Maya hurried home through the forest, trotting along with a great smile and uplifted spirit. She let herself out into town proper, looking up at the moon as it started to peek its face out from the clouds. She grinned at the sight of it, giggling as she scurried her way down the road with her eyes forward towards Twilight's castle. She spotted a young colt standing guard, and approached him, waving as she drew nearer. "Hi, hello."

The young guard nodded, saluting with a grin. "Hello miss! Welcome to—" He stopped and lowered his head. "Wait, you took me seriously?"

Maya slowed to a confused start. "Shouldn't I?"

"Oh, um." The guard shuffled in place. "I've been asking Twilight if I could be her guard for ages. She hasn't said yes yet."

Maya blinked at the would-be guard. "But you're out here. Why?"

"Oh, I'm practicing!" His grin became quite sincere. "I want to be ready for when Twilight lets me guard her! She will let me, I just know it." He paused and leaned in. "Do you think I'll make a good guard?"

Maya patted his shoulder. "You're already an excellent guard. You stopped me before I wandered in there, didn't you?"

The colt smiled proudly at that. "Yes! Yes I did, ma'am. What is your business with Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

Maya pointed past him towards the castle. "I was hoping to talk with her about something amazing that just happened."

The colt nodded firmly. "I'll announce you." He walked up to the doors, standing up to his full height and straightening himself up. "Open up!"

The doors slowly swung open, revealing Spike looking at him oddly. "Twilight already said no. Go home."

Maya stepped past the foal and up to Spike. "It's alright. I'm going to go see her. I appreciate you helping this young stallion, but I really do want to talk to Twilight." She leaned in closer to Spike, voice dropping to a whisper. "Be nice, he's trying."

Spike closed the door on the would-be guard. "Sorry, it's just..."

Maya pressed a hoof to his mouth. "No excuses. Do better. And that is an order."

Spike crossed his arms with a huff. "You know how to be bossy."

"Part of my job." Her smile returned as she looked around. "Where's Twilight hiding? I have the most amazing thing to tell her."

Spike sighed, rubbing at a temple with a claw. "She's in her lab with Starlight Glimmer. You remember her?"

"Yeah." She only looked happier. "I'll visit both of them." She sped away at almost a gallop, only to stop at the stairs. "The lab upstairs or down?"

Spike towards the floor. "Down."

Maya skipped her way down the stairs, bouncing eagerly from hoof to hoof, and stopping at a large wooden door. She pushed her way inside and found two ponies bent over a table with a blueprint of some kind spread over it. She inclined her head curiously as she slowed to a gentle walk towards them. "Twilight?"

Both ponies jumped, Twilight squealing and hiding the plans behind herself. "Ah, Maya! Nice to see you." She turned an ear and frowned. "You're not supposed to be here."

Maya pinned her ears back. "Sorry? I just, um, good news? Sorry. Is this bad timing?" She looked to Starlight for an answer.

Starlight was just as confused. "We had a breakthrough, but you can't be down here. It's not safe."

Maya shifted nervously. "Not safe? Is something about to explode?"

"No, it's a magic thing." Starlight turned to Twilight. "You don't want her down here while we do this."

Maya felt a sudden wave of terror grip her heart.

Twilight lifted a hoof. "Look." She took a slow breath. "We were trying to see if returning you to your world was a possibility." She stepped in place. "As a surprise, ideally."

Maya felt her tension evaporate. She closed with Twilight and hugged her tight. "That's very sweet! But there's another me there, remember? And she's doing fine. If I showed up, everything would be confusing for every single person involved. This me's an alright me, and she's doing good. In fact, news!" She beamed wide. "I just freed a whole forest from some horrible curse!"

"You what?" Twilight and Starlight asked in unison.

"Yeah!" Maya bounced up and down. "This nice Zebra, Zecora was it? She led me to this big crystal tree and I used my powers and we sang a song and somehow it all just worked and I still feel so good right now!"

"Wait." Twilight took a hoof and rubbed it across her temple. "You met a zebra, you went somewhere with her, and you did something. What were you trying to do?"

Starlight put a hoof to her head. "If it was Zecora, I can believe it. She's mysterious and more. I'm with Twilight, what were you trying to do?"

Maya backed up. "We went to a big hole, this gorge thing with a really pretty waterfall. And there was this amazing tree at the bottom, growing out of the rock. It was so beautiful." She sighed, thinking of it. "It felt like it needed help." She lifted her hooves, both glowing green. "Help I could give. I gave it and sang. I don't even remember what I sang, exactly, but it felt super important."

Twilight nodded, frowning a little. "I have so many questions." She tapped her chin. "Can you remember any of the song?"

Maya cocked her head. "Not much. I got it, and it left. You know what that's like." She laughed lightly. "You always forget the stuff that makes you feel the best." She hugged herself and fell back to all fours, hooves no longer glowing. "It just felt like, right then, like I was part of the whole forest. I felt, I dunno, alive? I felt great!"

Starlight shared a glance with Twilight. "Could you do it again?"

Maya shrugged. "I guess I could try, but I can't promise anything. Besides, I felt like the tree's full for now. I don't want to over-fill it. That'd be just as bad as starving." She cantered in place in a giddy motion. "But I helped! I'm not sure how, exactly, but I did."

Starlight nodded slowly. "Sounds like you've been busy."

Twilight rubbed at her mane. "I have so many questions."

