> Edge of the Coffin
>  by SatinCoffin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1 - On Record
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Before this mess escalates any further I've decided I need to go on record about the events leading up to and shortly after my arrival here in Equestria.

My name is Valentino Brugato. 

I worked previously as a Homicide Detective for the Holdridge City Police Department. On Earth, which may be an important clarification. 

Preceding the major events surrounding my arrival I was abducted and brutalized by members of a criminal syndicate that previously operated out of the city of Holdridge.

Which leads us to the events in question. I will do my best to provide a detailed account of these events from my perspective... Provided that Princess Twilight Sparkle stops hovering over my shoulder.



--


I woke up to a blistering pain that was shooting all through my body. I was so disoriented that I could barely think.

"'Ey, the Dick's rousin'. 'Ow's that 'ole comin'?"

My hands felt something smooth. I could even feel it on the back of my neck. The smooth material was lining the box I was in. I could also feel something sticky on the side of my face. 

"Just a few more shovelfuls! Then this hole will be good and ready for the big dick to go in! Ha!"

I saw the night sky. I wasn't able to see many stars. There were some skeletal structures all around me, reaching up as high as they could. Buildings barely started. It all vanished when someone quite large leaned over me.

"I'll just knock 'im one. Keep 'im from gettin' too fussy."

"Wait."

I could hear footsteps accompanied by the sound of digging. The Large One stopped leaning over me and made his own footsteps away from me. He was replaced by a shorter and pudgier figure.

"He needs a proper send off. You have my respect Brugato. One of a kind spectacle, right here in Holdridge. An inspiration to law and order. You deserve better than this certainly, but I just can't risk the mess. So you'll just have to disappear. Sorry Detective."

There was pain again, sharp on the side of my head. I heard something slam just before blacking out. 


--


For a while I dipped in and out of consciousness. 

When I was completely awake again it was dark, cramped and silent. I could still feel that smooth lining with my hands. I was rapidly becoming aware of my situation. My aching head and body wasn't able to distract me anymore. I was taken, beaten, bloodied and then buried. 

Fear gripped me hard. Despite the cramped casket I started slamming my knuckles against the roof of the coffin. I was screaming wildly as I did it. Panic was having it's way with me.

Letmeout.

It wasn't helpful, all I was doing was bloodying my knuckles and sucking up all the air so I could scream.  I didn't have many other choices though. I would not quietly sit and await death in that box. Fight death to the bitter end, even if fighting just brings death faster. 

Iwillnotdie.

My knuckles were raw and bleeding heavily, but I could feel the wood crack and splinter. It gave me desperate hope and allowed me to just keep slamming my fists tirelessly into the ceiling of my coffin. I would not stop, even when the splinters dug into my wounded knuckles. Again and again and again.

LetmeoutletmeoutletmeoutIwillnotdieletmeoutIwillnotdie.

However long I was at it was too long. I couldn't focus on anything else except those cracks in the coffin. My voice was just about gone so I gave up on screaming and just focused on pounding on the ceiling. 

Despite my focus I couldn't ignore a great shift in the weight on my coffin. I punched the ceiling a few times and even that sounded different. Then I heard it, faint and muffled but I heard voices. Hope and fear hopped up into my throat with my heart and got all kinds of freaky. I froze, desperately listening to those voices. I couldn't hope to make out any words but that didn't stop me trying.

A few different voices went back and forth for a little while. Five... maybe six. When it ended I suddenly felt a tingle on the back of my neck and just like that the lid of my coffin was ripped off. The fresh air that hit me felt amazing.

The first thing I noticed was the night sky. There were stars glittering and dancing all over the darkness. I couldn't see much else but I could hear movement. A brief moment of clarity reminded me of my lighter, just inside my jacket pocket with my cigarettes. When I ignited the small flame I had another brief moment of clarity. The lighter didn't actually help that much, my vision was hazy I still couldn't see anything. 

After I snuffed the flame I decided to do my job and investigate. When I tried to move more than just my arms pain shot all through me. But drawing on the fear induced adrenaline in my system I managed to get to my feet. The hole was shallow, more so than I thought it should be. Surrounding the hole however were several figures. I blinked a few times but all my hazy eyes could see in the darkness were blobs of color. 

With no plan of action I did the first thing that came to mind. I faced a few of the colorful blobs, raised one hand in a short wave  and said, "Yo."

Two voices screamed. In my peripheral I saw a blue blur and then... sharp pain in the side of my head followed by darkness. Again.


--


The concussions were getting old really fast. When I reclaimed consciousness for a third time my vision had improved but I was much more uncomfortable. I was in a well lit room and I could hear voices mumbling to each other. I tried to move and found myself restrained. Looking down I saw that thick rope strapped me to a table that had been propped up so that I was vertical.

My overall physical condition wasn't much better. I was bloody, heavily bruised all over and probably worse off where I couldn't see. Also nude. The situation did not instill me with hope. I could feel the fear from before start to creep into me again as my heart started to pound rapidly in my chest. 

"Ah'm just sayin' he's not lookin' too good." 

The voices were increasing in volume, I looked around for the source. The room itself was nicely lit and there were a lot of books in a cozy wood interior. I could also hear the soft roar of a fire. It would have been comforting if I wasn't restrained. 

"I understand that, but when it comes to any sort of undiscovered creature I just don't want to take any risks."

It didn't take much more searching to find the source of the voices. Disbelief flashed through my head for a moment before I tried to analyze what I was looking at.  Three very colorful figures, quadrupeds, much bigger than say a large dog, they were hoofed too. They faced away from me. One was orange, one was purple and the other was... blue.

"Pfft. What risk? He went down in just one shot!"

Well, that answered one question. 

"And Ah'm sure it had nothin' to do with him already bein' plenty beat up." 

Two of them had feathery wings from what I could tell, that threw me off for a bit. Each of them had markings on their rear ends. I thought it may have been some tribal or cultural thing. They seemed plenty intelligent.

"Girls please, I just want to do a thorough examination before we take any chances."

The Orange One, who had the most sympathy for my battered state backed down and my fear became more pronounced. I was going to be trapped her, strung up, poked and prodded by these things for who knows how long. My body was in agony and I knew the pain wasn't going away any time soon. 

Letmego.

"I just don't believe you don't have a book or something that'll just tell you what he is," the Blue One stated while wandering over to a bookshelf seemingly at random.

"I've already studied every bestiary in the library. There's not even the smallest reference to whatever he is. As far as I know there isn't anything quite like him in all of Equestria."

Equestria? As in a–

"Certainly not in Ponyville anyway."

I was starting to get a clue as to what I was dealing with. 

Letmego.

Despite all the new information I was not reassured that my situation was going to get any better. They didn't seem cruel at a glance, but they weren't letting me go. I couldn't fly into a full panic this time though, I had options. I could speak with them, surprising as that was. I pushed down the fear, kept my face stiff and solid. Then I loudly cleared my throat.

My throat was still a bit raw after all the screaming and I immediately wished I picked a better way to get their attention. But it worked. Each one of them stiffened up for a moment before turning around to face me and I just about lost my cool. 

Now I have my weaknesses, strange as they are, and if I wasn't under that particular set of circumstances my heart would have melted when I saw those adorable faces. From my assumptions I was expecting worse. Those great big sparkling eyes of theirs, those cute little muzzles and large fuzzy ears. I was stumped for words really. The Purple One had a little horn. It was sickeningly adorable.

"Yo."

Not really as elegant as I had planned but given what I was looking at I decided to fall back on my old standby. My face was still a stiff and cold mask that was trying to hide my pounding heart and growing anxiety. 

We all remained silent for a good few moments before the Orange One awkwardly spoke, "He, ah... sure doesn't look too happy now does he?" Before I could even think my mouth was open 

"I think if you were strung up here you wouldn't be too happy either." There was plenty of irritation in my voice even though I tried to keep my tone as even as possible. I already had doubts about the success of this diplomatic mission.

At hearing me talk in a complete sentence the Purple One let out a little squeal. From what I could tell a thousand thoughts started flying through her head. She started pacing back and forth a little between the other two. Those two were looking between the Purple One and me with a shocked look on their faces.

Whatever they were expecting I don't think they thought it would be conversation. I couldn't blame them, if I hadn't been listening to them converse for a little while I wouldn't have thought we could talk at all. Also, I guess 'Yo' isn't a very good indicator of intelligent speech or thought. 

After pacing a little bit the Purple One stopped in front of me. She matched my hard stare with her own. Unfortunately her voice stumbled a bit when she spoke, "Wh-who are you?"

I had expected something along those lines and I was able to answer instantly, "Detective Valentino Brugato." Her shocked expression returned. I gave out my occupation to help fill out the who of her question. I didn't know if it would mean anything to her but by the look on her face I think it did. It looked like a thousand more questions were about to flood her head but before she was too distracted I fired the question back at her, "Who are you?"

She stumbled a bit, probably just caught off guard by this entire interaction. "Tw-... Princess Twilight Sparkle," she managed to throw in her own title at the last second. I was probably more shocked to find out she was a princess than she was to find out I was a detective. But I was already fighting back overwhelming fear and anxiety, it didn't take much else to suppress that shock to just a slight raise of my eyebrow.

I let silence hang there for a moment, just long enough to get a little awkward. I started to speak again just before Twilight Sparkle had time to think of her next question, "Well, Your Highness, I have to admit I'm not doing too well," I softened my expression a bit to punctuate the point. "Being strung up like this really isn't helping. I was hoping maybe, that you would consider letting me down," I said as smoothly and nicely as I could manage. 

Twilight Sparkle looked down. "Um... well..." She hesitated.

She hesitated.

LETMEGOLETMEGOLETMEGOLETMEGOLETMEGOLETMEGO

Everything I was holding back was just about to come flying out of my mouth. But before I could even move against my restraints I was distracted by a loud gasp.

It didn't come from any of the three in front of me. I craned my neck and looked towards a door I never heard open. It was a yellow one, yellow with long pink hair and tail. She also had wings. She was staring straight at me with great big blue eyes. Shock and pity was all over her face. She had the handle to a red and white box in her mouth, which she quickly dropped. Her eyes snapped to the other three "What did you do?" she said. Her voice was quiet and breathy but boy did she still sound mad. 

Twilight immediately tried to defend herself, "W-we were just making sure that he wouldn't be able to hurt anypony when he woke up!" The Yellow One sighed slightly before picking the box back up and trotting over to me.  She sat it down next to me and looked up at me again. I stared back down at her, I tried to keep my expression as stiff as possible. She just smiled.

"Aw, what makes you think that he could hurt anypony?" the Yellow One said with a much happier inflection. 

Twilight Sparkle seemed exasperated, "We don't know what he is! He could be very dangerous!" 

The Yellow one just frowned, "He's terrified," she said sternly. I wasn't the only one shocked by her perception. "And he's badly injured." All of us were stunned into silence by her observations and the Yellow One just kept making them.

"His leg is broken," her wings started to flap and the Yellow One fluttered in the air in front of me. She prodded my ribs and I winced. "Some of his ribs are broken too. Cuts.. bruises... scrapes... oh my..." she fluttered all around me, with every injury her tone got sadder. Then she was above me, looking at my head. Her front hooves delicately touched my head and she gently started moving my head around. A few times she would use her hoof to lightly push my messy black hair out of the way. I was happy to let her do what she wanted. I was willing to take anything resembling some kind of medical examination. "Three... no, F-four! Four different head injuries! Oh dear..." That sounded about right.

The Yellow One touched back down on the ground next to where I was strung up. "He couldn't hurt anypony even if he wanted to and I'm sure he would never want to even if he could," the Yellow One said. She was smiling up at me again, trying to reassure me. I nodded weakly back down at her. Her smile grew slightly and she looked back at Twilight Sparkle who, after hearing the Yellow One list every visible and not quite so visible injury of mine , was looking quite depressed with he ears splayed back and eyes cast down. "I think you should let him down so we can help him." The Yellow One stated nicely. 

"...Right," Twilight Sparkle nodded and her horn started to glow dimly. I felt that tingle again, I also felt my restraints loosening... all at once. Pain shot through my broken leg as I hit the floor. I clenched my teeth and growled through the pain. I was on my hands and knees pain sparking out from my leg and my broken knees as well. But I was free. My fear washed away and I felt so much relief that I could cry. 

My forehead was touching the floor, but I still reached over to the Yellow one who was at my side. My fingers lightly brushed through her soft coat and my palm pressed gently into her side. 

"You're my new favorite." I said with a small grin.
> Chapter 2 - Recovery
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


-Valentino Brugato-




The following is a detailed account of various events during my recovery after being found in the land of Equestria. Unlike previously I do not believe it is necessary to have a written record of these events. However, I find that writing these reports is a good way to help organize my thoughts. Given the strange nature of my circumstances I'll need all the help I can get.

Personal note aside, these events take place shortly after my being released from my restraints and receiving some degree of medical treatment. 


--


"What do you mean I'm in last place?" Rainbow Dash yelled.

She was hovering in the air just over my chest. Her muzzle was inches from my face and she glaring intensely into my eyes.  

I, on the other hand, was laying back on several soft cushions that had been laid out on the floor. I had several stacked up under my back so I wasn't completely horizontal and could interact with the ponies a bit.

I stared back into Rainbow Dash's big rose colored eyes with an unimpressed look. A small part of me just wanted to chuckle and ruffle up that adorable multicolored mane of hers. A larger part of me, spurred on by my pounding head, had other plans. 

"Okay, let's go over the rankings," I said in a flat tone. 

I lifted my right hand, where my bloody knuckles had already been treated, and pointed at Fluttershy who was to my left. She was working on treating my other hand. "Fluttershy is my number one favorite because she was eager to help me when I needed it the most." Fluttershy flushed a little at that, but kept cleaning my cut up knuckles with a moist cloth. 

Rainbow Dash didn't look surprised or concerned about that. It was fairly obvious why I would be favoring Fluttershy at that moment.

Without breaking eye contact with Rainbow Dash I pointed at Applejack, who was carrying some fresh white cloth rags over to Fluttershy. "Applejack is my second favorite because she was at least trying to get Princess Twilight Sparkle here to see that maybe tying me up and examining me, or interrogating me, or whatever, maybe wasn't the nicest thing." Applejack got a little look of embarrassment as well.

Rainbow Dash backed up a little bit and she lost some of the intensity to her glare.

There was also a little motion to my right. I pointed my thumb back in that direction, towards Twilight Sparkle. "Speaking of, the Princess here is only in third because despite restraining me like a dangerous animal she is helping treat my injuries," I said, keeping my eyes locked on Rainbow Dash. Twilight mumbled something I couldn't hear.

I made no effort to keep any sort of expression on my face, but I've been told that by default I usually look mildly annoyed. The "Favorite Ranking" was something I just made up on the spot after being pressed as to why I said Fluttershy was my new favorite. My tone and voice was usually pretty flat and other humans had a hard time telling if I was joking or teasing. There was no telling if these ponies would be able to pick up on it.

I pointed my index finger right at Rainbow Dash's nose. She looked down at my finger little cross-eyed, it was very cute. "But what puts you at dead last is that you gave me the most recent in a long string of concussions," I finished, letting my arm drop back to my side. 

"T-that wasn't me!" Rainbow Dash yelled, backing away further. The anger immediately drained out of her face and was replaced by a look of desperation. To her credit it was really dark during the incident and with how my head was spinning I could have imagined the blue blur in the corner of my eye. Unfortunately for her I was already awake when she confessed earlier, but I didn't even need to bring it up.

"Uh, yeah it was," blurted out Applejack. Rainbow shot her an angry look but Applejack kept going anyways. "You jumped at him quicker than anythin' once Pinkie and Rarity started hollerin'."

It was pretty funny to watch Rainbow Dash start to cycle back and forth between shame and anger. She tried to shoot back with the best excuse she could muster, "Well I wouldn't have done that if you weren't being scary and hiding out in a creepy coffin!" 

"Making excuses is not helping your ranking any," I said flatly.

"Aagh! Whatever!" she yelled before shooting off out the door and slamming it behind her. Applejack was just giggling.

"You shouldn't tease her like that," said Fluttershy, a small smile on her face. I was again shocked by how perceptive she was. 

"If she keeps making it that easy I won't be able to help myself," I said back to Fluttershy. Applejack laughed a little harder at that.

With my knuckles wrapped up Fluttershy finished the overall treatment. Every cut and gash was cleaned and dressed. My head was a particular mess of hair and gauze. My chest was still mostly exposed, a few of my ribs were cracked buy not shattered so they would heal fine on their own. Fluttershy knew better than to wrap up my ribs which would have just put unnecessary pressure on them and make it difficult to breath or potentially even damage my lungs. The splint on my leg was also properly affixed, if not a bit bulky, overall they did a pretty good job.

Twilight Sparkle mostly did glowy horn things that made the back of my neck tingle. I did notice an immense relief in pain that I knew couldn't just be attributed to a splint and some bandages. I pushed my curiosity aside in favor of overall laziness. With how depressed Twilight Sparkle looked it seemed like any conversation with her would be a chore. I eagerly shelved that option and opted for introductions with the other ponies instead. Getting the, 'Hello, I'm what's called a human and you are?' bit out of the way. Which then lead to the hilarious favorites conversation.

When Applejack stopped laughing she trotted over to me with a smile on her face. "Well, I've still got an early mornin' ahead of me. It was mighty nice to meetcha Valentino, even if it was a little... eh... weird at first," she said, giving me a tip of her hat. Did I mention her cowboy hat? It was one of the most adorable things I've ever seen.

I grimaced internally when she said my first name. "Don't worry about it, it was nice to meet you too," I said with a nod. "But call me Brugato," I quickly added.

"But Valentino is such a lovely name," Fluttershy said while hauling over a big, purple blanket.

"When most folks call you 'Detective Brugato' for a few years hearing your first name all of a sudden is a little weird. Besides Brugato is easier to say." Both Applejack and Fluttershy just shook their heads.

"Either way, I gotta get goin'! See ya later Valentino! Fluttershy! Twilight!" Applejack said back to us as she walked out the door. 

I just let out a defeated sigh.

Fluttershy brought over a large purple blanket that she spread out over me. At last I had reclaimed my modesty! I don't think the ponies gave my nudity a second thought. It's obvious why, given their own. Though Applejack did give it a second thought, and a third thought as I noticed her glancing multiple times at my shame.

Fluttershy even started tucking me into the little bed made of pillows and cushions. She really was sweet. Once she finished she started looking at me with a nervous expression and hid her face slightly behind her long pink mane.

"Um... I also need to go home... and you need to get some rest..." Fluttershy whispered. I wasn't sure why she was suddenly so hesitant. Did she not want to leave? No... perhaps she thought that I wouldn't want her to leave. That I'd become fearful again without a source of comfort. Sure I would have preferred her to stay, she was nice after all, but if she had to go then she had to go. "I-I'll be back as soon as I can tomorrow! So..." she gave me  a reassuring smile, trying her best to put me at ease.

Without really thinking I lifted up my arm and placed my hand on the top of her head. Fluttershy went quiet and just looked at me, a little surprise on her face. I just kept my hand there for a moment, her mane was incredibly soft. I started to lightly scratch the top of her head and around her ears. She pushed her head lightly into my hand and I could see her ears twitch.

My expression went as soft as I could let it. I didn't think it was the best way to show my gratitude to Fluttershy but my mind always defaulted on physical contact as the way to express myself.

I only kept at it for a few moments before dropping my hand back to me side. I looked Fluttershy in the eye for a moment before saying, "Thank you." As perceptive as she was I think my gratitude managed to touch her. Fluttershy smiled bashfully and nodded back at me before picking up her things and heading for the door. 

"Good night." She softly called back before she left. She shut the door silently behind her.


--


It was quiet for a while after Fluttershy left. I laid back into the cushions and stared at a spot on the wall. The fire in the fireplace made little sounds that made the atmosphere feel cozy. Or it would have if Twilight Sparkle still wasn't rooted to the floor right next to me. Her sad eyes were staring straight down, her ears were splayed back and she drew little circles on the floor with her hoof. She would occasionally mumble something I couldn't make out and when I looked over she would still be looking at the floor. 

I let out a long sigh before looking over at Twilight. "What's wrong?" I asked flatly.

Her whole body snapped up and she stared at me with wide eyes. "W-what?" she stuttered.

"You've been moping for a while now. What's wrong?" I asked a little more firmly.

Twilight's body slumped down again and her ears fell back down against her head. She mumbled again, a little louder than before but I still couldn't hear her.

"What?" I asked rather impatiently.

"I–" she looked up at me again this time with tears starting to form in her eyes. "I'm sorry!" she almost yelled while taking a few steps closer to me. 

"I didn't know you were hurt so badly! I hadn't had the chance to really examine you yet! I wouldn't have left you like that..." As quickly as Twilight's intensity picked up it fell away and she looked simply depressed again. But she still had more to say and she managed to keep an audible volume, "You see... it's just that... we had just left the Everfree Forest." I gave her a confused grunt and she quickly added "It is a very dangerous and scary place!" I nodded and let her continue. "All of us had just gotten out of the forest. It had gotten so dark out and before we could even take a single step we heard this horrible... muffled... screaming. We could feel something pounding wildly just under our hooves." Her eyes feel back to the floor, "Frankly, it was... terrifying." And again her eyes snapped back up to mine "But we couldn't just ignore it!"

As... intensely as Twilight was acting, I could tell that she was sincerely just trying to apologize and explain herself to me. Along with Rainbow she had gotten her fair share of teasing while I was being treated. I started to feel a little bad for it seeing she looked like she could break down crying at any moment. I also felt a little foolish for not taking the time to consider their perspective. I blamed one of my many head injuries.

"We managed to dig up your... box," Twilight continued. "There wasn't any screaming any more but there was still that pounding. It seemed like something out of a horror story. We all expected the worst when we got the lid off. Everypony just stood back and waited, none of us wanted to look inside. Then there was a strange glow coming out of the hole and when it disappeared... You stood up." Twilight seemed a little creeped out just remembering what happened, which then gave way to a look of shame on her face. "You seemed so tall and thin in the dark and then there was your awful, raspy voice. What if... I thought you might be some kind of monster!" Her shame seemed to deepen. 

"Applejack wasn't so sure once we brought you back here and Fluttershy could tell the second she got a good look at you. But I still had doubts... if you were and I didn't do anything. You aren't though... But you were–" Suddenly the tears started falling down Twilight's face, "–buried alive! And somepony did all of this to you and then–" 

I pressed my right index finger lightly against Twilight's nose and she went silent. Her eyes flickered up to mine with the tears still streaming out of them. I was giving her a stern look. "Don't start getting worked up over that. That has nothing to do with you." Twilight just gave me a sad look. 

Honestly I could feel my heart sink once I saw those tears in Twilight's eyes. Sure she was upset with how she handled me when I got here, but it wasn't so far beyond reasonable given how it all played out on her side. But what I found overwhelming was her sympathy, that she was brought down like this just because of what happened to me.

I let my expression soften as much as I could. "As for that other stuff," I took my finger away from her nose before continuing "I forgive you." 

Twilight perked up and stepped even closer to me "R-really!?" she asked while blinking her tears away.

"I can't really blame you for doing what you did. I know some who would have reacted worse." I let out a sigh and ran my hand over the bandages on my head. "This whole thing is just one big mess," I let my hand fall back down to my side. "So of course I forgive you. Besides, all of you did actually save my life." 

Twilight let out a little breath of relief and sniffled cutely. After a few moments she sat down right beside me and we both spent a little while staring silently into the fireplace. We soaked in the warm and friendly atmosphore.

"Where are you from?" Twilight suddenly asked, not taking her gaze away from the fire.

I glanced over at her, a little surprised by the question. I took a few minutes to try and think of a good answer.

"A pretty big city actually, close to a really big river. It's usually pretty gloomy there, lot's of rain–" I was cut off by something soft against my arm. When I looked over Twilight was leaning against me while she still stared into the fire. I couldn't help a small smile. 

"Not a lot of great places to eat either," I continued. "Really as far as cities go it was pretty bland. No ponies either. But then there aren't ponies like you or your friends anywhere at all where I come from," I said with a small laugh. The warm atmosphere had started to affect me. 

Twilight was starting to cheer up as well. When I looked over again she was staring up at me with a little smile on her face. I kept telling her vague things about where I came from. She eventually started to ask questions about where I came from and I would answer without going into too much detail. 

I don't remember when, but I ended up falling asleep sometime while talking to Twilight.


--


When I woke up the next day I was in agony. My whole body was stiff, my head was pounding, my chest and leg were aching and my hands were on fire. All I could do was let out a long groan. 

"Twilight! He's awake!" I heard someone shout. When I looked to see who it was I saw a... purple and green... lizard.

I had almost forgotten that my life had been cast into a sea of mysteries.

The lizard ran over from the set of stairs he was yelling up. He stopped when he got right next to me, looking at me with bright green eyes and a smile on his face. "Hi!" he said cheerfully, "I'm Spike."

I lifted up one aching arm and waved at... Spike. "Yo." I managed to croak out. His smile got a little larger.

Twilight finally came down the stairs with a stack of paper... levitating... next to her. When she got closer I felt that familiar tingle on the back of my neck. "Great! I was waiting for you to get up!" she said happily, the stack of paper had set itself down next down next to Spike. Or rather Twilight had set  down next to Spike, I theorized when I noticed her horn giving off a glow. 

Twilight opened her mouth to continue speaking when she was cut off by a series of erratic knocks on the front door. She furrowed her brow before trotting over to the front door. When she opened it I heard yet another unfamiliar voice.

"Hi Twilight! I came to see the scary thing!" said the strange voice. I groaned loudly when I heard that. A bright pink pony with a poofy pink mane made her way past Twilight. "Oooh! Is that it?" she said, pushing past Twilight while pointing a hoof at me.

Twilight turned around with an exceptionally annoyed look on her face. "Pinkie, he's not a–"

"–I'm a scary thing." I rasped as loudly as I could manage, finding the strength to mess around in spite of myself. 

Twilight looked even more annoyed, Spike laughed, the Pink Pony giggled a little and quickly skipped over to me. 

Twilight just sighed and closed the front door while the Pink Pony studied me intensely with her ice blue eyes. I tried to put on anything other than a pained expression and failed. 

Eventually the Pink Pony stated "You're not as scary looking as I remember." I just put my hands out and weakly shrugged my shoulders. Without a moments hesitation the Pink Pony leaned forward and dragged her tongue along my palm. She contemplated the taste for a moment while smacking her lips ,"You don't taste scary either!" she exclaimed.

I just stared dumbfounded at my palm for a few seconds before wiping it off on my blanket. 

"Pinkie, he's not a scary anything. He's what's called a Human." Twilight explained proudly.

'Pinkie' gave Twilight a dubious look and asked "Human? What's that?"

Twilight got a really big smile on her face "We were just about to find out," she said walking around to my right.

Twilight's vague allusions and the new Pink Pony were becoming more than I could bear with the pounding in my head growing more severe. I put up my hands and coughed out, "Stop!" I tried to take a couple of deep breaths but I started to feel dizzy. Both ponies and Spike were looking at me with concern. "This is, there's too much–" My hands went up to the side of my head and I rubbed gently at my bandaged temples. "I can't think... my head..." I groaned.

Twilight managed to catch on and she stepped forward. "I'm so sorry! Here let me just..." she leaned forward so her head was just over my chest. Her horn lit up and I felt that tingle which turned into a shiver that ran through my whole body. When the shiver passed it took some of the pain with it. "There!" Twilight said, the glow leaving her horn. "How does that feel?"

I took a few more deep breaths until I felt the dizziness pass. My pain had lessened significantly. "Much better," I said. My whole body still felt stiff but the aches had dulled down to an annoyance rather than a hindrance. Twilight smiled.

"Wow, you really aren't doing so good huh?" The Pink Pony asked, looking concerned. Quicker than I could respond something clicked in her head and she began hopping in place. "Ooh! I know! I'll throw you a 'Get Well Soon' party!" she said enthusiastically with a big smile on her face and excitement in her eyes. 

Twilight had that annoyed look on her face again "Pinkie–"

"–Will there be food?" I asked, cutting Twilight off quicker this time. 

The Pink Pony nodded frantically "Of course! There will be all kinds of snacks, sweets and drinks!" she said.

I nodded my head and gave the Pink Pony a very serious expression. "Sounds great," I said firmly.

The Pink Pony let out an excited squeal before rocketing out the door. I turned to Twilight who was glaring at me, clearly not impressed with how I handled the situation.

"So who was that anyways?" I asked. Spike started laughing and Twilight just let out a short sigh.

"That was Pinkie Pie," she said, still glaring at me. "And you are really in no condition for any parties!" she snapped.

I could only shrug, "I wanted the free food." Twilight just let out an exasperated groan. 

"I'll deal with Pinkie Pie later. Right now though," A big grin crept onto Twilight's face as her horn started to glow. A little black bottle and what I assumed was a quill pen floated over to Spike. "We're going to have a little study session!" Twilight said happily while getting settled on the floor next to me. I cocked an eyebrow. "I'm going to teach you everything I can about Ponies," she started.

"Oh great." I said with little enthusiasm.

"And then you are going to teach me everything you can about Humans!" She finished quite excitedly. 

"Oh great." I said with even less enthusiasm. Twilight ignored me.

I'll spare this report the bulk of Twilight's lecture. Partially because I don't remember most of it and also because I don't care to write most of what I do remember down. I mostly took note of types of ponies, some pony history, important pony figures, politics, geography and magic. Which explained a lot of the strange phenomena I had noticed previously, or at least made it easier to ignore. 

I'll spare this report my lecture as well. One: Because I don't need a record on humans and Two: Because Twilight already had Spike take extensive notes. Spike, by the way, who I learned was a dragon because of course he is. I didn't cover nearly as much ground as Twilight, speaking to what I thought was relevant despite Twilight's inquiries.

I focused mainly on basic human biology, things concerning overall health and diet. I also mentioned that humans don't have any relationship with magic. She seemed unconvinced, stating that most living things had some relationship with magic even if it wasn't direct manipulation like a unicorn. But after checking me over she was surprised to find out that besides the spells she had cast there was nothing magical about me. 

So that she wouldn't be completely unsatisfied I gave Twilight a few trivial things like some scientific classifications and population numbers. 

When I got sick of talking about it I feigned fatigue and Twilight reluctantly left me to rest. I think Spike was thankful for my brevity. 

Twilight went upstairs to review her notes and Spike ended up making me soup. It was a pretty fresh tasting tomato soup. Fresh, but plain. I didn't say anything though, I just thanked Spike and downed the soup.

Spike mentioned something about having plans and left right after. I just did what I do best and took a nap.


--


I ended up sleeping well into the afternoon. I was awoken by something softly nudging the side of my head. My body went stiff and my eyes shot open. When I saw a familiar yellow and pink I immediately relaxed. 

"Sorry!" Fluttershy squeaked and took a few steps back.

I let out a long sigh. "It's fine," I mumbled dejectedly, "I guess I'm a little on edge." I should have been pretty proud of myself for keeping my cool for so long around the ponies. I had done a pretty good job rationalizing much of my tension away so far but it wasn't something that was just going to go away after a nap.

Fluttershy stepped back over to me and pressed her hoof comfortingly against my arm. "You're doing very well," she said with a kind smile. I was starting to think the pony was too sweet for her own good. 

Fluttershy started the process of changing my bandages and by the time she finished removing the dirty bandages Twilight was bounding down the stairs. "Everything is ready!" she said with an excited look on her face. 

"What's ready?" I asked giving her a confused look.

"We just thought that is was time that somepony had a bath," Fluttershy said, I turned to give her a more exaggerated confused look. I held her gaze for a second before pointing back at Twilight.

"Or rather some human." Twilight said with mock irritation. I felt that all too familiar tingle and then I was up in the air. The magic cradled me just like the cushions had so it was a smooth transition. My blanket did fall away though, so I was just naked up in the air.

"Oh no, my dignity." I said sarcastically. 

Twilight managed to carefully carry me up the stairs and into the the bathroom. It looked... surprisingly like a bathroom. I'm not really sure what I was expecting. Everything was a little closer to the floor like you would expect and the toilet was oriented more towards something on four legs. Really though, sink, bathtub and shower combo, toilet. For some reason I was expecting something alien. 

There was also a small stool and a basin full of soapy water that smelled faintly of citrus. Twilight set me down on the stool and was extra careful with setting my leg down, which was still wrapped up with the splint. 

"So how long before I have to carry myself up the stairs?" I asked the ponies.

"Oh, you should be on your feet in about a week," said Fluttershy, happily following us into the bathroom.

"A week!?" I just about jumped off the stool. "I'll be lucky if it takes four mmmm–" my tone dropped when I saw the smile spread across Twilight's muzzle "–magic."

Twilight giggled and I just hung my head. I was starting to become frustrated with how often magic was overturning my expectations. I looked down at my knuckles for the first time since the bandages went on and saw raw pink skin where the cuts and scrapes were. I ran my fingers over my knuckles, the skin was little tender but that was it. I told myself that I should have been happy or even grateful. Instead I just found it disconcerting. The bathroom may have been a bathroom but this place was still very alien.

"Now make sure you're extra careful around his injuries. Just be gentle and scrub in circles," I heard Fluttershy say, I finally lifted my head up and saw both mare's had sponges. 

Now many people might have objected to a sponge bath, citing embarrassment or a desire not to appear vulnerable. 'I can clean myself!' they would argue, trying to hide their shame. These people haven't had a good sponge bath before. It's completely relaxing and incredibly soothing especially when you're injured. As long as the person, or ponies in this case, weren't 'scrape off all the dead skin' kind of enthusiastic about your cleaning. With Fluttershy on the job I was pretty sure I was in for an enjoyable experience.

When both ponies started making their way over me I sat up as straight as I could manage and closed my eyes. They both got started without a word.

There was a slight difference in the cleaning styles between the two mares. Fluttershy was gentle, thorough and consistent. She made her way from my head, down to my shoulder blades and over the top of left arm, down my palm, then heading back along under my arm to my underarm, down my side and across my back. She was attentive, meticulous and yet, fluid. 

Twilight on the other hand, was also gentle and meticulous, yet not nearly as fluid as Fluttershy and attentive in a much different way. I quickly found out that Twilight was using this bath as an excuse to get an up close examination of the human body. I was surprised Spike wasn't here taking notes. She was manipulating her sponge with magic or so I guessed due to the tingling in my neck. I confirmed this when I felt the sponge stop moving on my shoulder, I opened one eye to see her looking intently at my arm. She lifted up a hoof and dragged it slowly across my arm.

"Smooth..." I heard Twilight mutter. 

I just closed my eye again and she got back to it. I would occasionally feel her poke and run her hoof over various places. She also spent a little time manipulating my hand and joints. I largely ignored her errant touching as she didn't poke at any of my sensitive injuries. But that didn't stop her hoof from finding another sensitive place to touch.  

My eyes shot open when I felt something that was not a sponge touch my manhood. I saw Twilight staring at it, no more interested in it than she was my arm. She lifted up my flaccid member with her hoof and she bent down a little to examine the underside as well as my balls before I loudly cleared my throat. She looked up at me and I gave her a look that said 'Just what do you think you're doing?'. She looked between my face and my genitals dumbly a few times before realization hit her and I swear I saw the pony blush. She discontinued her examination and went back to cleaning. I kept my laughter to myself.

As relaxing as the overall experience was I did end up looking at the bathtub curiously. I probably could have managed with my leg over the side. My ribs would have made it difficult to bend and reach but... 

Really I was just curious as to whose idea it was. I could easily see both of them coming up with it. Twilight as an excuse to satisfy her curiosity and Fluttershy just because she was a big sweetie. I guessed it was some combination of the two.

The both got a couple of light brown towels and dried me off which agitated my ribs a little but I held back the wince. But by the time I was dry I noticed how refreshed I felt. It had been a few days under less than ideal circumstances but my mind had a lot of things to preoccupy it other than how gross I was.

"Thanks," I said simply to both ponies. 

"You are very welcome," Fluttershy responded happily as I was once again lifted into the air.

When we got back downstairs I was assaulted by confetti.


--


"Surprise!" yelled a sudden flash of pink.

Streamers, balloons, a big banner that said, 'Get Well Soon!' and a long table loaded with food. My bed of pillows and cushions even had colored streamers running off of it.  

"That was fast," I said with a look of mild surprise on my face. I hadn't been expecting this party so soon, especially since Twilight said she was going to 'take care of it'. 

"Well duh, it wouldn't be a get well soon party if you got well before we had the party! You've got to have a get well soon party as soon as possible so you can get well as soon as possible!" Pinkie Pie happily bounced around me as she spoke. An exasperated Twilight just floated me back over to the bed while a mildly concerned Fluttershy followed me. 

"And look! Everypony who knows you is here! And there's the food!" Pinkie waved a hoof at the other ponies then pointed it at the snack table. "I'll get you some!" she said before shooting off towards the table. Twilight set me down and quickly went after her. After recovering my blanket and my modesty, I looked at the other ponies in the room, Applejack was there and she was talking to a white and purple pony I hadn't seen before. Then there was an awkward looking Rainbow Dash who made her way over to me.

"Hey um," she started, fidgeting a bit "I wanted to say sorry... for last night..."

"Huh?" I asked, momentarily distracted by Fluttershy who had just started applying fresh bandages to the wounds that hadn't quite closed up yet. "Oh, right, yeah don't worry about it." I said, waving a hand dismissively.

"H-huh?" Rainbow asked, a bit of shock in her voice.

I turned my head to look Rainbow in the eye. "Yeah I was just messing with you last night. I'm not mad," I was about to leave it at that but then an idea sparked into my head. I kept my tone even and my expression serious, "Besides, I know you just jumped me because you were scared."

"Scared!?" Rainbow had a bit of anger with the shock in her voice that time.

I just shrugged my shoulders. "No, I understand, after all I was being scary and hiding out in a creepy coffin. I can't blame you for being terrified," I said, throwing her own words back at her.

Like a repeat performance Rainbow Dash was angry and got in my face again. "I was not–" to my surprise she had cut herself off and looked me in the eyes with a curious expression. "...You're messing with me again aren't you?" she finally asked.

Rank up, I thought.

I just let a small smile show and Rainbow Dash gave me a big grin in return. As well as a playful slug to my left arm. So playful that when her hoof struck me I felt it in my cracked ribs. I couldn't help but wince though I kept my smile. 

I reached up and roughly messed up her mane. She made no effort to escape. "You're pretty quick on the uptake," I said before letting up.

Rainbow Dash giggled and flew up higher into the air "The quickest!" she exclaimed proudly, not making any attempt to fix her multicolored mane.

Fluttershy had finished tugging on the last of my bandages, quite a few less than before, only some around my head my right arm. She was just looking at me and Rainbow with a smile on her face. 

When I took my eyes off of her I found myself rapidly becoming surrounded. Applejack and the White Pony were making their way over on my left and just ahead of them was Pinkie Pie and Twilight on my right. I was starting to feel very out of place. The smiles on all their faces helped a little, but...

I was taken out of my thoughts at feeling something placed on my lap. I looked down and saw a single cupcake on a small plate sitting on my lap. I looked to my right and saw Pinkie staring at me expectantly. Thankful for the distraction I gently picked up the cupcake with my hand and inspected it thoroughly.

I looked like a vanilla cupcake. It was frosted with blue Icing that had an appealing color and shape. It was decorated with orange sprinkles. "Nice use of complementary colors..." I muttered as I examined the sweet.

I had a habit of being a bit critical of food, but more than that I was very critical of sweets. To the point where I rarely kept my opinion to myself.

After examining the cupcake long enough to look pretty odd, I took a bite. The texture was pleasant and overall the confection was sweeter than I thought it would be. I liked the extra sweetness however and quickly finished off the cupcake with two more big bites.

"Well? How is it!?" asked Pinkie Pie while I was savoring the lingering taste. She looked like she was about to buckle under the anticipation.

"Hmmm, you know I'm not sure," I said with a little sigh. I picked up the empty plate and held it out to Pinkie, "I think I'll need to try a few more first." I gave her a playful smile and she seemed overjoyed. She snatched up the plate and darted back over to the snack table.

"I'm so glad to see you feeling better dear," said a new voice to my right. 

Looking over I found myself face to face with the White Pony. As soon as my head turned, her azure eyes locked onto mine. She was giving me an amused expression as I drank in her appearance. Her deep purple mane was expertly styled, especially compared to the other ponies in the room, along with her tail. I took note of her white horn as well She was... carrying, a pair of light pink saddlebags with a diamond design on them. I hadn't thought about what she could have been carrying, I only thought it looked pretty cute.

"Is that so?" I asked, eyeing the White Pony suspiciously, "Even though, from what I hear, I gave you all quite a fright last night."

The White Pony quickly rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Oh please, the only frightening thing about you was the state of your attire." Her expression quickly softened and she turned her head back towards the bag on her right. I felt that tingle again, though with less intensity, as the White Pony's horned glowed a light blue and she used her magic to open up the bag and pull out a few familiar items. "I had wanted to get these back to you earlier, the repairs were simple but the... stains were harder to get out than I thought," she said, grimacing a bit.

A neatly folded pile of clothes was floated to my lap with a pile of miscellaneous objects on top. All of my things that I hadn't even remembered to ask for. I would have assumed Twilight stashed it all somewhere. I could only imagine how poor the condition of my clothes was, not that it was a pressing thought on my mind until that point. But there they were, looking better than the day I bought them.

I felt the fabric of my trench coat for a few moments before looking back at the White Pony. "Thanks... uh..." I stumbled.

"Rarity," she said with a smile.

"Right, thanks a lot Rarity. I'm–"

"–Detective Valentino Brugato. I hope you don't mind, I did take a peek at your... identification," Rarity pointed a hoof towards my lap.

I picked up the black nylon case that was folded in half. On one half it displayed my badge and the other half flipped up to display my identification.

"It has such a lovely design, I couldn't help but take a closer look." Rarity sighed, eyeing the badge. The badge had a golden base with some silver accents and a blue lettering. It had a basic oval shape with an eagle at the top of the badge. Under the eagle text read on a golden banner 'DETECTIVE'. In the center was a perfect circle containing the silver image of a fort on water. Under that was more text on banners that read 'HOLDRIDGE' and 'POLICE'. Silver rays of light were engraved emanating from the center of the badge. 

I just shrugged "It's fine, it's meant to be seen." Just as I moved to put it down my badge a purple glow snatched it from my hand and it floated over to Twilight. She studied it intently with a smile on her face.

I set aside my empty black hip holster, my gun and the extra magazines were taken from me long before I was put in that coffin. Another empty nylon case once held my handcuffs, which were put to effective use by those thugs that buried me. They also made use of the pepper spray and my flashlight. Everything I wore on my belt towards the front they snatched up and found a way to harm me with. I calmly set each of the empty cases down on my left but one by one a purple glow snatched them up and carried them back over to my right.

Rainbow Dash had flown down next to Twilight followed by Applejack who circled around me and they both joined her in looking at my badge and identification. Pinkie Pie walked back from the snack table with a plate that was piled high with cupcakes now and she set it down next to me. 

I gave Pinkie a little smile smile and picked up another cupcake. I took a large bite and chewed on it while I looked at the rest of my things.

A lighter and a dark green pack of menthol cigarettes. I looked inside the pack and counted seventeen cigarettes. "What's that?" asked Pinkie, staring at the pack.

Damn, I thought. I waited a moment, hoping that one of the other ponies would chime in and say what a cigarette was. When they didn't I sighed and closed the pack. I hid it between my perfectly folded coat and cream colored dress shirt along with my lighter. I'd have to ration out what I had left.

"It's not for ponies." I said firmly, Pinkie seemed to deflate a little and I just devoured the rest of my cupcake. Fluttershy and Rarity were just looking at me curiously. 

I picked up another cupcake and tossed it at Pinkie Pie, she hopped up and caught it with with her mouth. She happily munched on it and I considered her effectively distracted. I picked up another cupcake for myself and looked at the last couple of items.

In a black nylon sheath that matched the rest of the gear that normally hung off of my belt, was a knife. It was a fixed, drop-point blade with an edge that became serrated along the heel. It was very functional and even in day to day life saw plenty of use. Not like I had a chance to use it when I was abducted.

Lastly was a eight inch long metal cylinder inside of the final nylon case. A collapsible baton that at full extension was around twenty one inches. I set it aside with the knife without bothering to examine it. It was something I frequently carried but rarely ever used. Just in case would always ring in the back of my head before I would leave the house. I felt a little lucky that I still had it. Of course I'd have felt even luckier if I still had my gun.

I set my clothing aside as well and finished off the third cupcake, I eyed the pile and decided against another.

Pinkie Pie had joined Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash looking through my stuff. Twilight had taken everything and spread it all out before them and Pinkie was taking a turn to eye my badge curiously.

I turned back to Rarity, who had just been waiting patiently while I went through my stuff. "Really though, thanks for taking care of my things," I said.

Rarity just shook her head, her purple curls bouncing along, "It was nothing, after all it appears you've been through quite a lot. It was the least I could do to help." 

I let out a dry laugh, "It has been a rough few days."

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Fluttershy in a quiet voice, surprising me a little. What surprised me even more was how the room had gone silent and six sets of curious eyes were now on me.

"I don't want to sour the mood." I said a bit awkwardly. I did not really like where the conversation was going.

Applejack quickly spoke up, "Well I am mighty curious as to how ya ended up... how ya did." The rest of the ponies nodded along with Applejack.

I had to stop my hand which was already reaching for my cigarettes. All I could do was sigh and look up at the ceiling. 

"Well..." I started, resting my hands on my stomach, "let's just say that going up against an established criminal organization poses certain... risks." 

The ponies were still staring at at me. Twilight in particular was narrowing her eyes. It became rapidly apparent that I wasn't going to get away with any of my vague bullshit.

I groaned loudly, expressing my discomfort. "Several weeks before my incident we had found several dead bodies in an apartment building's basement storage room," I huffed, beginning my long winded explanation. Already I could see unease spread across each pony's face. Even still, I had their undivided attention.

"A thorough investigation of which led to evidence of several involved parties with connections to a larger criminal organization. Further investigations into these connections ended up revealing an alarming amount of evidence against several people, proof of their involvement in some very high profile criminal acts. I was the detective heading up this case and the night of the incident I was preparing several reports that I would hand off to the feds when they arrived to take over the investigation," I paused for a second to catch my breath, looking around I got a couple of confused looks.

"Feds?" asked Twilight.

"Right, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, they..." I took a moment to think of an easy way to explain it. The last thing I wanted was to spend all night explaining the intricacies of my governments legal system just for the sake of context. Frustration was rapidly starting to show on my face as I was trying to remember anything I could from Twilight's morning lecture so I could apply it to a simple explanation. "Okay, so let's say I work here in Ponyville as a detective. My responsibility would be to investigate most crimes within this town. However, there are certain laws and criminal activities that I would report to the feds. An organization of people, or ponies, or whatever that would handle those kinds of cases all across Equestria. Organized crime being one of those things."

The ponies all seemed to catch on and the confusion started to leave their expressions. Twilight nodded and looked like she wanted to ask another question, I took that as a sign to quickly continue the story.

"Anyways, I ended up staying late into the night with those reports. Then, while walking home, I wound up being surrounded by five men when I was halfway to my apartment," I said, once again gaining the ponies' rapt attention. "Three of them approached me from the front. When I went for my weapon two of them grabbed me from behind. One of the men in front of me got real close and hit me in the stomach and then the other two pushed me down and then I was knocked out for the first time."  The unease had settled back into their faces again, in some cases it was even worse.

"I spent the next day in their good company," I said with a heavy sarcasm. "A few of them said they knew me from old encounters. Most of them just resented me for what I had set into motion. For a few hours I got to know the extent of their... resentment." I punched my fist into my palm, making a loud smack. The ponies winced. "And it's thanks to their wonderful treatment that I cannot stand on my own right now," I said motioning sharply towards my leg. Feeling my frustration start to boil I took a deep breath and let it go in another long sigh.

"When they got bored of that they tied me to a chair and stuck me in a closet for the rest of the day. Which wouldn't have been all that bad if I wasn't just a bit... claustrophobic. Something that they, somehow, already knew. Which probably gave them the idea to put me in a coffin and bury me. And they did, that night, after beating on me some more. And as for the rest, well, you all know as much as I do," I ended, crossing my arms over my chest.

My audience was quite glum. They were all looking at the floor, Pinkie's mane and tail were hanging a little limply and Rainbow Dash looked mad. The unease and shock on their faces during my story, I could tell they weren't used to dealing with this kind of thing. 

"That's just... awful!" Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted.

"Well they were awful people," I responded through gritted teeth, "That's the occupational hazard. Try to put a stop to people with low to no moral standards and it's very likely they will do bad things to you." I had to take another deep breath when I noticed my frustration rise again.

"But!" I said loudly in order to get everyone's attention. "I'm still alive! I have the lot of you to thank for that. No matter how I got here I'd still be dead in the ground if it wasn't for all of you. So as far as I'm concerned the win goes to me," I said firmly.

That managed to bring a small smile to Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and a big one to Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy and Twilight still seemed a little down.

Beyond sick of the topic and wanting to get rid of the bad mood still lingering in the air I hatched a simple scheme to lighten things up.  I reached over to the plate next to me still piled high with cupcakes and started to chuck them at the ponies. The first one aimed right at Rainbow Dash's face.

The ensuing food fight didn't last long since Twilight got pretty anxious about her library books and quickly put a stop to it.

But it did the job of getting rid tension in the air and the rest of the night was fairly mellow.


--


Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity were out the door all at once. They had helped clean up, told me to get well soon and left. 

As soon as the door closed I yawned loudly and stretched as much as I could until a sharp pain in my ribs told me to stop. "I guess I'll get some sleep," I said to Twilight.

She seemed to perk up a little at that. "Oh, alright!" she said and before I knew it I was in the air. At least that time I managed to keep a hold of the blanket.

I looked down at my bed of cushions and then over at Twilight who started taking me over to the stairs. "So... bed?" I pointed back at the cushions on the floor and Twilight just happily hummed and carried me up the stairs. 

We eventually got up to a room that at first looked like just more library. But there were also two beds set up across from each other and a telescope set up near a window. 

"I set up the spare bed for you!" she exclaimed merrily before levitating me over towards the beds. She gently set me down on the wider of the two beds. Lengthwise my feet popped off the end but that really wasn't a big of a deal. 

"Thanks," I mumbled, the bed was pretty firm but it was better than the inconsistency of a bunch of cushions on the floor. Twilight just beamed at me before she snuffed out the lights and hopped into her bed. Her bedspread pattern had pale crescent moons and yellow stars. It was pretty cute.

I stared into the darkness for a few seconds before a stray thought crawled it's way into my brain. "Hey Twilight," I called out.

"Yeah?" she responded, I could see her move a little in her bed. 

"Did you guys ever get a close look at that coffin?" I asked. She was silent for a few moments before responding.

"..No. We were a little more preoccupied with you." She said finally.

"That's fine, but you should probably check it out. If we're really lucky we might find something there," I said calmly. 

"You're right, I'll go first thing in the morning."

Turns out we weren't really lucky.


--


I was jolted awake by the sound of hooves rapidly scrambling up stairs. I looked around and barely caught a purple blur rushing across the room. Twilight quickly jumped onto the bed and was looking very concerned about something.

Before I could even ask she was practically yelling, "It's gone! The c-coffin is gone!"

I was able to process information much quicker than I was the morning before, "Gone how? Taken gone? Did someone move it?" 

Twilight frantically shook her head, "No! Nopony moved it! It's gone like it was never there! There was the hole we dug but then just... dirt, untouched, undisturbed dirt!" 

I felt my brow knit and I lifted myself up into a sitting position. There was no way I could come up with an explanation for what happened so I jumped on the next best thing, "Do you think it was a magic thing? Did someone magic all that stuff to happen?" I felt like that worlds largest idiot after saying it like that.

Twilight just let out a heavy sigh and collapsed onto the bed. She was on her stomach with her legs tucked in and her head up. "Maybe, but if somepony levitated or even teleported the coffin out of the hole there would be still be some kind of physical evidence. Valentino I'm telling you, there's absolutely no sign of anything ever being in that hole we dug. It's like somepony dug a couple feet down and then stopped."

I thought on it for a few moments before letting my expression relax and falling back onto the bed. "Well that's strange."

"That's–" Twilight started, she looked like she wanted to argue something but stopped. Her ears splayed back and she looked down. "It is strange..." she said, realizing that just between us we weren't going to get any answers.  But a look of determination had quickly taken over her face and she started levitating books over to the bed.


--


The following days of my recovery were fairly uneventful. I spent most of the time sleeping, which I enjoyed immensely, and more time talking to Twilight. She had come up with several magical theories as to how my coffin had disappeared but none of those theories really explained why. And nothing really settled what brought me here in the first place. I don't even want to remember the hours long parallel dimensions discussion we had. 

What I do want to remember and record is what we both ended up agreeing on. 

I wasn't going back.

Whether or not it was a matter of time and space or dimensional whatevers, the sheer number of variables and unknowns in getting me back exactly where I came from was so staggering that any attempt was more likely to get me killed than anything.

I should note that Twilight had slightly more optimism than that.

Other than my discussions with Twilight I saw more of Fluttershy, who came by to check on my health regularly. Pinkie Pie came by a couple of times with more sweets which I was grateful for. I made sure she knew I was grateful. I made sure she knew it was a good thing to bring the Human sweets.

Talking to Pinkie was kind of exhausting though, she had a lot of energy 

Rainbow Dash dropped in once, quite literally. That Pegasus could really take a beating. She was pretty energetic, but not in an exhausting Pinkie Pie way. She also had quite a lot of passion for just about everything she talked about. I had some respect for that.

Rainbow Dash was also a lot more receptive to me making fun of her than I originally thought she would be. She even hit me with a few barbs of her own, though for the record my eyebrows are a fairly easy target. Dash will need to step up her game. Regardless we had a good laugh and she went on her way.

I did not see Applejack or Rarity for the remainder of my recovery.

A note on Spike's cooking, it was alright. Simple soups and salads that conformed to my dietary needs within vegetarian restrictions. Nothing too heavy while I was recovering. The food was prepared well and it always tasted very fresh but I found it just a little boring. I refrained from complaining.

I also refrained from smoking the remainder of the week, determined to save them for when I really needed them.










-Addendum-




Over the course of my currently recorded stay in Equestria I have been having a reoccurring dream. I don't generally dream when I sleep so a reoccurring dream is plenty strange in itself. 

What I remember of the dream is a large grandfather clock. It ticks loudly and is only a minute away from striking five. I have a growing anxiety the closer it gets to five. I wake up before the clock chimes. 

None of this has any special significance to me that I can decipher. However, I still felt compelled to record it.
	
> Chapter 3 - Farmland Harassment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


Considering the events following my recovery I've decided to start organizing these records into private and investigative accounts accordingly. I suppose with this now being a private record I can cut out this formal crap up at the top. I still want to keep an account of these events though. Things can start to feel awfully unreal around here and laying it all out on paper is very therapeutic. Though as I form connections with these ponies I'm starting to find it difficult to get a free moment.

Anyways, let's start just after my complete recovery. 


--


"I wish Rarity would've mentioned these additions she made to my clothes," I grumbled back to Twilight who managed to tear her eyes away from whatever she was writing.

I was standing in the middle of the library. I had managed to get on my pair of dark blue dress pants and my white t-shirt before I notice something was off. I had my cream dress shirt in my right hand and my dark brown trench coat in my left. A large version of my badge's design was copied onto the backs of both articles of clothing. The only glaring difference was that the dark blue text of 'HOLDRIDGE' and 'POLICE' was replaced with 'VALENTINO' and 'BRUGATO'.

With an annoyed look on my face I turned around and held up the clothes so Twilight could see. She giggled, "I think it looks nice! It's a very powerful design." 

"Sure, but it throws subtlety right out the window," I complained.

"Well you're already going to stand out plenty."

"That's... a good point," I shrugged my shoulders and had started putting the rest of my clothes on while Twilight went back to writing. 

My dress shirt was lazily tucked into my pants and my black tie was loosely affixed. My knife and baton were in their nylon sheath and nylon case respectively and hooked them onto my black belt. My baton was on my right and knife was on my left. I had stored the rest of the empty cases and holster in a drawer upstairs that Twilight let me use. My cigarettes were in my coat pocket with my lighter and my badge. 

I got my black crew socks on and then slipped into my cheap pair of black dress shoes. I tested my leg for probably the fifth time that morning, roughly hitting my heel against the floor a couple of times. Those ponies did some amazing work.

My coat was draped over my arm and I was looking at Twilight who was still writing. She had quite the stack of paper next to her. I was starting to wonder just how long she was going to take.

"What are you writing again?" I asked.

"A report to Princess Celestia," she responded without looking up.

I did remember the Sun Princess from Twilight's lecture. The highest authority in all of Equestria when that sun of hers was shining. And when the Sun retired there was a Moon Princess to look over things. Then there was a Love Princess who had a Crystal Empire to look after. Twilight was a Princess too, she had some vague royal responsibilities. Or something. All I knew about her was that her ascent to royalty was fairly recent and that magic was what she was all about.

What I made note of was that Princess Celestia was about as important as it got. So I thought that report must have been about something really important.

"About?" I pressed.

"You of course," she pointed a hoof at me but still didn't look away from the page.

Maybe not that important, I thought. "What would your Sun Princess care about a non-magic nobody popping up in her vast and wondrous lands?" I asked, not quite able to hide my annoyance under my sarcasm.

Twilight got her own look of annoyance as she finally looked up from her report. "After I first contacted her–"

"–First contacted her!?" I found myself incredibly unsettled by the fact that I was the subject of a correspondence between some of the highest ranking officials in the nation I was stranded in. Unsettled mostly by the fact that I wasn't informed of it. 

Twilight picked up on this and she started to explain, "The morning after we found you I sent a letter to Princess Celestia telling her about how we found you. I told her that I was going to learn as much about you and how you got here as I could. Her response just said that she was very curious about you and that she wanted me to keep her apprised of whatever I learned." 

"And you're reporting to her now with what you've learned then," I stated, my body and tone had relaxed considerably. I really should have expected as much but I was still finding it hard not to make all the same assumptions I would back home. 

"That's right," she said, happy to see me relax.

But I still hadn't taken one step outside yet. I hadn't had a chance to really see this place for what it was. 

I was growing impatient.

"What about all those notes you took? Why don't you just send her those? I'll even give you those records I wrote and you can send her those too," I said, hoping it would expedite her report writing.

Twilight seemed to light up at that. "Yes! That would be wonderful! It will take me a little while to copy down everything though," she mused.

I smacked my forehead with my palm. "Why don't you just send her what we have and ask her to send it back when she's done?" I groaned.

"I'll need my notes for reference. It should only take a couple of hours," she still seemed pretty excited despite my complaining.

My plan had backfired and Twilight was going to settle in for even longer. I only had one option left.

"Well, okay then. My records are in my drawer. I'll just go for a walk and leave you to it." I said with an even tone and casually walked towards the door.

Unfortunately a casual mention of my planned outing did not fly over Twilight's head like I had hoped. "You can't go out by yourself!" she loudly exclaimed.

"Well I wouldn't but you're busy and Spike is off helping one of your friends. So I guess I'll just have to tackle the outside world alone!" I stood up straight and puffed up my chest to look confident.

