eyes widen in realization. Oh, Christ! I shake my head rapidly, feeling heat rise in my face. "Or maybe me? I know, it's hard not to look at these things..." She glances back, looking at her flapping wings before shooting me a...seductive look. I nearly shake my head off my shoulders, waving my hands as well in my panic.

Rainbow Dash bursts into a fit of laughter, scratchily cackling as she holds her sides. She's somehow able to keep flying steadily while laughing to the point that tears begin forming in her eyes. My mouth hangs slightly open as I watch her laugh at me. You have got to be kidding me. I rub a hand against my face, starting to chuckle. Eventually I start laughing with the pony, both amused and ashamed that I could be so dim-witted.

Between gasps of breath, Rainbow manages a few words. "I...can't believe...you actually thought..." She starts laughing hysterically again, clutching her sides in pain. I rub the bridge of my nose, shaking with laughter of my own. After a few more minutes, we calm down, recovering our breath.

"Oh, hay," the Pegasus sighs merrily. "I got you so good," she says, grinning at me. I grin back, chuckling and nodding in agreement. "I'm gonna' have to tell Pinkie about that one..." She sighs again, laughing a little more before continuing. "Nah', you weren't checking out Fluttershy, or me, by looking at our wings. For what you asked, if wings are affected by emotions, yeah, they are. They're like a second face that we can't control when we feel stuff." Rainbow Dash glances over; I continue looking at her, wanting her to explain more.

"Uhh...okay, so, when a Pegasus is happy, their wings are up, and when they're sad, their wings kind of fall a little. They actually look kind of sad. And when they're angry, scared, excited, or...uhh..." She pauses, blushing lightly. "...yeah, excited, their wings spread out all the way. There's your lesson in Pegasus anatomy." I smile, nodding in thanks for the information. The less social faux pas, the better.

The rainbow-maned pony and I continue walking (and flying) along for a while in silence. "Y'know..." Rainbow begins; I look over at her. "...it's kinda' weird having to explain all this stuff to you. Usually ponies, griffons, dragons, you name it, know this kind of stuff, or just don't ask." I frown, scribbling on my paper for a moment.

Is it bad that I'm asking?

"No way! Okay, it's weird, but...like, in a good way. It's kind of cool. I dunno'." She goes quiet for a moment, hovering steadily along. "I guess I'm not used to being asked about stuff. That's, like, egghead territory. Ponies like Twilight are the ones you ask stuff like this, smart ponies, not me." My frown goes from one of question to one of a feeling I can't describe very well; it is something like pity, but is not. The end of the pencil twitches about as I scribe out letters.

You seem smart to me.

Rainbow Dash frowns. "I'm not, though. You only think I am because you don't know a bunch of simple stuff, no offense. I'm not super-smart like Twilight, money-smart like Applejack, animal-smart like Fluttershy, fancy-smart like Rarity, or...okay, I'm not actually sure what Pinkie's smart at, but she can be a genius sometimes. I'm just good at flying and stuff, that's it." I pin the feeling I'm having as some sort of need-to-comfort, without a better way of saying so. I think for a moment, tapping my pencil against my lips. My gaze shifts to the sky, and an idea comes to me.

What's that cloud?

I point with my pencil, aiming at one of the fluffy clouds in the light blue sky. The light blue pony moves a little closer to me, focusing on where I point at. "That's easy, it's a cumulus." I tap my paper, tapping my question again with the notion of repeating it, then point at a different cloud, one that seems slightly thinner and higher up. "That one?" I nod. "Pretty sure it's a cirrocumulus." I tap the paper once more, then point at a large, low-hanging cloud in the distance. "Over the Everfree?" I nod again. "There's always big cumulonimbus clouds over there." Halfway satisfied, I write down a new question, taking a stab at what this particular pony seems to have a talent for.

What factors can affect flight?

Rainbow brings a hoof to her mouth. "There's a lot. The biggest are crosswinds, and there can be a lot of those, sometimes in a bunch of different directions. Drafts and air pockets can mess you up pretty bad, too. How high you are, 'cause the air is thinner higher up. Humidity, too, that can make the air seem thicker and slow you down..." She trails off, reading the note I hold over to her.

See?

"See what?" she asks, looking confused. I mentally face-palm, and add some more to my question.

You're flying-smart.

"What, that stuff? Every Pegasus has got to know that stuff."

Do any of your friends know that stuff?

She glances over, apparently considering this for the first time. "Well, no, probably not. Fluttershy might, but she doesn't seem to care about stuff like that since she's usually on the ground, anyways. And Twilight might have a book on it or something. Books aren't the real thing, though," the Pegasus adds. She goes quiet for a moment, still processing it, I suppose. "Huh," she says. Guess perception isn't really your strong suit, is it? Her focus is drawn away from our conversation by something ahead of us; I turn my head forward. My eyes fall upon what I assume to be our destination.

A very large property lies before me, enclosed by a wooden fence surrounding it all. Within the fairly hilly land are hundreds, maybe even thousands of trees; apple trees. Row upon row of the fruit-bearing plants stretch out over many acres of land. A path cuts through the direct middle of them all, climbing all the way up to a large farmhouse at the very top of the estate. There is a gate guarding this path, above which there is a sign; it reads Sweet Apple Acres in rusted metal lettering.

"Well, this is Applejack's farm. Come on," says the sky-blue pony, just flying clean over the fence. I'm tempted to be civilized and open the wooden gate, but instead vault it in one deft motion. Rainbow Dash joins me as I begin climbing up the path. I look around, amazed to say the least at the amount of trees. A tree farm is something new for me, having grown up around wheat or corn farms and the like. I hear a noise to my left, an odd growl of sorts.

Rainbow looks down at her stomach, then up at me with a sheepish grin. "Guess I missed lunch. You hungry?" I realize my own stomach is empty, nearly painfully so, and nod. We veer off the path, into the apple trees. The Pegasus searches for a minute, darting from the leaves of one tree to another; eventually, she lets out an 'aha' of satisfaction. She perches on a branch, plucking an apple off a slightly higher branch with her mouth. I watch as she leans back against the tree, sitting on the branch, taking a bite out of the apple. I notice she's somehow able to balance or hold the apple with the flat, round surface of her hoof; hunger works its way back into my head. I move towards the tree, looking up at the apples. They look excellent; a perfect shade of red and fairly large in size.

I shoot a look at the pony in the tree; she doesn't seem to notice me. I shrug, stepping back from the tree. I spot a sturdy-looking branch, line myself up with it, then run at the tree. Some vertical steps and a moment later, I pull myself atop the branch. Using the trunk for balance, I nab myself an apple. Looking at the shiny, red fruit, I ponder whether this is a combination of stealing and trespassing, but my stomach decides hunger is more important than the purity of my conscience.

I hop down, hungrily biting into the apple once grounded. It's as delicious as it looks, and is about as perfect as any apple I've ever had. I down it shortly, then look back up to Rainbow Dash, who seems to have cored her apple as well. She springs off the branch, going back into a hover beside me. We make our way back onto the path, climbing up again. I feel some jealousy towards Rainbow; maybe just Pegasi in general. Flying has to make things a lot easier, at least in terms of travel. Even a unicorn could probably do something to speed up travel. Chuckling to myself, I muse that I am being jealous of two mythical creatures. Which also happen to exist here.

"Whoa, Mark, slow down, there." I look back towards the voice, and realize I've walked right up to the door of the farmhouse at the top of the hill. Whoops. I step back and to one side, letting the smaller Pegasus go up to the door first. She raises a blue hoof, knocking on the door a few times. I make sure to stand clear of the door when it first opens, so as before, I am the last thing the resident sees.

The door opens casually; inside, I see an orange pony. They seem fairly normal in appearance, lacking wings or a horn as one of the ponies I met earlier, Pinkie Pie, did. I also notice its mane appears the most normal out of any other pony I've seen today, a flat blond color throughout. The only truly defining feature, other than the bright orange color, is that the pony wears a dusty old Stetson atop its head.

"Well, howdy, Dash! What brings yah' 'round th' farm?" the pony questions in a heavily Southern accent. Seems like quite the cowgirl...cow-pony...?

"Hey, ay-jay!" I think for a moment, then realize she's abbreviating the pony's name into the initials 'AJ'. "I found somepony new the other day, and Twilight's making me show him around. Been showing everypony else, and you're the last pony I know to show." 'AJ' leans out of the door a little farther, green eyes widening when she sees me standing idly off to one side. She gives me a quick, panicked smile, then leans in close to Rainbow Dash's ear. The Pegasus frowns, then replies, "Well, nopony actually knows what he is, except him. Twilight even talked to Princess Celestia about it. I'm pretty sure he's harmless, he hasn't eaten anything except one of your apples." The orange pony frowns, scowling at Rainbow. "Oh, c'mon, Applejack, you have like, a billion apples. We ate two, you've still got plenty left." Oh, that's Applejack, I realize after a moment.

Applejack looks off to one side, frowning in thought. After a while, she looks over at me again, frown still on her face. She relaxes, giving a lopsided smile. "Well, Ah' suppose if Rainbow trusts yah', Ah' can, too." She holds out an orange foreleg in my direction; I take a few steps forward, crouch down, and take her hoof. Her hand--hoof?--shake is much stronger than I was expecting; I'm sure my arm comes fairly close to being ripped out of its socket. I stand, and the pony beckons for us to follow her inside. I follow Rainbow Dash in, ducking through the doorway.

It's surprising how familiar the inside of the house appears. It looks like a normal farmhouse, rather than the usual motley of tree houses and fancy structures I've been touring all afternoon. Despite being used to a heavily urban environment, I still feel a pang of homesickness. Just want to see some normal-looking buildings. Some humans would be nice, as well.

"So, what's yer' name, partner?" I look down towards Applejack, pulling out my folded piece of paper. I unfold it, looking about it before spotting my answer. I show it to the pony, tapping my written name t show her where to look. "'Mark'?" I nod. She looks at me for a moment, squinting a little. "Strong, silent type, ain'tcha'?" I laugh quietly, nodding and smiling. Never had it put that way before. "Ah' bet you'll get along with my brother just fine. It's nice tah' meet yer' acquaintance, Mark. Let's go see if we can find Mac, let'cha' say hello."

The hat-bearing pony trots off into another room, followed by myself and Rainbow. The house seems...quaint, welcoming. It reminds me of my house as a kid. We pass through a kitchen, then out a back door, exiting back into the sunlight.

"Mac!" Applejack yells, pausing for a response. "Big Macintosh, where are yah'? Got a visitor for yah' tah' meet!"

After a moment, a deep voice replies, "Just hold on, Applejack..." A minute later, a large, red pony with a short-cut orange mane and tail rounds the farmhouse. He casually trots up to us, eyeballing me for a moment. "Looks an awful lot like one of them Diamond Dogs," the pony who I assume is 'Big Macintosh' comments mildly.

"Big Macintosh, where are yer' manners? Ain't no Diamond Dog, name's Mark. He's new 'round these parts."

The red pony looks at me for a few more seconds, chewing on a piece of wheat that hangs out of his mouth. Eventually, he holds out a large foreleg towards me; I take it and shake firmly. "Nice tah' meet yah', Mark."

"Mac, Granny still watchin' the little'uns'?"

"Eeyup."

"Thanks." Applejack again motions for us to follow her, now trotting off towards the back of the property. Big Macintosh trundles off, leaving us to our own devices. I follow Rainbow Dash, who follows Applejack through a farmyard. We pass various coops, pens, and even a large, red barn, coming to an open area near the back of Sweet Apple Acres. I see a small group of small ponies tugging on a hay bale, struggling to move it, apparently. An elderly-looking pony is asleep in a rocking chair near them.

"Granny?" Applejack questions the sleeping pony. The green, white-haired pony remains asleep, snoring audibly. "Granny!" The pony startles awake, looking around before seeing Applejack and smiling tiredly.

"Oh, hello, Applejack!"

"Howdy, Granny Smith. Got somepony new for yah' tah' meet." She aims a foreleg in my direction; in response I step forward, smiling at the old pony.

'Granny Smith' peers at me for a moment. "Tall feller', ain'tcha'?" she questions. I nod and smile in reply, holding out my hand in greeting. She looks at it, then begins nodding off. Within seconds, she's snoring again. I frown, withdrawing my hand. Glancing over at Applejack, she gives me a lopsided smile and a shrug before turning towards the cluster of small ponies.

"Apple Bloom, come say hello to Mark!" she directs at the group. All three of them turn from the hay bale; one takes the lead, a small, yellow pony with a large bow in its red mane. She is followed closely by an orange pony with a purple mane and a white pony with a pink-and-purple mane. Their pace slows considerably as they notice me, fear entering their eyes. Despite having done it a lot, always on accident, scaring children is something I hate doing. They don't deserve it, they're too innocent. I immediately kneel down on the grass, smiling warmly and holding out my right hand.

With a stern nudge from Applejack, 'Apple Bloom' trots cautiously towards me. She extends a small foreleg, leaning away from me a little with her large eyes locked onto mine. I slowly, lightly take her small, yellow hoof, gently shaking it. Apple Bloom eyeballs me a moment longer, then seems to warm up some, smiling contentedly. Probably happy I didn't eat her or something.

"Go on, intra'duce yourself," Applejack says.

"Ah-ah'm Apple Bloom. Nice tah' meet yah', mister." I smile at the young Southern accent mimicking that of her apple-related relatives. "What's yer' name?" Nearly on instinct, my hand goes for my pants pocket.

"This here's Mark," says the Stetson-wearing pony. "He don't talk much, but ya'll be respectful of him all the same," she warns.

"Less than Big Macintosh?" Apple Bloom questions, sounding stunned. She receives a nod in reply. I chuckle a little at the shocked pony.

My attention turns elsewhere as I see one of the other smaller ponies step forward. It is the orange one with the purple mane; she wears a look of confidence, and puffs her chest out, seemingly ready to face me as if I am a mighty foe. Sorry to disappoint, there, sport. I hold out my hand towards her, smiling. She puts her small hoof into my palm, shaking hard.

"I'm Scootaloo!" she exclaims cheerfully. The last of the three decides to step forward as well, holding out a small, white hoof to me as I release 'Scootaloo''s.

"And I'm Sweetie Belle. It's nice to meet you, Mark." This pony reminds me of one of Rainbow Dash's other friends, Rarity. Maybe they're related. 'Sweetie Belle' steps back; I see the three young ponies cluster together, inhaling deeply.

"And we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" they cry in unison. I smile in amusement at their antics.

Apple Bloom gasps. "Hey! We should see if our special talents are being real quiet! Never tried that before!"

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hasp as well in excitement. "Quiet Crusaders! Quiet Crusaders!" they chant. The three run off, debating when to begin not-talking. I see Applejack turn to me, pushing her hat up with a hoof.

"Well, Ah'll be...it was that easy. Ah' can't thank yah' enough, Mark, that was mighty kind of yah'!" I laugh, standing up. "Rainbow Dash, yah' bring this one around more often, y'hear?" Applejack jokes to her friend.

"Can do, Applejack!" Rainbow Dash says with a laugh. She glances into the sky idly, then seems to realize something. "Aww, yeah! Still got a ton of daytime left!" She turns her focus to Applejack. "We better go, so I can still--"

"Practice for the Wonderbolts, I know. That's all yah' do, sugarcube," the orange pony says with a grin. The Pegasus gives a proud smile, then looks at me with an excited grin.

"C'mon, you've had your fun. My turn to enjoy my day off." I nod and chuckle, giving a wave goodbye to Applejack before moving to a jog to keep up with an impatient Rainbow Dash.

Chapter Six

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Ugh, you're so slow...!" Rainbow Dash groans, darting around ahead of me. She shoots forward a short distance, then comes back to me, seeming to pace the sky. I'm attempting to keep a good rate, but I am certainly no marathon runner. I try to scowl at her, but it's hard to do when I'm panting.

I begin to recognize where I am; it's a large, open field, a few clusters of trees lining the distant horizon. I slow down, coming to a stop as I look around. I withdraw my paper and pencil, writing a question for the impatient Pegasus, who glides in front of me with a groan. Her curiosity seems to get the best of her, though, and she looks over my shoulder, the air being pushed by her wings feeling cool against my neck and as it ruffles my shirt.

This is where you found me. I woke up here yesterday.

"Yeah, this is the place, close to Luna Lake. I always come out here to fly, 'cause it's nice and open an' all. Was practicing some new tricks, and I saw you on the ground, and you looked weird, so I came down to investigate, and you know the rest." I nod thoughtfully. I know the rest, but I don't understand a bit of it...

The pony shakes her head, sending her colorful mane whipping about for a moment. "Okay, enough chit-chat, I've got flying to do. Just, uh...stay here, and don't go wandering off or anything, got it?" I nod again, smiling at her. She gives a confident smirk, then shoots up into the air. I stumble back a step from the sudden discharge of air, feeling an involuntary grin of awe on my face as I watch the Pegasus leave a bright rainbow trail through the air. Keeping my eyes on the light blue splotch against the similarly colored sky, I lie down in the meadow, making myself comfortable on the overgrown grasses.

I watch as Rainbow begins to do a warm-up routine of sorts. She alternates between flying idly, to doing small dives and climbs, to simple loops and rolls. Her simple stunts become more and more complex and daring, and soon she is soaring all about the sky. A streak of six orderly colors follows her every move, creating a complex rainbow that covers the whole sky. I watch as, after a short while, the rainbow slowly dissipates into the air, creating a wondrous shimmering effect like one might see after a firework detonates in the night.

The small, winged pony is amazingly nimble, and I haven't seen many more naturally-occurring animals faster than she, if any at all. I notice that she repeats some of her more complex maneuvers a few times over, as if they weren't done right the first time. Do it right or not at all is a philosophy I'm familiar with, and can relate easily. Maybe not athletically, but in work of any kind, I feel there is no excuse for not doing the job right. If only more people believed that, things might get done, and done properly.

I feel mesmerized, watching the creature in where it truly feels at home. It strikes me as odd that a pony, relative of a horse, a land-based mammal, would be more comfortable flying. I can almost relate on that note, as well, though. Flying in airplanes had always been an experience for me. I would look around the cabin every once in a while and wonder, why isn't everyone else seeing this? But then, I wouldn't really care, and would go back to looking at the window, held against it by magnetism that did not exist. Everything about flying amazed me; everything. How small everything looked, like patchwork in the Midwest, like little patterns of alternating land and water down South, like a sea of land out West. The way the sun and the stars seemed so much closer, how the clouds looked thick enough to stand on, even the massive speeds of the take-offs and landings was enjoyable to me. The only thing I didn't like about flying was that I couldn't do it more.

My minor envy of the colorful figure above, now in the midst of a series of tight corkscrews, returns for a moment. To be able to fly as she does, to literally lie on the clouds as I please...I smile at the thought. It must be nice, that kind of freedom. I focus back on Rainbow Dash, watching her precise, graceful flight. She goes into a dive, shooting down towards me and pulling up at the last second, leveling out only a few yards above. I give a short laugh upon seeing a perfect ninety-degree angle formed in the trail of rainbow. As the trail begins disintegrating into the air, falling towards me, a spicy scent enters the air, like the smell of hot sauce. It's nice, and causes my smile to grow; it also makes me want some hot sauce. I hope there's hot sauce here.

My thoughts start to wander even farther, repeating questions I've been asking myself for around a full day as I watch the light blue Pegasus practice in the skies over the field.

***

So, what are you practicing for?

Rainbow Dash looks at my piece of paper, a grin spreading across her face. "I'm practicing for the Wonderbolts! They're the coolest, most awesome, most radical flight team in all of Equestria, and are super famous! I've gotta' practice if I wanna' join them, and I really wanna' join them," she says with determination, doing a quick loop beside me. We meet up with the path leading into the town, Ponyville. I glance down, writing with a smile.

Well, you're a shoo-in to join them. I've never seen flying that good.

Then again, I've never seen a pony that can fly until recently, so maybe I'm not one to judge...I think idly to myself, waiting for the light blue pony to read my observation.

"Well, duh. I mean, I am the best flier in all of Equestria. Not to mention I'm the picture of coolness, awesomeness, and radicalness," she proclaims, puffing out her chest confidently. I chuckle, looking out into the day; it is now nearing night. The sun is beginning its descent over the horizon, changing from its usual white-yellow to a more subtle shade of yellow-orange. The blue sky is darkening, the east starting to turn a shade of violet as the sun recedes.

I snort quietly to myself, recalling Twilight Sparkle's explanation of the beings ruling where I am, Equestria. A demi-goddess of some sort that exists in actuality and can be communicated to, yet is the most powerful being in the world, able to raise and lower the very sun. I begin to tell myself she's likely delusional, or just some sort of religious fanatic; I know plenty of those exist, at least on Earth. I stop myself, though; I've just spent the last two days talking to horses who can talk back to me, fly like the most agile of birds, conjure up magic...I am in a place where things that don't exist do exist, a place where everything looks...drawn. None of it seems real, and yet it is.

It's probably just a dream, and I'll wake up any time. Maybe I finally snapped, and am hallucinating. Maybe...My train of thought falters. My mind and my brain fight against each other, despite being one in the same. My brain takes in the magical, colorful, talking ponies I see, the voices I hear, the smells of dissipating rainbows and delicious baked goods, the tastes of apples of which I haven't tasted better, the warmth of a sun raised by a tangible goddess; and all of it feels real, more real than any dream, as real as what reality I have already lived.

The distant ball of fire sinks farther below the horizon, setting the sky alight with red. I write slowly, pondering whether or not to even ask.

Is all of this real?

I hold my paper over to the hovering pony. She appears bemused, giving me a smile and a look of question. "What kind of question is that? It's gotta' be real, otherwise...it just...wouldn't, y'know?" I glance down, rolling my pencil in my hands. After a moment, I erase my question, writing a new one in its place.

But what if it isn't? What if I'm just asleep or something?

"Well...I dunno'. I don't feel like a dream, and I don't feel like I'm dreaming, either, so I think it's real." Rainbow Dash goes quiet; I can see the gears turning in her head. After a moment, she looks over at me. "Why does it matter?"

I look out at the horizon again, some of the town now working its way into my view, only a short distance away. Why does it matter? Should it?

No, I think. It shouldn't. If it's a dream, it's not going to matter, anyways, and if it's real...I'll find a way to get by. I chuckle to myself. I've had to get by worse. I look back over at the sky-blue pony, flying around eye level with me. And these creatures seem nice enough. They haven't brutally murdered or shunned me, despite the fact I am probably more different than anything they've seen before. In fact, they've almost welcomed me...as a friend.

Maybe this isn't so bad.

***

I sit up, rubbing my eyes for a moment. I pull the light blanket off of me, setting it on the wooden floor I lay on. Opening my eyes, I see that bright daylight streams into the library. I crack my back, wincing in pain before sighing in relief, then push myself to my feet. My neck feels sore, and my limbs are stiff. I need to find a decent place to sleep. Looking around, I take the thought a little farther. I need a house of my own. My thought process reaches its end as I finally think, I need to find a way to make some money.

I glance around; the library seems empty, but I can hear activity in other parts of the tree house. I decide to find my violet unicorn host, and head towards the source of the sound, which seems to be coming from the floor above. I clamber up stairs not meant for my size-fifteen feet, tripping a few times along the way.

Upon reaching the second floor of the residence, I note that it seems to be the actual house-area of this business/residence combination. A normal-sized bed, one that might even fit me, lays on the floor off to one side. A smaller bed sits beside it; inside is Spike, the baby dragon fast asleep and snoring loudly. I quietly move a little further into the room, eventually spotting Twilight standing before a desk, glancing between a book and a scroll she is writing on with a quill held by a pink aura of magic. I let my footsteps fall a little more carelessly; as expected, she turns around, smiling upon seeing me.

"Good morning, Mark," she greets in a whisper. I nod and smile in reply. "Do you need anything? Are you hungry?" Despite the fact I am, I shake my head, pulling the paper and pencil out of my right pocket.

Where might I find a job?

The unicorn frowns. "Well, that depends," she begins, still whispering to let her reptile assistant rest. "What does your cutie mark represent? What is your special talent?" I raise an eyebrow, writing cautiously.

A 'cutie mark'?

"Yes, a cutie mark. Everypony has one. Mine represents my talent for magic, see?" She turns away from me, showing me a design on her flank. It looks like a six-edged star surrounded by more stars, maybe sparkles. They all have those? I make a mental note to be on the lookout for them--discreetly. It's still looking at their hindquarters, wouldn't want to offend anyone. I scribble about my paper for a few seconds.

I don't think I have one of those.

"You don't have a cutie mark?" Twilight asks, sounding bewildered. I nod in reply. She brings a hoof to her mouth, looking away in thought. "Interesting...do you have any special talent?" I think for a moment, then write out my answer.

Not that I know of. I can do a lot of things well, but not anything especially.

"Interesting..." the violet pony repeats. She paces for a moment, then faces me again. "I think what you might want to do some odd jobs for now, until you can find what your special talent is. I just find it strange that you have not gained a cutie mark yet...I don't mean any offense, but most ponies get theirs at a very young age, and you seem to be at least as old as I am, if not older..."

They find out what they're meant to do in life as kids? Wouldn't that be nice. I shake my head, focusing on what I need to do.

Where can I find odd jobs to do?

"You'll want to go to the town hall. Did Rainbow Dash show you it yesterday? It's a big, white building in the center of town, you can't miss it. Directly inside the main entrance is the notice board, and ponies will put job offers up there. Just make sure to bring their flyer with you," Twilight adds. I nod in thanks, turning and waving a goodbye before heading back down the stairs.

I walk over to the entrance of the library, taking in a deep breath before opening the door, stepping out into the morning. The sun hangs at an angle towards the east, and I figure it to be around ten in the morning. A calm breeze blows over me, feeling warm. I see specks of color moving about the light blue sky; they seem to be somehow manipulating the clouds that fill the morning air, flying into and hitting the fluffy, white groups of condensed water. As they do, the clouds break apart, eventually disintegrating into the air, clearing the sky. My wonder of the Pegasi here deepens as I watch them change the weather before my eyes.

After a while, I remember my priorities, and return my focus to the ground. I squint, looking as far as I can in the distance. I spot a few buildings taller and more prominent than the others, seeing the unicorn Rarity's dress-making shop, a decorative tower of some sort, and...there it is. A clean, white building peeks out above the other buildings, not looking too far away from the library. I look to the road ahead, and begin walking in the direction of the town hall.

There will definitely be no 'blending in' for me. I stick out like a...well, like a tall human in the midst of many, many small ponies. Only the Pegasi that hover surpass me in height, but the fact that I am still eye-level with them while still on the ground draws looks from them, as well. Most of the ponies clear out of my path, parting to either side of the road. I frown, and attempt to keep my gaze on the road ahead, rather than on them. It is both disturbing and mildly aggravating to have everyone's eyes on me. I stop for a moment, again finding the top of the town hall, then continue again, turning down a new road to align myself with the building.

I see a mother pull her children closer to her, away from me. I feel like a monster; I probably appear as one to them, though. Tall, bipedal, fairly dull with my dusty blue jeans, white tennis shoes, matte black T-shirt, and short, dirty blond hair, and generally appearing different from everything else given that I lack any sort of definite outline and possess a more detailed body. Maybe they are detailed, but it's hard to tell when none will even get near me.

As if on cue, a Pegasus pony flies directly in front of me, blocking my path. The flying pony is close, but I can see even it is making sure to put a little distance between itself and I. The pony is a bright yellow in color, with a blue mane; it holds a pad of paper and a pencil in one hoof. My gaze drifts to the hoof, silently questioning how that would even be possible without any sort of balancing act.

"Juicy Story, of the Ponyville Express," the pony, a male, begins. "Ponyville wants to know: who and what are you? Are you some sort of undiscovered creature who happened to venture out of the Everfree? A guardian sent by the princess? An alien?" he fires off rapidly. Great, the media. More attention, just what I need...if I walk away, he's going to be back, though, and in force...A crowd is already starting to form around us.

I slowly raise my hands, showing him my palms, then reach towards the pad and pencil on his hoof. He pulls back for a moment, giving me an odd look, to which I return with a look of pleading. The Pegasus cautiously allows me to take his pad of paper and the pencil; I flip past a few pages of notes before finding a blank page. I write for a moment, then give his items back, waiting for him to read them.

My name is Mark, I am a human, and I don't know how I got here. I'm not here to hurt anyone.

As he finishes reading, opening his mouth to begin his next string of questions, I step around him, glancing again at the visible part of the town hall, not too far away at this point. I already know what his next questions will be, so I ignore them and continue walking. He follows me for a while, but eventually gets bored, and flies off. I smile to myself, rounding a corner. The center of town makes its way into sight.

I keep moving towards the large, white building; as I get into the center of the town, I begin looking around with curiosity. This place is very busy, with ponies milling about all around me. Various shops and vendors fill the area, from restaurants to stands selling apples. I see a familiar orange pony manning said apple stand, and give a wave to her. Applejack tips her hat back to me, apparently surprising some of the townsfolk. I step up onto a porch surrounding the town hall, then push through a door leading inside.

The interior of the building reminds me of most government buildings, very open and expansive. I look around, admiring the vaulted ceilings and decorative pillars before returning my gaze to the floor of the room. As Twilight had said, there sits the notice board, covered with various papers. I step towards the large board, observing some of the papers. A lost dog, a plow for sale, a party today...I continue to scan some more papers, slowly starting to wonder if any jobs will even be available. One flyer catches my eye, and I unpin the thumbtack holding it in place, replacing the tack on the board and holding the paper closer.

Unicorn needed for chopping wood. Unable to use tools efficiently without magic assistance. Tools provided.

I glance at the more specific details, then fold the flyer up, sticking it in my empty pocket. Magic is something I don't have, but hands are something I do. I push open the door, heading outside again.

Chapter Seven

I walk over to Applejack's stand, keeping my distance until the customer she is tending to is satisfied. Don't want to spook any potential business. I approach the wooden stand, above which hangs a sign with a trio of apples painted upon it. I crouch down, coming to eye level with the orange pony.

"Howdy, Mark. What can Ah' do yah' for?" I smile, then pull out the flyer I had recently taken. I point to the address on the paper, looking at the Stetson-wearing pony with question. "Forty-six Apple Tree Way? Uhh..." Applejack glances down, trailing off in thought. "...shoot. If Ah' remember right, that's just south o' here." She points a hoof towards a road to my left, leading away from the town's center. "Just follow that there road 'til yah' come to the intersection, then hang a right. All the houses should be marked. Got it?" I nod and smile in thanks, putting the flyer back in my pocket and standing.

I start towards the path, watching as the ponies again begin clearing out of my way. If only I could just tell them...I push the thought away, quelling it before it leads to memory. I sigh, drumming my hands against my pants. Ponies continue giving me odd looks, ones of surprise, confusion, fear, sometimes repulsion. I reach the intersection, and turn to the right.

I'm actually happy to see that this street is somewhat empty, with only a few of the creatures roaming about. I start observing the houses, finding that the house numbers seem to be neatly painted beside the doors. Thirty-eight...forty...forty-two...I pass one more house, then reach Forty-Six Apple Tree Way. I remove the flyer from my pants, unfolding it and glancing at it again to make sure I've got the address correct. I step up to the door, raising my hand, and knock a few times. I hear some voices inside, then the door opens.

"Ye--" a female pony begins, freezing upon seeing me. She lets out a shrill scream, then slams the door in my face. I stumble back in surprise. Well, that could have gone better. I think for a moment, wondering if I should knock again. Realizing I still hold the flyer for the job, I get an idea. I step up to the door again, crouch down, and slip the flyer under the door, giving another series of knocks. I move to a kneel, figuring that maybe I'll come off as less intimidating if I'm not at my full height.

After a few seconds, the door opens a crack. A different pony peeks out of the door, a dark brown one. "A-are you here for the job?" he asks. I'm tempted to stand, but tell myself to stay put, just nodding in reply. "You don't look like a unicorn to me." I smile, shaking my head and holding my hands out in front of me, opening and closing them a few times. The door opens a little further. "Well, I suppose if you can use an ax with those...just...just meet me out back." I nod, now standing. The pony watches me in shock for a moment, then recedes inside, closing the door. I walk around the side of the wooden house, passing through an alley formed between another house nearby.

Behind the house is a large pile of uncut logs and a short stump with an ax stuck into it. I go over to the ax, wrapping my hand around the handle. Upon further thought, I decide to leave the tool be to avoid scaring these people--ponies--any more than I already have, which seems to be quite a bit.

A back door opens, and a stout, dark brown pony with neither wings nor a horn, trots out. "Sorry 'bout my wife. We've been hearing some rumors, and, well..." He frowns. "Not many have been pleasant. But if you're here to help..." I nod, smiling. "...I'm not going to turn down help. I've been needing this wood chopped for weeks." He glances at the pile of logs; a look of remembrance crosses his face. "Oh, m'name's Till." The brown pony holds out a hoof towards me; I step towards him, crouching down and taking his hoof, shaking firmly. "You got a name?" A short pause, then: "Ah, never mind. Quite honestly, I only care if you can get the job done." I nod again. "Speaking of which, I'm looking for firewood. If you'd just make some small logs, then cut 'em in half, I think that'd do."

Till looks at me a moment longer, then snorts. "Well, I'll leave yah' to it. Let me know if you need anything." I nod once more, then stand again. The pony heads inside, leaving me to my own devices. Alright, time to chop some wood. I walk over to the ax, grabbing the handle and pulling it out of the stump. I let the handle drop in my hand, so that I hold the ax more near the head; running my fingers along the blade, I find that the ax is sharp and in good condition. Satisfied, I set it down on the stump, walking over to the pile of crude logs and grabbing onto the first.

As I set the cut tree on the ground, I muse that a pair of gloves might be nice. Doubt I'll find one anytime soon, given the general lack of hands on members of the equine family...I pick up the ax, placing a foot on the tree to keep it in place. I recall how to properly swing an ax, grasping in a balanced way to pull it back, then sliding my hand down the handle until it meets my other hand at the bottom. A mixture of gravity and my own force brings the head of the ax down cleanly, shearing the section of the small tree, maybe a branch of a large tree, in half. I smile, kicking one of the halves to the side before halving the half before me. Soon, a cluster of six or so logs lies on the ground; I move them into a small pile near the stump.

I'm pleased to see how clean and straight my cuts are, as the log segments balance easily on their ends. I set the first on the stump, stepping back and lining myself up. I do a few practice swings, then bring my ax up, dropping it in the center of the small log. With a pleasing thwack, the log splits in half, the two parts falling off the stump. I repeat the process with the next of my log cuts.

***

I look at my neatly-organized pile of firewood, smiling with pride at my handiwork. I had actually finished cutting, and then splitting, all of the wood around thirty minutes ago, but I had decided to organize the wood as well. The yard had seemed much messier after I was done, so it just seemed necessary. I walk over to the chopping-stump and bring the ax down into it, letting it stick. Rubbing my arm across my brow, I go up to the back door, knocking a few times. I remember to kneel down just before the door opens.

"You're done already?" Till asks. I nod and smile in reply, shuffling to one side so the pony can see. He steps out, eyebrows raising upon seeing the large pile of chopped wood off to one side of his backyard. "Wow! You did it all, no magic?" I shake my head, holding up my splinter-covered hands. "Wow," he repeats. "I really appreciate that. What is your name?" I pull out my pencil and paper, searching through my scribbles until finding my name. "'Mark'? Well, that's an odd name...suits you, I guess. But I couldn't have done a better job myself. Give me a minute, I'll get what your pay, you've more than earned it." The brown pony trots inside his home, disappearing for a minute. He returns with a small, cloth sack in his teeth, and holds it out to me. I hold my hand open, and he drops the bag into it. I find that the bag has considerable weight to it, and jingles as I shift it to my left hand.

"Thank yah' again, Mark. I don't know who designed these tools, but for us Earth Ponies, even the Pegasi, they're mighty hard to use." He chuckles to himself. "Those...erm...hooves, you got, are pretty darn useful, there." I hold up my right hand, wiggling the fingers for a moment with a smile. I push myself onto my feet, bag of payment in hand, and wave thanks to Till, who nods gratefully in reply. "Oh, and my wife apologizes for reacting as she did, and thanks you as well." He holds a hoof beside his mouth, glancing towards his house. "She's too scared to come say it herself, though." I chuckle, nodding in understanding.

Till gives me a friendly smile, then walks back into his house. I glance at the pile of wood, then at the bag in my hand. As I walk through the alley, heading back towards the road, I open the small bundle of cloth, peering inside. A multitude of golden coins, each around the size of a U.S. dollar coin, glint up at me, refracting the light of the afternoon. I pull one of them out, pausing off to the side of the dirt street. On one side is the head of a horse, or a pony, engraved in gold; from what I can see, it is a unicorn. The horn is significantly longer than those I've seen in this town, though. The mane of the horse also seems to be waving, as if wind is blowing through it. Under the engraving of the head is the name Princess Celestia. I recognize the name as that of the ruler and apparent omniscient goddess of Equestria. I turn the coin over in my palm. On the opposite side is a sun-like symbol, in the center of which are the words ONE BIT. I roll the coin around a few more times, rubbing my thumb over each side, feeling the engraved pictures and words.

So this is the currency, I muse. I wonder how many USD this thing would be equivalent to...if it went by the actual gold amount, probably a few hundred dollars. I make the assumption that gold is more plentiful here, but continue wondering what exactly one 'bit' would buy me. Looking back into the bag, I estimate there's around twenty of the golden coins in total. There's got to be a few thousand dollars' worth of gold in here...either I was way overpaid, or gold really is more common here. I slip the single bit back into the cloth, tightening the hand--or hoof--fashioned drawstring on it once more.

I look around for a moment, not really knowing what to do with the rest of my day. A look near the sun tells me that it's probably four or five in the summer afternoon. I feel a pang of hunger in my empty stomach. Okay, I know what to do now. And with that, I start walking again.

After about five minutes of walking, I realize something. I have no idea where I'm going. I frown, looking around. I recall the mass of apple trees bearing delicious, juicy, perfectly ripe fruit, out at where Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle's friend Applejack lives. Sweet Apple Acres? I try to remember the sign, and assume my fairly poor memory is correct. My frown deepens in thought as I attempt to think of the path there. Oh, wait...I remember that the farm sits on a hill that overlooks the town. I sidestep a few times to see between some of the houses lining the sides of the road I am on. In the distance I spot a very small-looking red structure, sitting atop a hill that seems to overlook a forest of trees. I set my sights, and begin in as much of a bee-line as I can manage.

***

I vault the short wooden fence, again ignoring the gate. It's way cooler to jump over stuff, anyways. I start up the path a short ways, for some reason believing the farther up the hill I go, the better the apples will be. As I turn down one of the many rows, surveying the trees, it occurs to me that I actually have some money, so I would be able to just buy some food. I don't know anything about the economy here, though. And most ponies don't seem to take too kindly to me...I decide my choice to 'borrow' a few apples without permission is a good one, at least better than trying to communicate with the locals when I can't even communicate very well.

I scale up a tree, grabbing on to a thick branch and hoisting myself up with a grunt. I pluck a nearby apple off its stem, mouth starting to water. I hungrily bite into the apple. Should've taken Twilight up on that offer for breakfast. I continue through that apple, and into another.

Though the apples are tasty, and satisfy my hunger, I think for a moment that a burger would be nice, maybe even a steak. That might be a problem...Everything I've met seems sentient, and I'm not supposed to eat things that can have complex thoughts. That's just...wrong, in some way that is inherently so. It's like cannibalism, despite the fact I would not be eating my own kind. Even the dominant sentient species is of the horse family. I snort quietly, shaking my head a little.

As I sit in the tree, I become aware of the heavy cloth in my left hand. I hold it up to my face, shaking it lightly and hearing the jingle. I recall my mainly one-sided conversation with the Pegasus, Rainbow Dash, the previous afternoon. Didn't she mention Applejack was smart with money? Maybe she could help explain the economy to me...I decide she's probably my best option, and slide off the branch, landing on my feet. I begin walking out of the row of apple trees I'm in.

A light hit on my head makes me jump. I look around wildly, ducking down and turning about, searching for my assailant. My eyes shift to the ground, and I see a stray apple. Oh. I kick the apple gently, watching it roll away. I smile, turning and walking towards the path again. I feel something hit my head again, and look up. Finding nothing, I look down, only to see another apple on the ground, separated from its brethren in the trees. Raising an eyebrow, I hesitantly turn away, focusing on the path again. Looks like these apples aren't too happy that I ate some of them. The thought that plants might be sentient as well enters my head, making my stomach flip-flop a little. I stop walking, looking around at the trees. Maybe one will move or something.

None of the trees move, but I feel another apple land atop my head, bouncing off and hitting the ground. I rub my head, starting to get agitated. I glance up at the apple-filled leaves above, staring at the trees for a moment. Okay, three apples is too much coincidence in a row--a noise interrupts my thoughts. It sounds like...laughter. An attempt to hold in laughter, more like it. I smile, deciding to play along. I continue rubbing my hand against my hair for a moment, then begin slowly walking towards the path, now only a few yards away. I keep my focus up, at the trees. There. A spot near the end of the canopy of leaves rustles ever-so-slightly. I keep walking, counting down to myself. And...now.

I stop, looking up; on cue, a bright, red apple falls from above, and a light blue hoof shoots back into the trees. I reach up, grabbing the apple as it falls. I hold the fruit for a moment, then lightly toss it back into the trees.

"What the hay?!" A voice exclaims. A quiet second passes. "Ponyfeathers..." A blue head covered in rainbow hair pops out of the trees, upside-down. A pair of large, bright magenta eyes looks at me with a smile. "How'd you know I was there?" Rainbow Dash asks, sounding bemused. I smile back and shrug. The light blue pony lets herself fall out of the tree, twisting around in the air and landing on all four hooves, much as a cat would. I clap in exaggerated amazement; playing along, she takes a bow, bringing a foreleg to her chest. After a moment, I withdraw my paper and pencil, writing a question as the pony shakes out her colorful mane.

How long have you been following me?

"Pretty much since I got off work." I give her a look. "What? I got bored, and didn't know what else to do." I nearly begin to question how she found me in the first place, then recall that I'm very, very easy to spot. "So how much did that guy pay you for chopping wood?" I open the cloth bag for her to see inside. "Not bad, you must have done pretty good for him to pay you that much!" I frown, somewhat concerned that I may have been overpaid. I appreciate the notion, but I feel that I only deserve as much as what should be paid, nothing more, nothing less.

"So whatcha' doin'? Stealing some apples for lunch?" I give a sheepish smile in reply. "Don't sweat it, Applejack doesn't mind. I don't think...guess I've never asked," Rainbow Dash muses. I write down my answer.

Yes, and I figured I would ask Applejack about the economy while I'm here.

"So you've got money, but you don't know what to do with it?" I nod, receiving a laugh from the Pegasus. "Yeah, I know that feeling. I get paid way too much to kick clouds around all day. Not that I'm complaining," she adds with a grin. "I never have to worry about missing a Wonderbolts show!" I laugh at her extreme devotion to the aerobatic group.

