> My True Home Calls
>  by Arguyus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Back to the Future
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrighted material you will encounter in this or any other story.)

(AN: I know that I said I would finish the other stories I started before starting a new one, but I just had to write this. For all announcements on this story and my others, please refer to my profile, thank you.)


Chapter 1: Back to the Future


To all who read this, my name is Stephen McIntyre, most now a days probably know me by a different name. I am writing this to tell others my past, or my future; it's all a matter of perspective. My story began January forth, nineteen ninety-four, the day I was born. I did almost die that day, but I won't go into detail about that as it is rather embarrassing. For the majority of my life, my family had to move from place to place because of my dad's job being uncertain. It was when we moved to Mississippi that I felt like I had found my home on this earth; I grew as a person more there than anywhere I had lived. The biggest way I grew was that I got saved during the time I lived there.

I thought I was home, but that was soon proved false. We were going to have to move once more. It is about this time that this particular part of my story begins, the story of how I found my true home. It starts on the early night of August twenty-second, two thousand thirteen; I was sitting outside with sadness ruling my thoughts... How about I write this the way saw it at the time.


(-0-)


It was a warm summer night; the sun was just beginning to set. The last light of the sun painted the sky with many shades of pink, purple, and gold. It was a painfully beautiful sight; I knew that I would never be able to see it again all too soon. My head was filled with hundreds of thoughts that bounced around all over my mind. There was fear, uncertainty, sadness, and worry everywhere. This was the closest place I'd ever had to a home, and now we are going to leave. I needed to stop all of the feelings racing around my brain in the only way I know how...

No, I do not mean suicide. What I mean is to pray, God is always there to provide a shoulder to cry on for his children. So I held my legs to my chest, bowed my head, and began to pray.

"Dear Heavenly Father, I am really having emotion problems with us moving. I ask that You ether lead me to my true home on Your Earth, or that You give me the peace of mind to deal with this. I know I may not always be faithful, but that is because I don't ask for Your strength every time that I should. I ask You that You help me with that as well as my first petition. I know that You are all powerful, and that You don't need to answer me, but I ask that You hear me out. In the name of Your resurrected Son, Jesus, Amen."

I felt peace in my soul after that, and a tingling on my foot... wait a minute. I looked at my foot, it was glowing a light purple. The glow spread over my leg at an amazing speed, soon covering my entire body. Before I even had time to scream, I felt my body being pulled apart atom by atom. In a brilliant flash, I was gone.

My mom came to look for me about half an hour later, only to find that I was gone and my clogs flung over the grass. She called the police believing I had been kidnapped, they came the next morning and began searching. They keep looking for over a year, but I was nowhere to be found.

Where was I you ask? Well, for that answer, you need to go back to the moment that I disappeared.

I was flying though a multicolored tunnel, I couldn't tell left from right from up from down. Then, I came out the end of the tunnel. All I could see was a huge white blur, a large light blue blur, and many small multicolored blurs. The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was a big purple blur, and then I hit my head on something hard. I knew one thing for sure, I was going to feel that later.


(-0-)


Twilight looked at the creature that lay before her in shock, this was not what she had intended to pull though time. It was a tall primate-like being, it had sandy blond fur on only the top of its head, light tan colored skin, and she thought she had seen light blue eyes. It was wearing glasses, a strange looking wrist band, odd feet coverings, green pants, a green baseball cap with a small black thing on the brim, and a brown shirt with something written on it.

She needed to tell Celestia about this, immediately.

"Twilight! I heard something crash, are you oka..." Began a purple scaled baby dragon, he also had neon green spines and belly plates.

"Spike, good timing. I need to send a letter to the princess immediately!" Twilight told her assistant.


(-0-)


Princess Celestia was sitting in the throne room, and she was bored. One of the nobles was complaining about some trivial matter that she had lost track of half an hour ago. She was hoping for some sort of brake. It was then that a letter from her student, Twilight Sparkle, materialized in front of her. Twilight always has the best timing.

"Excuse me for a moment, please." The white alicorn said.

When she began reading the letter, her good mood died. The description of the creature was exactly like that of a race that went extinct over ten thousand years ago, and every other race in the world had been glad when it happened. If this being was what she was thinking it was, then they will have to execute someone for the first time in over two thousand years.

Celestia got up hastily, "I must see to something at once!"

The noble knew from the princess' reaction that this was a much more important mater than his complaint, but he was a curious pony, "If you would humor me, your majesty, what is this mater you must see to?"

She quickly turned to face him, "A suspected member of an extinct race has been accidentally pulled though time. What's more, it is a race that all of us other races helped bring to extinction, and with good reason."

Celestia left the noble in a state of shock as she flew out the door. This could be very bad, the only race in Equestria that ponies' helped kill could be back. The tales of murder and enslavement that surrounded the name of the race she suspected it was. If it was a male, like Twilight thought it was, than that meant they would have to put it down before it could find out that it could bred with any female of any other race. She landed in front of the door to Twilight's study and knocked. Her student soon came and opened the door.

"Where is he?" Celestia asked getting straight to business.

"I put him in the guest bed room, this way." Twilight told her before leading her to said room.

And there he was, it was as she feared. It was an adult male human, but there was something off about him. His muscles were untoned, his stomach was covered with a thin layer of fat, and the hair that was visible from under his hat wasn't in the tribal dreadlocks that the stories tell about. His shirt had a yellow arrow with the words "this is what trouble looks like" written in it pointing at his face, she desperately hoped that that was a joke and not a statement of fact.

"What is he?" Twilight inquired of her mentor.

"He, my dear Twilight, is a human." Celestia answered with a sigh.

Twilight's eyes widened at that fact, "A human! I thought humans were just in fairy tales!"

The princess sighed once more, "They have been one for over ten thousand years, and us ponies helped make them that. They were known for murder, enslavement, rape, violence, and cruelty. But this one seems different; he might be from a more civilized point in history. If he isn't, he will have to be executed for the sake of all the races of Equestria."

It was then that a pained groan issued for the human as he began to come back to consciousness, both ponies immediately looked at him.


(-0-)


Boy did my head hurt, it felt like someone had rammed a freight train right into my head. I groaned as I opened my eyes, but I quickly closed them as they were assaulted by light. I began to notice that something was off, it felt like my feet were hanging off the bed. Not to mention that this bed was far too soft, and I was still in my day cloths. I opened my eyes as they began to adjust to the light, all I could see was white.

Why do I see white?

I turned my head to the side, and what I saw shocked me. Two horse-like beings stood there, one lavender purple with a horn on its head and the other pure white with a horn and a pair of wings. The lavender one had a plum colored mane with a dark royal purple and a hot pink streak in it, the being also had amethyst purple eyes with obviously feminine eyelashes. The white one had an ever flowing prismatic mane and light pink eyes. I recognized them immediately from being a brony, these where none other than Twilight Sparkle and princess Celestia!

I tried to get up and show my respect, but my legs gave out and I hit the floor. I looked up at the alicorn with a meek smile, "Sorry I can't show proper respect, your majesty, but my legs don't seem to be working right."

Both ponies looked at me in surprise, "Um... Why exactly are you staring at me like that for?"

Celestia walked over to me with an interrogating look in her pink eyes, "How do you know that I'm royalty?"

"Well, the crown is a bit of a dead giveaway, and your overall appearance practically screams nobility." I told her.

She thought about my answerer for a bit, then she looked back at me, "I guess your right about that, but why are you so polite?"

Confusion spread over my face at that question as I got myself back onto the bed, "My parents taught me to be polite, why is that so unusual?"

"You don't know about the reputation humans have here, do you?" Twilight asked, finally she speaks.

"No."

"Humans are known for needless violence and cruelty, but you seem to have a chance to disprove those thoughts." Celestia told us, Twilight and I looked at her with the question of 'what do you mean' written all over our faces.

"So far, you haven't shown any signs of ether of those two traits. If you can prove that you can control yourself, then you will be allowed to integrate into Equestrian society." She said in answerer to the unspoken question.

"What about sending me back, is that an option?" I asked hopefully.

Both ponies looked down sadly, that does not bode well, "I'm guessing that means it isn't."