"Nopony really knows about you except me and my friends! There's no telling what kind of impression you'll make without anypony to introduce you and show you around!" Every time Twilight's eyes were off of me while she spoke I took a small step back towards the door.

"The only impression I'll make is that I'm a exotic and handsome stranger," I said with a sly smile. Twilight just stared at me. "Look, the worst thing that'll happen is I get some stares, maybe a pony or two asks me what my deal is. I tell them I'm a guest of Princess Twilight Sparkle and move on. It's more likely I'll just run into one of your friends and have them show me around before anything like that happens."

Twilight looked off to the side with a thoughtful expression. I took the opportunity to quietly back up to the door and silently open it. "Well..." she started.

I already ducked down and was halfway out the short doorway, "Oops! Too late! I'm already out the door!" I shouted back to her before I quickly shut the door behind me and broke into a run. 


--


I didn't make it very far before being stopped just by the sight of the town. The buildings were all very colorful, residential cottages were all over the place and had a common theme of pale yellows, with brown and pink accents. I could see a couple of more... eccentric and colorful buildings. Turning around I could see the giant tree I had just escaped from.

And the ponies were everywhere. Pegasi fluttering around in the sky, Unicorns and Earth Ponies trotting along and going about business as usual. Really it was everything I expected but I hadn't expected the reality of it all to hit me so hard. I sneaked a few glances of the outside world from windows and the occasional open door but there was still so much of that comfortable uncertainty inside that hollow tree.

I glared back at the tree for a moment while pulling my coat on. I huffed and turned back towards reality. 

To find Rainbow Dash who hovered in the air just in front of me. She had a big smile on her face.

"Heya, Val!" she said happily.

"Val?" I cocked an eyebrow at her. That wasn't a nickname I'd heard or held for a very long time.

"Yeah! Your name takes way too long to say," she explained. I couldn't argue that. "So what are you doing? I didn't think you'd be out by yourself." 

I rolled my eyes, "I wouldn't be but Twilight had some Royal reports and transcripts to work on and I was feeling stir crazy so I just ducked out ."

"Uh huh, is that why you were running?" she asked with an impish look in her eyes.

"What, are you stalking me or something?" I shot back at her with feigned irritation as I started walking.

Rainbow Dash flew right beside me, "I was flying over, you just stand out a lot."

I huffed, already I was getting few awkward stares from a few ponies but they rarely lingered. Maybe it was just their nature or maybe it was the smiling Rainbow Dash who was flying next to me.

"Well I'm glad you decided to stop and show me around town then," I said glancing over to Dash with a sly smile on my face.

The responsibility I dumped on her made her stop in the air. "Well, you know I'm kind of busy and–"

"–you decided you would help me out even with your busy schedule. Wow you are such a great pal," I ended for her. I turned back towards her and shot her a serious expression. I really didn't want to tackle the town alone if I didn't have to. In such a short amount of time I had already built something of a rapport with Rainbow Dash and since interacting with her felt so natural I preferred to have her around.

"Alright fine! Don't worry! I'll show you all the best parts of Ponyville!" she said, getting herself pumped up for her new job.

Unfortunately none of her energy rubbed off on me as I kept a leisurely pace. It didn't take long for her to get irritated with me but she didn't complain too much.

The tour started by following the wide path from Twilight's tree towards the center of town. Right in the middle of the town square was town hall, which was probably the biggest building in Ponyville. There were a few shops around the edges of the square which were very distinct from everything else. Rainbow Dash showed me the joke shop and all I could say was "Yeah, that's a joke shop." For the sake of speed we moved on without going inside.

Cutting through town was a rather large stream that cut through the town that came from what was a very nearby mountain. Rainbow pointed out that you could just barely make out the spires of Canterlot from Ponyville. Something I remember Twilight saying when we were going over Equestria's geography. Honestly I would have found pony nomenclature a bit arrogant if it wasn't so adorable. 

After that we passed by Rarity's place, apparently called the Carousel Boutique. It had quite the... extravagant style. We both opted to continue the tour and say hi to Rarity later.

There was no conflict with any of the other ponies. Most just stared curiously or awkwardly. Two or three actually came up to ask what the deal was with me but they were all pretty friendly about it. I remember one had a mint colored coat that reminded me of the menthols in my pocket for some reason.  Rainbow Dash referred to me as a, "Friend who blew into town." When asked about what exactly I was and why they had never seen anything like me before our brush off line was that I, "Come from a very far away land." None of which was necessarily untrue and good enough for the ponies that came up to us. A couple of them mentioned how tall I was and we would excuse ourselves shortly after.

We passed through the Ponyville Marketplace, fresh fruit, vegetables and other goods were sold throughout. It explained the exceptional taste of the ingredients in the meals I had eaten so far.

At the end of the market we came upon a building that made me stop in my tracks. It had the same general style of any of the cottages around town but instead of a thatched roof it had chocolate shingles and icing tracing the edges of the roof. In the center was a small spire that formed what looked like a cupcake on top with three birthday candles jutting out of it. The building had a sign with a cupcake on it. 

Rainbow Dash must have thought I was trying to glare a hole into the door with how intensely I was staring at the building. I was shocked, appalled and yet at the same time ultimately enticed by the building. It represented an insurmountable challenge. I could never eat that candy house. I would never want to eat that candy house. It was a dream, a perpetually fattening dream. 

"That's um... That's Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie and the Cakes live and work there." Rainbow Dash said awkwardly, probably concerned about my current state of mind.

I stared at it for a few more seconds before marching up to the building rather quickly. Rainbow Dash followed quickly behind me as I walked up the front steps to the door to the sweet shop. I mentally prepared myself for the temptations inside and flung the door open. I didn't have time to look, I heard a gasp and pink blur filled my vision. 

A tremendous weight slammed itself against my chest. One pair of pink legs locked around my chest and the other locked around my waist. The force Pinkie Pie hit me with sent me back a couple steps but I kept upright. The weight of her threatened to pull me down though, so I brought my hands up to help support her. My fingers sank into her plump pink flanks and it took everything I had to keep us both up for just a few seconds. 

"Bruggie! You're all better!" shouted Pinkie Pie, crushing me in her hug and giggling. 

I couldn't say anything under the strain. I took a step back under her weight, right off the front step of the building. I ended up tumbling backwards and falling flat on my back. The ground though was fairly soft so I didn't end up any worse for the wear. I made a mental note of my discovery that earth ponies were heavy.

Pinkie was standing over me with a big smile on her face. I could hear Rainbow Dash laughing hysterically back up the steps. I looked Pinkie in the eye with an exhausted expression and said, "Pinkie... That's a horrible nickname."

"No way! It's perfect for you!" she said, stepping off of me. 

"Yeah!" snorted Rainbow Dash through her laughter.

I got up to my feet, brushing the dirt off of my pants and popping my neck. I didn't bother arguing, Pinkie was going to do whatever she wanted so it was better to save myself the effort.

"Come on in!" she said happily trotting in ahead of us. 

I walked in behind her. The entrance was quite a bit taller than Twilight's tree making it so I didn't have to duck down to enter. Rainbow Dash followed after she shook off the last of her laughing fit.

The interior design had the same sweet theme as the outside. Pink glass cases held the many varieties of sweets and candies were organized on shelves behind the counters. 

Also behind the counters were two busy looking ponies. One mare with a blue coat and light crimson swirl of a mane and a stallion with an amber coat, orange mane and very square cut jaw. They both wore cute aprons. They both gave me a very curious look at first but then their faces seemed to brighten up.

"Oh Pinkie, is this your friend?" the stallion asked.

"Yeah! This is Bruggie! Bruggie, this is Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" said Pinkie.

"Valentino Brugato," I added, nodding towards the two Ponies.

"Oh we've heard so much about you from Pinkie. She's been in the kitchen just about every day making something for her strange new friend Bruggie," said Mrs. Cake with a little giggle.

"Oh yeah! That reminds me!" Pinkie suddenly shouted and ran off behind the counters.

I approached one of the glass cases and bent over to inspect the offerings of cakes inside. Everything on display looked expertly crafted and had me swallow back the saliva that accumulated in my mouth. I could hear the sound of Rainbow Dash's wings flapping behind me. 

"We hear you have quite the discerning sweet tooth dearie," said Mrs. Cake while she and Mr. Cake got back to work.

"My folks were fantastic chefs and bakers so I grew up a little spoiled. But still I love sweet stuff, can't get anything that good where I'm frOM!" I shouted and jumped up at feeling something lightly press against my back. The unexpected touch sent shocks through my torso.

"Don't move! You got dirt all over your back," huffed Rainbow Dash. She put a firm hoof on my shoulder and lightly brushed her other forehoof against my back. Every time I felt her touch me my body tensed up a little and I winced. Just a few swipes of her hoof though and she stopped. "Gosh, there, I'm done you big baby. You're welcome." 

I held in a deep breath and let it go. Feeling my body relax I turned back to Rainbow Dash. "A little warning next time. My back is sensitive," I said. Rainbow just rolled her eyes.

"Really!?" I heard Pinkie shout from just behind me before I felt a hoof lightly press into my lower back. I jumped forward, shocks shoot through me again. I turned around quickly and gave Pinkie a sharp glare. She lowered hoof down from a sharp upwards angle and gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry," she said.

I heaved another sigh and just shook my head. The Cakes were both laughing at me.

Without missing a beat Pinkie presented me with a tray she was carrying on her back. "Here! Try these!" she said excitedly. 

The tray had five little puff pastry bowls, filled with a light cream, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. I didn't bother giving it a thorough inspection, already confident in Pinkie's abilities. I took a large bite of the pastry. Unlike most of what she had made me before this pastry had a more natural and reserved sweetness. It the raspberries and blackberries were a little tart, but overall it was very refreshing.

I popped the rest of the small treat in my mouth and gave Pinkie a satisfied smile. She beamed back at me and pranced a little in place. She did this just about every time I enjoyed something she made. I swallowed and took a couple more of the pastries, popped another in my mouth and took one more in my free hand.

"Thanksh," I started, with my mouth still full. I swallowed down the rest of the pastry before continuing, "We should get going though, lot's still to see and do." 

"Okie-dokie-lokie!" she chirped. I passed one of the pastries to Rainbow Dash and took the last one on the tray. 

As we headed for the door Pinkie chirped up again in a singsong voice, "Oh! Come back tomorrow and I'll have another tasty treat for you!" 

"Count on it," I called back.


--


I had Dash detour us towards the so called Everfree Forest while we both shared in the rest of the pastries.

We stopped by the hole I was dug out of. It hadn't been filled in but weather and time had an effect on it. Even still it just looked like someone dug a wide two foot hole and that there was nothing else to it. Just like Twilight had said. Dash didn't say anything while I stared at the hole.

When I finished musing over the hole I turned to the forest and started walking towards it, stopping only a few feet away from the edge.

The forest had very distinct atmosphere that conflicted heavily with the one I felt from around town. It was very oppressive if not a little familiar. I certainly knew which I preferred. We quickly got on with the tour. 

Rainbow Dash took me up a hill to a single mailbox with something that resembled Rainbow's cutie mark. Rainbow drew my attention up and I saw the extravagant cloud... spire that was her residence. It rose out of a fluffy cloud base. Massive Greek looking columns littered all around the spire that was her home and the moisture condensed into rainbow colored pools that fell away into small waterfalls and dissipated long before it reached the ground.

Rainbow stared at me expectantly, I only shrugged and said "It's you."

I was really impressed but I held back just to see how she would react. It looked like I had finally gotten under her skin by the huffy expression on her face.

I didn't let her stay upset for long though and shot her another sly grin. She brightened up at that and flew back down beside me before slugging me in the arm with her forehoof.

After that we started wandering back towards town but once we got to the bottom of the hill Rainbow Dash stopped me.

"Alright! I showed you pretty much all over Ponyville, now you gotta show me something!" she said while hovering in front of me.

I raised an eyebrow at her, "What?"

"You gotta show me your stuff!" she demanded with an expectant look on her face.

I stared at her blankly for few seconds before I said, "Dash, we barely know each other."

She just huffed, unperturbed by my allusion, "Not like that! I wanna see what you can do! Your skills!"

I dropped my blank expression and just gave Rainbow a confused look, "Huh?"

"I know you've gotta have some skills! You're a Detective, you chase bad guys, you've got muscle–" she lightly prodded my chest with a hoof "–and you said those guys that... did that stuff to you... you said they had to send like five of them! You've gotta be seriously tough!"

I was giving Rainbow Dash an increasingly incredulous stare as she went on. I wasn't quite sure where to start, "Okay Dash, I don't generally 'chase' bad guys, I just figure out who the bad guys are. If I am in a situation were I do need to chase down a fleeing suspect well..." I looked off to the side, "I usually let my partner do most of the chasing."

Rainbow Dash gave me a very unimpressed glare.

"I do work out a little, it's mostly out of habit though. I like feeling a little healthy and not being exhausted if I do need to be physical." Rainbow seemed to brighten up a little even though I followed up with, "Though as far as fitness goes for humans I am just a little above average."

My third attempt to disillusion her didn't fare much better. "As for being attacked by those five thugs, if they knew about a little thing like my claustrophobia they probably knew about my extensive combat... training... and history," I trailed off a little as Rainbow's face started to brighten up even more and she looked like she was going to explode.

"Oh my gosh! I know all kinds of martial arts! Oh! Oh! We could spar together and–"

"Dash!" I shouted "I have experience with hand–" I raised my left hand "–to hand–" and my right hand "–combat. Not hand to hoof."

Rainbow Dash didn't miss a beat even though I had tried to dissuade her. "I know! And we can train together and teach each other and think about all the new techniques we could learn!" 

She started going on and on while I stood there with my head in my hands. Not to say I was completely opposed to the idea but I was feeling exhausted just thinking about it.

"Alright alright," I started, interrupting whatever tangent she was on, "We can do all of that stuff later. For now... I'll..." I looked around desperately and saw nothing but some grass, a few stones and a lot of trees. Even still I managed to hatch a halfhearted plan. "I'll show you two of my best skills," Rainbow's eyes sparkled and she nodded frantically.

I picked a stone up off the ground and walked towards a nearby tree and stopped about fifteen meters away with Rainbow right beside me. I tossed the stone up and down in my hand, testing the weight. "The first is my aim," I said, pointing to a large nut dangling from a low hanging branch of the tree. I already had the shot lined up so without a seconds hesitation I reeled back and threw the stone. It arced high through the air, I managed to judge the weight well and on it's decent it collided with the nut, bringing them both to the earth.

Rainbow Dash clapped her forehooves together cutely. "Hey! Can you–"

"–As for the second," I cut her off and started walking towards the tree again. Rainbow Dash quietly followed behind me. "It's probably my best skill actually, though my co-workers back home don't think so." Rainbow Dash eyed me curiously. "But I am really good at it," I added.

When we got to the tree I found the shadiest spot under it and sat down in the grass. I leaned back against the trunk and crossed my arms. 

Rainbow looked down at me curiously, "What is it?" she asked.

"Napping," I said and closed my eyes. I expected to hear disappointment but all I heard was a giggle and the sound of Rainbow landing to my left.

I opened one eye and looked at her, she had found her own spot in the shade and laid down. She looked back at me with one open eye and a smile. "That's a pretty good skill," she said and I smiled back before closing my eye.

As the midday turned to afternoon we both drifted off to sleep.


--


The sound of unfamiliar voices jarred me out of my nap. In my sleep I had managed to flip onto my stomach and my head was resting on my left arm. My right arm was lazily draped over Rainbow Dash who was curled up in a ball and still sleeping. I had a bit of drool slipping out of the corner of my mouth but I stayed still and silent while I focused on listening to the nearby voices.

"Do ya really think he can help?" said a tired sounding voice with a familiar accent.

"He's all Rarity's been talking about for week! Mysterious this! Detective that!" said a voice with a much higher pitch.

"If Rainbow Dash is hanging out with him, he's gotta be awesome!" said a raspier voice.

It sounded like they were pretty close by, but all I could see from my prone position was the tree and Rainbow. I put a little pressure into the arm I had over Rainbow and tried to subtly shake her awake while I whispered harshly "Rainbow." 

"Hn?" Rainbow Dash raised her head a little and looked around lazily. When she saw me in my awkward sleeping position she lost her half asleep expression as she fought back a laugh. "Sleep well?" she said, her pitch high from holding back her laughter.

"Very. I think we have visitors," I said flatly. 

Rainbow took a quick look around before she had found the source of those voices. She suddenly got an exhausted look on her face. I lifted my arm off of her when she made a move to get up. 

"Oh Rainbow!" said the raspy little voice. I could hear a mess of hoofsteps approach us.

"Hey, uh listen, we're kind of busy. What do you guys want?" Rainbow asked with an even tone.

I rolled over onto my back and sat up, I could hear them talking from beside the tree to my right and just behind me. I started to wipe the drool from the corner of my mouth as I listened.

"Weren't you two just sl–" started the tired one before she was cut off by the high pitched one.

"–Apple Bloom needs help!" she shouted.

"Yeah! Something is creeping around the farm at night and keeping everypony awake!" added the raspy one.

"Can't Applejack just take care of it?" asked Rainbow Dash.

The tired one let out a large, cute sounding yawn before talking, "She tried a couple times, but whatever it is just disappeared and came back when she wasn't outsi–"

I had stood up just then and the tired one quickly quit talking. Silence hung in the air as I turned to see who our visitors were.

Three tiny ponies were staring up at me with wide eyes. My breath immediately caught in my throat at the sight of them and I turned away quickly.

I always had a soft spot for cute things. Growing up I had more stuffed animals than most boys and I was the type to bring home stray animals. It became less prevalent in my life as I got older. I had less desire to have things in general but I would always stop for a moment if I saw something cute. My laptop background always caught a few odd stares from my co-workers. Well, you like what you like, I would always say.

But these little ponies, by their voices and appearances I suspected they were children, just weren't fair. I could handle the adult ponies just fine with a little effort, but these... fillies... I didn't know how I would react. 

"Wow! He really is super tall!" said the one with the high pitched voice. I could hear them move over towards me.

I braced myself, steeled my expression and turned back. I looked down at the adorable little things a second time. The unicorn with the high pitched voice had a white coat, pale green eyes and a curly pink and purple mane.

"And it did say Detective on his back! He can totally figure out what's happening Apple Bloom!" said the Pegasus with a raspy voice excitedly. She had an orange coat, purple mane and pale purple eyes.

The last one I assumed was Apple Bloom and I also assumed she was Applejack's relative due to her name, accent and their earlier talk with Rainbow Dash. She had a yellow coat, red mane and brilliant orange eyes. And... and a cute pink bow in her mane. I felt my eye twitch when I saw that bow. 

She looked up at me, exhausted, and asked "Can you?"

Without even thinking I blurted out, "Of course."

She brightened up a little and Rainbow Dash flew over right next to my head. "Really? It's probably nothing you know," she whispered into my ear.

I gave her a shrug and whispered back, "Then it won't take long." I looked back to the fillies and spoke up, "Alright, why don't you ladies lead me to the scene of the crime." They all got excited and started to quickly trot ahead and I followed behind them. When I noticed the sound of flapping wings getting quieter I turned back towards Rainbow Dash who was lingering behind.

"Come on Dash, you're my partner on this case!" I called back to her.

She had a confused look on her face, "Huh?"



-Valentino Brugato – Investigation Record-


The following is a detailed account of my first unofficial yet formal investigation in Equestria. I was unofficially hired by a young filly named Apple Bloom. I was assisted by a pegasus mare named Rainbow Dash. Other involved parties will be named within the record.


--


Apple Bloom and her friends—whom I learned were named Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo—led us to the scene of Apple Bloom's trouble. It was a ways west of town and up a hill where I was greeted with lush farmland. What was called Sweet Apple Acres was very dedicated to it's namesake. It had a massive orchard that stretched out as far as I could see. It seemed though that they had plots with a multitude of other crops but apples sure did seem to be the main theme.

Immediately I saw Applejack, who was lugging a large cart of apples towards the large... barn? House? Either way, the fillies called out to her and she looked over with tired eyes that matched Apple Bloom's.

"Big sis! We brought somepony to help!" called Apple Bloom.

"And he's not even a pony at all," I said while leisurely walking up to Applejack and the three fillies with Rainbow Dash in tow.

"Valentino? And Rainbow Dash? Shucks, ya'll didn't need to worry about us. This whole thing isn't somethin' I can't handle," Applejack said. Her tone wasn't dismissive, she seemed more bashful than anything.

"Great! Then we'll just be–" Rainbow started as she flew in the air beside me. I cut her off with a sharp elbow to her side and she gave me a dirty look.

"I don't doubt that you can handle it just fine. I figured we could just help speed things along. You and your sister look like you could use a good nights sleep sooner rather than later," I said and received a large yawn from Applejack that transferred quickly over to Apple Bloom. 

"We'll I won't say no to the help and I guess I'll get to see if that badge is just for show or not," Applejack said with a sly grin.

I had completely forgotten about my badge that was still in my coat pocket. I pulled it out and flipped it open. I tucked the half with my ID under my belt right near the buckle so that my badge was displayed over my belt. I always displayed it that way back when I was at a crime scene or was generally trying to display my authority as a Police Detective. Having it on made me feel a little less displaced, for some reason.

"Well then, let's start with some questions," I said seriously, staring down at Applejack.

I started by confirming the situation as I heard it from Apple Bloom and her friends. Rainbow referred to them as Crusaders once on the walk over. I wasn't really sure what she meant by that.

I got a few more details from Applejack. Three nights previous to my questioning something started showing up around eleven p.m. and making a lot of noise. It had no discernible pattern at this early stage. Sometimes it would knock over hay bales, if they left out tools it would knock them over or throw them around. Same with wheelbarrows or carts. Whatever it was would mess with things like this for as short as a few minutes or as long as a couple of hours. From her second story window Applejack could only see shadows in the dead of night. She whatever it was had to have been at least as big as a pony. If whatever it was saw light or heard movement it would vanish and wait for things to settle before coming back and causing more ruckus. 

After a while it would settle into a more repetitious pattern of tapping on the first floor windows and it would spend hours scratching at the door that lead to their living room. Occasionally it would stop to bang loudly on the walls of their home. If they scared it off it would come back later and continue these repetitious task until the sun rose.

After getting a good picture of the situation I had a couple more specific questions for Applejack.

"Any pony you can think of that might have something against you or your family? Or a reason to be this... obsessive?" I waved vaguely at her house 

"'Course not, none that would do anythin' like this," she said confidently.

"Are you sure? No spurned ex-lovers that still hold strongly to some unrequited love?" I asked, half joking.

Applejack flushed a little at that, "No! Nopony like that." Her sister and her friends were giggling.

I shrugged, "Alright, I'll take your word for it. I'll just have a look around now."

"Holler if ya need somethin'!" she said before getting back to hauling her cart.

I approached the farm house with Rainbow. I instructed her to have a look around and she lazily got to the task. She wasn't all that enthused to be my partner on this case. I explained to her that I would never tackle an investigation alone, multiple perspectives and diverse skill sets were crucial to an effective investigation. She seemed convinced I just wanted her around to do the things I didn't really want to do. I did not dispute this.

Apple Bloom and her friends wanted to help, I instructed them to investigate the other side of the house thoroughly. Nothing against them, but I knew I would be way too distracted with them hanging around.

Inspecting the door to the farm house revealed a couple of surprising things. There were a lot of deep markings all over the door frame but nothing on the door itself. The scratches were grouped in three's but otherwise had no pattern. Depth varied, possibly indicating scratching at the same spot for varying intervals. It seemed like a fairly even spread around the door frame. A pony would likely have trouble reaching the top of the door frame unless they were a pegasus. The grouping though suggested something like claw marks.

The first floor windows had some scratches but they clearly had received less attention than the door frame. There were a lot of tracks in the dirt all around the house, hoof prints of varying sizes littered the ground but it couldn't be said if it came from a pony intruder or was just the daily business of the family. There were some faint scratch marks in the dirt near the door. 

My investigation took me away from the house, for the good part of an hour I was scouring the area around the farm house for any trace of the intruder. Rainbow had started complaining about boredom for the last half of that hour. I had been ignoring her complaints while looking at what must have been the third stack of hay bales that was just nearby. 

This one like the others was sloppily stacked up, probably out of frustration or resignation at it being knocked over again and again every night. A thorough inspection revealed something slightly discolored poking out from the hay bale. I unceremoniously yanked it out, revealing a long gray feather. It was way larger than an average bird feather, but was it a pegasus feather? I needed to make a quick comparison.

"Rainbow!" I called out, "Set down over here will you?" 

Rainbow Dash flew over with a little more enthusiasm than she had when she was 'investigating' the area. She set down on the ground in front of me and looked up expectantly. "Did you find something?" she asked.

"Maybe. Hold still for a second okay?" I requested. Rainbow tilted her head a little but held still as I walked around beside her. I noticed Applejack trotting over, probably at the sound of the commotion after a long and mostly silent investigation.

I knelt down next to Rainbow Dash's cutie mark and reached forward with my right hand. I gently touched her wing at the base and Rainbow immediately tensed up.

"H-hey! Watch it!" she yelped.

"Hush, it's for the investigation," I said sternly. Surprisingly she complied.

I gently coaxed her wing to extend, running my fingers along her wing's bone structure. Rainbow would occasionally tense up, or shiver or even let out a little squeak as my fingers caressed her. Her wing and her feathers had a softness that couldn't be compared to her coat. 

I began comparing the feather I had found to Rainbow's. It was long, quite long and extended well past the length of even Rainbow's primary feathers. The shape was noticeably different as well, the shaft was thicker and the vanes shaped up to a point at the tip which gave it an overall knife-like appearance. I couldn't speak for other pegasi, but it wasn't even close to a match for Rainbow whose feathers were much smaller and rounded. Rainbow continued to squirm and squeak while I delicately ran my hands all over her wing and through her feathers.

When I finished the comparison I walked back around Rainbow Dash. Applejack was stifling laughter and Rainbow was glaring at me with a strong blush on her face.

"Warn me next time you... go t-touching my wings..." she lost her intensity quickly while giving me a familiar sounding demand. I raised an eyebrow as I stared back at her and she looked away bashfully. Applejack started laughing out loud and Rainbow shot her a glare that was much harsher than the one she gave me. 

I held up the feather I had found in front of Rainbow, "Do you know what this came from?" 

Rainbow looked away from Applejack and up at the feather I was presenting in front of her. She studied it for a few moments, the blush leaving her face. 

"That's a griffon feather," Rainbow said simply.

"Griffon?" I muttered, how many more familiar sounding mythological creatures existed in this land?

"Yeah, you know, the lion and eagle guys."

"Yeah I do know... surprisingly," I mumbled while walking back over towards the scratched up door frame. "They have talons don't they?" I asked. Considering the three scratch grouping, a griffon raking its talons against the frame made sense. With this new information another look revealed that the scratches favored a vertical motion. 

"Yeah," Rainbow confirmed.

"Are griffons common in this area?" I asked, turning away from the door again.

Rainbow shook her head, "No way, the last one I remember that came to Ponyville was a friend of mine." Rainbow's tone denoted that perhaps that friendship did not continue.

"This wouldn't happen to be hers would it?" I asked, holding up the feather.

She shook her head again, "No, not her color." 

"Either way, Applejack," I started, turning towards the tired pony who was looking at us both curiously, "The bad news is that you might have yourself a griffon problem."

"Well shoot, I don't suppose ya got any good news?" she asked, her voice sounded hopeful.

I gave her a small smile, "Good news is I might have a plan to help deal with this."

--

Rainbow Dash and I were set up in the orchard with the food supplies we had acquired for our stakeout just as night fell. The tree's gave us plenty of cover from being seen from the sky or from the farmhouse especially at night. Though from the ground I couldn't see anything either, but Rainbow hid under the leaves at the top of the tree, she had eyes on the sky and the farmhouse. But mostly we were listening for the suspects punctual ruckus. I instructed Applejack to leave a few more tools and carts laying around to help tip us off.

Until we approached the hour in question Rainbow Dash and I mostly ate the food we brought and I tried to extract more information out of her about the species of the potential suspect. She did not have a lot of specific details to give me, and only knew the one well at all. She told me that in the air ponies had them beat on speed but they were tough as nails and pretty aggressive.  She reassured me that there was no one faster or tougher in the air than her though. I decided to take her word for it.

At about ten I brought my finger to my lips to signal for silence, having had to teach that and a couple other human gestures to Rainbow Dash beforehand. 

Rainbow Dash seemed excited since the stakeout began, I could tell from her tone when we talked and how diligently she had been keeping watch from the top of the tree. She was ready for action.

I was ready for a small verbal confrontation and the griffon or whatever it is agreeing to take a hike. Being bedridden for a week and only out in the whole new wide world for a day made me incredibly ignorant of how it worked. Something in the air though made me more hopeful than normal.

At eleven exactly an apple dropped right at my feet. I looked up and saw Rainbow Dash staring back at me and she gave me a nod. I made a motion to her and as quietly as she could she flew out into the orchard. I stayed still until I heard the clattering off tools being knocked over.

The plan was for Rainbow Dash to circle around and into a flanking position and I would make the initial approach. We agreed that I would make the initial approach because for all the ponies had with their magic, strength and speed the ones I knew that could use it effectively lacked any and all subtlety. If this griffon was bailing the second he or she heard a noise from inside the house it stood to reason it would bail the second it heard us coming from the outside. Rainbow Dash could chase him down faster than he could bail sure, but that seemed like an excessive use of force right out of the gate.

But if I knew anything I knew how to move quietly. The soft, dry soil made that easy enough. I kept to a path I walked several times before it got dark, staying out of sight from the house by using  the trees as cover. When I got close I could hear scratching, over and over again. I peeked from behind cover and saw a shadow at the door. If I had a griffon to reference than maybe I could have said if it was one, it was large enough to be one anyways. 

I pulled my baton slowly out of the case on my belt. I kept it collapsed as I so slowly and quietly approached the shadow at the door. Every step the creature got a little clearer. I could make out wings, a tail, the talons as they reached up and then raked back down against the door frame. The moon was large and bright, but I could still hardly make out any details, either way I felt even more certain that this was a griffon. I stopped a fair distance away, so that the griffon couldn't whip around and hit me, or leap at me suddenly. I had space to react and if I tried to get closer I ran the risk of being heard and losing control of the situation. 

"Turn around and step away from the door," I commanded loudly, clearly and with authority I no longer had.

The griffon froze in it's tracks. It's wings twitched but it didn't take off. It stayed like this for just a couple of seconds. Before I had to repeat myself the griffon slowly turned around.

I could make out a pointed beak in the griffon's profile as it turned. It's eyes shone under the light of the moon, but all I could see was a bright reflection of that light on top of utter blackness. 

It stared at me unblinking. I could see it's beak move but it didn't make a sound and didn't make another movement when it faced me.

"Step away from the do-" I was cut off by a piercing shriek from the griffon and it started running at me.

At the first sight of movement I flicked my hand back. The baton extended out and locked into place over my shoulder. The griffon moved quickly, closing the distance in just a few seconds. The griffon tried to charged right into me and knock me onto the ground. I shuffled to the left while pushing hard against the side of the griffon with my left hand. My right hand held the baton up and I swung down in my next movement. 

The strike was aimed at the griffon's hind leg. It connected loudly and the Griffon screamed louder. I was going to bring the baton up to my left shoulder to strike again but the Griffon whipped around quicker and more violently than I anticipated. The griffon's arm slammed right into my throat with a tremendous amount of force. I was knocked onto my back and I could see the griffon take off into the air. 

As quick as it was in the air another shadow bolted straight up and went after it. I instructed Rainbow Dash to intercept if the Griffon took off or I lost control of the situation. Both happened.

I couldn't breath. My neck was on fire, I rolled over and started coughing and gasping for breath. I managed to get some air into lungs and started drawing in the dirt, a picture of Rainbow Dash's cutie mark and an arrow pointing to the direction she went. I was interrupted a couple of times by my own violent coughing.

After I finished the door to the farmhouse burst open. Two ponies ran over to me while I was coughing and gasping. I was illuminated by a purple glow, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack were staring down at me.

On the trip to get supplies I checked in with Twilight who had finished sending off her report. When I informed her of the situation she insisted on helping. I wasn't going to say no to having some magic on my side.

I instructed the both of them to stay inside the house and listen carefully. Whether the confrontation went well or not I instructed them to come out the second either Rainbow Dash or I yelled for them or when it sounded like it was over. They were our backup, so to speak.

I motioned violently at Applejack, Twilight and the drawing I made on the ground while coughing. Applejack ran off as soon as she made sense of it but Twilight stayed behind. 

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice was filled with concern.

The coughing was starting to subside and I was managing to catch my breath. I got up to my feet, tried a few deep breaths and only coughed a few times.

"Got me in the throat, catch up with the others," I said.

"But you're hurt..." she said.

I almost snapped at her, but Twilight wasn't an idiot. I had been interacting with her the most my whole time here, she was intelligent, rational and pretty well focused. She wasn't just worried about me, she was confident in her friends. I should have been just as confident, they were magical ponies after all.

"Then let's–" a cough interrupted me, "–both catch up with them." I started to walk after them and Twilight followed beside me. 


--


I definitely should have been just as confident. We didn't make it far before we came upon the two ponies and one hog tied griffon. The griffon was hacking and coughing on the ground and the two ponies were looking awfully proud of themselves.

When Applejack saw me she ran over, "You okay there, Valentino?" 

"I'm alright, just took a shot to the throat," I said, no longer coughing.

"From the sound of it you musta' given him one or two good shots of your own," she responded with a smirk.

I just shrugged.

There was a loud groan from the griffon that caught all of our attention.

"Oh dear... I haven't caused any trouble have I?" said the bird in old sounding voice.


--


A thorough questioning  and a second look at the griffon, named Cronus, revealed a couple of things. One, this bird was ancient. He had a dull, chipped beak, baggy eyes and a slumped posture. His eyes, also, weren't all black as I had seen them but actually shone yellow now in the moonlight.

He explained that he only had a vague idea of where he was or what he had been doing for the past five days. He described it as everything being in a sort of dark haze, and everything seemed really fuzzy. He did know that he felt compelled to do something, like his life depended on it. What or why he couldn't say. Twilight was doing some magic stuff on him while he spoke.

I ended up laying out very sternly what exactly he had been up to for the past few nights. Old Cronus definitely looked shocked and appalled. He started offering apology after apology to Applejack.

When I looked to the others they seemed to be seriously considering it.

Applejack was the first, quick to forgive the old bird. The others seemed to follow quickly in her hoofsteps.

The let him out of his bindings and I watched carefully, but even I knew something had changed in the old griffon. He said his thanks, apologized again and said he was going to find his wife who he must have left behind in a place they were visiting called Manehatten.

No punishment, no nothing really. Maybe I should have been surprised. Not really the way the legal system worked where I came from but...

I did my job, found out the truth, brought in the criminal. How it played out after that well, I really couldn't have cared less.


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


Applejack gave me her thanks, Rainbow said it would be awesome if I let her be my partner again and Twilight and I headed home.

"I don't think that could have gone better!" Twilight said happily as we walked home under the moonlight.

"I could have not gotten hit in the throat," I said bitterly.

"Well, considering the circumstances I suppose it couldn't have gone better," she corrected.

"I'm a little worried about what got into that old Griffon,"

Twilight's head lowered a little, "If he was actively being controlled by somepony I would have been able to tell, but he seemed perfectly fine when I looked at him. It may have just ended up on the wrong side of a bad spell that made him go a little loopy for a while."

"I figured you would be more curious about this," I said in a playful tone.

"Maybe if I didn't have to worry about Princess Celestia coming over. Tomorrow!" she huffed.

"Please tell me it's important royal business that has nothing to do with me," I pleaded.

Twilight shook her head, "She said after reading your records and my report she was even more curious and wanted to meet you right away!" 

"I would hope she has more important things to do."

"She does, she said she was only going to drop by quickly to meet with you."

I sighed and reached into my coat pocket. I got out my cigarettes and lighter and finally had my first smoke in Equestria. When Twilight asked me about all I insisted was, "It's not for ponies."


--


The following morning was spent grooming and being lectured by Twilight. I mostly ignored her. My plan was to be generally polite but act more or less like myself. She already read through most of my personal thoughts and observations. Princess Celestia probably had a good handle on what I was like. Besides, learning and performing a bunch of cultural song and dance seemed like a lot of work.

It wasn't until about half past noon that a bright flash of white light erupted in the center of the library.

I wasn't able to get a good look at what it left behind before I felt like someone just punched me in the head. I flinched and stumbled backwards. One hand was clutching my head and the other felt backwards for the bookshelf I eventually backed into. My ears were ringing like something just exploded nearby. I opened one eye and saw two ponies. In my haze all I could tell was one was much bigger than the other. Their mouths moved but I couldn't hear them. 

I tried to focus on the big one, she was white, her mane was... something... she looked concerned.

Just after that it felt like the back of my neck was on fire. My hands went to the back of my neck, I think I was crying out, I still couldn't hear anything but that ringing.

My head felt like television static and I had no idea what was going on. I tried to focus on the big pony. Princess. She looked even more concerned.

Then I heard something, I felt it to, a snap in the back of my neck. No more ringing, no more pain, no more static.

Then I blacked out.
	
	
	
> Chapter 4 - Royal Welcome
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-


After I passed out I started having an unfamiliar dream. It was a lot more vivid than the one on repeat for the past week or so.

A flat plain with black dirt, gray sky and it went on that way for as far as I could see.

The only blemish on the landscape was a stump just a few feet in front of me. The bark was black, the growth rings were black and the other parts were a light gray. Whatever tree used to stand there was cleanly cut down. The surface of the stump seemed almost polished.

I felt drawn to the stump, when I looked out at the horizon, nothing else popped up. It seemed flat and empty everywhere I looked. 

So I sat on the stump and waited.


-Twilight Sparkle – Private Record-


It's like he was hit something. When Princess Celestia appeared he stumbled backwards like he was struck hard. He was holding his head with one hand and wincing just a little. 

"What is happening here?" Princess Celestia said, shocked.

"I-I don't know!" I said, just as shocked as she was.

We both tried to approach him but he stumbled back from us until he hit the bookshelf and knocked a couple of books down. He had one eye open and the other closed, he was looking straight at us.

"What's wrong Valentino?" I asked but he was focusing on Princess Celestia.

"Are you hurt?" Princess Celestia asked.

His other hand was holding onto the shelf, but it slipped off and took another couple of books with it. Princess Celestia caught them with her magic and...

That

That was when he started screaming.

He was always so even. His temperament was always so neutral that it could be frustrating. It wasn't because he was human either, he told me that humans were generally very expressive! When I asked why he was different he would just shrug his shoulders like he always did when he didn't want to answer my questions. I would always worry and ask about how he was feeling but he would just say something like "I'm dealing with it," or "I'll be alright." 

His hands were clutching at his neck and he was screaming louder than I thought he could. But then I remembered how I heard it before, when it was muffled underground and how it put me on edge. His face was twisted in the most expressive form of pain I had ever seen. 

Princess Celestia was so surprised that she dropped the books.

Valentino was staring right at Princess Celestia. He was fighting back his screams, clenching his teeth shut, grunting and breathing hard. His teeth were bared, strong white incisors and canines that made him looks dangerous and predatory.

"What do we do?" I asked Princess Celestia, desperate.

Before she could say anything Valentino's expression went soft. His hands fell to his sides and his eyes glazed over. His eyes were still on Princess Celestia as his head started to tilt to the right. Then the... blood started to stream out of both of his nostrils. 

"Valentino!" I quickly ran over to him as he slumped onto the floor. His heart was beating and he was still breathing but I was still so confused and scared! I looked back to Princess Celestia who was just staring at Valentino with shock and concern.


-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-


I was waiting for what started to feel like hours. Sitting on the stump. I didn't get tired or sore from doing it. In my head it was the only thing to do. I felt compelled to wait.

I had to wait there on that stump. So I did.


-Twilight Sparkle – Private Record-


I write this as I personally oversee Valentino's transfer to Canterlot. The extent of his physical trauma was a couple of burst blood vessels in his nose and a bump on his head. But he still hasn't woken up. Not only that but he is acting very strangely while he sleeps. 

Valentino had some odd sleeping habits to begin with. From what I observed he would almost constantly move around in his sleep. His arms would sometimes be outstretched and grasping for something. He would murmur and sigh before settling back in. It was actually kind of cute.

But this was not the same at all. His body will constantly twitch and spasm. Sometimes his eyes will shoot open and he will stare blankly at the ceiling while he's still unconscious. He stays flat on his back. No major movements, just little twitches.

Back at the library Princess Celestia and I tried to examine him. We found out that somehow he was leeching off of Princess Celestia's magical energy. I cannot believe that this was intentional. I cannot believe this was even possible! I had studied him thoroughly and he had zero magical presence whatsoever! The rocks in Ponyville had more magic in them than he did!

I remembered from when I was transcribing his records that he mentioned on several occasions he mentioned a tingle in the back of his neck whenever I or somepony would use magic. That it even had varying levels of strength, the strongest being with me. Though the only other unicorn he interacted with was Rarity. 

It must have been happening since he arrived. It was possible that it wasn't even his body that was reacting but our magic that was reacting to him. It was such an insignificant thing, it didn't disrupt spells in any detectable way. 

Was it something about Princess Celestia that caused such a violent reaction?

Princess Celestia and I did make one very important discovery. Valentino went from having no magical presence of his own to having very slight one. It was very subtle and very calm in nature, just like you would expect from him. It would have been easy to miss it was so faint, but it definitely wasn't there before!

Princess Celestia wanted me to study this very carefully and tell her the moment Valentino woke up... but...

He never did.

Right after Princess Celestia left I took Valentino straight to Ponyville hospital. I didn't know what the extent of his potential injuries were. The doctors were a little confused when I brought him there, but his biology really wasn't too dissimilar save for obvious digestive differences. I wanted them to look for potential internal injuries. But they didn't find anything. Just a small bump on his head those burst blood vessels.

But why is he still unconscious? It will be his third night like this as this train pulls into Canterlot!

I wrote to Princess Celestia on the second day that he still hadn't woken up and she instructed me to bring him to Canterlot if he wasn't awake by the next afternoon.

I'm worried about him. Everything that has happened to him and now this.

It's almost been two weeks since we met. For all that time I don't really know that much about him. He's a detective from a large city that doesn't sound like a very nice place to live. He's a human, scientifically Homo Sapien, which in old human language means Wise Man. Class is mammalia. He is one hundred and eighty nine centimeters tall and weighs ninety kilograms. He likes sweets and he likes to take naps. He likes to tease others, especially Rainbow Dash, and he likes it when others tease him back. He seems to like to read but he'll often stop reading a book partway through before he picks up a new one. He's claustrophobic, but I am not sure to what extent.

He's forgiving, his will is strong, he is intelligent and perceptive. He can be impatient at times but I have never seen him really angry or cruel. A little sarcastic at worst. 

He can be apathetic to my attempts to learn about him or teach him sometimes. But there are moments where he opens up, where he's kind and even smiles. I think he just likes to move at his own pace. He won't move ahead a moment sooner than when he's ready. That's fine, you shouldn't to push your friends when they aren't ready.

We are friends aren't we Valentino? 

Please wake up.


-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-


I was starting to think that if I ended up waiting on that stump for much longer I would fuse into it and become a new tree. But still I was compelled to sit on anyways. 

Maybe another hour passed, or maybe it was just ten minutes. I could hear something echo through the gray and felt a cold wind blow. It was faint, a voice I had not heard before.

"...ost... ...u... ...en..." 

Was someone trying to wake me from my dream?

Dream?


-Twilight Sparkle – Private Record-


As soon as I got Valentino off of the train we were greeted by two of Princess Luna's night guard who escorted us to a guest room with Princess Luna herself inside waiting for us.

"Princess Luna!" I said, quickly bowing my head.

"Princess Twilight," she reciprocated, bowing her head back to me. "He has yet to awaken?"

"I don't know what's wrong with him." I put Valentino on the bed in the guest room. His eyes were open again and his hands were twitching.

"My sister has told me of his predicament," Princess Luna stood beside the bed, staring intently at Valentino for a few moments. "As he sleeps, so he dreams. I shall do my duty and break him free of this trance," she said. Her horn and eyes started to glow brightly. I was a little worried about Valentino, even though the tests I ran on him showed that while he was out cold like this he wasn't reacting to magic in any way. He still didn't seem to be reacting except for that he had gone still, as still as Princess Luna.

It was quiet for a little while. I was getting sick of waiting and hoping. Princess Luna was confident though and having her help put me at ease.

"It is very dark here," I heard Princess Luna say, her eyes will still glowing bright and white, "Very little can be seen. A chair, a table with a tiny bowl filled with ash on it, a large clock that is stopped. I can feel his presence but it is somewhere... deeper."

I felt like any doubts I had were suddenly cast away. Princess Luna was doing it, she was helping Valentino. 

"You are lost Valentino," she muttered, "you must awaken."

Princess Luna's magic faded and it Valentino's head twitched a little. His eyes started to focus and look around. He sat up and slowly looked around with a blank expression on his face.

"Valentino!" I almost shouted, he looked at me, stared for a few seconds and broke into a large smile. Larger than I had ever seen him give.

"Twi... light..." he said, broken and slowly. Something was wrong, he was always kind of delirious when he woke up in the morning but he was acting even stranger than normal. 

"He is not whole, a large part of him is still lost." Princess Luna said, concern in her voice.

Valentino was staring at her now, curiously, his eyes were narrowing. "You..." he started, tilting his head to the side. Suddenly his expression soften and he brought his hands up slowly to Princess Luna's cheeks, "are very cute..." 

I could only stare in shock. Princess Luna also looked surprised, her face flushed.

"Yes well," Princess Luna gently pushed him onto his back again, "I shall try again to pull him back completely."


-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-


I was pacing in front the stump.

Dream.

Dream.

Dream.

I needed to wait at the stump.

No I didn't this was just a dream I could do whatever.

I needed to wait at the stump.

The stump was a dream, it was all a dream, it wasn't real.

You need to wait at the stump.

Stop lying to me subconscious I don't need to do jack.

You need to wait at the stump.

"ost... ...Val... ...mu... ...ake..." 

You don't get to tell me what to do.

You need to wait at the stump.

This isn't real. I won't deal with this illusive bullshit.

You need–

I will not.

"You are lost Valentino. You must awaken," said the adorable blue pony standing next to me.

That I will do.


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


My dream fell away to reveal a strange room. Strange to me, unfamiliar. I did see a familiar face, a teary eyed Twilight Sparkle.

"V-Valentino...?" she said shakily.

A little confused I lifted a hand and gave her a little wave. "Yo," I said.

She leaped at me, wrapping her hooves around my chest as much as she could in a tight embrace that nearly knocked the wind out of me. She was sobbing.

Directly to my right I heard a sigh of relief. When I looked I saw that adorable blue pony. Adorable blue alicorn with a black crown, a mane that moved of it's own accord, that shone with all the stars of the night sky and moon emblazoned ornament around her neck. 

"This has been a most arduous ordeal. Much of our night has been spent trying to pull you out of your comatose state, only to come up with just fractions of your mind. I am relieved you have finally revived," she stated. 

The dream was still very much vivid in my head. Just how long had I been sitting on that stump, I wondered. I looked down at Twilight, who was sobbing and nuzzling into my shoulder. I lifted up my hand and started running it over Twilight's head and down her neck.

I turned back to who I could only assume was the Moon Princess. I nodded my head at her, "Well thanks for your help then. Sorry to put you through all the trouble, both of you."

The Moon Princess shook her head, "I am sorry for this turmoil that seems so intent on upsetting your life."

I shrugged my shoulders, "It hasn't beaten me yet." I could feel Twilight's grip on me tighten.

The Moon Princess smiled and her eyes darted away for a moment, "I must go, the night is short now and will need to make way for the sun. My sister will wish to meet with you. Please await her summons."

"Alright, thanks again Princess," I said, I bowed my head a little and she nodded at me before trotting out of the room.

Now it was just me and the purple pony crying into my shoulder. I kept running my hand gently through her mane. "Were you that worried about me?" 

"...Yes," she said after a moment, her voice muffled by having her face pressed into my shoulder.

"How long was I out for?"

"...Three days."

I tensed up at that, Twilight reacted and gripped me harder. Three days lost to a dream, to an illusion. I was just about livid. But I gathered it up and let it out in a large breath. I looked down at her. My hand was stopped on the back of her neck. "And you've been looking after me for all that time?" I asked.

Twilight pulled her head away from my shoulder and looked back at me with sad, glistening eyes. "Of course," she said.

I broke eye contact and looked to the side at one of the tall bedposts. "All that for a stranger..." I quietly mused.

Twilight's forelegs let go of my chest and grab onto my face. Her hooves dug into my cheeks as she roughly turned my head to face her again.

"You are not a stranger!" she said sternly, she was glaring at me with angry eyes that had new tears forming in them. "You're my friend!"

I was pretty confused by her reaction. I thought for certain I was the prime definition of stranger to this land. Unfortunately I hadn't quite considered the connections that had been forming between me and these ponies since I showed up.

"Friend?" I was about to refute her, but no contrary evidence came to mind. Twilight Sparkle had been looking over me during and helping with my recovery. She had been doing everything in her power to help me acclimate to my situation. Every moment of free time she had we spent talking during the week of my recovery. And I made it hard for her, every step of the way I danced around information she wanted. Information she wanted so she could help me better. But she always smiled anyways and seemed happy just to talk to me.

It wasn't all her though, I was happy to have her around. As sarcastic as I was I didn't mind her lectures or her attempts to study me. Sure I often didn't really care about to the extent of her lectures but... I was content with her there, I felt relaxed having her around. In the disorienting situation I was in I did not want to be alone. I was relying on her more than I realized.

"I guess sho," I slurred through my squished cheeks.  Twilight let her hooves fall away from my face while the beginnings of a smile was starting to form on hers. I looked away again, back at the bedpost. "Looks like we became friends without me even noticing..." I quietly mused again.

"Some detective you are," Twilight teased.

"Only when I'm trying to be..." I murmured.


--


After Twilight had completely calmed down I got out of bed and stretched my aching body. For once I wasn't completely undressed after being knocked out. Aside from my trench coat I was just as I was as I was before. The sunlight had started to stream in through the tall windows of what I learned was the Canterlot guest room. I was able to look out on the city from those windows. Canterlot seemed defined by whites, yellows and purples. A little on the nose for the seat of power in Equestria and the mare who had been sitting on it alone for... how long did Twilight say until that Luna thing got resolved? A thousand years?

Twilight was dozing off until a knock at the door jolted her awake. She scrambled off of the bed and over to the door. I followed quietly right behind her with my hands in my pants pockets. There was a white pegasus stallion in ornate golden... armor, at the door. I would have been more surprised if it didn't seem to fit so well with the castle aesthetic.

He bowed deeply before Twilight, "Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia is ready to meet with you and your friend." He spoke evenly and didn't afford me more than a glance. 

"Of course, let's go Valentino," Twilight said, I gave her a small nod. 

The Pegasus escorted us down from the guest room which was at the top of the a large tower. Eventually the external staircase led inside and we were eventually in a main hall. There was a white and purple stone checkerboard pattern on the floor. A bright red carpet ran over the top of the polished floor. Just about every window was stained glass and had some depiction or another on it. It was going to be a lot more intimidating meeting the Princess in her castle than in a library.

We were led to a small door with two more guards in the same armor outside. At the sight of us the stood aside and as we approached the one on the right pushed open the door for us. Twilight walked straight in, I spared an extra glance for the guards. "Thanks," I said before walking in behind Twilight.

The room was a lot more muted, paler purples and darker yellows. There were several long couches  and stools all facing each other. Pony couches were a little different, the backs weren't as tall and the couches and the seats were longer and wider. It was more for a pony to lay on than anything. It was comfortable enough to sit on though.

I finally got a good look at the Princess herself and truth be told she was an absolutely gorgeous creature. She had a white coat and a mane that flowed and sparkled a lot like her sisters. However, hers had shimmered with colors of green, blue and pink. She was decorated with golden ornamentation encrusted with purple gemstones. I hadn't seen a princess yet that looked more the part of a decorated ruler. 

The most striking thing to me however was that she was big. Luna was quite a bit taller than Twilight but Princess Celestia easily dwarfed the both of them and she was laying on one of the couches. If she stood up I bet that our eyes would have been level.

At the sight of us she smiled warmly. The door was shut behind me and the guards remained outside. I lingered by the door, feeling very out of place.

"Good morning Princess Celestia," said Twilight rather formally before moving towards the center of the room. 

"Yo," I called out from by the door, lifting my hand up in a painfully informal wave.

Princess Celestia was fairly amused. "Good morning, please make yourselves comfortable," she said, beckoning me away from the door.

I slowly walked over to the couch across from Princess Celestia and fell back onto it. I sat towards the edge so my feet could comfortably touch the floor.  I was hunched forward a little with my hands resting in my lap. Twilight climbed up and sat next to me.

Princess Celestia was looking me up and down the whole time, once I was settled on the couch she spoke again, "I'm very happy to see you feeling better, Valentino." 

I looked down at the ground for a second before staring back up into Princess Celestia's shining purple eyes, "I'm a little sore that I lost three days but... I'm thankful for your sister's help." I quickly glanced over at Twilight before adding, "and for Twilight, who has been taking such good care of me. It seems I'm giving Equestria's royalty a pretty hard time." 

Princess Celestia was visibly unfazed by my last comment. "I think the one who has been having a pretty hard time is you Valentino," she said, there was a hint of playfulness in her voice which I wasn't quite expecting.

"Well it could always be worse," I said with a shrug.

The smile on her face receded just a bit. "I suppose that is true," she said after just a brief moment of hesitation. I was beginning to notice that some of the darker toned things I said didn't really sit well with ponies. But maybe I was just imagining it.

"Valentino, I was hoping we could discuss what happened when I first came to meet with you," said Princess Celestia, directing the conversation down a more productive path.

"All I really remember is being hit with that train you brought with you," I joked. Though I hardly had a better way to describe it.

This did, however, manage to earn a short laugh from the Sun Princess and a sharp nudge by Twilight's hoof. Being intimidated by the meeting as I was made me just want to mess around more. 

"That is part of what I want to talk about, Princess Twilight and I made several discoveries after you fell unconscious," she continued. Despite her amusement Princess Celestia did her best to steer the conversation.

At that point Princess Celestia and Twilight both told me about the magical goings on in my own body. Apparently that tingle on the back of my neck was my body reacting to the excess of concentrated magical energy and Princess Celestia is full of potent and ancient magic. Just looking at her you could probably tell that. If it was true that she raised the sun every day then it's no wonder I reacted violently. 

But the disconcerting thing was apparently was that somehow this whole event resulted in my body either adapting to the magic or the magic adapting to my body or some combination of that. Either way I apparently went from being non-magic to being, essentially, magic. It's in my cells and is as much a part of me as my blood.

I still cannot fully wrap my head around the logistics of it. My knowledge of magic is very basic and it's a excessively complex subject when you get into the details of how it works. Is it energy? Can I call it energy? It can act like basic forms of energy. The problem is that magic has limitless potential in it's applications and can be manipulated to nearly any effect by unicorns. The only limiting factor there is the potential and knowledge of the unicorns manipulating it. Otherwise it's consistent in it's effects on the other flora and fauna of this world.

Trying to define it using terms that I'm familiar with is endlessly frustrating and I wouldn't even bother trying if it wasn't now a part of me.

When I was made aware of this my body tensed up and I nearly jumped out of my seat. I had this stuff in me? Part of me? I hadn't felt any different until they made me aware of it and then I started feeling odd tingles and itches all over my body. My rational mind kept telling me that it I was just being hyper aware of myself but I still had doubts.

I spent a good few minutes trying to rationalize what was happening. At the peak of my frustration I gave up and put my head in my hands.

"So what now? Can you get it out of me?" I asked.

There was a moment of hesitation in the air, with my face buried in my hands I couldn't read either of the ponies expressions. "It's... possible, but I don't know if it's necessary. In all honesty I believe it will actually be helpful to your acclimation to your new environment," Princess Celestia said. 

At the thought that she might be right I sighed loudly. There went my hope for a smooth transition.

"Truthfully there is no way to predict the kind of changes this may have on you. It's my theory that your body and the magic you had already absorbed forcefully adapted a more passive presence in response to your violent reaction to, well, me. Actually, could you tell me if you feel anything right now?" Princess Celestia asked.

I dropped my hands to see her horn glowing with a brilliant yellow color. She was levitating a small stack of papers next to her. I didn't feel anything, no tingle on the back of my neck. I slowly shook my head. "Nothing," I said.

"Wonderful. Still, I would like it if you would stay here in Canterlot for a few days as my guest. That way we can observe and address any potential changes."

"Yeah, okay," I sighed, feeling like my control over my entire situation had been completely lost. Who was I kidding? It was gone the second I climbed out of that coffin. Striking out from Twilight's library by myself, tackling that issue with the old griffon made me feel like I still had a bit of power. Turns out I didn't and I was right back to feeling pretty helpless.

I wasn't doing a very good job of hiding how defeated I felt. I felt a hoof press gently against my leg. When I looked over at Twilight she was looking up at me with concern. 

Then she let out a large, unbelievably cute yawn. "E-excuse me!" she stuttered, embarrassed.

That was enough to distract me from my own self-pity. I smiled down at her and then looked over at Princess Celestia. "I think Princess Twilight Sparkle has had a long night and needs a good rest."

"I'm alright!" Twilight insisted.

"It's fine Twilight, go get some sleep," Princess Celestia motioned with her head towards the door as she spoke.

Twilight nodded and got down from the couch and I stood up to follow after her. Princess Celestia however had other plans. "Actually Valentino, I still have some time and was hoping you could stay to discuss a few more things with me," she said.

"Sure," I nodded at Princess Celestia and turned back to Twilight, "I guess I'll see you in a bit." 

"Okay," Twilight said with a drowsy voice before making her way out of the room.

I fell back onto the couch, pulling my legs up and crossing them over each other. "So what else did you want to talk about?" 

Princess Celestia had sat up and was staring at me eagerly. "I was hoping we could talk about you," she said with a large smile.

"Weren't we already talking about me?" 

"I meant personally," she elaborated.

"You want to get to know me personally Princess? That's awfully forward of you," I said, giving her a slight grin.

Princess Celestia narrowed her eyes at me playfully. "I believe it's far less forward than when you were caressing my sister's face while you told her how very cute she was."

While I didn't have a clue what she was talking about I saw a more important opportunity to strike back. "Don't be jealous Princess, you are quite the cutie yourself," I said, putting on a sly grin. Princess Celestia's eyes widened at my quick response. "Also, what was that about your sister?"

The Sun Princess did manage to quickly compose herself, "Luna mentioned it. She said you were acting very strangely while she was trying to wake you. But with the expression she had on her face I made her tell me everything." 

I recalled Princess Luna mentioning something about pulling me partway out of my weird dream state. I shrugged my shoulders, "Ah, well that makes sense then, she is very cute."

Princess Celestia was giving me that playful look of hers again. "Are all humans as bold as you are?" she asked.

I casually shook my head. "Nah, I'm just a big tease," I said.

"I think you should be more cautious about teasing princesses."

"That doesn't sound like any fun at all," I said flatly, raising an eyebrow at Princess Celestia.