I approach the door to the farmhouse, knocking a few times and stepping back. The small sister of Applejack, Apple Bloom, answers the door. She nearly reacts in fear, but recognizes me a split second later.

"Well, howdy, Mister Mark! Whatcha' need?" the small, yellow pony questions. Isn't there a specific word for them? Stallions, mares, colts, and...fillies? Yeah, that's it.

"He wants to talk to Applejack, Apple Bloom." I glance down at Rainbow, thanking her with a smile.

"Okay!" the filly replies, turning back into the house and leaving the door open. I take it that I'm supposed to follow her in, and a look over to the sky-blue Pegasus on the ground beside me confirms that as she motions towards the open door. I step inside, ducking through the slightly short doorway. I stand in the entry room of the farmhouse, which also seems to be a living room, waiting patiently for the orange pony.

After a minute, Applejack trots into the room. "Howdy again, Mark, howdy, Dash. What brings ya'll?" I look down, scrawling out my question for the money-wise pony.

Could you please explain the economy here?

She pushes her hat up a little higher on her head. "Whoo-ee! That there's a tall order, partner. Ah' suppose Ah' can help yah', s'long as yer' willin' tah' listen to me run mah' mouth for a while." I nod, chuckling softly. "Well, have a seat! You too, Rainbow, if'n' yah' please."

"Uhh, I think I'm gonna' find something to eat. Egghead stuff isn't really my thing," Rainbow Dash says with a smirk at Applejack.

"This ain't no 'egghead stuff'!" the orange pony splutters. "This is important stuff, that everypony should know! You oughta' sit and listen, Rainbow, maybe you'll learn somethin'."

"Yeah, yeah..." The light blue pony begins coughing obnoxiously. "Egghead," she coughs out. I smile, laughing quietly. Applejack shoots me a look; I quickly wipe the smile off my face. Rainbow Dash grins and trots out of the room, snickering.

"Okay, now...it looks like yah' got some money on yah', already. May Ah' see it for a sec'?" I hold my coin-filled cloth out to her, and she takes it in her hooves, opening the bag and peering inside. "If yah' don't mind my askin', how'd yah' get yer' hooves on this?" I look down, seeing that the floor is made of wood. I tap the floor, then mimic swinging an ax. "Cuttin' wood?" I nod in affirmation. "Well, yah' musta' done the job right. Yah' got paid real well, here. Guess Ah' oughta' start explainin', so yah' know what Ah'm talkin' 'bout."

***

I wave a goodbye to Applejack, who responds with an "Any time." Rainbow Dash follows me out the door, and I close it behind her. We start descending down the hill again.

"So, did you almost die of boredom? I know I did, and I wasn't even listening to her!" she exclaims, laughing. I smile and give a shrug, actually not having been too bored. The economy here is simple enough, and is comparable to something like the U.S. economy in the early twentieth century, pre-Depression. A bit would be comparable to a dollar, and no other forms or variations of currency existed. That meant that usually, small things like food were overpaid-for; at the same time, it makes buying more expensive items much easier. I remember that Applejack had mentioned a house usually costs a few hundred bits, larger ones in the thousand-bit area.

At that point I had realized that the pony fellow I had done the job for had paid me quite a lot, just for chopping wood. The orange pony had suggested that that was likely either because I had gone beyond what was asked and had done the job properly, or out of fear. She believed the former, but the thought remains in the back of my head that the latter may have been more true. The money in my left hand feels more like ransom money for a moment. Maybe I should go and try to ask for a more fair payment...

I push the thought away, knowing that would have very little chance of actually working. If it was because he felt I did a more-than-adequate job, he might take my action as an insult. If out of fear, he might reject it all the same. I sigh, looking at the ground as it moves under my feet.

"Hey, what's up? You're looking down. Literally," Rainbow adds with a snicker. I look over at her, smiling at the joke. I decide to tell her what is on my mind, writing on my makeshift-notepad for a moment.

Nobody trusts me and all seem to fear me.

"Well, I mean, can you blame them? No offense," she says, then continues on. "You're really tall, don't have much hair, wear clothes all the time, walk on two legs, and don't talk. All of those are pretty much opposite of what ponies look like and do, so you stick out. They all think you're scary and weird, because that's how you look. Once they learn that you aren't going to eat them or anything, they'll realize you aren't scary. Still weird, but not scary," finishes Rainbow, grinning at me. I can live with weird, I think with a smile.

"Just give 'em some time. They'll warm up to you." I feel a friendly punch on my left shoulder. Ouch. "And if they don't, you'll get plenty of exercise from running from those angry mobs!" I laugh, picturing that image. I don't think these creatures have the capability to look very menacing, even with pitchforks and torches. "Celestia knows you need it. Granny Smith could probably outrun you!" she exclaims, laughing to herself. I laugh as well, knowing she's probably right. Four legs seem to grant an advantage when it comes to speed.

We continue to walk back into the town of Ponyville, leaving Sweet Apple Acres behind. I find myself watching the Pegasus fly beside me most of the trip; it's captivating, like being able to have a very large, very colorful bird fly right next to me. I think she notices at some point, as she starts doing little tricks here and there to keep it interesting. A loop, a tight corkscrew, flying in circles around me, flying upside-down, sideways, and even backwards. A mixture of joy and curiosity fills me, and I have to resist the urge to start laughing or clapping.

I find myself somewhat sad when we reach Twilight's tree house, then sun just about to dip below the horizon. "I'll see you tomorrow! Betcha' won't see me, though," Rainbow Dash adds with a wink. I smile and wave to the small pony, watching her jump off the ground, flying into the reddish sky. When she disappears from sight, I push through the library door.

Twilight greets me, commenting on my new-found money and that I must be as hard a worker as Applejack. I brush the compliments away, still feeling a twinge of guilt that I am still unsure whether or not it should exist. I accept an offered dinner of hay sandwiches, opting to eat just the bread. I doubt hay would go over well with my omnivore stomach. Afterwards, arms hurting, I decide to go to bed. I toss my bag of coins beside my bedroll, then crawl under the blankets, sighing at the relaxing feeling of being off my feet.

Chapter Eight

Mid-morning light seeps into the room, illuminating it; and at the same time, nearly blinding me. I bring a hand to my face, sighing and rolling away from the light. I find that it's too late, though; I'm awake. I push the blanket off of me and onto the floor, sitting up and rubbing my face groggily for a moment. Gathering my bearings, I glance around.

Noting my increased blankets beneath me, I silently thank Twilight. I don't know where she gets them from, but I won't question; I've checked and made sure they aren't her own or Spike's, so they satisfy me. I still don't understand why she won't accept any rent from me; I suppose I might be the same way when it comes to hospitality, though.

I glance over at my growing pile of small, brown-cloth bags, each filled with similar amounts of gold bits. My mouth twists into a frown; the expression 'burning a hole in my pocket' comes to mind. I find that I have little use as of yet for the currency, given that I am basically living off others at this point, a fact I despise with a passion. I've managed to start buying my own food, which mainly consists of bread, apples, and carrots. I need to find a way to get some meat...

I need to do a lot of things, I remind myself. The most important is to become self-sufficient. And to become self-sufficient, I need a way to support myself, which happens to come in the form of money. Which, in turn, leads me to my current goal, one that has been the goal for the past few days: get a job.

It pleases me that these ponies are starting to warm up to me, finally. They still avoid eye contact and directly talking to me, save for the occasional reporter, but they no longer part to either side of the street when I walk down it. It still feels like I have an odd protective bubble of some sort, deflecting the ponies around me as they pass, but it only spans for a few feet, rather than a few yards. And, best of all, there have been less and less occurrences of ponies going hysteric upon seeing me at their doorstep.

In the past three or so days, I have found myself using up most of my days doing odd jobs around Ponyville. It's nice, actually, as it's usually something different every time. A lot of carpentry, like fixing a leaking roof or patching up a wall, but also some more random jobs. I recall one where I had to climb up a tree and jump into a second-story barn window that was barely big enough for me and not big enough for anything like a Pegasus pony, just to unlock the door from the inside. I had intended on doing it as a favor, but the pony had paid me, anyways, despite my attempts at refusal. There was even a job where I had to catch some loose chickens. I actually don't like chickens very much, so I didn't really enjoy doing that one. It occurred to me at some point that unicorn magic is somewhat of a rare commodity, especially in this town, so my ability to grip things as their magic does, along with my better flexibility, in some cases, proves fairly useful.

I've taken to just strolling around town when I have free time, helping out ponies I see when I can. Some pay me for doing so, but what satisfies me more is seeing the mixture of wonder and relief on their faces when they realize I'm not as bad to be around as they thought, especially on the foals. And, if no one's around to be helped, I usually try to find Rainbow Dash. To pass the time, I'll watch her practice for her idols, or we'll go steal some apples from Applejack's farm.

I don't know why I like to hang out with her, but I do. She's just fun to be around, I suppose. Certainly keeps me on my toes; I swear she tries to prank me in some way every time I see her. That and the fact she almost seems oblivious to the fact I'm so much more different from everyone else, save for the occasional joke about how weird my face looks or how slow I run. Maybe that's why. It's nice to have someone who doesn't get all paranoid or freaked out around me.

Standing up, I twist my head around, loosening up my neck. After a moment of scanning about the quiet library, I turn and crouch down, picking up one of the small bags of coins beside my makeshift bed. I open it and withdraw around five bits, dropping them into my left pants pocket. My gaze shifts to my dark shirt; I rub my fingers along the soft fabric for a moment. I probably could not have a better host than Twilight Sparkle. She lets me use her bathroom to wash up every day--apparently pony showers aren't used too often, so she said it wouldn't interfere at all--as well as having helped me figure out a way to wash my clothes. Washing machines, even washboards, are an uncommon thing here, which is understandable since ponies only wear clothes during special events or to dress up.

And best of all, she lets me do what I want without question. If I don't feel like discussing something, she drops it; I've noticed she might try to slip it in later on, but that isn't very often. Usually about why I don't talk. I don't really mind, though, as again, she lets me do what I want, go where I want, when I want. I walk over to the door, pushing it open and walking outside.

The day is ridiculously nice, a fact that I both welcome and am annoyed by. I'm used to overcast weather, rain, sleet, fog, sometimes even snow. And a thick blanket of smog to top it all off. It's almost unnerving to see nice weather, every day; I've been told by Rainbow Dash that the Pegasi create the occasional rainy day for farmers, but those adhere to a strict schedule. I start walking along the path I have been taking the past few days to the center of town. As I walk alone through the usual sea of colorful ponies, eyes darting towards me until I look back, at which point they quickly look away, I stick my hands in my pockets. My left hand idly plays with the coins in my pocket, evoking a quiet jingling noise just audible over the general noise of the crowds in the streets.

Working somewhere from two to five jobs per day, depending on how long they take and how many pop up at town hall for me to accept, I've managed to earn something like one hundred bits in total, possibly more. Ponies continue to overpay me, I think; maybe I'm just doing more in a day than I realize. Either way, I can't do much about it.

I make my way into the town square, aiming for the town hall. I give Applejack a wave, which is returned to me. As with many of the things I do, I don't know why I do it; just something else that has worked its way into my daily routine, I suppose. I push through the door of the tall, white building, focusing on the task at hand.

***

I run the large brush I hold in my hand down the side of the shed, filling more of the outside wall with white paint. Almost done...I continue delivering concise brush-strokes, going with the grain of the wood to avoid having the paint dry in an odd manner.

A thud just above me causes me to step back, looking up in surprise. Atop the roof of the shed I'm painting perches a light blue Pegasus pony, a rainbow-colored mane streaming down one side of her neck. I smile at Rainbow Dash, not having expected her company.

She peers over the edge of the shed's roof, looking at the wall I'm painting. "Painting? That's lame." I chuckle softly, stepping forward and resuming my lame activity. "C'mon, we should go do something cooler," Rainbow informs me. I smile, pointing at the last patch of brown, wooden siding on the shed. "Laaaaaame," she groans, dragging out the word. I laugh, focusing on the wall again. A nice white slowly begins to cover the dull brown, and after a few more minutes and a thorough look around every side of the shed, I decide I've completed my task. I hold up my pointer finger at the Pegasus prancing about on the shed, indicating I would only be a moment.

I go up to the back door of the small house, knocking a few times before standing off to one side. A red Earth pony with a green mane opens the door, then sees me and trots outside, going over to the shed. Rainbow Dash quickly hops off the shed, flying over to me. The pony slowly walks around the structure, smiling to herself. After a few seconds, she trots towards me, smiling pleasantly.

"Well done!" the pony, named 'Sweet Pepper', exclaims to me. "It looks absolutely wonderful! Here, you deserve this," she continues, turning halfway around. From seemingly nowhere, she pulls out a small sack of coins, dropping them in my open hand. I ponder how she had stored that; pockets? I joke to myself. After a little more wondering and coming up with no explanation, pockets begin to seem less and less far-fetched. I focus back on reality, smiling in thanks to Sweet Pepper. The mare trots off, leaving me alone with Rainbow Dash.

"Okay, you got your bits. Let's go do something, now," she says impatiently. I smile and nod to the hovering pony, following her back onto the street nearby. We start along down it without aim, yet. I look around, surveying the area; I haven't been to this part of Ponyville as of yet. It appears similar to the rest; quaint, peaceful, and overall friendly, if a little less populated.

We continue through the neighborhood, rounding a corner every so often. As we turn onto a new street, one named Moonlight Avenue, something catches my eye. It is something out-of-place, different from the rest of my surroundings. I eventually find what it is, and gaze at it for a moment; my eyes rest upon an old, ramshackle-looking house. I realize it sticks out because of its poor condition in comparison to the other houses in the town. Boarded up windows and doors, missing boards in the walls, shingles missing off of and water damage present on the roof. It almost looks kind of sad, if inanimate objects could convey emotion.

I hear a scratchy voice saying my name, and look over. "Mark? You alright?" Rainbow Dash asks. I realize I've stopped in my tracks; I nod to the rainbow-maned Pegasus, glancing back over to the desolate house. She follows my line of sight, looking between the old house and me a few times. "Looking at that house?" I nod. "Yeah, it's been abandoned for a few years. The pony that used to live there moved to Manehattan, told everypony he was going to get rich and be famous. I haven't heard of him since," she muses with a chuckle. The gears start to turn within my head; I get out my paper and pencil, scribbling rapidly.

So it's available for someone to move into, yes?

Thinking for a moment, the light blue pony nods her head. "Yeah, I don't think anypony owns it or lives in it or anything." She pauses, then looks from the house to me with a frown. "You're not actually thinking about living there, are you?" I glance at the house again, looking at it a little more closely. I note that the house number is eleven, the fading, white numbers hardly visible beside the boards covering the door. I write down a question for my hovering friend.

What if I was, what would I need to do?

Rainbow raises an eyebrow, shrugging to herself. "You could probably just move right in, I doubt anypony would care. Might wanna' check with the mayor, though, I think she's supposed to know stuff like that." Satisfied with the response, I look around for a moment, searching for the top of a familiar white building. Spotting it in the distance, I start walking in its direction. The sound of beating wings approaches my right a second later.

"You're going to talk to the mayor, aren't you?" I nod, smiling. She gives an exasperated sigh. "Guess that's better than watching you paint a shed." Chuckling, I continue towards the center of town.

I eventually step up onto the porch skirting around the town hall, pushing through and ducking under one of the outside doors. Rainbow Dash drops down to the ground, her hooves making a clip-clop as she matches my pace on the marble flooring. I lead us around the large board in the center of the open room, not entirely sure where I'm going. I spot a door with a sign next to it, which happens to read Mayor Mare. I look down at Rainbow, who nods. We walk up to the door, and I knock lightly.

"Come in!" a female voice calls from behind the door. I open the door and slowly step inside, letting the sky-blue Pegasus follow me in before closing the door again. I look back into the room.

It is a fairly stereotypical office, upon first glance. Comfortable in size, but not exceedingly large. A large window basks the room in sunlight. Near the center back of the room is a large desk, in front of which sits four chairs. Behind the desk is a pony; she has a tan coat and gray mane, and wears both half-rimmed glasses and some sort of fancy attire around her neck. A plaque on her desk reads Mayor Mare, like the one outside the door.

The mayor looks over her glasses at us, specifically me after a moment. Her eyes widen a little, and she looks up completely. "Oh! You must be the newest member of our community, Mister...Mark, was it?" I nod. "Word has been traveling around about you quite a bit," Mayor Mare says, nodding towards a pile of newspapers on her desk. I take a few steps forward, reaching for the top-most newspaper and bringing it in front of me. It appears to be today's edition of the Ponyville Express.

Mysterious Creature Remains in Ponyville

by Juicy Story, Head Reporter

Only a few days ago, a new creature was spotted by many residents, roaming the streets of Ponyville. Upon further question, it was found this creature is called 'Mark'. When this reporter attempted an interview, Mark only stated that he did not intend to bring harm to anyone. And it seems he was not lying; Ponyville residents, over the past few days, have received help of all sorts from the creature. Many still question where he comes from and what exactly he is, though. Something from the Everfree Forest? If so, why hasn't he returned? Possibly an extra-terrestrial being? Or maybe a creature of myth, finally revealed to--

I set the paper down again, looking at the mayor. "What brings you here, Mark?"

"He wants that old abandoned place out on Moonlight Avenue, Mayor Mare," Rainbow Dash answers for me. I think to myself that I need to thank her at some point; she's been saving me a lot of writing.

"Oh, number eleven?" I nod in confirmation. "Well, that place hasn't been touched in years. Nopony has wanted it, so it fell into disarray, I'm afraid. Are you sure you want a place like that? It will be quite a hoof-ful," the mayor warns. I nod, smiling. I need something to do, anyways. Mayor Mare brings a tan hoof to her mouth, tapping in thought. "I suppose that as long as you can take care of it, you may have it. You'll be burdened enough with fixing it up, so don't worry about purchasing the property." I frown in protest, about to start writing, but the mayor speaks again. "No, no. You have been helping the town and our ponies, so it's the least I can do in return." My look of dismay remains, but I nod submissively.

"Now, is that all you needed?" she asks. I nod, smiling gratefully to her. "Alright. Good luck!" After a moment, she adds, "And though it may be a little late, welcome to Ponyville!" I smile again, then turn for the door.

Once back out in the large entry room, Rainbow Dash looks up at me. "Well, you've got a really ugly house. Now what?" I smile in reply, walking outside again. I begin heading towards the house, my house, out of memory. The light blue mare pesters me with questions along the way, usually entailing what I plan on doing or why I won't tell her. I continue to smile, actually not knowing why I don't feel like explaining to her. Fun, maybe.

We eventually reach the depressing little house again. I walk up to the place where the door should be, instead covered by worn boards. I give one of the boards a testing push. After a moment, I step back, giving the boards a kick. My foot rebounds, to my minor dismay. I'm about to give a harder kick, when Rainbow steps in front of me.

"Amateur," she says with a grin. She turns around, facing me, then bucks the boards covering the doorway with her hind legs. Fragments of wood splinter inward, and a loud crack resounds in the area. The light blue pony gives the boards a few more kicks, creating an entryway just big enough for herself. I crouch down, slipping through the hole in the boards and heading into the house.

The first thing I notice is that...well, it's dark. Light only comes in through the holes in the boards covering up windows and through a hole in the roof. "Ugh, I can't see anything," Rainbow Dash says. I nod, but realize she probably can't see me. I carefully walk over to one of the windows. I push on one of the boards; it gives a little. I push harder, and not receiving any more progress, I pull my right arm back. My fist smashes into the wood, creating another crack that echoes within the house. I hear a yelp behind me, and turn around.

Now that more light is being let into the house, I can see my rainbow-maned friend. She holds a hoof over her mouth, eyes wide in surprise. The pony quickly makes herself return to normal, giving me a wide smile.

"I wasn't scared. I just...stepped on a nail, or something," she explains. I smile slyly; tell your lie however you want to. I clear out the rest of the boards in the window, then go over to another window. I begin working away at it with hits and pushes, eventually opening that window, as well. Looking back into the room, I see Rainbow Dash following suit, bucking the boards off of a window. She clears out the last window in the room.

I glance around, a new light literally shed upon the situation. The house is empty on the inside, as expected, save for the occasional cobwebs and dust bunnies. It appears very simple in design, having one main room dominating most of the area. I spot an unblocked doorway off on one wall of the room, and walk over to it. Peering around the corner, I see that it is a full bathroom. Pony bathrooms are fairly simple, and not very human-friendly, but at least the showers are fairly tall.

"Hey, check it out!" I hear Rainbow Dash exclaim, seemingly somewhere above me. I go back into the main room, looking around. Noticing some rickety-looking stairs, I assume she's gone to a second floor. I tentatively place a foot on the first stair; it creaks loudly, but holds. I put more and more of my weight on it until I'm standing on the first stair. Repeating this process with each of the stairs, I make my way up the stairs, albeit slowly.

I place my weight on a stair only three away from the top, and hear a snap. I quickly shove off of the stairs, leaping up to the top floor. The board snaps, landing with a dull thud on the floor below. I pull myself up into the second floor, moving to my feet. I look over to see the light blue Pegasus kicking out some more boards covering one of the two windows in this room. I see that it's more like an attic, the walls formed by the slanted roof of the house. I can stand up fully along the middle, though. Stepping over to the other window, opposite the one Rainbow Dash had already opened up, I hit the boards out of it, lighting up the rest of the room. Looking around, I feel satisfied; I figure this will serve as a nice bedroom. I start down the stairs again, avoiding the top few boards.

Dash meets me downstairs, looking around with mild interest. "Y'know, this place isn't too bad. Definitely not good, but not as bad as I thought. It's not haunted, at least. Not that I thought it was," she quickly adds. I smile at her, nodding in agreement. "Well, you gonna' do anything with it?"

I step over to one of the windows, peering outside. There's only a few hours of daylight left, from what I can tell. Wouldn't be able to do too much today...I get the paper out of my pocket, writing an answer.

Not today. Will be dark soon.

She nods in agreement, then her face brightens. "There's still enough time to get some practicing in, though! Wanna' come?" she asks cheerfully. I smile, nodding. We exit out through the hole in the boards covering the doorway, back into the afternoon. We start off towards Luna Lake, both eager for Rainbow Dash to practice her flying.

Chapter Nine

I try to speed up my morning routine, knowing I have many things to do today. Twilight let me know I could stay as long as I needed, but that hasn't stopped me from wanting to move out of her home. I am very ready to resume living under my own capability. I attempt to stifle a yawn, but it comes out anyway as I crouch down near my collection of blankets. Sifting through and rearranging the contents of a few of the bags of bits I possess, I count out four cloth sacks with ten bits in each to take with me. Grabbing them all in my left hand, I stand and walk outside, quietly closing the door to avoid waking Spike.

I take in a deep breath of the fresh, cool morning air, glancing about at the ponies milling around as I clear my head. Alright, first things first. Tools, then supplies. I unconsciously frown in thought. Where would I find some tools? I doubt they have a Home Depot here...I nod in realization. Blacksmith, I need to find a blacksmith for tools. My frown returns as I realize I don't know where to find a blacksmith's shop. I look up, scanning about the ponies around the library. Here goes nothing. I remove my pad of paper and pencil, and quickly write down a question.

I walk towards a bright yellow pony who is facing away from me, wondering if catching them by surprise will work to my advantage, as I hope, or just scare them. My footsteps are nearly silent on the ground behind the oblivious creature; the trick is to roll one's feet. I reach out and lightly tap the pony on the shoulder; they turn around, facing me with a smile that quickly disappears. The pony steps back in a fair degree of panic; I bring my hands in front of me, palms facing out, and step back myself, trying to show I just want their help, not to hurt them. I hold out my paper so they can read the question, hoping they'll actually acknowledge me.

The pony scans the paper cautiously, then glances up at me. "The nearest blacksmith...? There's one in town square, I think..." she says hesitantly, still slowly backing away. I nod, looking and feeling relieved. Okay, that wasn't too bad, at least. I nod again, giving an odd mixture of bowing away and waving in thanks. I start jogging towards the center of town, passing herds of colorful ponies as I do.

Upon reaching the town square, I start scanning around. I look at Applejack's stand for a moment, my stomach rumbling a little. Later. I keep searching, then spot a sign that stands out to me; it appears to be made of metal, rusted by nature, and hangs over a dull, stone building. The sign is shaped like a hammer about to strike an anvil; bingo. I make my way through the bustle of the center of Ponyville, heading for the stone building. Approaching the front, I place a hand on the door and push inside.

A small bell above me jingles as I enter. My pace slows as I walk into the room, looking around. The walls are lined with all sorts of metal pieces, each shaped and honed very exactly. I see everything from simple tools, like shovels, pitchforks, hoes, and so on, to actual weapons, swords, axes, things of that manner. I admire them for a moment, taking a step towards the medieval weapons. The blacksmith here, whoever they may be, seems very skilled; I don't see any flaws on the metal works, and every point and blade is razor sharp, as they should be.

"Need help with anything?" a voice says, bringing me back to reality. I look over towards the source, seeing a coal-colored pony behind a counter. He shows a friendly smile and appears fairly casual, something new from a pony I have yet to meet in this town. I think for a moment, then shake my head. He nods, letting me go back to my browsing. I step over to the tools on the wall, looking amongst them for a moment. Alright, so...I begin going off a checklist in my head, grabbing a few tools off the wall. A small sledge-style hammer, a wood ax, a handsaw, a fairly large bag of good-sized nails, some other assorted objects. I set them on the counter, allowing him to figure up the cost. My eyes drift off to the melee weapons again. I frown as I eye some of the smaller weapons. I really don't need to be scaring these poor things more than I already am, but...

After another moment's thought, I decide I might as well. I walk over to the portion of the wall holding the smaller weapons. Some very nice daggers are present, a few exquisite-looking ones as well. My eye is caught by a few small tomahawks--no, hand axes. Tomahawks are balanced to be thrown, and I doubt these are actually balanced; I grasp onto the handle of one, finding I am wrong. The balance is actually quite nice, but I wouldn't ever throw a tomahawk, anyways; that would be throwing away my only weapon, as the saying goes. Spinning the weapon around in my hand a few times, I decide it shall be mine. I select a nice double-edged dagger, as well, for kicks and giggles.

As I set the two weapons on the counter beside the tools, my mind starts to wander idly. My reasoning behind getting the combination of a tomahawk and a dagger is not actually random. The Native Americans used the two in a superb fighting style that involved dual-wielding them; the tomahawk was used in the primary hand, for me, my right, and the dagger in the secondary, held 'icepick-style' with the blade facing out of one's hand. In combat, this allowed them to create a devastating attack with the more powerful tomahawk in their most powerful hand, as well as parry off an opponent's weapons or attack. When an attack was parried with the tomahawk, this rendered the tomahawk-holding hand out of action for a moment, as it was busy deflecting and redirecting another weapon. So, to solve this, the Native Americans used a dagger in the opposite hand. While the tomahawk hand parried, a second attack could be delivered to the opponent while their own weapon was disabled. It gave the upper hand because it allowed one to attack while effectively defending.

I shake my head. I don't know why I remember things like that, and don't even know where I learn them from, but I do. Half of my knowledge is information that doesn't really even help me in any way. I snort to myself. Not like I'm going to be using them, anyways. Still, just the knowledge that I have some sort of defense is nice, and weapons are fun to play around with.

"Planning on using those things?" I look at the dark gray pony, following his gaze down to the weapons. I smile, shaking my head. "Good, because if you were, I planned on raising the price." I chuckle quietly, readying my bags of bits. "Gonna' be thirty bits or so." I nod, dropping three of the bags on the counter and sticking the last in my pants pocket. I wait for him to count them out, and he nods in satisfaction. "Don't go terrorizing the town too much, okay?" he says with a grin. I return it with a laugh, carefully grabbing onto my multitude of sharp objects. I cautiously make my way out of the smithy, back into town square.

Needless to say, I get a lot of looks, most terrified. I just try to ignore them, making my way through the streets of Ponyville with my weapons of destruction. At least the ponies clear out of the way fairly quickly, making it easy to avoid poking anyone.

I arrive at my property in good time, and walk up to the door. I ponder going through the pony-sized hole Rainbow Dash had created, then realize I really don't need to. Hastily dropping my other tools, I grab hold of my ax, one hand near the head. Some smashing and chopping later, the doorway is revealed again, clear of boards. I dip my head to get under it, but it's much, much better than having to crawl to get into my new house. I pick up my other tools and weapons and bring them inside, setting them on the floor. I think for a moment, then grab my actual weapons, sliding them into the belt loops on my jeans. Maybe I could have Rarity make me a hilt or something soon...

I look at the tools and the assorted supplies for a moment, wondering if I should worry about theft. Doubt it. There are a few perks to being a big, scary creature from outer space, I suppose. Remaining bits in my pocket and shiny, new weapons at my sides, I walk outside again.

Alright, lumber...I need to find some lumber. Deciding to do what I did earlier, I pull out my paper and pencil again, writing a new question for whichever pony happens to be my victim. It seems a dark blue Earth pony will be the lucky winner; I approach the pony, piece of folded up paper in hand. Noticing me, they start to change course. I wave my hand a little frantically, holding the paper out to them. Staring at me like I might explode, the blue pony walks towards my outstretched arm, scanning the paper for a moment.

"I think there's a mill out on the North side of town, just on the outskirts." I nod in thanks, stepping away from the pony and looking into the sky. Luckily, the sun is still at an angle in the sky, and it is still before noon. I turn around, walking to what I hope is North.

It turns out the sun rises in the East and sets in the West in Equestria, as well. Nearing the lumber mill, sitting only a few hundred feet away from the town, I see a shack of sorts amidst the piles of logs and planks. I make my way towards it, slowly entering through a door upon reaching it. Another bell jingles above my head, and I see a suitably brown-colored pony sitting behind a desk, reading some the newspaper. I think they nearly jump out of their skin upon seeing me.

"M-may I help you?" the pony, a male, asks shakily. I nod, pulling the bag of bits out of my pocket and motioning towards the outside, where the wood is. "You want to buy lumber?" I nod again. "Alright, one moment," he replies, shaking his head in what I believe to be disbelief. I push outside again, looking about the mill. I see a few different piles of wooden planks, ranging from something akin to two-by-fours to wide, flat pieces of cut wood. Doing some quick estimation, I begin musing about what all I need. I pull various pieces of wood from their piles, setting them in a separate pile on a clear patch of ground.

Eventually deciding I have everything I need, I go back over to the pile, finding the brown pony peering at it with interest. Probably wondering what something like me wants with a bunch of boards. Upon noticing me, he turns.

"Is this all?" I nod in affirmation. "That's going to be..." He trails off, apparently doing some mental calculation. "Seven bits." Removing three coins and sliding them into my pocket, I toss my last bag of coins in front of the pony. He opens it with his teeth, peering inside and counting the coins. Satisfied, he looks up. "Uh...have a nice day," he says, scurrying off. I begin picking up my materials, hefting the longer boards over my left shoulder and pinning the wider boards against my side. The wood seems to be of good quality, nice and sturdy.

I walk for a few minutes, thanking Fate for the lumber mill happening to be fairly close to where I live. I bring the lumber inside, leaning it against one of the walls. I look between my tools and my materials, then around at the sun-lit interior of my house. Time for a little home improvement.

***

I grab a new nail from the group I hold between my teeth, placing it against the surface of the shingle and holding it there with my left hand. I carefully tap the head a few times with my hammer, then remove my hand, driving the nail in with a few hard hits. There we go. I survey my roofing work, having now patched up the last of the holes in my roof.

"Boo."

I jump, rocking back and losing my balance. I nearly fall off my roof, but manage to throw a hand forward and grab the peak of the roof, hanging tightly. I look behind me in surprise; there hovers a rainbow-maned pony, stifling laughter with a hoof. Unable to hold in her mirth, Rainbow Dash bursts out laughing, holding her sides as her scratchy laugh fills the fairly quiet air. Finding my balance on the roof again, I release my grip on the top of the roof. Falling off a roof or a heart attack, either way, your pranks are gonna' kill me someday, I quietly think to the laughing Pegasus. I smile and start to chuckle, shaking my head. Before I seriously injure myself, I decide to hop down off of the roof.

Dash wipes a tear from her eye, sighing merrily. "That was priceless. The way you almost fell off the roof..." She is hit by another fit of giggles. Smiling at her, I walk inside my house. Rainbow drops down, trotting inside and looking about. Noticing the stairs, she comments, "Well, it still doesn't look that great, but it's clean and the stairs are fixed. Were you fixing the roof?" I nod. She glances about again, looking at the open doorway. "Might want to fix that, next." I snort, then nod in agreement. I look over at the collection of planks against the wall, about half-depleted from making the stairs. No, I'm going to have to get an actual door. Getting out my writing material, I scribble down a question, having a feeling it might sound stupid.

Is there a furniture store in Ponyville?

To my surprise, Rainbow Dash replies, "Oh, yeah, it's in the center of town. Pretty much every shop's there." I write out another question, smiling as I hold it down to the pony.

Feel like a field trip?

She brings a light blue hoof to her mouth, feigning deep thought. "Yeah, I don't have anything else to do, so why not?" I smile to her, then head out of the doorway. Alright, need to grab some cash, first. I start off towards Twilight's tree house, the sky-blue Pegasus coming to a steady hover beside me. We walk through town, most ponies clearing out of my way a little more than usual.

Rainbow leans down towards my ear, dropping her voice to a whisper. "You shoulda' seen it earlier. When you bought all that stuff, and how everypony tried to stay away, it looked awesome from high up. It was weird, like you were using magic to force everypony to split apart or something," she explains with a snicker. I try to imagine what it would look like from above, and guess it would probably look like a zipper, or maybe a boat cutting through water. Despite the fact I would rather have these ponies like me, I can't deny that that probably does look awesome.

We approach Twilight's door a moment later, and I open the door for the rainbow-maned pony. She smiles and trots inside, followed by me. I walk over to where I've been camping out in the library, grabbing a bag of fifteen coins or so. I figure it will be more than enough for a door, which is about all I figure I'll need today. Doubt I can get much else done.

"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash, hi Mark. Can I help you two with anything?" I shake my head, holding up the bit-filled cloth in my hand. "Buying some things for your new house?" I nod, smiling. "How is it coming along?" Sticking the bits in my pocket, I grab my paper and scribble out an answer, frowning as I show it to Twilight.

Good, but I still can't sleep in it. No windows, no bed, no door, for now.

"Well, those are certainly some necessary items," Twilight comments with a laugh. "Like I said, stay here as long as you need, it's no problem." I nod and smile gratefully, then turn and start for the door. I notice Rainbow Dash hangs back for a moment; she leans in close to Twilight Sparkle, looking around nervously.

"Hey, do you have...it?" she whispers, or attempts to whisper. The violet unicorn rolls her eyes and sighs.

"Yes, Rainbow, I have the most recent Daring D--mmph!" Twilight exclaims as a blue hoof is jammed into her mouth.

"Shh!" Dash says frantically, glancing over at me. I act like I didn't see or hear anything, looking about idly as I wait for her. Twilight sighs again, then trots off to go fetch something. The light blue pony shoots me a nervous smile, looking very much like a drug addict, I think. Maybe she is a drug addict, I think with a frown. Might explain the psychedelic colors...

Twilight comes back to Rainbow Dash with a book in her mouth. The title reads Daring Do and the Lair of Ahuitztol, and shows a picture on the cover depicting a mustard-yellow pony with a gray mane standing before an odd, blue, demonic-looking creature. It reminds me vaguely of the old Indiana Jones movies. Rainbow quickly snatches the book in her mouth, storing it away on her. The idea of pockets pops into my head again.

"Thanks," the Pegasus whispers to Twilight Sparkle, who just chuckles in reply. Rainbow Dash puts on a smile and trots over to me as if nothing had happened, though there is an air of nervousness about her. Too cool for reading, are we? I start writing a note with a sly grin as we walk outside. I hold the note over for the flying pony to see.

What kind of books do you like to read?

She groans, wincing. "You think I'm a total egghead, don't you?" I smile and shake my head. "You don't?" I shake my head again to confirm that no, I do not. I quickly add a few words to my paper.

Reading is awesome, not lame.

"Yeah..." she says, trailing off with happy smile. I tap my original question, snapping her back to reality. "Oh, uh, I read the Daring Do series, mostly. It's about this Pegasus who goes on adventures in search of treasure, and old stuff. And along the way, she has to dodge traps--" she says, taking a moment to mimic darting out of harm's way, avoiding a trap that isn't there, "--and outrun bad guys, and use her awesomeness to get out of traps this crazy guy, named Ahuiztol, sets for her! Daring Do is so awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaims, pushing her hooves against her cheeks and scrunching up her face. Oh, man, that is really cute. I smile at her excitement over the book series.

After a moment, she seems to realize I am watching her, and gives me a bashful smile. "Heh, uh...what do you like to read?" she asks, probably just wanting to change the subject. I think for a moment, then write her an answer.

Action, mostly. Sometimes mixed with government and history, egghead stuff.

I could use a good Tom Clancy book right now, I muse for a moment. We approach the town square, and Rainbow directs us over to the furniture store. She enters first, followed by me. I start looking around; the shop is very open, with various types of furniture on display about it. Some are simple in design, combinations of unstained wood and cloth, but look comfortable; others are very lavish, and look like a lot of time was put into them. I decide to take a better look around tomorrow. For the time being, I find the selection of hand--hoof?--made doors, looking at them for a moment. They all appear to be around the same size, the average pony door that is just half a head too short for me; I can live with it, though. I find the simplest door, a simple wooden base with a small, square window in it.

I turn around, and find that a peach-colored pony is approaching me tentatively. "May I help you?" the pony, a mare, asks, attempting to sound amiable. I nod, tapping the door behind me and holding up my bag of bits. "You would like to buy that?" I nod again. "Of course. It will be four bits. Can I help you find anything else?" I shake my head, pulling out the right amount of coins and dropping them into the pony's outstretched hoof. "Thank you, sir. Please come again," she says, quickly stepping away. I return my focus to the door, assuming I just take it. I remind myself that, given the practices of whatever time Equestria is in, display models don't really exist; and if they do, they can likely be purchased, anyway. I grip either side of the door, hefting it up and flipping it on its side so I can more easily carry it. Rainbow Dash follows me out of the furniture store, hopping up into the air beside me once we get outside again.

I readjust the door at my side after a minute. "Want some help?" Rainbow asks, apparently noticing. I look over, thinking for a moment. Well, I'm not going to deny help if she wants to give it. I nod and smile gratefully; she dips down, hovering just above the ground, and grabs a part of the door with her hooves. I flip the door around so that I am walking backwards, holding one side as she carries the other a few feet in the air. We travel along like this until reaching my house-in-progress.

The Pegasus releases the door, allowing me to take it and prop it up outside the house. Looking at it again, it still looks pretty bad, but the roof is decent. And the stairs inside look nice. And at least most of the cobwebs and dust are gone. There's still a lot to do, but I know it's easily doable. Dash trots inside, grabbing some nails and my hammer in her mouth and bringing them out. I smile at her, and together we begin the last work on the house for the day.

Chapter Ten

I slide my end of the couch against the wall, followed by Rainbow Dash doing the same with the other side. The sky-blue pony immediately hops up onto the new piece of furniture, sitting down with a 'whew'. I turn and do the same, letting out a sigh at the bliss of being off my feet for the first time since the morning. I glance over at the rainbow-maned Pegasus, then hold my fist over to her. After a moment, she understands, knocking the flat of her hoof against my knuckles with a grin. I look around the room, feeling satisfied. Definitely got my act together today.

While the couple of actual professional carpenters I hired installed some new windows and fixed the foundation and support of my house, I began work on the inside, cleaning up more, re-doing door frames and putting in a new door for the bathroom. Rainbow Dash stopped by, saying she got the day off because no clouds had rolled in today, and to my surprise, began helping me out. She covered new plumbing, actually gathering and positioning small clouds to create a working water system within my home. Apparently that's how plumbing works here, and it is no less effective than the pipe plumbing I'm used to. In fact, it's easier to maintain, lasts longer, and refills itself, and with a magically-operated mechanism installed in most pony homes, even I can use the system of small clouds with handles and levers.

I start scanning about the room, looking at the things I've made, mostly with the help of my colorful friend. Cabinets and counters, as well as a sink, an oven, and an icebox. I made sure we built them or had them raised up a little higher, so I could better reach them. A small table and two chairs, all sturdy enough to survive me putting my weight on them and past that. The couch Rainbow Dash and I sit on, but I bought that; lugging it here was sure a challenge, though. On the second floor, I know that now, there is an average-sized bed, more than enough for me; though my feet do hang over the edge if I stretch out. I don't really mind. The hay bedding covered by some sheets is much more comfortable than the wooden floor I've been utilizing for the past week or so; it's getting hard to keep track of time given my bad memory and the general lack of calendars.

All in all, it's livable. A roof over my head that doesn't leak, plumbing, storage, doors, windows, and a bed. It actually feels like a home, now, rather than a house. I know that I'm not done, yet; there's plenty I want to do. Bookcases, for one. And a lot of paint. Maybe even some carpet, or a rug, at the least, I'm not really sure what else I can get my hands on. But for now, it's livable. And best of all, I've managed to make it so in, what, two days? That has to be a record. I didn't do it alone, of course, I think, looking over at the light blue pony again. It's nice to have help, someone willing to help. I haven't really got much of it in the past, and it's a welcome idea to me.

Remembering something, Rainbow Dash looks over at me with a friendly smile. "Why don't we take a break? I haven't practiced in a while. Been too busy helping you move couches," she jokes with a playful roll of her eyes. I grin at her, then nod in agreement. A break sounds nice. I wonder what time it is as I stand up, trying to find the sun out one of the windows. I walk over to the door, already starting to feel sore, and open it, still remembering my manners despite my tiredness. Dash smiles to me, trotting outside as I shut the door behind us. I see that it is actually fairly late in the day, probably around five or six in the afternoon. So we've been working for, what...ten hours? Yikes. Definitely time for a break.

The Pegasus stops, looking back at me. "Hey, I've got some...stuff to do. Just meet me out at Luna Lake, where we usually go, 'kay?" I nod, starting to wonder but stopping myself. She's an adult, she has things to do, too, I internally scold. She jumps off, flapping her wings and flying away. I smile and start heading towards the distant field that I can't even see right now, speeding up my pace a little. I am tired, and also very hungry, but my eagerness to get to watch her fly overrides it all. It's exciting and wonderful to see, and I find myself always looking forward to it.

My mind starts to drift idly as I jog along at a steady clip. I suppose I can easily understand why I like to see her fly so much. For one, she's a creature I previously thought was only a myth, which is something in itself to see on a fairly regular basis. But more than that, I've always enjoyed things like airplanes and flight. Especially fighter planes. Amazingly fast, yet agile and deft, precise and deadly, a piece of machinery that somehow seems beautiful when doing what it is meant to do. Rainbow Dash isn't quite a jet, given that she's much more colorful, talkative, and...well, cute. Once you get past the abnormality of how the ponies look in comparison to actual ponies, the large eyes and color schemes and such, they're fairly adorable.

