Far is the Star Called Sol

by Omnicron25

7 - An Unexpected Guest

Author Note: Sorry this took so long to get out! Thank you for your patience, and enjoy the chapter!

A few hours later in the Ponyville Library, Astra jerked up in a cold sweat. Her dream had consisted of Canterlot Castle burning with the miniature Night Mare Moon standing on the highest flag post laughing as she, still in her earth pony state, was forced to watch in horror. Once she took a moment to look around though, the filly realized it had only been that— a dream. She rolled out of the bed deciding that she could not sleep and almost turned on the electric lights, but quickly thought better of it since they were probably bright enough to send light through the cracks around the door and into the hallway which could alert the rest of the library's residence that she was awake. So, she fumbled with an enchanted flame ignition rod in the night stand drawer to light a candle instead.

Once succeeding, the filly sat staring at the candle light for a long few moments. She wondered how she had gotten up here. The last thing she remembered was… a song. She had been crying, and Shining's mother started singing her a song. The words "everypony hurts" echoed in her head at the memory. She shook her head suddenly. I showed considerable weakness. I'll have to make up for that, she thought to herself as she cleared the memories away.

Astra slipped off the bed and started toward the writing desk to see if there were any good reading books that were in the stack on it. Then she tripped over the saddle bags falling head first onto the carpeted floor. She rubbed her head as she gathered herself and stood. It was obvious there was something in it before, but she had just figured it was something like an old piece of equipment. Scholar Quill had said that he used for his journeys after all. However, she was irritated now and wanted to find out what was heavy enough to trip her.

After a couple tries she undid the buckle that held the flap closed and unceremoniously dumped out the contents. The content was a book… a lone book. Astra recognized it as the book the old fart had been reading to her, and it was also the book he had reprimanded her with. For the first time, she got a good look at the aforementioned book's cover. It was forest green dyed artificial leather that looked worn and stained much like the old saddle bags. It was painfully obvious that he had this with him through his travels. Her eyes were locked on the letters branded on the cover though, The Legend of Jason Nalick Volume 1 - A Being of Earth. The text was Equestrian, of course, but the format seemed odd. It was so literal and straight forward that it seemed to have to be nonfiction, despite the filly's personal thoughts on the contents. Maybe Jason himself had titled it. She could not be certain.

There was probably nothing better else to read though, and she did have an assignment to read it. So, she grabbed the book from floor with her mouth and threw it onto the bed. And as she was about to get back up onto the bed, she noticed a black-framed hoof-held mirror on the night stand next to the bed. Curiously, she picked it up, holding it awkwardly in her foreleg's fetlock, and looked at herself in the mirror. Her once neat mane was now a horrible case of bed mane, but it was her tiara and necklace that made her eyes widen in shock. They seemed to have mouths where the gems once were.

Quickly, she put down the mirror and pulled her tiara off her head inspecting it carefully. It appeared completely normal now. This confused Astra severely, but she also now held her once beloved tiara with trepidation. Shaking her head unsure of what to think, Astra decided to go over to her dresser and drop all of her jewelry into the bottom drawer, and with a satisfied nod, the midnight blue filly huffed and shut the drawer. She figured there was no point to having it on anyway.

Then, she went back over to the bed and sat down comfortably with the book in front of her. She read the cover lazily as she opened the book to the sixth chapter entitled: A New Day.

Her mind was still nagging at the thought of the evil Night Mare Moon's spirit attempting to take control of her. It frightened her for sure, but part of her did not want to believe that this was all happening. However, that part of her was soon squashed by a smug, silky, and malicious feminine voice.

"Still trying to deny my existence, spawn? Hmmhm~ You are such a prize~"

The voice was like acid in her head, but sounded like a siren. She was disgusted by the sing-song tone it seemed to take when calling her a prize. Astra was not about to let this thing win. She fought through the pain growling quietly, "I… am… not… your… prize! You… do not… own me… you wretched spirit! I am the daughter… of the Princess of the Night! You are just a disembodied spirit!"

"Oh, how entertaining. You have so much more spunk than your mother did, and yet you act so much like her. It was too bad the Elements unbound me from her. Her bitterness and envy was delicious!"

"Fiend! Leave me alone! I am not as weak as my mother!" squeaked the midnight blue filly through the migraine that began as the spirit started to laugh. It felt as if her head was going to explode, and the spirit started laughing even harder. She wanted to cry out for help, but she was afraid they would punish her for having the spirit inside her. It was not as if she had called upon it or anything, but she doubted anypony would believe her. Alone and in pain, she sobbed quietly but not giving in… not letting it win. Then, Night Mare Moon spoke again.

"Is the little filly having trouble? You mother embraced me with open hooves, but you seem to be stronger. If you form a contract with me, imagine how strong you could be. You could show those little ponies how real power is supposed to be wielded. You could test how much your mother really loves you."

The filly had to admit it was tempting, but she also knew she would lose eventually… contract or not. With a great deal of effort, she gathered up as much willpower as she could muster and thought, GO AWAY!!! The spirit's acidic presence seemed to be receding, but the filly kept pressing.

"Oh my, so much will for one so young. No wonder you are so adept at puppeteering magic. No need to push, I shall let you be for now, but remember: you are but mortal by your father's blood and will weaken and age with time; I am eternal. You will crawl back to me eventually so have fun. I'll be waiting!"

With the last word searing Astra's mind, the icy and dark hold on the filly's heart that had taken its grip during the short conversation released yet again. She lay on the bed for a moment happy that the painful conversation was over. The power that was offered to her excited her, but that was what scared her. She was determined to bear it alone though. She was not about to tell anypony of this "problem."

She sat up again shaking her head. No pony could know, and now she had to make friends to get her powers back. This is going to be difficult, she realized, Not only will I have to make friends, but keep this secret too. Maybe I could… NO! You cannot drag anypony into this! Final! Full stop! Period!

She let out a sigh. She had been alone her entire life as far as she was concerned, and she could bear this alone too. Her eyes fell back onto the book again which was still open at the beginning of the chapter. She was tired, but she could not make her mind stop. It was running at what seemed like a thousand flights an hour, and she hated it. All of the thoughts kept going back to her mother, father, aunt, cousin, the old fart, Night Mare Moon, the incident in Canterlot, and for some reason, the human named Jason Nalick. She continued staring at the book. Already, the story that the old fart had read to her was much different than what she had even heard from her own family; either it was completely fiction or it was the real thing.