After a moment of intense silence Princess Celestia started laughing, and even gave a soft chuckle of my own. Messing around like that was helping me push down my earlier sour feelings. Princess Celestia also turned out to be a lot more mellow than I was led to believe. 

"But seriously, about you," Princess Celestia started.

"Ugh, I'm not that interesting," I interrupted, trying to dodge a potentially complicated topic.

"On the contrary! Nearly everything about you is very mysterious and fascinating!" Princess Celestia said, there was a bit of excitement in her voice and her eyes lit up with curiosity. "An unknown species from an unknown place, very different yet very similar," she started looking wistful as she continued speaking.

"Well I supposed it's matter of perspective," I conceded with a sigh. "What do you want to know?"

"For now I want to know more about who you are. I've read your records and you said you introduced yourself as a detective to help my little ponies know who you are. What I want to know is what being a detective means to you."

I started laughing, loudly.

Princess Celestia was shocked, I could see that much on her face when I started to calm down. I don't think I laughed that hard since I was dumped in Equestria. I tried for a good few moments to calm down and to wipe the dopey expression off of my face but I couldn't get rid of the smile. So I just sat back and looked up at the ceiling with a big stupid grin on my face.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting you to ask me that," I said.

Princess Celestia cocked her head to the side and gave me a confused look. I glanced at her and then back at the ceiling.

"It was maybe six years ago, I had built a pretty good reputation as a detective but I also built a reputation in the station as being a rude guy who was a pain to work with. They were right, I was rude to nearly everyone. Not just the other detectives either, but everyone I had to interact with in some way or another. I said it then and I'll say it now, our little county had it rough when it came to law enforcement."

Even as I spoke I couldn't wipe that grin off of my face, in that situation the nostalgia hit me pretty hard. Every time I glanced at Princess Celestia she was staring at me with rapt attention.

"I don't remember who said it, but one of the other detectives was being snide about me criticizing my partner. 'Don't worry, no one is good enough for Brugato,' he said. After hearing that I just went to town on all of them. 'No, none of you are good enough, you are the most incompetent group of morons I have ever seen,' I said." I started to laugh again, but I tried to keep going with my story. "They were all really mad! But I asked them, 'what does being a detective even mean to any of you!?' I didn't let it go either, most of them didn't even want to answer me they were so upset but I kept grilling them until everyone gave me an answer."

"What did they say?" asked Celestia, breaking her silence.

"Oh, lot's of different things. 'Fuck you Brugato,' was a big one," I chuckled again, Celestia gave me a suspicious look. "But when they got serious about it was a lot of 'Justice' and 'Career' and 'Protect the public,' those kinds of things. I was furious. 'You're all idiots, none of those things have anything to do with being a detective,' I said. And then just two years ago I had the same argument with my latest partner. But he was way more angry with me than any of the other guys were. He was a 'Justice' guy, and was for the pursuit of that more than anything else. He was mad at me for not taking it as seriously as he did, very self-righteous. He actually tried to yell and lecture me about it, telling me I was too slow and meticulous while criminals were still at large. That I didn't take the threats walking the streets seriously. But I told him the same thing, that he was an idiot and that's not what it was about." 

"What is it about?" asked Celestia, sounding even more enthralled than before.

"The truth," I said simply. "It's not about bringing in criminals or keeping the public safe and definitely not about advancing your career. All of that stuff will come in the wake of being focused only on the truth. But I've seen so many of my fellow detectives get so focused on one suspect or one lead and then hit a wall when it doesn't work out. Then they get mad at me for bailing them out, for seeing something they missed because it didn't fit in with their assumptions."

I let out a long sigh, my smile finally dropped away and I lowered my eyes from the ceiling to the ground.

"Well, if they didn't like me much before then they really hated me after that incident six years ago. But I was pretty exhausted with them as well so I just stopped helping. After a little while some of them started asking for help. I would be dismissive and say something like 'whatever conclusion you've come to or whatever lead you have or witness or evidence, just look at it again and ask yourself if it's really true.' I wouldn't help them after that. Some caught on, some didn't and the ones who didn't eventually were let go. That partner I had later who thought he could lecture me about my job nearly got laughed out of the office." I lifted my gaze up and stared intensely into Celestia's.

"Truth is what it means to be a detective. A determined pursuit of the truth and nothing else," I stated firmly in answer to her original question.

Princess Celestia was smiling softly, warmly. She seemed pleased, maybe proud, I wasn't sure. "That was much more of answer than I was expecting from you Valentino," she said.

I shrugged and said, "it seemed relevant."


--


They day had barely begun and I already felt exhausted. 

After my long story Princess Celestia ushered me on my way and said she looked forward to talking to me more. Another guard was called to show me back to the room I was staying in. I wondered if I could get a good nap in, hopefully with no weird stumps and comas. When we got up the tower I said thanks to the guard and he left without saying a word.

Inside the curtains were drawn and the room was dimly lit. I shut the door quietly behind me and made my way inside. I walked up to the bed to investigate the little lump I saw from the doorway. Twilight was curled up under the covers with her head resting on a pillow. The blanket rose slightly with each soft breath of hers.

Damn Twilight is cute.

I sat gently down on the edge of the bed and just watched her sleep. I hadn't really caught her sleeping before even though we shared a room. She was always up pretty late with some business or just reading some book. I'm more of a early to bed, late to rise kind of guy. Broken leg or not. She was rather peaceful when she slept, I think only once her fuzzy little ear twitched. 

Now when I was about eight years old my parents got me a cat. It was a solid black cat and pretty adorable. I absolutely loved the little beast. She was a little quirky, and could play a little rough but I didn't care. I spent every moment I had with that cat, petting, playing, snuggling and napping. I would skip schoolwork just to mess around with my cat. My parents were not happy about that. Ten years later my cat died and I never wanted another one.

But the point is that these damn ponies were just as cute if not way cuter than my cat was. But they weren't pets, they were intelligent and emotional on a level matching mine. So in order to avoid making already awkward social situations worse I had to restrain myself constantly. Constantly in my head I had to remind myself, 'they aren't animals idiot, don't do anything stupid.'

But I only had so much restraint. 

I reached over and started softly petting Twilight's head. Her ears twitched a little and she let out a little sigh while she nuzzled a little deeper into her pillow. That was all though and I kept at it for a little while. 

When I was finally satisfied I got off the bed and quietly walked over to the couch on the opposite side of the room. I laid back and closed my eyes. I welcomed a dreamless sleep.


-Twilight Sparkle – Private Record-


I don't think I had been asleep for that long when a loud thump woke me up. I thought maybe it was the door but there wasn't anything there when I looked. I scanned the rest of the room and saw Valentino on the floor with just a couple of his limbs hanging onto the couch. I stared at him for a moment, half asleep myself I didn't really realize what was happening. After a little bit he slowly flipped over onto his back with one arm laying over his chest and the other flung out away from him. His eyes were shut and I was able to piece that together with his behavior and figure out that he was asleep. 

Asleep...

A little bit of worry entered my head so I climbed out of bed and quietly walked over to Valentino. He was acting like he normally did when he slept, fussier now then he was before. Probably because he didn't have that heavy splint on his leg anymore. I wasn't sure whether to put him back up on the couch or not, or if he would just fall off again and maybe hurt himself. 

He rolled over again onto his side and facing me. His arms were outstretched and his hands grasping at the floor. Curious I prodded one of his hands with my hoof and he made a cute little noise. His hand turned around and his fingers wrapped around my hoof. Then his hand moved up my leg, his fingers gently touching and exploring. It tickled a little and I had to try to hold back my giggles. His hand finally stopped on my neck and I was too busy quietly giggling to myself to notice his other arm come up.

I gasped a little as Valentino yanked me down to the floor and I fell with my back facing him. His hands wrapped around me and he gently pulled me into an embrace. He nuzzled his face into my neck and I could feel his breath as he let out a long contented sigh. 

It was strange, in my shock I focused on his sigh. He sighed quite a lot actually, always when he was frustrated or annoyed. I had never heard him sound so content before. I could feel him physically relax against me. His grip on me loosened as he nestled up against my back. 

I always observed his sleeping habits from my own bed. I always thought that his discomfort came from just about everything that had happened to him since he arrived. But maybe this was just human instinct. Many animals are social sleepers and sleeping in pairs or groups can be comforting for many ponies. It must be a much more developed trait in humans given how Valentino acts at night and how quickly he latched onto me. 

And of course he wouldn't tell me about it. He would never be straightforward about something if it was bothering him! Some things i'm sure he just wouldn't say at all! I'm sure he was just trying to be considerate of me, not wanting to impose. But as he was my friend and my responsibility I needed to be accommodating to his human needs!

I very, very carefully lifted him up and off of me using my magic. Almost immediately he started fussing in the air. I couldn't help but smile, he tried so hard to be aloof but his very nature was to seek out companionship. 

I got up to my hooves and stretched out my wings. Then I carried him over to the bed and peeled back the covers before I put him down on top of it. I hopped up onto the bed after him. I nestled in as close to him as I could and very quickly his arms sought me out. He pulled me in and held me tightly against his chest. He let out a little huff as he nuzzled into my neck again. 

I was doing my best to fight back my giggles. I didn't think that Valentino could act so adorably. Just like before when he got settled, he let out a sigh and a happy little hum. 

He was nice and warm, though still dressed so I could only feel the velvety smooth skin of his hands. But I thought for sure that Valentino would make an excellent cuddle buddy.


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


I managed to sleep pretty well and for a quite a bit longer than I had planned. It was not really surprising though as it appeared I had been moved to the bed. Twilight must have moved me when she woke up. She was very considerate, though I did have to pull a very long, purple strand of hair out of my mouth and hoped it was from her mane and not her tail. 

The rest of that day was spent being poked and prodded magically by Twilight with little to show for it. Passive seemed to be the word to describe... my... magic. Twilight seemed insistent on saying that it was my magic now. It wasn't mine, I had no say in this relationship, I was adopted, I hate this family, no one understands me.

I hoped, I still hope, that Princess Celestia was right and this was just a freak thing to help me adapt to the presence of magic. Twilight tried to reassure me, saying that the very nature of their magic was harmonious and was certainly not malevolent. Seeings as that's what I theoretically adapted or what theoretically adapted to me I suppose I believed her.

I still didn't really like it though. 

As night rolled around I wondered if I would see Princess Luna again. Probably not, I had already taken up a whole night of hers so she was likely swamped with other duties. It turned out I was right.

Twilight suddenly said she was going to go to bed early while I was setting up the couch as a more serviceable sleeping place. I was bringing over some pillows when I noticed Twilight was staring at me.

"You don't need to do that," she said when I looked over. "You can sleep here with me, I don't mind!" she said with a big innocent smile. I shrugged and brought the pillows back over to the bed. 

"Fine, but I'm..." I was just about to say that I was going to sleep in my underwear but I was struck with the realization that there probably wasn't an intelligent species that would care less. In fact I probably could have slept in the nude and she wouldn't have batted an eye, but I still had my own modesty to consider. Besides, Twilight had already enough free access to naked body while I was recovering. She'd have to work a little if she wanted more. Hm.

Well anyways I coughed a little to cover up discarded statement and just said, "that's fine." 

While I undressed Twilight started pulling the covers back on the bed. Once I had stripped down to my light gray boxer briefs I folded my other clothes and set them down on the couch. Then I climbed into the four poster bed and before I could bring the covers back up Twilight was right next to me. She was laying on her side facing me, her eyes were level with mine and she was giving me one of her normal happy smiles. I raised an eyebrow at her.

Her hooves wrapped around my neck and she pulled me against her chest. "It's alright," she said, resting her head on top of mine, "we're friends after all." 

I laid there with my face half buried into Twilight's chest wondering what on earth was going on. Or what in Equestria was going on I suppose. Was it a pony thing? I guess friendship was just a more intimate thing among ponies, or maybe this wasn't what a pony would consider intimate. I came to the conclusion that pony friends were just snuggly and I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Hm.

Well anyways, I contentedly wrapped my arms around Twilight's midsection. I enjoyed the feeling of her warmth and the soft feeling of her coat while I resolved to put forth an effort to make more pony friends.


--


The next day was more of the same except I was being led back and forth constantly between Twilight and Princess Celestia. Twilight made me jog for a while, which was some exercise I desperately needed anyways. I didn't stop with the jog, I filled it out with some squats, crunches and push ups. All while being pelted with questions from Twilight about what I was doing and why. I didn't mind explaining the workouts and what I was accomplishing with them. At least it kept my mind off of the work.

After a shower I got to some of Celestia's tests  which were a little more intimidating. She wanted to see how I would react to certain spells. I started by saying that I didn't want to be turned into a frog or something and she reassured me that she wouldn't be doing anything so complex. 

I grunted but I didn't bother voicing any more of my trepidation. Celestia was completely confident about the positive effects of magic and having magic and being magic and blah blah blah blah. While over the course of Twilight's study I didn't feel at all different I was still agitated by the whole thing. But the ponies were just as chipper as could be like this was just a wonderful time. 

I almost wished the magic in me would hurry up and do something if it was going to and get it over with.

And it did. But to spite me it just continued to be super subtle and non-specific about whatever it was supposed to be.

The spells Princess Celestia cast on me were meant to alter my body in some significant way, in ways that went against what naturally occurred in my body. The comparison she made was the spell Twilight used during my recovery. She described that as something that went with the grain, enhancing my body's natural regeneration. If my bones weren't set or the lacerations properly treated I'd be stuck with a bum leg and a bunch of ugly scars. It was a fairly safe spell, or so she said.

The good old days.

So the first thing she did was make me bioluminescent. So my skin glowed a bright orange for a little while, I didn't feel a difference but I was lit up all the same. 

Next was height, without warning she knocked me down couple feet to about the height of Twilight.

"Like your boys shorter than you then?" I said, transferring my frustration into teasing. The guards in the room were giving me angry looks but the Princess just laughed a little.

"Well... you don't look too bad down there..." she said and feigned some intense consideration. 

I crossed my arms in my baggy sleeves and waited for her to set me back in order. She hesitated a little longer before giggling again and putting me back to normal height.

The next thing she did was something a bit different. She said it was a 'cloud walking' spell and I raised an eyebrow. One of the winged guards flew out the window and she did another spell on me. Nothing physically changed about me.  The guard pushed in a big fluffy cloud. I knew pegasi could manipulate clouds and weather, I did see Rainbow's house after all. 

But still my head was in my hands. 

They wanted me to get on a cloud, they wanted me to walk around on a mass of water vapor like it was a god damned shag carpet. No, they weren't regular clouds, I'm sure those clouds were as magic as the rest of them. No, the rest of us. Everything was crazy magic and I had already hopped into the crazy magic ocean. Why not walk on a cloud!? Then maybe Celestia would give me a pair of wings so I could fly up to the tallest tower of the castle and then she could push me off. 

With a great big sigh I stomped onto the cloud and it was like walking on a big damn pillow. I stood on top of it with my arms crossed, shooting Celestia the most unamused look I could manage.

So as it turned out I was even more receptive to magic than before.

I nearly screamed when Celestia broke that news to me. I thought my magic was supposed be passive or something, subtle and keep other magic from screwing with me. But actually what it was doing was acting as an anchor so that spells wouldn't affect me negatively. 

All of those spells were enacting changes in my body that weren't really possible. But the cloud thing was the kicker. I could have been shorter and I could have been bioluminescent under different or outrageous circumstances. But cloud walking wasn't in any way possible without the forces of magic at work. 

If I didn't have that magic working within me the first two spells likely would have just hurt me and the last one probably wouldn't have done anything. The whole thing turned out to be Celestia trying to prove to me that the magic in me was helpful and great. I was kind of reassured.

I was also reassured that my assumptions were off and I was still an idiot about magic.

I gave Celestia a half smile and I was led back to Twilight who poked at me some more with her magic.

According to the both of them everything was looking normal.


--


The last stop of the day was back with Celestia just after the sun had set. I met her again in that comfy little sitting room. There was a fire going. 

The first thing she did when I walked in was levitate a large stack of papers into my hands.

"What is this?" I asked, taking the papers.

"Everything you'll need in order to become an Equestrian citizen," she said casually.

"Become what?" I asked indignantly.

"I thought of it just after we spoke yesterday. Things will be easier for you in the long run if you are officially recognized as an Equestrian citizen," she stated matter-of-factly.

I walked over to the couch right across from Princess Celestia, sat down, set down the papers at my side and wished with all of my heart that I had my cigarettes. But all that wishing didn't give me the opportunity to chain smoke my last pack of cigarettes down to nothing. So instead I did what I had been doing all day and buried my face in my hands.

"It's not working anymore Princess," I said through my hands. 

"What's wrong Valentino?" Celestia asked with a motherly tone.

I roughly brought my hands down on the couch. "When this mess started I was able to brush it all off by saying 'at least I'm alive!' and now..." I trailed off a little and leaned back on the couch. "I don't know, I don't know and it's driving me up a wall. It's all just getting to be a little too much all at once."

"There is no rush on this Valentino, I just wanted to make this option available to you," Celestia said with concern in her voice. Silence hung in the air for a moment before she let out a little sigh. "Princess Twilight and I just want to help you Valentino. I don't mean to push you or make you feel uncomfortable. There is no easy way to handle this situation..."

"I know, I know. It's not that big of a deal I just... I need some time to adjust," I said to try and ease some of the tension in the air.

"Of course, but please keep it in mind," Celestia said, nodding to the paperwork. "I would love to add you to my subjects," she teased.

I was about to joke back when a pony guard burst into the room. "Princess! There's–" his voice was cut off and he gurgled a little. When I turned I saw a three sharp talons raking across his muzzle.

The guard's eyes went completely black and his body started to twist and contort. I could hear his bones snapping as his body twisted itself in impossible ways until the guard's neck finally bent back all the way until it let out a loud crack and he slumped to the ground. 

Celestia was already on her hooves and I was up and quickly backing up to her, not taking my eyes off of the attacker.

The griffon Cronus was standing at the entrance of the sitting room. His eyes were a solid black like the guard's had turned, his beak which was chipped and cracked before was in even worse shape, missing large chunks and having more cracks running through it. He was missing patches of fur and feathers all over his body. He was twitching, his body was contorting much like the guards was and you could hear snapping and cracking coming from him. Around his neck was a rope and attached to the rope was what looked like a bird, or more likely a griffon, skull. The back of it was shattered so that only the face of the skull was left with the rope looping through the eye socket.

"Broke broke broke broke broke broke brokebroke broken broke... broke... brokebrokebroke...." he muttered over and over as he stood still near the entrance. I had my baton in my hand but I was planning on leaving this completely up to Celestia. His head was tilting to the side, tilting further and further until it started to make snapping sounds.

The Sun Princess quickly took charge and stepped forward, her wings extended and her eyes burning with intensity. But after that first hoof fell the griffon lunged.

"Broken!" he shrieked. An intense golden light slammed into the griffon's face and he flew back into the wall near the door. The griffon slumped to the floor. 

Both Princess Celestia and I just watched the griffon for a long minute. He didn't move a muscle.

After the minute had passed I started to slowly make my way towards him. I extended my baton and made quiet, careful steps towards Cronus. I glanced over at Celestia and asked, "Can you keep him restrained?" My answer came as glowing bands of light bound the griffons arms  and wings to his sides. 

I tapped the griffons leg lightly with my baton, then tried moving his leg with my foot. His leg was stiff and difficult to move. I leaned down and felt his furry leg and stomach with my hand. "He's cold," I said out loud. I checked to see if he was breathing, and he wasn't. Growing bolder I put my ear to his chest and couldn't detect a heartbeat. I sighed and stood up, looking down at the shining black orbs in the griffons head. The tip of his beak had completely broken off. A thick black sludge was starting to drip out of his mouth.

"Well he's dead," I said flatly, turning back to Celestia who had a look of shock on her face. 

"I did not in–" she started but I cut her off.

"He's been dead for a good few hours," I said and that look of shock only grew. "Body is cold and there's signs of rigor." I moved to the door, past the body of the pony guard and looked outside, there was another guard slumped and twisted on the ground out in the hall. "Another body out here same state as the other guard," I said back to Celestia.

Turning back into the sitting room Celestia had a complicated expression on her face. More than anything though she seemed at a loss. Three dead bodies and what was clearly a bunch of magic malarkey would put most anyone at a loss. 

"I'd get some ponies here to thoroughly examine these bodies. The attackers name was Cronus and he was supposedly staying in Manehatten with his wife, probably want some ponies to follow up on that. Twilight and I had an encounter with Cronus back in Ponyville, he was being kind of a creep but he seemed to settle down after we caught him. Whatever was influencing him then might have resurfaced, but he wasn't violent then and he wasn't dead either. I can get you the records I wrote on the whole thing," I offered up everything I could on the matter. 

Princess Celestia stared at me for a second, I maintained a blank expression. "Yes of course, good thinking. Would you go find Princess Twilight and tell her to meet me in the main hall?" she said, regaining her composure. 

"Sure thing," I said and I hurried to find Twilight.


--


Our stay in Canterlot was cut short by the incident with Cronus. Twilight told me that when she met with Princess Celestia she told her everything she knew about the incident with Cronus at Sweet Apple Acres. It was requested that she send an official report and that my record of the event was officially requested as well. 

Twilight was eager to blame herself for initially agreeing to let Cronus go. I asked her if there was a precedent for what happened in Celestia's sitting room and she firmly stated that there wasn't. I told her that it couldn't be helped then and that from my perspective she seemed to be fairly thorough when dealing with Cronus before. She seemed to calm down and apparently she had received similar encouragement from Princess Celestia. 

We were on the next train back to Ponyville and I was actually relieved. In Ponyville I had been working on something resembling a routine. Sweets from Pinkie Pie and teasing Rainbow Dash were at the top of that routine. I wasn't sure if rationing my cigarettes was going to happen anymore. Once I got back I'd be lucky if I had one left.
	
> Chapter 5 - Shocking Spectres
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


So Twilight had obviously made her friends aware of what was going on with me and why we were gone for a couple of days. The first pony I saw after we got back was Rainbow Dash who seemed pretty worried until she caught sight of me. When she did see me she put on a tough face and acted playfully. 

"How ya doin' Val?" Rainbow asked with a smile on her face. 

"Better than ever," I said far more sarcastically than I intended to.

Twilight explained exactly what happened to Rainbow Dash and that I was a bit uncomfortable about the whole magic thing. Rainbow Dash thought it was really cool that I was on team magic and I continued to be sarcastic about it.

We didn't tell her about Cronus.

That night to my surprise the spare bed in Twilight's room was gone and she still insisted that I sleep with her. Sharing the one bed in the castle guest room made some sense but with another bed available it almost seemed like it was going a bit far. Spike was in his bed and was looking at me while he was trying to hold back his laughter which also made me hesitate. But there might have been a culture gap there, he was a spiny dragon after all so maybe he didn't quite mesh with the cuddle culture of pony friends. 

Also having big warm teddy bear Twilight was nice so I just went along with it.

The next day Fluttershy came by to check on me. She seemed very relieved to see me doing well and was the only one to really pick up on or sympathize with my magic anxiety. When Fluttershy tried to reassure me for some reason I actually felt a little better about it. Maybe it's because she did understand a little or maybe trusting her was easier since everything that happened when I first came here. 

Also I should probably make a note here because I need to add Fluttershy to my list of pony snuggle friends. She is way too cute.

Fluttershy didn't stay as long I wished she would. She seemed to be pretty busy a lot of the time. At least for as long as I knew her.

Then there was a fairly upset Pinkie Pie who burst into the tree shortly afterwards. Somehow with everything that happened she was the only pony that didn't know what was going on with me.

"You said you were going to see me again tomorrow and that was five days ago!" she shouted with eyes narrowed at me.

I had to quickly come up with a way to diffuse the situation. I got an idea to do not only that but to have a little fun with the pony as well.

"Pinkie Pie!? You didn't know?" I said with feigned shock.

"Know what?" she said suspiciously.

"I was in a coma Pinkie," I said flatly.

"W-what!? How!?" Pinkie asked, her expression completely flipped from angry to worried. Twilight was watching curiously as I acted more dramatic than normal.

"I was... attacked," I said, turning away slightly.

"What!?" exclaimed Pinkie.

"What!?" exclaimed Twilight just after.

"Yes, attacked by a Princess," I said, bringing my hand up to my check and turning my expression sorrowful.

Pinkie pondered this a moment and then pointed her hoof at a shocked Twilight. I shook my head.

"Luna?" she asked.

"No..." I responded, lowering the volume of my voice and pouring more woe into my tone.

"Not Princess Cadence!" she said, her shock growing.

"No! It was..." I swallowed audibly. "Your Sun Princess..."

"No way! Princess Celestia attacked you?" The look of surprise on Pinkie Pie's face and utter disbelief on Twilight's was almost enough to break my act, but I still had further to go.

"She did not!" Twilight insisted.

"She did! Just the sight of me sent her into fury! A blast of that golden magic and everything went black!" I said, you could hear the jaws hit the floor.

"That's... that's..." Twilight was dumbstruck.

"Poor Princess Twilight! For three days my sweet friend looked after me and when I wouldn't wake up she brought me to Canterlot so she could plead with... her majesty," I deliberately hesitated around Celestia's name. Pinkie was just looking at me amazed.

"What happened!?" Pinkie asked desperately.

"It was actually Princess Luna that took pity on me and she rescued me from the prison of my own mind. But... Princess Celestia... she demanded to see me immediately," I made it sound like I was on the verge of tears. "Despite every good thing Twilight said about me she remained unconvinced and wanted to personally see what I had to offer as human and..." I choked on a fake sob, "as a male..." 

Twilight's eye twitched and I'm sure if she could find her voice she would have screamed.

Pinkie Pie gasped. "No way! No way!" she shouted. 

"Yes she..." I choked on another fake sob and continued, "I don't blame her for what she did, she was just being... thorough... as a ruler. I'm sure she just did what she thought was best. After all the... tests... she seemed pleased. She even went so far as to say that I was... magical." My dramatization was particularly hammy but Pinkie was hanging on every word. I wanted to keep going but Twilight looked like she was about to explode. "I'm sorry, I can't talk about this anymore Pinkie I... I think I need some time to myself..." I said, giving Pinkie that saddest, sappiest look I could muster.

"No! Uh, I mean of course! I'll come back some other time! I'll bring... um... chocolate! You like chocolate! I'll bring something chocolatey!" Pinkie stammered as she made her way backwards toward the door, slamming it behind her when she was finished speaking.

I had a slight smile on my face as I turned back to Twilight, "Well that was fun."

Twilight looked like she had just witnessed something she couldn't comprehend. For a moment she just stood there, stammering and stuttering as she tried to find some way to react. Eventually she managed to find some words.

"How could... why did you say all of that!? None of that was even remotely true! How could you say all of that about Princess Celestia!?" Twilight shouted, her face growing angrier with each word.

A twisted thought entered my head and I decided to deal with this angry pony just like I did with the last one.

"Now Twilight, you weren't there for all of the tests and talks I had with Celestia. Some of the things she had me do..." I looked away from Twilight, fidgeting just slightly and with just a tiny bit of embarrassment on my face.

"Y-you're joking," her anger faltered and a blush started to creep across her face.

I gave Twilight a very long and serious stare that gave her further pause. "You don't need to be jealous Twilight, it didn't mean anything to me," I eventually said. 

"You are joking," she sighed, her expression turning exasperated.

I walked over to Twilight, leaned down and poked her nose. "You're right, all I did was flirt with her a little," I said seriously.

Twilight seemed surprised by even this, "You did not!" 

"Of course I did, Celestia's a lot of fun to tease," I said.

Twilight huffed a little and stomped off. It didn't take her long to come back and lecture me on general appropriate behavior. I tuned her out.


--


The following day I was woken up very early by Princess Twilight Sparkle to continue the the tests that were interrupted back in Canterlot. Whatever magical nonsense she was preparing to do on me seemed excessively complicated, she had Spike helping her review a serious stack of notes. Normally Twilight let me sleep in but she seemed really excited about this test. 

Now I'm not great in the morning I admit. It's why I nap in short bursts. A half hour here, an hour there and I'm good to go. I sleep for more than a couple hours then I get groggy and weird. Couple that with getting up earlier in the morning than normal and I was a regular mess. So I don't really remember much about this magical test Twilight wanted to do. I do remember a loud belch coming from Spike and flash of green fire. After I blinked a couple of times Twilight was looking over a scroll and a much more average looking, to me anyways, letter. Then as quick as a flash she was out the front door.

I looked at Spike and asked "Does this mean I can go back to bed?" Spike just shrugged.


--


It was about noon when Twilight came back. I was in the kitchen looking at everything she had and trying to decide on what I could make. With all the hubbub happening I hadn't really had an opportunity to do any cooking. The food at Celestia's castle was pretty good but it seemed catered to very specific tastes. Ponies certainly have a few things in their diet that I can't, or wouldn't, eat. More often than not Twilight just stuffs some flowers in between two pieces of bread and calls it a sandwich. If there was anything I did go over with Twilight in detail it's what I could and should eat.

However there wasn't that much of a problem for me. Even with the ever looming issue of meat there was still plenty of different kinds of familiar foods and spices to work with. I admit I did look forward to impressing Twilight with my family's cooking skills. 

Unfortunately I was pulled out of the kitchen by the sound of Twilight's hooves frantically running back and forth through the house. When I entered the main room I saw her frantically packing a couple of bags while she was barking orders to Spike while he ran around just as frantically. So much for cooking.

I let out a loud sigh which caused Twilight and Spike to stop in their tracks. "Where are we going this time?" I asked, giving her a flat look.

Twilight was honestly shocked to see me. She started glancing between me and her bags while she tried to come up with a response which earned her an annoyed look from me. "W-well..." she stuttered.

"You weren't planning on going somewhere without me were you?" I asked while I stepped closer to her.

"Well... something is happening and... it might be dangerous so..." she started to explain but I had closed the distance between us and interrupted her by pinching her fuzzy cheeks.

"You were planning on running off to some dangerous place while your human friend stayed behind and worried about you?" I asked with some annoyance in my tone before I let go of her face.

"Well after everything that's happened I thought you could use a rest," she said a little more confidently. 

"I rest enough, so why don't you tell me what's going on," I said, not about to leave it up to debate. 

Twilight conceded easily enough and told me that there was a serious problem in the Crystal Empire, which I remembered was ruled by the Love Princess, and that was relayed to her by Princess Celestia because she was busy investigating the thing with Cronus and the death of two of her guards. So as any good leader ought to she delegated the responsibility of Crystal Empire aid to Princess Twilight. Though I think she probably would have done it anyway since Twilight has family there or so I only vaguely remembered at the time. That and I think Twilight's dealt with problems out there before.

The specific letter requesting aid mentioned a strange energy was gathering around the outskirts of the empire and it reacted violently when approached. Twilight was very concerned about this turn of events and had managed to get the support of all of her friends.

"Val! You're coming too?" Rainbow Dash shouted when she caught sight of me at the train station and she flew right up to me.

"Well I'm not going to get left here all by myself," I said with feigned annoyance.

When Pinkie Pie showed up she was looking at me with sympathetic eyes. Twilight quickly pulled her aside and went to plain my excessive lie. I may think the truth is pretty important but I can't deny that sometimes a lie can be fun. 

Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity were all pretty happy to see me when they showed up. Once we got on the train I pulled Rarity aside so I could talk to her about additional clothing options. Really I just wanted to ask for more of the same pairs of clothes and everyone only had the best things to say about her work with clothing. I only had one major concern.

"As far as money goes though I'm not really sure how I can compensate you," I said.

Rarity just scoffed at me. "Oh don't be silly dear, I would happy to help. Just..." she paused and gave me a very cute, wide-eyed, puppy dog stare. "I was hoping you would give me a little... creative freedom with some of your clothing?" she asked, finishing with a large smile. 

That made me hesitate for a second, her creative freedom already wormed it's way into my existing set of clothes. But if that was the worst of it then it wasn't really that big of a deal.

"That's fine," I said, raising an eyebrow at her. "I would still like to find some way to compensate you for your time," I added but Rarity just ignored me and happily jogged in place for a moment. 

She started going on and on about how excited she was about this new opportunity to explore different design methods. We settled on that when this new mess was over I would go right over to Rarity's boutique so we could get started.

She also gave me a bright orange scarf since apparently the Crystal Empire was fairly far north. So that was nice.

Applejack found me after I finished talking with Rarity and she gave me a big smile.

"I wanted to thank ya again for your help from before," she said.

"Yeah I sure helped a lot getting hit in the throat," I responded in a joking tone.

"Well sure," Applejack teased. "But you did get us organized real quick and your plan worked like a charm," she said with a reassuring smile.

I just shrugged but still gave her a small smile of my own. Applejack nudged me playfully in the leg with her hoof. "Still I owe ya for your help," she said.

I immediately shook my head. "Don't worry about it, as far as I'm concerned I still owe you guys for digging me out of the ground," I said.

Applejack just gave me a dubious look but she didn't push the issue.

Pinkie Pie came by later and instead of being mad like I expected she thought my little prank was really funny. Which caught the attention of the other ponies so I ended up telling them my made up story about how I was "attacked" by Princess Celestia and reenacted my cheesy performance. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were doubled over laughing, I didn't really get a good read on Fluttershy while Twilight was still appalled along with Rarity who didn't think much of my antics.

All in all the train ride was quite a bit of fun. The seating was again oriented towards ponies and the backs of the seats were more for show than anything. It would slope up on one end of the couch and slope back down to nonexistence on the other end. But since it was an overnight trip there were at least some beds so when I was ready to really relax I could go lay down. Unfortunately the bed was fairly cramped so it went without saying that I had to go the night without my cuddle buddy.


--


The trip over was fun and overall relaxing but there was an immediate shift in the atmosphere once we stepped off the train. Several guards were waiting for us and I quickly was made aware of why this place was called the Crystal Empire. The ponies, the structures, everything appeared crystalline in one way or the other. I wasn't really quite sure what to think of it all, not that I was given a lot of time to think about it.

Before the guards could get a word out something glowing and silver just swooped out of the sky at us. All of us ducked and it crashed into the train platform. Or rather, it passed straight through it. 

Looking up we could see a dozen pony shaped masses flying erratically in the sky and several were turning and swooping towards us.

"Princess! We have to get to the castle! Quickly!" said one of the crystal guards.

"Right!" said Twilight and she quickly followed the guards lead.

Fluttershy squealed at the sight of the silver ghostly ponies and rushed ahead of Twilight. The rest of the ponies followed quickly after with me bringing up the rear. Ponies had a lot of things going for them and speed was one of those things. So did those silver ghosts.

One of them quickly honed in on me and while I tried to jump to the side it phased through my arm.

The pain was excruciating. My entire arm seized up and shocks of pain shot out from my arm and through the rest of my body. It was so sudden and painful I couldn't keep from letting out a loud yelp. But once the ghost had passed completely through my arm the pain was gone. Rainbow and Twilight both looked back with concern but I waved her forward as I kept on running. 

Partway towards the center of the Crystal Empire the silver ghosts stopped chasing us. They seemed to have hit some line they wouldn't cross. They hovered in the air, though they looked like unicorns and had no wings to speak of. In fact they had no eyes or mouths to speak of either, they just seemed like a glowing silver energy in the shape of a pony. I was constantly looking behind us, wanting to make sure I caught sight of the next attack and once it seemed like they stopped chasing us I stopped running.

The other ponies noticed the danger had passed and slowed to a stop. Once I caught up they were all looking at me with worry.

"Are you okay?" asked the six mares almost completely in unison.

I shook the numbness out of my arm and reassured them with a nod. "Yeah I'm fine. I wouldn't recommend touching those things though," I said.

Looking back again there were dozens upon dozens swarming all around what I could see of the Crystal Empire. They didn't seem to pass a certain threshold but they frantically flew as close as they could. 

We didn't waste any time in getting info on what was going on so we went to meet with the Love Princess herself.

I wasn't struck by the pretty pink Love Princess so much as her interaction with Twilight.

Once the two of them caught sight of each other they just rushed up to each other and just did this cute little song and dance and... and... I just...

I have no words.

I was frozen in place, staring at the both of them with my hand over my mouth. 

When the Love Princess turned to greet the other ponies her eyes were drawn up to me and she stared for a second. I was still in shock. She turned back to Twilight with a smile. "Who is your tall new friend?" she asked.

"Oh! Well this is Valentino he... um... well it's kind of a long story. A really long story," said Twilight.

"He's pretty cool though!" said Rainbow, slugging me in the arm with her hoof.

I was still frozen in place.

The pretty pink Love Princess laughed a little and then approached me. "Well, I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but please call me Cadance," she said.

Something about her name struck a chord with me and broke me out of my trance. I looked down at her and removed my hand from my mouth. "I'm Valentino Luciano Brugato," I said, mimicking the sing-song way my father would say it along with a bit of his accent. After that I huffed out a little sigh. "But please call me... well call me whatever you want, all the other ponies do," I finished and she giggled.

"Where did you come from? What exactly are you?" asked the curious Love Princess.

"He's a human," offered Fluttershy.

"He's a detective," added Rarity.

"He was underground!" shouted Pinkie Pie.

"And Twilight said it was a really long story. Isn't there a bigger concern than just me right now?" I insisted, trying to keep from everyone from getting too derailed.

"He's right, what is going on Cadance?" asked Twilight.

Princess Cadance gave Twilight an exhausted look. "We don't really know. There isn't any record of anything like this happening before. Certainly not here in the Crystal Empire," she said. 

"So the ghosts aren't common then?" I asked. As flippant as it might have sounded I only asked because I actually wouldn't have been surprised if ghosts were common. Angry maybe, but not surprised.

Fluttershy visibly flinched at the mention of ghosts while the other ponies donned a look of concern about the matter at hand. 

"No, and they aren't ghosts," said a very male sounding voice from a nearby entrance. Which at that point was starting to be a rare thing to hear.

"Shining Armor!" said an elated Twilight Sparkle, I followed her gaze to a unicorn stallion with a white coat and blue mane. 

"Twily! It's great to see you!" he said and approached our little group, standing next to Princess Cadance. He gave me a discerning once over and I looked down at him with a blank expression.

"This is my husband and Twilight's brother Prince Shining Armor," Princess Cadance interjected between our stares.

That's when it hit me, Twilight mentioned that it was her older brother that married the Love Princess. 

"Detective Valentino Brugato," I offered, pointing back at my chest with my thumb. 

A small smile came to his face once he heard I was a detective and he turned to Twilight. "You brought a, um, detective Twily?" he asked. Cute nickname.

"It's a long story," both Twilight and I said at the same time much to the good humor of the other ponies.

"Well, anyways, no they aren't ghosts, they're pure magic," said Shining Armor donning a serious expression. "There were just a few of them at first and they were well outside of our borders but as they've grown in number they've started moving in on us," he said.

"How many are there?" I quickly asked.

"Maybe sixty or seventy from the last report from a couple hours ago," he answered.

"Where are they coming from?"

"We think somewhere to the northwest."

"You think? Haven't you sent out anyone to scout it out?" 

"Well we tried but once they left the borders they were swarmed and had to retreat back in."

"What about their rate of growth? How many more are coming in and how often?" 

"Maybe four or five an hour, it fluctuates," at this point Shining Armor was starting to look annoyed at my quick barrage of questions. The other ponies were just watching us go back and forth in quick succession.

"Sorry, sort of an occupational habit to ask a lot of questions," I said and Shining Armor seemed to ease up at that. 

It didn't seem like they were running the risk of being overrun soon anyways. However the priorities in my head were to stop any more "reinforcements" and routing the magic ghosts that were left. . They could phase through objects so it wasn't likely that getting in some kind of vehicle would stop someone from being swarmed. Did ponies have other modes of transport besides trains? Did they need them? I had only seen the trains so far.

"But they were well within in the border when we showed up," said Twilight and Shining Armor gave her a worried expression.

"Yeah, the newer ones stay back further but the others have been slowly pushing in. We've spent a lot of time evacuating ponies and moving them towards the center of the empire," he said.

"That's when we sent for help," added Princess Cadance.

"Well if they're just magic then there must be some spell behind it and there has to be a way to break it," said Twilight confidently.

"We've tried, but when we tried any sort of magic near them they went berserk and crossed over to attack. They can't seem to do any serious damage but when they touch you it really hurts!" said Shining Armor.

"Yeah it does," I mumbled, rubbing my arm.

Suddenly an idea hit me.

"Wait, what's been keeping them out?" I asked.

"Huh?" said Shining Armor.

"They clearly want to get into your empire here but something is keeping them at bay, what is it?" I asked.

"Well the Crystal Heart protects the Crystal Empire," offered Princess Cadance.

"Crystal Heart..." I muttered, it was a familiar name. Something Twilight mentioned in one of her lectures but I was having trouble placing it.

"Yeah, the power of the Crystal Heart must be keeping them out!" said Twilight optimistically.

It was on the tip of my tongue.

"But they are pushing against it, the ones that showed up first have made it in past our borders," said Shining Armor darkly.

"What... it was... something that powers the Crystal Heart?" I asked aloud, snapping my fingers while trying to draw the answer out of my head.

"The light and love within all of the Crystal Ponies," answered Princess Cadance. Once she got the word love out it all fell together in my mind.

"That's it," I said and pointed right at Princess Cadance. "The love of that Crystal Heart is keeping them out. Now wasn't there a pony here that has a special brand of love magic?" I asked.

"Oh! Oh! Princess Cadance!" Pinkie Pie answered a little too enthusiastically.

"In fact I think Twilight told me in one of her lectures that you kept up some kind of love barrier around the whole Crystal Empire for days," I said.

"Yes, well..." the pink pony princess mumbled and her face turned a darker shade of pink.

"So I don't see why you couldn't ward off a couple of puny magic ghosts so you could investigate where these things are coming from," I stated.

"Well I suppose it wouldn't be too hard," mused Princess Cadance.

"What? You can't go out there alone!" shouted Shining Armor.

"Of course not!" I sternly said. "Obviously Princess Cadance would be a part of larger party," I said.

"But they aren't coming in that quickly, shouldn't we reduce their numbers before going out on this investigation?" argued Shining Armor.

"If we can find the source then we could likely put a stop to it altogether," said Twilight. No one was about to argue with Twilight's expertise on the matter.

Shining Armor relented and the Love Princess would use the power of love to ward off the magical spirits so that she could help trace them back to their source and possibly use the power of love to put an end to this strange attack on her Crystal Empire.

As I write this I finally realize how ridiculous this all sounds..


--


There were four of us in carriage and two crystal pony guards pulling it through the snowy landscape.

Before we left we effectively tested to see if Princess Cadance could in fact ward off the silver ghosts like I thought and I wasn't just pulling a bunch of assumptions out of my ass. Turns out I was right. The ghosts started on a beeline straight for Cadance but she did some glowy horn magic which stopped them dead in their tracks. Then they circled around her a bit before flying off.

In the magically, I assumed, warmed carriage was of course Princess Cadance, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and myself. Cadance was seated next to me. Rainbow Dash and Twilight were across from us.

Now I was there for a couple of reasons. One reason was a personal obligation to see my own plan through. Another reason was that since they were going to investigate the source of those ghosts that a professional investigator would be handy. Shining Armor also sort of pushed me to go since it was my idea. For the record Shining Armor seemed pretty nice, just very worried about what was going on.

The others stayed behind to hold things together within the Crystal Empire. Just about every pony wanted to go but Shining Armor had to stay because if the prince and princess both ran off during a crisis it would likely cause ponies to panic. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and the others I told to stay back and keep morale high. Fluttershy didn't want to go to the source of ghosts and Rarity wasn't exactly thrilled to go on the expedition either. Pinkie was happy enough to be in charge of morale. Applejack thought that she should go but I told her that the Crystal Ponies might need some real muscle and that she was probably worth twenty of those wimpy guards. The flattery worked like a charm.

I'm not sure if I was overconfident in the ponies with me or not. I figured that having the Love Princess and Princess Twilight Sparkle was more power than needed. They were pretty magic right? Did they even need me and Rainbow Dash?

The guards pulling the carriage, which I guess was normal, were keeping their eyes peeled for those silver spirits and adjusting our course accordingly. There was a thick blanket of snow on the ground but the sky was thankfully clear.

On the trip Twilight started to fill in Cadance on the long story that was me. I added things here and there, like how Rainbow Dash mercilessly beat me within an inch of my life the second she saw me. Rainbow Dash quickly went to her own defense and I laughed.

But that aside Cadance took my sordid tale about as well the others. Once things got dark she got this very sad and sympathetic look. I had to reassure her as I did with the others that I was alive and that was enough. Despite that she was still concerned but about something that I should have expected.

"I get that you are grateful to be alive but what about..." Cadance said, trailing off a bit.

I was looking out the window of the enclosed carriage. "What about what?" I asked with no particular inflection in my tone.

"Well what about the humans you left behind? Wasn't there somepony, er, some human special?" Cadance asked.

It hit me all at once what the Love Princess was implying. If I had been drinking something I would have done a serious spit take. The last real relationship I had a crack at was in high school and that ended miserably. To the point were the thought of trying to be that intimate with someone again was laughable for a while.

Actually I started laughing in the carriage. Part from the shock and part from just remembering that old flame. "No way, no, I," I interrupted myself with another chuckle. "The only people I left behind were some mediocre co-workers and a few ladies I knew that I 'got together' with now and then," I put some air quotes and extra emphasis around got together. The ponies all just gave me a confused look.

Realizing the ponies couldn't know what I was gesturing and didn't get my emphasis I decided to be a little more direct. "For sex, we got together to have sex," I said. Every pony in the carriage flushed deeply and went quiet. 

I wasn't really expecting that kind of response. I thought maybe I would get a chuckle out of Rainbow Dash but she was just as embarrassed as the others. However I quickly saw this as an opportunity for a lot of fun.

"I didn't realize I was sharing a carriage with a group of prudish ponies. Even you Princess Cadance? I mean, you are married and all. I'm sure you had a wonderful honeymoon," I said playfully. Just after saying that a thought quickly entered my head. "Do married ponies have honeymoons? Is that a thing?" I added.

Cadance coughed nervously and a goofy grin appeared on her face. "Yes, um, we do, we did, it was good. Great..." she said nervously. Cadance looked like she was caught between some saucy memories and her own bashfulness. Rainbow Dash was still slightly uncomfortable, Twilight was staring at Cadance and growing even more embarrassed than before. Perhaps her brothers implied exploits were a bit embarrassing for her.

"Well as far as my lady friends go it wasn't that special. We didn't have any sort of real connection or anything it was just convenient and enjoyable. Human's have needs after all," I said. Every bashful eye was back on me. Cadance and Twilight were nervously shifting in their seats. "Again, I'm talking about sex," I clarified again just for the enjoyment of seeing their eyes go wide.

"Since we are on the subject, what about you two," I said, gesturing to Rainbow and Twilight. "Do either of you have somepony special?" I asked with a mischievous grin. Both Twilight and and Rainbow looked away. 

"I haven't really ever had a lot of time to think about it..." said Twilight nervously.

Rainbow Dash however was a little more aggressively dismissive. "There just hasn't been any stallions awesome enough for me is all," she said firmly.

"Oh? Well what about-" I started but was quickly cut off.

"No! I don't have any marefriends!" Rainbow snapped.

I stared at Dash with a blank expression for a few seconds while she glared back at me. "I was going to say," I started again. "What about a sexy and super cool human?"  I said, flexing my arms a little for emphasis.

Then it was Rainbow's turn to stare at me blankly for a few seconds before she started to crack up laughing, which caused the other ponies to start to crack up laughing.

"Ow, my pride," I said flatly.

"Sorry," Rainbow choked out between laughs. She took a few breaths to stop her laughter. "I just don't know if you're that cool," she said teasingly. 

I turned my gaze over to Twilight who was still laughing. One last idea sparked in my brain.

"Well I know Twilight thinks I'm that cool," I said. Eyes were immediately back on me.

"Huh?" said Twilight.

"Huh?" chorused Rainbow and Cadance with big smiles now on their faces.

"I mean, after what you did to me during my bath that time..." I said, turning my gaze away and feigning shyness as best I could.

"Huh!?" shouted Twilight. Rainbow was grinning even wider and Cadance looked shocked.

"You didn't!" said Cadance.

"I didn't!" said Twilight desperately.

Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a suspicious look.

"I didn't! He was still injured! He couldn't do it himself! It was just a bath!" Twilight pleaded.

"She was very gentle with me. It's just... she was a little too interested in my... anatomy..." I said, happily throwing a little more fuel on the fire.

Cadance and Rainbow Dash narrowed their eyes at Twilight. 

"Valentino!" Twilight snapped. That's when I started laughing. Rainbow started shortly after. After that I think Twilight threw something at my head which just made me laugh harder.


--


In spite of all the goofing around in the carriage the guards pulling us along actually did their jobs and led us further and further to the northwest. Eventually stopping at the base one of many tall mountains. Once the carriage came to a stop we all got out to investigate. I was really thankful for that scarf Rarity gave me as it was the only thing that really helped against the cold.

There was a large cave at the base which we were parked right in front of.  The guards insisted that they saw the magic ghosts come from there. A big cave like that seemed as likely a place as any but we waited to see for ourselves. 

We didn't have to wait long to see one fly out and head straight for us. Thanks to Princess Cadance it stopped just short of the guards, flew around us a few times then went off back towards the Crystal Empire.

"So a cave huh?" I said, breaking the silence as we made our way towards it. 

"If I remember correctly there were plans for a mining operation out here before the reappearance of the Crystal Empire, plenty of Iron in the mountains," said Cadance.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know what caused them to stop, all I know is that there are claims on several mines out here. It probably would have cost too much without the Crystal Empire nearby to facilitate trade and supplies for the laborers. " answered Cadance. 

"Are mines a good place for doing spooky ghost magic?" I asked half jokingly.

"Not better than anyplace else, but who knows what you might dig up," said Twilight.

I stopped right in front of the entrance to the cave. It was fairly dark inside but as soon as the ponies encroached upon the darkness Twilight lit it up with some magic from that horn of hers. I admit I had plenty of anxieties of going into the cave. Tons of stone bearing down on us, potentially cramped tunnels. But it looked pretty spacious inside so with a sigh I pushed down my anxiety and followed after the ponies.


--


High ceilings, strong looking supports and constantly looking back towards the entrance kept me at ease inside the tunnel. The tunnel wasn't much more than just that, a tunnel, but if what Cadance said was true then there probably wasn't much push towards an actual mining operation. 

A few meters in we encountered some lit lanterns which was a pretty solid indication of activity. The lanterns led us to a large hub that seemed to split out into five other, smaller tunnels. In that hub we found some saddlebags, a cart full of supplies as well as some harsh weather gear. There wasn't any documentation with the supplies.

The cart was large enough that two ponies would be needed to pull it so it was best to assume that there was a group present. The food supplies however looked like it would only last a few days for a group of at least two. The winter gear was similarly limited. 

The tools and other supplies did not seem suited to a ritual to summon malevolent magical specters but... just for checking out a mine. Not that I was sure that you needed supplies to do something like that. But the intent still seemed apparent from what was present that someone was just there to check out the mine.

It was looking pretty innocent all in all which was frustrating but there was still plenty of mine to explore. Which was frustrating enough for me. I noticed early on as we ventured in that we were very clearly descending which did not help my anxiety much either. 

After some more searching Cadance let out a harsh yelp that startled everyone. There was something noisily skittering across the floor, about the size of maybe a rat. It came right towards me so I just lifted up my leg and brought my foot right down on it.

There was hardly any give when I stomped on it, the thing was solid as a rock and still squirming underneath my damp dress shoe.

Side note, don't wear dress shoes in the snow. I was only out in it for a minute but it was so deep it got onto my pants and socks and melted once we got in the cave. 

I reached down and with very little caution grabbed the creature under my shoe and lifted it up. The texture was smooth and cold like metal. When I got a good look at it the creature wasn't much of a creature at all. It was more like a little metal dome with six legs. It wiggled it's legs uselessly in the air as I tried to examine it. It was lightly scratched on the surface but otherwise had no distinct markings. It had a dark gray coloring and a light gray glow around it's joints.

I held it up towards Twilight. "What is this?" I asked.

A purple glowing aura of magic gently took the object out of my hand and brought it over to Twilight. She looked at it intensely and the aura around it as well as her horn seemed to fluctuate in demeanor and intensity. 

"I don't recognize the design but it has an enchantment on it," she said and set the little metal bug on the ground. It eagerly rushed around on the floor, propelling itself with four of it's legs and picking up stones with it's front legs. It would deposit the stones around the edges of the hub room. It was a lot better at it's job than some human vacuum "robots".

It was also the first significant indication of anything magical in the whole mine aside from the ghosts flying out of it.

Rainbow Dash, who got bored of exploring the hub room we were in, flew casually into one of the tunnels. Like all the other offshoots the entrance was smaller than the tunnel we had been in. Something that I noticed internally but reassured myself that I had hallways in my old apartment that were smaller than the tunnel entrance.

Side note, my apartment was five stories off the ground.

The tunnel she flew into wasn't illuminated so I snatched a lantern from off one of the walls and followed Rainbow Dash in. She was turned and smiled at me when I walked in, looking like she was about to get a lantern herself. It didn't take us long to find the end of that particular path. I took maybe ten steps before I reached the back wall. Holding the lantern up I went to inspect along the walls of the short tunnel for anything suspicious.

Rainbow was moving to go back out when a loud crack came from the entryway. My eyes snapped to it just in time to see a heavy stone slab quickly slide down and seal us in the unfinished tunnel.

That really didn't help my anxiety.









Let me out.
> Chapter 6 - Steel Spark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


-Rainbow Dash – Private Correspondence-


Hey Twilight,

Val really, really didn't want me to talk about this with anypony. He got really serious about it. He had this super mean look and everything. So don't read this if he's around! 

I told him I wouldn't tell anypony but... I don't know. I can't stop thinking about it. I've never seen anypony lose it like that before. You remember he said he was claustrophobic right? Well, he wasn't kidding.

I thought that since he lives with you that you should probably know how big of a deal this is. That way you can make sure it doesn't happen or maybe you can find a way to help him. 

Okay, I know this probably seems silly but I'm not joking around. Look, here's what happened.

So you remember when Val and I got sealed in that little tunnel right? It really didn't take you and Princess Cadance that long to get us out but a whole lot happened!

When that big slab slid down and sealed us in I... look okay I admit I wasn't exactly cool with it either. My heart started to beat a little faster but I tried to laugh it off and I turned to joke with Val just to get my mind off it. Before I could say anything though he walked right past me. 

He seemed alright at first. Once he reached the slab he pulled out that extendable metal thing he has and knocked on it. "Twilight?" he said loudly but he was still calm.

Then he knocked a little louder. "Cadance!?" he shouted.

I started to tell him that I didn't think you guys could hear us but he cut me off.

"Twilight!" he barked loudly, he sounded angry. His arm snapped out and the metal thing extended. Then he started banging it against the stone slab really hard.

"Twilight!" he roared. I mean like a manticore or something. He banged harder and harder on the slab with that metal thing.

He started to get even more wild and he kept screaming for you Twilight. Sometimes he wouldn't even use the metal thing. He'd just ball up his hand and bang on the slab. He'd strike it with his hand too.

"Let me out! Let me out!" he started to repeat over and over and he started to just throw himself at the slab. His voice was cracking too.

If I wasn't nervous before then I definitely was then. It was like being trapped with a wild beast. But at the same time it was my buddy Val there freaking out. I knew what it felt like too, being trapped, but he was feeling it on a whole other level.

Okay look, I was really scared alright. I was scared Val was going to hurt himself the way he was throwing himself at that slab. I mean I was sure you and Princess Cadance were doing everything you could to help us but...

I knew I had to get him to calm down because he was going to seriously hurt himself. I got close to him and reached out with a shaky hoof.

I just barely touched him and he whipped around. Remember how I said it was like being trapped with a wild animal? Well that's pretty much what he looked like there for a second. His teeth were bared, that metal thing was raised over his head. His eyes were narrowed at me and those thick eyebrows of his were knit hard. 

Everything in me was screaming to just fly away fast. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it was going to burst. But I couldn't bolt away from Val when I saw tears just pouring out of his eyes and the way his body was trembling.

His eyes widened when he got a good look at me and he roughly chucked the metal thing off to the side of the tunnel. His breathing was getting really rapid and his eyes were darting all over the place.

"R-Rainbow... I..." he choked out. I'd never heard him sound so... anything! The Val I knew was always super chill! I needed that Val! 

"Val! Buddy!" I flew right up in front of his face and put my hooves on his shoulders. "Y-you gotta chill out okay? Everything is gonna be fine. Twilight and Princess Cadance will have us out of here in no time!" I said. I tried my best to sound confident but my voice was cracking just a little. 

I think it helped though! His eyes really started to focus on me and he reached up and grabbed my front legs with those hands of his. When he had a good grip on me he closed his eyes and took some really deep breaths.

"Sorry, Rainbow... sorry," he whispered.

"I get it Val, It's fine," I told him.

He took a few more deep breaths and his hands found their way up to my face. Then he started grabbing and pinching my cheeks which was kind of confusing.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Pinching your chubby pony cheeks," he said. His eyes were still closed.

"Chubby!?" I shouted, pretending to be angry. 

We both sort of laughed. It was really awkward.

That's when you and Princess Cadance got the slab up. Val did a really good job at pretending he was okay after we scrambled out of there. I don't know if you noticed but the whole rest of the time in the tunnels he was hanging back and had take deep breaths every once in a while before he could keep going. 

I keep trying to talk to him about it and he keeps telling me not to worry about it. But I keep remembering his face when he turned around, how scared he had to be to look like that and act like that. 

He lives with you, you've probably been asking him about all kinds of human stuff. Maybe he is okay, or maybe talking about it wouldn't help. I thought you'd probably be all over what makes a human tick by now so I thought maybe you could think of a way to help him.

I'm probably going to keep trying.

Talk to you later,
Rainbow Dash


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


We were stuck in the tunnel maybe ten minutes or so. There was a loud stone clacking noise before the stone slab glowed purple and lifted up. Getting out of there was a big weight off of my shoulders. I stood with my back to the other ponies while they tried to figure out why there was a slab poised to seal off the tunnel. My anxiety had shot straight up.

Rainbow Dash pulled herself away from Twilight and Princess Cadance and stood in front of me. She was looking up at me with big eyes full of worry.

"I'm fine," I whispered. I wasn't exactly able to hide my anxiety about being trapped in that tunnel with Rainbow Dash. I didn't want her to worry and I especially didn't want to worry the Princesses. There was still an investigation to complete and it didn't need my anxiety complicating things. "Just don't bring this up with the others," I said.

Rainbow was still just looking up at me. 

"I'm serious," I said as quietly and sternly as I could. She looked away but nodded. 

After a few more deep breaths I was able to steel myself and turn back to Twilight and Cadance who will still trying to figure out why there was a mechanism in place to seal of the tunnel.

"It's an unfinished tunnel. Probably there to seal it off in case they dug into a pocket of poisonous gas or something," I said.

Before they could even respond another glowing gray specter bolted out of the leftmost tunnel. We all bunched up next to Cadance at the sight of it. It sniffed around us for a while before darting towards the exit.

"Well, I guess we know which tunnel to go down!" said Princess Cadance optimistically.

