Creation’s Folly

by Milos

Rating: mature
Tags: Profanity, Discord, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Human, Romance, Princess Luna, Original Character, Adventure, Violence, Princess Celestia, Anthro, Main 6
Length: 64202

The story of a young man who's life takes a turn. For better or worse, you’ll have to read it to find out…

What would you do if your whole world came crashing down? If the fate of the world fell in your lap and you were entirely unprepared for the journey ahead? What if the man in your dreams wasn’t just a dream?

These questions and more niggle their way into the mind of 19 year old Aurelius Diaz. Whether or not he likes it, times are changing. For better or worse, he cannot tell. Sent to an unknown world for an unknown reason, he must unlearn his conception of reality and master the destiny set before him, or risk everything crashing down.

To make matters even more urgent, it seems there are signs of disharmony. Signs of Discord.

The art is created by Microsoft Copilot. It’s about as close as I could find that showed what I want.

Published 2023-03-20 18:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-10-15 23:59:40 UTC

RE: Chapter 1: Fate Set Into Motion

I didn't need to turn around to know my adversary was headed right for us. I could feel the seams of reality coming apart around me, the small glade I had created so long ago simply vanishing into darkness. The figure's shadow began to wash over us as he crept ever closer, but I could not allow him to dash my last hope. With a thrum of magic, I channeled every fiber of my being, every ounce of what remained of my energy into the protective barrier around my son and smiled as my magic circle was finally completed.

He snarled, sensing my ministrations. "You can't escape me, Solus! I won’t lose to your feeble attempts to stop me, not this time!"

I would have liked to say that Order won over Chaos in this battle, but I never was a liar. My smile dropped as I felt coldness gripping at my soul, pain coursing through my chest and gut as his talon pierced my body through. My heart lay clutched in his claws, the beating slowly coming to a halt. The power I held on to dissipated with the completion of my spell and my eyes turned back to their original hue, my son’s bubble warping out of existence here and appearing elsewhere. I hadn’t the faintest idea where he would end, but at least he would be safe.

I coughed up blood, those vital fluids staining my beard and my eyes as everything became unusually heavy. The last thing I heard as everything faded to black was the tormented and rage filled scream of Discord, Spirit of Chaos.

—

Wind. That was the first thing I woke up to as I was unceremoniously dropped from an unknowable place in the sky. I could make out kaleidoscopic colors whirled around me, rain clouds zipping past me as I continued to plummet further down the side, whatever I was next to. Thinking back now, it looked like a grand oak tree. And, for lack of better words, I mean GRAND. I wasn't too far away from it, maybe a few hundred feet, but Lordy was it a massive one, like something out of a video game.

Despite me falling, I didn’t feel any sensation of movement hit me, just the sensation of wind. My heart pounded, daring to try and rattle around my ribs as panic overwhelmed any prior existing thoughts. It was a primal, nauseatingly icy spike of emotion within my very core, unlike anything I had ever felt before. All I could do was scream as I frantically looked around for anything to grab on to and rescue myself from gravity’s clutches.

Instead I only found the oppressive pushback of the atmosphere. It continued to pick up speed as I fell, tearing at my clothes and threatening to slice into my exposed skin. Vertigo overwhelmed me, forcing me to vomit out my stomach’s contents, before I continued to shred my vocal cords asking for help against the deafening wind.

As if a god decided to answer me with some cruel joke, deeper down below me a white light opened and my orientation began to creep slowly closer to it. An invisible pressure squeezed around me as I passed through, like I was being forced into a tube. It hurt immensely, causing me to experience an indescribable sense of pain and suffering. I made an attempt to open my eyes one last time, hoping that this had all been just a dream, and the last thing I saw before everything faded painfully into black was something lavender, white, blue, pink, orange, and yellow.

I don't know how long I laid unconscious, but I do know that everything hurt and something hard was poking my chest. I tried to drift back into unconsciousness to recover, but the poking varied enough in frequency to become annoying. When it hit my chest particularly hard, I groaned at the uncomfortable pain and made an attempt to swat at what I assumed was my roommate trying to get me up.

Bleary eyed, I looked up, only to be met with the color blue. "Roger, quit poking me with whatever that is! I have a massive hangover!" I barked, unsure of much.

A raspy voice I didn't recognize responded with a sigh. "Oh thank Celestia, he’s alive!"

I jolted up, ready to face whoever it was, but bumped square into the color of blue. I craned my head away from the shape and saw that I was lying on the floor of some dank, old building made of stone brick, then back to the shape in front of me. And that’s when I started panicking.

“Holyshitholyshitholyshit, what in the ever loving fuck?!” I shrieked. I scramble backwards, only to fall down a few inches onto the floor. I gave a cursory glance down at what I crawled over and saw another one of the colored people things, this one some shade of soft blue, and barely had time to make a mad dash to escape behind the group. Before I could manage to run through the ajar door, a blue thing blocked my exit.

“Whoa, big guy, we aren’t going to hurt you,” it attempted to reassure me.

An overwhelming need to get away spoke in my mind, demanding that I acted on instinct. My assailant was knocked aside as I bolted down the hallway, desperate to put as much distance between them and I. Felt like a mistake to dare waiting around for something else unknown to pop up.

I ignored the pleas to stop coming from behind me, sheer terror fueling my legs as I vaulted over piles of rubble and side-stepped into the first open door I spotted. The decayed wood cracked on its hinges as I threw it shut behind me.

My vision was spotty and my legs threatened to give out from the ice in my veins. I felt as if I might pass out from hyperventilating, the claustrophobic brickwork seeming to trap me as it appeared to move inward. Emotions ran higher and higher with each passing second.

Some part of me knew to calm down and managed to just barely slow my breathing and heart rate down enough to think. “Okay Aurelius, let’s just slow down. Breathe easy...” I pushed hard against the door as I overheard some type of clopping come from behind me. “You’re just having a bad dream. This isn’t real. You did not just see seven multi-colored talking horse-things. You are FINE.”

I heard one of them knock on the door as they cleared their throats, then whispered something to the rest of the group. “Hello? Are you in there?” It asked. “Please come out. I promise we’re not a threat.”

It felt as if my heart would explode out of my chest and my thoughts raced to make any sense of everything. What in the heck is going on? One moment I’m crashing after work for the night, and now this? Itook a moment to pause. Considering I’ve taken illicit substances before, vivid dreams weren’t an uncommon occurrence. But this is entirely too clear and vivid, so… what?

Was there something more to this that I thought? I’d be a fool to trust what didn’t line up with the reality I knew, especially when this could all be a bad trip. The thought that I couldn’t escape made my legs feel like jelly from prior exertion.

I decided to take a chance and assume everything was real. “W-where am I? Who are- no, better yet, WHAT are you?”

The voice on the other side of the door talked amongst its group, before turning back to me. “You are currently in a ruins of The Castle of the Two Sisters.”

Oh like that answers anything.

“As for what I am, and my friends, we’re ponies.” The voice stopped and more chattering took its place.

My thoughts raced with skepticism. Nothing made sense and the confusion caused vertigo in my corr. I couldn’t just leave my rationale behind to chance a leap of faith. As desperate as I was for any concrete answers, fear regrettably took priority.

They couldn’t make me open the door. It opened inward and could be kept shut with rubble if need be, though I could probably have kept it closed from adrenaline at that point. My breathing halted at that realization, at least a small bit of relief from the panic I felt. And then something pink leapt out of the bucket in the corner, its gleeful smile unnerving me. Panic surged back to full force and I pushed a might too hard into the door, the decayed wood breaking under my body weight. I tumbled out, smack into one of the group. It flipped me over and pinned me down to the ground.

Not fucking good, not fucking good! I thought as it pinned me down. I struggled against it, my body sweating and muscles tightening. The stone beneath us abraded like sandpaper.

“Got him!” It grunted, its raspy, tomboy voice struggling against my ministrations. “Hold still, you jerk!”

“Nononono,” I stammered out, gasping as I felt a burning pressure build in my chest. It swirled, itching to be released from my throat.

With a shout, I let loose the pressure into a massive wave as I ordered the blue thing to get off. My voice reverberated off the walls, an echo responding from down the hall.

The itching stopped shortly after bluey was thrown off. As my vision began to fade, I made an attempt to continue my escape and fell flat on my face. I tried to move my body, but was hit by exhaustion and all I wanted to do was sleep.

——
As my eyes fluttered open, I was startled by nearby sounds of a heart monitor and the smell of antiseptic. A white fuzziness partially clouded my vision, but blinking did nothing to help clear it. I craned my neck away from the tile ceiling to look around the room, barely making out a brown cork board on the bare walls of whatever hospital room I laid in.

I looked down to see myself dressed in a white hospital gown. It barely felt like it covered me, leaving me with a sense of exposure and nakedness. Other than some strange metal cuffs on my wrists, it felt like the only clothes I wore in an unfamiliar hospital.

I struggled to grasp the reality of my situation, and despite the strikingly eerie feeling of calm, my memory felt foggy as to what led up to me being in the hospital. Would have been more unnerved, but I didn’t feel any pain, aside from a minor thrum of something in my head and the general sense of exhaustion. I could think clearly about who I was and the state of my body, but couldn’t find a reason to feel upset.

I don’t recognize any of the voices in the hallway, I thought, looking more carefully at the doorway to my left. I could hear some sort of clicking or ‘clopping’ going on further down the hall, which I found odd.

I looked back down to my wrists, at the cuffs. I don’t remember wearing any jewelry to bed, but I also don’t remember putting on hospital clothes. Where am I?

That’s a little disconcerting. Each time I tried to go to remove either one of the bracelets, I seemed to lose all strength in whatever hand I grabbed one with.They weren’t exactly tight, as I could spin them around my wrist and move them on my forearm a bit, but I was powerless in any actual attempt to remove them. It was bewildering.

I heard someone enter my room and walk over to the far corner by a chair I saw earlier. I looked up and saw a weird, white and pink bipedal unicorn-person dressed in nurse scrubs and a white lab coat looking over levitating charts and paper, and reaching up to pin new ones on a cork board.

It seemed completely oblivious to me, but I was fully aware of it and looking at it made me feel uneasy, despite previously feeling calm. I almost wanted to hyperventilate and panic, but again something made me feel calm.

“Uh, hi?’ I greeted her, disrupting what she was doing and startling her. The papers that were floating suddenly fell to the floor and she turned back to look at me.

“Oh Celestia, he’s awake!” She gasped, before hastily bolting to the door and running back down the hall.

I glanced over to her scattered paperwork and then back at the door, feeling a sort of disconnection between her being here and now leaving. Confused, I asked the only possible thought one could have at the strangeness of it all.

“What?”

—

It took maybe a total of twenty minutes before what I assume was a doctor to show up, along with that same nurse from before.

Both of them were some manner of horse-human creature, but none like I had ever seen. They both had horns like a unicorn, large expressive eyes, short and wide but very rounded muzzles, and large ears. They walked on two, overly thick horse-like legs, were about four foot tall, and wore typical clothes one would see in a hospital. They had two arms that ended in hands with four fingers that were twice as thick as my own, with nails to match. But the strangest feature either of them displayed was the doctor’s colors.

Blue. The horse doctor is BLUE. The more I studied them, the more bizarre they seemed. That’s not natural by any sense of the word. What the heck have I gotten myself into?

The doctor smiled at my state, I guess happy that I was awake and aware of my surroundings. “Hello there, my tall friend. My name is Doctor Feelswell, and this is Nurse Redheart. We’re here to perform a health check up. Can you understand what I’m saying?”

I nodded. “Good, are you able to talk?” He asked.

I cleared my throat. “Uh, yes?”

He closed his eyes and nodded in solidarity. “Excellent, that means you haven’t suffered the worst effects.”

I looked at him, puzzled and anxious. “E-effects? What are you-“ I stopped and thought carefully about my next words. “What are you talking about? Where am I? What are these bracelets all about? Wh-“

Dr. Feelswell waved a hand to cut me off, his dismissive, albeit professional demeanor did little in the way of making me feel steady. “I understand your confusion, sir, but unfortunately I have many other patients to tend to this morning. Nurse Redheart will be more than happy to help answer any questions or concerns after we run a few tests.”

He motioned to the Nurse Redheart, who wheeled in a cart of instruments. The doctor ignited his own unicorn horn a pale teal color, and the instruments became enveloped in the same soft light.

Feelswell cleared his throat and then spoke softly. “Now then, just relax and we’ll be done shortly. This won’t hurt.”

The instruments moved with precision in his teal light, measuring my vitals. An empty syringe floated over to my forearm and then flew over to the nurse with a blood sample. I watched as her horn ignited with a soft baby blue hue and the syringe’s light changed color to match.

The tests continued for a little while longer. The calmness started to feel more natural thanks to the professionalism of the nurse and doctor. I couldn’t help but continue to wonder about where I was and what the cuffs were, but I trusted the caregivers enough to not hurt me.

“All finished.” The doctor stated matter-of-factly. “He is going to be fine. I bid you both farewell.” He nodded at Nurse Redheart before turning to go on to other patients.

I smiled slightly, relieved to hear I wasn’t at risk of whatever he was testing for. Nurse Redheart’s horn lit up again and I felt one of the metal cuffs enlarge and slide off my wrists. With it, went the overwhelming feeling of calm.

“Thank you for that. Now… Do you mind telling me where I am and why I’m here?” I asked.

“You’re in Ponyville General Hospital. You were brought in for M.E.S.” I gave her a blank look. “M.E.S. means Magic Exhaustion Syndrome.”

Furrowing my brow, I scoffed in disbelief at the thought. “Did you say ‘magic’? As in spells, ley lines, and grimoires?”

“Yes, the very same,” she started with a nod. “One of the cuffs are to help stabilize any fluctuations in your C.A.M. system so you won’t accidentally dispel any more, at least until it regenerates.”

She continued, her voice steady and reassuring. "From what the mare who brought you in said, you suddenly appeared through some sort of portal and used a Force spell while you were panicking. When she brought you in, you were nearly drained entirely of magic.” She smiled warmly. “I’m honestly relieved to see you awake in such a short time. Most don’t wake up for at least a week.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I had to ask the questions burning away in my mind.

“What do you mean by ‘drained' my C.A.M. system? What is a cam?”

“The C.A.M. system, or Chakram Ars Magicana system, is a specialized series of organs that most sapient species use to process and manipulate the energies around us. Straight out of a biology primer from medical school. It’s hard to explain the real nitty gritty without the proper papers, but that’s basically how it works.”

“I'm sorry to sound ignorant about all this, but I just find this hard to believe! Magic... the thing I spent so long thinking was a bunch of hogwash. You're claiming I did magic and it put me in the hospital."

Nurse Redheart's expression softened, a mix of her own curiosity and understanding obvious in her eyes. "I know how overwhelming and hard to believe this must be for you," she said. “Waking up in a strange place under extraordinary circumstances. You’re taking it rather well, all things considered.”

All things considered, she was right. “If I’m honest, I originally felt anxious when I woke up, but then I guess the cuff kind of kicked in. Was that some kind of magic cuff?”

She nodded slightly in affirmation. “Very astute of you. Most ponies don’t usually panic while in the hospital, but we take safeguards against anybody who might be delirious or potentially dangerous, especially an unknown person like yourself.”

I feel like that would have been more insulting if I wasn’t in a hospital.

Nurse Redheart continued small talk with me, asking my interests, basic dietary and health questions to get a baseline for me, though I couldn’t help very much since I never really went to an ER for anything.

All in all, I was both relieved and nervous at my new happenstance. Starting from scratch was to be expected back home after I graduated from high school, so it wasn’t like I hadn’t experienced trying to find a place to live or a job. I wonder if there are any schools to teach skills to the average Joe?

Author's Note

And here we go, everyone. I do hope you have enjoyed the new and improved version of the first chapter. I'm currently writing the Re:chapter 2 as of the posting this and have a few words written out. I will not be giving up as easily as before and WILL finish this fic. Please feel free to leave all criticisms, comments, praises, and other junk down below!

Chapter 2: Introductory Period

The next day I was greeted again by Nurse Redheart with a tray of vegetable mush and what looked like fish fillets, setting it on the bedside table.

Odd for a bunch of herbivores to be so casual about ferrying around meat, I thought.

The food was tolerable, but not the best. “Not to sound ungrateful for the food, I really appreciate it, but is this actual meat?

“Yes sir. Some of the patients we intake suffer from the same ailment you do, so we usually keep some manner of protein in stock.” She tilted her head. “Is fish not to your liking?”

“It’s mildly unpleasant, but I’ll eat it. Do you guys happen to keep salt around?”

She grimaced at the mention of salt, but quickly adopted her professional demeanor. “Not unless you count saline, unfortunately. Some ponies have a problem with abusing it.”

“What do you mean ‘abusing it’? Is it not a seasoning here?”

She scoffed at the realization. “No, it is, but it acts a bit like a mild narcotic for ponies. While we can eat it in food like baked goods, technically it’s frowned upon to have it in a hospital, a place of health. The local pharmacy around the block keeps it in stock though.”

The more you know.

I continued to eat my bland goop and digest that little factoid at the same time. Nurse Redheart excused herself to continue her rounds, leaving me alone once again to ponder my existance. The sun shone through my window softly, warming the air faintly. There were birds outside deciding to glide by and eat whatever bugs were unlucky enough to hover for too long. I couldn’t hear their songs through the glass, but from the green of the tree they roosted in I could tell it was probably around spring or summertime.

If the seasons here are similar at all to Earth, I wonder what the weather will be like? I might need to move to somewhere more temperate if I can’t tolerate winter here.

The quiet of the room was broken up by the sound of hooves coming from down the hall. A new nurse I had not seen yet stopped by with another pony, this one lavender and dressed in a white blouse, brown sweater vest and navy colored skirt.

She cleared her throat and proceeded to introduce herself. “Good morning, sir. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m the one who brought you here and I’m coming to see how you’re doing after the whole… debacle from before.”

I sat up straighter and set my tray aside. “I’m managing. Could definitely be doing better, but I’m managing.”

She smiled at hearing that I was ok. “That’s good. After all you went through, I’ve decided to take a particular interest in you and was wondering if you would be okay with me stopping by to ask a few questions.” She stepped forward to fully enter the room and sat in a visitor’s chair a ways away from my hospital bed. “That is, if you’re interested. If not, I can always come back at a later time.”

She appeared to be studious and proper, her calm demeanor never dropping and seeming to adopt more curiosity than I’d seen in anybody before. I nodded in affirmation and I swear the smile on her face threatened to split her head in half as she jumped up.

“That’s wonderful! Oh I have so many questions!” Her horn levitated a quill and a small notepad out from her pink and indigo mane. “Firstly, I’d like to ask what exact kind of species you are. I’ve never seen anything like you.”

The realization hit me- none of them knew what a human was. That meant that until I heard of someone else appearing in this world, I was entirely alone. A hollowness and sadness started to eat at my heart, but I tried my best to hide it behind a smile. Though Twilight noticed my emotions dip.

Her expression quickly dipped. “I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”

“No ma’am. I just sort of realized that I might be… entirely alone in this world as the only human.”

Twilight’s ears drooped at my admission and she looked as if she was searching for the right thing to say. “I’m very sorry about that. I can’t imagine how it must make you feel,” she said gently. “But if it’s any consolation to you, you don’t have to be alone in this. I’m sure everypony in Equestria could help you feel right at home.”

It did little to help raise my spirits, but I gave her a grateful nod anyway. “Thanks. That means a lot.”

She beamed and her natural enthusiasm returned in full force.
“Excellent. Now, about my first question: you said you were a human. What exactly is that?”

I gave her a quick lesson about my species, about how we were the dominant life form of our home planet and the rise from the stone age to modernity as best as I could.

Twilight’s quill danced across her notepad, taking in every detail I spoke. Evidently, it wasn’t enough to quench her thirst for knowledge, because she seemed eager to ask for more.

“Fascinating… and you say that on Earth, there’s no other intelligent life at all? Not even other animal species?” She asked resolutely.

“Well not entirely. As far as I’m aware, there aren’t any others that have spoken language, but recent discoveries suggested that some marine mammals used ultrasonic frequencies to communicate. Could be that most life was intelligent to some degree, especially social animals.”

Twilight’s quill paused mid-sentence to bring a hand up to her chin. “That’s an interesting thought. I never considered that the formation of language might have something to do with the emergence of intelligence, or vice versa. I’ll have to look into this more carefully…”

She shifted along the ground, before continuing to jot down her thoughts. “Now, about yourself. Do your species use names to differentiate yourselves among each other?”

I laughed at the notion. “Yes, I have a name. It’s Aurelius. Aurelius Diaz.”

She smiled and stuck a hand out toward me, which I shook. “Nice to officially meet you, Aurelius.” She shifted slightly, her posture straightening more in the chair.

“Now, about your sudden appearance a few days ago,” Twilight began, her tone changing to be serious. “You appeared shortly after an incredible burst of magic from the artifacts my friends and I used. It was… extraordinary to simplify it. Would you happen to know anything about that or what circumstances might have brought you here?”

I stayed silent, combing through the memories as best I could, but I only drew bits and pieces. “I can’t think of anything I might have done to cause all this. One second I remember laying down to sleep after work, the next I was falling through some shifting colors and then a sense of pulling as I saw a bright white light. Like I was caught in a tornado of… something.” I paused to scratch at my stubble. “Then I remember waking up around your friends and running away.”

She flattened her muzzle, dissatisfied at my answer, then scratched out something on her notepad. “Well, that at least shifts the blame off of you, but only brings up more questions.”

Without duplicating the exact circumstances and limiting variables, I don’t think the scientific method could help, much less answer anything. I certainly don’t want to go through any of that again unless it results in me going home.

I shrugged off the thought. “C’est la vie, I guess. No point in trying to figure this all out now.”

Twilight’s visit extended well into the afternoon as she asked me similar questions the hospital staff asked, which I obliged. It included, but wasn’t limited to human culture, dietary information, more history, what I used to do for employment or lack thereof, and more. Nurse Redheart returned with a lunch of more hospital fare and politely asked if Twilight would leave for now so I could go to minor physical therapy, which she begrudgingly agreed to. I found a sense of solace at being cared for in my time of need, helping to calm my thoughts and focus on recovery. Twilight and the staff l seemed nice enough.

As the sun finally climaxed the horizon, I looked back on the day and felt okay with my circumstances. I was left alone for the night to sleep and recover in peace.

—-

My dreams weren’t any less weird that night. They started off with me running through the same stone halls from before, being chased by some black cloud that threatened to swallow me, but it shifted to a calm starry void. I could feel a presence watching me from somewhere amongst the mist. Unnerving as it was, it didn’t appear overtly hostile like the blackness previously, rather it seemed content to just watch over me. I reached out to try and grab at one of the stars floating around, but the void blocked me from seeing anything further than a few inches away. It was as if I were inside a thick fog, not unlike the cool early mornings back home.

“Who are you?” asked the presence shortly before I woke up to a gentle tingle of magic fiddling with the remaining cuff. Seconds later and the cuff enlarged enough to slide off my wrist.

Nurse Redheart once more was the first sight greeting me for the morning, the cuff floating over into her lab coat’s pocket. She smiled when she noticed I was awake. “Good morning, Mr. Aurelius. How are you feeling today?”

“Better, now that my arms are free. I don’t know what it is, but I feel significantly nicer than I have in years!” I don’t know why, but I have the strangest feeling I could lift a rock twice my size!

She giggled at my enthusiasm. “That’s to be expected, but it’s remarkable that you’ve recovered as fast as you have. The main purpose of this cuff’s runes is to assist in mana regeneration and recovery, but not as quickly as that.”

“Wait, how long have I been here?”

Her smile grew the faintest bit. “Just over three days now,” she explained. “Normally it takes at least a week, depending on the severity. You came in almost entirely destitute of any mana flowing in your veins, which could have turned much worse.”

Holy Jesus, that bad?

She continued her assessment of my condition. “You said that you had never heard of magic before, hm?” I nodded. “That most likely means you have a severely underdeveloped CAM system and it seems that exposure to the ambient magic here in Equestria supercharged you, if that makes sense.”

I stared off into space while I tried to grapple with what that meant. The kindly nurse helped me all the while to get up and do a final once over before leaving to ready the paperwork for my discharge. I pulled out the bedside table’s drawer, assuming correctly that my clothes and shoes had been placed inside, and changed myself out of the stark hospital gown.

So what, am I just supposed to live normally with the knowledge that I’m suddenly superhuman without any indication on how to use those powers?

Every day so far had brought me nothing but questions that at the time were impossible to answer without a library. Luckily, the mare from before, Twilight Sparkle, seemed to be a student of sorts and had the knowledge I might need. She was currently standing at the check-in desk, scanning the room simultaneously conversing with a patient she recognized, before settling her attention on me and waving. Was she waiting for me?

Upon reaching said mare in question, she greeted me with nothing but a warm, scholarly smile. Her eyes sparkled at the chance to talk to me again. “Hello again, Aurelius. I take it you’re feeling much better today?”

“That I am, Ms. Sparkle. Like I told Nurse Redheart, I’m feeling fitter than usual. She says it’s due to being exposed to the ambient mana in the air.”

Her smile broadened at my response, a quill levitating over from the desk to the paperwork in front of her. It hurriedly flourished about, signing her name at the bottom of the page with her horn’s delicate lilac glow. “That’s wonderful to hear. I guess your condition wasn’t as bad as I thought. Here, I’ve gone ahead and signed everything on the release forms as your legal representative; so we’re all set to go.”

I stuttered at her reveal. “G-go? As in, I’m leaving with you? Where? And what do you mean legal representative?”

From behind the nurse’s station, Nurse Redheart grabbed the paperwork off the desk with her signature pink magic and flew them over to a holding basket. “Yes sir. Princess Celestia specifically requested that Ms. Sparkle, come discharge you as soon as you are well enough.” She bowed and gave me a smile to match Twilight’s. “Even though you appear to be well, I ask that you try to take it easy for the rest of the week to avoid accidentally injuring yourself.”

The nurse dismissed herself to return to her duties and Twilight started for the entrance of the hospital, into the bright sunlight that bathed the lobby. She paused at the entrance, her hands waiting on it ever so gently, as she turned to meet my stare. “It’s perfectly alright, Aurelius. After hearing about your sudden appearance during a tumultuous time as yours, she thought it pertinent to have someone well versed in the laws and customs of Equestria help you acclimate. And as your appointed legal representative,” she added with a hint of amusement, “I would be happy to help a new friend, if you’ll have me.”

I took a deep breath, before finally choosing to follow her lead. “I see,” I said steadily. “Well, if you would be so kind as to lead the way, Ms. Sparkle.”

“Just Twilight is fine, Aurelius. No need for formalities. We’ll take it one step at a time.”

As we proceeded down the path from the hospital onto the broader street laid before us, I could hear many indistinct voices from the town around us- the hustle and bustle of a lively little village, though that might be a poor description. Before me was a town right out of a coloring page or a cartoon. The buildings all had a comfortable peach colored brick and mortar, straw-thatch roofing with the odd house here and there with stone tile roofing. Nestled on the doorframe of some of the buildings were brightly painted iconography on the signs depicting the business and residences that building housed. The smells of the air wafted about, carrying all sorts of wonderfully nostalgic and homey moods, like a mix between a rustic farmhouse and freshly baked apple pies.

From the tang of the fresh produce, to the perfumes of the many residents, to the melody of their laughter and chatty attitudes, everything felt like it belonged in some picturesque landscape painting.

The feeling of the well-worn browns and grays of the cobblestones beneath my bare feet were comfortable enough, but I knew I would need shoes eventually.

Twilight snapped her fingers to shift my attention back to whatever she was saying. Her expression seemed to mirror my own wonder at the wider world outside my hospital room. “Welcome to Ponyville, Aurelius. Population: twelve thousand, four hundred and twenty two ponies, and one local human.

Twilight’s voice bolstered beaming and justified pride. “I would like to be the first pony to welcome you to your new home, however permanent or temporary it may be. Despite its size, the community here is unmatched anywhere else in Equestria. What I’ve learned so far in my short time here is that the sense of belonging and camaraderie here are the defining features of its ponies,” she started matter-of-factly

She lead me down the winding streets of the chaotically ordered blocks to the town’s center, which housed an ornate slate-gray fountain of a normal nondescript pony with its open hands reaching toward the sky. The babbling of its water reflected an almost mirror image of the clouds in the sky. “Over there we have a Ponyville’s mayor office, home and office of Ms. Mayor Mare. And to its right, is Sugarcube Corner Confectionery.” She pointed at the gingerbread looking house. “While not Ponyville’s only bakery, it’s one of my favorites. The Chocolate Lava cakes are absolutely divine.”

We continued on past a few more businesses, including the namesake Carousel Boutique, some furniture stores, supply stores and more, each of which Twilight had some small commentary about. We finally settled at a giant oak tree with a door carved in the front. Along the way, she stressed ‘Friendship and Respect are the two most important tenets of Equestrian law’ and that all laws reflected that. Basically the same common sense stuff that I remember from back home. Not that I was expecting anything unusual.

“We finally conclude our tour with Golden Oaks library, Ponyville’s premier place of information,” said Twilight, but her tone shifted to one of more nerdy bookishness. “And also double as my home. Would you believe me if I told you I’m beyond happy to have so many shelves of books?”

She pushed open the door and revealed that the interior trunk was simply lined with books, each shelf meticulously carved into the living wood of the building. I would even say coated with them. I couldn’t read any of the placards labeling each section, but there must have been at least a thousand. “Though I hate to say that it isn’t as large as the one in Canterlot, it has so many rare tomes on magical theory and history that I can’t think of any better place to end our grand tour. What do you think?”

Despite the air outside, I could feel that the airflow inside was perfectly cool. It definitely smelled of pages and ink, along with that of being lived in. The interior seemed cramped, but definitely large enough to live inside. I couldn’t wrap my head around how it managed to grow in such a way to be a building , but I quickly rationalized it as magic or maybe a skilled arborist. Made sense.

So a student lives in a library. Kinda cute in that sort of children’s nursery rhyme kind of way. Seems fitting. I’m almost at a loss for words.

“It’s… how do I put this… quaint. Very sparsely decorated.” Her expression dipped at my mention of her lack of furniture. “B-but that’s not a bad thing! It just means there’s room for improvement!”

Way to insult your host, dipshit.

Her disappointment shifted to a chuckle and she audibly laughed at my commentary. “I suppose that’s one word to describe my choice in decorations,” she said, her voiced laced with humor. “Not exactly the word I would have used. I prefer the term ‘simple and minimalist’. Definitely leaves room for improvement, as you said.”

She moved about the room with a familiarity only she could have, around the central table. She perused the shelves with a finger looking for something in particular. Twilight upon spotting the books she was looking for, levitated a small stack about eight books tall and set it over to the side of the reading station at the center of the room.

The books landed with a heavy thud. The way they moved about in the air so carefully, I thought the stack would be lighter! That’s got to be at least forty to fifty pounds of books! “There we are. It’s not an exhaustive list of everything you’ll need to know, mostly things for parents to teach their foals. But it does include a language primer to teach you how to read and write, if you can’t already, an Almanac of basic history in Equestria, common toxic plants and insects, and a few others,” she stated. “Anything else you might need, we can always cover at a future date when it becomes relevant. You can read it later this evening. For now, let me show you your room.”

She started towards a staircase jutting out of the rear wall, that the entire back bookshelf was built into. I didn’t see it before, but there was a whole other story to the inside of this place. Up above about ten feet from the actual library was a loft I couldn’t see the entirety of. It looked almost like a living room, complete with a nice looking recliner, end tables, a small pet bed shaped like a normal bed, and even a small fireplace. Her single-sized bed was nestled neatly in a corner that was carved out with just enough room to get into either side and the room was complete with a chest-height window to overlook the space behind the tree. On the far side of the little loft, opposite of the bed, was another set of stairs and a dumbwaiter, presumably to ferry food from a kitchen.

“I retract my statement from before about this place being quaint,” I said, which only caused Twilight to laugh considerably harder than was necessary.

We further dove into the belly of the great tree and passed by a fairly standard looking kitchen and into a spare room directly connected to it, secured with a presently unlocked door. Twilight pulled a small keyring out of her breast pocket and opened up the room up to reveal that it was more empty than the library down below. There was a single window which let in enough light that I could make out the texture of the wood making up the walls. From up here, I could make out the path we took through on the last leg through Ponyville, and could see the hustle and bustle starting to wind down for the day.

“So… this room is mine?” I asked in earnest.

She nodded and took its key off the ring, along with a spare key to the library. “It’s only fair to help out someone who was brought unfairly from their life by my own actions. My best guess right now is that it’s partly my fault that you’re here in Equestria now,” she started. “Plus I’ve never had the opportunity to have a roommate, until now. I thought it might be interesting.”

I took the key from her hands, a mix of emotions swirling inside me. I looked around the room, lost in its emptiness. “Thank you, Twilight. From the bottom of my heart,” I began, my voice cracking as my eyes started to water. “For all of this. It’s all so… overwhelming, but in a good way. To think someone who’s only just met me to show me such kindness. To… to… opening their home to me…”

Twilight, touched by my gratitude, softened and came close to offer me a hug. “Aurelius, it’s not a problem at all. I know it's a lot to take in, but I’ll help you out as much as I can.”

Of course I accepted her hug and cried. What else could I have done in a moment so tenderly? I knelt down to her four foot tall level and gladly accepted my new life and whatever it may bring.

With all that it DID bring.

Chapter 3: Ponyville

The following day started off with me waking up on the floor. The smell of eggs and toast were accompanied by the birds chirping and Ponyville stirring to life. While sleeping on the floor can’t possibly be the most comfortable, Twilight saw to it that I be given a blanket and pillow. Before I turned in early for the night, noting that I was tired from the two hour long tour she gave yesterday, she thought to give me a heads up about meeting and going out to run errands with her assistant today.

Which I am excited for.

After folding the blanket and taking a long look out at the town I was soon to journey into, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen/dining area below me. My room didn’t have a dumbwaiter like Twilight’s, but I didn’t mind. It meant I would get some exercise each morning I stayed here.

But what beheld my eyes as I entered the kitchen was a small purple and green scaled land drake wearing a frilly pink apron flipping fried eggs over the green flames jetting from its mouth. The butter sizzled and popped as the fire licked at the bottom of the cast iron skillet, the eggs crisping nicely with a satisfying sizzle each time they landed back in its griddle. He turned his attention to a toaster just left of the stovetop which didn’t have any burners on, and right on queue with him grabbing a plate, three out of four perfect slices of toast jumped out of the little machine and landed on his plate. The final slice barely missed the plate and tumbled down to the floor behind him, forcing him to turn and finally meet me face to snout.

He stood absolutely still, puzzled at first at who or what I was, before he smiled and greeted himself. “Oh, hey dude. You’re up kinda early, breakfast isn’t fully ready yet. Made by yours truly!” He proceeded to reach a claw down and pop the fallen toast into his maw of tens of sharp teeth, munching it to completion.

Cool! Of course a magic world with talking anthropomorphic ponies would have dragons. Well, land drake. He Doesn’t have any wings. And those teeth! They’re as big as my thumbs!

He noticed my look of bewilderment and his cheeks started to take on a mild green tinge. “You uh, gonna take a seat at the table or just keep staring at me? ‘Cus it’s starting to weird me out.”

“Ope, sorry man, I’ve just never seen a dragon before.” This week is going to be a lot of firsts, huh?

That shocked this little two foot tall dragon, his eyes widening. “Woah, really? You’re in for a treat then, because you’re looking at the number one assistant this side of Equestria!” He remarked with pride. “Name’s Spike!”

I couldn’t help but grin, my inner nerd geeking out about meeting such a high fantasy creature straight out of Tolkien. To see something so fearsome and powerful up close, only for it to be so small and a decent cook no less. This world’s full of surprises.

“I can only imagine what the cooking of something as legendary as a dragon will be like. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” I said, making my way over to the table. “And nice to meet you, little man. My name’s Aurelius.”

Spike brought a claw up to scratch at his chin. “Hmmm… now that you mention it, I could use some extra claws in making the blueberry muffins. Twilight likes them warm before she wakes up, so I’d appreciate the help.” He pointed up to the cabinets to his right. “If you could help me grab the spare bag of flour up, it’d save me so much time tryna climb up on the counter.”

I chuckled to myself and obliged the dude. We spent the good portion of the next half hour bonding over our newfound and shared love of cooking, him keeping the heat just right on the pans and me making an absolute mess of the remaining counter space. Four dozen muffins later, and we were both wearing a new coat of paint.

Looks like I’ll need to find some new clothes today. These are ruined with delicious batter. I thought as I popped in the last tray.

Right as I replaced the trays in the oven, Twilight thought it would be a good idea to walk into the kitchen. Stark furry naked. I’d look away, but I was curious at how they looked under the clothes. I thought fur technically counted as clothing? Should I say something?

Fortunately, Spike beat me to the punch. From the size of his eye, I don’t think it’s normal for ponies to wear their birthday suit. “T-Twilight! Your clothes!”