Deciding that there was no possible way to go to sleep right now, Astra began to read the curious literature once again:

Jason stared out at the night-blanketed hamlet morosely. The realization that had hit him almost an hour ago had hit hard. He wasn't home and there seemed no way that he was ever going be home again. He would never see the familiar sights of his hometown Albany, New York or the corn fields and forests of Indiana again. It was true he did not have any friends in the world he had come from and his only family member alive had betrayed him, but it was home.

It was also true that he hated the people that he had to interact with for the most part or they were afraid of him, but the people— or ponies rather— of this world seemed too… nice. This world seemed too perfect as if there was no such thing as complete chaos. The very thought of war seemed to disgust Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle just like Big Macintosh had said this was a completely dry country and seemed disgusted by the thought of consuming of alcohol. This world is no place for a human. I wonder how they manage to keep it so… pure, thought Jason as he ran his fingers through his hair in a futile attempt to make it look somewhat neat.

Eventually, he could no longer stand laying down in the bed feeling melancholy. He had to do something productive. Be it productive for someone else or just something for himself, it did not matter. He sat up noting that he seemed to be completely healed. Maybe I've been here longer than I thought.

He looked to his right studying the town. The rooftops seemed to have thatch instead of regular shingles or slate. The construction also seemed dated or at least less technologically advanced, like old Anglo-Saxon or Germanic towns he had seen in history books. There were also the flickering lights of candles dancing in some of the windows which reminded Jason that electricity was a somewhat new thing in Equestria from what Fluttershy had told him. They still commonly used candles if an entire room was not being used or there were others sleeping nearby since small electric lamps were expensive and usually considered a luxury item.

Noticing a flickering light coming from downstairs, Jason wondered if the pony that owned the home he was in— he assumes the dark winged unicorn princess forced a nearby pony household to give him lodging— was still awake or if the candle was just a security precaution. Thinking of security made Jason glance up and scrutinize the ceiling for any kind of security cameras out of habit and a tinge of paranoia.

That was when he noticed a bird was watching him from across the room. The general shape of it and from the details he could see with his human night vision, which was very little past basic shapes, gave him enough to identify it as an owl that was quite possibly related to— or even was— a great horned owl. He made a shushing gesture to the owl by putting a finger over his lips. The owl blinked, but a twinkle in its eye led Jason believe that the owl understood him.

Whether it will follow what I say or not is another matter, thought the young man doubtfully as he checked whether or not he had pants on. He was still unnaturally numb and had no idea why other than possibly wearing off anesthesia. To his relief though, he was indeed wearing pants, and he then made a mental note to thank Rarity for the amazingly comfortable attire. If he remebered right, he had barely felt them when he had them on before. So, they were marvelously comfortable clothes. It was still too soon to tell for the durability though.

Shaking his head to refocus himself, he performed a few tests with his leg to make sure that it was no longer damaged. When he was satisfied he pulled blanket off, and sat at the edge of the bed noting he was still a little stiff and had minor aches from laying down for the undetermined amount of time. Something bugged him though.

He could barely feel his right arm. He thought nothing of it when he had first woke up, because he figured he had just slept on it wrong. Now, however, he was worried there was permanent nerve damage. He did a few tests with his right hand and was slightly annoyed to find out that he had tremors in it whenever he attempted to perform any fine, dexterous movements.

"Definitely permanent nerve damage," he murmured to himself quietly, "I guess even magic or whatever wondrous medicine they have has its limits."

Testing to see if there was any nerve damage in his leg as well, he gave himself a few punches on the knee were the nerve cluster was only to see the normal reaction of his lower leg jerk up involuntarily. That is a good sign. He curled his sock-covered toes a few times before finally heaving a satisfied grunt and standing upright slowly so not to get light-headed. He performed a few tests now that he was standing and decided there was no damage and the bone was, somehow, completely healed.

"Well at least I can walk normally," whispered Jason as he inspected his surroundings from the new perspective his five foot five stature yielded. The place was certainly large, but it was painfully obvious that either the place was built for creatures about a foot shorter than him, which ponies were, or there were budget cuts when construction had been starting. He was willing to bet on the first since his head was in no danger of touching the ceiling, unlike if he was standing in some parts of Fluttershy's cottage. He would have to duck slightly through entryways if his view of the front door from where was standing was correct. The whole place seemed to have the feel that it had once been something solid that had been hollowed out somehow rather than built since the second floor seemed to drop off only a few feet away to a vaulted first floor with no walls in between. From the way every wall, ceiling, and even floor were wood, the human was willing to bet some type of monstrously large tree-like plant was the original form of the residence. As before, he noted that every wall seemed to be covered with bookshelves stuffed with an innumerable amount of books making him think this was a library or possibly record-keeping facility of some type.

"How quaint. Certainly not as big as the local library of Albany. Heck, even Ellettsville's library was larger than this. Looking at the arrangements, the librarian must live here too," murmured Jason to himself methodically as he sorted out the welfare of new information to be filed away for later. Then, a realization hit him. "Wait, Twilight lives in a library. Maybe this is her home."

Suddenly, he felt envious, but that soon gave away to insecurity. Wait, I was unconscious in her home… That means she could study me all she wanted… He shook his head to clear the image from his head. "No, Twilight Sparkle knows better than that. She isn't crazy… Then again, what is crazy? Okay, she has more common sense than that, and she knows me by now. She wouldn't do it." Even to himself, the words were sounding less and less convincing.

He shook his head again and started to noiselessly pad around the bed only to almost trip over a wicker basket at the foot of it. The basket's contents were heavy enough to stub his toe on it and to have it only slightly rock side to side. He whispered a few dozen curses under his breath and glared into the basket to find a peculiar small sleeping creature inside. The first thought that ran through his head was that the creature may be a pet, which would seem quite possible.

