Before you start, let me just mention that this chapter is nearly 15,000 words long. That's a very long chapter. Don't feel obligated to read it all at once; take a break if you start to get tired. The chapter will always be here when you return.

Oh, and speaking of returning- it's good to be back.

Close Bonds: Chapter Twenty-Two

“Let’s suppose you had the chance to go back… That Twilight somehow did find a way to get you home…”

You continue to fill out the job application you’d been given, propping the clipboard against your knee. “Well, I told her to give up on it awhile ago. I’m fine here, Lyra.” You turn to her, flashing her a quick smile of gratitude. “Thanks to ponies like you.”

She punches you lightly in the shoulder. “Don’t be such a sappy-sap. As soon as you get that job, I’m kicking your deadbeat ass out of my house.”

This hits a bit closer to the heart than you think she intended, but you just chuckle quietly. “That seems to be a bit of a pattern with me.”

The unicorn looks at you with genuine concern. “What do you mean?”

You sigh, holding your knee as you lean back a little. “I’m sure you remember how I used to live with Twilight at the library... Well, she didn’t show it, but I could tell I was starting to grate on her nerves a bit… Not to mention- that job I had at Sweet Apple Acres? I don’t really think Applejack wanted to hire me in the first place. It was more of a favor, not even to me, but to Twilight.”

Lyra frowns. “Well, she fired you anyway. And that’s the whole reason I’m getting you this job- so you don’t have to mooch off ponies anymore.” Aside from the joke, she shakes her head. “But in all honesty, I really enjoyed having you here. Things… aren’t going to be the same without you around.” She quickly corrects herself: “Won’t be as fun, I mean.”

Her of all ponies, making you feel welcome here… “I’ll be seeing you every day if I get this job. And I’ll be seeing you every day even if I don’t get this job,” you say, poking out your tongue.

She smirks. “Oh, don’t worry. You will get it, and you will enjoy the privilege of being my personal work monkey.”

“The position I’m applying for isn’t directly below you,” you remind her, “and it’s not like I’m not your work monkey anyway. Just one of the aspects of living with you.”

She nods, still smiling. “True, on all accounts.” She gives you a semi-serious look. “Still, work is work. We need to keep hanging out, y’know?”

“Agreed.”

“Why not tonight?” she offers suddenly. “You know that new place that opened up recently? We should eat there before it goes out of business.”

“’Before it goes out of business?’ Grim.” You smirk. “Sorry, though. I’m meeting up with Rainbow for a drink tonight. You can come if you’d like.”

Her cheery expression seems to drop, and she sighs. “No, thanks though.”

You notice her sullen look, and drape an arm around her. You honestly didn’t know she’d be so upset by this. “Listen, I’m sorry we couldn’t do anything tonight. It’s just that Rainbow’s not going to be able to come back to Ponyville from her training in Cloudsdale like she usually has, since they’re keeping her and the other trainees for a few weeks at the Wonderbolt academy.”

Lyra starts to look up. You’re relieved by this; you’re glad she’s not taking your decline to her offer personally. “That little pegasus is going to be gone for awhile, and I just wanted to spend some time with her before she goes. You understand, right?”

She seems to brighten up at this. “Yeah, okay. Still, it’d be nice if we did end up doing things together more often. I don’t want to end up seeing less and less of you once you move out, you hear?”

“Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”

Seeming satisfied by this, Lyra lies across your lap, and you begin petting her head with your free hand. Her ear twitches, then slowly relaxes as your hand moves down her neck. You look at the application, then you look at her. You place the clipboard down, then lean back, propping yourself up with one hand while the other attends to the unicorn.

She suddenly pops an eye open. “Why are we on my roof?”

You shrug. “I like the view from up here.” You proceed to watch that view.

“Do you do this a lot?” she asks, curiously.

You wonder what response the truthful answer will draw. “Yeah. Why, is it weird or something?”

She shakes her head, her chin making light movements on your thighs. “Nah. Just wish you would’ve told me sooner.”

Something beside you stirs, rousing you from your half-conscious musings. You open your eyes, finding yourself under the ceiling of what you recall to be one of the castle guest rooms, and not the hospital.

When’s the last time you woke up in your own house?

You turn your head to your right. There lies Rainbow Dash, curled up in a little ball on top of the covers. She seems to be wearing your shirt from last night, and is using your right arm as a pillow. Also, you seem to have lost all circulation in that limb.

“Hey, Dashie?” You roll onto your side, and begin to try to rouse her by lightly shaking her awake.

“Hm? Whaa…”

“Hey. We need to get up. I don’t know what time it is, but I know we’re supposed to meet with Princess Celestia today.” You look at the rays of light coming in through the blinds. “She’s obviously up.”

“No… Jus’ five more minutes…” she mumbles into your arm.

“Well, I’m gonna go take a shower right now. I don’t know when you’re going to wash the cum out of your butt,” you say, sitting up and tugging at your limp appendage. She just clutches tighter.

“Dun’t go. You’re comfortable.” She climbs a little higher up your arm.

You sigh.

A little while later, the two of you are at a café. You sip coffee and wait for your breakfast, while Rainbow does the same except her coffee hasn’t been touched, and she’s getting over a hangover. She has her head down on the table with the hood of the jacket she’s wearing over her head.

It’s really your jacket. But, according to her, ‘It’s comfortable and warm like the bed.’ She seemed pretty adamant about sleeping in this morning.

“Hello, you two. May I join you?”

A familiar voice chimes from your side. Princess Twilight Sparkle pulls up a stool, not waiting for an answer as she already knows what your response will be.

“Hey, Twilight,” you say, taking another sip of your coffee. Upon seeing that Rainbow still has her head down and afraid that she may be asleep, you lightly shake her. “Dash, you awake? Twilight’s here.”

“I know.”

You flinch slightly at the response, even though she makes absolutely no movements. Twilight chuckles.

“Seems things haven’t changed as much as I thought they had,” she comments good-naturedly. A waiter comes with a cup of coffee, and Twilight thanks him.

“Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that… After all, we’re here,” you respond to her. “I know that you wouldn’t just call us here, suddenly and abruptly like that, for no reason.”

Twilight leaves your sentence hanging for a moment, taking the time to pour some sugar into her coffee and taste it before finally replying. “I was hoping to have a more informal conversation here… Not only that, but I can’t really talk about it in public.”

This leaves you quite curious, but you accept her request all the same, and nod. “Alright. Still, I have a few questions about the whole thing. Maybe you can answer them for me, and then we can talk casually?”

She eyes you. “That depends on the questions in… question.”

“They’re about general things. Nothing that you can’t talk about here, I don’t think.”

She nods. “Alright. Shoot.”

“Okay, first question. In the letter you sent a little while back, while Rainbow was still in the hospital… it sounded like you wanted me.”

Twilight raises an eyebrow. You realize how that sounded, and smile embarrassedly. “Let me rephrase that… Okay, something I noticed in the letter was that you barely even mentioned Rainbow. She was only invited to come along at the very end, and truthfully, it gave me the impression that this was only because you knew I wouldn’t come if she didn’t come with me.”

Rainbow, you realize, has been listening the whole time. After hearing your revelation, she frowns at Twilight, to which the poor princess chuckles nervously.

“Just so you know, I very much enjoy the company of all my friends. No one of you girls is any less important to me than the rest of you.”

“…Which is why I realized how pressing this must be,” you cut in. “You yourself stated that it was urgent. The thing is, the whole situation concerns me. You’ve been so cryptic so far that I honestly have no idea what to expect, and it worries me.”

A long silence ensues. You, and Rainbow, patiently await an answer.

“I was hoping for a decent conversation,” you hear the alicorn mutter under her breath. Twilight takes a deep breath, then sighs. “I suppose I could go page Celestia, and see if she’s ready to speak with you... But really, you need to hear this straight from the princess herself.”

As you’ve found yourself doing many a time on your trip so far, you walk down the castle halls, this time with a pony on either side of you.

“Now, Ivan, I understand that you once told me that your world did not have royalty,” Twilight says, “but I would appreciate if you addressed Princess Celestia with the utmost respect.”

You give her a look. “There are a few flaws in your theory. One, there was royalty in my world, just not in my country. Two, I’ve been living here long enough to gain the common respect that all ponies gain for her. And three,” you wait a moment, almost afraid to admit it, “I’m actually kind of nervous.”

“Don’t be, it’s alright,” Twilight reassures you, in a way that screams condescension. This earns an eye-roll from Dash.

