Far is the Star Called Sol

by Omnicron25

8 - The Letter Thorn

Lieutenant Thunderstorm was happy. He had not felt this type of carefree feeling since he had been a cadet. He felt years younger, or rather, how old he should be feeling. Maybe there was something to what Her Majesty had said about me needing a break after all, he thought happily as he walked beside one of his oldest— and once thought lost— friends, Twilight Sparkle.

It feels good to be with old company again, he realized as he turned to her. "So, how have you been since you've been here? In Ponyville I mean."

She turned to him with a smile and said, "How about I tell you about my first day here?"

He raised a curious brow. "Oh, this sounds interesting. The introvert suddenly thrown in with a bunch of ponies and told to play nice. I see that ending well."

She rolled her eyes. She missed being pestered like this honestly. The only pony that ever did it nowadays was Rainbow Dash, and she had a habit of pushing it too far. "Oh, where did you find that fancy word, been reading since I've been gone?" She started to chuckle.

He snorted. Of course she would prickle him about using a word he thought might impress her; in a lot of ways, he thought of Twilight as a second sister. They certainly pestered each other enough. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up! I knew that word since… forever ago! You're the one that introduced me to the Daring Do series, remember?"

She smiled. She had started him on that series when the first book had come out. She had expected him to have forgotten about it by now. She shrugged. "Yeah, I remember. I never expected you to continue it."

Storm arched his brow again with a devious smile. "What do you take me for, a cloud-headed jock? That series was fun to read! I heard the next book is coming out soon."

Twilight stopped in her tracks. Had she just come across some Changeling that had taken Thunderstorm's place? She had to make sure.

The stallion stopped and looked at her expectantly and asked, "What? Are you okay, Sparky?"

"Quick, who was your childhood hero?!" she blurted.

He immediately understood. She suspected him of being one of those Changelings. It only seemed natural since her foalsitter, and now sister-in-law, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, had been 'replaced' so he was not worried as he said, "Former Captain Four Blades of the Royal Guard, Pegasus Division, who is now Major of the Royal Night Guard— your uncle, may I add, Princess." He added the last term with a smirk. Whether Twilight wanted to admit it or not, she was royalty now by her brother's marriage, and that reminded him of another matter.

Twilight sighed in defeat and relief. Her uncle had never been publicly mentioned often, certainly not as often as her brother, when he was a captain. Shining had looked up to him too until her uncle's 'retirement' when he gave Shining Armor his old— and what many would call archaic— Equestrian Army general's dress uniform and platoon leader crest after the ceremony. That brought up old memories too— painful ones. "Fine, fine! You win Storm! Good grief you didn't need to get all… I don't know…"

Thunderstorm chuckled. "I didn't need to become a pain in the flank?" he offered.

Twilight huffed at the language, but accepted it nonetheless. "Sure, you're a pain in the flank."

He laughed openly. "What are old friends for?"

Twilight just glared at him, but he continued, "Anyhow come, are you going to spin your tale of your first day here, or are you just going to leave me hanging?"

"What did those guys do to you?" grumbled Twilight under her breath as she ran through the first day in her mind. It was not as fresh as she would have liked, but it was still accurate enough. "Alright, since you asked, I'll tell you."

Oh, this is gonna be good, thought Thunderstorm as she began.

"Well, as you know I was sent to Ponyville by the Princess the day after I said I didn't want to go to Moon Dancer's party…"

"Oh boy do I know that! She never let me hear the end of it!" huffed the disgruntled stallion.

Twilight just raised a brow. "Yeah… Anyway, I was taken here by the guards, but I was so wrapped up with worrying over Night Mare Moon that I really didn't care about making friends back then… In fact, back then… I didn't want any friends. It makes me feel bad really… how I treated them when I first met them."

She stopped and so did he. "Oh, come on, Twilight Sparkle, you're a good friend, and if it means anything to you… I'm afraid to make any friends too…"

Twilight smiled as an idea started to hatch. "Thanks, Storm. So, when we landed Spike tried to get me to make friends with the first pony we saw who just gasped and ran away." Storm winced hearing that, but she continued, "There was more to that pony than what met the eye, but that is for later. The first thing on our Summer Sun Celebration Official Overseers Checklist was to check on the banquet preparations at Sweet Apple Acres."

Thunderstorm raised his brows. "You mean where that earth pony friend of yours lives, and the human had been?"

Twilight nodded. "The same, and that earth pony's name is Applejack. She was the first pony I actually met at the farm. She was actually bucking apple trees at the time I first met her; she has quite the hoofshake too. I eventually got out that I was there to check on the food prep. Applejack rang a triangle, and said 'Soup's on, everypony!' though I'm still not quite that sure what that means. "

"The guard kitchen staff uses that for mess hall meals. It just means meal time," clarified Storm quickly.