Being careful not to wake the slumbering creature, Jason kneeled down next to it to get a closer look. The small creature seemed reptilian in nature and was primarily purple with an off-white stomach and a green crest that went down the creature's length as dull-tipped green spines that got smaller as they went farther down being smallest at the tip of the tail. It had a head almost as large as its torso which meant it was possibly intelligent… or just had a very thick skull. Being curled up as it was though, Jason could not tell what gender it was or whether it was bipedal or quadrupedal, certainly not without waking it at least. So, Jason decided to stand, but noticed a discarded blanket near his right foot which he picked up and gently draped back over the creature before heading to the edge of the second floor where he presumed the stairs were.

He was indeed rewarded with the sought-after stairs, and immediately decided that the second floor was a safety hazard. Would it really hurt anyone to put some railing in? Really? Jason sighed though letting it go. Jason, their quadrupeds. They don't need railing.

He shook his head inspecting the first floor from his raised perspective. Immediately, his eyes found a pony at what seemed to be a writing desk with a couple of candles lit. He felt sad as thoughts of home filled his head. He did not know why, but as he stared at the flickering light illuminated lavender form on the other side of the structure, he found some comfort he had a friendly face to talk to… maybe even a friend.

Jason padded down the stairs and approached lavender unicorn noiselessly, but stayed a few feet away and cleared his throat to alert her of his presence. There was no response, not even a twitch.

He stepped a little closer. "Twilight?"

Still no movement or response. Either she fell asleep reading the book or she is really into that book, thought Jason as he approached her left side. He found her head-first in the book asleep. He found it cute and contemplated on carrying her upstairs to put her into a proper bed, but immediately decided against it due to the fact he would probably injure himself again and not knowing whether that would be rude or not. So instead, he padded back upstairs, grabbed one of the two pillows and the comforter and carried them back downstairs to make a makeshift bed for his host. Gently, he removed the book out from under her head and replaced it with the pillow making sure to turn her head slightly so she could breathe before draping the comforter around her. She did not even budge with only the rise and fall of her chest being the only movement.

Jason nodded satisfied with his good deed and licked his thumb and index finger before he pinched one of the candle wicks to extinguish it. With that done, he took the other candle, which was in a holder, and decided to try to learn something. He was in a library after all.

Looking around for a while, the young man finally determined that the standard Latin alphabet was not to be found in this strange land. Instead, there were only the rune-like symbols that made up the bizarre Equestrian script. Interestingly enough when Jason had been inspecting the script in Twilight's manual for the wheelchair, he had been able to identify that the symbols were some variation of an alphabet. The Equestrian alphabet held more characters, but it seemed to him when he had been looking at the manual that there were many characters that looked very similar. It was most likely a phonetic alphabet and the characters were probably much like a dictionary's pronunciation symbols. That made the most sense and if true he could work with that. They did speak the same language after all. Right?

After looking around for thirty minutes in what he thought was the reference section, Jason noticed that there were highly colorful shapes and Equestrian letters around a section near the door, something that would surely attract children, or colts and fillies in this context. He stared at the section for a moment before walking over to it and pulling out one of the small picture books. He opened it and found it was the equivalent of a "learn your ABCs" book.

"Well, what dumb luck is this?" whispered the young man to himself as he flipped through the thin book. The alphabet that Equestrians use certainly is far more phonetic than any modern alphabet I've seen. It's as if someone ripped out the reference section of a dictionary and made new symbols for all the pronunciation symbols then called it a new alphabet. If a human had done this, I would of called him an idiot, but I find it interesting that even with the major alphabet difference that these ponies have such staggering parallels with Western Civilization. There are differences, but still…

He let the thought drift away as he closed the book and pulled out six more. He figured he might as well learn to write and read the strange script if he was going to be here for any length of time. "Dream or not, it's only logical to do so," he murmured to himself as he padded back toward the second floor bed. He had not seen any chairs so he figured that he would use the bed as his temporary sitting place. It was not as if it was occupied by anyone else, and he was going to need the space to lay out his references out as he learned how to read the new script.

<p>Twilight awoke groggily as she tried to snuggle into her mattress only to realize she had fallen asleep sitting up leaning against her reading stand again. This was not an uncommon occurrence, she knew, but it was really hard on her back and neck. That was when she noticed, that instead of a book, there was a pillow under her head and her comforter draped around her. It always embarrassed her when Spike tucked in at her writing desk though she never would mention it to the young dragon.

She sighed and stood stretching to get the stiffness out of her body from the awkward sleeping position she had been in. She looked around to see if her assistant was up yet, and found he was not. In fact, the sun was just starting to rise with the first rays shining golden through the windows. She was a bit surprised she was up this early after her research binge the previous night. It had to have been at least two or three in the morning when she finally passed out.

Using her magic, she quickly folded the comforter in a square before using her magic to also grab the pillow. Turning around, she noticed the book she had been reading open to the same spot she last remembered reading. That was odd because Spike usually put the book she fell asleep to away. This little oddity made her remember that there was another oddity in the tree home/library. Jason was supposed to have the comforter and pillow, because he was resting in the bed still unconscious from his overuse of magic the day before. She made a mental note to give Spike a lecture for taking the comforter and pillow from Jason later.

She picked up the book with her magic and set it back on the desk before trotting upstairs. The sight she found though surprised her enough to lose concentration and drop her telekinetically held objects. It was a scene of the human sitting upright in the bed surrounded by notes scattered around with foal books open to various pages. She had not expected Jason to be awake for another day at least let alone so active. Looking closer though, she found he was asleep with pencil and parchment still in… paw? She had still yet to figure out what the human called the strange dexterous thin-digited paw-like appendages. The human seemed to have a unique name for almost every other part of his physiology, and she expected no different of the appendages either.

Twilight inspected the pieces of parchment notes closely for a few moments. Most contained either crude Equestrian script or the strange alphabet that she had seen on the parchment that Jason seemed to have used for a journal of some type. The note in his hand caught her eye though; it contained both the fifty-two letter Equestrian alphabet and the twenty-six letter human alphabet. There was a column of twenty-six rows, one for each human letter, with one or more Equestrian letters partnered with most and a few rows near the bottom still empty. There was a list of letters still not paired with any equivalents and some understandable mistakes that she could spot immediately with 'a' and 'e' sounding Equestrian letters being in different rows, but she was positive she could help the human read her native script if he was already this far along.

