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The Summoning4,151 words
A Brief Introduction to Magic2,038 words
Escape Attempt1,887 words
Showtime1,014 words
The Portrait1,719 words
Escape Attempt - Take Two2,053 words
Ponyville2,667 words
The Contingency Plan2,146 words
The Grand Galloping Gala3,263 words
Retribution (Revised)3,640 words
Epilogue: Part 1 - Awakening3,885 words
Epilogue: Part 2 - Aftermath1,656 words

Epilogue: Part 2 - Aftermath

Celestia sighed as she looked out over Canterlot. The city was beautiful at night, sparkling with the illumination of it's many hundreds of small lights.

This had not been what she’d expected. A development like this occurred once every few hundred years – and she had thought that Discord's return had cleared for the next few centuries. The best example of Gamblers Fallacy one could ever ask for, because then all of… this… happened.

“You are troubled, sister.”

The white Alicorn turned to Luna, giving her a weary look, before turning back to the city without replying. Her sister continued talking.

“Sister, neither of us saw this coming. You mustn’t regret the unavoidable.”

“But it was avoidable, Luna.” Celestia replied softly. “If we had just remembered.”

“Once again, dear Celestia, neither of us remembered.” Her sister attempted to console her. “It was so long ago. You can’t blame yourself for not remembering something that happened when we were fillies.”

“I can, and I will.” Celestia turned away from the balcony, and returned to the empty throne-room. “The human suffered so much, because we weren’t attentive enough. We should have been more watchful.”

“And that is in the past, Tia.” Luna’s voice had grown a hard edge. “You of all ponies should know that Alicorns shouldn’t dwell on the past. Now we must concern ourselves with the future – The human’s future.”

“The future is important – Very important.” Celestia’s voice had also acquired a hard edge. “And of course we should not dwell on the past… but neither should we simply shun it. Shunning the past is what caused so much that has happened – including this.”

“Some parts of the past need to be shunned.” Luna snapped. “Some very, specific, parts, sister.”

Celestia brought up one hoof, and ran it through her mane. She was getting a headache. Of all times for this to come out, why now? She had a tortured human recovering under the care of her private physician. This was not the time to argue over what happened to Luna.

“Luna, this is truly not the time to talk about this. We have a far more pressing matter, and what issues we have….” Celestia turned to look her sister in the eye. “…can be sorted out when we are not dealing with the future of a fellow sentient being.”

Luna’s glare - which had been becoming extremely heated – softened considerably, and she grimaced.

“You’re right, of course. There is a more pressing matter at hoof…” She looked away. “But believe me, dear sister, we will talk about this.”

Celestia nodded. “I promise, dear sister. We will.”

She turned back to the balcony once more, suddenly feeling an insatiable desire to go out and stand in the night air once more.

“We need to make sure everything is seen to. Accommodation, food, all the necessities and as many luxuries as we can provide. We need to set this right, Luna. Trixie must face justice, and the human must be made well.”

“Of course.” Luna joined her sister, and they both looked out over the rather restricted view of Canterlot that standing inside provided. “I am sure Twilight Sparkle will be able to watch over the human until we can get everything in order.”

“I’m sure she can.”

The ruler of the night nodded, and then turned to her sister yet again. “You should rest, Tia. You are of no use to the kingdom if you are unwell.”

Now it was Celestia’s turn to reply with a solemn; “Of course.”, as she turned towards the large double doors of the throne room.

“I will tell Twilight to be as un-invasive as possible, and to give the human space to recover.” She spoke quietly, almost as if it was an afterthought.

Luna watched as her sister walked away. The discovery had shaken them both – and Cadance even more so. The young princess had not left her chambers since the day of the Gala, and her husband had been evasive in his reports of her condition – which was excusable, for now.

The Princess of the Night walked out onto the balcony, taking the place formerly occupied by her sister.

“Sleep, Celestia.” She mumbled sadly. “All will be well. One must simply have a little faith in the goodness of others.”

***

I am seated on my balcony, savouring the cool night air as I look out over the shimmering lights of Canterlot.

Twilight sits next to me. Unlike me, her eyes are not absorbing the wonders of the city. They rest solely on me. Needless to say, it’s slightly disconcerting.

I’m not sure why she’s watching me. Does she think I’ll just stand up and jump over the edge? Because I’m honestly past that now. Now I just want to put this behind me – which will be a difficult task in itself.

I feel a mixture of happiness and guilt at the moment. I’m sitting here, in Canterlot, with the Twilight Sparkle right next to me. I am seriously living out the dream of every Brony in existence.

But that’s also why I feel so terrible. Twilight is sitting next to me, creating the most awkward silence I have ever endured.

It’s my fault, of course. I’ve been so tight-lipped. I haven’t said my name, or my age, or spoken a word about anything except my imprisonment under Trixie.

