//------------------------------//
// Chapter 33 
// Story: A New Beginning in a New Land 
// by REDACTED99999 
//------------------------------//

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck.”
Jax was laying in his giant bed. Alone. 
He already missed Luna like crazy. The feeling of not having her in his proximity was… disturbing. Like she belonged there beside him, and because she wasn’t, the world was… wrong. Out of place. Misaligned.
It wasn’t like the deep panic that his addiction had caused, it was more like… the thought that she wasn’t there next to him kept nagging him in the back of his mind, calling for attention, no matter what he tried to think about. It was driving him a little crazy.
He looked over at the open bathroom door. He had masturbated a couple of minutes ago. He had planned to use some random human girl as inspiration, yet all he could think about was Luna. So, he had just kind of gone with it, and imagined that the scenario from his dream - the one where the real Luna had come and had ended up almost kissing him - had gone a little bit further. Not even much further, the thought of them kissing had been enough. Well it had been a couple of weeks since last time, so he wasn’t exactly surprised it took so little.
So, it was time to admit it. He found ponies, Luna in particular, attractive.
It wasn’t beastality when they were sapient… right?
No, of course not. They weren’t animals.
They looked like animals though.
Whatever. Whether it was or not didn’t really matter. It was too late. He was already in love with one of them.
It was kind of obvious to him now that he had time to think it through. He was crazily in love with Luna. He wanted her so much that he didn’t care she was a different species. She was cute, cuddly, and it felt really good to have her near. He wanted her so much it hurt.
It hurt extra much because she had left without even saying goodbye. She had talked to all the others, but when it was his turn she had just… What did it mean?
For the first time since he came to Equestria, his heart hurt more than his body.
“Fuuuuuuuuuuck.”
He took off the rest of his clothes, and made himself comfortable under the blankets. As comfortable as he could without her anyway.