Twilight set the comforter and pillow next to the bed and then turned back to Jason. Her first instinct was to sort all the notes and stack them, but she understood the importance of how the mind organizes things when studying. Under a veneer of chaos lay a pattern unique to each individual. To her trained eye, even the human's scattered notes and books formed a pattern though it was obvious that he was not a professional student and did not study often. He also had obsessive tendencies if her evaluation was accurate.

She then noticed a neat sack of parchment that was outside the pattern. It was obvious he had finished something. Curiously, she used her magic to lift the stack to her so she could read it. It was obvious it was in human script so she gently tugged the parchment with the letter pairing notes out of Jason's open hand and studied it for a few moments. She memorized the notes so far and made mental corrections on what she could before reading the first line as a murmur, "Wha doe I keep hav—ing troble with tres…"

She made a few more mental corrections and read it again a bit louder, "Why do I keep having trouble with trees?" The words sounded odd and mechanical read to the human script. She wondered how the series of letters made the sounds necessary for normal speech. She supposed if a pony was born to it then it would seem sensible, but it still felt too mechanical for her. She decided to read another line just to make sure it was not just the sentence. "Aneewaee, t-he ponee named Twilig-hu-t seems to enjoee sleep—ing wit-ha books."

"Anyway t… the? Interesting pairing. Hmmm… the pony named Twilight? That's me… What…?" She was confused, but that was quickly erased by embarrassment which arose from the fact she just realized that what she was reading was the human's personal journal. That was just as bad as reading another pony's diary. Turning red from the tip of her muzzle to the tips of her folded back ears, she bit her lower lip as she carefully placed the parchment where she had found it. Suddenly, somepony spoke.

"I suppose it would be easier to read my condensed alphabet, rather than me attempting to read your expanded. Not that I am surprised, but I am impressed how fast you were able to translate between scripts. I really should find a blank book for that, hmm?"

Twilight jumped and screamed in surprise which caused another voice that sounded like a young boy yelp in surprise.

Jason put the pencil and parchment down and crossed his arms. "Really now? I didn't think you'd be that surprised. I would've thought you noticed my eyes wide open a while ago, Twilight."

"J—Jason! Don't scare me like that! And no, they were not open when I came up here! I thought you were asleep!" yelled Twilight angrily with her face still reddened from embarrassment. She studied his face for a moment. One brow cocked, the other knitted, and a supremely arrogant lopsided smirk. He looks too arrogant for his own good. Then, she noticed a gleam in his eyes that made the mare slightly nervous. It was the same type of gleam Rainbow Dash had when she was looking for a challenge.

The human could not help but chuckle. "You know I'm usually no good pulling off impromptu pranks, but I have to put that one in the book. I wasn't even intending that. I was just resting my eyes when I heard you coming up stairs so I left my eyes shut curious to what you would do. At first, I thought you were going to clean up the mess around me, but when you started looking through them I was intrigued. Then when you took the paper out of my hand and brought my journal over to you, you gained my attention. I opened my eyes right then, but it seems you didn't notice. I didn't mean to scare the dickens out of you. Sorry 'bout that."

She blinked a few times in puzzlement. Any other pony, besides Applejack, she would have just scoffed thinking it was some elaborate lie she could lecture them about, but Jason was so blunt about the entire manner she could not help but think he was telling the truth. The apology was also blunt and she had no idea what a 'dickens' was, but it seemed sincere. So, she let it slide saying, "Apology accepted. I guess I should say sorry for looking through your stuff like that. It was… really rude of me."

The human shrugged as he moved the notes and books around him into neat stacks. "I'm not angry…" he started, but was interrupted by the young boy sounding voice that had yelped earlier.

"Well, I sure am! You two's yelling made me nearly swallow my blanket!"

"Well, that answers two of my questions," Twilight heard Jason mumble as Spike stood next to her with his irritable glare going from her to Jason and back again. Obviously, Jason had saw the young dragon sleeping last night, but she was curious as to what questions a human could possibly had.

Pushing her impulsive want to grill Jason for information aside, she decided that this would be a good time to make introductions. She turned her head to Spike. "Spike," she said raising a forehoof to gesture to Jason, "This is Jason Tiberius Nalick." Then, she turned to Jason. "Jason," she continued gesturing to Spike, "This is Spike, my number one assistant."

Jason nodded his head as he finished stacking the last of the parchment and sat at the side of the bed. "Pleased to meet you, Spike. I would prefer you to call me Jason though. Twilight's friends have already started calling me four different things, and I think it's time for me to put a standardization on what I am called."

Spike seemed slightly confused. "Uh… hi, Jason. You can call me… Spike?"

Jason nodded before he turned to Twilight. "Is there any particular place you would like me put my research materials? If you are worried about the books, I can check them out if you would like. That is if creatures other than ponies are allowed to."

Twilight was still a bit taken aback by how straightforward the human was. He was so blunt that she nearly thought it borderlined on being rude, but she knew he was not trying to be rude it was just how he was. "You can put them in the guest bedroom, Jason, but you'll have to wait until later. I'm still cleaning out all of the stuff in it since I kinda used it as a storage room."

"I see," said the young man with a cocked brow, "I'll put it on the table downstairs then until the room is available." With that, he gathered the notes and books and stood at full height.

The sight of how gracefully Jason was able to stand up was astounding to Twilight. Usually, bipedal creatures— such as minotaurs or young dragons— had some difficulty standing without the use of their arms, but it was obvious humans had evolved with balance in mind. She also estimated his full standing height to be just a few feathers short of a full length tall which would mean he was at least fifteen feathers taller than she was. It was slightly intimidating even if she knew Jason meant no harm.

Spike on the other claw was impressed. "Wow! You're nearly as tall as an adolescent dragon!"

Jason gained a thoughtful expression. "Really? Hmph, would of never guessed. I'd never met a dragon before the other day, and Sickle Scale was an adult."

"You've never seen a young dragon before?" asked Spike rhetorically before puffing up his chest and boasting, "Well, I'm a dragon!"

