Quiet Snow

by EverCloud-Productions

Rating: teen
Tags: Profanity, Violence, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Human, Main 6, Drama, Princess Cadance, Adventure, Princess Celestia
Length: 11188

When Adrian somehow appears in Equestria, we follow the timeline of the many roads, obstacles, and relationships between the human and creatures of Equestria.

Adrian was taken from his world unexpectedly. Waking up in a world full of colorful and smiling ponies, he finds himself being the odd creature out among the population. With him trying everyday to adjust to his new life, he learns the truth of the princess' intentions for him in this world.

Published 2021-04-26 01:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-04-26 01:20:01 UTC

Chapter 1

Author's Note

This is a vaulted story that was written back in 2018, I had to cancel it due to a personal lack of interest in the story.

Chapter 1

Silence. Darkness. Felt like I was dreaming almost. I couldn't breathe or move. Everything was normal....for the most part. Suddenly I felt something poke me, it wasn't sharp but it was enough to wake me up. I rolled on my back to find a small glow of light piercing through the darkness of my closed eyes. Slowly I opened my eyes still half asleep, to find....well honestly I couldn't make it out. It was just colorful blobs. But what I did make out was the constant murmuring and occasional shouting. But being too delirious, I went back to sleep and brushed it off as another dream. Then a sudden yank of my legs definitely woke me up. I opened my eyes to see the night sky moving past me, then the feeling of pain as something was rubbing against my back. Yep, I was being dragged. But I couldn't move though, it felt like I was tied down. I didn't feel any rope or anything holding me back, so I had to resort to moving just my eyes. I took a deep breath and looked to what was dragging me to find.....ponies? Yes colorful ponies that didn't have a hand (or hoof better yet) on me, was dragging me somewhere. There were two on my sides, they were white with blue eyes and gold armor on.

"What is happening?", I thought to myself. They didn't glance at me a single bit. I was scared. I didn't know where we were going, so I just closed my eyes and hoped I didn't die within the next hour.

Oh I should probably tell you who I am. My name is....well I don't really remember my name. I don't really remember much when I woke up, which is scarier itself. Well if I don't know my name then I should tell you what I look like. I have Carmel toned skin, with a brown braided hair. I'm about 5 feet 9 inches, which compared to the ponies I just seen, I'm pretty tall. Now then where was I....ah yes.

I open my eyes again almost blinded by how bright the light was. I was in a hallway, a bright hallway...well probably because the ceiling and walls are white, but I digress. I still just lay and listen, hearing a couple of voices in the distance. I think they are telling jokes and laughing. Don't really know if it was about me or not, but that doesn't matter. What mattered to me is where I am, and how the hell I got there. A little over 5 minutes pass, and I open my eyes to a now dark and cold environment. I can hear a lot of sounds in the distance bounce off the wall, so maybe we're in a cave? I'm finally able to move my head, but I try to move subtly so I don't attract any attention from the guards. Slightly tilting my head I look to my left...cages. Turning to my right....even more cages. Yea, this definitely wasn't ending well for me.

They toss me into one of the open cells, close the door and walk away. Finally, I have some breathing room to process what is happening...but I don't really know what is happening. I'm scared...I'm freezing...I don't know where I am, and I don't know what to do. All I remember was coming home from school and taking a nap, now I'm here. I can't breathe, I feel like dizzy. Everything happened so fast that I can't even think properly. Suddenly I hear the door open. I scurry to a corner and curl into a ball, making sure whatever was coming could not see my face. But, I didn't even hear the footsteps coming towards me; but I can feel their presence behind. They stop, and I don't move. It feels like an eternity before I hear a voice.

"What are you?", I hear. It's sweet and gentle, almost enough to calm me down....almost. My head is down, fearing that whoever is in front of me will attack me. I move my head up slightly to see a tall white pony with a flowing mane in front of me. She takes a step further and I flinch; thinking she was about to attack I bury my face into my legs once again. I'm visibly shaking now. She continues forward and I feel tears falling down my face, bracing more and more for the eventual attack. An attack....that never came. She looks down at me just a mere foot away from me. She touches my knee which causes me to flinch again. At this point it felt like she was toying with me. The longer this goes on, the more my wish for whoever this she to hit me and get it over with.

"Hmmm, I see", she says, sounding as if she were speaking under her breath. Then I hear the door open again. At first I thought she might've left...but I can still feel her presence in front of me.

"There you are auntie!", I hear a cheerful voice call out. "I've been looking everywhere for you." More silence. It's almost sickening how much it goes quiet, I can feel myself growing more and more restless at this point. I see her approach me as well. She stands far enough behind the white pony examining me, and behind her...a purple unicorn? Ok, now I was genuinely confused on where I was, but the fear of them hurting me was all I could think of.

"Who is that princess?" I hear the filly say. Some seconds past before the tall one speaks to her.

"It's...not from this world," she says in her gentle voice.

"What?? A-Are you sure?", the purple filly asked in shock.

"Yes, he's completely immune to any magic...for the time being", she speaks again.

"Wait then how did they drag me here?", I think to myself, still not letting my face be shown.

"But that's impossible! There's no creature immune to magic, not even dragons!", The filly speaks.

"Indeed Twilight, which is why this creature is not from this world." So the little one's name is Twilight. I hear her walk back to me. I look up again to see that now she's laying on her stomach in front of me.

"Can you understand me?", She asked calmly looking at what parts of my face are exposed. I look at her blinking to the question, which causes her to gain a big smile on her face. "Ah, so you can then." She moves away, her smile never leaving her face. "My name is Princess Celestia, and I am the ruler of Equestria which is the world you are in. Can you look at me please?" I couldn't move. Still frozen in my fear all I could do was look to the open door, and continuously think about making a run for it. I think she knew what I was thinking and placed a hoof on my leg still making me jump a little bit.

"Please, I don't mean any harm, but I need you to look at me. We can't properly communicate if I can't fully see your face." What was it about her voice? Again it was both soothing and comforting. Looking at her again, I could see the warm reassuring smile she gave me. My mind raced with endless thoughts of what I could do. Either comply and hope for the best, or just hope they leave. With a sigh, I uncurled from my ball and looked at her. It was hard looking her straight in the eyes, but I tried my best. She put her hoof on my face, move my head examining it.