***

“Tiiiiiiaaaaaaa!”
Celestia looked up in surprise from the book she was reading on the sofa, at her sister running into her room, sounding almost desperate.
“Luna? If you had sent a letter ahead, I would have waited at the - what are you doing?”
Luna was resting her forehead on her flank. “I need to use your giant flank as a wall.” She said, closing her eyes.
“Luna… First of all, my flank isn’t giant. It is perfectly proportioned to the rest of my body.-“
“pfff.”
“-Second of all, why don’t you use a wall as a wall?”
“Tia, have you ever used a wall as a wall?” She seriously asked.
“Of course. I use walls as walls all the time. They keep the wind and cold out.” Celestia was actually having a little fun with the weird conversation.
“The horn, Tia. If I were to use a wall, I would leave a hole in it, letting in the wind and cold. So I need to use your perfectly proportioned flank instead.”
Celestia started laughing. “Oh sister. That is not the only reason you’re here though, is it? Did your time in Ponyville not meet your expectations?”
“My time in Ponyville was almost perfect, better than I could ever have hoped for. It was amazing, sister.”
“Then why are you using my flank as an excuse to come talk with me?”
“It’s big-“
“Luna…!” Celestia didn’t want to threaten her sister, but if she continued talking like that about her flank, bad things would happen.
“It’s perfectly proportioned, soft, and warm.” 
“It’s a little awkward though. Can’t you hug me instead?”
“No.” Luna deadpanned.
Celestia laughed again. “It’s been a while since we had a conversation like this. It’s almost enough to forgive you for not sending me any letters from Ponyville.”
“You did not send me any letters either, Tia.”
“Ah. Yes. I’m sure we were both busy.” Maybe that had been a bit hypocritical.
She felt Luna shift around into a new position. “Luna… you’re crushing me.” That position was to lay herself on top of Celestia.
“If this is all it takes to crush you, dear sister, then I am surprised you have survived this long.” Apparently Luna wasn’t going to get to the point just yet. With a sigh she took Luna in her telekinesis and made her way over to the bed. She had expected Luna would protest, but she just let herself be levitated without offering any resistance. Something was definitely wrong. Though she had enjoyed the conversation, and the weird comments Luna had come with, she felt worried about her dear sister. If everything in Ponyville had gone so well, why didn’t she act or sound happy?
She laid herself down on the bed, with her legs in the air, then she slowly levitated Luna on top of her. If she was going to be crushed, at least she could crush her back in a sisterly hug.
“Tia, you are crushing me!”
“If this is all it take to crush you…” She teased her little sister, before easing the hug into something gentler. “Now tell me Luna… What’s wrong?”
Luna laid silently on top of her for a while. Celestia didn’t rush her since they had time.
“I am in love with Jax.” She said with a certainty that surprised Celestia. It was like she had said that the sky was blue, or that fire was hot. After such a short time together, Celestia had expected a crush maybe, shyly uttered between blushes. It sounded like Luna was ready elope with him.
“I am in love with Jax, yet I did something cruel to him…” Her voice wavered as emotion filled it.
“Tell me everything.” Celestia urged, a bit worried about how this was evolving.
“Alright sister. Am I correct to assume that Twilight has been updating you?”
Celestia nodded. Twilight had written to her about most, if not all, of what had happened with the human known as Jax.
“Then you know that we have been pretty close the past couple of weeks. It has been so much fun, Tia. He is very relaxing to be around, very funny as well, most of the time. In any case, before I left today, we enjoyed the rest of the time we had together with various activities around town and in the shower.“
“Luna!” Celestia made her way out from under her sister. “I did not need that image in my head. What you do in the shower is none of my business.”
Luna gave her an amused smile from beside her. “Well somepony has a dirty mind. All we did was sing, my dear sister. If we were already having the kind of relationship you are insinuating, I would not have my current problem.”
Celestia was trying to clear her mind of unwanted images. She drew in a deep breath. “Alright, continue.” 
Luna continued to look at her for a couple of seconds, before she turned on her back and looked at the ceiling. “Well, throughout the day, I got a bit… courageous. I wanted to show him how much I cared for him. So… I planned to kiss him on the cheek as a goodbye.” She smiled bashfully and hid behind her hooves. Celestia couldn’t help but smile at the display of shyness.
“It was a safe bet. On the mouth would have been risky, but on the cheek… that could mean anything.” Luna continued. “In some cultures it is even a normal occurrence to kiss on the cheek when greeted. So, he couldn’t really react too badly. It was a perfect plan, I thought.” Her smile quickly fell. “But as the day went by, I got more and more nervous. Doubts started to cloud my mind. ‘What if he is not comfortable with another species kissing him? He did mention once that humans were the only sapient beings on his planet’. ‘What if he will be disgusted by the gesture?’ What if’s kept running through my mind, until I was convinced that it would be safer to just not do it. Then I was tackled by Pinkie in a goodbye-hug.” A small smile graced her lips before the serious expression returned. They laid in silence for a while before Luna continued again. “I was fine with giving up. ‘It was stupid anyway’ I thought. But then Beating Heart came to say goodbye. She told me that we would make a cute couple.” Luna smiled happily. “And suddenly I wanted to do it again. I wanted it so badly sister… I made a plan. I would charge my horn for the teleport spell, kiss him on the cheek, then teleport away before I could see his reaction.”
Celestia had listened patiently to her sister. She could see where this was going, and got ready to hug her sister when she needed. She hadn’t expected the tears that threatened to fall at any point though.
“But when he said my name, everything inside of me just froze.” Luna admitted. “I just… I could barely turn towards him. He was looking at me with so much sadness, and everything just got scrambled. My thoughts… the plan… I did not want to leave him Tia, I wanted to stay with him, continue to have fun each day, but at the same time I knew…” Celestia watched as her sister struggled to say the words, taking a couple of deep breaths. Her voice was breaking as the tears left her eyes and made a path through her fur.  “I knew that I could not. I am a princess of Equestria. I cannot just drop everything on you and leave. I realized that the time I had spent with Jax could never repeat itself. I could never have it again.” More tears made their way down Luna’s muzzle as the alicorn struggled to gain control of her feelings again. “I could not say goodbye to him. I could not think properly, all I knew was that I could not… before I knew what had happened, I had teleported away.” 
She stopped as she started sobbing, and Celestia finally felt like she was ready to be comforted. She pulled Luna close, with both her wings and hooves. “Oh little sister.” She considered how she should relay her thoughts on the matter, and decided on a direct, albeit gentle manner. “Of course you can’t have it. It’s in the past.” Her sister sounded like she was going to say something, but Celestia quickly continued. “That doesn’t mean that the future won’t give you something similar. He’s still in Equestria, he’s still your friend. I’m sure if you apologize for leaving without saying goodbye, he will forgive you.”
Luna cried on Celestia for a long while, before she looked up at her. “Really?” She dried her tears with a hoof. “I mean... logically, I know he will, but my emotions run wild every time I try imagining actually doing it. I keep seeing his rejection and I just..." She abruptedly stood up "It was good talking to you sister, but I have duties to attend to.”
“Wait, Lulu… stay for a bit? Maybe we can talk about all the amazing things you and Jax did?” Celestia hurried to ask before her sister left again. “I missed you. Please… let’s just talk for a bit.”
Luna looked a bit surprised at the request but in the end she nodded. “I missed you too, Tia. Alright, I guess my duties have waited this long… they can wait a bit longer.” It felt a little opposite. Normally it was Celestia that postponed her duties to talk with her sister, not the other way around. Celestia didn’t mind though. She hadn’t seen her sister for over a month. She needed this.

