Chapters The wind howled to the night sky like a wolf as rain slammed against the side of a simple house, where two friends were staying for the night. The older of the two smiled as he fixed up his Skull kid costume for the convention the two were attending, as he looked over to his friend. "Man Milo, I can't believe you won two free tickets to this convention, and you still couldn't come up with a good costume!"
The younger boy, Milo, wore a pair of brown shorts with a red striped sweater and a yellow shirt underneath. His brown shoes nearly stacked near the door as he chuckled at his friends actions.
"You know… with your name you could go as Milo Murphy from Milo Murphy's law." His friend said with a smile. "And considering my name is Zack it kinda works haha."
Milo rolled his eyes with a smirk. “Maybe, but I don’t believe in bad luck. But yeah it would be a good costume, I think I am just missing a backpack.”
"Maybe you can get one from the convention." Zack said, as he sat on the couch his green shirt and black pants causing him to have a forest like look to him with his brown twisting hair looking like roots. "Imagine how funny it would have been if we had gone as Phineas and Ferb, but when we told people our names."
“Yeah, maybe we can do that next year.” Milo sat down and turned on the tv. “I wonder if I am gonna win tonight.” He said as he turned on the news.
"Man with your luck I'd be more surprised if you didn't win." Zack said, laying out on his side of the couch.
“I doubt my luck is that good to win the lottery.” Milo said while shaking his head.
"And the winning numbers are, 16, 20, 19, and finally…." The TV announcer said as Milo looked at his ticket. “25!”
Milo’s jaw dropped. “No fucking way…”
"Wait, did you actually win!?" Zack asked, shocked as he ran over to look at the ticket. "Holy crap! Dude you're a millionaire! Oh you are so paying for everything at the convention!"
Milo stared at the screen. “I won…holy crap.” He looked at Zack. “I don’t know how but I want to make this money worth it. Maybe I can get you and my family new homes, and donate some of it to charity.”
"Man you're a good guy, don't forget to save some for yourself." Zack said with a smile.
“Of course I will, but I don’t need all that money.” Milo said with a smile before he set the ticket down. “How about I order us a pizza or something?”
"Sure, how about tomorrow before we head to the convention you get that cashed? That way you can have cash on you." Zack said with a grin as he sat down. "Also, have you heard of the disappearing people? The ones going missing at conventions? I heard they vanish without a trace."
“I heard the rumors but I don’t believe them, no one can disappear without a trace.” Milo said as he walked over to the phone and picked it up.
"I don't know man, I mean would you believe someone if they said they got free tickets to their favorite convention and then they won the lottery?" Zack asked with a grin.
Milo rolled his eyes as he dialed. “I probably wouldn’t but I mean no one can just disappear without anyone seeing or cameras spotting them.” He said before putting the phone to his ear.
"I'm gonna take a shower." Zack said, heading upstairs as someone answered the phone.
"Pizza hut, how may I help you?"
“Yeah I would like two stuffed crust pepperoni pizzas please, as well as two 2 liter Mountain dews please.” Milo told them and then give them the address,
"The total will be 47.66. it'll be there in about a half hour."
“Alright, thank you.” Milo hung up and sat down and looked around before putting on my little pony friendship is magic on the tv.
After a while Zack came downstairs in a pair of Zelda Majora's mask pajamas his ex-girlfriend had given him as he sat on the couch. "What episode are you on?"
“Twilight messed up a spell and swapped all her friend’s cutie marks.” Milo said, while not taking his eyes off the screen.
"Oh, this episode." Zack said with a grin, watching the TV.
“I wonder how far the spell went, like did it jait swap their cutie marks or did it rewrite the past?” Milo asked before there was a knock at the door. “Ugh damn.” He got up to answer the door.
"I got it dude, I've already seen the episode." Zack said, getting up. "You finish watching it."
“Dude, you are awesome.” Milo said and sat back down.
Zack chuckled a bit as he went to the front door, only finding a box. "Um, did you order something besides the pizza?"
“No, why?” Milo looked away from the screen as a song started to play.
"There's a box here." Zack said, bringing the large box over to Milo.
“The heck?” Milo scratched his head, he then checked the address and saw their names on it. “Get a knife to open it.”
Zack shrugged and got a knife from the kitchen. "What do you think is inside?"
“Who knows, but it has our names on it, so it's for us.” Milo said before there was a flash from the tv. “Huh?” He looked and saw the elements of harmony blasting Twilight. “The hell?!”
"Oh just wait." Zack said, opening the box as Milo watched Celestia talking to Twilight as a slideshow of all of the mare's adventures played around them.
“What's happening?” Milo asked, while glued to the tv. “Wait, no way…is she gonna turn into a…”
"What in the world…" Zack said in shock as he opened the box as Twilight appeared in front of her friends with wings.
“No way!” Milo yelled and stood up before Zack grabbed him and turned his head to look into the box.
"Look!" Zack said, pointing to a Majora's mask replica and an exact replica of Milo Murphy's backpack.
“Whoa!” Milo picked up the backpack and felt something inside it. He opened it and laughed. “Look there is a plush of Milo’s dog inside.”
"Diogee!" Zack laughed as he picked up Majora's mask. "Oh hey! It's the other masks!"
“Really?” Milo looked as he put the backpack on. “Could I have one?”
"Hmmm, here you can have the bunny hood." Zack said, giving Milo the bunny hood.
Milo chuckled and took it. “Very funny, if I remember right it just made you a bit faster in the game right?” He asked as he looked the bunny hood over.
"Yeah, and?" He asked with a grin. "Milo Murphy needing more speed to outrun disaster? Who would see that coming?"
Milo chuckled and shocked his head as he put the yellow bunny ears on. “Yeah yeah, so what should we do next?”
"How about we check out our costumes? See how they look completed." Zack said, grabbing his costume.
“Sure.” Milo said with a smile and adjusted his new backpack.
Zack smiled as he went and put on his costume, a pair of green shorts and gloves made to look like grass with an orange rugged tunic. An orange straw hat and brown shoes, and a ring belt around the tunic to match the rings on his hat and shoes to complete the set. "Well?" He asked, putting on the Majora's mask. "How do I look?"
“Dude, you look just like him.” Milo said with a grin.
"Thanks, you look exactly like Milo Murphy too!" Zack said with a smile.
Milo chuckled and smirked. “Of course I do, I am Milo.”
"Fair enough." Zack said with a laugh.
Milo started to walk back to his seat but tripped over his shoelaces. “Whoa!” He yelled as he fell over and banged his head on the ground. “Ow!”
"Jeez dude, you alright?" Zack asked, helping his friend up.
“Yeah, I don’t know what happened.” Milo said as he rubbed his head.
"Your shoelaces came undone, I guess you used up all your good luck." Zack chuckled a bit.
“Don’t be ridiculous, there is no such thing as luck.” Milo said as he kneeled down to tie his shoes.
Zack held up the lottery ticket and ticket to the convention, while pointing at the box. "Really? With all the free and lucky shit that's happened?"
“Ok ok maybe I had some good luck lately.” Milo said with a roll of his eyes.
"And I think you-" Zack started to say, before the mask glowed in his hands and shadows swirled around him before vanishing without a trace.
Zack looked around confused as he stood in the middle of a large garden, in the middle of a courtyard. "What the? Milo?" He called out looking around worriedly as he looked around. "Where the heck am I?" He looked around and only saw forest as far as he could see. "Alright, let's see where I am." He said before climbing a tree and noticing a large castle close by as he noticed two small figures walking through the forest away from said castle.
"Tia, are you sure this is safe?" A small young voice asked someone.
“I am sure Luna, we won’t go far, I am just wanting some fresh air.” Another young voice said, with a bit of annoyance in her voice.
Zack looked down at the ground, his eyes widening as he saw two young alicorn fillies walking around. One was pure white with an all pink mane and tail, while the other was dark blue with a stary mane and tail who looked worried. "But Mama and papa said the forest has been getting more and more monsters in it…"
“I know but surely the space around the castle is safe or ponies wouldn’t live nearby.” The white one said as they passed Zack.
Zack raised an eyebrow as he watched them, the smaller one looking around fearfully. "But what if one finds us?"
“Then we use our magic to get away or call for help.” The older looking one said before turning around. “You don’t have to follow me, you know.”
"W-we know! But we don't want thou to be alone!" Luna said, playing with her hooves.
The older one sighed and rubbed her face with a hoof. “Fine, just please stop worrying.”
Luna nodded a bit as the two continued to walk, as Zack followed them. "This is nuts, is it really them? As fillies!?"
The white one sighed and stretched her wings. “I am glad to be out of the castle.”
"Indeed, it has been a long while." Luna said as Zack followed them quietly. "Sister, did thou hear about the wooden wolves that have been appearing? It is rumored they are made of wood and magic."
“I am sure it is just that, a rumor. Something to keep little fillies and colts inside the castle town walls.” The older filly said.
Zack shakes his head as a howl echoed through the forest. “What was that?!” Luna said with fear as she got closer to her sister. “Celestia, we need to go back!”
"Calm down Luna, I'm sure it's alright." Celestia said, wrapping her wing around her sister. "I'm sure it was just a normal Woolf."
“Even so, we are just fillies! We should be inside.” Luna said as she shook in fear.
Celestia rolled her eyes before Zack shook his head and spoke loudly to make it seem like an echo. "She is right! You need to go inside!"
“Wh-who said that!?” Luna asked as she got closer to Celestia.
“Who’s there!?” Celestia called out with a frown as her horn lit with magic.
"A friend." Jack said loudly again in an echoed voice. "The wooden wolves are real, and very dangerous leave now before you get hurt."
“Show yourself!” Celestia ordered as her horn shined brighter
Zack stayed hidden, climbing higher into the trees as the howling continued. "They're getting closer, leave now!"
“Never! I won’t run from some stories!” Celestia shouted as Luna began to cry.
"Aren't you the older sibling? Your little sister is crying! Take her home now!" Zack yelled before three timberwolves jumped out of the bushes near the two.
Luna screamed as Celestia tried to blast them with magic but all it does is push a wolf back. “S-stay away!”
Zacks eyes widened as the wolves grew closer to the two young fillies. "save them." A voice said in his ears.
"What the?!" He said looking around.
"Save them, you want to help them right? So help them." The voice said.
“Celestia!” Luna cried out as her sister was knocked away.
Zack looked around worriedly before looking back at the two fillies. He jumped down between Celestia and the large Timberwolf, before he kicked the Timberwolf away. The wolf whined as the others growled at him. Luna ran over to Celestia and helped her stand up. “Wh-what is that thing?”
"My name is Zack." He said, turning his head to them as he smiled a bit at the two. "Stay behind me, I'll keep them away from you."
“L-Luna we need to run away from them.” Celestia said as she started to back away.
"B-but we're surrounded." Luna said with a whimper, before a timberwolf jumped at them until Zack punched it away.
The wolves keep circling the group and growling. "I told you two you should have gone home." Zack said to the fillies as he glanced around at the circling wolves.
The larger of the wolves pounced at the fillies, Zack's eyes widened before his eyes began glowing and a familiar mask formed around his face out of the shadows. He held up his hand before the wolf was forced away from the fillies with magic before he held his hands into the air causing vines to sprout up around the three of them.
The wolves yelp and while as they are attacked by the vines. Zack's eyes roll into the back of his head as the vines sink back into the ground, before he fell backwards with the mask vanishing.
“Celestia, we need to run while we can!” Luna cried out.
“Hold on, we can’t leave this…thing, here where it can be attacked.” Celestia said with a frown as she tried to pick him up.
"What!? But what if he hurts you?!" Luna asked worriedly, watching as Celestia slowly lifted Zack onto her back.
“He protected us, plus I will have the guards watch him.” She said with a groan as she started walking back to the castle.
Luna bit her lip a bit before sighing and helping Celestia carry Zack's body, who opened his eyes slowly. "W-what… happened to me…" he mumbled before passing out again.
“You passed out.” Celestia said as they walked. “Can you walk? You are heavy.”
"Tia, we think he passed out again." Luna said, looking Zack in the face.
Celestia grumbled and lowered her head. “Great, that means we have to carry him the whole way.”
Luna stared at Zack more, her face lighting up a bit as she used her magic to help carry him. "T-tia, what does thou think he is?"
“I don’t know Luna…maybe father knows.” She said with a grunt.
"Celestia! Luna!" A royal voice yelled as a tall stallion with a black mane and white coat came over.
“Daddy!” Luna called out.
“Father, we found something!” Celestia called out.
The stallion came over and looked at Zack with wide eyes. "What in the name of the heavens?"
“It saved us from some wood wolves.” Celestia said with a frown.
Their father looked at Zack and lifted him into his own back. "Then we owe him a debt of gratitude, come. And you two. You're grounded."
“Awww.” They both whine and follow their father. “I just wanted some fresh air!” Celestia whined.
“I tried to get my sister to come back to the castle.” Luna said.
"But you still went with her. And I know you want fresh air Celestia. But I told you to take guards with you." Their father said.
“Father, they don’t give me any space!” Celestia groaned.
"Only to protect you." Their father said as they entered the castle.
Celestia groaned and lowered her head. “But I would be fine.”
"Tia if this… colt?" Luna said unsure. "Hadn't aided us, we would be wooden wolf food!"
“I would have scared them off with my fire magic.” Celestia said stubbornly as she pouted.
"That could have caused a forest fire, Celestia." Their father said, shaking his head a bit.
“Only if I miss.” Celestia pointed out, before Luna added.
“You mean like most of your spell practice lesions.”
Celestia pouted and looked away as they arrived at the clinic. "Crimson heart are you here!?"
“Right here sir.” She ran over and smiled up at him. “What can I do for you?”
"We found this creature." He said levitating Zack onto a bed. "It saved my daughter's from those… timberwolves. I'd like you to check to see if it is… alright."
“I…” She started before stopping as she saw Zack. “I will try my best sir.”
"Thank you Crimson, please let me know if it wakes up." He said as Luna stared at Zack for a bit.
“Of course sir…um…c-could I maybe have a guard or two just in case?” She asked with a sheepish smile.
"Of course." The king said as he turned to a guard. "Stay here with her to ensure nothing happens."
"Of course, king Cosmosis." The guard said with a salute.
"U-um father, m-might we stay as well?" Luna asked, fiddling with her hooves.
“Luna, you would be in the way of Crimson Heart.” Her father tried to tell her gently.
“I-it would be fine your highness, so long as she stayed on one of the empty beds she wouldn't be in the way.” Crimson Heart said nervously.
Luna looked at her father with wide puppy dog eyes and a pout, causing him to sigh and smile softly. "Very well, thou may stay. But behave."
“Thank you daddy!” She gave his leg a hug before she hopped onto an empty bed.
Zack's eyes opened slightly as he quietly looked around, listening to the conversations. "Luna when the… colt wakes up we would like you to talk with him. Find out as much as you can ok? You and Celestia seem to be close to his age. So hopefully he will open up to you." King Cosmosis said, gently rubbing his daughter's head.
“Yes daddy, I will do my best.” Luna said with a smile.
Zack grinned ever so slightly, before a throbbing pain surged through his head causing him to grab his skull in pain. All the ponies jumped when he suddenly moved and Crimson Heart began doing her best to help him.
"Ugh my head!" Zack yelled in pain, turning onto his side as his whole body shook.
“Try to stay still!” Crimson Heart said as she used magic to sooth his pain.
"Father, this all started after he used magic to aid us. A mask appeared on his face before vines sprouted in a circle around us to chase off those wolves." Celestia explained to her father as Zack clutched his head more.
“Hmm, guards hold him down. I will try to help him. The mask may have been cursed.” King Cosmosis said as his horn lit with magic.
"Yes sir." The guards said holding Zack down who was now crying.
"It hurt…" Zack sobbed as he tried to hold his head more.
King Cosmosis gently placed his horn on Zack’s forehead and used his magic to call out to his mind. “Please, allow me into your mind child.”
Zack calmed down and let the king look into his mind as Celestia and Luna watched. After a few moments the King gasped and took a few steps back with a look of shock on his face, while at the same time the pain stopped for Zack.
"Father, what's wrong?" Celestia asked worriedly.
“He…it…” The king started before he sighed. “Guards, keep this being under a close eye. He is extremely dangerous.” He said with a sad frown. “The poor creature is cursed.”
"Yes sir." The guards said as Zack looked around worriedly.
"Cursed?" He asked, looking fearfully.
The king looked at Zack with pity. “Yes, you have an evil being within your mind.”
Zack started down at the sheets on the bed he was in. "Majora…"
“I am sorry, young one. We will try to cure you but we must treat you as a threat.” The king said with a frown.
"I understand…" Zack said with a soft sigh, looking away. "Can you tell me how I got here?"
“We don’t know. My daughters say you saved them from timberwolves in the forest.” The king said before looking over at his daughters.
"Tis true!" Luna said with a smile. "You used your magic to keep them away from us by creating vines!"
Zack stared at the bed before sighing. "It wasn't my magic, it was Majora's… I think I messed up really bad."
“Who…or what is Majora?” The king asked with a worried frown.
Zack looked away with a sigh. "An evil deity that inhabits a mask that has two horns on its top and eight spikes on each side, it's too half is purple with its middle and shin being red and two building eyes… I thought it was just a fictional character."
“Such things are dangerous, did you put on the mask to use its power?” The king asked with a frown.
"No, I thought it was a replica… then all of a sudden I was in the forest. I had been at an inn with my friend Milo and we received a package. It had what I thought was a harmless copy of the mask… then I heard your daughters walking and talking through the forest." Zack said with a sigh as he hugged his knees. "I don't even know where I am… what if I can't go home?"
“I see…it sounds like you were pulled from another world. My student has a theory that there are other worlds.” The king said while rubbing his chin.
Zack sighed and sniffed a bit. "All this because of a stupid mask…"
“We will try to free you of this Majora and find you a way home.” The ling said with a gentle smile.
Zack nodded as Luna smiled a bit at him. "We thank the for aiding our sister and us."
Zack smiled softly. "Yeah well… I don't like seeing kids getting hurt."
“I thank you as well.” The king said before he looked away. “I must go and find my mage, she will try to cure you.”
"Your mage?" Zack asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, the most powerful unicorn in our kingdom.” The king said with a nod of his head.
"Um… her name wouldn't happen to be clover the clever would it?" Zack asked with a raised eyebrow.
The king chuckled and smiled. “Yes it is, how did you know?”
"Long story." He said looking down.
“I see….” The king said before he sighed. “I must go now.”
Zack stayed silent as the guards and nurse bowed to the king, while Luna sat on His bed and looked at him with a smile. "We thank the for aiding our sister and us in our time of need, thou are a brave soul."
Zack blushed a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. "I-i wouldn't say that…"
“Why not? Thou saved me and mine sister.” Luna said as she tilted her head cutely.
Zack blushed a bit at how cute she looked before shaking his head. "I… I just did what needed to be done… you're both still so young and I couldn't stand to watch you two being torn to shreds."
“That is what makes you kind and brave sir.” Luma said with a smile.
Zack smiled softly and bowed a bit. "You can call me Zack, your majesty."
Luna giggled and bowed her head. “I am princess Luna.”
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Zack said with a soft smile.
“If you do not mind my asking, what are you?” Luna asked while tilting her head to the left.
Zack blinked a bit as he looked at his own body, noticing how his skin was now wood-like as he looked at himself in a nearby mirror. He sighed softly and leaned back, a frown on his face. "I'm… a Skull kid now."
“A…skull kid?” Luna asked, confusion all over her face.
Zack nodded a bit. "It's hard to explain…"
“Where are you from?” Luna asked him next.
"I'm from a place called America." Zack said. "It's a large country with different sections called states."
“Oh.” Luna said as she laid down on a different bed. “What do you do for fun?”
"Mostly play video games, but I do like to just hang out and chat with friends." Zack said with a small smile as he laid down and turned to look at Luna.
“Video games?” Luna tilted her head cutely again.
"Imagine scrolls or books, but the characters in them are visible to you and you control them, you get to figure out the puzzles and traps and help save the world." Zack said with a smile.
“Wow! That sounds amazing!” Luna said with a big grin.
"They are… the skull kid, what I am now was a video game character. I dressed as him for a party of sorts and then I came here…" he said with a soft sigh.
“Oh, he must have been a hero then.” Luna said with a smile.
Zack frowned and shook his head. "Well… it's complicated. From what I remember he was in three games, the first one he was a side character, in the third one he was a side character but a sort of guardian for a sacred place… the third one… he was the main villan."
“A villain?” Luna sat up. “Why would thou dress as a villain?”
"Well…" Zack said, rubbing his chin as the guards and nurse listened closely. "For one I didn't think I'd become him, and for two… he was one of those villans that… can be sympathized with. He had four friends, and they all abandoned him because he kept pranking others which is basically all he knew how to do. And then he found Majora's mask and the mask fed off his negative emotions and basically corrupted him."
“Oh, that is sad.” Luna said and Zack heard some sniffling from the nurse.
Zack nodded a bit as he looked down. "What's worse is how Skull kids are… born?"
“What do you mean dear?” The nurse asked this time while the guard covered Luna’s ears with an annoyed frown at Zack.
Zack chuckled at the guard. "It's ok, they aren't born the… normal way." He said as Luna pulled one ear free. "They're born when… when children get lost in a forest called the lost woods, the lost children get transformed into Skull children and usually can't leave."
The nurse covered her mouth. “Oh my.”
Luna's eyes widen as she covers her mouth as well. "That tis terrible!"
"You said kids become skull kids… what happens to adults?" The guard asked.
"They become stalfos, living skeletons." Zack explained.
“That…sounds like necromancy magic.” The guard said.
"Except they don't die, they transform." Zack explained with a sad sigh.
“Is there a cure?” The nurse asked.
"Not that I know of." Zack said with a shrug.
“You said you were changed, what were you before?” The guard asked.
"A human…" Zack said, looking down.
“I have never heard of a hooman before.” The guard said with a frown.
Zack looked away sadly. "That probably means I'll never get home…"
“Don’t worry, I am sure daddy will find a way to get you home.” Luna said with a smile.
Zack smiled sadly, as tears filled in his eyes. "I hope so…"
Luna got up and jumped onto Zack’s bed before putting a hoof on his knee. “Are you ok?”
Zack rubbed his eyes. "I don't know, I was with my friend Milo… I really hope he's ok… and my family… I don't know if I'll ever see them again…"
“I am sure you will one day.” Luna said with a smile. “Friends are always important to keep in your heart.”
Zack smiled softly and nodded a bit, rubbing his eyes more as the guard and nurse looked at each other. “Should we pull the princess away from him?” The guard asked the nurse in a whisper.
"He doesn't seem malicious, he's scared." The nurse said in a whisper back.
“But the king said he was cursed, what if it flares up and he hurts the princess?” The guard whispered to the nurse.
The nurse frowned and looked at Zack and Luna who were only inches away from the two and staring at them. Zack frowned and looked away sadly as Luna shook her head at the two. "if thou willst talk about others we ask you do it away from us!"
Both of them folded their ears back but the guard stood tall. “I am sorry your highness, I can not leave your side.”
"Then stop talking about Zack as if he is not in the room!" Luna said with an angry look. "He has done nothing to deserve such treatment!" She said again as Zack blushed a little at how she was defending him.
“Ma’am with all due respect, he is cursed, I am only watching out for your safety.” The guard said coldly.
Zack looked down again as Luna glared at the guard. "He is our guest, and as a guard you are to show respect to all guests are you not?"
“While that is true, he is still cursed. I don’t know what the curse does, if it puts you in danger I have to be ready to act.” He said while frowning.
Luna crossed her hooves and blew a raspberry at the guard as Zack laid down and covered his head with the blanket. "Now see what thou has done!"
“Per-perhaps we should let him rest, you can come back later to visit your highness.” The nurse said with a weak smile.
Luna glared at the guard again before going over to the other bed and laying down. "We will stay here, father tasked us with making sure Zack is ok."
“But your highness-” The guard started before something fell and hit Zack on the head, when he looked it was a soft plush of a fireball with a symbol on it. The symbol was of a ball with a wing on each side of it, and three triangles below it, two facing up and one facing down.
"What the?" Zack asked, looking at the plush fireball before picking it up. "What is-?"
“I am Toriel, the monster queen, I don’t like to fight but if you need help I will do what I can.”
"What the!?" Zack yelled, dropping the item on the ground in shock. "Who said that!?"
“Who said what?” Luna asked, confused.
Zack looked at the three ponies in the room. "Y-you three didn't hear that?"
“Hear what?” The guard asked while his ears twitched, trying to hear anything.
“Perhaps you are hearing things, um…where are your ears?” The nurse suggested as she got closer to examine him.
Zack shook his head as he reached up to the sides of his head, feeling two small holes. "U-um, I think it's these two holes… and I don't think I was hearing things. I heard a voice as soon as I touched that plushie."
“This toy?” Luna asked as she reached for it.
"Your majesty I don't know if-" The guard started to say before Luna picked it up but blinked.
"We do not hear anything." Luna said as Zack shook his head.
"Maybe it's a trick by Majora." He mumbled, sighing as the nurse checked his ears.
“I d-don’t see anything strange. What did you hear?” The nurse asked him.
“I am Toriel, the monster queen, I don’t like to fight but if you need help I will do what I can.” Zack said, rubbing his head. "But that doesn't make sense, Toriel is a fictional video game character from where I'm from."
“Isn’t that what you are now as well?” The guard asked him, making Zack’s eyes widen in realization.
Zack nodded slowly. "Y-yeah… what if she's like me…"
“Like you? Do you mean changed?” The nurse asked.
Zack nodded a bit, rubbing his head as Luna lifted the plushie over to him. “Do you know what to do with this?” Luna asked.
Zack took it in his hands as he heard the message again. "No… but I just heard the message again."
“Well…” Luna rubbed her chin. “Try calling out to her while you hold it?” She suggested.
"What will that do?" Zack asked her with a raised eyebrow as Luna huffed.
"We do not know, but it is worth a try!" She said, crossing her hooves adorably causing the nurse and guard to chuckle.
"Well… I suppose so, but if it does work that means they'll be another new creature here… also if I remember right, Toriel is a queen." Zack said, rubbing his head.
“A queen?” Both the guard and nurse asked together.
"Yeah, it's a bit hard to explain. But isn't there a protocol or something for visiting royalty?" He asked as he looked at the plushie.
“Yes there is.” The guard said before looking at the nurse. “Please go get more guards and the king or queen please.”
The nurse nodded as she quickly walked out of the room, making Zack lean back as he stared at the Plushie. "I'm sorry for being a burden…"
“You are not a burden.” Luna said as she placed a hoof on his side.
Zack flinched a bit and scooted away from her. "S-sorry, I'm really ticklish."
Luna giggled a bit. “Oh are you?”
"Please don't get any ideas…" Zack said worriedly as he glanced at the guard for help.
The guard was snickering a bit. “Don’t look at me for help.”
Zack gulped as Luna giggled and tickled him, making him laugh and squirm. "Noooo help!"
“I shall not give up!” Luna said with a laugh as she tickled him.
Zack laughed harder as a portal opened behind the guard quietly. "Stop please!"
A tall goat woman with white fur wearing a purple dress stepped through the portal. “Oh my gosh! Is that a filly Luna!” She asked, surprising everyone.
Zack and Luna jumped as the filly hid behind the Skull kid, while the guard readied his spear. "Halt, who art thou!"
“Oh calm down dear.” She used a finger to move the spear. “I am Toriel, he summoned me.” She said while pointing at Zack. “I apologize for my outburst earlier, it's just that I miss seeing my daughter so young.” She told them with a soft smile as she looked at Luna.
