//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: The Things He Carried // by Makerofthebuttswagger //------------------------------// So there Toby was, being embraced tightly by the one pony who hated his guts - perhaps she had turned a corner? Whatever the answer was, it didn't seem like she would ever let go. She did, however, let him go, and it was then when Toby realized how truly awful the princess looked. He raised an eyebrow. "Princess Luna," he addressed quietly. "OHMYGOSH, TOBYYOU'RE ALIIIIIVE!!!!!" shrieked a familiar voice, and before he could react, Princess Twilight was clinging onto him, sobbing uncontrollably. Now, this was a reaction he could more or less understand - after all, Twilight made a genuine effort to support him, indirect as it may have been. "You - are - a - princess," Toby stammered, feeling his lungs burn. "Twi - I think you're strangling him," said the burly stallion in the background. Twilight quickly relinquished her grip on Toby, and backed up sheepishly. Her eyes raked over him eagerly, hungrily taking in every detail. "How?" Toby raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?" To his surprise, her overjoyed expression quickly took a downturn into a look of downright rage. "How could you do that to me after I tried to help?? How could you even think of jumping off of Canterlot Falls, especially when there were ponies who wanted to help -" "Help!?" Toby protested. "Are you seriously -" "SHUT UP!!" Twilight bellowed, making Toby jump back. "You didn't care - you never cared, did you? I was trying to help you Toby, because you have dealt with things nopony ever should have to, and yet you throw all my efforts out of the window by trying to KILL YOURSELF AGAIN -" "I WASN'T TRYING TO DIE!!" Toby bellowed back as a hot feeling of injustice swelled up in his chest. Seeing the stricken look on Twilight's face, he pressed his advantage. "I didn't jump off the Falls because I wanted to die - it was the only escape. Was I aware that I could die? Yes. Yes I was - but it wasn't my main motive, and that was for your sake." "For my sake??" Twilight retorted angrily. "How in the WORLD was I supposed to know that!?" Toby went silent for a moment - the princess had a point. Jumping off a waterfall that descended thousands of feet down a mountain... now that he thought about it, he had died - or was at least close to it, before Pacificae revived him - but it had made for a pretty convincing fake suicide attempt. "I - I just want to be left alone," Toby finally grunted in reply. "Nothing good has ever come from being around ponies." "That's not true -" Twilight began, but shut up instantly when Toby slammed the fallen equipment shelf with his foot, beside himself with anger. "IT'S NOT TRUE, HUH!?" he bellowed. "NOT TRUE!!?? WELL LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, PRINCESS - YOU CALL GETTING THROWN UNCEREMONIOUSLY INTO A DUNGEON WITHOUT A SINGLE SAY A GOOD THING?? OR HOW ABOUT GETTING THE EGG SALAD BEATEN OUT OF YOU BY SOME RAINBOW-LOOKING STUCK-UP FOR BEING DIFFERENT?? I SHOULD HAVE DIED A LONG TIME AGO!!!!" Luna let out a strangled sob. The lunar pony sat on her haunches and covered her mouth with both of her forelegs, clearly horrified at the tirade from emotionally battered human in front of her. "Toby, don't say -" Twilight began, but Toby ignored her and pointed an accusing finger at Luna, who flinched. "And you!!!" he cried indignantly as tears began to form in his eyes. "Why are YOU crying?? YOU hated me the most!!! YOU were the reason I was in prison for no good reason - YOU BULLIED me from the moment I first arrived in this STUPID world!!! Why in the world should YOU be crying, when you could be REJOICING at the fact I almost DIED!!??" "THAT'S ENOUGH!!!" Twilight shrieked, effectively ending Toby's rant. "LOOK AT HER, TOBY - YOU CALL THIS FAKE? You never even bothered to talk to her after you tried to strangle yourself with your bed sheet! She has been trying to reach out to you ever since Fluttershy's interrogation, but you wouldn't let her!! She cares, Toby, and sometimes you have to look past your grudges in order to make peace!!" "I don't want peace," Toby retorted scathingly. "I want space. Besides, I haven't heard Luna say a single -" "Toby, please!!!" sobbed Luna, making everyone look around. "I-I wasn't trying to b-bully you - please listen - I - I never hated you, I swear on my sister! I just didn't want anyone to find out..." She faltered off, but she had captured Toby's interest. "Find out what?" he asked in a grim