Ch. 1: "Awakening"

Chapter one
“Awakening”

As my senses returned, I couldn't help but wonder what had happened. I groaned and rubbed at my eyes before sitting up, then I realized I had awoken in a room that wasn't mine.

"Wha...?" I said as I looked carefully around.

It appeared that I was in some kind of hotel room. The décor was a little dated, looking like something a grandmother would keep around her house. It reminded me of a Stephen King novel somewhat and I felt slightly nervous as I slid out of bed and walked towards the television opposite the bed. I clicked it on and tried changing the channel, but all it ever showed was static. Sighing, I clicked it off and looked around again.

Oh. Before I continue, I should introduce myself. My name is Leon, I am tall (just over six feet without shoes), I have brown hair and brown eyes and I'm in my mid-twenties. Anyway, I regarded my current situation calmly, which is more than what most anyone else would do. Anyone else would have gone nuts with fear already. I, however, decided to check my person.

I was wearing my favorite pair of carpenter jeans with a simple reversible belt, a light fleece hoodie, underneath which was one of my favorite t-shirts that depicted Vinyl Scratch on the front… I’ll get to that soon, but must continue with diagnostics… on my feet were a pair of white socks and special shoes designed for people who spend extended periods of time on said feet, which I tend to do quite often, and decided that my hair was still a rich brown color. Once I decided that I was more-or-less the same guy I was when I’d fallen asleep, I checked my pants pockets and pulled out my basic travel gear.

1. Wallet with a five, two ones and about four freakin’ dollars worth of change, dammit: Check.

2. Smartphone, fully charged: Check (Switch off Wi-Fi and Background Data for longevity: Check)

3. Orange iPod Nano fully charged with attached earbuds: Check (Thank God, if I’m gonna be stuck in some Baroque Nightmare, at least I’ve got my music.)

4. Key Chain Belt Clip, with keys attached: Check

…

There was a second key attached to my chain and it didn't look like mine. It was archaic, like something from a medieval fantasy. I knew for a fact that I only ever had my house key attached. I had no idea where the second one came from.

I stared at it a moment longer before I shrugged and clipped the key chain to the belt loop above my front left pocket.

‘Might be useful later.’ I reasoned with myself.

I looked around the room once more (it hasn't changed since the first two times I looked) and saw, hanging from a post in the corner next to the door, my hat and messenger bag and walked over to them.

My hat was a black, wide-brimmed thing that looked like something a wealthy outlaw would wear while sitting at a card table in a sleazy saloon. I left it on the post for now but pulled my bag off its hook and slung it over my shoulder.

My bag was a well-made messenger bag made from a very tough material sort of like the denim on my pants, but thicker. It had a softer lining, but it was still a very sturdy bag that has been with me through the years. I opened the main flap and looked inside.

Inside, staring back at me, was my Charmander doll (yes, I have one of those. Got it as a kid, though I’m still a big fan of the Pokemon series). I wondered what the hell that thing was doing in there because I certainly didn’t pack it, before shrugging and feeling around inside for the item I always had inside my bag, which was a Berretta 92FS. I pulled it out with a spare clip and smiled at its beautiful black finish.

I checked to make sure the safety was on before pulling the empty clip out and slid the full one in. I didn’t feed a bullet into the chamber because there was already one in it (I always keep one in the chamber in case of emergencies, because you never know).

Satisfied that I was moderately prepared for whatever crap I was gonna find once I opened that door, I removed my hat off the post with a flourish and plopped it down on my head, then felt back around in my bag for a tiny LED flashlight I kept on hand and reached tentatively for the door knob, raising my right hand which had my pistol in it to be ready to aim out the door. I gripped the knob, took a deep breath and flung it open, clicking my flashlight on and sweeping the next room.

It was a hallway, like in a hotel, dimly lit. Since nothing leapt out immediately to eat my face, I advanced slowly into the hall, sweeping my gun both directions as I crossed the threshold. It was empty, so I lowered my weapon and looked down both ways. To my left, the hallway ended so no going that way. To my right, I saw a glowing green EXIT sign so I began to walk slowly and quietly towards it.

I was about halfway there when a floorboard creaked and I heard a terrified voice come from the door on my right that I was passing (like I said, a hotel, which means multiple doors).

“H-hello?” It quavered “I-is someone there? Please don’t leave me; I don’t want to be alone anymore…”

I was split on this front. The voice sounded like it came from a young girl and it was obviously scared. On one hand, I’ve read all kinds of horror stories and knew that sometimes such voices were actually traps designed to try and kill the hero. But on the other, I couldn’t just walk away in good conscience knowing I left someone innocent to a terrible fate (jeez, no wonder the hero falls for it).

I groaned inwardly, cursing my chivalry, and turned to the door. Just like with the last one, I opened it slowly and swept my light and gun around, both of which settled on a girl sitting in the corner, who held her arms up in front of her.

“No, please don’t hurt me!” She screamed, curling up in a ball in the corner, terrified sobs coming from her.

I slid my pistol into my belt and went over to her, lowering the beam of my flashlight towards the ground. I knelt down next to her and gently put my hand on her shoulder, which she flinched away from with a terrified squeak.

“Easy, honey, easy. It’s alright; I’m not going to hurt you.” I whispered soothingly as I put my hand gently back on her shoulder. I felt her trembling violently in fear.

She slowly uncovered her head from behind her arms and looked at me in terror, her beautiful purple eyes puffy and red from crying. She stared at me for a moment before latching onto me in a death hug. I was stunned for a second before I wrapped my arms around her protectively while she sobbed into my chest.

“Shh, you’re okay, sweetheart.” I whispered soothingly again “You’re safe now, I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.”

“I’m scared.” She said, not lifting her head away from my chest “I thought… I thought I was the only one here. I don’t want to be alone in this place!”

My heart was breaking for this girl; she looked and sounded like she wasn’t much older than maybe sixteen or seventeen and for her to be left alone in this dark and creepy place was nothing short of a crime against nature. I moved my left hand to the top of her head and stroked her curly blonde hair gently.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’m not gonna leave you behind.” I said, putting as much confidence as I could into those words.

She continued crying for a minute longer before she broke the embrace and sat back against the wall. It’s at this moment I get a really good look at her outside of my “D.I.D. Vision”, and my jaw dropped. I thought she’d looked familiar when I’d seen her face before she hugged me, but now that I actually saw her, I recognized her instantly as my favorite character from one of my favorite games.

She wore a sleeveless red dress with a floral pattern, long red gloves that left her hands bare, several sashes of various colors around her waist and a long pale pink cape. Her legs were covered in patterned white tights and on her feet were a pair of red boots.

“Thank you.” She said, giving me a sweet smile “I feel much better now.” I tipped my hat and gave her a winning smile.

“It’s no problem, sweetheart. I also feel better knowing I’m not the only poor soul stuck in this creepy place.” I said, and then extended my hand “Howdy, the name’s Leon, what’s yours?”

“Oh. My name is Terra. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She said, taking my hand and shaking it lightly.

“Figured as much.” I said, still smiling, though she looked at me with confusion.

“You… already knew?” She asked, suddenly wary of me.

“In a way, but that’s a story for later.” I said, rising to my feet and extending my hand to her. She glanced at it, then to me with a cautious expression on her face. I sighed “Look, Terra. I will explain later, but right now I think we should look for a way out of this place. I promise I won’t hurt you or let anything else hurt you either.”

She looked at me warily again, before nodding and taking my hand. I helped her to her feet (she was almost a full head shorter than me, but then again most people were, considering how tall I was) and asked my next question.

“So, Terra. Do you have a weapon with you?”

She shook her head and I sighed, moving her hand to my off-hand (you know, the one I won’t have to shoot with) and giving her the flashlight while demonstrating how to turn it on. She was a bit surprised by it, but otherwise clutched it like a one would a life raft.

“Okay, stay close to me and don’t let go of my hand. I don’t want us getting separated around here because I don’t know if I’ll be able to find you again.” I said, though when I finished she grabbed my arm with her other hand and moved closer, her eyes surging with fear.

I nodded and pulled my gun out from where I’d stashed it. Terra gave it a curious glance, but wisely decided she could ask about it later when we weren’t in danger. I aimed my pistol at the door and swept it down the hallway again, though there was still nothing. I told Terra to keep an eye out behind us while we advanced towards the exit.

Once we reached the door at the end of the hall, I glanced back at Terra, who was still glued to my side.

“Ready, Terra?” I asked as I placed my hand on the metal bar of the door. The girl nodded and I took a deep breath before pushing down on the bar.

Immediately as I did, the door flew open and a black cloud surged out and swallowed us both before we even had a chance to cry out.

Ch. 2: "The Shop of Dreams"

View Online

>: Recovery Complete, Displaying Now

Chapter Two
“The Shop of Dreams”

My head swam and I floated in darkness, or at least that’s what I perceived I was doing, I wasn’t really sure because I was so out of it. Eventually I became aware that I was holding something, gripping it even, like it was the only thing that could keep me from floating away completely.

But I also heard a voice, echoing faintly in the darkness, calling out to someone. I heard it saying my name and even in my haze I felt an overwhelming desire to go to it. It sounded so sad, so desperate and I wanted so badly to provide it with comfort. To hold the owner of the voice in my arms and promise it that everything would be alright. But as I felt myself begin to drift away towards the voice, I felt whatever I had a hold of suddenly tighten its own grip on my hand, followed by a new voice, one that was incredibly familiar yet beyond my ability to remember in this fugue state.

"Please don't go... I don't want to be alone again... please, please don't leave me alone again... you promised you wouldn't..." It begged me and I felt myself being pulled back. My jumbled thoughts turned back to the other voice; something in my heart was screaming at me to go to it but the familiar voice spoke to me again, pleading "You promised..."

I am many things in this life, but most importantly I was a man of my word; if I made someone a promise, I was sure as hell going to keep it. Once I had that thought anchored in place, the rest of my mind began to follow suit; my scattered memories and disjointed thoughts each falling neatly back into place one at a time.

I don't know how long I floated there, watching my memories solidify and become a part of me again. All of them appeared to me from the most mundane, to the most important... to the ones that hurt me the most. Then my most recent appeared, starting from when I was about to leave my house to go wherever, to me waking up in the strange hotel and finally to finding...

“TERRA!” I yelled, sitting up and looking quickly around until I saw Terra sleeping soundly in the bed we shared.

Panicking, I check my body and discover that the only missing articles were my hat, messenger bag and shoes, along with my pocket items. It’s when I come to the conclusion that nothing had happened that I calmed down and got a good look at the room we were in, which once again was not mine.

It looked oriental, with a gossamer curtain surrounding the bed we were laying in, which was a Japanese futon. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t tell where the door was because it looked exactly like the walls, with an exotic pattern of some sort.

I give up and become aware that my hand was still gripping something tightly and when I hold it up, I see I’m firmly holding onto Terra’s hand. I lighten my grip, but don’t let go and use my free hand to check on the girl. She was sleeping soundly and did not appear to be harmed, which made me exhale the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

“She’s going to be just fine. You needn’t worry about her, Leon.”

I spun my body in such a way that I didn’t release Terra’s hand, but placed myself between her and whoever spoke, which turned out to be an extremely beautiful woman dressed in a regal oriental gown with a butterfly motif. There was something weirdly familiar about her but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t remember where I’d seen her before. I eventually gave up and glared at her fiercely.

“Where are we, who are you and what do you want?” I asked flatly.

“You’re in my shop and I don’t want anything from you. You’re merely passing through on the way to your true destination.” She replied demurely, her expression that of slight amusement.

“Okay…” I said warily “But you didn’t tell me who you are.”

Her expression fell and she stared at me.

“Hmm, I don’t think it will matter.” She said with a sigh “You are not part of this world and as soon as the two of you leave, you’ll forget all about this place.”

Her face became amused again “But I suppose I’ll humor you. You may call me ‘Yuko’.”

Extreme vertigo overtook me as I was hit with massive déjà vu and I grabbed at my spinning head, groaning. I felt a pair of cool, delicate hands touch my head lightly and the sense of vertigo faded slightly.

“Do not think about it, you’ll only shatter your mind.” Yuko’s voice murmured softly “Focus on the girl, focus on the here and now.”

I didn’t understand what she was talking about but then I realized my left hand was still gripping Terra’s. I focused on Terra, on what I knew about her and her world and where I found her. Eventually my head stopped swimming and I took several deep breaths.

“What…” I gasped, looking at Yuko “Was that, just now?”

The woman’s face was serious as her eyes bored into mine.

“You were swallowed by the Void between worlds, but because of your instinctive desire to protect Terra…” She said, gesturing towards the sleeping girl next to me “You were brought to my shop in a desperate attempt to escape, though it was not without a price.”

I considered her words for a moment. I was pretty knowledgeable (as far as knowledge goes concerning pan-dimensional events and locations) regarding time, space and reality. I knew that I didn’t have anything worth bargaining with in my wallet, just a handful of worthless money, which meant the only thing that I could’ve bartered with were things that had special importance to me.

My heart skipped a beat and I shot a glance at Yuko, who held up my iPod with an amused smile on her face before handing it to me. I breathed a sigh of relief as I replaced it in my pocket, but then I frowned and looked back at her.

“What did I give up in exchange for a safe haven?” I asked her, but she shook her head morosely.

“I cannot tell you, though I’m certain you already know.” She said, giving me a knowing smile “After all, how do you think you knew to come here?”

I considered her words carefully before it all clicked.

“I knew of your shop before I came here, which means…” I looked at her confused “You took my memories of this place? But how?”

She giggled “I wouldn't say I 'took' them; you can't take someone else's memories. I merely took your ability to remember.”

"How does that work?" I asked her, to which she smiled demurely at me.

"Memories are like links in a chain; when one proves hard to find, you start with a link further back and follow it until you find the one you need. That is how you remember." She replied and shrugged "I've made it to where this particular chain of memories can't be remembered."

I decided to stop asking questions because my head was starting to hurt, not like before, just from the… absurdity, of it all. Besides, I could feel Terra stirring next to me.

I turned my attention to the girl as she opened her eyes and pulled my hand closer to her, before she remembered what had happened and sat straight up, alarmed.

“Whoa, easy there, sweetheart. We’re safe for now.” I said, gently placing my free hand on her shoulder. She wrapped me in a fierce hug immediately.

"You're still here... you didn't leave me..." She whispered and I felt a pang in my heart "Thank you."

I smiled and patted the top of her head.

“I told you I wasn’t gonna leave you alone there, and I keep my promises.” I replied quietly.

She gave me one last squeeze before breaking the embrace and looking around, when her eyes settled on Yuko.

“Oh my…” She said with a slight gasp “You’re so beautiful…”

Yuko giggled “Why, thank you, dear. Just for that…” She reached behind her and pulled out a doll, which I immediately identified as a moogle “You can have this. It shall keep you company whenever you are alone.”

Terra gave out a squeal and clapped her hands “It’s so cute!” she said as she took the doll and crushed it in a hug.

I thought it was the single most adorable moment in my entire life, watching the girl’s reaction to receiving that doll. She looked so happy.

I gave Terra a warm smile, but turned my attention back to Yuko with business in mind.

“Okay, Yuko.” I said, determined “Where’s my stuff and where are we going?”

“Oh, and I was hoping we could chat a little longer before you had to leave.” She said wistfully, though that amused smile was still on her face “But alas, I suppose you have no further reason to stay, do you? Very well, meet me in the hall when you’re ready.”

She stood up and glided over to the opening in the wall, disappearing around the edge. I moved my feet from under the covers and stood as well, turning to Terra and offering my hand, which she took without hesitation and I helped her to her feet.

“Are you gonna be alright, Terra?” I asked and she nodded.

“I’m fine, Leon.” She said, giving me a sweet smile, which turned to a frown “By the way, weren’t you going to tell me how you knew who I was?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but something told me this was not the time or place to tell secrets.

“Not right now, Terra. I don’t feel comfortable sharing information in this place.” I said, but gave her a warm smile “Maybe when we get to wherever we’re heading, I’ll tell you. Just be sure to remind me, okay?”

She smiled back and nodded. I squeezed her hand lightly and led her out into the hallway, where Yuko was waiting for us just to the right. She nodded and turned away, gliding across the floor with us following close behind. I held on to Terra’s hand because I still felt I’d lose her if I didn’t make sure she was still there.

Eventually, we reached what I assumed to be the front door to the “shop”. I assumed, because my stuff hung from a rack next to a pair sliding doors and our shoes were arranged neatly on the stone floor in front of them. As Terra and I sat on the wood to put our footwear back on, I noticed the extra pair of tennis shoes that I was fairly certain didn’t belong to Yuko.

“Hey, Yuko.” I asked, looking up at the shop owner, who smiled demurely back at me “Who else is here with you and why haven’t we seen them yet? You obviously don’t live here alone.”

“That will cost you, though I fail to see why it matters. You will only forget about them once you set foot outside of those doors.” She replied, gesturing a delicate hand towards said doors. I pondered it for a moment before shrugging and finished putting on my shoes. Terra was already standing, all she had to do was slip on her boots and she was done whereas I had to untie my shoes, put them on and then retie them.

“Well…” I said as I place the rest of my belongings where they go (my pocket items, save for the iPod, were currently residing in my bag, I’ll deal with that later) “Thank you for your hospitality, Yuko. I’m certain we have been a burden, but we truly appreciate it.” I bowed deeply and Terra followed suit after watching me.

“Oh, it was no trouble at all. I’ve had worse people crash into my shop before.” She said with a giggle, but then her eyes lit up “Oh, that reminds me. Since you have a bag handy, I’d like you to deliver this letter for me when you reach your destination.”

She handed me an envelope, and I placed it in my messenger bag next to the Charmander doll.

“Sure thing, Yuko.” I turn toward the door and take a deep breath, before I remember something.

“Wait, is there any way you can send Terra back to her own world?” I ask Yuko, though she shakes her head sadly.

“I am afraid not, Leon. It does not work that way.” She replied “You have claimed responsibility for the girl; it will be up to you to make sure she returns to her home.”

I frowned at her “’Claimed responsibility’? What does that mean?”

“You took her hand in the Void and did not let go.” Yuko replied sternly “Whatever happens to her now shall be your burden to bear.”

I looked at Terra, who was looking at me worriedly. I nodded resolutely.

“I promise I’ll help you get home, Terra, even if I have to devote my life to do so.” I told her resolutely and she nodded and smiled back at me.

“I trust you, Leon.”

We turned toward the sliding doors and I took her hand in mine once more. The doors opened revealing a solid wall of white. I took a deep breath and the two of us walked forward and I was blinded by an immense light.

Ch. 3: "Welcome to Equestria"

View Online

Chapter Three
“Welcome to Equestria”

I woke up… again…

And again, I was not in my freakin’ house!

I groaned in frustration and sat up, to which I noticed this world seemed far more colorful than my own, like vibrantly colorful, almost animated. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, before opening them again and looking to my right, where Terra was also sitting back up. She clutched my hand and her moogle doll tightly (huh? Where’d that come from?), but her grip on my hand relaxed when she realized we were in no danger.

We both sat there for a moment enjoying the colorful scenery, before I decided we needed to get a move on before things got dark. Maybe we could find a settlement nearby to stay in until we figured out where the hell we were.

As I looked around, I first saw a great city attached to the side of a mountain in the distance and I immediately ruled it out. It was too far to walk and cities generally weren’t a good place to start for up-and-coming adventurers. I turned to my left and saw a rather rustic town maybe… hmm, one or two miles away? Hell if I knew. Anyway, it was within acceptable walking distance, so I tugged on Terra’s hand to get her attention.

“Yes, what is it?” She asked. I pointed towards the town and she gasped “It looks so charming! It looks to be fairly close, too.”

I nodded “Yep, and that’s our first stop. We can probably gather information about this place down there as well.”

I looked back at the town, frowned, and then looked at the city. Something about both of them were strangely familiar, and then my brain finally got my attention and my heart began to race while my Inner-brony began to squeal like a girl on her birthday.

“Oooh, crap…” I said, because I knew where we were and what was coming. Terra gave me a confused look.

“Do you know where we are?” She asked, and I nodded slowly.

“Yeah… We’re in Equestria.” I replied and pointed towards the city in the distance “That’s Canterlot over there, where the Princesses Celestia and Luna reside. They rule this land and also raise the Sun and Moon each day and night, respectively.” I pointed toward the town “That’s Ponyville, pretty much HQ for the denizens of this world and setting for a show that’s based on it.”

Terra giggled as I listed off the names “This world sounds so cute! I wonder what the people look like?”

I smiled at her “I think you'll like it, Terra. C’mon, let’s head to Ponyville and I’ll tell you the reason I know who you are.”

“Is it along the same reasons you know about this place?” She asked, and I nodded. She put a finger up to her chin in thought, but then shook her head “No, if that’s the case, I think I’d rather not know.” She smiled at me “But thank you for being honest. I truly appreciate it, along with everything else you’ve done for me. You’re a great friend.”

I blushed, but smiled and tipped my hat “Why, you are most welcome, sweetheart. I just figured if you were gonna be stuck with me awhile, you should at least know the truth. The offer still stands if you ever change your mind, Terra.” I said, to which she smiled and nodded.

We started walking to Ponyville, when Terra suddenly thought of something.

“Why were you concerned about being here, Leon?” She asked.

“Because it’s very likely we’re going to be assaulted by someone the second we get to town.” I replied, but I also glanced around “Actually, now that I think about it, I’m surprised we haven’t seen her yet. Maybe her senses have been over-exaggerated somewhat.”

“You sure about that?” a bubbly voice chirped from behind me.

“Anything’s possible. In fact, it’s entirely within reason we may not have landed in the exact universe from the show. For all I know we could’ve…” Then I stopped, realizing Terra had not said anything.

I turned around and only saw Terra standing a ways away from me, her hands covering her mouth, trying and failing to cover her laughter. I groaned.

“Is there a pink pony behind me, perhaps making strange faces and attempting bunny ears on me without hands?” I asked her. Terra lowered her hands, revealing a cute smile barely containing her giggles, but she managed to answer my question.

“Why, yes. Yes there is, though I’m not sure if she’s actually a pony.” Terra replied “I mean, her face is vaguely equine and she is covered in fur, but apart from her legs ending in hooves, she does actually have hands.”

My jaw dropped for the second time in God knows how long. Seriously, my sense of time is more out of whack right now than if I had jet lag.

“Are you kidding me? Of all the Equestrias we could’ve landed in, we had to end up in the one with anthro-ponies?!” I put a hand up to my eyes and rubbed at them. After a moment, I clapped my hands together.

“Alright then, shock over, let’s introduce ourselves!” I said as I spun around to face a very pink pony-girl with a curly pink mane and tail of a darker shade.

Her current attire consisted of a pink t-shirt decorated in balloons and confetti with an unzipped pink jacket over it and she wore a pair of pink capris pants that were also pink with pink sneakers on her hooves (if you think it sounds weird, it’s because you weren’t there. It was way weirder).

She extended a pink, fur-covered hand to me and said “Hi, my name is Pinkie Pie, but you already knew that because you’re from a different world and so is she! And what’s your name?” She asked with literally the biggest grin I’ve ever seen on anybody (I also saw something flash across her eyes briefly, but it was gone before I could identify it). I decided to have a bit of fun with the pink party pony-girl (try saying that three times fast).

“I’m Thor.” I replied, giving her a dumb smile.

“You’re Thor?” She asked, her grin widening.

“Well it hurtth.” I replied, my dumb smile transforming into a wide grin of my own.

Pinkie Pie burst out into immense laughter and fell onto her back and I heard Terra giggling behind me. I turned to a random direction and put a fake smile on my face.

“Today’s broadcast has once again been brought to you by Grass.” I said, gesturing all around me “It’s everywhere, get used to it.”

Pinkie’s laughter hit a crescendo and I heard her actually gasping for breath.

‘Ah, so the party pony does have her limits.’ I mused before I extended a hand toward the fallen pony-girl and helped her up, still gasping for breath.

“You’re funny, weird bald pony!” She said with a final giggle.

“Not a pony, sugar. I’m human, and so is she.” I said, gesturing toward Terra, who’d caught up to us.

Terra and Pinkie eventually stopped giggling, at which point I promptly introduced us (properly, no smart-ass this time).

“My name is Leon, and this is Terra.” I said and Pinkie shook both our hands vigorously.

“You’re so cute, Pinkie!” Terra said with an elated expression on her face “And your fur is so soft!”

Pinkie hugged Terra fiercely “Aww, I think you’re cute too, Terra!” Then her eyes popped open and her jaw dropped “ohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh, we need to get you to Ponyville and throw both of you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party! Or should it be a ‘Welcome to Equestria’ party?” She gasped again “Or it could be both! How fun would that be?! Oh, I can’t wait, we need to go now!”

The party pony-girl grabbed both of us and the world blurred. When it resolidified, we found ourselves standing outside of a two-story building that looked to be made of sweets. I immediately identified it as Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie works and also throws her parties on a regular basis. Pinkie let go of our hands and waved frantically at us.

“Okokok, you two wait here, while I go get everything ready!” Then she started bouncing around us “Oh, I’ve gotta tell the girls about this, they’ll be so excited!” And she shot off at a speed that would’ve made a certain blue hedgehog jealous.

Once I decided the ground wasn’t going to slip out from under me, I turned to Terra, who looked rather green.

“Oh no…” I said, taking Terra by the hand and led her into the bakery “This way, Terra, you just need to sit down for a second.”

A mare wearing a baker’s outfit met us at the door, was about to greet us normally, but then saw Terra and shrieked.

“Oh, sweet Celestia, you look like you’re going to be sick! Come, dear, have a seat while I get you some tea.” She said as she took Terra’s other hand and led her to a table and helped her into a seat before hurrying off. I took the seat next to Terra and rubbed her back.

“Take it easy, sweetheart, just breathe.” I said. She turned her head to me and gave a small smile, but it vanished again with a small groan.

The mare returned with a bag and a tray with a teapot and two teacups, which she placed on the table in front of us and handed Terra the bag. Terra nodded gratefully and put the bag in her lap while I poured tea into her cup and handed it to her. Terra took a sip and grimaced, but then she took a longer sip before placing the cup back on the small plate. She was looking decidedly less green after that.

“Thank you, ma’am. I feel much better now.” Terra said weakly “I’m afraid I don’t have any money to pay you back with.”

The mare waved her hand dismissively “Don’t worry yourself about it, dear. We couldn’t have you getting sick now, could we?” The mare said, giving Terra a motherly smile.

I stood up from my seat and removed my hat, after which I offered my hand to the mare.

“My name is Leon, ma’am, and I truly appreciate you helping my friend.” I said as the mare took my hand and shook it with a smile.

“I’m Cup Cake, though everypony calls me ‘Mrs. Cake’.” She replied “And it was no trouble at all, it was actually my pleasure to help. And I know why she looked like that, not everypony can handle being around Pinkie Pie for long, though the poor dear means well.”

I nodded sympathetically, wondering exactly how many unfortunate souls Pinkie’s done her fast travel to, but ultimately deciding it was better not to. I returned to my seat next to Terra, who was looking around at the bakery in awe, staring at the various colorful ponies in the establishment now that she was no longer in danger of puking her guts all over the floor.

I decided to look around as well and easily recognized many of the individuals in the bakery, though there actually weren’t that many.

I saw Golden Harvest, wearing a simple white t-shirt and overalls with heavy work boots on her hooves and a pair of thick work gloves on the table next to her drink and munching on a carrot cake.

There was Berry Punch in the corner, looking like she literally just crawled out of bed with her baggy t-shirt and pajama pants, both colored a light blue to contrast her plum-colored coat. She was holding her head and her mouth was open in what I assumed was a groan as she took a light sip of her coffee. I barely managed to hide a smirk at the sight.

There were a few others that I recognized, but didn’t actually know their names. Besides, it would take too damn long to describe each of them.

My musings were interrupted by a rather posh voice.

“You look absolutely marvelous in that hat, darling, though that coat just does not fit with it.”

“I’ve never really had money to get a good coat to match it, but thank you just the same.” I said automatically, before it clicked as to just who in Ponyville would compliment someone’s clothing.

I turned my head in the direction of the voice and my jaw dropped… again.

How to describe exactly what I’m seeing…

It was Rarity, though it doesn’t stop there. She was… gorgeous, simply stunning, wearing a sleek light purple dress that accented her alabaster coat while also showing off her very feminine curves (seriously, you could not have mistaken her for anything other than female if you tried), with a diamond cut into the chest of the fabric to show off her rather ample… ahem, moving on. It was sleeveless and displayed her delicate arms, and it had a slit up the right side of the lower portion of the dress to display her long and shapely leg. Her royal purple mane was styled in such a way to bring attention to her facial features, which were damn near perfect.

Simply put, I was staring at a pinnacle of feminine beauty that the women of my world could not have attained with all the make-up and plastic surgery in the entirety of Earth. Seriously, she could’ve walked within a block of the building the Oscar’s were being held in and drawn all the press away just from sheer sex appeal.

She noticed me staring at her and gave me a sly wink, at which point I snapped out of my stupor and shook my head slightly. I stood from my chair and extended my hand in greeting.

“I apologize for staring, ma’am. My name is Leon, and this is Terra.” I said, gesturing to the girl who was still staring at the alabaster unicorn in awe. The unicorn smiled at me (and her eyes briefly flashed with something I couldn’t identify yet, the same thing that I saw in Pinkie’s eyes).

“And I am Rarity, Ponyville’s debut fashionista!” She proclaimed, extending her own hand to me, which I took and planted a light kiss upon. Rarity blushed at the gesture, but gave me a warm smile “Well well, it seems there is yet a stallion in Equestria that still remembers manners in the presence of a lady, though you don’t look like any pony I’ve ever seen in town before. Are you new?”

“Yes we are, Miss Rarity, and we’re not ponies; we’re humans. Would you like a seat, we were having tea while waiting for Pinkie Pie to return.” I said, offering a seat to the alabaster unicorn, who giggled.

“Be careful, Leon. If you continue to treat a lady this way, she may just take you home with her.” She teased, winking at me again. I blushed and coughed as she continued “Though you do not need to call me ‘Miss’, it’s just ‘Rarity’ to my friends.”

After pulling a chair out and seating her, like a true gentleman, I returned to my own seat next to Terra, who was staring at me now and giggling, though she turned back to Rarity.

“Wow, you’re so beautiful!” Terra said, clapping her hands together “I wish I was half as pretty as you.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, darling, your outfit is adorable! And the way you have styled your mane is simply gorgeous.” Rarity replied, taking one of Terra’s hands and giving it a gentle squeeze, causing Terra to blush.

Rarity turned her attention to me “So. What brings a handsome, if shabbily dressed, gentlecolt and an absolutely adorable filly to Ponyville?”

I shrugged “Don’t know yet. I woke up in some creepy hotel I don’t know how long ago, and found Terra while I was at it.”

“It was terrible, and I didn’t want to be alone. Leon took my hand and held on to it until we got here.” Terra said, giving an embarrassed smile.

“Aw, that is so touching.” Rarity said with a smile “Did you come straight here from that dreadful place?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but I realized there was a gap between when Terra and I were swallowed by the darkness and when we woke up here on Equestria.

“No, we… went somewhere else, but…” My head began to ache and I put the palm of my hand against it, groaning. It was then words came to me, spoken by a weirdly familiar voice.

‘Hey, stop thinking about it; focus on where you are.’

I felt Terra’s hand on my shoulder and I looked at her. As I did, the ache in my head went away. I gave Terra a weary smile, and patted her hand reassuringly.

“Are you okay, Leon?” Rarity asked, concerned. I gave her a small nod.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Just a headache, I get them every so often.” I replied, smiling. At that moment, I heard my phone go off, granted it was muffled.

I face-palmed. In all the excitement I’d forgotten to put my crap back where it belongs.

I placed my messenger bag on the table, taking care not to spill anyone’s tea, and rummaged inside. I removed Terra’s moogle doll and handed it to her, wondering how the hell it got in there. I also removed the Charmander and handed that to Terra as well, which garnered a squeal from her as she took it and hugged both dolls.

Once my bag was clear of dolls, I discovered a surprising amount of stuff inside it, stuff I knew for a fact I didn’t put inside it (other than the power cables for my phone and iPod, which I’d never leave home without). There was a small box full of mechanical pencils and gel pens, two small notebooks which were blank when I flipped through them, along with some various other knick-knacks. I’ll go through those later, but right now I need the important one.

After a moment, my hands closed around my phone and I pulled it out, unlocking the screen and noticing I had a text message… from Pinkie Pie.

‘How the flip-freakin’ hell did she get a hold of my phone without me noticing, and when did she put her number in it?!’ After a moment of stunned silence, I pulled the taskbar down and selected the message.

From: Pinkie

Omw bak had sum truble getting dashie cant find rarity n e wer lemme no wen u c her

I groaned audibly at Pinkie’s terrible typing. Rarity, seeing what was going on, pulled out her own phone and tapped at it for a moment before placing it back in her purse.

Immediately, I got another text from Pinkie telling me to forget about the last one. The new one she sent was still nearly unreadable, I’m not going to ruin your eyesight by showing you.

I’m about to put it away, when I noticed Terra was staring intently at my phone. I shrug and offer it to her, and she takes it tentatively.

“What is it?” She asks, awed.

“It’s called a cellular phone, Terra.” I explain to the girl from a fantasy world (wakka wakka) “It’s a device I use in my world, apparently shared here in this world as well, that allows me to speak to people over great distances and also allows me to send messages to them. I’m actually kinda surprised mine works here.”

“It’s quite common knowledge, Terra.” Rarity said, eyeing the girl curiously “Don’t you have them where you come from?” Terra looks at the ground, her face red from embarrassment, as she hands me back my phone.

“No… We don’t…” She murmured. I glare darkly at Rarity, who looks at me quizzically.

“Did I say something wrong?” She asks.

“I’ll explain properly when the rest of the girls get here, but right now, you’ve made her feel stupid.” I replied coldly.

Rarity gasps, stands from her seat and moves around the table to embrace Terra.

“Oh, I am so terribly sorry, my dear Terra, my comment was made in ignorance!” She practically wails, making the entire building glance curiously at us “Could you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?”

Terra was even more embarrassed now, but not in the same way as earlier.

“Oh, um… Okay.” Terra replies, quietly, which only caused Rarity to squeal and hug her more.

“Oh, you are simply adorable! You are so much like my friend, Fluttershy, you could be her sister!”

I groan and hide my face in my hands, feeling the eyes of every pony in the building boring into us.

At that moment, I hear the front door of the bakery open and someone gasp.

I remove my hands from my face and look at the newcomer, a rather… pretty, lavender coated unicorn mare with a dark purple mane and tail that had a two-tone strip running through it, wearing an outfit not unlike something you’d find on a student attending a prep school, though she seemed a little old for such a thing. Not to say it wasn’t working for her, especially with those stockings she was wearing (what? A girl can show leg in more ways than just flat-out displaying it like Rarity does, though not many can pull stockings off like this girl could).

What really got my attention was the fact that she was staring at me like she couldn’t believe I was there, in that room. She was also breathing heavily, like she’d run all the way here from… wherever it was she’d been (most likely the library, but as they say… spoilers).

I coughed but, being the gentleman that I was, I rose from my seat and approached the stunned mare, though for some reason I felt my face heating up and my heart began to beat quickly.

“Hello, my name is-” I began, but she murmured one word that stopped me cold.

“Leon…”

Ch. 4: "Startling Truths"

View Online

Chapter Four
“Startling Truths”

Okay, you are very rarely ever going to hear me use profanity stronger than what I’ve been using, but this moment calls for it.

What. The. Fuck.

I stopped maybe halfway between her and the table, while both Rarity and Terra looked between us in shock.

“How do you know my name?” I asked coldly, forgetting the rules I’d set in place in regards to my knowledge of this world.

She blinked, and gave me a confused look.

“Why wouldn’t I?” She replied, giving me a warm smile and extending a hand to touch my face, but I stepped quickly out of reach.

I noticed at this point that Pinkie had returned with the rest of the Mane Six, and all of them were staring at us while Twilight looked genuinely hurt when I’d backed away from her.

“Leon… It’s me, Twilight… Don’t you recognize me?” She asked, quietly.

“I know damn well who you are, my question was ‘How the hell do you know who I am’?!” I snapped. I could feel panic rising in my heart, and apparently the others could as well, because Rarity stood up and placed herself between us.

“N-now, now I’m certain we can answer everypony’s questions over tea.” She said with a forced smile, but I turned a sharp glare to her.

After a moment of silence, I turned back to the table and packed everything I’d pulled out back in my bag, letting Terra hold onto the dolls.

“Terra, we need to leave. Now.” I said, slinging the bag over my shoulder and gently pulling her chair out as she stood (I may be losing it, but that’s no excuse to be rough with Terra. She’s done nothing wrong).

I saw Twilight’s friends put themselves in front of the door to the bakery and decided I wasn’t getting out that way, because I knew that I wouldn’t last two seconds in a straight up fight against Rainbow Dash or Applejack, let alone both, so I ushered Terra through the door to the kitchen and we left quickly out the back.

We ran away from the bakery, following the back roads between the various buildings until I was certain we were alone, at which point I leaned against the wall next to me, breathing heavily.

“Leon… are you okay?” Terra asked, placing a hand on my shoulder and looking into my eyes. God, I did not want to see that worried expression on her face, but at the same time I couldn’t lie to her.

“I, I don’t… no, Terra, I’m not okay. She… they shouldn’t know who I am, we’ve never met before.” I replied, sliding down the wall until I was sitting against it instead of leaning, my mind still reeling from the fact that Twilight… no, the entire Mane Six, knew who I was! It shouldn’t be possible, I only got roped into this mess maybe a few hours ago, or a few days ago or how the hell was I supposed to know?!

I put my hands against my head, which was hurting from the fact that I just couldn’t understand exactly what was going on and it scared the hell out of me. Terra seemed to sense this and wrapped me in a gentle hug.

“Its okay, Leon. I’m here for you, just like you were there for me when I needed you most.” She whispered soothingly “Everything’s going to be fine.”

“How do you know that, Terra?!” I asked her, my voice shaking in fear “After all that’s happened, how can you tell me everything’s going to be okay?!”

“Because…” She replied, her tone gentle “I have faith in you. You’ve just got a lot to deal with, that’s all. One step at a time, okay?”

I considered her words carefully, and realized she was right. I couldn’t break now, not after we just started. She needed me to remain whole, because she was afraid and I gave her courage. Looking at me now, I realize I’d also been afraid the whole time. Terrified, really, but I now understood she gave me as much courage as I gave her. I never would have made it this far without her.

Don’t get the wrong idea, I am not romantically interested in Terra; she’s too young for me and she inspires the wrong emotions. For me, it’s more of a… familial thing. I feel like she’s my little sister that I have to protect. That’s not to say she’s unattractive; I think she’s very cute.

I regulated my breathing and patted Terra on the shoulder. When she broke the embrace and looked at me worriedly, I gave her a winning smile.

She stood and stepped back to let me get to my feet, but as I did, I saw Applejack standing about twenty feet away.

My first thought was to turn around and run, but I saw the expression on her face and realized she’d probably followed us from the bakery (both Terra and I were too distracted by my near mental-breakdown to really notice) and purposefully stayed well back. I decided to give the cowpony a chance to talk, and I beckoned her over.

Okay, you can probably guess what an anthro version of Applejack would be wearing, but I’ll describe the attire regardless (to the best of my abilities, I never was great at descriptions).

Apart from her brown Stetson, she wore a white tank top with a red-checkered blouse over it, undone to maybe halfway down the shirt. She also wore a pair of jeans that accented her well toned legs (these ponies are gonna give me a crazy leg fetish, I swear to God) with a belt not unlike my own, along with a sturdy pair of ranch boots made from something that looked like leather but was most definitely not. A sturdy pair of gloves were tucked into the lip of her pants just over her right leg. She was fairly tall, too, just a couple of inches shorter than me.

All in all, she looked like the kind of girl city boys drooled at the thought of and fought themselves over.

At least she had the good grace to look embarrassed as she approached.

“So… Ah guess the cat’s already outta the bag, huh?” She said, with a forced smile on her face while she rubbed the back of her head.

“Not all of them, Applejack, but I intend to collect the rest soon enough.” I replied coolly.

She took a deep breath and exhaled, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Alright, we can explain over at the library. Do ya know where it’s at, Sugarcube?” She asked, but I shook my head.

“I never once saw a concrete map of Ponyville; things tended to change a lot back home.” I said, removing my hat and rubbing my head (No point being subtle when they already knew I have prior knowledge of them).

“Yeah, that’s what he said, too.” Applejack replied with a small chuckle, but her face grew solemn.

‘Crap… That’s not good.’

“Take me to the library, AJ.” I said, determination in my voice “If I’m gonna be here awhile around a bunch of ponies who know more about what’s happening than I do, I’m gonna need the whole story or things are gonna get more awkward around here than they already are.”

“Ah hear ya on that one.” The cowpony replied with a nod, then gestured for Terra and I to follow her. I took one step and felt Terra grab my hand. When I looked back at her, she gave me a reassuring smile and nodded.

Feeling more confidant, we followed Applejack through town to the library. We stopped at the door and AJ looked back at us.

“Are ya ready, Sugarcube? This ain’t gonna be a pretty tale and ya might not believe most a’ it.” She said, her hand positioned on the knob to open the door to perhaps the one thing I should not know, but absolutely had to “We’d completely understand If’n ya want Celestia ta send ya back home an’ ferget this all happened.”

“I’ll decide what I want once I hear the story.” I replied firmly, but I squeezed Terra’s hand to let her know just how terrified I was “One way or the other, I have to know. I don’t want to, but I have to.”

Applejack nodded grimly at me and opened the door to the library, allowing Terra and I to cross before closing it behind us and locking it.

I looked around at the main room of the library, first noting that it was completely clear of any furniture save for several chairs arranged in a circle, then noting that nearly all of the chairs were occupied by ponies. I saw two empty chairs which were placed strategically across from Twilight Sparkle, who was staring at the ground, and led Terra over to them and we sat down.

Once we were situated, I took a head count of all the ponies present.

There was Pinkie Pie sitting next to me opposite Terra, Applejack took the last empty chair which was next to Rainbow Dash, with Rarity sitting between Terra and Fluttershy. Twilight was directly opposite me and was flanked on either side by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, neither of whom looked pleased.

Before I go further, I should explain something. I’m somewhat of a Brony, the kind that likes the show, watches the fan videos, reads the fanfics and wears t-shirts with Vinyl Scratch on them (because Vinyl Scratch is awesome, don’t let anyone tell you differently). However, I don’t go to conventions and I generally won’t say anything about being a Brony unless someone asks me “who’s best pony?” to which you probably know my answer.

Anyway, now that I’ve explained how I know who each pony is (in case you hadn’t figured it out), I’ll describe the rest of the ponies in the room.

Rainbow Dash was wearing a pair of sky blue track pants (which fit her out very well, if I must say, and I’ve finally crossed the border into fetish-land) with a pair of sky blue running shoes on her hooves and a sky blue wind jacket unzipped to reveal a white tank top not unlike Applejack’s.

Fluttershy was wearing a pale yellow sundress that went down to a point between her knees and hooves, wearing what appeared to be sandals on her hooves, and was also wearing a light pink sweater.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were both wearing the kind of outfits you’d see on depictions of Roman Goddesses, each colored to best represent the wearer. Both were extremely beautiful and Terra whispered as much to me, though she blushed when both Princesses gave her a gentle smile as soon as she did (in case you’re wondering why I didn’t gawk at them like I did Rarity, it’s because I’m focused on more important matters right now).

Oh, as for ages? I’m not entirely sure, but most of them seemed to be more or less around my age. If anything, Pinkie Pie seemed youngest, closer to Terra’s age than my own followed by Rainbow Dash. Celestia looked oldest, though I use that term loosely, at maybe just getting into her thirties (I know, I know, immortal Sun Goddess and all that, she probably knew Jesus from when he was in diapers).

I gave each of the gathered ponies a stony glare, waiting for one of them to speak. When none of them did, I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Is somepony gonna explain to me how Twilight knew who I was, or am I just gonna have Princess Celestia send Terra and I home now and wash my hands of this weirdness?” I asked, coolly. Twilight’s head shot up and the look on her face was alarmed.

“No, you can’t!” She yelled, but then looked back at the ground when Celestia put a hand on her shoulder.

The Sun Princess sighed and looked me in the eyes, her expression weary.

“I suppose we should start at the beginning, then. You see, you were not the first human we’ve had visit our world.” She began carefully “He, too, knew about our existence before ever coming here, which he explained was the result of watching a TV show back in his world, though he told us that there were significant differences between the show and this world…”

Okay, I’m gonna skip the conversation and just explain to you what she told me.

There was another guy that came to this exact Equestria, who was also called Leon and he was apparently a great hero who travelled the different dimensions like some weird combination of Doctor Who and Sora from Kingdom Hearts. Turns out he’d been living in Ponyville for a couple of years before Twilight came and defeated Nightmare Moon, after which he became friends with the girls and was a great help when Discord broke free and caused all kinds of hell in Ponyville.

However a couple of months ago, something happened and Equestria came under threat from something not of the world and it took everything they had to stop it, but it wasn’t without cost.

Apparently, in the closing moments something went wrong and the other Leon had to stay behind, which ended in him giving his life to make sure Equestria would never come under outside threat ever again.

Celestia and Luna claimed they did not know what it was that brought me there, but as I looked at Twilight, I noticed she was gripping her skirt tightly in her hands and her head was bowed in such a way that I couldn’t see her face. However, I did see her body give a slight spasm every few seconds.

‘Oh, damn… She’s crying, which means only one thing…’ I sighed and put a hand to my face.

“I think I know what happened.” I said calmly, and everypony (and Terra) looked at me in surprise, except for Twilight. I leaned forward and steepled my hands in front of me.

“There was a crucial piece of information you neglected to tell me, which was that Twilight Sparkle and the other Leon were in a relationship.” I stated, which caused everypony (save for Twilight once again, who only lowered her head further) to glance away solemnly. I stood and walked over to the lavender unicorn and crouched down in front of her.

“You miss him, to such an extent that you spent countless hours researching spells until eventually you found one that could be used to summon an individual from across the Void between worlds.” I murmured to her “You thought that maybe you could use it to bring him back and the two of you could be together again.”

The unicorn said nothing and only gave a slight nod. I sighed and looked at her sadly, as I took one of her hands and held it gently.

“Twilight… you need to understand that he’s gone, and no amount of wishing is going to change it.” I said, which caused her to look at me with a glare that was furious and sorrowful at the same time.

“No, my spell worked, it brought you back!” She retorted, her voice full of desperation.

“No it didn’t, Twilight, because I’m not him!” I snapped angrily “I may look like him and speak like him, but I. Am. Not. Him!”

She looked away from me, refusing to believe what I’d told her. I sighed heavily and calmed myself.

“The dead cannot be brought back to life, Twilight. And if I know that, so did he, and he wouldn’t want you wasting your life trying to bring someone back who’s resting in peace.” I said gently, but she didn’t look at me, only gave a small sob.

“I can’t… I won’t let him go, because if I do…” She murmured.

“Twilight, even if there was a spell that could bring him back, do you think he’d want to return?” I asked her, turning her head to look at me, though her eyes glanced away “He had no regrets when he died and he went proudly. He’d tell you exactly what I’m telling you, which is to move on with your life.”

I stood up and returned to my seat. There was a heavy silence in the room, eventually broken by Celestia, who’d been staring at her prized student sorrowfully.

“This is truly unfortunate. I’m terribly sorry we put you through this, Leon.” She said, holding her hands in her lap “If you wish, I know a spell that can send you home and make you forget everything that has transpired.” Twilight gave a small twitch, but said nothing.

I very heavily considered it. I’d been taken from my home against my will by a heartbroken mare and put through more crap than I thought I deserved, it was well within my right to turn around and go back home if I so desired.

There was just one problem… I didn’t want to go back. I knew what waited for me back there, an empty world ready to collapse in on itself.

Ever since I awoke in that hotel room, I’ve had more fun than I’d ever experienced back home and I was not eager to end my adventure so soon… or face that emptiness again.

It was decided then.

“No.” I stated, which caused all of the ponies and Terra to look at me in shock “I want to see what this world has to show me, because I have no future waiting for me back in mine.”

Twilight looked up at me, her puffy eyes glowing with something that seemed hopeful, but I held up a finger.

“However, I would like to know the offer will still stand if I ever feel I should need it.” I said, looking at Celestia, who smiled and nodded.

“Of course it will. You are free to leave at any time you feel you must.” She replied, warmly.

“Great!” I said, bringing me to my next question “Can you send Terra home the same way?” I asked, gesturing towards the girl sitting next to me. Celestia gave her a thoughtful look.

“Hm, perhaps, but it could take some time.” She replied “I would need to find the frequency of the world she’s attuned to and then make sure it is the right version of her world. It could take a long time, but I can make it a priority if you so desire.”

I looked at Terra, who glanced at me before looking back at Celestia. I couldn’t answer this question for her; she had to decide for herself.

“Oh, there is no hurry. I’d like to stay and see this world as well.” She said with a small smile, and Celestia nodded.

“It is settled then!” She exclaimed “I wish to be the first to welcome you to Equestria! We shall need to find suitable living arrangements for the both of you since you shall be staying in Ponyville for an extended period of time.”

“I could take them.” Twilight ventured, but I shook my head (a part of me was… disappointed that I’d refused).

“Considering your history, Twilight, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I said, but I put a hand up to my chin in thought “Did the other Leon have a home in town?”

“He did, but we ain’t been able ta get inside since…” Applejack replied, but couldn’t finish the sentence and I understood why. Every pony in the room had been affected in some way with the other guy’s passing.

Then it hit me.

I unclipped my keychain from my belt loop and stared at the archaic key. It couldn’t be mere coincidence that I’d wake up with it.

“I think I should go check it out anyway.” I said, then looked around the room “Anypony willing to show me where it is?”

Pinkie jumped out of her chair with her hand held high “Oh, oh, oh I am! I am, pick me!”

I smiled “Alright then. Oh, and Pinkie?” I said, holding up a hand “No fast travel. You made Terra slightly ill last time.”

The party pony looked crestfallen and gave an embarrassed apology to Terra, who gave her a sweet smile and told her it was okay, which caused Pinkie to hug her.

Terra and I said our goodbyes to the Princesses and the other girls, with Rarity extending an invitation for us to come by Carousel Boutique to be fitted for outfits once we were settled. I paused a moment to look at Twilight once more, who was heading up to her room. I felt truly sorry for her and wanted to help, but I was certain there was nothing I could do to make her feel better.

It was then we left with Pinkie to be shown the home of the other Leon.

Ch. 5: "Home Sweet Home"

View Online

Chapter Five
“Home Sweet Home”

Terra, Pinkie and I stood in front of what seemed to be a fairly ordinary house (for Ponyville anyway).

I held up the archaic key, glanced at my companions and took a deep breath.

“Well, here goes nothing.” I said as I approached the door and maneuvered the key toward the keyhole. However, before it went in, both key and keyhole glowed and the house itself began ripple, like it was made of water.

After a moment of this, the house had transformed and looked like something that came out of my world, but with a better color scheme. It was large, but not so much as to be unnecessary, and it had two stories.

I looked at the door and noticed that the key had changed to look like something from my world, being positioned just short of going inside the door knob. I shrugged and proceeded to unlock the door, opening it to let Terra and Pinkie Pie in, who were both staring in awe.

I looked around for a light switch, but I couldn’t see one. After pondering for a moment on how exactly I would’ve designed a magical home in a magical world, I got an idea and grinned.

“Ladies.” I said with dramatic flair “I bid thee welcome… to Casa de Leon!” I finished with a snap of my fingers, which caused all the lights in the house to turn on, each glowing softly.

The girls ‘ooo’d’ and ‘ahh’d’ while I looked around at the surprisingly quaint home. I saw that the entire first floor of the house was mostly one big room, with a living area on my right and a dining room and kitchen to my left, with a hallway down the middle.

The living room was probably the most decorated part of the main floor, with a large L-shaped couch taking up the corner connecting the living room and hallway walls, a recliner positioned next to it at an angle with a small coffee table set up between it and the couch. There was a rather large TV sitting on an entertainment center opposite the couch with a long coffee table in place between them, and I noticed a rack of wooden TV trays next to the entertainment center.

‘Wow, the living room seems to have been designed with comfort in mind, and it looks like I could handle a wide variety of situations with this set-up’ I nodded in approval, then turned to look at the dining area.

It was actually a dining room/kitchen combo, with the wall between it and the hallway extended to support a counter. The dining room was simple, in that all it had was a large table that could easily seat about 10 people comfortably, with as many chairs positioned symmetrically around it (four on either side, one at each end).

‘I’m not entirely comfortable with the idea of staying here anymore; this whole place has a… permanent home-type feel to it, which is kinda strange for a dimension-hopping hero.’ I thought, but mentally shrugged ‘Doesn’t matter. I think I’ll check out the kitchen later, though I imagine it’ll have everything I need to cook with. Let’s go check out the rest of the house, maybe there’s a room for Terra.’

I looked at my companions and saw them looking around the house in awe.

“C’mon, girls. Let’s check out the rest of the house.” I said, gesturing down the hall.

It wasn’t much, it only had two doors at the very end, one on either side. The door on the right led into a roomy bathroom, but there wasn’t much to look at in there.

The door on the left actually opened up to a set stairs leading to the second floor, which turned out to be where the bedrooms were.

The stairs led up, then the floor curved around.

Okay, I’m gonna do my best to describe this so bear with me here. To start with, we walked up the stairs and turned around, seeing that there were two doors on our right, and two doors at the other end.

Considering the layout of the house, I surmised that the door at the end on the left most likely led into a small restroom, while the other three were bedrooms. When we opened the door next to us, it was indeed a bedroom, though there weren’t many furnishings apart from a large bed and a couple of dressers with a closet. The room next to it proved to be nearly identical, so I assumed these were guest rooms.

Opening the door at the end on the right, my jaw dropped.

It wasn’t terribly furnished itself, though more than the other two, and it was also almost twice as big. The bed wasn’t much bigger, but I honestly didn’t give a crap about how big the bed was, I was more interested in the fact that the room seemed to be split between a bedroom and some kind of office. Seriously, there was an L-shaped desk in the corner with a large computer monitor on one side, with the other side neatly organized in preparation for office stuff I couldn’t do on the computer.

I decided to examine the PC under the desk, rolling the very nice office chair out of the way. Unfortunately, I’m not a computer geek outside of playing games on one or using office programs, so to me it looked just like something you could buy in a store, granted I could tell it looked expensive.

“Wow, this house is super-duper cool, Leon!” Pinkie exclaimed while jumping on the bed.

“Yes, it is really lovely.” Terra said, looking curiously at the computer.

I took a seat in the office chair (holy crap, I could sit in this thing forever!) and looked at Terra.

“Well, now that we’ve seen the place, which room do you want, Terra?” I asked and she gave me a shy smile.

“I think I’ll take one of the smaller rooms, if that’s alright.” She murmured, rubbing her arm.

“Sweetheart, if you want this room, you only have to say so.” I said, gesturing to what was obviously the master bedroom, though she shook her head.

“No, this looks like a room for someone who could use the workspace, I think you’ll need it more than me.” She said, giving me a warm smile.

I shrugged “If that’s what you want, I’m not gonna argue with you.” I said with a smile, but cocked an eyebrow at her curiously “Are you sure, though?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” She replied with a smile.

I nodded and stood up from the chair, at which point I noticed Pinkie had stopped bouncing on the bed and had climbed off the bed to pick something up, which she now stared at.

“Pinkie? What’s wrong?” I asked her, and she turned slowly towards me. In her hands, she held a book; a journal to be more exact and she had it opened to one of the last written entries.

She hands me the journal and I look at it, my heart sinking as I read. It was the other Leon’s journal and this particular entry detailed what his plan for Twilight was, and why he’d had the house built. He’d planned to retire from saving worlds and remain in Equestria with her.

I said nothing, only opening one of the drawers to the desk and sliding the journal deep inside it before closing the drawer once more.

“What are you going to do, Leon?” Pinkie asked me, and I was quiet a moment before answering.

“I don’t know.” I replied, still looking at the drawer where I’d put the journal “I just… need some time to think, that’s all.”

“You’re not mad at Twilight, are you?” She asked and I shook my head.

Despite everything that had happened, I couldn’t hate Twilight. I wasn’t even angry at her. All I felt was sorrow in regards toward her suffering. I wanted to help her get over it, but at the same time my presence might just make it worse, cause her to lose herself to the memory… and I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing her like that.

After a moment, I looked back to Pinkie and Terra and gave them both a winning smile.

“Let’s go back downstairs, shall we? I’ll make us some food, since I have no idea when the last time I ate was.” I said, which garnered a smile and nod from both of them before they left. I followed them, but stopped at the door and glanced back to where I put the journal.

‘Rest easy, bud. I’ll keep an eye on Twilight for you.’ Then I turned and went downstairs with Pinkie and Terra.

As we exited the hallway, I looked into the living room and was startled to see Twilight Sparkle (and just a little… excited?) sitting on the couch. She looked at me when I entered and her face became strained, like she was having trouble deciding on what to feel and I didn’t blame her.

She rose from the couch and walked over to me, though she stopped just out of arm’s reach. She looked flustered and her mouth was opening and closing in an attempt to speak. Eventually she shut her mouth, took a deep breath and spoke.

“Leon, I wish to apologize for dragging you here against your will. I… wasn’t thinking clearly.” She looked away from me, her expression pained “I’m so, so sorry…”

I stepped forward and placed a comforting arm on her shoulder while smiling at her.

“It’s alright, Twilight, I’m not angry at you and I don’t hold anything against you.” I said soothingly and she looked at me in surprise “I know you’re in a terrible amount of pain, especially considering how close the two of you were. If I’d been in your position, I probably would’ve done the same thing. But… if you really don’t want me to leave, I’m gonna need you to promise me something.”

“What is it?” She asked, confused and I looked her in the eyes.

“No more tears.” I said resolutely, and then gave her another smile “Besides, I don’t think he’d want you crying all the time over him. I’m sure if he were here right now, he’d ask you to forgive him for causing you so much pain.”

She looked at me for a moment, before nodding and wiped away a couple of small tears with her hand.

“There’s nothing to forgive, if anything I couldn’t have been prouder to have known him than I did at that exact moment.” She said, with a sniffle “He died a hero. Everypony will always remember him for that, whereas I will always remember… what we had together.”

Her face fell “But… those memories are all the more painful because I know I’ll never be able to make more of them with him. I remember him… the joy we had, the moments we shared… and all it does is make me miss him more.”

My felt my own heart breaking for her.

You see, when a person dies, they cease to be. To most everyone, they may see an obituary for that person in the paper and think “How sad” before going on with their lives. The reason for this is because they had no connection to that person what-so-ever.

Then there’s people who knew that person before their death and they feel a sense of loss. They’d known that person on a more personal level, were probably even friends with them, and they feel that loss acutely. But after a short amount of time, a handful of weeks usually, they’ll go back to their lives while still remembering whatever impact that the person made on them.

But the real damage… the most acute loss is felt by the people who’d known that person and loved them, most often the parents or siblings, but also by someone they’d had a deep connection with that went further than ‘just friends’. These people are crippled by the sudden loss of someone who’d been an integral part of their lives and are often driven mad by their pain.

You ever hear stories of people who become addicted to drugs or waste away in bars drinking themselves into oblivion? Yeah, more often than you’d think, they’re doing all that because they lost someone who’d been so important to them that they literally couldn’t envision their future without them and are looking for an escape from the kind of heartache very few people could ever understand because what is happening to them is that they are being crushed by every single memory they’d ever shared with that person.

In such an event, there is very little you can do for them. You can show support and try talking to them, but in the end it will be up to the mourner to reconcile their heart.

I decided to wrap Twilight in a gentle hug. She seemed surprised by this, but returned it.

“I’m not gonna say I understand what you’re going through.” I told her calmly “I’ve never had a connection to someone like the one you had with him. But I promise that my door is always open if you ever feel you need to talk, alright?”

She broke from the embrace and gave me a small smile.

“Thank you… Leon. I’m glad you’re not angry with me.” She said, relief in her voice “And… thank you for talking to me, I’m sure it’s more than I deserve. However, I’m curious as to how you ended up with his key.”

“Spoilers.” I said with a wink, though I wasn’t entirely sure on how I ended up with the key, either.

Her face became indignant and her mouth opened and closed several times, once again trying to find the right words to say to me, but I merely chuckled and went to the kitchen, stopping before I could round the corner.

“Hey, since you’re here, you wanna stay for lunch? No idea what’s available, but we’re gonna find out.” I asked her with an eyebrow raised.

She stared at me a moment before giving out a sigh and nodding her head with a small smile.

As it turns out, his pantry was stocked with quite a bit of food (save for cow, pig and chicken meat), so I made a delicious pasta for lunch and the four of us had a relatively normal chat about the goings-on in the world, with no mention of the guy who came before me.

All in all… it wasn’t a bad start to things, and I felt I could forget about the world I came from.

Ch. 6: "Day Two, 48 Hours Remaining"

View Online

Chapter Six
“Day Two, 48 Hours Remaining”

That night, after Pinkie and Twilight had left to go back home and Terra had gone off to bed (taking both dolls with her, though I didn’t really mind. I’d been planning on giving her the Charmander doll anyway), I brought my messenger bag up to my room and put it on the desk. I shut the door and took a seat at the desk to begin taking stock of what exactly I had on me, starting with my basic travel kit (y’know, my pocket items). Once those were given a space on the desk all to themselves, I took stock of… well, my inventory.

I had my Berretta 92FS along with three extra clips, one of which was empty (I only ever bring one full clip with me along with the empty one which means at some point I’d ended up with two extra clips). I checked to make sure the safety was still on, removed the clip from the pistol and replaced it with the empty one, then ejected the bullet I kept in the chamber before opening a desk drawer and putting the gun and its ammo inside.

I removed the box of writing utensils and the two notebooks, the power cables for my iPod and phone (complete with USB adapters for electrical outlets), along with the small bag that held the speaker system I’d bought for my iPod. I left these on the desk and continued rummaging in my bag.

I pulled out the leg holster for my Berretta and set it aside. I pulled out a set of throwing knives, which I don’t usually pack in my bag. I pulled out a long combat knife, the kind used by US Special Forces (it was even the high quality stuff, too), and set it aside as well. I also pulled out my little LED flashlight and a coil of freakin’ rope.

Now I understood what I was dealing with… it was my Standard Adventurer’s Kit, there was even trail mix in there. Whaddaya know.

After my quiet revelation, I pulled out the letter I was supposed to deliver to someone here, though for the life of me I couldn’t remember where I’d gotten it or who’d given it to me. I shrugged and looked at the front, which had a name on it in elegant script.

It said The Doctor.

I gaped at it. How the hell was I supposed to deliver a letter to the freakin’ Doctor?! I face-palmed in preparation for the headache I knew was gonna come.

“How the hell did I get roped into this?” I muttered to myself. I decided to go downstairs to get a glass of water and cool down.

As I was going down the hall past Terra’s room, I decided to crack the door open and check on my companion. She was sleeping soundly in her bed, covered almost completely by her blanket, and she was clutching both dolls to her as she slept.

It was seriously the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.

I just wish she didn’t have to sleep in the clothes she’d been wearing for an unknown amount of time (her cape was actually downstairs hanging from a rack next to the front door along with my hat and hoodie). I decided that first thing in the morning, we were going to Rarity’s to get some sleepwear made. I really hated taking advantage of Rarity’s generosity, but until such time as I could start making money I was kinda stuck.

I closed the door to Terra’s room quietly and proceeded downstairs, through the hallway and into the kitchen. I pulled a pitcher of chilled water out of the fridge and poured some of it into a glass, which I took a deep pull of.

I took my glass into the living room and sat on the couch. I was really tired and I wanted to go to bed, but I had too much on my mind.

What was I gonna do about the situation I was in? It’s not just about Twilight, or the other girls, or even the Princesses. There was Terra who, despite her acceptance of the situation, wasn’t going to be able to return home for a long time. I wondered how she truly felt about all of this. Even though she’s been relatively calm about the whole thing, if I were her, I’d be freaking out big time.

Hell, I very nearly lost it myself earlier today. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about moving into the home of a guy the girls obviously cared deeply for, especially Twilight. I’m fairly certain she’s not comfortable with me living here, but there’s not a lot that can be done about it.

I placed my hand on my head as I leaned back against the couch. Let’s not forget that I’m probably going to be experiencing some of the events from the show, which is just gonna be fun, fun, fun.

“We are certain it will not be as bad as thou believes.” A regal voice said from beside me.

I open one eye and glance over to my right, to see Princess Luna sitting on the couch next to me, giving me a penetrating stare.

“Oh… Lovely.” I said exasperated “I fell asleep on the couch holding a half-empty glass of water.”

“Well you are very tired, Leon.” She replied, giving me a small smile “Tis to be expected when the stress of one’s day becomes too much to bear, and thou has had a very long day indeed.”

I groaned and looked at her again.

“How long were you waiting for me to fall sleep, Princess?” I asked her, to which she put a hand to her chin in thought.

“Hm, about two or three hours.” She said, and then gave me a warm smile “We checked on your companion whilst we waited, and we are pleased to report that she is sleeping peacefully; Thou needn’t worry about her.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, and gave her a weary smile.

“Thanks. She puts on a strong face, but I know she’s probably scared out of her mind about this whole thing.” I said, looking up at the dream-ceiling.

“Actually…” Luna interjected “She has complete faith in you, and believes you won’t let anything happen to her. We even gave her a small test, in which we had a mental projection of you turn on her, taunting and threatening her.”

I sat up straight and spun on the Princess, but stopped when she held up her hand.

“She was not fooled and stood her ground, firm in the belief that thou would never, in a million years, wish to harm her.” Luna said, her voice filling with pride “We were humbled by her conviction and we let her be, while ensuring she would get a good night’s sleep.”

I stared at Luna, unsure of what to say.

“I… Thank you, Princess. Though I wish you hadn’t felt the need to torment Terra.” I said as my eyes closed in exhaustion “She’s been through so much already, I don’t want her psyche getting anymore scarred than it already is.”

“Terra is stronger than thou believes, Leon.” Luna stated which caused me to look at her quizzically “She admits that while she is afraid, there are people she wishes to protect and that she is going to remain strong for them.” Luna stared hard at me “In much the same way thou desires to protect her, she also wishes to protect you, because she can see how vulnerable thou truly is. If anything, tis thee who hides what thou truly feels.”

“Oh?” I asked her curiously “And what is it that I truly feel?”

“Thou hides a deep darkness within thine soul, and thou are afraid that if you feel doubt for even a second, it shall consume you, and thou knows this.” Luna stated matter-of-factly, and I knew she was right.

I was never happy with my world, for very personal reasons that I did not want to talk about, at least not with Princess Luna. To be truthful… it went further than unhappiness and that’s what scared me. Terra was a comfort to me because she gave me something to focus on, but I feared for when that would no longer be true.

I sat back once more in the dream-couch and put both my hands on my face, giving out a low groan. I felt Luna place her hand on my shoulder and I looked at her. She gave me a hopeful smile.

“Do not fret, Leon, for we are going to be there to help you up should you fall. And by ‘we’ I mean all of us; myself, my sister, the Elements of Harmony and Terra.” She said resolutely “We shall not abandon thee to ruin, so long as we draw breath.”

I gave her a small smile and put my hand on hers, grasping it lightly. After a moment, she stood from the couch and walked over to the door, which she opened before looking back at me.

“I suggest you return to your bed if you hope to sleep well. Do not worry, I shall make sure you are well-rested for the morning.” She said with a small smile, before crossing the threshold and closing the door behind her, the sound of which woke me from my light slumber.

I looked around at the living room, virtually unchanged from when I’d sat down or even when Luna had spoken to me, though I noticed my glass of water had been placed on the coffee table, despite me having no memory of doing so.

I sat in silence for a moment, before draining the last of my water and returning the glass to the kitchen before heading back to my room upstairs. I paused once more by Terra’s room, but decided to continue onward. She didn’t need me worrying about her all the time, and I knew it.

The next morning, after a light breakfast, Terra and I set out to Carousel Boutique. We had to ask for directions at one point from a pretty mare selling roses (I also think she likes me, from the way she was batting her eyelashes), but we found our way easily enough.

Once there, Rarity immediately took Terra aside and began to get her measurements. I made a point of waiting outside the boutique until she was finished, though this proved somewhat unfortunate when the Cutie Mark Crusaders showed up.

Applebloom was wearing a shirt the same color as her bow, with a pair of overalls that looked like they were more for fashion than function (given that she’s about ten, I honestly doubt Applejack makes her do anything that would actually require sturdier material), with a pair of small ranch boots on her hooves.

Scootaloo was wearing… a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. I’m not gonna go into a terrible amount of detail when the attire was so simple (I’ve been known to wear gray shirts with my jeans before. Does that sound interesting to you? That’s what I thought).

Sweetie Belle was absolutely adorable. Where her sister, Rarity, was the woman men fell over themselves to be with, Sweetie Belle was the girl all the boys had a crush on when they were ten years old. She wore a frilly white dress that went down to just past her knees, with cute little white buckled shoes on her hooves. Her blouse was white with frills on the sleeves and was tied in the back with a bow.

As they approached the boutique talking animatedly amongst themselves, I stood absolutely stock-still, wondering if they would notice me standing next to the freakin’ door if I didn’t move. What’s funny about it is they very nearly did walk into the boutique without so much as wayward glance at me until Applebloom looked up as she passed and stopped to stare at me.

If you want a good example of what I was doing, I’ll give you this: Have you ever seen someone put up a caricature of a cowboy in their yard leaning against a tree or a mailbox or some junk like that? There ya go.

Applebloom and I stared at each other for a moment. She was soon joined by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, both of whom had walked into the boutique, but came out when their friend hadn’t joined him.

“I don’t think it’s real.” Scootaloo said.

‘Oh, this should be good.’ I thought as I fought back the smirk that was trying to develop on my face. I remained very still even as Applebloom walked up to me and prodded at my gut with her finger.

“Hey, Sweetie Belle, does yer sister always put ‘er fake ponies out like this?” She asked, never once looking away from me.

“Not usually, and she doesn’t dress the ponnequins up unless she’s using them to fill out an order.” Sweetie Belle replied, giving me the most curious look on the whole damn planet. My eyes were starting to burn because I hadn’t blinked or looked away from where I’d first met Applebloom’s eyes and my lungs were beginning to protest the decline in oxygen.

‘Just a bit longer, this’ll be worth it if I can just wait for their attention to go somewhere else.’ As if answering a prayer, Rarity came out and addressed the three fillies in front of me.

“Hello, girls.” She said, smiling at each of them “Have you seen Leon around at all? He left the boutique while I was getting his friend’s measurements and I wished to tell him it was his turn.”

The fillies all looked at Rarity (who hadn’t noticed me either), and none of them were looking at me. ‘Now’s my chance!’

“Ah ain’t seen anypony ‘round here named ‘Leon’, Rarity.” Applebloom replied “All we’ve seen is yer fake pony, here.”

Rarity gave a sigh “Oh well, I do hope he returns soon. I was going to make him a coat to go with his marvelous hat.” Then she frowned “Wait, one of my ponnequins is out here?” At which point I spoke up.

“Nope, though I just happen to be around the corner.” I said, which caused the Cutie Mark Crusaders to scream and leap away from me like I’d pulled a gun on them, though I nearly died of laughter at Scootaloo’s response.

“SWEET CELESTIA, IT’S A SPY!” She screamed, jabbing a finger in my direction.

I roared with laughter at this, but even through all of that I heard a thud behind me. I turned around and saw Rainbow Dash flat on her back, holding her stomach while bursting with laughter, tears streaming down her face.

I also noticed a white unicorn with electric blue hair and purple sunglasses on her face standing against the boutique near Rainbow Dash, also caught in uncontrollable laughter.

I recognized Vinyl Scratch immediately, and felt a little embarrassed (you would too if you met her while wearing her image on your freakin’ shirt. I was really glad I was still wearing the hoodie).

Everyone’s favorite DJ was wearing a dark gray pullover hoodie (mine zips up) with a pair of tight-fitting torn jeans (five words: Oh My God, That Ass) and white sneakers with electric blue laces in them on her hooves. She wore a set of headphones around her neck, the kind that looked very expensive, with the cord disappearing into her hoodie pocket.

“Nothing starts a day off right like a good prank.” I said, giving the athlete and DJ a wide grin, at which both of them got their laughter under control while Rainbow Dash picked herself up off of the ground.

“That was awesome!” Rainbow said, wiping the tears from her eyes “I mean, me and Vinyl were gonna prank ya ourselves, but when we realized what you were planning…” She broke into laughter again as Vinyl walked up to me.

“Sup.” I said, gesturing with my head, which made Vinyl grin broadly at me.

“Sup, brony.” She replied, as we clasped hands, pulled each other in for a hug and patted each other on the back. We ended our greeting with an exploding fist bump.

“Alright, finally another pony that speaks my language!” She exclaimed, slapping me on the shoulder “In case you were wondering-”

“I already know who you are, Vinyl Scratch.” I said as I unzipped my hoodie enough to show her the picture on my shirt… which was her non-anthro form “I just happen to be a fan of yours. Name’s Leon.”

“Aww, that’s wicked awesome!” She replied as she examined my shirt more closely, but then frowned “I think they got my anatomy wrong; they put my hooves on my arms… I’m also naked.” Which caused me to chuckle.

“I can explain it later.” I said as I turned to Rarity “Now, you said it was my turn to get measured, Rarity?”

“Hm? Oh, yes of course. Right this way, if you please.” She said and walked back into the shop. I followed her in, and I in turn was followed by the CMC, Rainbow Dash and Vinyl Scratch.