***

Jax threw his blanket angrily at the wall for being too little like Luna. It was stupid, he knew that, but he couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t fall asleep and the stupid blanket did a terrible job of wrapping its none-existing wings over him. He had spent two hours just lying there. It was night, but clouds covered the stars, so he couldn’t even go out to stargaze. Maybe he should ask Rainbow to move them.
He snorted. Maybe he should get a Luna shaped plush. Wonder how much that would cost… He didn’t have any bits. If he couldn’t get his pen idea to work, he would have to get a job. He had food for a few days, he would have to figure something out before then. He knew Twilight would give him money if he asked, but he seriously didn’t want that. Enough was enough.
He hoped he could make the pen. He looked down at his hand. He just had to figure out how the chaos magic worked. Maybe he should spend a day with Pinkie or something. He would either go crazy or understand all of life’s mysteries, he wagered. It was worth a shot.
He sighed and went over to get his blanket, throwing it at the bed, then wrapping himself in it like a tortilla, making sure that the bottom was closed. He wiggled around, pretending to be a snake for a while. Maybe he should get a pet. A dog or something he could snuggle with when Luna wasn’t there. He would have to visit Fluttershy for that.
The frustration gone for the moment, he found himself in a restless sleep. He kept waking up every few hours.
Still - he had had worse rests.
***
The next day he was woken, once again, by a knock on the door. He groggily put on some pants before going over and opening the door.
“Heya there, neighbor!” No surprise there. He looked over at the sunrise, then back at Applejack, who went on oblivious to how cruel she was being. “I heard ya signed up for the running of the leaves! Since it’s in two days, Ah thought we could go running together? Ya know, to prepare.”
“That… actually sounds like a good idea. Fuck, already in two days? I’ve really spaced out… should have prepared a long time ago.” He had only known about it for a few days and he had been busy. He thought for a few seconds. “Hold on, let me check if I have a water bottle here somewhere.”
“Ah packed one for ya as well. Come on partner, stretch out and let’s go. Nothing like running through the orchard, with the sunrise in front of ya!”
“Alright, if you say so.” He quickly tried some stretches he remembered from gym classes. He wasn’t really used to stretching so, he rushed through it. It was kind of nice to hear the ‘pop’s it resulted in though.
They started running. He quickly noticed that his slow jog was annoying Applejack, but she didn’t say anything, and he wasn’t going to speed up when he was this out of form.
Running at sunrise really was a worthwhile experience. He liked the deep red color that slowly spread over the horizon, coloring the clouds and sky.
To keep his mind away from the absence of a certain blue alicorn, he decided to have a conversation with Applejack. “So… Applejack. How’s life treating ya?”
“Oh, ya know, Ah can’t complain. Sweet Apple Acres is doing well, Mah family is healthy.” She chuckled a bit. “The only thing Ah could hope for is for Apple Bloom to get her Cutie Mark.”
“That’s good to hear. Oh, actually I had a question for you. Do you sell your apples to the hospital, or do they get them from a different place? They didn’t taste as good as your normal apples.”
Applejack chuckled again. “The entire town buys apples from Sweet Apple Acres. The hospital is special though. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘An apple a day, keeps the doctor away?’”
He nodded.
“Well, it was my grandfather that started saying it. He was a doctor himself, and he studied apples to cure different diseases. He bred a special brand of apples that don’t taste as good as our usual apples, but are healthier. The hospital’s been buying them for ages.”
“That explains it *pant* then.” He said, already a bit strained by the run.
“Well, anyhow, Ah actually wanted ta tell ya something.” She kept running for a bit, before continuing. “You haven’t hurt anypony, not intentionally anyhow. Even when ponies are afraid, Ah see you smile kindly to everypony, when you have all the reason in the world to be offended. Ah realize that it must actually be harder for you than all that, but at least ya had Luna there. What Ah’m trying to say is… if you ever feel alone, just remember that me and my family are right next door. If you want to have dinner with us instead of eating by yourself, you’re always welcome.”
Again and again, ponies have shown him incredible kindness, yet he was surprised every time it happened. Maybe he would never get used to it. He was so touched by Applejack’s gesture, he almost tripped. “Thanks Applejack, that’s kind of you.” He smiled at her, while they kept running.
“Think nothin’ of it, sugarcube.” She simply said, as if she hadn’t just said something he needed to hear.
He thought very highly of it.

