Being Different

Chapters

The First Night
Sora
Settling In
Birthday Surprises

The First Night

There was never a place for me. I had to make one for myself away from anybody else. When you're different it's always your fault and people are scared of you or don't like you. Sure, it's true that it's probably because they just don't understand but that doesn't mean the victim doesn't feel it. Living your life alone, orphaned, with all the people around you treating you like some kind of freak, which you know you are, is no way to live. So I left. I knew I could survive on my own thanks to my abilities. When I left I hated people. All of them. I'd lost faith in human kind. That's why I don't understand what inspired me to help her...

I hear a scream. It's a loud, horrified shriek. It's a girl, and obviously she's scared. I quickly realize someone is chasing her because I can faintly hear a man calling after her. I'm not sure what he's saying but I don't particularly care. The girl screams again, it's closer this time. She's heading in my direction so I jump up, my fingers curling around a branch, then pull myself up. I jump higher and higher until I'm a good fifteen feet in the air. I seem to have made it just in time because as I reach my perch the girl trips over a root and falls to the ground. She must have hurt her ankle, because she doesn't get up.

She seems like your run-of-the-mill girl. I'm sure she's pretty but it's hard to tell. She's covered in dirt and leaves and stuff. Her hair is an odd colour though. It's sort of a midnight blue with a a streak of pink and a streak of violet going through it. Her tail has the same colour scheme. I can just barely make out a mauve horn poking through her hair. A magic-user, huh? I briefly wonder why she doesn't use it to defend herself but those thoughts are pushed from my mind as two men catch up to her.

"Finally caught 'ya." the first guy says.

"You're coming back with us." the second guy adds on.

There's nothing really standing out about the two guys. Sure, they're big-ish. They've got muscles and it looks like they're used to doing this kind of work. If I had to guess I'd say they're thugs; nothing more.

I hear a sniffle. The girl must be crying, upset they'd caught up to her. She can't be very smart if she took off running into this forest, panicked none-the-less. I sigh as I ponder what to do. Sure, I could save her but then I'd have to explain who I am and stuff. If I let these men take her though who knows what'll happen to her. I narrow my eyes. If the roles were reversed either of them would let me die without even thinking about it.... I think to myself. It's probably true, too.

I'm still unsure but my mind is made up when the first guy steps forward and grabs the mystery girl by the wrist. She screams again, another loud shriek. If I were smart I probably wouldn't get involved but... Just because the rest of the world is scum doesn't mean I have to stoop to their level right? I'll just deal with the consequences.

I let myself fall forward. Right before I hit the ground my descent slows and I land almost inaudibly. The first guy is too distracted trying to grab the girl to notice me, the other guy is looking at me like "Where the fuck did you just come from?" It's quite amusing, actually.

I rush the second guy before he can alert his buddy. I raise my leg and send my foot into her knee causing him to collapse forward. As he falls I lift my knee into his chin and he lifts from the ground momentarily; landing on his back with a loud thud. His buddy turns around. He's not sure what the hell's going on.

"Who're you?" he asks practically seeming confused by the whole thing.

"Does it matter?" I reply.

He lets go of the girls wrist and turns towards me. I can tell he's trying to look menacing but it'll take more than some run-of-the-mill guy to make me nervous. He runs towards me with his fist raised and I grin. I hold my hand out in front of me and he stops moving before he reaches me. He's confused; unable to move. Then he's flung backwards and his back hits one of the trees hard, knocking him out on impact. He probably didn't even understand that I was using magic.

That's because magic is channelled through a horn, which I do not possess. It's just one of the things that makes me a freak. I might be the only person who can use magic without a horn, I'll never know. I don't really care either. I guess I don't care about much, huh? Now that this has been taken care of I can get back to my day, the girl should be able to look after herself. If she's smart she'll escape. I don't even bother to look at her again before walking away.

A few moments later I hear the sound of footsteps running after me and I sigh because I know what's coming next. She runs past me then turns herself to face me.

"You saved me." She says. For someone who just got saved she doesn't seem very surprised.

"So?" I ask then try to push my way past her.

The girl frowns but steps backwards so I don't end up passing her. "Thank you." she says, still confused by my actions.

"Yeah, don't mention it." I nonchalantly reply and try to push my way past her again. She stops me. Again. Now I'm just getting annoyed. "You know, if I knew you were going to be this annoying I would've just let them have you." I didn't mean it but I guess she didn't understand that because her eyes widen and she seems at a loss for words. She stares at me for a few seconds and I take those few seconds to note that she is in fact pretty. I'm really caught up on her hair but that's probably just because I've never seen anything like it. Her eyes are lovely too, they match the colour of her horn. Kind of. Maybe all girls are this pretty. I don't really remember. I haven't seen another girl up close in like...Four years so I don't think anyone can blame me. She still hasn't said anything though so I figure I'd better explain myself. "It was a joke."

"Oh!" she seems relieved. She tilts to the side, looking behind me towards her two would-be-assailants.

"Don't worry, they won't get up for quite a while. When they do I'm sure they can find their way out of here just fine. Just like I'm sure you can." I'm trying to give her a hint. I'm worried she won't take it though so I spell it out for her. "You should probably get out of here before they wake up."

I finally manage to get past her and start walking towards the old ruins where I live. It actually takes me a few moments to realize she's still following me.

"My name's Twilight Sparkle." she calls out from behind. "What's yours?"

It's a standard question, I'm not so uncivilized that I don't know that. "Not important." is what I reply though. I don't feel like giving this stranger my name.

"Oh..." she sounds disappointed. "Well, I'm lucky you were out here. What were you doing so far out in the woods?" another annoying question.

I stop walking and turn around to face her. For someone who just got attacked she seems awfully happy. It's kinda suspicious, really but I don't dwell too much on it. I thought of my own question I want to ask her. "Why didn't you use magic to try and protect yourself?"

"Huh?"