There's something different about watching her fly in comparison to watching an airplane fly, though. Possibly the fact that there is a degree of nature there, that her flight is natural, not created by concentrated gouts of flame and machinery, yet is nearly just as fast and many, many times for agile. To think that she does what she does under her own power amazes me; and a horse's body isn't even meant for flight, but she can fly better than any bird I've ever seen. The freedom she has...

It would be nice. Not just the freedom of flight, to be in the open air, but also her naivete. I've noticed that she, along with many of the others here, don't seem to be troubled by much, and if they are, their concerns usually come off as fairly petty. Maybe I'm judging too quickly; and as the saying goes, 'someone else always has it worse', or something along those lines. Everyone else, no matter how happy they are, has their own battles to fight, all of which end up being just as bad as those one already has.

I slow my pace, realizing I've jogged a bit farther than I should have, having gone all the way through the field by mistake. I find myself looking out over a calm lake, reflecting the sunlight off of its waters. The sun shines before me, hanging a few hours away from sunset over the horizon. Crickets chirp softly along the banks, nestled within the cattails. It feels serene, peaceful; I sit down, drawing my knees up to my chest and looking out over the water. I watch Luna Lake for some time, finding myself feeling relaxed.

The sound of gentle wing-beats approaches to my right. I look over, watching as Rainbow Dash sits down beside me, looking out at the lake as well. She is quiet for some time.

"Y'know, I've been coming out here for...well, I'm not really sure, but it's been a pretty long time. I found it when I was just a filly. But I've never really looked at the lake, like this." Rainbow pauses, thinking it over a little. "It's nice," she states simply. I nod thoughtfully in agreement.

"It's also boring, though," she says after a minute, her voice going back to its normal tone and volume. There is a notable change from when she was talking only a moment ago to how she talks now, like a transition between another side of her and her usual self. "Come on, I want to show you this trick!" The light blue pony eagerly stands, spreading her wings. I smile, standing as well and walking away from the lake with her. She shoots off into the air, and once she is only a mere smudge of color against the sky, calls down to me. "Watch!" she shouts. I nod, trying to make it visible to her.

She dives down a short distance, then shoots back up again, aiming straight for a big, fluffy cloud. She pierces the center, careening right through it. Dash continues up and off to one side, signature rainbow trail following her closely. The Pegasus bolts through another cloud, then one more, before heading into a dive directly down towards me. Nearly slamming into the ground, she levels out just in time, galloping on the ground for a moment before stopping in front of me. I watch as, above a grinning, panting Rainbow Dash, a small rainbow begins to form between her spread wings as the water vapor on her coat flies off from the sudden stop and hits them. My mouth opens in awe, and I step closer, staring at the semi-visible color levitating over her back. The rainbow disappears after a few seconds, water vapor shimmering as it dissipates back into the air.

Unable to control my grin of excitement, I give a stunned laugh, looking at the pony. She continues to smile with pride at her trick. "Pretty awesome, right?" I nod vigorously, feeling giddy. I can't even begin to fathom how that was possible, but it has to be one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I'm almost tempted to ask her to do it again. Rainbow glances over at the sun, face twisting in thought for a moment. "Okay, we should probably get back to your house, now," she informs me. I frown, wondering why she wants to go back so soon. But, I agree, solemnly nodding my head in submission. She's probably tired. After all, she was helping me all day. We start the walk back towards town.

***

I step up to my front door, placing a hand on it. I notice Rainbow Dash is hanging back a little, but is smiling; it doesn't prevent the odd sense of foreboding I feel. I switch hands, placing my left on the door, and the right on the tomahawk in my belt. I give the door a push inward, hand on the grip of my weapon.

"SURPRISE!"

I stumble away from my door, withdrawing my weapon and reaching for the other with my left hand. I then notice that there is no threat in front of me; rather, I would consider them all friends, to an extent. A crowd of short, colorful ponies stands within my house, grins on all of their faces on having successfully surprised me. Pinkie Pie stands in front of them all, seemingly the mastermind behind this escapade, wearing a huge smile. I look behind me, to Rainbow Dash, who is smiling as well.

"Surprise!" she says as well. I look back into my house, a smile starting to form on my face. I step inside, immediately noticing a lot of things. The first is a large banner hanging along my ceiling. It reads: Good Job on Finishing Your House and Also Welcome to Ponyville. It's a bit of a mouthful. I smile in amusement, looking about me. On the table now lies various desserts, such as cupcakes and cookies, along with assorted drinks and some salt, which I mildly question. There appears to be party games about the room, pin-the-tail-on-the-pony, something that looks like Twister, and a few others. Most notably, at the back of the room there appears to be a small setup of DJ equipment, a record player and some speakers. I also question the existence of speakers in this sort of era, but the question fades as I continue looking around.

My gaze drifts to the crowd of ponies before me. I actually recognize most of them; I see Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy, as well as many of the ponies I have done jobs for, such as the pony named Till, and another whose name is Berry Punch. I don't understand why they are present, feeling like I really didn't do anything special. All I did was help them out, a lot of times in order to help myself. To think that they would take so kindly to my simple actions...I smile, feeling proud, yet humbled.

"Told you I would get this party in within a few chapters!" exclaims Pinkie Pie to me. "I just had to make sure the author remembered, didn't I, Mister Author?" she asks with a menacing look into space. Yes, Pinkie Pie, sir, I mean, ma'am! Please, no more songs about remembering that I need to add a party to this chapter.

I frown, not entirely sure what the pink party pony is talking about. I shrug lightly to myself, telling myself just to go with it. Pinkie turns, facing the group of ponies. "Alright, everypony, let's party!"

***

I shake a few more hooves as ponies slowly file out my front door, my right hand starting to hurt from shaking and my face starting to hurt from smiling; not that those are bad things, though. The next pony to approach me is a white unicorn with a spiky, blue mane and large, purple-tinted glasses. Rather than extending her hoof in a shake, she holds it back a little; I close my hand into a fist, lightly bumping it against the mare's hoof. She grins, then trots out without a word. 'Vinyl Scratch', an excellent DJ who apparently composes her own music, as well. The bass on her songs could be a bit lower and harder-hitting, but electro is electro, and I certainly won't complain. Right as the music began, I remembered how much I missed music. I had forgotten how much it had meant to me, just to lose myself within a song.

Twilight appears to be the last to leave, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie having already left; Pinkie literally wrapping up the party and taking it with her was quite the sight. Twilight glances off into my house, looking around at the new furnishings, I suppose, before smiling up at me.

"Your house looks excellent, Mark. Definitely quite a change from what this house looked like before. And to think you did it within only two days! You're almost as organized as I am," she jokes. "Oh, but before I forget. Princess Celestia has been wanting to see you personally, if you recall. She sent me a letter earlier asking you if us going to Canterlot to see her the day after tomorrow would be okay with you. Is it?"

That's right, the ruler-goddess mentioned that in her letter to Twilight a few days ago. Wow...I'm stunned by the very idea of getting to see an actual goddess. It's unfathomable. Best of all, I don't really have a schedule, so my schedule is always clear. I nod with a smile to the violet unicorn, receiving a contented smile from her in return.

"Great! Now, we can go to Canterlot in two ways. I would just teleport us there, but I haven't quite figured out how to teleport objects that far. The first is by hot-air balloon, which is the faster of the two options. The second is by train, in case you do not want to fly." I feel a grin spreading on my face. I get to see a demi-goddess, and I can fly there? I've never been in a hot air balloon...I muse, filled with sudden wonder. I look at Twilight, thinking for a moment, then making a half-circle with one hand and dragging it slowly through the air, like I'm holding a small balloon. She understands my charade, smiling in satisfaction again. "You'd like to take the balloon?" I nod happily. "Okay, I'll get on filling it up. It should take a day or so to fill and do a safety check on, so that should work out great. Can you be at the library near sunrise two days from now?" I nod, figuring nothing will come up. Not like I have a work schedule to abide by.

"Excellent," Twilight states, smiling once more as she starts trotting out the door. "See you soon, Mark!" I close the door, turning back into the main room of my house. Only then does something catch my eye. On my couch, a short distance away, lies a curled up, light blue Pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane. She snores softly as the last light of the day starts to fade away, basking the room in a reddish light. I silently d'aww to myself; she looks like a big, sleeping puppy, sort of. Not really. The level of cute present in a sleeping puppy is a more accurate description. She snores lightly, apparently completely drained of energy from the day.

I knew there was someone that didn't leave, I tell myself, recalling having the thought earlier. How did I not notice her? I give a quiet snort of amusement, watching her mane shift as her chest rises and falls peacefully. Better wake her up, I think solemnly. She should go home, sleep in her own bed, not on my simple couch in my half-renovated house. I start quietly walking over to her, the old but strong floorboards creaking a little under my weight. I approach the side of the couch, kneeling down in front of her and moving my hand towards the sleeping pony's shoulder. My hand is only a few inches away from her, when I notice something about her. My gaze shifts over a short distance.

I realize I've never actually looked at Rainbow Dash's...what was it, 'cutie mark'? I think that was the term Twilight used. Maybe because of its location. Still, it's intriguing, and I find myself unable to look away out of decency. Her mark is of a storm cloud of sorts, out of it coming a streak of lightning. The lightning bolt is composed of three different colors, red, yellow, and blue, the three colors required to make every other color in a rainbow.

I look at it for a while, mesmerized. It looks slightly different from the rest of her, like maybe it would feel different...a soft presence brushes against my fingertips. A tingling begins to spread throughout my hand, traveling slowly up my arm; as it does, my hair starts to stand on end. It feels like an electrical shock, but a mild one, one that is just large enough to be noticeable, but small enough to not be painful...

Something very soft smacks me in the face, hard. I jump back, more out of surprise than from the impact. Stumbling and losing my balance, I land on my backside. I look at Rainbow Dash, utterly stunned as I try to figure out what exactly just happened; she is fully alert, now, head raised and looking at me, eyes wide. Her wings are completely extended, flared out on her back; I realize what hit me in the face at this point. The Pegasus looks back at her wings, eyes widening a little more; her cheeks start to blush a pinkish color, but she seems to stifle the emotion quickly, looking back at me. She glances back at me, grinning casually.

"What, you're not going to take me out to dinner, first?"

I manage to gather a few of my bearings, scrambling to my feet, but my eyes remain locked on the light blue pony. I glance back at her cutie mark again. Did I touch that? What the hell was I thinking?! That thing's on her ass, damn it! I look at my hand, still feeling some remnants of the...electricity? I quickly smooth out the hair on my arm with my left hand, feeling a wave of red-hot embarrassment travel through my body. God damn it, what the hell?! I silently question, furious with myself for letting my curiosity best me. My face hot enough to fry an egg on, I start to pull out my paper and pencil, fumbling with them for a moment.

"Hey, whoa, calm down," Rainbow says, rolling off the couch and standing up. "It's okay..." she trails off, scanning a note of deep apology from me. "Mark, look at me." I force myself to look up, at her bright, friendly, cerise-colored eyes. "It's oh...kay," she says slowly. "I can tell you were just curious. You're curious about stuff like that a lot. I know it was a mistake," the light blue pony reassures me. "But you could've just asked, y'know."

My embarrassment disappears for a moment, but not from her attempts at convincing me that isn't offended. It was the tone of voice she held in her last statement. That was almost...no. I push the thought away, again scolding myself for letting my curiosity get ahead of my logical thought. I continue to hold her gaze for a moment longer.

"It's okay, Mark," she says. I nod shakily, rubbing my hand against the back of my neck. After a few seconds, she continues, "Well, I'm really tired. Need to get to bed, got a long day of work to look forward to tomorrow..." she says with a snort. "See you later?" I nod again, putting on a smile. She smiles as well, heading for the door. I open it for her, closing it behind the pony before leaning against it with a long sigh, my equivalent of a groan.

I walk upstairs, climbing into my new bed, wanting to sleep but denied it by my active mind.

Chapter Eleven

Cries of pain, cries I recognize. Panic. A yell of rage, from a voice I don't remember. Anger. Three hard kicks into my shoulder. Pain, not from the impacts, from something else. Pain.

I jolt upright, nearly jumping clean out of my bed, my eyes snapping open. The light of the room immediately blinds me, causing purple spots to dance behind my eyelids when I close them. I look down at my hands; they are shaking. I bring them up to my head, pressing them against my forehead. They feel cold, clammy. I'm drenched in a cold sweat, and my heart is pounding like I've just run a marathon. I kick the blankets off of me, turning to one side of my bed and placing my feet on the floor.

I sigh, my breath coming out shakily. Just a dream. It's okay...My mind drifts for a moment. It's okay, my memory, not my mind, repeats to me, in a voice not my own. I think back to the previous night, worry immediately filling my head. I don't want to lose a friend over a mistake like that. I ponder whether I should go find her, and apologize again, but I remember that she could be anywhere, most of that anywhere being up in the sky, where, sadly, I cannot reach. Sighing again, I stand up, walking to the other side of my bedroom and heading down the stairs.

Walking through the room, I look around, seeing it is fairly empty, lit by yellow light from outside. I ought to invest in some lanterns, or candles, or something. I realize I slept with my clothes and weapons on, and with a shrug, I walk outside.

The fresh air is nice, clears my head, allows me to think. I remember Twilight's conversation with me from yesterday, about going to see Princess Celestia in person. I brighten at the idea of a hot-air balloon ride, as well as going to see both the capital city and the rulers of Equestria. The feeling disappears after a moment as I look down at myself. My simple T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, while still all in fairly good condition, if a little dirty, don't seem suitable for presenting myself before not only royalty, but a divine being. Maybe I can take Rarity up on that clothes offer...I walk back inside, grabbing my last few bags of coins to take with me.

I get lost for a while, searching for Rarity's boutique, but eventually find it a short distance away from the town square. I walk up to the door, knocking a few times and waiting. After a minute, a white pony opens the door; she's a little too small to be Rarity, though. I recall that she is Sweetie Belle; I guess that the two are related, given their similar appearances.

"Oh, Mister Mark!" the filly exclaims. "Are you here to see Rarity?" I nod, smiling down at her. She turns around, calling into the boutique for Rarity. After a few more seconds, Sweetie Belle disappears, replaced by Rarity.

"Mark, darling!" I cringe inwardly at her mannerisms. "What brings you here?" She pauses, gasping dramatically. "Are you finally here for something to replace...those?" Rarity points a white foreleg at my clothing. They aren't that bad. I nod and smile anyways, removing my pencil and paper and starting to write.

I'm going to be seeing Princess Celestia tomorrow, and I didn't think this to be suitable attire. Could you help?

"Oh, my! A meeting with the princess? We simply must find you something more appropriate for an occasion like that!" It is at that point I wonder if I'll be able to hold on to my sanity today.

***

Barely. I walk out of Carousel Boutique, quickly. Can't believe she spent a whole two hours just measuring me...I guess I can't really blame her, though. She seems to have OCD, plus the fact I have a body shape entirely different from that of a pony's. I just hope she at least tries to abide by the guidelines I requested. Simple, not tight-fitting, not overly fancy, and most importantly, not at all decorated by sparkles, gems, anything like that. She seemed a little put-off by that, but agreed. And she said I could pick it up later tonight, which is definitely convenient.

So, now what? I question myself. I still can't find Rainbow Dash; it's usually her that finds me, anyways. Finding myself idly walking into the center of town, I look around. I see Applejack at her apple stand, as usual. My stomach rumbles, but...apples don't sound so good today. Neither do carrots, or even muffins. I know what sounds good.

Where would I find any meat, though? They're all vegetarian...I could probably manage to get some eggs, but even those don't sound as satisfying as a nice steak. I can't eat the cows, they're all sentient. And that would be wrong. I rub my hand against my short beard, which I make a note to shave tonight. Maybe I could ask someone?

Who would I ask, though? Most would probably go nuts if I asked where I could find some meat to satisfy my carnivorous needs. An idea pops into my head. Wait, isn't it...Fluttershy? She's the one that does all the animal stuff, right? I question no one in particular. I decide she's probably my best option; she probably deals with carnivores on a regular basis. I start off towards where I believe her house to be, going off of memory.

***

I rap lightly on the door of Fluttershy's cottage a few times, stepping back and awaiting a response. After a moment the door creaks open, a timid blue eye surveying me for a moment. The door opens wider, revealing Fluttershy.

"Oh, hello, Mark," she says softly. "Do you need something? Are you hurt?" she asks quickly. I shake my head, smiling as I kneel down, using my raised knee as a hard surface to write on. I show her my somewhat lengthy question after a moment.

Humans, what I am, are omnivores, we eat both meat and plants. I haven't really been eating meat for the past few days, which isn't good for prolonged periods of time. Is there any place I might be able to find or get some meat to eat?

Fluttershy frowns, moving back a few steps. "Y-you mean you...?" She trails off into a squeak. I shake my head frantically, writing quickly.

We don't eat ponies.

She sighs with relief. After a moment, she looks at me in question. "What do you eat, then?" she asks cautiously. I frown, wondering if the answer will offend her or scare her. Hopefully neither.

Usually, cows, pigs, chickens, fish, deer, rabbits, etc.

I immediately regret adding rabbits, and mentally smack myself for showing it to her. As expected, she lets out an 'eep' of terror. She nearly starts hyperventilating, but recovers after a moment, looking at the floor. "U-uh...oh my...please don't eat any bunnies...or cows...or pigs, or chickens, or deer..." Fluttershy stops listing, thinking for a moment. "Did you say you could eat fish, too?" I nod. She sighs, grimacing. "I...I suppose you could eat fish. They aren't very smart, anyways. But, please, don't eat any of the fish here, please," she adds. I raise an eyebrow in question, scribbling a note out.

If I can't eat any of the fish here, where can I find fish to eat?

"The..." She trails off, mumbling. I put a hand to my ear, signifying I can't hear her. "...the Everfree Forest," she whispers, letting out another 'eep' on just saying the words. My face contorts in some question, and I write some more.

Where can I find this forest?

"Oh, I don't know if that's such a good idea...the Everfree is wild, and unexplored, and...scary." I frown, tapping my question again. "Oh my...okay. If that's what you want to do...the Everfree is that way, nearby," she points out a window, and I notice a thick forest in the distance. "It's very easy to get lost, so stay near the path. It should take you by a river, and there are fish there. Please be careful." I nod to the yellow pony. Why is she so worried? Maybe this isn't a good idea...My stomach growls again, and I decide it's for the best. I stand up, smiling to Fluttershy in thanks. I turn for the door, placing a hand on it, when I feel something tugging on my pant leg. I look behind me and see the Pegasus pulling on my jeans with a hoof; in her mouth is a large net. I reach down and take it from her, smiling again to her. She smiles back, then lets me go.

I walk out the door, net in hand, aiming right for the entrance into the forest. After a few minutes of walking, I enter the forest, ignoring the multitude of warning signs all about me. I realize this isn't a very smart idea, but my hunger is almost overwhelming, and the very idea of having some actual meat to eat makes my mouth water. I walk for some time along the path through the 'Everfree Forest'. At one point I pass a small shack, one which seem to have activity inside. I'm tempted to investigate, but decide I'll leave whoever lives there be. They probably live out here to get away from society in the first place, so I might not be a welcome sight.

I spot the river a short distance ahead, speeding up my pace to get to it. Approaching the river, which I find to be somewhat small, and clear all the way through, I dip the net into it, holding still to await some fish. One starts to approach, coming along with the current; as it nears the net, I swing it towards the fish, catching it successfully. That was easier than expected. I hold the fish out of water for a minute, waiting for it to stop flopping so much. Once it goes almost completely still, I set it on the bank beside me, then begin the process again.

After about fifteen minutes, I've caught three plain-looking, but good-sized fish. I figure I can skin one and eat it today, then save the others in my icebox. Need to get some ice, I add to my mental checklist. Deciding I am content, I stand, grabbing the three dead fish and one-by-one placing them into the net, then resting the net over my shoulder. Smiling with satisfaction and some pride, I go back to the path, starting off down it again in the opposite direction.

As I continue to walk, I notice the forest seems to be getting steadily quieter. My pace slows to a halt, and I listen for a moment. Silence. Not a single sound. It isn't right. I slowly set the net of fish down, my hands moving towards my weapons. Turning around, I hear something; a low growl. Oh, hell...Continuing to withdraw my weapons all the way, I turn to face the source of the growl.

My heart starts to beat a little faster as I see not one, not two, but five wolves, starting to fan out from the center wolf, who growls at me. Their eyes dart to my fish; I don't think so. My knuckles turn white as I grip the handle of the tomahawk harder in my right hand, stiletto-like dagger in my left. I crouch down a little, spreading my stance over my food. This is bad, I think as the wolves continue to fan out, attempting to circle me. Noticing this, I start to back away from them, dragging the net of fish with my foot to keep myself from being surrounded. One of the wolves starts to close in, breaking from the group.

It snarls, lunging at me with open jaws, nearly foaming at the mouth. I both step and lean away from it as it lunges past me; once it is right in front of me, mid-jump, I bring the hand-ax down upon it. The tomahawk makes contact, sinking into the upper neck of the wolf. I hold the weapon in place, allowing it to be ripped out of the wolf by the creature's own weight and momentum. The wolf hits the ground with a yelp, skidding on its side.

Immediately after this wolf hits the ground, bleeding profusely from the neck, a second charges at me. I jump to one side, avoiding this one as well; as it passes me on the left, I jab the blade of my dagger into it, connecting with its back leg. It lets out a cry of pain, but circles back and jumps for my face. I can't get out of the way in time, and it rams into my chest, forcing me to the ground I raise my right arm in front of my face, and the wolf's jaws clamp down upon it. My mouth opens in silent pain as the teeth pierce my arm. With my free left hand, I raise my dagger, slamming it into the wolf's side. It yelps, releasing its grip on my arm. I bring my knees up, ramming them into the wolf's chest and sending it over my head. I roll to one side and move towards it, raising my tomahawk and embedding it three-fourths of the way into the canine's neck.

I rip the weapon out, my arm bleeding badly, but the pain not present, overcome by adrenaline. I spin to face the remaining wolves, ready to kill them all. The three wolves, including what appears to be the pack leader, watch me closely, eyes still darting to the fish every once in a while. Their eyes also move to their fallen comrades, though. After what seems to be a period of deep thought amongst them, the head wolf gives a low growl, then a whine, looking between the others. The others appear to nod in agreement. The wolves glare at me savagely, then turn away, running off into the forest again.

I realize I am panting; all I can hear is my heart beating in my ears. I look at my net of fish, unharmed, then at the two wolves lying on the ground. One is certainly dead, a huge slice in his neck and a jab wound on his back thigh. The other still appears to be breathing, albeit very rapidly. Blood pools around his head from a wound in his neck; I think I severed a vein. I walk over to the dying creature, kneeling down beside it. It looks at me with a mixture of hatred and fear, mainly the latter. Its defiance is still present, though.

Setting down my dagger, I reach out with my left hand, softly stroking the wolf's head. As I hoped, it starts to calm down, only fear in its eyes now. I continue to pet it slowly, feeling guilt welling up within me. I move back from the wolf, bringing up my tomahawk once more. The wolf's chest stops moving as I remove the small ax. I'm sorry. I grit my teeth to force down any emotion.

I grab my dagger again, observing it. Dark blood drips off of it, running down the blade. I wipe it on the leg of my pants, then sheathe it in my belt loop. The tomahawk is much more gruesome in appearance, nearly completely painted a deep red. I carefully wipe it on my pants, as well, then slide it back into my belt loop. Pain starts to rear its ugly head again, present mainly in my right arm. I look at the bite wound; it's deep, and likely infected. I need to find help.

I reach down, picking up my net full of fish, jogging down the path again. I spot the lone house in the woods again, and start making my way towards it. I bring my arm up to my face, realizing I'm actually losing quite a bit of blood. The wolf bit into an artery. My jog slows to a walk, interrupted by the occasional stumble. Black shadows are starting to make their way into the edges of my vision.

Approaching the door of the shack, I hit my fist against it a few times. Blood, possibly my own, splatters against the door. I continue to hit the door repeatedly, hoping, begging that someone will answer. My legs feel weak, and start to give out. I keep trying to attract the attention of someone inside, near desperation now. The thought of death runs through my mind. I raise my hand a last time, finding that when I swing, I hit nothing. I lose my balance, falling forward onto a wooden surface. My vision fades, and I pass out.

Chapter Twelve

I startle myself awake, immediately feeling panicked. I look around quickly, not recognizing where I am. I seem to be inside someone's house; in the center of the room is a cauldron, boiling something at the moment. Lining the walls are decorations that appear African in origin. Shelves full of bottles filled with colorful liquids hang on the walls, as well. And finally, a zebra is tending to the cauldron. My focus remains on her for quite some time. She is wearing African jewelry, including a series of golden neckbands and some golden earrings. She notices that I am awake and staring at her, and walks around the cauldron to see me better.

"Ah, good creature, it seems you are awake! Do not fear, your life is not at stake," the zebra rhymes in a deep female voice. I can't help but continue staring. "My name is Zecora, potions are what I do, and if I may ask, who are you?" I blink a few times at 'Zecora', then reach towards my pocket with my right hand. Looking down, I see that there is a series of bandages covering my forearm, slightly tinted red by my own blood. I look at myself, noticing a few things. The first is that I'm absolutely covered in blood, mainly wolf blood. It smells awful, metallic and dead in scent. I see the net with three fish in it beside me, and feel some relief in being able to recover those. I continue what I was doing, grabbing my paper and pencil. Zecora the zebra peers at my note for a moment.

"Mark is your name, you who are tame?" she asks, receiving a nod in reply from me. I write down a new question.

What happened? Where am I?

"My house in the forest is where you happen to be. I heard a knock on my door, and what did I see? A creature with wounds from the wolves of this place, I took him in and healed him with fast pace." I look at my arm again, tightly wrapped in bandages. Hope she disinfected that. I look up at the zebra, smiling gratefully before standing up. I scribble out a last note.

Thank you.

Zecora smiles, bowing a little. "It is of no trouble, mysterious one; take care out there, for being maimed is not much fun," she says with a wink. I chuckle a little, bowing slightly to her before grabbing my net of fish and walking outside. That was too close. I start down the path leading out of the Everfree Forest again, ready to get back to the company of friendly ponies instead of ravenous wolves.

I arrive back at Fluttershy's shortly, noting that the day is getting late. I knock on the door, only to have it fly open quickly. Fluttershy looks a little frazzled, to say the least.

"Mark! Oh, thank goodness! You were gone for so long, and I thought that maybe...maybe something had happened..." She trails off to a dead silence, apparently noticing the blood all over me and the bandages on my arm. I immediately begin pulling out my writing materials, wincing as I see some red staining a corner of the paper, as well. "Wha...what h-happened?" Fluttershy asks, gaping at the gore covering me. I doubt she's ever seen this much blood in one go, and am afraid she might pass out. I write faster, my arm complaining as I do so.

Attacked by wolves. Had to fight off and kill two of them, the rest ran away. Zebra named Zecora patched me up, and I got my fish. Not hurt badly.

"Oh...oh my..." she whispers, looking up at me fearfully. I can't tell whether her fear is of me or for me. I'm starting to guess the latter, as she reaches with a yellow foreleg towards my bandaged arm. I crouch down so she can see it more easily, and hold it still. She starts unwrapping it; I'm not exactly sure on how she grips the bandages with hooves, but I don't care too much. I feel cool air hit my skin as my wound is revealed. Upon first glance, it doesn't look very bad too me. The wolf bit down pretty hard, driving his teeth almost all the way in, but whatever Zecora used to clean this wound up must be pretty effective, because the blood has definitely clotted and the bite marks are already starting to scab over. The yellow Pegasus grimaces at the sight of the wound, but peers at it closely for a moment anyways. After a minute she wraps it back up as tightly as before, looking satisfied.

"Well, it's good Zecora found you. That hit a major blood vessel." She looks at me sternly. "You could have died, Mark. Why didn't you just give those wolves your fish?" I shrug, frowning. There is a specific order in the wild, and humans are at the top. I want to make sure that doesn't change. She sighs, shaking her head. "You've been around Rainbow Dash too much..." she says. I chuckle softly, rotating my arm and looking at the wraps.

"Those poor wolves..." she says softly to herself. "They didn't suffer, did they?" I shake my head solemnly, knowing I made sure they were dead. I remember the wolf that did suffer for a while, knowing I did put him out of his misery, but not feeling any better about it. "Why don't you come clean yourself up a little? Fluttershy suggests. I nod, standing and following her into another room, which from there leads to a bathroom. I kneel down to reach the short, pony-made sink, turning on the water. I look up, and find that a mirror hangs on the wall in front of me.

I see someone who looks absolutely out of their sane mind. Badly needing a shave, bloodshot eyes from a bad night of sleep, hair greased with sweat and even some blood, and blood staining a lot of my face, neck, and arms. I'm a mess, I tell myself with a chuckle. I start to wash my hands and arms, watching reddish water run down the drain. After that, I clean my face and rub some water into my hair, then shut off the water, feeling slightly cleaner. My clothes are still...well, horrifying, in sight and smell, but they'll have to do until I can wash them tonight.

My clothes...oh, yeah, I need to go see Rarity. Hopefully she isn't too squeamish, but I don't have time to wash my clothes before picking up whatever she's made that hopefully looks better than...this. I start walking back towards the entry room of the cottage, finding Fluttershy waiting there for me. I notice that she has transferred the three fish I caught into some sort of wrap made from thick grasses. I look at her in question.

"Oh, I took my net back, if that's okay with you." I nod, and she continues. "I wrapped the fish up so you could carry them better." I smile in thanks, reaching down and picking up the bundle of fish. "Mark?" she questions. I look down at her. "Don't do that anymore. That was too dangerous. I know you need to eat, but at least take somepony with you next time, please?" I nod, smiling as reassuringly as I can to the pale-yellow pony. She nods as well. "Goodbye. Tell Rainbow Dash I said hello, please!" I nod happily, walking outside again. I see that I've only got a few hours of daylight left, so I set off at a quicker pace.

***

I knock a few times on the door of Rarity's boutique, going over some thoughts as I await the white unicorn. Still need some ice. My fish sit in my icebox, devoid of ice. Some salt, too...I think, recalling the proper preservation technique. Shouldn't be too hard to find, salt seems to be something ponies like to eat. I remember that it was present at my welcoming party, and more than one had indulged in it. I wrinkle my nose at the idea of eating pure salt. I start to consider that it may be harder to get than I'm thinking, given how most ponies seem to be reacting to my current state. 'Oh, sweet Celestia' is a pretty popular comment, along with a quick stumble away from me. I frown, wondering how Rarity will--

"Oh, Mark, perfect timing, if I may say so myself!" Rarity says upon opening the door. "I just fin--oh my...dear Celestia, are you covered in...blood?" I nod, frowning. To my surprise, the white pony faints dead away. In a moment of panic, I glance about, seeing that no one else is looking, and steal inside, shutting the door quickly. I start fanning my hand in front of Rarity's face, and without avail, tap the side of her face a few times. She starts to stir, and I take a few steps back. She shakily stands up, blinking a few times in surprise.

"Oh, my...I apologize, Mark, that was unexpected. If you don't mind, though, please stay a short distance away until you can get into a more...decent...state." I nod, wincing to myself. Oops. "N-now, as I was saying...ah, yes, your clothes. I finished them only a few moments ago. I do hope it is to your liking." She trots off, grabbing hold of something with her magic. She levitates some folded up clothes over to me, setting them on the floor at my feet. I crouch down, grabbing the topmost piece of clothing, unfolding it before me. It appears to be a very nice, button-up suit jacket, a flat matte-black in color. I like it immensely. I start to slip it on over my current shirt, then recall the actual condition of my current shirt. I frown, looking at Rarity.

"Would you like some privacy?" I nod. "One moment, darling..." She levitates one of those things that shields one from view while they dress, I forget the proper term. I strip off my shirt, tossing it on the ground. There isn't too much blood on my actual body, so I slip on the suit jacket, slowly buttoning it bottom-to-top. Once it is on, I start moving around, rolling my arms and such to see the flexibility; I find that the jacket offers a nice range of movement, and isn't stiff at all. It's very comfortable, in fact. I step out to one side of the folding-dressing-board-thing, allowing Rarity to see me. She observes the jacket on me with a keen eye, watching as I move my arms and torso about again.

"I must say, that actually looks quite nice. I was expecting it to be very drab, given its simplistic nature, but it is actually very fitting. Is it comfortable?" I nod and smile. "Do you like it?" I nod again, continuing to smile genuinely. She smiles as well, content. "Good. Are you going to try on the pants?" I think for a moment, then shake my head. I figure if she did as well on fitting the pants as she did the shirt, they wouldn't be a problem. Now if only I had some dress shoes...I look down at my dirty, bloodied shoes, deciding that cleaning them up would probably look okay. They are fairly neutral in color, anyways. I walk behind the dressing area and switch shirts, folding the new one up neatly and picking the entire suit up, walking out again.

"Well, Mark, thank you for the business. I may have to try some new designs because of you," she adds cheerfully. Her voice then takes on a more serious tone. "And, if I may ask, what happened to you?" I smile, setting down my new clothes and writing out a simple phrase that hopefully won't require much more explanation. Quite frankly, I am starving, and want to get some salt, maybe a lantern or two, then go home.

Wolves.

"Oh my Celestia...and you survived?" I nod, showing my arm to let her know I almost didn't. "That is quite a feat, Mark. It was also a very, very bad idea to fight a wolf." I nod again, having known that from the start. "Just don't go fighting any wolves with your new clothes, yes?" I laugh, nodding in agreement as I start heading for the door. She gives a wave, which I return before walking outside again.

***

I push open my door with my shoulder, walking over to the table and setting my goods down. The first thing I do is get my ice, taking it over to the icebox and pouring it in, burying two of the fish. The third I get out, setting it on a counter. I pour some ground salt in with the other fish, then close the icebox, storing the remaining salt away in one of my empty cabinets. Leaving the cabinet open, I grab a bushel of apples I had bought from Applejack ("What in the hay were yah' thinkin', takin' on a pack of wolves? Celestia's sake, Mark, yah' tryin' to get yourself killed?") off the table and store them in there, as well. Finally, seeing as how dark it is getting in the room and I still haven't eaten, I decide to try out my new lantern.

I walk back over to the table, sitting down in one of the chairs. I look at the lantern for a moment, then find a small knob on the side of its base. Raising an eyebrow in question, I twist it a few degrees. A small flame lights up inside, reddish-yellow in color. Sweet, magic lantern. I twist the knob a little more, sending more magical fire into the lantern and lighting up the table considerably. Satisfied, I stand again, walking back over to my kitchen area. I pull the dagger out of my belt loop with my right hand, rather than the left. Gripping the fish in my left hand, I shear off the head and begin stripping the fish.

My mind starts to drift away as I do the fairly mindless activity in the peace of my house. I think back to yesterday, my faux pas with my Pegasus friend. I mentally smack myself a few times for doing what I did. Why did I even do that? How could I let my curiosity best me so easily? I hear a snap as I accidentally break one of the fish's ribs. After a moment, I'm lost in thought again. What confuses me is Dash's reaction to it all. Like it wasn't a big deal. That seems like a pretty big deal to me. The natives are a lot nicer here, a lot more understanding, though...maybe it wasn't a big deal? She seemed okay with it. Maybe it's because I'm new here, and she knew it was a misunderstanding on my part. I didn't take her as that perceptive, but...I don't know. I frown, getting the last of the skin off of the fish. I start working on separating the white meat from the small bones.

Worry starts to enter my mind. I didn't see her at all today...maybe she really was offended, but she was just hiding it really well. I feel a desire to find her and apologize to her again. Searching my cupboards, I find a pan to fry the fish in. I see burners atop my furnace...magic-operated, like the lantern? I find that to be a yes as I turn a knob on the front of the furnace. Nice. I throw the remnants of the fish outside; it will decompose soon. As the fish starts to fry, I walk into my bathroom, stripping off most of my clothes, save for my underwear and socks. I flip on the hot water in the shower, tossing my clothes in and walking out of the bathroom. I do a few more mindless things, taking my new suit upstairs, setting my shoes on the table. I start looking around for something to clean them with, eventually finding a few napkins leftover from the party.

I scrub my shoes idly, washing off the mud and blood. I probably won't see her for a while, I realize. Going to Canterlot tomorrow morning...I need to find her before I leave, I decide. But how? I sigh in frustration, switching shoes. Maybe she'll see me on the way to Twilight's...I hope. I set my somewhat-cleaner shoes down in one corner of the room, slightly tinted red now, but it's not too noticeable, I think. Pulling out my tomahawk, I use it as a makeshift spatula, flipping the fish around in the frying pan before sitting down at the table again. I start to run my finger idly along the blade of the weapon, somehow clean from earlier.

Sighing again, I think about the wolf I had to put down. Poor guy. All he was doing was trying to survive, just like me. In a game like that, though, there can only be one winner. And I could have let him suffer. I know I couldn't have, though. Can't stand to watch animals of any sort suffer, they don't deserve it. They're hard-wired one way, not like humans. Humans are something else entirely. Maybe the fact that nearly everything is sentient here changes that, but I doubt it will ever change in my eyes.

I get the fish out of the pan, turning off the burner. Using a napkin as a plate and my dagger as a utensil, I eat my first meal of the day. Silverware, I add to my shopping list. Eating with a knife looks cool, but it's no fun when one pokes themselves in the roof of their mouth. I eat quietly for some time, watching the flame within the lantern dance upon its own free will.

Finishing my food, the carnivore half of me enjoying every bit of it, I clean up what mess I've made. I go and retrieve my clothes from the shower, wringing them out; most of the blood has drained away from them, thankfully. Hanging them outside to dry, then extinguishing my magic-powered lantern, I head upstairs for the night. I set down my tomahawk and dagger, side by side, not regretting my investment in them a bit. Crawling into bed, I shut my eyes, hoping for a better night of sleep.

Chapter Fourteen

I step into the room, closing the huge door behind me. Taking another breath, I turn around.

At the end of a very, very long path is someone, some-pony, sitting upon a large throne. The path is formed from red carpeting, very fine carpet from the looks of it. Pillar, possibly decorative but likely not, stretch from floor to ceiling, trimmed with gold. Many stained-glass windows line the walls of this expansive room, letting in massive amounts of sunlight. In fact, the entire room seems to hold a calm glow; I don't even see any shadows. My focus returns to the creature at the other side of the room; I begin slowly walking towards it.

"Mark James Collins," a voice says; it is soft, feminine, and seems to be very close. I stop moving in some surprise; how does she know my full name? I could have sworn I only told my first--"I am Princess Celestia." Oh, that's why. I start walking towards the other end of the room again. I assume the large pony, really a horse, sitting on the throne is Princess Celestia. "Yes, that is me," Celestia says with a chuckle. Wait, how did...? "May I call you Mark?" I nod, trying to make it obvious to the Princess. "Mark, you already know how. I believe you have used the term 'omniscient' to describe me, more than once."

My pace slows again. Oh, man, she can read my thoughts? Don't think of anything inappropriate, don't--Princess Celestia laughs. "Mark, it's okay. I have lived for thousands of years, not much can offend me anymore." Oh. Okay...I'm sorry, I have no idea how to talk to a Princess. I also apologize for whatever you might see within my head. I know there are...I frown. ...things that really shouldn't be seen.

"As I said, it is okay. And may I extend my deepest condolences to you. What you have gone through...I admire your impossibly strong will, Mark." Whoa...a goddess admires me? I remember that my private thoughts aren't so private. Sorry. The Princess laughs again. "Yes, I do. Please, come closer. I wish to see you." I nod, walking forward more. As the back of the room becomes closer, Princess Celestia comes more into focus.

I see that she is indeed much larger than all of the other ponies I have seen, and I agree with my earlier thought that she is more like a horse than anything. I notice she seems to be a mixture of every type of pony, having not only a large pair of wings, but a long horn, as well. Her coat is a calm white in color; what stands out more is her mane. It is very long and flowing, and somehow waves gently as if blown by winds that do not exist. Her mane sparkles with green and violet, almost looking like a liquid in essence. A golden crown is adorned atop her head, signifying her status as royalty.

Continuing along the red carpet, I begin to feel...odd. Not a bad kind of odd, rather, it's actually kind of welcome. I feel...relaxed. And the farther I walk forward, towards the Princess, the more relaxed I feel. The room starts to twist and shift before my eyes, but I don't mind. I watch as the colors blend together like paint on a canvas that surrounds me. Something keeps me walking forward, not myself, though. I start to feel as if I don't exist, yet I do. The only thing that remains clear is Princess Celestia, shining brightly, like a star I can reach out and touch.

"You are a very interesting creature, Mark," a surreal voice tells me, echoing all around. "Not only physically, but mentally, as well. I have seen the...atrocities your kind can commit, without any remorse. Truly, it is horrifying. I am glad those beings are few and far between, though, and that many are like you. If only more of them could be as you are..."

"You may be wondering why you are here, why I have requested you. Truthfully, it was not I that requested you; it was my sister, Luna. She feels she knows why you are here. I felt the need to keep this from my devoted pupil, Twilight Sparkle, whom you have met, because she would not understand. The past was a different place."

"Luna is waiting for you. Please, go and see her. Thank you, Mark." I am carried away from Princess Celestia; I do not want to leave. It is so peaceful here...I cannot control myself, though. The colors of the world melt back into place, and she disappears from sight. I find myself in a new room; everything is defined again, but still blurs over every once in a while. A sense of calmness is still present with me, a freedom from everything, even my own memory.

I see a black pony before me, who is apparently Luna. She is very tall as well, not as tall as Princess Celestia, but larger than normal ponies. She also has both wings and a long horn. Her mane seems like the very night sky itself, small, distant stars within the flowing, blue mass. She looks at me with...sadness? Why would she be sad? It is so calm, so serene...there isn't any reason to be sad.

"Thank you, Tia," she calls past me. Her voice does not fill my head, as the other's did. The dark pony looks at me, still sad. Don't be sad, Luna. "We--I apologize for my remorse, young creature. I take it upon myself for thy existence in Equestria...it is my own fault. I am sorry," the smaller Princess says. You didn't do anything wrong...nothing is wrong. "No, but it is. I...I must explain." She pauses, looking down. I do not understand why she is upset, but I will listen to her.

"Many, many years ago, while I ruled with my sister, before my exile, I...I created a spell. I was curious, and thrice curse myself for being so...the spell I created was meant to search the fabrics of time in space in search of something else, something Tia and I could not find. I did not expect to find anything, but I hoped I would."

"I did not realize the consequences of this spell when I created it. I did not realize what it would do upon finding something." She stops, looking at me for a long time. "Doth thou understand?" No, I respond truthfully.

Princess Luna sighs, looking even sadder. "The spell I created so long ago found what it was meant to find, the things that we could not, only a few moons ago. After thousands of years..." she trails off. "It found you, your planet. And it selected you, bringing you here. I do not know why it did this, nor doth my sister. I believe it had no purpose, and only sent you here as proof of existence. Possibly it came into contact with you prior to all others...doth thou possess memory of any sort? Did anything occur before you were sent here?" No. Luna sighs again.

