Waking up today felt extremely odd.

I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling above me. The air around me felt like jelly, and the solid walls around me felt like water. The cushion underneath me felt... weightless? I can't explain it, but it sure felt weird. I heaved myself upright, but I did so extremely.. easy.

Even with going to sleep, I felt more tired than I have been in a long, long time. Sure, everyday I was tired. Yet, today felt different. It felt like something was crawling underneath my skin, like there was something inside me preventing me from waking up fully. Like, convincing my brain to still be asleep somehow.

Oh god...

Realizing what was happening, I quickly stood to my feet and practically flew into storage, finding a bottle of medicinal pills. There was a small piece of paper glued onto the bottle, which resembled that of a tiny bug with what seemed to be robotic limbs. Yep, this was the stuff. I was lucky to have bought these a long while ago when it happened the first time. What exactly is happening to me, you ask?

Mechanites.

Damn little buggers find a way inside you, into your bloodstream. It causes you to be super fucking tired, but in return, you move extremely fast, and can do shit pretty fast too. It is still pretty painful though, so I don't exactly like having it around. No matter what the fuck gives me supersonic speed, I'd rather stay normal without the throbbing headache for days on end.

Hopefully, this medicine will kill the little buggers off quick.

"Rex?" I heard Twilight's voice from the main room. Practically running to the doorway and poking my head out of said doorway, I nodded to her. "What.. are you doing up so early?"

Was it really early? I wasn't able to tell.

"I needed medicine. I think I'm sick." I responded. I didn't want to go into detail about the mechanites. Knowing Twilight, she'd probably freak out, or get so interested that she'd try to pull one of the damn things from my bloodstream. Giving a vague, yet true answer was the winning idea.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just going to be a little more pissed off than usual."

"Aren't you always pissed off?"

"You're missing the point." I said with a groan, entering into the room and making my way back to my bed, taking a seat. I could already feel my body wanting to lay down and curl up into the blankets, and to sleep for days on end without being disturbed. But, both I and those little mechanite shits know that's not happening. The house is almost done, and with a few more steps and taking down a wall, I'll have my own private room. Twilight and Starlight can share their own, they're small enough.

But having my own room.. Jesus, that's going to be a godsend.

Now, don't get me wrong. I like Twilight and all, and I'm sure Starlight is going to be great, but I hate hearing their damn hooves kick the wall in the middle of the night! Plus, it's just awkward sleeping in the same room as them. What if I wanted to sleep naked, and to live peacefully under the sheets? Yeah, that'd be a fucking nightmare.

"Well, do you think you'll be able to finish the house today?" Twilight said, now fully sitting on her bed. Starlight was beside her, still knocked out. "If you can't, that's fine. Everyone needs rest when they're sick."

"Nah. I'll get it done. I might not be too thrilled about working on it, but it needs to be done. I've worked on bigger, and worse projects, while being way more sick than I am right now. I'll be fine, as long as nothing goes wrong. Oh, and I say that with great expectations!" I said sarcastically. Truth be told, I'm probably going to be fucking a lot of things up.

"Alright then. As usual, me and Starlight will probably be figuring out what we can research based on old blueprints in storage. There's a lot of interesting stuff. We found one about a 'nutrient pas-"

"No." I said, cutting her off. "Did you read the little tag that was on the blueprint?"

Twilight looked down, a little defeated. "Y-yeah, but it could still be worth investing our time into!"

"As I said, no. I am not eating liquefied snot, no matter how much you try to convince me. I'd rather snort luciferium."

Twilight gave me a questioning look. I shook my head, giving a sigh. "Nevermind. I'll get started on breakfast."

Canterlot

Even after Celestia spent an hour looking for her sister, she came up with nothing. The moon was up in the sky, and her own sun had been put away. Not by her own magic, mind you. Her sister must have been so upset, she didn't want to do the same ritual they had kept doing ever since her return, and, even before her banishment. This deeply troubled Celestia, knowing that her sister was willing to break a sacred ceremony. This wasn't ordinary anger from Luna.

This was the same anger she felt before she was banished.

"Oh, Luna..." Celestia murmured to herself whilst gazing at the night sky. Even though she was considered the Solar princess, she loved every second of the night. It was calming, unlike the daytime. The day was always filled with uncertainty, and with bustling noise. It was associated with the awakening of the towns, and the start of everypony's morning. The night, on the other hand, was symbolized as calm. It was when everypony went to sleep, to get a nice rest before the next day of bustling activities. It was the perfect sendoff to a perfect day.

"You're still up."

Celestia turned her head slightly to the sound of Luna's voice, as Luna joined her on the balcony.

"I am."

Luna gave an angered sigh. "Why?"

"Just enjoying the night sky. I'm sure you can relate."

Luna shook her head. "You never cared for it before. Stop acting like you do, just because I'm upset. Stop caring to make things easier on yourself. The fact that I'm angry, makes you uneasy, and now you're diving deep into the book of trickery just to make me feel better."

"You're reading too much into it, Luna."