Maya snorted gently. "You said that already." She closed to throw an arm over Twilight. "Seriously though, thanks for thinking of me. That means a lot, that you two were trying to get me a gift, and that's a big gift. Seriously though, I me. I am Maya, the pony. Sure, Maya has a curious past that involves another world, but so long as Maya the human's jamming her life, Maya the pony's gonna rock hers."

Twilight and Starlight met eyes, a silent conversation passing between them.

Twilight nodded. "I understand. We can just let that go. If you want us to drop it, we'll drop it."

Starlight cracked a smirk. "No wonder you have the job you do. If you can just accept that for yourself, I bet you're great at helping ponies reach things about themselves they don't want to look at."

Maya smiled, taking a few steps back. "I can be really pushy, but when you want to get to a center of a pony, sometimes you have to push a little." She looked between the two. "Hey, you're a therapist too, aren't you?" She focused on Starlight. "For the school?"

Starlight nodded. "I'm good at it. I know a thing or two about all sorts of problems."

Maya hummed softly, closing her eyes. "That's really nice, but if you need someone to unwind with, come my way. Even us therapists need a shoulder to scream into once in a while, you know?"

Starlight smiled wide. "I know, trust me. The offer goes both ways. If you need somepony, I'm right here."

The two met with a mutual embrace, parting with shared smiles.

Twilight clapped gently. "I'm very proud of you both, but we really shouldn't stay down here if we're not working. Maya, you've had a full day. Go on home, get some rest."

Maya's head popped up. "I have to write it all down!" She dashed from the room. "Thanks! Thanks for listening, and not getting mad, and thank you for being so considerate." She zipped up the stairs and burst out of the castle, still giggling with joy that refused to leave her.

Twilight turned to Starlight as the doors swung shut. "Did you sense any lingering magic on her?"

Starlight nodded. "Like she'd been standing in a thick fog of it." She reached up to tap at her own horn. "Like this after a big spell." She turned the hoof to point at another of her hooves. "But down here, and all over. Like a magic bath?"

"What sort of magic was it?" Twilight's horn started to glow as she tried to feel out the residue. "It feels different. Old, but fresh? Not just untrained, but alien."

Starlight swiped through the space Maya had been in. "We're probably not gonna find out tonight, but I know exactly which pony to start trailing to find out."

Twilight smirked. "You think it's related to her hooves too?"

Starlight gave her a bit of side eye. "I think you're being very observant today."

"I try to be."

Maya opened her eyes to a field of endless stars. She sat up onto her haunches, bedazzled at the infinite speckles in all directions. She smiled at the sight of it. "Wow, so pretty. I'm glad you're here, my friend. It's nice to see you again."

She got to her feet and turned to the one she was addressing. A large dark-blue alicorn pony.

Luna inclined her head. "You speak as if we have spoken many times before." She strode forwards, bringing Maya up to sit on a cloud. "But, as far as I know, we have not."

Maya reached for Luna's hoof, cradling it. "You feel safe. And I feel happy. The two together make it very easy to accept things right now. I can be scared later. You're not here to hurt me, right?"

"Hurt you? No." Luna watched the little pony. "Are you worried about such things?"

Maya dropped down to the ground, curling up under Luna's wing. "I was, but now I'm not." She nuzzled in against Luna. "I'm learning to love and love this world more by the day, even the troubled little ponies that need my help. Maybe especially them."

"Are you sure you are a pony?" Luna wondered.

Maya perked up to look at her. "I don't really know? I'm a human. Or at least I was." She patted at herself with a hoof. "Was, but I'm a pony now, and I will stay being a pony." She flickered her ears. "With these cute ears and this swaying tail." She flicked said tail. "Not an awful thing to be."

Luna kept her ears pricked and tail arched. "A moment." She settled in place and crossed her forehooves, sighing. "I feel at ease, and I know not why." She half-curled around Maya. "I came because your dream looked strange. But here I am, and I find a pony entirely at peace with themselves. Hm, are you planning on trying to conquer the world?"

Maya barked out a sharp laugh at that. "Me? What would I even do with it? No, let people who like running the world handle that." She smiled. "I'm more interested in knowing, really knowing, what's going on inside everypony I can find."

"You wish to enter a pony's heart?" Luna perked at that. "Most consider that my job." She put a hoof at her chest. "I am Princess Luna, guardian of the night and safeguard of pony dreams."

Maya blinked slowly. "I never wanted to get in your way. I talk to ponies, about what's bothering them, and try to help them work through it, and past it." She cycled her hooves slowly. "It's not the same as this." She looked out over the many stars. "I can't do this."

"I agree." Luna considered the pony. "I have seen your kindness, and your resolve. It is a strength and a weakness."

Maya bobbed her head, just to quirk it with confusion. "Weakness?"

"You give and give, but can you take?" Luna smiled with a flash of teeth. "What you did today was no small feat. I can still see your mind replaying it." She nuzzled Maya at the top of her head. "A grand thing, but you are left dizzy and delirious. If I may suggest, take tomorrow off and recover."

Maya pressed her nose into Luna's. "I could do that." She tilted her head. "I guess I was just caught up in the moment." She rubbed at her muzzle, wiping it clean. "But I have appointments. They'll be sad if I turn them away at the last moment. That'd be a bad thing to do."

Author's Note

Maya speaks with several ponies, and has so many doors open before her.

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