//------------------------------//
// Welcome to Ponyville/Equestria! (Unedited) 
// Story: Learning to Live and Love 
// by FlashKenshin77 
//------------------------------//

	I landed on the cloudy porch, staring at the front door. My heart said I should knock while my mind said I should run. I hesitantly raised my hoof and forced myself to knock on the door but at that exact moment, the door opened to reveal the rainbowed maned daredevil. I froze in fear as I gently bopped her on the snout. We stared at each other, not knowing what to say, both of us blushing.
I quickly lowered my hoof and stared at the cloud. “Sorry,” I mumbled.
“It’s okay. What are you doing here anyway; I thought you’d be with Fluttershy.” She said, a bit coldly at the end.
I looked up at her and saw her eyes were a blood shot. “Dash, are you alright?” I asked.
She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Course I am; had something in my eye. You didn’t answer my question.”
“Because I wanted to make sure you were okay.” I said.
She forced a laugh. “Of course I am; why wouldn’t I be?”
I stared at her. “Dash…”
“Look Leon, I’m fine, you don’t need to be such a worry pony. Why are you ignoring my question?”
I sighed. “Okay Dash, you win; I was… worried.”
“About?”
I felt my face get hotter. “You,” I whispered.
She blinked a few times and her face got a bit red. “What?”
“I… uh…” I stuttered, flustered. I could feel my face get bright red.
Luckily Pinkie shouted from the ground underneath Dash’s house. “DASHIEE!!”
We stared at each other and she sighed. She went over and looked off her cloud. “Yeah Pinkie?”
“Is Leon with you?!”
I poked my head off the side of the cloud. “Yeah?”
“OH! Well I was baking some cupcakes and I thought that you’d enjoy something good to eat after all this yucky sad stuff.” She jumped and down a few times. “So would you like to go to the Sugarcube Corner and try some?” she asked.
“Uh… sure?” I said hesitantly. What’s the worst that could happen? I looked over at Dash. "Do you want to join us?"
Dash frowned and shuffled her hooves. “…Sure.”
We both flew off her cloudy abode and landed next to Pinkie as she led us to Sugarcube Corner. The moon was already starting its ascent across the sky; it’s light breaking out in the cracks of the clouds. It was silent and slightly tense between me and Dash as we avoided talking to each other. Pinkie seemed oblivious to it, hopping along happily. It was eerily quiet, the streets devoid of ponies.
We made it to Sugarcube Corner and Pinkie opened the door. We peered into the darkness as Pinkie somehow got behind me and pushed me inside. “Go on inside silly, it’s not like it’s going to eat you; although if it could-” she started rambling to herself.
I hesitantly flipped the light switch on as the entire town was inside and they all yelled “SURPRISE!”
I froze as my wings shot out in surprise and my legs locked. I felt my chest tightened and everything went blurry. I saw several ponies hover above me and saw Dash’s eyes look at me with concern before everything went dark.


--**--


I awoke on somepony’s bed and groaned as I slowly leaned up.
“Well it’s about time you woke up sleepy head.” Pinkie said.
I jumped and turned my head as I saw Pinkie staring at me. “Whoa… what happened?” I asked.
“Well everypony shouted SURPRISE! And then you just froze and fell over, out cold. Then Twi picked you up with her magic and took you up to my room and you slept on my bed. Then you woke up and I started telling you what happened.” She said with a smile.
“Huh… So why is everypony down there?”
“For your party, duh.”
“…Party?”
"Well yeah; you're super awesome but totally late ‘Welcome to Ponyville/Equestria’ party.” She said with a huge smile.
“Oh… uh…thanks?” I said, not sure how to respond.
“No problemo; it is my shtick,” she said. We were silent for a moment. “So Dashie was superly worried about you.”
“She was?”
“Yeah, she wouldn’t leave your side till Twiliy took you up stairs." She looked at me with a sly grin. “What’s that about?”
I felt my face get warm. “Nothing.”
She giggled. “Uh huh.” She grabbed me by the hoof. “Come on; let’s get back to the party.”
She dragged me out of bed and we made our way downstairs. The party was still in full swing, the moon high above. “Pinkie, how long was I out for?” I asked.