"We have tried to find a way to send you back, but to no avail. Not even my sister can find where you once existed...I fear the time spent searching by the spell shows the distance between our worlds. It is possible the spell traveled to another dimension, even, on its quest..."

"I never suspected this would occur when I created that spell. I wanted to find another existence, to show we are not alone, but...I never wanted this. I have taken you away from your home, those you hold dear, everything. I am sorry, Mark. I am truly sorry." A dark hoof comes up and strokes my cheek sadly, then Princess Luna turns away. Something commands me to leave, that I am done here. I obey, somehow knowing where the exit is and leaving.

A minute later, I find myself back outside the doors leading into the royal chambers. Twilight Sparkle trots up to me with a smile. "So, how did your meeting with the Princess go?" I sit down, leaning my back against the wall and drawing up my knees. My mind feels empty, devoid of thought. The unicorn frowns at me, then shrugs, trotting through the large doors with Spike close behind.

"Hey...you alright, Mark?" I look up. In front of me stands Rainbow Dash, her head cocked to one side and a worried look on her face. "You're quieter than usual," she jokes, hitting me lightly on the knee with a hoof. All I can do is blink at her. I feel odd, not different, but not right. Her frown deepens. "Seriously, what's wrong?" I continue to look at her. I don't know what's wrong. Is anything wrong? I don't have an answer. Standing up, I start walking down the hallway. The light blue Pegasus catches up quickly, walking beside me.

The farther I get away from those doors, the more odd I feel. I can't quite place the feeling...it isn't sadness, or anger...memory hits me like a freight train. In a flash, I remember the past...I don't even know how long it was, all of the conversation I had with Princess Celestia, with Princess Luna. My knees buckle, and I place my hands on the floor to keep myself up. I can't stand, though, as the memory continues to come. Luna explaining what happened, losing control of everything, even my own mind...I find myself hyperventilating uncontrollably. Not being able to control my own body, guided by something else entirely, not able to comprehend anything that was said to me or react, feeling so relaxed and at peace when I should have been feeling the opposite. I wasn't me in there. Just a spectator to my own thoughts.

I turn myself over, sitting down on the cold, hard floor. Just a spectator to my own thoughts. My rate of breathing continues to speed up. I feel something warm on my back; looking over, I see Rainbow Dash has wrapped a foreleg over my back, and is now patting my back frantically, trying to get me to calm down.

"Whoa, it's okay! You're going to hurt yourself, breathe normal!" she exclaims. I nod, trying to calm myself down. I find it hard, but I eventually steady out my breathing again. "What happened in there? Is everything alright?" I don't know whether to nod or shake my head. With a shaking hand, I reach for my pocket, trying to grasp on to something I can communicate with. I start writing, erasing a lot. I eventually end up with a very simple phrase:

I don't know.

"What do you mean? Are you okay?" Rainbow asks.

I wasn't myself in there. Something else was me.

She looks at the paper in question, glancing between me and my gibberish. The sky-blue pony frowns to me. "I...just...uh...just wait for Twilight, okay? Maybe she can explain. It's going to be alright..." she says, maybe more to herself than me. She continues to rub my back, which feels really nice, actually. I try to focus on it, attempting to shut down my mind. We wait for what feels like an eternity. Once in a while, Dash will mutter, "Twilight, where are you...?" I question the same, hoping for my sanity that the unicorn will be able to provide some answers.

Twilight and Spike eventually reappear, looking worried. Rainbow Dash quickly trots over to meet them. "Twilight, you gotta' help, Mark's acting really weird. He said he wasn't himself when he saw the Princesses."

"I know," the violet pony replies. "Princess Celestia said she might have affected him, and to go check on him. I'm sorry we took so long." She trots up to me, standing a few feet away; I look up at her. "Mark? Can you tell me how you felt when you got close to the Princess?" I nod, scribbling out a reply.

Relaxed. Calm. Peaceful. Too much.

"You felt too relaxed?" I nod again. "Okay...yes, I understand. This happens a lot with creatures like griffons. Princess Celestia has very powerful magic, Mark, more powerful than anypony else in all of Equestria. Princess Luna holds the same kind of power, but to a lesser extent, because she is younger. To someone who has never or rarely been directly exposed to their magic, the effect is overwhelming. Most Equestrian natives are used to it, because we are constantly near them, on a relative scale."

"However, being that you aren't from Equestria...you experienced a massive amount of magic, all at once, and so the effects were more pronounced." Twilight pauses, thinking for a moment. "In comparison, I, Rainbow Dash, or even Spike, feel relaxed around the Princesses, but not to such an extent that it overwhelms our conscious thought. Do you see what I mean?" I nod, albeit a bit numbly. Okay, so because ponies are around them all the time, they don't feel...that. But because I'm not, it hit me full-force. I make a mental note to keep my contact with the Princesses, goddesses, whatever they are, to strictly letters. That was horrifying...

With more understanding as to what had happened, I feel more at ease. I stand up, straightening out my clothes and attempting to salvage some dignity from my mental breakdown. I take in a breath, sighing it out. I start to go over what the Princesses told me in a more calm fashion. So a thousand-year old spell brought me here, and no one else? I blink a few times. I'm stuck here. Alone.

I look down at the ponies and dragon before me. Sort of alone. I write out a note, showing it to Twilight.

Thanks for explaining.

She nods, smiling. "I could see that being a very frightening experience. If you don't mind, I might have you tell me as much as you can about the experience. A research paper entailing how the Princesses affect outsiders could help in not overwhelming them by mistake in the future, as they did by mistake to you." I nod in agreement. Might as well keep it from happening to anyone else..."Well, is everypony ready to go?" The rest of us agree that we are; Rainbow Dash mentions that the Wonderbolts are in Appleoosa, so she wouldn't be able to find them, anyways. We walk back outside again, Dash and I falling in step behind Spike and Twilight. The hot-air balloon is where it was before, now re-stocked with sandbags and other weight equipment. We clamber inside, one at a time.

Rainbow Dash sits down beside me. I look over at her, then decide to remove my paper and pencil again, writing a simple note.

Thank you.

She looks at me in question. "What did I do?" I can't really figure out a way to word 'comforted me when I about lost my sanity' in a way that would appeal to her, so I just shrug, instead, smiling appreciatively. She chuckles, shrugging as well. I sigh and lean back against the inside wall of the hot-air balloon's basket, still trying to figure out the past few hours' events.

Chapter Fifteen

I deliver a few blows to the top of the wooden fencepost, driving it further into the ground until it matches the one beside it. Having done that, I pick up a board from the small pile that lays before me, holding it against the newly driven post and an older fencepost, picking up a few nails with my free hand. I start driving them in, one at a time, until the board can hold its own weight, nailed against two different fenceposts. I start repeating this process for a board below it.

After a few minutes, I step back, admiring my handiwork. The wooden fence surrounding the Apple family's property is back to working condition, all of the breaks in the fence repaired. Smiling to myself, I turn and start to walk away, taking with me my extra nails and hammer. Alright, I ought to pick up some ice while I'm out and--

"Mark?" Applejack calls out behind me. Shoot. I turn, smiling to the orange pony. She is inspecting the fence, pushing on it with a hoof. "Did you fix the fence? All of it?" I nod. "Yah' didn't hafta' do that!" she says cheerfully, looking at the new fencing. "Shoot. You done saved us a might of trouble. Let me go getcha' some payment." I shake my head quickly, smiling. Applejack frowns. "C'mon, now, that's only fair. Yah' done all this work." I shake my head again. "Ah' ain't gonna take no for an answer, Mark." I shake my head, folding my arms with a grin. "Mark..." she warns. I purse my lips, staring at her for a while. Eventually her brow creases. "Dang it, Mark. Ah'm gonna' find a way to pay this back, y'hear?" I smile again, waving my hand dismissively at her as I turn and leave.

I've already earned enough money for a week, today, anyways. I recall having spent most of the morning constructing an entire second floor in a young couple's home. That was a bit tricky to figure out, but I just had to set up the support boards so that the floor could hold weight evenly. And the pony couple paid me a fairly hefty sum; they said it was cheaper than hiring an actual carpenter, though, as well as faster. I get the feeling that I might be stealing some business; I decide to keep the jobs to a minimal for the next few days.

As I begin heading along the route back to my house, I start going over a mental shopping list. More ice, definitely. Carrots. Maybe some other stuff...oranges sound nice. I wonder If I could find some here? Definitely some silverware. Plates, bowls, see what I can find. Rainbow Dash...wait, what? My eyes refocus, and I find myself looking at an upside-down light blue face. Rainbow Dash grins at me, cerise eyes looking friendly, as always.

"Hey, Mark!" I smile to her, and she rights herself in the air. "Been lookin' for you. You still seemed kind of...freaked out, yesterday. Any better today?" I nod lightly. I've mainly kept my mind off of it, trying not to re-live that experience. It truly frightened me, being unable to control myself in any way. I couldn't even fight against it within my own head. As long as I don't have to do it again, I think I'll live.

"That's good. I mean, I wasn't worried or anything, but...yeah." She glances off to the side before looking back at me. I smile to her. "So, I never really got the chance to ask, what happened in there? Did the Princess find a way to send you home, or something?" I think I hear a tinge of hope in her voice; not like she is hoping I can go home, rather, the opposite. I shake my head, my mouth twisting in a frown. I start to pull out my paper and pencil to explain. As I begin my reply, an idea pops into my head. She's been someone nice to have around. Why not? I erase my old answer, scribbling one anew.

Why don't you come to my house for dinner tonight? I can explain there.

Rainbow smiles happily. "I'd never turn down free eats! That sounds awesome." I smile, pleased. "What are you going to make?" I glance down in thought. Well, I know how to make a lot, but most of it involves meat...I write down a suggestion that pops into my head.

Ever had chili before?

She shakes her head. "No. Is it cold or something?" I'm not sure whether it's a joke or just her not actually knowing, but I laugh, anyways.

It's like a thick tomato soup, only spicier and with more ingredients.

"Well, I don't really like tomato soup, but I do like spicy stuff. Might as well try it, y'know?" I nod in agreement. I add a last statement to my piece of paper.

I've got some errands to run. Meet me at my house sometime before sunset?

Dash nods, grinning. "Cool. See yah' then!" I wave to her as she darts off into the sky again. I pick up my pace, starting to go over the things I will need in my head.

***

I'm stirring a bubbling pot of reddish liquid when I hear the door open. I look over to see Rainbow Dash stepping inside, using her hind leg to shut the door again. She looks a little different; after a moment of observing, I realize she must have brushed out her mane and tail, as they look much smoother than normal. It's a nice look on the rainbow-maned pony.

"Hey!" she greets, pausing to sniff the air. "Smells good." I smile in thanks. It is nice not to have my house smelling like dust, wolf blood, or fish, for once. I stir my pot of chili, then spoon out a mouthful and taste it. After a few seconds of thought, I decide to add some more salt and some leftover hot sauce from the party. Oh, wait, salt has a different effect on ponies...I stop adding salt, hoping the chili will dilute it. I keep adding the hot sauce until the chili has a nice heat to it, just the way I, and hopefully Rainbow Dash, like it.

I remove a pair of new bowls from a cupboard, setting them on the counter beside me. I begin spooning chili into one of them, then the other. I turn to flip off the burner, and see a light blue hoof inching its way towards the pan. I give it a playful smack, smiling at Rainbow Dash. She grumbles, grinning at me, and goes to sit down at my small table. She has a little trouble getting into the chair, being that I made sure it was built a little taller than the average pony chair, but eventually clambers up. I set a bowl of my chili before her, returning to my cabinets to fetch some new silverware. I turn with two spoons in hand, then glance at the pony sitting at my table, more specifically, at her hooves. Oh, right, no hands. I replace one of the spoons, grab my bowl, and sit down in the chair across from her.

She peers into her bowl for a moment; I do the same, wondering if my chili appears odd. It doesn't to me. I try to recall what all I put in. Tomatoes, kidney beans, some spices, hopefully not too much salt, hot sauce. Fairly generic chili ingredients. If I could add some honey, or brown sugar, that might make it better. After a few more seconds of observing her chili, Dash leans down towards her bowl and laps up some of it.

She clicks her tongue a few times, looking up in thought. Her eyes brighten, and she looks a little surprised. I watch as she leans down again, drinking up more of the chili. The Pegasus comes up for air after filling her mouth with chili, smiling at me.

"Thif if reawwy gooh!" she exclaims, swallowing the chili. "Where did you learn how to make this?" I smile, withdrawing my pencil as she goes down to her bowl again.

I learned how to cook a lot of things a long time ago.

She peers up at the note, nodding before eating more of the chili. I worry I might need to give her the Heimlich maneuver. I pick up my spoon and take a bite of my own chili. Yeah, some honey would make it better. I don't think Rainbow Dash minds, though. Maybe if I could add some fish to the leftovers? That might be good, I muse as I swallow another bite of chili. I see Dash grab a hold on her bowl with her forelegs, tilting it up against her face. I chuckle, scooping out some chili from my bowl.

The apparently very hungry Pegasus sets her bowl down, licking her snout with an orange tongue. She looks at me with a sheepish smile. "Um...can I have some more?" I laugh, nodding and standing up. I grab her bowl and refill it with chili from the pot on the oven, returning to her place at the table. Her face plunges into the bowl as soon as it hits the table. I smile, returning to my meal.

I finish at around the same time she finishes her seconds. With a contented sigh, she leans back in her chair, placing her hooves on the table. "That stuff's really good...I think I'll explode if I eat any more, though," she says, laying a hoof against her swollen belly. I smile, happy to see my cooking went over well with her. I take our bowls over to the sink, rinsing them out and setting them inside it before returning to the table. After looking at Rainbow Dash for a moment, I wonder something, and decide to ask, writing out a note and sliding it across the table to her.

Do you know how to cook?

She reads the paper, then shakes her head. "Nah', I've never learned how." Well, that explains why she ate it like she's never had a home-cooked meal...I smile as I scribble out another note.

If you ever want some help or want me to teach you, just ask.

Dash laughs. "I dunno', cooking seems pretty uncool..."

There's a lot of fire involved.

She laughs her scratchy laugh again. "Okay, maybe I'll take you up on that sometime." I smile to her, holding her gaze for a moment. Her eyes are so friendly, so welcoming...she looks away, seeming to remember something. "Hey, you said you'd tell me what really happened in there, when you went to go see the Princess," the sky-blue pony points out. I look at her for a while longer, then sigh, nodding my head in agreement. My pencil and paper already on the table, I write out a request.

Can this stay between us?

She nods. "Yeah, okay." I continue writing.

Promise?

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," she chants, reciting a Pinkie Promise to me. I smile, then begin writing, choosing my words slowly and carefully.

The first thing I noticed was that Princess Celestia could read my thoughts. She sounded like she was inside my head, and already knew basically everything about me.

"Whoa...I didn't know she could do that! Weird..." Rainbow Dash muses. Glancing back at me, she gives an embarrassed smile. "Sorry. Keep going." I give a small smile to her, then focus on my paper again.

The closer I got to her, the more relaxed I felt. I couldn't stop walking towards her, though, and eventually, it felt like I was in a dream. I couldn't control my body or think about anything. I felt free, but trapped at the same time.

"What do you mean?" Dash asks, looking up at me. I frown, then think of a good way to phrase it.

Imagine if you were really high in the air, except you didn't have any wings.

Given the way her face changes, I think she understands. The freedom of flight, but being unable to control how you fly. I keep writing, going off of the memory that feels burnt into my mind.

She told me that she really didn't want to see me, that her sister, Princess Luna, wanted to. I met Luna, and she told me it was her fault, how I got here. She said she created a spell, thousands of years ago, that was meant to search the universe for other life. I guess when it found life, it found my planet, and somehow I ended up here. Even she admitted she didn't know why it brought me here. Just a side-effect of the spell that wasn't accounted for.

I set down my pencil, pushing the paper over to the rainbow-maned pony sitting across from me. After a minute or so, she looks up at me in shock and wonder. "So you're here because of a spell Princess Luna made a really long time ago? And it just threw you here?" I nod, shrugging a little. "Whoa...that's...whoa," she says softly, looking at the paper on the table again. "So...they don't know how to get you back?" I nod again, frowning. "And you're the only one that got sent here?" Another nod of confirmation.

Rainbow sits quietly for a while, reading over my writing again. "What about your family? And your friends?" What about them? I ask silently, looking at her. I pull my paper back to me, turning it over to a clean side. My pencil remains still for an eternity, then begins moving along slowly.

The friends I have made are here.

"But what about your family, and your other friends?" she presses. The paper sits before me, mocking me with its emptiness. The pencil in my hand starts to shake lightly.

Are you doing anything tomorrow?

Rainbow Dash gives me an odd look. "Well, no, I don't think so. The next rain isn't scheduled until...uh...the day after tomorrow, I'm pretty sure, so all I'll have to do tomorrow is clear out the usual clouds. Wanna' hang out?" she asks cheerfully. I nod, smiling. "Cool. See you tomorrow, then?" I nod again, and she hops out of her chair. As she begins trotting towards the door, I stand up, getting the door for her. She smiles to me; her smile is mixed with that odd look, though, one I can't quite place. After a moment, it disappears. "Bye, Mark." I wave to her, smiling again.

I shut the door, then walk over to my table, sitting down. I turn on the small lantern that sits upon it, watching the flames inside flicker as their light fills my quiet house.

Chapter Sixteen

I jolt awake, immediately sitting up and opening my eyes, only to find that I am in my small bedroom. It is quiet and calm, and morning light streams in through the windows behind and across from me. My heart pounds in my ears, though, deafening me, and the light is almost painful. I bring my hands up to my face, rubbing my eyes slowly. Another nightmare. Really, more of a memory than anything. I turn to the side of my bed, placing my feet on the floor. I remove my hands, opening my eyes and staring mindlessly at the floor. My gaze shifts over to my weapons, lying on the floor; I pick up the tomahawk, running my fingers up and down the smooth blade. A tired sigh breaks the silence in the air.

Going downstairs, I walk over to my table and sit down. I'm tempted to turn on the lantern, just to watch the fire, but I know it doesn't look as nice during the day. All I really want to do is just turn off my mind for a moment, stop myself from thinking. But I don't want that, not at all. I know now how that feels. I start to replay the past few days' events in my head, still absently stroking the small ax in my hands. If heaven feels like that, relaxation to the point of absolute ignorance...I want to stay here. That felt more like a hell to me.

I go over Princess Luna's words again, before I left. I am sorry, Mark. I am truly sorry. I feel like I should be the one apologizing to her. She didn't even do it on purpose, yet was taking it very hard on herself. It's not like I was sent anywhere terrible. Everyone's fairly nice here. The only thing I can complain about is the food, I think with a small smile. My mind drifts on its own, like a boat without a sail. Why did she seem to have less of an effect on me than Princess Celestia? I think for a moment, trying to remember how it felt to be under each of their presences. With Celestia, I could not even talk, only listen, take in her words, and even then I could not react to them. Yet with Luna, I was able to manage a few meager thoughts. And why is Luna smaller if they're supposedly equal in power? I continue to question other things about the two as I sit at my small table.

Eventually, I come to a conclusion: I want to know more.

***

A phrase catches my eye; I peer closer at the worn page.

Luna Lake: This small body of water, named after Princess Luna, was discovered outside of the small town of Ponyville during the one-thousand-three-hundred-thirty-second year of the Sisters' Era. The residents of the town who discovered this area claimed it had unusual properties. Legend states the lake is unable to be affected by any Pegasi weather magic, similar to lakes discovered within the infamous Everfree Forest. The lake's tides are also seemingly affected by lunar cycles, another tendency shared by bodies of water within the Everfree, despite the lake being well away from the forest. Luna recognized this lake, and has been known to converse with ponies who speak to the waters...

Huh. That's interesting. I skim the rest of the page, finding nothing interesting, and flip a few pages onward. I come across a few pages upon which the ink looks fairly new, as if the book has been added to recently.

Nightmare Moon's Return and Defeat: In the one-thousandth year of the Celestial Era, Nightmare Moon, the corrupt image of the former Princess Luna, returned to Equestria with the intent of reclaiming the throne and bringing eternal night upon the land. Utilizing the Elements of Harmony and five other ponies representing them, the unicorn Twilight Sparkle both uncovered the sixth Element, found to be the Element of Magic, and returned Nightmare Moon to her former self, Princess Luna, only in much younger form...

Wow, Twilight helped to save Equestria?I read through the rest of the page and onto the next, explaining the effects of the Elements of Harmony on Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna's freedom. At the bottom of the next page, I notice a familiar group of names.

The current Elements of Harmony, as of the first year of the Reunited Era, are as follows:

Twilight Sparkle, Unicorn Pony; Element of Magic

Applejack, Earth Pony; Element of Honesty

Fluttershy, Pegasus Pony; Element of Kindness

Rarity, Unicorn Pony; Element of Generosity

Pinkie Pie, Earth Pony; Element of Laughter

Rainbow Dash, Pegasus Pony; Element of Loyalty

I close the book, looking at the cover again. A Detailed History of Equestrian Royalty, Volume II: Princess Luna. I slide it back between the other books, where Twilight had retrieved it from for me. These guys are heroes--heroines. Why are they treated like normal citizens? Doesn't anyone realize that they've saved them from peril? I rub my chin as I mull over this. Maybe I can ask Rainbow Dash...oh, shoot. I was supposed to meet her sometime today. Standing up, I start towards the door of the library. I push outside, looking into the sky in search of my rainbow-maned friend.

I look around the clear, blue sky, searching for...there she is. Rainbow Dash soars along almost directly overhead. I wave my arms above my head, trying to get her attention. She doesn't seem to notice, though. I step out a little ways from Twilight's tree house, continuing to wave my arms. Still no dice. After a moment, I look up at my arms, more specifically at my hands. I bring them together hard, creating a loud clap. To my satisfaction, it even echoes throughout the air a little. The sky-blue Pegasus looks down towards the noise, and spots me waving my arms like a maniac. She dives down to greet me.

"There you are!" she says upon getting within earshot. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Still wanna' hang out today?" I nod happily. "Awesome. What were you doing at the library?" she asks out of curiosity. I remove my paper from my front-right pocket, scribbling out a quick message.

Reading about the Princesses.

"Really? Why?" I shrug. "That's kinda' lame," she comments with a chuckle. I laugh, shrugging again. "You should read the Daring Do series sometime. Way better than some egghead book," she says, grinning. I smile back, nodding. I might just have to do that.

She pauses for a moment, idly hovering before me. After a little while, she does a quick loop, much to my amusement. "So, whaddya' wanna' do?" she questions. I look up in thought; nothing really comes to mind, much to my own disappointment. I see something out of the corner of my eye, floating in the sky. I turn to look at it; it looks like a normal cloud, almost. However, I can see some out-of-place color just above it. I wonder if it's just my eyes playing tricks on me, but I wave behind me, attracting Rainbow Dash's attention. I point at the distant cloud as she comes to my side, squinting to see.

"What, that thing?" I nod. "Well, that's only the coolest, most awesome, most radical house in all of Equestria: mine! Haven't I shown you it before?" I shake my head. "Aww, no way!" Dash exclaims. "C'mon, you've gotta see my--" She stops, looking at me. She frowns. "Wait, you can't fly. Or walk on clouds...wait a sec'!" Her magenta eyes shift over to the tree house we stand in front of. "Twilight can cast a cloud-walking spell on you! And then...hmm..." Rainbow thinks for a moment, screwing up her face. "...yeah, okay! I can bring some clouds down, and make some stairs up to my place or somethin'! We can totally pull this off," she muses giddily. I grin, nodding eagerly. Are you serious?! I might get to walk on a cloud!

Rainbow Dash shoots towards Twilight's house, nearly blowing the door off its hinges. I run inside, following her. I spot the tell-tale rainbow-colored tail heading up the stairs, and follow her up, skipping every other step. I find Rainbow looking similar to Pinkie Pie, bouncing around Twilight Sparkle with massive energy.

"Twilight! Can you do a cloud-walking spell on Mark?"

The violet unicorn glances over at me, frowning in thought. "Well, I suppose I haven't done that spell in a while, and a test his size might be good practice...I might not be able to do it, though, for those very reasons..."

Rainbow Dash clasps her hooves together. "Pleeeeeeeease, Twilight?" she begs.

Twilight thinks it over a moment longer, then nods in agreement. "Alright. I think I can do it. Mark, could you stand over here, please?" She points with a hoof to a space before her. I oblige, standing motionless where she indicated. "Okay...stand back, Rainbow. Please stay still, Mark, this may feel a bit odd..." I remain still, watching as a pinkish aura begins to surround Twilight's horn. She closes her eyes calmly as the aura glows brighter. My vision is tinted pink for a moment, and I feel a tingling sensation throughout my body, like all of my nerves are responding at once. It isn't painful, but does indeed feel odd. After only a second or two, everything returns to normal. Twilight opens her eyes.

"Alright, that should do it. As a forewarning, Mark, that spell will wear off within a day or so. When it does, make sure you're on the ground; you already pushed your luck with those wolves," she adds, nodding towards the bandage on my arm. I glance at it, then nod in compliance. "Please be careful, you two."

"Don't worry about it, Twilight. He'll be with the best flier in all of Equestria, remember?" Rainbow Dash says, puffing out her chest confidently. Twilight just snorts, tuning back to her work. Dash and I race back downstairs and outside again. Once outside, the Pegasus turns to me.

"Okay, I'm gonna' go figure something out. Just head towards that cloud!" she says, pointing a hoof towards the cloud that had distracted me earlier. I nod and smile; she grins, then jets off into the air, nearly knocking me off my feet with the wind she generates from doing so. I watch her rainbow trail for a moment, then start off at a jog towards the floating house in the distance.

***

"Alright, try it out!" Rainbow Dash calls. I look before me; there is a fluffy, white cloud, a small platform only a few feet wide and long. I reach out a hand and press down on the cloud; to my surprise, I'm able to push into the cloud a couple of inches before my hand stops. I bring up my other hand, placing it on the cloud, and shove down, hoisting myself up. I step up onto the cloud, balancing for a moment. I find that I sink in a short distance before stopping, enough to almost completely envelop my shoes in cloud. It's almost like walking in deep, springy snow.

I look up again, to the next cloud. It's a little high, but I can reach. I grasp what one might call an edge, pulling up with my arms. I scramble onto the cloud, righting myself again. I begin repeating this process, one cloud after another, higher and higher into the air. I don't necessarily have a fear of heights, rather, a fear of falling; I make sure not to look down. After a few very long minutes, I finally climb atop the last cloud, which also happens to be the base of Rainbow Dash's house.

I stand, walking forward a few steps, pulling up my feet and stepping high. Really is like walking in deep snow...After getting myself away from the edge, I look up at the house before me.

Without a doubt, it is the most original house I have ever seen, and not just because it's made entirely out of clouds. The main design is that of a tall tower, multiple floors stacked atop one another, probably about three, by the looks of it. It bears resemblance to Greek and Roman architecture, featuring quite a few decorative pillars and arches.The originality comes from an almost modern design, mixed with a flair that can't possibly exist in any other world. Various waterfalls flow out of points throughout the cloud home, including from the peak, trickling down into pools; these waterfalls are not made of water, though. Rather, they are made of rainbows.

I take a few steps closer, my mouth falling open in awe. I walk towards the rainbow-falls, staring wide-eyed at them. They almost appear liquid in form, pooling at the bottom of each waterfall. I hear the familiar noise of wingbeats, and look over to see Rainbow Dash flying over to me. She grins, glancing at the rainbow we are nearest.

"Yah' like that? It tastes better than it looks," she says. I give her a funny look. "No, really. Try it." I look back to the pool of liquid rainbow. Ah, what the heck. I crouch down beside it, dipping two fingers in. I bring my hand to my face, looking at the liquid for a moment. A mess of color covers my fingers, shimmering as the liquid reflects sunlight. I tentatively lick my fingers. Suddenly, a burst of flavor covers my taste buds; it is spicy, like a hot sauce, but doesn't burn. It has perfect flavor, hot enough to let me know it is there, but only warm on my tongue and throat. I glance over at Rainbow Dash, smiling.

"Pretty good, right?" I nod happily, eyeing the rainbow pool; I'm tempted to drink more of it. Maybe bottle it up, take it home. Not only would that look cool, it would taste awesome, I muse to myself. Rainbow waves a hoof, signaling for me to follow her. "Now, c'mon, I'll give you the grand tour."

***

We climb up a spiral staircase once more, one that leads from the bottom floor of the house, a kitchen, to the middle floor, a living room, and to the top floor, to which we are headed. I find that cloud stairs are even more hard to maneuver than normal pony stairs. Continuing around, I follow the Pegasus up even higher.

I eventually come out behind her into a room the same size as the other two, which is fairly big. A large, low-set bed is the focal point of the room; on it is a blanket with a blown-up version of what I recognize to be Rainbow Dash's cutie mark. On either side of the bed are bedside tables; upon one rests a framed picture and a single book, on the other, a tall stack of novels. On one side of the room is a dresser, with some things like rainbow-colored scarves hanging messily out of it. Stepping a little farther inside, I see that there are a few other doors in the room, one leading to a bathoom, the other to a closet. And finally, all around the room hang posters depicting the Wonderbolts, the ace flight team of Equestria that Dash seems to idolize.

Scratch that, does idolize. I count around twelve posters, as well as multiple shelves filled with memorabilia related to the flight team. Well, can't say she isn't devoted...I chuckle to myself, finding the short pony again. She is lying on one side of her bed, smiling at me.

"Feel my bed." I raise my eyebrow in question. "Just do it. Jump on it or something." I shrug. Your funeral. I line myself up, begin a running start, them jump onto the bed, spreading my arms. I land face-first, and immediately sink into the bed. I hear Rainbow Dash laugh next to me, and assume I've sent her airborne a little. I pull my face out of the bed, watching it re-form itself like one of those foam mattress beds. I look off to one side of the bed, raising the blanket; as expected, the bed is indeed made of clouds, as well. I start to laugh, looking over at the light blue pony, who is as well. I sit up on the bed, still chuckling.

Eventually, the air becomes fairly quiet. Having gone through the rest of her house already, I feel this is an opportune time to thank Rainbow. I fidget with my pocket for a moment, then start writing.

Thanks for showing me your house. It's really cool.

"No prob'. It is pretty awesome, I know," she says with a smirk. I smile to her, then start looking around again. My eyes fall upon the picture on the bedside table nearest me. I look closer at it, trying to make out the details; within the photograph are six ponies, huddled together to be in the shot. I recognize them as the group of friends I've come to know, who also happen to be saviors of Equestria. Looking at the picture for a few more seconds, I decide to ask Dash about the Elements. I begin scribing out my statement as she watches me intently.

I didn't know you and your friends were the Elements of Harmony.

"Yeah, we are. You didn't know that?" I shake my head in reply. "Huh...well, yeah, like I said, we're the Elements of Harmony." She stops as I write out a new question.

Why are you the Element of Loyalty?

"I dunno'." I look at her for a moment in question. "Well, I mean, I don't know why I am, I just am. I'm loyal, I guess. When we were all in the Everfree, looking for the Elements, we came to this fallen rope bridge. Nopony else could fly across to tie it back up, so I did. When I went over there, these ponies called the Shadowbolts came up to me and asked them to lead their flight team. And, well, I said no. I mean, I really wanted to, but I couldn't leave my friends hangin', y'know?" I nod thoughtfully. "It's not really a big deal." I frown, looking at her in surprise before scribbling quickly some more.

It is really a big deal. You and your friends saved Equestria from eternal darkness. That seems like a big deal.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, that was nothing compared to Discord, but y'know." I'm barely able to keep my mouth from falling agape. I swear my pencil nearly lights the paper on fire from how quickly I write.

Who is Discord? Have you all saved Equestria twice?

"Three times, actually. Discord was this one guy who created chaos. Made me think I was defending Cloudsdale...it was just a little cloud, though. He messed with all of us, big time. But we got him. And then, at Twilight's brother's wedding, it turned out his wife was actually Chrysalis, the changeling queen. Sort of. Chrysalis had locked away Shining's actual wife, Princess Cadance. That was pretty fun, actually. We had to fight a bunch of changelings that looked just like us, copied us and everything. It was weird, but cool. I even got to beat myself up!" Rainbow Dash explains with a chuckle.

My mouth is open, I can feel it. Three times. They've saved this whole planet three times. More writing.

Why aren't any of you recognized, or thanked, or something? You should be going down in the history books as a hero!

Rainbow frowns. "I guess that might be kinda' cool, but I don't see the point. We're just doing what we were made to do, I guess. It's like, our job. I don't get paid extra for kicking clouds faster than everyone else, but I do it anyways, because I want to do my best. Same thing, sorta'. We do it because it's who we are. And I'm loyal, so I be loyal."

My shoulders droop, and I blink a few times. I feel stunned. She knows she's saved everyone three times over, but it isn't a big deal to her...My writing slows.

I'm sorry. It just seems like you all should be honored, revered, at least recognized.

"No, it's okay," she says, smiling. "It's not like I don't like being recognized, y'know."

I smile to her, and she smiles back. "Honestly, I think you're the one that should be recognized or something." I blink hard, slightly taken aback as a look of confusion crosses my face. "Well, yeah," she continues. "You basically help everypony out all the time. Plus, you've got a ton of courage. Or stupidity," she adds with a smirk. "And you're just...really nice," she says softly. I blink again. "You always want to watch me fly, or hang out with me, or let me do stuff with you, and tell me how awesome I am, and..." She trails off. Her magenta gaze meets mine, her eyes shimmering with light as they look at mine.

In a flash, Rainbow Dash is much closer. Her face presses up against mine; I feel soft lips touching my own, her soft muzzle rubbing against my nose and cheek as she twists her head. A spicy taste enters my mouth, similar to that of the liquid rainbow. Her mane brushes against my face, almost tickling. I feel the press of a hoof against my back. She feels warm, and comforting, and soft. Yet every part of me screams no at once. This is wrong!

As calmly as I can manage, which is barely calm at all, I lift my hand and place it against Dash's shoulder, pressing lightly away from myself. She doesn't want to let go; I push a little more firmly. The sky-blue pony pulls away, opening her eyes. They dart back and forth, looking at mine in what almost looks like true, genuine fear. I continue to press on her shoulder, slowly pushing her away. I can't break her gaze, so I hold it, looking at her, not even knowing what I'm thinking, except that that was not right.

"I...I don't...I thought...you...?" Her voice is a whisper, unable to form a sentence. I hope to God it stays that way. I don't think I could keep myself together if she finished that in any way. My jaw tightens as I start to see her eyes growing moist. Please, God, don't...I slowly remove my hand, breaking her gaze to look down at the paper I pick up. I start trying to write, but every time I try to explain, it doesn't sound right. I am left with the only two words I can manage.

I can't.

I set the paper down, stand up, and walk as quickly as I can muster to the door.

Chapter Seventeen

My thumb traces the edge of my tomahawk slowly. The metal is cold and sharp against my skin. I watch the small flame of a half-lit lantern flicker before me, the magically-created plasma reacting with the oxygen in the air to keep itself alive. I sit at my table, watching the fire, mindlessly stroking my weapons that lie on the table, as I have for the past...I don't know how long. Too long. Too long to be alone with my thoughts.

My mind feels numb, like it can't comprehend anything. Even the simplest of ideas is lost on me, seeming too complicated to understand. Maybe it's a state of shock or something. The only thing I can do is nothing.

I feel the same series of thoughts that have run through my head for what feels like an eternity, but has probably only been a few hours, surface again. I don't want to think about it, but I feel as if I must.

I can't believe...she likes me in that way? A pony likes me in that way?

Damn it, stop that! I scold myself. She's not some animal! She has feelings, and emotions, and everything else you have!

But she is a pony. One that can think for herself, no doubt, but nonetheless...I can't do that. I can't go around kissing animals. That's wrong.

She isn't an animal, though. Maybe she has the body of one, but not the mind. It is not the same.

It's wrong all the same! It's not how it's supposed to work! my mind fights back against itself.

God damn it! Who said that that's how it's supposed to work? What is 'it', anyways? Life? You know very goddamn well that life will throw anything it's got at you! Life doesn't have a goddamn rulebook! You know that!

I want to scream. But you can't, can you? You can't do it, because you're a coward! That's all you are! A gutless bastard!

God damn it! I jump up, picking up my weapons. In a fury, I raise my arm and bring it forward, throwing the hand-ax as hard as I can. It lodges into the wall opposite me with a crack. My other arm jams the dagger into the table. I spin around, tossing a chair out of the way. I run towards the door, ramming into it with my shoulder and bursting outside. I notice for the first time that it's raining, hard, but I don't care. I just need to get away.

I run through the rain, knowing where I can go, knowing where solace might await me. I run as hard and as fast as I can, not caring that my legs hurt, that my lungs scream, that my heart just might explode, that I trip and fall more than once in the now-muddy dirt roads. I run, and I run, and I run.

I eventually come upon a field. It is eerily quiet, the only noise that of the falling rain, the wind blowing the grasses, my heart pounding in my ears. My pace slows, and I stumble a little on the moist ground. I know where I am, yet I don't. I begin walking forward, not caring where I end up. The rain is cold. The sky is dark. I don't care.

I don't know how long I walk. It feels like a long time. Everything hurts. But I keep walking.

Something ahead of me, something just barely in my field of view, catches my eye. I look up, squinting through the rain to see it. It is the lake, Luna Lake, its waters now rough and choppy from the onslaught of rain. I see something else, though. A small, blue form sits on the shore, rain running off of it. Her mane seems dark, almost devoid of color, and she is soaked all the way through. I approach her slowly, sitting down beside the water with her. She doesn't look over; I don't, either. We sit and look out over the lake in silence.

The rain starts coming down even harder. It almost hurts now. I stare at the waters of the lake, watching each little droplet of rain create a new ripple throughout the surface. A gust of wind stirs up some waves. Cold rain washes down my face and back.

We sit by the lake for some time. The rain grows colder and harder, mercilessly beating down upon us. I just want to curl up and die, but I can't. I can only stare at the dark, choppy waters, shivering in the cold.

A flash lights up the sky, followed by a loud crack of thunder. The rain continues on. Another flash; this one is much closer, too close, only across the lake. The thunder that follows is near-deafening, the shockwave from the lightning strike hitting us full-force.

I look over at Rainbow Dash. Rain runs off of her mane and face. Her body is completely wet, all of her colors a few shades darker from the water. She trembles violently, uncontrollably, in the freezing precipitation. I know she'll catch hypothermia if she doesn't get out of the rain soon. I probably will, as well. As if she knows I'm watching her, she looks over at me. Her magenta eyes now seem dull, lacking their friendly brightness, replaced with despair.

There is another burst of electricity, lighting up the air. This one is near us, as well, and we both look at it, wincing at the resounding thunder clap. The shivering pony looks back over at me. I place my hands on the muddy ground, pushing myself to my feet. She starts to pick herself up, as well, wobbling a little. After a moment, she sits down again. The Pegasus spreads out her wings, but they are soaked, too heavy with water to be able to be of any use. She looks up at me; there is some fear in her eyes, now.

I kneel down beside her. She watches as I slowly extend my arms and wrap them around her. I pull her towards my chest, shifting her in my arms to better hold her. I stand again, the small pony in my arms. She isn't heavy. Her shaking scares me, and the usual warmth she seems to possess is gone. I start moving as quickly as I can without jolting her around too much.

After what feels like far too long, we arrive back at my house. I push the door in with my shoulder, carrying her through the main room. It is much warmer, but not warm enough. I carry her past the flipped chair, the table with the dagger in it, the still-burning lantern, the tomahawk in the wall. I put my weight against my bathroom door, going inside. I gently set her down in the bathtub, turning on the hot water. When it feels warm enough, I flip it over to the shower. I look at the blue pony again, still shivering in the hot water. I turn to leave; something pulls my wet pants leg, and I look back. A dripping hoof somehow has a hold on me; I look at Rainbow Dash. Her eyes say enough. I slowly climb into the shower with her, sitting down. She climbs on top of me, laying down on my wet clothes.

I close my eyes, leaning back against the wall of the shower. I absently begin stroking her mane. She rests her head on my chest, trembling a little less. I hate myself a little more. I start to rub my fingers behind her ears; they feel like fine felt. She sighs contentedly. A lump forms in my throat; I feel truly awful, now. What have I done? The pony slowly rubs her head against my chest; her shivering has all but stopped. I continue to pet her, trying to comfort her, despite me being the reason she needs comforting at all.

A few minutes after she stops shaking, I go to set her aside. She opens her eyes in question; I lay a hand on her back, then stand, leaving the shower. As I hoped, she stayed inside it, settling back down. Trailing water through my house, I make my way to the second floor. I grab all of the blankets off my bed, then bring them downstairs. I take the blankets into the bathroom, setting them off to one side. Stepping over to the shower, I hold out a hand to the rainbow-maned mare; she looks at it for a moment, then puts her hoof in it, allowing me to help her to her hooves and out of the shower. I shut off the water, then go to grab the blankets, bringing them back to Rainbow Dash. She shakes out her coat and mane, spraying water about the room; she gives a small smile of embarrassment. I drape the blankets over her, pressing down a little to hold them in place as we walk out of the bathroom.

I replace the fallen chair, pulling it away from the table a little to allow her to hop up. As she gets situated on the chair, I go over to where my tomahawk rests in the wall, working it out. I remove my dagger from the table, as well, then turn up the heat of the lantern to its maximum, scooting it a little closer to Dash. I set my weapons on a counter, then take a seat at the table as well.

I fish my pencil and paper from my pocket. A few of the outer papers are wet, so I just crumple them up and toss them aside, grabbing the most dry sheet of paper I can find. I set it before me on the table, raising my pencil; no words come, though. I don't know what to say. I set the pencil down, looking at the blank page. The air is silent for a while.

"Thanks," Rainbow Dash says quietly. I look up at her, nodding solemnly. My gaze goes back to the paper; I can't hold hers.

"I'm sorry." I look up again, frowning. I slowly write out a reply, trying not to drip on the page.

You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one that needs to be apologizing.

"No, I...I did...what I did, and you didn't want that. And I'm sorry." I sigh, thinking about each and every word I write down.

You don't need to apologize. You just did what your gut told you to, and you shouldn't be sorry for that.

I pause, then continue writing.

I like you, Rainbow Dash. I really do. But I

I stop again, crossing out my attempt at explanation. I try again.

On my world, where I come from, we are the only sentient beings, the only ones that can think for ourselves. We have other animals, including ponies, but they can't think for themselves. Humans only love humans, and that's how it is. Loving something that runs off instinct is frowned upon.

"You think I'm just some...some animal?" she asks, voice filled with soul-crushing hurt. I shake my head quickly, writing as fast as I can. Damn it!

The answer is no, but I do not know how to explain. I know that you are not, that you are a smart, clever, fun, friendly being who has feelings for me and who I think I have feelings for, as well. But the only things I know that look like you are not those things, and I don't like them that way. Everything is different here, but all I can do is compare things to things I already know. I'm sorry I can't explain it better. I know it is shallow and horrible of me to think this way. I like you, but I don't know if it's in that way.

