It started with a Sneeze

Chapters

And what do you think you are going to do?
Going to sleep- Wait a minute,
Why am I in court?
Why is this my punishment?
Why is she here?
Sometimes I don't think things through
Planning for the future
Things are starting to look up,
Ghost pains
Why does loving someone hurt so much?

And what do you think you are going to do?

So it turns out that I was summoned to Equestria because Trixie wanted some midnight cuddling. I could have lived my whole life without knowing that. However, I have doubts that she could accomplish such a feat. I am not doubting that she couldn’t summon someone from another dimension with enough determination. But she has stated that she was on her own when she activated the spell, furthermore, it was only meant for medium range. So something else must have happened to allow her to do what she did.

If you told me it was Twilight or maybe even Starlight herself then that would be more believable but there is no way you can convince me that Trixie, of all ponies, summon me safely on accident. Nothing short of the Alicorn Amulet would convince me that Trixie was able to summon a human from a completely different dimension.

On the bright side, nopony has figured out that I'm a human from another dimension, not that would I tell them that I am one. Despite coming here by complete accident. I have no desire to go back home. After all, home is with the heart belongs and I have no reason to break my heart. But that does leave me in my current predicament.

After Starlight went after Trixie. I got nearly scared to death alongside Sunburst by our common flying multicolored fein. Turns out Rainbow Dash was still going to look after me for that day and was testing me to see what I would do if I had some free time to myself. In other words, she was there for the entire conversation and somehow was able to keep her trap shut until after the mares left the scene. How could I forget that Rainbow Dash has a stealth mode when she hovers? It is no wonder how she was able to prank so many ponies. For a loud and brash mare, she can be quieter than Fluttershy when she wants to.

It took me a whole 10 seconds to calm my heart down and I'm pretty sure Sunburst almost peed himself when Rainbow Dash let out her Banshee Cry of a belly laugh. She wouldn't stop laughing for a minute straight. She was laughing so hard that she started crying and she had to excuse herself cuz she needed to compose herself. As she left, Sunburst and I shared a silent and mutual agreement that we would get even with her.

Anyway that was an hour ago and she has yet to return, leaving me with Sunburst. To kill time we retreated to the kitchen and agreed to compete in a game of wits, a battleground that is shared by many ponies and animals alike. I glare at my opponent across that table as he shares my determination. We remained there unmoving and unblinking, time became irrelevant as we stared each other down.

Not wanting to lose this game of wits. I resorted to a method that has won many battles in the past. Slowly I lowered my head to just the right position and before he knew what hit him. I had already won, as I blew a stream of air into his eyes just below his glasses causing him to blink. I grin victorious as he realizes what just happened, “I win,”

“That's cheating!” He rubs his eyes before readjusting his glasses,

I stick my tongue at him playfully, “Says the loser,”

Not amused he resumed his glare at me, “What is your deal?”

“You're going to have to be more specific than that,” I rolled my eyes at him, “Are you referring to a contract you wish to negotiate with me?” I move my hooves in front of me as if writing a contract before pointing at myself, “Or perhaps you are trying to understand the Enigma which is me?”

“I'm referring to your end goal,”

“Let me see,” I look up thought, “Find a place in the world for myself, maybe start a bottle cap collection, or how about eating every type of food there is,”

He grinds his teeth in anger, “I'm referring to Starlight,”

“Okay, I'll bite,” I rest my chin in my hoof, “How in the world did our conversation go from food to Starlight?”

“Look I don’t know who you are-”

“Name is Braden in case you were wondering,”

“Okay Braden, I now know you didn't mean to come here. And that you are stuck here because of the parol- Speaking of which we are going to have to discuss that with the Princess once she wakes up. But that doesn't explain how you have been acting around Starlight,”

I tilted my head to the side, “What do you mean?”

“For the last 10 minutes,” He points his hoof at me, “I have noticed that your eyes have been drifting to her during the entire conversation,”

“So what's wrong with that?” I shrug my shoulders lifting my arms in a whatever pose, “She's a very pretty Mare. Is it wrong to look at pretty Mares?”

“You know what I mean,”

“Frankly I do not,”

“Don't act dumb!”

“How am I acting dumb when you're not making any sense?”

He then stands up on the table with his forelegs making himself look taller, “What I'm saying is that I don't like how you're looking at her,”

I roll my eyes at him. I mean, I know why he's acting like this, but there's no way I can justify knowing what I know without giving away my secrets. So I think it's best if I play ignorant and have a little fun. I raise my hooves in a surrender pose lending away from him smiling, “Gee Sorry, I didn't realize you would be offended by me looking at your sister,”

No soon as I said that Sunburst lost his footing and fell face-first into the table hurting his cheek and knocking off his glasses. It took every fiber in my body and sucking in my cheek to not laugh at his misfortune. He pays no mind to his injuries or his lack of sight as he recovers in shock, “Starlight, not my sister!”

I pound my chest calming myself before pressing the issue as he looks for his glasses, “Your cousin,”

“No,”

“Oh. So she's your girl,”

“No,”

“So let me get this straight. She's not related to you nor is she your girl. Then why are you getting so angry at the fact that I'm looking at a single mare that you have no relationship with?” I demanded from him as he found his glasses,

“She's my friend,” He says as if that means something to me as he adjusts his glasses,

“Oh sure and that gives you all right to be angry at someone else who has an interest in your friend,”

He glares at me, “You know what I mean,”

“Okay let's stop this charade,” I get up from my seat and start making my way to Sunburst, “It is fairly obvious that we both want the same mare,”

This takes him by surprise as he tries to laugh it off, “What! No. What makes you say that?”

“You are so defensive about her even though you are not in a relationship with her,” I didn’t stop moving forcing Sunburst to start walking away from me, “That means you want a relationship with her even though nothing has happened yet,”

“That is only be-,” He starts before backing into the corner of the kitchen stopping him mid-sentence. He shakes his head clearing his thoughts, “Now it's not the time to talk about such things with her,”

I grunted at him, “Then you have no problems with me asking her on a date tonight,”

“WHAT!”

I turn around and walk away from him, “I mean If you're not going to do anything. Then I'm going to go ahead and take the initiative to ask her out,”

“You can't do that!”

“And why not?” I stop and look at him over my shoulder, “Last I checked you have no say in the matter of who she dates,”

He looks around for an answer, anything to stop me. Not that it would work, “Because you're still serving community service!”

“Only during the daytime,” I walk back to my seat, “Once the sun sets, I'm free. Which gives me enough time to ask her out,”

“But but but- it'll be so late! She wouldn't want to hang out or go on a date then,”

“When do you think ponies go on a date?” I say with a deadpan stare, “When the rooster crows?!”

He moves back to his seat panicking, “She wouldn't go out with you,”

“Why are you so sure? It's not like you have tried,” I waved my hoof at him dismissively,

“It wasn't the right time to do so,”

I sigh heavily at his words, “It's never the right time,” I walk to the kitchen window looking outside watching the clouds move across the sky, “Trust me, after being turned down by many girls in the past and stood up on multiple dates. You can never know when it's the perfect opportunity to ask a girl out. So the best thing you can do is just throw all caution to the wind and just try. I mean what else do you have to lose?” I say remembering past interactions with the females of my world. So many unpleasant memories. I didn’t mean to go that deep into it. It just kind of happens,

He remains silent as he thinks about what I said. After a few moments, his next words filled me with rage, “Then you don't mind if I go ask her first!”

I let out a puff of air from my nostrils as I turned slowly to face my Nemesis, “Are you actually thinking of getting in my way?”

“If it means stopping you from asking Starlight out, then yes!” He puts on a brave front, but it might as well be a puppy yapping at the alpha.

I turned around and jumped towards him making him move back, “Out of the way Colt. You're starting to get on my nerves,”

Normally a character like Sunburst would be scared by my actions of dominance before lowering their head and backing down. But that is not what happened. For some reason, Sunburst held firm and stood his ground, with slightly shaking legs but still standing up for himself, “Starlight's my childhood friend. If anypony deserves to go on a date with her. It's me!”

This was most certainly an unexpected turn of events. Who knew that the nerd had it in him? Too bad I am his opponent and I will not lose again,

“You do realize the only reason you have a backbone against me is because you truly believe I have a chance of actually succeeding where you have never tried,” I smirk at him tauntingly, “Just because you've known her longer doesn't mean she's going to say yes. After all, I may be a new pony around the block, but at least I am not in her friendzone unlike you. And that is all you eve-,” A zap from his horn stops me midsentence as I jump backward to dodge his surprise attack,

I look at the black scorched floor where he missed me before back at him. I am so grateful for Rainbow Dash's harsh training that has increased my reflexes and reaction time. Sunburst on the other hand is still trying to come to terms with what he has done. His face is a mixture of pride and shock as he remains where he stands not noticing as a Sinister grin comes to my face. But once we lock eyes, his ears go back against his head as fear fills his body, and his face drops. I've been waiting a long-long time to have a chance to go after this stallion. Now my time has come, and I will answer the call,

“Oh little colt. You have just goofed up,” I say before charging at him,

Going to sleep- Wait a minute,

As the sun sets on another long day, Braden finds himself dragging himself back to his room kicking off his shoes and getting ready for bed. He scratches his head as he thinks of what has become of his life. He thought for sure after getting his degree life would become much easier. how wrong he was all the free time he once had has been evaporated to trying to make ends meet. But in his spare time, he was still able to watch one of his favorite shows, as he fantasized about how wonderful life would be in Equestria.