I suppose you’re wondering why. Honestly, it’s because I’m afraid. I don’t know what’s safe to say, and what isn’t safe to say.

What I definitely don’t want to do is tell them that My Little Pony exists as a show. I’m also worried about saying anything about earth. The consequences could be… severe…

The biggest issue is that I only have one shot at this. If I fuck up, I could ruin everything. I’m not exactly sure how, but I’m sure I’d find a way. Honestly, I have no clue how telling the mare my name could be bad, but for now I’m just going to keep my trap shut until I’ve had some time alone to think.

Twilight coughs quietly. I have no clue if she’s trying to get my attention, but she gets it anyway.

I turn to look at her – and she in turn quickly looks away. All of this is clearly uncomfortable for her. Twilight has so many questions that I know she’s dying to ask. To her credit, she’s showing incredible self-restraint.

“Twilight, I know you have a lot of questions.” I stand up slowly, grasping my walking-stick. It didn’t take long to get one, and now that I have it, I can walk around – no matter how painful such an action is. “And I know you’ve been told not to ask them.”

“Right.” Twilight’s voice is surprised. To her it seems like I’ve just made an amazing guess.

“Well, when I’ve had some time, feel free to ask them. Trust me, I have a lot to tell you… just not right now.” I turn back to the double-doors that lead into my hospital room.

“I under-” The confused lavender mare attempts to speak again, but I cut her off
.

“But hold onto that curiosity, please. If you hadn’t followed up on your curiosity, Trixie would have put me down by now, and be off scot-free.” I grimace as Twilight opens the door for me.

“Thanks.” Am I thanking her for the door, or for freeing me? No, just the door. A simple thanks isn’t enough to show my appreciation for being set free.

We re-enter the hospital room, and I hobble back to my bed, letting out a little groan as I sink into the mattress.

We both fall into silence once more, and I smile ever so slightly.

“You can talk now. I won’t interrupt again.”

Twilight raises an eyebrow. My odd mixture of forwardness and secretiveness has her perplexed.

“I have to say, I’m very confused. Are all humans like you?”

“No.” I chuckle half-heartedly. “Humans have very varied personalities. Let me rest, and then I’ll be able to tell you a bit more.”

Twilight perks up, gaining more interest at the promise of information.

We say our goodnights, and she finally leaves me alone with my thoughts.

I sigh and roll over, slowly working my way under the sheets. I’m sure I can tell Twilight a little about human society, as long as it isn’t related to the show.

I wonder what will happen now. What’s going to happen to Trixie? What will happen to me?

Then again, I suppose for now I can just be happy that for the first time in almost a month, I have control over my own life.

For now, anything aside from that is secondary.

I haven’t been awake for that long - Six hours, at the most – and yet I already feel tired. Everything takes a lot more effort while I’m still suffering from this stab wound.

It’s ironic. Now that I can do things other than just sleep and play the piano, all I want to do is sleep. I can’t wait until that stops. I have so much to do here. So very much.

My slight smile remains fixed on my face as a nestle down into my blankets. Unbelievably, I’m already struggling to keep my eyes open.

Equestria. It’s real. It’s here. I’m here.

Getting here was difficult, and extremely painful, but I’m here. And I’m going to try and make the best of it. After all, this is what I always wanted.

Well… that, and a grand piano.

Author's Note:

Well, there we have it. The Piano Man is over. I don't really have much to add, aside from a heartfelt thanks to all 800 of my regular readers, for doing what you guys do best. (Reading)

So with that in mind, I present to you... The sequel.
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Piano Man: Act II.

I have some extra thoughts to add here, which are being added along with the August 19th revisions.
I have to say, I am extremely pleased with the popularity of The Piano Man and its sequel. Compared to many stories on the site, it is still relatively small and unnoticed. However, when compared with the plethora of other Human in Equestria stories, it is much more substantial.

I myself am quite happy with the view count, and the number of favourites. (Although that’s the favourite number for The Piano Man: Act II.)
What makes me even happier, is that my story is original. I could have produced another of the dozens – possibly hundreds - of generic HiE stories that involved a Brony or a human randomly finding their way into Equestria. Instead, I came up with this piece of grim Trixie-bashing literature.

I’m not going to claim that I’m better than other authors, because I’m not. I never will be. Such a notion is absurd. I can never claim to be a better writer than those around me. Ever.
What I’m happy about, is that no matter what you say, I believe this story to be original. Despite the times that I have used a little too much artistic license, or the plot points that seem a little too improbable, I managed to create 30,000 words that I have never found anywhere else.
And this makes me happy.

So, to all of my readers, I would like to humbly thank you for reading my story, and making me feel like maybe – just maybe – I’m not wasting time that could be better spent doing something far more productive. :p

(As there will most likely be another round of revisions following this current one, there will most likely be a third part added to my closing thoughts. I’m not sure why I’m noting this, but I just am.)

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