I point to her horn. "You have magic don't you? Why didn't you use it to defend yourself?" I repeat. I don't think she was expecting that question because she seems surprised.

"I'm just not very good at it..." there's something weird about the way she says that. Is she lying to me? No, I'm just paranoid. She has no reason to lie about something like that.

I'm pretty frustrated at this point. All I wanted was to do a good deed. Not be harassed by some unicorn girl. "Why are you following me?" There's not point being subtle and if I beat around the bush any more this conversation will turn to idle chatter. I hate idle chatter.

I actually feel bad for a minute. Twilight looks down to the ground and starts fidgeting. She looks...Sad. Like she was expecting more from me, like she was expecting something different. That's ridiculous though. How can a girl I've never met before expect something from me?

"I don't...Have anywhere to go." her voice is odd again, her words keep trailing off. I don't get it; maybe it's just the way she speaks. Even though her head is down her eyes lift up now. She's looking at me so sadly...She doesn't think just because I saved her I can take care of her, does she?

I have to make it clear that I have no interest in forming some kind of bond. "I'm sorry, Twilight was it?" she nods "I can't take care of you. There's...Barely a place for me in this world and I had to make it on my own. Besides, I live here. In the Everfree Forest in some old abandoned castle place. That's no place for a lady." I'm just hoping she'll understand. I've been bitter towards people for so long I never considered one of them being...Decent.

"Of course." she's looking directly at me now and again it's like she's looking for something more. That stare...It's driving me insane.

I don't understand what makes me say this. Maybe I have been lonely but that's a big maybe. "For tonight...you can stay with me. It might be safer anyway. If those men do happen to travel far enough in to find us I'll be able to take care of them. Most likely they'll wake up and leave the forest thinking you've left too though. By then it should be safe. Deal?"

Her face lights up. It's like I just offered her the world. This too makes no sense but whatever. I don't like being asked questions about my past, or present for that matter, so I'll let her keep her secrets too. Common courtesy.

"C'mon." I say and turn around leading her to the place I call home.

Walking to the ruins was nice. Silent. Just how I like it. I think Twilight was just being courteous though. She probably took the hint I didn't like talking earlier. As I lead her deeper into these ruins which I haven't been able to make sense of her eyes light up like earlier. She seems comfortable here, like she's been here before. As far as I know though no one's been here in a very long time excluding me.

We reach the place I consider 'my room'. It has kind of an altar in it. Maybe not an altar, but that part of the room is raised compared to the rest of the floor. I have a sleeping bag up there and a single pillow. When it gets really uncomfortable I make a kind of bedding with leaves under the sleeping bag. I've gotten used to this over the last few years though. The way she looks at those stones that decorate the altar though...It's almost like nostalgia.

"How did you find these ruins?" she asks as she walks around, her hands firmly behind her back "If you don't mind me asking." she adds as an afterthought.

"When I left my home I just happened to stumble upon them. It seemed better than braving the wild."

"Makes sense. Your chances of survival increase quite considerably with proper shelter. What do you do for food, or if your sick?" Geez, she sounds like she's writing a paper or something.

"Every once in a while I head into a small town nearby. It's called Ponyville or something. I break into the pharmacy and steal medicine and food. Only what I need though. There's fruit that grows everywhere too, so when I can live off that I do that instead." It's a little odd talking to someone but I figured there was no harm in answering. After all I saved her life. She won't tell anyone about me or that I steal to survive. I pick up a small sack and throw it towards her. She gasps and catches it, but barely. "There's bandages and stuff in there." I state and she looks at me confused. I point to her legs, which are bare because she's wearing a skirt. Looking at her outfit I realize now it's a uniform of some kind. Maybe from her school?

Twilight looks down at her legs and seems to only be realizing now they're covered in cuts and bruises. "Thanks." she says, giving me a sweet smile.

"You can use the...'bed' tonight. Tomorrow I'll lead you out. Ponyville's a short walk to the North-East. That sound good?" She's tending to her legs as I tell her the plan for tomorrow, nodding to my words. "Make sure you get some rest, you've been through a lot." I start walking away to give her some privacy.

"Thanks, again..." I turn around because it sounds like she has more she wants to say. I tilt my head quizzically. "I don't know why you're so guarded or why you went out of your way to save me but... Without you I might not be standing here. You're a good person."

Her words are soft and warm. It makes me uncomfortable but it feels...Nice too. No! I shake myself out of that moment of weakness. Tomorrow she'll be gone for good. That's all there is to it. I can't go getting all sentimental now. The bottom line is she's like all the others, she just doesn't know me well enough. She's only grateful I saved her, nothing more. Something has been bothering me though, and I figure there's no harm in asking. If she doesn't want to tell me she won't, and I won't pry.

"Why were those guys chasing you anyway?"

"It's...Really complicated. I come from somewhere far away. I was a prisoner in a way and I escaped. That's not exactly a great explanation but it's all I can offer for now...Even if I told you the truth you wouldn't believe me. It all sounds so wild. The man who wants me back though...He'll stop at nothing to find me."

I nod. "Fair enough."

"Maybe one day I'll get to tell you the whole truth." she sounds...Happy at that thought. This is starting to get a little creepy.

I chuckle a little at her comment. I resume my walk out of the room and call out back to her "Nooooot interested."

Twilight only smiles knowingly at my response.

Author's Note

This is an idea I've been toying with for a long time. It was hard to do, just because of the human thing. It wouldn't have work ponified. They're Anthro to some point. No fur or anything like that. Just wings/horn so it's definitely leaning more towards human. I'm not sure how well received this one is going to be but whatever. I don't really care, I just enjoy writing. This is the first part of a trilogy I have planned involving this idea. This is what I do when I get writer's block, I start writing something else and it always clears up my mind for the other things I'm working on.

I actually started this off with a lot of back story, and explanations and you know what I realized? I read it over and said "This is boring as hell." I decided I want the readers to learn about the main character as Twilight does. It's not interesting if you know everything about him right off the bat. I think the big plot of this story is an interesting one too. It deals with nature over nurture and some other stuff I can't mention or it would ruin it. Anyway I hope some of you decide to stick with this one.

