To Find Equilibrium

by Slywolf930

Royalty

Chapter 4- Royalty

The real story begins now.
Updated writing style, hope it doesn’t throw you guys off. I’ll try to update the first chapters when I have time, but that could take a while.
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Synth woke up with cold sweat running down his entire face. It was too much for him, and he threw up in a nearby trash can. This was the third time in two days, each time it got worse. The first time, he found himself in a room watching as Shade tortured his friends one at a time and Synth couldn’t move to help them. He awoke that night finding he wet the bed, shame and fear took over him and he couldn’t get back to sleep. He spent the day falling asleep in random places at random times, and locals were giving him weird looks.

Earlier this night, he woke up from a dream where he was physically hurting his friends and enjoying it all the same. Then, he woke up and threw out his dinner onto the floor. Now he was prepared for it. He managed to get to sleep after holding his head for a good few minutes. His dream continued from where it left off, but now they managed to overpower him. He looked up in their eyes as he realized he could now control his body.

He tried to apologize, but they just looked at him with hate and anger. They joined together and they used the elements on him as his eyes shed tears. When the light hit him, he could hear their words. “We will never forgive you…”
His body twitched as he lay bent over, head in the trash can. He was trying to calm himself down, but he couldn’t stop shaking. He held his head as the headache came on. “I need to…tell someone…But who can I tell?” Synth remembered Luna’s words as he crawled into his bed as the weariness overcame him. He would have to live through this until Luna had a chance to listen to his story… He shut his eyes to prepare himself for yet another nightmare.

It never came. He found himself at Canterlot Castle, in one of the bedrooms. He expected to see guards ready to chain him for his crimes, but he was alone in the room. He looked around, and he heard the door open. Turning, he saw Princess Luna walk in with a frown on her face that quickly changed to a smile when she saw him. Synth waited for her to yell at him, but she spoke softly.

“Hello there Synth, we are glad to have thy company this night.” She seemed like she was withholding her voice. Synth didn’t know that this was because she tried not to use the Canterlot voice in dreams. Her face changed a little as she didn’t get a response from Synth. Synth was pulling himself together as he tried to talk to a Princess. There was no adrenaline or necessity for him to speak properly. His nervousness with the other six was now drastically lowered. Talking with Celestia with everyone was avoided by the fact there were others he could easily talk to next to her, but talking with a Princess was completely different when it was just her.

Synth felt his throat dry as he tried to respond. His eyes lowered to the floor as he forced the words out. “U-um…H-hello… Princess L-Luna…” He felt he did his best. He looked up at her eyes and recoiled at the look she had on her face. It was anger, something he didn’t realize he’d see from her. She was after all, almost his size.
“Synth, thy will converse with us in a manner that is more pleasant. We demand some respect for us giving thee time to explain thy problems.” Synth regretted his stuttering and cursed his nervousness. Even so, he couldn’t stop that he was now shaking, in nervousness or fear of her, he didn’t know.
He tried again, this time trying his hardest not to stutter. “Okay, Princess. It’s just that I-I can’t-“ Luna stomped her hoof on the ground. Her face resumed its look of anger, and Synth was wondering if this was the same pony who seemed so friendly days ago.

“Synth, we will not repeat ourselves. Speak in a more professional manner or we shall have you dismissed. Our patience is running thin and thy…performance is not helping matters any.” Synth felt like he was being told to do the impossible. He cleared his throat to try again and found he couldn’t stop clearing it and it eventually turned into a nasty wheeze. He looked up and expected Luna to be sentencing to his death. What he found though surprised him. She looked confused and…worried?

“Synth, are thee feeling well? Thy face would suggest otherwise…” Her tone was softer, but she still glared at him and seemed to be in thought.
Synth found maybe he could get a full sentence in while she was distracted. “I just get n-nervous around-“ He was stopped by the feeling of magic surrounding his lips. They closed them shut and forced his face to look at her.
“SYNTH! We thought we told thee to speak more calmly and professional!” Luna looked ready to explode and Synth recoiled in fear hiding his face behind his hooves. Luna coughed and Synth peeked from behind his hooves. She looked sorry, but Synth wasn’t taking his chances to speak again.

Synth came out of his position of fear and stood awkwardly shifting his weight from his hooves around. There was an awkward silence in the room until Luna ended it. “We’re sorry, Synth. Our sister tries to help us better understand these times, but our knowledge on the present is little…Maybe we all have our faults, can you forgive me?” Synth was surprised to see the sudden change in Luna’s behavior. He understood how she might feel out of place after a thousand years, but did they really have strict protocol a thousand years ago? He would understand why they would change that, but Luna probably didn’t.

“It’s a-alright, I forgive you. If you can f-forgive my n-nervousness…that is.” Luna nodded and Synth was glad he could finally explain himself. “Now, c-can we restart from the beginning?” Synth asked hoping she would still try to be friendly.
“Of course, our name is Luna, and you are?” Synth chuckled as she said this. Luna took offense and raised a warning hoof. Synth was really breaking a lot of laws that could have gotten him executed long ago. She was just hoping that the times didn’t change too much and that her next statement would hold meaning.
“We believe that laughing during somepony else’s introduction is still considered rude in this time period.” Now Synth quieted down as he realized Luna wasn’t making a joke. She was being completely serious and he laughed at her. He felt pretty bad now, and tried to explain himself.

“I’m sorry your h-highness, but I m-meant that we start over f-from t-today.” Synth heard her snort and reflexively took a step back.
“Well why didn’t thee say so in the first place?” She looked more annoyed than anything, but she calmed down after a few seconds. “Please, don’t be afraid.” She said after noticing he took a step back. Her head lowered a fraction. “We wish to speak with thee about the events from days ago. We promise that we will not anger or be angered by what will be revealed today.” She looked sad and Synth decided to take a step closer to show he wanted the same thing.