Nobody had any arguments so the four of us and the two silent guards started down the tunnel. I kept behind a little and Rainbow Dash stuck close to me. To be fair it was a little inconspicuous but I was happy to have her nearby. My anxiety hadn't completely abated and us going deeper on in wasn't exactly helpful. If my anxiety started to push against me I just had to focus on her and take a few deep breaths then push forward. 

The tunnel started to widen up after a few minutes which was a relief. It was few minutes after that Twilight and Cadance let out a loud gasp. We rushed to catch up and we were met with the source of those silver ghosts.


-Valentino Brugato – Investigation Report-


The following is my report on the investigation of the magical energy assaulting the Crystal Empire. The investigation was led by Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, referred to as Cadance, with support from myself, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. We were accompanied by two of Princess Cadance's Royal Guards.

We followed the magical energy, which I refer to as "ghosts", back to it's source in a mine to the northwest of the Crystal Empire. In the tunnels we found a single male unicorn surrounded by several metal pony constructs and dozens of metal bug constructs all crumpled on the floor of the tunnel. 

The unicorn had a thick black mane that was mostly pulled into a large braid which was secured with a silver clasp. He still had long locks of black hair that fell across his face. His tail was an unkempt mess of black. His coat was a light gray and his eyes were a dark amber color. His "Cutie Mark" was of a steel beam at a diagonal angle with a yellow spark on each side. 

The metal ponies were simple in design and had no distinguishing features. They were a dark gray color and pony shaped. The metal bugs we had previously discovered were enchanted to move around and complete tasks. I speculated that the metal ponies were similarly enchanted. Every metal construct in that tunnel however was immobile.

The unicorn was knelt down on his front legs when we found him. His face was twisted in agony. Just as we approached he let out a loud scream. As he yelled sparks of bright gray magic shot out from his horn and circled back onto him. Magic from within him appeared to pull away from him in the shape of the ghosts that had been accumulating at the Crystal Empire. 

The ghost however was pulled back into the unicorn who was left panting and trying to stand up shaky. His shaky limbs however did not allow it. Judging from how there were no other ponies, or corpses of ponies, present in the tunnel I assumed at that point that he was the sole source and had been experiencing this trauma for a couple of days at least.

"Twilight? What is going on?" I asked the shocked princess. She had been staring at the unicorn with her mouth agape.

She stared for a minute longer, watching the whole process occur again with the unicorn screaming out loud again. Princess Cadance was attempting to communicate with the unicorn but he did little more than grunt. She backed away when he started screaming again.

"It's..." Twilight started, her horn lighting up. A purple glow enveloped the gray unicorn. Again the same process occurred and Twilight's face went from shock to horror. 

"Some kind of feedback spell, forcing his magic out and feeding it back in," she said. "Painfully creating those things as a byproduct," she added.

"I can see that, but–" I started but was cut off by Twilight.

"To do what this spell is doing, it's not only abhorrent but inefficient! I can dispel it immediately!" Twilight's horn grew in intensity and so did the glow around the gray unicorn. 

It only took a moment to see Twilight start to strain harder and harder before a shock of magic struck back at her from the unicorn's horn.

"How?" she gasped.

"Well, I may not be as elegant as your kind," started a deep voice near the back of the tunnel. "But I make up for it with my strength and tenacity, I think," it finished.

"Who's there!?" barked Rainbow Dash.

At the sound of movement I reached for my baton but came up empty handed. I had accidentally discarded it when I was temporarily sealed in the tunnels. Not really confident in my ability to defend myself with a knife I backed up putting our defense purely in the hooves of the ponies.

What crept out of the shadows in the unlit part of the tunnel was what I would summarize as a snake with arms. It had a torso that was vaguely comparable to humans. It's head was a little rounder than a snakes as well. It moved on a very long and thick tail that could easily wrap up three of us at once in it's coils. It's arms ended in long and... moist looking claws. It had a green and yellow spotted pattern to it's coloring. It's underbelly was a pale yellow and it's eyes were a cloudy blue.

"I am Rook," said the snake with a big smile on it's scaly face. He performed an exaggerated bow, lifting himself a little higher on his long tail as he did so.

Princess Cadance had quickly backed up at the appearance of the snake called Rook and was standing beside Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Her guards took up position in front of them and I was well behind all of them. 

"Did you do this?" Princess Cadance asked firmly.

"Ah yes, this is my gift," Rook said glee in his deep voice.

"Gift!?" shouted Twilight.

"Oh yes, it will be an end to his pain and better yet it will graciously share it with all others!" said Rook excitedly, making big sweeping gestures with his arms as he talked.

The unicorn growled loudly and then screamed as the magic pulled at him again. Rook slithered closer to the unicorn and bent down near his head.

"Oh please, please accept my gift young stallion. It is for the best, I think," Rook said sorrowfully.

The unicorn jerked his head back and then smashed it into Rook's nose. Rook reeled back with one claw covering his snake snout. But it quickly fell away to show a large long fanged grin.

"Such a spirit he has to create such spirits!" Rook exclaimed and then howled with laughter.

"He's insane," muttered Twilight.

A shiver interrupted Rook's revelry and he took on a distinctly duller coloring. "Ah, my time here is at an end. You all will certainly enjoy my gift, I think," said Rook.

"And just–" Rainbow started but was cut of by another shiver and Rook taking on a much paler and... translucent appearance.

Then he fell over and bounced lightly on the stone floor.

"Is he...?" mumbled Princess Cadance. 

Rainbow flew over to Rook and nudged him her hoof. He moved slightly along the stone floor. She pressed into him then with her hoof and it just sank in and Rook flattened where her hoof lightly pushed against him. "It's just... his skin?" she said.

"He must have teleported," said Twilight.

"The skin shed the snake," I said.

We didn't get the opportunity to enjoy my hilarious joke because the unicorn started screaming again, much louder than before.

"So can you get that spell off him or not?" I shouted to Twilight over the gray unicorn.

"I don't know! It should have dispelled already! This spell is..." She said as her horn lit up again. It was as bright as her strongest attempt from before but centralized on the unicorns head.

Instead of fading out this time the magic seem to concentrate to the tip of the unicorns horn and then quickly ark back to the tip of Twilight's. She let out a screech when it hit her and then it streaked back into the gray unicorn. He shrieked as the magic in him pulled even more violently against him before ripping off entirely. 

In the act of ripping away from the unicorn stallion it sent arcs of energy back at the stallion. This energy did not try to gestate into a magical ghost instead it scorched the coat and skin of the stallion who fell onto his side while he howled in pain.

Princess Cadance and Rainbow Dash looked on in horror. The guards were examining Rook's skin. Twilight groaned as she got back up to her hooves. The ghost rushed at Twilight before Cadance's horn lit up and a field of love magic expanded outwards and pushed the silver specter away. I half expected that break the spell on the unicorn. But even as Cadance filled the tunnel up with her love magic the gray unicorn's horn sparked and jolted.

"A feedback spell operating at this level should have already fallen apart on it's own or..." Twilight trailed off and her expression went dark.

"Or?" I asked, my tone tinged with impatience.

"I... I don't know how anypony could have survived this being torn at like this," she said grimly.

"Hm," I mumbled looking at the unicorn stallion panting on the stone floor. 

His body showed no signs of damage aside from the recently received scorch marks. 

I took a closer look at the metal constructs scattered around in the tunnel. Besides lacking the magical enchantment of the construct we found back in the main hub of tunnels the each showed some minor signs of damage. Those nicks and scratches were scorched around the edges.

"Could he have been... uh..." I started but was less than confident in my knowledge about magic which gave me pause. Twilight regarded me with some curiosity in between concerned glances at the unicorn stallion.

"Well, if all of these things were enchanted before but now they're... dead and damaged, could he have–" I was then cut off by Twilight.

"He managed to get the spell to cycle through them! But if he could transplant the effects of the spell why is it still on him!?" she said, 

"Tenacity," I muttered, recalling what Rook said.

"If I can't sever it's connection to break the spell then maybe..." Twilight muttered and her horn lit up again. 

I watched a little closer as Twilight performed her magic. In the purple glow I could barely make out something green latched onto the unicorn stallion's horn near the tip like a vice. It was long, extended down and coiled around the stallions neck before reaching back up and coiling back around the base of his horn. The snake had a pretty obvious signature.

Twilight's magic looked like it was trying to push the two ends together. But it didn't take long for her magic to start sparking back and her magic cut off while she let out another yelp. "Ah! Again!? How did–"

"Focus!" shouted the unicorn stallion in a raspy voice, cutting Twilight off. He started to slowly get back onto his hooves, wincing every time his magic arced and fed back into him. "Focus through the pain," he growled, locking one open amber eye on Twilight while the other winced shut.

Twilight seemed stunned for a moment and stared blankly at the unicorn that just pulled himself off the ground. But I think it only took that moment for the unicorns words to sink in because she suddenly looked determined and her horn lit up again.

Violent sparks of magic shot between the two of them. The gray unicorn growled and flinched but stood fast.  Twilight similarly flinched and yelped but her magic didn't cut out.

It took a long few moments. The tunnel was filled with dancing silver and purple lights. All the rest of us could do was watch silently as Twilight fought on to dispel the horrible curse on the gray unicorn.

Eventually the silver and purple lights were replaced with a blinding green one. The green haze that had coiled around the gray unicorn was made very visible without the aid of Twilight's magic on it. It jumped away from the unicorn and formed a single ring in the air. One end was latched onto the other, it started to surge with energy that arced out and back into itself. 

It then started to spin rapidly in the air before it shrank in on itself and then erupted with a wave of energy. The energy passed through us, went down the tunnel and potentially phased through the tunnel walls. 

"Finally..." groaned the gray unicorn before he collapsed onto the floor.

After a brief examination we determined that the stallion was in stable condition and had him carefully moved out to the carriage. I stayed behind to keep an eye on him while Twilight, Princess Cadance, Rainbow Dash and the guards swept the tunnels for the snake called Rook. I also asked Twilight to retrieve my baton for me which she did.

There was no sign of Rook. Just the dead skin he vanished out of. 

After catching our breaths we made the return trip to the Crystal Empire.

We speculated on the nature of Rook, who was an unfamiliar species of snake to both the ponies and myself. We were not able to glean any answers from our speculation.

When we returned to the Crystal Empire we were not greeted by an army of magical ghosts but a crowd of ecstatic Crystal Ponies.


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


The gray unicorn was given medical treatment and left to rest. Shining Armor was eager to hear about what happened, luckily for me he looked more to Twilight and Princess Cadance. After that time spent in the cave I was exhausted so I ducked out to find a bed. If anyone cared about what I had to say on the matter I would have a written report ready for them.

As I walked down a long crystalline hallway, looking for a good place to nap, I managed to find Fluttershy. She was heading back towards where I came from.

"Hello Valentino," she said with a smile, her voice gentle as usual. 

"Yo," I said with a short wave. "The others are back that way, they're going over what happened and can catch you up. I'm tired, gonna get some rest," I explained before moving to leave.

"Um!" Fluttershy squeaked, stopping me in my tracks. "Are you okay?" she asked when my eyes locked back onto hers, her face clearly expressing her concern.

I thought briefly about the best way to brush off her question and keep on my way but... I found myself just staring into her light blue eyes. With a sigh I relented, just a bit.

"It was a rough trip. I guess I'm not really feeling that great," I said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, taking a few eager steps closer.

"Not really," I said, breaking eye contact. 

"Oh... is... is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.

I hummed a little and tilted my head to the side in thought. I already had something in mind but I wanted to savor that adorable sweet and eager look on Fluttershy's face. 

I got down onto my knees, getting closer to her level and looked at her with a serious expression. After that I calmly extended both of my arms out from my sides. "Hug," I said simply.

There was no hesitation at all. As soon as I got the word out she had her front legs wrapped gently around my chest. I was so surprised that I let out a short huff of a laugh before I brought my arms around Fluttershy to hold her in a tight embrace. She was as soft as I remembered.

After just a couple moments I released her and she dropped down onto her hooves with a small smile on her face. I got back up to my feet with a similar smile of my own. 

"I hate to hug and run but I really am exhausted. I'll see you later," I said to Fluttershy.

"Okay, have a good nap," she said with a little more cheer in her soft voice.


-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-


The clock was still there, still ticking, still getting closer to five all over again.

My anxiety was at a peak. Sweat was dripping down my face as I watched from my chair. 

The chimes started.

One.

Two.

Three.

I was out of my chair, running at the grandfather clock.

Four.

My fist collided with the glass covering the clock face. The chiming stopped. The hands of the clock started spinning backwards.

I felt relief, unbelievable relief.


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


I was shaken out of dreamland by my favorite purple princess. I turned my head to the side of the bed she was standing at and grumbled at her questioningly.

"The unicorn we saved is awake," she said. 

That seemed odd to me and I sat up in bed. He probably had only been asleep for a couple of hours and was likely dealing with that ghost magic loop spell for a couple days at least. I expected him to be out for a lot longer. I brought a hand up to my eyes and rubbed them. I felt awful.

All my thoughts halted when I noticed the window was completely dark.

"How long have I been asleep?" I groaned.

"I'm not sure... maybe six hours?" Twilight guessed.

I grumbled loudly as I threw the blankets off of me. I still had most of my clothes on since I only planned on a quick nap. Instead I got six hours of restful god damn sleep and felt like I was half out of my mind.

"So did you guys... uh..." I rolled my hand around in the air while I tried to find the right words. "Question him?" I settled on.

"Well Princess Cadance and Shining Armor went to bed early," Twilight started.

"They're probably doin' it," I interrupted and gave her a sly smile.

Twilight just gave me a very unamused glare before she continued. "So I thought maybe you and I could go talk to him," she finished.

I climbed out of bed and stumbled over to where I threw my coat. I picked it up off the ground, almost falling over as I did.

"Whadda ya need me for? Haven't I stuck my nose in more than I shoulda'?," I complained as a pulled my coat on.

"But you helped so much!" Twilight defended.

I barked out a laugh. "You and Cadance did all the work," I argued.

"But you figured out that Cadance could keep us safe from that wild magic and you figured out how he cycled the spell through those enchantments," Twilight was very insistent about my contributions. 

"Oh Twilight, you're a smart cookie, I'm sure you would have figured it all out," I said and before she could argue again I teasingly added, "eventually."

Twilight shook her head and gave a quiet laugh before her magic started gently pushing me out of the room.


--


The stallion was pacing in his room when we walked in. He stopped in his tracks when he saw us, or rather Twilight and bowed his head slightly. "Princess," he said politely. His voice was a wreck, who knows how long he was screaming and howling in that tunnel.

Then his eyes got to me and they narrowed a bit. It took him a couple of seconds to place me, "You... were in the mine?" he said uncertainly. 

"Yep," I said, not really meeting his gaze. I was wondering if there was someplace in the castle I could get something to eat. Breakfast maybe, like an omelette. Would they let me raid the kitchen? Were there guards near the kitchen? Maybe if I offered to feed the guards too.

"What are you exactly?" he asked.

I let out a loud groan while I threw my hands up in the air and turned to plant my face on the wall. "I'm starting to get sick of that question," I complained. At least most ponies had the decency to ask me directly. 

Twilight sighed. "His name is Valentino, he's a detective and he comes from a very far away land," she simplified. "It's because of him that we were able to get to you as quickly as we did," she added. Which in hindsight was a genius little diversion.

"Oh! T-thank you!" said the stallion, suddenly flustered.

"No problem," I said as I pulled my face away from the wall and flipped around to lean my back against it. "So what's your name?" I asked.

"Steel Spark," he coughed out. I probably should have guessed.

"Well Steel Spark, where are you from?" Twilight asked.

"Baltimare," he answered. I tried my best to shove away another influx of unnecessary thoughts.

"And what brought you out here to that mine?" Twilight followed up with.

"Well, uh, my family has had the mining rights in that area for a while. I was just out here to inspect the place and test out my constructs," the tone of Steel Spark's raspy voice turned depressed fast.

"Those metal ponies and bug things?" I asked.

"Yeah, I made them myself to help save on labor costs in the mine," he answered, getting a little excited before quickly falling flat again. "I didn't really get a chance to test them much before I ran into that snake thing," Steel Spark's eyes went straight to the floor and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Where did you first see the snake?" I questioned.

"At the back of that tunnel while I was hanging up lanterns."

"The tunnel we found you in?" 

"Yes,"

"And you didn't see him at all before then? Or anything out of the ordinary?" I asked. Steel Spark just shook his head, his heavy braid swinging a bit as he did.

I let out a sigh and closed my eyes in thought. Unlike the incident with Cronus there were no fatalities which was great. Much like the incident with Cronus however we we lacked a culprit, at least lacked one in custody. Rook's motives were vague at best and we were coming up empty handed... hooved? Whatever. We were coming up empty handed when it came to a solid lead. The ponies were unfamiliar with his species which gave us even less to work with. Tracking him down was going to be nowhere as easy as I'd have liked.

"Did he say anything at all to you?" Twilight asked while I mulled over my thoughts.

"Um... something about how he was giving everypony a great gift. That everything was going to be so much better. When I tried to subvert his spell he just kept repeating that it was only a matter of time. Over and over again," Steel Spark's head drooped lower and lower as he spoke until his big braid nearly touched the floor.

I sighed again, rubbing the bridge of my nose. This was rapidly becoming a tremendous chore. 

"Did you spend any time here in the Crystal Empire before heading off to the mine?" I asked, my fingers still pinching the bridge of my nose.

"I just did some shopping. I needed some extra supplies and a cart to haul it all through the snow. After that I left straight away," he said, picking his head up a little bit.

Well, that was something. "Can you get us a list?" I asked.

"Huh?" he tilted his head to the side and looked at me quizzically. 

"A list of the places you got your supplies and the cart from," I clarified.

"Oh! Yes of course!" He said and started frantically looking around the room.

"It doesn't have to be right now," I said calmly.

"Yes, it can wait until morning," Twilight added.

"R-right," Steel Spark stuttered as he stumbled to a stop. "Sorry..." he said looking down again.

"You don't need to worry. You're safe now and we have everything under control," Twilight said reassuringly.

Steel Spark stared at Twilight for a moment then up to me. I gave him a nod.

"Okay... Thank you," he said, a small smile showing on his face.

"Why don't you go back to bed, we can talk more in the morning," Twilight suggested.

Steel Spark nodded so Twilight and I politely made our exit.

"Alright, action plan," I said as soon as the door closed behind us.

Twilight looked up at me, a little surprised by my sudden enthusiasm.

"We get that list of places from Steel and start asking around about that sneaky snake. If those shops turn up nothing then we start working out from that area and just question any pony we can. We'll sweep the whole Crystal Empire to dig up a lead if we have to. Sound good?" I announced confidently.

Twilight gave me a blank stare that quickly turned into a smile. She nodded firmly at me.

I let my face drop as I let out a large, exaggerated sigh. Twilight tilted her head and looked at me with some confusion.

"I was hoping you would tell me that we didn't have to go through all the trouble and that you could just... do a magic or something," I said, bringing up my hands up to my temples and firmly rubbing them.

Twilight looked at me for another second before she burst out into laughter. I waited patiently for a couple of seconds for her to stop. When she didn't I started to walk away. 

"Wait! I'm sorry!" Twilight shouted after me between fits of giggles.

I stopped and turned back, giving her a flat stare. She quickly trotted over to me, failing to stifle her continued giggles. 

"Don't you think if I could just 'do a magic'," she said with a laugh, "that I already would have." 

"Well I don't know, if one of you can put the sun in the sky then maybe you could put a snake in front of us," I halfheartedly argued.

Twilight shook her head with a smile. "It's not that simple," she said.

"Of course not," I said. I guess even with magic it rarely ever was.

"Well I'm going to bed. It sounds like we have a big day tomorrow," Twilight said in a chipper tone.

"Yeah," I groaned. I pulled out my pack of cigarettes and noticed that I only had two left. Normally a pack would last me half a week at best so I guess I managed to ration them a bit longer than normal but I still felt like I failed to do it significantly. Well I was just going to have to quit sooner rather than later. I thought that maybe I would save the last one for a special occasion.

"I think I'll wander a bit," I said. 


--


The cool evening air was refreshing and my cigarette was relaxing. There wasn't a whole lot of activity just outside the castle. The sky was brilliant with more stars sparkling overhead than I could have ever seen back home. Different stars probably, but who cares it was still nice.

I exhaled out a puff of smoke and could hear the sound of flapping wings getting closer to me.

"Hey Val," said Rainbow Dash, a little less enthused than normal.

I lifted a hand up high and waved back over my shoulder without turning around. "Yo," I said.

The sound of flapping wings got even closer to me until I could feel air hitting the back of my neck with each flap of her wings.

"How ya feeling buddy?" she asked, trying her best to sound casual.

"Oh, I'm fine," I said calmly before I took a long drag off of my cigarette.

"Val..." she said, her tone dropping a little.

I let out another breath of smoke before I turned back an looked at Rainbow. "Dash, really, I'm fine," I said a little more firmly.

"But!" she nearly shouted.

"Dash," I calmly interrupted, keeping my expression soft. "I'm sorry," I said.

"N-no, I'm just–" she started but I raised my hand up to stop her.

"I'm sorry for losing my cool on you in there. I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I'm sorry for worrying you like this," I said evenly. Dash kept her eyes locked on me but still fidgeted awkwardly with her hooves. "But I'm fine Dash, I really am. Talking about it, thinking about it, that's what is going to make me... well, not fine," I said, flicking my cigarette and letting the ash fall to the ground.

"Oh," Rainbow Dash said, her eyes looking down.

I suddenly had a very opportunistic thought pop into my head and I wasted no time in acting on it. "I really didn't expect you to be this worried over this. I'm pretty sure I mentioned I was claustrophobic. But if you're really worried about how I'm feeling I think I know a way you can help me," I said. At that her eyes shot right back up to me.

I took one last drag off of my cigarette and blew the smoke off to the side. I let the cigarette drop out of my hand to the ground and extended my arms out from my sides. "Hug," I said simply.

Unlike with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash hesitated and just stared at me for a moment. After that brief hesitation however she shot like a rocket into my chest, her legs wrapped around my torso and she squeezed me as tightly as she could. Her weight shifted onto me but thankfully she wasn't as heavy as Pinkie Pie. The death grip she had on me was pretty insane though. I gently returned the embrace, not even bothering to try and match her force.

A few moments passed and Rainbow's grip on me did not lessen any. "Rainbow," I said, trying to get her attention. She just grumbled and somehow managed to hold onto me even tighter. "Rainbow I can't breathe," I said loudly.

She finally released me from her death grip and scrambled off of me. She gave me an embarrassed glance though she had a small smile on her face.  "Sorry," she said.

I reached over and aggressively ruffled up her mane. "It's fine you goof," I said playfully.

She giggled and shoved me away. "You're the goof," she retorted.

We casually argued about who was, in fact, the goof for a little while before we went our separate ways. 


--


We got the list of businesses that Steel Spark visited when he got to the Crystal Empire first thing in the morning. Next we got a map of the Crystal Empire and went over the plan with just about everyone. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were all present as well as myself. 

We were to split up and tackle first every shop Steel Spark visited when he arrived and see if any of the ponies had seen sign of a the snake Rook. We would then reconvene at the Castle to share information. There were three businesses so the ponies split into groups of two and I went with Twilight and Applejack to where Steel Spark bought his cart. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were both going to talk with Steel Spark some more.

To my endless frustration we all came up with nothing. Not one shop owner or employee saw anything snakelike in the least.

So we went on to phase two. Splitting off chunks of the Crystal Empire and delegating them to individual ponies to go door to door asking if anyone saw anything. Luckily we got the two guards who went with us to the mine to help ask around which lessened the work load. Still I spent the rest of the day with Twilight going door to door asking about snakes. Not to mention answering that same old question about what the hell I was over and over again.

After half the day went by with only a short break for a meal and no results I was about ready to scream. The special occasion I saved my last cigarette for was keeping me sane through the last of that days tedious questioning.

Twilight and I were the last to return to the Crystal Castle. We were greeted by a group of exhausted and depressed ponies. I groaned just at the sight of their faces. 

Not one, not a single sighting of a single scale in the whole damn empire. It was possible that Rook had been stalking Steel Spark since before he came to the Crystal Empire. Which gave us what option? Question every pony in every town and city that was between the Crystal Empire and Baltimare? The very suggestion earned a collective groan from every tired pony in the room. 

It wasn't very realistic anyways. How was Rook supposed to know that Steel Spark was going to be perfect ambush material without watching him trek off into the snowy wilderness by himself. It's not something you can pick up on just by seeing a guy on a train. 

So the last option was Baltimare. But before we started getting more maps and making more plans we had another round of questioning with Steel Spark himself. Where and when he discussed his plans to go out to this mine with his family. If he discussed it with friends or anyone else. If there was any sort of documentation about what he was doing and where he was going.

Yet again we came up empty. He discussed it with his family in the privacy of their own home. He was so excited that he left first thing the next morning without so much as a word to any friends. He spent a few days in transit and while he did talk excitedly with a few ponies he did not mention the specifics of where he was going. Not out of any sense of secrecy, he was more interested in discussing his enchantments and constructs. 

Wait and see was starting to seem like our last course of action, much to the chagrin of everyone. We were all exhausted and we couldn't come up with a single good plan. Pinkie Pie had a few plans, most of them involved coaxing Rook out of hiding with some kind of party or something. At least she helped lighten the mood, if just a little bit.

The only thing we all managed to agree on was that we needed to report all of this to Princess Celestia. Since Canterlot was on the way back and given the nature of the situation we decided we would do it personally.

We all decided to pick up and leave that night, bringing Steel Spark and a written report from Princess Cadance. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were very thankful for our help. Shining Armor even went so far as to thank me personally, saying that he admired my quick thinking and planning. I insisted it wasn't really worth writing home about. 

We got Canterlot about the middle of the next day, sleeping through the entire train ride. Or at least I slept through the entire train ride. I cannot account for the ponies.


--


We were all sitting around that same casual meeting room, though it was far more packed than before. Rarity and Twilight managed to get some tea. They all were chatted about something or another, I wasn't really paying attention. 

Steel Spark was a wreck. The mere thought of meeting with Princess Celestia had him quaking in his seat. 

"You don't need to be so nervous Steel," Twilight said reassuringly. I don't know if it was for Steel's sake or for hers since she seemed to be a little nervous herself.

"Yeah! Bruggie met Princess Celestia not too long ago and he had a great time!" Pinkie Pie said with a giggle.

"R-really?" stuttered Steel Spark.

It had been an exhausting couple of days. Lot's of work with no payoff. I saw what Pinkie was trying to set up but I don't do repeat performances. Also I had another bomb I wanted to try dropping in that room.

"Look Steel, there's only one thing I can tell you about Princess Celestia for certain," I said. Steel's eyes were glued to me, so was Pinkie's.

"Yeah?" Steel asked eagerly.

"And it's that she has a great butt," I said, my expression and tone dead serious.

Twilight sputtered and nearly spat her drink out, instead coughing on it. Every other pony was staring at me in wide eyed silence.

"W-w-what?" Steel said in a tiny voice.

When her head managed to catch up with what I just said Pinkie Pie looked like she was about to explode with laughter. Rainbow Dash also was trying to fight a fit of her own. Twilight and Rarity were shocked and appalled. Applejack was just plain stunned and Fluttershy was hiding bashfully behind her mane. 

"Look, there are a lot of anatomical differences between humans and ponies. Don't worry, I get it. But even by human standards her butt stands out like no other. I don't think that there is a sapient species alive that could deny that she has one terrific tush," I said, pushing the issue to see who would crack first.

Pinkie Pie was rolling on the floor with two hooves covering her mouth, trying desperately not laugh. Similarly, Rainbow Dash had her face pushed into a throw pillow. Twilight looked like she was about to have an aneurysm. Rarity's jaw was on the floor. Applejack was still stunned and Fluttershy's pink face matched her pink mane. Steel was similarly stunned and embarrassed.

"Now I don't mean to sound crude. Her butt is quite honestly a piece of art, sculpted perfection. A masterpiece to which there is no human comparison at least. Ultimately what I'm trying to say is," as I neared the end of my last little speech about Celestia's ass I had to pause. I noticed the faces of all the ponies watching me had changed. Every pony had a new look of horror on their faces and they were no longer looking at me but past me.

I kept my expression flat, turned around casually in my seat and saw Celestia just staring at me wide eyed. Who knows how long she had been standing there, I could have assumed that she had only just arrived and didn't hear me talking about her butt. I could have tried to play it off.

Now what fun would that be.

I did not for one second break eye contact and I calmly opened my mouth to speak. "Your butt is fantastic!" I said, as clearly as a I could.

I only wish I could have turned to see the ponies behind me. 

"I," Princess Celestia started but hesitated, her eyes darting to every other face in the room.

"I'm flattered..." Princess Celestia said before shyly averting her gaze. I almost choked.

She started taking tentative steps into the room, closing the distance between me and her slowly. It was everything I could do to keep my expression. This went beyond what I was expecting. "I wish I could reciprocate. Yet, sadly, you seem to keep your anatomy so often hidden from me..." she said with a pout. 

I had underestimated the Sun Princess. She wasn't just taking what I had said in stride, she was running with it. I could see the laughter in her eyes and I returned that with a grin, hidden from the ponies behind me.

"A human compulsion I'm afraid," I said with a forced sigh. Turning back in my seat. Rarity had fainted and the rest were just staring on in abject horror. "We are only comfortable sharing our bodies with those we deeply care about," I clarified.

"So you do not care deeply for me?" Princess Celestia said dejectedly.

"Oh I certainly respect you Princess, but I think we'll need to go on a few more dates to get to that level," I said.

"If only I had the time," she responded wistfully. She sauntered over to her empty couch and rested regally upon it. "As it stands I believe you all have something very important to discuss with me," she said, her tone growing more serious. I was so tempted to continue our little back and forth but put it aside.

"Of course, why don't you start Twilight?" I said, turning my gaze to the flabbergasted princess.

"Huh?" she said, mind still reeling.

"Our report," I urged.

"Oh! Um..." it took her a couple of moments to pick the pieces of her brain up off the floor but eventually Twilight started into the lengthy report of our adventures in the Crystal Empire and our encounter with the snake creature Rook. Eventually the other ponies managed to catch their breath as well and add into the report. Steel even managed to tell his side of things with little trouble.

Celestia took it all in without comment and a serious expression on her face. The only time she spoke was to guide the flow of our exposition. Once we had told all there was to tell she sat in silence for a good few moments.

"That the snake creature Rook has been so elusive is worrying," she said, distress clear on her face. She hid it away quickly with a warm smile. "But I must say, Steel Spark, your thoughtful actions and persistence under such an awful ordeal is an inspiration," she complimented. 

Steel Spark smiled and looked away in embarrassment. "It... it wasn't that big of a deal Princess. I mean, I used to get headaches as a young colt so..." he trailed off, awkwardly knocking his front hooves together. 

"Headaches?" Celestia asked, slightly confused.

"Um, yes, it would really worry my mom and dad and, uh, aunts. They would always fuss over me. I didn't want to be a burden, I didn't want to miss out on anything and I wanted to do stuff for myself. I started pretending I was okay a lot of the time and just pushing through the pain. So I mean... dealing with the uh... spell he cast isn't really worth any praise..." Steel elaborated, not able to keep eye contact with anyone. His statement managed to spark a thought.

"Do you still get headaches?" I interjected.

"S-sometimes. They aren't nearly as bad though," Steel answered.

I hummed thoughtfully and leaned back in my seat. I wasn't given a lot of time to order my thoughts however.

"Thoughts Valentino?" asked Princess Celestia.

"Well... It could be related to motive..." I managed to mutter before trailing back off into my own thoughtfulness.

"Motive?" Celestia questioned.

I made vague circular gestures with my hands in the air. "I was operating under the assumption that Steel Spark was targeted because he was isolated. He'd be under that spell and it would run it's course before anyone could track it down. But..." I said, making more vague gestures as I tried to organize my thoughts in a coherent way. "Rook talked a lot about pain when we encountered him. Ending Steel's and spreading it around. Might have been targeting him for that and was just waiting for a good time to strike," I continued. After which I finally reached a conclusion.

"But that's speculation. I can't say one way or the other since there's no real pattern to base this off of. Might be more than a coincidence though," I stated firmly. "Doesn't really help us in tracking him down either. Might focus our search on Baltimare, if Rook's been stalking him for a while it's more likely he could have been seen where Steel lives," I said.

There were nods with approving mutters from Twilight and her friends which were cut off by Princess Celestia clearing her throat. She maintained a warm and gentle smile.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm my little ponies," Princess Celestia started with, speaking gently. "But I believe that all of you already have a mystery to solve," she said, her eyes fixating on Twilight. I raised an eyebrow at that. "I can promise that I will have guards dedicated to Steel Spark's safety and tracking down the snake creature Rook. But barring another emergency Twilight I think you and your friends would be better suited focusing on unlocking the secrets of that chest," I lifted my eyebrow a little higher.

What on earth... Equestria? Whatever. What chest were they talking about? 

Twilight nodded and lowered her head a little. The other ponies muttered in agreement. As tiring as all of this nonsense was I don't think any of us felt that great about being pulled off of it. Especially after we expended so much time an effort. It must have been a damn important chest. Probably magic. Hm.

"Now I think you all have earned some rest, why don't you stay here at the castle and you can go home in the morning," Princess Celestia offered. The rest of us all nodded. I certainly wasn't eager to get back on a train. "Steel Spark, I'll have a special escort prepared for you," she added.

"Um, please, you don't need to worry about–"

"I insist," Princess Celestia gently interrupted. Steel just nervously nodded.

After that we all started making our way out of Celestia's sitting. I was the last to get my lazy butt off of the couch but just as I turned to leave with the others Princess Celestia stopped me.

"A word, Valentino?" she asked.

By the looks on the faces of the other ponies, they probably thought I was about to be severely punished for my earlier comments. I gave them all a sly smile and a shrug before finding my seat again. After a brief moment of hesitation they continued on their exit and the door shut quietly behind them.

"If this is about those things I said about your butt then I should tell you I meant every word of it," I said firmly.

Princess Celestia started to laugh. Her laughter was soft, evenly sustained and she held up a hoof to politely cover her mouth as she laughed. She went on like that for a good few moments until it faded into a wistful sigh.

"Do all humans have your courage?" she asked with a bright smile on her face and laughter in her voice.

"I don't know if courage is the right word," I said with some confusion.

"Well, rarely are my little ponies are so..." she trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Outrageous? Disrespectful? Handsome?" I threw out.

"... Comfortable, around me. Certainly not enough to talk so frankly about my... behind. Not to my face at least," she said, smiling slyly.

"Well there isn't anything I enjoy more than being comfortable," I said, further dodging the question.

"Is that all?" Princess Celestia asked, pressing further.

I rolled my eyes and heaved a sigh. "I'll admit to being slightly intimidated before I first met you here. But then we met and you seemed nice and that's it," I said simply.

"That's it?" Princess Celestia asked, surprised.

"I have no standard to really hold you to. Princess of the Sun and all of Equestria doesn't really mean anything to me. So, we met, you seem nice and you have authority. You haven't ordered me to cut it out so, that's it," I explained.

"It's refreshing," she said with a warm expression which was interrupted by a long and loud yawn. Once it ceased the Princess was left with a wide eyed expression, surprised by herself.

"I hope you haven't been losing sleep thinking about me," I joked to which she gave a short chuckle.

"No, unfortunately I have been busy far into the evening this last few days," she said, lowering her gaze.

Her expression was turning grim fast. I had only a guess at what she was thinking about. "That mess with Cronus?" I asked.

Her expression turned sour at the mention of it and she did not readily respond to me. "Yes, and I'm afraid I have nothing to show for my efforts," she said, her tone falling with her expression. I regretted bringing it up. Compared to Rook and Steel Spark the incident with Cronus was a disaster. Two dead, three including Cronus, and it clearly weighed on the Princess.

"I guess we're all having things not go the way we'd like," I said rising to my feet. Celestia looked up to see me take a few steps closer to her. "I do know of an ancient human method to help lift spirits though," I whispered, acting secretive.

Celestia's eyes brightened a little at my words. "Really? What is it?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

I lifted my arms and extended them out from my sides. It had worked twice before but it was a bit more of a gamble with a Princess of the Sun wasn't it? Not that I really considered it at the time.

"Hug," I said simply.

Celestia looked at me only in confusion for a second while I stood at the ready for hug delivery. Then her eyes soften and a big smile slowly grew on her face.

Her horn illuminated with a brilliant golden light, one that enveloped me and pulled me over closer to the Princess. Once I was in reach her front legs came up and pulled me into her. My face rested against her neck and her chin rested on the top of my head. Her embrace was gentle, her coat was soft and more than all of that she was so comfortably warm. I almost felt like I could have drifted off there and then.

"I like this human method," Celestia said softly.

I hummed a little in response. I was so distracted that I didn't notice her hooves travelling down my back. I did notice, however, when her hooves pressed gently against my butt.

"Hm, firm," she said teasingly.

I quickly pushed away from Princess Celestia who then started giggling. Once again I had underestimated the Princess and was left with only a blush of embarrassment to show for it. Anything I could have said after that would have been a vain attempt to cover up my own embarrassment. No point in being a poor sport.

"I'll give you this round Princess Celestia," I said, scratching at my blushing cheek. The one on my face anyways. "But after this the gloves come off," I stated seriously.

"Gloves?" Celestia asked as she tilted her head quizzically.

I looked from my hands to her hooves and let out a little sigh. "Human term, means things will get serious," I clarified.

"Oh but I'm very serious," she countered, glancing downwards and giving me a very devious smile.

I groaned internally. I couldn't remember the last time I had been in such a poor position. "If that is all, Princess," I grumbled, motioning towards the door.

"Oh!" Celestia perked up, her impish expression leaving her face. "Actually, I had wanted to ask if you had given any further thought to your citizenship," she said.

I must have had a dumbfounded expression on my face, since I had completely forgotten about it. "Uh, honestly I haven't had a lot of time to think about it," I said.

"Oh, I suppose that is true," Celestia said, a little bit of disappointment in her voice.

"Why? You don't need me to be a citizen to feel me up do you?" I asked.

"No, but there are other fun things I can't technically do unless you are a citizen of Equestria," she shot back. Damn, catching her off guard was difficult.

"Well, unless something else comes up I'll go over it with Twilight next chance I get," I promised.

"Thank you. Actually that was the other thing. How was it that you got involved in all of this?" Celestia asked.

"Oh, I just insisted on it. Twilight was getting ready to run off in a hurry. I caught her in the middle of packing and she told me she had to go help some dangerous situation. I didn't like the idea of being left behind and worrying about my brand new pony friends," I explained.

"I see," she said, smiling warmly. She seemed pleased, for whatever reason. "Well that's all I wished to know, Valentino," Celestia continued, rising off of the couch. The door at the front of the room opened with a glow. "I hope to see you again soon," she said.

"It's been fun Princess," I said, making my way to the door. "Don't work too hard, maybe stay in here and catch a nap," I suggested.

"If only I could," she responded with a sigh.

"I don't think there's a pony who would tell you that you can't," I said, stopping just in the doorway.

"You would be surprised," she said through gritted teeth and giving a sidelong glance.

I shrugged and turned away, giving a short wave of my hand. "Until next time," I said before stepping out.

We all spent the rest of the day in Canterlot. It was a relaxing time, plenty to keep the other ponies from getting bored. I just needed a bed and a pony to mess with every once in a while. I spun tales about my excessive punishment at the hooves of Princess Celestia in between naps. I think we all managed to wind down a little and before we all knew it Steel Spark was heading off and we were all heading home.

Hm.

Home.
> Chapter 7 - How He Was
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


She couldn't even give me one good god damned day to laze around before she wanted to abuse me with some magic crap. 

Ugh.

The ponies are sweet... but they could stand to be a little less enthusiastic. I almost wish they were all cats.

The morning after we got back Twilight literally dragged me out of bed. I wasn't even fully awake when I noticed I was stood up in the middle of the library, sloppily dressed and Twilight was once again reviewing notes with Spike. 

Spike had the luxury of pet sitting while we were all gone. Surprisingly just about every pony had one pet or another. Some were more interesting than others. None of them talked, that was kind of a relief.

So I think Twilight was trying to perform whatever magical nonsense got interrupted with the Steel Spark thing. Why it had to be early in the morning after we just returned from our big trip? Well I'll chalk it up to maybe embarrassing her in front of Celestia with all the butt talk. Maybe I'll talk about Twilight's butt next time. Who knows what will happen.

"Is this... necessary?" I vaguely remember grumbling out, rubbing my eyes and trying to make sense of anything through the haze of extended sleep.

I don't really remember what Twilight said in response. What I do recall was an insistence on the importance of whatever she was doing. In fact I think she was saying that it held the key to... something. Probably about me.

I remember her confirming something with Spike and looking at me with a lot of determination. Then there was a purple glow and things got... well... really swirly. I felt sort of like I was falling backwards really slowly. Gently almost. Things get really hazy after that, vague thoughts and impulses based of something I just can't quite remember.

Hm.


-Twilight Sparkle – Private Record-


It worked! It worked! It worked! It worked!

I mean yes, in theory, it was supposed to work, but I still can't believe it did! I was expecting something to go wrong. I wasn't very confident in my ability to even cast the spell. Or maybe there was something I didn't know about his human physiology that I hadn't accounted for or his relationship with magic that I didn't understand. That was partly true actually, there's still plenty that I don't understand about his magic. But it didn't go wrong, it actually went right!

His magic, I still can't even believe it, it's like it was working with me. I was expecting the age spell to take so much longer to complete. I was expecting to hit barrier after barrier even though I was prepared for so many variables. But his magic spread out like a wave, paving the way for my spell to do its work. Then it would swirl around into my magic and push it in all the right directions.

Princess Celestia and I had already theorized about his magic and knew it was helping to adapt his body to magic in general but this was... phenomenal. I can't even begin to speak of the potential this has. I can't wait to study it further. 

But first there's Valentino!

I had not only managed to revert Valentino back to an earlier part of his physical development but also rewound his mental state to match his physical one. That was probably my biggest concern about this whole experiment, though I suppose I didn't need to be so concerned about it after all.

Oh and little Valentino is just so cute! He is little, he's even shorter than me now. Well just a little bit shorter than me but it's such a massive difference! He must have had an incredibly growth spurt! Or perhaps humans all go through such a drastic change. His mane is a bit longer. His face is rounder and chubbier. Oh and his nose, he has just an adorable little nose! Everything about him just became wonderfully tiny. 

Before he woke up I used my magic to shrink some of his clothes to fit his smaller body. I know through just his insistence on wearing them that he has personal desire to be clothed most of the time. He will discard most of them for the sake of comfort when he sleeps though. With no coat of his own I imagine that his smooth skin is fairly sensitive, so I understand that as well. It also appears to have cultural implications as well, though I can't say what for certain since he refuses to tell me and what he does say I can't be sure is truthful given the usual context.  I know he doesn't mean anything by it but it can be frustrating at times.

Regardless, when he woke up it would be an all new experience all over again. This time I was prepared, I definitely wouldn't be making the same mistakes all over again. I left him with just his pants, the smaller tighter shorts he wore under those for some reason and the white shirt he wore under his other shirt. I took the rest away and put it in his drawer.

By the time I got back he was stirring, I had Spike go upstairs. I had a plan to explain things to him in a way he would understand if he was as naive as I assumed a human colt would be.

When his eyes first opened he didn't act at all like anything was amiss, then he slowly got to his feet and rubbed his eyes sleepily. I maintained a warm smile while I studied his actions, making mental notes of his size and appearance. He looked around with lazy eyes until the settled on me. His eyes were a deep emerald green, I think they were a little paler in his adulthood. His skin I think is a bit paler in his adulthood as well.

He cutely cocked his head to the side as he stared at me with his sleepy gaze. Then his eyes seemed to snap open and he hurriedly looked around the room again. 

"Um..." he mumbled, his voice was a considerably higher pitch than before. He was looking very nervous.

"It's alright Valentino," I said soothingly, trying to keep him from flying into a panic. He stared at me again for a few moments.

"Um... uh..." he stammered for a little while, completely unable to find the words he wanted. "W-where's my mom and dad?" he finally ended up asking.

It actually worked! He had really regressed mentally! I would be able to study a human colt from every angle, not just physical! It was everything I could have hoped for and would give me insight into Valentino's different behaviors.

He also had a cute little lisp when he spoke. As he talked I noticed he had two of his front teeth missing which was likely the cause.

"Your parents are the ones who sent you here Valentino, they are just off on a little vacation. Truthfully your parents and I are very good friends. We've been sending a lot of letters back and forth but I've been desperate to meet a real human," I began with my prepared speech. He was watching me with wide eyes, hanging on every word. I couldn't see any disbelief in his expression which was a relief. "Your parents told me that they were going to go on this trip and needed someone to look after you. So we planned that I would look after you while they were gone. I would get to meet you, a human, and they could go on their trip with no worries," I finished. 

He looked at the floor and thought about what I said for a good few moments before he looked back up at me. There was clear worry on his face, expressiveness that was uncommon with adult Valentino. "W-what about Bruno?" he asked.

"Bruno?" I said back.

"My... my brother..." He said, looking back down at the ground.

"Oh your brother!" I exclaimed as if I even knew he had a brother. "Well he went on the trip with your parents. I'm sorry you didn't get to go with them but they thought you would have more fun here with me!" I said, still looking at him with a smile. Internally I was starting to worry about whether or not he would believe me.

"Figures..." he mumbled. Then he just stared down at the floor with a sad look on his face for a little bit.

I felt a little relief at that, he seemed to accept what I had said so far.

Eventually he started glancing up at at me. He would stare a little then his eyes would shoot back to the floor. He repeated this several times in silence and I had to fight back a giggle.

"Um... what... what's your name?" he eventually asked. 

I felt my smile grow while I watched him act so shyly. "My name is Twilight Sparkle and it's wonderful to finally meet you Valentino," I said.

The little Valentino looked at me with his big green eyes and he started to take a few steps towards me. "You're... hm..." he said and then stopped in his tracks, his eyes shooting back down to the floor. He was biting his lip a little.

"What is it Valentino?" I asked, a little surprised by his very sudden hesitation.

He glanced up at me a couple of times but still seemed reluctant to speak.

"It's alright Valentino, you can say whatever is on your mind," I said softly in an attempt to coax him to speak.

"You're... really pretty," he finally said after another few moments of silence. 

I could feel my face start to heat up. I can't say I wasn't shocked to hear that but I was probably more surprised by how sincere he sounded. Adult Valentino rarely spoke with much inflection to his tone so it was hard to gauge his sincerity. Couple that with how he was shyly he was acting it certainly had me speechless for a moment.

"You don't need to be so nervous, that's very sweet of you to say," I said, managing to shake myself out of my surprise and take a couple of steps closer to him.

His eyes went wide and he started to stare at me intently after I tried to reassure him. I smiled a little wider at him and he returned it with a big goofy smile of his own were I could clearly see his missing teeth. 

Growing bolder he started to energetically walk around me in circles, looking at me from all angles. "You have wings and everything! Can you fly?" he asked eagerly.

"Of course!" I spread my wings a little for the curious human colt and he looked even more amazed.

"And you know Mama and Papa?" he asked, stopping right in front of me.

"Yes of course, in fact they were the first humans I ever got in contact with since I became a princess," I lied. He was as inquisitive as I probably should have expected.

He stared at me for a few moments with no real expression on his face. Suddenly his eyes went wide and he shouted, "you're a princess!?"

I was relieved and amazed that me being a princess was what he picked up on. "Yes I am," I affirmed.

"That's amazing!" He said with a big excited smile on his face. But in a split second that smile was gone and he was looking at the ground with a confused look. "But... how did I get here? Where is... here?" he asked. His mind was certainly all over the place.

"Well, this is a very special place called Equestria. The only way to get here is using some very special magic," I said, pushing some magic through my horn and allowing it to glow softly.

Valentino's eyes went wider than I had ever seen. "Wow..." he said in amazement. I couldn't help but giggle.

"I know it may be a little different than what you're used to and that your family isn't here but I hope you'll have a good time with me," I said.  "And I was hoping you wouldn't mind helping me understand humans a little better," I quickly added. I was becoming so wrapped up in little Valentino that I almost forgot why I used the age spell on him in the first place.

"It's fine!" he almost shouted and then drew back a little at his own outburst. "I mean... um... I want to help..." he muttered meekly. 

"Wonderful! Then we can start by–"

"Uh, Twilight?" interrupted Spike, peeking down from the top of the stairs. At the sound of another voice little Valentino rushed to my side, his hand pressed lightly against my shoulder. 

"What is it Spike?" I asked, keeping a light tone for little Valentino's sake. I hoped Spike had a good reason for showing up before we planned.

"It's a letter, I think it's important," he responded, holding up the letter in his claw.

With a small sigh I levitated the letter out of Spike's hand and brought it over to me. Spike retreated back into the bedroom.

That letter...

It was from Princess Celestia, requesting that I come to Canterlot immediately to welcome representatives from the Griffon Kingdom. Of all the absolute worst timing! And as if they even need me! 

But... It's my duty. I have to remind myself even as I sit here on the carriage Princess Celestia sent for me that she she wouldn't have done so if it wasn't important. Even if it doesn't feel like it. 

It didn't take me that long to think of what to do with little Valentino though. In fact there was probably nopony better to observe him and take notes! I just wish I could have done it myself.

"What is it?" asked little Valentino, still at my side and his little hand still pressed gently against me.

"Royal business," I said with a sigh. "It looks like I may have to go away for a little while," I said.

"Huh!?" Valentino said fearfully.

"Now don't worry, I shouldn't be gone that long and you'll get to meet one of my very good friends," I said reassuringly.


--


As we walked through Ponyville, little Valentino regarded the other ponies with wide eyed amazement. He didn't leave my side however, keeping at least one hand pressed against me as we walked and never straying out of reach. Humans perhaps had a predisposition towards physical contact. It showed in Valentino's need for another physical presence at night and little Valentino's need for a constant connection.

What also stood out was his exceptional shyness. If another pony came too close to us he would press up against me and warily stare at them from under his shaggy mane until we got past. I don't think I would ever describe adult Valentino as shy. Was it a trait of young humans or something particular to little Valentino? He seemed plenty fascinated by ponies at a distance.

Another similarly odd behavior was when we walked past Sugarcube Corner. He didn't look so amazed since I mentioned I was a princess. He moved towards it in a daze but was stopped by his own arm. Even then, perhaps subconsciously, he refused to disconnect from me. We didn't really have time to stop and who knows how things would go with Pinkie Pie. But he looked like he wanted to go in so much that I couldn't help but give him the choice.

However, when I asked him if he wanted to go inside he got really shy and pushed up against me again. He would just shake his head even after I reassured him it was alright. Very odd, I only wish I had time to study the behavior more.

He got a little bolder and more talkative once we got more into the outskirts of Ponyville. He mostly asked about me and magic surprisingly. Adult Valentino regarded magic with some reluctance but little Valentino regarded it with utter fascination. What was even more surprising to learn was that apparently magic featured prominently in human literature, or 'made up stories' as little Valentino said.

Even if it was fictional, that there was even the concept of magic present in human society perhaps meant that his world was not as devoid of it as he let on. It possibly could have explained his rough adaptation I only wish I could have asked little Valentino more but we were quickly approaching Fluttershy's cottage. 

I couldn't think of anypony better suited to taking care of little Valentino and if I knew Fluttershy she would be more than happy to. Though I did have quite a bit of explaining to do... that I couldn't do in front of Valentino. Luckily I prepared a thorough list of instructions after I finished packing my bags for the trip to Canterlot.

I stopped while we were still a fair distance from her front door and turned to Valentino. "Do you think you could wait here while I explain everything to my friend?" I asked as nicely as I could.

"Um... Okay..." he said sadly, his gaze going to the ground. When he reluctantly pulled his small hand away from me my heart just about broke. I tried to give him the biggest smile I could muster. "Don't worry, I'll only be a minute. You're going to love my friend, I promise!" I said, trying my best to reassure the little human colt. All he did was nod his head slightly.

I quickly made my way up to Fluttershy's door and rapped on it gently. After a few moments the door opened a crack with Fluttershy peering cautiously through. Once she saw it was me she pulled the door open fully and greeted me with a smile. "Oh, good morning Twilight. What brings you here?" she softly asked.

"Good morning, listen I'm kind of in a rush. I've been called back to Canterlot for a little while and I was hoping you could look after Valentino," I said quickly. 

"Well I don't mind but... I think Valentino is capable of taking care of himself don't you think?" she returned gently.

"Well, normally I would agree but I sort of used an age spell on him so I could study human development," I admitted.

"An age spell...?" Fluttershy considered it for a moment before she gave me a dubious look. "And he was alright with that?" she asked.

"Well yes! Sort of! It would have been difficult to explain to him! I just told him I was running an important magical experiment on him! He agreed!" I nervously explained.

"Twilight I don't think–"

"It's fine! Trust me Fluttershy. I just need you to look after him for a little while. Oh and take notes while I'm gone! Just for as long as he's young!" I pleaded.

"Young?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Yes, he's completely regressed back into a little human colt. His memory is relative to that point of his life. Oh! I managed to convince him that I was friends with his parents, that they left on a trip and left him here with me!" I explained.

"R-really?" she softly asked.

"Yes, look, it's all in these instructions I wrote for you. Please would you look after him while I'm gone?" I begged.

"W-well I suppose–"

"Great! Here's the instructions," I said and magically thrust the written instructions into Fluttershy's hooves. "I'll go get little Valentino!" I said before turning and quickly walking over to were I had left little Valentino.

He was waiting right where I had asked him to and was looking a little gloomy until he saw me approach.

"Now then! Are you ready to meet my friend?" I asked happily. He just nodded meekly. "Great! Let's go then," I said, turning back towards Fluttershy's cottage.

Valentino walked right up next to me and put his hand on my shoulder again. As we got closer and closer to Fluttershy who was looking intently at my notes Valentino pushed himself closer to me. 

When Fluttershy looked up from the instructions I gave her and saw little Valentino she froze with a soft gasp. Then her eyes went wide as they took in the sight of him.

"I-is..." Fluttershy stammered.

"Yes, Valentino, this is my very good friend Fluttershy. Fluttershy, this little guy is Valentino," I introduced.

Valentino was shyly glancing up at Fluttershy. He managed to pull away from me a little, so that was a good sign.

Fluttershy cautiously got a little closer to him, a rapidly growing smile on her face. "It's wonderful to meet you Valentino," she said gently.

At the sound of her voice I could see Valentino visibly relax. "Um..." he muttered, staring straight at her. After a moment of hesitation he reached up and lightly tugged on my mane while still staring at Fluttershy.

"What is it Valentino?" I asked, lowering my head a little. 

Valentino managed to stand up on his toes and while hiding his mouth with his hand he softly whispered into my ear.

I was a little surprised by what he said, though I probably shouldn't have been. "You know, you should probably tell her that," I said. Valentino quickly shook his head, letting his shaggy mane fly everywhere. It was all just too adorable and I couldn't really hold myself back.

"He thinks you're very pretty," I said. Valentino let out a little squeak of surprise while Fluttershy's face just got a hint of pink to it. More than that her smile grew wider and her eyes were just sparkling.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you to say," Fluttershy cooed. Valentino was trying to hide his embarrassed face in my coat. 

As cute as it all was and as much as I wanted to watch their relationship develop while I observed Valentino's behaviors. That carriage was waiting for me and I had to pull myself away.

I used my magic to pluck Valentino up off the ground. At the new sensation he struggled a little, but I calmly set him on top of Fluttershy. A little scared and unsure of his balance little Valentino leaned forward and desperately clung to Fluttershy's neck. Fluttershy however seemed happier than ever.

"I really need to get going now, you two have a wonderful time!" I said, turning to leave.

"We will, don't worry I'll take great care of Valentino," Fluttershy said. Likely more to reassure the nervous little colt on her back than me.

I'm positive they are having a lot of fun.


-Fluttershy – Little Valentino Log-


Valentino is very... cautious. 

It took him some time and a quite a bit of consideration before he settled on a way to get off of my back once we got inside. I didn't want him to hurt himself by rushing so I made sure I let him know that he had plenty of time. He still stumbled a little but he managed to catch himself. He was very proud that he didn't fall and he gave me a big smile. 

I saw that two of his teeth were missing when he grinned at me. He was probably just shedding his milk teeth but I still asked about it. He seemed to get very excited about it.

"I lost this one a couple weeks ago! It took forever to come out too!" he said, pointing to the missing tooth on his right. 

"What about the other one?" I asked.

"Oh.. um..." he mumbled. All the excitement drained out of his face. He started looking at the ground and fidgeting with his hands.

"What is it?" I asked. I was getting very concerned.

"It's... nothing..." he whispered. I could see tears starting to form in his eyes! 

"You can talk to me Valentino, I want to help if I can," I said, lowering my head and trying to catch his eyes. His gaze met mine and I gave him a reassuring smile. 

He sniffled and rubbed away the tears that were about to fall. "It's just... some older kid at school," he said.

"Older kid?" I asked. I wasn't sure what an older human had to do with a lost tooth.

"I have a class with him... cause I'm good at math, he doesn't like that I'm in his class," he said.

"But what does he have to do with your missing tooth?" I asked.

"Well, he stopped me on my way home and... started making fun of me... so I..." his tears were lightly falling from his eyes as he spoke. It was just breaking my heart watching him like that but he still tried finish his explanation. "I got mad and I told him he was a big dumb jerk! And! And that he should just leave me alone... Then he got mad at me and knocked my tooth out," he finished, nearly sobbing.

I was appalled. "He hit you!?" I very nearly shouted. I knew how awful bullying could be but for it to escalate like that so quickly... I couldn't help but think that maybe it was in the nature of humans. Valentino might be a little mischievous but is generally very passive from what I've seen though.

The tears were silently streaming down his face faster than he could rub them away as he slowly nodded his head. I wanted to ask him when it happened, but... thinking about the question a little harder got kind of confusing.

The only other thing I could think to do was pull poor little Valentino into a hug and nuzzle his mane. "It's okay, you won't have to worry about any of that here," I said softly.

Valentino quickly clung to me and buried his face into my chest. We stayed like that for a little while. At least until he calmed down.

"Bruno helped me out," he said quietly as he pulled away from me.

"Bruno?"

"My big brother! He usually meets me after school and then we walk home. Sometimes he'll buy me a chocolate muffin from the store on the way!" Valentino seemed to brighten up immediately when talking about his brother.

"You sound close," I said. I preferred to see him smiling like he was, full of energy. Very unlike his adult self.

"Yeah! He's four years older than I am but Papa says I'm five years smarter than Bruno is. That's why we get along!" he said. It seemed kind of silly so I couldn't help but laugh a little.

I wanted to ask more about his brother and his family. I wanted to see more of his happy little face while he lisped through his missing teeth. But it hit me so suddenly. I remembered what you told me Twilight. He was still recovering from his injuries when we first found him and you were trying to explain your theories... but all I remember was...

"He can't go back."

Young or old he wouldn't be able to see his family that he clearly loved so much ever again. I just couldn't bear how sad that was.

Little Valentino must have noticed the change in my mood. I didn't even notice him close the distance between us. His little arms reached up to wrap around my neck while he pressed and rubbed his cheek against my coat. He tried to comfort me like I had just done for him. He was so sweet that I could feel my sadness falling away.


--


The most important things I can think of when it comes to young human care is patience and lots of affection.