The princess looked back at me with a sigh, "There is no magic that can send anyone or anything back though time for more than a few minutes, I'm sorry."

I thought about it for a little bit, I was here in Equestria to stay. My family was going to move, so I guess it's not all that bad thing. Not to mention that coming here is every bronies' dream come true.

"Well, I guess I needed to get out of the house sooner or later."

Twilight looked up at me in surprise, "You're not angry about me accidentally bringing you here?"

"It is my belief that there truly are no accidents, all things happen for a reason, I just have to find that reason." I told the lavender mare.

"Then you better start looking," Celestia said, then she continued, "You are here by a guest of Equestria, and you are to stay with my student, Twilight Sparkle. Provided that is alright with her, of course."

"Of course it is, maybe you can tell me more about you peoples' history!" Twilight replied, becoming excited near the end.

I laughed a little at her behavior, "Easy there Twilight, it was almost nighttime when you pulled me though, and I need to get used to being here."

"It just occurred to me that we never got your name." Celestia stated suddenly.

I slapped my head at my forgetfulness, "For goodness sake, where are my manners? My name is Stephen, Stephen McIntyre."

The alicorn smiled at me, "I am princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, and let me be the first to extend an official welcome to Equestria, Mr. McIntyre."

"Please, just call me Stephen, that's what everyone else calls me." I asked her in a polite manner.

"Of course. It has been good meeting you, but I must go, royal duties to attend to." With that, she walked out of the room.

Me and Twilight just looked at each other, both of us trying to think of something to say. This was awkward, that was for sure. Twilight had always been my favorite pony, but now that she was actually standing right in front of me, I didn't know what to say.

"So..." The lavender mare tried, "Did you have any sort of job in your time?"

I scratched the back of my head, "No, not really. I did have a hobby, writing stories."

The excitement building inside of her at this bit of information was very obvious, I had to try very hard to keep myself from chuckling, "Really! Do you have any of your work with you?"

I shook my head, "Sorry, I guess I'll just have to start writing them again. Too bad my handwriting isn't that good..."

"How can you be a writer if your handwriting isn't all that good?" She inquired of me.

"Well, I had a device that helped me write, my biggest problem is misspelling words." I told her with some shame.

She put a hoof on her chin and thought about what I just said, I was right about her looking cute like that. I will admit that I always kind of had a crush on Twilight, but that is probably something that won't come to fruition, she most likely doesn't even have time for a boyfriend anyway. I guess I'll need to keep my options open till I find the girl God made just for me.

"I got an idea on how to fix that," She said suddenly, braking me out of my thoughts, "I can give you some of my knowledge of how to spell words that you have a problem with."

"You can do that?" I asked her, it did seem a little farfetched to me.

She grinned at me, "Yes I can, I just use a memory sharing spell and give you my memories about how to write to help you with your writing."

I thought about it, that was certainly a tempting offer. Well, I going to have to trust her if I'm staying here, I just hope she doesn't look into certain memories that I'm not proud of. Yes, like all Christians, I haven't always been good, and I've done a lot of backsliding early in my walk.

"Alright, just be warned that I haven't always been the best person, so don't be too judgmental about what you find in there until I explain it." I told her.

She looked at me sadly, "I can understand you most likely have a bad history, but you don't have to worry about it, it doesn't work like that. But if you ever need to talk about it, I'll be right here."

I smiled at her in an appreciative manner, "Thanks Twilight, that means a lot to me. Well, let's get started."

She smiled at me before she began channeling energy into her horn, then she leaned her head forward and touched her horn to my forehead. It was amazing, I saw images of hundreds of words pass by at light speed. I felt the energy running though my brain, this magic was really something. Before I knew it, it was over. I felt a little light headed. Twilight, however, looked a lot worse than me. It must have taken a lot of energy, she looked drained.

"Are you alright, Twilight?" I asked out of concern for her wellbeing.

"I'm okay, just need a good night sleep, that's all." She told me as she wobbled a little.

I was somewhat unconvinced by that, "Do you need help getting to bed?"

"No, I'll be fine." After saying this, she tried to walk out of the room, only to nearly fall over. She would have if I hadn't rushed over to catch her.

I smiled at her, "You'll be fine, huh. Do you normally call almost falling over fine?"

She smiled back at me in an embarrassed manner, her cheeks blooming deep red, "T-Thank, I guess I used more magic than I thought."

I lifted her up bridal style, she was lighter than I thought she would be, and went out of the door. One little problem, I don't know my way around the study, and I couldn't turn on the LED flashlight on my cap to help me navigate. Twilight must have seen my confusion, because she pointed with a hoof to indicate which way to go. After some bumbling around, we finally made it to her room. Spike must be doing something, because I didn't see the baby dragon anywhere. I put Twilight in her bed and pulled the covers over her.

"You didn't have to do all this Stephen, you know that right?" She asked as she already began to fall asleep.

"I know, I just wanted to." I told her before I began to walk out of the room, "Goodnight, Twilight."

"Goodnight, Stephen."

I walked back to my room, I just backtracked my way with my cap's flashlight to help me. My bed was a little on the small side, but what would you expect when all ponies are about three feet tall. I took off my glasses and my cap and put them on the end table next to the head of the bed, then I curled up under the blankets and lay there, thinking. I was now an alien on my own home planet, I was going to need a job to start a life of my own. I have to build myself a new life, and I have to do it from scratch. I lay there just thinking about my future here, until sleep finally found me.

This was my first night in Equestria.

> Chapter 2: I Forgot About That…
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 (Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrighted material you will encounter in this or any other story.)

AN: I was originally going to call this chapter, "Family Matters", but I decided that I was going too fast. So, I'm slowing it down a little bit. Just so you know; the character's physical appearances in this story are based on the artwork of Ziom05 on Deviantart, specifically his piece "Legends of the Equestria". The last statement also includes characters not in said piece, so I altered their appearance to look similar to the style used. Now, without further ado, the first full day of a new life in Equestria.


Chapter 2: I Forgot About That…


The blackness of sleep began to fade as sunlight entered my world once more. I groaned as I awoke, the slight pain in my back was one of the first things I could feel. I began to wonder why it hurt, but then the events of yesterday filtered back into my mind. I was in Equestria, and there was no way back home.

I slid my sock covered feet over the side of the bed and onto the stone floor; it was only a little bit cool as compared to the instant wakeup call cold that I had been expecting. I stretched and was rewarded with a series of pops from my aching back. Then, I reached over to the end table and put both my glasses and cap back on.

I now got a better look at my new room, it was rectangular in shape. From the bed, the door was on the right wall on the other side of the room. A large open window took up almost half the left wall next to the bed, book shelves full of who knows what kind of books took up the other half, figures. There was an end table on the right hand side of the bed, and a grandfather clock on the far side of the room. The clock said it was about seven fifteen.

It was about this time that a certain morning habit of mine came to mind, that habit being taking a shower after I get up.

But, there were a few problems.

Firstly, I didn't know where the shower, or the bathroom for that matter, were.

Secondly, I didn't have my normal body wash or shampoo.

Lastly, and most importantly, I didn't have any cloths other than the ones I was already wearing.

The reason the last one is the biggest problem is because these cloths needed to be washed, but I would need some other cloths to wear during the time it takes to wash them. If they don't get washed, then they will begin to smell ripe.

The smell of breakfast brought me out of my thoughts, I didn't know if it was Spike or Twilight making it.

Wait, why are there only four names I can remember?

Princess Celesta, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Shining Armor are those four names. I know there are more, but I can't remember them.

I racked my brain to try and remember, but the more I tried, the more I came to a rather frightening realization. I had lost almost all of my memories of the show, and hence all the foreknowledge of those events. Not only that, but I also lost most of the memories that had anything to do with the show, some of the last times I had with my friends.

My stomach didn't want me to dwell on these thoughts, so it would seem. The reasoning behind this thought being the loud gurgling coming from my gut.

"Alright, alright, I'll get some breakfast." I groaned out as I moved from a sitting position to standing.

Not knowing which way to go, I just followed my noise. It lead me straight and true to the kitchen. I felt a little bit of worry upon seeing that it was Twilight doing the cooking, I really hope the people who thought she can't cook to save her life are wrong…

"Good morning Stephen, did you sleep well?" The lavender mare inquired upon noticing that I had entered the room.