“It’s alright, y-your highness. I do not f-fear you…completely. But w-why do you want t-to…relive those events?” Synth was confused about Luna’s curiosity on the subject she probably wanted to avoid the most. He got his answer though.
“It is because… we do not want to suffer…alone, any longer. Thee has witnessed and lived through the same events, even if the events were…beyond torturous, can’t we bear with them…together?” Luna looked like she was going to cry and Synth wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if she did.
“It’s alright L-Your h-highness, I’ll share y-your p-pain and tell you my s-story.” Synth almost went into his comfort zone, but her position of authority put him back where he started.

She seemed to realize this as her next statement caught him off guard. “Your manners are what we expected a thousand years ago, but they are no longer needed as we’ve been informed about countless times by our sister. Please, refer to us as Luna.” Synth realized how much of a step she took. In olden days they would only let family and trusted officials call them by their names. Synth felt glad to be given the opportunity to do so.

“Well… Luna. Let me begin with a few days ago…” Synth recounted the events that happened leading up to his own involvement with the whole situation. He told her of his special ability to speak with the natural wildlife and how they were the ones who warned him of the coming danger. She was shocked and immediately engrossed in his story to the point she wouldn’t speak at all for periods of time. Every now and then she’d ask her own questions about his behavior, where he would try to justify them and she would find flaws in them, making him feel like an idiot.

It came to the point where he mentioned the cliff. Luna flinched slightly, but Synth caught it. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He didn’t expect for her to be as uncomfortable as he was. They weren’t even talking about her story yet…
Luna nodded her head then reluctantly spoke. “It’s just…we were the cause of that disaster, and most of the ones after that… as well as… Shade…” Synth couldn’t believe what he heard as she stopped talking.
She was the cause for the devil in his head? Wait… it’s been quiet lately… too quiet. “Um Luna, I haven’t heard Shade since I came here. Did you get rid of him too?” Luna now smiled as though the previous confession never happened. Synth was glad to see she wasn’t as uncomfortable as before.

“Actually, this is a dream. So, we shut him out so he wouldn’t interrupt. He was the cause of all thy previous nightmares, but we’ll make sure he doesn’t cause thee any more trouble there. However, it’ll be tough to be rid of him completely if thee chooses to do so. We gave him to thee so that he’d be unremoveable and as cynical as possible.” Synth was now further glad about having talked to Luna. If his dreams were going to be quiet from now on, he could deal with Shade when he woke up.

“Well, I don’t blame you for what happened, but let me continue the story from where I left off…” Synth continued and found Luna was looking sorrier the more he spoke. She finally broke as he told her of his battle with Shade. Her eyes were holding back tears from all that she put him through. Her face changed when he mentioned the deal he made. She looked horrified as he told her of what he saw from Shade’s eyes. When he finished, her tears were now falling freely. Synth felt bad about telling her the story, but he didn’t know she’d feel this way.

“We…believe it’d be best if thee didn’t tell any others of thy experience. They wouldn’t understand unless they’ve lived on the side of darkness like we had. Thee made a decision to save thy friends, and it resulted in harming the very ones thy wanted to save. We made the very same mistake long ago…” Luna seemed to appear distant and Synth tried to understand a little more about why he couldn’t tell his friends.

“But my friends would understand, wouldn’t they? Especially because that I had good intentions…” Luna shook her head. Synth felt something inside him plummet, he knew it might come to this, but didn’t think the princess would be the one to tell him to lie.
“If they found out, it would not end as well as thy hopes. Especially when they find out Shade still remains inside you. Thee has caused them so much pain from what thee told me, that we believe it best for thee to withhold that information from them until they are ready to understand fully.” Luna smiled at him. At her still shorter than normal state, she hugged him. He didn’t return it quickly as his brain processed what was happening.

“But we will be the one for you to tell your problems to until then…” She whispered as Synth settled into the embrace. He was so glad to have someone there for him; he forgot who he was talking to.

“I’m glad you’re my friend, Luna.” When she left the embrace, he felt that he said the wrong thing. Technically, she never called him a friend. He just assumed that they were close enough to be called friends. The look in her face erased any doubts he had though.

“We are… thy friend?” The tears were now falling again, faster than before. She had a smile and a hopeful look on her face. Synth felt his spirits rise at question asked.

“Of course, if you don’t mind being my friend…” Synth didn’t have many friends before coming to Ponyville. Only Oliver, Prim, and Rose were close enough to be called friends. But now, he found friends at every turn. He was about to befriend the Princess herself. And something told Synth that she didn’t have many friends either… the enthusiasm on her face gave it away.

“Synth, thee are the first friend we’ve ever had. We are glad that thee has grown accustomed to us. Thy rude behavior has lessened, and we are glad to see thee smile.” Luna growing a little more high pitched than normal and she stopped before Synth thought she’d squeal. Luna’s cheeks were a little pink, so she was probably thinking on how she was acting and coughed awkwardly.

“Well Luna, as a friend, I’d like to hear your story on the subject…” Synth tried to not pry, but he was curious as to how she felt during the whole fiasco. Luna’s face changed immediately and she looked like she was about to speak but then stopped herself.

It took a few seconds for her to think of what she was going to say, and then she just gave up and calmed her facial features. “Not tonight, Synth. We’ll be glad to share those…memories, but please give us time to recover from the…incident…first.”

Synth was now even more curious, but he didn’t want to upset her after the progress he made since first talking with her today. He instead decided to change the topic to one he was also slightly confused with. “Okay, but if you don’t mind me asking…why are you so much smaller than your sister? Do you shrink when you get weaker?” She stood up straight as she realized that Synth was taller than her.