“Celestia’s cool, Ivan,” Rainbow says, giving you a rather hard pat on the leg. “I’ve talked to her plenty of times. It’ll be a breeze for you.”

Again, a bit condescending, but it helps a little. You ruffle up her mane, to which she swats at your hand. The two of you share a smile.

Your group turns a corner, and you find yourselves approaching a large double door that you remember Twilight telling you was the throne room, also the daily site of the day court. Five guards bar access to the rather large entrance.

“Guards,” Twilight addresses them. All five snap to attention, then quickly step aside to create a pathway. A purple aura surrounds both the doors and the princess’s horn, and a crack just wide enough for you to walk through is revealed.

“Good luck,” she says, turning the other way and taking Rainbow with her. Rainbow cranes her neck to look back around at you, and wears a worried expression. You immediately start sweating bullets.

Rainbow protests, her voice coming out in a suspicious tone. “Ho-o-old on. What’s going on? Why are we leaving?”

You point at the room. “Am I seriously going in there alone?”

Twilight stops, and looks back at you as well. “Well, yeah… I mean, like I said, it’s pretty important. The whole day court was canceled today, just for this meeting.”

You gulp. Well, that sure helps.

“Besides,” Twilight says, turning to Rainbow and draping a wing over her back, “We have our own things we need to talk about…”

The pegasus’ eyes widen. “W-we do?”

“Yes… Now come on.”

You stand before the great double door, a bit tentative about going in. The guards haven’t said a word this whole time, they just stay in their spots, barely even blinking. They wear deadpan looks, making you wonder if they’re even getting impatient. Would they do anything if you stood here all day?

Focus, Ivan. You’re meeting with Princess Celestia over a very urgent matter that you have no idea about. Grow some balls, and walk through that door.

Okay.

You adjust your tie, then take forced steps through the opening in the two doors.

You made it. You’re still ali-

SLAM!

You nearly jump out of your skin when the great doors shut behind you. You spin around, and hear something click into place with the oaken wood, sealing your fate.

Well, then.

You turn back around. As you do, your footsteps make clacking noises on the floor, which echo around the spacious room. It’s a very large room, designed kind of like a wide hallway.

Hallways. You tend to run into them a lot nowadays.

“Well, I see that you admire the architecture of my throne room.”

Your heart jumps in your chest, but the voice that beckons you has a kind of calming quality to it. You reason that it is Celestia’s.

“Ivan, is it? Come here. I can’t see you very well all the way down there.”

You turn, and spot Celestia sitting on her throne, both of which are merely small objects from where you stand. However, you know that Celestia is lying about not being able to see you; Twilight recently proved just how sharp an alicorn’s eyesight is.

You begin to walk towards her, the sharp clacking of your footsteps becoming muffled pit-pats as you transition from stone floor to rug. You’re torn between the nervousness that runs up your spine as you approach the literal deity, and the fact that she just seems so… friendly. Countless tales have been told about the power of the mighty Celestia; how she and her sister Luna defeated Discord, and the battle she had with Nightmare Moon, to name a few. Yet, here she sits, all that alleged power contained in a creature that looks mostly harmless.

You stop a respectful distance from her throne. You wonder if you should bow, or make some movement in reverence to your princess, but something tells you to stay how you are.

The pure white alicorn steps down from her throne, and draws near. She stops just before you, close enough for you to feel her presence. From this distance, you can see every detail of her, not only everything physical, but… Though her fur is pure white and her physical features flawless, her face is wrinkled with age. Her lilac eyes study you curiously, and seem rather amused when you look straight into one of them.

“Most of my subjects bow before me when they walk into my throne room,” she quips, the corners of her lips coming up into a light smile.

You smile as well, though still feel a bit intimidated. “Well, I’m honestly just glad I didn’t inadvertently disrespect you, or something.”

She shakes her head. “No worries, you’re new here. Though I must have you know that normally, a subject who fails to show the proper respect for their princess is to be tried in court. The most common punishments are either an unspecified amount in time or jail, or to have their teeth pulled out.” She gives you a polite smile. “Just a heads-up for next time.”

Now, you’re quite uncomfortable. Celestia sees this and visibly drops her act, chuckling.

“I’m kidding, Ivan. Is it wrong for a princess to play a small joke every now and again?”

You breathe a sigh of relief, wiping your brow of the sweat that’s begun to form in little beads. “It’s not wrong, um…” It feels strange, talking to the great ruler so casually, and about jokes of all things. “Just… unexpected. And, excuse me for saying so, but especially such dark humor.”

She harrumphs loudly. “I’m guessing Twilight gave you her little speech about ‘proper etiquette’ with a princess?”

It almost sounds like a statement rather than a question, but you nod in response.

The princess blows air through her nostrils. “Twilight has grown quite pompous over the years concerning the fact that she knows me so personally… quite ironically at this point, I might add.” Celestia shakes her head. “She makes it sound like a great accomplishment to know me, as if it were something difficult or challenging. While I enjoy the reverence I receive from my ponies, it rather vexes me to see a subject standing before me in a puddle of sweat, and Twilight does nothing to help this.”

You think about what she said. You come to a conclusion, but you’re not quite sure it’s right.

“So what you’re saying is that you want me to just speak normally to you?”

Celestia smiles. “Well, only if you’re comfortable with that. It would surely make this process go by much more easily.”

Again, you ponder her words. She wants you to just… talk to her? You look at the princess, searching for some kind of reassurance. Her eyes, just below your chin, blink genially. The manner in which she holds herself is similar to Twilight’s, in a way...

“Come on,” she teases, “the Element of Loyalty had no trouble addressing me. I’m sure she should have rubbed off on you by now.” An evil smirk cracks on her lips, “…in more ways than one, considering.”

You catch your jaw before it drops. Did she really just…?

“T’was just another joke, my dear.”

“How did you know…?”

“I’ve heard much about you,” she informs, “mostly through my former student. Still, there’s much I don’t know, and would be interested to hear it straight from the-” she pauses. “-human’s mouth.” She turns to the window, looking out at something you can’t see.

“Tell me: what is it like, being the only human in Equestria?”

“So, how have things been in Ponyville? I haven’t seen any of you in a long time.”

You brush a lock of polychrome mane out of your face. “Well, Pinkie and Fluttershy are fine, nothing really new with them. Rarity’s been cooped up inside her house working on something, so I haven’t seen much of her, but since the Apples got done bucking apples a few months back I’ve been hanging with Applejack a lot.”

Twilight smiles in a pleased way. “That’s great news. I’m glad to hear that you two have been getting along recently.”

You smile as well. “Yeah. She visited me in the hospital a few times, usually brought candy or something. She brought me a caramel apple once, and I got it stuck on my cast. Ivan had to clean it off. The little prick threw it away afterwards, but it was still funny to see his face.” You giggle at the memory.

Twilight glances back at your wing, noting that there is no longer a cast, but simple gauze tape. “I see. And how are you and Ivan doing? Despite all the things I’ve been hearing, the two of you seem to be alright.”

You tip your head to either side, as if to say so-so. “It’s been pretty rough recently, with all that’s happened, but we’ve managed. He really has a way of dealing with things.” You think about the manner in which he handled your unexpected estrus surprise not too long ago.

Twilight nods. “It would make sense, considering his rather calm demeanor…”

You and Twilight walk in silence for a moment.

“Twilight,” you say to grab her attention.

The purple alicorn looks at you. “Yeah, Dash?”

“Didn’t you say that there was something we needed to talk about?”

Her gaze falters for a moment. “Oh. Yes, there was.”

You raise an eyebrow, watching her expectantly. She coughs into her hoof, and then clears her throat. “Okay, well, I can’t really think of a soft way to introduce this new fact. But…” She clears her throat again. “I’m guessing that you and Ivan have now realized your inability to produce offspring between the two of you at this point, correct?”

You roll your eyes. “Equish, please.”

“You two can’t have babies.”

It’s your turn to choke. “Sorry,” you say, after recovering from a coughing fit. “Yeah, we can’t. But why are you asking this?”

She suddenly smiles, which creeps you out a little. “Well, you see, Rainbow Dash…” She unfolds her wing opposite you, and a small vial floating by a purple aura reveals itself. “…I thought you might want to see this.”

You curiously inspect the small glass object. A strange, clear liquid is visible through the aura of Twilight’s magic. “What is it?”

