I had never passed out from overuse of my magic before. If I ever found myself growing tired from usage, I would immediately stop and recover. It was how I managed to gauge just how much magic I possessed or how fast my inner anima chamber was growing as I grew. Even I wasn’t foolish enough to try and overexert myself to that degree. It would have been stupid. Same with my physical exercises. I would always stay hydrated and well fed, trying my best to eat a healthy diet, at least according to my new pony physique. I missed real meat, but their hayburgers were a welcome substitute.

I came to surrounded by utter warmth and comfort. That was my first impression. My next impression was a gentle smell, lavender, if my sister’s shampoo scent was any indication. Third, I could almost sense a presence sitting nearby. Slowly, I began to open my eyes, trying to blink out the exhaustion in them. I was not in my bed at the orphanage, that was for sure. For one, my bed there had absolutely no canopy with purple curtains. That, and the room actually had plenty of decorations, like a few paintings and didn’t look sad and crumbling.

Slowly I began sitting up. One of the first things I noticed was the fact that the comforter covering me were a dark blue with some white swirls sewn into the fabric. Light came pouring in from four massive arched windows that looked out onto a warm summer day. I couldn’t tell whether it was morning or evening, but since the sky was still its normal crystal blue color and judging by the direction of the sunlight pouring onto the floor, the sun was at least high in the sky.

The walls themselves were a deep grayish blue and arched up into a large dome above the center of the circular room. Hanging from the center of the ceiling was a large unlit candelabra. Looking around the room, I saw a desk meant for an adult, a wooden dresser with a large full body mirror standing to the side, a closed door next to the foot of my bed that presumably was for a bathroom or shower or maybe even a walk in closet. Looking over the bed, I saw a brown and light brown checkered wood floor with a large white circular crème colored carpet in the center of the room.

Taking stock of my body, I realized that I felt somewhat weaker than normal. My horn ached and my hands felt like they were slightly asleep. The rest of my body was a bit warm, but I attributed that to the thick royal red sheets covering me.

Pushing aside my light blue comforter I reached up to touch my horn, only to notice that there was something wrapped around the base. Frowning, I tried to remove it using my hands, but it was stuck tight. When I tried to cast magic to lift it off with greater force than my body could generate, all that happened was that sky blue sparks shot out of the tip of my horn.

“A magical suppression ring,” I muttered in English. “Hmm…makes sense,” I added as I very carefully got up out of bed and walked over to the mirror. I was wearing a light brown set of foal sized silk pajamas with pockets in the pants and one on the left breast. My mane and tail looked like they’d been brushed and cleaned rather well, leaving my rather long mane hanging by my sides loosely. My coat of fur looked cleaner than it ever had. And to my utter confusion, I looked more like what I remembered of Blueblood from the show. “Seriously, what the everloving fuck…?”

I turned and looked back at the room, taking in the sights and smells. There were a few lavender plants hanging from plants sconces on the wall, looking like they’d been freshly placed there. Now that I got a closer look at the room itself, I realized it looked a lot like the room that Rarity had stayed in during the episode where she tried to attend Twilight’s party and Fancy Pant’s garden party at the same time. I ran to the window and looked out at the scene below.

There below me lay the entirety of Canterlot from a high tower. The window I’d chosen had a view of the sheer cliff next to the palace, but it also showed the circular city below me. The sunlight shone high in the sky, and I noticed that it was in the western portion, meaning it was early afternoon. I saw a few pegasi flying around some nearby towers and even further down into the city where the saying “They look like ants” couldn’t have held truer.

Unlike the Canterlot I’d seen from the show, this version was a lot bigger and built into the side of the mountain like Minas Tirith instead of on the edge of the cliff, which to me made a lot more sense. In case of an invasion, the palace could double as a stronghold against the invaders. Plus, being high up made it harder for non-flying races to invade. The towers either came out of the cliff below me or were buried into the side. I had assumed in the past that there were secret tunnels for the escape of the Princess and palace officials in a worst case scenario.

Jus then, I heard someone jiggling at the door handle. Turning quickly, I was just in time to see the door open, and someone in a demure French maid uniform walk in. However, it wasn’t a pony I saw walking in, to my utter confusion. Instead, it was a healthy looking older anthropomorphic cow. Like the cow plushie I owned, she was one of the more common types of cow, white with black spots. She also had a pair of tan horns sticking out of her head and dark brown eyes. Along with that, she was a lot like my plush toy in that she was larger than most other beings I’d seen, but not in an overweight type of way. If I had to describe her in one word, it would be curvy.

When the cow maid saw that the bed was empty, her eyes widened and she looked around worriedly before her eyes locked on me. A look of relief washed over her as she quickly rushed over. “Young sir, you should still be in bed resting,” she said in a deep but still feminine voice as she put a tender hand on my back and gently leading me back to the bed.

“Um…I should?” I asked. “I mean, I feel alright.”

“The mage physician said you should rest until you feel strong enough to use your magic, sir,” she insisted as she lifted me up and placed me in bed once more. Pulling the blankets over, she tucked me in gently.