"Daughter!?" All three asked in shock as Zack looked down at the plushie.
"Also, summoned you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Toriel nodded with a smile. “Yes, I am guessing I am your first displaced.” She said while walking over to a bed and sat down.
"Displaced?" Zack asked, as Luna hid behind him more. "The heck is that?"
“A displaced, from what I have been told, is a person that somehow gets an item linked to a fictional series and is sent to Equestria as that character or with a real working item. The plush you have in your hand is my token, a token is used to summon other displaced to talk, hangout, or help each other.” Toriel explained.
Zack looked down at the plush as his eyes wide widened. "T-that means… Majora's mask is really here too then…"
Toriel rubbed her chin. “If I remember the game right, isn’t it trapped in that mask? So long as no one puts it on you should be ok.”
Zack bit his lip as Luna peaked her head out. "T-that mask appeared on his face when he rescued Tia and me…"
“Oh dear…hmm.” Toriel rubbed her chin more. “Well if that's the case, you should try to remove it next time it appears. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need the Fierce Deity mask.”
Zack frowned a bit as the door opened revealing Celestia with a tall alicorn mare with a white coat and stary mane. "Queen Costellia!" The guard saluted.
“Ma’am!” The nurse bowed quickly.
Toriel smiled as she turned to look at the queen and Celestia, she gasped and kneeled down. “Oh my gosh, filly Celestia, how I've missed seeing her so small.”
Queen Costellia put a wing in frontin front of her daughter defensively. "And who are you?"
“Oh right.” Toriel stood up and cleared her throat. “My name is Toriel, adoptive mother of Celestia and Luna, owner of Toriel’s orphanage, and Displaced queen of monsters.” She said with a soft smile and even did a small curtsy
"She's from another dimension!" Zack quickly said, noticing the confused look on Costellia's face. "Um, I think."
“That is right.” Toriel nodded her head. “I am from another Equestria, I am also from further along in the timeline.” She looked Costellia over. “Along with a few other differences.”
Queen Costellia's eyes widened. "I see, that is quite interesting, how did thou come here."
“I explained this to my new friend here, but it is an item called a token.” Toriel explained before she pointed at the plush still in Zack’s hand.
Zack blushed as Queen Costellia looked at him. "My husband informed me of thou, we thank thee for saving my daughter's lives."
“Oh my, you saved Celestia and Luna? So brave.” Toriel smiled and tapped her chin. “I would say that is deserving of a place to live.”
"I agree, however Clover the Clever needs to free him of his curse first." Costellia said with a soft sigh.
“Oh yes, the mask.” Toriel nodded before looking at Luna, then back to Costellia. “Do you have someone to control the moon?”
Luna popped her head out from behind Zack again as her mother nodded. "I do, why do you ask?"
Toriel giggled softly. “Well little Luna, you can help keep things under control with your friend here.” She looked at the Queen. “You see the cursed mask made the character in the story make the moon fall and destroy the world. But with little Luna here keeping the moon in place everything should be fine.”
Luna's eyes widened along with her mother's, who looked at Zack as he looked away while fiddling with the blanket. "D-destroy the world with the moon!?" Luna asked.
“Yes, but you don’t have to worry. He seems in control for now, and even if he was forced to do such a thing I am sure you can keep the moon from falling, especially with help from your mother.” Toriel said to Luna before looking back at the Queen. “If I remember correctly it takes about three days for the moon to fully fall, giving you plenty of time to use your magic to keep it in place and find a cure.”
Zack sniffed as he covered his head with the blanket, making Luna frown. Toriel moved over to his bed and rubbed his head before pulling him into a hug. “I am sorry sweetie, I am sure things will work out for you.”
Zack sobbed as he hugged his knees. "I just wanted to have fun at a convention with my friend… now I'm cursed and i-i'm causing so many problems!"
Luna frowned sadly at Zack as she looked at her mother. Toriel rubbed Zack’s back before giving Costellia a look that all mothers know, the ‘you help this boy right now before I slap you upside the head’ look.
Costellia slowly walked over and gently put a hoof on Zack's head. "Young one you are not causing problems, I promise this. Mine husband informed me of what thou said when you arrived. None of this twas intentional, and we do not blame thee."
“She is right dear, you can’t be blamed for what might happen.” Toriel said with a soft smile.
Zack sobbed still. "M-my family… my friend… what if I never see them again?..."
Toriel frowned and looked away. “I am sure you will see them again one day…”
Luna frowned and nodded, hugging Zack through the blanket as Celestia looked away and rubbed her front legs together. Toriel sighed and rubbed Zack’s back. “Look dear, you need to keep your hope up.”
"H-how?" Zack asked weakly from under the blankets. "In the span of two hours or so, I was taken from my home, turned into a fictional character, used magic, passed out and found out I'm cursed and could end up destroying the world. How am I supposed to-"
“Because hope will keep the curse at bay.” Someone said from the doorway. “Sorry for interrupting your highness.” A unicorn said as she walked in.
"Clover, it's alright." Costellia said with a small smile. "Have you come to check the curse?"
“Yes, but one thing all curses have in common is positive emotions keep them at bay for a longer amount of time.” She said as she walked up to the group on the bed with a raised eyebrow at Toriel.
“He is the one that needs your help Clover.” Toriel said with a roll of her eyes.
"Apologies I have never seen any creature like thou before." Clover said, using her magic to gently remove the blanket from Zack's head causing her eyes to widen. "Or like him…"
Zack turned his head away slightly, not wanting to look at the new unicorn after she said that. “Rude.” Toriel flicked Clover’s nose. “You had much better manners in my world Clover.” She crossed her arms.
Clover looked confused before looking at Zack. "My apologies, I didn't mean to upset thou."
Toriel rubbed Zack’s back. “Give her a chance dear, Clover is very clever when it comes to magic.”
Zack nodded slightly as Clover's horn began to glow. "Thou found a cursed object correct?"
"Y-yes…" Zack said as Clover's horn touched his head.
“A mask that holds an evil spirit if I remember correctly.” Toriel added.
Zack nodded softly as Clover pulled away from his head. "Strange, I do not sense an evil presence within you. There is a powerful one, but not malicious."
Toriel crossed her arms and hummed. “Strange, well at least that means it isn’t trying to control him.”
Luna smiled. "Yay, so mister Zack is ok?"
“For now it seems.” Clover said as she took a step back. “But like I said earlier, keep your positive emotions up and the curse will be kept at bay for longer.”
Zack nodded slowly as he fiddled with the blanket. "T-thanks you miss Clover."
“So he is gonna be ok?” Luna asked with a smile.
Clover giggled softly. "Yes your majesty, so long as he remains happy and calm."
“Yay!” Luna hugged Zack with a smile. Celestia groaned and face palmed.
“Luna, you are a princess, act like it.” Celestia said with a frown.
Zack blushed a bit as Costellia giggled a little. "Tia she's just happy her new friend is ok."
“But mother there are strangers around, she should be acting like a princess.” Celestia said with a pout before she realized she was pouting and shook her head.
Zack couldn't help but laugh a little. "Seriously? Even though you're both princesses and it is important to remain composed you're both still really young kids. It's ok to act like it once in a while."
“I agree, my Celestia and Luna were very active fillies.” Toriel said with a smile, then she reached into her collar and pulled out some pictures of her fillies. “Just look.” She said with a sweet smile and showed them to everyone.
Zack couldn't help but laugh at a picture of Celestia and Luna covered in mud and dirt from mud pies. Celestia blushed and stomped a hoof. “That isn’t us! Stop showing lies.”
"Relax, they aren't lies. Toriel here is from a different Equestria." Zack said with a small laugh.
“It's true, though there are some differences between our worlds.” Toriel said before she looked at the queen. “For one, you and their father were just unicorns who died from griffons when I arrived. Two, they weren't born alicorns.”
The Queen and the princesses looked shocked at her. "We were not born alicorns? How did we become them?" Luna asked.
Toriel giggled and smiled. “They ascended it to alicorns when they got their cutie marks, which was pretty late for them, though I was so proud.”
Zack smiled a little as he leaned back against the headboard of the bed, slowly falling asleep. “Oh it seems he fell asleep.” Toriel said with a whisper. “Let’s give him some time to rest.”
Luna pouted a bit. "Aww, we wanted to play…"
Toriel gently patted Luna’s head. “I know dear, but he has been through some traumatizing events. After he rests I'm sure you'll be allowed to play with him.”
Luna nodded a little as she yawned, causing Costellia to giggle and pick her up. "Come on dear, you need to sleep too."
"B-but…" Luna said, before yawning again.
“Listen to your mother dear, you want to have lots of energy to play with your friend when he wakes up don’t you?” Toriel asked with a small smirk.
Luna nodded softly as she looked over at the second bed, as Queen Costellia laid her down and tucked her in. “Good night little moon. We will see you in the morning.” Costellia said before kissing Luna’s forehead.
"Goodnight mommy." Luna said, falling asleep as Celestia grinned a bit.
“Such an adorable filly.” Toriel said with a sigh. “I miss seeing my girls like this.”
"How old are they in your world?" Costellia asked, as she looked at Celestia who yawned.
“Oh let’s see…” Toriel rubbed her chin. “They were around five hundred when I was turned to stone, then I woke up a thousand years later so I would say fifteen hundred years old.”
Celestia and Costellia's eyes widened. "Whoa."
Toriel giggled softly. “Yes, they are wonderful grown mares.”
Celestia looked down a little, before glancing at Zack a little and sighing. "Can we trust him?"
“Yes you can, dear. He is just a lost soul that needs help and friends.” Toriel said as they left the hospital wing.
Celestia rubbed her front legs together as Costellia giggled a bit. "Sweetie I know you are worried about being friends since That colt broke your heart but it'll be ok."
“Colt trouble?” Toriel asked with a hum.
Celestia blushed a bit, as she looked away. "I-i…"
Costellia wrapped a wing around her daughter, nuzzling her gently. "Sweetie, I'm sorry. I know you liked him. But he is just one colt."
“Trust us, some boys just aren't the right person.” Toriel told Celestia with a soft smile. “You will find the right colt one day.”
Celestia blushed and nodded a bit. Toriel smiled and leaned down to whisper. “Just remember when you do, your mom is gonna tease you till the end of the world.”
Celestia groaned as she hung her head. "I am heading to bed."
Toriel giggled and smiled. “Good night dear.” She looked at Costellia. “How about you, me, and your husband have a small chat?”
Costellia nodded a bit as Celestia walked away to her room, while the nurse checked on Zack's head and his vitals. “Good, he is doing good.” She said softly.
The guard looked at Zack as he slept soundly. "He said he became a kid… how old does thou suppose he was? Should we keep him away from the young princesses?"
“I don’t know.” The nurse said with a shake of her head. “I do think that being turned into a younger form may have affected his mind. He didn’t act like an adult.”
The guard nodded a bit. "Indeed, I just hope he can keep his emotions under control. So his curse doesn't affect him."
“You know talking like that will make things worse for him.” The nurse said with a frown.
The guard looked away as he rubbed his neck. "Sorry, what I meant was… I hope he and the princesses can be friends so that doesn't happen."
“That's better.” The nurse said while she finished checking Zack.
Zack rolled over in his bed, sleeping soundly as the nurse gently pulled the covers over him. "Do you think all this talk about transformations is real?" The guard asked the nurse.
“It is possible. I mean Clover the clever believed him.” The nurse said with a shrug of her shoulders.
The guard nodded a bit as Luna sat up with a yawn, going into the bathroom. “Shall we let them get some sleep?” The nurse asked the guard with a smile.
"Unfortunately I must stay, the king ordered me to guard the new… kid. So I shall." The guard said. "I shall remain quiet though."
“Ok, but when you are off duty I hope we can meet up.” She said before nuzzling him.
The guard blushed a bit and nodded. "Good thing I have hearts and hooves day off."
“Yeah, though if you didn’t I would have to come up with a way to tease you all day at work.” She said with a giggle before walking away, brushing her tail under his chin as she did. “Be good dear.”
"See you at home." The guard said as Luna came back out and groggily climbed up with Zack before falling asleep again.
The guard looked at the sleeping Luna and sighed. Meanwhile with the king, queen, and summoned queen. “So young Zack is from another world and was able to summon you because of a magic item?” The king asked.
“Yes.” Toriel nodded softly as she sipped the tea.
"Poor child, this must all be very confusing for him." Cosmosis said sadly.
“Yes, though it is possible he used to be an adult. Although I have no evidence for this it's just a possibility as I have met another displaced that was younger than before they were displaced.” Toriel said before setting her tea down. “What do you plan on doing with him?”
"He saved our daughters, and as long as his curse is under control he may stay here." Queen Costellia said with a small smile and a giggle. "Luna has taken a liking to him."
“Yes, she has.” Toriel also smiled. “The dear needs more friends…listen I don’t know much about you two but try to stay fair with how you treat your daughters. In my timeline, some time after I was turned to stone my Luna was possessed by a nightmare.”
The two glanced at each other for a moment before looking at Toriel again. "A nightmare?" The king asked.
“A magical parasite from what my Celestia told me. It fed on her loneliness and made her do something very bad.” Toriel said sadly and looked down. “I wish I hadn't been turned to stone, if I was around I could have helped her.”
The two looked at each other again, before Queen Costellia frowned. "Why were thou turned to stone?"
Toriel sighed and shook her head. “My girls were grown, and ruling a kingdom. I needed to get out of their way and make sure I couldn’t be used against them, so I asked them to turn me to stone for a thousand years.”
"How noble of thou." King Cosmosis said, smiling softly.
Toriel blushed lightly. “Oh no it wasn’t anything. If anything it was a bit selfish as it would also allow me to skip forward to when Equestria was a bit more advanced and have a few things that I'm used to.” She said before picking up the tea cup and sip.
"How are Celestia and Luna now?" Queen Costellia asked, sipping her own tea.
“They are running the country very well, though I still enjoy teasing them every chance I get.” Toriel said with a smile. “I have done my best to stay out of their business so I'm not used against him by the nobles, while also staying in contact with them and running my orphanage.”
"I see, an orphanage is a noble profession." Queen Costellia said with a bow. "From one queen and mother to another, I appreciate the knowledge you have shared."
Toriel smiled and bowed back. “You are welcome, but I only use monster queen as a fake title because the character I was transformed into was queen of the monsters in the story she's from. I don’t have any kind of political power nor do I want it.”
"It can be quite the hassle." King Cosmosis said with a laugh.
“Exactly.” Toria said with a smile. “Is there anything else you two would like to know?”
"Art thou able to return home?" Cosmosis asked, sipping his own tea.
“I will once, Zack you said his name was? Once Zack is awake. I still have to tell him how to make a token and send other displaced home.” Toriel said as she finished her tea. “Did he have any masks with him? Maybe an ocarina?”
"I do not know, when I found him and Celestia and Luna he was passed out." Cosmosis said, shaking his head. "We will have to ask him when he wakes up."
“Good idea, one last question and I understand if this is some kind of royal secret but…” Toriel looked at both of them. “Does the name Triforce mean anything to you?”
The two glanced at each other again. "There's a mention of such an artifact in times from millenia ago, long before ponies inhabited this land… why?"
“Because the item is real and is connected to him in a way. The item is from the same fictional universe as the character he was turned into. There are three parts to it: the triforce of wisdom, power, and courage, when all three are together you can use it to grant a wish. At least that's what I remember from the stories.” Toriel explained as she leaned back. “One more thing in times of danger the triforce will split up and find hosts to link to, granting them their power.”
The two pony monarchs looked at each other for a moment again. "I see, thankfully we have not seen this item before. Hopefully it stays this way." Queen Costellia said, gesturing to a guard. "Take our guest to a guest room for the night please."
“Yes, your highness.” The guard said.
“Thank you, both of you.” Toriel stood up. “I do hope Zack finds some happiness here.”
"As do we." The two said together with soft smiles.
“Goodnight.” Toriel said as she walked away with the guard.
Zack woke up the next morning and sat up instantly, looking around frantically for a moment before he held his head. "Was it a dream…?"
"No it wasn't." The guard said walking in with two bowls of food. "How do you feel?"
"U-um… confused?" Zack said, before jumping in the bed slightly as Luna sat up. "What the!?"
Luna yawned and blinked her eyes slowly. “Is it morning?”
The guard laughed a bit as he nodded. "Yes your majesty, also you may want to be more careful in the future. When you went to the restroom last night thou climbed into bed with your new friend by mistake."
Luna looked around confused before spotting Zack and blushed. “W-we are s-sorry!”
Zack blushed a bit and looked away, rubbing the back of his head. "It's ok, no harm done. But you might want to get in your own bed before your parents see. That could be bad."
Luna leaped out of the bed and ran down the hallway with a red face. “Don’t tell mommy!”
The guard chuckled softly and shook his head. "Young innocence, so pure."
Zack rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away. "Easy for you to say you're not the one embarrassed by it."
“Maybe, but it was still funny.” The guard said with a smirk before his stone face returned.
"Wow, you're serious about your job." Zack said, eating the food the guard brought for him.
“I have to be, I stand between the royalty and danger.” He said calmly.
Zack shrugged a bit. "Fair enough."
“Oh you're awake, good.” Toriel said as she walked into the room.
Zack looked at her. "Oh man I'm so sorry I fell asleep!"
“That's ok, it was late and you had a lot of information thrown at you.” Toriel said as she sat down on the other bed.
"Yeah… it was a lot. Um, how do I make a token?" Zack asked, hugging his knees.
“That is easy, you take something that represents you, hold it while speaking a message and toss it into the air it will be taken into the void and sent to other displaced.” Toriel explained with a smile.
"Something that represents me huh… I guess I could use… wait! My box!" Zack said, looking around frantically. "I had a box full of all the masks, from Majora's mask! Crap! I don't know if it came with me or not!"
“Hmm I would suggest we check where you first arrived.” Toriel said with a soft smile.
Zack nodded as he looked for the guard. "Can I go and look?"
“I suppose so.” The guard said before frowning a bit. “But we will need another guard and to inform the royal family.”
"W-we can tell mother and father." Luna's voice said from the doorway as she peeked her head out, still red as a tomato.
“Thank you dear, but don’t you want to come with us? Surely you’d like to walk outside with your friend.” Toriel asked with a gentle smile.
Luna looked away shyly as Zack whispered in Toriel's ear. "She's embarrassed, last night she groggily got into bed with me."
“I can tell she is embareated dear, I am a mother. Now hush.” Toriel whispered back before she looked back at Luna. “Now dear surely you don’t want to leave Zack’s side? He is your friend right?”
Luna blushed and nodded softly. "Y-yeah…"
“That is a good girl, how about you go tell your parents while our guard friend goes and gets one of his friends.” Toriel said with a smile.
Luna nodded softly glancing at Zack, before running away. Zack sighed and stood up, cracking his back as the nurse walked in. “Oh you are awake, good. I wanted to ask you some questions about your body.” She said as she walked over to him.
Zack rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry, I honestly don't know too much. The video games never went into detail about that stuff."
“Vi-d-o?” The nurse asked, confused.
"Those scroll like things I told Luna about last night." Zack said. "They're called video games."
“Oh.” The nurse nodded and hummed. “Well would you allow me to do a medical scan on you?”
"Um sure, but I'm sorry. I need to go to make sure some stuff of mine isn't in the forest." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Ok, we can do the scan when you get back.” She said with a smile.
Toriel rubbed Zack’s back. “You are gonna be ok dear.”
Zack nodded a bit. "Yeah, I'm just worried about my friend Milo. We both got items from that box…"
“Hmm, was he turned into Link?” Toriel asked before giggling a bit. “Or was he turned into Zelda?”
"He was dressed as Milo from Milo Murphy's law." Zack said with a sad look.
“Oh dear…” Toriel said with a frown. “Well once you make your token I can summon you if I ever find him.”
"Thank you." Zack said as they waited for the guards to arrive.
Soon two guards arrived with Luna and Celestia. “I have to show you where you found us because you passed out after you did.” Celestia said with a bit of an annoyed tone in her voice.
“Hold it, was that an annoyed tone I heard from you young lady?” Toriel asked with a frown.
Zack sighed a bit as Celestia glared at her. "Thou may be my mother in another reality, but you are not here." She said before walking away.
Toriel crossed her arms. “That girl is gonna have problems in the future.” She shook her head before patting Zack’s back. “Come on, let’s get going.”
Zack nodded a bit as they went to the forest where he saved the princesses. "I think it was around here…"
“Over this way.” Luna said as she led them a bit further.
Zack smiled a bit as they went over to the area Zack had saved the princesses before something fell on his head from the trees, a small blue ocarina. Toriel looked up for anything else up there, while Luna picked up the ocarina. “What's this?”
"An ocarina." Zack said, rubbing his head. "A type of flute."
“Do you know how to play it?” Toriel asked as she looked back at Zack.
"I know all the songs from Ocarina of Time and Majora's mask." Zack said, looking at the Ocarina.
“That's good, and that might be useful.” Toriel said while pointing up at a mask that was snagged on a tree branch.
"The Breman mask?" Zack asked, climbing the tree and grabbing it.
“Wow! You climbed up there so fast!” Luna said with a bright smile.
“That mask isn’t cursed too, is it?” One of the guards asked him.
"No, whoever wears it can command animals." Zack said, jumping out of the tree and next to Luna.
“Wow, that is cool.” Luna said with a smile.
Zack smiled softly as he looked at the mask, before looking at the Ocarina. "Can I see that? I wanna see if it's the one I think it is."
Luna held it up to him but one of the guards asked. “Is it dangerous?”
"Well… I don't believe so, none of the songs I know are really dangerous." Zack said, taking the Ocarina and playing a song.
Toriel looked around for any kind of effect. “What is it supposed to do?”
Zack had his eyes closed as he played the song, opening one eye to look at himself before sighing. "It was the song of healing, I had hoped it would return me to human."
The guard on the left felt his barrel and gasped. “My cracked rib, it's all better!”
Zack blinked a bit before looking up at the rising sun. "I guess another test wouldn't hurt…" He mumbled, before playing another song as a ring of yellow magic formed around him and the sun suddenly flew across the sky turning day to night. "Ok, yeah, it's the Ocarina of Time."
Luna gasped and her eyes widened. “H-how did you do that?! Only my family can move the sky!”
Zack chuckled softly as Celestia frowned at the day being gone already. "It's called the sun's song. It can change night from day, and day to night." Zack explained before playing the song again as the moon flew across the sky and the sun returned.
“Mother and father will not be happy.” Celestia said as she lit her horn and focused hard as the sun moved back to where it was instead of being at the noon position. “Th-that, was….hard.” She said while panting.
Zack rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I can't control the time of day only night and day."
“We should get Celestia back, she is too small to move the sun by herself.” Toriel said before looking at Luna. “Would you like me to carry you dear?”
Luna shook her head as Celestia started to pass out, before Zack caught her and picked her up on his back. "I got you."
“P-put me….” She couldn’t finish as she passed out.
“The poor dear used up too much magic.” Toriel said with a sigh. “Let’s head back.”
Zack nodded as he carried Celestia back to the castle, making Luna pout a bit. Toriel smiled before she walked up to Zack and gently took Celestia. “I think there is another tired filly for you to carry dear.” She whispered.
Zack blinked and looked at Luna, before rubbing the back of his neck a bit. "Um… do you want a ride?" He asked Luna, kneeling down so she could get on his back.
She blushed softly but climbed onto his back with a smile and pointed foreword. “Onward to the castle!” Zack grinned a bit as he ran a bit ahead making Luna giggle softly.
“Hey wait for us!” The guards ran after them while Toriel smirked and used her speed to get to the castle before any of them, leaving an after image behind.
Zack and Luna laughed together as the guards chased them, stopping only when King Cosmosis walked in front of them. "Having fun I see."
“Hi daddy!” Luna said with a bright smile.
Cosmosis smiled softly and rubbed his daughters head as Zack gulped and bowed his head to the king. "I-i'm sorry if we disturbed you, your majesty."
"Not at all, I am happy to see my daughter having such fun. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find out why the sun and moon are acting strangely today." Cosmosis said as he started walking away.
Everyone followed him. “I am afraid that is Zack’s fault sir. He was trying out his new ocarina and one of the spells he can use with it switches day and night.” Toriel said from his side.
Cosmosis looked at Zack in shock. "Truly? For hundreds of years only our family has been able to do such a thing."
Zack blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I-i can also um… heal others…"
“It could be useful for giving you guys a day off, though he can only switch to noon and midnight.” Toriel said with a smirk.
"At least for now, if I master Majora's Mask's updated vision of the song I can control what time of day to make it." Zack said, looking away.
“I would suggest caution with your magic.” King Cosmosis said while placing a gentle hoof on Zack’s shoulder.
Zack looked down and nodded a bit. "I know, luckily I do know non magical songs. And if need be I know a song to make it rain."
“That could be useful as well.” King Cosmosis said with a smile.
"Yeah but I'm not sure how strong of storms it'll make… from what I remember it was thunderstorms. And I have no idea what it'll do in winter." Zack said with a sigh, glancing back at Luna who was snoring softly against his back. "She didn't want me to say anything, but it's something you should know. She um… climbed into bed with me last night…"
"After going to the restroom, I know. The guard told me." King Cosmosis said before smiling at Zack. "Thank you for telling me though, it is very responsible and thoughtful of you."
“Here is your other daughter, she was the one that fixed the sun.” Toriel said as she set Celestia on his back.
Cosmosis smiled and nuzzled Celestia's head. "Always trying to grow up too fast, she should have let me do it."
“True, but that is how most Celestias are, I am afraid.” Toriel said while shaking her head, then she looked at Zack. “Tell me Zeck, do you know how to fight?”
"Um… not really." Zack said, looking away. "I'm a pacifist."
“Well even a pacifist needs to know how to fight. I am a pacifist but I fight when I need to.” Toriel said before she smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I can teach you.”
Zack sighed a bit. "Alright."
Toriel smiled softly. “Don’t worry, just because I'm teaching you how to fight doesn't mean that you have to fight everyone that you meet, be a true pacifist and look for every possible solution before you have to fight. Always remember to show your opponent mercy.” She then looked at the king. “Do you mind if we borrow one of your guard’s training areas?”
"Not at all, Captain Cloud collector. Show them to the training areas please." The king said to the guard that had been watching Zack.
“Yes sir.” He saluted before returning to the two displaced. “Follow me, ma’am, sir.” He started walking.
Zack blinked a few times but didn't move. "Um… what about Luna?" He asked glancing back at the filly asleep on his back.
“She can watch when she wakes up.” The king said with a smile. “The guards can watch her.”
Zack blinked a bit before glancing back at Luna again and smiling softly. "Yeah ok. But I need to stop at the medical wing first, I promised the nurse she could do a magic scan of me."
“Oh that is a good idea.” Toriel said before she snapped her fingers and the group was covered in fire and when the fire died down they were in the medical wing. “There we go, is anyone nauseous? I have been trying to improve my teleport spell.”
Everyone blinked a bit in surprise as Crimson heart and Clover stared at the group in shock. "How did…" Clover started to ask.
“A simple teleport spell I changed to work with my magic.” Toriel said with a giggle, then she looked at Clover and gasped. “Oops, you guys don’t have that spell yet do you?”
Clover shook her head slowly as Zack shook his head with a laugh. "Welp, this is gonna be interesting."
“I am from further in your future so I know a few spells you don’t yet.” Toriel said before she whispered into Clover’s ear.
Clover nodded slowly as the nurse used her magic to scan Zack. “This is…strange, I see nothing like pony physiology.” She said as she took a step back. “I need to write this all down.”