"Oh, thanks," said Twilight a little irritated before continuing, "Well, after she made that little shout, Spike and I were… well… whisked over to a table, and she started to introducing us to all her family. Starting with Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple…"

"OKAY! I get it!" yelled Storm desperately not knowing how long the list was going to last. He had heard rumors of how big the Apple Family was, and that could last awhile.

Twilight was a bit taken aback yelling, "Do you want me to tell you my first day here or not?!"

Storm sighed saying, "Yes, but… there are somethings better left implied or unsaid."

Twilight was not fazed by admonishment in the least and only smiled with a nod. "As I was saying: Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp, Big Macintosh, Applebloom and Granny Smith." The stallion gave a frustrated growl, and Twilight continued with an amused smile, "Every one of them added some more food on the table for us to sample. I was about to leave despite their invite to 'brunch', but Applejack's little sister Applebloom gave me those eyes. I felt horrible for saying no again, but then the entire family just looked so… disappointed… I just couldn't say no…"

Storm nodded sagely. Moon Dancer did the same thing to him whenever she needed him to do something too.

"…so I stayed there. I still think I ate too much pie. After that, the next thing on my list had been the weather. Spike remarked we were supposed to find a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash— who you met earlier. There were still clouds in the sky so I thought she was slacking off. Then, she promptly crashed into me sending both of us into a mud puddle. She tried to help out by bringing in a cloud and soaking me with it. It kinda worked by getting the mud off, but I was drenched so she did something called her patented 'Rainblow Dry' which made may hair turn into a frizzy mess. Both her and Spike then fell to a laughing fit.

Twilight rolled her eyes continuing, "It was pretty easy to tell who she was. She's the only pony I've seen with that hair. Anyway, I reminded her about clearing the sky of the clouds, and she actually had the nerve to slack off! She actually flew up to a cloud, laid down on it, and was about to take a nap! I scolded, and she replied that she wanted to get some more practice in for the Wonderbolts so she could show off to them the next day. That's when I decided to use some tact. I told her the Wonderbolts would never accept a pony who couldn't keep the sky clear for a day."

Thunderstorm raised a brow and asked worriedly, "And how did that turn out?"

Twilight allowed herself the feel a bit proud for a moment before her modesty bit, and she said matter-of-factly, "She took the bait. She said she could clear the sky in ten-seconds flat, and I told her to prove it." Her voice took on a bit of awe. "Which she actually did! Exactly ten seconds! I counted!"

Ten-seconds flat… the Rainblow Dry… those colors… It has to be her, the realization popped into Thunderstorm's head. He was not sure whether to be angry or happy. Yesterday, he had gotten a certain sense of familiarity from the Element of Loyalty that he only felt with very few long-term friends or his family— now he knew why. "Did she come from Cloudsdale by any chance? I feel like I've met her before yesterday… a long time ago," he spoke nonchalantly.

Twilight stopped looking at him in surprise and blinked. "Yes… You knew Rainbow?"

"I believe so. It'll be a regular reunion," said Storm a bit dismissive. He had actually been surprised that Fluttershy hadn't recognized him yesterday— not that he had really tried to make his presence to her known— but then again she could have just choose not to show it. That pony always knew a lot more then she let on. Nothing against Rainbow Dash, but he doubted she would have recognized him like Fluttershy would have. Rainbow never had the best memory to begin with, and he knew he had changed a lot over the years in name, attitude, and appearance. A lot more than the rest of his friends it seemed. It made him feel like a stranger really.

"Well, I'm glad you're getting to chance to meet her again. I bet you two will have a lot of fun. She's been needing a partner for her aerial training. Applejack doesn't have wings so she can only help her with the ground stuff, and Fluttershy is… well Fluttershy," she said with a smile.

"That will depend on her," muttered the stallion too low for Twilight to hear before speaking up asking, "So, you were completely drenched when she did the Rainblow Dry?"

"Yeah… My hair looked as if it had a life of its own afterward," groaned Twilight with her head down.

The lieutenant tried to picture the scene in his head only to start laughing at what his imagination came up with. Twilight with an afro and a tail poof to match. That earned him a slight hoof to the wither.

"Haven't you learned better than to laugh at others' misfortunes?" teased Twilight.

"I'm just comparing it to my experience, consider yourself lucky you don't have feathers!" wheezed out Thunderstorm finally.

That was when Twilight started to giggle as well. Thunderstorm with puffy hair and wings. Now, that would be a sight to see. I'll have to talk to Rainbow Dash to see if we can get a prank set up, or maybe…

After a few moments, he finally laughed himself out. "So, what happened after your run-in with Rainbow Dash?"