***

After a much needed shower and realizing he didn’t have a washing machine, Jax put on some new clothes. He had to figure out how to wash his clothes the old fashion way, but that would have to wait… actually, he only had three pairs of clothing, he should probably do it right away. On the other hand… he should ask Rarity if he should wash them in any kind of special way. Especially the one adorned with emeralds.
So, he needed to visit Fluttershy for a pet, Pinkie for his own project, and Rarity for his clothes. Maybe he should put off Pinkie to the next day, so he could really get deep in the craziness. So Fluttershy and Rarity.
He looked longingly at his bed, before making his way out, limping a bit on his right leg. He didn’t sleep very well anyway, and doing something would keep his mind off blue alicorns.

***

There was a bear outside Fluttershy’s cottage. Jax looked at it for a bit. It laid beside the path, near the door. It looked back at him. A memory resurfaced of his time in the Everfree… It couldn’t be the same bear. Could it?
Jax had no idea how to react. They just kind of looked at each other for a while, until the bear raised its head and made some bear sounds. It didn’t sound very threatening, but he seriously missed his stick of awesome at that point. He hadn’t given it much thought lately… It was somewhere in his house, brought by Twilight along with his clothes and book.
The sound did seem to attract Fluttershy though. “Mr. Bear, is something wrong?” She spotted Jax. “Oh, hello there Jax. I hope Mr. Bear didn’t scare you or anything.”
Wait, Mr. Bear?
“No, no. Just a bit surprised. Say, Fluttershy, forgive my bad memory, but didn’t Mr. Bear have something to do with saving my life? He carried me here or something?”
“Oh, yes, without him you probably have died in the Everfree. It was a good thing that he came by when he did.” She sounded horrified at the thought of him dying out there.
“And here I haven’t even thanked him…” He said thoughtfully, mostly to himself. The bear, unlike all the ponies around, was actually dangerous… but it had helped Fluttershy save his life.
“Oh, I’m sure he would be very happy to be thanked.” Fluttershy told him excitedly. Yep, he would have to do it.
He approached the bear slowly, as to not surprise it, making himself as small as possible as to not be seen as a threat. When he was close enough to touch it if he wanted, he stopped. He kept his hands visible at all times. He may have faced countless timberwolves, but there was a difference between charging at a pack with weapon drawn, and approaching a bear completely defenseless. Logically he knew that Fluttershy wouldn’t allow him to be eaten, but his instincts told him to run.
“Hello there, Mr. Bear. My name is Jax.”
A soft roar sounded from the bear. Well it wasn’t really a roar, more like a friendly growl.
“I hear that you helped saved my life.” He continued.
The Bear roared/growled softly, in something he could only take as confirmation.
“Well, I believe that a ‘thank you’ is long overdue then.” Maybe it was because it hadn’t eaten him yet, or that it looked kind of cute, laying there making soft growls, but he put a hand on its head. “Thank you.”
That got a different reaction out of him than Jax had thought. He growled happily and then flopped onto his back. Jax couldn’t help but laugh-snort. “You want a belly rub, big guy? Well you earned it!” The fear completely gone at the doggish display of the bear, he started scratching its belly. It had rather thick fur, he noticed. The bear seemed to like it anyway, letting its tongue hang out. He really was kind of adorable once you gave him a chance.
“Oh… my. Jax?”
“Yes?”
“Would you be interested in adopting a pet?”
Jax instantly stopped and looked at her. “Fluttershy, I can’t afford to feed a bear. I don’t have any bits.
“Oh, that won’t be a problem. Mr. Bear doesn’t need an owner the same way my other little friends do. He goes in and out of the Everfree without any problems, and can take care of himself. Actually, I believe that he will bring you fish if you treat him well. What Mr. Bear really needs is a friend. I’ve taken care of him since he was a cub, but nopony else seems interested in even going near him.” She looked thoughtful for a second. “Actually, I think that’s the first time I’ve seen him being so open with anypony except me.” She smiled sweetly at him. “Please? It would make me really happy.”
He had never heard Fluttershy be so insistent. Ah well. “I actually did come here to get a pet so... Alright, but can he sleep in the bed with me without crushing me?”
Fluttershy giggled. “I don’t think that will be a problem. Oh I’m so happy I could scream!” She gave a cute little squeal, which no doubt counted as a scream for the pink manned pegasus.
“Hey Fluttershy, what’s taking so long?” Rainbow Dash came out from the small cottage. “Oh, hey Jax.”