“I really feel fine, ma’am,” I said politely.

The maid smiled kindly at me, then pulled a stool up next to the bed and placed a cool hand over my forehead. “Well, your forehead isn’t as hot as it was before,” she said as she pulled her hand away. “You’re looking better than you were when the mage physician first looked you over.”

“How long was I asleep?” I asked.

“Since early this morning,” the maid said. “Are you thirsty, young sir?”

I swallowed a bit, realizing that I was indeed really thirsty. “Yes, ma’am,” I replied, “I am a bit thirsty.”

She nodded and stood. “I’ll be right back, young sir.” With that, she headed to the second door, opened it, and walked inside. I heard some liquid being poured into a glass, then the maid came back out with a glass of water in one hand and a white jug in the other. She sat back down and after putting the glass on the endtable, helped me into a sitting position. Bringing the water glass to my lips, she said tenderly, “Open wide.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed about being helped like this, I nevertheless did as she said and she helped me drink the entire glass of cool refreshing water. She poured another glass which I also downed. After my third glass, I said, “I’m good now, thanks.”

“Not a problem, young sir,” the maid said as she put the empty glass back and helped me lie back down. As she did so, she asked, “I trust you had a restful sleep?”

“Um…yes, I think so,” I said. “Are those other ponies okay?”

The cow maid smiled. “They’re all okay, young sir.”

I nodded in relief. “That’s good. What about the others I was with?”

“They went back where they came from,” the maid said. “One of the orphanage nurses didn’t want to leave, but the Princess reassured her that you would be receiving the best of care. Sunny was her name, I believe.”

I smiled. “Yeah, that sounds like her.” My smile faltered as I felt a dizzy spell wash over me. I held my head. “Ow…”

The maid’s hand was immediately on my forehead. “Oh dear, you’re warming up a bit,” she said. “You should get some more rest, young sir. The mage physician said it would take until nightfall for you to fully recover all your mana and that rest would help the recovery go by much more quickly.” I nodded and pulled the covers back up. The maid helped tuck me back in, then stood back up. “Sleep well, young sir.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said

The maid chuckled. “So polite. You can just call me Buttercup, young sir.”

“Oh, alright. Nice to meet you, Miss Buttercup. I’m Vladímir,” I replied.

The now named Buttercup smiled. “You sleep well, young Vladímir,” she said.

“Sure thing,” I said as I closed my eyes. I heard the maid quietly walking towards the door and exiting. It didn’t take me long before I fell once more into a nice and comfortable sleep.

A sleep that was rather rudely awoken by the voices of children some time later.

“…is that really the colt, Anna?” a harsh sounding young child’s voice asked upon my return to consciousness.

“That’s what my mom told me!” a cuter sounding child’s voice replied.

“He really doesn’t look like he had the strength to use magic,” the first voice said. “He doesn’t look any older than us.”

Something poked my cheek none too gently. A third, softer voice called out, “Um, didn’t your mom say we shouldn’t touch him, Anna? Isn’t he supposed to be sleeping?”

“I’m not touching him that hard, Frosty,” the second voice said in a softer tone than before.

“You’ll wake him up!” The now named Frosty replied. “Oh dear…what if he gets angry?” Frosty now sounded nervous.

“Oh, don’t be such a worrywart, Frosty,” the second voice said. “He won’t wake up!”

I decided to scare them a little bit. I moved and groaned, “Too late.” I heard gasps from about three young children and heard them backing away a little bit. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked down towards the source of the noise. Three young children stood there, gaping at me in shock. The first one I saw was the older looking eutherian boy standing protectively in front of the other two. He had the typical batlike wings common of his subspecies, dark blue fur, black mane and tail and shining yellow eyes. He looked like he had a cutie mark based off of the a full moon with a knife sticking through it that was sewn on both of his shoulders. He was wearing a pair of brown slacks, a dark blue t-shirt and black shoes.

The second child I saw was a young cow girl. She had white fur with caramel colored spots including one spot surrounding her left eye. She had a pair of light brown colored horns and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a pair of dark brown overalls over a blue t-shirt and some thick looking brown shoes. She had light brown curly hair which was tied up in pigtails.

The third child was, to my surprise, a timid looking sheep girl. She had cloud white wool, which looked like it had been freshly shorn, a larger pile of white wavy wool on her head, part of which obscured her left eye which only showed her right eye being green, pinkish colored skin underneath, and a pair of pink horns that looked a lot like smaller ram horns directly above her sheeplike ears, which were lowered. She was wearing an adorable little light blue skirt and a white blouse along with a pair of black shoes and some thin knee high socks.

Slowly, I sat up and groaned, looking down at the three unusual children before me. “Um…hello,” I said in a confused tone, “Who are you guys?”

To my surprise, the cow girl stepped forward and gave me a large, wide smile. “Hi! I’m Anna Belle! This is Shadow Hunt and Frostfall Coat,” she said, indicating the eutherian and the sheep girl in turn. “Who are you?”