"You look about Cadence's age", She says, looking at my facial features. "Can you speak?" Here was the hard ball. If I spoke there was no way they would let me go, but even if I didn't I would still be here so I'm screwed either way.

"Y-yes" I said my voice nearly breaking down. I glance over at the pink pony, I assumed to be Cadence, to see her smiling and giggling.

"Your voice cracked" she said making me feel embarrassed. I was never happy with my voice cracking, mentioning it made me embarrassed.

"I-It happens sometimes." I spoke again.

"Ah so you are Cadence's age." Celestia said standing up.

"I-I'm 16" Why did I say that.

"Well we've been speaking in this cell for quiet a while, let's go somewhere more calming." She lends me her hood so I can get up. Instantly I almost fall over, seeing how the adrenaline crash made my legs function even less. Cadence laughs and walks over to me.

"Come on left foot." She says helping me at least be stable enough to walk properly. I smile softly and walk out behind Celestia.

It feels like we've been walking for hours, but it's only been about 5 minutes. I'm still trying to get control of my legs, each step seems to hurt more and more. The hallway is so long, it feels like I'm walking a mile just to get from one end to the other. Finally we come to a door. The doorknob glows a gold aura, and opens. Celestia walks in and I hesitantly followed. I didn't know what to do, I was still very unsure of their intentions with me. She turns back to me and giggles.

"You don't have to be scared." She said. I walk in and stand close to the door, just so I can make a run for it if I need to. She closes the door which again makes me jump. I look behind me to see that neither Cadence nor Twilight were behind me. I guess she wanted to talk to me alone. I take a look around at the room we were in. It was nice...calming actually. A big window leading to a big balcony. Lavender colored curtains covered some of the walls, with a big fire place close to the window. The center area had a lot of pillows and blankets, for a second I thought this was where she slept; but I looked to my right to see her bed. Strangely I felt.....at ease. I felt a kind of homey feel from this room that I couldn't explain. I snap out of my trance to see her motioning me to the center of the room. She was laying on her stomach again.

"Come, have a seat." She tells me. And as if my legs had a mind of their own, I started walking towards her. I sit to her on one of the pillows, still afraid of making a wrong move. I sat very still, like I was back in kindergarten waiting for the teacher to give instruction. She notices how tense and stiff I looked and softly laughed.

"You don't have to be so stiff", she floats over a tea cup and sips out of it, "you're in a safe place and all I want to do is talk." That smile. That same motherly smile she gave me back in the cell. I didn't want to keep my guard down, but I reluctantly try to relax feeling the tenseness around my body start to disappear. She lets out a quiet sigh, before speaking again. "Do you want some tea to help you calm down?" she asked.

"Oh I n-never had tea before." I said.

"Really? Never when you were sick?"

"I rarely got sick back home," I shrugged, "I never really got out the house much."

She smiles and floats a cup over to me. "It's green tea, something to help you relax." I look at it and hesitantly took a sip. Surprisingly it was good and definitely helped me relaxed.

"Wow! That's....really good." I said, her face glowing with happiness.

"I'm glad you like it!" After that we sat in silence for a little bit. I was feeling kind of awkward but I didn't want to speak out of turn. After a few minutes of silent sipping, she finally breaks the silence. "So can you tell me a little about yourself?" I was dumbfounded. I didn't know what to say, because I couldn't remember a whole lot from when I first woke up here.

"Uh...I'm 16 and from Earth....that's all I can remember." She sips her tea again and looks at me.

"Do you still forget your name?" I sit and think as hard as I can. Finally a memory comes back to me....my name.

"A-Adrian?" Why did I say it like a question, I just remembered what my name is, and I'm still uncertain?

"Adrian?" She asks.

"But I do remember some people close to me call me 'Dre'."

"Well what do you prefer to be called?" I sit there....thinking.

"Well if it's formally, then call me Adrian," she nods slightly to my statement.

"Well then, Adrian...", she says standing to her hoods and starts walking to the door, "let's talk about where you'll be staying."

Wait....is she serious? I'm staying....in this world?

I want to freak out, but I couldn't find the mental strength to do it. Obviously I wanted to go home, but there was always a part of me that strangely didn't want to leave. This place just feels....better.

She motions for me to follow her. I get up as she opens the door. As we walk out, I jump seeing a guard standing next to the door.

I almost punched him...guess I'm still a little jumpy.

We go up a few flights of stairs and of course, down another mile long hallway. We come to a door near the end of it. It was a very dark purple color, with a guard in front of it. "As of today you will be staying at the castle, until further notice." Celestia really is serious. I open the door to find a clean, mid sized room. It looked nice! Dark purple wallpaper, a dresser with a mirror to my right, with my bed in front of it.

The ceiling.....oh my god the ceiling. It was huge, it felt like I was in a cave. Had to be at least 20-30 feet off the ground, if not a little more.

"I'm staying....here?", I turn and ask her. Still with that smile on her face, she nods. A part of me was uneasy, but the rest of me....was anxious. I don't know how any of this will play out. How will the people react? What else do they have planned for me? Suddenly everything just came crashing down.

"You get some rest now, tomorrow I will show you around the castle." She cheerfully said walking out. The door closed and that's when everything set in.

I wasn't dreaming.

I was really in this new world.

Not knowing how long I have here. I looked out the window. Oh yea it was still dark out.

It's probably around 2-3am right about now.

I climbed into bed. Hm, Comfy. But it didn't help at all. I had trouble sleeping the whole night. I was so tense...I was anxious...and scared. But in the middle of me having my internal panic attack....I fell asleep. Waiting now for the next day to start.

Chapter 2

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3

"...and that's how we got her out of the tree, but it did take some time to get her hoof bandaged up..."

How long have I been here. Why did I decide to have a conversation with a guard? Who knew some of them could be so god damn boring.

"Hey, thanks for the story Silver, but I have to go." I say hurrying off as quickly as possible, as much as I like the guy, he tells me the same story about his daughter getting stuck in a tree every. Single. Time.

"No worries sir! If you need someone to talk to I'm always here." He screams to me from half way down the hall.