She sticks her nose up into the air and smiles, emanating pride. “Just a little something I’ve been working on. You see, the idea of cross-species relationships, such as the one you’re currently in, got me interested in the dilemma of the two partners wanting foals. Adoption, surrogacy… sure, they’re options, but really only alternatives to what most couples really want.”

“Right…” You’re not sure you like where this is going.

“An understanding of basic biology is all it takes to know that the major barrier for most species is simply one correlating with relatively vast differences in base sequences within DNA.” She stops for a moment, thinking over what she just said. “So, basically, your DNA is too different to have foals.”

This is all it takes for you to make the connection. “So what you’re saying, is that potion you made-”

“-has the ability to temporarily alter reproductive genes to allow procreation between a pony and another species.” A wide grin spreads across her face. “Rainbow Dash, you and Ivan can have foals!”

As you can still taste the coffee you had earlier, you try to spit it out. This only ends in a small drop of spittle hanging off your lip, which you wipe off with a foreleg. Twilight watches, seeming crestfallen by your reaction.

“Twilight,” you start slowly, putting meaning behind every word as you fix your eyes on the princess, “thanks for the offer, but… I don’t think it will be needed.”

Twilight’s mouth hangs open, as if she were about to say something but stopped. She closes it, instead fixing you with an irritated glare. “Y’know, Dash, I thought for sure that this would be something that you would be more than happy to receive. After all, I started working on this after receiving a certain letter from a certain pegasus who-”

“Yeah, yeah, the letter, I know I know! Don’t be so… loud.” Your ears stand tall as you swivel your head about, looking for anypony who might be listening. You turn back to Twilight when you’re sure the coast is clear. “I know what I said- or wrote, whatever. But I’m happy with what I’m in right now, and don’t want to mess anything up. Besides, I still need to think about the other pony in this relationship.”

She cocks her head. “The other- ohh, Ivan…” She thinks about this for a moment. “Well, he’s pretty understanding. I’m sure he would go along with it if you showed him how much this really means to you.”

“But that’s just it.” You shake your head. “I know he would go along with it. But it just doesn’t feel right to go and force him to do something he doesn’t wanna do, especially something he doesn’t even know is possible.” You sigh, another thought weighing heavily on your mind. “Besides that, he’s still pretty young. He turned eighteen like, a few months ago.”

Twilight chuckles. “Oh, Rainbow. I wouldn’t worry about that. He was thirty years old before his eighteenth birthday, remember?”

“Oh, Celestia, don’t remind me.” You hear Twilight stifling a laugh, and wait for her to finish before you continue. “Still, I don’t wanna force him into this. I mean, we’re not even committed yet.”

She raises an eyebrow. “’Yet?’”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s just wishful thinking,” you say as you watch the patterns on the rug go by.

She pauses. “So, you want him to…?”

“I…” You find it rather difficult to make eye contact with her. “I sent you that letter awhile back… talking about the thing… so yeah, I guess.”

“I see,” she says thoughtfully. Then, after a pause, “So do you think he will? Commit, I mean.”

You groan, as this question has been a major weight on your mind. A month in the hospital with only your thoughts and thirty minutes of iPod a day hadn’t helped much. “I don’t know… He has this weird idea in his head that everypony is supposed to marry, or something.” The Cakes may have been a factor in this misleading, as they’re rather well-off. “Even if he didn’t, I’m not so sure.”

Twilight seems confused for a moment, but then puts her hoof to her chin in thought. “I wonder if it’s a cultural difference…”

“Seems like it always is with him…”

“So are you going to tell him?”

You give the purple mare a questioning look. “Tell him what?”

“About the whole committal thing. I mean, if you really mean everything you just told me… well, he deserves to know.”

For some reason, this angers you. Your mouth silently opens as you try to come up with a retort, but can find none. In the end, you just sit down in one spot and hang your head in defeat. “…I wish it were that easy.”

It takes a second for Twilight to notice that you are no longer with her. When she does, she turns around, coming back to you and placing a reassuring hoof on your shoulder. You hear the faint jingle of magic, and look up.

Your jaw lowers itself slightly at the sight before you. There, floating in a purple aura, is the vial containing the potion that Twilight made for you. You look up at her; she smiles, and shakes the glass bottle, gesturing for you to take it.

You turn your head sideways to grip it in your teeth, and then gingerly tuck it into the space between your wing and your body. You ruffle your good wing, getting used to the extra object pressed firmly against your body.

Twilight leans forward, wrapping her forelegs around you comfortingly. You hug her back, nuzzling her neck with your snout and enjoying the warm feeling of your friend.

The clock’s long hand makes a full revolution by the time you finish explaining the less fine details of your time in Equestria.

Throughout your story, Celestia had been very inquisitive, asking questions as you went. However, she had started to become quiet, and eventually silenced herself as you moved past the fiasco with Scootaloo, her dad, and whatever his intentions may have been when he broke into yours and Rainbow Dash’s house. When you finish, you think you see a slight glimmer in the immortal pony’s eye. This disappears as soon as you see it, and the alicorn lets out a long, drawn-out sigh.

“I suppose I should let you know what I brought you here for…” she begins. “…though, now, I hardly think it should affect you so greatly as I had previously assumed. But, it is still very relevant to you, and is definitely something that Twilight, Luna, and I all agreed that you should at least be aware of.”

The sound of a clock ticking echoes about the room. Celestia lets out another deep breath.

“While Twilight was still in Ponyville as my student, I had her keep tabs on you. Not spying, or anything of that matter, but to simply update me on how you were getting along, and for her to inform me on anything you said or did that may have seemed important. In that, she did her job well.

"Not too long after the discovery of you had been made, I received a letter from Twilight. She was excited, that much I could tell from the random splotches of ink on the paper and the shaky penmanship. She said that you had finally told them how you had gotten here, and wrote to me on the alleged details on how you arrived in Equestria. She said that, as a scientist, she had to be reasonably skeptical; but as for me, I believed every last word of that letter.”

You cock your head. Celestia, seeming to anticipate your puzzlement, explains.

“Try to believe me when I say this, Ivan. You’re not the first human this world has seen, nor will you likely be the last. Your being here is truly a rare phenomenon, sure, but there have been at least a dozen before you. Their stories are always similar: went into a cave, got lost in a sandstorm, fallen into a hole, couldn’t find their way out of a mineshaft… Even just over fifty years ago, a sunken ship was found at the bottom of our eastern ocean. A human ship.”

Are you really hearing this? You feel the urge to bombard the princess with questions, but as you sense that there’s more explaining to be done, you decide to keep silent and listen.

“I could go into greater detail about how this all works- oh, maybe I will, later. But, the fact of the matter is, the way in which one enters this world can also be used to exit. In the case of, say, a sunken ship or a sandstorm, it can be rather difficult for one to retrace their steps; but a cave can be relatively easily crossed through.”

Your eyes are wide as you anxiously watch the white alicorn. “Does this mean…?”

She nods. “For the past year and a half, various experts who can identify portals have been accompanied by royal guards on expeditions into the Everfree Forest. Recently, a cave emitting tremendous amounts of magical energy was discovered. Some of the party members of one group went to investigate, and concluded that there is, indeed, an active portal in the south-eastern portion of the forest.”

There’s a portal in the Everfree Forest. An active portal in the Everfree Forest.

Holy shit.

You find yourself becoming dizzy, and catch yourself on Celestia’s outstretched wing before you fall. You thank her, then begin to pace back and forth, still coming to terms with this reality.

You stop. When you look at her, you can only assume that you’re not looking so good, because she gives a kind of worried grimace. “So, I can go home…” you state more than ask.

The white mare’s eyes widen, as she seems caught off guard. She starts cautiously, speaking slowly at first as to not be too sudden. “Yes, I suppose you can.” Surprise is evident in her voice, careful and controlled as she is with it. “But if you wish to leave, you have a little less than a few weeks to do so, at most. As much magic is it contains, it has been determined that the portal is dying. Another two weeks or so, and it may be too unsafe or risky to attempt to cross through.”

Two weeks… Two weeks to make the biggest decision of your life. A year ago, you told yourself that if you ever had the chance to go back, to leave this technicolored world and return to your old life, you would. It would be sad at first, because of the friends you’d made here, but it isn’t as if you’ve never had to leave friends behind before. But, at this point in time, there are more than simple friendships to hold you back…

“…Is it wrong that, even after everything I just told you, that I still sometimes wish I could go back and see my old friends and family? Just to say goodbye, at least.”

