After a relatively short walk along lamp-lit cobblestone streets, we made it to Sugarcube Corner -- still looking like a gingerbread house. "At least the buildings all look about the same," I thought.
"Isn't the Bakery a little small for a party?" I asked.
"There won't be many ponies at this party, Michael," Trixie stated flatly. It had taken quite an effort of comforting Twilight over my inadvertent re-opening of a recent wound, one that ran very deep. Spike had been killed in the Crystal Empire and the resulting pain was so severe that Twilight was still grieving over his loss. It was only through an almost Herculean effort from Trixie that Twilight was still able to function somewhat normally, but the sadness behind her eyes was virtually omnipresent. I had apologized profusely to Twilight, promising that I would do everything I possibly could to try to help her. Using her voice box device, she offered her thanks but wondered how it was I could help her. I talked about alternate universes and the mirror pool and she just chuckled sadly in response.
"Why won't there be?" I asked.
"Well, it's kinda late for a party, but there will be some ponies there to help you celebrate your birthday."
"Maybe it might cheer Twilight up a little, we can always hope," I offered. We entered the Bakery to the sight of about a dozen or so ponies. There was no "surprise," just stuff that had been set up for a party. I searched for Fluttershy.
"Hey, Flutters, what's up?" I asked her.
"Well, um, what do I call you? Trixie? Mikey? There's not a whole lot to work with around here, especially on such short notice, but I put together what I could."
"Thanks a bunch, Fluttershy, it still means something special that you thought about me. You may call me by my human name, Michael, if you prefer. I am rather surprised by just how much sadness there is around here -- I want to do something to make everypony happy, and I don't know how to go about doing that. Are you the Element of Laughter?"
"Well, I do my best to keep everypony happy as well, Mikey, but there are times when even being the Element of Laughter becomes too great a burden. Even so, you can't let it get you down! Today's your birthday, so enjoy yourself!"
"So, you got any 'Happy Birthday' cupcakes?" I chuckled. I hadn't paid attention to her cutie mark, but it showed three butterfly-shaped party balloons. "I'm kinda curious as to how it is you're an earth pony here, but a very shy pegasus in the universe I'm familiar with."
"Yeah, Mikey, got a cupcake here for ya, here ya go! I've always been an earth pony, silly-billy! I don't know where you came from or what you're familiar with, but this is the way I've always been! Hey, wanna play a game of pin-the-tail?"
"I need a few drinks in me before I can handle that, Flutters," I chuckled.
"Are you serious, Mikey? I don't wanna serve alcohol at my parties any more, it causes more trouble than it's worth. Why can't you play the game when you're sober?"
"Okay, I guess I'll go ahead and do it, even though it makes me feel somewhat embarrassed to do so. I guess I'm a little self-conscious about that sort of thing, but I will join in on whatever fun can be had."
"Yay! I knew you'd do it!" Fluttershy shouted. I chuckled at her "Yay!" as it was very unlike her alternate universe's version of saying that.
I participated in a few games, ate a few more cupcakes, chatted with everypony who was there and noticed Rainbow for the first time. I was shocked to see a cyan unicorn with a long multi-hued mane and tail which had been carefully coiffed to accentuate her beauty. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had come by as well. Rainbow's cutie mark consisted of three circles looking like targets with concentric rings of violet in the center and red as the outer ring.
"Hey, Rainbow, what's up?" I asked, smiling warmly.
"Trixie? Wait, two of you?"
"You want the long story or the short one?" I asked.
"The fillies have school tomorrow, so just tell me the short story -- I suppose you can fill me in on the details later."
I gave her a quick rundown of my situation and she nodded her head. "Nice to meet you, even though I was expecting to see you as a pegasus, not as a unicorn."
"Why is that? I've always been a unicorn, what makes you think of me as a pegasus?"
"I keep forgetting I'm in a different universe, these differences are quite jarring. I never would have thought Nightmare Moon to be a kind and gentle ruler of Equestria," I mused.