In her half-asleep state, she tilted her head at Spike. “What do you mean my…” Then it dawned on her. “Sweet Celestia!” In a flash and pop of purple, she was gone, only to reappear moments later wearing a similar blouse as yesterday, along with some black pants.

“…let’s just eat breakfast,” Twilight squeaked out from behind her blush.

I couldn’t help but have a laugh at Twilight’s misfortune, which only seemed to make her sink further into her chair, her nose pointed down. “I-it’s perfectly normal for somepony to sleep naked, I suppose,” she tried justifying.

Could have sworn I heard Spike mumble something about how it happens every morning.

—-

With breakfast and the dishes over with, and Twilight’s embarrassment now just a fond memory, I was starting to feel icky in the sticky batter on my clothes. “Hey Twilight, do you know of any charities that might offer clothes at all?”

That piqued her interest enough from her plate. “Hm? Oh, I can help you with that, hold on.” And with a flash, my clothes were spotless, albeit they now felt crisp. “I do know of a seamstress here in Ponyville that wouldn’t mind you placing an order though.”

At the mention of said seamstress, Spike dropped the plates he was holding onto the floor, shattering them into pieces. The noise of porcelaine made us all cringe. “S-sorry, Twilight. I don’t suppose you could…” He gestured to the once clean unshattered plates and they flashed off the floor and reappeared on the counter space above, completely whole again. “Thanks.”

“Mhmm…,” Twilight hummed a knowing sound. “I don’t suppose you’re interested in visiting a certain white unicorn today, are you Spike.” He nodded furiously. “Then I’ll be happy to add it to the itinerary.”

Spike fist pumped his arm, beyond excited to visit whoever the seamstress was, which I deduced was likely a childhood crush. Whoever they were, I guessed I was in for a treat, though what made a pony attractive was beyond me.

Twilight ignited her horn and popped a paper and quill into existence before floating them over to Spike. “We’ll be stopping by Carousel Boutique shortly after we stock up on more groceries today. And we’re also looking to stock up on more quills, paper, and chalk, among other thing.”

I followed Twilight out the front door of the library, Spike scampering to keep up with the two taller people. While he has a more singular goal in mind, I watched out for any ponies that happened to cross paths with us. It was wonderful to be able to feel the fresh air in my lungs and hear the sound of city life, sans the cars.

The shopping trip went on relatively uninterrupted, I even got to meet and converse with more of the townsfolk that lived here in Ponyville proper. Like Twilight and Spike, they were a friendly bunch, even the weird pink one who gasped when she saw me and then bolted away to who knows where.

When we finally reached the central marketplace, which had been set up some time earlier that morning to surround the Ponyville fountain, Twilight brought us over to an orange farmer dressed pony’s stall, where she and her younger sister were dispensing apples and related products to market-goers. Our turn came up rather quickly and the farm ponies recognized my two comrades easily, but didn’t seem to acknowledge me.

“Well howdy there, Twi’,” said the stetson wearing girl. “What can I do y'all for?” She finally noticed me standing behind Twilight, but didn’t say anything about me yet but rather was content to watch me to make sure I didn’t cause any trouble.

My previous experience weighed on my mind, reminding me that I had seen her before back in the old castle. At least she isn’t staring at me too hard. Hope I can apologize for accidentally hurting her friends before.

“Morning Applejack. I was hoping you might have more apple bakes and preserves in stock today,” Twilight said as she pulled her satchel bag over onto the stall counter.

Applejack shook her head, much to Twilight’s disappointment. “Sorry Twilight, we’re fresh outta the fritters an’ pies.” She passed over her remaining two canning jars. “This is all we got left of the jars today. That’ll be fifteen bits.”

My host pulled out a coin purse from her satchel and pulled out six golden coins, one denoted with a ten and the rest with ones. “Say Applejack, do you know if Rarity is open today?”

She affirmed with a nod. “Sure is. Got her to fix up my jeans for me. Why doya ask, if’n ya don’t mind.”

Twilight gestured toward me. “Aurelius here needs some new clothes to wear.”

Applejack’s gaze lingered on me with intrigue. “Well I’ll be. Mighty kind of ya to offer bein’ a host to the feller.” She offered me a smile before pulling up her newly fixed blue jeans. “Pleasure to meet ya.” She reached out a hand for me to shake, which I regretfully accepted.

But the strength of this girl! It feels like my hand’s gonna split in two! I grimaced at her display of strength until she let go with a hearty chuckle. “Jeez girl, that farmwork must do wonders on keeping you strong!”

Applejack tittered while wiping a tear from her eye. “That’s an earth pony for ya’. Bein’ strong and rocksteady is in our nature. Sorry ‘bout your hand there, friend.”

Applejack’s younger sister climbed up onto the stall without a care in the world, her oversized overalls slipping off her shoulder. “Ya’ gonna buy somethin’ else? We got a special deal on apples, one for a bit and two for two bits!”

Her elder sister chided the young one. “Applebloom, you know that’s not how deals work. And ya ain’t gonna sell nothing to nopony if ya thrust it in their faces.” Applejack picked her pint sized sibling off the counter and set her down, rustling a hand through her scarlet hair. “Apologies about that. It’s her first day at the market stall.”

“Not at all. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you about before.” I remarked.

“Pshaaw, it ain’t no water on the bridge. You were just scared,” Applejack dismissed. “Say, since y’all are goin’ to Rarity’s here in a bit, mind askin’ her if we’re still on for lunch tomorrow or if she still hasta go to Canterlot for that business trip? Slipped mah mind until now.”

Spike spoke up before anyone else had a chance to. “Can do, AJ.” He seemed impatient to go meet the one he was sweet on and was antsy just sitting here shooting the shot. We took that moment to hurriedly say our goodbyes and move away from the stall. The path to Carousel Boutique was lined with so many vibrant colors, I dare say it was equivalent to an antidepressant. Every so often, a random pony would pass by, offering a friendly ‘Good Morning!’ or a casual wave.

Seems not many people here find me out of place at all. There’s been a few odd stares and whispers, but nothing negative to note.

As we approached the boutique, I could finally take in the building in detail. It was a work of art, from the sound of the bells as we crossed the doorway, to the marble trim and pillars outside. Inside was another artwork: spoils of fabric neatly organized by the walls, different boxes of lace and ribbon over by waiting chairs, and every color imaginable lined the walls. The pony mannequins she had posted in the windows displayed some of the most recent works Rarity had completed.

“Rarity? Are you in here?” Twilight called out.

A very regal and smooth as silk voice called out from behind a folding screen. “Just a moment, darling! I’ll be right there.”

Spike was nothing if not enamored with the seamstress emerged, her white coat and deep purple mane absolutely glowing from the care taken of them. Her silvery-blue eyes just shone with creativity comparable to the works of art she surrounded herself with. Definitely the shop of talent, if I had to put it bluntly. I think I’ve seen an outfit like that before back on Earth. The pinstripe puffy blouse, black mini-skirt, and red hoof shoes look wonderfully paired together. I can definitely see why Spike might find her attractive with an outfit like that.

Her eyes landed on me for but a moment and it almost made my heart skip a beat with the nervousness I felt at being underdressed. I only had on the red t-shirt, simple white overshirt and blue shorts I arrived in. “Twilight, darling, who is this you’ve brought to me” Rarity asked in an almost sing-song melody. Her curiosity was obvious.

“This is Aurelius,” Twilight replied. “He’s in need of some more clothing.”

Rarity’s eyes sparkled as she made a circle around me, her horn glowing a faint baby blue similar to her eyes. Over floated a measuring tape and a few different spools of thread. “Hmm… while his outfit does scream casual, I can see what you mean. Absolutely nothing about it says higher class. We shall make you something fabulous!”

Being the center of attention was never really my favorite in social settings, but Rarity had a way of making it out to be the most special of occasions. Her continued to glow as she swiftly brought over a notepad to take my measurements in. “Now let’s see… you’ll need something durable, comfortable, and most importantly- form fitting but not too tight.” Her magic tugged at my shirts and pants a little. “Would you mind removing your clothes for me so I can take accurate measurements?”

That sparked a blush on my cheeks. “Um, I’m not sure I feel very comfortable stripping in front of everyone.” Rarity must have realized what she had implied and returned a blush of her own. She started stammering as if I insulted her.

‘P-preposterous to assume I meant something so base and naughty! I am a professional fashionista who would… would never stoop so low!” She responded with a humph. “I demand that you apologize for spiting my honor as a seamstress.”

“Oof, my mistake, Ms. Rarity. I didn’t mean to imply anything by my comment. I only meant to say I don’t feel comfortable with undressing in somewhere so open.” I gestured over to the folding screen. “Might we move behind there?”

Rarity huffed her sense of indignation, but her expression didn’t change in the slightest. “Very well.”

We moved on over away from the prying eyes of Spike and Twilight so I could feel more secure. I carefully stripped my shirts off and hesitated at my shorts. I’m not wearing any underwear.

Rarity was off put by my continued hesitation. “Well? Off with your shorts, please.”

I turned to look at her. “Ms. Rarity, I realize now that I am not wearing any undergarments. Can you take measurements over my shorts?” She sighed and gave me a knowing look, proceeding to do her best to press the tape flat against my thighs and groin. It didn’t take very long to finish the process and I returned to Twilight and Spike with embarrassment plastered on my face. The potential consequences of my actions weighed on my mind like rocks, but Spike saw to it to put a hand on my middle back in an attempt to comfort me.

“Don’t worry about it, Aurelius,” he whispered, his voice barely loud enough for me to hear. “Rarity can be a bit… let's say dramatic, but she has a heart of gold. She probably didn’t even mean to take it that way.”

The words did little to help, but I could understand where he was coming from. “Seems she’s passionate about her work, though I would hate to see what would happen if I really meant to insult her. Maybe if enough time went by, she’d learn to forgive me?”

His toothy grin however, did lift my spirits. “That’s the way, dude.”

Rarity still seemed absolutely peeved at me while she discussed fashion and the total cost of the outfits she was planning for me. She said they’d be ready in a few days for Spike or Twilight to pick up and specifically asked ‘nicely’ if I stay back at the library. First impressions are everything and I accidentally blew this one up out of the water. Going to need to make it up to her in the future. Maybe Spike doubles as her assistant since he’s so taken by her??

The sunlight back outside acted like a balm on my mood. All in all, the shopping trip was a success. Twilight managed to score a discount on her quills and a nice delivery mare offered us better quality muffins on the way home, since she had more than enough to share. We ended our trip with a visit to the local apothecary slash pharmacy over by the General Hospital before going back home to the library. Another completed day in Ponyville. Perhaps tomorrow would be the fresh start I needed to make plans for amends.

—

That night, I had another dream about the same starry void from before, but this time was different. I could see my hands and the stars flowed around me as if I were being moved in a random direction. They parted around me in a way that felt like being rubbed against foam insulation, minus the itchiness. I eventually reached a clearing, if you could call it that, and at the center was a six foot tall, midnight blue pony with wings and a horn. From her regalia and gorgeous galaxy-themed dress, I deduced that she must be royalty.

She noticed me shortly after I entered the bubble of stars, turning away from whatever she was doing to dedicate her attention to me. The way she’s staring at me, is she studying me or waiting for me to say something? What would I even say in a situation like this? I pondered for an unknown time.

It seems the dream queen wanted to break the silence more than I did. “Thou art the shining one I beheld few moons past. Why didst thou not deign to make thy presence known unto me? Not many of mine subjects possess lucidity.”

The way she spoke reminded me of the fancy Old English spoken at renaissance festivals. “Wait, is this a dream?”

“Verily. Dost thou surely jest?” She snickered.

“You said you saw me many nights ago. Are you talking about when I first entered Equestria?” I asked for clarification.

She nodded. “Indeed. Twas few hours past our newfound freedom from the nightmare.” So she’s referencing when I was in the hospital. “Once more, I inquire why sought you not to seek me?”

Her questions confused me. “I apologize, your majesty. For the first three days after I arrived, I was unconscious from magic exhaustion. Forgive my confusion, but what do you mean by ‘seek you out’?”

Her eyes lit up at realizing my ignorance. “Ah, so night walking be unknown to thee? That is telling. Mayhaps thou art a dreamer undiscovering in potential?” She reached a hand behind her and the stars swirled around her hand as she whispered to herself. After some time she relinquished her hold on them and gave me a soft smile. “Thine presence here draws memories of many a dreamer in history, prithee our assumption.”

The royal’s appearance seemed to flicker faintly before settling on translucent. “Ah, thou appearest to wander back into slumber. Night grant thee repose,” She said as she turned her attention back to the sea of stars behind her.

Before dreams found their way back in my mind, I barely managed to ask her her name. “We art Princess Luna Nocturn Shadowmere, ruler of the Night. We shalt engage discourse anon.”

Chapter 4: What I’m capable of

It had been little over a month now since I arrived in Equestria suddenly. I became used to the daily routine Twilight and Spike used me for and I took to it like flies to sticky paper. I was offered the chance to try and learn magic theory under Twilight’s tutelage, but without any familiarity with what she considered the basics, learning it was near impossible. I got the breathing exercises down right and could focus on my new awareness of magic easily enough, though being able to ‘channel’ the mana didn’t come naturally enough. She likened my currently level to that of a newborn, high potential but zero experience. Supposedly it would come with practice, similar to building strength in a muscle.

Fortunately, I had plenty of down time to practice with the ‘Magic for Foals’ primer book she lent, and I practiced late into the night numerous times. Unfortunately, I didn’t find very much fulfillment without results to show for it. The writing system and language used here in Equestria was easy enough to learn. It felt like it had similar rules and structure to English of all things, but the characters were all a type of cursive I had never seen before, like they took note of Arabic and Russian styles and married them.

I started dreading being JUST an assistant for the library recently. While food, board, and any of my other needs were met easily thanks to the Crown funding Twilight’s foray into magic and, funnily enough ‘friendship’ lessons each week, I was at a loss for a job. I felt thankful that Princess Celestia saw to it that I was furnished with the usual stuff, even including chairs and writing desk, while I stayed under Twilight’s roof, especially the bed stuffed with Thunderbird down. Something about the feathers acted like a copper mesh and made my back feel all massaged each night.

I saw to bring up my dissatisfaction with my position to my host later that evening, but as subtly as I could manage to not hurt her feelings.

“Excuse me, Twilight?” I said as I was restocking the last of the days returns.

She presently sat nestled in her usual nook above the bookshelves, rocking her hooves back and forth while she looked over some parchment. “Hm? What’s up, Aurelius?”

“I was wondering… does Ponyville have a local job fair or workforce agency?”

The mare looked up from her work, thought plastered on her face. “I don’t believe so. As far as I’m aware, most of the jobs in Equestria are either apprenticeships taken on by families’ next of kin or come from immigration. UnemploymentO is uncommon thanks to cutie marks dictating a pony’s life path and it’s entirely possible positions get taken by tradesponies shortly after they’re opened.” She paused to think. “Matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve heard much about the job market in my entire life, especially since Princess Celestia thinks it important to help bring even the lowest of ponies up on their hooves.”

That implies that charities could exist, but they might not be needed if everyone is provided for. If there’s never a massive struggle for the average ponies, how does the economy stay afloat? I remember notable events like the Great Depression and wondered if anything like that happened in Equestria’s history, which Twilight says she was unaware of it in recent history.

Perhaps the princesses would have an answer to that question if I asked?

I spent the majority of nights getting to know Luna or simply enjoying the time watching her work guiding the dreams of her ponies. Strange enough given my lack of conscious efforts, I found a kind of affinity for manipulating my own dreams. Other people’s dreams shared a similar feel and I found it a little more difficult to change features inside, which Luna called ‘dream walking’. Maybe it had something to do with my awareness or perception during sleep and it being associated with ‘lucidity’? Time would tell when or if I could learn to master magic.

I felt Twilight tap on my shoulder and somehow didn’t notice that she’d come down from her perch and gotten close enough that I could feel her breathing on my chest. “You alright there? You were staring off into space for quite a while and didn’t answer me.”

“Wazzat?” I spat as I snapped out of thought. “Could you repeat what you said?”

She giggled at me. “Ever the distracted one. Alrighty, would you like me to take you around town this afternoon and see about finding you a job?”

“Are you sure? I’m more than happy enough to sort through the new inventory, if you’d prefer. I don’t want to impose.”

Twilight’s smile shifted to one I couldn’t make heads or tails of. She used magic to push aside the boxes by my feet against a wall. “It doesn’t take an expert psychologist to be able to tell there’s a spark of wanderlust in your eyes. Aurelius, you’ve been a tremendous help around here these last few weeks. I would be remiss if I didn’t at least offer to help you find a more fitting place here in Ponyville.” She gave me a knowing smile. “I know all too well that feeling from back when I moved to Ponyville.”

Her voice sang with nostalgia. “We’ll take the day off and go into town to visit the town square, maybe even Applejack’s farm to see if she needs an extra hand. After all, everypony needs to find the place they belong and Ponyville is just the tapestry to help write your story on to.” With a gentle nudge, Twilight pushed me out the door before calling to let Spike know we would be out for the day. The prospect of finding somebody who’d harness my potential was exhilarating.

—-

Electricity wracked my body as Discord continued to force his power down my throat. It burned with the fury of a sun, and yet I did not die.

“I can do this forever, Solus. Tell me where he is,” he growled. “It’s only a matter of time before I strip that information from the simulacrum body I gave you.” He continued to force hot fiery magic into my body, and yet I still did not die. Though I did scream.

That cruel draconequus cackled his perverse laughter. “Tell you what, how about I open up the crack more on this pathetic bubble you call ‘Order’ and let the real me in? Oh what fun we would have!” His expression shifted. “Once I consume your soul out of that boy, I’ll be sure to show you all the true joys of unbound chaos, just you wait!”

His grip tightened as he continued to violate and immolate my body, turning me inside out before I appeared whole once again. “You may control this body, Nocturnal, but you will not break what remains of my will so easily!”

“Don’t you dare call me that!” He shouted with venom on his breath. “It’s Discord now! You lost the right to call me that when you betrayed my trust and banished me from Heaven!”

In between groans, I found the courage to speak my mind. “Y-you… are the one wh-who b-“ I continued to scream at the searing pain as he struck his claws into my core and ripped out my internal organs, which regenerated back to normal. “YOU WERE THE ONE WHO BETRAYED OUR FATHER’S ORDER! What did you expect me to do?!”

His maniacal laughter echoed off the barrier as formless chaos beat against it, hungering to plunge the only gateway to Yggdrasil. “Oh how queer, this notion of ‘Order’. He was weak willed and couldn’t see the true potential of creation! I will peel back every last spell, every single piece that you hold dear and shred it before your very eyes one of these days, and when I do you will beg for a death that will not come.”

I coughed blood up and spit it down towards the ground far below. “Far be it from me to find any kind of joy when you inevitably fail. I might not have been able to stop you, but I know he won’t fail me.” I’d finish the transference spell I originally started, but without a soul I could do nothing to help my son.

Discord’s eyes narrowed, lighting up with an almost ultraviolet anger. “Bravery or foolishness? We shall see which he is made of.” He snapped his lion’s paw and I plummeted down the side of the magical barrier our father built. I struck the ground, gasping for breath. “If it’s a game you want to play Solus, let’s see how you like this one.”

He pulled my head off the ground by my hair, his sickening claws melding with each fiber and his presence slowly snaked its way into my skull. My vision began to fade once again. “Let’s peel back that cocky attitude and expose the chaos that lies within, shall we?” I was lost in memories I had long since forgotten.

—-

The work search turned out fruitless from in the thick of Ponyville’s business district. I tried the local blacksmith’s and one of the carpentry businesses, but it was as Twilight suggested earlier: children acting as apprentices or out-of-towners. I did get a lead about a Miss Colgate’s dentistry offering a hefty twenty bit payment to allow her students to practice on anyone willing, but I was not about to endure possible pain for something equivalent to fifty dollars.

I know I could use the cash to buy any cool things at the weekly market, but I shudder when I think of having my mouth prodded at. I shivered at the thought of it.

While out and about, I spotted Applejack’s little sister and their two friends over by the town fountain, kicking their hooves in the water as they talked about what little girls do. Applebloom wore her typical crop top and overalls, but these two unknowns were dressed far differently. There was the tangerine and pink/purple maned pegasus filly clothed in spandex sport shorts and a green tank top, while the white unicorn filly with well style, curly light pink and purple mane wore a simple yellow sundress that cut off her knees. Whatever they were talking about picked up in excitement, based off the determination plastered on the pegasus as she hovered momentarily, though I thought it strange that she was unable to maintain being airborne.

I decided to take a break from my search to go introduce myself to Applebloom’s friends. None of the group noticed me slinking up on them and it worked well in my favor when I managed to startle them all. The unicorn filly actually lost her balance in the panic, and fell entirely into the fountain, soaking her to the bone.

The tomboy pegasus buzzed up in my face, her’s a bright red in embarrassment. “What the hay is wrong with you?!” She asked all aghast, much to Applebloom’s entertainment.

“Hehe, sorry about that, girls. You left yourselves wide-open for it and I couldn’t help myself,” I said, with a smile. “I hope I didn’t scare you girls too hard. My name’s Aurelius, what are your names?”

Applebloom helped her meek white friend out of the fountain and started trying to wring her sundress out. She didn’t look very pleased at having her clothes ruined for the day, so I offered her my hand to assist in stepping out of the fountain, a smile still on my face. Twilight came over from one of the nearby lunch tables over by a cafe situated a ways away and flicked my ear. “While I’ll admit it was funny, you shouldn’t go around startling ponies you don’t know, Aurelius. You don’t know how they’ll react,” she criticized. “Good afternoon, girls. I hope there aren’t any hard feelings, he means well.”

Two of the three fillies looked amongst each other with knowing looks before giggling at the ridiculousness of their situations. The orange one still seemed rather peeved at me and gave a solid growl while trying to bury her irate attitude. “Come on Scootaloo, it wasn’t that bad. Plus, we can always go over to my sister’s and change into something better,” said the unicorn girl. She finally accepted my hand and crawled over the gray stone sidewall. “My name is Sweetie Belle. Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Sweetie Belle said with a curtsy.

Scootaloo scoffed. “What’s with the fancy talk, Sweetie Belle? What, trying to impress your new boyfriend?”

Sweetie’s cheeks flushed a light pink and waved a hand at that. “Oh, that’s ridiculous,” she chided, though she could have been going along with the tease. “Rarity taught me it’s important to always be polite to somepony new because you never know how they might treat you. Besides, we only just met and he hasn’t taken me on a date yet.”

I chuckled, their discourse reminding me of my own time in school. “It’s quite refreshing to see such a strong friendship between ones as young as you all. Be sure to keep that fire going and always have each other’s backs.” I pause to readjust my shirt and shorts. “It’s inspiring.”

Scootaloo, who seemed to be fighting back a smile of her own at my compliment, turned her head away in a tsundere way. “W-well, nobody asked you for your comment, you meanie. What are you even doing over here anyway? Not that I care.” Oh she’s a fun one, indeed. I think I’ll like having them as friends.

Scootaloo’s friends verbally reprimanded her words, which she apologized for and shifted the blame towards being bullied at school again. Twilight took her chance to segway the conversation towards school, asking what they were learning this week and if they were having any difficulties.

That earned us three groans. “Ms. Cheerilee started another math lesson and it’s beena pain tuh learn… ugh, fractions. Ah swear, liftin’ the hay bales is easier!” Applebloom remarked her disdain.

Yep, I remember hating school when I was younger. Just that childhood energy bursting to get involved in literally anything else.

Twilight tried to comment on the importance of school, but I beat her to the punch. “You may say that now, but you’ll thank yourself and everyone you know who encouraged you to complete it. Believe me, I used to be in school up until a few years ago. That shortsighted thought looks really silly when you look back in a few years.”

It was like I dropped a microphone, the way these three fillies, who were probably no older than fourteen or fifteen, looked at me. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I inspired them or encouraged them, if their smiles were any indication of their moods.

Twilight nodded, agreeing with the sentiment. “Absolutely. Why, I don’t think I could have become the unicorn I am today if it weren’t for those nights I spent studying. Granted, I also didn’t have traditional school, but I was still expected to pass tests and learn from books.”

I gave her a quick glance, before returning my attention back to the girls. “Yeah, but being the princess’ protégé probably has more than those few differences.” Twilight blushed her bashful cheeks and stammered about how it wasn’t supposed to come out like that.

“Would you mind helping us learn the stuff if we needed it, Mr….?” Scootaloo asked. “What did you say your name was?”

“Aurelius. Aurelius Diaz, at your service.” She met my hand for a well deserved, firm handshake. “And yes, I absolutely will.”

Welp, that’s another group of people to add to my list of friends.

We got to talking about how they liked Ponyville, but considering how they grew up there, their opinions were biased at best. Twilight saw fit to invite the girls to the nearby cafe for smoothies, which sounded heavenly given how hot it was today. Sun’s definitely a scorcher today.

They all got to talking about typical pony fanfare: the weather, what their favorite flavor of smoothie was, who was or wasn’t dating and more of the local gossip. A bit much for me, since I was never too fond of talking about randoms behind their backs, but to each their own. Shortly into our smoothie snackage, our server came by with the bill, which Twilight took care of before. I shot Applebloom a furtive glance on a whim and noted that she seemed disappointed by that, though try as she might to hide it.

“You alright there, Ms. Applebloom?” I said, hoping to have her open up.

She hesitated, her eyes flicking towards the small stack of bits placed at the center of the table. “It’s just… Ah wanted to contribute too,” she admitted. “Applejack was ‘sposed to give me an allowance this week, but with how busy she’s been… IT’S been a tough few weeks with all the work that’s been piling up.”

Intriguing. “Busy how?”

“Well, since the couple of tha pipes broke for our faucet, she and Big Mac have been havin’ ta haul water from the lake to keep our irrigation lines fed. Ah’m havin’ ta pick up the slack and there ain’t no way she can spare the time to come ta market and…” She stopped to sniffle at her predicament. “Ah just feel all useless is all. Not enough pony power to help and ah just don’t know what to do.”

I’m having an idea happening here~ I sang in my head.

“Applebloom, what if I could not only help solve your problem, but solve a bit of my own,” I said with a smile.

—-

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle dismissed themselves from our merry group to head back to the Carousel Boutique, leaving the remaining three of us to make our way for the Apple household. Upon arriving to the main path to the house, I spotted Applejack and who I assumed to be Big Macintosh drinking from their glasses, their exhaustion evident by the sweat stained clothes. Big Mac was dressed in a bright orange T-shirt and well worn blue jeans, while Applejack was wearing a black and red flannel shirt with denim overalls. Both were heavily engrossed in a list of chores to do around the farm, and Applejack grimaced at the mounting tasks. Applebloom hurried up the oaken steps, knocking on one of the support beams to get their attention, which earned us all curious looks.

Big Mac leaned his chair back against the wall, wiping his brow with a rag, while Applejack got up to greet us properly. “Well, hey there y’all. What brings the two of ya to Sweet Apple Acres this afternoon?” She said with that sweet southern comfort. It was currently about five in the afternoon.

I put a hand on Applebloom’s shoulder, which caused Big Mac to eye me cautiously, but otherwise not make any movements to get up. “Afternoon, Applejack. Thought I’d stop by and check in on how the farm life had been treating you all. From what Applebloom says, it’s been a bit of a tussle.”

She smiled. “Mighty kind of y’all, Aurelius. To who do I owe the pleasure of sending you mah way?”

“Oh it was partly Applebloom’s doing.” I tipped my imaginary hat to the filly. “And I was looking to see if there was anything I could be of assistance with. I hear your irrigation might need some looking at, among other things. If you’ll have me, I’m in the market for employment— something that I’d fit into just right. Say, some manual labor?”

Applejack stomped a hoof on the porch, her smile blazened on her outfit. “Hooey, that’s a mighty tall an’ generous offer you’ve done plopped at my doorstep. We absolutely sure as sugar could use the help, if’n ya don’t mind harvestin’ summer crops and whatnot.” She raised her hand high to emphasize what she said next. “We got us a monster of a haystack of jobs, taller than this here house.”

Big Mac decided to get up out of his chair with a groan and I finally took in his size. He was easily befitting of his name, since he towered an extra foot above me. “If you’re serious, we can start tomorrow,” his voice rumbled very deeply and shockingly well spoken. “I know just the job too. Walk with me.”

As we walked, the evening crickets chirped their songs, which mixed perfectly with the fresh air and rustic sights of the farm. The apple orchards and crop fields that surrounded us provided a pleasant scene, inspiring me. The prospect of earning my keep instead of mooching off Twilight niggled its way deep in my soul. It felt nice to be able to aid a family in need. I followed the stallion, his youngest sister trailing behind us a ways with a skip in her step, her hops never off beat with the sounds of nature.

“Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres. As the name suggests, apple farmin’ is not only what we’re known best for, but it’s our legacy and livelihood. There’s more of our kin’s blood and sweat in these here fields than anywhere else in Equestria… and you’ll become part of our home here tomorrow.” His words carried with them the notorious Apple pride I’d heard of when on shopping trips with Twilight. He led us slowly over to a dilapidated barn that looked like it would keel over in the slightest breeze.

“We’ve got a chore of a task that we’ll handle when the sun’s high. Please don’t go in there without me, some of the supports aren’t the sturdiest.” Big Mac continued to make his way along the well worn path on the farm, over to one of the wider orchards. “We’ll start off easy, ferrying down all the tools and whatnot we’ve got stored inside before Rainbow Dash shows up to help us knock it down.”

“Sounds like a plan, Big Macintosh,” I responded with a nod in agreement. “I’m excited to roll up my metaphorical sleeves and prove myself to you all. To put some extra pride in the Apple name and contribute to the lifeblood of Ponyville.”

His expression softened, his stoic demeanor taking a dip. “Enthusiasm is always welcome, Aurelius. It’s been some time since we’ve had anypony interested in bein’ a farmhand. And you can just call me Big Mac.”

Never in my weirdest dreams would I have encountered such welcoming people anywhere on Earth. These ponies… they’re a total mirror of your average human. Why, I’d go as far as to say that they top them.

As the last amber light of the sun petered out over the horizon, I turned to face my new coworkers and friends waving me off back to the library. Their smiles inspired that sense of wholeness and belonging I was missing since I arrived a little over a month ago. The Apples represented a piece of the blue collar workers in Equestria, a people I could easily respect and appreciate like no other. Here under the Equestrian sky, they toiled day in and day out, all to help fuel who knows how many ponies.

“I’ll be here bright and early, Twilight. Don’t want to shirk my work before it begins.” She didn’t have anything to add to that other than a smile that rivaled the Apple family’s. I craned once more to watch the family become smaller as we made the walk back home, the cool, crisp night air settling down over the countryside.

That night, as I laid down to rest, my thoughts raced. I couldn’t sleep. Guess I’m too excited to fall down tonight. Might as well go for a walk. And walk I did.

The streets were eerily quiet as I made my way to the outskirts of Ponyville behind the library. The night was a clear, beautifully deep blue like the ocean, stars twinkling and dancing amongst their brethren. If I didn’t need sleep, I would have done this every night, just to appreciate the unique smells and sights. There was something alive about the sky that night, something that pulled at the back of my mind that felt… I’d have to say uneasy. Like I was being stared at by the moon.

I can’t put my finger on it, but something’s off about tonight. It’s more… just more, than usual? How would I describe this? I’ve noticed that it felt similar to how everything did around noon the few days I was out at the apex of the day. I reached the hill behind Twilight’s home in no time flat and stared out over the dark forest from where I arrived. It seemed more peaceful now than during the day, unlike the dark shadow that it persistently cast in the area surrounding it. The feeling did not leave me once, rather it grew in intensity.

I felt a faint wind prickle my neck as the atmosphere shifted and I spun around, my heart leaping in my throat. Behind me wreathed in the silvery light directly from the moon, hovered Princess Luna in all her glory, her starry mane a glowing field of stars like the ante theater of her dream realm. She gently touched down, ageless and fathomless wisdom and curiosity in her eyes. Her silken silver dress flowed around in a similar fashion to her mane and tail, it obviously enchanted.

“Greetings, friend Aurelius,” she started, her regal as ever. “Thou seemest troubled this night, yet thou art drawn to its beauty. Prithee tell what ails you?”

I bowed, a mix of respect and surprise gripping at me. “Princess Luna. I… wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

She appeared to glide over towards me, her hooves nary making a sound as the night’s dew dropped with each step. “The night reigns as my realm, for 'tis I who craft each starscape with sincerity. All souls abiding beneath my moon fall within my sovereignty.” She offered me a caring, almost motherly look. “Tis expected we would visit one who draws our eye.”

Her assurance lent me strength enough to voice my concern for tonight. “It’s as if everything feels alive right now under the light of the full moon. I’ve never felt something so… intense and charged, so to speak.”

The Princess nodded and was impressed with my senses. “Verily, the boundary 'twixt realms doth wane this night, and enchantment awakens 'neath the forest’s heart. 'Tis an eve of mighty forces, a season where magics roam unfettered. Indeed, only a stalwart spirit may sense the subtle turning of the veils.”

So… why can’t I access this potent magic she speaks of? Why am I still unable to call forth any control over my potential? I frowned at my loss, Luna noticing my disposition.

Then suddenly, she hugged me, as if she knew exactly what to do to raise my spirits. “I am well acquainted with thy tribulations. In my youth, I too struggled to master the simplest of levitation charms. Thou art as a youngling still finding its footing; afford thyself further seasons to flourish, for greatness awaits the patient.”

I almost wanted to cry. I’d never had the best of childhoods, though my parents would never tell anyone that they’d been less than perfect. “In truth, nobody has ever seen fit to encourage my potential before you. Thank you.” I offered her a hug in return.

We stood in each other’s embrace for long enough that the sadness left me. Princess Luna summoned a set of stumps for us to sit on and gaze silently at the marvel she crafted tonight. Though the moon was hardly at its full position for the night, I felt invigorated, as if I’d drunk coffee. The stars in heaven whispered amongst themselves their hidden secrets, narrowly outside of my grasp as I reached a hand out to try and grab one, despite the futility. I closed my eyes and practiced the breathing and meditation from the magic primer I was lent, feeling the muscles for my CAM flexing with each breath. The sensation was unique, like a shifting in my stomach and my heartbeat all rolled into one. It pulsed with each breath and heart beat, not fast but quickly enough that I could feel it snake its way up my arm and into my palm. I tried to envision a small ball light, barely the size of a pea, and could feel the mana charged organ in my core pushing more fluid-like energy into my palm. But nothing came, I was still left like I had been all the other times I trained. I was stumped.

I thought surely, tonight would have been the night I could call forth the magicks locked deep within me, but I still failed. I’m pathetic… I thought as Luna reached out and slid her own palm against the back of my hand. Though it shocked me at first, not expecting to feel her press herself against my back, she wrapped her other arm around my chest and placed its hand gently across my breast. She nuzzled my cheek, like I was her son, and whispered softly in my ear.

“Be at ease. My intent is to assist in awakening thine chakras. Shut your eyes and focus to where mine mana converges with thine own.”

I closed my eyes once more, ignoring the pony pressed against me. Where there was once the warmth of my body, I now felt a spherical piece of ice deep in my heart that gradually migrated back and down my spine and into my palm. On instinctual reaction, my arm twitched and my palm felt hot for a split second before the ice ball disappeared completely. What Luna said next prompted me to open my eyes.

“Verily, thoust potential be stronger than we anticipated. To conjure such a splendid light, it’s unprecedented.”

“What are you-“ I started, but ceased as soon as I beheld the ball of shifting colors hugged tightly against my hand. It was there for but a moment, but instantly vanished. “H-how did I…? What did you do?” I couldn’t get it even after a month of training.

She gave me a sly little smile, but didn’t directly answer my question. “Truly, the fabric of dreams diverges from that of the waking world, yet such distinction need not stand. By thine own volition, thoust can make it so, and the realm of reality shall heed thy call. Hark, let us venture closer to the shadowed wood for our training to commence.” And off she gracefully flew toward the edge of the Everfree.

Author's Note

Well, here we are. This chapter in particular is a labor of love, and I am incredibly proud of it. I have big plans for this Fic and hope you all will join me as we see where fate takes Aurelius and his friends.

Chapter 5: Apples, Apples, and more Apples

Author's Note

Another chapter finished. Took me long enough, but here we are with a continuation of the story! Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Apples, Apples, and more Apples

The Everfree was oppressive as I snuck my way in while trying to follow the Princess, every thorn and bramble a monumental task to push through. I had no inkling of what might lay within the trees this late at night, and as much as fear of being eaten weighed on me, the excitement and joy I felt of finally being able to use magic gave me the courage to move forward. I lost sight of her majesty shortly after she flew in between two large boulders, tripping over exposed tree roots and bathed myself in the humus of the forest floor.