Jason scrutinized the young dragon carefully before saying, "You're a drake then, huh? Suppose that makes sense."

"Hey! I'm not a faerie! I'm a baby dragon!"

Jason cocked a brow. "That's what I said. Using the term 'drake' as a type of faerie almost purely an older European thing— mostly Germanic actually. 'Drake' in America is usually associated with young dragons before they reach adulthood. My apologies if I offended you, Spike."

Spike blinked a couple times before shaking his head. "Nah, it's alright. I just misunderstood you. Do you need help by the way?"

Jason looked at the other three stacks he was unable to pick up and said, "Yeah, I'd appreciate that."

Twilight watched exchange carefully. It was obvious that Jason felt more comfortable talking to Spike than her. Did he not trust her? Was it because Spike was male? It was too early for her to tell. Maybe he was simply being to nice to the young dragon though that surprised her since he had just been attacked by the first dragon he had ever encountered the day before. She was also a bit surprised that Spike was being so open to the human after he had killed one of his kind, though it had been purely on accident and the dragon had been crushing her at the time. Spike always did portray an unusual amount of understanding for being so young. Maybe that had to do with being a dragon.

She could not help but feel left out though as the two males made there way downstairs with parchment and books in paw and claw. So, she followed them deciding now would be a good time to study the human's mannerisms now that he was fully mobile and functioning again.

"You know I had no idea what you were last night when I nearly fell over your basket last night," stated Jason as he turned his head to Spike, "I never thought I'd ever have a conversation with a dragon that wouldn't want to eat me."

Spike chuckled. "Well, I guess that explains the 'earthquake' dream I had last night." His small face grew serious as he remembered the incident that ended with him sticking up for a lone egg, which became his pet and friend Pee-Wee, against the group of adolescent dragons he had almost befriended. "I'm a pony at heart though. I couldn't bring myself to hurt helpless things like those guys."

Jason set the stacks of notes he was carrying onto the circular table with a large wooden carving of a horse head sitting on it. Then, he took the rest of the load off of young dragon and did the same. "You know, I'm glad you're not scared of me."

This made Twilight wince as she got her magic ready in case Spike was simply oblivious before and decided to get angry now. She could not afford those two tussling now.

"Eh… why would I be scared of you?" Spike asked with a confused look that made the human raise a brow.

"Didn't you hear? I turned a dragon to ash."

Spike nodded. How could he not? He had demanded Twilight to tell him what happened to her when she came back with a strange monkey like creature, Applejack and Big Macintosh— who had been carrying said creature, a couple royal guards, and bruised ribs. "Yeah, but he was hurting everypony, and was planning on killing Twilight and Princess Luna! As far as I'm concerned, he didn't deserve to be called a dragon! He's a monster!

Jason nodded. Ah, even young dragons see things as black and white. I wish I still had that kind of naivety. Guess mentioning he had originally only been demanding his son be released to him would be counterproductive at this point, he thought to himself before saying, "I see. Well either way, I'm glad we got to talk." Then, he turned to the purple mare whose face was a particular shade of blue-purple. "Uh, Twilight? Are you alright?"

It was at this point Twilight released the breath she had not realized she had been holding. It was an interesting sensation having all of the color rush back to her face. Quickly, she gathered herself though and answered, "I—I'm fine! Really!" A sheepish smile plastered onto her face. Jason just cocked a brow and nodded.

"You know I am not the best example of male human physiology. You'd be better off looking for a professional athlete or some hard labor worker."

If it was not for the playful tone in his voice, the purple mare would have just taken the matter as just a fact and not the intellectual joke it was. Finally, somepony that will understand my jokes! He's not even a pony either! She chuckled with a mischievous smile. "Well, I have to make do with my studies since you're the only specimen of your kind here."

Jason's smirk turned into a smile. "Oh? So, I'm a specimen now, huh? Now I just feel warm and cuddly inside."

Then, a fit of laughter erupts from the two of them with Spike left confused. He was used to Twilight cracking intellectual jokes, but they always went over his head. This was no different. So, deciding that bonding time was over, he started to put away the stack of books that Twilight had neglected to shelve the previous night. There would always be more time to bond, and he was sure the two had business to attend to as well from what he overheard between one of the Royal Night Guards and Twilight yesterday.

After a moment, the laughter died down and Twilight got a curious spark in her eyes. "So, how did you manage to translate our alphabet so fast? I mean there are still a few errors, but you're almost already finished after just one night." Jason frowned. For a moment, Twilight thought she had offended him, but finally he spoke.

"Sorry for the pause, but I don't think you want to be lectured for three hours. Anyway, I've always had a knack for written languages, but unfortunately I have trouble with pronunciation when it comes to actually speaking them and usually become confused. I also have a tendency to become extremely obsessive when it comes to personal projects. I've even been told by many others that I tend to be in my own world when I'm doing it, and that I snap violently when I'm going full steam and someone interrupts me. Luckily, I was taking a break when you came upstairs. Anyway, it was actually quite simple when I found the alphabet book in the children's section. If you're wondering, I had been looking in the reference section for I don't know how long before looking in the children's section. Honestly, I'm glad you have all of that decoration around the children's section, otherwise I would of never seen it or thought about it for that matter."

"Oh! Well, I'll have to thank Applebloom for the idea then. There might be more young ponies coming into the library yet," said Twilight with a bit of enthusiasm.

Now that the purple mare had asked a question, Jason decided it was time to ask one of his own, "Anyway, I know I'm obviously healed, but how well off am I physically? Will I have to through physical therapy?"

Twilight shifted uneasily as she began to circle him. "Well…" She was not sure how to answer that question. She could perform complex medical magic, but she was far from a professional physician. Luna had decided to put a rush on the human's healing yesterday after the dragon incident. While it was true that his bones were repaired, the nerves in the right shoulder and his thyroid were still a problem. After a complete circle, she continued, "Well, the Princess put a rush on your healing so she could hold the meeting in Canterlot as soon as possible. I was able to heal your bones and all of the minor wounds you still had, but as you probably noticed by now, there is nerve damage to your right arm. Nerves are too fragile to use magic on, and surgery is not an option since we do not have enough data on your body-type. If you take it easy with that arm, the nerves should heal on their own over time, but we don't know enough about your body-type to even make a regimen for you. Do you have any ideas?"

