The Apprentice

   After three hours of reading and practicing, the time was then around noon.

   Twilight looked at me. "It's lunch time, let's take a break."

   I nodded. "Alright, what can we do for lunch then?"

   She thought for a moment, then an idea hit. "Why don't we go to Sugarcube Corner, and see what the gang is up to?"

   "What about the other ponies here? We can't just take a stroll down the road without anyone seeing me."

   She smiled, with a proud expression of cunning.

"We wont need to walk. While you were reading, I found what I was looking for in that book on magical travel."

   She walked to the middle of the library.

"I have all the information I need to use the advanced flashport to get us into Sugarcube Corner."

   Her horn started to glow.

"I should be back in a few minutes, since I will need to make sure the store is clear of other ponies."

   "Alrighty then, I will get ready."

   And after a quick flash, she was gone.

   I walked into my room to get my white hiking sketchers. As I was sitting on my bed, while putting them on, Spike walked in with a very familiar metal object.

   "Hey Argyle what's this? I found it under the kitchen table -" my eyes shot a horrified look at what Spike was holding.

   "Spike, stop." I held my cool, even though my face betrayed any notion of it.

   "Wha - what's wrong?" Spike's face had a nervous look, as I pointed at what he was holding,

   "Don't move, and don't freak out, but that is my Tokarev."

    He looked at the pistol in his two hands, then looked back to me. "Tokarev? What is a Tokarev?"

   I got up with a shoe on one foot, and just a sock on the other.

"It's a very dangerous weapon, so stay very still."

   Spikes eyes went wide, as his face shot me a frantic expression. "Oh no! What do I do, Argyle?!"

   I walked towards him, with both my hands gesturing at the floor.

"Just slowly put it on the floor." He did just that, then walked away from it.

   I grabbed it slowly, then checked the safety, and sighed with relief.

"Thank god the safety was on. That would have been one problem, I definitely did not need."

   "Sorry Argyle, I had no idea. You're not mad at me are you?"

   I gave the young dragon the softest look I could muster.

"No Spike, I am the one who should be sorry, and I should thank you for finding it for me."

   At the time, I thought it best if I made it up to him somehow, for the fright I gave him.

"Tell you what Spike, why don't you let me clean up the library tonight?"

   He looked at me in astonishment. "REALLY?! You would do that for me Argyle?!"

   "Books go in alphabetical order, sweep, dust, then organize the quills and scroll papers right?"

   He nodded his head. "Yes that's it!"

   I gave him a warm smile. "You got it!"

   He jumped up in cheerful joy. "Alright! Thanks Argyle you're the best! ... And Argyle?"

   I looked at him. "Hmmm?"

   "Could I borrow that ibox thing?"

   I laughed. "Sure, help yourself! Just be careful with it now."

   He ran out my room door. "I will guard it with a knights honor!"

"That dragon just warms the heart."

   "Yeah, I'm sure you will."

                                                               ***

   "Boorring! Why don't you get to the part where you nearly die, that part is hilarious!"

"Again that fucking asshat interrupts me." "Do you want me to remember or not?"

   "Of course I do, but it's just soooo boring watching you be ... nice, and caring, bleh! I don't know what to do with myself in here, and besides your arm is healed, so find something to entertain me!"

   I thought for a moment, "Hmmm, I just happen to have something you can occupy yourself with."

   "Oh yeah? What's that?"

   "A nice tall glass of SHUT THE FUCK UP! I am thinking here, now quiet!"

   I heard a grumble in the back of my head, then it turned into the angriest scream I had ever heard in my life.

   "Don't you ever tell me to shut up you worm! Enough of these senseless games, you will remember, or I will break you!"

   I shot up to my feet from my place of rest.

    "Then show yourself! I will flashport my foot so far up your ass, it will defibrillate your mangled corpse!" Energy arced across my body, as my eyes started to glow with pent up energy and rage.

   I heard hooves stepping on rock towards the entrance of the cave. I spun to face its direction, with lightning arcing down my arms, and energy bolts swirling in the palms of my hands.

"Whatever's approaching, is about to have a really fucking bad day."

   "Uh ... Argyle, is that thouest we hear?"

"We?! There was only one creature that says we!" I ran towards the entrance, then I saw a dark pony figure limping in the moonlit distance.