Now that was over, I continue casually strolling through the castle. It's been almost a week since I spoke to Celestia. I can't lie when I say I've been feeling kind of lonely. I'd stop to admire some of the glass art in the hallway.

This one seems to be about...discord?

I've read a lot about this Discord fellow and honestly I've been very interested. He sounds like a cool guy, but I feel like I shouldn't ask about him. I continue admiring the art, when I hear a voice to my left.

"Adrian..." I jump. Looks like I got too caught up in the art. I look over and it's just Silver Star.

"Oh..hey Silver."

"The Princess would like a word with you.

Uh oh...

After I stormed out on her almost a weeks ago, I have said anything to her since. Matter fact I haven't even seen her. Maybe this was it, maybe she was kicking me out finally.
No what are you stupid, she said she didn't want you in public, let alone just out on you're own with no direction of where you're going.

Well maybe she just wants to lecture me about the other day.

Oh god, I don't want another hour long talking to.

Silver opens the door. There she is, sitting a top her throne....with a serious look no doubt. I walk in and he closes the door. She doesn't look at me, just reading a scroll. I walk forward, each step filling my stomach with butterflies. "That's close enough." She says still not looking up.

"Uhh, you wanted to talk to me Princess?" She sighs, Finally putting the scroll down.

"It's been almost a week.."

Oh god here it comes.

"..How have you been?" She wasn't mad?

"Uh I've been good, I guess" I say slowly, still processing what she just said. "I heard Cadence visited you." The memory of that, still echoed in my mind.

"Yes...she did." I said with a sad tone. I still feel kind of bad for not telling Cadence about what Celestia said. I hear hoof steps getting closer to me. Looking up I see Celestia a few feet away.

"Adrian....I didn't mean what I said. I just got to anxious about your feelings and it just...slipped out." I look to the side still feeling a bit of anger towards her. "I can't let you go into the public eye, but I want to get you out there as soon as possible." I sigh. What Celestia said last week still playing in my mind.

"Well then what should I do?" I ask with a sigh. Celestia lets out a sigh of her own, and walks closer to me bending down slightly to my eye level. Being 5'9 feet, she wasn't that taller than me; if anything she was a couple inches taller.

"I want for you to try to get used to basic life here in the castle first while I figure out what else to do." She says with a hint of concern to her voice. "I've just been ever so busy with delegate stuff, and I just haven't had the time lately." I nod slightly.

"I understand Princess." She smiles softly and stands back up.

"Continue what you were doing Adrian." She walks back to her throne and sits down, picking the scroll back up. I take one last look at her as she begins to read again, and walk out the door.

[Few Hours Later]

Out of all the places I've seen in the castle, this bad to be the best one. No one could see me, I had and amazing view of the city, plus it was a great place to see the sunset.
It was chili outside, the wind softly blew. There was no railing, but I liked sitting on the edge, it made the view that much better. I sit back and close my eyes, letting the heat from the sun and the coolness of the wind hit me all at once. I would always come here to clear my head, and to forget anything that was stressing me out

"Oh Adrian!" I hear a shocked voice. I turn quickly, almost losing my balance in the process. It was Princess Celestia. "You come out here as well?"

"It clears my mind," I say with a low tone looking back to the sunset. "Plus it's a great view." She walks next to me and puts a hoof on my shoulder. It scared me at first, because...I mean I was sitting on the edge to a over hundred, maybe even thousand foot drop. I look at her, and she motions me to sit on the bench behind me. I get up, feeling a little relieved. As much as I love sitting on that edge, it does tend to give me anxiety of falling sometimes. She hops up on the bench and sits down, and I follow.

"Beautiful sunset." I tell her.

"Thank you Adrian." She says with a slight giggle. We sit there in silence for a few more minutes, admiring the sunset. Not thinking of anyone or anything

"So Princess?", I say breaking the silence, "Didn't you have a sister?" She looks away with obvious sadness in her eyes. It struck a nerve in her.

"Y-Yes....yes I do." Her voice is shaky.

"Well...What happened to her?" She lets out a deep sigh and looks forward.

"I never thought I would tell you this story." Celestia says. I could see it obviously hurt her to tell.

"You don't have to tell me if you do—"

"I will." She interrupts. Another sigh leaves her mouth before she starts talking again.
"Long ago, Princess Luna and I ruled Equestria together. But she got aggravated when she felt unappreciated for her night." I sit up, getting deeper into the story. "So one day, she got so fed up that she turned into Nightmare Moon; and tried to plunge the world into eternal darkness."

"So what happened next?" A few Tears ran down her cheek. She was struggling more and more with each word.

"I....I Banished her to the moon." She said that, just as the sky went from sunset purple, to dark night. My heart sank...she banished her own sister?

"W-Wow" that was all I could say. Celestia hopped off the bench and walked over to the balcony starring at the moon.

"And I fear in a few more days....she'll come back for her revenge."

I didn't know how banishment worked, who knows how long Luna has been up there. I walked next to Celestia, and put a hand on her back. "Are you sure?"

"Indeed I am, the signs are all clear...and pretty soon she will return, so I must be alert." She turns to walk back inside.

"Hey Princess!" I yell out to her before she opens the door. "I may not know half the things you've went through before I showed up," I take a deep breath and walk closer, "but I'm always here if you need someone to talk to." She smiles, it's a sad smile, but it's a genuine one.

"Thank you Adrian." She finally turns and walks back inside, while I stay and look out at the moon...thinking about Celestia's Story.

Chapter 4

[A year later later]
[October]
Nightmare Night.

I've heard about this holiday from most of the guards around the palace, but then again like anything else here in this world...I don't really know much about it.

It has been a few days since me and Celestia first talked on the balcony. Since that day we would go out there together as often as we can, just to forget about the day. We would talk about things that make us happy, sad, funny moments in our lives, etc. I've made her laugh more times than I could count, and the more we've hung out on the balcony, the closer our friendship has gotten. So close in fact, that she stopped using her "regal voice" when talking to me alone sometimes. We're still formal to each other, and we've never strayed from the "professional" behavior when other guards or maids are around us.

I walk into the throne room to see Celestia writing on a scroll. She sees me walk in and instantly stops writing. "Ah Adrian! What brings you in here today?"

Well considering that I live here sun butt, what else would I be doing here.