He thinks back to the latest episode released about two days ago. The one about how the Queen of the Changelings failed her master plan and got away. He thinks about how will everypony's going to deal with these New Reformed Changelings. Do they still need to eat love like they used to or not as much anymore? Do they even need to feast on love or something else entirely? And why didn’t Discord use his magic to stop the Queen in her tracks before she got two feet away from them?

Only time will tell what will happen to his precious little ponies. But all in all, he can live with how things are going right now. Furthermore, he can live with the fact that he is able to see his favorite Pony get more screen time now. He'll have to admit, when he first started watching the show he had a thing for Twilight. I mean why not? She is the main character. She is cute and adorable despite her flaws. She has come a long way from the closed shut-in nerd from episode 1.

But that all changed when a new mare showed up and stole the spotlight, a mare known as Starlight Glimmer. He couldn't help but be drawn to her. Such a powerful Pony Villain turned friend who could stand toe the toe with some of the strongest Heroes ever known. She was able to learn the Power of Friendship and with the help of her new friends, was able to defeat one of the Greatest Villains the show has ever seen, Queen Chrysalis.

That said, he cannot understand why the show seems to be pushing for a ship between her and Sunburst. He knows it's probably just because of a childhood relationship that they justify the ship. However, that doesn't mean he has to agree with it. A picture of the stallion filled with holes and darts hanging on his wall symbolizes his hatred of the stallion. After all, a mare of her caliber could do so much better than somepony who abandons their friend without saying goodbye. But unfortunately, these are nothing more than fleeting thoughts and hopeful thinking.

He gets into his bed before pulling close a body pillow of Starlight into a side. It's nothing fancy just a picture of a pony wanting to give a hug, he got it from the last Bronycon he went to. He stares at the image of the mare silently wishing she could be real even if it were just for one day. Memories of dreams flash before his mind as he recalls such wonderful adventures of spending the rest of his days with such a pony. He slides his hand against the image where her cheek would be, sighing.

“If only you were real,” He says quietly before pulling her into a hug, “I would be happy,” He slowly falls into a deep slumber and softly rubs his cheek against hers,

However, as dreams of a future never to happen were just within reach, he could have sworn he heard a sound comparable to that of an animal sneezing. He ignored it, thinking it was just one of the Alley Cats that likes to roam near his windows. He hugs the body pillow tighter trying to go back to sleep nuzzling his face into the soft fur across his face. If he was just a little bit more alert, he would have started noticing two things. One his body pillow does not have any heating functions, and two it does not move on its own.

Every time the pillow would move away from him, he would hug harder not realizing that something was amiss. It wasn't until an ear-piercing scream that awoken him from his slumber. Braden puts his hands over his ears in pain as he is suddenly brought back into the world of living. Before he could ask who broke into his room, he was sent flying across the room by an unknown Force, knocking the wind out of him as he smashed into the wall, all the while the screaming continues.

Braden lays flat against the wall helpless as he tries to understand what is happening, but that was the least of his worries. As he looks at the source of the screaming person, which he can now safely identify as being female, he can only stare dumbstruck as he knows this woman. To be more precise, he knows this mare.

For some unknown reason his body pillow has come to life, and there where once lay a five-foot-long cotton pillow. Stands a Bona fide in the flesh, Starlight Glimmer holds a blanket over the front of her body as she screams her lungs out. The room is lit up in a teal hull as her horn shines brightly, which answers his question as to how he was sent flying into the wall and held there.

Braden could not understand what was going on here. Was magic real and had he accidentally wished Upon a Star to bring Starlight to life? Or did he somehow go to Equestria? So many questions but he won't be able to get any answers with Starlight screaming bloody murder. He needs to calm her down before her screaming attracts unwanted attention.

However before he could say anything to her, Starlight finally started saying words, much to his horror, “HELP! PPPEEERRRVVVEEERRRTTT!!!”

Not wanting to have his first interaction with his favorite Pony being a misunderstanding, he tried to call out to her when the room door opened, revealing another familiar face. There stood Princess Twilight Sparkles, her horn alive with magic looking around for the Intruder before her eyes locked onto the stallion against the wall. Brayden could only look between the mares as he tried to give them a reassuring smile that he was harmless and maybe they could talk this out. However, the death glare that Twilight was giving him was starting to make him doubt his chances of survival.

“AH, I can explain,”

Why am I in court?

I can explain. Explain what! Why in the world would I say such a dumb thing? What was I thinking?! I slowly look up to the mares before me and I can't help but feel as though I am on trial for doing some heinous act. Shortly after Twilight detained me. She gathered the remaining members of the manesix in a makeshift courtroom inside her Crystal Castle. I stand alone in the Defendant stand with Starlight in the Prosecutor area. Twilight sits in the judge's chair armed with her crown and a small crystal gavel. Applejack is the Bailiff with her rope in her hoof ready for anything. As for the remaining members of Twilight's best friend pool, they are acting as the Jury. Fluttershy looks like she is still waking up if her small yawn she hid behind her wing is anything indication. As for the other three, they look like they want to rip me to shreds every time I look at them. I still have no idea where they got all the furniture needed to have a proper courtroom procedure here in such a short amount of time. But considering one of her friends is Pinkie Pie, I just sum it up to her being Pinkie Pie.

Although I am all for justice and seeing the bad guys getting what is coming to them. I never imagined I would ever find myself on this side of the law. I am no bad guy, I am innocent! But how am I going to conceive them that? As far as they know, I am a stranger who had sneaked into one of their best friend's bed in the middle of the night. Any logical person would think that only a pervert or an evil person would be the ones to do such questionable actions. But in my defense, it wasn't on purpose.

I still cannot wrap my head around what is happening. One moment I was getting ready to go to sleep, next thing I knew I found myself in bed with my favorite Pony. And speaking of said mare, I don't think she is willing to forgive me anytime soon. I tried to give her an apologetic wave to maybe soften her anger, but I don't think it's working. If the click of her tongue is anything to go by. I'm not sure how I'm going to solve that problem but one thing at a time.

In addition to arriving in Equestria, I also found myself transformed into a unicorn stallion. I got a decent color scheme all things considering, a light brown coat with a black mane and tail and green eyes to boot. Also, I noticed my cutie mark is that of an Old Fashioned Game Controller symbolizing my love for old video games. Go figure. Before I can think too much about the situation, Twilight uses her magic to slam her gavel bringing all eyes on her.

“The court is now in session,”

I know we just started but I can't help but raise my hoof like a kindergartener asking for permission to speak, “Question?”

“What?”

“Where is my lawyer?”

She was taking it back at my question, “What is a lawyer?” She asked before looking at the other ponies in the room trying to understand what I was talking about. Unfortunately for her none of the others seems to know what I'm talking about as they share her confusion,

“You know a lawyer. The pony that's supposed to help the represent me and defend me in this proceeding?”

She tilts her head at me as if I asked the dumb question, “Why would you need some pony else to defend you in this case?”

“Ah,” I say dumbly, “To make sure that everyone follows the law accordingly, In case some pony doesn't understand the formalities of the situation?” I stated as if I were quoting common knowledge revolving around our current situation,

Twilight thinks about what I just said looking up in thought, “That's a good idea. I'll make a note of that,” She says before summoning a scroll and quill to write that down,

You know, it never dawned on me that the court systems here would be very different compared to back home. Then again, since princesses still rule the land that would mean that they have the final say about everything that goes around here. Looks like I'm on my own with this one.

“Moving back to the topic,” Twilight says before sending her scroll and quill away, “I gather everypony here because this stallion-”

“Braden Your Highness,” I clarified for her,

“Thank you. Braden was found this morning in Starlight's Shimmer bed with her still in said bed.”

Applejack tilts her head as she thinks about the situation, “So we're dealing with a stalker here?”

“I think pervert is a more appropriate term for this Fiend” Rarity adds with a look of disgust at me,

“Maybe he was just sleepwalking?” Fluttershy says giving me the benefit of the doubt,

However, a scoffing laugh coming from Starlight ruined any feeling of hope I was getting, “Oh, sure. He somehow was able to sleepwalk up the castle steps, through the doorway, down the hallway, enter a locked bedroom, and went to sleep in my bed without making a sound,”

“If I may-” I tried to say but Starlight quickly hushed me up using her magic to zip my mouth closed,

“You be quiet!”

“So what are we going to do with him?” Pinkie asks trying to understand the situation as I can move my mouth again,

“That's why I called your girls here,” Twilight says before going over some scrolls before her as they move in the air in a purple hull, “There haven't been any perverts in Equestria in a very long time. So I'm not sure what the protocol is to properly discipline this stallion,” She says before coming to a stop with a very old scroll her before, “Since the last time this occurred. The stallion in question was tar and feather before being banished from the herd,” The girls all agree with a nodd except for Starlight,

“That's the punishment?” Starlight says before adding, “But herds haven't been a thing in over a thousand years!”

I shuttered at hearing their words, quietly thanking that they don't do that anymore, but more concerned that it’s the banishment part is what Starlight is complaining about, and not the cruel and unusual punishment of feathering a pony. However that does raise the question, what are they going to do with me?

“I say we should just throw in jail and be done with it,” Rarity says much to my surprise,

“Don't you think that's a bit extreme?” Fluttershy says as I quickly agree with her,

“I second that!” I pleaded,

“I say since Starlight was the pony that was offended by the situation,” Rainbow says casually, “She should say what the punishment should be,”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Twilight turns to her, “Starlight what do you want us to do with the stallion?”