“No, we are not dwarfed when we lose power. The Elements were the cause of our…height difference. We were told that it had a direct hit on us.” Now she looked at Synth as his head was lower than normal. But she continued as if she didn’t notice. “We shall be fine in a few days, granted that we continue to drink our milk.” Luna tried to go for a joke, but it wasn’t as great as she hoped.

Synth laughed anyways though, and it made her feel better. Synth had a question enter his head though as he stopped his laughing. “What did the elements do to me then? I don’t feel any different, other than Shade’s comments about me.” Luna studied him a second before something seemed to stand out.

“Well, maybe it did not cause any physical change, but have thee noticed anything different about thy powers?” Luna didn’t notice Synth’s eye twitch as he remembered how different Shade’s magic was from his. If he did get any now powers from Shade, he wouldn’t use them anyway. They seemed too…evil…for his taste.

“I’m not sure, I’ll have to check on that tomorrow. I’m pretty sure that it’s been the same as always. I do get headaches easily though, maybe that could be it?” Synth tried to get away from his magic, but Luna wasn’t going to get off topic so easily.

“Synth, report any findings on the changes in thy magic. It may be important for thy health. We also believe that thy should be given time to recover from the events of…that night. We suggest that thee move to Canterlot for a week. Rehabilitation will be beneficial for thee.” Luna seemed like she was worried about him and Synth didn’t even think about arguing. A week away from Ponyville wouldn’t change much, would it?

“Okay, Luna. I’ll come for a week, but let me say good bye to my friends.” Synth felt that they at least needed to know where he was going. They’d understand why he needed to go, right?

Luna nodded but looked sternly at him. “It is not goodbye, thee will see them again. We will give thee two days to say thy farewells, but that night a carriage will be sent to pick thee up. We will wait for thee until then. The night is ending, but it looks like thee needs to rest.” She motioned to his eyes. “Rest for now, we will make sure that your rest is undisturbed.”

Synth nodded as his eyes felt heavy. The vision in front of him was now changing to a dark view. He was in his bedroom, everything was now silent. He fell asleep almost instantly, weariness overtaking him.
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Synth opened his eyes expecting to wake up in another nightmare. Instead, he awoke with the sunlight streaking through his window. He sighed; at least he wouldn’t have to endure another nightmare. He’s been having them for only two days and they’ve already messed with his day night cycle, and he was sure it was already noon. Normally he would wake early, but it was too late to think about that. He wiped his eyes and found the bags weren’t there anymore. That rest was worth it.

He pulled himself together and stood up. Walking towards the door, he decided to make sure he wasn’t a ‘walking disaster’ as Rarity put it the day before when he passed by her store groggily. She made him comb it for almost an hour until it was back to its usual style. Now, he looked into his convenient bedside mirror and did a double take. His mane was moved to one side and it looked like he tried to duck tape it down and then took off the tape. It was sticking out in every possible place and his tail even looked like a feather duster instead of a normal tail.

He laughed because he knew Rarity would have passed out at the sight. He was tempted to walk up to her store to see how she’d react. He put the thought aside though, as he already knew that some people in town thought of him as weird and walking in town like this would seal the deal. He used a twig he picked up the day before and using his magic, formed it into a comb.

It was harder than normal, and he felt that maybe Luna was right and the elements changed his magic somehow. He didn’t have difficulty combing his mane with a telekinesis spell though, so he just passed it off as morning laziness. Putting his mane more or less in the style he had it at, he admired his handiwork. The locks of hair would only slightly cover his right left eye, and the back of the mane curled in random places.

He felt it looked okay. A lot better than when Rarity caught me… ‘You still look like a train wreck…’ Shade said and Synth’s eyes moved toward his tail.

‘I wasn’t done yet. I was going to fix the tail when I made sure the mane was okay.’ Synth thought groaning inwardly as he remembered his predicament involving the voice in his head.

‘The mane looks just as awful. Why do you care anyway? Scared the others wouldn’t want to be seen with you? It’s just hair.’ Shade said his tone turning from bored to amused as Synth started combing his tail.

‘Look you wouldn’t understand what Rarity thinks when she sees others looking their worst…’ Synth tried not to get in another argument with Shade. It’s why he was so sleepy for the past few days. He had grueling nightmares at night, and Shade managed to give him the same torture during the day.

‘So, you’re trying to impress Rarity huh? I really thought you’d kicked it off with Twilight more…’ Shade sounded like he was about to laugh. Even though Synth knew Shade was himself in a sense, he couldn’t resist a blush.

‘I’m not trying to impress anypony, and wouldn’t you already know if I was? You do happen to know the answer to everything…’ Synth now remembered how Shade supposedly knew everything there was to know. He called it the truth… and to think that Synth agreed to a deal like that.

‘I do, up to a certain point of time. My knowledge is from the knowledge of Nightmare Moon. She gained her knowledge every night when Everypony slept. So on the day you met me, I did know everything, but now I only know the past. Even your innermost thoughts are kept secret from me…’ Shade seemed a little downcast. Synth wasn’t a bad pony, but he felt…happy watching Shade like this.

‘Then think of this as karma for what you did.’ Synth felt good adding to Shade’s punishment.

‘Karma’s a bitch…’ was all he heard Shade say. Synth couldn’t think of anything but to nod his head in response. He knew how it felt, and he agreed completely.

‘I’m going for a stroll through town; need to tell the others I’ll be leaving.’ Synth completely forgot who he was talking to again.

‘You mean we’re going for a stroll, idiot. How many times do I have to remind you that I’m a part of you?’ Shade found himself repeating himself every few hours now. ‘But, where are we going?’