Celestia gives you a look of empathy. “I suppose that if we were quick enough, you could be sent through and back in that window of time. Although, there is always the risk that the portal could become unstable while you’re still in the other universe.” She shakes her head. “It is quite unfortunate that we discovered this so late…”

You close your eyes, thinking. Could you go through, see your family and maybe friends, and exit the portal back into Equestria? From the way Celestia makes it sound, it seems as if it’s either here or there; all or nothing. Even if you did go back to Earth with the full intent of returning to Ponyville, would your old acquaintances even allow you to? What would your mom think if you said, “I love you guys, but I gotta go. I prefer the world with talking horses.” What if you went through that portal, and then decided you didn’t want to come back?

No matter what choice you make, you feel as if it can never be a win-win situation. Every choice has consequences, and it seems like regret is a sure cost of all of these decisions. You feel a wing drape around your shoulders, and look to see Celestia’s face next to yours. She wears a solemn expression, one used when sharing in another’s inner turmoil.

“You have the said amount of time to make your decision. I’m sure you already understand the impact this will have on the rest of your life, so all I hope is for you to make the right decision.” She begins to walk towards the great double doors, her ethereal mane trailing behind her. “I’ll leave you to yourself to think, now.”

You and Rainbow both sit on the bed of the guest room, the silence loud enough to hear a pin drop. When the two of you met in the hallway, little more was said than, “How’d it go?” and “Fine.” After that, both of you walked quietly back to your room.

“So…” you say, finally breaking the silence.

“So…” the rainbow-maned pegasus, still wearing your sweater, repeats.

A pause.

“There’s something I need to tell y-” you both say at once, but then stop once you realize you’re talking over each other.

“You first,” she quickly says. You can’t help but find that a little strange, but put it out of your mind in favor of the bigger problem.

“Okay, uhm,” you start, not quite sure how to begin, “I don’t really know how to put this lightly… You know that- thing- I had to talk with Celestia about?”

“Yeah?”

You gulp. “Well, apparently, they- they found the cave.”

She raises an eyebrow. “What cave?”

“You know, the cave that I-” You don’t even have to finish your sentence. Your throat tightens, and the silence is all you need to know that she gets it.

Her face has turned a pale shade of her normal blue. She chuckles weakly, and gives a sick-looking smile. “Oh. Th-that’s nice. What did th-they n-need you for?”

You gulp. Why is this so hard to say? “Celestia offered- she offered me to, uh… go home. My Earth home.”

You notice that one of her hooves is shaking. She quickly places her other hoof over it to stop it. She’s having a hard time holding her smile.

“Heh, heh. It’s a good thing you’re not going then, right?”

You rub your arm and look downward. The pattern on the blanket suddenly looks so interesting…

“Ivan, answer me,” she orders, her voice rising in volume. You don’t answer. The bed shakes slightly as she jumps up to all fours. “Don’t ignore me, Ivan. Answer me right fucking now.”

You look up. She’s taken an offensive stance, her one wing forming a bump underneath the sweater and her legs look ready to rocket her forward at a moment’s notice. You just shake your head. “I… really don’t know what I’m going to do, Dash.”

For a second, it looks as if she might pounce on you. Her eyes form narrow slits, and her teeth clamp together in rage. Her chests heaves, a shudder following behind every breath. Then, a tear rolls off her snout and down her cheek.

“So, that’s it, then.” Her voice is quiet, nearly a whisper. As she chokes back sobs, her breathing becomes unsteady. “Just. Like. That. Everything we had together… It never really mattered to you, did it?”

Your jaw drops, and your own brow furrows. “I never said that!”

“But you meant it.” Her voice is a sharp blade. “You say you care, but what does it mean if you’re just gonna throw me away in the end?”

…you’re just gonna throw me away… “I’m not ‘throwing you away!’ I just… this is a really tough decision for me, alright?! And you’re not making it any easier!”

Tears stream freely down her face. “Alright, I’ll make it easier for you, then. Go back to your ‘home.’ Go back to the people who think you’re dead by now, and probably stopped looking for you months ago. Don’t worry about us; you can leave with a clear conscience, because nobody here is going to miss you. Nopony here is going to be sad, or lonely, or cry their fucking eyes out when you’re gone!”

She jumps off the bed and trots to the exit of the master bedroom. When she gets to the door, however, she stops. “You know, sometimes you act like you’re so smart. You put on this act, like you’re all high and mighty and above everyone else. Well, you don’t fool me, Ivan! You make stupid, stupid choices, just like everypony else!”

She stomps through the next room, and opens the door out of the suite. “And I’m keeping this sweater!” she calls out, before slamming the door behind her.

You sit on the bed by yourself, feeling dazed. Depressed. Tired.

You need some sleep.

The whole scene plays itself over in your mind. Over and over again, you see Rainbow’s horrified expression when you first mention the cave. Her stinging words bounce around and echo about your head, like some broken record player repeating the ending to a sad song.

“You know, sometimes you act like you’re so smart. You put on this act, like you’re all high and mighty and above everyone else. Well, you don’t fool me, Ivan! You make stupid, stupid choices, just like everypony else!”

“You say you care, but what does it mean if you’re just gonna throw me away in the end?”

“Everything we had together… It never really mattered to you, did it?”

You went to sleep to get away from all this…

“It’s just not fair, is it?”

You’re nearly jolted awake when a voice sounds from within your head. However, you feel yourself unable to open your eyes, as if something is forcibly keeping you unconscious.

“Are you almost done struggling? It’s rather taxing to have to do this…”

The voice is female, that much you can tell, and sounds strained, as if she were physically exerting herself. You realize that by ‘struggling,’ she is referring to how you constantly try to pry your eyes open, and so you do your best to relax.

“Much better.” The voice, formerly making its owner seem omnipresent, suddenly sounds as if it were coming from a certain direction. Your ears pinpoint this location, and you quickly turn to your right.

Your eyes widen at the sight before you. “Surprised?” the midnight blue alicorn asks, beginning to approach you. You want to back away, and feel your body- dream body, maybe- begin to fade in a vain attempt to hide. However, as the mare draws closer, your fear leaves you. Luna makes no attempts to mask her emotions, and from what you can see, the night princess seems… sad? Maybe empathetic?

“I… yeah, I guess. I wasn’t really expecting to see another princess. Truthfully, I never expected to even meet a princess, much less both you and Celestia in one day…”

She snorts. “And why not? You’re currently the only human in Equestria. You should expect to receive a considerable amount of special attention.” A frown forms on her face. “And you seem to be forgetting about our newest addition to the crown...”

Upon realizing your mistake, you nearly facepalm. “Oh, yeah, Twilight. I don’t know, I still can’t really wrap my head around her being Princess Twilight Sparkle. Maybe it’s because I’m too familiar with her or something, but she’s just Twilight to me.”

The princess of the night nods thoughtfully. “Well, you may not know it, but the two of us are a bit more familiar than you think.” Upon seeing your confusion, she smiles. “As I said before, being the only member of your species that currently exists in Equestria has attracted special attention to yourself. Coincidentally, I also have a practice of visiting troubled subjects’ dreams in order to aid them in their struggles. I’m sure you can put two and two together.”

“So, you’re saying that you’ve… been in my dreams?” you ask. “I don’t remember that.”

She chuckles this time. “You wouldn’t; I’ve never blatantly exposed myself to you in the fashion that I currently am now. But, ‘to be frank,’ if it weren’t for me, you would be quite dead.”

This only serves to confuse you even further. Luna seems to expect this, and continues her explanation. “Let us go back to the beginning: when you first arrived in the Everfree Forest. Now, what would you say makes that forest different from every other one you’ve encountered?”

Your answer is immediate. “The monsters.”

She nods. “Good. Now, even with your somewhat impressive knowledge of the wilderness, do you really believe that you could have survived out there on your own? I was watching, Ivan.”

You cock your head. “But how? I mean, I don’t remember you being there, and the only dreams I had were these recurring nightmares that wouldn’t let me sleep. That wasn’t very useful, because all that did was make me really tired and jumpy.”

“But, you’re missing the point,” she says, a bit of enthusiasm building in her voice. “The nightmares. What were they about, and when did they start?”

“They were about the monsters that I saw in the Everfree,” you answer the first question. The second, you have to think about for a moment. “And it started… the very first night.”

She nods again. “Correct. Now, when did you first encounter one of these monsters?”

“The second day, I think.”

She stays silent and just smiles at you. You ponder over your own words, something not fitting quite right in your own story.

“Oh, wow.”