“I’m Vladímir,” I replied.

Anna was immediately even more excited. “Oh wow! That’s a really strange name! But a cool name too! Are you from really far away? Did you really use magic to try and stop a pony family from falling?”

Frosty, or Frostfall, put a hand on Anna’s arm. “H-Hey,” she whispered, “not so fast, Anna.”

Anna looked down at the sheep girl, then back up at me. Her smile turned sheepish and she scratched the back of her neck. “Ahaha, did I do it again? Sorry, Frosty.”

“It’s okay,” I said reassuringly, giving the two girls a kind smile. “But to answer your question, I’m not from really far away. I’m from here in Canterlot. And yes, I did try and use magic to stop that tower from falling.”

Shadow, clearly the oldest of the group, looked at me with a hint of suspicion for a few moments before he relaxed. “I saw what you did,” he said, “but I’ve never seen anypony use magic with their hands before. How old are you?”

“I’m five years old,” I said, holding out my hand to show all five digits. I filed that small nugget of information about magic away as something to look up secretly later, or at least try to.

“Oooh ooh! Me too! I just turned five years old too!” the happy go lucky cow girl said. “So is Frosty! Shadow is seven!”

“Really?” I looked at all three of them, and the two girls did seem to be around my age, although I wouldn’t have been able to guess that Frostfall was that age since she looked younger and smaller than that. However, since I didn’t know anything about any of their races, I knew it wasn’t polite to assume or base my assumptions on human or pony standards. “Well, nice to meet you guys.”

“Hey, wanna play hide and seek?” Anna asked.

“Anna, he’s supposed to be resting, remember?” Frostfall reminded her companion before turning back to me and walking over, a look of concern on her adorable face. “Are you feeling okay? I’m sorry if we woke you up.”

I smiled warmly down at the kind and considerate sheep girl. “I’m alright now,” I said. “I’m not as tired as I was earlier, but I don’t think I’m awake enough to play hide and seek yet.”

“Awww, but this room has sooo many good hiding spots,” Anna said, looking around the room.

“Well, it is a bit small for playing that,” I said.

“Small?? Vlady, this room is bigger than where Mom, Dad and I live!” Anna said as she looked around the room. “And it has a better view, too!”

“Vlady?” I asked.

“Eh, Anna has nicknames for all of us,” Shadow said in an exasperated tone.

“Oh, Shady, it’s soooo much nicer than calling you Shadow all the time,” Anna said with a wave of her hand. “It’s such a sad name!”

“I don’t know, I like the name,” Frostfall said with a soft smile as she looked over at Shadow.

“Yeah, I agree,” I said. “It’s a strong name.”

“And my father says it’s a name that can put fear into the hearts of your enemies,” Shadow said as he put his hands on his hips, looking quite proud.

I couldn’t help it. I chuckled at that. Anna pointed at me and her mouth went wide with an even wider grin. “There’s a smile!” she said.

“You have a nice smile,” Frostfall said.

I blushed a little bit. “Thank you,” I said. Slowly, I pulled the comforter off me once more and swung my legs over the side of the bed, which was how I realized that I needed to answer the call of nature. “Um…do you know where the bathroom is?” I asked.

“Right over there,” Shadow said, pointing to the second door where the maid from before had gotten my water.

“Thanks, I’ll be right back.” So saying, I got out of bed and rushed into the bathroom. The moment after I closed and locked the door, I turned and gaped at how exquisite it looked. It was unlike the bathrooms I’d seen in the orphanage. For one, it was a lot cleaner. Not that the nurses who ran the orphanage didn’t keep it clean, but there were stains there that wouldn’t come out regardless of how hard they tried. The nurses would not only clean them weakly, but would give some of the older children there portions of the bathrooms to clean each week. One week it would be the tub, the next it would be the sink and counters, another it would be the toilets, and on and on it went. The nurses would supervise the children, of course.

However, this bathroom, while it had all the necessary accoutrements like a sink, bathtub and toilet, was also a lot more pristine. The floor was made of tiled marble instead of the wood that I was used to back at the orphanage, the faucet for the sink was a golden swan’s head, the toilet itself was bright blue porcelain, and the tub was made of gold as well, or at least it looked like it was, but I did see a bit of white underneath a portion of gold that had been rubbed away.

After doing my business and washing up with lavender scented soap, I walked out only to see Anna standing and bouncing on my bed while Frostfall was walking around, looking at the room with her own look of wide eyed curiosity. Shadow, meanwhile, was near the window next to the door looking out of it, almost like he was keeping watch for someone. When Anna saw me come out, she jumped over to the side, then bounced off of the bed and onto her feet. “That’s a bouncy bed!” she said with a smile.

“Is it? I’ve been sleeping in it, so I haven’t noticed,” I said as I walked back to it and climbed back in. I bounced a bit up and down and noticed that she was right. “Well what do you know? It is,” I chuckled.

“And comfortable too,” Frostfall said from the other side. Turning, I saw her pushing down gently on the mattress from where she stood next to the bed.

