> Learning to Live and Love
>  by FlashKenshin77
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Opener
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

*CLICK* “Damn,” I muttered and pulled the gun away from my head.  I glanced at the clock; it was 12:05 AM, December 22, 2012. “So much for it being the end of the world.” I said to myself and spun the chamber of the revolver. My great grandpa had given me it before he died and I had it restored.
I was alone in the house; everyone had gone out to celebrate the ‘End of the World’. My parents went to go gamble while my sister went to party with her friends and drink. I sighed, wondering what friends were like. Sure I’ve had ‘friends’ in the past, but they all turned out to be liars and only used me till they grew tired of me and spit me out. Lately, I’ve become good friends with a few people, but even then, they couldn’t help me all the time. What’s the point in bothering them with my problems anyway; they would just use it to make fun of me.
So I sat on my bed, watching the final Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode, glancing at the suicide note next to me.
“There’s no such thing as a painless lesson. They just don’t exist. Sacrifices are necessary. You can’t gain anything without losing something first although if you can endure that pain and walk away from it, you’ll find that you now have a heart strong enough to overcome any obstacle. Yeah, a heart made fullmetal.” Ed said the final line as the episode ended with a picture of the main cast with the credits soon starting to roll.
“Ha, trust me Ed, I know.” I said and held the gun to my temple once more. I primed it and felt the cold chill of steel push against my skin. I had a feeling that after this time, I wouldn’t need to spin the chamber. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before pulling the trigger.


--**--


I opened my eyes, darkness my only friend as I floated around like a bird gliding on an updraft. “Well, looks like it worked.” I said, my voice echoed, distorted. I looked around, not seeing anything. “Look, I know I wasn’t perfect but sending me to hell is a bit much.” I said to no one. Suddenly I saw a faint light flash off in the distance. I squinted at it, the faint light pulsing in time with my heart. I headed there, having nothing else to do.
As I floated closer, I heard music, but not the church choir music I was expecting. I started hearing…Warrant?


{Click the link, don’t wanna get in trouble with FiMFic’s new lyric rules}


“Okay ha-ha, real funny.” I nervously muttered and hesitantly touched the light. It shimmered briefly before a door materialized, replacing the light. I blinked, startled as I stared at the marble white door. I grabbed the golden handle and paused for a moment. I sighed and opened it.
The room seemed to be in limbo, the backdrop switching from the darkness of space to the brightness of a summer morning. A narrow pathway of marble led to a floating platform, darkness and light orbiting it. I took a step forward, torches blazed to life, one after another. I gulped and continued forward and mist seemed to pour from nowhere, the torches dancing light off it.
I stopped as a black labrador retriever appeared out of the mist, its black eyes staring at me. I took a hesitant step back and it barked, the noise echoing endlessly. “N-nice doggy…” I muttered.
It glared at me when something brushed up against my leg. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I quickly jumped back; a weasel stood there and watched me, its beady eyes staring at me. The blinding light dimmed and vanished, plunging the room into darkness, save for the torches. Stars twinkled into existence, the torches danced to each new one.
“It’s a polecat.” A voice said in the dim torchlight.
I whirled around, my eyes darting around and tried to find the source of the voice. The torches dimmed for a moment as I heard someone walk towards me. The mist parted and a woman stood there. 
She was beautiful, with long blonde hair that shone even in the dim light. She was unnaturally pale, standing out in the gloom as the mist parted around her. Her gown seemed to flow from her, just appearing and billowed slightly, a faint breeze coming from somewhere. Her eyes were focused on me, a neutral expression on her face.
I gaped at her, my mouth wide open for a few moments before I finally found my voice. “A… a what?”
“Gale hates being called a weasel, she is a polecat.” She said simply.
“Err… alright. Wh-where am I?”
She looked around for a moment. “That’s a good question, where do you think we are?”
“I haven’t the faintest clue…” She raised an eyebrow and studied me in silence. “I mean… it looks like something from Ancient Greece.”
Pillars arose from the mist, the marble glinting of the torches. Statues followed the pillars along with a few fountains. The woman looked around, a faint smile on her face as she walked up to the statues, some turning into water fountains, the others shining. “Interesting…” She murmured, turning back to gaze at me. “Very few people can form anything more than a bed.”
“What do you mean? Where are we? Who are you?”
“So many questions, so many options… so many choices.” She said as the dog barked again. “Hush now, we don’t have that much time.”
“Time?”
She nodded. “Yes, we don’t have much of it or at least you don’t.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well that’s quite obvious,” she said walking over to the dog and scratched it behind its ear. “You need to make a choice.”
“For what? Why?”
She looked at me impassively, her gaze sizing me up. “You killed yourself,” she said bluntly and I nodded. “Therefore, you have a choice. You can either move on and deal with your decision or try again...”
“What do you mean? Try again for what?”
“Life.”
I could feel my heart beating faster. “Why? Why would I choose to live again when I just killed myself?”
“Because it’s your choice.”
“My choice?”
Her hair billowed behind her as the mist thickened. “Yes, your choice. Let me be honest with you Leon, we weren’t and aren’t ready for you. We didn’t expect you to kill yourself. Therefore, it was decided you get a choice to try again.”
A shiver trailed down my spine and I gulped. “Ready? Ready for what?” 
She sighed. “Charon won’t be pleased with unannounced guests…” She murmured, gazing off into the darkness.
“Charon?”
She ignored my question as the polecat, Gale, walked over to her and meowed. “Yes, yes I know.” She turned to me. “All will be explained in due time, but the point of the matter is thus; we were not prepared for you so you have the option to go beyond the veil or you can live again.”
“That’s it? Those are my only two options?”
She laughed, a dry humorless laugh. “Be glad you have options… most don’t.”
“I really don’t understand...”
She sighed, a hand rose and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ve already explained it twice. Because you killed yourself, we are unprepared for your soul; it also helps what you did in your life.”
I blinked and scratched my head. “What I did? I didn’t do anything.”
“No?” she asked quizzically and waved her hand. A mirror shimmered to life before falling into her outstretched hand. She held it out and I tentatively took it and stared at the reflection, my green eyes twinkling for a moment.
It flashed for a moment before it showed me surrounded by three boys, the trio relentlessly pummeling me as I slid to the ground, bloody and battered. My friend Daniel was doing his best to get them off me and was getting punched off as well. It flickered again and showed me standing in front of a blonde girl, Ashley, and trying to console her as a fist landed in my back. I groaned and sank to my knees and she bent down to make sure I was alright.
“The mirror is special, some call it the ‘Mirror of Truth’. I’d like to think it shows certain parts of your life where you put yourself in harm’s way to help someone else out.”
“But… those were my friends.”
“Yes, but not everyone would do what you did.” She paused and Gale climbed up and rested on her shoulders. The woman patted the cat and it yawned before its eyes rested on me. “Humans are an interesting breed, Leon, and just because society teaches you to do something, not everyone agrees with it.” She said, watching my reaction.
I was silent, the mirror still showing me flashes, memories. My thumb mindlessly rubbed against the gleaming surface, my brow furrowed. “So… you’re saying I can live again?”
“Yes.”
“But what if I don’t want to?”
“Then you go into the veil.”
“What’s that?”
She got a faraway look in her eyes, the blackness vanishing for a moment. “It’s the final barrier that protects this realm… A  most ancient creation but most important. If broken, could be the end of the universe.”
“What will happen if I go through it?”
Her eyes focused again, almost drawing me into them. “You die and cease to exist.”
I gulped, a drop of sweat trailing down my back. “Why?”
“Hm?”
“Why me? What is all this? Who are you?!”
Her eyes glowed again, a bright golden light. “I am a mere messenger; the goddess of crossroads and decisions. The holder of keys and the bringer of light. That is all you need to know mortal. For why, well… that’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself.” She said, the mist growing higher and higher. The dog and cat disappeared and suddenly it was day, the night gone. She walked deeper into the room and picked up two torches. The wall they were inhabiting turned into a doorway and the torches turned into keys. She held one in each hand and beckoned me closer.
I hesitantly walked forward and stood before her. “Here is your choice Leon,” she held up the key in her left hand, “this key will lead you to the veil and you’ll forever drift. Asleep, nonexistent and your consciousness will slowly fade.” She held up her right hand. “And this one will give you another life, another try at mending your soul. Be forewarned however, that it will not be Earth. Your time there is forever over.” She stopped and stared into my eyes, my heart skipping a beat. “Be warned however, if you die again, you will go beyond the veil. This is your one… and only redo.”
I stared at her before looking at the keys, each one the same as the other. They were dull copper, the light dancing off them. I licked my lips nervously and bit the inside of my cheek. “And… what is the other life? Is it worth going through all the pain again?”
“That is up to you, I cannot make the choice for you. All I can do is offer.” She said neutrally.
I paused, my hand going for the left key. I’ve been through enough… I just want to rest.  My fingers were mere centimeters when I heard a voice. 
Leon…
Something was calling me towards the other key. I didn’t know what, but it was calling my name. I looked at her again but she was impassive, watching me with glowing golden eyes. I sighed and grabbed the right key. At least it can’t be bad as the last time… and besides, that voice… it sounds so familiar… I thought as I stared at the key.
“Your choice has been made.” She said, the other key vanishing. “All you have to do is use the key to open the door and your new journey awaits.” She moved out of the way, Gale and the dog back, sitting on opposite sides of her.
I walked towards the door and put the key in the slot. I turned it and heard a loud click before I grabbed the handle and turned. The door opened, the joints creaking in protests. Nothing was there save a white void. I took a step forward and stopped, turning to look at her.
“But you never told me who you are.”
She smiled. “I’m simply a messenger, who is looking forward to watching you. Goodbye Leon.”
I nodded and walked through the door.


