Both the man and the unicorn were looking with widened eyes on the package before them. It came a few minutes ago and was quite heavy. Inside it was the promised games, a small chest filled with bits and some papers.

On the papers, there was every piece of information that was needed. How many Rubik's cube and Uno were sold every day since the first ones got to the shops. All the income, Lacy's cut, and the taxes that were cut down from the man's profit. In the chest, the amount of bits were equal to what was on the papers and Twilight confirmed that the taxes were correct.

"It's quite a number and it hasn't been a full month yet, only about a half of it," Twilight said.

"Well, now I kinda feel bad... I mean I did plagiarize these two things. Sure, I mentioned who was the creator of Rubik's cube, but I have no idea who invented the Uno card game... Not like, they'd learn about what I did here. When I get back, nobody will know where I was anyway, so in the end, it doesn't matter." Lacy spoke, though it was mostly to himself.

"What do you mean, nobody will know? Won't you tell them?" Twilight asked.

"Who would believe me? They would put me in the 'Grinning House' the moment I say, I was in a different world, not even getting a chance to talk about all the mythical creatures and magic."

"'Grinning House'?"

"Mental hospital. Madhouse. So yeah, that because they likely won't find drugs in my system."

"That's really sad to hear..." Twilight mood was really down on hearing this. There was no one, Lacy could share his experience with.

"Well yeah, but let's not focus on that. So how much do I owe you?" Lacy changed the subject.

"What?" Twilight asked, clearly confused, before realizing what the man meant. "You don't owe me anything! You were in need of help in a world alien to you and I offered my help and became your friend, so did the others! You don't need to pay for your friends' help! You don't need to give me bits for letting you stay here, Rarity won't accept your bits for making your clothes, neither will anypony else! Besides, I learned so many things from your world, and you helped us out in some situations as well. Think of the buffalos a few days ago, or when you defended Rainbow Dash from those pegasi!" Twilight explained.

"Doesn't matter," Lacy shrugged. "When I go back, you will get all the money, I did and would earn. You can share it with the others if you want, or keep every bit of bit." Lacy told her while laughing at his own bad joke. Twilight just rolled her eyes. "But I will pay for my food from now."

"Alright," Twilight accepted. "One more thing. We should celebrate this success somehow. I mean, these games must be quite popular if so many were sold already. How would you celebrate this in your world?" Twilight asked.

"Probably inviting my friends and drink some brandy, or whatever stronger alcohol I have. But that's not an option here, so how about I make some of my version of pancakes? I did promise you to make it someday."

Twilight was happy to hear it, She followed the man to the kitchen, where he began to make the pancakes, which had the same ingredients and the method was basically the same, yet the finished food was a little different. It was thin, like paper but its diameter was almost twice as big as what she normally had. Another difference was in the way of eating it. Lacy didn't stack them on each other, well he technically did, but that wasn't the way to consume it. Grabbed one from the stack, placed it on a plate and sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on it, then rolled it up, just like they do with a parchment. That was it. Lacy of course told her, that she can fill it with something else, like cocoa, peanut butter, or jam and there were many more possibilities.

"It's really good." the unicorn praised the man. "It's not as sweet, like what Spike makes, but that's not a problem."

"Thanks! Pancakes are the first baked food, I learned to make, I was around seven years old, when I made the first bunch, of course with the supervision of my parents." Lacy told her while smiling at the memory of those times, before his parents' divorce, and when his and his mother's relationship was much better.

Spike also found the pancakes good, though he stayed with the syrup as filling and put some small gems in it too, though he had to grab it carefully because his claws easily cut through the thin pancake.

The next day was special. Princess Celestia decided to come and have a little get-together with some ponies in Sugarcube Corner. Naturally, Twilight and her friends were invited, and of course Lacy was on the list too. They arrived earlier because Twilight wanted to make sure, that everything is perfect. Spike offered to help in the kitchen. Lacy decided to help the Cakes setting the tables, mostly to do something while waiting.

As the time of the princess' arrival came closer more and more ponies came, who were lucky to get the opportunity to be present in this little party for Celestia.