As I pass the page to Rainbow Dash, I stare down at the wooden table. Is that really how I feel? Do I really like her in that way? Can I really like her in that way?

"I...I think I understand..." she says quietly, passing the page back to me. "You mean, like...if somepony really liked a rock, or something. That'd be weird, right? But if they went somewhere where rocks could think and stuff, it wouldn't be as weird. I dunno'." Well, I think she gets it. Maybe. I hope. She pauses, looking down.

"But...you...do like me, too?" Her eyes meet mine, and I hold her gaze. My head hurts so badly right now. I nod shakily. I pick up my pencil again.

Maybe we should take it slow, okay? I don't want to lose you as a friend. I've lost enough.

She looks at a certain point on the paper for a while. "Slow..." She goes quiet for a moment, still staring at the page. "Nopony's ever wanted to take it slow with me, before. I mean, I'm Rainbow Dash. Fast is my thing," she muses with a chuckle. I take back the page, writing a little more.

It hurts a lot more when you run into something going fast than when you're going slow.

She laughs; I smile, happy to see her a little closer to her usual. I continue on.

We've only known each other for, what, a week and a half?

The sky-blue pony nods. "Yeah, somethin' like that." I look at her in question, then add some more to my paper.

Why do you like me so much? You hardly know anything about me.

The blankets around her shoulders shift in a shrug. "I dunno'. Rarity's always blabbing about 'love at first sight' and all that, but I don't really believe it. I mean, maybe..." She trails off, thinking for a moment. "I meant all those things I said yesterday, about how you're really brave and nice and stuff. Maybe that's why." I look at her, frowning as I write.

I killed two wolves over some food, and most of the time people pay me for being nice.

"That doesn't mean you're not brave or nice, y'know." I shrug, not convinced. She looks back at my handwriting again. "Yeah. Maybe I should try going slow. You don't need to try, you're already slower than slow," she jokes, grinning at me. I return the smile, quietly laughing a little. As a lull in conversation approaches, I think up a new question.

How long were you out there?

She looks out one of the windows in the room, watching the rain for the moment. "Since last night. I went to work to get the rain all set up, then I went back there. I didn't sleep." I nod; neither did I.

I apologize. I shouldn't have walked out like I did. I panicked.

"It's okay. That was kind of unexpected, I guess. I don't even know why I did it...Twilight always says I don't really think things through that well." I give a lopsided smile in agreement. Rainbow sits quietly for a while. "Could we not tell anypony about this? I don't want anyone to think I'm getting all mushy," she asks. I snort in amusement, then nod my head, smiling. "And maybe...maybe we could keep hanging out? It's...fun." I nod sincerely, smiling to the pony. I write out a new question, a smile on my face.

How about some breakfast?

Dash chuckles, looking outside again. "I forgot it was so early. Breakfast sounds awesome." I smile, standing from the table.

Chapter Eighteen

I sit at my small table within my house, a bite of apple crunching in my mouth. The shiny, red fruit tastes sweet and juicy, near-perfect as they always seem to be. I don't think the concept of a 'bad apple' exists here, quite honestly. Not that I'm complaining. I sigh softly, taking in the morning as I eat my breakfast. It's nice having a place where there is actually such a thing as peace and quiet. Back in the city, that was something rare, if nonexistent. I remember spending my weekends just walking, out to what countryside there was outside of the metropolis.

That's one thing I certainly don't miss. The noise, constant noise. I like my solace; that's not to say I don't like noise in any form, because I do. Noise lets me know I'm still alive, still there, like pain, in a sense. But in the excess of noise found in a city, not so much. It's nice to get away from that. Even the capital city is only filled with voices and rustlings, which can only get so loud. This small-ish, sleepy town is even better. Certainly my residence of choice. Except for the fact that all of the residents are ponies, of course.

Alone within my quiet house. I muse that I'm very much alone on a few deeper levels. Alone in this world, the only one of my kind that exists here. Alone because I distance myself from everyone, be they pony or not. Alone because I'm different, and I know it. And alone in the sense that I am by myself, eating my breakfast composed of an apple in my house. Alone.

Maybe not, though. I feel unusually optimistic this morning, I see. Maybe it's the tasty apple, out of which I take another bite. Maybe I don't have to be alone. I frown as I swallow the chunk of fruit. Well, I already knew that. Maybe it's time to stop trying to be alone. I sigh again. My apple is almost cored.

It's wrong on so many levels...I think with a frown, my brow creasing a little. But it's not like I'm going to find another human to be with anytime soon. I snort quietly, focusing on the apple for a moment. How does something that lacks so much detail taste so good? Another bite.

What's the point of living if I can't be happy? I'm happy being alone, I tell myself. No, I'm not, and I know it. I've been alone too long, and I'm tired of it. Far too long. My thoughts start to drift a little farther out on the sea that is my conscious being. They come upon my rainbow-maned Pegasus friend, secret admirer, pony, whatever she is. There's a nice girl in there. A girl I like. I raise my arm, resting my elbow on the table and running my hand through my hair. It's getting too long for my liking. Wonder if there's a barber anywhere around here...

Can I really like a person that doesn't look like a person? What kind of question is that? Can I get past that? I don't know. I mean, she is pretty cute. But all of them are fairly cute. I don't think it's possible for these ponies to be ugly. I chuckle quietly. My apple's done for, so I get up, walk over to the door, and toss it off to the side of the small lawn in front of my house. I close the door, padding over to the bathroom. I turn on the shower, stepping in once it's a comfortable temperature.

I still don't get it. How does she even like me? Like I told her, I killed a few wolves over some food and get paid a lot of the time to be nice. I attempt to think of some times I might have shown actual courage or kindness. I guess I do help these guys out a lot. It's about all I can do. And didn't the Princess say I was courageous, that she admired me or something? I know what she saw, what gave her reason to say that. That wasn't courage. That was...retaliation. An inability to be stronger than what I did. Cowardice. Just the opposite.

She sees something in me, though, Rainbow Dash. Guess I do compliment her a lot...and let her help me, and help her, and watch her do things, but...I mean, that's because she deserves those compliments. And I like her help, and I like her company. And she does really cool stuff. To me, not showing at least a little respect to her would be like not thanking Superman for saving you from certain death. It's just a given, it seems necessary, is necessary. She's a hero. Not flawless, of course, but a hero nonetheless.

I try thinking of a flaw I can see in her. Arrogance, maybe. I recall a quote from somewhere: it's not bragging if you can do it. That seems to apply. Anything else? I rub the back of my neck, savoring the warmth of the water for a moment. Brashness? Another maybe...Being brash or bold isn't always bad. Sometimes that's how one has to be to overcome a challenge, or fear. I nearly envy her confidence and boldness. Maybe 'admire' is a better term.

I get an odd feeling, as I sometimes do, as if I'm able to look at myself from an outside perspective. I sigh as I go over the entire conversation I've just had with myself. I really do like her...what's not to like, though? She's definitely exciting, fun, adventurous. Maybe not smart, but certainly clever, and she knows what's what. Funny, cheerful but still down-to-earth, and most of all, loyal. Quite the colorful personality. I smile at my pun; maybe it's more of a wince. Yeah, that was awful.

Who am I kidding? I question my shower. She's perfect. Is the fact she's not exactly human it? I think for a moment. That is a pretty big one, though...I sigh, turning off the water and stepping out. My head is starting to hurt; I decide to focus on something else. Well, my funds are running kind of low...better head to town hall. I put on my clothes, grab my dagger and tomahawk, and walk outside, destination in mind.

***

Looks like that storm was a little stronger than anticipated, I muse as I start nailing in another shingle on my fourth roof of the day. Somehow it seems like the torn-apart roofing on the houses of quite a few are my fault, indirectly. I feel obligated to do it, whether or not anyone else really knows it's my fault. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and when that particular woman can manipulate Mother Nature...yeesh. I make a mental note to not upset Rainbow Dash before any major storms are scheduled.

Speaking of which...I look into the air, searching around the clear, blue sky for a while on my rooftop perch. I don't see the sky-blue Pegasus anywhere, though. I frown, then focus back on the task at hand, grabbing another shingle. It's not very tedious work, I suppose, given the fact I've nearly fallen off the roofs I've been working on about six times already. These things get very slippery after rain. I continue to hammer away, only a small patch of roof still showing.

I hear a door open below me, and peer over the edge of the roof. The owner of the house, a dark-orange Earth pony mare, trots out, looking up at me. She takes a few steps back to better see her roof, and I move out of the way.

"Wow! That's looking splendid! Here, while you finish that up, I'll go grab you some bits..." I smile, nodding in thanks to the pony, who goes back inside the house. I turn back to the roof, lying down yet another shingle. I start off a few nails in the corners, but run out of nails. I shift to one side so I can reach into my pocket and grab a few more. Hearing a noise to my right, I look over. I watch as the nails I had started in the shingle are stamped into the roof with three swift, casual blows from a light blue hoof. My gaze shifts a little higher, and I smile.

"A lot faster than using that hammer, am I right?" Rainbow Dash asks with a smile. I laugh, shifting one of the nails in my palm to my fingers. I position it over the last corner of the shingle, giving it a few hard taps with the hammer before pulling away. The Pegasus takes her cue, driving the nail in with her hoof. It doesn't even look like she's putting a lot of force behind it. Ponies are tougher than they look, I reflect as I have often before. I start up the process again with the last few shingles, starting a nail in the roof and letting Dash drive it all the way in. The process speeds up considerably, given that she can even hammer down a few at a time.

After a few minutes, I look up at the pony, smiling. "We done?" she asks, receiving a nod in reply. I carefully make my way over the edge of the roof, letting myself hang before dropping down. Rainbow floats down, gently settling down beside me on the ground. As if on cue, the owner of the home walks out again, bag of coins in her mouth. She tosses it to me.

"Thank you very much, Mister Mark." I nod, smiling, then begin walking away, my Pegasus friend close behind. Once we've covered some ground between the house the job was at and my own, I look over at Rainbow Dash, feeling curious. I withdraw the paper and pencil from my pocket, trying to keep my hand steady as I walk and write.

Where were you today? The sky's been clear all morning.

She reads the paper, then looks over at me, hovering at eye-height as per usual. "Oh, I was over at Rarity's place." I raise an eyebrow in question. Another spa day, maybe? I think with a sly grin. I think she notices my expression, for her eyes widen a little. "I was...uh...asking her about...how to make my mane more aerodynamic! Yeah." I chuckle softly, shaking my head. "What? I'm serious! That's what I was doing!" Dash says, a little frantically. I raise my palms and eyebrows, giving my best look of innocence. I scribble down a note, unable to resist the grin coming back to my face.

So how do you make your mane more aerodynamic?

"I...uhm...are you hungry? I'm hungry," she says, speedily changing the subject. I laugh again, nodding. We set our sights for Applejack's stand.

***

Rainbow Dash flies along beside me while we walk further and further away from Ponyville. She does little loops and flies around me every so often, clearly still excited from earlier. I'm amazed she still has energy after flying for, what, three hours? Four? Something like that. The sun has nearly set, though. It was a nice way to finish off the day.

"I still can't believe I pulled off the Buccaneer Blaze, the Super Speed Strut, and the Fantastic Filly Flash, all one after another! That was awesome!" she bubbles. I nod happily in agreement. Her stunts never cease to amaze me; the fluidity of them all in itself is enough to bring awe. I think I'm starting to remember all the names she's created for her tricks, as well; there are a lot to memorize.

"I need to practice more...it feels like I haven't flown in ages! I mean, it's only been, like, three days, but y'know," she continues, grinning at me. I smile back to her. The rainbow-maned pony glances forward, then up, a frown touching her face. "Well, looks like we're here." She points up at her cloud home, high above us, with a hoof. "Thanks for walking home with me, Mark. See yah' tomorrow!" I grin, showing my teeth as I wave goodbye to her. I watch her fly up until she disappears over the top of the cloud that is her house. I turn, walking back along the road that leads into town.

As I continue down the path, the sky slowly darkening, an idea comes to me. I decide to change course, branching off onto another path that skirts Ponyville. I walk for some time, watching the sky change from blue, to yellow, to orange, to a deep red, listening as the birds fall asleep and the crickets come out. My head actually feels clear, a rare occurrence for me. There are a lot of times when I wish I could stop thinking, stop remembering. Be careful what you wish for, I remind myself, recalling my experience with the Princesses. I unconsciously shudder.

Maybe there's a better way to contact them, though. I keep my steady pace, now a good distance away from Ponyville, but on the side of town opposite Rainbow Dash's house. The path ends, just dissipating into open ground. I stay in the same direction, though, inherently knowing where I am and where I am going. The grass beneath my shoes grows taller and taller, eventually reaching just below the knees on my pants. Despite the area looking slightly different in the nearly complete darkness, I know I'm getting close.

I reach the edge of the lake just as the last of the sun's light disappears over the horizon directly opposite me. Slowing my pace, I sit down on the bank. It's still sort of muddy, but my pants can be washed, so I don't really care. I look out over the lake for a moment, then into the sky. A large, full moon hangs high in the night sky, surrounded by thousands upon thousands of stars. I gape at the darkness for a moment; I've never seen so many stars in all my life. It's like every star in the universe can be seen from where I sit. The light of the stars and moon actually illuminate the night so that there is not total darkness, but rather a sort of shadowy level of light; I'm easily able to see, but it's still dark.

I look back to the waters, looking at the shimmering reflection of the moon. The night feels calm; I'm tempted to spend the night here, but know I should just do what I want to do and head back to a warm bed. My mind starts to churn again as I pull the paper and pencil from my pocket. I glance at Luna Lake again, remembering the small segment from the book I'd read. Well, I can't really talk, so I guess this will have to do. I begin writing a letter.

Dear Princess Luna,

Hopefully this works. I can't talk to Luna Lake, so this is the best I can do. Maybe this is just a legend, anyways. Might as well try, though.

I would like to ask you to help me. I don't really know anyone else to ask, and I know you really won't tell anyone, except maybe Princess Celestia, but I don't mind if you do that. Recently, I found out that someone, some-pony, I suppose, has feelings for me. And I think I have feelings for her, too. But, there issomething is I should explain.

Maybe you already know this, but my species is the only sentient one on our planet. We have other animals, but they are only animals, running off instinct. They can't talk and only do what they are designed to. Here, it is different. What I know as animals are sentient here, they can think, and speak, and do things that humans do.

I am conflicted. I do like this pony, I like who she is, but I can't seem to get around the fact she is not human, that it seems wrong to me. Maybe the answer is obvious, and maybe I already know it, but I want to hear it from someone else. Maybe it will help.

Thanks,

--Mark

I look at the letter, reading it over. Here goes nothing. I lean forward, stretching out my arm with the paper in hand. Just as my hand is over the water, I release my grip, letting the paper float gently down to the surface of the lake. It settles down on the water, then begins to slowly drift out towards the center of the lake. I watch the paper float away from me, seemingly unaffected by the water. Out it goes, all the way to what looks like the exact middle of the lake; I notice that the moon's reflection sits in the center of the water, as well. The letter stops moving right over the shimmering image of the moon; it promptly evaporates, quite literally. A wisp of white smoke trails up from where the paper was. I raise my eyebrows in surprise, watching the center of Luna Lake intently.

After a few minutes of unblinking observation, I sit back, resuming my old position and frowning. Well, something happened. I lay back against the bank, looking at the night sky again. If Luna really did make this, which I have little doubt she did, it is nothing short of impressive. I try to pick out a few constellations, but I don't see any that I recognize. With a sigh, I stretch out my legs and lock my hands together behind my head, lying on the ground beside the lake.

I hear an odd noise, something like a bloop. Sitting up, I look out at the lake, squinting to focus better on the somewhat distant center of the body of water. I see something obstructing the reflection of the bright moon; it almost looks like...a scroll? The object starts drifting in my direction, not visibly guided by any waves or currents. As it nears, I see that it is indeed a scroll, rolling a little in the water as it approaches me. Once the scroll is close, I reach out my arm again, grabbing it out of the lake. The scroll feels completely dry, as if it had never touched water at all.

I sit back again, holding the rolled-up paper in both hands. Twisting it around, I see that there is a seal on the scroll; it appears to bear a symbol of a simple crescent moon. I slowly withdraw my dagger from my belt, carefully cutting through the seal before replacing the blade. I unroll the scroll, laying it flat to light it with moonlight.

Dearest Mark,

Before We begin, let it be made known We have not used this system of communication in many an age. We are surprised thou hast knowledge of its existence. We thank you for reminding Us of its presence.

We--oh, my apologies. Tia has oft reminded me of using 'I' rather than the royal We. Old habits are hardest to best, yes? I am sorry, Mark, but I cannot fully answer thine query. It is not of the cause that I do not know, rather, thou must make this decision, not I.

Thou hast taken the time to compose a request from me, though. Mayhaps I may offer mine own advice?

I know what it is like to feel alien. After one-thousand years of exile, this place has changed much. I feel as if I am an outsider in my own land. It is to my knowledge this is not the case of thou, but I believe them to be similar in nature.

During my exile, I encountered many feelings. The greatest of them was that of loneliness. I have experienced loneliness in its truest form. For mine own self, however, I have many chances to change that, for my life is eternal. I am sorry to say yours is not. Heed my words, though; immortality is both a gift and a curse.

No being should spend their life in loneliness, immortal or not. I advise you to follow your heart, young creature. Love comes in many forms. And perhaps, as thou hast said, this was already known to you. Perhaps my advice will be of no use to you; this is your own choice to make, as well.

Know that the path thou doth choose shall be the correct one, no matter which it is.

My highest blessings upon thou,

Princess Luna

I roll the scroll back up slowly, sighing softly to myself. Why must such a simple decision be so difficult to make? I know Luna is right...but...I frown, staring into the water. I knew there would be no definite answer; life rarely works that way, if at all. Know that the path thou doth choose shall be the correct one, no matter which it is, I repeat in my head.

I will make the right decision. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually, I will know. I stand, scroll in hand, and turn away from the lake, ready to get some sleep before morning.

Chapter Nineteen

I make my slow return to consciousness, as I do every morning. Thankfully, the ghosts of the past didn't visit me, as they sometimes do. Instead I only recall a few dreams involving the moon, a few more with a rainbow-maned Pegasus. That's about it, though. I recall hearing somewhere that the mind uses dreams to sort out what it encounters throughout its waking period. In that case, my dreams were suitable.

I sit up, running a hand across my chin. Yeah, better shave today. Tossing my bed covers off to one side, I turn and stand, stretching for a moment before making my way over to and down the stairs. Coming into the first floor of my house, I survey it; as usual, it is calm, quiet, and empty, soft morning light streaming in through the various windows. I grab an apple from one of the cupboards, then take a seat at my table. I begin my day in a fairly normal way.

As I take another bite of apple, my eyes start to drift around out of boredom. They fall upon something on the wooden floor of my house, just in front of the door. Raising an eyebrow, I stand from my chair, apple in hand, and walk over to the item. Crouching down, I see that it is a simple piece of paper, folded a few times to hide whatever is written inside. I pick the paper up with my left hand, taking a thoughtful chomp out of my breakfast as I stand again, walking back over to the table. I sit down, setting the folded paper before me; I flip it over, not seeing any markings or seals. Curious, I open the paper with one hand, smoothing it out on the table and peering at it.

Meet me at the Hay Bale restaurant, in the center of town, for dinner tonight. It's kind of fancy, so, yeah.

--Secret admirer

The writing looks like someone tried to write by putting a pencil in their mouth. Oh, wait...I have a fairly good idea of who the letter is from, at this point. I smile to myself, giving the scarcely-legible letter a once-over; what are you up to, Rainbow Dash? Asking me out on a date? It is certainly Rainbow; the mouth-writing and last line seem to make that fairly obvious. What's with the...air of mystery, though? I suppose I still haven't completely figured out the sky-blue pony; maybe just a new side of her to be seen. It seems unlikely, though...

Okay, I tell the letter. I'll play along. Town square, the 'Hay Bale'. Fancy. Should probably go make sure my suit is clean...get my shoes a little shinier, as well. My train of thought stops momentarily. Maybe after I earn some money and do what I need to do. Business first, for now. Nodding to myself, I finish off my apple, fold up the letter, and stand, intending on continuing my morning routine.

***

As I pass through the center of town, heading back home from a job that took me all the way to the opposite end of Ponyville, I catch a glimpse of the restaurant mentioned in Dash's letter. Upon first glance, it appears to have the oddest combination of fanciness and casualness. Most of the seating appears to be outdoors; bales of hay serve as seats. And yet, upon the tables sit ornate bouquets of flowers, and a well-dressed waiter walks around, tending to various customers. I wonder for a moment what fine pony cuisine actually is, being that they are completely vegetarian and the only fancy dishes I know of all include some sort of meat. Then again, I am no fine-food connoisseur.

I smile to myself, continuing on my way. I wonder why Rainbow Dash would act in such a way for the umpteenth time today; she's usually very straightforward, almost blunt, in everything. Hell, she made a move on me after only having known me a week or two. It just seems unlike her. Maybe something is wrong? Maybe it's not a date, but something else? I ponder this as I walk. I'll find out soon enough, I suppose as I glance into the sky; the sun is on its way down, and I'm feeling somewhat hungry, leading me to believe it is likely nearing dinnertime. These guys need to invent clocks sometime soon...

I arrive at my house after a few more minutes. Walking inside, I start by withdrawing my tomahawk and dagger and lying them on my table gently. After doing so, I make my way up the stairs, entering my bedroom. Underneath the bed are my nice clothes, which I retrieve. They are still in good condition and don't have any particular smells to them, so I deem them worthy. I bring them back down, and direct myself to the bathroom for a shower, and a shave, I remind myself as I go back to grab my dagger.

Cleaned and cleaned up, I put on the better of my clothes for the second time in the relatively short history of the clothes' existence. They don't look half bad on me, though I wouldn't want to wear them all the time. Suits are something I wear on special occasions, not all the time; it gives the benefit of making me feel more classy when I do wear suits. Satisfied, I walk back into the main room of my house, put on and tie up my shoes, take another look at the letter--though it's not like I don't know where the place is or have to be there by any certain time--and head out the door.

Walking through the streets of Ponyville, I feel more out-of-place than normal, but not by much. I suppose wearing a suit has always made me feel a little odd; the term 'monkey-suit' always comes to mind. I can't really fit in when I'm basically the exact opposite of everyone else, though. Ponies keep their same distance, a good yard or so, usually, but I do gain a few more questioning looks than usual.

Soon enough, I reach the center of town. I see that the Apple family's stand, currently manned by both Applejack and her younger sister, Apple Bloom, has quite a bit of business currently; I think I'm on time. I travel through the square, approaching the restaurant casually. A plain, white building, fairly small in appearance from the outside, adjoins the outer eating area. I walk up to the double doors of the building, ducking to avoid hitting my head on the just-too-short doorways designed for ponies.

The enclosed area mainly seems to house the check-in/check-out counter and the kitchen. I step up to a low counter, kneeling down to better access it. There is a brown pony in a tuxedo behind the counter; he turns to face me, looking upon me with no show of surprise or change in attitude.

"Would you like to make a reservation, sir?" he asks with a hint of a high-class accent. I raise an eyebrow, then shake my head. Need to tell him I'm waiting for someone...some-pony? Man, the puns here...Getting a hold on my pocket with my left hand to open it more, I begin moving my right hand towards my paper and pencil. I stop when the door leading out to the seating area opens; a familiar, light blue face pops in.

"He's with me," says Rainbow Dash to the tuxedoed pony. He looks back at me, then nods curtly. I smile, nodding as well, then stand, walking over to the Pegasus holding the door open for me. I give a warm smile to her, following the rainbow-maned mare outside. She leads me over to a table with two hay-bale-seats situated across from each other, a pot of flowers atop the surface of the table. She clambers up onto one of the bales, situating herself; I take a seat as well, finding I have to lean down a little ways to reach the table. I look up at Rainbow, smiling.

Something seems different about her. Oh, her mane's combed out, my mind informs me. Indeed, the streaks of color flow smoothly along her head, none of the usual tufts that stick out here and there as a result of being wind-blown. I see that a small, orange tie bunches her colorful mane together near the bottom. As I continue to observe her carefully, I begin to notice that there is actually quite a bit different about her, and not just in appearance. She seems to be wearing eye shadow, her eyelids shimmering with a slightly lighter shade of blue every time she blinks. The pony seems to internally scold herself every so often, forcing herself to sit up straighter, not fidget, and so on. My eyes narrow slightly in thought. What's gotten into you, Dash?

I can almost see her sigh in relief when the tuxedo-wearing pony from earlier trots up to our table, bringing with him two menus. He places one in front of her, then me. I look down at mine, quickly scanning over the items on the menu; I read at a fairly fast rate. Most of the menu seems to be composed of fancy dishes involving flowers, common and rare. Sunflower Souffle, Rose Petal Parfait, and Flower Mignon. I frown, searching down the page until I eventually spot a simple Apples. Might as well, I decide. Fancy food really isn't my thing, anyways. And I didn't think it was Rainbow Dash's, either...

Keeping my head down, I glance up at my dinner date. She's frowning at her menu, glaring at it with enough intensity to make the paper spontaneously combust. She doesn't have a clue what anything on the menu is, either. I conceal a smile, then push my menu a few inches away and look up. The light blue Pegasus does the same, giving me a semi-confident smile; it lacks her usual, actual, confidence. Why are you beating yourself up, Rainbow? I ought to play along. May as well see where this goes. I lean away from the table, pulling the crude paper from my pocket and setting it on the table, smoothing it out.

You look very nice. I like your mane like that, it's pretty.

Rainbow Dash reads the simple series of compliments, looking up at me with some defiance. "Pretty? I am not pre--I...uh...I mean, thank you. You, uh...look really nice, too." I smile to her. Alright, so I know you're still in there, Dash. What's the charade for, my fine, feathered friend? I pull my paper back to me, stuffing it away again before folding my hands together, pressing my mouth against the edges of my fingers. Maybe I can freak her out a little. I begin staring at her, suppressing a grin; she can only hold my gaze for a few seconds of silence before she starts to fidget. I can tell she's trying hard to be civilized. Very hard. Alright, maybe I'm going too hard on her. Poor girl's trying. Why, though? I let up with my gaze, shifting it elsewhere.

After a minute or so, the pony waiter returns, looking to Rainbow Dash, first. "Have you decided on your meal, madam?"

Rainbow looks down at her menu nervously, then, for just a moment, at me, then at the waiter. "Uh, yeah--yes. I have, yes. I would like the Sunflower...uhm...soo-full?" I bite my cheek, trying as hard as I can not to show any reaction.

The waiter looks down his nose at her. "A fine choice." He looks over to me. "And you, sir?" I hold my menu over to him, pointing at Apples. I think a frown touches his face, but he controls it well. "Yes, of course...I will return with your meals shortly," he informs us, retrieving the menus from the table before trotting off. It pleases me to see that I've basically done the equivalent of ordering a cheeseburger in a fancy French restaurant.

I occasionally sneak a glance at the sky-blue mare sitting across from me, trying to keep the intervals at which I do so long so she won't notice as much. I can tell she's uncomfortable, mainly because she usually has something to say. She seems to be repressing herself though. Not knowing why I am lacking in mercy today, I decide to let her keep up her ruse for a while longer.

A nice perk of vegetarian restaurants is that the food is done much, much quicker, given that it's really just arranged, not cooked. Within five minutes or so, our respective meals are delivered to us. I see that the Hay Bale managed to spruce up even the simplest of foods, apples; there are about three apples on my plate, each of them cored and cut into eight slices. There are actually three different kinds of apples; I see the Equestrian equivalents of the average red apple, a green Granny Smith apple, and a yellow Golden Delicious apple. Glancing up at Rainbow Dash's own meal, I see it appears to be a motley of yellow petals and green stems, possibly cooked. That certainly doesn't seem appetizing. Then again, ponies eat flowers all the time, virtually live off of apples and sugar, and are affected by salt in a manner similar to that of alcohol.

I eat a few slices of apple casually, trying to keep my pace slow. Every so often I will look up to see Rainbow tentatively picking at her food or sitting very quietly and very awkwardly. After I go through a few slices from each of the three apples on the platter before me, I decide enough is enough. I sigh, pushing my plate away a little, and resting my elbows on the table, again folding my hands together and looking intently at the Pegasus across from me. Eventually, she notices my stare; as with before, her eyes will dart off or down every so often, as if she is very uncomfortable, which she probably is. I pull out my stationary, writing simply, at first. I pass the question to her, awaiting a reply.

Okay, what's up?

Rainbow Dash looks away nervously, starting to sweat a little. "W-what do you mean? Like, how am I?" I frown at her, then focus on writing again.

You're all dressed up, you keep trying to sit up straight, you are using extremely good manners, are being very quiet, and haven't touched your food. What's wrong?

"Maybe I just like to dress up sometimes. Can't I look nice, too?" she questions, a little shakily. I look at her very seriously for a few seconds. Her shoulders and head droop as she lets out a sigh of defeat. "Okay, you got me." She rests the elbows of her forelegs on the table, covering her eyes with her hooves in what I believe to be shame. "Remember when you asked where I were yesterday, and I said at Rarity's, making my mane more aerodynamic or something?" she begins rhetorically. I nod anyways, almost subconsciously. "Well, I was at Rarity's, but I wasn't doing that, whatever I said."

She takes a deep breath, as if what she says next will knock me off my seat. "I was asking her for advice...with you..." she mumbles, trailing off. "I figured, 'cause she knows a lot about romance and all, maybe she could help...she said I should take you out to dinner, and get all dressed up and fancy and romantic and stuff." Rainbow drags her hooves down her face a little, pulling at her bottom eyelids. "Celestia, I'm so lame. You must think I'm the most un-cool, un-awesome, un-radical pony, ever..."

I watch her wallow in her worry for a moment, then sigh, smiling to myself. I begin writing, and find that by the time I pass the paper over to her, I've caught her interest.

Rainbow Dash, you are undoubtedly the coolest, most awesome, most radical pony, ever, in the history of everything. Not lame, or un-cool, or un-awesome, or un-radical. And do you know why that is? It's because you're you. Rainbow Dash, best flier in Equestria, the definition of cool, awesome, and radical, hero to many, enemy of none, Element of Loyalty, savior of Equestria, three times over, and best friend in Equestria. You don't need to try and impress me. Everything you do already more than impresses me. Even this, because it shows me that you are determined to impress me.

She takes a minute to read through my writing. As her eyes reach the end of the paragraph, she looks up at me, a small, sort-of-embarrassed smile on her face. "Really?" I nod, smiling. She smiles back, then sighs, looking down at the table. "I...I just...I dunno'. I like you, a bunch, and I've never really...I dunno'. Liked somepony this way. I don't know what to do to get you to like me back," she says quietly. Rainbow's usual self-confidence seems all but gone; this is something new for her, something she doesn't understand, and because she doesn't understand, she's scared, panicked. I can relate all too easily. I calmly start writing once more.

I do like you back. I know I do. You're the best friend I've ever had, and

I frown, unsure how to continue that. I start a new line just below that.

I want to like you in the way you like me, but I don't know if I'm ready to. There are things I need to figure out myself, first.

A frown lightly touches her lips as she finishes reading. "I know. You told me before that this was really hard for you. I...I'm sorry, Mark. I shouldn't have tried to make it faster," the sky-blue pony says softly. I give a smile, not entirely sure whether it is one of friendliness or apology, maybe both. My hand scribbles at a more normal speed, now.

You don't need to apologize, and you don't have anything to apologize for. Plus, you took me to a very nice dinner.

She smiles and snorts softly in amusement. "Yeah, I guess so." She glances down at her plate, grimacing. I lift my plate in one hand, reach out with the other and grab her plate, and switch our meals. "Are you sure? You've hardly eaten anything," Dash points out, looking at the plate before her with only a few slices of apple missing. I nod, smiling. And you haven't eaten anything. She smiles appreciatively back, then begins tearing into the apples.

The platter is completely clean within a couple of minutes. I gaze upon the Pegasus, smiling in both my own amusement and my satisfaction at seeing my rainbow-maned friend back to normal. Almost back to normal. I reach out across the table towards Rainbow Dash; it isn't very large a table, so I can do it easily. She watches my hand as it approaches her, glancing at me in question. I grasp on to the orange hair tie that holds her hair together, and slowly pull it off the bottom of her mane. Her colorful hair feels like the finest silk, and looks the part, as well, falling loose when the tie comes completely off. I set the hair tie on the table before her, then run my hand through her mane a few times to get it looking back to normal. When I sit back again, looking at Rainbow, I see that she is looking down at the table, cheeks a shade of pink, wings slightly raised.

She looks at me, still trying to force back her blush. "I thought you liked it that way?" she asks, before shaking her head to ruffle up her mane again. I write out a quick response.

I do. I like the normal Rainbow Dash better, though.

She smiles, still unable to fully hide the reddening in her cheeks and the ever-so-slight rising of her wings. "I like it better this way, too. I couldn't fly really fast with the other way, or else it would mess it up." She pauses, then closes her eyes and rubs her hooves against her eyelids, cleansing them of makeup. I smile, and she does the same in return. She looks best when she's actually comfortable with how she looks. I write out a new note, passing it to her with a grin.

Is there anything you'd rather be doing right now than sitting at a boring old restaurant with boring old me?

She chuckles, grinning back. "Well, Pinkie said she was going to try to prank Applejack today. Want to see if we can go get in on it?" I nod eagerly, standing from the table as she does and following a much-happier Rainbow Dash to the check-out counter.

Chapter Twenty

I brush a layer of dust off of my shirt, coughing as I step out of the barn. After spending a few hours cleaning out and organizing the old tools and knick-knacks of a local resident, fresh air has never tasted better. Still, the barn looks much nicer; I think the owner is some sort of mechanic. Many of the dusty boxes seemed to be filled with train parts and tools designed for work on trains. It still strikes me as odd that this civilization has invented locomotives, but not electric lighting. Then again, what doesn't strike me as odd here?

Coughing again, I swear a cloud of dust appears from my mouth. Better out than in, I think with a grimace. My facial expression changes slightly as I approach the house of the pony who owns the barn. I often wonder if they watch me the entire time, as the door opens right as I near. An elderly stallion wearing a pair of bifocals stands in the doorway, smiling up at me.

"Y'all done, sonny?" he says, a little louder than necessary. I nod, and go to step back, holding my hand out towards the barn to show him my work. He shakes his head, raising a hoof in protest. "No, no, I trust you did the job." The pony, a burnt-red sort of color, squints at me for a moment. "Lemme' tell yah', that's somethin' we need more of 'round here. Trust." I'm not really sure how to respond, so I just nod in agreement. I agree that the world, any world, needs more trust, but I can understand that I don't really come off as trustworthy to most ponies. Threatening, rather.

I focus again, and see that he's looking out at the barn. "That barn's been a mess as long as I can remember," he says with a laugh. "Used to be an engineer, long time ago. Just mainly fiddle with what I can find, now." The pony smiles distantly in memory. I think to myself that that would be a nice way to spend my days, just tinkering with things, a peaceful but still interesting existence. He snaps out of his trance, as do I, and looks up at me over his glasses. "Well, you probably have better things to do than listen to an old stallion ramble on, eh?" I smile, laughing silently.

He turns, and begins to trot inside. "Let me go getcha' something for your work," he calls behind him. I watch him for a moment, then sigh quietly. I rap my knuckles against the door frame a few times, grabbing his attention. He turns in question, and I shake my head, waving my hand side-to-side as well. "Now, you know very well it's only right if I pay you," he says sternly. I shake my head again, smiling. He stares at me for a while, then sighs. "Are you sure, son? I've got more than I need." I continue to hold my gaze and smile. The old stallion nods, smiling appreciatively. I reach in and close his door for him, then walk away from the home.

I'm looking ahead, but not really seeing anything, my focus elsewhere. I need to stop being nice. I have groceries to buy. I sigh, running a hand through my hair. Some dust follows my hand as it leaves my head. Who am I kidding? If I wanted, I could go find everything in the wilderness. It's not like I'm in the middle of a massive city. I don't have too much use for money, I can afford to be nice. Especially to those who don't have much left in the world. I bring my hands up, looking at them; they're still very dusty. I rub them together for a moment, then wipe them on my pants. A fairly new pair of pants, actually, only a few days old. I had Rarity tailor me a new pair nearly identical to my original pair, as well as a new shirt in the same way. It made it easy for her, but I know she'd cringe if she knew how badly I abuse my clothes. The fact that most of the roads are dirt in this town doesn't help much, though.

I hear a noise that I've come to discern easily now; the sound of beating wings. I look up and to my right, where the sound is coming from. Sure enough, the Pegasus that approaches is the one-and-only Rainbow Dash. I grin, waving at her. She waves a hoof back, speedily coming to my side as I aimlessly walk down the streets of Ponyville. I feel happy every time I see her, light blue face smiling with those huge, cerise eyes that almost always seem full of friendliness.

As she approaches, the drafts of air created by her wings blow some of the dust off of my clothes and skin. She coughs, fanning some of the dust away with a hoof. "What, did you visit Appleoosa today or something?" she manages between coughs. I laugh, or cough, or both. Eventually, she blows all of the dust off of me, and we recover from the minor sandstorm. "So, now that I'm off work, and I know you can't think of anything more fun than hanging out with the most awesome Pegasus ever, whaddya' wanna' do?"

I chuckle for a moment, then rub my prickly face. After a little while, I think of something. Retrieving the crumpled up paper and worn pencil from my pocket, I use my hand as a surface to write on.

Why don't we see if Twilight will cast another cloud-walking spell on me?

Scanning the suggestion quickly, Rainbow Dash grins at me. "That sounds awesome. My tricks look way better when you're close-up, anyways," she says, puffing out her chest a little as she usually does when she speaks with confidence. I smile, and we re-orient ourselves in the direction of Twilight Sparkle's library.

***

We approach the door of the tree house, and I knock a few times before stepping back. After a moment the door is opened by a small, purple-and-green dragon.

"Oh, hey, Mark, hey, Rainbow Dash! What's up?" Spike asks happily.

"Hey, Spike, is Twilight here?" Rainbow asks. "We need her to do a spell for us."

"Yeah, I think she's just cleaning right now. Come on in, I'll go get her." The baby dragon steps away from the door, allowing us inside. I follow my Pegasus friend in, and we stand idly in wait for the violet unicorn. Eventually she appears with Spike trailing behind, both of them smiling at us.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash, Mark, what can I do for you?" she asks cheerfully, glancing between us. I look down to Dash, who takes over for me.

"Think you could do that cloud-walking spell on Mark again?" the sky-blue Pegasus asks.

Twilight taps a purple hoof against her chin for a moment, glancing up in thought. "Hmm...you know...this would be an excellent time to try out the new version of that spell I've been working on..." The unicorn returns to reality, focusing on me. "You see, when you asked me to use that spell...what, a week ago? Yes, something like that. Anyways, I realized that the spell is a very simple one, and could easily be improved. As a sort of side project, I think I've finally come up with a more permanent version of the spell," she explains quickly. "Maybe you could help me, Mark. Could I possibly use you as a control for this spell? I'm not sure of the side effects, so that's your decision to make."

I think for a moment. Well, it's not like anything can go horribly wrong, right? Another moment of reflection. Probably the last words of everyone who's died in a horrific explosion caused by an experiment. I look down at Rainbow Dash to see if she has any thoughts to offer. She shrugs, and her face says why not? I decide that's some good, solid logic, and nod my head to Twilight Sparkle, resident mad scientist.

The violet unicorn smiles happily. "Excellent. I'll go get my goggles. Meet me out back, please," she instructs, trotting away. Oh boy. I glance at Rainbow again, who gives no further help, then turn and walk back out the door, followed by the rainbow-maned pony. We round the trunk of the tree until reaching the rear of the library, where I find Twilight, who wasn't kidding about goggles. Much to my dismay, she actually does look like a mad scientist.

"Alright," she begins. "We might want to get away from the tree, in case of fire or the like. And Rainbow, you'll need to stand back." Dash and I oblige, I heading towards where Twilight moves to, a good thirty yards from the tree house, and the Pegasus trotting over to the tree. "Okay, Mark, just stand still. Sorry if this is painful; it shouldn't be, not according to my calculations." I say a quick prayer to God, Celestia, Luna, whoever might be able to keep me alive.

I watch as Twilight Sparkle calmly closes her eyes as her horn begins to glow faintly with a pink aura. It's a little hard to see in the bright daylight. Soon enough, the aura becomes much clearer. A few sparks of bright magic trail off from the main aura surrounding her horn. My vision begins to tint a pink hue as magic surrounds me, and I start to feel a faint tingling, like my entire body is vibrating, but not heavily so. Twilight remains concentrated as the aura around me grows thicker and darker in color, until--

My vision flashes a blinding white, and my ears ring with an unbelievably high tone. I feel an impact on my back, and know I've lost my balance entirely; the world spins within my own head. It's like I've put a flash-bang grenade into my mouth and let it detonate. Searing pain comes from my fingers and toes. I think I can smell something along the lines of cooked flesh.

I try to blink away the pure white before my eyes, and my vision slowly starts to return, first in black-and-white, then in full technicolor. My hearing does the same, and my orientation starts to return, the effects of whatever just happened being short-lived. I look around, finding that I am lying on the ground; above me are two familiar faces, both looking worried. Twilight, goggles pushed up onto her forehead, looks more relieved as I start to come to. Rainbow Dash looks very worried, and also angry. She looks up; I follow her gaze. High above me and to my front sits a small, dark storm cloud in the sky, atop it a gray Pegasus with a blond mane. Her amber eyes look a bit odd, crossed at different angles.

"Derpy!" Rainbow Dash yells at the aptly named Pegasus atop the cloud. "You're supposed to buck the cloud to get rid of it, not jump on it!" she says with exasperation.

'Derpy' looks down at the storm cloud, mouth forming an 'o' in realization. She hovers off of the cloud, going to one side of it and giving it a hard kick. The cloud promptly disintegrates, much to the satisfaction of the gray pony. "Oops, sorry! Thanks, Rainbow Dash!" she says.

"Yeah, no problem," Dash says with a sigh. Her attention returns to me. "You okay, Mark?" I nod, my face twisting in some mixture of confusion and pain. "You got struck by lightning. Derpy did it on accident, she can be...forgetful, sometimes," she explains upon seeing my look. I just survived a lightning strike? I glance up, saying a quick thanks to whatever decides my fate out there. Then again, I just got struck by lightning...maybe thanks isn't in order. It doesn't really matter, though, because I'm still alive. I bring my hands up to my face, peering at them. The tips of my fingers seem to be burnt a little, and I assume my toes look about the same. All of the hair on my arms is standing on end, as well, much to my minor amusement.

I slowly make my way to my feet, shaking my head in an attempt to clear it. Probably just lost a lot of brain cells. Twilight steps around into my field of view, as does Rainbow Dash, hovering at eye level. "Well, that was...unexpected," the unicorn comments. Understatement of the year. "Are you still up for trying that spell? I never actually finished it, but I was close." I glance down in thought. Can't be worse than getting struck by lightning, I guess. I nod a bit hesitantly. Twilight Sparkle nods as well, turning to head back to her original position a few yards away from me. As she does, I see Dash approach her and give the violet unicorn a stern look.