--**--


Wind whistled passed me as I looked around; I was falling from high in the sky, the ground barely visible. All I could see was snow on the ground. I gulped and hoped that it would soften the impact.
“Well… this is going to hurt.” I mumbled to myself. “I’m FREE! FREE FALLING! Damn you Tom Petty!” I chuckled, scratching my chin “Huh, thought I’d be a little more upset with dying as soon as I came back to life.” I said as the ground came closer. 
I closed my eyes and braced for impact. I struck the ground and a huge cloud of snow exploded where I hit. It felt as if every bone in my body shattered, I couldn’t even scream in pain. I groaned and faintly opened my eyes, the world quickly becoming dark. I thought I saw a white rabbit hop towards me, leaving impressions in the snow.
“Help…” I trailed off, passing out from the pain.


--**--


Twilight had just sent Spike to bed after he accidently set one of her books on fire. She rubbed her eyes, exhausted from studying for so long. She yawned and shook her head, trying to keep herself awake. Suddenly there was a very quiet knock on her door.
Who the hay would want a book at this hour? She walked over to the door and opened it to reveal Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, what are you doing out this late? It must be freezing!” She said, grabbing her friend and pulling her inside.
“I’m sorry if I’m bothering you… but… um… I need your help.” Fluttershy said her voice barely audible.
Twilight did a double take, Fluttershy rarely asked for help. “Really, for what?”
“Um… well… you see, Angel discovered this animal buried in snow and I’ve never seen him before. It looks like he’s really hurt too.” She said with her face hidden behind her mane.
“Hmm… and you’ve never seen it before?” Twilight asked and Fluttershy shook her head no. “Alright hold on; let me get a few things.”
“Thank you so much Twilight. I know you must be really busy…”
“It’s nothing Fluttershy, anything I can do to help.” Twilight said and grabbed her saddlebag. She filled it with some quills and parchment, also tossing in a few books she thought would come in handy. She soon shut the flap and walked over to Fluttershy. “Is it at your house?” Fluttershy nodded. “Good, that’ll make this easier,” she said and promptly teleported both of them to the pegasus’ house, the library glowing like a beacon for a moment.
As the bright light receded, Twilight and Fluttershy shook their head, trying to get rid of the spots. When they could finally see, Twilight gasped as whatever Fluttershy had found laid on her couch.
She hesitantly walked over to it, her horn glowing. “Wait… why does it look familiar?” She mumbled to herself. She gently poked her horn into the thing’s side, eliciting a groan from the creature. Fluttershy jumped back with an ‘eep’ as Twilight’s eyes widened.
Twilight quickly backed pedaled, the thing’s eyes moving rapidly under its eyelids. She quickly grabbed a towel from the kitchen and tied it around the eyes. She pulled out one book, Ancient Equestrian Myths and Folklore, and rapidly skimmed through it. Now I know I’ve seen it before. She suddenly stopped on something called a ‘Human’.
She read what the book had to offer; humans were notoriously corrupt and they had an ‘everyman for himself’ mentality. But in the appendix, it noted some humans had actually tried to help, going into a quick synopsis of several important humans. The book also mentioned that the only times humans have appeared in Equestria, something bad usually followed.
She sighed and knew that the next few days were going to be hectic. The ‘human’ groaned again, with Fluttershy eeping once more. The human struggled to move as it looked like it was trying to wake up.


--**--


OUCH…. I struggled to open my eyes and they refused, almost like they’ve been taped shut. I finally got them open, however, only for darkness to greet me with a faint light slipping through some sort of cloth. “What the heck?” I struggled to say. My voice sounded as if I was drugged.
“Are you okay?” a feminine voice asked and I suddenly grew stiff.
“Oh you know, never better; just decided to skydive without a parachute.”
“What’s a parachute?” the same voice asked asked.
I laughed. “You know, the cloth thing that you jump out of a plane with?”
There was silence. “W… what’s a plane?” another voice asked, this one sounding very timid and quiet.
Oh wonderful, I’m surrounded by women. I cringed. Never been good with the opposite sex; always ended up saying stupid things. I tried to lean up but a wave of dizziness hit me.
“Oh… um… you shouldn’t try and move so much. I mean if you don’t mind me telling you what to do,” the second voice said, “you’re hurt pretty bad.”
I groaned as I leaned up again and relaxed against the back of the couch that I was sure that I was lying on. “So… what’s with the blindfold?”
There was more silence. “We thought it would be a good idea if you didn’t see for a while.” The first voice said, nervous.
“Why? It’s not like I’m in another universe or something.”
More silence. “Well I wouldn’t say that…” The first voice uncertainly said.
That’s it. I forced my arm to grab the blindfold, when it was suddenly encased in a purple glow. “What the hell?” I mumbled, startled.
“I’m sorry but it’s best if you don’t remove the blindfold for the time being.”
“Oh come on, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“You would start to panic and hurt yourself even more.”
“No I won’t, I promise.”
“Well…” she said.
As she was distracted, I grabbed the blindfold as fast as I could and pulled it off. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my vision. It was pretty dark, save for the lit candle sitting next to me on a table. I looked around and it looked like I was in some sort of zoo, animals running around everywhere and their cages taking up most of the room’s space. The couch was facing the front door and I saw through the windows that it was snowing outside, the moon covered by thick grey clouds.
“Wow, I’ve never seen real snow before.”
“Really?” the first voice curiously asked.
“Yeah where I come from, we don’t get…” I trailed off as my eyes adjusted to the darkness and saw two ponies standing in front of me.
One was purple with a horn sticking out of her forehead, a unicorn if I remember my mythology right. The other was a yellow pony with wings… a pegasus. My eyes grew as the pegasus eeped and hid under her pink mane while the unicorn stared at me.
“So where are the two girls I was just talking to?” I asked, stupefied.
The unicorn answered. “That would be us Mr. Human. My name is Twilight Sparkle”, she pointed to the pegasus, “and that’s my friend Fluttershy.” Her eyes grew wide as her horn glowed, a quill and parchment floating towards her. “I have so many questions to ask you.” She said, taking a deep breath.
I stared in shock, my brain shutting down and my jaw unhinged. ‘THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING’ or ‘we’re sorry, the number you are trying to call has been disconnected, please try again later’ were the only thoughts running through my head.
“So Mr. Human what’s your name?” The unicorn now known as Twilight asked.
I did the manliest thing I could think of; I gave a high pitched eep and tried to crawl over the couch but my arm got caught and fell backwards. Everyone heard a loud pop as pain exploded from my arm. “That… hurt.” I muttered, resting against the back of the couch..
“Oh my Celestia are you alright?” Twilight asked as she ran over to me, worriedly looking at my arm. The pegasus, Fluttershy, stayed where she was, staring at me in fear.
“Just… fine.” I said through gritted teeth. I sat up, holding my dislocated arm. I started to hyperventilate as I tried to stand up. I staggered backwards and hit my head on a birdcage. The birds inside squawked in fear as my head rang in pain. I caught myself and took a step forward, but something tripped me and I fell face first onto the wooden floor. The pain became too much and I blacked out again.