    "Think you can fool me by hiding in pony form like before you bitch?! No, this time you will pay for what you did to my friends!"

   I flashported to the creature tackling it. It let out a agonized yell, as it hit hard onto the caves jagged rock floor. My hand was aimed right at its dark and dirty face, just seconds away from sending it to oblivion, until I heard it speak.

   "If even thou hast fallen to the evil that poisons this land, then please kill me now! Just make it quick." Her eyes flared a bright purple, as Nightmare Moon came out of her.

   "Back traitorous beast, you shant hurt her!"

"Wait, I know that voice... Luna?!"

   She pushed me off with a powerful pressure blast. I landed on my back, as Moon charged her horn. "Die traitor!"

   Her horn sparked, then her spell blew out in a awkward direction, missing me and hitting the cave somewhere down to my left. She collapsed with a loud groan.

   I got up then rushed over to her. "LUNA?! I can't believe it, I thought you got captured, or worse!"

   "No, we ... ugh ... bearly got away. They were fast, but we art faster thankfully."

   I looked at her coat, it was blood stained, and there were deep cut's all over her body. Even her horn had a small knife cut on it, which explained why her spell failed.

   My heart was torn by her condition. Most of the wounds on her body were then freshly opened thanks to my tackle; worse still, was the dirt, and rock fragments caked into the deep wound's on her left side.

  I hated myself for doing this to her.

   "This is all my fault, I let my rage blind me, I am so sorry Luna." My eyes started to burn again.

   "It's alright Argyle, this is nothing."

   I used what strength I had built up while resting, to move her to a better spot. Then I cast a advanced healing spell on her with one hand, while I gently had a water spell flowing with the other, cleaning her dirty wounds.

"This is not much, but it will stabilize the wounds, and stop the bleeding."

   "Who were thouest talking to? I am looking, but I can't see nor sense anypony else here."

   I shrugged, "I suppose I need to tell someone about it sooner or later, and if anypony on this planet can understand my plight, it's Luna."

   "Since I was first brought here, I have been hearing this voice inside my mind. It taunts me, and it wont shut up, it's driving me fricking crazy."

   Luna tried to lift her head up, but I gently stopped her. "No don't, your wound's have not stopped bleeding yet."

   She used her left eye to look at me instead. "Thou hearith the voice too? And it started as soon as thy got here?" Her eye got wide as I nodded yes.

    Her eye closed. "I too, hear the voice."

   Luna took a deep breath, then told me her story:

  "It started over one thousand years ago. I was just managing the night like always, watching my subjects sleep so soundly. I was at ease that they felt so safe under my moon, like I was their shield in the night. That was when I heard it, the voice. It said I should hate them for leaving me alone all the time, that they must hate me, and love only my sister; but, I told it I loved what I did, and I would never have it changed. But it persisted, and after months of hearing its pestering, I was at my wits end. I got cross with it one night, I told it to "keep thine's trap shut for once". The voice then got angry with me, it started to threaten me, then my subjects, and it just got angrier after that. I started to lose control over my powers, then my body, and soon I was trapped inside my own mind."

   She shifted uneasily in her place of rest, then took another breath in.

   "I watched in terror, as what became Nightmare Moon destroyed my home, by forming the Lunar Republic, and with it she started a civil war. She brought into the world monsters of darkness, also, she mutated my subjects into sickening murderers that killed without any regret. My sister had to ally all the pony races here to stop her. After a whole year of bloody conflict, I was banished to the moon for one thousand years. They say I did it because I was jealous of my sister, that I hated the kingdom like some spoiled brat! Twas a lie!"

   The dark alicorn was besides herself with tears, sobing slightly as she continued.

   "I love my sister, and I love my subjects like they are my own children! But I can't even look at any of them now, not without seeing the faces of their ancestors. I think they all would have been better off if I hath just jumped off the cloud that night."

   Luna's eyes glowed as Nightmare's voice came out. "I am so sorry Luna, I canst never repay the debt I ow-"

   Luna shot back a shout of rage.

"No thouest can't monster! I watched in agony as thouest burned my kingdom for a year; powerless I watched on, as thee slaughtered my subjects, my children! Once they felt safe under my moon, but you ruined that! You ruined everything!"

   She inhaled sharply, then yelled, "I HATE YOU!"