Twilight gained a thoughtful expression— as if trying to figure out how to order the following events. Finally, she turned to him saying, "Well, after Dash flew off, the next thing on my list was the decorations. When I entered the Town Hall I immediately thought we would be in and out in a hurry since Rarity had most of the decor already in line. Spike, of course, became obsessed with her instantly. I swear, that dragon. Unfortunately, Rarity, being the pony she is, instantly wanted to give me a makeover after she saw my hair. When she brought me to her shop, she had me try on more dresses and outfits than I even knew were… well… knew existed! When I told her I was from Canterlot she absolutely became obsessive over it! I ran out of there with Spike before she could dye my coat a different color! Of course, we've become good friends since then, and she is one of the nicest ponies you will ever meet."

Thunderstorm shuttered. "Please, steer me clear of that mare. Not wanting to be rude, but I do not want to be exposed to that." He lowered his head. "I get enough unwanted comments over my coloration and build as it is."

Twilight chuckled. "I'll do the best I can, but I can't promise you anything. She's heard of you already. And I must say, she would love your coloration."

He gave a defeated sigh. "Well, I guess I'll have to meet her eventually," he said while thinking, Let's hope it is later rather than sooner.

She gave another slight chuckle before continuing with her story, "After my first run-in with Rarity, my last stop was to check on the music. So, we went a bit out of town to look for a pegasus directing the music. She was the cream colored pegasus you met yesterday with the soft pink mane and tail. Her name is Fluttershy."

He nodded sagely.

"Well, when she was trying to get one of the birds to sing more in tune or something, but I accidently scared them off and almost her too. I really didn't notice it before, but she was hiding behind her mane. I tried to ask her name, but every time I asked she crouched down lower and squeaked something I couldn't understand. It was a little awkward I'll admit. After a few tries, her birds came back so I decided to leave and let her get back to her birds. I went back over to Spike, who had kept himself out of sight for some reason, and he walk to me. What happened next though I really didn't expect. It still surprises me a little after knowing her for as long as I have." Twilight made slightly confused huff.

Thunderstorm raised a brow. "Oh? What'd she do?"

Twilight found it a bit odd he immediately assumed Fluttershy had done something, but pushed it out of her mind saying, "Well… she sent me flying when she saw him and started gushing over the fact he was a dragon. I was a bit dazed for a few moments, and he said something to me, but I couldn't quite make it out. It sounded prideful anyway." She shook her head. "I got him with my telekinesis and put him on my back making to leave. Then, she started following me… or him rather. So, when she started following us, she asked Spike his name. He gave it to her of course, and she answered that she was Fluttershy. I was honestly starting to get a little annoyed at this point. Unfortunately, Spike had gotten into telling his entire life story which barely finished before we got to the library. Then, he offered telling her about the day which was when I kind of…" Her voice dropped out, and she bit her lower lip.

Thunderstorm gave her a curious look. "Kinda what?"

Twilight gained an embarrassed sheepish smile. "I kind of threw Spike inside and slammed the door in her face. It was rude I know, but I really needed to get studying! I don't suppose that would be a good reason for acting like that though." Her ears were laying down in a show of shame.

"No, that isn't a good excuse, Sparky. You know better," huffed Storm as if he had been personally offended, but then he seemed to lighten up. "I suppose I really can't blame you though. I know you get cranky when you can't study something you want to. It's just who you are."

Twilight's head lowered a little in self-disappointment starting, "Yeah, well, I need to learn how to deal with that better. The Princess was right after all, but…" She halted in mid-sentence as she looked up as saw they had arrived to their destination. "Oh, we're here!"

Back at the Ponyville Library, Jason was checking off the second to last of the fifty-two letter Equestrian alphabet as he matched the Equestrian letter zuwi to the Latin letter zee*. He sighed and wiped his forehead unconsciously even though he wasn't sweating. A while ago, he had gotten every letter besides zuwi, thuna, rene, intun, and orra matched up. Zuwi had been difficult since it was the rarest letter and had a zee sound similar to the zee in the word 'azure'. Rene, intun, and orra had been fairly easily since the first sound in the name represented the sound the letter possessed. Thuna had been much more difficult since it probably stood for one of the many English digraphs. It had taken Spike and Jason quite a while to figure that much out since there are different digraphs in the Equestrian written language that are used for shortcuts. Spelling in hoof-written documents seemed mostly a matter of choice.

Spike had almost given up, but that was when Jason remembered there used to be a single archaic letter for the digraph tee-aitch**. There had been a few digraphs before that almost stumped them as well in both Equestrian short-hoof and English, but this one was the worst hang-ups besides the letter zuwi.