His desire for physical contact, that you mentioned in your instructions, seemed to lessen as he grew more comfortable with his surroundings. It gave him a sense of security in unfamiliar surroundings. But he got used to the new environment just as quickly as he warmed up to me. He was soon happily exploring all on his own while I was getting ready for feeding time.

For as cautious as he is he can become a little too focused on one thing. For example when he was just exploring my house he was a little too focused on where his feet were going and ended up going headfirst into the door frame. He rarely moves very fast so it only really hurt his mood. His soured mood was easily treated with a kiss to the forehead.

He certainly had a lot of energy that he would burn through rather quickly. I once heard him softly snoring and found him asleep while propped up against a wall. I went to move him but he wound up clinging to me tightly in his sleep. Your instructions also mentioned humans being social sleepers and that appeared to be true as he was very reluctant to let go... so... Well I just put him on my back and let him snuggle and cling to me. 

He only slept for about half an hour. I could feel him shift a little and try to snuggle harder into me before he finally hopped down. He spent much less time considering it. When I looked over to him his mane was even messier than normal and he was giving me a big smile. 


--


As much I've been talking about how sweet Valentino is. And he is very sweet! I don't mean that he's not! But he can be... well, mischievous. He's just being playful! But... 

It first happened around lunch time. I had just finished giving a Angel his meal. Valentino was right behind me but had vanished when I turned back around! Not a noise or anything! I walked around calling for him but there wasn't any sign of him.

I was starting to get worried and I frantically started searching everywhere for him. When I still couldn't find him I nearly went into a panic. What if he had gotten outside? What if he had wandered into the forest!?

I felt something press into my flank and it made me jump.

There was Valentino, right behind me, giggling. "Gotcha Miss Fluttershy!" he said with pride.

"V-Valentino? Where did you–? But I looked everywhere!" I said, very much in shock.

"I'm really good at hiding!" he said, still very proud of himself. I realized that he was just playing and managed to calm myself down.

"You should have told me," I softly scolded.

"But it's not as fun if you know it's coming!" he said with a big grin.

He would go into hiding like this several more times throughout the day. I was never able to find him and he managed to scare me each time. He didn't always appear to poke my flank, one time he actually seemed to leap out of nowhere and tackled me. I was startled but Valentino was laughing the whole time. It was a little tiring. 


--


Later that afternoon there was a knock at the door. I wasn't expecting any visitors so I carefully went to check who was at the door. Little Valentino was following right behind me. I peeked outside to see Rainbow Dash waiting outside. She looked concerned about something. I opened up the door and greeted her with a smile.

"Hey Fluttershy have you seen Twi–" she began but was halted when her eyes fell on little Valentino who was standing beside me, staring up at Rainbow Dash with wide eyes.

Rainbow Dash struggled to hold back laughter and snorted a little through her nose. "What hap–" 

"Um!" I squeaked and rushed Rainbow away from the door. Then I turned back and ran over to Valentino. "O-one second," I said, trying to put on a reassuring smile before shutting the door behind me. Your instructions said not to let Valentino know that he was under the effects of the age spell under any circumstances. I don't know what I would have done if Rainbow Dash let it slip.

I let out a little breath of relief as I walked back over to Rainbow Dash, who was letting out all the laughter she had held back. "Fluttershy!" she called when she noticed me walking back over. "What's up with Val!? Why is he so tiny?" she asked.

"He's not... um... he's just younger," I said. I hadn't really settled on the best way to explain.

"Younger?" Rainbow Dash repeated, tilting her head a little.

"Twilight used an age spell to make him younger. He thinks that he's just a little human colt who got teleported here while his family is away on a trip," I explained.

Rainbow''s face lit up. "That's awesome! Oh my gosh! I have to go talk to him!" Rainbow Dash started back towards the door.

"Wait!" I very nearly shouted while I ran after her. "Twilight said we can't let him know he's just been made this way by her spell! He doesn't know you so you have to pretend like you're just meeting him!" I explained as I chased after Rainbow Dash.

"Duh," Rainbow Dash said, still making her way back to the house. I stopped and let out a little sigh before I followed after her again.

Rainbow Dash was stopped in front of the door which she had just opened. Valentino was staring up at her and shyly fidgeting with his hands. Rainbow Dash was staring back at him with a blank look on her face. I don't really know what caused her to stop like that.

"So, Rainbow Dash, this is Valentino. Valentino, this is my good friend Rainbow Dash," I said, squeezing past Rainbow Dash and walking over to Valentino.

"Yeah, hey there Val," said Rainbow Dash.

"Val?" Valentino returned, narrowing his eyes at Rainbow Dash.

"Uh, yeah, it's faster to say don't you think?" Rainbow Dash explained.

Valentino's eyes went wide. "That's just like what Bruno says!" he shouted.

"Bruno?" Rainbow Dash said, surprised by Valentino's sudden outburst.

"My big brother!" Valentino said, a smile growing on his face.

"Oh, well he sounds cool. What's Bruno like?" she asked, returning his smile.

"He's big and tough like Papa! He likes to do martial arts and sports and stuff," Valentino explained.

"Cool, I do some martial arts myself you know," Rainbow Dash bragged.

"Wow! You're just like Bruno!" Valentino said, his smile growing even bigger. "I'm going to start taking martial arts lessons next year," he said proudly.

"Hey that's great... but why don't you start now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Valentino's joyful expression drained away and his gaze fell to the floor. "Mama won't let me..." he said quietly.

Rainbow dash reached over and nudged his shoulder softly with her hoof. Valentino looked up and Rainbow Dash gave him a sympathetic look. "Well you only have to wait a little while right?" she said with a reassuring smile.

Valentino returned the smile and nodded. It was nice to see them getting along so quickly. We moved into the living room while the two of them kept on chatting. I was content to just watch and listen.

"So what do you like to do Val?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Nap!" he said eagerly. Rainbow Dash giggled.

"That's pretty fun, what else?"

"Papa's been teaching me how to cook!"

"Is your dad a good cook?"

"He's the best! He has his own restaurant and everything! It's always full of people! He's been teaching me and Bruno for a while," he bragged.

"How's Bruno's cooking?" Rainbow asked.

Valentino got a really big smile on his face. "He sucks!" Valentino said happily.

Rainbow Dash was caught off guard and started giggling.

"Oh he can't be that bad," I commented.

"No, Bruno is really bad. He keeps trying but everything he makes is really gross!" he said, still smiling.

"Well how good are you at it then Val?" Rainbow asked.

"Papa says I'm really good! And no one has thrown up from anything I've made!" Valentino said and Rainbow Dash started laughing again.

Valentino started asking all about Rainbow Dash and the two of them talked for a good while longer. Angel found me after a little bit and I had to take care of a few things for the animals. A couple hours passed before Rainbow rushed on her way. 

"She's fun, I like her!" Valentino said.


--


Well, it's night now Twilight and you still aren't back yet. It must be something very important that you were called away for. 

Valentino insisted on helping me prepare dinner. He also insisted on wearing an apron, but all I had was a little pink one. He didn't seem to mind and made it work. He spent a lot of time looking through my cupboards and gathering up ingredients.

After a little while he got really excited and said we were going to make something he called 'Gnocchi Di Ricotta'. Every time he said it he would use a silly sounding accent. When I asked he said that was just how his father spoke.

After draining some ricotta he used eggs and flour to make these cute little dumplings. While he did that I made a tomato based sauce. We cooked the sauce and boiled the dumplings. 

I was surprised by how well it turned out. Valentino had a real talent for cooking even if he was a little messy. It must have been why he was so insistent on the apron.

After eating we got cleaned up and as it got later I decided that we would get ready for bed. For as affectionate as he was Valentino seemed hesitant to share the bed the bed with me. It didn't take a lot convincing before he climbed into bed but it was odd given his behavior and your clear instructions.

Once I pulled him close though he eagerly snuggled up to me and quickly fell asleep. His warmth and the sound of his soft, steady breathing quickly put me to sleep as well.


-Princess Luna – Dream Log-


It was a pleasant night. 

The dreams I visited were calm and peaceful. Few needed tending to and I thought I would be able to enjoy the night thoroughly. However, something was lightly pulling at me as I traveled between dreams. The closer to it that I strayed the more urgently it pulled. It was panicked and filled with desperation. A nightmare.

I traveled far through the dreamscape just to find the source. When I eventually found what had been pulling me I hesitated. It was an unfamiliar presence that I had visited only once before in spite of my curiosity. The dream of the human called Valentino Brugato.

While my sister may have found the strange arrival of the strange creature delightful and fascinating, it worried me. It worried me further to see him involved with incident after incident. Perhaps that was unfair of me. Had he been found by any other group of ponies it was unlikely that I would have ever even known of him. But I could not easily dismiss my worry. No matter how... nicely he may have treated me in our brief interactions.

His dream was before me, filled with fear. His subconscious had proven difficult to navigate. Not a completely uncommon problem but one that made me hesitate to reach out to him again. I could not ignore his struggles and I stepped forward into his nightmare.

It was a simple matter, far more so than previously. To find out why was easy, the dream laid before me was filled with clues but the largest hint of them all was Valentino himself. He was but a small defenseless child, not just within the dream but wholly so. He was running for his life only to trip over his own feet.

I was but a shadow among many, choosing not to reveal myself until necessary. I could not interrupt until I saw the source of his fear. 

It was a ghastly creature. Something few minds would dare to conceive of. Was it a human terror? I could not know then. It stood much like the human would. Its limbs stretched out like long, decayed branches sharpened to many fine points. It had cloth draped unceremoniously around its lengthy midsection. It had no lips, only sharpened teeth that all seemed to fight to fit into its open maw. Its eyes were black and hollow. The horror's mane flowed out and danced like lengthy streaks of flame, though had the coloring of dead leaves. It was a giant thing, as tall as a castle tower. 

The child Valentino was struggling to his feet. Despite the tears streaking down his face he still found the determination to flee. But I would not bear his terror any longer. I let loose a flash of light that put me between the monstrosity and Valentino. The thing froze in place as the activity of the dream halted. 

When I turned I saw the child Valentino staring at me with large eyes, tears still falling down his face.

"Do not w–" before I could offer reassurances he bolted into me, his arms holding onto me tightly. I was quite surprised by this sudden reaction. But it did make sense, I had stopped the terror and Valentino had no previous knowledge of me. To him I was simply a savior.

I ran a hoof gently down his back to soothe the crying child. "It is only a dream, you are in no danger," I told him. 

After a few moments his crying subsided and he pulled away. "Th-thank you," he said, his eyes cast downward.

I smiled at his gratitude. I turned my head back to the creature frozen within the dream and then looked again at Valentino. "What is this creature that torments you?" I asked.

"Oh... that..." he mumbled, looking up at the thing and then wincing. "That's just my mom..." he confessed, his voice barely audible.

I was taken aback! His mother was such a thing? But when I looked back again I saw no such monster. It was distinct from Valentino but it looked much more like what I imagined a human mother would. She had a long chestnut colored hair that feel down her back. Her arms were crossed over her hefty chest. She had brown eyes that were turned scornfully on the child Valentino. It was becoming all too clear.

"She doesn't like me very much..." he offered.

"She is your mother, I am certain she loves you," I argued.

"She's... she's my mom but she's not my mom," he admitted.

"I don't understand." 

"She's been with Papa since I was really little, but she's not my real mom."

So this human did not bear Valentino but was in the position of raising him. This was the turmoil of Valentino's youth. From what little I saw within his adult dreams it did not seem to weigh on his mind. Though there was little to draw from there.

"She–"

"...is nothing," interrupted a voice. No it was many voices, coming from every direction. But it was a single presence I felt within the dream.

"They are all nothing..." came the voices, harmonized only in their words. Some whispered, some screamed and others sat in between. 

I spun around, trying to find the source. But all I found were familiar and unfamiliar faces. Those I did not recognize were human, three of them. Those I did recognize were my sister, Princess Twilight, all of her friends, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor and nearly every one of my night guards.

"...but bones," said the voices. I watched in horror as those I knew and those I did not decayed before me. Flesh swiftly fell away, leaving only hollow skeletons behind. They all stood as if they had not lost the very sinews that held them together. 

Rising from the horizon was the largest collection of bones. A towering accumulation of ivory that dwarfed mountains. Many skulls spun around the the top of the thing, there was no consistency among them. The skulls came from many different creatures. The sockets of their eyes burned with an intense red light.

"Nothing but bones!" screamed the skulls, the vibrations of their voices vibrating the very ground of the dream. They reached out their many bony arms from the horizon towards us. The gaps and hollow parts of their structure blazing with that red light. Their presence was pouring not just into the dream but out of it. I could feel everything start to warp around me.

I had to act quickly, pouring everything I had into pulling Valentino and myself out of the dream. Had I acted a moment later I do not know what might have happened. As it stands I do not know quite how I managed to find myself where I was, holding tightly onto the young Valentino with Fluttershy staring at us in shock from across a darkened room.

Fluttershy was stunned speechless and finding my own voice was also proving difficult. The only thing that could be heard in the room was the sound of young Valentino sniffing and sobbing into my chest. As much as I wanted to stay and comfort the scared little human. As much as I wanted to explain myself I felt that the matter of what had assaulted us within Valentino's dream required my immediate attention.

"I apologize for this intrusion," I said. I pulled Valentino from my and levitated him over to Fluttershy, setting him in her hooves. "Please take care of him," I said regretfully. 

With that I teleported away, back towards Canterlot. Hoping that when I searched again I would not find that beast of bone in any other dream.


-Fluttershy – Little Valentino Log-


I'm not really sure what happened. I bright flash of light woke me up and there was... Princess Luna holding onto Valentino. Valentino was crying and... oh I don't know. Princess Luna apologized and gave lifted Valentino over to me before she teleported away.  

Whatever happened really upset little Valentino. Even after he stopped crying he wouldn't fall back asleep for another hour. He clung to me desperately. When I asked him about what happened he just said "bad dream" and hugged me a little tighter. Eventually his exhaustion overtook him and he fell back asleep.

As it turns out I wouldn't have the chance to ask again. When I woke up in the morning I found myself wrapped up in Valentino's normal sized arms. The spell had worn off, his clothes were ripped and torn as he grew quickly out of them. 

When he woke up he stared at me for a little while then looking back at himself and his clothes.  He groaned and fell back into the bed.

"I guess I'm going to see Rarity today," he sighed.
> Chapter 8 - Fear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


I had every curtain in the library drawn. Even in the mid morning light the main room of the library was fairly dim. I was sat on the floor, staring at the front door and waiting. 

Maybe a little dramatic but I was incredibly frustrated and had a point to drive home.

I was lucky enough that I didn't have to wait like that for long. Just outside I could hear a thud and then the brief exchange of voices. Some were familiar and the others were not.

The door opened and there was Twilight and Spike. Their expressions turned to surprise to see me waiting where I was in the dimly lit library. The sun shining in through the door didn't reach me. My stare was fixed on Twilight for just a moment before it went to Spike.

"Spike, good to see you. Why don't you go up to the bedroom? I need to have a talk with Twilight," I said evenly.

"Well, I–"

"Spike, why don't you go up to the bedroom? I need to have a talk with Twilight," I repeated, enunciating every word clearly and slightly raising my voice for certain emphasis.

Spike didn't say anything else and quickly rushed up stares. I silently kept my gaze fixed on Twilight until I heard the door shut.

"Valentino, I–" she started but was cut off by me knitting my brows and letting off a sharp hiss.

"Twilight Sparkle, you don't need to explain anything. I'm the one who, apparently, needs to explain a few things," I said, my tone already growing harsh. Twilight swallowed and remained silent.

"See, I got the gist of things from Fluttershy and you know I'm pretty good at putting things together. Turning me into a child huh? That sounds like a pretty big deal. Not that I really know anything about it. I'm sure whatever reasons you have for it are probably pretty good. Heck, I'm sure I would have agreed to go through with it if you asked," I explained calmly. As I did Twilight seemed to regain some of her composure.

"But, the problem is you didn't fucking ask!" I roared, slamming my fist on the ground. Twilight flinched and her ears splayed back against her head.

My hands were slightly shaking. I wasn't expecting to get this mad but all of a sudden it just flew out of me. I pulled my hands back and took a very deep breath. I reeled in my expression and evened out my tone. Twilight remained silent and was staring at me with wide eyes. Her ears were still splayed backwards.

"Now I understand that I have been deferring to you on pretty much all magical matters. I understand that I have been dismissive of things that I don't really get concerning magic. I understand that I already willfully have, if not somewhat reluctantly, submitted myself to various tests concerning me and magic. And in all honesty I probably would have just as willfully submitted to this interesting experiment had I been coherent," I continued, spitting out that last word through gritted teeth. 

"B-but, I–" Twilight tried to stammer to her defense. I let out another sharp hiss that cut her off.

"I know I'm not the best at making these things super clear so let me put it bluntly. Magic scares the piss out of me. I didn't spend my life in a happy land full of magic with unicorns prancing around shooting glowing beams of stardust everywhere. It's not my day to day. You might be able to shrug off being turned into a kid for a minute out of nowhere but I can't live like this," I said throwing my hands up in the air in exasperation.

"I wasn't–"

"Doesn't matter!" I shouted, less angry, just trying to cut her off again. "I can't trust you. What's the next thing you're going to drag me out of bed for? How many more days am I going to lose to magic? How can I live in this house, tree, whatever," I growled, growing frustrated with my own inability to accurately reference my current state of affairs. Growing frustrated with everything. "How can I live here, with you, when I can't trust you not to fuck with me!?" I said, letting my anger bleed through into every word but thankfully not letting it explode out of me again. 

Twilight remained silent. I gave her a questioning look, this time expecting a response.

"I... I..." Twilight stammered.

"Well!?" I shouted.

"I don't know," Twilight whispered. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. It was very clear that she wasn't expecting me to start driving her into a corner once she got home.

I'll admit I was letting a lot of my pent up frustration out at this point. More than just my anger about what she did. I had to pull on that otherwise I might have given up on the whole thing halfway through. I was forcing a lot of issues, but I had to because it wasn't just something I could sweep under the rug. I really can't live under the threat of all this magic shit. I have too many problems as it is.

"Really? You've gotta have some idea," I pressured. Putting the weight of answering unreasonable questions on the shoulders of someone who is upset is really mean. I learned that trick from my aunt. Bitch.

"I don't... I..." she stammered, the tears falling from her eyes.

"You know the only thing keeping me from walking straight out that door and not looking back is just a tiny bit of good faith," I stated grimly. Twilight froze. "So how about we approach this a little differently. Why didn't you just wait until mid afternoon? I would have been coherent. I would have been able to ask questions. I would have been informed and it would have been a green light from me. Everyone wins. Also Princess Celestia only seems to send out emergency letters in the morning. So why did you have to do it when I am at my most vulnerable? Because the conclusions I might immediately draw are not good ones," I said.

Twilight was silent but her teary eyes were darting back and forth rapidly. Her mind was trying to process information through overwhelming fear, sadness and maybe guilt. Not to mention I just threw in the walking out and never looking back card. With that ultimatum hanging over her head she was probably trying to think of the perfect answer.

But I didn't want the perfect answer. I wanted the truth.

"It's not a hard question, you must know why it had to be then. Because if I remember correctly you tried to pull this same nonsense a little while after we got back from Canterlot the first time," I said. I was up on my feet now, staring down at Twilight with an impatient look which helped speed her into more of a panic.

"I-I just... I wanted to do it as s-soon as I could..." she managed to squeak out.

"Okay? Why!? Why couldn't it wait!?" I shouted, unsatisfied and taking a one step closer to Twilight. 

"I... I just needed... I needed to know more..." she stammered. At the sight of my approach she tried to shuffle away on shaky legs only to have her hind legs give out on her. 

"Know more what?" I growled, taking another couple of intimidating steps forward. "Is that all I am Twilight? A curiosity? Gotta know more about the strange human? Is that what our 'friendship' is!? A novelty!?" I spat.

"No!" she shouted, her voice was strained. She sounded genuinely hurt by my accusation.

"Then what!?" I shouted as loudly as I could and stomping one more step closer.

That's when we reached the breaking point. All the fear and guilt and sorrow overwhelmed Twilight and she fell to the floor. Her hooves were covering her eyes and she was bawling.

"I just... I just wanted to help..." she choked out through her sobs.

"Help yourself to some knowledge?" I said, managing to retain my venomous and aggressive tone.

"No!" she screeched and then let out a few more sobs. "No... I..." she was struggling but I had to pull it out of her. I needed her to give me the truth.

"You what?" I asked impatiently.

"I... I h-hurt you when you first showed up because... because I was scared and I didn't know about you..." she managed to get out through the few breaks in her sobbing. "Then you... then you got hurt with Princess C-Celestia because I didn't notice you were... you were pulling in magic. Then I had to..." her sobbing intensified, "... I had to watch you while you... you wouldn't wake up. There wasn't... I couldn't think of anything to do! I couldn't help at all!" she was nearly shouting in a hysteria. She removed her hooves from her reddening eyes and a glance up at me glaring back at her forced Twilight to calm herself down a bit.

"When we were doing those tests in Canterlot I finally felt like I was getting somewhere, we were managing to learn so much and it felt like there was finally something about you I could understand. But then we got sent back early and I wasn't sure what to do by myself... I had theories but I wasn't sure about the best way to test them. Then I remembered the age spell and if I could get it to work... If I could get it to work it would tell me so much I... I'd be able to help you... if something happened again," she finished, her sobs receding as she propped herself back up into a sitting position. There 

"And between your first attempt and now you didn't think to bring up with me?" I asked snidely.

"I... no I... I thought that..." she stammered. Truth be told I had already gotten what I wanted and even then I felt pushing it further would have just been mean.

"So you just made a hasty decision and made a big mistake because you were worried then?" I said in an unimpressed tone.

"I-I'm so sorry..." Twilight sobbed.

It was as good of an excuse as I was hoping for. Enough for the effort anyways.

"Sorry is a start," I said, letting my expression and tone drop in intensity a little.

"What I'm going to need more than that though is reassurance. Sorry might be enough for you ponies but... not for humans. Definitely not for me. You need to prove to me that this won't happen ever again," I said sternly. I was finally able to let go of the anger that I was struggling to maintain. With it gone I could rely solely on my disappointment, something I was much more familiar with. "So how about we find a way for you to make it up to me," I said.

"H-Huh?" Twilight said, caught a little off guard by the sudden change in direction our "conversation" was going.

"You know, some way you can make it up to me an reassure me about your intentions," I said.

"U-um," Twilight stammered.

"Oh come on, how do you think you can prove to me that you are really, truly sorry and that this won't happen again?" I asked.

"I... I'll tell Princess Celestia!" she suddenly shouted.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"I'll send her a letter right now! I'll... I'll tell her everything! What I did to you and how I didn't–" she was already floating over papers and inks while practically yelling. 

"Stop," I interrupted, causing all the floating materials to freeze in mid air. "I hardly think that's necessary. We don't need to go straight for the worst thing you can think of, though I appreciate the sentiment," I said. At least I assumed it was the worst thing she could thing of. If she wasn't fussing over me she was usually fussing over Princess Celestia. Everything had to be done just right to measure up to the Sun Princess. The most intense lecture I got was from Twilight after joking about Celestia's sweet ass. Before then Twilight also mentioned spending a lot of time mentoring under Princess Celestia. The short time she has been a Princess herself clearly hasn't left a lot of room for that mentality to change.

"I do actually have a few ideas for your... er... punishment. And these things actually benefit me directly in some ways! How about we go over those?" I said in an incredibly patronizing tone.

Twilight just sadly nodded.

"Well I think that obviously magic is this first thing to go. Let's say for like a week. Not only do I not want you casting any new spells on me, obviously, I don't want you to even suggest that you use magic on me alright? Because if you do I'll find a nice ditch to live in as far away as possible," I said. "Obviously if I am going to die or some other kind of magic is messing with me and you can fix it or save me then go right ahead. Otherwise, don't even think about it. Sound fair so far?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest.

Twilight nodded.

"Next is this," I said, reaching into one of my interior pockets and pulling out several sheets of parchment. "These are Fluttershy's notes on me as a child. I've read it and it's pretty interesting. You don't get to read it. Not today, maybe not tomorrow. All I know is that you will get to read these notes when I feel like it. That might just mean going through with all of this. Or you might need you to go above and beyond that. I'll know when I know. But if I catch even a hair of yours near these notes when I haven't given them to you then again, I'm gone," I said, pushing the notes back into my interior pocket.

"Now speaking of me being a child. It seems I hit a growth spurt that way outpaced my clothing. I only have a tie, a dress shirt, my belt and this trench coat to my name. I had to get Fluttershy to get my coat, so that I could use that to cover up my shame and go see Rarity. She happily agreed to throw together some replacement clothing as soon as she was able. However going out in just a trench coat is, for humans, has worse implications than just being nude. So that was great. I was already talking to Rarity about a few extra pairs of clothing. For these specific replacements though I think it's only fair that you be the to compensate her," I stated. 

Twilight had been meekly nodding along, her expression fairly demure. So far she didn't think much either way about her punishment.

"Now then, so far I feel I've been pretty fair. Pretty simple stuff, I would even say it's pretty easy. So now I think we should discuss the big one. How you are going to prove to me that you're super sorry and that you won't do it again," I said and with that he face fell.

"So the consequence of this magic act of yours for me is that I, essentially, lost a day. All I have is what Fluttershy told me, the rest is a big haze. I was essentially unconscious while young me was having a great time with Fluttershy. So, I mean that is pretty horrible. So it would only be fair for you to compensate me for my time lost. I lost time, you lost time. But I've been awfully fair so far, so I think that a little harshness is in order. Which means for the next three days I own your time," I said, giving Twilight a flat stare.

"M-my time?" Twilight asked.

"Basically it means if I want you to do something, you do it. If you want to do something, or if your friends want to do something with you, it all goes through me. I dictate, deny or approve how you spend your time for the next three days," I explained, Twilight got a scared look on her face. "Now hold on there. I don't plan on turning you into a slave or humiliating you or just generally abusing you. Basically I just..." I paused, thinking about it. I figured that I may as well go whole hog on the punishment angle. "Basically you're grounded and you're going to do a bunch of chores for me for the next three days. Or other equally boring and benign exercises. How does that sound?" I asked.

Twilight did not spend a lot of time deliberating the issue. A moments glance away and she looked at me with determination. "Okay," she said.

"Great. First thing, go to Rarity's, pay her for the replacement clothes and get an estimate on when she'll have those ready. As you may or may not have noticed I'm still just wearing the coat," I said, pulling tightly belt of the coat which helped keep the thing from fluttering open and revealing too much.

"Then after that you can go to Pinkie's and get me a snack. Don't break the bank. Also, these aren't a social calls. I expect you to be back promptly," I said firmly.

Twilight nodded and after making sure she had enough money, I think they call the currency 'bits', and marched out the door with that same determined expression.

Once the door shut behind her I collapsed onto the ground and let out a long, pained groan.

"Spike, you can come back down now," I yelled after laying there for a moment. There was no response.

"The mean times are over Spike, it's safe," I added, finally getting the sound of the dragons footsteps as he slowly made his way downstairs. Once he had reached the ground floor he hesitantly approached me. My gaze listed slowly over to Spike who was wearing a worried expression on his face. 

"Is... is everything alright?" he asked.

"It's a lot better than I expected," I sighed.

"It didn't sound like it," Spike said dubiously. The hesitance in his tone quickly melted away, probably because of my vulnerable position on the floor and defeated tone.

"Yeah well, she won't understand that there's a problem unless I act like there is a problem," I explained.

"So you were just acting?" Spike questioned.

"No I..." I groaned and sat back up. I rubbed my eyes before turning them back towards Spike. "I am mad about what happened and a lot of other things. All of this mess," I said, making a large sweeping gesture with my hands. "But getting all worked up about it is, well, a lot of work. It's a lot less effort to just take a breath and wait for it to pass. But since I've been here it's just one thing after another and if I have to live not knowing what I'm going be dragged out of bed for I just..." Realizing I was just getting myself riled up again I stopped, let my tensed up body relax and took another deep breath. "It's like I told Twilight, I just can't live like this," I finished.

"Oh," was all Spike could say at first. "I... Twilight told me that it was part of your testing, so I thought you knew about it," he eventually added.

"Spike... I get it. This isn't supposed to be about getting mad and throwing blame around. I just want to be able to feel comfortable and safe here. I want to be able to sleep easy, understand?" I asked.

"I think so..." Spike murmured.

"Hey, good news, looks like you've got a few days off," I said with forced enthusiasm.

"Huh," Spike said, his eyes lighting up a bit at the realization. Before I knew it he was making plans and heading out the door.


--


Twilight had returned not too long after Spike had left with a tray of cupcakes. Red Velvet, chocolate chips and a cream cheese frosting. Very tasty. She also reported that Rarity would have at least a shirt and a pair of pants ready for me by the next morning. That was great news,  unfortunately it left me indoors for the rest of the day as I had anticipated. Sometimes it's rough being right all the time.

Twilight still looked ready and determined. With uncertainty gone and a clear route to make up for her mistake Twilight had pulled herself up from a blubbering mess. Frankly that made my job a lot easier. It's a lot harder to cave in to a pony that's up to the challenge than one with those big watery eyes and tear stained cheeks.

While Spike was making plans for his days off I was making plans for the rest of the day. Which really just ended with me finding what looked like a history textbook and throwing it onto a table. Then getting some paper and ink. 

I had come to the conclusion that in addition to my relationships with certain ponies I could no longer be so passive about the world I was in. It was about time I actually made an effort to understand exactly what I had gotten into. Sure Twilight had attempted many lectures on the subject but... well I think I've already written about how I'm not always the best listener. Following the classic read and take notes method of learning has allowed me to sail through all manner of academic institutions. 

"Before you get too excited, you aren't going to be helping me study in a traditional sense," I said flatly as I walked her over to the table I had set up on. I gently patted the surface of the empty side of the table. "Hop up," I said. 

Twilight had a brief look of confusion on her face before she silently complied. I let her stand up on the table awkwardly for a few moments before I made my way over to where I had everything set up on her left side. "Go ahead, lay down and get comfy," I said. I got another look of confusion followed by compliance. Once she was settled I opened up the heavy tome I had found and propped it up against her side. 

As soon as her ultimate purpose became clear I could see her expression slowly fall. But after what I assume was some internal deliberation that determined look came right back. Which I was quite thankful for. 

With that silently settled I flipped open the heavy tome and began my lengthy study session of pony history.

"May I ask you a question?" Twilight said a few minutes after I had started.

"Twilight, you may ask me as many questions as you want," I said, glancing up from my sparse notes.

"It's just that... I thought we had gone over history before..." Twilight muttered, fidgeting slightly with her front hooves.

"We did and it was a helpful summary, but It's easier for me to commit things to memory if I write them down. I thought you'd be proud of me for my initiative," I explained, speaking casually but not looking away from my work.

"I am! Um... sorry," she said before going silent.

She remained silent for the better part of two hours, only responding to my questions about what I was reading.

At the two hour mark, the wing I had the book partially propped up against as well as her butt and hind legs were twitching. She had hardly moved a muscle since I had started and was likely getting very uncomfortable. She refused her inclinations to shift in her spot and tried to restrain little whimpers while she focused her stare on a spot on the wall.

I set down the quill I was writing with and set my chin in my hands. I stared right at her and waited for her to glance over.

It was a few moments before she noticed the sudden cease of the subtle noises of my studying. No quill scratching or pages turning. She glanced looked a bit shocked to see me staring at her blankly with my head propped up with my hands.

"How ya feeling?" I asked.

"F-fine!" Twilight stammered.

With a sigh I leaned my head into my right hand and let my left arm fall limply onto the table.

"Twilight I think you might be missing the lesson here in this little exercise," I said.

"Huh? L-lesson?" Twilight said, fear starting to take over her expression.

"Believe it or not there is actually more to this than you just being a book stand. Twilight, do you remember what I told you right after we started this little study session?" I asked, keeping my tone dull and my head leaning into my hand.

"That I could ask you as many questions as I want," Twilight quickly answered.

"Bingo," I said, reaching over with my free hand and lightly poking the tip of her nose. "See Twilight, I want you to consult with me. Not consulting with me is the major mistake that has strained our friendship. I'm not going to dictate how you spend every hour of every day, that's way too much work for me when you are the one being punished. I am going to make you do quite a few things, don't think I won't, but whatever you do that I don't explicitly state still needs to go through me. Which means you need to consult with me. That way we work the whole, 'you should probably talk to me about stuff before you just go and do them' thing into your head. It's not just me making you do stuff I don't want to do," I thoroughly explained.

"Oh," was all Twilight could really muster at first. I couldn't really tell what she was thinking, but she was pondering something.

"So, how are you feeling?" I asked with a little more emphasis.

"Well... my legs have started to fall asleep and... well, could I get up and stretch a little?" she asked hesitantly.

I reached over with one hand and pulled the history book away from her. "Absolutely, walk around a little if you want, use the bathroom, whatever," I said, motioning away from the table. 

Twilight stumbled off the table and stretched her back and wings. She wandered a bit to get the blood circulating through her limbs again.

Before she could work out her legs too much there was fairly loud and rapid knock at the door. Twilight made a movement towards the door but stopped and quickly turned back towards me. "May I answer the door Valentino?" she asked politely.

I was already regretting this entire undertaking. "Okay maybe you don't need to ask if you may answer the door," I said and motioned towards the door. She nodded and trotted over. 

It was at that point I started wondering who would bother knocking on the door of a public library in middle of the day. Once the door opened two light blue limbs pulled Twilight outside. Rainbow Dash reached in to shut the door, her eyes met mine and I lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Uh, hey Val, just gotta talk to Twilight real quick!" she said before slamming the door shut.

Far from being in the mood to get involved in something potentially complicated I decided to just ignore the whole thing and get back to my research. 

To her credit Rainbow Dash was very quick. It wasn't even a minute before Twilight walked back into the library with a letter levitating next to her. I turned back around and looked at her. She was wearing a complicated expression.

"Um, Valentino..." she said, looking from me to the letter.

"What's up?" I asked casually.

"Well, I asked what Rainbow Dash wanted and she told me it was about you. The she just sort of threw this letter at me and told me to read it. Then she said I absolutely couldn't tell you about it... But..." she trailed off, still glancing between me and the letter.

"Given the circumstances you didn't want to start hiding stuff from me, right?" I asked.

"Right..." she said softly.

"Well Twilight I think you've managed to earn some serious friendship points just now. This sort of thing goes a long way in building trust, which is a very delicate and important thing with human friends," I said. Twilight's expression lit up for the first time since she got back.

"What about the letter?" She asked.

"I don't know, read it? I don't have any business going through your mail," I said, turning back to the table. "But whatever it is that she wrote to you about me, let's talk about it some other time," I added. 

"Okay," Twilight said. The sound of rustling paper told me she was probably reading the letter. 

I had a pretty good idea what Rainbow Dash was writing Twilight about. Probably something that I had at one time explicitly told her I didn't want her talking about with anyone. To be fair it was more just keep from complicating an already complicated matter with my personal issues. And with no clear resolution to the... issue, hugs not withstanding, I guess it was a matter of time for Rainbow Dash to reach out to someone. At least that was my guess if she was as worried about me as it seemed...

Rainbow is a good pal.


--


"So her own bitterness and jealousy turned her into a 'Nightmare Moon'?" I asked Twilight, who had since returned to being my book prop. 

"That's right," Twilight said.

I was rubbing my temples, another outlandish thing that I suppose I just had to accept.

"Magic is impacted significantly by a pony's emotions. Princess Luna had been carrying and building on all of that resentment and bitterness for a very long time. It was bound to come to a head," Twilight elaborated.

"I guess that makes sense. It would explain why there is a Love Princess. So a thousand years on the moon and then she came back right? Then you and your friends used the–" I glanced through my notes "–Elements of Harmony, to burn the nastiness off of her, is that it?" I asked.

"I... suppose you could put it like that," Twilight conceded.

"'The most powerful magic known to ponydom', no wonder you guys seem to think magic is so great when it's based on 'Harmony' or whatever, " I mumbled to myself. With a sigh I had shut the book and set it aside. Twilight enlightened me to the aftermath of the whole Nightmare Moon incident. The text I was reading was not new enough to include that bit of information. 

The book wasn't long, the hard part was picking out the facts through excessively flowery language. At least that's what I thought most of the time, but with magic and it's relationship with emotions and damn near everything else it was a lot more literal than I gave it credit for. At first I thought Princess Luna just got real jealous and did some bad things, then she was banished from Equestria. No, her emotions literally turned her into a real monster and she was actually sent to the moon for a thousand years.

I was starting to wish someone would send me to the moon.

"Well, study time is over, you are free from being my book stand!" I announced with dry humor. Twilight quickly got down from the table with a look of relief on her face.

The afternoon was approaching and I had no idea what to do with Twilight. I had eaten through the entire batch of cupcakes and wasn't particularly hungry. It was the first day of her punishment so I guess I had to run her ragged. 

I was already starting to lose steam on the whole thing. It was in no small part due to Twilight's eagerness to appease me that my anger quickly dissipated.

In spite of my own internal protests against the entire endeavor I decided to just stall for time. "Well, go ahead and break for lunch I guess," I told Twilight. 

Her immediate response was to look around for a minute. "Where is Spike?" she asked.

"Oh I told him to enjoy some time off. Having an assistant sort of detracts from the whole being punished thing," I said.

"R-right," she said before making her own way to the kitchen. She was really starting to take it all in stride. That revelation only got a little stutter, not so much as a frown. Well, I guess her frown didn't grow at least.

I was hoping I could buy myself a half an hour at least with that lunch break. Twilight proved her value of efficiency by making and eating a sandwich in just about fifteen minutes. Maybe treat your meal with a little more respect than that, jeez.

After that she was back and ready to continue whatever I had in store for her.

"Bath," I blurted out.

Twilight tilted her head slightly to one side.

"Draw me a bath... with lot's of bubbles," I elaborated.

Twilight nodded and marched off to the bathroom. I was pretty pleased with my quick thinking. Not only did I come up with something for Twilight to do but also a way for me to relax. Something I was pretty desperate for since we got back from our big adventure abroad.

Once Twilight had finished drawing the bath I had her awkwardly hang around in the bathroom while I lounged in the tub. I made sure she kept those curious pony eyes averted, threatening a harsher punishment for peeping. 

A little while after that I asked her if she thought I had gone too far in my punishment so far or if there was anything she disagreed with. I was expecting it to put her in a far more awkward position than my nudity ever could with these darn ponies. 

To my surprise she answered quite honestly. I expected her to be curt and agreeable but it seemed she was already picking up on what I was trying to instill in our relationship. 

She told me that she was pretty embarrassed about being used as a book stand. She was determined to tough it out at first but after a little while she started to have... negative thoughts about it, or so she said. Once I explained that there was a lesson to be learned and what my expectations were she became all the more determined. 

"Well, this whole bath thing is really just for me to relax and for you to feel awkward," I admitted.

"Oh," she said, lowering her head a little.

"They can't all be life lessons. But you must overcome these trials to prove yourself to the strange creature you are responsible for!" I said with sarcastic enthusiasm. 


--


Aside from other vague tasks there wasn't that much of note that evening.

Well...

After dinner, which I made Twilight go out pick up from somewhere, Twilight asked about going to bed. I waved her off as I was laying back on a big pillow. 

It was utterly silent for a few seconds. No sound of hooves climbing upstairs or anything.

"Are... are you going to come to bed?" Twilight hesitantly asked.

I slowly rose up to a sitting position. I gave Twilight a harsh look, maybe harsher than I intended. "Given the circumstances, I think I'll be sleeping downstairs," I said firmly. 

Twilight's expression practically did a back flip. It dipped so far down into sorrow I think that she was surprised and she quickly tried to fix it. "O-oh... um... a-alright," she stammered before quickly making her exit. 

I was just trying to cement the idea of the damage she had done to my trust in her. I guess I accomplished that though I sort of wish I didn't. That look on her face made me wonder if pushing my "human" trust issues into this relationship was a good thing. I tried to reason the thought away, pony cuddling would probably return as quickly as it left. 

I put my head into my hands and heaved a heavy sigh. I had no problem screaming at her earlier that day. I had no problem backing her into a corner and watching her break down crying. 

...

I guess I was just expecting things to go bad. 

I guess...

I guess I was expecting her to scream right back. I was expecting her to fervently justify her actions in spite of whatever my wishes might have been. I was expecting her to get mad right back, get furious until were both just screaming at each other. 

I was expecting the so called 'friendship' to break down right there. Then I could walk out the door and forget the whole thing.

I wasn't expecting her to fight for it. I didn't believe it, maybe that's why I kept tacking on stipulations. I didn't make a list of punishments, I just had some parchment I was writing these records on. I was just putting on a show.

I was expecting the facade to fade away once she realized it was too much work to keep it going. 

When it didn't, when that 'friendship' still seemed so important to her... I was sitting there with my head in my hands wondering what the hell I was doing.

It didn't last though, I quickly fell back and into a dreamless sleep.


--


The following day I was greeted by Twilight who sitting close by and eagerly awaiting instruction. My internal crisis about the whole thing was muddied by my normal morning vigor. I somehow managed to instruct Twilight to go get the clothes Rarity was supposed to have for me. By the time she returned I was finally in a solid head space.

Rarity's work very accurately mimicked the clothes I had before. Even down to the belt loops. 

I had Twilight join me on what used to be my routine workout regimen. By "regimen" and "routine" I mean a thing I did most days out of the week but sometimes forgot about or chose not to do for days at a time. She kept up fairly well. When we went out for a run we found Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash who very helpfully mentioned that Twilight ought to be practicing flying rather than running. Something that I also encouraged.

The good news was that Twilight came back to the library far more exhausted than I was. 

The bad news was that I had far less for Twilight to do as punishment. Mostly I just took naps and had Twilight hang around and be bored. It was more like she was grounded. But she did hold up her end of the bargain, running everything by me before she did something. Applejack came by once asking for help with one thing or another. Twilight gave me a look and I let her go. Some work at the farm, didn't really sound like fun.

I took a nap, when I woke up Twilight was back and awaiting instruction again.

The day seemed to fade before I knew it and Twilight made her way upstairs. A fairly uneventful day, one of the first in a while. I was pretty grateful for that. With my big pillow and a couple other cushions I found my way swiftly back to sleep, without any crisis of conscious.


-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-


Twilight was sitting across from me and looking at me with teary eyes. I was sitting with my arms and legs crossed. I was very much decided on the matter. There was just nothing more to be done.

"B-but!" Twilight nearly shouted, getting up to her hooves and racing up to me. She stopped just short of me before she started to shy away. But then just as quickly as she started to pull back her gaze returned to mine. 

With no more hesitation she put one hoof on my leg. That hoof was followed by another. Her gaze was locked onto mine as she climbed up onto my lap. She brought her front hooves up to my chest and pushed me back. I didn't resist at all, I fell back with Twilight on top of me. I let my arms fall to my sides. Once I was on my back Twilight planted her hooves on the ground around me.

I looked up at her with a sharp glare. "What do you think you're doing?" I asked accusingly.

"I can still make it up to you!" she said, tears starting to fall from her eyes. She lowered her head, bringing her face closer to mine. "There are a lot of ways I can still make it up to you," she whispered, her tone shifting instantly from desperate to oddly sultry. She brought her face eve closer until her nose gently bumped into mine.

She tilted her head a bit then pressed her lips against mine softly. I was stunned. Our lips touched only briefly. When she pulled away I could only stare blankly into her half lidded gaze, my grumpy defiance completely washed away and was replaced with vague shock. She didn't waste any time in pressing her lips against mine with renewed vigor. 

She was much more... passionate. Soon her tongue was licking my lips, begging for entrance.  I was apparently determined to put up no resistance. I parted my lips slightly and her tongue roughly pushed it's way into my mouth. Her tongue explored briefly before finding mine and entwining with it. Our tongues danced for a moment before Twilight finally pulled away again. A thin strand of saliva trailed down from her mouth to mine. 

Twilight was panting, her face was flushed and she was staring hungrily down at me. She lifted up one hoof an pressed it gently against my chest, drawing small circles. She lowered her head until her mouth was right next to my ear. "I want more of you," she breathed hotly. Her attitude had completely changed.

She took her hoof away and started moving down my body. Getting slowly closer to my hardening–


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


When I shot awake I was completely drenched in sweat and had what felt like one of the more confusing erections of my entire life.

It was pitch black, still probably the middle of the night but I wasn't about to hurry back to sleep. I was far too worried that the dream might continue where it left off.

I stumbled my way upstairs and into the bathroom. I knelt down in front of the sink and got the cold water running. With a few splashes to cool my head I tried to get a grip on myself.

I've stated before that these ponies are all very adorable. That being said there is a significant species gap, not to mention them being somewhat reminiscent of a certain animal found back home. All of that makes the idea of... relations... kind of awkward. It also made my still eager hard-on additionally awkward.

Sure I had been flirty with ponies before, even outright crude and suggestive. But it was absurd and that's what made it funny. But when dream Twilight is shoving her tongue down my throat and I start questioning my own motivations... it becomes less humorous.

I pressed my forehead against the cool edge of the sink and looked down at my shame, straining pointlessly against my pants. 

Obviously I hadn't had sex since I was dumped into pony world. Probably longer actually, I had a lot going on even before I wound up in a coffin. But at least before then I had the time and privacy to just rub one out. Even now I've had a lot more important things to think about. 

That was probably just it. A sudden shift in my... routine and the whole mess with Twilight was weighing on me. Put the two together and you get, well, what happened.

Still staring down at myself I considered taking care of the issue there and then. I just shuddered at the thought. I still couldn't get the vision of Twilight out of my head and if I tried to let one off it would just be with that imagery lingering around. No way, not happening.

Not to mention, when I finally looked up into the mirror hanging just over the sink I saw the figure of Twilight standing in the dark doorway. The sight of her caused me to freeze in place. 

"Valentino?" she called out.

"Hey... Twilight," I said, turning my head slightly. My mind was reeling, trying to think of an effective exit strategy. The best I could think of was just to use the darkness to my advantage and pull a swift retreat. "Sorry, I'll get out of your way," I said, getting up to my feet.

"No I just... I could hear you moving around. Are you okay?" she asked. I couldn't really make out her expression in the mirror and through the darkness but she sounded worried.

Despite being the object of my awkward midnight fantasy I thought that a brief conversation with my back still to her would give me some time to... soften... and avoid a potentially more awkward situation.

Thinking about it now, I don't think anything would have happened even if she got an eyeful of my boner. It's not like she's been super into whenever I talk about sexually oriented stuff. Unfortunately I did not think of it at the time, so I opted to be more cautious.

"Just a um... bad dream," I answered, quite awkwardly I must admit, with my back still to Twilight.

"A nightmare?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," I halfheartedly clarified. In truth I don't think I would go that far. 

"Was it about... what happened with Rainbow Dash?" Twilight hesitantly asked.

I wasn't expecting her to try and tackle something so specific. Unfortunately I had worked myself into a corner there. There was nothing else so pronounced as that recently that would work as nightmare fuel. Maybe my magical discomfort which I had already made very clear to Twilight.

Maybe she was just hoping that it wasn't that specific mistake of hers that was keeping me up at night. I wasn't about to torment her by pretending that it was. But I still was heading towards a conversation that I really didn't want to have.

...

Maybe I should stop stalling.

"Yeah," I said with a sigh, letting my shoulders sink a little.

"I'm sorry," Twilight whispered. The silence of the bathroom made her breathy apology easy to pick up on.

"It's fine. It's all done and over with. I'd rather just forget about it, but Rainbow Dash seems to be pretty worried about it... Well I should probably tell her it's not some secret she needs to keep anymore," I mused.

"It's my fault," Twilight said with a sigh.

"What?" I asked, turning just slightly. Just enough to stare back at her over my shoulder.

"I should have gotten you out of there sooner," she insisted. She wasn't particularly upset about it, stating it like a simple fact.

"Twilight that's not really reasonable," I said. 

"I knew you were claustrophobic, but I just took my time trying to figure the mechanism out," she continued, berating herself and ignoring me.

"Twilight," I said a bit louder, cutting easily through the quiet nighttime atmosphere.

Twilight went silent and stared back at me.

"It's not anyone's fault, just an unlucky situation. I'm fine so don't worry about it," I insisted with a stern tone.

"I don't think you are fine! Especially if you are having nightmares about it! Even Rainbow Dash is worried about you!" Twilight said, growing bolder and louder.

With another sigh I turned completely around. My more active parts having calmed down enough to not be a potential issue..

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But we can't do anything about it now. So I'll just avoid going down into any basements or mine shafts. But that's in no way your problem. It's not fair to you to make that your responsibility," I explained calmly. 

"I just should have known... I didn't notice that you were distressed or anything..." she said, quieting down and lowering her head.

"We had more important things to worry about. That's why I hid it and why you didn't notice it. It's why I asked Rainbow to keep it a secret," I said. Twilight didn't seem all that reassured.

"Look, I made a mistake too. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. Even when I started feeling anxious when I saw the tunnel, I thought it would be manageable. My claustrophobia has been pretty manageable for years. But the... thing... with the coffin really..." I started trail off. It was always such a hassle, sharing stuff like this.

"When we got sealed in, I thought I was going to die. Just like when I was in that coffin. It hit me really hard and really fast. I had no real grip on myself. If Rainbow Dash wasn't there I probably would have ended up hurting myself trying to get out. But I made a choice. I put myself in that position," I explained. Even still, Twilight didn't seem to feel all that better about it.

"Listen, what I need in a friend right now is not someone who is worried about how I'm feeling. I need someone who is going to give me choices, some control. Because in this situation I really don't have a whole lot. That's kind of the point of all of this remember?" I asked.

"Yeah," Twilight said. She raised her head a little, didn't sound quite so sad. But I think she was still hesitant but I wasn't going to push it any more. I didn't even want to have the damn conversation.

"Well then I'm going to go back to bed, you should too," I said, walking towards the bathroom exit. Twilight followed slowly after.


--


The last day of Twilight's punishment was shaping up to be much like the previous day. 

We worked out, I made Twilight practice her flying and she came home much more exhausted than I was. Though I was kind enough to let her shower first this time. Breakfast was something Twilight made. It... uh... It was okay. We didn't start until I woke up which was fairly late into the morning, so breakfast was more like lunch.

The task I gave to Twilight was to find me more reference material for studying the strange land I was in. Honestly she was a little too excited about the task and I almost wanted take it back but... well it was the last day.

While she was doing that I settled down a nice, relaxing afternoon nap.

...

Ugh.


-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-


I faded back into consciousness. 

Looking up I couldn't see anything through the cracks in the rubble. There wasn't any moonlight, but there wasn't any moisture pouring through this time.

My mouth was dry and sticky.

My head was pounding.

I tried to shift, just a little. The rebar dug into my chest a bit harder before I fell back.

The concrete locking me in place pinched near my shoulder and near my thigh.

The smell caused me to cough again, which caused my dry and overused throat to flare up in pain which caused me to cough even more.

In the darkness there was nothing for my gaze to settle on. Even then the slightest noise caused my heart to jump.

Weakly I struggled under the concrete as despair started to claw at my mind. I didn't last long.

Trapped with the smell of death.

Trapped.

Red.

A red light  was glowing at the far end of the dark rubble.

Faint, consistent light.

I tried to focus my wavering sight on it.

Skulls.

Hands.

Claws.

Bones.

They all flew at me. 

Hands and claws made of bone grabbed me. Clutching my hair, my neck, my one free arm and covering my mouth.

The skulls rotated clockwise in the air and only stopped until a human skull was right in front of my face. It's eyes were burning with red light.

"Finally," whispered a chorus of voices.

"No alterations," whispered a single voice.

"No saviors," whispered another.

"No barricades," whispered a third, poking at my forehead with one of many free hands.

"Only you," whispered the skull in front of my face. It's jaw didn't move but the voice came from it.

The voices came from all the skulls. All of their eyes glowed with that red light.

Metal screeched when a bony hand bent back the rusty rebar that was digging into my chest.

A claw rose from behind that hand and thrust itself into my chest.

I screamed into the skeletal hands covering my mouth.

Red light poured out of my chest wound. The claws twisted around.

"You make it easy for us," the voices clamored.

The skulls started to crowd me, surrounding my head and forming a dome of glowing red eye sockets.

"Nothing but fear," they sang.

"Nothing but bones..."


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


I shot awake, jumped up to my feet and stumbled against a bookshelf. My heart was pounding quicker than I had ever felt. Every beat was accompanied by a tinge of red in the peripheral of my vision. A red tint that was creeping inwards with every few beats of my heart.

"Val?" I heard from behind me. The nickname nearly made me choke.

I turned backwards, seeing two ponies.

Ponies.

I forgot for that moment. But it all came flooding back into my head.

The coffin.

The ponies.

The magic.

The mine.

Every memory made my heart beat harder than I thought it could. The image of my heart ripping itself apart filled my head.

Was I dying?

I thought maybe I was dying.

Everything was red.

It was insane wasn't it?

Magic and ponies. A whole strange world.

It is what it is. But it's insane right?

I thought I was dying.

I thought maybe I was already dead.

I couldn't take those thoughts.


-Twilight Sparkle – Private Record-


Valentino was just staring at us. His hand was up and grabbing at his chest. His eyes had gone wide. I thought maybe it was another bad dream. Rainbow had stopped by and I told her that I had told Valentino. I explained what he said about it and what he meant by keeping it a secret. She was a little annoyed but I think she was also really relieved.

Rainbow tried to get his attention but there was no reaction. He just stared for a few moments longer.

What followed was such a just such a terrible noise. It was a horrible screaming, but it was so excruciatingly loud. The only way I could react was fall to the floor and cover my ears with my hooves. I glanced at Rainbow Dash and she did the same thing. 

I tried to look at Valentino but he was masked by a wildly vibrating dark shadow. Other shadows flew across the floor and walls towards him.

The screeching grew even louder and I shut my eyes, trying to endure the assault of sound.

I had a hard time telling when the noise had stopped because of the loud ringing in my ears. Once that started to fade I started to get back up on my hooves.

Rainbow Dash was already up and looking around frantically. I quickly noticed why because Valentino was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?" I barely heard Rainbow Dash say. 

Her hearing must have returned much quicker than mine because she suddenly froze and was looking up at the ceiling.

"He's upstairs!" I heard her shout, a little clearer than before.

She quickly took off upstairs. I followed after her but I slowed on my way upstairs.

I was assaulted by doubts. I had already failed Valentino as a friend so many times and then suddenly...

I quickly shook it off. Whatever was happening he needed my help and I couldn't do that by coming down on myself.

Upstairs in my room I first saw Rainbow Dash frozen in place on the ground. Walking around to her side I saw her staring ahead, her eyes wide. I followed her gaze to see...

Valentino.

He was slumped down in front of my closet door. His arms were sprawled out at his sides.

His face it, well it had no skin. No muscle or anything. It was just a skull. His hands were bones.

He was just a skeleton wearing those clothes of his.

When I saw it I was shocked. When realization hit me my heart fell to pieces.

"Val," I heard Rainbow Dash whimper right next to me.

I wanted to say something to her, but I couldn't find any words.

"Rainbow... Dash...?" Valentino said weakly.

My eyes quickly darted up to see Valentino's skull looking over. From his eye sockets came a narrow and intense green glow. 

I was barraged by conflicting feelings. Valentino was alive, but he was also... this... skeleton thing? I was wracking my brain trying to think of what kind of magic could have done this to him.

"Twilight?" Valentino said, some strength returning to his voice. His jaw didn't move when he spoke. 

"Valentino–"

"Twilight!" Valentino shouted, his voice cracking a little. He jumped to his feet and pressed himself as much as he could. His clothes hung so loosely on his... bones.

"H-how could you!? I trusted you I..." Valentino said, his voice shaky. He looked down at his skeletal hands. "What did you do...?" he moaned.

"I didn't!" I shouted. This caused Valentino to jump a little. "Valentino please, I had nothing to do with this. You have to believe me," I pleaded. It hurt to hear him blame me. With how he perceived magic I wasn't sure if there was any way I could convince him. But to have him think that I would do this to him... I couldn't bear it.

Valentino stared out me for a long time. The small green orbs that glowed within his sockets seemed to be trying to burn a hole through me. His body... well... what was left of it? His body relaxed.

"You didn't," he stated.


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


"I can't see flesh," I tried to explain. It was the truth. There was no flesh on my bones. The ponies... Twilight was a mist. A shining pink glow that faded into a darker hue. It was punctuated with bright white stars. It was as vaguely pony shaped as Rainbow Dash who was an erratic bundle of multicolored electricity.

"But I can feel flesh," I said. I brought a bony hand up to my cheek. I could feel the smooth sensation of skin both on my hand and on my cheek.

I felt lightheaded, like I could drift off at any moment.  Everything felt sort of fuzzy and vague. Sometimes shadows would swallow me up. But they would fall away in time.

My heart though. My heart was still pounding. I wasn't sure if it would stop. Could it stop? It had to stop. Just a deep breath. A few deep breaths. It will fade. Just push it down.


-Twilight Sparkle – Private Record-


That screech again. It wasn't nearly as loud as before but it still made me flinch. Valentino turned and pounded on the closet door.

"You lot tryin' ta get me in trouble?" he said... but his voice was different. It was a higher pitch and the accent was way different from Valentino's careful enunciation.

"Let me make it crystal clear. Ya come out when I say so, ya feed when I say so and ya work when I say so. If ya don't follow my instructions then all of ya are gonna be a lot worse off for it. Now maybe it's time for ya to get to work..." he continued. The more he spoke the more I was convinced it wasn't his voice.

He was frozen facing the closet door for a moment longer before turning back around. Then he crumbled, falling back against the closet door and sliding down to the floor. One hand clutched at his chest while the other held the side of his head. His eyes went to the floor.

"Val? What... what happened?" Rainbow asked, moving closer to Valentino.

"Nightmare," he said. "Panicked, everything went red then everything... hurt," he added. Aside from the one brief pause he spoke very quickly. His panic certainly didn't sound like it had subsided. Not that anypony would expect otherwise.

Even I felt like I was going to start panicking any second. Once I thought I had Valentino sort of figured out something new and horrible just... pops up out of nowhere!

"Twilight?" Rainbow said, looking to me for an answer.

"I don't know... He had a nightmare last night but–"

"There's gotta be something we can do to help!" Rainbow Dash interrupted impatiently.

"I'll be fine," Valentino whispered but still managing to catch our attention.

"I'm still alive. Maybe just living bones but... I'm alive. I'll be okay," he said as calmly as he could manage.

But more importantly, for the briefest moment he was normal again. Skin, eyes, everything was the way it was. I could have blinked and missed the change. Actually I don't think Rainbow Dash caught it. 

Just after that I could hear a rattling coming from the closet door. Valentino struck the door with his elbow and let out another screech. The rattling stopped.

Something was in there.

I thought that it must have been related to Valentino. Valentino...

"Now don't talk like that Val! You aren't gonna stay a skeleton. We'll figure something out!" Rainbow Dash said confidently.

I wondered if it really just his fear that did this to him? He's maintained that he was alright but he's been avoiding the subject for a while. Nightmares, panicking in the mine shaft. Not just that, absolutely everything he's been introduced to has been new and strange. Different and... scary. More than I possibly gave it credit for.

"Yeah..." Valentino whispered uncertainly.