I thought it foolish to ignore my instinctive drive to leave, but bravery and foolishness were two sides of the same coin. I’d almost call this the ‘dread’ of night, since I really don’t want to be in here without a guide or means of protecting myself, but the Princess wouldn’t bring me here if she didn’t feel it was safe. I hope.

Even though I couldn’t see her, I still clearly heard Luna’s voice of encouragement. “Though your frustrations are warranted, tread calmly. The Everfree’s quagmire is steeped in ancient magics, waiting for deft spellweavers to unlock them,” she reassured me. “With thine newly unlocked Chakram Ars Arcana, the task ought not be too arduous. Yet, be ever vigilant, for shadows lurk in these cursed depths, yearning for the unwary.”

I lowered my voice. “So watch my steps and be ready to run at any moment. Gotcha.” My breathing petered out to a whisper and I focused on my core muscles to pump magic into my hand again, calling forth the same light from before, but much smaller. It didn’t help much, but I could make out obstacles in my way now. Still though, Luna did not make her presence known other than by way of I guess telepathy, ever out of sight.

The forest’s atmosphere changed in response to its newest intruder, its weight like a frosty stress blanket that pushed against my skin, prickling it and giving a constant reminder that the place wasn’t meant for any random person. It was as alive as the night itself, and I could feel its hunger full force.

“I’m not an adventurer, Princess Luna. I’m not built for long excursions into the unknown. How can I be sure that nothing will hurt me while I’m here?” I asked, praying silently that it would all be over soon.

She let out a titter, not doing anything to ease my heartrate. “You cannot. There art creatures of immeasurable magnitude buried everywhere. Manticores, hydra, rockadiles, and more, but we shan’t enter their domain before thoust been prepared. This is thine opportunity to uphold enchantments amidst duress, and what grander trial exists than peril itself?”

I sighed. “Will you at least keep watch over me and save me if something comes barreling out of the woods to chomp my bones?”

“Indeed.”

She was right though. My light flickered the more nervous I became, which acted very therapeutic each time I managed to calm myself and in turn helped me to better my character. How I had longed to go to a therapist back on Earth to overcome my past, this worked wonders. I was ready for more.

Luna did as she said and watched my back, warning me to turn around or hide behind a nearby tree to out wait any predators stalking this night. One of the few she warned me to never turn my back on were something called ‘timberwolves.’ “There be dark magical creatures with an odor most foul. Though not inherently intelligent, their packs hold clever hive minds when gathered. Where one doth stand, two more slink hidden, waiting to give chase. Indeed, tales speak of them possessing speech, though their tongue is otherworldly.” Unbeknownst to her however, I feel like she jinxed me by calling out timberwolves in particular because right then, I heard a gargling, distorted wolf calling somewhere in the distance. Couldn’t tell how far it was, but it being close enough dampened my light completely like wind to a candle flame. Magic failed to ignite my hand light and my limbs began to go clammy and weak. Shifting my watch to the wider forest surrounding me, I backed up against a gnarly dead tree.

Soon enough, I was once again, meandering betwixt the trees, who’s branches scarred the silver colored sky. Though hours prior, I could make out Luna’s glory in the sky above, the little light filtering through the canopy was dulled, regardless of how many trees surrounded me. The whispers of the insects and animals around both thrilled and terrified me, thrumming in an unheard beat with the pulses of magic I could feel flowing through my feet. The very air was charged even greater than it was before.

Princess Luna’s voice acted as a beacon of hope and security in that dreary place. “Remember, Aurelius, the Everfree doth not yield secrets freely. It tests and challenges its wards, so thou must grasp deeply within to retrieve them. Respect it and in turn it will respect you.”

I didn’t falter in my quest for power so long kept from me. The star of light I held in my hand flickered, wavering with my inner turmoils as I did my best. With each step, I kept my wits about me, looking for any signs of trouble hidden in the shadows.

I’m a fish out of water lying out in the jungle right now. I need to stay calm and keep the light up, just like she said. She promised to keep me safe, trust in Luna… I sat down in a nearby clearing and closed my eyes to meditate and bring further control over my power. Mind over matter, Aurelius.

When I opened my eyes again, my light returned back to full strength and shone brightly against an odd shaped pile of twigs, leaves, and brambles that hadn’t been there before. It shambled slowly closer, the debris shifting and contorting its shape, and acted similarly to a fluid instead of solid matter. The ‘wood’ morphed itself into a rough quadrupedal form with a carved wooden wolf head. Its eye sockets ignited a sickly green glow and ‘teeth’ suddenly erupted from its mouth. And then it wheezed something entirely foreign, yet understandable to me.

You should not be here, meat. Our hunting grounds are not stocked enough for more mouths. It said as its jaw moved like a puppet’s. The grinding and creaking of what it used for its vocal chords grated at my ears as it continued with growls and barking. Or is it meat foolish enough to usurp ussss…?

I was at a loss for words. My body refused to move, frozen in fear too much to be able to process what was just said to me by this…. Intelligence. Two more of its compatriots circled out from behind the tree I stood firm against, staring a hole through me with such ferocity I swore I might die. A second voice joined in a cacophony of their hive mind.

We are the hunters of this forest and we will not tolerate your silence for much longer. Leave or die.

The timberwolves’ growls reverberated against the backdrop of the encroaching forest, their threats no mere fiction. Tension rose within me as I turned to bolt in fear against Luna’s instruction, only to come face to muzzle with another spiteful woodwork. My throat closed and breathing picked up, the realization of my place in the ever free becoming violently apparent. I didn’t think I had gone to far, since Luna would’ve warned me otherwise, but I was strongly, considering that she might have just brought me out here to die.

Suddenly, as they started to close in and encircle, a hooded figure bounded in between us with a solid impact. They reach an arm into their cloak and before any of the wolves could react, the entire section of the Everfree was illuminated by a white light, smoke, and a high pitched whine. I gripped at my eyes, my vision spotty and damn near not working and felt something pull at my shirt, guiding me away in a hurry.

“We must make hast, lest our fates be sealed by death’s embrace,” said the exotic voice of my savior.

I stumbled to keep up with this unknown’s hoofbeats, ushered onward by the angry howls I could hear behind us, wondering why Luna did not come to save me instead. The smell of the underbrush and decay of the forest was soon enough replaced by unfamiliar earthy scents and smoke, a comforting musk compared to the death that covered us before. A very stark contrast.

I was exhausted from the gallop to wherever this figure led me to and collapsed to the wooden ground to catch my breath. Unseen, they poured some manner of liquid over my eyes, startling me as I stuttered and inhaled some of it.

With a raspy cough, I reached up to rub my eyes and noticed my vision had returned, but did not recognize where I was. “What… where am I?”

A cursory glance around showed that I was in a shaman’s hut, its masks and trinkets lit up nicely by the fire under a bubbling cauldron nestled at its center. The hut appeared to be made in the hollow of a tree, a curtain hung over the entryway.

“This, my dear mage, is my home,” said the hooded figure standing over me while she sealed the waterskin tied to her waistband. “What brings you to the Everfree, ape of unknown?”

Her appearance was strikingly beautiful, her coat a luscious sheen and fuzzy thing, I almost didn’t notice the zebra stripe crossing over her body. Along her waist, she wore something skin to sack cloth, but detailed with little ceramic tiles to look tribal, if that’s the right word. Her cloak covered her breasts, which threatened to spill out from underneath the single rope that held them up. The cloak itself was embroidered with more of the same tribal stitchwork, obviously seeing better days. And to complete the ensemble, she wore innumerable golden bracelets and neck bands, none of which made her uncomfortable. She was very well taken care of and visibly carried the pride of wherever she was from.

I had to keep myself from smiling at the mare in front of me. “I was brought to the Everfree by Princess Luna to train my magic under stressful conditions. Though why she wasn’t the one to save me, is confusing. Thank you.”

She shrugged and gave me a very kind smile before turning her attention to the cauldron before us. She pulled a roughly worn leather bag from her shoulder and started pulling out small ceramic jars of unknown materials to mix into the brew. “Strange enough on it’s own, you say the Princess brought you from your home?” She cupped a portion of the liquid and tasted it sparingly, before adding more ingredients. “Unusual for her to test her students in a forest dark and imprudent. Her wisdom is ancient and hard to conceive, of that most certain I am indeed.”

I thoroughly enjoyed the rhyme sche she had going on, as it added to her already fascinating demeanor. “My name is Zecora, a zebra from Algritha. In the Everfree, I am both a guide and sophista. Now who might you be, a friend or an enemy?”

I introduced myself and stressed that I wasn’t here to hurt anybody, just to learn from the ancient magic of the Everfree. “Ah, a scholar of the mystic arts. Uncommon, around these parts. Lessons abound within these woods, but wiser in the daylight, understood? When the sun strikes high, the clearer becomes the Everfree’s sigh.”

She tasted again her witchy brew, finding it tasteful enough for a stew. She offered me a serving, bowl brimming and burning, and without thinking I downed it right quick, my stomach not churning. It was some kind of goulash, with tubers and spices from a land unwatched. I found it filling, reinvigorating even, a fine piece of a culture I’d never met. “This is delicious, Zecora. I’m usually wary of food offerings from strangers, but I came to learn from the forest and all its inhabitants. Much appreciated.”

She nodded, appreciation taken in stride. “Here at my yurt, it is quite safe. A restful reprieve from nature’s hate. Stay for as long as you require, it would not do for you to expire.” Zecora returned her attention to cauldron, draining it into crocks and performing other household duties. Meanwhile, I searched around her little home for a comfortable spot and turned in for the night.

—-

Luna hugged on to me and jumped for joy, lifting me up like I weighed nothing. I didn’t want to look at her right now, not after she betrayed my trust. Though as much as I wanted to get away from her, where could I go in the dream realm that she wouldn’t be able to find me?

“Thoust both met and exceeded my expectations, Aurelius! To maintain a spell in reality, such a marked increase from thine beginnings!”

“That doesn’t matter when I could have been killed. Were you even watching? Did you plan for me to meet something so crafty and mean?” In truth, I was hurt by her betrayal. “They were going to kill me, Luna.”

Luna set me down, her expression dropping to one of concern. “We didst not mean to bring harm to you, Aurelius, merely to unveil your potential for thine own eyes. Mine were upon thee forthwith upon their showing. Had those knaves attempted to do thee harm, we would have shown them the power of the night.”

Her joy didn’t last long at all, as she noticed my displeased look. “You’re not getting it, Luna,” I said with frustration. “It’s not about magic or the spell, it’s about you leaving me hanging when I needed you most.”

Her eyes widened, the celestial shimmer in her mane losing its glow as she regretted her choices. “Aurelius, I-”

“No… just no,” I cut her off. “I’m… less than satisfied, and that’s putting it lightly. We’ve known each other for what, three weeks now? I don’t WANT to be mad at you, but right now I am and I don’t want to see you tonight.”

Luna didn’t respond right away, so I took my chance to continue with my rant. “You say I have strength and potential, yes?” She nodded. “Well then please go at my own pace, not your own. I didn’t want to go in there to begin with, but I held my peace because I trust you. Don’t give me a reason to cut you out of my life.”

She stepped forward, her voice adopting repentance. “...‘Twas my mistake in thrusting thee headfirst into my own learning method. If thoust would have us, we will do better. And this I vow: in thy moment of need, I shall be thy shield and beacon.”

I closed my eyes and sighed, unsure if she really meant it this time but I wanted to trust her. I leaned back into the ethereal matter behind me and let my own dreams come as they may.

—

The morning at Zecora’s began slowly. Last night still reeled in my mind and I hoped that Luna didn’t hate me too much for speaking my mind. When sleep finally left me, I remembered that I was due to start working for the Apple family ‘when the sun was high’, or around noon. Zecora was nowhere to be found around the immediate area, but I saw that she left a note pasted to her cauldron.

’Dear Aurelius. I know you will wish to return home soon after you awake, so give not a thought of the way. I have poured an herbicide outside early in the morn, so the path to Ponyville will be worn. Help yourself to the food in my home before you roam.

Zecora’

Well, that’s convenient. it didn’t take long at all to clear the Everfree forest, and once again I could see a Ponyville off in the distance, though farther than when I left the library. Nearby, a creek snaked through the vast field of summer blooms and prairie, with a bridge crossing over by a a sizable cottage. It reminded me of a baobab tree from Africa, given its wide structure, and the tree canopy that made up its roof. Animals of all sizes crowded around chaotically around the hut.

Who in their right mind lives so close to this damnable forest? they had to be something else in order to tolerate any potential monsters that might decide to give the outside world a visit.

As I approached the cottage, I could hear chattering and barks and all other kinds of noises coming from the animals, their noises steadily growing. I did a place with some kind of gathering point or a sanctuary/refuge for the injured of the forest. I overheard some thing, shifting the grass behind me, and noticed a rather large brown bear, sneaking up behind me, which prompted me to make a mad dash for the doorway. I crashed, straight into whoever the homeowner was and tumbled inside with her. She let out a soft spoken ‘eep’ and none of the animals seemed to appreciate my sudden intrusion. A bag of animal feed was thrown absolutely everywhere during my charge, which prompted the smaller rabbits, mice, and other critters to descend upon us like hawks.

“I-I am so sorry!” I stammered. “There was a bear- and I… Uh…”

The mare’s slender frame lay splayed beneath me while I basically straddled the four and a half foot tall, butter and pink colored pegasus. Her floral pattern green sundress was now covered in crushed dry food and dirt, dirtied by our tumble. I would later come to learn her name was Fluttershy. The shock of what happened meant it didn’t even dawn on her to try and calm her animal friends.

Realizing our predicament, we both blushed seriously, each of us stammering and trying to apologize to one another, and as we scrambled to untangle ourselves off the floor, but it only made matters worse because the shoulder straps did not want to stay on her.

With a grace that belied her timid appearance, she spring into action, seeking to clean up the mess we made, which was only right of me to assist in giving my part in all of it. At last, the chaos was brought to order and each of the different kinds of animal had their own portion in a line. Fluttershy and my hair and clothes were still rustled, but at least we were in a more decent position.

We stood at an awkward position, her cheeks a rosy that rivaled her hair, and I finally took her in fully. Though her outfit was ruined, I could see that it fit her very well, reflecting the nurturing spirit she carried.

She then broke the silence. “So, um, what brings you this far out of Ponyville? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you out here before?”

“Princess Luna met with me last night while I headed for a walk and helped me learn how to finally use magic in the Everfree forest.”

It looks could become mothers, hers would have just tried to adopt me. “Goodness me! You went into the Everfree forest after dark?! Are you injured anywhere?” She instantly was hovering around me, lifting my clothes and feeling up my body to check for injuries.

“I’m fine. I ran into a pack of timberwolves, but was saved by a zebra shaman named Zecora. Do you know her?”

“Is that her name? I don’t think I’ve ever met her in person, but she’s been into Ponyville once or twice. Nopony ever really… makes an attempt to talk to her.”

“Really now? She knowledgeable and the way speaks is exotic. I would have thought with how friendly Ponyville was with me, she wouldn’t have any issues.”

She flapped over to her kitchen to prep something. “It’s not anything on her part. Most ponies are afraid of anything new.” She stopped after setting a tea kettle on her stove. “N-not that I’m implying anypony is afraid of you! Most of the gossip I’ve heard is how you’re Twilight’s faithful assistant, so they usually think of her when referring to you.”

That’s to be expected, since my first real day out on the town was walking with her. My guess is that they assumed I was normal by default for associating with a pony.

“Forgive my manners, would you like some tea or maybe some snacks? It’s still a bit early and you don’t look like you’ve eaten.” She pulled out a cardboard box labeled ‘tea cakes’ in hastily scribbled writing.

“Yes, please.” We continued to talk whilst she brewed the pot and shared homemade cakes, until she about everything from the training experience up until this morning.

“It wasn’t pleasant, I’ll tell you that. Not exactly how I thought I’d start the day,” I said, sipping lightly from my cup. It had a mild tangy-heady taste, almost like hops and lemon. “To cause you such a stir, anyway.” The bear from before currently leaned against the doorframe giving me a nonchalant look while I spooned sugar into my cup.

She offered a wave from her hand, reaching for another delectable. “It’s alright. Harry has a way of sneaking up, but he has a gentle heart.” That was her fourth cake. Is she not concerned about gaining weight?

“So I was wondering… how do you know Twilight, Ms. Fluttershy? Did you meet her during the Summer Sun Celebration?”

She nodded politely. “Oh yes. She and her cute little assistant Spike came to check up on me and my song bird friends. Has it really been a month already?”

“Yep. Time seems to fly when you’re occupied by the day to day.” I finished my cup, brushing any extra crumbs off my shirts. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to have the time would you? Want to make sure I’m not running late.”

She glanced up at a cuckoo clock above the couch. “It’s about five minutes past ten in the morning. What do you have planned? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Ah, I sorta made an agreement to work down at Sweet Apple Acres for a while. I promised to be there when the sun was high, which I’m fairly confident they meant noon,” I said, standing to stretch.

Her eyes widened slightly. “Well you shouldn’t dawdle talking with little old me much longer! It’s at least an hour's walk, if you follow the creek downstream. You should make it in time if you go now.”

I thanked her and attempted to leave, but stopped after Fluttershy offered to make me a sandwich for lunch. She insisted that I take it, otherwise she would have felt remiss as a friend. Never said no to free food and I didn’t dare start now.

—-

The journey along the creek was uneventful. The gate for Sweet Apple Acres looked inviting as before, with it marking the beginning of a new chapter in my adventure in Equestria and all it entailed. Way off in the distance, I could barely make out the peachy attitude of Applebloom and an elderly pony wilding a cane, Ms. Granny Smith. Although one might mistake her to be completely helpless at first glance, being as ancient as the farm itself, don’t let the wrinkles fool you; she could easily outmatch even the average pony when she wanted to be.

It didn’t take long for little miss fruit flower to notice me walking up the familiar dirt path towards their farm cabin and boy did she bound right up to greet me. “Howdy, Aurelius. Yer here a tad earlier than we was expectin’ ya!”

I flashed her a quick smile. “Good morning to you too, Applebloom. And might I say that winning smile is ever so nice. Where’re your siblings today?”

She blushed and rubbed the back of her head with a giggle. “They’re out harvestin’ the summer greens an’ should be back here in another hour or so.”

Granny Smith hobbled over on her cane and her wrinkles got over far before she did. “Well lookie here what the cats dragged in,” she said with a scrutinizing eye. “Yer late.” She spit over into the grass nearby.

“Huh? Didn’t Big Mac tell me to ‘be here when the sun’s high’? Did that not mean noon?”

She shifted on her feet. “ ‘Course it does, nitwit! Butcha coulda been here earlier to go out there an’ help ‘em!”

Applebloom rolled her eyes. “She’s just yankin’ yer reigns, Aurelius. She’s happy you came to help at all, given she’s been tryna’ help fix the chicken coop an’ such.” The filly switched her attention to her grandmother. “Ya’ just cranky we ran outta yer herbals, ain’tcha Granny. She gets like this when we’re outa tea.”

“Well that’s beside the point!” Granny turned to hobble back inside, muttering to herself about the disrespectful youth not being on time, causing Applebloom to laugh. “You best be on yer best behavior now, Aurelius! No hootenanying around, git ta work!”

Well well well, looks like I made a fine impression on the elderly if they’re willing to show me the time of day!

Applebloom pulled out a sheet of paper with her chores today. There were more than enough to keep her busy today, but the ones she wanted to focus on were feeding the chickens, a patch job for the pig pen, and weeding the personal garden out behind the house. All in all, the jobs worked out very nicely and the other two Apple siblings arrived just as we were finishing up the weeding right around one in the afternoon.

“Hooey! I wantta thank you again fer showin’ up today, Aurelius. The farm can take it out of a pony with even the smallest jobs, so it mighta taken ‘Bloom here longer were it not for ya,” said Applejack.

In my opinion, both the two older siblings' clothes were drier than they should be. It looked like they barely broke a sweat! “It’s not a bother at all, I’m happy to help. If I’m remembering correctly, Big Mac here.” I gestured to the named stallion. “Wanted me to help clean out the barn?”

“Eeyup. But we can get to it after we finish up harvestin. AJ an’ I were takin’ planning to break for lunch, you’d join us.” He extended an open arm to the house. “It’s the least we can do to show our thanks.”

And lunch we did. Farm fresh produce cared for by experts in their field (pun intended) puts all the industrial sized farms back home to shame. Note to self: ask for some tomato seeds and buy some pots.

Refreshed, Big Mac and Applejack headed out once again to gather the barrels and cart they filled prior to the break. Applebloom and I worked on finishing her chore list and by the time we were done, her siblings hadn’t come back. Maybe they encountered a cool butterfly or the wagon broke, I don’t know since they never told me. The youngest of the Apple family thought it a bright idea to get a head start on clearing out the barn, not heeding a word from me at all about waiting for her older brother. Something about ‘I can do it myself’ and ‘They’re just gonna baby me forever if ah don’t show ah can handle more’. Ah, the naïveté of the young, which I can personally speak on being almost twenty.

Speaking of which, I think my birthday is coming up next month, so that’s a plus I’m excited for, I thought as I vainly attempted to halt a teenage earth pony. Their magic infused strength was ridiculous and I wouldn’t be surprised if Applebloom could lift me up.

We were staring deeply into the entrance of the rotted barn, it obviously seeing better days. “Bloom, I really don’t think it’s wise to head in here. Do you even know which sections are safe to walk around on up there?”

She gave me this angry, cute look. “Remind me which of us has lived here their whole lives? Ah think ah’ve climbed around in here enough times ta know how to get around in there.”

“Well, I can’t really argue against that, but I still feel like it’s not safe here. Half those beams look like they could give way any second.”

She scoffed and made way up the ladder to our left. “Trust me, Aurelius, if it were gonna fall, it’d have done so by now. Besides, Big Mac woulda just kept me down here to catch stuff anyhow.”

“What all is stored in here that we’re supposed to remove?”

“Oh, just bits and bobbles. Old tool heads we were gonna refurbish, some boxes of Applejack’s rodeo trophies, Grannysmith’s old spittoon.”

That one caught me. “Spittoon?”

Applebloom chuckled. “Yeah. She had a nasty habit a few years ago with chewing greenwood herbs an’ Big Mac got tired of the smell. Shoot, ah wish ya coulda been there to see the shiner Granny put on his rear for ‘throwin’ away’ the thing. Don’t rightly know why he put it up here though.”

Applebloom lowered a crate using some rope that was tied off to one of the beams I was concerned about. “Maybe he felt guilty about trying to control her.” With that one done set at the front door, Applebloom started lowering more goods.

“Maybe. I’ll never understand why he’d want ta do that.”

“You do weird things when you love someone. It’s possible that ‘greenwood’ is bad for the health, like tobacco back where I’m from.”

She was working on freeing another crate, when I heard creaking and a snap from up above. “Applebloom, I think you should get down, right now.”
She seemed oblivious to the potential danger she placed herself. I knew we shouldn’t have come in here!

“Almost… got it… There we go!” She said, the main support beam finally snapping loudly. “Wha-!”

Applebloom started to fall straight through the boards she stoop upon, the crate falling right above her. “APPLEBLOOM!” Time crawled to a slow and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, and everything in my body went cold. I could feel my CAM going into overdrive, the magic swelling the muscles in my legs and belly to uncomfortable lengths. Without thinking, I took a single step forward, clearing the gap between us and jumping into the air to catch her. Time resumed its normal flow and I tackled her out of the way of the box, narrowly missing being crushed myself. The build creaked at the new lack of support in its center, but seemed to hold on.

I was presently laying on top of her, severely out of breath from the sudden exertion. “We should… really get out of here. Now.”

I wasn’t paying attention to what she said, distracted by the pounding heart in my chest. When my hearing cleared, Applebloom got my attention. “…you saved me.”

More cracking and splintering came from above and without thinking, I propped myself up in an army crawl to shield the filly from any debris. It worked out in her favor, since nothing managed to land on her. But something heavy crushed my legs below the knee and more weight landed on my back, which threatened to give out.

“JESUS HOLY FUCK MY LEGS! AAAAGH!” They were definitely shattered and I couldn’t feel anything but pain below my thighs. “Somebody help!!!”

Applebloom laid there frozen in fear, not daring to move an inch in case more of the barn decided to fall. What I would have given for time to speed up, instead of slowing down. It stretched on for far too long before I finally heard Applejack calling out for anyone inside.

“We’re in here! Get this shit off of me, please!” Tears and mucus flowed freely down onto the girl beneath me, but I still did not budge. My arms quivered and my knees, though they were crushed, refused to give out below me. I could see blood pooling slowly under her as well, praying to whoever was listening that she wasn’t hurt. The sound of scraping wood and metal could be heard a ways away, but I couldn’t pinpoint where.

Eventually, Applejack and Big Mac pried the support beam off my back and freed us, but it did little to ease the pain in my legs. With my burden finally over, I collapsed onto Applebloom, unaware and uncaring of anything other than sleep.

—-

“You know what the weirdest part of the non-life we call immortality? Nothing really matters because eternity necessarily implies that we’ll see everything over and over again, forever. Oh sure, there’s infinite potential when it comes to all those innumerable realities dearest daddy hand crafted, but he made the mistake of splitting his unknowable mind in half when making us. It’s not conceivable for us to imagine a new color or an emotion by ourselves. We lack that… that spark, as it were you know? But you know what would change all of that? Just one little word on his part.” I couldn’t respond, even if I wanted to. I was stuck replaying the same scene like a recording black box. The thousands of years of Nocturnal’s life that we shared before his fall to darkness. The sights and horrors he inflicted upon the mortals we were supposed to take care of like we were instructed.

“Funny thing is, I’m really looking forward to it. He is such a perfectly moldable piece of clay, waiting for me, the master potter. You foolishly sent him away without any knowledge of his potential or lineage and expected him to mature fast enough to stop ME of all people. If he was ready he’d have struck me down the second I stuck my little finger down here, but your stupid self valued propping up the BARRIER! I really can’t thank you enough for making this so easy for me.” More electricity fired into my body and I felt increasing amounts of pain. “Well, easy enough.”

When he finally relented and released my mind once again, I gasped. “Y-you’re really making this unnecessary, Nocturnal. I won’t talk and I know you won’t rip the memories from my mind. You’re still in there and I know you care. Please stop.” He crushed his hoof firmly against my skull, pinning me against the ground.

“I thought I told you never to call me that again,” he growled. “ When I finally meet him for the first time I’ll offer him the same deal I gave so long ago. And if he’s so much as says yes, I’ll have a new partner in crime. But if he says no?”

He paused to savor his sense of victory. “Well, it’ll be a cold in Gehenna before one who has nothing rejects infinite power.” And then he continued to torture me with the same memories and pain as before.

“See you soon, ‘new god’ AHAHAHAHAHAH!”

Chapter 6: The Hospital Visit

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Chapter 7: The Grand Galloping Gala

Author's Note

Thank you all for patiently waiting. I was without a phone for a while, so I couldn’t finish up the latter half of the chapter. Took me long enough to get down all the words I wanted. If you feel up to it, please leave a comment down below with what you think or any text errors I might have missed.

Chapter 7: The Grand Galloping Gala

Two months passed by since I was admitted to the hospital and Applebloom specifically kept me company through a majority of the recovery. About a week ago, the doctors finally felt comfortable enough to cast a healing spell on me, leaving my legs all but fully healed, thanks to the complete regeneration of my magic. The spells worked wonders and what would have taken four months, was now just another week away from healing. My primary physician notes that I might have an awkward time walking due to my bones having to adjust to the weight of my body after so long out of use, but as long as I used a cane or crutch I should be fine.

They wheeled me up to the front to be discharged and like before, Twilight was the one to check me out. Thank goodness for Celestia funded healthcare, otherwise I would fear bankrupting my lovely host.

Twilight greeted me with a warm smile as she signed the discharge papers. “It’s been lonely at the library with just Spike. I hadn’t realized how used I’d gotten to seeing you every morning, Aurelius.” She helped me to my feet and slung my arm over her shoulders to support me. “How are you feeling?”

I sighed in relief. “Better than I thought I would. I think I’ll miss being waiting on hand and foot by the hospital staff here.”

Twilight chuckled. “Well, if it’d make you feel better I could get Rarity to make you some scrubs.”

I scoffed at the sarcasm. “Fat chance. I hate not being a burden on people and would rather do anything else than be stuck sitting in a bed fourteen hours a day.”

As we returned to the library, Spike burst from the front door, running straight into my good leg and bouncing off like a squeaky toy. Comical. “Oh, sorry dude! I was just on the way to track you both down!”

“What’s up, Spike? Why do you look like you just got done running a marathon?”

He panted while standing up. “Because I basically just did! Got a letter from Celestia for you two!” He held up an cream colored envelope embossed with the Princess’ seal. “Well, don’t just wait around, open it up!”

Twilight levitated the letter over and helped me get comfortable with my cane, before opening the letter. With the letter came four golden colored tickets.

‘My faithful student, please accept these tickets to this year’s Grand Galloping Gala for you, Aurelius, Spike, and one guest. I look forward to seeing you three this year, as it’s the first one after Luna’s return and she requested that I invite her favorite human and his friends. Your’s truly,

Celestia

Wow, an invitation to an event directly from the Princess. Nifty.

Twilight passed us each out tickets and pocketed her own, but stared at the last ticket like it stuck out sore thumb-style. From the look on her face, I saw her cycling in her head which of her five friends to bring, torn about who should get it.

Twilight’s brow furrowed as she weighed her options. “I don’t know who to give this last ticket to,” she muttered, more to herself than to us. “I know all of my friends would love to go, but we only have one extra ticket. It wouldn’t be fair to choose one over another.”

Spike, ever the practical one, shrugged. “Why not just ask them who wants it the most?”

Twilight sighed. “It’s not that simple, Spike. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.”

I watched her struggle with the decision, feeling a pang of sympathy. “Maybe you could hold a little contest or something,” I suggested. “Make it fun and fair.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up. “That’s not a bad idea at all, but what kind of contest?”

Before we could continue to discuss the ticket, Pinkie Pie dropped down from the tree top, dangling by her hips from a rope. “Howdy rowdy, Aurelius. You’re looking all better. Whatcha got there?”

The indecisive of us, hurriedly hid the ticket behind her. “U-uh, nothing important!”

Pinkie tilted her head. “Uh Huh. But if it isn’t important, why are you trying so hard to hide it? Maybe ol’ Pinkie can help!”

Twilight’s eyes darted back and forth as she tried to come up with an excuse. “ this is some correspondence about… stuff. From Princess Celestia,” she lied through a fake smile.

“A letter from the Princess? Ooh, what does it say! Is it about a party? Or maybe a-“

“It’s nothing like that, Pinkie,” Twilight interrupted to shift the topic. “Just a letter saying hello and… and asking about the friendship lesson from last week! Yeah that’s it!”

Twilight, you absolutely suck at lying. I swear, you’re like a child who never figured out how to speak when you do.

Applejack and Rarity were both walking along carrying on a conversation, when they turned our way, noticing the four of us standing in front of the library. While Twilight tried to maneuver around Pinkie, it was obvious she spotted more of her friends incoming and drooped herself in resigned defeat. Applejack was the first to speak.

“Howdy y’all, we catcha at a bad time or is this just poor plannin’ for a party or su’mmh?” She glanced at the purplest of us. “Yer looking might upset there, Twilight. Everything alright?”

Spike metaphorically hovered behind his muse as she blew hair out of her face, sighing dreamily. “Yes, darling. It wasn’t anything unsavory that Aurelius said or did, is it?” Rarity glared daggers at me, obviously still holding a grudge against me from before. “Because I would love to give him a verbal thrashing if you need one.”

“What crawled up your cooter today, Marshmallow, why the attitude? I didn’t instigate any problems today and I’d appreciate you not accusing me of anything.” I wish I could’ve taken a picture of the look of horror on her face, but that wouldn’t be a good memory for anyone but me. “She’s upset because she’s torn between who to give the last ticket to.”

“Ticket? Ticket ta what?” Applejack asked. “There somethin’ fancy goin’ on I’m forgettin’ about?” She pulled at her overall shoulder straps as she leaned in thought. Rarity, though mad at me, changed from a scowl to more of a disappointed questioning look, before a look of abject horror and surprise took hold.

“Hold on a second, that wouldn’t happen to be a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, would it!?” Rarity rushed to get up in Twilight’s face. “You simply must tell us how you managed to find tickets! I thought Celestia sent them out personally!”

Twilight sighed, realizing there was no way to avoid the topic now. She took a deep breath and pulled out the extra ticket. “Alright, everypony. The truth is, Princess Celestia sent us tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala. We have four tickets, one for me, one for Aurelius, one for Spike, and one extra.”

The library’s entryway fell silent as the significance of the extra ticket sank in, though I thought it kind of stupid that she didn’t just ask Celestia for one for each friend. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie exchanged glances, each of them clearly wanting the ticket but unsure how to proceed. The atmosphere felt thick and palpable, like jelly, and I could have heard a pin drop from how silent it was.

I decided to break the silence myself. “Twilight, did you think to ask Celestia for more tickets for each of our friends instead of just the one additional? Then you wouldn’t have to have anybody fight over getting to go.”

Now I wanted a picture of Twilight’s face for acting so childish over something simple. Her blush stained her usual lavender fur more of a magenta. “I-I didn’t think about that. Thank you, Aurelius for clearing up my indecision.”

Twilight quickly summoned a quill and parchment and had Spike send off a short letter asking for more tickets, which Celestia sent within a few minutes. Almost like she was waiting for Twilight to ask for them. Oh that sly pony princess. Did she originally intend to test her student’s independence?

Rarity seemed miffed that she didn’t get to manipulate Twilight like the cunt canoe she was today, but softened her expression after seeing the four additional tickets. “So kind of her majesty to send enough for all the Elements of Harmony to attend the most prestigious event of the year.”

Pinkie, who was now standing with the rope nowhere to be seen, practically vibrated with anticipation. “Oh, oh! Do you think they’ll need any extra hand with setting up?”

—

The following day, Twilight notified the missing parties of their tickets and how the Gala would go off about a week from today. From the excitement each of the six girls had, I expected it to be something akin to a renaissance festival type of party, with many different foods from cooks, musicians, and artists all around Equestria showing up to sample their latest creations. Applejack thought it the perfect chance to widen her farm’s customer base by preparing all sorts of tarts, cakes, and treats, while Pinkie aimed to show off her party expertise. Rainbow Dash especially looked forward to meeting an athletics team called the ‘Wonderbolts’, to impress them with her daring aerial stunts and score a recommendation into their training school before their next season. I’ve seen some of the moves she’s performed and there wasn’t doubt in my mind that she’d be hand selected.

Rarity was… crazed I want to say. In the coming days, I heard all manner of manic laughter and noises coming from the Carousel Boutique and it was eerie. She didn’t come out for any reason at all and it started to worry everyone, so Spike and I decided it was best to stop by for lunch the day before the event, hoping she’d at least greet us.

“Do you think she might have lost it all cooped up in there? Sweetie Belle says her sister is busy ‘creating like nopony’s business’, but I haven’t been able to see her all week,” Spike worriedly asked from behind his tray of finger sandwiches.

I chuckled. “Honestly, I think she’s just dealing with her excitement as best she can coming up with a dress to impress. This is Rarity we’re talking about.” I paused to shift the canteens. “She’s a little… different when it comes to managing her emotions.”

That eased some of the drake’s anxiety. “Yeah, you’re right dude.” He reached up and knocked on the front door of the boutique. “Rarity, it’s Spike and Aurelius! Are you in there?”

The door creaked open like it hadn’t been shut and revealed a trainwreck of a mess, fabric and fine metal works scattered all over the floor with reckless abandon. Rarity’s cat, Opal, laid lazily up on a privacy screen, batting down at some streamers that were just within reach. Deeper inside, we heard scratching and the telltale sound of scissors being used, which did little to make the place feel as it should.

“D-do you think she’d be mad if we came in to check on her? She never makes a mess like this unless it’s serious,” Spike said, looking up at me.
I just shrugged and stepped in, announcing my presence to the room. “Hey Rarity, Spike and I brought some lunch if you feel like eating. Where are you?”

No response. More noise filled the room, emanating from one of the decorated doors further behind the mess. I set the drinks on an empty spot on a table and explored to find the source of the noise. In a flash, Rarity burst forth from the room beyond the door. She looked a little worn, sweat staining her once spotless black bodice and white puffy blouse, and a particularly sharp odor leaked off of her. Her mane was no better, missing its glossy sheen and usual bounce, all frazzled and barely kept up with a headband.

“I’ve done it!” She exclaimed, directing it at the two of us. “Oh you two would not believe the creativity that has flowed in these walls the last six days! Idea after idea after… it’s simply amazing!” She ignited her horn and wheeled out a clothing rack, a series of outfits covered in white cloth. “It took a little longer than I’d have liked, but our outfits for this year’s Gala are sure to make even the fanciest Canterlot noble’s jaws hit the floor!”