Jason nodded sagely as he watched her complete another circle. It made perfect sense. Then, he shook his head. "No. Even when I was in the hospital, I never underwent any therapy. The thyroid?"

She stopped. His tone was so casual when he brought up his chronic, and almost certainly terminal if left untreated, condition. She was just starting to realize how resigned he was, and she could not help but feel sorry for him. This kindled a spark inside of her. A spark of determination that came to being when she first found out about his condition. She turned to him saying, "Princess Celestia sent me a spell that has the ability to repress your thyroid much the same way your medicine did."

Her change in composure surprised Jason and briefly wondered if he had offended her in some way unknown. The news that there was in fact a spell to possibly cure him forever was even more shocking. After what felt like an eternity to both of them, he spoke, "What? Really? Well, I'll be… I'll have to thank Her Highness when I see her! Who's the caster?"

She hid the pride that welled up in her, but still showed a small smile as she said, "I am the caster. Anyway, the spell is also supposed to bolster your body to normal hormonal levels and reverse some of the metabolic damage caused by the thyroid's over-saturation."

He blinked. The feeling of momentary relief was quickly replaced by suspicion though he did not let it show. How would a race that has had no contact with humans before know the natural hormonal balance level? And why only this, Princess Celestia? With Twilight obviously highly devoted to this Princess Celestia, the young man let the subject slide for when he personally got to speak with the, was it a diarchy? Also something to save for later, and would no doubt be answered if he ever got around to reading the Equestrian history books. He let himself smile.

"That's great…" He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Go upstairs, and don't show yourself unless I say it's clear," Twilight said hurriedly.

Jason nodded. Obviously, few ponies knew he was here, and that was probably for the best for the moment. He grabbed the stack of parchments that consisted of his journal and the pencil. He could be up there for a while.

Once Jason was out of sight, which had only taken a few moments, Twilight answered the door. "Hello…" Her eyes widened in surprise as she dropped her usual welcome.

On the other side was a black pegasus stallion wearing grey saddlebags. Twilight's eyes darted form the messy gold streaked storm grey mane, to the white lightning-like scars, to the bandage around his head, to the golden eyes, and finally rested on the stallion's cutie mark which was a trinity of golden lightning bolts arranged in a circle.

"I appreciate the courtesy check, but isn't it usually the other way around? Stallions check out mares?" admonished the battle scarred stallion humorously. It was always fun to mess with his old friend's studiousness.

Twilight turned bright red in embarrassment at the statement. "Storm!" she yelled indignantly, "I—I…!"

Thunderstorm gave a chuckle. She hasn't changed a bit.

After a few moments, Twilight gathered herself though her face was still redder than a tomato. "I—I almost didn't recognize you without your armor. Come on in!"

"I feel like I know that voice," mumbled Jason to himself as he put the pencil and parchment down before looking over the bed to spy. The stallion he saw was impressive, he had to admit, but he did not recognize him straight-off so decided to get back down before being seen. He could always ask after the stallion had left.

Thunderstorm looked around. The library was quaint compared to Twilight's study back in Canterlot, but he could see how she would like it. Place her anywhere with books and she would be happy. "This place is a lot less posh than your place in Canterlot," remarked Thunderstorm flatly.

The lavender mare's expression grew cross. "Storm, I…"

"I like it," he interrupted with a smug smile.

"Thank you?" said Twilight awkwardly as the anger that was there just a second ago deflated like a popped balloon.

He chuckled and looked around more thoroughly noting there was something missing. Two things actually, and one of them was walking up from what seemed to be a basement.

"Who are you?" asked Spike as he approached the two ponies.

"He's Lieutenant Thunderstorm," introduced Twilight with a smile, "He's one of my oldest friends back in Canterlot before I was accepted by Celestia and you were born." Then, she turned to Storm. "Storm, this is Spike. He's the baby dragon I hatched when I became the Princess's protégé."

"Wait. You had friends in Canterlot?" said Spike skeptically with a raised brow, "I'm having trouble believing that since you never spent time with anypony but the Princess. You never even spoke to ponies that were trying to be friends with you, like Moon Dancer." He turned to the stallion. "Why haven't I ever seen you before then?"

Thunderstorm scratched the back of his head not sure of what to say. "Well… we just had a falling out and just didn't talk anymore. I got caught up in rising through the ranks, and Sparky was busy with her studies. I really don't know to be honest. We just…"

Spike suddenly burst out into a fit of laughter that caught the two ponies, and even Jason who had been listening, by surprise. Twilight and Storm shared a look of confusion.

"Does he always do this, Sparky?" the black stallion asked. Spike started laughing even harder.

"No… Not usually…" answered the confused mare.

"It's…! It's just…! You called her Sparky!" wheezed the baby dragon in between laughs and struggling to breathe.

Twilight gave the dragon a curious look before turning to Thunderstorm. "So, why are you still in Ponyville anyway? I thought the Night Guard went back to Canterlot?"

He nodded and stared at the floor. "Well… They did, but I couldn't go with them."

Twilight gave him a look of concern. "Why not?"

The stallion sighed. "I've been put on medical leave, and Her Majesty has requested that I take vacation as well."

The sudden sour mood infected the room like a super virus. Even Spike had suddenly stopped laughing.

"Well, maybe the Princess is doing you a favor, and you just don't realize it," said the young dragon optimistically.

"How is forcing me to take three months off a favor?!" snapped the stallion before gathering himself and apologizing, "I'm sorry, little guy. I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just under a lot of stress." His tone had become somber and his ears drooped.

"When was the last time you took your leave time?" asked Twilight gingerly. She knew how upset she was when Celestia more or less made her take a break from her studies after her near mental breakdown a few months back. Her and Storm had been very much alike in that aspect of their personalities, and she hoped she still knew him enough for her to be right.

He raised a brow. "Not since to see you off when you came here, and I was too late by the time I got there. That was only a day though. Then, there was the time I went to visit my parents in Cloudsdale right after I became a corporal, and that was only for two days. I just don't see why…"

Twilight face-hoofed. "Well there's your reason right there! For the love of Celestia, Storm, do you even have any friends left?"