"So you came from a different universe? Wow, that's really interesting."
"I was hoping that this would be a happy universe, like the previous versions of Ponyville I had visited -- well, with one exception -- but I wasn't prepared for how radical THESE changes are. I want to help out, though, and try my best to make things better around here. I am very sorry to hear about Rarity and Spike, but I think I might be able to do something about that."
"Be careful how you talk about them Michael, things are still on edge around here and we don't want such wounds reopened. It's still very painful to think about the past and moving on is hard enough as it is."
"Rainbow, are you staying at the boutique?"
"Yeah, come by tomorrow if you want. I would appreciate some company while Sweetie and Scoots are at school."
"Of course, I would be happy to! Seeya tomorrow!" I smiled and made my way back over to Trixie. "Hey Trixie, is it about time to go back home and get some sleep? Is there a bed for me, or will I have to find somewhere else to sleep tonight?"
"There is a guest room in the Library, you're welcome to sleep there for the night, Michael," Trixie offered.
"I appreciate your generosity, thanks, Trixie," I said, smiling warmly. "Fluttershy, thanks for the party, it's been fun. I will be staying for awhile to check things out for myself, so I may be paying you another visit soon. The cupcakes were delicious by the way, thanks again!"
"Sure thing, Mikey! Seeya tomorrow!" she responded. As we left, so did everypony else who had attended the party.
"So tell me, Michael, what are things like in your home world?" Trixie asked. I chuckled, letting her know Twilight was the one who'd ask such questions. I gave her a quick summary of life on Earth and some other information about it. That explanation alone took long enough for the three of us to make it back to the Library. For some reason or other, I felt the need for sleep and went upstairs to the guest room, laid down in the bed and fell asleep quickly. I was impressed by how comfortable the bed was.
---------------------------------
I was kind of surprised to find Twilight had snuggled up to me while I was sleeping last night. I got out of the bed and went to the next room where Trixie would normally sleep. Her bed was empty, so I went downstairs to find her cooking breakfast. I was kind of surprised that it was still dark outside, even though it was nearly 8:30 AM.
"Morning, Michael, did you sleep well?" she asked, giving me a warm smile.
"Morning? It's still dark outside. I slept okay, but I was kinda surprised to see that Twilight had made her way into bed with me, though I have no idea why she did that."
"Perhaps she feels a certain attachment to you, Michael. Then again, sometimes she prefers to sleep by herself, and sometimes she shares my bed, it just depends on her mood. And if you're wondering why it's still dark outside, the sun usually doesn't come up until about 9:30 or so. I hope you like hay pancakes, I know Twilight certainly does!"
"Ponies have different tastes from humans, though I'm willing to give them a try. Normally I would eat pancakes without any hay. So how much daylight do we get? What time of year is it?"
"Oh, that's right, I forgot you were a human. We generally get about six or seven hours of daylight every day -- it's actually late summer here. So how long are you planning on staying?"
"Hmm. Something seems odd about that. I want to bring happiness back to this world," I said optimistically. "I have no idea how long that will take."
"So what about your home world? Don't you want to go back there?"
"I know I promised my wife I was only going to be gone for one day. Maybe I should go back and let her know I have a new mission -- although I know she won't understand. I don't know how much time passes in my home world as opposed to being here."
"Why not teleport back to your home world, find out how much time has passed, then come back here if you can stay longer."
"That sounds like a good idea, Trixie. I'll do that, I should be back shortly."
----------------------------------------
I concentrated magic in my horn, focusing on my departure point in my home. I teleported back into my bedroom, looking for Brenda. I checked the alarm clock, noticing that only two hours had passed since I had left. Brenda had already left the house and I had no idea where she was.
"Xaviera, have you seen Brenda? Where is she?"
"She's gone to Indiana, she should be back tonight or tomorrow, Mike. Are you still in that pony's body?"