Zack laughed a bit. "Well I'm not a pony so it makes sense there's no pony Physiology."
“I mean…there are bones and some organs, but that's about it. There is no magical core like ponies, there is no magic nerve network, buck, even your lower parts are…um…strange.” The nurse said with a slight blush.
Zack raised an eyebrow before blushing. "I um… I'd rather not talk about that information in front of a filly."
“R-right.” The nurse said and walked off.
Zack groaned a bit and shook his head. "I can't believe I had to have that talk…"
“It was bound to happen dear.” Toriel said as she was sitting on a bed. “I was changed a bit myself and had to get used to a few changes.”
Zack looked back at Luna to make sure she was still asleep. "At least she's still asleep, that wouldn't have been good if she heard…"
“Zack, ponies don’t wear clothes.” Toriel said while pointing at the guard. “I am sure she knows the difference between boys and girls by now, especially since all she has to do is look up from behind someone.”
"Yes, except I was a twenty five year old man before coming here. And I don't need a ten ish year old asking me why my parts are different." Zack said, shaking his head.
“Oh dear, that will be troublesome.” Toriel said before she looked at the guard. “Are you ready to take us to the training field?”
"Yes ma'am, right this way." Cloud collector said, leading them to the training grounds as Zack mentality prepared for the work ahead.
Chapter end.
Zack sighed as he gently set Luna on a bench in the training area, before looking over at Toriel and rubbing the back of his head. "Um… what first?"
Toriel smiled softly at him as she waited for him. “We will start simple, try to hit me.”
Zack gulped a bit but tried to throw a punch at her, only for her to easily avoid it. “Do it your best dear.” Toriel said as she continued to avoid his attacks.
Zack tried again, before tripping and falling to the ground. Toriel helped him up with a soft giggle. “You are trying too hard. Try something for me, run around me as fast as you can.”
Zack nodded before rushing around Toriel as high speeds. Toriel smiled and made a fireball in her hand. “Good work, now let’s work on your dodging.”
Zack looked at her as he dodged a fireball. "Whoa! Careful! Look at my skin for all I know I could be made of wood!"
“Relax, my fires are magic. I can control what they do, these fires are basically baseballs.” Toriel said with a twinkle in her eyes as even more fireballs popped up around her. “Better keep running.” She said in a teasing tone.
Zack's eyes widened as he kept running and dodging the fireballs. The fireballs got a little harder to dodge but Zack was able to jump and run around them. After about five minutes of this Toriel stopped. “Alright, I think I have a fighting style that will work for you.”
Zack collapsed on the ground as he panted in exhaustion, looking at her. "A-and that is?"
“You need to fight like Spider-man, be fast and dodge your opponents attacks, wait for an opening and then strike.” Toriel said with a smile and put a hand on his back, giving him some energy with her magic.
Zack sighed a bit and nodded softly as he sat up, just as Luna woke up. “Alright, now you have to follow my lead.” Toriel walked up to a training dummy and showed Zack how to throw a punch in the right way.
Zack copied her punching the training dummy as Luna watched in awe. “Good, keep going.” Toriel said with a smile as she continued to teach him a few other moves and then she walked over to a sparring ring. “Now you get to fight me.” She said with a teasing smirk.
"Uhhh, I'm not sure about that." Zack said worriedly, looking away.
Toriel chuckled and put her hands together. “It will be fine, I know how to hold back.”
"If you say so." Zack said, getting into another fighting stance.
Toriel smiled and nodded her head. “Good, now here I come.” She ran at him and threw a punch, which he managed to duck under.
Zack glanced at her as he used his own momentum to uppercut her, before moving away. Toriel took a step back as she was punched and smirked. “Good, keep that up!” She ran after him and tried to punch him again.
Zack nodded as he ducked to the left before his eyes glowed with a yellow tint and he threw his hand up at her, a vine sprouting and knocking her back. “Oof!” Toriel was knocked onto her back and she looked up at him. “Zack, are you alright?”
Zack's eyes returned to normal before he blinked a bit. "Huh? Wait, did I just use magic again?!"
“Yes, you did, dear.” Toriel said as she got back up.
Zack shook his head. "I didn't even realize what the heck was going on." He said looking at his hands.
“Hmm, I think it was because of your fight or flight response.” Toriel said as she looked Zack over as she walked around him.
"So… instincts?" Zack asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Partly, it could also have been your magic acting to protect you.” Toriel stopped and looked at the crowd of guards. “Could one of you dears go get Crimson Heart?”
The captain nodded and walked off, as Luna came over. "Is mister Zack hurt?"
“No but I want to do another magic scan, this time mixing her magic with mine.” Toriel said softly as she rubbed Zack’s head.
Zack sighed a bit as he looked at his hands thinking back to the two times he had used magic before Luna smiled at him. "Thou can control the sun and moon and plants, tis as if nature itself is thyn magic."
“That is very possible.” Toriel said with a smile. “Didn’t the skull kids in zelda move plants around and stuff to trap others in the woods?”
Zack rubbed his head. "I don't think so, I know they attacked adults. But I think the skull kid in Twilight Princess could summon and control puppets."
“Yes but maybe they were part of the nature magic.” Toriel suggested with a smile.
Zack shrugged a bit as he looked up at the sky. "Maybe, I suppose the song of storms and suns song would be a part of nature… actually all of the song from Ocarina of Time and Majora's mask are. Aside from the song of healing I think…"
"We would disagree." Luna said with a smile. "Thou accelerates the natural healing process of creatures. Tis still a part of nature."
“Luna is right.” Toriel said with a smile. “Do you want to rest and talk with your friend?”
Zack glanced at Luna for a moment before nodding a little. "Y-yeah, I'm worn out."
“Alright dear, we will call you over when the nurse gets here.” Toriel said before she walked over to the training ring and made a ton of fires around her that started to circle her as she began to meditate while standing.
Zack chuckled a bit before looking at Luna. "So, what do you like to do for fun?"
“We mostly follow our sister around or read.” Luna said sadly.
Zack frowned a little before smiling. "Well, how about we play something? Do you know how to play tag?"
“What is tag?” Luna asked with a tilt of her head.
Zack smiled a bit before standing up and booping her nose. "Tag. You're it. Now you have to chase me and try to tag me back." He said, grinning before running away. "First to ten points wins!"
“Hey!” Luna chased after him as fast as her little legs could take her, thankfully she was able to keep up.
Zack laughed as she chased him, before dodging out of the way as she went to tackle him. "Missed me!"
“We shall not miss again!” Luna said as she continued to chase him with a smile on her face.
Zack laughed a bit before he tripped just as Luna jumped to tackle him causing her to fall onto him. “Huzzah! I have won! You are it now!” She said before she jumped off him and ran away.
Zack shook his head and laughed before getting up and chasing her now, as Queen Costellia walked over and smiled a bit at them. "Thank goodness Luna has someone to play with now…"
“Indeed.” Toriel said with a smile as she opened an eye and the fires went out. “How are you, your highness?” She asked as she walked over to the queen.
"I am well, how are you doing, Miss Toriel?" Queen Costellia said with a smile as Zack tagged Luna.
“I am well, I showed young Zack how to fight, but I would suggest he avoids fighting for now.” Toriel said before she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a bag. “Would you like to see my girls?”
"In a bag?" Costellia asked with a raised eyebrow.
“A bag of holding I keep in my sleeve.” Toriel explained before opening it and pulled out a photo album book.
Costellia blinks in surprise before sitting next to Toriel. "A book?"
Toriel giggled and opened it, showing a few pictures inside it. “A photo album, a book where you put small pictures you don’t want to get ruined.”
Costellia's eyes widened. "That tis such a good idea!"
“You can use it dear, I introduced so many concepts to my Equestria.” She pointed at two little fillies, both unicorn versions of Celestia and Luna. “These are my girls.”
"They are so adorable." Costellia said with a smile.
“Yes they are.” Toriel flipped the page and showed some pictures of Celestia and Luna covered in mud. “Oh I was so upset on that day, they tracked mud into the house and it was everywhere.”
Costellia giggled softly. "Luna did that once so ever since I have a unicorn ready to clean her up before entering the house."
“Oh how I wish I had that luxury” Toriel said while shaking her head. “Unfortunately for the first ten years we had to live outside of the unicorn village.”
"What for?" Costellia asked as Luna tackled Zack.
“I was an unknown and when I arrived at the village I was covered in blood holding two crying foals.” Toriel said with a small sigh. “I don’t know if it has happened here yet or not but when I first arrived the three tribes were separated.”
"They still are." Costellia said, looking away.
“Hmm, well without spoiling the future too much the three tribes will come together and form a new Equestria in a new land.” Toriel said as she flipped the page and showed some pictures of her Celestia and Luna which were older and standing next to nervous looking colts.
Costellia giggled a bit. "Those poor colts look like they're about to have heart attacks."
“Yes, I may have gone overboard with the protective mother speech.” Toriel said with a giggle. She then turned the page again, this one showing the girls much older, the size of grown ponies, however Luna was still a blank flank while Celestia had a big grin on her face and a cutie mark on her flank, as well as wings on her back.
"Oh, poor Luna. She must have felt so dejected." Costellia said before looking at her own Luna who had fallen asleep with Zack in the middle of the training field. "Aww."
“Aww.” Toriel said with Costellia before pulling out a camera and took a picture of the sleeping Luna and gave it to the queen. “Here you go, and yes poor luna was so sad for weeks before she managed to get her cutie mark, but I will tell you this, when they did I almost had a heart attack.”
"How come?" Costellia asked, using her magic to lift Luna and Zack over to the two of them and resting them on the bench together.
“Because they exploded in a magic surge when they ascended and became Alicorns. They even left scorch marks on the ground when it happened, which when it happened to Celestia I thought she exploded from a magic overload. It took her an hour to come back.” Toriel explained while holding a hand over her chest.
Costellia covered her mouth. "Oh my, you must have been so scared."
“I was! No one had ever seen anything like that before and I had honestly thought she was gone…” Toriel said before she looked down. “I was so relieved when she came back I gave her a big hug and then grounded her.”
Costellia laughed a bit. "Oh no poor Tia!"
“Oh yes, she said she was too old to be grounded.” Toriel said before she smirked. “Then I told her that she will never be too old to be grounded by her mother.”
Costellia giggled and nodded a bit as Crimson heart walked in with Cloud collector. "You wanted to see me ma'am?"
“Ah yes, I wanted to see if both of our magic together might show something new in the scan of Zack.” Toriel said as she handed the photo album to Costellia.
Crimson nodded a bit as Costellia looked through the pictures. "Alright, do you think something is wrong with him?"
“No, I just want to see if my spell is different enough to give more information.” Toriel said as they stood over Zack and she covered her hands in a green fire.
Crimson nodded as her horn began glowing with Toriel's magic flowing over Zack. "Hmm…" The two of them managed to find Zack’s magic core and his magic network. “Oh goodness, how did I miss this?”
“It is alright dear, some spells just need to be tweaked to work on other species.” Toriel explained with a smile.
Crimson heart smiled a bit as she looked at Zack's magical core. "It would appear he is connected with nature itself. He has nature magic… that… this is one of the most powerful magics I've ever seen."
“It makes sense, most displaced become the strongest beings in their worlds, or close to it.” Toriel explained.
"Truly?" Costellia asked in shock before smirking slightly. "If he and Luna have a foal one day it would be very powerful."
Toriel giggled and smirked. “Oh yes, though you may want to wait a few years before you start those teasing comments.”
Costellia giggled a bit and nodded. "Indeed, Luna is only ten after all… we shall wait until she is sixteen."
“Not only that but it is the mother and father’s job to tease the children first.” Toriel said with a light laugh. “Would you believe after all this time I still don’t have grandchildren?”
"Truly? After a thousand years?" Costellia asked as Zack sat up and rubbed his eyes.
“Yes.” Toriel said with a bit of a pout. “Those girls…”
"To be fair they are princesses. Who knows how many guys tried to get with them for power." Zack said with a yawn.
“Sad but true.” Toriel siad with a sigh.
Zack yawned again as he looked at Luna. "How long have we been asleep?"
“A few minutes dear.” Toriel said with a smile. “How are you feeling?”
Zack rubbed his face some more. "Tired… I haven't run around like that since I was ten."
“Dear your body is that of a child again.” Toriel said as she petted his head. “Now how about we make your token.”
Zack sighed a bit and nodded, before pulling out his ocarina. "So um… what do I do?"
“You hold something that represents you and speak a message, drop it or toss it into the air and just let it disappear.” Toriel explained before adding. “Be careful out there as there are some very dangerous people who are displaced, and don't judge a person on the character that they were displaced as. Sometimes villains are heroes and heroes are villains.”
Zack nodded a bit as he looked at his ocarina. "I am the skull kid, the impish master of pranks and nature, if you need a friend or someone to talk to, summon me to your side!" He said, before tossing the ocarina into the air before it vanished, for a split second before it landed in his hand again.
Toriel smiled and stretched a bit. “Well this has been fun but I should be getting back to my world.” She kneeled down and smiled at Zack. “Keep up your spirits and always look on the brightside, ok?”
Zack nodded a bit as he looked at her. "Thank you for everything…"
“Of course dear, if you ever need my help call me with my token. Now to send someone home simply say, our contract is complete.” Toriel said with a smile.
"Alright, thank you again. Toriel, our contract is complete." Zack said with a soft smile.
A portal opened behind her and she leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “Be a good boy.” She then walked through the portal and it closed, strangely though when it did it left behind a pixelated four pointed star that fell to the ground.
Zack smiled a little before sighed a bit as Costellia wrapped a wing around him. "What now?" He asked.
“Now you live, day by day.” She said with a gentle smile.
"Easier said than done…" Zack said with a frown. "I mean… for all I know I'll never see my family again."
Costellia pulled him into a hug. “You have my word, you will always be welcome here.”
Zack smiled a bit and hugged her back. "Thank you ma'am."
“You are welcome dear, just be sure to treat my little Luna right as her future husband.” Costellia said while trying to hide her teasing smirk.
Zack blushed redder than a tomato. "What!? I was twenty three before coming here!"
The Queen giggled and patted his back. “But your body is much younger now, and we alicorns live long lives.”
Zack blushed more and covered his face with a groan. “I am only teasing Zack. Just be a good friend for my daughters.” Costellia said with a giggle.
Zack smiled softly. "I will."
“Good. I hope you come to see this place as a home.” Costellia said and used her wing to hug him once more.
Zack teared up before he hugged her back again sobbing quietly. She held him close and did her best to comfort him.
Zack sobs started to increase as tears fell down his face. "I-i miss my mom!"
“There there.” Costellia said as she tightened the hug. “Let it all out.”
Zack cried and held onto Costellia more, as Luna woke up and rubbed her eyes. "Mister Zack?"
“Shh, I’m sorry Luna but Zack needs some time to grieve.” Costellia said softly while rubbing his back.
Zack sobbed and hiccupped as he cried, making Luna frown before she hugged Zack as well. The three of them stayed like that for almost an hour, letting Zack let out all of his pain.
Zack finally stopped crying as he whipped his eyes. "T-thank you…"
“Of course dear. Do you want to rest in a bed?” Costellia asked.
Zack shook his head a little. "N-no, I'm a little hungry." He said blushing as his stomach growled with Luna's.
Costellia giggled and smiled. “Then let’s get you two to the dining room.”
Luna and Zack smiled a bit before Zack frowned slightly as Crimson Heart looked at him. "You needn't worry, I already informed the chefs of your need for meat."
“And…they and you all are ok with that?” Zack asked cautiously.
Costellia and Crimson smiled. "Son, you're not the first omnivore we have met. And as royal's we host many different species including pure meat eaters." Costellia said, nuzzling his head.
“Wow…I…didn’t expect that.” Zack said softly.
Luna smiled as she took Zack's hand in her magic. "Come, let us dine!" She said pulling Zack along.
Costellia giggled and followed them. “Careful Luna, don’t pull your colt friend’s arm off.”
Luna blushed along with Zack. "Mother! We are friends! Nothing more!"
“What?” Costellia asked with a teasing smile. “He is your friend and a colt, so he is your colt friend.”
Luna screamed and ran away as Zack blushed red and rubbed the back of his head while looking away. Costellia leaned down while giggling. “Why are you just standing here? Go to your friend.”
Zack blushed a bit before going to find Luna. Costellia giggled and looked over at Crimson Heart. “Please go tell my husband that lunch will start soon.”
Crimson heart nodded as she walked away, while Zack found Luna in her room. "U-um… hey."
“Is mom with you?” Luna called out from her room.
"No." Zack said, standing awkwardly as he looked at a guard. "Just a guard."
“Are you sure!?” Luna asked, sounding embarrassed.
"Yes." Zack said, rubbing the back of his neck again.
Luna nodded and came out of the room. “I…we are sorry about mother…”
Zack smiled a bit. "It's alright, it's how mothers are."
“Tis still annoying.” Luna said with a cute pout as she fully left her room and started walking down the hall.
Zack smiled as he slowly followed her. "I know, but she means well."
“Mother always teases me.” Luna said with her head low.
Zack sighed again before smiling a bit. "Hey, I showed you a fun game before we fell asleep. And you said you liked to read right? How about you share one of your favorite books with me?"
“We suppose we can do that.” Luna said, starting to smile.
Zack smiled at her. "Great, how about we grab one to read during lunch?"
“Daddy doesn’t like me reading at the table.” Luna said as her ears folded back. “But after lunch I can take you to the library.”
Zack grinned a bit. "Sounds good, what kind of books do you like to read?"
“All kinds.” Luna said with a smile. “But we don’t have that many.”
"Oh, I'm sorry." Zack said, as they entered the dining room.
“There you are Luna, I heard you were running around the training field like a foal.” Celestia said with a frown.
Luna's ears folded back as she looked away, before Zack smiled. "Yes we were, and it was fun." He said, making Luna perk up and look at him.
“It sounds foalish.” Celestia said with a roll of her eyes.
"Well you are foals still, it's ok to have some fun." Zack said as he and Luna sat down.
“We are princesses, we have to study and be ready to take the throne.” Celestia said while shooting small glare at Zack.
Zack grinned a little at her. "Maybe, but without some fun you'll be dull mares in the future."
Celestia glared more at Zack. “What do you know?”
"My sister was the same way, she did nothing but study and work hard all her life and she ended up…" Zack said before frowning and looking down.
The king looked at Zack with some pity as he placed a wing on Celestia’s back. “Dear, I believe what he is saying is if you ignore your foalhood you will regret it when you're an adult.”
Celestia sighed and nodded a bit as Luna looked at Zack. "Um… what happened to thy sister?"
Zack looked down a bit. "I-i'm sorry but that's not something I want to talk about."
“And we won’t ask you to share what you don’t want to.” The king said with a kind smile. “How about you tell the waiter what you want to eat?” He suggested.
Zack looked at the waiter. "Um, do you know how to make a cheese burger?"
“Um…n-no sir w-what is it made out of?” They asked unsure what it was made of.
Zack rubbed the back of his neck. "Um normally cow meat, but it can be any kind of meat so long as it's ground up and cooked completely through in the form of a patty."
“Y…yes sir.” She walked away seeming a bit scared.
“Y…thou eat…cows?” Luna asked, sounding hurt and scared.
Zack rubs the back of his head again. "Sweetie Zack is an omnivore he needs meat to survive." Costellia said.
“It's true, though we can not feed you sentient life.” The king said with a small frown.
Zack looks away, feeling like a monster now. "C-cows aren't sentient where I'm from…"
“I see, we will have to see what other life isn’t sentient in your world that is in hours so you don't accidentally make this slip up again.” The king said.
Zack looked down. "H-humans are the only sentient creatures in my world…"
“I see…” The king said before he took a sip of his tea. “Then we will have to teach you much.”
Zack sunk down in his chair sadly, trying to make himself smaller. “Now now, we understand you aren’t from this world. We just want to help you.” The queen said softly.
Zack nodded a bit again as he looked down, as Luna looked at her mother worriedly. “Mom, can I take Zack to the library after lunch?”
Queen Costellia smiled and nodded. "Of course sweetie. Celestia, why don't you go with them?"
Celestia frowned a bit. “Yes mother, if that is what you want.”
Zack stared at his hands as the waiter brought out the burger for him. "O-oh t-thanks you ma'am."
“Your welcome, I hope it is to your liking.” She said before walking off.
Zack stared at the cheeseburger in front of him as he watched the others eat. “Is there something wrong?” Luna asked softly before she took a bite of her salad.
Zack shook his head a bit. "N-no I just um… I feel uncomfortable eating meat in front of you all…"
“It is ok, we have seen griffons eat.” The king said with a smile.
Zack rubbed his arm a little, still looking worried. "M-maybe but I'm not a griffin…"
“Do you take bites out of your sandwich one bite at a time?” The king asked with a small smirk.
Zack nodded a bit before slowly taking a bite of the burger. “Oh! Where did Miss Toriel go?” Luna asked.
Zack chewed his burger a bit as Costellia looked at her daughter. "She had to go home sweetie."
“Oh, she was nice.” Luna said as she looked at her food.
Zack nodded a little as his chewing slowed down a little. "Are you alright Zack?" King Cosmosis asked with a frown.
Zack swallowed the food as he nervously asked. "W-where will I stay? I-i don't want to bother any of you after everything you've done."
“You can stay in the castle while we have a home made for you, if you'd like.” King Cosmosis said with a smile.
Zack teared up again, tears falling from his face more as he sobs. "I-i'm sorry… I-i'm not used to such kindness aside from my friend Milo…"
The queen put her wing on his back. “It’s ok, we ponies strive to help those around us.”
Zack sobbed more as he covered his eyes, tears running down his face and into his lap as the ponies around him, even Celestia, frowned sadly at him. “Dear, would you like to rest in a bedroom?” The queen asked gently while rubbing her wing on his back.
Zack nodded a bit. "Y-yes b-but I'm hungry…"
“It’s ok, you can take your food to the room.” She said with a smile.
“Celestia, could you show him to the ambassador chambers?” The king asked with a smile.
Celestia sighed softly but nodded as she stood up along with Zack holding his plate. "T-the Ambassador's chambers? B-but I'm not an ambassador."
“You are an important guest and you have nature magic. You could be an ambassador of nature itself.” The king said with a smile.
Zack blushed a bit as he looked down, nodding softly as he followed Celestia. "T-thanks you…"
“Just don’t hurt my sister or make a mess inside the castle.” Celestia said once they were alone.
Zack looked down as they walked, staying quiet for a minute. "B-but I haven't done anything…"
“You are a commoner.” She said while looking back at him.
Zack hung his head as he teared up. "I-i didn't want to come here…"
“Then maybe you can go home.” She said as she looked ahead.
"I want to…" Zack said softly, before Celestia stopped in front of a door.
“Here is the room, do not make a mess.” Celestia said with a frown.
Zack whimpered and sunk in on himself a little, before slowly entering the room. "T-thanks you…" he said timidly.
The door closed and Celestia walked away, causing Zack to set his food on a night stand before breaking down crying again. He covered his eyes and sobbed and wailed like a scared child, as he covered himself up with the blanket crying for nearly two hours before the door slowly opened. "M-mister Zack?" Luna's voice called out.
"Y-yes?" Zack asked with a sniffle as he uncovered his head from the blanket.
“Are you ok?” Luna asked softly as she walked into the room.
Zack sighed softly as he leaned against the wall next to the bed. "I honestly don't know… yesterday my life was completely normal, I was hanging out with my friend, we were having pizza, watching TV… and now… I'm a monster… I don't even know how my own body fully works anymore! I have magic, which doesn't exist where I'm from, and I'm cursed…" He said, before crying again.
“You are not a monster! You saved me and my sister, what monster does that? You showed me a new fun game, what monster does that? You are my friend, and you are very kind.” Luna said while stopping a hoof cutely.
Zack stared at her for a short time as a memory flashed in his mind of an old friend before he smiled softly at her. "I-i'm sorry… all of this is new and stressful to me… thank you Luna."
Luna smiled and nodded her head. “You are welcome friend!”
Zack smiled softly as he looked at her. "Do you want to get a book and read it together?"
Luna nodded her head with a smile. “Yes!”
Zack smiled as she ran out to get a book, before he finished eating his burger before she got back. “Here, it is my favorite one!” She said and lifted the book up to him.
Zack smiled softly as he let her climb on the bed. "A romance story?"
Luna blushed lightly. “Tis a good story.”
Zack smiled softly as he opened the book and the two started to read for a few hours. Queen Costellia walked in not long after with Celestia to talk with Zack before they both noticed Luna and Zack asleep while leaning on each other with the book on Zack's lap. "Aww, how cute." Costellia said with a giggle.
Celestia rolled her eyes with a frown. “Can we really trust him, mother?” Celestia asked in a whisper.
"Tia I know you're skeptical, but he saved you and has been nothing but kind." Costellia said.
“I know but…he is getting too close to Luna.” Celestia said back with a frown.
"Are you jealous Luna is spending more time with him than you?" Costellia giggled softly.
“No! Mother he isn’t nobility or royalty, he is just a commoner.” Celestia said with a frown. “He could be trying to use us.”
"Honey, I know your past experiences have hurt you. But not all are like that, you must give others a chance." Costellia said with a soft smile. "Zack is lost and confused, far from home and away from his family and friends. His age and mind have suddenly reversed to that of an eleven year old, he needs our help."
Celestia sighed and lowered her head. “I understand.”
Costellia smiled softly and turned Celestia's head softly to look at Zack and Luna, right as Zack woke up for a moment and covered Luna up before laying her down while he fell asleep again sitting up. "Does that seem like someone trying to hurt you two?"
Celestia sighed and looked away. “No…”
Costellia smiled a bit as she used her magic to lay Zack down and covered him up, before she and Celestia left. “Mother, do you have a way to find his home?”
"Unfortunately no, we do not know how different worlds work. Or how many there are." Costellia said with a soft sigh.
“So he really is stuck here.” Celestia said with a sigh.
Costellia smiled a bit. "So you are worried about him."
“I am worried he will be stuck here with us.” Celestia said with a sigh and pout.
Costellia sighed. "Sweetie I'm glad you're serious about your princess duties but you won't make a very good leader if you don't show others compassion."
“I…I know.” Celestia said as she lowered her head and sighed.
Costellia wrapped her wing around her daughter and nuzzled her head. "Come dear, let's us go."
“Ok.” Celestia said as she followed her mother.
Zack woke up a little while later as he sat up and yawned, gently getting up and going out into the hallway to look around. "Um… where is the bathroom?" He asked a wandering guard.
“The bath house is down the hallway on the right, but if you mean the toilet, it is to the right down four doors and to the left.” They said before raising an eyebrow. “If you're a colt that is.”
Zack sighed a bit and nodded. "Yes… I'm male…" he said dejectedly as he walked down the hall with his head hung low.
"What is the matter?" The guard asked, walking down the hallway with Zack to continue his patrol. "Not everyone is treated as an ambassador."
Zack sighed a bit and hugged himself. "I-i'm just not used to all this kindness… my friend Milo was the only one to ever treat me this way… my own parents would beat and ignore me so it's hard to get used to…"
“I…I’m sorry to hear that. No foal should go through that.” The guard said.
Zack held himself as he tried to make himself smaller. "I-i still miss my mom though… is that weird?"
“Of course not young sir, even full groan stallions miss their mothers at times.” The guard said.
"B-but even after everything she and my dad did to me…?" Zack asked, whimpering a little as they stopped in front of the toilet room.
“Well…I would think that you still love her deep down even after what she did.” The guard said and tilted his head. “Don’t you think it is better to have hope they love you then none?”