She looks at me for a solid three seconds before snorting some air out of her nose, “Personally I just want him as far away from me as possible!” She says driving a stake through my heart shattering it into a million pieces. I physically had to hang on to my table to make sure I didn't fall to the floor in pain and heartbreak,

“If that is the case, how about we have him do manual labor?” Twilight suggests as the other come up with their own ideas of what to do with me,

“How about he cleans up the town for the month?” Pinkie says,

“Or how about he has to wear a sign around his neck saying what he did wrong for the same month?” Applejack adds,

“Don't I got to say in this?” I tried to ask much to my surprise their response was almost Instant,

“No,” Everypony else in the room sets in unison much to my displeasure,

After hearing this from them a new feeling started to come from within me. A feeling I never thought I'd have to these colorful ponies before. Anger and frustration. If I was going to be forced to answer for crimes I didn't commit on purpose. I want to at least get the record straight. Stealing my resolve, I spoke out loud not caring if any Pony else thought of me right now,

“Your Highness. I know this looks really bad on my part. But you have to believe me. I had no idea how I ended up in Starlight's bedroom let alone in her bed. The last thing I remember was just turning in for the night and going into my bed, in my own house.” I tried to plead with them although their faces showed that they didn't believe me, but I pressed on, “I know you have no reason to trust a stranger, but you have to believe me. I would never do such a thing on purpose.” I move away from my table to appear before Her Highness,

“I have no excuse for how I ended up where you found me. And if you believe that I have to pay for these crimes that I didn't willingly commit. Then I'll just have to let Justice take its course and follow through with whatever punishment you see fit for my crimes,” Once I said my peace, I resumed my position at my table as Twilight looks to her friends uncertain of how to take my words. After a few moments of silence, she had her answer,

“How very Noble of you. Most ponies in your situation would be begging us not to punish them,” Twilight says as the others nod in agreement, “But you are still willing to go through with it even though you are claiming yourself innocent. Why?”

“Because I have no reason to fear Justice,” I say before staring at the floor in defeat. Not because I feel bad for what's going to happen to me, but because my words are finally catching up to my brain. I didn't want them to see the blush on my face as think back to what I just said. That had to be the corniest, sappy one-liner a three-year-old would say trying to convince his parents he is not a bad guy. I am so embarrassed, maybe it's not too late for the whole tar and feather thing?

Why is this my punishment?

“Faster you colt!” Rainbow screams at me as I sprint away from her, “You know what will happen if I catch up to you right?”

“Can't we talk this over like civilized Ponies!”

“Let me think about it. Okay, I thought about it. No,”

“Help!”

After my little speech to Twilight, she took pity on me, and apparently, that means she will do everything in her power to rehabilitate me. For the next month, I’ll be doing random community service requests from Ponyville and anything else the girls may come up with to make up for what I've done. And to make sure I don't weasel out of our deal or make a run for it. I now have a personal chauffeur or torturer, depending on how you look at it, following my every movement. Worst of all, she has been given free Privilege to do whatever she wants to me if I don't listen to her.

That was a week ago. Since then, I have been cleaning up trash, moving boxes, and getting my sorry hide back into shape according to Rainbow Dash. And that's where I find myself today. Every morning before any Pony wakes up; I must run away from the Multicolor-Flying Death Pony. At first, I thought she would be my coach, like a personal fitness trainer, to encourage me to never give up or something like that. But after she showed up on day one with a whip, I learned very quickly that if I don't keep running at a certain speed, I'll regret it.

I don’t know where she got that torture device but I can tell you this much, it hurts! She only managed to hit me once but that was all I needed to get the point. I'm starting to understand why some ponies went to the dark side now. Who needs villains when you have friends like these?

I look over my shoulder seeing the flying death as she winds up another shot with her whip before letting it fly and barely missing me but it did graze my the tip of my tail. Sweat pours down my face soaking my coat, as I pick up the speed. My muscles burn as I push harder than I ever had in my life trying not to get whipped into shape.

“Isn't there a better way to get back into shape!” I beg her as I feel my muscles are starting to wear out,

“Maybe but where's the fun in that,”

“This has to be illegal somewhere!”

“Maybe, but not here,” Swings her whip one more time encouraging me to pick up the pace, “Faster!”

“Mercy!”

Thankfully she does have some common sense knowing that I can't keep running forever. The only downside is that that means she'll keep this up until I collapse of exhaustion. So that's where I find myself hunching over Ponyville’s only Water Fountain Display and drinking the water from within disregarding the horrible flavor. Rainbow Dash looks disgusted at my actions but doesn't stop me. Other ponies who were passing by also shared her opinion, but I couldn't care less. Once I had my fill I gasped for air as I lifted my head out of the fountain,

Rainbow gags before addressing me, “You do know there is such thing as a water fountain that is intended for public use and not for displaying water shows and tossing bits into right?” She says a filly tossing in a bit into the fountain providing her point,

“I don't care. Water is water,” I say as I slump to the ground my muscles burning. I think about jumping into the water fountain to cool off and getting that bit, but I'm not that desperate. Even though I am a pony on parole, I still have some of my pride.

“Hey if you get sick that's going to be on me,” Gets into my face annoyed at my attitude toward my well-being, “And I don't want to take care of a sick Pony just because you decide to do something dumb Again!” She emphasizes the ‘again’,

I heavily sigh as she reminds me of that unpleasant memory, “For the last time, I did not mean to do that!”

“Whatever come on we got to get going,”

After my forced morning run, my next stop would be Sugarcube Corner, to help move some materials for the Cakes. Followed by cleaning up some branches and leaves around Sweet Apple Acres for most of the day. I had no idea how huge an Orchard could be until I had to walk back and forth to the same area multiple times a day. Rainbow Dash still not letting me live it down after I got lost twice, but in my defense, every tree looks the same, how am I supposed to know which way is the way out?

Furthermore, even after all this time, I have still yet to understand how magic works despite being a unicorn myself. I thought that maybe if I thought hard about something it would happen, but there is more to it than that. I tried to practice more in my free time to understand how it works with minimal success with a little spark coming from my horn. However, after accidentally zapping Rainbow Dash in the butt, I put my attempts of learning magic on hold for now. I thought she was going to murder me that day.

Despite Rainbow Dash's attempts on my life, it would appear that we got in rather close. She says that she sees me as a very unfortunate friend kind of like Derpy with terrible bad luck. And because of that, she feels like she has to ensure that I do not bring harm to myself and other ponies around me. Furthermore, she's forbidden me from seeing said mare. Something about the end of Ponyville if we ever were to meet. However, I believe she sees me more live punching bag that won’t fight back.

Speaking of Mares. I have yet to see Starlight after my untimely arrival in her sleeping quarters. It's nice that I'm starting to get along with the ponies, but out of all of them and I wish to see, she's on the top of the list. I don't blame her for avoiding me. I mean for crying out loud I am just a pervert in her eyes. Perhaps after my community service is done she may forgive me.

After another hard day of work, we make it back to the castle where hope starts rising within me. Rainbow informed me that she would not be able to keep an eye on me early in the morning. So something else will be looking after me for the day, but didn’t know who. She only knows that Everything is taken care of and I don't have to worry about it. And since I know that Twilight's friends have their jobs to take care of each day. I knew that limit the amount of personnel that it could be to herself or Starlight.

Unfortunately, that excitement that swelled up inside me made it difficult to fall asleep that night. The next morning I get up without worrying about being whipped into shape, as I look forward to seeing who is the pony in charge of me for the day. However, I was a bit surprised to see that they weren't waiting by my door when I got up, Although I did hear some ponies talking down the hall which prompted me to investigate.

Once closer, I can see that it is Starlight who is currently talking to somepony just out of view. She hadn't noticed me yet as I calmed my nerves. There are so many things I wish to say to her but I think I should start with an apology. Although I am receiving punishment for my actions I never truly apologize to Starlight for my transgressions against her. Even if my arrival here was out of my control. I still invaded a young lady’s sleeping quarters.

After I finally worked up the courage to go talk to her I came face to face with a new problem as the new pony came into view. To be fair, I had a lot on my mind when I first got here and only thought about how I was going to get along with Starlight. So I completely forgot about him. He wasn't a very important character in the show so he was always overlooked in my mind. Sunburst, Starlight's childhood friend and possible love interest.

Unlike the other main characters who had obvious problems finding a love interest. Starlight was one of the few characters to have a love interest in the show. Although they never got together officially, there's always been that hint that they could have. I glare at the stallion before he takes notes of me causing his conversation with Starlight to stop as they both look at me.

“Starlight who's this?” Sunburst asks unsure as to why I am glaring at him,

“That would be the Pervert, I was telling you about,” She says before looking away in a huff,

“That was this guy?” He says in shock,

“It wasn't on purpose,” I say dejectedly at her cold shoulder,

“How can accidentally teleporting yourself into some ponies bed be an accident?” He demands from me as he physically puts himself between me and Starlight,

“Because I can't use magic correctly that's why,” I clarify much do his confusion,

“What does magic have to do with it?” He asks as Starlight looks over his shoulder also wanting to know,

“Well considering I just showed up in the middle of the night without waking any Pony up. The only logical conclusion would be that I either silently flew into the building or teleported inside,” I move my hoofs in a flying motion before transitioning to moving them side to side to help emphasize my point,

“Teleporting yourself inside a building to a location you cannot see,” Starlight says terrified as Sunburst's face also matches her emotion, “Are you insane?!”