All of the tests both Princess Celestia and I have performed have proven that Valentino is amazingly receptive to magical alteration in many ways. He's even been magically proactive when a spell is cast on him.

I considered that perhaps his body reacted to the fear he had been feeling for so long. But proactive as he was I wasn't so sure that it would have been enough to facilitate this kind of corruption so quickly. It didn't make any sense and I was wracking my brain trying to think of what was going on. 

The closet door rattled again and Valentino silenced it with his bony hand. 

All at once I realized what I was doing. I was thinking, considering and planning but not consulting with Valentino. Twice now there was something suspicious about him and instead of asking him about it I was prepared to speculate. I had hardly said anything to him, Rainbow Dash had been talking to him this whole time and I only spoke up to defend myself.

Rainbow Dash reached out while I turned inward to find a solution. But that's not what Valentino wanted from me. He wanted me to be somepony that he could trust to reach out to him when he needed help. Not somepony who would simply act for his benefit.

"Valentino, what's in the closet?" I finally asked.


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


What was in the closet?

I went to the closet for a reason. I needed to get to the closet. That was the first thing I remembered.

That's where they were supposed to go after all.

What was they? What was in the closet?

"I don't know," I said.

"Oh. It's just that the door has been rattling and you seem really concerned about it," Twilight said.

"If I knew what was in the closet... it wouldn't be in the closet," I explained.

"W-what?" Twilight balked.

"Val, that doesn't make any sense," Rainbow Dash asserted.

"They are things..." I started, quickly pulling on information that I didn't know I had. But as I started, the shadows quickly filled my vision again.


-Twilight Sparkle – Private Record-


"They are going to lock us up for this," Valentino said, again with a somepony else's voice.  He had risen to his feet and was addressing the closet. His hands were clutching desperately at his head. The voice was high pitched and hysterical.

"Do ponies even have any cells to lock us in?" Valentino replied to himself in yet another voice. This one deep and calm.

"They'll send us to the moon,"

"I think that was a special case,"

"They'll send us to Tartarus!"

"I think they only send really bad and powerful types there,"

"Well whatever they do it won't be good!" 

"Then they just can't find out about it can they!?" The second voice screamed out in a sudden desperation. 

The self contained conversation stopped there and Valentino just remained silent while he stared at the closet door.

"Things that are kept hidden out of..." Valentino's voice returned to it's previous panicky tone, trailing off.

"Fear?" I suggested.

"Yes," he quickly confirmed.

"Valentino, I think your anxiety and fear might be strongly related to what's... happened to you," I started to explain.

Valentino lowered his head and looked down at his skeletal hands. "My fear... made me like this?" Valentino questioned with a strained tone.

"Maybe that Rook guy did something! He's probably been after us this whole time!" Rainbow Dash... aggressively suggested.

"I'd hope that I would notice if he was involved. His magic is very conspicuous if what we saw last time is anything to go off of. But it's possible. I'd like to think some... thing else was responsible for this. Otherwise Valentino, your magic isn't just very open to influence but... really unstable if it's been corrupted this quickly by your fear," I theorized, turning from Rainbow Dash and back to Valentino.

"Unstable? Of course..." Valentino said, not looking away from his bony hands. "I shouldn't have been imbued with such a dangerous thing," he stated firmly.

"Wait a minute Val! Twilight! If it's so unstable don't you think this would have happened before now!? What happened in the mine and everything!?" Rainbow Dash urged, rapidly looking back and forth between us.

"And his nightmare from last night. It's possible the fear could have compounded. But unless he's been in a constant state of panic... even then the last test I ran should have shown some kind of change..." thinking about the test and the rift I had put between me and Valentino caused me to trail off.

"Right! So I betcha five bits that it was that Rook guy!" Rainbow Dash insisted.

"Well, we won't know anything until I examine you Valentino," I said, channeling magic into my horn and preparing a spell. 

Valentino immediately flattened his back up against the closet door. "No!" he shouted. Rainbow and I both stared at him in shock. His lower jaw vibrated a little and his teeth chattered together. "You... promised..." he whispered.

No magic, that's right. Part of the terms he set to prove the sincerity of my friendship to him. "But this is an emergency Val, you even said to–" 

"Please... you promised," he whimpered. He was pressing up as hard as he could against the closet door. 

Lowering my gaze I stopped channeling my magic. "Okay," I finally muttered. After heaving a sigh I looked back up at Valentino and gave him the biggest smile I could. "We'll figure out how to fix this some other way," I said as confidently as I could.

Valentino just stared back at me. After a moment it happened again! For just an instant he reverted back to his old self.

"Val!" Rainbow Dash yelped, catching it this time.

Did my reassurance get through to him? Perhaps it was a simple matter of easing his fear. But the last time he reverted like that...

My ears flattened, expecting another screech but Valentino silently turned back around, staring at the closet again.

"In the nightmare there was..." he whispered after a long silence, pausing to pull the sleeve of his coat back and look at his skeletal arm. "Nothing but bones..." he looked down and then hurriedly scrambled through his coat pockets and found a small stack of folded up papers.

"When I w-was with Fluttershy she mentioned a nightmare I had and that P-Princess Luna had shown up as well," he stammered while his glowing green eyes flitted over the pages. "Do you t-think she might be able to help?" he asked.

"If your nightmares are related to what happened then maybe!" I said, trying to sound hopeful. "But we'll have to find where Spike has run off to today and get word to her," I explained.

"No problem! I'll fly out and find Spike in a flash!" Rainbow Dash eagerly volunteered.

"We could just walk," Valentino plainly suggested.

"Uh, I think it'll be faster to fly Val," Rainbow Dash argued.

"I mean to find Princess Luna," Valentino clarified.

"Um, she's all the way in Canterlot Val," Rainbow Dash explained.

"So we go this way," Valentino said before swinging the closet door open.

The inside of the closet was pitch black.

Rainbow Dash heaved out an exasperated sigh. "Val, that's an empty closet," she said.

"Valentino, where is all of my stuff?" I asked, noticing the dark and seemingly empty interior of the closet.

"In there with everything else," he said. 

At that point I noticed, the darkness of the closet creeping forward. Spreading out into tendrils of shadow, each of a varying size or shape. With another loud screech from Valentino the shadows retreated back further into the closet.

So far there was the glaring change in his physical appearance, a change in his natural visible perception, inconsistent, potentially telepathic, mental shifts and an external magical manifestation. He appeared to be able to assume some control over the manifestation though it required constant attention. Those loud screeches.

It was surprising that he was able to exert any kind of control. It was likely the corruption was manipulating his instincts. 

"How will this help us Valentino?" I asked calmly. Reassurance helped already. Not feeding into his fear was likely paramount to his recovery. 

"Dark things are... hidden... everywhere. Even in this place," he said. His tone was strangely even and his body was still.

After a pause his stillness was broken and he nervously glanced from side to side. "Actually," he said with a nervous laugh. "I think it's just..." he paused, lifting his right arm towards the shadows in the closet. "Magic," he said, quickly extending his bony fingers out from his palm. 

A large hole formed in the center of the shadows with that slight movement. Through the hole we could all see a door.

"A portal!?" I said, shocked. With just one simple motion Valentino was able to create a stable portal using an external magical manifestation and instinct. 

"This goes to Canterlot?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I think so," Valentino nervously responded.

Rainbow Dash gave him a questioning look and Valentino shrugged his shoulders in return. With a surprising lack of hesitation Valentino walked into the closet and moved towards the portal. With some hesitation on our part we followed after him.

Before he reached the entrance to the dark portal he stopped. Perhaps he wasn't as courageous about his own magic as it seemed.

It surprised me when he started laughing. It was quiet, broken laughter. 

"Skeleton in the closet... I get it," he said, laughing some more and turning back towards us. It was eerie, hearing the words and the laughter but not even seeing his exposed jaw move. It really set in with the backdrop of the constantly shifting darkness behind him.

"Ah, it's a human saying," Valentino clarified when we responded with only stunned silence. He turned and passed through the gap in the portal. From up close it was obvious that the darkness stretched a bit longer than it first seemed before emptying out on the other side. Rainbow Dash and I followed after him while staying close to the center of the path, away from the writhing darkness on either side.

"If someone has a skeleton in their closet it means they have a dark or shameful secret," Valentino quietly explained. "T-taken literally it implies someone has kept a corpse hidden for so long that it's decomposed into bones," he continued while he reached his hand out towards the blackness. A hand, or maybe a claw, reached back and the two briefly touched before the darkness recoiled. "That secret of course would be murder," he added at no prompt from us. At the end of that... grim... musing Valentino stepped through the threshold at the other end of the portal. 

Trepidation resurfaced in Valentino when he reached the door the portal led us to. With a jerky movement he pushed the door open and stepped backwards. Light streamed in and Valentino recoiled.

The door led out to the very guest room Valentino and I stayed in during his first... magical emergency. It was the closet of that very room. I couldn't help but wonder if it being a place that he had visited before or even the fact that it was a closet was significant in the magic he used to bring us here.  It likely was, but I didn't have time to dwell on it as Rainbow Dash was already rushing for the exit.

"We should probably talk to Princess Celestia first. Then we can get word to Princess Luna and with all of us working together we should have no problem reversing what has happened to you Valentino," I said. Despite the... unsettling method of travel we used I tried to stay positive and confident. For his sake anyways

"You saw him before right?" Rainbow Dash whispered after hovering closely to me. "He changed back for a second. That means he's gonna be okay right?" she asked.

"I hope so," I whispered back.

When we moved towards the exit Valentino remained planted in front of the closet door. He was shaking timidly. "What's wrong Valentino?" I asked.

"W-w-wh..." his stuttering was back with a vengeance. "What if I am s-seen? G-guards will they...?" his gaze turned away from us. He clutched at his head with one hand while the other pulled at his clothing. "Stop us? Detain us? Contain me? ... Kill me?" he whispered to himself. 

I walked right into his line of sight. "Nothing is going to happen to you while we're with you Valentino," I reassured him.

"That's right! Twilight's a Princess remember! So pretty much everyone's gotta listen to her! Even if she's with a spooky skeleton," Rainbow Dash... helpfully added.

Valentino looked between us briefly before nodding. 

When he took a step forward, away from the closet, the darkness that was inside surged out. It pooled around his ankles before climbing up his legs and under his coat. His coat bulged out from behind and he held the front closed with his hands. 

"Valentino... what was that?" I asked, baffled yet again by the behavior of this manifestation.

"Can't leave them there," he stated simply before moving forward.


--


As we rushed through the castle Valentino did manage to get some attention from the first guards we ran into who were on a routine patrol. I used the opportunity to shout about how there was an emergency and that we needed to find Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They eagerly gave us directions on where to find Princess Celestia and that was the last bit of hassle we received.

As we moved through the main hall of the castle Valentino's fear seemed to slow him down at every opportunity. Irrational worries and hesitation kept us at a stop and go pace. In the end I told Valentino that he didn't need to go any further, that he just needed to wait there in the hallway with Rainbow Dash and that I would go get Princess Celestia. He nodded and I ran off as quickly as I could.

I was lucky enough to run into Princess Celestia just a few turns off of the main hallway. She was surprised to see me but I wasted no time in explaining the situation as quickly as I could. Valentino's transformation, his nightmare and Princess Luna's involvement in a previous nightmare. 

Princess Celestia's eyes narrowed as I outlined the situation. Once I was finished she turned her head to the guards escorting her and instructed them wake up her sister and brief her on the matter. The normally stoic guards had a slight look of concern on their faces before quickly marching off. 

Once they were out of sight Princess Celestia asked me to take her to Valentino...


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


Light streamed in through stained glass, it seemed harsher than it should be.

As we waited unnecessary doubts filled my head. Will they be able to help me? Will they even want to? I would be stuck like this wouldn't I? Bones forever? 

I tried to fight back the doubts. Of course they would help. Twilight said they would, she just wants to help. Living bones are good enough even if they couldn't.

The... dark things... were squirming and struggling inside of my coat. I could feel them writhing and poking and prodding. After those times that my consciousness went briefly dark they would go still. 

Rainbow Dash repeated as much as she could that everything would be fine. 

Even though all I could see was that energetic bundle of multicolored electricity. What she said... it helped.

Until a bright light, harsher than what was streaming through the stained glass windows, appeared down the hall and moved quickly towards us.

It was large, and burned white and intense. I could hardly look at it.

It overshadowed everything. Everything else was cast in shadow while this blazing white source of light was there. Tendrils burned and flared off of it. It was incredibly intense, sickeningly powerful.

"Valentino?" it spoke.

It was Celestia.

The sun.

She was... wasn't she? She really did...? She commanded the sun itself.

She had incomprehensible power at her command then right? How else could she?

She could...

She would...

- Twilight Sparkle – Private Record -

When we approached Valentino took one immediate step backwards. Princess Celestia called out to him but he just stared back at her.

Then he took off faster than I had ever seen him move before.

The first door he came to he clawed at. His shaking skeletal hands couldn't manage the handle. When that didn't work he pounded, threw himself at the door, gasping and shouting. The bulging mass under his coat was squirming wildly.

Princess Celestia moved after him. "Valentino! What is–"

"No!" he screeched. In one movement he had that metal rod out, extended and pointed right at Princess Celestia!

"Y-you don't! Don't!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "Not one muscle I swear!" he shouted. His whole body was shaking, the metal rod was rattling. We were all just staring at shock and disbelief.

"Not one little glow of magic!" he yelled. Still trying to work the door with his other hand and failing to do so.

Princess Celestia tried her best to calmly reassure him. "Valentino please I'm–" 

"Ash!" he screeched. "I won't let you... I..." he stammered and stumbled backwards, still pointing his weapon at Princess Celestia.

Princess Celestia looked horribly concerned to see this reaction from Valentino. In spite of what he  was saying she went to move closer towards him.

Valentino screamed and thrust his empty hand forward. The darkness spilled out of his jacket through his sleeve, flowing like water out of a hose towards Princess Celestia. Her horn flared and she teleported immediately out of danger in a bright white flash. Princess Celestia reappeared right next to Valentino.

"I am not going to hurt you Valentino," she said firmly. Her expression still held concern but her tone was commanding. 

The darkness that he expelled receded back through his sleeve while it poured out again through the bottom of his coat. It surrounded both of them from above and below. The exchange had stunned not only me but Rainbow Dash as well. She just stared with her mouth agape. When the darkness started swirling around them I shook it off and ran closer with Rainbow Dash following swiftly behind me. 

When I got closer I noticed something odd about the darkness that had formed around them. The mass did not seem to be shapeless. When I got just to the side of them I was able to make out the shape of the silhouette and that sight froze me again in my tracks.

It was the head of a great dragon. I was sure of it, the mouth opened wide and the teeth long and strangely curved. The points aimed right at Princess Celestia. 

Valentino turned his head slowly to stare at Princess Celestia who firmly held her ground.

His hand was still outstretched and shaking badly. My heart was pounding while he hesitated. In this state I wasn't sure what Valentino was capable of. But Princess Celestia was boldly staring him down without fear. I was at least confident that she knew what she was doing.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she repeated in a softer tone. 

"I..." Valentino started to choke out. His hands were shaking even harder. "I... know..." he managed. The darkness around him started to shift and vibrate. Shifting in and out of it's shape. 

He started to take long and shaky breaths as he pulled his arms in to his chest. His baton fell out of his hand and hit the floor with a loud clatter. His hands clutched and wrenched at his clothing. "I know, I know," he repeated with more conviction. His breathing was only denoted by how loudly he did so. He made no motions, no rising or falling of his chests. Only his grasping skeletal hands moved.

As he breathed the darkness fell and began to circle around his and Princess Celestia's legs. She did not really seem to regard it and stared right at Valentino. 

Then, as he did before, Valentino quickly oscillated out of and back into his skeletal form. In fact as he continued breathing he started to revert back and forth constantly. In his normal physical form I could see his whole body lurch with each labored breath. His eyebrows were knit tightly and his teeth bared. 

He went back and forth between forms several times, the longer this went on the angrier he looked in his normal form. Then he started to... hit himself. Striking at his own head with balled up fists. With each strike he would shift back but just as quickly shift to his skeletal form again. He was growling and grunting loudly along with his breathing.

"It's fine! I'm okay!" he shouted. The darkness reacted, shifting quickly and vibrating. 

"Valentino?" Princess Celestia called out, taking a few steps back until she was out of the swirling mass.

In some way I was certain that he was fighting back his fear and in turn the corruption. I had always noticed that he would sigh a lot and take deep breaths when agitated. It was his way of subjugating and letting go of those feelings. But with his fear fighting back all the harder I didn't know if he would be able to.

Red sparks arced between Valentino and the darkness. He clutched at his head, took one more labored breath and...

Screeched.

It was as loud... maybe louder than the first time. I had to cover my ears and even Princess Celestia flinched back in pain. Through watery eyes I saw a skeletal Valentino with his head tilted back and his mouth wide open. That blackness vibrating intensely all around him. It lasted even longer than the one that signaled his transformation.

When it finally ceased and the ringing in my ears stopped I looked around. Guards were lined up and blocking off the hallway on either side of us. More guards were filtering in but those holding their positions quietly told them to return to their posts.

Princess Celestia must have recovered much faster than me because she was staring straight ahead with only a bit of concern on her face. It was likely her that gave instructions to the guards. Rainbow Dash had moved and was between us and the guards on our left but she was staring too. I followed their gaze to see Valentino. 

He was sitting with his back propped up against the wall. His knees were up against his chest and his bony hands were covering his ivory face. The dim glow of green peeked through the gaps in his bones. His whole body was trembling which caused his bones to rattle.

"He almost had it... right?" Rainbow Dash said, breaking the silence between the four of us. "I mean, he was changing back. Princess Celestia did you..." Rainbow Dash trailed off when she saw the look of concern on Princess Celestia's Face, smothering her assumption.

Unfortunately my previous assumption was correct. He had lost the battle with his own fear and it left him a shivering ball. At the very least he had stopped reacting violently to Princess Celestia. 

Every step forward seemed to follow another step back. But whether or not Princess Luna held the key to Valentino's transformation I still had an idea.

When Valentino tried to calm himself down it ended poorly. Just one deep breath led to a little screech. An all out battle with his fear yielded even worse results. But when he had a friend to rely on, somepony to reassure him and ease his fears, there was no reaction.

He was reacting to just about everything with fear and doubt. But the initial spark, the corrupting force, had to have manifested from something. If we got to that source and were there as his friends to see him through it then it was possible that we could erase the corruption.

But in order to get to that source we would need to... I would need to get him to open up about it. He kept so much to himself. I couldn't try to force it out of him though.

"Valentino?" I called out, taking a few tentative steps towards him.

He lowered one of his hands so that his eye socket was visible, the emerald light glowing softly within.

"What happened before you transformed again? What do you remember?" I asked.

He was only staring at me with his one uncovered eye at first. I was worried that he wouldn't respond at all but I just gave him an encouraging smile.

"Nightmare," he eventually whispered.

"Can you remember what happened in your nightmare? You mention... bones before?" I asked. I was only given a quiet mumble in response. "I'm sorry?" I said, urging a more audible response.

"It's not important," he said flatly.

"Valentino, if your nightmare is the source of all of this it might be–"

"It's not important!" he shouted. His bony hands slammed against the smooth floor and his skull quickly turned to face me.

"It is important Valentino!" I shouted back which caused Valentino to quickly shrink away from me. "I just want to help you Valentino. Once I learned about everything that's happened to you all I've wanted to do is help you. I'm trying to talk to you now and I need you to open up so I can help you. Please?" I pleaded.

I received yet another silent stare from Valentino before I heard him slowly take in a breath. That breath then was let out all at once in a sharp sigh as his body slumped forward. The darkness formed again along the wall behind him, completely hiding the door and the wall. This startled the guards but the clattering of armor was silenced by Princess Celestia clearing her throat.

"My brother joined the military. I didn't have much direction at the time so when I was eligible I followed after him," Valentino started to explain. His tone almost sounded defeated and he hardly moved as he spoke. The darkness shuddered and a multitude of silhouettes danced across the wall. A lot of the images I couldn't really recognize but I was able to see several lines of humans marching across the silhouetted dirt.

"It was only a few months after my deployment that... I was buried for the first time," he said. The darkness morphed into a new silhouette, a building.

"The first time?" I asked.

"Building was pretty weak, explosive hit what support was left and... buried us in the rubble," Valentino said. He was getting quieter and he was starting to tremble again. One hand came up and long ivory fingers covered his white teeth. It was a very odd thing to see. The silhouetted building crumbled into an unrecognizable pile.

"The rest of my squad was crushed. I was trapped," he said. "I was worried... but we were going to be reinforced. Any minute our troops would pour in. I'd scream for help. It would be fine. A little uncomfortable," he said.

He lifted his hands up in front of his face. They were shaking horribly. He finally turned his and looked at me. "I was trapped under there... for f-five days," he choked out. His breathing was as shaky as the rest of him. He was trembling even more than before. The darkness spread out again and formed a line of a dozen human shaped silhouettes. "At first... it was the smell that was the worst. My squad mates were rotting in the rubble. One was close. I could make out a bit of his uniform. There were a lot of flies," he recounted, clearly trying to rush through the events with short, rushed sentences. The silhouettes faded as he spoke into skeletons with flies buzzing around them.

The visual addition made the whole thing all the more surreal. Nearly everything that had occurred to Valentino always seemed so unreal. I couldn't imagine this kind of torment happening to anypony. He rarely spoke about the world he came from, was this why? Was it so horrifying?

"I didn't have much water. I got dehydrated pretty fast. My head was pounding. My tongue was sore and swollen. I got so tired. I wasn't..." he started to trail off and looked away from me. He brought his trembling hands up to his face and tightly covered his hollow eyes. "I tried to free myself at first but... I couldn't do it anymore. I was so tired... I was just waiting to die!" he sobbed. 

The wall had gone completely dark again. Well, there were a few strange spots were the darkness didn't reach. Valentino had gone silent aside from a few sobs he was desperately trying to choke back. I wondered what I could ever say. What kind of reassurance I could offer to an experience like his.

My thoughts were interrupted by an odd... rumbling sound? It sounded distant but it's strange occurrence caused us all to suddenly look around for the source. Then there was the sound of conversation, a lot of muffled voices. The source became clear all too quickly.

"Help!" was the prolonged screech that came from Valentino. Or rather a raspy sounding version of him that followed that scream with a sickening fit of coughs. 

Aside from the strange rumbling the other voices went silent. Through one of the larger gaps in the darkness covering the wall there was movement. A silhouette in that gap was what I assumed was the head of a human.

"Who's there!?" barked a new voice.

"M-Marine Corps!" Valentino struggled to shout back before breaking out into another sickening coughing fit. The shadow was quickly shoved aside and replaced with another.

"Val!?" it shouted through the gap. 

The darkness then slowly fell away, shoving it's way back into Valentino's coat. Valentino's hands were dropped at his sides and he had gone completely silent. The rest of us were no better. I don't think anypony had any clue what to say. Even some of the guards looked uncomfortable.

Valentino was actually the one to break the silence. "My military career didn't last long after that. I wouldn't go into any basements or anywhere underground for a good couple of years. Over time it eased and I started to fight against it. Eventually I only really got uneasy if I thought about it," he said, his tone had gone flat. He fidgeted slightly.

"But that was my nightmare. Trapped under that rubble with a bunch of rotting corpses. So dizzy and tired I could barely think. Waiting to die," he said grimly. "I put it behind me. But then I get buried again, then trapped. Then I'm back in that place. What next?" he asked in a cracking voice. He was looking at me again.

"Valentino..." I started, only to trail off. I was still at a loss.

"Nothing's gonna happen!" Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted, causing Valentino to jump a little. Her ears were pinned back and she had a very frustrated expression on her face. "We saved you from that box! I mean sure! That wasn't like, the smoothest thing but you were okay! And that thing happened in the mine but Twilight got you out in a couple of minutes! We fixed those things and we can fix this too! You're going to be fine! Whatever else might happen doesn't matter cause you've got us!" Rainbow Dash asserted. 

"She's right," I said. Finding the words I needed thanks to Rainbow Dash I turned to face Valentino again. "We've been here helping you this whole time. It might be rough sometimes. It might be new and strange, even unsettling. But in spite of that you've gone out of your way to help us when you could. You've put your own feelings aside for our sake and even for the sake of ponies you didn't even know... We are your friends Valentino. We won't let anything so... awful... happen to you again, ever," I said, stomping my hoof down to punctuate my point. 

"With your magic, I can't promise something else won't happen. But if it does we can fix it, just like we can fix this. You are safe. Like Rainbow Dash said you don't have to worry because you have us," I said, hoping desperately that our feelings could reach him.

Valentino stared. His skull wasn't the best at portraying his expression. He was silent though for a long time. Princess Celestia was just looking at all of us with a smile.


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


It was like a warmth in my chest. 

Hm.

It sounds kind of sappy when I write it like that but it really was a warmth in my chest that spread out all over my body. It washed over me and took the fear and the haze with it. A shadow crossed my vision for just a moment and caused me to blink.

Everyone looked normal. Normal as they could look anyway. No weird magic stuff, just a bunch of adorable ponies. They were looking back at me with relief on their faces. Looking down at my hands I could see why, no bones. I could relate, the speeches and reassurances manage to pull me out of what felt like an endless panic attack which was a tremendous relief on it's own. 

"It's a nice sentiment..." I attempted to say coolly in order to save face. I don't think it worked.

I tried to stand up. It was a little rough because I felt horribly exhausted but I managed to get up to my feet. Due in part to a blue shimmer that enveloped me and helped lift me up. The source of which ended up being one regal looking moon princess who was standing among the guards blocking off one part of the hallway. One whose mane flowed and glitter like the night sky but... seemed to be a bit disheveled in places. 

"I was not expecting to see such a transformation in you Valentino. I am glad that it has been undone so swiftly. The source however, remains," Princess Luna said in an even and somewhat haughty tone. Her horn was glowing and shimmering with her blue magic and so was I. Relief as well as not being in a blind irrational panic made it so I didn't really regard the magic. "But I can help," Princess Luna added.

Her magic that had enveloped me focused around my chest. With every heartbeat I could see an aura of read shine through the blue. Her magic condensed further around the red until it shone through despite my heartbeats. Princess Luna let out a small grunt and her magic glowed even brighter until the red completely dissipated.

Princess Luna let out a small huff and her magic dissipated as well. "There, it has been banished from you," she said. 

"Princess Luna, do you know what did this?" Twilight asked.

"You mentioned a few days ago an entity in the dreamscape?" Princess Celestia added.

"Yes, it has been a constant presence but I have managed to track it down since my initial confrontation inside Valentino's dreams. It is quite malevolent however and seems to be focused on you Valentino. It has made no move on any ponies," she explained.

"Great," I said sarcastically.

"It has been cautious while I have been tracking it across the dreamscape. It always gravitates towards you Valentino and it struck when I could not protect you," Princess Luna continued to explain. "In order to prevent something like this from happening again I would request that you do not sleep during daylight hours," she said firmly.

Now.

This was a pretty reasonable request. It was a small thing really.

Dream thing is out to get you so you don't nap when the dream princess can't protect you. Reasonable.

Maybe it's because I was tired. Maybe it's because of the emotional corruption roller coaster I just went on. Maybe it's just because it was that last little thing. Maybe it's because her "request" sounded more like a demand. Maybe it's because it was at least a week before I had a cigarette.

Regardless I went livid.

At first it was just a heavy feeling in my gut. The more I thought about it though the faster I was whipping myself up into a fury. I wasn't listening to Luna anymore, I was actually just trying to find a way out. There was the door I had been planted next to. I looked around at Twilight, Princess Celestia and all those guards. 

"Hey uh," I spoke up, calmly but loudly. "What's in here?" I asked pointing to the door.

"I believe that room is used for storage," Princess Celestia answered.

"Good, great. Could you all just maybe, uh, give me a minute?" I asked. It was difficult to speak, ever word felt like it could uncork a whole bottle of unpleasantness. My hand went to the door handle without waiting for a response.

"Valentino if–"

I quickly raised up a hand with my index finger lifted up. "Just one minute," I said through gritted teeth to Princess Luna.

"Valentino what's wrong?" Princess Celestia asked.

Open the door, walk through, shut the door. That's all I had to do. Disengage. Not the time or the place. Shouldn't even be like this, should feel good about not being a damn skeleton.

Yeah that's not what happened.

"The fuck do you think is wrong!?" I shouted, whipping around to give Princess Celestia a sharp glare.

Shock, lot's of shock. Celestia was pretty shocked but I think she was the least surprised.

"I've lost everything Princess! Everything! Starting with my whole god damn life, followed swiftly by any peace of mind I managed to salvage. I can't take a fucking nap on my own terms! Now! Now! You won't even give me a minute to have a meltdown in fucking privacy without jumping down my throat!" I screamed. While I screamed I pounded my fist against the wall. I was throwing a tantrum and it was on the verge of ending just as if I was a young child.

"So if you don't mind, maybe I can have the more embarrassing part of this breakdown in privacy!?" I shouted. I was greeted by stunned silence. I flung open the door and slammed it shut behind me as hard as I could.

So much for riding the high of friendship and good times to come.

I had wasted most of my anger on yelling. I got a few stomps into the room before I just slumped down onto the floor. There was a lot of muttering outside for a good while. I don't know how long. It's like being a scaredy skeleton opened up a whole flood gate of emotions. 

I don't know. I'm done speculating on why I was acting like a total ass.

Eventually I could hear the door creak open.

"Has it been a minute?" I asked bitterly. I managed to work through the worst of it but I was still exhausted and a little upset.

"About ten, actually," said the calm voice of Princess Celestia who made her way inside before shutting the door behind her. The room was pitch black but after a golden glow coming from her direction a dim light filled the small room.

"Well, that's something I guess," I mumbled.

A brief silence hung in the air, only broken up by the sound of hooves on the marble floor. Princess Celestia approached me but I remained sat and hunched forward with my back to her. 

"I have to apologize," she started.

"No you don't," I sighed, holding my head in my hands.

"No really," she insisted. "I've clearly managed to underestimate your situation," she explained.

"It's fine, I should be the one apologizing," I said, trying to wave it off. 

"Well yes, taking such a tone with a princess after attacking her deserves an apology at least," she said playfully which managed to get a tired huff of a laugh out of me. "But I regret not being more aware of the scope of everything you've been going through. I would have done more, instead things only seem to be getting worse," Celestia said regretfully.

"It's not your responsibility," I grumbled.

"I disagree," she said plainly.

The silence hung in the air again. No hoofsteps to break it up. Just an awkward pause.

"My sister seems to have a plan to banish the entity that has attacked you from the dreamscape. In the meantime I would like it if you would stay here in Canterlot," she finally proclaimed.

It really didn't mean much to me either way. "Saves me a train ride I guess. Don't think I can do any more skeleton magic," I said with a sarcastic wave of my hands.

"I'm glad you're so understanding," Celestia replied with equal sarcasm. The sound of hooves on marble started up again, moving away from me. "Things will get better Valentino... I promise," she said after reaching the door.

Maybe it was because of what happened before, I don't really get enthusiastic about promises like that. But that warm feeling came back again. I couldn't even muster up a sarcastic response.

"Hey, if you are leaving could you get Twilight for me?" I asked before the door creaked open.

"Of course," Celestia said before exiting the room.


--


It didn't take long for the door to creak open again and quietly shut again. I looked back over my shoulder to see Twilight standing hesitantly by the door.

"Twilight, come on over," I said, patting the floor next to me and turning my head back forward.

I only heard one hesitant hoof hit the marble floor before Twilight started talking. "Valentino, I'm so–"

"Twilight," I said louder to cut her off. Whatever it was she wanted to say could wait. I casually lifted my arm and waved her over. "Come on," I mumbled.

Her steps had irregular pauses and one full stop before she was standing in my peripheral vision. I slowly looked over to my right to see her staring back with a nervous expression. After a brief sigh I reached over and wrapped my arm around her neck and pulled her against my chest. 

"Ah!" she exclaimed softly in surprise. I brought my other hand up to wrap around her neck and I buried my face into her mane. Her surprise was brief and she quickly relaxed in my embrace.

"Twilight... thank you," I managed to mumble out into her mane.

"For what?" she asked.

"For putting up with me. For looking out for me. For helping me through this..." I said. I fidgeted with her mane a little as a pushed my face into her neck a little harder. "... For being my friend," I finished. It was probably the first time I had said "friend" in a way that wasn't at least a little bit sarcastic or patronizing.

Twilight let out a little gasp. She pulled away before I felt her front legs wrap around my chest. We just stayed in that embrace for a little while in silence. 

"As for the whole punishment thing," I started, finally pulling away from Twilight. "Obviously, don't worry about it any more. That was kind of dumb," I said. "I mean you still goofed up with the whole magic thing. But I was feel like I was kinda harsh about it. I was treating you like one of my old co-workers and that's not really cool. So sorry I guess," I awkwardly apologized. Twilight just shook her head.

"No you had, you have, every right to be mad and frustrated," she responded.

"Still... I dunno," I said with a shrug. There was more silence.

"Princess Celestia wants me to hang out here while Princess Luna deals with that dream thing," I mentioned.

"Oh, well, if Princess Celestia says so," she said.

"Yeah, she said Princess Luna has some kind of plan but who knows how long it will take. Maybe we should go talk to one of them," I said.

"Well Princess Luna left already, we might be able to find Princess Celestia," Twilight said confidently. "Oh, and Rainbow Dash is worried about you too, you better talk to her," she mentioned.

"I'm worried Rainbow Dash might think I'm gonna ease up on her just because she helped me become not a skeleton," I said, getting up to my feet. 

"I don't think you've ever given her that impression," Twilight said with a smirk.

I shrugged as I walked over to the door and pushed it open. Rainbow Dash was waiting just outside and her expression quickly flashed from concerned to smug. 

"Hey nerd," I said.
> Chapter 9 - Introspection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


"...scuse me!" I heard as I was brought out of a deep sleep by something softly nudging my side.

I peeked through one barely opened eye and managed to see something reaching up onto bed, barely illuminated in a very dim light. I was laying on my stomach, so I used my arms to push myself and support my upper body while I tried to blink my hazy vision away. The something that was nudging into me scrambled backwards and positioned herself just in my line of sight beside the bed. 

"Good morning!" it cheerily proclaimed. As my eyesight adjusted I could see that it was an unfamiliar pony. A lightly colored coat and striking green mane was all I could make out at first. 

"...Huh?" was all I was able to get out, looking at the strange pony and then around at the rest of the room. It was still pitch black outside and the only thing illuminating the guest room I was staying in was a small lantern on a nearby table. In my muddied state I was fairly confused. "What time is it...?" I asked, hoping for the answer to give me a decent excuse to insist on going back to bed.

"Oh, dawn should break any second now! I was instructed to wake you up before Princess Celestia raised the sun!" the mare, I assumed, told me.

It all came flooding back, I was on a strict sleep schedule. With the realization I let the strength out of my arms and fell face first back into my pillow. "Right..." I groaned, muffled by the cushion.

"Um..." uttered the pony, stepping closer to the bed.

I rolled onto my back and turned my head to look at the pony again. Seeing that I was still awake she stepped back again and gave me a small smile.

"Who are you?" I asked plainly. She had no horn and no wings. An earth pony. 

"Oh, my name is Olive Branch!" she said proudly. She was very chipper. Her eyes were blue, I finally noticed, a deep shade of blue. Her mane was a bit wavy and favored her right side. She had a golden clip keeping her long mane out of her face, she was also wearing a small white vest which was... pretty adorable. "I'm here to make sure your specific needs are met!" she continued, showing off a wider smile.

"And if I need more sleep?" I immediately asked, laying my forearm over my eyes.

"Um... well..." Olive started to stammer. "I received very specific instructions about your sleep schedule from Princess Celestia and P-Princess Luna. Under no circumstances are you to be asleep during daylight hours unless supervised by Princess L-Luna herself," she nervously confirmed my suspicions. 

After the skeleton incident I decided to go along with Princess Celestia's request that I stay in Canterlot until Princess Luna could figure out what to do about the boogieman in dreamworld. I was reminded about how important it was I not sleep until nightfall, when Princess Luna was up and monitoring such things. I was given an unfamiliar guest room on the ground floor of the castle. It had a sort of pale teal theme in it's coloring. Also it had moon and star symbols patterned onto a lot of things.

Despite still being fairly worried about me I encouraged Rainbow and Twilight to go home. Figured I wasn't going to get any more well looked after than I was at Canterlot and they still had their own obligations back in Ponyville. They didn't need to hang around and participate in my own little pity party. As much as I appreciated having them around I wanted some time alone to get back into a decent head space. With how I flew off the handle at Celestia I was worried about being on a hair trigger. I was just starting to appreciate my pony friends so I didn't want to start pushing them away with my current attitude problem.

Twilight was easier to convince than I thought. She vaguely mentioned that the timing actually worked out for her, which was kind of weird. I didn't really question it though, don't look a gift horse... hm. Anyways, Twilight stayed a for a little but was soon enough out the door to let Princess Celestia know she was leaving and catch a train back to Ponyville. I saw her off with a big hug.

Rainbow Dash was less convenient to convince but she eventually relented. Though she did opt to stick around later, citing that she would just fly back to Ponyville. Seemed like a lot of work to me but she was the athletic type. 

We talked a little while she hung around. She seemed interested in my military career. There wasn't a whole lot I could get into without having to go on an endless tirade of explanations. I did mention though that there wasn't much to mention as there wasn't much to my military career. Following the whole... incident, which was just a few months after my deployment, as well as a couple of other things, I wasn't exactly deemed fit to carry out my duties in the military and given the boot only about seven months into my deployment. Rainbow Dash teased that it was because I was a wimp, I agreed but in a somber tone that made Rainbow Dash immediately apologize. I told her not to worry about it, that it was in the past. She seemed a little concerned but didn't press the issue.

Once the sun was down I announced I was going to bed and Rainbow Dash got ready to take off. I saw her off by catching her in a headlock and messing up her mane. 

So that left me in the awkward situation with the pony I didn't know waking me up at o' dark hundred. Frankly I was expecting some kind of magic nonsense, so I was happy for the more down to earth solution. Expecting me to maintain the schedule on my own was a joke. 

"Well..." I groaned, lifting myself up to a sitting position. "I'm up, I guess you can go back to bed," I said, rubbing my eyes.

"Oh no no no! I can't leave you! It's just like I said, I'm here to make sure all your needs are met!" she repeated happily.

I slowly turned my head and gave her a flat look. "...Huh?" I grunted in much the same way as the first time.

My inquiry only seemed to delight the excitable and bubbly pony further. "I've been completely briefed by Princess Celestia herself!" she announced proudly.

"Oh great..." I sighed, leaning over to the edge of the bed and reaching down to the mess of clothes I left behind before I climbed into bed. With no pony to snuggle up to I happily went without anything. 

"Oh yes!" Olive exclaimed, oblivious to my tone. "After such, uh... difficulty... in your transition here you need somepony who can help you adjust while tending to your specific needs as a human! I have a lot of experience!" she explained. I wanted to comment on her wording but I decided to leave it alone. She seemed easily flustered and I still had questions.

"Experience?" I asked dubiously. I managed to snag my underwear and pulled them on while keeping under the covers.

"Well, I mean, not with humans specifically. But I've been constantly working hard to help expand and maintain Equestria's cultural relations and understanding! I've worked with a lot of ambassadors and representatives from all over!" she said, her pride still very evident.

"And now you're stuck taking care of the human refugee. I'm so sorry," I said teasingly. I threw the covers off, brought my legs to the edge of the bed and let my feet hit the floor.

"Oh," Olive mumbled, slowly looking me up and down. "Oh! No no no! This is a wonderful opportunity for me! I can only benefit from being able to interact with such a unique species! I'm looking forward to getting to know you better!" she said and flashed me a big smile. She seemed to have an endless supply of enthusiasm.

"Uh, yeah," I mumbled while looking around the unfamiliar room. When I stood up Olive's eyes seemed to follow me. I popped all of my stiff joints and collected all of my clothes off the floor before just dumping them on the bed.

"Actually I was hoping that we could talk a little before your brunch with Princess Celestia, if you don't mind of course," she said, following me as I moved towards the bathroom.

"My what with who?" I asked, stopping in my tracks.

"Oh! Right! Princess Celestia scheduled to have brunch today and she wanted you to join her! Isn't that exciting!?" she said gleefully.

"Thrilling," I answered flatly while continuing again to the bathroom.

Olive Branch continued to follow right behind me, stopping just short of the door.

"Please call if you need anything!" she said as I entered. I said nothing as I quietly closed the door behind me.

Despite the pony waiting on me I took my time in the bathroom. The bathroom was great. Twilight's library... house, bathroom couldn't really be expected to compare to this castle's facilities. I had quite the long and relaxing shower. I probably spent a good forty-five minutes in the shower before I started to feel guilty for making Olive wait. The soap was a little more floral than I'd have liked but obviously that was a small complaint. Once I was done I got a towel and dried my body off. Once I was dry enough I threw my underwear back on and walked back outside.

I still had the towel and was roughly using it to dry off my hair. While my hair was still a little damp ran my hands through it to pull it back and keep it out of my face until it finished drying. I kept the towel around my neck and noticed that Olive was sitting patiently on the bed, which had been made.

"Please come have a seat!" she said happily.

"Uh, yeah, just a sec," I said, walking over and grabbing my pants, which had been folded, off of the bed and pulling them on. Once I was zipped up and button I slumped onto the bed. "So what's up?" I asked, glancing over at her.

Now when I sat down I would say I kept an appropriate amount of distance between two recently introduced individuals. Olive branch wasted no time in scooting closer to me until I could practically feel the hairs of her mane lightly brushing against me. Then she reached over and grabbed my hand between both of her hooves and gently pulled it in front of her. She supported my arm with one of her front legs and gently started petting my hand with her other hoof. Before I could even think on how awkward it was she turned her big blue eyes on me. All I could manage was a slight raise of an eyebrow before she started speaking.

"More than anything I want you to know that I'm here for you if you need to talk. If you're feeling frustrated or isolated or upset or anything I want you to feel like you can come to me with anything. I know it's been very, very hard for you and I want you to feel like you can rely on–" I pressed the index finger of my free hand against the tip of Olive's nose to cut her off. Yet again it was proven quite effective as Olive cutely crossed her eyes to look at the source of the sensation on her nose.

"I eh... appreciate it Olive," I said, pulling my other hand away from her reassuring grip. "I think I sort of burned through my emotional highs yesterday though. I just really want to relax right now," I explained, trying not to sound too unappreciative of her concern.

"O-of course!" she said, quickly standing up. "I just wanted you to feel like you could talk to me just in case!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I'll keep you in mind then," I relented. She smiled at that.

"Don't worry!" she said hopping off of the bed. "If you need to relax I can help with that too!" she said proudly.

I really wasn't sure how to take a lot of what Olive Branch was saying.


--


I was led through the halls by the enthusiastic Miss Olive Branch to go have brunch with Princess Celestia. I had my dress shirt and slacks on. Didn't bother with my coat or tie. The time we spent talking was relatively uneventful. I was informed of her experience with all sorts of species from Griffons to Minotaurs. Internally I hoped I wouldn't be meeting any new species any time soon. One new pony in my life was already throwing me off.

When we approached our destination Olive stopped a ways back. When I turned to ask if she was coming she emphasized that it was my meeting with the Princess. She said she would be back later when I was done. All I could do was shrug before continuing on to the guarded room. For some reason it seemed like the guards were somehow acting even more aloof than before. But they didn't say anything to me so I just ignored them.

Inside was the Princess herself who beamed once she saw me enter.

"Valentino, please come in, have a seat," she said as I slowly made my way through the entrance. The door promptly shut behind me as I looked around the unfamiliar room. 

There were large windows on the far end of the room that let in a lot of the mid morning light. Thin, translucent white curtains were pulled to the sides of the windows. There was a large circular table in the center of the room with long white table cloth. It didn't come very high off the ground, still there was a short stool available for me to sit on. On top of all of that there was quite a lot of food already set out on the table. There was another door further back on the right wall of the room and a cart parked next to it.

There were... a lot of pancakes. Lot's of variety and piled high. Also lot's of precisely cut fruits and berries arranged artistically on different platters. There was some more variety as well, eggs cooked in a variety of ways, potatoes and biscuits. It was a lot of food to be certain but there was only one other place set at the table. Instead of being put at the opposite end of the table Princess Celestia had a spot set up for me to her left. 

"I wasn't expecting such an enthusiastic alarm clock," I said, taking a seat on the stool provided.

"Isn't she sweet? Olive was very excited to meet you," Princess Celestia said with delight.

"I could tell, so she was your idea then?" I said.

"Well I had to do something, you sent Twilight and Rainbow Dash home so quickly and I couldn't leave you by yourself," she said.

"And now I have the honor of sharing a meal with Princess Celestia," I said with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Well I think we still have a lot to discuss. Besides, brunch is a great meal to share with important guests," she returned.

I made a show of looking around the room. "Well, where are they?" I teased.

A single blueberry launched itself at me and I caught it in my mouth. The only sign of foul play was a faint golden glitter around Celestia's horn. Her expression betrayed nothing and in fact turned serious.

"So, Valentino," she said, turning her gaze to me. I raised an eyebrow at her. "About yesterday..." she started in an even tone.

I leaned back and let out a loud groan. "Didn't we already talk plenty about yesterday... yesterday!?" I complained.

"I was hesitant to talk at length, I wanted to give you some time to cool off," she said, using magic to pile a large stack of pancakes on her plate.

"Can I ask for an extension?" I grumpily asked.

"Valentino..." she said, shooting me a disapproving look.

I heaved a large sigh and vaguely motioned for her to continue with one hand while I used the other to prop my head up as I slumped forward.

"Valentino, what has been bothering me the most is how you reacted when you saw me," she said, a somewhat gloomy expression spreading across her face.

"I don't think you should put a lot of stock into how I acted as a fear skeleton," I said flatly.

"I understand the influence you were under. But the fact remains that when you saw me you acted as if you thought that I was going to... hurt you," Princess Celestia said, clear hurt in her voice. "In spite of the corruption those feelings had to stem from something and if you actually think that I would try to hurt you I want to know," she said firmly.

In the wake of how this was affecting her my own expression softened and I had to let out a breath before pulling myself back into an upright position. "I don't think you would try to hurt me. You were just a big, bright thing that showed up and I was a small, paranoid, vulnerable thing. You could have hurt me very easily and that was good enough to kick me into a panic," I explained. I kept a serious tone and stared right into her eyes as a spoke.

She looked back at me for a moment and then seemed to relax a little. "I see," was all she said at first, looking back to the food in front of her.

"Do you think I would have decided to stick around if I was really that scared of you?" I asked, snagging a few pieces of fruit off of a nearby platter and dropping it onto my plate.

"No I..." Celestia let out a sigh of her own. "I apologize Valentino. It's just something that's been on my mind all morning," she said looking over and giving me a smile.

"Don't worry about it," I said, filling up my plate with more food.

"Besides, you couldn't have been that afraid of me the way you started screaming at me. Not just in front of my sister but also my guards and Twilight," she said with a giggle.

"I've never been particularly smart in dealing with authority," I said, causing to Celestia to giggle even more.

"Well, I have already warned you about your behavior towards Princesses," she said with a smile.

"If things go bad I'll just have to use my good looks and firm rear to get myself out of trouble," I said with forced seriousness.

The call back to one of our previous conversations managed caught Celestia off guard. It took quite a bit for her to maintain some semblance of composure and she spent quite some time laughing into her hooves before she could look me in the eye again.

Once she calmed down we started eating.

The food I have to say was fantastic. It was as fresh as I have come to expect from the food in Equestria. Everything was expertly made, I couldn't complain in the least. In fact I would say I'm a little bit envious. Princess Celestia seemed to really like the pancakes. 

We spent a small amount of time enjoying the meal before Princess Celestia a small trickle of syrup from her mouth and started talking again.

"My sister wanted to speak with you last night but she says you went to sleep right away. Not only that but you had no dreams to speak of," Celestia said.

"Well it was kind of a long day," I said, picking up a napkin to wipe my own mouth with.

"I thought you might be hesitant to sleep with all the nightmares you've been having along with the threat of this entity," she said.

"I don't usually dream at all. I think it just happened because cause I slept during the day and the thing came after me," I said.

"Twilight claimed you've been kept up at night with nightmares," Celestia said.

"That..." I started, slowly coming to the realization of the situation I was in before trailing off.

"What is it?" Celestia asked.

"Oh god," I groaned, running my hand over my face. "Okay look, I have to be honest with you," I said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"What Twilight was talking about... really... wasn't a nightmare," I admitted, looking away from Celestia.

"I don't understand," Celestia said flatly.

I groaned and buried my head in my hands. "I had a weird sex dream and I didn't want to talk about it. She thought I was up because of a nightmare so I just went along with it," I said through my hands, defeated.

Celestia still sounded confused. "I didn't think you would have a problem talking about that rather than a nightmare," she said.

I pulled my hands away from my face and looked Princess Celestia dead in the eye. "The dream was about her," I said grimly.

Celestia's eyes went wide at first. Then I could see the faintest smile creep onto her face and she leaned towards me a little. "Twilight, you mean?" she asked as innocently as she could.

"Well, okay look!" I said, snapping up to defend myself. "The dream didn't really get that far, alright," I said.

"How far did it get," she asked.

I shot her an unimpressed look. "Really?" I asked.

"I'm just curious, I didn't know you were interested in Twilight," she said, her smile growing larger.

"I'm not interested in Twilight," I said flatly.

"Well if your dreaming about–"

"I woke up in a cold sweat," I interrupted.

"You seem flustered Valentino, the way you talk normally it seems like this wouldn't be a big deal for you," Celestia teased.

"Talking is easy! Joking is fine! Actually thinking about doing.... no, sorry, not quite there yet," I said dismissively.

"Yet?" Celestia questioned in a sing song tone.

"You know I shouldn't have told you any of this," I groaned.

"If you want I can help get... accustomed to the idea of–"

"Stop," I said, glaring at her. Celestia laughed but thankfully for my pride she dropped the subject.

Every encounter with the Sun Princess seemed like a losing battle. It seemed like there was very little I could do to phase Celestia. Still... I had fun.

Once we finally finished eating a few servants wandered in to clear the table. Unlike the guards who had a practiced aloofness I wasn't free from a few odd looks from the staff clearing out the leftovers. Once they were gone Princess Celestia turned to me with a more serious expression.

"My sister is quite confident in her ability to banish the entity that seems to be hunting you. She is less confident in her ability to track it down or predict it's movements. She still wishes to discuss it with you personally, I was hoping you would make some time for her this evening," Celestia said.

"Yeah sure," I said, standing up and stretching a bit. 

"Besides that I'm sure Olive has some things planned for you. I don't think you'll be too bored," she said with a smile.

"Well then I better not keep her waiting I guess," I said, glancing towards the door.

Before I could make a move however I felt a tug. I could barely react to Princess Celestia's magic as it pulled me over and she caught me in her hooves. The side of my face pressed into her neck while her front legs wrapped around me, hugging me tightly. 

"I seem to recall that this is an ancient human technique for lifting spirits. I thought that you might need it," Celestia said, tightening her grip a little. 

I let out a soft chuckle and put one arm around her neck. She was still as warm as I remembered and she had a soft floral scent to her, with maybe a hint of vanilla...

It was a relaxing. 


--


"Please follow me!" was the first thing Olive said to me when I stepped outside. She quickly started trotting down the hall and with a shrug I followed after her. I kept an unhurried pace so she quickly got some distance ahead of me. It didn't seem like we had that far to go though and she didn't have anything to talk about on the way.

A few quick turns and I already lost track of where I was in relation to the rest of the castle. I made a mental note to ask for a map or something. Eventually Olive found the right door and pulled it open before waiting for me to catch up. 

"Please come in!" the peppy pony said with a smile, holding the door for me.

with a nod I crossed the threshold into... a pretty average looking room. Looked kind of like an office actually. Lots of browns and greens decorated the room. There was a large potted plant in one corner of the room and a long... bench I guess, running along the back wall. The bench was a dark polished wood with large green cushions on top. 

What really stood out was the large desk. There were piles of papers strewn all over the surface of the desk. But besides that there were photo's stood up all over the desk and decorating the wall behind the desk. There were photo's of Olive Branch with all kinds of ponies, griffons and... what I guessed was at least one minotaur. There were some other creatures I couldn't really place. Of the ponies there was a lot of variety. There were quite a few who had a royal look about them and were probably involved in some politics.

"Those are all the friends I've managed to make since I've started working here," Olive Branch said, noticing how I immediately walked over to the desk and started looking over the photo's. "I've made so many! It's hard to keep up with the letters some times," she mentioned. Without missing a beat she started dragging sections of the bench lining the far wall into the center of the room. 

"Do you need some help with that?" I asked.

"Oh no no no! I'll be done in a just a second!" she said, dashing over and grabbing another section. She repeated the process with a third section until there was a long line of seating in the center of the room. Each section was probably big enough for a pony to lay down on and then some. "Okay! Please sit!" she said, pointing a hoof to the center of the seating she had just set up.

I casually walked over and sat on the center section, crossing one leg over the other. I was curious just what this pony was up to.

She pulled a stool from her desk and set it right in front of me. Then she started bringing over papers and setting them down next to me. Once she was done she got up on her stool and flashed me another big smile.

"Please take off your shirt!" she said.

"... Huh?" I asked.

"Oh! Um, well I Princess Celestia gave me access to the records she had about you–"

"–Records?"

"Oh! It seems that Princess Twilight had sent a lot of information about you to Princess Celestia when–"

"–Ah, that, right. Okay, but why do you want me to take my shirt off?"

"Well while you were meeting with Princess Celestia I was going over these records. I noticed a large section about your health and physiology. With everything that's happened I thought I'd give you a little check up and make sure you were doing okay!" Olive explained.

"I didn't know you had experience in the medical field," I said, already unbuttoning my dress shirt. It didn't seem totally unreasonable and playing along seemed harmless. Besides, who knew if turning into a skeleton messed up my heart rate or something.

"Well, I know what anypony knows really and I have these notes. I just thought it wouldn't hurt to check!" she said happily as I tossed my dress shirt aside and pulled off my white undershirt, tossing it to the side as well.

Olive spent a moment looking me up and down before hopping down off of the stool and up beside me on the bench. She looked down at the pages spread out beside her for a moment before stepping closer and pressing the side of her ear against my chest. She stayed like that for about a minute before pulling away and checking the notes again. She had a very serious expression on her face while her eyes darted from page to page. Once her eyes stopped on a section Olive's face lit up. Then she started scanning the pages again.

Watching the earth pony work gave me a little more appreciation for how skilled they were in using what they had. They had greater dexterity and range of motion in their forelimbs than I often gave them credit for. Living with Twilight I saw more glowing floating objects than anything else. Also Spike, Twilight's assistant, had hands. Yet Olive was only hindered by her own lack of organization, losing track of the papers she looked away from for just a moment. 

After giving a full once over, checking my temperature, looking inside of my mouth, things like that, I asked her if I was healthy.

"I... think so!" she said with an uncertain smile.

I let out a small laugh and Olive started gathering up the pages that were now pretty well scattered and quickly putting them back on her desk.

I leaned over to get my shirt. I didn't really pay any attention to Olive who quickly came back over and jumped up onto the bench beside me. What I did notice was the cool feeling of her hoof press lightly into my back.

"Geh!?" I shouted, jumping slightly and snapping back upright.

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry!" Olive said.

"No... eh, don't worry about it. Back is just a little sensitive," I mumbled while I shook off the shiver running through my back.

"Oh, I see. Do you mind if I continue?" she asked.

"Continue?" I repeated back at her with a raised.

"Just to help you relax," she said plainly, with the same big smile she had been giving me all day. She followed that up by pressing both of her hooves against my exposed back as gently as she could. I still tensed up a little when her hooves touched me but it was less of a surprise at least. I quickly caught onto the gist of what she was doing as she started rubbing her hooves into my back. I expected about as much from Olive's attempt at a massage as her attempt to perform a health check. Enthusiastic but ultimately awkward.

Holy hell did she know what she was doing. In seconds I was leaning back into her hooves, letting out involuntary gasps and just making a fool of myself in general. When it comes to massages I'm a bit of a coin toss. My sensitivity isn't that big of a deal once it gets going but I really don't have a lot of patience for mistakes. But I do like massages which is a shame because I've walked out on more masseuses than I care to admit. Olive on the other hand, was some kind of saint.

"You–geh–you do this to all the foreigners that come to visit?" I groaned back at Olive.

Olive giggled a little at my comment. "No, I just thought that you might really need it," she said before gently encouraging me to lay down on my stomach. I was easily able to lay across the bench and Olive quickly got back to work. "I think I might be really excited to just find myself in a new land with new creatures to talk with and get to know," she said, her tone becoming more somber. "But I know that I'm probably pretty unique that way. Anypony else would probably be scared or upset at first.  It doesn't sound like it's gotten any easier for you either. I thought I could do this for you at least," she said.

"Well, I'm not–god–I'm not complaining. But–jeez–how did massaging come to mind?" I managed to ask.

Olive giggled again. "My mom actually runs a spa here in Canterlot! I would help out here and there. Most of the customers are nobles or ponies who live and work here in Canterlot. Every once in a while though a foreign dignitary or ambassador would stop in. I always knew how to talk to them and working with them was always just... easy! That's sort of how I figured out what my... I mean, well, I learned how to give a massage to just about anyone after a while," she said.

"Mmm," was all I could muster back at her. I was starting to nod off under her ministrations.

"Oh! Please, remember you can't fall asleep until night time!" Olive Branch quickly reminded me.

I let out a loud groan and forced my eyes open. "Fine, but I expect you to take me to this spa of yours while I'm still here in Canterlot," I said grumpily.

I couldn't see her, but by the tone of her voice I could guess that Olive's face lit up. "Of course! I'd love to!" she said.


--


As I spent more time with Olive Branch I noticed that it got easier and easier to talk with her. She was very open with me and I found myself being just as open with her. I found out that her love life has been as... diverse... as one might assume. Though as it stands she's very happy with her current "coltfriend". In return I told her about my history but she always seemed to stop me before I could go into any real detail. 

I ended up telling her about my brunch with Princess Celestia. Well... at least the talking points. She was mostly interested in the fact that I had basically set up a meeting with Princess Luna. This made her determined to get me back to my room before night fell and make sure all the right ponies knew to tell Princess Luna right where she could find me. She was diligent to say the least.

Eventually we got onto the topic of my work history. I aired all the same complaints I had about my co-workers. But I did manage to tell her about some of the people I did like working with. The chief of police, the one that had the position when I... well when the whole coffin thing happened, was a good guy. Strong, determined, really what the place needed. The medical examiner was also a great lady. I really respected her work. 

"Do you miss them?" Olive asked.

I hadn't really thought about it. Such recent changes in my life, I was only just then starting to feel confident about my career. Then there was the whole mess that was being taken over by the feds and I was just carrying those feelings around the whole time. Talking with Olive made me remember more about what I left behind. "... Yeah," I answered after a brief silence.

She didn't press the subject. Instead we talked about food for a while until Olive decided to go get dinner. We ate together in her little office. The food was still fantastic. Olive apologized for the lack of variety for someone with a more diverse diet. I waved it off, as good as the food was it didn't matter to me.