Zack looked away. "I-i would… if they hadn't constantly said what a burden I was to them."
The guard put a hoof on Zack’s back. “I don’t know the full story but…no colt should hear that. I hope you get to see them again and they apologize.”
Zack nodded briefly before heading into the toilet room, coming back a few moments later. "T-thank you for listening sir."
“It isn’t a problem, would you like me to walk you back to your room?” The guard asked kindly.
Zack looked around a bit before nodding. "If you wouldn't mind, i-i don't want to get lost and accidentally go somewhere I'm not supposed to be."
“It's alright, the worst thing you can do in this part of the castle is walk into the mares toilet or in a room that is already taken.” The guard said with a chuckle and smirked. “Reminds me of a story.”
"Oh?" Zack asked questioningly as the two walked. "What was it about?"
“This rookie once was so nervous that he accidentally walked into the mares locker room, the mares toilet, and even the queen’s private bath chamber!” The guard said before bursting out in laughter.
Zack couldn't help but cover his mouth in laughter, smiling widely as he laughed. "Oh man he must have been in so much trouble!"
“Surprisingly not, he got a talking too but otherwise he kept his job. And do you know what happened to him?” The guard asked with a smile.
"What?" Zack asked as they stopped in front of the door to his room.
The guard smirked and pointed at himself. “You are looking at him, kid.”
Zack's eyes widened. "Seriously? Jeez. I feel bad for you."
He chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, it happened years ago.”
"I thought for a second you were going to say it was Captain Cloud Collector." Zack said with a grin.
He chuckled and shook his head. “No, from what I heard on his first day he was so nervous he walked right into the Queen’s plot.”
Zack couldn't help but laugh more as he leaned on the door. "Oh man! He must have been so embarrassed!"
“From what I heard he was, he thought he was gonna lose his head.” The guard said with a laugh.
“Ahem!” A gruff voice came from behind them.
The two turned to see Cloud Collector staring at them as Zack grinned. "Hey, it's the plot rammer!"
“Don’t make me give you push ups colt!” He roared with a light blush.
Zack laughed a bit. "Just some light teasing… thanks again for cheering me up." He said to the guard that was patrolling before going into his room.
“The king wants to see you in the morning colt.” Cloud Collector said.
Zack blinked for a moment before nodding to him. "Ok thank you." He said, closing the door as the patrolling guard looked to Cloud Collector.
"Sir, I'm worried about that colt." He said with a slight frown.
“Why?” Cloud Collector asked as he walked down the hallway.
"He just informed me of something tragic from his past… I believe he may have post trauma." The guard said, following the Captain.
“I see….we may have to keep a close eye on him and try to help where we can.” Cloud Collector said with a frown.
"If I may sir. He informed me his parents would physically and verbally abuse him… yet he still misses his mother." The guard said, shaking his head sadly. "That is why I informed him of those stories to cheer him up."
“I see, well if that is the case I understand. But I am in command now, I can't have him disrespecting me in front of the other guards.” Cloud Collector said with a sigh of frustration.
"Yes sir, apologies sir." The patrolling guard said before walking away to continue his patrol.
“This colt is gonna be a hoof full.” Cloud Collector said as he looked out a window with a frown.
Zack woke up early in the morning and sighed softly, rubbing his face before glancing at Luna who was still asleep. "Jeez if we don't stop Falling asleep like this, ponies will think we're dating." He mumbled before slowly getting up and heading to the throne room.
He passed a few maids and guards along the way. “Good morning.” Each one had said.
"G-good morning." Zack said to each one timidly, before stopping and catching a maid that was trying to clean a chandelier. "Whoa, are you ok miss?"
She blushed and nodded her head. “Y-yes, thank you young sir.” She sighed and looked up at the chandelier. “I wish we could employ some of those cloud breathers so they could clean the high objects.”
"Cloud breathers?" Zack asked, as he looked up at the chandelier.
“You know, the winged ponies.” The maid said with a roll of her eyes.
Zack raised an eyebrow at her. "You mean the pegusai? Why can't you hire one of them?"
“Because they just just live up in the sky. Besides, we probably couldn’t trust them to not steal anything.” She said before walking off to get a ladder.
Zack frowned slightly at the Statement before glancing up at the chandelier again until he looked at his own hands. "You could help her by making a small gust of wind." A familiar voice said in his head.
Zack looked around shocked. "You wish to help others correct? You saved those fillies, why not help this mare to show you're a good creature." The voice said as Zack felt his magic flowing through him.
“Um…” He looked up at the chandelier before holding his hands up at it. “Go wind power?”
Zack felt the magic surging through him as a small gust of wind burst from his hands and around the chandelier knocking away all the dust and leaving it shining. Zack looked at his hands in shock. “I…did it?”
"Did what sir?" The maid asked as she returned with a ladder, before looking up. "Oh my! It's spotless!"
Zack blushed and rubbed the back of his head. “I uh…helped you.”
The maid smiled and hugged him. "Thank you sir, that was the last one I had to clean today!"
“Y-your welcome.” Zack said with a light blush on his face.
The maid happily walked away as Zack continued his way to the throne room. "See? Doesn't it feel good to help others?"
“Y-yeah it does…” Zack said before he looked around. “Wh-who is there?”
"I am… Majora." The voice said.
“Majora!?” Zack shouted and grabbed his head. “Get out of me! I don’t care if I lose the magic, just leave me alone! I don’t want to hurt anyone!” He yelled as he tried to pull his face off, thinking he was wearing a mask he couldn’t see.
"You won't harm anyone." Majora said as a guard stopped and stared at Zack.
"Are you ok sir?" The guard asked.
“It…I…” Zack looked around while breathing heavily, feeling like he was looking like a lunatic.
"What's wrong?" The guard asked again with a worried frown.
“N-nothing.” Zack said as he looked down, trying to calm down.
"Are you sure sir?" The guard asked, getting a hoof on his shoulder.
“Y-yes I am sure.” Zack said and looked away.
"If you say so, the king wishes to see you." The guard said, leading Zack to the throne room.
“I…I heard last night.” Zack said as he followed the guard, head low.
"What is wrong? Did my power not aid you?" Majora asked in Zack's head. "We can communicate through your mind if it makes you more comfortable."
‘I don’t want your power! I don’t want to destroy this world, get off of me!’ Zack mentally yelled as his body shook with fear.
"What do you mean? You don't desire to destroy the world. My powers may be dark but I only do what my wearer desires." Majora said.
‘I know you made the last skull kid drop the moon on Turmina!’
"His desire was to never see the world again, and to get revenge, so I complied." Majora said.
‘I don’t want your power, my desire is to remove you!’
The guard coughed as Zack noticed he had been standing in front of the king. "Are you alright Zack?' king Cosmosis asked.
“Y-yes…sorry.” Zack looked down and frowned. “I was….just deep in thought.”
"I see, I hope it's nothing bad." The king said walking down to him.
“N…no nothing bad.” Zack said, not wanting to sound crazy.
"That's good, is Luna still asleep?" Cosmosis asked getting a nod from Zack.
"Y-yes sir." Zack said, looking down. "U-um, why did you want to see me?"
“Yes, I wanted you to meet with my architect friend and help design a house for you.” Cosmosis said with a smile and used his wing to point at an older stallion with gray fur.
"O-oh, um… hello." Zack said bowing slightly to the older stallion.
“You don’t need to bow to me, young colt. I am here to help you make a house. But I will not be making a clubhouse, so don’t expect me to.” The stallion said.
"O-oh I wouldn't expect that… but um I'm not sure exactly what kind of house I'd want. I want to practice my magic, but to do that I'd have to be away from others. My magic is um… nature magic and I don't want to hurt anyone by accident."
“I see…” The stallion rubbed his chin. “I could put the house outside the castle town walls but..the forest can be dangerous.”
Zack rubbed his arm and looked down. "I-its there no where inside the walls far enough away where I could live?"
“The inside of the walls is already getting cramped, if you wanted a normal house we could work with that but if you want a training area then you need more space.” The stallion said and pulled out a map of the town.
Zack frowned and hung his head. "Would I be able to go out of the walls to train?" He asked the king.
“Of course, but I would have a few guards go with you to keep you safe.” Cosmosis said with a smile.
Zack smiled softly before turning to the stallion. "A normal house is fine, but if I might make a request is there a tall tree anywhere? I'd like a house built up high in the tree so I don't get mobbed by ponies asking me what I am."
“Hmm it would be tricky but I think that is possible.” The stallion said before he sighed. “Perhaps we could turn the tree itself into a home.”
Zack smiled a bit. "If you want I could try to help. My magic works with nature so I might be able to help a bit."
“Perhaps with the beginning, but when it comes to some of the finer features I would rather my ponies do it.” The stallion said with a nod.
Zack nodded a bit before bowing to Cosmosis. "Thank you sir."
“It is the least I could do.” He said with a smile.
The stallion walked up to Zack. “What do you want the inside to look like?”
"Um I'm pretty simple, it can have two rooms, one for my bed and kitchen, the other for the toilet and bathtub." Zack said, smiling a bit.
“That seems pretty small.” The stallion said while rubbing his chin.
Zack chuckled a bit. "Well, maybe a couch and a guest room but other than that it's all I really need. I'm a small dude after all."
The stallion smiled. “Ah but you will grow won’t you? And what if you wish to have children one day?”
Zack blushed a bit but looked away. "U-um… my race stays like this forever…"
“Ah I see, my apologies. How many windows would you like? Do you want a basement or second floor?” The stallion asked.
Zack rubbed his chin. "Um, no second floor. And I guess one window in each bedroom and in the room with the toilet and Bathtub… two in the living room."
The stallion wrote all of this down and nodded his head. “Do you want anything else specific?”
Zack shook his head. "No sir, that's all I need."
“Alright, I will start my work after I find a tree big enough.” He said and started walking away.
"Thank you." Zack said to the stallion.
“You are welcome, young colt.” The stallion said before he left the throne room.
"You are very polite." King Cosmosis said, smiling softly at Zack.
"O-oh um my parents made sure to uh beat the politeness into me." Zack said, looking away.
“I see…” Cosmosis said with a small frown. “Do you wish to watch me work?”
Zack blinked a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. "Wouldn't that cause problems? Seeing as I am a 'commoner' and not a member of the royal family." Zack asked with a worried look.
Cosmosis laughed and shook his head. “You are my guest, if you want to be by my side you are free to watch, just be polite to anyone that shows up, even if they aren’t exactly the nicest.”
"I-if you're sure sir. B-but um shouldn't Celestia and Luna be here too? You are their father after all." Zack said, rubbing his arm bashfully.
“They are still sleeping, and once they wake up they will be taught by Clover.” Cosmosis said as he smiled.
Zack frowned a little bit and nodded his head slowly. "Um… what if they wake up before you finish?"
“They still have to take their classes.” Cosmosis said with a chuckle.
Zack nodded slowly again. "I-if you say so sir."
“Good, now come here and sit down.” He said with a chuckle and pointed next to his throne.
Zack did so, slowly sitting next to the king's throne as he stared at the floor a bit. "U-um, what exactly do you do? Day court or something?"
“I listen to complaints and suggestions by anyone who wishes to voice them, though between you and me, it's mostly the nobles or their children trying to garner favor with me and my wife.” Cosmosis said with a smirk.
Zack couldn't help but chuckle softly as the guards opened the doors to let the ponies in.
Chapter end.
Zack watched nervously as the entire throne room was filled with ponies, as they bowed to King Cosmosis while some of them looked at Zack with disgust and fear. "Greetings everyone, welcome to day court." Cosmosis said with a smile as he jestired to Zack. "This is Zack, he shall be joining us today."
"H-hello…" Zack said with a smile while a few ponies glared at him.
“My king, what is this…thing?” One of the ponies asked while waving a hoof at Zack.
Zack frowned and looked down sadly as Cosmosis wrapped his wing around him. "He is a friend of my family, and the one who saved Celestia and Luna's lives yesterday."
“I see, then he should be rewarded, your highness.” The noble said.
"I am already planning on it. Now let us begin day court. Who is first?" King Cosmosis asked with a smile.
The first noble walked forward and bowed. “Your highness, I come to request permission to begin cutting down the trees around the castle to make room for expansion.”
Cosmosis rubbed his chin. "Hmm… I suppose we could. The population is slowly becoming larger…"
“Um…m-maybe not a g-good idea.” Zeck muttered softly.
Cosmosis looked at Zack with a raised eyebrow as the noble glared at the boy. "Why not?"
“U-um w-well the f-forest m-might see it as an attack a-and…um…ponies could get hurt.” Zeck said softly and nervously due to all eyes on him.
Cosmosis rubbed his chin some more. "That is true…"
"But your majesty, the town is so small. And what could this creature possibly understand?" The noble asked with a frown.
Zeck shrink in on himself but managed to say. “I…I am a being of nature magic, I can understand h-how the forest will react.”
The ponies eyes widened in shock. "I see… that is quite rare…"
“Hmm, perhaps we can start a settlement just outside the forest?” Cosmosis suggested.
Jack blinked a few times and smiled a little. "That would be a good idea. From what I've heard of stories there's an open field not too far away."
“Hmm, very well we will send an expedition to find the edge of this forest and set up a settlement.” Cosmosis said with a smile and nodded at Zack.
The noble hummed and nodded. "Very well, what shall we do if there's monsters in this field as well?"
“We will just have to head the other way. We do not want to upset the forest and make things worse for us.” Cosmosis said.
"Thank you, sire." The noble nodded a bit and bowed to him before walking away.
A mare that looked like she had dirt in her fur walked up next. “Y-your highness, um…our food supply is running low, we may not have enough to survive the whiter.”
King Cosmosis frowned as he looked at a calendar. "Winter is fast approaching… this is most troubling…"
"Can't you grow more?" Zack asked, blushing in embarrassment as the mare turned to him.
"No, the air is too cold to grow crops in the winter." She said with a frown.
One of the unicorn nobles spoke up. “Maybe this…forest spirit…can do something.”
Zack blushed as all eyes turned to him. "I-i don't know how to use my magic yet… b-but um I have an idea that might help…"
“Which is?” The same noble asked with annoyance in his voice.
Zack kicked his foot a little. "U-um a building made of glass and metal to keep the cold out and the heat from the sun inside. It's called a greenhouse. It lets food and other plants grow in the winter…"
“What a ridiculous idea and waste of resources.” The unicorn said before the earth pony mare spoke up.
“A-actually…something like that could work, why didn’t we think of it?” She said with a smile at Zeck, that is before one of the unicorns muttered something.
“Probably because all of you are too stupid to think of anything but farming.”
Zack frowned and glared at the unicorn a little, as king Cosmosis smiled softly. "Then I'd like Zack to work with the farmers to make this Greenhouse, as soon as possible. You can build it around the farms themselves and I grant all resources and labor needed."
“Th-thank you sir.” Zack said to the king as he bowed his head. “I will do my best to help.”
Cosmosis nodded with a smile as the unicorn Noble frowned a bit and sighed. "But your majesty, we also need to expand the school. That is why I am here. Where Will we expand it and will there be enough resources now?"
“Hmm, that is a tough choice but I believe food is more important at this moment.” Cosmosis said while looking at some scrolls.
The unicorn sighed and nodded. "Yes your majesty…" he said walking away while mumbling. "Damn dirty earth ponies and freak of nature."
Zeck frowned a bit but decided not to make a scene.
Zach subconsciously nodded to the suggestion. "Zack are you alright son?" Cosmosis asked with a frown.
“H-huh?” He looked over at the King. “d-did I say something?”
"No but you were just staring at nothing and nodding." Cosmosis said with a frown.
“O-oh um…I was thinking about something.” He lied and looked down.
Cosmosis nodded a bit. "Very well, you may stay or go to help construct this 'greenhouse'. It is up to you."
“Am…am I needed here?” Zack asked softly.
"I have been doing this for a long time. You may stay if you wish." Cosmosis said with a smile.
“I should probably help with the greenhouse though…” Zack said with a sigh.
Cosmosis smiled softly and rubbed Zack's back. "Then you should do that. It is all up to you. I don't want you overdoing everything ok?"
“O-ok.” Zack got up and started to leave. “Thank you sir.”
Cosmosis smiled at Zack. "Take care, and be careful. Luna will be very upset if something happens to you."
Zack blushed a little. “R-right.”
The nobles scrunch their noses up at that as Zack left with the farmer mare. “Ah am sorry bout them, most of them horn heads are a stuck up bunch.” The mare said to him.
"It's alright, my name is Zack. What's yours?" He asked her with a smile.
“My name is Apple Pie.” She said with a smile and shook his hand.
Zack laughed softly and shook her hoof. "My favorite flavor of pie, I get the feeling we'll be good friends."
Apple Pie blushed lightly. “My good sir, I will have you know I don’t feel that way about you.”
Zack blushed and shook his head. "Not like that! Back home Pie is a type of food… you're making fun of me aren't you?"
She was covering her mouth with a hoof as she giggled. “Yes, I am sorry.”
Zack rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Very funny."
“I am sorry, you just walked right into it.” She said with a smile. “But yes, I would like to be friends.”
Zack smiled as they approached a large farm. "Whoa, this will require a large greenhouse…"
“Can it be done?” Apple Pie asked, worried they won’t be able to finish it.
"I mean, it should be able to be. It'll just be bigger than I thought." Zack said, looking around.
“Ok, what do we do first?” She asked him as other earth ponies start walking over to them.
Zack looked around a bit. "Um, we'll need to make a layout for the building itself. They'll have to be paths for ponies to walk, and a sort of sprinkler system on the ceiling to simulate rain."
“We can ask the pegasi to make small rain clouds for that.” She said as she and the other earth ponies started to draw in the dirt.
Zack nodded a bit. "There's also the challenge of keeping the plants warm at night."
“Maybe some fires around the outside of it?” A stallion suggested.
"Around the outside of the building or the crops?" Zack asked, rubbing his head. "If it's outside the building they'd have to be constantly watched not to go out and really big to heat up everything inside enough so the cold wouldn't kill them. And outside the crops the fire could spread."
“Hmm, what if we have one of the horn heads use their magic to keep the hot air inside the building?” One of the other earth ponies suggested.
"The unicorns? That can work." Zack said with a nod.
“Hmm this will take a lot of glass, how are we gonna get it?” A mare asked.
"King Cosmosis said we'd have access to all the materials we'd need." Zack said, rubbing his arm.
“Well that is good.” The mare said as she frowned at the blueprint in the dirt. “Then let’s get to work.”
"It will take a while." Zack said with a small sigh, as they all began digging in the dirt to make the outline for the greenhouse. "At least a few days… plus the replanting since seeds will probably get messed up during the building process."
“We are used to working hard.” A pony said as they worked.
"I can tell, it's quite a feat. Where I'm from creatures despise hard work." Zack said, kneeling down and touching a plant gently.
“They sound like lazy horn heads.” A stallion said as he walked past Zack.
Zack chuckled softly as his hand began to glow a light green, bringing the plant to life a little. "They are lazy, yeah…"
“Do you think one of them will claim this was their idea?” Another pony asked their friends.
"The unicorns? Kinda hard since I literally spoke up about this idea in front of the royal court." Zack said, as he grabbed a stick to help draw the outline of the greenhouse.
“Won’t stop them.” A mare said.
“Yeah, one of us had this idea for using candles to light the castle at night, even told the king. But the horn heads talked among themselves and one claimed to come up with the idea and it spread till everypony believed they made it.” A stallion said with a frown.
"That's dumb." Zack said as he looked at the outline for the greenhouse. "But I don't really care who takes credit for it. As long as everyone gets the food they need… but if I were you I'd upcharge that pony that stole your idea until they come clean. All fair after all."
“We can’t, the unicorns would all turn on us.” The stallion said as he dug a spot for a post.
Zack raised an eyebrow. "And you control the food, they don't like it too bad. Without you guys there's no food, if they want it they gotta pay. It's simple."
"Huh… you have a point." A mare said as she dug another hole.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying go overboard. But you need to stand up for yourselves." Zack said, digging a third hole as a guard walked up.
“He is right, with the new royal family controlling the day and night we don’t have to worry about the unicorns retaliating by taking away the sun.” A stallion said with a smile.
"But again, don't go overboard." Zack said with a smile. "After all, children shouldn't be punished for the sins of their parents."
“Tell that to the horn heads and feathered freaks.” A stallion said with a frown.
Zack sighed and frowned at them. "Things won't change unless you make them, and the best way is through kindness…"
“Maybe…that is what Smart Cookie would want.” A mare said with a smile.
"Smart cookie?" Zack asked with a tilt of his head, as he gave the guard a piece of paper before he trotted off. "Wasn't she the first earth pony to befriend a unicorn and pegasus?"
“Yep, even though they were trapped in a cave as it was being frozen over they became friends.” The same mare said.
Zack nodded a bit. "Sorry but, how long ago was that?"
"Um about… fifty winters ago?" The mare said.
“Yeah, it was around that long ago. Thankfully the winters are getting lighter nowadays.” A stallion said.
"Huh, well that's good I suppose." Zack said as he sat down. "I just sent a list of material with that guard, so we just have to wait for him to get back I guess."
“What do you mean wait? We still have a lot of work to do.” Apple Pie said as she walked over to some plants and blew some frost off them.
"I mean sit and wait. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy working hard. But there has to be a balance. And you're just making more work for yourselves by removing the frost right now." Zack said, confusing Apple Pie.
"How so?" She asked.
"Well once the greenhouse is built and ready to go, firstly most of the crops will have to be replanted anyway, so by letting these ones die they become fertilizer for the new ones helping them grow faster. Secondly, whatever one's do survive will need water, and once the heat in the greenhouse goes up the frost can melt and keep them hydrated enough until the pegassi can make small clouds for rain." Zack explained with a smile.
Apple Pie frowned and looked at the ground in thought. “Hmm…I hadn't thought of that before.”
Zack smiled a bit as a filly unicorn started walking past. "Well to be fair no one thought of a greenhouse to grow more food in the winter before either."
"That is true." A stallion said, as the filly listened to them. "Which is strange with how little food we all have, but we thank you for the contribution. We can give you a portion of the profit we'll get for selling the food."
“O-oh um…I don’t know if I need any money from you guys.” Zack said while rubbing his arm nervously.
"You deserve it, it was your idea after all. Unless you have another source of income?" The stallion said with a smile.
“Well…no.” Zack said and looked down a bit. “But…I would feel bad taking money from you guys.”
"Don't. Think of it as a business deal, you seem to know a lot about plants and have good ideas. We can work together to make enough food for everyone." The stallion said with a smile, offering his hoof to Zack. "My name's National Holiday."
“Zack, um…forest spirit I guess.” He said as he shook National Holiday’s hoof.
"Pleasure to meet you." He said with a smile. "I was wondering if you had any other ideas for helping plants grow better?"
Zack smiled softly. "Well… I used to study herbology, and other sciences back home. So I can probably come up with something…"
“Wonderful! Please share what you know.” He said with a smile.
Zack smiled softly as the guard arrived with all the supplies he had requested, taking up almost the entire farm. "Yup… this will take a while."
“That's ok, we will do it together, the earth pony way.” Apple Pie said with a grin.
Zack raised an eyebrow as a group of earth ponies started playing some instruments, while more earth ponies arrived. "Build this farm, build this farm! One two three four!" Apple pie started to sing, making Zack smile widely.
"Oh this'll be fun!" He said as the group got to work fast and efficiently. With the help of all the earth ponies and Zack the frame of the greenhouse was constructed within a few hours, the metal beams completely wrapped around and set up surrounding the farm. As the sun began to set, a howling noise from outside of the town distracted one of the earth ponies causing him to bump into a beam that wasn't hooked down.
The large metallic beam fell fast towards an earth pony filly, making her scream in fear as she closed her eyes ready for the end. "No!" Zack's voice echoed through the area as all the dying plants and food instantly sprouted to life, growing incredibly tall around the filly and blocking the beam from hitting her while vines attached down and picked up the fallen beam. The ponies looked to Zack who's eyes were glowing golden as a mask slowly formed around his face, his hands outstretched as the plants moved and protected the filly.
“Z-Zack, a-are ya ok?” Apple Pie asked as she slowly stepped closer to him.
"Get the filly." Zack said through the mask, his arms beginning to drop as the plants shook.
“I got her!” A mare said as she picked up the filly and ran away from the steel beam.
Zack grunted as the vines lifted the beam higher up, slowly setting it in place before he collapsed to his knees. "T-that was hard…"
“Hey you don’t have to push yourself, relax we got this now.” Apple Pie said as she rubbed his back.
Zack nodded a bit, smiling softly as the mask vanished. "Sorry. I don't like seeing kids in danger."
Apple pie smiled as the filly quickly came over and hugged Zack. "I think she appreciated it as well."
“Thank you mister!” The filly said as she was being hugged by her mother and father.
"Thank you so much for saving our little Spring Drop." The mother said with a smile, hugging Zack with tears running down her face. Her pink mane and yellow coat being all Zack could see.
"Y-you're welcome." Zack said with a smile.
“You are one amazing young colt.” The father said with a big smile as he held his daughter.
Zack smiled softly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I just… I don't really know what I did… I just did it?"
“You saved our daughter, that's what you did.” The mother said as she hugged him again.
Zack blushed a bit as Apple pie smiled. "The king said he also saved the princesses. He's a real hero."
All the ponies start talking about Zack’s heroics. Zack's face turned completely red as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I-it's not that impressive…"
“Zack, not only did you save a princess but an innocent filly too. You have the heart of a hero.” Apple Pie said before she let out a giggle. “Just don’t go getting a big head and float away.”
Zack blushed a bit, as he suddenly started floating. "Whoa!"
“Huh?” The ponies watch him float as some call him an alicorn, others wondering if he is even mortal.
"A little help?" He asked as he shakily tried to get his feet back on the ground.
“You can fly too?” Apple Pie asked as she looked up at him.
"Well um… after you made the comment about floating it popped into my head…." Zack said, rubbing his chin. "And technically Gravity is a part of nature so I suppose my magic is able to manipulate it… on a small scale anyway."
“That is…amazing. You are just full of surprises.” She said before she used some rope another pony handed her to toss up to Zack. “Grab on.”
Zack grabbed the rope as he was pulled down to the ground. "Thank you… I'm gonna have to train with these powers… I don't want to hurt anyone."
“Probably a good idea. Need any help?” She asked with a smile.
Zack smiled softly at her. "I'd appreciate it, I'm not sure what I can fully do though… nature is massive and a lot of things fall under that category."
“I see, well earth ponies have always held a strong connection to nature. Maybe we can help in some way.” She said as she looked at the others who nodded their heads.
Zack smiled and nodded softly as they continued to build the greenhouse. "That would be helpful… I wonder if the pegasi can teach me how to control clouds… that'd be neat."
“I have a friend that may help. Her name is Shy Cloud.” A mare said with a smile. “She is a sweet mare.”
Zack smiled a bit. "Thank you… you're all really nice."
“Of course we are, you are a good colt and a hero.” Apple Pie said with a smile.
Zack blushed again and looked away bashfully. "The building is almost complete." A Stallion said with a smile.
“See, when we work together anything can be done.” Apple Pie said to the ponies who cheered.
Zack smiled softly as he looked at the glass building. "I'm glad all those years in school weren't for nothing."
“Do you want to join us for lunch?” Apple Pie asked him as the earth ponies started heading inside.
"Oh um, I don't think that would be a good idea. I um… I have to eat meat. So I'll probably just hang out here."
“Oh…well, if you want to.” She said as she frowned sadly before she began walking inside.
Zack frowned a bit at her sad look before he sighed. "Oh fine, as long as there's pie."