--**--


Twilight looked at the prone human before turning to her terrified friend. Fluttershy darted into the kitchen. “Fluttershy wait!” Twilight started to say, both unicorn and a certain white rabbit watched her disappear. Twilight sighed and lifted the unconscious human onto the couch. She stared at the limp arm, pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to bend that way. 
She once again powered up her horn and lightly ran it over his body, grimacing at all the internal injuries. She took a deep breath and called upon all her healing magic she could think of and experimentally shot the beam at his dislocated arm. It slowly and probably, quite painfully, popped back into place. She gasped for air and realized that she couldn’t fix everything. She focused on major injuries and spent the next few hours mending him back together. After he was more or less stable, she sagged to the floor, exhausted. Suddenly she felt a blanket thrown over her.
“Come on Twilight, you can sleep in the guest room.” Fluttershy said as she led her exhausted friend upstairs.
“Thanks Fluttershy,” Twilight said, yawning, “what about him?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep watch tonight.” Fluttershy promised.Twilight raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. 
When they got to the room, Twilight fell onto the bed. “Good night Fluttershy.”
“Good night Twilight,” Fluttershy said, Twilight already asleep.
Fluttershy silently closed the door and made her way down stairs and looked at the animal. He looked more relaxed since Twilight had healed him. She was glad that Twilight could help him when all she could do is make things worse. She frowned and headed into the kitchen for a glass of water. She took a few sips before setting it down and quietly walked back into the living room and sat down on the chair across from the couch. She saw that the human was now sleeping peacefully, or as peacefully as he could. She looked around and grabbed a blanket from the closet and threw it over him. It barely covered his chest and she tried her best to make it cover as much as possible. She took a few steps back and smiled, her goal accomplished the best it could be. She sat back into the chair and soon fell asleep, the snow tapping against the window background noise..


--**--


I awoke nice, warm, and not in a lot of pain. I blinked a few times as the memories of yesterday came back in all their full painful glory. “What a dream.” I said, trailing off as I noticed the tip of a yellow blanket. It wasn’t a dream as I recognized the arm of the couch, matching the memory. I leaned forward and stretched, wincing at the dull pain. “Huh, I remember hurting a lot more yesterday…” I stopped as I saw the yellow pegasus asleep in the chair across from me.
She looked adorable sleeping, curled into a little ball. Her mane draped across her face as it moved with every breath she took. I smiled and gingerly stood on my feet, my hip popping back into place. I limped as silently as I could over to her and laid the blanket over her. She faintly smiled in her sleep as I headed towards the door.
I looked outside and saw several feet of snow waiting for me. Oh man, it’s going to be cold; I wish I could have my leather jacket, now that thing is warm. Suddenly I felt the comforting leather around my arms. “No way,” I said, looking down and sure enough, I was wearing my jacket. “Huh.” I said as. I zipped it up and silently opened the door and left. I could see a town in the distance. I saw a forest nearby and decided to investigate and I headed off into the forest.


--**--


Fluttershy yawned, starting to get up when she saw she had a blanket wrapped around her. What the… this is the blanket I put around...? She looked up and saw that the human was gone. She quickly checked the entire house before she saw prints in the snow. She gasped as they led into the Everfree Forest.
She rushed into the guest room and woke Twilight up. “Um… Twilight, Twilight, I hate to wake you up, but the human’s gone.”
Twilight woke up instantly and sat up. “What?” Fluttershy quickly told her what she found and Twilight grimaced. “Fluttershy, do you think you could look for him while I go get the others?” Twilight asked hesitantly.
Fluttershy paled, her legs quivered. “I… um… I guess… I mean, if that’s what you want me to do.” She said, her mane hiding her face.
Twilight smiled. “Don’t worry Fluttershy; I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
They both got up and separated, Fluttershy slowly going into the Everfree Forest; Twilight running into town, looking for their friends.
> 'Tis But a Scratch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“God, I love these powers.” I muttered as I placed the newly summoned fedora on my head, glad to finally have something to block the snowfall. “Now all I need is to learn how to use a bullwhip.” I chuckled at my own joke. 
A growl echoed throughout the dark forest and I froze. This forest creeps me the hell out, always feeling as if something is watching me. I scanned the forest, sure I had some unwanted company. The sun was out, but covered by grey clouds so any light barely made it through the tree canopy.
I aimlessly walked, trying to find a place away from the freaky talking ponies. None of those ponies was the one I heard… I wonder who it was- I heard movement behind me and tilted my head slightly. It was getting closer and I dashed behind some bushes. I peeked through and saw it was Fluttershy, walking around and quietly calling for ‘Mr. Human’. I smirked at my nickname and watched her flinch at every noise, every crack of a tree branch. If she’s so scared, why did she come in here?
Suddenly some huge animal burst through the underbrush. It had a lion’s body and head, the tail of a… scorpion, and wings? What the hell is that?! I stared at it as Fluttershy froze in fear. The animal roared at Fluttershy, sending her hair straight back. I heard her mumble something to it and it stopped, cocking its head.
She smiled and walked towards it when it roared again and smacked her with its paw, sending her stumbling back and falling to the ground. It slowly walked up to her, paw raised to strike as she laid there unmoving, paralyzed with fear.
I quickly jumped out of the bushes and ran as fast as I could over to her and barreled rolled over her, picking her up and using my momentum to avoid the attack. I heard a rip and felt the claws shred the back of my jacket. I held her as she cried in my arms; she was surprisingly light for a pony. I looked up and dodged another attack by the animal. As I was dodging another attack, I heard a very small eep and glanced down at Fluttershy, to see her face bright red and she stared at me, petrified. I ran farther away from the …manticore, I think they called. As we got some distance from it, I gently put Fluttershy down and she started to curl up in a ball.
“Fluttershy it’s going to be alright but I need you to get out of here.” I said, trying to soothe the scared pegasus.
She didn’t say anything and continued to shake. I went to say something else but the manticore went to attack Fluttershy. I jumped in front of her without thinking and raised my arms to defend against his claws. 
“God, I wish I had something to defend against those claws, like a sword or something.” I muttered. 
Suddenly there was an unfamiliar weight in my hand and I looked up to see a katana, like Ichigo’s bankai from Bleach, all black. I stared at it for a second before I used it to block against the manticore’s claws.
“Kick ass,” I said, the sword shaking under the manticore’s attack. Huh, to be honest, I thought this would be a lot harder to hold.
I saw a flash of movement before excruciating pain exploded in my stomach. What the hell? I looked down and saw the manticore’s tail had impaled me. “Oh… that would explain it.” I said and coughed up some blood. The manticore removed its tail and I grunted in pain. My hand dropped and covered the wound, blood pouring freely through my fingers. I sank to my knees and the manticore easily smacked me with its paw. I flew a few feet away and laid there, the world getting a blurry filter. I looked to the side to see the manticore looming over Fluttershy.
Come on soldier, you haven’t let anyone… err, pony down before, why start now?! My mind screamed. I felt adrenaline rush through my veins and jumped up before I launched myself at the manticore. I slashed down with the katana and felt it tear through flesh and saw a paw hit the ground. It screamed in pain and whirled around before it tackled me to the ground and tried bite me but I pushed the sword into its mouth.
“Get off me, you damn, dirty monster!” I screamed, somehow getting my legs underneath it and pushing it off. Without its arm to support itself, it flipped and I quickly stabbed it in the heart with my sword. I felt it shiver once then grew still.
I panted heavily, my body feeling the adrenaline rush recede. I looked down and saw I was covered in blood, mostly mine but some from the manticore. I staggered over to my fallen fedora and picked it up. I somehow made it to Fluttershy, who was still curled in a ball, shaking. I fell onto my butt and sat there, breathing heavily. I let go of the sword and it clattered on the ground.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” I said and gently placed my hand on her back. She stopped shaking and looked at me through her mane. I smiled and went to say something only to slump forward and promptly blacked out.