“Oh, wow, indeed,” she says triumphantly. “You had nightmares of creatures that you never even knew existed. As some ponies theorize, the purpose of nightmares is to prepare oneself for dangerous events that they may encounter in the future. A kind of training, you could say.”

This is all rather astounding to you. “When else were you there?” you ask, trying to wrack your brain for any possible dreams that Luna may have influenced. “I don’t remember you in any of my other dreams.”

“I wouldn’t think so,” she responds. “After the first time, I rarely meddled in your affairs. I kept an eye on you, just to see how things were getting along, but only intervened when I thought it was truly necessary.”

“And… you’re here now.”

“Indeed,” she answers, nodding. “You see, my sister believes that she can understand what you are going through. But she can’t. She has lost many friends over the years, but something that she has never once done is taken for herself a lover; and that, I assure you, is quite different.” She gains a devious smile. “Ivan, Celestia has informed you that there have been other humans in Equestria, correct?”

You nod. “And other portals as well…?”

“Indeed,” she confirms. “Has she told you about the ponies once residing on earth?”

Your eyes widen, and you shake your head. “No, if you don’t include the mindless, non-talking animals.”

“They weren’t what I was referring to, no…” she chuckles. “In case you haven’t figured it out by now, there’s a bit of explaining to be done here. So, my bipedal subject, make yourself comfortable, for you are about to hear the lengthy tale of the equine race, and how Celestia and I became the rulers of it.”

“Now, our story begins a very, very long time ago; let us say, about three and a half millennia. Our setting: Crete.”

Crete? It sounds familiar…

Your eyes shoot wide open. “Isn’t that near Greece?”

She raises an eyebrow, before realization dawns on her face. “Oh, yes. I believe that’s what it is being called now, yes. Now, please, let me explain.”

You sit back, wondering just where the heck this story is going.

“Now, during this time, there were powerful beings who learned the ways of magic. The most powerful of these beings often later became known through history as ‘gods.’ The legends tailored around them often greatly exaggerated their power, and oftentimes characters were even made up by storytellers. From the last time one of your kind visited Equestria, it was rather difficult to separate fact from fiction.”

You nod dumbly, your whole view on the world suddenly changed the instant she mentioned magic on Earth.

“Here, we go back to the mages. At some point, the question had arisen among them: what was life? And, could life be created? Contrary to popular belief, all of the gods had once been or still were mortal, and still had many questions about the universe. So, as the inquisitive human race does, they began to experiment.”

At this point, Luna seems to become a little uneasy. She rubs her foreleg, then says, “I suppose that you could say they were successful… to an extent. Many of their first experiments consisted of sewing together animals, and even including other humans in this rather disgusting form of tailoring. Necromancy and the transfer of a conscious from one body to another were thrown into the mix, used in different combinations, or on their own, and soon a rather large variety of different creatures had been created.

“As one of the few created races with the ability to survive for more than a few weeks, sapient ponies quickly multiplied and became widespread throughout Greece. Since we were originally derived mostly from magic, with just a few samples of genetic material, we were very in touch with the magic of the universe- so much, in fact, that the ability to use magic in some form came naturally to all ponies: whether they be unicorns, pegasi, or earth ponies.”

You start to wonder about alicorns. How did they come to be? Luna, seemingly knowing, nods, and continues her story.

“Now, something that the mages, which at that point included unicorns themselves, found was that they couldn’t create a pony that had both a horn and wings. The spells they used would often cause unicorns to receive pegasus genes or vice versa, but both limbs could never be placed on one pony at the same time. Actually, I will rephrase that; creating a living pony with both limbs was impossible, as the magic required to ensure both pieces spawned correctly often killed the subject before it was even brought to life. So, for quite a long time, the mere idea of the elusive alicorn became fantasy, and was thought impossible to ever achieve.

“Then, a young unicorn mare from Crete came along. She later became known as Celestia. As a young woman, she was very smart, very ambitious; not nearly the wise ruler of Equestria that she is today, but still quite clever. She proposed to the magic community a bold claim: that she knew how to create an alicorn. She said that winged unicorn could be created not from an embryo or a mish-mash of animal parts, but by magically sewing a pair of wings to a unicorn. She theorized that an adult pony had more resistance to magic than a foal did, so therefore could better handle the magic required in creating an alicorn, and that if the whole process was done slowly, a unicorn could channel out any excess magic through their horn. When asked who would be the subject of this experiment, Celestia enthusiastically volunteered.

“‘Secretly,’ she told me, ‘I know this will work. I will gain immense power as the world’s first alicorn, and in time, sister, I will pass on that power to you.’

“I’ll admit, there were a few things that I had my doubts about; one of them being her promise of bestowing me alicorn status. Her hypothesis nearly depended on the fact that the subject in question was a unicorn, and contrary to popular belief, I was originally a pegasus. But, as always, Celestia had a plan.

“Something she was well aware of was the fact that there were those who would want to prevent the rise of an alicorn. They knew, too, that if the subject survived, the immense amount of power required to create an alicorn would cause that pony to obtain power of that level, or possibly greater. So, on the day that she was to be transformed, she wore a special purple amulet around her neck. This amulet- a gift from a close friend- was made of a certain kind of crystal, which had the ability to retain large amounts of magical energy. It also captured the specific spells of the magic it absorbed, which could be released for use at a later time.

“When the experiment was conducted, there were those in the group of supposedly trustable mages that meant to cause my sister harm by channeling far more energy into her than was safe, which would have hurt or even killed her had she not worn the necklace. In the end, to the astonishment of everyone present, she was left unchanged in the slightest; as a result, it was concluded that the test had been a failure. And so, with the would-be assassins thrown off our trail, we were safe for the time being.

“This was our chance. We would perform the experiment on our own. Celestia had a hidden laboratory- one that the two of us would spend hours, sometimes days in. I always acted as her assistant, and this time was no different. I stood by as she very cautiously began releasing the spells from her gem, making sure to only release as much as she could absorb at a time. All the while, I would be there in case something happened to her.

“I was very fortunate that I was present. Apparently, the gem had absorbed more magic than it should have been able to take. Celestia was taking extreme caution, as much as you can while taking a risk, as energy was being released in erratic bursts. Unfortunately, one can still set off a trap while treading lightly- the gem cracked, and nearly a quarter of the total magic flowed out all at once. The rest followed in the moments after, nearly blinding me and causing my sister to convulse crazily. It was… quite frightening.

“Being around Celestia as often as I was, I understood how magic worked. Excess magic can be transferred from one pony to another by contact with certain magic-sensitive parts of the body. So, on a jerk reaction, I immediately did the only action I could think to take: I grabbed her horn.”

She starts to chuckle, lightly shaking her head. “Stupid, stupid, stupid. That was not only the perfect way to literally snap her horn in half, but a very large amount of that magic rushed through her horn and into me. I suppose that that is what I was going for, but in all likelihood, I should have died then and there. That day, we were both very, very lucky fillies.

“When I awoke, the pain was excruciating. My whole body felt as if I had been charred by lightning, inside and out, and I had such a dreadful headache. Reaching up, I went to touch my forehead. My hoof flared up in pain when it hit something hard, but that was just it. My hoof touched something hard.”

She smiles, a fond memory passing through her mind. “When the pain subsided enough so that we both could actually move, Celestia was ecstatic. She had proven that the mythical alicorn was no mere myth, and we were the living proof of this! It all went over quite well with Crete, who boasted of the first living alicorns. Our reputation of power became known around the Mediterranean basin, as well as the eastern empires, and I suppose you could say that we even achieved ‘god’ status. I believe Celestia even said that the last human visitor we had here in Equestria mentioned our place in Greek mythology, so I am quite pleased to hear that we are still very much alive in our native land.”

“Yes,” you say, smiling impishly despite your utter awe in hearing Luna’s tale, “the myths of the winged stallion named Pegasus are basic literature where I am from.”

The dark princess snorts, rolling her eyes. “As I said earlier, much becomes distorted in the great vastness of time.”

“So, um, princess?” you start to start to ask, “Sorry if this sounds rude, how does this help me with my problem?” The way she eyes you sends shivers down your spine. You’re not sure if she’s even meaning to come off on you the way she is, but… “This is all very interesting- no, mind-blowing, to be honest- but I still have a bit of a problem…”

She holds a forehoof up, signaling for you to be silent. “I know, I know. I realized I’ve rambled on a bit. But, more than likely, you would be rather lost had you not heard the first part of this story. After all, you must wait for the fruit to ripen for it to be good for eating. Am I correct in saying so?”