I saw Terra sitting in a chair nearby and she stood as I walked in, but then she saw the CMC walking in behind me.

Time seemed to freeze, and then Terra gave a loud squeal and rushed over to the three fillies, scooping Sweetie Belle into a fierce hug.

“Ooooh, you three are so adorable!” She exclaimed happily. Sweetie looked uncomfortable while Applebloom and Scootaloo both looked glad that it wasn’t either of them. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and walked past them while Vinyl gave them an amused grin as she passed.

Rarity pointed over to a nearby curtain and said “If you’ll go back there and remove your clothing for me, Leon, so that I may get accurate measurements?”

I blushed, but complied for the most part though I stuck my head back out.

“Is there somewhere else the fillies can go? I’d rather not have them see me in my underbits, if you catch my meaning.” I said, with an embarrassed smile. Rarity gave me a smile and turned to Terra who was now doting on Applebloom, much to the little filly’s displeasure.

“Terra, dear, would you mind taking the girls upstairs to Sweetie’s room? She’ll show you where it is.” Rarity asked, to which Terra looked up, realized what was about to happen and went with the CMC up a nearby staircase.

After a moment, Rarity called out to me “You can come out now, darling, the girls are in the other room.”

‘Okay… moment of truth.’ I thought as I stepped out from behind the curtain in nothing but my underwear. It wasn’t so bad at first, at least until Rainbow Dash gave out a loud wolf whistle, which made me blush furiously.

“Oh my, Leon. I absolutely love your hair; it matches your eyes so perfectly! And you’re in such good shape, as well.” Rarity exclaimed, clapping her hands together and causing me to blush even more than I already was.

Okay. Just so everyone knows, I take very good care of my body. I’m not one of those ripped meat-heads you see advertising toning gyms or muscle building products or crap like that. I have more of a lean build that’s better for running and jumping around things, reason being that I had a… bad encounter when I was younger. I hate being pinned down and I practice techniques that can get me out of people’s grasp. That’s not too say that if I hit someone, they’re barely gonna feel it, I actually have a deceptive kind of strength.

Anyway, so while I’m in good shape, I’m really kind of shy about my physique.

So I stood there, feeling Rarity’s measuring tape flow all around me while she wrote down the measurements on her clipboard and the other two mares looked at me amused. I decided to have a bit of fun with them (not like that, pervs).

“So, ladies.” I said, addressing the two mares sitting around doing absolutely nothing except stare at me “Do you have tickets?”

“What?” Was the unanimous reply, though Rarity gave me a sly wink when her back was turned to the others.

“I said ‘do you have tickets’?” I asked them again, managing to keep an extremely flat expression.

“Tickets?” Rainbow Dash asked me incredulously.

“Yes, tickets.” I said in an exasperated tone, like I was having to repeat myself to the most ignorant pony in Equestria (considering it was Rainbow Dash, I probably wasn’t far off.) “Do you have them?”

I saw Vinyl’s mouth form an “o”, which turned into a wicked grin.

“Tickets to what?” She asked slyly, to which I responded by striking a pose not unlike one Iron Will would use (I hope to Celestia I never meet that guy. It’d be a royal pain in the ass).

“Tickets to the Gun Show!” I exclaimed, flexing my wiry muscles. Rarity giggled like a school girl, Rainbow Dash turned beet-red and Vinyl gave out a loud cheer while throwing a bit at me, which I caught deftly.

“Alright, ladies, show’s over.” I said with a chuckle (I’m never gonna get the image of Rainbow Dash turning red like out of my head. In fact, I’m gonna tell Applejack all about it when I see her later) “Didja get what you needed, Rarity?”

“Yes I did.” She replied with another giggle “And must I say, that was an impressive display you put on.”

“Why, thank you kindly, Rarity.” I said with an embarrassed smile “Though it’s only a onetime thing. The embarrassment might actually kill me next time, and besides, I was mostly giving Dash what she asked for with that wolf whistle.” I gave the cyan pegasus a wink, which caused her to blush again “I wouldn’t have done it if Terra or the little girls had been in the room.”

When I came out from behind the curtain again, Terra and the CMC had come back down, probably because Rarity told them it was okay, though I noticed Rainbow and Vinyl were gone. Terra walked over to me and smiled.

“Did everything go okay?” She asked, to which I nodded.

“All good on my end. What about you? The girls didn’t give you too much trouble, did they?” I asked her. She nodded at me, her smile widening.

“Oh, they were complete angels!” She replied happily “And they’re so cute, too!”

Rarity looked at Terra in surprise while the CMC groaned. At this time, I knelt down so that I was more or less eye level with the fillies.

“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced yet, girls.” I said as I offered my hand to them “My name is Leon, and I assume Terra has already introduced herself. It’s a genuine pleasure to meet all three of you.”

The girls looked at me suspiciously for a moment, before Sweetie Belle smiled and shook my hand lightly.

“I’m Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s little sister!” She said, though she was shoved aside by Applebloom as she took my hand and shook it vigorously.

“An’ Ah’m Applebloom! Ah live down at Sweet Apple Acres with mah big sis, Applejack!” She exclaimed and, in true CMC fashion, she was shoved aside by Scootaloo who gave my hand a stiff shake.

“I’m Scootaloo, President of the Rainbow Dash fan club, and the three of us together are…” and she and the other two fillies took in a deep breath. I immediately plugged my ears and saw Rarity do the same.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS! YAY!”

Mother of pearl, that was loud, even with my ears plugged and judging by the grimace on Rarity’s face, she thought so, too. Terra, however, was covering her ears and hunched over in pain.

Whoops… forgot to warn her about that… my bad. I stood back up and smiled at the three fillies.

“So. What are your plans for the day, girls?” I asked. The three fillies looked at me like I was stupid.

“We’re gonna get our cutie marks today, duh!” Scootaloo stated, as though it were obvious (it was, but I had to ask for the hell of it.) “And we’re having a sleepover tonight at the farm!”

At the mention of the sleepover, Applebloom suddenly looked crestfallen.

“Oh… Ah just remembered… We can’t have it down at the farm this time, Scoots…” She kicked at the ground with her boot “Ah’m sorry, ah completely fergot all ‘bout it…”

Scootaloo face-palmed “Okay, okay. Sweetie Belle, can we have it here?” She asked Rarity’s sister, who shook her head.

“Rarity’s busy filling out several orders, so we can’t have it here.” Sweetie replied sullenly.

“Why not have it at my place?” I offered, and the three fillies looked at me suspiciously.

“Umm… not to offend you or anything…” Sweetie began “But we just met you, we have no idea who you are.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright, he’s a friend of mine along with the rest of the girls.” Rarity said offhandedly.

The three fillies looked thoughtfully at each other, still unsure if they should.

“Girls, I’ve got one whole room that’s not being used, a living room with a huge TV though I have nothing I can play on it, a kitchen with just about any kind of food you can imagine and a dining room with a table that seats ten.” I said, holding up a hand as I listed the features off “You three will have plenty of room to do pretty much whatever you want.”

Ok, I didn’t actually want the CMC running around my house, but at the same time if the others were too busy to put up with them, I could do my part and babysit three hyperactive girls every now and then, especially when I had plenty of room to do so.

Anyway, the fillies were sold on the idea and began chatting excitedly amongst themselves. I told them were they could find my house and they immediately scattered to the four winds to prepare.

Once it was just me, Terra and Rarity, the fashionista spoke to me.

“That was a very generous thing you did, Leon.” Rarity said when the fillies left the room “There are not many ponies that are willing to spend time with those girls.”

“Yeah. I fully expect my house will be burnt to the ground tonight.” I chuckled “Besides, everypony else is busy and I’ve got nothing better going on, so why not?”

“They’re not that bad.” Terra said “They really are such sweet little girls.”

Rarity giggled at Terra’s enthusiasm, but then pursed her lips and considered me for a moment.

“The similarities between you and… him are truly remarkable.” She said thoughtfully “He, too, was always generous and kind, sparing almost no thought for himself. He was a hero in every sense of the word and the best friend any of us had.”

Rarity had stopped what she was doing and her eyes were distant. I felt a chill radiate out from my heart as I realized I was stepping into the shoes of someone the girls had not just respected, but revered. The other guy was a hero of the highest caliber to them and I was just some guy who looked like him.

“Rarity… could you... stop comparing me to him please?”

Rarity and Terra looked at me with concern, the latter putting a hand on my shoulder.

“What’s wrong, Leon?” She asked me worriedly.

“It’s just… every time one of you speaks about him like that, I feel as though I’m stepping on the memory of man more worthy of your friendship than I’ll ever be.” I replied, unable to look either of them in the eyes.

“Oh, darling…” Rarity said, sympathy in her voice “I did not mean to hurt your feelings, and you are most certainly worthy of my friendship; you have been nothing short of a perfect gentlecolt since you arrived in Equestria.”

I looked up at her with a small smile “Thanks, Rarity.”

“It’s quite alright. I always take care of my friends.” She said, but then a thought came to her “There is one comparison I’d like to make if you’re willing to hear me out.”

“And what's that?”

“Pinkie Pie told us about when she first found you two yesterday.” Rarity said with a warm smile “She said you made her laugh more in those few moments than the other Leon had the entire time he was here. She said she liked you better than him.”

I blushed, but gave her a warm smile.

“Thank you, Rarity. I really appreciate that.” I said honestly.

“You are most welcome, Leon.” She replied, but then waved her in a shooing motion “Now, off with you two. You need to go prepare your house for the fillies, or it truly shall be burnt to the ground.”

“Right.” I said as I turned to leave, but stopped and dug around in my messenger bag for a pen and paper, then wrote down my phone number and held it out “Here, this is my number. You’ll probably want to check up on Sweetie Belle later and besides, if we’re going to be friends we’ll need to be able to communicate when needed.”

She smiled as she levitated the piece of paper out of my hand and set it aside on a nearby desk. Terra and I waved goodbye and left the boutique.

The rest of the day passed smoothly and the sun was beginning to set when Rarity came by with Sweetie Belle and two packages, one for me and one for Terra, both containing a set of sleepwear and a spare change of clothes (she gave me a gray t-shirt with Vinyl’s cutie mark embroidered on it on one arm, how cool is that?!).

The sleepover itself passed relatively peaceful, though I had to intervene on some of Scootaloo’s more… extreme ideas. That night, after I’d put the girls to bed and cleaned the place up, I went to my room and changed into a very comfortable set of pajamas with music notes all over it, at which point I collapsed exhausted into my bed and fell asleep.

Ch. 7: "The Only Easy Day Was... I Have No Idea"

View Online

Chapter Seven
“The Only Easy Day Was… I Have No Idea”

‘Wake up, Buttercup.’

My eyes snapped open, or I think they did all I could see was solid black. No, they were open, I could see my nose.

I sat straight up and looked around. I was laying on something that looked like stained glass which appeared to be radiating light that was surrounded by impenetrable darkness… or maybe the sky was just black, I don’t know.

“Great, just freakin’ great.” I said, exasperated “Is this how it’s gonna work out now, like in goddamn Quantum Leap? I’m gonna fall asleep in one place and wake up in another, wearing someone else’s face perhaps?

‘Hmm, lemme think about that.’ A voice replied, making me jump a little bit ’No, on all counts. Your body is still back in Anthro-Equestria, asleep in your bed. Or is it his bed? Whatever, it doesn’t really matter.’

For some strange reason, I didn’t like this voice. It was snarky, and only I got to be the snarky one around here.

“Alright, then, where am I? And who are you?” I asked at nothing in particular.

‘Jeez, for someone who gets pissy about snarky voices, your own snark meter seems to be running on fumes, ain’t it?’ It replied, in an almost bored fashion.

“Sorry, bub, but my Jews are out for lunch right now and I suck at writing my own material.” I retorted “Can you answer my damn questions now?”

‘I could.’ The voice replied ‘But you’ll probably figure it out yourself if you just looked around and thought about it. Now go on and use that whip-smart brain of yours, and don’t you dare quote that freakin’ meme to me.’

Jerk.

“Alright, let’s see here…” I murmured, turning my attention to the floor and walking around it. Then my jaw dropped.

It was a circular platform, with a design on the floor that was extremely similar to stained glass. What made my jaw drop was that it was patterned to look like Anthro-Twilight Sparkle from the side while she’s holding her hands out and her eyes cast downward with a sorrowful expression on her face. Just above her cupped hands were a bunch of pink shards which I realized were in a vague heart formation.

My jaw closed when I put it together, and I felt a pang in my own heart. But I turned my attention away from the mural and looked around at the darkness.

“Are you kidding me, a ‘Dive into the Heart’?” I said incredulously “So what, I’m gonna get a damn keyblade now, is that it?” I put a hand up to my chin in sudden consideration “Actually, that’d be pretty bad-ass.”

‘Yes, no, and stay focused, will ya, this is pretty damn important!’ the voice replied ‘This isn’t a Dive, per se, it’s… a little more complicated than that. Y’know what, I’m gonna tell you face-to-face because the concept will be hard enough to understand without it coming from a disembodied voice.’

I heard a strange crystalline sound come from behind me and when I turned, there was a pool of light on the ground with a column rising out of the floor. It wasn’t very tall, maybe four or five feet, but there was someone sitting casually on top of it in a fairly feminine manner.

Once the pillar stopped rising and the light vanished, the person jumped down off the pillar and approached me.

I came to the conclusion that this person was, indeed, female as she was almost a full head shorter than me, though her face was obscured by a black hood, and the black cloak she was wearing fit snugly enough to hint at slight feminine curves, her boots narrow with small heels. She stopped a few feet away from me and crossed her arms over her chest. Being that I was not amused, I mimicked her action.

“Now that you’re here…” I said tersely “Who are you and where am I?”

“Well, we’re inside your head; this room is a mental projection of you at a spiritual level. You’re asleep right now, which is the only reason you’re even here.” She retorted irritably.

“Oh, really? Then where’s Luna?” I countered. The girl shrugged.

“Not here, that’s for sure.”

“Okay, then. You still haven’t told me who you are.” I said, jabbing a finger at her, which she slapped away.

“Does it freakin’ matter?! This is your mind, you twit!” She snapped.

“I suppose not.” I replied coldly “I guess I’ll just wake up now and start my day.”

I turned around, looking for an exit and I hear a sigh come from behind me.

“Fine. If you absolutely must call me something…” She said in resignation. I turned back to see her with a hand held up to her hood in thought, then she snapped her fingers.

“Perfect!” She exclaimed “You can call me the ‘Enigmatic Girl’!”

I gave her a deadpan stare.

“What?” She asked quizzically “You don’t like it?”

I burst into laughter and she stiffened in indignation.

“Y’know what, you’re the one who has to call me something, so that’s the name you’re going to use!” She snapped angrily.

“I’m sorry, it’s just…” I said as my laughter subsided “That’s seriously the best you could come up with; that I could come up with?”

“Well, considering your dream is taking the form of a ‘Dive into the Heart’ and I’m dressed like a member of the Organization XIII…” She said as she crossed her arms over her chest again “’If the shoe fits’ as they say.” I gave a sigh and looked at her seriously.

“Alright, funny stuff aside, what’s going on here?” I asked her.

“You’re having a reaction to the ambient magic of this world, along with the energy you were exposed to in the Void and from your constant contact with Terra who, if you remember, is a half-blood descendant of powerfully magical entities.” EG stated matter-of-factly, which caused my blood to run cold.

“I’m not causing a disturbance in the Waking World, am I?” I asked her, panic rising in my voice.

“Nope, at least, not anything physical.” She replied “Magically perceptive individuals might notice something, but otherwise it’s a calm night outside.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, but it turned to worry once more and I looked at EG.

“If that’s the case, we should probably wrap whatever this is up and fast. Terra’s most definitely noticed and she’s probably worried sick about me.” I said which garnered a nod from EG.

“So.” I said, clapping my hands together “What’s the reason I’ having this… reaction, as you put it?”

“Well, it comes from the fact that the magic in your world is pretty much dead; the absence of any form of magical creatures can sorta do that to a world. That’s not to say it’s gone; it’s kinda like a vampire in that regard. Because your body is capable of magic, yet the magic of your world is, again, dead your body has started trying to draw in magical energy to activate your abilities.” EG replied casually “What kind of magical abilities you’ll have will depend on several factors, but if I had to say anything you’ll most likely have a knack for Terra’s Evocation with some natural Equestrian magic thrown in. You may also have something you brought with you from the Void, but that’s just speculation.”

I stared thoughtfully at EG.

“If this is all in my head, and you’re here explaining all this…” I said, putting the pieces together “You must be an aspect of my subconscious and you’re telling me stuff I technically already know but haven’t had time to think about yet, or hadn’t thought to think of.” When I said this, she clapped her hands for me… slowly.

“And he finally figures it out!” EG exclaimed “Ladies and Gentlemen, our Intrepid Hero!” She finished gesturing to me.

Bitch.

“I heard that.”

I groaned and face-palmed.

“Am I gonna have to put up with you on a daily basis?” I asked her, exasperated.

“Not really, no.” EG replied with a shrug “Hell, you might not even see or hear from me ever again.”

At that, I felt a small pang in my heart. Despite the frustration I felt towards this… ‘Enigmatic Girl’, she was actually kind of fun to be around.

“Look… I’m a part of you, Leon.” She said gently, pointing at my head “I’ll always be right here if you ever want to talk to me; all you have to do is ask.”

I smiled at her and held out my hand, which she shook.

“You’re a pain in my ass, EG, but then again…” I said, giving her a wide grin “Who isn’t their own biggest nuisance?”

“That’s the spirit, Leon!” EG replied and I could hear the smile in her voice, but then she took a few steps away from me.

“However… It’s time to wake up, now. Your friends are becoming very worried about you and Luna’s been trying to enter your dream for the last half-hour.” She said, sadly.

“Alright.” I said, taking a deep breath. Then I remembered a question that’s been picking at the back of my mind ever since the revelation of other Leon.

“Wait, why do the Elements of Harmony and the Princesses all know who I am, but none of the other ponies do? Surely the other guy would’ve made friends with several of the ponies around town.”

“That one’s easy. The Mane Six recognize you because they shared a magical connection to the other guy that went beyond the normal rules of friendship, especially since he and the Element of freakin’ Magic were an item.” EG replied with a chuckle “As for the Princesses… I’d think that one is fairly obvious, considering they’re the Matron Goddesses of a land full of colorful anthro-ponies.”

“Right.” I dead-panned, but then gave her a small smile “Well, I guess this is it. I’ll see ya on the far side, EG.” And I gave her a two-finger salute.

She waved back at me, and then the ‘Dive’ ended… but not before I took one last look at the mural on the floor.

As my sleep-addled mind began to awaken, I could hear voices around me.

“It’s been too long; we should get him to a hospital!”

“No, he’ll wake up soon… It’s going to be okay.”

“Princess, have you heard from your sister yet?”

“Not yet, my faithful student. She said she was encountering some kind of interference that was preventing her from entering his dream.”

“Somepony needs to do something! I can’t lose him again… I just can’t…”

“You promised me ‘no more tears’, Twilight…” I murmured. There were several gasps of surprise and suddenly I was being smothered in a hug.

“Leon, you’re okay!” Three voices said in unison and I immediately identified them as the CMC.

“Air!” I gasped as I struggled to get out from the pile of fillies.

They moved off of me with a series of embarrassed apologies, but I gave them a warm smile as I sat up. Then I was assaulted by Terra, who’d held back when the CMC jumped on me.

“Thank goodness you’re awake!” She exclaimed “I was so worried about you…”

I patted her back and she moved off as Twilight approached me, her eyes glittering like she’d been on the verge of crying. Despite that, I felt somewhat happy that she was there.

“I’m glad you’re alright, Leon. I was concerned when the Cutie Mark Crusaders burst into the library and told me you weren’t waking up. Of course, I could also feel the build-up of magical energy all the way out there.” Her face grew serious “What was that, though? I’ve never felt a magical pressure like that before and all attempts to wake you were met with failure.”

I looked at the ponies gathered in the room.

“Go downstairs. I’m gonna get dressed and meet you in the living room, where I’ll explain what just happened.” I said, then turned to the CMC with sad smile “Sorry, girls. I didn’t mean to ruin your sleep-over.”

The three fillies all shook their heads vigorously and gave me big smiles.

“Are ya kiddin’?!” Applebloom exclaimed (by the way, Applebloom is weapons-grade adorable when she smiles) “This is the best sleep-over ever!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both nodded their heads in agreement.

I gave them a weary smile and moved to get up. Terra ushered the fillies off the bed and out the door. Twilight lingered a moment beside my bed, before she turned away and left, pausing briefly at the door to glance back at me. Celestia remained where she was for the time being.

“She wasn’t the only pony who felt the disturbance.” She said, her voice solemn “I imagine most of the unicorns in Equestria are awake right now wondering what it was they just felt.”

“Who all is here, Princess?” I asked, to which she gave me a motherly smile.

“Apart from the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Terra, Twilight Sparkle and myself? The rest of the Elements are here as well as my sister, who has been casting her spell from the living area.” She replied calmly.

I nodded, and Celestia took it as her que to leave. Once she was gone, I went over to the drawer beside my bed and pulled out my new shirt and pants, which I put on (Wow, they fit better than the ones I came here with! I don’t even think I need to wear a belt with these pants) and exited the room.

Once I got to the living room, I was bombarded with questions, which I silenced by holding up my hand. I put my other hand on the recliner and looked at Rainbow Dash, who was sitting in it with her knees on the seat looking at me over the back.

“Please vacate the recliner, Dash, or I’ll tell the rest of the girls what happened at the boutique.” I said, giving her a sly grin. The cyan pegasus’ face turned slightly pink and she floated out of the chair, which I promptly took and shifted contently in “Ah, nice and toasty. Thank you, Dash.”

Rainbow glared at me irritably while everypony else (and Terra) laughed at the embarrassed pegasus.

“Okay, all joking aside, here’s what happened.”

After I recounted what I’d been told, the girls (mares, fillies and Terra) were silent.

“I imagine you will require training now, Leon.” Celestia said after a moment and I nodded.

“Probably, but I’m going to need to figure how my magic works before we get to that point.” I replied, my expression serious “Like I said, it’ll probably end up being closer to Terra’s than anything considering I’ve been consistently in direct contact with her, whereas my exposure to Equestrian magic has been kept mostly to the ambient magic.”

“What about your exposure to the Void?” Luna spoke up “Should we be concerned about the effect it shall have on you?”

I shrugged “I’m not gonna worry about that until I have reason to. I’ve got plenty enough on my plate as is without fretting over something that may or may not happen.”

Luna stood up “Do not be so flippant about this; we cannot ignore the issues present with such exposure!”

“I am not ignoring it, Princess!” I snapped angrily and she recoiled like she’d been slapped “I will deal with it if and when it should become a problem, but until such time I am going to focus on the more pressing matters at hand!”

Luna bit down on her lower lip in frustration, but did not respond and instead sat back down. I sighed and ran a hand over my face.

“I’m sorry, Princess. I know that you’re worried, that you’re just trying to help and I appreciate it, I really do.” I said gently “But we need to deal with the problems we already have rather than create new ones over something that may or may not become an issue at an undetermined point in time.”

Luna looked at me with worry in her eyes.

“You are right, Leon, it’s just… I do not think you should treat this issue so casually.”

I stood from the recliner, walked over to Luna and knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in mine and holding them gently.

“I assure you, I’m not being casual about it; I’m just prioritizing everything I have to deal with.” I said reassuringly.

“Have faith in him, Princess.” Terra said, a gentle smile on her face “If anybody can deal with the problem, he can. All we need to do is believe.”

Dammit, I really hate when she says that kind of stuff. She makes me seem like some kind of great hero.

‘Maybe it’s because, to her, you are a great hero. You know she worships the ground you walk on.’

Luna looks from me, to Terra, then back before letting out a sigh of resignation and giving Terra a weary smile.

“Yes, of course. You are correct.” She said, and then looked back at me “I shall trust your judgment on this matter, Leon, and I shall lend what aid I am able. You need but ask and it shall be yours.”

I smiled and gave her hands a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you, Princess.” I said and turned to Terra “And thank you, Terra, for continuing to believe in me. I truly appreciate it.”

Terra nodded and gave me a gentle smile (the only kind of heart that wouldn’t melt in the presence of one of Terra’s smiles is one that is not there). I stood and returned to the recliner, leaning back because I was suddenly very exhausted. I wonder what time it was…

“Leon, my sister is not the only pony who shall lend her aid if you ask.” Celestia said, with a warm smile on her beautiful face “I, too, will help in whatever way I can.”

“Aw, shucks, ya know we got yer back, Sugarcube.” Applejack chimed in, which caused all of the other ponies in the room to nod in agreement, with Rainbow Dash flashing me a winning smile and a thumbs up.

I nodded appreciatively at all of them, but then noticed that Twilight hadn’t said anything and was, in fact, looking away, her expression conflicted.

Damn, I really wanted to say something to her, but I wasn’t sure there were words that could help her with how she was feeling. I instead ran a hand across my face to try and wipe the sleep from it.

“Does anyone know what time it is?” I asked, both tired and curious.

“It is early morning, I shall be raising the Sun in an hour’s time.” Celestia replied, and then extended her hand toward Luna, who stood and walked over to take it “Again, Leon. If you are ever in need, just let us know and we shall do what we can for you.”

I gave them a tired but appreciative smile, before they teleported back to Canterlot.

“Well…” I said, speaking to the ponies gathered before me “You all should head on home, it’s been a very eventful night and I’m sure most of you would like to get what little rest you can before your day starts.”

As each pony left, they let me know that I had their support if I needed it, which I was grateful for, and I made sure to properly introduce myself to Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy (who, by the way, didn’t say anything in passing but gave me a gentle hug to let me know she cared, which was touching to say the least. She proceeded to hurry out the door in an attempt to hide her cherry-red face) even though all three of them knew who I was.

The CMC were crestfallen for a second, until I asked them where they were going. When they told me I probably didn’t want a bunch of little fillies hanging around, I responded by saying that they were being silly and to go back upstairs and finish their sleep-over. The three of them hugged me and dragged Terra away, but not before she also hugged me and let me know she’d always believe in me, no matter what.

Applejack and Rarity, seeing they didn’t need to wait for their siblings, wished me luck and departed.

Which left me alone in the living room… with Twilight Sparkle, who hadn’t moved throughout the whole thing.

I looked at her sadly, while she kept glancing at me, her mouth moving as though she wanted to say something.

I sighed and stood up to go to the kitchen to get some food. I paused as I passed Twilight.

“If you’re tired, you’re welcome to go sleep in the master bedroom.” I said, turning to look at her.

“Don’t you mean ‘your’ room?” She said with an indignant huff. I sighed and continued to the kitchen.

“He didn’t make this house for me, Twilight. He made it because he was planning on settling down here.” I said as I pulled eggs, milk and cheese out of the fridge “I only call the house ‘mine’ to keep up appearances because, for all intents and purposes, it actually is mine now. However, I don’t really consider anything in it mine because I wasn’t supposed to be living here.”

Twilight came into the dining room, glaring darkly at me.

“You say that, yet you seem to be quite at home here.” She replied with an edge to her voice.

“That’s because I’m doing the best I can with the hand I’ve been dealt.” I retorted, her attitude starting to piss me off “I would’ve preferred to earn my keep by working for it, but I’m not gonna question whatever divine providence has allowed me to stay here.”

“So that’s your attitude, is it?” She spat “You’re dragged across the Void and it’s ‘I needed a break from my world anyway’, you have an extreme reaction to magical energy and it’s ‘I’ll deal with it when I have to’. Tell me, Leon, do you take anything seriously?! What if that girl you brought with you died-” and her rant was interrupted by me throwing the bowl with my scrambled eggs in it on the ground, which shattered into a million pieces.

“Don’t you dare think for one second that I am not treating my situation with the seriousness it deserves, and don’t you dare think I’ll allow anything to happen to Terra!” I snarled at her, my patience thoroughly expended “My reaction to problems is how I deal with them. Anyone else from my world would’ve lost their minds with fear because back home we raise our kids to be afraid, Twilight, to submit!” I yelled as I slammed a fist onto the counter.

Her expression went from anger to shame and she opened her mouth to say something, but I silenced her by holding up my hand.

“A man breaks into your home and takes your possessions, what are you expected to do about it? Let them take your stuff and then call the police once they’re gone. You’re held at gunpoint and robbed, what are you expected to do about it? Hand over your stuff and call the damn police!”

I saw Terra and the CMC appear in the dining room, but the flood gates were open and there was no stopping me.

“A girl is jumped by members of a street gang, savagely beaten and left to die, what are you expected to do about it?” I said, my voice quieting down as tears began falling down my cheek “Call the police… and do not help in any way.”

Twilight was holding her hands up to her mouth in horror while Terra and the CMC stared at me, also horrified.

“That was my home, Twilight… my world.” I said, my voice trembling “That’s the true reason I refuse to return to it.”

“Oh, Leon… I had no idea.” Twilight whispered, but I walked past her (taking care as I left the kitchen so that I didn’t cut my feet on stray glass).

“Save it, Twilight.” I snapped, going to the door and putting my hat and shoes on. I opened the door and walked out, slamming the door behind me before any of them could protest. I was angry and I needed to be alone.

‘You could’ve told Twilight to leave. The house is legally yours, after all.’

Legally, maybe, but not spiritually. If anything, she had more right to it than I, because there’s only one reason why a dimension-hopping hero would build a house like that… and that reason is what made living there so hard.

I stumbled across a park and plopped down on a bench, my head in my hands as my anger faded and left behind a familiar emptiness, my rant having reopened an old wound which had never healed properly to begin with.

I don’t know how long I sat there, struggling to ease the pain in my heart, but eventually I felt I could stand to walk back into the house and face whoever happened to still be there.

I returned home and saw Twilight, Terra and the CMC sitting at the table finishing up their breakfast. I saw a plate set in front of an empty chair, and logically assumed it was mine. I sat in the chair, but did not start eating, instead opting to hold my head in between my hands.

The CMC finished their food and took their dishes to the kitchen (apparently, one of the girls cleaned up the egg spill and broken glass on the floor), after which Twilight asked them to go upstairs so that we could have a moment of privacy, which they agreed to only after giving me a concerned look.

Once Twilight was sure the CMC had indeed left, she looked back at me, her expression ashamed.

“I’m sorry, Leon. I’d had no idea your world was so…” She hesitated, obviously not wanting to offend me more than she had.

“Go ahead and speak your mind, Twilight. There’s nothing you can say about my world that I don’t already think about it.” I said without looking at her.

“Cruel.” She finished quietly.

We sat in silence for a moment before Terra spoke up.

“That last one… about the girl. Was she important to you?”

“Yeah…” I sighed, but didn’t look up “She was my best friend.”

“What happened to her?” Twilight asked, which caused me to tremble visibly and she looked away embarrassed “Oh, I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk about it…”

“She died.” I replied flatly “We were walking home from school one day when we got attacked by a bunch of gangbangers. A couple of them pinned me to the ground while the rest of them went at her with everything from their fists to lead pipes. Even though she put up a decent fight, she never stood a chance.”

I felt fresh tears begin to slide down my face at the memory, while Twilight and Terra both covered their mouths in horror at the sheer brutality.

“Even when she was down, they just kept hitting her and hitting her, until eventually they wandered off, but not before taking everything we had and knocking me out.” I said, my voice shaking “When I came to, I stumbled over to her but… there was so much blood and she was barely breathing. I screamed and pleaded for help, but everyone just kept on walking. One or two would glance at me, but then just hurry on their way.”

My whole body was shaking with rage and sorrow at this point as I vividly recalled what had happened that day.

“After a few minutes, someone finally called the police for us because our own phones had been taken.” I looked up at them and placed my balled fists on the table “You wanna know how long it took police and paramedics to get there? Just over an hour. You wanna know how long she lasted before she eventually succumbed to her wounds? Thirty minutes.”

Both Twilight and Terra wept as I shared my most painful memory with them.

“By the time the police arrived, all they found was a broken kid holding a battered corpse that at one point might’ve looked like a girl.” I finished, my voice low and filled with hate.

There was silence in the dining room, broken only by the girls’ sobs.

“You wanna hear the best part?” I said, venomously “Those fuckers didn’t even get charged for her death because of ‘Insubstantial Evidence Due to Lack of Witness Testimony’; whenever the detectives asked about the incident, all anyone ever told them was they ‘didn’t see anything’ or they ‘heard a commotion and remained inside for safety reasons’.”

“All of those people… And no one saw anything?” Terra asked, disbelief in her voice “Absolutely no one?”

“That and the investigators didn’t really try.” I spat “We were pretty much nobodies and the incident was handled as such, with her death being chalked up to ‘gang-related violence’ despite the fact that she stayed well away from the gangs.”

“Did she at least get a funeral?” Terra asked sullenly.

“Yeah… But the only people who showed up were her immediate family and myself.” I replied dully.

“What?!” Twilight gasped “Didn’t she have other friends besides you?”

“She did…” I replied with an edge to my voice “But they denied any sort of association outside of familiarity… none of them wanted to be affiliated with a supposed gang member. Hell, my own family had attempted to keep me from going to her funeral.”

Twilight and Terra were quiet again as they processed everything I’d told them.

“What did you do afterward?” Twilight asked.

“Soon as I was old enough, I left. I ran as far and as fast as I could from that hellhole and never looked back. I started a new life in some podunk little town out in the middle of nowhere and that’s where I was when you yanked me out here.” I replied flatly.

“Did you have any other friends in your world, Leon?” Terra asked me, to which I shook my head.

“After what happened, I’d lost faith that there was any good left in my world.” I replied, sighing heavily “Don’t get the wrong idea, there were still good people there, but they were becoming rarer and rarer with every passing year. I didn’t care, though, because I didn’t trust anyone anymore.”

Terra looked at me confused “If that was true, why were you so quick to help me in the Void?”

“Because you remind me of her, Terra. She was kind and gentle as well, with a quiet strength to her.”

Twilight looked at me, a sudden realization in her eyes.

“So when you told me that I needed to move on… you were speaking from experience?” She asked me, to which I nodded.

“Yep. I’d spent a couple of years raging against and hating my world for the cruelty inflicted upon her… and upon me. But then I came to the conclusion that she wouldn’t have wanted me to lose myself to the pain.”

At this, I took a deep breath, and began to eat my breakfast. Twilight and Terra said nothing, and only stared at me as I ate. Once I finished, I spoke to them.

“Eventually I began to joke and smile, but that was just to cover up the seething hatred I still felt deep inside. I also trained in the use of guns and knives, and received melee training for close-quarters engagements.” I said, giving my full attention to Twilight “I always carry a weapon with me wherever I go and probably always will because I refuse to get caught in a similar situation ever again.”

Terra and Twilight were silent as I took my dishes to the kitchen and rinsed them off before setting them on a rack to be cleaned later. I turned back to the dining room and was met with a hug from Terra, who buried her head in my chest.

“I’m so sorry, Leon.” She said quietly “You’re hurting so much and there’s nothing I can do to ease the pain…”

I smiled and returned the hug.

“It’s alright, Terra, it’s an old wound. Maybe not well-healed, but old nonetheless. Seeing a smile on your face will be more than enough comfort for me, sweetheart.” I replied gently. She broke the hug, wiped at her face and then gave me her sweetest smile, to which I patted her gently on the head before moving past her into the dining room.

Twilight had risen from her chair and was looking at the ground in shame.

“Leon… I’m so sorry for the comment I made about-” She began, but I interrupted her.

“Don’t worry about it. However, there is something important I want you both to know.” I said, then crossed my arms over my chest “I may not be a hero, but I will die a thousand times over in the most painful ways imaginable before I ever let something bad happen to Terra. The same goes for you and the other girls as well, Twilight.”

Twilight gave me a small smile, before nodding and teleporting home. I went to go down the hallway, but was intercepted by the CMC, who nearly knocked me over in a massive group hug.

“Oh, hey girls. Sorry for all the drama, I hadn’t quite expected all this junk to happen in the span of a single night.” I told them with an embarrassed smile “If you never wanna have another sleep-over here ever again, I’d completely understand.” But the girls only shook their heads and looked up at me with puffy red eyes.

‘Goddammit…’

“You heard my story, didn’t you?” I asked them, to which they all nodded and I sighed “Don’t you worry about me, girls, that’s ancient history now.”

“Mah big sis says that sometimes when ponies are hurtin’ the same way, they find each other in order ta stop hurtin’!” Applebloom exclaimed with a big smile “Does that mean you an’ Twilight are gonna be ‘Special Someponies’?” The other two fillies gave me expectant smiles and I heard Terra giggle behind me.

‘Applejack, I am gonna kick your sorry-flank to Appleloosa and back before kicking it straight to the Moon, I swear to God.’

“Applebloom, why don’t you and your friends get your stuff packed and ready to go?” I said in an attempt to change the topic, though I could feel my face burning “Terra, would you mind helping them?”

Terra gave another giggle “Okay, Leon!” She said and walked past me down the hallway, taking the three eavesdropping fillies with her, though Scootaloo gave me an odd look before going.

I decided I was gonna head out and look for a job, cause the kitchen ain’t gonna keep itself stocked. Besides, this place needed some life in it. Sure, it was furnished with nearly everything I need, but it still needed a personal touch. What I really needed was a camera so that I could start taking pictures of me and Terra and the rest of the girls. Speaking of which…

I ran up to the master bedroom and retrieved my phone from where I’d left it, noticing I had about twenty texts from Pinkie Pie and five missed calls from Rarity and Applejack each.

‘I’ll call them back later, but for now…’ I walked out of the bedroom and saw Terra looking at me curiously.

“Hey, Terra. When you and the girls are done packing, meet me in the living room. I wanna do something special to remember tonight.”

She smiled and nodded before ducking her head back into her room.

After about ten minutes, Terra and the CMC came into the living room lugging some suitcases with them. I told them to leave their luggage by the door and come into the living room, which they did while giving me curious looks.

I told Terra to sit on the floor and the CMC to gather around her. Terra still looked confused, but the fillies caught on to what I was doing immediately and took appropriate positions. Once they were ready, I pressed the button on the side of my phone and took a picture of them.

It was just precious. Terra was sitting on the floor with a shy smile on her face while Applebloom and Sweetie Belle embraced her from either side and Scootaloo was leaning over her right shoulder with her arms draped over Terra’s neck, all three of the CMC had huge smiles on their faces.

I set the picture to my phone’s background, and then sent it in a text to both Rarity and Applejack with a message that went as follows:

From: Leon

The girls are alright and had a blast. We’re taking them home now. See you all soon.

Ch. 8: "Secrets of the Heart and Mind"

View Online

Chapter Eight
“Secrets of the Heart and Mind”

It’d been about two weeks since I’d bared my soul to Twilight, Terra and the CMC (I’m still kinda miffed they eavesdropped on such an intimate conversation, but it doesn’t matter now, the damage is done).

Terra got a job working with Rarity as her assistant and as a model for dresses while I did odd-jobs around town. Terra also ended up becoming great friends with Rarity and Fluttershy, who took her with them on their spa dates. It raised my spirits to see Terra glowing with happiness like she was.

Oh, and Rarity came through for me on the coat, which was completely bad-ass! It was designed like an old-western duster that went down almost to my feet, colored a dark, almost black, brown color with a sweet mantle that fell around my shoulders. I wore it around town that day just to see everypony’s reactions and I was not disappointed. Jaws dropped, mares swooned and I posed with Vinyl while Octavia took a picture for her phone (Oh, and she was blushing so much her gray coat was more red than gray).

Oh yeah, speaking of Vinyl, she discovered my iPod and the treasure trove of music on it. Needless to say, she’s been hanging out at my place just to sit on the couch and listen to it.

If you’re wondering about my first encounter with Lyra, let’s just say it was… interesting. Apparently, because she has hands in this world, she’s developed an obsession with feet. But she’s a sweet mare and I hung out with her a couple of times afterward, though she’s often less than subtle about flirting with me.

Twilight became less rigid around me though she still sometimes made offhanded comments like she was talking to him, at least until she realized it was me and would become depressed for a little while. Every time she did this I felt like a knife was tearing at my heart and I would end up staring at her while trying to decide on how to cheer her up.

I once tried making a snarky comment, but all that did was make her shut herself in her room and Spike promptly escort me out of the library. Same thing happened when I tried offering to go get her favorite drink. Since then, I’ve figured that it’s best to just leave her alone when she’s depressed because all I do is remind her of what she lost.

Dammit, it killed me, seeing her like that. Most of the time, all I could think about was how much pain she was in.

Wait, hold up…

…

Oh no.

I sincerely hoped what was happening to me wasn’t what I thought it was. I hoped it was me being torn up inside at seeing a very close friend suffering, but every time I thought about how much Twilight hurt, it felt like my very soul was being ripped apart. I simply couldn’t stand it.

I needed help from an inside source… and I knew just who to talk to, but I would need Luna’s assistance to get there.

I managed to pull Spike aside one afternoon while Twilight was out with Applejack helping Applebloom with a mess she’d gotten herself into (I really felt bad for the poor filly, but this was one of those lessons people learn the hard way) and he sent a message to Luna for me, whereupon I returned home and awaited night time.

When it came time for bed, I climbed under the covers, took a deep breath and closed my eyes to sleep. After what felt like an eternity, I finally heard Luna’s voice.

“Greetings, Leon.” She said as I climbed out of my dream bed and walked over to stand next to the door with her “We hath awaited thine arrival with trepidation.”

“Sorry, Princess. My mind was going a million miles an hour.” I replied with a smirk, though she cocked an eyebrow at me in confusion “Forget about it, Princess, it’s just something people say back in my world.”

“Ah. About that…” She said and gave a small cough “Twilight Sparkle sent our sister a letter… detailing what thou told her about thine world…”

“She did what?!” I snapped, turning my head sharply towards Luna “Oh, I’m going to have a little chat with her about ‘sharing secrets’ when I wake up tomorrow. I can’t believe she did that!”

“We request that thou not be upset with her, she sent it out of concern for thee.” Luna said in a pleading voice “We are certain she meant no offense by it.”

“Yeah well, that doesn’t stop me from being extremely offended.” I replied irritably “Anyway, that’s not important right now. Can you help me talk with my subconscious?”

At that, the door in front of us swung open, revealing the Enigmatic Girl.

“Jeez, are you stupid or something? I said ‘all you had to do was ask’; you didn’t have to go get Princess Luna to talk to me, Leon!” She snapped irritably, but then turned and gave Luna a small bow “I mean no offense, Princess.”

Luna, who’d been caught off-guard by the sudden arrival of my subconscious, cleared her throat at being addressed and waved her hand dismissively.

“Tis alright, umm…” Luna said, unsure how to finish her sentence, but EG was more than happy to oblige her.

“You may refer to me as the ‘Enigmatic Girl’, Princess, or as Leon likes to put it, EG.”

“Oh, of course.” Luna said, then coughed and stood straighter “Tis alright, Enigmatic Girl. We offered Leon our aid and tis our supreme pleasure to grant it.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose in irritation “Okay, okay now that we’ve got the pleasantries out of the way, I have some issues I need to resolve.”

“Like your feelings for Twilight Sparkle?” EG replied dryly “Because you already know the answer to that, you don’t need to see me for something so obvious.”

“Yes, yes I just need to con- wait, WHAT?!” I yelled, my voice cracking. I felt my face light on fire as EG laughed at me and Luna giggled “EG, why would you say something like that?!”

“Um, because it’s true? Duh.” She replied, hands on her hip.

I groaned. I had expected her to be a pain in the ass, but this is just nuts.

“Hey, the only one you have to blame here is yourself.” EG quipped, pointing a finger at me accusingly “If you didn’t want Princess Luna hearing about your romantic feelings, you should’ve thought this out a little better before involving her. Again, I mean no offense, Princess.”

“It is quite alright, EG.” Luna replied with another giggle “I am most amused by my discovery. I believe my dear sister would be pleased to hear of this turn of events.”

“Don’t you even dare.” I said, jabbing a finger at the Moon Princess “If you so much as breathe with the intent of telling anypony what you’ve heard I’ll tell everyone your own dirty little secret.”

Her gaze turned steely and all trace of humor was gone “And what, pray-tell, is our ‘dirty little secret’?”

“That you’re the one who’s been eating Celestia’s cakes.” EG answered for me, that little twerp ‘Dammit, Leon, we’re in your mind! When are you gonna figure out I can hear what you think? Seriously, you may as well just say it out loud.’

“Wh-what?!” Luna sputtered, her eyes darting left and right “I-I’d never touch my sister’s delicious… triple-chocolate…”

Both EG and I stared at her with an expression that said ‘Go on…’ (Or at least I did, I couldn’t tell with EG because of her hood ‘I totally did.’) She looked away, her face noticeably red through her dark coat.

“That’s what I thought.” I stated, matter-of-factly, then turned to EG “You and I need to have a chat, EG. While I did want to return to that room and see the mural again, I’ve also figured out you’re keeping secrets from me and I intend to find out what they are.”

EG spun her hood to stare at me “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“EG, you know what I’m going to say regarding this matter. Do you really want it to come to that?” I asked her firmly.

She stared at me for a moment before giving a sigh and stepping into the room to allow me to pass by her. Luna attempted to follow, but EG stopped her.

“Sorry, Princess. Only Leon and I are allowed past this point. You can wait here if you want.” She said before shutting the door behind us.

At first, there was only darkness. Then, in true Kingdom Hearts fashion, the mural revealed itself in a storm of feathers. It was still the same as before, except this time I was depicted opposite Twilight with one of my hands directly above the pink shards, which were glowing faintly.

Well, that answers that question.

“Told ya so.” EG said, walking over to a recliner not unlike the one sitting around my new house and plopping down on it, crossing one leg over the other while resting her head on one fist.

“Now, whatcha need to know?” She asked, her voice curious.

“Who are you really?”

Her head shot up, and she stared at me in what I think was disbelief.

“I’m your subconscious. What else do you need to know?”

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at her.

“For starters, ‘why is my subconscious female instead of male’?” I said, pacing back and forth “Obviously, I’m not gay so that’s out of the question.”

She stared at me for a second before standing up and walking over to me, making the recliner vanish with a snap of her fingers.

“Why is this something you absolutely have to know?” She asked me with an edge to her voice “Why can’t you just leave well enough alone and accept that your subconscious is very vocal and amazes you with her wit and intellect?”

“Because I need to know if you’re dangerous.” I stated “If I think you’re a threat to this world, I will have you removed even if I have to cut you out of my head with my knife, so tell me the truth, EG… or else.”

She groaned, putting one hand on her hip and reaching into her hood to rub at her head. After a moment, she gave a resigned shrug and crossed her arms across her chest (boy, we love doing that ‘This isn’t the time for jokes, Leon.’).

“Cutting up your brain won’t get rid of me.” She replied, her voice dull “I’m connected to your soul. In fact, if you had me removed, bad things would happen to you.”

“Like what?”

“For starters? Terra and Twilight would no longer recognize you, nor would anyone you’ve ever met.” She said, her voice still dull “Anything connected to you would vanish and you will become little more than an empty husk, going through the act of life but unable to feel the emotions that come with living.”

I stared at her in horror.

“In essence…” She continued, giving a sigh “You would cease to exist as an individual. You would be… nothing.”

I felt my legs begin to shake and give out from under me. EG hurried over and guided me into a recliner, which happened to appear behind me at that instance.

“Oh my God…” I murmured, my mind racing with the implications of what she’d told me.

“As for who I am…” She said as she took a few steps away from me and reached up to her hood and pulled it away to reveal the face of a girl with shoulder length blond hair that fell into very slight curls but was styled in a way that her bangs partially covered one of her emerald green eyes.

“My name is Veronica… and I am your Nobody.”

My eyes widened.

“No way…” I murmured, disbelief in my voice.

“Well… technically I’m his Nobody.” She said, scratching the back of her head “The other Leon had an… accident while traveling around with Sora and Riku back in the Kingdom Hearts dimension.”

I could only stare at her as she began to pace back and forth.

“The Elements of Harmony don’t remember, but I was there at the final battle… the one that cost Leon his life.” She said, sitting on a stool she’d conjured with a snap of her fingers “When it was finished… I didn’t die, not traditionally anyway. Leon had infused me with some of his magic and sent me out across the Void, whereupon I stumbled across you on your way to… that creepy place.”

Can’t brain right now; I gots the dumb.

She giggled “Okay, I know I’ve totally blown your mind from here to Kingdom Come, but you really need to be paying attention to this.” She said as she held up her left hand and summoned a strange silvery keyblade “While I am still mostly me, I am also what’s left of the other Leon’s magic, which now resides within you. It’s the part of his magic he felt he couldn’t afford to lose, which is the connection he had to the Elements of Harmony; in essence, the Magic of Friendship.”

I understood now. The reason the Elements recognize me and still remember him. He didn’t want to be forgotten, especially by her.

“Good job, Sherlock, you’ve solved the mystery!” Veronica said clapping her hands “Now that that’s out of the way, you got any questions?”

“Yeah, actually.” I said “Why’s your name ‘Veronica’ and not an anagram of Leon’s name with an X in it?”

“Wow. You could’ve asked me anything, literally anything, and that’s your first question?” She replied, astonished, but then shrugged “It was, originally, but it was total garbage. Besides, I abandoned the Organization pretty much as soon as I was able to. All that ‘no hearts’ stuff they kept spouting was complete crap, lemme tell ya.”

“So why ‘Veronica’?”

“Because Leon allowed me to choose. That was always one of his greatest traits, y’know; he believed every living thing had the right to choose their own lives.” She replied solemnly, but then her face broke into a grin “Plus, I liked how it sounded and I can shorten it to ‘Nica’, which is such a cute nickname!”

“Alright then, next question.” I said, looking at her seriously “Why is my Nobody a girl?”

“Aw, jeez…” She sighed, face-palming “Okay, the other Leon asked me the same question and I’m gonna tell you what I told him; I don’t know.”

I sighed, but prepped my next question, which I believed was very important.

“If you’re a Nobody, why are you sharing my body instead of wandering around in your own?”

At this, Nica turned her head so that her hair obscured her eyes “Remember when I said he’d sent me into the Void, to save that which he couldn’t afford to lose?” She replied, her voice low “Well… He considered me to be one of them. But in order to be cast out into the Void, I had to… leave my body behind. And before you say anything, it was my idea.”

I decided to ask her one last question before turning the floor over to her. She turned her head back towards me, her expression still serious.

“So are you what I picked up in the Void? If so, that’ll make it one less problem I’ll have to deal with later.” I said, but unfortunately Nica shook her head.

“Sorry, bub, but I found you, and I only managed that much because you and he are very nearly on the same spiritual wavelength, plus it was before you got swallowed.” She replied, examining her keyblade idly and giving it a couple of experimental swings (it made a strange humming when swung that sounded both sandy and crystalline at the same time). The she stood from the stool and walked over to me, planting the tip of her keyblade on the mural’s surface and resting her hands upon its hilt.

“Now it’s my turn; how far do you intend to go regarding Twilight?” She asked, her voice serious.

“I’d appreciate some time to digest that little bit of information, if you don’t mind.” I replied with a deadpan stare “And besides, I’m not sure she’s ready to get involved with anyone… especially someone who reminds her of…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. Veronica shrugged, but continued.

“Have you tried casting magic yet?” She asked, to which I nodded.

“I have, but I’ve been unable to make even the simplest spells work.” I replied, my voice weary “I understand the theories well enough, it’s just… I’m unable to draw in the energy. Twilight says it’s because I don’t have a focus, but I think it’s more than that.”

“And you’d be right.” Nica replied, picking up her keyblade and, with a flourish, laid it upon her shoulders “You need to experience the flow of Magic, develop the senses need to feel the energy, or you’re never going to be able to use it despite having the talent for it.”

“So what do you recommend, Doc?” I asked, deciding things have been serious enough and it needed some humor.

In response, Nica glared at me and snapped her fingers. The recliner vanished from beneath me and I fell to the floor with a thud. She walked over to the center of the room, where the pink shards were located on the mural and sat down on one side facing me.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Get your lazy ass over here!” She called out to me, pointing to the spot directly opposite her.

I pulled myself up from the floor and walked over to where she sat. She once more gestured to the spot directly opposite her and I sat down in a crossed-leg fashion. She suddenly scooted forward until our knees were touching and held up her hands, dismissing her keyblade before doing so.

“Okay, now lace your fingers between mine so that our palms are touching and hold your arms just like this.” She said and I complied (this was in no way awkward ‘Leon, focus!’).

We sat like this a moment, before Nica closed her eyes and began to glow. At which point I felt something coursing through my body, flowing through my body in a way that made me think of unity. After a moment of this weird sensation, it stopped and Nica opened her eyes and looked at me.

“This is the best I can do. I can’t stimulate the proper receptors that would allow you to perceive magical auras and energy, only give you a small idea of what it will feel like.” She said, her voice weary “I suggest you get with Twilight Sparkle and ask for her help in this exercise, and before you say ‘why not Terra’ it’s because she uses magic in much the same way she breathes; she just does.”

I blushed at the idea of having to sit with Twilight, a mare I apparently have a crush on, in such an intimate manner.

“Get over it.” Nica said with finality and stood “Talents are wasted untrained and Twilight’s the only pony who can unlock the potential within you.”

“Fine…” I said with a sigh and stood as well “Well, I think it’s about time I got out of here. Things are gonna get interesting around here, not to mention insanely awkward.”

“Sure thing, Hoss.” Nica replied before snapping her fingers and making a door appear, which looked exactly like the door to my bedroom “Oh, and before you leave, I’d like to remind you that if you want to speak to me, just. Freakin’. ASK!”

I sighed and walked over to the door, which I opened and stepped across the threshold before turning back to Nica and giving her a two-finger salute and closing the door, signaling dream’s end.

I awoke in my bed, the early morning light shining in through my window. As I sat up and stretched I felt mildly annoyed that Veronica had so casually spoken about my feelings in front of Luna.

‘Oh, yeah, about that? Things are gonna be awkward when you encounter Terra this morning.’ Nica’s voice quipped, which caused me to sit and ponder for a moment before the implications hit me.

“Aww, crap…” I muttered, face-palming “I’d said anypony… and Terra’s not a damn pony!”

Sure enough, the first thing Terra said to me was a cheerful “Good morning!” along with a bout of giggles. At this, my expression turned resolute and instead of fixing my breakfast, I threw my coat on and I grabbed my hat and messenger bag. I turned back to Terra.

“I’m gonna go visit Twilight to send Princess Celestia a message. You wanna come?” I asked her, but she shook her head and gave me sweet smile.

“No thank you, but I’m sure she would be delighted to see you this morning, Leon.” She said and giggled some more.

Oh, yeah. Luna’s going down in flames.

An hour and one message to Celestia later, sweet justice was visited upon the gossipy Moon Princess, which was heard by everypony in Equestria… and maybe further.

Ch. 9: "When the Heat is on"

View Online

Chapter Nine
“When the Heat is on”

After the revelation of my feelings for Twilight, things have gotten a little complicated for me. I was visiting the library more and often found myself sneaking glances at Twilight (she really is quite attractive). Anyway, I’ve spent a couple more weeks trying to work up the nerve to talk to her about my feelings… and maybe help with my magic. And unfortunately, I suffer the normal guy syndrome of “can’t talk to the pretty lady” ‘Wuss.’

Despite what you may think, she does not sit around the library and mope all the time. If anything, she runs herself ragged, making certain everything is in place (I once sat and watched her reorganize the entire library… twice… in one day ‘Yeah, that was fun… slash sarc.’) or that every waking moment of her day is scheduled (actually, I think she’s just OC about that though her depression doesn’t help things ‘No, I’m pretty sure that’s all OCD.’).

Oh yeah. Nica’s still here and she has been a royal pain in my ass. ‘Ok, dude? I can still hear your thoughts, just in case you forgot.’

I had a brief moment of intense worry once when I visited Twilight one morning to find her barely standing on her hooves because she’d stayed up all day and night making a checklist and three backup checklists along with checklists to make sure she’d made checklists ‘Now that was hilarious’. Despite her protests that she was going to be too busy, I turned her sleep-deprived mind against her by convincing her that a few minutes of rest wasn’t going to kill her. I helped the mare to her room, laid her down in her bed and ended up spending the night downstairs on the couch.

She was unconscious until the next day and she was pissed when she woke up. She refused to speak to me for couple of days, but I didn’t press the issue. She got over it and said that what I did was necessary, if rather under-handed.

It was sometime between spring and summer that I noticed something odd was occurring.

The stallions around town suddenly began to disappear. When I went to Sweet Apple Acres, Applebloom told me Big Mac had gone out of town on vacation. This was unusual, because the big red workhorse never left the farm for more than a day or two and to suddenly leave on vacation was… strange.

‘You ever get the feeling they know something you don’t? ’ Nica’s voice chimed in my head.

I decided to go to the library and see if Twilight needed some help. As I did, I became uncomfortably aware that the various mares around town would stop whatever they were doing and stare at me, some with unnerving smiles on their faces.

‘Hey, Leon? It’s probably within your best interests to follow Big Mac’s example and skip town for awhile. Y’know, see the world or some junk.’

I shrugged it off as just a normal bout of Odd for the town of colorful ponies. This assumption would bite me in the ass later (‘Boy, did it ever!’), when the day turned into one of the single worst days of my life.

Regardless, I began to notice I was being followed by Lyra, who was looking at me like a hungry wolf being presented with a fat, juicy steak. Her face was also strangely flushed.

“Hi, Lyra, is something wrong? You’re looking a little flushed, do you have a fever or something?” I asked her, to which her smile grew wider.

“Nope, everything’s all right.” She replied, her voice low and, if I had to guess, sultry. My warning bells were going off in my head.

’All units, we have a Code Red, I repeat, we have a Code Red! Sound general quarters, all hands to battle stations!’ Nica was shouting urgently ‘Leon, why the hell are you still standing there, RUN!’

“So… Lyra. How’s your morning been?” I asked her carefully, while beginning to back up slowly. Lyra kept smiling at me while beginning to stalk forward, her hips swaying seductively.

“My morning’s been just fine…” She replied, her smile stretching from one ear to the other “But it’s about to get so much better now that I’ve found you!”

“Oh, is that right?” I said with a nervous chuckle “Would you care to explain why?”

As if on cue, my backwards progress was interrupted by me bumping into something. I spun around and saw Roseluck, Lily and Daisy standing behind me, all with the same smile on their faces that was on Lyra’s. It was also at this time that I noticed several other mares beginning to approach me, closing me off into a circle.

“Because I’m gonna take you home with me, and I’m gonna play with your feet a little and then…” Lyra said slowly, before her smile became suddenly manic and her voice changed to something crazed “You’re going to give me Human babies!”

Aww, crap… ‘NOW are you gonna listen to me?! Get your ass out of there before they trap you!’

I stopped thinking about crap and fell back on my “Get out of Dodge” instincts. I turned and bolted through an opening in the circle of mares before they even realized I’d moved and started running the rest of the way to the library. After a moment, Lyra gave out a loud battle cry and the herd of mares began to chase me across town.

‘The mares are in heat and you’re running to the one who’s emotionally distressed and still sometimes thinks you’re her dead boyfriend.’ Nica said, her voice deadpan ‘Because that’s an absolutely brilliant plan, Leon. Why don’t you lay down on the road for Lyra and just get it over with?’

“Hey, if you’ve got a better idea, lemme have it.” I shot back, not caring if the whole world could hear me talking to the Nobody residing in my head.

‘Yes, actually. GO HOME AND LOCK THE DAMN DOORS!’ She snapped back at me.

“That’s not a good long term plan. They’ll eventually force their way in and then I’ll be screwed (‘Bow chicka wow-wow’), in a rather literal sense.” I replied, to which I felt Nica face-palm.

‘Ugh, right… Lyra would probably find a way to unlock your door anyway. Alright, let’s go meet up with Twilight and see if we can’t get five minutes to come up with a plan.’

“Duly noted, Captain.”

I saw Terra walking calmly down the street ahead of me. She waved when she saw me, but then her face became worried when she noticed I was running at top speed from an enormous group of mares being led by a crazed Lyra.

“Terra!” I said, pausing briefly to pass instructions on to her “Get back home, lock all the doors and windows and let nobody and nopony inside until I personally tell you it’s safe. If Vinyl’s over, tell her to leave, I don’t care how you do it, so long as she’s gone. Let her borrow my iPod if that’s what it takes!”

Terra was about to respond, but I heard Lyra give out another loud cry and I saw the crowd of mares was nearly upon me.

“Terra, I really need you to do this for me, I’ll return home soon!” I said as I began to run away, waving at her “Have a nice day, sweetheart!”

I’ll give the minty mare and her horde credit, they were dedicated to their cause. But fortunately, I’m a wily bastard and I led them on a merry chase throughout the town. By the time I reached the library, my lungs were burning and my legs were extremely sore, but I’d put quite a bit of distance between me and the strung-out mares after ducking down alleys and creating obstructions for them.

I pummeled on the door when I reached it and called out desperately for either Spike or Twilight to answer the door.

“Leon, quit trying to destroy the door, it’s open!” Spike’s irritated voice called out from inside.

Oh, right, public facility. The door’s generally unlocked. I rushed inside and slammed the door behind me, locking it and falling to the ground gasping for breath.

“Whoa, hey man. I know you like it here, but you didn’t have to run all the way from home.” Spike said, when he saw me slumped against the door panting. I shot him a glare, but explained my situation as best I could.

“Mares… Lyra… Insane…” I gasped at him, but he looked at me in confusion.

“Hey, let me get you some water.” He said before walking into the kitchen, though at this point Twilight came down from her bedroom and smiled when she saw me, which turned to a frown at my gasping for breath.

“Hi, Leon. Why are you panting so hard?” She asked me, her expression curious (however, I noted her face was slightly flushed and her eyes were flashing with… something, but I was too out of breath to put any thought into it) “You didn’t run all the way here from your house, did you?”

Spike returned with a glass of cold water, which I drained in a single go. After a moment, I got my breathing under control and explained what was going on. Twilight was quiet until I finished, after which she giggled while Spike face-palmed.

“Ah. Well, this is around the time we go into estrus, our mating period.” She said with a small smile on her flushed face “Because of the extreme mare-to-stallion ratio here in Ponyville, the mares tend to go a little… crazy when they’re in heat.”

I stared at her for a moment with a wary expression on my face, to which she coughed.

“Oh, if you’re worried about me trying to force myself on you, don’t; I can keep myself under control pretty well.” She said, her face turning red, but I could tell there was something hopeful in her eyes.

“So how long does it last?” I asked her, but before she could respond, the group of mares I’d left in my dust caught up and started pounding on the door, with Lyra screaming at the top of her lungs.

“No fair, Twilight, I saw the human first!” I heard her yell, and I face-palmed “I’ve got dibs on his babies, now let me have him!”

“Wow, you weren’t kidding about Lyra, Leon.” Twilight said with a giggle and I glared at her darkly.

“This isn’t funny, Twilight. I take one step out there, things will deteriorate so fast it’ll be like Discord’s running Equestria again.” I scolded her, which only made her smile strangely at me for a moment before her face became serious again.

“Okay. Estrus is slightly different for each mare, but it generally only lasts a week or so. However, like I said, the mares here tend to go nuts during this period and that’s why most of the stallions in town leave during it.” She explained, but then the banging on her door became more frantic “I think we should get you out of here before they break down my door. Take my hand; I’ll teleport you back home.”

She extended her hand, but I shook my head.

“Already thought of that, and decided I needed something more long term than that.” I replied, which garnered an extremely confused look from Twilight.

“Um, Leon? The only thing more long term than your house is the room where Celestia keeps the Elements of Harmony.” She stated, and this time it was my turn to look at her confused “Tell me, Leon; after staying here for an extended period of time, wouldn’t you design a house to act as a fallout shelter during a period where the mares are going off-the-wall insane?”

Nica’s voice came to me ‘Yes, I knew about it but unfortunately you can’t activate the magic so it’s dead-in-the-water anyway. No idea why she’s recommending it, though, unless…’

I continued to stare at Twilight. She sighed and rubbed her temple irritably.

“Look, just take my hand and I’ll show you when we get there.” She said, extending her hand to me. After a moment’s consideration, I took it and she helped me up, keeping my hand firmly clasped in hers “Spike, watch the library for me; I’m gonna be gone for a few days.”

“Wait, what?” I managed to say before she teleported us to the living room of my house, where Terra was sitting with a worried look on her face. Her face brightened when she saw me and she hurried over to give me a hug.

“Leon, I’m glad you’re safe!” She exclaimed happily, but then looked at me concerned “What’s going on with everyone in town?”

I was about to speak, but Twilight cleared her throat to get my attention.

“Allow me to explain what’s going on here. Leon… my Leon… had several security spells put in place for when estrus came around, which is what’s driving the mares insane, Terra.” She said, before closing her eyes and focusing her magic in her horn.

The lights flickered for a moment and the sunlight coming through the windows became tinted. Once she was done casting the spell, she opened her eyes again.

“What did you do, Twilight?” I asked her, to which she sighed and took a seat in the recliner.

“I sealed us inside the house and changed its appearance to what it was when you first saw it. It currently looks no different than a regular Ponyville home and nopony will be able to enter or exit the house for about a week. I can’t even teleport while the defenses are up.” She replied, her voice weary.

‘HA, so he did teach her how to activate it! I’m his freakin’ Nobody and even I keep underestimating his resourcefulness.’ Nica exclaimed happily in my head.

I stared very hard at Twilight, trying to decide whether to be grateful towards her for removing us from the chaos that was estrus or to be pissed as hell that she hadn’t told me what she was gonna do before she did it. But that went away when I realized something else.

Twilight was stuck with us, for a week, with no spare change of clothes, not to mention she was also experiencing estrus regardless of how well she was handling it. This was gonna be harder on her than anyone else.

“Oh, but what about the others?” Terra asked quietly “Won’t they be concerned about us?”

Twilight gave her a small smile “Maybe a little, but we have phones. We can send a message telling them what’s going on.”

At that, Terra took her own phone out (Rarity got her one almost immediately after Terra started working for her and she took to it like a fly on honey; she already knew more things about her phone than I did my own) and tapped at it for a moment as she went to sit back down on the couch.

I got mine out and sent a message to the remaining Elements explaining what happened and to keep an eye on things around town. After which, I took a seat on the couch as well and the three of us sat in silence for a moment before I decided that this would be a good time to talk to Twilight about training my magic, seeing as we were gonna be stuck together for a week and it’ll keep us from thinking about how bored we were gonna be (‘Or distract everybody from the fact that you’re essentially stuck in a cage with an anthropony in heat.’).

“Hey Twilight, since we’re gonna be here a while, do you mind helping me to train my magic?” I asked her, but she gave me an irritated look.

“We’ve already been over this, Leon; without a focus, you can’t utilize any magical energy. You may as well not bother.” She replied exasperated.

“Actually…” I said, feeling a blush spreading on my face “I may have discovered a method that can stimulate the receptors that’ll allow me access to magic, there’s just one problem…”

“And what’s that?” She said, her expression both excited and curious. I felt my blush deepen.

“It’s, um, kind of… intimate.” I managed to say. Twilight seemed confused by this and asked me to elaborate “Well… it involves… y’know what, I’m just gonna show you.”

I got up and walked to a large enough empty space in the living room and sat in the manner Nica showed me, gesturing for Twilight to take a seat opposite me. She did (thank Celestia she’s wearing pants today or I might’ve been exposed to some upskirt, which would’ve been embarrassing as hell ‘Really? Most men would’ve cheered at an opportunity to see up the skirt of someone who looks like her.’ I can protest the missed chance later, but I’ve got more important things to focus on) but I had to scoot forward so that our knees were touching. At first, she looked like she was going to protest, but I explained it was necessary.

“Okay, now here’s the really embarrassing part; hold your hands up just like this.” I said, holding up my own hands between us with my palms facing her. She did, hesitantly, and I slid my fingers in between hers, causing her to blush furiously “I told you it was intimate, but the next part is all on you; focus your magic through your horn like you always do, but instead of casting a spell with the energy, let it flow between us like a current in the ocean.”

She was hesitant at first, but decided to try it anyway. She closed her eyes and her horn glowed purple as she gathered energy, then the glow began to flow down and through her arm.

The moment the glow touched my skin, my senses ignited.

I’m not sure how to even begin to tell you what I was feeling, it was… magnificent, painful, pleasurable, beautiful, terrifying… all of those and more. After what felt like an eternity of simply… Feeling, it stopped and I looked at Twilight Sparkle, who seemed weary but also amazed from the experience. She looked at me surprised, her eyes wide in wonder.

“That… that was…” She began, but she was at much a loss of words that I was “I had no idea somepony could do that. Where did you learn it?”

“A… friend of mine showed me how.” I replied, my voice breathless as my memory of the experience just failed me in every way possible “I… hadn’t expected to… Feel so much.”

And we spent another moment sitting there as our minds attempted to process what it was we’d just done and staring at each other. I, personally, was enraptured by how beautiful her amethyst eyes were.

A light giggling snapped us out of our trance and we realized our fingers were still entwined. We broke contact and stood quickly, both of us blushing furiously as we tried to pretend that what had happened was nothing.

I became aware of a new sensation in my body, easily noticeable as I moved my arms, and I came to the conclusion that it felt like… magic. I’d never felt it before, but the house buzzed with active magic, it was like running the back of my arm across a TV with a static build-up on the screen. I waved my arm through the air and I could feel the ambient magic in it, which felt like I was moving my arm through cool water, but without the resistance.

‘Try drawing it in; extend your will like it was a funnel to allow the magic in.’ Nica’s voice spoke from within my head, and I followed her advice.

I could feel the cool energy flow up my arm to rest within my chest, which began to feel like someone was sitting on it.

‘Now, focus the energy into coalescing into your hand as a bubble.’

I did, and was extremely surprised to see a bubble of pure, crystalline water form just a few inches above my palm, which expanded to match the amount of magic I’d drawn in. Twilight stared at me surprised while Terra drew in a breath and clapped excitedly.

“You can cast magic now, Leon!” She exclaimed, her excitement evident in the smile she was giving me “And it’s Water magic, too! I love Water; it’s so gentle and soothing. Try drinking it!”

I looked at Terra for a second before shrugging and putting my lips to the bubble, drawing in some of the water I’d created.

It was the cleanest, purest water I had ever tasted, untouched by the filth that comes from watering holes and the chemicals used to purify aquatic beverages. I drank it greedily, coming out for air every few seconds, until the bubble was gone. Once I was done, I felt almost as refreshed as if I’d rested for half an hour and had someone giving me a slow, relaxing massage.

“Wow… I feel like a new man, Terra. How’d you know it would do that?” I asked, to which she shifted uncomfortably.

“I-I don’t know, Leon.” Terra replied, glancing away nervously “W-When I looked at the bubble, it just felt like restorative magic. I, um… I can’t explain how I knew, but I did.”

I caught the lie but I didn’t say anything because it had something to do with her heritage, something she obviously didn’t want to talk about. She was attuned with magic on a genetic level and probably had the potential for more arcane muscle then Luna, maybe even Celestia... or both combined. ‘Give her a few years and she might give Discord a run for his money.’

We were interrupted by my phone telling me I got a text message, which it did in Vinyl’s voice. I took it out of my pocket and, lo and behold, it was from Vinyl Scratch.

From: DJ-Pon3

Hey brony, what gives? I can’t find yer house anywhere and I really wanna listen to your music.

I face-palmed, but sent her a reply nonetheless.

To: DJ-Pon3

Sorry, babe, but my house is currently on lockdown during estrus. I’ll letcha know when it’s over.

From: DJ-Pon3

Aw, that sucks. Meh, no biggie. Catch ya l8r, brony. Oh yeah, I got a gig comin up in a week and change, you down?

To: DJ-Pon3

That’s gonna depend on how long my lockdown lasts, but if it ends early enough, hell yeah. Wouldn’t miss a performance by my favorite DJ for all the bits in Equestria.

From: DJ-Pon3

Awesome, I’ll hook ya up with some tickets. None of that regular crap, either; my friends get VIP passes and the best tables in the house. L8r, brony!

I put my phone away, and looked from Twilight to Terra.

“Alright, looks like we’re stuck here for a week.” I said clapping my hands together “Anyone got any ideas on what to do?”

“Well…” Twilight replied, looking thoughtfully at me “We could practice your new magic, see what we can do with it. If it’s anything like you said it was, it may not be restricted to Water magic, but we’ll need you to get a feel for different energies.”

I looked at the wall of my house, remembering the static feel and extended my hand to it, but Twilight grabbed my hand before I could do anything.

“Leon, it’s not a good idea to take energy actively being used by magic.” She said warningly “At best, you could disable the magic permanently while at worst you could set this place off like a bomb and wipe Ponyville off the map, along with a good chunk of Equestria.”

I immediately stuck my hands in my pockets and walked away from the wall to sit down on the couch.

“You could try drawing energy from active elements, like the flame of a candle or a gentle breeze.” Terra offered, which caused Twilight’s eyes to light up in realization.

“That’s a great idea, Terra, thank you!” She exclaimed, making Terra to blush “Why don’t we get started on that?”

I took a deep breath and sighed. This was gonna be a long week.

Ch. 10: "Of Ponies, Esperkin and... Timelords?"

View Online

Chapter Ten
“Of Ponies, Esperkin and… Timelords?”

So far it’s been three days into our lockdown.

Terra’s taking it pretty well; I’ve been teaching her some of my cooking techniques (that’s not to say she couldn’t cook before, I’m just helping her refine it). Twilight joined in because she was vastly interested in my theories on cooking.

Speaking of which, she was also taking it pretty well for the first couple of days. We’d been fairly distracted by my training, which so far just consisted of getting a feel for different types of energy, drawing it in and making it manifest before dispersing it into the world.