tone. "What would the Princess of the Moon want to hide from a nobody like myself?" Shining Armor and Twilight stared incredulously at Luna - she wasn't going to tell him... no... "Y-You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Luna replied shakily. Toby peered suspiciously at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright, then - keep you secrets. It's none of my business." He turned to walk away, but Twilight held fast. "No," she said sternly. "You're not going anywhere." Toby glared at her. "Hold up - you told me that when you were head princess, you'd let me go. More than that - you promised. Now you're just going to break that?" Twilight gasped and raised a hoof to her mouth, instantly releasing him. "Toby, I -" "You forgot," Toby finished coldly. "What a coincidence. Nothing changes, no matter where I go. No one cares. Hell, the only reason you guys are butthurt about me is because I'm a different species." "Toby, that's a lie!!" Twilight replied, tearing up. "You know that..." "Do I?" Toby snarled. "Didn't you see yourself just now? Nothing changes - you're probably just worried that my death tarnished your image as a princess -" "NO!!" Twilight cried. "Toby, you're wrong! It's clear to me that nothing I can say will change your mind - but I'm telling the truth! There's always somepony who cares for you, I'm sure there was someone back on your world - your parents! Haven't you ever thought about what your parents might think if they knew you tried to kill yourself?" There was a long silence during which Toby looked around at the three ponies with a hollow look in his eyes that made them all shudder. "My mom would have been a little sad," Toby said quietly, looking at the ground. "My dad would have just seen it as a pitiful end to a pitiful son he wished he never had." "Toby... no..." Luna squeaked, leaking more tears. "No - that's wrong - why would your own father, the one who brought you into the world, think of you like that??" "Because I left the war like a coward," Toby explained. "I thought I've told you this...?" Twilight and Luna shook their heads earnestly, both sporting wide eyes. Toby sighed. "Well... it was nighttime (during the war) when it happened - the night after my troop had raided a village. I had just seen one of my comrades fall into a brutal trap the enemy had set up - the last friend I had in that troop. The nighttimes in 'Nam were awful, stuff straight out of a nightmare - and on that night particularly, it was my last straw. I took my gun - a weapon that uses a small explosion to fire a metal projectile at a speed faster than it can be possible seen by the naked eye - and shot myself in the foot..." Twilight looked a little green. "Why?" "By injuring myself, I was removed from combat and added to the casualty list - then, by some miracle, I was sent home..." Toby explained sadly. "Back home this was widely considered a very shameful thing to do - so by leaving the war, I was a social outcast. I didn't belong anywhere, not even in my own home. My dad told me himself that he would have actually preferred me to die in Vietnam than come home a coward... "But don't you see, princess? Nothing changes. I threw myself from a treetop to end it all, and the next thing I know, I'm here in Equestria. Not even a half-day later, I found myself in your dungeons based on mere suspicion. Not only that, I've been treated like a bomb that's about to go off whenever you visited me in my ward. So, do you understand why I want to leave?" Twilight took a deep breath. "Y-Yeah, I can see your point of view..." Toby smiled, feeling grimly satisfied, and turned to leave. He didn't even start walking before Twilight spoke up again. "Wait... are you going into the woods? Don't you have a place to stay for Hearth's Warming?" Toby groaned and turned. "I will - and don't you dare try and get me to stay." "What do you mean by 'I will'?" Twilight pressed shrewdly. "You have somewhere to stay? I swear on Celestia, Toby, if it's some cave somewhere -" "I'm not staying in a cave!!" Toby interrupted indignantly. "Seriously." "Alright, then," Twilight said smartly, stepping forward. "Where are you staying?" "That's none of your business." "Toby..." "Okay, FINE! I'm building my own place with the help of a friend." Twilight froze. "You - you made a friend? Who?" "Her name is Pacificae, and she's not the biggest social butterfly when it comes to ponies," Toby deadpanned. "I don't know what she is, so don't ask me." "Where did you find her?" Luna piped up in a surprisingly stable tone. "Is