--**--


Fluttershy stared at the human who had slumped over, the claw on her back slipping off. She looked around and saw the manticore, not moving, with one of its arms lying off to the side. She was sad that an animal had to get hurt, but for some reason it hadn’t listen to her and he had to kill it to save her. She faintly smiled at the human, thankful. She got up and slowly turned to it, hiding behind her mane and hesitantly looked at it.
“Um… I wanted to say… thank you…” she said, trailing off when she noticed it hadn’t moved. “Um… excuse me?” she asked, hesitantly poking it. 
The human fell over, not moving; it was barely breathing and she noticed the hole in its stomach and the red liquid continuously pouring out. She gasped and looked around for something to stop the blood. She saw his jacket and somehow maneuvered it off him, forcing him onto his back before she gently put pressure on the wound. The jacket quickly took on a reddish hue and tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry… I should have listened to you.” She muttered.
“Fluttershy what the hay happened?” Twilight yelled as she and the rest of the girls finally arrived. They all gasped when they saw the human bleeding and the manticore dead.
“Did that thing kill a manticore?” Rainbow asked and Fluttershy nodded.
“He did… to protect me and he got hurt again because of me.” She said crying, still trying to keep pressure on the wound. “Twilight… um… could you try and heal him?”
Twilight was speechless. “I don’t understand; in the book I read, humans are supposed to be self-centered, egotistical, corrupted monsters.”
“Well he could just be doing it to gain our trust and wait till we lowered our guard.” Rainbow theorized.
“Ah doubt that Rainbow; sure gainin’ our trust is one thing, but nearly dyin’ is another.” Applejack responded.
Rarity’s horn started to glow as she tried to make him a little more comfortable, healing minor cuts and bruises.
“Rarity, what are you doing?” Twilight asked, shocked at her friend.
“Well he obviously needs help and I’ll give him a chance to explain himself. He deserves that much after saving Fluttershy.” She defended. 
Twilight sighed and thought of the strongest healing spell she could, her horn shimmering. She let the power build up as she spaced her legs evenly,  balancing herself. She fired the healing spell straight at the human and Fluttershy dived out of the way, letting the jacket drop. The girls gasped at the wound and saw all the blood. Twilight’s spell slowly closed the wound, the flesh rippling before mending back together and left her exhausted. She fell to the ground, taking deep breaths before Rarity helped her up while Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow rushed over to the nonresponsive human. He lay there, suddenly not breathing. 
“What are we supposed to do?” Rainbow asked, slightly concerned.
“Twilight, why don’t you use your magic to restart his heart?” Rarity suggested.
Twilight shook her head. “I can’t, I’m too tired from healing him and I’m not entirely sure on their anatomy and the heart is something you don’t want to mess with.”
“Oh… hmm…” Everypony was silent, deep in thought.
“Well…I um…I have an idea…” Fluttershy muttered.
“What’s your idear sugarcube?” Applejack asked.
Her face became bright red. “Well… when my animals stop breathing like this, I usually do…” she muttered.
“Ah’m sorry?” Applejack asked.
“Fluttershy muttered something too low to hear.
“Oh just spill it Fluttershy.” Rainbow demanded.
“Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.” Fluttershy said, her face bright red and hiding behind her mane.
Everypony stared at Fluttershy in shock that she would even suggest such a thing. “Well… I guess there’s no harm in it; he did save your life after all.” Rarity said, quickly defending Fluttershy.
“So what do we do?” Applejack asked.
“Someone find his nose and plug it shut.” Fluttershy said.
“I’m on it!” Rainbow said as she floated over his face. “Now… where is it?” She asked herself. She found what she assumed was his nose, something over his mouth. “I got it.” She said, pushing it closed with her fore hooves.
“Now… um… somepony has to put their mouth on his and breathe into it…” she said as her face brightened. No pony answered. She eeped and looked at the thing’s mouth. She gently opened it and went to put her mouth on his. Her lips gently pressed against his as she blew into his mouth, forcing oxygen into his lungs. As she broke contact she looked at Pinkie Pie. “Um… Pinkie, I need you to jump on his chest, but gently.”
She pulled an army helmet out of the air and placed it on her hair and gave Fluttershy a salute. “I got it!” She said as she jumped onto his chest.
“Okay… we need to work together.” Fluttershy told Pinkie and she nodded. They began to work in tandem, slowly getting air into the human’s body.


--**--


“You’re so useless, I’m glad you’re dead. All you did was drag me down.” My best friend, Nick, said.
I sat on the ground, crying. “You bastard; I thought you were my friend!”
He started laughing. “Friendship isn’t real; there’s no such thing. If I can use you to help myself, so be it,” he smiled, “I should’ve won an Oscar, had you fooled the entire time.”
“Why? Why did you do it?” I asked.
“Well…  to be honest, I just wanted to see if I could fool you; that I liked having a servant.” He said with an evil smile.
“You son of a bitch!” I yelled, running towards him, getting ready to punch him as the world started to disappear. I stopped. “What the hell?”
“Please… I have to thank you… please, you can’t die.” I heard a vaguely familiar voice say.
“Fluttershy?” I asked. “What the hell is going on?” I asked the ending world.
Suddenly there was bright flash and I gasped, coughing as something was holding my nose shut. I groggily opened my eyes to see a cyan colored pegasus floating above me and then I felt pain as something bounced against my chest.
“Ouch! What the hell was that for?” I asked, trying to move.
“Oh my gosh, he’s awake!” I heard a voice yell and suddenly there was something pink in my face.
“HIYA! I thought you were dead since you weren’t moving or breathing, but Fluttershy was breathing air into you and I was using your body as a trampoline. That was fun! I hope it didn’t hurt too much; hey wait, since you’re alive, that means I can throw you a welcome to Equestria party! Oh wait, I also have to throw you thanks for saving Fluttershy party-”
“Pinkie I think you’re scaring him.” Another voice said.
Pinkie stared at me as I was trying to move away from her. She giggled. “Oh sorry.” She said, hopping off of me.
I finally looked around and saw that I was surrounded by talking ponies. I gasped again and tried to move but flinched in pain. I took an unsteady breath before I leaned up on my elbows.
“I wouldn’t move too much if I were you, I only closed the wound.” Twilight said as she was held up by a marshmallow colored unicorn.
“Umm… thank you for saving me.” I heard Fluttershy whisper. I looked over at her and saw her hiding behind her mane.
I smiled. “No problem, I’m just glad you’re alright.”
She came out from behind her mane and smiled. I saw the rainbowed-mane Pegasus stealthily fly behind her and pushed her towards me. Surprised, Fluttershy stumbled into my chest as I caught her, but her momentum pushed me to the ground with her on top. I suddenly felt something push against my lips and saw that Fluttershy had accidently kissed me. Both of our eyes opened in surprise and our faces went both bright red. I gently broke the kiss as her face became even brighter when all her friends started laughing, expect Twilight.
“I-I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…” she whispered, stuttering and trying to hide behind her mane.
“It’s okay, d-don’t worry about i-it.” I whispered back, smiling. We stared into each other’s eyes briefly, her ocean blue stunning…wait the hell am I thinking. She continued to stare into my emerald green eyes. “Um… Fluttershy, do you m-mind if you could get o-o-off me?” I whispered, suddenly snapping her out of her revere. She looked and saw that she was still on top of me and blushed harder, gently getting off me and starting to look like she wanted to run away.
I gently raised my hand and ran it briefly through her mane and she stopped dead in her tracks. Her mane was softer than I thought, a lot softer than human hair. She turned and sat down a little bit aways from me, looking as if she calmed down.
I heard the other ponies start to laugh even harder and I looked at them. “So… I’m in a world with t-talking p-ponies, huh.” I said, my face red.
“Yeah… What’s your name?” Twilight asked.
“Oh… sorry… kinda scared me back there.” I said, scratching the back of my neck. It’s going to take a while to get use to this. Okay, imagine they were…people. “My name is Leon. Leon Kennedy.”
“Okay Leon… my name is-”
“Twilight Sparkle, I remember.” I said. I then pointed to Fluttershy. “And that’s Fluttershy.” She nodded slightly.
Twilight smiled and shook her head. “Yes; now, the rest of our friends.” She said motioning towards the other unicorn. “This is Rarity, the fashion queen in Ponyville.”
Rarity nodded. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She said in a stereotypical high class accent.
Oh god… not that type. I did an awkward bow. “The pleasure is all mine.” I then noticed how dirty my shirt was, covered in blood and tried to hide it from her.
Twilight pointed towards the orange pony wearing a hat. “This is Applejack, owner of Sweet Apple Acres, supplier of the best apples in Equestria.”
Applejack’s orange face took a red hue. “Well shucks Twi, thanks for that.” She said and modestly kicked at the ground.
I nodded towards her. “Nice to meet you Applejack and if ya need any help on the farm, let me know; I’ve done a bit of gardening.”
“Ah’d mighty appreciate that Leon.” She said, her southern accent making me grin despite the situation.
Twilight pointed at Pinkie Pie. “And this is Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s party pony extraordinaire.”
Pinkie Pie jumped up and down. “I can’t wait to throw you a party! It’s going to be so much fun, with cake and candy and games! I love playing party games! Don’t you?”
I blushed, shaking my head. “I’ve never really liked parties; besides, I haven’t really been invited to many.”
Pinkie hovered in mid-jump. “WHAT?! How can you not like parties?””
“Well… yeah. I’ve never been very s-social and I never really had any friends.” I said, twiddling my thumbs. “This is actually the longest time I’ve ever spoken to anyone.”
That made all the ponies gasp. “What, how can you not have any friends?” Twilight asked.
I shook my head and avoided their eyes. “…It’s a long story.”
Twilight took the hint. “I see…” She pointed to the cyan Pegasus. “And this is Rainbow Dash,” she said, changing the subject, “fastest flyer in Equestria.” Rainbow puffed her chest out with pride.
“Nice to meet you Rainbow.”
She smirked. “Nice to meet you too.”
I went to say something else when I coughed up blood. All the ponies rushed around me as the went dim again. “Huh, must’ve done more damage than I thought.” I slurred as I passed out.