“Not as comfy as you, Frosty!” Anna said, rushing over and hugging her, rubbing her cheek against Frostfall’s own. “So fluffy!”

“A-Anna!” Frostfall said, blushing a bit, “I just got my wool sheering done. I’m not that fluffy!”

“Just wait until winter,” Anna said, turning to me, “and you’ll see that Frosty has the fluffiest wool coat ever!”

I chuckled. “I don’t doubt it.”

“Hey, since you don’t feel like playing hide and seek, how about we play something else?” Anna asked, reaching into her overall pocket and pulling out what looked like a bag of marbles. “Do you know how to play marbles?”

“Ah, shoot! I lost again!” Anna said as Shadow knocked her shooter marble out of the impromptu ring that we had set up on the ground.

I chuckled as I moved over towards where my shooter marble was located nearby. “You won the first three games, Anna,” I said as I leaned over the small circle to aim my shooter marble at Shadow’s own.

“Heh, yeah, I guess so,” she said as she lay down on her stomach, holding her head in her hands and moving her legs back and forth as she and Frostfall watched the ending of the game. When I flicked my shooter marble and it hit Shadow’s, she and the others watched as it headed to the small string that we’d used for the circle. The tension was palpable as his marble slowed down. We al watched carefully as it touched the circle, then crossed over it. I held up my hands in victory. “Yes! I win! Finally!”

“Lucky shot,” Shadow muttered as he grabbed his shooter marble.

“Luck, nothing! That was pure skill!” I retorted with a smug grin. We’d been playing the marble game for about an hour, and I really was starting to like these three children. Anna was the kind of kid who didn’t let much bother me. She was always smiling and pretty hyper as well. It was also from her that I learned that her race was called holstaur. Frostfall was a quieter kid, but once she came out of her shell, she was really fun to hang out with. She told me she was part of the ovitaur species. I knew what race Shadow was already, and from what I gathered about him, he was the protective type and rather loyal to his two younger friends.

“Is that a challenge, then?” Shadow asked, looking down at me with a challenge in his eyes.

“Challenge how?” I asked. “What do you wanna do?”

“Another game, just you and me, right here and right now,” Shadow said.

The competitive spirit rose up inside me and I grinned. “You’re on!”

“Awww, I wanna play again, too!” Anna pouted cutely enough as Shadow and I began to reset the marbles.

“This is a challenge between males, Anna,” Shadow said, “you wouldn’t understand.”

“I wanna play! I wanna play!” Anna continued.

“Come on, Shadow, let’s just let her play, huh?” I said, looking over at the eutherian. “I don’t mind.”

Shadow looked at the holstaur girl, who was giving Shadow big pleading puppy dog eyes. He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fiiiine, you can play.”

“Yaay!” she said excitedly as she reached out to grab her shooter marble.

Unfortunately, that was the time that the older holstaur maid from before decided to come and check in on me. The door opened and we all froze. Slowly turning, we all saw a stunned looking Buttercup looking at the four of us gathered up on the floor in the corner where the carpet wasn’t an issue. Her shock quickly turned to parental anger as she looked at Anna. “Anna Belle! What are you and your friends doing here?!” she asked angrily as she put her hands on her hips and rushed over towards us. “I thought I told you that this young stallion needed some sleep, young heifer!” Turning to me, she gave me an apologetic look and bowed. “I am so sorry about my daughter and her friends, young sir. She’s just really curious.”

I chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, it’s alright,” I said. “Anna’s a nice girl.”

Buttercup looked surprised at that, but only for a few seconds before a smile creased her lips. “You’re very understanding, young sir,” she said before she turned and walked over to her daughter, grabbing her by her cowlike ears and pulling her to her feet before continuing, “but my daughter knows better than to disobey me. Your father and I are going to have a serious talk with you when he gets off work, young heifer!”

“Ow ow ow! I’m sorry, mom! I’m sorry!” the young calf said, wincing as her mother pulled her ear.

“As for the rest of you,” the maid said, looking at the now scared Frostfall and slightly nervous looking Shadow, “I’ll be telling your parents what you were both up to.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” I said, not really wanting the scared looking sheep girl to get in trouble. She had that sort of attitude and look that made me want to protect her at all costs. Ravioli, ravioli, don’t let the sheep girl be bullied. “They weren’t bothering me. We’ve been playing for about an hour, anyway.”

“I appreciate you saying so,” Buttercup said, “but the mage physician was clear. You need rest, and the Princess herself ordered it so.”

“She did?!” Frostfall asked, now looking petrified.

“I really feel fine, I promise,” I said as I stood. “My horn doesn’t hurt anymore, and the aches are gone.”

The maid came up to me, knelt down and put her hand on my forehead again. She held it there, then nodded. “Well, your fever is gone,” she admitted, “but even so, you should still listen to the mage physician’s orders.”

I nodded in understanding, then turned to the three children I’d been playing with. “Sorry guys. Guess I gotta get some more rest.”