"Just wanted to check and see how you were doing? You were acting kind of strange this morning." This morning when I had said hi to her she walked quickly past me without a word, but I just brushed it off as her being busy so I didn't really pay much attention to it. But then during breakfast she was just stabbing at her food, which really had me concerned.

"I'm fine, whatever are you talking about?" I step closer to the throne, she knows exactly what I'm talking about, she just being stubborn as usual.

"Is it because today is...Nightmare Night?" I ask with a straight face. I couldn't tell from how far I was from her, but I could tell that she was flustered now. I step a little bit closer. "Are you scared about Luna's Ret—"

"SHHHHH!!" Her voice rang out loudly. She looks around and motions her guards to leave the room. As soon as the door closes....she breaks.

"I'm not scared I'm just....nervous ok?" She says getting up and walking towards me.

"Might I ask your highness don't you have a pla—"

"NO I DON'T" Her unexpected tone makes me step back a little bit. She notices that and takes a deep breath and calms down and heads towards one of the windows.

"Princess, you said she could strike at any moment tonight, how can you all of a sudden be so calm about this?" She looks out the window staring at...whatever was out there.

"Because I have faith in my student Adrian," she walks back towards me with a calm and serious look, "the best I can do is to make sure I have more guards surveying the area, and more guards around me at all times tonight." I watch as she sits back down on her chair and continue to write the letter she was writing when I walked in.

"I know it may not look like it, but I'm worried about you Princess." I say breaking the silence. "Everything will be ok Adrian, trust me." I take her word for it and head out the door.

She better know what she's doing.

[A Few Hours Later..]

I yawn as I sit up in my bed. Something didn't feel right. I look out the window....and it's night time outside. No....
I look up at the moon....the mare in the moon wasn't there anymore.

Oh no, Celestia!

I try to bolt out of the castle, but the guards stop me at the door. "We're sorry, the Princess gave us specific orders to not let you leave the castle tonight."
When the hell did she give them that order?

"You don't get it, the Princess maybe in trouble!" Its no use, they wouldn't budge. I tried pleading with them again, but it just won't work.

"Adrian, please go back to your room!" There was no way in convincing them to let me out. Defeated, I head back to my room.

I pace back and forth in my room for what seemed like hours. Hoping and praying that the princess is okay.

Damnit what is she doing out there?

Suddenly I hear a loud explosion. I look out the window to see a giant rainbow in the distance, followed by a bright light. Even though the explosion was nowhere near the castle, it feels like the light had an effect on me. Getting blinded by the light, I feel my heart rate increase, my breathing starts to become heavy. Then just as the rainbow fades away, so does my vision. Then, I feel the impact of the cold hard floor as a ring started to feel my ears. My vision started to become blurry. Before I could completely blacked out, I hear a voice cry out my name...or what I assumed was my name. Everything was muffled, and before I knew it...I was out completely.

"Celestia knows how long he's been like that. I'm surprised, honestly." I hear a muffled voice, as I'm struggling to wake up. I open my eyes, but my vision was still blurry. One thing I did notice however, was that I was in my bed...with a little bit of a headache. I groan trying to sit up, when a hoof quickly rested on my chest. "Please Adrian, try not to move so much." Cadence? What was she doing here. I look to my right to see that not only was Cadence here, but the doctor and Celestia too.

"Ugh what's going on?" I say with a tired and raspy voice.

"You passed out," Cadence said moving back to give me a bit of space.

"I what now?" A little louder than it was suppose to be.

"You passed out," The doctor finally spoke, repeating what she said, "after running some test, we found that there was a lot of magic remnant in the air, which had to do largely to the giant explosion that happened hours ago..." I did not know what he was saying admittedly; after thing about magic remnant I kind of zoned out. But I did get one thing, after seeing that rainbow I did feel my chest get very tight. It was a definite factor of why I passed out. I looked over to see Celestia walking the doctor out of the room, I guess I zoned out through his whole explanation. But I don't think I'll need to remember all he said though. I sat up to get comfortable, but Cadence kept a hoof on my arm to make sure I didn't moved much.

"I came to check if you were ok, since you were going to be all alone. And when I opened the door...you were on the ground." She said, her voice shaking. I see tears start run down her face. Throughout my time here she has been here making sure I don't feel lonely at the castle, but really this the only time I actually realized how much she cared for me.

I put my hand on her hoof, to reassure her. "I'm okay now Cadence...thank you." I can only gain a weak smile. My head was pounding, and I felt very tired so I was pretty drained both physically and mentally. She smiles back at me. Honestly I can't say how sweet her smile is. It's one that always makes me smile when I see her.

"Well I'm off to bed. This whole night has really tired me out." She waves at me and walks out as Celestia walks up to me. A stern look is on her face, but it fades quickly to one of worry. She collapses into my lap with a sad sigh.

"This is all my fault. I shouldn't of worried you so much."

I stroke her mane, letting her relax. "It's okay, Princess. It was something neither of us could control." After a few minutes, she stands that signature smile of hers. "What happened? I only remember seeing a rainbow before...y'know."

"Well Luna did return, but she was defeated as Nightmare Moon, and is now back here in the castle."

So that's what that big explosion was. Wait...she's HERE?!?!?!

"Will I get to meet her?"

She thinks, "Not now, but maybe when she's gotten used to everypony." A disappointed look crawls on my face. I know that Luna needs to get use to everyone before she's back to normal, but it would've been nice to meet her.

"Well I'm turning in for the night, you make sure you get some rest to regain your energy." She says opening the door. She leaves sending me a smile, one that return, and closes the door. I flop back down with a sigh, staring at the ceiling. Everything that has happened tonight was still trying to process in my head. But all that thinking didn't do my headache any good.

Maybe I should stop overthinking about everything. I've only been here a month, and I haven't had a chance to really relax. I turn off the Lamp and slowly drift to sleep. At least my headache will be gone soon.