You nod, although the analogy seems a little out of the blue. Seeming satisfied with your response, the ages-old princess continues with her tale.

“Now, where was I-? Oh,yes. So, all was well for the ponies. The same could also be said of most of the other species- gryphons had existed long before us, but alongside the minotaurs, we were integrating quite well into the human society. As for me and my sister, we began to be looked up to in our community. We both had immense magical power, and even our outward appearances gained striking differences from normal ponies as a result of this energy. My natural growth was literally stunted, yet I still grew to be taller, and though I may not look it, stronger than the finest pony stallions in the land. My sister, being full-grown when the ‘incident’ occurred, well… you’ve seen her. I am simply going to assume that there is no need to elaborate.”

Again, you nod. A few questions arise and a few questions are solved, but you save mentioning any of them for a later time. Right now, you sense a hidden tone creeping up in Luna’s voice; something that was there the whole time, yet seems to have been building up to this moment.

“The change was gradual. And, before I confuse you, no, I am not talking about me and my sister’s change in physiology, although that was a gradual occurrence. I am talking about the mentality of the era. You see, what people define as ‘normal’ is what they are comfortable with; what they are comfortable with is usually within their control. Anything that is outside their control, they will react negatively, and try to justify some way to bring it within their control. If they can’t, well… if history is any indicator, humans have tended to eliminate things that they don’t like.”

You cringe. Princess Luna’s sharp eyes don’t miss a thing, and she quickly clears her throat. “Now, don’t feel as if I discriminate against you or your race,” she says, “ponies are quite guilty of this fault as well. I could name some examples, but I’m sure we would both rather I continue with the story in- uh, Greece.”

You outwardly agree, but silently, her words bug you. The way she talked about humans… it sounded like she got a bad taste in her mouth. Honestly, if she does hold something against your kind, you can see where she’s coming from; humans do have a relatively high tendency for violence…

Not that all people are bad. Really, it seems like a few twisted individuals tend to corrupt a whole society. Upon thinking back to an incident that happened mere weeks ago, you recall the ponies having these individuals as well… maybe they’ve just learned to control them better than the residents of Earth did?

Your mind comes back to reality- or, whatever you might call it, as Luna continues. “As time went on, segregation became more and more common. Communities of ponies were formed separate from our human counterparts, partly due to them shunning us, and partly because of an effort by ponies to protect themselves. Ourselves. Everything that had any magical powers or was deemed ‘unnatural’- or, I could just say any living being that wasn’t directly controlled by the humans- was either quarantined, or treated extremely unfairly.

“As ponies, we felt extremely oppressed; though truthfully, I felt most for the human mages. As magic users, they were deemed untouchable by their own people, often labeled as ‘witches’ and persecuted relentlessly; as humans, they were not very welcome in the communities of the ‘created,’ not with the way their relatives repressed those beings. They were the smallest minority of all, and nobody wanted anything to do with them.

“In the loose communities that Celestia and I ‘governed,’ we decided that allowance of entry into our small villages would not be based on race. It would be extremely hypocritical and adverse to the message of love and acceptance we were trying to send. As a result of our racial tolerance, our towns were very culturally diverse; ponies still made up the majority of the population, but gryphons, minotaurs, and even humans dotted the lands. This integration actually allowed us to prosper due to the spread of culture, ideas, and technology, and a new and powerful society was on the rise.

“While acceptance is what made us prosper, there was still a major bias against the humans within our society. Most of them were mages: outcasts of the human society, who wished for a better life within our boundaries. Unfortunately, not a lot changed for them: they were still being shunned, lynched, and killed, the only difference between us and the outside world being that these actions were illegal. But, seeing as how our means of enforcement consisted of a rather small Guard centered mostly in our capital province, the law often made little difference.

“So, as a means of encouraging acceptance, Celestia and I ourselves began associating with the humans. Of course, there were some rotten ones- humans who had likely adopted the common thought process of their race, and had only come to our villages to escape persecution- but the majority of the mages among us were well-mannered, very sharp and interesting characters. The elders among them often advised us, as we were still very young rulers overseeing the birth of a fast-growing state, and humans whom we trusted even gained positions of power. One such human was a rather close friend of ours, and, well… I suppose he’s what makes you and I so alike.”

Luna pauses, staring off into space for a moment. She closes her eyes. “It appears that we have gone from a history lesson to an anecdote. A tale, forgotten by most but burnt into the minds of those who hold it dear. So since it is, in fact, a story, I shall recite it like one.

“There were once three friends. Close friends. Two were sisters, and the third you could call a brother, though he shared no blood with the two. In fact, he wasn’t even of the same species: the sisters, as you have probably deduced by now, are Celestia and I. The brother, we will call him-” Luna puts her hoof to her chin in thought. “-Faithful. He had a name, but I believe that Faithful fits him better, so that is what he shall be called.

“Now, the three were very close- they had known each other nearly from birth. Their friendship was an odd one, but their parents allowed it, so it continued to thrive. The boy named Faithful was curious about the two sisters- one could walk on clouds, while the other had a horn which allowed her to cast spells and alter magic in almost any way imaginable. Faithful became inspired, and sought to learn how this worked.

“In the years to come, with the help of his friends, Faithful learned to cast spells. As it turned out, he was very in tune with the magic of the earth, and could harness great amounts of raw energy. He was noticed by a renowned master wizard, and taken under this mage’s wing to study as his apprentice.

“It was an unsaid fact between the trio of friends that Celestia had a higher skill in magic than Faithful did; at least in every area but earth magic. But, sadly, females did not receive the same opportunities as their male counterparts at the time. Aware of this, Faithful left Celestia an enchanted purple gem as a parting gift, and wished her luck in her own private studies.

“Years later, he reappeared during the ‘magic purge.’ He had heard of our ventures, and decided to come see for himself the famed princesses of the pony state. Aside from that, he was growing uneasy of his peoples’ actions, and knew that we would accept him into our towns. He was right, of course, and upon becoming aware of his presence we arranged for a meeting between the three of us.

“T’was rather interesting; pleasantly so, to be honest. He was surprised to see the physical changes the alicorn form had done us, and said it suited us. He noticed Celestia wearing the gem he had given her all those years ago, and was pleased to see that she kept it; and even moreso to know that it had been a crucial factor in our ascension to alicornhood.

“What we soon came to learn about him was that he, too, had gained a fair amount of renown. He was quite well-known as a magic user in his region, owing a partial bit of his fame to a few spells he invented to improve farming and agriculture. He mentioned his distaste in enchanting gems like he had once done with his gift to Celestia, as a corrupt mind could easily exploit such power and misuse it. We agreed that it was a legitimate concern.

“And so, as time went on, he built a house for himself and resided in a farming village, not too far from the capital. His skill in earth magic allowed us to support a growing population, and even prosper through exporting surplus yields. Due to that, and partially due to his interest in a co-matriarchy and how our government worked, we endowed him with certain political powers over the land in which he resided. With Faithful’s honest concern for our country’s well-being, we found that it was a decision we would not regret.”

Luna looks down, and begins to paw the ground. “I suppose that this is where my tale becomes relevant to your situation. When I think about it, it’s rather uncanny how similar my past dilemma is to your current one. I just hope that your story ends with a bit less… regret.”

She sighs, taking a wistful breath of air. “I suppose what happened blindsided us. I mean, at the time, cross-species relationships were unheard of… quite taboo, really. Even with our capability for intelligent thought, we were still considered by most humans, and sometimes even by members of our own species, to be animals. Yet, Faithful had known us longer than he could remember, and thought differently. It was unnatural, but what we had transgressed what was normal and extended past our physical exteriors, to what was inside. It took some time for us to realize, and even cope with our feelings, but we soon professed our love to one another… and were honestly completely unsure of where to go from there.

“Celestia, if you don’t know, is quite the romantic fantisizer. She was absolutely ecstatic; likely, she had been hoping this would happen for a long time, and was happy that we had gone to her first on this. While her first suggestion- a rather brash and poorly thought out one, at that- was to go public with our love, for the sake of our well-beings we decided to keep it secret for the time being. Her reasoning was that it may have been used to help unite the humans and the ponies, but Faithful and I were more convinced it would cause riots. So, for a few blissful months, he courted me in secret, and we continued to pursue our feelings for one another.

“It was not long later when the trouble began. The rulers began sending their ‘heros,’ oftentimes sons of mages themselves, to go about and slaughter ‘monsters’ for rewards. At the same time, human commanders began mounting raids into various camps of the created beings. However, it was only when a group of minotaurs retaliated by storming a market in Minos and massacring everything in sight, that full-scale wars broke out.