“Mommy, can we come back and visit Vlady sometime when he’s feeling better?” Anna asked.

Buttercup looked down at her daughter, then back at me. I shrugged and said, “I don’t mind playing with Anna and her friends again. It was fun.”

Buttercup put her free hand on her hips, the other now wrapped around Anna’s wrist. She looked at the pleading young holstaur calf, then back at me. Finally, she sighed and said, “If the physician says it’s okay, then you can come back.”

“But what if he has to go home before that?” Shadow asked.

“I guess you could come visit me where I live,” I said.

“We can discuss it later,” Buttercup said. “Right now, young heifer, you and your friends need to let this young colt get his rest. Physician’s orders.”

“See you later, Vlady!” Anna said with a wave as her mother pulled her towards the door.

“Feel better soon, Vladímir,” Frostfall said kindly and with a wave.

“You’d better! It’ll be nice to have another stallion to talk to,” Shadow said.

“Oh hush, you!” Anna said with a giggle as they all left the room, leaving me once more alone with my thoughts.

I lay back down in bed, pulling the covers up and closed my eyes. Today had definitely been one of the weirdest days of my life ever since reincarnating into this odd anthro version of Equestria. I relaxed, and a smile began forming on my face. Despite having the mind of someone about thirty or so years old now, it had felt nice to play with someone my own physical age. It made me feel like a kid again. Then again, I was a child again I had to remind myself. Yawning, I pulled the covers up closer, turned onto my side, and began falling once more into a comfortable sleep.

I woke to feel someone gently stroking my mane. Keeping my eyes closed, I listened and waited to see who was visiting me now. A few moments later, someone sat on the side of the bed, then chuckled a bit. “He really does look a lot like Eclipse,” a soft and very familiar voice said. “I wonder if he really is related to him…?”

Eclipse? Who was that? I thought. However, I knew better than to eavesdrop anymore, so I began to stir. Moving onto my back, I yawned and stretched a little bit before opening my eyes. Only to find myself staring into two absolutely gorgeous magenta eyes. There, sitting on the side of my bed, was the very Princess of Equestria herself, Princess Celestia Dawn. Her mane flowed majestically as if being blown by some invisible wind as did her tail behind her. She was wearing the same white dress I’d seen her wearing at the Summer Sun Celebration, only now I saw her cutie mark emblazoned on the part of her dress near her hips. I froze halfway through my stretching, completely mesmerized by how beautiful the Princess actually was. Back on Earth, I remember reading one time that Lauren Faust herself had called Celestia the epitome of pony beauty. Being in this unusual version of Equestria and having not seen another human in five years, I’d grown to appreciate the beauty and attractiveness of pony mares.

The Princess looked at me, and her smile turned into a very small smirk. “Oh my, are you alright?” she asked in a tone of concern, but the look in her eyes only confirmed that she knew just what I was thinking.

“I…yes I am, Princess,” I replied, quickly sitting up and lowering my head towards her.

She chuckled softly. “Please, raise your head young Vladímir.”

I did so, looking up at her once more. “Of course, Princess.”

She giggled again. “Such a proper gentlecolt,” she said. “Those nurses at the orphanage certainly have been raising you well.”

“I’ll let them know you said so, Princess,” I promised.

She nodded. “Please do.” Then, she did something I hadn’t expected. She reached down towards my horn and slowly remove the magical suppression ring from it. Immediately, I felt the flow of magic from my horn to my hands return.

Surprised, I looked down at my pudgy childlike hands, then back up at her. “Thank you, Princess,” I replied.

She looked down at my hands as well, then back at me. “So, you did use your hands to channel your magic,” she said softly. A shudder of fear ran through me. Was I in trouble or something? Celestia must have noticed my apprehension because she quickly added, “Oh don’t worry, you’re not in any sort of trouble. I have just never seen anypony use magic the way you have in many hundreds of years.”

That stunned me. I raised an eyebrow and looked up at her. “Really? It’s that rare?” I asked.

She nodded. “One of the last ponies I saw who used it died hundreds of years ago,” she said. “His name was Eclipse.” I noticed a faraway look appear briefly in Celestia’s eyes before she turned back to me. “Are you feeling better now? Using that much magic up at such a young age takes a while to recover from.”

“I feel much better than this morning,” I admitted. “That was this morning, right?”

Celestia nodded. “You’ve been up here ever since the morning,” she replied. “It’s almost time for me to lower the sun, actually.”

“Wait, it is? But I have to get back home,” I said worriedly.

Celestia giggled a bit. “Actually, the mage physician wanted you to stay overnight just to be safe,” she replied. “He was worried you might not recover your magic fast enough. And there is no need to worry. I’ve told your caretakers about the situation and made sure they know you’re in the best of hands.”

“Wait, not recover my magic fast enough? What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, what do you know about magic, young one?” Celestia asked.

“Not a whole lot, Princess,” I replied.