Unfortunately, Twilight was beginning to crack a little. I think the lack of a schedule and shortage of books were really tugging at her sanity and there were a few… accidents.

‘Yeah, the whole “shower incident” was pretty entertaining. At least, your reaction was.’

Please don’t remind me of that, Nica.

‘Oh come on, I couldn’t tell whether you were staring at her plot or her shelf… both of which I am completely jealous of FYI.’

Hey, she left that door unlocked on purpose!

‘And you just walked right in like you couldn’t hear the water running, perv. I will say, however, that she kinda-sorta looked like she wanted you to get in the shower with her and-’

Moving on, I tried to alleviate the stress by handing over my notebooks and writing utensils and letting her on my computer, but it only helped a little. What really seemed to work was when I talked about my other theories with her, namely on my views of reality and time. We were on my couch discussing this particular theory while Terra was upstairs taking a nap.

“That doesn’t make any sense, Leon.” She said, confused “How can you go back in time, intervene in a major event, only to return to your own time to find it unchanged?”

“Because,” I replied, drawing a straight line on a piece of paper “Things that have happened to you, or that you know have happened in your history, are set in stone. They cannot be changed in any way, shape or form.” I pointed at the line with my pencil “See this line here? Say it’s your timeline. It will always be straight, no matter what you do because that is how your life progresses.”

“If that’s the case, what’s the point in choosing if your future is already decided for you?” She asked me, her brow furrowed in concentration. I chuckled at this.

“But that’s just it, Twilight, your future is unwritten; what happens to you in the future is all up to you. It’s just that the choices you didn’t make…” I explained, drawing a line branching off from the center of the main line “Break off and go somewhere else and thus into an alternate reality, and every choice the alternate you didn’t make…” I drew three separate lines branching off from the new line “All break off as well, creating more realities. It’s the same if you went back to a certain point in your time…” I drew a line that curved back to an earlier point on the main line “You interfere in something earlier in your time period, but instead of changing your history…” I drew a line branching from the main line at where the curved line met it “You just create an alternate history that has no bearing on your time, unless you remember someone intervening at that particular moment. Normally, this wouldn’t affect anything in your time period, but if you’re a regular time-traveler this concept takes on a whole new meaning because time becomes a relative thing.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up in realization “Oh, I see! So Time is both immutable and malleable!” She exclaimed and wrote this new theory down in her ever-growing series of notes “I just don’t understand why I didn’t talk with you sooner; you’re so knowledgeable and wise!” This caused me to blush and cough nervously.

“Oh, um… thanks, Twilight, but I’m not that wise.” I said, glancing away “Besides, I’d think most people would be resolute in their argument that I’m wrong.”

Twilight looked at me confused “Why would they? Your theories make so much more sense than anything else I’ve heard or read, particularly the cooking ones; all the books I’ve read and all the chefs I’ve spoken to are out-right opponents of experimentation, but you encourage it as a natural method of learning.”

“That’s because, in a way, it is a natural way to learn, though I most definitely don’t encourage just throwing random stuff in and seeing what works, that’s how you get food poisoning.” I replied, turning back to her (in case you’re wondering, she’s wearing a spare set of my pajamas. Fortunately for her, most anything that fits me also fits on other people as well. She can’t wear Terra’s clothing because the two of them are physically different in several areas. I’ll let you guess where) “When you experiment with your ingredients, you can learn what will make the dish taste better and what could ruin it, as well as how much to use of said ingredient. As for why people would insist I’m wrong, it’s because I have no real evidence to support my claims, all I do is put it in a way that makes a lot of sense.”

Twilight giggled and wrote it down in her notes, before filing everything away and setting down her writing material. She yawned and stretched (Oh yeah, we must’ve been talking for at least a couple of hours), and then rubbed at her eyes.

“Alright.” I said, also yawning “I think it’s time for a nap. Don’t really have much else to do right now and I’d like to give my mind a rest for an hour or two.” She nodded and we both stood from the couch. I moved around the table and went to the kitchen for a drink of water, but Twilight stopped me as I passed her.

When I looked at her, she was blushing and glancing away nervously but she eventually found the courage to speak.

“Um… thank you for putting up with me for these last couple of days; I guess I didn’t entirely think this through before locking us in here.” She said, giving me a small smile “Your patience is truly astounding.”

“Think nothing of it, Twilight; this is the least I can do for you.” I said, but then my mind caught up with me and I blushed, looking away quickly “That is to say, uh… I don’t mind… helping…”

“Thank you.” Was all I heard before she kissed me on the cheek and hurried to the guest room she was staying in, leaving me rooted to the spot, swaying slightly as I reached a hand gingerly to where she’d kissed me.

‘D’aww, how sweet. She likes you, too! So when’s the wedding, Casanova?’ Nica said, her tone sweet.

“Hush, you.” I murmured and I heard her laughing in my head.

I continued on to the kitchen and after a small glass of cool water (ugh, this stuff is disgusting after my experience with the water bubble), I went upstairs to the master bedroom to lay down for a nap, shutting and locking the door because, unfortunately, Twilight was still in estrus despite how normal she acted.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard Terra scream from her room. My eyes snapped open and I leapt off the bed in one smooth motion, moving over to my desk, flinging open a drawer and pulling out my gun which I loaded with a clip, chambered a bullet and then unlocked and flung open my door and ran over to Terra’s room.

I threw her door open and aimed my gun around, settling on a strangely dressed earth pony with a chestnut coat and brown mane wearing a blue suit with a red bowtie and brown dress shoes on his hooves. He was currently on the ground, his body spasming as it coursed with electricity.

I stared at him for a moment, unable to recognize him at first, but then his coat and mane coloration hit me and I nearly died laughing.

It was Doctor Who, or in the pony-verse, Doctor Whooves… and he’d just gotten his ass whipped by a girl. Granted, she’d probably hit him with a low grade Thunder spell, but it still counts. Twilight ran in while I was laughing, first looking at the spasming Doctor Whooves, then running over to Terra to calm the terrified girl down.

Aw, damn. Once I saw that, my laughter died immediately and a look of shame crossed my face. I also crossed over to the bed and sat on the edge.

“You okay, sweetheart?” I asked her, to which she nodded shakily at me. I smiled and patted her head gently before standing back up and facing the Doctor, who was beginning to get back on his hooves.

“That was rude.” He said once the electricity fully faded “I’m terribly sorry I scared you, darling, but I had no idea the TARDIS would appear in your closet. If you had just allowed me to explain…”

It was at this time he saw me aiming my pistol at him, and his jaw dropped in surprise.

“Oh dear.” He said, then cleared his throat “Um, I am terribly sorry for intruding upon your home. I know I must look odd to you, I was trying to get back to my world when I…” Then he noticed Twilight Sparkle this time and his jaw dropped again.

“Yeah… you might actually be on the world you intended to be on, but you’re not where you should be.” I said, then pulled the hammer back on my pistol (I know, it’s double action, meaning I don’t have to, but I like to give the people I’m aiming a weapon at some warning before I decide to shoot him) “This isn’t personal, buddy, but you are kinda trespassing on private property, so I think you’d better start

talking.”

“Ah. Well, I’m the Doctor.” He said, extending a hand to me, which I shook while still aiming the gun at him “However, around Ponyville I’m known as Time Turner. Hello, Miss Sparkle!” He called happily “Would you mind telling your… coltfriend, to lower his firearm please? I mean no harm, this was all just an unfortunate accident.”

I blushed furiously when he called me Twilight’s coltfriend, and judging from the silence, so was she. Terra, however, gave a giggle and spoke for her.

“It’s alright, Leon. He seems nice enough.” She said, and I lowered my weapon, turning the safety on.

“Well, since you’re here, Doctor. I have a letter for you that I’ve been holding onto for weeks.” I said, and motioned for him to leave the room. As he did, I looked back at Terra “You sure you’re alright, Terra?”

“Yes, Leon.” She replied with a smile and a nod “I was just surprised; I may have over-reacted with the Thunder spell. Could you apologize to him for me?”

“Sure thing, sweetheart.” I said, and closed the door. The Doctor was waiting patiently for me and I led him into the master bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

I walked up to the desk and sat down in my chair, opening a drawer and pulling out the envelope, which I handed him. He looked at it for a moment, and then opened it, his face dropping as he read it.

“I know it’s probably private, but I’d like to know what kind of information I’ve been lugging around since I got here.” I told him as I removed the clip from my gun and ejected the bullet in the chamber, replacing it in the clip and putting everything back in the drawer I keep it in.

“Oh, this? It’s just an invoice from the time I crashed into some shop on my way here.” He said, then grimaced “I swear, if a snowflake owed that woman something, she’d be able to find it on a planet covered in the stuff.”

I chuckled but I had no idea what he was talking about, though it sounded vaguely familiar. I didn’t think much about it.

“Mind talking about it? You’re probably stuck here anyway, speaking of which, I might have to change the sleeping arrangements a bit.” I said casually, but he his expression hardened.

“I am truly sorry, Leon.” He replied “But I cannot answer that question; you paid a heavy price to be here and besides, I cannot say her name outside of her own world.”

I glared at him “I don’t recall introducing myself, Doctor.” I said, causing him to wince and shift uncomfortably.

“Ah. Yes, well… as you like to say, spoilers.” He replied with a small smile.

I shrugged “Alright. By the way, Terra says she’s sorry for zapping you earlier. Gotta say, surprising mages is usually not a good way to live for any length of time, Doctor.” I said, giving him a wide grin.

“I’m sorry, who?” He asked me, and I face-palmed “OH, you mean the girl who was sleeping! Tell her it’s quite alright, I’ve had worse happen to me in lesser situations. If you don’t mind me asking, how did she do that? I mean, I’ve seen magic before, but not of that variety.”

“She’s not from this world or mine; actually she’s from a different dimension altogether.” I answered, giving him a casual shrug “She hit you with an electrical spell known in her world as Thunder. You’re very lucky it didn’t have much more voltage than that of a taser; if she’d hit you with anything stronger, and believe me when I say she could’ve if she’d wanted to, you probably would’ve just been a greasy smear on the wall and I would’ve been pissed as all hell at having to clean it.”

The Doctor blanched at me “I sincerely hope you’re joking; combat magic isn’t unknown in Equestria, but that kind of volatility just doesn’t exist here!” He exclaimed, with a shocked look on his face. I shrugged again.

“I don’t think its non-existent; I think ponies just don’t have the right mental state to tap into it. Hell, I’m currently learning how to use magic and I’ve already got a handle on Water, Fire and Wind magic.” I said as I created the water bubble from a couple of days ago, making his eyes go wide in awe.

“How fascinating! Being able to create water from nothing is just…” He said, his voice awed. I shrugged again and offered the floating bubble to him, but he stared at it hesitantly.

“Drink it, Doctor, it’s just pure water. It’ll refresh your body, though it won’t quench your thirst being that’s it’s magical in nature.” I said, gesturing toward the bubble. After a moment’s hesitation, he extended his hand and the bubble floated over to it. Once he had it, he put it to his muzzle and drank it. When he was finished, he looked considerably more lively.

“Wow, that is fantastic; it feels like I just sat and did nothing for half an hour, and my muscles no longer ache from being electrocuted!” He exclaimed happily, giving a couple of experimental jumps to test it.

“I’m glad you like it, Doctor.” I said with a smile “Unfortunately, I won’t be offering it to you again unless it’s absolutely necessary. Don’t want you getting dependant on it, now, do we?”

“Of course not.” He replied, also smiling, but then he face grew thoughtful “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you call the mage-girl ‘sweetheart’? She seems a little young for you to be dating her.”

I face-palmed and gave him a serious look “First off, whatever relationships I may have are none of your business. Secondly, Terra’s like a sister to me; calling her ‘sweetheart’ is one way of showing I care about her. She has not said anything against it, and so I haven’t stopped.”

“Ah.” He said “Does that mean you are-” but he stopped when I gave him one of my most severe glares. He coughed and looked away.

“Okay, look.” I said, deciding to lay it out straight for him “We’re kinda stuck here because Twilight put the house into lockdown; there’s all kinds of magical defenses set in place to prevent exit or entry, but obviously your machine was able to get in. Can you take Twilight home with you?”

He shook his head “The TARDIS may have brought me here, but the reason I was caught in Terra’s room was because I couldn’t leave. Something is holding the TARDIS in place and I have no idea what it is.”

“That’s the lockdown. Seems you’re also stuck here until it ends, which should be in a couple days or so.” I groaned. This was gonna be difficult; I’ll probably need to restock my pantry when this is over “Alright, let’s go talk to the girls and get stuff moved around a little.”

With that, I walked over to the door and opened it, revealing Twilight and Terra behind the door trying to listen in.

“Terra, is it at all possible for you to sleep in the guest room with Twilight until this is over?” I asked her. She nodded slowly, but her expression was confused.

“I… suppose. Is it alright if I ask why?” She said, to which I gave her a small smile.

“The Doctor is kind of stuck with us until the lockdown is over and since his TARDIS is stuck in your closet, letting him sleep in your room will mean he’ll have constant access to it without disturbing you.”

Her expression became understanding, but was still troubled “Okay, but why can’t I sleep in your room with you?” She asked and caused both me and Twilight to blush furiously and me to give a polite cough.

“Sweetheart, there’s a… stigma to a male and a female sleeping in the same bed; it’s generally only acceptable when the two are… together.” I replied, shifting uncomfortably. Terra didn’t seem to understand so I had to elaborate “When they’re a couple, Terra. Don’t get me wrong, I care about you quite a lot, it’s just…”

Terra blushed when she realized what I’d meant “O-oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-” She began, but I cut her off.

“It’s alright, sweetheart. Trust me; it’ll work out better this way.” I said, which caused her to smile at me (have I mentioned recently how much I love Terra’s smiles? Seriously the most heartwarming things on the planet) “Well, as exciting as this has been, I’m still in the mood for a nap, so if you’ll excuse me…”

I ushered the Doctor out into the hall and shut the door. I booted up my computer, opened up my music program and set it to play (Time - Ozzy Osbourn). I lay in my bed as the opening chords began to play and I felt my body relax as I lost myself in the music.

After a moment, I thought I heard the door to my room open and close, but my relaxed state dismissed it as trivial. But then I heard a voice.

“Excuse me, Leon… is it alright if I… lay in bed with you?”

I opened my eyes and saw Twilight Sparkle standing next to me. I must’ve forgotten to lock the door.

‘Say yes. Come on, you know you want to.’

“Alright. But no funny business, Twilight.” I replied drowsily as I closed my eyes and began to lose myself to the music again.

I barely noticed as the bed shifted while Twilight climbed in. After a moment, I registered her taking my hand and holding it gently, and I shivered with pleasure at the touch of her fur. I don’t know why, I mean I’ve hugged her before and not felt anything but now…

“I don’t think I’ve told you what I felt the other day when we… connected.” She murmured. I opened my eyes and looked at her calmly.

“Twilight, I have no words to describe what exactly happened, myself. Why would I expect you to?” I asked her, my own voice low and gentle.

“That’s because you’ve never felt pure magic before, whereas I do on a daily basis.” She replied, looking at me seriously “Leon… what we did was more intimate than you realize. We… ‘experienced’ each other at a spiritual level. It was so intense it actually curbed my… urges.” And with that she blushed while I gaped at her.

“You didn’t-” I began but she interrupted me with a giggle and a shake of her head.

“No, nothing physical happened, it just quieted what I feel during estrus, made it more bearable.” She explained calmly (‘Didn’t stop her from leaving the shower door unlocked, did it?’). Ignoring Nica ‘Whatever’, I relaxed and went back to staring at the ceiling. We lay there for a moment, letting the song wash over us.

“Leon… would you like to know what your spirit felt like?” Twilight asked me hesitantly and I considered the question before giving a small shrug “It felt like I was being bathed in a calm and soothing light that made me feel as though all of my troubles were a thing of the past, and I felt… hope. I felt that, if I embraced the light, the pain in my heart would ease and I could…”

I looked at her when she failed to finish the sentence to see her staring at the ceiling as well, her eyes distant. After a moment she looked at me, her eyes gentle with a small smile on her face.

“I understood, right then, why Terra admires you so much. You may not be… him, but your soul is just as radiant… just as beautiful, and you inspire her to do her best.” She murmured gently, and I gave her a calm smile.

“Thanks, Twilight.” I said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Her beautiful eyes caught my attention at that time, and I stared into them while she stared back at mine.

‘Well, what are you waiting for? Kiss her already, dammit!’ Nica snapped, causing me to blink and look away with a blush ‘Whoops, uh… sorry, Leon.’

I sighed irritably and closed my eyes to sleep, but Twilight seemed to note the tone in it.

“Is everything alright, Leon?” She asked, concern in her voice “You can tell me, you know.”

“It’s nothing.” I replied, my voice drowsy “Don’t worry about it. I’m gonna close my eyes and sleep now, okay? If you’re tired, you can stay and sleep as well.”

“What about that stuff you said about a male and a female sleeping in bed together?” She replied with a giggle, but my mind was already drifting off as the next song played (Key of the Twilight - Yuki Kaijura).

“I think I can make an exception for you just this once, Twilight…” I murmured “It’s not like we’re gonna be spending the night together; just a couple of hours.”

I have no idea what she said next because sleep finally claimed me.

Next thing I knew, I was standing on the mural in my mind. It had changed a little; Twilight’s eyes had brightened and she was no longer looking down, instead looking across at the image of me, while the shards at the center had started to expand and meld together.

Nica was sitting in a recliner watching a movie.

“Not really.” She quipped “I’m watching a memory of you watching a movie.”

“Veronica, what are you up to?” I asked her seriously, which caused her to shift in her chair and look at me, a sly smile on her face.

“I have no idea what you mean, Leon.” She replied sweetly, which caused me to glare at her.

“Yes you do.” I deadpanned at her “You’re trying to make me fall in love with her, aren’t you?”

“No, actually. You were pretty much already there; I’m just helping you out by giving you little pushes where it’s important.” She replied in an equal deadpan, before glancing at the mural and looking back at me with a big smile on her face “And unless I’m mistaken, it seems to be working.”

“Veronica!” I snapped, using her name again “You’re playing a dangerous game here. What if things don’t work between us, it’ll destroy her, especially considering what’s already happened!”

“To mend a broken heart, you must sometimes risk exposure to more pain.” Nica replied solemnly “She needs this desperately and so do you, and I know for a fact you’re not gonna abandon her while your own heart beats within your chest.”

“Still, Nica, I wish you’d told me the truth about that… method.” I said, rubbing my temple in frustration “That could’ve gone wrong on so many levels, and yet you had me teach it to her just so that I would be able to cast magic!”

Nica held a finger up warningly “Hey, that magic is gonna save your life one of these days, mark my words.” She snapped irritably “And besides, I didn’t lie to you; I told you from the start it was intimate but also that it was necessary to activate your senses.”

“That doesn’t make it right!” I retorted “What if I’d tried that with Terra?”

“I believe I’ve already answered that question, if you recall correctly, but allow me to reiterate.” She replied irritably “Magic is as natural to Terra as breathing; she doesn’t need to think about it, she just does. But where Terra has raw potential with her magic, Twilight has more control.”

“Well then, why not Rarity or one of the Princesses?” I asked her, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Y’know, you’re right, we really need to stop doing that.” Nica quipped and then her face grew serious “Rarity is more like Terra in terms of magic use; she doesn’t really think about it outside of telling it what to do and letting it feed off the images in her mind on what she wants done. As for one of the Princesses… think about it, you connected with Twilight’s soul and pretty much lost yourself in a state of pure Feeling; if you tried that with the Princesses, they’d most likely burn out your mind and leave you a vegetable.”

I groaned “So basically, Twilight was the only viable choice.”

“Actually… she was kind of a gamble, herself, really.” Nica said, glancing away nervously.

“Explain.”

“Well… as you know, Twilight is as adept a spellcaster as she is because of the Element of Magic residing within her.” She said, and I nodded “I was a bit concerned that she might harm you unintentionally because of it. Maybe not burn you out like the Princesses would, but you definitely might’ve suffered significant brain damage.”

I stared very hard at my Nobody.

“You risked my mental faculties in a gamble to get me to learn magic.” I deadpanned, to which she nodded “Veronica… if you ever do that again, there will be consequences. I currently don’t know how I’d punish you, but you and I both know it’ll be very creative.”

She gulped and shrunk back a little “Yeah… sorry, Leon. Won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Gonna need more than that, Nica.” I said which caused her to gape at me.

“Oh no...” She said and held up both her hands. I merely stared very hard at her “You are seriously gonna make me do that aren’t you?”

I nodded and she sighed. She then began the movements of the ultimate promise that no one breaks.

“I cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” She deadpanned as she went through the appropriate motions, which caused me to smile. She looked like she wanted to say something, but I was suddenly pulled away from the dream world.

My eyes opened and I discovered I was back in my bed with Terra shaking me gently to wake me up.

“It’s time to get up, Leon. You don’t want to sleep too long now or you won’t get any later.” She said, giving me a sweet smile, which turned into a light giggle.

I was wondering why she was giggling, but then I realized there was pressure on my arm and when I looked I saw Twilight sleeping with her head on my shoulder. I gave her head a gentle nudge and her eyes fluttered open. She gave me a small smile and was about to say something, but then she saw Terra and was up in a flash, her face bright red.

“Alright, Terra, I’m officially up. Let’s get downstairs and practice my magic some more.” I said as I got up and went over to the computer, closing my music program (song cut: Dare - Gorillaz).

‘That was rude. Eh, I was gonna tell you to buzz off anyway. Oh, and I hate you eternally for cutting off that song, it’s my favorite.’ Nica pouted inside my head, but I ignored her ‘Jerk.’

When I got downstairs, I was surprised to see that my TV was on and there was a familiar show playing (it was Doctor Who. Go figure, and the Doctor was laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world ‘Note the irony here. The Doctor, watching “Doctor Who”.’).

“I still think it’s terribly hilarious they made a television show about me, though I’ll admit they make the TARDIS look gorgeous.” He said as we entered the living room.

“Doctor…” I asked, my voice level “What did you do to my TV, and why is it playing Doctor Who?”

“Oh, I got bored and used my sonic screwdriver on it to get some programming from your world so that your television isn’t something that just lies around your house looking pretty.” He replied with a dismissive wave of his hand “As for the show, I personally think it’s adorable the way they keep trying to capture my adventures on film.”

I was gonna protest his theft of cable, but the girls seemed entranced by what they saw so I decided to let it go and went into the dining room to continue honing my magic.

After that, the rest of the lockdown passed calmly… enough.

Ch. 11: “DJ L0V3 D0C70R”

View Online

Chapter Eleven
“DJ L0V3 D0C70R”

First thing that happened when the lockdown spell ended was Vinyl Scratch bursting through the door and demanding to use my computer. She didn’t wait for me to respond before shoving an envelope in my hands and running upstairs.

Pinkie Pie came in immediately after acting like we were being released from prison. No clue where she got that idea, but I just chalked it up to Pinkie being Pinkie. Once she was gone, I opened up the envelope and pulled out two VIP passes for Vinyl’s show in a couple of days.

“I’m going out to see Rarity, Leon. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” Terra said as she grabbed her purse (which Rarity made for her, obviously) and hurried out the door. I waved goodbye and turned to Twilight.

“Well, I’m sure you’re eager to get back home and into your own clothes for a change.” I said with a small chuckle “Besides, Spike’s probably worried about you.”

“I doubt that, he’s probably spent the week being lazy and eating ice cream.” She replied with a chuckle of her own, but then she fell silent. We stood there in uncomfortable silence, before I decided to go talk to Vinyl.

Twilight caught my arm as I was heading down the hallway, and I turned to look at her. She was blushing slightly, and she shifted nervously.

“Leon, I wanted to say… I had a wonderful time this week, even if it was a little uncomfortable.” She said, her voice hesitant “But… I also wanted to ask that you… not tell anypony what happened the other day. I don’t want to send the wrong impression, especially to my friends who will blow it out of proportion.”

I felt my heart sink, but I nodded my assent. She gave me a small smile and teleported home.

I lingered for a moment, my heart aching though I didn’t understand why.

‘Perhaps because she sent you a signal saying she wanted it to be more, but I guess it might’ve just been the estrus talking. Oh well, you’ll get her next time, champ.’ Nica’s voice said in my head.

I was turning to go down the hallway again when my door opened once more. For some weird reason, I thought it was Twilight coming back, but my hope turned to cold dread when I saw who it was.

Lyra walked up to me, an embarrassed smile on her face.

“Hi Leon!” She called to me excitedly “Hey, I just wanted to say ‘I’m sorry’ for chasing you across town while I was in heat. I’m sure Twilight’s told you we can get a little crazy around here during that time.”

“Yeah. She did, actually.” I replied, eyeing her warily.

“What’s with that look?” She asked me, laughing “You don’t have to worry about me having my way with you anymore… at least until next estrus. And trust me, I’ll succeed next time. Ciao!”

She turned to leave, but seemed to remember something and turned back, reaching into her bag.

“Oh, I almost forgot; you dropped this when you were running from us last week.” She said, presenting my hat to me (oh man, I must’ve forgotten all about in the heat of the moment ‘ha, I see whatcha did there.’) “I figured it was important. You’re kinda not you without the hat and coat.”

And then just like that, the demented mare left.

‘Call her what you want, you’re still gonna be hanging out with her within the next day or two.’ Nica stated matter-of-factly. I groaned inwardly, because I knew she was right ‘Aren’t I always?’

I went upstairs to my room to find Vinyl messing around on my computer. She had my music program up and I could see something was plugged into the computer, which turned out to be her own version of an iPod (I think she told me once what they were called, but it’s basically the same thing. Even the programming’s the same).

“No, yeah, that’s cool, babe. You totally have my permission to take my music.” I said sarcastically.

“Cool, thanks a lot, brony. I owe ya for this.” Vinyl responded immediately without looking away. I sighed and leaned against the desk.

“What are you up to, Vinyl? I know my music’s good, but you charged up here like it was a matter of life-or-death.” I said which caused her to look at me with a huge grin.

“Oh, nothin’ much, it’s just that I need some filler songs for my gig comin’ up.” She replied “I thought about using some of the more popular stuff floatin’ around Equestria, but we both know those usually suck so much flank. So I figured I’d use some of yours, let ‘em hear something fresh for once.”

See, this is why I like Vinyl Scratch. She may seem like your average, devil-may-care type individual but once you get to know her, you discover she actually has a razor-sharp wit and intellect. She also has as much passion for music that Rarity does for fashion, and reacts in nearly the same manner to bad material.

“Sounds good to me, babe. Just be sure to let them know where you got it, okay?” I told her with a chuckle, and we bumped fists. I was about to leave when I remembered what I went up there for “Oh, hey Vinyl? You gave me two passes, I only need one; Terra’s not really into that sort of music.”

“Then bring somepony else; word on the Grapevine is that ya got a thing for Twilight Sparkle. Why don’t ya ask her and make it a date?” Vinyl responded immediately again, and again without looking up from what she was doing. I stared very hard at the DJ.

“’Word on the Grapevine’?” I asked her in a deadpan voice “Who’s been saying those kinds of things, Vinyl?”

‘Oh, please. Everypony in town knows that when you’re not running one errand or another, you’re at the library.’ Nica chided me ‘You haven’t exactly been subtle about it, either. Then there’s the fact that the two of you disappeared for a week; imagine the rumors that must be buzzing around town right about now!’

Oh, crap. I hadn’t thought about that and Vinyl confirmed as much.

“I can’t remember who first started the rumors, but they’ve been saying that you’ve been at the library nearly every day hangin’ out with her.” The DJ replied with a shrug, but then she looked at me with a wicked grin “And then both of you ‘disappeared’ during estrus and the mares practically exploded twice with gossip. I’m sure ya can guess what it was about, brony.” She winked at me while I face-palmed, my face burning from embarrassment.

I decided to pull out my phone and warn Twilight.

To: Twilight

Be careful, Twi; the mares are spreading rumors that we’re together… in more ways than one.

From: Twilight

I’m already aware. Roseluck came by the library and asked me what you were “like”, to which I told her that absolutely nothing had happened. I don’t think she believed me, though.

To: Twilight

Damn. I’m sorry, Twilight, I didn’t mean to bring that kind of attention to you. If there’s any way I can make it up to you, just let me know.

From: Twilight

No, you’re not the one who should be sorry; I’m the one who sealed us in your house for a week, the blame should be placed solely on me for the spread of these rumors.

To: Twilight

Still, I had a hand in it because I’ve been spending so much time at the library. If there’s anything you need, anything at all, just say the word and I’ll see it done.

It was a minute before she responded, and when she did, I felt like my heart was shattered into a million pieces.

From: Twilight

Leon, I think it’s best we don’t see each other for a little while, at least until these rumors die down. I don’t want the girls thinking our relationship is more than us as friends, I’m sure you understand.

‘Dammit, Twilight Sparkle, you idiotic mare! How can somepony so smart be so incredibly stupid?!’ Nica groaned, but I barely registered her voice ‘Crap. Hold it together, Leon, she’s just being stupid right now!’

“Vinyl…” I said quietly “I think you should take the other pass back with you.”

She stopped messing with the computer and looked at me while removing her sunglasses.

“Hey, man, what’s wrong?” She asked me, concern in her voice. I didn’t say anything, just turned and left the room to go downstairs, taking a seat on the couch to stare blankly at my TV.

After a minute, Vinyl came into the living room and set my phone on the coffee table in front of me before turning to leave (I guess I dropped it at some point). I came to my senses briefly to ask her a question.

“Did you get what you needed, Vinyl?” I asked her, my voice emotionless. I think she nodded, but then she was gone, I have no idea where to. Maybe to prepare for her show or something.

‘Hey, c’mon, Leon. Twilight’s just being Twilight.’ Nica said soothingly ‘You know she acts silly when she can’t decide what she’s feeling, just forget this happened and keep trying.’

No, that wasn’t true; I was the one who’d been acting stupid. Here I was, entertaining thoughts of being in a relationship when I really should be more focused on other things. And yet every time I’m around her, I get so distracted trying to help that I just…

‘Okay, stop right there.’ Nica responded warningly ‘You’ve done nothing but pour your heart out to that mare, short of letting her know how you truly feel. If anything, she’s the one sending mixed signals here.’

I sat on the couch a little while longer before I shook my head and stood.

“Okay, I’m just making this a bigger deal than it really needs to be.” I said, running my hands through my hair “If she wants some space, fine. I’ll ask somepony else to Vinyl’s show.”

‘Uh, okay? I guess that’s something you could do. Better than sitting around the house like a zombie.’ Nica replied, her voice wary.

I grabbed my phone and went back upstairs to the master bedroom to see the passes right where I’d left them. I tapped at my phone to begin calling the various ponies on my contacts, but I stopped when my phone opened up to display a message from Vinyl.

From: DJ-Pon3

Don’t do anything with those passes while I go have a chat with Twi’s friends. That mare is being ridiculously stupid and she needs her flank smacked. Sit tight, brony, cuz Pon3’s got ya back! ;-)

As much as I wanted to believe Vinyl could convince Twilight otherwise, I didn’t think it’d be possible. Twilight could be as stubborn as Applejack when she wanted to be, and I doubt she was gonna budge on this subject.

I decided to try calling Lyra anyway. My phone rang for a second before Vinyl answered.

“I figured ya might try this, Leon, so I enchanted your phone to redirect any calls you make to mine.” She said with a laugh “Can’t be havin’ ya call another mare when ya already got a date for my show. And you’re definitely not calling Lyra. I know what she did last week and let’s just say certain ponies were pissed.”

I groaned “Dammit, Vinyl, if she doesn’t want to be with me for a little while it’s perfectly fine. I’ll just get somepony else to go with me and I’ll enjoy myself. You don’t need to be causing a problem on my behalf.” I said, pinching the bridge of nose in irritation.

“Hey, I’m not the one causin’ a problem here, brony, Twilight is.” Vinyl retorted “She knows damn well how ya feel about her and to send you a text like… that just ain’t cool, man. I’ve already talked to Rares and she’s gonna get the rest of the girls on board while I go chat up Twi. You just sit back and let your pal, Vinyl, handle this, ‘k?”

Damn… somehow I just knew this was gonna get out of hand quickly.

‘With Vinyl, it usually does. At least you know she’s looking out for you.’ Nica replied calmly, if slightly amused.

And I bet you’re just sitting there eating popcorn, huh, Nica?

‘Totally. Well, I’m eating popcorn based on your memories of eating popcorn… doesn’t really taste right, though.’

I sighed “Alright, Vinyl. I’ll cool my heels and let you get to it.” I said, my voice resigned “Just… go easy on her, will you? She’s under a lot of stress as it is.”

“No promises. Catch ya later, brony!” And she hung up.

I stood there in silence for a moment, before putting my phone and the passes in my pocket and heading downstairs to go for a walk around town, maybe see about finding some small things to do. I had just finished retrieving a bunch of supplies for Colgate when my phone notified me of a text message.

From: Terra

Leon, Rarity wants you to visit her at the boutique. She says it’s important but she wouldn’t tell me why. I also heard you’re having trouble with Twilight. Don’t worry; I’m sure it’ll work out for the best.

I gave a small smile. Even her text messages radiate like one of her smiles. I decided not to respond and instead bid the busy dentist farewell before leaving to head out to Carousel Boutique.

When I got there, Terra was waiting for me. She smiled as I approached and opened the door to let me in, closing the door behind us and locking it.

Just as Rarity entered my field of vision, my messenger bag was lifted off me and given to Terra, who hung it on a rack next to her, where she also hung my coat and hat when they floated over to her as well.

“Okay, I’m stopping it there; my clothes stay on, Rarity.” I told her warningly, though she only giggled.

“Yes, of course, darling.” She replied, before gesturing to the center of the boutique “Please stand here, if you would be so kind.”

I did as instructed and suddenly I found myself being assaulted by fabrics, and could just barely hear Rarity commenting on them idly, passing favor on some while dismissing others. After a few moments, the fabrics lifted and I blinked my eyes as the world spun just a little. I saw Terra gasp and hold her hands to her chest, while Rarity put her hands on her hips and looked at me approvingly.

“Oh, you look absolutely handsome!” Rarity exclaimed happily “Turn around and see for yourself.”

I shrugged and did as she asked, and my jaw dropped (it’s like a snake’s at this point).

‘I… uh… wow…’

Okay. I thought my hat and coat combo was bad-ass, but my new outfit made that one look like a kid talking crap in online games and it even shut Nica up to boot!

‘H-Hey!’

I was wearing a white silk shirt with the sleeves coming to about halfway down my forearms with a black tie and a black vest that hugged lightly at my chest, a pair of smooth black slacks with exquisite black dress shoes that shone in the light and a snug pair of pearl-white socks on my feet. The whole thing fit me in such a way as to display my lean frame without hampering my actual arm and leg movements and the shoes were remarkably comfortable despite the fancy look.

On my hands was a pair of black, half-finger cloth gloves that accented my long and thin fingers, ending just past my wrist. On my head was a pair of narrow sunglasses that for some reason didn’t hamper my vision inside the boutique along with a black fedora with a white band at the base.

Hell, she’d even managed to style my hair so that it hung in little spikes around my head, parting from in front of my face.

“Wow, Rarity! Who’s that total bad-ass looking at me in the mirror, because I know that can’t be me!” I said, chuckling from both the joke and sheer amazement ‘That was going to be my question, Leon. Though now that I think about it, you kinda remind me of some annoying asshole I met once.’

Whoa, you met…him?! ‘Ugh, don’t remind me, just the memory creeps me out.’

“Indeed, it is you, Leon.” She replied with a small smile “This is the outfit you’re going to be wearing when you go to Vinyl’s show. You’ll be the talk of the town! But we’re not done yet…”

At that, a coat drifted in from somewhere and slid itself on to me, and when I looked in the mirror, my bad-ass rating went up by ten.

It was a jet-black thing almost like a dinner jacket, except that it didn’t look quite so fancy, and it went halfway down my thighs. Still, with the hat and shades, I was looking appropriately, dare I say it, handsome. The outfit spoke volumes and what it said was “I own the ground I walk on and you’re welcome to share it with me”.

Another thing about it was that it was light, something you could wear on all but the hottest of days.

“I decided that, since we’re in the middle of Spring, you needed a lighter coat.” Rarity confirmed as she spoke “You’re not restricted to wearing it with that ensemble only; it goes with your normal hat rather nicely.”

As if to emphasize, the fedora lifted off of my head to be replaced by my wide-brimmed one, and lo and behold, the coat went perfectly with it. I was floored by all of this.

“Rarity, I can’t accept this!” I said breathlessly “This is… it’s just…”

“This is not up for debate, Leon; I’ve already said this is what you’re wearing to the show.” Rarity stated, waving her hand dismissively “After all, you want to look your best for Twilight, don’t you?”

At that, I felt my euphoria drain and I looked away.

“I doubt she’s going to want to go and I don’t want to force her if she doesn’t.” I replied my voice low “And besides, why would she want to go with me anyway… All I ever do is remind her of-”

‘Leon, cut the emo crap, wouldja?’ Nica chided.

“Leon, that’s quite enough!” Rarity snapped at the exact same time “You asked me when you first came into my boutique not to compare you to him and I fully expect you to ‘walk your talk’ as Rainbow Dash would put it.”

I didn’t look at her, my heart roiling in turmoil. After a moment, I felt one of Rarity’s soft hands take my head and turn it so that I was staring into her stunning azure eyes.

“You possess a trait he did not, Leon, and it is that trait that is hurting you most right now, but it is also the one that will make you so much stronger.” Rarity murmured gently to me.

“And what’s that, Rarity?” I asked her “What do I have that he didn’t; that the perfect hero didn’t?”

“A refusal to let go of things that matter to you.” Rarity replied, giving me a small smile “What you need to do now is the same thing you did with Terra; take Twilight’s hand and refuse to let it go, no matter how much it will hurt you to do so.”

‘She’s right, Leon. The other guy was noble and selfless, but often times far too willing to let things go; even I encountered minimal resistance when I chose to be cast into the Void.’ Nica chimed in. I gave Rarity a small smile, removed her hand from my cheek and gave it a gentle squeeze before letting it go.

“Thank you, Rarity. I think I needed to hear that, to know that there’s at least one thing about me that’s mine.”

She smiled and patted me on the chest “It’s quite alright. I’ve already told you I always take care of my friends. Now, for the reason you’re here; Twilight, you may come out now, dear.”

“WHAT?!” I shrieked, I mean literally shrieked, as Twilight Sparkle stepped out from behind the curtain and faced me. My panic was immediately forgotten when I saw what Twilight was wearing.

She was… beautiful. There were simply no other words to describe her.

It was a lot like the dress Rarity was wearing when I first met her, but it was the same dark purple color as Twilight’s mane, with magenta and violet sashes around her hips that glittered as she moved. Instead of having a diamond cut into the chest to expose her bosom, it was held in place by a choker and left her shoulders and the back above her waist bare. Like with Rarity’s dress, there a slit down the right side of the leg portion of the dress to show off her leg and she wore shimmering silver slippers on her hooves. The whole outfit fit her in such a way as to accent her feminine form (she wasn’t as well-proportioned as Rarity but she was by no means ‘lacking’, as some would say).

Her mane was still styled the same, but there were touches of make-up on her face to draw attention to her beautiful amethyst eyes.

‘Tiger growl.’ Nica said approvingly ‘You two will be turning heads the second you arrive. Oh look, the whole gang’s here!’

“Aw, she ruined the surprise!” Pinkie pouted from where she’d been standing with the rest of the Elements, Vinyl Scratch and Terra, causing everybody and everypony in the room to look at her (it was so absurd that it snapped me out of my stupor to look at her ‘Absurd for you, maybe, but that scared the hell out of me! I seriously thought Pinkie had heard me there for a second).

“I’m… sorry, darling.” Rarity said hesitantly “I did not realize you were trying to surprise anypony.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean you, Rarity, I was talking about the ghost in the room!” Pinkie exclaimed happily.

‘Holy crap, she did hear me!’ Nica practically screamed in my head, causing me to wince slightly.

“Of course I heard you, silly-filly, you’re so loud who wouldn’t?” Pinkie responded, her smile never wavering. When Nica didn’t respond, she looked around quickly before her face grew sad “Aww, she’s gone…”

I had a mental image of Nica hiding behind her recliner, peering out every so often to see if Pinkie was still there.

“You are so random, Pinkie.” Rainbow dash said with a small smile, but for some reason she was glancing nervously around.

I shook my head and turned my attention back to the Goddess that was known as Twilight Sparkle. She caught my eyes and glanced away with a shy blush.

“You look… good, Leon.” She said after a moment, and there was a collective groan from the girls.

“C’mon, Twi, tell ‘im what ya really think!” Applejack called out, and Twilight blushed.

“Leon, you look… very…” Twilight murmured, shifting nervously “Very… handsome. Any mare would be lucky to have you as their date.” The girls groaned again and Twilight was hit in the head with a rubber duck, which gave a ‘squeak’ sound when it hit.

“That’s… good, because I was hoping you’d like to go to Vinyl’s show with me.” I replied, an embarrassed smile on my face “Oh, and you look exquisitely beautiful, Twilight.”

Twilight took a sharp breath and her face turned crimson, but she gave me a small smile.

“Oh, I don’t usually go to these sorts of things but…” She said, wringing her hands nervously “I can… try to… fit it in my schedule.”

“You are going, Twilight Sparkle!” The rest of the girls stated in unison (except Terra and Fluttershy, who were being too modest to join in). Twilight let out a frustrated sigh while I chuckled to myself.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t want them to press-gang you into something you didn’t want to do and I know you…” I said, but I couldn’t finish as the thought of that text made my voice catch in my throat. Twilight looked at me apologetically.

“No… I’m the one who should be sorry.” She replied, her voice low “I’ve caused you so much trouble this past week and then to send you that message with no regards to your own feelings…”

I shook my head “Nah, don’t worry about it. You’ve done nothing to-” I began but Twilight interrupted me.

“Will you stop being so modest already?” She said with a small smile on her face “I know I inconvenienced you when I activated that spell. A part of me was… actually hoping that… but then nothing happened. Between the two of us, the only one who was being level-headed that week was you; you showed restraint in situations where other stallions would’ve taken advantage of me and you locked your door whenever you went to your room to sleep and no matter how stressful or rough things got, you maintained your composure and even went out of your way to keep Terra and I comfortable and distracted.”

I sighed, because I knew she was right. There were, indeed, several occasions where I’d seriously considered kicking my restraint out the window, leaving my door unlocked at night and seeing where it went or deciding to join Twilight in the shower after all because even after the first incident, she intentionally kept leaving the bathroom door unlocked or sometimes even open a crack.

Twilight and Terra may have had a pleasant time that week, but it was Hell for me. Trust me, one of the greatest trials a man can go through is being stuck in an enclosed space with a female that he knows wants him to be… intimate with her, especially when she constantly leaves less-than-subtle invitations. My attempts to keep both girls distracted also applied to me, so that I wouldn’t have to think about how much I wanted to…

But that was over with now, and I wasn’t one to hold onto the past… that was how people lose their way, by holding tightly onto things that no longer matter. That’s not to say some of those things weren’t important, but the past is the past; it cannot be changed no matter how much you may want it to.

“Very well, I’ll accept your apology on one condition; you tell me, right now, whether or not you actually want to go with me to Vinyl’s show. I will respect your choice in the matter and so will everypony else!” I said, directing the last bit at the on-lookers, and offered my hand to her.

She looked at me hesitantly for a moment, before giving me a smile and nodding. She took a couple of steps forward and took my hand.

“Yes, I would love to go with you, Leon.” She replied, and suddenly we were both assaulted by fabrics again. When it ended, we were back in our regular clothes (she was wearing her school uniform again. I still think she’s a little old for that, but if that’s what she likes to wear, who am I to judge and besides, she looks great in it. Oh, and I was still somehow wearing my new coat).

“Fantastic!” Rarity exclaimed, clapping her hands together while the other girls all exchanged congratulations for a job well done (Terra and Fluttershy were hugging each other and squealing joyfully. It was so freakin’ adorable) “You are both to come by the boutique Saturday and get dressed for your date. Now, Leon, why don’t you walk your marefriend home like a true gentlecolt?”

Twilight and I glanced at each other shyly, but I led her off the stage and towards the door, pausing to get my bag and other coat.

“Oh, don’t worry about those, Leon.” Terra said, hurrying over to take both before I could “I’m on my way home; I’ll take them with me. Go spend time with Twilight.”

I nodded and opened the door for Twilight, following her out once she was through and shutting it behind us.

We walked in silence for a moment, neither of us entirely sure what to say or do at this point. Twilight surprised me by taking my hand in hers and entwining her fingers in mine, and another shiver of pleasure ran up my arm. I looked at her quizzically and she just gave me a shy smile, her face red.

“So…” I said in an attempt to break the silence “I guess this makes it official, huh. I mean, there’s still our date, but…”

“Hush, Leon.” Twilight replied, playfully bumping me “You’re ruining the moment.”

And so we continued walking. The various mares around town either clapped excitedly for us or were stunned into silence, their jaws practically touching the ground. Lyra, however, fell to her knees and cried out “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” When Twilight and I were far enough away, we erupted into laughter.

After what I believed was too short a walk, we arrived at the library. I opened the door for Twilight, but she didn’t immediately go inside. We stood there in silence for a moment.

“Well, here you are. Home sweet home.” I said nervously, but then my face grew solemn “Twilight, I really am-” but she interrupted me by kissing me… on the lips.

Her lips were soft and warm and oh so sweet. I just wanted to forget everything and become one with this moment right here. But all too soon, it was over.

“You apologize too much, Leon, especially when you’ve done nothing wrong.” She said with a coy smile “I’ll see you Saturday, alright?”

“Yeah… okay.” I murmured drunkenly, which caused her to giggle. She went inside and shut the door slowly, so that I could get one last look at her that night (or maybe it was the other way around, I don’t know, I couldn’t focus on anything except…)

‘Well it’s about damn time, Leon!’ Nica shouted triumphantly ‘you’ve got the girl, now comes the hard part; keeping her.’

Well, well, look who finally decided to show herself. Where were you, like, twenty monologues ago?

‘Hiding from Pinkie Pie; that mare scares the ever-loving hell outta me now.’ Nica responded, before I got the feeling that she was looking around cautiously and then she whispered ‘She might still be around. Hell, she could be anywhere. Keep your guard up, Leon. Oh and I bet that wasn’t how Lyra wanted to be on her knees, screaming.’

I eventually floated home. Terra asked me no questions when I walked in and hung my hat and new coat up on the rack (I barely registered that my old coat was not present, but I decided that Terra had probably put it my bedroom closet with my hoodie), though she did give me a knowing smile when I sat dreamily in a dining room chair, staring off into space.

I honestly have no idea what dinner was. I remember eating something, but all I could think about was how sweet Twilight’s lips were. I think I also heard Nica laughing her ass off, but I wasn’t entirely sure.

Eventually, it came time for bed and when I went to sleep, I did not return to the mural. Instead my dreams were full of… pink hearts, each with Twilight’s face stamped on them.

Veronica, I am going to kick your ass. ‘Oh please, you know you love it.’

Ch. 12: "Date Night"

View Online

Chapter Twelve
“Date Night”

Saturday couldn’t come fast enough, and I was nervous the entire time. I mean, I’ve been on dates before, but not with someone I actually cared about.

But despite my anxiety, I went about my day as though nothing was wrong, though the girls, all of them save for Twilight, kept trying to reassure me that everything would go perfectly and that the two of us would have a great time. They must’ve been pestering Twilight as well, because she showed up at my place around noon with an irritated look on her face which vanished once she saw me. We had a nice lunch and vented our frustration regarding the way the girls were bugging us. We both eventually decided to send all of them a text message.

From: Leon and Twilight

Girls. Please leave us alone. Thank you.

Once that was done, we both shut our phones off and enjoyed each other’s company in the silence. It was during this time I discovered that Twilight was as sensitive to my touch as I was hers, which despite being strange was not unpleasant.

Eventually, Saturday dawned and I spent most of the day at the boutique as Rarity made some last minute adjustments I’d requested for my outfit. Nothing that would alter the appearance of the outfit, just some small things that would make me feel better (I’ll admit, I felt bad about making the fashionista so uncomfortable, but she understood where my request was coming from and complied).

As evening approached, I was waiting outside the boutique for Twilight to get ready. Several ponies walked by during that time and all of them had some kind of reaction to my outfit (Roll the score, Nica, I know you’ve been counting. ‘Thirteen double takes, ten tumbles, five propositions and one happily passed out Lyra. Gotta say, Leon, that mare really cracks me up some times.’).

Anyway, my musings were interrupted by someone taking my arm and drawing in close. When I looked, I saw it was Twilight and she was giving me an expectant smile. She was still as beautiful in her dress as when I’d first seen her the other day.

“Are you ready, Twilight? Vinyl wanted us there a little early, before her show starts.” I asked her, to which she nodded.

Without another word, we began to walk toward our destination.

The place Vinyl was performing at was a new club called “Aurora Hall” that had just been renovated and had hired her to play for their grand opening.

As we approached, we could see a horde of ponies standing in line, all waiting to be allowed in. Twilight was at first concerned that we’d have to wait, but I merely chuckled and led her to the front while the other ponies were unsure whether to protest us trying to get ahead of them or stare at us as we passed.

As we walked up to the front, we saw a rather imposing stallion standing guard in front of the door, wearing a simple black shirt that said “Security” in big, yellow letters and a pair of jeans, with what appeared to be rather heavy boots on his hooves.

We stopped just as he attempted to block us from entering, then he realized we were waiting to speak to him. He gave a cough and consulted a clipboard in his hand.

“State your business or move to the back; the club will be opening in half an hour.” He stated flatly.

“Leon and Twilight Sparkle, two for ‘Friends of DJ-Pon3’.” I responded, reciting the message I’d gotten earlier from Vinyl. There was an immediate wave of murmuring from the crowd, most in disbelief that we even knew the famous DJ, let alone were her friends.

“Password?” He asked, again in a flat voice.

“Vicious.” I replied, which caused him to check his clipboard quickly, before nodding and giving us a small smile.

“Go on in, sir and ma’am; the DJ is expecting you.” He said, tapping the door twice, which opened and allowed us to enter. I patted the door guard on the shoulder as I passed.

“Stay frosty, bud. The night will end eventually.” I said reassuringly, which caused him to respond with a weary smile and nod.

As we were walking away, I heard somepony attempt to get in the same way, but was turned away the second they’d tried using my password, reason being was that Vinyl chose it for my use only.

We were stopped at a counter at the end of the lobby being run by a cute fox-girl, wearing an outfit like what you’d find on a casino employee, who looked at us with bright eyes and a big smile.

“Hello, welcome to Aurora Hall!” She chirped excitedly, in what I thought was a mild accent that I couldn’t place “May I take your coat and hat, sir?”

“The coat, yes. The hat, no; it’s part of my outfit, darling, no offense to you.” I said, as I handed my coat over to her.

“It is no problem, sir, please enjoy your evening!” She chirped again, her smile never losing strength. I stopped her as she turned away to hang my coat up and she looked at me with a curious expression on her face.

“I don’t mean to take up your time, miss, but I’m rather new in town and I haven’t seen any of your, and I deeply apologize if I offend you, kind around before and I was wondering if you could tell me where you come from.” I asked her, a gentle smile on my face. She looked at me extremely surprised, before giving me a more genuine smile than before and nodding.

“Of course, sir-”

“Call me Leon, please. I hear ‘sir’, I end up looking over my shoulder expecting to see my father standing behind me.” I said, extending my hand towards the fox-girl. She seemed even more surprised by this, but shook my hand nonetheless and I noticed that there were no shivers at her touch.

“Of course… Leon. My name is Sakura; I’m an Inari Fox from far to the east.” She replied, her accent becoming a little thicker, but she seemed to have a perfect grasp on English (or would it be Equestrian here? Damn, I knew I’d forgotten something in all the excitement.) “We are not usually seen outside of our homeland, but a few of us do venture out into the world. I, myself, was living in Fillydelphia when the manager of this club found me. You’ll see more of us in there, though, and not just ponies or foxes; there are wolves, some small dragons and several of the bouncers are minotaurs!”

I was genuinely surprised. From what I’ve seen, most of the establishments in town were run almost exclusively by ponies and they generally disapproved of different races; even I got disgusted looks from certain ponies when I walked through town.

“That’s impressive, Sakura. I’m guessing this isn’t a normal thing, is it?” I asked her, to which she shook her head sadly.

“No, it’s not, Leon-san.” Sakura replied, and I blushed when she added the extra bit onto my name that confirmed that the Inari were not unlike the Japanese (and my blush wasn’t helped when Twilight giggled).

“I was barely making enough to live before Spectra-sama found me.” She said sorrowfully, but her eyes brightened at the mention of her boss “He saw the miserable state I was in and said I shouldn’t have to live any less than I deserved. He offered me this job and said it would pay more and that the work environment would be leagues better, also promising to provide for whatever I needed until we were open and I could stand on my own legs again. I wasn’t sure if I could trust him, but he was so nice and I could tell he was very concerned for me, plus I hated my last job; the ponies always treated me like I was a… lesser creature. So I took his offer and moved out here to await Aurora Hall’s completion and just like he said, he made sure I was comfortable throughout.”

My heart went out to this poor girl, but my spirits were uplifted to hear that somepony had felt the same way and granted her a measure of mercy. I pulled out my wallet and held a one hundred bit note out to her (Oh yeah, they totally have those, it’s awesome). She gave a small squeak and shook her head quickly.

“Oh no, I’m not allowed to take tips, s- I mean, Leon-san. But thank you all the same.” She said quickly, with an embarrassed smile, but I took her hand and put the note in it.

“This isn’t a tip, Sakura; this is a gift between friends, because friends watch out for each other.” I replied with a warm smile “We are friends, aren’t we?”

She looked between me and the money, her eyes glistening like she was going to cry. She glanced around hesitantly before walking out from behind the counter and approaching me. She was pretty short, around Terra’s height.

“I’m not supposed to do this while I’m on shift, but…” She said, before latching onto me in a fierce hug “Thank you, Leon-sama. You are the second individual who has shown tremendous kindness to me, and I won’t forget this.”

She broke the embrace and turned back to the counter, grabbing a piece of paper and pencil and then writing something down. It was her phone number. I tore a blank piece off and asked for the pencil, which she gave me, and I wrote my own number down on it which I handed to her.

“I’ll see you around, Sakura. Give me a call if you need anything.” I said as she went back behind the counter.

“Same to you, Leon-sama. I hope you and your marefriend enjoy yourselves tonight.” She replied with a warm smile and a bow. I chuckled and turned to see a blushing Twilight (I guess she’s still getting used to it).

I extended my arm to her and she took it, but just as we were about to go through the doors, they swung open and a unicorn stallion looked around before his eyes fell on us and he grinned.

His coat was something like a bluish-gray color and he had a spiky black mane and tail, with a pair of black sunglasses perched on his head above his startlingly blue eyes (Aw, lucky bastard, I want eyes like that!). His attire consisted of a black, short-sleeved shirt with a white undershirt and a white tie around the collar. On his legs were a pair of black jeans and a white belt holding it up, with a pair of black and white sneakers on his hooves. He looked really cool, by the way.

“Hey, you must be Vinyl’s new friend.” He said, then turned his attention to Twilight “And you must be his date. I’ll admit; Vinyl wasn’t kidding when she said you two would be the hottest couple in the club tonight.”

Twilight and I both blushed, but I extended my hand to the unicorn with a friendly smile.

“Hi, my name is Leon, and this is Twilight Sparkle-” I began, but the second I said Twilight’s name, his jaw dropped.

“Dude, you hooked up with a bucking Element of Harmony?!” He exclaimed in shock “And Princess Celestia’s personal student, no less, nice work! Wow, I’d heard the Elements were all smokin’ hot mares, but I had no idea they looked like her!” But then he saw my hand was still extended towards him and he shook it firmly “Oh, right. Name’s Neon Lights, I’m one of Vinyl’s other friends and to my great sadness, no longer the coolest pony in the room.”

“Doesn’t that title belong to Vinyl Scratch?” I said with a laugh, and he laughed back.

“Nah, man, she lays claim to being ‘the single most awesome pony in the room’.” He replied with a chuckle. I decided right then that I liked this guy, he was a lot like Vinyl.

“Neon!” Vinyl’s voice boomed from unseen speakers “I thought I told ya to get their slow flanks in here, not chat ‘em up and make ‘em go even slower! The club’s gonna open soon and I wanna talk to all my friends while I still have the time!”

“Oh, whoops. I nearly forgot.” Neon said, glancing back quickly before motioning for us to follow him.

As he led us into the club proper (the interior was incredible; the ceiling, walls and floor all shimmered and glowed with light, flowing steadily from one color to another. For reference, imagine standing smack dab in the middle of an Aurora Borealis) Twilight leaned in close and whispered into my ear.

“That was a very nice thing you did for Sakura, Leon. You’re a great friend, you know.” She said.

“Aw, shucks, Twilight. You’re making me blush.” I replied with a chuckle and she giggled, but then her face grew solemn.

“I don’t think I like Neon, though. He talked about the girls and I like we were objects to possess.” She said, her lips pressed in a thin line, but I just chuckled.

“He’s a DJ, Twilight; they talk to everyone like that. Hell, the first day I met Vinyl she threw a coin at me like I was a stripper or something. I still have it, too.” I replied, but gave her hand a gentle squeeze “Don’t worry; he’s a nicer guy than you give him credit for. Vinyl wouldn’t be friends with a stallion who’s only looking for the next mare to mount.”

“And what makes you think I won’t find a way to seduce your marefriend tonight, Leon?” Neon called over his shoulder, a stupid grin plastered on his face.

“Because I’ll drown you in a water bubble you won’t be able to remove from your head if you made such an attempt.” I replied and the three of us laughed.

Hey Nica, you’re being awfully quiet tonight; I thought for sure you’d have something to say by now.

‘I’m sorry; the number you are dialing is temporarily unavailable until such time as you are not on a freakin’ date, Leon!’ She retorted, her voice strangely full of static, probably just for effect ‘Seriously, forget about the little voices in your head for one night and focus on your marefriend. I’ll still be here when you wake up tomorrow.’

We walked out onto a huge dance floor, with tables and booths on either side of it, with a DJ booth and stage at one end, where Vinyl was fiddling with her equipment, and a large circular bar at the other end, where a bunch of foxes, wolves and ponies ran to and fro making sure they were stocked with everything they needed.

Of course, they paused what they were doing to stare at Twilight and I as we passed into their field of vision, with one wolf giving out a whistle of appreciation for Twilight and whom I silenced by giving him a stern glare.

I looked around and saw that there were indeed several minotaurs standing at strategic points of the club, glaring at everything they could see, along with a bunch of tough-looking earth ponies and unicorns (not all of whom were stallions; I saw some lean mares that looked like they could take somepony’s ass to the dirt if they so much as glanced at them wrong). All of them were wearing the same get-up as the guy at the door; they even had matching ear-pieces.

Neon led us to one particular section, with several comfortable looking couches and small tables. It was roped off, with a sign that said “VIP Only” on it. Seated on one of the couches was Octavia, who was wearing a stunning black gown that glittered whenever she moved and black slippers on her hooves. Instead of her usual pink bowtie, she was wearing a pink flower in her mane.

She looked up as we approached and her mouth opened in a surprised “o”, but it swiftly turned into a smile and she walked over to greet me.

“Leon, it’s a pleasure to see you again!” She said as we hugged each other lightly “Vinyl told me you were coming, with a date no less, and I was curious as to who it would be. I never expected you’d have Twilight Sparkle on your arm, looking absolutely beautiful, if I do say so myself!”

“Oh, um… thank you, that’s a very kind thing to say, miss…?” Twilight said, and Octavia gave an embarrassed cough and smiled at her.

“My deepest apologies, my name is Octavia; I was performing at the Grand Galloping Gala when…” She replied, but then her smile became strained. Twilight stood ramrod straight, her horrified face turning pale.

“Oh no… you were playing the cello when…” Twilight began, but Octavia finished for her.

“When Pinkie Pie and your friends… ‘crashed the party’, so to speak.” Octavia said her smile still a little forced “I was actually rather amused when that happened but if it’s at all possible, could you tell Pinkie not to interrupt me when I’m playing next time?”

“Yes, of course, Octavia.” Twilight replied, with an embarrassed smile.

We decided to sit down and wait for Vinyl to finish whatever she was doing. Twilight and Octavia started chatting amongst themselves, while Neon pestered me on the details of Twilight and I’s relationship (I politely, but firmly, told him it was none of his business. It didn’t stop him from asking, though). After a few minutes, Vinyl joined us in the VIP section.

Her attire for the show was a light gray button-up shirt with her cutie mark printed on the pocket in front whereas on the back it said “Pon-3” as though it were some kind of baseball shirt. She wasn’t wearing jeans today; instead favoring a short, form-fitting black skirt and a pair of black leggings that went to just above her knees with her normal, blue-laced sneakers on her hooves. On her hands was a pair of jet-black fingerless gloves with a white patch on the back of both that had her cutie mark on them.

And of course, she had her traditional purple shades on her face and a pair of blue-trimmed white headphones that had her cutie mark printed on each earpiece around her neck. Her mane was also done up in a kind of spiky ponytail this time, which I thought made her look very attractive in her current attire.

“Glad ya could make it, Leon!” She said as I stood and gave her our traditional greeting, and I felt the familiar shivers of pleasure. Not in the same intensity as Twilight, but they were there “I also see that your date managed to make it here as well!”

We all chuckled at the comment, though Twilight was blushing slightly. Vinyl held up her hands and we quieted down.

“Alright, I know you all have met each other, but I still have one friend who’ll be joining us as soon as everything’s ready.” Vinyl said, clapping her hands together “After all, he’s the reason I got this gig. And in case you’re curious, I’ll come out and say it; when I’m not out playing for all my adoring fans in Equestria, this is where I’ll be spinnin’ my music, though they’ll have other musicians on call as well. I figured, hey, I needed something steady for the downtime between tours, albums and the occasional out-of-town gig but I didn’t know any joints in town that wanted me around for more than one show.”

She was interrupted by a fox walking over to us holding a tray.

“Excuse me, DJ; I have a drink order here for a Mr. Leon.” She said, giving the unicorn mare an apologetic look. Vinyl glanced at me with interest, but I shook my head.

“I’m sorry, miss, but I didn’t order any drinks.” I replied, giving her a warm smile.

“It’s compliments of the house, sir.” She said, a small smile on her face.

At that, I stood up and walked over to her to take the two bottles off the tray. I nodded my thanks and she walked back to the bar. I sat back down next to Twilight and handed one of the bottles to her, which she glanced at curiously.

“What is it?” She asked, eyeing the fizzy clear liquid.

“Its soda, probably imported from the east.” I said, and held my own bottle up for her to examine “You can tell because of these characters. Don’t worry, it’s safe to drink; you might even like it, its melon flavored which I’ve heard is very good.”

After brief hesitation, Twilight managed to open the bottle but she stared at the marble that had fallen in the neck. She glanced at me quizzically and I took a sip of my drink to show her how. After mimicking me, she looked at me with excitement.

“It’s really good!” She said, and took a longer pull at the fizzy beverage.

“I’d never lead you astray, Twilight.” I replied, then turned my attention back to Vinyl “You were saying, babe?”

Neon Lights looked at me curiously when I referred to Vinyl like that, but Octavia and Twilight just shook their heads with exasperated smiles on their faces. Vinyl merely laughed.

“Right. Anyway, about three months ago, an old friend of mine contacted me and asked if we could meet somewhere.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest “I figured he just wanted to catch up ‘cause he’d been out of town for a while, but it turned out that the reason he’d wanted to talk to me was because of why he’d been gone so long. He was offering me a regular gig here.”

“That was just a secondary objective, though; I truly did want to catch up with one of my dearest friends.” A smooth voice spoke from behind Vinyl. I looked and suddenly understood how Neon felt when he’d seen me earlier, though now he was probably feeling like the ‘third coolest pony’ in the room.

At first, I thought he was an exceptionally tall unicorn, probably a good half-foot taller than me even without his horn. But then I saw rustling on his back and my brain literally seized up on me for a second, and probably so did Twilight’s.

He was an alicorn. The owner/manager of Aurora Hall was a freakin’ alicorn.

There were only four jaws on the floor in that building and they didn’t belong to any of the staff or Vinyl and especially not the freakin’ alicorn standing casually behind the DJ!

Dear God Almighty, I was freakin’ out here!

After a moment of stunned silence, the manager coughed and everyone was brought back to their senses. I shook my head and decided to a better look at him.

He was wearing a tuxedo ensemble, complete with a vivid red rose and black bowtie. But what was so amazing about him was his coat, mane and eyes.

His coat was jet black, but shimmered different colors with every subtle movement of his body. His mane and tail were a beautiful silver color that also shimmered with different colors. His eyes were a deep emerald green… that also shimmered with various colors!

I honestly thought I was looking at a living, breathing work of art. It was like God took a pony and sculpted him to perfection.

“Hey, ya made it!” Vinyl exclaimed, drawing the tall alicorn into a friendly hug “I was beginning to think you were too busy getting your precious club to open on time. Everypony, this is my friend, Spectra. Spectra, this is Leon, his date Twilight Sparkle, Neon Lights and my own special somepony, Octavia.” She finished with a sly wink towards the cellist, who blushed lightly, but gave a small smile.

After the introductions, I stood and extended my hand to the alicorn, who shook it firmly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Spectra.” I said with a smile.

“Oh no, the pleasure’s all mine.” He replied “I’ve actually been rather excited to meet you, Leon.”

‘And you as well, Miss Veronica.’ His voice spoke, ringing like a bell in my mind, which caused me to freeze and stare at him. I also got the feeling that Nica was paying very close attention now.

“How…” I began, but he held a finger up to his lips which had curved into a knowing smile.

“Spoilers, my friend.” He replied with a whisper. Damn, I really need a new catch phrase.

‘No, you don’t.’ Spectra’s voice rang in my mind ‘That one word is good enough; it conveys just the right amount of suspense and irritation.’

I slowly returned to my seat, all the while staring at the enigma known as Spectra. I was snapped out of my trance when Twilight gave my arm a gentle shake.

“Is something wrong, Leon? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She asked me, concern in her voice. I shook my head, and then gave her a small smile.

“Sorry it’s just…” I began, struggling to put what I was feeling in words “Never mind, I’ll tell you later.”

She gave me another worried look, but nodded and turned her attention to Spectra.

“I wasn’t aware there was another alicorn alive in Equestria, Mister Spectra.” She said, giving him a curious look, to which he laughed.

“And I’ve spent the last few hundred years ensuring that I remained a secret.” He replied, a big smile on his face “But the times, they are a-changin’, as the song goes. I’ve decided to reveal my presence to the world at large through a night club staffed by members of different species. I just wish there were still some crystal ponies in the world. A real shame there are not.”

Just then, another fox hurried up to Spectra. This one had a snow white coat and was dressed in the manner of an office secretary, complete with glasses and folder.

“Excuse me, Spectra-sama. We are ten minutes until the opening of Aurora Hall; the Moon has been raised and our last VIP shall be joining us shortly, according to her message.”

Spectra nodded at her, and turned back to Vinyl.

“DJ, if you’ll get some music started, please. Your first set will begin in thirty.” He stated, his voice calm but authoritative. The DJ nodded and returned to her position at the booth, where she plugged in her iPod-like device and started the first song (The House Rules - Christian Kane).

When the song began, the staff all stopped what they were doing temporarily to listen to the strange music. Once it really got going, they all broke into smiles and went back to their duties with more energy.

“It never ceases to amaze me; the power music has over individuals.” Spectra commented lightly, observing his workforce with a smile “It is easily my favorite form of Art. Where paintings fail to move and speeches cannot inspire, an ordinary song played at just the right time in just the right place makes everyone’s heart shine with such brilliance… it’s magnificent.”

“You must truly love Art, Spectra.” Octavia said conversationally, though she blushed when he turned and gave her a smile.

“But of course, Octavia. That’s my special talent; I can tell what is truly beautiful and inspire artistic talent in others.” He replied “True Art has a certain… magic to it, which is drawn from the soul of the individual that created it. It is what happens when one believes, heart and soul, in what they do and pours their being into their Art, regardless of what others may think of them.”

I stared at him in awe, and so did the others. His words had moved me in such a way that I had not been aware was possible. I, too, loved music. I personally thought paintings were pieces of paper with pretty colors on them and statues were well carved hunks of rock, but music made me feel and I had a track for every kind of emotion I could think of.

But when he spoke those words, I also felt a familiar longing in my heart. It was for a dream I’d abandoned so long ago along with whatever life I’d had before my best friend had been killed.

Photography. I’d always loved photos because they could instantly capture those rare moments of beauty in the world that would take too long to draw, or they could take an ordinary setting and turn it into something wondrous.

I suddenly remembered being on a tall hill during a particularly nasty storm. It wasn’t raining anywhere near me, but I could see far in the distance this colossal column of pouring rain, wisps of water curling upwards at the base with the light filtering in through the clouds, illuminating it in a radiant glow. It looked like a waterfall, moving across the countryside. I had always regretted not taking a picture of that moment, because I never saw such beauty like it again.

‘It truly is a shame that you turned away from something you felt so passionately for. But then again, you have only just started your life in this world; there is always time to take it back up again, Leon, to pursue your artistic dream to its fullest.’ Spectra commented, apparently having seen the memory as well.

My mind returned to the present and I blinked. What the hell just happened? I shook my head and took a long pull from my soda.

“Leon, before I go, I wish to thank you.” Spectra said, his clear voice grabbing my attention “Poor Sakura has had a rougher life than the others I’ve gathered here at this establishment and you, with so small of acts as listening to her and providing your support, have made her world a brighter, more beautiful place.”

“Oh. It was nothing, really. She’s a nice girl who got dealt a bad hand and I felt she could use a friend who actually understood what she’d been through.” I replied, scratching at the back of my head in embarrassment “I would’ve done the same for anyone else.”

I felt Twilight take my hand and squeeze it gently. When I looked at her, she was giving me a warm and caring smile and her eyes shone with admiration.

“Leon, you are being far too modest; you are a great friend and instantly likeable because, despite your past, you refuse to see anything other than the best in others.” Twilight said, her voice reassuring “No matter how wrong somepony is or how dire your situations, you always look forward, firmly believing everything will turn out for the best. I’ve seen you angry and I’ve seen you despair, but I’ve never seen you lose faith outright, and remember Leon, I’ve seen you on a more personal level than anypony else, even Terra. Hope and Faith shine from your soul like the guiding beacon of a lighthouse.”

I stared at her, speechless. No one has ever said such things to me before and I was touched. I wasn’t even embarrassed like I normally would when people say good things about me because this was… honest.

There is a significant difference between Truth and Honesty. Truth is telling someone what is true, even though it will tear them apart spiritually. Honesty… is telling someone what is true in a way that will inspire them to see themselves in a manner they hadn’t before, even if it hurts.

And her words did something else. Before this date I knew I really, truly liked Twilight Sparkle and I wanted her to be happy again. But now…

I knew I loved her.

When I turned back to Spectra, he was smiling warmly at both Twilight and I, like he’d heard my revelation as well, in which he probably had if the mental conversations were anything to go on.

It was at that precise moment that Luna appeared on the couch next to Neon Lights, who sprang away with a surprised yelp. Octavia had stood up quickly as well and both gave the Moon Princess a deep bow. Twilight had attempted to stand as well, but I placed a hand on her shoulder and held her down.

“Good evening, Luna. You sure it’s okay for you to be here and not at court?” I asked her casually, not even bothering to refer to her by her title. Twilight, Octavia and Neon all looked at me in horror whereas Luna merely yawned, though the Moon Princess gave me a rather nasty glare (she’s probably still upset with me for telling Celestia about the cake thing).

By the way, she wasn’t wearing her ”Greek Goddess” ensemble this time, but a dress similar to Octavia’s except it was a midnight blue and sparkled like there were actually stars in it (very nice use of her magic, by the way). Her mane, however, was not the usual “flowing night sky” she usually had. Instead she favored her natural light blue color tonight, which she had styled in a way that it was draped over one shoulder with bangs on the opposite side half obscuring her eye. I thought she was stunningly beautiful tonight, but not nearly as beautiful as Twilight.

“And a good evening to you as well, Leon. I have decided not to hold court this time; nopony ever comes for it anyway and one night will not be missed.” She replied with a shrug. After the Princess’ casual conversation with me, the others relaxed visibly, though she noticed when Neon attempted to move so that Luna could have the couch to herself “Neon Lights, why do you not return to your seat? I am not here as your Princess this evening, only as another pony enjoying the night life.”

Neon jumped when she’d used his full name, and started glancing around nervously for some support.

“Dude, go ahead and sit, she’s not gonna bite.” I said, and then gave Luna a sly grin “At least not too hard, I think.”

Neon looked carefully at me, and then at Luna, who patted his original seat next to her with a warm smile.

“Neon, just take the damn seat already and quit bein’ a filly about it!” Vinyl snapped from her booth, just as the next song on her device began to play (Left Hand Suzuki Method - Gorillaz).

Neon sighed heavily and returned to his seat, giving Luna a nervous glance as she draped an arm over his shoulders in a friendly manner. The rest of us merely chuckled and turned our attention to the front when Spectra’s voice came out over the intercom (Holy crap, I didn’t even see him leave).

“Doors are opening, everybody. Aurora Hall is officially open for business! Here’s ‘Cheers’ to a busy first night, because we have a great turnout!”

All of the staff in the building, along with Vinyl, myself and the others in the VIP section gave out a loud cry of “Cheers!” just as the first wave of ponies surged into the club.

As the flood of ponies showed no signs of slowing, I could tell Aurora Hall was going to have a successful opening night.