she a forest critter? My sister and I are quite friendly with the creatures of the Whitetail Wood." "Er - in these woods here," Toby stammered. "Why?" "What does it look like?" the lunar pony pressed curiously. "Erm... sort of a large rabbit with antlers," Toby replied, a bit put off by their sudden interest in Peace. Twilight gasped. "Are you talking about a jackalope?? Those don't exist, do they??" "A whoey-what-now?" Toby replied, making Luna giggle. He looked at her inquiringly and asked, "What? Was it something I said?" "There is one jackalope in existence to the knowledge of my sister and I," Luna said, winking at Twilight. "We have kept it a secret because she - like Toby mentioned - does not like to be in the presence of ponies." "Wait - you and Pacificae are pals??" Toby cried in disbelief. "Oh, this is great - absolutely peachy." "You've named her?" Luna said in a slight squeal. It was one thing to see someone laugh directly after crying, but to see Luna looking energetic and eager all of a sudden in her depressed-looking state was something else completely. "Pacificae - how cute! What does it mean?" "Er - 'Peaceful'," Toby murmured, feeling wrong footed by the sudden change of tone in the conversation. "It's taken from another language from my world. Can I go now?" "Are you finished with your shelter?" Twilight asked shrewdly. "You know the answer to that; I already told you that I was building it," Toby replied sardonically. "Geez." Twilight looked around at her brother, who nodded. She then grabbed Toby's hand with her magic and led him on. "Wait - what are you doing?? Stop!!" Toby demanded angrily, pulling back, but it was to no avail. She was too strong. "You're going to stay with us until you get your home built," Twilight replied stubbornly. "And I don't care if this is against your will! It's for your own good." "No, I'm not!!" Toby howled in response as he fought fruitlessly. Suddenly, he saw a dark blue aura surround him, and he found that his forced forward progress had been stopped. "Twilight, I understand that you know what may be best for him," said the voice of Luna. Toby craned his neck to see the stubborn look on Luna's face that countered Twilight's. "But you can't do this... let him make the decision. It's the most we can do for him right now - please, listen to me." Wait... Luna was vouching for him? This didn't add up. Twilight bit her lip, then released Toby from her grip. "I just - nopony deserves to be alone on Hearth's Warming..." "H-Hearth's Warming?" Toby stammered. "Is that a holiday or something?" Looking around at the village in the distance, however, he answered his own question - some of the buildings sported large Christmas-style wreaths, as well as garland and ribbons. He felt his heart fall with a hollow bump. So it was Christmas - although here it seemed to be called 'Hearth's Warming'... and nothing damaged his good spirits more than the thought of spending Christmas alone. One year ago he had done just that back on Earth... That was the first time he had ever considered committing suicide. "But Toby," rang the smooth voice of Luna, bringing him back to the present. For some strange reason, it seemed to warm him up in a soothing sort of way. "I - I would very much appreciate it if you came and spent the holiday with us," Luna continued. "That is my request..." "But - but I'd like to finish my house," Toby protested weakly. "Then we can help," Twilight offered confidently. "Yes!" Luna added enthusiastically, "To get you on your feet!" Toby kicked at the ground uncomfortably. "I don't need -" "We want to make it up to you," Luna pressed. "This isn't about making us feel better, Toby." Toby looked up from the ground into the earnest eyes of the others. "What if I still don't want to spend Chris- er, Hearth's Warming with you all?" "That's fine with us!!" Twilight replied eagerly. "We would know that you're safe and warm in your home." "I don't want to be babysat," Toby said morosely. "Toby, you don't need a babysitter," Twilight replied with a sad smile. "What you need is a friend - and we're all willing to help you build a life here, even if that means not being super close. You matter, Toby." The lonely human looked around at their faces, and it finally came to him - they weren't lying. "I - what will the others think?" Toby countered sheepishly after a moment. "They think I'm dead... wouldn't they be mad?" "Maybe a little," Twilight answered truthfully. "But I think they would all be overjoyed to know that you're alive and well." This was followed