   I remember this part well, how uncertain the future looked, how painful watching my best friend suffer that way felt, and how her usually wavy ethereal mane, lied straight and flat over the cave's cold floor. I felt like the middle man, like there was nothing I could do to ease her pain, but listen as she vented her anger for spending a millennium alone in the dark.

"This must be her first time letting out such feelings."

   She screamed over and over again those three words of torment, as if to make up for the time she watched Nightmare rage war on her people, for the time she spent banished on the moon, and for every night she could have had with her subjects lost.

"To keep such emotions caged for all that time, what a truly terrible burden to bare."

   Luna was panting like she had run a mile. "I ... hate ... you."

  Her voice was losing its volume, as she began to lose her breath. She finally stopped yelling, but her tears remained falling like raindrops on an overcast night.

"I have to do something, middle man be damned! What was that old saying, 2 seconds of stupidity?"

   At this time her wounds were clean and stabilized, so I hugged her without fear. I gathered as much warm positive energy as I could in my weakened state, then I ran my hand over the small cut on her cheek below her eye, healing it near instantly.

"At least I can take that pain away."

   Luna stopped crying when she felt my embrase, slightly surprised by it, as I tightened lightly.

   "Luna, I promise I will find a way to stop this hell, even if it costs me my life. No matter what, it will be alright."

   "Thank you Argyle, but enough friends have died already."

   I looked at her, "It's only going to get worse, you know?"

   The dark alicorn closed her eyes, then whispered, "I know."

   We lied there like that for a few minutes. I made a mental note to let go once her tears had stopped completely.

   "So, do you hear it now?" She turned slightly left to look at me.

   "No, it stopped as soon as you came here."

   She let her gaze back to the cave wall.

   "That was how Nightmare Moon behaved for me as well. She would start talking when I was alone, then she would stop when somepony came near. I suppose that is how they figured I grew jealous of my kingdom, as I would be in my worst of moods while alone, but I never told anypony the real reason behind my mood when I was."

   I let her go, feeling it was the right time. "You can tell them now, whenever you are ready."

   I got up then walked left so I was right in front of her. I sat and leaned on the wall so I could help her whole body heal.

   She looked at me, "Do you know how long it hath been, since I was last hugged like that?"

   I just sat there looking at her silently, unknowing of how to safely respond to such a question.

   She closed her eyes, doing so forced a tear to fall down her cheek, as she painfully whispered. "For far too long."

   Luna's face looked grief stricken, as tears came again. Her head fell on my left shoulder, as her will to hold back failed.

"Ah hell, not again. Poor Luna. Well, her sister did try to kill her, and now we are both hunted by her."

   At that time, I was physically steadfast towards to her sudden, and aggressive need for someone to be there for her, yet my mind was near it's brink. I trusted my heart and numbed my mind, as I tried my best to help a friend get through letting go.

   "It's going to be alright, just hang in there Princess."

   I supposed that Luna felt like she finaly found someone who could understand what she went through. It made sense I supposed. She did tell me once I was her only real friend since Nightmare Moon.

"Maybe that is why she hid all this from everyone. She must have been afraid of wether or not they would see her differently afterwards."

   "You know, I would never think less of you, especially now." I smiled.

   She remained silent, speech wise. I knew she heard me. Luna did not need to speak.

   After a few minutes, she got ahold of her emotions, then she let me go. "By the moon, I am sorry about that Argyle." Her ears when down in embarrassment. "I don't know what came over me."

   "No, do not apologize. We both are going to need this, that is, if we want to live, and fight back."

   With that said, I then resumed what I was going to do before.

"By placing a hand over the heart with this spell, thou canst heal a whole body at once; however, twill take time and energy, so useth this only when thy must. And remember, never pusheth thyself too far."

   I remembered Luna's words that time, as I used that same spell to heal her. She then laid her head back down on my shoulder, with her dark ethereal mane wavy again, but resting to one side. I began to cast the spell with both my hands cuping over her heart.

   Luna's voice was raspy, from mental exertion and fatigue. "Argyle, did I also tell you how long it hath been since I last had a best friend? Well ... you just fixed that as well."

   I was going to comment about her transition over archaic getting better, but within seconds she was asleep.

   A warm fuzzy feeling grew in my stomach. "So, this is what watching her people sleep soundly must have felt like for her."

   I never had anyone trust me that way before. It's something that can't be taught, only felt.