Chapter 5

[A Year Later]
[November]

The rays of sunshine flow through the windows throughout the castle signifying the evening after a bright sunny morning. The guards, maids, and other workers make their way around the palace halls, whether it be doing house work or guarding the restricted areas. I've now been living in the Canterlot for a few years now, I'd say it had to be around late January. I don't really get to spend New Years with everyone else, because I was still mainly kept in my room. But Cadence would be with me for the countdown, so I wasn't totally alone. I've gotten used to maneuvering the halls and the areas of the castle, and basically know all the guards and workers names by heart, plus it wasn't long until the guards put me through some tough workouts to get me back in shape. I'm about 18 now, as my birthday was the week prior...but I didn't bother to tell anyone, so I spent my birthday alone in my room. There were some guards or maids who would come by and give me gifts and food, but other than that I don't really get to celebrate any holidays in the castle. Mainly it was because there were always noble ponies around the palace. I wasn't upset about being in my room so much, hell if anything I was the king of being a hermit back home.

I was walking around the garden when an idea came to mind. I made my way back to my room, closed the door, and looked out the window.

I just have to find a way out of the castle, and then out of Canterlot.

Well the first part was soon answered. I remembered that when they first found me and drug me through the dungeon; some of the cells had a big enough window for me to slide through. How did I know? Well I was just fooling around, and tested to see if my arm would fit out the cell window. It did...along with my shoulder. Well that was one escape method down. Now just had to figure a way out of Canterlot without being seen. As I was thinking of a plan, a knock was at the door. I hustle over to the door to open it. There I saw Cadence, smile as big as ever.

"Hey Adri! Just wanted to know if we are still on for our game of tennis later?" Shit, I completely forgot she wanted to play tennis with me today.

Maybe I can make up an excuse.

"Uh, N-Not today Cadence, I'm just not feeling well today." Her smile fades to a slight frown. "But we can go tomorrow. Promise." She eyes me up and down with a bit of a squint to her eyes, almost as if she's trying to pierce into my soul to find the truth. She can read ponies really well, better than anyone I knew both here and back on Earth. It scares me sometimes how fast she can catch me lying, and it was best not to make her angry. I've had my fair share of those moments already, and its only been a few months.

"Okay! See you tomorrow." She said with a playful tone. She happily trots away as I close the door. And almost instantly...I regretted that decision.

I need to stop making promises.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Who is it now?

I open the door to see Silver Star with a note attached to his helmet. I take the note from him with a thank you. Adrian, I will be out at a meeting for a few hours. Will be back soon. XO Celestia.

First note from Celestia that she put XO. Looks like our friendship is really growing close. Too bad I'm about to put it in jeopardy.

I wait until I see Celestia and Luna leave, and then I make my move. I take a look at the clock...yup 5:05pm. The time that everyone is usually switching positions or doing house work, I have to be quick, but careful. I crack the door open to see a guard walking past.

Ok, doesn't look like he seen me.

I wait for him to walk past, and swiftly head out, making sure the door closed quietly. After a lot of ducking and dodging around each of the hallways, I finally made my way to the dungeons. I walk into a cell with the big window, and without hesitation slip through. I stand to my feet take in a big breath of fresh air, but then I quickly realized I have no time to waste.

It felt like I've been walking forever, when I finally found a trail to walk on after I left the castle; but the only problem was I had to duck into the bushes every time I saw a pony walk my way. It had to be almost seven o'clock judging from the amount of light outside now, and I was getting pretty tired from all the walking, until I came to a cottage. It was right next to the Everfree Forest. My first thought when I saw this, Who would be crazy enough to live next to a dangerous forest? My thought quickly answered when I saw a yellow Pegasus walk out the door. I couldn't duck in the forest, because my feet were killing me. I would've been too slow to move...so I just stood there. She hasn't seen me yet which was good. Maybe I can ask her where I was.

"Excuse me mis?", I yell out jogging towards her. Instant Mistake. I stop just behind her, as she turns around. She jumps and shrieks. Her eyes wide as all hell, almost like she seen a gho-wait a minute. "Can you tell me where I am?" Silence. "Ummm...Mi-" She interrupts me with a scream of sure bloody murder. And just like that, she zips out of sight before I could even blink.

WELP! That's enough of this adventure.

I slowly stand to my feet and quickly turn to head back to the castle.

I was able to slip back into the castle without being detected, and managed to slip back into my room. So far so good. Only one noticed me, but other than that it went pretty good. As I was relaxing my feet after that terrible walk back, a knock was at the door. Of course it was Silver Star again, with a note attached to his head. I shook my head and chuckled on how ridiculous he looked. Every time he gave me a note from Celestia, he would always stand in attention and just let the note hang from his helmet. He looked like a little puppy with a ridiculous hat on. I took the note and gave him a good ole pat on the head.

Meet me on the balcony. Same time we always meet. XO Celestia.

"Well this could either go good or terrible." I said to myself looking at the note. I wave him off and head to the balcony.

I sit at the edge of the balcony like I always do. Admiring the view along with the sunset. It was cold outside, but I didn't mind. They didn't make my any coats to wear, but this was kind of comforting.

"Adrian." Celestia's calm voice calls out. It made me jump, almost causing me to fall. But it shouldn't have. We've met here plenty of times before, why did it make me jump now.

"H-Hi Princess." She doesn't say anything and just sits on the bench. I sit and watch her, wondering if she was going to say anything to break the silence. Nothing. I turn back and look at the view again. It didn't feel right. I know she has something to say, I just don't know when or-

"Come sit with me." She says as her magic tugs at my shirt. I walk over and sit next to her on the bench, still with the same uneasy feeling. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course Princess" I sit up waiting for the question.

"Was she nice?"

"W-What?"

"The pony you met today...was she nice." She continued to look not at me, but out at the view towards the balcony with a straight and stern face.

What was she...OOOOOOHHH SHIT!!

"What do you mean?" I say flustered. Celestia gets up and walks towards the edge of the balcony a little bit.

"I know you left the castle, Adrian." My heart drops.

"Princess I-"

"And you deliberately disobeyed my orders to stay out of public."

"But princess I-"

"Now because of you there's a public panic in Ponyville, and EVERYONE WILL BE ON HIGH ALERT!"

I fucked up. It was at this point I felt our bond that we've been forming melt away. I couldn't say anything. She was furious. I basically just tossed out the Princesses trust...and that's something you can't get back. "Well?" She spoke up looking at me with a furious look. \

"Princess I-I..." I had to tell her. I know I always told her how I felt about being in castle by myself. But something in me just broke. "I had to Celestia."