Celestia nodded. “I understand. Well, when somepony your age uses that much magic all at once, it can cause someone to pass out like you did.” I saw her slipping into a teacher persona as she continued, so I paid close attention. “See, everycreature has some magic inside them, but most of it is in something called the anima. It pumps out magic through the body and helps keep everycreature alive. If you don’t have enough magic inside you, you’ll pass out like you did so you won’t lose all of it. While you’re asleep, the mana in the air moves back into your anima and fills it back up with magic much faster than when you’re awake.”

I nodded in understanding. I didn’t know too much about human or anthro pony biology, but it sounded like this anima was a lot like a heart, pulling raw mana from the air into itself like veins brought back blood to the heart and the anima was the source of the magic flowing out, a lot like how arteries flowed out of the heart and to the rest of the body. “I think I get it,” I said.

She smiled and continued. “Normally, a unicorn your age takes a full day or two to recover their magic.” She reached over and put her hand on my forehead, feeling my temperature. When she removed her hand, she nodded. “Your fever’s gone now, but I still think you should stay here until at least tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, okay,” I said.

There was silence for a bit before Celestia continued. “I hear you had some excitement a few hours ago,” she said, holding up a small marble in between her fingers.

I chuckled a bit. “I did get some visitors,” I said.

“Did you have fun with them?” the princess asked.

“Oh yeah, we played marbles for about an hour,” I replied. “It was really fun!”

“I’m glad to hear it,” she said with a smile. “Sunny Breeze did mention that you haven’t made any friends.”

“Yeah, they tease me there,” I said, looking down and running my finger in a circle along the comforter.

Celestia frowned and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

I looked down at the blanket, playing up the poor bullied kid act. “They call me a bat pony lover…”

I could feel Celestia stiffen up at that. “Well, that’s not very nice of them,” she said.

“Eh, I don’t care,” I replied, waving a hand dismissively. “I used to have a bat pony friend.”

“They’re called eutherians, my little pony,” Celestia said.

“Right, right. You-thee-ree-an,” I said it out phonetically, like I had a hard time saying it. “Am I saying that right?”

Celestia nodded. “That’s correct.”

“Yay!”

I was satisfied to see Celestia smiling wider as she ran a hand through my mane before she stood. “Are you feeling up for a little walk?” she asked.

“Where are we going?” I asked, pulling the covers off and swinging my legs over the bed.

“Oh, not very far, just to one of the windows,” Celestia said. “I need to lower the sun and raise the moon. Do you want to watch?”

My eyes widened in genuine excitement. I’d always wanted to see it up close. “Can I really watch?” I asked.

“Of course,” Celestia said as she headed towards one of the windows. Watching her walk from the back, I was struck by how majestically and gracefully she walked. It was almost as if she was floating. Her long alabaster wings were folded behind her dress and seemed to shimmer with barely repressed magic.

I rushed after her after climbing out of bed and reached her just as she raised her horn and opened the window with her magic. She looked down at me as I rushed up beside her, looking out towards the west. The city itself mostly had a view of the western portion of Equestria, meaning that the sun itself was now just kissing the horizon. The sunlight itself was shining over the rooftops of Canterlot, casting long shadows along the roofs and streets of the medieval looking city. “Whoa…” was all I could say.

“Canterlot is lovely this time of day,” Celestia said as she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “And the wind is coming in from the west, too.” I sniffed the air as well. It had a late spring/early summer scent to it as a slight breeze blew over the two of us, brushing my mane back gently. Celestia opened her eyes and looked down at me. “Okay, my little pony, are you ready to watch me lower the sun?” she asked.

“Yes, Princess,” I said.

Celestia smiled, then closed her eyes. Her horn began glowing again, only this time it was brighter than before. Then, to my surprise, she began speaking in a language I didn’t expect her to even know: English. “Sun, hear my call and heed my words, for it’s time to go, for now it is time for the Moon to rise up from below. Tomorrow is another day for you to shine your light. Now rest, for you have earned your sleep throughout this quiet night.” As she said those words, the sun began lowering past the distant mountains, bringing twilight light throughout the world. The sky went from bright yellows, oranges and reds to deep purples and nighttime blue. The stars began coming out. Her horn’s magic seemed to brighten more, and she winced slightly as she said again, “Come forth, bright moon, and heed my words, for it is time to wake. Your slumber must come to an end, and your place in the sky you must take. Oh, guardian of the night, come forth and shine your silvery glow upon all creatures, great and small, who slumber sound below.” A silvery glow began shining on the ground below, but not yet on the city since the cliffs hid the rising moon. It wouldn’t be visible for about half the night. Her horn began dimming and she immediately relaxed, smiling and looking up at the bright starry sky in satisfaction. “Another day over,” she said.

“What did you just say?” I asked, hiding the fact that I spoke the same language that she, albeit in an Equestrian accent, had just said. “I don’t know that language.”

“I’d be surprised if you did,” Celestia said. “It’s an ancient language that nopony speaks anymore. It’s called the Language of Magic, and it was used many hundreds of years ago to help ancient mages perform great spells. Not even I know the language anymore, just those words which help me to raise and lower the sun and moon every day.”