Ch. 13: “It’s All Fun and Games Until…”

View Online

Chapter Thirteen
“It’s All Fun and Games Until…”

It was interesting watching the ponies surge into the club, with some racing to grab seats near the DJ booth so that they could get a good look at Vinyl, who waved at each of them excitedly.

As I looked around, I could see the patrons were already enjoying themselves immensely, and not just because they were out in some new club. Aurora Hall had an energy to it, evident in the way staff did their jobs quickly and efficiently all the while smiling and chatting with those they served. Anypony that attempted to accost any of the staff were swiftly and surgically removed from the building by the bouncers.

And of course, we in the VIP section were getting lots of attention, with several ponies hanging around in the hopes that they’ll be invited inside. I acknowledged those who were polite and spoke with those who I felt were good ponies and they usually were, listening avidly to whatever stories I told them.

However, we did get those ponies who heckled me or Twilight in an attempt to curry favor with the one they weren’t. We made a point of ignoring them, with a bouncer removing them if they became too agitated.

Octavia largely ignored the ponies who tried to garner her attention, only responding to me, Twilight, Neon, Luna or wait staff if they happened to walk by when she fancied something, while devoting all of her attention to Vinyl whenever she took a break from one of her sets.

Neon Lights had warmed up to the Princess and they chatted with each other almost endlessly. I’m sure he thought he was being smooth, but I could easily tell who the Player was and who was being Played (here’s a hint; Luna never seemed more than slightly amused by Neon’s stories, despite expressing clearly that she thought they were fantastic. Celestia would be so proud).

Vinyl was having a blast. She was only gonna be DJing for a few hours, after which they’d set the sound systems to begin playing their own music until the club closed in the morning, but between her own excellent music and the music from my world that she’d been playing, the crowd was eating out of the palm of her hand.

It was during the second set that I asked Twilight to dance with me, which she did hesitantly. At first, she was extremely nervous about being on the dance floor, but I showed her some simple dance moves (it was that or suffer watching her do “The Shepard” all night) and eventually she got into it and we lost ourselves for a few songs, stopping when Vinyl announced it was time for the break between sets.

What amazed me was that when she announced this, none of the ponies gave out cries of disappointment or protest. Some even looked eager to hear more of the strange new music she’d been playing all night (this one was a big hit; it was getting requested like crazy: Radioactive - Imagine Dragons), to whom she happily obliged.

As Twilight and I returned to our seats, we saw a familiar cyan pegasus floating around the crowd, wearing a very hip outfit. It was all form-fitting and displayed her lean athletic body well. She had on a sleek vest (no undershirt) that was colored like her mane and sparkled in the light with a pair of sleek black pants along with what I thought were the pony-equivalent of heeled pumps that were also rainbow colored.

I gave out a loud whistle and she turned her head, blushing furiously as I waved her over. The bouncers let her into the VIP section without question.

“Rainbow Dash, what brings you here?” I asked her with a coy smile on my face “I didn’t think you were the clubbing type, and I know for a fact Rarity didn’t make that outfit for you because if she had, it’d be a dress.”

“Yeah, I’m only here because I, uh… heard Spitfire was coming, but I haven’t seen her yet.” She replied, an annoyed expression on her face, which was still slightly red “I was trying not to draw your attention because I know the two of you are on a date and everything…”

“But there were too many ponies and you wanted to catch Spitfire before she left.” I finished for her, my smile turning warm. She gave a small huff and lounged back in the couch. It was at this time she noticed that Neon Lights was staring at her, his jaw on the floor.

“Do you mind, you’re starting to creep me out.” She snapped at him, which caused him to blink and close his mouth.

“That depends, do you mind if I buy you a drink?” He asked with a sly smirk on his face, but it fell under Rainbow’s un-amused glare.

“Sorry, not interested.” She replied flatly, before looking away.

Everyone in the VIP section save for Dash and Neon, who looked like he’d been slapped, laughed at the unicorn stallion, who just leaned back in his seat and began talking to Luna again.

The music suddenly cut off and there was a crystalline tapping sound coming from the stage, which caused all activity in the building to stop and everyone to turn their eyes toward it. A spotlight snapped on, revealing the white-coated fox from before, tapping her finger against a glass.

Once there was complete silence, she spoke into the microphone in front of her.

“Good evening, everyone, and I use that term because I am not simply addressing ponies or patrons. I am also addressing the staff working here tonight because in Aurora Hall, we are all worthy of respect.”

She paused as the crowd before her cheered and clapped for a moment, calming when she held up her white-coated hand.

“And it is with that message that I am proud to announce your host for the evening. The concept of Aurora Hall was born years ago from the truly artistic mind of one stallion, a visionary of your kind who traveled the world high and low to see all things beautiful and it is because of his vision that we are all gathered here tonight to celebrate the opening of this grand establishment; to show the beauty and goodness that resides within all races!”

She once again paused to allow the crowd to applaud her words, before silencing them once more by raising her hand.

“Now, without further ado, allow me to present; the gracious host of tonight’s celebration who is also the owner and manager of Aurora Hall: Spectra Lumière!”

The crowd applauded as the curtains parted, but it quickly turned to gasps of surprise when they saw the alicorn float down beside his secretary, giving her a warm smile and shaking her hand gently before turning to face the crowd and taking his secretary’s position on the stage while she took a few steps back.

“Good evening, honored guests! I hope you’ve all enjoyed yourselves tonight!” He said which caused the crowd to erupt into applause. He smiled and waved at ponies before silencing them by gesturing with his hand.

“To start with, I wish to thank my hard-working staff for making this all possible; Aurora Hall would be nothing without you and you know it! Come on, everybody, let’s give the staff a round of applause, they deserve it!” He exclaimed as he began to clap his hands together, with the patrons all turning to one staff member or another and giving them cheers and applause, which caused many of the wait staff to blush deeply while some (namely all the foxes) to bow in respect.

I saw Sakura poke her head in from the lobby and wave at me once she saw where I was. I pointed a finger at her and applauded, I even yelled out her name which caused her to glance around nervously before giving me a bow and retreating back to her post. I returned my gaze to the stage to see Spectra give me an approving nod.

Once the applause died down (Spectra, interestingly enough, made no effort to stop it, letting the patrons continue clapping until they eventually got tired and stopped), the alicorn began to speak once more.

“Thank you, again, for your hard work. Now, I wish to explain what my vision for this establishment is. Many years ago, I began to travel across the world in search of the truly beautiful from other countries, to bring home to Equestria. I found what I was looking for, of course, but it was nearly always marred by that which has no place among the innocent; anger, greed and worst of all… prejudice, a hatred of all things different.”

There was a gasp from the crowd at this and he held up a hand to calm them.

“But where all these… vile, things lay, there were also individuals who, despite the corruption around them, glowed brilliantly and persevered to show their worth, their beauty; all the staff you see around you are such individuals, individuals who refused to succumb to the grime of their homes and instead sought to rise above the decadence. It is they who have inspired me to emerge from the shadows and accept my place in Equestria as a noble and proud alicorn.”

Spectra paused to allow the crowd to cheer, before silencing them by raising his hand.

“And soon after, I began to envision a place where anybody, be they pony or not, could go to escape from that which tries to obscure the beauty of our world, a place where they can be free to be themselves. This-” He said, gesturing all around him “Is the fruit of my vision; an establishment staffed by many different races and that which caters to all who wish to partake. Welcome to Aurora Hall, honored guests, for it is here you shall receive nothing but respect; all we require is that you extend the same respect not just to other patrons, but those who are employed here. Enjoy your evening!”

And with that, he stepped down from the stage to thunderous applause and made his way over to the VIP section, where the bouncers bowed respectfully as he approached and admitted him without a word being spoken, save for Spectra thanking them for their diligence.

Luna rose from the couch for the first time that night and approached Spectra with a big smile on her face.

“Good evening, Spectra, I was wondering when you were going to come and say hello!” She said, as the two of them embraced warmly.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Aunt Luna.” He replied, returning her smile “Aunt Celestia told me so much about you and my heart broke every time I looked upon the moon and thought about how lonely you must’ve been up there. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here to meet you when you returned, I was rather busy planning, well…” He gestured all around him “This, a place where one goes to get away from a world of prejudice. Like I said, everyone here is worthy of respect and no one is rejected because of status, birth or race. All are welcome in my sacred hall!”

We all smiled and gave him small applause, which he accepted graciously. After a moment, Luna invited him to sit next to her opposite Neon, who was looking extremely nervous at having to share the same space as two alicorns.

“Tia sends her deepest regrets that she could not be present for the opening of your establishment, Nephew.” She said, but she continued to smile “Though she was not lying when she’d told me you were rather unique; I am most certain I have never seen such a coat and mane coloration.”

I decided to tune them out at this point and turn my attention to Twilight, who looked like a kid in a candy store in the presence of both Luna and Spectra.

“Seems you’re enjoying yourself, Twi.” I whispered into her ear, which caused it to twitch at my proximity and make her turn and give me a big smile.

“Yes I am, Leon, thank you for bringing me.” She replied, her eyes glowing brightly “I never imagined a night club to be so… beautiful. And the host is an alicorn, can you believe it?! I’ve only ever known Celestia and my old foalsitter, Cadence, and Luna only just came back herself; this would be an exciting opportunity to learn about them!”

But then her words caught up to her and she looked at me with an ashamed expression on her face, her ears drooping.

“Oh… I’m so sorry, Leon. Here we are, out on a date in a most magnificent place… and all I can think about is learning when I should really be enjoying the time I’m spending with you.”

I put an arm around her shoulders, feeling her tremble slightly at my touch, and pulled her closer to me.

“It’s all right, Twilight Sparkle.” I told her, a warm smile on my face “My only goal tonight is to make you happy. If learning is what makes you happy, then by all means; learn away. Just be sure you leave a little learning for me, okay?”

She looked at me in surprise, before she smiled and gave me a gentle hug.

“Thank you, Leon… I’m lucky to be here with you tonight.” She murmured and then we sat like that for a while, just holding each other gently.

Rainbow Dash made a retching sound, which caused everyone in the VIP section to glare at her, and stood up to continue her search for the wayward Wonderbolt, whom I suspected hadn’t actually been there.

Twilight also stood and said she was going to get order some more drinks, despite me telling her that wait staff came around fairly regularly and would take our orders for us.

I decided to stay out of any conversations while she was gone and just enjoy the music for a little while (Vinyl had just begun her third set). However, my peace was interrupted by Neon, who called out my name and inclined his head out toward the bar with an urgent look on his face.

When I looked, I saw a stallion trying to chat up Twilight. Normally, I wouldn’t have paid too much attention to it (after all, most of the stallions in the club had been trying to talk to her all night), but he kept stopping her every time she tried to break away from him.

I stood immediately and left the VIP section, heading towards the bar to save my marefriend from an ignorant jackass who couldn’t take a hint.

“Smack him once for me, Leon!” Neon called out to me as I left.

As I approached, I heard the stallion try, once more, to get Twilight to join him at his table. He apparently thought he was somepony special, and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“For the last time, I’m already with somepony tonight.” Twilight snapped at him, thoroughly irritated “And besides, I wouldn’t be caught dead with you at your table even if you belonged to the Royal Family themselves!”

She attempted to storm off, but then the stallion did something really stupid.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her arm up so that she couldn’t leave at all, which caused her face to contort in pain and anger.

“I suggest you release my date if you intend to keep that arm, sir.” I stated, my voice cool. Both of them spun their heads to look at me, the stallion giving me an indignant glare and Twilight giving me a grateful smile.

“You’re her date? If that’s the case, she definitely needs to come with me. Come on, babe.” He said as he tried to pull Twilight away, but I grabbed his arm before he could.

“Sorry, bub, but the lady’s already said she’s not going with you so I suggest you back off and slink back to whatever pit you crawled out of.” I retorted coldly.

He tore his arm free, releasing Twilight, and spun on me “How dare you touch me, mongrel! Do you know who I am?! I should have you locked up for defying your betters!” He snarled angrily.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the club grew still. The music stopped, ponies ceased dancing and the staff all turned severe glares towards the stupid stallion, with several bouncers beginning to move towards us. I merely turned and began to lead Twilight away.

“Don’t you turn your back on me!” He cried out angrily, but I ignored him.

I heard a soft sound and immediately spun around, grabbing his outstretched hand and slamming his head into the counter in one smooth motion. As he fell, I took the knife he’d pulled and examined it, frowning at my observations.

“I’ll admit, this is a very elegant weapon.” I said, turning the knife around to look at every square inch of it while the stallion struggled to his feet, blood dripping from his nose and mouth “The hilt is of simple design, but the gold is a nice touch and the engraving is beautiful, and the blade has a very nice polish and design to it.”

The stallion stared at me in disbelief and fury, his breathing heavy.

“There’s just one problem; only an amateur would actually bring something like this with the intent to use it.” I stated, then began to make the knife dance in my hand, every slight movement of my wrist sending it into a flashing twirl before finally allowing it’s hilt to rest in my palm “It’s far too flashy; the engraving and shine will alert any competent opponent you’re going to try and cut them years before you even think of attempting it. And it’s also a half-gram heavy on the back end.” I placed the knife on the counter and stared at the stallion calmly.

He looked from me, to the knife and back again, before making a lunge for his weapon. With a sigh, I grabbed his hand and flung it back into his face, causing him to cry out in pain and clutch it as more blood began to drip down.

“Augh, you coward! Draw your weapon and let’s settle this like real stallions!” He snarled angrily, but his expression became fearful under my new stare.

“I don’t think you want that, because when I play that game, I play for keeps.” I replied, my voice calm and emotionless “I do not make idle threats; when I said you would lose your arm earlier, I literally meant that I would take your arm, even if it entailed tearing it straight off of your torso.”

He stared at me fearfully and opened his mouth to speak, but I stopped him.

“But fortunately for you, the Rules of Hospitality forbid me from drawing a weapon in the home of a generous host, for one does not repay good fortune with bad grace.” I stated with a shrug, but gave him another cold stare “However, if you are so intent on throwing your life away, I will be more than happy to drag you outside where you can make a pathetic attempt to reclaim your pride right before I shove a knife into your throat and watch the light fade from your eyes.”

The stallion gulped, his body trembling in fear.

“So I am going to give you this chance, this one chance, to turn around and leave.” I said flatly “I suggest you go to the hospital and think very hard about your life while they treat the wounds you have suffered here tonight, because if you cross me like this again I will not bother with a warning.”

After a moment, he spun around and tore a path out of the club. Several foxes appeared immediately and began to clean the blood off the counter and floor (they also made the knife disappear) while I turned back to Twilight Sparkle and looked at her sorrowfully.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. I really didn’t want you to have to see me like that; I’m not proud of that particular aspect of myself, but it became necessary back on my world.” I said, not daring to touch her after what I’d just done, but she surprised me by kissing me gently.

“Thank you, Leon, for coming to get me.” She replied, giving me a warm smile “I’ll admit, it was scary seeing you so cold, but he was asking for trouble when he attempted to hurt you. Let’s go and enjoy the rest of our night.”

As we walked back to the VIP section, everyone in the club began to cheer and applaud me, causing me to blush furiously while Twilight gave me a playful nudge.

“Aw, yeah! Way to kick flank, Leon, this next song’s dedicated to you and your date!” Vinyl called out from her booth.

Once we’d returned to the VIP section and sat back down, Neon flashed me a thumbs up and Octavia nodded approvingly.

“An excellent show of nobility, Leon.” Luna remarked, a small smile on her face, but I was still upset.

“No it wasn’t. I threatened to kill him, all because he was tormenting Twilight.” I replied morosely “I don’t want to treat this place like it’s my world, yet he… he almost made me forget that.”

“That is where you are wrong, Leon.” Spectra stated, his voice calm “You went to defend the honor of the mare you cared about, while also putting your own on display by respecting the rules of my house and showing restraint in a situation where others would have started a brawl.”

I gave him a small smile, but I didn’t feel any better. Spectra seemed to notice this and walked over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Do not regret what happened, for you have done nothing wrong.” Spectra said, calmly “That individual has paid my house a great insult and he shall never again enjoy the comforts provided by this establishment. If anything, I now consider you a valued friend and wish to say you are welcome here whenever you so desire; the doors of Aurora Hall shall always be open to you.”

“I, for one, am impressed by you yet again, Leon.” Luna remarked, a smile on her face “Despite the fact that the fool had drawn a blade upon you, to which you were well within your rights to strike him down for doing so, you allowed him to live. Your control in extreme situations is rather astounding.”

I felt Twilight take one of my hands and squeeze it gently. I glanced at her and saw she was smiling gently at me, just as she laid her head on my shoulder. I decided that dwelling upon something for which I was not at fault for would only ruin the night for us, so I let it go and chose to focus on the rest of the date.

Twilight and I chatted with Spectra, who was more than happy to answer our questions. Twilight had managed to conjure parchment and a quill for somewhere and was scribbling furiously as he spoke, an elated expression on her face. I couldn’t help but smile as she did.

Eventually, Vinyl came to the end of her last set and began to pack up her equipment while the club’s sound system switched to a playlist Spectra had set aside.

I considered staying till the club closed, but I noticed that Twilight was starting to nod off and came to the conclusion that it was time to get my marefriend home so she could get some sleep. I bid Spectra, Luna and Neon farewell, while giving Vinyl and Octavia a hug before turning to Twilight, who was insisting that she stay and talk to the Aurora Hall manager some more. She gave up when I reminded her what I do with sleep-deprived minds.

We made our way to the lobby, where I picked up my coat and put it around Twilight’s shoulders while also sharing a goodbye hug with Sakura (say what you want about hugs, it expresses how much you care about people more than anything).

Twilight and I said nothing as we walked calmly to the library, just leaning close and enjoying each other’s company. All too soon, our journey came to an end and we found ourselves standing outside the front door of her home.

“Well… here we are, once again, Twilight.” I stated, and then looked at my date affectionately “Thank you for coming with me, I truly appreciate it.”

“No, I should be thanking you, Leon. I had a wonderful time tonight; I hope we get to go there more often.” She replied with a smile while returning my coat to me, but then she began to blush and glance away nervously “Would you… like to come inside, Leon?”

I considered her proposal very carefully, but smiled gently and shook my head.

“Not this time, Twi.” I replied solemnly “Maybe once we’ve become a little more comfortable around each other, I might, but for now… goodnight Twilight Sparkle; I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She looked slightly crestfallen, but also somewhat relieved that I’d chosen to wait (I’m just a paragon of restraint, aren’t I?).

“Okay, Leon. Good night.” She said and then kissed me once more before opening the door and going inside.

I managed to return to my own home without incident and even changed into my pajamas before collapsing onto my bed and falling asleep almost immediately.

My dream that night was of me, sitting on that hill again, watching the column of water move across the countryside, only this time I wasn’t alone.

Twilight Sparkle sat with me and we watched the storm’s progress together.

Ch. 14: “To Truly Understand Someone…”

View Online

Chapter Fourteen
“To Truly Understand Someone…”

‘Veronica, wake up, we have a major problem on our hands.’

I groaned “Shut up, Leon, it’s too damn early to be putting up with your crap…”

I rolled over in the comfortable, heavenly bed. Mmm, it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve been in a bed…

‘My point exactly, Nica, which means you need to get your lazy ass up right now.’

Ugh... whine, whine, whine, whine, all he does is whine...

“Look, we’ll deal with your love life once I’m ready to wake up and face the world now let me sleep, dammit!” I snapped irritably while snuggling under the nice, comfortable blanket.

Wait a second… I’m sleeping, I can feel the bed, and if that rumbling pain in my stomach is anything to go by I appear to be hungry.

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh God no.

Oh please God, no!

I sat up, instantly awake and examined my hands. My real hands. My real, flesh-and-blood hands!

‘Tighten the drawstring on my pants before you go running off, please. The last thing we need this morning is you getting a concussion because you’re flipping the hell out.’

I did as he asked and immediately charged out of the bedroom and into the adjacent bathroom, running past Terra who’d gotten up to see what all the commotion was about.

“Oh, excuse me; I didn’t realize Leon had… company over.” She said, somewhat tensely.

I didn’t care about that what I cared about was, when I looked in the mirror, my own face stared back out at me, green eyes and blonde hair included. I heard Terra go in the master bedroom, calling for Leon, but I was currently suffering from the shock of seeing myself real for the first time in who knows how long!

Then my shock ended… and I screamed.

Terra came in to see what was wrong, but by that point I was sitting on the floor with my back against the wall, hands gripping my head.

“Oh no… nonononono, this isn’t happening, this can’t be happening, we’re just having a vivid-ass dream and when we wake up, Leon’s gonna be in control and everything will be right again, oh please don’t let this be happening, please please please!” I muttered while I pinched myself repeatedly trying to wake up from whatever twisted freakin’ dream I was having.

‘Veronica, will you calm the hell down?!’ Leon snapped in my head (oh dear God, he’s in my head now!) ‘This is not a dream and losing your shit is not gonna solve anything!’

“Ok, ok, I just need to take a second to breathe and calm down, just breathe…” I said, taking several deep breaths.

“Excuse me, but are you alright?” Terra asked me, concern in her voice “I can call a doctor for you, if you want.”

“No, Terra, I’m going to be fine, I just… need a minute.” I replied, holding a hand up to her.

“I’m… sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met before. How do you know my name?” She asked me warily, which made me face-palm.

“Crap, that’s right, sorry.” I replied wearily “My name is Veronica and I typically only exist in Leon’s head.”

Terra said nothing and kept staring at me warily.

“Look, sweetheart.” I said, using the name he often calls her “This is not turning out to be a great day for anyone, but if we wanna fix this, we’re gonna need some smart monkeys hammering away at something.”

Wait a minute, we don’t need smart monkeys, we need smart ponies; Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia! I ran back to the master bedroom and grabbed Leon’s phone so that I could send a text to Twilight.

To: Twilight

Twi, we have a problem; can you come over to my place as soon as you can? Thanks. Oh, and send a letter to Princess Celestia for me, if you don’t mind. The issue is… rather unusual and quite severe, we could use her assistance in this matter.

From: Twilight

What’s going on, Leon?

To: Twilight

I really think it’s better if you send that letter to Celestia and get over here, it’s not something I can explain over the phone or in a text, you’re just gonna have to see it for yourself.

From: Twilight

If you say so, Leon; I’ll be there soon.

With that done, I decided a change of clothes was in order. While I didn’t like the idea of subjecting Leon to watching me change (‘Oh, like you haven’t seen me naked before, Nica.’ Hey, it’s different when it comes to women, cut me some slack here!), There wasn’t much that could be done about it.

“Hey, Terra, can I borrow some of your clothes for a little while? Leon’s are kinda big for me.”

She stared at me for a second before leaving, returning a moment later with a simple pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a basic set of underwear. I returned to the bathroom and changed (they didn’t fit me as well as I would’ve liked. Terra’s a tiny whip of a thing and while I’m not exactly Rarity in terms of proportions, I still filled out her clothes a little more than she did), taking Leon’s pajamas and throwing them on his bed.

‘Hey, I have a hamper for those, Nica!’ He protested, but I didn’t give a crap at the moment ‘Wow, someone must’ve fed you a heaping pile of bitch pudding this morning, huh?’

“Get over it, Leon; we’ve got bigger fish to fry than your stupid sleepwear.” I snapped back, causing Terra to look at me curiously.

As I was heading downstairs, I heard the distinct sound of Twilight teleporting in and hurrying down the hallway to the bedrooms.

“Leon, what’s going on?” She called urgently, stopping cold as I came down and brushed past her to the living room “Who are you and what were you doing upstairs?”

“I’m pissed and I was upstairs waking up in your boyfriend’s bed.” I snapped irritably.

‘Nica, be nice. Twilight’s worried and you just made it look like I’m already cheating on her.’

“Leon, get down here and explain to me just what the hay is going on here!” Twilight called out angrily.

“He’s already down here, Twilight, you just can’t see him.” I said which caused her to hurry into the living room and glare at me, with Terra standing behind her.

“What do you mean?” She snapped at me, which made me tap my head.

“He and I are currently experiencing a bit of an identity crisis; you see, I’m normally the one riding shotgun in his head, but today it seems I’m driving, which is not good. Like, at all.” I explained, rather tersely I might add.

“Somehow, I doubt that.” She replied “Why don’t you try telling me where Leon is and what you’ve done with him before I do something unspeakable to you.”

I shrugged and flopped down on the couch. Twilight obviously did not approve.

“Hey, who said you could lie on his couch?! Get up and answer my question, now!” She yelled, yanking me off the couch and throwing me across the room. Like a cat, I twisted my body around and landed in a crouch, before standing and crossing my arms across my chest.

‘Can you please not pick a fight with my marefriend, Nica?’ Leon pleaded with me.

Hey, she started it. ‘Twilight didn’t start anything, you’re afraid and your reaction is to lash out at everyone.’

“Look, Twilight…” I said, exasperated “We can sit here and duke it out in a fight that you’ll lose, or we can set our differences aside for now and find a way to fix this mess. Your choice, missy.”

We glared at each other for a moment until there was a bright flash in the living room and Princess Celestia stood before us in all her radiant glory. However, her beautiful face was marred by concern, which was directed at me.

“Veronica, what in Equestria is going on?” She asked me, to which I shrugged, completely ignoring the fact that she knew who I was.

“Beats me, one moment I was watching Leon flop onto his bed after his date last night, the next I was waking up in it.”

Celestia put a hand up to her chin in troubled thought, while Twilight looked between us in disbelief.

“Just like that, you believe her, Princess?!” Twilight asked incredulously “And for that matter, you know who she is?! What is going on here, Princess?!”

“Yes, yes and I don’t know, my student.” Celestia replied without missing a beat “Veronica, allow me to try something; just hold very still for a moment.”

Her horn glowed and I felt her magic begin flow through me, but then the sensation vanished immediately, and Celestia looked at me in surprise.

“Uh, Celestia, what just happened?” I asked worriedly, and her shaking her head did not make me feel better.

‘Imagine how I must feel, Nica; as far as I’m concerned I’m stuck in your head indefinitely.’

“No you are not, Leon, we shall find a way to make this right.” Celestia responded, which caused me to blanch at her.

“You heard him?” I asked her, to which she nodded “Mother of pearl…”

Then I noticed the grin tugging at the Princess’ face and I glared at her.

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing… Nica.” She replied humorously, and I blushed at my nickname being muttered aloud for the first time by someone other than Leon.

Twilight was holding her head in an exasperated manner, muttering something to calm herself down I guess. After a moment, she clapped her hands in front of her and turned an irritated expression towards me. To my credit, I flopped back down on the couch.

“Okay, before we do anything, can somepony please explain to me what the hay is going on here?” She asked, exasperated.

‘Princess, is there a way you can make it so that everyone in the room can hear me?’ Leon asked, to which the Princess nodded. Instead of replying, she closed her eyes and her horn glowed for a moment before fading.

“Go ahead, Leon.” She stated, gesturing a hand to me.

“Hello, can you all hear me?” Leon’s voice came from nowhere, sounding like it was coming from an ancient radio “Twilight, I apologize for Nica’s attitude, she’s… a little grumpy this morning.”

“That’s the understatement of the century…” I huffed in response. Twilight shot me a ferocious glare.

“Is she always like this?” Twilight asked, still glaring at me.

“She can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but otherwise no; she’s actually very nice and helpful most of the time.” He replied humorously, but then his tone grew serious “I ask that you cut her a bit of slack, Twi. Her attitude is in response to the stress of our current situation.”

“I was rather content being a voice in your head, thank you very much.” I quipped, but then held a hand in front of my eyes “Though I’ll admit I kinda missed having a body…”

“If you promise to behave, I may decide to let you spend the day like this once we figure out how to change back.” Leon replied casually.

“I’ll make no such promise… but I’ll try and keep a lid on it, okay?” I said, which was met with his approval.

“I guess that’s as good as we’re gonna get from her, now; back to your questions, Twi.” Leon stated “This is Veronica, she is what’s called a Nobody; a being that’s created when a particularly strong individual is… submerged in darkness, you could say. She’s been residing in my head since I got to Equestria, acting as a voice for my subconscious.”

“He’s a real asshole, by the way.” I quipped, then grinned wickedly at Twilight “Though he and I both agree Leon needs to stop holding back so much and just-”

“Nica, no!” Leon snapped immediately, though Twilight looked confused.

“‘And just’ what?” She asked, genuinely curious.

“Leave his door unlocked, darling.” I replied with a wink, but she still looked confused.

“I don’t get it.” Twilight deadpanned.

“She’s referring to when you locked us in here for a week, Twi.” Leon said with a sigh and Twilight’s face went from lavender to red faster than a chameleon.

Celestia gave her an interested expression “You locked yourself in here with him for a week? Perhaps you are learning more than I thought, my faithful student.” She teased, managing to make Twilight turn even redder.

“Though it pains me to say it, nothing happened during that week… other than the Doctor crashing into Terra’s room. Leon went to a lot of trouble to ensure your precious student’s ‘honor’ wasn’t compromised.” I droned, but Celestia giggled.

“Oh, I had complete confidence he would. You have proven most honorable and noble, Leon, as I am sure my sister has mentioned.”

“She has, actually, but let’s not get distracted here.” Leon stated, and made a sound like he was clearing his throat “The fact that Nica is the active body right now is… startling to say the least.”

“You can say that again.” I replied, suddenly very interested in my foot, wiggling my toes and all that jazz.

“Will you stop playing with yourself?!” Twilight snapped, but then turned red again when she realized what she said. I was briefly aware of Leon snickering to himself.

“Hey! You try being a disembodied spirit floating around in the Void for who knows how long, and then stuck as a voice in a guy’s head; you’ll wanna make sure everything’s in order, too.” I replied indignantly.

“Surely you weren’t in the Void for that long, Nica. Leon, himself, only showed up a couple of months ago.” Twilight said, but she withered under the new glare I was giving her.

“Do not speak to me as if you know what it was like there.” I growled, sitting up on the couch “Inside the Void there is nothing; no light, no darkness, no time and no space. Nothing lives and nothing dies, because nothing exists in the Void.”

“She’s right, Twi.” Leon said morosely “I lost track of time when Terra and I were swallowed by it. I have no idea if I’d been in the Void for minutes, hours, days… or years. All I know is how old I was when I went in.”

“I believe it is best we move on; Leon, did something happen to you last night before, during or after your date with Twilight?” Celestia asked, though she gave Twilight small grin.

“Not that I noticed."

“Well there was that moment when you’d threatened to kill an idiotic stallion, and don’t pretend you don’t know about it, Princess; your sister tends to run at the mouth and I’m sure she told you everything.” I chimed in, my voice serious “Then, of course, there’s the fact that the owner of Aurora Hall is a freakin’ alicorn, we can’t forget that, can we?”

“Actually, that reminds me of my next question; Princess, are all alicorns capable of reading minds?” Leon asked, to which Celestia gave me a thoughtful look.

“Only once we reach a certain level of mastery with our magic, Leon.” She replied “And even then, we must be actively listening for your thoughts to hear them. However, if your question was actually ‘can all alicorns hear Nica’, it is largely the same with the difference that we can hear her as clearly as we can now. It’s… far too complicated to explain, though. Regardless, I believe it is best you speak to Spectra about what is happening to you.”

At that, I stood from the couch and walked towards the front door. Twilight stopped me before I actually opened it, though.

“Where do you think you’re going, Veronica?” She asked irritably.

“Aurora Hall

“At this hour? What makes you think they’re open?”

“They’ll let me in or I’ll let myself in, either way, I’m going to see Spectra.” I replied seriously, which caused Twilight to stare at me in disbelief.

“You can’t be serious, Veronica, you can’t just waltz in there like you own the place!”

“Why not?"

“Because you’re going to be respectful to them and request entry.” Leon stated sternly and I groaned “Don’t give me that, Nica, you know you’ve been excessively rude this morning and so you’re going to spend the next couple of hours being civil, okay?”

“Feh… whatever.” I grumbled.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Leon asked, though he knew damn well what I’d said.

“I said ‘okay’.”

“That’s what I thought.” Leon replied smugly. I merely huffed and slung his bag over my shoulders “Why are you taking that with you?”

“Hey, I’m your Nobody, which means I share your personality quirks.” I stated irritably and I heard an audible sigh come from Twilight. I ignored her, opened the door and left.

In case you’re wondering, no I do not have any shoes one, but here I don’t really need them. Besides, I wanted to feel the Earth beneath my bare feet again.

“Nica, wait!” I heard Terra call from behind me, but I didn’t turn to look at her.

“If you’re gonna try and stop me, sweetheart, you might as well walk back inside.” I said without slowing my pace “I’m gonna get to the bottom of this if it means I have to turn the whole damn town inside out.”

“I wasn’t going to, Nica.” She replied casually, which caused me to stop and stare at her suspiciously. She merely gave me a calm smile “I’m going to help you.”

“Why? I’ve been nothing but a grade-A bitch since I woke up.” I asked her, to which she shook her head.

“That’s not true, Nica, you’re just scared.” She replied calmly “And besides, Leon wouldn’t vouch for someone who couldn’t be trusted and he clearly trusts you, so I will, too.”

I stared at Terra in surprise. Despite the way I’ve acted all morning, she was not only willing to forgive me, but help me as well. I looked away from her, suddenly feeling very ashamed of myself. Ugh, see what I mean?! Xemnas is so full of himself; beings without hearts don't feel shame!

“I… Thank you, Terra and… I’m sorry.” I murmured, but then I felt one of her hands on my shoulder. When I looked at her, she was giving me one of her gentle smiles.

“It’s alright, Nica. Let’s go visit Spectra and get this figured out, ok?” She said, to which I nodded.

“Yeah. C’mon, Aurora Hall is this way.”

When we got there, they let us in without argument. Sakura wasn’t at the desk this morning (probably because she was there all night), but the wolf who was told us that Spectra was awaiting our arrival and he led us to the alicorn’s office, which was surprisingly Spartan in comparison to the rest of the club.

Spectra himself sat at the desk looking over papers and writing on some of them, before handing them off to his secretary who took them and returned to her own desk in the previous room. Once that was finished he looked up at Terra and I and smiled.

“Welcome to Aurora Hall, ladies.” He greeted us in his smooth voice, and I saw Terra blush “Aunt Celestia called me a few minutes ago, warning me that you were on the war path, Veronica.”

“So you know why we’re here, then.” I stated, placing my hands on my hips, to which he nodded.

“Of course I do. You’re here because you and Leon have currently swapped roles, to which I must say I’m sorry.” He said, adding the last part rather sheepishly.

“And why are you sorry?” I deadpanned, glaring at him.

“Because it was my spell that switched you.” He replied, rubbing the back of his head “You see, I don’t like it when someone doesn’t fully understand the plight of another. I switched you two because I wanted you both to see what it was like to be the other for the day.”

“So… we’re stuck like this for the whole day, is that it?” I asked him, to which he nodded “Well, that’s just fantastic. What the hell am I supposed to do for a day?”

“That’s up to you.” Spectra replied with a shrug “There’s always something going on around Ponyville, you need but ask somepony.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration.

“When does the spell expire?”

“Overnight.” He stated “As soon as you fall asleep, the change will be made and Leon will be back.”

I sighed and glared at Spectra.

“You’re a jackass, Spectra, you know that?” I snapped irritably, and I heard Leon groan in response. Spectra merely gave me an amused glance.

“Well that’s certainly a first, though I suppose it applies in this situation, doesn’t it?” He chuckled.

“Damn straight it does. Do you have any idea what went through my mind this morning?! I was ready to tear the whole town apart in search of answers!”

‘Nica, calm down. Now that we know this isn’t permanent, why don’t you go out on the town and find something fun to do?’ Leon said, trying to keep me calm. I took a deep breath… and turned to leave.

“Veronica, wait.” Spectra called out, causing me to stop “I truly am sorry I put you in this predicament, but I assure you I had the best intentions in mind.”

“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, Spectra.” I replied coldly “If that’s how you feel, I suggest not interfering in things directly because that will only screw them up more.”

I heard him sigh heavily, but I didn’t turn to look at him again.

“I’ll tell you this much, though; I do appreciate being given an opportunity to experience what it’s like to have a body again. But at the same time, I chose to leave mine behind for a reason and I am content with that choice. Please do not assume you know what is best for me again. Good day, sir.”

And with that I walked calmly out of his office and the club, with Terra close behind me. Once we were outside, I stood and stared out at nothing for a moment.

“So I have one whole day with a body… what to do.” I asked myself quietly.

“We could go to Carousel Boutique and get you fitted for proper clothing, Nica.” Terra offered, and I shrugged.

“Good a place as any to start.” I said, turning to smile at her “Lead the way, Terra.”

And so, my day officially began.

Ch. 15: “…One Must Walk A Mile In Their Shoes”

View Online

Chapter Fifteen
“…One Must Walk A Mile In Their Shoes”

After a quick stop at Carousel Boutique, in which Rarity was very surprised to learn from Terra just who I was, I came out with a new set of clothes that fit me perfectly.

At first, she’d wanted to make a dress for me, but I politely declined (very firmly) and instead asked for a similar outfit she’d made for Leon for his date, with certain cosmetic changes.

The gloves were full-finger and they went to a point about halfway up my forearm, the shoes were narrower with a slight heel to them and the shirt didn’t end in cuffs, but loose frills and they went down to my hands. I also opted to lose the tie and sunglasses and left a couple buttons undone at the top.

All in all, I was feeling quite peckish in my new outfit, though I made sure to have Rarity send Leon a bill despite her protests. Terra also got her hands on Leon’s bag and refused to give it back to me, saying that it didn’t belong to me even though he and I inhabited the same body.

Once that was done, I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t eaten in a while and I was starving, so Terra and I made a trip to Sugarcube Corner.

Boy, was I surprised. ‘Surprised me too, Nica. We’ve really gotta watch our backs around her.’

Anyway, we took one step in the door before my vision was full of pink.

“You came back, Ghost-Girl, and you brought Terra with you, does that mean you’re not a ghost anymore, *GASP* we need to throw you a ‘I’m not a ghost anymore’ party, oh I’ve never thrown one of those before I wonder what I should serve, something like ghost-themed cupcakes or maybe I should serve something ghosts eat, hey Ghost-Girl, what do ghosts eat?”

Holy crap, if someone decided to invent a machine gun that could fire a hundred thousand words per minute I doubt they would’ve even come close to matching the lethal velocity Pinkie Pie was shooting them.

“Pinkie Pie, I was never a ghost and I have no idea what ghosts eat and I’m not too eager to find out if you don’t mind.” I said, but then I remembered I have something called manners “I’m Veronica, by the way. I’m… a friend of Leon’s.”

“Veronica? That’s a mouthful, I think I’ll just call you ‘Nica’, doesn’t that sound cute?” Pinkie replied, a huge smile on her face. Wait, hold up, she’s decided to use the nickname I’ve been using pretty much the entire time? What the…?

‘Nica, there’s a time and place for that, but not now…’ Leon interrupted me with some stellar wisdom.

“Leon?” Pinkie Pie asked, suddenly looking everywhere “Hey, Leon, where are you? I heard your voice but I can’t see you! *GASP* Oh NO, did the ghosts pull you into the TV?! I knew we shouldn’t have built your home on that ancient earth pony burial site and now it’s haunted!” She suddenly paused and got a thoughtful look on her face “Actually, That might be a fun place to stop on Nightmare Night. Hey Leon, can we leave you in the TV until after Nightmare Night, I wanna use your place as a haunted house to scare the foals.”

I stared at her dumbstruck, before I erupted into laughter.

‘That’s not funny, Nica…’ Leon deadpanned at me, but I just laughed harder.

“Oh, please she… thinks… that one of us… is a GHOST! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” I said between laughs, before dropping to the ground holding my sides “AND she thinks you’re in the TV! That’s freakin’ hilarious!”

“Aren’t you?” She asked me with genuine curiosity. I managed to get a hold of my laughter and stood back up.

“Nah. I’m normally a voice inside Leon’s head, but today we’re experiencing some role reversal, which means he’s the voice right now.” I said, a huge smile on my face. Then I noticed everypony in the bakery giving me an extremely odd stare “See something interesting over here? I mean, I did just get a new outfit today. Pretty neat, huh?”

I know it sounded kind of brusque, but it had the desired effect of giving the ponies something to respond to that could get them out of the conversation. Once their attention was back to the meal at hand, I returned my attention to the pink party pony-girl.

“Alright, Pinkie; Terra and I are here for lunch. What do you recommend?” I asked her, to which she responded with a huge smile.

“EVERYTHING! I’ll go and get you my favorites, which I’m sure you’ll like because everypony likes my favorites!” She replied, dashing off to the back before returning a moment later with a whole tray full of various pastries. My stomach growled at the sight and my mouth watered, damn I was hungry.

We took it to a nearby table and I began devouring the delicious baked goods. Terra took some for herself and ate in relative calm and peace in comparison to me.

“Wow, Nica, you must be hungry.” Pinkie chirped excitedly.

“Starved. It’s been forever since I’ve had real food.” I replied between mouthfuls.

After a moment of demolishing the food, I sat back and patted my stomach with a contented sigh (though my clothes were feeling a bit tight, I’m gonna have to fix that in a bit).

“So I’m guessing we should forward the bill to Leon and he’ll pay us back?” Pinkie asked me, to which I nodded.

She smiled and dashed back to the register, tapped at the buttons for a moment before printing a receipt and sticking it in an envelope, which she handed to Derpy Hooves (who had apparently been there the whole time) when the mailmare passed her on the way out.

I stood from the table and stretched, before deciding to head down to the track to test some of my… abilities. As Terra and I were passing by Pinkie, she waved at me.

“Bye, Nica! Come back and see us sometime when you have a body again!” She called, which netted her a few concerned looks from the other ponies.

As Terra and I walked through town (again), I noticed what few stallions there were in town stopped what they were doing to stare at me as well as several mares. I grinned to myself and continued walking. Once we got there, I turned back to find Terra catching up to me, breathing hard.

“What’s up with you, Terra? You look like you ran a mile.” I asked, to which she gave me a strained smile.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… you walk very fast for… someone who hasn’t had a body… in a while.” She gasped, which caused me to put my hands on my hips and shake my head exasperated.

“Terra, why don’t you go sit in the stands while I practice my stuff.” I said, to which she readily agreed.

As I stepped out onto the field, I saw several ponies out stretching and exercising, with Rainbow Dash prepping herself before flight.

I removed my hat and threw it perfectly to Terra, who caught it deftly despite being surprised. I advanced on a standing fence in the center of the field, which was almost as tall as I was and leapt upon it without using my hands.

Okay, I did that by focusing kinetic energy at the bottom of my feet and pushing off the ground like a normal jump, but with an added kick provided by the energy. It was some pretty basic magic I’d mastered early, but the various ponies all stared at me in awe as I gracefully alighted upon the fence and remained perfectly balanced upon it.

‘Okay, even I’ll admit that was impressive. I wonder if I’ll be able to do it…’ Leon said, to which I shrugged.

“Pretty easy, really. Your body is nearly always generating kinetic energy, all you have to do is store some of it and then focus it where it’s needed; the concept works a lot like your normal magic.” I replied casually, taking a few steps back and forth on the fence.

“Who’re you talking to?” I heard a raspy voice ask from behind and when I turned, all I saw were a pair of magenta eyes staring back into mine.

“Wow, you really have personal space issues, babe.” I said, giving her a deadpan stare and ignoring her question.

“What? Hey, you didn’t answer my question!” She retorted angrily, but I shrugged and walked backwards away from her.

“And I don’t intend to because you are rude.” I stated, before ducking low and spinning around beneath her flying tackle, standing back up perfectly with my hands in my pockets.

She looked around quickly for a second before spinning around and giving me an extremely pissed off glare.

‘Well, crap. Somehow, I don’t think this’ll end well for Dash. Try not to rough her up too much.’ Leon said with a sigh.

Don’t worry; her pride will be hurt more than anything else.

I put my left hand behind my back, placed my right foot forward and extended my right hand out to her with a slight bow.

“Would thou honor me with a dance?” I asked her, a coy smile on my face. The expression on Dash’s face was priceless; I could almost see the steam coming out of her head, just before she shot at me again.

This time I leapt over her, landing hands first on the fence which I used to launch myself again to land gracefully back on my feet, still on the fence. I turned slowly around, my arms held out to either side of my, and faced a furious Rainbow Dash.

“What?! How are you doing that?” Rainbow Dash demanded of me, to which I waggled a finger at her in mock disapproval.

“Spoilers.” I replied and turned back around. I heard the sound of air being disturbed behind me and I leapt straight into the air, using my magic to accelerate my jump.

After spending a brief moment reveling in the feel of flying, I landed on the other end of the fence softly, bracing my fall by focusing the energy of my leap in a kinetic cushion at the bottom of my feet.

There was silence on the field and I stared around in confusion. Rainbow Dash’s jaw was on the ground despite the fact that she was hovering about six feet off of it, and everypony else was awestruck by my jump.

“How… that’s not…” Dash muttered, unable to form a coherent thought and I chuckled before leaping into the air again and did a few back flips before landing gracefully on solid Earth and turning to leave. Dash flew down in front of me with a determined expression on her face.

“Oh ho, still wanna play, huh, babe?” I said and held my arms out to either side of me with a cocky smile on my face “If you want me, come and claim me!”

‘Wow Nica, that could be taken wrong in so many ways.’ Leon said, but I ignored him as Rainbow Dash lunged forward and began to try and strike me.

For the fastest flier in Equestria, her attacks were moving painfully to me. I merely continued to dodge and block with next to no effort, while storing the kinetic energy from her attacks. Eventually she broke off, before flying straight at me. I grinned, fell onto my back, planted my feet against her chest as she flew over me and kicked off with my legs, releasing the stored kinetic energy.

She spun crazily in the air for a moment while I utilized the momentum generated from my kick to gracefully stand back up again. I turned to Rainbow Dash just in time to steady herself and glare at me, before shooting straight at me at a blinding speed. This time, I didn’t move; instead, I grinned and held a hand up. Her fist collided with my palm and her forward momentum halted immediately as I absorbed the massive amount of energy she’d generated.

She stared at me in confusion, while I lifted my other hand and pointed at a spot about ten feet away. I smiled at her and released the kinetic energy where I’d pointed. There was a thunderous boom! and a crater appeared in ground, about five feet across and three feet deep, with dirt from the resulting explosion falling all around.

There were several startled screams while I released the stunned pegasus, who kept looking from me, to the crater and back again, before she flew in front of me as I tried to walk away. I groaned and glared at her, but she held up her hands in surrender.

“Wait, hold on, I’m sorry for attacking you it’s just… how did you do that?” She asked me, her voice breathless.

“Magic.” I replied simply and her face fell for a moment before becoming curious.

“Who are you?” She asked to which I shrugged.

“Me? I’m nobody, but everyone calls me ‘Nica’.”

“I’m Rainbow Dash. Can you teach me how to jump and land like you did?” She asked, her voice hopeful.

“Nope, that was magic too.”

“I’m best friends with Twilight Sparkle and I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen her use magic like that.”

“That’s because I use my magic differently.” I replied casually.

“Do you wanna hang out later?” She asked me hopefully, but this time I gave her a sad smile.

“Much as I would love to, no. I’m… only gonna be around for today.”

“Oh…” She said, crestfallen “Well, it was awesome to meet you, Nica.”

“Yeah… you too, Dash. See ya on the far side.” I replied, bumping fists with her. Terra caught up to me as I was leaving.

“Are you okay, Nica?” She asked, offering me my hat, but I shook my head to it “You looked a little sad there for a moment while talking to Rainbow Dash.”

“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just… I’m gonna miss having a body again.” I said wistfully as we walked, but we’d only gotten a few yards from the track when I stopped “Hey, Terra, why don’t you go on home. I kinda wanna wander around on my own for a little while, if that’s okay.”

Terra looked at me quietly, before nodding. She took my hat and Leon’s bag and departed for the house. I watched her leave for a moment before turning and walking into town in silence, remembering things I’d given up to be here.

‘You wanna talk about it?’ Leon asked calmly.

Not particularly. Besides, you can just sift through them yourself; you don’t need me to say anything.

‘True, but that’s a little invasive, particularly if it’s something you don’t want to talk about.’ He replied, which caused me to wince.

Jeez, there you go with the honorable stuff again. You have to know I’ve gone through most of your memories, right down to your dirtiest and darkest secrets.

‘Again, true. But just because you did, doesn’t mean I will. If you don’t wish to talk about it, I’m not gonna push you.’ He said, and I felt a gentleness from him

…Thanks.

Anyway, I pretty much just wandered around town for a while, not sure how long. It was when the sun began to set that I decided to do one last thing before heading home.

I found a frozen treat stand and ordered a blue raspberry popsicle (I seriously doubted they had the actual flavor I wanted) and took it to Town Hall, wherein I used my magic to leap up to the very top and then I sat down on the edge, facing the sunset.

And I sat there, watching the sunset and eating my popsicle. Once it was finished, I set the stick aside and drew my left leg up and rested my head upon it. After a moment, I heard the sound of someone teleporting in behind me.

“Good evening, Twilight, what brings you all the way up here?” I asked just as she took a seat next to me.

“Well, I got a message from Terra saying you were feeling a little down and Fluttershy told me she saw you sitting on your own up here, eating a popsicle.” Twilight replied calmly “And she also said you looked kind of sad and lonely.”

“And why would you care about what I’m doing? Last I checked, you hated my guts.”

Twilight bristled “That’s not true, I-”

“Oh really? You attempted to throw me against a wall and were ready to tear my head off.” I retorted coldly, and this time she looked away slightly ashamed.

“I’ll admit… I didn’t like you when we met this morning.” She replied calmly “But Princess Celestia sat me down and explained everything once I was calm. I’m still not sure what to actually make of you, but I wanted to speak to you personally in a way that wouldn’t lead to a confrontation.”

“Well, here you go.” I replied, motioning to me “I guess I haven’t proven you wrong, huh?”

“Actually, quite the opposite; your attitude is more defensive than it is actually rude.” She said, giving me a quizzical look “Why don’t you try talking to me?”

I looked at her quietly for a moment before returning my attention to the sunset.

“Hey, Twilight. You ever wonder why the sun sets red?” I asked her, to which she looked at me curiously.

“A little, but I get the feeling this isn’t a question I should answer.” She replied.

I gave a small smile “As you know, light is made up of several different colors but of all of them, red is the one that travels the farthest.” I said, and she looked at me curiously again.

“That’s pretty interesting. Where did you learn that?” She asked, which caused my smile to fade.

“A guy I’d met in a… past life.” I replied solemnly “Before I met up with the other Leon, I’m technically his Nobody for the record, I was a part of this group that didn’t exactly have the best intentions for their world. Most of them were infuriating to be around but there were three that I liked. One of them bought me ice cream and took me up to the top of a tall clock tower after one mission, where we just sat watching the sunset and talking.”

“Do you regret leaving?” She asked quietly, to which I shook my head.

“Nah. I knew the group was gonna go down in flames and I abandoned ship in the resulting chaos.” I replied calmly “I just have fond memories of a few people I happened to like, is all.”

We sat in silence as the sun continued to dip below the horizon.

“I’m sorry for being so hostile to you this morning, Nica. I should’ve been a little more understanding of the stress you were under.” Twilight said, to which I chuckled.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, Twi. I was being a royal bitch and I said some things that put Leon in a very bad light; if anything I should be sorry.” I replied gently.

“Leon’s right about you; you are very nice when you aren’t under pressure.” Twilight said with a giggle.

“HA, I’m only nice when I want to be.” I giggled as well. The sun finally vanished from sight and I stood “Well, Twilight, this is goodbye. I mean, I’ll always be pretty close, being a voice in Leon’s head and all, but I doubt I’ll have a body again.”

With that, I made a light jump and fell to the ground, landing lightly on my feet and displacing the dirt on the ground when I touched down. Twilight teleported down next to me and gave me an amazed look.

“Normally when a pony falls from that height, they tend to get severely injured; how did you land so softly?” She asked, to which I shrugged.

“I merely used some of the kinetic energy I’d developed in the fall and concentrated it on to the bottom of my feet to act as a cushion.” I replied and began walking back to Leon’s home.

Twilight gave an exasperated sigh and grabbed my arm. Next thing I knew, there was a flash of light and we were standing in Leon’s living room.

“Oh good, you’re home, Nica. Dinner will be ready soon, so please wait in the living room.” Terra called from the kitchen, and I could smell fish frying. It made my mouth water and my stomach rumble.

When dinner was ready, I was at first concerned about Twilight, seeing as she was a vegetarian, but she told me that ponies in Equestria were capable of eating, and many were even preferential towards, fish.

So we ate in peace, and the meal was delicious. We then spent a couple of hours talking, not about anything in particular, just sharing insight into the others’ life (save for mine, being that I was gonna be a voice again, but hey. I made peace with my decision a long time ago). Terra and Twilight, who were originally put off by my brusqueness, now laughed at my blunt comments.

But then it came time to go to bed. Twilight opted to stay over and sleep in the guest bedroom, while I went to the master bedroom and changed into Leon’s giant-sized pajamas and boxers (as much fun as it would’ve been to have him wake up in women’s underwear, I knew he’d be pissed about it in the morning, and besides. I owed him for giving me my space). I set my outfit aside in a place separate from everything else, before finally climbing into bed and falling asleep.

Oh, there is one other thing…

I left the door unlocked.

Ch. 16: "If It's Not One Thing..."

View Online

Chapter Sixteen
“If It’s Not One Thing…”

When morning came, I awoke… in my bed for once.

My pajamas were wadded up and pinching me in places, but when I tried to move to clear them out, I felt a strange weight on my left side. When I looked at what it was, my heart about stopped.

Twilight Sparkle was sleeping soundly next to me, one arm draped across my chest.

Judging by the fact that we were both still wearing our sleepwear, I came to the conclusion that nothing had happened.

‘If anything had happened, you probably would have been awake for it.’ Nica chimed from inside my head (glad that whole business is over with, though I still feel kinda sorry for her) ‘Don’t. Like I said, I’ve made peace with my decision and I’m content to be like this. Still, it was nice to get out and stretch for a change.’

My mind contemplated how early it was and my body responded with “too damn early”, to which my mind agreed wholeheartedly. Besides, I was in bed with Twilight (‘Alert! We have a potential sex joke inbound!’ Hush, you) and I didn’t want to ruin the moment by getting up.

However, Terra chose that time to come in the room.

“Good morning, Leon.” She said softly and I noticed she was wearing her work uniform that Rarity had made for her “I just wanted to let you know that I will be spending a couple of weeks at Carousel Boutique; Rarity’s going to Canterlot soon to work on new dress ideas and to make a new one for Twilight.”

“Probably for my birthday…” Twilight murmured sleepily.

“Oh, she also wanted me to pass along her gratitude for asking Princess Celestia to accommodate her in the palace.”

“I’ve already told her it’s no problem, I’d do the same for any of my friends; you included, Terra…”

“Oh.” Terra said, blushing slightly “I’m glad you consider me your friend, Twilight, thank you. I should get going now; I’ll see you later, Leon.”

“Okay, Terra, just be careful.” I replied just as sleepily “Call me if you need anything.”

And with that, Terra exited the bedroom, closing the door behind her. I proceeded to remain in that special bit of bliss between sleeping and waking.

‘Hey Leon, I think something really important was just said there. You should probably boot up that brain of yours and figure out what it was.’ There was a hint of humor in Nica’s voice.

I groaned inwardly, but decided to do as asked, though I mourned the loss of that special bit of bliss I’d been in.

I opened my eyes blearily and stared at the ceiling while my brain began the start-up process and analyzed the data it had just received. I swear to God, I thought I could hear that stupid freakin’ tone that comes with a dial-up connection (‘it ain’t just you. I’m hearing it as well and it is annoying the hell out of me’).

And then what Twilight had just said hit me.

Her birthday was coming up… very, very soon.

“Ah, crap…” I groaned, which caused Twilight to lift her head and stare at me sleepily.

“What’s wrong, Leon?” She asked, to which I sighed.

“Your birthday is approaching… and I don’t have a gift for you yet.” I replied. Twilight just gave a small giggle, followed by a yawn.

“It’s alright. You’ll come up with something, and I’m sure it’ll be lovely...” She murmured, laying her head back on my shoulder.

I decided I could deal with it once I was ready to face the world.

‘Oh, please. You just want to stay in bed with Twilight.’ Nica chided, but then I swore I heard a light bulb go off ‘Well, since you’re in bed with her, you could-’

“And I’m up.” I groaned, removing my body from Twilight’s embrace, much to her displeasure, and stood from my bed.

I stretched and ran my hands through my hair, glad to have my body back. Then I went to the master bathroom (which was downstairs) and conducted bathroom business, namely a shower.

I exited the bathroom in a cloud of steam wearing my pajama bottoms and drying my hair off with my towel and went upstairs to change. I ran into Twilight on my way up, who’d changed into a spare set of clothes she’d taken to keeping around my place, and she blushed at the sight of my bare chest (oh yeah, she hasn’t seen me like this yet), which caused me to blush as well, but fortunately I could hide it because my face was already flushed from my shower.

“I suppose since we’re dating you might as well get to see what RD got a look at a couple of months ago.” I said, though I was thoroughly embarrassed.

‘Dude, you totally meant for her to see you like this.’ Never said otherwise, Nica, but it doesn’t stop me from being embarrassed.

“I see you… keep yourself in good shape…” She murmured.

After a long and awkward moment, I coughed and she gasped in realization as she stepped to the side to allow me to pass. As I did though, she gave me a quick peck on the cheek (I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but kisses from Twilight are amazing) which I returned with a smile.

Once I was dressed in my standard affair, I went downstairs and into the kitchen to cook breakfast for Twilight and I, all the while trying to decide what I should get Twilight. She loved books, but I wasn’t sure which ones she already had. I could get her jewelry, but I wasn’t sure she’d appreciate it as much.

‘Leon, you’re going down the same path all boyfriends go down so I’m gonna give you the wisest piece of wisdom you’ll ever hear; she will love whatever you give her.’

“I know, Nica, but I also want it to matter to her.” I replied audibly, needing to hear myself think for once “It wouldn’t mean as much if I just got her a hallmark card and called it a day; I need effort to go with it as well. It needs to say ‘I truly care about you and this is how far I’m willing to go to prove it’.”

‘Wow, Leon.’ She replied, genuinely impressed ‘I think I’m gonna leave the sage wisdom to you from now on.’

“Don’t be ridiculous, Nica. That was good advice; I need to be making this a priority so anything that keeps me focused on the task at hand only helps me.” I replied casually, stirring the eggs so that they wouldn’t burn.

“Are you talking to Veronica, Leon?” Twilight asked, taking a seat at the table.

“Yeah, she’s just giving me some help.” I said as I tipped the eggs onto our plates. I pulled the toast out of the oven and spread some butter lightly over the four pieces before also putting them onto the plates and taking them to the table.

“Is she behaving herself?” Twilight asked slyly.

“’No.’ Jury’s still out on that, Twi.” I chuckled.

We ate our breakfast in relative silence. Once we were finished, I stood to take our dishes to the kitchen, but Twilight merely smiled and her horn glowed with a magenta light. Our dishes levitated off of the table and flew to the kitchen, where I heard the water turn on for a moment before shutting off again and the sound of dishes setting themselves up to be washed was heard.

“Show off.” I said and Twilight giggled.

“Not really, that was pretty basic magic for me.”

I was about to retort with something witty when her phone started ringing. She took it out of a pocket on her vest and looked at it before answering with a smile.

“Good morning, Spike.” She said, and then her face became surprised “The new shipment of books came in today? Okay, set it to the side for now, I’ll be there in just a second.” And she hung up her phone, giving me an apologetic look.

“Go do what you need to, Twi.” I said, giving her a gentle smile “I gotta go shop around anyway and it’ll be difficult to do when you’re hanging around me all day.”

She smiled, walked around the table and gave me a hug as well as a quick kiss before stepping away from me and teleporting home.

“Now…” I murmured, putting a hand up to my chin in thought “What to get Twilight for her birthday?”

‘Well, you could always-’ Nica began but I interrupted her.

“Unless that suggestion is appropriate, you should keep it to yourself.”

‘You’re no fun, Leon. I mean, I practically set the two of you up to have-’

“Nica…” I said warningly, and I heard her sigh in defeat.

‘Alright, I’ll be serious about this. Why don’t you try calling her friends?’

“Hmm, Applejack wouldn’t be able to keep a secret to save her life, Pinkie Pie is not much better because she tends to run at the mouth when she’s excited, Rainbow dash would suggest ‘something awesome’ while not being descriptive and Rarity would recommend something extravagant, though she’s got other plans right now so she’s non sequitor anyway.” I said, listing off each mare “That leaves Fluttershy. I’ll need you to be paying very close attention to what she says, Nica. I may miss something on accident.”

‘Why, because she’s cute as a button and her shyness is just plain attractive?’ Nica teased.

“No, because she’s so freakin’ quiet when she speaks.” I replied exasperated “And even if I wasn’t seeing Twilight, Fluttershy would be the last mare I’d consider dating; there’d be less romance and more me trying to protect her from the whole damn world, and I really don’t want that.”

‘Y’know, some guys get off on being a knight in shining armor for a woman, Leon.’

“There’s being a knight and then there’s being overprotective and with Fluttershy, I’d just be overprotective.”

With that, I took my phone out of my pocket and selected Fluttershy’s number. After a couple of rings she answered.

“Hello?” She said and I had to strain my ears to hear her.

“Hi, Fluttershy, it’s Leon; I was wondering if you’re busy.”

“Oh, not really, I’m just taking care of my animal friends and tending my garden today.” She replied “Did you need some help, Leon?”

“Yeah… I need some ideas on what to get Twilight for her birthday and I was wondering if it’d be alright if I came over and talked to you about it. Do you mind?”

“Oh goodness, no. Though I don’t know how much help I’ll be, you are most certainly welcome to visit.”

“Okay, thanks Fluttershy.” I said, but then an idea occurred to me “Hey, do you mind if I bring a friend?”

“…It’s not Vinyl, is it? She scares my animals whenever she visits.”

“No, I have a different friend in mind; she’s kinda new in town and doesn’t really know anypony, plus it’ll be a good opportunity to spend some time with her, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, of course, Leon. Feel free to bring whoever you want… just not Vinyl.”

“Thanks, Fluttershy, I’ll let you go now. See you in a little while.”

“Goodbye, Leon.” And we hung up.

‘Fluttershy? Not liking somepony? I think the temperature in Tartarus just dropped a few degrees.’

“You know how Fluttershy gets about her critters, Nica.”

‘Yeah, but still… she all but said that Vinyl Scratch isn’t welcome in her home! That’s some juicy gossip material right there, Leon!’

I dismissed Nica as I scrolled through my list of contacts until I found Sakura’s number and dialed it. She answered after a couple of rings.

“Konnichiwa, Leon-sama!” She chirped into her phone and I smiled.

“Good morning, Sakura; are you busy today?”

“Nope. Spectra-sama gave me a couple of days off. Why do you ask?”

“I was gonna go over to a friend’s house to ask her for some help and wondered if you wanted to come with me and hang out?”

There was an uncomfortable silence before she answered.

“Is she okay with it? I won’t be imposing, will I?”

“If she isn’t, she can get over it. Besides, I’ve already asked her if I can bring a friend and she said yes.”

“Okay… tell me where you want to meet and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“There’s a road leading out of town and to the Everfree Forest. Do you know where it is?”

“I think so. I’ll meet you there in roughly thirty minutes.”

“Alright, see you then, Sakura.”

“Later, Leon-sama!” And we hung up.

I walked over to the door and put my shoes on, followed by my hat, new coat and messenger bag. I was about to walk out the door when I remembered something and hurried upstairs to get my iPod which I’d left connected to my computer to charge.

Once I had that, I exited the house and went to where I was to meet up with Sakura.

I sat on a bench nearby and listened to my iPod while I waited for her, waving at the various ponies who walked by. Some wandered over and chatted with me for a few minutes (Lyra was currently attempting to seduce me away from Twilight, but after what happened during estrus, I was extremely wary of her. It’s not to say that I won’t ever hang out with her again, I just won’t do it alone).

Eventually, Sakura showed up and waved excitedly to me.

“Ohayō gozaimasu, Leon-sama!” She called out; hurrying over and giving me a small, polite bow “It’s good to see you again! Are you not with your marefriend today?”

“No, but we’re going to see one of my other friends about some advice for a birthday present for her, and maybe help out a little around their home.” I replied, giving her a small bow of my own “She lives on the edge of the Everfree Forest, where she tends to various animals.”

“She must be a very brave pony, Leon-sama!” Sakura said, her voice full of awe, and I chuckled a bit.

“You could say that.” I replied with a small smile on my face, and we began to walk down the road towards Fluttershy’s house. After a moment, I noticed Sakura was holding a bag.

“What’s in the bag, Sakura?” I asked her to which she gave me a small smile.

“It is customary where I’m from to bring a gift when invited to someone else’s house; it’s our way of saying we appreciate and respect them for accepting us into their home.” She replied cheerfully.

As we approached, she looked at Fluttershy’s home curiously.

“I did not expect to be seeing so many… tiny houses around it.” Sakura said “I was thinking it would be full of training dummies and covered in weapons.”

“Nah, Fluttershy would faint in such an environment; she’s not really into conflict that much.” I replied with a chuckle and Sakura looked at me curiously.

“That’s… not what I had in mind.” She said, crestfallen, but then her face perked back up “its okay, her home looks so cute, I bet she’s a really nice pony.”

“Only a fool would bet against you, Sakura.” I laughed “Fluttershy’s a little timid, but she’s the kindest pony I know.”

When we got closer, I could see Fluttershy going from house to house giving food to the various animals that lived there. I called out to her and waved when she turned to look. She waved back at me, but then saw Sakura.

She flew over quickly and examined Sakura closely, causing the fox-girl to blush a little.

“Oh my, I’ve never seen somepony like you before; you must be an Inari Fox.” Fluttershy said, then turned her attention to me “Is she the friend you told me about?”

“Yeah. Fluttershy, this is Sakura; Sakura, meet Fluttershy. She takes care of the animals around Ponyville and provides veterinary and pet-sitting services for the ponies in town that have pets.” I replied.

“Ohayō gozaimasu, Flutter-san.” Sakura said, bowing politely to Fluttershy, causing the pegasus to blush.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sakura.” Fluttershy said, her voice quiet “Do you mind me asking what it is you do here, if that’s okay, I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to…”

Sakura smiled at Fluttershy “Of course, Flutter-san! I’m a receptionist for Aurora Hall, the new night club in town.”

“Oh my… are they treating you well there?” Fluttershy asked, her expression worried “I’ve heard those places can get a little… rough, sometimes…”

“Of course; Spectra-sama would never allow any of us to come to harm, and he makes absolutely sure to maintain as much order in his establishment as possible.” She replied happily, and I smiled to myself.

Sakura was about to say something else, but then suddenly remembered her bag. She gave a small squeak and hastily removed the item, placed it on the bag and held it out to Fluttershy with both hands. It was a rather ordinary looking melon, except that it looked very fresh.

“I’m sorry, Flutter-san! Honno o shirushi de gozai masu ga.” She said hurriedly, with a bow “I hope you’re not upset with me for not showing the proper respect…”

Fluttershy and I looked at her in genuine surprise. Fluttershy glanced at me curiously, to which I shrugged and inclined my head towards Sakura and after a moment’s hesitation, she reached a hand out to take the melon. I coughed, getting Fluttershy’s attention, and cupped my own hands together as if to say “both hands”. Fluttershy promptly raised her other hand and accepted the melon from Sakura, who looked extremely grateful.

“Thank you, Sakura, but you don’t have to be worried about upsetting me.” Fluttershy said, giving the fox-girl a sweet smile “Although this melon looks delicious. Would it be alright if we ate it with lunch?”

Sakura nodded and Fluttershy immediately flew inside to put it away. When she came back, she turned her attention to me.

“Now, Leon. You said you needed help getting Twilight a birthday present?” She asked me to which I nodded.

“Yes. I’ve listed off some ideas, like getting her a book or jewelry, but I keep running into a wall in regards to if she’ll actually appreciate it.” I said, blushing slightly and both girls giggled.

“Leon-sama, it doesn’t matter what you give her, as long as it comes from the heart.” Sakura replied and Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

“Sakura is correct, Leon. I’m sure that whatever you give her will be lovely and she’ll be happy with it because she knows you put so much thought into giving it to her.”

“Still…” I said, blushing “It wouldn’t hurt to have a general idea of something she’d like. I really want it to be special, because…” I stopped myself, realizing I was about to say ‘because she means so much to me’, but both girls giggled having caught it anyway.

“Well, I don’t know much about what Twilight likes, but I’ll tell you what I can.” Fluttershy said, giving me a gentle smile.

So Sakura and I spent a couple of hours talking to Fluttershy and helping her with some of her chores (Sakura turned out to be great with animals; the birds could scarcely leave her alone for more than a few seconds). Once everything was done she led us inside and served us tea, all the while talking to Sakura about where she’d come from.

Sakura spoke highly of her homeland, but was reluctant to talk about her time in Fillydelphia, saying only that she “never wanted to go back there”. Fortunately, she perked right back up as soon as she started talking about her job, giving a glowing report of her co-workers and her boss. I could tell she really, truly loved working at Aurora Hall and I understood how she felt a little. When you enjoy the job you do and the people you work with make you feel welcome, it starts to feel less like work.

Unfortunately, Fluttershy didn’t have any better ideas of what to get for Twilight, either so I was stuck on that point. Oh well, I still had a couple of weeks and I was gonna be spending more time with Twilight anyway, so maybe I could pick something up that way.

The day wasn’t a complete loss; Sakura was extremely happy to have made friends with Fluttershy, who told her she could come and visit the animals whenever she wanted because Sakura had been so good with them. She was also happy to get to hang out with me, perhaps the first real friend she’d made since coming to Ponyville.

However, as we were returning to town I heard a shrill scream and turned to see a baby carriage shooting straight toward a sharp drop-off at a frightening speed.

“Oh no, Leon-sama!” Sakura gasped, pointing at it “That poor foal is in terrible danger! We should do something!”

“We’ll never get there in time to stop it, Sakura.” I replied calmly, but I saw that the drop-off would send the carriage more-or-less towards us “Sakura, let’s fan out to either side and be ready to catch the carriage when it comes flying off the cliff. This might hurt a little, but-”

I was cut-off at the sight of a rainbow trail shooting towards the carriage, with Rainbow Dash grabbing the carriage and digging her hooves in. It took a second, but she was far enough away that the carriage managed to come to a stop inches before it would’ve fallen off.

The ponies that had gathered around us all cheered for Rainbow Dash, who looked sheepish for a moment before bowing and waving to the crowd, but then she looked in the carriage and gasped.

“Oh no!” She called out “There’s something wrong with the foal!”

There was a collective gasp from everypony around us (‘Oh hey, there’s Twilight and her gang, sans two pegasi.’ Nica stated casually and when I looked, there she was indeed. She caught my eye and waved while I tipped my hat to her).

“She’s not cheering for everypony’s favorite hero!” RD called out with a smile, holding the foal up high, which caused the crowd to cheer again.

Twilight and the others walked over to Sakura and I, with Twilight taking hold of my arm and drawing in close.

We saw Rainbow take the foal back to her mother, but just as she was handing her over, she caught sight of some photographers taking pictures of her and, to my great irritation, practically shoved the small foal into her mother’s arms, who gave Rainbow Dash a rather cross glare before walking off with her child. The cyan pegasus began striking various confidant poses for the photographers.

“There just aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe Rainbow Dash’s awesomeness!” Scootaloo stated, looking upon the pegasus with admiration while wearing a multi-colored wig.

“I can think of a few new ones.” Twilight piped in, her expression dubious.

“An' ah bet ‘modest’ ain’t one a’ them.” Applejack deadpanned, to which all but Pinkie nodded to in agreement.

“Well…” Twilight replied calmly “She is kind of awesome.”

There was something weirdly familiar about this scenario but I just didn’t know what it was. I shrugged and proceeded to introduce them all to Sakura, who seemed a little embarrassed to meet so many different ponies all at once (and was shaking nervously in the face of Pinkie Pie, though she seemed to like Rarity and Applejack quite a bit).

I decided it was probably just Rainbow Dash being Rainbow Dash and left it alone while I hung out with my friends.

Ch. 17: "What It Means To Be A Hero"

View Online

Chapter Seventeen
“What It Means To Be A Hero”

Okay, I was wrong about my previous statement.

Rainbow Dash was getting a big head from all the attention and it was starting to bug her friends.

She held an honest-to-God press conference in Sugarcube Corner, and had apparently “hired” Spike to write down every word she said (I think he took it a little too seriously, because he literally wrote down every word she said).

Twilight and Rarity came up with a plan to teach her some humility by having the girls all dress up as the same superhero.

Oh, right. It’s that episode.

Anyway, I agreed it was a brilliant plan and Rarity pulled them all aside to begin work on the outfits. Unfortunately, Sakura couldn’t be included in this endeavor because she was not a pony so I took the fox-girl home since it was starting to get late.

I bid her goodnight and returned to my own home, which was empty save for me and it reminded me of the way I used to live, going about each day the same way and watching as my world continued to spiral down into depravity.

But that was behind me now.

‘Doesn’t seem like it is.’ Nica said, her voice calm ‘It sounds like you feel sad for leaving it behind.’

“I suppose, in a way, I do…” I replied solemnly, sitting in my recliner and staring at my blank TV “At some point, the rage just turned to pity; my people forgot what it truly meant to be strong and they allowed corrupt individuals to determine how they should be living their lives and eventually complacency swallowed whatever desire people had to want to take their future back.”

‘Did you want to change it?’

“No.” I replied curtly “After what happened to my friend… I want nothing more to do with that world. They can burn in the Hell they created for themselves while I roast marshmallows.”