"Yeah, I'm going back to Ponyville. Don't wait up for me, I may be gone for quite a while. If Brenda asks, tell her I will be back before Monday ... I hope."
"Okay, whatever, Mike. Seeya later, or whenever."
I teleported back to Ponyville, returning to the spot I left in the Library.
"Okay, Trixie, I have a rough estimate of how much time passes between our two worlds. Seems as though six hours pass here for every one hour in my home world."
"I would be interested in seeing your home world, Michael -- I'll bet there's lots of interesting things to see and do there."
"It's not a very safe place for ponies, regardless of their ability to use magic," I stated flatly. "I've been pondering something, Trixie -- I haven't heard you refer to yourself in third person yet."
"Now why would I do that?" she chuckled. "You'd have to do something that either makes me extremely angry or extremely scared to get me to lapse into third person speech. I might have done that a long time ago as a joke, or perhaps as a way of getting attention, but I haven't done that in a long time, at least not that I can remember."
Twilight came downstairs to join us for breakfast. I noticed a few slight changes to the "voice box" I had given her. "Hey Twilight, looks like you've turned it into a necklace," I stated.
"I tinkered with it for awhile last night," she said through it. Trixie and I showed great surprise at what sounded almost like her normal voice, with almost no pauses between words.
"Wow! Sounds almost like your normal voice! What are those three knobs for on it?" I asked.
"They control volume, pitch, and resonance," she responded.
"What can you do with them?" I asked.
"Here, let me show you." She turned a couple of knobs all the way around and one down a little. She took a deep breath and set her feet. "HOW DARE THOU ADDRESS ME IN THAT FASHION!!"
Trixie and I stood in stunned silence at the similarity to Nightmare Moon's Royal Canterlot Voice, our mouths agape and eyes wide with surprise. "I wonder why she chose that as a test phrase. Something strange is going on here," I thought. "Wow! That sounds almost like Nightmare's Royal Canterlot Voice, it's just missing the sheer force of the sound waves. Other than that, very nice!" I exclaimed. Trixie nodded in approval. Twilight started chuckling, which sounded ominous through the device. She turned the knobs back into their normal position.
"I thought you might like that," she chuckled. "And thanks again for this wonderful gift, Michael!"
"No problem, Twilight. It makes me happy to know I've done at least something to try to make you happy. So how long have you two been together?"
"We've been here at the Library together for about six years," Trixie responded.
"We met each other in the Castle about 20 years ago," Twilight offered.
"We were in the Orphanage together, weren't we, Twilight?" Trixie grinned.
"So you've known each other since you were little foals then," I surmised. "Trixie, I'm still curious about your cutie mark. When I was in Twilight's body, I had that same cutie mark, except I had five white stars around the large one. You only have four stars around it."
"Those represent the Elements of Harmony, Michael. I am the Element of Magic, Fluttershy's the Element of Laughter, Applejack's the Element of Honesty, Diane's the Element of Loyalty, and Rainbow's the Element of Generosity."
"Who's the Element of Kindness?" I asked.
"Never heard of that Element," said Trixie. "Why do you ask that?"
"Where I came from, there are six Elements, not five. Is there a book in this Library giving some information about the Elements of Harmony?"
"Yes, let me get that for you," Twilight stated. She levitated a rather worn book from one of the shelves, its cover embossed with gold designs. The spine read "Equestrian History -- Elements of Harmony." She opened the book for me and I noticed something that shocked me -- the pages were blank with no writing on them.
"Isn't there supposed to be some writing or some illustrations in this book?" I asked quizzically.
"Yes it does, Michael. What's wrong?" Trixie asked.
"Um, what I see here is a book with blank pages, no writing or illustrations, that's why I asked."
"Don't be silly, Michael! I can read it plain as day!" Twilight exclaimed. She started reading from the book, as if to show me what she was reading. I saw her hoof moving down one page and onto another, but again, the pages were blank.
"Twilight, may I examine another book?"