Rarity waited in bated breath, her smile wide as can be. I shared a look with my fellow assistant and picked up one of the canteens I brought, offering it. “Tea, Ms. Rarity? Perhaps a lovely veggie sandwich from our friend Spike?” She looked like she hadn’t eaten in a few days. Her stomach responded for her by growling in a way that would put a tiger to shame.

Rarity’s eyes widened at the mention of food, a steady stream of saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth. “Oh dear, has it really been that long since I’ve eaten anything? Suppose I have been… preoccupied.” She graciously accepted the offer of food and made her way over to one of the lesser cluttered tables and magically cleared it of the mountain of fabrics and ribbons, before daintily taking a portion of food from Spike.

We ate uninterrupted and enjoyed pleasant conversation. Despite our less than stellar first meeting, Rarity seemed fine, at least she didn’t appear all too bothered. With as much as Sweetie Belle complains about her sister during the tutoring lessons, I don’t see what she’s talking about.

We finished up shortly afterwards, the excitement winding down. Rarity sat back in her chair, rubbing at her stomach as she savored the last of her tea. The refreshments did wonders for the mare, the hollow dullness of her fur simply glowing like a fresh spa trip. “My goodness, it really makes a world of difference to eat after such prolonged fasting, don’t you agree Spikey-wikey?” She gestured at the boy. “I have to say, you both really were at the right place and right time. I've been feeling ever so faint since I locked myself in here, in a manner of speaking.”

“I can’t imagine going a day without food, Rarity, let alone three. You must’ve really been eaten up by the outfits you have planned for the Gala.” His eyes never left her for a minute, both of them filled with adoration. Must be nice for him to feel appreciated in her time of need.

Though I had to wonder… “Say, do you think we could get a preview of what you got in store for us? A comment like ‘jaws will hit the floor’ isn’t something an artist says unless their magnum opus is afoot.” I looked under the table. “Well, ahoof.”
She stood up suddenly, gasping slightly at the idea. “Oh heaven’s, I hadn’t even thought of getting anypony to critique my work. If you’ll both follow me, prepare to have your eyes simple dazzled by my latest creations!”

Rarity led us into the heart of her hub of activity. Though a stark difference from the main lobby, I could still pick out different projects she was working on scattered about in an organized chaotic way. Pony mannequins, or I guess Ponyquins, were stuck in every possible spot by pins, sample pieces of fabric, and half-completed ensambles. The biggest project so far, which caught both Spike’s and my eye, was the clothing rack in the center of the room, covered by a thick blanket.

“Behold!” She started before throwing the blanket off with a huff. “Our masterful outfits for the Gala!”

What we saw was breathtaking: six fabulous dresses for each of the main six girls and two handsomely crafted suits. I couldn’t put my finger on the focal point on any single spot on the outfits, be it the jewels sewn somehow sewn directly into the dresses or the embroidered threading on the suits. The clothes seemed to draw in out eyes like vibrant neon signs, each representing the personality of the ponies perfectly. Even Applejack’s ‘rustic’ cowgirl aesthetic would be hard pressed to not be accentuated.

Spike’s eyes went wide with wonder. “Wow..”

Jesus Christ, it’s like looking at art in a museum. “I knew you were talented, but those are out of this world!” I walked up to feel the fabric of my own suit, shocked by the luxurious feel. “This stuff is like the perfect mix of cotton and silk. How did you do this in such a short time? It’s almost like…”

Rarity preened at our praises, puffing out her chest and rubbing at her muzzle. “Magic? Darling, craft like this comes from over a decade of experience. You pick up a thing or two, especially spellcraft that helps.” She pointed out some white gemstones on a green, nature themed dress. “You see these right here? Pure opalite crystals that were hand-crafted by jewelers directly from Prance. Said to be stronger than steel, but not needles made from phoenix feathers.”

My god, it’s like each detail was made to stand out against all the others. I’d call it gaudy, but that wouldn’t do it any justice!

Rarity floated over some plastic dress covers and neatly stored away the outfits in boxes, wrapped up nicely with a bow. “This year’s Gala is about to be blown away by Ponyville’s own best!”

—

The morning of the Gala came by quicker than I’d’ve liked, but what can you do? As excited as I was, I felt a pit forming in my stomach about the entire event, like something would go wrong and everyone would return home depressed.

Spike, Twilight, and I stood at the train station this crisp morning, signifying that the weather ponies would be bringing about Autumn in the coming weeks. I always did love how the air smelled back on earth, and here was no different. There was almost a charge in the air that begged to be let into your lungs. Each of the girls sat nearby on the benches, chatting among themselves with their outfits and a few bags nestled neatly under the seats.

“And you don’t think it’s weird that Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity brought so much extra stuff?” I asked, continuing my conversation with Twilight.

“Not at all. Many ponies used the Gala as a chance to advertise themselves and their businesses back when I used to live in Canterlot, though I mostly found that out by passing all the different chefs and other out-of-towners,” she replied. “It’s the one time of the year that everypony who’s anypony strives to shine. I’ve even heard of restaurants that gained such positive feedback that they received a golden hoof rating from critics.”

Spike bounced eagerly. “Oh I’m so excited. I’ve never gotten to go before! I bet it’s going to be amazing!”

I glanced around, taking in the collective buzz of enthusiasm going about the girls, and smiled softly. As much as I wanted tonight to be just like any other, it was palpable the mood they all let off. If this really was their chance to make it big, who was I to down on it?

An announcement came overhead to let passengers know of the train’s arrival and each of the girls quickly gathered up their things to board the train. Their moods never broke, and it eased much of the previous anxiety I had previously. We took our seats and got comfortable for the ride ahead.

“So what’s Canterlot like?” I asked Twilight.

“It’s a very lively city, the capital of all Equestria. Located snuggly on the side of Mount Canterhorn of the Theristria mountain range, it has one of the most life changing views of a majority of the kingdom.”

Spike leaned over from the seat behind us. “I’ll say! You can see the weather from Cloudsdale long before it’s shipped anywhere in Equestria! It’s hard to beat tourism like that!” He pointed out at a storm forming close to the distant mountain range. “Looks like we’ll just miss the rain scheduled for Ponyville.”

Behind the cloud cover, I could barely make out the white stone foundation and towers of our destination.

Twilight nodded in agreement. “While most ponies don’t think much of our monarch’s choice of a city, it actually has quite the history behind it. Despite its gravity defying appearance, the bedrock it’s bonded to sits upon a massive magic well, enabling the builders to form impossibly structurally sound works without having to worry about it crashing to the ground below. Many settlements have tried and failed to mirror the towering city, the sheer elegance of which is worth a trip to see.”

I leaned against the window of our car to try and get a better look beyond the storm, barely making out the towers of said castle. The sight of Canterlot looming so far in the air seemed almost surreal, the spires bathed in the noon sunlight, standing tall against the backdrop of the mountain. I felt small in comparison.

As the train chugged along, the landscape began to change, with the rolling hills giving way to steeper inclines and rockier terrain. The tracks wound their way up the mountainside, and with each passing minute, Canterlot grew closer, the details becoming more distinct. I could now make out the flowing waterfalls that cascaded down from the city, their waters shimmering in the sunlight.

Rarity, who had been quietly observing her surroundings, spoke up, her voice filled with admiration. "There's simply nothing like Canterlot. The architecture, the culture, the fashion-it's all so refined, so exquisite. I've always dreamed of living there one day."

Rainbow Dash leaned back in her seat, arms crossed behind her head, a confident smirk on her face. "Yeah, it's pretty cool, I guess. But tonight, it's gonna be even cooler with us there.
We're gonna make this Gala the most awesome one yet!"

Twilight nodded in agreement with Spike, a small smile on her face as she looked out the window. "Canterlot is a place full of magic and history. The city itself is a blend of ancient traditions and modern elegance. You’ll see ponies from all walks of life—royalty, scholars, artists—all living together in this incredible place. And the castle... well, it’s even more breathtaking up close."

I leaned forward, trying to catch a better glimpse of the distant city through the clouds. The sight of Canterlot, perched so high on the mountainside, seemed almost surreal, like something out of a storybook. The towers and spires gleamed in the sunlight, standing tall against the backdrop of the sky, their grandeur making me feel small in comparison. The train chugged along nicely, the landscape began to change, with the rolling hills giving way to steeper inclines and rockier terrain. The tracks wound their way up the mountainside, and with each passing minute, Canterlot grew closer, the details becoming more distinct. I could now make out the flowing waterfalls that cascaded down from the city, their waters shimmering in the sunlight, and many different colored dots, most likely weatherponies, flitting about the storm brewing at the base.

Rarity, who had been quietly observing her surroundings, spoke up her admiration. "There’s simply nothing like Canterlot. The architecture, the culture, the fashion—it's all so refined, so exquisite. I’ve always dreamed of living there one day."

Rainbow Dash leaned back in her seat, arms crossed behind her head, a confident smirk on her face. "Yeah, it’s pretty cool, I guess. But tonight, it's gonna be even cooler with us there. We’re gonna make this Gala the most awesome one yet!"

Applejack chuckled, tipping her hat back as she relaxed in her seat. "As long as it ain’t too fancy for us country folk. I ain’t too big on all that high society stuff, but it’ll be nice to see how the other half lives for a night."

Pinkie Pie bounced up from her seat, unable to contain her excitement. "Oh, it’s gonna be a blast! There’ll be dancing, and music, and sweets, and all kinds of fun stuff! I’m gonna make sure everypony has the best time ever!"

Fluttershy, who had been quietly sitting by the window, finally spoke, her voice soft but full of anticipation. "I’m just looking forward to seeing the gardens. I’ve read so much about them, and I’ve always wanted to see all the rare animals and plants they have there."

I guess I have plenty to look forward to.

All in all, the train ride took little over an hour. As we arrived at the station and the train slowed its speed, Rarity flagged down one of the staff stationed at the gate from outside her window. The portly pegasus mare nodded and brought over a cart for when we disembarked. I noticed a tag on the cart had Rarity’s name written on it, so there was our luggage taken care of.

Twilight led the way, guiding us through the throng of ponies gathered around the entrance gates to the cars and over to an elegant carriage lot. I didn’t know what to expect from the city, but if a carriage was needed to get to and from our hotel rooms, I figured the city might be comparable to one back home.

The ride of the carriage was enlightening to what Canterlot held for us. The patrols of guards inspired a sense of safety and security as they weaved in and out of the streets laden with ponies of all walks of life. We passed through a market district filled with stalls and stores of untold treasures, many of which made my mouth and ears beg for a taste of the city-life. I couldn’t help but marvel at the city-scape, seeing how some of the buildings seemed to be formed from the rocks that made up this majestic mountain, their alabaster facades gleaming like the purest pearls.

The buildings we passed on our way to the first stop were massive, intricate carvings and stained glass of indescribable designs and fancy gold inlays, which captured and scattered a rainbow of colors along the cobble roads as our carriage was pulled by the taxi ponies. Speaking of the streets, I have never seen such stark difference between the economic status of people. One moment, I’m zooming past a richly dressed stallion and mare combo, the next being a modestly dressed commoner. And through all the scenes, I felt wonder, passion even to pursue some sort of art just to fit in here. As we turned onto a quieter street, the hustle and bustle of the main avenues began to fade, replaced by the serene beauty of a residential district. The air was filled with the scent of blooming flowers, and I could hear the distant chirping of birds, a stark contrast to the lively city center. The buildings that called this district their home were much smaller than the bustling center of the market we left behind, each a representation of their owner’s personality. Be it the wrought iron gates or the cozy little gardens they held, it felt homey in a way I had trouble putting into words.

The carriage stopped at a three-story building and we all disembarked to the small hotel. Twilight gave me a knowing look, not at all surprised at my wide eyes. “Canterlot has a way of wowing even the stoic of ponies, so I know all too well how you’re feeling right now, Aurelius.”

“I can see why. It’s all so… so,” I paused to find the words. “Fascinating. Never before have I seen so many people of different walks of life. Ponyville is one thing, but the citizens there have a sort of charm to them that represents a tight-knit community of friends. Here, it’s a whole different ball game. I didn’t expect it to be this… grand.’

Rarity, sitting across from us, nodded in agreement. "Grand is exactly the word, darling. Canterlot is the epitome of sophistication. Even the residential districts have a charm that you won’t find anywhere else. The ponies here take pride in their homes, their surroundings—it’s a reflection of who they are."

Another, more negative thought crossed my mind. “And there’s isn’t a crime-rate here at all? With all the riches and valuable architecture, I doubt there are zero pick-pockets or law-breakers.”

Spike popped up with an answer, his eyes wide with excitement. “Eh, the crime rate here is super low! It’s like, almost non-existent. The royal guards are everywhere, and there’s a ton of security spells around the city that help keep everything safe. Plus, everypony here is really proud of Canterlot, so they wouldn’t want to mess it up.”

Twilight nodded, adding on. “He’s right. Canterlot is one of the safest cities in Equestria. While it might be different from Ponyville, here it’s more about preserving the city’s legacy and keeping up appearances. The residents take that very seriously. I’ll bet even the hardest thief would find trouble making his or her mark without a challenge.” Somehow, I doubted they knew much about the darker side of life, but in keeping up appearances, I nodded and smiled. Better keep the door locked and sleep with one eye open. Who knows what lurks in a dark room at night.

We made it to our rooms unabated, then changed into the outfits Rarity made for us, ready to take on the gala. Even though it wasn’t scheduled until a few hours from now, preparing to take on the night early gave us all time to hunt down a light lunch. In the process of brushing my hair in the bathroom, I heard someone knock at my room’s door. Curious, I opened the door and spotted Spike scratching at the back of his head with a nervous look on his face.

“What’s up, dude?” I asked my little friend.

He looked apprehensive to tell me, but decided to walk into my room and voice his mind. “I uh, don’t know how to tie a bowtie.” Lo and behold, he pulled the mangled bunch of fabrice from behind his back. “Was hoping you wouldn’t mind helping me, since Twilight’s still styling her hair and all.”

I chuckled at him like he was my little brother. Of all the things he chose to be embarrassed by, not know how to do one of the classics just made my night. “Sure thing, little dude. Watch closely.” And so I fixed his dilemma. “All set. And might I say, you look like the talk of the town in that suit-pants combo.”

He blushed a vibrant green while turning his head. “Thank you, man. You look pretty cool yourself,” he remarked while pointing at my jacket.

Now, I’ve never worn anything fancy, unless you count a t-shirt with a vinyl bow-tie printed on it. The outfit Rarity prepped for me was almost more than I could've handled. The satin-like fabric hugged me in a way that almost made the whole thing too tight, but it was loose enough and breathed like nothing else. I couldn’t put my finger on what the exact color was, something like midnight bluish-black with a red tie and maroon dress shirt.

Riding an elevator down, we joined the rest of our party in the main lobby. Looking around at my friends, each was confident and gorgeous looking, almost regal. “Wow. I could almost swear I just visited a fashion show with some famous models. You all look fantastic beyond words.” That made everyone blush. “Let me be the first to say Rarity, you’ve outdone yourself.”

Rarity stammered and tried to dismiss my compliment. “Oh posh, you won’t win any more brownie points with me like that buster. But do go on.”

Everyone exchanged compliments and we decided on to start our night right with a stop at a nearby cafe for some pre-Gala indulgent tea and cakes at Twilight’s suggestion. One of the finer establishments that would have been way out of my price range, but at Twilight’s insistence on paying, I couldn’t say no. The atmosphere simply radiated more of the excitement I expected.

We chatted about the night ahead, Applejack speculating on how she’d rank in the tasting contest that would be held later in the night, I had no doubt that she’d place high up in the ranking. Pinkie pie rattled on about some new party ideas she had.

We finished up smoothly, just in time to make it to the Palace entrance with all the other attendees. The sound of music and laughter filled the air, blended with the conversation of ponies and their friends (and frenemies). Tonight was a big night, and not in the normal sense either. It was a political smorgasbord for people trying to one up one another, and I could just tell there were deals going on behind closed doors, friendships being established or ended.

When we finally walked up those long, red carpet covered stairs, I all at once could behold the grandeurs of the castle in full. The architecture of Canterlot was reminiscent of ancient Roman and Greek culture, but held a twist of elegance that paled in comparison to the palace proper. The inside was split perfectly down the middle, the left half with its gold, white, and red, while the other half held cool blues, purples, and silver. It was something out of a dream. I know it’s the first Gala after Luna’s return, but this is something else!

The girls started to split off their separate ways to enjoy the festivities, agreeing to meet back at the gate when all was said and done. Rarity was the first to head inside, making a beeline towards some contacts she expected to meet tonight, followed swiftly by Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash and Applejack carried covered trays of food into the depths of the castle to be sampled by judges. Pinkie Pie shot off like a metaphorical bullet towards the ballroom, leaving behind a trail of squeals and giggles. That just left me, Spike, and Twilight.

Twilight shook her head with a smile. “Well, I’m off to find the Princess and catch up on old friends. I hope you two enjoy yourselves tonight.”

And then there were two lone, eligible bachelors standing in the entrance looking out of place. The buzz of the evening was all around us and I wasn’t sure what to do.

Spike nudged my side with his elbow. “So I guess it’s just you and me now, huh?”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Not for long, I bet. Sooner or later, you’ll be off to service your Mistress Rarity on hand and foot.”

His cheeks flushed and he scowled at me, before realizing I was just joking. “Hey, it’s not like that. I just… want to make sure she has a nice time tonight, y’know?”

“Uh-huh,” I teased, “I’m sure she’ll appreciate her knight in shining scales’s ‘hard work’ too.”

He rolled his eyes but didn't deny it. "Well, I guess I should go find her before she gets too wrapped up in talking business. I'll catch you later, Aurelius."

I waved him off as he hurried into the crowd, leaving me alone at the entrance of the grand palace. I figured l'd explore a bit first, maybe find a quiet spot to gather my thoughts before diving right into the festivities.

—-

As far as parties go, I think Pinkie’s ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party topped the grand galloping gala. Rarity talked it up as ‘the most prestigious event of the year’, but it turned out to be just a Renaissance Era themed party, snobbish rich folks included. The Decorah appealed to my inner decorator, but that’s about the only positive thing I could list out other than the food. With the way the servants moved about, you would think the president of the United States came to visit, or someone of similar status. But I didn’t see it like that.

Maybe it has something to do with visiting dignitaries, I don’t know. They probably paid well enough to put forth a show or they just really love Celestia that much.

Even now so late into the party, I still feel out of place. I’d even gone as far to remove myself from any attention by standing against a while in the dining hall, sipping on a rather tasty citrus punch with elderflower petals in it. The closest to any preferential treatment I even got was being greeted by the guards after I entered, a maid commenting on my ‘handsome suit’ shortly thereafter, and that’s about it. Not that I expected the party to be all about me. I had been left to my own devices by the girls I came with, each going their own ways to do. God knows what, which made me feel like chopped liverwurst, and awkward.

I contemplated heading back to my room at the hotel if nothing of interest snagged my attention and it was starting to look more and more like I would only really be here to look around at things. I didn’t know anybody here in Canterlot sans my friends, but even that’s a stretch of the truth, since nobody even bothered to show up and offer a dance or anything. It didn’t help my mood any that the musicians were starting to play something somber from in the ballroom, echoing throughout the palace.

“This is such a disappointment,“ I mumbled to myself. “I guess while I’m here, I could go enjoy the new moons in the garden outside at least.” I have no clue why it didn’t occur to me at the start to go visit one of the things Canterlot Palace is known for, but I digress.

Now, to say anything negative about the arrangement of plants outside would be a disservice to the garden ponies hired to care for the place. The only comparison I could make to describe the sheer magnitude of colors and smells would be like if a perfume shop and a paint shop had a child together. Easily one of the highlights of the evening.

Then all of the peace and tranquility was nearly ruined by a screaming Fluttershy chasing after a menagerie of birds and squirrels. They all scrambled to elude her grasp, many dodging her by hiding in one of the many hedges that made up the wall for a maze. How had I not noticed that thing when came out here?

The look of frustration and longing on Fluttershy’s face, which shocked me as she normally looks so much more reserved and composed. She didn’t even notice me, staring at her from across the courtyard, just choosing to continue her chase while muttering to herself, disappearing into the maze. “I uh, I’ll go over there…” I said, pointing over to the polar opposite direction of the Frustratedshy.

And I thought the plant garden would be a piece of the cake. The statue garden? Was a whole Nother world. The statues themselves were desperately crafted, almost like they were alive. From the individual muscles and fingernails, the pedestals on Pond, which stood. Truly, an artisan masterpiece. Even the ivy, climbing them all were magically guided to accentuate key features I wouldn’t have noticed, on a particular major staff or a stallions breast plate. It felt… Right, I have no other way of putting it. In the stone walkway, oh you’d have to see it to believe it. The statues lined either side of the walkway, making it easier to find my way back to the flower garden after I had my fill of the sights to behold. Truly, a garden worthy of a monarch.

Speak of the princess and she shall arrive, apparently! My journey segued nicely into meeting the solar diarch herself, Princess Celestia. She was accompanied by a similarly tall mare, easily five foot five who had looks to go with her. Maybe some sort of model if I had to guess?

they carried on a conversation while walking, neither noticing me. But the entourage of guards following them sure did, noticing me staring at them from afar. Easy Aurelius, no need to get flustered and bumble your first meeting like an idiot. you've befriended her sister and personal student, so starting a friendship should happen nicely with Celestia. I hope.

I walked up and made the first move so as to break any ice that could potentially exist. "Evening princess, Miss Noble. Lovely to see you too flowers out here in the garden.” I gave a short bow as I entered the talking distance. "Might I say, I didn't think your staff kept such hidden gems out here. It’s almost as breaking as the two of you.”

The unknown mare tittered. "My, how forward of you. If I weren't already taken mare, I might take that as an offer for something more than a friendship.” I stuttered, not intending to hit on her. "Oh relax dearie, I can take a compliment. Thank you very much for improving on my stressful night.”

Celestia stepped forward to look me over. "You must be Aurelius. I take it you aren't enjoying the festivities?”

"Struck the nail on the head, princess.”

“Celestia is fine. I get enough of the formalities during the day court,” she said passively with a smile. “Right now, I am just another pony attending the Gala while my sister rules.”

I turned my attention to the second part of the conversation. “I don’t think I got your name the miss…?” I stuck out my hand to shake.

She daintily took my hand and gave a smile of her own. “Mrs. Fleur de Lis, charmed.” She looked around the garden for something. “ did you not come with a date? When would think a handsome fellow of your disposition would easily charm any filly of your choosing… Unless?”

“Correct on guessing I’m out here alone,” I sighed. “ the friends I came with had their own plans, sadly, but I am managing.” Celestia looked at me with empathy. “It’s disappointing, though, since I figured they would’ve at least want to dance or eat together, c’est la vie.” I should at least be able to hear how their nights went whenever we regroup at the hotel later tonight.

Fleur turned her attention back to the princess. I have to take my leave, princess. You know how it is. Enjoy the rest of the gala for me would you?” She bowed and took her leave.

Celestia and I stood staring into each other’s eyes, her probably sizing me up. Though she only beat me in height by a few inches, it felt like staring into the eyes of a giant. What do I even say right now to a PRINCESS of all people? turns out I didn’t even need to initiate anything. Celestia, despite giving off a standoffish aura, one befitting of authority, she didn’t even look at me twice before starting to walk towards the cobble path towards the statues. “Walk with me, Aurelius.” And so I did.

She let me past the little statue garden over to a pond with pony statue shaped fountains, shooting out streams into the water, where multicolored fish shifted lazily about the bubbles and ripples. “How has Equestria treated you? From the letters Twilight has been sending me, I take it you’re adjusting all right?”

“Other than the harsh arrival, everything’s been pleasant. I’d go as far as to say that everyone I have met has been incredibly pleasant. Although there have been a few hiccups here and there, nothing I would like to complain about heavily.” The memory of my night and the Everfree and the Apple family’s barn collapsing came up in my mind, but I didn’t want to burden her with a trauma dump. Had to stay confident.

“That’s wonderful to hear,” she said gleefully. “And have you had any difficulty making friends, besides my sister?”

I had to think back to my many days here so far. Though it had only been a few months, I couldn’t recall but one time with a cranky donkey where I had difficulty befriending the natives. “I think it would be rather weird if anybody had difficulty making friends here in Equestria. It’s like the land breathes love and tolerance.”

She seemed content with my answer and continued to lead us down the path, looking out over the water at the insects, dipping down for a drink before hurrying back up for their nightly journeys. Alone, fish jumped out, just briefly and caught a scary looking dragonfly in front of us.

Celestial pointed out over the water towards the center of the pond at a glowing light. “Tell me what you see, Aurelius, what do you see when you look around my garden out across the water?”

I felt myself drawn in by the fence orb of light under the pond. “I see…,” I paused, then said the first word that came to mind. “Peace, Celestia. Like everything here reflects the good in the world.”

“Look closer.” A heron poised a ways away from the water’s edge, swiftly impaling a fish and gluttonously scarfing it down. It flew off before I managed to see every detail about it.

“I also see death, nature’s cruel teacher.“

She chuckled. “Yes, some of the animals here get eaten by minor predators. Interesting response.“ She took a moment to rest in the grass under a tree, patting the grass next to her, which I sat on. I shifted my eyes quickly to the diarch and then back to the scenery. Is… she testing me? Gauging my personality based on my responses? Or is this just her way of getting to know me?

“Is there a reason you’re asking me all of this, Princess? I didn’t think of you as the suspicious type.”

She laughed heartily, like a mother catching their child doing something foolish and entertaining. “ goodness, no. I merely thought I’d appeal back the enigma. My sister talks about so much, see if I might get to know you how she does. It does me little good to appear apprehensive to those that inhabit the kingdom, like someone who doesn’t want to spend time with her people.”

I smiled at her. “Never let it be said that Celestia is on approachable. I’m relieved to say that you are much more… More than I originally expected.”

We got up from our rest and continued round the bend of the pond, reaching back to the statue garden.

“Well Aurelius, it has been a treat to spend time with you tonight. Please excuse me, I have to go make announcements for the next event for the Gala.”

My strange dream of that weird man cropped up suddenly, and I thought to ask Celestia. If anybody knew anything about it, it would be one of the rulers. “Actually, Princess Celestia, I have a question for you if you don’t mind a few more moments of your time.” She turned back towards me. “Do you know where I could find someone nicknamed ‘The Alchemist’ by chance?“ At the mention of the name, the princess stumbled, only to be caught by one of her guards.

“Are you alright, your highness?” She nodded and raised herself back up.

Her mask cracked just lately, enough that I was the only one to notice that her expression shifted from that of a kind hearted ruler, to someone much more critical of the person standing before them. Oh shit, I don’t think I should have asked her that!

Celestial cleared her throat. “I don’t believe I know anybody by that name. If you would like, I can have my guards look out for somebody by that title though.” She shifted her expression back to the usual smile. Really hope I didn’t pick open an old wound!

“Oh well, doesn’t matter I guess. I just thought I would ask. Thank you for your time, princess. I enjoyed it,” I swiftly said, dismissing myself back to the party.

“You enjoy yourself now, Aurelius,” she called after me.

—-

“Tell Captain Shining Armor to have his agents watch the human and report back to me ANY and all discoveries, no matter how insignificant. I have a feeling something ill is coming and he might be a key part in all of it,” Celestia ordered one of her guards, who nodded and ran off.

—-

The gala continued boringly. None of the music fit. Without anything keeping me occupied, I felt a depressing atmosphere, what with the near lack of commoners, other than my friends. Snobbish nobles kept to their circles, glancing around to see if any unwelcome ears might take them away for saying the wrong thing, clashed as they were intermingled with the occasional laughter and petty argument. These rich ponies disgusted me. Hardly any smiles. Where is the excitement, the fun little games, the drama? In truth, there weren’t many options for fun other than conversation, food tasting, or looking at decor. Do people really only come here for the social aspect?

I had returned to the ballroom after Celestia’s announcement of the winners for the chef’s contest, of which Applejack earned third place and she happily accepted her ribbon with grace. Twilight was located over on the Dancefloor, and thoroughly enjoyed busting some freestyle moves much to the chagrin of any one standing too close. She moved with the grace of a newborn chicken. Such cringe, but hey, she inspired looks like they were having fun. Having nothing better to do, I grabbed some drinks off a wait staff’s tray and brought them over to refresh her.

“Dang twilight, think about opening up a dance school?” I teased, causing her to slip a little. “Ouch here let me help you up.”

I offered her a glass of lemonade, which she sheepishly took. “Thanks, Aurelius.”

Spike was unaware of anyone but his own dancing, but nodded at me and quickly took a glass of his own. “Not a problem, Twi, you seemed like you needed it. Have either of you seen any of the other girls around here recently?”

The drake tipped his head to acknowledge me, but otherwise kept dancing. Twilight looked around the room at the partygoers, but just shrugged. “Sorry, I was too busy enjoying myself to see where they went. I think I saw Rarity talking to Prince Blueblood over there.” She pointed somewhere out in the crowd. Hah, what a name. I bet he’s a massive prick.

I took a moment to look about the crowd, easily spotting her gaudy piece from over in the circle the nobles made to avoid being knocked over by Twilight’s uber moves. I thought to bring her a drink, And mend the bridge between us. She stood behind a pillar near a small gathering of mayors surrounding one pompous prints, googling and mumbling words of encouragement to herself.

“Get it together, Rarity. Is the chance you’ve been dreaming of since you were a filly! Just go out there and…“ She paused when she noticed me standing next to her. “Oh, what do you want?”

I faked being offended, scoffing. “And here I was, coming over to ask you if you’d like to dance. Would you like either punch or lemonade?” She paused, then pilfered the punch and humphed.

Well, it’s good to see you have SOME decorum. Not that sarcasm is doing you any favors.” She looked my suit up and down. “ and would it hurt you to straighten up your tie? You look like you just came from a nearby alley.”

“Look rarity, I’m sorry to have implied you had ill intents on her first-“ “Second.” “Right, second meeting. I’m socially awkward and I’m trying to be better, okay?” She sipped on her punch and considered my words.

“Is that why you think I’m annoyed at you so often? Ugh, Stallions.”

Confused, I pressed on. “Why else would you be mad? Outside of you sizing me up for clothing, we’ve had little to no interaction.”

She sighed. “… I suppose it’s my fault for not talking to you about this earlier.”

“What?”

“Well with how much you’ve spent with Sweetie Belle and her friends, she talks about you, I thought you’d manipulated her little heart into having a crush on you. She always has such compliments about how nice you are, I… I thought it too good to be true.”

“If anyone had a crush on me, it’d be Applebloom, on account that I saved her life, you goof. I’ve been helping with their homework that Cheerilee gives them and that’s it.” It was no wonder she thought so negatively of me, she’s just doing what an older sibling does. “I would never hurt someone like that, especially a close friends sister. I understand where you’re coming from though, despite not having any younger siblings myself.”

She rubbed her face like I slapped her, remorseful of how she talked to me. “Look, if you want to make up to me, let me help you win the heart of that prince.”

She scowled. “ but how? I’ve been trying since we got here to get him to notice me, but nothing’s working!”

I deadpanned. “Rarity… have you been stalking a prince all night instead of going right up to him and asking for a dance?” I swear to god if she says yes…

She stared about how timing was never right or some bullshit excuse, which I face palms too. I grabbed rarities wrist and pulled her behind me as I walked after Blueblood, who was finally free of any nitwit mares trying to charm him. He walked out into the hallway to preen in a hand mirror, not that he needed it. it was so consumed by it, I thought he might start kissing his reflection the way he didn’t notice us. When he finally did turn back around, he noticed a very apprehensive Rarity before staring up at me.

“So you are the one auntie Celestia has told me about.”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, your highness,” I said with a bow. “My name is Aurelius, and this fine girl is Rarity.” He gave us both a look over before returning to his grooming, not looking very enthused.

“Charmed, I’m sure,” he spat.

Rarity gave him as polite of a smile as she could while sweating bullets. “Could you tell me what is so important as to bother me or are we finished here?”

“Well your Lordship, my friend wanted to ask you to dance at the next song, if you wouldn’t mind. It’s been her dream to meet you in person.”

He stood a lot taller, puffing out his chest, a little. “As are all of the fillies who hear of Blueblood. But what makes her so special that I should even give her the time of day and that thing she calls an outfit?” He gestured a thumb at Rarity’s outfit. “ I would rather be caught dead, then be seen next to something so incorrigible. Hardly suited attire for the gala, unlike your well crafted suit, sir.” He humphed and turned to head back into the party. “I wish you both a good evening. Please don’t bother me again.”

Rarity just felt absolutely heartbroken, running off wailing into the halls of the castle, the moonlight cascading off the marble. Chasing after her, I found that she had slumped up against one of the walls, crying into her knees.

In between sobs, she barked at me. “Go away! You ruined everything!”

I slid down the wall to sit next to her. “Now that’s not true. You heard how he talked about you. Nobody worth his position would speak so lowly of someone who admires him so highly.”

She didn’t move, staining her arms with run makeup. “Oh, why did he have to be so…so awful! I thought of anypony, he’d be like the rumors made him out to be.”

“If it makes you feel any better, with a name like his, I kind of figured he would’ve been of a muddy puddle.” We sat in each other’s company as the music from the ballroom shifted tone to a more soft energy one. “Listen, you shouldn’t let some pompous twat determine your self-worth, especially when you’re already an accomplished business owner, have looks that many would kill for, and as loving friends as you do. If he can’t see past his own vain nose what kind of mare you are by just looking at you, then he doesn’t deserve the right to make you happy.”

Rarity stopped crying when I mentioned all the positives, but her stuffy nose made her voice sound sick. She looked up at me slowly. “Do you think I’ll ever find true love like a fairytale? That somepony would want to hold me close and make me feel wanted?”

I nodded. “Most definitely, if you work at it. Relationships aren’t all like a story book.”

She chuckled almost hollowly. “You’re a weird one, Aurelius. One moment bawling my eyes out, the next you’re trying to comfort me.”

Rarity eventually cleaned herself up some and rejoined her friends in the ballroom. I felt conflicted about whether I should join them myself or stay out here to be alone, ultimately deciding to look outside the window at the end of the hall. From up here, I could see out over the garden’s courtyard, where I saw Fluttershy sitting peacefully with a single bird on her finger. She looked worse for wear, sticks and dirt covering her once dress. I had to say, it sort of fit her, given her affinity for helping all her animals like a dryad. Then I felt a cold presence behind me, something ghostly. It chilled me to the bone, making me feel anxious and want to hide.

I turned around to see what was there, only to see a brief glimpse of the man from my dream flash in and out of existence. He didn’t look solid, fitting the ghost image. He mouthed something inaudible, looking over his shoulder like he himself was watching for specters, before fading entirely.

I gripped at my chest, a sharp pain shooting up my arm and resting in my heart, vanishing as quickly as it came. What the FUCK was that?! Did somebody drug the food or something?!

Uneasiness creeped in my chest and I rushed to head back into the party, away from whatever the hell I just saw. In my haste, I accidentally bumped into Spike as I wove my way through the crowd gathering around the center of the dance floor where Princess Celestia stood with Twilight and Princess Luna.

Spike, noticing the look on my face, put a hand up on my thigh. “Whoa dude, you look like you’ve seen a ghost? What’s wrong?”

I looked down at him. “I think I just did, out in the hallway.”

“Wait, what?”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now. We’ll talk about it later.” My breathing felt uneven and shallow, like I had just gotten done running a marathon. Something felt wrong and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Celestia began to speak. “Good evening, everypony. I want to thank you all for coming to this year’s Gala.” She placed a hand on Luna’s back, her voice filled with warmth. “As you all know, my sister has returned to us from her long banishment, thanks to my faithful student and her friends.”

The room fell silent, all eyes on the royal sisters. “Tonight is not just a celebration of tradition but a celebration of reunion, forgiveness, and the power of friendship. It is a night to remember the importance of unity, of standing together, and offering second chances. My sister, Princess Luna, has returned to her rightful place, and I could not be more grateful to have her by my side once more.”

Luna bowed her head slightly, a soft smile gracing her lips. Celestia continued, “May this night be a reminder that no matter how much darkness we face, there is always light waiting to guide us back. So, let us raise our glasses and toast to new beginnings, enduring friendships, and the joy of having loved ones near.”

Celestia lifted her hand high, her gaze sweeping over the crowd. “To Luna’s return, to friendship, and to the magic that binds us all together. May we cherish these moments and look forward to many more joyful celebrations.”

A chorus of cheers and clinking glasses followed her words, Luna bashfully turning her head from the majority of the crowd. Many ponies walked up to ask the Princess questions or congratulate her personally. Twilight, who’s attention was on me rather than her teacher, stared at me like I was about to pass out. It wasn’t too far from the truth, what with my head pounding and an overwhelming need to leave washed over me. I felt bile rise up in the back of my throat as I looked down at my hands.

I panted, my vision going a little spotty with a swirl of rainbow colors. Why do I feel so… weird? I-I can’t breathe. Everything…Urk!