‘Into town, I already said that. How many times do I have to repeat myself?’ He mocked how Shade acted until he heard a grunt.

‘Not what I meant, where are we going that you need to tell the others about it?’ he sounded almost annoyed at the fact that Synth looked like he was getting more and more stupid every day. He wasn’t sure if Synth’s comment was a smart ass one, or a dumbass one…

‘Staying at Canterlot for a week, not anything important.’ Synth tried not to show any emotion as he said this, but he must have failed because Shade didn’t relent.

‘That would explain why I couldn’t get in your head tonight, Luna right?’ Synth nodded and Shade continued. ‘Well, tell her I said hello next time. She did a pretty good job with the whole keeping me out of your head thing.

Synth thought that he probably didn’t mean to literally say hello to her. Trying to continue with the day he planned, he opened the door and stepped outside.

His eyes fell on sun as he stepped outside. It was surprisingly higher than he expected and he calculated it to be around one o’clock. He started walking in a random direction. He didn’t know which way it was to anywhere in this town yet. Like he did the past few days, he was just going to wander until something interesting came up.

He also knew that if he tried to find something, it would probably be anywhere except for where he looked. He decided that if he found the home of one of the six new mares he befriended, he’d have them relay the message to the others about him leaving. He spotted Applejack looking almost as tired as Synth felt the day before. She looked like she was slowly walking towards somewhere. Synth decided that he’d tell her.

He trotted up, and he didn’t realize she was too tired to hear him come up. “Hey-“He spoke and he was almost strangled as she quickly grabbed him and put him in a chokehold. “App…lejack…it’s me…” Applejack took a second before she slumped over and her grip relaxed. When he managed to get himself in a position to breathe, he realized what happened.

The cloak wrapped around his body made him feel like a pillow. Applejack fell asleep and was now pretending he was the softest pillow in existence. Other ponies were starting to stare and Synth felt his cheeks reddening. “Um Applejack… c-could you w-wake up now?” He didn’t want to forcibly wake her up, but the onlookers were growing in numbers and from their view it probably didn’t look very good.

He gently shook Applejack and heard her gasp as she opened her eyes and threw him a good few feet. He hit the floor and rolled onto his stomach. He stood up and dusted himself off. She muttered an apology before turning and trotting quickly away. She still had a sleepy look to her, but he swore he saw some redness in her cheek as she left.

“Nothing to see here folks…” Synth heard a familiar voice say as the crowd soon dispersed. He saw the owner of the voice, it was Twilight. He walked over and she looked a little unsure of what she saw.

“Applejack didn’t look so good. Is she getting enough sleep?” Synth asked when she didn’t say anything. Twilight looked at him with a confused look as she answered.

“I could have asked the same to you yesterday, but it looks like you’re okay now. What were you doing with Applejack?” Synth’s cheeks turned a little redder, but he tried to explain.

“I tried to tell her something, but I must have surprised her. She had me in a chokehold and then she sort of fell asleep on me.” Synth found the heat on his cheeks lessening as he explained himself.

“Oh, well that would explain why she left so quickly. But what were you going to tell her?” Twilight didn’t want to pry, but she felt like Synth had something important to say.

Synth remembered that he only needed to tell one of them and he could have them pass it on. “I’m going back to Canterlot for a week and I needed someone to help me tell the others. I didn’t want to leave and have you all worried.”

Twilight frowned, “What are you going back to Canterlot for? Is something wrong?” Synth was already shaking his head and tried to explain without giving out too much information.

“I’m just going to visit Luna; she wanted me to come over as her guest. I’m guessing that she wants some friendly faces around her when she retakes her throne.” Synth saw Twilight’s face relax and he mentally patted himself on his back.

‘Thanks, I needed that.’ He heard Shade say from nowhere.

“It wasn’t for you…” Synth said. Twilight raised an eyebrow and Synth cursed his mistake.

“What wasn’t for me?” Synth’s brain immediately started looking for words.

“O-oh, nothing, I was just…talking to myself. I do that a lot.” Synth saw Twilight’s eyebrows raised and Synth felt like he made himself sound crazy.

“I do that sometimes too, but usually not in front of others…You should work on that.” Twilight responded.

“Yeah, I’ll work on it. Can you tell the others about my trip? I can’t ever seem to find them in this town.” Twilight was confused at first, but her look changed to one when she had an idea.

“I have a better idea!” She said pushing him a certain direction. He could now see the Carousel Boutique ahead of him, and he had a pretty good idea of what she wanted him to do.

“Twilight, can you tell them for me? I don’t know how they’d take it.” Synth said trying to pull away. Twilight was a lot stronger than he thought though, and she didn’t budge.

“You never know until you try.” She said smiling and continuing to push him along.

Synth’s brain went to his conversation with Luna. Then his dream he had right before that. They would probably never forgive him, but he didn’t really know until he told them. He looked up and found Twilight knocking on the door.

Synth was prepared to bolt, but he found his body unwilling to cooperate. He had to at least inform them of his week away. He heard a response and shortly after, Rarity opened the door. She looked surprised to see them, but her eyes landed on Synth with pure delight.

“Oh much better, dear! That mane of yours looks almost perfect. Just let me get my comb and I can-“Synth cut her off not wanting to be criticized on his hair after he actually tried to comb it this morning.

“Rarity, that’s not why I’m here,” Twilight gave him an encouraging nod and Synth continued. “I’m going to be gone for a week; I’m leaving tomorrow night.” Synth expected her to gasp, but he was surprised to see her nodding.

“Oh, that’s alright dear. I will miss you until then, but as long as you come back I have no problem with it. May I ask though, where are you going?” Rarity raised one of her eyebrows.