Luna laughed. "Am I? Am I really? I've only ever talked to you and seen you stare at the night sky a couple of times, and you've told me how beautiful it was. But each time felt fake. I think you and plastic have much more in common than you think."

Celestia didn't let the insult get to her. "The moon itself is almost as bright as the sun, when in the night sky."

"You're diving deep, Celestia. Don't drown."

With that, Luna walked away from the balcony, off to attend the several meetings concerning the safety of the kingdom and their ponies. Off to attend several meetings of pointless things that common-folk always considered to be 'important.' Off to attend the life of a Princess.

A life, which has little to do with living.

"Come on, you fucking piece of shit!"

I was getting really, really annoyed. First, I finished taking down the wall. Everything was literally set. The rooms were done, and it was all just sitting there ready to be used but- the damn power cable won't come through the floorboard! Its like everytime I go down there to look for it, its right where it should be. Yet when I go back up, it fucking disappears!

I did not get up super fucking early, only to work five hours on this bullshit and have it all fuck up because of a cord.

And yes, I originally estimated twenty or so minutes until it was done. Boy, was I wrong. Foundation wasn't leveled correctly on some area's, so I had to correct that. Had to make sure that the foundation was actually solid on the outside, which was more of a pain than usual. Seriously, getting rain stuck underneath your floorboards and rotting your wood is not a fun time.

I reached my hand underneath the floorboards one last time and yanked on a cord, pulling it straight through. I then connected it to the power port underneath, and voila! We now had power to the extension.

Starlight clopped her hooves together in celebration behind me. She seemed to have gotten bored with Twilight's research stuff, which I found to be weird since she seems like the type to be into that, and instead watched me. She didn't help much, but I told her not to. She would only get in the way, and piss me off more. That'd be bad for all of us.

"See, through trial and error, you finally did it." Starlight said with a cheery voice.

"Yeah, yeah, shutup. I swear, the fucking thing was invisible or some shit."

"If you just let me use my magi-" She sang in a sing-song voice before I cut her off.

"No. This is more my thing. You and big-brain over there are more for the research stuff." I then pointed to myself. "Handyman." Then pointed to her. "Scientist."

"So you'd rather subject yourself to tough, physical work?"

I shrugged. "No, not really, but I know how to do it and I'm pretty decent. Instead of being a baby about it and complaining that I have to do it, and that I want to do something else, I could just get it over with. What the hell is the point of being a literal bitch if it makes no difference?"

"I.. suppose you're right. But, you know you don't have to do everything yourself."

"I know. I'm mainly the hunter, and builder, and.. I guess cook as well. Hey, you good at making clothes?"

"Not really..."

I stood up, sliding the floorboard back into its rightful place with my foot. "I'll teach you. It's decently easy, and I definitely ain't the best at it. What about cooking?"

"I can cook some things, but meat... I have no idea how to do any of that."

"Pretty easy. Most stuff is just cook 'till its brown, and throw in some salt and pepper. Throw some more shit together and wham, you got food."

Starlight giggled. "I'm sure its harder than that."

"Pft, nah. You'll be fine, I know it. Now, go tell that egghead in storage to come and look."

Starlight seemed to flinch at my words slightly. Shaking her head lightly to herself, she got up and went over to storage. I took a few steps back to look at the extension, and I've gotta say... I've really out-fuckin-done myself. God, It looks amazing! I never really needed to build anything because it was just me, but given these new circumstances, I was finally able to put creativity to use.

Not like I'm the insanely creative type. I'm pretty boring.

"Ah, so the roof didn't collapse on you!" I heard from behind me. Turning around, I saw both Twilight and Starlight stand before me.

"Oh, haha. You know, I can take the doors off your bedroom, you know."

"And what would that accomplish?"

"Imagine a creepy, stalker creature, all black, slinking across the doorway. It's eyes peered at you only for a second, and it's gone. You can only watch from your bed as it-"

"Okay, okay! Stop!" Twilight yelled, shaking her head before giving me a glare. "You could've just laughed at the joke.."

"I could've, but what's the fun in that?"

Twilight shook her head, and walked past me. Starlight followed her. She stopped in the middle of the hallway, looking at each doorway before looking over to me. I pointed to the left doors, and she nodded. Once she stepped in, she gasped. "Oh- Rex! This is amazing!"

"I know right? So much more space! I'm actually so proud of myself."

"And.. you managed to build another bed, for me?" Starlight asked as I followed them inside their room.

"I needed a break from the constant bullshit with the power cords, so.."

"How did you do it so fast? I wasn't there when you did that."

I shrugged. "Let's just say a little robotic bug helped me out."

"You sure you took pills for medicine, and not the other kind?" Starlight asked, before giving me a light smile. She turned back to gaze at the rest of the room. It was decently large, with two beds in the middle, split by a nightstand that the both of them would share. There was a table in the corner with two chairs, for themselves, and a light in the other corner. Including- a dresser.

"Okay, seriously, how did you build all this stuff?" Starlight asked again. "This is a lot more than just a simple bed."

I shrugged again. "The universe will never know."

