A fruitful discussion with Princess Luna gave me much of the basics of where I am. She said she would notify 'somepony' in the nearby town of Ponyville that there was 'somepony' who needed help in the castle. So, I guess that means that I'll soon be out of this forest and back into civilization. I don't know how long it will take for whoever is coming to get here but that just means that I can digest all of the news I received. Am I the only human left? It seemed that way since Luna didn't know what I was. Why are there Fire Emblem items and lore in this world? I guess I'll need to work on finding this stuff out on my own.

I make my way to the throne room and take a seat on Luna's old throne to wait for my guide to arrive. She said that they shouldn't take more than a few hours so I doubt I'll be waiting long. And what the sun tells me is about two hours later I hear the sound of something trotting on stone.

"Hello? Hector?" I wince a bit at that, I still don't know why I told Luna that was my name. "Princess Luna sent me to help you out of the Everfree, my name is Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm in the throne room, Miss Sparkle," My voice rings throughout the old palace, "I was told you were coming."

"Oh good, I wouldn't want to stay here for very long. Come on Spike, let's meet Princess Luna's new friend." I don't recall calling Luna a friend but maybe she just called me that to expedite Twilight's journey here.

As the door opens with some form of magic, I stand from Luna's throne and bow. "Welcome, I hope the journey wasn't too dangerous."

A short purple unicorn enters followed shortly after by a small dragon without wings. I was expecting the unicorn but the dragon catches me off guard, especially with how young they are. Both of my visitors look at me with curiosity, I guess Luna said that I might not be a pony but they might not have believed her.

"So you're the human? Luna told me to expect something strange but I've never seen somepony like you before! I can't wait to get back to Ponyville and interview you properly!" Excitement has overtaken her previous nervousness as she rushes across the hall and starts almost dancing around me with curiosity. Her eyes barely reach my stomach. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is my little brother Spike. We can have a more in depth conversation when we get back to the library."

"She couldn't stop wondering what you were going to be like, the way Twily made it sound Luna was singing your praises so much it was like she had a schoolyard crush." The young dragon says smirking as he watches his sister trot around me. His demeanor changes near instantly when his eyes meet mine, his once relaxed attitude becomes stiff like he is staring at a ghost. Twilight doesn't notice the change, seemingly too focused on my armor and axe scribbling notes about how she thinks they were constructed.

"You okay Spike?" I ask the petrified kid, "Nothing happened in the forest that's acting up now?" My question breaks Twilight out of her trance like state, and she quickly moves to her brother.

"Spike? You didn't stray off the path did you? Did you touch any strange plants?" She looks like she is about to launch into a tirade but Spike cuts her off.

"I'm fine... Just a chill." He's so bad at lying that even I can tell something is up, but it seems to have convinced Twilight.

"Thank Celestia, the castle always gave me the creeps too," Sighing she starts for the main doors, "Come on Hector, I have to introduce you to everyone!"

I follow her, and as I pass Spike I whisper to him, "We'll talk about it when we are alone okay?" He nods almost robotically and rushes past me to catch up with Twilight.

As we start on our way out of the forest I figure that I should try to get some more information on where exactly we are headed and who my guides are.

"So, you said when we get back to the library? You Ponyville's librarian?"

"I am now, Princess Celestia sent me here to make friends and to find the Elements of Harmony. That was a few months ago now, but it feels like it's been ages."

"Elements of Harmony? Some form of magic items I'm guessing."

"You bet, they are some of the most powerful relics that Equestria has. Story is long ago the Princesses used them to fight off villain after villain allowing for the three tribes to unite and build the first cities across the country. After that major representatives from each tribe decided that they would support the Princesses in ruling the newfound nation of Equestria."

It seems they aren't aware of the legendary weapons from Elibe, if they were then I imagine they would be brought up.

"So why was the castle in the Everfree abandoned? I can't imagine they left it willingly."

"Princess Luna fell prey to a spell from the dark sorcerer Sombra. It slowly wormed its way into her mind making her jealous of her sister eventually causing her to fall to darkness becoming Nightmare Moon. The Princesses fought and Celestia used the Elements to banish her sister to the moon for one thousand years. After she returned my new friends and I awakened the Elements and used them to purify the magic that was corrupting her."

