Finding his footing on the cobblestone streets was at least reassuring. The quiet of the night was peaceful. The moon was high; the stars were shining, and Ponyville was silent as most were in bed. The only sound that he heard was his own footsteps. His hands were in his pockets to keep warm from the chill of the night. Alone with his thoughts once more he was processing everything that happened this event.

Being with Celestia was warm, breathtaking even. He couldn’t see past himself at this moment, though. All he could think of was why a goddess of power and knowledge would crave to be with a being that was alien to her race. Was it some kind of test? Some way of keeping an eye on him? That idea made his stomach turn. Thinking poorly of her was something that he hated. The ponies had been nothing but kind to him. Self-doubt was a real bitch at times.

Celestia told him she could teleport him right to Twilight's Castle. He asked her not to and just to teleport him to the edge of town. He said he liked the walk. Which wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t the whole truth either, though. He hadn’t been walking that long when the crystal tower came into view. This had been his home for the last few weeks. He had spent most of his days indoors learning about the new world he was in from Twilight. Meeting the townsfolk for the first time was an interesting interaction, to say the least.

That thought alone made him dig into his jacket pocket. This was something he hid from all the ponies. A package of cigarettes that he had been using for the last few weeks. Sneaking off into the castle to have smoke by a window. He didn’t know if the ponies had smokes here like they had in his world. He looked into the carton, seeing he only had three left. He let out a sigh into the air as he kept walking. Maybe this was a sign from the stars that he needed to finally quit. He always meant to, but his job was stressful. He didn’t have many outlets for his stress, either.

He tucked the cigarettes back into his pocket. They were one of the last ties to his world he had left. Before he knew it, he was walking the path to the entrance to the castle. He tilted his head, spotting a certain purple dragon sleeping against the railing of the stairs. It was Spike, Twilight's friend and assistant at times. Spike had been a positive and friendly being since Anon had gotten here. He was like a kid brother; he never had. The dragon was mature in his own way, at least in Anon's eyes, anyway.

Anon walked up to the little dragon. He cleared his throat. Spike jumped to his feet. “AH! I am awake.” He spoke, looking up at the Anon, who’s brow was arched already.

“Oooh, Anon fancy seeing you here, just thought I'd take a little walk outside. Guess I dozed off.” He spoke sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Riighhhttt. Whelp, Champion let’s get you inside it’s cold out tonight. If you catch a cold, Twilight will have one more thing to worry about.” Stating this to him as he walked past him towards the door of the castle. Pushing it open, the lights were still on. He looked back at Spike. Spike flashed him a nervous smile.

“Twilight said she was having a girl's night. Everyone here. I think they should still be up.” Spike spoke aloud as he walked behind Anon.

Anon found his eyes rolling at that explanation. He guessed they couldn’t help themselves and wanted to know how things went tonight. He wasn’t used to people actually worrying about him…or maybe they were worried about Celestia. Still, his feet carried him to the center of the castle. Which Twilight called the Map Room. Apparently the crystal table in the middle of the room was actually a magical map that summoned some of them to places sometimes. He didn’t understand it all, but the magic stuff did go over his head a lot.

There they were, sitting in crystal thrones, fast asleep. Pinkie pie was literally on the table with butt in the air snoring. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were leaning against each other. Rarity was snoring the loudest, and Fluttershy was curled up in a little ball in her chair. Twilight was face down on the table. There were playing cards on the table. He was guessing they were going to try to play it off like they were just playing a game when he walked in.

“Come on Spike, help me out. I don’t want them to get cold. Don’t wake them up ok.” He whispered.

Spike nodded and the two of them got some blankets out of the hall closet and wrapped each of the girls in a small blanket so they wouldn't be cold. The only one he didn’t see down here was Starlight. She probably didn’t care about the date and decided to pack it in for the night. He put the last blanket on Twilight and she shuffled in her sleep, curling into the blanket as he released it.

“So…did it go well?” Spike finally got the courage to ask.

“I don’t know Spike. I am not really experienced at this whole romance thing.” Anon commented.

Spike looked at Rarity for a moment. Letting out his own sigh. “Ya neither am I. Did you at least have fun?” That was his next question.

Anon peered down at his little buddy. Offering a little shrug as he replied. “Yeah, it was fun. She’s….nice to talk too.”

“Of course. Celestia’s the best.” He beamed up at Anon.

Anon offered a weak smile in return, stretching his arms to the sky, letting out a yawn. “I am going to head to bed, Spike. You should get some sleep, too.” He then began to walk away from the room towards the staircase in the hallway.

“Hey Anon.” Spike spoke up.

Anon stopped in his tracks, turning back to him. “Yeah?” Anon replied.

“....I know this place isn’t your home. I know how it feels not to fit in around here. I know it's probably worse for you because you had home before this one. I am sure you miss it, but…” He stopped looking up at Anon. “This place can be your home if you let us and we’re here for you. That’s what friends are for.”

Friends. Did he even know what that word meant? He never formed any deep connections like that in his world. “Thanks Spike. Goodnight.” That’s all he could really say as turned back to his path.

“Goodnight.” Spike replied.

Anon found himself in the room. It wasn’t bad. They gave him a huge bed and a night stand. He even had a window that had a perfect view of the sky. His eyes, however, were locked on his bed. He was physically, mentally, and emotionally…DRAINED. He took off his jacket and dropped it on the nightstand. He took off his belt and let it hit the floor and finally kicked off his shoes as face planted into the bed.

Sleep found him quickly as moonlight covered his entrance to the land of dreams. Where someone was waiting to greet him.

Author's Note

Hey Everyone. I ran this chapter though grammar check hopefully it's a little better then first chapter. As always I love some feed back and hope you all are enjoying the story.