"Don't you dare hurt him, Twi," she whispers angrily. The violet pony recoils back a little, obviously surprised by Rainbow Dash's sudden ferocity. She nods quickly, then shoos the Pegasus away. If only you knew, Twilight, I muse with a grin to myself. As I watch the unicorn start up the spell again, my mind starts to drift, as it always does. What would her friends think if they knew she liked me the way she does? What would everyone else think? Most of them already probably think I'm the weirdest creature in Equestria, which I likely am...

My focus returns to Twilight standing a short distance away when her horn begins to glow with an almost-blinding brightness. I clench my teeth together as I brace for some sort of unforeseen side-effect. The aura around me again begins to grow deeper in color, eventually tinting the world around me a pure violet color. I shut my eyes, wincing, preparing for...

Pop. I open my eyes upon hearing the noise. The world is back to normal color; Twilight is raising her goggles with a hoof, looking a bit winded from the use of magic. Wait, that's it?

"I think that's it," Twilight says. Okay, so that's it. My ears popped. No lightning. "You should be able to retain the ability to walk on clouds permanently, now. The original spell virtually infused a small amount of false Pegasi magic, which isn't entirely repeatable with unicorn magic, with the user. The spell I made should have infused a strain of Pegasi magic within you that lasts for around two-hundred-seventy-eight years, which, unless you have a very long life span, is basically permanent."

"Wait, shouldn't that mean he can fly and stuff, like I can?" Rainbow Dash chimes in.

Twilight shakes her head, looking back and forth between us as she explains. "No, he can't fly. He can manipulate clouds in a similar fashion to Pegasi, but not to the full extent you all can. Like I said, unicorns can only replicate a crude version of the magic found in Pegasus ponies, a simple version of it. All I did was concentrate that simple magic that allows Pegasi to manipulate clouds very basically, much like a Pegasus foal is able to. All Mark can really do is stand on and push around clouds, if the spell worked properly." The unicorn pauses, giving me a once-over. "Be careful, and watch for signs that the spell is fading or isn't working properly, and please report them to me." She glances to Rainbow Dash. "And Rainbow, please stay close to him as much as you can, in case he starts to fall through the clouds."

Dash flashes a meaningful look at me, coupled with a very quick wink. "Alright, fine..." she says to Twilight. I can tell she is much happier to have been ordered to stay close to me than she makes herself sound. Can't say I'm not happy, either, though. Yet another thought to push to the back of my mind before it starts to go any deeper. The violet unicorn gives her an odd look, glancing between Rainbow and I for a moment. It's not what you think, Twilight. Well...maybe it is? We're just friends...friends who want to be more than that and know it? Gah...

"Well, have fun, you two," Twilight Sparkle says with a friendly smile. "Thank you for letting me use you as a control, Mark. Your help will certainly be noted in my report on this spell." Thanks? I nod, smiling to her. She trots back towards the library, leaving Rainbow Dash and I to our own devices. The light blue Pegasus smiles happily to me, jumping into her usual hover.

"C'mon, I'll go get some clouds so you can get up to my house." I nod, grinning, and start off in a jog towards the floating house of the rainbow-maned pony, alone in the distant sky.

***

I lay on my back, slightly sunken-in to the fluffy cloud. I continue to watch the blue speck in the sky, trailing a perfect rainbow behind it, as I have for the past few hours. She starts to dip down, coming straight towards me. If I didn't know any better, I would probably try to get out of the way, but I do know better, so I stay where I am, watching her dive at me. With flawless timing, Rainbow Dash flares her wings, slowing herself to a stop just over me, where she settles down, placing her hooves on either side of my torso. I grin up at the Pegasus, who grins back, panting a little. Her breath smells nice, kind of spicy. She looks at me closely for a while, in an odd, serious fashion; my grin starts to fade. Please, don't try anything...

The light blue pony jumps back into the air, hovering over to one side. I stand up, feeling a little relieved, and my smile returns. Rainbow aims a hoof towards her tower-like house. "Want something to eat?" I nod, and she waves for me to follow. I do so, tailing the hovering pony into the first floor of her home, which also happens to be the kitchen. I lean against a soft counter while she fishes around in some cabinets. "You like sandwiches?" I nod again. After a moment I realize my definition of a sandwich might be different from hers, but decide not to dispute it for now. She starts arranging pieces of bread, along with flowers of varying sorts, to my minor dismay, on a pair of plates. Dash sets them on the small, low-set table in the room, taking a seat on the floor before one side of the table. I sit down opposite her, folding my legs to get more comfortable on the cloud floor.

I guess flying really shreds through what energy she has; she tears into the meal like she hasn't eaten in a week, as she seems to do often. I take a look at my sandwich, lifting one of the slices of bread. The flowers and stems don't look too appetizing; I scrape them off, then start munching on the bread. We eat in silence for a while, as it appears both of us are fairly famished.

I notice Rainbow Dash eyeing the small pile of plants on my plate as I go to finish off my other slice of bread. I push the plate towards her. "You're not going to eat those?" she asks, a little incredulously. I shake my head; I point at the flowers, then my mouth, then make the universal 'choking' sign, sticking my tongue out for show. She giggles at my display, then quickly devours the flowers that were on my plate. I wonder what flowers taste like to a pony?

Dash pushes the plates away, looking content. I smile, gazing at her for a moment. Friendly, rose-colored eyes, reflecting some of the sunlight in the room. A happy smile on her sky-blue face as she looks back at me. Her mane is messy and wind-blown, but it looks right on her. I idly begin to grin as I recall the memory of our date, sort-of, a few days ago, a little in memory of the actual date, but more in memory of the events following. Man, we nailed Applejack. The old bucket-filled-with-water-on-top-of-the-door prank, except there wasn't a bucket, there was a pie. I don't even know how Pinkie managed to balance a pie on top of that door, but the results were perfect. Applejack was actually more upset that we had wasted a perfectly good apple pie.

My thoughts turn a little more serious as I recall the actual date between Rainbow and I. I like you better when you're you, I quietly think to Rainbow Dash as I look at her across the table. Messed-up mane, bad table manners, pranks and all, I muse happily. A thought appears in my head; I decide I may as well go with it, and start to fumble with my pocket. A fresh piece of paper begins to fill with gray writing after a moment.

Why don't we try that date again?

The Pegasus looks up at me in question, passing the page back. "Whaddya' mean? Like, tonight, tomorrow, when, where?"

Here, now. Nothing fancy. I just want to know more about you. I don't even know your favorite color.

She gives me a look. "Is it that hard?" she asks rhetorically. "They're all my favorite. Duh," she says playfully, holding up part of her mane with a hoof. I smile, chuckling softly. "Okay. That sounds better than going to some fancy-pants restaurant again. So, whaddya' wanna' know about me? You already know I'm super cool, super awesome, and super radical. Is there anything else?" I laugh again, then think up a question.

What do you do for a living?

"Come on, seriously?" She rolls her eyes. "I'm head weatherpony of Ponyville. You've seen me do my job! Ask me something new, you big doof," Dash says with a grin. I smile back, then erase my old question and try again.

Do you like what you do for a living?

"I guess that's better," she comments upon reading the paper. "Yeah, I really like my job. It's kinda' the most awesome job, ever. I mean, I get to basically kick around clouds and boss ponies around every day." I smile, and see she looks like she wants to continue. I watch her, waiting. "I dunno'. I've always wanted to be a Wonderbolt, but...I dunno'. It's dumb. You'd laugh." I shake my head, trying to look serious, but I can't quit smiling when I look at her. I try to tell her with my eyes; I guess it works, because she decides to continue. "I guess I feel like if I become a Wonderbolt, which I totally could, I'd be ditching my friends and Ponyville. 'Cause, y'know, the Wonderbolts are always traveling and stuff. I'd only get to see my friends, like, twice a year...I dunno'," she repeats. I frown, wanting to help her, but knowing it's something she'll have to figure out on her own. I share a piece of advice I've taken to heart.

Whichever path you choose, it will be the right one.

She gives a small smile. "Kinda' cheesy, but I guess it makes sense." I laugh, then go to start my next question. "Hey, whoa, uh-uh, it's my turn to ask a question, now," she says, stopping me. I make a show of setting my pencil down and folding my arms, looking at her and waving my hand in the motion of go on. She smiles, thinking for a moment. "Okay, I've got one. What do you do for a living? I mean, like, I know what you do now, you just do...everything, I guess. But, do you have a special talent or something? Your cutie mark is always covered up because you guys have that weird thing about wearing clothes all the time, so, yeah." I smile at her, then put my thoughts to paper.

I don't have a cutie mark, and I don't think I have a special talent. I've always just taken the jobs that become available to me. I've worked most of my life, dropped out of high school.

"Wait, you don't have a cutie mark, or a special talent?" I shake my head. "Huh..." she observes, peering at the paper again. "What's a 'high' school? I mean, my school was pretty high up, but Pegasi can fly and all." I chuckle to myself, then explain.

It's just higher levels of schooling. I should have stayed in it, but I was much younger and much stupider then. Believe it or not, I'm less young and less stupid, now.

"Yeah, I'm going to go with 'not'." To emphasize her point, she taps my right forearm with a hoof, indicating the scar tissue from a wound caused by taking on a pack of wolves. I notice how soft her hoof is, the fur like velvet against my skin, and uncannily warm. Actual thought registers a moment later, and I laugh softly. Rainbow Dash gives me a look of curiosity, and I hold her gaze. "Why didn't you stay in school? I mean, school is lamer than lame, but still, that's kind of like, y'know, dropping out of flight school before you learn how to fly." I frown, trying to think of some way to explain it away.

Let's just say I had to grow up faster than normal.

Her cerise eyes search mine for a while. She may not be the definition of an intellectual, but she is certainly clever; as hoped and expected, she understands. "Yeah, I get that. I guess I did, too. Alright, your turn," Dash says, changing the subject with flawless flow. My mind lingers on the fact that she might somehow relate, but I push the thought away, thinking up something different.

Much of a pet person?

"Whoa, wait, you haven't seen Tank?" She looks around, then stands up. "Here, c'mon, he's probably hiding out upstairs or something." I stand, smiling as I follow Rainbow Dash up to see Tank.

Chapter Twenty-One

I place a palm on the door to my house and push it open, stepping inside. Letting out a long sigh, I proceed to pop a few of my ligaments, each providing a satisfying crack. I decide something to eat sounds good right about now; I wonder if...oh, boy. My face twists into a frown as I open my icebox, peering at emptiness. I close the lid, stepping back and rubbing my face in thought. Can't even remember the last time my meal had any sort of meat in it...My gaze shifts to a window, and I step over to it, looking outside. I still have a good amount of daylight left, as the sun sits at around a forty-five-degree angle in the afternoon sky. Sighing again, I decide I have to do it.

Setting my jaw in a mixture of distaste and determination, I make my way over to and up the stairs, into my bedroom. Beside my bed lay my tomahawk and dagger; I walk over to them and retrieve them from the floor. Wiping the blades of each off on my shirt, I give the weapons a once-over; satisfied, I slip them into my belt loops, adjusting them until they are secure there. I traverse the stairs once more, then head out the door, preparing a mental checklist.

***

Some dust kicks up around my feet as I jog steadily along the very quiet road that leads from the town of Ponyville to the nearby Everfree forest. I look up and to the west, seeing that I still have plenty of time. Even so, I don't want to spend too much of it in the forest, and I certainly don't want to get caught in the dark. I carry a good-sized net over my shoulder; not Fluttershy's, given that I decided to get myself a net of my own to avoid bothering her too often. I found that a high-grade butterfly net also works well as a fishing net. A little on the pricey side at something like ten bits, but what's that old saying? 'Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime'? It seems to be relevant in some way.

I keep my pace, at this point passing Fluttershy's cottage, alone on the distant outskirts of the town. I don't think I could manage the existence that the timid, yellow Pegasus has. I like my solitude, quite a bit more than most, but completely separating myself from all contact except on a very minor basis would definitely be hard. Yet another odd contradiction I notice about myself; I both hate people in general, yet know that I need them and actually like a lot of them. I suppose that wouldn't really apply here, since I actually like ponies; most don't seem to like me very much, though. Easily understandable.

I feel something make contact with my back; I slow, looking behind me. I see nothing, just an empty road, Fluttershy's cottage, and the town in the distance, in which I can see a few ponies trotting about. Shrugging, I go to turn forward, when I feel the same tap on my back. Spinning around, I see nothing, again. Wait a minute. Another tap on my back; I make like I'm about to turn around, then spin forward again. I point a finger and grin at a sky-blue Pegasus, hovering before me.

"Aww, c'mon! I had you going, there," Rainbow Dash says, grinning back. She looks at my shoulder, then at my waist, then back to me. "What's up with the net, and your weap--oh, wait...you're going to the Everfree, aren't you? Getting fish to eat, right?" I nod in confirmation. Her smile widens. "I could totally come with you! We could kick some wolf flank!" I grimace. It's not as fun as it sounds. "C'mon, please?" she says, clasping her hooves together.

I look into her eyes for a moment. They're filled with her usual confidence and spunk, and a minor amount of pleading. Well, she can certainly look after herself. She's definitely stronger than I am. And Fluttershy did recommend taking someone with me into the Everfree...The thought of 'what if something happens to her' is there, but I decide to push it away. She'll be fine. She can fly, and could probably break my skull with one kick. I nod in submission to the rainbow-maned pony.

"Awesome!" she cries. "C'mon, let's go!" I smile, then start jogging along again as she pulls away excitedly. I reach the entrance to the Everfree within another minute, finding her waiting there for me. She is reading a few of the many warning signs outside the forest, then glancing into the shadowy forest. Rainbow seems a little more hesitant at this point. I give her a nudge, and when she looks at me, a look of question.

"I'm not scared, if that's what you're thinking. I've been in here loads of times," she says, attempting to look confident. She doesn't quite pull it off, though. I know she isn't going to back down, though, a fact that is probably due to my presence, and I still have no intention of wasting what daylight I have left, so I start walking in, waving for her to follow close. She does so, flying steadily by my side. The Pegasus is close enough so that her wings nearly hit me in the face a few times, actually. We quietly walk through the forest, past Zecora's hut, towards the fish-filled river.

I kneel down at the bank of the flowing water once we reach it, lifting the net off my shoulder and setting it into the water. I take a moment to scan around the area, listening closely for anything threatening. All I hear are some birds chirping in the trees above, though, so I focus on collecting fish.

A fair amount of time passes. "Ugh, this is boring," Dash complains. I look over at her and nod in agreement. Boring, but necessary if I want to remain a healthy omnivore. Looking back to the river, a fish starts to approach, traveling with the current. I wait until it's only a few feet away, then drag the net through and out of the water, capturing the fish. Glancing over at Rainbow Dash, I see her look at the fish as it dies slowly from suffocation, then turn away, looking a little green. After the fish is dead and is on the bank beside me, Rainbow peers around me, looking at the still fish. "They aren't too smart, are they?" I chuckle, shaking my head and dipping my net back into the water.

My luck turns around from there. The fish almost seem to jump into my net, and soon I've collected a four good-sized fish from the river. I lift a fifth out of the water; as it begins the process of dying, I look towards the sky, trying to see through the trees. The sky is starting to darken; I figure we ought to get going, soon. I turn my head, looking over to Rainbow Dash, who still looks sort of sickly. She manages a smile at me anyways. Her smile doesn't register for me, though; what does is movement behind her, quick, predatory movement.

Without much further thought, I spring out of my crouched stance, lunging for Dash. I tackle her square in the chest, grabbing onto her and twisting around mid-air so that I hit the ground first. I ignore her "What the hay?!" of surprise, gently but quickly pushing her off of me. As the mess of light blue and rainbow disappears from my view, I see more clearly what had just caused my last second or two of reaction.

A horrific beast of some sort skids to a halt on the bank beside the river. Upon first glance, it looks much like a grizzly bear, very stocky and covered in thick, brown fur. As the milliseconds tick by, though, more and more detail begins to register. I first notice the face of the creature; it has the snout and general facial structure of a bear. However, a set of horns protrudes from just before its ears, and a set of tusks extends from its jaws. The hind end of the beast is also very odd in appearance; it looks more like that of a bull, with much shorter fur and the thinner legs of a bull. On closer observation, I see the creature has cloven hooves on its hind legs, as well. Overall, it strikes me as a combination of three animals: a bear, a bull, and a boar. Three animals I have never had any desire to even encounter, much less fight.

Jesus Christ, you have got to be kidding me! My weapons are already in my hands; I'm not sure where Rainbow is. All I'm sure of is that she didn't get impaled by that charging bear/bull/boar. I watch motionlessly and completely silently as the beast sniffs the fish on the ground. Come on, just take them, leave us alone...It swipes the dead fish aside with a huge front paw, turning towards us, maybe just me; I still can't see Dash, especially with my increasing tunnel vision. It focuses on something to my right; I take a quick glance in that direction, and see the small, light blue Pegasus, eyes wide, seemingly as frozen as I am.

My attention returns to the unholy being before me; I start running through options at light speed in my head. Okay, can't outrun a bear, or a bull, probably not even a boar. Can't climb a tree, bears can climb. Dash can fly out of here, I can't. My only options are to fight or hope for a miracle. Fight a bear, bull, boar combination. God damn it. My grip tightens on my weapons, and I see my knuckles turn white in my peripheral. I take another look down to Rainbow Dash; her eyes remain locked on the creature a few yards away. I slowly reach down and lightly give her a tap on the shoulder with the butt of my tomahawk. She jumps a little, then looks up at me. She looks conflicted, as if she wants to do something, but she's too fear-stricken to do anything. I see the thing paw at the ground, lowering its head for another charge. I jerk my head away from the creature, signaling for Rainbow to go. She looks at me, then at the beast, then shakes her head, setting her jaw and narrowing her eyes. Damn it! I jerk my hand away from the creature this time, but again she holds her ground. God damn it, Rainbow Dash, go!

A roar tears my vision away from the sky-blue pony as the bear-bull-boar begins its charge. It nears at a ridiculous speed, and I barely have enough time to dive out of the way. I recover quickly, and spin around to see Rainbow also managed to get out of the way. Knowing my opportunity will be gone all too soon, I lunge for the creature while its back is turned. I near the neck, but it turns at exactly the wrong time, causing me to back off as fast as I can. I know that the only chance I have to kill it is the neck, given the general thickness and toughness of bears, bulls, and even boars.

It swings its head towards me, four horns aimed straight for my chest; I strafe out of the way, then throw my left arm towards it. The dagger hits flesh, then bone; I realize I've hit the shoulder. The beast rears back on its hind legs, those of a bull, raising its front paws in fury and letting loose a roar of anguish. Great, I've pissed it off. I attempt to take advantage of the opening that appears while it reacts from the wound, swinging my right arm up towards its neck; the thing towers over me by at least a yard when on its hind legs. It is just a little faster than I am, though, and swings a huge arm at my own. The tomahawk is thrown out of my hand, sticking into the ground a short distance away. Before I even have time to think, it brings its other paw around, smashing me in the chest.

I am lifted off my feet and the wind is knocked out of me. I hit the ground, hard, only a few feet away from my tomahawk. My dagger has fallen out of my hand as well. I inhale sharply, gasping in a breath as I try to get back to my feet; judging by the stab of pain in my upper-left chest, I think the creature may have bruised some ribs, possibly broken some; I'm lucky it didn't completely liquefy my torso. I quickly find my luck has run out, though, as my blurred vision catches the beast nearing me. It comes to a stance over top of me, bear's paws on either side of my shoulders, bull's legs and boar's hooves on either side of my legs. As its face approaches mine, I realize this thing's either going to try and spear my head or just start biting chunks out of it.

It comes towards me, jaws open. I'm able to get my hands up just in time to grab on to the horns protruding from its face; I get one hand on an actual horn, the other on a tusk. I push back with all my might, but know this thing is too strong for me to hold off much longer. From its throat comes a deafening roar of anger at my resistance; its breath smells of a scent I can only describe as death. My eyes dart over to one side; I see both of my weapons, fairly close to one another, and barely within arm's reach. My thoughts race, trying to determine whether or not I should risk letting go of its horns to attempt a grab at a weapon.

A blur of light blue slams into the side of the creatures face, causing it to stumble off of and away from me. Fairly stunned, I follow the beast with my eyes. For a moment I watch as Rainbow Dash darts around and over the thing, flying fast enough to create a rainbow trail around it. I can't tell if she's seriously trying to harm it or if she's just toying with it; it looks like both. Every so often she'll stop mid-air, giving the creature a hard buck to the head, back, or side. And every time she does, it gets angrier and angrier.

"Come on, ugly! Try harder!" Dash cries, giving the thing a swift kick on the nose. I'm back on my feet, knowing that it's past angry at this point. I retrieve my weapons, turning hard and dropping low as I aim myself towards the bear, bull, boar, whatever it is. I charge as quickly as I can towards where it and Rainbow continue to battle; I'm not fast enough, though. Swiping almost aimlessly through the air, a giant paw makes contact with the small Pegasus mid-air. I am filled with an unbelievable rage even before seeing the results of the attack; knowing this thing may have even ruffled Rainbow Dash's fur is enough to make me want to watch it die.

And I do watch it die. I swing my tomahawk as hard as I can towards its neck, lodging it in deep. As I tear out the ax-like blade, the creature lets out a roar of pure pain and surprise; the only thing I hear is my heart pounding in my ears, adrenaline blocking out everything else. My right arm swings down again, and again, and again; blood stings my eyes, but I don't care. Another roar, this one more of a gurgle as it begins choking on its own blood. I continue to hack at its neck, though, receiving almost no resistance from the beast. It falls away from me, hitting the ground; with all my might, I bring the tomahawk down hard into its neck a final time, then release my grip. I raise my right leg, stomping hard onto the opposite end of the small ax lodged in the creature's neck, driving it all the way through. I pull out the gory tomahawk, surveying my work for a moment; it's definitely dead, and nearly decapitated. The idea of overkill doesn't register. What does is the well-being of Rainbow Dash.

I look around frantically, spotting the light blue form only a few yards away. My entire body relaxes as I see she is standing on all four hooves, and doesn't look badly injured. I spot a red gash on her left hind leg, and her left wing looks a little bent out of shape, possibly scratched as well. I continue to do my visual check on her; she generally seems okay, except for her face. Her face isn't injured, but it's her eyes that create a spark of worry within me. She stares unblinking at the carcass of the bear-bull-boar creature, specifically at the particularly nasty neck area. Her gaze shifts a fraction of an inch, to the bloodied weapons in my hands, then goes back to the dead beast on the ground before me.

Without warning, she vomits. I drop my weapons, starting off in a slowly accelerating jog towards her. She collapses, hitting the forest floor with a dull thud. I sprint the rest of the distance to her, sliding down to my knees in front of the sky-blue pony. God, please, no...please be okay...I can't lose you, too...My head immediately drops down to hers, and I hold an ear near her snout as I bring a bloody hand to her neck, pressing lightly with my thumb against the bottom of her chin.

A slow, warm breath brushes into my ear, and I feel a steady tha-thump against my thumb. I nearly start crying with relief. Okay, she's just passed out. She's okay. Thank God, Celestia, Luna, whatever is watching over me and her. I gently set her head down on the ground again, standing up. Keeping ninety percent of my focus on the unconscious Pegasus, I pick up my weapons from the ground, wiping them on the fur of the creature as I pass by. I go to turn around and go back to get the pony, but notice something a short distance away. It's the small cluster of fish, still lying on the ground, untouched by anything as of yet. Shaking my head and smiling a little, I go over to the fish, tossing them into my butterfly-fishing net. These things are more trouble than they're worth, I think as I glance down at myself. My shirt is completely coated with blood that is not my own, as are most of my pants.

I walk back over to Rainbow Dash, still scanning the area for anything else. Everything, even the birds, seem to have gone into hiding; I notice that it's getting dark, as well. I set the net and the fish on the ground, slowly and carefully sliding my hands under the small, light blue pony. I'm grateful she doesn't weigh much, as I'm sure that if she were actually heavy, me and my likely-broken ribs would have to drag her out of this godforsaken forest. I manage to wrap an arm under her chest, grab the net off the ground, stand back up, and wrap my other arm under her. I look around for a moment, orienting myself before walking as quickly as I can manage back towards civilization.

I contemplate stopping by Zecora's or even Fluttershy's to seek some medical assistance, but I figure there's not really much either of them could do for us. Bruised, even broken ribs usually seem to heal on their own, I don't have any open wounds, and Dash's are fairly minor. Probably still need to clean them, though...I hope her wing isn't too badly damaged. I step up the pace as the shadows continue to grow.

I make it out of the forest as the last of the sun starts to dip below the horizon. Glancing down, I see that Dash remains asleep, her head now lolling against my chest. I gently shift her around a little, making sure none of her wounds make contact with my shirt; I don't want her getting infected by or having a reaction to the blood on my clothes. We pass Fluttershy's cottage, now dark and quiet. I muse for a moment the fact that ponies seem to run on a sunup to sundown schedule, and staying up much later seems to take its toll on them.

Thankfully, the roads are fairly clear, with only a few ponies milling about, likely trying to get home. Even still, I take as many alleys and shortcuts as I can, trying to steer clear of any attention. They're already scared, maybe even repulsed, by me, enough. Don't need them thinking I've gone and killed someone. I think I manage to keep myself concealed well enough so that I'm not spotted; the general darkness and emptiness of the night helps. I push in the door to my dark house, hurriedly setting down my net to free up a hand. As the door closes, I use the last outside light to find my way to the lantern and ignite it. A dim, yellow glow fills the room, giving it a very calm essence.

I grab the lantern, carrying it with me into the bathroom. Setting down the pony in my arms as carefully as I can, I turn the lantern on fully, lighting up the room. I observe Rainbow Dash for a moment; she sleeps peacefully, unaware of the blood, neither hers nor mine, that mats her fur, the cut on her hind leg that isn't bleeding very much, her injured wing that doesn't look broken, but still bends at an odd angle, or even the fact she's out of harm's way and in my house. Looking down at myself, I decide I'm probably not fit to try and clean her up, given my own state. I strip off my shirt and pants, leaving me in my undergarments,--hopefully she doesn't mind--and toss them into a corner, where I make note to clean them thoroughly later.

My mind starts to churn as I think out what to do next. I take a quick look at the unconscious Pegasus a last time, then leave the bathroom. I quickly make my way through my house, maneuvering up the stairs. I blindly stumble around for a while up there, searching for my other set of clothes. Wincing in pain as I bend down, I reach under my bed and grab the clean shirt and pair of pants, then hurry back downstairs. I decide to put on my pants, make myself at least half-respectable, but keep the shirt off.

I set the shirt aside as I re-enter the bathroom, where I pick up the small pony once more. I bring her over to the bathtub, setting her near the back so the water won't hit her immediately. I flip on the tap, getting the water fairly hot. Grabbing my clean shirt, I use it as a washcloth of sorts, wetting it down with the hot water before bringing it over to Rainbow.

Her face twists a little in her slumber as I wipe the shirt against the gash on her hind leg, being as gentle as I can. The creature in the forest hit her just below her cutie mark with its swing, as well as clipping her left wing. I clean the area as best I can, and notice it's already starting to scab over. I find it odd that a gash like that could heal that quick, but I suppose she is in excellent health, and decide to let my mind wander later.

My focus turns to her injured wing. There are a few cuts along the base; I rinse out the shirt and slowly move towards the wing. I place my free hand along its edge, intending on giving it some support while I clean it. The wing is amazingly soft, softer than anything I've ever felt; I pause for a moment, a little stunned by the texture beneath my fingertips. Shaking my head, I resume what I was doing. Carefully bringing the makeshift washcloth closer to her wing, I press lightly against one of the cuts.

Much to my surprise, Rainbow Dash jolts awake with a whinny of pain. She attempts to scramble to her hooves, finding that she can't get a grip on the slippery interior of the bathtub. Her eyes go wise with panic, darting everywhere, eventually landing on me; she blinks a few times, then relaxes. She winces, looking back at her wing. Seeing the rest of her, which is mainly covered in blood, she slams her eyes shut, the wince becoming a grimace. The Pegasus waves a light blue hoof towards me, gritting her teeth and letting me resume cleaning her wing. It seems to be pretty sensitive, given the occasional gasp or grunt of pain from her. I finish as quickly as I can muster while not beating her up too badly.

I eventually give her a tap on the shoulder, and when she opens her eyes, point towards the shower stream. She nods, and with some help from me, pushes herself to her hooves, stepping into the shower of hot water. Blood-tinted water runs down the drain, and soon her fur is back to its usual sky-blue. I switch off the water, then help her out of the bathtub. I grab a towel and dry her off, careful to avoid her injured wing. She complies with me the entire time, allowing me to dry her off and then tie my shirt around her leg as a bandage of sorts. I can't do much for her wing, given the general sensitivity of it.

I finish off the knot, hoping it will keep her from bleeding too much more and that it will keep her from being infected with anything. I crab-walk back in my crouched position, coming around to face her. She smiles gratefully to me, her rose eyes reflecting the light of the lantern.

On an impulse that comes from seemingly nowhere, I reach forward and wrap my arms around her in a tight hug, still avoiding her left wing. I pin her to my chest, pushing the side of my neck against hers; she feels warm and soft, that impossible softness that is hard to replicate in any way. I realize how close I came to losing her, how dangerously stupid it was for me to drag her into that. I realize I never want to lose her, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I'm not going to lose her like I've lost everything else. I clamp my jaws together, trying to fight back my moistening eyes, but to little avail. A tear of happiness, sadness, determination, maybe all three, slowly rolls down my face. I'm not going to lose you.

"Uhh...it's kinda' hard to...breathe..." Rainbow Dash gasps over my shoulder. I release my grip, smiling in embarrassment as I quickly wipe off my face. "Hey, you alright?" she asks quietly. I nod, smiling to her. Her eyes search mine for a moment, then she nods, smiling as well. I stand up, picking up the lantern as I do. I see Dash look back to her wing and attempt to move it, resulting in a frown form her.

"Looks like I just sprained it real bad. It'll be good by tomorrow," she explains. I raise an eyebrow, a little confused; that fast? I decide I can ask in the morning, though. "Cool if I crash here tonight?" Rainbow asks, probably knowing my answer very well. I nod, smiling to her before beckoning for her to follow me. I lead her upstairs, helping her up the steps where I can, and offer my bed to her. I watch as she hops in, making herself comfortable under the blankets, then head back downstairs. I flop down on the couch, deciding I could probably fall asleep on the floor if I wanted to, and close my eyes.

***

"Hey, uh, Mark?" I open my eyes, letting them adjust to the darkness for a moment. Before me stands Rainbow Dash, tilted sideways from my perspective. I lift my head in acknowledgement. "I...uhm...I couldn't sleep." I see the reason why in her eyes, full of fear and repulsion at a bad memory relived as a dream. I immediately shift back on the couch, making as much room as I can for the pony. She gives a lopsided smile, seemingly both ashamed and grateful, then clambers up onto the couch with me. The sky-blue Pegasus curls up in front of me, her warmth radiating onto my chest and stomach. She smiles at me, then closes her eyes, burying her head in my chest, silky mane brushing against my skin. I carefully wrap my arms around Dash, pulling her close to me and letting sleep carry me away.

Chapter Twenty-Two

I open my eyes in a squint, blinking a few times to adjust to the bright light that floods into the room. Once I can focus, I glance around the room; it is empty--no, wait. It isn't quite empty. A mass of out-of-place color sits just at the bottom of my field of view; I look down. A small, sky-blue Pegasus pony with a rainbow-colored mane lies curled up against me, sleeping peacefully. As her chest rises, inhaling slowly, she snores softly, and I feel her cool breath on my chest. She feels warm and soft, her fur like velvet, mane like silk. Looking a little farther down, I see that her left wing, the one I thought was injured, is tucked neatly back at her side; my matte black shirt remains tied around her hind leg.

I watch her sleep for a minute, savoring the feeling of peace that fills me. The calmness of the air, peaceful but not lonely, the warmth on my bare torso that seems to fill my whole body, the general sense that things are good. Sadly, that feeling doesn't last very long; it never does. What kicks me back into reality is the pain I feel in the side of my chest when I take in a deep breath. I stifle my jolt of surprised pain, barely. Grimacing, I slowly take an arm off of Rainbow Dash, moving my hand to my rib cage. I lay my hand against where I feel the burn of pain, then press in a little. There is a burst of pain from the area, and I grind my teeth; I know now that the ribs are just bruised, though, badly.

Carefully letting out my breath, I decide it's time to get up. My gaze shifts to Dash, who gives a little snore. I don't want to wake her up, but I'm going to anyways if I get off the couch. Figuring I could wake her up in a better way than that, I move my free hand, the one not pinned under the sleeping pony, up to her head, setting it down gently on her mane. Remembering a way my mother used to wake me up, I slide my hand from the top of her mane to the bottom a few times, then pat her lightly on the shoulder until I see her eyes open. Cerise irises, bright as ever in the light of the morning, are revealed, focusing on me for a moment. Rainbow smiles tiredly at me, and I smile back, removing my hand from her shoulder.

She pushes herself up a little, scanning around before pulling herself off the couch. Once she's on her hooves, I sit up. The Pegasus stretches, tensing up her whole body and flaring her wings. It occurs to me that she has an extremely athletic build; she reminds me of a race horse, but smaller, more colorful, cuter. And she has wings. She looks back at said wings, the left one in particular, flexing it as she admires it. The wing looks like it's in perfect health; I can't even see any remnants of the cuts that were on it. Rainbow Dash folds her wings to her sides, eyes locking onto her leg. Craning her neck, she grabs a hold of my shirt, pulling it out of the knot. I raise my eyebrows in surprise and confusion at what I see; her leg is flawless once more, not even a scar to tell the tale.

The light blue pony takes a few steps up to me, holding out my shirt in her mouth. I take it slowly, looking at her in amazement. "What?" she asks, scratchy voice filling the air. I point at her hind leg, then her wing, wondering if she understands my confusion. "My leg, and my wing? What about them? They're all better, now. Didn't you know ponies heal pretty fast?" I shake my head, eyebrows still raised. "Yeah. I broke my wing this one time, messed up a trick, got a little too close to the ground. I was good in a few days. That's when I read my first Daring Do book, y'know," she adds. "Totally worth it." She grins, and I laugh quietly.

I look down at the shirt in my hands, turning it over a few times. I don't see any blood on it, at all; I suppose her wound had healed fast enough to stop the bleeding even before I tied the shirt around it. It's definitely cleaner than my other shirt, which is probably a horrible black-red color at this point, and it probably doesn't smell too great, either. I decide I could use a shower, and stand up.

"Oh, Celestia!" Rainbow says in some degree of horror. I look down quickly, following her gaze...back to myself. She is looking at the left side of my chest, which happens to be a deep red-purple in color. Whoa. That definitely left a mark...I raise my left arm out to the side subconsciously, peering at the damage. After a moment I realize Dash has turned away out of squeamishness; I don't blame her. I carefully transfer my shirt over and pin it between my left arm and my chest, covering the bruise. I tap her on the shoulder, and she peeks over at me, fully looking upon seeing I've covered up my wound. "Bleh," she comments, sticking her tongue out and shaking her head a little.

Having grabbed her attention again, I point at the bathroom, then at her, giving a look of question. She looks at me for a moment, then I see it click. "Oh, no, I'm good. I've already had my bath, thank you very much," she says with a playful smile. I return the smile, then head off to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I flip on the shower, getting it to a comfortable temperature before stripping down and hopping in. The warm water feels nice, and is a much better way to wake up than a stab of pain in the chest. I close my eyes, sighing and letting myself relax.

"Hey, don't you always keep apples in one of the cupboards?"

I nearly slip and fall, spinning halfway around to see Rainbow Dash poking through the door to the bathroom. Panicking, I try to cover myself up as best I can, using one hand to shoo her away.

"Oh, right, you guys are weird about being naked. Sorry!" she says casually and cheerfully before pulling out of the bathroom, closing the door. I stare in some remaining surprise at the door for a while. Did she do that on purpose? Or is it really not that big of a deal? Either way, I finish my shower quickly and get dressed in fairly clean clothes.

I walk out of the bathroom, feeling much better. I'm not sure whether or not I should be upset with Rainbow or not; I decide probably not, since they really do walk around naked all the time. I wonder if wearing clothes for them is like being naked for me? I push the thought away, walking over to the table and sitting down across from the rainbow-maned mare, who has my sack of apples on the table, out of which she is eating a shiny, red apple. I pull an apple out, as well, and start biting into it. I try and catch Dash's eye as we eat, but she seems to be devoting all of her concentration to her breakfast. We each manage to scarf down two apples a piece; I recall not having had anything other than breakfast the previous day.

I finish my second apple shortly after her, setting the core on the table. Feeling satisfied, I lean back in my chair for a moment, sighing contentedly. The light blue pony does the same, extending and stretching out her wings before tucking them against her sides again. I reach out and grab the sack of apples in my left hand, and manage to grab all four cores in my right. Standing, I travel to the door, tossing the cores outside, then return to my cabinets, replacing the apples where I usually store them. I walk back over to the table, slumping down in the chair and resting my arms in a folded manner on the table.

I notice Rainbow Dash is looking at my right hand, which rests on top of my left elbow, intently. I watch her watch me for a minute; eventually she glances up, noticing I'm staring at her. She seems to think for a moment, then goes back to looking at my hand. I take my hand off my arm, moving it to the center of the table, where I lay it palm-down. A glance up to me, then back at the top of my hand. She leans in closely to it; I smile to myself. I let her peer at it for a while, then, as her face is hovering only a few inches away, I make my hand jerk quickly. Much to my pleasure, she jumps, letting out a yelp of surprise. She half-scowls, half-grins at me.

"Not cool." I grin back, pulling my hand back in. Her gaze travels with it; she seems pretty interested in my hands. I don't really question why; hands are pretty interesting in comparison to hooves. Her magenta eyes meet mine once more. "Can I hold your...what's it called? A hand?" I nod, then hold out said appendage to her, smiling to myself in amusement. To my mild surprise, I feel a pull on my hand as her front hooves 'grip' it. It's like a magnetic pull of sorts, just without magnets. I decide to brush the issue aside, assuming it has something to do with magic.

She turns my hand over, observing my palm. I hear a whisper of 'Whoa,' and feel her breath on my hand. Dash gently rubs her light blue hoof against the lines in my hand; her hoof feels oddly tough, yet is still as soft as the rest of her seems to be. I let her hoof trace my palm for a while, then smile to myself again. I close my fingers around her soft, blue fur, holding firmly but not too tightly. Rainbow recoils a little in surprise, then goes back to being curious, observing each of my fingers as they grip onto her foreleg. After a few seconds, she tries to shake my hand off; I continue to hold on, smiling. She tries harder, waving her foreleg around; I keep my grip, grinning at her.

"C'mon, let go!" she says, laughing. I hold on a little longer, then let go, finding myself chuckling as well. Moving my hand back to the center of the table, I find her attention is still on it. I idly wiggle my fingers about, sometimes correlating them, sometimes clenching my hand into a fist. She watches the show for a while, until I pull my hand back in towards me. I give her a look of question, then point at one hand with the other.

Rainbow Dash smiles sheepishly. "Sorry. Guess it's kind of weird for me to be staring at your hands, isn't it?" I shrug. "It's just...well, it's kinda' weird, but they're almost like little, tiny, featherless wings. See?" She opens one of her wings to its full length, then starts moving it about. My face twists in surprise as I watch her flex the sky-blue wing; it seems almost impossibly flexible, semi-separate parts of it bending much like fingers as well as bending like a normal wing. I realize at some point that my mouth hangs slightly open, and I clamp my jaws shut, continuing to watch the wing with interest. I recall the previous night, how her wing felt; frowning to myself, I decide being a little curious couldn't hurt.

I point at her outstretched wing, raising my eyebrows in question. She looks at her wing, then back at me; she seems a little hesitant. "Yeah, I guess you can touch it. Careful, though, these things break easily," Dash says with a grin. I smile, nodding in thanks, then push away from the table, hopping out of my chair. I step around the side of the table, kneeling down so that I'm just above eye-level with her wing, which she now holds at half-mast. I carefully reach out towards the light blue wing, feeling like an explosive ordnance disposal expert at the moment.

Her wing twitches ever-so-slightly as my fingers brush against it. I run my hand along some of the feathers, holding loosely onto one with my forefinger and thumb for a moment. It feels like a normal feather, downy and light, but is much larger in comparison to even birds of prey. The realization that, up close, the cartoon-like appearance of the wing disappears, and I'm able to see each of the feathers in detail. Thinking back, the same logic seems to apply everywhere else, from a mottled mess of what represents a treeline becoming actual, individual trees, who in turn have individual leaves upon closer inspection, to the table I kneel beside, where the lines and marks in the table can be seen if one looks closely. Maybe something with the atmosphere here, I muse, then return my focus to the wing in front of me. Wow. All in all, it is absolutely fascinating, and to say the least, beautiful. My hands have nothing on these, I think with a quiet laugh. I bring my hand up a last time, gently running my fingers from the base of the wing to the tip--

My eyes instinctively close as something soft smacks into my face at a pretty good speed. I blink a few times, realizing the soft thing is still pressing against the side of my face. I glance over, then duck down, letting the wing flare out all the way above my head. I move out from under it, going back into a kneeling position a little farther away from Rainbow Dash so I can see her. Her sky-blue face is tinted with a heavy blush, and her rose-colored eyes are filled with panic.

"Oh my gosh! I...I tried to keep them down! I'm so sorry! I--I didn't mean to, I...oh, Celestia..." she says rapidly, still blushing furiously. I wave my hand back and forth, trying to give her a look that says it's okay. Some of the panic leaves her eyes and face, and she glances down. "They'll go down soon. Sorry," Dash says quietly, obviously very embarrassed. I wait until she looks at me again, then smile to her. Behind my face, I store away the fact that Pegasus wings are pretty sensitive, in all forms of the word, into the high-priority section of my figurative memory bank. Okay, don't want to make that mistake again. Especially not in public. My stomach flip-flops a little; I know very well why her wings reacted the way they did at this point. Subject change, think of one, now! My hand reaches for my pocket, only to grasp onto nothing. Other pants...I quickly stand, heading for the bathroom, where I retrieve my pencil and paper from my pants pocket. Sitting down at the table again, I pass her a hastily scribbled note.

Want to help me out today?

Rainbow looks at me, possibly a little confused. "Just doing the random jobs and stuff you usually do?" I nod in affirmation. "Well, I don't have to work today, weekend an' all. Guess you just work whenever you want to, right?" I nod again, showing a friendly smile. Keeping my focus on her eyes, my peripheral catches her wings starting to dip slightly. There we go. She smiles back, large, cerise eyes looking happy again. "Sure, I'll help yah'. You'll be able to help everypony in town in ten seconds flat with me around!" She puffs out her chest, giving me her trademark smirk of confidence and spreading her wings under her own control. I grin at her, then stand, followed by her to the door.