by a very long silence during which Toby and the others stared very intently at one another. Seeing no way out, Toby sighed, recognizing defeat. "Okay - I'll go. I guess I have nothing to lose..." The two alicorns squeed and wrapped him up in a bone-crushing hug. He let out a squeak of pain before they let him go. "On a different note - who are you?" Toby asked, rubbing his aching ribcage and pointing at Shining Armor. The stallion grinned and walked over to Twilight. "I'm Shining Armor - Twily's older brother," replied the stallion, giving his sister a soft noogie. "It would be really good of you to come - because they think you're dead, it's put quite the damper on the holiday atmosphere." He muttered, "Can I at least finish the walls on my home or something before we go?" Twilight smiled. "If it's alright with you, it's getting late - I don't think it's a good idea to try. You're more than welcome to stay at my place until your home is finished!" Toby thought for a moment with a slightly sad, apprehensive expression. "You sure I won't be -?" "No, not at all!" Twilight chirped. "I'd love to have you around! Besides, there's supposed to be a snowstorm, so it would be who of you to come." "Alright..." Toby replied, then turned and called over his shoulder, "Oi!! Peace! It's okay - they're friendlies. One claims to know you, actually." Pacificae poked her head around the corner, gazing at the company before her. When she witnessed Luna standing there, she relocated herself to the lunar pony's side and nuzzled her barrel. "Long time no see, my friend," Luna giggled warmly. "I take it that you were taking care of Toby during his romp through the wilderness?" Pacificae bounded over to Toby and leaned into him affectionately. Toby scratched her ear, making her tap her foot against the ground repeatedly in pleasure. Twilight watched the whole scene with her jaw to the ground. Just after this had all happened, a frosty wind howled through the clearing, making all of them shudder. The first of the snowflakes began to whisk by, as if to drive Twilight's point about the cold home. "Let us hurry!" Luna chattered. "Toby, we must get you something to eat - you look skeletal." There was a murmur of agreement among the equines, and they began their journey back home. Toby however, lingered behind, trying to determine if he wanted to say what he had on his mind or not. He had mixed emotions about this whole encounter - it had only been ten minutes ago when he wanted nothing to do with ponies. Now, he was giving them a chance, but why?? Everything was happening so quick - could he really trust these ponies? It was finally clear to him that the princesses had no intention of letting that stupid prismatic pegasus beat the willies out of him, so maybe it was okay to trust them... You know what? he thought. Screw it. It's the holiday season - no point in disappointing them. Finally, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth. "Erm... princesses?" he called out nervously. Twilight, Luna, and Shining Armor all came to a halt and smiled back at him encouragingly. "Thanks for - well... letting me stay at your place," he stuttered awkwardly. "S-So I don't - you know - freeze and stuff..." "Ooh!!" Twilight cooed, tackling the human in a brief hug. Luna hesitated, then joined in on the fun. "Okay, okay, enough with the hugs!" Toby protested, managing to push the mares off of him. "I'm a super-hardened war-veteran, remember?" There was a brief moment of silence during which the equines stared at Toby warily, not knowing what he had meant by that. Then, it became clear to them. To their immense surprise, Toby broke out into a shit-eating grin. "Joking," he chuckled in a merry tone. The whole group chuckled, then, slowly, broke out into a gale of merriment. It gave Luna and Twilight much consolation to see Toby truly laughing for the first time. "Hoo man... thanks for playing, princesses," Toby sighed with a slight smile. "I'm coming, don't worry." "Also, just calling us Twilight and Luna would be fine," Luna replied. "We're your friends, after all..." Toby stared at her. "Okay then... Luna, why are you blushing?" "I'm not blushing!!" Luna squawked. "It's - it's cold, that's all!" It was all Twilight and her brother could do to not blow her cover to the oblivious human. They merely lead the way with silence, Twilight feeling happier and more hopeful than she had felt in a long time. She could only imagine how Luna felt. She was snapped out of her thoughts when her brother came to a sudden and abrupt halt. "Is