Soon the princess herself arrived. When they heard the chariot landing, everyone who was inside the building came out to welcome Princess Celestia. As she walked from her carriage, her two pegasi guards detached themselves.

"My little ponies!" the princess welcomed her subjects as they all bowed. "It's such a great joy for me to see, that you all could attend this brunch! I couldn't wait for this day, for this town is such a peaceful and beautiful place, that I really want to come more often." she then turned to Twilight Sparkle and her friends, who were standing beside the purple mare. "Twilight Sparkle! My most faithful student! I missed you!" the student and teacher nuzzled each other, then Celestia greeted Twilight's friends.

Finally, her eyes were set on the human, standing a little further. She smiled and walked to the man.

"Lazlo Kis!" she said his name, the man bowed his head. "I'm so glad to see you again!" she then leaned closer and gave a light kiss on both of his cheeks. Lacy reciprocated the gesture out of reflex. It was a common welcoming thing for him after all but admittedly, it felt strange by doing this with a pony.

"You know, we don't have to greet each other like this, if you don't want, Princess," he said, but instantly gave himself a mental slap.

"Oh, but I'm completely fine with it." Celestia's smile widened. "It is a little more intimate welcoming gesture than what we do, and I quite like it. Of course, if you are uncomfortable with me doing it, then only say so, and then our greetings will be different." she then leaned closer to Lacy again and began whispering. "Though I'd prefer these welcome kisses if possible, the ponies' reactions are funny and even my loyal and stoic guards lose their composure. That's a rare thing to see."

Lacy shot a glance towards the ponies and the princess was right. Except for Twilight and her friends, most ponies looked shocked at them, and the two pegasi guards had their mouths open with wide eyes.

"Not many people could say, they got kissed by a princess and probably I'm the only one, who could put the word 'pony' into that sentence." both man and the pony chuckled.

"Good. Now let's get inside, I can't wait to taste all those good food and drinks, that await us here." She stepped inside the building, the others following her, while her two guards stood at the entrance of Sugarcube Corner.

On the tables, many kinds of food were placed. At the tables, ponies were enjoying the feast, there were also a few groups, standing somewhere in the open area, talking with each other. At the main table, there sat Princess Celestia, smiling as always and looking around, while eating a cupcake. Lacy was sitting at a table close to the exit, trying to control himself not to stuff his face with the tasty sweets. It was a losing battle from the start.

"These guards are good." the man heard Rainbow Dash's voice beside her. The blue pegasus just sat down next to him and grabbed a slice of apple pie. "No matter, what I do, their face doesn't change," she spoke with her mouth full, which irritated Lacy but he didn't show it.

"Well, they looked quite surprised when the princess and I exchanged some welcome kisses," said Lacy.

"Horseapples! And I didn't see it!" Rainbow pouted but her expression quickly turned into a smirk. "You know, if the princess and you are so close, maybe you should kiss her on the lips and I get to see some reaction from the guards."

Of course that'd got some reaction! If I'd put her on the table and put my dick into her, that'd got some reaction too.

"Maybe you should try to kiss the guards, that'd surprise them too," Lacy told her this, instead of what he was thinking. Rainbow laughed and punched his shoulder, then flew off.

The man then spotted Fluttershy, who was sitting at the main table. He didn't remember seeing her earlier, so he guessed, that she just arrived. The princess was talking to her, then she levitated a birdcage onto the table. Inside of it was something. A bird, but it was in very bad shape. Some pink feathers fell as the animal moved its body. It was probably Celestia's pet but must've been sick or maybe just really old and at the end of its life.

A guard came in and said something to the princess. Then the princess announced that the mayor requested an audience with her and she has to go but she was glad for this brunch. She stood up and began walking towards the exit with her wings extended, her head high, in some kind of 'royal pose'. The guard was walking behind her, trying to look as important as he could in the shadow of his ruler. As she walked, the ponies bowed their heads a little. Lacy stood up, just like everypony else.