That was news to me, and I filed it away for future use. “How come no one speaks it anymore?” I asked.

“Well, because ponies found that there were quicker and easier ways to cast magic,” Celestia explained. “You’ll learn a lot more about it when you start school.”

“Oh, okay,” I said, smiling a bit.

“Now then, I know you’ve had plenty of rest already,” Celestia said as she closed the window, “but it’s time for you to sleep for the night.” She turned around and gently began leading me back to the bed.

“Okay, Princess,” I said as I climbed back into bed once more. “Thank you for letting me watch you lower the sun and raise the moon! It was amazing!”

Celestia nodded. “Of course,” she said, “I’m always happy to. Now sleep well, my little pony, and goodnight.”

I pulled the covers back up over me. “Goodnight, Princess Celestia,” I replied, yawning once more.

“Goodnight to you as well, young Vladímir,” Celestia said. She turned and headed towards the main door, opened it, and took one last look at me before she closed it behind her.

I closed my eyes, surprised at how tired I still felt despite having slept a lot of the day. Then again, I reasoned, Celestia did just take off that magical suppression ring from my horn. Maybe that’s why? As exhaustion washed over me, I decided to table those thoughts for the next day. I curled up underneath the covers and went back to sleep.

I woke to the sound of someone knocking on the front door. Buttercup’s voice came from behind the door as I blinked out the sleep from my eyes. “Young Vladímir? Are you awake yet?”

“Nnng…yes,” I said grumpily as I sat up as I rubbed my eyes clean of any cobwebs.

The door opened and Buttercup came in, carrying a large tray of delicious smelling breakfast dishes. I saw two strips of freshly cooked hay bacon, which to my new tastebuds tasted as good as the real deal, a small bowl of steaming porridge or oatmeal with what smelled like honey in it, a slice of freshly baked rye bread, two small sunny side up eggs, a couple slices of cheese, a freshly peeled orange and a glass of what looked like ice water. She set the platter down on the bed in front of me after pulling open some legs on it which helped it act like a miniature table. “You haven’t eaten in a day, and the mage physician said that it was time for you to eat something to help you recover your strength.”

My stomach began growling loudly as the smell of everything in front of me assaulted my nostrils and took up residence within every nook and cranny of it. I hadn’t smelled anything so delicious in all my time here. Most breakfasts at the orphanage consisted of lukewarm porridge, dry but still edible bread, hard cheese and sometimes some apples or applesauce. My mouth began watering immediately. “That smells so good!” I said, resisting the urge to grab one of the cleanest forks I’d seen and dig in.

Buttercup smiled. “The cooks at the palace are the best in the kingdom,” she said. “Now, though, it’s time to eat. The princess wanted to see you as soon as possible.”

I looked at Buttercup in confusion. “Am I in trouble?” I asked in a nervous tone.

Buttercup immediately shook her head. “No, no, no,” she said quickly and reassuringly. “She just wants to talk to you is all.”

I relaxed a bit, feeling a bit relieved and now more curious as to why she wanted to see me. “Well, alright,” I said as I reached out to grab the small fork provided. Unlike the ones back at the orphanage, which were dull and had lost their shine, the fork I held in my hand was pristine and had a large reflective surface on it.

“I’ll draw you a bath while you eat,” Buttercup said as she stood and headed to the bathroom.

“Thank you!” I called out to her as I took a large bite of the hay bacon, savoring its surprisingly juicy and meaty-ish taste. “Mmm…” was all I could say as I ate. As Buttercup continued preparing a bath for me, I sampled each dish, and was blown away by the flavor of each. It was then that I realized just how privileged those who lived in the palace were to eat like this every day. Not that I ate poorly by any means. We ate well and healthily enough, of course and were kept as clean as possible. The nurses there really did care about their charges, but it was a bit difficult since I always had the impression they were understaffed.

By the time Buttercup came back out, I was pretty much halfway done with everything. The cheese, eggs and hay bacon were all gone and the oatmeal, bread and the orange were all half gone. I was chewing on the still warm slice of bread when she came back out. “My my, you eat quickly,” she chuckled. “Almost as much as my little Anna.”

I smiled a bit. “Well, I was hungry,” I said as I took a sip of the water to wash the bread down with.

“When you’re all done, the bath is ready,” Buttercup said.

“Okay,” I replied as I continued eating my breakfast. As I did so, Buttercup grabbed a rag that was hanging off of her belt and began wiping down surfaces. After I finished, I decided to try and use my magic for the first time since the day before. I lifted my horn up, then felt the familiar tingling sensation as my horn lit up. My magic flowed down through my body and out of my right hand, which lit up as I cast a simple telekinesis spell on the tray, lifting it up and moving it to a flatter part of the bed before setting it down. Once I stopped casting my magic, I took stock of how my magic and body felt. I didn’t notice anything unusual, but I wasn’t going to take any more chances. I swung my legs over the bed and jumped off, holding my stomach. “I’ve never been so full in my life,” I said as I headed to the bathroom.