“Only an hour or so.”
“Ah… okay.” There were a bunch of ponies dancing on the floor in front, the tables moved to the walls. I didn’t see Fluttershy anywhere and I turned around to Pinkie. “Where’s Fluttershy?”
Pinkie frowned a little. “I’m not sure; she said she was too busy,” then she suddenly smiled, “but don’t worry, every other pony is here.” She leaned closer to me. "And besides, she doesn’t like parties too much." She whispered.
Pinkie dragged me around the party, introducing me as Emerald Flash, which I chuckled at. Apparently the girls decided that I should have a fake name while being a pony, something about a human’s name not “normal”. Everypony said hi as I met the majority of the town.
Finally, Pinkie left me alone to go mingle with the DJ, one Vinyl Scratch or as she’s more commonly known, PON-3. I wandered around and couldn’t find Dash; I knew she had to be here somewhere so I went looking for Twilight, assuming she would know where Dash was. I finally found her talking to Rarity as they chatted down at a table.
“Hey girls,” I said as I walked towards them.
“Oh hey ‘Emerald’.” They said and Rarity giggled.
“I’m glad that you’re feeling better; what happened?” Twilight asked.
“I’m not sure, guess I kinda froze and passed out. I'm not a fan of loud noises so much.” I admitted.
“Oh… brain overload, gotcha.” Twilight said. “So what can I help you with?” she asked.
“Wow… creepy, just like you're a teacher.” I said with a little chuckle and she blushed. “Well I was wondering if either of you have seen Dash?” They looked at each other before breaking into huge smiles. “What?”
“Oh how romantic,” Rarity said.
"I knew it," Twilight said with a huge smile, "I knew my books weren't wrong."
“Wait what?” I asked, exasperated.
“Oh nothing dear, just wishing some stallion would do the same.” Rarity said, putting a forehoof dramatically over her forehead.
I stared at them blankly.
“I think she went outside a while ago.” Twilight said, struggling not to laugh.
“Thanks Twi,” I said, before turning around and heading towards the door. Now what in the world was that about? I silently made my way outside, the moon still high in the sky, illuminating the town. I looked around and saw a rainbowed silhouette on a hill outside of town. I lifted off the ground and made my way towards it.
She must have heard me before I landed because she turned to look at me. "Hey, I see you're okay."
"Yeah…" I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
"So what are you doing here and not at the party?"
"Well… I wanted to check on you."
"What do you mean?"
"Dash ever since Fluttershy kissed me; you're acting like you're mad at me."
She sighed. "I'm not mad…" She turned away from me. "I was just surprised."
I chuckled. "You and me both." I sat down next to her and stared at the stars. I waited for her to continue her thought but she did nothing but sit in silence. I looked over at her and saw that she was trying to ignore me. I sighed and looked at the stars. "You know, it's beautiful."
"What is?"
"The sky… where I'm from, you couldn’t even see the stars, even on a clear night." I laughed sadly. "It's truly amazing how different it is here."
Dash sat down and leaned against me, her head resting on my shoulder. "You miss home, don’t you?"
I sighed and watched the moon. "I do somewhat."
"Was there anypony that you miss the most?"
I sighed. "Not really… everyone there had their life and rarely talked to me. Every once in a while, I'd get a call or message… but mostly it was just me… alone." I stared at the stars. "It's funny really; that it'd take dying and being transferred to a pony dimension for me to notice how beautiful the sky was."
She glanced at me and tried not to laugh. "You’re an odd pony… err… human."
I laughed and leaned my head against hers. "You're just realizing this now? And wouldn’t it be pony?"
"Oh no, I've known this for quite some time."
I chuckled. "Oh thanks."
She nuzzled me briefly, which made my face heat up and my wings twitch. "You know me, gotta tell it like it is."
"At least I know I can trust someone not to sugarcoat things." She smiled at me and I smiled back. "So are we good?"
"…Yeah, sure." I sighed. She was silent, turning away from me. "Leon… do you like Fluttershy?" she whispered.
" …I like Fluttershy… but not in the way your thinking."
Her ears perked up. "Really?"
"Well… yeah. Sure she's great and kind, and nice… and pretty, but I don't think we will ever be together."