“Canterlot, Luna wanted to talk to me about something.” Rarity gasped and went into his face.

“Canterlot? Take me with you!” Rarity was grabbing him now and his shoulders were going numb.

“If you want to, you can.” She let go of him and her face went from happy to depressed.

“Oh no, I’ll be too busy this week and most of next. I do hope you have a good time though, will you tell me about it when you get back?” She looked pleadingly at him and he couldn’t say no.

“Sure, when I get back. But I should really start getting ready for it…” Synth started walking away and Rarity was waving goodbye.

“Tell your parents I said hello. I’d love to meet them one day.” Synth couldn’t tell if Rarity was trying to be a good friend, but right now that backfired.

Synth flinched at the thoughts of his parents and started walking a little faster away. “Of…course.” He heard Twilight walking next to him and looked at her to see a look of worry.

“Your parents, do they live in Canterlot?” Twilight asked and Synth didn’t know how to answer until it just came out.

“I…I don’t know.” Synth lowered his head for what was to come.

“What do you mean you don’t know? It says there address on the mail.” Now was when Synth had no choice but to answer.

“I don’t write to them…they don’t write to me either. I haven’t seen them since I left the house and bought my own.” Synth went quiet as he remembered how he’d taken the first opportunity to leave the house. They looked hurt, but at the time he didn’t care.

“That’s…awful. Why don’t you?” Twilight couldn’t believe that somepony could distance themselves from their parents, but was equally shocked to know that they didn’t write him either.

“I…I don’t want to talk about it…” Synth started walking faster and Twilight had a little trouble keeping up.

“Could you slow down? You can tell me anything, I won’t judge you.” Twilight’s words caused Synth to stop mid step. He looked straight down before speaking.

“I…I need some time to think… See you tomorrow.” Synth took off at a sprint and Twilight watched him go.

He ran and ran until he had the sense to look up and almost hit a tree. He managed to dodge it and performed some more near misses with other apple trees until his hoof slipped and his side collided with a tree. He lay there his side in pain until a chuckle made him look up. He saw Rainbow as she now openly stared laughing.

“Ah ha ha, you’ve got a long ways to go before you’re as good as me. I would show you, but my wings aren’t up for it yet. Applejack really did a number on them earlier.” Now she was on the floor and her wings closed. She was looking at them as though remembering the incident.

They did look a little worse for wear, but he didn’t believe that Applejack could have hurt her with the way she was acting when Synth saw her. “What did Applejack do to you? I just saw her earlier and she looked…”

“Out of it? Yeah I know, she made me crash into Twilight’s tree. It took me a while to get the twigs out…” She looked to Synth like she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “But enough about me, how’ve you been? You didn’t look very good either yesterday…”

Synth didn’t know that so many people actually noticed he acted differently the day before. But seeing as how this place was a lot smaller than Canterlot, word spread fast. “I’m alright, just needed some time to think. It wasn’t too obvious though, was it?”

“Obvious? You fell asleep on the road when the stampede was coming yesterday. We were trying to shake you awake, but you just kept kicking us away. It would have taken a complete idiot to not notice.” She sounded like he was going crazy, and Shade wasn’t helping.

‘Well, that would fit your description.’ Shade remarked when Rainbow finished.

Synth rubbed his head and tried to ignore Shade as he focused on his situation. “Well, now I’m fine…more or less, and I’ll be going to Canterlot tomorrow so I can pull myself together then.”

“You’re leaving? But you just got here. Pinkie hasn’t even thrown your party yet…” Rainbow looked a little sad, but Synth had to clarify so she didn’t get the wrong idea.

“Only for a week, I’ll be back before you know it.” Synth tried to give a smile but Rainbow’s face looked a little sad until it changed to a playful one.

“Oh, why didn’t you say so sooner? Hey, if you see the Wonderbolts, tell them to be on the lookout for a rainbow okay?” Synth nodded a smile now appearing on his face.

“I will, see you later Rainbow.” Synth started walking in the direction of the town. Somehow, he managed to get out of the city limits and into the Sweet Apple Acres fields. He didn’t feel like dealing with Applejack right now, and he’d rather not ask Rainbow for directions. He decided to walk around the perimeter until he found something that looks familiar.

He decided that he should buy a map when he gets the chance. He felt like he’d passed the same houses a few times, but then he saw a familiar sight. There was a tree line not too far away from the town and it looked ominous. ‘The Everfree Forest, didn’t somepony live around here?’ Synth thought although not expecting Shade to answer.

‘It’s Fluttershy. She lives in a cottage on the edge of the forest. She told you this yesterday when you were snoozing at Sugarcube Corner. You were probably asleep, but I heard everything. It was actually pretty hilarious for me.’ Shade stopped to see if Synth was even listening.

‘Why did she talk to me if I was sleeping? That doesn’t make any sense.’ Synth said as he continued following a path toward the tree line.

‘Well, you were talking in your sleep…’ Shade said nonchalantly.

‘Oh, that would explain it…but what did she say?’ Synth asked really hoping Shade wasn’t a complete asshole. He was disappointed.

‘What did Luna say?’ Shade said only slightly hinting that this was what he wanted all along.

‘Son of a… She said she wanted me to make sure the Elements didn’t damage my magic ability. Also, we’re friends now…’ Synth said trying to only reveal information that Shade couldn’t use on him in the future. Shade caught something though…

‘Well, glad to see that Luna’s your best buddy now. But don’t let it get to your head, She’ll still be formal with you around others.’ Shade paused to see if the words had any effect on Synth, but he just sighed. ‘Okay, okay…Fluttershy was telling you about why she was so shy and you kept mumbling about your cutie mark. She said you could tell her that story whenever you felt like it. She gave you directions to her house, and then she left.’ Shade made a sound as if he was taking in breath. ‘How does Pinkie do that?’