If any of you guys can figure out the deal with Twilight before I reveal it I'll give you a cookie. Obviously this is set in an alternate universe. The other mane 5 may only be playing a minor role in this particular story, if they appear at all. I think they'll appear in both sequels though. This is a really ambitious project for me so I hope it turns out all right.

Also don't worry, the main character has a name. It's just revealed next chapter.

Sora

I open my eyes and survey the small chamber I slept in. With a groan and a few cracks from my stiff back I get up. Sleeping sitting down with your back against a stone wall isn't the best way to do it. Not that my usual 'mattress' is much better. Something's off though and I notice it right away. There's a smell, something I'm not used to. It smells like someone's cooking food and I have a feeling I know where it's coming from.

I make my way into the room where Twilight step, carefully peeking around the corner to see what's going on. Twilight's there. She's cooking eggs on some kind of portable grill thing. Which doesn't make sense because I don't own a portable grill thing. Nor were there any eggs here when I went to bed. I look behind Twilight, out one of the huge windows to see that the sun's high in the sky so it's already the afternoon, at the least. Damn it! I never sleep in this late.

I finally make my presence known. I clear my throat as I walk in and Twilight turns towards me with a cheery smile. "What the hell!?" I'm not yelling, but I'm close. "Where did this grill come from?"

"Oh, I woke up really early. You said Ponyville was a short walk to the North-East so I headed there and picked some food up. This thing too. I only got back about a half hour ago. I figured I could cook something for you, to thank you for yesterday."

Okay...That makes sense until I notice the large amount of bags behind Twilight. I narrow my eyes and look directly into hers. "So you're expecting me to believe a small girl like you carried this" I make a head gesture towards the new appliance "and all those bags with injured le-" I have to cut myself short because that's when I notice that whatever scrapes and bruises she had yesterday are gone. "What the hell!?" I repeat

Twilight stops her cooking and looks down at her feet with a sheepish expression before muttering out "I might be better with magic then I first let on..."

"Clearly." is the only reply I can think of. It's obvious from my tone that I'm not amused. I don't like being lied to. Makes it awfully hard to trust people. "I think you owe me an explanation."

"Can we eat first? The eggs are almost done..." She looks like she feels bad about this whole thing, so I grant her this one favour.

"Fine."

She separated the eggs onto two plastic plates and handed one to me along with a fork. Save for the sounds of chewing and swallowing we ate in silence and barely even glanced at each other. It was actually nice to get some kind of hot food in me. I'm used to stocking up on foods that don't really expire, or things I intend to eat right away. Eggs never make the list.

When we finished we tossed our plates aside and stood there in silence a little while longer. I stared at Twilight, waiting for her to finally explain herself. She stared right back and swallowed. I could tell she's nervous. The way she's fidgeting with her fingers, and the foot tapping were dead give-aways.

Finally I can't stand the silence any more. "Some time today, would be nice."

"Right, sorry." She takes a deep breath. "My name is Twilight Sparkle and I'm Princess Celestia's student."

I raised an eyebrow. "Princess Celestia's student? I know I live in the middle of nowhere but I have a feeling even I would've heard if something like that had happened."

"It would be impossible for you to have learned about it." Her fists tighten and turn white.

"How convenient." I reply sarcastically. "Why is that?"

"Because it hasn't happened yet." she immediately turns away and looks down at the ground.

I consider everything she's just said and form what I think is an appropriate response.

"I'm sorry, what?"

She sighed and wouldn't even lift her head to look at me. If she's implying what I think she is then she must think I'm really stupid.

"It hasn't happened yet. I'm from the future."

For at least a couple seconds I don't know what to say. So I don't say anything as I try and make sense of all this. I mean, you tell a guy you're from the future you gotta at least give him a couple minutes to recover. In all fairness she does. She just sits there and watches me, waiting for my reaction.

For some reason there's only one thing that I can think of. Way back in the day when I was still a part of civilization my classmates played a very mean practical joke on me. They were all in on it and everyone had a good laugh once it was all over. Except me of course but whatever. As the details come rushing back to me my eyes narrow because this has got to be something like that. Some kind of practical joke and I refuse to be made fun of.

"You have to go." My voice is harsh, commanding. I'm not looking for her to question me. This obviously isn't the answer she was looking for though because she stands up with, just, this complete look of shock on her face.

"What!?" she yells at me, dumbfounded.

"You heard me. This game of yours is over. I'm going to escort you to Ponyville and then you can head out on your own." I stand up, getting ready to leave. I fully expect her to follow me.

"No, they'll kill me!" she's yelling again.

I roll my eyes before responding. "Yeah, right. They're probably in on this joke too."

She whines desperately. She must be really invested in this joke.

"Sora, please..."

I freeze. She sounds so desperate, so needy. As if she really needs my help. What makes me hesitate most of all is that she knows my name. I know for a fact that I never told her and I decide right there this joke has gone too far.

"We're leaving."

Nothing ever goes right for me. This entire trip Twilight's been trying to convince me that she is, in fact, from the future. The problem is with each thing she says I believe it more and more.

"I came back for you, Sora." Again she's screaming. Gettin' really sick of all the yelling.

I spun around instantly. "Oh, now I know you're lying! I don't know anyone who would want to come back to help me. Besides, what do I need help with?"

"The future is a very different place, Sora. Every- Watch out!" She cries out at the end and I'm confused.

Then I feel the hit. It's hard enough to send me tumbling to the ground. I'm so disoriented I don't know which way is up anymore. When I finally finish rolling it only takes me a few seconds to regain my senses and I jump to my feet. It's one of those clowns who attacked Twilight yesterday. In the few seconds I've been on the ground he's been busy trying to drag Twilight away. She's smacking him with her tiny fist over and over again with no success. I wonder why she doesn't use magic but I don't really have time to worry about it. All I can see is that she needs help. Again. So being the good Samaritan that I am I rush forward with the full intention to help.