"Lazlo!" the princess stopped when she was next to the man. "Would you join me? I don't think the audience would take long and I would like to talk with you afterward."

"Um... sure, Princess," Lacy said a little hesitantly.

"So..." the princess decided to start a little conversation with the man. They were currently walking towards the town hall, with the two guards flanking them. Ponies on the streets bowed when they spotted Celestia. "How do you like Equestria so far?" she asked.

"It's truly a beautiful place land. I can feel the magic in the atmosphere. It's still hard to believe that this is all real. The ponies are nice, the town is lovely, the food is great, though it's kind of limited for an omnivore. It's a really great place for a vacation." Lacy praised her kingdom and he was honest about it. He really grew to like Ponyville. Yet his voice became lower as he spoke that last sentence.

"But it's not a vacation, no matter how hard do you try to pretend it is." the princess said. Lacy only nodded. "We will talk about it after the audience. I'll do my best to answer your questions as well," she promised to him as they walked into the town hall.

They didn't talk more after they were inside the building. The secretary bowed and told Celestia, that the mayor is in her office. When they all reached the door, which had a 'Mayor Mare' sign on it.

"Please wait here, it won't take long and then we will have some time together." the princess told the man, still having that smile on her face, she always wore. Lacy's eyes widened a little at her usage of words and tone. She was messing with him, as she did earlier. He was sure of it. He nodded, then Celestia went inside the office, closing the door behind her, the two guards standing at the door as they did at Sugarcube Corner.

There wasn't anything to sit on so Lacy just sat on the ground, his back leaning against the wall, waiting. The guards were looking forward, standing still. Lacy didn't bother talking to them, they wouldn't react anyway. Instead, he began to do something stupid.

He began thinking.

Thinking about what she would tell him. Did she found a way to send him home? What if they cannot send him home immediately, but have to wait years for it? What if it'd change his appearance? What if it'd change his mind? What if it'd kill him? What if time works differently and in his world decades passed? What if more and no one is alive, he knew anymore? What if he wouldn't even end up in his own world but a really similar one? So many scenarios.

A shake runs through his body and that made him look up. He didn't even realize, he's been curled up. He met with the princess's worried expression.

"Lazlo! Are you okay? What happened?" she asked in a motherly tone.

"I'm alright," he said after shaking his head a little. "Just my mind gone wild a little."

She probably got the idea, what was going on, or just didn't want to press further. She motioned him to follow her.

Soon they were in a small meeting room. Nothing special, just a small desk and some pillows on the floor. They both sat down facing each other. Celestia asked one of her guards to fetch some refreshment. Then the alicorn turned back to Lacy and began speaking.

"Before anything else, I would like to apologize for not informing you earlier about the status of the research about your situation. I hope that you understand, that I have many duties and responsibilities. However, right now, we got ourselves a few hours. I'll do my best to answer any of your questions, though I must ask a few things as well." she explained to him.

"Can you send me home?" Lacy got to the point immediately.

"Not yet. We are close to finding your world, and then we only need to create a portal. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as it sounds. It would be easier if we knew the method, how you end up here. There is three possible explanation. Somepony from Equestria created a portal. That's the best option for finding a solution to this situation, but it's not likely the case. There aren't many creatures who can do something like this. The second is that somepony from your world created the portal, though I don't think it was their intention to send you here. Probably some kind of experiment went wrong. It is the most possible option. There is also a slight chance for the third option, that our two worlds were connected by a third party, which means the source is from a third world."

"I don't understand," Lacy told her. He wasn't exactly a scientist when it came to interdimensional traveling.

"Forgive me. We have some time, but unfortunately not enough to properly explain why is it important. The point is, that we cannot send you home yet, but soon we will have an answer if it's possible." Lacy's eyes widened a little at her last word. "You heard it right. I cannot guarantee, that we can send you home and I don't want to keep this information a secret."

"What are the chances?"

"Until we found your world, I cannot give you even an estimated number on that. Don't lose hope, however! I will do everything in my power to get you home!"