I look between the two unsure what the problem is, “What do you mean?”

Sunburst clears his throat before entering lecture mode, as he summons a chalkboard with pony-shaped doodles on it and two areas marked with an 'A' and 'B' with area 'B' having something blocking the doodle pony view, “Without seeing the location you wish to teleport," He points to the doodle pony before pointing to point 'B', "There is a chance you might end up failing the teleportation in a very devastating way. Sometimes in life-threatening ways," He then puts a big red 'X' on point 'B', "Which is why nopony uses self-teleportation magic without a clear line of sight,"

A shiver went down my spine as images of failed teleportation ran through my mind, “That makes a lot of sense," I replied as Starlight put the things away, "Regardless I'm pretty sure they keep the doors locked, so how else could I got myself in there?”

“Perhaps this stallion was sent into the room without his consent?” A new pony joined the conversation one that I never thought would be standing up for me.

We all look to the voice seeing a familiar mare that we all know and love as Starlight addressed her, “What do you mean Trixie?”

Why is she here?

You know when I woke up this morning I was expecting to not only get to see the mare of my dreams again. But now I have to deal with her best friend and her childhood friend, what is going on?

“The Great and Powerful Trixie believes that what happened here was a genuine mistake. As a Great and Powerful unicorn,” She says striking a pose with her trademark grin before she got back on all fours having a hard time looking at me, “Trixie is not immune to failures during practice rehearsals for her act,”

“Trixie,” Starlight says confused looking back and forth at me and the blue mare, “What are you saying?” She thinks about it for a moment before She gets a moment of clarity and understanding of what could have happened, “Hold on. Are you saying what I think you're saying?”

“As much a pains Trixie to admit this,” She says with clenched teeth, “Trixie believes she might have accidentally summoned the stallion into your bed,”

“What do you mean Summon?”

“Trixie was working on a new spell. However, upon rehearsal, Trixie came down with a cold and ruined the spell halfway through. However, Trixie could not find the stallion that was summoned. Trixie was certain that the spell did succeed. Only that Trixie did not know where he would be,”

“So wait,” Starlight got into Trixie's face with Fury in her eyes, “You're saying that it was all an accident because you decided to play around with spells that I told you not to touch! After the last time you used that!”

“Trixie was certain that it would be fine,” She smiles nervously at her friend, “Besides Twilight was only a little peeved after being woken up for her nap,”

“What kind of spell summons somepony?” I asked Sunburst, “I thought you told me teleportation through such Feats would be dangerous,” He thought about it,

“That's only for self-induced teleportation. Teleportation through a third party has a different set of rules since all you need is a clear image of the endpoint regardless of whether the target can see it. It's similar to how unicorns can summon items to them. However, for that spell to work you need to have a good memory of where the object you desire is located and where you wish for it to end up. An upside to this one is that even if the object doesn't end up where you wish for it to go it will go to the nearest open space. The only downside to this spell is that it requires much more magic than self-induced teleportation. Furthermore, it can only work in a two-way teleportation. However, unicorns only use this for nonliving objects as teleporting living creatures larger than a cat can cause complications similar to that of the self-induced version,”

“That's interesting,” I say looking up in thought before shaking my head, “But that doesn't explain how I ended up in the Starlight's bed,”

“If I would have to take a guess. It sounds like Trixie was trying to induce a forced teleportation upon another living creature to appear before her. And the location where she wished for the pony to appear was in some kind of confined location. A dangerous feat, but if she pulled it off, it would be quite spectacular. Not just anypony could pull that off,”

“I get it. She wanted to make somepony who couldn't use teleportation, disappear and reappear in another location for her act. Like a disappearing Pony trick,”

“YES that's exactly why Trixie was practicing the spell,” She agrees rather quickly for some unknown reason,

“That would be a good trick,” Sunburst says as doubt feels my mind,

“But that doesn't make any sense,” I added much to their confusion,

“What do you mean?” Starlight asks,

“What I mean is that even if the spell failed. How in the world would its range be such a large radius?” I explained not understanding how this was even possible, “I mean I was nowhere near the castle when I got summoned into Starlight's bed,”

Sunburst puts a hoof to his chin looks up and thinks, “If Trixie was working on the spell that I think she was. The summoning radius would be fairly large. If she was standing in the middle of the castle, it wouldn't have gone farther than that of the twenty feet outside the castle walls. Which means Trixie could have only targeted ponies within the castle,”

“If that's the case, who was helping her out with this? Since Starlight didn't know about it, none of the other mares knew about this, you didn't know about this, then who did?” We all look to Trixie for an explanation,

“Trixie, who was helping you do this spell?” Starlight asks her friend,

“Trixie can assure you that no pony or creature was helping her with this feat,”

“And yet you summoned a stallion from who knows where into my bed!”

“Trixie apologizes for that,”

“Hold on a second,” Sunburst said, “Even if Trixie's spell failed. She would have needed a target to summon for the spell to even activate. And you said no pony was helping you. So who in the world were you trying to summon in the middle of the night?” He asked her but for some reason, she was avoiding his gaze as sweat started pouring down her face,

“Wait a second,” I added, “Was Trixie inside the castle when this happened?” I asked not sure how sleeping arrangements work around here,

“I don't think so,” Starlight answers me, “She normally sleeps in her wagon just outside the castle why?”

“Well let's think about it this way. What if Trixie already knew how the cast is spelled correctly and had somepony in mind she wished to speak to in the middle of the night?”

“That's a bit odd but go on,”

“If Trixie was able to summon any Pony to her within range without any Pony being the wiser. Wouldn't we just need to know who was in the castle during the time?”

“Why would we need to know that?”

“Just out of curiosity,” I turned to my fellow stallion, “Sunburst were you in the castle when Trixie activated the spell?”

“No, I was staying at the inn during the time. Why?”

“Did Trixie know that?”

“I don't get what you're going at. But I don’t think she did,”

“Well, what would happen to Trixie if she tried to summon some pony who is not in range?”

“The spell would fail and nothing would happen,” Starlight replies instantly,

“If that's the case, how did she know the spell succeeded?”

Trixie rolls her eyes before answering, “Trixie heard the screams of her friend shortly after casting the spell,”

“So that means you activate the spell while you were in your wagon in the middle of the night,”

She rolls her eyes at me, “Yes, Trixie does practice her magic in her wagon late into the night. Why do you need to ask?”

“Now I can understand some ponies going out of the way to practice their Arts in their homes. But you said nopony or creature helped you with this spell. So why in the world would you be practicing a spell that needs two ponies for it to work in the middle of the night when no one else is awake?

Trixie’s eyes widen at my statement, “Trixie does not like where this is going,”

Ignoring her I continue, “I believe the better question is, who were you trying to summon to your sleeping quarters in the middle of the night Trixie?”

“What makes you think she was trying to summon some pony to her sleeping quarters?” Starlight asks as Trixie starts sweating looking nervously at everypony,

“Even if the spell failed. It seems very odd that a pony she wasn't even targeting ended up in some pony's bed when that wasn't the original endpoint or was it?” Before anybody could think about what I just said Trixie looked like she needed to go to the bathroom soon if jumping on her hooves was any indication.

“Trixie believes some pony is calling her,” She says very quickly before dashing out of the castle with Starlight right on her tail,

“Trixie get back here!”

“Why did she run?” Sunburst asks as I facehoof,

Sometimes I don't think things through

You know I starting to believe that maybe there is a reason why I was brought to this world, and not for the reasons that I think. My fight was Sunburst lasted a good minute before Rainbow Dash finally showed up wondering what all the noise was about. However, during that minute, I learned that even though Sunburst isn't very adept in magic close-quarter combat. He still knows how to use a basic tool every creature has known as his CHOMPERS! Although he has a couple of bruises himself, I think I got the worst out of it. I make a small grunt as Fluttershy pulls the last bandage over my foreleg.

Initially, Rainbow Dash tried to stop us from killing each other but ended up being dragged into the mess with us causing more chaos. At one point I lost track of who I was fighting and just started throwing hooves at any Pony nearby. The fighting only stopped when Twilight decided to leave her bedroom and find us in this awkward predicament. And as a child would smile nervously at their parent after getting their hand caught in the cookie jar, we all stand side by side with innocent smiles as if nothing happened. But the bite marks and bruises across our whole bodies make that very difficult to sell,

I thought she would have an annualism with how much her left eye was twitching. Luckily for us, Fluttershy decided to drop by to check up on her friends and was able to bandage up every pony. Once she is done, she moves to the side as Twilight looks between me and Sunburst angrily before looking at Rainbow Dash for answers. The blue mare smiles nervously not looking at her friend in the eyes unsure how to handle the situation since she was left in charge of me.

“So is anypony going to tell me what happened?” She demanded from us looking at each of us in the eye to which we all looked away from her, “Any Pony at all?”

This does not look good on my parole, but I have no regrets, “Would you believe me if I say this was all a misunderstanding?”

“No,”

“Then I got nothing,”

“Ponies don't start fighting each other for no reason!” She shouts in my face before facing Rainbow, “How did this happen!?”

She rubs the back of her head giving a nervous chuckle, “To be fair I found them like this,”

“So you decide to join in?”