"The bed was a little small, but I slept like a rock." I replied as I leaned against the wall, I tried not to make it seem that I was apathetic.

Twilight stopped what she was doing for a moment, "Oh yeah… I guess a bed made for a pony would be a bit small for a human."

"Hey, don't worry, it was rather late and you used what seemed to be a lot of magic last night." I told her before she started to berate herself for not thinking about that.

"Well, I guess you have a point about that." She said, then continued after shaking her head, "Sorry about that, I'm just use to the idea of humans being monsters that it’s hard for me to remember you aren't like them."

I sighed heavily before I replied, "I understand, but I can't help but find it depressing how far humans fell, and the fact that I of all people am the only one left …"

"You're depressed that you are the one here?" She asked me in utter confusion.

"What have I done to deserve something like this, too be the last of my kind and to give others a new way of looking at my people? I'll tell you what I did, nothing… just like I did with all nineteen of the years of my life. Yes, I've made many friends, done things that seemed important at the time. But I never truly did anything worthwhile with my life." I admitted as I sank to the floor with my back still being supported by the wall.

Twilight took the pancake out of the pan in front of her with her magic and trotted over to me. I could see the concerned look in her eyes as she put a hoof on my shoulder and spoke, "Maybe that is why your here, so you can do something worthwhile. Just keep looking and I'm sure you'll find what you can do with your life."

Before I could say anything, we both head the door open and close.

"Oh no! I haven't told Spike about you staying here yet!" Twilight exclaimed as she quite literally bolted out of the room.

I chuckled at the mare's behavior; if it's not one thing, it's another. I picked myself up from the floor and walked over to the door Twilight practically flew though. I had to agree that it was better for her to tell the little guy instead of having him find out the hard way, this came from knowing what his reaction would most likely be.

Twilight reentered my sight when she began coming back into the kitchen with Spike on her back. Spike looked exactly like one would expect him to, purple main body scales with neon green spines and belly plates. But somethings did look different about him, his spines were pointed, his scales were much more pronounced, he had small green claws on the tips of his fingers and toes, and his tail tip looked a lot more intimidating. Despite his much more menacing appearance, he still looked frightened of me. A dragon that is afraid of an unarmed human, now that is completely backwards.

"Umm, h-hello, I'm Spike." The young dragon said in quivering voice, his green reptilian eyes filed with fear.

I kneeled down to his level and held out my hand with a smile on my face so I would look less intimidating to him, "Hello Spike, it's good to meet you, my name is Stephen."

He took my hand gingerly and shook it, he still looked very nervous.

"Alright, now that you two have been introduced, let's have some breakfast" Twilight announced to try and break some of the tension that permeated the room. 


(-0-)


The three of us were finishing up our breakfast, so I decided now would be a good time to bring up certain problems.

"I have thought about some things this morning that could become a problem." I said in the most polite way I could manage.

Twilight gave me an inquisitive look, "Really? What are they?"

"Well, I normally take a shower in the morning, but I don't have my normal shampoo or body wash."

"That's not too big of a problem, we can go to the store at some point and get you some shampoo, but I don't think we will be able to find body wash any time soon."

"Yeah, I know, but it's the second one that is the big problem. These clothes I have on right now are the only ones I have."

Now that fact hit home in Twilight's mind, at least if her suddenly stopping all movement and shrinking her pupils was any indication of her realization of what that meant.

Spike on the other hand, "Why is that such a big deal? Can't you just go around without them like everypony else?"

And he just had to make things awkward. The very idea that question sent though my head was embarrassing and just plain wrong, apparently Twilight thought the same seeing as her cheeks quickly became a deep shade of red. The only problem now was trying to explain this to him in a way that won't scar him for life.

"Uh… Spike, that just wouldn't be a good idea…" I tried as my mind crashed.

"Why not?" He asked, just as oblivious as ever.

It was now that Twilight came to the rescue, "Spike, humans don't have fur or scales to cover their, let's just say, special body parts. The fact that all the races that are around now have one or the other is the only reason that we don't have to wear them."

The little dragon looked surprised for a bit before he simply said, "Oh…"

"Don't worry Spike, you didn't know about that." I tell him, and then added, "Besides, I'm the only human alive right now."

Twilight nodded her head in confirmation of what I had said, but then she asked me a question that I hadn't seen coming, "I can tell something else is bothering you Stephen, do you want to talk about it?"

My mind was sent reeling at this point; there was one thing that bothered me this morning, but I didn't want to tell her about the show. I can only imagine how she would react to that, none of those ways good. But should I even try to deny it?

"Look, I can understand if you don't want to talk about it, but I just want to know is there is anything I can do to help." She said as she apparently saw the look I had on my face.

I can understand where she is coming from, but I don't want to tell her the whole truth. Wait, that's it! I can tell her part of the truth.

"Well, you see, I… I can't really remember some things from my past, nothing major, just little things here and there."

She was understandably disturbed by this. I mean, who wouldn't be. Someone not having parts of their memory, or at least having those memories blocked.

"Well… you did fall on your head… so…" Twilight told me slowly, looking more uneasy then before.

Oh yeah… how could I forget that, "That would most definitely explains that."

And, on that note, our conversation ended.


(-0-)


It was later on in the day and I was sitting in front of the main study window, looking out at the city that was going to be my home from this point on. I could see many ponies walking about in the city below, I could almost see their up-turned snouts. I knew it was more than likely that I would not be well received by the general public, but, on that note, they didn't receive anything or anyone who was different well.

Building a new life for myself would be difficult at best, that much I knew for certain. My thoughts were interrupted by the clopping of hooves on the tile floor.

"Umm… Stephen, I need to talk to you about something." Twilight said as she stopped and sat down next to me.

"What is it?" I asked in true confusion, I couldn't think of anything that might be a problem… unless her overly protectively brother is coming over for a visit.

"Well, you need to be on your best behavior tomorrow." She began, then she continued to explain, "You see, my parents are going to come over, and I want you to leave a good first impression."

Oh… Now I see what this is about, so I looked at her and said, "Don't worry, I promise that I won't do anything questionable tomorrow."

After I told her that, she had a big smile on her face. It was now that I saw why I had gotten a crush on her to begin with, her lavender fur shown in the light of the late evening sun, her mane flowed over her shoulder in waves of dark purple, her short snout poked out cutely from her face, and eyes that sparkled with the golden light that reflected off the clouds. Twilight is beautiful; too bad I would probably never be able to tell her such. Oh well, that is the price of having a crush on a girl, or mare in her case, that is the extremely studious student of the country's leader.

As we just sat there looking at each other, I had the slight temptation to try and kiss her, but I knew better than that. I know most people thought that was how love was started, but I knew it was actually how lust was started. Besides, she most likely doesn't have time for a relationship anyway.

The silence was getting awkward, and the mare was the one who broke it, "Umm… i-it's getting late, we should probably go to bed… I-I mean, it's getting late."

I looked back at the sky, she was right; the sun was almost touching the horizon.

"Yeah, you're right Twi. Goodnight, Twilight." I said as I stood up and started walking to my room. 


(-0-)


Twilight watched Stephen walk away, but what the human didn't know was that Twilight's mind was reeling. For some reason, her heart had started to speed up as she had been looking into his blue eyes. She also felt awkward when talking to him after that, what was happening to her?

"Don't worry Twilight, it was probably nothing." She whispered to herself.

> Chapter 3: Family Matters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrighted material you will encounter in this or any other story.)

AN: And now is the time for a problem to show itself, a problem that most people forget.


Chapter 3: Family Matters


Last night's sleep was better than the night before, seeing as the bed was now at the right size for my comparatively tall stature. I got out from under my blankets and stretched a bit before reapplying my glasses. I was greeted by the sight of my room in Twilight's observatory, a sight that I was quickly becoming accustomed to these past three days. But now I noticed that the sun was just above the horizon.

I got to my feet and began my daily preparations, in other words, taking a shower. Twilight had gone to the store yesterday after breakfast and had got some things for me without me even asking; such as a toothbrush, a notebook for my stories, and a razor. Oddly enough, it looked like an electric razor, but it ran on magic. Speaking of magic, she also enchanted my watch and capbill-flashlight to run on ambient magic; apparently a battery powered watch was considered primitive.