I guess that Luna didn't want to relive those old memories, which is why she didn't tell me. Not that I'd just go around spouting off about my dark past if I had one.

"Thanks for the history lesson, is there anything I should know about Ponyville before we get there? Places or people to avoid, good places to eat or meet with friends? That kind of thing."

"Well I can't think of anywhere to avoid in the area around here to avoid other than the Everfree itself but I imagine you know how it is here. Good places to hang out with people... I'd say the library but almost nopony comes by to check out any books, there are a few restaurants and the bakery Sugarcube Corner, they are almost always busy. I was planning on giving you a tour since you don't have a place to stay, you can spend a few nights in my spare room until you can get on your hooves."

Having dried up most of the small talk, I'm left with questions I feel will get answered whether I ask them or not, so I keep my mouth shut and start paying attention to the area around us in case of an ambush. The forest has been quiet and I've not had any vines try to trip me yet, which is leaving me on edge. I can't help but expect the worst, just over a week in this place has me on alert constantly. I hope it's not going to carry on into daily life.

Twilight seems oblivious to my nerves as she continues rambling, "I know I said I would wait until we got back but since you've asked some questions it feels fair that I should ask a few of my own. Luna didn't specify much when she said there was somepony in the old castle, just that they were named Hector and they were a human. What brought you into the Everfree, and why are you wearing armor?"

I should have expected her to start asking questions, can't dodge them without feeling too rude so I'll answer them to the best of my abilities while keeping my guard up for anything that might try to hurt these two.

"The answer to both of those is that I'm a knight errant, just a wanderer and explorer. Lost most of my supplies and was forced to make do with nothing but what I could wear and carry. Mostly just my armor and axe." my hand runs across my chin, feeling the hairs starting to grow into a fine beard, "I'm just glad someone found me before I went insane from the isolation."

"That's what you were worried about?!" Spike shouts in surprise, "Not being eaten by a hydra or timberwolves?"

"Nah I killed and ate a manticore not long after I lost my stuff, fought and chased off a pack of timberwolves as you called em too."

"You ate... you're a carnivore?" A spark of fear is hidden in Twilight's voice as she turns to face me, she is trying to put on a brave face for Spike it seems, but the young dragon is more in awe at my supposedly grand feat.

"Omnivore, though there are people with disorders who have to eat more meat and there are others that can't have meat at all. Got the full dietary spectrum." I have to stop myself from chuckling, it's more of a nervous tick than finding the situation funny but I don't want to scare the poor girl. My answer seems to calm her down, and I swear I see a hint of excitement in Spike's eyes.

After getting over her shock at my diet, Twilight continues her questioning. "So where are you from? A knight is never from nowhere, even an errant one."

"Ostia, though I imagine I'll never see her grand halls again." My tone is far sadder than I thought it would be, I guess some of my actual emotions about never seeing home again slipped in.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It is okay if you don't elaborate." She seems to think I am gone for a reason, though the less I say the better off I bet I'll be.

"It's fine, everything is in the past. Continue asking your questions." I say that but I doubt she'll continue, the mood was kind of ruined by her last question. Spike however seems to have some questions of his own.

"Can you tell us about your adventures? You have to have a whole bunch of them having traveled so far."

"I can, though if I am I should start at the beginning, and if you'd like I can you and your friends at the same time. Would save me some breath."

"Aww, well I guess I can wait. I bet Rainbow would like to hear them too."

"Rainbow a close friend?"

Twilight answers, "She is, and she is the Element of Loyalty."

"I thought you said the Elements were magical items?"

"They are, but each of my close friends embodies one of the Elements, Rainbow Dash is Loyalty, Applejack is Honesty, Rarity is Generosity, Pinkie is Laughter, Fluttershy is Kindness, and I am Magic. When we unite we can use the elements at their full power and accomplish just about anything! In fact, we are just about at Fluttershy's cottage."

