Settling In

by A Wild Magikarp

First published 6th of September, 2014

Sky moves into the new observatory in Ponyville to escape the city lights. A place with clear skies, beautiful scenery... and a population who seems intent on keeping him away from his telescope.

Night Sky has a good home, great friends, and a loving family. His position as an astronomer for the University of Canterlot is everything he could hope for... except for the feeling that his job is limited by the light pollution that surrounds the Equestrian capitol.

So when Princess Luna commissions for an observatory to be built in the nearby village of Ponyville, away from the lights of the city, and he is offered a position at the new facility, Sky jumps at the chance. He packs his things and prepares to move onto the next step in his life. Ponyville, a place where he can be left alone with his telescopes and the stars he loves so much. His plan is to quickly settle into his new home, no distractions. What he doesn't plan for is the craziness that is Ponyville to stop him. Or his new neighbors, who seem intent on taking him along for the ride. Or the angry drakon that seems intent on razing the town...

Guess stargazing will have to wait.

Nyx Sparkle is from Past Sins written by Pen Stroke. All credit for her creation and characterization belong to him.

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful night in Canterlot. The warm summer nights kept it at a comfortable temperature outside. the crisp night air was wonderful, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky under the crescent moon. Out enjoying the night were two stallions, relaxing on the terrace of one of the two's home. One, a tan unicorn with a book and quill cutie mark, was laying down with a novel hovering inches from his face, fully immersed in his story. The other was not quite so calm, starring through his telescope intently, with a grimace slowly growing into a scowl in his face. Finally, he let out a sound of annoyance and turned away, flopping down opposite his friend on a couch. "Forget it! It's hopeless anyways, thanks to those cursed lights!" He his muzzle in a nearby pillow and let go another groan.

The other sighed and looked up from his book. "Sky, you have to relax, it not worth getting this worked up over." He was getting tired of the drama that had been brought about by this whole situation.

Sky looked up with an offended look on his face. "What?! Of course it's worth getting worked up about! This is my life, and its being destroyed by an army of demonic little street lamps! What about that is not big enough a deal to get worked up over?!"

"Quite down, you'll wake you'r entire neighborhood like that. And your life, seriously? I will agree that their nice to look at, but I never really got the big deal about stargazing like you do. A few lamps block out a few stars in the sky, its not that big a deal. There are plenty more right? Take a breath and just relax a little." He was hoping to get this over with without riling his friend up any farther. Night Sky was a great pony, but when he got like this, it was very hard to reel him back in before he went into a full blow panic attack. It was an art very few on the planet knew.

"Stargazing?" Sky looked about ready to blow. Then just when it looked like he might, he stopped, and with great effort, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself. Once he was feeling a smidgen less explosive, he spoke. "Quick, it's not like I do this for fun... don't look at me like that... OK so not all the time. But its deeper than that. How would you like it if somepony came and, say, covered every other paragraph in your upcoming novel in black ink? It would suck right? Hinder progress, force you to go back and rewrite?"

Quick Write frowned. "I guess, yes. I wouldn't be able to get it exactly the same either. Did I ever tell you about the time that I lost the first three chapters of my next mystery novel? I took the entire-"

"FOCUS Quick!"

"Oh, right, stars, sorry, got sidetracked. I do have to tell you that story though. Yes, I can see where that could get annoying. Quite a nuisance I can imagine. But does getting so wound-up over it help at all?" Quick mentally crossed his hooves.'Please see logic, please see logic, not another theater incident, please...'

"But that's just it! There is absolutely nothing I can do to change it. THAT is the worst part. How do I study stars that are not out to be seen? It's a crescent moon! These are the second best conditions that I could have to study, and I can't even see Venus! ... What if it gets so bad they lower funding to the observatory? What if they close down altogether and change it into a laboratory of some kind! I know Professor Beakers has been pushing for a knew chem lab! What if they decide I don't have a place there anymore?! They would fire me! I wouldn't have anywhere else to go, and I would have to sell my house, and THEN-"

A large 'THUMP' entered the air as Sky suddenly had his head pounding. Once his eyes uncrossed, he looked up to uncover the identity of the offending object. A large book was hovering above his head, surrounded by and orange glow as Quick Writes horn trilled a soft note, showing it's activity.

"... Thank you. But you didn't have to hit so hard." Sky wasn't mad. he knew how he got when he was panicking, that's why he asked his friends to snap him out of it when he got that way.

Quick nodded, a light grin on his face. He didn't like to admit it, but the look on Sky's face whenever he did that was highly amusing. "I understand your worried, but don't worry. None of that could ever happen. And even if it did, you would have all the help to get back on your hooves a pony could ask for. Your family, me, Octavia, and of course Clockwork. How is the old stallion anyways, I know you visit his office every day."

Sky had first met Clockwork years ago when Sky himself was still just a young colt. Clockwork had been his science teacher at the time, and had taken it upon himself to befriend the young Sky and help him along his way. Sky still didn't know exactly why. Clockwork had always been a great friend and mentor, but the precise reason that he had chosen to pay such close attention to him of all ponies was a mystery left unsolved. After Sky had coincidentally been offered a job as headmaster at the University that he would be attending. By Princess Celestia no less. How a high school science teacher, even one as 'unique' as Clockwork, got a personal request from Celestia herself was beyond anypony. And considering that the Princess was the one that offered him the position, nopony had even bothered to question it. Now Sky worked there in the observatory, and he got to see Clockwork every day. Or evening, depending on what shift he had.

Sky smiled, momentarily forgetting his worries. "Still not showing any signs of aging. Mom still begs for his 'secret' every time she meets him. That cheeky old fool never says a word. I'm extremely curious myself actually, for academic reasons of course..."

"Ya, I'm starting to think that old stallion is going to outlive us!" They shared a laugh, doing so going far to settle Sky's nerves.

"Thanks Quick, I'm sorry you and the others have to deal with me when I'm like that."

"No worries, we both know I have my moments to. And to be honest, it not nearly as entertaining when we have to drag Octi out of her studio for a rest as it is to give you a good thwack." Another laugh, and Sky rubbing his head and winced. Then he frowned.

"Still... even if I don't get fired, it suck. It's my life my, even my cutie mark say so! The more they light up the city, the more the sky darkens, the more useless I feel..." Sky's ears drooped as he fell backwards onto the couch with his eyes closed. He sighed. "How am I going to fix this Quick? I can't just sit here doing nothing while the sky goes dark around me..."

Quick Write gave his best friend a look of sympathy, then turned to his book again. He had no response to that.

---

The next day, Sky got into his work with less vigor than usual. He had the morning shift, going through what the ponies on last night had observed and recorded; not his favorite job. There wasn't much, for obvious reasons, Sky thought. He lazily sifted through the data sheets and journal entries. Nope, nope, nothing knew here, no observable change there, we can't even SEE that cluster anymore. He soon felt the urge to pass it of to Star Chaser, but decided against it. That wasn't fair, Chaser was in the same boat he was, he didn't need more work.

The day began to slowly crawl by, consumed by checking, double checking, and triple checking all the data. Sky began to wonder if this day would ever end. Slowly, He began to lose the fight against boredom as his eyes began to rebel and close on their own. Just as he was about to fall asleep, a familiar voice called out.

"Oy, whats this? did I take a wrong turn and end up in the Polysomnography department? WAKE UP LAD!" Sky's eyes shot open, and he let out a tremendous yelp as he jumped out of his chair. In a rush to turn around, he's front left hoof landed on a piece of paper on the linoleum. His hoof gave out beneath him and he landed face first on the ground. As he lay there, he could hear laughing, but he wasn't sure if it was Star or Clockwork. Finally getting the stars to clear, he looked up to see Clockwork, not laughing but smiling broadly at his good work. Star had apparently joined him on the floor in his laughing fit.

"So, now that that's over, maybe you can tell me whats going on here?"

Sky slowly stood up, rubbing his chin. 'My friends are bringing me an unusual amount of pain lately,' He thought. "Well besides you scaring the daylights out of me, not much. Or anything for that matter. What about you? I can't remember the last time you came and visited my department. Something up?"

"What, you expect me to need something from you? That's what you think of me now? I thought we knew each other better Sky!" Clockwork put on a terrible pout face.

Sky gave him a deadpan look. "Be serious Clockwork. I don't mean to be rude, but I don't really feel up to it right now."

Clockwork very quickly stopped his charade. His expression turned serious, which was an uncommon enough occurrence to get the attention of anyone close to him. "Yes, I've heard that. Your friends came in earlier this morning and voiced their concern. Now that I see it for myself, I can say I feel the same. Came in here to try and cheer you up."

"So scaring me to death and causing physical pain was your attempt at humor?"

"Well Star here seamed to find it amusing. Isn't that right chap?"

Star, now recovered and wiping a tear from his eye, chuckled and continued in his efforts to reorganize his fallen papers. "Oh yes headmaster, it was just the thing I needed to make my day. Good to see you by the way."

"Indeed." Clockwork turned back to Sky momentarily, before looking back to Star Chaser. "Excuse us Star, but I need to talk to Sky here for a moment. You wouldn't mind would you?"

"No no, of course not, I was about to head out anyways, its getting around to quitting time." Star finished stacking everything up and grabbed his things, then moved to the door. "Have a good night!"

Both the other ponies said their goodbyes before turning to each other. Clockwork continued.

"Sorry Sky, you know that humor was never one of my strong suits."

Sky did know. He was around the stallion enough to know that Clockwork had not a single funny bone in his body. It was just his quirky behavior and occasional social awkwardness that made him fun to be around. "It's all right, really, no harm done. And I'm fine, really. Whatever the others told you it probably isn't as bad as all that."

"I'm not sure that's true Sky. Quick was quite concerned for you after your last discussion together. And she was trying to hid it, but Miss Octavia was rather put-out as well. You haven't been yourself lately, everyone can see that much."

Sky gave a sigh of exasperation. He didn't want this, none of it. The problem, his friends trying to be the solution, all he wanted was for his life to go back to the way it was. 'How could street lamps of all things be such a BOTHER?!'

"Sky, I'm not going to give you a lecture on what to do here. Your much to old for that and I don't think it's what you need in this situation. What I will say is that I, and all of your friends for that matter, are here to help. You know that right?"

"Help?" Sky asked with a disbelieving tone. "How can you, or anyone help? This isn't a social problem Clockwork, not even really a work one. The stars are going out!"

Clockwork shivered a little. That line brought back a some memories.

"And unless you can find me a pony who can fix that, there's not much you, or anypony can do." Sky turned back to his desk. "Now if you will excuse me, I have some work to do. Thanks for visiting Clockwork, I'll see you later."

Clockwork thought for a moment. 'Bring back the stars huh? I could go back in time and... no, that would be an absurd abuse of power, she would never allow it. So temperamental sometimes. Maybe Celestia would listen if I asked her to remove them. No, that wont work either. She's a friend but I'm sure she wouldn't take down all the lights in Canterlot for this. Maybe Luna could... no not that-No, WAIT! that's it!' A smile spread across Clockworks face, looking as if it where attempting to split his face, unseen by Sky. 'This, is, BRILLIANT!'

"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow, yes? Alright, see you then, Bye!" And with that, he bolted out of the observatory as fast as his legs would carry.

"...Ok, bye... Clockwork?" Sky saw that his friends was no longer present, and gave a mental shrug before begrudgingly returning to his work. 'The paperwork won't do itself.'

---

Clockwork was already to his office, and was grabbing his jacket. He then made his way out of the university and cut a path to his next stop. This would solve everything! Absolutely brilliant! Clockwork smiled to himself as he went along. Then he realized something that made him smile. 'After all this time, he's finally on his way, isn't he? Oh boy, if half the things he told me are true, he is in for quite the adventure.' He laughed. He almost felt bad for what he was about to do. But it had to be done, both for the good of Equestria, as well as for Sky. "Oh he is going to hate me later," he laughed.

And with that, Clockwork went about his plan, making his way to the royal palace.

Author's Notes:

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I know that all these unspoken moments with Clockwork (The Doctor) are confusing, but that's because I don't want this thing filled to the brim with expositions. Anything that could be confusing you, I'm sure can either be explained with a little reading between the lines, or in later chapters. If not, feel free to ask. Also, if you DO like this story, and the previous one, feel free to spread it around a little. Please? I would love to get some more views on here.

As always, comments, help, and critiques are encouraged.

Chapter 2

After Clockwork's departure, Sky went right back to work. The papers still needed reading and organizing, and since Star Chaser had gotten off earlier due to earlier hours, he did so alone. Progress seemed to slow to a crawl, and the clock refused to move any faster either. The longer he worked, Sky continued to dwell not only on the conversation with Clockwork, but on the topic it had been over. He sat there and brainstormed up a few ideas on how to fix his current dilemma as he worked, some more realistic than most. He was sure the royal guard would not approve of him and his imagined single pony crusade to smash every lamppost in Canterlot. That was a rather... EXTREME plan the more he thought about it. But at the moment, nothing sounded more satisfying. Such a petty little thing, and it was causing him this much grief. Sky gradually became more and more aggravated, as the slow day ground on his nerves. He didn't think he had ever had a bad day at work before. This is probably what it was like. He began to count the minutes as they slowly passed by.

Eventually, Sky's shift ended, but his replacement had yet to come in. 'Sweet Celestia, where is Comet?' He tapped his hoof impatiently as he tried to look busy, while he moved data sheets on the desk back and forth to pass the time. He was so BORED! About ten minutes passed the time he was supposed to leave, the door to the observatory opened.

"I'm here! So sorry Sky, I left my saddlebags at the cafe I stopped at before heading over, had to go back for them." Comet Trail casually walked in with a small grin adorning his muzzle. For some reason, this bothered Sky. Why was HE so happy?

"Well about time," Sky snapped. "I was starting to think you had gotten lost on your way here!" Comet blinked. He had never seen his co-worker like this before. Sky was cheerful most of the time, and if not that at least content. He couldn't remember the last time Sky had been this upset, if ever.

His look turned cautious. "Well... ok. I'm here now so you can... go ahead and leave then."

"Fine by me. See you next time Comet."

"See ya, Sky."

Comet turned to the mass of papers that Sky had stacked on the desk. All this left? 'Hope that kid gets out of whatever funk he is in, because that was bad. For him at least. Poor guy.'

---

Sky slammed his door shut behind him as he slid his saddlebags off of him. "Excellent plan Sky, now that you have successfully alienated yourself from everypony you work with, what do you plan to do now? Stupid!"

Sky heard a meow come from above. Sitting on the top of a shelf was his cat, Selene. The Bombay feline was looking down at him with curious emerald eyes, oddly pony-like in the way they displayed her emotions. 'What happened?' She seemed to ask.

After the walk home, Sky had realized his less than stellar performance with is coworkers. He let his frustration boil. "Oh, I don't know, lets recap shall we? A grump to Star is the first one that comes to mind. I was rude to Clockwork and sent him away for trying to be a good friend, and Comet? He probably hates me after that performance. How does that sound? Maybe I'll just lock myself away for a little while so nopony else can get my goat. But on second thought, who exactly HAVEN'T I yelled at yet?"

On cue, moments after he sat down, he heard a knock on his door. "Ugh, that wasn't an invitation!" He walked up to the door, and Selene returned to the nap she had been having before her owner had gotten home. She didn't care much for company. Attempted a calming breath beforehoof, Sky opened the door.

"Hello Sky, do you have a moment? If it isn't to much trouble of course."

Octavia stood on the other side. As usual, her grey coat was in pristine conditions, and her charcoal mane was brushed to perfection. The young cellist's was largely inexpressive, a straight face, and thin lips with a rigid posture. A result of her training for stage performances, to keeping up appearances when playing. But her eyes were expressive as ever, their magenta depth's holding a look of unspoken worry. 'Well, more questions and concerns. Let's try not to screw this one up, shall we?'

"Of course not Tav, come in. Want anything? I have some tea in the kitchen."

"No, I shouldn't think this will take long, no need to fuss over me. Thank you though."

Sky stepped aside for her to enter in past him. He watched as she walked by, and couldn't help but give a sad smile. 'If only you would let me.' He shook his head. Nope, not the time. 'She's here to state concern, she will ask for me if she can help, and then I'll send her on her way. Besides, she already made her position clear on the matter...' Despite this sad thought, and all of his previous worries, the smile stayed on his face. Being around Octavia had a tendency to make him happier. He closed the door behind them, then made his way into the kitchen to make some tea anyways. He reentered the living room a few minutes later to see that

"There we are, iced black tea with a hint of milk, two sugars."

"Sky-"

"No-no, I won't hear it. I know it's your favorite." Indeed he did. In fact, the only reason that he had the stuff was she loved it. He didn't dislike tea by any means, it was still better than that Celestia-awful coffee. But he was more of a cider kind of pony. Non-alcoholic of course. He had a stash of that set aside for Quick and himself.

Octavia took the tea and gave him one of her dainty smiles. He smiled back before sitting down across from her on a pillow while she took the couch.

"Thank you, Sky, always the gentlecolt."

"You know me."

"Indeed I do." She took a small sip of her drink and savored it for a moment before she looked back to Sky. "Now, shall we get on to why I am here?"

"Straight to the point huh? Ok then, I guess that would be the next course of action, yes. But I am fairly sure that I know what you are going to say. I'm ok Tav, really, there's no-"

"I completely understand."

"I KNOW its foalish, everyone else has already either voiced that or-wait what?!"

"I understand what you're going through. I know it must be tough for you to go through all of this and I just wanted you to know that."

Sky was given pause for a second. He was not expecting this to be Octavia's response to his dilemma. Of the three of them, She had always been the more level headed and serious one of the group. Her only real breakdowns were when they had to reel her in from her never-ending practice sessions. To hear her acknowledge his problem as something other than juvenile was not what he had expected. What HAD been expected was a discussion on how he needed to get past it, and an offer of assistance with his 'depressed state.' But here she was, telling him that she understood? And no offer of help out of pity?

"Um... ok? I'm going to be honest, I was not expecting that."

"What were you expecting? Reprimand, an offer of help?"

"Well no... maybe."

She giggled, a musical sound that reminded him of wind-chimes. He left himself to revel in it a moment before continuing.

"Well, you see it's just that everypony else has already taken to telling me that its not really worth worrying about, or that their here to 'help' me like its an addiction to cider."

"But you are addicted to cider." She deadpanned.

"No I am not! It's non-alcoholic remember? I just have a great appreciation for the drink."

"It doesn't have to be alcoholic for it to be an addiction Sky." She giggled again at his attempted defense for the keg he thought was successfully hidden away under his counter. He couldn't have come up with a worse place to stash it away.

"Whatever."

"The point being Sky is that I know what this must be like for you. And I am not just saying that. Do you remember when I was put on hiatus back when I was still rather new to the orchestra? They claimed that my performances were starting to lack, and told me that I needed to take a break. I was confident they were firing me, even went as far as to try and lock myself away in my room. "

"Yes, I remember. Many flying instruments and angry shouts were heard that day." Sky almost seemed to fade away for a moment as a flashback of a cello bow flying at his face came to him.

"Indeed, not one of my more... shining moments, I will admit." She blushed as she remembered going to Quick and apologizing for hitting him over the head with one of Vinyl's turntables.

"Anyways, that is what I mean when I say that I understand what you are going through at the moment." She walked over and sat down next to him, and put one hoof on top of his. "I know what it is like to believe that the thing you love is about to be taken away from you. I was sure I was going to lose my job, my dream of being a big-time performer. You are certain that you're going to lose your stars, and that your job will be, as you said yourself to Quick, 'useless.' It may not seem like a lot to others or even to me, but I know how hard it must be for you. But I also know that you can't let it control you either. It's alright for you to be concerned, but do try not to mope so much, huh? Don't end up like I was. And as for the lending a hoof, I also know that there isn't really much anypony can do here. This is something that I know to have to deal with in your own way. So I won't say I'm here to help. What I will say, however, is that I am here if you need somepony to talk with about it. Does that sound fair?"

Sky didn't respond in words. He sat there for a few seconds, then decided to take a chance and move in for a hug. She didn't fight it and even seemed to be expecting one. He wrapped one hoof around her in a half hug and stayed that way for a short while. Then, after the moment had passed, they separated.

"Thank you Tav, I really needed to hear that."

"As I said, I know how it feels, so I kind of had a feeling you might."

"Ya, but thanks anyway."

"Anytime."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Now that Octavia's reason for being here was dealt with, she had no reason to stay. But she also felt that just walking out immediately after that little moment would be rather tactless on her part. Sky sat there and questioned whether or not he should say something. It had been forever, forever being about a month ago, since they had really talked. Not since the little... incident.

'Now or never Sky, you have been waiting for a moment to say this for weeks now, it might as well be now.' Sky took a moment and prepared to confront a rather uncomfortable subject. For him at least.

"I'msorryforlastmonth"

"Eh, pardon?"

Sky took a deep breath and tried to speak in a more calm manner. "I mean I am sorry for what happened last month. I know it was kinda out of the blue, and I really should have seen it coming. In fact, I did sort expect something like what you said but I asked anyway because I was being stupid and I should have thought it through more and Ireallywasn'tthinkingaboutourfriendshipatthetimeandsoIwantedtosaysorry!" He gasped for air, having said all of this in one breath.

Octavia frowned. Not a disappointed frown, or an angry one. She looked sad. "THAT'S why you have been avoiding me? Sky, I thought that we went over this at the time. It's not your fault. I was the one not ready for a relationship. It wasn't anything to do with you, I'm just not there yet. You shouldn't be beating yourself up for something like that."

"But I KNEW it was a bad idea! We've been friends for what, eight years? After all that time, I should have known that it wouldn't work. At this point, it would be weird, right? I mean, at this point the three of us are more like siblings! I was being a foal, and I thought you would hate me after what happened. so I was waiting for you to come say something, but when you never came, I figured that you just didn't want to be around me anymore, so I-"

Quick had his own way of stopping Sky's episodes. So did Octavia. Most of the time both of their plans involved some form of solid object. She was about to go for the umbrella sitting on the rack next to her when another, more agreeable, much less violent idea came to her. With a slight tinge of red in her cheeks at what she was about to do, she leaned over and gave Sky a light peck on the cheek.

All sound in the room stopped in a single moment. Octavia backed away, giving a bit more space than had been there before to her fellow earth pony. Selene took notice of the deathly silence and looked up, wondering how exactly her slumber had suddenly gotten so blissfully quiet. Finding it of no consequence, she closed her eyes once more.

Sky was sitting at attention, perfect posture as his body went rigged. The entirety of his face turned a deep red like a tomato, and all coherent thought flew out the window as he stared off into space where he had been looking moments before.

"Are you... feeling better now?" Octavia asked gently.

"..."

"Sky?"

"...In some ways more than others, yes."

"Alright then. Sorry if that was a little bit over the top."

"No, your alright that was... Quite alright." He was still staring at the wall.

"It wasn't your fault. Not to sound too cliche, but it isn't you, it's me. I'm not ready to really consider a relationship at the moment. And I am sorry Sky. You're a nice pony, and a great friend. And maybe if I wasn't so caught up in my music. But as things stand..."

"It ok, I completely understand. Your career comes first, it always has. The same goes for me. I love what I do and I wouldn't give it up for anything." He turned, looking a tad calmer, and looked her in the eyes. "No hard feelings?"

Octavia smiled. "None at all. There never were in the first place. If we had just talked to each other afterward this whole discussion wouldn't have to happen at all!"

"Ya, guess we're kinda idiots huh?"

"Only some of the time."

They sat in silence, a comfortable one, unlike the ones that had come before. Then Octavia looked up at the clock and saw what time it was. "Drat, I told Vinyl I would be home five minutes ago to help her record her latest album! I'm sorry Sky, but I have to go now."

"No problem, and don't worry, I'm fairly certain that roommate of yours, the night owl she is, will probably still be waking up."

In fact, the young DJ was still snoring away in her room after a triple encore concert the night before. Many ciders had been had, and there would be an amazing headache awaiting her when she was awoken by her roommates' apologies for being late.

"Well, all the same, no sense in being tardy myself."

The two of them stood up, Octavia to leave, Sky to lead her out. They approached the door and Sky opened it, then moved aside.

"It was good to see you again Tav. Sorry for being a stranger for so long. See you later then?"

"Of course, no further need for this awkward atmosphere, right? I'll see you later Sky, have a good day." And with that, Octavia walked out.

Closing the door behind her, Sky turned back to the living room and sat back down. Now that company was gone, Selene decided to come down and visit. She softly leaped down from her perch on the shelf and padded over to sit in Sky's lap. He smiled to himself. "That went well. Very well, much better than I expected."

"Meow."

"Yes, I am a little disappointed. But if she isn't up for it, then it's not my place to decide. She did say there was a chance though, remember that? When she has time to focus on something other than work."

Selene purred as she rubbed against Sky's leg.

"I guess today wasn't SO bad. And she's right, I can't let this thing get to me. It's been taking over my life ever since it started."

"Mrow?"

"Tomorrow I wake up a new pony. Thanks for listening girl. Sometimes it's hard to remember that you can't really understand. And remind me to thank Octavia again the next time I see her."

Sky stood up and entered the kitchen to begin making dinner. Selene rolled her eyes. Her owner failed to see the irony in what he had just said, but she did not.

The cat licked her paw to clean her face a little, then stood up and followed Sky into the kitchen.

---

Clockwork had been waiting in front of Luna's door for the last fourteen minutes, forty-two seconds for her to awaken. 'She does love to sleep in, doesn't she? Or perhaps she gets up early? hard to tell with her reversed sleep schedule.' It was currently 9:39 at night, and Clockwork was getting impatient. Normally he knew exactly how things went. Other sensible creatures had a set internal clock or a schedule they liked to keep. But young Lulu was intent on being the odd mare out. She never had a schedule. He remembered how one afternoon she would be up at eight o' clock on the dot. The next, like tonight, she would wake up anywhere between eight and ten. 'Must have something to do the phases of the moon or something? Perhaps I look into that, it sounds like a very plausible answer. Why haven't I thought of that before?'

As he was thinking, the doors to the lunar princesses resting chambers opened, and revealed none other than Luna herself. This was lost, however, on Clockwork, as he continued his internal discussion about said princesses sleeping habits. The princess of the night stopped and stared when she saw the stallion in front of her door. When her appearance did not invoke a response, she raised an eyebrow. He was completely oblivious, muttering to himself while looking down at the floor. Rolling her eyes, she took the moment to observe the pony in question. His charcoal coat was accented by his dark grey, bordering black mane. He wore a ridiculous red bow-tie, and an even more absurd top hat. 'Excellent, another ridiculous noble without a single bit of fashion sense. Not that I am one to judge, but still.' Next, she looked down to his flank to see his hourglass... cutie-mark... Faust above, it was him!

"DOCTOR! OH THOUGH DOTH NOT KNOW HOW MUCH IT PLEASES US TO SEE AN OLD FRIEND SUCH AS THYSELF!"

Clockwork gave a high pitched scream as he leaped into the air. Luna took the chance to grab him in her magical aura and pull him into her warm, but extremely tight, embrace.

"OH HOW WE HAVE MISSED THEE! HOW FARE YE IN THIS MODERN ERA? YOU SIMPLY MUST SIT DOWN AND SHARE WITH US SOME OF YOUR ADVENTURES, IT HAS BEEN FAR TO LONG! NO DOUBT THE NUMBER OF SAID TAILS HAS GROWN IN OUR ABSENCE?"

The stallion she was currently hugging was beginning to turn purple though his dark coat. "L-Lu-lu... can't... breath..."

She realized what it was she was doing and dropped him suddenly onto his back. He let out a gasp for air as he tried to recover from the attempted pony-slaughter.

"Ohh... WE- I MEAN... I... apologize Doctor, I do still tend to forget mine own strength."

"It's-*wheeze*-quite alright Lu-lu-*gasp*-. No harm done."

Luna decided to wait until Clockwork was finished catching his breath before speaking. Once his oxygen intake had returned to an acceptable level, she spoke.

"So, what art though doing outside mine chambers? Tis' not the strangest thing you have been found doing, but all the same..."

"Oh, that? I was just waiting for you to finally get your royal flank out of bed to speak with you."

Luna laughed. "Ha-ha! Verily? Thou could have come later in the evening when thou knew that thee would have the chance to speak with us, I mean me, could you not?" She loved the Doctor. One of the few creatures in the world and those beyond that would speak to Tia and herself as a friend rather than ruler... besides Discord that is.

"This is important, and I needed to talk to you tonight before I get back to the wife and start on the paperwork."

"WIFE?!"

"TARDIS! Just the TARDIS! A nickname she got a while back, nothing more!"

"Oh thank goodness."

Clockwork raised an eyebrow. Luna's eyes widened.

"W-We did not mean it as such! Merely that thou hast not changed from the Doctor we loved so all those years ago."

The eyebrow stayed raised.

"W-Wait! We meant such in a purely platonic way, truly! Thou... we meaning Celestia and I both... I-"

Clockwork put his hoof up to her mouth, silencing her. She looked at him in worry that she might have somehow ruined their reunion after so long.

"I know exactly what you mean Lu-lu, no need to clarify. And you forget that I was there when your... unique form of speech was not so uncommon. Your words were not misunderstood."

Luna's shoulders sagged in relief, and she nodded. He removed his hoof from her muzzle.

"And... paperwork?"

"I am the headmaster at the university hear in Canterlot... Long story, not nearly as interesting as the others, trust me."

"Well... since thou has sought me out, for reasons not apparently including that wondrous box of yours... one can assume thou need a favor?"

"What? I never... well yes, I suppose that is true. You know me too well Luna. Though, it is more of a suggestion than a request. And it's you, Luna, just so you know."

"Indeed. Thou... You can change your face however many times as you want Doctor, you will still always be our Doctor. Now, what is it that you have to ask of me? If it is as important as your presence leads me to believe, there will be time to catch up at a later date."

Clockwork grinned as he pulled a piece of paper from his saddlebags. "Well, you know that Canterlot is much more industrial than the world you left behind long ago before the... incident."

"Yes, indeed this is true. Go on."

"Well, you also know that as a result of the lights being set up around the city, your... nigh sky, heh... has become less and less visible to the ponies living here."

Luna frowned. "Also true, I have noticed this of late. It troubles me that I must leave the confines of the city in order to do my work in the heavens every night."

"Well, it just so happens, a friend of mine brought this to my attention recently, and he is just as concerned as you are about the situation."

Her frown changed into a smile once more. "It gladdens me to know that there are ponies out there that admire my beautiful sky in this day and age."

"Yes, a great deal of them, many work with me at the university. My friend happens to be one of them. And so, as this was brought to my attention, I thought of a way to fix this little predicament that he is in, and I thought you might like to know. It doesn't hurt that it also needs either your sisters or your own orders to happen in the first place."

Luna became more interested in this paper that Clockwork was holding in his hoof. "Is that so? Let us see this proposal then Doctor."

Clockwork nodded as a light blue aura surrounded the paper and lifted them up to Luna's eye level, and unfolded it. Her eyes scanned the sheet, and as they did, her smile grew.

"Yes... yes this is a very good idea. and I very much approve of the choice of site. And I assume that this friend of yours...?"

"I was hoping that he would be placed in charge, yes."

Luna took the paper and returned it into Clockwork's saddlebag.

"That seems acceptable. Very well, Doctor, we shall give orders for the project immediately. And I shall announce this at the university tomorrow, as I am sure your companion would love to know of this plan of yours."

"Oh, he isn't a 'companion'. Just a good friend. The best of friends."

"Hmmm, indeed? Very well. In the meantime, do you wish to stay and chat, or is there more pressing matters at the moment?"

"Well like I said, I have to get back to sexy. She can get temperamental if I return late, and I have paperwork that needs doing before tomorrow. Wouldn't want to be late now would I?"

Luna gave him a deadpan stare.

"Doctor?... You have a small blue box that is capable of complete and permanent temporal displacement."

"I... ah, yes, of course, I tend to forget sometimes, it has been a while since I last did that."

Shock crossed the princess's face. "Verily? How so? That does not seem like you at all."

Clockwork looked up at her. "No, no I suppose not. Why don't we go somewhere more comfortable where we can talk?"

"Very good idea Doctor. This way then."

And with that, they turned and began there walk to the dining room, to remember old times and discuss the new.

Chapter 3

Author's Notes:

A huge thank you to The Great Derpsby for reviewing my work. I appreciate the help man, keep being awesome! /)*(\

Another chapter for ya'll! Hope you enjoy!

And if you guys are starting to get tired of these chapters that don't seem to go anywhere, don't worry, the fun stuff is coming up soon. So, as a favor to you guys who are actually following, (The few in number you may be,) I will give you guys the option. Which, of the cannon characters should Sky meet first upon his arrival to Ponyville? I leave it up to you.

Options:
CMC
Twilight
Applejack
Rarity
Rainbow Dash
Spike
Pinkie Pie

Fluttershy is not on the list because I figured she should probably be introduced by once of the other main six since she wouldn't do it herself, since she is... well... her.
Anyways, till next time!

The morning started on a happier note for Sky than the ones before. He woke up and slammed down on the alarm next to his head, and only grumbled a little as he attempted to rub the sleep from his eyes. Octavia's visit the day before had really helped him with his downtrodden demeanor. While his new outlook did nothing to make him a morning pony, he got out of bed with the only thing he currently hated in life being the alarm clock. And spiders, but that was a constant.

"... And grapefruit... and the cold... and clowns... what was I doing?"

Shaking off his sleep-addled brain's absurd train of thought, Sky found himself in the bathroom, apparently having walked in on auto-pilot. He got to work starting his daily routine, a quick shower, brushing his teeth, a brief combing of his mane to be sure it wasn't TOO messy. A look in the mirror told him that he was ready to start the day.

Now leaving the bathroom, Sky turned the other way and made his way towards the kitchen. Along the way, he passed Selene's cat tree, upon which the cat herself slept. The small feline got up and stretched and let out a large yawn, showing of her canines.

"Morning girl, how went the watch last night?"

"Mreeow..."

"Indeed. Well if that's the case, how about some breakfast, hmm? Tuna perhaps?"

"Meow!"

Sky continued on past the tree and into the kitchen, Selene now in tow. More awake than he was twenty minutes ago thanks to the hot shower, Sky got to thinking on what the day would entitle. 'It was slow going yesterday, what with my little depression episode. Probably be a bit of catching up to do. And then there is whatever was recorded last night of course. That won't be a problem as long as I keep focus. What else? What day is it, Wednesday? Today's the staff meeting! A well, not like they announce anything interesting at those anyways. Not to say it will be boring with our dear Clockwork about. Looks like where running low on eggs...'

Sky continued to go through potential to-do's for the day while he set up for a simple breakfast of eggs, toast, and hay-browns. As the pans heated up, he opened a can of tuna and placed it in a bowl before laying it out for Selene. She rubbed against his leg and purred before turning to her meal.

Sky smiled. That little ball of fur had him wrapped around her paw. She had been a gift to him from his sister Evergreen going on two years ago for his birthday. Evergreen's friends cat had a litter, and Selene was the one that his sister felt would suit him. Reportedly when Evergreen had been choosing one at her friends behest, one kitten in particular had crawled up to her lap, curled up, and purred herself to sleep. The moment that he had lay eyes on her, he had loved that cat. She was the most adorable thing he had ever seen, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. She had taken a liking to him almost immediately, which was strange considering her attitude towards most others, including some of the ponies she saw most often. Still, she was well mannered, never chewed or marked, and was all around the best gift Sky could have ever asked for, except maybe the telescope he had gotten for his seventh birthday. That of course held number one as the best gift ever, as it was the gift that had helped him discover his special talent.

Sky went back to prepping a meal of his own. Eggs scrambled, toast in the toaster, hay-browns on the stove-top. A few minutes later and he was looking upon a work of art. The eggs where a perfect yellow, infused with onion, peppers, and oregano, with a light coat of salt and cheese. They lay next to a beautifully done pile of hay-browns, which where a deep tan color. The toast was a little dark, but it was still good. And of course, the whole meal would be for naught without a large cup of cold orange juice to wash it down. He felt like drooling for a moment before he realized that would be wasting time that he could be spending eating. He got to work cleaning the plate of the 'artwork' he had been admiring moments before.

The beautiful part about Sky's job was the schedule. It was a little erratic at times, due to changing shifts, but he was used to it. And thanks to it, there was occasionally days he had a late start at work, and was able to do things like this. Of course, he still had an alarm set to be sure he didn't sleep ALL day long, and also to be sure that he could do things like this.

He finished his meal and licked his lips, before looking to Selene, who was now making her way back to the living room, most likely to sleep some more. He then turned to the clock. It was 7:30, an hour till he had to be at work. Plenty of time to do... something.

'Well, what to do. I already saw Tav and Clockwork yesterday, and they're both probably working anyways. I could go visit Quick, but he's trying to wrap up that novel of his, and I wouldn't want to intrude on that. Who else... Dad would be at work, but Mom might be home about now. No, wait, she's on call this week, don't want to bother her if she just got of a midnight call or something... Maybe just browse around the market?... Ya, right, who am I, Autumn? Sounds like something she would do. Well horseapples, what now?'

Sky sat in his seat for a while thinking, before finally he stood up and walked over and placed his dishes in the sink for later and headed towards the front door. There was nothing for him here, so if he couldn't come up with anyone to see, or anything to do at home, he might as well head to the observatory early. Maybe take the scenic route, make a pass around the palace or something. The airship docks would be nice and clear right about now. The morning launch was about and hour ago, so nopony would be there other than the staff.

Now that he had a plan on how to waste the next hour or so, he put on his saddlebag and opened the door. The weather was perfect, just a few clouds in the sky, and the temperature was a comfortable, moderate level. He took a deep breath and turned around to look inside.

"See you tonight Selene, watch the house for me!"

"Mreow!" Her owner really needed to stop that, he was starting to worry her. He was such a strange pony. Then again, that was part of the reason she liked him so much. All the others where so boring to listen to. Accept that Clockwork fellow, he was excellent company. Always able to keep up his side of the conversation. When Sky wasn't watching of course. And always the gentlecolt as well, she did love being complimented on her coat.