Once we finished Olive walked me back to my room and instructed me that I should wait there for Princess Luna. She insisted that she could come back later if I wanted anything but I told her to take off and thanked her for hanging out with me. She smiled, just like she always did, and said good night.

So a long day of talking with ponies was about to come to an end with more talking with ponies.

With everything that had been happening previously I could only hope that it would end so uneventfully.


--


I was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling while I awaited the arrival of Princess Luna. I was wondering if I could find some furnishings with decent back support in pony land. I was never really crafty, just do the best I can with what I have. That line of thinking didn't really go very far but it was all I could latch onto without dwelling on grimmer things.

Eventually the door creaked open and I lifted myself up to a sitting position so I could see the Princess herself standing in the entrance of my room. Two guards flanked her on either side, their armor didn't share the sunny disposition of those I had seen before. They did however, remain outside of the room so I didn't get a much better look at them.

"Yo," I said, lacking anything else to say in greeting.

"Good evening Valentino," she said, crossing completely into the room and allowing the door to shut behind her. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me," she said politely. She always seemed very formal, somewhat commanding. You know, what you'd expect of a Princess ruler of the night I supposed. Celestia on the other hand gave off a feeling of warmth and benevolence. Though she certainly has a more playful and curious side to her. I had to wonder what other sides Princess Luna had, if any. I knew that she had a dark side, once upon a time. But I don't know if that counted what with all the magic crap involved. Maybe for ponies it did but I don't know.

"Nah," I said with a chuckle. "All I seem to have left is time. You're the busy one I bet, so thanks for coming just to see me," I returned.

For whatever reason my statement seemed to catch Princess Luna off guard, she blinked a couple of times and then cleared her throat. "Yes, well, there are some important things we do need to discuss. Concerning you and the entity that seems to be after you," she said, quickly finding her decorum.

Curiosity demanded that I be... insistent. "In fact now that I think about it," I said, looking straight into her big blue eyes. "It seems like you've been getting me out of trouble ever since I was... well since I came to Equestria. I owe you quite a lot," I said, trying to sound as grateful and sincere as I could.

Princess Luna stared back at me again. Then her gaze started flick away and back again. If I didn't know any better I'd say her cheeks got a little red. "I-it is not as if I could stand idly by while I knew you were suffering. I have only helped in what small ways I can," she said.

"Still," I said, sliding down the edge of the bed and bringing myself closer to the Moon Princess who still stood by the entrance staring. I looked back up at her sincerely. "If there's anything I can do to repay you, please let me know," I said softly. Her eyes seemed to widen. 

"Please–" she very nearly shouted, her tone rising incredibly. She caught herself again and cleared her throat before continuing. "Please Valentino, I... appreciate it, but I am only doing my duty and there is still much to be done," she said.

"Sure," I relented having had my fun but making sure to keep my expression static. 

"Do you remember the creature that attacked you in your dreams?" she asked plainly.

"Somewhat," I answered immediately.

"Do you recognize anything about it? Anything familiar at all?" she asked.

"No...?" I answered questioningly.

"I am merely wondering if it is something that might have followed you from your world," she clarified.

I quickly shook my head. "It may have had some human looking bones and a skull. But I can guarantee you that we don't have any dream monsters where I come from or moving, talking skeletons for that matter," I said.

"I see..." she said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"I take it they aren't that common around here either," I said.

"There is no history of such a creature that I know of or have been able to find, I had hoped that you would have some insight," Princess Luna said with a sigh.

"Does it matter? Princess Celestia said that you seemed pretty confident that you could... get rid of it," I said, growing a bit worried myself.

"If it were that I could find it then I have no doubt that I could banish the creature!" Princess Luna said, raising her voice and stamping her hoof on the floor. "However it's presence in the dreamscape is constantly fluctuating, though it leaves behind a lingering essence that constantly interferes with my attempts to track it!" she continued, venting her frustrations. "Which reminds me," she said, turning her head towards me.

I was enveloped in blue for a few moments, but nothing more than that. Whatever she was doing had no obvious physical effect on me. When the magic disappeared from me Princess Luna let out a small breath.

"It seems that the creatures magic is not lingering in you at least," she said.

"Well I'm sorry I don't have any helpful info," I said.

"No, please do not worry yourself. I will not be beaten by this creature!" she said, flashing a look of determination which softened a bit when she turned her gaze back to me. "However... I would ask that you be patient until then Valentino," Luna said.

"Yeah, it's just a few naps right, no big deal," I said, finding it harder to force out that lie than it probably should have been.

"Thank you, Valentino. I will have you notified as soon as anything changes," she said, just starting to turn back but stopping in her tracks

"Oh, before I forget, my sister wanted me to give this to you," Princess Luna said, floating over a small letter, her magic dissipating once I snatched it out of the air. "I believe it is from Princess Twilight," she clarified.

"Making sure I get my mail, you're spoiling me Princess," I teased slightly. Her eyes darted away from and she made for the exit.

"Goodnight Valentino," I heard from the Princess, her tone going soft before the door closed behind her before I could call back.

The indefinite state of things didn't really sit well with me. But just like that the short meeting passed without incident. No monsters, no transformations, no incidents at all. Just the normal weirdness of being transplanted in a strange world with no real sense of direction. No sense of comfort and familiarity with the things that are because everything still feels like it's changing. But even one day with no turmoil, one day of being able to relax without worry was enough to settle some of those feelings if not calm my paranoia of the coming days.

So then, all that was left was to read my mail and go to bed.


-Twilight Sparkle – Private Correspondence-


Dear Valentino,

I know that you requested some time alone and I hope that you're having a nice, relaxing time in Canterlot. Still, I thought I would write you a letter to remind you that your friends are still thinking of you. I know that you have a lot still to cope with but I don't want you to feel like you're alone.

I spoke with Rarity today about you staying in Canterlot. She was a little upset since apparently she still had some work to do and needed you around for it. When I explained the situation she seemed pretty understanding. "Well, it can't be helped then," she told me. Which was fine, but then she told me she needed to start preparing some things... so I'm not really sure what she meant by that.

I also talked to Pinkie Pie about you staying in Canterlot for a little while. She was kind of disappointed but she got excited again about the party she was going to throw for you when you get back. I thought you should probably know about that so that you could prepare yourself because it sounds like she wants to go all out. I'll try to do what I can.

Spike seems confident that you are going to be okay. He says that you seem like "a pretty tough guy," and that he's not worried.

I haven't had the opportunity to tell everypony else yet but I'll let you know what they say when I do. 

I know Princess Luna is doing everything she can, I just hope she can take care of it soon. Between this dream monster and that Rook creature, it feels like there is so much being left unresolved...

But both of us have other things to worry about and you need to worry about not nodding off in the middle of the day mister! Also

Um, Rainbow Dash just dropped in. I told her I was writing you a letter and she decided she wanted to send you one as well. I'll go ahead and send it along with this one.

I just wanted to remind you again that we're here for you. So if you are feeling alone just let me know, send me a message and I'll be over there as soon as I can.

Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle


-Rainbow Dash – Private Correspondence- 


Hey Val!

Twilight was writing to you so I figured that I should too! I mean, you probably don't have a whole lot to do in Canterlot so at least you've got a letter from your best pal Rainbow Dash!

There wasn't a whole lot to do today. Just clear skies over Ponyville, easy stuff. I know you aren't supposed to take any naps or anything so I napped a little extra for the both of us!

I... I hope that you are feeling okay. Everything that's happened is all kind of a big deal isn't it? I don't really blame you for needing a breather. Just remember I've got your back.

Oh, and if you get really bored out there just send me a message! I'll fly right over and we can hang out. Maybe you'll finally let me see what you've got and we can spar a little. Unless you're scared I'll show you up, I am pretty tough you know.

Your pal,
Rainbow Dash

-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-

I carefully put aside the hastily scribbled message from Rainbow Dash and the carefully written letter from Twilight... I couldn't stop myself from smiling. 

One positive result of the skeleton incident was at the very least a forced period of introspection. I could say that I'm alright because, heck, I'm still alive until I go blue in the face but it's certainly not the truth. It may be a contributing factor to my sanity in the face of all this new stuff but... well... I'm not alright am I? 

I have no control over anything, least of all my own life. I'm constantly being jerked around by a load of magical nonsense. Not to mention the differences and coincidences in this new world. And let's not forget that, a whole new world. If I could have even envisioned a world beyond my own what I would have imagined certainly would not be so... cute. 

But I should have expected things to be beyond my expectations. I should have anticipated trial after trial. Instead I thought I could catch up on some sleep, poke fun at some silly ponies and enjoy the scenery. Instead I'm more exhausted than I've been in a long time and consistently baffled at every new thing this world throws at me. Give me an asshole with a gun! I can deal with that!

But.

Another positive result of the skeleton incident, which was only reaffirmed by the letters I received, was that I certainly don't feel as isolated as I probably should. I'm lucky that of all the places my coffin landed it was under the hooves of such accepting, empathetic creatures. Though who knows, maybe I've only met the good ones. If that's the case I'm even luckier than I thought. 

The whole day really helped reaffirm those feelings. In spite of the strangeness and the differences I was lying in bed content in that I wasn't alone. In that light, everything else didn't seem quite as bad.

So that was something.
> Chapter 10 - Gateway
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


We had only just gotten started and my head was already in my hands.

"What's the matter?" Olive asked. She was sitting adjacent to me on a stool she had pulled up to the table.

"I don't know what my date of birth is," I grumbled.

"Did... did you forget?" Olive asked.

I let my hands drop from my face with a sigh before turning to look at Olive. "No, but  your calendar is different from mine. Your years are longer or something and I don't really know how that translates here," I explained, pointing to the date of birth entry on the paperwork in front of us.

"Oh... well..." Olive mumbled, reaching up onto the table with her hooves and shuffling the paperwork in front of her. It only took a moment before her face lit up. "What about seasons?" she asked.

"Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter," I listed, the bright look on Olive's face proved that we had hit upon one similarity. 

"Great! What season were you born in?" she asked, snatching up a pencil with her teeth. 

"Early autumn," I said.

Olive contemplated it for a second before writing something down. "And, um, how old are you exactly?" she asked through the pencil in her mouth.

I put on a mildly offended look. "What a question to ask," I said.

"I-I'm sorry! I just need it for the–"

I reached over and lightly flicked her ear. "Thirty years old," I answered.

Olive giggled before scratching down a few more numbers. "There! That should be good enough. You could even celebrate your birthday then if you want!" Olive said.

"I'll try to remember it," I said, sliding the paperwork back in front of me.

Whoops.


--


Whatever system was in place that processed all of the forms lacked some of the... tedium of the bureaucracy back home. Or at least that's what I thought, looking at all the forms I had to fill out. One could argue they were less thorough but then one could argue back that it was simply a less strict barrier for entry. One could also wonder that since I had a reference like Princess Celestia some of the fat had been trimmed prematurely.

Still, it was a lot of different forms but all the paperwork wasn't exactly why I was sighing so consistently. 

Olive of course was the one who brought me the forms to jump start my immigration process, on order from Princess Celestia. I should have expected it since she had asked me about it a couple times before but honestly I had forgotten all about it. I've had some pretty significant distractions. It didn't take long for Olive to pick up on the gloomy air surrounding me.

"What's the matter?" she asked, reaching over and pressing one hoof softly against my arm.

"Nothing important," I mumbled, not looking up from the page.

"If it's bothering you it's absolutely important," Olive insisted.

I let the pencil drop from my hand and rubbed my forehead gently. Once I found the right words I took a deep breath and turned slightly to look at Olive. "It's just hard, having to accept what I've lost and move forward. That I can never go back to my old home," I explained.

"Oh," Olive said, looking between me and the paperwork as her expression fell.

"Doing all this paperwork even... really makes it sink in that I'm putting all of that to rest and I don't know if I want to," I mused, turning away from Olive. 

"If you–" Olive started, possibly trying to placate me.

"But," I interrupted, taking the pencil back into my hand. "I know that I have to. So, like I said, It's not important. Have to look towards the future or something!" I halfheartedly proclaimed. Even as I got back to work it took a while before Olive removed her comforting hoof from my arm.

With the simplicity of it all it didn't take us long to work through the rest of the forms in spite of my frequent hesitation. Still, the lengthiest portion of the process was me finally working up the nerve to put down the last signature on the last form. Olive seemed concerned as I was fidgeted instead of finalizing. Still, she respected my request when I asked her to just give me a minute. 

With one last breath I signed away my former nationality for a new one, pending approval. Accepting, at least on paper my, very permanent, place in a vastly strange and new world. Oh boy.

Olive gave the forms a quick review before becoming all smiles. "Wonderful! I can't see there being any issues with these! Well, maybe if Princess Celestia wasn't pushing it forward! It's not like there's ever been a human from... wherever your from trying to fill these out before! But... um, I should probably get back with this!" Olive said, working herself up into an awkward position before grabbing up all the paperwork and shooting towards the door. I just watched her with an amused expression.

Before she could reach the door leaving my room it swung open to reveal a white unicorn I was only slightly surprised to see. Really I was more surprised to see her abundance of luggage. 

"Yo," I called out, waving to Rarity. 

"There you are Valentino! You'd think somepony would– Oh!" she started, cutting herself off once she noticed Olive. "I'm so sorry dear, I didn't see you there. Valentino, who is your new friend?" Rarity asked.

"Ah, this is Olive Branch. She's been put in charge of keeping me out of trouble. Olive this is Rarity, she manages to keep me clothed," I joked.

"Well! It's a pleasure to meet you Olive Branch. You must have your hooves full with Valentino here," Rarity said, shooting back at me a little. 

"O-o-oh! N-no! He's wonderful, I um... I need to get these forms in, s-sorry!" Olive stammered before running past Rarity and right out the door. 

"Oh my, did I say something wrong?" Rarity asked, looking back in the direction Olive ran off towards.

"I'm not sure," I said, shrugging. 


--


I was surprised to see another pony underneath the pile of luggage, still more surprised to see him manage to move it all into my room. Rarity gave him what I assumed was a generous tip before asking the pony to come back later. 

"So what brings you all the way out here?" I asked, finally getting up to my feet and stretching my back a little.

"I can't very well finish filling out your wardrobe unless I have a model to work from and I can't know what alterations need to be made unless I see how everything fits you. I didn't even chance to see how what I made for you already fits! Given what Twilight told me though I had no choice but to come to you," Rarity explained.

"Is it pointless to mention that I only wanted a few extra pairs of pants and some shirts?" I asked.

"You can't honestly expect to wear the same thing to every occasion!? Unless... is that what humans do?" Rarity asked, a look of deep concern on her face.

"It's what I do," I said slyly. Rarity's expression dropped immediately.

"You need some variety and something for formal events! In fact, if you insist on remaining clothed all the time... you'll need something to wear at home and something to wear to bed or something for when you get out of the bath," Rarity stated. She seemed to be getting more and more excited as she thought of new things.

"I feel like I'm already taking up too much of your time as it is," I said flatly.

"Oh nonsense! It's been all I can think about ever since I finished remaking your old outfit! You can't expect me to ignore all of this inspiration!" Rarity exclaimed.

"I suppose not..." I relented. 

"Excellent! Let's get started then!" Rarity said and with a glow of her horn suitcases started popping open one after another.


--


The first thing Rarity threw on me and what she mentioned was the only thing she had attempted to make since my replacement clothes, was a copy of my trench coat. The similarities followed right down to the bold design of my badge on the back, which was of course her doing in the first place. One major difference was the deep maroon color. My current trench coat was just a simple dark brown color. It was a subdued kind of red that didn't shift too far from the brown but it was a color Rarity seemed pleased with.

"Yes, that really brings out your eyes," Rarity said after taking a few steps back. "Sure the brown wasn't too bad but... I think this is much more attractive on you," she stated, eyeing me up and down.

"You'll make me blush Rarity," I said, shyly looking away.

"Oh stop. Hm... the shoulders are a little big..." she muttered, writing into a small notepad. Once she finished with that her magic pulled the coat off of me and she started looking through more of her suitcases. "Come feel this Valentino," Rarity said, pulling a roll of blue cloth from a large case.

I walked over to Rarity and reached for the material. "Soft," I mumbled, running my fingers over the cloth. 

"Your bare skin must be very sensitive, the material will be important," she noted.

"Well, keep layering in mind too," I said, pulling my hand away from the cloth.

"That's right! You dress in layers! Oh but you'll still need something light and comfortable for the summer!" she excitedly announced.

"I can make do you know," I said, trying to get Rarity to slow down a little.

"I'm sure you can darling, but there's no reason for you to need to now is there?" Rarity shot back.

"It being a lot of work comes to mind," I complained.

"Oh I'm just here to see how the coat fits and how certain colors and materials look on you. I won't need you for much else past that except to see how everything fits once I start putting it all together," she reassured me.

"I mean for you," I clarified.

"I appreciate it Valentino but you don't need to be so considerate, I'm glad to be able to help," Rarity said.

"Just don't rack up my debt too much, I already owe you a lot," I said jokingly.

"I won't promise anything," Rarity said with a sly smile.

I was starting to miss Twilight and Rainbow Dash, I was losing battles with just about everyone else.

"By the way, Pinkie Pie wanted me to bring you something, it should be in one of these cases," Rarity said and latches started popping open.

Rarity only spent a few moments rummaging through her abundance of luggage before she pulled out a hastily wrapped gift. It had simple brown paper and a bright pink ribbon on it. She floated it over to me and I gently took it out of the air.

As soon as I tugged on the pink ribbon I was assaulted with confetti. Most of it landed in my hair but I didn't spend too much time trying to pick it out because I was quickly distracted by the cookies still inside the brown package. They were simple chocolate chip cookies, still as well made as as I had come to expect. 

I sat on the bed and quietly started munching on the cookies while Rarity stifled a laugh. She went back to unpacking and I decided to keep quiet. Truthfully I wasn't really in a position to turn down assistance, from either royal or tailor. 


--


I did end up requesting that Rarity at least make me a couple of dress shirts without my badge slapped on the back. I did every thing I could to try and convince her but my arguments about subtlety were thrown back in my face. Just as Twilight had told me Rarity insisted that I stood out regardless of what I wore. She went on to mention that the symbol did me no good hidden away in my pocket. I was starting to wonder if she was possibly drawing a connection between my badge and a cutie mark.

One of the first questions I had, I think during my recovery, was about symbols that were present on everyone's flanks. The explanation, the name, all of it was just ridiculously adorable to the point that I had Twilight explain it a second time because I didn't believe what I had heard. Also it was just cute listening to her talk about it.

So instead of trying to prod into weird cultural stuff and getting into an awkward conversation about that I just doubled down on my insistence and she relented.

For a while Rarity spent some time taking my measurements again. Then she was throwing colors and materials on me to see how it looked. It was a lot of bright tones and some very saturated colors. It wasn't all too bad, she had some paler hues and darker tones as well which I gravitated towards. Rarity however remained insistent on a few bright and colorful pieces, citing her experience in fashion. Rarity knew what looked good in pony land I guess. 

Eventually there was a quiet knock at the door. Rarity was busy working out some design ideas so I got up to answer it. When I opened the door I found Olive standing on the other side with a somewhat worried expression on her face. 

"Welcome back," I said, moving aside to give Olive room to enter back into the room.

"I-I'm sorry! I know you're spending time with your friend but Princess Celestia would like to meet with you..." she said quietly, her eyes glancing over to Rarity who was still consumed by whatever she was drawing out.

"Ah," I said, turning from Olive and back towards Rarity. "Sorry Rarity, looks like I've got to go see the Princess," I told her from across the room.

Rarity finally looked up from her work and shot me a serious look. "Please do try to behave this time," she told me. The last time Rarity was party to one of my interactions with the Princess I recall she didn't take it so well. 

"I'm always on my best behavior," I said plainly back to Rarity. She just heaved a heavy sigh. With that I followed Olive as she lead me down the the halls of the castle.

"I went over everything with Princess Celestia. I know it was her idea but I wasn't expecting her to be so invested in the process!" Olive said with her usual excitement.

"Well, she's been kind of adamant about it," I said. "But if she already went over it with you then why does she need to talk to me?" I asked.

"All we did was go over the paperwork! She wanted to talk to you about what happens next!" Olive explained.

"Next huh?" I said with very little enthusiasm. I should have anticipated there would be more steps beyond filling out paperwork but I hadn't really thought about it. My father went through the immigration process but it wasn't really something I ever thought to ask in depth about. I hoped that it would just be more forms and a lot of waiting.

We eventually reached the set of doors we were looking for. As I had come to expect there was an aloof looking guard detail waiting outside. As long as I had Olive with me I could go most places without incident. Guards seemed to have been stationed at the Castle entrance and the entrances to the varying wings of the castle. There were also patrols and other guards stationed in front of other rooms I was not familiar with. Probably a throne room somewhere and some royal secrets somewhere else.

I really didn't go out much without Olive. But to be fair Olive had stuck around with me for just about all my waking hours. I had been in Canterlot for a few days and she managed to keep it from being boring at least. I don't know what I would have done without her.

The guards opened the doors and before I stepped through I noticed some activity down near the other end of the hall. Just some noble looking ponies talking with some noble looking griffons. I didn't really take much time to look at them before I entered the room but they were quite noisy. Olive again preferred to wait outside.

The room I walked into was unfamiliar from the ones I had met Princess Celestia in up to that point. There was a large rectangular table that Princess Celestia was sitting at. Across the walls of the room were shelves loaded with not only books but a ton of paper and other materials. From the neatly organized stack of papers she had on the table in front of her I assumed that this was where Princess Celestia did her paperwork. There were stamps, quills and inkwells among other things I didn't quite recognize all properly placed in front of her.

Princess Celestia greeted me with a warm smile. "Valentino, It's good to see you," she said.

I gave her a short wave of my hand. "Yo, how's it going?" I said as I made my way into the room.

Already Princess Celestia was giving me a strange look that made me stop in my tracks.

"I wonder if I need to teach you the proper way to greet a Princess," she said, the smile returning to her face.

I blinked a couple of times and then put on an expression of realization. "Oh, right sorry," I said, stepping back and turning away from Celestia. When I turned back I gave Princess Celestia a deep bow. I bent until I could feel the baton on my belt poking into my stomach. "Greetings, Your Royal Highness," I said lifting my head back up. "You look quite lovely this afternoon," I added as straightened up.

My whole sarcastic act got a giggle from Celestia. My apathy towards formality seemed to amuse her. 

"So about those forms," I said, walking to the table. I took a seat on the right side, Celestia's left, where there was a stool handy.

"I was happy to see that you finished them so quickly," Celestia said, beaming at me.

"Well Olive was quite insistent and it's not like I have much else to do," I said.

"I only wanted her to bring it to your attention," Celestia commented, though from her tone I was pretty sure she expected Olive Branch to be as insistent as she was.

"Right right, so what now Princess?" I asked.

"Well, there are several formalities we have to go through before we can establish your citizenship but as of now your permanent residence in Equestria is approved and on record," she explained.

"Formalities huh?" I said questioningly.

Before Princess Celestia could respond a muffled conversation at the door caught our attention. One muffled panicky voice sounded like Olive which was contesting with deeper, calmer male sounding voice. Olive's voice eventually trailed off and the doors ended up being opened by the guards. Who walked in were two griffons, the ones I had noticed down the hall.

The one standing front and center had a dark brown coloring to him from feathers to fur, though his feathers were a few shades lighter. In a bit of contrast his eyes were an icy blue. He had a large yellow beak that curved downwards near the tip. He wasn't a small griffon either, he stood quite tall but his limbs seemed a bit scrawny. He still stood tall and proudly.

Following behind him was a smaller griffon who had a snowy white coloring to her feathers and lighter gray coloring to her fur. There was a also a darker coloring around her eyes. Her eyes themselves being orange in color. She had a smaller beak that ended in a sharp point.  Even from their entrance she was looking at the larger griffon with concern on her face but held herself meekly.

Princess Celestia was looking at them with quite a serious expression on her face. Certainly not warm smile she greeted me with. 

The two griffons bowed gracefully before Princess Celestia. Past them I could see a worried looking Olive before the doors shut behind the griffons. 

"Our apologies for the intrusion Princess Celestia," said the brown griffon as he lifted his head. 

"There is no need to apologize Ambassador Erling. I know your business here is of the utmost importance," Celestia kept her tone and expression completely even as she spoke. 

I was ready and expecting to be asked to leave at any moment so the political figures could discuss whatever it is that they discuss. The way that Ambassador Erling started staring at me almost made me think it was a guarantee. Until he opened his beak again.

"I take it this creature here we saw enter your study is the... human you told us about?" he asked.

If not for the glare I was getting from Erling as well as the serious vibe I was getting from Celestia I would have put my head into my hands and groaned loudly. Instead I just narrowed my gaze back at the griffon while folding my arms over my chest. 

I didn't have a lot of past interactions to choose from when it came to griffons. So I already had pretty good idea of where this conversation was heading. 

"Yes, this is Valentino," Princess Celestia admitted, putting just a slight bit of emphasis on my name.

"Excellent, we were hoping that we could ask the human a few questions about the incident involving Sir Cronus," he said, disregarding my name entirely. I was liking him more every minute.

"I thought that we had already discussed Valentino's involvement at length as well as gone over his report," Princess Celestia argued.

"Oh yes, you and Princess Twilight Sparkle were quite illuminating. But you must admit there is still so much mystery surrounding the creature and I've had these questions rattling around in my head. With it here now I thought it would be opportune to ask," he insisted.

Celestia paused briefly, thinking on it. "Very well," Celestia eventually relented. 

Erling turned his gaze back to me. "Yes, well then, human..." he started but trailed off as I gave no acknowledgement as I continued to just stare at him. "Can... it understand us?" he asked, glancing back over to Celestia.

"Oh of course," I said, which drew his attention back to me. "I just can't understand why you refuse to use my name," I said flatly. Immediately I felt a pinch at my leg. I didn't acknowledge it beyond blinking my eyes. In my peripheral I could see a faint golden glow. Behind him the other griffon looked a bit shocked.

"Right, Valentino then," he responded with no lack of venom in his words.  "You were involved in a couple of incidents surrounding Sir Cronus yes? The griffon?" he asked. 

"Yes, I was brought in to investigate a disturbance at a local farm in Ponyville. I was also involved in the apprehension of the griffon Cronus which was overseen by Princess Twilight Sparkle. Then later I was present when his corpse murdered two guards and attempted to assault Princess Celestia," I recounted.

"His corpse. That is really the issue here," Erling mused.

"At least that's the conclusion I drew after a brief examination. Princess Celestia probably conducted a more detailed investigation and examination," I added.

"You are quite right human. Princess Celestia's investigation however came to the same conclusion. It then became a matter of figuring out how such a thing would be possible and who could be behind it," he said narrowing his gaze at me. Erling couldn't have been less subtle if he tried and I restrained myself from saying so to his face.

"Indeed, but that's when my involvement ceased so I don't have much else for you," I said, trying to usher Erling towards his point.

"It's just awfully strange," he said with an almost comical tone of foreboding. "An unknown creature appears from an unknown place just a week before something completely unheard of happens," he mused.

"Unheard of? I've been up to my ears in all kinds of magical nonsense ever since I showed up here," I said.

"Necromancy is only the subject of dark fiction. A well versed practitioner of such a thing would be as... well... as unique as you are. Is that not so Princess Celestia?" Erling asked, looking to Princess Celestia. Celestia though seemed to be preoccupied, her horn was glowing and papers were floating over to her from the bottom of one of the nearby shelves.

"I suppose that is correct," she said noncommittally, not even looking up from her paperwork.

Not exactly the validation he was looking for but Erling took it regardless. "So you might understand why I find you a suspicious character in this whole incident," he said.

I kept my expression flat. This Erling guy was turning out to be such a clueless goon that it made me want to slam my head against the table. Unfortunately that seemed to be the type to hold an important political position. Princess Celestia already seemed to want me to reign it in so I did my best to keep up the facade.

"Coincidence is a fine enough lead Ambassador but I have documented my actions involving Cronus and I have witnesses to my every action ever since I was dug out of the ground," I said, already letting a bit of my irritation show. "Not to mention that at the time I had no connection with any sort of magic which can be corroborated by Princess Twilight Sparkle if she hasn't already. But I do believe you have gone over this already so Ambassador what is it that you are trying to get at?" I asked while trying futily to keep my tone as even as possible.

"Shortly after Sir Cronus was... dealt with by Princess Celestia his body..." the subject gave Erling pause, which I found surprising. "His body seems to have completely decomposed into a viscous black fluid," he finally said after taking a moment to compose himself.

I looked over at Princess Celestia whose expression had become despondent. She had completely stopped flipping through her papers and was just staring blankly at the table. I turned my gaze from her to meet the sharp stare of Erling.

"An odd turn of events, but I still don't see how you are connecting it to me," I stated.

"Princess Celestia and some of her brightest researchers have been studying the liquid under quarantine conditions. Their analysis has turned up... nothing. No discernible magical properties. Yet the two guards who were attacked by Sir Cronus were killed by being infected with the same substance. Their bodies did not decompose so quickly after death and started acting of their own accord before finally melting into the same black liquid. Luckily their bodies were kept in quarantine as well so the infection has not spread further. Yet the reports and studies we were given have shown no discernible magical properties in their fluid either. What else has recently arrived in Equestria with no discernible magical properties?" Erling finally asked, his tone turning accusitory. 

"Ignoring the fact that I have been forcefully infused with pony magic mere hours after my first encounter with Cronus. A correlation of no evidence is still not evidence," I said, my irritation growing.

Erling slammed his talons down on the table. "It's cause enough to have you analyzed! Interrogated! These Princesses know shockingly little about what you are and where you come from! They speak to your character and biology but I have yet to be told what a human really is!" Erling squawked.

"It doesn't matter! I've been analyzed! Princess Twilight Sparkle has taken pages of notes pertaining to my biology which is the only relevant thing to this discussion. Hey, guess what, I'm not full of necromancy slime! What a human is, where they come from, it's all irrelevant because I'm the only one here and the only one who will ever be here. Everything you need to know about me is already available to you!" I argued, raising my own voice.

"I'd like to see you argue what's relevant in front of a griffon court!" Erling shouted, slamming his talons on the table again.

"E-Erling!" the other ambassador called out to which Erling paid no attention.

"Oh yes I'll drag you before the inquisitors myself and they'll get everything they decide is relevant out of you!" Erling loudly threatened.

Before I could launch into a tirade against the bird a loud thud against the table silenced us both. Looking over Princess Celestia had, very forcefully, stamped something on one of the forms she had started working on just before our argument got started. She was giving Erling quite the look.

"I think that is quite enough Ambassador Erling. I understand your suspicions but I think it should be more than satisfactory to have him remain under our royal supervision. If there is anything you need to learn from him it can certainly be done here," though her words were light there was quite the insistence in Princess Celestia's tone.

"With all due respect Princess Celestia," Erling started, taking his talons off of the table and trying to regain his composure. "I am here with the authority of the Griffon Kingdom to bring whomever is responsible for the death of Sir Cronus and his wife to justice. Certainly I am well within my diplomatic rights to see this... refugee give his statements directly to our system of justice," he said.

"Perhaps, but I am under no obligation to extradite a legal citizen of Equestria unless you are able to provide compelling evidence to an Equestrian court," she retorted.

Erling's eyes went wide and even I had to raise an eyebrow given what we had just started discussing before the griffons showed up.

"C-citizen!? Y-you can't be serious Princess! The human!? And it only arrived here–"

"I have his certificate of citizenship right here. Signed and bearing the royal seal," she said and a glittering golden glow held up the paper, I assumed, she had been working on the whole time we had been talking. 

Erling's wide eyes darted over the page, then glanced over to me and back at the princess. His beak was hanging open in disbelief. 

"T-this is, I can't–"

"We can discuss this more at a later date Ambassador if you want but as for now I have quite a bit more to do here," Princess Celestia said, nodding down towards the stacks of paperwork on the table. With that she was essentially putting an end to the... discussion.

"Let's go Erling," the other Ambassador pleaded.

Erling finally acknowledged his partner for the first time since they both came in the room. He paused for a moment, looking from his fellow ambassador back to us. "... Very well, Princess Celestia," he finally said, bowing his head once again before turning to leave. What I had not noticed was that one of the guards was standing inside the room and ready to escort the Ambassadors out. Maybe he came in when we were yelling at each other.

Regardless of that and the surprise Celestia just sprung on us I was still quite furious with Erling. I tried to put it aside and calm myself down. "Ambassador Erling?" I said in as mellow a tone as I could manage. It stopped him in his tracks and he turned his head to look back at me. "You probably already know this but I'm a professional investigator where I come from so I thought I would give a bit of advice," I said in an apologetic tone. 

"From the sounds of it you don't have an easy job ahead of you. You have a big problem and not a lot of information. You'll have to wait on a lot of research and analysis to tell you that they don't know anything. You'll probably be at it for months. You'll have to jump on every tiny little lead you can just like this one," I said. The Ambassador hadn't moved but I still had his attention.

I leaned forward, with my right arm on the table and let my expression turn dark. "But keep in mind you owe the dead something better than just dragging back the first thing you see for an easy boost to your reputation," I growled through gritted teeth. The tonal shift and my accusation had Erling looking so offended that I don't think I could have done better if I walked over and spat in his eye.

"Let's go," the other Ambassador urged. The guard opened the door for them and followed the two griffons out. The room they left behind was finally silent.

When I looked over to Princess Celestia she was giving me a... not quite so friendly look.

"What?" I asked.

Princess Celestia heaved a great sigh and let her face relax. "I don't think you could have handled that much worse," she said in a pained voice.

"I could have thrown my stool at him," I offered which just got me another sharp look from Princess Celestia. "Perspective!" I said, holding my hands up defensively. "Look, the guy waltzes in here and just jumps down my throat what do you expect me to do?" I asked.

"It certainly didn't help that you started antagonizing him as soon as he started talking to you," Celestia pointed out.

"It didn't help that he started treating me like an animal the moment he saw me. Then somehow he transitions from that to me being behind some kind of great unknown magic conspiracy. This is the guy the griffons sent to investigate the death of one of their own? He's a goon," I said in my defense, and also to vent a bit.

"Yes I understand, but if you could have just..." Princess Celestia trailed off with another sigh. "You certainly did not need to say what you did when he was already leaving," she said firmly.

"If nobody says anything he'll just keep doing it," I grumbled.

"I still have to deal with him. He's already been pushing so hard for answers and he's just going to get even more brazen! I have the everything under quarantine, Manehatten is being combed for any more trace of the substance. Research will take time. I want answers as badly as he does but I don't have any!" Celestia said, her expression going from irritated to downcast.

I quietly stood up, picked up my stool and sat it next to her before sitting down myself. I stayed quiet for a moment before nudging her with my elbow. "Thanks for having my back," I said. 

Princess Celestia slowly looked over at me gave a slight smile. "Of course Valentino. Besides, if I thought you were involved I'd have had you locked in our dungeons and I would have dealt with you myself," she said, her tone growing serious. I think she was trying to be mildly threatening.

Instead I just shrugged before nudging her again. "You still can if you want," I said, giving her a sly grin.

Celestia's face went blank for a moment before she started laughing. It was sight that was leagues better than her glaring daggers at me.

"So yeah, about those formalities," I said, motioning towards the papers still neatly stacked in front of Celestia.

Once she finished giggling she looked at me with a smile. "It seems I may have pushed things forward a bit. Still, I think I may hold on to this certificate for a while still. I think we should go through on a few of the formalities still. You need time to get accustomed to Equestrian culture before you can really start calling yourself a citizen of Equestria don't you think?" Celestia asked.

"Sure, makes sense," I said with a shrug.

"You can have this though," Celestia said, sliding a smaller sheet of paper over to me. Basically a form with "Permanent Resident" at the top and all of my information. There was a raised seal and some other markings on it to officiate it. I pulled my badge and ID in my back pocket, it had really taken the place of my wallet, folded up the paper in half and slid it behind my ID.

"Thanks," I said.

"I hope it's the start of a lot of good things for you Valentino," Celestia said sincerely.

"You and me both," I returned while standing up. "Olive's probably worried sick about what happened. I should go check on her if there wasn't anything else," I said.

"No, not right now, have a good afternoon Valentino," Celestia said.

--

Olive was in fact worried sick about me, having been practically disregarded by griffon ambassadors and left to pace outside. As it turns out Erling was someone she had met before. Unlike most others however, he was not someone she was quite as capable at getting along with. She did make me aware of the other Ambassador though. Iris was her name and she was supposedly much more pleasant. Olive was quite surprised to see them both together. She knew Iris was here but not Erling. Both of them had visited Canterlot enough that they didn't really require an aide so it wasn't a real surprise.

I ended up telling her about my sort of citizenship and the conflict with Erling. She also berated me for saying more than I needed to. Maybe Celestia and Olive were right, still felt good to tell him off though. 

Once we got back to my room I parted with Olive. Rarity didn't seem to have moved from the spot I left her in. Still drawing out designs and plans. She ushered me over to look and... it was... astounding. Lot's of color... gemstones... accessories... not to say that it didn't all look good together, at least on paper. Just I wasn't so sure how good it was going to look on me. But if she put it together I would try it on.

Before it started getting too late Rarity had managed to find that same stallion from before help her again to move her stuff into the room she would be staying in. I said goodbye and she told me she would see me tomorrow.

After such a busy day I remember just waiting for the sun to set so I could go to bed. Olive stopped by with dinner. I ate with her and complained about how tired I was. Olive reassured me that Princess Luna was doing everything she could. Olive also gave me some more mail before she left. I had started exchanging letters with Twilight and Rainbow Dash through Olive. Or at least, she's who I gave and got the mail from.

Twilight eventually told all of her friends what was going on with me and the whole skeleton thing. Applejack sent her best wishes and Fluttershy apparently seemed pretty worried. 

I usually didn't have much to say in return to Twilight's letters. A small response to what she would say and a smaller summary of what was happening with me. Rainbow Dash however started telling me about stuff she was doing in this Academy she was going to. It was for something called the Wonderbolts. Some... flying thing that I didn't really get because Rainbow Dash talked like I already knew what it was. Still I tried to relate to her with some stories from when I went through police academy. It was mostly junk since the Holdridge academy was pretty bad.

Rainbow Dash was quick to remind me that the Wonderbolts Academy was pretty much the most important thing ever and that my crummy police academy couldn't dream of stacking up. The comparison was a little weird but I think we both didn't really know what the other was talking about. Still, it sounded like she was doing well and she was putting everything she had into it so I respected her for that.

Honestly I just liked the correspondence. It was nice to read from them and write to them before bed. Especially that night, cleansed my palette of the whole griffon thing.

I had my responses written and would give them to Olive in the morning. Once the Sun had finally started setting I jumped into bed, ready to get some much needed sleep.


-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-


I was floating in black water. Looking up I could see a bright starry sky and a great crescent moon above me. The water was completely still. I felt no real sensation other than that of floating.

In spite of what should have been a calming atmosphere just sort of felt depressing and anxious. I couldn't really place why that was as thinking about it now the whole scene had no real relevance to me. 

Suddenly there was a great gust of wind that sent ripples through the water. The breeze was warm though. In the breeze I could hear a whisper.

"I'm sorry."


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


The words gently roused me from my slumber. I had my face half buried in the pillow and I was drooling lightly out of my open mouth. I shut my mouth and wiped my mouth with one hand. I was a little groggy and still very tired. It seemed like it was still the middle of the night. In fact I wasn't as loopy as I normally was so I couldn't have been asleep for much more than a few hours.

I lifted my head up and opened my eyes slightly to take in my surroundings. It was dark except for a faint light streaming in through the window. Sitting just in front of the window was Princess Luna, looking out through the window with a somber expression.

I let my head fall back onto the pillow. "Luna, what are you doing?" I asked, drawing out my vowels sleepily as I spoke.

"I'm sorry," I heard her say.  It was familiar to the whisper in the dream and it made me wonder if she was behind it. "I have been unable to track down the entity that has been haunting the dreamscape," she firmly admitted, not looking away from the window.

"Pff, whatever. It's only been... what? Four days? Ya just gotta be patient, keep at it," I said, shifting so that I was laying on my side instead of my stomach.

"It has been leading me in circles!" she shouted in frustration. "Its trail has been a ploy to occupy me and I have been dutifully following it like a fool!" she continued to vent.

"Hm... that's rough..." I sleepily mused, closing my eyes. Princess Luna just huffed. "Well ya gotta tackle it differently then," I offered.

Luna finally tore her gaze away from the window. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, okay, first you gotta stop lettin' the thing string you around. I mean we know what it's after or we got a good idea at least. So how about we just use a little bait," I said, pointing back to myself with one hand and smiling slyly with my eyes still closed.

"Valentino I cannot ask that of you," she said flatly.

"Pff, ask nothin' it was my idea. Look, it knows you're gonna be lookin' for it at night so ya gotta keep up the ruse, got it? Then... well I don't know your sleep schedule, but ya might have to be up for a little while. I take a little snooze during the day time, it thinks it's got me right where it wants me then you swoop in and get rid of it," I said making a lazy swooping motion with one arm.

Luna contemplated the idea for a good few moments while she stared down at the floor. "If you are willing then it is certainly something we can try," Luna eventually said.

"Yeah sure. I mean if you're there I got nothin' to worry about. You and me, workin' together, this thing doesn't stand a chance!" I optimistically proclaimed. 

"Well, I am happy that you are so confident," Luna said, walking away from the window and closer to me. 

"Yeah... and you know if that doesn't work then we'll just think of somethin' else," I said. 

"Of course. My apologies Valentino, I should not have bothered you with this while you were asleep," Princess Luna said, dropping her head a little.

She was just close enough that I was able to reach over from the bed and poke her nose. Princess Luna's eyes shot open wide at the action and she looked at me in shock. I could only manage to give her a sleepy smile in return.

"Don't worry about it, I'm happy to see you Luna," I said, letting my arm drop.

Princess Luna glanced away and cleared her throat. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then Valentino. Have a good night," she said quickly making her way towards the exit.

"Goodnight Luna," I mumbled, sinking back into the bed and quickly falling back asleep.


--


The next day I was greeted bright and early by Olive the same as always who told me that I would be meeting with Luna after lunch for a "supervised nap session" as she so cutely called it. 

A good while after breakfast there was a knock at my door and Rarity was there and ready to throw more things on me to see what looked good. We spent a lot of the day going through more colors and color combinations to see what I looked best in. Eventually that seemed to deteriorate into Rarity commenting on my hair. My "let my hair do what it wants" strategy didn't really fly with her. She started getting more new ideas and I had to try really hard to insist on the contrary. I ended up telling her that if she wanted to style my hair I would let her but she should wait for a special occasion because I definitely was not going to manage the upkeep. She got a little huffy but let it go. I told her about my meeting with Luna so we wrapped up things in my room just before lunch.

I had a quick bite to eat with Olive and was quickly ushered back to my room. Where I found a Princess who looked like she had just gotten out of bed. If it wasn't for the irritable look on her face Luna would have looked very cute. Though she still did look cute.

"I know this has not been easy for you Valentino. If you do not want to risk facing the creature again I will understand," Luna said as I laid back on the bed. Still that grumpy tired look she had made me wonder if she really would be so understanding.

"I'm not that worried, I've got you watching out for me and I feel like there's more risk just leaving it alone," I said.

"Very well, then all you need to do now is go to sleep," she said plainly.

...

For a good five minutes I laid there with my eyes closed feeling like regular prick. It was so quiet in the room that I could hear Luna breathing and my mind just sort of focused in on that. 

"Well this isn't working," I said, opening my eyes.

"If you want I could assist you," Luna said, her horn lighting up.

"I think I've lost enough consciousness to magic for a good while thanks," I said, getting out of bed.

"What are you doing?" Luna asked.

"Getting comfortable," I said as I started unbuttoning my shirt. I dressed down until I was in my underwear and then jumped back into bed. I spent a couple of minutes fussing around before I got comfortable. Still my head started honing in on Luna's breathing and I just couldn't fall asleep knowing that she was standing there staring at me. 

"Luna?" I called out, keeping my eyes shut.

"What is it Valentino?" she said, her voice betraying a very small amount of impatience.

"Come closer," I said, motioning to the edge of the bed.

There was a moment of hesitation but Luna stepped forward until she was right at the edge of the bed. I ended up putting my hand on her neck and then feeling around to her side, just past her front leg, where I could feel a slight expansion when she would breathe in. I don't know why but feeling it made me less conscious of her breathing. It made me feel like she was just there with me instead of there staring at me.

In time I feel asleep. I dreamed again about floating in a still pool of water with a great night sky spread out before me. 

After a couple of hours I was woken up by Princess Luna who was trying to maintain a neutral expression. I just shrugged and told her we would have to be patient and try again. Luna couldn't do much but agree and she went back off to bed, or so I assumed.

The next couple of days weren't really all that eventful. One day Rarity just stared at me, she would have me take some of my clothes on and off and she would just look at me for minutes at a time. Over and over again. It was only by the next day that she was satisfied, that and she said something about other obligations. Potential orders and all of that. She still had a business to run and she certainly spent too much time fussing over me. I was starting to see that she was at least having some fun with it though so I didn't feel too bad.

Our little bait tactic was wasn't really working out either, though I did get over my weird obsession with Luna's breathing. I was able to nap pretty easily after that, without having to undress or anything. Consistently I had that same dream every one of those days though.

"Luna are you in my dream or whatever with me while I'm sleeping?" I ended up asking. Over the course of our little bait ploy Luna had been getting more and more impatient.

"Of course I am, as soon as you fall asleep," she said.

"Well that might be our problem then. The thing might know you're there so he isn't jumping on this juicy bait!" I said, flexing slightly. Luna just stared at me blankly. "So next, maybe we should try you holding off on jumping into my dreams until the thing has a chance to take the bait," I said.

"If I'm not there the risk to you is–"

"You see me so much as twitch the wrong way in my sleep then you jump right in. I get that it's risky, but it's better to do something then just bang our heads against the same wall over and over. I'll risk being bones again especially when I know I can be changed back," I said, trying to sound optimistic. I really didn't want to be bones again but I didn't want to have this shadow over my life even more.

Luna contemplated it for a moment then shot me a serious look. "Fine, we shall try your plan tomorrow," she said. With that Luna quickly made her exit. I was used to her quick escapes by then, knowing that she was probably dead tired.

Shortly after Luna left Olive darted back into my room. She had been eagerly requesting updates after every one of my supervised nap sessions. She always looked very hopeful when she ran in and always looked so disappointed when I didn't have good news. The following day however, boy oh boy did I have a story to tell.


-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-


I was tired. Incredibly tired. Exhausted beyond all belief. I had been up late nearly every single night for the past week, writing report after report and the morning after the last all-nighter ran together with a court appearance the next morning. 

I could barely see straight and everyone in the office was practically yelling. Shouting all at the same time, complaining about this or that. Some of them were looking over at me and sneering. It started getting loud, like I was in a crowded mall or subway station. There weren't even that many people in the office. It started to blend together until everything just became an onslaught of white noise which was suddenly silenced like someone had just powered off an old TV. 

When I looked up it wasn't just one or two scowling faces, everyone was staring at me. The scowls had left their faces but their eyes had turned red. An intense shade of red that almost made their eyes look like they were glowing.

"You are not as we left you," accused a chorus of voices that outnumbered the people in the office.

Something ripped me out of my chair and slammed me against the wall of the office. At that point everything seemed to shatter, my dreamlike state of mind, the office I was in and the illusion masking the people there with me. Bones and skulls with bright red glowing eyes replaced the vague subconscious memories of my old co-workers. White bones contrasted  brightly against the complete blackness that suddenly surrounded us. 

"We must be more forceful," the voices continued, skulls and bones creeping closer to me. 

One bony claw lifted into the air and the blackness around us was filled with skull after skull until a massive sphere of white and red surrounded us. Unlike the jumble of parts that was the creature that stood in front of me the sphere had a distinct repeating pattern. It did not amplify the chorus of voices but rather reverberated the sound, causing a strange echo in the bone creature's voice.

"No saviors," it said, almost gleefully before it plunged a claw straight into my chest.

I screamed, loudly. It was painful. More painful than before? Before was just a vague memory and this new encounter was crystal clear in my head, still is even. I wasn't held down quite as tightly as before. I kicked and punched at the skull sitting right in front of me uselessly. I kicked back at the skulls behind me that made up part of the massive sphere. 

Pointless. Useless. I fought anyways.

I could feel the claws in my chest twist and expand. The pain grew worse and the strength left my limbs.

That was when everything started to shake. The claw in my chest contracted and I heard a sound like breaking glass. Weakly I lifted my head to see the sphere of skulls start to break apart like someone threw a brick through a window. Every broken piece faded away, revealing a starry sky. 

What shone brighter than the stars was Luna, who stood within the encroaching night sky. Her horn was blazing with energy and her eyes were glowing harshly with an intense white light that seemed to be tinged with blue. The look on her face was probably the most enraged I had ever seen a pony. 

"Off," she demanded. Without even waiting for a response a shock wave erupted from Princess Luna and launched the bone creature backwards. 

I felt no pain as the creature's claw was jerked out of my chest, I felt no relief either. I just fell forward, clutching at my shirt. It still felt like there was something inside of me. I pointlessly groped at my chest which, clothes and all, remained whole despite having a bony claw plunged into it. 

I could feel a tug and I was starting to move towards Luna. I did not get far before I felt a sharp pain in my leg. 

"He is ours. He will be us. Our gateway," the voices chanted. I could feel a jolt surge through my body. My left arm shot forward and my thoughts started to get... hazy. My hand was skeletal and despite my weak attempts I found myself unable to move. I could see though, or maybe feel, I'm not that sure, tendrils of shadow shoot out from under my coat.

The shadows were nearly invisible against the backdrop of the night sky. There was little more to see than the flicker of stars as the shadows flew through the air towards Luna. She could see that something was wrong with me but whatever magic she was planning didn't account for what she couldn't see. The tendrils around her neck and midsection, grasping tightly. Luna let out gasp that was cut off by her airway being closed off.

My heart was pounding. I could barely move my head to look around but I could see the night sky recede and as skulls started to take it's place again. Surreal and reminiscent of the dream we were in my brain couldn't disassociate the situation from reality. I could still feel, the pain in my chest and leg. Terror from being trapped in my own body. Livid for being used.

'Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.' I screamed at myself, trying to force focus into my own hazy thoughts. I put everything into just trying to pull my arm back. The best I could manage was to see the tips of my skeletal fingers curl in slightly.

Luna let out a choke gasp that shot a surge of adrenaline through my body. Still putting everything into my arm did little. Luna wasn't helpless though, her horn still blazed with energy and a beam of blue shot past me. I could hear it strike something and more importantly I could feel my body go slack. Without missing a beat I slammed my fist down. The darkness entangling Luna, hiding itself under my coat and in my clothes, shot backwards and I heard a chorus of screeches. 

Released I crawled forward as fast as I could, trying to put as much distance as I could between me and the bone creature. I could feel that tugging again and I was gently pulled away towards Luna. The haze completely cleared from my head and looking down my hands had returned to normal. Even the pain in my chest and leg had lessened.

Feeling safe next to Luna I finally looked back. The bones were once again completely replaced by the night sky but the bone creature was sinking quickly into a black pool. At first I thought it was Luna's doing but I was quickly overtaken by an oppressive presence. Bright, burning red cracks tore through the night sky. Out of the black pool the bone creature rose again, larger, tremendously large. Even now I have trouble placing the scale. It's skulls were bigger than wrecking balls.

"We cannot be impeded," the voices, so much louder than before, screamed.

I glanced over to Luna, her expression was shockingly stoic. With no hesitation she walked forward towards the gargantuan bone creature.

"I shall not be fooled again!" she shouted. The creature froze. 

Luna floated upwards, her eyes lightning up anew, her horn erupting with magic. The sight caused the creature to recoil and back away but was unable to escape the blue aura that quickly consumed it. Luna's magic compacted all the floating bones tightly together. Tighter and tighter until they started to crack and break. The voices of the creature screeched loudly. They started to glow bright red as they were quickly condensed down into pure magic at which screeching ceased. The blue also started to collect around me, pulling the red magic out of me and bringing over to the rest.

Smaller and smaller the magic was condensed down into a small orb. The blue aura of magic surrounding it started to wildly shimmer and vibrate. The red orb of magic expanded and contracted rapidly until a flash bright blue struck it's center and it was consumed completely by Luna's magic. Immediately after her magic dissipated and there was no speck of red left behind.

The atmosphere became serene before the night sky started to fall away, leaving darkness behind.


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


My eyes immediately shot open and I had found myself far out of the position I fell asleep in. My entire upper body was off the edge of the bed. I was keeping myself suspended in the air by wrapping my arms around Luna's neck. 

Luna's eyes fluttered open soon after and when she saw me she instinctively stepped backwards. I couldn't hold on so I just fell to the floor face first. 

"Ow," I groaned, pulling myself out of bed and getting up to my feet. Nothing hurt, not my chest or leg. Well, just my head.

"S-sorry!" Luna said. Flustered she stepped forward again only to have her front legs buckle under her. I reached forward to catch her, wrapping my arms awkwardly around her neck again. 

"You okay?" I asked. 

Luna managed to put some strength back into her wobbly legs and support herself with a groan. "Yes, I am... just a little tired," she said. I couldn't blame her, staying up late every day for a while and then pulling off all kinds of magical dream nonsense probably took everything out of her.

"Well I think you've earned a rest, maybe you should just go straight to bed." I said.

"That sounds... like a great idea," Luna said, her exhaustion evident in her voice and on her face. She turned and started towards the exit only to start tipping to the side.

"Woah," I said, moving and bracing her side to keep her from falling over.

"Sorry," Luna said again.

"You know why don't you just get some rest here. That bed's closer." I said, pointing over to my bed.

"Yes... maybe that would be best..." Luna weakly. I followed her closely back over to the bed and supported her as she climbed onto the bed.

She flopped down onto her side and let out a sigh, her shoes clanked slightly as they hit each other.

"You normally sleep in all of that?" I said, pointing vaguely to her crown, collar and shoes.

"Oh... no I–"

"I'll get it," I said, climbing onto the bed next to her and reaching over.

"...Alright," she mumbled.

I gently removed the crown first, her flowing mane only shifting slightly. Then I reached around her neck to unfasten the sparkly moon collar she wore. Her shoes managed to pop off fairly easily. Once I was done I set it all down on the table across the room.

"Thank you," I heard her meekly say.

"Don't worry about it. Just rest easy, we did it!" I said with restrained enthusiasm.

"Yes..." she mumbled, letting her eyes fall closed.

"I'll let your guards know," I said, throwing on my coat and heading for the door.

"Mm..." was all the response she gave. 

Outside I updated Luna's guards who only regarded me with a nod. Without much to do I just started wandering down the hallway. Eventually I saw Olive as she turned a corner and started walking in my direction. Once she saw me she picked up the pace and had that hopeful look in her eyes again.

I was happy I didn't have to disappoint her again.
> Chapter 11 - Return
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


On the walk back to the castle I absently kept running my hands over my arms and face. My newly exfoliated skin was smoother than ever and it was more than enough to distract me from the curious looks I got from ponies while walking down the streets of Canterlot. Olive Branch was humming happily as she trotted along beside me. 

"Sorry about your vest," I said. 

"It was just a little mud! And it made for a really fun picture!" Olive said brightly, nodding back to one of her saddlebags.  

Earlier that day prodded Olive about making good on her promise to take me to her mother's spa. It was an all day affair that sent me through a variety of treatments. Of course there was a massage performed by Olive herself. One of the treatments on the agenda was a mud bath. There was very little I would be opposed to and I heard mud baths were supposed to be pretty relaxing. It was during that bath that Olive decided it was the perfect time for a fun photo together. I thought it would be even more fun to drag her into the mud with me right before the picture was taken.

We settled back into an easy silence as we continued along the path and I continued to enjoy my smooth skin.

I have to say that I felt a lot more at ease around the castle after Luna had managed to banish the dream skeleton. Though for cautions sake I was instructed by Luna, through Olive, to maintain my strict sleep schedule until she could certain the threat was eliminated. I understood where Luna was coming from after the thing had been jerking her around for a little while. She was very determined not to let it get one over on her again.

Still, I felt the turmoil of my life was starting to abate for once. Working with Luna directly and having a small hand in solving my skeleton problem helped me feel less... well, helpless in the face of all this magical malarkey. Though I was hesitant to be too hopeful, seeing how these feelings rarely lasted very long. Who knows what corner I would walk around only to have my arm blasted off by some new magical behemoth.

"Did you enjoy your time at the spa?" Olive asked after we passed through the main entrance to the castle.

"Oh yeah, I haven't felt this refreshed in a long time," I said, still rubbing my smooth cheeks with my hands. "Your mom's spa is pretty impressive," I added.

Olive took one look at me and giggled. "I'm glad you liked it!" she said. "I was worried you might have forgotten about going since you'll probably be leaving soon..." Olive said, her tone starting to drop and her pace starting to slow.

I only noticed once I was a few paces ahead of her. "Are you gonna miss me or somethin'?" I said teasingly.

"O-of course I will!" Olive said, snapping back up to attention. No matter how much I teased her Olive always reacted so sincerely. It's partly what made teasing her so fun and it was also partly what made her so adorable.

"Well, I'm sure I'll be back soon enough. It's not like I can't come visit," I said.

"That's right! And we can write each other letters too!" Olive said excitedly.

"Don't overload yourself on pen pals now," I warned.

"It's fine!" Olive said defensively.

"Though you will have to send me a copy of that photo," I said with a smile.


--


The next day was yet another earlier morning, being pulled out of bed before the sun was even up. Drowsy and hazy as I was I can only remember that initially I noticed Olive was very enthusiastic about something. I couldn't really comprehend what she was so excited about so I ultimately ignored her and went to the bathroom. Once I got done relieving myself I cleaned up and splashed some cold water on my face to try and wake myself up a little. When I eventually shuffled out of the bathroom the sun was up and I was cohesive enough to process what Olive was saying. 

"You have a meeting with Princess Celestia first thing!" she said.

"Like... now?" I asked, still a bit confused in my morning haze.

"In a few minutes! We should leave now if you want to make it in time," Olive said guiding me to the door.

"Let me just... clothes..." I mumbled, breaking away from Olive. Once I was dressed in more than my boxer briefs Olive quickly led the way while I sleepily shuffled behind her, yawning the whole way.

I was ushered through a set of doors into a familiar sitting room. There, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were both waiting for me.

"Wow... Two Princesses..." I said with sleepy surprise as the doors shut behind me..

"Good morning Valentino," Princess Celestia said brightly as I moved in and sat down on the couch across from  the two of them. I sleepily glanced from Celestia to Luna. Celestia was wearing the same warm smile that she usually did. To my surprise though Luna was looking more cheerful than I think I had ever seen before and had a small smile of her own. 

"What's up?" I asked, leaning forward and resting my head on one hand.

"Firstly, my sister has some good news for you!" Princess Celestia said enthusiastically, nodding to Princess Luna.

Luna looked from Celestia to me. Celestia's silence signaled her to speak, so Luna started by clearing her throat.

"I just wanted to inform you that it should be safe for you to return to your normal sleeping habits. I have cleaned up the small traces of the entities magic within the dreamscape and have found no new trace of its presence. I believe it has been completely banished," Luna said proudly.