Time either flew by or I'm a failure of a woodsman, that didn't seem like a very long walk at all. It was probably some forest magic making me get turned around or something. The dense overhead canopy has started to lighten and the atmosphere has become far less uninviting, for the first time since I woke up I can hear birdsong and other animal chatter as Twilight points out a hobbit hole looking house just past the forest's edge.

"That's it right there, she wished us well when we set off to get you. Let's go introduce you, she can be a tad shy but she's a wonderful pony."

"Considering my stature she's going to be terrified, I'm about as big as a bear and I'm starting to look like one too." Once again stroking my growing facial hair.

"If that's all then she'll be fine, she takes care of a bear that lives here regularly as well as all sorts of other animals."

A shy yet brave little woman huh? Or maybe her empathy pushes her to act through her shyness.

Twilight strides up to the door and gives a few light knocks causing a few birds to fly off of a perch right above the entrance. I hear someone scrambling inside as the door begins to open not long after.

"Hello?" A very quiet voice that fits the name comes from behind the slightly opened door.

"It's Twilight and Spike, we brought the po- creature that Luna told us about" Hey she didn't call me a pony that's nice.

The door opens fully giving me the chance to see the resident animal lover. She's a yellow pegasus with a light pink mane that she seems to try to hide behind as if she believes that if she can't see me I can't see her.

"Hello there, Twilight said you're Fluttershy. My name is Hector, it's nice to meet you." She seems to shrink back as I talk but she is making the effort to stay here through introductions so I respect that.

"Yes, I'm Fluttershy, you knew that, umm It's nice to meet you." She's so quiet I almost can't hear her and she is right in front of me.

"I won't intrude, Twilight wanted to introduce me to all of her friends and you happened to be the closest. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing. Come on Twilight, who's next?" I start off, I don't want to make her uncomfortable and we will surely meet again if I continue hanging out with Twilight so she'll get used to me eventually.

"See you later Fluttershy," Spike calls out as he and Twilight follow me away from the cottage.

I guess she responded but I'm too far away to hear, and soon after the sound of a door shutting comes from behind us as I start walking to the collection of buildings in the distance.

"So who's next, Miss Sparkle?" I inquire to my guide who is looking at me curiously.

"I was going to talk with Fluttershy a bit more about you, she is the one most likely to find you if you ever get lost in the Everfree again. But you just left!"

"Uhh yeah? Lady looked like she was about to have a heart attack so I figured the best course of action was to remove the source of her fear. I might be a bit blunt but I ain't stupid or malicious, she'll get used to me if I live in town right? No need to rush things."

"I guess... Well, Applejack lives on the far side of town so I guess we will get to her last," Twilight mumbles. "Next would be Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner. Let's get going."

Twilight takes the lead once again and Spike and I follow, this time we start going right through the center of town. A large gingerbread house seems to be our destination, going by the name and the fact every other building looks mostly normal for a small town, though clearly not modern given the thatch roofing on most. The only other buildings that seem to have tiles are the town hall which is a large circular building in the middle of a clearing, a schoolhouse off in the distance, and another circular building with large windows just across the town center.

Coming up to what must obviously be Sugarcube Corner I am met with what will eventually become a large reoccurring problem. Unlike the castle which had huge and impressive doorways meant to inspire awe, the buildings here are more practical for pony use. Considering I tower over the height of a normal pony I would have to almost get on my knees to enter any of the buildings here.

"Twilight do you mind if I just... wait out here? I don't really think I'll fit inside there." My remark brings what should've been obvious to light.

"What? Oh. Hmmm, this might cause some problems..." Once again my comment sends the purple unicorn into deep thought, having seen this enough to pick up on the pattern I turn to Spike.

"Mind getting Pinkie Pie out here so I can meet her? Don't want to break anything in there."

"I'm already out here silly billy, I had a little tingle tell me somepony new would be coming by so I started working SUPER fast to get everything done to meet you. Twilight already told you my name huh? What's yours and do you like parties? I'll throw you a Welcome to Ponyville Party as soon as you're ready!" A pink blur comes zooming out of the building and is replaced by a bouncing mare with a large poofy mane. Her voice is light and makes me feel like she is almost always on the verge of laughing.

