//------------------------------//
// 2 — Comfort 
// Story: Zero Fate 
// by GreyNimbus 
//------------------------------//

"So, have you decided on your new name yet, sweetie?"

I turned to Starlight Glimmer who was sitting next to me on the bed as she asked me that question. Fluttershy, the yellow-coated pink-maned Pegasus, was sitting in front of me on the floor, changing the last bandages on my leg before she goes home for the night. All the other girls, besides Starlight and Twilight who live in this, which I discovered earlier, castle, went home a while ago.

"Not... yet," I said as Fluttershy was finishing tightly wrapping fresh bandages around my lower thigh and ankle.

Finally, she packed up her medical supplies in her first-aid kit and placed them back in her neat little saddle bag. The bag had a picture of three pink butterflies, matching the odd tattoos on her flanks. I just now realized that all my new pony friends have strange tattoos printed on their butts. Is it a fashion statement or some form of identity? I'll ask questions later.

The new clothes that Rarity made for me were 2 sets of casual clothes and 1 set of pajamas. Now, when I say "casual", I don't mean the 'au naturel' kind of casual, since ponies walking around wearing nothing is considered casual around here. Rarity simply took my old clothes as a reference for designing the new ones. Since my old clothes were plain, she didn't make too many alterations to the design. It's like she magically duplicated, repaired, and shrunk my old clothes to fit my new body.

"Well, there you go." Fluttershy said, "Just stay off those legs for about 2 days and you should be fully healed. Now don't remove those bandages before then. Doctor's orders."

I gave her a nod. "Yes, ma'am."

She responds by gently patting my head. "That's a good boy. I'll be back tomorrow to check on you. Until then, be sure to get some rest."

"Okay." I said, "Thank you, Miss Fluttershy."

She giggled sweetly before saying, "Aww, you're welcome, Luth... Oh, I-I mean... sweetie." After that, she shyly trotted through the door and closed it behind her.

I almost frowned when she was about to say my name, but luckily I have an exceptional Poker face.

After that awkward farewell with the shy mare, it was now just me and Starlight in the room. Since it was nighttime, everyone had already gone home. It feels like it's been forever since I saw the light of day. Not that it matters to me. I prefer the night over the day.

Twilight said she went to get me something to eat before she herself turned in for the night. In the meantime, Starlight volunteered to keep me company. I may as well try to get comfortable.

I slowly lift my bandaged legs to slide them into bed. Starlight noticed and offered to give me some leverage with her magic.

"Thanks," I said.

She replies with a nod and a smile.

Once I was in a comfy position, Starlight hopped off the bed and tucked me in. Even though I'm not tired, I don't want to put any strain on my injuries.

There was an awkward silence in the room for at least a minute until Starlight broke it.

"Sooo..."

"Hmm?" I look up at her.

"Earlier you said that you must have shrunk. What exactly did you mean by that?"

"Well... how do I explain this... uhh, before I ended up here, I was a young adult. 23 years old, to be exact."

Starlight's eyes widened and her irises shrunk to pinpricks. "Really? You're an adult?"

"It's true. Remember the clothes I had on me when you took care of me? Even Rarity pointed it out. They were way too big for... who I am now."

"Oh." Starlight said dumbfounded, "Well, I guess I believe you. May I ask what you were doing before you came to Equestria?"

Now that was a question I can answer. Thankfully, I didn't get amnesia or a concussion from that fall.

"Well, after I got home from my job, I went out on one of my nightly strolls for some fresh air and solitude. I found a lone bench in a pretty quiet area. I sat on it for a little while, staring at the moon."

Starlight remembered how she and her friends did the same thing 2 nights ago. Could he have perhaps seen...

"Hold on," Starlight interrupted, "Did something strange happen while you were staring at the moon?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "Uhh, yeah, actually. The moon started to twinkle very brightly. In the span of a minute, it twinkled so much that it was like looking into the sun. It sure was weird. Wait, how did you know?"

Starlight suddenly avoids eye contact with me and puts a hoof to her forehead, near the base of her horn. "Oh, sweet Celestia."

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

Still averting her eyes from me, she spoke. "Well... the night you arrived, the exact same thing was happening to our moon. But right after the twinkling died down, you suddenly came flying from the direction of the moon to this castle."

I didn't know what to think. Both our moons were twinkling at the exact same time and somehow I ended up here. Was the moon temporarily a portal to another world that sucked me into it? That's just... improbable. How could this happen? Why did this happen? Why me?

I suddenly heard hoofsteps outside the room. The sound was getting louder as it came closer. The doors opened, revealing Twilight. She was levitating a plate with a sandwich on it and a glass of water.