The princess' determined exclamation surprised the man. He was never fond of politicians, and never trusted them. With the powers the princess had, he should be downright terrified. Yet he wasn't. Of course, he still thought, that there was some kind of ulterior motive behind her seemingly selfless willingness to help him out.

A knock on the door interrupted them, then one of the guards opened the door.

"Forgive me for interrupting, Your Majesty but your pet is gone missing. She somehow got out of her cage." He told Celestia who just smiled. Lacy, however, was thinking about the bird. He didn't know what species it was.

"She can be so mischievous sometimes..." the princess muttered to herself. "Search for her. She never goes too far. Tell this, my student, too, and ask around, some of my little ponies must have seen her. Thank you!" she told her orders to the guard pony, who saluted, then left, closing the door behind him.

"Do you have a pet?" Celestia asked, turning her head back to Lacy, who just shook his head in response. "And do you have phoenixes in your world?"

"Your pet is a phoenix?" Lacy was surprised by hearing this, yet somehow it made sense. In a world full of mythological creatures, why not have them as pets too? "No, only in fiction," he answered her question.

"They're quite a sight usually, but Philomena is close to her end now. She will probably burn today. I brought her with me because I like to see her reborn." she told him. "Does your world's fictional phoenixes are similar? Fiery colors, at the end of their lifecycle they burn to ashes then reborn from it?"

"There are more versions, depends on many things, but basically yes."

"I see. It's quite interesting, that your world created fictional species, which are real here, yet we don't have anything resembling humans. I went several different worlds a long time ago, yet never seen anything like you."

Lacy just shrugged. He didn't really know what to say. It wasn't something, he had a lot of knowledge of. There was still a thought in the back of his mind, saying that he's still on Earth but in a coma, or go completely crazy. It was a reasonable thought for anyone, in this situation. What could he talk about with a magical pony princess?

"Let's get to the main topic, I wanted to have this conversation with you." Celestia's voice cut into his train of thoughts. "I was thinking, that if we manage to open a portal to your world, I can keep that portal open and get in contact with humanity."

Lacy forgot to breathe for a second. Was this that ulterior motive he imagined behind the princess' genuine willingness to help? What would she gain from it? Did Twilights reports have something in them, that got her attention? Does she want something from his world?

"Why?" he simply asked.

"The two worlds have many differences and I believe that because of that, we could learn a lot from each other." Lacy laughed at this, which earned a questioning look from the pony princess. "What is so funny about it?"

"I'm sorry, just find it hard to believe that humanity would learn anything useful from you." The princess looked offended after hearing his answer, so Lacy dropped the joke and his expression turned more serious while looking at the table, to avoid eye contact with Celestia. "I mean, humans would probably put researchers on how to weaponize magic. Plus there would be those, who would kidnap your ponies and sell them as exotic pets, or something. Idiots, who think, if they can cut off a unicorn's horn, that would be some kind of magic wand or something. Let's not forget about how terrified will they be, when they learn, that you can control the Sun. And the politicians, who would do anything to get you on their side, of course by controlling you."

The princess was horrified by his words. She could hardly believe, though she already suspected, that cooperation could be difficult because, through Twilight's reports, she could get some ideas about humanity, but she also had to consider, that it was only one person's viewpoint and that never gives you the full picture. Before she could react to what Lacy told her, the man began talking again.

"Some would say, that I don't have the right to say so many bad things about my kind when most of the people I know personally are decent folk, but that doesn't mean, I cannot see what's happening everywhere. So many idiots, I just tend to avoid them, whenever is possible. But then again I am smarter than most people."

"The things you said are disturbing, I admit." Celestia finally could talk. "And I admit, the knowledge you have seems a lot and I believe I understand why would you say such things about your kind, but don't think, that because of the difference in general mentality, Equestria is perfect." the princess let out a small laugh. "The nobles could be quite annoying, with their arrogant attitude, except a few, but they do their duties, and that's what really matters. Unfortunately, sometimes my little ponies can do horrible things, though not as drastic as what I've learned some humans could, I admit. I try to guide them with my best abilities, but I had to learn, not to control them, because that will always backfire. Oh, and how are you so sure, that you're smarter than most humans?"