“Hey that wasn't my fault they pulled me into that!”

“So one of them started the fight,” She looks at me, “Braden I can't believe you would be involved in a fight while still on parole,” I give her a nervous smile,

“And you Sunburst,” He straightens up hearing his name, “Why in the world would you be in a fight?” He looks down in shame at his actions unable to provide her an answer, “I'm not a mind reader Sunburst, how did the fight start?”

You know I thought for sure he would have cracked the pressure and told her the whole thing. But for some reason, the stallion didn't want to speak up. There's only one or two reasons why that would happen. One he's either too ashamed or embarrassed to admit why he started fighting. Or he know what will happen if he tells her the reason why. Not only would that put a stain on my record but it would increase his chances of being with Starlight. The downside is that he'll have to admit that he started a fight because of Starlight. I'm certain that such a mare wouldn't want to be involved with somepony that just gets into random fights cuz of jealousy. Gotta give him props for thinking this through.

Frustrated of not getting an answer she then looks to me, “I have every reason to go ahead and throw you into jail for starting a fight with my friends! For crying out loud you're still on parole!”

“Twilight about that,” Rainbow Dash interrupted,

“I'm not in the mood Rainbow!” She snaps at her friend. However Rainbow Dash remained unfaced at her outburst and quickly pulled her friend into a little hush conversation as I looked over at Sunburst,

“We will both lose our chance at Starlight if she finds out,” I whisper to him as he reluctantly agrees with me, not noticing at small twitch in one of Fluttershy’s ears,

Once the girls have finished their little conversation Twilight looks dumbfounded. She shakes her head before addressing us, “So it has come to my attention that Trixie has been practicing her magic again which led to some unfortunate circumstances. As a result, Braden your parole is now null and void and you are a free stallion. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding,”

I smile at that before griming as she glares at me, “But that does not excuse your behavior that led to fighting my friends! So what happened!”

“Nothing happened,”

Annoyed she looks once again to the cloaked stallion, “Sunburst?”

“Nothing happened your highness,” He replies much to her surprise. She looks bewildered at us unsure as to why we are refusing to talk.

She looks to her friends trying to understand the situation not that they were much help, Fluttershy shakes her head as Rainbow Dash shrugs her shoulders mumbling something about stallions.

“So neither one of you is going to say anything?” Twilight pressed the issue once more hoping that we would change our minds,

“Like I said Your Highness,” I replied, “Nothing happened,”

She looks between us suspicious of our behavior, but she cannot understand why we are choosing to remain silent, “I don't know why neither one of you is willing to talk but can I at least be sure you're not going to kill each other again?”

“I can assure Your Highness, I do not know what to talk about,”

“Well I can't force you the say anything just please behave yourself,” She says before dismissing us. We both left the room with a limp in our steps but in silence, as Twilight tried to rack her brain to what just happened, “What is with those two? Why were they fighting in the first place?”

“Uhm, Twilight,” Fluttershy speaks up, “I might have an idea,”

===

After we left the mares me and Sunburst agreed that we would never speak of this incident again for both our sakes. And that was put to the test immediately shortly after we were exiting the castle when we came face to face with Starlight and Trixie. They wanted to know what happened to which we replied that we had fallen down the flight of stairs. Although I have a feeling that she didn't believe us she didn't press the issue and told us to check up at Ponyville Clinic to make sure we were all right,

However, that does leave me in an unusual predicament. I was staying at the castle because of my parole but now that that's over I have no place to call home nor do I have any bits to my name. In other words, I'm a homeless, broke, stallion. Maybe I could convince one of Twilight's friends to get me a part-time job. However, that already shortens the list to half of them because of the incident earlier. Oh, the wonderful joys of being an adult,

After striking out in many job hunts simply because they don't know me aside from the stallion that was being chased by Rainbow Dash for the past week. I believe I will have to change my strategy to start doing odd jobs again. Hopefully, I will not starve to death before I get a roof over my head again. Right as I was going to Twilight Castle an idea came into mind as I saw a familiar show mare walking to her wagon,

I knock on her door as she opens the window to a wagon before finding who was disturbing her, “Oh it's you. What do you want?”

“Trixie I have a proposition for you,” She quickly closed her window in my face, “A business proposition,” I clarified as she opens her window again,

“Why didn't you start with that first?”

===

“So let me get this straight. You want to put magic inside a gem, why?”

“Just humor me,” She rolls her eyes before focusing her magic on the small purple gem before her,

If my idea works, it should be able to solve my bits problems. We are outside of her wagon testing my idea with a small gem that Trixie had lying around. The gem starts glowing before spinning on itself like a top gaining speed, “Okay that's enough,”

She stops pouring her magic as we both stare at the crystal top moving side to side as it kicks up a little dust storm and makes a small hole holding it in place before it wobbles and comes to a stop losing its glow,

“Well that was interesting,”

“Trixie could have told you that,” She levitates the gem in front of her, “If you imbued magic to an Amethyst gemstone without a particular spell in mind. The gem will simply start spinning around in circles releasing the magic trap within,” She says before putting it away, “Every Unicorn knows this,”

“And yet it is not a common practice is it?”

“This is the type of training you give to Fillies and Colts to get them to concentrate on focusing their magic,” She pauses as she looks at me questionably, “Surely you know of this practice?”

Sometimes I forget that I am a unicorn and it would make sense that I would already know this. But for now, it is best if I pretend that my talents are inadequate to account for my lack of knowledge. I rub the back of my foreleg with the other looking away from the mare, “I was never adapted in Magic so yeah,” I knell down to at a closer look at the hole left behind by the gem, “But we can make use of this,”

“Trixie does not follow,”

I straight up before I start pacing in front of her as ideas run through my mind, “With a little more testing. We should be able to bring this to the market,”

Trixie doesn’t look convinced, “What use would ponies have for a stone that spins in circles repeatedly?”

“Oh Trixie you of little imagination,”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has an amazing imagination. She is simply taking a break from using her magnificent mind,”

“Then I hope you don't mind if you help me with a little experiment I like to test,”

Planning for the future

I was curious to see what would happen If we imbued other stones with magic, so we made a quick stop at the mines outside of town to gather some gems. Luckily we didn’t run into any Diamond Dogs, but we did spend a good two hours looking for gemstones. Should have stopped by Rarity’s to ask for the gem locator spell. In any case, we were able to gather a small hoof full of gems to run some tests and it turns out each one of them had a different reaction. Garnet would jump around, Aquamarine shine brightly, White Topaz would melt, Green Onyx would change color, Moonstone float, A Ruby wouldn’t do anything, Peridot would make a loud screeching sound, Blue Sapphire would turn black, Opal would grow in size, Citrine shrinks, and Blue Topaz shakes like crazy.

Trixie didn’t look as thrilled as I was at such a successful test. I explained to her that with the right combination of gems, we could make a lot of bits. She seemed Hesitant but agreed to continue going down this Rabbit Hole of mine. I asked her if she had an idea as to why the Ruby didn't do anything which she replied that she didn't know. Ruby's weren't exactly the most desirable of the gems so no pony had any reason to research as to why it was unaffected by Magic. I have a theory as to what could be happening, but that's going to require some more testing.

But right as we were going to leave for the day I had a crazy idea. What would happen if we were to tie up a bunch of gems together filled to the brim with magic? I thought we might have made the world's biggest crystallized top. But it turns out that different types of gems do not like being stuck together and filled with magic. As a result, we have accidentally successfully invented Magic TNT, if the 20-foot hole in the ground is anything to go by. Good thing we were set up at the outskirts of Pony Ville for testing and I had Trixie put up a magic force field around us from a proper distance, otherwise I don't think we would be in one piece. I got an earful from Trixie for endangering our lives as she tried to choke me to death with her hooves shaking me like a rag doll. I tried my best to tell her I didn’t know that it was going to explode, but I don’t think she believed me. However, I did tell her that this failure does have its uses. She had no idea why would we need such a thing until I explained to her the use of clearing out large sections of land.

I got the idea after watching a video of a stone quarry removing enormous sections of marble and granite from a wall. If we can successfully create a controlled explosion we will be able to patent this and make a lot of bits from this. Trixie was happy to hear this at first until she informed me that they already have ponies and creatures that can dig at lightning speed to clear out areas of land regardless of how tough it is. I can't believe I forgot the scene where Pinkie Pie dug through the ground like it wasn't even there with her hair. With abilities like that, it would make such an invention worthless,

My grief over missing an opportunity to make bits was postponed when we had to hide once Twilight and her friends along with some Royal Guards showed up at the explosion site to find out what that noise was. Luckily they didn’t know what they were looking for, allowing us to sneak back into town like nothing happened.

They didn't find out what caused that explosion and everypony was on alert for a while. Trixie and I decided to keep this matter to ourselves and ate a nice sandwich at the cafe in peace as everypony started talking about a possible new threat in the area. During our brake, we exchanged ideas of merchandise for her show to sell for little colts and fillies that want to be like her. By selling a box filled with small magic toys powered by the gemstone for the kids to feel like a little Trixie regardless if they are unicorns or not. She liked the idea, but after the incident earlier we decided to put the idea on hold until we could determine how to power the gemstone without the need for a unicorn being present. Along with being able to safely transport large amounts of magical goods without them causing a crater,

We are heading in the right direction to make more bits them we can even count, but that doesn’t help me with my other problem. As much as I don’t want to admit it, Sunburst has a better chance of getting Starlight than I do. And after our fight, l am convinced that he is more determined to win her over. I was hoping that Sunburst would return to the Crystal Empire so that I could have time to be with Starlight. But it would not be the case.