--**--


The ponies stared at Leon’s body. “What the hay happened?” Applejack asked and poked him with her hoof.
“Oh dear, he isn’t looking too good.” Rarity mumbled.
Fluttershy frowned and stared at him, noticing him turning blue. “Um… is he supposed to be turning blue?”
Twilight gasped. “Oh horseapples; we got to get him to the hospital.” She said as her horn started to glow.
“What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked, worried.
“He’s going into shock. We need Nurse Redheart to look at him right now.” Twilight answered as they all disappeared in a flash of light.
> I Hate Hospitals....
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I floated in darkness, surrounded by voices.
“Why don’t you just die?” My old friend, Chris demanded. “You won’t amount to anything, its better if you gave up now.” He continued.
“Shut up!” I yelled.
“I never loved you; you were just a fun experiment.” My first girlfriend, Ashley said, laughing.
I curled into the fetal position, crying. “Leave me alone.”
*BEEP*
I looked around. “What was that?”
*BEEP BEEP*
“Well that’s really annoying.”
*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*
I covered my ears. “Why the hell is that so loud?”
“Please don’t die…” Someone said, their voice breaking through the others.
I quickly looked around. “Hello? Who’s there?” I was left in silence.
*BEEP BEEP*
I was getting frustrated. “That’s it, where the hell is that coming from?” I started to float around, trying to get closer to the beeping noise.
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
I was right next to it. “Ah-ha! Found you, you rat bastard.” I said. I stared at it. “What the hell is a heart monitor doing here?”
There was a flash of light as I touched it and suddenly I heard the beep again.
“I hate that thing,” I muttered.
“Oh good you're awake.” A voice said. I looked over at a white pony wearing a nurse’s hat. “I’m Nurse Redheart; your friends brought you here after that manticore attack. They got here in the nick of time, that poison was pretty strong.”
Friends; what friends unless… is she talking about Fluttershy and the others? I thought with a groan. “Where am I?”
“You’re at the Ponyville Hospital.”
I immediately sat up, pain shooting through my body, but I ignored it as I started tearing off anything they had me hooked up to.
“What are you doing? You nearly died; you need to let your body recover.”
“Not in a hospital… I hate hospitals.” I said as I broke out in cold sweat.
“Sir please, you need to lie back down and relax. Your body is extremely weak after the surgery.” Redheart said.
“Not a chance; hospitals only make me more nervous.” I said wincing as I took the IV out. “Especially needles.”
She sighed. “Well if you won’t listen to me, maybe I can get the others to convince you.” She said as she left the room. Moments later, the door flew open and my “friends” burst in.
“What are you doing? You need to relax and listen to Nurse Redheart; she did save your life after all.” Twilight said.
“I’m sorry Twilight, but I don’t do hospitals… they make me more paranoid than I already am.”
“Um… I think you should stay in the hospital…it’ll help…I mean if you care about my opinion.” Fluttershy said, looking at the floor.
Rainbow Dash smirked and whispered something into her ear, causing Fluttershy to blush but look at me with her big blue eyes and did her impression of the sad puppy dog face.
I looked at them. “You wouldn’t let me leave anyway would you?” They all shook their head no. I sighed. “Then I guess I’m staying.” I said as I leaned back into the bed and tried to relax. That and I couldn’t say no to Fluttershy.
They all smiled and said that they were glad that I was better but unfortunately, they all had to leave. Rarity had to finish a new dress, Twilight had to write a letter to Princess Celestia about me, Applejack had to go back to work, Pinkie had to do… Pinkie things, and Rainbow Dash had to clear the skies… apparently. As Fluttershy was getting to leave, Rainbow stopped her.
“You should stay here and make sure he doesn’t leave.” She said, pointing at me as Redheart  reattached everything I tore off.
“But… what about my animals?”
“Don’t worry, I got it.”
“Oh… thank you.”
“No problem Fluttershy; just relax and have fun.” Rainbow said with a wink before taking off.
Nurse Redheart stabbed the needle into my arm and the world started to spin. I hate needles. I felt the blood drain from my face and tried not to pass out. I felt something touch my other hand and saw Fluttershy hesitantly hold her hoof on top of my hand. She smiled as she looked at me.
“Thanks,” I whispered and she nodded.
“Alright, everything seems to be back in order. I’ll be back in a few hours to bring you some food and make sure everything is ok.” Redheart said and left the room.
An awkward silence hung in the air, the two of us afraid to start the conversation. “So… you’re a vet?” I asked.
“Um… no I-I just like taking care of animals.” She said blushing.
I smiled. “Me too, I love animals.” I frowned a little, remembering I left my cats when I died.
“Um… Mr. Kennedy, are you alright?” She asked.
“Oh-uh yeah, I’m fine and please, call me Leon.” I lied. She stared into my eyes, almost as if she could tell I was lying.
“Oh… okay Leon.” She said, still staring into my eyes. She shuffled her hooves. “Um… you said you didn’t have any friends… I was wondering why not… if you want to tell me.”
“Oh… well; a lot of people pretended to be my friend, but they all abandoned me or used me…” I said, glossing over many details.
She was silent. “But what about your family… if you don’t mind me asking.”
I sighed. “…My family and I… are on loose terms.”
‘What do you mean?”
“Well; I live with them, I love them, but I don’t connect with any of them if that makes sense.” I said with a sad laugh.
She frowned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine; why?”
“Well… you’re crying.” She said, her frown deepening.
I touched my eyelid with a finger and sure enough, I was crying. How odd, I didn’t even feel them start. I wiped away the tears and stared at the ceiling. “Why?” I whispered.
“Excuse me?” She asked.
I stared at the bedsheet. “You wouldn’t believe me…” She faintly smiled at me and was quiet, watching me. I sighed, “why are you so nice to me?”
“Because everypony deserves a little kindness.”
I nodded, caving in. “When I… err… died, I met some lady that gave me the choice to either die or live again. But why? Why did she choose here?” I groaned and covered my face. “I should have just stayed dead.”
She slowly walked towards me and put a hesitant hoof on my arm. “If it wasn’t for you, I would be dead…”
“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have gone into the forest.”
“I always go in there, it was only a matter of time before I did… and besides, nopony knows why they’re here until they get their cutie mark.”
I stared at her, eyebrow raised. “…Cutie mark?”
She nodded. “Yes, the cutie mark is a picture on your flank that shows what your best at.” She turned and showed me hers; it was three purple butterflies. “Mine says that I’m good with animals.”
“So that’s what those are.” I muttered to myself.
“We just have to discover yours.” She insisted.
“I’m sorry Fluttershy, but humans don’t get cutie marks.”
She gasped. “You don’t?”
“Nope, we go along in life and try and find out what we like the hard way.”
“Well… that sounds…”
I laughed. “Yeah, it would be a lot easier if we had those cutie mark things but then it would get a bit awkward.”
“Why?”
“Well… then we wouldn’t wear pants…and yeah.” I said, blushing.
“Oh… I was wondering why you were wearing those…” she whispered.
“Well… humans have no fur on their body so we wear clothes to protect us against the elements. That and to protect our modesty.”
She looked at me. “What do you mean?”
My face suddenly grew warm. “It’s… just… that we don’t have c-certain body c-characteristics that you p-ponies have.”
She grew more confused. “Oh… okay.”
I tried to laugh. “It’s a bit awkward for me to say… sorry.”
“No it’s okay… I think I might be able to figure it out.” She said blushing.