everything okay?" she asked, turning to look at him. With a stricken look on his face, he cried, "We forgot the tree!!" Toby had assumed that not all princesses were crazy. He soon was proved wrong after he had met Twilight's sister-in-law, Cadance - who definitely filled that category in every shape, way, and form possible. Kind of. It wasn't a downright psychopath kind of crazy, it was more of the kind in which you didn't know what was on their mind when they looked at you. That was Cadance. He even brought the topic up with her husband, Shining Armor, when he found a private moment... "Hey, er - Shining Armor? Why does your wife keep looking at me like that?" "Like what?" Twilight's brother replied as he tried to tamper with a dull bulb on the tree. "Like she knows something I don't," Toby said with a shiver. "It's kinda creepy." Shining Armor froze. "Oh, that? She does that." "Is there a particular reason she's doing it to me?" Toby pressed. "Probably." "Should I be concerned?" "No - you're fine. My wife just has her hobbies, but I promised not to say," Shining Armor replied, peering at the stubborn bulb. "What's that supposed to mean?" Toby asked shrewdly. "Sorry, dude," Shining Armor replied in a frustratingly mysterious way. "That's confidential information - you'll probably know someday." "Gee, thanks," Toby muttered, disgruntled. "I'm brimming with excitement right now." "Listen - it's nothing against you," Cadance's husband said consolingly, turning his attention away from the tree and giving the human a sympathetic look. "It's just a bit of a personal situation concerning one of the princesses here that my sister is getting a tad involved with - it's something like a specialty of hers." "So... how is that supposed to involve me if it's about one of the other princesses?" Toby pressed suspiciously. Shining Armor merely shrugged, then returned to his side project. Toby gave an inward groan of unfulfilled curiosity and made his way back to the guest room. Or at least, the one Twilight's student, Starlit or something like that, designated to him. He met no one on the way, and was able to flop down onto his bed uninterrupted. He sighed, looking up at the ceiling, feeling another long pondering session come his way. The roller coaster of emotions he had experienced in the last week could have satisfied a psychotic demon for a lifetime. Up, down, up again, spiral down, loopdeloop five times over, three sixty no-scope... you get the idea. He had now been nearly twelve hours since he had arrived at Twilight's crystal castle. When he had arrived, there was about as much commotion as he could have expected - Princess Celestia absolutely lost it, both angrily and happily. Spike, Starlight, and Princess Cadance were all extremely surprised, for all they knew about him was that he was very important to those who did and that he was assumed dead. Shining Armor, Cadance, and Spike seemed to come like him a lot for some reason. It was genuine, too, not some kind of oh-this-human-is-depresso-expresso-so-we-must-be-nice kinda thing - they had seemed to take a genuine liking of him. Maybe it was the fact Toby made a conscious effort not to mope, which would have been hard to do anyway in the kind of atmosphere he was now in - it was simply impossible not to smile while the others were being so joyful. Still - he couldn't help but draw comparisons of this life to his old one back on Earth - the one on Earth began better than anyone could have hoped, but it slowly degraded into nothingness as the war progressed - but here! There was a small glint of hope in his chest now. Here, things were the complete opposite - things started off here at rock bottom, but since... things were seeming to get better. But these ponies - they couldn't seem to stick to a common ground of whether he was liked or not. Being liked was the least of his concerns, of course - but still, he couldn't help but get that feeling that something was off... the way Shining Armor had responded to hearing about his wife's strange behavior had unsettled him slightly. He claimed that the pink princess always acted like that - but did she? How was he supposed to know? He didn't know Cadance! Clearly she was trusted - but she had to have been planning something. Then there was Luna... she was acting very, very strange. Before he had run into her outside of the hardware shop, he would have bet his left leg that she hated his guts. Now, he wasn't so sure - I mean, she was definitely a mess when he had saw her the day before. Later that night, as Twilight