On another note, Twilight had also remembered a cleaning spell that she has not needed to use for years now. Unfortunately, she accidentally added a scent that I had a hard time with, my cloths honestly smelled like ozone. Oh well, better then smelling like a zoo.

I dried myself off with a towel and put my cloths back on, thankful that they didn't have as powerful of a smell as yesterday.

Wait, aren't Twilight's parents coming over today?

That thought made me kick in to high gear, I didn't want to look like a mess when they got here. I put my glasses on once more and looked in the mirror; my hair was short enough to not need combing and the hair on my chin doesn't need to be shaved seeing as I shaved last night.

A knocking on the door brought me out of my thoughts. I went to the door and opened it. It was Spike.

"Oh, and here I was about to ask if you were done in here." The young dragon said as he stood there.

I smiled lightly at this statement, there is good little Spike for you, "I guess you just have good timing Spike."

He smiled in response as I moved out of his way.

He was always so well mannered; I wouldn't be surprised if mares start fighting over him when he comes of age. Provided Twilight let them, she always was slightly overprotective of him. I couldn't help but wonder whether she thought of him as a little broth or a son.

When I got to the main room, I saw Twilight running around as if the world was about to end, everything is normal. I chuckled to myself a little at the pure absurdity of that assessment, but it was true. She was a bit of a worry wart.

Okay, she was a serious worry wart.

I decided to make my presence in the room known by clearing my thought. Her head snapped in my direction, which looked to me as if it should hurt, and she pretty-much ran over to me.

"Stephen! I need to talk to you about something's before mom and dad get here!" She exclaimed in a near panic.

I nodded and sat down so that I wouldn't be standing the whole time.

"Alright, firstly, you can't be in the room when the get here because I haven't been able to tell them about you yet. Secondly, I really want you to leave a good first impression on them, so don't do anything embarrassing. Thirdly, I know I got fish for you yesterday, but I don't think it would be a good idea for you to eat any while they are here, they would most likely be very uncomfortable with that." She listed off after she sat in front of me.

"Don't worry so much Twilight; you'll give yourself a heart attack if you keep on like that. But in any case, I know how to behave politely." I tell her in an attempt to calm her down.

She sighed and rubbed her temples while somehow staying balanced, "I know, I know, but these are my parents, I want them to have a good first impression of you, seeing as you are the first friend that I have made outside my own family in quite some time."

I smiled at her; I knew she was being completely honest about that, she was usually too busy with her snout in a book to socialize. I personally found that kind of cute. It did, however, strangle her personal life.

That being, I put a hand on her shoulder, "I understand, you just don't need to worry like that, it's not healthy for you… or anyone for that manner."

She took a deep calming breath, "Alright, now let's have some breakfast before they get here."

And with that, we made our way to the kitchen.


(-0-)


Twilight pacing in the living room, Stephen was in the other room waiting for her to call him, and Spike was finishing making lunch in the kitchen. Why was Twilight pacing? Because she was worrying her head off, as per usual.

"What if they don't let me explain, what if they hurt him before I can explain, what if they, Celestia forbid, think I'm dating him!" The mare rattled off in her head.

It went without saying that she was nervous, Stephen being the first new friend she had made in many years. Not only that, but he had been through enough as it was; she didn't want him to suffer because of a misunderstanding. He seemed like a nice guy, and she could only hope her parents thought the same.

A knocking on the door interrupted her thoughts, they were here.

She went over to the door and opened it, and there they were. One was a stallion with blue fur, a darker blue main, yellow eyes, and a Cutie Mark that consisted of two crescent moons with one inside of the other and facing the opposite direction. The other was a mare with off-white fur, a white and purple striped main, light blue eyes, and a Cutie Mark that was a set of three purple stars. They were none other than Twilight's parents, her father Nightlight and her mother Twilight Velvet.

"Mom, Dad! It's so good to see you again!" Twilight cried as she wrapped her forelimbs around them in a hug.

Nightlight chuckled as he returned the hug, "It's good to see you too, so how is my little girl doing?"

She let go of them and smiled, "I'm doing very well, and I have someone I want you to meet."

Both of her parents were excited to hear her say that, both of them assuming that had found her significant other. Boy were they in for a surprise.

"But, I need to tell you something first." Twilight began, "The day before yesterday, I was trying to get a plant sample from the past, but someone was on the other side… and I kind of didn't realize that until it was already too late."

And now they were worried, what had she bought though?

"I wrote a letter to the princess about him when he fell through, and when he explained that he didn't intend on hurting anypony she asked me to help him integrate into our society." She explained to them with a little bit of a sheepish smile on her face.

"So, where is this… house guest, of yours?" Velvet asked her daughter in a somewhat uneasy tone of voice.

Twilight turned her gaze to the doorway that Stephen was behind, "I asked him not come into the room until I had explained this to you, and since I have… Stephen, you can come in here now!"

Her call was soon answered by the entrance of another being into the room, it was unmistakably a human. Both Nightlight and Velvet hoped that their assumption about Twilight finding her significant other was wrong. The reason for this being that most thought of humans as selfish, greedy, cruel, and unable to control their more animalistic desires.

This, of course, led to an uneasy silence. Twilight was beginning to fear that this was a bad idea.

It was then that Stephen ended the silence, "Hello, my name is Stephen McIntyre." 


(-0-)


"Hello, my name is Stephen McIntyre." I said in an attempt to end the silence.

Both of Twilight's parents snapped out of the trance they had gone into upon seeing me, I could only hope they didn't react violently.

"Hello, I'm Nightlight and this is my wife, Twilight Velvet." Her father introduced the both of them in a guarded tone of voice; they obviously didn't believe that I didn't mean them any harm. That was understandable, considering the common idea that humans were monsters.

It was now that Spike decided to enter the room, "Hi mom, hi dad, I got lunch ready."

Nice way to break the awkward moment dude…


(-0-)


We were sitting at the table eating lunch, no one had said a word as of yet. That was something that I found slightly unsettling, especially since Nightlight and Velvet kept giving me uncertain looks. I had never liked being the center of attention, but I was just now realizing just how bad it could be.

"So, Stephen…" Nightlight began in an obvious attempt to make it look like he didn't think I was a monster, "What do you like to do with your free time?"

There were lots of things that I liked to do, but only a few were still around, "Well, I like to read a good story and I'm also a starting author."

Now Velvet perked up at this, and I had a good idea why, "Really? I'm an author myself, I usually write romance."

"I usually write action stories, but I happen to be a sucker for romance, it tends to find its way into most of my stories." I tell her honestly.

At least things would hopefully go smoother from this point on.


(-0-)


The rest of the day had gone well; both Nightlight and Velvet were much more comfortable around me. I guess it was because I tend to be easy to get along with. It had always been like that, but I was usually only me who felt awkward.

Twilight's parents were getting ready to leave, with her giving them a heart full goodbye. It was nice to see a close knit family. It made me think of the families of my friends…





Friends that I will never see again…

Friends that I will never be able to talk to again…

Friends that I will never be able to hear the fate of…

It hit me full force at this moment that not only would I never see them again, but I would also never hear about what happened to them or my own family. The shock of this made me have to sit down and hang my head. The more I thought about it, the worse it got. I began to feel tears forming in my eyes, so I took my glasses of to allow me to try to dry my eyes.

"Stephen?" I heard Twilight's voice in front of me, "What's wrong?" 


(-0-)


"It was so good to see you again!" Twilight said as she gave them a goodbye hug.

"It was good to see you too dear; you should really visit use more often." Her mother said as she returned the hug.

The younger mare smiled as she went back to standing on her own hooves, "I'll try, but you know how stuff comes up."

Her father chuckled at this, "We all know how dedicated you are to your studies, just remember to take care of yourself."

"Dad!" Twilight responded to his teasing, "I'm a grown mare, I know when to stop studying."

Her father smiled as they began to walk away, he always teased her about that one time when she was little. She had spent a whole night studying for a test and had been a zompony lookalike until she passed-out at the table at lunch, and he had never let her live that down. The worst part, she had only done that once.