   There was no tension in Luna's body, even with the horrors that plagued Equestria just outside that cave, she yet was sleeping like no harm could ever come to her while in my arms.

   I whispered very lightly, "Such a terrible burden." I laid my head down on hers, then went back to my past thoughts.

                                                                   ***

   Twilight returned soon after the incident with Spike and my pistol. "Alright Argyle, ready to go?"

   After I hid the pistol somewhere no one would find it, I went right to get an early start on cleaning. When Twilight returned, I had then finished sweeping the floor.

   "Yeah, let's go." I let the broom lay on the wall.

   She shrugged, while gesturing to the broom in my hand, "You were cleaning while I was gone?"

   "It's a long story, I will tell you later." I put the broom down, then walked to the middle of the main library room.

   "Alright so what do I do?"

   Twilight turned slightly, "Just place your hand on my back and we will be off!"

   "Wait for me!" Spike ran downstairs, then hopped on Twilight's back. "I'm not missing this one."

   "Alright then, hang on tight." She said.

   I stood close, with my hand on her back. Her coat was very soft, nothing like the horses back home.

   Her horn started to glow again. "Alright, hang on now you two."

"Something tells me this is a ba- " The room paused for less then a heart beat as a bright light enveloped me. I felt that same sensation of being viscus liquid forced through a sieve. Then two heart beats into it, light shot back into my eyes. I emerged very disoriented, and dizzy.

   I fell to my knees gasping. While looking around with blurry vision, I heard what sounded like laughter. My vision started to get its focus back, while I tried to regain my footing.

   "Wow, you okay Argyle?" Spike asked, while he jumped down from Twilight's back.

   "Oh no, sorry Argyle! I should have told you that it can get rough on your first flashport."

   I was panting a little, "O-oh yeah, I'm good. My matter just displaced a little, -ugh- humans can totally shrug that off."

"Yeah right, the Hulk rollercoster in Universal Florda had the touch of a toddler compared to that."

   I got up to my feet, then took my surroundings in. Twilight was still at my side, with Spike as well, and It was definitely Sugarcube Corner. Dangling above the register counter was a cloth sign. The words "Glad you're not dead!"were painted in pink on it. Around me were tables set up with cakes, pastries, party punch, and other party goodies.

   Then four ponies burst out of their hiding spots, with an explosion of confetti, followed by a loud cheer. "Surprise!"

"Shit! One of these days, I'm going to contract a serious case of dead from a heart attack. Wait, Pinkie Pie threw me a party? Well, where is she?"

   I heard what sounded like a carnival organ outside. I went outside with the others to check it out, then a heavily decorated purple wagon lumbered out of a alleyway.

"Well that's just great... It's the welcome wagon. Normally I would be over joyed, but did she remember to put the batter in the oven, and the confetti in the cannon? Or..."

   My thoughts froze when the pink pony popped her head out from behind the left of the wagon, she was waring her party cake hat. With the wagon then right in front of Sugarcube Corner, she hopped over to the red button, then pressed it in.

   I was about to find out.

   The thing opened up like a chest, exposing a very colourful array of flags swinging, horns trumping, candy cane coloured party cannons pointing upwards, and that all too familiar song.

   Pinkie then started to dance a number on her two back hooves, while singing an abridged version of her famous welcome song.

   Welcome, welcome, welcome, I'm glad your not dead!

   Welcome, welcome, welcome, you're alive instead!

   Welcome, welcome, welcome, to that I say hooray!

   Welcome, welcome, welcome, to Ponyville this day!

   Pinkie made physics facepalm, as she was able to alternate between playing a completely random assortment of instruments, while bouncing, and still somehow dance on two hooves. If you think seeing this scene in the show was awesome, then take it from me, seeing it in person was just incredible.

   After the song was over, I shot the wagon a look, its oven and cannon ready to burst its contents. I then remembered my previous fear. As the possible future of getting smothered in cake batter flashed before my eyes, I realized I only had one pair of clothes; the thought having to get around in some kind of loincloth while my clothes were being cleaned, made a shock of terror shoot up my spine.

   I heard the bell like tone from the oven, I then nose dived to the ground yelling, "Hit the dirt!"

   An explosion of cake batter projected over where I was just standing, barely missing me. Then I waited for the party cannons to go off, but nothing happened after that.

   I looked up, and saw Pinkie standing just a few feet away.