"I'm back! I brought you something to snack on. Sorry, for taking so long. You must be starv... ing." Twilight said as she briefly felt the sense of awkwardness in the room.

Starlight and I both turned to face Twilight, showing her our expressions of dread.

"Are you two alright? You look like you just saw a ghost." Twilight asked.

"No, Twilight. I'm not." I answered.

Sensing my distraught, Starlight tries to soothe me by gently stroking my cheek. I welcomed the soft caress of her hoof.

"Twilight," Starlight said, turning to her mentor, "We need to talk."

"Oh, umm... okay. Just let me give this food to... him." She came forward and put the food on the bedside table.

"Sweetie, Twilight and I need to discuss something in private. We'll just be on the other side of the door. You just eat the food Twilight prepared for you and wait until I come back. Can you do that?" Starlight said, retracting her hoof from my cheek. I was fine with it since it was all I needed to calm my nerves.

Instantly, I grabbed onto her foreleg before she could walk away. "You promise you'll come back?" I replied.

Starlight saw the look of desperation in my eyes. She could tell that I didn't want her to leave me all alone. But I could put up with it for a little while. I just wanted Starlight's word.

Starlight smiled and leaned forward before wrapping her hooves around me once again. I don't know why, but her hugs always make me feel safe and happy. All the more reason for my desire for her presence.

"I promise," she said softly.

We broke our tender embrace. I waved her goodbye as she exited the room with Twilight. After they closed the door behind them, I sat up straight and grabbed the plate with the sandwich. I was about to take a bite until I considered what ponies actually eat. I open the sandwich to have a look at the contents; lettuce, tomatoes, and... hay?

Okay, there were 2 things wrong with this picture; 1.) Tomatoes are supposed to be poisonous to equines. And 2.) Humans can't digest hay.

Not wanting to disrespect Twilight's hospitality, I pulled a piece of hay out of the sandwich and observed it. It doesn't look like any hay I've ever seen. It looks less... organic. In fact, it looks like it's been deep-fried. I took a small bite out of it.

"Hmm..." I mumbled as I slowly chewed it. "It almost tastes like fries. Not bad."

It was surprisingly tasty and easy to chew. After swallowing, I began to eat the whole sandwich. Not wanting to get hiccups, I took my time.





Meanwhile, just outside of my room...

"So that's how he ended up here." Starlight said to Twilight.

"But how could this happen!?" Twilight exclaimed. "The moon's shine was just supposed to be a magical cosmetic illusion! Not a portal to another world!

"Maybe Luna didn't know this would happen. Maybe it was just an accident."

"She's a Princess! She doesn't just make mistakes! Especially when it comes to her power over the moon!"

"Everypony makes mistakes, Twilight! Even the princesses! That includes Luna, Celestia, even you!"

"But... but..." Twilight was beginning to hyperventilate. When it comes to the princesses, every topic was stress-worthy for her.

Starlight's horn glowed and conjured a brown paper bag and levitated it towards the panicking Alicorn. "Twilight, breathe into this bag and calm down!"

Twilight took the bag with her magic and rapidly panted into it. After a moment of releasing her stress, she slowly came to her senses again.

She let out a relieving sigh. "So now what do we do?" She asked.

Starlight turned to look at the door to my room and back at her mentor. "I say we make him feel at home."

"What? But what about the princesses? They need to know about this."

"Why?"

"Because they... uhh... Th-they... I don't know."

"Exactly. They don't need to know about our little human guest. Besides, if Princess Luna found out that she was theoretically responsible for taking a child away from his home, I don't think she could live with the guilt. It'll just make things more complicated. Besides, he's already made his decision on what he wants to do."

Twilight pondered for a moment about what her student was saying. She smiled. "I agree. The princesses don't need to know about him. At least not yet. If they found out now, they would probably try to send him back to where he came from. But if he wants to choose his fate, who are we to stop him?"

"Right." Starlight nodded "Anyway, I should probably check on him. He must be feeling lonely."

"Oh, sure thing. I'll leave you two alone, then. I'm heading to bed. Goodnight, Starlight."

"Goodnight, Twilight."

As Twilight made off in the direction of her bedroom, Starlight knocked on the door before slowly opening it, hoping not to startle the child.

As she poked her head in she saw me drinking the entire glass of water, that Twilight brought me, in one go. Starlight smiled and fully opened the door. I heard the door creak as I was finished emptying my glass. I set out a refreshing sigh as I put the glass back on the nightstand, on top of the empty plate. I saw Starlight making her way towards me.

"I'm back. How do you feel?" She asked.

"I feel much better, thanks. Feels like a lifetime ago since I had something to eat." I replied. "So what did you and Twilight talk about?"

"Oh, nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"Oh. I see." I lowered my head in disappointment.