"If I remember right, I read once there used to be a few letters in English that stood for the digraph tee-aitch. One was called thorn, and it was the last of the archaic letters to be dropped. I think," said Jason. He didn't just want to use elimination since the letter thuna could be anything, and he felt like being stubborn. He started to reconstruct an English word with the letter thorn replacing the modern digraph. He was on his last thread and was sincerely wishing he had taken the etymology and foreign language classes in high school now.

Spike looked over his shoulder. He was quite familiar with the strange alphabet the human used by now— though he was still stumped a lot of the times since many sounds can come from one letter— so he could haphazardly read it. He had figured the human equivalent of the written words would look much the same with repeating letters, but he had been very wrong. Although, this organization of letters that Jason was writing seemed familiar. "That looks familiar. What letter is that?" He pointed to the letter thorn.

"It's the word 'think'. I'm replacing the digraph tee-aitch with the old letter thorn. It was dropped from my alphabet a few hundred years ago," said Jason matter-of-factly as he started to translate the word 'think' into the Equestrian alphabet save the letter thorn which he kept the same. "Which letter would replace thorn?" He pointed to the letter in question.

"Oh! I see now! The letter thuna! That would replace it!" said Spike not bothering to hide his relief that Jason was finally going to just take his word for it. He had told him an hour ago that his 'tee-aitch' was an analog of thuna, but the human had persisted that it could be something else. It had gotten to the point that Spike had almost called him Twilight three times. It took as much patience to deal with Jason as her when he became like this.

"Well, looks about right," said Jason thoughtfully as he stared at it oblivious to Spike's growing impatience. "I guess I can ask Twilight to look over it. I need to stretch anyway." He put the piece of paper down and stood stretching.

Finally… He's almost as bad as Twilight, thought the young dragon as he said, "Well, it's about time! I thought you were never going to let that go!"

Jason chuckled. "Sorry, Spike. I just wanted to make sure. It's the perfectionist in me."

"Well tell the per-fec-tion guy to take a break, because we could have been done thirty minutes ago if it wasn't for him," joked Spike awkwardly stumbling over the new word as he started to clean up the references. He liked how the human seemed to understand most of the jokes that seemed to go over Twilight's head. Applejack and Rainbow Dash usually seemed to like his jokes, but they were not around most of the time.

Jason smirked. "Yeah, wish he would. It would let me be more impulsive. I rarely even do anything too exciting because of his micromanagement." He started to gather up his papers.

Spike chuckled. He did not understand all of what Jason had just said, but he got the gist of it.

After a few minutes cleaning up, Spike had to admit he liked the help. Twilight had a nasty habit of not cleaning up after her research binges. Jason just gained a bit more respect in his book. "So, how did you get here anyway?"

"Into the library?" Jason asked with a raised brow.

"No, here… In Equestria, I mean. You're from some faraway place, right? I think you called it 'Earth' earlier?"

The human nodded. "That's right. It's another world, like I said…" He paused for a moment and frowned.

Spike looked at him with a puzzled look. "So… How did you get here? Do you know?"

Jason scratched his head. He wasn't really sure how to answer the question. There was a gap between him laying down on his couch in his apartment on Earth and when he started to fall into the Everfree. "Well… I… do not exactly remember. There's a gap in my memory." He held out one hand as if to weigh something. "One moment, I'm floppin' down on my couch on Earth…" He held out the other in the same manner. "…and the next, I'm falling towards a bunch of trees. Something crucial is missing there." He let his hands fall into his lap and shrugged. "What it is, I have no idea."

"That's weird. I wonder what caused it. Maybe the hit to head I heard you got did it. I heard your fall was pretty bad," suggested Spike.

Jason shrugged again. "It could have been anything, but I'm not concerned."

Spike seemed a bit more confused now. "Why not? I mean, it might be important on how to get you home, right?" asked the young dragon, but received an eerily neutral expression from Jason making him add nervously, "You do want to go home… don't you?"

Jason looked at the floor. He looked troubled and uncertain. He was not sure whether he actually wanted to go home or not. He honestly liked it here, and he felt more relaxed than he ever did on Earth. He would miss his brother— even though Jason could never forgive him for his betrayal— and the few friends he had left, but he was torn. He felt a bit guilty about it, but he didn't really care if he was sent back or not. "I'll accept whatever happens," he said finally more to himself than his new draconic friend, "I always have."

"Oh, come on! Don't be like that!" pepped up Spike, "I know the Princesses will find you a way to get home! And I bet they'll let you stay here if you want!"

Jason gave Spike a sad smile. "Thanks, bud," he said then added silently in his mind, I hope you're right.