Buttercup came up behind me. “You about ready to take your bath, young Vladímir?” she asked.

I nodded. “Eeyup,” I said.

“Alright, well the physician and the Princess said to keep an eye on you while you took a bath,” Buttercup said.

I was about to protest automatically when I remembered that not only was I in a five year old body, but I was also under Princess Celestia’s roof, and thus I had to follow her rules. “Okay, I understand,” I said.

Buttercup seemed a bit surprised by my acquiescence. “Wow, you’re a lot easier to deal with than Anna. She’s always whining about me bathing with her,” she said.

I giggled as I began to take off my pajamas. “She is? Heh.”

“Trust me, she is a pain in the behind to deal with for her baths and for when it’s time for her weekly feeding,” Buttercup said.

I shrugged as I removed the rest of my clothes and climbed into the steaming bathtub. “Ooh! Ooh! Hah! Hah! Haaaah…Aaah…” I said as my body got used to the water. I sank into it, letting the warmth wash over me. I splashed my mane and quickly ducked my head under the water to get myself all soaked. “This is a really nice tub,” I said. “Where’s the soap?”

About fifteen minutes later, and after having Buttercup helping me to wash, I got out, brushed my teeth and got dressed in a pair of light brown slacks with a belt, a dark red t-shirt and black shoes. I felt more refreshed and cleaner than I had felt in a long time as we left the tower. It was here that I discovered that the tower itself was about three stories tall with an outside staircase that circled around the cylindrical tower.

Walking through the halls of the palace was an experience. I couldn’t stop staring at everything. It was impressive, to be sure, but unlike how it was depicted in the show, it wasn’t as colorful or whimsical. It was a lot more realistic looking, with portraits of ponies hanging from the walls and statues in the halls along with full blown sets of armor. There were torch sconces on the walls as well as hanging plants.

As we walked, I took notice of the staff walking up and down the hallways. While a good number of them were ponies, I did see ovitars and holstaurs walking through the palace, sweeping or cleaning or carrying something. Male holstaurs looked a lot like their female counterparts, only with longer and sharper horns and without the feminine physique. The same thing with male ovitars.

Buttercup brought me towards the center of the palace in front of a large wooden door guarded by two burly unicorn royal guards. One guard knocked and poked his head in, announcing us. When I heard Celestia calling us in, he pushed the door open, revealing a large dome shaped study. Sitting behind a large white desk sat Celestia. Also there, to my surprise, was Sunny who was sitting in a chair facing the Princess. When she saw me, she jumped out of the chair and rushed over to me, hugging me and looking me over, asking me if I was okay and if I slept well etc. I reassured her that I was okay before turning back to the Princess. “You wanted to see me, Princess?”

Celestia nodded and gestured to the second chair in the room. “Yes, please young Vladímir. Buttercup, thank you for bringing him. You’re dismissed. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” she said, bowing and heading out.

Celestia turned next to Sunny. “Miss Breeze, I hope you don’t mind if I speak to young Vladímir alone.”

“Of course not,” Sunny said, standing and hugging be close. “Thank Celestia you’re alright,” she whispered before she left, closing the door behind her.

Once we were alone, Celestia raised her head, casting a spell that made any sound coming in through the door or the window to her left and right cut right out. Once she did that, she leaned forward. “Now then, young Mr. Vladímir, I’ve been speaking to Miss Breeze, and she told me she hasn’t been teaching anypony at the orphanage magic. Especially at the level you showed yesterday morning. How did you learn magic so well?”

My ears flattened immediately. I knew then that I was caught. I looked down at the floor, fiddling with my fingers. Celestia saw this and in a soft voice, she said, “My little pony, you’re not in trouble. We’re just wondering how you learned magic so fast.”

I bit my lower lip, then looked up at her before asking, “Do you promise not to tell anyone?” I asked. “And I mean anyone?”

“Of course, young Vladímir,” Celestia said. “I won’t tell anypony.”

“I mean anyone,” I insisted. “No ponies, holstaurs, ovitars, any creature. Although, I think there’s one pony you can tell.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “And who’s that?” she asked curiously.

I dropped my childish façade as I sat up. Celestia was the first to take notice as she looked at me with a curious expression. When I next spoke, I used my real tone and dialect as I said, “Your sister, Princess Luna, once she returns.”

Celestia’s eyes went wide with astonishment. “Vladímir, your voice…”

“I can read and write already, and have been able to for a while,” I said, leaning back and giving her a steady gaze.

There was silence between us for a while. Finally, Celestia said, “Okay then, Vladímir, you have my full attention. What is it you want to tell me that’s so secret that you can’t even tell your nurse at the orphanage?”

“There’s a lot I need to tell you,” I said, “and it’s not going to be something that many are going to believe.”

“Okay…well, I’m listening,” Celestia said.

Taking a deep breath, I began. “For one, I’m a lot older than I look…”

Author's Note

That took me forever to write, phew. I know it's not my best, but I don't like keeping readers waiting too long. Anyway, enjoy!