showed him to his room, he had asked her if Luna had been that way because of him. One disbelieving huff and look later, he learned that the answer was definitely a 'yes'. So if the lunar pony really hated him, why was she an absolute pill about it when he had first arrived? It made no sense! He groaned, massaging his temples. It was a good feeling to be valued, but couldn't the princesses have given him a straight up lecture or something that at least let him know that he was appreciated instead of going through a very long and confusing process of imprisoning, hospitalizing, and coddling him? That would have been nice - it definitely would have saved him a lot of brain cells. Although, there were some good things about the way things happened, though. For instance, he received a lot of hugs - he didn't want to admit it, but pony hugs were nice. Better than human hugs. For some reason, it felt better to be hugged by Celestia or Luna (especially Luna, for some reason) than to be hugged by one of the others - perhaps it was because he felt like they had done the most wrong to him, and wanted to make up. Someone knocked on the door loudly, making Toby jump. "Come in," he said loudly. Twilight poked her head through the doorway. "We're about to eat - care to join us?" "Sure - if I said no, you wouldn't listen anyway," Toby quipped, getting to his feet. Twilight giggled. "That means you're learning. Also, do you think Peace wants to join us?" Toby looked over to the wardrobe, next to which Pacificae was curled up and fast asleep - a truly adorable sight. Shaking his head, he replied, "Nah - she's probably exhausted. Let's go." Three days later - Hearth's Warming Eve... Everyone had gathered that evening into the living room to enjoy the company of one another with steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Toby had been doing all he could to help around the castle - and to everyone's dismay, he wore himself out doing so. They all knew he was trying to show his gratitude by helping wherever he could, but there was just so much little stuff he had helped with that could have easily been looked over. The most they could do was let him sleep. "Flurry, please get off of Toby's head," Cadance said wearily as the human snoozed on one of the couches. "He's trying to sleep, sweetie - no wait, stop - don't do that, didn't you just hear me??" "Candy, he's out," her husband replied, levitating the struggling child into his arms. "After all he did today, I think it'll be hard to wake him up." "I know," Cadance replied, nuzzling him. "He just did so much." "I thought he was great," Spike put in, entering the room with his own cup of hot chocolate. "He his end of the piano like it was nothing when the two of us had to move it downstairs." "Wait - you can lift a piano?" asked Twilight, who was sitting in an armchair opposite of her brother and sister-in-law. "Also, isn't that like, your sixth cup of chocolate?" Spike shrugged. "I didn't have enough marshmallows in the other ones." There was a quiet chorus of chuckling at the drake, broken by the entrance of Celestia and Luna, who took their seats on the couch adjacent to the one Toby was sleeping on. There were a lot of couches, okay? Geez. "Oh, look at him, Tia!" Luna said with a smile, gesturing at Toby. "He's so cute!!" Everyone in the room looked at the lunar pony with either a look of shock or a very sly smile. Luna seemed to realize what she had let slip, and gulped, turning a deep shade of red. "I meant in a 'puppy' sort of way!!" she said hastily, but the damage had been done. Everyone except a very flustered as well as very red Luna broke out into raucous laughter, which woke Toby from his slumber. "Whu...? Huh? Is - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!" he yelped, sitting up straight. He then realized the presence of everyone in his area, and blinked. "Did I miss something?" "Well - yes and no," Celestia replied playfully, but Luna stuck a hoof in her sister's mouth. "Thee would do well to shut your mouth," she hissed. Deciding to shrug off the sisters' strange behavior, he turned to Twilight. "Wait - is that hot chocolate?" Nodding, Twilight replied, "Yep - there's some more in the kitchen if you want to have a cup!" "I think that sounds pretty good right now," Toby yawned, and trudged off to the kitchen. The moment he had left the room, Cadance turned her attention upon Luna. "So - when are you going to tell him?" she asked slyly. "I don't know what you're talking about," Luna replied dismissively, taking a sip from her