“Of course there will be pie, I am going to be there.” Apple Pie said with a laugh.
Zack laughed a bit as he went inside with the family, as a unicorn walked up to the greenhouse with an angry glare. One of them looked at the others and nodded, before all their horns lit with magic.
Apple Pie looked over at Zack. “So tell us about yerself if ya don’t mind.”
Zack smiled softly as he sat down at the dining room table. "Well… I didn't always look like this and I wasn't always a kid…"
“What do ya mean?” Apple Pie asked as she sat across from him.
Zack looked down. "I'm what's called a displaced. I was a human that got an item and sent to this Equestria…"
“Oh, well ah don’t know what much of that means but ah am sure you will like it here.” She said with a gentle smile.
Zack smiled softly at her. "Thank you."
“Yer welcome Zack, what would ya like to eat?” Apple Pie asked.
"Pie, any kind." Zack said with a smile.
“Sure.” Apple Pie got up to go get some pie.
Zack smiled softly as he looked over at the filly he had saved and her family, smiling softly at them noticing the filly had a red mane and yellow coat reminding him of a filly from the TV show.
"I wonder if I'll live forever… maybe I could meet them…" he thought to himself, as Apple pie came back.
“Here ya go, a nice hot apple pie from Apple Pie.” She said with a giggle.
"Huh? Oh thank you." Zack said with a soft smile.
She smiled and sat down as she started to eat a salad. “It was no problem. You helped us so much already.”
Zack smiled a bit as he ate some of his pie. "Holy crap, this is the best pie I've ever had! And I thought my mom's pie was good!"
Apple Pie smirked. “Thank you, I made that pie myself.”
"I want the recipe." He said with a smile as he ate another bite.
“Sorry, family recipe. The only way you are getting it is if ya marry me.” Apple Pie said with a smirk.
Zack blushed and started coughing, holding his neck as he choked. “Oh dear, are you alright?” She asked.
"Y-yeah, wasn't expecting that response." Zack said coughing more.
“Sorry, I was just teasing you.” She said softly as she reached over to pat his back.
"I know but it just came out of nowhere." He said, shaking his head as the earth ponies laughed.
“Sorry, you just walked right into it.” She said with a smile.
Zack nodded with a smirk. "I guess I did."
The group laughed and chatted for a while, before they all heard loud crashing sounds from outside followed by the ground shaking violently. “What was that!?” Apple Pie shouted as she got up.
Zack looked out the window, his eyes widening in shock. "The greenhouse!"
“What happened to it?” An earth pony stallion shouted as he looked out the same window.
Zack rushed outside along with the earth ponies, noticing the unicorn from the courtroom watching them from afar with a smirk on his face. "He did it, he should pay." Majora's voice said in Zack's head.
“No, please don’t say all that work was for nothing.” A pony said as they saw the destroyed greenhouse.
Zack's eyes glowed angrily as the unicorns walked up with the king. "See your majesty, this building was not stable and collapsed. What if somepony got hurt?"
“It was standing just fine before we went inside for lunch!” Zack shouted.
The unicorn shook his head with a frown. "There are traces of magic around…" The king said as his horn glowed.
“So someone with magic knocked it over!” Zack said while glaring at the unicorn, plants start to grow around his feet.
The unicorn scoffed. "I saw how you used magic, maybe you did it because it isn't 'natural.'"
“Why would I destroy it when I was the one that suggested it?” Zack asked, sounding offended.
"How would I know what goes on in a freak's mind?" The unicorn said with a scoff.
Zack growled a bit and clenched his fists. “Hey, you can mess with me all you want but these ponies worked hard on that greenhouse and you or someone under you destroyed it for no good reason!” The plants start to grow faster. “I don’t care if you come after me, but leave everyone else out of it!”
Cosmosis raised an eyebrow at Zack as the plants began to wrap around the prices of the greenhouse as well, as the unicorn backed away. "These dirty filthy earth ponies can simply rebuild it, but they'd best hurry. Food is running scarce."
“It was already made and finished then your people messed it up so if we run out of food it is your fault!” Zack yelled as he tried to step closer but the plants around his legs stopped him from moving.
The unicorn scoffed again as Cosmosis stepped between the two. "That is true, however we need to get this building up again quickly."
Zack looked up at Cosmosis and his eyes slowly stopped glowing. “Can we have some guards?”
"Of course, I was already planning on that." Cosmosis said with a gentle smile. "And these unicorns will help too. To make up for what they did."
“What!? We are the upper class, your highness, we don’t play in the dirt.” The unicorn said as if the idea was ridiculous.
Cosmosis looked at the unicorn, his glare stern and serious. "If you wish to eat you will help, otherwise you shall receive no food. I do not tolerate traitors."
The unicorn’s eyes widened in shock. “Traitors!?”
"You sabotaged this building did you not?" The king asked, gesturing to the crumbled building. "The one that is meant to grow more food for the kingdom, and because of you it will take longer to grow now. Thus, making you traitors."
The unicorn glared at Zack and the earth ponies, mentally blaming them. Zack glared back at him, snarling a little as his eyes turned yellow again. "You're lucky King Cosmosis is so forgiving…"
The unicorn snorted as he walked inside. “I shall have my guards do the work.”
"Ah don't think so." Apple pie said, grabbing the unicorn by his tail and yanking him outside. "Firstly, the king told YOU to help. Secondly this Is mah, house. Ya ain't allowed inside, try that again and I'll have ya arrested fer trespassing!"
“Unhoof me you filthy mud pony!” The unicorn shouted as he yanked his tail away from her.
Zack growled as Apple pie glared at him. "Then stay out of mah house ya stuck up git!"
“Gladly.” He said and turned ro leave the area.
"I told you to help rebuild." Cosmosis said with a frown. "Where do you think you're going?"
“To get my ponies, I will not play around in the dirt like a commoner.” He said with a huff.
"Very well." Cosmosis said turning to the earth ponies. "When he comes for food, charge him triple."
“Thank you for your permission, your highness.” Apple Pie said with a smile.
"What!?" The unicorn yelled in shock. "You can't do that to me! I'm an elite!"
“Not anymore. You are a clear traitor, you are lucky I am not kicking you out of the kingdom.” Cosmosis said with a frown.
The unicorn's mouth dropped in shock as Zack smirked. "Justification!" Apple Pie laughed as she smirked at the unicorn as well.
The unicorn growled softly as he stormed off, as the earth ponies started to repair the greenhouse. "I am sorry for the trouble he's caused." Cosmosis said, hanging his head.
“You aren't responsible for his actions.” Zack said before he looked down when he couldn’t move. “Huh? I’m stuck.”
"It happened when you were talking with the unicorn." Apple pie said, trying to help him get free.
“Y-you mean I did this?” Zack asked, a bit scared of his own power.
"Yes, but all it is doing is keeping you in place." Apple pie said, pulling the vines off Zack's legs.
“I guess so b-but it is still scary that my magic can act on its own.” Zack said softly.
"All magic is like that at first." Cosmosis said with a smile. "You'll learn to control it soon."
“I hope so, I don’t want to accidentally hurt someone.” Zack said as he looked at the ground.
Apple pie smiled softly and patted his back. "Zack, you've saved three fillies' lives. You're a hero, don't look down on yourself."
“Maybe…” Zack said while thinking to himself. ‘Or maybe I am a monster.’
"Three fillies lives? You saved somepony else?" Cosmosis asked Zack with a smile.
“He sure did, a young earth pony filly that was about to be crushed by a falling beam.” Apple Pie answered.
Zack blushed as he looked down, just as the filly he had saved hugged his leg again. "Huh?"
"She's afraid after everything that's happened. She feels safe around you." The fillies mom said with a smile.
Zack blushed lightly as he gently patted the fillies head. “There there.”
The filly shook a little as Cosmosis smiled softly. "How about I help personally to rebuild. You rest and… calm down ok?"
“But you have to be really busy.” Zack said, worried he would be upsetting the king.
Cosmosis smiled softly and rubbed Zack's head. "It is alright, most of my major duties are finished for the day."
“Well…ok if you aren’t busy.” Zack said before he looked at the destroyed greenhouse.
Apple pie sighed softly and looked back at the greenhouse. “Ah think ya should charge that horn head for the damages… after all this was all royal property."
"Not a bad idea. However since it was on your property that means it belongs to you." Cosmosis said with a smile.
“We should hurry before the sun sets on us.” Zack said with a sigh.
Cosmosis horn began to glow in a red and yellow hue, almost like a sun rising or setting as the metal beams slowly began to lift off the ground.
“Boy howdy, magic sure can be useful when not welded by a crazy pony.” Apple Pie said as she stood next to Zack.
Zack frowned softly as the filly looked up at him. "Are you ok mister Zack?"
“H-huh?” He looked down at her. “Oh yeah I am ok, just…deep in thought.”
The filly smiled as Cosmosis moved most of the beams out of the way. "Alright ponies, let's get to work!" National Holiday said, as the earth ponies began building the greenhouse again.
Zack sighed and tried to help the best he could with a filly holding onto his leg. The filly giggled as Zack walked around, lifting her up as he did. "This is fun!"
“Just don’t fall off and get hurt.” Zack told her as he worked.
The filly nodded as she held on tighter, before looking up at Zack. "Can't you use your magic to help like the king? Like you did when you saved me?"
“I…don’t know how to control it.” Zack said softly.
The filly got off of Zack's food and ran infront of him, sitting on her haunches as she smiled at him. "Maybe you just need to concentrate really hard!" She said, putting her front hooves to her forehead and scrunching up her nose with her tongue out to the side.
Zack chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think magic works like that.”
"You could still try!" She said with a wide smile that made Zack's heart skip a beat from cuteness.
Zack chuckled and put a hand to his chest. “Ok ok, just stop with the cuteness.”
The filly giggled and shook her head. "I can't! My daddy says I'm a constant bundle of cuteness!"
Zack chuckled and put a hand to his head. “Ok, I will try, just try not to give me a heart attack from cute overload.”
"Ok!" She said with a smile as her father walked past rubbing her head.
"Don't bother him too much Sweetie pie." He said, walking past.
Zack closed his eyes and focused on what he felt, trying to make anything happen. "Funnily enough you're trying too hard. You have nature magic, let it flow naturally." Majora's voice said, worrying Zack.
Zack frowned, not trusting the voice or wanting to hear it, but subconsciously he relaxes a bit and lets the magic flow. Zack's hand glowed a bright green Color before all the vines and grass grew rapidly, wrapping around the metal beams and lifting them into place slowly. "You did it!" Sweetie pie said with a smile.
Zack smiled and opened his eyes to see.
"Well done." Cosmosis said, wrapping a wing around Zack as the vines slowly put the glass in place.
"Wow."
"Cool."
"First saving a kid, now this? He really is a good colt."
Zack heard multiple ponies whispering amongst themselves happily. “Thank you, but I didn’t do much.”
Apple pie sighed and smiled a bit. "You need to stop being so hard on yourself."
“I’m not being hard on myself, I am just trying not to brag.” Zack said as he rubbed his arm.
Apple pie smiled and nodded. "Yer a good colt. Yer welcome here anytime."
Zack blushed and looked at the ground shyly. “Thanks…wish I knew what happened to my friend though.”
"I'm sure you'll find him eventually." Cosmosis said, rubbing Zack's back.
“Yeah somehow.” Zack said before he looked up. “So, what next?”
Cosmosis smiled a bit. "Luna was asking about you, maybe should go see her."
Zack smiled a little. “If that's ok, I could help more here if I am needed.”
"You've done enough, you need some rest." Apple pie said with a smile and a giggle. "Go play with your filly friend."
Zack blushed a bit. “She is just a friend.”
Cosmosis grinned to one side before nodding with a stern look. "She'd better be."
Zack gulped and nodded quickly before running away.
Cosmosis blinked a bit. "I was joking…"
Apple Pie giggled. “Your highness, you can be very intimidating when looking like an angry father.”
"I suppose so… I should go find him." Cosmosis chuckled softly as he nodded, before walking off to find Zack. "Zack?" He called out.
"I-i'm sorry…" Zack's voice whimpered out from nearby.
Cosmosis sighed softly. “No, I am sorry. I only meant to tease you.”
"B-but you seemed so mad…" Zack whimpered fearfully. "I-i don't want to make you angry after everything you've done for me."
“I am not mad, I was only teasing you because I know my daughter likes you.”
"W-what!?" Zack asked in shock. "B-but we just met!"
He chuckled and nodded. “Yes, but I am sure it is just a foalhood crush.”
Zack blushed red as he stepped out of a bush. "B-but still… isn't it weird?"
“You must not have been around fillies your age.” He said with a chuckle.
"I-i um…" He said looking down. "N-not really…"
“It is ok, just be yourself. I may tease you from time to time but I know you wouldn’t hurt my Luna.”
Zack blushed and nodded a bit. “Now, go have fun son.” Zack smiled a bit and nodded, before running off to find Luna making Cosmosis smile. "She's in the library!" He called out to Zack.
“Ok, thank you!” Zack called out before he ran to the library.
Luna smiled and hummed to herself as she read one of her favorite books, looking up at the darkening sky. "I wonder where Zack has been all day…"
“Hey Luna!” Zack said from behind her.
"Eep!" Luna yelled as she jumped, turning around and pouting at Zack. "That tis not funny! Where have you been?!"
“I was busy helping some ponies make a greenhouse.” Zack told her while trying to hold back his chuckles.
"Thy painted a house green? What for?" Luna asked tilting her head.
Zack chuckled and shook his head. “No, a greenhouse is a glass building that helps plants grow in colder environments.”
"Truly? That is a wondrous invention! It will help keep us fed during the winter!" Luna said with a wide smile.
“Well yes and no, it will help but even with a greenhouse it could get too cold in winter to grow food.” Zack said while rubbing the back of his head.
"Zack, our kingdom has been going through food shortages every winter for the last three years. Every little bit helps!" Luna said with a wide smile.
Zack blushed a bit. “I am sure someone would have come up with the idea.”
"Maybe, but you are the one that did." Luna said with a smile, nuzzling his hand. "And we are grateful."
“Y-your welcome.” He said with a blush on his cheeks. “Wh-what were you doing before I showed up?”
"Ready our favorite book. Would thou care to join us?" Luna asked with a happy smile.
“Sure.” Zack said as he sat down next to her.
Luna blushed softly at how close Zack was, before the two began reading together, eventually falling asleep leaning on each other. Celestia frowned when she came into the library to get Luna for dinner, shaking her head gently at the two before she went to the dining room. "Celestia, where is your sister?" Costellia asked.
“She is in the library with…him.” She said with a frown.
"Who?" Costellia asked before nodding with an understanding look. "Oh Zack, I do not understand why you don't trust him."
“He just feels wrong, mother.” Celestia said with a sigh.
Costellia sighed softly and nuzzled her daughter. "That is because of his curse. But Zack is a very nice young colt Tia. He even saved another filly today."
“Did he?” Celestia asked with a soft frown.
"Indeed, according to the earth ponies. One of the seal beams they used to construct the new greenhouse fell and his magic instinctively activated to protect the filly." Costellia said with a small smile.
“So he has magic.” Celestia said while looking at the table.
"Indeed, but Clover the Clever discovered that while Zack was in the medical wing." Costellia said. "He has nature magic."
“Nature magic?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"His magic is connected to all of nature." Cosmosis said, walking in with a smile. "It's one of the rarest and most powerful magics ever seen."
Celestia hummed and looked at her father. “I see, is he powerful?”
"Well… he's still new to magic and can barely use it." Cosmosis said with a sigh. "But he did use it to save a filly and help to rebuild the greenhouse after some unicorns destroyed it."
“I see…” Celestia frowned more as she thought about it.
"Are you ok Tia?" Costellia asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I am worried he is trying to trick us.” She said before looking up at her parents. “What if everything he has said so far is a lie?”
Cosmosis and Costellia looked at each other before looking at her. "We can only give him our trust. And so far he's repaid that trust in full."
“I guess.” Celestia said as she looked down.
Cosmosis rubbed her head gently. "Why don't you try to get to know him?"
“Ok, I guess I should.” She said softly.
Costellia nuzzled her cheek gently as she smiled. "What were Luna and Zack doing?"
“Sleeping in the library.” Celestia said while she nuzzled back.
Cosmosis smirked a bit. "How sweet. The two must have fallen asleep while reading."
“It seemed so.” Celestia said before she looked back to the library. “Do you think somepony should wake them?”
"I will, you eat dinner." Costellia said, smiling softly as she walked into the library.
“Ok mother.” Celestia said as she started to eat.
Costellia smiled softly as she walked into the library, giggling to herself as she watched Zack and Luna leaning on each other. "Oh how precious." She said, nuzzling the two awake.
“Huh, is it nightfall?” Luna asked sleepily before she nuzzled Zack more.
Zack grumbled a bit as he rolled over, wrapping his arm around Luna as Costellia giggled. "It's dinner time dear."
Luna yawned and slowly started to open her eyes. Zack opened his eyes as well with a yawn the two blushing at how close they were to each other before quickly separating. Costellia with a smirk. “I think I hear wedding bells, or were those dinner bells?” She asked teasingly.
Zack and Luna blushed redder as Luna rushed away to the dining room. "Mother!" She said mortified as Zack rubbed his arm.
Costellia giggled and rubbed Zack’s back. “Don’t keep your filly friend waiting dear.”
Zack blushed redder. "S-she isn't my filly friend… a-and how are you so calm about her liking me? I told you before I was almost thirty years old didn't I? For my species that's way past the age of being an adult."
“Well…that is true but you are a child now, and your body is affecting your mind, unless adults from where you are from act so childishly shy?” Costellia said after tapping her chin.
"I've always been shy… I'm not good with these kinds of things and I don't want to upset anyone…" Zack said, hanging his head. "And well… I-i um… no girl has ever shown interest in me before…"
“Well it is a shame, you seem like a nice young stallion. And I would be proud to have you as a son in law, just don’t rush things.” Costellia said with a smile and wing hug.
Zack blushed redder as he stuttered. "W-what? I-i.. uh wha?"
She smiled and rubbed his head. “Just be yourself and let things happen, follow your heart.”
Zack blushed redder yet somehow and nodded a bit. “Now, let’s go join the others for dinner.”
"Ok." Zack said as the two walked back into the dining room, where their dinner was already waiting, including a burger for Zack.
Luna and Zack avoided eye contact with each other as everyone ate, leaving an awkward silence to be broken by Celestia. "Um… Zack was it? Thou said that thy is not from here. Can thou tell us from where you hail?"
“Oh um, sure. I come from a place called California, it is a nice place if not a bit crowded at times.” He said as he looked up from his food.
"So there are a lot of your kind?" Celestia asked, still eating her food.
“In just the state or world wide?” Zack asked before taking a bite.
Celestia paused a bit before tapping her chin. "I would believe it is impossible to know the world wide amount… wouldn't it?"
“Somewhere close to eight billion, give or take.” Zack said nonchalantly.
"Eight billion!?" Celestia asked in shock. "Does your species rule the world? Are there no other races at all!?"
“Kinda? I mean there are animals but we are the only sentient species. There are a few that are close but not quite there.” Zack said as he looked at her.
Celestia shook her head in shock. "How is that possible? Here there's multiple sentient species."
Zack shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. “Who can say, we have stories of other creatures but there's no physical evidence that they ever existed, just stories. We have also explored most of the planet's surface but not the oceans, the oceans are still a mystery to us.”
"Interesting. How have you explored most of the land?" Celestia asked as the two chatted, Cosmosis whispered to his wife.
"Seems he's piqued her interest." He said, causing Luna to pause and look at Zack and Celestia.
“The old fashioned way, slowly expanding territories till our people were all across the planet. True there are many different environments and some places we can't survive due to extreme temperature shifts but we are able to survive in just about any location so long as it's not too extreme.” Zack explained to her then he smiled. “We even started to explore our moon and neighboring planets.”
"Truly!?" Celestia asked with her eyes wide. "Yet you didn't explore the sea?"
“Well we have only sent unmanned probes…um…simple golems I guess, to our neighboring planets while our own seas are so deep that the pressure crushes anything that we send down there.” Zack explained.
Luna watched Zack with a small smile as Celestia shook her head in shock. "How does thou know all this?"
“Well we have devices called televisions or TVs for short that would broadcast images and sounds to our homes and we get to choose what we watch. One of my favorite channels was called the history channel. It would go over the history of many different things. I love the segment called how it's made where it explains how certain things were made.” Zack said before he blushed at their stares. “sorry.”
"Don't be, Celestia is the same way. Always reading and learning new things." Costellia said with a giggle.
Zack smiled a bit. “Really? Maybe we can be friends after all.”
Celestia blushed a bit and looked away. "Possibly…"
“Want to know something strange?” Zack asked them all.
"Of course." Cosmosis said with a smile.
“In my universe the planet orbits the sun, and the moon orbits the planet.” Zack told them.
"Truely?" Costellia asked in surprise. "That is strange."
“It is all controlled by gravity.” Zack explained.
Celestia taped her chin. "Interesting…"
“Yeah, of course that means earth’s sun is around one hundred and nine times as big as earth.” Zack said with a smile.
"Incredible!" Celestia said with a grin. "What else can you tell us?" She asked as Luna frowned a bit more.
“Well…earth’s moon as a name though everyone calls it the moon her name is Luna.” Zack said with a small smile.
Luna's eyes widened as she blushed red, making Cosmosis and Costellia smile. "How cute!"
“I wasn’t alive when we first sent a man to the moon but it was broadcasted worldwide, and from what I saw and read it was pretty amazing.” Zack said before he looked down. “I wonder if I will live long enough to see ponies make it to their moon.”
Luna smiled softly, looking down. "W-we hope you do as well. If that day ever comes it would be monumental…"
“I bet.” Zack said with a smile. “I wonder if stars here are the same as in my world, each star being a son billions of miles away.”
Costellia smiled softly and shook her head. "Not at all, here I use my magic to create and shape the stars. And one day Luna will as well."
“Oh I see, so…does that mean this is the only planet in this universe?” Zack asked with a tilted head.
"What tis the universe?" Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh I guess you wouldn’t know that word.” Zack tapped his chin before he got an idea and focused. “Light is a part of nature right? So I should be able to cast illusions.” He said as he tried to make an illusion of the milky Way galaxy.
"Don't overdo it. Thou are still new to magic." Luna said with a frown, but her eyes turned to astonishment as Zack created the illusion. "Whoa…"
Zack opened his eyes as there was a massive image of a galaxy over the table. “Th-this is the Milky Way galaxy, home to earth. Each of those lights is a star, and each star is a sun. The universe has an unknown number of galaxies. Some theories say that the universe is infinite, unending.”
Luna and Celestia's eyes sparkles in awe, watching the illusion as Cosmosis rubbed his chin. "Hmm, I wonder if we're possibly in a section of the universe so far away we don't see the other stars."
“That is possible.” Zack said before he waved his arms apart making the illusion zoom in on one of the arms of the galaxy until it stopped at a solar system of nine planets and a yellow star. “This is my home.”
"It… it is beautiful…" Luna said with a smile pointing to a planet that was third from the star and covered in Blue and greenery. "That is the prettiest."
“That is earth, sadly the only planet that has life. At last as far as we know.” Zack made the image zoom in closer to show all of earth on the dark side it lit up with lights.
Luna smiled wider as she leaned on Zack without thinking. "Your world is beautiful…"
“Th-thanks, but it just looks beautiful from up here.” The image started to fade.
"What do you mean?" Celestia asked him, as she looked at Luna who was still leaning on Zack.
Zack let out a sign and shook his head. “Humans are slowly destroying the planet through pollution, deforestation, and colonization. We have been expanding our cities so far that we are pushing animals further and further out of their natural habitats.”
Luna frowns and moves away from Zack. "That is sad to hear…"
“Yeah…” Zack looked down in shame.
Luna frowned but smiled and hugged Zack. "That's ok, we are happy you are our first example of a 'hooman'"
Zack started to chuckle before he began laughing. “I…It is human not hooman, and technically my body is that of a skull kid.”
Luna blushed and looked away rubbing her forehoof. "W-we are sorry, and thy body may be different. But thy mind is the same."
“Well that is true, but trust me you don’t want humanity on your world, a small group is fine but get enough of them together and they try to take over.” Zack said while shaking his head.
Luna frowned a bit and looked down at the ground. "D-do you think humans will come to look for you?"
Zack shook his head. “No, I don’t. Even if I was important enough to look for, we don't have the technology to travel between universes, and before you said we don't have any magic either.”
Luna blushed softly and smiled a little. "So… thou are here to stay?"
“Yeah, it seems so, even if I could return…” He looked at his hands. “I would be locked up and experimented on.”
"We understand." Costellia said with a soft smile. "Now we should finish eating."
“Oh right.” Zack said as he looked back at his food.
Celestia smirked a bit as she ate her food. "I would like to learn more about thy world, if tho would let me once we are finished."
“Sure, just ask, I have a lot of random knowledge about my world.” Zack said before he continued eating.
Celestia clopped her hooves together excitedly, reminding Zack of Twilight from the show. "I can't wait!"
Luna pouted a bit but looked at Zack with puppy eyes. "Can we join the two of you?"
Zack chuckled with a smile. “Who said you couldn’t? You are free to join us at any time.”
Luna giggled and smiled widely, while Cosmosis and Costellia smiled at each other. "Ah young love."
The two kids blushed and looked at the adults. “We aren’t in love.” They said at the same time making them look at each other while Celestia rolled her eyes.
"Sure you're not." Celestia said with a slight smile. "We should separate them when the heat season begins."
Luna blushed bright red. “We can control ourselves!”
“Heat season?” Zack asked, confused.
Celestia giggled a bit as Cosmosis and Costellia smirked. "It's when ponies enter a heat to reproduce." The king said, making Zack blush red.
“O-oh um…h-humans don’t have that.” Zack said before he shyly looked at the table.
"T-truly?" Luna asked with a red face. "T-Thou are lucky."
“Yeah I guess so.” Zack said as he fidgeted in his seat. “Um…anyway, humans have made lots of amazing inventions over the thousands of years we've been around.”
"L-like what?" Luna asked, trying to change the subject more.
“Well, we have many forms of travel that allow us to travel across land, sea, even air at quick rates.” Zack said with a small smile.
"Incredible, what can you tell us about them?" Cosmosis asked as the group kept eating.
“Well sure, but I can only give basic descriptions as I don't understand how all of it works myself.” Zack said before he smiled. “Which do you want to hear about first?”
"How about the air one?" Celestia asked with a small smile.
“Ok, well there are planes, helicopters, hot air balloons, and dirigibles if you want to go old school.” Zack said with a smile.
"That's a lot." Celestia said, writing it all down.
“Airplanes are basically tubes with metal wings and large engines that provide lift to fly through the air.” Zack started to explain, then he tried to make an illusion to help demonstrate.
Celestia wrote everything down as she studied the illusion. "If it is made of metal how can It take flight? Would the metal not be heavy?"
“By going very very fast.” Zack said before pointing at the engines. “These push the plane fast enough air gathers underneath the wings and pushes the plane up.”
"Incredible." Celestia said, writing it down as her parents and sister giggled.
"She is always like this." Luna said with a smile.
Zack smiled a bit. “She reminds me of someone I know of.”
Celestia blushed and looked away. "Why does everypony make fun of me for wanting to learn more?"
“I am not making fun of you, wanting to learn is a good trait to have.” Zack said with a chuckle. “Maybe one day you can be a teacher as well as a princess.”
Celestia tapped her chin. "That… is not a bad idea."