I immediately bolted from the ballroom, searching for a toilet, trashcan, something to purge my stomach. I didn’t even make it out the door before I slammed my eyes shut and keeled over, vomiting everything I had eaten that night. It felt like fire pouring out my throat, and in an instant everything felt light. I opened my eyes and felt a warm, wet sensation dripping down my face. I reached up to wipe it away and was shocked when I saw blood staining my hands.

All around me, I heard a voice laughing maniacally. And then like it never happened, I was back in the center of the crowd like nothing had even happened. Twilight was looking up at her teacher in awe.

Okay, what the absolute hell? Did I just hallucinate or something? God my fucking head hurts way too much to deal with this right now. I’ll ask Twilight about it in the morning.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to steady myself, and forced a smile as Twilight turned back to me, asking if I was okay. "Yeah, just... a little too much excitement," I said, brushing it off.

The rest of the night went on peacefully, as if nothing had happened. My little group of friends intermingled with each other as we made our way to our carriage, excited to discuss their experiences of the night. Yet, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

—-

Outside of the castle, alone in the famous garden of Canterlot, stood a statue. Ivy clung to the base of this weird statue, wilted and dying, but never falling off. It was a curious sight, nothing like any of the statues of all the famous ponies one would find if they were to tour. It was twisted, chaotic, and it didn’t look like it fit quite right in the mix of all of them. Its species defied all natural law, looking more like a chimeric mishmash of parts from many different species. A single one of its arms was upturned towards the sky, the talons almost trying in vain to palm at the heaven themselves. Wings, one feathered and one batlike, pointed in uncomfortable looking positions off of its long serpent like body, as though it wanted to take flight but never could. Its face held different sized fangs in a gleeful grin, its eyes frozen in a mischievous and sinister manner.

As the night grew deeper and the garden’s silence became ever larger, a faint sound broke through— like the snapping of a twig, an audible crack barely louder than the wind sounded out from said statue. Had anybody been watching, they might’ve noticed the statue’s grin shift slightly underneath the weathering coating it. A thin line appeared, starting at its toes and slowly made its way up to its horns.

The statue to any untrained eye would’ve appeared unchanged, like nothing had happened. But the atmosphere was something else to behold. It felt heavier, sticky, akin to smog. The sound of cracking continued to resonate around the statue, long blades of grass at the base of the statue curling into themselves away from it, revealing the plaque carved into the base.

If anyone read it out loud, they would find that it said ‘Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony’.

Chapter 8: Afterglow of the Gala

Discord withdrew from Solus’ mind, scratching madly at his scalp as he sifted through the screens of memories floating in front of him. His form shimmered like water as he withdrew into the shadows of the newly formed realm of chaos where there was once a peaceful forest glade. But before he vanished entirely, he paused to think, grumbling to himself. I just can’t make him break. What makes him tick, feel so confident with that little trickle of his soul flowing into the child, that he can take me down? What can I do to conquer his will and speak?

The lingering remnants of Solus’ soul taunted him, like an enigma puzzle, and Discord hissed. “Do you really think you can hide where you’ve sent him forever?” He said maliciously. “That your precious Aurelius, your last hope for salvation, can possibly hope to help match his elder in sheer experience?”

Solus didn’t answer, lost in his reliving of ancient memories, which filtered out like a fog into Discord’s hand. “It’s only a matter of time until I find the memories I am looking for. I will twist him, break him, and either bend him to my will or consume him entirely, you filthy puddle.”

Discord smiled, floating gently over to the rotting corpse of his brother. “Just imagine it: the legacy of YOUR father will burn in a fire hotter than any sun he crafted, your dreams and ambitions a mere figment of nothing. Tarnished, forgotten. When I find him, I will turn whatever poorly failed cobblestone you hid him on into dust and make its inhabitants become my most loyal of maddened followers.” He gripped the putrid face, bringing it into his gaze. “And together, we will bring about unending chaos, all in your name. Every breath he takes, every step he takes, will bring him closer to my embrace where he belongs.”

Discord’s laugh filled the void, the one sound that echoed through Solus’ shattered mind. “As for you, I will make sure every shred that once was the person I called Brother is forgotten, scattered to the winds. Ashes to ashes and all that. I’ll pervert every shred of dignity that you once had, while you watch from a pitiful little cage cast out into the void. You will be nothing, Solus, but a god who failed.”

In an instant, as if rewarded by his own malice, Discord sensed a flicker, a brief moment of clarity in Solus's tangled mind. There it was—the single branch of Yggdrasil where Aurelius was hidden. Discord's eyes gleamed with triumph as he sent his magic surging toward it, ripping through the delicate web of protections Solus had spun. The barriers barely budged under the force of Discord's will, cracking like glass against the onslaught of his power, enough to let in a single piece of his essence. It shuddered as it felt an influx of unbelievably harmonious magic, worming along the branches of the World Tree searching for its target.

—-

Far away, in the statue of the draconequus deep in Canterlot's garden, a crack sounded. A faint fissure appeared on the stone surface, as if the sculpture itself responded to the summons to awaken. Discord's laughter resonated through the darkness as the ancient wards around the statue began to falter, releasing a whisper of his chaotic essence into the world once more.

—-

“So that’s the branch you hid him upon…” Something about the feeling of magic radiating into his core felt familiar, as if battles that had taken place between the two gods left a stain upon the realms within. “It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but soon, brother, I will have my revenge. Just a little more and I’ll find out which leaf he sits upon.”

—-

I sat upon the edge of Twilight’s bed, trying to untangle the knots of anxiety and excitement from the night. I pushed my hair out of my eyes, as if the subtle motion might help me make sense of the night. The aftermath of it all drained me more than I realized and confused me. Was the whole thing in the hallway and ballroom just hallucinations or premonitions of something more? I couldn’t think clearly with how tired I was.

Twilight swirled around the room, still energetic from the party, her dress as pristine as when she first donned it. “You look like you were having fun out there, Twilight,” I said, my voice sounding strained to my ears. I wasn’t sure how talking would make me feel, but it couldn’t hurt to try and get my mind off of it all.

Twilight paused her motions to turn to me, a grin glued on her face. “Oh it was fantastic! I got to meet so many ponies I had only ever read in tabloids! Sapphire Shores, famous griffon chef Jacques Von Prisionette…” She smiled constantly. “And the speech Princess Celestia gave? It was so heartfelt and touching, I felt my heart might burst!”

I smiled at the unicorn, her excitement cheering me up. “It was something, alright.” I nervously took a breath and laid back against the fabric of the bed. “What a night…”

Twilight jumped up on the bed to lay next to me. “So, how was your night?”

I guess it’s time for a shave some time soon, no? I brought a hand up to scratch at the stubble forming on my chin. “Well, I got to meet the Princess for the first time tonight, out in the gardens. It was… interesting.”

That prompted Twilight to turn over and lay on the bed like a schoolgirl. “Oh, do tell! What did she say!”

“Nothing much, just kinda asked me to look around the garden and tell her what I saw. She sort of admitted to seeing what kind of person I was, but other than that she-“ I remembered my question. “Actually, she seemed a little off when I mentioned somebody to her. Somebody named ‘The Alchemist’ that I heard in a dream.”

“The Alchemist?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anypony named that, even in the thousands of books I’ve read. Are you sure that’s a title somepony uses?”

“Nah, it’s just like I said, how I heard it in a dream. It’s bugging me since I had that weird one I told you about way back when.” I rubbed my temple, the memory starting a headache again. “ I was so weird. I know it was just a dream, but I feel like I’ve met the person who told me that before. Like I’m forgetting something important everytime I try to remember his name.”

I sat up to go get a cup of water from her bathroom sink. “And if I’m being honest, that’s not the only weird thing that happened tonight either.”

Twilight shifted on the bed, concern brewing on her brow. “What do you mean?”

I hesitated, unsure of how to explain what happened at the ballroom during Celestia’s announcement. “I mean it’s kinda fuzzy now that I think about it, but I remember you looking at me all funny while I felt nauseous. Then, I turned to find a trashcan to vomit into, wiping my eyes and finding they were streaming with blood.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “And there was some spooky laughter, then I was back in the crowd, watching everyone cheer for Princess Luna.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed in thought. “That sounds really strange, Aurelius. Are you sure this isn’t some kind of dream you had? I know you slept a while on the train ride.”

I shook my head. “That’s the thing, though, I was talking to rarity not even like ten minutes before out in the hallway. I even told Spike in the ballroom that I was going to talk to him about this later. But then again, this isn’t the only time I’ve had a weird dream about the strange man. I know last night he showed up and he just kind of sat there, watching me practice with Princess Luna, and she didn’t even seem to notice him. For the last week, he’s been there, like he’s trying to tell me something, and I just can’t hear him.” It was like the dreams were pulling me into something that I wasn’t prepared for.

Twilight eyes softened with understanding. “Hm. I know there is some research that has been done linking the dreamworld and reality together here in Equestria, but I’m no expert on this. Sometimes they can be visions of the future and sometimes they can be a way of you facing your fears. If anything, you should bring this up to Princess Luna the next time you see her in your sleep tonight.”

“It could be some kind of warning from someone that you know. You said he seems familiar?” I nodded. “What does he look like? Maybe talking more about him will remind you.”

I thought about the figure, the way he exuded this sense of peace and tranquility. “He felt familiar in a way. I just can’t explain, like someone important to me.” I remembered seeing him in the hallway. “Actually, yeah, I saw him in the hallway after Rarity rejoined you all in the ballroom. He wasn’t there for a second, something like a ghost or a shadow, and then he vanished.”

Twilight’s face grew more concerned. “That’s… not normal. If there’s a connection between your dreams and what happened tonight, we need to figure it out. Dreams can sometimes reveal truths that our waking minds can’t comprehend. If this figure is trying to communicate with you, it might not be for a good reason.”

I swallowed, feeling the weight of her words. The hallucination, the laughter, the dreams—none of it made any sense, but the growing unease inside me refused to be ignored. “Do you think it could be some sort of magic affecting me?”

“It’s possible,” Twilight said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Magic that affects dreams isn’t unheard of, especially if there’s a powerful force behind it. Whoever this man is, he might be trying to influence you, maybe even reach you through your dreams.”

The thought made a chill travel down my spine. As magical and peaceful of a place as Equestria was, I couldn’t help, but feel that something darker was lurking around the corner in my near future. I didn’t really want to think about it much anymore, so I thanked twilight for her time and helping me get all of this off of my chest, then dismissed myself to Spike’s and my room for the night.

He was already asleep on the bed by the time I came in, slumbering, as if there wasn’t a care in the world. It amused me, and I thought I would join him and dreamland.

—-

“Concentrate, Aurelius,” Luna commanded, her voice a perfect blend of old-world grandeur and modern strength. “Feel the magic coursing through thy veins. It desires to obey thy will, to be of service. Thou must not fear it but embrace it. Make it thine own.”

The dreamscape was different tonight, reflecting an olden style of classroom, with Luna the teacher. Between the rolling starry sky outside and the burning twist of my own internal magic, I thought myself centered, if that’s the right word. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to follow her instructions. My breath came out ragged and sweat poured off my back like a river. My body trembled at its own might, my muscles failing to listen to me as the pools of magic glowing in my hands vanished. I collapsed to the floor.

“It’s no use.” Though this was just a dream of my own making, I couldn’t master making my magic listen to me, as usual. Inside, I felt like a cauldron bubbling over, threatening to consume me. Though my magic responded to all the calls I made upon it, it didn’t feel like it wanted to listen, rather it just wanted to do its own thing.

“Just breathe, easy, Aurelius,” said Luna, as she put her hand up on my back, rubbing in a small circle. We know how you feel, the sense of an adequacy, like you’re not matching up to your own expectations.” Her presence was like a cool breeze, comforting me in my trial. “Listen not to the doubts that plague thy mind. You are more than capable, as demonstrated before.”

“Feel the eagerness of your magic, its desire to be set free into the Etherium.” I tried to refocus myself, to meditate and feel the well of magic in me, but all I could feel was the pounding of my own heart. My insides twisted, and nausea rolled all throughout me.

“Aurelius,” Luna’s voice cut through the chaos firmly, “I sense the turmoil within thy heart. Thy emotions are a tempest that threatens to consume thee. Speak to me. Unburden thy mind, that thou might find clarity. For until thy heart is at peace, thy magic shall never truly be thine.”

I sat on the floor, listless and tired. “Since you opened up my chakras and set right my immature CAM, I haven’t felt right. Like at any moment when I try to use magic, that it wants to consume me. Couple that with all the weirdness that I told you about last night, and I feel like something terrible is going to happen if I keep trying to be something I’m not.”

I swallowed hard, the taste of bile still lingering in my mouth. “I don’t know how to face it. The man in my dreams, the laughter… it feels like they’re waiting for me to slip, to lose control. What if I can’t keep this power in check?”

“Then it shall consume thee,” Luna said plainly, her voice like a blade cutting through my doubt. “But that is not thy fate, Aurelius. I see the strength within thee, the potential to rise above these shadows. Let thy fears become the forge in which thy resolve is tempered. Speak thy truth, bare thy soul to me. Only then can we confront the darkness together.”

I closed my eyes again, resuming the meditation techniques. I could see clearly in my mind‘s eye the demon that was my anxiety. “I’m afraid, Luna. Afraid of who I’m becoming every time I tap into this… Raw power.” It was like something was there, staring back at me. Watching, waiting, expecting. “ I think I’m afraid of becoming something that I dread. I’m afraid of becoming something that I don’t recognize and lashing out to hurt people. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Then don’t,” Luna sat down behind me, leaning up against my body and running her hands down my arms to lock fingers. “ I sent greatness inside of you, Aurelius, the strength to rise above your own inner demons. Thine fear is the prelude to what I can see you becoming.”

I stared at her, the moonlight filtering in through the illusionary windows with a silver glow that shrouded us. She felt like a Sentinel, keeping watch over me.

“There’s something inside me,” I began, my voice shaking. “Something that feels ancient, like it’s been waiting forever. It’s… hungry, almost. And there’s this laughter. It’s mocking me, taunting me to give in, to let go. It’s like it knows my weaknesses and is just waiting for the right moment to strike.”

Luna’s eyes narrowed, her expression thoughtful yet stern. “This force thou speakest of, it is not merely a figment of thy imagination. It is real, as real as the magic that flows through thy veins. The laughter, the presence—it is a manifestation of chaos, seeking to destabilize thee. Chaos feeds on fear and doubt. But thou must remember, Aurelius, fear is not thy enemy. It is a guide. Let it show thee where thou art vulnerable, and then use thy strength to fortify those places.”

“But how do I master what feels like an integral part of myself? How do I keep such chaos at bay?”

“By remembering the people who hold you dearly,” Luna said. “Thine relationships with your friends is not some mere figment of your imagination. Search your feelings and let the emotions your friends draw forth the center you need to calm your storm.”

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and imagining my deepest thoughts. I felt the core of my magic drifting like smoke in the wind, slipping through my fingers again and swirling up into a storm. Sweat beaded on my brow and I could feel my muscles clenching again against my will. The power pulsed rapidly, responding to my attempts to call it, but erratic and outside of my control.

“Good, let the magic move freely. Focus on your friends, how they make you feel and you them.” I did just that. The mass of magic seemed to like the direction I was going and I felt my hands ignite in the familiar soft, golden glow.

“Recognize that the power within thee is not thy enemy, but thine ally. The man in thy dreams, the laughter—they are tests, challenges to be overcome. They are as much a part of thee as thy fears. Accept them, Aurelius, and they shall no longer hold sway over thee.”

The storm surged and started to coalesce into a refined spinning sphere. It felt warm, less like the fire from before and more like a sunbeam. My muscles eased their tension and I felt I could breathe easier than before. I stood up and opened my eyes, reaching my hand out to the pillar holding a cup, gripping my hand as though I were grabbing it. Ever so slowly the cup wiggled before being bathed in its own faint field of golden light. I lifted my hand and so too did the cup follow.

I lost my concentration afterward and jumped up into the air, laughing triumphantly. “Hahaha, I did it! I levitated the cup!” I rushed to hug my teacher as tight as I could, my energy renewed to its peak. “Thank you so much, Luna! I feel confident I can accomplish this in the waking world just as easily now!”

Luna returned the embrace with a small smile, her dark wings folding around me like a protective cloak. “Well done, Aurelius,” she said softly, her voice carrying a hint of pride. “Thou hast taken the first step towards mastering thy power. Remember, the magic within thee is tied to thy emotions. As thy confidence grows, so too shall thy control.”

I basked in the afterglow, buzzing with excitement. The golden light around my hands faded, but I still felt the telltale tingle of magic moving underneath my skin. “It felt so natural, just like you said. It really was waiting on me to acknowledge myself.” I felt breathless beyond words, as if the small feat of levitation were a work out.

Luna nodded, her eyes twinkling with approval. “Magic is not a force to be tamed, but a dance to be learned. It seeks harmony with the wielder as much as any skill. When thou art calm and thy mind focused, it shall answer thy call. But remember,” she warned. “It can just as quickly turn into a savage beast, a danger if wielded recklessly.”

The reality of her words sunk in like a fishing weight. “Understood, Luna. I promise to never use my power for anything dark. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

She seemed content with my response, her mirth warm and comforting. “That is all I ask of you, Aurelius. Yours is a path that will be all the easier with remembering to stay true to thineself. Thy friends are a stepping stone. Stand upon them as you would any stair and they will rise you to greater and greater heights.”

I continued to practice long into the night, accepting guidance on many more basic spells and finding it easier with each one. Levitation, Shield, Light, and detect magic were all easy enough to learn and I felt myself growing ever stronger because of it.

Luna waved her hand for me to stop meditating and summoned a table, chairs, and tea set for us. “Come, let us talk about these dreams you had during the Gala. From what little you’ve said, they appear to be more unusual than normal?” I nodded. “Hmm… What about this strange ‘man’ you mentioned? What do you make of him?”

I explained the dreams in their entirety, how sometimes he would appear half complete, other times he would wordlessly mouth something I couldn’t quite hear. Matter of fact, I couldn’t remember any but two times he actually spoke at all. “It’s weird, he never does anything but either watch or try to talk to me.” Weird didn’t even begin to describe how creepy it was. “Actually, one of the two times he talked, he told me to go to Canterlot and seek out someone named ‘The Alchemist’.”

Luna choked at the mention of his name, dropping her teacup to add her on the floor and beating her chest violently. She just about jumped across the table with how close she got into my face. “And you are certain this is who he told you to find? He named the Alchemist specifically and nopony else? You’re sure?!”

“Positive.” Luna slumped back down into her chair, a look of absolute horror creeping up on her face. “Why? Is that a bad thing?”

Luna’s sudden reaction was unlike her, unbecoming of one of her station. She was a Princess, someone who was expected to be prepared for even the darkest circumstances and lead her people through it. For such a fierceness to be replaced with fear and sorrow, it must’ve been a name that held terrible memories for her. She turned her head away from me, biting her lip as she stared out of the windows into the stars.

I could feel the tension radiating off of her, that she was wrestling with whether or not to speak with me about it. “Luna, who is the Alchemist? Why do my dreams know about someone I’ve never heard of?”

She took a shaky breath, and when she finally spoke, her voice was strained, barely above a whisper. “Aurelius… The name of the Alchemist is one not spoken lightly, not in jest nor in passing curiosity. He is not just anypony; he is a figure of great power and great mystery, shrouded in legends and old stories better left long forgotten.” Luna’s eyes flickered with a distant light, as though she were peering back into ancient memories, ones filled with half-buried secrets and shadows that stretched across centuries. “What I am about to tell you is not to leave this dream, for fear of consequences even I can’t fathom.”

I swallowed my saliva, bitter with anticipation of the metaphorical hornets nest I kicked. Luna hesitated to speak, grappling with the importance of hearing a name nearly forgotten to time. “The Alchemist is… hard to describe, but one word is used by the scholars who know about him. He’s, by all means, a God.” My eyes widened and my mouth dropped. “He is an alicorn of incomprehensible magnitude, a being older than even Equestria itself. A master of the arcane in arts long since forgotten, with which he could bend even the stars to his will in a way I can’t today. Some knew him to be the founder of the Pony species, others say he was merely a guide to lead the souls to the afterlife. But to Celestia and I… he was our Father.”

—-

Thousands upon thousands of years ago, a great and powerful being visited the world of Equus. A dormant, sad little thing it was, devoid of atmosphere or even the light of its long dead star. He took pity on this once thriving planet, stirring the very cosmos into turning back the clock for its star, igniting it in a blaze of cosmic fusion. And he saw that it was good.

Taking out a vial of solid darkness, he poured in his will and a light shone within it, eager to break free of its prison. He poured out the vial on his hand and held the planet in his palm, covering the now dead oceans and continents. With a squeeze, the planet burst and magma flowed from its now vibrant core. The planetoid swelled up three times its original size, flourishing itself with the greens and yellows of life

The Alchemist looked upon his master with glee, appreciating the beauty of the new life on the planet. Whatever had struck it down, was long gone and now it danced happily in a proper orbit. The Alchemist took his wife’s hand and drifted daintily down to its surface, waving goodbye to their new home’s creator. He promised he would put to use the pure souls of life in his pocket, gifted to him by the God who watched on with satisfaction.

As the moons went by, the planet blossomed forth sapient life, with the Alchemist there to guide it. The alicorn smiled at his work, gazing from far above at the griffons, minotaurs, ponies, and other races enjoying the peace and prosperity. There was not a shadow of hatred in any of their hearts, nor were there thoughts of betrayal or evil. And the creator saw that it was good. But all would not be peaceful forever. During the Sixth Era, roughly six thousand years before the present day, my sister and I were born to the Alchemist and his wife, Faust.

It started with the first ever death during childbirth. The being of chaos known as Discord discovered the creator’s naive and innocent world, and saw fit to rule it as a king. He brought forth terrors the like of which Equus had never seen before: bloodshed, war, disease, rape, and all manner of evil to despicable and innumerable to name. It descended into chaos, the world nearly burning in a nuclear fire as the resisting peoples of the world fought tooth and nail to fend him off.

And it was during the sixteenth year of my life that the creator returned. He was sickened by the actions committed by his fellow god, and filled with sorrow. With a single motion, He cut his wrist, throwing the blood deep within the place now known as the Everfree Forest. The sacrifice of a single drop of lifeforce poisoned the forest as it was forced to absorb as much of the chaos as it could hold, in an attempt at purifying it. Discord fought back with his own magic, which ultimately caused the purification to stop before it could be fully completed, the remaining chaos corrupting the forest. And thus began a true war in the heavens.

With the help of the Alchemist, who sought the death of Discord for slaying his wife, the creator concocted a weapon so powerful, it could defeat the Spirit of Chaos: the Elements of Harmony. They hid them deep within that bastion of evil, the Everfree forest, and planted the seed of the Tree of Harmony. Discord, becoming aware of their plans to overthrow him, sought to fight off the creator and the Alchemist in one final battle. In a last ditch effort, the Alchemist physically held Discor in place so my sister and I could strike him down with the elements. And thus, he helped bring about an end to his rule once and for all, at the cost of being turned to stone alongside Discord.

—-

Luna’s eyes darkened as she recounted the end of her story. “And so it was that my sister and I vowed 6000 years ago to remain forever watchful over both of the statues, in hopes that our father will escape and that Discord never does.”

She looked away, tears flowing freely from her eyes, her voice heavy with sadness. “We eventually moved them from their resting place within the heart of that cursed forest, from the ruins of our old castle to the gardens of Canterlot. Discord remains frozen in his chaotic laughter, my father in his calm resolve. Two sides of a coin, yet intertwined by fate. A monument to the price we both had to pay that day and as a reminder of the never ending fight for good.”

“Of the lengths in which we must go to protect our world from devastation.” She sighed deeply, her gaze softening. “That brings us back to you.”

“But what exactly does this have to do with me?” I asked, my voice almost a whisper. “Why am I a focal point for something that happened so long ago?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, but I do know that fate is a fickle mistress who chooses both her heroes and her villains. You would think that with the embodiment of evil imprisoned, that moral corruption would vanish, yes?” I nodded. “Sadly, it isn’t so. With how long he stood during those sixteen years of my childhood, his ambient magic perverted the minds of many creatures who sought to serve him. Not every one of them was defeated and to this day, Cults of Discord lurk from the shadows.”

“Do you think they could be trying to wake him and he’s reaching out into my dreams to taunt you?”

She thought for a moment, rubbing her chin. “It’s possible, though unlikely. The statue holds a faint chaotic aura that isn’t able to reach out more than a few meters away from its base. Just looking at it up close is enough to instill intrusive thoughts.” I drooped in my seat, dissatisfied with that answer. “No, I think what is more likely is that either these are visions from the future, or potentially something much more sinister.”

My mind rattled with more questions than answers. Why was I brought to Equestria at this time and place? What happened to the creator god? Who is the man in my dreams? I voiced these to Luna, and she didn’t have any more of an answer that I did.

“Why can’t I tell anyone all that you’ve told me?”

Her expression changed to a harder one. “The less who know about the Cults of Discord and the true origins of our world, the better. Belief is another important component of magic, a reason you have had trouble with,” she explained. “Think of it like a mental parasite with magically memetic properties: the more the idea of how dangerous he truly is becomes common knowledge, the more his aura could spread and possibly gain enough power to free himself, or worse create an entity that’s just like him. It is one of the reasons my sister and I have as much power as we do and why my fall to the Nightmare was so dangerous. The faith of all sapient life has power unimaginable.”

I looked once more into her eyes, feeling grateful that she would trust me with that information. “I understand. Thank you anyway for trying to help me find some answers. And for training with me.”

She smiled, a small, proud smile that made me feel like I had already accomplished something great. “I have faith in thee, Aurelius. Thy journey has only just begun, and I foresee great things in thy future. But for now, rest. There is time yet to grow and to prepare. And remember, thy dreams may hold clues, but they do not define thee. Only thou can choose thy path.”

With those words, the dreamscape around us began to fade, the stars dimming, the soft whispers of night drawing me back to the waking world. As I drifted, Luna’s voice echoed one last time in my mind, a quiet vow shared only between us: “We shall watch over thee. Sleep softly.”

Chapter 9: A Day Off

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Chapter 10: Weekend Pranks

Author's Note

Another chapter completed. I’ll be taking a break from writing for now, but I’ll be back in a week or two. Maybe.

Chapter 10: Weekend Pranks

My morning began like any other in Ponyville: with a rude awakening by my fellow flatmates and their devil sunlight, though today would be different. On the way home from the park yesterday, Rainbow Dash popped out of the sky and kept Twi and I company on the walk home. She said she’d been the least attentive of our friends to me lately and wanted to hang out sometime today before we had to get back into the groove of things for work. To stop by her pad ‘for some action packed fun in the sun’, whatever that means.

With Rainbow Dash, fun usually consisted of practical jokes at someone’s expense, mainly mine, but it was all in good fun. One time, she caught me meditating in the canopy of the Golden Oak’s Library and thought it would be funny to push me out of the tree, just to catch me moments later. Another time, she dropped out of the sky just to haul me up above the ground and ‘pretend’ to lose her grip. Today was different though, as I was aware of my surroundings and prepared for any attempts to sweep me off my feet.

I wasn’t complaining in the least, it was a nice day out. Clear skies, freshly baked bagels in my pack for lunch, and I had some new shoes Rarity wanted me to trial for her. Said something about ‘boots being in this season’ or some bull, but I was happy to make her happy.

Sunday is one of the only days the marketplace was barren of any shops, so it made an easy trip to get over to the business district for an early lunch at Sugarcube Corner’s confectionery. I could already taste their apple tarts. I waved to a few of the familiars as I passed by, locked on target to visit my favorite little dive, when that pink mink called Pinkie Pie popped next to me.

She skipped along, her sky blue blouse and skirt combo stained with flour, meaning she skipped work to come say hi. “Howdy wowdy, Aurelius! Whatcha doin’ today?”

I pretended that she was always there, instead of focusing on the fact that I was nowhere near SCC yet and she quite literally popped up. “Just walkin’, Pinkie. On my way to grab a bite to eat and then head over to Dash’s for something exciting.”

“Oooo, whatcha planning? Gonna try to race her? Oh no wait, I bet you two are gonna have a funny face contest!” I shrugged. “You don’t know? A mystery!”

”Yeah, she just said to prepare for some action, whatever that means. Could be anything.”

We passed twelfth street, meaning lunch was only a ten minute walk away. She was bouncing in place as I walked along, her sproinging keeping pace and her imagination running wild. I simply smiled and placated her randomness, as she never really meant to annoy anyone.

My arrival to the sugar shop was anything but boring, my stomach catching up with me to yell its anguish. Carrot Cake, the owner, was busy sweeping the entryway with a pleasant attitude, before waving me a hello. “Mornin’ friend, I take it you’re doing fine?”

He stepped out of the way so I could enter. “Yessir indeed. How’s the missus been?”

He cringed a little. “Eh, this tail end of the pregnancy has a little snippity, ‘specially since she’s been craving the strangest things way late in the night. This morning, she had me make a peanut butter and pickle sandwich with a side of chocolate-dipped hay fries and we didn’t have any pickles.”

“Yowcha, I’ll be she wasn’t very happy.” He grimaced and shook his head.

“Oh but it isn’t all bad. She’s had a heck of a craving for pony, if’n you catch my meaning.” He flashed his eyebrows mischievously. “I swear I’ve been more sore than a stubbed toe.”

Pinkie Pie giggled “Oh I bet, hehe. Is she in today?”

“Oh, no, but Pinkie should be able to whip ya up some grub ‘for you head out for today. Same as always?” I nodded. “Just set your payment on the counter whenever and just take a load off.” He pointed over to one of the empty stalls.

I cooled my heels as Pinkie ran in the back to check up on fresh goods in the kitchen, looking through the new menu for later. Mr. Cake came a few minutes later with a small paper bag with my name tagged on it. “You know me too well, Carrot.” I opened it up to snag a bite, before noticing he put an extra one inside. “Hey, you put one too many.”

“My treat, friend. You’re always working so hard up at Applejack’s farm, thought you could use the extra food. You have a good day today.”

I paid my farewells and headed on out to the outskirts of town, savoring the sweet treats. It didn’t take long at all to reach the largest cloud structure in Ponyville, and soon enough I could make out the shape of the door.

I cupped my hands around my mouth, calling out. “Hey! Rainbow! I’m here!”

For a moment, there was only the sound of the gentle breeze rustling the grass and the distant chirping of birds. Then, without warning, a rainbow blur shot out from one of the windows, and Rainbow Dash landed in front of me.

“There you are, slowpoke!” she teased, playfully punching my shoulder. “Are you ready for some fun?”

“Well, I would be, if you weren’t so cryptic yesterday before bolting off. What’s the plan?”

She thumbed at me and then herself. “You and me, we’re going pranking!”

“I should’ve guessed it would be something sneaky, you seem like the type. Who’s the target today, oh master prankster?”

“Oh, just some good old-fashioned, harmless fun with the locals,” she said, winking. “I’ve got a whole list of ponies we can hit today. Trust me, it’ll be a blast.”

“Sounds fun. What’s the tool? Eggs? Water balloons?”

“Nah, those are too easy. I’m talking about something bigger.” She pulled a fishing line out of her pocket. “Wanna go trip up Mayor Mare?”

“With a fishing line? What, gonna tie her hooves together without her noticing?”

Rainbow Dash grinned like a fox, shaking the line in front of my face. “Nah, nothing that mean. We’re gonna string this across her office door, and when she comes out—bam! She’ll trip, but we’ll make sure she lands on something soft. Like a pile of those fluffy cloud cushions.”

I giggled. “Oh, I just thought of another idea. What if first, we tie her window to her chair, so she gets startled the moment she sits down, then, when she gets up to investigate it, we snag her glasses off her desk and place it JUST beyond the door.” Her smile was building by the minute. “Then, when she steps out to grab them, she trips and falls into a creme pie.”

She burst out laughing. “Bahaha! That’s brilliant!”

Rainbow Dash’s laughter was infectious, and it was hard not to get caught up in her enthusiasm.

“Okay, okay,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. “We gotta get this setup perfect. You handle the chair and the window; I’ll take care of the fishing line and the pie.”

“Deal,” I said, feeling a thrill of excitement. It was like I was a kid again. It was only a minor inconvenience for someone always so busy, so she could use the distraction. Besides, even a mayor had to have a sense of humor, right?

Rainbow Dash took off, zooming around her cloud house to grab the supplies. She returned moments later with a pie tin, a can of whipped cream, and a few other odds and ends. “Alright, here’s the pie,” she said, handing it to me. “We’ll set it up last, after everything else is in place.”

I took note of everything and thought occurred to me. “How exactly are we supposed to get into her office without her seeing us?”

Rainbow scoffed. “Oh, that’s easy. Sunday is her short day this week, so she’ll be on lunch for longer than usual. We just gotta wait by her office window and we’ll be done faster than you can say bubblegum.”

We made our way toward Town Hall, Rainbow Dash flying low beside me. The streets of Ponyville were still quiet, the townsponies enjoying their lazy Sunday morning. As we approached the Town Hall, Rainbow Dash motioned for me to stay back while she zipped up to one of the windows and peeked inside.

She returned with a crafty look. “Alright, so she’s still inside looking over paperwork. Lunch should be just around the corner. Here’s the plan: I’ll go in and tie the pie above the door and string the frame. You pull out her chair and loosely tie the window to it. Then, when she gets up to reopen it, I’ll catch her glasses on a line from the ceiling and bam, tripped into the pie.”

This was going to be easier than, well, pie. We waited around outside her office until she stepped out to lunch. Slipping inside the open window, we got straight to work setting up our traps. I made sure the window was unlocked and the line tied strongly enough that when it was pulled, the sudden jolt would cause it to slam back down. Rainbow secured a flimsy line across the doorway and one around her reading glasses before flying up into the rafters of the dainty little office.

Rainbow snickered from high above, looking down on me as I hid myself in a storage closet. “Now, we wait for the mayor to come back,” I said calmly.

She wasn’t gone long at all, maybe twenty minutes at most. Mayor Mare came into the office unaware that anything had changed, looking down at the papers she walked in with. It must have been stressful to deal with her work because the look she was giving them was disappointment.

She sighed heavily. “How have we already spent this quarter’s budget so much faster than I anticipated? We have maybe three weeks until more funding comes in and I don’t know how we’re going to afford it all.” She turned her chair and sat down deeply, bumping the thread tied to the window but not triggering it. “With the Harvest Festival and with the repairs to infrastructure so close to one another, we’ll be in debt before October. I need a break.”

Just pull up to your desk and set your glasses down. My anticipation built to bursting and I nearly lost myself to the giggles I stifled. She really needed a distraction from all the stress and I hoped it wasn’t too annoying. Ms. Mare swiveled in her chair, setting her glasses on the desk by a near invisible fishing line, her hands gripping her mane in an attempt at self-soothing her anxiety.

She sighed again. “No, Mildred, keep it steady. You can always ask for donations from other towns or even visit Canterlot to request funding. Everything will be-“ she stopped after pulling into her desk and jumping at the slamming window behind her. “Celestia above, I thought I locked the window in position?”

She stood up to tend to the window, putting it back up. The line I had set up over the curtain rod fell onto the floor by her feet, leaving her unawares at our handiwork. Rainbow Dash carefully fished up the set of red reading glasses off the desk and swung then just far enough from the doorway. The moment the mayor stooped down to pick them up, she’d step on the tripwire and be met with our pie from above.

After securing the window, she turned back to her desk, and that’s when her glasses clattered to the floor. Her head turned towards the sound, confused further by our antics. “How did my glasses get over here?” She said, walking over to and barely missing the line by the floor. Picking them up, she walked back over to her desk, our prank ruined. Or at least, that’s what I thought. Rainbow Dash had dropped down from the rafters and, like a butterfly, swooped into the small hallway outside the office and up to the pie.

With a hefty throw, the pie sailed through the air. “Head’s up, Mayor Mare!” She cried. Mildred didn’t even have the time to register who called her name, spinning round and being nailed straight in the face with whipped cream. Rainbow laughed heartily, pointing at her latest victim. “Hope that whipped your worries into shape.”

I burst out laughing at the terrible pun, watching it all unfold from the closet. The pie tin fell to the ground unceremoniously and revealed the less than pleased face of the mayor, her eyebrow twitching.

Rainbow was still laughing, wiping tears from her eyes as she leaned against the doorframe. “Oh, come on, Mayor Mare! Lighten up a little! It’s just a bit of fun! Besides, you looked like you needed a laugh.” She hovered in the air, arms crossed, looking unapologetic.

She stood frozen with the whipped cream sliding down her muzzle. She licked her lips, tasting the sugar. “Rainbow Dash, I don’t know whether to laugh with you or yell at you right now.” Her voice, laden with annoyance, dropped. “I find it very hard to see amusement right now with all the stress I’ve been going through and I am not happy..”