“The society that Celestia and I presided over was unlucky enough to have been attacked by the normally-peaceful state of Corinth. The first invasion they launched, they marched right over us. We stood absolutely no chance, and the residents of our villages knew it as well as Celestia and I. As a result, some fled; to the woods, to the sea, wherever they believed they could escape to. Many stayed, though as time went on and the Corinthians got closer to the capital, it became quite clear that we were fighting a losing battle.

“Then, a strange but wonderful opportunity was presented to us. A griffon mage claimed that he had ‘caught’ a rip in the universe, and that we may be able to use it to our advantage. Nobody took him seriously, but Celestia, being a bit curious and admittedly desperate as well, went with him to see what he meant.

“A day after the appearance of the strange griffon in our court, Celestia came back to me saying that she had wonderful news. The griffon had discovered a portal to another dimension, and that if Celestia and I were to pump energy into it, it may be able to stay open long enough for at least most of our nation to cross through. And so, that is what we did. For a whole month, we powered the portal while ponies, minotaurs, griffons, and others passed through, only temporarily closing the portal at times to rest.

“Finally, it was time for us to cross through. Faithful had stayed with us the whole way, offering support in any way he could and waiting with us. When the time came, we decided that he should be the first of the three of us to go. We watched as he stepped through that portal…”

Luna’s ears droop at this moment, and she looks downcast. “…and fell right through the back of it. All of the other humans who even had the opportunity to cross through wished to remain on Earth, so he was the first of his kind to try it.”

Your cock your head, confused. “So, this portal… Was it the same kind that I came through?”

The mare of the night nods. “You are correct. You see, these portals have been appearing between our two dimensions since- well, not even I know that. It just so happens that the griffon mage was able to force one open; and the fact that you happened to find yourself here by means of portal-jumping was pure coincidence.”

“Okay, so I’m going to take that as a yes,” you say. “What I’m wondering, though, is how I was able to cross if- uh, Faithful couldn’t?”

“We later found out that his inability to use the portal was not due to his heritage itself, but rather a combination of his magic and species.” She shakes her head. “Human magic isn’t compatible with the portal’s, it seems.”

The forlorn way in which she acts makes you hesitant to ask the question that’s on your mind. With Luna, however, what you think never seems to be confined to the walls of your head, as she quickly perks up and recomposes herself. “You want to know what happened to Faithful.”

She says this as a statement, a fact, rather than a question, as if the answer is obvious. You nod your head in response.

“I don’t know,” is all she says. She stares at her hooves for some time, letting silence take hold for a minute. “There was no time to try to figure this out. The Corinthians were getting closer and closer, and I only had two options: go with my sister through the portal, and continue to rule over the ponies by her side; or flee to the ends of the earth with my lover.”

She promptly wipes her eyes, making you wonder if the pain of it all has really lasted this long. “I gave him one last kiss, and a feather to remember me by, and then walked through. I know not whether he escaped, or if he was captured and let Celestia-knows-what be done to him. But, over these millennia, the memory of him lasts to this day, clear as the stars at midnight.” She sighs, then shakes her head. “What was even worse, is that the ponies that I had given up my lover for had just been decimated by a racial dispute, just barely recovering from the disaster that is now celebrated as ‘Hearth’s Warming Eve.’ Apparently, when we got there, Celestia and I had been gone for well-near a century.”

You sit there for a moment, deep in thought. You rub your chin, then skeptically ask, “So, you’re saying that I should… leave?”

“I’m saying that you should make what you think is the right choice.” She trots on up to you, sitting on her haunches beside you and draping a wing over your back. “I did what I believed was right. Although it looked like my choice was ill-founded at first, because of my decision, Equestria is what it is today.” She looks up at the constellations. You follow her gaze, and realize that the stars bring you a slightly… familiar, possibly nostalgic feeling.

“Still,” she says, breaking the silence, “at the time, Celestia and I didn’t know that we would be so long-lived. I had hoped to someday see Faithful in the afterlife, but…” she trails off.

You nod, not needing an explanation. The two of you sit there, the mutual respect of two people who can relate to one another floating between you. The princess gasps upon feeling an arm drape around her back, but as her muscles ease up that shock quickly transitions to a smile.

“Thanks, Princess Luna.”

You wake up. Looking around, you notice that the room has become a bit darker, but other than that looks untouched since you fell asleep. You yawn, wondering where Rainbow might be; you need to talk to her.

Maybe she’s back?

“Hey, Rainbow?” you call out as you step off of your bed. You look down for a moment when your feet, shoes on, hit the rug. You tug at your collar, realizing that you must have fallen asleep with your clothes on: suit, tie, and all.

You should probably change.

Minutes later, you’ve changed into some sweat pants, a t-shirt, and some comfortable moccasin-type shoes. Knowing that it may be a bit chilly out, you don your sweater. Pulling the hood over your head, and with one final glance around, you turn the brass doorknob and exit the room.

Upon passing through the doorway, you’re greeted by the sight of another door, all the way across the distance of what appears to be another fucking room.

Holy shit, this place has to be bigger than your actual house…

It’s dark, it’s cold, it’s snowing. It’s been like this for at least an hour now.

And you still haven’t found her.

Taking off one of your moccasins, you swear under your breath. You turn it upside down, and some snow and wet dirt tumble out. You hop on one leg over to a bench on the side of the road, gaining some looks as you do so, and slip your shoe back on. You sigh.

Off on the horizon, the sun is lowered by a princess now familiar to you. As you watch, the bright orb gradually dips lower and lower, washing the already-pink sky of all blue with the beginnings of a dark, speckled blanket.

Again, you sigh. For a multi-colored pegasus, she’s pretty damn hard to find.

You know that not finding her tonight doesn’t mean you’ll never see her again. Not only is she currently living with you, but all her stuff is in your house, not to mention you have all the same friends and are sharing the same room at the castle… But seeing her after the fact, long after the storm has blown over, just isn’t going to do. You need to talk to her soon.

The thought occurs to you that she may be with Twilight right now, but you let that idea disperse. You know her; she’s the kind of mare that runs off to be by herself when she’s upset. Usually, she goes and finds a cloud to be on, but as of late, there aren’t exactly many clouds she can reach…

…oh, yeah.

You know you’d already checked that certain park, but the whole place is enormous. Aside from that, you hadn’t paid any special attention to any specific spots; she could be there, you may have just missed her.

It’s worth a shot. There aren’t many other options.

Your guess was correct.

You went down the path the two of you had taken the other night, ducking and dodging and flinging projectiles at each other. You arrived at the mass of cloud, circling it, hoping for a glimpse of the blue pegasus.

You found her. Not in the cloud, but sitting on a bench nearby, wearing your dark blue sweater. The hood is draped over her head, concealing all but the tip of a snout and a poly-chrome mane. The blue coat of the lower half of her body, mane and tail all take on a slight luminescent tinge from the hanging lamp above, and the beginnings of a snowfall pepper her and sprinkle white spots in the circle of yellowish light.

You find yourself approaching her, slightly hesitant to step into the circle. You feel a nervous drop in your stomach when you do, walking up to the bench and then slowly turning about and taking your seat a comfortable distance from the pegasus.

A slight, subtle turn of her head reveals her acknowledgement of you. She sits on her rump, her legs sticking out in front of her as she positions her forehooves on the bench. She stares straight ahead. You do likewise, keeping your hood off but looking off into the distance as you rest your elbows on your knees. The snow continues to fall; you feel it land on your skin, a cold bite for a moment before it melts from your warmth. You fold your hands, and sigh.

“That thing you said earlier, about me not caring… It’s not true, you know.” You pause for a moment. “I do care about you. A lot.”

Nothing else is said for the time being. When you look, she’s still sitting quietly, unmoving.

She’s waiting.

“I suppose that might sound a little redundant,” you continue, “I mean, I’ve told you that many times before- and it’s true, no matter how badly I wear it out. But in light of everything, those words just seem so… cheap. Don’t they?”

You let the question hang in the air, before continuing.

“I’ve always felt like you and I, despite our differences, really got along well. Even when we were just good friends, I always enjoyed being around you. I remember hanging out at the different Ponyville pubs, just chatting as you drank your cider and I took sips of my… orange juice…” You smile, as a wave of nostalgia washes over you. “…what a pussy.”

You notice Rainbow, whose snout is the only exposed part of her face, allow herself a small smile as well.