“Next is helicopters, they are smaller, usually fitting up to six people but larger ones can be made.” The illusion changed slowly to fit what he was describing. “It has two fans basically, one above it and one on the tail. The one on top spins extremely fast and pushes air down lifting the helicopter up while the tail spit spent enough to go left or right enabling you to turn.”
Celestia wrote it down with vigor. "This is amazing… what else!?"
“Well the next two are extremely simple.” Zack said with a chuckle. “Hot air balloons are massive bags of hot air with little furnaces and a basket underneath, they lift you up and unfortunately you have no control over where you go the winds push you. And the only way to come back down is to let the hot air out through a little flap but you have to be careful not to release too much too quickly otherwise you're gonna plummet.”
Celestia writes it down as well and draws a sketch of it. "Like this?" She asked, showing Zack her drawing.
Zack nodded with a smile. “Yeah, though they also have sandbags tied to them as weights to drop to get more altitude in a hurry if you need it…at least that's how I've always seen them be used.”
Celestia nodded a bit as she continued to sketch, making Luna pout at the two interacting.
“The last one is dirigible, or blimp if you will. They are longer tube-like balloons filled with lighter than air gasses with a large basket attached to the bottom and two fans for propulsion.” Zack said with a smile. “Word of warning, never use hydrogen, it's extremely flammable.”
Celestia wrote everything down very rapidly. "This is amazing."
“Hmm what next?” Zack asked as the illusion faded.
"Sea travel! Ponies can't cross large bodies of water for very long, even the pegassi, so it could be a great help to learn about them!" Celestia said, flipping to a new page of paper.
“Ok well…the simplest would be boats, followed by submarines, and I believe there is one more but I can't think of it right now.” Zack said while scratching his head. “And when I say boats, those themselves are varied by size and function.”
"Hmm, I see…. " Celestia said, rubbing her chin. "We have boats, but they aren't big enough to cross vast seas."
“Ah, well that could be because they are too small.” Zack said before he held his arms out and the new illusion began to appear. “One of the types of ships I know of are cruise ships which are massive cruise liners which hold hundreds of people at a time and let them relax as the boat travels across the sea.”
Cosmosis studied the illusion closely. "Interesting, perhaps we can make one of these."
“It takes a lot of resources and I think metal is the only resource strong enough to support that much weight.” Zack said to him.
"And your people ride on these for free?" Costellia asked him with a raised eyebrow. "Your world must be rich with metals."
Zack laughed and shook his head. “Oh god no, these are usually for the people who are on vacation, or very rich people as tickets are usually around a hundred or more dollars per person.”
Cosmosis tapped his chin. "That is not a bad business idea… I shall implement it as well. And since this is all coming from your world and knowledge, you'll get ten percent of all profits."
Zack blushed and fidgeted a bit in his seat. “Are you sure?”
"Of course. After all it's your people that made them." Cosmosis said with a smile.
“Well…ok.” Zack said softly before looking down. “Um…The second sea vehicle that I can think of is called submarines, they are basically tubes that allow you to go underwater and very deep at that.”
"But not deep enough to explore your seas?" Celestia asked, tilting her head cutely.
“Well the further down you go the more pressure there is and while we can explore pretty far down we can't reach the deepest part of our ocean yet.” Zack said before he smiled softly. “We can get so far down that light from the surface doesn't even make it that far.”
Celestia's eyes widened. "What could possibly survive that far down?"
“You'd be surprised, life always finds a way to survive. In fact a lot of life down there is very strange, for example the most well-known species of fish that lives down there is called an angler fish, it looks like there's a big ugly fish with gnarly teeth but has this antenna with a glowing part at the end of it that uses to trick smaller fish to come closer to it so I can gobbled them up.” Zack said, started to geek out a bit.
Celestia's eyes widened again as she smiled. "Can thou show us!?"
“I can try.” Zack said as he looked up at the illusion and tried to change it.
Celestia smiled wider as the illusion slowly began to change, but vanished after a few minutes. "Oh…"
“S-sorry.” Zack said with a sigh but then he suddenly slumped forward and began panting heavily. “Wh-why to I feel so tired all of a s-sudden?”
"Using so much magic takes its toll without practice." Cosmosis said, as Luna put a hoof on Zack's arm.
“S-sorry f-for being a bother.” Zack said weakly.
"Tho is no bother, we were the ones asking for illustrations." Luna frowned and shook her head, as Cosmosis lifted Zack onto his back.
Zack yawned a bit. “But…I was sharing…from…my world.”
Costellia smiled and nuzzled his cheek. "It's alright, you can finish later."
Luna looked at Zack with worry. “Please rest.”
Zack blushed a bit and nodded, closing his eyes slowly as Cosmosis smiled a bit. "Luna, how about you stay with him tonight to make sure he's ok."
Luna’s ears perked. “Is that really ok father?”
Cosmosis smiled and nodded. "There I'll be a guard of course."
Luna smiled and followed her father. “Ok!”
Costellia giggled softly again. "Those two seem to have a powerful connection already."
“Yes…it seems so. Maybe I was wrong about him.” Celestia said.
Costellia smirked a bit at her. "From how you were acting while he was explaining it seems as if you're falling for him as well."
Celestia pouted. “Mother, I am not some school yard filly that falls for any colt she sees. I just enjoyed learning about his world, that's all.”
Costellia smiled and nuzzled her. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean it won't turn into something more."
Celestia looked away with a huff. “I refuse to have feelings for him or any colt.”
Costellia sighed, nuzzling her daughter again. "Honey, I know what happened hurt you. But not all colts are like that."
“I don’t care.”
Costellia sighed a bit and smiled softly. "Alright, get to bed."
“Yes mother.” Celestia got up and headed for her room.
Cosmosis smiled softly and gently set Zack down on his bed, while looking at a guard. "Princess Luna will be staying here tonight with Zack, make sure they are both safe."
“Yes sir, I will do my best.” The guard said with a salute.
Cosmosis nodded with a smile as he nuzzled his daughter. "Don't stay up too long sweetie."
“I won’t, I promise daddy.” Luna said with a smile.
Cosmosis smiled and nodded as he left, leaving Luna and the guard alone with Zack. Luna sat down next to Zack’s bed and watched him.
The guard smiled softly as he looked around the room. "Princess, there is no other bed in here. I believe the king will understand if the two of you share the bed."
Luna blushed a little. “I…I will be fine with a pillow sir guard.”
The guard smiled softly again. "If you say so, but would your friend be ok with you just using a pillow?"
Luna looked down. “I don’t know.”
The guard smiled softly as he walked out the door. "Again, with only one bed I'm sure the king wouldn't mind."
Luna shyly fidgets. “Truely?”
"You're responsible enough for nothing to happen." The guard said with a smile.
“Of course I am.” Luna said before she blushed and climbed onto the bed.
The guard smiled as Zack rolled over to face Luna, subconsciously wrapping his arm around her. “Eep.” Luna blushed cutely.
The guard chuckled softly before closing the door, leaving the two alone to sleep all night.
Chapter end.
Truth revealed and new Bonds
Author's Note
This chapter was written before I read all the comments. I know people won't like my choices but I have a bigger picture for this story sorry of you don't like my decisions
Truth revealed and new Bonds
Celestia stared at Zack in anger and fear, her horn glowing as Zack pointed a finger at her. "You blamed me for Luna's fall into darkness, and when I tried my damnedest to help and heal her. You sealed my body away into the mask and made me a disembodied spirit for a thousand years!" Zack roared angrily, a small dark aura forming around him. "And then, you told everyone that I did it and caused all my friends to be shunned and ridiculed for just knowing me!"
“Because you and your damned curse hurt my family!” Celestia shouted.
Zack growled angrily as the dark aura grew. "How!? What did I do?! All I ever did was be friendly to you all!"
“You are responsible for our parent’s death! I know it because they were killed by the weather!” Celestia yelled but Luna shoved her.
“Stop it! Zack is our friend, he would never do anything to hurt us!” Luna shouted to her.
Celestia stared at Luna in shock as Zack shook his head in complete bewilderment. "What do you mean killed by the weather?"
“They were on their way back from a meeting when their blimp was struck down by lightning and a fire killed them!” Celestia told him with a glare.
Zack's eyes widened in shock. "Their what!? I told you not to make those! Blimps are highly flamboyant and known for malfunctioning!"
“You made them sound too interesting!” Celestia shouted. “Mother just had to have one.”
Zack removed his mask as he and Luna stared at her, each with a knowing raised eyebrow, and crossing their arms/hooves. "Mother did, and you did not?"
Celestia frowned at him as she started to blush. “I…did….but mother thought it sounded fun too!”
Zack stared at her for a moment before chuckling, slowly laughing along with Luna. "Same old Celestia!"
Celestia blushed bright red and yelled. “Stop laughing at me!”
Zack and Luna held their stomachs making Celestia blush more and stop her hoof like a child as the main six watched in confusion and shock. "Ok, ok… sorry Tia. But why did you blame me for the lightning?" Zack asked with a slight frown and hurt look.
“Because you control the weather!” Celestia yelled before she looked away.
Zack frowned and looked down. "So you assumed I did it? Even after everything they did for me? Why would I do that!?"
“Because of your curse! I also saw you hurt those colts in the town square.” Celestia said with a frown.
Zack raised an eyebrow in confusion before Luna gasped. "Are you talking about Super Loaded, Silver Tongue, and Detailed Sweater!?"
“Maybe, I didn't know their names.” Celestia said with a frown.
Zack growled angrily at the names Luna spoke as he shook his head. "They were all unicorns, Super Loaded had a light black coat with a dark blue mane, Silver Tongue had a silvery coat with a bronzeish mane, and Detailed Sweater's coat and mane were both different shades of brown with gold trimmings."
“Those are them, those poor colts you attacked in the middle of town for no reason!” Celestia said, making the six other mares gasp.
"Poor colts!? No reason!? They wouldn't stop harassing Luna!" Zack barked out a laugh, causing Luna to nod with an angry look.
"Those bullies always used to tease me and say I was betraying our race for hanging out with Zack, and saying vulgar things like we can show you a really good time." Luna said angrily, causing the seven mares to look at them in shock mouths agape.
“Yeah, so I did what you, and her guards wouldn’t, I took care of them. They are just lucky they were kids or I would have sent them to the hospital.” Zack said with a soft growl.
Celestia stared at the two in shock, slowly sitting on her flank as she put a hoof to her head. "I-i…"
"That's horrible!" Fluttershy said, shaking her head.
"Ah hope ya give them a good thrashing!" Applejack said, angrily.
“I did, I was used to defending my friends.” Zack said before he looked at Celestia. “Just like when I kept her safe from a rude griffon boy that tried to hit on her and when she rejected him he tried to claw her.”
Celestia blushed and lowered her head, looking at the ground as Twilight stepped forward. "Wait, you kept them safe? B-but Celestia said it was all a trick."
“Maybe in her own jealous mind, I saw them as my friends and I keep my friends safe.” Zack said while crossing his arms. “But I guess Sunbutt didn’t want her sister to have fun.”
Celestia hung her head but slowly looked up at Luna and Zack, tears filling her eyes. "I-i'm so sorry…"
"Sorry?" Zack asked in a monotone voice, before growing angry. "You're sorry!? I lost a thousand years of my life for no damn reason!? Because of you I lived as a disembodied soul for a thousand years, unable to touch or feel anything! Unable to eat or sleep! Unable to be seen or heard, and you're sorry!!!" He yelled, his voice echoing throughout the throne room making every mare flinch. "There is nothing you can say that will ever make this right Celestia! I'm done with you! Never speak to me again!"
Luna reached for him. “Zack…please, I know you are upset, as am I, but please do not leave me.” Rarity let out a soft gasp and looked between Zack and Luna.
"I'm sorry Lulu, but I can't stay here. But you'll know where to find me whenever you want to." Zack shook angrily as Luna gently put a hoof on his arm, getting a sigh out of him. "For now I'd better go before I do something stupid."
“Wait…please, there has to be something I can do.” Celestia said, making Luna glare at her.
"Not, now." Luna said coldly, as Zack walked away.
"Celestia, all I ever tried to do was be your friend. And I thought I was finally getting through to you when you kept asking me about the stuff from my world. You betrayed my trust, and because of it. I will never be the same." He glanced back at her, before vanishing with his voice in the wind as the token he had gotten fell to the ground. "There is nothing you can do."
Luna walked over and picked up the token and sighed sadly before she glared at her sister. “Look at what you did sister, you ruined my only friendship!”
Celestia flinched slightly, as Pinkie pie bounced around Luna. "No she didn't silly! Zack said you'd know where to find him whenever you wanted to! So that means it's somewhere special for the two of you!"
Luna watched Pinkie bounce around her before her eyes lit up. “You are right!” She ran out of the room.
Celestia watched her sister go sadly, before she hung her head. "What have I done…?"
Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. “Uh…try to stop somepony dangerous from hurting your sister?”
Celestia nodded slowly. "Y-yes but… I went about it so poorly and hurt… a friend."
Twilight walked up to the princess, a confused expression on her face. “I…don’t understand, you said he was evil. Did he do something to you to change your mind?”
Celestia sighed and shook her head sadly. "No Twilight, I thought he was evil because of everything I said while they were here. But… I was wrong."
“Y-you…n-no that isn’t right!” Twilight backed away. “You are princess Celestia! You are never wrong!”
Celestia shook her head with a sigh. "Twilight I am just a pony, one that has hurt someone… two creatures that cared for her."
“No! The Celestia I know is never wrong! I won’t be tricked!” Twilight shouted before she ran out of the throne room.
Celestia sighed and shook her head, rubbing her temple. "You five go make sure she's ok."
“Yes princess.” They said and ran after Twilight.
Zack sighed as he stared up at the sky, leaning on a tree high up in the air with his arms crossed. "Why did you not take your revenge on Celestia?!" A familiar voice echoed in his mind. "After everything she did to us! She deserves it!"
Zack held his head. “Because I don’t want to be the monster she thinks I am!”
"Does it matter!? She turned us to stone for nothing! She deserves whatever happens!" The voice said angrily.
“Luna would never forgive me.” Zack said sadly.
"Oh, you're still holding a flame for that pony? Even after all this time?"
Zack blushed a bit. “Y-yes, I like her so what?”
"Do you think she has not found someone else by now? You've been gone for how long?"
“She has been gone almost as long…she…” Zack started to say as his eyes filled with tears.
"She what?" The voice asked, annoyed.
“She was freed before me…she probably moved on…I should just leave her and everyone alone…” Zack said softly as his magic started making it rain around him.
"Hey. You don't really know that." The voice said, in an almost caring tone.
"Zack!?" A familiar voice echoed through the forest.
Zack looked up. “L-Luna…” He said softly before he placed a hand over his chest.
"Oh for the love of, just go make out with your girlfriend!" The voice said as Luna walked into view and looked around.
"Zack, are you here!" She called out worriedly.
Zack was blushing bright red from the comment. “Stupid mask…” He muttered before looking towards Luna’s voice. “Why did you come?” He asked himself softly.
Luna looked at him and smiled widely, tears in her eyes as she hugged him close. "You're here!"
He shook weakly as she hugged him. “Luna…why did you come?”
"What do you mean?" Luna asked, looking at him with a light blush. "You are my friend…"
Zack looked away. “But…I failed to save you and then…threatened you all with your own moon.”
Luna gently made him look at her as she smiled and blushed deeper. "Zack, thou hast never left our side. Even when we were falling into the darkness of Nightmare moon, and we shall never leave your side either. No matter what."
Zack smiled and slowly reached up for her cheek before he felt a painful throbbing in his head. "Don't just touch her cheek! Kiss her you pansy!" Zack blushed and looked into Luna’s eyes before he closed his and leaned in, kissing Luna on the lips.
Luna's eyes widened as she blushed, her wings popping out before she kissed him back.
"Wow, I didn't think you'd do it!" Majora said in Zack's head with a slight chuckle.
The two stayed like that for a minute before slowly pulling apart to catch their breath. “I…um…s-sorry if…I overstepped.” Zack said with a bright blush.
Luna smiled and kissed his cheek. "Do not fret Zack… I loved it."
Zack got a big goofy grin. “Really?”
Luna giggled and nodded, smiling playfully at him. "Tis about time thou made a move, we have been waiting for a long time."
Zack looked away shyly. “I wasn’t sure if you liked me like that…”
Luna giggled and kissed him again. "And now?"
Zack smiled and held a hand out. “Now I know, we…we…” he blushed harder as he forced himself to say it. “We…really like each other.”
Luna giggled more as she nuzzled his cheek. "Indeed we do, would thou like to stay with us in the castle? You wouldn't have to see Celestia, just sleep there…" she said before smiling sweetly at him. "With me."
Zack blushed more and looked away. “Um…I don’t know…it’s not you, I just don’t feel like being near Celestia and…also…th-that is a bit fast for me…”
Luna raised an eyebrow and crossed her hooves. "And what exactly are you thinking? We meant staying in the castle with us as in living there. What did you think we meant?"
Zack backed away and blushed harder. “You said ‘sleep there with you!’ What else was I supposed to think?!”
Luna giggled softly. "In the same bed like we used to as kids, nothing else silly!"
Zack blushed harder and turned away crossing his arms. “That was mean, and besides, you are a grown mare now, it wouldn’t be the same.”
Luna smiled softly as she wrapped her wings around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "It is ok, you're the only one I'd let sleep in my bed with me. And I trust you."
Zack blushed more. “It wouldn't be just me though…”
Luna puts a hoof to his lips to silence him. "It's ok, no matter what. I love you."
He blushed and held her hoof. “Ok, I love you too. I’m sorry if I do weird things.”
Luna smiled and shook her head. "It's ok, what should we do now?"
“I don’t know…” Zack said with a sigh.
Luna smiled a bit before taking his hand in her magic. "Let us walk around Ponyville together."
Zack smiled softly. “Ok, that sounds nice.”
Luna smiled a bit before she gasped. "Oh! Have you checked to see if your old coin stash is still in the castle? The currency has changed to bits now, but those coins could be worth a lot now." She said with a small smile, looking at him expectingly.
“I…haven’t, I probably should just in case. Even though I can just use my magic to make or grow anything I need.” Zack said while scratching his chin.
Luna pouted a bit at him. "I was trying to insinuate going on a date."
Zack blushed and chuckled shyly. “O-oh um…y-yeah, we can do that.”
Luna smiled and dug at the ground with a hoof shyly. "W-what shall we do for the date…?"
“I…uh…” Zack looked at her before looking off towards ponyville. “I don’t know…I have never been on a date before.”
Luna smiled softly as she gently rested her head on his shoulder. "That is fine, whatever you decide I will enjoy. As long as it's with you."
“Ok…um…how about lunch?” Zack offered shyly.
Luna smiled and nodded. "I'd love that, but are you gonna be ok?"
“I guess so, like I said, I have never been on a date before.” Zack said while rubbing his head.
Luna smiled softly and set a hoof on his cheek. "Just be yourself, I already love you. So don't overthink it."
Zack nodded before he smiled sheepishly. “I really should check on my money though.”
Luna smiled softly and nodded, kissing his cheek. "You go, we shall wait for thee in ponyville."
“O-ok.” He said with red cheeks before disappearing in a small tornado.
Luna giggled softly and flew off to ponyville, where all the inhabitants bowed their heads. "Your majesty, what is the honor for your visit?"
Luna blushed lightly. “O-oh um…I am here to meet with an…old friend.”
"Oh, of course! We shall be sure to treat your honored guest with the utmost respect." The mayor said bowing her head.
“While I am sure he would appreciate that, we simply wish to have a nice day together so please treat us no differently than any other citizen of your town.” Luna said awkwardly.
The mayor's eyes widened a little. "I-i see, we shall not interfere with your… meeting."
Luna nodded her head with a light blush. “We thank thee.”
The citizens of ponyville moved out of the way for Luna, while whispering to each other. While she waited princess Luna noticed Twilight Sparkle and her friends approaching ponyville from the train station, each one talking amongst themselves. "Twilight you need to calm down." Applejack said with a frown.
“I won’t just calm down, he had to have done something to me or the princess, there is no way she can ever be wrong.” Twilight argued back.
"Twilight just because she's a princess doesn't mean she can't be wrong." Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "Everypony gets stuff wrong from time to time."
“Not the princess!” Twilight shouted. “The princess is perfect and is never wrong.”
Luna snorted softly as she listened to the convention, turning her head away as Fluttershy softly spoke. "U-um girls princess Luna is over there…"
"Twilight ah think yer being biased since yer the princesses prized student." Applejack said, shaking her head.
“I am not being biased, it is a fact that she is perfect! She is an alicorn AJ!” Twilight shouted.
"What about Luna and nightmare moon?" Rarity asked with a frown. "They're Alicorns."
"G-girls." Fluttershy said with a frown as Luna listened closer.
“You heard the princess, Luna was turned into Nightmare Moon by that forest thing.” Twilight said with a frown.
Luna frowned as she turned her head to the group, making Fluttershy eep and getting her friends attention. “What’s the matter, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked while looking at her friend.
Fluttershy whimpered and slowly pointed at Luna, who was frowning deeply at Twilight.
The girls all gasped softly while Twilight sighed with relief. “Thank goodness, please tell my friends alicorns can’t be wrong and they are perfect.”
Luna glared at Twilight before turning her head away. "If thou speak badly about Zack again, we shall send thy to the moon."
“Wh-what?” Twilight asked as she took a step back.
Applejack turned her head away as Rarity coughed. "Y-you're majesty, i-i know you have feelings for… Zack. But isn't that a bit much?"
“Would thee not defend thy coltfriend?” Luna said with a small frown.
"C-coltfriend!?" All six mares said in shock.
Luna blushed and looked away from them. “Our relationships are not thy business.”
"B-but how can you date that monster!?" Twilight asked in worry and fear.
Luna turned to face Twilight with a glare. “He is not a monster! Just because he is different doesn’t mean he is a monster, evil, or anything else my sister has lied about!”
Twilight's mane broke into a few strands. "L-lied… b-but… s-she… never lies… s-shes perfect…"
Luna snorted and shook her head. “No little pony, my sister and I are both very capable of lying. She is more used to it though, why do you think I once held the element of honesty?”
Twilight held her head in shock as she shook with her eyes widened, just as Zack flew over. "What's with her?"
“I just told her my sister can lie.” Luna said with a snort. “If this is the new bearer of the element of magic, I fear for Equestria’s safety.”
Twilight flinched as she looked down sadly, while Zack elbowed Luna. "Lulu, come on. She's never had to think that before. To her Celestia is a wise leader who had never been wrong before."
Luna rolled her eyes. “Then not much has changed.”
"Well, I mean they never had a reason to." Zack said with a slight shrug.
“So you say.” Luna said a bit annoyed that even now everyone loves her sister.
Zack smiled softly as he wrapped an arm around her and whispered in her ear, knowing what she was upset about. "Hey, I still love you more than her."
Luna blushed and looked away from him with a fake pout. “So you do love her some?” She whispered.
Zack looked at her worriedly. "What!? No!"
“But you said you love me more than her, that means you love her a bit.” Luna said, trying to hide her grin.
"Only as a friend, and that's stretching it because of everything that happened." Zack said, looking down.
Luna kissed his cheek. “We are only teasing thee.”
The mane six stared at the two in shock as Twilight twitched, shaking her head slowly. "H-how… this doesn't make any sense! You two just got back! How can you be together already!?"
Zack looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Because we are childhood friends, it would be the same as if we lived in the same town and one of us moved away for a while before coming back.”
Twilight twitched more as she shook her head. "That would make sense if you were simply friends reuniting, but the princess just KISSED you!"
Zack crossed his arms and looked at Twilight’s friends. “Ok, has she never read a romance book or seen a romance movie, or even had a coltfriend in her life?”
They all rubbed the backs of their heads as Twilight frowned and blushed. "Yeah…" they said.
“Wow, then…” Zack starts to smirk before he points at Rarity. “As the guardian of nature I order you to teach her everything about romance!”
Rarity blushed and looked confused before nodding. "U-um ok."
“Good, maybe teach her some manners too.” Zack said with a smirk. Twilight's eye twitched more as Zack chuckled softly and looked at Luna. "Shall we get going?"
“Indeed, we wish to have some fun.” Luna said with a nod before blushing lightly as she remembered her first nightmare night.
Zack smiled a bit as the two started walking farther into ponyville, leaving the mane six standing shocked and stupefied. "Those two are like something out of a Romance novel!" Rarity said in shock and surprise.
“Yeah, it is pretty nice seein princess Luna happy.” Applejack said while lifting her hat.
“I think they look cute together.” Fluttershy said softly.
Twilight looked at them in shock. "What!? He's manipulating her!"
“Darling, that was not manipulation, that is love.” Rarity said to her.
Twilight looked back at Zack and Luna as they walked, watching them talking to each other and laughing. "B-but… i-i… the princess… I need to lay down."
“That is probably for the best dear, I will be over later with a few books for you to read.” Rarity said with a light giggle.
Twilight sighed a bit and nodded as she trotted off to her house. "You think Luna and Zack will have babies?" Pinkie pie asked with a giggle.
Rarity rolled her eyes. “Pinkie dear, that is their business not ours.”
"Oh please, you know you want to gossip." Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head.
Rarity blushed lightly. “True…”
"Save it for later y'all." Applejack said, smiling softly.
Zack and Luna walked through the streets of ponyville, neither one sure of what to say as ponies watched and whispered to each other. “We/I…” They both start before blushing and looking away from each other.
“You first.” Zack said.
“Thank you…we…I just wanted to say thank you for giving us a chance.” Luna said with a soft smile.
Zack blushed and smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Back when you were a filly, I didn't feel comfortable going for it… b-but now that you're…" he paused blushing as he glanced at her body. "Mature… i-i'm glad you're ok with being with me."
Luna giggled a bit. “Wise choice of words my adorable coltfriend.”
Zack blushed more as he smiled softly, stopping at a cotton candy stand and getting her favorite cotton candy from when she was a child. "I hope blue is still your favorite." He said, holding the cotton candy up to her.
Luna giggled and took it with her magic. “Thank you, it is.”
Zack smiled as the two walked together more, a few ponies quietly took pictures of the two together as they wandered around a fair. "Jeez, I remember when all of this was just an open field."
“Yes, I was surprised to find this town when I first returned.” Luna said with a soft sigh before she bit off some cotton candy.
Zack smiled as he gently wrapped an arm around Luna's neck. "Hey, at least we have each other."
“True, it is good to have you by my side again.” Luna said before she nuzzled him.
A pony took a picture of the two of them just as Luna nuzzled Zack, before the new couple stopped to watch a group of street performers. "Oh, we have a very special guest today! Princess Luna!" One of them shouted.
Luna blushed and shyly waved as others stared, Zack quietly and gently rubbed Luna's side to give her confidence. "You honor us with your presence, your majesty, please come watch the show closer. We shall do our best to make it pleasing for you to watch." The mare that was obviously the leader of the group said with a smile, gesturing to a fenced off area where multiple snobby ponies were sitting.
Luna looked unsure before looking at Zack. “Do you want to sit up there?”
Zack smiled softly at her, as ponies around them looked at each other confused. "As long as we're together I don't mind where we sit."
“Ok then.” Luna started to walk to the fenced off area.
Zack followed her to the fenced off area, before the mare running the show stopped him. "I'm sorry… sir? This area is for the elites only."
"Indeed, like any of us would want to sit with a freak like you." A Stallion said, turning his nose upwards.
Luna frowned before she walked back over to Zack's side and folded a wing over his back. “Then we ‘freaks’ shall take our leave.”
The ponies frowned slightly in worry. "W-what!? Princess we weren't talking about you!"