***

The afternoon sun burns a bright orange, just now able to be looked at without risking permanent eye damage. I've always wondered why it is the sun changes in color during sunrises and sunsets, much as how I wonder why the sky is blue. I know there has to be some sort of scientific explanation out there, but quite honestly, it's more fun just wondering. Rainbow Dash and I walk along a familiar path; she leads by a short distance, hovering a head or so in front of me at my side. I don't really know why she feels like going to the lake, but I'm not complaining, and understand a little; it's just a nice place to spend the day, especially the end of it.

We reach the bank running around Luna Lake. Rainbow sits down, looking up at me and watching as I do the same to her left, drawing up my left knee and resting my elbow on it while my other hand lies flat on the ground. I look out over the lake, watching as a pair of ducks swim about near the center, quacking happily every so often. The lake manages to reflect the sun perfectly, as it does with the moon, as well, making the shimmering water appear a red-orange in color.

"Hey, Mark?" I look over at the sky-blue pony. "Uh...thanks," she says softly, giving me a small smile. I furrow my brow a little, blinking in question. She turns and looks back out over the lake. "For yesterday. I never thanked you. You saved my flank," Dash says with a chuckle. I'm about to protest, say that she did the same for me, but she reaches out with her left hoof and places it on my arm, stopping me. "Yeah, I know, you're gonna' say, 'but you saved my flank, too', or somethin' like that, but don't. All I did was get that thing off you. What you did..." She trails off, sitting quietly for a moment. She looks over at me again for a second.

"Oh, sorry for...uh, kinda' losing my cool. I guess I can't do blood too well, and...well, that was pretty messy." I give an odd smile that is also a wince, both proud and shameful of my reaction to the creature. It probably didn't need to have its head half-disconnected from the rest of its body. "I saw all of that, by the way. You..." Again, she stops, seemingly unable to describe what I did. "Well, it was awesome. Not what you did, but...you did it because of me. When that thing hit me, you went nuts on it," she explains, chuckling again. I laugh quietly as well, knowing that she's right. I remember the anger I felt, the pure, unfiltered fury at seeing her hurt. "I mean, I thought I was loyal, but you've definitely got me beat me there."

Another laugh, then a sigh. Her eyes meet mine again. "Sorry. I'm not real good with words. I bet Twilight could say what I want to, the way I want to, just like that," she says, stamping her hoof lightly on the ground to emphasize her point. "Just...thanks. For kickin' that thing's flank, for me. And for letting me hang out with you." She pauses, her voice softening. "For being there for me. Thanks."

I smile to her. After a moment, I bring my right arm off the ground and wrap it around her back, careful to rest my arm just above her wings. I slowly pull her against my side, wrapping my hand around her other shoulder. I see her look up at me in question out of the corner of my eye, but keep my gaze on the lake as it reflects and refracts the bright, red ball of fire in the distance. The muscles in her back shift beneath my arm, and I feel the gentle press of her outstretched wing against my back.

She leans her head against my shoulder, and I tilt my head to the side, resting it atop hers. We sit together on the bank of the lake, watching the sun settle below the horizon. Right back at you, Rainbow Dash.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I push open the doors of the town hall, stepping out into the bustling town square with a mild feeling of satisfaction. Having accepted two of the 'help wanted' papers push-pinned to the bulletin board--one of which I enjoyed quite thoroughly, as it involved tearing down an old, unused tool shed--I returned to the town hall with the intent of accepting yet another, only to find none were left. I've had it happen to me before, but usually there are enough odd jobs to last me a little while if I take a few of them each day. Even still, there is a sense of accomplishment, as if I have beaten my own challenge to see if I can clear that board of jobs.

As I think about it, subconsciously walking along the route that leads to my house, I wouldn't want to make my living any other way. Not only is it nice to have a different thing to do, a different place to see, a new person--pony--to meet nearly every time I accept a job, but the feeling of having helped someone, having done a good deed, is there. Definitely better than the monotony of a menial labor job. I let my mind continue to wander. I realize something after a minute: not once has a specific pay been described on the papers describing the jobs, nor have I ever asked for any pay. I have rejected it a few times, though. Every pony I have done something for has offered to pay me, usually a fair amount, often more than fair. Maybe they trust me a little more than I realize. My focus returns to what I see ahead of me; a few ponies pass by me, none I recognize. The don't make eye contact, or try not to, and make sure they aren't even close to making actual physical contact. Maybe.

Certainly a nice change from the city, I suppose. Shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone on the sidewalks, be they an average joe or a street wino who smells like he hasn't showered once in his life; and maybe he hasn't. It would be nice if this sleepy little town was more active at night, but I won't complain. I glance up as I round a corner on habit; Moonlight Avenue reads a wooden sign on a pole, pointing down my road. Well, not really my road, but the road my house is on. I casually stroll down the street, turning off at my house, number eleven.

I sigh to myself once I close the door behind me, not really sure what to do at this point. Maybe Rainbow Dash is off work today? No, it's somewhere around a...Friday? I count off the days in my head, trying to remember what day it is. I'm pretty sure it's Friday; yeah, I got smacked by a bear-thing around six days ago. I look down, lifting my shirt. My ribs are looking a lot better, most of the bruising gone at this point. Still hurts when I take in a really deep breath, though, or when you press on them hard enough.

Plus, it was overcast all morning. She is good at her job, though, really good, so maybe she'll get off early. I grab an apple out of the cabinet, then take a seat at the table, propping up my legs and leaning back. I slide my tomahawk out of my belt loop and begin flipping it in one hand, concentrating on letting it do a full flip before grabbing the handle again.

I miss Dash. The quietness of my house only reminds me of that, my lack of things to do even more. I haven't really hung out with her much since the past weekend; her week's been busy, as a whole two days of rain for the farmers of Ponyville was scheduled. She explained the clouds had to be made in Cloudsdale, floating Pegasus metropolis not too far from here, then distributed here, arranged, manipulated to expand and cover a larger area, basically 'activated' to initiate the rain, cleaned up, and then the whole process had to be repeated a few days later, to prevent the soil from not absorbing all the water and flooding. And having to direct all of that leads to very long days and a very tired Pegasus at the ends of those days.

The sweet flavor of the apple fills my mouth, and I toss my weapon a few more times. Maybe I could go find her. Can't be that hard, right? Wrong, given how expansive the sky is and how limited my access to it is. And for all I know, she could be doing things on the ground, as well. I sigh to myself. I don't like sitting here, doing nothing. I would much rather be doing something undoubtedly awesome with my sky-blue fr--

A series of rapid knocks against the door across from me interrupts my thoughts. I take my feet off the table, slip my tomahawk back into my belt loop, and go to stand up, grabbing my late lunch as I do. The door opens quickly, and a very excited-looking Pegasus with a multicolored mane tumbles in. I smile big, immediately filled with happiness and some relief.

"Mark! Mark! Oh my gosh! Alright, so, I was kicking this cloud, right? And then when it went all poof, and the sunshine hit it, it made this little rainbow! And I was like, 'no way, I know what I can show Mark'! I can't believe I haven't shown you it yet! It's undeniably, unquestionably the coolest, most awesome, most radical thing ever!" she gushes, gasping in a breath. "C'mon! Let's go!" Laughing to myself, I nod eagerly and follow her outside.

She leads the way, bubbling with energy. Every so often, she'll tell me to hurry up; I keep a steady jog, knowing if I go much faster, I'll run out of stamina quicker. Rainbow keeps talking to herself, saying things like, "Can't believe I forgot", or "Yeah, this weather's perfect". After a few minutes, I find she's led us to her house. Or more, the ground beneath her house. She glances around, frowning.

"Aww, hay! Forgot that I cleared all the clouds today..." Her focus shifts to her floating house; I can see her mind working. She turns quickly to me, putting out a hoof. "Stay here, I'll be right back." I watch as the light blue pony darts off into the sky, followed by a trail of rainbow. I raise a hand over my eyes, attempting to see what she's doing. Rainbow Dash appears to tear a small chunk of cloud off of the base of her house, then comes streaking back down to me. She lowers the cloud to the ground, looking at me. "Hop on!" I look at her incredulously. "Seriously, get on the cloud," she instructs. "I'm pretty sure this'll work. If not, don't worry, I'll catch you." Yeah, thanks. I comply anyways, getting a general idea of what she intends to do once I'm on the cloud.

I clamber on top of the soft, fluffy object, sinking in a few inches. Cool, Twilight's spell is still working. I look over at Dash. "Ready?" she asks, smirk starting to appear on her face. I give her a thumbs-up, and she disappears from sight, presumably going under the cloud. Okay, yeah, like an elevator, sort of. Except elevators don't go from zero to ninety miles per hour in two seconds.

I hold on for dear, precious life, watching the ground race away at light speed. I can't tell whether my ride is enjoyable or terrifying; maybe both, somehow. It's over almost as soon as it starts, though, and I find myself scrambling onto the main cloud composing Rainbow Dash's home. As I stand up, a little shakily, the Pegasus flies into view.

"That worked great! You aren't as heavy as I thought you'd be," she says, smiling cheerfully. I shake my head, blinking a few times, then smile back. "Okay, so, uh...just, get comfortable, I guess. I need to figure a few things out, gimme' a sec..." She starts looking up into the blue sky above us, then down at the cloud we stand atop. She twists her orange tongue out to one side of her mouth in thought, squinting high; I decide I'll find a nice place to lie down. It's not hard, given the general comfiness of seemingly all clouds.

"Okay, are you watching?" Rainbow yells over to me. I give another thumbs-up. "Don't blink!" she exclaims, and I see her eyes narrow in confident determination. She lowers herself down against the base of the cloud, then proceeds to launch herself into the air, angled straight up. I watch in awe as she soars up and up, soon only visible by the trail of color that follows her. She continues to climb, higher, and higher, and soon I lose her against the sky so similarly colored with her. I search the air for a few seconds, frowning.

A small speck, which at first I mistake for the light playing a trick on my eyes, begins to grow more and more prominent. I know it to be Rainbow Dash; given the rate at which she becomes clearer, she has to be traveling extememly fast. Somehow she manages to continue accelerating, though. As she nears, I try to focus on her, but all I can make out is a blur of rainbow, shooting straight down. I wonder exactly how fast she's going, as I think I can almost make out a vapor cone forming in front of her. There's no way...

And yet, the blistering white vapor cone continues to grow larger, blocking more and more of the blur that is the rainbow-maned Pegasus. She is getting close, now, only a few hundred yards up, the white cone below her almost completely enveloping her body--

A massive ring of color bursts out from Dash, spreading rapidly across the sky. The vapor cone leading the pony as she continues to streak downwards now shimmers with color and light; she disappears from sight, meeting and going below my elevation within a fraction of a second. My eyes feels like they're going to pop out of my skull; I stare in open-mouthed amazement as the wave of light continues outwards above me. The color of it, seemingly of every single particle of the air affected by it, changes with every passing moment, creating a brilliant display of every single color in the spectrum of light.

The shockwave of sound hits me, quite literally. Compressed air hits my eardrums with a loud thump, like a muffled explosion, and a blast of wind hits my body. It hardly registers, though, all of my focus on the ring of color. It continues to spread for maybe a few seconds longer, then the color slowly begins dissipating into the air, creating an effect much like watching a ripple in water as it loses its momentum. All too soon, the show of light is gone, the trail of organized color piercing straight through its center fading as well.

Something enters my field of view; I don't think I can take my eyes off the sky, though. A light blue object waves in front of my face; I blink a few times, looking over. There stands a pony, a Pegasus, with a sky-blue coat, a very wind-blown mane of rainbow colors, and a huge grin on her face. Her cerise eyes hold mine for a moment, and she watches me, panting heavily. I can't seem to react in any way, like my mind is so awe-struck it has shut down temporarily.

"Pretty...cool...right?" she asks between gasps of breath.

I stare at her a while longer, then my brain kicks in again. My gape turns into a grin that hurts my face, and I begin shaking with silent, uncontrollable laughter, nodding frantically. She starts to laugh as well, running out of breath to laugh with quickly. My giddy excitement continues for a while longer.

"I love doing those...I call it the 'Sonic Rainboom'," she explains before resuming attempting to recover her breath. "And best of all...I'm the only one that can do them." Rainbow Dash flashes that confident smirk to me, then squeezes her eyes shut. "Whew! Celestia, those are hard to do." I suppose my face conveys my next thought to her as she looks at me again. "I've gotta' go as fast as I can to make a Sonic Rainboom. Twilight said it had something to do with breaking the sound barrier and disrupting the light spectrum at the same time, I dunno'. All I know is that it's the coolest, most awesome, most radical thing ever." I grin at her, nodding in definite agreement.

"I've only done it...uhm...four times, as of now," Dash continues, before looking at me seriously. "I know it looks awesome, but actually doing a Sonic Rainboom...it's amazing. Goin' so fast I can't even see or hear, just letting myself fall, and then the feeling when the 'boom actually happens..." she says dreamily. "There isn't much else more awesome." Her eyes look deep into mine for a while; I get the feeling she chose her words carefully.

She breaks the gaze, looking towards her house, which sits behind me a short distance away. "Well, I'm starving, now. Wanna' grab a bite to eat?" I nod, smiling to her. We stand and head for her tower-like house made of clouds.

***

The sky-blue Pegasus trots around the side of her bed, carrying a novel in her mouth. She approaches me, sitting up against the foot of the cloud bed; I reach out my hand, carefully taking the book from her. I glance at the cover: Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. "That's the first one in the series. It's really good. I mean, all of them are really good, though," she explains. "Just let me know when you finish that one, and I'll give you the next, cool?" I nod, then smile gratefully, setting the book down beside me. I watch her sit down to my left, looking at me with those big, magenta eyes, like she wants to ask me something.

"Hey, uh...I've been wanting to ask you...why is it that you don't talk?" I hold her gaze a moment longer, and she continues. "I just...well, the book reminded me of words and paper and stuff, the things books are made of, which made me think of how you always write stuff instead of talking, which made me wonder why you don't talk. I've wondered that pretty much since I met you, but I've tried not to ask, since I know you don't like it when ponies ask." I continue to stare at her, my mind churning. "If you don't want to, I understand," she says softly.

I look away from her, to the white cloud wall across from me, into a doorway I inherently know leads to the stairs. My initial thought is the usual no. It seems too quick, though, not really thought through; this leads me to start thinking it through. Maybe...maybe I could tell her. Maybe it's time. How long has it been? What, ten years? Ten years of silence, of keeping my memories to myself, trying to deal with them alone. But that's not working, is it? After ten years, it hurts just as bad. Maybe it really is time to tell someone. And there isn't anyone else I'd rather tell it to. I trust her, and she trusts me, and I know she won't leave my side, no matter what I say. I take in a slow, deep breath, sighing it out.

I turn back to the rainbow-maned pony, nodding lightly. She nods in return, looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and worry. I shift around for a moment, moving to where I can reach into the right pocket of my pants, pulling out the few sheets of paper and the recently-sharpened pencil I keep on me nearly all the time. I sift through a few of the pages, finding a nice, clean page, untouched by blood, water, or my hand. Folding the rest up and stuffing it back in my pocket, I grasp my pencil within my thumb and first two fingers of my right hand, focusing on the page. I stare at the white of the paper numbly for a while; I notice it is tinted slightly orange, and glance over to a window. The sky outside is of an orange color; there's only a few hours left in the day, only a few hours left to write. Closing my eyes, I let the memory come to me; it isn't one easily forgotten. I start a sentence, and Rainbow Dash leans nears my shoulder to read as I write.

I was asleep one night, around ten years ago, just a kid.

I was really more of a teenager, maybe thirteen or fourteen, but a kid in comparison to myself now. Before my eyes begins a movie only I can see, a distant memory that is still so vivid.

I heard a few voices, ones I didn't recognize. Getting scared, I thought our house, my family's house, was being broken into.

Tossing off the covers, getting out of my bed. Pressing my ear to the door; deep voices, sort of gruff, angry-sounding. Opening my door as quietly as I can, trying to stay quiet, trying to hold my breath. I'll go get Mom and Dad, or see if maybe it's just a friend of theirs who showed up at a late hour for some reason I don't know. Quietly, down the dark hall, towards the room where my parents sleep.

I went to go get my parents, but they weren't in their room. I got my dad's gun out of the closet, then went looking for them.

Where are they? Not in their bed, asleep. An alarm clock beside their bed reads 3:47 A.M.; they usually don't stay up past two or so. Maybe it really is just a friend who's showed up at a late time; it's happened before. A very loud noise, one I'd recognize anywhere: a gunshot. There isn't any question, now, I'm getting Dad's gun. He showed me where it is, having trained me at a young age in the proper way to handle firearms, knowing I knew guns were not things to be played with but that I could use one if the time came. I open the closet slowly, still quietly, my hands starting to shake as I grab the gun out of the corner. It's an old Remington 870, a military-and-police version of the hunting shotgun, twelve-gauge. There is a box of ammunition up high in the closet; I grab it, fumbling with a few shells as I load them into the tube. Four twelve-gauge slugs, massive bullets that put massive holes in just about anything, especially people. I slide the pump forward, hearing a click as a round is chambered. Shouldering the weapon, I go back into the hallway.

My hand stops, perfectly still above the paper. My mind continues on.

I slowly walk down the almost pitch-black hallway, moving towards the stairs at the end of the hall. The doors to my left and right are only closets and nooks that house the washer and dryer. I keep my focus on my surroundings, shotgun pointed ahead of me. Carefully stepping down, I begin making my way downstairs. The kitchen is at the bottom of the stairs; it is still dark. The voices are much more clear, now, angry, a little panicked, definitely not ones I recognize. I speed up, noiselessly traveling from the bottom of the stairs to the kitchen floor. My hands are hurting from squeezing so tightly on the grip and pump of the weapon. Light floods into the room from the doorway that connects the kitchen to the living room. Unconsciously holding my breath, I move to where I can just barely see into the room while keeping myself hidden.

Two men had broken into our house. They tied up my parents so they could rob us, but they must not have realized I was in the house, too.

I watch them in horror. One robber stands over my parents, guarding them with a pistol while the other brings in a trash bag full of stuff, setting it on the floor. They wear dark clothing, their faces covered by cheap ski masks. The guard looks over at his partner, waving his gun up.

"You cleaned the place out yet? Don't got all day, y'know," he says angrily.

"Yeah, no thanks to you. Dumbass move, giving a 'warning shot'."

"Well, these two wouldn't shut up! I asked 'em nicely, didn't I?" the first one asks rhetorically, glancing down at something I can't see. I carefully lean out a little farther; I see a head, my dad's head, he's sitting up against the couch, beside Mom, I assume. My dad tries to say something, but it sounds like there's something stuffed in his mouth. The other robber looks down at where my parents sit, tied up and gagged, I think.

"Whaddya' wanna' do about them?" the second begins. "Should we just leave 'em? Maybe loosen the ties, so they can get--"

The first levels his gun out of sight, firing once. The pistol in his hand jolts back, flaring brightly; a split-second later, he shifts his aim, firing again. A mist of blood sprays towards him, and my dad's head lolls to the side. No, this can't be real, this can't be happening, he couldn't have just shot my--

The second man stumbles back in surprise, glaring at his counterpart. "Jesus, man, what the hell?! Why'd you--"

I watched them kill my parents.

Shock and rage push me forward, push the shotgun up, lining up the sights on the chest of one. A bloodcurdling scream of anger comes from my throat; the two turn in surprise. I squeeze the trigger at the first; the gun roars, echoing deafeningly throughout the room I now charge into, slamming back into my shoulder, half-blinding me with the muzzle flash. My left hand slides back, sending an empty shell out of the chamber, then forward, replacing a new one. I turn a few degrees to the right, the front sight of the 870 coming over top of what I see only as something that has killed my family. Another kick into my shoulder, another round out and another one in. My focus comes off of the sights, scanning for more targets. I see that the first target is still standing, screaming, but I can't hear it, only the blood pumping in my ears. There is a large hole in his stomach, blood and gore painting the the beige wall behind him. The gun travels up to the center of his chest, and I squeeze the trigger a third time. The screaming stops, and his body tumbles backwards with the momentum of the bullet, hitting the ground at around the same time the third, green, smoking shell hits the carpet of the living room.

I killed them.

The shotgun's barrel travels back over to the other man; his head is splattered against the wall, now. The room is quiet, but my ears still ring with the blast of the gun. My eyes search the room until landing upon two more bodies, slumped against the foot of the couch. The shotgun falls from my hands, hitting the floor with a dull thud. I kneel slowly, my breath coming out in ragged gasps. I place my hand against Dad's chest, shaking a little.

"Dad, please...please..." I shake him harder; all it does is make more blood spill from the hole in his forehead as his head rolls forwards. I frantically look over. "Mom? Mom, Dad, please, say something, just move, please...please, no..." I stop shaking them, taking my hands off of my dad's chest, off of my mom's shoulder, sitting back, falling back, scrambling to get away from the lifeless corpses. I bump into another body, a corpse I've created, a life I've taken. I move away from it, trying to get away. I can't get away. I can't. My own body begins to shake, tears rolling down my face. I wrap my arms around the bodies of my parents, pulling their cold corpses against me, sobbing into their shoulders, alone.

I was too afraid to talk. I didn't want to remember, and talking made me remember. So I stopped. I didn't talk for a week, then a month, then a year. I never tried. I don't want to try.

Police kicking in the door, to find me, clutching the bodies of my mother and father against me, crying to the point I made myself sick, twice, amidst a mess of blood, vomit, and two other shredded corpses, one missing half its head, the other missing half its torso. A trial, I am found not guilty on definite terms. A funeral, alone, no relatives to be with me, all of them either dead or nonexistent due to a lack of siblings, cancer of the brain, a car accident, or a single nine-millimeter bullet to the head, each. Therapy, failed. Schooling, failing, dropping out. Deciding to run away. Menial, worthless jobs, paying barely enough to support a no-questions-asked apartment. Three suicide attempts, all failed because I was afraid, wanting to die so badly but unable to force it upon myself. Throughout it all, silence. No talking, laughing, crying, shouting, screaming; silence.

I let them kill my parents, then killed them, for nothing. I can't talk because I failed. I am a coward.

I set the paper to my left, on the fluffy, white cloud floor, laying the pencil next to it. My eyes remain on the last sentence, repeating it over and over in my head. I feel numb. A light blue hoof presses down lightly atop the paper, crinkling it a little as it pushes the page away, doing the same with the pencil. The same hoof then moves around me, disappearing from sight over my shoulder. I feel a tight press against my back, followed by another a little below. A soft, sky-blue cheek presses against mine, colorful hair brushing aginst my face. My arms come up, seemingly under their own power, slowly wrapping themselves around the back of the pony hugging me tightly.

My squeeze slowly grows tighter, uncontrollably. My vision starts to blur over, and I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling a drop of liquid roll down and off my face. The tears come faster and faster, and soon I am sobbing into Rainbow Dash, pulling her against my chest. It hurts; everything hurts so badly. I want to stop crying, but I can't, continuing to choke on my own breath. I want to stop remembering, stop hurting, stop crying, but I can't. I can't.

"Hey, hey...it's okay," a scratchy voice says softly into my left ear, breath brushing against it. "You're not a coward, Mark. You didn't fail..." She rubs a hoof against my heaving back, trying to calm me down. I try to calm down, but my body won't let me. I'm reduced to a blubbering mess, unable to do anything except cry into the warm, soft, light blue shoulder beneath me.

I sob until the point at which I feel as if I am about to start retching, where I force myself to steady out my breathing. My breath comes between long intervals of holding it, trying to keep myself from getting sick. Soon all that's left are the tears streaming down my face, falling off my chin and onto Rainbow Dash's beautiful wings. I sniff a few times, wiping a hand against my eyes.

"You're not a coward," she repeats into my ear. "You took on a bear-thing in the Everfree just to protect me. I remember, I was there," she says, a little happiness in her voice. "I know you're not a coward. I know you're the most brave, strong-hearted hu-man in all of Equestria, and the only one, too." I smile, sniffing again. "But you're the bravest anything in all of Equestria, in the whole universe, braver than the Royal Guards, the firefighters, and everypony else, especially me."

"I'm a real coward. I ran away from my parents when I was just a filly. They always wanted me to be the best, and when I was the best, they wanted me to be better. I hated them for it. So I ran away, to show them I was better than them. But I always felt like I had to be the best, like even though I had ran away from them, I still didn't want to disappoint them. I was afraid of nothing. I never came home, I ran away to Cloudsdale." She stops, continuing to run her hooves along my back. I find myself stroking her back, as well, just above her folded wings.

"I got a letter one day, saying they had died. Some sort of flying accident. I realized how much I missed them, how much I really loved them, but it was too late. I feel like if I fail, or let anypony down, I would be failing them, and I've already failed them too much. I'm scared of nothing, all the time." I feel her own tears soaking through my shirt, and clutch her as tightly as I can to me. I want to tell her that she doesn't have to be scared, that she doesn't need to be, that her parents loved her, that she didn't fail them...but I can't. And so I tell her the only way I can, by not letting go.

I don't know how long we sit for, hugging each other within her cloud house, at the foot of her bed; I don't care. It's just me and her, alone with each other in the reddening room, tinted by the burning sun setting far, far away. "I haven't ever told anypony that before," she says quietly to me over my shoulder. I nod lightly, the same true for me. Her embrace tightens, as does mine.

I feel the pressure against my back start to lessen as she shifts her grasp on me; I release her a little, as well. She pulls back so that her face hovers only a few inches from mine. Her rose eyes glisten with the remaining light of the day, amplified in color by the sunset and by the watery remains of tears. She gazes into my eyes for a long time, searching for something that I think she finds.

Rainbow starts to move in towards me, slowly, her eyes fluttering closed. I watch her face near my own, my heart beating a little faster. A part of me, a very, very small part, screams at me to stop her, to push her away, that everything she is about to do is wrong. And yet, another part, another, much larger part, calmly tells me to go with it. And honestly, the calm part of me sounds more reasonable. Her lips meet mine; I close my eyes, kissing her as she does me.

An ever-so-familiar taste enters my mouth, one of a warm, delicious spiciness, like the taste of liquid rainbow, only much, much better. It is almost as if the feeling of warmth spreads throughout my entire body. I inhale her breath, taking in the spice present there, as well. I feel her tongue brush against my teeth, and allow it in, meeting it with my own tongue. The spiciness is suddenly much more vivid, somehow even more enjoyable and savory. My hand comes around the back of her neck, both rubbing and pressing along her silky mane.

We pull apart simultaneously, opening our eyes. Looking into hers, I see happiness, relief, excitement, and something else; lust. Dash approaches me faster this time, pressing her face against mine. My nose presses against her snout as our lips connect once more, faster, even more passionately. Our tongues dance with one another, trading the tastes of our mouths. She wraps her forelegs around my back, pulling me as close as I can be to her. I take in her smells, tastes, warmth, wanting more of her. The Pegasus seems to want the same, kissing me furiously. She begins standing up, pulling me with her; I, in turn, pull her up as I stand, holding her against me. Rainbow Dash begins pushing me backwards, towards the bed. Whoa, she wants to take it all the way!

And so do I. The small part of my being continues to shout protest that she is a pony, not a human, an alien at the very least, that everything I am doing and thinking is horribly, horribly wrong. I continue to listen to the calmer part, though, the one telling me that this is right, that it's okay, to go with it. Dash breaks contact with my lips, flaring out her wings and hovering in the air in front of me. Her mouth drops a short distance to the collar of my shirt, and she begins tugging on it. With some help from me, she yanks my shirt off, proceeding to smash her mouth against mine again before giving me a push on the chest.

I lose my balance, as expected, and fall back onto the bed, only to be pounced upon once more by Rainbow. She passionately kisses me again as the last light of the day begins to fade to darkness.

Chapter Twenty-Four

I slowly open my eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the blinding light in the room. I notice that I feel especially well-rested this morning, my eyelids not heavy with tiredness, my body not cramped up as it sometimes gets when I sleep for long periods of time. My bed feels perfect, warm enough to be cozy, cool enough to not be uncomfortable. It seems unusually bright in my room this morning; I eventually blink out the blur in my eyes.

I realize it seems unusually bright in my room because this isn't my room. The four white walls reflect most of the sunlight streaming in through two open windows, one on either side of the bedroom. The bed I lie in isn't mine, either; covering me is a thick, purple bedspread, bearing a very familiar symbol that I can just barely make out with how messed up the blankets are. A lump begins to form in my throat as I begin to understand where I am and why I am where I am.

A light snore causes me to look down towards the source. The snore came from a light blue face, chromatic mane spilling down part of it, eyes closed in peaceful sleep, a small smile on the face. Rainbow Dash's breath glances off of my bare chest, feeling cool and soft. Her silk-like mane is very thoroughly mussed, more so than what would be caused from just sleeping. I become conscious of a light touch against my side, what I know without looking to be her foreleg, wrapped over me. My own arms hold her close to my chest, soft, smooth fur on my fingertips. I can feel her steady heartbeat against me, every breath she takes in and lets out.

It takes everything I have not to jump out of my skin at the realization of what I know I have done. Oh, Christ, what the hell was I thinking? How many laws of nature have I disregarded and broken? What if something actually happens, what kind of horrific creatures would--

The pony curled up against me stirs, starting to wake up. I watch her motionlessly, in some state of shock. She opens her eyes revealing tired, friendly, rose-colored irises, amazingly huge. They travel up my chest, meeting my eyes. Rainbow blinks, smiling happily. After a moment, she reaches up towards me, pressing her lips against mine. I start to lose myself within the familiar taste that burns just enough to be spicy, but not so much that it is painful in any way, in the smell of her breath, her soft snout meeting my nose and mouth. We share a long, deep kiss, breaking away reluctantly after some time.

I know exactly what I was thinking. I've done nothing wrong. In fact, I've done everything right. I didn't make love to a pony last night, I made love to Rainbow Dash, someone who I have true, genuine feelings for, who I care about more than anything in the world. She snuggles closer to my chest, closing her eyes again with a blissful sigh. I move my right hand a little farther down her back, running my fingers against the edge of her wing. In response, her wing extends a little, and I continue to stroke it. After a while, my hand leaves her wing, traveling to the spot on her back between her wings. I brush my fingers down the small portion of her spine, smiling to myself as she shivers, humming a little as she sighs again.

"Last night was awesome," she whispers into my chest, her scratchy voice sounding beautiful in the morning air. I continue to smile and rub her back, transferring to her other wing. My gaze drifts lazily around the room, surveying it. To say the least, it's trashed. Pieces of clothing, most mine, are strewn about the place, among spilled books, a fallen poster or two, and a lot of dents in the malleable cloud walls. Wow. I didn't realize we tore her room up that bad. She's definitely passionate, to say the least. Spicy, in all forms of the word, I muse with a smile.

After a few more minutes of cuddling, we decide it's time to get up. I pull Rainbow out of her bed with me, holding her eye-level with me. I look into her bright, warm eyes for a moment, then give her a few quick kisses on her neck and cheek. She giggles happily, then lets me set her down on the cloud floor, where she stretches out her wings, glancing around at the messy room. She chuckles to herself, looking a little proud at having wrecked the room so thoroughly with me. I start picking things up as I see them, slipping on my shirt, pants, socks, and shoes once I find them all, re-organizing the stack of Daring Do novels on the bedside table again, putting away a pair of colorful stockings that I don't quite see the purpose in. The room is soon back in orderly fashion; nothing was broken, thankfully. Dash and I head downstairs together, breakfast assumedly on her mind as it is mine.

I come into the kitchen a second after she does, and find her greeting her pet tortoise, Tank. She grins at him, pressing her nose against his with a little laugh. The reptile smiles back to her, using the helicopter-like contraption strapped to his shell to hover over to the low-sitting cloud table, where he settles down. The sky-blue mare trots over to a counter, jumping into the air and hovering for a moment to reach a cupboard. She grabs a yellow apple in her teeth, tossing it back and kicking it with her hind leg. I catch the projectile apple, grinning at her. Grabbing her own apple plus one more, she sits down at the table, joined by me. Rainbow Dash rolls the extra apple over to Tank, then begins working on her own apple.

By the time the Pegasus and I core our apples, the tortoise is about a fourth of the way through his. I idly watch him take impossibly slow bites, not helped by the fact he isn't very big; very slow, small bites.

"What was the word Twilight used? 'Ironic'? Yeah. She said it was pretty ironic that I have a tortoise as my pet. I guess I can see it." I give her a lopsided smile, looking between her and the ridiculously slow reptile. I find myself losing focus, my thoughts drifting elsewhere.

"Hey," Rainbow Dash says, causing me to look up at her. Her cerise eyes look at me with concern. "Are you alright?" I nod my head, glancing down. "C'mon, don't lie. What's wrong?" I don't know what's wrong, that's the problem. "It's me, isn't it? Last night?" Frowning to myself, I sigh, nodding lightly. "Was it...bad, or something? Did I do something wrong?" I hold up my hand, shaking my head to stop her. I lean back so I can fit my hand into my pocket, and bring out a crumpled piece of paper, smoothing it out on the table.

No, that was amazing. You were amazing. I'm justI don't There's a lot on my mind. Last night was very fast. Maybe we rushed it, in the heat of emotion.

She frowns, passing the paper back to me. "I..." She sighs, looking me in the eyes. "Maybe you're right. You're right a lot," Dash says with a small smile. "I just...I've always wanted you to like me the way I like you. And last night, you did. I saw it in your eyes." She pauses, giving a quick snort of laughter. "That sounds really creepy, doesn't it?" I smile, chuckling a little. "But I did. And I knew you liked me back. And I guess things just...kind of went from there. I dunno'." I hold her gaze for a few more seconds, then begin writing again.

I do like you, a lot, more than a lot, as much as you like me, maybe more. And I think I always have, but I just didn't want to admit it. But maybe we should figure some things out before doing what we did again.

She nods. "I guess. But...you do like me, like me like me? I didn't do anything wrong?" I smile to her, then decide I know a better way to get her to stop worrying. I lean forward over the small table, meeting her face with a kiss. She makes a little hum of surprise, then wraps her forelegs around my neck. When I pull away from her lips, I open my eyes again, seeing a satisfied look on her face and her wings flared out. She giggles happily to me, pleased with my response. I scribble out a new note.

No, you didn't do anything wrong, and yes, I like you like you. But we do need to think some things through. Like, what will everyone else think? I don't want you to be shunned because of me.

"Who cares what everypony else thinks? If they have something to say, they can deal with me," Rainbow says, placing a hoof against her chest and flashing that confident grin. I frown, not convinced. "I don't care, Mark. And if anypony else cares, they'll just have to deal with it. You're just like the rest of us, on the inside. And it's not like you're, I dunno', a dragon or anything. In fact, you go around helping people all day!" she exclaims. "Believe it or not, a lot of ponies actually like you a lot. I don't think they'll give a pony's flank about you and me."

I smile to her, nodding lightly in agreement. I write down the next thing on my mind.

What about kids? You know if you're with me, we can't have any. I hope we can't have any.

She grimaces at that mental image. "Maybe I should ask Twilight about that...or Fluttershy. She might faint, though," she says with a chuckle. "I dunno'. I haven't ever really thought about that. I mean, I always figured kids would just hold me back, keep me from being a Wonderbolt. But then again, I thought that about having a coltfriend, too." A warm smile to me. "I guess if I ever do want a kid, we could just adopt one. There's more orphaned foals out there than you think. Scoots told me about it." Dash frowns in thought. "Poor kid. I feel her pain...still, I dunno'. I don't think I'd make a good mom." I smile to her. Probably not, but you've got me to keep you in line. My pencil scrawls out the last thing bothering me.

What we did last night still seems taboo

"What's a 'taboo'?" Rainbow Dash questions, interrupting me. I cross out the word, continuing.

like it would be frowned upon by society. I don't know if I'm okay with it. It was fun, and awesome, but maybe we should slow down before going that far again.

She reads the page, then holds my eyes with hers. "You know I hate going slow," Rainbow says seductively. I smile, chuckling softly. "You're probably right, though. Maybe when we're not crying our eyes out next time," she says with a playful grin. I laugh, nodding in agreement. Tank finally finishes his apple, grabbing the core in his tiny jaws and lifting off of the table, traveling over to what appears to be a trash bin--made of clouds, of course. Dash and I watch Tank return to the table, the whirring rotor on his back shutting down once he lands.

"How about we take Tank for a walk, go see what everypony else is doing today? Maybe we can get everypony together for a picnic or something," she suggests. I smile happily, nodding. We stand from the table, stretching. "Come on, Tank, wanna' go for a walk?" The tortoise hovers up eagerly, joining us as we head out the door.

***

We walk together--well, I walk; Tank and Rainbow Dash both hover to my side, the tortoise aviator between the Pegasus and me--through the streets of Ponyville, the day coming to a close as we aim for Rainbow's house. All in all, it was a good day. We had walked with Tank for a while, going around to each of her friends' homes to see what they were doing. It turned out nobody was really doing anything, so Twilight helped arrange a nice picnic for lunch.

Dash made it obvious to her friends that her and I are an item, now. They were a little surprised when she flat-out French kissed me during conversation, but I suppose that's Rainbow Dash at her usual. The others actually took quite well to it, congratulating us and commenting on how happy we seemed together. Rarity about lost her mind, babbling for about five minutes straight about 'forbidden love' or something like that. She ended up having to be silenced by all of her friends at once; the way she sort of snapped back into reality was pretty comical.

After leaving the picnic, we decided to go spend the day out by Luna Lake, in the field. She and Tank had a blast flying around in the nice weather of the day, and I had an excellent time watching them. I only wish I could fly with her, but watching her from atop a cloud and having her blast by me every once in a while will more than suffice. Just watching her fly is an experience like no other; the grace, yet the ferocity, with which she flies makes for a beautiful display, every time.

I feel a sudden impact on my back, causing me to stumble forward a little. Sky-blue legs wrap over my neck and around my waist, grabbing on to the front of my torso. I glance back, and receive a nuzzling on the cheek from Dash. Smiling, I turn forward again, carrying her piggy-back style for a ways. I catch many a questioning look from passersby, but I don't care, and neither does the Pegasus on my back. Every so often, a soft, light blue snout will rub against my neck or cheek. We walk through the darkening roads, approaching her house in the sky.

I slow to a stop, releasing the grip on her hind legs. She lets herself fall off of my back, going into a hover again and coming around to my side. I look over at her, then at Tank, smiling at them.

"Do you think, maybe...you could sleep with me for tonight? I mean, just sleeping, with me, in my bed, nothing else," she says quickly, smiling with some embarrassment. I smile back, deciding my house can take care of itself for another day. I nod to her, and she grins happily. "Awesome! C'mon, I'll go get a cloud." She streaks off, followed by a trail of color that glows brilliantly in the late afternoon sky. I wait patiently until she returns with a small cloud, then hop on to the makeshift elevator.

We are soon back atop the cloud that supports her floating house, and walk inside. The three of us trek up the long, winding stairs, eventually reaching her bedroom on the top floor. Tank hovers over to a small blanket on the floor, setting down and slinking into his shell. I walk over to one side of the bed, pulling off my shoes, socks, and upon a little thought, just my shirt. Pulling the covers back, I watch as Dash jumps into her bed, smiling happily to me. I clamber in next to her, pulling the blankets up again. She wiggles over towards me, still smiling. I lift my arms, letting her curl up against my chest, then lay my arms over her protectively, stroking her wings and back idly.

"G'night, Mark. Thanks for staying another night," she says softly. I smile down at her, brushing a hand through her mane. I lean down towards her, closing my eyes. A welcome spicy taste enters my mouth once more, warming me all the way through. She smells so nice, like ozone mixed with the faintest hint of chili peppers. We reluctantly pull away after what feels like an eternity. Rainbow Dash sighs happily, burying her head in my chest and closing her eyes.

I lay my head back against the soft pillow, closing my eyes while my mind continues to run. I make a silent promise to the small, soft, warm pony starting to fall asleep against me, to never let anything happen to her, to always be there for her, to never let her down. Maybe it's a promise I can't keep, but I'm going to try as hard as I possibly can to keep it.

Satisfied with itself, my mind begins going over the events of this day and the last, trying to figure out where I go from here.

Chapter One

For Lack of a Better Word
by Gunsmith

As far as waking thoughts go, realizing one is face-down on the ground is not one of the best. Thick blades of grass press against my face; a fresh scent, one like that of a recently-mowed lawn, fills my nose. The turf brushes against my skin, making it itch a little. I grow tired of lying on the ground. I begin moving my arms, which I find are splayed out to my sides, and slowly begin pushing myself up.

I bring my legs around in front of me, placing myself into a sitting position. My chest and face have that odd feeling of pressure that is a result of being laid upon for a long period of time; I bring my hands to my face and rub it to get rid of the sensation. Even with my eyes closed and my hands pressed against them, I can tell it is fairly bright outside, which is where I assume I am. The air feels warm, on the verge of hot, and seems fairly neutral in terms of humidity. The heat of the sun beats down on my back, creating a relaxing warmth.

While I continue trying to bring feeling back into my face, I begin trying to make some sense of where I am. I don't hear much, save for some birds happily singing in the distance and a light breeze blowing against my ears. Tall grasses brush up against my arms, bringing some goosebumps to my skin. My mouth has that taste of morning, a sort of sour flavor that isn't very pleasant. Now that my nose isn't pressed to the ground, the air smells much more normal, a type of smell I can associate with summertime. The only sense left to help me recognize where I am is my sight; being so, I decide to open my eyes.

Upon first glance, sight doesn't help much, either. My vision is blurry and distorted; all I see is a mass of light green around me, coming up to my neck. I take a guess that I'm in a field or plain of some sort. How did I end up in a field? I blink rapidly a few times, trying to clear the fog from my vision, and move to stand up. I'm on my feet quickly; a little too quickly. A wave of nausea comes over me, and a black haze outlines my vision. Spots dance across my eyes, and I stumble forward. I lose my balance and fall forwards, landing in a new patch of tall grasses on my hands and knees. To my dismay, I vomit.

Emptying my stomach, I bring my right shoulder to my mouth, wiping it on my T-shirt. God damn it...I spit on the ground below me in an attempt to rid my mouth of the vile taste of stomach acid. Throwing up is not something I do often, a fact I'm thankful for. I cough a few times, then spit again before rocking back into a sitting position. I bring my knees up and rest my forehead against my jeans, closing my eyes and letting out a sigh of disgust. My next thought is: how much did I have to drink last night?

I shove the thought away, answering myself with, nothing. There would be no reason for me to do so, due to both a lack of money and a lack of a taste for alcohol. Am I sick? I question next. I tell myself that's just as unlikely, being that I don't get sick often and that I don't feel sick. I rack my brain, trying to search my memory for what could have led up to me ending up vomiting in a field. My head feels like it's spinning, and colorful spots continue to dot the darkness inside my eyelids.

Then what?