Using all my strength, which is quite a bit, I bash my shoulder into the side of the guy. The force send shim tumbling backwards this time but he gets up almost right away. It doesn't make sense. That should have knocked him out cold. I turn the Twilight who's standing there beside me glaring towards her assailant. She doesn't seem like the type to be scared so I don't see why she panics every time he gets near her.

The guy got up but he's just standing there, he's not rushing me and I don't understand why.

"He won't hurt you. They're under strict orders not to harm you. It could severely mess things up for the future ruler of Equestria."

I frown and look over my shoulder towards her. "What the hell does any of that have to do with me?"

Twilight squeaks and I instinctively know that the guy rushed me again. He sent his fist towards me but I ducked under it; dodging a couple more blows afterwards before finally landing one of my own. An uppercut right to his jaw which actually lifts him off the ground. He lands on his back with a loud exhale and I sigh in relief. No one could get up after a punch like that.

Apparently I'm getting weaker or something because he does get up. "He's like you!" Twilight calls out and finally it makes sense. It's too bad. I thought I'd be happy knowing that there were others like me out there. I don't know why we're different or what we're called but...I kind of always hoped that if there were others like me they weren't complete scumbags. That's just another thing that'll have to be thought about later.

Normal people are easy to deal with. One hard blow from me and they're literally dealt with. Someone who can take the abuse though? Well, I've never been in an actual fight. Luckily we're going to be even, I think. If he can't kill me that means the most he can do is incapacitate me. Which means he has to be careful.

Without any warning I rush forward directly into him. I place my forearm over his throat and keep on running, pinning him to a tree with enough force to crack it. Then I do what comes instinctively. I start wailing on him punching every part of him I can reach. He's trying to block with his arms to no avail. I think I'm doing well until he lifts his knee and slams it into my stomach, hard. I stumble back, I'm winded. He clenches both his hands together and brings them down over my head and I hit the ground, my vision going blurry. I must pass out for a few seconds because next thing I know I hear Twilight scream.

Why is he so much stronger than me? I don't understand...If he's the same at me I should have at least had a chance. Instead I got my ass handed to me. She screams again and it gets a reaction out of me damn it. I care about what happens to that stupid girl. Despite her wild story, which doesn't seem that wild anymore, she's one of the only people to have ever treated me normally. I quickly scan the ground and pick up a thick branch, stepping on it to break in in the middle. I flip it in my hands an clutch it tightly before taking a running start towards the behemoth. I'm not even thinking about what I do next. I jump and send the stick through the back of our assailant's skull. Trust me, he felt that one. The blood sprays back and gets all over me. It's disgusting actually. The attacker falls to his knees, then the ground. Everything is silent except for the sickening sound of the blood dripping from the man's skull.

Twilight's looking at me in complete disbelief and horror. I'm looking down at my hands, not even paying attention to Twilight, which are soaked in blood. I feel uneasy for a few moments and then unable to contain myself I puke.

I then feel Twilight's arm around me. She's talking but I can barely hear her but it sounds like she's saying things are going to be okay.

Celestia, I hope she's right.

Back at the ruins I finally got most, if not all, of the blood off of me. I smell disgusting and I don't know how Twilight can even stand to be beside me. I always thought killing someone would be easy, especially after the hell I've endured. Instead I feel terrible. I took someone's life and who am I to decide who lives and who dies? Then, of course, I remember that he was trying to abduct Twilight and gave me quite a beating and a little bit of the guilt subsides. Only a little though.

I haven't spoken a word to Twilight since I got all stab-happy back in the forest and she hasn't said anything either. She must think I've gone crazy or something. Or maybe she's just worried I'll stab her through the head too. Not like the thought hasn't crossed my mind in the last twenty-four hours. I'm sick of the silence though so I feel the need to say something.

"So, the future has more people like me, huh?" I'm surprised at how weak I sound but I let it go for now.

Twilight's surprised, she must not have been expecting me to be ready to talk quite yet. "Uh, yeah." she replies quickly "There's people like you everywhere. Unfortunately that's not a good thing." her voice turns bitter at the end.

"Tell me about it." It's a request. I don't even know if she'll be able to grant it. Maybe telling me will alter the future. I don't know how time travel works.

"A few years from now someone like you is going to start an organization for people like you. It was innocent, at first. It was a place for people like you to feel accepted. Eventually society came to accept you as well. It was nice, you 'advanced' people didn't have to live in fear anymore."

Even I smiled at that thought. Only a little though. Then I let Twilight continue.

"Not everyone was okay with this though. Most of it was just fear. After all, you guys were superior to us in almost every way so it was only a matter of time before somebody did something crazy. Unfortunately that person was a member of the Royal Guard. He murdered one of you. That made Princess Celestia look guilty and the leader of the Chimera, as you chose to call yourselves, wouldn't stand for it. He started spewing things, saying that if it were a normal person the culprit would have been dealt with." Twilight took a breath and sighed. "Then all hell broke lose and it became an all out war. You guys took over and now the future is ruled by people like you. The leader declared himself king of Equestria and he rules harshly. Chimera are treated well, unfortunately normal folk aren't."

"That must mean there were a lot of us then?" I asked, my curiosity peaked despite the depressing story.

"Thousands." Twilight's answer stunned me. Thousands of people like me! That's crazy.

"Where do I fit into all this, why come back for me? Why don't you just go stop the Royal Guard from murdering whoever he killed. Or why didn't you go back and stop us from forming as a collective?"

"Because...You're my best friend." She whispered this last part out.

For a second I actually thought this was a joke again. I have a best friend? She knows what I am and accepts me? A friend who went back in time for the sole purpose of saving me? That's a lot to handle for someone who thought they would always be alone. Is this why I feel such an odd connection to Twilight? Is it even possible for a bond to cross time? I don't think so because that sounds pretty hokey. I then realize throughout all my thinking I haven't responded to what Twilight has said. She's waiting, watching me expectantly.