Sky stepped out and closed the door behind him. He took a moment to appreciate the beautiful day, then wondered if it was in fact the view, or in fact his attitude change that was so different today. 'Well, here we go, first day with a new outlook. Not letting those horrid lights get the better of me.'

He made a turn towards the docks. He had a feeling today was going to be fantastic. He felt happy, a strange, energetic happiness that he felt like spreading. Funny, was this what Clockwork felt like all the time? It would definitely explain the headmaster's eccentric sometimes crazy behavior. He felt his grin widen at the thought. "I wonder what that old stallion has planned for the meeting this week?" With this on his mind, he slowly made his way down the meandering path to work, feeling ready to take on anything today might bring.

Chapter 4

Sky got into work at with a grin on his muzzle and a happy tune on his mind. He hummed it as he walked in the doors to the conference room. "Hmm-hm-hm-hmm-hmmm, hm-hm-hm-hmm-hmmm..." He sat down next to Star Chaser and continued his song. Star looked over to his co-worker with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk.

"Well somepony is certainly feeling a bit cheerier today ain't he? I take it whatever Ol' Clockwork had to say yesterday did the trick?"

"Not at all actually. Well, not to say he wasn't trying, but it was actually another friend of mine that managed to snap me out of it. Speaking of yesterday, I am so sorry if I was short with you about... anything really. As you probably noticed, I wasn't in the best mood."

Star made a dismissive noise and waved his hoof in the air as if to shoo away the idea. "Don't worry about it none Sky. I know you, and one off day outta a hundred isn't going to ruin my opinion of ya. Everyone has em. And I'm sure everypony else would say the same."

"Thanks Star, glad to hear that. I got home yesterday thinking everypony would be at me with the torches and pitchforks after the way I was treating you all."

"Nope. So, now that we have that out of the way, anything interesting happen after I left?"

"It was paperwork Star, not much could happen."

"You never know! But yes, I can see your point. So... you heard about Pluto? That's messed up right?"

Sky laughed. "That's old news Star, anyone who cares in the first place knows about Pluto. I for one think it was justified. All the qualifications for a planetoid, but almost none for a planet. Heck, one of its moons is half the size that IT is! Not to mention its orbit, if it can even be called an orbit."

Star harrumphed and turned up his nose. But before he could speak the pony across the table joined into the conversation.

"I will have you know that its orbit is completely justifiable! And its new classification is ridiculous. 'Dwarf planet'? How is that different than a normal planet?"

Star nodded to the pony across the table in agreement. "Exactly, its an absurd name. Is it a planet or an asteroid? And if we're comparing sizes to other planets, would that be to the gas giants like Jupiter, or terrestrials like Mars? Besides, you major in astrophysics, not planetary science, you can't be expected to understand."

"Hey now! And what about your friend here? He isn't even a part of our branch of research!"

"No, but he agrees with me, so he must know what he is talking about, right?"

"Not true! Comet, back me up here!"

The debate raged on for several minutes, the number of participating individuals growing slowly until about half the ponies in the room had picked a side. Eventually one bow-tie wearing stallion walked into the room and up to the podium before clearing his thought to speak. When that did not get the response he desired, he frowned just a little.

"Pardon me everypony! But unless there are any other pressing matters to discuss, besides the reclassification of Pluto... again... I believe everpony is present, so we are ready to begin. If you would kindly take your seats we can get started.

This got everypony's attention, as they began to return to their seats with minimal glares being shared across the table. Beaker, one of the ponies from applied sciences, looked to Sky. "This isn't over," he said only half seriously.

Sky shot a challenging look back. "Good, I wasn't finished."

Clockwork grinned at the faux confrontation. Nothing like a little nerd debate to liven up the day. "Stand down everypony, you can finish your silliness later. Now, I know that I said all bodies where accounted for, but you all know that blasted little thing called protocol has it down that I have to do roll. SO, lets get this over with then eh? Beaker!"

"Here!"

"Tube?"

"Present!"

"Star?"

"Here!"

"Rotor?"

Once all ponies where accounted for, Clockwork let out a dramatic sigh as he unceremoniously flung the roll-sheet to the side. The assembled ponies chuckled at his show of exasperation. They all knew about their headmaster's attitude towards protocol.

"Finally! I tell you, by far the worst part of the job isn't the slow days, or the boring reports, no offense to you all. It's the pointless, bureaucratic step-by-steps they have me follow! And don't even get me started on the amount of paperwork that they send in! I tell you if we could run this place on charity alone, every weekend would be one big bake sale! Could you imagine it? All the muffins, the jamie-dodgers, and THE CHEESE! I tell you, it would be simply to die for! Then we could take all the leftovers and-"

"Clockwork?"

"Yes Sky, what is it, I was just getting to the good part of the... rambling again, right?"

Sky gave a light, head bobbing nod.

"Right, thank you Sky. Ever diligent, keeping me on track. Where was I before all that?"

Test Tube cut in, snickering a little bit. "Actually sir, you hadn't even really started yet."

Clockwork blinked. "Really? Well I believe that's a first."

One of the ponies from archaeology, who's name currently escaped Sky despite the role call, spoke up. "Yes, I do believe that's a new record. The best so far was just past the first announcement."

"Do you mean the best, or the worst?"

Star laughed as he made to end this discussion before it to went to far. "I swear, with the amount of ADHD in this room, I'm surprised any work actually gets done around here. As interesting as Clockwork's short attention span is, why don't we get to the important stuff before it all gets to out of hoof?"

Varying forms of agreement, from 'aye' to simple nods went around the room.

"Right then, on to the first REAL matter of business. As you may have heard, and many of you are no doubt-ably complaining about, the shipment we where expecting of new lab supplies is still lost in the works somewhere. The individuals that where shipping them to us have apparently pulled some magic trick on themselves, and are currently trying to find out where they have gone. That is my own interpretation of the message of course. For those of you who are waiting on anything specific, I suggest shifting your focuses elsewhere till' it arrives. Next up, I have a bit of news that concerns mostly the social sciences. Yes, I am looking at you Chisel, you know exactly what I am talking about next."

---

The meeting went on without any more major distractions, or any important news for that matter. With no new groundbreaking discoveries to mention, nor any revolutionary breakthroughs to report, it was over much sooner than anypony expected. All assemble where now packing away assorted papers, notes, and the like in preparation for Clockwork's dismissal.

"And now, for one final bit of information. This one is the interesting bit, but I won't be the one giving it."

This got the other ponies attention, as quizzical expressions passed around the room. Nopony could remember ever having a guest speaker at one of these. Who could it be?

Clockworks grin widened just a hair considered the reaction he was about to get. "So I would appreciate if everypony gave a round of applause for our very own, Princess Luna!"

There was a brief pause in which the gathered ponies processed what exactly it was that the headmaster had just said, before the door to the room opened to reveal the princess of the night herself. There was no royal fanfare, or red carpet or the like, but her demeanor and intimidating height made up for it. She slowly walked through the door, as if summing up the interior before moving farther in, before she ever so slightly brisked her pace towards the front where Clockwork was. Needless to say many jaws were unhinged. None in attendance could remember ever having royalty visit the university before, at least to see staff other than Clockwork before. One of the royal sisters, here, in the same room as them? Incredible!

Unfortunately for Luna, who was still rather new to dealing with her subjects since her return, the shock of having her in the room kept anypony from providing the applause that Clockwork had asked for. It was completly silent for a long moment, and despite her confident outward appearance, the princess began to feel uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, Sky's mind was racing a mile-a-minute. It was the princess! Princess Luna, the same pony who put the stars in the sky for him to look at each night, the pony who brought out the moon to shine when the sun set! It was like a dream come true! As soon as the shock had passed, he attempted to gather his senses and calm down. Whatever it was she had to say, he wanted to hear every last bit of it.

But she didn't say anything. She had reached the podium at the front, Clockwork having moved to the side to allow her room to speak, but she refused to say a word. Rather, her eyes where shifting across the room, looking to all the other faces in the room who where staring back at her. She had a look in her eye that did not belong there. Something that Sky was very familiar with from his foalhood years, but he was certain he must have been mistaken.

'She's nervous,' He thought. 'Why is she nervous? We can't be threatening to her can we?' He looked around the room to his colleagues, and shortly realized what the problem was. 'We aren't applauding. She must think we are being disrespectful or something!'

While the reason for her nervousness was for a very different reason, Luna was in fact quite nervous indeed. She began to fear that she may embarrassingly break into a sweat in front of her subjects. She was about to forgo the formalities and get right to the announcement when a single pony began to clop his hooves on the table in front of him.

He was a small thing. Perhaps only by her standards, being much taller than he as an alicorn, but he was most defiantly not the largest stallion in the room. His must have been young, his face not showing any signs of wrinkling unlike many of the older ponies around him. He had a deep blue coat, much like her own, accented well by his darkly colored brown mane. Stripes of amber ran through said mane and tail, and on his flank he sported a shooting star, surrounded on four sides by other stationary stars. His eyes where brown like his mane, but unlike his mane, which was a more chocolate shade, his eyes where a deep mahogany color. She recognized him from Clockwork's description yesterday. So this was Night Sky! He had his muzzle upturned in a smile and was looking right at her as he applauded.

Soon enough, the other ponies in the room caught on to what Sky was doing, and joined in. In moments, the entire room was applauding for their princess, one individual even going as far as to give a light 'woop'. Luna gave a small smile. It was good to be recognized, even if it was just for her position, and not necessarily anything she had done. She opened her mouth to speak, but after he saw the large breath she took to prepare, Clockwork quickly, but gently, nudged her back hoof. She turned to look at him with a questioning look. He pointed to his mouth, then made a downward motion with his hoof.

'Lower the volume,' was the message.

Luna blushed. "W-we, arg... I... knew that."

She returned her attention to the crowed of ponies who now had their attention fixed on her. Clearing her thought, she began with a lower decibel range in mind.

"Greeting too you mine little ponies. It give me great pleasure, as always, to be given the chance to address mine subjects. Let me first say, that even for those who are not involved in this next announcement, we... meaning my sister and I, greatly appreciate all the work you do. Though many outside this facility may feel that some of the work you do here is inconsequential, I want all of you to know that the work you do here, no matter what it may be, is for the good of ponykind, and for that you have our... er... my, eternal thanks."

Sky's heart soared. It was a great feeling to know that the princesses appreciated the work they did here. Much of the time he felt that the main ponies paying attention to their work where the bureaucratic that made the rules Clockwork hated so much. He tuned back into Luna.

"As thou has been informed by dear... Clockwork here, I have an important piece of news for you, mainly those of you studying my favorite and most personal field, astronomy."

If Sky could be any more involved in what she was saying, it was now. He leaned even farther forward into his seat, ears also at attention. Now it was REALLY interesting.

"It has come to my attention, thanks once again to Clockwork here, that while this building, and the city itself is in fact located on the mountain side, this does nothing for the fact a recent increase in artificial lighting has greatly reduced the productivity of your observatory here in Canterlot."

Many of Sky's co-workers nodded their heads and mumbled an agreement. Star turned to Sky. "Now I wonder where Clockwork heard that little tidbit of information, hmm?"

Sky blinked. Huh, he hadn't thought that Clockwork would take it that seriously. He had never thought it would reach all the way up to- "Wait a second! I mentioned that to Clockwork just YESTERDAY!" He scratched his head in confusion. "Do you mean that he already managed to talk to PRINCESS LUNA, AND she's already coming to us with a response?"

"Strange isn't it? Its almost like you're friends with Clockwork or something!" Star snickered.

"That's not the weird part," Sky retorted. "I understand Clockwork listening to ME. But how in the HAY did he manage to talk to Princess Luna about this already?"

Star opened his mouth, but then stopped himself. "That... is a very good point. How DID he do that?" They both turned to look at Clockwork, who at that very moment was looking right at them. He simply smiled and gave a wink.

Star stared back at him. "...Dude, that's creepy."

"It's like he knew we where talking about him."

"Maybe he's just that good?"

"Shush, she's talking again."

"So, in response to these reports, and a growing need for it as is, I have decided to take his advice and begin branching out. In response to this new need, as of tomorrow, construction on a brand new observatory will begin in the nearby town of Ponyville."

The results of this announcement where adverse. Comet gave into a big smile, Star let out a giddy little laugh. Many of the others turned to their neighbors to talk excitedly about the news. Sky's response was by far the most energetic, and embarrassing.

Sky literally leaped for joy and cheered. "YES! Yes, yes, YES!" 'A new observatory! A new observatory! No more lights, no more distractions! Finally, finally, FINALLY!' He continued on in this manner for several seconds, simply reveling in the joy of this new discovery. This was without a doubt the best possible thing that could have happened.

He was in the middle of this daze when he heard Star clear his thought nervously besides him. He opened his eyes to realizes that, to his horror, he was now the center of attention of the ENTIRE room. Star strangely was only showing signs of being slightly amused. Some in the room looked absolutely mortified or confused. Clockwork was biting his lip, trying very, VERY hard not to laugh at his friends current predicament with the princess right there. But the princess's reaction was the best, or possibly worst of all. She had her eyes locked on his, and was looking at him with her left eyebrow raised and the right side of her lip raised into a small, but very noticeable grin. Sky felt his face turn a deep red through his coat.

'And this is the most embarrassing thing that could have possibly happened,' He thought as he slowly descended back into his chair, almost like doing so would somehow make him disappear.

Once more, Luna's outside appearance betrayed her inner thoughts, but not quite as much as one might expect. She was very much enjoying Sky's reaction, much more than the small grin she wore would suggest. She wondered how he would react to the next piece of information, and with that in mind, she decided to take a part from her sister and have a little fun with the stallion, who was now trying to sink as low into his chair as he could.

"Yes, well, it is rather exciting, is it not? And I should imagine, Night Sky, that you will also be excited to know that your living quarters shall be just below the main room. Is that not most wondrous news?"

Another pause went by as everypony in the room made sense of what she had just said. Once they did, all eyes turned rapidly back to Sky, who for his part, was still having trouble comprehending what exactly he had just heard. She knew his name? Living quarters? What did that mean?

The princess turned to address the rest of the staff. "Indeed, this is only the first in multiple smaller, more isolated buildings that are being planned for in many separate locations. They will each be built to a smaller scale to house an equally smaller staff of one to three, who will live in the housing on the downstairs level." She turned to look at Sky once more. "And you, Sky, will be the one to staff the first, just outside of Ponyville. What say you to that?"

He was stunned. He honestly had now idea how to react to the information he was currently being provided. The princess had just offered him the chance to not only work but LIVE in a brand new, state-of-the-art observatory, away from the city limits. It was like a dream come true. He almost felt a tear coming.

The rest of the observatory staff, and those who knew Sky gave a cheer to congratulate him. The shock of the noise brought him back as he looked back to the princess from staring off into space.

"T-thanks princess." It was the best he could do at the moment.

"You are very welcome. Now unless there are any questions, I believe that I will surrender the stage back to Clockwork." With that, Luna backed away from the podium, and stepped to the back. Clockwork took her place.

"I did say it would be interesting didn't I? But never mind all that, as excited as some of you may be, I am sure the rest are eager to get back to their paperwork. So, with nothing else to add, this meeting is now over! Back to work everypony!

---

As the rest of the ponies filtered out of the room, Sky stayed behind to think. He had literally just been offered his dream job. A position at an observatory where he could chart the stars in peace, with little to no distractions. And just yesterday he had been an absolute wreck. How swiftly things change.

He was about to stand up to follow the last pony out when he realized he was in fact, not alone in the room. Clockwork was approaching, oddly enough with Princess Luna in tow. Something about her following him just seemed off.

"So, what do you think? Do you like it?"

"Like it?" Sky asked, before laughing uproariously. "Your impossible! A normal friend would leave their friend to mope, maybe try and cheer them up with a drink or something. You? You go and get ROYALTY to commission a bloody construction project!" He laughed again, then shook his head. "How in Equestria do you manage this stuff?"

Luna took the liberty of answering that. "Believe it or not, The Headmaster here is a very close friend to my sister and I. We have known him for almost as long as we can remember! Many fond memories of us and our adventures."

Sky blinked. "But... aren't you and Princess Celestia, like, two thousand years old, your majesty?"

Luna's eyes widened as she put on an terrible poker-face, trying to come up with a response to that. Luckily, she didn't have to thanks to Clockworks way with words.

"Ha-ha! Sky, I KNOW we have been over this. Never ask a mare her age! Especially not when she is an immortal goddess who rules over the kingdom."

'Nice save,' Luna thought to herself.

Sky's went pale as he 'realized' what he had done, not catching the humor in Clockworks sentence. Nor the fact that he had never actually asked her age in the first place.

"O-oh my, most sincere apologize you majesty, I did not mean-"

She raised a hoof to stop him. "No need to apologize my little pony, you did not offend. I am quite aware of my age, as compared to you and yours. And speaking of age," She turned to Clockwork. "What of the speech Clockwork? Hath my 'modern dialect' improved much since last we spoke on it?"

"You did wonderful princess. A few words here and there, but you can hardly be expected to learn overnight. A great performance overall."

Strangely enough, Sky noticed that Luna seemed to look very proud of the praise she had received. It was not as if she had anything to prove to him in the first place right?

"Thank you Clockwork, and we shall work to improve. Well both of you, I feel it is near time for me to depart from your company, as my schedule demands it. But before I do, I would very much like to say that it was good to meet you Sky. Clockwork speaks highly of you, and any friend of his is a friend of mine. If ever I find the time, do not be surprised if we, as I may very well bring the headmaster along, come by to check on your progress personally rather than wait for a report. On that note..."

She held out her hoof, and Sky had to think for a moment before he realized that she was in fact offering it to shake. He did so quickly, before releasing his grip.

"I bid you both good day." With that, she turned and made for the door, where her guards awaited her. As she walked past the threshold, they fell in line and followed, leaving just Sky and Clockwork alone.

"She forgot to mention, construction will be finished in about a month and a half, so don't feel the need to go and pack right away. Still, if you have anything that you need to get squared away ahead of time, feel free to take the day off and get it sorted."

"Clockwork?"

"Yes Sky?"

"Don't freak out, but I am going to hug you now."

"... Ok..."

Sky turned and wrapped his boss, mentor, and friend a quick embrace, before letting it go a moment later.

"Sorry, just really needed to do that. Sorry for... you know..."

"Crying and hugging and being weird?" Clockwork asked with a grin.

Sky laughed. "Something like that. But with less crying."

"Just a tad less."

"Seriously though Clockwork. I can't thank you enough. I kinda for the most part got over it yesterday after we talked, but still, this is the best thing I think anypony has ever done for me. Thank you."

Clockwork nodded and accepted the praise. "Yes well, I do have my moments don't I? So, what are you going to do next then?"

Sky thought about it for a second. He really had no idea. A chance at a day off, but what would he do with it? Then he realized something.

"Mom is going to absolutely flip when she hears about this. And not necessarily in a good way."

Clockwork, knowing exactly what he meant, planted his hoof firmly on his face.

"This won't end well."

Author's Notes:

And here it is! Sorry it took a while. When I gave you guys the 'chapter a week' promise, it was at the end of summer, when I wasn't really counting on computer problems, or unexpected requests, or life in general. Thanks for your patients, and also, I am still looking for an answer to the last chapters question. Who should he meet first?

Till next time!

Chapter 5

It had been the longest month and a half of Sky's life, for more reasons than one. He had been able to convince his mother that he had not been fired, was not leaving to get away from home, and did not need her to look for a house, for him or for anyone else. But once the crisis had passed, Gentle Touch had gotten... clingy. It was not as if Sky didn't love his mother to death, he did. He loved his family more than anything, and enjoyed the occasional visit. But, when family comes to ones house every day... for hours on end... simply to 'spend time with her little colt', it crosses an unspoken line that Sky happened to have much respect for. He had managed to get his fathers assistance in convincing her that he was not going far, and that they did not need to smother him. He was having a hard time figuring out how hearing that from Easy Fix had managed what innumerable attempts of his own had failed. Still, even without understanding it, he was grateful to be out from under the constant barrage of baked goods. Sky was certain that he would never be able to choke down another cupcake for as long as he lived.

But now the wait was over. Sky, along with his friends and family, were standing at the station waiting for the train to leave. Butterflies were dancing around in his stomach as he waited for departure. All his things where loaded, his preparations made, everything was packed and ready to go. All the was left was Sky himself. Deciding to get goodbyes out of the way before the conductor announced boarding, Sky turned to Clockwork first, who was currently deep in conversation with Selene, who for her part was being strangely attentive to the eccentric stallion, only looking away to occasionally lick her paw. As he approached, he caught onto what it was 'they' were talking about. Clockwork was using a surprisingly serious tone for the individual he was sharing the conversation with.

"-out of trouble though. Just because he is an adult doesn't mean he doesn't act like a child every once and a while. We don't want him doing something I wouldn't do. Or would do. You know what I mean."

Selene gave a meow in response. Then upon seeing her owner, stood and walked over to Sky, leaping up onto his back to lay down.

Sky reached around and stroked her down the length of her back a several times, receiving a light purr in response. "I swear, if I didn't know any better, I would say she understands every word you say to her. Even I have a hard time getting her to pay attention. And thank you for caring, but I am quite certain that I can handle myself. Ponyville is such a small town, its not like I could get into any kind of trouble in the first place, right?"

"No... I suppose your right there. Nothing at all interesting ever happens in Ponyville." Clockwork said with a not-so-well hidden tone of amusement. He briefly let escape a light snicker at the other stallions expense. He knew that Sky was just a bit of a shut in, but this was rich.

Sky gave Clockwork an un-amused look, seeing his humor as an admission of guilt. "... What are you up to?"

Clockworks amusement swiftly turned into confusion. He cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean 'what am I up to'? I assure you I have done absolutely nothing underhanded, conniving, or suspicious in the last thirteen weeks."

"Besides setting up this whole event in the first place?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call that conniving, would you?"

Sky continued his look of disapproval. "You have that look of yours. That one that says your in on the secret of the century, and your not telling me about it."

"Sky, I can assure you that I am not hiding any 'secret of the century' from you. But what I can tell you, is that life in Ponyville may just surprise you. It isn't quite as boring as you may think."

Sky's ears perked up. Was this a piece of Clockworks past? The old stallion talked, but for a pony who talked so much, he didn't say much. Sky still knew next to nothing about this mentor and friends past life, aside from the fact that he used to travel a lot. It was to good of an opportunity to pass up.

"Oh really, so you lived there for a while? When was that? Do you know any of the ponies there?"

The older stallion recoiled at the flurry of questions. He had forgotten to watch what he was saying. "Oh, um... yes, I did stay there for a while, a long time ago. And no, nopony in Ponyville should know me, I wasn't seen out and about very much." 'At least, not in this face.'

"Oh... that's to bad..." Well that lead fell flat. And now Clockwork was oddly eager to end the conversation, before he said anything else stupid.

"Well, I am certain everypony else will want a turn to say goodbye, so I'll go ahead and say it. But don't think you can get out of coming to visit every one-in-a-while! I don't just cease to exist the moment you stop observing me."

"Ha ha! Are you certain of that, because for the record, mom STILL has no clue how you don't look a day over thirty. And now I won't be around to save you when she starts pestering you again." Clockwork paled, and Sky couldn't help but laugh. "See you around Clockwork."

"Yes... yes see you around." The other stallion had a worried look in his eye, knowing the torrential downpour of questioning he was bound to receive short after Sky's departure.

Managing to hold back his mirth at Clockworks future predicament, Sky made it over to his family next, Selene still on his back. They where all grouped in the same general area, save Evergreen, who was currently away for work in Manehattan. His father was looking on at him with a strangely apprehensive look, while Gentle Touch was trying to round up the girls from their playing. Sky felt a strange lump enter his throat. He had never been a pony for needless roughhousing, and certainly they had had their disputes in the past, but he was strangely going to miss his siblings and their little bouts of silliness. He had gotten used to hearing them laugh and play, even after he left the house, when he heard it less, it was comforting to listen to them goof about when he visited the house.

Gentle had finally gathered everypony together, and now all eyes where turned to Sky, but attention being paid varied. Sunny Day was still giggling from the little play fight she had been having with her older sister, her jubilance shown clearly on her small face. Melody Tune was currently attempting to give Sky her full attention, but failing as Autumn Breeze, still wound up from playing with Sunny, was poking and prodding her sister mercilessly, while keeping eyes front.

"Alright, final checks then. Are you all ready to go dear? Feeling nervous at all, cramps, anything? Autumn, stop torturing your sister!"

"I'm fine mom, really. Everything is packed and ready. And yes, I feel perfectly fine."

Sunny, unable to contain her youthful energy, began bouncing up and down in excitement, like she was the one who was going on some grand adventure. "This is so cool! Be sure to send lots of letters, I want to know what everything looks like! I bet the telescope is huge, And there is lots more room to run around! You wouldn't even need a park like here! I'll bet the ponies there are super interesting too! And food right from the farm, I bet it would be sooo fresh! And I hear that princess Luna is planing to visit for Nightmare Night this year, that will be so COOL! Oh oh oh, Sky? Do you think we could come and visit you sometime? Pleeease?!"

All of this had come out of her mouth in less than ten seconds. For any normal pony, it would have been incomprehensible. But living with the little bundle of energy was not without its perks.

Sky felt her excited energy melt away some of his of the nervous kind. "Well I don't now Sunny, that would be up to Mom and Dad. What do you guys think?"

Sunny turned her huge eyes to mother, who was now forced to face the unrelenting powers of cute. Gentle, well trained in the art of countering such attacks after five children, managed to hold on long enough to divert attention back to Sky.

"I don't know about us dear. We can visit around the holidays, but your father and I get really busy around this time of year. I have a lot more ponies getting themselves into the hospital, and you father is still working on his new project. But you are out of school for summer sooo... if Sky doesn't mind taking care of you for short visits, that's fine by me."

Sunny pivoted back to Sky, bouncing up and down while somehow managing to maintain perfect eye contact with her older brother. "Please please please please!?"

"Of course she can come over! Just let me get settled in, and ask ahead of time, and I'm sure I can set something up for us to do!"

Sunny was ecstatic. "Yay! Oh this is going to be so cool!" She turned around and began to jump around in the area surrounding the station. Of all his sisters, Sky was going to miss seeing her the most. She always managed to brighten up everypony's day. Which is why he was so surprised she did not have her cutie mark yet. One would think that something so natural for somepony would be somewhat obvious to said pony. But she would find out on her own, just like everypony else.

With one goodbye down, and a sister that was most likely not coming back until she had expended the rest of her bountiful energy, Sky turned to his mother and father.

"Going to miss being so close to you guys all the time. Don't think you need a holiday to come visit, I work AT my house, so don't be afraid to just drop by, I'll probably be there."

His father spoke up for the first time since they had gotten there. "And we won't Sky, no need to worry. Just be sure to take care of yourself. I know the idea is that your mother is suppose to be the one having the panic attack..."

"Hey!"

"...But I can't help but feel a little worried. Your really haven't ever been more than a few blocks away from any one of use since... ever really. Evergreen was always a bit of a go-get'er, but its she still stays reasonably well connected most of the time. It's strange knowing that you wont be within throwing distance anymore. Message us when you get everything set up will ya?"

"I'll do that Dad, thanks. And like I told Clockwork, there isn't really any need to worry about me. Not like anything really big or dangerous really happens in Ponyville anyways right?"

Easy Fix raised an eyebrow. "Discord?"

Sky gave an uneasy chuckle. Oh ya, he had almost forgot about that. He had slept through most of that chaotic event due to his late night shift the day before. He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, to be fair, that little mishap did START here. And it was all over the place right? Besides, he's back in Canterlot now, so which spot is really safer?"

At that, both of his parent blinked and looked over their shoulder at the royal castle, where the statue of the chaos god was currently located. A slight shiver when through their spines as they recalled the absolute havoc that he had caused not four months before.

"And on that note, I think I had better move on to the others before the train leaves. You two don't be stranger either, you hear?" Sky asked, directing his gaze to Melody and Autumn.

"'Course not! You ain't getting rid of me that easily! Think one move and your free huh?"

"And I'll try and make the trips over too. Besides, I don't think Mom would much appreciate me blowing them over anyways."

"Indeed not! And speaking of blowing things over, so sorry that Evergreen couldn't be here to say goodbye Sky, you know how she is. She doesn't do it on purpose, I assure you."

Sky frowned just a little. Evergreen was always away doing something. Any chance she could get to go off and do something, she was gone. Work, friends, events, if she could get away from Canterlot, she would take it.

'You mean get away from us.' Sky thought darkly. 'She never really liked me or the girls anyways.'

He shook his head free of those ideas. No no, there was no reason to be so mean, she was just naturally an adventurous type. Couldn't stay in one place for too long. He had to be more understanding than that.

"Ya, no problem, its not really anypony's fault. I'll see her sooner or later. Maybe she'll even come to visit! Anyways, love ya Mom." He reached in for a quick hug, which she accepted, before moving on to the next group in waiting, Quick Write and Octavia.

"So, its finally happening huh? Big day isn't it, new town, new faces. Don't worry, with your natural charisma and charm, I'm certain you'll have us replaced in no time!"

"Hah, you think so? I'm sorry, what was your name again? Ink Quill? Mr.Book-to-Nose?"

"I resent that last one! MR.Book-to-Nose is my father."

A laugh was shared, but a brief, and even awkward one at that, as everypony present knew what was actually happening. They were stalling. The three of them had been nearly inseparable for years now. Sky had been the pony that brought their tight nit group together. If one of them wasn't working, they where out doing something, or just hanging out. Heck, sometimes they even came over to help each other on projects. Now Sky was moving to a new TOWN. A few months ago, none of them would have seen this coming. There was a moment of silence as Sky kicked his hoof on the platform below him. Octavia spoke next.

"Promise to visit? It won't be quite the same with just me and Quick here. And on a more serious note, don't forget about us would you? I think I speak for both of us when I say that we expect you to write as often as you can, visits more so."

This time, it was a sad smile that covered Sky's face. This was probably the hardest part of leaving; his friends. Both of them had no chance of moving to Ponyville, even if they wanted to. Quick had a mother that needed taking care of, and Octavia had her orchestra. The odds of them hanging out regularly like they used to where pretty much gone. But, he knew he couldn't pass this opportunity up. He would never forgive himself if he did.

"Of course. I couldn't leave you guys alone if I tried. But this isn't a one way street you know! I want to see you two coming down every so often as well.

"Definitely."

"Yes, of course."

The train whistle sounded, and the conductor finally made the announcement.

"ALL ABOARD THAT'S COMING ABOARD!"

Sky gave Quick Write a hoof-shake, and Octavia a quick hug, before turning to address everypony else.

"Well, this is it, off to Ponyville. See ya everypony, and don't worry, I'll write as soon as I can!"

A large collection and variety of farewells where returned to Sky as he made for the train. He stopped, remembering that animals where not allowed to roam free, and picked Selene up off his back, and placed her in his saddlebag, which she protested to briefly before resigning to the confines of the spacious pack. Handing the conductor his ticket on the way past, Sky walked into the train car and took the first seat available. Apparently it was not a very busy day, so at appeared he would have the seat all to himself. He moved to the window, and looked out to his friends and family who where all still at the platform, waving. He smiled and waved in return, as the train suddenly lurched and slowly began to pick up speed, moving away from Canterlot. Sky continued to wave back to his family until they where out of sight, and Canterlot began to fade into the distance. Then he sighed, and leaned back into his seat, taking an awkward position of laying out on his hindquarters, legs splayed outwards and back against the cushions.

'Why even have cushions on the backs of the seats in the first place? Why have backs to the seats at all? The car is to small for a minotaur to fit in, and a griffin wouldn't use them either. Of course, I'm using them now, but its not a normal position to take. Still, rather curious...'

Giving a mental shrug, he turned his attention away from the comfy chairs to the world outside his window. It was not often that he got out of the city, and he had never gotten off at Ponyville on any of their family outings. He began to watch the scene role by, as the train made its way through the mountains towards his new home.

Sky lay his forehead against the glass and gave a content sigh. "Onward and Upwards I guess."

Author's Notes:

Hey guy! I feel I have a lot to apologize for. First, SO sorry it took me this long to put this one out. It didn't take me that long, but it took me a while to send it to my editor. Then we had some communications difficulties and that took even longer. And that leads up to my second reason for apologizing. Misiour TheGreatDerpsby is currently out of commission, due to life being a pain. SO, I told him not to bother his head over it and to take a break. So, as I am confident in my abilities when it comes to writing, I am afraid my spelling is to put it bluntly... horrible. If you find any mistakes, please be merciful, as it is most defiantly not my strong suit.

Since you guys have failed to speak up, I decided to go ahead with my plans for the first day in Ponyville. And with some council from aforementioned (I cannot believe I spelled that right the first time!) Derpsby, I will be adding a special little OC into the story! Here's hoping I do her justice!

Anyways, enjoy the chapter and stay awesome. /)*(\

Chapter 6

Author's Notes:

Writers block hit me HARD on this chapter. I just couldn't get it to flow like I wanted for the dialogue. Sorry in advance for any 'less than stellar' writing.

Thanks as always to my editor, The Great Derpsby, for making my stuff readable...

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The trip to Ponyville was far from the relaxing ride Sky had been expecting it to be. It had started off well enough, with a confident feeling, and a nervous excitement in his stomach. But only a half an hour later, his mind began to wander, his nervous excitement transforming into simple nervousness. With none of the other ponies in a very chatty mood, and the trip itself lacking enough time to get a decent amount of shuteye, Sky had no way do distract himself. Sky's trip soon became a story of him shifting in his seat and neurotically petting Selene. Not that she minded though, the pampering was welcomed.

For his part, Sky was largely unaware of what he was doing. He was far too busy working himself into a state of panic to pay attention to himself or his surroundings. Sky waged a mental war against himself, between his logical side, which was fighting hard to stay in control, and the seeds of doubt that had taken root in the back of his mind. To the outside observer, it would appear as if he where completely calm, if a little shaky. Inside, he was a wreck.

'They never gave me instructions on what to do next! What do I do once I get everything squared away!?'

'Foal, you KNOW what you're supposed to do! Your job didn't change all that much from before, all that's really changed is that you'll be going it alone. Get your stuff unpacked and go back to work as usual.'

'But what if I can't get back to the way is was before? There was always somepony else in the room! What if I end up running late for a report? Nopony else will be there to help me!'

'You work at home! And on your own schedule! If you're running behind on a couple of papers you can always just work a little longer to finish up! Besides, it not like you have never stayed late before. What would the difference be? Stop grasping for things to worry about.'

'But I'm not Comet, or Nightingale, or Keen! I'm just me, and I'm an astrophysicist! What happens when I find something I don't understand? My specialties aren't broad enough to handle doing this on my own! I'll end up missing something important! I'll be the only pony able to see something, in my BRAND NEW observatory, and I'll pass it by! A meteor will be hurling for Equus and I will completely ignore it!'

'Then don't ignore it you idiot!'

But is was far to late. While it had fought valiantly, his calm, collect self had lost control of the situation. Now noticeably less calm, and slowly spiraling deeper and deeper in to his panic attack, Sky spent the rest of the trip daydreaming of what horrors would come of his inattention to astronomical entities.

'I wonder where the Princesses will banish me after the aliens invade? Hopefully nowhere too cold, I despise the cold...

---

After a two hour ride, Sky was a bundle of nerves. He sat there, his hooves no longer stroking Selene, but instead running circles around themselves as he twiddled them. He looked back and forth as his inner monologue of potential disasters continued, and his mane seemed to have made itself slightly more of a rats-nest than usual. He didn't even notice as Ponyville began to grow in the distance, nor when the train made its approach, and even stop at the station. His attention was finally caught by the conductor, as he announced the trains arrival.

"Train from Canterlot, now stopped in Ponyville station! Next stop, Appleoosa!"

Sky jumped slightly, brought out of his internal debate by the conductors loud voice. He blinked owlishly as he looked around him at the other ponies on the train. None of them seemed to be getting off here, so it appeared he would have no trouble getting off, aside from his self-imposed terror. Sky gulped, his panic levels not lowering on arrival. He began to sweat as his fear took control of the situation from him.

'This was a bad idea, I'm not suited for this kind of work, not on my own. I should just get on the next train back. Let Gazer take the position here. I'm sure Clockwork and the Princess will understand, right? Right.'

Selene was sitting at Sky's side, prepared to depart from the train car. But he refused to get up to let her on, or even to open his bag for her to hop into. SHE was ready to leave, so why wasn't he? As she observed him, she could see no real physical reason for his delay. He had just a dab of perspiration on his coat, but that was likely due to the heat. What was taking so long?

Then she saw the look in her owners eyes, the fear, the uncertainty, and understood what was taking so long. She rolled her eyes, feeling put-off by his silliness. She would have felt more sympathy for him if it was not for the likely absurdity of his fear. Living with the pony, she knew from his occasional conversations with himself just how far his self-doubt and imagination extended. He may have grown up a lot over the years, but he was most assuredly still far from 'grown up'. Deciding to lend a paw, both figuratively and literally, the feline gave Sky a few quick swat to the flank, claws detracted of course, to draw his attention. Time to get him over his wasteful worrying. Succeeding in drawing his attention towards her, she turned and began to pad her way out of the cab and onto the station, making sure that he was well aware of what she was doing.

"Selene! What are you doing!? Here kitten! Get back here!"

Ok, perhaps not. Still, she did not stop, she had work to do. Leaving the station, Selene landed on the dirt road leading to the center of town. She quickly gave a quick flick of her tail, thinking disdainfully of how the dirt would stain her dark black fur, before she continued on down the road. It had to be done.

Sky made it out of the car with difficulty, as his attempt at a hasty exit had resulted in more than one embarrassing fall in front of his fellow Canterlotians. What had gotten into that cat!? It wasn't like her to just wander off, she hated going outside! Once on the platform, Sky looked around fervently for Selene, hoping that she had not gone far. His panic levels threatened to rise even farther as he failed to spot her on the station, but were quelled when he saw the darkly colored cat as she made her way towards town. Into the marketplace, from the look of the stalls. He made chase after the fleeing feline, Sky moved into a swift trot over a gallop, as to not draw too much attention to himself. If he did end up staying, the last thing he would want is to make a bad impression on the entire town by tripping over his own hooves. Again.