Turns out my untimely arrival in Equestria was only a couple of days after they just finished dealing with Chrysalis at her hive. So Sunburst was more than willing to stay nearby in case Starlight needed him.

No matter how I look at it so long as those two have a strong friendship with each other the chances of Starlight looking for some pony else is near impossible. Even if I were to find a way to destroy the relationship she has with her childhood friend she still wouldn't want to date some pony like me. Unless I can find a way to convince them to stay as friends and nothing more. But such a task is something I cannot achieve on my own,

But such things will have to wait as nighttime beckons its slumber for everypony. Shortly after I bid Trixie a good night a rainbow blur flew over me almost knocking me off my hooves. I glare at the flying menace as she grins at me.

“Hay Braden, how's it going?”

“Okay, all things considered. What do you want Rainbow?”

“Nothing much. I was just wondering something,”

I don’t have time for this, but who knows what she may have in store for me. Might as well hear her out, “And that might be?”

“Well since you were brought to Ponyville against your will. Have you found a place to stay for the night?”

“I was just about to get on that. Why do you care?”

“Well I was talking to Twilight and she said that you are welcome to stay at the castle until you can get back on your hooves again,”

My eyes widen at this sudden turn of events, “That’s very generous of her. Thank you for that Rainbow,”

“Don’t mention it,” She says rubbing a hoof on her chest like she is polishing it before inspecting it,

Well, that was easy and convenient, however, I get the feeling I know as to why she is doing this. So I am going to have to make one thing clear to her, “However that doesn’t make us even,”

She almost flew out of the sky at my comment before questioning me flabbergasted, “Wait What? Why not?”

“You chased me for over a week with a whip might I add,” I replied with a deadpanned expression, “And now everypony thinks I am a bad pony who did something terrible,”

“Hay! That was a misunderstanding,”

“Nevertheless, the damage is done and I have no choice but to live with it,” I start to walk away from the conversation and head to the castle when she flies in front of me blocking my way,

“What about I start talking to ponies and tell them that it was all a big misunderstanding?”

“That still won’t change how they feel about me,” I replied without missing a beat, “Don’t beat yourself over it. It's my problem to deal with not yours,”

She looked at a loss of words before shaking her head, “But I am partially responsible for putting you in this mess in the first place,”

“Rainbow,” I say trying to calm her down, “I know that you want to make things right, but with how things stand now. You will only make things worse,”

“Hay I am only trying to help!”

I huff at her rolling my eyes, “If you want to help me. How about you get me a date with Starlight,”

That threw her in for a loop not expecting to hear that coming from me, “Come again?”

“Do I have to spell it out for you? Me and Starlight, on a date. You are friends with her are you not?”

“Yeah but not close of friends,”

“Then we are done here,” I make to leave again but she blocks my path once again this time putting her hooves on my chest and stopping me,

“Wait!” I did as she requested waiting for her to continue. She must have thought I wouldn’t listen to her because it to her three seconds to realize that I was waiting for her. She composes herself taking her hooves back, “Why do you want to date her?”

“Do you want me to get into the sappy details or do you want me to give you a rough summary?”

“I'll set up for the rough summary,”

“Regardless of how we met, it was love at first sight. And I want to see if it's possible that we could become something,”

She laughs at that, “Good luck with that,”

Thanks for the load of confidence, “I know she's not currently looking for a special somepony. And that if she were looking for one, her first choice would be Sunburst,”

She stopped laughing once she heard that, “Oh, you notice that?”

“That is why I must pursue her before he takes any initiatives himself,”

“And what if you fail?”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

She rubs the back of her head trying to explain herself while sparring my feelings, “I mean is, what if for some unexplained reason, Sunburst gets her?”

I snorted at that notion refusing to believe in that outcome, “I'll cross that bridge if it does happen. But right now I'm going to do everything in my power to make Starlight mine,”

Easier said than done. Even if I were to start now, Sunburst has a lead on me. I will need some assistance to make any progress to catch up. Wait a minute. An idea came to me as I looked back at the mare before me, with a grin coming onto my face, “And you're going to help me do it,”

“Me?” She points at herself, “Why do I have to help you in this love triangle? And why would I help you?”

“Whip,”

“Not fair,”

“Come on Rainbow. I'm not going to ask you to do anything that you do not wish to do,” I reach to pull the mare out of the air to my side much to her surprise poking her in the chest with my other hoof, “I just need a wing pony to help set up scenarios where me and Starlight can be alone. And maybe keep some pony away. What do you say?”

She looks at my hoof poking her before looking away in thought, “I don't know. It doesn't sound like a good idea,”

“Oh come on Rainbow. Don't tell me you haven't been in a love triangle before,” I let her go as she took to the sky again while I started ranting looking to the night sky, “Love is a Battleground and if you're not willing to take some risk, you're going to fail,” I say with fire in my eyes, “And I will not give up on my love life,”

“Easy for you to say,” She mumbles to herself,

“What was that?” I look back at her missing what she said,

“Nothing!”

Things are starting to look up,

You know I knew this wouldn't be easy but I never imagined how difficult this journey would become. Turns out that dealing with Sunburst was the least of my problems. The problem I was having was finding some time to be with Starlight. Because as it turns out she is a very busy Mare. To be more precise, things seem to always happen,

It started with Her and her friends receiving a medal as a thank-you for saving every pony from the changeling hive. I believe they call it the pink heart or something. It was a lovely time, every pony got to chat with each other I got to see more characters from the show. Although for some reason Discord didn't seem to want to talk with me. As if he was deliberately avoiding me. I didn't think too much of it so I left it be and focused on talking to Starlight,

I wanted to patch things up with each other and start over again. Unfortunately, the number of ponies that wished to talk to Starlight at the time; made it difficult for me to have any long conversations with her. Also, it didn't help that shortly afterward Starlight would be told that she graduated from being Twilight’s student much to my surprise. I knew that Starlight was an exceptional mare, but I never thought that she would graduate from being a student so soon. I was happy for her but sad that I couldn't be part of her life when she made that milestone,

After that, there was time I was going to talk with Trixie about the merchandising box but was told that she was going to spend the day with Starlight, which turned out to be a very odd day. I don’t know the details of what happened, but if something causes a pony to run up a tree hiding from other ponies with red eyes. I didn’t want to get involved. Thankfully no pony got hurt but it did make me wonder what could have happened. I figured they would want some time to rest after such an experience so I left them alone,

But then not long after that, Starlight had her little adventure with Maud of all ponies. As much as I wanted to hang out with them to help them with whatever was going on. But watching Pinkie Pie becoming a third wheel to their already friendship-building activity would put a strain on any attempts I would have at Starlight. So I had no choice but to leave her alone… again. On the bright side, Starlight has made a new friend,

On the bright side, Sunburst was called back to the Crystal Empire because he had duties to fulfill. However, I do not know when he will return. So I must act now,

I entered the kitchen and watched Starlight and Twilight while waiting for breakfast. Spike was hard at work making enough food for everypony, nothing fancy just some pancakes. Now that I think about it I don't think I spend a lot of time getting to know the little dragon. He's always by Twilight's side so I never actually had a chance to have a one-on-one conversation with him. Got to remember to talk to him later on.

He had finished serving the mares breakfast while I waited for my plate as I watched Twilight gorge herself on the pancakes. I forget that Twilight is a messy eater and it's probably one of the things that I wish she would learn to fix. But then again who's going to tell a princess how she can and can't eat?

Twilight was the first to finish before everypony else and left to read a new book she had in the library. Once everypony had their fill of breakfast I took that opportunity to talk to Starlight, “Hay Starlight?”

She looks over her shoulder from the sink while cleaning the dishes, “Yes, Braden?”

“I was wondering if you are free this weekend,”

“Yes, I am. Why do you ask?”

“Well, Sugar Cube Corner is having a sale on pastries and wanted to know if you want to come with me?”

She thinks about it before smiling at the idea before returning to her chore, “Sure,”

“Great, it's a date. See you then,” I say quickly before leaving the room. By the sound of something breaking, I don't think she saw that coming, as I smile all the way back to my room,

“Starlight that was one of my good plates!” Twilight scolds her friend as she cleans up the mess across the floor while Spike is rocking back and forth laughing his butt off and pounding the floor with his fists,

“I am sorry Twilight. I didn’t mean to,” She says her face flushed red,

“I know. You are normally more careful than that,” She pulls a piece of the plate from the ceiling with her magic before smacking Spike lightly on the head, “And what are you laughing at?!”

“Starlight got asked out on a date. And she was so embarrassed that she yeeted the plate into the ceiling,”

“Wait what?! Starlight got a date,” Twilight looks back at the mare in question, “How?!”

“It just kind of happened,” She says looking away shyly before she realizes something, “Wait what do you mean by how? What does that supposed to mean!” She demands from the Princess,

“Nothing,” Twilight says quickly looking away,

Today is the day of the date as I wave to my flying outlook on her cloud. She waves back at me signaling that she's ready. The plan was simple, during the date, if at any time Rainbow Dash would fly over and ask me if I wanted some cupcakes. It would inform of Sunburst's arrival and should avoid heading back to the castle or commonplace that he would look for her. I want this date to be only about me and Starlight. The last thing I need to deal with is competition.