"I see." it's lame but it's all I can think of to say. What can I say? I just met my best friend who I haven't even met yet. "Am I a murderer in the future too?" I don't know where that came from...The words just came to me.

Twilight's eyes widened and she came over to me. She put a hand on my shoulder and rubbed comfortingly. "No." She whispered, as thought I might break. "No, you're not a monster...But you were killed by one. I don't want to have to see that happen again. That's why I'm here. I'm going to help you, Sora."

I believe her. I believe what she's saying, as crazy as it sounds. Still in my state of disbelief I ask something stupid. "How'd you get me to tell you my name?"

"Believe it or not I guessed it. My nickname for you turned out to be your real name." She smiled fondly, probably at a memory.

"How'd you come up with the nickname?" I asked.

"The color of your eyes, silly." She giggled softly.

It made sense. My eyes had always been such a unique shade of blue. Kind of like the ocean. One of the few things I liked about myself.

I sighed and let everything I had learned wash over me.

Author's Note

Here it is, folks! Chapter 2! At least we have a name now. I know it's not a stereotypical name but I like the name Sora. It's a nice name and anyone who disagrees can bite me! Nah, I'm just kidding I respect your opinion. Hopefully you enjoyed this, and hopefully more will be on the way soon.

Here's hoping that everyone is having a lovely day.

~Kaii

Settling In

"Just keep an open mind." Twilight's words were careful and hesitant. Whatever she's about to ask she knows I'm not going to like it.

I narrow my eyes a little and say "Okay."

"It isn't safe here. We should relocate, head into to-"

"Absolutely not."

"You said you'd keep an open mind!" she whines.

"I did, then you said we should move into town." I retort, trying to make it seem as though she's the crazy one. "Look, whatever comes our way I'll take care of it." She's about to start arguing again. "You don't get a say in it, future girl. You want to go to town? Be my guest, just don't let the door hit you on the way out." I finish, then raise my brow waiting to see what she's going to do.

She stands there, looking downright furious. "Fine." is the only thing she manages to let out and I grin triumphantly. "I'll write to you when I've settled in."

Huh? "Huh?"

Shit. I didn't think she'd actually leave. After all, she's relying on me for protection, despite her powerful magic. Something about affecting the space-time continuum. She went into a rant about it but I just zoned out. Too many long explanations and silly sounding terms I can't pronounce. I think that she thinks I was paying attention though, hopefully it never comes up. Oh, crap. I'm spacing out again.

"...So I really think that it is our best course of action. We need to get away from this place." The last part catches my attention and I choose to pretend I heard everything she said again.

"What happens here?"

"I...Can't tell you. I can tell you that you leave this place anyway, because when I show up here years from now you don't live here anymore."

Damn it all. I sigh. "Look, Twilight, I believe your story, okay? I do. You need to give me something to go on though. I can't do anything unless I know what's going on. You say you've come back to ensure I don't die, yeah?"

She nods.

"Then maybe you've come back to the wrong time. Shouldn't you have gone back to where I got killed and stopped it?"

"Your theory is sound, but there so much more going on. There's a reason I chose to come back quite a bit further, several reasons in fact. It's a long process and I didn't think everything through. I knew I had to get out of there though. I had to do something. It's impossible to save Equestria from where I was. The only way I can save Equestria from the Chimera is to stop them from ever coming into power. They're too strong, Sora. Their leader, especially."

"That makes sense...Except for one thing. If you're trying to save everyone why come here for me?"

Twilight's whispers this next part. "Because I strongly believe that saving you will directly impact the future."

"How?"

"I can't say..."

I throw my arms up in the air, exasperated. This is impossible. She might as well have left me out of the loop completely. It's not like I'm doing any good here. I turn away from her, putting a hand to my forehead as I feel a headache coming on. This is too much.

It's been a few days since she's told me she's from the future and luckily we've been safe from any other attackers, but that might not last forever. Not to mention there's the added difficulty of my new friend. Is it new friend? I'm not sure...Since she technically already was my friend. Right, not important, focus. I feel like I'm adapting pretty well, but my patience is thin. I have a hard time keeping my frustrations in check when it comes to other people; I don't know any other way. It's so confusing, so hard. Throughout all the confusion there's one thing I know for sure and that's that I don't want Twilight to go. Despite the many frustrations that come with being around her she clearly understands me. I guess it's an advantage for me, she must have gone through this with me before, when she originally met me. The bond is there, and now that it is I don't want to lose it. That goes only for Twlight though. I don't think I'm ready to be around others. In a town, full of people. It makes me uneasy. When you're friends you can't always get what you want though, right? If I understand that much why am I so frustrated at her? I feel a hand on my shoulder then jump, spinning around and jumping away from Twilight in the same movement. I'm staring at her, she's wide-eyed. Guess she doesn't know everything about me if she didn't know I'd react like that.

"What's on your mind?" She's choosing her words carefully again. She knows how to speak to me. Anyone else would have asked 'what's wrong?', not her.

I swallow hard. "I want to help." There's more but I can't bring my lips to form the words.

"You will, I-"

"No, you don't understand!" I snap at her. She looks surprised again, and confused. "I want to help but not just by...Fighting. I don't...I don't want to kill again, Twilight. I know this might sound off but I feel like if you need my help I can contribute with more than just my strength..." I'm not explaining myself very well but Twilight's expression softens.

She walked up to me and it looks like she's about to hug me. She probably would have too, if she thought I was able to handle it. I guess she doesn't want to make this period of adapting anymore difficult than it already is. She puts a hand on my shoulder though, like she did the other night. She squeezed reassuringly. "Always remember that you're more than that. Your strength isn't what's going to define you, Sora. Your heart is." She smiles, probably not even realizing the weight her words carry to me. I like that idea and maybe if Twilight can look past what I am others can too.