Wait what? “Well… anyway, I wanted to say thank you Fluttershy; for saving my life.”
“I should be thanking you.” A few tears gathered in the corner of her eyes again. “If I had listened to you, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
I instinctively ran a hand through her mane. “It’s alright, I’m glad you’re alright. It’s not as if the manticore killed me or anything. Besides, I’ll always throw myself in harm’s way; it’s my curse.”
“What do you mean?”
“I usually get hurt because I don’t like seeing other people get hurt. I use to protect my friends when they were being picked on or beaten up.”
She was silent. “You’re a good friend.” She finally said.
I laughed. “Sure I am, that’s why they always leave.” I said as I felt myself start to cry before I dryly chuckled. “Look at me, in another world surrounded by talking ponies…” I said, leaning back against the pillows.
“It’ll be okay Leon, I promise.” She said and wiped a tear from my eye.
I smiled. “Thank you Fluttershy; I’m just not sure.”
“We’ll find a way for you to go home.”
“You can’t.” I whispered.
“Why not?”
Tears burned down my face as I looked her in the eye. “I did it… there’s no going back.”
“Did what?” She asked, worried and confused.
“…I killed myself.” I whispered so quietly I thought she didn’t hear me.
She gasped and started to cry herself.  I didn’t know what to do so I reached forward and gave her a light hug, still not sure what I was doing. She didn’t seem to mind, crying against the hospital gown.
“Why?” She asked, looking into my eyes, her tears running down her cheeks.
“Because… everyone I trusted betrayed me; everyone that I thought could help me used me. No one was there for me when I needed them but I was always there for them… I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
“What about your family?”
“They… didn’t understand. They only cared about themselves… they had too many other troubles to worry about than me so I never said anything.”
She reached around and gave me another hug. “I’m sorry.”
I smiled faintly and gave her a hug back. “Don’t worry Fluttershy, its okay. There’s nothing that I can do about it now; I gotta live with that. But can I ask you for a favor?”
“What?
“Can you not tell the others about my… decision; I’d rather not have it public knowledge.”
She nodded. “I understand and pinkie promise not to say anything.”
“Pinkie Promise?” I asked, wondering how they did that with no pinkies.
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” She said, crossing her heart and then putting the hoof over her eye.
“That’s an interesting way of promising someone-err somepony.” I said and leaned back against the pillows. Huh… probably shouldn’t have told a pony I just met that I killed myself; they probably think I’m crazy anyway. I started to laugh. I’m a zombie…
“Are you alright Leon?” Fluttershy asked, worried.
“I’m fine… you guys probably think I’m crazy anyway.”
“No, we’re not sure what to think. Twilight said that humans are mean spirited, but you’re different.” Fluttershy said.
Wow… that’s the first time I didn’t hear her stutter. “Well, I’m not sure if I’m mean spirited or not; all I know is I now live with talking ponies. Should be fun.” I said with a small smile.
She smiled back. “Don’t worry, the princesses will know what to do.”
“Princesses?”
“Princesses Celestia and Luna rule Equestria. They’re the nicest ponies I’ve ever met…” Fluttershy said, her voice getting quiet.
I noticed something was bothering her. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh… um… nothing.”
“Fluttershy, I know something is bothering you; but you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
She shivered. “I’m just worried what the princesses will do.”
“What do you mean?”
“What will they do with you?”
“That’s a good question.” A tall white pony said as she entered the room. Her voice sounded so familiar but yet I couldn’t place where I heard it. Fluttershy eeped and bowed as I struggled to do the same. “It’s alright Leon, you don’t have to bow.”
I went out on a limb and guessed. This must be Princess Celestia. She was almost as tall as I was. She had a constantly billowing rainbow mane and white coat. She also had a horn and wings. Odd… I’ve only seen every other pony with one or the other. “Well… I’m in a foreign land and meeting with its ruler; the least I can do is show my respect.” I said hesitantly.
She smiled. “How kind of you but don’t need to bow.” She walked over to me. I saw her horn glowing. “May I read your mind?”
“…Ah … sure, I guess.”
She nodded and pressed her horn against my forehead. I assumed it would hurt so I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst, but I didn’t feel anything. I cracked open an eye and saw her eyes closed and she was concentrating. I looked over to see Fluttershy nervously kicking against the floor.
“Just what I thought.” I heard Celestia whisper as she opened her eyes and took a few steps back.
“So…?”
“It seems as if I was right.”
“Right about what?”
“Nothing, nothing to worry about.”
I looked at her. “What did you see?”
She shook her head. “Now isn’t the time; we still have to decide what to do with you. It’s not every day that Equestria gets a visit from a human.”
“Um… Princess Celestia?”
“Yes Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy blushed. “Twilight said that when a human visits, bad things tend to happen soon after…”
“And you were wondering if that had any merit?” Fluttershy nodded. “To be honest, tensions with the zebras and griffons are a bit… high, but nothing that can’t be negotiated.”
She looked at me. “The last time a human came here… it wasn’t pretty; I had to throw him in the dungeon. Most ponies that remember will want me to do the same with you.” I gulped. “I don’t think I need to; yet. You did nearly die saving Fluttershy if I heard correctly.” She said as Fluttershy blushed harder.
“So what do you want me to do Princess?” I asked.
“Prove to me and the other ponies that you aren’t a threat or deserve to be locked up.” She said. “You’ve met the Element, ask them for ideas.” She started headed towards the door. “Now I need to go lower the sun.”
I stared at her. “You lower the sun?” She nodded. “But the sun lowers each day due to the rotation…” I trailed off. What the hell, that’s impossible; she’s got to be bluffing.
She smiled. “Ask Twilight for a book on the history of Equestria next time you see her. Oh and Leon? I can read minds.” She said the last part directly into my brain. My eyes grew and she left the room, leaving me and Fluttershy alone.
“Leon, what’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked, worriedly.
“Nothing, I’m fine. Your princess just… scared me.” I said as Fluttershy yawned. The sun was almost gone, the moon slowly taking its place. “Fluttershy, you know you can go home anytime; I’m not going anywhere.”
She frowned and looked at the ground. “Oh am I bothering you; I’m sorry. I’ll leave if you want.” She said as she started heading towards the door.
“Fluttershy; wait!” I said, stopping her. “That’s not what I meant. I know you’re tired and you deserve to go home and sleep; I’ve put you through enough trouble.”
“It’s no trouble…”
*Sigh* “Fluttershy; you’re the only per-err-pony I trust… you can stay here if you want.” I said, blushing slightly.
Her wings shot up a little and her face became beet red. “Umm… I… I…” she said, hiding behind her mane again.
“Fluttershy do whatever makes you happy. If you want to leave, that’s alright. If you want to stay; I can ask Nurse Redheart if you could sleep in the other room.”
“No… I really should be leaving; I have to go make sure my pets are okay.” She said, staring at the floor. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it; I understand.” I reassured her.
“I’ll visit tomorrow…” She said.
“I look forward to it. Goodnight Fluttershy, and thanks.” I said.
“Oh it’s not a-a p-problem. Goodnight L-leon.” She said, blushing before leaving me alone.
I sighed. This is going to be a long day. I felt my eyelids grow heavy and I drifted off into sleep.
> Love Hurts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