She shook her head lightly as she closed the door and turned around, and that was when her good mood died. What had killed it? The sight of Stephen sitting on the floor with his head hanging down and his glasses in his hand.

"Why is he sad?" She thought to herself, "He was happy a moment ago."

She silently walked over to him and she heard a muffled sniffle.

"Stephen?" She asked, "What's wrong?"

At first, he just responded with another sniffle. But then he looked up, and she saw that he had a large amount of tears building up in his eyes as he answered her, "I-I just fully realized wh-what being here means, n-not only will I never be a-able to just see my family, b-but I will also never kn-know what happened to them…"

Her eyes widened at this, she hadn't thought about that either.

"D-Did my parents think I had killed myself, d-did they think I-I was kidnaped?" He began listing his thoughts.

"What a-about my friends, d-did any of them get married, who did th-they marry, did they have kids, d-did they get the jobs they wanted?" He continued as he began to brake-down.

Twilight could feel herself beginning to cry. She wanted to help comfort him, so she wrapped her forelegs around him expecting to be pushed away. But he once again surprised her by wrapping his arms around her and burying his head in her shoulder as he broke into full out tears.

"What about my s-sister and brother-in-law, did they e-ever have kids, how many did they have, did their kids ever wo-wonder where their uncle went?" He cried into her shoulder.

Twilight could only guess at how he truly felt. She knew that, were their positions reversed, she would feel completely devastated. She was also surprised once more, the humans she had always heard about would often kill their families just because they grew tired of them, and here was Stephen crying because he wouldn't ever be able to see them again. She held him tighter as his body began trembling from the intensity of his crying, her own tears running down his back as his practically poured from his eyes.

They stayed like this for an amount of time that neither of them noticed. It was a sight that no one would think possible, a human crying into a pony's shoulder. Then she felt him begin to calm, only the occasional hiccup. As she tried to back off see saw why, Stephen had cried himself to sleep. She smiled sadly as she levitated him off herself and carried him to his room, putting his glasses in their usual spot on the end table.

She closed the door quietly as left the room, and then she sighed. She knew that this would continue, but she couldn't blame him. She just hopped his depression wouldn't become suicidal.

"There has to be something I can do to help." She determined in her mind.

"Spike!" She called out when she had reached the living room.

The young dragon in question poked his head out of an adjacent doorway, "Yes?"

"I need you to take a letter for the princess." The mare told him as she began forming the letter in her head.

Spike got a parchment and a quill ready to write down the letter.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

I wish to inform you that my parents visited me today, and Stephen got along well with them. But after they left, he came to a full realization that being here entails not being able to so much as hear about what happened to his own family and had an emotional breakdown. I fear this may lead too continuous, if not constant, bouts of depression. He has become a friend to me in the three days he has been here, and I want to know if you think there is anything I can do to help him though this.

Hopefully awaiting your reply,

Twilight Sparkle."

After Spike had sent the letter in a plume of green flames, he decided to add his own two cents worth, "If he's sad because he doesn't have family here, why don't we help him make a new one?"

Twilight's reaction to this was to first give the dragon a flat stare, then facehooved, "It's not that simple, Spike."

"Why not?" Spike asked, using his child logic to try, and fail, at solving an adult problem.

She sighed as she began to go into her lecture-mode, "Spike, starting a family is the biggest decision any two beings can ever make, it's a lifelong commitment that should never be taken lightly. Besides, even if he wanted to start his own family, he would have an extremely hard time finding a mare who would want to marry him just because he is a human."

Spike tried to say something, but Twilight stopped him by raising a hoof, "I know that sounds racist, but you have to remember that he would be considered the exception to the rule as far as humans go. Most would consider him a monster as soon as they see him, and it will be a long time before that fact changes. Even I sometimes forget that he isn't like the humans that we read about in history books."

The dragon looked down as he silently admitted that she had a point, but that somber moment was ruined by a column of green fire erupting from his mouth with a burp. Twilight grabbed the rolled up piece of parchment and unfurled it to read what was inside.

"My dearest student,

It is good to hear that your parents get along with him; it gives me hope that his integration into Equestrian society will go smoothly. As for the problem for which you wrote your letter, I wish I could help, but I have no knowledge of how to comfort him during these trying times. I may have lived a long time, and I may have a similar experience, but he is a unique individual and as such needs different things to bring him comfort. My only advice for you, get to know him and ask him what you can do to help.

Your mentor,

Princess Celestia"

Twilight just looked at the letter for a few seconds after she had finished reading it. She couldn't believe that the princess didn't know what to do, she always knew what to do. At least she had been honest about not knowing what to do.

"So… what do we do know?" Spike inquired in a quiet voice.

The mare was silent for a few moments before she answered, "I-I don't know."

> Chapter 4: A Walk in the Park
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 (Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrighted material you will encounter in this or any other story.)

AN: If you guessed that Stephen gets to get out of that study in this chapter, then you are right.


Chapter 4: A Walk in the Park



August 27, 1000 AN(After Nightmare)


The past three days had been relatively uneventful, Twilight had thought that I would blame her for ripping me from my time, but I didn't. If she had had foreknowledge that I would fall through her time spell but did it anyway, then I would. But, as it stands, neither of us had any idea that we would end up colliding like this.

But, as I said, not much has happened these past three days. I had started writing in an attempt to distract myself from the fact that everyone I ever knew was long dead and completely forgotten. This attempt was met with varying results, sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't.

What was I writing? I was writing what would have been considered fan-fics in my time. I doubt any of the people that owned the original media would mind, what with them having been dead for several thousand years.

I knew that I would have to get outside sometime, it would be hard to integrate into society if I locked myself inside all the time you know.

"Twilight." I began as I sat at the breakfast table.

The unicorn in question looked at me from over her coffee cup upon hearing her name.

I took this as a sign to continue, "I was wondering when we might try going outside the study?"

She looked at me for a little bit before she set down her cup, "Well… the princess did tell the press about you, but I'm not sure how well you will be received by the public."

"There's only one way to find out you know." I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

She smiled lightly as she rolled her eyes in response to that statement, "I know, I know. But there is the question of where to go, it would be best if we did this slowly so that everypony has a chance to get used to you."

She started to think over this problem, taking on that cute thinking pose of her's. Even if you didn't have crush on her, you had to admit that she looks cute. Getting over that crush will most certainly take time.

"I know!" She exclaimed suddenly, and then continued, "We could go to the park today!"

I thought about it for a little bit, it sounded like a good idea to me. Firstly, there would be ponies in the park, but not so many that I would be overwhelmed. Secondly, there would be room for anypony who wasn't comfortable with me to be at whatever distance they were comfortable with. And thirdly, it had been a relatively long time since I just relaxed and enjoyed the outdoors.

With that in mind, I'm sure you know what my answer was, "Sure, sounds good to me."

"Then it's settled, after we finish breakfast, we will go to the park." She stated as she once more picked up her cup with her magic. 


(-0-)






"Well, at least nopony is running or screaming." Twilight said to try and comfort me.

The reason for this was that every pony we had seen thus far seemed to go out of their way to be as far from me as possible, even though I knew why, it still hurt. But it was good to be outside for the first time in five days… or is it over several hundred thousand years? Well, it's been five days from my prospective. The light of the sun on my back, the smell of flowers in the air, and the feeling of a light breeze on my skin were all good to be exposed to once more.

But, as we kept walking, I began remembering my old life more and more.

Soon, we came to a willow tree, and Twilight sat down in its shade. I decided that I might as well join her, so I sat down and leaned my body against the tree. And so we sat there in silence, just relaxing and watching the world go by.

After what might have been half an hour, Twilight looked over to me, "So Stephen, how are you feeling?"

I sighed, "Better than yesterday afternoon, but I still feel home-sick."

"You know, I heard that talking about what makes you sad helps, maybe it would help if you told me about your family and friends." The mare told me as she turned herself slightly to face me.

I smiled lightly, I knew she had most probable read that as opposed to hearing it, "That sounds good. There is my mom, she is… was always nice to me, except when I did something bad. She was always there for me when I needed her most.

"Then there was my sister, Emma, we used to argue all the time. We did grow out of it, and when we did, we became best friends. We used to tell stories all the time, she eventually began to refer to me as her muse.