   "Whoops! Looks like I forgot the confetti this time ... again, hehehe! But wow, you really are like a spark, the way the cannons went off, and you were all like, "Hit the dirt!" She did a pretty good impersonation of me diving for cover.

"Then you dived barely avoiding a batter bath!"

   I got up dusting myself off, then Pinkie showed me the beautiful white cake she was holding.

   It had the words -"Welcome to Ponyville Sparky! P.s Still glad you're not dead"- iced onto its top surface in yellow.

   How she managed to write all that so perfectly on that small cake, remains to this day as some kind of Tom Cruise level witchcraft.

   "Wow that is a beautiful cake Pinkie."

   "Thanks! Now come on, let's go inside and get this party started!"

   Everyone and myself went back into Sugarcube. While the gang was distracted by Pinkie's antics, eating at all the party goodies and by just having a blast altogether, I sat at a table watching the whole thing unfold, while eating a slice of my cake.

   I felt a hoof touch my shoulder, I looked over it and saw a pink mane. "Oh, hi Fluttershy, what's going on?"

   "Oh ... I just came by to see if you were alright."

   I turned to look at her. "Yeah I'm alright, why wouldn't I be?"

   "Well ... what I meant was, you're just sitting here all by yourself, while everypony else is having fun in your party. I just thought you might be upset over something. Like if you were home sick?"

   "I see, don't worry, I'm not upset. I just like to sit and watch. That is how I enjoy things, that way it's hard to miss a detail. And about home-" I paused to compare the last twenty four hours to the nineteen year's I spent on Earth, and, even still, that feeling would not go away. I was starting to get homesick, yet I hated the thought of leaving.

   "I don't know, Fluttershy." My tone was light.

   "Ah I see, that Is how I like to enjoy most thing's as well-" Fluttershy froze in mid sentence, as what I said finally sunk in. "Oh my, why don't you? If you don't mind if I ask of course."

   I thought for minute, while watching Pinkie do a hat trick with a cupcake, by trying to make it disappear. After the trick was over however, the fresh smear of icing near the left corner of her mouth betrayed the illusion.

   "It's not that I don't want to go home, I really do want to, but I feel like I belong here. I know it sounds utterly ridiculous, trust me on that, and for the life of me I cannot figure out why."

   I turned in my seat to face her. As she had her head slightly tilted to the side, her complete concentration was on me.

   I took in a breath and continued.

"But, even though I have only lived nineteen years, there is one piece of wisdom that I will always follow. Always trust your gut. Mine is screaming, "Stay, as only a fool would want to abandon such a wonderful company of individuals."

   Fluttershy whimpered softly like she heard something sad.

"That was a very beautiful thing to say, I never expected you would warm up to us so fast. I figured we would seem strange, or ... weird, compared to what you must be used to."

   I smiled, as her eyes started tearing slightly. "Well then, It's lucky for you guys, that I consider the words strange, or weird, as complements."

    She gave me a big smile in response.

"I'm torn, between a promise, and a feeling that I have to stay. What the hell do I do? I lose no matter what. But the worst fucking part is, I can't figure out why!"

   Pinkie yelled from across the room, while bouncing and waving a hoof in the air, "Come on Argyle! It's time for partying silly, not sitting!"

   After she said that, everyone else turned to stare at me, with looks of anticipation.

   Fluttershy asked, "Ready to join us?"

   "Yeah." I smiled back, while swallowing my thoughts. "Sure am." I got up, then walked with her to join the party, and my new friends.

                                                                ***

    At this point I will skip a full week. To catch you up, the seven of us were going to see Celestia the following day. I learned a lot about magic from Twilight in that short amount of time.

   I could then flashport, and wield an array of passive and aggressive elemental spells effectively; moreover, Twilight was a great teacher, and I have always been a fast learner, but even then she was very surprised towards my progress from novice to adept in just one week. She told me she would discuss that with the Princess later.

   During that week, weird things started to happen around town, like more animal attacks in the Everfree then normal for one. We journeyed into the Everfree to visit Zacora after the news hit, she then told us something dark was looming over the forest, and it was stirring up the wildlife.

  That did not bode well, as it meant I could not safely keep my secret from my friends for much longer, without risking their health.

   At that time I was in my room, studing a little before bed. I had no idea the next day -the day I went to Canterlot to meet the Princess- was the day everything started to change, forever.