"What about your room?" Twilight asked, stepping past me to go investigate my own room. Starlight and I followed her in. It was the same size as theirs, though instead of two beds it was just one. There was a table as well, with only one seat, and the potted plant that Twilight had gave me was sitting in the other corner.

"Didn't really do much in terms of making the two rooms like any different, did you?" Twilight asked.

"Look, you can decorate your room however the hell you like. It's your room. Just because I like to live spartan doesn't mean you have to. By all means, go make your own furniture!" I said sarcastically, giving them a playful smirk. Starlight shook her head.

"You know we can't do that, right?"

"That's the point, dumbass."

Canterlot

Luna hated spending time in night-court. Sure, she used to be glad that she was back on duty to being a Princess. All those lonesome years on the moon had made her appreciate her return, and glad that she was able to be accepted at all. But, now, she hated it. She hated being a Princess, and all of the aspects that came with it. Even with Celestia and Luna both telling Twilight before that she would become the next Princess, the next Princess is missing.

She was currently listening to a pony complaining about... what was it, boats? Boat sales? She didn't even care, and she didn't act like she did. Instead of faking a smile, or faking a royal appearance, she leaned herself against the throne, letting her hoof hold her chin up as she listened to the pony drone on and on.

She was sure of one thing. She wasn't fond of her sister, in the slightest, in recent times. She loved her still, but that didn't mean she liked her. The fact that Twilight went missing was extremely bad on all nobles, and both of themselves. The fact they couldn't keep a royal from going missing, was catastrophic. If they couldn't protect a royal, how could they protect the little ponies?

Yet, Celestia was working day in and day out just like Luna was. Yet, it still felt... as if she didn't care for her student. As if she wasn't really feeling anything. Her sister felt less like a sister, and more of a manager. Somepony who is perceived as emotionless, and could care less about their employee's feelings. Luna felt like the employee.

How could it be, that Celestia's student going missing hurt Luna more than Celestia herself? That logic in itself didn't make sense. It's not like she knew her longer, or that she hung-out with her more. Yet, it still hit her more, atleast in a more obvious manner than Celestia.

Perhaps it was because Twilight was the first person to accept her, other than her own sister? Twilight wasn't exactly a close friend, but a coworker of sorts. Yet, with having no friends or connections, even a coworker felt more like a friend than anything else. That's sad, isn't it?

Atleast, Luna thought so.

I was already ready to go to sleep. Hell, I didn't even need to eat dinner. These mechanites were making quick work of me, and if I didn't go to bed soon, I would pass out in the middle of walking. I really didn't want to hit my head and cut myself open, so I went to go say goodnight to the two of them before I went and hit the hay. Heh, hay.

"Twilight, Starlight, I'm going to bed." I said as I opened their bedroom door. Starlight was sitting on her bed, whilst Twilight sat on her own. They seemed to have been talking before I walked in. "Sorry, am I intruding?"

"No, no." Twilight said, shaking her head. "You're fine. Goodnight, Rex. I hope you feel better tomorrow."

"Yeah, you should get some sleep. Rest is really required when you're sick."

I nodded my head. "Yeah. I'll see you two tomorrow, alright? Don't be afraid to wake me up though, incase something happens." With the both of them nodding their heads, I shut their door and headed straight into my room. As soon as I made it to my bed, I collapsed onto it. God, I felt dead.

But, I still felt insanely proud. Probably the most proud I've been since I've gotten here! The only thing that came close to that, was building those turrets outside. That was a pain in the ass, but I went off pre-existing blueprints. This whole extension was just me, and my creativity. And, I'm surprised I got it done as fast as I did.

Doing the finishing touches was much faster though, with these damn robotic mechanites inside me. They might've just been a blessing in disguise, who knows. If I didn't have them, I'd probably still be working my ass off for four more hours. As much as I'm proud of what I built, building it wasn't filled with fun times. So, I'm glad I got it done as fast as I did. Thanks, mechanites.

I could feel my body drift off to that all-too familiar dream state. The one where your body begins to float, and you feel like you're falling through millions of clouds in a freefall? That one. I loved that feeling, honestly. Despite what my thoughts were previously, now I find it calming. A soothing sensation. Like, I'm falling through heaven.

Huh.. Heaven. I wonder if I make it there.

Author's Note

Another chapter, another day full of pain.

Yeah, despite my previous comment, I really wanted to get an actual chapter out of the way. I'm glad I did too, because I actually quite like this chapter! You might have a differing opinion, though.

My finger is still pretty bad, and typing this has been hell. Seriously, accidentally clicking with your half-cut off finger is not a fun feeling.

Either way, I really hope you guys enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed writing it. And, I hope the pain has paid off.

If you have any problems, criticisms, or anything of that sort, be sure to comment! If you have encouragement too, be sure to comment! I read everything. I may not be able to respond to all comments, or any at the moment, but when I'm all healed up, I'll try responding to more, more often.

Love you all, seriously. The amount of likes and views this story has gotten, and the amount of favorites, is just insane. And, I honestly can't thank anyone enough. I've been using writing as a way to cope with a lot of things, and with all of you, its really helped me. I hope I can provide good stories in exchange for the good feeling you've all given me.

Love you.