Now in the market, Sky once again had to stop and look for his troublesome cat, as she had disappeared into the crowds of ponies milling around the booths, buying this and that. Taking up position in the middle of the market under a large oak tree, Sky began to look around for Selene, spinning madly in every direction to try to get get a glimpse of her. He turned to the pony next to him, a hulking, red behemoth of a pony apparently selling apples. Said pony had a half apple cutie mark and orange mane, even messier than Sky's own. He was currently chewing on a piece of hay, as nopony seemed to be interested in apples at the moment.

"Excuse me sir," Sky began, only shrinking back slightly as the much... MUCH larger pony turned his gaze toward him. "But is it possible perhaps that you saw, say, a small cat slink by here?" And there was the alliteration. He thought he had gotten rid of that nervous tick years ago. Guess his anxiety was pulling all stops today. Resisting the urge to facehoof at his own awkwardness, he waited for the other stallions response.

Big red stopped and looked up, apparently looking for an answer in the sky as he flicked the hay in his mouth back and forth. After a moment, he turned back to Sky and gave a response. "Nope."

Sky blinked. He had honestly been expecting a little more help than that. He really couldn't BLAME the other pony for not seeing her, but it was rather hard to miss a black cat among the background of brightly colored ponies, especially when nothing was drawing your attention away. Then again, he was having enough trouble to ask for help, and he was actually looking for her, so who was he to judge?

That, and not only did this pony look the part, but even his voice sounded like he was pumping more testosterone than blood through his veins.

"Really? Your sure?" Sky asked again. Another pause from red, this time much shorter.

"Eeyup."

"Oh, alright then, well, thanks anyways. Can you tell me if you do see her?"

The other pony nodded. "Eeyup."

"...Thanks..."

With one cognitively stimulating conversation out of the way, Sky turned to begin his search anew. It did not take long however, as moments later he spotted the small, black fur-ball. Just a few yards away, she was perching herself on the back of a sesame-colored mare with a two-toned red mane, the secondary color being a little more on the pink side. She sported a rose cutie mark and a large, luminent smile, pampering Selene, who was soaking in the attention she was receiving.

Sky gave a sigh of relief at having found his troublesome pet, before he began making his way through the crowed to the other side of the street.

"Now aren't you the sweetest little thing! I don't think I've ever met an animal as friendly as you before! What are you doing out here cutie?"

Selene simply purred and rubbed herself against the pony's affectionate hoof even more. This elicited an even greater response from her admirer. Or victim, depending on how one looked at it. She honestly didn't care for this pony either way, she was just the first pony she saw that appeared reasonably capable of holding a conversation with her panic stricken owner. That and the smell of food coming from the cafe directly behind her, but hey.

"...Purr..."

"Awwhahahaww..."

Sky felt a small chuckle escape him at the ridiculousness of it all. The level of coddling that Selene was getting at this moment from a complete stranger was easily more than she had gotten out of anypony else, even him.

'No wonder why most cats act like they own everything; they know exactly how to make us putty in their hoofs. Or paws rather.'

The mystery pony turned at Sky's laugh, never once ceasing her grooming of Selene. She began with a look of curiosity and confusion in her eyes, before she made the connection between the stranger and her current object of affection. She gave an understanding smile.

"Oh, I see, what is it then, bath day?"

Sky gave a quick laugh at that. "Hardly, though now that the fuzzball has wandered off, she might end up needing one. For more than one reason I can imagine..."

The 'fuzzball' in question stopped cleaning herself midway through a lick of her paw and bristled. Oh he had better not...

"You had better not, my understanding is that you may end up with a few more messes to clean up around the house for something like that."

Selene smirked internally. Smart pony, you shall be spared my wrath, should such events come to pass.

"No, you're right. Besides, we both know that this was a one-time thing. RIGHT girl?"

She responded the way he understood best, rubbing her cheek against his and purring loudly. The stranger gave a loud 'Daww' at this, causing Sky's cheeks to flush as he turned away from Selene and rubbed the back of his head.

"B-besides, I wont be chasing you out of any train cars anytime soon. I'm pretty sure everypony in that cart thinks I'm an idiot now..."

Mystery pony perked up at this. "Oh, you just came off the train? That was from Canterlot wasn't it? What where you doing in the big city?"

Sky mentally tripped a little bit. He had just planned on thanking her for finding Selene and leaving, possibly for good. How had this evolved into a conversation so quickly? Was he being interrogated? Maybe Princess Luna had hired her to check up on him, to make sure that he was up for the task. That would make sense.

'No, it makes no sense at all! Relax, she's just being friendly, its a thing ponies do, you know, when they meet somepony new? Besides, she had no idea Selene would choose to perch on her of all ponies. And she has no idea who you are anyways! Now say something, you're being weird!'

He realized that he had yet to respond, and she was looking at him with a confused look on her face, his silence having stretched longer than intended.

"Oh, um, I wasn't visiting. You see, I was living there. I just moved here, so I'm kinda new in town and-"

Sky was interrupted by a tremendous gasp for air, before a rush of wind sent a chill down his spine. He paused, before turning around to see what was going on. Nopony was behind him, but that wasn't to say that he wasn't greeted by an odd sight. Everypony else in a the immediate area looking at HIM in confusion matching his own, before a look of recognition slowly took it's place. Smiling, they returned to their individual business. Creepy...

"Well, that was... interesting. Did I miss something, or... Um, miss? Are you alright?" He asked, turning back to his companion. She had a similar smile to everypony else's on her face, and was attempting to hide a laugh behind her hoof. After a few moment she regained composure before answering, still smiling.

"Oh no, you didn't miss ANYTHING. Not yet at least. And I'm fine, thank you very much. Name's Roseluck by the way, and yours?" She asked, extending her hoof out for a shake.

Sky raised an eyebrow, but took the outreached hoof and gave it a quick shake. "My name is Night Sky. And I'm sorry, but, yet?"

"Don't worry about it Sky, it's nothing important. So you're from Canterlot huh? I didn't recognize you from 'round here, but you didn't exactly look the Canterlot part either. Or even sound it really, if you don't mind me saying."

"I don't know, what do you mean by that?"

"It's just I've been up there to the city a few time, and from what little I've seen, everyone up there seems so much more... uptight, than you are. I don't want to be rude, but you know what I'm talking about right? Everywhere I went it was like they where... looking down on me. The whole 'holier than thou' act, if you know what I mean?"

Sky frowned, and Roseluck cringed a little, thinking she had offended him.

"I know the type. And yes, I've heard a lot of other cities and towns look at us that way."

"I-I'm sorry, that was rude, I shouldn't have-"

"No no, it's fine. And for the most part, you're right. There are a lot of ponies up there that could do with a little less attitude. It would have made life there much easier."

"Mmhmm, it sounds like you're thinking of someone in particular. Not that that's any of my business Anyways, I heard you say your moving in? where is all you're stuff?"

"Oh, most of it's coming later. I'm having a moving company deal with most of it. I'm not lazy, but I'm also not stupid. Don't want to be moving my entire house in by myself right? Anyways, most of it is still back in Canterlot, and will probably be hear in a day or so. But I brought all my essentials in my bags, back on the-" A train whistle went off in the distance. Sky paled noticeably through his fur and turned around, making a dash for the train station, accidentally throwing Selene off in the process, startling both the cat and Roseluck. "TRAIN! No no no NO!"

---

By the time Sky got to the station, the train had already pulled out, on its way to Appleoosa, along with his bags. He stayed there for moment, frozen as as he watched the train move away towards its next destination, before plopping down and heaving a heavy sigh.

"Well, so much for that..."

He heard Roseluck behind him. "Guessing your bags where still on the train, huh?"

"Yep."

"Bits and bathroom supplies?"

"And a sleeping bag and some books."

"Wow. Do you know anypony in town?"

"Well, a friend of mine mentioned some, but I've never met them before. They would just be strangers with names."

"Hmm..."

There was a pregnant pause as Sky moped over his lost supplies and Roseluck adopted a pensive look. Selene padded into the platform and lay down in Sky's lap and meowed disarmingly, feeling somewhat like this was her fault.

After a minute Roseluck hit the platform firmly with her hoof, scaring both of its other occupants. "Well this wont do at all will it? Come on then, this way!"

"What? Who, me?"

"No, the Headless Horse. Of course you silly, come along!"

Sky looked down at Selene, who seemed to be just as confused as he was, before he stood up and deposited said feline onto his back, and took to follow his new guide off of the empty train station and into town, moving at a light gallop to catch up.

"W-wait! Hold on, where are we going? Whats going on?"

"Well, while from what I have heard you have a place to stay, its quite obvious that you have nothing else besides the cat on your back and the glasses on your face. So, as a resident of the wonderful little town of Ponyville, I feel that it falls to me to make sure that you have the easiest time settling in as possible. Now hurry up, its lunchtime, and I know the perfect place to stop at!"

"But I told you, all my bits where in my bag!"

Roseluck turned at looked at him. "And I told YOU, its my job to be sure that your first day goes smoothly! And before you say anything, I AM paying for your meal, so no objections, understand?"

Sky shut his mouth and nodded. She gave a toothy smile before turning and making her way farther into town. "Good! This way then."

---

Sky sat one of the tables in front of The Prancing Pony, his belly full, eyes closed, and a happy smile on his face. Roseluck was across the table, feeding the last of her hay fries to Selene. "So, enjoy yourself?" She asked.

"That... was excellent. Seriously, compliments to the chef! Those cafe's up in Canterlot need to take some notes from this place. Who runs the kitchen?"

"A pony named Fine Dinning. He came over here from Prance a few years back and started this place to 'bring ze finer cuisine to ze common pony'."

Sky laughed lightly at the accent that Roseluck had adopted for that last part. "Well I'm glad he did. That was the best meal I've had in a long time. I may stick around just for the food!"

Roseluck cocked her head to the side in confusion. "'Stick around'? I thought you where moving in."

"Hehe, ya, I was. The reason is actually because of my job. I work for the university up in Canterlot you see, and I was assigned to the observatory they've been building here for the last couple of months."

"Oh! So YOU'RE the pony that's going to be running that place! I was wondering, since nopony I know in town is really a scientist. Well, except for the town librarian, but honestly, I think that's just her hobby or something."

Sky nodded with a smile. "Yep, that would be me. Well, anyways, a friend of mine actually had the idea to build that thing in the first place, and suggested to the Princesses that I be the one put in charge of it. It was a huge deal and everything, and I was really excited! But... on the way here... I don't know, I guess I got cold hooves or something. I have a tendency to over-think things, and blow them WAY out of proportions. I guess I'm not the most self-confident pony out there. I was about ready to panic, or rather, continue panicking, and just go back to Canterlot and ask them to post someone else here, when Selene jumped off the train and made her way to your stall. Sorry about that by the way."

"No need to apologize, it was a pleasant surprise in fact. She IS adorable by the way."

"Heh, ya, and she knows it. But she's also going to get pudgy if you keep feeding her those things."

"Oh stop, she's fine, really! How bad could they be?"

Selene, though not quite as self conscious as other cats may be, was still quite aware of her weight, and upon hearing Sky's comment, agreed that she had had enough. Roseluck, noticing this, frowned, but didn't place any more down, as the cat ceased her consumption of the current fry.

"Well, what are you thinking about doing now? Still worried about your new position?"

"Oh, I'm defiantly still nervous. But after that meal, and being able to talk with somepony else about it... I don't now, I MAY decide to stick around after all."

"Glad to hear it."

The waiter came and Roseluck payed him for the meal, adding a reasonably sized tip for his service, before the group collectively rose and began to walk away from the establishment, following Roseluck's guide.

Sky felt the need to thank her. "Thank you for the meal Roseluck. You didn't need to do any of this in the first place, but I want you to know that I REALLY appreciate it all."

She waved her hoof dismissively over her shoulder, keeping a steady pace. "Don't mention it Sky, anypony around here would have done the same. If not me it would have been somepony else. And please, call me Rose, it's weird for friends to call each other by their full names isn't it?"

'Friends huh? Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it would.'

"Yes, I guess it is. So, where are we headed next?"

"Well, since you don't exactly have anything to unpack yet, I figured I could give you the grand tour of the town. Its not big, but at least you would know where to find everything. And after that, I can show you where your place actually is. Sound good?"

"That sounds gr-"

Once more, Sky was interrupted by a strange noise. A loud cheer, followed by a several panicked screams. One of these screams happened to be Roseluck.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER HANG GLIDERS, YAY!"

"GET DOWN!!"

Sky blinked at his new friend as she followed her own advice and ducked low, before a shadow fell over him and he looked up to see the cause of the sudden dark.

"Oh buck m-"

A loud CRASH echoed through the streets as a large, plywood and cloth contraption fell upon the unfortunate stallion. A moment passed before anything else happened. Then a small, southern accent filled the air.

"Umm, girls? Did we hit somepony? I can't tell through all this mess..."

Chapter 7

Author's Notes:

And so it begins, the potential making or breaking of this story... Writing the dialog of actual characters from the show. Discounting Luna because her lack of screen-time. Here's hoping I don't COMPLETELY buck up... *gulp*

Sorry this took so long guys, I meant to have this out WEEKS ago, and even after missing that deadline, I went about thinking the holidays would allow me to write more, when in fact, they did quite the opposite. But I'm back, and hopefully for a while longer before more distractions arise...

In the event that you end up reading this Pen Stroke, know that I both tried my hardest, and would love to hear your opinion on her character. She's perfect the way you write her and I want to keep her as close to the original as possible.

As always, thanks to The Great Derpsby for making this stuff more bearable, and please comment and critique, I want to know what I'm doing, whether it's right or wrong. Enjoy!

Roseluck had been having a good day. This in itself was nothing unusual, as she was normally a happy pony. She loved her job, had friends that cared about her, and she couldn't have asked for a more beautiful place to call home. But something about today, from the very moment she had woken up, had just felt special. She had gotten out of bed smiling, and she had continued to do so through the rest of her morning, all the way out to her stall. Then she had made a new friend! An unexpected, but never unwelcome event.

While what had drawn them into conversation was his adventurous cat, and what kept them together at first was her pity for his situation, Sky had shown to be an interesting pony on his own. He didn't seem to be the funniest pony around, at least not on purpose. He didn't say anything extremely profound, and while he wasn't sore on the eyes, he wasn't much to look at either. In fact, he seemed a bit of a goof at times, occasionally tripping over his own words like he didn't know what he wanted to say. But all things considered, he had a sort of... effortless charm. He was one of those ponies that you couldn't help but like, even if you didn't know why sometimes. It very much reminded her of the element of kindness herself.

They had talked about his work while they waited for their meals, and while it certainly wasn't what she would do with her life, it was interesting enough to hear about what life as a scientist was like. She wouldn't trade what she did for anything in the world, but she had to admit, he made his job sound much cooler than hers. Despite this, he had listened intently to her once the food arrived. Though, that may have been due to the copious amount of food in his mouth, as he ate like it would disappear on him if he took a break from chewing. He certainly didn't EAT like the Canterlot elite... Still it was nice to just sit down and have someone listen for a little while. She could never get a word in with Daisy. All in all, it had been a lovely way to spend the day. Then the Crusaders struck, and suddenly, it became a very different story. Now, Roseluck was on the verge of panicking.

Yes, she understood that the general consensus around Ponyville was that she and her friends did that frequently, but in her defense, they where always legitimate moments of danger and or disaster. Well, except perhaps the mishap with Zecora. And the bunny stampede. And that time Pinkie covered all of her roses in polka-dots. And then there was the time that she had found a spider in the bouquet she was about to hoof over to a customer...

Ok, so perhaps she WAS quick to worry, but it was hardly as if anypony could blame her. That spider had been huge! And now was as good a time as any to be concerned.

Night Sky was currently under a large pile of wood and polyester that had apparently once been a glider. All that remained visible of the stallion was his strewn saddlebags, thrown from his back in the impact, and his tail, its tip barely visible as it poked out from the bottom of the pile. It was an almost comical sight, just the last few inches of his maple and amber colored tail poking out of the bottom of the wreck.

The remains of the flying craft were strewn about, bent and broken at odd angles, in an strange, exaggeratedly devastating manner. Rarity's younger sister, Sweetie Belle, was somehow on the top of the pile, despite the fact she would have been originally located underneath the flying machine. She had a dazed look on her face, eyes rolling around in her skull as she was apparently seeing stars. Scootaloo was located off to the side of the glider, having bailed out. Or perhaps just fallen out, it was unclear at the moment. She too had a ditsy look about her, eyes spinning circles. As for the other two, Roseluck had no direct line of sight. She thought maybe she saw a pink bow in the mess, but perhaps not. And no sign of the fourth. Perhaps she had helped launch them from... from...

Roseluck blinked and briefly looked about. The tallest building in the area was town hall, and that was still quite a walk away. They were currently surrounded on three sides by one story shops and businesses.

'Where the hay did they launch from?'

As Roseluck was considering the possible site of departure for the ill fated aircraft, the previously mentioned pink bow shifted briefly in the pile before bursting upwards and out of the pile of wood and cloth. Attached to it was a young filly with a messy red mane and a light yellow coat. Apple Bloom took a moment to pull a stray piece of wood out of her mane before she shook her head in an attempt to clear it. With some degree of success, she turned her eyes to her friends and the end result of their latest cutie mark attempt. Wood and tattered cloth was all that was left of the glider, but she was happy to see that her friends, while obviously still a little out of sorts, where in much better condition then their previous mode of transportation.

Then she noticed the pony in front of her, staring of into space. She had a blank look on her face, the kind that comes with either deep thought or shock. Given the situation, it could have been either one, but she was leaning towards the later option. Sill, despite how much she may want to deny it, things like this were more common than this pony's reaction would suggest. So what was the big deal? Then she saw the bag, one of its flaps flung open, and its content littering the immediate vicinity of the crash site. She froze when she realized the implications.

"Umm, girls? Did we hit somepony? Ah can't tell through all this mess..."

Scootaloo responded with an intelligent "Whu-huh?" continuing to stare off into space. Sweetie Belle failed to respond at all, as she was still pulling herself together. But for Roseluck, it was just the wake-up call she needed. Her friend was currently buried, possibly hurt, under a wrecked glider, and she was busy considering possible launch sites! She moved to help, galloping forwards and removing the two recovering crusaders from the pile before turning her attention to the pile itself. "Sky?! Sky, are you ok? Oh please be ok. Applebloom, help me, quick!" She began using her mouth to remove large pieces of wood from the pile, and a moment later, Apple Bloom, still located at its top, began to do likewise for the smaller pieces.

Soon enough, the heap had been cleared enough that the unfortunate stallion was clearly visible. Sky looked healthy for the most part, the only exception being a light scrape here or there scattered across his body. He remained motionless however, except for the slight movement of his barrel as he breathed shallowly, indicating a state of unconsciousness.

Roseluck gave a silent sigh of relief 'Good, it doesn't look like there are any broken bones. He seems alright, except for being asleep.' She turned to a waiting Apple Bloom, who was looking at her nervously, waiting for something, whether it was a report on the stallion's condition, reprimanding, or a question as to how they got their hooves on a glider in the first place. That last one she had promise Sweetie Belle to take to the grave, but after hitting somepony with the stunt they used it in, she may have felt guilty enough to spill it. Roseluck simply nodded lightly, and Apple Bloom sagged in relief and gave a sigh as well, this one audible.

Her friends, though, where oblivious to this quite exchange, and continued to stare at the downed pony. Sweetie Belle's face was a visage of pure horror and fear, while Scootaloo was wearing a look that implied curiosity.

"Uhh... He isn't dead... Right?" She asked.

Sweetie Belle's head shot over to face her pegasus friend, face going paler, if it where even possible for the small alabaster unicorn. "DEAD?!" she shrieked. She bolted over to the prone form of the sleeping Sky, and began pushing and pulling him in an attempt to wake him. "No-no-no-no, pleeease don't be dead mister! I don't WANT to know what Rarity will do to me if I accidental killed somepony! Please wake up, please!"

---

Sky regained consciousness, but not necessarily lucidity, in a world of pain. While not awake enough to form a coherent thought, he was most certainly positive about the fact that he couldn't remember a time that he had been in as much pain as now. Most likely due to a cushy Canterlot life. It's hard to hurt yourself as a foal when there's no room to do it in the first place. Still, as this single idea swam about in his head, he began to notice something. A noise, not unlike the soft sound of Hearth's Warming bells in the distance. Such a lovely noise. The memory of the Hearth's Warming year he had received Selene floated to the top of his head, and elicited a response.

"No... cats got it with... with the salad... Come back Tuesday."

There was a brief pause in the noise, before it once again continued. This time he could tell what it was. A voice, a small, filly-esque voice, apparently calling out to him. It was accompanied by the sensation of motion, which he was now aware of. He knew very few fillies, and of the ones he did know, only one would be so bold to shove him awake. Despite the pain, he couldn't help but smile, and let loose a light chuckle. His brain did not yet remember where he was, and that such a pony calling out to him would not be possible.

"-ight, alright Sunny, I'm up, I'm gett'n up," He mumbled before rolling over to try and block out the noise, and the pain, and the world in general. Why did he have to get up now? He decided that Sunny could wait, and began his attempts to fall back asleep.

---

"No... cats got it with... with the salad... Come back Tuesday," Sky groaned. Roseluck blinked. That was... weird. Where in the hay had that come from? The others where just as confused as she was. Apple Bloom scratched her head.

"I think we broke em' girls..." She said with a tone that displayed the levels of bewilderment she was experiencing.

"Ya, that sounded pretty broken to me to," Scootaloo added with a nod.

Sweetie Belle redoubled her efforts to wake the semi-conscious stallion at her hooves. "Come on mister, you aren't broken are you? Wake up already, come on!"

Sky, rather than open his eyes to her request, oddly enough, he smiled, then laughed, and began to speak.

"-ight, alright Sunny, I'm up, I'm gett'n up," He mumbled before turning his back to her and laying still once again.

There was a moment of silence, before Roseluck chucked at her friends display. Sweetie Belle stopped her attempts to wake him and looked to her in an attempt to find answers. "Um, is he talking to you miss? Are you Sunny?"

Roseluck shook her head no. "No, I'm not Sunny, I'm Rose. In fact, I have no idea who Sunny is. I only just meet him a couple of hours ago, so I don't know who he could be referring to."

"Maybe his marefriend, or a special somepony?" Applebloom asked.

Scootaloo, as was necessary to maintain her 'tough filly' image, made a gagging motion with her hoof, accompanied by noise.

This was the scene that a small, royal black alicorn with a dark purple mane came in on. She rounded the corner quickly, having heard her fellow crusaders' voices, and came across the picture of Sweetie Belle, standing over an unmoving pony, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom standing next to one of the flower ponies, and what looked like their glider scattered around the area. She took a moment to scan the area with her turquoise eyes before she developed a proper response to the chaos she was witness to. She galloped over to Sweetie Belle, scaring both her and the flower pony, before lightly pushing Sweetie out of the way and going over the fallen pony with both eyes and hooves. "What did you girls DO?!"

"Nyx! Where have you been girl?" Scootaloo asked apparently oblivious to her friend's question.

"What? Looking for you! I lost sight of you once you passed the Quills and Sofas, and went looking around the area for you! What happened? You didn't hit him did you?" She asked as she prodded Sky with her hoof.

"Maybe..." Sweetie Belle replied.

"D-don't worry girls. I thing h-he's going to be just fine. He's probably just a little out of it at the moment." Roseluck said with only a hint of fear as she looked at Nyx out of the corner of her eye. The filly pretended not to notice, but couldn't help but feel a bit stung at the look the older pony gave her. She should have been used to it at this point. There were quite a few ponies like that in Ponyville nowadays. If they weren't scared of her, they were sending hateful glances her way. As if she needed any further reminder of what she had done...

Then the prone pony she was currently standing on stirred and gave a quiet grunt, and all eyes went to him. He shifted to lay on his stomach, forcing Nyx off of him, as she stood next to her friends, perhaps a little too close to the waking stallion's face. He sat there for a moment wincing, until attempting to open his eyes for the first time since the crash. He was greeted by the sight of four pairs of eyes staring at him intently, and much to closely. One of the pairs looked unsettlingly like those of a dragons.

---

The sensation of hooves grinding into his side had finally brought Sky out of his impromptu nap and back to reality. He realized were he was and more importantly, just how much his world hurt at the moment. 'Why does it feel like the universe it trying to tell me something?There has to be a limit on how unlucky one pony can get...' With a pained sound, he made to stand, rolling off of his side and lay flat on his stomach. A step in the right direction, but he needed a moment after that. So much pain... he would definitely be asking Roseluck to lead him to his new home first. Leave all that grand tour stuff and... walking, for later.

'Grow up you foal, tis' just a flesh wound,' the voice in his head said. Oh joy, that was back as well. He had been hoping to keep arguments with himself to a minimum today after meeting Roseluck. Still, he couldn't argue with the voice, he had to get up sooner or later. With that in mind, Sky braced himself for the light and opened his eyes. It wasn't as painfully bright as he thought it would be, but that wasn't to say he wasn't in for a shock.

In his immediate vision, four pairs of eyes stared back at him with the unwavering curiosity of children. So, that explained the Sunny sound-alike. All of them where unblinking, unmoving, and very, VERY close. But the most unsettling part was the pair to the right. They were slitted, like a cat's eyes. As he was going over all of them, his gaze quickly returned to the reptilian pair as he began to stare. To his credit, he didn't scream, but only because at the moment, he was to stunned to panic. He and the owner of the other set of eyes stared at each other for a long period of time, one in a state of shock, the other with concern. Then, the unicorn filly located between her earth pony and pegasus counterparts, spoke.

"Umm... are you ok mister? You're not hurt are you?"

"Ya, nothin's broken or anything right?" the yellow earth pony inquired.

The orange pegasus filly turned to her two companions. "Oh please, we didn't hit him THAT hard!"

"Hey, YOU were the one who thought he was dead!" The yellow one retaliated.

"Girls? I don't think-" the white one tried.

"He looked dead then! For all I knew, maybe he was, I don't know, really really sick or something."

"He looks fine to me, except for the bangs and bruises we gave em'. How could you think he was so sick he would die?"

"Actually, he could have had something like osteoporosis and we wouldn't have been able to tell," the white one finally managed.

The other two stopped and turned to look at her, obviously befuddled.

"... What?" she asked, a little self conscious. They gave no response, as they kept staring. "WHAT?" she asked shrilly.

"Do you just read whatever your sister puts in front of you?" the pegasus filly asked.

The white ones face lit up a light pink. "One time! She wasn't even looking at what it was and I was bored out of my mind at the time, ok?"

"Ya, but... a dictionary? I mean, really? Who sits down and reads and entire dictionary?"

"ONE TIME!"

As the three were going at it, Sky was only paying half a mind. Both he and the small black filly where still staring at one another. He had shifted to a sitting position to get a better look at the owner of the strange set of lenses. Taking note of her cutie mark, a embroidered blue kite shield with what looked like a waning crescent moon in the center, and her wings and horn, he was thoroughly confused. Another alicorn? How? The only alicorns he could think of where the princesses back in Canterlot. Well, them and Nightmare... Moon...

Sky was suddenly struck dumb, the knowledge of who he was talking to blindsiding him. He was talking to Nightmare Moon. THE Nightmare Moon! He had seen Celestia at the Summer Sun Celebration before, and had personally met Luna. But this was Nightmare Moon! She had defeated both of the princesses, and blanketed Equestria in eternal night for months! He wasn't sure what reaction was appropriate at the moment; recoiling in fear, a demand as to how she got here, or the surprisingly powerful urge to give the adorable fillified terror a big hug. The latter would likely end badly, no matter how she interpreted it, so he would refrain from doing so. And the other two options didn't seem right at all either, as she wasn't really all that threatening. Still, he wasn't sure what to do next. Should he bow? She wasn't his ruler any more, and a foal at that. Maybe just act casual? As if, it was bucking Nightmare Moon, no matter how small she may be at the moment! What could he do then?

Sky hadn't moved since his internal debate began, and as such, the object of his fascination began to feel uncomfortable. Nyx began to shift her weight nervously from side to side. She wasn't wearing her disguise out, so he almost definitely recognized her. This was normally the part where ponies who didn't know her before her transformation ran in fear or attempted a 'citizens arrest'. She couldn't recall a time that a pony had stared at her quite like this pony was. She summoned what courage she had before making an attempt at breaking the ice.

"Umm... Hi?" She said, grabbing his attention. He simply cocked his head to the side, eyebrow raised in a quizzical expression, another first. She continued.

"S-sorry my friends hit you and... you know, knocked you unconscious. W-we weren't aiming for you, I promise." She explained quietly. She looked around at him and noticed the large amount of small scrapes and cuts that littered his body. "You're not hurt are you? W-well, I mean you ARE, but, I mean... What I mean is..."

Sky looked back at himself and the source of his discomfort, and winced. It wasn't that bad anywhere, but what it was was everywhere. It was going to be an ordeal moving around for sure. And he wasn't looking forward to cleaning those later.

"Oh, I'll live, no permanent damage far as I can tell. Thanks though." He looked back to Nyx and frowned. "So the rumors where true... You ARE just running about in Ponyville? I thought it was all a bunch of conspiracy theorists looking for something to panic about. And you're small... no offense."

That last part almost got Nyx to smile. Of all the things for a pony to say, THAT was his final thought? This pony was just full of surprises. She opted for a small, barely noteworthy grin instead.

"Ya, I guess when ponies heard I was with 'somepony the Princess trusted completely', they expected me to be locked up or something... I get ponies who visit town running away yelling that I 'escaped' a lot. That's why I still have to wear a disguise out every once in a while."

"Hah! Really? And the fact that Nightmare Moon is half their size doesn't matter at all?"

She shrugged. "Guess not." She looked up at him, now sporting the smile that she had failed to muster up previously. This was a rarity for her, to find somepony who didn't run the moment the set eyes on her. The ice sufficiently broken, She decided to properly introduce herself. "And I'm Nyx by the way, not Nightmare Moon. I kinda hate it being called that." She frowned a bit and looked beyond Sky, towards the direction of her old castle. "It's not something I like to remember... a lot of ponies don't realize I hated my time as Queen almost as much as they did."

Sky raised an eyebrow at that, before grinning and giving an exaggerated bow. "Really? Then my apologies, Nyx, from the bottom of my heart. Please do forgive my trespasses." His looked up, expecting to see a smile, or perhaps a laugh, or maybe even for her to begin playing along. Instead he was treated to the sight of the previous ruler of Equestria, now a youth of Ponyville, eyeing him with cautious confusion. She had not been spoken to that way since the removal of her 'blessing' on the Children of Nightmare. Nyx was fairly sure he was joking, but even so, she could not fathom why this pony would not only take her freedom as well as he had, but make jokes about it as well. Perhaps he was mocking her? He didn't SEEM to mean it that way. Or maybe he didn't even know what he was talking about in the first place?

"Are you sure you're alright mister? We didn't hit you to hard on the head did we?"

"Hmm? No, I feel fine in the head, no concussions or anything if that's what you mean. Why do you ask?"

"W-well, its just that your taking this... Really, REALLY well. In fact better than I think anypony else has, besides maybe my friends. I just don't know why."

"Ya, why is that anyways?" Sky heard another voice ask. He turned to see that the other three fillies had finished their argument over preference of literary entertainment, and were now looking to him and his alicorn counterpart.

"Well, I'm going to be honest with you girls, because that's just me. I find it really hard to be scared of something as small and ah... adorable as you four. Thinking about it, I have a younger sister your age, and I know for a fact that she can hardly lift a spoon with that little horn of hers, so I'm not all too certain that there is anything to be afraid of. Not to mention the Princess said you had been drained of your powers, so-" He stop suddenly as what he was voicing hit him. "Wait, you CAN still use magic right? they didn't take that away from you did they? I can't imagine what that would be like not being able to use your wings or horn. Well, I guess I can't really know what it's like to have them either, but I know that none of my sisters would take it very well themselves. Especially Autumn, I'm not sure what she would do if she lost the ability to fly..."

The yellow and white filly of the crew blushed at the 'adorable' part of his rant, while their orange counterpart huffed indignantly to herself and turned away, mumbling something about 'adorable is not cool'. Nyx, though, was unfazed by what she was taking as a compliment, and instead focused on the question he had presented to her.

"No, I can still do magic, and I couldn't fly before anyways, only glide. Well, except for when I was big, but that doesn't count I think. Ponies I ask say that I am just as good at magic as anypony else my age, but I still wish that I could do more. It's annoying, going from lifting books and blankets to lifting feathers..." She said with a frustrated tone in her voice. She attempted to scowl, but rather than appearing intimidating, as it would have on her older face, it simply gave her a cute pouting appearance, forcing Sky once more to resist the urge to wrap the small filly in a hug.

"Wait," Said the unicorn filly, who Sky now realized he had yet to gather the name of. "But you're an earth pony!"

He tilted his head to the side, confused. "...Yyyes, yes I am... Is that a problem, miss...?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Sweetie Belle," She offered politely. She gave a light, slightly sloppy curtsy as she introduced herself, making Sky smile again.

"I'm Scootaloo!" The pegasus beside her said proudly, puffing out her chest as if to impress him. His smile evolved into a smirk of amusement at the bravado.

"And ahm Applebloom," said the yellow earth pony filly that was next in line, simply offering a smile and a nod. "Your friend said yer name was Sky," Applebloom looked past him to the mare in question, who was still attempting to put as much room between herself and Nyx as possible without appearing to do so. "Rose, right?"

The cream colored pony looked up from the ground at her name. "Y-yes, t-that's right. My name is Roseluck, and this is Night Sky," She supplied, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. What Sky didn't understand was what part of it.

"You alright Rose? You don't look so good."

Rose shifted her gaze to Nyx, before looking back to the ground once more. "I-I'm fine Sky, thank you. Look, I-I just remembered I have to get back to my stall, so maybe we could do that grand tour thing some other time? I know Applebloom here lives right next to where you will be staying, so she could take you there if you like. I just really..." She looked back to the fillies. "...really need to go now. You understand, right?"

Sky nodded, keeping a straight face. He understood the reason she had given, but he also understood that there was something else going on here. But he wouldn't pry, he wasn't the kind to get to involved in another pony's life if they didn't offer it.

"Sure, that's fine, as long as these four are alright with it as well. You girls wouldn't mind if I tag along for a while right?"

Applebloom perked up at this. "Course not! We where probably headn' back to the clubhouse to come up with our next plan anyways! It's this way, come on!" She turned and stared running off down the road, towards the edge of town, followed closely by her friends.

"Alright then, see you later-" Sky turned around to see that Roseluck had already left, leaving him alone in the middle of the street. "...Later, Rose. Hmm," He said to himself as he started to follow after the fillies that where to be his guide, before realizing that all his belongings where still strewn about near the pile of wood and cloth that had once been the girls' glider. With a brief sigh, he quickly gathered everything back into his saddlebags, and collected Selene, who had been laying on said saddlebags for the duration of his conversation, before laying her on his back and galloping after the girls, who where now fading into the distance, apparently oblivious to his disappearance. His first day in town was turning out to be an interesting one to be sure.

Chapter 8

"... So you see, my mother and father had those recessive genes. It hadn't been seen in either of their families for generations, but it was always there. All it took was a little luck I guess, and boom, earth pony in a pegasus-unicorn family. Double recessive, fairly uncommon, and no one else in my family has them, so that makes me the only earth pony. Make sense?"

Once again, as had occurred many times in the duration of his explanation of genetics and his traits, or lack thereof, Sky was met with varying degrees of comprehension. Apple Bloom, who was apparently the quick study of the group, nodded her head vigorously with a grin. "Yup, makes sense! Applejack talks bout' how we breed trees the same way to get different heights and apples n' stuff out of em! Course, we wont be able to see most of the differences with them till they grow nice n' tall, but that takes a while."

Nyx and Scootaloo nodded their heads slowly, showing that they at least partially understood what he had said. Sky was a little bit surprised at the latter's reaction. Not that he was calling her incompetent by any means, she seemed just as bright as any of the others. She simply didn't strike Sky as the type to care much about all this 'egghead' stuff, let alone pay any attention to it.

Sweetie Belle, while not looking outright befuddled, certainly had a look on her face that spoke of how hard she was thinking about what he had said. She looked down at the ground, mumbling lightly to herself as she tried to make sense of what she had heard.

"Wait," Said Nyx. "If it's recessive to be an earth pony though, why are there so many earth ponies in Ponyville? Wouldn't that be really rare?" Nyx asked.

Sky put a hoof to his chin, thinking on the question for a moment. "If I had to guess, it's most likely due to the gene pool that birthed the town. What I know of Ponyville is that it was founded by farmers, on land given to them by Celestia, correct?"

The four fillies looked to each other, in hopes that one of them may know the answer to that question. None seemed to, which surprised Sky just a bit. Surely their town's history would be a part of their education, right?

"W-well, if that's correct, then they were most likely earth ponies, as it is most commonly an earth pony profession. As they all had recessive genes to BE earth ponies, there was no chance of them producing unicorn or pegasus foals unless they married one. As the town grew, the majority who came were most likely other farmers or craftsponies, also a earth pony trade. And while it is not uncommon for different ponies races to get married, there is at times a noticeable difference in the ratio of inter-racial marriages in small towns built on tradition and the like. This likely led to a larger number of earth ponies in town, which once it was established as such, perpetuated its own existence!"

Sky hardly noticed how worked up he was getting over his explanation until he heard a loud cough off to his side. He looked over to see Scootaloo with a hoof over her mouth, and the others looking at him with quirked eyebrows. Despite how much older he was than them, Sky couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed at his outburst.

"Ehehehe... Sorry about that, I tend to get carried away sometimes. Anyways... Did that make sense at all?"