mug. Rolling her eyes, Cadance pushed her point further. "You know very well what I mean - when are you going to tell Toby how you feel?" Luna spewed out her chocolate, slightly showering a very unfortunate drake in the hot beverage. "My apologies, Spike," Luna amended quickly, summoning a napkin with her magic. Handing it to the disgruntled drake, she muttered, "You now I can't do that, dear niece." "Why not!?" asked Cadance indignantly. "You may as well be honest about it - you can't hide it forever from him." "What if he takes it badly?" Luna protested. "Besides, I don't think a marefriend is what he needs right now." Cadance nodded thoughtfully, but then perked up again. "I didn't say you had to ask him out - just tell him how you feel!" "Wha - no!!" Luna sputtered. "Toby was under the impression that I hated him back at the hardware shop - and I don't think he's forgiven me for how I treated him..." "Forgiven you for what?" said a voice that made them all jump. Toby walked slowly into the room, blowing on a piping-hot mug of chocolate. He gingerly took his seat on the vacant couch, then took a sip. He recoiled instantly and murmured, "Ooh - ouch." As soon as he was settled, he looked back up at Luna. "Anyway, what about not forgiving you? All I heard was my name." There was an uncomfortable silence. Luna took a deep, shy breath. "I was just - the way I treated you when you first came here... I was just saying that I didn't think you... forgave... me..." Toby cocked an eyebrow. "Well of course I forgive you." Luna jumped. "Why!?" "Because you're genuinely sorry about it, and I'm tired of holding a bucketful of grudges," Toby replied nonchalantly. "Besides, you looked absolutely destroyed a few days ago. I would have been a jerk for turning you away and - Twilight, you're creeping me out." The purple princess, who had been sporting a grin that was slowly growing as Toby had been speaking, crossed the room in two bounds and hugged Toby, who had barely any time to set down his beverage. "This is so great, Toby!! You're healing!!" Twilight squealed. Peeling the excitable princess off of him, he looked at her. "Well, I'm doing my best... if you guys wanna give me another chance at life, it would be smart to take it. Now let me drink my cocoa, you psychopath." Everyone laughed as Twilight sheepishly returned to her seat. As the laughter began to die down, Toby got up. "I'm going to go get some fresh air," he announced. "Anyone wanna come?" Celestia shoved Luna forward with a wing with a knowing grin on her face. Luna, seeing no other choice, replied weakly, "I - I'll g-go." "Coolio," Toby said cheerfully. "I was going to go out on the balcony and look at the lights, if that's okay." "That - that sounds lovely," Luna replied, trying not to look at Cadance's shit-eating grin. The two of them had left the room, leaving the others looking at one another excitedly. "Now, Cadance," Celestia said calmly when Toby and Luna were out of earshot. "I'm on board here to assist with your plan for those two, but please consider this advice - if this is to work, we need more time. I don't know if Luna telling Toby how she feels tonight is the best idea. You may end up regretting mentioning it." "We'll see, auntie," Cadance replied nervously. "I got a bit carried away - but it still may work, even though I agree with you. This may be a bit too much for Toby to handle." The lights of Ponyville sparkled in Toby's eyes as he looked on from the balcony of Twilight's castle. He leaned into the railing thoughtfully, wondering how his parents were faring for the holidays. Were they sad in any shape, way, or form that their only son had gone missing? "Beautiful, isn't it?" Luna asked happily. "It's a wonderful view." Toby noticed that she was looking right at him as she was saying this. "Oh - yeah. The locals really know how to decorate the place." There was a short silence before he asked, "Do you think they'd be frightened to know that a big, talking monkey is staying at the castle?" "Anyone who is friends with us become friends to the citizens," Luna replied evasively. "There's always a hateful crowd, anywhere you go." Toby sighed. "I guess so." There was another long silence during which Luna shuffled nervously in place. Finally she asked softly, "Toby?" "What's up?" replied the human, not taking his eyes off of Ponyville. "Were you serious back there about - you know - forgiving me of my disrespectful deeds?" Toby looked into Luna's worried eyes and noticed the way the lights of the village reflected off of her