"I still have friends," said Storm flatly.

Twilight raised a brow. She knew there was more too it. He averted her gaze.

"Storm, I've talked to my uncle. He's worried about you."

Finally, the stallion gave up trying to put on the 'still popular' façade and said with a sigh, "Fine. It's just you, Lance, and the twins. If you want to include my superiors, then add the Major and Her Majesty, Princess Luna. I guess… Moon Dancer would count too."

Twilight looked at him in something of a shocked expression. Thunderstorm had always been a social pony when they were younger and had many friends, but this news made her realize that he had become so obsessed with his duty as a guardspony that he alienated everypony close to him.

"Well, you can call me a friend too!" encourage Spike, "Anypony who's a friend of Twilight is a friend of mine!"

The stallion glanced down at him with a small smile. "Thanks, guy." Then, his expression turned serious as he returned his eyes to Twilight. "So, Sparky, where's the human? I don't see him." Twilight opened her mouth, but another voice cut in.

"I'm over here."

The trio followed the voice to where Jason was standing at the bottom of the stairway.

"How'd you do that?" asked Spike.

Jason raised a brow as he approached. "What?"

"None of us saw you move, human. Even I didn't, and I'm trained to watch for assassins," stated Storm with his body tense and ready for a fight.

Jason nodded sagely noting the stallion's posture and stopping a few feet away crossing his arms. "I never intend for it to happen. It's just no one ever seems to notice I'm there unless I draw attention to myself. It can sometimes get quite annoying to be honest."

"Likely story, human," Thunderstorm growled, "We know you have magic. It had to be a spell of some type."

Jason scratched his jaw as he looked at the floor thoughtfully. "Hmm, well, I guess it could be a sub-conscious magic, never thought about that before. I suppose since I just recently found out I even have magic it could be possible, but I'd rather attribute it to slim profile and light weight.

Storm took a step closer. "I'm not buying it, human! You may had been able to trick the others, but I'm onto you!"

Twilight stepped in between the two shouting, "Enough!" She shot a glare to Thunderstorm. "He didn't use magic; he just walks softly, Storm. I would of sensed it if he did. Also, if he was really evil, why would he of saved us from the dragon? You're being irrational." Then, she shot a glare to Jason. "And you, quit being a smart alack. It's annoying. I enjoy witticisms more than most ponies, but enough is enough."

"My apologies if I was rude," said Jason stoically before stepping around Twilight and extending out his right hand. "I'm Jason Tiberius Nalick, but I prefer to be called Jason. It is an honor to meet you."

Thunderstorm nodded. "I'm Lieutenant Thunderstorm of the Royal Night Guard, nice to meet you as well." Then, they shook hand and hoof. One might call it an historic moment.

"Well, glad you two seem to be getting along," said Twilight as she turns to Jason. "I think now would be a good time to try the spell the Princess gave me."

The Night Guard raised a brow. "Princess Luna gave you a spell?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, Princess Celestia gave it to me. It's for Jason's ailment."

Thunderstorm turned to Jason. "Ailment?"

Jason sighed and rolled his eyes. He was getting quite tired of retelling he chronic disorder to every known person, or pony, in existence. He hope he learned how to write the Equestrian script soon if no other reason than to just hand them a piece of paper whenever they asked about it. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Alrighty then, I'll give you a super-condensed version. Basically, my body is eating itself alive even though I am still eating food, and it was only medicine in my own world that let me live this long. So, essentially, I will die in a few months and be brain dead long before that if left untreated. That is where the spell comes in. It is supposed to repress the process and rebalance my body."

Thunderstorm nodded. "So, you're what they call 'the walking dead'?"

Twilight looked up from the parchment the spell had been scrawled on yelling, "Storm! Apologize to Jason right now!"

The stallion winced hearing that and said, "Sorry, I should of thought before speaking."

"Is it just me or is Twilight extra-sensitive today?" asked Spike in a near whisper.

"I would use a joke, but I would bet you would find it offensive," murmured Jason back before turning to Storm, "Apology accepted, though I agree with you. Actually, I hadn't expected to live this long, but if I live another decade I'll be shocked."

Thunderstorm nods and the young dragon decided to speak up again, "So, what is Earth like anyway?"

Jason thought for a moment. Comparisons were always difficult in the aspect he already knew more about this world than they would probably ever know about Earth. "Well, imagine Everfree Forest covering the entire world, only not the forest itself, but just the nature of it. Random weather, animals taking care of themselves, and that sort of thing. Now, take away every ounce of magic, and have the lunar and solar cycles move on their own at a constant pace making day and night without interference." He paused for a moment letting the ideas sink in, then continued, "Now, take away, dragons, manticores, magical beings in general, deities of any sort, and make every creature have no more intelligence than… let's say a cat— though even that is being generous for the great majority. Now, add seven billion of me and advance technology by five hundred years to a millennium. My race covers the entire world and even inhabits just above the atmosphere sometimes. That is a simple comparison. Very simple." The room was silent, unnaturally so, as the occupants of the room stared at Jason. Truth be told, he had expected this kind of reaction at first. The stream of questions he was asked next though took him by surprise.

"So, how did you not deplete your natural resources? What's the largest city in your world?"

"Does your kind war against itself often?"

"How stable is the government?"

"There's no dragons, and the entire world is like the Everfree Forest?!"

Jason blinked trying to process all the questions at once, then raised his hands in a 'silence' gesture. Thankfully, the unspoken request was acknowledged, and the three waited patiently for his answers.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I really don't want to spend the entire day answering questions. I will answer them, but today I'd rather get to know this world a bit better. Your world is what is important right now. If you were in my world I would be fine with it, but… Well, we're not, and I have a meeting with Their Royal Highnesses soon. I would like to know a few of the customs around here so I don't seem like a complete fool!"

This sudden assertiveness had taken the group aback since they had only seen Jason as being the placid, laid-back type. He had not shown it, but the young man was actually terrified of the official meeting to come. He wanted to make a good impression and get home. He had no doubts anymore that he was in some reality— not his to be sure, but a reality nonetheless. Too much was happening, and he was sick and tired of trying to delude himself.