3 Months Later…

Fluttershy and Twilight were my companions pretty much the entire time I was stuck in the hospital. Twilight grilled me daily about human life, our diet, how we live, what Earth was like. I didn’t want to go too in depth, so I glossed over many dark parts of human history. Twilight let me read an overview of Equestrian history and some cultural traditions, like this Winter Wrap Up thing that would be happening next month. She also let me borrow the Daring Do book series; it was exactly like Indiana Jones. Rainbow and I had many “heated discussions” of who the better adventurer was; Rainbow usually won. Princess Celestia came by a few times, usually offering me suggestions on what to do when I got out of here. She also had a house built for human standards, much to all our surprise. She built it out of the way of Ponyville, so very few ponies knew about it. I heard it was close to Fluttershy’s house.
Dash was also a frequent visitor, but didn’t stay for long. Always swooped in through the window, hiding from somepony or another. When she was here, we’d have quite a few random discussions, from Daring Do v. Indiana Jones, to goals in life, then favorite food. She was a strange one, very loud too. She also didn’t hesitate to tell me how she was going to join the Wonderbolts and be the best flyer that ever existed. She was a bit more reserved when Fluttershy came by, because she’d bring another pony, who she introduced as her ‘coltfriend’, Shadow Embers.
He was… rather odd. He was, like his name suggested, a muted red and orange, with a short spiky mane and a bandana tied over his forehead. He had a few burns and soot marks underneath his orange eyes. He was very quiet and never talked to me, always talking through Fluttershy. He was very rude too, ignoring Dash altogether and I could tell he irked her, her teeth grinding a lot whenever he was there.
Fluttershy and I had spent a lot of time together, realizing we had many things in common. Neither liked to be the center of attention, parties, or loud noises. We like being ignored and quiet. We shared many stories of our past, some of our fears, and many of our problems were solved by each other. Call me crazy but Fluttershy was probably the pony I trusted with everything.
Christmas was awful this year. I sat in the hospital alone for most of the day. I kept thinking about everyone and what they were doing when I realized that I will never see any of them again. I cried for a while when I felt a reassuring hoof on my arm. I looked up and saw Fluttershy there. She had smiled and listened as I vented. When she realized it was Christmas, she promised to be right back and left the room. She came back a little while later, with a small present and something to eat. It was probably the best Christmas I ever had.
Towards the end of my stay at the hospital, Nurse Redheart would have me get up and walk around a little bit, letting me walk longer each time. Trying to make sure my leg muscles didn’t get weak she said. Twilight also wanted to see what else I could materialize, since I showed her by turning my katana into a sakabatō, or a reverse blade sword. She had me try and summon anything from my world and I quickly realized I couldn’t summon anything but a guitar, another fedora; which I gave to Applejack after her hat was shredded in one of their adventures, and some records. No iPods, laptops, or TVs. Twilight theorized since those were ‘high-tech’ that her world couldn’t handle it just yet; or whatever.
On my final day at the hospital, I got up and went to shower, which was hard when it was built for a four foot pony. I sat down and quickly showered, getting out looking at the reflection in the mirror. I had short brown hair with streaks of gray at the temples; the side effect of using my summoning power. I was about 6’1, probably 150 pounds. I wasn’t rippling with muscle, but I could hold my own for a while.
I sighed and dried off, putting on the shirt and pants that Rarity had made me for free; she thought of it as a ‘challenge’ to make clothes for a new species. They fit perfectly and I finally grabbed my Indie jacket; Rarity had repaired it, practically making it brand new. I grabbed my shoes and put those on, glad to finally be dressed once again. I grabbed my fedora and sword, putting the hat securely on my head and the sword in the ‘pocket’ Rarity had sewn into the pants. I walked out of my hospital room for hopefully the final time and headed to fill out the paperwork necessary for me to leave.