I took a deep breath and stepped out of the closet, trying my best to look contrite. “Sorry, Mayor Mare. It was all in good fun. We didn’t mean to upset you.”

She huffed, turning her gaze to me. “She roped you into this too, Aurelius? I expected better from you,” she chastised me, smudging the cream between her fingers as she grabbed the bridge of her nose. “I suppose I did need SOMETHING to distract me from the funding issues we’ve been having, but this was not at all what I expected.”

I winced, rubbing the back of my neck. “I… I guess we got caught up in the moment. Sorry.”

Mayor Mare sighed, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. She wiped a bit more of the pie off her face with a handkerchief from her pocket. “I appreciate the sentiment, but there are better ways to offer support. Not everyone finds being hit in the face with a pie relaxing.”

“Next time, try bringing flowers instead of dessert. Now, if you two are done, I have a lot of work to get back to—and I think I need to clean up first.” She left the room to remove the remaining gunk out of her fur.

Rainbow Dash shrugged while still hovering. “Eh, you can’t win ‘em all. Still though, that was pretty funny.”

I twisted my hand in a ‘so-so’ motion. “Maybe we chose the wrong prank? She didn’t seem very pleased with us.” I made for the window to climb back out.

Rainbow followed suit, taking the pie tin and throwing it into the trash can in the corner. “Nah, we just caught her at a bad time. Trust me, she’s usually more playful and tries to get back at me.”

We walked and talked about more prank opportunities, mostly Rainbow because I hadn’t the skills necessary. “So, who’s next on the list? The flower girls, Lily and what’ser face?”

She shook her head. “There’s only so many times you can hear ‘The Horror!” or watch them pass out from simple things before it stops being funny. What about ‘bit on a string’?”

I crossed my arms, pausing on the side of the street. “No, too slow. There aren’t many people out this late in the morning. What is it, eleven? Noon?”

She looked up towards the sun. “Beats me.”

“What about the fountain in the square?” I suggested. “We could dye the water and see how many ponies notice.”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head, considering it for a moment. “Hmm, maybe. But that might take a while to set up, and it’s not really my style. I like pranks a little more… immediate impact, y’know?”

“You’re the expert on this. I’m here for the ride.”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Let me think…” She flew lazily in circles around me. “We could paint the inner rings of somepony’s glasses… pop balloons to startle…”

“What about paintballs?” I suggested.

“Paintballs? Wouldn’t that hurt?”

“I mean, yes, but you know foam dart guns?” She nodded. “We could take one apart to increase the air pressure and load it with darts modded to have paintballs on the tips. It’d take a while to set up, but we’d be able to mess with six different people.”

“Huh, never thought to do that before. It’s creative.” Her eyes lit up with the spark of an idea. “Actually, that’s a perfect idea! It’s a bit daring, and we’ll need to be careful not to shoot any eyes out, but it’s sure to make some heads turn.”

I nodded, happy that I could participate further. “Just aim for center of mass and the clothes of Ponyville will fear us!”

“Alright,” she said, landing next to me with a grin. “Let’s swing back by my place and I’ll see if I can find my old dart gun lying around. You head into town to find targets and buy ammo from the paint store.”

I grinned heavily as I waited for RD to return, parking myself at the town square. There were few out today, either at work or home. What few ponies out and about consisted of dates at a local cafe and children squealing as they chased one another. Safely sitting in one of my pockets laid the biodegradable paintballs, enough to nail ten, if accurate enough.

I continued to scope out people, chuckling at imagining streaking someone who could take a joke’s coat. And then I saw the perfect pony to mess with: Lyra Heartstrings. The mint green mare was walking across the square, looking over at the fountain to clock for the time whilst levitating a bag of groceries. I snickered, preparing myself to levitate a small rock and see how far I could throw it with magic, nailing it a decent distance away. I felt my hand swirl with power, floating one of my many paintballs out of pocket and snuck around the edge of the town center, Lyra never awares.

I reached a comfortable spot behind her. This is going to be so friggin funny! I aimed carefully, and nailed the ball square in her back with enough force to splat. She jolted, startled, turning around to shoot me a shocked stare. “Did you just throw an egg at me while my back was turned?” She asked.

“Even better, a nice blue color to go with your coat. Think fast!” I floated up two more and launched a salvo of comedy at her, missing one but nailing the second on her forehead.

She smiled and yelled after me as I took off running. “YOU KNOW THIS MEANS WAR! I’ll get you…!” But I was long gone, weaving in and out of alleys, laughing maniacally.

Continuing to sneak my way around, I stopped to catch my breath around a corner of someone’s house. Right on cue, I heard Rainbow land next to me, the dart gun pointed at my head. She flipped it into the air and offered it, which I waved my hand at. “I won’t need it after all. Not when I have this.” I ignited my finger tips in a golden glow, my eyes changing color with it.

I lifted up six more paintballs out of my pocket, each plump and ready to meet their targets. Miming a gun firing, a single paintball shot off down the alley and landed a good ten yards away. I clicked my tongue and smiled. “At least the darts will work to distract somepony while you nail them. Smart thinking,” RD complimented, securing her tool to her belt loops. “Now, who’d ya get so far?”

“Lyra, and she took it well. Any suggestions?”

She looked out of the alley at a pony passing by, pointing. “How about the local mailmare?”

I chuckled. “Derpy? Sure, just sit back and enjoy the show.”

I peeked around the corner, spotting Derpy as she flew along her mail route, humming to herself with a saddlebag full of letters. She was oblivious, her signature cross-eyed expression focused on delivering letters as she weaved through the streets.

“Alright, here we go,” I muttered under my breath, gathering three paintballs in my magical grasp. They hovered silently above my hand, pulsing with energy. Derpy floated closer, and I aligned my shot, aiming for the lower part of her mailbag and struck the first shot at the mailbox she was reaching into.

Derpy paused mid-flight, blinking in confusion as she hovered in place. She looked down at her bag, puzzled. “Huh? Where did this come from?”

Rainbow Dash struggled to contain her laughter from the rooftop, biting her lip to stay quiet. I aimed the second and fired away, nailing her mailbag and smearing the Ponyville post office logo. “Wha?” She said, turning her attention to her bag. “But I just got it clean!”

For the third, I aimed to hit her mane, the yellow bullet knocking her brown hat off and leaving sticky paint all in her mane. “Who… what…?” she stammered, turning in slow, disoriented circles, still completely unaware of where the paint was coming from. She finally noticed me in the alley, reloading for a second volley. I gave her a wave hello and plowed her right in the chest, staining her outfit with a rainbow smiley face.

I couldn’t contain my laughter anymore, leaning against the wall as I joined Rainbow in laughing at Derpy’s dismay.

Derpy, bless her heart, simply shrugged it off after a moment of bewilderment. “Oh well… must be one of those days!” she said cheerfully before pulling out a handkerchief and blotting at the paint that now coated her.

As Derpy flew off, still humming her tune despite her paint-splattered appearance, I shook my head in amazement. “How does she stay so cheerful?” I asked, wiping a tear from my eye.

Rainbow Dash leapt down from the roof, clutching her sides as she tried to catch her breath from laughing so hard. “I don’t know, but that was priceless! She didn’t even care!”

I smirked. “I told you she’d be a good sport. Now, who’s next?”

Rainbow and I continued to prank through the rest of the day, from spiking someone’s food with way more hot sauce than they ordered (which was none) to jumping out of trash cans to spook people. And Rainbow was right about today being awesome. I hadn’t had that much fun in forever.

The sun began to set over Ponyville, casting long shadows across the square, I leaned against a bench, wiping away a stray tear. “I can’t believe we pulled all that off,” I said between breaths.

Rainbow, hovering beside me, grinned widely. “Told ya it’d be a blast! You’re not bad at this prank stuff, Aurelius.”

I smiled back. “Couldn’t have done it without you, wise mistress.”

She playfully punched me in the arm, earning a punch right back. She sighed, leaning back against the bench. “Today was awesome. We’ve totally got to hang out more!”

”Later, though. I’ve got work Monday through Friday this week, how does Saturday sound?”

“It’s a date!” Dash side hugged me and took off to go home, going our separate ways.

Man, do I have a story to tell Twilight at dinner.

Chapter 11: Average Homework Experience

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Chapter 12: Blooming Feelings

The outside of the library appeared like I expected Ponyville to be, though the ground felt heavier, like concrete. The sky far above reflected back its hollow gaze and echoed dark like onyx, devoid of the happiness Equestria typically covered me with. Luna and I walked on edge through the streets, hunting for any sign of unwelcome nightmares. Being that we no longer were in the center of the dream, anything could be made manifest from my subconscious as I actively sought to find my trauma and fears. It filled me with unease and dread, threatening to drown me in the nightmare’s festering.

“Be easy, Aurelius. Though I am with you, your nightmares are unlike any I have faced before,” Luna stated matter-of-factly. “They are willy and unpredictable.”

I shuddered at the sudden drop in temperature I felt, but Luna didn’t seem fazed. “Easier said than done. I feel all kinds of heebie-jeebies around here.”

Red eyes looked out from the shadows behind the townhouses, darting away shortly after being noticed. I wondered if the nightmare would be more under my own control had I waited for the day time, but it was too late now.

Everything felt distorted—the buildings were taller, looming like jagged teeth, and the once familiar streets felt foreign, suffocating. The chill in the air wasn’t just physical; it clawed at my thoughts, pulling them deeper into a well of anxiety.

The red eyes that flickered in the distance didn’t bother us, rather content to act as spectators for what was to come. My heart pounded in my chest and my mind raced to prepare for whatever might jump out, to act faster than any horrors that waited for us to discover them.

“Stay close,” Luna whispered. “For though we have the upper hand in our lucidity, any distance you put from will threaten to consume your rational. Right now, I am an anchor for your conscious mind.” That’s putting it rather up front.

She wasn’t wrong. The closer I stayed next to Luna, the less oppressive the nightmare felt. I took a deep breath, trying to ground myself. “What if we find something buried deep in my subconscious? Something so utterly foreign and monstrous, I’m stuck here for the rest of the night?”

“Then we fight it for control. This is your mind, Aurelius, and nothing and nopony will rule it, least of all a figment.”

I nodded, but the unease gnawed at me, growing more intense with every step we took. The streets stretched endlessly in every direction, as though the dream was keeping us in place. Ponyville had become a maze of my own making, twisting and winding in ways that defied logic.

As we approached the town square, the sky above us seemed to shift, dark clouds swirling ominously. A cold wind blew through the air, and with it came a low, eerie sound, like a distant wail carried on the breeze.

Luna stopped in her tracks, her eyes narrowing as she looked ahead. “Something approaches.”

From the shadows, a lone glowing pair of red eyes emerged, the darkness wisping off its incomplete form. I thought I could recognize some small facial features, but through the dark mist coating it, I wasn’t sure. It seemed gleeful, murderous and cruel at the prospect of tormenting me.

“Well, well, the dreamer walks among us! Bravo!” It spat. “How quaint. Usually you’re more manic and distracted by my compatriots, yet here you are absolutely sober. Odd.”

He shifted his attention back into the shadows and muttered something unheard, before shifting back to the two of us. “You know, I’ve been with you since you were but a babe, helping to guide you. A whisper here, a push there, and you never even questioned me.” He stood tall, his form towering over us with exaggerated limbs that seemed to stretch far too long for his body. “I OWN you, Aurelius. You will bow to me as you always do, or you will experience fears I have yet to show you.”

Luna’s hand rested on my shoulder, firm and grounding. “Do not let him sway you, Aurelius. He is but an illusion, your fear made manifest into something your mind can conceive.”

The figure’s laughter echoed around us, warping with the landscape as the ground beneath us cracked like shattered glass. “You think he doesn’t know that already, dreamweaver? This is his mind after all.” he turned his attention towards me. “Have you nothing to say to yourself? No thanks or words of admiration for one who helped shape you?”

I swallowed the acid in the back of my throat and stood tall, walking within a hand distance away from the evil. “I know exactly what you are. You’re a Fearmonger, a living nightmare. And YOU don’t scare me.”

He sneered and showed off his yellowed fangs. “Oh, but I do. You’re terrified and want to run to your new mommy and quiver,” he said, extending a long tongue and raking it on the side of my face. “I can taste it.”

He was right. My instincts screamed at me to run away, but I stood firm. “Everyone’s afraid of something. Afraid of failure, afraid of not being enough, afraid of the dark. But I’m done letting you push me around and haunt my most private thoughts. Get the fuck behind me and kneel.”

We stood facing each other, sizing each other up and staring into each other’s souls. Something about how cocky this bastard was made me angry as well as afraid. He chuckled. “Why stop me now? You’ve never made an effort before.”

This smug motherfucker.“I didn’t know it was possible before.” He dared to circle me, sniffing at me, soaking up my emotions like a vampire.

“Something in you’s changed. I wonder what it could be?”

I felt my eyes flash their golden color, the telltale sign that I was pooling my magic. “I’ve grown. I’m ready to knock you down a peg and I’m not leaving until you beg me to spare your putrid existence.”

He stopped once he stood back in front of me. “Oh, is that all? I thought this was a meeting between friends.”

Rage, rage, fucking rage! Static built in my hands, small sparks of electricity jumping between my fingers as I clenched my fists, my magic building up in my palms. I want nothing more than to strangle it, to put it in its place. But something was holding me back.

Luna walked closer, holding me on my shoulder. “Easy, Aurelius. He only wants to goad you into acting irrationally. Let’s walk past him and find the same monster from before.”

I shook my head and pointed a thumb at the Fearmonger. “He’s right here, Luna. He’s been the one I was after in this stupid game of cat and mouse.”

The Fearmonger’s mouth stretched wide and his body rippled violently, a series of tentacles ending in sharp claws bursting from his back. “I am going to enjoy breaking you, Aurelius,” he said, stretching his arms wide to open himself up. “Tell you what, I’ll let you have the first hit.”

It was like something snapped inside me and I felt my rage burst, my breathing reckless and rapid. I gripped at the air in front of my chest, my hands opening and closing in tune to an unheard beat. ”GRRAAAAGH!” I screamed, jumping forward to grab at his legs, missing as he backpedaled. I refused to let up and willed my own set of ethereal claws at the ends on my finger. I charged after him into the gathering crowd of shadows behind him, slashing left and right. He sidestepped his spindly long legs, attempting to create as much distance between him and I as possible, but I wasn’t having it. “No you don’t, get the fuck back over here!”

My legs felt like they swelled from the magic pumping into them and I lept hard to my right, shoulder checking him in the shin and knocking him off balance. If only for a second, I had the upper hand over this beast, but only a second. He moved quicker than I anticipated and flipped backward, narrowly missing the claws aimed at his thighs. In response, he cracked his tentacles like a whip, striking me in the chest and throwing me to the ground.

The place I landed crumpled underneath me, like I’d fallen through the roof of a building and I plummeted deep fast down the bottomless pit. I reached my hands out to sink them into the wall, continuing to fall a few meters before stopping. My rage continued to build and I grit my teeth as friction rubbed my fingers raw. “Luna, don’t let that bastard escape into the shadows or we’ll have to hunt him down again!” I cried up above the hole. Come on, think! This is your dream, manipulate it!

I heard clashing up above the ground, bolts of lightning zipping up ahead at the charging shadows. The opening of the pit above started to close up with the cobblestone and dirt that fell down beneath me. If I wasn’t out soon, I’d be cut off from Luna and stuck in the nightmare. I wasn’t having it. I relaxed my arms so that I drop a little bit and with all my Mike threw myself upwards., making it out of the ground. Being that it was a dream it didn’t take much effort at all to possess superhuman strength. But strength was not enough.

One of the Fearmonger’s minions appeared shortly after I came out of the ground, trampling me and pinning me on my back. It’s gnashing teeth found purchase in my shoulder, grinding deeply. “Get the fuck off me!” I demanded as I reached up and grabbed it by the top of the head. I pried hard, straining against its inherent strength with my own. My eyes lit up a more vibrant and bright gold color, magic filling my muscles with newfound power, allowing me to rip its head right off its body.

Right now I was furious, blind to the pain I felt throbbing through my shoulder and chest. I swore that anything that dared to get between me and my prey would die a horrible death, worse than they deserved. My teeth were bared in a snarl, small jets of white flame leaking from the corners of my mouth, and I would have relished my wrath if I could think straight. More of the shadows lept out to block my path and I tore straight through them like coffee filters, their bodies staining mine with their inky black blood.

My head was pounding something fierce. I’ve never felt so alive, so strong before! I bounded forth on all fours like a jaguar, landing on any of the creeps that dared to step in my path as I made my way to my opponent. I nearly escaped being on by a group of four formless shadow monsters, but they were no match for the razor-sharp, glass-like claws on my hands. My arms wanted to drop and hang loosely, but still I pressed on.

The assured adrenaline pumping through my veins mixed like a volatile cocktail with the ether my C.A.M. was producing, beating to the beat of its ability to keep me alive. I could barely think of anything more than blood. His blood, that sickly black tar the Fearmonger called his essence. I would rip him limb from limb until he begged for forgiveness, and then I would kill him.

In the back of my mind, I recognized Luna calling out to me through the fog in my mind, but I didn’t recognize what she said. Didn’t matter at all, I felt invincible. My hands dripped with literal raw, white-hot magic as my body felt like it was beginning to shut down. My throat burnt something fierce, and something wet started dripping out my nostril. “FEARMONGER!!!”

He stood barely meters away, watching me with a mixture of amusement and something else—wariness. He had been confident before, sure that I would break beneath his torment. Now, there was a flicker of uncertainty in his glowing red eyes. But he still smiled.

“You think you’ve won something?” His voice dripped with condescension as, goading me, taunting me. “This is nothing more than a temper tantrum! You’re still a scared little boy, Aurelius, and you always will be!”

I growled, lunging forward, ready to strike again. But this time, I felt something’s grip tighten on my arm, pulling me back. I whipped around, baring my teeth and moved my free arm in an attempt to slash it off, only to have that hand get caught in their second hand. For a moment, all I saw was red. And then my vision cleared enough to make out Luna’s sad eyes. “LET ME GO YOU MONSTER! I’LL… I’M GOING TO-“ My heart was beginning to give out.

“Enough!” Her voice commanded me, and I struggled to listen. “Look at yourself, Aurelius! Snap out of it!”

My pupils shrunk to pinpricks and I dropped to the ground, vomiting blood and the golden-white glowing mana that filled my body. I retched until nothing remained in my stomach. The once overwhelming power I felt before had vanished like the flames of a campfire, leaving naught but embers. I could still feel my C.A.M. pulsating violently, but it hurt like hell.

“Aurelius, you don’t beat back fear with rage. That makes you no more than the beast he is. Look at the carnage you’ve wrought around you.”

I looked around at the smashed and slashed bodies littering the ground in my wake, the stones in the town square bubbling like hot magma where I had once stood. Buildings all around looked like they were blown apart, scattered like a hurricane come through.

“I did this?” I knew this was a dream, but what if these had been people? What if I had hurt someone I loved? I summoned what little will I had to magic a full body mirror and was decimated by my own reflection.

I had sprouted horns akin to a crown thorns, along with a pair of tattered bat-wings. My arms and leg muscles were grotesquely large and torn from over-use. My own blood and magic stained my mouth and neck a sickly reddish-gold, which burned like acid on my body. The claws that once were pristine and ethereal, were now cracked and rotting.

“The sheer amount of magic you were producing was starting to rot your mental image, my child. You’ve fallen for his trap.” I couldn’t turn to face her. “You were becoming every bit of monster he believes you to be.”

I felt my body shift back to normal as I calmed down. I blinked, my vision cleared enough to see the twisted grin still plastered on the Fearmonger’s face. He was waiting for me to lose control again. Waiting for me to prove him right.

“Way to ruin the mood, dreamweaver,” he said, his smile never fading. “Just a bit longer and he’d have snapped enough for me to torment him another night.”

She scowled at him as he shook like a dog, fluffing up the darkness that covered him. “Be that as it may, don’t you think that testing him like this is only going to damage his psyche further?”

My mouth dropped. “What?” I looked between the both of them, then settled on the Fearmonger. “What is she talking about?”

His grin was replaced by a frown. “Way to ruin the game I had going on here, dreamweaver.” He turned his attention back to me. “Well, cat’s out of the bag now. Yes, Aurelius, a test. And you failed miserably.”

I stammered, trying to find the words to say something, but he cut me off. “I am indeed a Fearmonger, a nightmare that’s gained its own will. Ever since your magic first awakened, I’ve been sifting through your memories to figure out what I am in relation to you. I realized that I am a manifestation of your fear.

“In the past months, more of your emotions than just me have awoken, and we all agreed to try and prepare you. For what, I’m not certain, but there’s something brewing inside of you that we have no idea what it is.”

He scratched at his head like a cat would, then continued. “Your magic is tempestuous, beating wildly with fear as it gets closer. And you are nowhere near ready to face it.”

A series of doors opened behind the Fearmonger, numerous different entities stepping out. Their shapes differed from one another. In total they numbered about nine, including the Fearmonger.

“As you know, I am Fear. And you are filled with much of it. I am the being that warns you of danger and inspires anxiety. I’m neither good nor bad,” spoke the Fearmonger.

His voice dripped with mockery, resonating in the dark, echoing the tumultuous memories of my past.

A tall, angelic figure with four arms, wreathed in light, stepped forth. “I am Hope. I am the one who helps you dream of a better tomorrow, to help you plan.”

She radiated a sense of purity, which calmed my internal turmoil.

The third figure stepped forward, this one covered in plate-like armor for scales. Its head reminded me of a dragon, though it had ten different eyes of various colors. “I am Courage, the one to push you to your limits and temper your spirit. You have more than shown you are capable of wielding me.”

The fourth was a cyan-colored tortoise humanoid, its shell looking more like a boulder than a reptile’s. “I am Determination. I am the companion of Courage, who represents your willpower. You, my boy, possess much.”

The ground shook slightly as he spoke, grounding me in the reality that strength lay not just in magic but also in sheer will.

The fifth was a sleeping cat, its soft fur shining gently in the darkness. “I… am Acceptance. I am the… yawn… one who is content with existence. I help you to deal with your circumstances.”

It exuded a sense of tranquility, befitting of its sleeping cat form.

Two more stepped forward, these two being a red and blue imp, each with one horn on opposite sides of their heads. They looked like twins. The red one spoke first. “Hiya, we’re Despair and Scorn! I’m the empty feeling of hopelessness that’s been eating away at you!”

His voice was high-pitched, mocking, embodying the relentless weight of sorrow I often carried.

Then the blue one spoke. “And I’m the one that’s been inspiring your feelings of contempt towards injustice you’ve experienced.”

Her tone was sharp, cutting through my resolve like a blade, reminding me of the bitterness I had buried deep.

And the ninth and final one slugged forward. It was the eldritch blob of flesh I had seen before. “And finally, I am Malice. I am the hatred you feel for all things, the one who gives purpose to your anger.”

Its voice was a low, slithering whisper, laced with a promise of destruction, embodying the darkest corners of my heart.

Each of the emotions that was presented before me represented something key to my psyche, I just knew it. If they weren’t lying, that would mean that there’s something about my emotions that I was unaware of.

They all opened their mouths and spoke in unison. “We are but a few of the emotions that have awoken in you, Aurelius. We are part of you, as you are of us.”

“What do you all want? Why are you here?”

“We want you to be made hole. You are broken almost beyond repair. If you cannot master and temper your soul, you will be consumed by darkness.

A chill ran down my spine at their words, the weight of their truth pressing down on me. It felt like an ultimatum, a call to arms against the very parts of myself I often tried to hide.

“Consume me?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly. “You mean what’s coming?”

They nodded. Determination spoke. “Seems like fate once more than anything to crush us. To make us its bitch. And I will not stand for that.”

Courage step forward and put his hand on my shoulder. “You have much strength in you. The fact that you were able to resist fear for so long before evolving into an emotional mess, says something about you.”

Despair twirled and jumped up on my shoulders, wrapping his devilish tail around my torso. “Yeah! You already know what it’s like to slip into a pit, and the only one who gets to make you feel like that is me. I’m not gonna have some OTHER creepy crawly darkness take away what defines me!”

Luna hugged me from behind. “I never knew emotions could be so potent. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“Same here,” I replied. “It’s like I’m standing in the eye of a storm, and each of them represents a different part of the chaos swirling within.”

“I take it, you’ve gotten more than you bargained for?” asked Hope. “Though we may be small parts of what makes you you, you have the power within you to become something great, if you give yourself a chance.”

Despair leaned closer, whispering in my ear. “You know I’m always here, waiting to remind you of what you’ve lost. But maybe, just maybe, you can use that feeling to push forward instead of falling back.”

I nodded, letting their words sink in. “I can’t deny the darkness I’ve faced. It’s part of who I am. But I can choose how to respond to it.”

“Good,” Courage said, a proud smile on his face. “You’re starting to see the bigger picture. Every battle you face is a chance for growth.”

Fear smiled again. “What was it that president one said? ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself?’ Words of wisdom, if you ask me...”

I walked right up to the Fearmonger, watching him shrink in size. “Let’s get this over with,” I said, my voice steady. “I’m not going to let you control me any longer.”

Fear didn’t change his expression at all. “Are we done here? I thought this was going to take longer. I suppose I could tone down the intensity of how you feel about me, at least until something else torments you.”

The other emotions smiled, content with me. They each stepped back into their respective portals and vanished. “Remember our meeting, dear host. Otherwise, it won’t be another adversary as you have to worry about dreaming about.”

Fear vanished in a puff of black smoke, leaving Luna and I alone in the darkness of the ruined Ponyville.

The silence that followed was heavy, the remnants of chaos lingering like a fog. I took a deep breath, trying to shake off the adrenaline still coursing through me. “What just happened?” I asked, my voice echoing slightly in the stillness.

Luna held on to me gently. “For once, I too am at a loss for words. I suppose I could try to say something philosophical, like you faced an important part of yourself that many choose to avoid, but I don’t feel that would be appropriate right now.”

I chuckled. “I knew you put on the whole ‘wise’ attitude for my sake. Guess it takes spontaneous to stump even Princess Luna.”

“You could say that. But then I’m still wise.”

I threw Luna’s arms off me, turning around to accuse her of my suspicions. “Wait a minute, you knew he was testing me! How did you know that?!”

“Calm down, it isn’t like the Everfree. While you were down in the hole, I gave chase after Fear and caught up to him easily. He simply waved at me with that ghastly smile of his and winked, pointing at you. When neither he nor his minions tried to attack me, he asked me to play along and make the fight look real.”

I paused to digest what she said. “…Oh that dick!”

Luna burst out laughing at my expense. “Believe me, I thought this whole thing would go a different way entirely. I’m just as surprised as you are.”

“I still can’t believe I lost control of my magic again. Even though this is just a dream, I feel more exhausted than before, but also refreshed if that makes sense.”

“I don’t doubt it. You’re probably be sore when you wake up, but with a newfound clarity you’ve never felt before.”

We continued to enjoy each other’s time now that I was free from the nightmare and talk more about the ‘coming darkness’, both of us drawing blanks about that little tidbit. It wasn’t long before the dream finally started to fade and I woke up.

—-

It was currently Friday afternoon. I’d just finished up my job at the Apple Farm early and was free to do whatever I’d like. Twilight thought it fit to teach me more spells to help master my abilities as a mage, and it was going swimmingly. Ever since I woke up from the nightmare, I’d been feeling fresher than I ever did. Even comparing it to when I had the cuffs taken off me back during my first week here, I don’t think it held a candle. My mind was clear for the first time in ages, like a trip to the spa or a dip in a hot tub. The work week didn’t feel like it dragged on and Twilight remarked how much brighter my eyes were, especially when I used magic. Gods above, I swear I was a new man entirely.

My dreams were also more fascinating, clearer and more vibrant with the help of my emotions. Each night following Monday, one of the nine would visit me and hold conversation, often dipping into hypotheticals and hosting countless short dreams for me to go through and test. By their own words, I was nowhere near ready to reach my full potential, but I had promise.

My magic seemed to be more responsive as a result, seeming alive and eager to listen to my will. Whereas before I needed to study a specific spell, its frameworks, and the mental exercises needed to cast what I wanted, I found it increasingly simpler to just imagine what I wanted my magic to do and it would do it. I still needed to at least read up on the spells I wanted to perform and practice them, but eventually I figured out I didn’t need to build the easier ones in my mind first. Levitation, Increased Strength, Increased Speed, and even Minor Illusion came to me without a second thought. I could conjure small objects at will and entertain or distract myself and they’d vanish soon after I willed it. Nothing crazy, just pencils when I needed them or a toy ball.

Even the Shield spell, which I found difficult when Twilight taught me it, was now subject to ease. I could wrap it around my body like a skin-suit or use it to protect even the most delicate of objects.

Twilight noticed the change. “You’ve made remarkable progress,” she said one evening, her tone filled with awe. “You’re more in tune with your magic than ever before.”

I nodded, feeling a sense of confidence I hadn’t known in years. “It’s almost like I’ve unlocked a new part of myself.”

She smiled. “I don’t know what went on in your weird induced nightmare spree, but it definitely shows. You’re not even breaking a sweat on the easy stuff now.” She stopped to suddenly fire a bolt of magic at me from her hand. “Think fast!”

I caught the bolt in a shaped Shield spell and spun to return it to sender. It harmlessly hit the wall behind her. She looked at the burn mark a foot away from her head. “Well I’m impressed. You’re mastering it as quickly as me. You might be ready for more complicated spellwork come tomorrow.”

Her compliment touched me and I smiled.b“You really think so?”

Twilight adopted a side smile. “Aurelius, your skill growth is incredible. I wouldn’t be surprised if you managed to achieve a place for yourself in the history books, given your affinity for magic.”

“History books, huh?” I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to hide my embarrassment. “That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

She shook her head, her eyes rife with certainty. “Not at all. Everypony starts from the basics. Even Star Swirl the Bearded wrote about his early failings in his journals, and he’s the one who helped create the modern field of magic!”

“Now that I’m more in tune with my emotions and my magic, I feel the sky’s the limit.” She stared at me, not even questioning my own exaggeration, content to be happy for me.

A knock came from the front door. Spike stood up from his spot on the table, setting down his Power Ponies comic. “I got it!”

Opening the door, he revealed Applebloom, who decided to dress more casually today. Her short sleeved black t-shirt and plaid skirt that came down to her knees, along with her usual green socks and white shoes. She seemed a bit apprehensive to say anything, her confidence going out the window when she saw us all standing there.

“Oh hey, Applebloom! What brings you to the library this afternoon?” said Twilight.

Applebloom hesitated, her eyes darting between Twilight, Spike, and I, now that she was put on the spot. She seemed nervous, for some reason. “Oh, n-no reason. Ah was just… walkin’ through town and thought Ah’d s-stop by an’ see how y’all were doin’! Yep!” She fiddled with something behind her back, her fingers clutching tightly to whatever it was.

I raised an eyebrow, not buying that lie for a second. She wasn’t usually this skittish, at least she used to not be. Ever since the whole barn collapsed, she had been a bundle of nerves any time we spent near one another. Maybe I should ask?

Spike welcomed her in with a wave, offering to go fetch some snacks and drinks for everyone, which Applebloom happily accepted. Though it was most likely because he skipped lunch. I shook my head.

“Silly little dragon. Come on in, Blossom, and get comfortable. We were just practicing magic.” I summoned an ethereal tennis ball and tossed it to her. “Check it out, illusion magic!”

She caught it easily. “W-wow, it almost feels real!”

I smiled. “Would you believe me if I said I learned how to do that today?” That earned me an eye opening.

“Gosh Aurelius, yer so talented… Ah wish ah could do that,” she said solemnly. Applebloom sat down at the center table. “Makes me wish Ah could do fancy magic like that.”

“But then you wouldn’t be the Blossom I know and love.” She blushed heavily. “The crops you and your family grow are second to none. With as much skill as that takes, it’s a magic all on its own.”

“Oh uhm.. ah, You can’t…” She stammered, flustered so much that she pulled her hands up to grab her cheeks, revealing a sealed envelope.

Spike returned in the nick of time with sliced fruits and crackers, along with his own plate of gem-encrusted gummies. “I’m back, did I miss anything?”

Twilight shot Applebloom a friendly smile, though she, too, looked a bit puzzled by the filly’s sudden nerves. “Well, it’s nice of you to stop by, Applebloom. How’s everything been at Sweet Apple Acres?”

“It’s been really hectic. Granny Smith an’ Applejack have been hard at cooking up enough food for the next week for Ponyville’s joint school event. It’s the Fall Formal Dance.”

That might be why she’s so nervous. Time to act. “I didn’t know that was coming up so soon. Time really does fly. Have you found a date yet?” She shook her head, glancing at me before realizing her hidden treasure was out in the open and panicked. “That an invitation for someone?”

“Oh, this thing? It’s a uh… a treasure map the girls and Ah drew up for a game! Ah’m uh…”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Everything all right there Applebloom? You seem nervous.”

She hung her head. “Oh, who am Ah kiddin’. Ah’m terrible at lyin.” She raised the letter up. “Ah came all confident in myself too. Ah can’t do this!” She damn near burst into tears while trying to get up and run out.

I caught her by the arm and she pulled against me. “Lemme go. Ah don’t want ya ta see me right now!” Bloom wouldn’t meet my eyes, looking down while tears formed at the edges of her eyes.

Twilight and Spike were shocked, as was I. None of us had ever seen her act like this before. “Applebloom, what’s eating you? You know you can tell me anything, so what’s wrong?”

She sobbed and leaned into my shoulder to cry. “A-ah came to… I… Ah don’t know if I can…” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

I rubbed the back of her head as gently as I could manage. It hurt to see her so distraught. Her mouth quivered and she grit her teeth, struggling to find the words that escaped her. “Is this about not having a date?” I asked.

Applebloom didn’t try to pull away anymore. Her cheeks were still flushed a deep red and she refused to meet my eyes. “Ah just don’t wanna make a fool of mahself…” She said, sniffling. “But mah head feels all jumbled and it’s harder than it needs to be.”

“Whatever’s upset you is my problem too.”

Her eyes shimmered with uncertainty and daring. “Ah came…” She swallowed hard and barely spoke over a whisper.

“What was that?”

“Ah said Ah came to ask if you’d be muh date to the dance, darnit!” She squeezed her eyes shut and thrust the letter in my chest, knocking my grip off her and allowing her to be free.

The words hung in the air, her confession raw and vulnerable. I was gobsmacked, thrown for a loop. The room filled with silence, nobody daring to make a move.

Applebloom didn’t wait for anyone else to respond. “Well? Aincha gonna turn me down, break my heart or somethin’ stupid?!” She looked angry, almost terrified. “That yer too good fer me or that there’s plenta fish in tha pond er something…”

I blinked, taken by surprise. Applebloom had always been a constant in Ponyville, a friend I considered to be like a little sister of my own, like how I treated Spike. But this threw that whole foundation of our relationship into the toilet. Of all the things I had expected her to say, this was the lowest on my list.

She sounded hurt at my silence. “Ah just wanted to tell you how I felt and now Ah’ve gone and messed it up. It wasn’t supposed ta happen like this…” She didn’t bother to let her tears stay hidden. “But Ah like you Aurelius. More than a friend.”

Thst hit me like a ton of bricks. So she really does have a crush on me like I suspected. Just… wow. More than a friend? Like, wants to hold a relationship with prospect of a marriage type deal? I still didn’t know what to say. I just kinda stood there frozen, trying my best to process it all. “I didn’t know… I hadn’t realized…” I said softly.

“Realized what? she asked, her voice still shaking but now edged with frustration. “That someone like me could have feelings for you?”

“No, I never realized you felt that strongly,” I said, shaking my head. “I always considered you more like family. I hadn’t thought you saw me like this.”

She slumped her shoulders, disappointed. “Oh…” She wiped her eyes. “Ah guess Ah jumped the bridge on that. Do ya not feel tha same?”

“Well i-it’s… complicated. I never really thought about it before now, if I’m honest. You kind of put me on the spot.”

Applebloom grabbed at her hair and grimaced. “Oh, Ah done really bucked this up somethin’ major. So yer not gonna go with me?” Her voice broke.

I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. What did I feel for her, really? She was a nice girl, brilliant in her own right and wasn’t unattractive. Having lived here long enough, I started to develop enough of an understanding between ‘attractive’ and ‘ugly’ qualities when it came to ponies. The qualities she reflected were almost spot on for what I looked for in a partner, but there was one thing that made me hesitant to consider her that.

“It’s your age, Blossom,” I explained. “Where I come from, there’s too far of an age gap between the two of us for me to consider saying that I like you too. Romance is a massive step in a relationship and I really don’t want to end up taking advantage of your feelings on accident. It doesn’t mean I don’t like you per say, it just feels inappropriate.” How do I put this? “I don’t feel like either of us has grown enough to be able to really comprehend what getting into a relationship means.”

She bit her lip, cheeks still as flushed as before. “Ah’m not some kid, Aurelius. Ah know what Ah feel and what Ah want! Just cause Ah’m younger than you, don’t mean Ah can’t think fer myself.”