turquoise irises. It was really pretty... He blinked to put his thoughts on track, and laughed slightly. "Well, of course, Luna - I was serious. It's obvious you're dealing with some serious regrets, and I understand that." He felt her embrace him, and he gave her head a slight pat. When she had released him, the two returned their attentions to the light display once more. "Toby... can I tell you something?" "Go for it." "It's - it's a bit serious..." Toby turned to look at the lunar pony, and was slightly startled when he saw her blushing deeply. "Are you cold? We can go back inside," Toby offered. "Oh, that's not it - but thank you; you're such a gentlecolt," Luna gushed. "It's - it's something else, and I don't want to scare you off..." "I won't be scared off," Toby assured her. "Promise?" "Yes - I promise." Toby smiled at her. "I'm not going to abandon a friend after they do so much to try and get me back." Luna blushed even deeper. "P-Pinkie Promise??" Toby blinked. "Um - is there a catch here? What's a Pinkie Promise? Ponies don't have pinkie fingers." "It's - it's a promise you absolutely cannot break," Luna explained shyly, making a mental note to ask about pinkie fingers later. "There are consequences if you do - but I don't want to force you to make a deci-" "I Pinkie Promise," Toby interrupted, smiling. He extended his hand, and Luna took it. The two of them shook. "The truth is - the truth is..." Luna said, clearly struggling to get the words out of her throat. Toby gave her an encouraging look. "I promised to you, remem-?" "I love you!!" Luna squawked, cutting him off. Toby froze, speechless. "Wh-What??" "I - I'm in love with you," Luna repeated, hiding behind her mane. "I'm not looking for an answer, I just - I just think you have the right to know..." "I - I..." Toby stammered. Nothing could have prepared him for this. "I - wow... sorry - I don't mean to be rude, but..." Luna clenched her eyes shut, bracing herself for the worst. "I just can't see myself with a pony..." Toby said slowly. "Whenever I saw myself with a lady, it was a human... I also don't know you all too well. Besides, the last time I was in love..." he shuddered. Luna took a deep breath and looked at him, concerned. "D-Do you want to - talk about it?" Toby sighed and gripped the balcony railing harder. "Maybe some other day, Luna - it's super sensitive. But... thanks for telling me this - it answers a lot of questions... this definitely makes things awkward, but - but I made a promise. I'm not going anywhere, Luna, and I hope we can still be - you know..." "... Friends," Luna finished in a disappointed tone. "I - I understand, Toby... but it makes me glad that you're not letting this ruin our friendship." "Yeah... that, and you NEVER BREAK A PINKIE PROMISE!!!" shrieked a very high pitched voice; the owner of it was standing right behind Toby. He whirled around to find himself nose-to-nose with a pink mare that had a very bouncy, large mane. She glared at him for a split second before realizing what he was. "Wait - you're supposed to be dead!!" she squeaked in disbelief. "You jumped off the falls - my pinkie sense told me so!" "Wait - wha - huh??" Toby sputtered. "Who are you!? More importantly, how did you GET up here?" "Oh, that?" the pink mare giggled with a snort. "I jumped." "From the ground...?" Toby asked weakly. "Yepperoni!!" the mare chirped, smiling widely. "Wait 'till the others hear about this! Toby's ALIIIIVE!!" She zoomed off of the balcony and into the distance. "What - who??" Toby stammered. "Pinkie Pie," Luna giggled. "She's one of Twilight's friends - Element of Laughter." "I'll ask some other time..." Toby replied nervously, looking in the direction in which Pinkie Pie left with an uneasy look on his face. "Should I be worried?" "No, she's just happy to see you," Luna replied warmly. "She doesn't even know me!!" "That would be Pinkie Pie for you," Luna giggled. "Now, shall we go inside?" Toby nodded, not taking his eyes off of the horizon. "And I thought Twilight was a psychopath..." With that said, he followed Luna back indoors. As the two made their way back to the living room, Luna cleared her throat awkwardly. "Thanks for listening, even though you're not - you know - interested..." "Er - don't mention it," Toby replied, as casually as he could. "Thanks for not calling me an 'ape'." "That was a joke, right?" asked Luna in a slightly frightened tone, but she relaxed as soon as she saw Toby giggling at his own quip. "Happy Hearth's Warming, Luna." "..." "Happy Hearth's Warming to you, too, Toby."