‘Wow, jeez. I thought you said your anger became pity; still looks like you’re pretty bitter, Leon.’

“Rage is fleeting, Nica. And while I pitied them, I also firmly believed they were unworthy of whatever aid I might’ve been able to provide when the system designed to protect people allowed psychopaths to walk free.”

‘What if the President were to walk in the front door right now, get on his hands and knees and beg for your forgiveness? Would you grant it and then try to help them?’

“No.”

‘Even if he offered you whatever your heart desired as compensation?’

“Even if he got God, Himself, to appear before me and bring my friend back from beyond, I’d still refuse. I will never forgive them for what they did and I will never help them.”

Nica grew silent, as though pondering what I’d told her.

‘Alright.’ Nica said ‘Perhaps you should call your marefriend over to ease your loneliness.’

“About that, Nica.” I said, bringing up a topic that’s been bugging me for a while “Why are you pushing so hard for Twilight and I to get… ‘intimate’?”

‘Because it’s plainly obvious you both want it, I just don’t understand why you keep insisting on holding back. What are you waiting for, Leon?’

I was quiet for a moment as I pondered the question. What was I waiting for? Or the better question, what was keeping me from going further in my relationship with Twilight? So far, the only times we’ve kissed is when she’s kissed me, it hasn’t been the other way, and I obviously have no problem with the whole “different species” thing.

“Because… I’m not sure if she actually likes me or if she just likes me because of him, and I’m afraid that if I do go further with her and it turns out she…” I let the question hang while my heart ached “I’m not sure I could handle it.”

I heard Nica give a deep sigh.

‘Okay. I’ll ease off of you about that.’ She replied and I gave a small smile.

“Thanks, Nica.”

‘You should go to bed early tonight, Leon. Tomorrow seems like it’s going to be busy.’

“Yeah… you’re right.” I replied and stood from my recliner, but stopped when Nica spoke up again.

‘You can’t be afraid forever, Leon… You’re going to have to confront this, one way or the other, so deal with it on your terms rather than someone else’s.’

I did not reply, instead nodding my head and continuing upstairs.

The next day, things in Ponyville became nuttier than a squirrel in a peanut factory. I’m still not certain how a balloon plummeting to the ground, a structure that was just beginning to be built collapsing and a dam nearly breaking all occurred within the span of a single day, but it did.

Anyway, the girls’ plan was working like a charm; Rainbow Dash was thoroughly pissed and ready to tear somepony’s head off. I was at “The Mysterious Mare-Do Well’s” award ceremony when Dash finally lost it.

So after attempting to confront Mare-Do Well about her true identity, she was lead on a merry chase through town and I was just barely able to keep up, though Pinkie in her costume always managed to keep me in the general area Dash was chasing them whenever they moved.

Eventually, Dash got a clever idea and caught Pinkie Pie unaware (Pinkie Sense covers a lot of things, but apparently not pissed-off Rainbow Dashes). The look on her face was priceless when she tore off the mask and saw the party pony’s sheepish grin.

With the charade revealed the girls all showed themselves and Dash’s jaw was practically dragging the ground and her eyes the size of the moon. I approached as well, since I didn't want to miss the whole encounter.

After a lengthy conversation on acting with grace and humility, she wrote a friendship report to Celestia and gave it to Twilight to deliver later (since both Spike and Pinkie Pie shot off when Rainbow Dash said something about a ghost). Just before she left, I caught a brief flash of regret come across her face.

“Are you ready to go, Leon?” Twilight asked me, to which I nodded (By the way; Anthro-Twilight in the Mare-Do Well costume? Way hot).

“Yeah, but I think I’m gonna go track down Rainbow Dash and talk to her for a moment.” I said, which garnered a surprised look from Twilight.

“What’s wrong?”

“I doubt she actually sprang back as easily as you’d like to think, Twi. She takes her pride very seriously and she’s also a bit of a sore loser.” I replied but I gave her a gentle smile “Don’t worry, I won’t be long.”

She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment, before nodding and turning to leave.

I proceeded to follow the direction I’d seen Dash fly off in, but I was still having trouble finding her. That is, until I saw Scootaloo staring in one particular direction and when I turned that way, I saw Rainbow Dash sitting on a hill by herself.

I approached calmly and sat down next to her, which got me a glance and nothing more.

“So… you knew?” She asked, her voice low and I nodded.

“Yep. I didn’t have any sort of hand in it, but I knew.”

She was quiet a moment before speaking again.

“Some hero I am, huh? I get attention and become a total stuck-up; I should’ve gone straight for that balloon as it was falling, but all I could think about was how awesome it’d be if I saved them at the last second that I…” She couldn’t finish the sentence and her eyes glistened slightly. I turned my head and made it seem that I didn’t notice “And that’s barely the start of my stupidity.”

“Hey Dash, you want some advice?” I asked her, but I didn’t turn my head to see if she’d nodded “A hero isn’t someone who’s never fallen. They aren’t shining examples of society or paragons of purity and justice; they are just as prone to mistakes as anybody else.”

“So what’s the point of being a hero if all you’re going to do is mess up?” She asked me quietly, and I turned my attention back to her.

“You do your best to avoid making that mistake again.” I stated “A hero is someone who continues fighting for what they believe in even if they make a mistake every step of the way. A hero may fall seven times, but they will always stand back up eight.”

Rainbow Dash looked at me, eyes wide in awe.

“Wow… that’s...” She said, but then looked away again “I don’t think I’m cut out to be a hero, though…”

“Says who, Dash?” I asked her, honestly confused “Last I checked, you’re an Element of Harmony; you helped defeat Nightmare Moon and turn her back into Princess Luna and you also brought an end to Discord’s chaos when he came back. I’d say that makes you a great hero.”

“Not really…” She replied, disbelief in her voice “With Nightmare Moon it was pretty much all Twilight, I didn’t do anything except fix a broken bridge. And Discord…” She looked away ashamed.

I stared at her for a second before looking behind me briefly, and an idea occurred to me.

“Well… if you don’t think you can be a hero to anyone else, at least be one to her.” I said, pointing behind RD, who glanced at me curiously before turning around to see Scootaloo looking at her with a worried expression on her face.

Rainbow Dash looked at the filly, who was still wearing her rainbow mane wig, thoughtfully for a minute before her face broke into smile and she stood up. She was about to walk away, but looked back at me.

“Thanks, Leon… I feel better now. And you’re right, I should definitely try to be a better role model for Scoots.” She said before hovering over to the filly and walking off with her into town, the two talking excitedly with each other, though Scootaloo looked back at me and smiled broadly before turning her attention back to Rainbow Dash.

I decided to continue sitting there and stare off into nothing, my mind thinking about the words I’d spoken to Dash. My thoughts were interrupted when someone took the spot Rainbow Dash had vacated. When I turned to look, I saw Twilight sitting next to me.

“I thought you went home, Twi.” I joked and she smiled at me.

“You continue to surprise me with your wisdom, Leon.” She said approvingly “You’re easily my age, yet you so often speak like you have as much experience as Princess Celestia… how do you do it?” I shrugged.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think in the past; I still do, really, but now I’ve got a constant second opinion with me and while she is also a constant pain in my ass… I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”

‘…Thank you, Leon.’

Twilight giggled, and I gave her a small smile.

“Anyway, I’m not that wise; I simply have a few nuggets packed away just in case.” I replied, ever modest.

“Leon… aren’t you ever going to acknowledge that you’re a great friend?” Twilight sighed, shaking her head, but there was still a smile on her face.

“Sorry, I just don’t like making myself seem like more than I am.” I replied with a sheepish grin “The complete polar opposite of Dash, I guess.”

And we continued sitting there, until my stomach began rumbling, signaling time for dinner.

“Well, today has been very eventful, but I think I’ll head on home.” I said and stood, though I didn’t go anywhere because Twilight had grabbed my arm.

“Do you want some company tonight, you seem… lonely.” She asked me with concern in her voice. I considered her offer, but I also thought back on what I’d told Nica the night before.

‘My suggestion is that you take a chance with her, but it’s up to you.’ Nica replied solemnly.

“Sure, Twi. But this time… you should stay in the guest bed tonight.” I said. She giggled at me and gave me a coy smile.

“If that’s what you want, but I could’ve sworn you enjoyed waking up with me next to you.” She teased, but it faded at my pained expression “Leon… what’s wrong? Did something happen earlier?”

I suppose it’s now or never.

“Twilight… I have a question for you, and I want you to answer me as honestly as you can.” I said, looking her straight in the eyes “Why are you dating me?”

She was more surprised than I’d ever seen her before. Her eyes blinked several times and her mouth moved as though trying to form words, but none came out. My heart sank at the realization.

“Is it... because of him?” I asked her, to which her face fell and she looked away from me.

“On second thought…” She said, and I felt a pang in my heart “I can’t stay with you tonight I… have some things I need to think about… I’m sorry.”

And before I could say anything, she teleported away. God... seeing that agonized expression on her face just killed me, but at the same time if she didn't love me for me, then my heart would only end up being completely shattered later. Better to get it out of the way now. Without another word I went home and made myself dinner.

That night, I lay in bed unable to sleep, remembering the conflicted expression on Twilight’s face.

‘She’ll be fine, Leon.’ Nica reassured me, for perhaps the hundredth time ‘Get some sleep or you’ll be wiped for tomorrow. You still have to get her a birthday present, after all.’

“Yeah… I know.” I murmured, before rolling over to sleep.

The next day, I went out to Sweet Apple Acres to see what work there was to be done. While I was there, Applejack asked if I knew what was going on with Twilight, because apparently her friends haven’t seen her that morning and she’d refused to see them, saying she needed to be alone while she thought about things.

I was half-tempted to go immediately to the library to try and get her out of there, but I chose not to, allowing Twilight to have her space so she could come to terms with her own feelings… for better or for worse.

Once the day was done, I returned home and showered after which I prepared a light dinner (Apple family food is surprisingly filling) and sat down with a copy of Daring Do, which I’d become addicted to after Twilight recommended it to me.

The next day, I ran various errands for various ponies (the most unusual was having to do Berry Punch’s grocery shopping because she was too hung over to do it herself). Rarity, on her way to the train station, expressed concern about Twilight, as she still hadn’t come out of the library. I reassured her that she was fine and that she just needed some time to herself.

After escorting the fashionista to the station and bidding her farewell, I stopped by Twilight’s favorite restaurant and picked up a daisy sandwich to go, which I dropped off with Spike at the library along with a message to Twilight saying she shouldn’t shut her friends out because of issues with me.

After which I’d returned home and took a nap before attending to various household chores and relaxing with more Daring Do.

It was the third day that something happened.

I’d spent the first half of the day helping Derpy with some packages that needed to be delivered to homes on the opposite end of her mail route, then helped Terra restock and reorganize the boutique (she made it extremely clear that I was not to go in Rarity’s workroom. At all. Period) and then I covered the register at Sugarcube Corner for a few hours while the Cakes tended to an emergency with their foals. It would’ve normally been Pinkie, but I volunteered so that she could focus exclusively on baking food.

Anyway, it was late at night and I was back home, again reading Daring Do. It was raining outside because a storm had been scheduled to run overnight.

I was just getting to a good part of the book when I heard a knocking at my door. I thought it was Vinyl, asking to crash again because she was too exhausted to make it home (I live closer to Aurora Hall than she does) but when I answered the door, I was surprised to see Twilight standing there, soaking wet.

“Twilight? Why are you knocking on my door, you usually teleport here.” I said, to which she gave me a pleading look.

“C-can I p-please come in?” She asked, her teeth chattering from the cold rain.

“Of course you can, Twi.” I replied, stepping aside so that she could step in.

I led her to the bathroom and ran hot water into the bathtub, and I told her to wait while I went and got her fresh clothes. She closed the door behind me and I went to the guest bedroom where she kept her spare clothes.

While she took a hot bath to shake the chill, I fixed a couple mugs of hot chocolate and was just setting them on the table when she walked in wearing her pajamas and toweling off her mane. She took a seat opposite me and stared at her mug quietly.

“What’s wrong, Twi?” I asked her, concerned “Why were you out in the rain when you could’ve teleported here?”

“Leon... I'm so sorry.”

At those words I froze. Wouldn't you after hearing the words most commonly used to bring bad news, like a break up. I sighed inwardly and braced myself for heartache.

“Leon, you... you were right to be worried about my motives...” She said with a sigh “I originally thought that... if we dated... I could pretend you were him. I thought it would hurt less, but... I realize now that it wouldn't be fair to you and I'd only end up hurting you in turn. So I went home the other day and I thought about... well, everything.”

I blinked in surprise and stared at her carefully, forgetting that I had a hot drink in front of me.

“And… the entire time I was thinking, I found my thoughts constantly went to you, not him, and so… I’ve come to a decision.” She said, mustering her courage “I’m finally willing to accept that what I had before is always going to be significant to me, but that it needs to remain in the past. I’ve decided… that I want to be with you, Leon.”

My mind froze for a moment, trying to process what she’d said. My heart skipped a beat and I felt lighter, but I still had one more question.

“Are you sure about this? I’m not a great hero like he was, nor do I think I’m able to be.” I asked, though she gave me an exasperated smile this time.

“I’m sure, Leon. You may not be a hero, but you are a good man and a great friend. Besides… I don’t need a hero; I need a companion, somepony who will be there for me when I need him to be.”

I stood from the table and walked over to her, and she stood as well. We stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before she started to reach a hand up to my face, but I caught it gently in my own and held it.

She looked at me confused, but I just gave her a small smile before leaning in close and giving her a kiss. She was surprised at first, but it faded quickly and we stood there, melting into each other. When we finally broke the kiss, we stared at each other calmly.

“Unless I’m mistaken…” Twilight said, a coy smile on her face “Isn’t this the part where the stallion tells the mare he loves her?”

“Maybe.” I replied with a small chuckle “But I want the first time I say those words to you to be special. Until then…” I kissed her lightly “You’ll have to settle for that.”

She giggled, but it turned into a yawn. At that I led her upstairs to the guest bedroom and laid her down in bed, telling her good night. I went to my own room and laid down in my own bed, but I couldn’t sleep. Twilight must’ve been feeling the same way because she cracked my door open and asked if she could sleep in my bed with me, to which I gave my consent.

She climbed in and we held each other while the storm raged outside, and only one thought went through my mind as the rain lulled me to sleep.

This was my world now… right here beside Twilight.

Ch. 18: "The Perfect Gift"

View Online

Chapter Eighteen
“The Perfect Gift”

I was starting to get frustrated by the fact that I still couldn’t decide on a birthday present for Twilight.

It was coming up in a few short days and even though she and I have been spending a lot more time together, I was no closer to a decision than before… at least until Spike made an offhand comment that morning saying that she’s recently been taking time out of her days to search the library for her missing Smartypants doll.

And it hit me; I had a good lead on where the doll might be. The trick was actually getting it.

‘Ooo, Big Mac vs. Leon, battle for the ages!’ Nica exclaimed ‘Oh this is gonna be awesome!’

I didn’t reply, instead giving Twilight a quick kiss before slipping out of the library to go to the farm. As I approached, I ran into Applejack.

“Well, howdy there, partner!” She said “Sorry, Leon, we ain’t got any work fer ya today; yer just gonna have ta come back tomorrow.”

“That’s alright, AJ. I’m actually here to see Big Macintosh. You know where he is?”

She put a hand up to her chin in thought.

“Big Mac? Well, Ah reckon he’s over at the barn coolin’ his hooves fer a spell. If’n ya hurry ya just might catch ‘im.”

“Thanks, AJ. I’ll be sure to come by later to give you all a hand.” I said as I jogged past her towards said building.

Sure enough, the big red workhorse walked out just as I got there (and trust me, he’s big; easily as tall as Spectra, but with a lot more muscle). I whistled to catch his attention and waved him over.

“Howdy Leon.” He drawled, nodding to me “If’n ya come ta see AJ ‘bout work, ya just missed her, not that it matters, we don’t need any help today.”

“That’s alright, I ran into her on the way in and she already told me.” I replied, waving a hand dismissively “I’m actually here to see you, Mac, because I’ve got a question for you.”

“Eeyup?” He said, giving me a curious look.

“Where’s the doll?”

The question struck him dumb, the bit of hay he perpetually held in his mouth falling out. He stared calmly at me before answering my question.

“Nnope.”

“Big Mac, the doll belongs to Twilight and I want to give it back to her on her birthday.” I stated, crossing my arms over my chest and digging my heels in “So we’re gonna do this one of two ways, easy or hard. Take your pick, bud.”

Okay, I’m just gonna say this is probably the single dumbest idea I’ve ever had. Sure, in a fight I had speed over Big Mac, but he had strength and stamina; my attacks will probably be little more than annoyances to him. Plus, I wasn’t any more eager to get into a brawl with Big Mac than I was with Applejack... though between the two, I’d take Mac.

“Nnope.” Was his response and then he began to walk back towards the field of trees.

I sighed, drew in some energy and threw a small fireball that exploded at Big Mac’s hooves. He stopped, turned very calmly towards me and stared.

“You either give me the doll, Mac, or I make you give it to me.” I stated, drawing in more energy and causing my hands to crackle with electricity “One way or the other, I’m not leaving without it.”

Okay, I’m gonna be very honest here; I don’t have nearly the amount of magical muscle that I want to portray to Big Mac and I probably never will; this was mostly a bluff to make him think I was serious.

We stared at each other for a moment, waiting for the other to make the first move. It was like a weird high-noon standoff, me standing there with lightning crackling along my forearms like what’s-his-face from inFamous and Big Mac standing across from me with his thousand yard stare. Sweat trickled down my brow as I prepped to launch into action at the drop of a hat.

And then… we both broke out laughing. ‘WHAT?! Not cool, Leon, totally not cool!’

“Alright, Leon.” Big Mac said with a huge grin “Wait here a moment while Ah go n’ fetch it fer ya.”

“Thanks, Mac.” I replied grinning as well “I owe you big time for this.”

And so he walked back to the house and went inside while I dispersed the built up energy into the air, resulting in a dazzling display of electricity.

‘Way to ruin my day, Leon…’ Nica huffed inside my head ‘Tell me your great birthday plan is not to give Twilight her own damn doll back, because if it is you may as well go back to the hallmark card idea.’

Actually, I now had a brilliant idea for what to give Twilight for her birthday. I took out my phone and called Rarity.

I had to call her twice before she finally answered.

“Leon, darling, while I appreciate your enthusiasm you interrupted me while I was ‘in the zone’ as it were.” She sighed irritably, and I winced.

“Sorry, Rarity, but I finally have an idea of what to give Twilight for her birthday.”

“Truly? Oh, that’s wonderful!” She exclaimed excitedly “You absolutely must tell me!”

“Even better; I’ll need your help with it. But I’d like to keep it just between us, okay Rarity?”

“You have my word, Leon, just tell me what you need.”

And so I explained my whole plan to her, and she sighed appreciatively.

“Oh that sounds positively romantic, darling. You’ll sweep her off her hooves, of that I’m certain.”

“Thanks.” I said with a blush “So can you help me with the other part of my gift?”

“Absolutely. I was actually planning on heading out this morning for some materials I’m missing for Twilight’s dress.”

“Thanks, Rarity; I owe you big time for this.”

“Nonsense, this is important to you and what sort of friend would I be if I didn’t help you in any way possible? Now if you will excuse me, I am rather busy today and I must be off. It was good of you to call and please give Terra my regards; see all of you in a few days!”

“See you, Rarity, and thanks again.” I said and we hung up. Big Mac returned at that moment with Twilight’s doll.

“Ta tell ya the truth, Ah had no idea it belonged ta Twilight.” He said, giving me a sheepish grin “Ah tell ya, the day Ah found that was strange, ta say the least.”

‘I bet it was.’ Nica snickered.

“Around here? Strange seems fairly normal, don’t you think?” I chuckled, which he returned.

“Ah s’pose so. Did ya need anythin’ else?” Big Mac asked, to which I shook my head “Alright. Take care a’ yerself, Leon, and take care a’ her as well.”

“You too, Big Mac, and I will.” I replied and began to walk back into town.

I stopped by a gift store and asked for a box big enough to hold the doll, which the mare working the register was all too happy to help me find. Once I had that and some magenta and violet ribbons, I took it home and hid everything in my closet.

Then I called Vinyl.

“Hey, brony!” She answered after a couple of rings “Haven’t heard from ya in a while and everyone’s missin’ ya at the club. How ya been, man?”

“I’m good, babe. I actually need your help with something.”

“I’m on it.”

“… Vinyl, I haven’t even told you what it is yet.”

“You can tell me when I get there… You are at home, right, and not with Twilight?”

“What if I am with her?”

“Dude, why are you talking about her birthday when she’s right there?”

“How could you possibly know that’s what I’m talking about, Vinyl? For all you know, I could be talking about Cupcake Day at Sugarcube Corner!”

“That’s a great idea, Leon!” Pinkie’s voice chirped from my phone “When’s a good day to have it?”

“Pinkie, how did… never mind, get off the line so that Vinyl and I can talk privately, please?”

“Okie dokie lokie!”

I waited a moment before speaking again.

“That was weird, even by her standards. Okay, yes I’m at home.”

“By yourself?”

“Yes, by myself.”

“Great. I’m on my way.” And she hung up on me.

About ten minutes later, Vinyl waltzed into my home like she owned the damn place.

“Alright, brony, whatcha need help with?” She asked, grinning.

I explained to her what I needed and she frowned.

“Oh… yeah, I probably should’ve heard ya out over the phone; all my mixing equipment’s back home.”

“Can you do it, Vinyl?” I asked her to which she grinned and gave me a thumbs up.

“You bet your sweet flank I can; I’d be a pretty weak DJ if I couldn’t.” She replied confidently “And besides, what you’re askin’ for is foal’s play. I’ll have it ready for ya ASAP.”

“Thanks, babe, I owe you for this.” I said, but she shook her head.

“Nah, man, you’re my friend and I’m more than happy to do this for you. You just be sure and learn the lyrics for this song or else you’ll just end up looking like a fool.”

“Thanks, Vinyl.” I said, bumping fists with her “Though if it’s at all possible, I’d like you to keep what you’re doing to yourself; I want it to be a surprise.”

“My lips are sealed, brony.” She replied, drawing her fingers across her mouth to emphasize the point.

“Although…” I said, giving Vinyl a conspiratorial look “I wouldn’t blame you if a certain cellist manages to… ‘convince’ you to spill the beans.” I finished with a wink.

She looked like she was about to reassure me that she wouldn’t say anything, but then the meaning of my words hit her and she grinned.

“Well, you know how it is.” She replied, giving me a wink as well “I never could resist her when she asks ‘nicely’.”

We both laughed and then she left after we exchanged our normal hug (arm clasp, shoulder bump and back pat and a shiver from the contact my skin had with her fur). I went back to the library and asked Twilight out on an official date that didn’t involve being press-ganged by our friends. We went to a nice movie, followed by dinner at a nice restaurant and afterwards we hung out at her place and talked.

The next day, I visited Terra at the boutique and told her my idea.

“That’s so romantic, Leon!” She exclaimed “I’m glad you’ve found someone special enough to be worth the effort.”

“Thanks, Terra.” I replied, blushing “But it was never a question of if she was worth the effort; I personally want it to be special for her.”

“Well, I think it will be.” Terra said with a sweet smile “She’ll know exactly how much you care about her afterwards. Have you told the others yet?”

“Only Rarity, and Vinyl only knows about a small part. I’d like to keep this a secret from Twilight until her birthday and if too many ponies are aware of it, it increases the odds my gift will lose significant meaning.”

“You don’t think they can keep a secret?” She asked me to which I shrugged.

“No offense to them, but they have difficulty staying silent under pressure.” I replied sheepishly “You and Rarity are the only ones I can count on to keep something like this under wraps, and this is considering Rarity is a rather notorious gossip.”

She considered me carefully for a second before nodding.

“Alright, Leon. I won’t speak a word of it.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.” I said, smiling “Are you doing okay here? You don’t need anything, do you?”

Terra gave me a sweet smile, but shook her head “No, I have everything I need and the boutique is well stocked. Thank you for asking, though.”

I nodded and we bid each other a good day and I left to practice for Twilight’s birthday.

I just hoped Rarity would come through for me.

Ch. 19: "Embracing Love Eternal"

View Online

Chapter Nineteen
“Embracing Love Eternal”

Vinyl got me what I needed pretty quick, like she said she would (I actually got it before I told Terra what my plan for Twilight was), however Rarity seemed to be dragging her hooves and it was starting to irritate me.

It was the day before that Twilight received a message from Rarity saying that she couldn’t return to Ponyville for her birthday and that she was terribly sorry. As soon as I heard that, I knew immediately what was going on and groaned inwardly; she was gonna ruin everything I had planned, not to mention she has most likely done next to nothing on Twilight’s dress.

However, Twilight came up with the brilliant idea to surprise her by holding the party in Canterlot and that we were to leave the next morning. Just before I could head out, she pulled me into a separate room in the library.

“Hey, what’s wrong, Twi?” I asked her, to which she shuffled nervously.

“Leon, I wanted to ask…” She began “Would you… mind staying a couple of days longer in Canterlot with me?”

“You want me to meet your family.” She nodded “Of course, Twi. I’d be honored.”

A huge smile spread across Twilight’s face and she threw her arms around me and kissed me.

“Oh, thank you!” She exclaimed, crushing me in a hug “I knew you’d like to meet them, but I didn’t want to spring it on you when we got there.”

“Twi…” I said calmly “If you had told me nothing, I would’ve thought meeting your family to be a wonderful surprise. It’s a good thing you didn’t, though; you should be the only one surprised on your birthday weekend.”

Her eyes glittered with pleasure and she gave me a coy smile “Does this mean I can expect a splendid birthday present from you, Leon?”

“Maybe…” I said softly, and leaned in close to whisper in her ear, which twitched at my proximity “But before that can happen, I’ve gotta go home and make sure everything is ready, and I can’t do that while you’ve got me imprisoned in your kitchen.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to leave.” She whispered in return, rubbing her nose against mine and I shivered with pleasure at the touch “Maybe I want you to stay with me today and tomorrow we can go to the train station together.”

“How about this.” I replied, pulling back so that I could look her in her beautiful eyes “I’ll go home and make sure everything is packed and ready to go, then I’ll come back here and we can spend the day together, deal?”

“Oh alright, it’s a deal.” She said in mock disapproval “But I expect you back here immediately.”

“Be back before you even realize I’d left.”

And with one final kiss, we parted ways and I returned home to make sure everything was in order.

‘You’re just a charmer, aren’t you, Leon?’ Nica teased once I got there.

“You’ve been awfully quiet lately; something on your mind?”

‘Oh, that’s funny, considering that the only one between us with a physical brain is you.’ She replied dryly ‘But seriously, you and Twilight are getting pretty serious; neither of you are hiding the fact that you’re together and she’s taking you to see her parents soon. Next thing we know, you’ll be popping the question.’

“I think it’s a little early for that, Nica.” I said as I went upstairs to pack “Right now, I’m just focused on Twi’s birthday; everything else has been filed firmly in the ‘Deal with later’ basket.”

‘About that, you sure you’re gonna be up to the last part?’

“You’re the one in my head, Nica; you tell me.”

‘…I’d rather you talked about it.’

I stopped what I was doing and stared off into space curiously.

“I thought you were always sifting through my mind, Nica.”

She didn’t respond for a little while.

‘I’ve… stopped doing that.’ Nica said, her voice low.

“Really? You must be extremely bored if that’s the case.”

‘Allow me to rephrase; I’ve stopped looking at things that are important to you or that you wish to keep private.’

“Veronica… you’re essentially me, you’re just as privy to those thoughts as I am. If anything I value your input on them.” I said calmly, but I suddenly got an aggressive feeling from her.

‘Maybe I am, but at the same time I’m not.’ She replied forcefully ‘I shouldn’t stick my nose into things that aren’t my business.’

I stopped everything I was doing and sat on my bed.

“Veronica… what’s wrong?”

‘…It’s nothing, Leon.’

“Veronica, don’t lie to me, I can tell something’s bothering you.” I said, but all I got was stony silence.

After a moment, I sighed and went back to work, eventually finishing.

“Please don’t shut me out, Nica…” I said quietly “You’re probably the best friend I have and I’m worried about you.”

Again, more stony silence, but I got the feeling she’d wanted to say something.

I returned to the library half an hour later, and Twilight and I never left each other’s side for the rest of the afternoon (we even slept in her bed together). The next day, she sent a message to Celestia and we set out to Canterlot. Terra and the girls were confused as to why Twilight and I had suitcases but then they all broke out in knowing smiles when we said we were staying a couple of days longer.

We arrived in Canterlot and immediately set out for the room Celestia had set aside for Rarity’s use during her visit while some castle servants took Twilight and I’s luggage to a room we’d be sharing and caught the fashionista just as she was heading out.

The girls all yelled “Surprise” while she stared at all of us stunned before fainting.

Rarity was out for only a few minutes, but we had to endure Pinkie’s rambling the entire time. We only knew the fashionista had come to when Pinkie had greeted her excitedly. Rarity made a few attempts to speak, but apparently several questions were trying to shove their way out at the same time.

“Listen to ‘er.” Applejack stated with a smile “She’s so excited ta see us she can hardly talk!”

“What I mean to say is; what are you all doing here?” Rarity finally managed to say, and Twilight stepped up to the plate.

“When I got your letter saying you were stuck in Canterlot, I asked Pinkie Pie if it would be okay to move my birthday party here, so that you wouldn’t have to miss it.”

“Balloons are super easy to pack!” The party pony chimed in, pulling up a briefcase and opening it to release a small swarm of the inflatables.

“Wow…” Rarity said breathlessly “First you get me a suite at Canterlot Castle and now this? I don’t know what to say, Twilight.”

“How ‘bout you start by saying what you’re doing in the fancy get-up?” Rainbow Dash said, tugging at Rarity's dress. The fashionista slapped her hands away.

“This?” The fashionista sputtered “Uh… well, I...”

She faltered for a moment under the curious stares of her friends (and paled slightly under my disapproving glare).

“Oh, well... Opal's feeling a little under the weather so I thought I'd put on something a little sunny.” She said hurriedly, glancing at all of us “Cheers her right up!” She chuckled in an over-exaggerated manner.

“Oh, poor Opal…” Fluttershy said sympathetically (I wanted to face-palm, but I didn’t want a more obvious display of my annoyance than my glare) “Where is the sick darling?”

Fluttershy attempted to move past Rarity to go see Opalescence, but the fashionista prevented her from entering.

“Um, she’s…” Rarity began, but then grabbed the door “Please wait a moment.” And she slammed it shut.

“Anypony else think Rare’s actin’ a little… strange, today?” Applejack asked, to which there were several nods. Twilight saw my stern expression and leaned in close to me.

“Leon, do you know what’s going on with Rarity?” She asked, to which I shrugged.

“Maybe, but if it’s what I think it is, this is something she’ll have to learn the hard way.” I looked at her and smiled warmly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and squeezing lightly “Don’t worry about it, Twi; today is for you. Let trouble be far from your mind.”

She leaned in and nuzzled the side of my neck, which caused me to shiver “I’m glad you’re here, Leon…”

The other girls gave appreciative sighs save for Rainbow Dash, who made a retching sound and pointed a finger in her mouth. I also thought I heard Nica make a strange huffing sound, but I set that aside for later observation.

Rarity came back at that time and stepped aside to admit us in.

“She’s resting on the bed.” Rarity said, a false grin on her face.

Fluttershy shot past her at a speed Rainbow Dash would be proud of, while the rest of us walked calmly in. I looked around at the grand suite and saw a ponnequin set up in a separate section of the room that had a rather… simple looking dress on it.

“Is… that my dress?” Twilight asked, moving closer to examine it.

“Y-yes?” Rarity replied, hesitantly.

“It’s so… simple. So practical…” Twilight said, before spinning around and giving Rarity a radiant smile “So ME, it’s the perfect dress for my birthday party!” She grabbed the fashionista in a fierce hug “I love it!”

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief “You don’t know how glad I am to hear you say that.” She said as she casually flicked a piece of parchment with a dress design into the nearby waste bin.

“I’m so excited; I’m going to go put it on now!” Twilight said excitedly, turning to me “Coming, Leon?”

“You go on ahead, Twi, I need to talk to Rarity about something.” I replied, giving her a smile and a peck on her lips “I’ll catch up.”

And so they left once I’d managed to pry Fluttershy away from Opal by insisting that she was fine (also murmuring a sincere apology to the offended feline), though Terra did give Rarity a questioning look before leaving as well. Once they were gone, I turned a severe glare towards the fashionista, who shifted uncomfortably.

“Well… it appears you and Twilight are getting along quite nicely.” She said in an attempt to be conversational “I would love to hear the details if you-”

“Please tell me you got what I asked you for.” I said coldly, and she flinched slightly.

“Of course I did, darling, did you not think I would?” She replied, slightly defensive, and levitated a small and thin box from a nearby dresser into my hands.

I opened it and breathed a sigh of relief. Inside it was a beautiful golden locket, with a ruby and diamonds in the center cut to look like Twilight’s cutie mark. I opened the locket, even though I knew it was going to be empty.

“Thank you, Rarity.” I said, pulling out my wallet and handing her the compensation for her efforts, which she took hesitantly “I’ll be honest, I was actually a little scared that you’ve been too… distracted, to get it.”

Her ears drooped when I said that, and she looked away.

“So you are aware of my activities…” She said, her voice low “I'm truly sorry, Leon… I should’ve sent you a message saying I had it, I did not mean to worry you.”

“Its okay, Rarity, I’m now more concerned about you.” I said as I walked over to the bin and picked up the dress design “I don’t think that dress was what you’d intended to give Twilight for her birthday.”

“Yes, it’s true…” She sighed, taking the design from me and replacing it on the stand it’d been on earlier “It’s just… I’ve always wished to experience the life of the Canterlot Elite and then one thing led to another and…”

“Rarity.” I said, putting a hand on her shoulder “Whatever happens later, don’t lose sight of what’s truly important to you. Canterlot may like you now, but your friends will still love you tomorrow.”

She gave me a small smile and a light hug.

“Thank you, Leon. Twilight is truly a lucky mare to have somepony so wise and caring.” She said, and then gave a small cough “I believe we should be on our way, both of us have places to be after all.”

“Yep.” I replied with a chuckle but took one last glance at the design “For the record, Rarity, I can’t imagine Twilight wearing that many feathers. No offense.”

She giggled lightly “No, I suppose not. I really have no idea what I was thinking with that design.”

The party wasn’t for a couple more hours, so I asked one of the guards to take me to the room Twilight and I was staying in and wrapped my gift for her. I also changed into a variation of the outfit Rarity had made for me, the difference being that the shirt had longer sleeves and I did not wear the hat, glasses or gloves. Once that was done, I left the room and met up with the girls at the ballroom, which Pinkie Pie had already finished decorating with her hostile takeover (and trust me, she can get hostile when it comes to her parties). I was particularly impressed when Pinkie pulled out her infamous cannon and with a smack of her hand, decorated a table in one swift blast.

Just before I got there, I noticed a garden party going on outside and I grimaced, because Rarity was probably going to attempt to divide her time between both parties. Hell, I caught her looking longingly out a window after Twilight was done explaining how they got the ballroom.

Anyway, the birthday party was crazy and the girls were having a blast. I was fortunate to get a piece of the birthday cake before Rainbow Dash started throwing it at the others, who promptly ganged up on her and shoved what remained in her face, laughing.

It was around the time they started the conga line that I noticed Rarity slip out to the garden party. I sighed disapprovingly, but left it alone. As the party went on, I continued to watch her dart back and forth between both parties (though I missed it when she left during the piñata part because Twilight had been swinging her stick wildly while blindfolded and smacked me in my eye), making up some excuse to leave each time.

Eventually Rarity slipped up.

“Miss Rarity, why do you have a croquet mallet?” Terra asked, to which the fashionista gave her a weary look.

“What croquet mallet, darling?” Rarity replied, exhausted.

“Duh.” Rainbow said, pointing to the very obvious mallet in the fashionista’s possession “The one in your hands.”

Rarity’s eyes became instantly alert and she dropped the mallet with a nervous laugh.

“Oh, that croquet mallet!” She exclaimed “I… well, I… you know, the truth is… the truth is…”

“Were you at that other party in the garden?” Twilight asked quizzically, and I shook my head sadly.

‘Congratulations, another brilliant observation from the Stating-The-Obvious Department.’ Nica piped up, though her voice sounded somewhat flatter than normal.

Are you ready to talk? ‘… There’s nothing to talk about.’

I sighed and turned my attention back to the girls, noticing Pinkie give me a worried look. I shook my head and gave her a small smile, which she returned after a moment.

Anyway, Rarity made some sounds like she was trying to come up with a good excuse, but Twilight continued speaking.

“Rarity, I’m surprised at you.” She said, and Rarity practically threw herself at Twilight’s hooves.

“Twilight, let me explain, I-” Rarity began, but Twilight interrupted her.

“I hadn’t realized you were such a savvy business pony.” She said, and I sighed exasperated. At the same time, I got the feeling like Nica had wanted to say something, but had caught herself at the last minute.

“You must understand, I-” Rarity wailed, but then her eyes popped open and she stared at Twilight in confusion and the unicorn continued.

“All of those ponies look so posh, and with the Grand Galloping Gala coming up, I bet you could convince some of them to buy your dresses; that’s pretty smart!”

“W- why, yes!” Rarity exclaimed, relieved “I… I didn’t want you to think I was being rude, so that’s exactly the reason I didn’t tell you. O-one and only reason!” She finished with a nervous laugh, though she made a point of avoiding my gaze.

“Oh, well. You didn’t have to do that.” Twilight said with an understanding (and totally clueless) smile “You should totally go over there and mingle!”

“Twilight, you really are the best friend a pony could ask for.” Rarity said, giving Twilight a warm hug “I don’t know why I ever thought you wouldn’t understand.”

“Understand what?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Nothing. See you girls later!” Rarity said as she dashed off.

Rainbow Dash looked like she had an idea, but I beat her to it.

“One moment, Rarity.” I called out, which caused her to stop and look at me curiously “Since we’re your friends, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if we tagged along… right?”

If looks could kill, I would’ve been slain on the spot.

“Yeah, he’s got a point.” Dash said, also giving me a slightly irritated glance “C’mon, girls; let’s show ‘em how to party, Ponyville Style!”

And the girls all but stampeded out towards the garden party, with Pinkie pushing her party cannon along with her. I stopped as I reached Rarity and gave her a smug look.

“What are you planning, Leon?” She asked, narrowing her eyes threateningly at me.

“Crashing one party with another and laughing at the resulting chaos. Discord would be so proud.”

“What?! Why would you do that to me?!” Rarity exclaimed and I turned a shark-like smile to her as a loud boom came in from the garden.

“I don’t think I have time to explain, Rarity; it sounds like Pinkie has already discharged her cannon.”

“Oh no!” The fashionista gasped and ran outside, while I followed her at a leisurely pace.

It was all I could not to laugh as the girls proceeded to wreck the entire thing (save for Rarity, who just stared in absolute horror). I allowed myself an amused smile, though I winced when I saw Twilight doing a “dance” that would’ve made The Shepard look like the greatest dance move in history.

It all came to a head when a white stallion with a blue mane, tail and moustache wearing a very expensive-looking suit and a monocle in his left eye approached Twilight about her dress, and Rarity all but fell over herself to intervene. Unfortunately for her, the stallion was very insistent to learn about Twilight’s dress despite the fashionista’s attempts to divert his attention. Eventually Rarity was put on the spot when Twilight told her that she and her friends loved the dress she’d made, which got a gasp from the gathered Canterlot Elite, save for the stallion who just looked at Rarity curiously.

Though after a moment of indecision, the fashionista made me proud when she stated firmly that she did indeed know us and that we were her best friends and the most important individuals she knew, which most of the Elite scoffed at.

They stopped when the white stallion gave his approval, which garnered several orders for the dress Twilight was wearing. While all that was going on, I walked up next to the stallion to speak to him.

“Thank you for speaking up for my friends.” I said, which caused him to turn a confident smile towards me.

“Think nothing of it, good sir, what I said was the honest truth.” He replied and held out a hand which I shook firmly “I don’t believe we’ve met, my name is Fancy Pants.”

“I’m Leon, one of Rarity’s friends.” I replied smiling, then glanced at Twilight “And coltfriend of the birthday mare wearing the lovely dress.”

His smile widened and he patted my shoulder in a friendly manner.

“Well done, chap, she is a beautiful mare and I think the two of you make a positively charming couple.” He exclaimed, which began a new series of congratulations for both me and Twilight, causing both of us to blush “And I must say, your current attire makes you look quite handsome, if I do say so myself.”

“Oh, that's kind of you to say, sir.” I replied with a blush as Twilight wandered over to me.

“Please, call me ‘Fancy Pants’.” He replied cheerfully “I only go by ‘sir’ when I'm conducting business. If you don’t mind me asking, what in Celestia’s name happened to your eye, Leon?”

“Not at all, Fancy Pants.” I said with a sheepish smile “I got into a fight with a stick and lost.”

We both laughed while Twilight blushed slightly, but then Rarity managed to squeeze out from the other ponies and join us, with Fancy Pants giving an unamused look at two ponies who’d bonked their heads together when the fashionista had left.

“Uh… yes, now then.” He said, turning to Rarity “How about you introduce me to your friends?”

“With pleasure!” Rarity exclaimed, but I coughed and got all of their attention.

“Sorry, you’ll have to do that without this one.” I said, drawing Twilight in close “I have a gift to give her and it’s… a private affair, if you catch my meaning.”

“Yes, of course, my friend.” Fancy Pants replied with a smile “A gift from one’s lover requires a special setting. It was a pleasure to meet you, Leon. I pray we meet each other again soon.”

I nodded and led Twilight back into the ballroom, waving at a rather annoyed Octavia as I did. Twilight winced when she saw her and gave the cellist an apologetic smile. I picked up her present and I continued to lead her to a different part of the gardens, stopping by a still pond that reflected the evening sky. Once there, I handed the box to her.

“Oh, Leon, it looks lovely.” She said, and then carefully pulled the ribbons off and opened the lid, gasping at the contents “My Smartypants doll! But… I’ve been searching everywhere for it, how did-” but I put finger to her lips to silence her.

“Spoilers, Twi.” I replied quietly “Besides… she came up with the idea for your present; she even offered to hold it for me.”

At that she looked down at the doll and saw that its front legs were wrapped around the small box with the locket, which she also gasped at when she opened it.

“Leon… it’s beautiful…” She said, and then she hugged me gently “I love it, thank you.”

We shared a kiss then, but I broke it off before too long.

“I have one last thing to give you.” I said and removed my iPod with my portable stereo unit, plugging one into the other and setting up the track I needed “Twilight. I never usually sing for anyone, but tonight; I’ll sing only for you. I apologize in advance; I’m not really good at it.”

I then played the track (Last Night On Earth - Green Day; Vocals removed), took her hand and positioned myself to dance and she replicated my action. As we swayed gently to the music, I began to sing.

I sang and we danced, just the two of us. Nothing else existed for just those few moments and I felt as if our hearts were beating together as one.

As the music closed, we stopped and stared into each other’s eyes and I felt that she and I were the only two souls of any sort of importance on the whole planet. I placed a hand gently on her cheek and leaned in close.

“Twilight Sparkle…” I said, staring intently into her eyes “Even though it was completely unexpected, coming here has been the best the thing that could’ve ever happened to me… mostly because I met you. I love you.”

“I feel the exact same way, Leon…” She murmured “I love you, too.”

And with that, our lips connected, I felt hers part and her tongue teased my own lips, asking for entry to which I granted access and we lost ourselves in it until we had to part for air. We kissed again, but it didn’t last as long before our lips parted once more.

“Leon, do you want to… ‘retire’ for the evening?” She asked quietly, her eyes glowing softly in the evening light.

“That sounds like a great idea, Twi.” I replied with a warm smile.

I gathered up my iPod and speaker while Twilight put the doll and necklace back in the larger box, before taking my hand and teleporting us back to our room where we spent the night being…

Very intimate.

Ch. 20: "What Friends Are For"

View Online

Chapter Twenty
“What Friends Are For”

I became aware that I was standing in a grassy field (which was odd, considering I knew for a fact that I’d fallen asleep with Twilight after we’d been ‘intimate’, but honestly I’ve gotten used to this crap by now).

I looked around and quickly discovered Princess Luna was standing at the top of a nearby hill. She turned and beckoned me over.

“Greetings, Leon.” She said as I approached “I am terribly sorry to draw you away from Twilight during such a… personal moment, but Pinkie Pie sent my sister and I a message saying that Veronica was upset and that she wasn’t talking to you.”

“Yeah…” I sighed “She’s been… surly and has barely spoken more than a few words to me. I’m concerned that I may have said or done something to offend her. Thank you for helping me, and I’ll be sure to thank Pinkie for getting a message to you.”

“Think nothing of it, Leon; let us focus on the more pressing matters at hand.”

“Actually, I have a favor to ask.” I said, stopping her before we could go further “Can you bring Twilight here?”

Luna looked at me stunned.

“Leon, do you know what you are asking of me?” She asked and I nodded.

“Yes. I don’t want to deal with some personal issue and have Twilight find out about it secondhand, if at all; I’d like her to be involved.” I stated resolutely, and Luna nodded.

She closed her eyes and her horn glowed. Twilight materialized next to me and both ponies opened their eyes, while my marefriend looked around in confusion.

“Huh?” She said and then noticed I was standing next to her “Leon? Where are we and what are we doing here?”

I gestured to Luna and Twilight gave a polite bow, with Luna nodding in return.

“Anyway, to answer your question, Twi, we’re accessing my mind through the Dreamscape.” I said “Veronica is acting strange and I wanted to talk to her about it, see if I can help her. The reason you’re here is because I would like your help.”

“Do you actually need my help?” She asked, to which I chuckled lightly.

“Need? No, I don’t need your help; I want your help.” I replied, drawing her in close and kissing her.

Luna let out an appreciative sigh, but then coughed lightly. We both gave her a sheepish grin and separated.

“Ahem, yes. Back to the situation.” I said, and looked around at the landscape “Veronica is… there.”

I pointed at a rather familiar house sitting by its lonesome in the vast field of gently waving grass and rolling hills. Both mares gave me an inquisitive look, but I nodded and started towards the house.

We got within twenty yards of it when Nica’s voice rang out across the plains, causing us to stop in our tracks.

“What are you doing here, Leon? And why did you bring them with you?” Her voice was low and somewhat… sad.

“We’re worried about you, Nica.” I called out gently “We just want to talk and try to help you.”

She gave out an irritated growl “I’ve already told you there’s nothing wrong, just leave me alone already.”

“Nica, you’ve been lacking in your normal enthusiasm and you’re avoiding me.” I countered “Anyone with half a brain can tell something’s wrong, so just talk to me already.”

“… I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fine.” I said, and proceeded to sit down on the grass “But I’m not moving from this spot until you do want to talk about it.”

“Leon, don’t be stupid, go back to the Waking World and don’t worry about me.” She snapped, though it was half-hearted.

“Nope.” I said, and then turned to Luna and Twilight “Hey, you two feel like a picnic? It’s a great day in here.”

“Leon, stop it right this instant!” Nica yelled at me, but I ignored her, instead conjuring a picnic blanket and basket with a snap of my fingers. Luna and Twilight both sat down on the blanket and we had a nice little chat about nothing while eating delicious dream sandwiches and drinking delicious dream lemonade.

“Don’t ignore me, Leon, stop what you’re doing right now and go away!” Nica roared furiously, but to no avail.

After a few more minutes of this, she finally snapped.

“Fine! You want to talk? Let’s talk!” She yelled and then we found ourselves inside a perfect copy of my bedroom from my world, except everything was a little more girly than normal and a wall scroll of the mural hung on one wall by itself.

Veronica, herself, was sitting in the bed glaring daggers at us. However, I noticed her eyes were slightly red, like she’d been crying recently.

“You’re an asshole, Leon!” She snapped immediately, but I shrugged calmly.

“I guess we know where you get it from, then.”

Her eyes narrowed threateningly “Did you come here just to trade insults or did you want to talk about something? Make it fast, I’m not in a mood to entertain guests.”

“Nica… what’s wrong?” I asked her calmly, but she huffed and looked away.

“Absolutely nothing. There, you mind leaving now?” She snapped irritably, but I merely crossed my arms and stared at her.

“We’re your friends, Veronica.” Twilight said gently “Friends help each other, even when they don’t want it; Applejack knows that better than any of us.”

Nica stared at Twilight, then laid back in bed and pulling the covers over her.

“Please… just let me be…” She murmured, and I sighed and sat down next to her on the bed.

She shifted her head to stare at me, but said nothing before looking away.

“Nica…” I said quietly “I’ve been trying to figure out what’s bothering you so much, but it would be better for you to let the feelings out rather than bottle them up. Just tell us what’s wrong so that we can understand you better.”

I placed a hand on her shoulder, which she didn’t flinch from. Instead, her own hand appeared from beneath the blanket and placed itself gently on top of mine.

“Why do you always have to be so… god damn nice, Leon?” She asked quietly, but not to me “Even when it’s a different you, you still find time to care, even for someone who doesn't deserve it…”

She sighed, but didn’t look at me.

“I assume you know what happened with Xemnas and the Organization XIII, correct?” She asked and I nodded “Well, according to him, it was because he wanted a heart. It’s why I said they were full of crap when they told me Nobodies did not possess a heart because if that were true, why would we desire one? In fact, why would we desire anything at all?”

She sat up and looked at me.

“That’s what I’m feeling right now, a crushing desire for everything you have that I don’t.” She said sorrowfully “Dear friends, the love of your life…” She looked at Twilight with a sad smile “A birthday… me, I had none of those things even before I became disembodied… it’s the price of being a Nobody. You’re just... nothing. You don't exist.”

I pulled her into a gentle hug, which she returned and buried her head into my chest, soft sobs coming from her periodically.

“Nica…” I said calmly “Of course you exist. You exist to me, to Luna and to Twilight. You have friends in us.”

“It won’t stop these feelings in my heart, the need to have what everyone else has.” She sobbed into my chest “I want it so much it hurts, Leon…”

“I know, Nica, I know.” I replied soothingly “And unfortunately I can’t make it go away.”

I pulled back a bit and tilted her head up so that I could look into her eyes.

“But what I can do is help you bear it.” I said, giving her a confidant smile “You will never be nothing while I’m around and I will always be there to help you.”

“The same can be said of me, Nica.” Twilight chimed in, taking a seat on the bed and embracing Nica “You’ll always be my friend, even when everypony else turns their back on you.”

“And I as well, Veronica.” Luna stated with a smile and a nod “I shall try to visit you whenever I find the time.”

She stared around at all of us, surprised and I took her hand in both of mine and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“You see, Nica, you’re not alone, and you are not without friends. We are all here for you if you ever need some company or an ear to listen to your worries.” I said warmly. “And we can always ask Spectra to cast his body-swap spell on us again if you want to get out and stretch your legs, so to speak.

She stared at me for a second before giving a small chuckle and a smile.

“Thank you… all of you. I’m… honored you all think so highly of me.” She said before turning a coy smile towards Twilight “By the way, you totally dropped the ball at your party; it was quite obvious what Rarity was doing from the start, you didn’t need Leon’s precognizance to see it.”

Twilight blushed furiously, but we all laughed anyway. I gave Nica a fierce hug, which she returned just as fiercely.

“There she is, everyone’s favorite Nobody!” I exclaimed, but then she shoved me away forcefully, a stern expression on her face.

“I’m just gonna say it now; don’t call me a Nobody anymore.” She stated fiercely “From now on, I’m just a normal person, even if I’m actually a fragment of you and currently not in possession of a body.”

“If that is what you want, then so be it.” I replied, nodding which was replicated by the mares with us.

“Good.” She stated, and clapped her hands together “I think it’s time you all left now. Not that I mind you being here, but you weren’t exactly invited and this is my home, after all.”

She snapped her fingers and both mares vanished, while I remained next to her. I gave her a curious look, but said nothing.

“As you should.” She said, back to actively listening to my thoughts ‘I never stopped, I just don’t respond to most of them anymore’ “Anyway, you should start preparing, Leon.”

“Okay, but what do you need me to prepare for?” I asked, and she was silent for a moment, before saying two words that made my blood run cold.

“The Wedding.”

I knew exactly what she was talking about, and while that event was played down somewhat for the show, I’d be willing to bet it was gonna be a lot worse in reality. My expertise with magic was decent now, but I’m gonna need to practice in preparation for a huge battle.

“My thoughts exactly.” Nica said with a nod “And don’t forget to keep up with your physical abilities as well, you’re going to need everything you’ve got if you hope to survive ‘The Wedding’.”

“How long do we have, Nica?” I asked her, to which she frowned and shrugged.

“I won’t be able to tell you exactly, but if I had to guess…” She said, putting a finger to her chin in thought “Despite this being an Anthro-pony Equestria, the show has more or less gone on schedule, not counting for time differentials between events; some may occur earlier or later than others as evidenced by the gap between Applebloom’s cutie pox and the Mysterious Mare-Do Well, and they may also span several days…”

“Easily between six and ten months.” I finished for her, to which she merely shrugged.

“Easily.” She agreed “Also, don’t tell anyone what you’re prepping for. And when I say anyone, I literally mean anyone; not even Terra. If you have to tell them something, just let them know you’re getting ready for something big that will happen soon, but that you don’t know how soon or what it is exactly, only that you must prepare and if AJ gives you guff about it, tell her to get over it.”

I sighed wearily, but then I smiled at Nica and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Alright, Nica. I’ll start getting ready upon my return to Ponyville.” I said, and then gave her shoulder a light squeeze “Just so we’re clear, you can tell me anything, it doesn’t matter what it is. It’s the least I can do for you, you know?”

She gave me a small smile, and placed her hand upon mine. We sat like that for a moment, before she raised her other hand and snapped her fingers, causing my vision to turn black.

‘Thank you… and you did great, by the way. Your birthday plan went off with only a minor speed bump.’

I awoke to the early morning light filtering in through the nearby window and soft fur against my bare chest… and also my phone going crazy. I groaned sleepily and held my hand out in the general direction I’d thought I’d put it, hearing a sound like if Twilight was using her magic. I felt the phone enter my hand and the sound stopped, I looked at it and groaned again.

It was Vinyl Scratch. I hit answer and put the phone to my ear.

“Vinyl, what is it?” I murmured sleepily, and had to pull the phone away as she very nearly screamed into it.

“Moment of truth, brony; how’d it go?” She said excitedly “Did she like your singing and, more importantly, did she sleep with you?”

I groaned (‘Braaaaaaaaaaaains’) and looked at the time on the phone.

“Vinyl, it is 7:30 in the morning, couldn’t you wait until later when I’m actually considered to be among the living?” I asked, which got her laughing and I heard a sleepy giggle come from next to me “And who’s ‘we’? You’re not calling me from Aurora Hall, are you?”

“Nope, and ‘we’ is all of your friends who couldn’t be at your marefriend’s birthday party.” She replied enthusiastically “And we couldn’t wait any longer, now answer the damn question!”

“Hang on a moment, babe…” I said, rubbing my eyes wearily and turning my phone over to speaker mode “Hey Twi, everyone back home wants to know if you liked my gift.”

“It was perfect... the music was lovely and you sang beautifully, Leon; I couldn’t be happier.” She murmured sleepily, but loud enough so that Vinyl could hear her.

“Okay, but did he sleep with you?” Vinyl asked, which got an amused chuckle from me and a sleepy giggle from Twilight.

“I think we’ll let you figure one out, Vinyl…” She replied sleepily and there was loud cheering coming from the other side of the phone (and what I thought was Lyra crying out something) before Twilight turned over and pressed the ‘End Call’ button on my phone, which she took in her magic and placed it in a dresser on the other side of the room.

We settled in to sleep a little longer, but someone else had other plans that morning.

‘Damn straight, I do. It’s time to get up and start the day; you’re meeting her family, after all.’ Nica responded, but then her voice became softer ‘And… thanks for coming to talk to me... I needed it more than I’d been willing to admit.’

“What can we say, Nica? We can be pretty damn stubborn in the right situation.” I murmured quietly, but I felt Twilight shift to be closer to me “And besides, you should be thanking Pinkie; she’s the one who got a hold of Luna for us…”

‘True. And I can be stubborn, maybe, but you’ve been pretty easy-going.’

“Veronica, I am not waking up right now and that's final."

Veronica was silent for a moment, before she gave a sigh of resignation.

‘One more hour.’ She said firmly ‘I’ll let you sleep for one more hour and then you’re getting up, no matter how much either of you don’t want to.’

“That’s fair…” I replied, already beginning to drift off as I shifted to put an arm around Twilight “Let me know if anything’s wrong, okay Nica?”

‘Oh yeah, about that; you just used Equestrian magic, in case you hadn’t noticed.’ She replied smugly.

I lay there, not wanting to get up and disturb the beautiful mare sleeping next to me, but at the same time my mind began reeling from Nica’s comment.

“You cheat, you know?” I grumbled darkly as I moved to get out of bed, much to Twilight’s great displeasure.

Nica just laughed and laughed, while my lover stared at me curiously.

“What is it this time, Leon?” She asked, both confused and irritated while I only smiled at her and held a hand out to one of the glasses on a serving tray on the table.

At first nothing happened, but then I remembered what Twilight had said about her magic.

“When I levitate something, I’m not thinking about wrapping a magical field around it; instead, I’m picturing it as being manipulated by an extension of my own body, not unlike my arms and hands.”

So I closed my eyes and thought about how I normally pick things up. I imagined I was picking it up in something not unlike my own hand and I heard the sound of the glass being surrounded in a magical aura, along with a very slight pressure in my head. I opened my eyes and saw it float off the tray and levitate over to my hand wrapped in a shining white glow. I played around with it, imagining my new ‘Phantom Limb’ rotating it this way and that and making it orbit around me, all of which the glass did easily, with no more effort than if I’d held it in my own flesh-and-blood hand.

“It appears…” I said, staring at the glass floating in front of me “That I can manipulate objects in the same way you can.”

Twilight sat up in bed, pulling the bed sheet up to keep covered, and stared at me in awe.

“But… I don’t understand…” She said, stunned “You don’t have a focus, how are you able to use unicorn magic?”

“I don’t know.” I replied with a shrug “It could be that my focus is something different from yours; I think we should conduct some tests when we can get back to Ponyville.”

“A coltfriend that wants me to experiment on him?” She giggled delightfully “I may have done better with you than I thought.” but then a frown appeared on her face “But why didn’t your Equestrian magic appear at the same time as your other magic?”

I put a hand to my chin in thought because that was a good question.

“If I may ‘put in my two bits’, as they say, it is most likely because the conditions might not have been correct before now.” A regal voice spoke from the balcony of the room “And I must say your performance in the garden last night was quite romantic, Leon.”

Twilight and I both turned in that direction to see that Princess Celestia was standing there, with the balcony doors open. Celestia smiled at me and let out a small giggle, which made me realize that I was freakin’ naked, Nica why didn’t you say something?!

‘Because your reaction was too tempting to pass up on seeing.’ She replied while laughing.

As if on que, a towel flew over to me wrapped in a golden aura and I took it, wrapping it around my hips to cover my nudity.

“Good morning, Princess, and thank you for the compliment.” I said, blushing and giving a polite bow, but she waved a hand dismissively.

“Please, it’s just ‘Celestia’ to you, Leon. You have more than earned that right.” She replied warmly “And I can see that whatever issues you had with Nica have been sorted out.”

“Yeah, she was just… going through some things.” I said with a smile “Is there some reason you’re here, Celestia, Twilight and I are not exactly… proper right now.”

“Oh, no particular reason.” She replied casually, but I caught a mischievous glint in her eyes “I just wanted to make sure the two of you were alright.”

“You wanted to catch me naked.” I deadpanned and she giggled.

“Alas, my brilliant scheme lays slain on the ground before me.” She said, putting a hand to her head in mock grief and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Twilight gave a cough and both Celestia and I glanced at her.

“Right.” I said, turning to the Sun Goddess “I’m gonna have to ask you to leave now, Celestia, so that Twilight and I can start the day since everypony and their grandmothers wants us to get up.”

She giggled again and nodded “Very well, have a good day both of you.” She gave Twilight a sly look “And I’ll being expecting a letter from you detailing his… ‘experience’.”

Both Twilight and I blushed furiously at her innuendo, while Celestia merely giggled and flew out of the balcony door.

After a moment, I coughed and turned toward the bathroom.

“Hey, Twi, I’m gonna take a quick shower and then we can- Whoa!” I said, yelping as I was suddenly lifted off my feet in a magenta aura and placed back in bed, with Twilight immediately wrapping her arms around me and kissing me passionately.

“Not yet, you’re not.” She murmured seductively “You only get to leave when I’m ready to let you, and I’m not ready for you to leave just yet.”

“Miss Twilight Sparkle...” I replied coyly “Just what makes you think I’m going to stay in bed with you?”

She giggled lightly and moved her face closer to mine, our noses rubbing gently against each other and her long mane tickling the side of my head.

“Because you're under the effects of a powerful magic that makes you do whatever I say just because I said it…”

“Oh, really?” I responded, running a finger calmly along the fur on her back, which made her tremble slightly “And what magic is that exactly?”

She merely giggled and we began to kiss again.

As we did, we both made a couple of lazy hand gestures and closed the balcony door and curtains in a magenta and white aura, having decided the day could start when we were ready for it. Not long after, the towel I’d been wearing flew across the room.

Ch. 21: "Meeting the Family"

View Online

Chapter Twenty-One
“Meeting the Family”

After taking a shower and getting dressed in simple clothes, I decided to go to the kitchens to secure some food for the two of us while Twilight also took a shower and did all of her female prep work.

I had to ask a guard periodically to make sure I was on track ‘Amazing; a man, asking directions. Beware, Tartarus; Winter is coming.’, and they were more than happy to point me in the right direction. I got into an interesting conversation with two particular guards as I was about to enter the kitchens, one was a white pegasus stallion with a blonde mane in golden armor while the other was a strange kind of pegasus mare with golden eyes slitted like a cat’s, a black coat and midnight-blue armor, but her most interesting feature was that instead of the normal feathered wings, she had bat wings.

The white pegasus guard did not seem terribly thrilled at the prospect of a conversation, but his friend, who referred to herself as a ‘thestral’, was extremely interested in me and wouldn’t stop talking. Eventually, the white pegasus convinced her that she could continue chatting with me later and they wandered off.

Anyway, I got to the kitchens and they began cooking what I’d requested, though they gave me a confused look when I asked them to fry bread after dipping it an egg, cinnamon and sugar mixture. Once that was done, I turned and opened the door to leave, but I ended up bumping into someone coming in.

“Sorry about that, sir. I didn’t realize somepony was already here.” The newcomer said.

“Sorry, bud, I didn’t see you coming.” I replied at the same time.

We both looked at each other and laughed. He was a white unicorn stallion with a two-tone mane similar in color to Vinyl’s, but it was neatly maintained and it had an extra darker blue stripe running through it. He was wearing an outfit like what you’d see on military personnel that are off-duty and he was in really good shape. I held out my hand to him and he shook it firmly.

“Name’s Leon, you?”

“Leon, huh?” He replied giving me a warm smile “You must be the visitor Princess Celestia told me about. I’m Shining Armor and I’m the Captain of the Royal Guard, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I stiffened and froze in place, my face faltering in its smile.

“Shining… Armor?” I asked carefully, to which he nodded, giving me a curious expression.

Oh crap… ‘Uh oh. Less than a couple of hours after sleeping with Twilight and you’ve already run into her big brother.’ Nica said, though there was a hint of amusement in her voice.

“Yes, that’s my name.” He replied, examining me carefully “Why, is there something wrong?”

“That depends, Shining Armor…” I said, shifting nervously “Actually, why don’t you come with me and everything will be explained when I return to my… marefriend.”

“Okay…” He replied carefully, and I led him back to the room, stopping at the door and turning to him.

“Alright, before I let you in, you gotta promise me something.” I said, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

“What’s that?”

“Whatever happens… please don’t kill me.” I replied and he cocked an eyebrow curiously, but nodded “Alright, here goes nothing…”

I opened the door and Twilight’s voice immediately called out from the bathroom.

“Welcome back, Leon. Did you find the kitchens okay?”

I did not react in any way, shape or form, instead turning a neutral expression toward Shining, who looked quite surprised.

“Um… yeah, you could say that…” I replied carefully “I… also found someone… quite unexpected.”

“Really? Who is it?”

“Twily?” Shining called out, and there was a surprised squeak from the bathroom followed by the sound of several things clattering to the floor.

There was a scuffling sound from the bathroom and Twilight flew out of it wearing a bright purple bathrobe that had her cutie mark embroidered near the bottom. The two of them stared at each other in shock before Twilight gave her brother a nervous smile.

“O-oh, Shining Armor!” She said, her voice cracking “What a pleasant surprise, I wasn’t expecting to see you until later this evening at Mom and Dad’s.”

He looked from Twilight, to me and back again, before turning to glare at me. I, for my part, was mentally crapping bricks.

“Would somepony please care to explain this… ‘surprise’ to me?” He asked flatly and Twilight’s mouth moved for a second before she remembered she needed words to go with those movements.

“Oh, um… well, I… we are…” She sputtered, not quite deciding on what she should say first, but I came to her rescue ‘Here Lies Leon; He died protecting his beloved Twilight Sparkle from her angry brother.’ Can it, Nica.

“Twilight and I are in a relationship.” I replied bravely and walked over to put an arm around Twilight’s waist, but mentally composed my Last Will and Testament.

Shining Armor stared at both of us for a moment, and I felt Twilight trembling slightly. Then he let out a sigh and gave both of us a relieved smile.

“Thank Celestia.” He said, and my beloved and I both stared at him in confusion “We were worried she’d never find somepony else…”

“What?” Was the unanimous reply and he looked at us sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

“Well, Princess Celestia told me a few months ago that Twilight was mourning the loss of a stallion she’d loved.” He replied and turned a sad expression to Twilight “And when you came up to Canterlot a few weeks later, you didn’t even acknowledge me or Mom or Dad…”

Twilight drew in a startled breath and looked away ashamed.

“Shiny, I-” She began, but her brother stopped her.

“Don’t apologize, Twily, you were going through a tough time. I’m just glad you’ve finally moved on.” He said, then cocked an eyebrow at us curiously “So… are things what they appear to be or…”

“Spoilers, my friend.” I replied with a wink before Twilight, blushing furiously at the thought of having to talk about her sex life in front of her brother, could respond.

“Leon… as much as I hate to say this, we’re not friends… yet.” Shining stated coolly “Right now, you’re her coltfriend and I’m her big brother, which means no funny business around me. Speaking of which…”

He walked over and pushed us apart, putting himself firmly between me and Twilight, who was now indignant.

“Shiny, just what do you think you’re doing?!” She demanded of him “If I want to be close to my coltfriend, you have no business trying to stop me! I’m not twelve years old!”

“It’s alright, Twi.” I replied, giving her a warm smile “He’s your big brother, which pretty much means he’s obligated to hate my guts until such time as he deems me worthy of you.”

He blinked in surprise, but nodded. Twilight looked at both of us in bewilderment before shaking her head.

“Stallions…” She muttered before walking back into the bathroom.

Shining walked over to me and leaned in close.

“Thanks for understanding, Leon; I truly mean no offense and I’m actually really excited to see Twilight with somepony who doesn’t crack under pressure.” He whispered, and I patted his shoulder brotherly.

“It’s cool, man, really.” I replied with a smile “Don’t tell Twilight, but I was terrified the whole time.”

There was a knock at the door and when I answered, it was a pair of maids pushing a serving cart with them that had some plates, silverware, glasses, a covered tray, a bottle of syrup, two jugs with orange juice in one and water in the other and a few rolls of napkins.

“Good morning, sir; your food is ready.” One of them said. I nodded and allowed them in. They made a beeline for the large round table and began to set it, with one directing the other on proper placement. Once they were done, they stood to the side for some reason. I glanced at them curiously, but then Shining Armor coughed and gestured to the table.

“They’re waiting for you to inspect it, Leon, to see if it meets your approval.” He said, but I still looked at him in confusion.

“Uh, I’m sure it’s fine the way they have it.” I responded.

“Apologies, sir, but it’s a rule that we cannot leave until you have inspected the table and have approved of it.” The one I assumed to be the experienced one of the two maids.

I sighed and walked over, checking out every single detail. After a few minutes I approached the two maids and leaned in close to the crew lead.

“Quality time with the rookie?” I whispered to her, and she stiffened in surprise but nodded “First time training?” Another nod. I smiled and patted her shoulder gently “Just do what you normally do and don’t worry about trying to meet somepony else’s expectations; you’re the one doing the training so do it the way you want.”

“Thank you, sir.” She whispered with a small smile.

I turned to the greenhorn and leaned in close to her as well.

“Recently hired?” I whispered to her and she nodded nervously.

“Just started today, sir.” She replied quietly. I smiled at her and also patted her shoulder gently.

“Let me give you some advice, honey.” I whispered, looking into her eyes “There’s not a single pony here that hasn’t been where you are today, though most of them tend to forget that when heckling newbies. Just stay calm, do your job as you’re taught and ignore anypony who tries to bully you. And don’t be afraid to ask questions.”

She gave me a surprised look, but smiled and nodded “Thank you, sir, I’ll remember that.”

‘You’re way too damn nice, Leon.’ Nica said, though there was approval in her voice.

I stepped away from the two maids and faced them calmly.

“The table is set in an acceptable manner; you two may leave us now.” I stated, and both mares curtsied and promptly left, taking the empty cart with them.

I turned to Shining Armor and saw that Twilight had rejoined us in her regular clothes and was smiling affectionately, while her brother gave a nod of approval.

“Gotta admit, I’m starting to like you, Leon.” He said cheerfully “Not many ponies are nice to the help and you’ve probably inspired those two to do better than they would otherwise.”

“I did this kind of job for a year back in my world.” I replied with a shrug “There are gonna be idiots and assholes everywhere and it’s not worth the energy you’d spend being angry at every nasty word they throw at you, because that’s all they’re brave enough to use.”

I gestured to the table, which had a tray piled high with the fried bread dish.

“Care to join us, Shining? It seems the cooks made more than Twilight or I can eat on our own.” I offered and he considered it for a moment.

“Okay, why not?” He said and both he and Twilight made their way over to the table.

I pulled a chair out for Twilight and helped her into it. Shining was about to take the seat to her immediate right, but she picked him up with her magic (her brother is no feather weight yet she lifted him off the ground like he was nothing) and placed him in a chair on the opposite side of the table.

I proceeded to move to the chair she’d saved for me, stealing a kiss from her on my way past, and sat down. Shining glared at me, but levitated some of the bread onto his plate and looked at it curiously.

“What is this?” He asked to which I smiled at him.

“It’s called French Toast where I come from.” I replied casually “its bread that’s fried in egg, really easy to make, which is probably why they made so much of it. Put some syrup on it, it’s good.”

“It certainly smells delicious.” Twilight replied with a smile “I can’t wait to try it.”

So we ate, having a nice conversation with Shining Armor. He seemed slightly perturbed when I told him I mostly just did the odd job around town, but he was amazed when Twilight had told him about Spectra.

“Really? I always thought the only alicorns in the world were Celestia, Luna and Cadence.”

“I know, I was so excited to learn about him!” She replied with a big smile, but then glanced at me nervously “O-of course, I was more excited just to be there with Leon.”

“Twilight…” I said, giving her an exasperated smile “I’d already told you it was alright if you wanted to spend the evening learning, all I cared about was that you enjoyed yourself.”

“Yes, I know…” She replied, sullenly “But I don’t want you to feel like that was all I cared about…”

“Twi…” I said, leaning in close and pecking her on the lips “I’m not gonna deny you your passion for learning, it’s one of the reasons I love you so much.”

She giggled and we sat there nuzzling each other for a second until Shining Armor gave a loud cough and we separated with a blush.

“Well…” He said, stretching “I think I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone for now; I’ll see you both at the house later, alright, Twily?”

“Of course, Shiny.” She replied with a warm smile.

With that, the Captain of the Guard departed and after a while Twilight and I left as well to get some nice clothes to wear that night when we met her family.

Though we spent most of the day talking about her family, my marefriend still fidgeted nervously as we approached the door to her parents’ house.

“Hey, Twi.” I said calmly, putting an arm around her shoulders “Everything’s going to be fine, I’m sure of it.”

“I know that, it’s just…” She replied, wringing her hands together “What if they don’t like you? What if this was all for nothing?”

We stopped at the door and I turned her towards me before kissing her briefly.

“What if, what if, what if. If everyone kept asking ‘what if’ all the time, nothing would get done. Don’t worry, they’re your parents and if they love you, they’re going to support you in whatever decision you make.” I stated calmly “And if they don’t… well, it’s not going to stop me from being in love with you, Twi.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled, and then looked at me affectionately.

“You’re right.” She said, leaning closer “I’m going to stop worrying so much and let the evening play out. I’m still a little nervous, though.”

I looked into her eyes for a moment before an idea struck me.

“Why don’t you tell me again who your parents are?” I asked and her eyes sparkled at the idea.

“Of course! To start with there’s my mother, Twilight Velvet. She’s a well-known author of fantasy books, primarily those that involve lots of adventure.” She said and I nodded sagely “She can be a bit obsessed with organization, but she’s really nice.”

“Just like her beautiful daughter.” I said softly and she giggled with a blush.

“I suppose.” She replied coyly “Anyway, then there’s my father, Night Light; he’s a professor at one of the schools here in Canterlot. He can seem a little… carefree, but I assure you he’s very sharp.”

“They sound very nice, I can’t wait to meet them.” I told her honestly and she smiled at me.