"Because I'm lucky." this wasn't the answer Celestia was expecting, so she waited for a longer version. "My family put actual effort in raising me. Not just telling me what to do, and what not to, but explained them. After my parents' divorce, my mother put more effort into teaching me everything to get by on my own for a few hours, also to help her around the house, or go shopping, when needed. I was pretty independent by the age of nine, she could even trust me to leave me alone for a day sometimes. Back then our bond was strong. Of course, dad taught me many things too, but I didn't spend as much time with him. Then there were my grandparents. On my mother's side, they taught me how to defend myself, not only physically. And also to be responsible and the value of money and other things. And on my father's side, they used to be teachers, so I learned to learn, and also the will of improving myself too comes from them too. That's why I am smarter. Because I had a great family. Sadly, not many people can tell the same."

"Thank you for telling me this, it sounds like you have a wonderful family and that is one of the most important things in one's life," Celestia said after a few seconds. "Back to the topic, I still believe that our two worlds could cooperate. And if you wish, you would be the ambassador, and my advisor in everything, human-related."

"I'm sorry to say, but most of the countries in my world can't cooperate with each other, how do you expect them to work together on this? And only through one person? I'm just a random guy with as much political connection as a politician's son can have from a country of ten million people, when there are other countries where this number is the population of one city. The USA, European Union, Russia, China, Japan, et cetera... They all want to send their own ambassador and make other demands that you ignore the others, and would most likely abuse your kindness. And what about the other nations in this world? Would they accept it? If I accept your proposal of being your advisor, then my first advice is don't do it. I learned a lot about this world and it's different from mine, mostly for the good in my opinion, and humans tend to force their ideologies, mentalities, viewpoints into others to sway them and then use them for their own gain." seeing as Celestia's mask fell off and a there was some shock in her expression, he sighed. "Perhaps I'm paranoid, or just read too much fiction, or I just don't have enough faith in my kind, and ultimately it's your decision, and should you decide to make contact, then I will do anything to help you since you're doing the same for me."

The princess seemed to consider what she heard. Lacy was looking at her expectedly but after a minute he realized that it'd probably take some time, so his mind began to wander. He tried to imagine, what would humanity's reaction be, though, after some scenario with some faceless politicians, his thoughts ventured towards the faces he knew. His friends, colleagues, family members. What would his two little sisters say? The younger, Maya started the horse-obsession period of her life at the age of four. She would go crazy and would run around them, petting them, telling them random things on her mind, and trying to get on their backs. Nora, the older-but-still-little sister, who was seven currently, was a little different, but she would be fascinated too. His father would be probably surprised and would ask a lot of questions, though mostly about the things, that defy his common sense. The names, reactions, expressions, words were all playing through his head when Celestia's word brought him back.

"Thank you for this information, I will consider it further, however, there is still one thing, I would like to talk about." Lacy nodded and she continued. "When we first met, you told me, that you felt, your mind isn't completely your own. That you would have different thoughts or do things differently." Lacy nodded and was actually happy, that it was bought up, since he kind of ignored it recently. Maybe it was part of the change, he didn't know, but he didn't care about it, just sometimes, when his mind began to wander, mostly before sleeping. "I can only tell you a hypothesis, which is that this world's magic affecting your brain. Scientists will examine the situation, but they require samples from you. If you are fine with it, we can do it before my departure, I am sure my faithful student has the necessary equipment, but don't worry, nothing unusual, just a little blood and some fur or mane. Of course, if you do not want to provide some of them, I will understand, but it can give us the answer faster. It is also useful to find out more about how magic is affecting you."

This wasn't the information Lacy wanted. His face showed some disappointment, but what could he do? And how could they do it? He wasn't some genius in biology, or whatever field this belongs to, but he knew, that if they want to research about what Celestia has said, then they need a control group, which would be in this case the magicless samples, which is unavailable. He wanted to ask, but Celestia stood up.