I picked up Starlight at the castle and we headed to SugarCube Corner an hour before lunchtime. She looks nervous the whole time. I tried my best to comfort her but for some reason, she just seemed uneasy around me. I don't know what I have done to cause her such concern. Then again as far as I'm aware this would technically be her first date. Perhaps she simply overthinking this whole thing and it's causing her to get nervous.

We got our desserts and found a corner booth to enjoy our treats. However, Starlight’s mood is starting to get on my nerves,

“Is something wrong Starlight?” I ask her plainly startling her out of her thoughts and sending her cupcake into the air before she catches it with her magic,

“No. No. I am alright,” She smiles at me before taking a bit out of her treat, “Why do you ask?”

“Considering that you look like you are ready to bolt back to the castle at a moment's notice. It makes me wonder if you are being hunted by somepony or you are uncomfortable being with me,”

“What, no-”

“Starlight I am not dumb,” I eat my treat in one bite much to her surprise, “Don’t bother lying to me. It only makes me feel worse about this whole date,”

She sighs before putting down her treat, “Sorry Braden. I have never been on a date before,” She pokes it as she gathers her thoughts, “So I have no idea how or what I am supposed to do,”

“For starters drop all your expectations,”

She looks at me confused, “What?”

“Whatever your expectations for this date are, lose them,”

She tilts her head not understanding what I am saying, “Why,”

“A date is where two ponies get together to hang out and get to know each other,” I straighten up my posture, “Aside from basic manners and being polite there is nothing that is expected for us to achieve aside from learning more about each other,” I smile at her, “Its a way from us to break the ice and see if we enjoy each others company. And if we do we can continue to date and if not we can end it and go on with our lives,”

She looks away in thought before addressing me, “This isn’t the first time you have been on a date before is it?”

I shake my head, “It's the first in a while,”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” I reply instantly with a slight bitterness in my voice, “My past is Irrelevant. I would prefer if we focus on the present if you don’t mind Starlight. Why don’t we start over,” I present my hoof to her, “Hello, I am Braden. It is nice to meet you,”

“Hello Braden, I am Starlight Glimmer,” She shakes my hoof before finishing her treat,

Meanwhile, high above them. Rainbow Dash is bord as she watches the two having a date. She knows she only doing this for what she has done to Braden but for some reason, she can’t shake off a feeling of slight anger watching the two ponies on their date. Then for some unknown reason, just for a moment, Rainbow thinks about switching places with Starlight.

She swiftly stomps that idea into dust under her hooves before it could grow. Unfortunately, it also meant the end of her cloud sending her falling a few feet before she started flying again. Flustered she shakes her head confused as to where that idea came from, before finding another cloud and resuming her duties,

Ghost pains

Four months later,

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Rainbow asks while I pack a picnic basket,

“Of course, I want to do this. It's the next step of our relationship that I have been putting off for long enough,”

“I know that. I'm just saying are you sure you're ready for this? I mean what if she doesn't feel the same way?”

I close the basket before looking at her over my shoulder, “You're still going on about that? Starlight and I have gone on multiple dates for at least three months and you're still doubting whether or not there might be something going on between us?”

“I'm just saying that maybe you should be prepared just in case-”

“Ray,” I interrupt her, “I appreciate your concern but it's unwarranted. I will confess to her and be her special somepony.” I use my magic to put the basket on my back,

“But what if she doesn't want to be yours?”

I pause at this as a part of me doesn’t want to acknowledge that possibility, “Then I don't know. I will figure it out,” I say before looking at her questionably, “But why are you so concerned about how this will end?”

She was taken aback by my statement before collecting herself, “Braden, I know we haven't known each other long,” She lifted a hoof to her chest, “But I consider you a dear friend. And I'm just worried that this is a bad idea. And I don't want to see you hurt,”

I sigh at this before turning to face her, “Pain is a part of life Ray. I'm doing this with or without your help,”

“Fine then,” She barks flaring her wings much to my surprise, “be that way, go ahead with your terrible idea,” She walks outside my house ready to take off but she looks at me over her shoulder sympathy in her eyes, “Just know I'll be there if you need me,”

“Thanks for a load of confidence Ray,” I say to her as she huffs before she takes off to the skies,

I shake my head at her antics before leaving the house myself. You know, I can remember when I started calling her Ray. It started as a joke when we were having a chat on a cloudy day. Even though she doesn’t need to keep an eye on me, we still hang out. She was talking to me from a cloud, and I sarcastically told her that she was the little ray of sunshine on my cloudy day. I thought it was funny, even more so when she fell off from her cloud perch. I got a punch in the arm for my trouble but she didn't seem to mind afterwards, so it's stuck.

Now I think about it. It has been quite some time since I first arrived in Equestria. All those months ago, I was just a random pervert stallion who found his way inside the princess's castle. Although the misunderstanding has been mostly cleared up, there are still some ponies that give me an odd stare now and then. Also, I found a place to stay and was even able to find a job in one of the local shops here. The pay is decent but the most important thing is that I am no longer living off the princess’s generosity anymore,

In addition, Trixie found out what caused the gems to explode. It turns out that so long as two different magically charged gems don’t touch each other, we will be fine. Furthermore, we figured out what the Ruby does. It functions like a magical battery which is perfect for our needs. After making a deal with the Diamond Dogs with our Negotiator Rarity. We were able to make a decent profit from selling magic-powered toys with the brand name the Great And Powerful Magic Artifacts or GAPMA for short. During all of this time, much has happened to Twilight and her friends.

Rainbow Dash was embarrassed by her parents due to their enthusiasm for cheering but was able to work things out. Starlight had to help Celestia and Luna understand each other's problems and appreciate their hard work and dedication to their respective roles. I got word that for some reason Discord almost died cuz he was trying to be not himself. I also got to see Spike being confronted by the new leader of the changelings Thorax and the Dragonlord Ember. Now that was something.

Anyway now is time for my sunset date with Starlight. We have been dating whenever she has some free time. But we have never become an official couple, but that is all going to change tonight. I got to the swimming hole near Ponyville and got to work, setting up the picnic. We will have a perfect view of the sunset and the Moon will be the finishing touch for ending the date,

Starlight arrived on time right as I finished. We greeted each other and enjoyed the meal I prepared for us. Halfway through the meal, as we were catching up, movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. A quick crack of my neck reveals it to be Ray who is watching from a distance. I must have forgotten to tell her not to keep an eye out for us today. Regardless it's almost time for me to ask the question. I hope it's not too much of a shock for her. The sun is halfway set making the lake glow an orange hue as I speak up,

“Hay Starlight,”

She puts down her sandwich, “Yes Braden?”

“We have been dating for a while now and I have a question I would like to ask you,”

“What is it?”

Reach over and take her hoof in mind not breaking eye contact, “Starlight will you become my marefriend?”

“Oh Braden,” She smiles at me, “I appreciate the offer, but I can't,” She pulls her hoof back, stabbing a knight in my heart,

Ice crawls over my body as she looks away, “Why not?” I ask dumbly trying to understand what I did wrong,

She struggles for words to spare my feelings, “Braden, You're a nice stallion and any mare would love to be with you,” She rubs her forelegs together in shame, “But every time we hang out, I find my thoughts elsewhere. I have been meaning to end this for a while, but I didn’t know how to tell you that I don’t feel the same way,”

My world is falling apart before my eyes and I can’t stop it. It can’t end this way! “But-”

“Starlight!” A voice calls out to our left,

Much to our surprise and my frustration, Sunburst had to join the party. I haven't seen the stallion these past months and had thought he'd given up. Looks like I was mistaken.

“Sunburst what are you doing here?” Starlight says dumbfounded at the stallion’s arrival,

“Starlight there is something that I need to tell you,”

“Well, it can wait,” I say moving towards him, “Me and Starlight are having a date and we don’t need a three-wheel,”

“Braden stop leave him alone,” Starlight says moving in front of me and stopping my advance,

I glare at her, “Why? He is unwelcome and interpreting our date,”

“Because-” She starts before looking away going speechless,

Sunburst looks ready for a fight as I can see that Ray is struggling to decide on who she should be helping, while Starlight racks her brain trying to find a way to end this peacefully. I can’t believe this. I trying to have a date with Starlight and she is standing up for the intruder. It's time for this stallion to know his place and leave us alone forever!

But before I could speak or confront the stallion something happened to my vision. For a moment instead of seeing Starlight, I saw a young human female in her early twenties with long black hair and blue eyes. And where Sunburst was, I saw a young human male with an average build, brown hair with black eyes roughly the same age as the female staring at me. I shake my head clearing my thoughts as the humans I was seeing disappear and the ponies return making my heart drop as a stone.

I took a step back from them confusing the ponies as to what could make me back down. As they look around to find out what is wrong I look down at my reflection in the water below seeing a human male in his early thirties with an athletic build, black hair with green eyes. I closed my eyes at the sight of a man… no a Theft that I hadn’t thought of in a very long time, “It was happening again,” I whispered to myself before looking at the ponies before me.