There where nods of affirmative all around the group, from all except Sweetie Belle, who looked thoroughly perplexed now. She was staring ahead as the walked in the direction of Sky's new house, her muzzle scrunched up and eyes squinting, showing how much effort she was putting in. Sky even believed he could see the tip of her tongue sticking out of her mouth in a way that reminded him greatly of Sunny after they had taking part in a similar discussion. He was about to ask her if she needed help understanding when she spoke up.

"Hold on... but Mr and Ms.Cake are earth ponies! And Mr.Cake told my sister and her friends about how their great-great-great-whatever's were pegasi and unicorns! If these earth pony gene things need two too work, and they're both recessive, how does that happen?"

"Doesn't help that we don't know where foals really come from anyways... That stork story Miss Cheerilee keeps giving me smells awfully fishy..." Scootaloo mumbled.

The fillies observed as a fully grown stallion apparently tripped over himself, before he stopped momentarily and began to give a loud series of hacks and coughs.

"You ok Mister Sky?" Scootaloo asked the older pony.

"I-I'm fine Scootaloo, thank you. I was just surprised is all. W-Why don't we move on to a different topic now, hmm?"

This left the unicorn of the group feeling very off-put. "What? So you're not going to explain it anymore?" She asked, almost demanded.

Sky looked at her for a second, contemplating whether or not to say anything else. "Mmmaybe you should save that question for your sister... When you're a little older that is."

Sweetie looked to the ground now, with a dejected look. "Grown ups are always saying stuff like that. And Rarity never tells me anything..."

Sky felt he could sympathize with the filly. He remembered his days of being that young, and having so many questions left unanswered by his elders. Of course, being the curious bookworm he was, and with a library within walking distance of his house, those questions never did stay unanswered for long. It was shocking just how many books best kept on the higher shelves the librarians had left on the bottom-most ones simply for the sake of their shelving systems. Of course, the majority of Canterlot's population could perform magic, so its not like it would have helped anyways...

He shook his head, realizing that he had let his mind wander, and that the fillies where probably expecting an answer to Sweetie's saddened state. "Yes well... We do have our reasons. Sometimes there's just some things that adults won't be ready to talk with you about. It just takes a little patience."

Nyx shrugged. "That's ok I guess."

'Good, at least I won't have to worry about HER pestering... whoever is taking care of her right now. I'll have to asked about that la-'

"Besides, if Twilight doesn't feel like talking about something, she must have a good reason. At least, I think she would. She always says that 'knowledge is power', so if she doesn't want me knowing something, it must be for a good reason, right?"

If he had been drinking, Sky would have performed a spit-take of epic proportions at that moment. Instead, his body opted to trip once more, this time nearly falling over in shock. After steadying his hoofs, he turned to the alicorn next to him.

"You're LIVING with Twilight Sparkle?!" He practically shouted.

Nyx jumped at his sudden and violent reaction, while her friends looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Um, ya, wasn't that kinda obvious?" Scootaloo asked.

"Figured the whole 'pony Princess Celestia trusts completely' part of Nyx's sentence would sort of give it away..." added Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom threw in her two bits as well. "She does call her 'her faithful student' quite ah lot. Can't think of anypony she could really trust more. Well, cept' maybe her sister that is. And besides, Twilight was the first pony Nyx met! It only makes sense that she would stay with her!"

Sky couldn't really argue with any of the logic they had thrown at him. Everything they had said made sense, he just had never really bothered to think about it. Of course, prior to today, his idea of Nightmare Moon's punishment was her locked away in a dungeon somewhere, her powers drained and in chains... Who knew the truth was so much cheerier than the alternative. Still, Nightmare Moon, or Nyx rather, one of the greatest threats to Equestria at one time, living with one of the elements of harmony, who also happened to be one of the most advanced scientific minds of their time. It was mind boggling to say the least.

"And... how does that work out. Considering your... past involvements. *Ehem*."

Nyx's ears drooped, and Sky felt like slapping himself. "It's good. Sometimes its hard to forget what we... what I did..." She remained silent for a moment, then brightened up a bit. "B-but not Twilight! She doesn't even think about it most days. She says that everypony makes mistakes, and that mine were just a little bigger than usual. She says that she can't hold it over my head like she couldn't hold it over Spike when he sneezed on her astronomical Astrem... no, Astronomers Astrono... no wait..."

"Astronomical Astronomers Almanac To All Things Astronomy?" Sky asked with a grin.

Nyx blinked. "Um, ya... How did you know that?"

"I know the author. Even have a signed copy of my own!" He said with a small amount of pride, before turning back to flip open his saddlebag and retrieve the massive book from it. Turning back he showed it to the girls. "Shee?" he asked, book still in his mouth. He laid it on the ground gently, before flipping over to the back side of the front cover to show the artistic calligraphy that was the author's signature.

"Wow." Said Scootaloo, with a deadpan look on her face. "That's... Really, REALLY nerdy. Like, one of the geekiest things I have ever seen. You brought that with you on the train ride here?"

The other fillies couldn't help but giggle at the older pony's expense. Once again, despite the age difference, Sky felt himself blush in embarrassment. He had forgotten he wasn't surrounded by fellow scientists who would appreciate the dedication it took to lug around such a heavy book all day. That sort of thing wasn't exactly normal outside of his normal group.

'Celestia help me, it's like being back in school again!'

He quickly packed away the book, briefly jostling the sleeping cat on his back, who meowed her protest. Taking a moment to stroke her in apology, Sky returned face forward and continued the walk forwards, the others following suit.

"Y-yes, well, I like to keep my reference material close at hoof. I may want to keep this one with me if I plan on doing any work before the rest of my things arrive. Not to mention all the stuff left behind on the train..."

"Oh ya!" Exclaimed Apple Bloom. "You're one of them astromoners yourself ain't you, sent by the princesses right? That's what the big dome thingy on your new house is ain't it? A telescope?"

Sky quirked an eyebrow. "It's 'astronomer' Apple Bloom, and I'm sorry, but... ON? What do you mean by that?"

"Wait, weren't we talking about you and Twilight?" Scootaloo whispered to Nyx, who only shrugged her similar confusion.

"I mean on it, like I said. Like-" Apple Bloom looked ahead and smiled, before pointing ahead with her hoof. "Like that! See?"

Sky did look, and what he saw nearly took his breath away.

Ahead of the small band of fillies and their charge, stood a large, two story building. Made up largely of offset citadel brick, it sat at the top of a hill, overlooking an open field. Surrounding it where obvious signs of the work that had been done recently, piles of dirt like large molehills and trenches in the ground where construction had left its mark. Rather unprofessional of the team that had worked on the building, but for the moment Sky couldn't find it in himself to care.

Behind the hill, the treetops could be seen looming in the background, marking the edges of the Everfree forest. Collectively the landscape surrounding his new home was quite beautiful and peaceful looking. But the part that left Sky speechless was the second floor of his new home.

Rather than following the format of the first floor, the second floor was comprised of one massive geodesic dome shining in the sunlight. With the slit door closed, the size of the actual telescope was left to imagination. But as it was, the size of the door left the size of the telescope behind it up to very little debate indeed. It was quite possibly the same size as the observatory back in Canterlot, and if not, it was very easily a close second. All in all, it was a masterpiece in the eyes of its current beholder.

And it was all his.

Apple Bloom took time to watch Sky and her fellow crusaders, gauging their reactions. She had seen the observatory enough time that it wasn't so very interesting to her, but she knew that her friends had not seen it since it was completed, and Sky had never even seen it at all.

"It's not very... homey looking. Looks more like one of those offices in Canterlot than a house." Sweetie said.

"Ya, and it's so big! How is one pony going to use all that space?" Agreed Scootaloo.

Nyx nodded. "It could definitely do with some personality."

Apple Bloom, always a pony to respect a good build job, felt a bit insulted by her friends' disregarded of the observatories functionality. She had personally talked to many of the ponies coming and going from the work site on her way back from school, and new just how much effort had gone into making this building. Also, this was to be Sky's new home, and she knew that the last thing she would want is for somepony to be making fun of her new house. "Hm. Well ah like it! It's supposed to be a workplace too, right? S'like saying that the barn's ugly because we didn't paint it fancy. It's not supposed to be, so it ain't fair to judge it like that!"

Scootaloo bristled a bit at this statement. "I'm not calling it ugly! I didn't even say anything about how it looked! I'm just saying, how much space is he going to need? He's just one pony for crying out loud!"

"Maybe he plans on having lots of company over! Or maybe he uses it all in his work? I don't know, what do scientists do at work anyways? Do you just, you know, look at the stars and stuff?" Sweetie Belle asked, trying to be the mediator between her two bickering friends.

Sky realized that he had been asked a question, and shook his head briefly to clear away his sense of awe. "Hm? Um, ya, ya sure, um... Sorry, I was a little distracted, what was that?"

"She asked how you work. Now that I think about it, I'm kind of curious to. You don't just spend the nighttime staring through a telescope every day do you?" Nyx asked.

The stallion shook his head. "Oh no, my job is a lot more than that. There are actually a lot of other things that an astronomer does with there time. We go to conferences, analyze data, we teach classes... I spent a lot of my time in Canterlot in the observatory, but we had a lot of ponies on staff, and honestly, I think a friend of mine may have pulled a few strings to keep it that way. I never did like big crowds, and I've never really been anywhere outside of Canterlot..."

"Wait-wait-wait, you teach classes? So you're a teacher like Miss Cheerilee? That's so cool! So you teach ponies about space and the stars and stuff? What's that like, being up in front of a classroom, with everypony listening to you?" Sweetie Belle asked with big eyes. The others heard their teacher mentioned and turned their attention to Sky to see what he had to say on the subject.

"Oh, I wouldn't really know. I only ever gave a lecture once, and it was on thermodynamics, nothing to do with space. Like I said, I don't really like crowds, and the class I taught was a little bit bigger than the one you four are probably in. There were I think a hundred ponies that day? A hundred-thirty? I don't quite recall," He responded before returning his eyes to the new building he would be residing in, a longing look finding its way into his eyes.

Nyx recognized the older pony's impatience, and looked around to her friends, who didn't appear to catch onto his eagerness to get inside, nor any closer to running out of questions for him. Of course she had questions of her own, but they could always wait till later. With a silent sigh, she decided it was time to start reeling in her fellows and leave the stallion be... for now at least.

"Hey girls," she said quickly to interrupt Scootaloo as she opened her mouth to speak. "We got Mister Sky to his house, and it's getting pretty late. What do you say we go back to the clubhouse and work on one of our next plans to get you your cutie marks before your sisters come and get you?"

Never one to turn down a chance at their marks, the other three brightened and nodded their agreement. Questions could wait for later, cutie marks where a priority. Nyx grinned. 'Works every time,' she thought to herself.

Sweetie Belle took on the role as team speaker for the moment, turning to Sky. "Alright! Back to the clubhouse for brainstorming! Thanks for talking with us Mister Sky, but we should really hurry up! Cutie marks don't earn themselves you know! Hey, maybe we could come over and try our hooves at getting our astronomer cutie marks sometime, if that's alright with you?" she asked, to which the other two mark-less fillies responded in kind.

"Ya!"

"Sure!"

Sky had to think about that for a second. Of course he loved to share his passion with other ponies, especially the younger ones. But now that he had a brand new facility to work with, he wasn't to sure on the rules. Non-employees weren't allowed in his wing back in Canterlot without special permission. What applied here, where his home and workplace were one in the same? He supposed as long as they stayed off the second floor it would be alright, but then they wouldn't be able to look through the telescope, which is what they probably wanted to do in the first place. He had left his own personal telescope back in Canterlot for Sunny, as he wasn't afraid of her breaking it after the lessons he had given her, and had been expecting to have access to a much higher quality one here. He was about to tell them sorry, when he looked down to Sweetie, the one who was currently in the lead of the group, and found just how hopelessly doomed his cause was.

Staring back at him where three of the biggest pairs of eyes he had ever seen in his entire life. The three blank flanks of the team where looking at him with the most hopeful, soul-crushing gaze they could muster, in an attempt to retrieve a positive response from the pony they currently had their hooks in. A small part of Sky recognized this tactic as one of his own sisters. Sunny oftentimes made attempts like this to get what she wanted. He had grown used to them over time, and even managed to build up a resistance. But now, the cuteness of the scene had been doubled, if not tripled with the sheer quantity of eyes staring back at him. He felt himself freeze up.

'Don't do it you fool! It's your first day, you can't promise anything so soon, especially when it breaks protocol like this! You must resist!

'Trying... trying... Faust above, are they hypnotizing me?!'

Nyx was sitting behind her friends with her head in her hooves. She had seen this many times before, and knew exactly where it led. The disaster earlier today could have been averted if Mr. Bolts at the hardware store had been able to resist, but such a simple task was not as easy as it sounded. Granted, there wasn't much trouble they could get into staring though a telescope, right?... Right?

... Nyx very suddenly felt even worse for the poor stallion on the receiving end of the stare-down that was going on.

'You have so much to do! So much to live for! Don't throw it away like this!' Sky's logical side screamed. He was almost sweating at this point.

'I... I-I... I can't do it.' the rest of him resigned. With a stretched thin smile, Sky nodded. "Sure, I could set something up."

Nyx rolled her eyes. The others cheered. Sky's logical side died a little inside.

"YAY! CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ASTRONOMERS!"

And with that, the three little hypnotists galloped down the road to the farm, in high spirits. Nyx stood up and moved to follow, before turning back to Sky with an apologetic look.

"Sorry. They do that a lot. Don't feel bad if you have to tell them no, I wouldn't blame you if you did. See you around Mister Sky!" She said before taking off after her companions.

"O-ok, goodbye! Thanks for leading me here!" He called halfheartedly before turning back to his new abode.

'Ya, like I could do that. Jeeze, and I thought MY girls were bad. Melody and Sunny have NOTHING on those three.'

With a groan, Sky made his way towards his home. Here for a day, and he had already promised to let a group of fillies into his observatory. And they were also the ones who knocked him out cold earlier in the day. He could feel his anxiety rising the more he thought about it.

As he got closer to the house though, his trepidation gave way to excitement, as he thought to himself about what the inside may look like. Was it cold and formal like the outside appearance? He hoped not. Perhaps it was bright and cheerful! Again, not his first choice, he perfered warm, earthy colors, but he could see it in his minds-eye.

At this point in time, the sun was starting to make its decent, and the sky had bloomed into a beautiful orange and purple. Sky took a moment to appreciate the view, before he realized what it meant, and that he had a lot to do before getting to bed.

Approaching the door, Sky turned around and looked at the sleeping cat on his back. Selene was still asleep, a miracle for all the noise and physical disturbances that she had undergone today. Honestly, he was surprised she wasn't a little bundle of nerves. Well, at the very least, it was finally over. Softly picking her up in his mouth by the scruff of the neck, he picked up the sleeping cat much like a mother would to its young. Selene gave a quite mew at this, being jostled from her deep sleep. Sky set her down next to him, where she briefly stretched and yawned, before laying down again in a vain attempt to continue her power-nap.

Sky chuckled as he set down his saddlebag and began to fish around in it for the key to the observatory, given to him back in the city. "Sorry girl, but we're here," He said quietly as he pulled the small silver piece of metal out and began to put it into the lock. But to his utmost surprise, the doorknob turned without it.

'Huh, curious.' He thought to himself. 'It seems that the construction crew was a bit careless closing up shop.'

Thinking nothing more of it, he shrugged before putting the key back in his bag, and opening the door. He took a few steps inside the dark interior, not bothering to pick up Selene, as she would most likely follow him in, before stopping and contemplating where the light-switch might be located.

That soon became the least of his worries. With a near inaudible click, the entire room lit up, and Sky realized that he was surrounded on all sides by ponies. Ponies of all colors and types filled the room, each of them wearing a large, face splitting grin.

And he didn't recognize a single one of them.

"SURPRISE!"

"GWAAA!"

*Thump!*

Chapter 9

Author's Notes:

Thanks once again to my editor The Great Derpsby.
And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for... Drumroll please...
*Inserts Drumroll*
... Main 6 contact! And with none other than the wonderfully random Pink Menace herself! And a little bit of Dashie to.
Enjoy, and don't forget to like, follow, and comment!
... I'm starting to sound like a YouTuber now...

Pinkamena Diane Pie, known by the ponies of Ponyville simply as Pinkie Pie, felt like she was about to burst with excitement. There was a tension in her stomach that refused to un-knot, that had been slowly building up until the point that she felt she might explode. THIS would be a day to remember! The day ponies would talk about for generations! A day unlike any other! The world would never be the same after this night!

... Ok, so maybe that was just the excitement talking. But still, it was indeed a big day! A day that she had been waiting for for months now, in fact. Ever since they had started building this fancy-shmancy new house, it was all she could think about. You didn't just build a house this big for anypony, nosiree, you built it for a specific somepony. Somepony who wanted it there. And when a house like that was being made, it meant only one thing to Pinkie Pie.

There was a new pony moving into town!

Now, as scatterbrained as she knew most ponies thought she was, Pinkie was in fact a very clever pony in her own right. That crazy act she put on was more for them than for her. She new that the new house didn't mean a new friend right away. It meant something else entirely. Something terrible in fact. It meant that she would have to wait. The house wasn't finished yet, so the new pony wouldn't be there to live in it. She would have to wait for months as the new pony's new house was made before she could even meet them.

And wait she did. She waited, and waited, and waited... but waiting was never Pinkie's strong suit. Soon, she found herself counting the days till the new building was completed. Soon she was going over to Sweet Apple Acres every day just to see how the construction was going. She would make note of how much closer they where every day. She even took it upon herself to bring refreshments to the construction ponies to help hasten them on their way and brighten their day. She knew for a fact that it was easier to do a job with a full belly and a good mood. Also, it never hurt to catch up with some of her lesser-seen friends. Hard Hat and Jack Hammer were particularly pleased to see her visit every day, and seeing them smile every time she came by with cupcakes and lemonade helped make the days waiting for the mysterious newcomer a little easier.

Then one day it happened. She came bounding down the path with her usual plate and pitcher, and nopony was there. The build site was empty, except for a finished two story building, with a funny bubble shaped thing on the top. It was finally done, and that thought had made her heart leap. Finally, her days of waiting in the wing where almost over! The new house was done, and soon, the new pony would be on their way!

She had spent the next few days preparing. Stockpiling supplies, pre-writing invitations to all of her Ponyville friends, making plans for what the party would hold, and where it would be. At first, she thought she could host it at Twilight's home. Golden Oaks Library had plenty of room in it, and it was easy enough for a somepony new in town to find it if she where to just hoof them over the invitation. But then she had an even better idea. The new pony would want to see their new home before anything else, right? And if she held it there, then she could have it be a surprise party as well! And then she could have ponies bring presents and it could be a housewarming party to! A 'surprise-welcome-to-Ponyville-housewarming' party! The thought of it had nearly made her squeal with glee when it came to her.

Pinkie had been in the middle of getting more streamers and confetti for the party when she saw him. Blue coat, brown mane, orange-ishy highlights, though she couldn't see his face. She had never seen him before, and if that wasn't evidence enough, her tickly tummy told her the same thing. The Pinkie Sense was never wrong! Still, Pinkie remembered what Twilight had taught her from the MMMM mishap a while back, and had decided that asking would be the best way to find-

"...Oh, um, I wasn't visiting. You see, I was living there. I just moved here, so I'm kinda new in town and-"

- the rest of the streamers, then the confetti, then an extra big cake from Sugar Cube Corner to write 'Welcome to Ponyville' on in bold, bright pink! After letting out a giant gasp, she bolted for the store, as to be sure he didn't see her. The bigger the surprise, the more fun, right? Following the confetti were the invitations. A good fifty-three ponies told her they could make it, and another eleven gave her maybes. That was almost record attendance!

Now here she sat, hiding behind the table she had set up for snacks and drinks, with about thirty other ponies scattered around the room hiding along with her. Poky Pierce had told everypony he saw the new pony coming up the path with the Crusaders, and everypony had hopped into position, Pinkie getting the lights before she did so as well. Then they waited.

Suddenly, there was a noise at the door. The sound of a pony talking, then the doorknob jimmied. Time seemed to slow down for Pinkie as the door began to open, as she savored the moment just before the look of surprise that would inevitably cover her new friends face. The door opened all the way, and the silhouette of a stallion stood there. Celestia's sun, as low hanging as it was in the sky, was giving just enough light to keep his features from being to well seen. Berry hit the lights, and everyone took a moment to adjust to the new brightness before jumping up all at once, Pinkie included.

"SURPRISE!"

For a moment, everything was going perfectly. The new pony let out a cry and fell backwards. Not enough to hurt himself, but enough to prove that he had indeed been shocked by the celebration waiting in store for him. He sat there on his back for a moment, looking back and forth at the ponies surrounding him with a stunned look on his face. He stared... and he stared... and stared...

Pinkie's smile began to waver just a little bit. Nopony had ever just sat there for this long before. Did he not understand what was going on? Perhaps he was really shy, and didn't know what to say? What was he doing sitting there like that? Then she realized what it must have been. The look on his face was that of COMPLETE shock. He had NO IDEA what was happening! Maybe he had never had surprise party before, or more likely, maybe he wasn't used to surprise parties thrown by strangers! That made total sense!

Pinkies felt it necessary to help the new pony out, and decided it was time to start the party. Her more genuine smile reasserted itself as she turned to the ponies around her, also awaiting a response from their new neighbor.

"Alright ponies! I'll get Mr.Guest-of-honor out of his funk. But now, it's time to PARTY!"

A chorus of cheers and chuckles went around the room as ponies began to disperse, some to explore the new house, others to mingle with friends. But most headed to the snack bar she had set up for refreshments, as expected.

With that out of the way, Pinkie turned and made her way to the new pony, who was now standing with the same look of shock on his face, both mouth and eyes wide open. Bouncing with her usual pep, she made short work of the small distance separating them, and began to give him her usual 'Welcome to Ponyville Party' greeting.

"SURPRISE! Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised, wereyouwereyou, Huhuhu?"

Of course she already knew he was surprised, but she loved to hear when ponies told her how surprised they were. It was one of her favorite parts of throwing a surprise party.

But he didn't tell her that. In fact, he hardly even looked at her at all. Broken from his stupor by the excessive levels of pink cheer in front of him, the new pony blinked, before looking around at his new home and all the party guests in it. A new look took its place on his face. A look of absolute horror.

"W-w-what are you all doing here!?" He asked. "Who are you ponies!? How did you get in here!?" He began to gallop around the room, pleading for the guests not to touch anything. "Stay out of there! N-no, get away from that, even I don't know what that is! Nonono, I can't have anyone in here yet! Stay out of the observatory! Get out, get out! Please, you have to leave, now!"

---

Sky was in an absolute panic. There were strange ponies in his house! His BRAND NEW house! How had they gotten in? He was supposed to be the only one with a key! What were they doing here? There wasn't anything worth stealing here yet, considering they couldn't exactly steal the telescope. Nevertheless, whatever their intentions where, they were trespassing. He moved about the room, reprimanding ponies for touching this or that and asking what they were doing here, but never staying long enough to receive a response, as he moved on to the next offender. Honestly, it seemed like everypony had their hooves where they shouldn't be!

Continuing his efforts to keep hooves off his new home, he spotted two ponies on the other side of the room. They where looking at a large metal door with an exit device, sporting the royal crest. It screamed 'important things past here', and Sky realized what it must lead to. One of the ponies, a mare with a dark pink coat and light gold mane, slowly brought her hoof to the door, as if unsure if she should continue.

Before she could get any farther, Sky was already next to her holding the door closed. His sudden materialization forced a startled squeaks out of both the offender and her companion, another mare with a lighter pink coat and green mane. He looked at them with a slightly crazed look in his eye, his confusion and panic concerning the situation at hoof getting the better of him for the moment.

"No! Nopony past this door! The observatory is OFF LIMITS! Got it?!"

Both of them began to back away from both him and the door. There was obvious concern in green mane's eyes, while golden mane hid behind her friend, apparently afraid she had done something wrong.

"S-sorry, w-we were just exploring a bit, w-we didn't know that-"

"Sky? Whats going on? What are you yelling about?... Daisy, Lilly? What are you two doing here?"

Sky's relaxed a bit at a familiar voice, as it calmed him momentary, surrounded by a crowed of strangers. Taking his protective fore-hooves off the observatory door, Sky turned around to look at Rose, who was standing behind him and the other two ponies with a raised eyebrow and tilted head.

One of the other mares, Daisy, if her cutie mark was anything to go by, perked up a little at the sight of the newest arrival.

"Oh, hey Rose, glad you could make it! We just got an invitation like everypony else! I'm pretty sure Pinkie invited the whole town to this thing. W-we where just checking everything out when mister, um... Sky I guess, came over and, um, well..." She shrunk back again, remembering that she and Lily were in the middle of being scolded before their friend had arrived.

Sky mimicked Roses pose, his head tilting to the side slightly in confusion.

"Invitations? What invitations? I never invited anypony here, let alone the whole town! Hay, I don't even know anypony in town, except for a few fillies and Rose here! What are you all doing in my house?!"

"What do you mean? I would have thought you would have gotten one as well, seeing as this is your party? Didn't you get one from Pinkie Pie?"

...

...

...

"... Party?" Sky asked simply.

Rose continued to stare at him, trying to figure out what exactly was so confusing about the situation, until something visibly came to her. When it did, hoof met muzzle as she buried her face in it. Turning in the general direction of her oldest friends, she asked;

"... This wouldn't happen to be a SURPRISE party... would it girls?"

"... Um, maybe?"

"Why?"

Rose let out a light sigh.

"Because Pinkie will be Pinkie." She muttered quickly before turning to Sky, hoof now away from face and an apologetic smile taking its place. "I am SO sorry Sky, but there seems to have been a... misunderstanding. You see, we have a friend, Pinkie, who is the resident party pony. She throws parties for everypony, and one of her favorites is the party welcoming new ponies to town. It appeared she took the liberty to plan you a party without telling you. She is a bit of a prankster to, so I guess she was looking forward to giving you a little scare. You follow?"

Sky took a moment to absorb this new information before taking the time to look around at this surroundings. Balloons, streamers, snacks, even a pinata in the corner next to a picture of a tailless pony. Games and decorations meant for a party. A party meant for HIM.

A party that he had just crashed in epic proportions. He noticed the glares and scornful looks that a large portion of the crowd was directing at him. He had just blasted in many of their faces for appearing at a party they had apparently been invited to. Tail tucked and ears back, Sky suddenly felt like finding a nice little hole to crawl in and die.

"... Oh." He said, lowering his head in shame at his own behavior.

Rose gave a sad smile and turned to address the crowed. Her heart suddenly began to pound as she realized just how many eyes were pointed in her general direction. Another one of her many fears; public speech. A single stranger was one thing, an entire crowd of unfamiliar ponies was something else entirely. Still, it had to be done.

"H-hey everypony! Sorry about that, it looks like our guest of honor didn't exactly know how to react to the whole 'surprise' part of the party. He just moved here from Canterlot today, so he was just a liiiitle bit caught of guard by all this. All good now though, no harm no foul, right?"

Rose gave an internal sigh of relief as she saw many of the faces in the crowed change from spiteful to understanding. Ponies returned to their business, conflict settled. A few still gave weary glances before turning away, but one rainbow maned pegasus in particular continued to stare at Sky with murderous intent from above the crowed. Rose winced at her hostility, and wondered briefly on the reason behind it, till she noticed the form behind the airborne pegasus. A pink pony with her back turned to their little group, head lowered and shoulders slouched. She nudged Sky to grab his attention. He looked up to her, his face still speaking of his embarrassment.

"Don't worry, I think that took care of it. But it looks like there is one pony you might still need to talk to." She said, nodding in Pinkie's direction. Seeing the depressed party pony, Sky winced. He hated seeing others like that, and the knowledge that he was the cause of it only served to rub salt in the wound. Still, he stood up straighter and took a breath through the nose, preparing himself for what was to come.

"Yes, yes I do." And with that, he made his way into the crowed.

---

It look longer than Sky expected to reach the distressed party planner. While she had at first been easy to spot, the crowd of ponies had soon filled the gap, breaking line of sight between him and his target, and often offering apologies of their own for showing up uninvited of all things. They HAD been invited, just not by him. He pointed this out multiple times, telling them there was nothing to be sorry for, before excusing himself to find Pinkie. Then upon arriving where he had spotted her, he found a distinct lack of pink in the vicinity.

'Of course she moved. Not like my luck would let me avoid having to play hide and seek now would it? I hope she didn't leave without giving me the chance to apologize.'

Just as he was about to leave the building and check the road into town, he saw a small pink form in the corner of the living-room. Back turned to rest of the room, the pink mare was sitting with her head down, apparently being consoled by a cyan pegasus with the most ridiculously colorful mane he had ever seen.

Conflicted on how to approach the situation, he made his way over, only to stop short of drawing attention to himself. That did not stop him from being noticed however, as the pegasus at Pinkie's side seemed to hear him, her ear twitching lightly, as she turned to see who was behind them. Seeing him, Sky could swear he saw her coat bristle like a cat, as her magenta eyes narrowed dangerously and her posture turned aggressive.

"The hay do you want? I'm pretty sure you've done enough already pal, and she ain't in the mood to be talking to anypony right now, least of all you." She took a few slow steps towards him and lowered her head. "So do the smart thing and buzz off, would ya?"

Taking a moment to recover from the scalding reception, Sky rubbed his chest a bit and cleared his throat, preparing a proper retort. But before he could say anything he would later regret, he realized several things. That he was in the wrong in this situation, and he deserved everything that she had just said, and that he was incredibly out of shape compared to his aggravated discussion partner. And besides all those points, it would be incredibly unseemly for him to come to blows, verbally or physically, with a mare, regardless how brash her demeanor may be. It was not how he was raised. So swallowing his pride and tanking the verbal assault, he prepared a response of a different kind.

"Miss, I am fully aware that I am deserving of such a cold reception. How I just behaved, while perhaps understandable, was completely unacceptable. But if you would give me a moment to explain-"

"But nuthin! I'm not letting you anywhere near her right now! The last thing she needs is someone yelling at her, and even worse would be to chat it up with the punk that started this whole mess in the first place!"

"Well technically I walked in on the cause of the mess. I am perhaps to blame for overreacting, but this whole surprise party was a tad uncalled for considering it was only my first day in town. Maybe scheduling a house warming party I was well aware of at a later date would have been in better taste?"

"Better taste? That's what you have to say about all this?! That's it!"

As the rainbow mare crouched low to pounce him, Sky closed his eyes and braced for impact. But before the attack even began, both ponies heard a quite voice speak up.

"No! Please, no, don't fight... I don't want anypony to fight..."

Sky turned to look at his savior, the pink mare that he had been trying so hard to reach. She looked up to him and the other mare with sad cerulean eyes, hints of red and wetness around the edges making his heart ache. Her mane, curly as it was, seemed almost to sag a little bit, any life it should have possessed seemingly gone as it hung close to her body. He seemed to recall, in the short time he had known her, seeing it with more poof.

The mare, Pinkie, if he remembered correctly, slowly stood and made her way to him, rainbow mane moving off to the side to make way for her.

"H-hey..." She said, but offered nothing more.

With the pegasus watching closely, Sky took a breath and lowered his head down to her level, standing half a head taller than her.

"Hello Miss Pinkie, and how are you doing today?"

'Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid!

"F-fine, I guess. It was a good day, except for... um... sorry..."

"Ah, yes... that..."

'Oh come ON!'

"W-well then, I would like to... offer my own apology for that scene I made earlier, Miss Pinkie. As I was trying to tell your companion here, my actions were completely uncalled for, and for that, I am really, truly sorry."

Pinkie perked up at this, head quirked to the side just a little. Sky continued.

"Y-you see, I was unaware that anypony else had keys to the house, as I had been told that I was the only one who would have any in town. That and the fact that since this home technically belongs to the crowns and the University of Canterlot, there are places that I can't have other ponies going. Still, I overreacted, and for that, I am sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Over the course of his apology, Sky began to notice a physical change in Pinkie. Her eyes began to sparkle in a more positive way, her back straightened, and her mane began to slowly, for lack of better terms, inflate, up into a form that very much reminded him of cotton candy. It even seemed as if her coat grew a few shades brighter as a small grin grew on her face.

"Oh, don't be silly, we both did some dumb things. It WAS kinda foalish of me to think it was ok for me to just barge in like this. Twilight seemed alright with it, but then she was just STAYING at the library at the time, not LIVING there."

'She's friends with Miss Sparkle? File that away for later then.'

"Well, I won't argue that it was a bit... unusual to find a celebration awaiting me at my new residence," He said. "But still, I never should have resorted to yelling, at you, or your guests. It was wrong for me to do so, and incredibly inappropriate."

Pinkie's grin widened a little at that. "That's ok, you just moved here. You were probably stressed before you got here. Besides, we can't expect everypony moving to Ponyville to be all there on their first day. Twilight did say that the ponies in this town are crazy, so I guess you have to be just a teeny-tiny bit crazy to be here anyways." She said, raising a hoof and bonk him lightly on the head a few times to emphasize her point.

Pinkie's flawed logic and playful tap caused Sky to laugh lightly. "Indeed, I suppose not. I'll be the first to admit that I am not the most normal pony out there. So, as long as apologies out of the way, could we perhaps start over? My list of friends in this town is scarce, and I would love to make a new one."

Suddenly, much to Sky's surprise, Pinkies hair exploded outwards, before settling down into its original form. It now fully resembled the sugary treat he had earlier equated it to. He also noted vaguely how it had squeaked, much like a chew toy would. Her coat was back to its original bright, cheery color, and her face almost seemed to split with the smile that was now residing there. That was all the warning that he received before he was suddenly swept up in the most brutal, bone crushing hug he had received in his entire life. His eyes bulged as the wind was driven from his lungs, and a pop or two could be hear coming from his spine.

"OF COURSE we can be friends! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! Oh this is just the best thing ever! I'm so glad that's over I mean I just couldn't stand not being friends with somepony new in town that would be the most terrible-absolutely-awful thing ever! I already know this is going to be the start of a great friendship, right Dashie?"

Through the blinding pain, Sky barely registered the sour look on 'Dashie's' face. It appeared that he had mended relations with one, but the other would take time. A shame.

"Yah, whatever, I'm gunu go get something to eat. See ya Pinkie." With that, the rainbow maned pegasus, known as 'Dashie' till further notice, took off towards the refreshments table. Pinkie was apparently oblivious to her friend's foul mood however, and continued her hug with no less energy.

"Kay Dashie! See you later!"

"Can't... breath..." Sky pleaded, barely reaching a whisper. He contemplated how his end would not come at the hooves of raging rainbow mares, or even his excessive consumption of food, but instead a viciously affectionate bear-hug. Before he could lose consciousness however, Pinkie heard his weak cry, and released him from her death grip, permitting oxygen into his lungs once more.

"Woopsy! Sorry about that, Dashie and the others tell me I can be a teeeny bit rough with those. You're ok, right?"

A few gasps for air later, and Sky was feeling well enough to answer.

"Yes, yes I'm fine, thank you. Just not used to somepony with a grip as strong as yours is I guess. Hehehe..."

Pinkie, who Sky was beginning to realize might be a sympathetic laugher, if there was such a thing, gave a much more wholehearted laugh. Then she abruptly stopped, standing at attention with a smile still plastered to her face, and held out her hoof.

"I'm Pinkie Pie, but all my friends call me Pinkie. That means you can too!"

Sky smiled back, offering his own hoof in return and giving hers a firm shake.

"Night Sky. A pleasure to meet you Pinkie Pie."

Chapter 10

Sky sat in the middle of the large crowed of ponies that where currently occupying his living room, at a complete loss of what to do. Shortly after he and Pinkie had made amends, the energetic mare had excused herself to go facilitate the party, which wouldn't have been such a big deal if it were not for the fact that she and Rose were the only ponies he knew here, and the latter of the two had proven difficult to locate. After giving up that search, Sky had opted to make for the snack bar and see what was on the menu. After getting some strange looks at eating the entirety of one of the apple pies provided, he decided it was best that he move on before consuming the rest. As he considered the fact that he had no idea what to do at this sort of gathering, he had realized that he was missing his cat. His last recollection of Selene was putting her down before entering the house. A quick search was followed by brief period of contemplating up at the ceiling.

Brief, because it was then that he spotted her, clinging for life to one of the exposed rafters.

"How did you even get up there? It's easily ten feet!" The catatonic feline gave no response. "Here kitty! Come on Selene, there's nothing to worry about, honest! Just a few... maybe a lot of house guests. I thought you where over this the last time we had company! Mom and Dad weren't that bad where they?" Images of grabby hooves and rough petting went through Selene's mind, and he couldn't be sure, but Sky could almost swear her grip on her perch tightened, claws digging deeper into the wood.

Sky sighed."Oh for the love of-..."

"Trouble?" A familiar voice asked with a hint of amusement. Looking behind, Sky saw Rose, who was looking up at Selene with mirth.

"You could say that. Where have you been? I was looking for you a little while ago."

Rose turned her gaze back to Sky. "Sorry, I had to use the restroom, but considering your as new here as I am, I figured it would be simpler to just go find it myself. We already know where your workplace is because of Daisy and Lily, so I figured you would be ok with that. You are ok, right?" She asked nervously, remembering his reaction to her friends' curious snooping. To her relief, he simply nodded his head.

"Sure. I was just worried because nopony is suppose to be in the observatory besides staff unless given special permission. I kinda overreacted too, so no worries. Also, remind me to apologize to your friends next time we meet them. Are they still here?"

Rose shook her head. "No, they headed out a little bit after you left to find Pinkie. We all have our flower stands to set up early tomorrow, so they went back home. I should probably be doing the same, I just had to use your toilet and say goodbye. It's the second one on the left by the way." Sky nodded, and they both looked back up to the cat in the ceiling. "So, kitty isn't too found of crowds huh?"