Synth could remember how the rest of the story went because Pinkie purposely splashed warm water on his face. Then she told him all about a story involving her and a radioactive cupcake. She said it all in one breath but Synth couldn’t remember much about the story. Shade finished talking though, and he could see a small cottage coming into view.

He went up to the door and knocked three times. It took about three seconds for the door to open and show a white rabbit tapping his foot impatiently.

‘Um, I’m here to see Fluttershy…” Synth said trying to be friendly with the rabbit. He just shook his head though, and Synth took it as she wasn’t there right now. He started to walk away, but the rabbit left the doorway and grabbed his hoof.

He stopped and looked at him. His finger was pointing at his mouth, and Synth reasoned he was probably hungry. “Fluttershy didn’t feed you yet, did she?” He got his answer when the rabbit’s stomach made a small growl. “Well, I don’t know what rabbits eat. Do you…eat carrots?” Synth tried to go with the stereotypical rabbit, but the rabbit shook his head and pointed at Fluttershy’s garden.

“Oh, do you eat something that she grows?” The bunny nodded and they walked over to the garden. Synth looked at the many growing vegetables and couldn’t differentiate which ones were which. “You don’t happen to know which one of these you like, do you?” The rabbit shrugged and Synth sighed. “Then let’s go with trial and error.”

Synth grew the vegetables one at a time, starting with the ones on the edges. The rabbit would shake his head every time and Synth’s magic was draining quickly. Growth magic was very tough, and continued use of it could lead to headaches. He was on the last one in the row, and was really hoping this was the one.

He let his magic pour into the plant and managed to grow it to its potential before having to rest. The rabbit was now hopping up and down and Synth felt like this was it.

“Enjoy it, it took a lot of effort to find…” Now the rabbit stopped jumping and ran into the house. Synth was too worn out to question anything. He returned a moment later with a book of some sort. He was pointing to one of the pages that showed a salad containing lots of different vegetables.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” He looked at the variety of vegetables he grew. They were all ingredients to the salad the rabbit wanted. “You’re a little devil, you know that?” Synth said now panting from the effort he performed earlier.

The rabbit ignored him and started to pack up the vegetables in a small basket and take them inside. Synth took a few more breaths before walking toward the cottage. He was invited inside by the rabbit and was put back to work cutting vegetables. Instead of using magic and further straining himself, he used his hooves and clumsily cut the vegetable to look like the picture.

When he finished, he lay down on the couch and massaged his forehead. The rabbit was eagerly eating the food, and Synth couldn’t believe that Fluttershy had to deal with all that for just one rabbit. He was so exhausted, he didn’t notice his eyes were slowly closing.
-------------

It was delicious. The vegetables were grown to perfection and while the cuts weren’t perfect, they could fit in his mouth either way. He was almost finished, when he heard a snore coming from the living room. It wasn’t a loud one like that rainbow maned Pegasus, but it wasn’t as soft as Fluttershy’s.

He stuffed the rest in his mouth and then walked over to where the sound came from. He found the green coated colt sleeping on Fluttershy’s couch. He was glad for the meal, but he was never fond of others except for Fluttershy. He was tempted to kick him awake, but he was speaking softly while he slept.

He leaned in closer to hear anything that might have been interesting. “Wait…not yet…don’t go…not my fault…” He tried to get even closer, but the sound of hoofsteps approaching caused him to back away quickly. Was Fluttershy coming? She wouldn’t want to see this guy sleeping on her couch, so he started to shake the green colt awake. He wouldn’t budge though, and Angel was getting impatient. He put his legs back ready to kick, and then the door opened slowly.

He kicked as hard as he could, and the result was instantaneous. He was hit over the couch as Fluttershy’s voice rang softly but clearly. “Angel! That’s not how you treat guests...” Synth picked himself up and tried to put together what was happening. He was looking up to see Fluttershy had returned from wherever she went.

“I’m sorry, Synth. Are you okay, he didn’t hurt you too bad did he?” She was looking over him like he was seriously injured. Synth felt fine except for the rude awakening messing with his attitude.

“I’m alright. It’ll take more than a kick from a rabbit to hurt me.” He looked at the rabbit who took offense to the statement. “No offense…” Angel was nodding his head slowly and Synth could tell he was offended, but it would take more than that to lower his spirits.

“Well, if you’re sure. But, what were you doing here anyways?” Fluttershy was curious as to how he got past Angel in the first place. Whenever she went out, he would always guard the door from intruders.

Synth sighed recalling the story. “You wanna tell her little buddy?” After a shake of the head from Angel, Synth nodded his head. “Of course. Well Fluttershy, you see…” Synth told her of what happened with Angel and his lunch; she was of course apologizing to Angel right after he mentioned it. Synth finished with how he fell asleep on the couch while he was trying to rest from the magic overuse.

“Oh my, are you sure you’re alright? Twilight tells me that using too much magic hurts.” Synth nodded but waved away her worries.

“Yeah, that little nap helped me recover my strength. But the rude awakening wasn’t call for…” Now Synth turned towards Angel who was whistling as though he didn’t hear him. “That rabbit sure is a handful; I don’t know how you deal with him…”

“He might have some…problems..but he’s just too adorable to say no to.” Fluttershy picked him up and started to hug him tightly. Angel made faces of first disgust and then pain as his air circulation was cut off.

Synth chuckled and mouthed the words ‘Karma’ to Angel as he turned to him for help. Synth did start to feel bad for him though, after being neglected lunch by his owner. “Fluttershy, maybe you should let up on the hug. He doesn’t look so good.”