"Of course there is also my brother-in-law, Jon. He was awesome, and just plain hilarious. He knew how to make anyone laugh.

"As for my friends, there was Joel, the first real friend I made after my family moved to Mississippi. He tended to be calm and collected most of the time. He was a lot better at chess than I was, but almost everyone was.

"There was David, he was the funniest of us, and the one who came up with some of the most original out of us. He was probable the one of my friends that I was closest to. We did a lot of stuff together, and we were almost always on the same team during games and summer camp.

"There was Adron, he was interesting. He had unique view of the world. I tended to be the one he liked to talk to the most.

"There was Mr. Jesse, he was our Sunday School teacher for a good amount of time. He was one of few adults that I considered a close personal friend. My mom babysat his daughter, Coralee, for a while.

"I miss them, all of them."

Twilight looked at me, apparently a little confused, "You didn't mention your father, did you not have one?"

"I did have a dad, but I might as well not have." I said, the last part I muttered under my breath.





"What do you mean by "you might as well not have"?"

I was surprised by her asking that, until I remembered that ponies had better hearing than humans, "Well… how do I explain this… How about I compare him to your dad. Let's say you were a child whose age was in the single digits and your family goes to a place and at one or more points everyone sings, now, say you like to sing but are scared that you will mess up and that if you do that everyone will stop what they are doing and look at you. What would your father do?"

She thought about that for a minute or two before she answered, "He would ask me why I wasn't singing, and then he would tell me that no one would notice if I messed up and encourage me that I would do just fine."

"He would do that because he is a good dad. My dad never asked what was wrong or why I didn't sing, he just spanked me. All he ever had to do was encourage me, but he never did, ever. As for the punishment, I have nothing against spanking a child if they do something wrong or don't do something they are supposed to just because they don't want to, but a good dad should practice both restraint and measurement of punishment. My dad did nether, he would give me one swat for each year old I was, regardless of how small or big what I did was." I told her, tears beginning to well in my eyes.

Twilight was speechless, so I continued, "And, even though I know that no child should ever say this, I hated him. And do you know what the worst part was? The worst part was that I never wanted to have to even think that. All I ever wanted was a true father, someone who would always be there for me, someone who I could go to for advice about any problem I have, Someone who would believe that I was special and do his best to tell me that. But, instead, I got a dad who was more like an ogre with a hammer, who was always waiting for me to mess up so he could slam his hammer down on my head.

"I wish with all my heart that I could say I'm proud of my dad, that he is the man I want to be like when I grow up, that he was always there for me. But I can't, and that hurts me more than anyone could ever imagine. Sometime I couldn't help but wonder if he forgot that I was his son, he even treated the dog better than me. Every one of my friends had a true father, but I didn't, I just had a dad." I said as my tears ran down my cheeks freely, if felt good to finally get this off my chest after all those years of holding it back out of fear.

Twilight finally found her voice, "How!? How could he live with being such a-a monster!? Why did he even have children if he, quite obviously, had no idea how to raise a child without doing serious damage to their mental being!?"

I sighed, "It was probably because he thought he knew better than anyone. He never trusted anyone, only himself. And his parents were drunkards, so that is probably the only way he knew how to raise children, treating them as if they were dirt."

A pair of lavender limbs wrapped around me, the smell of sunflowers invading my nostrils, "I'm sorry for bringing this up, I-I shouldn't have made you talk about those painful memories."

I just sat there, stock still, for some time. Then, I began to stroke her mane and tell her it was alright, she was getting more emotional about this subject than I was. I guessed it was because she wasn't used to hearing about this sort of thing.


(-0-)






It was later on in the day, me and Twilight had come back from the park not too long ago. It had gone rather well, even though nopony tried to introduce themselves, but they had come a bit closer. The two of us had mostly just relaxed, and now I didn't have to worry about my allergies because of a spell Twilight had used on me that, apparently, everypony had performed on them once a year from the time they are foals.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I really enjoyed today." I said as we walked into the main room of her study.

"I did too, it's good to have a relaxing day before the Summer Sun Celebration." She replied with a smile on her face.

Wait…

The Summer Sun Celebration?

Hasn't the longest day of the year come and gone already?

"Umm, Twilight… what is the Summer Sun Celebration?" I asked her even though I already knew what it was.

The mare suddenly brightened up, "Oh, That's right, you haven't heard about that yet! The Summer Sun Celebration is a celebration of the longest day of the year, which is just three days away."

Now to ask the real question, "Hasn't the longest day of the year already come and gone?"

She looked at me like the answer is common knowledge, which it probably is, before she sighed and began to rub her temples, "Ugh, I forgot that you aren't up to date on history."

I just sighed, "I guess I have a lot of reading to do…"

> Chapter 5: Friendship is Magic, Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 (Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrighted material you will encounter in this or any other story.)

AN: For those of you who have followed me thus far, I know there isn't much special about this story so far, but it will have something special in the future… and, no… it won't be Stephen getting superpowers, that would be dumb.


Chapter 5: Friendship is Magic, Part 1



August 28, 1000 AN(After Nightmare)






"Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn magic to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies.

"But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night.

"One fateful day, the younger alicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night.

"Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom, the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her permanently on the moon.

"The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since."

I couldn't help but get a feeling of déjà vu from hearing Twilight read those passages, I guess it was just another thing I had forgotten.

The two of us were sitting in the park reading, I was reading a book about the history of the Summer Sun Celebration. According to the book, the reason the Summer Sun Celebration is the day after tomorrow is because, after Discord was defeated, the sunrise/sunset times were started back up at when it was before his rule began. The mistake was only noticed when it was too late to do anything about it. So now, the longest day of the year came near the end of summer.

I had been taking a break from reading when I heard Twilight read that, and it felt like I should have known about this.

"Hmm, Elements of Harmony. I know I've heard of those before. But where?" Twilight pondered to herself.

"You do remember you are supposed to be on break, right?" I reminded her in an attempt to keep her from going on a study tangent.

An attempt that failed epicly, "Yes, I know, but I have to know more, it could be important."

I sighed, "Back to the study, I guess."

So much for a relaxing day at the park…


(-0-)


We were on our way back to the study, and something felt out of place. Three mares had passed by us carrying presents on their backs, and I had this weird feeling that they should have spoken to Twilight, but they didn't. It was probably because I was with her, seeing as they gave me an untrusting look.

We soon arrived back at the tower where Twilight's study was located, its gold coated roof glinting in the pre-noon light.

Twilight through the door open when we got to it, with me cringing at the sound of poor Spike getting hit by the door and flying a short distance.

"Spike! Spike!" Twilight called out before seeing the dragon on the ground, "Spike?"

"There you are."

I leaned down and helped the young dragon to his feet, "You okay there?"

"Ugh…" Spike groaned as he sat up, "More or less…"

"Quick, find me that old copy of "Predictions and Prophecies."" The mare said as she started looking around, until she noticed something on Spike's tail, "What's that for?"

I looked at him as well, and there was a now smashed and skewered present on the end of his tail. The feeling of déjà vu I had was getting stronger and stronger.

The young dragon turned his gaze to the object in question, "Well… It was a gift for Moondancer, but…"

What looked like the torn remains of a stuffed toy fell out of the package, letting out a "squeak" as it hit the floor.

She gave him a disappointed look, "Oh, Spike, you know we don't have time for that sort of thing."

"But we're on a break." Spike tried to reason with her.

"That's what I told her, but she is dead set on figuring this out." I told him as I lightly shook my head.

If there is one thing you learn about Twilight after spending a day or more with her, it is that she is addicted to studying. And when I say addicted, I mean it, with all its symptoms. A part of me hoped that the mare wouldn't start to go on a studying tangent.

Her horn started to glow as she began pulling books off the shelves. Spike just rolled his eyes and began to climb one of many ladders in the study.

"No. No. No. No, no, no!" She said getting more and more desperate as she looked at the various books she held in her telekinetic grip, until, "Spike!"

"Heads up, Steve!" Spike yelled from the top of his ladder.

I looked up and saw a book falling towards me, so I reached up and caught it. It was a nondescript blue tome with the words "Predictions and Prophecies" written on the cover. No wonder she was having a hard time finding it.