"You...WHAT??" This was the first time I had forgone her title and used just her name. Like I said before, we've been formal in our friendship, but never to the level of nicknames or the forgone any professional titles.

I stood up, not batting an eye at Celestia. I can feel her furious eyes on me with every second that passed. "Every time you go to a ball or go to a meeting, I'm always stuck in the castle by myself. Locked in my room, or just forbidden to even go the castle gardens." I walked closer to her anger starting to show on my face.

"But that doesn't mean you disobey my order! You know what could've happened to you. They would've ended up lock you away somewhere and I had to come find you-"

"I'M ALREADY IN A GOD DAMN PRISON CELESTIA!" I yell looking directly into her eyes. With my growth spirt, I went from being a little shorter than Celestia, to having a good two three inches on her not counting her horn; so looking into her eyes to make a point went well in my favor. I can tell she was taken a back from my sudden out burst, but she doesn't show it. Still standing strong with the look of anger on her face....but she's silent.

"How cou-"

"Having me locked in my room whenever you have a meeting, or an appearance. Not allowed to leave the castle grounds. LOCKING ME AWAY ON NEW YEARS?!?!?! THAT DOESN'T SCREAM PRISON TO YOU??" The sky turns to night and a heavy cold wind starts to blow. She turns and walks away from me, stopping near the door before she falls to her knees. I hear sniffs, was she crying? I walk slowly to her and kneel by her side to see tears flowing heavily down her face.

"Oh stars, Adrian," She says her voice shaky, "You're right....I have been locking you away like a prisoner." I walk in front of her and kneel down so we're face to face. I stroke her mane, letting her get the rest of her cries out. I hug her, one that she doesn't return. "Why? Why are you still nice to me?" She was right. Why was I still nice to her, even though every bone in my body is screaming in hatred and resentment. Why did I hug her even after she admitted to locking me away like a prisoner on house arrest.

"I don't know why," I tell her not letting go, "Every fiber of me is telling me not to forgive you, and a big part of me still has some resentment towards you for what you did." She sniffs and her sobs get more and more quiet. "But even though I didn't want to accept or like it. I still have this tiny glimmer of trust in you that just won't go away." I feel her breathing get close to normal, I end the hug and put my hand on her chin, signaling her to look at me.

"Yes I purposely disobeyed, but even you knew it had to happen sooner. I didn't know how long I was going to be shut in, and neither did you." Her eyes widen. She knew as well she didn't know how long it would be until she reviled me to the public. "I-I....I didn't", she said with a light break in her voice, "but you shouldn't of come back if I-"

"Stop." Through all the hate and hurt I was feeling in that moment...it still hurt me to see her doubt herself, calling herself a bad person.

"It's ok to not have a plan sometimes, princess. But you're still the person we all look to for guidance. You know how many times I came to you for advice?"

"Too many to count." she says with a sniff and a chuckle. Seems like she's calmed down now. I put my hand on her cheek, and she leans into it nuzzling my hand.

"You're a wonderful pony Princess, if anything this will make you even stronger as a leader, I'm sure of it." I said.

"Thank you, Adrian...I'm glad I have you here" I help her to her hooves, and she wipes the remaining tears from her eyes. "It'll take a long while for things to go back, just as long as there's no more secrets." Celestia nods. I look her over and notice that she's shivering a little bit, it was almost as if she was trying to hide the fact that she was getting cold. Guess Cadence's people reading skills are starting to rub off on me.

Pony reading? Nah, that sounds way more creepy.

"Come on let's head back inside, it's getting cold out here." We walk back inside and stand in the hallway, letting the heat warm us up. Without a word, I start walking back towards my room. I hear Celestia start to walk back to her room as well.

"Same time tomorrow princess?" I said, breaking the loud silence in the hallway.

"Yes...and Adrian?" I stop walking and turn to face her one more time.

"Hm?" She smiles, and from where I was standing it almost looked as if she was...blushing?

"You can call me just Celestia, when we're in the castle." She said, her face having a light red tint. I chuckle with a slight smile, and once again start to head back to my room.

"Sure thing...Celestia."

Chapter 6

[Three Weeks Later]

BANG BANG BANG

I wake up to a violent pounding at my door.

"What the hell?" I say tiredly sitting up, "It's barely sunrise, who the fuck is trying to knock my door down this early?" I say getting out of bed.

It feels like I just woke up from the the dead, but I had enough energy to get up quick. The more the pounding continues, more and more I get irritated. Every step it felt like it was getting worse. I get to the door, and fling it open.
"WHAT!!!" I yell, causing whoever was at the door to jump back. I calm down a little bit to where I can see who was banging on the door. Silver Star.

"Ugh Silver, why are you trying to tear my door down today?" I ask holding the bridge of my nose.

"The Princess is requesting your presence urgently sir."

I sigh. Why me today? "Okaayyy...well, can I get dressed first?" Silver squints his eyes looking over me. We've known each other for a while, and I can tell he was contemplating on losing his job. "I-I'll be really quick I promise." I say with a sigh, trying to convince him. He sighs, didn't take much to convince.

"I'll give you one minute." Quickly I close the door in his face. Thank god I slept in sweats. I was able to toss on a long sleeve shirt, and storm out the door.

I'll apologize later Silver.

I burst into the throne room, dying from all the running I did. With all the workouts I've been doing with the guards, I have gotten better endurance and cardio; but still not enough to keep me from having a heart attack.

"You....wanted.....to see me...Princess?" I manage trying to regain my breath.

"Adrian, why are you out of breath?" She asks tilting her head. I get most of my breath back so I can speak properly.

"Silver gave me a minute to get ready, plus you said urgently so I ran all the way here so I wouldn't waste time." I explain, still having some trouble regaining control of my breathing.

"Oh Silver," she sighed putting a hoof to her face, "well I did want to talk to you about something Important." She stands and starts to walk towards me, and immediately I can tell something was wrong.

"What is it Princess?" I ask after taking one final deep breath regaining the lost oxygen.

"Well, I wanted your opinion on something." She's nervous...I've been around her a lot to know when she's nervous.

"Ok, I'm listening." She motions for me to follow her. We walk into her chambers and she closes the door. And like always, when she wants my advice....she freaks out!