I've been beaten all to hell, been invaded by a certain purple unicorn, met talking ponies, made friends with said ponies, nearly got crushed by a tree, blew up the offending tree by some spontaneous will, met a Pagan deity, watched said deity and new friends get nearly killed by an angry dragon, killed offending dragon by aforementioned will, got stuck in a void, and now I'm talking to ponies and a baby dragon. Yeah, too fucking fantastic not to be true! he sneered inwardly.

"Uh… I think I should get going," said Storm before digging into his bags and pulling out a medallion with his mouth, and then threw it to Jason who barely caught it. "That's so we can track you in case you get yourself lost, human. It is a gift from Her Majesty, Princess Luna, herself. I would take great care of it if I were you. I don't know why she has taken such a liking to you, but consider it an honor."

Jason was thinking about making a snide remark that it was actually just keep tabs on him just in case he went primal or something, but decided to bite back the words saying instead, "Thank you, Lieutenant. I am honored. Have a good one."

Thunderstorm nodded and turned to leave giving Twilight a friendly smile and nod as he made his way to the door.

"Wait! You're leaving already? You just got here," called out Twilight behind him.

The stallion sighed and turned back around. "Sparky, as much as I hate to admit it, the human has a good point. If I was in his shoes, I would want to know the customs before meeting Their Majesties too. He doesn't have much time either since Princess Luna wants to see him ASAP. Besides, we can always talk later. It's not as if I'm going to be going to Canterlot tomorrow to return to duty. I'm not even supposed to fly."

Twilight nodded solemnly with her eyes staring at the floor.

Thunderstorm scratched the back of his head. He had no idea how to cheer her up. He had not seen her in years, and suddenly they were thrown together and discover that they were still friends— even after all that had happened years ago and the long silence. He was torn. He had wanted to just leave this chapter of his life untouched forever, but fate was a cruel thing. He was still her friend, and he did not want to upset her or leave her behind again either. Could he really just walk out the door like they were just mere acquaintances? Could he really just turn his back on her after he vowed to himself to save her from him? No… he decided, She's still my friend, and I never leave a pony behind. I made a promise, and I will keep it.

Spike recognized the stallion's expression and decided to speak up, "Hey, how about you two go out for breakfast or something? You haven't seen each other in a while right? I'm sure I can help Jason some."

Jason picked up on the cue immediately. "Yeah, I'm sure Spike can help me sort out the alphabet. Once I do that, I can teach myself a lot so you won't have to work so hard to catch me up. You two should go catch-up." He turned his gaze specifically to Twilight. "You don't need to worry; go have fun. I promise I won't keel over."

"Not a bad idea," said Thunderstorm obviously relieved, "I don't know the area though."

Twilight turned to him. "That's okay; I already have a place in mind." Then, she turned to Jason. "Are you sure, Jason? I really don't want to just… well… leave when there's still so much to teach you."

Jason gave a dismissive. "I still need to learn the alphabet before I do anything, and I'm sure it won't hurt my progress any if your off for a few hours. You still have to live too. Now, go. Spike and I can handle it here."

The lavender unicorn nodded slowly. "Alright, but I still need to perform the spell the Princess gave me before I leave."

Jason nodded. "Okay, tell me what to do."

The unicorn's horn started to glow as she stepped up to him and said, "Just relax."

Jason closed his eyes as Thunderstorm and Spike watched Twilight close her eyes and place her horn over Jason's heart. Her horn glowed brilliantly, and then dimmed. Once he noticed the bright light was gone, Jason opened his eyes and said, "Well, that was rather anti-climactic. Did it work?"

Twilight grinned saying, "Just give it a few seconds."

Jason blinked. He did not feel any different besides the buzzing at the back of his head, which really could be anything. Then, a haze that he had not realized was around his mind was gone, and he felt… lighter like he had just taken off a set of weighted clothing. He thought that was pleasant. However, what happened next surprised him.

His normal mind's eye's field of view expanded at least a mile and the definition of it was staggering. He expected a headache from the sudden expansion, but his brain was able to process it all like he had this type of perceptiveness for years. "Whoa!"

Twilight looked at the young man worriedly as did Spike. "Are you alright?" asked Twilight concern even more evident in her tone.

Jason grounded himself saying, "Yeah! I feel great!" His voice sounded as awestruck as he felt. "It worked! I was skeptical at first, but now… Well, I feel I could run a marathon! I don't know how to thank you!"

Twilight smiled relieved. "Good! I'm glad it worked. You should thank Princess Celestia. She's the one who made the spell. I just casted it."

Jason donned a confidant smirk. "I will; trust me, but you're just as important as she is in the equation. The caster is probably even more important than the creator since it is the caster that has to do all the hard work, if I understand magic correctly that is."

Twilight grinned sheepishly with a hint of blushing. "No, no, it was really an easy spell. Really! You should thank Celestia. I don't deserve it."

Jason's smirk turned into a grin as he fought back a chuckle. "Yeah— whatever— just go, and catch-up with the Lieutenant. You deserve it."

Twilight nodded and turned to Thunderstorm. "You ready?"

The stallion flicked his gold streaked storm gray tail in amusement. "Lead the way, Sparky." He was not fond of the human, but he had gained some respect for him and Twilight's young dragon assistant. He could also now tell Twilight that he remembered everything, and that improved his mood greatly too.

The two filed out of the library leaving the human and dragon alone. Spike crossed his arms. "I think Twilight may have just found herself that special somepony. It's about time! I can't wait to tell Rarity!"

Jason chuckled. "I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatch, bud. You may want to hold off on the announcement. They just met after being apart for how many years?" Then, he hefted his notes from the table onto the floor and started to sort them back out.

"You're such a bummer sometimes, Jason. You know that?" said Spike sounding disappointed as he grabbed a couple sitting cushions.

Jason outright laughed as he sat heavily on one of the cushions. "I'm a realist I would like to think!" He let himself grow in a more serious mood before continuing, "Ready to dive head-first into the alphabet soup?"

Spike sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be. I'll need to see how far you are first." He had to admit Jason had a sort of charisma about him that was hard to say no to.

Jason pulled out his translation paper. "Here, let the fun commence."