Starlight noticed my abrupt distress. Maybe I'm being too sensitive.

"But if you really want to know, I'll tell you in the morning. Is that okay with you?"

I raised my head and faced her. "Okay. I'll wait." I said, a little cheerful.

"Good to see you're so patient. Then again, you are an adult. Mentally, not physically." She said, letting out a cute giggle.

I let out a giggle of my own, a little cuter than I intended. It must be my premature vocabulary.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

After the laughter died down, Starlight asked me another question.

"Speaking of physical, how old do you think you are now?

I never really thought of that. When I first regained consciousness here, I felt like the world got bigger around me, plus I lost quite a bit of weight. I look down the hole for the head of my new pajamas that Rarity made for me. There was no hair on my chest. My abdomen looks as flat as my chest (So I did lose weight. Take that, diet!). I put a hand through the bottom of the shirt to feel my skin. It was as smooth as the day I was born. Not to embarrass myself in front of Starlight, I decided to not look down my pants for any signs of adulthood. So to conclude...

"I'd say I'm 8 years old."

"8, huh? Looks like you'll have to go back to school, then."

"School!? But I already..."  I blurted before something came to mind. Starting school again at an early grade level will be a walk in the park for me. But I doubt I'll make friends with foals who would probably just judge me and treat me like a monster. There are always a few kids at school who act like they own the damn place.

"But nothing, mister." Starlight interrupted. "I know you probably already finished school, but there are a lot of things that you don't know about in Equestria. There are subjects about magic, Cutie Marks, our history, different races of the world..."

"But can't you and Twilight teach me? You both seem very intelligent. Besides, I don't want any other ponies making fun of me for being different."

"You make a valid point, but I still think you need a proper education. I'd love to teach you, but I'm not a qualified teacher. And I don't think Twilight has enough time in her schedule to teach you either. Also, between you and me, Twilight's lessons about anything are more boring than watching paint dry."

I sighed in the defeat of the argument. Once again, I remain at the bottom of the leaderboard. "Alright, Starlight. You win. I'll go back to school."

Seeing my disappointment once again has lured Starlight to try and comfort me. She leans forward and pulls my head towards her soft furry chest. I reacted by wrapping my arms around her neck, snuggling up against her.

"I know you don't like the idea, but maybe if you just give it a chance, you might even grow to enjoy it." She says as she strokes my hair. "And never forget; I will always be there for you when you need me."

That last sentence unexpectedly made my eyes start to water. She really cares about me. I was a lost soul in the shell of my former self, stranded in a world I never imagined could exist. But thanks to this angel of a mare, all of that was turned around, showing me the brighter side of it all. It made me feel so happy, so safe and so... loved.

I started to whimper as tears rolled down my cheeks, staining Starlight's soft fur and making it damp. I began to shiver as my mind felt like a grenade of emotions.

It wasn't long before Starlight noticed my little tantrum. "Oh, gosh, are you alright? Are you hurt?" She says as she breaks our embrace and places her hooves on my cheek and shoulder. Her compassion was so strong, that it could kill a person. Sobbing, I look up at her.

"S-starl-light?"

"Yes? Tell me what's wrong."

"C-can I... s-sleep with y-you... tonight?"

I heard a soft gasp from her as my tears kept flowing. She almost looks sad to see me in such a state. But her frown was slowly replaced with a soft smile. She brings her face forward and kisses me on the forehead.

"Of course, you can, sweetie. But how about I sleep here with you instead? My room is too far for you to walk in your condition."

With tears and mucus still pouring out of my face, I give her a giddy smile.

"But first..." She said as her horn glows and the bedside drawer opens and a box of tissues floats out of it. Starlight yanks one out of the box and brushes away my tears with it. She throws the damp tissue in the nearby bin before pulling out another one. This one, she brings it to my snotty nose. "Blow."

Doing as she says, I blew my nose hard enough to get most of the snot out, but not too hard that I made a huge hole through the thin sheet.

Starlight quickly discards the tissue to the waste bin and puts the tissue box back in its drawer. She then hops onto the bed and steps over me. I scoot over to make room for her. Thankfully there's enough room on this bed for the both of us. Starlight gets under the sheets and places her forearm over me, pulling me in close to her.

"Comfortable?" She asks.

I closed my eyes as her embrace made me so relaxed. I could fall asleep in mere moments. "Yeah." She responds with another kiss on my forehead.

"Hey, Starlight?" I whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I've thought of a new name for myself."

"Really? What is it?" she asks, excited.

"...I'll tell you in the morning..." Before she could ogle me to tell her straight away, she heard me fall asleep.

Giggling softly, she too closes her eyes. "I guess I deserve that."