"Oh that's wonderful," I said. "Does that mean I can go back to bed?" I asked after a yawn.

Celestia let out a small laugh. "I still wish to discuss some things with you Valentino," she said.

Luna on the other hand vacated her seat. "There is not much else for me to say, so I will take my leave sister," she said, nodding to Celestia. However she did not make her way to the exit. Instead she slowly made her way over and stood in front of me with an awkwardly hesitant look on her face. 

I lifted my head up off of my hand and gave Luna a confused look. Without any regard to me Luna reared up and pulled me into a tight embrace with her front legs. My cheek brushed against her neck and her smooth dark blue coat. I couldn't enjoy the warmth of her near crushingly tight hug without noticing Celestia staring at us with a giant sparkling smile.

"Oh I'm so glad you've remembered what I told you about his human customs!" Celestia said with just utter delight dripping from her words.

I had to mouth the words "good job" to Celestia who just beamed more.

Unfortunately the comment prompted Luna to pull away from me. "I just thought it would be rude not to observe this parting custom after he has been so patient with demands that we all have put upon him," Luna said quite stoically. 

"Thank you Princess Luna, it means a lot to me," I said, trying to sound as grateful as possible.

"I-it is nothing!" she said, flustered, before quickly making her exit.

When the door closed behind her I looked to Celestia who was still smiling.

"Parting custom, eh?" I said, shooting Celestia a questioning look.

"Well you would always bring it up before you would leave so I assumed that it was a parting custom," Princess Celestia said innocently.

"I wasn't really expecting Luna to be so assertive," I mused, ignoring Celestia's excuse.

"Do not be fooled Valentino, my sister can be very assertive. I worry what might happen when she grows accustomed to how well you are treating her," Celestia warned me, her tone starting quite serious before devolving into her usual playfulness.

"Of course, of course," I said, waving off yet another warning about teasing princesses. Honestly if I had to refrain from having my fun with these adorable ponies I probably would have lost my mind long before the whole skeleton incident.

"Alright then. Now, I wanted to discuss what happens now that your safety has been assured," she said.

"Oh?" I said, returning back to my original position with my head resting on my hand.

"Yes, I  was thinking it would be best if you were to return to Ponyville so you can continue to get accustomed to life here in Equestria. I can think of nopony better than Twilight or her friends to guide you. I also believe there is a lot of wisdom you could impart onto them as well," Celestia explained. 

"Works for me, so when does the next train leave?" I asked.

Celestia looked surprised by my sudden and simple concession. "You don't need to leave immediately, take whatever time you need Valentino," she assured me.

"Nah, I should probably get going. I've already taken up too much of your hospitality. Twilight is probably kind of worried about me anyway. If I can make it back this afternoon it would probably be a nice surprise," I said, rising up to my feet.

"What a considerate friend you are Valentino," Celestia said with a smile.

"Yes, yes," I said halfheartedly while I stepped closer to Princess Celestia. Once I was closer to her I fell softly against her and wrapped my arms around her neck. Just like always, embracing her filled my whole body with warmth. She quickly reciprocated, her front legs clutching at my sides. "Guess I'll see you later," I mumbled into her neck.

"Of course, Olive Branch will help you get settled on the train to Ponyville," Celestia said while squeezing me gently.

We stayed like that for a couple of moments before my obligations got the best of me and I pulled away from Celestia's warmth. She just gave me her usually warm smile. 

With a small huff I turned to leave, only stopping at the door. "Try to catch a nap once in a while, it's not good for you to work too hard," I said, looking back.

Celestia giggled. "I'll try. As for you Valentino, you shouldn't be keeping secrets from your friends. You should tell Twilight about that drea–"

"Okay bye," I interrupted, quickly making my escape.


--


Not much more than an hour later I was fully dressed and at the train station with Olive Branch, who was looking pretty bummed.

"M-make sure you write me as soon as you can!" Olive cutely demanded.

"You know I'm not like one of your foreign ambassador friends. It's not that long of a train ride. You could come visit me if you get some time off," I said.

"Really!?" Olive said, brightening up.

"Though I bet you'd rather spend that time being... intimate with that stallion of yours," I teased with a devious smile.

Olive's face went bright red immediately. "Oh s-stop!" she stammered, shoving me lightly with her front legs. 

I chuckled and stepped closer to the train. "Don't worry, with my luck I'll be back with some new, excessive problem in a week," I said. Olive did not look very reassured.

"Y-you can come just to visit too you know!" Olive insisted.

"And interrupt your special time with your–" I was interrupted by another, harder shove by a very embarrassed Olive which just made me laugh harder than before. "We'll see. Thanks for everything Olive," I said, giving her a far more genuine smile.

"It was nothing! I was happy to help! And I got to learn a little about humans!" she said, quickly switching from embarrassment to her normal sincere enthusiasm.

Before I could say anything the boarding call was announced near the front of the train. The other ponies nearby started boarding. "Well Olive, see you next time," I said, turning towards the train.

"Um!" I heard her squeak, which cause me turn back to her again. She was looking fidgety. "It's just... P-Princess Celestia told me..." she stammered, losing steam very quickly.

I took one knee in front of the flustered Olive and wrapped my arms around her neck. Olive stiffened up a bit at the sudden contact bet fell quickly into the embrace. She brought up her front legs to return it and hummed softly into my shoulder. "Goodbye Valentino," she whispered. 

I pulled away, gave her a pat on the head and boarded the train back to Ponyville.


--


The ride to Ponyville was quite pleasant. I did manage to spend some of the ride exercising my reestablished sleeping rights. However one hesitant mare ended up prodding me out of my rest to tell me I was snoring quite loudly. She stammered quite a bit when confronting me, the unknown creature on the train. In order to assuage her fears I apologized as politely and profusely as I could. It seemed to not only put her, but the surrounding ponies at ease. So at ease that they started asking questions...

What I was, where I was from. You'd think the time I spent in the castle with mostly nothing but guards who were mostly apathetic to my existence would have allowed me enough of a respite not to be sick of the "Who are you? What are you!?" line of questioning. Still I couldn't deny those curious little ponies.

I condensed my story down quite a bit, leaving out quite a bit of the confusing or morbid details and replacing them with more relatable circumstances. Basically that I was forced to flee my homeland, which was far, far away, by some other horrible humans. Shoved into a magical portal that brought me to Equestria. 

I didn't think it was that much more believable than my spontaneous coffin journey but the ponies all seemed to buy it. Not only did they buy it but my sad tale seemed to tug at the heartstrings of most of the ponies in the cabin. I dispelled their concerns by saying I was being taken care of by some wonderful ponies and was even coming back from a great visit with the most wonderful Princess Celestia herself. 

I left out the sketchy skeleton details, obviously.

Before I knew it at least ten ponies were all around me. Those who weren't huddled into the seats nearby seats were standing in the aisle. All of them were so colorful and so adorable. It was just unfair to have so many of those sweet, smiling pony faces looking at me. I couldn't help but answer all of their questions. 

Questions that drifted from my unhappy circumstances to things like my occupation. I didn't mind bragging a little to wow the ponies. Telling them that I was a well known detective among my people. That I was often called upon to solve only the most heinous and complex of crimes. Again, I left out some of the gorier details, not wanting to put off any of the ponies on the train. Still they were impressed.

The more we talked the bolder the other ponies became. Before I knew it I had ponies commenting on how tall I was or touching me and commenting on how smooth my skin was. I did not mention the spa treatment I got only the day before.

The positive attention was nice. From my observations ponies seemed to be very, well, friendly creatures. They seemed to form bonds quickly and really put a lot of emphasis on those bonds. I learned that lesson pretty quickly from Twilight but it was constantly reaffirmed with nearly every pony I met. The train ride put it into a broader, general context. I wasn't that lucky to have been taken in by such sweet ponies, since ponies just seemed to be sweet in general.  

Though even at the time I felt it necessary to remind myself not to put too much stock in generalizations. The next pony I met could very well surprise me. Best to be cautious. 

Though looking again at those sweet faces would probably break down that facade of caution pretty quick.


--


My stop at Ponyville had me say goodbye to a lot of nice ponies I was riding with. The few who got off in Ponyville I said my goodbyes to when we broke away from the station. I wasted no time in making my way through the streets and trying to find the giant tree that was as close to home as it got. I spent quite a bit of time wandering around before I found the familiar path I took often between Twilight's place and Sugarcube Corner. 

Once I was on that familiar path it took me no time at all to find my way to Twilight's library. Capitalizing on my sudden return I decided to keep my entrance as inconspicuous as possible. I slowly opened up the door just a crack. It was a public library after all so there was a small bell hanging just over the door. A sudden opening would jingle that bell and alert whoever was inside to potential book borrowers. 

After getting the door open a bit I poked my head through and saw not just Twilight but three familiar fillies. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, difficult names to forget, were engaged in a variety of activities with Twilight. Most importantly though they had their backs to the door which allowed me to silently slip in unseen.

My shoes were leagues quieter than hooves on the wooden floors and I kept my movements in time with their talking to mask what little noise I did make. My eyes were pinned on them, paying attention to every movement. At the slightest twitch I planned to freeze in place, make it look like I had been standing there watching for however long they had their backs turned. Fortunately, Twilight's long winded lecture had them frozen in place and I was able to approach without much pause.

The lighting of the room kept my shadow from casting over them so I was able to get quite close before I stopped and just sat down on the floor behind them.

My little surprise didn't involve me shouting or startling. Just sitting and waiting. If it was Twilight by herself I might have tried to stalk her a bit, trying to stay out of her line of sight and following her around for a while before making my presence known. But four sets of eyes in the room made that considerably harder. I was lucky to have gotten close enough to reach over and touch them without being noticed.

When Twilight finally turned around she let out a yelp which startled the three fillies. She was using her magic to hold up a large book, the magic dissipated with her surprise and the book ended up slamming into the ground

"Yo," I said, waving lazily.

"Val!" the three fillies all exclaimed once they caught sight of me and before I could react I was tackled to the ground by the giggling group. 

"Where have you been!? I haven't seen you since you helped out Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo said.

"Yeah! And I only saw you when you came to beg Rarity for more clothes!" Sweetie Belle announced with a giggle.

"Human's are very reclusive you know, they need to be coaxed out," I lied, sitting back up after the fillies got off of me. "Though you only need a–"

"V-Valentino!" Twilight shouted, cutting me off with an extremely concerned look on her face. "What are you doing here!? What happened!?" she asked.

"Luna gave me the all clear. I came back," I stated simply.

"What!? But– Why didn't write ahead!? I would have prepared– I mean I wanted to tell–" Twilight stammered, growing incredibly flustered.

"Wouldn't have been a surprise if I warned you," I explained. Twilight looked at me and then glanced at the smiling fillies before stopping to take a deep breath.

"And...  you're sure everything is okay?" Twilight said, calming down but still looking concerned.

"I'm as good as I can get. Celestia even told me I should head on back. I'm your problem again," I explained with a smile.

With that Twilight flung herself at me. I caught her in a quick, tight embrace. With just one squeeze she pulled away and gave me a serious look. 

"I want you to tell me everything that happened! Your letters were not very detailed," Twilight said with a hint of irritation in her voice.

So I recounted the tale of how Luna and I defeated the dream skeleton. I threw in some halfhearted dramatization for the sake of the three fillies who were still hanging around. Their faces betrayed their every emotion as they listened intently to my story. Twilight on the other hand kept giving me this serious look. But the fillies were hanging on every word.

Their eyes filled with fear as I described the dream skeleton and it's many whispering, chanting voices. They audibly gasped as I described how I had been turned against Princess Luna and had her in the grip of my many shadowy tendrils. Scootaloo quietly exclaimed "Yes!" as I explained how Luna got a powerful shot in on the Skeleton that disrupted it's hold on me long enough to strike back.

They were on the edge of their seats, so to speak, when I explained how the creature grew to a massive size within the dream world. I told them about how Luna stared the thing down and effectively crushed the behemoth into nothing but a tiny orb of red magic before she banished it forever from the world of dreams.

"Woah," they all said in unison. Twilight on the other hand seemed contemplative.

"But... if Luna was protecting you then how did it manage to get into your dreams in the first place?" she asked.

"Oh, that was my idea," I said.

"What!?" Twilight shouted.

"Well, Luna was having trouble tracking the thing down so I suggested we lure it to us. Can't lure anything without bait," I explained.

"So you thought of how to find it when Princess Luna couldn't?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"That's awesome!" Scootaloo chimed in.

"No no, I bet you she already thought of that. But you can't just ask someone to put themselves in harms way, even if you'll be there to help them. I just volunteered when she was looking frustrated," I said.

"But wasn't it scary?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Hmm, sure it was. It wasn't really fun when that thing got it's claws into me the first time... or the second time. But... well I knew Princess Luna was looking out for me, so I wasn't that worried," I explained. It seemed to be enough to impress the little fillies.

Twilight though just breathed a sigh of relief after I got to the end of my story. Once I finished indulging Apple Bloom and her friends Twilight caught my attention. Her expression was finally a little more relaxed.

"I'm glad it worked out," Twilight said a smile finally growing on her face.

"Me too," I said flatly as I rose back up to my feet. "Anyways, I'll let you all get back to... well, whatever you were doing. I've got other ponies to surprise," I said. The fillies all let out a disappointed "Awww!"

"Oh... Okay. Have fun!" Twilight said hesitantly.

I lifted one hand and waved back at them as I made for the exit. "I'll be back later," I said.


--


I spent the next hour or so looking around for Rainbow Dash. It usually didn't take long to find her because she usually spotted me pretty quickly. I ended up finding my way to the hill her house floated over without catching sight of her. 

If she was home I had no idea how to get her attention. I could have yelled like an idiot. Chances are she wasn't even home. Not to mention fatigue from the trip back to Ponyville and wandering around for an hour just trying to find her was catching up with me. I certainly did not get the sleep I wanted on the train. I laid back on the grass and decided if she came home or left home she would probably see me sleeping under her house. If not, well, it was a nice day for a nap.

I don't know really how long I slept. I do know that waking up was... interesting.

I was jarred awake by something pushing harshly against me. My arms were gripping tightly onto something soft, my vision filled with a bright field of multicolored strands.

"Come on Val!" Rainbow Dash groaned as she struggled against my grip. I had one arm around her neck and one around her midsection and had her back pinned to me as well as one of her wings pinned under my arm. Her limbs were wiggling in the air uselessly and she was arching her back as she tried to pull away from me.

Once I realized what was happening I let go and Rainbow Dash stumbled away from me and up onto her hooves. 

"That's not fair! I thought you were asleep!" she complained. As soon as I sat up Rainbow Dash was pushing her weight back onto her hind legs with her wings spread out. As soon as her hooves left the ground I fell back onto the grass just in time to see the multicolored blur pass right over me. 

"I was asleep," I called back to her after she roughly touched back down a few feet away. "You must have been trying to do something... naughty to me," I accused.

"Huh!?" Rainbow Dash yelped, quickly flipping back around.

"Molestation is a serious crime. Of course I'd try to restrain you," I said plainly.

"I was not!" Rainbow Dash asserted, stamping her hoof for effect.

"Now now, I understand. I am quite... irresistible," I said, running my hand through my hair and giving her an overtly flirtatious smile. 

Rainbow Dash just gave me a deadpan look. "All I did was come over to say hi and you just grabbed onto me," Rainbow Dash explained.

"Yeah, I'm a little grabby," I said with a yawn. "So what's up?" I asked.

"What's up!? Come on! When did you get back? What happened!?" Rainbow Dash asked, quickly shaking off my teasing.

I recounted yet again the story of my final encounter with the dream skeleton monster. Rainbow Dash was pretty reactive to my tale, just like the fillies were. I played up some of the more intense events just because the enthralled look on her face was so cute. 

"... Then this morning Princess Luna told me I was safe to do whatever and Princess Celestia told me I should come back here. So I hopped on the next train out," I finished.

"And then you had to come see your best bud right?" Rainbow Dash added.

"Yeah I went and saw Twilight," I said flatly.

Rainbow Dash socked me in the leg with her hoof and let out a little huff. I reached over and ruffled up her mane and she giggled.

"So what are you going to do now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'll probably just go and say hi to everyone. Next few days I'll probably be catching up on all those naps I missed," I said.

"Aw, that's boring!" Rainbow Dash whined.

"Yeah... I dunno, Princess Celestia said that from now on I should be absorbing pony 'culture'," I said.

"Well you can't do that if you're sleeping all day," Rainbow chided.

"Yeah... and I don't know how much pony 'culture' I'm gonna get from you" I teased.

"Only the best parts," Rainbow bragged.

"Then I guess I'll have to keep hanging around you then," I whined.

"Duh," Rainbow said, sticking her tongue out at me.

It was unbelievably fun being able to tease Rainbow Dash again. So much so that I couldn't keep from smiling.


--


After our roughhousing and short conversation Rainbow Dash informed me that Twilight wanted to see me. She was actually quite insistent about it. If Twilight wanted to see me so bad then I could not keep her waiting. So I got up, dusted myself off and said I would go see her right away. Rainbow Dash eagerly volunteered to accompany me, to which I just shrugged.

It was a fairly short walk back to Twilight's, especially without all the pointless wandering. 

I was not as devious about my entrance when I approached the front door. I just swung it right open only to be greeted by an explosion of confetti for my consideration.

"Surprise!" yelled Pinkie Pie,  surrounded by balloons, a big banner that said "Welcome Back", Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Spike and Fluttershy. 

I blinked a couple of times as the confetti settled around me, landing mostly in my hair. I looked at all of the smiling ponies, back at Rainbow Dash who was also grinning, over at Spike who was stirring a big glass bowl of punch on a nearby table then back over to Twilight.

"Twilight I thought I said I wanted to do the surprising," I said dryly.

"Well–"

"It was surprising!" Pinkie shouted, interrupting Twilight. "Twilight came in and asked Mrs. Cake for a big chocolate cake! Which was pretty strange because it wasn't anypony's birthday! I mean I definitely would have known about that and Twilight wouldn't have needed to order the cake! Mrs. Cake asked what it was for and she said that you came back all of sudden! I ran out of the kitchen so fast that I knocked over a big bowl of batter and a huge can of sprinkles! I asked Twilight what was going on and she told me that you just showed up out of nowhere! I was upset because I wanted to throw you a huge party with lights and music and cookies and cupcakes and everything! But since I had no time to plan I had to get everypony to help me blow up balloons and make the banner and put up streamers and bake the cake and make the punch! But even while we were all running around nopony managed to bump into you! We had everything ready as fast as we could and you were nowhere to be found! So we sent Rainbow Dash out to find you and she did so here you are!" Pinkie Pie explained, panting heavily after her long-winded rant.

I gave Pinkie Pie a blank stare while she caught her breath. "So... you said there was cake?" I asked.

"Yeah! Over on the table!" Pinkie Pie happily pointed out.

"Awesome," I mumbled, making my way over. My almost complete disregard for Pinkie Pie's rant earned a few scattered giggles and a loud laugh from Spike.

The table just had a stack of empty plates, utensils, a glass bowl filled with light pink punch and simple round chocolate cake with brown chocolate icing.

Written on top of the cake in white frosting was "Welcome Back Valentino" which managed to give me pause.

"I feel like I've been saying this a lot, but all of you really didn't need to go through the trouble," I said looking back over my shoulder. I instantly could see Rarity roll her eyes.  

"Of course we did! We couldn't welcome you back home without a welcome back party!" Pinkie Pie stated loudly.

"Um..." muttered the quiet yellow pony that managed to sneak right up next to me. I looked down to see Fluttershy looking straight back up at me. "We just thought that it would be nice to remind you that there is a place for you here and that we're all happy that you're back," she said with a small smile.

"Yeah!" barked Applejack. "What kinda friends would we be if we made it seem like we didn't care if ya came or left," she explained. The other ponies all nodded in agreement.

I had a pretty good inkling so far, but I felt it was pretty much confirmed that I was surrounded by a bunch of sweet hearts. I let out a small sigh and turned my head back to table. "You guys are just trying to make me cry," I said, feigning like I was getting choked up. It got a few more giggles from the ponies.

With that sappiness done with I quickly started laying out plates and cutting the cake into even portions. Once I was done I laid the pieces all out on the plates before I stepped aside. "Well, everybody grab some cake and some punch 'cause I'm gonna tell a scary story," I said, taking on a darker tone.  

"S-scary story?" Fluttershy stammered while the others started to line up for cake, Spike managing to snag his own plate before the ponies made it over to the table.

"Well I don't want to explain what happened back in Canterlot five more times," I said, pouring my own cup of punch.

"O-oh," Fluttershy said, still looking worried but eventually getting her own slice of cake.

Once that was all dealt with we all sat around in a circle with our cake. Pinkie Pie and Spike both wolfed theirs down as fast as they could while everyone else were a bit more reserved. 

"So, everyone is already familiar with what prompted my stay in Canterlot right?" I asked the group.

"Somethin' to do with skeletons?" Applejack guessed.

"More or less. You see... there was a creature haunting my dreams," I started, allowing my tone and expression to go dark. "A floating amalgamation of bones and skulls, with great glowing red eyes. It would speak to me in a chorus of voices that came not only from it's skulls but also reverberated all around me and shook me to my very soul," I described. Already attention was off of the cake and the ponies had their eyes glued to me. "It hid... in a dark memory and after it made itself known in my dream it plunged it's claws into me," I said, pressing my fingertips against my chest to mimic the action. "Twisted all of my fears with it's magic and turned me into a panicked skeleton. All just because I had the nerve to take a nap," I said. I surprised myself with how quickly it turned from a dramatization to me just darkly recalling the event. "I was saved by Twilight and Rainbow Dash, but that thing was still hiding in the world of dreams," I said, closing up my dark summary of the previous events.

Then I went yet again into detail on the events leading to the defeat of the dream skeleton. My experience with Princess Luna, her frustration, my plan to draw the creature out and the outcome of that plan. 

It remained silent for a few moments after I finished my story for hopefully the last time. 

"Well, it sounds like it all worked out," Applejack said, breaking the silence.

"Yup," I said dully, finally taking the time to eat my cake.

"Princess Luna is certain that... thing is gone," Rarity asked.

I quickly tried to swallow down the bit of cake in my mouth so I could answer Rarity. "Luna took a few days to make certain. When she told me it was safe she seemed very optimistic," I explained. I heard a couple sighs of relief which was followed by another long silence.

"So that's what I've been up to! Well, that and the spa," I suddenly exclaimed trying to break the awkward silence.

Rarity perked up at that. "Spa?" she questioned.

This led to another detailed explanation of my time with Olive Branch, my visit to her mothers spa and Olive's amazing massages. 

"I thought you said your back was super sensitive," Rainbow said, flying around behind me. I fearfully twisted around to look at her.

"It is, but her hooves were just... magic," I said, almost melting at the memory of her working me over. This earned a few unsolicited laughs.

We talked a bit more and Rarity brought up the meeting I had with Princess Celestia right after she showed up. I skipped around the conflict with the griffons however I did show off the document that proved my new legal residency. Everyone excitedly congratulated me, all I could manage was sort of a shrug in response. It felt more like an obligation than an achievement.

The mood though had brightened considerably and we chatted further into the evening.


--


I was constantly surprised by the consideration of ponies. They all helped clean up before taking their leave. All that was left was Spike, Twilight and myself. 

Spike let out a long, loud yawn. "I don't know about you guys but I'm gonna go to bed," he declared.

"Bed does sound pretty good right now," Twilight agreed. Her expression fell though as she looked over to me. "Um... what about you Valentino?" she asked hesitantly.

Sleeping arrangements did get a little off-kilter before things really took a turn for the worse. But given what happened since then I considered that mess with Twilight far in the past. Still, with all the time we spent apart it was probably hard to tell what I was thinking.

"Yeah, let's go to bed," I said, moving to follow. Twilight immediately perked up and excitedly rushed up the stairs.

One I slowly made it up to the bedroom Spike was already settled in and Twilight was arranging extra pillows on her bed. Once she caught sight of me she moved to one edge of the bed and used her magic to pull the blankets aside.

I dressed down to my usual shared sleeping attire and fell into the space on the bed Twilight made for me. 

It was surprisingly awkward as we both just sort of laid there for a while. I was staring up at the ceiling for most of that time. When I finally looked over Twilight was laying on her side and staring at me with big eyes. 

I shifted so that I was also laying on my side and facing Twilight. She pushed her head deeper into her pillow but was still just staring at me. She was adorable to be certain, all curled up with her face half buried in the pillow. But in spite of that the atmosphere was still a little awkward. Twilight just seemed kind of hesitant. In fact she had been pretty quiet throughout the whole party, even when Pinkie Pie wasn't interrupting her. 

"Are you okay?" Twilight whispered, interrupting my contemplation.

"Hm? You've heard the story twice now, I'm safe and sound," I mumbled in response.

"No I mean..." Twilight stretched out one leg and put her hoof gently against arm as she trailed off. "Are you okay? When I left you were..." she trailed off again.

When she left I just finished having a complete meltdown and insisted that I needed time alone to get a handle on myself.

"Your letters were really... concise. I couldn't tell how you were feeling so..." Twilight's whispers trailed in and out.

Before then I just got finished chastising, punishing and otherwise taking out a lot of my frustrations on the pony. 

"I just want to know if you are feeling better or if you need more time," she finally said. 

"If I needed more time I probably could have stayed in Canterlot," I said. Again Twilight just silently stared at me. 

"You know, before I left Celestia said I should go back to Ponyville because it was the best place to get used to life in Equestria. I told her to put me on the next train over and she said oh hold on, you don't need to go so soon," I quietly explained. "But I insisted on coming back right away. You know why?" I asked.

"Why?" Twilight whispered.

"Well, felt a little out of place in that big castle. Not a whole lot to do unless I wanted to be escorted around all day. Guards staring me whenever I would walk past," I rattled out one after another. "Mostly though... I missed some of my best pony friends," I said. 

Twilight's eyes brightened a little and a small smile crept onto her face. 

"So yeah, unless something else goes fantastically wrong I think I'll be okay. Don't worry about it," I said gently, trying to reassure her.

Twilight pulled her hoof away from me and stayed silent for a moment while she shifted slightly on the bed. Her little movements didn't stop as I noticed she was scooting her way across the bed and closer to me. I wasted no time in letting my arms wrap around her midsection. Her front legs pulled my head into her neck while she nuzzled into my hair. 

Her warmth, her breathing, the way she liked to nuzzle into the top of my head, it was all very familiar. I enjoyed that simple familiarity, a little warm thing that helped me forget about the rest of the trouble I had to go through. Even if it did mean listening to Spike trying to stifle his laughter after such a sappy exchange.

I did not fall asleep too quickly while snuggling up to Twilight. Partly because I wanted to enjoy the sensation but also partly because I was hit suddenly with some new anxieties.

What do I do now?

Rainbow Dash had asked me as much earlier but I had given her a halfhearted response. I had already started studying ponies and their history seriously before. Continuing that was obviously a given, but what happens beyond then. Do I try to get some legitimate detective work? Is there a federal agency or law enforcement office to apply at? Would I have put in the same time as a regular officer before moving on as a detective? Would human credentials mean anything? I have no references that could be contact.

I quickly cut off that line of thinking. Answers to those questions would come with research. Research was my priority and coincided with the directions given to me by Princess Celestia, a pretty significant authority if ever there was one in this kingdom of ponies. There was no point in working excessively beyond that or even considering it. For the time I resolved to relish in the fact that I did not need to work myself to the limit night after night, up to my ears in morbid scenes and moral atrocities. Or magical mishaps, hopefully.

Do what I do best, take my time. Enjoy my sleep and those cozy ponies.
> Chapter 12 - Reminiscing and Roughhousing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


-Snow in Spring Volume One – Chapter Three-


... Snow Sail's eyes went wide while Rosy Glow slowly lifted up her tail. Snow was used to Rosy's teasing but this was obviously far beyond any teasing. When it came to her... needs, Snow always believed that Rosy had other ponies in mind to lend her a hoof. Of course she would, Snow kept himself so busy that he didn't think about anypony's needs, least of all his own. Rosy had meant to do something about that for a long time and the timing of Snow's forced vacation couldn't have been better. This way, they could take care of each other.

Even with the distance between them Snow could smell Rosy's heat in the air. It sent his heart racing and blood pumping. His friend was showing him everything, which cause Snow to audibly gulp.

"C'mon Snow," Rosy panted, looking back at him. "You gonna help me out or what?" she asked, punctuating her request with a wink–


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


–I slammed the book shut and threw it onto the table. Three chapters in and for the first time since I had started perusing through pony literature I was completely caught off guard. 

Twilight was out running a few short errands with Spike and while I was waiting for them to come back I thought I would make use of the library I was living in. The book I picked up was just kind of goofy looking. It had a lots of hearts on the cover and was titled Snow In Spring. It wasn't quite so odd anymore that I pulled it off of one of the highest shelves in a distant corner of the library. 

Most of the books I had read were pretty plodding and had predictable happy resolutions. It was cute the first couple of books I read but it got boring fast. I thought that such a cheesy looking pony romance novel would be an amusing read. What I got instead was startling to say the least.

My experiences with ponies didn't prepare my heart for such risque material. Although if it was a certain monarch I knew who just happened to moonlight as an author I wouldn't be so surprised. But I thought about it and not only was that unlikely it was unreasonable to sweep so many other ponies under the rug like that. The bashfulness of the very few ponies I often teased shouldn't paint the rest.

In fact I became determined, through this line of thinking, not to let my assumptions color my opinions and to broaden my horizons. So I carefully reached back over to the book and slowly cracked it open to where I thought I left off... 


-Snow In Spring Volume One – Chapter Three-


... Rosy's moans urged Snow to thrust faster–


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


–I slammed the book shut again. My heart was racing. It felt like the first time I had discovered pornography all over again. Shocked, morbidly curious and feeling like I was looking at something I shouldn't...

... But it was possibly important research.

Certainly not an accurate testament to pony reproduction. More likely the idealized fantasy that appealed to the readership, though that alone had cultural implications. I flipped back to the first page. Snow In Spring was more than just it's first volume, it was an extensive series. Since it was the fourth edition print the library stocked, listed at the front of the book was six more volumes. It was possible the series continued even past that.

I walked back over to the shelf I picked it from and there was... a few volumes were there but quite a few more were missing. It was either a popular series or Twilight was sitting on quite a few of the volumes. I don't know which was more intriguing and it was certainly something that required further investigation.

That could wait however until it got in the way of my pressing research. 

Still I found myself pacing back and forth in front of the table. It brought up a lot of mixed feelings. There was the obvious in how I was using research as an excuse to read a very... steamy romance novel. But that was hardly a dilemma I took issue with. It was more like...

I felt like it was the equivalent of peeping in on two ponies going at it. Which was bad enough on it's own but certainly creepier since I was not of the same species. Certainly didn't feel like my place.

On the other hand it was just a book. It was irrational to assume anything just from partaking in the local literature no matter how steamy it was. It certainly held some cultural significance if it was as popular as it seemed. 

Yet if I was seen reading it by a pony who knew the series then that would open up the door for an excessively awkward conversation.

Unless I took the right attitude then it was possible it could open up the door for an excessively hilarious confrontation.

I stopped at last in front of the table and picked up the book with one hand and a renewed determination. It wasn't just insight that the novel would give me. Potentially it would give me ammunition. Maybe it was not necessary for some of these Ponyville ponies but I could think of one specific pony back in Canterlot who had gotten the best of me too many times.

The book fit snugly into one of my coats two interior pockets. I wasn't going to delve much deeper into Snow Sail's saucy encounter with Rosy Glow with the threat of Twilight's imminent return. That was a conversation that needed planning and more research.

It could have been funny, but it was best to control myself. Take it slow and not blow my load too early. A piece of advice I would wish to impart on Snow Sail after some further reading.

Hm.


--


Just a few moments after I had the book safely tucked away in my jacket pocket the door jingled open. "We're back!" Twilight announced. Her saddlebags looked like they were packed full. Spike ran ahead of Twilight with a big bag in his arms. 

"We got the groceries you wanted!" Spike declared as he ran up to me.

"Great, thanks," I said, reaching over and taking the bag from him. I looked inside and was satisfied.

"I know you wanted to make dinner, but why did you need so many ingredients?" Twilight asked.

"Sauce," I called back, already halfway to the kitchen. Once I got to the kitchen I started carefully pulling everything out of the bag and lining it all up on the counter. I could hear hooves following after me.

"Sauce?" Twilight asked.

"It's easier to make a lot all at once and freeze the leftovers. Takes ten minutes to heat it up and dump it on some pasta whenever you're hungry," I explained. I can't even remember how many different kinds of sauces I had stored in plastic containers in my freezer back in my old apartment. The one that isn't in pony world.

"Oh, of course," Twilight said, making her way into the kitchen.

I had spent a lot of time scoping out the kitchen in preparation to cook but it seemed time and time again I was incapacitated, indisposed or vehemently proving a point. 

And of course, sometimes I was just lazy.

Regardless I was pretty familiar with the layout. The tools were more or less the same. Kitchen knives, pots, pans, whisks and the like were made with mouths, hooves and magic in mind. Fortunately that was enough, something that was meant to be manipulated with a mouth could easily be manipulated with a hand. Some of the handles dug into my palm in weird ways but ultimately it was workable. 

I glanced over to Twilight once before getting started. She was happily sitting down at the far end of the kitchen watching me. 

I didn't pay her much mind, it was time to get to work.

-Twilight Sparkle – Human Observation Record-

When cooking Valentino shows much of the same attitude and behaviors as normal. He moves and acts very slowly and deliberately, without any sense of urgency. He had set everything out before hand, every ingredient and tool was laid out very precisely. His planning was so meticulous that he didn't need to even look up from his current task to grab what he needed. 

I am always impressed when Valentino would display his penchant for planning and quick thinking. It was no less evident in his cooking. He moved so smoothly from one task to another, only interrupted intermittently by having to stretch out his back. The height of the counters caused him to bend over slightly which seemed to put some strain on it.

Though his height did not seem to do well for his back his long arms and dexterous hands were quite beneficial. Spike often has to use a stool just to stand at an appropriate height and then would have to drag it along the length of the counter over to the stove and back again depending on what he was cooking.

He said he was making a tomato based sauce that he claimed was really very simple but was something that he had a lot of when he was younger. It meant a lot that he was willing to share something so personal with me. Though he did laugh a little when I mentioned it.

"It's just sauce," he said, stirring the pot. He wasn't able to hide the wistfulness in his voice though. By his tone and his smile I think he was happy to share it with me. Which of course made me happy as well.

He told me to pick out whatever kind of pasta I wanted. I ended up buying a fun corkscrew shaped pasta. He referred to it as "Rotini" and seemed familiar with it. It's amazing how certain things resonate with him so easily, sometimes to the point that he doesn't seem so much like a foreign entity. Does it speak to his adaptability? Or perhaps that wherever he comes from is more closely connected to our world than we think? 

The sauce carried a wonderful smell that filled the entire library. It eventually brought Spike in to investigate. 

"It smells great in here!" Spike said, running into the kitchen.

"Oh yeah? You want to try some?" Valentino asked, reaching down to one of the drawers and pulling out a fresh spoon.

"Sure!" Spike said enthusiastically.

Valentino got a small spoonful of the red sauce and knelt down in front of Spike, passing the spoon over to him. Spike eagerly slurped down the sauce.

"Tha's good!" Spike said with the spoon still in his mouth. When he pulled the spoon out he looked over at me. "Twilight you should try this!" he said.

"I think I'll just wait until it's all done," I said.

"Shouldn't be long," said Valentino. He had moved away from Spike and back to the pair of pots sitting on the stove. He was chewing on what I assumed was some of pasta that he had fished out of the smaller, boiling pot to the right of the huge pot of sauce. "Spike, you want to toast this bread a little?" Valentino asked, motioning to the basket of bread he had on the counter.

Valentino was not shy about cooperating, not even when he first arrived. It's very surprising given his situation. I think this speaks volumes to the social nature of humans.

Valentino made up plates for each of us and then quickly went to work storing the rest of the sauce he made. He told us to go ahead and start eating. The pasta and sauce was topped off with a lot of cheese, something Valentino said he was fond of. It tasted wonderful, though I can't say I was that surprised after watching him work.

After a few minutes Valentino sat down with us and started to eat himself. He let out a small sigh after his first bite, it must have been a little nostalgic for him.


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


"Do you miss your family?" Twilight asked not long after I had sat down.

The question caused me to pause. It really wasn't something I was expecting to discuss over dinner. Though I guess I put the notion that this was something I had a lot with my family in Twilight's head. Something we had while me and my brother were kids. A simple tomato sauce that wouldn't upset two picky kids.

Not to mention that it was easy enough to make. We would have it a lot while my parents worked their asses off to support us and the restaurant my dad was dead set on starting. The restaurant didn't get a lot of traction until I was in high school.

"Of course I do," I finally said.

"They are probably..." Twilight paused, looking at me and trying to gauge my expression. 

"Worried about me? Oh yeah," I said calmly, finishing the thought for her. "Well, my brother is pretty optimistic. As far as they know, I'm just missing... and..." I trailed off.

"And?" Twilight asked.

I was hesitant to talk about my family drama. I had already shared a lot with Twilight, the worst of it actually. She was curious and probably wouldn't let it go if I tried to brush her off. Not that I really had much reason to brush her off anymore. Keeping too many things to myself didn't really seem to work out in the long run.

"It's a little complicated. I haven't really seen much of my family for a while. I mean, before all of this," I said, gesturing widely.

"How come?" Twilight asked. She was quite relentless on the subject. Her tone was even, sympathetic but she pressed the issue without hesitation.

I let out a defeated sigh. I wasn't about to get away with telling Twilight anything but the whole story.

"It happened a couple of years after I was discharged from the military. My brother had just been discharged himself and was on his way home. What had happened was that during a... conflict... he lost vision in his left eye. Obviously the standards are pretty high and complete loss of vision in just one eye is enough to get you sent home. Still it was a lot better than being sent home for turning into an emotional wreck," I grumbled sarcastically. Twilight's expression fell a little and even Spike's frantic devouring of the food in front of him slowed.

"But I was getting better. Less reclusive anyways. I was staying with my parents at the time and as I improved I saw a lot more of them. Even helped around the restaurant some times. My dad was going out a lot with some good friends of his that were a big part of the restaurant after it started to expand. Pretty much what you would expect but one night I went down into the restaurant and saw one of his pals working late. You know, one of the ones he just told us he was going to get drinks with. I'm sure you can see where this is going," I said, hoping she would fill in the gaps.

Twilight just gave me a confused look.

"He was not hanging out with his friends, he was lying so he could go do something else," I emphasized, hoping that would be enough set her down the right path.

"What was he doing?" Twilight asked, still confused.

"He was cheating!" I groaned, exasperated.

"Ch... cheating...?" Twilight said, her questioning tone was not as shocked as I expected. She still seemed just as lost.

"On my step mom," I clarified. 

Still she was tilting her head quizzically. 

"He was having illicit rendezvous with other ladies," I elaborated.

No change.

"Sex!" I nearly shouted.

Twilight's eyes left me and started darting back and forth while she tried to piece together the information. "Were these other... females... not part of the... relationship?" she asked, giving me an unsure look.

I sat there with my mouth open for a second when I finally started to catch on to her confusion. "It was.... a monogamous relationship," I said slowly, staring hard at Twilight and trying to gauge her reaction.

"Mono..." Twilight mumbled before realization started to dawn on her. "Oh... Oh!" she exclaimed, putting her front hooves onto the table. Her understand came with a flux of emotion as everything I had just described slowly took on new meaning. "Ah..." she eventually muttered, her ears drooping and she dropped back down to the ground. "Is that... common?" she asked.

"What? The cheating or the monogamy?" I asked.

"B-both I guess?" Twilight responded awkwardly.

"I, uh, think I'll go wash this," Spike said with an awkward laugh, pointing to his empty plate. I remained silent as he quickly made his escape into the kitchen.

"Monogamy is fairly common, at least where I come from. Polygamy is actually illegal. Well okay, bigamy is illegal. Having multiple, state recognized marriages is illegal. Even attempting it is illegal. I mean you could be with whoever you want but depending on... it's..." I trailed off because despite trying to explain it Twilight just looked... distraught. Shocked even. "It's complicated," I awkwardly ended with.

"I didn't think... you said you had a relationship with multiple... females," Twilight stated.

"Friends who I also sometimes had sex with," I clarified. "Which certainly has it's own social implications but isn't illegal. At least not where I am from," I added.

"But... that's so..." Twilight mumbled, she looked frustrated and her head was spinning.

"Well, how are things around here then?" I asked.

"It's... well," Twilight stumbled at first but then shot up with a serious expression on her face. "Love is something that's a little different for everypony. It's something that might burn intensely only for a very special somepony or you might be overflowing with love for several ponies. However love manifests and for who it manifests doesn't matter because love is just a wonderful thing," Twilight strictly recited. But once she was done her expression became frustrated again. "It's... you can't dictate how anypony is supposed to love each other!" she proclaimed

"Yeah that sounds about fair. But what law book did you get that out of?" I asked.

"That's just how Cadance explained it to me..." Twilight mumbled.

"Okay it's not that I disagree... well, listen, Twilight my problem isn't that Dad was having intimate relations with other... humans. He could have been screwing around with ten other women, or other dudes! Whatever! You've already pointed it out, I have no place to judge on that front. My problem is that he was lying," I said, letting irritation seep into my words.

My explanation managed to ease Twilight's concerns at least a little. Her attention was back on me anyways and not dancing around in her own head.

"His current relationship was not fulfilling him in... whatever ways he needed it to. But instead of bringing it up with Mom honestly he found that fulfillment elsewhere, at my step moms expense and then lied about it," I vented, feeling an impotent surge of old anger. I brought my hand up and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"I tailed him after I first found out he was lying to us. I hoped it was for a good reason, like a surprise party or something he was planning for maybe when Bruno got home. Eventually though I figured it out. I couldn't keep it to myself. Holding the information in at all made me feel sick to my stomach. I couldn't just tell Mom though, she wouldn't believe me. Not with the way I had been acting since I got back. She'd think I was just being emotional and hysterical. I wasn't even sure if I should tell Mom. So then I thought maybe I would confront Dad and put it on him. But how easy would it be for my dad to brush me off? Dad's a pretty strong willed guy and he's my dad, that was intimidating enough," I continued, removing my hand from my face and letting both of my arms rest on the table. 

"So... what did you do?" Twilight hesitantly asked. 

"Kept tailing him, took photos, documented what he would say and who he would talk to. Took statements from his friends. Day after day, until Bruno finally got home. Took him aside and showed him everything. Absolutely everything. There was some denial at first but all the photos and documents, he couldn't really dispute it. After that of course he was furious, wanted to take a very aggressive course of action right away. I calmed him down, said we needed to approach this delicately or at least plan something out. Bruno wanted it to be a family thing, get everyone in the same room and let it all out. This is where I sort of... messed things up," I grumbled, looking away from Twilight.

"How did you mess it up? It sounds like you had a plan in mind," Twilight questioned.

"Well, Bruno had a plan. I was terrified by the idea of looking at my fathers face while I outed him. Yet at the same time I was disgusted by the idea of letting Bruno call him out while I hid. There was no way to say, here's all this evidence without it coming back to me. Bruno hadn't been around! Of course we couldn't let it keep happening while we waited for the timing to be better. And..." I trailed off again, not wanting to recount the humiliating incident.

"What?" Twilight said, her tone gently urging me to continue.

"It might have been my fault. I was so... volatile for so long. Say the wrong thing and I would just shut down, for days. My parents were on eggshells the moment I got home. Coddling me when they did interact with me. If I wasn't so lost in my own head I would have felt like I child," I mumbled.

"But what happened to you was–"

"That wasn't the problem. I was how I was. The problem was that maybe my dad didn't confront the issues he had with his marriage because of how it would affect his emotionally unstable son," I spat out through gritted teeth. 

"Overall, because of how terrified and cowardly I was, I convinced Bruno to let me explain everything to my mom in private. Then, the same night, I packed up my things and moved in with a friend about three hours north of where my family lived. I was convinced at the time that Bruno could be the emotional center that my parents needed to help them sort out their issues. They could hash out everything they needed without me there to drag them down or hold them back," I said. I couldn't look at Twilight. All I could do was stare down at my hands.

"But the reality is... I just stirred things up and ran away so I wouldn't have to deal with it," I said with a sigh. "I couldn't live with the lie but I couldn't handle the consequences," I said with a shrug.

When I finally looked back up at Twilight she just looked... sad. Depressed and uncertain. Her big eyes would look up at me and then glance down to the floor a lot. It seemed like she couldn't find the right words to say. I decided I needed to steer the conversation out of the depressing pit it was in.

"My friend helped me break into my career. I thought there would be stricter standards for entry into law enforcement but... well I've told you about where I worked, place was very lax in a lot of ways. I managed to squeeze right in. I wasn't sure how well I would do given the exceptional failure that was my military career. But I actually ended up doing very well. Though I guess I already had practice causing trouble for people causing trouble. Actually, having something to work on and to work towards did a lot for my... emotional stability. I managed to confront a lot of my issues and was actually feeling pretty good," I said.

"So that's when you became a detective?" Twilight asked.

"I was just a regular officer for a few years. But I did like the idea of becoming a detective. I excelled beyond my peers, which wasn't difficult given who I was working with, so when the space opened up it was a sure thing. After that, well, you know the rest. I got comfortable in my position and started working to make changes in the whole department. That had it's own ups and downs but, eventually things started down the right path. Skip ahead a little further and here we are," I concluded

"What about your family?" Twilight asked eagerly. Her expression hadn't changed much and but her tone was expectant Maybe she was hoping for a happy ending. 

"Well, I saw my brother pretty often. Got in touch with my step mom after I had been working for a while. She was doing fairly well after they had split up. But Mom was always pretty stoic, hard to tell what she was thinking. Bruno said it was... difficult for her. At least for a little while," I said, frowning at the thought. Glancing up at Twilight she wasn't looking too happy either. "She did chew me out for taking off though," I said with a small laugh. Trying to cheer someone up.

"As for Dad... well, even after I advanced to detective he still wouldn't really talk to me. I thought he was mad. Bruno told me though that he was really ashamed. That he couldn't bear to face me and see the disappointment on my face. To be fair I don't think I'd have been able to hide it. I think I'm probably even more disappointed now than I was then. It was just a fight I don't think either of us were ready to have... guess we won't have the chance," I mused.

In silence Twilight slowly walked around the table. Her ears were pinned back and her head hung low. I lifted my arm as she quickly grabbed onto me with her front legs and buried her face into my side.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry this has all been so hard..." she said quietly.

I failed to suppress a laugh which had Twilight look up at me confused. I let my arm drop, my hand landing on top of her head. Her horn poked out between my thumb and index finger. I gently started to stroke the top of her head.

"I appreciate it Twilight but I've already spent a lot of time talking to my brother and working this stuff out. I'm about as okay as I can be with this family stuff at least," I said.

"But they're your family and–"

"I'll miss them," I interrupted, still gently running my fingers through Twilight's mane. "I'll miss them a lot. But... I know they're fine and that really helps. Mom was pursuing her art stuff, Dad's business was still successful and getting bigger. Bruno was taking up his martial arts stuff again and really going at that pretty hard. Wasn't going to let his one eye keep him down," I said, not hiding my pride.

Twilight pulled away from me and I took my hand off of her head. We stayed silent for a few moments.

"I started, for once, living my own life. That brought me here. We're not all together. Dad's not with Mom anymore, I'm not with them. But it'll be fine because we're all doing fine. Or something like that," I said, giving Twilight a half smile. 

Twilight tried her best to return that smile.


-Snow in Spring Volume One – Chapter Six-


By the end of her estrus Rosy's relentless pursuing of Snow Sail had lessened. If Snow did manage to see Rosy around town he'd still have to quickly flee in the other direction. Rosy knew how to stop Snow in his tracks with just a look. That expectant stare and sultry smile. Snow was embarrassed just to think about how he let Rosy relentlessly milk him for everything he was worth over the past week. Even more embarrassed about how much he enjoyed it and how it still clung to his thoughts.

Snow thought that it would be better to stay inside and keep busy. It was supposed to be his vacation but Snow still scoffed at the idea. Winter might have ended but there was still another right around the corner. Did they have any idea how much planning was required to–

Snow's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his door. His heart jumped into his throat as he imagined Rosy waiting at his doorstep. However, Rosy rarely bothered knocking and the polite gentle rapping at his door was completely unlike her. 

Curious, Snow walked up to his front door and opened it just a crack–


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


Hooves roughly struck me from behind and I felt the normal shocks go through my back. My book flew out of my hands and onto the grassy ground. I was shoved onto my stomach and a heavy weight kept me pinned down. Not that I made much effort to move. In fact I just stayed motionless in the grass.

"I got you!" Rainbow Dash happily proclaimed.

"Yeah, you got me," I agreed with sarcastic enthusiasm. I remained limp on the ground. It didn't take long before Rainbow Dash began her agitated fidgeting.

"Come on!" Rainbow whined, hopping off of my back and easily rolling me over. "It's no fun if you just lay there!" she continued to complained.

"Ah, you've figure out my scheme," I said dryly while I sat up. Rainbow Dash huffed and was glaring at me expectantly. "Listen closely Rainbow Dash because this is an important lesson that will give you insight into some of my greatest abilities," I said with more serious tone. Immediately I had her attention. I got onto my knees and faced her, clearing my throat as I did so.

"You see Rainbow, I could have attempted a complex reversal based entirely on my assumptions of your anatomy. I might have even pulled it off. But I was in a disadvantageous position and you are strong, athletic, practiced," I lectured and Rainbow Dash grinned at the praise. "So I did what any good human would do–"

"Gave up?" Rainbow dash snickered.

"Ah that's the secret," I said, motioning for Rainbow Dash to come closer. As she approached I conspicuously looked around to make sure there were no ponies who could eavesdrop. Once she got close enough I leaned in even closer to her. "I let you get off of me all on your own," I whispered before leaning back again slightly and shooting her a sinister grin. 

Rainbow Dash stared blankly back at me for a just a second. The moment realization hit and her eyes went wide I lunged at her. She spread out her wings but I had lured her so close that I barely had any distance to cover. I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her into me. 

"Ah! No!" Rainbow Dash squealed. My left arm held her head tightly in place while I pressed the knuckles of my right hand roughly into the top of her head. She kicked at my leg with her front hooves, it stung but not enough get me to let up on my assault. I roughly started rubbing my knuckles against the top of her head, messing up her mane and causing her to yell out more.

"Come on! That's cheating!" she complained, though her yells were only punctuated with giggles and laughter. She started to kick my leg harder and despite the inevitable bruising I didn't let up.

"And sneaking up on me while I was reading wasn't?" I chided, digging into her head with my knuckles even harder.

"Agh! It's not my fault you weren't paying attention!" she whined.

"Well then it's not my fault you didn't see this coming," I retorted. Rainbow Dash changed her tactic and dug her hoof into my side which was unfortunately painful enough to get me to loosen my grip. Rainbow Dash slipped her head out from my hold and backed away from me, panting.

"Jeez..." she heaved, taking a break to look around and spotting my book still laying in the grass. "What were you reading anyways?" She asked curiously and trotted over to the book.

"Ah, it's important research," I said, rubbing my side. 

Rainbow Dash flipped it over with one hoof, exposing the heart decorated cover. Almost immediately she was smiling at me and fighting back laughter.

"What?" I asked, doing my best to keep my expression blank.

"I just..." Rainbow Dash started only to catch a laugh in her throat. "I didn't think you were into corny romance books," she blurted out and followed it up with a burst of giggles.

"Rainbow..." I mumbled, putting on a hurt expression. This managed to cut off her laughter and she looked at me dubiously. "I'm alone here you know. Maybe I'd like to think that someday... I might find love, even here..." I said wistfully and looking off towards the horizon. It was incredibly melodramatic and Rainbow Dash was starting to get wise to my antics.

"Really?" she asked doubtfully.

"Maybe, but really I thought it might be funny," I said seriously. Rainbow Dash giggled.

"It looks like it," she said and to my surprise she kicked the book open to a random page.

"Uh–" I could barely utter that much before Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide as they scanned across the pages of the book.

And she just kept going, despite how flushed her face became. It very quickly became uncomfortable as she continued to read the book, even going so far as to turn the page. Eventually I awkwardly cleared my throat which broke Rainbow's concentration. She quickly shut the book and picked it up with her teeth. She didn't make eye contact with me as she walked over and dropped the book into my hand.

"Thanks," I mumbled, tucking the book into my inner coat pocket.

"Yeah..." Rainbow Dash murmured back at me. She might have made fun of me if she hadn't been sucked into the steamy novel herself.

"Don't worry, I'll let you borrow it once I'm done reading it," I said.

"No!" Rainbow Dash shouted defensively. I finally turned my head to look at her, she was looking back at me though her eyes quickly darted down to where I stowed the book. "I mean... you don't need to... I can just, uh... sure," she mumbled, trailing off over and over again until her eyes finally looked away and she accepted my offer.

"Seems like it's a pretty big series, I'll get the others too you as I finish them," I offered.

"You really that into that book?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I told you, it's important research," I said.

"Pff, yeah that's it," Rainbow Dash snorted in disbelief, regaining some of her composure.

"Now Rainbow Dash, I know it's hard for you to remember that I am actually a big, weird alien but it's the truth. This is a necessary bit of cultural research. It's probably a more idealized version of... romance, but still probably useful knowledge," I said, patting at where I stowed the book away. "Besides, how else am I supposed to know if you are using strange pony tactics to come on to me?" I added with a smirk.

"Oh my gosh you're such a dork," Rainbow Dash said, giving me a playful shove. 

"At least I'm not some sky nerd," I expertly retorted, shoving her back. 

Rainbow Dash reared back and lunged at me. We spent the rest of our time together with her trying to wrestle me down while I evaded and taunted her. I think she stuck to the ground to give me a fair shot but once she got irritated she took to the sky where she easily outmaneuvered and then overpowered me. A fact I did not hesitate to rub in her face, which just started the cycle all over again.

It was fun.


-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-


A sea of stars greeted me in my dreams again. I spent what felt like a decent amount of time floating through it before a familiar royal pony formed herself out of the stars glittering around me. Once I was face to face with Luna I felt clarity wash over me. The normal haziness of being... well, in a dream was gone. 

"Valentino," Luna curtly greeted.

"Princess Luna, it's nice to see you. I think. Unless this is a... dream. I mean, I'm dreaming you being here and you aren't actually in my dreams. Very complicated magic you have," I commented.

"I assure you that it is truly I," she said seriously.

"Well, don't be too mad if I need to confirm it when I see you in the waking world," I said.

"I am surprised by your skepticism considering everything that's happened," she pointed out.

"Well if you are all the way back in Canterlot I can't just confirm it with you when I wake up like before. The skepticism just comes with the job anyways, I feel better with proof. Testimony, evidence, that sort of thing," I casually explained. "But right this second I guess it doesn't really matter, what's up?" I asked.

"I merely wanted to check up on you and make sure you were still doing well," Luna said... stiffly, maintaining a stoic expression. 

"Well that is very sweet of you Luna," I said with a grateful smile.

"I... I am only making certain that you are safe," she insisted, her stoic expression and tone cracking slightly. 

"Like I said, very sweet. Well, I have had no trouble sleeping these past few days. Day or night. It's been... well as good as it can get I think. You've done good work," I praised her, which only served to break down her stiff exterior further.

"I am... I am happy to hear that," she said, glancing away.

"But how are you? How are things in Canterlot?" I asked. Even that question seemed to catch her off guard. Though it was more like she was simply unprepared for my query and took a small pause to collect her thoughts.

"The nights have continued to be very peaceful since you left. My sister though complains of the ceaseless squawking of a certain griffon that is currently a... guest in our castle," Luna said, taking on a grim expression.

"Oh right... I may have had a hand in... agitating that... fellow," I confessed.

"Yes, my sister made me aware of your interaction and her frustration. Though I disagree that you were anything but justified in defending yourself from baseless accusations," Luna said.

"Well yeah, I just probably could have said it in a tone that didn't imply that I felt I was arguing with the stupidest bird in Canterlot. Not very political. Then Princess Celestia having to protect me didn't really improve tensions," I said in Celestia's defense. Not that I can say I would have done differently even with that understanding. Luna just huffed.

"The ambassador should take more after Iris," Luna suggested.

"Oh?" I questioned.

"She spends her time working rather than complaining, often late into the night and is nothing but polite," Luna stated.

"Seems like Erling has her intimidated though," I mentioned, recalling how she cowered behind him and barely said a word while he prattled on in our last encounter.

"Is that so?" Luna asked.

"From what I could tell, probably," I said.

"Perhaps this is something I should look into," Luna mused, turning away from me. The starry sea that surrounded us shimmered for a moment but stabilized again. Luna awkwardly turned back towards me. 

Anticipating what was coming I held out my arms. Luna shuffled forward and pulled me into a tight embrace. As soon as it happened everything started to shimmer again, even my thoughts became vague and foggy. A stiffness filled my body and I felt disoriented...


-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-


With the dream shattered my eyes fluttered open. I could feel the warmth of an embrace, though it was just Twilight who was softly clinging to me. My grip on her was tighter though I relaxed as soon as I got my bearings. 

It was nice to... talk to Luna? I guess that's what that was? It seemed less odd having her mess with my dreams when she was in the same room. Or even the same large building. It seemed however dreamland was a different beast than I imagined and distance didn't really matter. Thinking on it now, I suppose it wouldn't? Maybe? Either way it was about as convenient as a phone call but twice the existential crisis. Like I didn't have enough of those looming around, waiting to strike.

I let out a quiet sigh and pushed it out of my head. Instead I turned my attention to the purple pony whose neck I had just had my face half buried in. When I pulled my head away from her and she grumbled in her sleep. Her hooves lightly tugged at me once but the disturbance didn't rouse Twilight much beyond that. 

I hadn't really seen much of Twilight while she slept. Usually I passed out before she did and she was awake long before I was. Yet there she was, snoozing peacefully. Her breathing was light and her mane was mildly disheveled. 

I pulled my left arm back, letting go of her. I brought my hand to her chest and ran it over her soft coat. My fingers traveled up her neck and through her mane. Then back down and over her leg that reached over to me and rested on my shoulder. Adorable as she was the differences were noticeable. 

Before I could dwell on it she tugged at me again and pushed her face into my hair, bringing my face into her neck again.  

That was the other thing though. Her actions, all of the ponies, just seemed so distinctly... human? Or perhaps it was just their intelligence that made it seem human. Not like I have anything else to compare it to. But if I close my eyes and talk to a pony it's the same as talking to any human. At least until they say something like "somepony" or "hoof" or whatever. 

Little, little actions, expressions mostly that made them seem most... human. Intelligent and emotional are probably a little more accurate but I mean... they act like I would expect a human to. But obviously it was a matter of these actions simply not being exclusive to humanity. Or so it seemed.

The smell too. Twilight had a slight floral scent. Probably attributed to her bathing and grooming herself every day. Similar. How she went about it though was likely a bit different.

Different, similar, I don't know why it seemed like such an important distinction while I lay there. Idly I was gently stroking Twilight's leg while she nuzzled into the top of my head. I could hear her breathing and if I just turned my head a little and pressed my ear to her chest I could hear her heart beat. Plus she was warm. Not so different. 

Not so different...