"Oh I'm so nervous!"

Caaaallllled it. She scurries back and forth around her bedroom, like a rat trying to find some kind of food. "I don't know what to do? I can't make a decision! I feel like I'm hyperventilating am I hyperventilating?" She says not taking a single breath.

"PRINCESS!" I yelled, making her stop and look at me with wide eyes. "Take deep breaths and tell me what's happening." I say to her calmly.

She takes a few deep breaths and speaks. "Ok, so you know my appearance in Manehattan today?"

"That I do." She takes another deep breath. Wow she's really nervous about his. "I have to make a speech at a ceremony there....and I'm really nervous about messing up."

The ruler of Equestria for over a millennium....is nervous about messing up. "Celestia, we've gone over this a million times already." I say a tired chuckle leaving my mouth.
"Well....four times at the most." She tries to make her case with a smile, but I return it with a straight face.

"Celestia..." I give her a serious look, and her ears flop.

"I know," she says sighing heavily. "Deep breaths, keep the energy, and stay positive."

"Good." I've practically told her to do this plenty of times before in the past when she goes to ceremonies or meetings. She would always come back and tell me how well she did afterwards, so it must be working.

"Is that all you need?" I ask, as I'm lugging my tired body to the door. "Oh Yes, Adrian thank you." She waves to me as I walk out.

-

I watch Celestia's chariot make its way back to the castle from my room. Not even a second later I hear the sound of hooves quickly running down the hall. A sound of magic invaded my ears. A part of me prepares for what's going to happen, but it always happens gets me every time.

"ADRIAN!" I fall from my seat, my body stiffening with fear, like a baby goat. I quickly regain control of my body and groan in pain.

"Glad to heat the speech went well." I groan rubbing my aching shoulder from the fall.

"It was amazing! I got such a great ovation afterwards, it made me feel so....relieved!" I laugh, and give her a pat on the head.

"That's great Celestia! I knew you would do a good job." She sighs happily. It's always a great feeling helping the Princess, it's a feeling I never get used to. Usually I'm the one asking her for help, not the other way around

"Well I'm off to the throne room, if you need me just knock." I nod to her, and she walks out. I look outside my window, the day was still young. It had to be around 4pm. Thinking of something to do, I start to pace around my room.

Maybe I could try to get back to....Ponyville, or whatever it's called.

Why I that was the first thought to enter my head, I still will never know; but it beats just sitting around here or just roaming the halls for the rest of the day. In that exact moment, I slip on my shoes and swiftly head out my room.

I slip out the window from the dungeon, and make my way to the trail.

-

Well this place sure is busy.

I think to myself, peering from behind a building. My heart is racing, as I'm literally moving among the shadows. I go from building to building, narrowly missing the sight of some ponies. I come to a library? A big oak tree...library. Well out of every other building in Ponyville, this one is definitely.....unique. I continue staring at the building when I see the door swing open. I see I a purple unicorn walk out, books being held by her magic.

She looks.....familiar.

I stare at her, almost like I'm studying a lion on a safari. Why did she look....oh shit I'm still outside. Realizing I maybe found any second now, I quickly rush inside the open library door.

I close the door, and take a deep breath.

Ok maybe not the best idea, maybe now I can-Woah

My thoughts are interrupted by the sight of the library. Some decorations around, nothing too flashy, but a statue in the center. It almost made it feel....cozy. But one thing I can definitely say for certain...it's a lot bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
"Ugh why does she make so many check list for nonsense?" I hear an unfamiliar voice talk to himself. The sound of footsteps starting to come down the stairs follow not long after.

Alright, now is a good time to panic.

I look around frantically for a place to hide. There's no where to hide, but I catch a closet door slightly open. Without any hesitation, I rush into the closet and crack the door. Not enough to where whoever it was can see me, but enough to where I can see outside. Once I was able to breathe a breath of relief, a small purple dragon starts to make his way into my view, looking at a long piece of paper.

"Ugh, this list literally makes no sense!" he tosses the list which lands near the closet. It sudden action makes me jump, which made me hit a broom almost causing it to fall. I was able to snatch the broom before it made any noise, but what did make a noise was my foot that kicked the wall slightly trying to catch it.

Okaaaay, hopefully he didn't hear-shit...

I looked up to a sight that made my stomach drop...he was staring at the closet. He tilts his head to the side, as he starts walking towards the door. It feels like time is moving in slow motion with every step he took. The closer he got, the more and more my heart started racing. I closed my eyes, waiting for the door to swing open.

Welp, this is how I die.

"Spike! Can you help me out really quick?" A voice speaks, as a door closes. Looks like who ever I saw leave is back.

"Sure thing Twilight." He gave the door one last glance before running off. I release the breath I've been holding. I'm surprised I haven't lost consciousness with how hard I was holding it.

Ok, now I have to figure out a way to get out without being seen....oh boy.

This was not going to be easy.

I feel like I'm basically living in this closet now with how long I've been here. I feel my feet start to go numb, and my eyes slowly start to close. "Wait a minute...what time is it?" I crack the door some more to search for a clock. I see one hanging above the front door...3pm. I've been standing here for 2 hours.

Yep, I've over stayed my welcome.

I look around the room one last time. "Alright no one's in sight, time to go." Without a second thought, I swiftly make my way out the front door and close it behind me. Don't want to be anymore suspicious then I already am. I scale the tree house, to where no one can see me. I look around to make sure I wasn't spotted.

"Now all I have to do is get bac-" I turn to see a purple unicorn a foot in front of me, staring at me with her jaw on the ground. I instantly begin...to panic. "Uhhhh....Hi there."

What are you doing goofy??? RUN!!!

Before she could answer, I instantly take off running. "Wait!" I hear her call out behind me, but all I was thinking about was getting out of here, and not getting my ass kicked or even worse possibly killed. Suddenly a flash of light appeared to my right. I looked over to her running beside me.

What the hell? She teleported??

Why was that the first thought that came to mind. I've seen Celestia and Cadence teleport plenty of times, why did this surprise me now. Probably because I didn't expect her to teleport next to me. Tossing my original plan out the window completely (as if I hadn't done so already), I channel my inner track star and I put as much distance between me and the unicorn as possible.