"No, problem, Jason!" said Spike enthusiastically as he finished cleaning up the last of the research papers. Jason's longer arms had let him finish his portion faster, but Spike's looked neater. "So, what was it like on Earth anyway?" he asked innocently.

Jason frowned. "It was not a pleasant life."

Spike blinked. He had not expected this topic to make the human so… gloomy. Jason looked as if he'd been hurt or cheated. "It's alright, Jason. We're friends. You can tell me."

Jason looked at the baby dragon in front of him fought off the urge of telling him about his life— which would probably have scarred Spike for the rest of his life if he had— and said flatly, "Trust me when I say: somethings are better off not known."

Spike blinked. Does he not trust me? the young dragon thought as he looked over the human curiously. He certainly seemed guarded enough to not be trusting, but something in Jason's eyes made Spike think differently. "Whatever it is, I can handle it. I'm a dragon, remember?"

Jason heaved a ragged sigh. "No, I'm not exposing you to it. It would be wrong. I wouldn't want to expose anyone to it. Somethings are better off not known, and that's the truth. It's not an issue of trust. I just don't want to hurt you with those… images." He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his head on them as he arms clasped loosely around his lower legs blocking himself off.

The good mood was officially dead, and Spike was amazed at what Jason was suggesting. Something so horrible that it should not be even be talked about? The thought seemed alien to the young dragon. He decided not to push the matter though, and asked, "Well, I guess I'm going to make some tea. Do you want any?" Then, he stood and stepped off his cushion.

Jason lifted his head up. "Sure, I'd like that."

Spike glanced at the human for a moment. Jason's features were depressed, haunted, and pained, but his eyes were hollow— not even a glimmer of light or a shine reflecting off them. He wanted to apologize, but for what? Bringing up a subject that he knew nothing about? It made him a bit miffed that he didn't think of why Jason seemed so hesitant to bring up his home. He glanced at Jason one last time apologetically before waddling his way to the kitchen on a mission.

Jason watched him go and let his legs fall back into his normal Indian-style sitting position. He felt guilty for not telling Spike about himself, but he would have felt worse if he had. Spike was too young to learn about the horrors of humanity. The horror he lived through. He could have always lied, but what good would that have done? He picked up one of the children's— Or would it be foals'? he thought briefly— books and started an attempt to read it. It was difficult, but not unmanageable with his new phonetic chart beside him.

He had gotten through two and a half of them when Spike came back into the main room with a tray in his claws. It was an interesting sight watching the baby dragon carry the tray that was almost as big around as Spike was tall. He could not help but notice there were also two bowls complementing the two tea glasses, sugar jar, and tea pot. He wondered what they were. Maybe they're soup. He was gone awhile, thought Jason as he offered, "Would you like some help?"

"Nah, I'm good. I do this all the time," said Spike with no strain at all as he gently set the tray down between the two cushions.

Wow, pretty strong for a baby. Must be because he's… he stopped in mid-thought as he looked at the contents of the bowls. "Is that what I think that is?" he asked as he looked up in surprise. "You all have ice cream here?"

Spike grinned nervously not knowing whether dairy products were a bad thing to humans or not. "U—Uh y—yeah, I thought it would help cheer you up."

Jason grinned widely. "Thanks! I appreciate it!" he thanked as he put to lumps of sugar in his tea to let it dissolve before grabbing his bowl— which thankfully Spike thought to include a spoon— and took his first bite. The protein in the ice cream tasted delicious, but so did the ice cream itself. It had just been so long since Jason had eaten anything that was not vegetarian that it made the ice cream taste multitudes better than it probably really was. To Jason, it was like eating ambrosia. "Wow! This is good!"

Spike was a little surprised about how enthusiastic Jason was over the ice cream but was relieved nonetheless. "Oh… uh… you're well… welcome, Jason. I'm glad I was able to help."

Meanwhile back in town, Thunderstorm was not in a good mood anymore, if his slightly cross expression and drooping tail were any indication. The nice café that Twilight Sparkle had shown him had a pretty nice menu, but that was where the pleasantries from the restaurant ended. The waiter had not been all that nice, and had screwed up his order twice. Then, there was an interruption every time he was about to tell her he remembered everything.

He gave a shudder as he thought about the last event that had caused them to leave the café early. Three balls of fur crashing through the outside dining area followed by a very angry minotaur which was followed by what seemed to him like a white angry Canterlotian unicorn mare with an indigo mane and tail. When the unicorn had saw him though, she had seemed to get distracted by him and had galloped over to him gushing over his coloration.