Fluttershy was now studying Angel as he gasped for air and his face turned back to white. “Oh, I’m so sorry Angel Bunny. I just can’t believe I forgot to feed you. And the stampede didn’t help matters either, I had to spend even more time trying to round them up…”

“Stampede? Was anypony hurt?” Synth said remembering how the day earlier he was sleeping during a stampede. He couldn’t believe another stampede would happen a day later. Fluttershy was just nodding her head though.

“It’s alright. It was a bunny stampede. Applejack tried to help me today, but…she wasn’t very helpful. Please don’t tell her I said that…” Fluttershy looked at the ground, and Synth remembered how odd Applejack was acting today.

“I won’t. She did seem a little…off this morning. But, who am I to talk? I was just like that yesterday…” Synth remembered how Shade told him about talking with Fluttershy in his sleep.

“Well, you’re better now. I hope Applejack gets better too…” She looked worried but Synth knew there was no reason to worry; this was Applejack they were talking about.

“That reminds me, I’m going to be staying in Canterlot for a week. I leave tomorrow, that’s why I was coming to see you today.” Fluttershy looked a little sad, like the others did, but then it was changed to a happy one.

“Maybe that’ll be for the best. I mean, you must be a little homesick…” Fluttershy saw Synth’s eye twitch and she knew something was wrong. “What’s wrong? Are sure you weren’t hurt from earlier?”

Synth was touched that she cared so much for his well being, and he forced a smile on his face. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just that I felt Ponyville is my home…” He really did feel this, but only now did he say his thought out loud.

“That’s great Synth, but don’t forget what brought you here. Sometimes it’s not where the journey leads, but what you find along the way…” Synth could have swore she was reciting a poem or something, but the words caught his heart all the same.

“Thanks… I’ll keep that in mind. But I have to get going. I need to tell the others I’m leaving.” Synth stood to stand and Fluttershy’s smile caught him off guard.

“Who do you still need to tell? I’m sure I could help split the list up…” Synth stopped to remember who he told, and who he needed to tell.

“Well, I still need Pinkie and Applejack. I didn’t get the chance to tell AJ when I saw her this morning…” Synth remembered the exchange and preferred that if Fluttershy chose one of them to take off his list, he’d rather she choose Applejack.

“I guess I could go talk to Applejack. She isn’t very far from here. Pinkie would probably take this the hardest, so you should tell her face to face.” For once, things were actually going the way Synth wanted them to.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll keep that in mind. See ya later Fluttershy.” Synth said walking away while Fluttershy waved to him as he left.

When he was out of earshot, she looked to Angel. “You like him, don’t you?” Angel turned away and Fluttershy’s thoughts were confirmed. “Wow, you don’t like anyone… He must be the exception…” She watched as he took a turn and started walking towards the opposite way of Sugarcube Corner. “He certainly is…different…”
------------

Synth looked at his surroundings. He was lost. ‘Goddamn it! How many times can this happen in one day?’ He was walking around town, every now and then ending up back at the Everfree Forest. He started off leaving Fluttershy’s cottage when the sun was about three-quarters in the sky. Now the sun was almost completely gone.

He stopped at the tree he was now at. It was about nine by his guess, and he’d need to sleep soon. He turned away from the tree line and walked back to town. This time, he’d use a strategy; One that he would only use when he was completely desperate. But after wasted time, he decided he’d go for it. Stopping a familiar mint green unicorn, he asked for directions to Sugarcube Corner.

“Really? Do you always get lost? It feels like just yesterday I needed to show you to the party… Well no matter. It’s actually not far from here. Take a turn up ahead, and then it should be the only candy made building in town.” She said it politely. But Synth couldn’t help noticing the matter-of-fact tone she used.

“Oh, thanks. Miss…” Synth remembered his manners. They only came up when meeting new ponies, and he found they disappeared as quickly as they came.

“You can call me Lyra. It’s great to see you again Synth.” She had a friendly smile, and he felt that he had more friends than the ones he went on the adventure with.

“Well Lyra, can I consider you a friend?” Synth wanted to think he could, but he wanted her to say it.

“Of course, everyone in town is your friend. You gotta remember that if you’re gonna be staying here.” She said this sincerely and Synth felt that she was right. They were all so friendly, he wouldn’t think any less of them.

“Okay, well can you help tell my friends that I’ll be leaving tomorrow? I need to tell Pinkie, but I won’t have time to tell everyone else before I leave.” Lyra was nodding before he even finished.

“You can count on me. But where are you going?”

“Canterlot, for a week; I’ll need the time to think over what’s happened in the past few days.” Synth was telling her the truth there. He was going to think over things, but he’d have Luna next to him when he did.

“Okay, I guess I’ll catch ya around then. Bye Synth.” Then she continued walking down the street and starts a conversation with a cream coated mare with a blue and pink mane. ‘These ponies must know everyone…’ Synth thought.

‘Well this is almost the smallest town. I’m surprised you can find yourself lost so easily in this town…’ Shade responded after his time of being quiet while Synth was lost.

‘I’ll get used to it eventually…’ Synth said remembering that he’d need to get a map of the town sooner or later.

‘Sure you will…’ Shade said with a chuckle and Synth continued walking and following Lyra’s directions to get to Sugarcube Corner.

He was in front of the store now, and he felt like he must have walked by this place before. He couldn’t help feeling a little déjà vu and he entered the still open store. He saw Pinkie at the register and the room only had a few ponies inside. All of which were enjoying the sweets they were eating.

Synth made a mental note to visit more often. The sweets looked delicious right now. Maybe it was the fact he literally didn’t eat anything all day, but his mouth watering at the sight of them. Pinkie must have known what he was thinking, because she handed him a cupcake.