"Sure, Michael, help yourself!" I selected a book at random, not paying attention to the title on the spine. I opened it up and noticed it had pages full of writing. I closed it and returned it to the shelf. I selected another book at random and noticed it too had full pages.
"I have a hunch about something, Twilight. Is there a newspaper archive around here?"
"We don't have a newspaper archive, Michael, we don't have room for that here. Why do you ask?"
"I know I shouldn't be reopening old wounds, but I have some suspicions about some things that are going on around here."
"I would be careful about trying to get answers to questions that are better left unasked, Michael. You might be stirring up a hornet's nest, and I wouldn't want anything sad to happen to you," said Trixie as she tried to stifle my curiosity.
"Are those pancakes ready? I'm hungry," I said, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah, how many do you want, Michael?" asked Trixie.
"Just two, please, and thanks again." Trixie put two of the hay pancakes on a plate for me and put syrup on them for me. I started nibbling on them, finding the taste quite interesting. "You know, I think pony taste buds have special receptors in them for hay or something," I chuckled. "These are quite good!"
"Glad you like them, Michael. Let me know if you want more," she grinned.
"What sort of food did you eat as a human, Michael?" asked Twilight.
"Lots of different things, but pizza is among my favorites. I kinda hate to disappoint you, but as a human, I ate quite a bit of meat. As a pony, of course, meat is forbidden."
The two of them glanced at each other nervously before returning their gaze to meet mine. An odd silence fell.
"Sorry about that. I want to check out a few things during what little daylight we're getting," I stated.
"Would you like either of us to join you?" Trixie asked.
"I think I might want to go by myself, but thanks for the offer. Thanks for breakfast as well, it was quite delicious."
"No problem, Michael," Trixie smiled. After I left, she whispered to Twilight, "You follow him at a safe distance -- don't let him see you. I want to know what he's up to." Twilight gestured with her fore-hooves to acknowledge her assignment and to ensure I wouldn't hear what she was saying.
I trotted from the Library towards Sweet Apple Acres to see whether or not the swindlers who had stolen the farm from Applejack were still there. As I made my way there, the sun lazily crept above the horizon, though the overcast sky kept the orb from being seen. A dull fog obscured vision somewhat, but I was able to find the old farm. The apples lay rotting on the ground, having fallen from the trees. The farmhouse was empty, the curtains blowing out the open windows as the wind kept up a steady pace. The front door was open, so I went in. I went from one room to another, finding the house in a bad state of disrepair. I went back out the front door to find Twilight standing in front of it.
"What are you doing, Michael?" she asked quizzically.
"I was wanting to see for myself what was going on here."
"Why did you come to THIS farmhouse? Applejack stays a bit further down the road."
"This place has been abandoned. I wonder if AJ would want her old place back."
"She can't get it back. We've talked to the Mayor and have pleaded before the Princess, but to no avail."
"Okay, then I'm off to the boutique. Rainbow said something about letting me meet up with her."
"Please allow me to come with you."
"Sure, Twilight. I was wondering why you left the Library -- I thought that was your job."
"We don't get many patrons any more. I get quite a bit of free time, so since you're new here, I decided I wanted to find out more about you. With this device you gave me, it gives me a new sense of freedom I haven't had in more than five years."
"I was wanting to know why you used a certain phrase to test the limits of the device," I mused.
"Oh, I just thought it would be cute to say something obnoxious, as if the Princess herself had gotten angry."
"Or could that possibly be something she screamed at you for getting ... too ... close ..." my words started to trail off as I saw her expression darken considerably, her face showing a great deal of anger.
"You'd better keep your suspicions to yourself, Michael. I would hate for anything sad to happen to you," she hissed through clenched teeth.
"Sorry, Twilight. I'll put that out of my mind right now. Didn't know I hit such a sore spot."
"Yeah, well, you'd better keep it that way."
We trotted in relative silence towards Carousel Boutique, which took about ten minutes or so. Diane flew overhead and landed nearby.