I don't have an answer, so I continue sitting quietly, resting my head on my knees and rubbing my temples. I hear a trace of a new sound, a steady one. A soft thump, thump, thump, thump. I muse about its origins, eventually placing it as some sort of bird flying low overhead. It would makes sense, seeing as how quiet it is where I am.

The peace mildly disturbs me; I wonder where I am. I know it is definitely not the city I live in, at the least. The question of where I am grows larger in my mind, soon becoming a priority, just behind recovering from the mess on the ground in front of me. I don't think I know of any places like this, quiet and relaxing. If I did, I would be visiting them a lot. But I don't, so some worry enters my mind. I try to ignore it, though, seeing as how I doubt anyone will try to mug or murder me in a field in broad daylight. Well...

The cynic in me dissipates into the recesses of my mind as I focus on the thumping noise. If I'm not mistaken, it seems to be growing louder. I want to look, but the acidic taste in my mouth keeps my eyes closed and my head on my knees. If it's a bird, it'll get scared and go away eventually. The steady beats continue; I actually begin playing a song in my thoughts, tapping my foot lightly in rhythm. Some people find electronic music obnoxious, but I like it. It lets me relax, clear my head as I focus on all of the different overlays.

Thump, thump, thump, thump. The beating is clearly audible now, and continues on for a few seconds. Then, it stops, just like that. I hear what sounds like footsteps, making the grasses of the field crackle a little as they are pressed down.

"Hey, you alright?"

The voice comes from my left, where the beating and footsteps came from. It has a noticeably scratchy sort of sound to it, and is an odd voice, a unique one. Definitely female, sort of high-pitched, and scratchy. I again want to turn and see the source, but tell myself to keep my eyes closed. Don't want to get sick again.

I nod my head into my knees, trying to make it visible to whoever is questioning me. I hear some more stepping; it sounds like multiple people stepping at once, rather than just one. I wonder for a moment how much attention I have attracted.

"Oh, gross, did you throw up? You sure you're okay?" the scratchy-voiced woman, maybe a girl, questions again. I frown into my pants and lift my hand, waving it towards her to signify for her to go away, that I'll be fine.

"What're you doing out in this field? Lost?"

You don't give up easily, do you? I shrug my shoulders.

"Wait...what are you? A Diamond Dog?" I hear a gasp. "Are you Bighoof?!" My face contorts in confusion. A what? I open my eyes, forgetting my nausea momentarily. Much to my relief, most of the spinning and spots seem to be gone. I look over, towards the disembodied voice that has been questioning me.

What I see is...

...well, honestly, I have no idea what I'm looking at. I begin rapidly analyzing everything that stands to my left. A few things are extremely noticeable about it. The first are the eyes; large, very large, abnormally so, and a bright purple, magenta, cerise? in color. They are probably the size of my fist, maybe bigger; the creature's eyes stare at me with curiosity and question. The next is the burst of color atop its head. It has fairly long hair, which is of six individual colors; I note that each is a color in a rainbow, ordered in the usual red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The hair comes down over its forehead and around one side of its neck; I see more of the colorful hair behind it, arranged in a tail of some sort. The body of the creature is a light blue in color. The last notable feature is that it stands on four legs, which look more like simple, sky-blue cylinders.

My mind begins piecing the details together, and I eventually arrive at the conclusion that I am looking at a horse. A technicolor horse with very, very large eyes. Something else registers in my vision; a pair of what appear to be wings rest against the sides of the colorful horse.

A Pegasus. A blue-and-rainbow Pegasus with eyes the size of small plates.

Nothing looks right about it, though. It resembles a horse, but it's all out of proportion. The face and muzzle are smaller, the eyes much larger, the legs thicker and un-detailed, and of course, the wings and its colors. My jaw goes slack as I stare in shock at what I'm sure is a hallucination beside me.

"What?" I hear the scratchy voice again; at the same time, the mouth of the colorful horse moves. I make the connection that the horse has just talked, to me. My heart skips a beat, maybe two, or ten.

Reverting to animal instinct, my mind immediately begins deciding whether to fight this thing or to run away. I have a feeling it has the advantage of flight, but I sure as hell do not want to fight it. I push away from the creature, trying to force myself onto my feet. I stumble along the ground for a moment, running my hands along the ground and shoving down to right myself. My legs immediately take over, fueled by a heavy mixture of fear and confusion.

I sprint for what feels like hours, but is likely only minutes. The only other thought that registers in my mind that isn't related to getting away as quickly as I can is that nothing looks right. Even with my focus being directed solely forwards, a change in my surroundings is noticeable. Everything seems to lack detail, and has a defined outline; the grass I trample with each step is one color, and it seems to blend together after a short distance. Trees a good ways off look like mere splotches of brown and green. Even the few clouds populating the bright afternoon sky lack opacity and seem defined. The more I begin to notice my surroundings, the less I focus on escaping. I eventually slow to a jog, and upon realizing I'm slowing down, feel a massive wave of fatigue hit me.

I trip and fall forward, my legs giving out beneath me. I seem to have made no progress in getting out of this seemingly endless field; the treeline on the horizon seems just as far away as before. As my knees skid on the ground, I try to keep my momentum, telling myself to keep going; I find I cannot, though. As much as I want to get away, get away from whatever I saw, get away from this unfamiliar, un-detailed place, I am exhausted. I rest on my hands and knees, my legs screaming and a sharp pain stabbing into my lungs. My heart pounds in my ears, but I swear I hear the familiar thump nearby. A few out-of-place gusts of wind wash over me, and I see some motion at the top of my vision, causing me to glance up.

"Nice try, but even Bighoof can't outrun the fastest Pegasus in Equestria!" The light blue, horse-like creature stands before me like a predator that has easily bested its prey, with what I believe to be a competitive smile on its face. I'm not sure whether no thoughts at all run through my mind, or so many denying everything I see and hear that none of them register.

I take a last glance at the colorful, grinning, un-detailed horse, then pass out.

Chapter Thirteen

Upon waking up, I already know that the morning has come too soon. I have never been and never will be a morning person, even if life necessitates it. I sit up and turn to one side in my bed, rubbing my eyes for a moment. Come on, up and at 'em, let's go. I stand up, plodding tiredly across the room and down the stairs, grabbing my fine clothes on the way down.

I make a bee-line for the bathroom, starting my morning routine with a shower. It feels nice, and helps to wake me up some. I put on my pants, try on my suit coat, then realize the coat would probably go better with an undershirt. I walk outside, quickly grabbing my dried shirt and jeans and bringing them inside. I slip on my black T-shirt, which still holds a mild metallic scent. I doubt it will be noticeable unless someone literally decides to press their face into my shirt. Putting the suit jacket on over the dark shirt, I find that the combination looks nice. It isn't as comfortable, but I can live with it.

I look myself over in the mirror a few times. I clean up pretty nicely. Could definitely use a shave, though, I muse, rubbing a hand over my scruffy face. Climbing upstairs, I grab my dagger, and on another thought, my tomahawk as well. It just seems wrong to take one away from the other. Back on the first floor, I lay the tomahawk down on the table, taking the dagger with me into the bathroom. As I step in front of the mirror again, I run a finger along the blade; it is fine, not meant for durability, but for razor sharpness. Perfect. I begin carefully dragging the blade along my whiskers.

A few minutes later, I'm looking at someone who looks like myself again. I wash the shaved hair down the sink, splashing some of the water on my face and rinsing my mouth out a few times. Walking back out into the main room of my house, I start rummaging through the cabinets, grabbing an apple to eat. As I work on coring the apple, I contemplate bringing my weapons with me, but decide against it. I'm going to see a princess, not a dictator.

Speaking of which...I stand, bringing my apple with me over to a window. Peering out, I see that the sun has just cleared the horizon. Ought to get going...I scan around the room a last time, deciding I've got everything I need. I walk out the door, taking a bite out of my apple along the way.

I start off in the direction of the library, as per Twilight's instructions. Along the way, I allow my mind to wander. I wonder how the hot-air balloon ride will be. Hopefully it's in working order. I assume it will be very enjoyable. Like flying in an airplane, except I'm almost completely exposed to the sky, almost like I'm really flying...flying...My thoughts turn to Rainbow Dash. I find myself missing her company. She would make walks like this one a lot more interesting. I glance up into the sky, seeing a lot of Pegasi moving clouds around, but none of them are her; and she's fairly easy to spot, given the factor of the rainbow trail and her overall color. I sigh in a mixture of frustration and sadness. I need to apologize...

The library is soon within sight. I walk up to the door, knocking a few times. Spike opens the door for me, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, hey, Mark," he says with a tired smile. "Come on, Twilight's been waiting for you." I nod, smiling to him as I step inside. The small dragon shuts the door, then starts walking out of the room, beckoning for me to follow. I do so, walking through an adjacent room before going through a back door, leading us outside again.

I blink a few times upon seeing a large, purple hot-air balloon, tethered to the ground by some ropes and fully filled. Is this hers? Where would you even store a hot-air balloon...? Twilight Sparkle holds a clipboard with some sort of checklist attached to it before her with her magic, checking off something with a quill before turning to me.

"Finally! I was wondering if you remembered." Am I late or something...? She notices my attire, smiling. "That is a very nice suit. One of Rarity's?" I nod, her doing the same in reply. The unicorn looks back at her checklist, checking off another item and smiling satisfactorily. "It looks like you were the last thing needed on the list, Mark! Are you ready to go?"

I suppress a frown, looking into the sky again. No, I tell myself, nodding anyways. Twilight begins showing me how to properly board the balloon, instructing me on proper hot-air balloon etiquette, and so on. After five very long, very boring minutes, Twilight, Spike, and myself are all inside the basket of the balloon. It's fairly roomy, and I can actually walk around a little if I want. I grip on to the side of the balloon as Twilight commands Spike to start adding heat. I find it odd that they use magical flame to heat the air within the balloon, rather than Spike's own fire. It seems inefficient to not be putting a dragon to use.

My thoughts are pulled away from the proper use of a dragon's abilities as we start to lift off the ground. Soon enough, the ropes holding the balloon down are taut, and Twilight releases them all at once, allowing us to go airborne. I watch as we begin to pull away from the area behind the tree library, then away from Ponyville itself. I watch the ponies below get smaller and smaller as we climb. The balloon passes through the cloud layer, and we come to a stable height. I can see my house from here, I think giddily. I continue looking down below in awe, watching the familiar sea of clouds roll under us, the patchwork of the farmland.

"Hey!"

I stumble back as a familiar face appears from under the basket of the hot-air balloon, surprising me. I feel that I'm about to lose my balance, but am caught by some unseen savior. Noting that my surroundings look slightly pink in color, I realize Twilight is holding me with her magic. She tilts me forward again, setting me on my feet and releasing her magical grip. She and Spike look over the side of the basket, from where I can hear a scratchy laugh. I walk over to the side and peer over, as well. Rainbow Dash clutches her sides, laughing hysterically. I realized she managed to fly under the balloon and hide there.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaims. "You nearly made Mark fall out of the balloon!" The Pegasus continues laughing uncontrollably, starting to cry at this point. I feel a smile work its way onto my face as I watch her. She continues to laugh, then suddenly stops, interrupted by a hiccup. She hiccups again, a look of surprise on her face. It is my turn to laugh, and I am soon joined by Twilight and Spike. The four of us are grabbing our stomachs in pain after a few minutes. Dash flies into the basket, settling down near me. I sit down, smiling at her. She sighs, chuckling a little more before finding her voice.

"Oh, Celestia, that was priceless!" Rainbow gives another happy sigh, hiccuping again. "You didn't think--*hic*--that you could leave without saying goodbye, did you?" she asks playfully. I smile, shaking my head and getting out my paper and pencil.

I tried to find you yesterday and this morning, but I couldn't.

"Sorry, I had a lot of work to do yesterday. I tried to find you, too, after I got off work, but I couldn't. Where were you?"

Fighting off wolves in the Everfree Forest.

She reads the paper once, twice, three times, then looks up at me in surprise. "Wolves? You fought a wolf, in the Everfree? Are you nuts?" I scribble some more.

Five wolves. Had to kill two. Probably, but I was hungry.

"You took on five wolves for some food? I mean, I like food, but what kind of food is that important?" the mare asks incredulously. More writing.

Fish. I have to have protein in my diet, and the only place I could get them was the Everfree Forest.

She frowns. "So, you're like Gilda, then?" I raise an eyebrow in question. "A griffon. Gilda always ate stuff like fish."

"She's asking if you're a carnivore, Mark," Twilight says. Ah, alright. Griffons exist as well, then. I nod to Rainbow Dash.

"How come you're always eating apples and carrots and stuff, then?" Rainbow continues. I write out an answer.

Humans, what I am, are omnivores. We eat both plants and animals. Not ponies, or dogs, or anything like that, though. Only if we're really hungry.

She looks at me in surprise; I wink and grin. The pony smiles back, if a little nervously. Sensing a lull in conversation, I decide to show her my proof that I fought a few wolves. I pull up the sleeve of my right arm, revealing my series of bandages, in some places tinted brown. She peers at it, looking all around my arm. After a moment, she looks at me in question.

One of the wolves bit me. Zecora fixed me up.

"Whoa...so you went into the Everfree, alone?" I nod in confirmation. "To get some fish, because you were hungry...and you fought off a pack of wolves, and only got that?" I nod again. "That's...awesome!" she cries. "It's like something out of Daring Do, except you really did it! Nopony's ever went into the Everfree by themselves and made it out alive, but you did that, and fought a bunch of wolves!" Dash pauses, her grin of excitement fading a little. "Why did you go in there alone? Didn't you know that the Everfree is, like, really dangerous?" I shrug, honestly not sure myself. "Wow...and I thought I did some dumb stuff!" she jokes. I grin, pulling down my sleeve again.

"Mark," Twilight begins. I turn to look at her. "Do you realize canis lupus is one of the most aggressive creatures known to Equestria? What you did was quite a feat; the strongest of ponies have found it nearly impossible to even survive an attack from a single Everfree wolf. Don't get me wrong, it was a horrible idea, but...that's simply astounding," the unicorn muses. Humans are apex predators for a reason. Much more maneuverable, and we can use tools extensively.

I idly rub my arm as the air goes quiet for a moment. It's relaxing up here, peaceful. After a little while, I remember something that's been nagging at me for a while. The faint sound of a pencil against paper is just barely audible as I scribble out a message for Rainbow Dash, showing it to her and waiting for her to read it.

I want to apologize again for what I did last night. I let my curiosity get the best of me, and I am sorry.

Dash gives me a friendly smile. "Hey, Mark, like I said, it's cool. Don't worry about it, okay?" I look at her for a moment. She sounds genuine, and her smile reaches her eyes, a sign it is real, as well. I nod and smile to her, feeling relieved. I take back my paper and replace it in my pocket. After sitting for a while longer, I decide to stand up, looking out of the hot-air balloon.

A fair distance away, I can see the beginnings of what seems to be a city, built against a mountain range. I raise a hand to cover my eyes, trying to see it better. It looks enormous. Is that where we're headed?

"Look, there's Canterlot!" says Twilight, answering my mental question. "And right on schedule, too!"

I watch as the city steadily approaches. Not only does it look enormous, it is enormous. The metropolis has to cover at least a few square miles. The focal point is a very large castle, stretching high above all the other buildings. It bears gold and white coloring, tall spires, and many different levels, giving it a very majestic appearance. Twilight begins giving her dragon assistant instructions, helping with her own magic. A breeze brushes against my side; I turn to see Rainbow Dash hopping out of the basket, taking to the air. I watch with an unconscious smile as she flies around the balloon, looping around or spinning about every so often. As she comes around to the side I look over again, I see her mind churning. She flies out of sight, going behind the balloon. Quicker than I can realize, we are going around three times the speed we just were, barreling towards the city of Canterlot at a much quicker rate.

I quickly grab on to one of the ropes connecting the actual balloon to the basket, hanging fast. I look back, feeling a grin on my face. Twilight and Spike are hanging on for dear life, Spike seemingly enjoying himself as well; Twilight, not so much.

"Rainbow Dash!" she yells behind her. All of a sudden, the balloon slows, nearly coming to a stop, but resuming its normal speed. A head with wind-blown mane of six colors peeks over the side of the basket, nearly coming nose-to-nose with the violet unicorn.

"What? Look, we're really close now!" Rainbow points out. I look back to Canterlot, which is much, much closer now. In fact, we've nearly reached the castle. Twilight just glares at her angrily; the Pegasus gives me a small smile as I try to suppress laughter. The unicorn shoots me a look, and I quickly wipe the smile off my face, glancing elsewhere.

Twilight Sparkle gives a long sigh, shaking her head before grabbing on to various parts of the balloon with her magic. She begins the lengthy and careful process of landing the balloon. But, after a few minutes, we are perched upon a platform just outside the castle. I jump out as the violet pony ties down the balloon all at once. Rainbow Dash comes out of seemingly nowhere, landing just beside me on the platform. I look out over the city from where we stand; it's a nice view, but I decide not too look all the way down. We are on the side of a mountain, after all, hanging off of a platform attached to a castle that sits even higher up...I take a step towards the center of the landing pad. Twilight puts away her clipboard, trotting over to us with Spike following close behind.

Rainbow and I let the other two pass us, falling in behind them. I smooth out my suit jacket and adjust my undershirt a little, suddenly feeling somewhat self-conscious. I am going to see a princess-slash-goddess, I suppose. Our group walks onto a railed bridge, heading for a side entrance into the castle. Guarding a pair of large, ornate doors ahead are a pair of guards. They are dressed in gold armor, highlighted with blue accents in certain portions of the armor, and both appear very similar; white-coated unicorn stallions, nearly the same height and everything.

As we approach them, Twilight stops us, looking directly ahead at the doors. "Twilight Sparkle, here to see Princess Celestia. With me I bring my assistant, Spike, my friend, Rainbow Dash, and the creature the Princess has requested to see, Mark, who is also a friend." The guards nod simultaneously, then begin opening the large doors with their blueish magic. Twilight and Spike stroll inside; I walk a little more slowly, observing the great size and expensive decor around me. I glance to my side, looking for Rainbow; she isn't there, though. Looking back, I see her making faces at the guards. She contorts her face in a few ways without avail, the guards remaining stone-still. After a moment, she notices me staring, flashing me a quick smile before hurriedly trotting towards me. She stops mid-way, returning to the guard and sticking her tongue out quickly. To her surprise, the guard sticks out his tongue back. Her jaw drops, and she looks between me and the guard, pointing at him in shock. I chuckle, waving a hand for her to follow me.

We catch up to Twilight and Spike again, walking through the halls of the castle. It's huge, as big inside as it looks from the outside, maybe bigger. Beautiful sculptures line the paths, as well as stained-glass windows depicting various pictures. The sound of two sets of hooves and the quiet padding of both sneakers and small feet echo throughout the hallways, not in an eerie way, rather, one that exemplifies the greatness of this palace even more.

Turning to the left, I find another long hallway that lies before us. At the end of this one is another set of large doors; not only are they ornately decorated, they bear a design, as well. On the left is a representation of a large, white pony, almost actually horse-like in appearance, with a long, flowing mane. Behind the large pony is an image of a sun, like that shown on the backs of bits. On the right door is what seems to be a stark contrast; a black pony, also larger in size, with a flowing, blue mane, rests atop a symbol of a crescent moon. We seem to be heading towards these doors, given that there aren't any others in the hallway.

Our group approaches the doors, and Twilight stops, turning to face me. "Mark, Princess Celestia has requested your presence, and only your presence. To respect her wishes, we are going to stay out here until you are done. After that, I want to talk to the Princess, and then we can go back to Ponyville." She pauses, letting her words sink in. "Are you going to be okay? The Princess is the most powerful being in existence. She can have an...effect...on some creatures, not ponies, specifically, because we are used to her magic. But, don't worry. There is nopony more kindhearted in all of Equestria." I nod to the violet unicorn, then step past her, nearing the doors. I place my hand on one, looking back before I go inside. Rainbow Dash gives me a reassuring smile, and Twilight nods towards the door.

I turn back, take a deep breath, and push through the door.

Chapter Twenty-Five

I've always wondered about consciousness, just the general idea of it. How the mind has two parts, the conscious and the brain, the former to listen to one's own thoughts: the voice in one's head, that only they can hear, has to be heard somehow to be registered. Not only consciousness, but unconsciousness, as well. Perhaps when one is not aware of themselves and their surroundings, their mind does something else, rather than just go inactive. Maybe when one is unconscious, they become conscious somewhere else. I wonder to myself why I'm thinking philosophically right upon waking up, and decide to save that kind of thinking for another time, maybe when I'm bored.

My mind already fully awake and active, the rest of me slowly follows suit. I feel warm, an outside warmth that warms me on the inside as well, filling me with a peace I haven't felt for a long time, but is now sort of a regular thing, as of a short time ago, relatively. I don't think I could live without this warmth; I know I couldn't live without what generates this warmth. Already I know what it is, but the soft brush of fur on my chest, the touch of a mane like silk spilling over one of my arms and a little onto my neck, the slow, steady breaths glancing off my skin, the press of a lean and muscular yet gentle and soft against my side remind me further what lays within my grasp. An intoxicating scent of high-altitude air and a just-discernible hint of spice reaches my nose; a light, cute snore fills the air as I feel a breathing chest press against my own.

I open my eyes, looking around the room as I always do. The second floor of my house, my home, my second home, I suppose, is quiet, peacefully basked in morning light that spreads over the covers of my bed, all the way to me, where I can feel some of the warmth beaming onto my face. The room is fairly empty, save for my bed and a bookcase; atop the bookcase lies a pair of items I don't leave home without, a tomahawk and a dagger, within the bookcase are around twenty or so books, all of the same series. I'm on the eighth Daring Do book, I think, Daring Do and the Curse of the Golden Idol. It's actually a very immersing series; I can see why the pony who lent them all to me enjoys them so much.

My gaze shifts down, towards my chest; that very pony happens to be curled up against me, fast asleep. Her forelegs are wrapped around me tightly in a bear hug of sorts. I smile to myself as she snores again, not very loudly. My right arm already draped over her neck, I move my hand to reach her colorful mane, running my fingers slowly through each of the six colors in the rainbow. After a moment longer of watching her sleep, I carefully tilt my head a little farther down. I lightly rub my nose against hers, listening as her breathing quickens a little and feeling her start to shift around. Light blue eyelids open, revealing big, beautiful, rose eyes. As they come into focus, they meet my own steel-blue eyes, then close again. Rainbow Dash smiles tiredly, nuzzling me back.

I return my head to the pillow, watching her happily as she continues waking up. She stretches under the covers, her tail swishing a little so that some of it drapes over my legs. A contented sigh, the tired, but happy, smile remaining on her lips. She goes back into a state of what seems like sleep for a minute, but eventually stretches again, then opens her eyes, more awake now. The sky-blue Pegasus cranes her neck up to me, and I lean down to meet her in a kiss. Even her tired kisses have a flame of passion within them, and always manage to warm me with the ever-present spiciness. It still amazes me how such a tough pony--on the outside--can be so tender and loving; and I wouldn't have her any other way.

We slowly pull apart, smiling at one another. After a moment, I stroke my hand along one of her wings, the texture of the downy feathers caressing my fingers. My touch shifts to her back, which I gently rub. She hums happily, then together, we start to leave the bed. Once out of the grasp of the blankets, I reach under my bed, grabbing a neatly folded set of clean clothes, my usual matte black T-shirt and blue jeans, as well as socks and the like. Snatching the two bladed weapons off the bookcase, I rejoin Dash at the stairs.

The clip-clop of her hooves seems much louder in the quiet of morning as we walk across the open first-floor room. I push open the door to the bathroom, followed in by Rainbow. I start going about my daily business, as does she, eventually stripping off what little clothes I have on and climbing into the shower, flipping on the hot water. After a minute, the light blue pony joins me, taking care to step into the shower rather than fly in; if her wings get very wet, she can't fly. I turn towards her, bracing myself a little, then she leaps towards me, caught neatly in my arms. Smiling as I hold her against me, the water slowly wetting down her mane, fur, and wings, I kiss her moist, soft lips, hot water streaming down my face. We break apart, then lock lips again for a deep kiss. Pulling away after a long time, I look at her with a grin, receiving one in reply. I proceed to set her down on floor of the bathtub again, then grab a bar of soap. I'm actually the only one that needs the shower, given that ponies don't need to bathe on a daily basis to stay clean. Dash gets my back for me, getting a few kisses on the neck for her effort.

I eventually hop out of the shower, wet pony in trail. Grabbing a towel, she lets me dry her off, first, then myself, which ends up making me smell sort of spicy, not that I mind a bit. I slip on my clean clothes, sliding the hatchet into its usual belt loop and grabbing the dagger in my right hand. As Rainbow Dash begins preening her feathers, I give myself a rough shave; I don't really like being entirely clean-shaven, actually, so it suits me just fine. The portion of my daily routine involving the bathroom complete, Rainbow and I walk back into the main room.

I notice Tank lies on the couch, happily asleep; the sky-blue mare trots over towards the tortoise to wake and greet him. I decide to make some oatmeal for breakfast, because why not, it's the weekend. Getting out a pot, I fill it with water and place it on the stove, turning on the heat. I grab a bag of oats and the bag of apples from the cabinets before me, and on further thought, grab a small vial of cinnamon, as well. As I let the water heat to boiling, I turn, leaning against the counters. I watch Rainbow Dash give a light hoof-bump to the reptile, who is not wearing his aviation gear, given he's in my house rather than in the clouds.

This is how I like my home. A tired, lazy, weekend morning, cooking some breakfast that should probably be called lunch at the hour we're up, my small family here with me. I'm glad figuring out a good living arrangement wasn't too difficult. They come here for a week, I go to their house for a week. Each has its perks. Here, I have access to all of the stuff I use to cook with, so I can teach Rainbow more easily, and I can get to my job, if one can call it that, just by taking a short walk. Dash doesn't like being here all the time, though, since not everything can be napped on comfortably and there isn't much space to fly around in. So, I go to her house every other week. It's always nice up there, like a vacation every couple of weeks. Still, I have a tendency to not be able to fly, so getting to work is a lot harder, and I usually have to get up with Dash so she can lower me to the ground every couple of days or so; not that I mind. Having to get up earlier than normal is an easily disregarded compromise for getting to wake up with her every day.

I pour the oats in to the now-boiling water, turning down the heat. I pull my tomahawk from my belt, grabbing an apple, as well. Dicing up a few apples, I toss them into the pot of cooking oatmeal, along with a dash or two of cinnamon. I take out another apple, setting it aside, then put away the oats and apples. Turning again, I let the oatmeal continue to cook. The rainbow-maned mare trots over towards me, sniffing the air.

"Mmm...whatcha' makin'?" she asks, her scratchy voice that I find very cute sounding soft in the quiet air of morning. I smile, grabbing the pot by its handle and lowering it down for her to see; I know she doesn't want to hover to see it because of all the wind her wings make. Blows things around too much, especially in my fairly small house. "Oats?" I tilt my hand back and forth for a moment; sort of. She nods, smiling to me before hopping up into a chair at the table. I grab a spoon from a cupboard, given I don't have any drawers--maybe a project for later--and stir up the oatmeal, deeming it ready. The magical flame in the burner goes off, and I get out a pair of bowls, distributing the oatmeal between them. I take the bowls, and the spare apple, to the table, setting one bowl before Rainbow, the other before the other empty seat, and the apple off to the side of the table. I walk over to the couch, carefully grabbing Tank by the shell before carrying him over to the table, where I set him down before the apple. The three of us begin a late breakfast.

I'm happy to see that Rainbow Dash seems to enjoy the oatmeal. Despite the fact it's quite hot, she scarfs it down. I suppose oats and apples are a good combination, especially for a pony. I casually eat mine while Dash grabs a second bowl. Tank takes his time, as usual. It's not too bad, for homemade oatmeal. More cinnamon might have been better, but I digress, finishing off my breakfast as the light blue pony across from me finishes her seconds. I clean up the bowls, depositing them in the sink to wash later. The tortoise is still working on his apple, so I leave him be, returning to the table.

"You need to show me how to make that stuff sometime," Rainbow comments. I nod in agreement, pleased that she's pleased. She smiles warmly to me, and we just look at each other for a long time. Her magenta eyes are so easy to get lost in; the calm light in the room seems to intensify the energy, the adventurousness, the friendliness, the kindness in her eyes. Her gaze breaks after some time, flicking down to Tank. We watch the tortoise eat his apple for some time, smiling at the slowness of his pace.

The Pegasus stirs after a few minutes, snapping out of her trance. "Feel like going out to the lake today? I need to get in some more Wonderbolts practice," Dash asks with a hopeful smile. She and I both very well know that she really doesn't need any practice, at all; but getting to see her fly is an offer I never refuse. I feign deep thought for a moment, even going so far as to stroke my chin. She reaches across the table, slugging me on the shoulder. Chuckling, I nod happily to her. "Awesome!" Her focus drops to her, and I suppose my, pet tortoise. "Tank, be a good colt while we're gone, 'kay? No parties. Especially no Pinkie Pie parties, got it?" The reptile begins a very, very slow nod. "Good," says the sky-blue pony. With a smile, she quickly rubs her snout against Tank's, giving him a pat on the shell afterwards. Rainbow Dash picks him up, setting him on the wooden floor, followed by his half-eaten apple. She hops out of her chair, flaring out her wings and strutting a little for me. I give her a sly smile in reply, standing from the table as well. We walk together to the door; I wave a goodbye to Tank, who has gone back to eating his apple.

Outside, Dash jumps into the air, going into her usual hover. Despite seeming to use her wings a lot more than her legs, even for just a stroll through town, her legs are still in impeccable shape, and she can run like the wind. How did lazy old me get a catch like you? I silently question to her as I admire her. My thoughts begins to drift; maybe later. I really do want to see her fly right now, despite how much I want...that, as well. I don't remember when I decided to hell with the laws of nature, given that they're almost entirely different here. There are actually a lot of inter-species relationships, given that nearly everything is sentient. I think it was a few weeks ago I decided that. We were given the okay by Twilight; to say the least, she was grossed out, but didn't necessarily frown upon the whole ordeal. No reaction, no horrific mutants, which is certainly better than okay with me. It still took a while after that before I warmed up to the idea without a swell of what I thought to be long-dead emotion, but...well, it's hard not to be attracted to her, at least at this point.

Boy, wouldn't Mom and Dad be proud. I snort softly in self-amusement. Oddly enough, it seems like they'd understand. Especially given the whole thrown-into-another-universe-for-the-rest-of-my-natural-life thing. Maybe they would be proud, sarcasm aside. I make a living helping people, ponies, have a house of my own, made a few friends, good ones, and have someone I can call my own, even if she is a talking, technicolor Pegasus pony. I sidestep a foal trotting along with their mother, my focus returning to the world around me for a moment. I give a bashful smile to the mother in apology for nearly stepping on her kid; to my mild surprise, she returns the smile. That's something nice. It's taken, what? Two, three months? But, the locals have finally started to warm up to me. Remarkably, it seemed like when they realized Rainbow Dash and I were dating, they started to actually treat me like a normal citizen. Even having a pony simply brush past me is almost astounding, but very welcome. Maybe they thought that because the local Element of Loyalty, savior of quite a few citizens, and only pony with the capability to break the sound barrier while also disrupting the light spectrum trusted me so much, they could, too. And maybe not. I'm still trying to figure out how ponies tick. They're different from humans, mentality-wise, but only with certain things.

Has it really been three months? It doesn't feel like it, not at all. It feels like I've been here my whole life, yet at the same time, like I woke up in the very field we are headed towards only yesterday. Time, the ultimate deceiver. I shake my head a little, clearing my thoughts and looking over at Rainbow Dash. The pony catches my eye, doing a quick corkscrew for me. I smile, amused. She begins flying circles around me as I continue to walk down one of the many dirt roads of Ponyville. I watch her until my head spins.

Without warning, she latches onto my back, as she'll sometimes do. A tight squeeze around my upper and lower torso, and a giggle as I reach back and ruffle her mane with a hand. She lays her chin against my shoulder, rubbing a soft cheek against my neck. I like that she doesn't really care when it comes to public displays of affection. I figured her tough-girl attitude would cause her to shy away from anything that would make her look weak or soft, but I suppose it actually works in the exact opposite way: she's confident enough to figure she can be openly affectionate without anyone questioning her toughness. Plus, I'm sure nearly everyone realizes challenging her toughness is a death wish; and possibly, everyone suspects I might have some alien tricks up my sleeve, like breathing fire or something. All-in-all, we don't get questioned, and we like it that way.

I receive a few tender kisses on the neck, causing me to smile. I shift my grip on her legs around a bit, getting her to a position more comfortable for me on my back. I wish I could just have her like this all the time, right by my side, or on my back in this case. The irrational fears the the brain always creates constantly fill my head when I'm away from her. What if something happens to her, to me? What if the last time I saw her will really be the last? But then I see her again, and everything's okay. Maybe it's a result of what happened so long ago. Despite how much I just want to cling to her and keep her safe, I know I can't, because it would hold her back. And I don't want to hold her back. I want her to be free, to fly, to be there with me when I go into the Everfree, to be the best Wonderbolt in the history of Wonderbolts, or be the best weatherpony in the history of weatherponies, whatever she chooses. I want her to be happy, and I know trying to keep her safe would keep her from being happy.

We pass by the last houses marking the reaches of the town, entering the outskirts. Dash jumps off of my back, going into a hover beside me again. I watch as she does a tight loop before resuming flying along steadily. I smile to myself, anticipating whatever tricks she'll do today. Soon, I find the grass up to my shins, brushing off the legs of my pants as I walk along. We continue deeper into the field, and upon reaching what seems to be the center, I feel a blast of air to my side, signaling Rainbow Dash's excited take-off into the sky. Smiling to myself, I lay back in the grass, trying to resist the urge to take a quick nap as the Pegasus begins her aerobatics.

***

I awake to a light pressure on my chest, like one might feel when they go underwater a short distance from the surface. I open my eyes, blinking a few times; I don't even know why I went to sleep again, given how I felt pretty awake this morning. Before my gaze shifts down to see what is pressing on me, I note that the sky is starting to darken. I frown, scolding myself for falling asleep while watching Dash. I probably missed a lot of her tricks. Remembering the feeling on my torso, I look down at myself.

Atop me lies the familiar sky-blue Pegasus, sound asleep. The upper half of her body rests against my chest, her rump on the ground. Her wings are lazily outstretched, and her mane is astray in some areas from the wind. Maybe I didn't miss as much of her show as I thought. I carefully bring up my left hand, finding that my right lies upon her colorful mane already, and move it towards one of the semi-limp wings reaching out from her back. I gently run the tips of my fingers along the edge of her wing, admiring it. She stirs a little, her wing twitching. Rainbow makes a little humming noise of content. My hand traces over each of her feathers, taking in their light, soft texture. After a moment longer, I put my left hand behind my head, stroking her mane with my right. She cracks open an eye, revealing a sliver of gorgeous cerise. I smile warmly to her, and she does the same, opening her eyes all the way. I give her a quick scratch behind the ear, then go to sit up, letting her stand up off of me.

While I'm eye level with her, sitting on the ground, I gaze at her for a while. She holds my stare, smiling to me. A few seconds later, she moves in for a kiss, which I accept readily. My mouth is filled with the most wonderful taste in the world, my nose with the most wonderful smell, my body with the most wonderful warmth. Her tongue meets mine at one point, as we continue to kiss deeply, not wanting to let go of one another. We eventually have to come up for air, though, and break apart slowly. Working her mane in between my fingers, I rub her cheek with my thumb. She smiles happily; I push myself to my feet.

I find myself looking over towards Luna Lake, not very far from here. It seems like a good way to finish off another day. I look down to Rainbow Dash, pointing out to the lake and giving her a look of question. She follows my outstretched arm, then upon seeing what I'm pointing towards, nods, showing a warm smile. Her leaping into the air beside me, we walk through the field, heading for the small body of water that glistens with the reflection of the still-wholly-visible ball of fire hanging over the distant horizon.

We sit down on the bank together, the small pony scooting up to my side. I drape my arm over her back as she leans against my shoulder, setting her head atop it. I rest my cheek on top of her mane, savoring the silky feeling of her colorful hair against my face. Her mane smells so nice; then again, all of her does. I hear Dash emit a small giggle. She's mentioned before that I'm weird, or that the things I do are weird; but also that she likes me that way. I guess it is sort of weird that I'm always smelling her mane, or touching her wings, though she seems to like that quite a bit, or tracing my hand around one of her soft yet diamond-hard hooves, or touching her cutie mark, on occasion. It's just because she's so different, interesting, though; she smells really good, all the time, and her wings are really soft, even softer than the rest of her, and hooves are odd with their sort of magnetic powers, and the small current of electricity that flows through me when I touch her cutie mark is something else entirely. She's as cool and awesome on the outside as she is on the inside, put simply.

Watching the sun on its way down, I think of nightfall, which leads to thinking of the moon, which gives me an idea. I owe it to a certain princess of the night for bringing me here in the first place. Without her ancient spell, whether the current her meant to do it or not, I would not have been brought to Equestria. I wouldn't have been taken away from my menial, worthless life that probably had no future, given my inability to get past my memories. I wouldn't have found myself a job, in a sense, where I find myself truly happy doing, and where I'm actually doing something worthwhile. And I wouldn't have found the best girl, woman, mare, whatever she deserves to be called, in the universe, in any universe. I have a lot to thank that princess for.

For the first time today, I remove the folded paper and now-fairly-short pencil from my pocket, seeing and feeling Rainbow remove her head from my shoulder out of curiosity. There's still a good amount of light left in the sky, the sun just now changing to a red-orange hue, so I have enough time to write a nice, well-written letter to Princess Luna. I smooth out the sheet of paper, laying it against my leg for support. I lift my pencil to the top of the page, Rainbow Dash watching me intently.

Dear Princess Luna,

I pause, shifting my hand down a little ways. I take in a slow, deep breath, letting it out in a sigh of thought. Frowning, I try to think of where to start. There's so much to tell her, to thank her, to let her know she shouldn't feel any remorse for what she did long ago...but I don't know where to begin, or how to say it. I sit for some time, the Pegasus beside me looking up in question every so often. My gaze moves to the lake spanning out across from us for a moment. I figure out what I should write; instead of continuing on the page, I grab a new one from my pocket, unfolding it as nicely as I can before carefully writing as legibly and neatly as I can muster.

Dear Princess Luna,

Thank you.

--Mark

I stare at the paper, reading it over a few times. I think she'll understand. I'm about to lean forward and set the page off into the lake when a light blue hoof makes its way to my arm, stopping me. I look over at Rainbow in question.

"Can you tell her I said thanks, too?" she asks with a small, kind smile. I smile back, bringing the paper back to my leg and focusing on my handwriting again. I add a phrase to the bottom of the letter.

P.S.

Rainbow Dash says thanks, too.

The rainbow-maned pony grins up at me, nodding her head in satisfaction. I grab one edge of the paper, holding it over to Dash. She continues to smile, grabbing the opposite edge with her hoof. Together, we lean as far as we can forward, releasing the paper over the sparkling water of the lake. It floats gently down to the surface, and upon reaching it, begins its trip to the center of Luna Lake, pulled by forces unseen. We watch it as it sails out, a tiny boat upon a great, red ocean. It eventually slows to a stop in the middle of the water, then promptly vanishes with a trail of mist in its wake. I look over at Rainbow Dash, smiling to her. Her rose eyes sparkle up at me as she smiles back, laying her head against me again. I return my arm around her back, feeling the brush of an outstretched wing against my own.

For the first time in a very long time, I feel at peace. Peace that has come to me on its own, not forced upon me by sleep, death, or the magical aura of a talking pony princess. And it feels good. I feel like I understand why life is worth living; for moments like this, watching another day come to an end with someone I care about more than anything in the world. And really, that's all it boils down to, in the end; the little things in life. Or maybe it's the really big ones. Either way. It's not having a job, or a house, or being successful, or failing miserably; it's being happy. Happy because it's funny that someone thinks you're a mythical creature called 'Bighoof', happy because of the feeling that comes from helping out someone in need, happy to have survived a dire situation, happy because of spending time with those one loves. That's what counts: being happy.

"I love you."

I snap back to reality, blinking a few times and looking over at Rainbow Dash, who is now starting to look at me, as well. Did she say that to me? That didn't sound like her, though, I think rapidly, starting to get confused. Recalling the voice in my short-term memory, I remember it as sounding much deeper than her voice, not scratchy like hers is, though it did have a certain roughness to it, as if the speaker was sick or something. It sounded male, actually, a deep, male voice. Where did that come from? Why did it sound so close? I'm tempted to look around, but I know no one else is here, so--

"You...you talked," Rainbow whispers, bringing my focus back to her. My face twists in some surprise. Wait, what? I what? "Oh my gosh...you talked. You actually talked!" I did? She pulls away from me a little in excitement. "Oh my gosh!" she repeats. "You talked! You talked!" Her whole face is lit up with shock and excitement. "I can't believe it! You, you said..." she trails off for a moment, her eyes changing. "I...I love you, too." Dash looks into my eyes, hers shimmering a little with what seem to be tears of happiness. I realize she's responding to the voice, to...my voice. Something feels like it's building in my chest, something along the lines of overwhelming joy.

"I love you," I repeat, it being all I can say, feeling it in my throat now, knowing that I talked, that I really talked! I try to say something else, but find that my throat is in a good amount of pain. A laugh, or a choke, escapes my mouth, hurting a little as it has some voice behind it. Another laugh, then another, and soon, I'm laughing, and I can hear my laughing, and it fills the air with the happiness I feel. Rainbow Dash starts laughing with me, wrapping her forelegs around my neck and pressing her face into mine, kissing me repeatedly, passionately. I kiss her back, choking out laughter that hurts so bad but feels so good in between pressing my lips against hers. She is eventually overtaken by tears of joy, pressing her face into my neck as she laughs merrily, wet tears running off her face and onto my skin as she squeezes me with all her might. I squeeze back, finding tears of my own falling from my face.

We squeeze each other for a long time, crying and laughing until it hurts. I continue to hold her tightly after the tears subside, her doing the same with me. Rainbow Dash and I eventually pull back from each other; I wipe the tears from her eyes with my thumbs, and she wipes my own tears away with her hooves, holding my face on either side as I do hers and looking deeply into my eyes, smiling more happily than I have ever seen before.

"I love you, Rainbow Dash," I say hoarsely, the pain in my throat great, but more than worth it to tell her what I know I have wanted to for so long. Her brilliant magenta eyes shine brightly, sparkling with happiness, her colorful mane falling perfectly over her beautiful, sky-blue face, her majestic wings spread out behind her with glee.

"I love you, Mark," she says softly to me, her eyes gazing at mine for what feels like forever. She pulls me in for a long, wonderful, loving kiss, holding me against her, not wanting to let go. I taste her spicy taste, smell her intoxicating smell, take in her warmth that fills me all the way through, that completes me. We kiss for as long as we can, immediately pulling each other close afterwards in a tight hug.

Rainbow Dash and I embrace beside Luna Lake as the last of the fiery sun slips below the distant horizon.

The End.