Sunburst had to move next to Starlight reassuring her that everything would be alright as she was having a hard time finding words, but she didn’t need to say anything. In fact, I will help her,

“Because you want Sunburst to be your Special somepony,” I say for her much to Sunburst's surprise,

She sighs in defeat, “I am sorry Braden. It's not you. It's me,” The sun has set dulling the mood as the moon rises into the night sky,

“It is okay Starlight,”

“Really?” Both ponies said equally confused as I could see Ray tilting her head to the side before taking to the skies to get closer out of view,

“I can see that the third wheel in this relationship was me all this time,” I move to Sunburst putting a hoof on his shoulder, “Take care of her Sunburst,”

He looks bewildered at my actions, “This was not how I thought this was going to end,”

“What did you think we would have to fight each other and the winner gets Starlight?” I sarcastically said to which he looked away guilty as I glared at him, “So that’s why I haven't seen you in a while. It's because you were getting ready for a fight?”

“I didn’t want to lose the next time,” He says as Starlight lightly smacks him on the shoulder,

“Sorry to disappoint you,”

“You are taking this better than I thought,” Starlight said uncertain if my words were genuine, “Are you sure you are okay with this?”

“I'll be fine. Get on with it you two,”

“Thank you for understanding Braden,” She hugs me before moving to Sunburst as they awkwardly try to figure out what the next step is, “So,” She starts her face flush red,

“So,” He replied not fairing any better,

“How about you two walk home tonight and start a new tomorrow?” I suggested to them, “It's getting late,”

“That’s a good idea,” Starlight said, “Goodnight Braden. Sorry for the short date,”

“It's fine. Have a good night you two,” I shoo them away with a hoof half-heartedly,

They bid me good night before leaving me there. A cold empty feeling wells up inside me as I stare longingly at Starlight. Love is such a complicated feeling. Ever since the first date, I have tried everything I could to make Starlight love me. However, it would appear that we simply weren’t meant to be. This night could have ended completely differently. But this is for the best, even if it means I end up alone… again,

Why does loving someone hurt so much?

I look back at the new couple as Ray lands next to me. She looks at me concerned but I don't acknowledge her as we stand there in silence. Wordlessly I returned to the picnic area and started putting everything away as she spoke up,

“You okay there?” She says in a cautious voice,

“I'll live,” I replied nonchalantly. Physically I'm well but I am a mess on the inside.

“That's not what I asked,”

I stop halfway done before I fall to the ground on my belly tucking my legs underneath me, “It's just not fair,”

“Come on, so you lost a mare to another stallion. So what?” She tries to play it off like it's not a big deal, “There are plenty more mares out there for you,”

“You just don't get it do you?”

“Come on it's not that bad,” She lightly pushes my shoulder trying to cheer me up, “It's not the end of the world,”

“It might as well be for my world,” I say as Rainbow finally gets an idea of how I am feeling,

“Braden,” She says not sure how to help me,

“I never did tell you why I fell in love with her did I?”

“No, you didn’t,”

“I've heard about her and her story. How she was abandoned twice, one by her childhood friend and the other by the ponies of her town. It turned her sour and yet she still was able to become friends with so many ponies. Heck, she was able to save all the princesses and heroes of Equestria thanks to some new friends she made,”

“Okay we all know that but what does that have to do with anything?”

“I too was abandoned by someone I thought I was close to,”

“What do you mean?”

A heavy sigh leaves my body as I reveal an old memory, “A long time ago, I also had a childhood friend. She was great you would have liked her. She was smart, funny, and beautiful in her own way. We grew up together and even dated each other for some time and I thought we would spend the rest of our days together. But then one day when I was going to ask her to be mine, I found her with somepony else,” I tensed up in anger, “I tried to talk to her and find out what I did wrong so that we could be together again. However, no matter what I said or what I did. That other stallion was able to convince her that he was the better choice for her. And before I knew it, the love I thought I had for her, the love that we had, was gone,” I looked down as the painful memories came back,

I don’t know why I want to tell Ray all this. Normally I don't talk to anypony about how I feel, but with her it's different. Maybe it has to do with her saying that she would be there for me. Or maybe I no longer have to will to resist her questions. Whatever the reason may be, I can't stop opening up to her,

“I tried to move on but it was one thing or another. I wasn’t good enough for her, I was too caring, I was too nice, I was a rebound, or I was a one-night stand. No one wanted to stay with me, and I was left alone, abandoned, forgotten,” I say before laying my head on my forelegs. I was silent for a while until I felt Ray lay down next to me and hug me from behind. It helps a little,

“I thought that if anypony could understand what I was going through it would be her. But she's not like me. Because her childhood friend didn't abandon her. He came back for her and now look at them,” I lift my head one last time to see the couple disappear into the town, “I want to be angry, I want to break something, but I can't bring myself to hate her,”

“Why, not?” Ray asks,

“Because It's not her fault that she loves some pony else. And I will not become like the pony who destroys a loving couple's relationship by stealing somepony’s else's mare. I will not become the villain of my own story,” I feel like a child as tears go down my face, “I just wished that for once things could work out and I won’t be alone anymore,”

Rainbow doesn’t say anything as I go silent all the while she continues to comfort me by gently combing my mane with her hoof. We stayed like that for what felt like hours as I lost control of my emotions before I finally spoke again, “Is it wrong for a stallion to feel this hopeless? That he will never find love?”

“You will find love again someday Braden,” She says in a caring voice, “You just have to keep trying,”

I don’t know what came over me but before I knew it, my body turned around quickly and hugged her tightly rubbing my face in her cyan-colored chest not noticing the large blush on her face. She freezes at my actions but doesn’t push me away which suits me just fine. Right before she could say anything I Interrupt her, “Let me have this moment Dash,” I begged her, “Please, let me be weak one last time,”

“You are not weak Braden,” Rainbow says as I lay my head in her hooves while she covers me with a wing, “You are anything but weak my-” She stops herself not sure if she is stepping over her boundaries but then notices that I have fallen asleep. She looks around to make sure no pony is looking before she kisses the sleeping stallion on his head smiling to herself, “My little Sunshine,”

Epilogue

Twenty-Five Years Later,

“Velocity wake up!” An older Rainbow Dash shouts startling a young unicorn. She looks the same as in her younger days except that her mane is going backward down her head instead of the front. She stands in the doorway as Velocity rises from his bed.

“What is it this time Mom?” He says rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He was a black unicorn with a blue mane and his mother's eyes,

“Hay you are the one who wanted to get up early today remember?”

He yawn at her remembering what he said but not understanding the reason for the rude awakening, “Yeah, and?”

“It's 12:30,” She deadpans before smirking seeing his reaction as his jaw drops and his pupils shrink,

“OH SHOT!” He rushes in the bathroom tripping over his hooves, “Why didn’t you wake me up?!”

She rolls her eyes at him, “Oh, am I sorry Mister. I am a grown stallion and don’t need his mother to baby over him anymore,” She says as she can hear him rushing and failing to do his morning routine, “I thought that he could handle things on his own for once,”

“Is there anything to eat?”

“Just what your father hasn’t eaten yet,” She took a quick look behind her to check, “Which is not much,”

“What about me?” He says before choking on something,

“There was plenty of food earlier,” She says rubbing her hoof on her chest before inspecting it for blemishes, “It's not my fault that somepony thought sleeping in was a good idea,”

Velocity exits the bathroom and finishes combing back his mane before straightening a pose, “How do I look?”

His mom gives him a go-over before shrugging, “Like you are going to be eaten alive, once Luster Dawn is done with you,”

“That is not helping!”

“Not my problem,” She says before the young unicorn rushes past her before he uses his magic to get some quick from the refrigerator. Once a sandwich is made he bids his father good morning and goodbye at the same time by waving a hoof at each other before giving a hug to his mom,

“Bye Mom, Bye Dad,” He calls out to her leaving the house and almost forgetting to open the door on his way out,

Rainbow shakes her head as her son antics before moving next to her husband, ”So, how long do you think he has left before that mare kills him?”

“I give him an hour,” An older Braden says from his chair sipping his coffee. He has grown bigger gain more muscle over the years but he is not out bench pressing Bulk Biceps, “You know I did say we should have checkup on him. But you said that it was a perfect opportunity for a life lesson” He shakes his head before setting his cup down, “This is a big day for him,”

She pushes him playfully chuckling, “Hay he got to learn sooner or later what it is like to deal with an angry marefriend,”

“True. But he was going to propose to her today,” He replies as if he didn’t just drop a huge information bomb on her not knowing about this as he sips his coffee again,

Rainbow seized up before jumping into the air screaming at the top of her lungs, “WHAT!” She tries to fly after her son but is stuck in the air by a magic field, “Braden!”

“Like you said they got to work things out between themselves,” He pulled her over to him dropping her in his lap and holding her close, “Which means that we have at least an hour before he comes back,” He said staring at her lovingly,

“What so great about- oh!” She says realizing what he means before sharing his look, “Right. We have an hour,” She says before kissing him,

“Mom, Dad I am bac- EWWW,” A voice exclaims from the front door, “Gross!”

“I am going to kill her,” Rainbow threatens before getting up and addressing the young mare, “Sunshine. Why are you back so soon?”

“School ended early,” She replies before sticking her tongue out at her parent's kissing session. She was a rose-colored Pegasus with a three-colored mane of red, orange, and yellow respectively, and green eyes, “So I am going to hang out with my friends if that is ok with you,” She said passing them and making her way to her room as her father calls out to her,

“Sure. So long as it's not with that colt again,”

She stops before clarifying, “Dad he is a grown stallion,”

“Not making your case any better sweetheart,” He says nonchalantly,

She groans in disgust, “You are the worst!” She slams the door to her room as Rainbow hugs her Braden,

“You are the best,”

“Likewise,”

FIN