Before I say anything I realize that for the first time in a while I opened up to someone, willingly. It wasn't very good, it was crude at best but I did it myself. To some this would probably seem stupid, not even note-worthy but for me this is big. I'm a little proud of myself. This is only the beginning though. I groan. "I guess we're moving to Ponyville."

"You want to explain how this happened again?" I'm seriously lost. "How do you walk into town, have a very brief conversation with the person who owns the library, then somehow end up living in it?"

"Well, in the future I live here already. Well, I used to until everything went to hell. I chose Ponyville because I feel safe here, comfortable. Not to mention I know it like the back of my hand. As for the library it was really quite easy. The library is closed most of the time, it's unfortunate. I simply offered to work here and keep it open everyday. In exchange we'll be provided a place to live, the library itself, and I managed to sweet talk our way into a food budget every month."

Despite her clear explanation I still don't understand but I decide to let it go. There's really no point in arguing it. The bottom line is that we have a place to live and hopefully we'll be safe here at least for a little while. Twilight still has to figure out what our next move is. I find the sofa and plop myself down on it. "How do you people manage it?"

"What do you mean?" Twilight tilts her head quizzically.

"Well, there's nothing to do all day. I usually spend my days running around collecting supplies, or something like that. What I mean to say is that there's always something to do and it was always in order to help me survive. If I can walk into any store and buy food and I have a stable living space what do I fill my days with?"

Twilight giggles softly. "You relax, Sora. Take a breather for once. We'll be busy soon enough." She takes a more serious tone, suddenly. "Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to go take a shower. As fun as living in the middle of the forest was I definitely need one."

"Alright." I reply.

She climbs up the stairs, playfully yelling down "I better not catch you up here trying to get a look at me!"

"Don't worry, you won't." I call back in an uninterested voice. Hopefully that doesn't come off as rude. It's not that I don't find Twilight's form pleasing, it's just that the idea of invading someone's privacy repulses me. After a few moments I hear the water turn on and I decide to explore before I get bored.

I walk around the library, looking at row after row of books. I've never been in a library before and it's all very fascinating to me. Maybe I won't ever have to get bored. There's an awful lot of books in here and I doubt any sane person could read them all. I stumble across a section consisting of old yearbooks from Ponyville High. I pull the latest one out and return to my previous position on the sofa. I open it and start flipping through the pages. Everywhere there's pictures of the happy students, each in their own group. No one looks unhappy, they're all smiling, all with friends. As I keep flipping through I find the pages with the individual photos with each student, and each box has a little blurb written underneath. It says each student was asked to briefly describe their dreams for after High School. Each blurb is filled with these people's hopes and dreams and I find myself envious. I slam the book shut and toss it aside, glaring at it as though it had done something wrong.

"Hey, now! Treat books with respect!" I turn around immediately, because it's the angriest I've ever heard her. "Pick it up and put it back exactly where you found it." she says, sternly and I'm just sitting there watching her with my mouth wide open looking like an idiot. "Go on!" She calls again and I get up. I pick up the book and return it to where I'd found it. "There we go."

"There we go." I repeat in a mocking tone then, for the third time, return to my seat not failing to notice Twilight roll her eyes. That's when I notice her though. Not just notice her but really notice her. She's the same but different. Cleaner, obviously but she seems...Shiny, almost. Her hair that had started to get dirty now flowed down her back in brilliant waves of violet and pink. Her skin looked smooth, I hadn't noticed before because to be honest it had gotten covered in quite a bit a dirt. An unfortunate, unavoidable side effect of living in the forest. She wore the same uniform she had when I met her, except this one was clean. The way it matched her hair, and eyes, was intriguing and brought symmetry to her appearance. She was standing by me now, and I looked like a freaking idiot, my mouth still open.

"You okay?" Her brow was raised, her arms crossed over her chest.

Oops. I realize I've been staring a while. I close my mouth and I start thinking of something to make myself maybe not look ridiculous. What would be funny, in this situation? "You're pretty." a sweet comment but I say it as though I'm suffering from a mental disability. I thought it would fit, what with me having sat there staring blankly with my mouth open.

Twilight gets flustered, her cheeks taking a rosy tint. She giggles softly and I'm not sure if it's because of what I said or how I said it. I decide it doesn't really matter. She seems pleased that I said it and that's good enough for me. I briefly wonder why I chose that specific phrase, but also discard that as unimportant. I find her looks pleasing, no big deal. She takes a seat beside me and smiles.

"Can I tell you something?" She asks, casually.

"Sure."

"Believe it or not when I was younger I didn't have very many friends. It was hard for me to fit in so I decided to focus on my studies. As you can imagine this only made things worse, the other students would tease me. They'd call me nerd and egghead. It bothered me, sure but not too much. They weren't cruel to me like I know student were to you. At first it was only my textbooks but eventually I started to read books in general and it helped me get through. I convinced myself I didn't need friends, but really the books were there to help me through the loneliness. When I read a book I was transported to new and exciting places, I didn't need friends. Then Princess Celestia sent me to this very town to learn about friendship, for that I'll never be able to thank her enough."

It was easy for me to relate to the first part of her story. Not because of the books but the isolation. The rest of the story makes me feel...Hopeful. "Why are you telling me all this?" I can't help but ask.

"Because I want you to know you don't have to be alone, and you won't be anymore. If I'd known how wonderful friendship can be I would have been a much happier little girl. I feel like going to see myself right now, and smacking myself. I'm probably sitting up in Canterlot Castle right now reading."

"I thought you said you weren't Celestia's student yet." I accused.

"I might have lied, a little." she said sheepishly. "I guess I was worried about how it could affect the timeline, but I don't think you knowing that really changes anything. In less than a year I'm going to be coming here and my life is going to change forever. I'm supposed to meet you a few years after that."

"I won't want to hang out with you." I reply as casually as I can.

Twilight does some kind of exaggerated gasp and cries "Why not?"