“Aren’t thou? You are calling my coltfriend a freak, so I must be one as well.” Luna said while glaring at the ponies.
"Coltfriend!?" Everyone shouted in surprise and shock, a few in anger mostly the nobles.
"Lulu, remember this is our first real date." Zack said with a soft chuckle and a blush.
“We know…but you are the only one to treat me with kindness other than mother and father.” Luna told him as she turned around to leave.
"Wait please! Your… coltfriend is more than welcome to sit with you in the elite area." The mare running the show said with a nervous smile.
Luna looked at the mare before she looked at Zack. “What do you want?”
Zack rubbed his chin in thought before smiling at her. "This is supposed to be a fun time, so it would be a shame to miss out on such a fun looking show."
Luna smiled and nodded before the two of them entered the fenced off area. The nobles moved out of the way as the two sat down, while the noble stallion that had called Zack a freak glared at the skull kid.
Zack blushed slightly as he glanced at Luna, before wrapping an arm around her side causing the nobles to glare at him angrily. "This thing dares to wrap his appendage around Luna!? Who does he think he is!?" The stallion thought to himself before smirking. "There's no way Luna would let him continue to do that, and once she pushes him away it'll be time to make my move."
Luna smiled softly and leaned on him lovingly. The stallion stared at the two in shock, as the performers began flipping and turning in the air as a trick. "She's letting him do that!? That… freak doesn't deserve Luna! How could she possibly want him!?"
"Want me to us get something to eat?" Zack asked Luna with a smile.
“Sure, just don’t take too long.” Luna said with a smile.
Zack chuckled and nodded, getting up and walking away as the stallion glared at him. "Who does this freak think he is? I've been trying to get along well with the royal family for years!" He thought to himself before smiling sweetly at the princess. "Your majesty, please excuse my rudeness to your… friend."
Luna tried to keep a calm face, even though she was upset. “I have recently gotten used to it.”
The nobel nodded slightly and bowed. "Again, I am sorry. I did not realize he was with you, I thought he was some random creature hoping to get close to you. As a princess I'm sure you know it's hard to trust anyone with your position, everyone is worried someone would attempt to assassinate you or your sister."
Luna frowned and gave him a soft glare. “He is a foalhood friend, I would trust him with my life.”
The stallion coughed slightly. "I-i meant no disrespect to your majesty, and no one has ever seen a creature like him before. I did not know you two were so close, I sincerely apologize."
“Good, we hope you learn not to judge a being by how they appear.” Luna said before she turned her head back to the stage.
The stallion kept his head lowered and glared slightly at the ground, as the performers began doing more tricks. After a moment Zack returned with a box full of Luna's favorite foods, before sitting down and smiling at her. "I got you this." He said, offering her a small teddy bear.
Luna gasped softly and hugged it. “It is adorable.”
Zack smiled softly as he chuckled. "You've always been a softy for those kinds of things."
Luna blushed lightly before she hit him with her wing. “You are the one that showed me what stuffed animals were.”
Zack chuckled softly as he kissed Luna's cheek, making ponies mumble amongst themselves. "You needed something to help you fall asleep."
Luna blushed lightly as she looked away mumbling. “I still have mister flopsy.”
"You do?!" Zack asked in shock with a wide smile.
Luna blushed more and nodded her head. “It was the only thing I recovered from the castle when I returned.”
Zack smiled as he hugged her again, wrapping an arm around her. "I can't believe you treasure it so much."
“It was the first gift I got that wasn’t from family or just because I was a princess…of course I treasure it.” Luna whispered before she rested her head on his.
Zack smiled softly as the two held each other, eating their food while watching the show. "I love you." Zack whispered in Luna's ear.
Luna blushed bright red but whispered it back. “I love you too.”
Zack smiled and held her closer as the performers stopped dancing and bowed to everyone. "Thank you! And now, we will be hosting a singing competition. And the winner or winners shall receive ten thousand bits!"
The stallion from before smirked as he used his magic to force Zack’s arm to lift up, making it look like he is volunteering. "And we have a volunteer!" The mare said, as Zack glanced back at the stallion, before smirking himself and standing up.
"Wanna do a duet? Do you still remember that song I taught you?" Zack asked Luna with a smile.
Luna blushed and looked away shyly. “I don’t know, it has been so long and we haven’t sung in public before…”
Zack smiled softly. "Just focus on me, and remember how it was when we sang together when we were kids." Luna nodded as she got up and the two of them got on stage and the audience all started to whisper among themselves.
"When they were kids?" Someone whispered. "Is he as old as Luna?"
"I don't know, and he's her coltfriend. What's going on?" Someone else asked in confusion.
"Now then, what song will you two be singing?" The head mare asked with a smile.
Zack smiled as he and Luna looked at each other, causing the night princess to blush as she looked at him. "An old song we've always cherished." Zack said, making Luna blush more as music began filling the air from nowhere, confusing the ponies in the audience.
Luna and Zack stared at each other before they began to sing. "Spring is on the hillside, The skies are an easy blue. It's a perfect time for all those things that we both love to do." Zack sang his voice soft and melodious, causing the ponies mouths to drop in surprise.
Luna blushed and smiled softly as she watched him only, and began to sing as well. Her voice was so soft it made many stallions' hearts melt. "Like taking walks and having talks, or staring at the stars.
"You've got me and I've got you, and that's the sweetest thing we found. It takes a little time to find a heart you really trust! It'll take you forever, and make you friends like us." Zack sang before the two began singing together, while the sun went down right behind them while fireflies began floating around the couple.
"Summer is a daydream, drifting through the trees.
The two finished singing together while staring at each other lovingly, slowly beginning to move closer together. The rude stallion grit his teeth together as he watched this display.
The other audience members cheered loudly for them as the two embraced each other, while the head mare clapped her hooves together. "Give it up for Princess Luna and her coltfriend!"
Everyone clapped and cheered as Zack and Luna slowly got off stage. Luna blushed red as she iled shyly at Zack, who smiled at her while they sat down. The stallion from before however glared at Zack as he grit his teeth. "This freak, thinks he's so smart?! Turning that into a victory for himself. I will not stand for this!"
“Hey Luna, how about we go check out the movie theater?” Zack suggested with a smile.
Luna blushed more and nodded with a smile as the stallion gritty his teeth more. "This…. Loser thinks he's good enough for Luna!? I'll show him! He doesn't deserve her!"
Zack suddenly turned to look at the stallion out of the corner of his eye. The stallion jumped slightly in surprise as Luna looked between the two in confusion. "What's wrong Zack?"
“Nothing, just giving a jerk a scare.” Zack said with a smile as he turned back around and the two left.
The stallion shook slightly but glared at Zack as the two left. "I will beat you." He whispered to himself.
Zack and Luna walked down the path through ponyville. “What kind of movie would you like to see?”
Luna smiled softly as she glanced at him. "We would be happy to see anything, this has been a wonderful time and we hope it continues…"
Zack chuckled a bit. “As much as I agree with the sentiment, the wrong movie could possibly ruin the date, for example a scary movie could give you nightmares, a funny movie could distract the two of us so long that we forget the other is there, and a really long movie could put us both to sleep.”
Luna giggled softly and nodded. "If that is the case we shall let you decide."
Zack tapped his chin. “Hmm, how about an action movie…assuming there is one.”
Luna smiled wider and giggled. "You still have your adventurous side huh?"
“Of course I do.” Zack said with a smirk. “By the way have you tried popcorn?”
Luna tilted her head in confusion at him. "Poopcorn?"
Zack chuckled a bit. “Corn seeds that are heated to the point they pop open, they are very good with butter.” He said as they got to the movie theater in Ponyville.
Luna raised an eyebrow and hesitantly followed him into the theater. "That doesn't sound very… enticing."
“Trust me, you will love it, and if not you can make me eat one of your sister’s sweeties in front of her.” Zack said with a smirk then he looked at the movie options.
Luna's eyes widened before she giggled like a filly. "Deal!"
The stallion that sold the tickets stared at the two in shock as they approached him, his eyes darting between the two as he smiled nervously. "H-hello… m-may I help you?"
“We wish to see a movie!” Luna almost shouted.
The stallion flinched and shook a little as he slowly pointed to the list of movies. "O-of c-course your majesty, w-which one?"
Zack sighed and chuckled softly as he looked at the list of movies. "How about… prehistoric land. It's a dinosaur movie, you still like dinosaurs right?" He asked Luna with a grin.
Luna gasped and smiled. “Indeed! We love them!”
Zack chuckled softly as he paid for the tickets. "Before we go in, Luna, apologize to this poor guy. He looks like he's about to have a heart attack."
“Huh?” She looked at the ticket stallion before she blushed lightly. “We apologize sir.”
The stallion nodded timidly. "I-its ok ma'am."
Luna smiled at Zack. “See, it is fine.”
Zack raised an eyebrow and glanced at the stallion as he opened the door for Luna, the two walking inside. "Sorry about her." Zack whispered to the stallion giving him a few extra bits.
“It's ok s-sir, I have just never been so close to a princess before!” The stallion said.
"Trust me." Zack whispered to the guy. "it's not as fun as it may seem!" He suddenly shouted before Luna's magic wrapped around his arm.
"Zack come on, we do not want to miss the movie!" She said excitedly.
“Yes dear.” Zack said with an amused smirk.
Luna blushed and smiled shyly, as the stallion's eyes widened. "Lucky."
Zack and Luna headed inside to the concession stand where a teenage mare was standing and looking very bored. “Welcome to Ponyville Cinema, what can I get you?” She said in a very bored tone.
"A large popcorn and two large sodas…" Zack said before noticing a special on the sign. "And the lunar princess special."
The teenager let out a sign, not looking at them. “Sir, only a princess can order that, and you don’t sound like a mare that is over a thousand years old to me.”
Zack raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Luna who was frowning at the mare, before Zack looked back at her. "I'd like to speak to your manager."
The teenager sighed before she looked up and then she gasped and jumped back. “P-princess!?”
Zack and Luna raised their eyebrows at her and both crossed their arms. "See what happens when you don't pay attention?"
The teenager blushed lightly. “Hey, let’s see how long you can stand in one place not allowed to read or do anything but help customers and it be on a really slow day.”
"Oh trust me, I had a similar job back home. But when someone talks to you even if it's a slow day, it's better to give them your undivided attention since you never know who'll show up." Zack nodded a bit, before smiling softly at her. "Our order if you'd please."
“Y-yes sir!” She got to work filling out the order.
Zack chuckled softly before a stallion in a well dressed suit walked up next to the mare, not noticing Zack and Luna. "What is this? The lunar princess special is only for if one of the princesses is here!" The stallion said angrily to the girl.
She yelped and pointed behind him. “But there is one here.”
The stallion rolled his eyes as he shook his head. "Why would a princess be in this dinky little-" he started before the girl forced his head to look at Luna and Zack. "P-princess Luna!? I-i'm terribly sorry!"
“We are used to it…sadly.” Luna said with a little bit of annoyance.
Zack glanced at Luna before looking at the stallion. "Our food please? You're ruining our date."
“D-date?” The stallion asked confused as the teenager came over with the order as well as a stuffed dinosaur.
“Here you go and here is a promotional dinosaur toy, take it as an apology from me.”
Luna's eyes went wide before she happily took it with a squee, blushing as she glanced at the two ponies and Zack. "Cute." Zack said with a chuckle, paying for the food, before picking up the trey.
“Did the princess just squee?” The stallion asked the teen in a whisper as Luna and Zack entered the theater.
"Yes, and she's on a date with that… stallion?" The teen said in confusion.
“Such a strange day.” The stallion walked off.
Zack and Luna sat down together in the theater as he offered her some popcorn. "This is popcorn."
Luna sniffed it before lifting one in her magic and into her mouth. Luna's eyes widened in shock before she started eating more rapidly. "This is amazing!"
“Whoa Luna, slow down or you’ll choke.” Zack said between laughs.
Luna blushed and lowered her head. "W-we apologize."
“It is ok Luna, I am just warning you.” He said with a chuckle then handed her a soda.
Luna smiled softly and took a sip of her soda, holding both the bear and dinosaur in her hooves. The two smiled as the movie started.
The two held each other as the movie went on, enjoying each other's company while ponies would steal glances at the two. Once the movie had ended Zack and Luna slowly made their way outside, walking together in the moonlight as they made their way to a lake. "This has been fun." Zack said with a smile.
Luna nodded her head with a smile before she saw the moon’s reflection in the lake, making her look up at the sky with a gasp. “My moon!”
Zack looked up at the moon as well and blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his head as the moon now had a massive terrifying face on it. "Oops… I forgot to return it to normal."
Luna glanced at him with a small frown. “While I do not like the face, I am more upset that my moon was moved by someone other than me…My sister is in so much trouble!”
Zack blushed and scratched his cheek, as his magic returned the moon to normal. "Um… I'm the one that moved it… you didn't notice? I did it when we were singing to create a romantic atmosphere."
Luna blushed and looked away shyly. “We…did not.”
Zack smiled and kissed her cheek softly. "It's ok, as long as you had fun."
Luna blushed from the kiss. “We did…thank you.” She kissed him back.
Zack smiled as he pulled her into a soft hug, gently rubbing her wings and her back. "This has been wonderful, thank you for being my friend."
Luna gasped softly and closed her eyes. “Z-zack wings!”
Zack blinked a bit in confusion before his eyes widened with a blush as he moved his hand from her back and wings. "Crap! Sorry! I forgot!"
Luna backed away as she flapped her wings. “It…it’s ok…it has been a long time since you were told.”
Zack blushed deeper and covered his face with his hands. "Oh, god! I just ruined the date!"
“N-no! It was an accident, I know you wouldn’t do anything unwanted on purpose.” Luna said while touching his shoulder with a hoof.
Zack shook his head. "I basically just molested you, oh my god…"
Luna sighed and walked up to him, hugging his face against her chest fluff. “I am fine, you are fine, we are fine.”
Zack blushed a bit but slowly hugged her back, his hands going just under her wings to hold her close as he closed his eyes enjoying the feeling of her fur. "Luna… can I stay with you tonight?"
Luna giggled softly. “Sure, I can even use magic to keep my sister away.”
Zack smiled a little as he heard the shutter of a camera, making him pull away. "We should go, ponies are taking pictures."
Luna groaned as her horn started to glow. “Indeed, one of the many downsides to being a princess…”
Zack chuckled softly as he held her hoof in his hand. "Allow…" he said before a gust of wind wrapped around the two, and they appeared in Luna's room. "Me."
Luna looked around with an amazed smile. “You have gotten stronger…wait.” Her smile faded as she started to blush. “How did you know where my room was?”
Zack chuckled softly as he kissed her hoof, holding it gently in his hand. "I was a disembodied spirit Lulu… I have always been by your side since your return."
Luna blushed bright red. “S-so you saw when I…”
Zack smiled softly. "When you sang and danced? Yes I did, I didn't know you could dance like that."
Luna blushed more and groaned as she jumped onto her bed and covered herself with the sheets. “No! I did not sing or dance!”
Zack smiled softly as he gently moved her sheets to look at her best red face. "Lulu, it's ok. You know I won't tell anyone, besides you're a wonderful singer and dancer."
Luna groaned and tried to hide again. “Please don’t talk about it!”
Zack gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace, gently rubbing her back under her wings. "Come on, we used to do embarrassing stuff all the time. I don't think it's that big of a deal."
Luna slowly lifted her head. “True, but back then it was fun and we did it together. This time you were watching me while invisible.”
Zack smiled softly and chuckled. "You really think I would simply watch? You know I can't resist a good song and start to move my feet."
“So you danced as well?” Luna asked, lifting her head as her blush faded.
Zack chuckled softly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Remember when the table shook and that vase fell and broke? You thought it was you? It… was me…"
Luna’s eyes widened. “You broke that? Wait…how? I thought you were a spirit.”
Zack shrugged slightly. "I couldn't feel, or physically touch anything. Or be heard, but if I tried hard enough or sometimes by accident I was about to move things."
“That…that must have been a living tartarus.” Luna said with a frown. “Even I was unaware of the passage of time while imprisoned in the moon.”
Zack nodded sadly as he looked out to the night sky. "Every night I would look at the moon and think about you, wondering if you were suffering or just… frozen. Eventually I ended up getting a job as… well… basically the grim reaper to help pass the time."
Luna looked at him in shock, but decided to save her questions for later, so she pulled him into a hug and laid on the bed with him in her hooves.
Zack whimpered softly as he wrapped his arms around her, tears in his eyes. "I had to… to watch as everyone I knew and cared about died… Lulu… everyone blamed me for everything that happened."
Luna hugged him more and rubbed his back. “Let it all out.”
Zack shook his head slightly. "N-no… not now, today was amazing I don't want to mess it up…"
“It is ok Zack, you don’t have to bottle up your emotions.” She said and hugged him closer, laying her head on his head.
Zack quietly sobbed into her chest as she held him. "T-thank you…"
Luna let him cry out all his feelings until he passed out, he then used her magic to give him pleasant dreams. Luna smiled softly as she watched her oldest friend and now coltfriend sleeping in her arms, her heart begging to beat rapidly as she thought about the future.
Chapter end
One rainy day lightning boomed over the vast land of equestria, a cold wind blew past making the ponies in a small village called ponyville shiver. On a hill overlooking the little town was a young imp with dirty orange clothes, its face is entirely black with glowing orange eyes and large lips. It had in its left hand a flute like object, in his right hand he had a mask of some sort.
“Soon they'll all pay, for forgetting me.” It said as it walked back into the dark woods, vanishing as it placed the mask on its face.
Princess Luna gasped as she shot up in her throne, having fallen asleep next to her sister. "H-he's… alive…" she whispered to herself.
Celestia turned her head to Luna. “Did you say something Luna?”
"N-no dear sister." Luna said with a smile. "Um, Tia… What did thou say happened to Skully?"
Celestia’s smile faded. “He was destroyed after he corrupted you.”
Luna teared up as she looked away. "But he didn't corrupt me!"
Celestia wrapped a wing around Luna. “Of course he did, his curse spread to you, thankfully the elements saved you.”
Luna moved away from her. "Tia, his curse didn't do that to me! You destroyed him for nothing!"
Celestia frowned softly. “I saw what he did, Luna, he was playing his magic flute while you were transformed.”
Luna teared up and looked at her. "I had already transformed! He had been trying to convince me that my jealousy of you wasn't needed… I asked him to heal my pain Tia!"
“That…that can't be, he was cursed and was dangerous.” She said stubbornly.
Luna frowned and stood up, walking away with tears in her eyes. "Tia… I loved him. And you destroyed him, for something he didn't even do…"
“What?! I knew you were getting too close to him.” She said as she stood up.
Luna glared at her sister. "Why was that a bad thing!? You-" Luna paused and sighed, lowering her head before walking away. "We shall see you tonight sister. We cannot be near thee right now."
“Luna stop, please listen to me, he was dangerous and he was probably planning on using us.” Celestia said as she followed Luna.
Luna turned to her and glared angrily at Celestia. "What ever caused you to think that!? He was nothing but kind to us both!"
Celestia flinched and took a step back. “He had wild magic, was cursed, and was taking you away from me.”
Luna stared at her and shook her head. "Sister… I won't forgive you." She said teleporting away.
Celestia frowned and rubbed her chin. “Perhaps his magic is still affecting her…”
Celestia turned to the throne room doors as six ponies and a dragon walked, having sent for them. After her conversation with Luna and her sister's actions, she couldn't leave it be. "Hello my faithful student." She said with a soft smile.
“Princess, what do you need?” Twilight asked as she ran up to Celestia and the two nuzzled.
Celestia frowned and sighed. "We may need to use the elements of harmony on Luna again, I think the dark magic may still be affecting her."
“What!?” The group shouted.
“How can that be? We blasted her with them before.” Rainbow said as she flew around the room.
Celestia sighed and lit her horn, as a projection of a creature with orange clothes and wood-like skin. "The skull kid, I believe he is the one that corrupted my sister and turned her into nightmare moon."
“Where is he? We will go kick his butt!” Rainbow said as she flew through the projection.
Celestia shook her head. "I used the elements of harmony on him and his mask was turned to stone, but he vanished."
“I promise we will stop this villain princess.” Twilight said as she puffed out her chist.
Celestia smiled softly at her. "Thank you Twilight, but be careful. He's a master of deception… me and Luna met him as children and Luna had fallen in love with him."
“Oh my.” Fluttershy said softly.
“How could she fall in love with something so…gasly?” Rarity asked.
"As I said, he is a master of deception, and more than once used his extremely powerful magic to save us to gain our trust." Celestia said with a frown. "He pretended to be Luna's friend, and as princesses it is hard to make true friends so Luna grew close to him."
“That is horrible, nothing worse than a liar.” Applejack said.
Celestia nodded but frowned, turning her head a she heard a small cough as she saw Sweetie belle. A young white filly unicorn whoes normally bright vibrant pink an purple mane and tail where duller than usual. "Oh I'm terribly sorry your majesty, Sweetie belle has been in the hospital for a few weeks and only just got out." Rarity said, bowing her head.
“Hello pri-” Sweetie Belle started before she coughed. “Princess, I’m sorry for interrupting.”
"Not at all Sweetie bell. I do hope you'll be alright." Celestia said with a soft smile.
"The doctors said *cough* I-i wasn't going to make it, but then an angel saved me one night." She said with a smile.
Rarity smiled and rubbed Sweetie’s back. “Sweetie, we don’t have to tell the princess this story.”
"An angel?" Celestia asked with a slight smile as Sweetie belle coughed but nodded.
“Yeah! He came into my room and played music, then I started feeling better.” Sweetie Belle said before she looked up and gasped with a smile. “That's him!”
All the ponies looked at the projection of the skull kid, before Rarity gasped and looked at Sweetie belle. "You saw this monster!? Did he say anything to you?"
The little filly tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? Um… I woke up in the middle of the night…"
Two nights ago.
Moonlight shone through an open window onto a bed inside of the emergency care unit in ponyville emergency. A small filly with gray sickly fur and a pink and purple mane coughed violently as she woke up, tears in her eyes as she thought back to the doctors telling her she only had about a day left. Her family, and friends had come that morning to say goodbye while her sister slept in a chair next to her. She stared at the ceiling as she quietly sobbed.
"Hello young one." A soft voice said, when a gust of wind blew through the open window revealing a short creature in orange clothes. He took a single step in her room as his hand glowed green, a similar glow forming around Sweetie Belle and the creature before a scythe materialized in his hand. The scythe was made of two twisting roots with a single white handle down the center, with a black curved blade shaped like a dragon's fang. "Do you know why I'm here?"
She whimpered a bit and pulled her sheets up to her face. “T-To take my soul a-away?”
She felt a hand gently rub her head. "I am sorry little one, everyone has a time to go. And sadly yours is now, what is your name?" He asked softly and gently.
“S-S-Sweetie Belle…i don’t want to go.” She whimpered,
The creature knelt down, gently pulling the blanket from her face. "It's alright sweetie belle, where you'll be going is a safe and fun place. My name is Zack, and it's my job to get you there safely. Is there anything you'd like me to do for you before we go?"
She sniffled and looked over at Rarity before asking. “C-can I hear some music?”
Zack smiled softly before he pulled out a small blue ocarina. "That request… is a very good thing. I will see you again when your time truly comes." He said as the wind began to funnel into the ocarina, while his fingers moved over the holes to play the notes. "Day to night, dark to light. Fall the sands of time, let the years like the gears of a clock unwind. In your mind, walk through time, back to better days. Memories. Like a dream, wash tears away." He sang as Sweetie Belle looked at him, he smiled softly as she sat her head on her pillow, the world beginning to swirl around her. "Like a star in the sky, darkness can't reach you-"
Present day.
"I closed my eyes as he sang thinking I would be taken away. But when I woke up I felt a lot better, I don't know how but that angel saved my life and cured me!" Sweetie belle said with a wide smile.
Rarity looked at Sweetie Belle with worry. “Why didn’t you tell me the full story Sweetie?”
Sweetie belle hung her head. "I tried to, but you kept interrupting me."
Rarity blushed and giggled nervously. “What? n-noooo.”
Sweetie Belle smiled and looked up. "It's ok, but I'm grateful to him. He saved my life."
Celestia looked at Sweetie Belle with a slight frown as she looked away. “Did I do something wrong?” Sweetie asked.
Rarity frowned a bit but shook her head. "Not at all Sweetie belle, we were just talking about something else."
“Ok, do you think I could take a nap? I’m really tired.” Sweetie said before she yawned.
Celestia smiled softly and nodded, turning to a guard. "Of course, take her to a guest room and make sure she's ok."
"Yes ma'am." The guard said, leading sweetie belle away.
“I’m sorry princess, I should have listened to her when she told me about her angel.” Rarity said with a frown.
"It's ok Rarity, no harm done." Celestia said with a small smile.
Rarity gasped softly. “You don’t think he did something to her do you?”
Celestia rubbed her chin in thought. "I do not believe so, I did sense any alterations to her other than her diese getting cured."
"But why would he save her?" Twilight asked with a confused look.
Celestia frowned a bit and looked away. “He may target children, he said himself that he is a skull kid, a being made from a child that got lost in a magic forest.”
"What?! So he's a child?!" Flutteryshy asked in horror.
“If he is still around he has been alive almost as long if not longer than I.” Celestia said with a small frown.
"What!? But princess, how is that possible!? Is he immortal like you, Luna and Discord?" Twilight asked in shock.
“I do not know, he kept to himself a lot as we got older.” Celestia said with a sigh. “I just know he was slightly older than us when we met him and he never aged.”
"Do you know where he could be now?" Twilight asked with a slight frown.
“My only guess would be our old home.” Celestia said before looking out a window that overlooked Canterlot.
"Pardon me yer majesty, but would y'all be talking about the castle of the two sisters?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, he used to live with us a long time ago before the forest became wild.” Celestia said before looking back at the group. “Please, I am worried he is up to something.”
The group looked at each other for a moment before smiling at Celestia. "We won't let you down princess!" Twilight said with a bow.
“I know you won’t, thank you my little ponies.” Celestia said with a smile.
"Let's go y'all, we got us a varmint ta stop!" Applejack said with a wide smile.
“You will need the elements to face him.” Celestia said as she started to walk.
Fluttershy looked down at the ground as the group walked, lost in thought. "Bit fer yer troubles Fluttershy?" Applejack asked.
Fluttershy looked up at Celestia before she looked at Applejack and whispered. “I just don’t know what to think about this…skull kid. He saved Sweetie’s life AJ…he can't be evil if he saved a filly’s life.”
Applejack frowned a bit and looked down at the ground and whispered. "I'd be inclined to agree… but the princess said he turned Luna into nightmare moon."
“Maybe he changed?” Fluttershy suggested in a whisper.
"Maybe, but how can we know fer sure?" Applejack asked with a whisper.
“We could talk to him.” Fluttershy said with a smile.
Applejack tapped her chin and nodded slowly as the group arrived where the elements of harmony were being held. "Be cautious of the skull kid." Celestia said with a nod to Twilight. "He is very patient and very good at deceiving others."
“We will be careful princess.” Twilight said with a smile.
"Um… princess, what if the skull kid… changed?" Rarity asked cautiously.
“I don’t believe he has Rarity, he saved me and my sister when we first met him, but it was a trick.” Celestia said before she used her magic to unlock the door holding the elements.
Rarity frowned and looked away in thought. "I… see…"
Celestia levitated the box that held the elements of harmony over to Twilight and her friends. “Good luck my little ponies, I have faith you can do this.”
Twilight nodded with a smile as she used her magic to pass the elements over to each of her friends. "I would like to take Sweetie belle home first though…" Rarity said.