I shook my head. “That’s not what I’m implying, but I just don’t have the words to say what I wanna say. I know you’re a grown girl, but you’re still really young and it doesn’t change the fact that I’m four years your senior. Back where I come from if somebody were to find out, I was dating a 15-year-old, I’d be put in prison.”

The look on her face dropped. “Oh.”

I scratched at the back of my head. “Yeah. Even though I’ve been here for almost half a year, and I know the law here is different involving age of consent, how I was raised is still very prominent in my mind. I can’t just suddenly be comfortable with changing everything I know, even if I’ve had to do that with magic.”

Her eyes filled with tears again, and she looked away. “Ah though… that if Ah pulled my boots up and asked ya on a date, ya’d say yes and that would be that. Sounds like I’m asking to marry ya or nothin’. Just that we could go dance an’ have a nice time.” She ended that by muttering under her breath, thinking nobody heard her.

I knew exactly how much courage it took to speak up about your feelings to somebody you have a crush on. Lord knows I went through that back in high school. “I get it Applebloom, I really do. I’m still just, like, I’m shocked. But I’ll tell you what,” I said, watching her face light up with hope. “I’ll absolutely go with you for the dance. But as a FRIEND, not your boyfriend, er coltfriend.” Gods, I was sweating bullets by how awkward this was.

The smile on her face absolutely melted my heart. “Do ya really mean it?”

“Yes, Blossom, I’ll g-“ I couldn’t finish, not with the arms of earth pony magic squeezing the life out of me. “…tight…”

“OH THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!” Applebloom squealed, jumping up and down with me. It took her a moment to realized I couldn’t breath. “Oops, mah bad. Sorry.”

Twilight and Spike exchanged glances, still watching from the sidelines but smiling quietly to themselves. It wasn’t the situation Applebloom had probably hoped for, but at least it wasn’t a flat-out rejection.

She left the library shortly afterward with a skip in her step, leaving the three of us to kick the can about what happened.

I cringed. “Guys, be honest, how badly did I fumble that?”

Spike shrugged. “Dude, honestly that was kind of cringey. Four out of ten.”

That earned a tsk from Twilight. “I thought it was rather moving and sweet. You didn’t outrightly tell her you wanted to date her, rather you danced around that issue and gave her the answer she wanted.”

I sat down on the floor. “What was I supposed to say? I’ve never had a girl come up to me and tell me that they like me, especially a close friend that I’ve known for like four or five months.” A thought occurred to me. “Has she had a crush on me since I saved her life?”

Spike guffawed hard, falling to the floor and kicking his feet. “Bahaha! Have you seriously never noticed?! I thought I was dumb!”

I smiled, a chance to play along at his jab. “Hey, I’m not dumb, I’m stupid. Er…” Wish I could’ve recorded the goofy face I made when I said that. “Heheh, thank you guys for not stepping in. I feel like it would’ve just made her feel worse.”

“No problem, buddy.”

“You looked like you had a decent handle on it. I have to say, I’m impressed with you a lot today,” said Twilight.

I sighed, leaning back against the nearest bookshelf. “I guess you’re right. I just didn’t expect any of that today. It feels like I keep stumbling into new things without really knowing what I’m doing.”

Twilight walked over and helped me up to my feet. “Eh, that’s kind of how life is. Runs right up to you and throws you to the timberwolves. Sometimes you get chomped and sometimes you lead the pack.”

The cringe returned with a passion. “That was terrible, Twi. You suck at philosophy.”

She feigned a scoff. “Well excuuuuse me, wise guy. Not all of us are ancient prophets, like Princess Luna.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I sighed. “What’s next on the lesson plan?”

Chapter 13: Hot and Bothered

Another week, another paycheck to my name. Today marked the start of the new month of Equestria’s year, with the twenty-six hour days and thirty day months. The daylight hours and nighttime hours would change length throughout the year shifting back and forth between sixteen hours of day or sixteen of night, which peaked during the solstices. Even the clocks had gears in them that would move the marks of ‘midday’ and ‘midnight’. Was complicated at first, but I figured it out eventually.

Today was the equivalent of October first, the start of mid-autumn. There was a crispiness to the air that prickled against my skin, inviting all sorts of electrically charged feelings. A much welcome change from the usual heat waves from the summer.

I fingered the letter that Applebloom had given me last week, the stark reminder that I hadn’t gotten a suit for the dance just yet. According to the invitation Applebloom gave me, the Fall Formal Dance was stated to happen on the Friday of this week, and being that it was Tuesday, that left me just three days to get one that fit the harvest theme. I was sure I had plenty of time, but it still stuck out in my mind like a sore thumb.

With as busy as the farm had been, I hadn’t had a moment to go ask Rarity if she’d have one ready, nor had I really stopped to think very hard about going to someone’s date. It was sweet, the way Blossom had chosen me, but weird. I didn’t figure she would be interested in something like that. During my free moments, my mind erased as to how she felt about the whole thing and what exactly the dance would entail, but I could worry about it later.

Right now, harvesting was more important. I had been tasked with helping to harvest and tie together bushels of grain from one of the fields on the farm, specifically something called ‘sparlum’, which was fed to livestock. Along with the namesake apples that the Apple family sold, sparlum was another of their products that was heavily in demand. Luckily, I didn’t have to do more than just cut and tie together the bushels, as they paid to have a unicorn transport company collect and distribute, but fucking hell was it hard work.

All I’d been given was a scythe and a few box of bindings and set to work in a three-acre portion of the fields. Applejack said it’d take maybe the entire week to tackle it, but I’d been here since Monday and only cleared one. I was afraid that if I didn’t finish by Friday morning, I’d miss the dance. Of all the garbage I deal with, why is this the one that bothers me so?

The thought occurred to me at the inefficiency of doing it all manually. Why didn’t they just hire unicorns full time to handle all the hard work and rest their hooves? Surely they have enough money for some spellcaster… wait a minute, I can use magic! Why I hadn’t thought from the get go to skip the tool was beyond me. Instead of wasting so much effort and exhausting myself, I could just magic up a blade and tie it all up. I readied myself for the expenditure and willed an incredibly long golden scythe blade into existence and gave it an experimental swing, the blade easily slicing through the base of a small section of stalks. This is too easy!

A grin crept onto my face as I admired the ease with which my conjured scythe sliced through the sparlum stalks. What had taken me hours of grueling labor now felt like child’s play. A flick of my wrist, and it’d slice through a whole row two foot thick. I pulled my arm back and threw it the other direction, and the blade responded by doing the same thing again. I had another thought and imagined cupping my hand underneath a portion and gripped an imaginary ice cream cone, and the sparlum lit up golden and bunched up into a sizable cylinder. “Holy shit, I’ll have this done by Friday after all!”

For the first time in days, the stress I had about the dance was gone, replaced by my invigorating efforts. Maybe it was the rush of using magic, so skillfully, but I felt confident. I continued on, slicing, gathering, and tying the bundles together in a sick rhythmic manner, bobbing my head to an imagined beat. In no time flat, I had another quarter acre done, then another quarter.

—-

I breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat on my face into my shirt. I’d just finished the second of the acres in under six hours, my body shivering from the excessive mana usage. I had to stop and rest, lest I suffer too much exhaustion and have to spend another extended stay in the hospital. I felt maybe at half mast, my breathing labored and stomach demanding sustenance despite eating lunch nearly an hour ago. And the waves of heartburn, oh how they hurt!

“Woo! You done… good, Aurelius! Up top!” I said, clapping my own hands above my head, before collapsing to the ground and gagging. “Urf… I, oooagh, too much magic… gonna hurl…”

I turned my head to the side and spotted the sun was on its final legs, maybe a couple more inches of light left in the day. “Almost quitting time. Thank you, Celestia!” I kissed my fingers and pointed at the sky. Carefully, I picked myself back up, feeling off balance. Didn’t really care to walk, but at least the farmhouse was only twenty minutes away. “At least the walk back will be comfortable enough, if the wind doesn’t pick up.”

Along the way back, I saw Applejack waiting for me over at the road, just a ways away by her section of the fields. She had a stalk of grass nestled nicely between her teeth, chewing it to admire the sweet juices. Her red and black plaid cardigan was tied nicely at her hips and she was using her grey undershirt to dry her face, not intending to but still showing her bra and belly. She looked tired, but that was to be expected.

She noticed me while she was picking at her teeth with the harder part of the grass stem. “Shoot, an’ here I was thinkin’ I’d be waitin’ till sundown fer you ta get done. Yerbout two hours earlier than normal.” She looked up at the setting sun, then back to me. “Yep, dang near an hour and a halfa daylight left.”

I shrugged. “Hey, you know how the farm work goes. Sometimes you get done fast and sometime you’re not done till Granny calls for suppertime.”

She chuckled. “Boy, no kiddin’.” AJ started to the long walk home. “So how’d the sparlum harvest treatcha today? Any new cut on yer hands or arms Ah need ta look at?”

I pulled the leather gloves off and pocketed them, showing off the callouses. “Honestly, I’m really just feeling tired. Took a hell of a lot out of me today, but I got into a nice, let’s say rhythm, about midway through and it got easier. I feel like I’ll be done tomorrow.”

She smirked and gave me a raised eyebrow. “Uh huh. That the nice way a sayin’ you finally started usin’ yer magic to help pull yer weight?” That made me blush in embarrassment. “Hey hey, Ah meant no offense. Not mad in the least that you got it done. Don’t rightly care how it gets done, just that it’s done efficiently.”

“Huh, that’s odd. I was sure you’d be mad for me not ‘sticking to my gun’ and being a ‘pony of quality’,” I said, raising my hands to put emphasis.

She gave me a knowing look. “Sugarcube, it don’t take no genius to figure out you ain’t got the same endurance and strength as us earth pony folk. If it makes it easier, then why not take advantage of your talents?”

I laughed. “Oh, dang. I thought for sure you’d chastise me.”

AJ shook her head. “Now that’s plum low to think Ah’d be mad at you helpin’ us harvest on time. Weren’t you here when Twilight got onta me for bitin’ off more than Ah could chew?” I recalled the whole ‘Applebuck Season’ fiasco and nodded. “Then that’s that. There’s a time an’ place for magic or straight brawn.”

She gave my arm a light punch. “But just remember that taking the shortcut magic ain’t gonna show you the same disciplines adoin’ things the old-fashioned way.”

I rubbed my arm where Applejack had punched me, grinning sheepishly. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll keep that in mind.”

We walked the rest of the way back to the farmhouse in a comfortable silence, the warm autumn air cooling just enough to make the evening feel perfect. The quiet between us felt like the kind of quiet you get after a long day’s work—earned, restful, and not awkward in the least. By the time we reached the house, the last slivers of sunlight were gone, and the stars were just starting to peek out from the darkening sky.

As we stepped inside, I was hit all at once with the smells of tonight’s meal permeating the air. While Applejack headed into the kitchen, I decided on taking a nice hot shower, rinse the grime and sweat off y’know? This wasn’t the first time I’d come inside and made myself at home, I even had a spare set of clothes in the hallway for when I was finished. A nice shower later, and I felt brighter than the sunshine, even had a chance to shave a little. I was right in the middle of plucking out the stray hairs I missed on my fresh face, when suddenly the bathroom door opened.

Now, normally I wouldn’t have minded one of the Apples coming in while I was busy in the bathroom, being that this was their house. I was used to it by now, comfortable enough around the folks that we could treat one another like blood-related family. But this time was different. I was naked and had the towel draped over my shoulders, not even thinking about my nudity. I turned my head to see who came in and to my surprise, it was Applebloom. Who was staring at me with her mouth wide open.

We looked at one another for a solid minute or two, neither of us making the move to shield either of ourselves. I turned back to picking the last few hairs in the mirror and then turned to face her

“What’s up? Dinner ready?”

Applebloom blinked, her eyes wide and still glued to me. Her face slowly started turning a deep shade of red. “Uh… uh…” she stammered, clearly at a loss for words. I could practically see the gears turning in her head, trying to figure out how to react. And then her eyes trailed down, locking position at my crotch.

There was a long pause between the two of us before I realized that I put myself in a pickle, especially considering she just confessed to me not even a week ago. “Oh fuck, I’m sorry!” I quickly took the towel and wrapped it around my waist. She covered her cheeks, trying to shield her blush.

“A-ah didn’t realize you were in here.” She walked quickly over to the cabinet, not watching where she was going, instead her eyes never leaving me. She bit her lip “Came to get t-towels… oh sweet Celestia…” Her voice squeaked, like a mouse.

I had never been ogled before and felt awkward. My face blanked and I rapidly rushed out, grabbing my clothes off the hallway table and making my way to Big Mac’s room. My face felt hotter than when I was in the shower. I stared at the wall as I dressed myself in silence, not noticing Big Mac was sitting in a recliner, reading to himself. “What the hell just happened?”

He cleared his throat, bringing my attention around. “You good there?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not. Your youngest sister just walked in on me in the bathroom.”

He sighed. “Well, it was bound to happen eventually. What’s the problem?”

“Dude, she confessed to having a crush on me last week.”

I watched Big Mac stand, his normally calm and stoic expression shifting into something a bit more serious. He crossed his arms over his chest, and for a second, I thought he was going to give me some kind of lecture, but he just shook his head with a sigh.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it. I’ll handle this,” he said, his deep voice calm, though there was a subtle hint of concern in his eyes.

“Are you sure? I didn’t mean to make this awkward for anybody.”

He shook his head as he walked. “No, no. This is somethin’ between a brother and his sister. Go help Granny setup for supper.” Big Mac cracked his neck and prepared to hunt for his sister.

I grabbed his shirt before he could make it all the way out into the hall. “Hey, please don’t e to harsh on her or anything. I know how it sounds, but I don’t think she meant any harm.”

“Aurelius, while I appreciate you looking out for my little sister, she knew full well you were the one in the bathroom. It’s inappropriate behavior for somepony who should know better. Ah’m just gonna go give her a talking to. Now let me go.” He looked at me in a way that said he meant business.

I paled, afraid of what he might do to her, but more afraid of what he’d do to me if I stood in his way. Better do as he told me, lest he points his anger my way.

I met up with Granny Smith and Applejack in the kitchen, the smells backhanding my nose with their delicious might. Granny had just pulled a tin of fresh biscuits out of the oven, steam running right off them. She noticed me and smiled, never turning her attention away from the stove. “Well, now that yer done refreshing, be a dear and help AJ set the table, would ya?”

“Yes, Granny.”

Like clockwork, we set out the plates, the towels Blossom had grabbed, and silverware. Granny continued to work like her age wasn’t anything but a number, nimbly moving through the kitchen between her stock pot and the counter. How she could handle all those burners and cut food without any of it burning, I’ll never know. Maybe the years of skill.

“Supper’ll be ready in a jiffy, have a seat you two.” She turned her head to the hall and called out. “Mac, Applebloom, dinner in five!”

Big Mac responded. “Be there in a bit!”

AJ and I sat, waiting for the feast to be served on our sterling platters by the chef, like usual. Granny refused to allow us to serve ourselves in her house, so we knew to sit patiently. Big Mac cam around the corner with Applebloom in tow, pulling the seat out for the youngest sibling and taking his own.

Applebloom fidgeted in her seat, uneasy. She looked like she wanted to say something, but kept her eyes pinned to her lap. Her cheeks were mildly flushed. The meal was hearty, as far as vegetarian dishes go. The Apple family knew how to fill a table with comfort food that could feed an army. We ate in relative silence, the kind where words weren’t really necessary. Granny would occasionally comment on the weather, and Applejack would respond with a “yep” or “reckon so.” It felt… nice, honestly. Peaceful.

I did my part to help clean up the table afterward, washing the dishes in the kitchen by my lonesome. Granny gave me a nod of appreciation before settling out in the living area by the smoldering fireplace.

Big Mac waltzed in and went after his stache of hard ciders in the refrigerator, setting one out on the counter for me to enjoy at my leisure. Wasn’t too big on alcohol, but I felt it would be rude of me to reject a communal gift. He sipped his bottle, sighing as it burned on the way down, closing his eyes to enjoy the sweet and savory beverage. I dried my hands off on my pants and twisted the cap off of my own bottle and smelled it, picking up notes of pear, oak, and citrus. It tasted familiar and went down smooth, the cool drink dancing on my tongue as I got to know it. Had a nice burn to it. “Dang, this stuff is good. Did you brew it yourself?”

“Eeyup.”

“Have you ever thought about selling it?”

“Nah, not this batch. It’s weaker than the stuff we usually market.”

We enjoyed the brews, the alcohol starting to affect me more than I’d’ve liked. Felt pleasant as the warmth from the cider spread through my body, helping to loosen up the tension in me from today’s harvest. I leaned against the counter and watched the bubbles rise within my bottle, lost in the little world of the liquid’s cosmos. Something about its simplicity helped me clear my head, Hearing well with the cool breeze that walked into the trees outside. It had gotten colder after the sun went down, the prelude of winter seeping into my soul and the moonlight twinkling.

Big Mac didn’t talk at all while he drank, content to simply relax in the room with me. Even though he would sit and talk with me whenever I felt like stirring up a conversation, he was really a man of a few words at heart. Never the one to start many conversations. I think I liked that about him, his willingness to listen first and speak his heart second. Despite appearances, he really was a very learned pony, fiercely intelligent and brotherly to a fault. A real comrade in arms.

He finished his first of what would be many bottles tonight, pulling out two more from the fridge and cracking one open with his bare hands, drinking himself into a comfort. He breathed deeply, sighing slowly. “Never really had any drinking buddies, ‘fore you started workin’ for us. ‘Snice.”

I wanted to talk about what went on earlier. “Say, Mac?”

He looked me in the eyes. “Hm?”

“About earlier…”

He scrunched his lips and dismissively waved. “Not much to say about it, really. It was inappropriate, and she’s embarrassed and wants to apologize to you.”

There had to be more to it than that. “So what did you say to her?”

“Ah told her Ah was disappointed in her. That she shoulda known better than to sneak a peek at you during a time of privacy. Just the typical kinda elder conversation you have with your youngers.”

“That all?”

He shook his head, apprehensive to talk about it directly. “You know how being a teenager is, Aurelius, same as me. How your hormones cloud your judgment. S’not all that bad and Ah can’t really blame her for her actions, ‘specially with that time a the year coming up. You know how mares get.”

That struck me as odd. “Time of the year? What, like a period?”

He flattened and rotated his hand, taking another long draw from his bottle. “Somethin’ like that. Mares get all more emotional and don’t think too clear about anything but their chosen partners. It’s not like they turn into animals or anything”

That revelation helped me put some pieces of the puzzle together. “So that’s the reason she was acting weirder on Friday.”

“Trust me, it ain’t as bad as you’re thinkin’. She’s just a filly still learnin’ how to handle these things inside her head. I say it’ll be about Friday next week when she’s full blown starting. Just be nicer to her than usual and behave.”

Staring at the floor, I absentmindedly fiddled with the hem of my shirt. I wasn’t mad at her or anything—far from it—but I wasn’t exactly comfortable either. She was like a kid sister to me, and the last thing I wanted to do was to hurt her feelings either. It was… complicated. “Girls are hard, Big Mac.”

“Preachin’ to the choir, Aurelius.”

We continue to drink in silence, not really needing to say very much to another, since we had an understanding. My mind drifted back to the calendar in Big Mac’s room, right next to the door. So that’s why he has all of next week marked in red. In hind sight, it should have been more obvious to me, but I’d never really interacted with girls enough to know about the whole reproductive cycle. How much different could a mare be from a woman, anyway?

Big Mac cleared his throat. “Listen, if ya don’t wanna head back ta your place, you’re welcome ta stay here tonight. I got an extra bed in my room, so you can crash there if’n ya want. Figured you’d want a quicker start in the mornin’, especially with how close ya are ta finishin’ the field.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

“‘Course not,” he replied, smiling. “Ah’ll wake ya bright an’ early, don’t worry.”

After a moment, Big Mac stood up, grabbed a couple more bottles from the fridge, and made his way to the living room, leaving me with my thoughts. I took another sip from my bottle, leaning against the counter and gazing out into the moonlit night. The warmth of the alcohol was starting to hit harder and it was beginning to become difficult to think clearly. Like I had a blanket draped over me.

I could hear Applejack talking quietly with Granny Smith by the fire, their voices a soothing murmur in the background. It’s hard to imagine that just half a year ago, I was thrust into a totally unknown world. I had just met this family and they adopted me like it was no problem.

But there was that nagging feeling in the back of my mind about Applebloom. Sure, it made sense now—the way she’d been acting all week, her awkwardness, even the confession. I really couldn’t comprehend how she felt about me. It was such a fickle emotion that I had difficulty putting into words. I had grown so used to treating her like a little sister, that I didn’t know how to handle the reveal that she liked me.

I side, finishing up the bottle and setting it in the sink. Tomorrow was another day, and maybe after a good night’s rest, things would be easier to handle.

I heard the soft creak of the stairs. Applebloom appeared in the doorway, lingering awkwardly. She looked ashamed, nervous to even see me right now.

“Hey,” she said quietly, not meeting my eyes.

“Hey,” I replied, speaking quietly.

There was a beat of silence before she spoke again. “Ah’m real sorry about earlier, Aurelius. Ah didn’t mean to—” She stopped, biting her lip and finally looking up at me. “Ah let muh head get the better of me and Ah feel real ashamed in muhself fer puttin’ you in that position. Ah hope ah didn’t make things too weird.”

I shook my head. “You’re good, Blossom. I’m not too off put. I don’t blame you.”

“So ya still wanna go to the dance with me?”

“Absolutely. I said I would, didn’t I?”

That put her mind at ease and she smiled. She gave me a quick nod, then headed back up the stairs for bed. I joined her not shortly after, settling in Big Mac’s room.

As I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, my thoughts drifted back to the Apple family and everything that had happened today. I didn’t know what the future held—whether things with Applebloom would stay simple or get more complicated—but for now, I was content. Tomorrow was a new day, and I’d face whatever came my way then.

For now, all I needed was sleep.

—-

“I’ll… never… tell…” My body grew weak, threatening to give out and succumb to death, yet I could not die. No, HE would not let me. Discord had long since grown tired of me not answering his questions, taking up finding new ways to torture me until I gave in to his demand.

He brought his hoof down onto my right femur, snapping it like a plastic fork, before snapping his fingers to put it back together. He crafted a syringe of unknown glowing fluid from out of the ether and injected it into each eye socket, the resulting chemical reaction boiling my eyes out in fire, before they swiftly regenerated. Then he grew to the size of a mountain and held me between his fingers, rolling me around like an overripe grape, shifting all my internal organs around in a way similar to the beads in a stuffed toy. He flicked my corpse high into the air, landing me in his mouth like popcorn, before he swigged back some form of acid. And then he chewed.

And yet, I still did not die. Over and over again, he had thought of crafty new ways to inflict pain, but I was becoming increasingly numb to it all. There’s only so much the body can endure, so many times he can cut off and regenerate fingers before even the sensation of losing limbs becomes like breathing oxygen. At least, it would have if he didn’t flush my pain receptors and neurotransmitters every hour. And I couldn’t go mad either, something he did to my body prevented that.

I reappeared on the ‘ground’ of the chaos realm in the form of a heap of ground mush, the strands of my body unfolding and reknitting themselves into a whole person. The sensation brought me to my knees, purging my stomach of the arcane residue he’d pumped into me to keep me from dying. I was powerless to do all but keep my last dying wish, my ethereal will going, I fruitlessly hoped long enough that Discord would either grow bored or my remnants of my soul found a way to escape into Aurelius.

Discord stood over me, kicking me while I was down and sliding my body away. His breathing was wild, a growl in his throat. “Tell meeee where he iiiisssss!!! NOW!” He demanded for the umpteenth time.

I coughed, spitting blood and bile onto the ground that immediately fizzled away in the ever-shifting chaos of Discord’s domain. My body twitched involuntarily as it reassembled itself once more. The agony of being crushed, liquefied, burned, and reshaped was almost routine by now.

“I… already told you…” My voice was ragged and it hurt to talk. “I can’t tell you even if I knew.” Gaslighting wouldn’t work, but anything to stall for time is better than nothing.

“LIIIEESS!!” Discord hissed, jumping up and down in a tantrum. He stomped his feet and beat the ground like an animal, steam erupting from his mouth. His mismatched limbs twitching as his body twisted into impossible shapes, his rage palpable in the air. His chaotic magic flared with a life of its own, bending the realm around them into a cacophony of swirling colors and fragmented realities. “LIESLIESLIESLIESLIES!! LIEEEED!”

His head literally exploded into nuclear fire, his body falling onto the ground limply, pitch spurting from the exposed flesh on his nub of a neck. A new head popped out from his esophagus, slick with mucus. He stood up, slicking his donkey mane back with the eagle talon. “That’s much better. Thought I rid myself of that pesky flaw, but I guess months of denial really must have gotten to me. Almost lost my cool there.”

Discord turned to face me, snapping his claws to stretch my body out and levitate me into the air, perpendicular to him. “I know you’re lying to stall for time, Solus. You’re my, well WAS my brother and we’ve been alive for hundreds of eons. I know, for the most part, how you think and what you’ll try to do.” He slithered through the air and coiled his body around my own, gripping me tightly in his hands to look me in the eyes. His breath smelled like rotten cabbage. “I am Chaos incarnate. Every fiber of my being exists to cause pain, torment, and disharmony, and I love every second of it. Even as we speak, my will extends across the cosmos of Yggdrasil, searching every world. Whether it be you telling me directly or me stumbling across that singular dimension you’ve hidden him upon, I will find him.”

He grunted, uncoiling and spinning me through the air only to be caught by one of the many currents of magic he’d weaved in the times between beatings. I flew around the edge of His barrier, shards of our Father’s ripping through my soul and slicing my body, before unceremoniously being deposited back into the center of the realm with a thud. I remained silent as Discord pranced about lazily, picking and prodding at one of the many currents he crafted, unspeakable monsters and diseases thrashing about as he tweaked them for his pleasure.

An opportunity had a risen while he was distracted. Ever so cautiously I reached out my mind to search for a sign of life from Aurelius, the tracer spell I had cast connecting to me in an instant. My mind drifted, slowly, painfully, toward the World Tree through that connection, where the faint pulse of life—the pulse of Aurelius—beat steadily. Many a time I had made an attempt to reach out and pour more of my soul into him, but Discord’s magic would tear me back before I could get close enough. This time, though… I smiled.

Aurelius, what have you done now? He had grown more mature since the last time I saw him. I could feel the stirrings of something new within him, something I never had. I might not need to feed him the rest of me after all…

I smiled through my pain, not realizing Discord had finished up what he was doing. “Why do you smile, Solus? Surely you’re not stupid enough to… No…” His voice whispered through my head as I tried to backtrack through the spell. “You can still reach out to him! I can feel it! The realm he hides upon… it’s almost on the tips of my tongue!”

Discord fought back against my will, clawing through my mind to distract me and see what I could see. “The name! Oh what was that name? I know this place!” He gripped my chest, slamming me against the ground. “Don’t you dare stop reaching out to him!”

He conjured an iron stake from thin air and stabbed it through my chest, pinning me to the ground like an insect on display. Every new spike of pain distracted me from disconnecting, I needed more time. I wasn’t being quick enough! “Get out of my head!” I struggled back against Discord, more of my will being eroded, but not enough to crush me into unconsciousness again. Push, damn you! Close the link!

It hurt so much. I couldn’t describe the pain, even if I tried. I could feel what remained of my soul being ripped to cinders, mere embers of the whole. Discord’s cackling laughter reverberated through the air as he sensed victory within his grasp. “Oh, Solus, you fool! You’ve been fighting me for so long, but now, now I see it! I see him!” His grip on my mind tightened, his claws digging into my spirit, shredding through the last vestiges of my defenses. “Almost… there…!”

I couldn’t hold on anymore. I felt my soul shatter into countless pieces, vanishing into the surrounding chaos as Discord greedily slurped up each and every one. I fought even as I fell into nothingness. I had to protect Aurelius, shield him and keep him safe. My body, brittle and cracking, resisted my decay with what remained. I grit my teeth, blood pouring from my mouth like a river as I tried to resist falling. My mind was slipping, like sand through my fingers as Discord’s sneering laughter crawled through my thoughts. I could feel his triumphant attitude.

“I… wont..” My voice cracked, failing me.

“Oh, but you will,” Discord whispered, his voice sickeningly sweet. “He’ll be mine for the TAKING!”

And then, in my final moment of clarity, a single, all consuming thought filled my mind: Aurelius doesn’t need me anymore. He is growing without the other pieces of my soul. He will mature… My mind finally collapsed, unconsciousness consuming me. No… it wasn’t that. Is this… death?

I… of all the fickle things I never… I feel… cold. Irreparably so. I can finally rest…

And then I was gone.

—-

“Pity he didn’t last much longer. In other news…” Discords smile cracked his face, that ebony darkness inside him pouring down his face. “I HAVE WON! I have the name! I see everything!” He shivered in delight at the new increase in power.

“Though he was but a fragment of full godhood, this power will be a much loved boon as I rip Equus from its place on the World Tree.” Discord guffawed. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I visit that peaceful place! The ancient battleground!”

Equus. The word rippled on the air as a torrent of magic carved a doorway through time and space, linking the realm of Chaos to the edges of that sought after world. There was nothing stopping Discord from reigning freely. Nothing but…

“WHAT IS THIS?!” Discord screamed as he crashed face first into an invisible barrier. He rebounded off it as it lit up miraculously bright with ancient runes and swirls. The very magic of Equus fought back against the demonic tyrant. Discord roared in anger.

“THE PATH IS MINE! What trickery dares to stand between me and mine?!” He frowned. “All this resistance to my will, and for what?! The last laugh when I find out it won’t be as easy as I thought, Solus?! BASTARD!” Discord threw himself against the world’s barrier, snarling and clawing at it and throwing any manner of spell he could think of into it, but it did not budge.

The onslaught shook the very foundations of creation, and Yggdrasil shuddered. The tyrant shook with immeasurable rage, and creation shook with him.

—-

Deep in the heart of Canterlot, something stirred against its stone prison. The statue of Discord, nay, the fragment of him, twisted within the confines of his imprisonment. He hungered to be free as he reacted to his master’s torment. The Discord of this world, bound and frozen in time, awoke just barely. He struggled against his stone casing, stretching his body beneath it to test his limits. He could feel the surface damage in the form of cracks and chips, and he pressed against them. The cracks deepend, chunks of stone falling off like slag and littering the ground as an arm broke free.

The lion’s paw reached up and felt his face, the stone melting away into butter as he broke his chains more, the harmony in the air curdling and cringing. This Discord laughed madly as he began to break free, until finally he fell to the ground in a puddle of hot fudge. He slowly stood to full height, stretching and popping his joints, before cracking his skull open to pull his brain out and wring it free of water.

“Oooagh, that feels so much better… Thought for sure I would oversleep!” He looked at his brain, scratching at the inside of his brain casing, then tossing the shriveled thing aside like trash. “Don’t need that thing molding in there anymore.” With a grunt, a new and fresher brain popped into existence and the Fragment closed his skull with a snap.

Discord, the one standing over me in the Chaos Realm, was oblivious. He kept hammering at the barrier, his howls of rage shaking the very foundations of Equus’ magic. “LET ME IN! I WILL NOT BE DENIED! WRYAAAAAGH!”

The Fragment could hear his greater piece shrieking from beyond the veil, and he shuddered. He scratched the inside of his ear and flicked out the annoying spider that crawled there. “Oh pipe down, will you? I’m not nearly strong enough to unlock that door just yet, so you’ll have to settle for raging against the barrier for now. For the moment…”

“I must feed. Far too weak.” And so, the Fragment vanished into thin air, hungry for chaos. For the first time in over six thousand years, there would be Discord. “I think a visit to the Elements of Harmony little prison cell would do nicely.”

Chapter 14: The Heat of the Fall Formal

Today’s the day of promises! After my little extra effort applied at the farm, I’d freed myself up for some well deserved R&R come Thursday, which worked out perfectly for both Applebloom and I. We were presently lazing peacefully under one of the many trees that filled SAA. Well, I was at least. Bloom sat beneath the limb I laid out on, crouched down and watching a trail of ants go about their business.

With nothing to do but wait for Friday to roll around, I thought I’d spend more time today on getting to know the girl I was going with. I rolled over the edge of the limb and tucked my legs, rotating underneath the limb and locking my legs around it so I could hang. Just barely in reach of my fingers was her hair, which I batted at to grab a strand.

“You know, you have really pretty hair,” I said, finally grabbing a lock and feeling it between my fingers. “Do you put some oil in it or something to make it glow so?”

She looked up, stifling her laughter. “What’re you talkin’ about? You use the same shampoo Ah do.” Applebloom rubbed her cheek in her blush.

“I’m being serious. It’s nice and…” It was just long enough to bring up to my nose. I breathed deeply. “Sweet. You smell like apple blossoms.”

She took her hair from my hand and snickered. “Yer goofy today. Do ya find it funny sayin’ all those things to make me blush?”

I chuckled, still hanging from the tree limb. “Maybe. It’s kinda fun seeing you get all flustered like that. You wear it well.” I gave her a playful grin, my eyes meeting hers upside-down.

She glanced up to see if I was still right above her, then back at the ants. She refused to look at me for more than a second. “Ain’t used to bein’ complimented like that. Makes me feel all jittery and shocky.”

I swung myself and landed gracefully next to her. “And the crowd goes wild as he sticks the landing! Cheers all around! Aaaah, SShh, aaaaaah!” I pretended to bow before the imaginary crowd, earning a laugh from my lone spectator.

Applebloom brushed some of her hair behind her ear, which twitched at being touched. “Yer too cute to be funny. Stop tryna make me laugh more.”

I stuck my tongue out at her and morphed it into a hotdog shape, and rapidly flicked it against my upper lip. “Blelelelleleleleel.”

She, of course, slapped my arm playfully and took to walking off over to a nearby swing hanging from another of the trees. The rope looked aged, frayed only the barest amounts, obviously seeing its fair share of use. Bloom sat daintily and gave me a snarky look.

“Push me, pleaaaase?” She said in an antagonizing tone. “Mah poor hooves are achiiing~.”

I rolled my eyes. “Suuure. You know, you don’t have to ask me to put my hands all over you,” I said, not thinking. She stammered and blushed. “Wait fuck, not like that. I didn’t mean… oh you snark!”

She laughed at me, feigning her embarrassment. “Ah’m kiddin’, Ah know you was just jokin’. Now push me please?”

I obliged, swearing I’d get back at her. Back and forth, she swung in the air, enjoying the breeze and what remained of the warmth from the past summer. Despite her shorter size, she weighed more than her two friends, easily matching my own hundred and sixty-two pounds (roughly seventy-twoish kilos for non-freedom unit users). I attributed that to her earth-pony genetics, since their bones were denser, stockier. We stayed like that for a better part of an hour, as the temperature dropped. I playfully asked if it was my turn a few times, but like a princess, she said she wasn’t done yet.

I decided it was time for a little payback, embarrassing me, and ready my magic to give myself a little bit of extra strength, I thought just enough to push her higher than she expected. Maybe a bit too much, as I sent her flying into the air about ten feet and off the seat.

Little more magic into my legs and arms, and I successfully caught the falling Blossom. Her weight pressed into me, and I staggered slightly before steadying us both, the magic in my limbs giving me the extra strength I needed. “Well, that’s two times I’ve saved your keister. Maybe we should do that more often?”

She blinked, her breath catching in her throat. “…that was mean.”

“Still caught you though, are you gonna look past that?”

Her brow furrowed and her lips pursed. “Ya pushed me in the first place! Honestly, it’s the least ya coulda done.”

“In my defense, I don’t normally use enhancement magic very much. Didn’t mean to put that much umph into it. But you did ask me to push you.”

Applebloom playfully slapped my chest, shaking her head. “You nut, Ah meant like a normal pony, er person! Ah swear, yer gonna give me a heart attack one day.” Despite her words, she was smiling, the blush on her cheeks only growing deeper as she stayed cradled in my arms. “Ya can put me down now.”

I kept the thrum of magic in my arms constant, letting my legs. I tilted my head like I was considering putting her down. “Mmm, nah. I’ll keep holding on. You’re my doggy now. WHOSAGOOGIRL?!” I said, tickling at her belly.

She deadpanned. “Arf, arf, ha ha.” She couldn’t hold that face for very long before succumbing to the tickle master, squirming to get out of my grip. But the tickle master does not relent so easily. “Ahaha, stop, stop Ah give! Ah’ll be yer doggy!”

I smiled. “Hmph, that’s what I thought.”

Applebloom rolled her eyes. “Alright, alright. Ya win this round. But just wait ‘til tomorrow. Ah’ma dance circles ‘round ya, and ya won’t know what hit ya.”

I set her down, making sure she stood well on her own. “Yeah, yeah. I don’t doubt that in the least, I suck at dancing.”