I grin. "Because you're a nerd."

She playfully smacks my shoulder before falling into a fit of laughter. I quickly fall along with it too, surprised to find myself laughing. When we finish, both breathless I turn to her and ask something that returns the conversation to a more serious tone. "Do you miss it? The future, I mean."

"I miss some things. I miss my friends." she says but I could have figured that out. "What I miss most though is the way things used to be. It's why I came back, after all. Even if I fail it was worth coming back though.

"How come?" I ask, feeling like the answer should be obvious.

"Because even if I die, or go back to the hell that the future's become, I'll have seen you like this one last time." Her voice is laced with emotions, I just can't decipher which ones.

"Like this?"

"Carefree. Even happy, maybe. I'm not sure, it's hard to tell."

"Can I convince you to tell me anything else about your life in the future?" I change the subject, uncomfortable talking about my supposed happiness. I am happy, which is surprising. I just don't want to get too comfortable about it yet.

Twilight smiles, seeming to take the fact that I didn't deny I was happy as confirmation. "Well, let's see. Like I said, I'm going to meet my friends in Ponyville next year. We end up forming the Elements of Harmony and saving Equestria on multiple occasions."

"Ooooo, well aren't you fancy." I grin when I finish speaking.

"I am pretty great." She replies with a grin to match mine. "I meet a nice guy several years from now. We end up getting married, unfortunately my husband is also the man who kills you." That escalated quickly. By the end of that sentence Twilight's voice has turned harsh, bitter even. She's angry, and I suppose I understand. Not completely but I can understand the anger behind losing someone you care about. I know at this point if someone hurt Twilight I would hate them. That's still pretty shocking though.

"Your husband kills me?"

She just nods. "Look, don't worry about it too much because it's not going to happen this time. There's so much more to this story, I wish I could tell you everything but I can't. Not yet anyway, at some point I think I'm going to have to, but not yet. Please understand." She's desperate for me to understand, she's worried I'm going to turn her away I think.

"I understand." I reply.

She smiles. "Thanks."

She then leans towards me and my heart stop beating for a moment. Time slows down as she inches closer to me and I can't help but think she's going to kiss me. My heart hasn't started beating again. Then it does and it's beating far faster than it had been. I swallow hard. I'm nervous, I'm not sure what to do and Twilight is inching ever closer. I'm out of time. I close my eyes. Her lips press against my cheek and time resumes normally. She pulls away with a coy smile. Does she know what I was just thinking, or how nervous she'd made me? Does she know I thought she was going to kiss me. I hope not.

"You're the best." She continues on from her previous thanks before hopping to her feet. "I'm going to get some sleep though." She saunters towards the stairs, then heads up to her room. "Night!" she calls down.

I press a hand to my chest to feel my heart beat. It's crazy, I've never felt a sensation like this before. I feel more alive than ever and nothing even happened. I never would have guess that just the thought of a first kiss by a girl could be so exhilarating.

No, it's not the thought of the kiss that's exhilarating, it's the thought of Twilight delivering it.

I groan and let myself lay on the couch. With that thought I'm left to ponder how much trouble I'm in.

Birthday Surprises

Having a crush sucks. I would have known that had I ever had one before. The person you have a crush on doesn't have a clue, which only makes you feel all the more awkward. You wrestle with the idea of telling them, then you try to build up the courage only to back off at the last minute. Every time that person comes around your stomach does a back flip and you can't help but feel nauseous. The only thing that could ever make a situation like that worse is if you were in constant close proximity to said crush- oh, wait...

Something else that's been troubling me is that Twilight seems perfectly content to slip into this normalcy. All thoughts of saving the future seem to have vanished from her mind and that's not good. She must realize we can't stay here forever. It would be really awkward is she shows up here a year from now and runs into herself. She's at least aware of that fact, wearing her disguises when she goes out. Probably to avoid bumping into her future friends or something.

Either way, bottling up me emotions is making me grumpy, and Twilight's begun to notice. Maybe she realizes I like her and she's toying with me. Maybe the future me had a crush on her too. If that's the case then that means she's technically already chosen her future husband over me. What the hell? I don't even get a chance, then. That's stupid.I facepalm.

Ugh. I remember when my only worry was what I was going to eat for dinner. Now I'm worrying about girls. All this ridiculous bonding has really started to affect my personality. I'm happy, I smile and I'm open. Talking to Twilight gets easier and harder everyday depending on what kind of thoughts I'm having. One thing the dominates all those others though is my desire to protect her, to keep her safe. I want to help her save the future, save her home. I've been thinking that probably means she ends up going back to the future though... Yup, we really need to start talking about all this stuff. Or you keep your mouth shut, dumbass. Talking to myself, huh? Great.

I hear the sound of the door opening followed by the sound of Twilight voice calling that she was back. I lift my head from where I am on the sofa and raise a hand as a sign of greeting before lowering myself back to my original position. As much as I want to get back to work there definitely is something to be said for being able to relax. It's a nice feeling, it'd be even nicer without the sense of impending doom I'm always feeling but hey, you win some, you lose some.

I can hear Twilight placing the grocery bags on the table, followed by the relieved sigh from not having to hold the bags anymore. I find it weird. Twilight buys the same amount of groceries every time. She doesn't believe in buying too much and risking having it go to waste. I've tried explaining to her that it most definitely wouldn't, as I would eat it, but she's insistent on her own ways. With the lists and everything. Which makes today's haul different, which in turn makes it interesting.

I get up to go over and investigate. Next thing I know though Twilight's pushing me out the door. When I'm standing on the entrance to the library all I can do is turn around and go "huh?"

Twilight's standing there smiling. "Go do something for a while, okay? I've got something to prepare, it's a surprise." without leaving room for argument she shuts the door. I sigh and begin making my way towards the center of town.