“Of course, I hope she makes a full recovery.” Celestia said with a smile.
Rarity bowed to her. "Thank you, your majesty."
“Go, be safe and watch yourselves. The skull kid is full of tricks.” Celestia said with a small frown.
"Yes princess." Everyone said, before they ran out of the castle.
The seven ponies, and one dragon sat on the train heading back to ponyville as Sweetie Belle rested her head on Rarity's lap. Spike stared at the filly with a slight frown, before he looked at Twilight. "Twilight, do you really think this skull kid guy is bad?"
“Of course he is, the princess said so.” Twilight said with a confident nod.
Spike frowned a bit and raised an eyebrow. "Like how she said the prophecy for nightmare moon's return was fake?"
“That was just a test.” Twilight said while waving it off.
Spike sighed and shook his head a little, as Rarity coughed a bit. "Twilight… I… wish to speak to the skull kid before anything."
“Are you sure, Rarity? The princess said he is a trickster.” Twilight said.
Rarity frowned a bit but looked at Sweetie belle. "I know darling. But he… saved sweetie belle's life. If it wasn't for him, whatever the reasons, she wouldn't be here. I just wish to know why."
“Well…ok, but be careful, we don’t want him to turn you against us just like Discord.” Twilight said with a small sigh.
Rarity looked down a bit as Applejack and Fluttershy looked at each other. “Don’t worry, after facing Discord our friendship is stronger than ever, nopony can mess with us!” Rainbow said with a grin.
Applejack and Fluttershy nodded a little, the train shaking Sweetie Belle awake as it pulled into ponyville station. "A-are we home?" She asked coughing a little.
“Yes sweetie, we are taking you home where mom and dad can watch over you while we go look for your angel.” Rarity said as she got up and moved Sweetie onto her back.
"Y-you are? Please I want to go, I need to thank him!" Sweetie belle said, coughing a little again. "If it wasn't for him, I'd be gone."
“Sweetie dear, you still need rest, please.” Rarity said softly.
Sweetie belle frowned and looked down, "B-but I want to see him again…"
“M-maybe after we find him…” Rarity said, though the others looked sadly at her.
"Alright, tell him thank you for me please." Sweetie belle said with a small smile.
“O-of course Sweetie.” Rarity said with a smile and nuzzled her.
Sweetie belle smiled and laid down, humming a tune to herself. "Day to night, dark to light…"
“Let’s get her to your parents so we can get going.” Rainbow siad and clopped her hooves together.
Rarity nodded a bit as they began walking to her house. "Applejack, maybe Applebloom would like to stay with sweetie belle?" She asked with a soft smile.
“That's a good idea Rares, Ah’ll go get her.” Applejack trotted off.
Sweetie belle whimpered a bit as she shook a little, as Rainbow took off to the air. "I'll go get Scoots as well." She said flying off.
"R-rarity…" Sweetie belle said softly. "I-i'm cold."
“Hold on Sweetie, we will be home soon.” Rarity said as she hurried.
"M-maybe the angel will help me again…" Sweetie belle said softly, shaking as she snuggled into Rarity's fur.
“Maybe…” Rarity said with a small frown.
Pinkie pie looked at Sweetie belle with a sad smile. "Don't worry Sweetie, when you're better I'll throw you a big party for being ok."
Sweetie smiled weakly. “I’d like that.”
Fluttershy whimpered sadly as Sweetie belle coughed and whimpered. "R-rarity… I'm scared."
“M-maybe we should take her to the hospital instead.” Rarity said while biting her lip.
"N-no…" Sweetie belle whimpered, tearing up. "I-i can't go back, please I just want to go home…"
“But you aren’t fully recovered.” Rarity said as they stopped.
"T-the angel will save me again, please… I was so scared in the hospital. I can't go back." Sweetie belle whimpered as Twilight sighed.
"Sweetie belle the angel is-" She started to say before Rarity interrupted her.
“In a very dangerous place…if we find him we will tell him about you, ok?” Rarity said.
Sweetie belle nodded as she shook, while Rarity quickly went into her house and laid Sweetie belle on her bed.
“Please stay in bed, your friends will be here soon to watch over you.” Rarity said softly.
Sweetie Belle smiled softly and nuzzled Rarity's cheek. "Love you sis…" she mumbled, before falling asleep.
“I love you too Sweetie.” Rarity said softly before she turned to leave.
Fluttershy and Pinkie pie stared at Rarity sadly while Twilight frowned. "Why didn't you tell her, her angel is going to be turned to stone? You're just going to make her sad when he doesn't arrive."
“Because she doesn’t need to know…she believes he saved her…” She said softly.
"Is sweetie belle ok!?" Two young voices called out in worry. Applejack and Rainbow dash trotted up to the small group with two young fillies, one looking like Applejack with a red mane and a pink bow in her mane, while the other was a small orange pegasus with a purple mane.
“She is still sick but far better than yesterday.” Rarity told them before she smiled at them. “Could you two watch over her for me?”
The two nodded. "Of course! Ah hope she doesn't have a relapse." The filly that looked liked Applejack said.
"Come on Applebloom, you heard what sweetie belle said earlier. An angel saved her, you really think she'd have a relapse?" The other filly, Scootaloo, said as the two walked into their friends room.
“Please do be careful and call for help if she gets worse.” Rarity told them.
"Okay!" The two called out as the group left, as Flutteryshy looked at Rarity worriedly.
"Do you know what's causing Sweetie Belle to be so sick?" She asked her.
“No, I don’t know. The doctors don’t know either.” Rarity said softly as they left the house.
"An unknown sickness…" Applejack said with a sad frown. "That poor filly."
"Is there anything we can do?" Pinkie pie asked, her mane falling slightly.
“Sadly no…perhaps we can find out how the skull kid healed her and do it ourselves.” Rarity said softly.
Twilight frowned and looked at her. "Rarity, we cannot trust this skull kid. The princess said he was a trickster, besides for all we know this skull kid could have given Sweetie belle the disease to play the hero."
Rarity’s ears folded back. “I know that, but it couldn’t hurt…”
"Yeah, Twilight. This ain't a normal situation and this is Sweetie belle's life we're talking about. We need to try." Applejack said before lowering her head. "Ah know I'd do anything for Applebloom."
"I'd team up with Discord for Scootaloo!" Rainbow dash said seriously.
Twilight looked unsure before she sighed. “Fine, we shall try to find out how he did it.”
Rarity smiled softly, as the group entered the evergreen forest. "Why are you in my forest?" A gentle voice called out as the group grew closer to the castle of the two sisters.
The group looked around. “Who's there!?” Rainbow shouted.
"I am the guardian of the forest, and this forest is dangerous. You need to leave before one of you gets hurt." The voice said again, as a gust of wind whipped around them.
“We have been here many times.” Twilight said before she frowned. “And we have to find a dangerous monster.”
"Ah, yes. I know who each of you are. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and finally Rarity Belle. So Tia sent you here to entrap me in stone again huh? Figures." The voice said, as a figure watched them from a tree branch hidden in the shadows.
Twilight gasped as her horn lit with magic. “So you are the skill kid!”
“You are the one that saved my sister…why did you do it, and how?” Rarity asked as she walked forward.
"Firstly, I am one skull kid. It is my species name. Secondly, does one need a reason to save a child's life?" The voice asked, the skull kid jumped down in front of them. "And lastly, I used a special song that heals all sorrows and pain. Is she ok?"
“She…she is still sick but doing better than before..please tell us the song?" Rarity asked.
The skull kid's hand reached up to its face, before pulling off the mask it was wearing to reveal a set of bright yellow eyes that looked at her confused. "Well… I can try. I've tried teaching the song to ponies before, but Tia and Lulu couldn't get it."
Twilight frowned and stepped forward. “And who are Tia and Lulu? Some ponies you have tricked into staying here?”
The skull kid raised an eyebrow as he looked at Twilight. "Aren't you supposed to be smart? Celes-tia. Lu-na. They're nicknames that the princesses and I use for each other, just like how they used to call me 'Skully'."
Twilight blushed before she glared at him. “That is so disrespectful! They are princesses!”
Zack looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "And I should care why? The three of us were best friends for years…" he said before glaring at them with an angry snarl. "Until Celestia betrayed me!"
“Until she betrayed you!? You are the one that betrayed them!” Rainbow shouted.
Zack barked out a bitter laugh. "Ha! Is that what she told you?! Bullshit." He growled as his body began shaking violently. "Celestia used the elements of harmony on me and sealed my body away into this mask for a thousand years, leaving me a disembodied spirit! I had to watch as everyone I cared about grew old and died." He shouted, wind picking up around him as he glared at them more. "All because she was jealous of how close I was with…with…"
The group noticed his sad expression as he looked down, causing Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity to look at him worriedly. "W-with who darling?"
"With Luna." He said softly. "The three of us lived together in the castle with the king and Queen, Celestia never trusted me because of my curse. But Luna was always kind to me and we grew close, Celestia became jealous and started saying I was stealing her sister from her. Then when Luna became nightmare moon I tried healing her pain the same way I did for Sweetie Belle, and Celestia used the elements of harmony on me!"
Twilight frowned and shook her head. “You can’t trick us with your lies, the princess already told us you used your magic to turn Luna into Nightmare Moon and Celestia stopped you before it was permanent.”
Zack growled angrily as his eyes bagan glowing red. "That bitch is going to pay for what she did to me."
Twilight used her magic to light her element. “Come on girls, we have to protect Equestria!”
Zack blinked at her and raised an eyebrow. "The fuck? Who said anything about me fucking up Equestria?"
“Duh, you are a monster that attacked princess Luna, you probably want your freaky forest to cover all of Equestria or something.” Rainbow said.
Zack's eyes shrunk to pinpricks in anger. "I never attacked Luna! I'd never hurt her! She's my best friend!"
“Yeah right.” Rainbow said but Applejack frowned.
“He…he aint lyin.” She said out loud.
"What!?" Twilight and Rainbow dash asked in shock.
"H-he hasn't said a lie at all this entire time." Applejack said with a frown.
Zack sighed and turned away from them. "Leave now, I'm done talking about -"
"Wait please!" Rarity said in desperation. "Sweetie Belle is still sick and she's getting worse again! I need you to teach me that song!"
Zack stopped and slowly turned his head, just enough to see her. “Is she really still sick? This isn’t some kind of trick?”
Rarity shook her head quickly. "Please, she's been coughing more and more since she got out of the hospital! I'm at my wits end…"
Zack slowly turned back around completely as he looked at her, before his eyes turned to Applejack. "Is that true?"
Applejack nodded her head. “We don’t know what she has…but she seems ta be gettin worse.”
Zack frowned and crossed his arms. "That's strange, that's never happened before. Normally the song fully heals the one that hears it…"
“Please, help her again…I don’t want to lose my sister.” Rarity pleaded with him.
“Rarity! We can’t trust him!” Twilight said as she tried to use the elements but they weren’t activating.
Rarity teared up as she sobbed. "I don't care! Sweetie Belle is too important to me!"
Zack stared at Rarity for a moment before he sighed and smiled a bit. "Calm down, I was going to help either way."
“Thank you!” She cried as Twilight and Rainbow argued against letting him near Sweetie.
"You can't let him near her!" Rainbow dash yelled. "He might be trying to hurt her."
Zack rolled his eyes and shook his head, as he walked over to the group. "Oh, shut up. A filly's life is more important than Celestia's petty grudge against me." He said, the wind whipping around them all wildly before they appeared in Sweetie Belle's room.
"What in tarnation?!" Applejack and Applebloom yelled together.
“How did we get here!?” Twilight shouted. “You didn’t use a teleport spell! I would have felt it!”
"Seriously? Celestia sent you to turn me to stone, without explaining my magic? I have nature magic." Zack raised an eyebrow at her, as her eyes widened in shock and wonder.
“N…Nature magic! That is wild and uncontrollable!” She shouted.
“Hey! Don’t yell, Sweetie is asleep.” Scootaloo said to her.
Sweetie belle coughed and shook as she opened her eyes slowly. "R-rarity?"
"I'm here Sweetie." Rarity said, sitting next to Sweetie Belle and nuzzling her.
"D-did you find… the angel?" She asked softly.
“Yes Sweetie, and he is here to help you.” Rarity said softly before she looked over at Zack.
Zack walked over with a raised eyebrow. "Angel?" He asked confusedly as Sweetie belle smiled at him weakly. "I'm not a bunny."
Fluttershy giggled before the others looked at her, making her blush and hide behind her mane. “Sorry.”
Zack chuckled a bit. "Nothing to be sorry about, I made a joke to get someone to laugh." He said, smiling at Sweetie belle. "You're still feeling bad huh? I'm sorry I couldn't heal you completely the other night."
Sweetie smiled weakly. “You did help me, I’m sorry I am still sick though…”
Zack frowned a little as he looked at her. "What do you mean? It isn't your fault, if anything it's the hospital's for letting you leave so soon. Even if you were feeling better, with how sick you were, letting you leave the next day when you say you feel better is just stupid." He said putting a unicorn mask, that vaguely resembles Sweetie belle onto her chest.
Sweetie looked at the mask. “What's this?”
"A mask, you remember the song I sang?" Zack asked her with a soft smile, getting a soft nod from the filly. "It's a special song that heals all the pain of the soul and body, it purges those things and seals them away in masks. This mask is what was made the other night when I sang it, but my magic was… weaker then. So now that I have more of it. I'm hoping it'll cure you completely and seal the rest of the pain and illness you're feeling into this mask."
“Wow, you are so co-” Sweetie started to say before she coughed violently.
Rarity and all the ponies quickly got up and looked at her as Zack frowned and pulled out his ocarina. "Please, help her!" Rarity yelled, tearing up as Sweetie Belle whimpered.
Zack took a deep breath and began to play the ocarina, a light beginning to glow from both the ocarina and the mask as he pulled away and let wind and air swirl through the ocarina to continue the music. "Day to night, dark to light. Fall the sands of time, let the years like the gears of a clock unwind. In your mind, walk through time, back to better days. Memories. Like a dream, wash tears away. Like a star in the sky, darkness can't reach you. Light the night, joy is light. Till the new dawn."
As Zack sang, the mask on Sweetie's chest began glowing brighter along with the ocarina and Zack himself, along with Sweetie belle. Twilight watched Zack closely, prepared to attack him as specks of darkness and a sickly energy began to glow from Sweetie Belle and into the mask.
"Cast away your old face, let go your spite. With this mask I'll ask to borrow your light. Once the years still your fears, time will seal your fate. Let this curse be reversed before it's too late. Ash to dust, left to rust. All time fades away, all your pain still remains. Cast it away." Rarity looked at Zack in awe as the magic surged through the area, as her sister's breathing became calmer.
"You must take on the light, let it help guide you. Follow the path ahead, forge one anew. Darkness is fading now, it's not too late. Three days is all you have to change your fate." He said, before playing the ocarina himself for a while as the magic light began to slowly fade.
Zack and all the ponies looked at Sweetie belle once he was finished, everyone waiting with baited breath as he took the mask from Sweetie belle's body. Sweetie Belle sat up slowly and held her chest as she breathed in and out. “I…I feel ok, I don’t hurt anymore!”
Zack smiled and began to walk away, before he was talked against the wall by a sobbing Sweetie belle. "Whoa! You still need to rest."
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She said while hugging him tightly.
Zack paused for a moment before slowly hugging her back with a look of unsure shock on his face. "N-no problem, now get some more rest."
The other two fillies hugged him. “Thank you for saving our friend!”
Zack blushed slightly as Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle. "Girls give him some space, and Sweetie Belle still needs to rest."
“Aww.” The three families said but backed away as Sweetie Belle got back in bed.
Zack smiled a bit at the three. "Don't worry, once Sweetie belle is all better. Maybe you three can show me around?"
“Really?!” They said before Twilight stomped a hoof.
“Absolutely not!” She shouted while glaring.
The three fillies looked at Twilight with sad frowns, while Zack rolled his eyes at her. "But why?" Sweetie belle asked with a pout.
"Don't worry about that." Zack said a smile at them. "When you're feeling better I'll come back here so you can show me around."
"Ok mister Angel!" The three said with wide smiles as he chuckled, walking out of the room while Twilight gritted her teeth and followed him with her friends. As soon as the door closed they were all wrapped around by wind again, before appearing back in the forest.
“What the buck!?” Twilight looked around. “You teleported us again!”
"Of course I did, you honestly think I'm gonna let you chew me out and everything in the room right next to those kids!?" Zack asked her with a glare. "Do you not know how do be delicate with kids!? Seriously snapping like that in front of them, what's the matter with you!"
“I was protecting them from you!” Twilight said as she aimed her horn at him.
Zack rubbed his eyes, not afraid of her threatening horn. "Holy crap you're an idiot! I just helped Sweetie belle and they were all thankful, I told them that so they wouldn't feel sad about me leaving. I knew the whole time none of you would let them near me again!"
"Twilight darling, I must… agree with Zack." Rarity said, rubbing the back of her leg.
Twilight frowned at Rarity. “We have to turn him to stone before he can start his evil plan.”
"And what evil plan would that be?" Zack asked her with a slight glare.
Twilight glared at him. “I don’t know and don’t care, I just know you're evil and we are gonna stop you."
Zack blinked at her and shook his head with a sigh. "Miss Rarity, don't let Sweetie belle do anything too strenuous. She could still relapse, I've never used that song to heal a disease before."
“I…I will make sure to keep her safe.” Rarity said before looking down. “I am sorry we have to turn you to stone.”
"Oh don't worry, you're not." Zack laughed a bit before he vanished in a gust of wind. "Later." His voice said.
“Get back here!” Twilight shouted.
"Or what?" His voice asked.
Twilight growled as she glared into the woods. “By order of princess Celestia you are to be turned to stone!”
Twilight's friends looked at each other as they heard Zack's voice. "You realize I don't give a crap right? And I'm not stupid enough to be turned to stone, and there's no way in Tartarus I'm going to be a disembodied spirit again. Now go home."
Twilight yelled in frustration before she turned to leave. “Come on girls, we need to inform the princess…”
"Here, I can teleport you straight there." Zack's voice said, sending them all to the castle before Twilight could protest.
"Oh… that was nice of him…" Fluttershy said, looking around with a soft smile.
“Don’t move girls…this could be a trick.” Twilight said as she lit her horn to scan for magic.
"Twilight?" Celestia asked in confusion as she walked over to them. "What are you doing back?"
Twilight backed away and stared at Celestia, her horn still lit while looking for any trace of magic. “I won’t be tricked.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow in confusion at Twilight's actions before she sighed. "You ran into the skull kid didn't you?"
“Yes, he took us back to my home and healed Sweetie…then sent us here after returning to the forest.” Rarity said.
Celestia sighed softly as she shook her head. "Same old tricks, he used to help foals all the time to gain trust."
Twilight’s horn stopped glowing and she sighed. “This isn’t an illusion, we are really here.”
Fluttershy looked down at the ground in thought for a moment, as Applejack and Rarity glanced at each other. "Y-you're majesty. Um… Zack, he said you three lived together in the old castle…"
Celestia sighed and nodded her head. “That is true, he saved me and my sister from timberwolves when we were fillies, then our parents took him in. it was no doubt a trick.”
Rarity and Fluttershy looked at Applejack who gulped. "U-um yer majesty, h-he didn't lie at all while we were talking with him."
“That is how he tricks you, he tells the truth but makes you do things you wouldn’t normally do.” Celestia said as she started to pace. “He got my sister to stay up all night and skip school just to watch the night sky or play in the forest, they would start food fights in the guard’s mess hall, they would play pranks on mother and father!”
Rarity, and Applejack looked confused at her statement. "Um… forgive me your majesty, but… that's what most children do." Rarity said slowly.
“That is not what royalty does!” Celestia shouted as her mane started to split, much like how Twilight’s does when she is stressed. “We were princesses, we had to study and be prepared to rule, instead he distracted her and pushed her to ignore her responsibilities until eventually he used his magic on her to bring out the worst treats in her.”
Rainbow dash frowned a bit as she crossed her hooves. "I wish I had beat his face when I had the chance."
"What should we do now princess?" Twilight asked Celestia with a frown.
“We have to trap him…I have been working on a spell just in case he returned.” Celestia gave Twilight a scroll.
"What does it do?" Twilight asked her, looking at the scroll.
“It will force him to stay in one place for one minute, he can’t teleport away…hopefully. I couldn’t test it because of the way he teleports being so different.” Celestia told her with a sigh.
"He said he uses Nature magic. But how can that be, it's so uncontrollable!" Twilight said, shaking her head, as Luna listened closely from behind a pillar.
“It is because of what he is, or at least that is my theory. He is a skull kid, from what he said, they were children that get lost in a magic forest that changes them into more skull kids." Celestia told her.
Luna's mouth dropped open, realizing they were talking about Zack. "So he's a being of nature? That makes no sense!" Twilight said, rubbing her forehead.
“Yes, I personally think Discord made him long ago before Discord showed his face.” Celestia said with a frown.
Luna frowned and growled softly as Celestia badmouthed Zack. "B-but Zack saved Sweetie belle… would a creation of Discord's do that?" Rarity asked, getting Luna's attention.
“I don’t know, perhaps she is sick because of Zack.” Celestia said while shaking her head.
"Tia!" Luna yelled angrily, getting everyone's attention as they jumped. "You know Zack wouldn't do that! Stop accusing him of doing all these things, and you lied to me! You told me he was destroyed!"
Celestia frowned at her. “I lied to keep you safe, if you see him again he could finish what he started and turn you into Nightmare Moon again.”
Luna's mane began to float in anger. "I didn't become Nightmare moon because of Zack! I became Nightmare moon because of you!"
The other mares slowly backed away from the two alicorns. “That is a lie! I loved you! I protected you! And did my best to make sure you were a happy princess!” Celestia shouted back as her mane was going wild.
"Exactly!" Luna said angrily. "Except all I ever wanted was to be treated like any other pony! As my sister you should have done that! But even when we were alone! Every moment of everything day and night, no matter what I had to be a princess!" Luna yelled, tearing up. "But Zack treated me with respect and acted like I was just like anyone else, and it's thanks to him I had anything resembling a normal childhood!"
Celestia shook her head. “We are princesses! We didn’t have time to be children! He was turning you into a…a…”
The mares glanced at each other worriedly, before Luna shook her head. "Into what sister!?"
“Into an uncultured brat!” Celestia shouted.
Luna and the other mares stared at her in shock, as Luna glared and growled at her. "So you'd rather I be miserable!?"
“No! I would rather you be a princess! And make mother and father proud!” Celestia shouted.
"Don't you dare talk about making mother and father proud!" Luna screamed in the Canterlot voice. "When you've disappointed them so many times!"
Celestia’s eyes widened before she growled and the two sisters clashed horns. “You dare say that!?”
"Yes! You have no idea how disappointed they were whenever you refused to play with me and Zack, or to talk to ponies, or even try to make new friends!" Luna yelled, pushing her sister back a little.
“I was doing my duty unlike you! I was the one that studied, I was the one that went to the meetings, I was the one that had to starve herself to fit into the dresses! I did everything they wanted and needed me to do!”
“U-um princesses?” Twilight tried to interject but was too quiet.
"They never wanted us to do any of that! You did it all yourself!" Luna yelled as the two princesses' magic began flowing around their horns.
"This is getting out of hoof." Applejack said with a frown.
“Oh for the love of…both of you know it off!” A familiar voice said before a strong wind pushed the two sisters away from each other. Celestia and Luna's eyes widened, one in shock and one in anger as Zack appeared between the two of them. His arms were crossed over his chest as he shook his head at their actions. "You're acting like fillies! Jeez you were both so much more mature as kids!"
“Zack! You really are alive!” Luna said, as tears started to fill her eyes.
“Zack…so you've come here to do what, corrupt us both?” Celestia asked as her horn stayed lit with magic.
Zack sighed annoyed and glared at Celestia. "I followed these six here and stayed invisible so I could hear what other lies you were telling about me. But I honestly didn't expect you two to start horn dueling and using magic on each other! Queen Costellia, and King Cosmosis would be ashamed of you both!"
The elements of harmony's eyes widened at the mention of the ancient king and queen, while they all backed away from the three ancient beings. “They would not! They loved us and wanted us to be the best rulers we could be!” Celestia yelled.
“He is right, they would be ashamed of us, but mostly you!” Luna said to Celestia.
Zack face palmed and looked between the two ponies. "If you two don't stop right now I'll turn you both into fillies!"
Luna looked over to him. “You…can do that?”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Celestia said with a growl.
Zack looked at Luna for a moment as the two just stared at each other, before he looked away a bit. "Yes I can, I figured out about five hundred years ago that I can manipulate the natural aging of living beings and reverse or accelerate it."
“That…that is incredible…but dangerous.” Luna said softly.
Zack shrugged with a slight nod. "Yeah, but I can also reverse it whenever I want to. Plus it's not like I'd do it just willy nilly. Now will the two of you please stop acting like children and talk it out like adults?"
“I am not acting like a child!” Celestia shouted before something wooden fell from above and bonked Zack’s head.
"A token? Now?" Zack rubbed his head and held the wooden object in his hand, noticing how it looked like a wooden game controller.
Zack then heard the message of the token. "I am Deltorix the gamer. If you seek a friend, ally, or simply wish to trade skills simply say 'Send Invite' and I may come. What you want to do with the skills I teach will determine what skills I will teach you."
"A new token? We have not seen one since Torel's." Luna said in awe, looking at the token.
“Don’t change the subject! I won’t let you ruin my family again!” Celestia said.
Zack sighed and frowned at Celestia. "You know what Tia? Think whatever you want. I tried to be your friend, I really did. But no matter what I did or said, you never trusted me. So… I'm done trying. Just leave me alone."
“Then leave my family alone, monster!” Celestia shouted but Luna walked over to Zack.
“Forget her, who is the new displaced?” Luna asked him.
Zack raised his eyebrow at her, before tossing the token into the air slightly. "Deltorix." He said catching it. "Apparently he's a displaced called the gamer."
“The gamer? That is an odd title.” Luna said as Celestia was fuming behind them.
Zack shrugged a little bit as he looked at Luna for a moment, making her blush slightly at the attention. "Yeah… anyway I should get going." He said putting the token in his pocket and walking away slightly.
“Wait…” Luna said before she looked at her sister then the element bearers, before looking back at him. “Take me with you.”
"What!?" All the ponies in the room shouted in shock, and Celestia in anger.
Zack paused and turned his head slightly to look at her for a moment before turning away again. "No."
“What!?” Luna asked in shock. “Why not!?” She tried to get in front of him.
Zack created a vortex of wind around him, pushing Luna back a bit while hiding his face from her giving Applejack and Fluttershy a clear view of the pained expression he had. "Because Celestia was right about one thing. I am dangerous."
“No you’re not!” Luna said as she tried to push her way to him.
Zack gritty his teeth as his eyes became brighter and his pupils turned blue, before a wave of wind forced everyone back even farther. "Yes I am! Don't you remember anything about my curse?!"
“I don’t care! You are my friend!” Luna called out as she was pushed back but still tried to get closer. “Please…please don’t leave me again!”
"Sorry Luna, but you'll be too busy stopping the moon." He said, as the entire castle shook.
“What!?” everyone shouted.
Zack lowered his head as the shadows around them spun and wrapped around his face, forming Majora's mask. "You have three days before the moon falls into Equestria."
“No! Please, I know you are better than this.” Luna said as she reached for him.
Zack slowly turned to face the group as the eyes of the mask began glowing brighter. "And I thought the same thing about Celestia."
Author's Note
I do not own the song in this chapter it is just nice