With Twilight decidedly stunned by the flipped over table, it seemed Thunderstorm had been the only pony capable of stopping the minotaur since everypony else just seemed too shocked to move. That had not been pleasant or easy. Luckily, he was able to get some help from a dark gray unicorn stallion with a quicksilver mane and tail that was part of Ponyville's reserve guard or something of that manner. Surprisingly, the stallion and his two brothers were the only security force for Ponyville, and with the Everfree Forest so close by, it made Storm wonder how dangerous that forest actually was. Of course, all six bearers of the Elements of Harmony did live here, so that could be why there were was such a small security force. He doubted it though.

"Storm? I'm really sorry for what happened earlier. Are you alright?"

The voice pulled Lieutenant Thunderstorm out of his head, and reminded him he was still walking next to his friend, Twilight. He sighed and looked over to her. "Well… yeah. I'm just a bit tired after having to stop a minotaur at a full run, but I should be fine in a few more moments. I'm glad that unicorn stepped in to help; I'm not sure I could… Though, I'm not sure I would have been able to stop him."

Twilight nodded. "The head of the Ponyville Security Taskforce? He's a nice stallion, but he's a bit on the flat side. I swear he's still at work even when he's off duty."

Thunderstorm had an insane urge to roll his eyes at that statement, even more so than normal given the nature of the pony he was talking to. Right, a guard's work is never done, and with only three of them, I'm surprised the poor guy gets any sleep at all. Ponies just do not appreciate how tough being a guard is— especially if they are a local security taskforce, he thought bitterly, That's the first illusion we smash out of new recruits, and if anything, being part the local security force is tougher than being in the Solar or Night Guard. I wouldn't want to have to deal with panicking citizens or the insane hours.

Twilight stopped and turned to him with a kind smile. "Are you still hungry? I know a place, that's not quite as fancy, but it still a lot of fun to be at, and the food is really good if you like pastries in the morning."

The stallion stopped as well with a thoughtful expression, before saying, "Yeah, sure, why not? Just as long as those three… what did you call them?"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders is what they call themselves."

"Right… Well, as long as the Cutie Mark Crusaders won't be there this time… I wouldn't mind, Sparky," answered Storm with a reassuring smile at the last portion.

Twilight's eyes sparked up. "Great! I'll show you the way then!" she chirped as she trotted off with the lieutenant close in tow.

After several minutes, Storm looked up at the building in question. They were standing far enough away that he could see the entire building without needing to move his head or eyes. The building itself seemed normal enough, but even at almost 150 lengths away it smelled strongly of chocolate, liquorish, peppermint, taffy, fresh baked goods, and just plain raw sugar. The decorations themselves seemed to be made of various types of candy or sweet pastries. There even seemed to be a giant cupcake at the very top of the building. Obviously, this is a sweets shop, but why in Equestria would Twilight Sparkle take me to a sweets shop? She's the most serious pony outside the guard I know!

"That is Sugarcube Corner, one of the premier hang-out spots in Ponyville," claimed Twilight with a suspicious amount of pride.

Thunderstorm blinked thinking, Wait… did she just use the word 'hang-out'? Either the ponies in this town are crazy and Sparky has become indoctrinated by them, she is actually one of those scattered Changelings and is not really Twilight Sparkle, or her introverted and obsessive tendencies finally made her crack. This place is for foals… not stallions. He nodded though being polite and smiling. "Cool."

"One of my friends works here, and it sort of reminds me of Doughnut Joe's. I wanted to introduce you to Pinkie too. She's the carefree-type, but I think you two will get along."

Though Twilight could not see it, Storm gave a sigh of relief. That was the type of planned, no-time-wasting organization that he was used to from her. She had gotten noticeably more impulsive since she left Canterlot, but that unintentional organization she created put his mind at ease. He did not know what Shining Armor would have done to him if he had to tell him his sister had been abducted by a Changeling. The thought made him shiver a little as he followed Twilight to the aforementioned building.

As they went inside, Storm could not help but gawk at the realistic looking pastry and candy decorations as well as the delicious smell. He noticed there was a pink earth pony working the counter who was staring at a speck with such intensity that he thought the counter might just catch fire.

The pink pony suddenly looked up smiling giddily. "Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! How can I…" Then, she spontaneously leaped into the air and gasped while staying in the air as if gravity did not apply to her.

Thunderstorm looked at himself self-consciously before turning to Twilight who was giggling.

Suddenly, the pink pony was right in front of him; almost touching muzzles together as she bounced in place yelling, "Wind Storm! It's good to see you! How are you?! Did you make it into the Guard?! Has anythingfunnyhappened?! WhereareyoulivingHowisMoonDancerDid…?!"