"Or ponies in general. She really only likes a few ponies, mostly friends and family, the exception being my mom. She's a bit too clingy for Selene's taste it seems." Sky shook his head in exasperation. "I don't now how to get her down from there. I guess I could just wait until company is gone, but I don't know how long that would be. A passing pegasus tried to get her down for me, but she wouldn't budge, and I don't want to hurt her. It's really becoming quite asinine at this point."

Rose tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Ummm... as-in-what?"

"Ridiculous. Sorry."

"Ah," she responded. "Well, she does seem rather intent on staying right where she is. I don't think forcing her down will work... Hmm..."

Rose looked around for ideas, and spotted something of interest. Her smile returned and she looked back to Sky.

"Wait here, I'll be back." And with that, she pushed her way back into the crowed. Sky blinked in confusion at her sudden departure, but shrugged mentally and obediently stayed right where he was. A few minutes later, Rose returned, with another pony trailing behind. This one, another pegasus, had a large, rose colored mane draped over her face, keeping her eyes out of view. A soft yellow coat covered the rest of her body, which was lithe and almost frail in appearance, and carried in a way that spoke volumes of her insecurity. She appeared so small compared to the ponies around her, what with her tiny physique and submissive posture. It seemed as if too strong a summer breeze might carry her away.

"Alright then! Fluttershy, I would like to introduce you to Night Sky. Sky, this is Fluttershy. She can help you with your cat problem."

Fluttershy looked up from the ground, revealing one half of her face. The other half was kept hidden behind a curtain of hair, which formed an effective wall between her and the rest of the world. One big, cerulean eye looked into his, before quickly darting back to the ground upon seeing him look back. A brief pause, then she spoke in a voice so quite, Sky had to strain to hear over the noise of the surrounding ponies.

"Um... h-hi Sky... I'm... I'm Fluttershy. I-I heard you may need my... my... help?" She retreated into herself at the last part, bringing her left hoof before her right and rubbing anxiously. Sky looked back to Rose, uncertain of where this was going. Surely she must have grabbed the wrong pony. How could this mare, who seemed about ready to wilt away where she stood, help him with a scared stiff Selene? Roseluck simply nodded her head in encouragement before smiling and waving a farewell, making for the exit. Returning the wave, Sky returned his gaze to Fluttershy and decided to simply go with it.

"Yyyes, yes I do, Miss Fluttershy. You see, my cat, Selene isn't to found of strangers, so obviously an event such as this doesn't suit her. This was a surprise however, so I had no time to put her away someplace quite, and... well..." He pointed up at the ceiling, where his fuzzy friend was currently doing her best impression of a bat, hanging upside-down from the rafter, unmoving. Unaware of his gesture to the ceiling, Fluttershy chanced a look up to see why he had stopped. Upon seeing his hoof, she too looked up, and saw the feline desperately hugging the wooden beam, and let out a gasp.

"I have no idea how she got up there, honestly." Sky said, rubbing the back of his head. "There really isn't anything nearby she could have jumped from, and I can't imagine that she managed to-"

"Oh you poor thing!" Fluttershy interrupted, much to Sky's shock. She seemed to have completely forgot about him, as she launched herself up to Selene's level, and began to gently stroke the cat's back in a loving manner.

The change in Selene was noticeable, and almost instant, as Fluttershy's gentle hoof-strokes seemed to pull her out of a trance. Eyes once glazed over regained clarity, and muscles tightly clenched loosened up. Her grip on the wood also loosened, and eventually released as she accepted Fluttershy's calm embrace. Now holding the cat in her hooves, the mare began to pet Selene on the head lightly, cooing quietly to her in a relaxing way.

"There there, it's alright, nopony here is going to hurt you. It must have been awfully scary being surprised like that, huh?" Selene meowed her response, then began to purr. Fluttershy nodded, seeming to understand. "Oh I know how you must feel. It's no fun being scared out of your coat is it? I'm sure they weren't trying to be mean though. It was just meant to be a surprise for you and your friend here. Feeling better now?"

Selene's response was to continue purring. Fluttershy gave a quite giggle, before turning back to Sky, and gently setting the cat on his back. Despite the crowd surrounding them, Selene, to Sky's pleasant surprise, simply lay down there and closed her eyes, completely calm. It was a miracle. Selene was a very relaxed pet most of the time, but as soon as somepony came over to visit, with few exceptions she was nowhere to be found. Now here she was sitting on his back, content among the largest group of ponies she had seen in her life.

"How... I, um... what?"

Fluttershy never stopped her ministration of Selene, but turned to address him. "Oh don't worry, she was just a teeny bit scared of being surrounded by strange ponies. One of my hedgehog friends back home has the same problem. Sometimes all they need a reminder that they aren't alone, and they calm right back down." She briefly stopped petting Selene to play with her mane, smoothing and straightening it out in a way that drew attention away from her face; whether that was intentional or not, Sky could not tell. "I understand how they feel. I know it helps me when I know I have my friends with me."

"Really? Normally when company come over I just let her do whatever she wants. I tried forcing her to stay, by after a while, I just kind of gave up and let her do her thing."

Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she shook her head lightly. "Oh no, you never want to force her to stay! You should make sure she understands it's safe before trying to force her into a situation she thinks is scary. Try having her relaxing in your lap, and ask ponies in when you know she is calm. If you keep petting her when others come in, she knows that everything is fine, and that she is ok where she is."

Then, just as suddenly as she had gained her nerve, the demure pegasus seemed to realize what she was doing, and retreated back into herself, pushing her hair back in front of her face and regressing into the shy, nervous state he had first seen her in. The magical properties of an animal in peril had seemed to have worn off as the realization that she was talking with a stranger hit.

"You know... if you want to, that is."

A stab of sympathy for the mare went through Sky, and he felt the need to encourage her.

"No-no-no, I think your right! That makes much more sense then what I was trying to do. Do you have any more advice for dealing with her? I could use all the help I can get."

There was a look of surprise on her face, before her posture once again relaxed, if only just noticeably, and she began to smile.

"Well, the first thing is that you aren't really 'dealing' with her. Animals might look and act differently, but they feel and think much like we ponies do. You just need to understand her a bit more and what she's thinking. Not to say that you don't understand your pet I mean! Just that, um, well..."

Sky nodded his understanding. "I see. You must know a lot about animals then! I guess that's what those means?" He asked, referring to the trio of butterflies making up her cutie mark.

Fluttershy nodded. "Sort of. You see I have the ability to communicate with animals on a different level than other ponies. Well, most animals. Some predators still won't listen, even if you try to talk with them. That's why I still stay out of the Everfree, especially after dark."

"Wait, really? You can actually talk to animals?" A nod. "That's amazing! I knew that a cutie mark showed something special about the owner, but I always thought that was just something they were exceptionally gifted at. I've never heard of a cutie mark manifesting in such a unique gift before!"

The quiet pegasus took his response in stride, her smile growing to actually show teeth, cheeks tinged with a light blush at the compliment.

"So, what do you do then? Are you the town veterinarian, or some kind of wildlife manager?"

"Oh yes! I take care of all of the animals in Ponyville, except for the ones that already have owners. Many of them actually live with me up in my cottage on the edge of the forest. Henry takes care of everyone when I'm away, but normally I'm the one who feeds, waters, and cares for them."

Sky grinned. "Sounds like life must be awfully interesting for you. What's it like taking care of so many animals?"

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't know. What do YOU want to talk about?" He asked, realizing to late his mistake as Fluttershy's smile widened, threatening to compete with even Pinkie Pies face splitter.

---

"-so that after the mamma bird is done, she can feed her chicks without having to worry about carrying the food in her beak all the way to the nest. I always thought it so interesting how they did that. Now that you think about it, birds and pegasi have a lot in common. Our wings are the same, we have air sacs like them, and we also have primary and down feathers like cockatiels. Why can't we do that? Oh, and why don't we have to preen? Can you imagine how much fun that would be? Of course then we would need uropygial glands, and-"

Sky felt the need to scream build up inside of him. He thought that the discussion on the courtship process of arachnids was creepy. But this... this level of awkwardness was something he had not felt since his father had sat him down for 'the talk'.

'Why me, Faust? Why me?'

Just as he felt he might go dunk his head in the punch bowl, another voice addressed his companion.

"Hey Flutters, it's getting kinda late, and Tank needs to be fed. Do you want me to fly you home, or do you think you can make it by yourself?"

Sky opened his eyes to see 'Dashie' standing next to him and Fluttershy. The look of amusement was evident, as she seemed to understand what exactly Sky was going through. The smug look on her face briefly made him consider wiping it off, before he realized exactly what he was thinking and perished the thought.

"Oh no, that's quite alright Rainbow Dash, I think I can..." Fluttershy stopped and took a moment to look out the window at the front and see the almost complete darkness that had taken over the landscape. The sun was long gone, and a crescent moon had taken its place, doing very little to illuminate the landscape. Her mood changed suddenly as alarm became her most prominent feature.

"Actually yes, yes that would be nice. Thank you Rainbow."

The other mare, who Sky now knew was called Rainbow Dash, nodded. Fluttershy looked back to Sky, and her anxiety briefly took the back seat once more, as she gave him another friendly smile.

"Thank you for listening to me for so long. I don't really do well at these sort of parties, so I normally just sit in the corner. It was nice talking with you, maybe we could do it again some other time?" She asked, hopeful.

Sky began to sweat. On one hoof, a new friend. On the other, more discussions like the one he had just been rescued from. He began to nervously rub the back of his head.

"Ahehehe... Um, sure, I don't see why not!"

"Oh that's wonderful! Maybe next time you can tell me all about what you do! I bet it's even more interesting that what I talked about... Anyways, I had better go. See you later Sky!"

With that, Fluttershy excused herself and made for the door, apparently to wait for Rainbow Dash, who Sky realized was still there, and looking at him. He turned to return her gaze, and saw a pensive look on her face. "What?" He asked.

Her frowned deepened, now taking on the distrusting, distasteful look it had displayed earlier. "You made friends with Fluttershy." She responded. "I'm not sure whether that is impressive, or really, REALLY easy, considering she is nice to everypony."

Sky huffed a little, taking slight offense to the fact she was judging him and his ability to make mutual friends. "Well, I am sorry Miss Dash, if I have offended you personally in some way, but your friends seem to have forgiven me my transgressions, and I would ask why you can not do the same."

Now the rainbow pegasus scowled at him, like what he had said left a bad taste in her mouth in some way.

"Don't call me miss, it's way too stuffy. But DON'T take that as me saying were on good terms! Pinkie and Fluttershy may like you, but I don't appreciate it when ponies hurt my friends, no matter what they may think of you now. You made Pinkie cry, and it will take more than a few nice words between the three of you to change my mind about you. We clear?"

Sky felt as if he should have felt some sort of bitterness at her angry words, but all he could muster from within himself was a sense of sadness. Of all the things to do on his first day in town, making an enemy was not on the list.

"Crystal." He answered.

Rainbow Dash nodded, and without a goodbye, took off out the door, closely followed by her mellow companion. With their absence, Sky realized that he was now alone in the home with Selene. It appeared that the rest of the party goers had left during his talk with Fluttershy, and now he was standing by himself in a largely empty room, with nary a sign that it had been packed to the brim just an hour or so before.

'Pinkie Pie cleans up nicely. Not a crumb or spill to be seen! I have no idea how or where she took the extra tables when though...'

With a sigh, Sky took the time to observe his new home, one he had not been able to get a proper look at due to the copious amount of ponies that had been occupying it until recently. The walls of the living-room and what he could see of the hallway where textured drywall, painted a relaxing wine red color.

The kitchen, separated from the main living area only by a boundary where the carpet gave way to dark oak, had light tan walls and simple linoleum counter. A pantry could be seen in the far corner, and under-the-counter space was made obvious by the numerous doors resided under the lip of the counters. Back in the living space, there was a single simple looking, but rather long couch, a table, and a chair. Their where two windows in sight, one at the front of the house and one over the sink in the kitchen, both having a wooden rim on the bottom of them for setting a picture or two, or perhaps a vase. Overall, it was a very calm, homey feel that the building gave off, much nicer than the simple brick exterior would lead one to believe.

Grinning, Sky turned and grabbed Selene, who was still resting on his back, by the midsection and set her down. She mewed lightly in protest at the sudden lack of body heat to keep her warm, but soon spotted the couch and decided it was as good a place as any to settle down for the night. Sky doubted there was a bed ready for him wherever his room may be, so he was prepared to join her on said couch, before a knock on the door startled him slightly. Looking to the front, he paused, wondering who it could be. It didn't appear as if anypony had left anything, as the space was empty of anything except the furniture. Rose had gone home after introducing Fluttershy to get ready for an early start tomorrow, and the last things the fillies should be doing is staying out this late.

Another knock, and Sky decided the easiest way to find out who it was at the door was to stop leaving his unexpected guest waiting. He approached the door quickly and opened it, to see several bags of luggage floating in front of him in a light blue aura. He blinked owlishly.

"Did thou meanest to leave thy luggage on the train to Appleoosa, Night Sky? It was received with much confusion by us in Canterlot upon its return."

Author's Notes:

A thanks to my editor, The Great Derpsby, as always.

And for those of you that cry foul that I use feet instead of hoofs, or compromise and use metric, I turn your attention to season 2, episode 11, where Twilight refers to it as an 8 foot candy cane. HAH, take that fellow writers, there is no need for an alternate measuring system!

... I'm sorry, I just find it annoying sometimes when someone uses hoofs as a scientific measurement in their story, when A.) Its is never mentioned in the show, and B.) REALLY hard to understand proportions of stuff with something as vague as cartoon pony feet... hooves. Also, I'm American, and that means I am entitled to be lazy in the little things!

Chapter 11

Author's Notes:

It's late, its rough around the edges, and its here! Chapter 11 has finally been completed!

Fair warning, I wanted to get this out to you before the 4th. A special little celebratory chapter for the birthday of the US-of-A. Unfortunately, I did not finish it till 10:40 on the 3rd, which means I could not run the re-re-written version by my editor in time, so there may be just a feeew more typos then usual. But I'm sure you can all handle that.

Pre-read and edited (Mostly) by TheGreatDerpsby.
Feedback is appreciated, and a few thumbs-up would be fantastic as always. Enjoy, and happy 4th Of July!

Sky took a moment to appreciate just how absurd his current situation was. He was in a new home, in a strange town, recovering from an impromptu party in his honor. He was also currently answering the door for royalty, who was carrying his luggage, that wasn't suppose to be returning to him for another day or two at a minimum. This moment lasted approximately eight seconds, before he realized that said royalty had just addressed him. He briefly stood up straighter, before prostrating himself before the lunar princess.

Y-Your Highness! Please, pardon my lack of politeness! I-I-I just... you... ah... I had not hoped to hear of my luggage till two days time, a-and... um... So sorry your s-ah I mean, your majesty!"

Sky stayed there in this position for what felt like ages, but was likely only a few minutes. Realizing he was getting no response, he looked up to see what was wrong. Princess Luna was still there, but rather than looking at him, she was gazing out into his living space with an empty expression. Sky could almost swear that her eyes where slowly drifting apart as he watched. Suddenly, she shook her head as if to clear it, and looked down at him, prompting his eyes to the floor in return.

"Tis... quite alright, Night Sky. We understand that this must be a rather confusing turn of events. The train upon which thee departed broke down not long after departing Ponyville, and so was returned to Canterlot so that the source of the problem could be descried. Thy luggage was discovered to still be on-board after all others had removed theirs, so we have come to return it to you. I trust this is good news?"

Sky simply nodded, not trusting himself to not burst once more into alliteration.

"Verily. So, may we...I... enter, Sky? The trip here was long, and I would like to be able to rest my wings before the return to Canterlot."

Halfway through her request, Sky had already moved out of the doorway and into the living-room, removing the pillows from the couch to make a faux-bed for her out of the cushions. After that was finished, he made for the kitchen, before realizing he had nothing to prepare for company, nor if he did would it be fit for royalty. In the absence of refreshments, he returned to his spot in front of her and bowed low once more.

Princess Luna arched an eyebrow it this, before making her way past him to the makeshift bed. Patting down and moving about a few loose cushions, she made herself comfortable in the cushions before turning to Sky.

"We have met before, young Sky, and on good and friendly terms. Is there reason for thy silence now? If I have done anything to insult thee, I apologize for the unmeant offense."

Sky looked up startled, shaking his head. "No-no-no your majesty! It's not you, it's me!" He quickly stated before continuing, taking time with his words as to carefully consider what he was about to say before it left his mouth "It is just that I... do not trust myself not to make a fool of myself right now."

"Is that so? And what, pray-tell, is it thee are fearful to say?"

Sky began to sweat, feeling even more anxious at the turn the conversation was taking. He was not comfortable with talking about himself in front of royalty, as something about taking on such a self-centered topic when addressing the princess just seemed... wrong.

"I-It is a long story your Majesty, and not a very interesting one at that. I am certain you would not wish to hear it."

"Nonsense! I wish my subject to be comfortable in my presence, same as mine sister! If there is reason for this fear, let us hear of it!"

Sky nodded and collected his thoughts before responding, returning his eyes on the floor out of respect.

"Well... it has nothing to do with you personally your Majesty. The thing is, I have this habit... more of a nervous tic really, where if I get really agitated, I sometimes fall back on using alliterations in my sentences." He took a seat and rubbed his hooves together. Still feeling uncomfortable with talking about himself with his ruler, he readied himself for a talk about his past.

"It comes from my childhood, where the bullies in the schoolyard would make fun of me. I was a big reader back then, and I still am, but that was weird for a colt my age. I would get teased constantly, that classic 'egghead' insult. So to get back at them, and get them to leave, I would use larger, more complicated words to confuse them, and sorta... annoy them into leaving, I guess? I would use assonance and rhyme the same way. It was kind of petty to show them up like that, I know that now. I was really just trying to insult their intelligence, and that was wrong. But it worked, and that's all I cared about. They left me alone after a while."

Sky grimaced as old memories returned. "Then I got into the higher grades, and it lost its effectiveness. Just something else for them to poke fun at me for I guess. But I had been doing it for so long, it kinda stuck... Now, when I get nervous, or really stressed, I sometime fall back on it, and make an idiot of myself. I thought I had for the most part gotten rid of it a long time ago, but it looks as if the stress of today has brought it back from the grave, so to speak. There is a burly red stallion somewhere in town that thinks I'm an absolute fool now."

"Ah. So that is why you sounded as if thee where making some strange attempt at poetry upon answering the door. And it is also why thee appear to be struggling to find the right words now?"

He nodded. "Yes your Majesty, I am currently controlling my... vocabulary, so that I don't ramble. I apologize for any confusion I may have caused."

"Mhmm," she responded, taking on a thoughtful appearance.

There was a time of silence as the princess absorbed what he had said, and Sky waited for her to speak. He had worked up the courage to lift his gaze, and was now peaking nervously over his hairline at the princess in a way that reminded him of a certain pink-maned pegasus he had met earlier in the night.

The princess spoke suddenly, startling him out of his train of thought. "I do the same thing, I will have thee know."

Sky raised his head up all the way, looking at her incredulously and blinking in shock. "Really?"

"Well, perhaps not in the same manner of which thee does. But I still do suffer from a similar habit of the tongue. As thee well know, I was trapped in the moon as the 'Nightmare Moon' of legend. For a thousand years, I was removed from the culture, from society, and the ponies I once ruled. Upon my return, and subsequent released from my... sickness, I soon realized that the dialect had changed as much as the ponies. Thee may notice, among other things, that I slip occasionally into using the royal 'we' when speaking, for example. Speaking of which, 'thee' is to be 'you', is it not?" She asked.

Sky blinked again. Had the Princess of the Night just related to him?

"Y-Yes, your Majesty, it is."

Princess Luna nodded. "Thank you. But yes, while I can keep my tongue mostly in check, there are times when I too feel stress, and the old way of speaking returns." She chuckled sadly as a memory came to mind. "I remember my first full day back at the castle when the maid came to my chambers to show me to the dinning hall. The poor mare nearly suffered a heart attack after she witnessed the Royal Canterlot Voice for the first time. I do not think I have yet had the chance to apologize in fact..."

Sky nodded, not quite sure where the conversation was going. Perhaps she just meant to make him feel more comfortable? To appear friendly?

"Do you feel as if your friends think less of you for your speech impairment, as infrequent as it may appear, Sky?"

Sky did not have to think long on that. "Well, the only one of my friends who has heard it is Octavia, during a rather... *ahem*... awkward conversation. But I don't think she, or the others, would ever think less of me for it."

"And what of your family?"

He allowed himself a small grin at that. "Oh, Evergreen and Melody have been on the receiving end of it more than once. They think its funny, but I don't think their judgmental about it."

The princess nodded as if to confirm this. "Then why worry about such things? If the ponies that matter most in your life care nothing of it, why should you? Surely you do not have to prove anything to yourself, right?"

Sky opened his mouth to respond, then closed it. He had never thought of it that way. He had always assumed it was just something wrong, that he needed to get rid of, like a bad habit. He had never considered it as inconsequential is the princess was making it out to be.

"I... no, I suppose not your Majesty. I just always figured life would be better if I could get over it. It was never a big deal unless I made it one, but... huh." He thought on this for a moment, before a question of his own was raised. "But if it matters so little, why are YOU trying to get rid of your own, ah, impediment?"

"That is mostly due to my position, and the image I create when I use it. Ponies are fearful enough of me when you consider my power as an alicorn, my position as a princess, and my... past sins. I am learning the new dialect that I might seem less intimidating when addressing the common pony. I can only hope it helps as much as I believe it might. I feel no shame over it, but it is an obstacle I must overcome all the same."

There was a moment of silence as Sky considered this, and the princess gave him time to do so. His alliteration wasn't an obstacle, heck, most days he didn't even have to worry about it at all! Aside from the today's exceptionally stressful circumstance, and the talk with Octavia last December, he hadn't had it surface for going on three years now! Now that he thought about it, it wasn't even all that noticeable either. The princess's problem with modern language was much more noticeable, and by her own admission she would ignore if it wasn't for the fact that her job somewhat depended upon her ability to appear relatable to her subjects.

"You know, I don't think it makes you intimidating your Highness." The princess raised an eyebrow at this, and Sky drew inward just a little. "I-I mean, sure its noticeable, but honestly, it doesn't make your scary. Maybe somepony who is already intimidated by you might be frightened by it, but just talking with you now, I don't mind it that much. It's actually kind of interesting, gives you more personality I think. I guess what I'm saying is that you shouldn't have to change it if you don't want to?"

The princess huff lightly. "Well said, Night Sky, and boldly too. It has been centuries since anypony aside from mine sister or The Doctor has dared speak with me in such an way. It is not often one speaks to a ruler of Equestria as an equal."

Sky flinched at that, looking down again. He had not intended to be so informal as to talk with her in a friendly way. She was his princess, and it seemed for a moment he had forgotten. Hopefully she would not take to much offense from his tone.

"It is a refreshing change of pace to be spoken to without worry of keeping up with formalities. Thank you."

"... Hah?"

Now, the princess traded her amusement for exasperation. "Sky, I understand that perhaps today was taxing for you, and I would be willing to hear all about it, but there is something I much ask you. When we meet last at the university, you where quite open to talk with me, and if memory serves, you where also the pony who goaded the crowed into applause when I first made my appearance. Now, you speak to me in what is not fear as you have made clear, but with much more reverence then when last we spoke. Is there a reason for this?"

Sky thought for a moment. He felt that between the two interactions, now was the time he was acting the way he normally would. So what was it about their last interaction that had caused him to be so... carefree?

"I guess that the excitement of the moment had just gotten the better of me your Majesty. I think you could tell by my reaction at your announcement, but I was extremely excited to hear about the new facilities. And then when you told me that I would be the one to operate this place alone, I guess I just lost my inhibition for a while, and for that, I apologize. How I behaved at the time was both unprofessional and disrespectful."

With his eyes downcast in apology, what Sky could not see was the sad look that crossed the princesses face. She had been hoping that their earlier interactions where a sign that he had already grown accustomed to her as The Doctor had. But given the amount of time she had known the Time Lord, and how high both she and her sister where placed on a pedestal by the common pony, its was obvious that she had been assuming to much. Still, that did not mean progress could not be made. She could accept his respectful disposition for as long as it would take for him to leave it behind. That did not mean she would not try and help him to do so.

"There is no need to apologize Sky. As I said, it is refreshing to hear one speak to me without concern for being 'proper'."

The princess then looked to the clock that was set up above the door to the observatory. She stood and stretched her wings, deciding she had stayed long enough. "I thank your for your hospitality Sky. But now it is time for me to depart. My duties are not to be ignored, and I am certain you are ready to retire yourself."

On cue, a yawn escaped Sky and he looked up to the clock to see that it was nearing midnight.

"Yes your Majesty, I would like that very much. And it was no problem at all. Thank you very much for bringing my my luggage by the way." He paused. "Actually, why DID you bring me my luggage your Majesty? If I really needed it, surely you could have gotten some guards, or even university staff to deliver it to me?"

Somehow, the princess managed to look embarrassed at that, as if she had been caught in the act of something. "Ah, well, it was not in fact MY idea. The Doctor was the one who discovered your bags upon their return to your address. Apparently, he was at your parents residence in Canterlot when they arrived there. He felt it would be worth it to bring these to you as soon as possible. He also felt that it would be best if I came and gave them to you personally for some reason, so here I am."

Sky cocked his head to the side in confusion, still not understanding WHY she was the best pony to bring him his luggage, but more curious of another matter.

"Doctor?" He asked. "Doctor who?"

The Princess brought her hooves to her muzzle and gave a loud snerk as she held in a laugh, her face contorting and scrunching in a failed attempt to contain a smile. Given a few moments, she had regained control, and returned her gaze to Sky, no longer laughing, but unable to contain the large smile that had made its way into her face.

"P-pardon me Sky, just old memories brought to mind. I meant to say that Clockwork brought them to me. I apologize over the confusion."

"O-ok." He said, still confused about the sudden merriment she had displayed at the seemingly innocuous question. Deciding to put it aside for later, Sky lowered his head into a bow. "No worries your Highness. Have a good rest of your night, and thank you once again."

"Sky," he heard her say with a serious tone, prompting him to look up. "Mine sister and I are no different then the common pony in that we have friends the same as you do, and what I said to you and Clockwork at the university was the absolute truth. Clockwork is a dear friend, and he speaks highly of you. Any friend of Clockworks is a friend of mine, so please, when we are alone, call me Luna. Not 'Majesty' or 'Highness', I would rather forget the formalities when I am away from the public eye."

Getting over his shock, Sky nodded. "Yes, of course Princess Luna."

Luna smile as she opened the front door with her magic. It was a start. "Then with that, I bid you good evening, Sky." She then turned and walked outside, before spreading her wings once again and taking off towards Canterlot, closing the door behind herself.

---

Sky sat down in what he assumed must be the master bedroom upon his new bed, yet another complimentary furnishing he had not been expecting in his beautiful new home. It had been several minutes since the princess had left, and Selene had returned from wherever it was she had disappeared to now that the lunar diarch had gone. The cat was currently curled up on one of the pillows, lightly purring to express her content state. Sky, however, was struggling around making sense of the day he had just had.

'Ok, so, recap of strange happenings. Selene leaving the train to go interact willingly with strangers? Check. Run over by a flying trio of fillies? Definitely still feeling that one. Meet the reincarnation of one of the greatest threats to ponykind, now in the form of a little filly? Why didn't I ask Princess Luna about that? Welp, check. Super-surprise surprise party, check. Talking casually with my ruler, and employer? Check!'

Looking up from his internalized checklist and looking around the room at his newly reclaimed luggage, Sky took a moment to consider, before raising his foreleg to his mouth and quickly biting.

"OW!... Ok, so not that..." Another moment of consideration, then he sighed and flopped back onto the bed.

"What is my world coming to?" He asked quietly to himself, before laying down on his side for some sorely needed sleep.

Chapter 12

In the early hours as Celestia's sun began is rise over the mountainside to illuminate a new day, the residence of Ponyville woke to start their days. Some went out to their market stalls to set out their goods, others to the stores to ready them to receive customers, and still others just to get a head start on the day. Despite the comparative size difference of the town compared to Canterlot only a few miles away, it almost seemed to buzz with more life in the early hours than the capitol city. With few exceptions, it seemed that everypony had someplace to be, and something to be doing. One of those exceptions, as it happened, was the newest addition to the Ponyville populace.

Sky's day started differently than any others; with an impatient feline batting at his muzzle. Something he was more accustomed to than he would have like. Cracking open his eyes to see Selene sitting on top of him, he gave the cat a unamused look, which was taken in stride.

"You can't give me one day to adjust can you? Not even one?"

Her response was another swat on the nose, and a meow. She knew he was frequently grumpy and slow to start in the mornings, but that was why she was there. There where things that could not be left undone, regardless of what kind of day it was before.

Sky sighed, before resigning himself to an early morning once again. Stretching with a groan, he displaced the cat from her place on his chest and stood from the bed to begin the usual morning lineup. Searching through the baggage, Sky located his toothbrush, toothpaste, and upon considering the day before, his towel and soap.

Twenty minutes and a hot shower later saw Sky much more bright eyed and bushy tailed. Leaving the bathroom, this time sighing contently, he saw it also left Selene no less impatient, as her reasons for waking him had yet to be fulfilled. She meowed again, this time in a almost pleading tone, which elicited a small laugh from her owner.

"Alright alright, I get it, your hungry. Gimme a sec to find the food."

It did not take long to find the cat food, as Selene had been given her own bags to travel with. A pony can only go so many trips with their luggage smelling like cat litter before something has to be done after all. Taking out the cat-pan, toys, and other bits and pieces, Sky went about making the house ready for its new feline resident, before cracking open a can of cat-food and pouring it into a bowl, which Selene promptly attacked.

"Huh, I forgot that you haven't eaten anything since those fries yesterday at the cafe. Sorry about that girl."

With his cat cared for, and no other immediate needs presenting themselves, Sky was now left to consider his own breakfast. He had not wanted to travel with to much, so the pantries contents had not come with him from Canterlot. But considering he now knew the location of one of the best eateries he had ever visited, and the sizable amount of stalls that he had seen yesterday selling food, he felt confident finding a meal would be no problem.

"Kay girl, I'm going to head out know. You know where all your stuff is, so feel free to poke around."

Selene didn't respond, her face still buried greedily in her food bowl. Sky took that as his que to leave, and after a quick check to be sure that he had plenty of bits on him, he made for the door.

To his surprise, his front porch was not empty. Standing with her hoof raised in a way that suggested that she was about to knock, was an unfamiliar earth pony mare. The open door seemed to catch her by surprise, as much as the fact that she was there did to Sky. There was a moment of silence as both ponies took a moment to look at the other in confusion.

The first thing that struck him about her was her bright emerald eyes. They where an almost piercing shade of green unlike any he had seen before. Following that her choice of head-wear drew his attention, a hat that he had a hard time naming. A stampson if he recalled correctly, though he could be wrong. Her blond mane and tail where done up in ponytails, a style that she had chosen for function rather than form, if he had to guess. Not that it was an unappealing hairstyle by any means, but looking at her orange coat he could easily tell that she was a much more physically active pony than he was, a lean but muscular build suggesting hard work of some kind. Three apples adorned her flank, and upon seeing them he decided she must be a farmer, if the apple orchard down the road was any clue.

The mare blinked once before a friendly smile took its place on her face. She reached up and gave a light tug at her hat in greeting.

"Howdy neighbor! Names Night Sky, right? Ahm Applejack, owner of Sweet Apple Acres, the orchard just over yonder. Sorry fer the look there, I was just expecting somepony... older ta answer the door."

Sky shook his head a bit to clear it of his current train of thought, before what she had said caught up with him.

"Umm... yes, that's me. Why is that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, when Apple Bloom told me somepony had finally set up in the new observatory, she din't really tell me a whole lot about what ya looked like. An pardon if it sounds just a bit presumptuous, but when ah think off a scientist or what have you, I think of those older fellers with white manes and lab coats."

That was understandable, Sky thought to himself. He WAS the youngest astronomer at the university, though perhaps not the youngest pony working there. And while he may not be what she expected, their was no shortage of stallions who fit her description back in Canterlot.

"Heh, ya, I'm surprised I don't get that more often now that I think about it." He said, running his hoof through his messy of a mane, which was not yet fully dried. "But no, I'm the new pony she was talking about. So, your Apple Blooms... sister, right? I think she mentioned having an older sister yesterday, and you're to young to be her mom."

"Hehe, well thank you kindly for the compliment sugarcube. Yes, Bloom's mah sister, and I will have you know that she spoke very highly of you despite how short ah time she's known ya. Might have somethin' ta do with the fact that she apparently got permission to poke around in your fancy new facilities with her friends though, doesn't it?" She asked with a knowing grin.

Sky groaned at this. So word had started getting around that he was giving tours of his RESTRICTED work area huh? Great. He was going to have to work up his tolerance to cute more if he hoped to survive those three.

"Now don't you worry about that partner, I already told her that she can't go off and brag none to any of her other friends at school 'bout getting to visit this place. Don't want you getting mobbed by a buncha' school foals do we?"

This brought some much needed relief to Sky, knowing that he would be safe from anymore tour requests.

"Thanks for that. I really shouldn't be letting them in in the first place, not without permission at least. It's just a lot harder to say no to those three than you'd think."

"Ya, well, wait till their askin' ya for bits to go buy manticore huntin' supplies, then you won't find it so difficult."

"... I can't tell if your serious or not."

The look he received in response told him all he needed to know about how serious she was being.

Remembering why she was here, Applejack craned her head around and grabbed the green saddlebag she had been wearing, setting it down in between the two of them.

"Well considering Pinkies party last night, ah feel ah can safely say that I will not have been the first to welcome you to Ponyville. Ah WILL however be the first, and probably only pony to welcome you to the neighborhood, considerin' there ain't really anypony else livin' this far out of town. So, on behalf of the Apple Family, I would like to present you with this!"

Reaching into the left bag, she pulled out a large white box, which she then opened to reveal a large, steaming hot apple pie. The smell alone was enough to remind Sky of how hungry he was, his stomach growling against his will. Blushing lightly, he chuckled and looked away.

"Hah! Ah reckon that mean ya like it? You probably got a taste of Apple cuisine at the party yesterday. We down at the farm couldn't make it with to much work being left tah do, but Granny Smith worked up a storm in the kitchen when Pinkie came in askin' for help with the food. Figured it was the least we could do, and after hearin' what you're doing for the Crusaders, felt like you deserved a little something more for your troubles."

As much as he wanted insist that they shouldn't have gone through the trouble, Sky's stomach was to busy growling at him to make any such attempt seem genuine. So instead, he took the offered box and set it on his back, the heat of the pie inside warming his back.

"Thank you very much miss. You can probably tell by now that I was just about to go out to get something to eat. It looks like that won't be a problem anymore thanks to you."

Applejack offered a hoof, which Sky quickly took and shook.

"Aah, think nothin' of it sugarcube. Anyways, ah have to get back to work, and ah get the feeling your eager to dig in, so I'll leave ya be. See ya around, and don't be a stranger, ya hear?"

With that, she turned around and made her way down the path, back towards the road to the orchard.

"I won't! Have a nice day, and thanks again!"

Closing the door, Sky moved into the kitchen, where he set down the box, still warm to the touch, and smiled. So far, so good. It seemed that it was much easier to get settled into this new town than he thought it would be. There had been a few bumps along the way, but overall, it had been a fairly successful move. And with the Princess's talk last night, he was feeling much more confident now than when he had first arrived.

Returning to the luggage once more, Sky found a fork in the sparse collection of kitchen supplies he had brought along, and returned to the pie thankfully still untouched by Selene, who was apparently full after the large serving of food she had been provided. Spearing a piece of the delicacy rather than cutting it into slices as he had the night before, took another moment to savor the smell before diving wholeheartedly into the meal. As he ate, he thought to himself.

Just as delicious as last nights sample. I MUST go and thank Granny Smith in person for these little wonders, and perhaps ask for some pointers on how to make my own. So far, this day is starting on the right hoof.

---

"A-are you sure she went in... there, Elizabeak? It doesn't seem like her to wander off like that. Especially someplace so... dark."

Elizabeak shook her head furiously, turning and pecking at the tracks she had been showing her caretaker.

"Yes I see them, and they do look like Cluckeny's clawprints, but... the Everfree is a really, REALLY dangerous place, and I'm sure that even a little chick like herself would know better than to go in there. Maybe there just... another birds old tracks?"

Elizabeak simply returned to pecking at the dirt path into the forest, adding in a few agitated squawks as she did so.

Fluttershy sighed. She knew she was just making excuses at this point. There was no way around what had happened. Last night had been so exhausting, going to Pinkies party and staying late talking with the new pony, that she had decided to go to bed right after Rainbow Dash had dropped her off. She figured that she had already feed all of her animal friends, and that none of them would need any more help that night. Had she done her nightly rounds, she would have found a hole in the chicken-wire around the coop, and patched it before some little chick like Cluckeny had gotten out and wandered off by herself. Now, there was a baby chicken somewhere in the Everfree forest that was probably lost, and afraid, and hungry, and...

Fluttershy gulped, looking up at the ominous trees, that almost seemed to be looming over her despite her distance from the shade of their branches. It was her fault that the chick got out, so it was her job to find it. Nopony else would, and she couldn't bring herself to say now to her animal friends at the best of times, let alone when it was an emergency such as this.

Knees still shaking in fear, she turned to Elizabeak.

"S-s-stay here Elizabeak. I w-want you out of the forest. It's dangerous, and I don't want you getting caught like you did l-last time, o-ok?"

Elizabeak was not a chicken to easily forget, especially when it was an encounter such as the one she had with the cockatrice. Sitting exactly where she was, she squawked out an affirmative to the demure pegasus. Fluttershy looked back into the foreboding darkness of the forest, still dimly lit despite the sun that was now high in the sky. Another breath to steel herself, and she took her first step into the shadows.

Chapter 13

Author's Notes:

Thanks as always to my editor, The Great Derpsby, for helping me write stories you guys can enjoy.

As always, feedback is appreciated, and the same goes for those who feel the urge to like and favorite.

Now, enjoy my last chapter for a while! Hope it is worth the wait!