"Name's Hector. Nice to meet ya, I ain't much of a party guy but I'm not gonna say no to one. Woulda made my way inside but..." I motion to the doorway. "Something came up."

"Oh that's not going to be much of a problem in the future, I'll go get started on your party! See ya!" The pink mare turns into a blur once again as she dashes off into the distance, her giggling ringing in my ears well after she is out of sight.

"Ain't she a character," is my only remark as Twilight finally comes out of the recesses of her mind.

"She can be quite the hooful. But she is always able to cheer up anypony in need."

"A nice skill to have. I knew a few like her..." My mind wanders back to my friends, I miss them.

My nostalgic reminiscing is interrupted as I feel a sudden pang of danger, and I see a rainbow streak across the sky coming into town. Years of playing dodgeball and kickball have prepared me for this moment as I turn to face the coming colors. Lowering my center of gravity while digging my heels into the earth beneath me I am fully braced for impact as this time instead of a ball, a cyan blur with rainbow streaks comes shooting out of the sky crashing into my waiting arms. The force of the impact isn't enough to make me fall over despite feeling far stronger than the rebound from the runestones in the lab. I am however pushed back quite the distance leaving long skid marks in the earth.

"You catch that carriage?" The pegasus I know for certain to be Rainbow Dash says as her eyes roll around giving a cartoonish way of telling how disoriented she is.

"Nah but I did catch you," Is my reply, "You okay? You whacked me pretty hard."

She shakes her head which focuses her eyes, "Hey! What's the big idea, put me down!"

"You crashed into him Rainbow," Spike dryly remarks, "He caught you when you were about to run into his side."

"He did? That's pretty awesome of you, not many can do that when I'm going near top speed. You going to put me down now or what?"

Looking over at Twilight, who shakes her head in a manner that clearly says 'What can you do', I look at Rainbow and instead of putting her down, I toss her into the air. This startles Twilight and Spike, and gets a gasp from Rainbow who quickly rights herself in the air and starts slowly flapping her wings to hover just out of my reach.

"Hector! What was that for?!" Twilight angrily questions my method of releasing her friend.

"No harm done right? Besides, seemed like she would rather be in the air right Rainbow?" I ask turning to the somewhat abrasive pegasus.

"I didn't need help getting off the ground! But it was fun, and I've not been tossed like that in a while so you bet I'm going to get you back for that!" The cyan mare barks at me.

"Anyway, this is who Princess Luna sent me to help out of the Everfree. I'm giving him a quick tour of town and introducing him to everypony."

"I knew whoever was out there had to be cool. Nice to meet ya, Hector was it? With how quick you are it would have been nice to have your help during the wedding," Ignoring my rightfully confused look, she turns to Twilight, "Any other news from the Princesses?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Darn it, I thought things would be getting more exciting after your brother's wedding but there isn't anything to do since all the changelings got blasted away!"

"Let's be grateful for that Rainbow, try to enjoy the peace and quiet some more before you regret not having done so," I say despite not knowing what wedding they are talking about or what the hell they are referring to by changeling. I can't imagine they are referring to what I'm picturing, which is from DnD.

"I agree with Hector, Rainbow. As much as I love the excitement, it can be too much if it keeps happening with no breaks."

"I know Twi, it's just that something's got me restless." She sighs before looking at the clouds coming in from the Everfree. "A big storm is coming Twi, I know it."

"Whatever it is we'll take it on together." Is Twilight's reply to her friend's ominous statement.

"You bet we will!" Rainbow's somber mood vanishes as quickly as it appeared. "I got stuff to do out by Applejack's so I'll see you two slowpokes later!" And with that, she's gone, streaks of rainbow and cyan all the proof she was here.

"So now it's just Rarity and Applejack right?" I ask turning to the unicorn, "And I guess we'll run into Rainbow again when we visit Applejack. So where is Rarity's place?"

"She runs the Carousel Boutique, it's the building with the large windows just across the way. She's an incredible seamstress and she makes the best dresses in all of Equestria."