I walked over to Twi and held the book out to her, "Is this the one?"

She looked it over before a smile spread across her face, "Ah, thanks you two."

As she trotted over to her reading desk to find what she was looking for, dropping all the other book she had been holding. I smiled slightly at her accidental absentmindedness, she is normally very OCD… or CDO, if you can't stand them being out of order. Spike slid down the ladder he was on and began gathering the fallen tomes, an effort I soon joined.

As me and Spike were putting the forgotten books back where they belonged, Twilight began looking though the book, "Elements, elements, E, E, E… Aha! Elements of Harmony. See "Mare in the Moon"?"





"Mare in the Moon? But that's just an old ponies' tale." Spike stated from the ladder he had made his way up during the mare's search.

"Most myths have their base in fact, Spike." I told him as I held the ladder steady.

"Mare, Mare. Aha! "Mare in the Moon, myth from olden pony times, a powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon."" Twilight read from the book before her.

""Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal." Spike! Do you know what this means?" She exclaimed after she had finished reading the text.

"No." The young dragon said flatly as he made his way down the ladder.

"Spike, it has been one thousand years since Nightmare Moon, A.K.A. the Mare in the Moon, was banished to the moon, according to the book Twilight read earlier." I began explaining to him, "And the longest day of the year is the day after tomorrow, and, as I told you, most myths have their base in fact."

Twilight levitated a scroll and quill to him, "Spike, take a note, please, to the princess."

She cleared her throat and then began to dictate the letter, "My dearest teacher,

"My continuing studies of pony magic have led me discover that we are on the precipice of disaster!"

"Hold on." Spike interrupted, "Preci- preci-"

"Precipice, P-R-E-C-I-P-I-C-E." I told him using the knowledge that Twilight magically gave to me during the first day of my time here.

Twilight gave me a thankful look before she started up once more, "For, you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is, in fact, Nightmare Moon, and she's about to return to Equestria and bring with her eternal night. Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response.

"Your faithful student,

"Twilight Sparkle."

"Got it!" Spike exclaimed after writing her name on the bottom of the letter.

"Great. Send it." Twilight instructed him as she stood in front of the main window.

The dragon looked at her in a confused manner before asking, "Now?"

I just gave him a flat look, "Yes, Spike, I do believe she meant now. So just please send it."

"Okay, okay." He said before he inhaled deeply and then blew magic imbued green flames onto the letter, turning it into a flying cloud of ash and magic.

"I wouldn't hold your breath." He warned in a slightly annoying way.

"I'm not worried, Spike. The princess trusts me completely. In all the years she's been my mentor, she's never once doubted me." Twilight stated in a confident manner, I couldn't help but get the feeling that she wouldn't be for much longer.

Spike soon burped out a jet of green fire that coalesced into a scroll bearing the royal seal.

The mare was happy to see this, "See? I knew she would want to take immediate action."

Spike opened the scroll and began to read, "My dearest, most faithful student, Twilight,

"You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely.

"But you simple must stop reading those dusty old books."

Twilight gasped in shock at that, I on the other hand, "Spike, is that really what it says?"

"Well…" He began nervously.

I gave him a flat look and held my hand out, "Spike, let me read it."

He sighed in defeat as he handed me the letter.

I cleared my throat and read, "You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely.

"But you need not worry yourself over this matter. That being said, I am concerned for you. I had hoped that you would take this time off to socialize instead of study. So, I'm sending you to supervise the preparation for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location, Ponyville.

"And I have an even more essential task for you to complete, make some friends. The mayor will have a list of preparations for you to check at the Town Hall.

"During your time in Ponyville you, Spike, and Stephen will be staying in the Golden Oaks Library.

"As for Stephen, I would like to apologize, I was not as trusting as I at first seemed. You see, there are two reasons why I let him stay with you. First, your study is on castle grounds, which means the guards would be but a call away if he acted up. Second, humans were always notoriously weak against magic, so you would be able to subdue him easily if he threatened you. However, it would seem that my caution was misplaced, seeing as he has behaved himself thus far.

"Your mentor,

"Princess Celestia."

Twilight was still confused by something in the letter, "What does she mean by "you need not worry yourself over this matter" ? The future of Equestria is at stake!"

I decided to put my two cents in before the mare went ballistic, something that was more likely than most would believe, "Twilight, if that book you read is anything to go by, then Princess Celestia was the one who banished Nightmare Moon in the first place. In fact, it is very likely that she was the one who wrote that prophesy. She has had one thousand years to plan for this, so she probably has a well thought out plan to stop Nightmare."

She stopped her would-be tangent as she listened to me, apparently thought about it for a little bit afterwards, "I guess you're right, but I still think we should try to help in any way we can."

I sighed at this, but I knew it was the best I was going to get. When she put her mind to something, she would keep at it until either she finished it or she discover that it could not be done. As for what Celestia had said in the letter, I didn't really mind. She was only doing what any leader worth their salt would do. At least I had earned enough of her trust to go with Twilight.


(-0-)



8:20 AM, the next day






The three of us were riding in a gold gilded chariot, Spike and I were just enjoying the ride. What was Twilight doing? She was spending her time thinking of a plan just in case Nightmare Moon got the better of Celestia, or at least that's what she told us.

Even though I knew it was futile, I decided to try to get her to relax, "Come on, Twilight, I'm sure the princess has everything under control."

She sighed explosively in response, "I know, I know. But it our job as citizens of Equestria to make sure we have a plan of action just in case."

"Then when will you make friends, like the princess said?" Spike asked her in a somewhat sad voice.

"She said to check on the preparations. I am her student, and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends." Twilight told him as the chariot began to land.

I rolled my eyes at the lavender mare's stubbornness, she seemed to really be dead set on being a recluse. I decided to look at my new surroundings, wooden houses with straw thatched roofs were arranged in a lax grid pattern around us, except for a tall circular building that looked very official, which I was willing to guess was the Town Hall. Ponies, both stallions and mares, were trotting around town, many of them giving me curious looks, perhaps they didn't know about humans.

"Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about." Spike said while indicating at a bright pink colored earth pony mare with a curly bubblegum pink mane, "Come on, Twilight. Just try."

As soon as I saw this pony, I felt that I should know what her name was. I felt her name right on the tip of my tongue, but it just wasn't coming out. Her light blue eyes and three balloon cutie mark looked so familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger. My amnesia was getting really annoying.

"Uh… hello?" Twilight tried.

The pink pony's reaction was… not the best, to say the least. Her reaction was to gasp widely, then literally fly off… and she wasn't even a pegues.

"Did-did that pony just deify the laws a physics?" I asked after just standing there for a few seconds.

"Well, that was interesting, all right." Twilight said after recovering her voice.

Spike sighed loudly as Twilight trotted towards what I had assumed was Town Hall. I patted him on the head gently as I began to fallow the lavender unicorn. At least he tried. 


(-0-)


Twilight now had the list of things we had to do, after she had explained my presence to Mayor Mare. Apparently, she was one of the few ponies in town that knew about humans. Right now, we were heading towards the first destination on the list.

"Summer Sun Celebration official overseer's checklist. Number one, banquet preparation, Sweat Apple Acres." Spike read off the list on the check board he was holding.

Sweat Apple Acres, the name sure fit this farm well. Images of apples were all over the farmhouse and barn, and fields apple trees stretched as far as the eye could see. If there was any doubt about where this was, the sign that said "Sweat Apple Acres" that hung on the archway that lead into the property was undeniable proof.

It was then that a yell cut through the air, "Yee-Haw!"

We turned towards the yell and saw an orange earth pony mare with a blond mane and tail done up in, ironically, ponytails. Her cutie mark was a trio of red apples. This one also seemed familiar. She ran up to a tree, spun around, and gave it a strong double barreled kick with her hind legs. The kick dislodged all the apples from the tree and into the five wooden buckets underneath it.

"Let's get this over with." Twilight said dejectedly, her head low to the ground.

The three of us walked over to the farm mare, Twilight speaking up as we approached, "Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle."

Before she could say anymore, the orange mare grabbed her forehoof and began shaking it extremely heartily.