"Hey, Trixe, Twilight. What's up?"
"Hello, Diane, I'm actually Michael. The cutie mark is what differentiates me from the real Trixie."
"Oh, gotta pay closer attention to that. What'cha up to?"
"Paying Rainbow a visit. What are you up to?" I asked.
"I got bored. Just thought I'd fly around and see if there was something to do."
"How about getting rid of some of these clouds?" I asked, grinning.
"Not my job," she stated flatly.
"Okay, I guess," I muttered. "I think the lack of sunlight has gotten to everypony here," I thought.
Diane flew off again as silence returned. Twilight and I made it to the boutique a few minutes later and I knocked on the door. Rainbow answered.
"Hi, Trixie, Twilight. Come in, please," she stated almost too flatly.
"Uh, Rainbow, I'm Michael, not Trixie," I said. "Gonna have to get used to that," I thought.
"Oh, that's right. Come on in! What can I do for you?"
"I remember you asking me to stop by last night when we were at the party," I offered.
"Oh, yeah, that's right! Take a seat, make yourself comfortable."
"What's with the three circles as your cutie mark?" I asked.
"You should see my skills with a crossbow," she grinned. "Anything having to do with hitting a target, I'm very skilled at it."
"Might call you a dead-eye then," I joked. "So you're the fashionista here?"
"Well, I don't get many patrons, but I can fix up a pretty mean ensemble," Rainbow stated proudly.
"Out of curiosity, this used to be Rarity's place?"
"Don't wanna talk about it."
"Does this place have a basement?"
"Yeah, you wanna see it?"
"Sure, why not." Rainbow escorted me to the basement. Twilight remained seated and glowered at me.
"I just keep extra supplies down there, just odds and ends and other stuff I'm not using," she stated. We went downstairs and Rainbow lit up her horn to illuminate the basement. Just as Rainbow had stated, there were various objects, an old sewing machine, a table in the center of the room, a workbench and an artist's easel, a blank canvas on it.
"Going to take up painting?" I asked.
"Eventually, yes. Inspiration hasn't struck yet." We went back upstairs and chatted for awhile. Rainbow offered to make an outfit for me, but I politely declined her offer. I told her I didn't really plan on staying too much longer and Twilight glowered at me again when I said this. I was half expecting her to say something to Rainbow about this, but she remained silent, not even bothering to use her fore-hooves to sign something.
"I was told there's only about six or seven hours of sunlight every day -- that seems awfully depressing," I mused.
"Yeah, it gets me down too, but we have come to expect this, and we deal with it as best we can," Rainbow said flatly.
"I'm tempted to ask Princess Nightmare Moon to increase the amount of sunlight," I offered.
"You might wanna be careful about doing that, Mike, I would hate for anything sad to happen to you," she warned.
"Well, I guess we'd better be off. See you again some time," I said.
"See you later, Rainbow," Twilight said using her voice box. Rainbow did a double-take when she heard this.
"What? Twilight? You can talk again?" Rainbow asked in exasperation.
"Michael gave me this," she said, pointing at the small white box. "I can talk again through it. I used some magic to enhance it a little."
"Mike! I didn't know you were so talented! It's wonderful to hear her voice again!"
"Just a small token to help her," I said. "Seeya around, Rainbow. Twilight, I need to talk to the Princess."
"Call on Diane to help you, Michael. I'm headed back to the Library," she said and continued on her way, leaving me behind.
"Hey, Diane!" I shouted at the sky. "Hey! Diane!" I paused for a minute, checking the sky to see if I could see her flying around. I started to follow Twilight, periodically looking up. I thought I saw a pink blur, so I called her name again. She came down to meet me.
"Yeah, Mikey, what'cha want?" she asked, sounding rather annoyed at my calling her name.
"Where does the Princess stay?"
"She's in the castle in the Everfree," she responded flatly. "So ya wanna go there?"