The cool of the forests canopy was something that would be welcoming at any other time or place. Unfortunately, this was not the relaxing shade of Whitetail Woods Fluttershy so desperately wished she could be searching through. The gangly, moss covered branches that made up the Everfree's ceiling, rather then blocking the heat of the late-summer days sun, almost seemed to be attempting to smother her in a cold darkness. The dense undergrowth of the forest floor had quickly slowed her progress through the forest to a crawl upon entering, making the hours she had been out looking for Cluckeny seem futile. She of course could have stayed on the path, but when the tracks she had been following disappeared, she made up her mind to head the least overgrown direction and go from there.

Now, she was beginning to feel a little lost. The trees around her where unfamiliar, and even if she could work up the courage to fly, they also blocked any way out of this dreary place from above. The few rays of sunshine that reached this place came down in thin beams of light, making evident the lack of escape routs through the air. All these factors had long since done their work unsettling Fluttershy's mind, leading her to jump at every shadow, and flinch at the smallest noise. A shadow here was a stalking timberwolf. A rustle in the nearby bush, a roaming cockatrice. Shivers overtook her, as her terror made the looming forest all the more cold.

"C-Cluckeny? W-w-where are you little chicken? Please come out, i-it's dangerous to be alone here. Cluckenyyy..."

No response, except for the ambiance of the unnatural forest around her. The sway of tree moved by an uncontrolled wind produced a loud moan that froze her where she stood, fear paralyzing her aside from the tremors that still raked her body. How could she have been so foolish to believe that she could come out her by herself?

The breeze stilled, and in a moment of complete silence, a single noise sounded through the forest. Faint, but there, Fluttershy's ear raised as she heard the sound of a small cheep. Elation returned her control of her body, as her head swiveled in the direction of the noise. Fluttershy may not have known a great many things in her humble opinion, but she DID know was animal calls. Cluckeny's call did not echo as much as drift through the forest. It was faint, but for Fluttershy it was a beacon, commanding her attention and drawing her deeper into the forest.

"Cluckeny?! Where are you chicken? Its Fluttershy, I'm here to bring you back home! Come out right now little miss, your mother is worried sick! Cluckeny!"

More cheeps came from the foliage, this time much clearer, proving to Fluttershy that she was heading the right direction. Her pace quickened to a canter, as the thought of finding the lost bird temporarily made her forget where she was, and why she wanted to leave.

The forest began to brighten, as the trees began to thin out to reveal a clearing in the forest. The first thing she noticed was that not only did the clearing lack any trees, but foliage of any kind. The ground was barren, the earth looking tough and cracked from lack of water or vegetation had a grey, ashen color to it, like rock. The second was the large cave at the very center of the clearing, with a large pile of rocks blocking the majority of the entrance.

And on top of said pile of rocks sat a small, speckled chick.

"Cluckeny!" Fluttershy cried as she ran across the open space of the clearing to the cave entrance. The ground beneath her hooves felt brittle despite its hard, rocky appearance, but she took no notice, entirely took focused on the small bird casually pecking at the rock it stood upon. Scooping the chicken up in her hooves, she began to fuss over the bird, making sure she was alright. No bumps or bruises, breaks or sprains that she could find. So far as she could tell, the bird was fine, apart from the dirt and grime she had collected walking through the forest.

"Your ok! Oh thank goodness, I was so worried! And so is your mother! What are you doing out her Cluckeny?! I know that I told all of you little ones never to go in here, that's why the fence is there! Don't ever do that to us again, understand? Cluckeny? Cluckeny are you listening to me?"

Cluckeny, for her part, was busy staring in fascination, as the rocks she had just been sitting on continued to shift and move. It had been hardly noticeable at first, but at Miss Fluttershy's words, the rocks pick up speed, as they began to rise and retreat back into the cave in a long line. She had never seen rocks do that before, but she was still young, like her mother told her, and saw new things almost every day.

Fluttershy realized that she did not have any of the small fouls attention, and turned to see what was so interesting behind her. At first, nothing at all seemed out of sorts, until she recognized that the rock-wall that had stood in front of the entrance of the cave had disappeared. Her eyebrow raised, curious as to what could have happened to them, up until she heard it.

A long, deep growl emanated from the bowels of the cove, physically shaking the two occupants of the forest clearing. The sound was foreboding, as Fluttershy recognized the sound of a predator in horror. Footsteps could be heard coming from within, coming closer, closer to the light of the cave entrance. Her muscles locked, and Fluttershy could only watch as the beast made it way into vision, and eventually into the sunlight.

A head made itself visible through the darkness, its appearance somewhere between a snake and a crocodile. Its eyes where bright yellow, with slitted black pupils that quickly shrunk as they meet the piercing light of the midday sun. They stared back at Fluttershy, analyzing her; a clear sign of an intelligent hunter. The head ended with a crest of sharp spines, and was followed by a long, equally spined neck. The hide of the monster was thick and craggy with a dark grey shade, making it look like the rock that Fluttershy had likely mistaken this creature to be. As the beast continued to make itself visible, lean, powerful muscles could be seen rippling underneath its skin, namely its legs, and its claws, which where abnormally large for the size of the limbs they where attached to. In all, the creature highly resembled a dragon, where except for its lack of wings, and a much sleeker form. The tail remained in the shadows, but if the rest of the creature was any indicator of its mass, the monster was easily forty feet long head to tail, if not longer.

As it towered over her, Fluttershy could feel the urge to run rise in her. Fear of moving gave way to fear of standing still before this behemoth, and she prepared to make a mad dash to the treeline. The creature seemed to sense this, and its eyes flashed with an red tinge, before settling on a deep orange color. This was followed by the tensing of all of Fluttershy's body, as well as the bird in her hoof. She felt like a taught string, tension everywhere, but she was unable to release it. Her muscles where so tight it was almost painful. This time, not by her own fear, Fluttershy found herself truly paralyzed in the reptiles gaze.

Confident that it had its prey in its grasp, the monster seemed to smile, mouth opening to reveal rows of sharp fangs. A green fume came out of the back of the creatures throat, billowing downwards towards the ground. In this manner it snaked its head forward to come face to face with the terrified pony it had in its thrall. It stared at her for several seconds more, and she stared back, unable to do anything else, before it gave a quick breath, and the gas that had been pouring out of its mouth was thrown forward into its prey.

It had a foul odor, but she could not gag or pull away, as the effects where almost instantaneous. Where its eyes had forced Fluttershy to freeze up apparently by force of will, the green smog acted quickly to numb her body and cloud her mind. She felt her body tremble, before losing all strength and falling to the ground beneath her.

The monsters eyes dimmed back to their original yellow hue, and the urge to stare back into them dissipated. She looked down to the ground, seeing the chicken she had come to save already passed out next to her. She knew she should feel fear, terror even, that she should be looking for any way to escape, but she could already feel her eyes begging to close. Her thoughts slowed, and an almost blissful feeling came over her as she began to fall deeper into the blackness of a dreamless sleep. As she at last let her eyelids close, her last waking thoughts where of her friends, both animal and pony.

Then, she thought no more.

Chapter 14

There was an annoying sound in Rainbow Dash's ear. It was like a buzzing, or a murmur, but out in the distance. It would go on just at the edge of hearing before fading away, only to return later, only louder.

Rainbow groaned, rolling over on... whatever she was laying on top of, most likely her bed. She was having a hard time remembering anything and made her best attempt to ignore the noise. But, despite her efforts, the noise made itself heard once more, louder than ever. How was she supposed to sleep like this?

"R...Bo...Sh."

Her hearing became more sharp as the cobwebs of sleep were unfortunately cleared from her mind. It was a voice, she now realized, and it was getting to the point where it could no longer be ignored. Rainbow's temper flared. She had a long night last night, and the last thing she needed was somepony being so loud this early in the morning! A growl rose in the back of her throat, until she hear the voice again.

"Rainbow Dash!"

Her temper dissipated at the sound of her name. She recognized that voice! But no matter who it was, it was still too early to get out of bed. For her at least.

She heard the sound of Scootaloo calling out for her once again, and an idea came to the rainbow pegasus. Flipping over to the side of the bed, she reached down and gave a quick jab to the floor below, before giving it a tug and opening a hole in the cloud underneath her. Looking down into the new space where here floor once was she could now see Scoots, as well as the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, sans Twist. The four of them were looking up at her with a mixture of shock and confusion at seeing Rainbow through a new hole in her floor. Scootaloo was the first to recover from the surprise, and shook her head as if to show it, a big grin appearing on her face.

"Rainbow Dash! We were looking for you!"

Rainbow had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at this decoration.

"Ya, I noticed. You girls need something this early in the morning?"

The fillies looked at each other, silently confirming what they already knew among themselves.

"Um... It's almost ten in the morning Rainbow Dash..." Nyx responded, looking to her fellow Crusaders, all equally confused as her.

Rainbow blinked, looking over to the clock at her bedside. It read 9:51 in big, bold red. Another moment of staring at the time, and the prismatic pony blinked again before she chuckled and waved a hoof dismissively. Deciding that staying in bed while talking to them wasn't helping her image at this point, she dived of through the gap in her cloud house and pulled up a few inches off the grass before setting her hooves down on solid ground.

"Well, ten isn't really THAT late, and I had a long night. But anyways, you needed something, right? What's up?"

The girls eyes widened as they remembered why they had come to see the speed demon in the first place. "We need your help finding Fluttershy!" Sweetie told her. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't she be home finishing up feeding her animal friends right about now? I know she won't leave her cottage till they ALL get breakfast, and you four know where that is."

"But that's just it!" Applebloom said, concern lacing her voice. "She ain't there! And we thing we know where she went!"

"Then why do you-"

"Because we found hoofprints leading into the forest!" Sweetie Belle cut her off. "And we don't want to go in there by ourselves!"

"Well, you and Nyx didn't want to. I think we could have gone in by ourselves, but Nyx said we should get an adult..."

Rainbow Dash was only half-listening to what the fillies were saying anymore. Her mind was elsewhere as she tried to understand what was going on. Fluttershy had gone into the forest alone? What in Equestia could posses her to do that. The few times she HAD gone in had either been with others, or dire emergencies, like when the Crusaders had gotten themselves lost looking for an escaped chicken. Something important must have happened if she had delved into the forest without help! Or perhaps she had not gone in by her own free will!

Rainbow was anything but a fearful pony, but suddenly, all that she could think of is what terrible things could have happened to her best friend. Was she taken? Maybe she had been chased into the forest by some creature?

The chill in her spine was replaced with steel. The longer she stood here thinking, the more time Fluttershy spent alone in a monster infested forest. This was not the time for standing around, this was the time for action!

"-think its more salmon colored, don't you?"

"No, its definitely pink."

"Aren't they sorta the same thing?"

"What does it matter?! It's my bow, and I aint' tradin' it for something 'cooler!'"

"Girls!" How had they gotten so sidetracked so quickly? "This is really important! You said you found her track into the Everfree?"

The girls all looked at each other before turning and nodding a confirmation. Rainbow stretched her wings quickly before taking to the air, hovering over the group of fillies.

"Show me."

---

The forest before them, the small band of Ponyville residents stood in silence as they considered their next move. Rainbow Dash continued to inspect the hoofprints of her imperiled friend, as the fillies watched her from a safe distance behind, putting as much distance between themselves and the forest as possible. While tracking may not have been her specialty, Rainbow could tell that these prints were not fresh. They had either been left late into the night, or very early in the morning. Neither one gave her confidence that Fluttershy had gone into the woods for a casual walk. Not that anypony in their right mind would have done that anyways, but the idea remained the same. Either Fluttershy was in trouble, or somepony else was.

"Girls," the pegasus called. "I'm going in to find, her. Go get the others and tell them were we are, just in case. I may need help finding her."

The fillies looked at her with surprise, before Sweetie spoke up.

"But... but shouldn't we go get them to come with you? Who knows what kind of monsters you could run into in there? You need somepony watching you back!"

"Ya! Remember all the nasties that you, Nyx, and Applejack had to kick out of Ponyville all those months ago?" Scootaloo added, jabbing a hoof towards the darkened path ahead. "They all live in there! Even YOU can't go in there by yourself!"

Nyx nodded her head, shivering slightly at the memories. "I don't think Twilight or the others would agree with this. It seems like too much could go wrong when you're all alone..."

All valid points, but they were missing one important piece.

"EXACTLY. And Fluttershy is in there by herself, and has been for who knows how long?! She needs help, I can feel it, and there is no time to waste, so I'm going in. Tell the others, and DON'T follow me under any circumstances ok?"

Without waiting for a response, the speed demon took off down the path, quickly fading from sight within the confines of the treeline. The unicorn, pegasus, alicorn, and earth pony all watched for a long moment as the leaves around them tumbled through the air in the wake of her hastily exit, before the feathered one of the group spoke up.

"Were TOTALLY going after her, right?"

"Eeyup."

"Definitely."

"WHAT?!"

Nyx looked at her friends in surprise as they ignored her sudden outburst, nodding their heads before taking off into the woods behind the element of Loyalty. She stood there, stunned, before shouting after them.

"What about getting the other elements!? We still have to tell them what happened!"

Scootaloo turned around at the treeline, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle charging in ahead.

"But Rainbow Dash needs help right now!" She said before turning to the forest, looking back to Nyx. "YOU can go tell your mom and the others, we'll go after Dash and help look for Fluttershy!" And with that, she ran in after the other two Crusaders, leaving the last of the group in stunned silence.

Nyx knew her friends were prone to rash decisions, but this was something else entirely. This was madness! Had the attack last year taught them nothing about how dangerous the forest was? And the worst part was that they had left her with an impossible choice.

She could do the smart thing, and go find Twilight and the others, bringing them back to help. Or, did she do the thing she really, REALLY didn't want to, and go in after them to help?

Pacing back and forth for a few moments, the small black alicorn hmm'ed and hawed over the situation, before she paused, looking to her flank at the night-blue kite shield residing there. Letting out a small sigh, followed by a small growl of frustration, she looked back to the dark of the Everfree. Taking a breath and steeling herself, she too leaped forward, letting the shadows surround her.

"Wait for me!"

Chapter 15

"Remind me why we are doing this again?"

Scootaloo turned and stared at Nyx with an incredulous look on her face.

"What?!" The alicorn asked shrilly as she looked back at her friend, eyes occasionally darting to the left and right, keeping a nervous eye on the forest around them.

"Because," Scootaloo said, "Rainbow Dash needs help! We can't let anypony do this on their own, no matter how awesome they are. She needs somepony to back her up!"

"I understand that. But why are WE doing this? She doesn't really need US, she needs Applejack, or Twilight, or even Pinkie Pie! There is no reason that the crusaders should be doing this! Sweetie, Bloom, tell her!"

Apple Bloom didn't take her eyes off the forest ahead, busying herself divining the least obstructive path through the Everfree for the group, while Sweetie Belle looked between her two arguing friends with a look of apprehension.

"I don't know Scootaloo... I mean, we have done this before, but Nyx is right that her friends are much better prepared for this then we are."

Apple Bloom stopped and looked back to her unicorn companion, eyebrow raised.

"Then why did ya take off with the rest of us when Scoots charged in?"

"...Because it seemed like a smart idea at the time?" Sweetie said sheepishly.

Scootaloo groaned as her team of adventurous heroes began to fall apart. If they all left, she would be the only one there to help Rainbow Dash, and while that would be awesome to be Dash's wingpony, she had to admit that the crusaders worked better as a team. Never split the party when you don't have to.

"Come on girls! It's not like we haven't done this before! Remember that time we faced off against that cockatrice with Fluttershy?"

Sweetie rolled her eyes. "If by 'faced off' you mean running scared till Fluttershy saved us, then yes."

"O-or the time that Apple Bloom chased Zecora through the forest by herself!"

"It ain't like ah was mappin' out new territory or anything. Zecora had already cleared a safe path to travel..." Apple Bloom mumbled.

"And Nyx! You took on ALL the monsters of the Everfree, all by yourself! With a little help from Rainbow Dash, of course."

"I was an adult! And there where a bunch of me!"

"AND APPLEJACK!"

"The POINT is, we can handle this! We've dealt with this kinda stuff before."

"Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm." Nyx replied, rolling her eyes.

*snap*

"..."

"Ok, I read about this in a Daring Do book once. Don't move, and they can't see you."

"You dont even know what it is Scoots!"

"Will you both be quiet? I'm tryin' ta listen!"

"C-c-can we get out of here n-now? This was a bad idea."

"That's what I'VE been trying to say!"

"You know if I were a big, dangerous monster, I would have eaten you by now."

The four fillies jumped in surprise at the sound of a new voice, looking around for the source, before a rap on the tree above them drew their eyes upward. There, with a highly unamused look on her face, floated Rainbow Dash. She scowled at the small group of would-be rescuers, before she sighed and hung her head.

"H-hey Rainbow Dash! Hows it going?"

Rainbow looked up with a face that gave the perfect answer to that question. Somewhere between "You cannot imagine how mad I am at you right now'," and "Did you really just ask me that question?" It was enough to cause all the Crusaders to flinch back.

"I REALLY should have seen this coming, shouldn't I? Since when have you four ever listened to instructions?"

The girls looked around at each other with guilty expressions, ears down in embarrassment.

"What am I going to do with you four!? I could leave you with Zecora, but I have no idea how to get to her house from here, and it would take up time Fluttershy doesn't have taking you back to Ponyville. But I can move faster on my own! And the girls have no idea whats going on now! And if there is a fight, now I have to protect you guys! Do you know how much harder this makes things?"

The fillies lowered their heads, eyes big and watering.

"We're sorry Rainbow Dash." Scootaloo said dejectedly.

"Ya, we didn't mean to cause any trouble, honest." Added Sweetie Belle.

The pegasus mare watched them for a moment, before she sighed in resignation. While the fact that they had followed her in rather than listen to her and find help was aggravating, and did indeed make things harder, she found it hard to stay mad at them for long. They where only trying to help, and honestly, it's what she probably would have done in their place. That didn't make the current situation any more desirable though. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she turned and looked deeper into the forest.

"Well I lost Fluttershy's tracks a while ago, but it looked like she was mostly going in a straight line anyways, deeper into the forest. If we keep heading East, we may be able to find her path again."

Scootaloo's eyes shot up towards her idol, sparkling with excitement, all traces of previous sorrow gone. Nyx wondered idly for a moment how adults could fall for the same trick so many times and not catch on. It simply wasn't fair.

"So that means that I-WE, can come with you!?"

"Well it's not like I can just leave you hear can I?" Rainbow said grinning slightly, some of the edge in her voice disappearing as her number one fan's enthusiasm began to rub off on her. The other three perked up at this, realizing that their current caretaker was no longer quite so mad that they had followed her in to the dark and deadly forest. She turned and motioned ahead of her, starting off into the forest's depths at a pace the girls could keep up with. The four took the hint and ran to catch up, following the flyer farther into the dark, and hopefully, to Fluttershy.

---

The group carried on in silence for a several minutes, the only sounds being that of the forest and the hoofsteps of the fillies. Rainbow Dash was surprised the girls could keep quiet for so long, but she did suppose they where deep in the middle of the Everfree, so the lack of conversation was understandable. Still, it was only a matter of time till somepony said something.

"So... what do you think happened to Fluttershy?"

"W-well, we don't really know if anything has happened to anypony yet. Maybe she just got distracted, and hasn't come back yet?"

"Fluttershy got distracted in the middle of the creepy forest that she is absolutely terrified of? Doing what, picking Poison Joke?"

"Maybe she found one of her animal friends in here, and they needed her help? That could be it..."

"Can we not talk about this please?" Rainbow asked the fillies as she tried to focus more on finding her friend, and less on what could have happened to her. Though she wouldn't admit it to the girls, it was starting to worry her that they hadn't found anything yet.

"Hey look!" Applebloom exclaimed, a little to loudly for Rainbow's comfort. "Ah found somthin'!"

Rainbow Dash blinked, taking a moment to register what the little Apple had said.

"What IS this place?" She heard Scootaloo ask as she turned to see for herself. Unfortunately, she didn't have an answer to that question.

Laid out before them was a scar in the forest. A clearing of cracked land and shriveled plants easily three hundred feet across. It was unsettling, like a dragon had burned up a perfect circle of land in the middle of the forest. At its center, a large cave entrance, covered partially by a low wall of rocks. Rainbow realized after listening for a moment that the forest surrounding them was quiet. Not the normal quiet that normally permeated the Everfree, but a complete lack of sound anywhere. No wind, no sounds of small animals in the trees, nothing. It was almost as if the forest around them was in shock. Or perhaps horror. Rainbow felt a shiver run down her spine as she stared at the sight before her, feeling an instinctual fear fill her as thoughts of what could have caused such a thing floated in her head. Apple Bloom voiced what she was thinking.

"W-what in tarnation could have caused this?" She asked, hesitantly touching the ground on the edge of the circle. "T'aint fire that caused this, there's no ash or coals like when lightnin' strikes in the orchard." She kicked the earth this time, and a small cloud of dust and dirt came up. "And this ain't rock, its dirt like everything else. It's had all the nuter... nutrin... the healthy stuff taken outta it. Not even Applejack could get anything to grow here..."

The earth pony suddenly seemed to shrink into herself, doing her best impression of Fluttershy as she nervously eyed the world around her. "I-I don't like this place... its just... dead. Everything here is dead..."

The silence returned as everypony absorbed this information. The Crusaders huddled closer to the adult of the group, who for her part, was attempting to put on a brave face for the fillies. Whatever had caused this, it was quickly rising to the top of Rainbow's 'avoid at all cost' list, passing Fluttershy's brother and approaching Discord's level. A branch somewhere in the forest snapped, causing the pegasus to jump, much like her missing friend might have. Saving face, She quickly straightened herself and turned to the girls.

"W-why don't we keep looking?" Rainbow Dash asked, unable to keep a hint of fear out of her voice. "I don't think this is the kind of place we will be finding Fluttershy in." Looking around, she added quietly, "Or ANYTHING alive for that matter." The others nodded their agreement, and quickly followed their elder as she made a fast retreat from the circle of death to continue their search.

As they fled, the rocks guarding the entrance to the cave shifted, serpentine eyes watching them hungrily.

---

"What can do something like that?"

"I don't know... I've never read about anything like that before. You think it could be natural?"

"Wasn't anything natural about that place, I can tell you that. That was just wrong, plain and simple. I hope whatever caused it never comes back."

"Wait, comes back? How do you know it was gone? Maybe it was in that cave we saw out in the open."

"Whatever it was," Rainbow Dash said, cutting off the fillies conversation before it continued any longer. She would rather think on that place as little as possible. "It gone now. I could see over the rock pile from the air; there was nothing in there. Not that I think anything could have been hanging out in a place like that since... whatever happened there did anyways. Lets just focus on finding Fluttershy, ok?"

The others nodded, and continued on in a silence that lasted for several minutes as they all did their part to watch the forest around them, looking for any sign of their butterscotch-colored friend. Or any creatures that may try to take them by surprise.

A loud hiss from behind stopped the party in their tracks. A moment passed when none of them dared turn around, but Rainbow was the first to actually do so. She felt her hackles rise slightly at the sight that greeted her. She had encountered many of the creatures of the Everfree in her time living on its border. But this was something different.

Stalking almost silently through the trees was a large beast, ten feet tall and perhaps fifty feet long by Rainbows guess. It looked like a cross between a dragon and a cragodile, its hide rough despite the quite, fluid manner that it maneuvered its way through the forest, and a foul looking gas leaking from the corners of its mouth in time with its breathing. As it moved its way around them, it watched closely, seeming to size them up as it slowly closed the circle.

Only when the creature decided that it had done enough watching them and made a b-line for the fillies did Rainbow Dash responded.

Muscles tensed and eyes narrowed as Rainbow readied herself. Her wings flared as electricity shot through her spine, and she charged the beast. The creature noticed her moments before she struck it across the jaw, snapping its head to the side and losing little momentum as she continued past and turned to make another run. The creature proved only momentarily stunned however, as it quickly shook off the hit and turned to face the opponent, the PREY, that dare strike against it. The prismatic pegasus proved to be quick though as she struck it again, diving into its shoulder with her back legs.

The creature hissed its pain and displeasure as Rainbow used it as a springboard, cancelling her momentum and kicking off, flying high above the reach of the beast's jaws and circling it's head. She knew she had no hope fighting this thing alone, the fight with the dragon all those months ago told her that. But now she had its attention.

"Girls! Get out of here! I'll distract it till you get clear!"

The crusaders looked on in awe and terror as she dodged a swipe from the monster's tail, another growl escaping it as its prey continued to evade it.

Rainbow let out a growl of her own, and turned to see the girls ignoring her instructions once again. "GO!" She shouted before she dived once again, this time hitting its soft stomach as she flew beneath it.

Apple Bloom shook her head clear and turned to run. Making her way to a distant bush, close enough that she could still see the fight but far enough away to be out of view, she looked back to see that her friends were not following, still captivated by the scene before them. She considered yelling at them to hurry, but then the beast struck out again, drawing her attention away as well.

Now thoroughly enraged by the mare flying around it like an annoying fly, the creature opened its maw and bellowed, releasing the green gas within as it did so. Rainbow quickly moved out of the way of the cloud, well aware that it was likely not in her best interest to breathe it in. She watched the heavy fog as it settled to the forest floor, which it proceeded to make short work of.

Everything it touched shriveled. Grass, bushes, and vines curled in on themselves, losing their colors. Even the trees that where unfortunate enough to have roots in the malicious gases' reach turned a sickly hue almost instantly. Its very breath was poison! The sight of such a display turned Rainbow Dash's stomach, and she looked in horror at the creature that had caused it.

The creature stared back at her with intensity, but did not move to attack. It simply stared, locking eyes with the pegasus for the time. For a moment Rainbow wondered why. What reason did it have to hold back? It had shown no such reservations just moments before!

Her answer came in a flash of light as the creatures eyes blazed an unholy red. Rainbow felt an overwhelming terror come over her as her wings suddenly snapped to her sides and her ears lay flat against her head. Finding her flight suddenly no longer supported, gravity did its work as Rainbow fell to the ground, unable to even move to soften the impact, eyes still glued to the creature's red orbs, body rigid.

Rainbow Dash hit the ground with her shoulder, saving her from landing head first, but not from the consequences of such an impact. White hot pain shot through her body as she was pretty sure she felt her leg twist a way it was never meant to, and the familiar sensation of a dislocated wing was soon to follow. A blow to her head blurred her vision, and the monster faded from sight momentarily. This seemed to break its control over her body, as she found herself able to open her mouth, screaming in pain. Closing her eyes she felt tears well up as she fought to bring herself under control. A loud thud drew her attention as she opened one eye.

The dragon-cragodile was standing over her, its eyes no longer glowing in a physical sense, but the anger at the creature that had hurt it was still there. This time, natural fear overtook Rainbow as she realized she was now at its mercy.

It opened its jaws, and the gas once again poured out, covering the crippled pegasus. Unable to control her breath through the physical pain, Rainbow breathed in a lungful of the noxious fums and felt her muscles go limp, her eyes heavy.

So... She thought, suddenly uncaring about the world of pain or even her immanent death. This is how it end huh? At least it was fighting, and not something embarrassing like falling down a flight of stairs or whatever. I would never be able to live... that... down...

Had she been able to, she would have laughed at the irony of that thought before her eyelids closed fully, and was dead to the world.

Meanwhile, four fillies watched dumbstruck as the fastest flyer in Equestria, the Element of Loyalty, and one of their friend was enveloped in a vile green fog, and stopped breathing. The truth of what had just happened did not set in for a few moments, before reality came crashing back in for a small orange pegasus.

"No! NONONONOOO! RAINBOW DASH!"

Scootaloo ran to her fallen hero, disregarding the thick gas still dissipating around her. Her legs grew heavy and her breathing labored as she looked over the older pegasus, pushing and pulling at her in an attempt to draw some sort of reaction.

"Wake up! P-please wake up Rainbow Dash. You... Y-you c... can't... Die... Please..."

A yawn escaped the filly as her eyelids began to droop. Looking around, she saw the thinning green mist. Realization struck her, about the same time she realized that she could no longer control her legs. They gave out from underneath her, and she could only lay there, breathing in the same poison that had claimed her idol moments before. She watched as the beast made its way over to the two friends she had left behind, huddling together in fear of the colossal creature. It quickly let go a repulsive breath, putting down the last two members of its latest catch. That last sight in minds, the lingering fumes finally did their foul work, and she was gone.

---

It could still smell the fear.

Perhaps not the feeling itself, but the signs of it. The sweat, the pheromones still lingered in the air. It was fresh, and not just coming from its fallen prey.

Lifting its head, it tasted at the air, following the trail to a nearby bush, and leading into the forest beyond. It did not know the path, nor the area to which the creature traveled towards. But one of them had escaped. Its PREY had escaped its grasp.

One of them had gotten away.

The beast looked to the result of its latest hunt. These creatures where strange to it, but not unwelcome. They where small, and with the exception of one of them, too weak to hurt it. They had no survival skills, loud and bright and with no regard for stealth, from how easy it had been to follow the.

But one had gotten away.

It could survive off of what it had caught so far for a month, easily. It still hadn't started on its previous catch either. There was no reason its should put forth the effort to chase one more, especially if it could just hunt down more such creatures with ease at a later time.

The runt had evaded it.

A low hiss escaped the monster as it gathered the fallen ponies in its long tail and made for its cave. The captured would be returned to its territory for safe keeping. Then it would find the one that escaped.

---

Sky sighed happily as he sat out in front of his new home, content with the world.

Following Applejack's visit, and the delicious meal he had made out of her gift, he had taken a moment to gather himself before getting to work. The Princess' delivery last night gave him no shortage of supplies to sort, books to organize, and the like. He had worked all the way through to lunch, and just finished the last of the apple pie that he had managed to keep himself from devouring all of this morning. He would have to make a trip to town for dinner later, but for now, he was happy to take a quick break from unpacking to just enjoy the moment.

Closing his eyes, Sky considered taking a nap, before he reminded himself that there was still work to be done before the day was out, and decided to get up before he should fall asleep by mistake. Standing, he stretched his back out not unlike his feline companion, eliciting a series of pleasant pops and cracks. Grinning to himself, Sky turned to walk back inside when something caught his eye.

Coming out of the forest on the left side of the observatory was a familiar yellow filly. Apple Bloom burst forth from a bush on the edge, losing her balance and falling flat on her face. Not a moment was wasted however, as she got back to her hooves almost as soon as she fell, and was back to running from the forest as fast as her little legs would carry her. She did not look back, abject terror in her eyes as she made her way closer to his abode. Loose sticks, sap, and dirt covered her body, and several cuts could be seen across her legs and face. They were not deep, but made it clear that there had been little care in how she left the woods, only how fast.

It was about this time the filly realized she was being watched. Seeing Sky, her eyes widened even farther and she changed course for him, not stopping until she hit him at near max speed. Sky grunted at the impact, looking at her in surprise. Her breathing was hard and ragged as she buried her head in his right foreleg, shuddering.

"Apple Bloom?!" No response came from the filly, and Sky felt himself begin to panic. "Apple Bloom? Whats wrong filly? Are you alright? What where you doing alone in the forest?"

At his last question, Sky could feel the foal stop breathing, holding her breath as all shuddering stopped. A second passed, and she began to shake. This was followed by sobs, that slowly grew in volume until it was uncontrolled crying. Sky stood there, stunned, unsure of what to do next. Putting a careful hoof on Apple Blooms head, he lowered his voice.

"Apple Bloom? What happened?"

Apple Bloom looked up at him with a pained look in her eyes, tears flowing.

"Their dead! Their all dead, and Ah couldn't do nothin' to stop it! My friends are all dead, and its MY FAULT!!"

Chapter 16

The sweet smell of apple and cinnamon wafted through the air as a steady stream of cider flowed from a small keg into the paper cup below. Sky reached for it and brought it to his lips. Tilting his head back, he drained it quickly before filling it once again, and offering it to the filly he found himself hosting.

Apple Bloom was sitting on the stool next to him, a light blanket around her shoulders and a distant look in her eyes. At the introduction of the drink she did nothing, continuing to stare at the wall, eyes wide and still brimming with unshed tears... He supposed it was to be expected. With what she had been through it was hardly as if anypony could fault her for it.

After her outburst in front of the observatory, Apple Bloom had broken down sobbing for several minutes, making it impossible to get answers out of her. He would have loved to let the filly get her tears out, but he still hadn't known what was going on, except that ponies had apparently died. He needed to know the whole story. After bringing her inside, and getting her the blanket that she now clung to so desperately, he had managed to get out the basics. A monster had attacked her and her friends when they had gone into the woods looking for Fluttershy, one of the ponies he had talked to last night. It had caught and killed the others, and only she had escaped.

The realization was terrifying; A creature with a taste for ponies, stalking the shadows of the forest just outside his window. And it had taken four victims today alone, five if you considered the possibility that it could have been the cause of Fluttershy's disappearance as well. The forest was filled with all sorts of dangerous creatures, but the fact that it had attacked them as they followed her trail gave credence to the idea. Still, there were blanks that needed filled, and questions to ask before he decided what to do next.

Which meant he would be asking a broken little filly to relive the horrors of earlier today.

"Apple Bloom?" He asked softly, putting the cup to the side and sitting down next to her, bringing them to eye level with each other. he reached up to her head slowly, and when she did not retreat from him, he began gently pulling the twigs and leaves from her mane. "A-Apple Bloom, can you hear me? I need to ask you a few more questions about... about what did this." He took another breath to calm himself, trying to stop the shaking he felt going through his own body. He was scared as well, but right now, he needed to be brave. Whatever this thing was, he needed as much information about it before he went to whatever garrison Ponyville had. Hopefully the local guard would know what to do with it.

Apple Bloom turned and looked at him, one of her unshead tears finally breaking free and rolling down hear cheek. She sniffed and rubbed it away with the edge of the blanket.

"L-l-like what? W-w-what do ya n-need to know?"

"As much as you can remember. Anything that could help find this thing and stop it... Why don't we start with what it looked like?"

Apple Bloom looked away, watching a random floorboard as she envisioned the events of earlier today. Every detail of the beast, its hide, its claws, its teeth burned into her memories. She suppressed a shudder as the last image of the creature came to mind, the seeing of it standing over Sweetie Belle, noxious gas flowing from its maw to envelope the limp unicorn. A whimper escaped her as she thought of her friends again, more tears forming in her eyes as she closed them in pain of her recollections.

The hoof that had been removing the forest from her hair stopped. He hadn't known her for more than a day, but it hurt to see her like this. That look had no place on the face of a child her age, and nopony should have to go through the nightmare she had just experienced. A moment of hesitation later, and Sky moved closer to Apple Bloom, placing a his hoof around her in a light embrace as he placed her head under his chin. He could feel her ragged breaths, and a wetness on his coat told him the crying had returned, albeit much more controlled than before.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry Apple Bloom. It's terrible what happened, and I know it must be hard. But I need your help right now. I don't like asking you to remember, but I need to know more about what attacked you and your friends if I am going to tell the guards what they're looking for. We need to know what it is so they can stop it." He gave a light squeeze before releasing her and looking down into her eyes, which where now looking up at him in turn. "So please, can you help me?"

"...... I-it w-was big. REALLY big, like, as big as a house. I-it had a tail an' long claws... It's skin was rocky, like it was made of stone, w-with teeth like needles. And red eyes, NO, yellow eyes that turned red! Rainbow Dash looked at it and j-just... stopped moving, like she was frozen solid or somethin'..."

The filly continued to describe the creature, and the more she did, the farther Sky's heart dropped into his stomach. He knew the creature she was describing. He remembered it from a bestiary in his personal collection back home.

"What did it sound like? Did it roar, hiss? What color was the gas?"

"It hissed. N-not like a snake, more like a... a crocodile hiss, or that weird growlin' sound they make. The gas was green."

Sky looked back outside, at the forest beyond, eyes wide, new fear making its way into his body as he thought of the monster lurking inside.

"Drakon..."

"W-what?"

Gulping, Sky looked down to his smaller earth pony counterpart, trying and failing to hide his concern.

"What attacked you and your friends in the forest. It's called a drakon. It an alpha predator, tier two. Classification Basiliscus Toxicus. A subspecies of the basilisk and a relative of Basiliscus Lapis. Can paralyze its victims in a magically induced terror. It... um... it... oh..."

"Sky? Mister Sky, whats wrong?"

A grin slowly made its way onto Sky's face as he continued to go over what he remembered from the bestiary. Specifically one very important fact.

"They're not dead..."

"What?" Apple Bloom asked, cocking her head slightly in an attempt to catch what he said.

"THEY'RE NOT DEAD!" Sky exclaimed, jumping up and looking back out the window with renewed energy. At his outburst Apple Bloom let out a yelp and fell backwards off the stool. A groan drew Sky's attention and he looked to see the young Apple on the ground, rubbing the back of her head and wincing.

"Uh, sorry."

He extended a hoof to her, which she quickly waved away as she sat up by herself.

"Never mind that! You said they're not dead? I know what I saw, I didn't imagine it all!"

"I never said you did," Sky replied. "You just don't understand! Th-the gas that the Drakon breathes, it isn't toxic! Or, it IS, just not deadly, at least not to animals! The name 'Toxicus' was given when it was first observed killing plants in the wild with it. To animals, it is merely a highly potent sleeping agent! It's meant to keep the prey from running, while keeping them..." He paused. "Er... fresh."

'Real smooth idiot,' He thought dryly to himself. 'Even if we both know what the thing plans on doing with her friends, there's no need to be so blunt about it.'

"So you sayin' it just, what, stashed them away someplace? Hid em somewhere for later?" Apple Blooms asked as eyes began to sparkle at the realization of this new hope, a small grin forming on her face. Sky nodded with a smile, and moved passed her towards the door.

"Yes, exactly. Which means there's still time. Come on, we need to tell the authorities, and I'm still new here. Can you show me where the local guard post is? They should be equipped to deal with this."

The filly cocked her head to the side and gave him an inquisitive look. "Guards?"