"Huh, why do you say that?"
"Well she did just break up with her other boyfriend…"
"So?"
"I don’t date people right after they broke up with someone."
"Still… one day you could."
I looked away to stare at the sky. "I just have a feeling."
She didn’t respond right away but sighed. "I understand."
"Are you sure you're fine Dash?"
"Yeah… of course I am."
I gently nuzzled her… or at least I think I did, rubbing my cheek against hers, making her face get extremely pink. "Okay; I just want you to know that I'm here for you if you need me."
"I-I… thanks."
"It's what I'm here for."
We were both silent as we stared at the moon, its bright light illuminating the village below. "Shouldn’t we get back to the party?" she asked, looking up at me.
"Probably… but to be honest, I think I'm gonna stay out here." I gently untangled myself from her and scooted a few inches away. "But if you wanna go back, I understand."
She scooted closer to me and wrapped her forehooves around me. "I think I'll stay here."
I blushed. "Thanks." I wrapped my wing around her and we both blushed
heavily.
"Leon! Rainbow!" We heard Twilight shout and quickly pushed away from each other, looking at the ground in embarrassment. She finally got to us and paused for a minute, catching her breath. She saw our faces and smiled. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"
"No… what were you gonna say?" Rainbow quickly asked.
"Oh right…" She turned to look at me. "Princess Celestia sent you a package. It's back in Sugarcube Corner."
"Hmm… I wonder what she sent me." I wondered out loud. "Lead the way." I told Twilight as the three of us headed back into the chaotic party. Most of the ponies had gone home however, leaving just Pinkie, AJ, Rarity, a gray pegasus with a yellow mane and golden eyes, Twi, Dash and myself.
When we got in there, Twilight levitated a package over to me and I caught it with my hooves before grabbing the parchment on top.
"What's it say?" Dash said from behind me, reading over my shoulder.

Dear Leon,
Even though I said you wouldn’t need it, I have done as you asked. My sister Luna also requests that tomorrow you come to the castle with Twilight. It seems as if she wants to get you ready for the future.
Princess Celestia

"What does that mean?" I asked Twilight, who stared at me in confusion.
"I have no idea." She said. "What does she mean, ‘done as you asked’?" she looked at me. "What did you ask her?"
"I… got nothing." I said, opening the box; inside was my sword. I picked it up with my hoof. "Now why in the world would she give me my sword back? She said I wouldn’t need it…"
"I don’t know Leon… but I have a bad feeling about this." Twilight said, looking over the letter.
"I guess we'll see tomorrow." I said and tied my sword's sheath around my back, making sure I could still use my wings without it getting in the way. Something else was in the box and I pulled out my hat. "Hey my hats here to," I said with a goofy smile on my face. I plopped it down on my head and smiled at them as they all chuckled. Dash grabbed it from behind and put it on her head.
"You looked like a dork." She said, sticking her tongue out at me.
"Oh like you look any better." I said, trying not to laugh as I pushed it lower on her face, almost covering up her eyes.
"Wait just a second," AJ said as she looked at Twilight. "Tomorra is Winter Wrap Up and yer gonna be at the castle, so who's gonna organize it like last year?"
Twilight's eyes grew as she realized it. "We'll… just have to hurry; I'm sure they'll understand. We'll get up early and leave at the first rays of dawn."
Dash pushed the hat up and glanced out the window. "Well I hate to burst your bubble Twi, but that might be sooner than you think." She said, pointing a hoof at the window. The moon was significantly lower than it was not that long ago. "I'd say three hours before sunrise."
Twilight's jaw dropped as she poofed in a bright light and disappeared. "Huh… wonder what that was-" AJ started, before interrupted by the same bright flash and a frantic Twilight carrying a scroll around, a terrified Spike hanging on the end.
"SPIKE!! Quick, we gotta get everypony ready for tomorrow - I mean, today!" She said, dragging Spike on the floor.
"Twi everything will be alright," Rarity tried to reason with the frantic unicorn.
"But you don’t understand, I'm supposed to organize the Winter Wrap Up and I won't be here!"
"But darling-" Rarity tried to say.