"My apologies, but I have to return to Canterlot soon and I would like to find Philomena before that. I will try to make some free time to talk with you again later, I enjoyed our conversation, though some of the things I heard sounded disturbing. Would you walk with me?"

Lacy only nodded and stood up too. Feeling like being a gentleman, he opened the door for Celestia, who thanked him for the gesture and walked out, the man followed her.

"I saw the memory of your little sister." Celestia started a casual conversation. "She is adorable." Lacy smiled at this but didn't say anything just gave her a little nod. "Being an older sibling can be taxing but also a gift because we can feel pride when they look up for us. A friend since their birth for the both of us." her expression changed to a frown. "But it's a big responsibility, especially when the sibling is all you have. I believe Twilight told you about Nightmare Moon." she didn't even wait for Lacy to say yes, or nod, she felt that he knew. "It's a painful memory and lesson learned in one of the hardest ways for both Luna and me. And since her return, she still struggles to integrate herself into modern society. And yet for her things didn't change much. Most ponies still sleep through the nights or work. And I am ashamed to admit, but I am yet to come up with something to help her without forcing changes that are against Equestria's values."

Lacy could understand it. He didn't experience anything like this, but he always felt the need to protect his two little sisters, guide and help them the best he could. He also knew that feeling, when he wants to help somebody, but just can't. One of the worst feelings in the world, any world. That's why was there a need inside him to help her out.

"Well, you have the time for the long run... Just educate the kids about her. Make a lesson about redemption and forgiveness, or something. When the kids grow up, they will have a more positive image of her and give them to their kids. You can't do much about the night though unless she's the Dream Fairy, there aren't many things she could do." Lacy felt the need to mentally slap himself for this stupid sentence and also physically, but he put that on his mental 'do it later' list.

"Dream Fairy?"

"When I was a little kid, before sleeping, my parents told me, that the Dream Fairy will give me nice dreams, and clear away the nightmares. It's a silly thing, but we tell a lot of silly things to the kids, because to them these wonders are real and actually help them when they have these things to believe."

"Hmm... that could work," Celestia murmured to herself so quiet, that Lacy didn't understand, but before he could ask, they noticed that there was a commotion ahead of them.

"What is going on here?" Celestia changed to her commanding voice as walked past her guards, who bowed and backed away. Lacy stopped a few steps behind her. Twilight and her friends were all there with shocked expressions, then they bowed as well. "Twilight?"

The unicorn raised her head, still wearing a shocked expression. Fluttershy, who was lying on the ground, turned her head too, her eyes were watery and Lacy noticed a pile of ash near her. He guessed that that was the phoenix, he missed the burning part. He glanced at Celestia, who was looking at her subjects like they were kids, who broke something valuable.

"Yes, your Majesty, there's been a terrible accident." Twilight trotted a little closer, then Fluttershy jumped right beside her.

"It's all my fault."

"No, Princess." Twilight stood before her defensively. "Fluttershy didn't know any better. It was my fault."

For a few rounds, they took the blame upon themselves until Fluttershy finally began talking to the princess, explaining how she took Philomena to help her get healthy again and accepting the imprisonment in the place she will be banished, which sounded a little familiar to Lacy, he remembered hearing something like this from Twilight once. He guessed Twilight talked about this to her friends too.

Celestia stepped closer to the pile of ash and bowed her head near it. Then smiled.

"Oh, stop fooling around Philomena. You're scaring everypony."

It was beautiful. The moment the ash began to rise the ponies' and Lacy's eyes were locked on it. There was a mini-tornado, then something like a little explosion, or firework, that blinded everyone for a moment. Where the ash was, now a gorgeous bird with fiery feathers hoovered and began flying around. The phoenix was really something, that glued the eyes on herself, everyone was gaping at her.

"I don't understand!" Fluttershy was the first to talk. "What is that thing? What happened to Philomena?"

"This is Philomena." the princess answered. "She's quite the sight as I said. But nothing unusual for a phoenix. Isn't that right, Philomena?"

"A phoenix?"