“I’m glad you’re excited… I just wish I wasn’t so nervous.” She said, before taking a deep breath and turning towards the door “Well… now or never, as they say.”

She took the knocker and knocked on the door a few times. After a moment, a light gray unicorn with a white and purple-striped mane and tail opened the door and smiled at us. She was wearing a maroon dress with silver slippers on her hooves. Her mane was done in a similar style as Twilight’s, but it was curlier in the back than my marefriend’s. She also looked remarkably like Twilight.

“Twilight, honey, it’s so good to see you!” The mare said when she saw Twilight, then turned her attention to me “And you must be the stallion she told us about; I must say, you’re rather strange for a pony, but you’re also fairly handsome.”

“Thank you ma’am, but I’m not a pony; I’m human.” I said with a polite bow, then held my hand out to her “My name is Leon, ma’am.”

The mare was surprised by my manners, but gave me a warm smile and shook my hand delicately.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mister Leon; I am Twilight’s mother, ‘Twilight Velvet’.” She said courteously “If you don’t mind, would you care to tell me where you came from? I was under the impression humans no longer existed in Equestria.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but Twilight interjected.

“Mom, now’s not the best time for that.” She said nervously “I’m sure Leon would be happy to answer your questions once we’re inside, don’t you agree?”

Velvet and I both nodded in agreement and the mare stepped to the side to allow us both in. Velvet led us both to the living room, where we would await dinner, which wasn’t going to be ready for a little while longer. I looked around for Twilight’s father, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“If you’re looking for my husband, he is getting dressed for tonight.” Velvet responded upon seeing my searching expression.

“Of course.” I said, and helped Twilight in to a chair, and waited for Velvet to take her own seat before sitting as well “Now, back to your question, ma’am-”

“’Velvet’, please.” Twilight’s mother interjected with a smile and I nodded politely.

“Yes, of course, Velvet. As for your question, I do not believe there are any Equestria-born humans. I came from a different world, though I would like to request that you not ask me about it; I’ve turned my back on that place and I have no intention of returning.”

She looked crestfallen “As you wish, though I was rather hoping to hear some stories about your world, maybe get some inspiration for my next book.” She said, and gave me a curious expression “If you don’t mind me asking, why have you abandoned your home?”

Twilight looked at me with concern, while I just looked away.

“Because it wasn’t home to me to begin with… if it’s all the same to you, Velvet, I do not wish to talk about it.” I replied carefully, and Twilight’s mother nodded.

We sat in silence for a moment and Twilight’s father joined us. He was a unicorn with a blue coat and a dark blue mane and tail, and he was wearing a fancy suit wealthy people would often wear to dinner events. I stood and walked over to him, with Twilight following at my side.

“Hello, honey, it’s wonderful to see you!” He exclaimed, giving a hug to his daughter before turning to me “And you must be her new coltfriend; I’m Night Light.”

“Leon, sir, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.” I said, extending my hand to him, which he shook firmly.

“Leon? That’s a good name, says you have a strong character.” He replied with a smile “We have a little bit of time before dinner is ready and Shining Armor has not arrived yet, so we have some room for a conversation; why don’t you start by telling us about yourself, Leon?”

Once everyone was seated, I began to tell them of my experience thus far, omitting the estrus incident, my threatening the life of another pony and the fact that I’ve already slept with Twilight (‘twice’), though both of Twilight’s parents seemed to notice that I’d left something out. They had curious expressions on their faces but they didn’t press it.

Just as I finished my story, Shining Armor showed up dressed for dinner.

“Hey, everypony.” He said, giving hugs to his parents and Twilight, while giving me a curt nod which I returned “Sorry I’m late, I had to pick up my own date for the evening.”

“You’re dating somepony?” Twilight asked, her expression somewhere between irritation and curiosity “Why didn’t you tell me when we saw each other this morning?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise for the whole family since we were all going to be in the same place tonight.” He replied casually “Anyway, let me introduce you to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“Who?” Twilight said and I chuckled.

“He means ‘My Love Cadence’, somepony you know quite well, Twilight.” I replied and everypony in the room stared at me with jaws dropped “What?”

“I’m amazed you know that, Leon.” Cadence said with a giggle as she entered, then she and Twilight saw each other and did this cute little… something, I’m not sure what it was but it was cute.

“Sunshine, sunshine, Ladybugs awake! Clap your hands and do a little shake!” They both sang while doing some kind of dance, ending with them laughing. I leaned in close to Shining and whispered in his ear.

“Gotta say, I’ve never been more attracted to Twilight in the short time we’ve been dating.” I said coyly, and he looked at me in irritation “Oh, come on, can you honestly tell me you’re not thinking the same thing about Cadence right now?”

He blushed and didn’t say anything, merely giving a small nod. The mares turned to us and Cadence gave a coy smile. In case you were wondering, she was wearing a gown that spoke of her status as a Princess, but not so much as to be impractical.

“And just what are you two whispering about?” She asked and I bowed politely.

“Oh nothing, Princess, only to say that I thought that little thing you and Twilight did was cute and incredibly attractive.” I replied causing Cadence to giggle and Twilight to blush. I chuckled and bowed again “It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess, my name is Leon.” I held my hand out to her to shake.

She took my hand and shook it gently. As she did, I felt a strange energy and then I felt my heart begin to quicken at her touch, while I felt my face flush slightly.

“It’s good to meet you, Leon.” She replied with a smile and I felt slightly woozy “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you know that’s what my title stood for.”

‘Brain, status report!’ Nica called out, alarmed.

An error has occurred in the run-time of most of the social aspects of Leon’s mind; rebooting in response, please stand by.

Cadence got a curious look on her face, like she’d heard something strange but she dismissed it with a small shrug. I, however, continued to stand there and stare at her like an idiot, trying to make my mouth work while also attempting to remember how to talk. Twilight noticed this and drew my arm to her.

“Do you mind if we step outside for a moment?” She asked and got a nod from both her parents “Thank you, we won’t take long.”

She lead me to the back door and out onto the porch, where the cool night air blew gently across my face and snapped me out of my stupor.

“Huh, Twilight?” I said, blinking and turning to her “My mind’s a little fuzzy, would you care to explain what just happened?”

“I don’t know, one moment you were fine then you shook her hand and spaced out.” She said, looking worriedly at me “What was it like on your end?”

I put a finger up to my chin in thought.

“It felt… a little like when I first met you, but without the whole ‘feeling sorry’ bit.” I replied calmly “My heart quickened and my face flushed and I couldn’t help but think she was awfully pretty.” I turned to my marefriend “I think I may have a crush on her, Twi.”

Twilight put her hands on her hips and gave me a deadpan stare.

“Oh, so do you think she’s prettier than me?” She asked flatly and I sighed.

“Of course not, Twi.” I replied calmly, drawing her into a hug “I think you’re the most beautiful mare in Equestria every time I look at you, and nothing’s gonna change that.”

“Are you sure?” She asked me quietly “I mean, I’m not as fun as Vinyl or as-”

I interrupted her with a kiss and while she was surprised at first, she quickly lost herself in it. After a moment, we broke the kiss and she stared at me affectionately.

“I love you, Twilight Sparkle, and nothing on this world or any other world is going to stop me from loving you.” I replied soothingly “What I feel for you goes beyond physical, Twi, I want you as a part of my life and I want to be a part of yours.”

She placed her head against my chest “I feel the same way, Leon… I’m sorry I doubted you, and myself.”

“I’m glad to see that’s resolved.” Cadence’s voice said from the door and we spun to look at her, breaking our embrace “I’m sorry to ruin such a tender moment between two individuals so deeply in love with each other, but I think I know what happened.”

Twilight and I glanced at each other before I motioned for her to continue.

“Well, as you know, I’m Princess Cadence and I’m an alicorn.” She began while Twilight and I nodded “Which means I have a special magical power not shared by any other being on the planet; I can create feelings of Love in other individuals. I’d heard from Aunt Celestia about you and I think your current sensitivity towards magic has caused you to experience some kind of backlash.”

“I developed a crush on you when I shook your hand.” I said and she nodded while I groaned “Is this something I’m always going to feel?”

“I don’t know, probably.” She said with a shrug and an embarrassed smile “I’ve only recently come into my power and I don’t quite have full control over everything I can do; I think you should be considering yourself lucky you didn’t fall in love with me.”

She was right; I dodged a bullet there. I was not interested in having to compete with Shining Armor for the affections of an alicorn princess that most likely wouldn’t give them to me to begin with. However, this did give me a new insight on the magical abilities of alicorns in general.

I sighed and gave Cadence a weary smile.

“That’ll do for now. As for your question, I know a few words from several languages back on my world, not enough to even attempt to begin speaking them but I get a general idea when someone speaks them. ‘Mi Amore Cadenza’, to me, quite literally translates to ‘My Love Cadence’.”

Both mares giggled at this and I felt Twilight take my arm and move close, looking at me with calm eyes.

“Are you going to be okay, Leon?” She asked carefully “This isn’t going to interfere with meeting my parents, is it?”

“Twilight…” I said, leaning in close to her ear to whisper “I was locked in my own home with you for a week while you were in heat; I think I can handle a small crush without it getting the better of me.”

She blushed slightly, but nodded. I turned to Cadence.

“I’m feeling better now, Your Majesty, let us return to the others.” I said and she smiled, but a held a hand up to stop me before I could go anywhere.

“You are right, but before we do, I would ask that you refer to me as ‘Cadence’, not ‘Princess’.” She said, giving another embarrassed smile “I’m not quite powerful enough to be considered in the same breath as Celestia or Luna.”

‘Are you powerful enough to hear me, Princess?’ Came Nica’s snarky response, which caused Cadence to frown in confusion.

“Is something wrong, Cadence?” I asked her, to which she gave me a conflicted expression.

“I thought I… no, never mind. Let’s return, shall we?” And she went back into the house.

‘She can hear me, but I’m not sure she can understand me; my voice probably comes to her as static or some junk like that. But enough of me flappin’ my jaw, get back to your evening, Leon!’

Twilight and I followed Cadence inside, and I assured Twilight’s parents that I was fine. We sat and chatted for a little while, with the conversation mostly directed at either Twilight or Shining about their respective dates. Dinner was eventually served and we sat down, with each stallion (and me) seating our mares before taking our own seats ‘It was funny, they all did it at the exact same time.’.

It was a nice affair, a garden salad followed by a nice vegetarian meal, with dessert being extremely delicious ice cream (homemade vanilla with chunks of Red Velvet cake and raspberry swirls). Then we spent a couple of hours with small talk. I decided to share one of my theories with them, which delighted Twilight Velvet and Night Light as much as Twilight Sparkle (who had produced quill and parchment from frickin’ nowhere, gotta ask her how she does it). It wasn’t as big as my Reality/Time Travel one, so I’m not gonna waste time with the details.

Anyway, the evening wound to a close and it was time for Twilight and I to return to our room at the castle because we were returning to Ponyville early the next morning.

“Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Leon.” Velvet said, giving me a small hug and whispered in my ear “You treat my daughter properly or you will regret it.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you as well. And you have my word that Twilight will be well cared for.” I replied calmly and turned to Night Light, who gave me another firm handshake.

“Wonderful to meet you, Leon, I hope we have the pleasure of chatting more in the very near future.” He said and I returned the sentiment.

We said our goodbyes to Shining Armor and Cadence, the former also giving me another firm handshake while the latter gave me a polite bow (neither of us felt comfortable touching each other for fear of exaggerating my crush on her).

Twilight and I were back in our room, with my marefriend in the bathroom finishing her pre-sleep stuff.

“Well, that’s over with… you weren’t too nervous, were you?” She asked from the bathroom while I lay on the bed, having finished my prep earlier.

“I was actually very comfortable around them, Twi.” I replied tiredly “The only bump in the evening was that first contact with Cadence; don’t get me wrong, she’s a very nice and friendly mare and Shining Armor is lucky to be m-, uh, dating her.”

Twilight poked her head out of the bathroom and looked at me curiously.

“What were you about to say about Shiny and Cadence?” She asked and I put a finger up to my lips with a calm smile, which made her give me a deadpan stare “Spoilers, huh.”

“You learn quick, padawan.” I replied with a chuckle and she rolled her eyes and ducked her head back into the bathroom.

Eventually she came out in her pajamas and crawled into bed next to me, laying her head against my chest. We lay like that in silence before she craned her head a bit to look at me.

“Tell me a story from your world, Leon; you must know some good ones.” She said and I cocked an eyebrow at her curiously.

“I know many, what genre would you like to hear? Horror, adventure, fantasy, Sci-Fi?”

“Anything but horror, please.” She replied and I smiled.

“Alright.” I said, wrapping my arms around her and she snuggled closer “I’ll tell you one of my favorites; it’s about a girl, born to unique circumstances but raised as a weapon for a war-mongering empire by an insane, sadistic man who wore the face of a clown.”

“It sounds like a terrible place.” Twilight said and I chuckled.

“Ah, but while the story is quite dark and the heroes face an event like none other, the story does have a happy ending.”

“Why is it your favorite, then?”

“Because I believe the best stories are the ones where the heroes face extreme adversity and the bad guys win at crucial moments, and this is a prime example of that kind of story.”

“I don’t understand.” Twilight said, giving me a curious look “Don’t you like it when the good guys win?”

“Tell me, Twilight; are you fond of stories that drop in the invincible hero who can’t possibly lose and never has to compromise his morals, the kind of story where the bad guy is a clueless twit and will lose spectacularly against the hero every time?” I asked her, and I felt her sigh.

“No… I suppose not. But do you enjoy the stories where the heroes have no chance of winning at all?”

“Only when the hero is constantly being beaten despite his best efforts.” I replied, kissing the top of her head and she sighed contentedly “My favorite stories are the ones where the bad guys are true villains that have brilliant schemes that knock the hero down at a critical time, but after which the hero rises again for an amazing final victory, a victory made all the more meaningful because of all the hardships the hero faced to get there.”

“I think I see what you mean.” She giggled and shifted in my embrace “But I believe we’ve gone off track; why don’t you continue with the story?”

“As you wish, my dear.” I replied, which garnered a giggled from the mare “Anyway, the story begins in a vast mountain range during a snowstorm, in a mining village called Narshe. Three humans approached the town in large mechanized suits called Magitek Armor and they belonged to a vast empire that had its sights set on conquering the world; leading this small band of soldiers was a mysterious, emerald-haired girl…”

And so I told the story from my world, though what Twilight didn’t know was that she actually knew the emerald-haired girl very well, and who was currently watching over Carousel Boutique in Ponyville. When I reached the end, Twilight fell sound asleep with a small smile on her face.

“Goodnight, my love…” I whispered, kissing her head again which garnered a small, sleepy noise from her and she shifted her head slightly.

I raised my hand gently and lowered it just as gently, extinguished the lights, leaving Luna’s Moon as the only source. I closed my eyes and fell into a restful slumber, holding Twilight gently.

Ch. 22: "Back to the Daily Grind"

View Online

Chapter Twenty-Two
“Back to the Daily Grind”

First thing I did the next morning was send a text to Pinkie Pie saying Twilight and I were boarding a train in a couple of hours to return to Ponyville. She didn’t reply, but I didn’t expect her too; she was probably preparing the welcome party.

Anyway, Twilight and I packed our things and headed out, with Twilight’s family bidding us farewell at the station. Once we were seated and the train was underway, I decided to bring something to Twilight’s attention.

“Twi, I need to ask something important of you.” I said, and she gave me an expectant look “That story I told you last night? Don’t repeat it to anyone, especially not Terra.”

“Why not?” She asked and I gave her a serious look.

“Because it’s her story, and if she hears it… bad things could happen. It’s not that I want to keep it a secret from her, I even offered to tell her not long after we met and she refused. It’s just… I don’t want her to have an existential crisis.” I said, and she nodded.

“I understand; not a word of it will be spoken.” She replied and then smiled “Though I must say I can see why you like it; I’ve never heard of a villain that actually managed to succeed in destroying the world before. I’m surprised Terra and her friends were so willing to confront him again.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t easy for them. But you must remember; all it takes is a single spark to start a fire.” I said sagely.

After a while, the train pulled into Ponyville and the two of us disembarked and were met with cheers by the ponies waiting for us, with a huge banner behind them that said “Welcome home and Congratulations!”

We were both greeted warmly by our friends, with me being hugged fiercely by Sakura, Pinkie Pie, the CMC and Vinyl Scratch (who was beside herself with joy). Neon welcomed me back with a bro-hug and Terra gave me a gentle, sisterly kind of hug.

“Hey, sweetheart.” I greeted her with a smile “Everything going okay with you?”

“Of course, Leon, I’ve been doing just fine.” She replied warmly and looked from me to Twilight and back again “What about you? How did your evening go with Twilight’s family?”

“Had a minor hiccup involving Princess Cadence, who’s dating Twilight’s brother, but otherwise it went great.” I said and turned to go save my marefriend from the mass of ponies asking for details on our relationship. She was showing them the locket I gave her, but unfortunately it still didn’t have a picture in it.

“Excuse me, everyone.” I called out, which made the whole group go silent “If you would like to hear some stories, why don’t you head over to my place, where there’s plenty of space and privacy to chat. We’ll meet you there once we drop Twilight’s luggage off at her home.”

“When’s the wedding?” Vinyl called out, which caused Twilight and I to glance at each other with a nervous blush.

“Vinyl, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Twilight and I have only just recently cemented our relationship; we’d like some time for that to settle before we decide on the next step.” I replied, embarrassed.

“Do ya love each other or not?” Vinyl retorted and I shot her a stern glare, which didn’t faze her in the slightest (she’s probably immune to it if she’s dating Octavia).

“We do.” Twilight and I replied at the same time.

“Then why wait?” Was the immediate response.

“Vinyl, for the love of all that is holy, we do not want to rush into things!” I replied irritably, and Twilight nodded in agreement “We’d like a chance to get really comfortable with our relationship before we consider anything else.”

The DJ merely laughed and the group began its march to my house for the real party. I caught Pinkie taking down the banner and rolling it up quickly before shoving it into her mane. She noticed me watching and put a finger up to her lips with a wink. I shook my head and walked with Twilight back to the library, along the way taking each other’s hand and walking closely.

“So…” Twilight asked hesitantly after a moment “Would you… consider, um…”

“Consider what?” I asked, knowing full well what she was talking about, but trying to get her to say it.

“Consider, um… well…” She hesitated, but then took a deep breath and said “Marriage… would you consider it?”

“Of course I do, Twi.” I replied affectionately “But I’m not gonna make any sort of plans regarding that until I’m sure I’m ready for it.”

“What if I am?” She asked me, her voice serious “What if I asked you to marry me, right here and now?”

“I’d say ‘no’ without hesitation.” I replied calmly, stopping to look into her eyes “Plus, I don’t think you actually are ready to marry nor do I believe you think you’re ready; it’s a big commitment, not one to be taken so lightly and especially not so soon into our relationship.”

She smiled and nuzzled me affectionately.

“You’re right on all counts; I just wanted to see what your thoughts were.” She said, though I saw a bit of longing flash across her eyes for a second.

I wasn’t being completely honest, though. At the moment, I couldn’t envision my life without her and I really wanted nothing more than to make her my wife on the spot, but at the same time I knew neither of us was physically or spiritually ready for that commitment. We were both on an emotional high, so to speak, and it’d be better to let it wear off before we consider the next course of action.

After dropping Twilight’s stuff off at her house and getting Spike, we returned to my home to find that Pinkie Pie had turned it into a mad house; Vinyl had managed to set up a turntable, Applebloom was wandering around blindfolded and swinging a stick in an attempt to hit a piñata on the other side of the house with Sakura following the filly around, trying to stop her while also trying to avoid getting walloped (I sympathized with her; getting hit by one of those things is not fun ‘You still have a black eye, don’t you?’ Up yours, Nica), and Pinkie Pie was dressed like a commando, shooting cupcakes at anyone unfortunate enough to leave their mouths open long enough. She nailed me immediately when my jaw dropped after opening the door.

Almost as soon as it happened, all the partiers froze, even Applebloom, who’d stopped and lifted the blindfold when the house had gone quiet. I wiped the frosting from around my mouth and glanced around the house curiously.

“So…” I said, looking at everypony “Why don’t we all move into the living room and Twilight and I will share our little story, hm?”

There was a collective cheer and chairs immediately began to gravitate towards said room, with Vinyl putting on some calmer tunes from her music player. Twilight and I took seats on the couch that were next to each other, but also in the middle of the gaggle of ponies, while Vinyl fought Dash for the recliner. Once everypony was settled, Twilight and I began to tell them what happened in Canterlot (omitting the bedroom stuff).

I got requests to sing the song I sang for Twilight, but I declined, saying that it was for Twilight and Twilight only.

After a couple of hours talking, the party resumed in full, except this time I took hold of the stick and in one swift stroke, split the piñata cleanly in two. The CMC and Pinkie were on top of the candy immediately while I laughed.

The party began to wind down sometime after noon, after Sakura impressed everyone with her culinary technique by making some excellent sashimi. The CMC had crashed hard after their sugar high and I got Rarity and Applejack to help move their respective sisters (while I took Scootaloo) up to the guest bedroom to lay them down for a nap.

I went back downstairs to find that most of the ponies were beginning to leave. Lyra came over and gave me a hug (while whispering in my ear that just because I was with Twilight didn’t mean she had given up on me) and left, Octavia also gave me a light hug and congratulated me on my relationship before departing with Vinyl who, to the shock of everypony in the room including Twilight, gave me a deep kiss to go with her hug.

“I was curious to see what Twilight was getting from you.” She said in a sultry voice “And you didn’t disappoint, I’m actually kinda jealous. Later, brony!”

And both the musicians left, with Octavia berating Vinyl for doing what she did, though the DJ just laughed. Twilight gave me scathing look while I stood next to the door, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Neon approached at that moment.

“Dude, you must have all the mares falling for you.” He said jokingly and laughed when I made some strange noises in an attempt to speak “Just messin’ with you, bro, I wish you and your marefriend the best of luck in your relationship.”

We exchanged a bro hug and he left. Sakura approached me and said something in her native tongue that sounded kind of like a prayer for my well-being, just before giving me a warm hug and leaving.

Eventually it was just me, Twilight and the other Elements. Terra had gone to her room for a nap as well and Spike went back to the library to catch up on his own naptime.

“It appears you are quite the lady-killer, Leon.” Rarity said with a giggle, causing all of the other girls (save Twilight, who glared at me again. I’m gonna have to treat her special for a little while).

“Um, actually I think that was just Vinyl being Vinyl, Rares.” I said with and glanced at my annoyed marefriend “I would never consider dating somepony else while I’m with Twilight.”

“And if you weren’t?” Twilight huffed irritably “Would you just go straight to Vinyl or maybe that pretty fox you’re so fond of?”

That stung, and it showed on my face.

“Twilight…” I replied sorrowfully “If, for some reason or another, you and I can’t be together it would break my heart. I’m not sure how long it’d be before I’d even consider dating again, and even then I doubt I’d feel the same way for them that I do about you; I love you, Twi.”

She continued to glare at me for a moment before it softened and she looked ashamed. She approached me and wrapped me in a loving embrace.

“I’m sorry, Leon…” She said guiltily “It’s just… I don’t want to lose you, like I lost him…”

The girls gave appreciative sighs, while Rainbow Dash (yet again) made a retching sound. Twilight and I broke our embrace and glared at her.

“Okay, it’s getting way too mushy in here. I’m gonna go find a nice cloud to nap on.” She proclaimed, though she hesitated for a moment, before hurrying over to Twilight and I and gave us both a fierce hug while blushing furiously, then she bolted out the door.

I decided to begin cleaning up the house, which was a huge mess because of Pinkie shooting cupcakes everywhere, though it was made easier with the girls helping me. It still took a couple of hours, though, but it was fun.

Just we finished, the CMC came back into the living room, rubbing their eyes sleepily. Applejack and Rarity bid their farewells, giving both Twilight and I a hug, before taking their respective sisters and leaving, though not before both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom gave me fierce hugs of their own. Fluttershy offered to take Scootaloo home and also gave both Twilight and I a gentle hug. Scootaloo, at first was adamant about not doing more than shaking my hand, but not two seconds after she went out the door, she shot back in and wrapped her arms around me in one of the most ferocious hugs I’d ever experienced.

“See you later.” She whispered before dashing back out the door, her face beet red.

I, myself, was blushing furiously while Twilight giggled.

“She must really like you, Leon.” She teased “I guess that means you’ll have to do something important for your ‘little sister’, huh?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, I haven’t really been around her much.” I replied casually, while walking over to the couch and laying down on it, exhausted “Man, I’m beat. I think Terra and Spike have the right idea, a nap sounds perfect.”

Twilight climbed over me so that she could lay on top against the couch, planting her head on her hands just a few inches from my face.

“Then I hope you don’t mind if I join you.” She said calmly, looking at me with half-lidded eyes “After all, I’m feeling pretty tired as well, plus you owe me some quality together time for that kiss Vinyl gave you.”

“Oh, really?” I said coyly and caressed her cheek with my hand, and I felt her tremble with pleasure “I think you’re a better kisser, but I’m not entirely sure. Would you like to help me with my dilemma?”

She giggled and shifted so that our lips met, the kiss being significantly different than Vinyl’s. Where hers was sudden and somewhat forceful (though admittedly not unpleasant), the one I was sharing with Twilight was slow, calm and full of passion; it was a kiss shared between lovers.

We broke the kiss after a little while and Twilight settled back upon me with a contented sigh. I began to gently stroke the fur along her arm, garnering a sleepy giggle from the mare. After a moment, I stopped and she entwined her fingers in mine.

We fell asleep soon enough, and I dreamt I was standing before Celestia with all of our friends around me, who also wore expressions of sheer joy. I felt nervous, but also overjoyed; I was going to be marrying the love of my life today. Almost as soon as I thought this, the wedding melody began to play and as one, we all turned to face the entrance to the royal hall as Twilight stepped slowly out in the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen being led by her father. I heard Twilight Velvet give a loud sniff, and saw Cadence levitate a tissue to her, with Shining Armor dabbing at his own eyes to catch any tears before they fell.

As Night Light reached the end, he gave Twilight a light hug and a kiss on her cheek, before going to a spot next to his own wife and wrapping an arm around her. I lifted the veil from in front of Twilight’s face and took her hands in my own, and then we stared into each other’s eyes, barely aware of what Celestia was saying.

Spike came forward with the rings and Twilight and I slipped them on each other’s fingers before clasping our hands together again. Celestia said some more stuff, and my bride and I gave our responses.

“Then by the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife.” Celestia proclaimed proudly “Now you may seal your love with a kiss.”

Twilight and I did so, and as we did the dream began to fade.

“It is rare to see such love for another, Leon.” Luna’s voice came to me, and I could hear joy in it “And rarer still do I see such beautiful dreams… I wish nothing but the best for you and hope your dream becomes a reality.”

“Yeah, seriously.” Nica agreed “You should just propose and get it out of the way.”

‘I’ve already expressed my opinion on that matter, Nica.’ I replied calmly ‘I can dream about it all I want, but I’m not going to ask until I feel it’s the right time.’

“Typically, it’s when you’re dreaming about it that it’s the right time.” Nica replied casually “And besides, you’re both head-over-heels for each other, this is just the next logical step.”

“I am in agreement with Leon on this subject, Veronica.” Luna said “Despite what they feel for each other, he is correct in his assumption that it is far too soon for him and Twilight to be attempting a union of heart and soul.”

‘Thank you, Princess.’ I said gratefully.

“But I am also in agreement with Veronica in that you should not tarry too long with these feelings, lest they burn out before you can act.” She said sternly “Ask her at exactly the right moment, and not a single second later.”

“At least get the damn ring so that you have it for when you are ready.” Nica said, exasperated “Oh, and I’d like to meet Scootaloo sometime.”

With that, I awoke and found Terra reaching over to shake my shoulder. Her hand froze in the air and she gave me an embarrassed look.

“Oh. I’m sorry, I was going to wake you both up because you shouldn’t be sleeping for too long or you won’t get any tonight.” She said calmly, but gave me a sweet smile “I’m happy for you, Leon; you two are so cute together.”

“Thank you, Terra, we’ll be up shortly.” I replied sleepily and she nodded before turning and heading to the kitchen to get dinner started. I looked at the beautiful mare sleeping on top of me and moved a stray lock of mane gently behind her cute ear. She let out a sleepy moan and her eyes fluttered open before she gave me an affectionate smile upon seeing me.

“That was a good nap, Leon…” She murmured sleepily “I had the most beautiful dream, it was about you and I and we were…” She stopped herself and began to blush furiously, while I stared at her with extreme interest “Oh, um… never mind, suffice it to say, the dream was very beautiful.”

“It’s alright, Twi, I had a really good dream as well.” I said, planting a kiss on her lips, while also shifting so that I could get my other arm around her waist “I think you should get up before my arm falls asleep.”

“Oh, yes of course.” She replied shyly, still blushing. She clambered off of me to stand while I sat up on the couch “Would you care to tell me what your dream was about?”

“Spoilers, my love.” I replied enigmatically, though her blush intensified “And besides, something tells me you already know, let’s leave it at that.”

She stared at me curiously, but then comprehension dawned on her features and she turned so red I was concerned she was going to pass out or get a nosebleed or something ‘Hahahaha, she’s got you beat when it comes to blushing, Leon!’.

“Would you care to stay for dinner, Twi?” I asked her calmly, but she shook her head.

“As much as I would love to, I’ve got to get back home. I’ve gone against my schedules long enough and I kind of need to get back into my routine, plus Spike’s probably been feeling somewhat lonely lately, I need to start spending some more time with him.” She replied, but gave me another affectionate smile “Don’t worry, I’m going to write you into my schedules as soon as I get home, though don’t be afraid to come see me whenever you feel like it.”

“You’ll see me plenty, though probably not as much as I’d like.” I said, standing as well to embrace her “Something big is coming up and I need to start preparing for it, so I won’t have much time to be with those that I love, especially you.”

“What’s going on, Leon?” Twilight asked me curiously, but I shook my head sorrowfully.

“Spoilers again, Twi.” I replied and she gave me a frustrated look “I’m sorry, but this one has too much of an impact on things here for me to speak about. Suffice it to say, it’ll be bad and I need to be ready for it.”

She looked away sadly, but I took her chin between my thumb and index finger and turned her head back to look at me.

“That is not to say I won’t need your help. I’ll need to practice my magic more than ever so I’m going to need both yours and Terra’s assistance.” I stated calmly “Will you help me, Twilight Sparkle?”

She stared at me for a moment before giving me a gentle smile and nodding.

“Of course I will, Leon.” She stated “I’ll help you in whatever way I can. I just wish you would tell me what it is that’s going to happen.”

“I wish I could, Twi, but I can’t.” I replied sadly “If I did, it’ll cause more problems than we can handle. You’re just going to have to trust me on this one.”

She stared at me for a second before nodding and giving me one last passionate kiss before breaking our embrace.

“Alright, I trust you.” She said, taking a step back in preparation to teleport back home “Just be careful, okay? I don’t know what I’d do if…”

“Don’t worry, Twi, I’ll take every precaution and I won’t get myself into a situation that would threaten my life.” I replied with a confidant smile. She still seemed hesitant, but nodded anyway and teleported back home with a flash of light and a pop!

Terra walked back in at that moment and gave me an inquisitive stare.

“Are you able to tell me?” She asked calmly, but I shook my head “Alright, I trust you. I’ll help in whatever way I’m able.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.” I replied with a smile “It’s going to be important that I’m able to fully utilize my magic before whatever’s going to happen, happens.”

“Is it really going to be that bad?” Terra asked, and I nodded gravely but didn’t say anything.

What I didn’t tell her was how scared I was; this was going to be a situation far worse than either of us could imagine, and I didn’t want to imagine it.

Ch. 23: "The Newcomer"

View Online

Chapter Twenty-Three
“The Newcomer”

A couple of days after Twilight and I returned from Canterlot, she told me that Spike’s birthday was coming up soon, in about a month or so.

‘Oh, that’s gonna be so much fun…’ Nica thought dryly and I was inclined to agree with her, but I digress.

Anyway, Twilight wasn’t able to help me with magic training at the moment because she was busy getting her schedules back on track, though I made sure to visit her when I could. I’d enlisted the aid of Applejack and Rainbow Dash for the physical aspects of my training while Terra did what she could to help me refine my Evocation magic.

They were all confused as to why I needed to start training, but I told them the same thing I told Twilight, which was that something big was going to happen soon. Applejack stubbornly refused to accept it at first, but I was adamant that it was all she was going to get.

Twilight had somehow managed to find time to start some tests on me, starting with DNA samples… which sucked. After that we conducted a series of tests involving the use of magic while I had some kind of contraption strapped to my head to scan brain activity or something like that, followed by some physical stress tests. It was the next day that Twilight told me the results, which was that while I was able to use magic, it would never be nearly as powerful as hers or Terra’s and that physically, I was about as strong as a unicorn in my same condition which meant I wouldn’t be winning any direct fights against earth ponies or pegasi that kept themselves moderately fit ‘Well, what’d you expect, that you’d suddenly become Superman? That’s even more absurd than getting a free house’.

After about five days, something unusual happened.

I was sitting at home, examining my Berretta 92FS. I wanted to be practicing my gunplay with it, but I only had three clips and I did not want to waste what little ammo I had on target dummies… I also didn’t want to scare anypony with gunfire.

I was still pondering my dilemma when my phone rang with Twilight’s ringtone.

“Hey, Twi, what’s going on?” I asked her calmly.

“Leon, are you standing?” She replied quickly and I cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

“No, why?” I asked.

“Stand up right now and tell me where you are.”

“In my bedroom at home, why-” and she hung up before I could finish. Almost immediately, she appeared in my room, looked around quickly for me and grabbed a hold of my shoulders before teleporting us both to her own bedroom at the library.

“Gah, what the hell, Twi?” I exclaimed in surprise at the sudden teleportation “A little advance warning would be nice before you just warp me somewhere.”

“Sorry, but this is important.” She said and I looked around at her bedroom curiously “That’s not what I meant, though I would like it if we got together again soon. There’s someone here who’s asking for you.”

I looked at her in alarm because she’d said someone not somepony, which meant this was an… Off-worlder, you could say.

“Are they downstairs?” I asked carefully and she nodded. I walked over to the door and went through it, looking over the balcony to see someone wearing an unusual cloak with the hood drawn that was colored and patterned to look like flames.

I walked quickly downstairs and confronted this person, who turned to me when I approached, arms crossed over their chest.

“Okay, who are you and what are you doing here?” I asked the individual.

“Are you the one called ‘Leon’?” The mysterious person asked, in a clipped feminine voice.

“Yes, why do you need to know?” I asked ‘her’, who only began to walk slowly around me, examining me carefully.

“Hmm, you’re not what I expected, at least not according to my father’s description of you.” ‘She’ said carefully “I wasn’t expecting such plain clothing. I thought you’d be wearing something a little more… heroic.”

“My green tunic’s at the dry cleaners, now answer my question.” I snapped at ‘her’, which caused ‘her’ to stop in front of me.

“There’s no time to explain, I need you to come with me now.” ‘She’ said as ‘she’ grabbed my arm and began to drag me out the door. I tried to pull myself free, but ‘her’ grip was like iron and I nearly tripped trying to dig my heels in.

“Let me go, goddammit!” I yelled at ‘her’, trying to pry ‘her’ fingers off my arm, to no avail “Where the hell are you taking me?!”

“I just said there’s no time to explain, now shut up and stop struggling, you’re only making this harder on yourself than it needs to be.” ‘She’ retorted irritably.

I heard a sound like a fighter jet screaming through the air, and several things happened at once.

The mysterious person snapped her head in the direction of the noise, and threw me to the ground before ducking herself just as Rainbow Dash shot past her, though the daredevil did manage to grab her cloak and yank it off, revealing that my kidnapper was indeed female, who looked a few years younger than me.

The girl was wearing a rather… unique, outfit to say the least. She was wearing some kind of light breastplate with a silk vest underneath, with gossamer sleeves extending from it that ended just past her elbows, her midriff was exposed and she had a long skirt with light armor plates near the top, and she had lightly armored greaves on her legs along with a pair of form-fitting shorts underneath the skirt. Her right arm had an elegantly designed archer’s brace and her left wore a long glove with light armor plates on it. All of it was artfully colored in a way that made them look like flames.

But the most surprising feature was that this girl was human; she had no fur, and her hair was long and a vibrant orange color that, once again, made me think of fire and it was done up in a ponytail, while her eyes made me think I was staring into pools of flame.

Rainbow Dash skidded to a stop and threw my abducter’s cloak to the ground in irritation. She turned and glared at the girl angrily though the girl merely groaned and reached behind her to pull out some strange device that unfolded itself into a longbow.

“Back off, Rainbow Dash, this doesn’t concern you.” She called out to Dash, causing both of us to blanch at her.

“How’d ya know my name?!” Dash called out angrily “I don’t remember ever meeting ya, not that I would be caught dead with a foal-napper!” The other girl blinked in confusion.

“A what?” She asked incredulously “I’m not… why would I steal foals? What possible use would I have for one?”

“I wasn’t talking about foals, stupid!” Dash retorted “I was talking about my friend, Leon, over there!”

The other girl shot a glance at me before returning her attention to Dash.

“I’m sorry, but my world needs him and I don’t have time to explain right now, so just step aside and don’t get involved!”

“Sorry, sugar, but I’m not going anywhere with you.” I said, rising to my feet and backing away from her while also drawing some energy and causing lightning to dance along my arms.

The girl glared at us both irritably and looked like she was prepared to fight us but then Twilight caught up along with the rest of the Elements and Terra, who was about as livid as Twilight. The girl growled angrily at the realization that she was outnumbered significantly and turned to run, but I flung a lightning bolt at the ground in front of her, which exploded and made her stop.

“And just where do you think you’re going, missy?” I snarled “Did you think you could just attempt to steal me away and expect to be able to run? I don’t think so; this time, you’re coming with us.”

She shot a glare at all of us before sighing in resignation and placing her bow on the ground, raising her hands. She was lifted off the ground by Twilight and then encased in a bubble. Once inside, the girl sat down with her legs tucked beneath her and continued to glare irritably at all of us while I walked over and picked up her bow and all of us returned to the library.

I decided to sit with the girl and watch her while the others went to another room to discuss a plan of action.

“So what are you going to do with me?” The girl said, her voice distorted by the bubble and I shrugged.

“First thing we’re doing is getting a hold of Princess Celestia and letting her know what’s going on.” I replied, but then looked at her curiously when she gave an incredibly deep sigh “Something else not go according to plan, sugar?”

“This whole thing was a giant SNAFU from the start; the Princess is just the icing on the cake.” She said irritably “And don’t call me ‘sugar’!”

“Well I don’t exactly have a name I can refer to you by, now do I?” I pointed out to her. She stared at me hard for a moment.

“… Seeri.” She said with a sigh “I’m called Seeri where I come from.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Seeri.” I said, tipping my hat to her “I’m Leon, though it seems you already knew that.”

Seeri gave me a curious glance; she obviously didn’t expect me to introduce myself.

“Uh, good to meet you too, I guess.” She said, but continued to stare at me in bewilderment “Why are you suddenly being so nice? According to you and your friends, I just tried to kidnap you and dragged you halfway across town.”

“Yeah, still irritated by that.” I replied “But that doesn’t mean I have an excuse to be rude to you, I’m just curious as to why you did it.”

“I told you I didn’t have time, I don’t understand why you didn’t just come with me and let me explain back at my world.” She said indignantly.

“Well, you should’ve found time, Seeri, because now you’ve got nothing but.” I replied with a shrug “Might as well start explaining.”

“If Princess Celestia is coming, I think I’ll wait.” She said calmly “That way I won’t have to repeat myself.”

“Suit yourself. Want something to drink for when you get out of there?” I offered, and this was met with further bewilderment.

“Uh, some lemonade or iced tea would be nice.” She replied cautiously. I got up and walked over to the door to the kitchen “Hold up a second, aren’t you supposed to be guarding me? What if I break out while you’re away?”

“You could’ve broken out of there the second Twilight went to the other room and made off with me while they weren’t watching, so I’m not worried about it.” I stated matter-of-factly and her mouth moved like she was trying to say something.

I walked in to the kitchen and the girls all stared at me in confusion.

“Leon, what are you doing?” Twilight asked me curiously as I got out two glasses and filled them with ice and lemonade.

“Getting the girl something to drink. Her name’s Seeri, by the way, though I think it’s a nickname for her full one.” I replied casually, and the girls continued to stare at me.

“You’re supposed to be guarding her, not getting her lemonade, Leon!” Twilight protested, her left eye twitching slightly “What if she breaks out?”

“I think if she really wanted to escape, she’d have done it whether I was there or not and there wouldn’t have been a whole lot any of us could’ve done to stop her.” I stated matter-of-factly again “She only surrendered because she didn’t want to fight any of you and because we wouldn’t let her run.”

I walked back into the living room before any of them could protest and set the glass down on the table next to the girl, who was sitting exactly where I’d left her, but there was no bubble imprisoning her.

“Thank you.” Seeri said, as she picked up the glass and took a small sip of it, sighing contentedly.

The other girls all stared dumbfounded at her while I just casually took a seat across from Seeri. Twilight was the first one to remember how to speak.

“How did you get out of my spell?” She asked incredulously “The only way to dispel it is from the outside!”

“That’s not important.” Seeri replied casually “When’s Celestia getting here?”

As if on que, there was a bright flash in the living room and Princess Celestia appeared.

“Apologies, I had to finish a bit of paperwork.” She said calmly, and then turned to Seeri “May I ask what is going on here?”

“My question exactly, Princess.” I said, also turning to Seeri, who sighed irritably.

“I was sent here by my own Princess Celestia to try and find a man named ‘Leon’, who was also a friend of my father, because our world is apparently under some kind of threat, though the Princess wouldn’t elaborate.” She said, and all eyes stared at her in disbelief “What?”

“You honestly expect us to believe that you came from a different Equestria full of humans?” Rainbow Dash said incredulously “How stupid do you think we are?!”

“I probably wouldn’t be speaking if I were you, Dash.” Seeri retorted “After all, you have a record as long as my arm in regards to stupidity.”

“That is quite enough, fillies.” Celestia said before Dash could respond “Miss Seeri, do you have proof of your claim?”

“Other than the fact that I’m a human in a world full of Anthropomorphized ponies?” She asked, which got a nod from the Princess “Yes, but my behind is going to fry for this.”

She reached into a bag at her side (how did I miss that earlier) and pulled out something that looked oddly like an iPad. She tapped at the screen for a moment before flipping out a kickstand and setting it on the table and facing it.

After another moment, a familiar, regal voice came out.

“Hello, Searing Shield, it is wonderful to hear from you. Are you doing well where you are?”

“Umm, yes and no…” Seeri replied nervously, though I cocked an eyebrow at her very Equestrian name.

“Please elaborate.”

“Uh, yes in that I’m unharmed and am actually enjoying a nice glass of lemonade…” She replied as she started to sweat bullets “No in that, um… I’ve been… captured.”

There was a moment of silence before the voice on the other side of the communication began to giggle in a manner very similar to Celestia, who was watching this whole exchange with great interest.

“Oh, Seeri. Whatever did you do that warranted you getting imprisoned?”

“Not imprisoned, captured… by this world’s Elements of Harmony.” Seeri said, her face flushing scarlet as what I assumed to be her Princess Celestia burst into full on laughter “What’s so funny, Princess?”

“Seeri… please explain to me what you did to get captured by Twilight and her friends.” The other Celestia said, with great amusement, but she spoke before Seeri had a chance to respond “OH! Is the other me there as well? Hello, Princess Celestia!”

I couldn’t help it anymore, I began to laugh at the same time Celestia did, who was more than happy to move to where Seeri was sitting to respond.

“Hello, Princess Celestia.” She said with a smile “It appears there has been a great misunderstanding here.” She paused as she looked closer at the screen, which I couldn’t see “My goodness, so that is what I would look like as a human. I must say, I look rather… sexy.”

I was about to move to where I could see the screen, but I felt something hold my legs to the floor. I glanced at Twilight, who shook her head. I heard Seeri clear her throat before the other Celestia could respond.

“I hate to interrupt you both, but I still have to report.” She said, and then recounted to her Celestia on the day’s events. There was silence for a moment before her Celestia literally roared with laughter, which I didn’t think was possible. Apparently, neither did the Celestia here.

“Seeri, I said you had to find Leon, not bring him back.” Other Celestia said, still giggling after her laugh “Our world is not in such dire straits that we need him, though if he does not mind, could he step into view please?”

I did as requested and got my first look at the humanized Princess Celestia. She basically looked like the Celestia standing nearby, but without the Equine features, like fur or hooves. She smiled when I appeared, but then it turned to a thoughtful frown.

“How odd.” She said after a moment “I am sorry to say, Seeri, but while you have found a Leon, you did not find the one I had sent you there for.”

Seeri gave out a frustrated groan and face-palmed “Great… I’ve been captured by ponies and held in a bubble for the wrong guy… just perfect.”

“But it does not matter, enjoy your vacation, Seeri!” Other Celestia chirped and moved to turn her device off, but Seeri stopped her.

“Hold on, Princess, did you just say ‘my vacation’?!” She asked incredulously “I thought I was sent here because our world was in danger!”

“Yes, it is; of you not enjoying yourself from time to time.” Other Celestia replied calmly “You work far too much, just like your father, so I sent you there to find Leon so that you could stay with him while you relax in another world. Honestly, I thought I got it right, after all I picked up his spiritual signature there. Hmm looking at him now, I can see why I was mistaken; the two of them are very nearly the same, with only slight differences.”

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, while I got up and walked over to Twilight, who was trembling slightly. I wrapped my arms around her and she buried her head in my chest.

“Hey, are you alright?” I whispered softly to her, and I felt her slightly nod her head.

“Yes… it’s just hard for me to hear right now.” She whispered back “I still miss him.”

“I know. Take your time, Twi, I’m not going anywhere.” I murmured and kissed the top of her head while she hugged me tightly.

I heard Seeri whisper something, along with the slight sound of the device being turned.

“I did not mean to reopen any old wounds, Twilight Sparkle. However, I am terribly excited to see a version of you seeing someone, though admittedly my Twilight is a little younger than you are.” Other Celestia said apologetically, but then she saw Terra “I do not believe I know you, my dear, would you care to tell me your name? I am Princess Celestia.”

“I’m Terra Branford, Your Majesty.” She replied with a curtsy, which got a giggle from the other Celestia.

“Terra? That is a lovely name. Can you tell me a little about yourself?” Other Celestia asked, causing Terra to blush.

“Oh, well I-” Terra began but Seeri interrupted her.

“Princess, she’s Esperkin; I can practically smell the magic coming off of her.” She said, and everyone in the room froze and stared at her.

I broke my hug with Twilight, who’d calmed down at this point, and was about to approach this irritating traveler when Terra spoke up.

“How do you… know what I am?” She asked, her voice trembling.

Uh oh ‘Leon, I think she’s gonna lose it soon!’

Almost as soon as Nica spoke, Seeri snapped her head towards me and stared at me curiously, though she answered Terra’s question.

“My world is full of magical entities that possess power on par with, or even greater than, the Princesses.” She said calmly, though she never took her eyes off of me “They’re mostly content to stay to themselves, but unions are not unheard of; I, myself, would technically be considered Esperkin because my father was an inheritor to an incredible kind of power, though it isn’t necessarily magical in nature. I got my talents from him.”

Everyone was silent, though Terra was trembling visibly. I walked over to her and escorted her outside, and she hugged me once we were short distance away.

“Easy, sweetheart, just take it easy.” I said softly, stroking her hair gently “Go ahead and tell me what’s wrong.”

“I… I didn’t want anyone to know what I was…” She said, and she started to cry “I was afraid everyone would treat me like a… like…” She couldn’t finish as she broke down into sobs.

“Terra, no one’s gonna treat you any different, especially not them and most certainly not me.” I replied confidently “After all, I’ve known you were Esperkin from the start; why would I treat you any different now?”

“You… you knew?” She said, looking up at me and I nodded “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I did, though maybe not in a way you understood fully.” I said calmly, looking into her eyes “I offered to tell you how I knew who you were, an offer that still stands today I might add, and one of the things I would’ve told you was that I knew full well who and what you were.”

“But… if you know, why aren’t you afraid of me?” She asked, her voice trembling again “I mean, I’m… I’m a mo-”

“Don’t.” I interrupted her sternly “Don’t finish that sentence, because you most certainly are not; you are one of the kindest people I ever had the pleasure of knowing and it is my great privilege to call you my friend. Don’t ever forget that, sweetheart.”

“I am inclined to agree with him, darling, as is Fluttershy.” Rarity said from behind us, and Terra looked at her in surprise “We will not think any different of you just because of your race; if that was so, we would have feared you from the start just for being human.”

Terra broke away from me and went to hug Rarity.

“Thank you, Rarity.” She said “I was just scared.”

“Understandable, my dear, but you have nothing to be afraid of around me or the girls.” Rarity replied soothingly “We are all your friends here and we’ll take very good care of you.”

At that moment, Seeri came out with the tablet and held it out to me.

“The Princess would like to speak to you, Leon.” She said and I took the tablet with a nod and held it up in front of me while the girls went back inside, save for Seeri.

“I apologize for Searing Shield’s directness; tact has never been her strong-suit.” Other Celestia said with an apologetic smile.

“It’s alright, Your Majesty, though I think Seeri should apologize to Terra when we’re done here.” I replied with a smile “Anyway, what did you need, Princess?”

“I was wondering if you would be willing to allow Seeri to stay at your house for the duration of her stay there.” Other Celestia said, and Seeri made some kind of startled noise.

“Wh-what makes you think I’m staying, Princess?!” She exclaimed “As soon as we’re done here, I’m hopping back in my transporter and going home!”

“About that; I recalled your transporter roughly half an hour ago.” Other Celestia replied casually, though Seeri’s jaw dropped.

“You did what?! Your Majesty, why would you-” Seeri began to complain but Other Celestia interrupted her.

“This is no longer up for discussion, Searing Shield, now be a good girl and enjoy your vacation; see you in three months… or so!” Other Celestia said, and then the connection was terminated. I handed the tablet back to Seeri, who put it back in her bag with a look of shock on her face.

“Well, at least it’s only three months… right Seeri?” I said, though she shook her head morosely.

“Time flow between worlds is rarely so consistent.” She replied irritably “What could be three months to her there could be twice as long for me here, if I’m fortunate; if I’m not I could be stuck here for years.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, you’re welcome to stay at my place. I’ve got plenty of room to spare, though you may have to put up with a Cutie Mark Crusader sleep-over every so often.” I said, and extended my hand to her. She sighed and shook my hand in resignation.

“It doesn’t make me feel better, actually, but what can you do?” She replied, shaking her head and then she gave me a calm smile “I guess I better go apologize since I’m going to be here a while.”

We both walked in and I saw that Terra looked significantly better. I walked over to Twilight and wrapped an arm around her waist, which she mirrored. Seeri went to a spot where we could all see her, snapped to attention and crossed her right arm over her chest before bowing deeply.

“My name is Searing Shield, Head-Ranger of Her Majesty’s Military, and I beg your forgiveness for my transgressions; I was deliberately misinformed and my actions were made in ignorance.” She said calmly, and all of us looked at each other.

“At ease, Searing Shield.” Celestia said, with a gesture of her hand and the traveler obeyed “We bear no ill-will towards you and are delighted to have you stay with us.”

“I’m not…” Twilight whispered to me, and I nudged her playfully.

‘I’m gonna agree with Twilight on this one; this girl is Trouble with a capital T.’ Nica said, and again Seeri’s head snapped to me, this time with a suspicious glare ‘Whoa, can she hear me?’

“Yes I can.” Seeri responded, to the confusion of everyone “I thought I was just hearing things earlier but now I’m sure; tell me, who are you?”

“Don’t worry about who you’re hearing.” I said when Nica didn’t respond. I guess she didn’t like this newcomer either.

Seeri’s eyes narrowed at me, but she shrugged.

“Do you have sleeping arrangements, Seeri?” Celestia asked and she nodded.

“Yes. I’m staying with Leon, apparently.”

“What?! Absolutely not!” Twilight responded angrily, and then looked at me “Leon, you can’t possibly be agreeing to this, I mean she just tried to abduct you!”

“I already have, Twi, but I assure you nothing’s going to happen.” I said and attempted to caress her cheek, but she pushed me away with a look of immense anger.

“I can’t believe… Why did you agree to that without talking to me first, Leon?! You have no idea what this girl could do to you!” She snapped at me, but then closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning towards the stairs to her room “Will everypony just leave, please?”

“Twi, don’t-” I began but she stopped me with a wave of her hand.

“JUST… Just leave, please.” She said, her anger barely kept in check and then she stormed into her room and slammed the door. I stared in the direction of her room for a moment before turning to Seeri, who was looking at me apprehensively.

“C’mon… let’s get you settled…” I said quietly and we exited the library.

We were silent as we walked through Ponyville to my house, my shoulders slumped from the way Twilight had treated me. After a moment, Seeri spoke.

“You love her, don’t you?” Seeri asked me, to which I nodded sullenly and she sighed “I’m sorry, really. I didn’t come here to make a mess of things, but it seems that’s just what I did… I can try talking to Princess Celestia about sending me somewhere else for my vacation if this is going to be too much trouble.”

“No, you’re fine, Seeri.” I replied calmly “I’ll find a way to patch things up with Twilight. It’ll be tough, but I can manage.”

Seeri was quiet the rest of the way, which wasn’t terribly far. I showed her around the house and she began unpacking some extra clothes from her bag, which was apparently magically enchanted to hold vast amounts of junk in a tiny space, kind of like a Bag of Holding.

Later that night, I couldn’t sleep; every time I tried, all I’d see was Twilight’s face contorted in rage. I knew my “Go with the flow” attitude irritated her to no end, but she was really angry with me this time.

‘That’s because you took in the chick who just tried to abduct you with virtually no resistance; for someone who promised you wouldn’t take any risks, you just did what could be viewed as the opposite of that.’ Nica said, and I shrugged ‘Leon, this is serious, that girl is beyond dangerous; you’re doing something incredibly stupid by taking her in.’

Be that as it may, I’m sticking to it ‘… Fine.’

I rolled over and closed my eyes in an attempt to get some sleep for tomorrow.

Ch. 24: "The Secret of my Excess"

View Online

Chapter Twenty-Four
“Secret of my Excess”

Despite what I’d hoped for, Twilight remained angry with me. I still made attempts to see her, but she would either leave the room immediately or ignore me, being very curt whenever she had to speak to me. After a few days of that, I eventually just started leaving her fresh lilacs, which I knew were her favorite. Oh, and Veronica wasn’t speaking to me either, so I’m pretty much on my own in this matter.

I was still training, but not as enthusiastically because of what was going on between me and Twilight. Seeri was genuinely remorseful and had gone to talk to Twilight, but she was turned away immediately. She decided to just help me with my training and leave it at that.

In regards to my training, it was going good; I had a better handle on most of my magical abilities, though my Equestrian magic was hurting without Twilight helping me. Seeri did what she could, since her own magic was nearly the same thing, but it was only so much.

After just over two weeks, I received a letter from Spike saying his birthday was the following day and that Terra, Seeri and I were invited, so the three of us went out to get Spike a present. We settled on a large sapphire in an oak case that was lined with black velvet and had gold silk cloth to cover the gem.

We showed up the next day and walked into the library to find a most unusual sight.

Spike was trying to run from Twilight while the librarian was holding a wash cloth and she kept teleporting him back to her as he was running. What was really odd was that after the third or fourth teleportation, Pinkie Pie appeared instead of Spike and she screamed out “Happy Birthday!” and threw confetti in Spike’s face. While he was distracted by it, Twilight used her magic to make the cloth clean off Spike’s cheek, which she deposited in a bin with a victorious look on her face.

During the exchange, the others showed up as well, each with a different gift.

“Party time, woo hoo!” Pinkie Pie squealed, and Twilight turned to her friends.

Our eyes met and several different emotions flashed across her eyes before she eventually settled on indifference. She shot a glare at Seeri, who had the grace to avert her eyes.

“Are those… for me?” Spike asked as he saw the various gifts we’d gotten him.

“A' course they are, Spike, who else would they be for?” Applejack said as she deposited her gift into Spike’s claws.

“Happy Birthday, Spike.” Fluttershy said as she also gave him a gift.

The rest of the girls proceeded to give him their gifts, though I gestured for Terra and Seeri to wait before giving him our gift just as Rainbow Dash placed her gift (a dumbbell with a bow, which I thought was typical Rainbow Dash) and Spike collapsed from the weight. Once that was done, I walked over and set my gift on his head.

“Heads up, Birthday Boy.” I said jokingly as I walked past. Terra removed it and set it next to him, then gave him a fierce hug.

“Happy Birthday, Spike.” She said before releasing him, and Seeri did the same.

He stared at all of his gifts in confusion, which prompted Rainbow Dash to speak.

“Don’t ya know you get presents on your birthday?” She asked, while Spike stood and dusted himself off.

“Well actually, this is my first birthday in Ponyville. I usually just get one present, from Twilight…” He said, and then shot a sideways glance at said mare, who was coming down from her room “And it's always a book.”

Twilight froze, looked at the book she was holding in her arms, and with a blush began to walk backwards back up the stairs.

“Speaking of presents.” Rarity said, levitating a cloak from the bag she’d brought with her (and I noticed she was proudly wearing a new necklace with a heart-shaped ruby set in it) “I've begun a new line of taffeta capes; I am making one for all of you!”

The girls all made appreciative sounds at the sight of the exquisite purple capes that floated over to them.

“I have been inspired by the generosity of my little Spikey-Wikey, who gave me this beautiful fire ruby!” She exclaimed, gesturing toward the gem in her necklace “One of the most generous acts anypony has ever shown me.”

Spike had an affectionate look on his face, though I couldn’t tell if it was directed at Rarity or the gem around her neck (probably both, if I had to guess… really missing your snark right about now, Nica).

After that, the party kind of… exploded. I’m still not entirely sure what happened but there was debris everywhere, including a kitchen sink. Anyway, Spike was digging around in the box that had held Applejack’s gift and poked his head out the other side, holding a very well-made quilt.

“Applejack, I can’t thank you enough for this great blanket. I really needed a new one!” He said, hurrying over to embrace the cowpony.

“C’mon, Spike.” She replied, pushing the dragon away gently “Ya already thanked me fifteen times. Ah’m startin’ ta get a touch embarrassed.”

“I know I keep thanking you guys, it's just that I’m so grateful!” He said excitedly “I kind of wish this party would last forever!”

At that, a balloon that Pinkie had been bouncing on popped and she turned her attention to him.

“Well, duh! The party can’t last forever ‘cause you have to go to Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie said, gesturing excitedly “And it’s because the Cakes have a special surprise for you ‘cause it’s your birthday!”

“NO WAY!” He exclaimed excitedly and shot towards the front door.

“I said the party couldn’t last forever, but that doesn’t mean it has to end right now!” She called out to Spike just as he shut the door behind him.

We all stared at the door for a moment, before I removed my party hat and set it on the table as I walked over to the supply closet.

“Well, we can’t continue the party without the birthday boy.” I quipped as I opened the door and began to pull out some cleaning supplies “Might as well start cleaning up; it looks like a bomb went off in here.”

There was a general murmur of consensus, though I was stunned when the broom I was pulling out flew out of my hands and into Twilight’s, who was glaring at me.

“I can handle it, thanks.” She said, and then gestured to the door “You and Seeri can go home now.”

And just like that, I went from feeling guilty to being angry.

“Okay, sure.” I said bitterly “One question, though, if you don’t mind.”

“What is it?” She asked and I glared at her.

“Would you prefer that we just stop seeing each other?” I stated, and Twilight’s face fell immediately “Because you’ve spent the better part of two weeks being angry at me and avoiding me and frankly, I’m sick of it. If I can’t make you happy anymore, then I can just vanish off of the face of Equestria and make everyone’s life easier.”

Twilight’s mouth moved and she made sounds like she was trying to speak, but I held up my hand to stop her.

“You don’t have to answer me now.” I said coldly, though I felt like a griffon was attempting to claw my heart out “I’m going to head home; you have my number, call me if you need me.”

And just like that, I stormed out of the library with Seeri hot on my heels.

“Hey, do you mind telling me just what the hell happened in there?!” Seeri snapped as she tried to keep up with my brisk pace.

“I’m tired of her bitterness towards me, Seeri.” I replied, slowing down as my anger fled, leaving me empty “I’m tired of going to bed each night not knowing if tomorrow’s just gonna be more of her avoiding me or if she’ll actually want to be with me again… I miss her, Seeri…”

“Then why don’t you tell her, Leon?” Seeri replied, moving ahead of me and making me stop “Maybe if you told her how you feel, she’ll get over her anger and you two can be happy again.”

“Except I’ve been trying, Seeri, but she won’t see me.” I said, averting my eyes to the ground “I’m starting to think that maybe she never actually-”

I was interrupted by my face suddenly igniting in pain, and I stared at Seeri in shock as she lowered her hand. She slapped me!

‘About damn time someone did; you’ve been in need of a good bitch-slap since you let the crazy girl spend her vacation in your home.’

“Don’t think like that, Leon.” Seeri replied sternly, ignoring the sudden re-emergence of Nica “The two of you are very deeply in love with each other you’ve just hit a small snag in your relationship, every couple does. You’re still changing out the lilacs every morning, correct?”

“Yes…” I replied sullenly “I’m not sure she even notices them…”

“Leon, if she truly hated you, she’d be throwing them out as soon as you were gone. The fact that you have to change them every morning is proof that she still cares.”

I was silent as I thought about it.

“Still, I… I can’t face her right now, I’m just…” I said as I walked past Seeri, who didn’t try to stop me “I’m going home…”

And I trudged back home, leaving Seeri to stare at me sadly.

Searing Shield’s POV

‘Crap, their relationship is going to collapse if I don’t do something.’ I thought as Leon walked away from me, his head hung low. I got an idea and turned around to go back to the library.

I walked in through the doors and immediately all heads turned to me. I didn’t see Rarity there, which means she must’ve left.

“I thought I said you and Leon could go home.” Twilight stated, an edge to her voice.

“Put your attitude aside, Twilight, we need to talk.” I snapped, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the kitchen.

She was irritated that I had grabbed her so forcefully, but she gave me her attention regardless.

“You have a real problem with asking ponies things, you know?” She said irritably.

“You need to get over yourself, Twilight.” I snapped in response “Leon’s tearing himself apart over you and I don’t think he’s going to last much longer.”

“Why should I be worried about what he’s doing when he went along with a decision without consulting me first?” She retorted, and I sighed.

“Because…” I said calmly, and gave her a desperate look “He’s losing faith that you actually still love him, which we both know is not true.”

She was silent for a moment as her eyes went from irritated to sorrowful. She raised a hand to hold her other arm and she looked away.

“What’s going on with him?” She asked quietly, and I sighed again.

“He’s not getting any sleep, he barely eats and he’s lethargic when he’s not training but even then he’s lacking his usual energy.” Terra’s voice came from the door, and we both looked at her in surprise “I was about to come talk to you, myself but Seeri got to you first, Twilight.”

Twilight did not look at us, but I did see a few tears begin to fall.

“It’s been the same for me…” She said sorrowfully “I can’t keep him out of my thoughts. I want to hold him again, to kiss him and let him know how much I love him… I want to be with him again.”

“If it hurts you so much, why do you keep acting this way?” I asked her and she gave a sniff as the tears flowed faster. Her legs began to tremble and I helped her into a chair.

“Because… I don’t know, I had a valid reason when I started but now… I just don’t know.” She said as she wept.

“You need to go to him, Twilight.” I said firmly, placing a hand on both her shoulders “If you continue this cycle of pain, you’ll lose him and it’ll break both of your hearts.”

“But… after the way I’ve been treating him…” She replied, her voice trembling “How can I face him again?”

“You can, because the alternative is to suffer heartache the likes of which will destroy you both.” I said calmly.

Twilight was quiet for a while, and then she nodded determinedly.

“You’re right; I’m going to stop pushing him away and… be with him.” She said, and hurried out of the library.

‘Well, that solves one problem.’ I thought triumphantly ‘Now… for the real reason I’m here, to investigate the location of the Corruption Entity…’

Leon’s POV

I stared at the mug of cocoa in front of me, the steam little more than a wisp at this point. I thought it seemed like a good idea at the time to make some but the moment I sat down at the table with it, I was reminded of that night I had truly accepted Twilight as my marefriend. So now I sit here, my drink cooling rapidly and my mind lost in happier memories, memories of intimacy and warmth and... and love. I guess I was so lost that I didn't hear my front door open, or even see someone sit next to me.

"Leon?"

The voice made my heart skip a beat and when I looked, Twilight sat next to me with eyes full of shame and worry.

"Twilight..."

She winced at the dull sound of my voice and her eyes teared up. Damn... crying women always tugged at my heart.

"Leon... I'm sorry."

I stared at her in confusion "For what? You've done nothing wrong."

"No, that's not true." She replied with a shake of her head "I wasn't honest before... I wasn't exactly angry - well, I was, but in truth I... I was so, so worried about you... I was terrified I'd wake up the next morning and find you gone, taken somewhere I... somewhere I couldn't be with you and couldn't bring you back from..."

I gaped at her "Twilight, I-"

"Please, let me finish." She interrupted, holding up a hand and looking like she was about to break down "I stupidly allowed my irrational fear and worry to... to..." She gave a small sniff "I hurt you, Leon... I hurt you so much and I'm sorry... you deserve better than me..."

There was a moment of silence “Maybe I do…” I said eventually and she looked away from me while I looked away from her “Maybe I do deserve better… but I don’t want better, Twilight, I want you…”

“Leon…”

I continued “Twilight… what happened to me… to my friend… it broke something deep within me. Ever since that day, I never wanted anything from other people except for them to leave me be. But then I was taken from my home. I met a girl who needed someone to help her and I met these ponies who wanted nothing more than to be my friend. But most importantly, I met you, Twilight. And ever since our first date, I realized… I actually wanted something for the first time in my life… I want you, Twilight... all I’ve ever wanted for months now is you. If I can’t have you, I’m just… I’m empty again.”

There was silence between us, and then Twilight placed her hand gently on mine. We stayed like that for several minutes when suddenly Twilight stood and pulled on my arm, coaxing me to my feet. What did she think she was doing?

“Twilight?” I asked and she put a finger on my lips, a warm smile on her face.

“No more words, Leon…” She said and began to lead me through my house, all the way to my bedroom.

The next morning, I was feeling much better. Even though Twilight hadn’t stayed the night, I was just happy knowing our problems were behind us. I was about to start making breakfast when I got a text from Twilight.

From: Twilight

Leon, I need you to come to the library now, something’s wrong with Spike!

To: Twilight

Omw

I got dressed as fast as I could and was out the door, nearly running in my haste to get to the library. I burst through the door to find Twilight trying to shift Spike’s attention from a globe that he seemed very interested in, oh and he was about four feet taller than when I last saw him.

“You went to talk to who?” She asked him.

“I, uh... I don’t remember.” He replied, his gaze fixing upon the globe again “Hey, can I have that globe if you're not using it?”

“Huh?” She asked, just as Spike took the globe from her magical grasp and climbed up the bookcases and over the balcony into her room, where he slammed it into the enormous pile of… junk he’d acquired at some point.

“What about this book?” He asked, and Twilight teleported behind him, attempting to take the book from his grasp.

“Spike, I’m concerned about you.” She said, continuing to try and take the book from him “You’re usually not so… ‘grabby’.”

She succeeded in pulling the book away from Spike and was examining it carefully when he took it back again, much to her annoyance.

“My arms weren't this long before now.” He replied with a wicked grin, his voice becoming deeper halfway through.

Twilight looked at him curiously as he slapped his claws over his mouth in shock.

“What’s happening to me?” He asked her worriedly and she looked thoughtfully at him for a second. Then she held up a finger as though to speak of an idea.

“Twilight, if your idea is to take him to a doctor, I can tell you right now they won’t be able to help you.” I called out, and she spun her head to look at me, her eyes lighting up and a smile gracing her features.

“Leon!” She exclaimed and warped directly in front of me before wrapping me in a fierce hug “I’m glad you came. Something’s wrong with Spike and I don’t know what it is.”

“Well, again, taking him to a doctor won’t yield the results you’re looking for.”

“What about a vet?” She asked me, and I laughed.

“Nope, won’t work either.” I replied casually, then jabbed a finger at Spike “If you wish to keep that, I suggest you leave my hat alone.”

Spike withdrew his hand immediately and scuttled back to his treasure pile.

“Anyway, do you know somepony who is proficient with unusual illnesses?” I asked her, trying to get her brain going. It worked and I could see the light bulb go off in her head.

“Zecora!” She exclaimed excitedly “She’ll know what to do!”

And with that we were off, slowed slightly by Spike wanting to take everything in sight. Twilight led us through the Everfree Forest until we reached Zecora’s hut, at which point I realized that I’d never formally met the zebra yet. Sure, I’d seen her around a couple times, but I was always busy when I did.

The zebra was pretty much like she’d appeared in the show, with the addition of tribal garb to go with her numerous gold rings. All in all, she was kind of pretty to look at.

She messed around with Spike for a moment, knocking on his head lightly and then dangling a gold watch that she’d gotten from wherever in front of his face while he tried to grab it like a cat. She accidently caused Spike to slap Twilight when she took one of his arms and flicked like one would horse reigns.

“Oh, he is starting to mature, of this fact I am quite sure.” She said, the rhyme flowing effortlessly.

“Mature? So he’s just… growing up?” Twilight asked incredulously “But that doesn’t explain why he keeps grabbing things.”

“A dragon’s heart is prone to greed.” Zecora replied, approaching her cauldron and throwing a pinch of… something in it, while Twilight approached to watch “A steady diet to make growth speed, then the resulting bigger size only makes their hunger rise. If this trait should go unchecked, if Spike should continue to collect, more growth will certainly occur. He is going to turn into a monster!” And Twilight gasped in horror.

“Are you telling me that the more things a dragon collects, the bigger and greedier he gets?” She asked, worriedly.

“Zecora’s rubbing off on you, Twi.” I said with a smirk, which caused her to blush.

“So how do we stop him before he’s completely out of control?” Twilight continued.

“If it’s his monstrous ways you wish to impede, you must prevent him from practicing greed.” Zecora said sagely.

“Good to know.” I said calmly, and then looked around the suddenly bare hut “Kinda wish you’d told us sooner. Oh yeah Spike’s gone, that’s probably a bad thing.”

Zecora glanced unamused at Twilight, who chuckled nervously.

“Sorry, Zecora, we’ll get your things back soon, I promise.” She said as she moved to the door “Let’s go, Leon, before he gets too far.”

“Coming Twi.” I responded, and then turned to the zebra “It’s good to finally meet you, Zecora, let me know if you ever need any help.”

“Same to you, an equal pleasure.” She said, shaking my hand “Though what you have with Twilight Sparkle is quite the treasure.”

“Indeed it is, Zecora.” I said, as I left to join my marefriend “Indeed it is, and I’ll guard her with my life.”

We hurried out of the Everfree Forest and into Ponyville, desperately looking for the wayward dragon. We found him accosting the CMC, trying to take Scootaloo’s scooter.

I scooped up a rock and lobbed it at him. It hit, but he merely growled and continued to tug at the scooter. I huffed in frustration; I could see that the girls weren’t going to be able to hold on for much longer, with Scootaloo giving me a desperate look.

Fortunately, Twilight had a brilliant idea.

“Hey, Spike!” She called out to him, levitating a broom in front of his face which got his attention immediately “Check out this amazing broom!”

She levitated it away from him and he released the scooter.

“Girls, go and get somewhere safe!” I yelled at them, which they heeded immediately.

“Spike… WANT!” He cried out in a guttural voice and his size increased dramatically, shortly thereafter he began to charge Twilight and I for the broom.

“Great we got his attention, Twi.” I said, taking a couple of steps back “What was Step Two again?”

“Um… RUN!” She cried out and we tore down a nearby alleyway mere seconds before Spike was upon us.

I ended up following Twilight as Spike chased us through Ponyville. Eventually we came across the library.

“In there, I’ve got an idea!” Twilight called out, and we ran through the door, with Twilight levitating the broom in front of it and waving it alluringly “C’mon, big boy; look at this incredible broom!”

Spike lunged in after it, got stuck in the door but managed to squeeze through and continued his pursuit of the broom.

“SPIKE WANT!” He roared as he dove after the broom into another wing of the library, with Twilight and I slamming the door behind him. He pounded on the door when he realized he was trapped.

“Fight all you want, we are not letting you out of there!” She called out to him, when suddenly the door stopped shaking.

Twilight and I glanced at each other in surprise, then it turned to dread. Twilight opened the door to see what had happened and we stared in awe at the fact that Spike had taken every single book off the shelves and sat upon them in a pile, his arms wrapped around his prize protectively.

“Oh, Spike!” Twilight exclaimed exasperated “I just re-shelved this room!”

“Again?” I asked her quizzically, to which she gave me a deadpan stare “Right, I’ll ask later.”

She levitated the pile of books out from under him, much to Spike’s surprise and displeasure, and brought them into the main room and shut the door with a sigh. Almost immediately we heard a crash come from inside the other wing.

“Ugh, what now?” She asked wearily.

“With our luck?” I said as she opened the door and we looked into the empty wing that had a nice, Spike-shaped door in the wall “He broke out and is now rampaging around Ponyville.”

“Augh, can this day-” Twilight began but I grabbed her immediately and cut her off with a kiss.

“Unless you wanna jinx us all to Tartarus, I suggest you don’t finish that sentence.” I said calmly, and she batted her eyelashes at me.