It's been quite a while already, I'm on way back to the library. I've had a lot of time to think and what I've been thinking is that Twilight and I should probable leave Ponyville. We've been lucky this far but that doesn't mean our luck will continue, especially if our opponents are from the future. That only means they know everywhere Twilight might go.

"What're you going to do? Fly away? Ha, as if you could!" I turn towards the commotion, it having snapped me back to reality.

A girl with long pink hair is on the ground, holding herself up with one hand. She has brilliant pink hair that must go all the way past her butt judging by how it's strewn all around her like that. A lot of it covers most of her face though. She has wings with bright yellow feathers tucked against her back. The yellow dress, that matches her wings, she's wearing has dirt smudges all over it, as though she's been playing around all day. She's not a child though, and I have a pretty good idea what's going on. Even from where I am I can see the tears forming in the only eye I can catch a glimpse of.

I consider just going on my way, back to the library. Twilight's expecting me and we already agreed we shouldn't bring attention to ourselves. I even start to walk away but then I remember my own trouble with bullies. How it got so bad I ended up living by myself outside of any town. I remember crying at night and wondering what I'd done wrong. Wondering why nobody liked me. Remembering that all I would have needed was a lone act of kindness. One act of kindness could have saved me. What if not receiving any help here is the turning point for this girl? No, I can't leave her. I turn around and casually make my way over to them.

"Problem?"

The guy turns around and scoffs. "Buzz off."

The girl looks like she wants to say something. Her eyes are desperate and pleading and just like that I know what I have to do.

I tap the guy's shoulder again and sure enough he turns around. He looks as though he's about to make some rude remark but I don't give him a chance. One of my hands curls around the collar of his shirt and I lift him above the ground. I toss him him onto the ground and give him a glare as though to say 'How do you like it?'. Clearly he's not impressed because he stutters as he stands up then runs off. Maybe I should have used both hands, less suspicious...

Oh, right! The girl! I turn towards her now and offer my hand to her. She looks awestruck but more importantly relieved. It makes me feel good, like maybe I actually changed someone's life. I know this probably didn't change anyone's life, but it still feels good! Her fingers curl around mine and I help pull her to her feet. Her fingers are curled around my hand so gently I'm not even sure she's holding onto me. I'm about to ask her name when I remember I'm expected somewhere.

"Twilight!" I gasp out, much to the girl's confusion and dash off.

"Really? You did all this for me?" I spin around to get a good look at the revamped library. There's balloons and streamers everywhere, not to mention a huge, freakin' delicious looking cake sitting at the center of the table. It even has candles and everything. "How come?" I'm seriously confused.

"Wow, how long have you been out in that forest, Sora?" Twilight lets out an exasperated sigh but her lips hide a hint of amusement. "It's your birthday!"

"My birthday?" I stopped keeping track of that a long time ago and I sound unimpressed, much to Twilight's dismay.

"Is something wrong?" she asks, fearing she'd messed up in some way.

"You just didn't have to go to all this trouble over something like that." I reply, taking a seat at the table.

Twilight frowns, taking a seat beside me. For a few minutes there's nothing but silence because I don't know what to say, having never really been in a situation similar to this before. There's also the fact that Twilight looks thoughtful, so i don't want to interrupt her train of though.

When she finally talks her words catch me off guard. "It's the day you were born, and that's something that needs to be celebrated. There's only one you, Sora. If you don't want to celebrate for yourself, at least do it for me."

My eyes meet hers and she looks surprisingly sad. There's something more that she wants to say but can't, and I can tell. This is important to her, for some reason I'll probably never be allowed to know. This girl has already done so much for me, this is the least I can do for her, isn't it?

The rest of the night went by quickly and I don't recall a time where I've ever been so happy. Twilight and I managed to somehow eat that entire cake to ourselves. After the cake the rest of the night was a blur of excited talking. Twilight told me all about her studies under Celestia and even though she shouldn't she told me of her friends.

The brutal but loyal Rainbow Dash. The honest, hard-working Applejack. The generous, beautiful Rarity. The party-loving, crazy Pinkie Pie, and the shy but kind Fluttershy. She spent a lot of time telling me a lot about those girls and I actually found myself jealous. I bet it's nice to have so many friends like that. Not just ordinary friends but friends you share such a deep bond with you just know they would each risk their life for you over and over again.

Eventually I feel like we've talked about everything and there seems to be nothing left to say. Twilight shifts a little uncomfortable before standing up.

"Well, it's getting pretty late..." What a generic thing to say in a situation like this. I find myself thinking.

"Yeah..." I don't know what else to say.

Twilight nods at me and begins heading up to her bedroom.

My stomach churns a little as I call out "Wait!" and my friend turns around surprised. I swallow hard before continuing. "I just wanted to say...Thank you. For tonight, and for everything. It means a lot to me."

She just stands there and a smile slowly forms on her lips. She hops back down the stairs and comes up to me. She's so close I can smell the lavender products she uses to wash herself and it's making me nervous.

"I never gave you your present." she says, but I'm unable to read her tone.

I start to say I don't need anything but she cuts me off.

"Everyone deserves to get something for their birthday." She goes on in that same tone before she leans forward, raising herself onto her tip-toes to press her lips against mine.

For a moment everything is blank, and I can't think. A girl's kissing me for the first time, it's kind of a big deal you know. At first I just kinda stand there but next thing I know I'm kissing her back, locking my lips with hers. I'm not sure how long this goes on. It could be minutes or hours, and I don't care because I'm enjoying every second of it. unfortunately all good things must come to an end and Twilight pulls away.

When I open my eyes and take a good look at her the first thing I notice is her smile. The second are the tears in her eyes. Before I can say anything she's heading up the stairs to her room. I want to follow, but I don't which ends up leaving me alone all night wondering what exactly I'd done wrong.

Author's Note

What? An update from me? I know, crazy right! Well, things have finally calmed down and I can get back to writing so expect some more updates on my other stuff too (particularly Everypony loves...Although I'd like to finish Moving on as well.) At any rate, i hope you enjoyed.