I don't seem to see her anymore, so I take the opportunity to catch my breath. I stop with my hands on my knees, my lungs burning feeling like I just ran a marathon. My thoughts were jumbled so much from running, that I wasn't able to think of where I was going to go. With one final breath, I straighten up to regain my train of thought. I take a few more breaths before I look around at where I was at. And I realized....I just ran to the middle of town, and everyone is staring at me.

Wow...this couldn't have gone any worse than it already is.

"EVERYPONY RUUUUNNNN!!" They all run in different directions. If I were to make a run for it now, it would've been hard to do so. But an opening had just came into view. The forest. I remember the trail I always walked on whenever I snuck out of the castle. I make a hard move for the forest, which didn't help my case as a monster to everyone. As I get closer I start to slow down. I can finally start to relax.

"NOW GIRLS!!" Instantly I felt a rope wrap across my ankles taking me down. A gust of wind made the dust starts to blind my vision. But before I knew it, I was tied up. And then before I can even get a thought in, I was floating up in the air.

"Caught you, you ruffian" Everything happened in what felt like one second, that I couldn't even see what had happened. I was lowered to the ground, dizzy from what ever just happened. I shake my head and look up at my attacker. Standing in front of me were six ponies. A white unicorn with a purple mane, A cyan pegasus with a multi colored mane, a pink earth pony bouncing with a smile, a yellow pegasus, an orange earth pony with a cowboy hat, and finally the same purple unicorn I ran into on my escape.

I really just got jumped. Hilarious.

"Now then, you're going to tell us who you are, and what you're doing here." The cyan pony screamed getting inches in front of my face. I don't speak.

"Intimidating it won't do ya any good Rainbow." The orange pony said pulling her friend down from the air. I'm still genuinely confused on what happened. I tune out what ever they're saying to think of a way out. I didn't want to talk, I just wanted to get back. The purple unicorn, I assume to be Twilight, walks up to me with a stern look on her face.

"Who are you? And why are you here?" I don't say a word. She continues to talk, but I don't pay any attention. But one thought does come to mind.

Twilight...Now I know why she looked familiar. She was the little filly I saw when I met Celestia and Cadence.

My arms were getting really uncomfortable from being tied behind my back, so I adjust my arms slightly, and notice...the knot is loose. Guess that's one thing ponies can't do with hoofs. I shimmy my arms free from the ropes hold, and quickly spring to my feet and duck into the forest. I hear them running after me, but I feel like I have pretty good distance. After running for another few minutes, I see the path I take from the castle. I pause to see if they were anywhere close behind me. I don't see them, but I can still hear them running in the distance. I take a smooth right and hustle my way back.

I slip through the window to the cell, and stop just to take a breather. If I didn't already I definitely just ran a marathon. I slide down the wall, and I start to think. What am I going to say to Celestia? Why am I worried about this so much?

I stop overthinking and regain most of my confidence. "Well the situation is already bad enough, I just have to face the music." I stand to my feet, and start quickly making my way to the throne room.

I open the door, to see Celestia sitting there as usual, going through paper work. She sees me and a bright smile goes across her face. "Ah, Adrian. Is there something you need?" I take a deep breath and approach her.

"Princess can I talk to you...alone?" She's confused, but she waves off her worker to leave the room.

"What is it Adrian?" I take another deep breath before explaining the situation. She listens, nodding her head.

"So now I'm in some big trouble Celi." She gets up and walk towards me. My mind flinches at what she might say, but I hold strong.

"Well, not how I would've made an appearance," Is she....laughing about this? "But it won't be long before they get here," She's...not mad. I'm surprised, but also confused. She walks back to her throne and sits, motioning me to her. "Stand behind the throne, I have an old friend I want you to meet." She gives me a reassuring smile, as I walk behind the giant chair. Overall, I feel really shocked that she is so calm about this. Yea, this wasn't the first time, I was spotted outside the castle; and every single time she would scold me about leaving.

"Why-"

"It's okay, to not have a plan Adrian." She says with a wink. What I told her out on the balcony is coming right back to me.

"Cheeky mare." I think to myself as I move behind the seat.

I hear a bang at the throne doors, followed by multiple hoof steps. I shot up straight almost feeling my heart jump out of my throat. The fast moving steps finally stop and I hold my breath.

"PRINCESS!!! There's a situation we need your help with!" A voice yells. "There's this....creature that was spotted in Ponyville, we thought we had him captured, but he escaped, and now we don't know where it is..."

"Well....that certainly is an alarming situation." Celestia stands from her throne and walks towards the girls.

"How can you be so CALM about this?!?!? He could be a threat to everypony!" Twilight yells wide eyed at her teachers calm demeanor.

"Because there's someone I'd like you to meet." She walks forward slightly leaving the others dumbfounded and confused. "You can come out now." she yelled, cueing me to come out from hiding.

I take a quick deep breath. This is the first time in my life I've been this nervous about anything. I slowly take a few steps out behind the throne. The others gasp. I try to avert my gaze, but it's immediately met by Celestia, giving me her warm and bright smile I'm used to seeing. Her smile helps me regain some of my nerves. She motions me to come forward, and without any hesitation I started walking.

I stop just a few feet in front of Celestia. I try to give a smile, but what shows up is a very nervous smile. "Twilight, you remember Adrian, right?" I wave looking around at everyone. Their shocked looks make my smile vanish, and in its place is returned with anxiety. "Hey, Twilight" I say with a noticeable shake in my voice. They were still staring in shock dead into my soul.

"A-Adrian?" Twilight finally says breaking the deafening silence in the room. She slowly walks towards me as I give her a smile, thankful that she remembers some part of me.

"That's me," I say kneeling down to look at her, "It's good to see you again." Tears start forming in Twilight's eyes. Finally she rushes towards me with an embrace. I don't really know why she hugged me, we haven't had many interactions after we first met; but I returned her hug, thankful that she at least didn't try to kill me earlier. I stand up and glance at Celestia, who notices the obvious confusion among the rest of the group.

"Let's go somewhere more comfortable to discuss this." Celestia said opening the doors leading us out. I know they all had a lot of questions, and from the way things are looking now...this is going to be a very long day.