“You could’ve used your hand, you know.” She said coyly.

“What, and miss a chance to steal a kiss from you?” I chuckled “Perish the thought. But let’s not get side-tracked here, we’ve got a growing dragon on the loose. I think I saw him heading towards Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Right, let’s get moving.” She said and we ran out of the library to the farm, where we found Applejack examining her strangely barren trees curiously.

“Now who in Ponyville would steal mah apples?” I heard her exclaim incredulously “Fer that matter, who would steal mah leaves?!”

“Applejack, we need your help!” Twilight called out to the cowpony “Spike’s running wild and I need you to lasso him!”

AJ stared at her for a second before breaking out into laughter and slapping Twilight on the shoulder.

“Oh tha’s a good one, Twilight.” She said, chuckling “Sweet little Spike, runnin’ wild, what a laugh!”

Her laughter was killed immediately when she saw “Sweet little Spike” charge past with her apples… and her leaves, yes he literally took the leaves, too. I’m quite frankly more surprised he didn’t take the whole damn tree ‘Why don’t you remind him, I’m sure it’d be worth a few yuks.’

“Twilight.” AJ said calmly “Get mah rope.”

They had a brilliant plan to tackle Spike and tie his feet up before he could respond, but it was fouled up when Spike ducked to pick up a single apple and the girls ended up tied to a tree. Spike roared at them and left, while I appeared from behind my hiding spot and went to untie the girls.

“Hey, thanks fer yer help back there, Leon.” AJ said sarcastically “We shor coulda used it, but nah we’re fine now.”

“Don’t mention it.” I replied amiably as I began to untie the rope.

Rainbow Dash showed up at that point, and started to laugh at the sight of AJ and Twilight tied up to the tree.

“Don’t tell me… you tied yourselves up?” She exclaimed in between laughs.

“Feel free to join them, Dash.” I said, while tugging periodically at the rope “They’ve got jackets and badges… all sorts of cool stuff.”

“Are you done yet?” Twilight asked me and I shrugged.

“Nope, this rope is tied up something fierce.” I replied without looking at her “I can’t hardly tell where it begins, oh there it is.”

And with a light tug, the rope slid free of them and both of the girls stared at me incredulously.

“How in Equestria didja manage that, Leon?” AJ asked and I shrugged, but before I could respond there was a pair of high pitched screams.

“What was that?” Applejack said with a gasp.

“It sounded like Fluttershy to me!” Rainbow Dash stated, and we took off in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight called out “Fluttershy!”

“Fluttershy, where are you?” I called out as well.

“Leon-sama, up here!” A familiar voice shouted and I looked up to see Sakura high up in a tree with Fluttershy and a family of squirrels waving at me.

“Sakura, Fluttershy, what happened?!” I called out to them.

“W-we were helping my squirrel friends with a dance step, when all of a sudden, a g-giant, r-rampaging d-d-d-dragon stormed through!” Fluttershy called out nervously.

“That was Spike!” Twilight called back, and I heard Fluttershy and Sakura gasp.

“Spike?!” Fluttershy said, shocked “But why would Spike steal my chicken coop?!”

As one, we turned our heads to see that Spike had, in fact, stolen the chicken coop sans the actual chickens.

“I’ll admit, it’s less ridiculous than stealing leaves.” I quipped, earning a deadpan stare from Twilight and AJ.

“He just pulled it out of the ground and filled it with a bunch of apples and stuff.” Fluttershy called down at us again.

At that moment we heard another scream.

“Great…” I drawled exasperated “Someone else needs help… this just isn’t our day, Twi.”

“Tell me about it…” She replied wearily.

“It sounded like Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Quick, Bat-mare! To the Pinkie Cave, I mean, uh, Sugarcube Corner!” I said and ran off before the girls could respond.

We got to Sugarcube Corner and found Pinkie sitting on top of a dessert shelf lobbing pastries at Spike, who couldn’t decide whether to dodge them or catch them.

“Back! Get back!” She yelled as she threw more sweets at him.

“Pinkie Pie, don’t give him anymore cake!” Twilight yelled at her, which got an angry glare from the pink party pony.

“I’m not giving him cake!” She responded angrily “I’m assaulting him with cake!”

She ran out of ammo and reached down to get more, but Spike snatched them all up as she did, knocking her off the shelf.

“HOW DARE YOU TAKE THE CAKE!” Pinkie roared angrily and Spike roared in response but before he could act, he grew again… except this time he was towering over us, having torn the roof off of the bakery.

“Uh, girls?” I said with a gulp “I don’t think we’re high enough in level to be taking on a gargantuan dragon…”

“I wish I hadn’t left my +5 Vorpal Sword in my other bag…” Pinkie responded sadly and I barely kept my laughter in check, it coming out as a snort. Fortunately, Spike got distracted and he played Instant Door with the bakery wall.

“Will you please stop with the jokes, Leon?” Twilight asked irritably as she began to follow Spike “He’s completely out of control, who knows where he’ll go next.”

“Ten bits says it’s Carousel Boutique.” I whispered to Pinkie, who groaned.

“Aww, I was gonna say that…” She replied, though she winked and flashed me a big smile, and then she froze when she saw what remained of the bakery, her mouth dropping in shock.

“Aw, damn… Applejack, honey, can you help me with Pinkie Pie?” I asked the cowpony, who sighed and picked the party pony up effortlessly and moved at a brisk pace after the others.

As we ran through Ponyville looking for Spike, air raid sirens began to sound though it was quickly shut off in a manner that suggested something had removed them. When we caught up to him at, wouldn’t you know it, Carousel Boutique, my mouth dropped in both amazement and horror.

He was huge, and I mean the kind of huge that would’ve made King Kong piss his drawers. I noticed Rarity being held in his tail, a look of absolute terror on her face and screaming her lungs out.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash both tried to talk Spike down, which didn’t work out so well because of conflicting messages, one threatening and the other oh-so-polite. It ended with both of them getting caught up in Rarity’s cape when Spike tried to swat at the pegasi with his tail and they both fell in the river (note to self; avoid looking directly at them when they get out).

Then the Wonderbolts showed up and attempted to deal with the huge dragon, but all they managed to do was annoy the hell out of him and drive him over to a nearby mountain, Rarity screaming the whole way. Spike ended up catching them in a very brilliant manner by putting his junk in a cave and holding the top of the water tower he’d taken to transport the ever growing pile and catching the three pegasi assaulting him as they attempted another pass and slamming it, opening forward, into the mountain.

“Well, so much for them.” I said, pulling up a lawn chair and kicking back with a box of popcorn Pinkie had handed me, though she was still in shock over the bakery.

“How can you be so calm about this?!” Twilight asked me incredulously “He’s too far gone and we’re out of options… it’s hopeless.”

“Nah.” I replied casually, continuing to watch the spectacle on the mountain “Rarity’s got this in the bag.”

“What?” Was the unanimous response.

“Just watch.” I said, gesturing towards the mountain.

We saw Spike freeze after what I assumed was Rarity showing him her ruined cape, staring at something very intently. I got up from the lawn chair and stood in preparation for what was to come.

“Oh, now suddenly you’re all serious?” Rainbow Dash asked me, and it took everything I had not to turn and face her.

“It’s over; we should go collect our friends now.” I replied, still casual “Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, grab that cape and prepare yourselves to catch them.”

Just as I finished speaking, Spike reverted back to his old self and he and Rarity had a moment to consider their new predicament before they began to fall, screaming to the earth. The pegasi acted immediately and flew at top speed toward the mountain.

They caught Rarity and Spike moments before they would’ve hit the ground and brought them safely back to the rest of us, where they were both met with hugs. I saw the water tower fall from the mountain, releasing three terrified Wonderbolts, who looked around before puffing their chests out in mock confidence before shooting away.

Rarity went over to Spike, who was feeling somewhat guilty and talked to him, while Twilight walked over to me with an irritated expression on her face.

“Hey Twi, what’s wro-” I managed to say before she slapped me across the face “Okay, I deserved that.”

“Damn right you did!” She yelled at me, forgetting her normal etiquette “I was worried sick about Spike and Rarity while you just cracked jokes the whole time!”

I looked away guiltily and rubbed the back of my head.

“Sorry, Twilight… I shouldn’t have treated this so lightly, I promise I-” I said, but was interrupted by her again, this time with a kiss.

“Shut up…” She murmured quietly as she hugged me “I absolutely love your confidence, though I wish you’d treat things with a little more seriousness from now on.”

“I’ll try, Twi.” I replied with a smile “I make no promises, though.”

And we both chuckled, until we heard Spike clear his throat.

“If you two are done with the mushy stuff, I have a Friendship Report to write.” He said, walking up to Twilight and holding out a claw.

Twilight sighed and handed Spike a quill, ink and parchment, which she always carried around with her, while I leaned in very close to her ear.

“I’m gonna head home and ask my housemates if they can stay with one of the other girls tonight.” I whispered, and her ear twitched at my proximity “I would like it very much if you joined me for dinner.”

“Just dinner?” She replied in a seductive whisper, batting her eyelashes at me “Or did you have something else in mind?”

“With you, I always have something else in mind.” I whispered again “We can do whatever you want tonight, it’ll be just you and me.”

‘I remember when you first met her, you were all like “I want wait” and some junk, now look at you! Can hardly keep your hands off her and your-‘ Oh hello, Nica, good to hear you again ‘I’m taking a break from the snark for a bit while I decide what to do about Miss Shield.’

“Sounds like fun.” She replied, giving me a peck on the lips “I’ll see you tonight, Leon.”

And with that we went our separate ways. Terra gave me a fierce hug when I got home and she told she’d been worried about me. After reassuring her I was then assaulted by the CMC, who nearly crushed the life out of me in a massive group hug (apparently when I’d said “Get somewhere safe” they’d immediately run to my house. Go figure), while Seeri looked on with amusement.

Then I told the girls they all needed to vacate my home for the evening, because tonight was going to be private time between Twilight and I. The CMC looked at me in confusion while Terra giggled and Seeri gave me a knowing smile. Terra went to Rarity’s while Seeri decided to go sleep over at the library so that Spike didn’t get lonely and the CMC went back to their own respective homes.

Twilight showed up that afternoon and we spent the rest of the day and most of the night “enjoying” our relationship.

Ch. 25: "The Storm Approaches"

View Online

Chapter Twenty-Five
“The Storm Approaches”

The days started to get colder, as we transitioned from summer to fall. But it didn’t matter, I was being kept busy with my training.

Seeri was keeping me on my toes with melee training and holy crap she could fight. No matter how unpredictable I tried to make my strikes, she always seemed to know where they were coming from and would either block, parry or dodge while delivering her own blows that flew at me at blinding speeds. Needless to say I was feeling pretty sore after our sessions ‘It’s funny watching you get your ass beat by a girl, even if she’s ungodly powerful’.

On that note, Nica and Seeri had apparently reached some kind of agreement when I wasn’t looking and were having active conversations with each other whenever we were at home, which felt kind of awkward, especially when we had guests over.

Anyway, my training was progressing well; with Rainbow Dash, and Applejack helping me with physical conditioning and Terra and Twilight assisting me with magical preparations, with Seeri aiding in both, I was becoming a far better fighter than I had been before.

It’s not to say I was focused solely on my training; I also found time to have fun with my friends, and Twilight had actually put down in her planners the days we were supposed to be together, which we’d mostly just spend the night enjoying each other’s company (sometimes really enjoying each other’s company), though I made a point of visiting her off-schedule, always with an excuse of helping Spike with his chores or offering to run errands for her. She never turned me away, despite knowing I was just making excuses to see her.

Hearth’s Warming Eve was a pleasant affair. The pageant was very well done, and I thought Twilight did admirably. Afterwards, the two of us went and got a picture for her locket, which she wore all the time, and we had a nice dinner with her family where we got to catch up. I attempted to put Shining Armor on the spot with an offhand comment on when he was going to marry Cadence, but he turned it back on me by asking me the same regarding Twilight. Needless to say, I shut my trap on that subject, especially when Twilight was glaring at me in such a way that she was nearly shooting laser beams out of her eyes.

The next day, though, I went to a jeweler to find an engagement ring. I wasn’t going to propose anytime soon, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was going to happen. After picking out the one I felt was right and purchasing it (in case you’re wondering, I am very well off in terms of money. When you don’t have to pay rent or most utilities, the money kind of begins to stack. The only reason I work is to stay busy), I took Twilight out for a night in Canterlot, just the two of us, as a special Hearth’s Warming gift to her.

Continuing on, I was starting to notice Vinyl acting a little strange around me. Sometimes I’d catch her staring at me, though she’d immediately divert her attention and when she was over at my place to listen to music, she would occasionally lean against me or lay her head on my lap if I was sitting on the couch with her. I didn’t think too much about it because she was one of my best friends in this world and I always felt comfortable around her.

Things got really strange around Hearts and Hooves Day, which I tried desperately to spend with Twilight. The problem was, it seems I’ve stolen the hearts of half the mares in town and they all seemed to think that even though I was publically dating Twilight, I had not actually married her yet which to them meant I was still fair game. There was also something about Big Mac and Cheerilee almost getting married AS WELL, but I was too busy having to dodge all the mares vying for my attention (with Lyra, of course, still going on about that “human babies” thing).

When I’d asked Rarity about it later, she told me I had a kind of exotic air about me and a magnetic personality which drew the single mares to me. Rarity, herself, even admitted to finding me incredibly attractive and was wistful that Twilight had secured my heart first.

Eventually, Twilight and I settled for locking ourselves in my home and having a nice, candle-lit dinner, which I made perfectly. Afterwards we spent the night together, no “bedroom activity”, just… being together and enjoying each other’s company.

Oh… remember that comment I made about hoping never to meet Iron Will? Yeah, that one came to bite me in the ass, though I managed to catch him at Aurora Hall in the VIP section (in which I was granted entry without a word, seeing as I was on the perpetual “Honored Guest” list) and we chatted for a little while. He attempted to convince me to use his assertiveness methods, to which I politely but firmly told him I wasn’t interested. After that we talked for a little while and it turns out he’s not a half bad guy, if just a tad overbearing.

Then Twilight somehow managed to get involved with a time traveling spell. When I first saw the future her, I was concerned that something had happened to me to allow Twilight to come to such harm, but as we went through the whole debacle with that particular event I realized that once Twilight had something rooted in her head, she was hell-bound to see it through and no amount of persuading would turn her away (though admittedly seeing her in the sneaking suit was well worth her stubbornness because it put all of her feminine curves into perspective and I found myself going along with her plans in a drooling stupor ‘Even I’ll admit she was sexy in the get-up, and I don’t say that often’).

There were several other things that happened as well, like Spike running away to join the dragon migration, Fluttershy jumping in at the last second to get a tornado going to transfer water to Cloudsdale (oh yeah, I got some face time with Spitfire, who was totally awesome about the whole situation… I also think she has a thing for me, from the suggestive looks she was giving me ‘hmm I wonder what it is about you all these single mares find so attractive. Maybe you and Twilight should look into that’ maybe, Nica), but no direct action was needed on my part to solve them so I won’t go into much detail.

However, as these events played out, I began to get more and more restless, because I knew the “Big One” was right around the corner. My restlessness didn’t go un-noticed by Luna, who came to visit me in my dreams.

“Greetings, Leon.” She said to me was she took a seat on the hill over-looking the storm, which wasn’t the beautiful column of water it usually was; instead it was a savage tempest looming over the horizon and appeared to be crawling ever closer to the hill “There is significance to this dream. Would you care to explain it?”

I sighed deeply, never taking my eyes off the ferocious storm which flashed with green lightning every so often.

“Something very bad is going to happen, Luna, and I’m scared that all this effort I’m putting in to prepare for it won’t amount to anything.” I replied, my voice heavy and I felt her put a hand on my shoulder and almost immediately I felt a calm fall over me.

“Tell me why you would think this, Leon…” She said soothingly, but I shook my head.

“I can’t, Luna.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” I said, giving another sigh “It directly affects you and the others, especially Twilight, and if I tell even one of you, I could throw things so far out of whack there’d be no recovering from it.”

“Then think of way to tell me that will not create a conflict.” She said firmly but I shook my head.

“You don’t understand, Luna.” I replied, giving her a desperate stare “This knowledge I have, it could send you into a paranoid frenzy and innocents will get hurt because of it. But at the same time, I feel like I could prevent so much hardship if I tell you what I know and I am inclined to believe it when I know so much better than to listen.”

She merely stared at me and I looked back at the storm, my heart roiling just as much.

“Half the reason I can’t tell you is because the knowledge is too dangerous and I mustn’t tell you.” I said as my hands clenched into fists “And the other half… is because I want to tell you.”

“Tell me what you can and not more than is necessary.” Luna replies after a moment of silence “Even a tiny bit of knowledge used responsibly can affect the outcome of events as a whole.”

I looked at her and considered her words very carefully while weighing the benefits and detriments of sharing my knowledge with her. Eventually I decided that some information was better than none at all.

“When is the wedding?” I asked her, and she gave me a neutral expression.

“We do not know what it is thou is speaking of.” She replied calmly, and I glared at her.

“The supposedly ‘secret wedding’ of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence.” I told her and this time she was surprised.

“But… how?” She stammered and I put a finger up to my lips, shaking my head calmly.

“I’ve already let slip more information than I should have, now I need you to answer my question.” I said, giving her a hard stare.

“… It is in two months, just before Nightmare Night.” She replied, staring hard at me “Do you mind explaining what is going to happen?”

“Someone will attempt to crash it for their own purposes, that’s all I can say.” I said, turning my attention back to the storm. We were quiet a moment before Luna spoke again.

“Surely if you know what is to pass, you can do something to intervene, correct?” She asked me, her voice shaking slightly, but I shook my head sadly.

“Not without creating a bigger mess than you can handle.” I responded, though an idea hit me “Actually… there might be something we can do. You said we had two whole months, yes?”

“That is correct, but I fail to see-” She began, but I held up my hands to interrupt her.

“Luna, you can enter the dreams of multiple individuals at the same time as well, yes?”

“That is also correct, but…” She began but trailed off at my thoughtful expression “Leon, what are you planning?”

I looked back at her, a manic grin on my face.

“Resistance.” I said, and she gave me an incredulous look before it also became inspired.

“You intend to have a response team ready for when whatever shall happen, actually happens.” She said, and I nodded approvingly.

“Exactly but if I try to make the connections, I’ll be noticed immediately.” I said, laying my idea out for her while she considered me with a thoughtful expression.

“So you need me to go into the dreams of certain ponies and pass along warnings, as well as information on what they need to be doing, so that they don’t alert whatever shall be watching to our movements…” She said thoughtfully and I nodded again.

And so it was that we spent the next couple of hours in my dream drawing up the plan, which was a start but we still had a ways before things were actually ready. I told her to keep the Royal Guard out of the plan as they will most likely end up compromised before we could act.

I also made her Pinkie Promise that she was under no circumstances to tell anybody or anypony about what we’d discussed, and even the individuals involved in our plan are to be kept unaware of each other’s involvement until the signal goes up.

Once that was done, I bid her farewell and awoke and began to count the days when all hell would break loose in Canterlot.

The next two months passed without incident, but I could not relax. Every day that passed I became more and more nervous, and Twilight noticed despite my best attempts to hide it. I honestly did not mean to worry her and I tried not let my anxiousness come between us.

However, I awoke one morning and saw my worst fears realized; Canterlot was surrounded in a transparent magenta bubble, the same color as Twilight’s magic.

‘This is it; we’ve done as much as we could now it’s time to face the music.’ Nica replied, more solemnly than usual ‘Go meet up with the girls, they’re going to be having a picnic today.’

“Leon, what’s going on?” Terra asked as she walked outside to find me just standing there, staring at Canterlot, which made her look at it as well “Why is there a barrier around the city? Is something going on today?”

I said nothing, instead turning toward the library where I knew Twilight was going to be, getting ready for the picnic. I got there just as she was leaving, carrying a basket with a blanket and what were probably books since the girls were bringing everything else.

“Oh, Leon!” She exclaimed, before walking up to me and giving me a light hug and kiss “I was on my way to your house to get you; are you ready for the picnic?”

“Uh, yeah Twi…” I said, managing to force a smile on my face. She did not seem convinced and gave me a curious look.

“Is something wrong?” She asked, and I half-considered telling her. I certainly didn’t want to lie about it, but at the same time telling her would cause problems.

“I… don’t know, Twi.” I replied carefully, and turned my gaze to Canterlot “Aren’t you curious as to why there’s a bubble around the city today?”

She blinked and turned to look at the city before turning back to me with a shrug and a smile.

“I’m sure Celestia has everything under control, Leon, I seriously doubt there’s anything wrong.” She replied, taking my hand and squeezing it gently “C’mon, let’s go join the girls and relax today. You look like you could use it, too.”

I didn’t object though I so badly wanted to tell her, to warn her about what was coming but at the same time I didn’t want to cause her any more problems than what was necessary. I wondered what Nica thought on the matter.

‘Hm? Oh, do whatever you feel is best, Leon.’ She replied, but she sounded… distracted ‘Don’t worry about me, focus on the coming wedding.’

I was still out of it when we joined the other Elements, Terra and Seeri at the picnic area, though I noticed that Seeri was staring intently at the city. She caught me looking and immediately turned her attention to Rainbow Dash, who’d been trying to get it since we’d arrived.

Once everything was set up and the attendees settled, the girls (save for Seeri) all began to talk about the day thus far, all commenting on how gorgeous it was. I, however, was lost in thought, thinking about how things were going to play out and hoped to God things turned out well.

It was after Twilight had said my name for the third time that I was brought out of my thoughts.

“Leon…” She asked me worriedly “Are you okay? You look very tired. Have you been getting any sleep lately?”

“I’ll be fine, Twi.” I replied with a confidant smile “Sorry I’ve been out of it. That cake looks delicious, Pinkie, may I have a slice?”

“Sure!” Was the peppy response but before she could Spike ran up to Twilight, panting heavily.

He attempted to speak, but he was too out of breath. Eventually, he ended up burping out a scroll, which Twilight immediately unfurled and read aloud, though it ended up being a list of jobs for the mares (all were pretty excited, though Rarity passed out when she was told she’d be designing dresses for a royal wedding).

Twilight was confused at the prospect of a royal wedding until Spike sheepishly handed over a different scroll, which was an invitation to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her brother.

“Yer brother’s gettin’ married?” Applejack exclaimed, smiling and shaking her hands “Congratulations, Twilight, that’s great news!” Though Twilight was less than thrilled herself.

“Yeah, great news…” She huffed and began to pace “That I just got from a wedding invitation. Not from my brother, but from a piece of paper! Thanks a lot, Shining Armor.”

I felt a pang in my heart. I was also with-holding something big from her, but unlike that “piece of paper”, she’ll most likely not know what it is until it’s over.

“I mean, really, he couldn’t tell me personally?” she continued, caught up in her rant as she levitated a sandwich and made it flap when she spoke next, her voice deep to mock her brother “Hey, Twilight, just thought you should know I’m making a really big decision that changes everything, oh, never mind, you’ll hear about it when you get the invitation.”

“At least you know who he’s marrying, Twilight.” I said calmly, having returned my attention back to the castle, but not before I caught the irritated glare Twilight shot me.

“Um… Twilight, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, and Twilight sighed before walking a little bit away.

“Sorry. It’s just that Shining Armor and I have always been so close.” She replied, rubbing her forehead “He’s my BBBFF.”

Right… I forgot she called him that ‘Hahahaha, that’s such a stupid acronym, it’s hilarious’ Nica, be nice.

Apparently, none of the others understood it, which made Twilight face-palm.

“Big-Brother-Best-Friend-Forever?” She said, which garnered a collective ‘Oh!’ from the others.

She then proceeded to explain how Shining was pretty much her only friend in the world before she came to Ponyville and that they’d done everything together. But that wasn’t what concerned me, what got my attention was that she was really hurt that her brother hadn’t told her he was getting married personally ‘I guess you should go have a chat with her brother once everything’s said and done’.

“As one of your PFFs…” Applejack began, but she was met with a confused look from Twilight (and the others, though I groaned at the terrible acronym) “Pony-Friends-Forever…” another collective ‘Oh!’ “Ah wanna tell ya that Ah think yer brother sounds like a real good guy.”

“He is pretty special…” Twilight said as she walked back to her spot at the picnic blanket “I mean, they don’t just let anypony be ‘Captain of the Royal Guard’.” I saw Rarity’s eyes widen slightly.

“So let me get this straight.” She said, moving closer to Twilight “We’re helping with the wedding of not only a Princess, but a Captain of the Royal Guard!?”

“I guess we are…” Twilight replied with a shrug, which caused Rarity to sway and pass out onto a pillow Twilight had levitated over to her.

The others were excited for her, even Terra and Seeri, though Twilight had an expression combining irritation and… if I had to guess, betrayal. I wanted to walk over and comfort her, but I was held back by my own guilt. Eventually I stood and began to walk away, needing a moment to sort out my feelings.

“Leon, where are you going?” Pinkie asked, hurrying to catch up to me. I took in a deep breath and turned to give her as convincing a smile that I could.

“I’m heading home to get things in order for the wedding.” I said calmly “Even if I’m not going, you’ll all still need someone to look after things around here.”

“Well, duh, you’re going to the wedding!” Pinkie said, a confused smile on her face “You’re Twilight’s very special somepony so it’d make sense that she’d wanna bring you, Silly Billy!”

I shot a glance at Twilight, who was giving me a curious stare, and I felt my composure begin to crumble.

“O-of course.” I said, giving her a half-hearted grin “But it doesn’t change the fact that I need to go home and prepare so if you’ll excuse me, everypony.”

With that, I gave them all a bow and departed. Once at home, I took my messenger bag to my room and began to prepare for the events that were going to unfold, though it was difficult because my damn hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

I eventually gave it up for now and sat on my bed with my head in my hands.

‘Wow, you’re really freakin’ out about this, Leon.’ Nica said calmly.

“I… I don’t know if I can do this, Nica…” I murmured.

‘Do what?’

“Continue keeping secrets from Twi…” I replied, my voice sullen “You saw the look on her face when she found out her brother was getting married.”

‘You know she’s just irritated that she didn’t hear it from him and she’s going to end up forgiving him soon enough.’ Nica said, her voice level ‘Don’t worry about it, she’ll understand why you kept it a secret.’

“You don’t know that, Nica.” I retorted, standing up “If she- no, when she discovers what I know about the wedding, she’ll… she’ll…”

“She’ll still love you with all her heart.” Twilight’s voice came from the door. I winced and turned slowly around to see her standing there with an affectionate smile on her face. She began to walk calmly towards me as my mouth struggled to work.

“Twilight, I-” I began but she cut me off by putting her hand to my lips.

“I understand there are some things you just can’t tell me, no matter how much either of us wants it to be otherwise.” She said, as she wrapped her arms around me in a gentle, loving embrace “I’m not blaming you for my brother’s actions, or for knowing about the wedding beforehand.”

“It’s not just that, Twi…” I said, as I held her close “I have a very clear idea of what the future holds, and I have to live with that knowledge each day.”

“How so?” She asked me quietly, and I struggled to find a good way to explain it to her.

“On one hand…” I began slowly as we sat down on the bed “If I tell you what’s going to happen, it’ll… I’m not sure how to explain to you the severity of such an action, but it’d be bad. Whereas on the other hand, I don’t want you to get hurt and I feel that if I deprive you of that knowledge…”

“I could come to harm… or begin to resent you for knowing.” She finished calmly, as she began to gently rub my hand with her thumb “Is that what you’ve been worried about lately?”

“Yeah…” I replied sorrowfully, and she laid her head on my shoulder “I just don’t know what the right decision is and it’s killing me.”

“It’s going to be alright.” She murmured softly “I trust you, Leon, and no matter what decision you make I’ll still love you afterwards. I promise.”

“Don’t make me a promise you aren’t sure you’ll be able to keep, Twi.” I replied, draping an arm over her shoulder.

“I’m not. I mean every word.” She said as she looked into my eyes. We held each other’s gaze for a moment before our lips met in a kiss, after which we held each other for a moment longer.

“Well…” Twilight said, breaking our embrace “As much as I would love to stay here with you, I’ve also got to go prepare for the… wedding.”

She stood to leave, but I grabbed her hand before she could get too far.

“Twi, thanks for coming to talk to me.” I said with a warm smile “I’m sorry I can’t tell you exactly what’s going on with this whole wedding thing.”

“I’m your marefriend; it’s my job to be there for my stallion.” She giggled, leaning down to peck me on the lips “But I’ve really got to go now. We’ll be heading to Canterlot tomorrow morning, the wedding will be the day after. I’ll see you at the train station first thing, alright?”

“I’ll be ready, don’t worry.” I replied, and she gave my hand a gentle squeeze before letting go and teleporting home.

I continued sitting there for a moment before standing and walking back over to my desk which had my messenger bag on it. I reached in the gun drawer and pulled out my Berretta, checking the action and making sure it was still in good condition before pulling out my leg holster and packed them both away, along with my knives.

That night, just as we were preparing for bed, Terra gave me a reassuring hug and Seeri patted me on the shoulder in a confidant manner. After making one last check to see that everything was ready, I climbed into bed and was soon rewarded with a deep, dreamless sleep.

I awoke the next morning and fixed breakfast for my housemates (Oh, and Seeri is not a morning person; she abhors getting up any earlier than eleven so this morning she was particularly irritated with Terra, who was the picture of calm) and then checking one last time to make sure we had everything we needed.

After that, the three of us headed to the Ponyville Train Station to await the next train to Canterlot, where we met up with Twilight and the other Elements, and surprisingly Vinyl Scratch and Octavia.

“Hey, you two!” I said, giving the DJ our traditional greeting and the cellist a light hug “What’re you doing here?”

“We are heading to Canterlot for… business.” Octavia said, shooting Vinyl a glance, though the DJ didn’t seem to notice, she was bobbing her head to some music.

“Funny, so are we.” I replied, giving Octavia a wink “Well if our paths lead the same way, why not walk together?”

“An apt metaphor, Leon. We would be delighted to travel with you.” Octavia said with a nod, and Vinyl glanced at us with a smile and shot us a thumbs up.

We didn’t have to wait long before the train arrived, and some of the ushers on the train helped move Rarity’s and Vinyl’s luggage in while the rest of us went to our car. Once everyone was settled and the train was under way, the others began talking excitedly with each other save for Twilight, who was sitting next to me staring forlornly out the window. Applejack noticed and was about to come over but I waved her off, preferring to handle this one myself.

“What’s wrong, Twi?” I said, draping an arm over her shoulders and rubbing her arm soothingly and she gave me a small smile before looking back out the window.

“I’m just thinking about Shining Armor.” She replied quietly “Ever since I moved to Ponyville, we’ve been seeing each other less and less, then I lost my last coltfriend and now there’s you… anyway, with my brother starting a family with Cadence, we’ll probably never see each other…”

“You don’t honestly believe that, do you?” I asked her incredulously “You’re his sister. There’s nothing that could stand in his way if he wanted to spend time with you.”

“He couldn’t seem to find time to let me know he was getting married…” She huffed. I gave her a gentle squeeze, which garnered a smile from her.

I looked back at the others, who were still talking excitedly with each other (save for Seeri, who was out cold in her seat, had a moustache drawn on her face and a trail of drool leading from her mouth and Rarity who was furiously drawing up designs for dresses). I turned my attention back to Twilight when she gave a small yawn, which she’d tried to hide.

“Stayed up late last night, huh?” I said with a knowing grin, and she nodded with a blush “Alright, we still have a ways to go before we reach Canterlot. Why don’t you rest for a little while and I’ll wake you up when we arrive, okay?”

“Okay, thank you…” She replied as she laid her head on my shoulder and drifted off to sleep.

I noticed Rainbow Dash trying to sneak up on us with a permanent marker and I shot her a severe glare that promised great pain if she came any closer. She froze for a second, and with a sheepish grin backed slowly away.

I myself proceeded to close my eyes and catch some rest. After maybe half an hour, Dash made another attempt to draw on us, she had the marker uncapped and inching calmly toward my face when my free hand shot up and grabbed her wrist, making her drop the marker.

“Augh, what the-” She began, but I made a swift shushing sound and gestured my head to Twilight, who was sound asleep against me, so she finished with a whisper “I thought you were asleep!”

“Just because my eyes are closed does not mean I’m asleep. I was in a state of rest, conserving my energy for the things to come.” I replied quietly, and I felt Twilight shift slightly and give out a small sound “Leave us be right now, Dash. There’ll be plenty of time for fun later. I’d like to enjoy the calm before the storm with my marefriend, if it’s alright with you.”

She didn’t say anything, only nodded and bent down to pick up the marker, after which she approached the unconscious Seeri with a wicked grin on her face. I closed my eyes and went back into my state of rest, which was a place my mind went that existed somewhere between Sleep and Awake.

I was eventually brought from my rest by Pinkie shouting “We’re here, we’re here!” followed immediately by us passing through the barrier. It felt incredibly weird, like it was scanning me at a genetic level and it was enough to wake Twilight up, who glanced around in alarm.

“What was that?” She asked, a bit of sleep still in her voice.

“Don’t know, but we’ve arrived.” I said, and then gave her a playful smile “And whatever it was, it took my job away, which was to wake you up. Oh well, I’ll have more opportunities later.”

She giggled, and looked out on the city as we approached the Canterlot Train Station, coming to a stop.

“Whoa, what’s with all the guards?” Rainbow Dash asked as she, Rarity and Applejack stuck their heads out the door.

“I’m… sure they’re just taking the necessary precautions.” Rarity said, a bit nervously “Royal Weddings do bring out the strangest ponies.”

Our attention was diverted at that time by Pinkie Pie sneezing loudly, confetti and streamers flying from her mouth. She then proceeded to skip out happily as though nothing had happened, followed by Fluttershy, Seeri and Terra (who was doing her best not to laugh at the ridiculous images drawn on Seeri’s face, who in turn could not understand why the others were snorting and giggling).

Twilight and I were the last ones off the train, with my marefriend looking very unhappy.

“Anyway we should get going, we all have much work to get done and very little time to do it in!” Rarity said as she began to follow Pinkie, with Terra falling into step beside her.

“An’ you’ve got a big brother to congratulate.” Applejack said, though Twilight shot her a fierce glare.

“Yeah… congratulate.” She said as she began to walk quickly towards the palace, with me following close behind “And then I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

I turned briefly back to the others, who were staring at us hesitantly, and shrugged at them. The guards let us in with no trouble at all as Twilight practically stomped through, looking for her brother. I saw Celestia standing at the top of a tall tower, looking through a spyglass while also taking searching glances around her. She saw Twilight and I and gave us a nod before turning her attention back the spyglass.

As we approached the palace we saw Shining Armor in his golden guard armor, giving orders out to his Guardsponies, and Twilight quickened her pace, calling out to him as we got close.

“Shining Armor!” She yelled, and he turned his attention to us, smiling briefly before noticing the stern look on his sister’s face “I’ve got something to say to you, Mister!”

The Guardsponies nearby all immediately aimed their spears at her while I quickly stepped in front of her and drew my gun from my bag, pulling back the hammer and glaring at each of them threateningly while halting Twilight’s progress, my free arm keeping her behind me protectively.

Fortunately the standoff didn’t last long as Shining removed his helmet and hurried down with a cry of “Twily!” I glared at him as he approached, until I felt Twilight put a hand on my shoulder. I glanced at her and she nodded, so I let her go by me as I pushed the hammer back into place gently and replaced the gun in my bag. Twilight met Shining Armor halfway and he immediately attempted an idle conversation.

“I’ve missed you, sis! How was the train ride? I-” He began but was interrupted by Twilight holding a finger up and putting a hand on her hip.

“How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married?!” She snapped irritably, jabbing his chest with her finger “I’m your sister, for Celestia’s sake!”

“I-it’s not my fault!” He began quickly, his hands up trying to placate her “Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security. Didn’t you see all the guards at the station?”

“Yeah, there’s a big wedding coming up!” She retorted hotly, glaring at him “Maybe you heard about it?”

“It has nothing to do with the wedding.” He replied, his tone suddenly serious “A threat has been made against Canterlot. We don’t know who’s responsible for it, but Princess Celestia asked that I help provide additional protection.”

“That’s not a good excuse, Shining.” I replied coldly and he shot a glare at me, but didn’t respond.

“Look, let me show you why she’s asked for my help and why I haven’t been able to write to you about it.” He said, looking back at Twilight, who stared at him curiously.

He closed his eyes and I saw his horn become wrapped in the same magenta light as Twilight. After a moment, it brightened and shot up at the barrier, reinforcing it. Once it was done, he rubbed at his head like he had a headache briefly. He motioned for us to follow him and he continued speaking.

“The burden of keeping Canterlot safe and secure rests squarely on my shoulders.” He said as he led us up “Staying focused on the task at hand is my top priority.”

“Bull crap.” I snapped and stepped in front of him, putting my hand on his chest which caused the other guards around me to tense up and Shining Armor to glare at me again “Your sister is your ‘top priority’. It’s a noble gesture to want to protect everypony else, but you have no good reason for not telling Twi about the wedding yourself and you owe it to her to make it right!”

“Leon, it’s okay, I understand why he did what he did…” She said quietly, touching my arm calmly.

“That doesn’t make it right, Twi.” I said though she merely shook her head, telling me to let it go. I sighed, shot Shining another glare and moved out of the way.

He walked past me through a doorway and we followed him up a tower, stopping on a bridge overlooking the courtyard we’d crossed to get there. I stayed a little bit away with my arms crossed over my chest to give them some privacy but not far enough to where I couldn’t hear them.

“Yeah, I get it now. You’ve got a really important job protecting all of Canterlot with a barrier only you can conjure up.” I heard her say calmly, with a bit of sadness “But Leon’s right, you should’ve told me about something as big as your wedding… am I not that important to you anymore?”

I felt my anger towards Shining Armor spike again; his sister, my marefriend, was really hurt by his actions and he’d tried to cover it up by saying he was just doing his job, protecting all of Canterlot. He glanced at me, saw the angry look on my face and sighed, turning back to Twilight.

“Hey…” He said, reassuringly and putting a hand on her shoulder “You’re my little sister, of course you’re important to me.”

He took his hand off her shoulder and looked back over the courtyard.

“But…” He said, with a coy smile on his face “I’d understand if you didn’t wanna be my Best Mare now.”
“You want me to be your Best Mare?” She asked in surprise, her mouth open and Shining grinned sheepishly at her.

“Well… yeah.” He replied, and Twilight gave him a polite bow.

“I’d be honored!” She replied happily as Shining Armor approached and gave her a warm hug, though she pushed him away swiftly “But I’m still really angry you didn’t tell me that you and Cadence were getting married!”

At that he glanced curiously at me, which I returned.

“Did you know or something?” He asked, his eyes narrowing “I didn’t think much about it when you made what I thought then was a joke, but so far you haven’t shown any surprise towards the wedding.”

“Spoilers.” Was my curt response and he glared at me fiercely.

“Ahem.” A stern voice cut in from behind me, and I turned around to find Princess Cadence standing behind me “Am I interrupting something or will you let me pass now?”

I narrowed my eyes at her, but stepped aside. She’d only walked a few steps before Twilight immediately stepped up and gave their traditional greeting (that extremely adorable… thing she does when she meets Cadence). This was not well received by the Princess of Love, which got all my little bells ringing.

“What are you doing?” She asked curtly, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been served a heaping pile of bitch pudding that morning ‘She sure acts like she was, but then again the Princess is in another castle, ain’t she? Spoilers, Nica, hush.

“Cadence it’s me, Twilight!” My marefriend replied excitedly, though she gave ‘Cadence’ a confused look.

“Uh huh…” ‘Cadence’ replied, rolling her eyes and walking past Twilight to Shining Armor, and they embraced in what seemed to be a loving manner.

“I’ve gotta get back to my station.” Shining said, giving Twilight and I a smile “But Cadence will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going. I think I speak for both of us when I say we couldn’t be more excited to have you here. Right, dear?”

“Absolutely.” She said, giving us what looked like a wicked smile.

Twilight seemed wary of ‘Cadence’, while I only returned the smile, which seemed to surprise the Princess.

“Well, we’ll let you get to it.” Shining said as he and his ‘bride’ turned away.

“One moment.” I said and approached them both “I just wanted to say ‘congratulations’ to both of you before you became too busy to socialize.”

I pulled Shining into a friendly hug, patting him on the back while giving ‘Cadence’ a light hug, though restricting any actual contact with her to shaking one hand and putting a hand on her arm and drawing close. As I did, I felt a weird kind of energy surrounding her.

“The game is afoot, and you’re going to lose… ‘Cadence’.” I whispered carefully so that only she could hear me, and I saw her grin out of the corner of my eye.

“I would not be so sure of that, human. I have played this ‘game’ many times before.” She replied just as quietly, and we broke the light hug. I walked back to Twilight, who took my hand and drew close to whisper in my ear.

“What did you say to her?” She asked, and I shook my head.

“Come on, Twi, let’s go check up on the others and see how they’re coming along in their preparations; after all that’s what you were brought here to do, isn’t it?” I said loudly, so that Shining and ‘Cadence’ could hear me as they turned and left. I led Twilight back down the tower we came from and a guard led us to the kitchen where Applejack was running frantically around. Twilight took a seat in a nearby chair and had a frustrated look on her face while levitating a checklist.

Applejack began listing off several things she’d finished, like the wedding cake, an ice sculpture and some bite-sized apple fritters that looked remarkably like cupcakes. Twilight just sat and glowered the whole time right up until Applejack shoved a fritter in her mouth, which made Twilight slightly happier. Applejack winked at me, then began looking for the figures that would go on top of the cake.

We searched for a bit until I noticed Spike was playing with them. I approached him with a stern look on my face and extended my hand calmly. He glanced from my hand to the figures and back again, before putting them in my hand with a sheepish grin.

At that moment the door swung open and ‘Cadence’ entered.

“Hiya, Princess!” Applejack called, as her and the other cooks bowed deeply.

“Please call me ‘Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’.” She said in a regal tone and I saw Twilight roll her eyes. ‘Cadence’ noticed me and we both narrowed our eyes at each other.

“Hiya, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! ya come ta check out what’s on the menu fer yer big day?”Applejack asked, giving ‘Cadence’ a friendly smile.

“I have.” She replied, with a forced smile of her own, though it disappeared when the cowpony turned her back, becoming almost bored.

Applejack offered her some of the freshly baked fritters (which are to die for, by the way), and ‘Cadence’ ate one, picking it up in a kind of sickly green aura which garnered a quiet “Huh?” from Twilight.

“Delicious.” ‘Cadence’ said, putting the forced smile back on her face “I… love, love, love them!”

“Aw, shucks, why don’t ya take a few ta go?” Applejack asked, offering a bag of the tasty treats to the Princess, who seemed extremely reluctant to take them “Ah know how ya brides can be; so busy ya ferget ta get a little somethin’ in yer belly.”

‘Cadence’ took them and walked towards the door, tossing the bag into the trash on her way past. Twilight tried to bring it to Applejack’s attention, but the cowpony was too busy getting the rest of the food going.

We ended up going to see Rarity and Terra up in the tower the fashionista had been loaned just before Twilight’s birthday, where my marefriend attempted to vent her frustrations to Rarity.

“Oh, you should’ve seen how she acted back there.” Twilight was saying as Rarity was busy making sure my measurements were still accurate while also sifting from one dress idea to the next “I don’t when she changed, but that’s not the Cadence I remember.” Then she lightened her voice in imitation of the Princess “’Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.’”

“Did I hear somepony say my name?” ‘Cadence’ called out as she entered with her bridesmares. My jaw dropped when I recognized one of them.

“Lyra?” I called out to the mint green mare, who turned her head sharply towards me and gave me a confused look.

“Your Highness!” Rarity exclaimed, appearing in front of the Princess and bowing “Let me just start by saying what an honor it is to play a role in such a momentous occasion!”

“Uh-huh.” ‘Cadence’ said, trotting past Rarity “Is my dress ready?”

“Oh, uh, uh yes of course. I’ve been working on it ever since I was given the assignment, and I think you’ll be pleased with the results!” She replied with a smile “Though I’ll still need your measurements to make the final adjustments.”

“I was hoping for something with more beading and a longer train.” ‘Cadence’ replied curtly and walked away, though she saw me and once again we both narrowed our eyes at each other “Are we going to run into each other all day, human?”

“Perhaps we will, ‘Princess’.” I replied with a shark-like smile, and she huffed before turning her attention away.

“Anyway, those should be a different color.” ‘Cadence’ continued, gesturing towards the bridesmares’ dresses.

“I think they’re lovely!” The cream-colored mare with light pink hare said and the other two agreed with her. ‘Cadence’ shot them a severe glare and the three looked away nervously.

“Make them a different color.” ‘Cadence’ said with finality, and she began to walk away with her bridesmares.

“Lyra.” I called out and the mare turned to look at me strangely, and I briefly saw a flash of green in her eyes “Don’t you remember me? You’ve spent the better part of our friendship chasing me down for babies.”

At that, her eyes narrowed in confusion and she put a hand to her head like it was hurting her.

“Come, Miss Heartstrings, we have other places to be.” ‘Cadence’ called out irritably and Lyra gave me one last look before hurrying after the Princess.

Twilight made some comment under her breath about what ‘Cadence’ should change her name to, and we both left as Rarity went to work on new dress designs, though I noticed Terra was watching the Princess leave through the window.

We met up with the girls and Spike that evening once they’d all finished for the day.

“I bet I can guess what you’re all thinking.” Twilight said smugly as she came out of the shop with her smoothie “Cadence is the absolute worst bride-to-be ever.”

Everyone gasped at this (save for myself, Terra and Seeri, who was shooting irritated glances at Rainbow Dash periodically) and Spike held up the damn cake figurine of Cadence I’d taken from him earlier.

“Who, me?” He trilled in an attempt to impersonate ‘Cadence’.

“Spike!” Applejack snapped irritably, snatching the figurine from him “That goes on the cake!”

“Twilight, whatever are you talking about?” Rarity asked calmly “Cadence is an absolute gem!”

“But Rarity, she was so demanding!” Twilight exclaimed, but Rarity waved a hand dismissively.

“Well, of course she was. Why shouldn’t she expect the very best on her wedding day?” Rarity said, to Twilight’s irritation, who turned her attention to Applejack.

“Applejack, did you know that after she told you how much she ‘love, love, loved’ your hors d’oeuvres, she threw them in the trash?”

“Aw, she was prob’ly jus’ tryin’ ta spare mah feelin’s.” Applejack replied amiably.

“No, she wasn’t!” Twilight exclaimed, slamming her hands on the table “If she didn’t like your cooking, she should’ve just said so!”

“Well, she did raise her voice at one of my birds during rehearsal…” Fluttershy chimed in, and Twilight gestured toward her, a triumphant look on her face.

“See? Rude.”

“But… he was singing really off key.” Fluttershy continued, holding up said bird (‘where the hell was she keeping that thing?!’ Nica asked, though I ignored her) which squawked loudly, causing everyone to cringe.

“Pinkie Pie, you had to have noticed how Cadence treated…” Twilight began again, except she stopped when she saw both Spike and Pinkie playing with the figurines (at the sight, Applejack checked her person quickly before growling at them), with Spike holding Cadence and Pinkie holding Shining Armor. I face-palmed while Twilight continued on “Never mind. Rainbow Dash you’re with me, right?”

“Sorry, Twi.” Dash said, flexing her various limbs “I’ve been too busy preppin’ for my Sonic Rainboom to pay much attention to the Bride’s bad attitude.”

Twilight groaned in frustration, while Rarity went over to try and calm her.

“Twilight, the Princess is about to get married, I’m sure any negative behavior she might be displaying is simply the result of nerves.” She said, in a logical tone, though Twilight pounded the table again, this time knocking her smoothie over.

“And I’m sure it’s the result of her being an awful pony who doesn’t deserve to even know my brother, let alone marry him!” She exclaimed angrily and standing from her chair.

“Ya think maybe yer bein’ jus’ a tiny bit possessive of yer brother, Twi?” Applejack asked, to the murmurs of agreement from the others, save for me.

“I am not being possessive!” She retorted angrily “And I am not taking it out on Cadence. You’re all too caught up in your wedding planning to even notice that maybe there shouldn’t even be a wedding!”

She finished by slamming the table with her hand once more, this time sending everyone else’s drinks flying before storming off. I stood from the table and excused myself before chasing after her.

“Twilight.” I called out to her, hurrying to catch up “Twilight. Twilight wait!”

I caught up to her and grabbed her hand to stop her, though she yanked it away immediately.

“What is it, Leon?” She snapped at me, her eyes blazing “Did they send you to try and convince me that I’m wrong?”

“No, I believe you, Twi.” I said, taking her hand again “And I want to help you get to the bottom of this.”

“Oh, thank Celestia…” She breathed, giving me a brief hug “I thought nopony believed me. How do you suggest we show them that I’m right?”

“Do you know where your brother lives?” I asked her and she nodded “Go there and you’ll see what it is you need.”

“What about you, won’t you come with me?” She asked and I shook my head.

“No, because I already know what it is you’ll see.” I replied, and stared calmly into her eyes “Once you’re done there, return to the palace for the rehearsal wedding and I’ll tell you the next stage of the plan, okay?”

“Okay…” She said, her eyes and voice determined “I’ll see you soon.”

“You too and be careful, Twi.” I replied and we kissed briefly before we parted ways.

I watched her walk down the street before turning a corner and vanishing from sight. Once that occurred I turned and headed back to the palace. I was crossing the courtyard when a voice called out to me.

“WHO GOES THERE?” Luna called down to me from her tower, and I smirked ‘Set phasers to snark and open fire, Leon!’

“It is I, King Arthur, and I have ridden the length and breadth of the land in search of noble knights who would join me at my castle in Camelot!” I replied dramatically, which garnered a glare from the Princess.

“Tis not the night for jests, Leon.” She replied sternly in her Royal Canterlot Voice “Head inside and stay there.”

“Can do, Princess!” I said, giving her a two-finger salute and continuing towards the throne room, where the rehearsal would take place and to await my marefriend so that I could tell her the riskiest part of my plan.

I just prayed she was up to the challenge…

Ch. 26: "Bringing the Truth to Light"

View Online

Chapter Twenty-Six
“Bringing the Truth to Light”

Twilight caught up to me waiting outside the throne room as the rehearsal was under way. I guess she’d made one last attempt to convince our friends of the emergency after seeing her proof at her brother’s place, but they must’ve shrugged it off (save for Terra and Seeri, who both had apprehensive looks on their faces). Regardless, she arrived not long after the rehearsal started.

“Well, we’re on our own for this one.” She said morosely, though she gave me a warm smile “I hope you have a good plan.”

“I… wouldn’t say good, more like it’s all we have.” I replied sheepishly and she stared at me “Look, this is gonna be a gamble but it’ll pay off, it’s just that…”

“Just what?” She asked and I stared at her carefully.

“You’re going to have to go it alone.” I replied, and her face fell “Don’t worry, I’ll be right here waiting for you but if you want to stop her you’ll have to trust me.”

“I do trust you.” She said, her voice frightened but resolute “What’s the plan?’

“Confront Cadence.” I stated, and she stared at me incredulously “I told you it wasn’t exactly a good plan, but again it’s all we got. Now you need to get going, Celestia just called Cadence into the throne room and they’re wondering where you are.”

She stared at me apprehensively, before she drew me into a crushing hug and gave me a passionate kiss.

“For luck.” She murmured, before breaking the embrace and charging into the throne room.

I watched from outside as she confronted ‘Cadence’, which caused quite a commotion among the others and caused ‘Cadence’ to run off. She glanced at me as her brother got on to her about her confrontation and I nodded.

“Now if you’ll excuse me.” Shining Armor finished as he walked past her and towards the door “I have to go and comfort my bride. And you can forget about being my Best Mare; in fact, if I were you… I wouldn’t show up to the wedding at all.”

He shot me a glare as he walked past me, and I returned it while telling myself he was gonna get it for saying that crap to my marefriend.

“C’mon, y’all. Let’s go check on the Princess.” Applejack said, and the others all walked past Twilight and I and out of the throne room “Ya ought ta keep a better handle on yer marefriend, Leon.” She said as she walked past me.

“I’m handling this appropriately, AJ.” I retorted, and then looked back at Twilight, who was sitting on the floor with a look of sorrow. She glanced up at me with an expression that said ‘I hope you know what you’re doing.’ and I nodded confidently before shutting the door behind me.

‘Time to get a hold of Luna; our part in this game has officially begun.’ Nica said and I nodded. I asked a guard to escort me to Princess Luna and he complied hesitantly when I told him it was an emergency. Once up there, Luna dismissed the guard and confronted me.

“What goes on that you needed to speak to me so urgently, Leon?” She asked and I looked at her with determination.

“It’s nearly time.” I replied calmly “You need to get our Sleepers ready for tomorrow because that’s when it’ll all go down, just near the end of the ceremony.”

Luna stared carefully at me “Are you sure? My sister and I have not noticed anything amiss.”

“Oh, trust me, it’s going to happen.” I replied with a smug grin “I just managed to get my last piece in place and she’s gonna bring the whole house down when she gets back.”

“Who is the final piece, if I might ask?” She said, and at this I hesitated.

“Twilight Sparkle. My whole plan is riding on her shoulders and you’ll find out why soon.”

“Our sister’s student, the love of your life, Twilight Sparkle?!” She asked me incredulously and I nodded “You gamble everything on her for what reason?”

“Because she can do it. I believe in her.” I replied firmly.

“Are you so sure?” She asked and I nodded.

“Positive. She’ll succeed.”

Luna sighed “Very well. Do you have an approximate time when it shall all occur?”

“Possibly around noon, they’ll need to be ready a couple of hours before. Be sure to remind them of their positions.” I said and she nodded.

“It shall be done.” She said, and I nodded.

I departed her tower and returned to my room, though I didn’t sleep. If Twilight wasn’t gonna get any sleep, neither was I. Instead, I went about making sure everything was ready; my knives were sharpened and my gun clean and ready to work, with a full clip loaded. Once that was done, I sat on the bed and awaited the dawn, firmly ignoring the heaviness of my eyelids.

I was brought from my musings by a knock at the door and when I opened it, it was to find a bunch of Royal Guards there.

“What’s up, doc?” I asked them warily.

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has requested your immediate presence.” The one in front said, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Tell her I said no, that I’m waiting for my marefriend to get back.” I replied tersely, though he grinned at me.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, the ‘Princess’ is coming here and as for your marefriend…”

“She has been dealt with.” A voice behind me said, and I turned slowly to see ‘Princess Cadence’ walk in through the balcony door, which closed behind her.

‘Oh crap, Leon get out of-’ Nica began but then she was silenced at the same time ‘Cadence’s’ horn glowed a sickly green color.

“Be silent, pest.” ‘Cadence’ snarled, but then she adopted a sweet smile as she began to approach me “I was hoping we could have a… chat, about you wanting to join me.”

“Then let me cut this short, Chrysalis.” I said, spitting out her true name “I don’t intend on siding with you, especially since you’ve already lost.”

She chuckled at me and dropped her disguise, revealing the true form of the Queen of the Changelings. She was wearing some kind of chitinous regalia that hugged at her lithe form and her hands ended in claws. She was beautiful, but in the same way a predator is.

“The game is far from over, Leon, and it’s time you had a… change of heart.” She said, and then I was suddenly grabbed by the changelings disguised as guards and pinned to the ground while I struggled.

“Dammit let me go, you bastards!” I snarled, wriggling this way and that and managing to get a couple of lucky hits in before one of them hit me with a stunning blast and my body went numb.

I could do nothing but stare as Chrysalis approached me calmly and then knelt down, taking my limp head in her hand.

“I can smell the love you have for that meddling unicorn. It’s just too bad you’ll never see her again…” She said, and I was held up by the changelings and her horn began to glow “Now… why don’t I tell you about a mutually beneficial relationship we can have with each other.”

I glared at her as her eyes met mine and then my world turned green.

Veronica’s POV

“Dammit!” I cried out after being shoved out of the “door” that lead to where I could communicate with Leon. Almost as soon as it shut, it was suddenly covered in some kind of… stuff, that I guess represented Changeling magic.

I summoned my keyblade, Silver Hourglass, and attempted to use that to unlock the “door” but it was to no effect. Figures, he’s probably been whammied and that gunk on the door wasn’t gonna come off until he saw through the illusion.

And then I heard it, her words echoing through Leon’s mind.

“Don’t you wish you could change it, change the way your world works? I can help you, you know… We can exact revenge upon all of them; the people who murdered your friend and upon the faulty system that allowed it to happen.”

“Oh shit…” I swore. This was gonna get worse than it already was if she keeps saying that crap.

You see, I’ve discovered what it was that Leon picked up from the Void, and it’s bad, like really bad. Bad, like, “End of the World” bad. Oh yeah, it’s bad, and what it does is it feeds off negative emotions until it can eventually manifest and run rampant.

“All you have to do is pledge your loyalty to me and when we are done here, we shall return to your world and conquer it. You can rule your world with me at your side… doesn’t that sound wonderful? You will have the power to change everything you hate about your world and make it better.”

“Dammit, Chrysalis, stop telling him that shit!” I shouted fruitlessly.

And then I felt it, the rising hatred in his soul. I looked around quickly, at the vast crossroad that represented the various parts of Leon’s mind and saw the shadows begin to press in. I didn’t wait, I began to run down a random pathway, trying to get away from the darkness which had now formed behind me and was giving chase.

“Shit, shit, shit!” I yelled as the darkness nipped at my heels and I threw open a random door and dashed in, slamming it shut behind me. I slid down the door until I was sitting and held my head in my hands.

“Dammit, now what do I do?” I said, gripping my head desperately.

‘Find him…’ A voice called out and I looked around hurriedly.

“Hello? Is someone there?” I called out, standing up quickly “What do you mean ‘find him’?”

‘Find him… he must forgive, or the darkness will consume him.’

“Forgive? Forgive what?”

‘His past…’

I looked around for the voice, but couldn’t find anyone else here.

“How do I find him, this place is massive and I can’t just sift through it like I normally can.” I called, and as I did I saw a light appear ahead of me, beckoning me.

‘Follow the light, and believe; the stronger your hope, the closer you’ll get…’

I stared at the light and nodded, breaking into a run in pursuit of it.

“You’re not fading on me, Leon.” I said as I ran “Everyone still needs you… Twilight still needs you and I’ll be damned before you break her heart again.”

Twilight’s POV

“Augh!” I cried out, bracing myself against the ancient mine cart Cadence and I had found and clutching at my chest.

“Twilight, what’s wrong?” Cadence asked, concern evident in her weary eyes.

“Leon’s in trouble…” I breathed. It wasn’t something I knew; I’d felt him cry out in agony “We have to get out of here now!”

“First Shining Armor, now Leon?” Cadence asked, shaking her head “Will she stop at nothing to ruin everypony’s lives?”

“I don’t know, but we need to hurry.” I said, and then used my magic to put Cadence inside the cart and get it going.

We were silent as the cart followed the track, but then we both noticed the track suddenly end. I couldn’t help but think about how much I’d failed him as the cart collided with the end and threw Cadence and I out. When I realized we weren’t falling, I reopened my eyes and saw that Cadence had spread her wings and was carrying both of us to safe point just on the other side. We landed on our hooves and were faced our next obstacle; a dead end.

“No… no, no, NO!” Cadence yelled as she banged helplessly on the crystal wall, before sliding to her knees with a sob “It’s hopeless… we’ll never get out of here in time to save Shining and Leon.”

“Yes we will, we just have to find…” I said as I looked around, and another edge opposite us and about twenty yards up, only this one had sunlight streaming in “There!”

I grabbed Cadence and teleported us both up there, and then we were faced with another problem; the Fake Cadence’s old bridesmares in their dresses.

“You’re not going anywhere…” The three of them droned mindlessly.

‘Oh no…’ I thought desperately ‘NOW what do we do?!’ Then I remembered what Leon had asked Lyra back at the workshop.

“Lyra!” I called out to her and the mint-green mare froze in her tracks, a confused look in her eyes “Remember Leon? You want his babies and if you stop us here, you’ll never get that chance!”

She stared at me for a second before clutching at her head and groaning in agony, collapsing to the ground. The other two were completely oblivious to her plight and kept advancing, until Cadence created the illusion of a bouquet of flowers and ‘threw’ it off to the side. The two bridesmares watched its progress and then leapt after it with a cry of “MINE!”

I hurried over to Lyra and examined her for a moment before finding the spell controlling her and dispelling it. She groaned again and blinked several times, her eyes changing from that sickly green back to her normal amber.

“Wh-what happened?” She said, then looked around cautiously “Where am I, where’s Leon?!”

“Calm down, Lyra.” I said, forcing her to look at me “Leon’s in danger. I don’t know why or how, but I just know and I need your help.”

Lyra’s eyes widened briefly before narrowing in fury.

“Chrysalis…” She snarled “I swear to Celestia if she’s harmed my Leon in any way, I’ll rip her bucking throat out!”

‘Your Leon?’ I thought incredulously, but then shook my head lightly ‘Not now, Twilight, fate of Equestria in your hands!’

I helped Lyra to her hooves and she hiked up her dress so that she could keep up with Cadence and I as we ran out of the cave and into Canterlot. We arrived at the palace just before Celestia could finish the rite.

“Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you-” Celestia began, but I interrupted her.

“STOP!” I called from the doorway and everypony turned their attention to me. I took the time to notice that neither Seeri nor Terra were present, and strangely, neither was Leon.

“Ugh, why does she have to continually interfere?!” Fake Cadence growled, causing both Celestia and Shining Armor to look at her “I mean, why does she have to ruin my special day?”

“Because.” Another voice cried out from behind me and the real Cadence stepped forward, divine wrath blazing in her eyes “It’s not your special day. It’s mine!”

“What?!” The fake Cadence exclaimed in shock “But how did you escape my bridesmares?!”

“They threw a bouquet and the other two twits jumped after it.” Lyra said, storming in after Cadence with just as much fury in her eyes “Fortunately, they managed to bring me to my senses before I did something equally as stupid.”

“Heh, that’s clever, but you’re still too late.” The fake Cadence sneered.

“Ah don’ understand… Why are there two Cadences?” Applejack asked.

“She’s a Changeling; a foul creature that takes the form of a pony you care about and feeds off your Love for them!” Cadence said, never taking her eyes off her doppelganger, who was glaring angrily at her with glowing green eyes.

As soon as Cadence finished speaking, the other Cadence wrapped herself in green flames and dropped her disguise, revealing her true form to every pony present. Once she was done, she smiled and began laughing.

“Right you are, Princess.” She sneered “But I am not just a Changeling, I am the Queen of the Changelings! And as Queen of the Changelings, it is up to me to find food for my brood!”

She began to approach Cadence, who stood strong in the face of this new foe.

“Equestria has more Love than any place I’ve yet visited.” She said with a wicked smile as she looked around at the gathered ponies “My brood will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!”

“They’ll never get the chance!” Cadence retorted hotly “Shining Armor’s barrier will prevent them from reaching us!”

“Somehow, I doubt that.” Chrysalis said with a chuckle and turned her attention to my brother “Isn’t that right, dear?”

Shiny nodded his head drunkenly, which made Cadence attempt to rush Chrysalis.

“Ah, ah, ah.” The Changeling Queen said, turning fully to Cadence, her horn glowing “You wouldn’t want anything untold to happen to your precious groom, now, do you?”

Cadence growled, but backed off. I walked up next to her and gave her a concerned glance.

“Ever since I took your place, I’ve been feeding off Shining Armor’s Love for you.” She said as she walked back to my brother and draped an arm around him almost lovingly “Every moment, he grows weaker and so does his barrier. As we speak, my brood has very nearly broken through.”

The other ponies gasped at the revelation, but Cadence and I continued glaring at the Changeling Queen.

“He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now.” She said, and then turned a wicked grin to me “Along with your coltfriend, Twilight Sparkle.”

“What have you done to Leon, vile creature?!” I cried out and I could hear Lyra growling in anger “I swear to Celestia if you’ve harmed him in any way-”

“I’m fine. More than fine, really.” A cold voice called out from behind me. I closed my eyes and turned slowly around, unsure if I actually wanted to face him. When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Leon was standing there, wearing his normal clothes with his coat and hat. Strapped to his leg was that thing I’d seen him pull out against Shining yesterday. What scared me though, was his face.

His eyes were green, like my brother’s, but unlike my brother he did not seem to be in a zombified state; he was glaring hatefully at us, at everything around him. I’ve only ever seen that look in his eyes when he’d told me about his world. I gulped and approached him cautiously, trying to put as much calm into my voice as I could when I spoke.

“Leon…” I breathed in relief “Thank Celestia you’re alright… I was worried something might’ve happened to you.”

“Something did, Twilight.” Was the cold response as he walked forward and past me “Queen Chrysalis has shown me something great…”

“And what’s that, dude?” Lyra asked carefully “What could that thing have to offer that you’d want?”

“Revenge.” He replied, hatred dripping from his voice “With her help, those bastards back in my world will pay for the cruelty inflicted upon my friend, and once I have that we shall take it over and I will rule it the way it was meant to be ruled…”

He stopped at the base of the throne and turned to face us. Chrysalis laughed and descended the steps again, running a finger down Leon’s arm.

“Your time runs out, little ponies.” She sneered “Soon, my changelings will break the barrier around Canterlot and then we shall take it over, with the whole of Equestria following soon after. And once we’re done here…” She turned to Leon and caressed his head gently “We shall travel to his world and take it over as well. His mind was very informative on how his government works…”

“As long as I get my revenge, I don’t care what you do.” Leon snarled, hatred burning in his eyes which made the Changeling Queen giggle.

“No, you won’t.”

Everypony in the room turned their attention to Celestia, who’d been silent up to this point and was now stepping forward, her face resolute. She summoned a sword from nowhere and pointed it at Chrysalis, who had summoned her own weapon.

“You may have made Shining Armor too weak to cast his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self…” She said and then charged Chrysalis, their weapons clashing violently “I can protect my subjects from you!”

And with that, she broke free from Chrysalis and flew up into the air, her horn glowing with a bright light, which she fired at the Changeling who fired her own beam in response. The two met mid way and it looked like Chrysalis was going to lose, but then the Changeling’s beam pushed Celestia’s back and connected with her horn.

There was a bright green flash, and Celestia’s crown went flying. My teacher collapsed on the ground from the attack and was stunned.

“Princess Celestia!” I cried out as the gathered ponies all gasped in fear and I ran to my teacher, where I was soon joined by the other Elements.

“Ah, Shining Armor’s Love for you was stronger than I had originally assumed.” Chrysalis said, examining her hands “Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia!”

“The Elements of Harmony…” I heard Celestia murmur “You must retrieve them and use their power to defeat the queen…”

I looked up at my friends and we all nodded. We ran towards the doorway to leave, but I paused before I could cross, looking one last time at Leon who had begun to hold his head like it was hurting him. Lyra saw me looking back and waved her arm frantically.

“Twilight, go! I’ll take care of Leon!” She yelled and I nodded at her.

As we ran out into the courtyard, Chrysalis’ taunts followed us. Then, a new sound reached my ears and I stopped, glancing up at the barrier.

First, there was silence… then the barrier shattered in a tidal wave of sound and wind. We stared in horror as the Changelings began to dive down toward the city and we could only gape as they flew at us.

Just before the first wave could reach us, there was a twang followed by a zipping sound as what looked like an arrow flew over our heads and at the oncoming horde, exploding magnificently and causing the rest to pause.

We turned as one to our savior and saw that it was Searing Shield in the outfit she’d been wearing when we’d first met her, holding that strange bow up and glaring fiercely at the Changeling swarm. Terra stepped up as well, her own face determined.

“Get the Elements and save Equestria.” Seeri said, nodding at us “Terra and I will provide you with some cover.”

“Let’s go, girls.” I said and we ran past them to the tower where Celestia kept the Elements of Harmony, though I stopped when I got closer to Terra “Terra, Leon is-”

“He’ll be fine, go do what you need to.” She interrupted, giving me a sweet smile. I nodded and caught up to my friends.

‘Oh please don’t let anything bad happen to Leon…’ I thought miserably as I ran.

Switching to third-person; The Battle for Canterlot has begun!

The mare ran for her life from the Changelings that pursued her, dreading the moment when they finally managed to catch her like they did her coltfriend, but then she tripped and fell to the ground. She turned around quickly and realized she had no time to get up and so she screamed and closed her eyes.

But then she heard something dash past her, followed by the sounds of fighting. Only when the sounds stopped, did she open her eyes again to see a gray-coated Earth pony mare with raven black hair and wearing a fancy dress, straightening a pink bow tie at her neck. The new mare turned her attention to her and cocked an eyebrow.

“Are you okay, miss?” She asked and the mare on the ground nodded “Good. Do you know where Donut Joe’s is?” Another nod “Splendid, get up and hurry there, it’s been set up as a safe house during this crisis.”

The mare on the ground nodded once more, stood and ran away down the street Octavia had come. Once she was gone, the cellist turned her attention back to the newly arrived Changelings.

“Which of you wishes to be the first to grant me the honor of a dance?” She asked and bowed gracefully.

The Changelings glanced at one another and then charged. Octavia merely smiled before charging as well.

On Main Street, the bulk of the ponies in Canterlot were running pell-mell from the Changelings dive bombing them… save for two, a pegasus and a unicorn both with brown coats and curly golden-brown manes, who stood and observed the oncoming horde. The unicorn wore a pair of glasses along with a gray suit with a red tie while the pegasus wore a gray flight suit not unlike something the Wonderbolts wore and a pair of goggles on his head.

“Well, Lofty…” The unicorn said, adjusting his glasses “When Luna came into our dreams and warned us of a terrible event, I wasn’t quite expecting a Changeling attack.”

“Hmm…” The pegasus replied, sliding his goggles onto his face “Usual tactics, Spirits?”

“Naturally. Wouldn’t want them to be disappointed, do we?” Was the calm response.

“Nope.”

And with that, Soaring Spirits (known as Lofty to everypony else to avoid confusion with the Wonderbolt, Soarin’) crouched, and then shot into the air while High Spirits, his twin brother, set up the spell that allowed the two of them to synchronize their thoughts, resulting in a faster response time for the two and granting a shared knowledge between them.

Spirits also set up a Voice Amplifier spell and called out to the fleeing ponies around him.

“Attention everypony, please make your way to Donut Joe’s; it has been set up as a safe haven during the attack, I repeat, everypony please make your way to Donut Joe’s until the crisis has been resolved, thank you!”

Once that was done, he dismissed the spell, and went inside a three-story building so that he could get a better view of the chaos around him to provide real-time information to his brother, who was darting from Changeling to Changeling, knocking them out of the sky.

On the other end of the city, a group of foals was cowering in a huddle, surrounded by Changelings that looked at them hungrily. They advanced slowly on them and after a few steps, one of the foals cried out in fear.

There was a poof and a blue and purple smoke cloud appeared amidst the foals, along with an azure-coated mare with an ice-blue mane that was very neatly styled and wearing a blue and purple suit with silver stars embroidered upon it, with silver slippers on her hooves and a purple pointed hat and similarly colored cape. Her arms were spread out in a “here I am!” gesture.

“Fear no longer, my dear foals, for the Great and Powerful Trixie has appeared to save you from these foul creatures!” She exclaimed, staring the Changelings down, though there were beads of sweat on her brow.

The Changelings all stared at her curiously before one shrugged and they launched themselves at the show-mare, who merely grinned and cast her hands down at the ground again, creating a large smoke cloud. When it cleared, all the surrounding Changelings were unconscious and Trixie was panting a bit. She turned her attention to the foals behind her.

“Come, my little foals.” She said, beckoning a hand to them “The Great and Powerful Trixie shall show you to safety, and the best donuts in Equestria!”

And with that, Trixie led them safely away, the rest of the Changeling swarm too busy dealing with the sudden surge of resistance in other parts of the city to notice one show-mare and a group of foals.

Closer to the palace, not that far away from Seeri and Terra, a group of Guardsponies were struggling to hold their own against the never-ending waves of Changelings.

“Stand strong, we must reach the palace and protect the Princesses!” The leader cried out, though his guards were actually being pushed back by the horde.

Just when they thought all hope was lost, the Changelings attacking them were encased in a midnight blue aura and thrown violently away, with Princess Luna landing calmly in front of the guards and turning to acknowledge them.

“Your Majesty!” The leader said, dropping to one knee “The swarm of Changelings has been endless and we can gain no ground towards the castle.”

“Do not worry about reaching the palace, valiant Guardsponies.” Luna replied, effortlessly keeping attacking Changelings at bay with her magic “Fall back towards the establishment known as ‘Donut Joe’s’ and set up a perimeter around it.”

“Umm, may I speak freely, Your Majesty?” The leader replied curiously and Luna nodded “Why Donut Joe’s?”

“The citizenry has been redirected there and it is currently being used as a shelter.” She replied calmly “We are sorry, but we have no further time for inquiries. Please do as we ask, and the crisis shall eventually be resolved.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.” He replied, then stood and turned to his guards “Guardsponies, fall back and regroup at Donut Joe’s. Time is of the essence, so carry those who cannot walk and support those who cannot run. Now let’s move ‘em out!”

As the Guardsponies departed, Luna turned her attention back to the palace, watching the explosions of Seeri’s arrows and brilliant displays of Terra’s Evocation.

“I suppose I should stop holding back as well.” She murmured and a grin spread across her face, then she spread her wings and flew straight into the thickest bout of fight, right at the castle gates.

At Donut Joe’s, Vinyl Scratch was kicking back with her headphones on, bobbing her head to some of the sick beats she’d ‘borrowed’ from Leon’s music player with her hooves resting on a strange, boxy device. Donut Joe walked over and placed a fresh latte on the table next to her, which garnered a smile from her as she took a small sip of the glorious nectar of life.