"She did say something about wanting to talk to me last night," I stated optimistically.
"I can take ya there, but ya'd better be careful. The Princess can be rather temperamental, and even though she said she wanted ta talk t' ya, there are some things ya'd best not say. I would hate for anything sad ta happen t' ya."
"That's the fourth time I've heard that today," I mused. "Is that what happened to Rarity and Spike?"
"Yer on yer own, buddy. I ain't takin' ya now. Ya wanna talk t' her, ya betta get ta hoofin' it. Good luck makin' it thru th' Everfree!"
"Seeya around, Pinkie Pie!!" I shouted at her as she flew off. I saw her turn around in mid-air and change her vector, diving straight at me, an expression of pure rage coloring her features. Her shock of a dark pink mane looked almost like a mohawk as she screamed at me.
"I can't believe you called me that again after I told you three times not to!!"
I calculated speed and distance, and half a second before she attempted to make impact with me, her fore-hooves outstretched to knock me down, I teleported five feet to my left. She tumbled head over tail as she grasped at empty air where I had been standing. She made about eight somersaults on the ground in this fashion before coming to her hooves, dusting herself off and charging at me again. I used my magic to make about fifteen copies of myself, all illusory of course. I taunted her from each one of them, repeatedly calling her by her most hated name.
"Pinkie Pie! Pinkie Pie! Pinkie Pie! Pinkie Pie!" we all shouted in unison at her. She screamed in primal rage, vowing to kill me where I stood. I just laughed at her. By this point, a crowd of ponies had gathered to see what was going on. All they saw was multiple copies of Trixie facing off against a furious Pinkie Pie, who demanded I call her Diane! The scene was quite hilarious to me as I continued to laugh. The pink pegasus charged at each of my apparitions, each one disappearing as she slammed through it. I continued to create even more illusory copies of myself, approaching 50 copies.
"Tell me, Pinkie Pie, do you really want to kill me just because I call you that name?" I asked, still grinning.
"Yeah! I'm gonna kill ya until yer dead, ya hear me? DEAD!!" she screeched. She continued to fly through my illusions, amazing me with her speed. I decided I had had enough fun at this point and teleported directly into her path. I jumped up with my fore-hooves extended to grab her in a tight hug -- her impact knocked the wind out of me as we fell the the ground. Unfortunately, I was the one who landed on my back with her on top of me. Her face showed just how angry she really was. My expression was now one of sheer terror.
"Look, I'm sorry, Diane, I just --"
She didn't bother to answer, she let loose a flurry of punches to my face, bloodying my muzzle and blacking both my eyes, knocking a few teeth out and bruising me up rather badly. She continued to punch until somepony in the crowd pulled her off me. "Lemme get back ta her! I'm gonna kill her! Nopony calls me Pinkie Pie!" she shouted.
"You're not killing any pony today, Diane," came a female voice. "I still need to talk to her myself."
The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. I felt a warm sensation over my body, feeling tissues starting to mend themselves. Somepony was using healing magic on me and I was able to open my eyes. The sight of a large black Alicorn surprised me.
"Princess? Nightmare Moon?" I asked.
"I couldn't let her kill you, Michael. Doesn't matter if you chose to make her do so, but you and I have much to discuss."
She continued to heal me, my muscles and bones aching from the beating they had taken, but mending quickly under the dark Princess' strong magic. Shortly I was able to return to my hooves, standing somewhat shakily and unsteady until the rest of the healing was completed.
"Michael, what possessed you to call Diane by her most hated name?" asked the black Alicorn.
"I let loose a careless quip -- she was offering to take me to meet you, but I said something stupid and she then refused to take me, so I said goodbye to her and tacked her name onto the end. I guess I was trying to see just how serious she was about not being called Pi --"
"Even I don't call her that, Michael. She is quite fearsome and unpredictable. I wouldn't tempt fate again if I were you."
"What exactly were you wanting to talk to me about?"