A light chuckle escapes you. “I guess I kind of forgot all that, when given the opportunity to be able to go back to my family. I really miss them, you know. My parents, my grandpa, my… brother.” You unknowingly go silent for a moment, shaking your head once you realize what you’re doing.

“Honestly, though, until now, I don’t think I’ve ever found someone that I connect so well with. Sure, I’ve had less rocky relationships- we get angry, we fight, and I’ve even been left with a red hoofmark on my face- but we always make up in the end. And frankly, I think all the shit we’ve had to face in the last couple of months has just made us stronger.

“And so, I’m not leaving,” you say. You turn to her, and you can see her resist the urge to look at you in kind. You continue, “I’m not going to leave behind the pony I love, the one I care for and trust the most. Even if you don’t trust me so much anymore…”

Another long, dreadful silence. It seems to stretch far into the vast eternity, your heart and hope dropping with every minute.

“I think so, too.”

Her voice is a simple whisper, one that you can barely hear. But, it’s enough.

“This past year… has been awesome. I won’t lie- before now, I don’t think that I’ve ever had a relationship that lasted more than a month. All the colts and stallions I’ve met either just didn’t work out, or… I don’t know, I guess there aren’t a lot of guys who can handle me for long.” She hangs her head. “I gave up on all that. I just assumed I would never find somepony who was right for me. I mean, if it meant being used, getting hurt, and subjecting myself to that kind of pain over and over again until I maybe someday found a stallion who would accept me for who I am, and not for what I can do for them in bed… Why keep trying? It just didn’t seem worth it to me.” She chuckles. A dark, sad chuckle. “It’s not like anypony thought that Rainbow Dash, biggest tomboy in Equestria, actually cared about that kind of thing anyway, right?

“And then you come along. You show up, and for six months make me the happiest mare I’ve ever been. I mean, I feel comfortable around you, because you’re the one stallion who I can be myself with. It’s made me stop doubting myself. Do you know how it is, going through relationships like- like socks- and having each one tear apart before your eyes? You start to wonder: is it my fault? Is there something wrong with me?

“Hah! I don’t even care anymore. I have a stallion who loves me, and I love him. He makes me feel safe and happy; he holds my hoof at night, and kisses me on the cheek before he goes to sleep. Finally, someone who can accept me for who I am, and who will take the good with the bad. A mare’s dream.”

By now her hood has come off. Her bangs hang over, casting a shadow across her face. “And then, just like every time before. Time and time again. Right when I think I’m happy, you tell me it’s over, and I’m back to where I began. Alone.”

She looks up at you, tears threatening to spill over. She wipes her eyes, then asks, “Do you kn-now how that f-feels, Ivan? D-Do you understand, now?”

You place a hand on her hoof. “Dash.” She looks at the two crossed appendages, yours wrapped gently around hers. She looks back up at you, her lower lip trembling.

You choke back a lump and clear your throat before speaking. “It really hurts me to see you like this. I couldn’t stand to know that the mare I love is unhappy; and while I know that I can’t always protect you and keep you from ever being hurt, I can still try my best. I’ll always stick by you, and I’ll be just as loyal to you as you are to me,” you smile at your quip, “Element of Loyalty.”

Her lip begins to quiver violently. Her face scrunches up, and tears begin to flow freely as she wraps her forelegs around you and buries her face into your side. “Don’t ever leave me,” she cries, somewhere between a plea and a command, “not even for a little while. I always want you to be here, with me.”

You hug her in return, softly running your hands along the back of the jacket. “There’s no place I’d rather be,” you whisper, nuzzling her head. “Not even for a little while.”

The coexisting feelings of déjà vu and nostalgia make their presence known to you as you stare up at the moon, big and bright, between the curtains.

You’re on the couch, a sleeping Rainbow Dash lying atop your chest. She rocks slightly up and down with each of your breaths, which by now work in rhythm with one another. She’ll occasionally sniffle in her sleep, reminding you again of the turmoil that’s managed to inject itself into this single day.

You yourself would be out like rock right now, if only the dreams plaguing you tonight would cease their constant reminders about the choice you’d just made hours ago.

It was inevitable, the choice you had to make; there was no good choice. The only thing you could do was try to pick the best of two bad options, and hope that your decision would leave you alright in the end.

You suppose you’ll get over it with time, but… damn. And to think, you used to fantasize about running away into the woods to escape your mom and dad, siblings, because you loathed them so much…

The irony in that is almost overwhelming.

You’re snapped from your thoughts when the blue pegasus atop you begins to stir. She lets out a shuddering breath, then sniffles a bit before lifting her head, eclipsing your view of the moon. After the few seconds that it takes for your eyes to adjust, you find two white globes with a faint trace of reflective liquid, gazing down at you.

“You look sad,” is the first statement to come out of the mare’s mouth. Her voice is made slightly edgy by her drowsiness, with a hint of concern adding a bit of padding to her tone.

“I look sad?” you whisper back, incredulous. “You look like you’ve been crying.”

She uses her hoof to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Just a… bad dream, is all. But it’s okay now. I’m awake.”

“Care to talk about it?” you ask. She shakes her head in response.

“Not really,” she says. She turns her head to look out the window behind her, staring into the moonlight as the soft rays of the reappearing white marble turn her fur a paler blue. Her mane- the unruly tangle of silk that it is- is comparable to fireworks, its array of colors glowing in contrast with the nighttime sky.

“What do you see when you stare at the moon like that?”

One ear perks up, and she swivels her head to face you, effectively blocking out the great satellite in question. “What?”

You run your hand through her mane, letting the strands of hair slide between your fingers. “I don’t think you know, but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and see you just lying there, looking out the window. I usually just fall back asleep and don’t say anything, but it tends to stick with me the next day, because you just look kind of… unhappy. I mean, I can never really tell if you’re sad, or if you’re just thinking or what, but it still makes me worried.”

A simper creeps up onto her face, and she begins to chuckle. “You watch me at night? Weirdo.”

A few silent moments pass. She sees the look you give her, and her forced smile quickly drops into a discomfited frown. “Sorry. You know me, I’m not too good at talking about this stuff…”

You begin to softly scratch her behind the ears, giving a reassuring smile. This time, the grin she wears is genuine. She rests her chin on your chest and nuzzles you on the neck. Her warm breath brushes past your shoulder, and she gives your cheek an affectionate lick.

“I’m not unhappy,” she says, after long last. “It’s really something I’ve always done. When it’s quiet, and I’m all by myself, with just the moon to keep me company… it helps me think. That’s what you see me doing. I’m thinking.” A pause of two heartbeats. “I do think about sad things; there’s a lot that I wish would’ve turned out differently for me in life, I’m sure you know. But, there’s a lot that I’m grateful for, too.”

At this, she lifts her head again, rising to a point so that she can look down at you. You’re expecting a kiss, but are rather surprised to see Dash’s doleful, apologetic smile.

“Sorry about your family.” She caresses your cheek comfortingly with her hoof, as you look back into her concerned eyes with wonder. “Before today, something I hadn’t realized was how bad it really must hurt. I almost lost someone I cared for today-” she lightly bops you on the nose, “-you, and all I could do was think about how empty I would feel, and how long it would take just to move on. It didn’t even cross my mind that… that, well…”

She looks down, shame-faced. “I’m sorry. For being so selfish. You’ve had to fight through so much, and I had no idea…” She chuckles quietly. “At least I know why you looked so sad. That’s a start, right?”

At this, you can’t help but grin. You pull her close to you, and give her a quick peck on the snout. “You’ve already done enough as it is. Just keep being my Dash.”

You hug her tightly, one arm draped around her midsection and the other around her shoulders. She sighs contentedly, snuggling up to you and positioning herself so that her head rests just under your chin.

As the rhythms of your breathing begin to symphonize, you once again look out the window into the night sky. Your eyes wander to the faint outline of the mare in the moon, reminding you of a certain princess whom you have to thank. Suddenly, you fight the urge to rub your eyes.

Did it just wink at you?

Author's Note

So, long update in a long time. Sorry for the wait, I've been increasingly busy with school, sports, etc. In a few weeks I'll be updating normally again; who knows, I might manage to go back to the once-a-week schedule. Thanks go to jazzaman for giving me some second opinions, and hwrogers, who is currently doing the proofreading right now. (Just couldn't wait to get it out to you guys :P )

Oh, by the way- hooray for 400 upvotes and 100 followers! (Insert kazoo sounds here) Thank you all!