“Oh, Rainbow Dash, I’m sorry it took so long, but something amazing has happened. Jax has decided to adopt Mr. Bear.” She gave Rainbow an excited hug.
Rainbow looked kind of stunned from her, to Jax, to the bear, before smiling herself. “That’s great.”
Jax pretended to look at the bear, while actually keeping an eye on the pegasi. That’s why he noticed Rainbow kind of giving in to the hug, even nuzzling Fluttershy a bit. It gave him an idea.
“Anyway, I’m sure you want to tell him all about how to take care of a bear, so I’m off. See you both later!” 
“Rainbow, wait.” Jax said before she could dash out of there. Rainbow stopped and looked at him. “I don’t know how the weather will be on Monday, but if it’s a cloudy night, will you be able to clear it? Consider it a personal favor.”
“In four days, huh? Alright, I’ll take care of it, but don’t make a habit of it.” She winked and sped away.
“Thanks!” he called after her.
She didn’t even ask why. Rainbow was a real pal.
“So… want to come in for some tea? I can tell you all about Mr. Bear.”
“Yeah, sure. I want to ask you something as well. Wait, actually.”
He didn’t know the level of sapience in animals here, but they seemed smarter than normal, even if they still couldn’t talk. So, he bent down and looked Mr. Bear in the eyes. “Are you okay with this? Do you want to get adopted by me?”
“Rawr!” he rawred, before licking Jax across the face.
“Alright then.” He dried his face with a sleeve. “Wait here while I talk with Fluttershy, then I can show you your new home.”
More exited bear sounds, mixed with Fluttershy’s giggles.
They went inside, and Fluttershy made tea for them. It was herbal, not Jax’ favorite blend, so he used quite a lot of sugar.
“Can I ask you something before we begin?” Jax asked.
“Oh, of course.” Fluttershy answered happily.
“What do you think about Rainbow Dash?”
“Rainbow Dash?” Jax nodded. “Oh… she’s… cool” Fluttershy blushed, but went on. “Even though she’s always been popular, she still takes care of me, even though I can barely fly. She’s the sweetest mare I know….”
Jax had another idea. “Ah yes. She is quite sweet isn’t she? Did you see how she agreed to help me on the spot?”
“Oh yes, that was very nice of her. You can always count on Rainbow Dash to help you.” Fluttershy seemed to come out of her shell a bit, warming up to the topic. “Even before you came, she said that she would only participate in the running of the leaves if I did… and she promised to run beside me the whole time, no matter how slow I was.” She gave a happy little squeal. It was absolutely adorable.
“Yeah, Rainbow is great isn’t she? And that body?”
“Oh yes, you can see she takes care of herself. Really fit and-“ Fluttershy’s eyes suddenly became really small, as she realized what she was saying. “I- I mean… eep.” She kind of folded in on herself, and started shaking a little.
Jax smiled knowingly. “I know what you mean. You love her, don’t you?” 
“I-I… No. Yes… I mean… Please don’t tell her.” She whispered before she hid her muzzle under her hooves.
He suspected that Rainbow Dash was smitten by Fluttershy, even if she didn’t want to admit it, and now he knew Fluttershy felt the same way. 
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” He was just going to help them get together. That would count as doing something for both of them, and they were both pretty high on the list of ponies he wanted to do something for. Especially Fluttershy, for saving his life, taking him back to Ponyville, and encouraging him to go to his own ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party.
“You- you won’t?” Why did she sound surprised?
“I promise. But why don’t you?”
She looked up from under her hooves. “Rainbow Dash is… amazing. She would never want to be with somepony like me.” Her ears folded, and she looked really sad.
“Ohh… I don’t know about that. You’re pretty amazing yourself.”
She gave him a small smile. “Thank you, Jax. You’re very nice. Uhm… the things you said about Rainbow… you’re not…?”
Jax looked at her, before he realized what she was asking. “Oh! No, I was just trying to get you comfortable talking about her. I’m in love with someone else.” Someone who wasn’t here. His smile turned a little sad at that.
Fluttershy actually looked relieved. “Oh… good… Is it Princess Luna?”
He nodded, avoiding eye-contact. It was embarrassing admitting it out loud. He understood a bit better now, why Fluttershy had hid behind her hooves.
They sat in silence for a while. “So… Mr. Bear?” He tried.
Fluttershy jumped at the sound of his voice, before smiling happily at him. “Well, as I said, Mr. Bear can feed himself, and he spends a lot of time in the Everfree or other places, sometimes even days at a time. What you need to do is play with him when he’s there. Oh, and he’s a big sweetheart, so he loves to cuddle….”