The sudden explosion of chatter and questions stunned the poor stallion better than any sonic or electric incapacitation spell. He just stood there eyes wide and a look of utter confusion taking hold of his demeanor. He took a couple steps back, but she moved right along with him until he backed into a wall. Still she bounced there barraging him with a multitude of noises that were moving so fast it was like a constant squeaking that changed pitch. Twilight had tried to say something it sounded like, but she was drown out.

As suddenly as it started, it stopped. The stallion opened his eyes to see the pink pony standing there with an energetic gleam still in her eyes and a ridiculous smile on her face. Then, he remembered one phrase. She had called him Wind Storm— his birth name. Almost no pony knew his birth name. This pony knows me? Who is she? Why does she look so familiar? Eventually, he broke the unbearable silence. "Do… I know you?"

She gasped again in excitement. "You abso-posi-lutely do! I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, remember?!"

The recognition hit the lieutenant like a boulder in an avalanche. He laughed nervously with a tinge of fear in his eyes. "Oh… how good to see you again! I—It's… been awhile!"

Pinkie bounced once. "I know! You're a big tough stallion now, and look at all those scars! When I last saw you, you were just a lanky colt that was really good with electricity! I mean you could whip up really amazing wind tricks too, but that lightning bolt trick you were working on was really cool!"

"Yeah…" said Storm with an uneasy smile. "We actually came here for breakfast, so…"

She gasped again. "Well, why didn't you say so, silly!" Then, suddenly, Thunderstorm found himself sitting across from Twilight— who looked even more stunned than himself— at a table with two menus, and a couple glasses of water. "What can I get you!"

Twilight was the first to speak up— even though she still sounded a little shell shocked from the living battery known as Pinkie Pie— saying, "Uh, I'll just have my usual for breakfast, Pinkie."

Lieutenant Thunderstorm swallowed hard saying, "Uh… Y—Yeah… I'll have what she's having." He was still too stunned to really think at the moment, and he trusted Twilight's judgment of taste.

"Okie dokie lokie! Two bran muffins, and a glass of sassafras soda each coming right up!" chirped Pinkie Pie as she vanished as a pink blur.

Back in the present, Astral Plane looked at the book in confusion. This is the mare my cousin is always going on about? She seems like a loony who needs to be locked up in an asylum to me, and there is no way she could have hovered like that. Some parts of this story sound almost believable, but parts like these must be stretched or just plain fiction, she thought as she stared at the page.

She tore her eyes away from the book for a moment, and checked her internal biological clock for the time. It was just after midnight. She heaved a sigh and looked at the candle that she lit earlier. It was pretty far down now. Two or three more hours of candle was left, and she was beginning to feel the fatigue hit her hard now. She was not ready for sleep though.

The book seemed to beg her to keep on reading. There was an intensity that the book held that seemed to drag her in deeper and become part of the characters and share their world with them— their time. She lost all grip on reality when reading this tome, and it seemed only this 'Pinkie Pie' character broke her free of it.

It scared her. She had never felt a book drag her in like this before or begged her to read more. Or is it me begging for more? she realized, Is it I who wants to be a part of them and their time now passed? Am I really that… desperate? No… this book has a spell on it. It must! Just because I do not have a horn to sense the ethereal with anymore does not mean they can give me enchanted objects to be entertained by! How dare they!

She glared at the book with a sizzling anger now. She wanted to destroy it, but did not have the will to. So, she sighed instead and closed her eyes for a moment.

Suddenly, the book snatched her with tendrils of magic making her eyes burst open in fright. It was pulling her in head first. She tried to scream, but found she had no voice. The book flipped to the last page, and there her scream was shown in text. She fought as the tendrils pulled her in dragging hooves across the bed as she tried to dig them into the spongy surface.

The pages kept getting closer and closer, and she could not stop it. She tried to scream out again louder than before, but again she had no voice, and she saw it once again written into the text of the page between narrations of her struggling. She panicked. Her legs gave out in fright and she was dragged into the book turning her whole world black.

She felt something… solid underneath her. She looked down to see a wooden floor under her. Then, she looked up to see she was in the main room of the library as it was described in the story during what seemed to be midday. She looked around to see there was no pony in it. She screamed, and she heard it this time! That was a good sign.

She had to contain her panic though. It's okay, this is just an illusion. Just stay calm, and do not panic. You will get through this just fine if you use your head. The thought was realistic enough of an idea, and it helped her calm down enough to not just bolt out the door. If this was an illusion test of some kind, then she would be trapped in her own mind until she completed the task— which if she ran could be forever.

"Is someone there?!" asked a male voice loudly from above.

Astra blinked. It sounded… odd. There was a noticeable accent that was vaguely reminiscent of a cross between a Manehattanite and a member of Apple Family she had heard so many times during the Night Court. Maybe Fillydelphian or Hoofingtoner? Why would one of those ponies be in the library though? Well, it is a library I suppose. Answering the stallion should pose no issue, she thought before answering, "Yes, um… I'm a bit lost, sir, and I require assistance!"