"Oh I know! I'll just tell everypony to wait till we get back." She rolled up the scroll with her magic, causing Spike to roll with it before falling to the floor again. She looked at us and smiled. "I'm sure they'll say yes."
We looked at each other before sighing. The grey pegasus looked at each of us and I only just realized one of her eyes started to drift towards the right, as if she was staring off into the distance. "They wouldn’t stop for one pony and besides, is it that big of a deal if they start without you?" she asked.
Twilight's face blanked as steam slowly came out of her ears. Before she could respond, I walked up to her and gave her a hug. "It'll work out, I promise. It won't do anyone any good to have you explode and destroy everything."  I leaned back and gave a sheepish smile. "That would kinda defeat the whole purpose of this "Winter Wrap Up" thingamajig."
She stared at me before a small grin broke out. "That’s true… it would be hard to explain to Princess Celestia why Ponyville is gone." She sighed and kicked at the ground with her hoof. "Thanks Leon."
I shrugged. "It's what I do." I mumbled with a yawned.
"I think it's passed somepony's beddy-bye time." Dash teased.
"Maybe it is… it seems like I've been going nonstop since I got out of the hospital. I said, yawning again. "I think I'm gonna go." I walked over to Pinkie and smiled. "Thanks for the awesome party Pinkie. I think you made me change my mind about parties."
Her grin reached her eyes as she pulled me in for a tight hug. "It's no problem Leonie; I'm glad that I changed your mind. Does that mean I can throw you more parties?"
I laughed or at least tried, being crushed kinda stifles that. "Sure… can… I ask for a favor?"
"Mmmhmm?"
"Can you let go? Kinda… crushing… ribs…" I started to see stars.
"Oh… whoopsies daises." She giggled and let go of me.
I gasped for air before I chuckled and headed towards the door. I paused when the door wasn’t getting any closer; I looked down and and was floating. I turned around to see Twilight holding me with her magic. "Yes?" I asked.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Home to sleep?"
"What about meeting with Princess Luna?"
"Oh yeah…" I chuckled. "I guess I sorta forgot."
"You're terrible…."
I smiled. "Of course."
"Come on, you can sleep on the way there." Twilight said, shaking her head. She led me and the rest of the girls out of Sugarcube Corner; that grey pegasus followed us. Twilight noticed and smiled. "You don’t have to come Derpy, you should go home. Say hi to Dinky for me."
Derpy smiled and nodded. "Okay, see you guys tomorrow and I will!" She promised as she somehow became airborne and made her way across town.
The rest of the trip to the library was silent as we traversed the dark town. Everypony yawned as we finally made it to Twilight's house. She turned and looked at the girls.
"Well girls, I guess we'll see you sometime tomorrow." Twilight said, still holding me in her magic.
"Eeyup," AJ said, tipping her hat to both of us before heading towards the farm.
"I wish I could come to Canterlot with you two, but alas, I can't! Goodnight darlings… ta-ta!" Rarity said, tossing her mane out of her face before making her way home.
Pinkie just nodded and hopped back home, waving frantically at us. Dash ruffled her wings, looking agitated.
"Well… I guess I'll see ya later." She muttered, kicking at the ground.
"Yeah…" I said as we both avoided looking at each other.
Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. "Goodnight Rainbow. Come on Leon." She said, waving goodbye as Dash lazily flew towards her house. I watched her through the window before sighing as Twilight finally put me down. "So…" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
She giggled. "What's going on between you and Rainbow?"
My face grew quite warm. "…Nothing." I said, staring out the window.
"Uh huh…" Twilight said before yawning. "Well the chariot should be here in a little bit; I'll go make us some coffee." She said, heading into the kitchen.
"Where's Spike?" I asked, not having seen the baby dragon since walking in.
"Oh he's already asleep." She said, before reappearing with two hot cups of coffee. She levitated mine over and I gingerly accepted it. I blew on it a few times, the steam covering my face.
I took a little sip and the warmth woke me up a bit. "Thanks Twi," I said with a small smile.
"No problem Leon… I have a feeling you'll need to awake for what's to come tomorrow." She said, gazing out the window.
"Yeah… I have a bad feeling about it." I whispered before taking another drink of coffee and watched the first rays of sun poke out over the horizon.