Sky looked back at the younger pony, raising an eyebrow of his own. "Yes, guards. You know, a local garrison?" Apple Bloom shook her head. "Do you have a police station or sheriffs department?" Another negative.

"... A militia?" Sky asked weakly.

"Ponyville doesn't have any guards. The only ones we see round here are the ones that come down from Canterlot. Most of the time we just deal with the problems ourselves."

The two ponies took a moment to stare at each other, one in shock, the other confusion. Apple Bloom blinked, breaking eye contact and prompting Sky to end the silence surrounding the two of them.

"T-that makes no sense! Every town should have some form of law enforcement at the very least! A-a-and we're right on the edge of wild territory, I mean the Everfree is RIGHT THERE! Somepony should be here to take care of the creatures that wander out of there right? You mean that you have NOPONY to deal with a situations like this?!"

"Normally when stuff happens round here, my sis and her friends take care of it. They don't seem to have any trouble." She paused. "Well, 'cept when its alicorns, monster armies, Discord and stuff, but they got those all sorted out in the end."

The casualty in which the foal listed off such catastrophes was jaw dropping. Sky resumed staring as he struggled to understand what was going on. How could one small town get into so much trouble, and NOT have a guard post SOMEWHERE?! And all of this was dealt with by the local populace how?! Sky opened his mouth to ask, when the light outside the back window grew dark.

The shadow passed as quickly as it came, and for a moment Sky wondered if he had imagined it. Or perhaps a stray cloud from the forest had passed overhead.

A low, near impercieveable hiss resonated through the air, and Sky's heart stopped. A dull thump, the sound of claws on stone. Something was moving outside. Something big, and he thought he knew what. Eyes shrank to pinpricks, and it became hard to breath. Sky attempted to calm himself, thinking of any other reason there might be for such noises, rationalizing away his fear, but the appearance of a massive, craggy tail in the window confirmed it.

The Drakon was here. And it was right outside.

"S-s-sky?" Apple Bloom asked as she drew closer, tail tucked and ears down. She had noticed the creature as well. Sky looked down to see her huddle next to his foreleg, watching the window. They needed to get out of here. SHE needed to get out of here. It was too much of a coincidence that it had found its way to Apple Bloom so soon after the attack. It had likely tracked her scent through the forest, hunting for her.

But why? The part of Sky not suffering from crippling fear asked. It has enough food to last it weeks, and its likely got prime hunting territory in the forest. What reason does it have to track down this one filly? Perhaps it is being territorial, and takes her trespass as an affront? How intelligent are Drakons anyways? I should have read more from the bestiary, it would likely-

Outside, the sound of scratching turned to a screech as the beast tested its claws against the bricks of the observatory's walls, and Sky pinned his ears back in a vain attempt to stop the noise. Sudden silence was followed by a crocodilian growl and the Drakon began its work, throwing itself into the structure. Visible cracks formed in the plaster and the back window shattered as the building shook, breaking Sky's train of thought. It wouldn't be long till it was inside, the brick and mortar certainly wouldn't hold this thing for long.

Fear took over and he ran for the front, grabbing the filly along the way and putting her quickly on his back. Throwing the door open, Sky raced outside, moving as fast as possible towards town. The sound of falling stone and shattering lumber drew his eyes back towards his new home. A thick cloud of dust and flailing limbs where seen through the window. A loud roar reached the two ponies ears as the Drakon found its prey missing, and began its search of the observatory.

Sky felt a pain grow in his chest at seeing the residence destroyed such a short time after its construction. Only a day had passed, and already he was left without a thing, his belongings left to the creature within's whim. At that thought, a much more pressing concern was brought to his attention.

"SELENE!"

Sky stopped where he was, turning to face the building proper. His muscles twitched and hooves danced as he fought the urge to rush back into the chaos. A new kind of terror entered him as he looked back at the building currently under siege. In his rush to leave he had left her behind. He stood there frozen for a long moment, uncertain what to do.

"Mister Sky?! What are you doing, its going to catch us!"

Sky looked back to his passenger, currently occupying his feline companions favorite spot. "I-I... Selene she... I don't..."

...Priorities Sky. Get help, keep the filly safe, that's your job right now. Selene... Selene can wait, it isn't looking for her, its looking for you.

He looked back once more to the devastation, imagining the poor girl tucked away in some corner, weathering the storm. Eyes grew wet as he made his choice, turning away and continuing his race to town, the wind clearing the moisture as quickly as it appeared..

"A-Apple Bloom, what do you do when something like this happens in Ponyville? You said your sister and her friends take care of things? What does that mean?"

"Y-ya, Applejack, Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony. They take care of it."

"Elements of-"

This announcement silenced him for a moment. Applejack was one of the Elements of Harmony, the ponies who had freed Princess Luna and defeated Discord? He knew Twilight Sparkle was one of them, and as for the others... He had read about them before in the Canterlot Gazette, but that had been over a year ago, after the first Nightmare Moon incident. Thinking hard on the contents, he struggled to remembered their names.

Applejack, Pinkamena Pie, Rainbow Dash, Flutter-

"You mean, huff... that I have been meeting THE Elements of Harmony, huff... for the last two days, puff... And NONE of them ever thought to bring that up?!"

"Guess they just kinda got used to it."

Sky shook his head, frustrated with himself for not recognizing them sooner. "Do they have someplace to meet? Some way to get a hold of one another?"

"Ya, they meet at Twilight's place, the library at the North side of town."

Looking ahead to the rapidly approaching town, Sky's mind continued to race. So, he was running from a rampaging monster to go get four of the most important ponies in Equestria. All so they could hunt down said dangerous monster and find its lair in a dark, unnatural forest and save their friends. How could it have possibly gotten this bad?

"Well, lets hope Miss Sparkle and her friends have a plan to help with this sort of thing." He looked back at the observatory, from which the sounds of chaos could still be heard, even from this distance. "Celestia knows we'll need it."

Chapter 17

"Actually Spike, can you get me an extra stack of papers? This may take more than I initially thought."

Spike looked in disbelief at the large pile of papers currently occupying the table in front of Twilight. There was easily three hundred leafs of paper in that stack, but when he looked back at the purple unicorn, no hint of jest was to be found in her eyes.

"Seriously?"

"Well it's not like I can tell how much it's going to take to finish this up, but it's better to be safe then sorry, right?"

"Twilight, when Mayor Mare asked for your help with the report on Ponyville's annual budget, I don't think she meant for you to write the ENTIRE thing!"

Not that even all of that should need this much paper work either. He thought to himself.

Twilight rolled her eyes at this, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm not going to write it all out myself, Spike. Just some of the basic stuff. I'll probably compile some previous reports to send up to Canterlot to support it as well. Oh that reminds me! We could also add a projection in there for the next few years as well! Even if they don't end up being one hundred percent accurate, they would still give us a good head start! Not to mention-"

Spike stopped listening as it became painfully clear Twilight had missed the point. She didn't even notice as her assistant left the room to collect her desired parchment, too caught up in talking to herself.

Taking his leave of the study, Spike made his way downstairs to the library actual, and opened the drawer labeled 'parchments'. Pushing aside note-cards and scrolls, he stared for a moment at the two stacks of leafed paper that made up the bottom of the drawer, he shrugged before taking both stacks of six hundred and piling one on top of the other. Turning and kicking the drawer closed, he smiled to himself. Better to just bring her all the paper and not have to worry about coming back for more later. No chance of any more hassle, and he could get back to his comics, without distractions.

'WHAM!'

The front door was very nearly thrown of its hinges and an unfamiliar stallion galloped in, nearly running headfirst into the central table in his hurry. Planting his hind legs, the pony practically sat down in his rush to stop forward momentum. The sudden, and very loud nature of his appearance hardly went unnoticed by the small purple drake, who jumped out of his scales, scattering the carefully balanced papers he carried with a yell. The stranger hardly seemed to notice however, or perhaps didn't care, as he looked about the room in a panic, breathing heavily.

"MISS -huff- MISS SPARKLE!"

A familiar yellow filly dismounted from the strangers back, stumbling briefly and looking around before she saw him. Her eyes widened and she ran up to him through the rain of papers still falling around them. Grabbing him by the shoulders, she began shaking him lightly as she spoke.

"Spike! Is Twilight here? We need Twilight, where is she?!"

Still in a daze over the sudden burst of activity, Spike simply looked at her for a moment, shock etched onto his face.

"A-Apple Bloom? Whats going on? I thought you and the others where going to Fluttershy's for the day. And what is it you need Twi-"

Apple Bloom interrupted him with a much more violent series of shakes, panic in her eyes. "There's no TIME for explainin' Spike! WHERE'S TWILIGHT?!"

"Spike? What in the world is all the commotion down here? What's happening?"

All three heads turned to the top of the stairs, where a very confused looking Twilight Sparkle was making her way down to them. Seeing Apple Bloom, he head cocked lightly to the side.

"Apple Bloom? Whats going on here?"

The filly in question dropped Spike, who quickly fell amidst the settling paper pile, and ran up to the purple librarian next.

"Twilight! Twilight we need your help! T-there's a monster, an-an-and Sky's house and the others and I think its chasin'-me-and-we-need-you-to-help-us-get-them-before-it-"

Twilight stepped back and ears folded under the verbal assault, having a hard time keeping up with what was being said. Looking past the small Apple in front of her to the other two, Spike simply shrugged while the other pony took a moment to catch his breath.

Putting a hoof on Apple Blooms shoulder, Twilight looked her in the eyes, trying to calm her.

"Slow down Apple Bloom! Take a breath and tell me whats happened. What monster, who did it take? Who is this you brought with you?"

"T-That's Mister Sky! He brought me here after the dragon thing found his house! We need your help!"

"Dragon? Don't tell me you and the Crusaders went and..." Suddenly, there was silence, and Twilight's eyes widened in realization, and she looked down at the filly in front of her with a look of dread.

"WHERE is Nyx?"

Sky took on last deep breath before he spoke up.

"I... I believe I can help clarify, Miss Sparkle."

Twilight looked up at the newcomer pleadingly. He took another breath before he began to talk again.

"From what Apple Bloom here told me this morning, she and her friends where going over to Miss Fluttershy's house to 'crusade' for their cutie marks. When they got there, she was already gone, and they found signs that she had gone into the forest." He paused a moment to think before continuing.

"I don't know if it's clear why she went into the Everfree alone, but from what Apple Bloom here has told me, it appears she was caught by the same creature that attacked her group. She and the other crusaders apparently went in after Rainbow Dash to look for Fluttershy, and where waylaid while searching for her by a drakon."

Sky looked down to the yellow filly who had made her way to his side, and put a hoof on her shoulder when he saw the slight shiver still running through her body. With the adrenaline leaving her system, she was likely starting to feel shock of what had happened back at the observatory before they escaped the drakon's attack. He would be lying if he said we wasn't feeling some anxiety as well. Thoughts of his new home being torn apart like it was thin paper came to mind and Sky felt his heart sink.

'And I left Selene alone to fend for herself...'

Banishing that thought, Sky looked back to the scholar who he could see was dealing with an internal conflict of her own.

"I was told that you where the pony to talk to for something like this and, knowing your background of dealing with crises like this, I'm hoping that's true."

The librarian's eyes darted back and forth between her guests, with Spike standing to the side looking between them with concern. Sky began to grow nervous that she may NOT have an answer, but then something changed.

Twilight's eyes sharpened and posture straightened as fear gave way to determination. She needed to focus right now. Some...THING, had taken her best friends and her daughter hostage. Determination became a righteous anger at the thought, and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Unfortunately, all these emotions played out as she stared intensely at Sky. Unknowing of goings on inside the purple mare's head, the stallion in question took a step back with some trepidation as a the pony known for being the protegee magical student of Princess Celestia looked at him coldly. Her horn ignited, and he felt his legs lock in panic not for the first time today.

His fears proved unfounded as two drawers near the back of the room opened with a violet glow. A scroll and writing material floated out of them came to rest in front of Spike, who quickly grabbed them. Twilight did not look at any of this as she made her way past Sky and Apple Bloom to the front door, where she then turned around.

"Spike, send a letter to the princess telling her what we know right now. After that I want you to find every bestiary we have and look up any reference to 'drakon'. I'll be back with the others." She looked back to the visitors and leveled a look at Apple Bloom.

"Apple Bloom? I need you go get your sister from the market and bring her here. Tell her I said it's an emergency."

The filly nodded quickly and ran out the door past Twilight, who looked back at her other visitor; and saw the fear in Sky's eyes. Realizing that she was still glaring, Twilight softened her gazed slightly, though it lost none of its serious nature.

"Thank you for your help. Apple Bloom said your name was Sky?"

Sky blinked and nodded in response. "Y-yes Miss Sparkle. My name is Night Sky."

"Twilight is fine. It sounded like you already knew about drakons when you where telling me what happened. Are you familiar with them?"

He shook his head. "Only what I remember from reading about them a while back. I-I really only skimmed over them in a book I was reading for fun at the time."

"That's more than anypony else in town knows. I only know them by name. If you wouldn't mind staying here and explaining a bit to me and my friends, I would appreciate the help."

Sky didn't need to think on a response. Not only was he personally invested in this already, but he had nowhere to go even if he wanted to leave this to her and her friends anyways. "Of course. I will stay here and, uh... Help your assistant look for reference material in the meantime. Good luck."

"Thanks, you too," Twilight said, allowing herself a small grin in response. Turning around, she ran out the door, closing it behind her with her magic.

Chapter 18

Author's Notes:

I hate writing Pinkie Pie. She is such a great character if written well, but doing that is SO HARD. Can't rely on 4th breaks and references to keep here going, so one has to channel their inner party pony to come up with sufficient oddities to keep her interesting.

... It isn't as easy as it sounds.
Thanks to my editor The Great Derpsby. I don't know how he manages to catch all my mistakes, but he does.

Thank you all for reading, and enjoy!

"How do you guys find anything in this mess?"

Spike looked up from the glossary of Catcher's Collection of Curious Creatures to arch an eyebrow at Sky. While he may not get as excited over doing it as Twilight, he took pride in his organization of the library. He did not much care for other ponies muttering against his work under their breath.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly that! I have been looking through this section for the last eight minutes and I have no idea what sort of system it is using. Look at this! What in the world is a 'Beakers Beautiful Brews' doing next to 'Baking For Fillies'? That's just ASKING for trouble! Or what about this? 'Classical Equestrian Culture' and Canc-.... wait a minute... it's... it's all going alphabetical? And top to bottom? I, but... Huh?"

Spike got off the stool he had been using and walked over to see for himself. Sure enough, the stallion was telling the truth. Genres clashed, subjects intermingled, and age groups where apparently disregarded in the corner of the library, as the only order to the book appeared to be the first letter of the title.

Spike tilted his head and scratched at his crest in confusion. HE certainly wasn't to blame for this, and Twilight would have a panic attack just looking at it. Nyx had helped them organize on occasion, so she wasn't the culprit. But who else organized the library besides them?

Realization struck, and Spike almost laughed before the gravity of their current situation sunk in, and a frown appeared instead.

"The Crusaders where trying to get their 'Library Organizers' cutie marks when Twilight and Nyx where out a couple of days ago. Guess I forgot to clean up this area afterwards..."

"... Oh."

"... I'll just... get back to work over here..."

"Yes, and I will, ah, find another section of the library to look through."

Turning in opposing directions, the pony and the dragon went back to work with renewed determination. Knowing that four fillies and a third of the Element Bearers where depending upon how much they could dig up on the monster stalking the forest had a way of removing any interest in small talk.

Only a few minutes had passed by when the Golden Oaks front door was thrown open for the second time that day. This time, a familiar hat-wearing earth pony came charging in with a determined look on her face, and a yellow filly on her back.

Apple Bloom jumped off her older sister and straightened her bow, before looking back at her sibling, then at Sky.

"You know, y'all seems to be forgettin' I can get around JUST FINE on my own. I don't need you all carryin' me around like some kinda baby..."

Applejack looked down at her kin and allowed herself a slight grin. Perhaps it was unkind to smile at her sister's expense, but it couldn't be helped.

"Sorry there sugarcube, but you said we needed to hurry, and after hearin' what you had to say, I have ta agree."

"Applejack! Good to see Apple Bloom found you so quick, me and Sky could use all the help we can get!"

The farmer nodded and tilted her hat to Spike, then turned to Sky. She gave him an curious look before approaching.

"Apple Bloom tells me you're the pony that found her after she got away from whatever critter found her and her friends in the woods. She also told me you took care of 'er, and how you rescued her after it found her again."

Sky looked over at Apple Bloom, who looked away with a meek grin, then back up to the older Apple.

"I didn't do anything special Miss Applejack, I would hardly call it a rescue. Anypony else would have done the same. I'm just glad she got out safe."

Applejack looked him over again, with what he hoped was respect, before nodding and looking at the room around them.

"So y'all are looking for anything on this varmint that's got the others huh? I may not know the library as good as Twilight or Spike, but tell me what you need and A'll do what I can."

Sky nodded in return, and turned to the central table, now covered in a collection of textbooks, grimoires, and bestiaries.

"Spike and I have already gathered all the books he is aware of that might give us some hint of what to expect from the Drakon. I was just giving the rest of the library one last look to be sure we didn't miss anything. If you and Apple Bloom could go ahead and join him looking for anything relevant to the creature, that would be a big help."

"Can do."

"On it!"

With the newest editions now at work, Sky turned his attention back to the shelves of the library. Hopefully the others would get there shortly, and when they did, he wanted to be sure they had every bit of information they could get on the beast. Time was not on their side, and they where going to need all the help they could get.

---

Pinkie Pie, the party pony from last night, was the first to arrive fifteen minutes later. While one could chalk it up to being absorbed in the book he was reading at the time, Sky could swear the front door was never opened. One moment he was reading on drakon nesting habits, the next he was in a world of pink.

Without so much as a sound, Pinkie Pie had managed to get up on the statue in the center of the table, and had placed her head between Sky and the book. He jumped back with a surprised yell, heart racing at the shock of her sudden appearance. That enormous grin she had worn last night was still there, and from the similar reaction of his counterparts, Sky could assume that she had somehow snuck up on not only him, but everypony in the room.

"Hiya Skya! Wasn't expecting to see you here today! Well I was, cause Twilight told me you'd be here, but I mean BEFORE that part!" The pink mare giggled at herself before moving out from between Sky and his reading material. For reasons unknown to Sky, she decided to up her balancing act, standing on her back left hoof and putting her front two out for support.

"Twilight told me to come here and meet you and Spike and Applejack and Apple Bloom! Said it was SUUUPER important, and you would explain everything when she went to get Rarity, before BAM, teleporting away!"

Thowing her hooves out for emphasis, Pinkie lost her balance and gave a squawk. Falling off the carving, she barely caught herself with her front hooves before landing face first into the ground. Immediately the party planner shot up, once again uncomfortably close to Sky.

"Soooo? Spill the beans mister, whats going on round here? Some sorta secret club? Secret mission? Secret-"

Sky said nothing in a state of information overload as Pinkie Pie continued her rant. She had yet to take a breath as she continued to list of different varieties of 'secret stuff' they might be doing/having/planing. It probably would have continued that way if Applejack had not intervened.

The farmpony in question shook off the surprise much faster than the others, and moved quickly to remove Pinkie from the overwhelmed pony. Dragging her friend away, she turned and faced the pink menace.

"Pinkie, leave the poor stallion be. Not everypony is as used to ya as we are."

Pinkie Pie settled into a relative state of calm, though the reprimand did nothing to curb her enthusiasm. She smiled at her orange friend and bounced lightly back and forth on her hooves, waiting for an answer. Applejack arched an eyebrow, but obliged none the less.

"RD and the Crusaders got themselves caught by a creature in the Everfree. We think the thing probably has Futtershy as well. Sky found Apple Bloom after she got away, and brought her here. We need to get everyone else together so we can come up with a plan to rescue them." Applejack motioned around the room at the collection of books that now surrounded them. "We were just looking up anything we could find on the thing before the rest of y'all got here."

Pinkie let out a dramatic gasp at this news. 'Probably to make up for the earlier lack of air,' Sky thought idly.

"A big mean monster has Dashie, Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, Nyxie and Scootaloo?!" Pinkie asked. "This is even more important than I thought!"

As she finished announcing the seriousness of the situation, the front doors hinges where once again put to the test as the door flew open for the third time that day. The first pony in was a new one, likely the last pony Twilight had called upon. Rarity, Pinkie Pie had called her. He vaguely remembered her face from the newspaper article on their defeat of Discord.

Sky took a brief moment to assess the newest member of the group. The way she held herself, he was reminded of Miss Fleur De Lis, Fancy Pant's cousin back in Canterlot. Though the tycoon's relative and the unicorn in front of him now may both have had the 'proper lady' air about them, that was not to say they where identical. While both wore magnificent white coats, Fleur's two-toned pink mane was in replaced with Rarity's rich purple curls. And where the Canterlot model sported a lithe and supple build, this mare was built less so, though she had about her a natural grace.

Gentle blue orbs moved around the room, assessing the situation and picking apart details, never resting on one spot for more than a couple seconds. Setting her discerning eyes on Sky, she looked him up and down. The stallion had the feeling he was being judged, or perhaps appraised was a better word. An uncomfortable feeling of being exposed overtook him. It was only a moment, but those seconds stretched on for Sky, as Rarity's gaze began to unsettle his already frayed nerves.

The unease ended with Twilight running through the doorway after her friend, slightly more out of breath than her white counterpart. Her horn flared as she close the door behind her, and all the rooms occupants quickly set their eyes upon her instead.

"*Hah*... *Huh*... OK, that's everypony. Thanks for coming Applejack. *Huff* Did the others explain things to you?"

The farm pony nodded an affirmative. "Yep. Been workin' on finding anything that could help with em for a while while now."

"Good." Twilight replied curtly, before turning away to the progress the others had made in her absence. Applejack looked over to the newest arrival.

"Twilight tell you what's going on Rarity?"

Rarity gave a nod of her own in response.

"Indeed she did Applejack. It is in part the reason we are late to this little meeting. I was in the middle of working with a client, and dear Twilight had to explain the situation in order to pull me away."

Looking to her fellow unicorn, Rarity raised an eyebrow.

"Although she COULD have done so with a bit more tact. Opening with 'a monster has the girls' was somewhat unnecessary if you ask me."

The mare in question, having recovered from her run across town, payed little attention to Rarity's complaint, instead choosing to sift through the collection of knowledge sitting on her centerpiece. Everything from grimoires to scrolls orbited around her head as she took quick account of everything there, quickly glancing over each of their titles. The orbit stopped suddenly, and the satellites where set into a neat pile with the exception of one book, which was floated into a saddlebag that came to rest on the librarian's flank.

"Sorry Rarity, but there isn't much time. I gave you the basics, the rest can be explained on the way. I don't want to leave the girls alone with that thing any longer than necessary. Apple Bloom can stay here with Spike and wait for a response from Princess Celestia. Night Sky can lead us to where he found her, and we can work from there. Is everypony ready to move?"

Twilight was answered with chorus of confirmations, and one cry of indignation.

"What?! Ya mean you're all gonna leave me here when you go save the others? No way, they're my friends too, and I wanna help!"

Sky went to explain why that was a bad idea, but the older Apple beat him to the punch. Applejack looked down at her sister with a stern look, and Apple Bloom's bravado quickly melted away.

"This isn't up for debate, Bloom. You may be just fine with waltzin' into the forest yourself, but I ain't takin' my little sister with me to fight any KINDA pony eatin' critter. You stay here with Spike and wait for the princess, understand?"

Apple Bloom looked dejected, face to the floor and ears back, but she shook her head yes regardless.

"Yes Applejack."

"Good."

Twilight looked away from the Apple siblings to the group. Sky gave her a nod of confirmation when she looked his way, as did the others. With everypony ready she turned and opened the door, the others following close behind.

Chapter 19

The trip to the forest was a quiet one, dominated by an understandably serious atmosphere. Only the sound of hurried hooves was heard as the team of ponies raced to the outskirts of town, towards Sky's observatory. Every pony there knew what was at risk if they wasted time, and even Pinkies usual antics where abandoned as her carefree attitude was replaced with a straight face and a determined look in her eye.

Similar expressions where shared among all the ponies, except for Sky, who looked between them with curiosity and a mild sense of wonder. He was here helping because it was the right thing to do. After all, who could simply leave a bunch of ponies at the mercy of a hungry predator of the Everfree? But each of these mares had some personal investment in this, friends and family that were in mortal danger. Putting himself in their horseshoes, he wasn't certain he could be so calm at a time like this. Heck, it wasn't even Quick or Sunny currently in danger of being eaten, and HE was on the verge of panicking!

His musing was cut short as they reached the top of the hill, giving them a clear view of the observatory, and the forest beyond. They all slowed their pace to catch their breath, and Sky took a moment to assess the damage. What he saw made his stomach drop.

From a distance it did not look so bad, as the front having not taken any serious damage. But as he approached, a look through the broken windows revealed the truth. The back wall had been obliterated, whether from the size of the beast or its rage was unknowable, but it did not change the fact that what could be seen of the back half of the building was practically gone. The walls of the living space had deep gouges in them from the flailing of a creature to large for them to hold, and splintered furniture was strewn about the area. A beam from the ceiling was hanging down into the middle of the room. In all, it looked as if a tornado had torn through.

"Land sake's..."

Sky tuned to Applejack, who was gazing at the wreckage with the same look of wide eyed horror that was likely on his face.

"One critter did all of that? How big is this thing we're chasin' anyways?"

Twilight quickly pulled the book she had brought along out of her saddlebag, flipping a few pages to the section she was looking for.

"It says here that a full grown drakon is normally almost twice the size of a manticore. Much like dragons, they continue to grow throughout their life, but it slows dramatically, to the point that it is barely recognizable."

She put the book back, scanning the destroyed building curiously. Her eyes lit up and she looked to Sky with excitement.

"So YOU'RE the pony moving into this place! I figured you where new in town, but I didn't know they had finished construction! Your a doctor then?"

"Er, yes, I suppose I am. I got my doctorates in astronomy at Canterlot University, so I guess that makes me a doctor. But that was only last year, I JUST finished my internship. And please, don't start calling me Doctor Sky, that would just be weird. Makes me feel old."

The others chuckled at that, and Twilight nodded.

"That makes sense I guess. Do you have a specialization?"

"Astrophysics is my preferred area, but the doctorate means that I had to have knowledge in a bit of everything. Still, I'm new, and there's still a lot to learn."

Twilight looked as if she was about to ask another question, when Rarity jumped in.

"Yes, well that all sounds marvelous dear, but could we perhaps focus on the task at hoof please? I would be more than happy to join in on this conversation, say, once the others are safely away from that MONSTER that has them?"

Twilight and Sky shared an abashed look as they heard the seamstress' words, and Twilight moved to the front, leading the group closer to the edge of the forest as Sky stayed to the rear, looking back at his ruined home in dismay. His thoughts wandered too his feline companion. He had not seen Selene since that morning. His hope was that she had gotten out of the building during the attack, and had found someplace safe. But if she hadn't, if she had gotten caught in there when the beast was tearing everything apart, then...

Sky shook his head clear of those thoughts. Dark musings would only distract him, and right now there were the only hope for five ponies in the claws of a deadly predator. There was nothing he could do right now, best to focus on the rescue.

The party arrived at the edge of the woods behind the observatory. For a creature of such immense size, the drakon had done very little to disturb the brush. Still, its weight was considerable, and large claw marks could be seen leaving and entering the Everfree. Those who had not yet seen the creature looked down at the prints with worry. Sky could only speculate on what they were thinking at that moment, but if he had to guess, it was very similar to what he was feeling at that moment; fear.

Applejack was the first to recover, straightening her back and tugging her hat, at hard look entering her eyes as she steeled herself for the task ahead.

"Well, looks like it won't be to hard t'find. Makes this easier I guess. Come on y'all, we better get a move on."

Plunging into the forest, the farmer was quickly making her way out of sight in the shadow of the trees. The other ponies looked at one another briefly, before turning and likewise making their way into the untamed woods.

---

Applejack continued to take the front, tracking the drakon's path with the others following in a row. The forest had gotten thicker the farther they went, forcing them to walk single file, eyes outward towards the menacing trees surrounding them. Eyes darted and ears twitched as they all kept vigilant for the creature, or any of the numerous monsters no doubt inhabiting the darkness. Caution was the word of the hour, and they all knew it.

Star had ended up behind Twilight, and was beginning to regret coming along. It was a noble cause no doubt, and he was trying his best to overcome the terror threatening to overtake him. But he couldn't help but realize they were missing something crucial.

"T-Twilight," He asked in a low whisper, looking to his left and right. "I understand the rush to get out here, but... what's the plan?"

The mare in front of him turned and looked at him out of the corner of her eye, the returned her attention to the front.

"I... don't really know. I mean, I have an idea, sort of, I just... I need to see what we are dealing with before I have anything really solid." There was silence for a moment before she spoke again. "I skimmed a little bit on the way here, but nothing really substantial. What can you tell me about what we might find?"

Sky took a second to think. He had spent the time in the books they found learning as much as he could about the behaviors and habits of drakons, but it still didn't feel like enough. Still, anything could prove important enough to share.

"We probably won't see it before it sees us."

"Well that's hardly reassuring," Rarity mumbled from behind.

"W-Well, its breath is not only useful for hunting, but it also acts to help it camouflage. It will find a hiding place, likely a cave, cliff face, or something like that, make its nest there. It induces sleep in animals in moderate dosages, but to plant life it is highly poisonous, kills its and withers it away almost instantly. Some wonder whether it is natural or has some magic involved in speeding the process. It kills the surrounding area to make it easier to hide, what with its craggy hide."

The trees thinned out just a bit, allowing Pinkie Pie to make her way past Rarity and next to Sky, still bouncing all the while.

"You said moderate? Well what if it ISN'T moderate?"

"Well, in small amounts, it will make you lightheaded, maybe cause some loss of finer muscle control. And in heavy or prolonged exposure, well... incapacitating agents are still lethal if you're exposed for too long."

Noticing the disturbed looks, Sky quickly added to this.

"But that's only in extreme cases! Like, you would have to be BATHED in the stuff for hours before it got to that point. Or spend months in a place with only vapors."

Twilight nodded. "Alright. So here is what we do. We find its territory. We may not be able to see it, but we should be able to get an idea of where the others are if we scout it out first. The book I have has notes on a spell that can filter the air a pony breaths against the gas, but..."

The mare grimaced lightly and shook her head. "This magic is horribly inefficient. the design is excellent at what it DOES, but the spell matrix bleeds a ton of the mana powering it in the process. Give me a couple days, a chalkboard, and an abacus, and I could optimize it for hours of use, but right now... It will last for five minutes. Seven if were lucky."

Twilight was quiet for a moment, considering her words. "Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie I need you three to try and keep it distracted. don't try anything fancy, just keep it occupied. I don't like our chances of outrunning it or beating it, so after I cast the filters, I'll start work on a mass teleport. Once we have the others, I can get us back to Ponyville... or at least, out of the forest... probably."

Applejack looked back at her friend, raising an eyebrow at the mage. Twilight blushed.

"I've never done a teleport this big before, let alone under stress! Its complicated, I can only do so much!"

The apple farmer snorted and returned her eyes to the front, scanning the trees ahead. Sky thought about the plan so far, and while nothing about this situation felt safe, it was at least... reasonable. But he still didn't know what his part was.

"And what about me? What do I do?"

"I need you to find the others. I don't want to expose myself while preparing the spell, it will require all of my concentration, and I wont be able to defend myself. I can cast a teleportation spell from a distance with some extra effort, so I'll stay in the treeline, but I need line of sight. Get them out of wherever the thing is keeping them, and once I have enough energy, I'll get us out of there. Sound good?"

"Going fisticuffs with a monster the size of my boutique is hardly what I would call a pleasant idea, but as far as plans go, I can't say I have any better. I will follow your lead, Twilight."

"Ya, leave it to us Twi! We'll show that big meany monster what-for!"

"Well I never liked the idea of teleportin', but it sounds like a solid plan. Just, you know, don't go puttin' us in the middle of a tree or somethin', Twi?"

Sky recoiled at that thought, images entering his mind that did nothing to help calm his nerves. Twilight looked back to him, and he quickly nodded his head, not trusting himself to say a word at the moment.

"Well, I ain't any expert, but I'd say we found it. Get ready girls... er, ponies."

Applejack had stopped at an opening in the trees, forcing the others to stop behind her. Moving around, the others joined her at the edge, looking out at the blasted land in before them. Dry, cracked earth, withered plants, and a disturbing silence set a atmosphere of unnatural calm and unease. At the center of this field of death and decay, a large cave, going down into the earth, guarded by an outcropping of rocks.

They had arrived.

Author's Notes:

Did you forget about me?!
Hope not. Took me a while to do anything with this, which I will explain when in my blog post coming alongside this update. Hopefully I will get back to updating regularly, like I did back when I first started this project. I have big plans for this series, but it can't exactly go anywhere if I don't put some work in, eh?
Anyways, a big thanks to The Great Derpsby for edits, as usual, and I hope you enjoy! Leave a comment, I love hearing feedback!

Chapter 20

Author's Notes:

Thanks again to The Great Derpsby for editing and pre-reading my stuff.

Almost done with this story! Looking forward to a new project, but I have to say, its been amazing just getting through this one. Thank you for the support for those of you following, and for the likes as well. Knowing you guys enjoy what I do is a very big part of why I post my stuff. Enjoy!

Crunch... crunch... crunch...

The sound echoed across the silent clearing. The only interruption in a world otherwise devoid of stimulus. A tail twitched, claws flexed, and a single reptilian eye slowly opened.

Something had entered its territory. Something approached its lair. Something... invaded. No creature of the surrounding territories dared do such a thing. They were smarter than to do so, and those who were not had been... removed. So what creature could possibly be so bold as to encroach?

The drakon raised its head over its back and scanned the area, his eyes settling on a pack of three creatures approaching the cave's entrance. Moments after they noticed it as well, freezing in place and staring back. Hoofed ones, like the prey currently within its cave. Small, and frail. None of them had wings like the annoying one currently in its possession. One of them had a horn, too dull to pierce, too short to block. No scales to protect or claws to rake. No barbs or fangs either. There was no obvious way for the things to defend themselves.

The helplessness of such a creature confused it. And what kept drawing them here? Did they truly not see the signs of its presence all around? Surely those caught this morning, and its following hunt of the runner would have-

And the reason for the invasion became clear. These fleshy creatures where here for their herd-mates. A hiss of pleasure found its way to its lips. With so few? With this, it would not have to hunt for weeks!

The hornless orange one looked back at its fellows and made a series of noises, meaningless to its ears. The others however looked towards their companion and nodded, before all at once, they burst into action. The pink and white one ran to either side, while the orange pulled the cover on its head before charging. Surely its wasn't serious? Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the cloud of green vapors from its mouth swiftly covering the small thing, and it turned its attention to the others. Just as it looked away, a sharp pain struck its leg. A hiss of pain left its mouth and it turned to look at the source, so see the orange one running back off into the cloud, obscured from sight.

The drakon froze. Impossible. No creature could withstand its breath. No creature ever had! Time and again the fiercest of predators and the most elusive of prey had fallen to it. How could such tiny creatures succeed where others had failed?

Another bite of pain, this time to its side, as chunks of rock tried their hardest to pierce its hide. Most simply broke on impact, but the sting was enough to draw its attention. Another of the tiny things, the white hide, whose dull horn softly glowed the same color as the shards of earth being thrown this way. One projectile struck true just below the eye, resulting in another hiss.

Rage settled in. These insects dared attack it in its own territory?! Pain clouded the mind as burning fury replaced cold logic. These creatures defied it through unknown trickery, and aimed to take what was his by right! Letting loose a primal roar, any other thought was replaced by a singular goal.

Kill.

---

Sky watched, mostly in fear, but with no small part of awe, as the drakon squared itself against Rarity, letting out a terrific roar. The noise was nearly deafening as he laid his ears back and fought down the urge to flee. Rarity for her part flinched back at the beast's challenge, ceasing her magical assault. The drakon took advantage of her balk and dashed forward intent on ending the white mare.

It was interrupted as a pink one came crashing down on its head from the sky, forcing it into the ground and causing it to stumble over itself.

"TAG! Your it!" screeched Pinkie Pie before she smacked the creature on the nose before dashing off, a wide grin on her face. The drakon shook itself, looked towards its new aggressor, and gave chase. Applejack came out of the gas cloud, looking a bit green herself, but otherwise fine, and followed.

"Y'all didn't say nothin' about the smell as I recall!"

"Fight now, complain later~!" Pinkie sang as she darted across the field, always just a moment ahead of the beast. It lunged, and the party pony bounced, once again landing on the thing's head and giggling. "You'll have to try harder than that!"

The drakon shook and bucked, trying to remove the pink menace. Sky looked on in wonder as Pinkie held on tight, laughing all the while. A small cough from his right drew his attention to Twilight, her hooves planted firmly in the earth as she channeled magic through her horn, an overglow starting to appear over it. Sweat lightly beaded on her head as she grit her teeth.

"This is... just as hard as it looks. If you could please -unf-... hurry and find the others, I would rather not hold onto this spell for too long after it's ready."

Sky blinked and nodded, looking back to the fight and the cave it raged in front of. The drakon was focused on Pinkie for the moment. Every time either Applejack or Rarity drew its attention with a kick or throw, their bubbly friend would fly in and make enough of a scene to draw it back to her. Taking a deep breath, Sky steeled his nerves and ran for the mouth of the cave.

---

The inside of the beast's lair was much smaller than Sky had anticipated. After affording himself a moment to ensure the creature had not spotted him making his way inside, Sky ducked his head back under the boulder he rested behind and observed the inside of the cave.

The space was about twenty feet across at first glance, and just a bit deeper than that. Stalactites and stalagmites alike filled the cave as it made a downward angle farther in. Sky had the unnerving feeling that he was traveling into the pits of Tartarus itself as he stood and made his way into the darkness. The drakon's vaporous gas lingered here, creating a low hanging fog across the floor of the cave.