“Here! You look like you could use something to eat. This one’s on the house, but you’ll be eating it in the house instead.” Synth looked at the cupcake. He had to force himself to not shove it down his throat and show some proper etiquette. He ate it in two bites and tried to say thanks while trying to chew it. That was what he would consider etiquette anyway…

Pinkie could somehow understand him, and Synth took a bit to finish swallowing before continuing. “I really needed that. I forgot to eat anything all day; I was too caught up in my other problems.”

“Problems? What would you have to worry about? Everything seems fine outside today, except for the cupcakes Applejack made today. But we managed to throw most of those away so that problems solved.” Synth found the opportunity to speak as she paused to recall the event.

“Um, it’s nothing. I’m just going to be leaving for Canterlot tomorrow and-“ Pinkie tackled him to the ground somehow even though she was behind the counter. Now she was standing on top of him and pinning him down.

“No! You just got here. I can’t throw a goodbye party before I throw you a welcome party. It wouldn’t be right , I wouldn’t know if I should be happy or sad. If I was happy, you’d think I’d be glad you were leaving, and if I was sad, you’d think I wouldn’t like meeting you.” Pinkie looked as sad, if not sadder, than his other friends.
Synth wanted to explain before she made a show of packing his things for him and walking him to the train. Somehow Synth didn’t throw out the possibility completely. She was Pinkie after all, but Rarity would be the one to overreact and she took it better than Pinkie. But Pinkie didn’t hear the whole thing… ‘Would you just respond before she breaks into tears?’ He heard Shade say and sure enough, his silence had the wrong effect on Pinkie. Her eyes were about to water.
“Pinkie, it’s only for a week. I’ll be back before you know it.” Synth said and he saw the change in her almost immediately. Her smile returned and she started to get off of him. Synth just realized that the ponies in the room were looking at them differently.
“Well, why didn’t you say so? You had me worried there for a second. Well actually for 37 seconds, but it’s no big deal. Not like yesterday when you came in all tired. You looked like you fell asleep, and I would have thought you did if you didn’t talk with Fluttershy.”
Synth remembered how he had been awoken by the warm water on his face. It sure woke him up all right. He remembered how she always seemed to brighten up his day. She could have easily used cold water, or boiling hot water. He was glad that her antics weren’t too bad. Synth did have a feeling though, that if Rainbow had any antics, it’d go over the line.

“Well, it’s been great talking with you Synth. I gotta get back to work though. We don’t close for another few minutes, so if you want to stay around you can.” She went out of Synth’s sight and appeared behind the counter. He was about to ask her about that, but decided that it was just Pinkie being Pinkie.

“I gotta get going. Need to make sure I get enough rest. Hopefully I can talk to you a little more tomorrow Pinkie.” With that, Pinkie waved at him while he walked outside.

“Bye, see you tomorrow Synth!” Pinkie yelled at him as he trotted away. Somehow he managed to make his way to the edge of town without getting lost. He found himself close to Fluttershy’s cottage and remembered how she wasn’t far from the Everfree Forest.

Putting some though into it, he began to think of a way to both help him remember where things were, and finding his way home. He knew the Everfree Forest was right behind his house, and Fluttershy lived near it. So, in essence he was close to his house. He looked up and was surprised to see his house right in front of him.

‘Congratulations, you’re home.’ Shade said sarcasm entering his voice.

‘Hey, I did it didn’t I?’ Synth responded actually feeling proud he might be able to memorize where places were without needing a map.

‘After a good while staring at your house to think of a way to find your house…’ Shade said only a little amused at the way Synth felt he accomplished something.

‘Whatever…’ Synth thought trotting up to his house. If he didn’t have better eyes than most, we wouldn’t have noticed that the mailbox in his front yard had mail in it. Not because it was so far away, but because it was now almost pitch dark outside.

“Who would send me mail?” Synth said out loud as he walked over and took out a small envelope. It was a normal white envelope, but there was a bag attached. Together, the package weighed a good amount. He took it inside to see more clearly. Even with better eyesight, it would be harmful to read in the dark.

He took the envelope and side stepped the tree before walking up to the door and going inside. He put the bag on the table and opened the envelope. Inside was the hoof writing of his Professor. He took out the letter and read it carefully.
Dear Synth,

We have heard about what you went through a few days ago. We are glad to see that you and your new friends defeated Nightmare Moon. It makes me proud to know how much you’ve grown since you first started studying under me.

I must say though, that you should start to focus on the future. I have got the committee to approve of the construction of a new biodome in Ponyville. It will begin its construction soon and it would be great if you watched over it. You have full authorization to make any changes to the blueprints; you will be in charge of it after it’s been built after all.

I hope to see you progress in your studies, and I have included some money for expenses. I do believe you are enjoying your stay in Ponyville, and I can’t wait to visit sometime. But, I’ll busy for a while so Oliver might get the chance before me. All building payments have been made, so be ready to learn within the next few days.

Yours Truly,

Blossom
Synth finished reading the letter and turned towards the bag on the counter. He was starting to get low on money, buying the house didn’t help matters any. He opened the bag and looked inside to find, sure enough, hundreds of bits piled in.
He was never really a person to be greedy about his things, but the money made him feel joy at this moment. He put the money aside and placed the letter back in the envelope. Putting it all on the top of one of his bookcases his living room had.
It wasn’t one of his better habits, but he treasured everything that he would think was sentimental. With happy thought in his mind, he prepared himself for bed and lay down. His thoughts were on the letter and how he left his old life behind. It wasn’t the best life, but it was one he would never forget.
He sighed, grieving wouldn’t help him sleep. Right now, he needed some rest. He closed his eyes and after a few minutes of twisting and turning, he finally found a comfortable position. His mind drifted into dream land as he lost consciousness.

Author's Note:

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