‘I wonder how Leon’s doing? I hope he and Twilight aren’t getting into another fight.’ She thought idly, and then movement outside the shop got her attention.

“Yo, Joe.” She called out, removing her headphones “Looks like you’re gonna be pretty busy here soon.”

“Looks like it.” Was the calm response from the kitchen just as the first wave of refugees began pouring into the diner.

“E-excuse me, is this where we’re supposed to come during… that?” The mare in front asked Vinyl nervously, while pointing a finger outside at the chaos that was Canterlot.

“Yep. Go on and have a seat, babe.” Vinyl replied, taking another light sip of her latte.

“How are you so calm?! Changelings are attacking and rumors are going around that Princess Celestia was defeated by the Queen!” A stallion in the middle of the growing crowd yelled and there were a collection of gasps.

“She was, I was there when it happened, I saw everything!” A different mare cried out, and this time several ponies screamed in terror.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey!” Vinyl called out, standing and waving her arms to get everypony’s attention “Everything’s under control, the Princesses are sending guards to come protect us, just take a seat and cool your heels for a little while.”

“Cool our what?” A stallion asked, and Vinyl shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s just a phrase a friend of mine used once.” She replied, throwing a winning smile into the group “Besides, we’re all safe in here.”

“Safe? In a cheap diner, what’re you nuts?!” A different stallion cried out, though this got him a whole lot of cold stares from the gathered ponies around him “What?”

“You must be new to Canterlot, otherwise you’d know that Donut Joe’s is the best diner in the city.” Vinyl said casually, and she saw the stallion blush and take a seat.

At that moment, a colt burst through the door (or did a good impression of it since several ponies were blocking the way).

“A group of Changelings is heading this way!” He cried out “We’re doomed!”

The group of ponies all screamed again and began to shuffle about in terror, but they stopped when Vinyl pulled an air horn from somewhere and activated it, causing several ponies to cover their ears in pain.

“Calm down, everypony. I’ve got this.” She said calmly, and began to roll the boxy device through the throng and towards the door “Move it, dude; step aside, babe; excuse me, ‘scuse me, pardon me.”

Once she was outside, the ponies shuffled behind her as she aimed the device in the direction of the oncoming Changelings.

“Wh-what is that?” A stallion asked, and this garnered a huge grin from Vinyl.

“Sweet Celestia, I’ve been waiting forever for somepony to ask me that question.” She replied, then cleared her throat “This? Oh, it’s nothing much, it’s just…”

Her grin grew to be from one ear to the next as she raised one fist over her head.

“MY BASS CANNON!” She roared and slammed her fist down on a button that was on top.

There was a small click and everypony froze, staring at Vinyl, whose grin never faded. Then the box began to transform, with panels sliding from in front to reveal a huge set of speakers and the sides extended out to reveal several more, smaller speakers. Once that was done, a pressure began to build and the gathered ponies could hear a deep rumbling, not from the earth, but within their bodies as several ears began to pop from the building pressure, when it finally exploded out with a cacophony of sound and light.

The sound and light wave expanded outward, shattering every window in its path until it finally reached the horde of Changelings, who began to drop to the ground writhing in pain. Eventually the sound and light wave dissipated, leaving shattered windows all across the street and Changelings screaming in pain while the ponies behind the Bass Cannon save for Vinyl Scratch, who was smiling broadly at her handiwork, all began to uncover their heads and ears.

“Hot damn, Octy, I wish ya could’ve seen that.” Vinyl said, as the Bass Cannon folded itself back up.

At Celestia’s School for Gifted Young Unicorns, the students were being chased through the school and herded out onto the lawn by the Changelings, who all chattered in a manner that reminded them all strongly of laughter.

However, before one of the Changelings could get at one of the unicorns, it was knocked away by a golden blur, and when the other Changelings looked at what it was, a Gryphon stepped calmly forward, her beak turned upwards in a wicked grin.

“This may be a school for eggheads, but I’ll be damned if I’m not gonna have some fun here today.” Gilda said, her eyes glittering with excitement.

The Changelings all looked at each other for a moment before charging the Gryphon, who began to fight them all savagely, though she was vastly outnumbered.

The unicorns saw this, and nodded at each other before aiming stunning spells at the Changelings. The fighting at the school lasted for a good hour before all the Changelings present were down, but they could all see more coming.

“Alright, eggheads.” Gilda snapped, turning her attention to the gathered unicorns, who were all breathing as hard as she was “Time to buck up and move out; we’re heading to Donut Joe’s.”

“What?” A unicorn mare gasped, one hand clutching her side “Why the donut shop?”

“Because it’s been set up as a meeting spot for the refugees of the city.” Gilda replied, glaring at the mare “Once we arrive, we’ll be pretty damn safe not to mention we’ll have food and drink. Now, are there any more stupid questions or can we hit the road already?”

The unicorns all glanced at each other and shrugged, then nodded at the Gryphon.

“Alright, let’s get a move on before the rest of those Changelings decide to show up.” She said and they hurried out of the school.

“Terra, watch out!” Searing Shield cried out, launching a barrage of magic-infused arrows at the Changelings attempting to swoop down on the war-mage.

“Thank you, Seeri; be careful, you’ve got a group coming in from the castle!” Terra called back, creating a small meteor storm around her and Changelings fell burning to the ground.

“I see ‘em!” Seeri replied, and focused her fire on the incoming group.

After a few moments of fighting, the two defenders found themselves back to back with each other.

“Damn.” Seeri swore, looking at the Changelings surrounding them “There’s too many of these stupid things. I’m almost out of arrows!”

“And I am running out of energy…” Terra replied, panting hard “I can’t keep casting magic like this for much longer.”

They both stared at the horde around them, until the Changelings were all suddenly yanked away in a midnight-blue aura, with Princess Luna landing in front of the defenders.

“Are the two of you okay?” She asked and Seeri and Terra both nodded.

“Yeah, we’re fine, Your Majesty.” Seeri said, and rubbed one shoulder “But we’re losing ground here fast; there are just too many Changelings.”

Luna turned and considered the horde being held back by her magic, before nodding and turning back to Seeri and Terra.

“We shall need reinforcements if we are to take back the castle.” She said, then held out her hands “Take my hands and I shall teleport us to sanctuary, where we may regroup and then launch an assault upon the Changelings.”

Seeri looked at her for a second, before nodding and extending her arm. Just before she could make contact with Luna, however, a small flame appeared on her hand. She stared at it for a second, and then inclined her head as though listening to a voice neither Luna nor Terra could hear. Then a smile crept across her face.

“Sorry, Luna.” She said, as she put her bow away “But it appears I still have an ace up my sleeve.”

“If Seeri is staying, then I shall stay as well.” Terra said resolutely, and then gave Luna a small smile “I am not entirely out of this yet, either.”

“You two cannot hope to take the castle back on your own!” Luna protested “The Changelings outnumber you and more continue to arrive.”

“You’re right, we can’t take it back ourselves.” Seeri replied, turning to the Changelings as her hair began to wave, despite the fact that no wind blew “But we can give you a foothold; go get help and bring them back here and once you do, then we’ll storm the castle.”

Luna stared at them both for a moment before nodding and teleporting away. Once she was gone, the barrier she’d been using to keep the Changelings back fell and they began to charge the two defenders.

“Alright, Terra.” Seeri said, as her body lit up with flames that did not burn her “I’m tired of playing with them. It’s time we end this charade.”

“Indeed.” Terra replied as her eyes turned golden and became slitted like a cat’s as she removed the ribbon holding her hair in the ponytail, which began to grow and change colors “I shall protect my friends with everything I’ve got. I won’t hold back anymore!”

And then the Changelings descended on the defenders and piled upon them. A moment later, a massive explosion sent them all flying away as they were faced with their new combatants; a girl covered head to foot in light purple fur with her hair grown out almost to her feet, and her feet and hands ending in sharp claws. Her companion stood wreathed in flames, her hair having become almost pure fire and flickering savagely, with enormous wings of flame extending from her shoulder blades and her eyes glowing hotly.

“Let’s end this!” They both cried out at once and launched themselves into the horde of startled Changelings.

Ch. 27: "Prayers for the Wicked"

View Online

Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Prayers for the Wicked”

I felt like I’d been running after the light for ages but whenever I thought I was ready to give up, the calm voice came back and encouraged me onward. It was perilous as well, the surging darkness chasing me every step of the way.

But I had to keep going. He’d do the same for me.

Eventually, I did something I never thought would be possible; I reached the end of the hallway and found myself face to face with a softly glowing door and I knew it was the one I wanted. As I reached for the knob, however, the voice returned to me.

‘Wait. There is something you must know.’ It said, and I waited patiently for it to continue ‘In order to bring him back, you must remind him of what is truly important to him.’

I considered the words carefully, then gripped the knob and turned it. The hallway faded immediately and was replaced with a vast city. The only problem was that the sky was blood red with black clouds drifting across it and the buildings all looked half destroyed, and I could see fires in the distance.

“What fresh Hell have I landed myself in?” I asked quietly.

‘His. This is the darkest part of his heart, but also the one that sheds the brightest light.’ The voice said, and I set my jaw firmly.

“So, do I just… walk around until I find him?”

“Find who?” A cold voice said from behind me and when I turned to it, I discovered it was Leon. However, he looked horrible.

His face was twisted by hatred and his brown eyes blazed with fury, his skin had a grayish tone to it and his cheeks were sunken. He glared at me fiercely and I returned the glare.

“There you are. Time to wake up, Hoss.” I said, extending my hand, though he merely glared at it.

“What makes you think I’m going anywhere with you?” He spat, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Because you can’t keep pretending that you’ve moved on from what happened.” I replied calmly “The hatred still burns within you and unless you let it go, it’s going to consume you.”

“’Let go’?!” He snarled in rage “You mean forgive those bastards for what they did to her?! Forgive them for not only allowing her death to be swept aside, but also tarnishing her memory, the memory of someone who was a better person than anyone else on that god-forsaken rock?!”

“Yes, that’s exactly what you need to do!” I replied desperately, and he practically exploded with rage.

“NEVER!” He roared, his features contorting even more “They deserve to fucking burn for their crimes! I will have vengeance for her and they will know Wrath like nothing they’ve ever seen before!”

“At what cost, Leon?!” I yelled, my own anger making itself present “What are you willing to give up for your revenge? Are you willing to sacrifice Equestria for it? What about Terra, are you willing to sacrifice her?!”

“I don’t care about any of that, I’ll give everything!” He replied his eyes blazing.

“Even Twilight Sparkle?” I said calmly, and his features went from angry to surprised.

Then he winced and put a hand to his head, like it was hurting him.

“Twi…light?” He said in confusion “Who’s… that?”

“Your soul mate, the woman you love above everything else!” I said, walking forward and grasping his shoulder while leaning my head to try and look into his eyes “Easily the single most important person to you and you’ll lose her if you don’t let go of the hatred!”

“But… I can’t.” He said, his voice pained “If I do, I’ll forget about her, and if I forget about her… she’ll disappear.”

“Forget about who, Leon?” I asked him, and he cringed in pain, holding his head in both hands.

“S… Sar…” He said, struggling to say the name, and he gave a scream of pain.

‘I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Veronica.’ A dark voice said from behind me and I turned swiftly, drawing my keyblade and positioning myself in front of Leon ‘You see, if Leon remembers her name, I won’t have nearly as much control over him.’

“Show yourself, you bastard!” I called out defiantly and I was rewarded with dark laughter.

‘But I already have, stupid Nobody.’ It replied with amusement ‘After all, I’ve been hounding you every step of the way; you are lucky she’s been there to protect you or you would not have made it this far.’

“Oh yeah?” I called back, looking around for the source of the voice “Who’s been protecting me?”

‘Oh, ho! But what fun would that be, spoiling the surprise so soon.’ It replied calmly ‘Regardless, it’s time I dealt with you, pathetic little Nobody. You wished to see me, now here’s your chance!’

And then the shadows coalesced in front of me. It was vaguely humanoid shaped, but also demonic, a pair of horns snaed out from its head and it's eyes glowed balefully, it's mouth fiery and outlining razor-harp teeth.

‘Come, little Nobody!’ It cried out, gesturing with one of its hands ‘Come see if your light is stronger than the deepest of shadows!’

“With pleasure…” I snarled “Light, guide us!”

As I said that, I spun and conjured five pearls of light then sent them at the cloud with a flick of my keyblade. It was some really cool Final Fantasy crap.

Unfortunately, the pearls only made the shadow demon laugh as they vanished within it. I stared in shock for a moment before holding my keyblade up in my normal fighting stance. I stared at the creature and thought that this was gonna be more difficult battle than anticipated, before charging at it with a battle cry.

I just hoped that maybe Twilight would get the girls together and give me some help.

Twilight’s POV

I couldn’t believe it… our one chance to save Canterlot, Shining Armor, and Leon… and we failed.

Despite fighting a savage battle outside the tower where the Elements lay, we were captured as soon as we opened the door and discovered hundreds more Changelings inside. It was over…

As the Changelings led us back to the throne room, where Chrysalis was gloating over her victory and Celestia was bound from the ceiling in an enormous cocoon, I looked around and saw that both Cadence and Lyra had been cemented to the floor by some kind of gunk, while Leon stood guard in front of them, his eyes still burning with hatred. Then I noticed he had his weapon out and Lyra was nursing some kind of wound on her leg.

However, I also saw that Leon looked uncomfortable, wincing every so often like he was being pinched. His eyes met mine and they flashed with something, but it was gone so fast that I didn’t have a chance to see what it was.

Chrysalis dismissed the other Changelings in the room before turning her attention to me and my friends.

“It’s funny, really.” She said with a wicked smile, and took my head in one of her clawed hands, but I swatted it away “Twilight, here, was suspicious of my behavior the entire time. It’s just too bad the rest of you were so caught up in your ‘wedding plans’ to realize she was right.”

“Sorry, Twi…” Applejack said, putting a hand on my shoulder and giving me a sorrowful look “We should a’ listened to ya from the start…”

“It’s not your fault, Applejack.” I replied, giving her a warm smile “She fooled everypony, even the Princesses.”

“Well, not everypony…” Chrysalis said, walking over to Leon and caressing his head lovingly again “Your lover knew who and what I was from the start. He actually thought he could best me at my own game, but then I made him an offer he simply could not refuse…”

She walked past him to a window that overlooked the city.

“And soon, Equestria and all of its inhabitants will be under my…” She began, but then she looked out the window and her eyes widened “Wh- what? How…? When did…?”

Curious, the girls and I also walked over to a window and looked out it, and our mouths dropped at what we saw.

The city was in chaos, though not in the way I’d thought it would be; the Changelings were being pushed back by a huge amount of ponies, all letting out enormous battle cries as spells were launched from unicorns, pegasi knocking Changelings down and Earth ponies taking the ground forces out in a flurry of fists and hooves. There were also Royal Guards and some Gryphons thrown in the mix.

At the front though, was Seeri and Terra, though I could barely recognize them in their new and terrible forms. The two were tearing into the Changelings with a ferocity I never thought they were capable of with Terra, who I barely recognized, flinging high-powered magic the likes of which that made me shiver to watch and Seeri summoning and manipulating flames as though they were as much a part of her as her own body.

“PUSH THEM BACK, MY LITTLE PONIES!” Luna’s voice cried out from the mass of ponies and I saw her closer to the ground near the front, pointing a finger at the throne room “SHOW THEM THAT WE ARE NOT AS WEAK AS THEY WOULD BELIEVE! FOR EQUESTRIA!”

The mass of ponies all roared “FOR EQUESTRIA!” and surged forward, the line of Changelings crumbling underneath the unified assault.

‘Sweet Celestia… he knew.’ I thought, and turned my head to Leon, who was now almost doubled over, holding his head in pain ‘He knew what was going to happen and must’ve gotten with Luna to form a resistance group!’

But then a new thought came to me ‘If that’s the case, he must’ve told her something about what was going to happen… so why didn’t he tell me?’

I shook my head immediately, casting the thought aside. I’d made a promise that I would trust him no matter decision he made and I was going to stand by it until the very end. It didn’t stop me from feeling slightly hurt, though.

Apparently, Chrysalis had come to the same conclusion that I had and spun on Leon, lifting him one handed off the ground and glaring at him.

“What did you do?!” She hissed, and for the briefest moment, his eyes lost the green hue.

“I told you…” He said, the ghost of a smile on his face “You lost the moment I became a piece on the board…”

And just like that, his eyes turned green again and he groaned, holding his head in one hand. Chrysalis snarled and threw him across the room, causing him to slam into a pillar.

“LEON!” Lyra and I screamed at the same time, and I heard the sound of magic activating.

“Go to Shining Armor, Cadence!” Lyra yelled, and I heard her limp down the steps “This bitch is mine…”

I ran over to Leon, who was lying on his side, groaning in pain.

“Leon!” I breathed as I got to him, turning him over and taking his head in my hands “C’mon, Leon, open your eyes. It’s me, Twilight!”

“Twi… light…” He murmured, and opened his eyes slightly “R… run…”

“No, I’m not going to leave, not without you!” I replied and tried to lift him onto his feet, but then he suddenly shoved me away.

“You need to leave, Twilight, it’s not safe to be near me anymore!” He said, glaring at me though his eyes were scared “It’s coming and I can’t stop It!”

And with that, he screamed in agony and his body convulsed violently. I wanted to hold him, to comfort him, but I was unable to get any closer to him because he was moving too much.

“Twilight, what’s going on over there?” Lyra called out to me, concern in her voice as apparently she and Chrysalis had been distracted from their confrontation “Is Leon okay?”

“I- I don’t know!” I replied, backing slowly away from him “Leon, calm down everything’s going to be alright.”

“NO!” He roared out suddenly, and stopped convulsing “Nothing will be ‘alright’, not until I have my vengeance on that world for what they did! They will pay for all the years of pain I went through, and all the years of life they deprived her! I will have justice! THEY WILL BURN!”

He drew in a sharp breath and his eyes bulged, and then foul black smoke spewed from his mouth and nose, and coalescing above him in a vaguely humanoid shape. We all stared at it in horror, even Chrysalis. It made a sound like it was drawing a deep breath and exhaling.

“Ah, it has been far too long since I have tasted fresh air…” It ‘spoke’ and turned its attention to the Changeling Queen “Ah, Chrysalis… how kind of you to stoke the flames of Wrath in this human. I must find a way to repay you somehow.”

The Changeling Queen was too terrified of this development to respond, though I was more than willing.

“What did you do to Leon?!” I shouted, and it ‘looked’ at me with amusement.

“Don’t worry about your precious human, Twilight Sparkle.” It sneered at me, and I felt a chill spread through me “I’ve got him tucked away nice and safe, I’ve even dealt with that annoying pest he keeps around in his head. He should honestly be thanking me.”

There was silence for a moment before Lyra spoke up.

“What… are you?” She asked, and it turned to her.

“Now that’s an excellent question.” It said with amusement “I… am known as Sin.”

Veronica’s POV

Sin threw me violently away and I slid to a stop near Leon, my keyblade clattering to the ground a few feet away. I struggled to rise, but I had barely strength left… I was nearly finished.

“Dammit…” I muttered weakly “Dammit all to Hell…”

‘Was that the best you could do, little Nobody?’ Sin said, then made a sound like it was spitting on the ground ‘Absolutely pathetic, the human you’re based on could at least make me take him seriously. You’re just a joke.’

“Shut up.” I snarled, and this time managed to rise shakily to my feet “I can… still fight!”

“Don’t be stupid.” Leon said from behind me “You’re obviously no match for Sin, just lay back down and stop fighting.”

“Fuck that.” I snapped at him in response, turning slightly to face him “The Leon I know wouldn’t give up on me so easily, and I’m sure as hell not giving up on you…”

I looked back at Sin, which was staring at me patiently. I stumbled forward towards my keyblade, bent down carefully and picked it up. Then I held it in both hands in a rough combat stance and stared at the creature defiantly.

“Who… are you?” He asked me. I turned my head slightly and gave him a small smile.

“Why don’t you tell me.” I replied calmly, and I winked at him “After all… I’m your Nobody.”

And with that, I turned to Sin and put on a fresh burst of energy, a battle cry escaping my throat as I charged, landing a few strikes that had no effect on the mass of shadow. Sin, however, made a sound like a yawn and slapped me away with its arm. I flew back down the street, rolled painfully for a few seconds before coming to stop some distance past Leon, who’s eyes widened in concern. The hilt of my keyblade landed not far from my hand though when I looked at it, I saw that it was broken; half the blade had snapped off from the blow.

“My Nobody?” Leon said quietly, and then he groaned and held his head “Ugh, Veronica… Nica!”

“Cool, you remembered me…” I breathed, and my mouth curved into a small smile “Now you need to remember the rest.”

I reached for my broken weapon, grasped the hilt and attempted to rise again. It was hard, but I managed. I also discovered I couldn’t see out of my left eye anymore, probably from the blood pouring down my face (or what appeared to be blood anyway). Holding my side with my free arm, I walked slowly towards Sin again with the intent of continuing the fight.

“Nica, please stop!” Leon said, trying to block my path “You can’t win against It, It’s too strong!”

“Again I say, fuck that.” I muttered, and pushed him aside calmly “I’m not gonna stop until you tell me you remember and find forgiveness…”

“I… can’t do that.” He replied, looking away and I stopped to stare at him.

“Can’t do what, remember your best friend or forgive your world?” I asked him, causing him to wince and hold his head again.

“I can’t…” He groaned, and I stared hard at him.

"Yes you can, you just need to concentrate!” I stated.

“I can’t… it hurts too much!” He replied, dropping to his knees in pain.

“Push past the pain, you’re stronger than that, Leon!” I retorted.

‘While this is oh-so interesting to watch, I thought you might like to know I’ve manifested in your precious Equestria.’ Sin said wickedly ‘This world is so pure… I shall snuff out it’s light and plunge it into a world of darkness and despair the likes of which it has never seen before, and I’m going to start by eliminating it’s greatest champions; the Elements of Harmony.’

At that, everything froze, and Leon looked up at Sin with a venomous expression on his face.

“I will destroy you if you touch her!” He snarled, then groaned in pain again “Don’t you… harm Twilight!”

‘It’s too late for that, Leon. You can’t stop me at this point.’ It snarled in response ‘Cease resisting and just accept the inevitable!’

“Not while… I can still fight!” I snapped, raising my broken keyblade shakily “Leon, you have to remember… remember why you’ve born this darkness for so long!”

“I- I… it’s because… of what they did… to her.” He replied, panting in agony.

“I don't think that's true. You need to accept what happened.” I stated and he screamed.

“I- I don’t-” He gasped, holding his head.

“Don’t give me that, you have to or you'll die, is tht what you want?!” I snapped back, causing him to scream again.

“It hurts… I can’t!” He replied, breathing rapidly.

“Why can't you?!” I roared with finality and this brought one long, bloodcurdling scream of pain.

"Because it's my fault!"

The world around us became still and quiet, the only sounds were that of Leon's sobs as Sin and I stared at him.

"It's my fault..." He said again in a broken voice "I killed her... she... she's dead because of me."

‘It’s okay, James…’ The voice from earlier came to us, causing Sin to glance around furiously ‘Just let it go, it’ll be okay…’

‘Go away, you insignificant spirit, you can’t help him anymore!’ Sin roared in fury, with a touch of fear in his voice ‘His soul belongs to me now!’

‘Don’t listen to It, James, It hasn’t claimed you yet.’ The voice said calmly, and this time a calm blue light descended in front of Leon, taking the form of a pretty young girl with long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. She stared at Leon with emerald green eyes and a warm smile on her face.

I stared at her in surprise. She looked remarkably like… me.

“Sarah…” He murmured, a reached a hand to touch her face, though it passed right through her.

‘That’s right, James, I’m here.’ She said calmly.

“But you’re… I watched you die.” Leon said, as tears formed in his eyes “I held you…”

‘I know…’ She replied, and this time her face became sad, though she was still smiling ‘Thank you for being there for me in the end… it made me happy.’

“I'm so sorry, Sarah, I... I was so, so stupid. If I'd listened to you, you wouldn't have...” Leon sobbed “And then they just… you must hate me so much...”

‘I don't blame you, James, and I don't hate you either.’ She replied sadly ‘But you can’t hold on to it anymore; what’s done is done and you can’t change it.’

“But I can get the justice denied you, return the dignity they stole from you! I can make them pay!” Leon exclaimed desperately, though Sarah shook her head.

‘I don’t want that, James, I never wanted that.’ She said, her voice sad ‘All I ever wanted was for you to be happy, and here in Equestria you are… with Twilight, who needs you now more than ever.’

“But…” Leon began and I snorted.

“I think that’s enough ‘buts’ from you, Leon.” I said jokingly, causing Sarah to laugh. Leon, however, was quiet and he looked down.

“What should I do, Sarah?” He asked quietly “It hurts so much… I’m not sure if I can forgive them... or myself.”

‘Yes you can, because it’s the only thing still tying you to that world.’ She replied calmly ‘If you truly wish to call this world home, you must break the chains that keep you tethered to the other one.’

“I still don’t think I can…” He said, and Sarah looked at him.

‘Sure you can. I did.’ She said and Leon looked at her in surprise.

“You… you forgave them?” He asked incredulously “After everything that happened to you, you still forgave them?”

‘Yes.’ She replied warmly ‘You and I are both better than the petty grudges that rule our world, and you are so much stronger now than you were then. But to realize that strength, you have to let go.’

‘I’ve heard enough of this.’ Sin snarled ‘I’ll destroy you and finish what I started with Leon.’

And with that, his arms shot forth to strike Sarah down… only to collide with a wall of light I’d brought up between them.

“Oh, no you’re not.” I sneered as I raised my keyblade against him, strong and unwavering “Play time’s over, jack-ass; it’s time I put you back in your place.”

As I spoke, my broken keyblade began to reform itself, glowing brightly once it was finished. Sin stared at me in surprise.

‘What is this?’ It said, caught off guard by this new development ‘You’re supposed to be weakened, barely able to stand! Where is this strength coming from?!’

“Oh, about that…” I replied as a wicked grin crossed my face and the wounds across my body disappeared “I was just acting, trying to get Leon to see through the darkness within.”

“Nica… you’re okay?” Leon asked and I shot him a winning smile.

“Yup, gonna take more than this ugly son-of-a-bitch to knock me down.” I replied confidently “We gotta hurry this up, though. Everyone’s waiting for you outside.”

Leon looked from Sarah to me and back again, then nodded his head.

“Alright, I’ll… try. To forgive…” He said and Sarah smiled.

‘Just remember, James; the prayers we say for the wicked are not for them and the same goes for forgiveness.’ She says with a smile, which slowly vanishes as she begins to fade ‘I’m sorry, James… but it’s time for me to go now, my purpose has finally been fulfilled.’

“Wait, Sarah.” Leon said, reaching for her and his hand once again passed through her “Will I ever see you again?”

‘Of course you will, silly!’ She replies with a giggle ‘You’ll see me every time you remember the moments we shared together, because I’ll always be close to your heart.’

Leon sighed heavily and was quiet for a moment before opening his eyes again and giving her a confidant smile.

“Alright. I’ll see you on the far side, Sarah.” He said, and she smiled at him.

‘Goodbye… Leon. Embrace your Light and use it to defeat Sin.’ She says as she vanishes completely ‘Oh, and I like your new name; it suits you much better.’

Leon looks at me and nods, then we both turn our attention to the stunned shadow demon.

‘Why... why do you resist?!’ Sin snarls, angry and confused ‘I can give you the justice you want... bring death and ruin to everyone that wronged you... why, at the very last minute, do you refuse me?! WHY?!’

"It's because... I have someone new to protect, one who means more to me than all the promises of vengeance you offer." Leon replied calmly.

'You will suffer! Your days will be full of naught but suffering and misery!'

"Maybe..." Leon says, smiling as the world around us begins to grow brighter "But it will be worth it if I spend each and every one of those days with her... with Twilight... because she's worth it."

And then… he opened his eyes to the chaos occurring in Canterlot.

Ch. 28: "Darkest Before Dawn"

View Online

Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Darkest Before Dawn”

My eyes snapped open and the first thing my body registers is pain. The next thing I register is the mass of shadow that composed Sin, backing quickly away from me in an attempt to escape.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I growl and tap into the lingering Light I feel within me before shutting It inside an impenetrable prison of light.

“What now, pathetic mortal?” It sneered, glaring at me as I stood “Are you going to try and appeal to my ‘better side’, maybe tell me there’s a way we can co-exist? Do it, give me something to laugh at while I tear you apart limb from limb!”

“No. I’m not going to try and change you, because there’s nothing there to change.” I reply, returning its glare “You are Sin, everything that is wicked and corrupt in people. I cannot change what you are any more than I could make Discord stop his chaotic ways.”

“Then why not just destroy me with your new-found talent for Light and be done with me?” It asked, and I shook my head.

“Because it won’t solve anything, you’ll just find a way to come back and endanger this world once more.” I said, staring it down “And sealing you within me again will only pose the same issue. So what I’m going to do is simple; cast you back out into the Void whence you came.”

It stared at me carefully for a moment before making a sound similar to laughter.

“You can’t send me back, you barely have enough magical power to sustain this prison.’ It said, and attempted to loom.

“Ah, but I’ve discovered something about my relationship with Twilight.” I said with a wicked grin “I can tap into the latent power of the Elements within her and her friends and I’m going to use that with Celestia’s help to banish you from our world!”

Just as I finished, the throne room doors burst open and a group of ponies filed in being led by Luna, Terra in her Esper form and Seeri, a living embodiment of flame.

“Sister, we have managed to break through the Changeling line and-” She said, but her words halted at the sight of Sin “YOU!”

“Me.” It replied, mocking her “Tell me, did you enjoy your time as Nightmare Moon? I most certainly did, until Celestia used the Elements on you.”

“You’re not getting away from me this time, Sin!” Seeri yelled, summoning a multitude of fireballs and poising them for launch.

“Oh ho, and the Envoy of Fire has decided to make an appearance, how quaint. I’ve never felt more popular.” It said, and then turned its attention to me “If you are so confidant in your ability to cast me out, then show me!”

“As you wish; Celestia, Luna give me your help!” I said, then closed my eyes and reached out with my senses, looking for the power of the Elements. I found them easily enough and extended my will to draw it in.

What surprised me was that the Elements seemed more than willing to help, with little wisps of magic flowing into me as soon as I opened myself up to it. Once it was tucked safely within, I noticed that it didn’t feel like the normal kind of pressure magic has when I hold inside; it felt supportive and I could feel the essences of each of my friends behind it, encouraging me to use the power to send Sin away.

Sin noticed what was occurring and began to desperately try to escape, but my light prison was unyielding. Luna and Celestia took my hands and joined their magic with mine, and once it was all in place, we opened the portal to the Void beneath Sin and dispelled the light prison, dropping It into the portal. The only problem was, It held onto the edge and attempted to pull Itself up even as the Void pulled mercilessly at It.

“No… NO!” It roared defiantly “If I cannot have their world, I shall deprive you of yours!”

At first, I didn’t understand what it meant, until a sharp tentacle snaked out from behind It and shot forward… towards Twilight, who stared at it in shock.

“Twilight, get down!” I yelled as I broke the circle, leaving Celestia and Luna to maintain the portal, and I shoved Twilight out of the way.

There was a loud squelch and I felt pain in my chest briefly before I began to feel cold spreading throughout my body. I looked down just in time to see Sin’s tentacle get yanked from my chest as it was finally pulled into the Void and the portal closed. I looked back up, gave a small smile and collapsed, with Twilight letting out the shrillest scream I’ve ever heard.

“LEON!”

‘Leon, I… I feel so… cold…’

I saw Twilight run over and kneel next to me, turning me over and holding my head in her hands.

‘It hurts… am I… going to die?’

“Leon!” She said urgently, looking from my face to the bleeding wound in my chest and back “Stay with me, Leon, you’re going to be okay! W-we’ll get you to a doctor a-a-and then we’ll celebrate my brother’s wedding a-a-a-and you’re going to be fine, just stay with me, please!”

‘Leon…I’m scared… I… I don’t… want to disappear… again…’

I attempted to speak, but my mouth and lungs were filling with blood. I could only cough and gurgle, I couldn’t even breathe. Instead, I settled on raising my hand shakily to caress her cheek and smile, which she returned while also taking my hand and squeezing it as tears streamed down her face.

“No… please don’t leave me, Leon…” She murmured desperately, but my vision was fading quickly “Please… d-don’t leave me alone again…”

‘Please… I don’t… want… to die…’

Just as I began to think Death was going to claim me, I felt myself get lifted up a little and warmth began to spread through my body and my vision started to return to normal. I became aware that someone was holding me, one arm supporting my head and the other positioned over my chest; more specifically, the wound Sin inflicted.

I turned my gaze slowly to see Terra, still in Esper form, with her eyes closed and her mouth moving in a barely audible whisper and a golden glow encompassing us both. Then she opened her beautiful yellow cat’s eyes and smiled sweetly at me as my vision once more began to fade.

“I’m going to protect you.” She said warmly “You’re too important to me to lose.”

And with that, I blacked out. As I floated around in darkness, I recalled everything that had happened since I’d arrived; finding Terra in wherever that place was, stopping in at Yuko’s shop (huh? Why am I suddenly able to remember that?), making Pinkie laugh upon my arrival, creating the bond with Twilight that would eventually lead to me falling in love with her… Twilight…

Once I thought that, my eyes slowly opened and I discovered it was early morning, that I was in Twilight and I’s room, and that Twilight was asleep at the edge of the bed, her hand positioned near mine. I smiled, and slowly moved my hand to her head and caressed her cheek gently, which caused her to raise her hand to mine and take hold of it. Her eyes fluttered open, widening when they saw me looking back at her with a warm smile on my face.

“Hey beautiful.” I murmur gently to her.

“Leon!” She breathed and launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around me and kissing me fervently. I wanted to enjoy it, but I couldn’t help but croak in pain when she brushed against my chest “Oh I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s okay, Twi…” I replied sleepily, brushing her disheveled mane out of her eyes, which were flowing with fresh tears “The kiss was well worth it. By the way, didn’t you promise me ‘no more tears’?”

“I did, but it wasn’t a Pinkie Promise and it was in regards to the other Leon.” She said, a coy smile on her face “There was nothing in the rules about crying for you.”

“You must moonlight as a lawyer.” I murmured playfully, caressing her cheek again and she giggled. After a moment, my smile faded and my face grew serious.

“What happened to Chrysalis and the Changelings?” I asked and her face fell too though she never relinquished my hand, nuzzling it softly.

“After you and the Princesses succeeded in banishing Sin and Terra… saved your life, Chrysalis ordered her Changelings to stand down. After that, she and Celestia talked for a little while and then the Queen took her brood and left.” She replied, and smiled warmly “It’s over now, Leon. We won. Though I kind of feel sorry for her; during the whole conversation with the Princess, she had this broken look on her face, as though things didn’t matter anymore.”

“That’s one issue solved, then.” I murmured then I attempted to sit up, coughing for a second “Okay, let’s take a look at the damage.”

“Oh, Leon, you shouldn’t…” Twilight protested, but I squeezed her hand gently while removing my covers with my other hand.

I saw that my chest was bare and wrapped in a linen bandage, with a bloody spot above my right lung. I felt in that area and applied pressure, wincing as I did, but it didn’t feel like I was pushing into an open wound.

‘Terra cast a Raise spell on you; it probably healed the worst of the damage.’ I heard Nica say, though her voice sounded as drained as mine ‘We share a body, Leon, which means you’re not the only one who nearly died only this time I wouldn’t have been able to go find another version of you…’

“How long have I been asleep?” I asked Twilight, deciding to let Nica get some rest (‘Thanks…’).

“Since yesterday afternoon; Celestia postponed the wedding until they could fix some of the damage inflicted by Chrysalis and her swarm.” Twilight replied with a smile “Everypony’s been working really hard. I believe they’re about halfway done.”

“Twilight, I’ve brought some breakfast for you in case you’re-” Terra said as she opened the door and walked in with a tray, stopping when she saw me looking at her “Leon, you’re awake!”

“Hey, sweetheart.” I said, smiling at her “How are you doing?”

“I’m… doing fine.” She replied, walking over to a nearby table and setting the tray down, then hurrying over to my side to give me a hug, with Twilight moving around slightly so that she could have more room “I’m glad you’re alive, I was so scared when that thing… and you nearly…”

“It’s alright now, sweetheart.” I murmured, stroking her hair soothingly “I’m going to be just fine now.”

“But… you almost died!” She sniffed as she began crying into my shoulder “I’ve never been so scared before, I thought I was going to lose you… and be alone again.”

“Shh, it’s okay, Terra. I’m going to be just fine now, thanks to you.” I replied soothingly “And you’re never going to be alone, you have so many friends here who will take care of you when I can’t. Plus, I’m indebted to you now, Terra. You saved my life, and I won’t ever forget that.”

She hugged me for a moment longer, before breaking away and stepping back, letting Twilight take her place at my side. Terra turned to leave but I stopped her before she could go anywhere.

“Hold on, Terra.” I said, raising my hand “Before you go, I just wanted to say; you looked very pretty as an Esper.”

She blushed, but smiled and nodded before turning back and leaving the room, probably to tell everyone I was awake. Twilight, however, was content to nuzzle my neck affectionately and hold my hand.

“Y’know, Twi, you might be more comfortable doing that if you climbed into bed with me.” I said, and she gave me a suggestive look “No, as much as I would love some ‘quality time’ with you, I don’t think I’m in any kind of condition for that. But that doesn’t mean I can’t show you how much I love you in other ways.”

She giggled and walked around to the other side of the large bed and climbed in, settling against me with a contented sigh as I began to stroke her arm affectionately.

“Yes…” She murmured “This is so much better…”

“You wanna hear something funny, Twi?” I asked her, and she made some kind of sound acknowledging me “I spent half a year preparing for this whole damn thing and I got taken out in the opening moves. How lame is that?”

She giggled lightly, shifting her head so that we could look into each other’s eyes “That’s pretty lame, Leon.”

We sat there in silence for a moment, before she shifted in our bed and laid an arm across my chest, embracing me lightly and burying her head in my shoulder.

“Terra wasn’t the only one who was scared…” She murmured, and I heard strangled sobs come out “I thought… I thought I’d lose you. You told me you’d never get into that kind of situation.”

“Twi, I didn’t want to take that kind of risk. I didn’t want you to face the prospect of being alone again.” I whisper gently, as a few tears fell from my own eyes “But at the same time, I didn’t want to face the world without you, either. I’d have died anyway, except Terra wouldn’t have been able to use her magic to save me.”

She didn’t respond, only tightening her embrace as I slid my own arms around her and squeezing as we both shed the tears of our pent-up despair, each trying desperately not to envision losing the other. After a little while, Twilight spoke again.

“Please… don’t risk your life like this again. I can’t stand to see you hurt…”

“I won’t, Twi…” I said, and she looked at me, her eyes red and puffy.

“Promise me, Leon. Pinkie Promise you won’t.” She said and I smiled at her.

“Cross my heart… hope to fly… stick a cupcake in my eye; I promise I won’t hurt you like this ever again for as long as you live.” I say and we kiss slowly, passionately.

Afterwards, we just lay there for a moment, enjoying each other’s company when a memory hit me, a memory of me doing something horrible.

“Oh my God…” I whisper, horrified “I… I shot Lyra. Twilight, I shot Lyra! I hurt one of my friends!”

“Shh, don’t worry about her, she’s fine.” Twilight whispered soothingly, stroking my hair gently “She’s not angry with you, she knows you weren’t in control of your own actions.”

“That’s not a good excuse for what I did!” I replied, shame thick in my voice “I do not harm those I care about, and while Lyra is a little nutty towards me, she’s still my friend. She deserves better…”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Leon.” A voice said from the door and when I looked, I saw Lyra smiling at me “After all, I still haven’t gotten my human babies from you yet.”

“Lyra, there are no words to express just how sorry I am. I never wanted to hurt you.” I say, unable to look at her.

“Maybe that’s why it was only a graze.” She replies and I look up at her sharply “The doctor said that apart from the burn caused by the projectile, he’d seen cuts that were far worse. It hurt like Tartarus and bled a little but it was nothing a bit of healing magic, some salve and a bandage couldn’t fix. So don’t worry about it, we’re all good here.”

“See, Leon?” Twilight says, nuzzling me gently “There’s no hard feelings, though she and I are going to have a… talk, about that human babies thing.”

“I regret nothing.” Lyra says immediately and we all begin to laugh, though mine turned to coughing as my chest flared up in pain a little.

It wasn’t long after that the rest of our friends all began to show up, each expressing joy in their own way that I was doing better (except for Applejack, who was conspicuously absent), though I was pleasantly surprised when Spectra showed up with Sakura in tow, who was incredibly shocked at the state I was in.

After assuring her that I was completely fine I don’t know how many times, she finally told me the reason they were there; apparently Celestia had asked Spectra if he could help get the wedding back in order and offered to pay a premium rate for his services, which he had apparently refused… adamantly, though that didn’t stop him from paying his workers extra. Not wanting to pass up the chance to work in Canterlot, many of the employees volunteered for the job including Sakura, who was once again tasked as the receptionist (apparently she’s very good at her job).

Vinyl Scratch was absolutely furious and wanted to know where the guy that hurt me was. I told her that the thing that nearly killed me was far, far away from Equestria and would never be seen here again. She was still angry, but she was mostly content that I was still breathing, taking my free hand (since Twilight was still in bed with me, holding my other hand) and squeezing it firmly between hers.

Just before lunch, the Royal Doctor came in to examine my wound. After removing the bandage and prodding at the tender, but well-healed injury on both sides of my torso, he declared that I was going to be just fine as long as I didn’t over-exert myself for a few days to avoid any complications, also saying that the wound would leave a rather gruesome scar. Almost immediately as he said that, Shining Armor arrived, looking grateful but also guilty.

“Hey, Leon.” He said, approaching me with a friendly smile “Good to see you’re awake. Look, I just wanted to say-”

He was interrupted by me standing and punching him across the jaw, causing him to stumble back a few feet. Everyone in the room gasped, and Twilight was both stunned and angry.

“Leon, what are you doing?!” She cried out but I didn’t avert my stony glare from Shining, who was staring at me in bewilderment.

“That was for hurting my marefriend.” I snarled and approached him swiftly, punching him in the jaw again before he could react “That was for hurting your sister and this…” I finished by standing him up and slapping him across the other side of his face “Is for not telling your sister about the wedding yourself, you dumbass stallion!”

The room was deathly silent, everyone staring between me and Shining Armor, who was looking at me in shock. After a moment of this stand-off, Shining Armor began to laugh while still rubbing his jaw where I’d punched him.

“I’ll give it to you, Leon; I deserved all of that.” He said, still laughing. I grinned, but made it disappear when Twilight slapped me across the back of my head.

I then turned my attention to Cadence, who’d been standing nearby the entire time watching. I bowed politely.

“Good morning, Your Majesty.” I said courteously “I hope your recent incarceration hasn’t left you too exhausted.”

“I’m fine, Leon.” She said with a smile “Thank you for your concern, though I ask that you drop the formalities around me; I’m still just ‘Cadence’ around you.”

“If that’s your wish, ‘Just Cadence’.” I replied, making everyone in the room laugh “Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here until after the wedding, thank you.”

“You’re too funny, Leon!” Cadence said, trying to get her laughter under control “Though I have to say I do not approve of you assaulting my husband-to-be.”

“He had it coming, even if he was under a Changeling’s control.” I replied, shooting a glance at Shining Armor who looked away ashamed “But he’s Twilight’s brother so I forgive him.”

Shining Armor approached me again just as Twilight stepped up next to me, sliding her arm in mine.

“Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for saving Twily.” He said, extending his hand to me “For that, you’re as good as a brother to me now, and I think you’re the best stallion for my sister.”

“Thanks, Shining.” I reply, shaking his hand firmly “Glad to know you approve.”

“So when are you going to get married?” He asked, a sly smile on his face “I mean, it’s painfully obvious to everypony how much you two care about each other.”

“When the time is right.” I reply calmly, and my mind turns to the ring I’ve been keeping in my coat pocket.

He stared at me for a moment before looking at Twilight, who nodded in agreement. He sighed and gave us both a smile.

“Alright.” He said, then his face became serious “Oh, I just remembered; we’re restarting the wedding tomorrow, just before noon. I expect you both there bright and early for prep, and I was also hoping that you would still be interested in being my Best Mare, Twily.”

“Of course I am, Shiny, but on one condition.” She replied warmly “I want Leon standing up front, ahead of your other stallion friends.”

“Uh, they might get a little offended by that.” Shining Armor said nervously, and then gulped at the glares both his sister and his bride-to-be were giving him “But… I think… I can make something happen.”

“Glad to hear it.” Twilight replied with a wicked grin, and I nudged her playfully.

After that, we all went down to the dining hall and enjoyed a nice lunch. Afterwards, Twilight and I went out into the city itself and I saw all the ponies working hard to fix the damage. A few nodded at us as we passed, but most were too busy with the repairs; fortunately, it looked like the majority of the damage was restricted to the streets.

We also passed by a group of Spectra’s employees, who were out purchasing the necessary supplies for the wedding reception and being directed by Applejack, who waved excitedly at us and patted me on the shoulder. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to chat and departed quickly, yelling at Spectra’s workers in the same way a drill sergeant would yell at his recruits.

At first, Twilight had wanted to stop at Donut Joe’s for some coffee, but she scrapped that idea when she looked in the window and saw Trixie inside, chatting up these two very nearly identical stallions. I thought it was funny, because the unicorn looked extremely uncomfortable and was glancing around nervously while the pegasus sitting next to him just looked bored. Regardless, we left quickly before Trixie noticed us and decided to go back to the castle.

We’d barely been gone an hour, so Twilight and I hooked up with Cadence and began to check to make sure everything was in order for the wedding part two. This time, Cadence truly enjoyed Applejack’s fritters (though we both thought it was funny to watch AJ bark orders at the kitchen staff and Aurora Hall chefs like she was a military commander), she loved the dress Rarity made for her and had fun playing with Pinkie, ending with her approval of Fluttershy’s bird choir.

That evening, after enjoying a fantastic dinner and reporting to Celestia that everything was back on track, Twilight and I retired to our room and after changing into our sleepwear we lay in bed, just enjoying the closeness of each other. But there was something I needed to talk to Twilight about, a truth I had been denying even to myself. But it had to come out or I'd never move on from it.

"Twilight..." I said and she hummed lightly in response "Do you remember me telling you about my friend's death?"

Twilight sighed "I do... why do you ask?"

I could already feel the emotions welling up and it was painful, but I squashed them down deep inside and took a breath.

"Well... I didn't tell you the whole story." I said and she looked at me "To start... her name was Sarah. Sarah and I were coming from school that day and I wanted to get home in time to catch my favorite show. So I convinced her to go down this side alley with me, which was a mistake; our neighborhood wasn't a good place even during the day and on the main streets."

"What are you saying, Leon?" Twilight asked, staring at me in disbelief "That it was somehow your fault she died?"

"I'm saying it's entirely my fault." I reply "I was stupid and reckless and for what, some stupid little cartoon show? I got my best friend killed because of my stupidity."

Next thing I know, Twilight is kissing me into silence, her tongue accepting no arguments from me. She broke away and stared at me with loving eyes.

"What happened to your friend was in no way your fault. You couldn't have known what would happen." She stated firmly and cupped the side of my face in her hand "You need to stop blaming yourself, Leon. Leave the past behind so you can live in the future."

I was quiet as I sifted through the emotions swirling in my heart. I hurt, unbelievably so... but perhaps this way the wound would heal better.

"I'll try." I said finally "I don't know if I can, but I'll most certainly try."

Twilight smiled and nestled closer to me and we lay in silence just... enjoying the contact.

“Leon?” She asked and I glanced at her curiously “How are you able to use the magic of the Elements of Harmony? Even Celestia can’t use it without wearing a piece of the regalia.”

“You forget what it is the Elements represent, Twi.” I reply quietly, stroking her arm gently “The Elements are just a method of tapping into the Magic of Friendship, or to be more specific, what that magic channels, which is Love. All I did was draw on that Love, which gave itself to me freely.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, and I looked at her affectionately.

“Kindness, Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Loyalty…” I said, taking her hand and holding it gently “When shown to strangers, they can create feelings of affection, which in turn lead to Friendship. But when they’re practiced between those who are already friends, it’s done as a way to show that they care about each other… that they Love each other. Whether it is just a platonic Love, familial Love or romantic Love doesn’t matter; what matters is that they Love and that’s where Magic comes in.”

“So you’re saying that my Element of Magic is the same thing as Cadence’s power.” She dead-panned at me, causing me to chuckle.

“Absolutely not, Twi.” I replied calmly “Your Element is a result of the other five coming together; after all, haven’t you noticed that you display similar traits as your friends?”

“Not really.” She says, eyeing me curiously “Would you care to explain?”

“Well…” I begin, putting a finger to my chin in thought “You can’t lie worth a damn and you’re always straightforward with others, which are signs of Honesty. You’re never negative to individuals you’ve just met and you care deeply for the feelings of others, traits of Kindness. You are more than willing to help others, even at cost to yourself so there’s Generosity. As for Laughter, you can be quite playful and fun to be around and your snark nearly always makes me chuckle. Finally, you’re always willing to put yourself on the line for those you care about and you follow just as easily as you lead, both of which smack of Loyalty.”

“That’s funny, because I could use those exact same words to describe you, Leon.” Twilight replied with a giggle.

“Thank you, Twi.” I said affectionately, and wrapped both of my arms around her “I love you.”

“I love you too, Leon…”

And with that, we kissed and settled in to sleep, where I slipped into the dreamscape like Luna had taught me so I could visit Nica in the house she kept in my mind. When I entered, she was sitting in a recliner in the living room, wearing white pajamas with the Organization XIII logo printed on them and looking as if she was trying to get some sleep.

“I was until you let yourself in, jackass.” She muttered sleepily “Aren’t you supposed to be dreaming about your own wedding with Twilight?”

“Not right, now.” I replied, sitting on the couch across from her “I wanted to check up on you, seeing as we both nearly died yesterday. How’re you holding up?”

Nica was silent for a moment before she slid her shirt down a little on the right side to reveal a round scar in the same location as the one I had on my own body.

“Not dead, thanks to Terra, but it still hurts like hell.”

She straightened her shirt back and closed her eyes, giving out a tired sigh before she looked at me.

“I… I was really scared, Leon.” She said “When I was sent out into The Void the last time, I did it by choice and there wasn’t really any pain. I didn’t die, but back there…”

She paused and I knew why. It’s not easy to talk about dying, especially when you come as close to it as we did.

“I thought that was it; that we were going to die and that I…” she paused again and sniffed “I thought I was going to disappear again and that I’d… I’d be gone for good this time and everybody would forget about me.”

I sat there for a moment, trying to figure out what to say but I couldn’t think of anything. Just as I was about to give up, a thought it hit me and I grinned.

“Hey Nica, maybe there’s a way to insure you won’t be forgotten by anybody.”

She looked at me incredulously.

“Leon, I can read your mind and I’m not following where this is going.” Nica said.

“Well…” I began and I told her my plan. Her eyes widened and she face-palmed.

“Of course it’d be that simple.” She said, grinning “You really are perfect for Twilight, y’know Leon.”

I shook my head and laughed a little.

“Yeah, yeah, so I’ve heard. Look, I don’t know how much time we’ve got before I wake up so let’s get this little bit of arcana out of the way while there’s still time, Nica.”

She grinned at me and got out of the recliner, an adventurous look in her eyes.

“Sure thing, Hoss.”

Ch. 29: "Royal Canterlot Wedding"

View Online

Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Royal Canterlot Wedding”

The next morning was a flurry of activity as everyone got into place for the wedding.

I actually had to go pry Applejack away from the kitchens and get her to the changing rooms so that she could be put into the bridesmaid dress Rarity had made for her (I did it by abducting her hat and running like a bat out of Hell through the castle ‘AJ’s gonna beat your ass later for that.’ Hey Nica, feeling better? ‘You say that as though I was sick… but yes, I’m back to one hundred percent functionality; my snark launchers are active and waiting, Commander.’ Glad you’re back, Nica, it’s been too quiet around here).

Anyway, it was approaching time for the wedding and ponies began filing in. As I was waiting to be shown where to go, I saw Twilight approaching me and my jaw dropped at her appearance ‘I thought we were done with the whole jaw-dropping schtick’.

She was wearing a sleeve-less, regal red dress with a green leaf-like frill at the neck and a shining red and pink star was pinned to the front of it, a wide pink silk ribbon was tied around her hips with a bow at her left side. On her head was a ring of polished mint-green stones held together by a piece that looked like three green flowers with small polished pink stones set in the middle of each and on her hooves was a pair of silver shoes that sparkled in the sunlight. Her mane had been styled in such a way as to retain the same basic shape she always kept it, but curled much like her mother’s. Make-up had once again been applied in such a way as to draw attention to her beautiful amethyst eyes.

She stopped in front of me and I felt as if nothing else existed at that moment apart from the two of us.

“Wow, Twi…” I breathed, staring at her in awe “You look… so beautiful.”

“Thank you, Leon.” She replied, blushing slightly but smiling “And you look very handsome in your suit.”

“This old thing?” I say with a coy smile and a shrug “It’s just something I had laying around the house.”

“You’re hilarious.” She laughed, then leaned forward and we kissed briefly before she whispered in my ear “But I can see the ‘R’ Rarity embroidered on the jacket and I also saw it in her room yesterday.”

“Heh, nothing escapes your notice, does it?” I replied, also whispering into her ear, which twitched at my proximity “Except for when it’s painfully and hilariously obvious.”

“Oh, you.” She said, shoving me lightly, but also leaning in for another quick kiss.

Shining Armor showed up at that point with his and Twilight’s parents, who both greeted me warmly and thanked me for saving their daughter’s life, along with a few of his friends, who all shot me dirty glances because I’d taken the front spot.

We took our positions up near the end of the chapel, with the other Elements and Terra (whom Cadence had graciously named a Bridesmaid and who was looking absolutely stunning in a light-purple gown and had her hair done in a loose tail that fell over her left shoulder, with a lilac inserted just above her right ear, and light purple shoes on her feet that had a slight heel to them. She caught me looking at her, blushed, and gave me an embarrassed smile) taking their positions opposite the Groomsmen with Shining Armor and Twilight taking their spots in front with a waiting Princess Celestia.

Soon enough, Fluttershy had her bird choir start singing the bridal music and the doors to the chapel opened and the CMC skipped out, casting flower petals around them as they went, with Cadence following shortly after in her gorgeous bridal gown, the train being carried aloft by more of Fluttershy’s birds.

I heard Twilight begin whispering something to her brother, but I didn’t pay attention to what they were talking about; it wasn’t my business. I instead directed my attention to the bridesmaids and saw Rarity close her eyes in tears and Applejack, seeing that Rarity was no longer paying attention, reach behind her to pull her Stetson out… and watched with amusement as her face fell in horror when she discovered it was not there.

Her eyes glanced around frantically until they settled on me as I pulled the headpiece out and plopped it on my own head with a sly wink, having stolen it earlier with my magic when no one had been paying attention.

If looks could kill, I’dve been a pile of ash, but it was so worth it and I could hear Nica roaring with laughter in my head and I noticed Celestia had a carefully neutral expression on her face, though she winked at me when I glanced at her. Twilight, however, was not amused and yanked the Stetson off my head and hid it somewhere on her person. Fortunately, Nica managed to get her laughter under control before Cadence got too close. The Princess of Love ascended the steps and stopped next to Shining Armor just as the bridal chorus ended.

“Ladies and Gentlecolts.” Princess Celestia began “We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza-”

“Please, ‘Princess Cadence’ is fine.” Cadence interrupted her with a smile, which Celestia returned with a nod.

“The union of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.” Celestia continued “The strength of their commitment is clear; the power of their Love, undeniable.”

“Do you, Princess Cadence, take Shining Armor to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and cherish until Death do you part?” Celestia asked.

“I do.” Cadence replied and Celestia turned to Shining Armor.

“And do you, Shining Armor, take Princess Cadence to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and cherish until Death do you part?”

“I do.” He replied.

She turned to Spike, who’d been standing just behind Twilight “May we have the rings, please?”

Spike nodded and presented the cushion that had the golden bands on it. They were levitated off and slid upon Cadence and Shining Armor’s ring fingers.

“I now pronounce you Husband and Wife; please head on to the balcony and greet your new subjects.” Celestia said as a pair of side doors were opened and the newly-weds walked out to the roaring cheers of a huge crowd of ponies, where they began to wave at them.

“This day does not belong only to them, Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia said after a moment, and we all turned our attention to her “You persevered in the face of doubt and through your actions, you were able to find and return the real Princess Cadence to us.”

“Were it only me, Princess, I would gladly accept your praise.” Twilight responded, before sliding her arm through mine and looking at me affectionately “But it was Leon who told me what I needed to do in order to find her; without him, Chrysalis might’ve won.”

“I doubt that, Twi.” I say, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment “You still would’ve figured it out on your own, all I did was show you support when the others couldn’t see past the lie.”

There was sound behind me like several ponies shuffling their hooves nervously while Celestia gave me a warm smile.

“Do not sell yourself short, Leon.” She said, approaching me and placing her hand on my shoulder “My sister has told me that the unique defense of the city was entirely your idea. Without your response team, there would have been many casualties. And let’s not forget you risked your life to save Twilight Sparkle, whom many here care about dearly. I wish to honor you for everything you’ve done for us.”

“Oh that won’t be necessary; I’m content knowing everything has turned out for the best.” I say, feeling a blush rise on my face.

“Your modesty, nobility and conviction are also things I wish to honor you for.” She replied with a giggle, and then presented a badge to me shaped to look like a pair of Alicorns (the actual horse version not the anthro-pony) bearing the royal crest of the Diarchy.

I glanced at it curiously, then looked at Celestia, who stared calmly back at me.

“This badge has not been seen in Equestria for a very long time. It comes from a time before my sister and I created the Elements and was worn by select ponies who displayed characteristics of True Valor.” She said her eyes boring into my own, which had widened slightly.

“You mean-” I murmured quietly and she cut me off before I could continue.

“As Regent of Equestria, it is with great honor that I bestow upon thee the title ‘Paladin of Dawn’. And since Veronica is your counterpart, I am also granting her the title ‘Paladin of Dusk’.” She says and smiles at me “Allow me to be the first to congratulate you both on this tremendous accomplishment, Sir Leon.”

“Your Majesty, I-I don’t know what to say….” I said as my mind reeled “I… I thought there’d be more ceremony than this.”

“My sister and I thought it would be prudent to not distract the masses from the wedding.” She replies, giggling “Plus, you didn’t actually want all of the bells and whistles to go with a full Knighthood Ceremony, did you?”

‘Hell no.’“Not particularly.” I chuckle, but my face grew solemn “What about the response team?”

“Luna is handling that part, as the plan was created by the two of you.”

I stare at the badge before pinning it to my chest and Celestia nods approvingly.

“Whenever you wear this badge, ponies everywhere will know that you are an individual of tremendous honor and nobility and they will recognize that you carry the favor of myself and my sister.” She says and I bow respectfully.

After which, we all turn back to the balcony just in time to see Shining Armor and Cadence exchange their first kiss as a married couple.

“This is your que.” Celestia says to Dash, who promptly shrugs her dress off to reveal a flight suit underneath and shoots off into the sky, creating a Sonic Rainboom on her way up.

“I gotta admit.” I say as Twilight takes my arm again and leans her head on my shoulder “That Rainboom is something else.”

“Yep.” Twilight replies “It sure is…”

Once it fades, we all depart the chapel and head to the ball room for the reception, to fully celebrate the union of Cadence and Shining Armor.

Sakura greeted us warmly at the entrance to the ballroom, giving me a brief hug before turning to the security guard next to her, who was also the first bouncer we’d met when Twilight and I had our first date at Aurora Hall.

He looked at the list, checked our names off and allowed us to pass, though he gave me a formal bow at the sight of my Knight’s Badge. I merely patted his shoulder in the same way I did when we first met and continued onward.

As we stepped into the ball room, there was already a large group of ponies around, with Spectra’s employees expertly weaving through them holding trays of drinks and snacks. What amazed me was that none of the guests seemed to mind the presence of wolves and foxes serving the food or the burly Minotaurs and lean Gryphons standing guard at strategic points of the room.

Shining Armor and Cadence were scheduled to be “fashionably late” to give the guests time to arrive at the reception, so Twilight and I had to endure many fancy ponies walking up to us, bowing and then talking about my new title; apparently receiving an Equestrian Knighthood was a big deal and they all wanted to get to know me, for one reason or another.

It wasn’t all bad. We met up with Spitfire and Soarin’, who were there representing the Wonderbolts, and they both saluted me sharply when they saw my badge, afterwards we chatted for a little bit. Once that was done, we parted with the Wonderbolts and made our way to the DJ booth, where Vinyl immediately came out and the two of us gave our traditional greeting while Twilight giggled.

Vinyl was incredibly excited when I told her of my Knighthood and explained that while most ponies may not know exactly what my new title was, they would recognize the badge as a sign of favor from the Princesses and that it immediately made me the “type of pony everypony should know”. Octavia showed up as the DJ finished explaining, gave me a formal bow but also our usual light hug with me telling her she did not have to bow to me, as she was my friend first and foremost.

Spectra also managed to track me down with his secretary at his side (who was wearing an elegant, glittery blue dress that accented her eyes very well, which were still very stern. I wondered why Spectra would elect to bring his secretary as his date, but then figured there might be more to that story than meets the eye… and also that it was probably none of my business). The two of them congratulated me on my Knighthood, bowing respectfully before bidding Twilight and I farewell and heading into the gaggle of ponies, who were also queuing up to try and speak to the recently-emerged alicorn.

Eventually, Shining Armor and Cadence arrived, and the ponies gathered all began to clap for the newly-weds. They waved at them all, but made their way over to where Twilight and I stood and Shining Armor was about to speak, but he froze when he saw the badge on my chest.

“Don’t even think about bowing, saluting, or paying me any respect in any way, shape or form, other than an exchange between friends.” I say immediately, bowing before them myself “Today is for you, and as such no one shall receive more attention than the two of you.”

“Then I must say much the same to you, Leon.” Cadence replies with a warm smile “You have done so much for Equestria, and for us. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that you bow to no pony.”

“Thank you, Cadence, you are too kind.” I reply and the two of them head to the dance floor to share the first dance to a slow melody that Vinyl had begun to play while the rest of us watched them.

“Greetings, everypony.” Luna says, landing next to me “Have I missed anything?”

I glance at her and tap the badge on my chest. Her mouth opens in surprise, but it quickly turns into an approving smile, and she bows her head slightly in respect. Just as I turn back to my marefriend, I see her nod at Pinkie, who gave a huge smile and shot off towards the DJ booth, knocking Vinyl over in the process and slapping the DJ’s headphones over her own head.

“Let’s get this party started!” She cries out as she pulls Vinyl back up, with the DJ immediately taking a new record and putting it on the turntable while Pinkie tossed a mic over to Twilight, who’d maneuvered herself over to the dance floor.

Twilight caught it, and began to sing the song that apparently all the bronies back in the world I came from love (I never really cared for it much myself, but then again I was converted to bronyism after discovering Vinyl Scratch so I may have a eschewed taste in music in regards to that).

As she sang, everyone began to dance excitedly as the party began in earnest, with some pony wandering around taking pictures of all of us. I was caught dancing with Scootaloo, who wasn’t really good at it but was making a spirited attempt to mimic my moves, which weren’t exactly the best either (my dancing is passable enough, but I’m not gonna win any competitions with it).

Once she finished her song, we all clapped for her and she came over to join me, but Vinyl seemed to have other plans.

“Hey, Sir Brony!” The DJ called out, and I face-palmed “Get yer flank up here and sing us a song, wouldja?”

“Absolutely not, Vinyl!” I retorted with an embarrassed smile.

“Song, song, song, song!” Vinyl began to chant and clap with everyone else joining in, even Twilight, who actually nudged me forward a bit. After a minute of chanting I held up my hands in defeat.

“Alright, alright, but I get to choose the song!” I say, and Vinyl nods excitedly and whips her device out.

I consider what my options were, eliminating one immediately. I mean, it’s a great love song and it’d be well received by everyone here… except for my friends, who knew what had happened to me two days ago, and especially Twilight. I settle on one I think is appropriate and hurry up to Vinyl and tell her the song. She smiles broadly and nods, selecting the song and making the adjustments on her board while Twilight levitates the mic over to me and I take my place in front of the booth, clearing my throat.

And then the song begins (I Don't Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith: Vocals Removed).

As I sang, couples all began to gather on the dance floor and sway gently to the music, while Twilight stared at me with affection in her eyes. The reason I know this is because I’d barely taken my own eyes off of her since I started singing; after all, I’m singing more for her than the bride and groom.

The song ended and everyone clapped for me, with Twilight walking up to me and giving me a kiss, which garnered even more clapping as we hugged. I heard Vinyl clear her throat behind me and I glanced at her curiously as she held up her device with a devious grin on her face.

“One more song, brony, and then I’ll letcha go.” She said and I sighed, but gave her a smile.

“Alright, Vinyl.” I said, then an idea hit me “You wouldn’t happen to know what time it is, would you?”

“Why, I think it’s Nine in the Afternoon, Leon!” She replies and sets the song up to play (Nine In The Afternoon - Panic At The Disco: Vocals Removed), as I hold Twilight close.

And once again, after a bout of high energy dancing, the ponies all clapped for me as I bowed and returned the mic to Vinyl, who patted me on the shoulder and smiled before putting on another, slower paced song. I turned to Twilight and took her hands in mine.

“Would you honor me with a dance, Miss Sparkle?” I ask her and she nods, and I lead her onto the dance floor and pulled her in close, where we began to sway gently to the music.

We did not speak, just closed our eyes and held each other, enjoying the closeness we felt as the rest of the party melted away, leaving only us and the music. It was short-lived, but it was one of those moments I’d treasure forever (especially since the wedding photographer slipped a copy of the photograph he’d taken of us into my pocket). Another slow song began to play, but before Twilight and I could depart the dance floor, Terra approached us with a nervous blush on her face.

“Umm, Twilight?” She asked, and my marefriend gave her a curious look “Would you… mind if I asked Leon to dance with me… just this one time?”

I looked at Twilight, who looked from me to Terra, before nodding her assent with a smile. She left my side, and Terra turned to me, her face red. I said nothing, just bowed and extended my hand, which she took and I pulled her close but not as close as I had with Twilight. I put one arm around her waist and she placed a hand on that arm, while I took her other hand and held it gently to the side and we began to sway to the music, my eyes never leaving hers.

“So…” I say quietly as we dance “What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”

She glances away sadly and I wonder what’s wrong with her, but don’t say anything. After a moment, she looks at me again, her eyes full of sorrow.

“Leon, I…” She begins, her voice little more than a whisper “I’ve asked Celestia to try and find my own world… to send me back. She says it could take a couple of months, but that she’ll make it happen.”

“Why?” I ask her, my tone calm despite the heaviness in my heart.

“Because… I have to go back.” She says quietly, but firmly, her eyes full of conviction “There are people there I have to protect, and I won’t abandon them while they still need me.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” I ask her, and she nods.

“Yes, it is. To tell you the truth, I was originally scared of going back… of having to continue fighting. But now…” She replies and smiles at me “I’m not afraid anymore. And it’s thanks to you, Leon. You’ve given me the courage to follow my heart, which is telling me that I must return no matter how much pain it will cause me to do so.”

“Then you’ve done better than me. I’ve chosen to leave my world behind.” I said, glancing towards the ground, but she shakes her head calmly.

“No you didn’t. There was nothing left for you in your old world. Here, you have a future of happiness ahead of you... with Twilight.” She replies with a sweet smile. The song ends and we stop dancing, but I look at her and smile.

“Thanks, Terra.” I say and draw her into a warm hug “I wish you the best of luck and my thoughts will always be with you.”

“Thank you, Leon.” She replies quietly “You’re a great friend… I’ll miss you once I’m gone.”

“I’ll miss you too, sweetheart.” I reply and we break the embrace and return to Twilight, who gave us an approving smile.

Eventually, the party started to wind down and the newly-weds went over to a nearby carriage, with Shining Armor helping Cadence in before turning to Twilight and I.

“Twilight.” He said, giving his sister a warm smile “None of this would’ve been possible without you, Little Sis. Love you, Twily.”

“Love you too, BBBFF.” She replies and the two hug briefly before Shining turns his attention to me.

“Leon… I still can’t thank you enough for saving my sister.” He says and I nod with a smile “I look forward to hanging out with you in the future.”

“Same here, bro.” I reply and we bump fists. He’s about to climb into the carriage, pauses, then turns suddenly to me and gives me a fierce hug, which made my chest twinge but I returned it none-the-less.

We break the embrace with a pat on each other’s shoulders and he climbs into the carriage.

“Ready to go?” I hear him ask Cadence. There was a moment of silence before I heard Cadence gasp.

“Oh! I almost forgot.” She says, leans out the window and is prepared to throw her bouquet over her shoulder when she sees Twilight and I. She smiles and lightly tosses the bouquet to Twilight, who catches it with a look of surprise on her face, then glances at me and we both blush, smiling at each other.

The Elements, Terra and Seeri, who was wearing a very elegant dress that was once more designed to look like flames, join Twilight and I as we watch the couple depart.

“Now this was a great wedding.” She says as she takes my hand, entwining her fingers in mine and squeezing lightly.

“Oh yeah?” We heard Spike say and we all turned our attention to him “Just wait ‘till you see what I have planned for the Bachelor Party!”

Everyone groans with different variations on “Spike…” and several of us face-palm, though we all began laughing.

Later that evening, Twilight and I departed the party and returned to our room. Twilight was about to begin preparing for bed but I stopped her.

“Hold up, Twi.” I say, and she looks at me curiously “Would you mind joining me on the balcony for a moment? There’s… something I wish to ask you.”

She nods with a smile and heads out while I go over to my coat, which is hanging next to the door and pull the ring out of an interior pocket. I breathe deeply and exhale, my body suddenly shaking from the nerves at what I was about to ask her. Shaking it off, I step out onto the balcony with her and she smiles expectantly at me.

“Twi…” I begin, staring at her carefully “Do you remember what I told you, the night I declared my love for you?”

“Of course I do, Leon…” She replies, her eyes full of love “You told me that coming here was the best thing that ever happened to you because you… met me.”

“Well, to be completely honest…” I say and I give her an affectionate smile “It goes so much further. You’re everything to me, Twilight Sparkle. You’re the air I breathe, the water I drink and the light I see each morning when I wake up. I love you so much, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it, and with that in mind, I’m going to ask you the single most important question of my life… and hopefully yours as well.”

A look of shock appeared on her features and she stared as I got down on one knee and presented the small box to her, opening it up to reveal a silver-gold ring, inlaid with a flawless amethyst and six small diamonds, three set to either side of the main gem. ‘It’s about damn time, Leon, though honestly you were practically married already with the amount of contact you two have had with each other, but hey; details.’

“Twilight Sparkle… will you, who has made me happier than anyone I’ve ever met before, make me even happier by marrying me and becoming my wife?” I ask her and she just stares at me in shock for a moment, her brain trying to process what I just asked her. Sure, she may have known it was coming, but she didn’t know when.

Just as I was beginning to think I’d accidently broken her, her mouth slowly changed from the “O” of surprise to a smile so excited that it could barely be contained to her face.

“Yes! Of course I will!” She exclaims as I slide the ring onto her finger. It was a little loose but we could always get it resized later.

As soon as it was on, she tackled me to the ground and gave me the deepest, most passionate kiss I’d ever received from her. It takes a couple of minutes, but she eventually breaks the kiss for air. She tries to move in for another, a hungry expression on her face, but I stop her.

“Why don’t we continue this inside?” I tell her. She’s hesitant for a moment, but climbs off of me and we head inside, closing the balcony door behind us.

That night, neither of us got much sleep and I was in direct violation of my doctor’s orders of “not exerting” myself.

He can go suck an egg for all I care.

The Dawn of a bright, new life.

by Hallowedsoul

Prologue: "Remembering the Past"

Ch. 1: "Awakening"

Ch. 2: "The Shop of Dreams"

Ch. 3: "Welcome to Equestria"

Ch. 4: "Startling Truths"

Ch. 5: "Home Sweet Home"

Ch. 6: "Day Two, 48 Hours Remaining"

Ch. 7: "The Only Easy Day Was... I Have No Idea"

Ch. 8: "Secrets of the Heart and Mind"

Ch. 9: "When the Heat is on"

Ch. 10: "Of Ponies, Esperkin and... Timelords?"

Ch. 11: “DJ L0V3 D0C70R”

Ch. 12: "Date Night"

Ch. 13: “It’s All Fun and Games Until…”

Ch. 14: “To Truly Understand Someone…”

Ch. 15: “…One Must Walk A Mile In Their Shoes”

Ch. 16: "If It's Not One Thing..."

Ch. 17: "What It Means To Be A Hero"

Ch. 18: "The Perfect Gift"

Ch. 19: "Embracing Love Eternal"

Ch. 20: "What Friends Are For"

Ch. 21: "Meeting the Family"

Ch. 22: "Back to the Daily Grind"

Ch. 23: "The Newcomer"

Ch. 24: "The Secret of my Excess"

Ch. 25: "The Storm Approaches"

Ch. 26: "Bringing the Truth to Light"

Ch. 27: "Prayers for the Wicked"

Ch. 28: "Darkest Before Dawn"

Ch. 29: "Royal Canterlot Wedding"

Epilogue: "One Adventure's End Is Another's Beginning"

Spoilers