Visibility waned as he neared the back of the cave, the rock formations blocking the light from outside. Slowing down his pace, Sky looked back and forth for any sign of the captured ponies. His search ended when he tripped over a particularly squishy rock, which groaned its protest as he landed atop it. Green vapors filled his nostrils, and Sky found himself agreeing with Applejack as he fought to keep his breakfast. Lifting his head out of the foul gas, Sky took a few deep breaths to clear his nose and looked down at the offending lump.

Cyan fur and rainbow mane greeted him, barely visible in the deep dark of the cave. Rainbow Dash lay on the ground, a grimace on her face as she squirmed slightly in her sleep. The lingering gas seemed enough to keep her asleep, but not comfortably so. Her wing looked slightly off too him, resting at an odd angle on her side. He poked it lightly, the unconscious flier shying away at his touch. Looking carefully Sky could now see the others surrounding them, the fillies nearly invisible beneath the fog, and Fluttershy not far behind them. Sky couldn't help but sigh in relief, and quickly set to moving them out, starting with Rainbow.

The mare proved far lighter than he had anticipated, perhaps due to her pegasus nature. She was an adult pony, and an athlete by her friend's accounts, but even though it was no easy task she was not much heavier than Melody, a pony in her early teens. A light sweat had worked its way onto his brow as he dropped the mare to the ground behind his hiding rock, and took a peak outside. While Applejack seemed to be breathing only a tad heavier, things still looked good for the A team, and so he set off to collect the others.

The fillies proved much easier loads than the mare before them. He managed Scootaloo and Nyx in one trip, and Sweetie Belle was soon to follow. Setting down the small white filly, Sky made to return to the cave for the last occupant when a small gasp for air drew his attention back to the pile of ponies he had already collected.

Rainbow Dash drew a few more desperate breaths before settling on a painful moan. Rolling away from her injured wing, the flyer's eyes where screwed shut in obvious discomfort before shooting open in a panic. She looked back and forth quickly, observing her surroundings before her gaze settled on Sky and her young charges laying beneath him. Her eyes widened even more at the fillies' still forms, an almost manic look filling them.

Sky quickly reassured her, moving closer and putting what he hoped was a calming hoof on her shoulder.

"They're okay, they're okay!" He said in a loud whisper. "They're sleeping like you were! They should be waking up in just a moment." The rainbow mare panicked for a moment more before his words settled in, and visibly calmed. Sighing in relief, she looked them over for a second before turning to him with a inquisitive look.

"What- *cough cough* -What are YOU doing here?" Her tone was not an offensive one, merely one of genuine confusion. A notable improvement from their last encounter. Her voice was even raspier than the night before, likely an effect of the drakon's sleeping agent.

"Apple Bloom found me after you got attacked in the forest. We got the rest of your friends together and they came to rescue you. I... I came to help."

Rainbow Dash gave him a serious look. A loud explosion not unlike a cannon going off, followed by the sound of laughter came from the other side of the boulder. It drew both of their attention, and Rainbows frown turned into a grin, her eyes lighting up at the sound. "Ya, that's them alright."

Sky looked to her wing, still hanging at her side. Probably broken if he had to guess. Pegasus wings where notoriously sensitive, and he found himself surprised she wasn't currently in a blind pain.

"I still have to get Miss Fluttershy from inside their. Are you going to be alright with that?" He inquired, nodding towards her injury. She waved him of with her uninjured wing, and began shakily attempting to stand.

"Don't worry about me! Get Flutters out of there and... do whatever it is you plan on doing next! I'm gonna see what I can do to help th-"

She faltered, her legs giving out underneath her and dropping her unceremoniously to the ground. The landing disturbed her break, drawing a hiss of pain from her muzzle as she fought back tears. Sky felt the urge to cringe, but instead shook his head and returned the hoof to her shoulder once more.

"You'll do no such thing. You've been under the effects of a sleeping agent for almost half a day, and its obvious your wing is in terrible condition. Your muscles are still weak, and you can't fly. You're in no shape to go fight a monster, you would only get in the way." Rainbow gave him a murderous look at that. "Not to mention I bet you're probably feeling a bit dizzy, maybe unfocused? Just because you're awake now doesn't mean your 'ready to go'. Miss Twilight has a plan, just stay here with the girls, and I'll be back soon, alright?"

The two stared at each other, a silent battle of wills. Eventually, sanity won out and Rainbow Dash looked away. Not, however, without getting a word in edgewise.

"You're lucky I'm not feeling one hundred percent right now, got it?"

"Of course," Sky responded, and made his way back into the cave.

"...Thanks..."

Sky only smirked at the muttered word, and moved on. He had one more pony to gather today.

---

Applejack wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up. An outward observer may not have noticed it much, but it was true. Lungs gasped, legs burned, and striking at the creature's hide was no different from hitting the face of a rock. Her hooves felt as though they would crack at any moment. She was pushing towards total exhaustion, but despite the sweat in her eyes, and the pounding in her ears, she kept on. There was no stopping now, not with such high stakes.

The farmer ran beneath the monster, kicking it once more as she passed its hind leg. A hiss of pain and a roar of outrage, and she knew she had its attention. Now to run until Pinkie could distract it once more.

She wouldn't have to wait long, as the pink menace made her appearance out from behind the drakon's head, seemingly from nowhere. Continuing on with her usual theme of randomness, the pink pony pulled out a large piece of cloth and quickly wrapped it around the beast's eyes, tying it behind its crest to keep it secure.

"Who's ready to play some pin the tail on the pony?!" Pinkie asked, from atop its head, and giggled. The creature found this much less amusing, and quickly began bucking and thrashing in an attempt to remove its new hat. Pinkie only laughed harder as she held on with one hoof, waving the other in the air and whooping at the impromptu rodeo. A sudden jerk of the head upwards sent the pink mare flying, her laughter cut short by a startled yelp.

A gentle blue aura surrounded the party planner as her fall suddenly slowed to a much safer rate, eventually winking out once she reached a few feet off the ground. Rarity, several yards away behind a desiccated tree, gave a groan of pain, rubbing her horn.

"Pinkie dear, pa-lease try and be more careful. I can't keep this up for much longer..."

The drakon was momentarily preoccupied trying to remove its blindfold, but its blind rage was working against it, the constant thrashing keeping it from getting a solid grip on the thing. Applejack looked to the forest's edge where a faint purple glow emanated from the brush, and to the center of the clearing, where there was still no sign of the others emerging. Worry began to worm its way into her stomach.

"Cummon Sky, where are ya?"

A tearing sound could be heard as the drakon finally removed its impromptu eye-wear, and set its eyes upon the ball of energy that had placed it there.

"Uh-oh," Pinkie said quietly before taking off across the clearing, the beast in hot pursuit.

As Applejack watched, she realized it would soon be her turn to draw its attention, and prepared to run in once more. However, a noise from the entrance drew her attention.

Sky, supporting an injured Rainbow Dash and laden with a sleeping Fluttershy, was making his way out from the cave. He had Sweetie Belle in one hoof, while Scootaloo and Nyx both supported themselves on Rainbow Dash's legs. Varying levels of exhaustion, pain, and fear could be seen on their faces.

They where alive though, that was all that mattered. Applejack smiled wide and turned back to the fight.

"Pinkie! They're out, lets move!" Pinkie Pie looked over to her orange friend and smiled.

Suddenly, Pinkie nearly tripped as she began to favor her right foreleg. Her grin was replaced by a look of surprise, and turned around at the last moment to see the drakon uncoil, leaping out towards her with frightening speed. The creature seemed to grin viciously as it came down upon her. Pinkie quickly sidestepped to avoid being crushed, but was not prepared when the creature sideswiped her with its palm, sending her flying of back towards the center of the clearing. She bounced twice, before finally coming to rest and laying still.

"PINKIE!" Applejack heard Rainbow yell, snapping her out of her dumbfound horror. The creature made no move to stop her as she bolted towards her downed companion, slowly approaching its latest victim in undisguised amusement.

"Pinkie?! Pinkie answer me girl!" Applejack fretted as she checked her fallen friend, looking her over for any sign that she was alright. She got one as Pinkie Pie groaned, shaking her head and cracking her eyes open to look at the apple farmer.

"... Pinchy knee. That one hurt too. Oooh..."

Applejack shook her head, and moved to pick up the baker, when a shadow reminded her of their current situation. Her heart stopped as she slowly looked up, higher and higher, until she was looking the monster right in the eye.

A flash of light, and the drakon's eyes settled from a bright red to a burning orange. Applejack felt her muscles tense and her fur stand on end as she found herself no longer able to look away, let alone run. She had forgotten it could do that. A thrill of true terror washed over her as the creature held her in its gaze.

---

Finally, this joke was nearly concluded. He had to admit, the prey putting up such a fight was not something he had expected. There were tender points all across its legs that would be hurting for days after. Still they were prey, and would be dealt with as such. I mattered little in the end how much they resisted.

The pink one had been the most infuriating, but soon after catching it off guard, the orange one had soon followed. It had raced to its companion, heedless of how foolish that would be. Foolishness born of attachment. Herd animals were all the same.

The white one was still off at a distance, as it had been through the whole fight. He could see in his peripheral how it struggled on what to do next. One leg was raised to race to its herd mate's side, but it was unable to bring itself any closer to the predator hunched over them. He could smell the sweat and hear its breath. Exhaustion held it as much as the shock of what was happening.

Focusing once more on the creature trapped in its gaze, he considered what to do next. The simplest answer was to store them away like the others.

Oh. But they deserved so much more for their audacity. For daring to attack him here, in his own land.

His tail flicked in delight as slowly, he moved closer to the orange hoofed one. She, as it appeared to be female as all the others did, could do nothing more than stare back at him, frozen in his eyes. Almost carefully, he leveled his eyes with hers, and gave a quiet hiss. He could hear her heart from here, thundering in her chest as fear consumed her. It was wonderful to experience. It was-

There was a noise, and pain lanced as a blow landed just below his right eye-ridge, and forced his eyes closed closed as a roar of pain echoed through the clearing.

The wounded eye would no longer open, but its good eye did so with rage and hatred filling it.

The white one was the most obvious culprit. He turned to the impotent little creature, only to find that the growth on its head was not glowing. And neither was it looking to him, but rather beneath him.

He followed its gaze down to a new hoofed one. Another hornless and wingless one, it was slightly taller than the others, with slightly more squared features. It had a shorter tail and mane than the others as well. A male, the herds patriarch perhaps. Its rear legs were facing him and its body was squared off from where it had obviously kicked him. It was looking back over its shoulder at him with a wide-eyed expression.

His eye narrowed.

It bolted.

---

Sweet Celestia's sunny skies, what was he thinking?!

Sky took off as fast as his legs could carry him. The drakon did not disappoint as it cried out once more and gave chase, barely missing the two captured element bearers in its charge.

He realized he hadn't been thinking. Upon taking Fluttershy back out of the cave, he had found himself looking at something out of a nightmare. Applejack, standing frozen over a beaten and bleary-eyed Pinkie Pie. Rarity, looking on from a distance, horror in her eyes as the monster slowly drew closer to her incapacitated friends. The creature seemed to sport a feral smile as it grew agonizingly nearer to the apple farmers face. It was taking its time with her, terrorizing them. He had felt a fire enter his belly at the sight of it, despite the icy water that seemed to flow through his veins at the same moment.

He hadn't thought. Only acted.

That same fire fled him as the drakon leaped, attempting to pin him, but it overshot him and landed in front of him instead.

This was insane!

Sky ground to a halt and took off back towards the edge of the clearing, where he hoped he could lose it.

'Where Twilight Sparkle is currently charging her spell.'

He slowed his pace only enough to turn right, aiming instead for an outcropping of dead trees about halfway into the clearing. The creature had turned itself around and was building speed towards him, he could hear it thundering behind him. Feel its powerful strides in the earth beneath his hooves.

Must go faster! Must go faster!!

A shadow fell over him and Sky's mind froze. there was a sudden, blinding pain as the beast collide with his barrel. He felt ribs creak and the air exit his lunges, and suddenly he was airborne.

He remained that way for a few seconds before colliding face first with the unmerciful crag beneath him. The world went out of focus, and his ears rang from the impact. Something warm and wet seeped its way down his muzzle, but for the life of him he couldn't imagine what it was.

His hearing began to clear, and Sky attempted to open his eyes, only to feel white hot pain as he did so. He realized it was blood pouring down his face into his right eye, blinding him there. He settled for one eye open, and looked up.

The creature was there, its one good eye still glowing in an unnatural manner. He had the mistake of meeting it, and felt himself go rigid.

"MISTER SKY!" A small voice rang out across the forest. One of the fillies, though he couldn't be sure which. The creature made barely any sign of noticing, its head turning slightly to the sound and huffing out a small cloud of green gas. As the gas settled, Sky could not stop himself from breathing in a small vapor of it, and suddenly he felt his muscles relax and his mind begin to idle. The spell had worn off.

The predator above him took notice, and its eye ceased to glow as it raised its claw overhead to crush him. Looked as though it no longer cared if he lived to be 'stored' or not. Strange that did not fill him with the same terror it had moments ago.

A flash of purple went off behind the beast, and Sky noticed with his failing vision that Rarity was gone. Another light enveloped Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and they vanished as well. Another flash went off, its origins obscured by the drakon's tail, but it was easy to guess what had cause it.

'Well,' Sky sleepily thought to himself. 'At least we did it.'

The drakon struck, and there was another blinding flash.

Sky's world darkened.

Chapter 21

Sky grunted as the light of the morning sun hit his face. He couldn't recall exactly what it was he had been working on the night prior, but from how he felt now it was clear he needed more rest. Making a mental note to buy much thicker blinds, He attempted to turn his back to the offending rays.

A powerful ache stopped that notion as he flinched away from his right side, wincing in pain. Opening an eye, Sky was surprised to see not the warm interior of his bedroom, but a cold, sterile white. A scale and a poster showcasing a pony's skeleton could be seen as well. Staring for a moment in confusion, Sky wondered what he was doing sleeping in a hospital.

The morning fog lifted from his mind as he recalled. The move. Apple Bloom and the escape from his new home. The fight in the forest. The monster. Everything snapped into clarity as the shock of fear awoke his sleep-addled mind. He quickly sat upright in his temporary bed, immediately regretting the decision as doing so aggravated both his barrel and his head, drawing moisture to the eyes. But more importantly, Sky noticed a distinct lack of depth perception. His heart rate continued to climb at the implications.

"Whoa! Whoa there partner! Take it easy, your safe now. Everypony is fine, just take it slow."

Sky jolted at the voice, turning to look at its owner and recognizing a familiar face. "... A-Applejack?"

The country mare gave a gentle smile at his response. Standing up from her chain near the window, Applejack made her way to the side of his bed. "How's it going, sugarcube? Feeling alright?"

Sky felt his heart slow at the calming tone she had, starting to relax. He took a deep breath before answering.

"I've felt better..." He paused before speaking again. "... Did... Is everypony alright? What happened? I think I remember seeing the spell going off, but..."

Applejack nodded as he trailed off. "Everypony got out just fine. Twilight got the gang out just in time. Plopped us all down in a field not to far from Fluttershy's. RD had a broken wing, and most of us where kinda groggy from the gas, but the doc let us go after a couple hours of observation. Rainbow is in the next room actually." The mare chuckled. "She's been going a mite stir crazy ever since they told er' she would be stickn' round for another couple days. One day was bad enough apparently."

"D-Day? I've been out for a whole day?"

"Not quite, but just about. Been what, twenty hours since we got outta of the forest? You took a pretty good knock to the head there, and the sleepin gas didn't help none either. You were startin' to worry us."

"And... You stayed here with me?"

Applejack snorted. "Well course I did! What kinda friend would I be if I didn't stick round to make sure you were ok?" Her slightly offended look faded as a look of embarrassment took its place. "Well... To be honest, it wasn't ENTIRELY my idea. I stayed here with that one."

Sky looked back to where she was pointing. Partially hidden beneath a wool blanket was a familiar pink-bowed filly. Apple Bloom slept soundly on the chair just underneath the windowsill, the very picture of contentment.

"She wouldn't leave your side after she found out what happened yesterday in the forest. Insisted on stayin' here till you woke up. I did the same to keep an eye on her. Speakin' of..."

Sky looked back to Applejack as she took off her hat, holding it against her chest. Her eyes were soft and her ears low. "I-I need to thank ya too. For everything. You saved Bloom from that thing. You volunteered to help even when you didn't need to. Drat, you saved both my and Pinkie's lives. I just..."

She stopped to rub her eyes, and Sky smiled gently raising a hoof to stop her.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It was nothing."

She huffed at that, not buying it. Sky coughed and looked away. "W-Well, I guess not nothing. I WAS pretty terrified for most of yesterday if I'm honest. Took a couple years off my life to be sure. But what I mean is I was just doing what anypony else would have done."

"Anypony else, huh?" She asked, raising a brow. "You're a scientist, ain't ya? Never seen a bookworm like you running towards a fight like you did yesterday. Well, cept maybe Twi." She shook her head at that. "Maybe its just you Canterlot ponies. Loony bunch you lot are."

"Ya, all the ponies from that city are crazy."

They shared a laugh, before Sky sobered and looked nervously at his new friend.

"So... how bad is it? Be honest, I want to know."

"Now don't you worry none about that Sky, the hospital fixed you up just fine. They were worried bout how long you would stay under, but now that's cleared up. Doc said you got a concussion, and there was a nasty cut from where that thing hit you that needed a few stitches. May leave a little bit of a scar. Some bruised ribs and some cuts, but it'll all heal. Doc also said you had some similar injuries that looked a bit older. Cuts, bruises, and scrapes. Asked if you got into any other scuffles recently."

Sky looked confused, until he remembered back to a couple days prior. He grinned.

"No no, no fights. That's just something left over from-"

Apple Bloom chose that moment to stir at the sound of Sky's laughter. She yawned quietly before snuggling back into her blanket, mumbling to herself. The two adults in the room watched briefly before looking back to one another.

"Leftover from what sugarcube?"

Sky's eyes briefly darted to the sleeping filly before returning to Applejack.

"Hmm? Oh nothing, just uh... You know, had an accident walking down the stairs in my new place. Couldn't see my own hoof in front of my muzzle, tripped."

He grinned, hoping the unconvincing lie would be enough. The farmer raised her brow, but let the matter drop.

"Alrighty then, guess its none of my business. Long as you're okay." Opening her mouth, she gave a big yawn before moving back over to Apple Bloom.

"Two of us have been up most of the night. She fell asleep just a bit before you woke up actually. Ma brother has been keepin' an eye on the farm when we're gone, but I should probably get back and see how I can help. Celestia knows we'll be busy after takin' the day off for yesterday's little adventure."

Gently prodding her kin, Applejack woke her younger sister.

"Hey there Bloom. Sky's awake and the Doctors will probably want to talk with 'em. It's time for us to get back home, and for you to get to bed."

Apple Bloom yawned, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.

"Hmhuwa? Mister Sky is awake?" Another yawn overtook her. She looked up to her big sister, clearly not fully awake yet. "Can I just stay here with 'em and you can go back? I want to stay... a bit longer..."

"You can talk with him later if you like, sugarcube. Right now we need to get back. I need to help Big Mac, and you need some real rest."

Apple Bloom nodded and waved lazily, her eyes only half open. "L'right sis. Bye, Mister Sky, thanks for savin' Applejack and my friends."

Sky smiled at the filly, waving back. "You're welcome, Apple Bloom. Have a good rest."

She mumbled something unintelligible before fading back into unconsciousness on her sister's back. Applejack grinned down at her before turning to Sky one more time.

"The others will probably want to come by and talk to ya at some point. Most of 'em had things to get back ta as well. Shy is in the other room with Rainbow Dash, I can tell 'em you're up if you want."

Sky still wasn't all that excited to see the rainbow flyer again even after their talk in the cave, but decided against telling her friend that. He wouldn't mind seeing Miss Fluttershy again, considering the last time he had seen her she was still under the Drakons gas induced coma. It would do him some good to see her up and moving around.

"Sure, you can tell them I wouldn't mind visitors."

Applejack nodded opening the door. Sky could see a nurse just behind her. "Righty then, we'll be on our way. And just so you know, Sky, you're always welcome at Sweet Apple Acres. If'n you need a place to stay for a bit after that thing tore through your new house, don't hesitate to come over, ya hear? We can make space."

"Thanks, Applejack. Have a good rest of your day."

"You too, Sky."

---

The nurse came in after Applejack left, testing Sky's vitals and asking questions. It was a relatively painless process, and once she had gotten everything she needed, she excused herself to get the doctor. The stallion who returned told him the same things Applejack had, and said they would keep him for another couple days to be sure of no complications arising from his head injury before excusing himself as well. Moments after leaving however, the doctor opened the door again, peeking in.

"Excuse me, Sky, but there are a couple of ponies here to see you. Miss Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Would you like to see them?"

"Yes, I would like that, thank you."

The doctor retreated and in his place came two ponies he had not seen since yesterday in the forest clearing. Fluttershy was pushing an irate-looking Rainbow Dash past the threshold in a wheelchair, her wing in a cast.

"H-hello, Sky. It's nice to see you again. How are you feeling?"

Sky shrugged, then winced as the movement agitated his wounds. "I've been better, but I'll survive."

"O-oh. I'm sorry, that was a silly question..." Fluttershy said, lowering her head and hiding herself behind a curtain of hair. Rainbow's eyes narrowed slightly at him, and Sky fought the urge to sigh before turning back to the shy pony.

"No, that's fine, Fluttershy. I'm doing fine all things considered, thank you for asking. How about you two? How are you holding up?"

Fluttershy looked back at him, reassured. "We're doing better. Nurse Redheart says the gas should have already fully worn off, but Rainbow Dash is going to have to stay here for a few days while her wing recovers."

Rainbow Dash grumbled at that. "Don't know why they insist I stay in this stupid chair. It's my wing that was hurt, not my legs!" She then groaned explosively, putting her hooves up to her face. "A few days. May as well be a few months. Or a few years!"

Sky chuckled at the rainbow pony's antics, causing her to peek out from behind her hooves and glare at him. Fluttershy noticed none of this as she simply nodded sympathetically to her wheelchair-bound friend.

"I'm sorry, Rainbow. The hospital ponies are just trying to be sure that you don't hurt it anymore. I'm sure they will let you out as soon as its better."

"Yes. Wouldn't want that Drakon doing anything permanent would we?" Sky asked, supporting the animal lover. "... Actually, that reminds me. What's going to happen now that we know that thing is out there? Did any word come from Canterlot?"

Rainbow Dash perked up at that, interested in the direction the conversation was going. "Oh ya! Twilight got a message from Princess Celestia soon as she got back. Twilight explained what happened and the princess said she would be sending somepony to deal with it as soon as possible."

Sky breathed a sigh of relief at that. "Thank goodness. I don't know how you ponies can live so close to a forest that has things like that in it. Why they built the observatory so close to its edge I have no idea."

Fluttershy perked up at that. "Oh right! Twilight told Princess Celestia about how the drakon attacked your house and the damage he did to it. She said they where sending someone to fix it for you. Isn't that great?"

Sky smiled, before something else she had said caught his attention. Rainbow seemed to catch it as well as she looked over her shoulder at her friend with a curious expression.

"He?"

"Oh yes. From the look I got, it was too small to be a female. If I had to guess, it was probably a male in its early adulthood. A female would have been MUCH larger."

You could hear a pin drop in the room as both the other ponies took time to process that information. Sky stared blankly as the little gears in his head turned, while Rainbow gave a slight shudder at the thought. Fluttershy looked at her winged friend in concern.

"Oh dear, are you feeling cold, Rainbow Dash? I can go get you a blanket if you need it."

Rainbow jumped a little and shook her head a negative. "N-no, that's fine Flutters, no problem here." She looked over at Sky from the corner of her eye. "But... Do you think you could give me and Sky some privacy? There's... something I wanted to talk with him about alone."

Fluttershy blinked, looking between her two friends. "Um... Sure, I guess. I-I'll just go... get some food I guess." She faltered for a moment, unsure of herself, before taking the plunge and moving to Sky's bedside, catching him by surprise as she wrapped him in a large, but gentle, hug. It lasted only a moment until she removed herself, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"T-t-thank you..."

With speed that would make a Wonderbolt proud, the timid mare dashed out of the room, leaving Sky confused and flustered.

"Wow. Never seen THAT before. Normally takes ages to even get Shy to open up and talk with somepony. You got a hug out of her in two days. If I didn't know her as well as I do I'd say..."

"... Say what?"

Rainbow Dash stared at him for a moment, looking him up and down appraisingly. She seemed to make up her mind, growling in frustration at her decision.

"Well, I... What I need is to... Grrr..."

She shook her head and dragged her hooves down her face before looking back at him again.

"Look, you're only gonna hear this once, so listen up, ya hear?" Sky simply nodded once, and she took a breath to prepare herself before continuing.

"I was wrong about you, okay? You were there for the girls when they needed you, AND you saved my flank, Fluttershy's, and the Crusaders. That takes some guts, so what I'm trying to say is that I'm... sorry."

Touched, Sky let the confession hang in the air for a moment.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash, I'm-"

"I'm not done yet!" She interrupted, cutting Sky's return apology short. She made sure he was done before continuing.

"I've known Fluttershy since like, forever. We both grew up in Cloudsdale, went to flight camp together, got our cutie marks at the same time... we're really close is what I'm saying. She's actually older than me but she's just so, you know, sensitive; I guess that I always kinda saw her as a little sister. She probably can't even comprehend liking somepony in a mushy sorta way, she's too busy with her animal friends."

The mare's gaze once again hardened. This was a different look from before however. It wasn't angry; it was protective.

"So believe me when I say, if you try anything stupid, they won't ever find out what happened to you." She held her gaze for a moment longer before some pink worked its way into her cheeks, and she pointed a hoof at him. "And same goes for if you tell ANYPONY we had this conversation, alright?! You don't tell anypony!"

There was silence as Rainbow Dash tried her best to look menacing, but Sky couldn't find it in him to be afraid of her anymore. The absurdity that he was being threatened by a national hero not to get too friendly with a pony he just met hit him, and he stifled a laugh, bringing rise to more pink in his companion's face.

"I-I'm being serious! Nopony, you got it?!"

Unable to contain it any longer, Sky let let loose a loud peal of laughter, leaving Rainbow to simply cross her hooves and look away, her face crimson.

Sky regained control of himself, wiping his eyes and reining in his amusement.

"I-I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, I really am. I'm not laughing at you, honest. I think its just... me decompressing from the last couple of days. I have no intentions of approaching Miss Fluttershy in that manner, trust me. She's a lovely mare, but I... already have somepony. Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"ANYWAYS," Sky said loudly, not liking where this was going. "Thank you for the apology. I'm sorry we got off on the wrong hoof as well, you were only trying to protect your friend. Can we just forget about last night? Er... The night before I mean. Forgot I've been out for a whole day."

Rainbow was also eager to move on it seemed, as she perked up and nodded her head in agreement.

"Sure, no prob! Fresh start, new beginnings, all that stuff!"

A knock on the door drew their attention as a pink maned nurse poked her head in.

"Excuse me, you two, but it's time for lunch, and it's about time we get Miss Rainbow Dash's wing looked at again."

Stepping into the room, she was followed by another nurse with a cart of food. Moving behind Rainbows chair, the first nurse started to wheel her towards her own room.

"See ya, Sky! Now that you're cool, maybe we could hang out some more while were trapped here?"

Sky noticed the blue-maned nurse next to him role her eyes at Rainbow's description and smiled. "Sure, I wouldn't mind. Probably not today though, I'm still kinda tired strangely enough. Probably go back to sleep after eating."

Rainbow's face dropped at that, as she leaned back in her chair and groaned as she was pushed out the door. The mare with the food cart followed them out and chuckled as she closed the door behind them, leaving Sky alone with his meal and his thoughts.

Chapter 22

"I'm just glad you're alright girl," Sky said as he carefully held Selene in his forelegs, gently stroking her down her back. The feline reciprocated his affection, purring loudly and rubbing her cheek along her owner's barrel. "I was so worried about you when everything started happening! Thank goodness you're okay!"

Selene of course did not respond, instead deciding it was time to end the embrace. Hopping down, she gave her owner just enough time to stand before finding her usual spot on his back. Curling up, the cat closed her eyes and continued to purr. Sky's smile only widened as his furry friend return to her perch, and he turned back to face a giggling, red-maned mare.

"Thank you so much for taking care of her, Roseluck. I couldn't stand the thought of her being out there on her own all this time."

Rose smiled and lightly shook her head. "It was no problem at all. She's actually the one who found me when she wandered into town. She was quite the sight, all covered in dust, fur sticking out this way and that. I may not have recognized her if not for her collar."

Her smile faded slightly as she looked him over. Worry was in her eyes as she stared briefly at the bright pink scar that now graced his brow just above his right eye. It was thankfully thin and ran up towards his ear, standing out on his navy blue coat.

"Are you sure you're doing alright yourself? The doctors said everything was fine? I can't imagine what it must have been like, being out there fighting a giant... p-poison breathing... thing."

Sky nodded. "Yes, Nurse Redheart said that I checked out just fine. The concussion was mild, and she said to take it easy and don't try anything strenuous for a couple weeks. I'll be going in every once in a while to check in and see how I am doing. Other than that, the rest of me is doing pretty well. She even said the scar should fade with time, won't be quite as noticeable as it is now."

"Aw, there goes your rugged adventurer-type look."

Sky barked out a quick laugh before he could stop himself.

"Rose, I told you what I do right? I'm not exactly the 'adventurer-type'."

"I know that, but mares love a guy with a look of danger about him, right?"

That made Sky pause, thoughts turning back to a certain musician back in Canterlot.

"And think of it. When ponies ask you where you got it, you can tell them you got it on a rescue mission, fighting a giant beast in the Everfree!"

That got Sky to roll his eyes. "They'll never believe that, even if it is the truth. It hardly qualifies as a battle scar."

Rose let out a sigh as she admitted defeat, but her grin showed she was only kidding. Sky chuckled and made his way down the road away from the hospital. Rose quickly followed after him. "Going back to your stall?" Sky asked.

"Naw, I think the girls can handle watching it a bit longer. I'll walk you back to the observatory." A frown. "You have a place to stay right? From what I heard that thing trashed your place pretty good."

Sky nodded. "Thank you for asking, but yes. I'm going to check the place out and see what the damage is. If its too bad, Applejack has offered me a place to stay until the repairs can be made. I'm holding out hope that it wont come to that however."

"Glad to hear it."

---

The rest of the trip was passed with a mixture of small talk and familiarizing Sky more with Ponyville. Roseluck would tell him about that shop there, or about the different events held here, who lived where and did what. It was obvious she knew almost everypony in town, at least by their face if not by name. It was a small town, so it was not all that surprising, but it was obvious to Sky he had a lot to learn if he wanted to be a more active part of this little community.

Finally they came to the damaged observatory. Nothing had changed since he had last seen it, the living area was a mess and the back wall annihilated. Sky noted however that the dome on the second story, the master bedroom, and even most of the kitchen looked to be intact, giving him hope for the guest room and the bathroom as well.

"Wow..." Rose whispered.

"It's... not as bad as it looks. I don't think at least. Looks like it mostly tore through the living room. The rest looks mostly intact."

"You still actually plan on staying here?" Rose asked incredulously.

Sky shook his head. "I don't know how long the repairs are going to take, but I hate the idea of living off of anypony's generosity for that long. The necessities look like they are still there, and heating and plumbing should still work in the other rooms. And if I am honest I... I don't feel comfortable just leaving all that equipment upstairs alone when there is a giant hole in the wall. The telescope alone is worth six hundred thirty thousand bits. It's the top of the line MW950 model. Best there is." Rose whistled, and Sky nodded his agreement, an almost dreamy look on his face as he looked up to the dome on the second story and sighed. The moment quickly passed and he refocused on the conversation.

"Most of my stuff didn't get unpacked the first night, it's mostly still sitting in the bedroom in bags, so it should be intact. It's not pretty but... it's home now."

"Well if you're sure." Roseluck said with uncertainty as she tore her gaze from the damaged abode and to the pony who would be staying in it. "I better get back to my stall now, Sky, but it was really good to see you're okay. I Hope things settle down for you from here on out."

"So do I, Rose. Thanks again for looking out for Selene, have a good rest of your day!"

"You too!"

---

It was late into the evening when Sky received a knock on his door. He was just preparing to settled down for the night after spending some time tidying up and unpacking. His sparse wardrobe was put away, the small collection of books he had brought was neatly organized on the shelf in the corner, and you couldn't even tell from the bedroom that a giant Everfree monster had rampaged through the living room a few yards away. A bag of toiletries in mouth, he changed course and made his way to the door, shivering slightly at the breeze let in by the damaged wall. Opening the door, Sky blinked in momentary confusion as he had to look up to see his guest's face.

Princess Luna looked to the bag in his mouth and raised a brow in confusion. There was a moment of quiet at the threshold until Sky quickly whipped the bag off to the side and bowed low.

"YOUR MA-ah... Princess Luna! W-What are you doing here? Not that you're not welcome, its just... strange to see you again so soon." He paled and looked back at the living room, then looked up at the lunar diarch in fear. "I SWEAR, this was not my fault!"

Princess Luna smirked at his exclamation of innocence and shook her head, bidding him to rise with her hoof. "Fear not, young Sky, I know full well the events of these last few days. I am well aware of the cause of these... damages." Her eyes wandered to the scar he now sported, and she adopted a look of worry similar to that Rose had worn earlier that day.

"Are you well enough to be by yourself? 'Twas quite the battle from the report Twilight Sparkle sent my sister."

"Y-Yes Princess, I'm fine. The hospital told me not too try anything to stressful for a couple of weeks, and so long as I do that, everything checks out."

"Very good. I am glad to hear that the beast did no lasting harm to anypony. Most fortunate, though I have come to expect no less from Twilight Sparkle and her friends. And of course yourself, Sky. There was no shortage of praise for your performance during the rescue."

Sky blushed at the praise, looking down to his hooves. "I-I just did what anypony else would have done, Princess. I couldn't simply do nothing when they ran off to go save their friends and family. My contribution to the fight was pretty much to get smacked around a little while Twilight cast her spell. Not the most impressive display."

"No? So was Twilight Sparkle wrong when she said it is you who delivered young Apple Bloom from the creature's clutches? Or that it was you who ferried its victims from the cave so that she could transport them? Perhaps she embellished when she said you saved Applejacks life as well?"

Sky rubbed his leg and continued looking down, prompting Luna to lift his chin and meet his gaze.

"Humility is a commendable quality, but it is not pride to acknowledge your own hoof in all of this. You have done well, Sky, do not minimize your part in this."

A small smile appeared on Sky's face and he nodded. "Yes Princess, thank you. A-And if you are here to inspect the facilities I assure you that nothing vital was damaged during the attack. The observatory itself is completely intact."

"Thank you, Sky, but I was not here to check the facilities, I am aware that repairs are already planned. I actually came to ensure you were well. That is, how well you were coping with the circumstances."

Sky thought for a moment and frowned. "I'm... fine, Princess. There wasn't a whole lot of time to think about it when everything was happening, and then after, well..." He shuddered. "It's been hard to fall asleep some nights. It helped hearing that Canterlot was sending ponies to deal with it though. Is there any word on that yet, Princess? Did the guard handle the situation yet?"

The lunar princess grimaced, and Sky noticed a near imperceivable twitch in her ear as she used his welcome mat to wipe some grime off the bottom of her shoe.

"The beast has been... dealt with. The citizens of Ponyville can rest easy knowing it no longer poses any threat."

Sky considered asking her more on the topic, but something told him otherwise, and instead stepped aside to make way for her entrance.

"Would you care to come in your, Highness? It's starting to get cold out and I'm sure I could find some blankets around here to make up for the ah... renovations. Maybe something warm to drink before your flight back?"

"Thank you for the offer, Sky, but unfortunately I will have to decline. My trip to Ponyville was not a scheduled one, and I have many matters awaiting my attention in Canterlot. Perhaps another time." Taking a step away from the door, Luna paused, and after a moment looking at the building her horn ignited. It started dim and gradually brightened till Sky felt he may have to look away, before it flashed briefly and went dark.

"What was that, Princess?"

"Simply a protective spell. It is as you said, rather cold out. That should keep you well guarded against such things now. Fare thee well Sky."

"Y-You too, Princess! Have a good night!"

Sky watched her for a minute as she flew off into the night towards the distant mountain city of his birth before closing the door. He noticed the air was indeed growing slightly warmer inside than out, despite the gaping hole in the back wall. Silently thanking the princess, he retrieved his bag and continued his trip to the restroom.

---

Sky sat in bed, staring at the ceiling as Selene lay at his side purring. It all seemed like a dream, the events of the last couple months. The most adventure he'd had prior to this trip had been a night at Neon's club, at Vinyl's behest. Even then Octavia going with him was the only reason he had considered. Now here he was, in his dream job, in a new town. He had faced down a horrific monster with heroes of his time to save, among other ponies, the fillyfied version of one of Equestia's greatest villains. He had answered the door to royalty not once, but twice. Last week he had lain here wondering what his world was coming too. Now he wondered what could possibly be the cause.

He stayed that way for several minutes longer, and could only come up with one conclusion. Sky fell back into the bed, his pillow swallowing his head as he sighed loudly.

"This entire town is CRAZY!"

Author's Notes:

At long last, the first in the series is complete. For those following, don't worry, I have MANY plans for this series in the future, and I am eager to share them.
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That's not to say I don't have other ideas to work with. Gotta show I ain't no one trick pony, no pun intended.
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Still, my next project WILL be continuation of this world, but with a more Slice of Life feel. Much more to come ponyos, so stick around!
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A massive shout out to my editor The Great Derpsby. Software that does what I ask of him are a all over, but the most important part he played was simply taking the time to read and respond. I would have found the fire to write much harder to fan if not for you people commenting on my work and giving feedback, of which he was the main contributor.
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Thanks man, I appreciate it.