***

Luna looked at herself in the mirror. “Listen, Luna.” She told herself, mimicking Jax’ voice. “This is going to sound mean, but I think you need to hear it.” She took a deep breath, getting ready for the harsh news she was giving herself. “Nopony is interested in night court.” She flinched slightly at her own words. It still hurt. “Right now, anyway.” She quickly continued. “So… you will have to make some changes… until ponies are ready.”
She looked at her herself for some time, before nodding. It was the wise thing to do. Taking on her own voice, she continued “Night court will be open for two hours after day court has ended, for all those that did not get to plead their case to Celestia. After that it is by appointment only.” 
If ponies did not want to come to her court, she was not going to force them, but this way she was not forced to stay in the throne room. There were other things she needed to do. She really needed to look properly at the law. She had gone through a couple of the most important law books since her return, but she needed to really get hooves deep. There were some things that she remembered bothered her, and she thought that maybe it was time to revise them with the help of some lawyers. After all, it was legal to hit another pony with a book if they showed extreme ignorance to a subject of which they spoke a lot about… On second thought, that sounded like a good law. She wondered if she could use it as an excuse to trot around, slapping nobles with books. That would be glorious day for all… except the nobles of course.
She looked around the empty room. Her room. It would certainly help her forget how alone she was now. She missed Jax. It felt almost like a physical pain in her heart - she did not even know that that was possible. She wanted to rush back to Ponyville and hug him, asking for his forgiveness for leaving him on the train station. She should have gone ahead with her plan.
Regret was not an alien feeling for her.
She went over to her desk, writing a short note to him. She would start the path to forgiveness with it. She sent it to him with a burst of green fire from her horn. Spike’s gift had really been amazing.

***

Jax was dropped out of Rarity’s shop with a new backpack, designed and made by Rarity, and filled with different kinds of soaps for the clothes, different kinds of tea, three new sets of clothes, and some food recipes. Rarity would make a great grandma.
“I’m paying you back for all of this someday!” He shouted through the closed door.
“Whatever you say darling!” Came the muffled answer.
After having walked home with Mr. Bear, he had come to ask Rarity about the clothes. He got his answers and more.
He looked up at the night sky and felt it like a slap to the face. “Luna…” He could feel the tears beginning to form, but quickly shook his head. Not here.
He made his way home as fast as he could, looking down the way. He opened his door and almost threw his new bag at the giant bear that lay in there, before he remembered that it was his pet bear. He had a pet bear. That was pretty cool.
Fluttershy said that Mr. Bear liked to cuddle, so he went over to him and gave him a hug. He didn’t smell as badly as Jax would have thought, just kinda forest…y.
Mr. Bear made confused bear sounds, before wrapping him in a hug. Yep, animal sapience was definitely up to debate.
He couldn’t hold it in anymore. The tears started flowing out of his eyes, and suddenly he couldn’t help but think about everything. Luna, Max and Liza… Mom… his little brother Jake… It all just came crashing down at him, leaving him a sniveling mess against a giant confused bear, that did his best to comfort him. He had never been happier to have a pet than that time.
After an undefined amount of time, he finally got a hold of himself. Things had just been so eventful since he had met ponies, he could easily forget his troubles. He would have to patch things up with Luna and start writing to her again. She meant too much to him, for him to keep being offended and hurt at what she had done.
“’s not like she set me on fire.” He whispered, the ghost of a smile finally finding its way to his lips after such a long time.
“Rawr?” Mr. Bear asked.
“I’ll be fine. Thank you for the hug. It was nice and warm.” Wasn’t a lie either. Mr. Bear had thick fur.
“Rawr.” It nodded.
He looked at the mess he had left behind on poor Mr. Bear’s fur. He quickly got up and fetched some paper, doing his best to clean it.
On his way over to throw out the paper, he noticed a scroll next to his jar of dragonfire.
He almost stumbled in his rush to get over to it. Luna had written something!
A more honest smile this time as he read it.


Watch the skies on Moonday.


It wasn’t an explanation, but it was something. 
Good thing he had made arrangements with Rainbow already. He had hoped that something would happen that day.