"A phoenix is a majestic and magical bird. While it appears healthy and happy most of the time, every so often it must renew itself by shedding all of its feathers and bursting into flame Rather melodramatic, if you ask me. It then rises from the ashes, fresh as a daisy. All just a normal part of the life cycle of a phoenix. I'm afraid mischievous little Philomena here took the occasion to have a little fun with you, Fluttershy. Say you're sorry, young lady." The bird squawked a sorry to her.

"So... aren't you gonna banish me? Or throw me in a dungeon? Or banish me and then throw me in a dungeon in the place that you banish me to?" Fluttershy asked a quite silly question. Meanwhile, Philomena flew to Lacy to examine the creature that was new to her, though she reborn many times already.

As she was hoovering before the man, looking for a place, where she can land as close to him as she can, Lacy stretched his right arm towards her. She immediately lands on it. Her claws hurt the human's skin. It wasn't covered in fur to protect it, it felt like many needles poking the limb.

Fuck this hurts. This is how Celestia wants to get my blood samples or what? Fucking falconers at least have that leather armband thingy or other shit where the bird stands.

Lacy hoped the bird will take off soon. The pain wasn't that strong, but it was really uncomfortable and he began feeling blood coming out. Luckily Philomena felt it too and let go of his arm, squawking a sorry to him too and nuzzling his face a little.

"No, that's quite all right. I think I can remember." now that the phoenix got away from him and went back to her owner, Lacy got the end of their conversation. Meanwhile, the royal guards brought Philomena's cage, and the bird gave a feather to Fluttershy as an apology, then another one landed in Lacy's hair too. He carefully grabbed it and looked at the big, red, perfect feather.

"Thank you." he thanked, and looked at the gift for a few more seconds, till he heard laughing.

Apparently, Philomena landed on the cage and tickled the guards' noses, and they lost their stoic expressions. Soon the others began laughing too.

"How come you didn't know about Philomena?" Lacy asked Twilight when they got back to the library. After the princess departed, but not before thanking Lacy for the good talk she had with him, they all went home. Not knowing a better place, the man put the phoenix feather into the nightstand's drawer.

"I never saw her." Twilight defended herself. "To be honest, I didn't care much too, I was too deep into my studies to notice anything else." she smiled sheepishly, then changed the subject. "What did you talk with the Princess?"

"Maybe I won't get home." Lacy's mood shifted to a sadder one. "She said, it's possible, that I'll be stuck here." he felt Twilight nuzzling his side. They both sat on his bed.

"If that will happen, you know that we will be there for you," Twilight reassured him.

"No offense, but I'd rather miss you forever, than my family," Lacy told her, but she didn't look hurt by it.

"I understand, but I'm pretty sure, Princess Celestia will find a way." after the man didn't react, she got an idea. "How about we go somewhere out to have dinner?" Still nothing, she sighed. "And if you want, we can skip tonight's interview."

Lacy didn't mind these sessions with Twilight, but now he didn't feel like talking about his world. He was a little angry at Celestia, despite appreciating her honesty, but now he knew he won't sleep much for the next few days and his mood won't be the best too. He felt a single tear rolling down on his cheek. He needed a distraction before his feelings took over him, and begin sobbing, his mind liking to play the worse scenarios over and over again. He stood up and went to the bag, that contained his bits and took some coins from it.

"It's on me this time."

Twilight smiled, but deep down she knew, that it wasn't completely her offers, that made him move. Nevertheless, she went to trotted after him, the moment they opened the door, Spike was about to come in, coming back from helping Rarity, pretty tired, but decided to join them, because hunger was stronger.

Author's Note

To anyone who actually reads these notes and waited for the next chapter (and everyone else too, I think): Sorry!

Yeah, I know... again it took more time, but don't worry, more empty promises and pointless explanations coming below.

So I've been struggling to get a normal job for months now, meanwhile drifting between being a depressed wreck and sweating blood to try to keep myself motivated. But it's over now, I finally got a decent job, and hopefully, it will stabilize my life and also my schedule, so I can put more time and energy into writing this story (and others too). Also, I will try to write longer episodes and put some more content into them.

Until next time!