"Nice to know, I'll need a change of clothes eventually."

Making our way just across the town center we stop outside the Boutique which once again has a door that's a tad too small for me to comfortably enter, sighing as I accept my fate, I crouch down and duck into the building which thankfully has a high ceiling allowing me to stand without slouching.

As we open the door a small bell chimes and a posh sounding voice rings out from the back, "I'll be there in just a moment darlings." Following the voice, a brilliant white mare with a violet mane meticulously styled and curled to perfection comes out from a doorway to what I guess would be the workshop section of the building.

"Why hello there Twilight, who is this? And what are you wearing? I've not seen anything quite like your outfit before."

"Well Miss Rarity, I'm Hector. I don't know what's wrong with my outfit since it does its job and it doesn't help that it's all I have left..." My sentence is interrupted as she makes quite the dramatic gasp as a measuring tape and notepad fly over wrapped in a soft blue glow. Both items spin around me as the white unicorn squints and begins muttering several words that I just don't understand, most likely something to do with clothes and fashion.

I look over to Spike for support, but he's too enraptured by the fashionista's beauty to help and Twilight is just giving me a soft smile, I guess this is payback for how I treated Rainbow.

The past hours are a blur, outfit after outfit, color after color. I feel far more drained than I have ever before, even more than when I collapsed after getting out of the basement of the castle. I do have far more respect for people in the fashion industry now, as I have new experience with what must be a near daily occurrence for them. The only reason why I'm free now is because the sun started to set and Twilight needed to close up the library as well as get things set up so I can stay there for a few nights.

"Guess we'll see Applejack tomorrow? Since I bet it would be a bit rude to visit her now." I ask Twilight as we leave the Boutique.

"We will, for now, though I'll take you home and Spike can get started on dinner. I do still have questions for you but they can wait until after dinner. Come on Spike let's go home."

Spike seems to be fighting a war against himself to leave Rarity's place, a war he does win at great difficulty. He quickly runs up and rejoins us, "Huh? Oh yeah, I'll go get started on dinner." And with that, he runs ahead of us to a large tree with a door in it. The door is large enough that I don't have to do much to fit, seems like it's made like the town hall and is expected to have larger visitors.

When I enter I'm met with about what I expected, a large hollow tree with almost all of the walls filled with books, there are a few small tables and pillows set around for ponies to sit at and read though it seems like most don't come by here often going by what Spike was saying while I was held captive getting measured.

Spike happily goes to the kitchen which is off to the side, and Twilight sits at the largest table and looks at me expectantly.

"So, what do you want to know?" I acquiesce.

"What do you think of Ponyville? I know you've not met everyone, but that's my fault for letting Rarity have her way with you. She and I can both get absorbed into our work and lose track of time."

"It's a nice little town, filled with nice little people. Your friends are a colorful bunch that I've met so far, and I'd love to stay in town for a while." A small smile spreads on my lips as I say that, Ponyville reminds me of my hometown in a way, everyone seems to know everyone else, and they all seem to band together in times of strife.

"That's wonderful Hector! While you can't stay here in the Library with me forever I can house you until we find you a stable job and income so you can buy or rent a home from Filthy Rich." What a name that is, how much money does he have? Not that it matters to me.

"I'll start looking for something tomorrow, probably after we see Applejack." A divine smell starts wafting its way over from the kitchen prompting me to call out to Spike. "Yo Spike, what you cooking up in there? Smells great!"

"Just some leftover Prench Toast, I'll be out in a second." He wasn't wrong, not a minute later he comes out of the kitchen carrying three plates, one in each hand and one on his head. Setting the two down in front of Twilight and myself he takes the last plate off of his head and we all sit around the table and begin eating.

About halfway through the meal Spike starts burping, nothing too strange happens all the time. What shocks me however is when he looks up and belches out a huge flame that proceeds to coalesce into a neatly rolled-up scroll with a red wax seal marked with a crown.

Author's Note

If you all would like for me to make a stat sheet for Hector and other characters I'll make a chapter just for that. Thanks for reading!