"Well, howdy-do, Ms. Twilight! Ah pleasure making your acutance." The orange mare began with a southern drawl, "Ah'm Applejack. We here at Sweat Apple Acres sure do like making new friends."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the socially awkward Twilight getting her hoof shook off by this Applejack. I did feel a bit sorry for her though, her forelimb would defiantly be sore by tomorrow. My chuckling, however, got the attention of the mare.

"An' who might this be?" Applejack asked as she gave me a curious look.

I decided to introduce myself before Twilight did, "I'm Stephen McIntyre."

"Well, good ta meet ya, then." She said before she asked another question, "If'n you don't mind me askin', what exactly are ya? I an't ever seen any being like you before."

"He is a human." Twilight informed her, apparently preparing to intervene should this situation go south.

Her reaction wasn't what we feared it might be, she just looked confused, "A human? Ah know ah've heard that name before, but ah just can't place it."

"His race has been extinct for a long time," Twilight explained, "I, uh, I accidentally pull him out of his time, which was at least over a hundred thousand years ago."

Applejack just stood there for a few seconds, her face taking on a sad expression, "Oh, ah-ah'm mighty sorry ah brought that up."

"Don't worry, it's better to get that question out of the way sooner rather than later." I told her with a sad smile on my face.

"Oh, alright then." She began before clearing her thought, "So, what can ah do ya for?"

"Well, I am, in fact, here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you're in charge of the food?" Twilight stated.

This caused Applejack to smile, "We sure as sugar are. Would ya care to sample some?"

"As long as it doesn't take too long." Twilight said, getting uncertain near the end of that statement.

Applejack began to ring an old metal triangle, "Soup's on, everypony!"

The ground began to tremble as a large group of ponies came running towards us. Oh no…

What happened during the next few seconds was lost to me, as they blurred together. When time came back into perspective, I found myself, as well as both Twilight and Spike, sitting at a table with a plaid tablecloth. How and when that happened was a complete mystery to me.

Applejack popped out from under the table next to Spike, "Now, why don't ah introduce y'all to the Apple Family?"

"Thanks, but we really need to hurry." Twilight said in an attempt to get out of this.

Too bad it didn't work. Applejack then proceeded to introduce more ponies then I could ever hope to remember, the mare shoving an apple into Twilight's mouth near the. I only really got the last three; Big McIntosh, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith. Big McIntosh was a large red earth pony stallion with a short orange mane, green eyes, and a halved green apple as a cutie mark. Apple Bloom was a light yellow earth pony filly with a light red mane, orange eyes, no cutie mark, and an oversized pink bow in her mane. Granny Smith was an elderly green earth pony mare with an aged white mane, orange eyes, and an apple pie as a cutie mark.

Applejack put her hoof over Twilight's shoulder, "Why, ah'd say they're already part of the family!"

The lavender unicorn did an impressive spit take "Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way."

"Aren't ya gonna stay for brunch?" Apple Bloom asked with an extremely adorable pout on her face.

Twilight tried to resist the cuteness, an attempt that I knew was futile, "Sorry. But we have an awful lot to do."

A collective "Aww" of disappointment came from all ponies present, with Apple Bloom making adorable puppy eyes. I knew that Twilight's resolve wouldn't last much longer against this onslaught. So, I counted down the seconds till she broke.

Three.

Two.

One.

"Fine." Twilight conceded.

I couldn't help but chuckle at this, but the lavender unicorn noticed that.

"And what are you laughing at?" She asked me with an obviously fake frown on her face.

"Oh, nothing." I said in the most innocent voice I could muster.

She just rolled her eyes at me with a smile on her face, everyone… er, everypony else just started laughing.


(-0-)



A few hours later






"Food's all taken care of. Next is weather." Spike said as we walked along one of the dirt roads of Ponyville.

The three of us had left Sweat Apple Acres a few minutes ago, me and Spike had full stomachs. All the food had been good, really good. To good, in Twilight's case. What do I mean? Well…

"Ugh… I ate too much pie…" She complained, her stomach bulging.

You know… she almost looked like she was pregnant. That thought made me snicker. Twilight gave me a look that said "what are you laughing at" in a very grumpy manner.

I decided to explain myself, "You know, Twilight, if I didn't know you better, I might think you're pregnant."

That made her stop, she stared at me for a bit before she spoke, "I do not! Spike, do you think I look pregnant?"

Spike looked at her for a bit, then he started snickering, "Yes."

"Tha-HEY!!!" She started to say before she did a double take.

Us two guys burst out in full laughter at this, no longer able to hold back our guffaws. We laughed until we fell on our backs, Twilight grumbling to herself about the fun we were having at her expense. She apparently decided to try and change the subject from her appearance.

"You know, there is supposed to be a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds, and she's not doing a very good job, it seems." Was her attempt.

I got back on my feet as best I could before I replied, "Ya, there are still a lot of clouds around."

Suddenly, a sky blue and rainbow blur slammed into her, pushing her into a puddle of mud. I ran over to her, only for my nose to be assaulted by a smell that nearly made my gag. That smell was vomit, fresh vomit. So much for her lunch…

"Ugh…" Twilight groaned out, her whole body was most likely sore from both the impact and from vomiting.

The sky blue pegasus got off of Twilight, then she laughed nervously, "Uh, excuse me?"

The pegasus mare had sky blue fur, a mane that had every color of the rainbow in it, dark pink eyes, and her cutie mark was a cloud with a rainbow colored lightning bolt coming out the bottom. If this wasn't Rainbow Dash, then I don't know who it could be.

"Let me help you." She offered with a chuckle.

She flew off and returned with a cloud, she put the cloud over Twilight and started jumping on it. Her jumping caused the cloud to let out a torrent of water, which left Twilight soaking wet and grumpy.

I decided to finally speak up, "Well, look on the bright side, at least you're not covered in mud anymore."

"Not. A. Word. Stephen." Twilight told me, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"Here, let's try this, my very own patented Rainbow Dry." The pony who I assumed to Rainbow Dash said as created a whirlwind around Twilight.

"Umm, I think you just made it worse." I state in a flat voice, because she did.

Twilight's mane and tail were now a tangled mess. Upon seeing this, the pegasus began laughing hysterically and falling onto her back. Spike soon joined her in laughter, landing on the mare's back. I, however, cringe at the sight.

"Let me guess, you're Rainbow Dash." The grumpy unicorn mock asked in a falsely calm tone.

The pegasus shot up, lunching poor Spike off her back, "The one and only."

"Aren't you supposed to be clearing the clouds?" I ask her in an accusing manner.

Twilight decided to explain ourselves, apparently, "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is Stephen, the princess us to check on the weather."

"Yeah, yeah. That'll be a snap. I'll do it in a jiffy, just as soon as I'm done practicing." The apparently lazy pegasus told us as she took a seat on a low hanging cloud.

"And what, exactly, are you practicing for." I inquired of her.

"The Wonderbolts!" Dash began, "They're gonna preform at the celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show them my stuff!"

"The Wonderbolts?" Twilight asked in a tone that told me she was intending to bait her.

"Yup."

She kept going, "The most talented fliers in all of Equestria?"

"That's them."

Now was when Twilight laid out the bait, "Please. They'd never accept a pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for one measly day."

"Hey, I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat!" Dash exclaimed in a prideful manner.

Both me and Twilight grin and say in unison, "Prove it."

In ten seconds, the sky was completely devoid of clouds. She did it, she cleared the sky in ten seconds. But, for some reason, I wasn't suprized by this… it was as if I knew this was going to happen. Maybe I did. As for Twilight, her mouth was hanging open with a cute look on her face, and I mean cute as in adorable cute.

"What'd I say?" She bragged, "Ten seconds flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hanging."

She laughs at the look on Twilight's face before she speaks again, "You should see the look on your face! You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle."

She then flew closer to Twilight, "I can't wait to hang out with some more."

That broke Twilight out of her stupor.

Rainbow Dash then flew off at high speed, leaving us there.

"Pride cometh before a fall, and hers will probably be big." I stat wisely, looking at Twilight.

She then shrugged, "Maybe, but let's get going, shall we?"

Both me and Spike nodded. The three of us then began walking towards our next destination. I had a feeling that this is going to be a long day.


To be continued…