“So Ah’ve heard. Spike says ya make Twilight of all ponies look like a professional.”

“It was one time, ONE TIME! I was getting jiggy while sweeping and he holds it against me!”

“Ta be fair, ya did kinda crush his toes.” She started to walk back towards the house.

“Oh, like you were there. Dude’s skin is harder than iron, I highly doubt he even felt it. At least I apologized.”

She looked back at me and gave me a crooked look. “Ah WAS there, excuse me. You startled him into burning one of the library books he was putting up.”

My mouth went askew and I grumbled. Nobody ever checks out books on cow anatomy anyway. If anything, I opened up more room on those cramped shelves. “You make one mistake and suddenly the whole world comes crashing down. Twilight replaced it with the following week’s shipment, so there wasn’t any permanent damage.”

Applebloom snickered. “Well, don’t go steppin’ on mah hooves when we go ta dancing tomorrow.”

I jogged a few steps to keep pace. “I make no promises. You knew what you were getting into when you invited me.”

She waved a hand dismissively. “Ah know. But if Ah have to drag you around like a sacka apples, Ah darn will. But,” she paused, her eyes twinkling with hope, “please try not to ruin this fer me.”

I sighed dramatically. “What is it with you girls having to beg me to not be mischievous? Am I that much of a bad influence? Oh woe is me, my friends are two faced!” I pretended to bawl my eyes out, but stopped when I saw Bloom stopped in her tracks. She wasn’t too happy with my response. “Sorry. I’ll try not to be too much to handle.”

Her attitude changed like the weather, back to happy. “Good.”

Did I just get guilted by a pony?! The world may never know.

We made it back to the farmhouse eventually, the sun just cresting over the horizon for the night. I stretched my back, popping some kinks in my spine as I walked inside. Granny Smith was once again in the kitchen whipping up something scrumptious, based off the smell permeating the house. A nice little thought dawned on me for a gift to give my partner tomorrow.

I’ll spend tonight working on it when I dream. She’ll be so happy when she gets it.

—

The day of the dance rolled around quicker than I’d’ve liked. I thought I didn’t have all the details planned for my gift, and I needlessly worried that Rarity wouldn’t have the finishing touches on my updated suit before three rolled around.

Was currently about eight in the morning, with a little bit of overcast cloud cover blotting out the sun here and there. sat at the kitchen table with a half-eaten bowl of oatmeal, absentmindedly stirring it as my mind wandered. The nerves were already starting to kick in. The day of the dance had come, and despite my bravado the day before, I couldn’t shake the lingering worry about how tonight would go. What if I made a fool of myself in front of all the ponies there? Granted, I didn’t really know many of her classmates, if you can call her school bullies that, and I wasn’t really a teenager anymore. But still, I’m almost 20 years old and here I sat feeling worse for wear.

Granny Smith walked into the kitchen behind me, pouring a cup of black coffee from the kettle on the stove. She pulled out a disposable filter and added it into her mug, careful not to let any of the few grounds make it into her cup. She gave me a look over and smiled as she took her place at the head of the table. “Yer lookin’ like somepony died. It’s just a dance, so why so glum?”

I offered a half-hearted smile. “I know, I just want everything to go well for Applebloom’s sake.”

Granny chuckled as she stirred a pot on the stove. “Ain’t no such thing as a perfect night, ‘specially when it comes ta dancin’. Yer young. Make a few mistakes, laugh ‘em off, and enjoy yerself. Heaven’s above, Ah know Ah miss dancin’ with mah husband, Jonathan.”

That shocked me out of my mood. “Well, this is an update. You were married?”

“Eh, it wasn’t but thirty years ago now, but yeah, Ah was. Relevant to your whole dance conundrum, Ah can speak from experience that doin’ things fer the sake of fun with someone ya love is a joy like no other, not countin’ parenting.”

“Jonathan,” I repeated, the name foreign to my ears but heavy with history. “I didn’t know that. Must’ve been nice… having someone like that.”

Her eyes looked past me as she relived the good old days from her youth. She took a slow sip from her coffee, sighing. “It was. Had our ups and downs too, but no sense in dwellin’ on old memories. While Ah do miss him terribly, it wouldn’t do nobody good if Ah spent all my time reminiscing on what was, ‘steada what is, ya get me?”

I nodded. “Ah reckon tonight’ll be one of many for you and Applebloom. Ya’ve both been dancin’ around each other long enough, that Ah’m surprised ya ain’t had the stones to ask her out yet. Make it official an’ all.”

“Official? No, no, it isn’t like that. Between us, I mean.”

She gave me a hard stare. “Boy, don’t go lying to me in my own home. Ah can see the way you look at her, how you treat her. What Ah don’t get why you have any issue with takin’ her to be yer gal.”

I looked down at my half-eaten oatmeal, uneasy. “Because I think it’s wrong. Even though I’m only nineteen and she’s going to be turning sixteen come February, I don’t feel comfortable being together with her.”

Her eyes softened as she set her cup down. “Son, Ah know full well how you’re feeling and why it eat’s ya so. Yer worried about more than just her age, about how others might look at you two bein’ together. Thinkin’ that you’re wrong for talkin’ to her.”

I nodded. “It feels… I don’t know, like I’m going to do something bad and hurt her. What if people think I’m taking advantage of her?”

Granny leaned back in her chai, her expression thoughtful. “Aurelius, your concerns are duly noted and acknowledged, but that just ain’t how the average pony works. Ah’ll admit, some folks don’t know where to keep their noses out of, butting their heads where they ain’t welcome, but they’re few and far between. Ah’d be lyin to you if Ah said opinions don’t matter, but why would you let some neighsayer dictate what makes you happy?”

I wanted to respond, but Granny beat me to the punch. “Let me tell ya somethin’—there’s a big difference between someone causin’ harm and two young folks simply datin’ and figurin’ out their feelin’s.”

I swallowed, unsure of how to process this all. In a way, I knew she was right, but it just didn’t click in my head like I wanted it. “But [is is wrong to have the feelings I feel? I don’t want her to look back like I’ve held her from finding her ‘true love’ or some bullshit.”

“Ain’t no such thing as a ‘one true love’, ‘cept in fairy tales. Yer not wrong for having concerns. But, if yer willing to sit here and second-guess yourself on whether or not yer being a good person or doin’ some evil, you know damn well you are. A villain never second-guess themselves,” she paused, taking another sip from her coffee. “Besides, it’s only just datin’, not a marriage. Ah don’t know if you read that far and the law yet, but she can’t marry until she’s nineteen anyway.”

I blinked, surprised by her bluntness. “So… dating isn’t this big life-altering thing?”

Granny smiled gently, leaning forward a bit. “Nah, son. It’s about gettin’ to know someone, spendin’ time together, and seein’ where life takes ya. It’s not a lifetime commitment, just a step in figurin’ out if ya like someone enough to stick around. You’re both still young. It’s natural to have concerns, but ya don’t need to make it more complicated than it is, ya goof. Besides,” she chuckled, “if it don’t work out, y’all can always stay friends.”

I pondered her advice, realizing how stupid I’d been to worry about something so simple. “I think you just changed my outlook on this. Thank’s, Granny.”

She waved a hand. “That’s what Granny’s here for. Now get yer butt in gear and go get yerself ready. Ya only got five or so hours till three rolls around.”

I nodded and finished up my breakfast, making a mental note to go pick up my suit from Rarity and some scrap gold from a jeweler. I pushed my chair in and once again thanked Granny for her help, then headed outside. With the addition of the cloud cover in the sky, the air felt a bit nippier than yesterday, a perfect temperature for the Autumn theme of the dance. If I remembered correctly, the event would be held on the outskirts of Whitetail Woods, with a section cordoned off for walks and games.

Anyway, back on topic. I made my way down the road into Ponyville, aiming for Rarity’s boutique where she’d no doubt be hard at work on my suit. The walk helped me clear my head even further and help me come to terms with my idea of my relationship with Applebloom— how she made me laugh, how I found her attitude endearing, and how she seemed interested in my growing progress with magic. There was no doubt that we had a connection, but whether it would blossom forth into what either of us wanted was beyond me. I’d been so wrapped up in what others would think of me, of what I thought of myself, that I’d taken it clearly off the table. Granny was right.

The bells at the Boutique chimed as I opened the door. Sure enough, there she was with an outfit in her hands, wrapped in paper to protect it from dirt. Somehow, her disheaveled look with the scraps of fabric she pinned to her wait made her look more graceful, I don’t know. I blame Spike.

She noticed me at the doorway and scoffed. “Well, I wasn’t expecting you this early, darling.” She greeted me with a smile. “Here I was, just about to put the finishing touches on your ensemble. I have a feeling you’re going to like what I’ve done.”

I whistled in admiration at her new works this month, which she rolled her eyes at. “Figured I’d get a headstart on everything so I had time to walk with my date. How is everything?”

“Difficult with all the orders I’ve had to fill, but it’s business as usual in Ponyville. Your’s especially is nearly perfect,” she said, stepping aside to show me a mannequin. The sleek black fabric of the jacket was already fit to my measurements and it reflected the auburn, mahogany, and golds of Autumn just like I requested— absolutely perfect for the theme of the dance. It even had nice gold epaulets on the shoulders, providing just the right amount of elegance. Absolute perfection.

“Damn, Rarity, your skills are unmatched. This is perfect for the dance!”

She giggled behind her hand. “Oh, pish posh, there’s no need for that with me, darling! Only the best for my friends.” She turned to look at me. “But a little bit more praise would not go unnoticed.”

“Hehe, you’re the best fashionista I have ever known.” I leaned over to hug her, which she accepted.

“Always happy to help one who’s spent so much time helping me. Kindness for kindness sake is it’s own reward, but I’m happy to know you like it.”

“I’ll say,” I said, feeling the clothes. There was something magical about them, I could feel it on the fabric. “Did you enchant this?”

She nodded, laughing lightly. “Keen senses. Those lessons with Twilight must have been worth it, if you’re able to pick up on the little spill-resistance I slipped in there,” she brought her hand up to her chin, “perhaps it would be worth it to see if she’ll tutor me. Mayhaps I could do with a bit of learning.”

“Don’t crack open a hydra’s egg if you aren’t willing to deal with the parent’s, Rares. We both know how she can get a bit… much with education.”

She cringed at the memory of the last time she walked in to one of the lessons. “Point taken. It was just a thought, though. Oh, that reminds me!” Rarity turned her attention to one of the many shelves that lined her walls, searching for something. She pulled out small box after box, intent on finding whatever she sought. “I could have sworn I put it… Oh, silly me, I left it on the balcony! I’ll be back in just a minute~!”

I took the time to look around at the store. Not much had changed since the last time I was here, sans the new work in progress clothing. I looked over the sketches on her desk, marveling at the complexity of the measurements, notes, and other things. Compared to her work room, this was the only source of order in an otherwise chaotic storm, though it had its own disorganization I couldn’t decipher. Best to leave it the way I found it.

A few moments later, Rarity returned, her arms full of small boxes. “Ah, here it is!” She carefully set them down on the counter, her excitement palpable. “I wanted to make sure you had the perfect accessories to go with your suit.”

From the selection she laid out on her desk, I discerned a small golden pocket watch, with matching cufflinks, a pair of white gloves that would match my silvery tie nicely, a black fedora of all things, and a ruby brooch in the shape of a maple leaf. “I spent the better part of the week trying to work out what would work best, but I couldn’t decide. I thought maybe you could give me your opinion on which would work best with it.”

“Well, I really like the gloves and the watch,” commenting on them both as I felt them, “but I don’t think this is that formal of an event. The fedora is… a problem in itself, despite the nice suede it’s made of. Reminds me of something I’d rather not say.”

That left the brooch. “But this piece right here… Is that rose gold?” She confirmed it. “It sorta ties the outfit together, in my opinion. It adds enough of a ‘pop’ to make me stand out.” Definitely the way to go.

She beamed with pride. “That was my first decision. Two great minds think alike, I suppose.” She levitated the brooch up to the breast pocket of the suit jacket. “Oh, definitely a great choice compared to the others. What WAS I thinking with that fedora?” She held it aloft and then casually tossed it to the side.

I chuckled, feeling a swell of gratitude. “Thanks, Rarity. I really appreciate all this. I know it’s a lot of work.”

“Not at all, darling! It’s my pleasure,” she insisted with sparkling eyes. “It’s not every day I get to help two love-birds expose their emotions to one another.” She gave me some saucy eyes, lifting her eyebrows.

I felt myself blush, rubbing the back of my head. “Is it that obvious how I feel?”

“No, I just made a wild guess. Thank you for winning my bet with Rainbow Dash!” She laughed at my expense. “Relax, it’s a big day for you two! Let me make sure you have everything.”

She smoothed out the fabric on the mannequin, making sure everything was in place, then in a flash, both the brooch and the suit were teleported onto the desk in a neat little white box. I took it in my arms and gave Rarity a polite bow as I headed out the door. “Do have fun tonight, darling! Oh, and please watch out for Sweetie Belle!”

I couldn’t help but smile in anticipation at getting to spend very quality time tonight with my friends and my potential love interest. I made a quick stop over at one of the many jewelers and paid for a small lump of gold and a few gemstones, praying silently to Celestia that I wouldn’t screw up the little gift I planned. Rounding a corner, I sat cross-legged on the floor of one of the many alleys, setting out the gems and gold into a tightly packed spot, then fished out some juniper-ash magic chalk from my pocket. Carefully, I drew a basic transmutation circle around the components of my gift.

“Now for the hard part. What were those verbal components to the spell again?” I scratched my head and closed my eyes, thinking of the training lessons Twilight gave me. “Oh yeah!”

Feeling the pulse of my core, I closed my eyes once more and reached my arm out, palm facing the magic circle. I felt in my mind a familiar buzzing as I reached out my attention to the runes around the circle, carefully reciting the words of power I remembered. “Transmutatio materiarum, lapidum auratorum et gemmis subtilium, forma imaginis in corde meo!” Opened my mind in time to see the material floating inside of small orbs of golden light, each with its own magic circle spinning around them.

The circles split in two rings, one barely larger than the force fields and the other much larger, spinning like a gyroscope as the materials melted and morphed into the shapes I imagined. The gemstones took their place, perfectly aligned, while the gold lump was purified in the magic light, molten and hot. Slowly, the gold weaved itself into a latice shaped tiara, shaped similar to the ivy clinging to the walls of the houses, leaving sockets for the gems. The sight of the glowing orbs floating before me filled me with both awe and a sense of nervousness. My heart pounded as I guided the magic with my mind, watching the gold and gems fuse into place as the delicate lattice of the tiara took shape. I kept my focus sharp, not daring to lose control of the spell.

The juniper-ash chalk lines glowed a sickly cool blue like Cherenkov radiation, slowly starting to fade as it was burned out. The gems fit perfectly into the tiara, and finally the piece was finished. It landed gently onto the ground, my breath held in hopes that it did not break, and it was complete. The pearlescent opals and rich rose quartz complimented each other, with a single small ruby at the center. I’d worked my butt off to craft five small apple blooms into the gold, and it paid off way better than I’d hoped for. “She’s going to love this.”

It was simple, elegant, and perfectly befitting of her, something down-to-earth and natural yet timeless. I was proud of this little thing, this trinket. I pocketed it in one of my belt bags and tucked the suit under my arm, continuing on my way back to the farm. Maybe a solid two or three hours had passed since I left on this short trip, but it was perfectly timed for a night I would never forget.

My nerves still hummed as my magic settled back to its normal levels—that for once went entirely as I planned. No mishaps, no mistakes, and certainly no unintended side-effects. I was turning out to be quite the little mage.

By the time I reached the farm, there was maybe an hour left until the first party goers would show, and I was ready to beat them all at the dressing game. The sunset couldn’t be more perfect, with the few remaining clouds drifting past the distant woods. All things considered, I couldn’t wait any longer.

The farmhouse and went to Big Macintosh’s room to change, snagging one of his bottles of musky cologne. I gave myself a once over in his body length mirror, tossing the suit over the back of his desk chair. Alright, Aurelius, courage. This is it, no backing down now. My reflection stared back at me, uneasy and nervous. It’s just a dance between friends. But what if it ends up where we’re more than that?

I bit my lip, unsure of whether or not to go through with this, but I had to steel myself. “No. I’m not going to break her heart by refusing to show.”

I stripped down into my skinnies and put on the suit, the clothing fitting nice and snug on my body, but with enough space that I could bend down if I had to. “Perfect as always, Rarity.” The auburns, mahoganies, and golds of autumn blended seamlessly with the warm, fading light outside. I adjusted the lapels, the golden brooch reflecting a soft glow in the mirror. “I look like a Lord of Forests or something.”

With a spritz or two of one of the more earthy and clove-like colognes, I felt ready. More than that, I felt much more at ease, not that it means anything. I took one last deep breath, then headed out to the living room to wait for Applebloom. Didn’t have to wait very long though, as I heard her door open and the clip-clopping of her hooves on the upper floor. She stopped shortly before coming down.

“Promise me ya won’t make fun of me for gettin’ all dolled up,” she called out down below.

I closed my eyes, so the first thing I’d see would be her in all her glory. “My eyes are sealed, Blossom. I won’t know what you look like until you come down here. I promise not to make fun of you.”

“…Ok…” she whispered. Carefully, she stepped down the stairs, settling in front of me. “Ya can open yer eyes now.”

I was stunned. Before, she looked like a simple farm hand, someone out of a western movie or the show Heartland. But now… “Wow…”

She chuckled, face brighter than a tomato. “Is that all you can muster to say? Ah’m just ‘wow’?”

My jaw dropped. Her hair was braided six ways to Sunday, draped over her shoulder and split into four separate ponytails on her chest, each with a white tie on it. She wore bicep length white gloves that sparkled in the light, ribbons hanging limply off them down by her sides. And her dress… “You look like someone took a fashion catalog and turned them into a person!” The details were exquisite, each ruffle and fold in the floor length skirt fading from the auburn top that was feathered out in fabric leaves that snugly hugged her chest and waist. And oh my god, the embroidered branches on the skirt.

“Where did you find this dress? I’ve never seen anything like it!”

She blushed hard enough that I could have painted a barn with her cheeks. “I-It’s Applejack’s old dress from when she went to a hoedown in Appleloosa a few years back with muh cousin Braeburn. Do ya like it?” She gave me a spin.

“I couldn’t think of a better person to put it on if I tried.” Applebloom started crying a little, laughing at my comment.

Applebloom wiped at her eyes, still grinning as she twirled again, the dress catching the light perfectly. “Ah never thought Ah’d hear somethin’ like that come outta yer mouth. Yer so sweet sometimes, y’know that?”

I scratched the back of my head, feeling my face heat up. “Well, you’re making it easy. You look amazing. I’m just calling it like I see it.”

She stepped up closer to me, grabbing my tie and straightening it out, smoothing out my shirt and tucking it into my belt better. I wasn’t sure what to do, but my heart skipped a beat. We stood there for a moment, the air between us feeling a bit more charged than usual, but it wasn’t uncomfortable at all.

I don’t think Applebloom’s blush faded in the slightest, and then she closed her eyes and smelled the cologne on my suit. Her eyes fluttered open and went a little half-lidded, and she bit her lip. “You chose one of my favorite colognes Mac likes to wear.”

Applebloom lingered closer, too much for comfort and rubbed her hand on my suit jacket over my chest. Her fingers played with my tie a little, bringing it up to her nose and smelling it much more deeply than before, up close and personal. I could feel her breath on my neck, coming in soft, warm bursts. It felt… uncomfortable, made me feel weird, thought I couldn’t understand why. My heart beat a little harder than before and my palms felt sweaty, knees weak and my arms heavy. Like I was eating my mom’s spaghetti.

I cleared my throat, but she didn’t seem to notice, rather intensely focused on fiddling with my shirt— or maybe she didn’t care. “You smell REALLY good,” she murmured, her voice dipping lower than usual.

I gave a nervous chuckle. “Thanks? I thought it smelled really nice too and thought you’d like it. You seem kinda… a bit too into it. Are you feeling alright?”

Just as she stepped closer, mere inches away from my neck that I could feel her breathing in my ear, I heard someone else coming downstairs. Those heavy hoof-falls… oh thank god, Applejack for the rescue!

Speak of the devil and she will arrive! Applejack came down unceremoniously, looking like she just woke up from a late nap. She looked over at the two of us. “Hooey, don’t y’all look snazzy. All gussied up for the dance, all fancy!”

Applebloom jumped back like a kid caught in the cookie jar, her face somehow turning even more red than her lipstick. We both stammered, me in relief and her all nervous.

She gave us a confused, suspicious look. “Did Ah interrupt somethin’ special or what? You two look like Ah caught ya doin’ somethin’ you wasn’t supposed to…” Sweet Luna, please preserve me!

Applebloom flailed her arms hard, stammering out a defence. “N-nothing, nope, nuh-uh. Was just helpin’ him fix his tie! Yep, it was crooked!”

Applejack’s scowl grew deeper. “Mmhmm, Ah’m sure. She tellin’ the truth there, Aurelius?” If looks could kill, I’d be mounted on their wall.

“Yep, absolutely. She was helping me with the tie and then complimented Mac’s cologne I put on, I swear.”

She chuckled. “Just makin’ sure. You know what time a the year it is, right?” She said as she made for the kitchen.

“Yeah, that time of the year when she gets more moody, right?” AJ nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna get her more hopped up or crankier than she should be.”

“Yeah, moody. Somethin’ like that. Ah don’t think I need to remind you about not letting things get a little too… close, do Ah, Applebloom?” She gave her sister a look like she was a devil, then winked.

Bloom buried her face in my chest, trying to hide from her sister by making herself smaller. She mumbled something like ‘somepony kill me, please’. I was oblivious to what they were implying, but I think I got the gist of it. “Sorry, Blossom. I was only trying to help, not make you feel embarrassed.”

Applejack laughed deeply as she finally rounded into the kitchen. That left me with more questions than answers. When she finally returned, I saw her smirk never really vanished, except when she pulled a bit out of a non-alcoholic cider bottle. I stood there, bewildered and even though I didn’t want to appear ignorant, it was plastered on my face.

AJ took her place on the couch and took her hat off, wiping her brow with a bandana tied around her neck. “Applebloom, why don’t ya go ahead and sit on the front porch while I ‘educate’ our friend here. Cool yer hooves.”

She sighed and complied with her sister, leaving the two of us alone. “Don’t take it personally, sugarcube, but that ignorance is unbecoming fer one such as you. But we need to talk.”

“About her period? That’s kinda… more awkward, isn’t it?”

She shook her head. “Ain’t nothin’ like that. Ah’ll take it in all yer lessons with Twi, she never done told you ‘bout mare biology?” A big no. “Ah figured. She always gets weird about somethin’ so natural, must be her Canterlot upbringing,” she paused to cough, “anyway, what Ah’m talkin’ about is a mare’s ‘heat cycle’.”

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “So, you guys go through the same thing dogs, cows, and pigs go through?” She nodded. “Estrus cycle. Jesus, why didn’t I pick up on that when Big Mac talked about it last week?” I sat down on the couch next to her and she placed a hand on my back.

“Don’t blame yourself none, Ah completely understand your initial confusion. But to answer your question again, yes, we go through estrus. Typically once or twice a year, depending on the breed of pony. It’s different for all mares, but usually it happens around Fall or Spring for the most part. There’s medication we can take that helps manage the symptoms, but they don’t really go away completely. For Bloom and I though, we’re a special case.”

“Well, what do you mean?”

“Since we’re more active than the common folk, the medication don’t really work as well. Our metabolisms burn right through it, so it’s damn near ineffective. And if’n we try ta take more to up the effects, we build up a tolerance to it and have to take more, often. So we forego takin’ it altogether. That means that ‘mood swings’, crankiness, and general desire for affection hits us harder unless we meet our, uh, ‘seasonal needs’, if ya catch my drift.”

I blushed furiously, imagining Applebloom getting frisky, but shook that image right out of my head. “I, uh… wow. Isn’t it risky for her to be around me if that’s the case? I don’t want to tempt her to do… that.”

“Oh, the temptations are already there, believe me. There’s no stopping how she feels. But it’s not like she’s just gonna jump yer bones like a wild animal.” That’s a relief. “She’s just gonna get a bit closer than she usually does. She already likes you plenty, and when a mare in heat has her needs around a stallion she likes? Hoo by, we get weird tryna win him over.”

I crossed my arms in thought, digesting what she told me. The more I thought about it, the more a desire in me burned to try and help her be comfortable. “Is there anything I can do to help her with her heat besides the ‘horizontal tango’?”

AJ shook her head. “ ‘Fraid not. That doesn’t mean you should tryta avoid her at all costs. That’ll just hurt her already wild feelings. Just give her a little space, let her know you care about her, and enjoy yourself tonight. If she’s happy, you’ll be happy.”

I leaned back into the couch, letting my arms fall lazily to my sides, trying to absorb everything Applejack laid out for me. “Uuugh, why does this have to be so complicated…” It felt like I’d been dropped into a well and made to climb out before it filled with water.

“Oh, it’s not gonna be that bad,” she said as she drank more from her bottle, “least Ah’d like to say it won’t. Ah have no clue how tonight’s gonna go with you two and every instinct in me is tellin’ me ta protect my little sis. So it’d mean a lot ta me if ya kept a careful eye on her and keep her outa trouble, that’d help rest mah worries.”

“That, I can promise to. She trusts me as much as the rest of you all, so it’d be a shame on my part to not be there for her.” And honestly, I’m not feeling as worried about this as I was before.

As I headed to the front door, I pondered my qualities and compared them to how I was before. I didn’t think as negative about myself as I did all those months ago and it made me smile. Gone with the days where I’d second-guess myself for apologize for any perceived slight that I did to somebody, just unsure about everything. Now I felt confident, all things considered, And I even felt like I could handle relationships with somebody instead of like I wasn’t good enough for anyone. I know I’ve never really recorded any of my thoughts like those in the journals I’ve filled, but I feel like I should’ve. Remembering each and every self-doubt becomes harder when you’re positive.

In any case, I saw Applebloom sitting rather depressed, fiddling with the hem of her dress. She had been crying, from the streaks on her cheeks and the redness of her nose. I felt bad for her, like I’d put her in this position, but I knew otherwise. “Hey,” I said behind her, sitting down next to her.

“Hey.” There wasn’t a rush to speak on everything, just the wait for either of us to start walking towards the dance. When she felt comfortable enough, Applebloom spoke up.

“Sorry about bein’ weird earlier. It’s these stupid hormones and junk.”

“I know. Your sister explained it in detail enough that I understand. About how it makes you feel, among other things.”

She hid her head in her arms. “Ah was hopin’ it wouldn’t start until tomorrow, too. It’s.”

“What’s to be embarrassed about? You are a growing young woman, er mare, and it’s part of you. I’m sure by now from how many years you’ve been through it, you know what to ?”

Blossom growled into her arms. “Ah just wish it would be over with. These stupid impulses are going to be getting the better of me tonight, Ah swear.”

I took it slow with her, placing my hand on the small of her back and rubbed in a circular motion, letting her know I was there for her. “We’ll get through it together. If you need some space, I’ll back off until you cool down. What are friends for?”

Applebloom seemed lost in her own dilemma, attention consumed by the start of her heat cycle, but she was grateful for me to be there by her side. She stayed quiet for a while, her shoulders relaxing and she decided to lean a head against me. She looked tired, starting to doze off, her breathing settling down.

I chuckled as I rubbed a hand through her hair, careful to not damage any of the braids she worked so hard to put up. “Guess all those emotions took it out of you, huh?” She didn’t answer, only softly snoozing.

“We might not make it on time if we wait around much longer. If only there was a way I could…” I brought my hand up to my trimmed beard, short and scratchy. It didn’t help to stir my thoughts, but it felt nice to pull at the hairs. “What if I tried to contact Luna through meditation?”

It wouldn’t hurt to ask for a helping hand, right? It’d let her rest for longer and steel her mood more.

I took a deep breath and made steady my mind, focusing on Applebloom’s breathing to provide the needed rhythm. The world around me blurred and the familiar dream-weave of the collective unconscious flooded into being. From there, I closed my eyes and focused on the thought of Princess Luna, my mind reaching out and feeling my body turn to face towards Canterlot. I willed myself forward, zipping through the milky mist of thoughts and ideas toward her general direction, before stopping at the threshold of her courtroom.

There stood before me a bubble of crystalized thought, no door anywhere on it, except for those who were welcome. I knocked three times, and such a door materialized moments later. The inside resembled a workshop more than it did a royal courtroom. Fitting for the Princess of dreams to have half cobbled fairytales and wistful wiles in the works for many of Equestria’s denizens.

“Are you in here, Luna?” I called out into the bright darkness that filled her place of work, hoping to find her here.

A few more moments, and she materialized in a second, dressed in a tracksuit. “Aurelius, thou art early to summon me. Most aren’t even asleep yet,” she said, her outfit morphing back into her usual deep blue and black dress, “but it is welcome all the same. To what do we owe your visit?”

I smiled, relieved she was on duty earlier than anticipated. “I’m happy to see you too, mother.” She smiled back at the first time I’ve ever said her new title. “ I know it’s a bit unusually to see me this early, but I’m in a little of a pickle and could use your help.”

She hovered over to her throne-work chair combo and took a seat. “Do tell.”

“See, it’s like this. I’m over at the Apple family Farm right now with Applebloom next to me on the front porch. I had a little bit of a reveal that she’s a bit more… hormonal, let’s say, that time of the year, and we’re running late for the Fall Formal Dance over at Whitetail Woods. Is there any way you can teleport us over or something?”

There was a soft chuckle coming from her, and she folded her hands together on her lap. “Ah, I see. I remember you telling me about being invited, but why would you need my help to get there on time? Sweet Apple Acres is nearly a forty minutes walk to the wood from its far side, so thou should be on time if you leave now.”

“She, uh, fell asleep on my shoulder and I didn’t want to wake her.”

“How sweet of you! Worry not, We have just the solution for…” She paused, cringing at something, hesitating. “It appears in my busy moments, I’ve forgotten to mention something important to you. I do hope you will forgive me.”

I raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. “What is it?”

Luna sighed, the sound soft and sheepish. “We may or may not have assigned some of our Night Guard to… how should we put it… watch over thee ever since the Gala. Celestia’s order’s really...”

I blinked in surprise. “Wait, you’ve had me tailed by guards for that long? And I’m just now hearing about it?”

“Yes, well… We’ve been a bit busier than We like and there hasn’t been the right time to tell you. Nothing to be alarmed at, honestly.”

“But what does Celestia have to do with your regiments?” I found that odd.

“When you revealed the title of our Father to her, it shook her. She originally wanted members of the Solar guard to keep an eye on you for signs of trouble, but we instead decided to ask for volunteers. In total, there are twelve of mine scattered around Ponyville, one of each Tribe of which watches you directly at any time.”

I stood there, processing Luna’s words while rubbing my hand through my hair. “So… you’re telling me Celestia thought I was some bad omen. I mean, I get it, she’s stupid cautious about danger to the country— especially considering nobody but you two and myself know that whole story— but that was MONTHS ago! Why have I not noticed being tailed?”

Luna chuckled softly. “Well, they wouldn’t be my guards if they were easily spotted. In any case, tis not because she distrusted you, rather that she was concerned. Celestia, for all it’s worth, errs on the side of caution with extreme prejudice. She meant no harm, I assure you,” she started, summoning a table with cakes on it. “She does think rather highly of you, almost as much as me if you can believe it. Though I understand if your opinion of us sours, but this is the truth. We do apologize for not telling you sooner.”

I levitated over one of the cakes and took a small bite, savoring the flavor. “Well, it’s shocking, but I guess I can thank you for putting your guards in place instead of hers. It at least shows she respects your discretion enough and myself, in a weird way.”

“We thought as much,” she replied with a mouthful of cake. “Our Thestral Knights are the best of the best, as a matter of fact, and frankly they all volunteered willingly. They are loyal and trustworthy, unwavering and steadfast as a knight should be. Though we confess… I thought you would have noticed them sooner.”

I smirked, shaking my head. “You really know how to make a guy feel important. Personal guards? Guess it’s time to pick up training with you again so I can meet your expectations.”

Luna chuckled lightheartedly. “Thou art taking this better than most would after finding out the crown is keeping watch over them so closely. It’s amusing to see even in offending circumstances, you take it in stride.”

Shrugging, I couldn’t help but laugh with her. “I mean, why be upset about something outside my control? You said yourself that it’s just a precaution, and even though I’m a little hurt by her lack of faith in me, why bother getting upended when she’s doing it for the good of her subjects? I know I’m a bit of an anomaly and I have nothing to hide.”

Luna sighed in relief. “Tis hard to find those that understand the duty of nobility, of guardianship. It is a humbling and refreshing perspective.”

“But back to the matter at hand. How would I go about asking them for a ride?”

Her face lit up. “Thank you for reminding me. Simply fire a signal flare into the air using your magic and one of the Knights should respond post haste.”

“Wait, they’re watching me right NOW?!”

“Indeed. Did thoust forget already we said three are to watch at any time? They wouldn’t be very good at their jobs if they couldn’t manage such a simple order, I’d imagine.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Well, I better take my leave then. It was nice seeing you again, mother.”

“Enjoy yourself tonight, my child. Give young Applebloom my regards. I love you.”

With that, I withdrew back into the waking world, feeling the tug on my soul as I reentered consciousness. I opened my eyes and saw Blossom was still leaning against me, not a care in the world. As nice of a nap as it was for her, I still needed to do what I must.

I shook her carefully, stirring her from sleep’s clutches and she perked up almost instantly. “Oh dag-nabbit, Ah fell asleep! We’re gonna be late!” Applebloom stood up and dusted her dress off.

I followed suit and put my hands out to reassure her. “Easy there, Blossom, we’re going to be on time.”

She still worried heavily, though cutely. “But it’ll take us a whole hour to walk there. The sun’s settin’ in like twenty minutes an’ we’re sittin’ around like a bump onna log! How’re we gonna make it in time?”

I stepped down onto the front yard and raised my arm to the sky, readying the magic in my hand. “Like this.” And off went a ball of light, zipping up a good thirty feet into the air, much to Applebloom’s confusion.

Moments later, I felt my back prickle with static, which drew my attention to a shadow under a nearby tree. A series of three inky blobs emerged from the shadow, the darkness falling away from them like autumn’s leaves. Before us a ways away stood three of the Thestral knights, their deep purple armor appearing almost black against their grey, frizzy fur. Just like Luna said, each one was from the three different Pony tribes, but they looked nothing like any of the ones I’d seen. Each of them possessed vibrantly glowing yellow eyes with slitted pupils, like a cat’s, and a set of large fangs hanging just below their lips. The pegasus, or bat-pony I should say, had larger tufted ears than the other two, a nimbler frame, and two leather bat wings with a blue hued skin between each of the wing fingers. The unicorn’s horn was jagged like a saw almost, angled towards the back of their head like a toothed knife, easily a solid four inches long. The Earth pony’s fetlocks faded to a deep ebony, settling nicely over their steel covered hooves, with their forearms matching the same pattern.

From their armor, to their everything, these were indeed Luna’s dark knights. I could just tell, especially with Luna’s cutie mark emblazoned on each of their chests.

The bat pony flew forwards at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash jealous. “You rang, my liege?” Her voice had a sort of elegant foreign sound to it, with it starting as more of a heavy growl and ending softly.

I wasn’t expecting her to be up front and present so quickly, so I staggered back a step. “Jesus, you’re a quick one…” She curtsied, happy at the unintended praise. “Yeah… Luna said you guys could give us a lift where we need to go?”

“Yes sir, ve do have a chariot on standby. Vould you care for ze expedient arrival or iz time not of essence?”

Applebloom’s eyes were wide with awe as she took in the sight of the Thestral Knights. “Woah, they look amazin’! Ah’ve never seen a pony like them before!”

The bat pony bowed. “Praize iz not necezzary, my lady. Ve are her majesty Prinzess Luna’s Theztral Knightz, her pride und joy.” She looked back over to me, awaiting orders.

“Expedient, please. We’re running late for a dance over by Whitetail Woods. We need to be there an hour ago, is that doable?”

“If speed you vant, I, Nochnoy Skorost, vill be happy to oblidge.” She turned to her comrades and barked something in what sounded like Russian. “Parni, prinesite kolesnitsu!”

They both nodded and sunk back down into the shadow of the tree, emerging seconds later with one of the gnarliest looking chariots I have ever seen. It was made of the same colored metals as their armor and shaped almost like a sideways pyramid with how sleek and sharp it was. They two of them readied it rapidly, taking a seat in the spacious housing of the cabin. Nochnoy darted on hoof to the reigns, though they looked more like a harness, and put it on with familiarity.

She signaled for us to step inside, taking a stance like she was ready to run. Her wings spread wide, mana pumping through her wing’s veins with a crimson glow. “Moy povelitel, your chariot avaits.”