"Let's head back to my castle, I don't want others eavesdropping on our conversation." She enveloped the two of us in her aura which glowed an indigo blue and teleported us to her castle.
"Why the Everfree? Why not Canterlot?" I asked. She glowered at me.
"This castle is mine. The other belongs to 'The Evil One' and nopony is allowed in that castle."
"Speaking of which, I was wanting to know why there are only five Elements of Harmony here," I mused.
"There have always been five Elements, Michael. What are you familiar with?" she asked, her expression showing puzzlement.
"The universe I'm familiar with has six Elements of Harmony. If I were in Twilight's body, my cutie mark would show six stars, whereas Trixie's in this universe has just five stars. That piqued my curiosity."
"It has always been that way, and will always be that way. Do not dwell on it overmuch, please."
"I was also wanting to know why we get only six or seven hours of daylight per day," I said, almost as a question.
"I am the Princess of the Night -- I want to make sure there is plenty of night-time to suit my needs. Since 'The Evil One' was the Ruler of the Sun, I punish her by allowing just a small amount of daylight. This is to remind her of her crime."
"Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, it is my considered opinion that the lack of adequate sunlight may be taking a serious toll on every pony. Why not increase it to ten hours per day?"
She scowled at me and growled, "I would be careful about asking for things my little ponies don't truly deserve." She softened her voice somewhat when she saw my shocked expression. "They must understand that they at one time sided with 'The Evil One' and that they too shall suffer punishment. They should be thankful they get ANY daylight!"
"Plant life suffers as a result of reduced daylight, your Majesty. That depresses the amount of available food. I have seen the ponies with gaunt faces, their bellies grumbling constantly due to their state of malnourishment ..."
"STAY THY TONGUE!" she shouted at me. "Do not try to instill within me feelings of guilt simply by acknowledging the petty peccadilloes of the pony populace!"
"I was just saying, your Majesty," I offered weakly.
"Do not presume to tell me how to do my job! I'm the Ruler here! Not you!"
"If I may change the subject, your Majesty, I was curious to see Rarity's diaries if you have them available."
She scowled at me again. "What business is it of yours what is contained in the diaries of a murderer?"
"I just wanted to satiate my curiosity," I stated flatly.
"You would do well to stifle that curiosity, lest you provoke a hostile reaction from me. I would hate for anything sad to happen to you."
"I was just saying, your Majesty, why not let me see them? I just wanted to ascertain the veracity of certain statements --"
"DOST THOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?" she asked, using her Royal Canterlot Voice. A rhetorical question, but one I chose to answer anyway.
"No, your Majesty, but I feel compelled to seek the truth --"
"YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!" she screeched. Her expression let me know I was pushing my luck a little too far.
"I apologize, your Majesty. I'm sure you have very good reasons to keep that information top secret. If you don't mind, I must take my leave. I bid you au revoir, Princess Nightmare Moon."
"I am not finished with you yet, Michael," she addressed me sternly. I lit my horn to cast my teleport spell. "Do not attempt to use magic in my presence, Michael, until I give you permission to leave. Don't make me break your horn off."
"What else is there you want to know, your Majesty?" I asked, trying to hide my anxiety.
"I give you fair warning, Michael. Do not attempt to continue your investigation, or I shall be forced to take very serious measures to squelch it. Do I make myself clear?"
"Clear as crystal, your Majesty. One other thing, though -- I noticed Applejack's old farm house had been abandoned, the farm as well. I was wondering if you might be willing to allow Applejack to return to her old apple farm, since the swindlers who stole it have let if fall into disrepair."
"I will see what I can do about that -- I will have a talk with Mayor Mare in Ponyville."
"Thank you for your kindness, Princess. May I leave now?"
"Yes, you may leave. Be careful, Michael."
"Au revoir, Princess," I stated, nearly exhaling a sigh of relief. I teleported from the Castle to my home on Earth. I felt compelled to get away from this sad universe, but also felt an obligation to help them out here.