Suddenly, a somepony jumped down lightly from the second floor and landed heavily. Astra was shocked at what she saw. She did not believe her eyes.

Jason Nalick scratched his head. "Yeah, sorry, I tend to have that effect on ponies," he said simply, "What can I do ya for? You said you're lost, right?"

Astra blinked. Did he just talk to her? A dead human just talked to her? This was impossible! Or so she thought as she stood there dumbstruck. How can this fiction seem so solid? A master illusionist with a particular liking for narcomancy*** must have created this. The fear started to take hold again. What would this imaginary human do to her?

Jason sat down. He looked less intimidating that way. "Hey… are you okay, little one? What's your name? I'll see if Mayor Mare knows who your parents are," then he paused thoughtfully. "Well, actually, Pinkie Pie would probably know, and it would be faster that way anyway. She does know every pony in fifty mile radius, and every other intelligent creature that's ever stepped foot in Ponyville."

Astra eyed the human suspiciously. He had not learned that about Pinkie Pie in the story yet. "So, who are you?" she asked in a testing manner.

Jason blinked. "That was not the first question I expected. Usually, the first question is what am I…" He shook his head interrupting his own rant before it started. "You can call me Jason, little one. May I ask your name now?"

Astra blushed. She did not know why. It was probably embarrassment, but she was a little surprised how… polite and kind he sounded. "M—My name is… Astral Plane, Mr. Jason. I don't think you'll find any record of me though."

Jason looked concerned at her mentioning that. "Why is that Astral Plane? Do you know name of the town where you're from?"

"Yes, Mr. Jason. I was born raised in Canterlot, but I doubt you will find any trace of my existence despite who my mother is," she said with finality beyond her years. Something had occured to her that she did not like. This is not an illusion at all. Too much is not adding up… Then, she steeled herself waiting to see if she if she was right.

Jason blinked again. "Alright, who's your mother then, and why would I not be able to find you in their records?

"I am from approximately twenty years in the future, and I am here as a result of a temporal shift," said Astra again with finality from before. She did not know how far back in time she had gone through if her theory was correct. It was a guess.

Jason's mouth hung open. "Yer kidding, right? I… Oh, for the love of God, how am I supposed to keep the universe from collapsing from a paradox?!" The question seemed to be more addressing himself than the filly standing in front of him.

That was the clincher. This was no complex narcomancy spell. Even dream spells can only stretch so far, and that reaction just proved she was either in an alternate universe or back in time. It was time to give the magically ignorant human some comfort. "Actually, from the studies of Starswirl the Bearded, which was confirmed by Lady Twilight Sparkle, it was proven that the universe won't collapse. Whatever happens has already happened in my time. Trust me. My mother spent hours teaching me that, and I did not enjoy a minute of that boring lecture.

Jason raised a brow, but relaxed a great deal hearing that. "I must ask: why would your mother teach you… well… that if you're not a unicorn?"

Oh, he would ask that, wouldn't he? Astra blushed in embarrassment. "Let's just say there is a story behind that mystery."

Jason nodded. "Let's wait to see what Twilight can do for you. I'm sure she can think of something, but in the meantime, you look exhausted. Take the bed in the guest room, and when you wake up, I'll make you something to eat."

Astra nodded. As much as she hated it, she would have to take the human's advice. She was exhausted— yet another clue she was not in an illusion or dream spell. She could barely stand straight, and climbing the stairs to the second floor— where she remembered the room was before the renovations— was brutal. When she finally got the door open, she did not even bother shutting it. She just crawled onto the bed and collapsed. Her last thought: If I wasn't so exhausted, now would have been the perfect time to panic…

A few minutes later, Jason walked in and tucked the sleeping filly in. She reminded him of someone, but he could not place who. "This is crazy. How are we supposed to go to Canterlot tomorrow morning with all this happening? I hope Twilight can fix this," he said to himself as he closed the door behind him and made his way back to his pile of books on the balcony. He still wanted to read some more on Equestrian modern history before Twilight and Spike got back from shopping. He was resigned to the fact that magic could do some weird things, and this was no different. So, he simply decided to clear his head and hope someone could help the poor filly get home.

Nope, not gonna just sit on my ass and act like it isn't something to worry about. A kid needs my help. He sighed, and closed the book as he stood. "This… is going to be a long day."

* 'Zee' is the full name of the letter Z
** 'Tee-aitch' is the full name of the digraph TH
*** 'Narcomancy' (not necromancy) is the magical art of manipulating sleep and dreams