--**--


The sun was bright, the light reflecting off the snow when I left the hospital alone. I looked around and everypony was wearing a scarf or jacket to ward off the cold. The snow was maybe only a few inches deep on the ground. The ponies nearby stopped and stared at me, some curiously, some horrified. I shook my head and started to try and find where any of my ‘friends’ lived.
As I wandered the town, I saw a little orange… filly riding a scooter at blinding speeds, plowing through the snow. I thought she saw me but I was wrong and we collided, she bounced off me and tried to use her wings to control her momentum but couldn’t stop and sailed towards a tree. I saw that and as soon as I hit the ground launched myself between the two. She hit me in the chest as I grabbed her and went down with “oof”.
“You okay?” I asked the daredevil.
“Of course I am.” She said, her eyes betraying her fear.
I smiled and put her down. “Please be a little more careful.” I said as I walked away, rubbing at the pain in my chest. I didn’t hear a response and glanced at the filly stare, who stared back  at me, her head cocked and with squinty eyes. “Um?”
“You must be that human that Dash was talking about,” she gasped, “you killed a manticore!”
“Yeah… I didn’t want to, but it was going to kill me and Fluttershy…”
“Wait till I tell the other CMC that I met somepony that could kill a manticore!” She said, completely ignoring me.
I shook my head. “Oh, um… do you happen to know where Twilight Sparkle lives?”
“Oh yeah, that egghead lives in the tree right there.” She said, pointing to quite literally a tree house with a sign off to the side that had a picture of a book.
“Thank… you.” I said, walking over to it. The orange filly flew off down the road on her scooter, miraculously avoiding everything. I shook my head and knocked on the door.
“It’s a public library!” Someone said as they opened the door to reveal a small purple and green dragon. His green eyes widened at the same time as mine did.
“D… d… dragon!” I yelled, falling backwards into the snow.
His eyes shrunk menacingly. “What’s wrong with being a dragon?” He asked his voice full of suspicion.
“Nothing… I’m rather a fan of dragons.” I got up and brushed the snow off my pants. I cleared my throat and hesitantly held my hand out. “I’m Leon Kennedy; Twilight told me to find her when I got out of the hospital.”
He stared at it intently. “So you’re that human she’s been making a fuss about.” He finally shook my hand. “I’m Spike, her number one assistant.”
“Nice meeting you Spike; is Twilight here?”
“No she had to go to Canterlot for something or other so she left me in charge of the library.” He said, puffing his chest out with pride.
I smiled. “Well congrats.”
“Leon darling, what are you doing out of the hospital?” Rarity asked as she walked towards us. She was wearing a pink scarf with her cutie mark emblazoned on it.
“Oh hey Rarity; didn’t Fluttershy tell you I was getting out of the hospital today?” I asked. Spike stared at Rarity and I could just make out his iris’ turning into hearts.
“No she didn’t… in fact, I don’t believe anypony has talked to her in a few days.” Rarity said.
“What?” I asked, now worried. “Where does she live?”
Rarity pointed behind us. “If you follow this road, you can’t miss her house; it’s right before the Everfree Forest. It’s normal for her to disappear for a few days, getting sidetracked by all those animals she takes care of.” She noticed the look in my eyes. “Darling wait, you just got out of the hospital!” She yelled as I took off as fast as I could.
Something didn’t feel right; my body seemed to move faster than before and it felt like I flew down the road. I avoided hitting anypony surprisingly and within a few minutes, made my way out of town. I looked around and sure enough, I saw Fluttershy’s house just like I remembered. I ran up to it and knocked on the door; no answer. I knocked again and this time a small white rabbit opened the door. He stared at me and tapped his foot impatiently against the ground.
“Hey there… Angel, is Fluttershy around?” I asked, remembering Fluttershy telling me about her pet rabbit.
He stared at me and shook his head no.
I heard sobs coming from the house. “Look Angel, I know she’s in there; I can hear her. Could I just talk to her? Make sure she’s alright?” I begged. My god, I’m arguing with a rabbit…
He shook his head no again.
“What if I promise that if she wants to be left alone I’ll leave?” I asked again. Why am I trying to see her so badly; because I want to make sure she’s alright. After everything she’s done for me, it’s only fair I return the favor. Angel sighed and finally nodded his head. He moved out of the way and I rushed inside.
I just realized… I could’ve stepped over him. I facepalmed. I saw Fluttershy sitting on her couch, her eyes red and puffy. She didn’t notice me as I stood next to her. “Hey Fluttershy,” I said quietly.
She eeped and jumped, hiding behind her mane until she saw it was me. “Oh… hey L-leon; how are you?” She asked, her voice sounded ragged and broken.
“I’m okay, glad to be out of the hospital; how about you?”
“I’m okay...” She said, hiding behind her mane still.
I sighed. “Fluttershy, I know you’re not. You don’t have to tell me but I’m here if you need me. Mind if I sit down?” I asked.
She nodded and I sat next to her. Before I could say anything, she buried her face into my chest, tears pouring down her cheeks. I gently started to rub her back as I looked at Angel. What happened? I mouthed and he shook his head and shrugged. I rolled my eyes and hugged Fluttershy.
“Um… Fluttershy?” I asked.
She lifted her head off my shirt and stared at me, her usual blue pools of happiness gone; replaced with pools of pain. “Yes?” She said her voice unusually more quiet. She saw how close they were and pushed away from me. “I-I’m sorry….” She said, staring at the couch.
I scooted closer to her. “It’s okay Fluttershy.” I said as I gently pulled her into a hug. “I was going to ask what happened.”
She was still as I let her go. She started to cry as I sat there running my hand along her mane.
“My… my coltfriend dumped me.” She finally said.
My mouth dropped to the floor. “What?” I managed to say.
“M-my coltfriend dumped m-me. He said h-he d-didn’t love me anymore. He was c-cheating on me.” She said her voice going out towards the end.
“I’m so sorry…” I said, at a loss for words. She leaned against me as I gave her another hug.
“It’s okay… I-I’m okay.” She tried to say, but couldn’t keep the charade up. She broke down again.
“If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“O-okay.” She was silent, her tears absorbing into my jacket. “Thank you.” She whispered.
“Anytime.” I said, letting her use me for support.
We sat together for a long time, completely silent as she continued to cry. I didn’t mind. I was glad I could help. She finally looked up at me and struggled to smile.
“Thank you…f-for coming over.”
“It’s no problem… I’m glad I could help.” I said. I got up and stretched.
“What are you going to do today? I mean… if you want to tell me…”
“Whole lotta nothing; maybe try and find a job.” I said, looking at her. She seemed to be a little better. “Hey, why don’t you-” Angel hopped out of nowhere and smacked me with his paw. I sighed. “Alright; I understand.” I said as I took off my jacket and put it around Fluttershy. “Angel thinks it’s time for me to go. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to find me.” I said before walking towards the door.
She grabbed the back of my shirt. “Wait; I-I was wondering… if you c-c-could stay for a little longer?” She whispered, her face hidden behind her mane.
I looked at Angel and he shrugged. I sat back down. “Sure, I’d love to.” There was a moment of awkward silence.
Before I could say anything, she leaned against and nuzzled me. I didn’t know what to do; my mind was in overload. She’s a bloody pony, why in the world am I so confused right now? Granted, being stuck in an alien world for three months with nothing but smart, intelligent ponies that can talk and have a very similar society structure isn’t that bad… but still; relationships… I looked down at her closed, red, puffy eyes. I gingerly wrapped an arm around her. “I’m sorry.” I whispered.
“No… I’m sorry… I… I…” she trailed off.
“It’s alright Fluttershy, I’m here for you.” I assured her.
“…Why? Why did he? I trusted him… how could he?” She said as the tears started to flow again.
“Ssh; it’s okay.” I said, pulling her closer. “Fluttershy, some… ponies… are just cruel and good at playing with emotions. I know it hurts really badly right now, but in my experience, it’s this experience that makes you stronger and it shows you how capable you are. Your heart may feel broken, but its stronger than any… pony realizes.” I put my hand gently under her chin and lifted so her eyes looked directly into mine. I wiped a tear from her eye. “Especially yours Fluttershy; I’ve never met anypony more kind and loving than you.”
Her face turned scarlet red. “T-t-t-thank… you.” She said through sniffling.
I faintly smiled. “I’m just telling you what I see. You truly are amazing.” I said with a chuckle.
“No I-I-I’m not; I’m a t-t-terrible pony.” She said, looking away from me.
“Fluttershy, not only did you save me from dying a second time; you went into the Everfree Forest to look for me even though you're deathly afraid of it. That takes courage very few ponies are capable of; especially for something you just barely met.”
Her face was still red. “I was just trying to help…”
“Exactly; not only were you afraid of me and the forest, but you still went out to look for me. If it wasn’t for you, I probably would’ve died in that forest.
She didn’t say anything but more tears came out.
“Fluttershy I know it’s hard right now and it seems as if the light in the world is gone, but look around; you’re surrounded by animals that care for you and would do anything to help. Angel is especially worried about you.” I said, pointing to the small white rabbit. He looked away and whistled innocently, we both smiled.
She buried her face into my chest again. “Thank you. “She said, her voice slightly muffled by my shirt.
I smiled and gently rested a hand on her head. “It’s no problem… I was worried about you.” I said, my eyes going wide as I realized what I said and I felt my face get red.
She looked up at me. “You were… worried about me?” She asked.
I gulped. “Of course I was; you were always there for me and I wanted to be there for you…” I said, trailing off.
She faintly smiled and nuzzled against me. “You are a good friend.”
I chuckled.” Yeah, sure.”
Something smacked against the window causing Fluttershy to jump; I saw that it was snowing pretty hard. I groaned as she squeezed me tighter.
“Fluttershy… I hate to say… anything, but I did… just get out the hospital.” I managed to say.
She looked at me and immediately let go. “S-s-sorry.” She stammered out, her face red again.
“It’s alright.” I said with a smile. She still seemed scared so I took my fedora off and gently put it on her head. She looked at me with her beautiful blue eyes. “There, now it won’t be so loud.” I said as the hat covered her ears.
She smiled. “Thank you.” She said, giving me a hug. She yawned.
“Are you tired?” I asked.
She shook her head no. “N-no.” She said, trying not to yawn again.
“When was the last time you slept?” I asked.
She yawned again and her eyes started to close but she quickly opened them again. “I think… it was night before he told me; three days ago…”
“Why don’t you get some sleep? Everything will be fine.”
“I don’t want to be r-rude to you…” she said, closing her eyes and leaning against me.
I shook my head and went to say something when I saw she was already asleep, her chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. I chuckled and gently got up, making sure she didn’t fall. I grabbed my jacket off her and used it as a blanket; it somehow covered her entire body. I grabbed a pillow on the couch and gently put it under her head. My hat fell on the floor and I picked it up and put it on.
I walked over to the chair and watched the snow fall quietly. Angel hopped on my lap and held out his paw. I hesitantly shook and he nodded; hopping off afterwards and disappearing somewhere in the house.
I sighed. “What a weird day already.” I said as the snow picked up.
> Journey into the Blizzard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I had just nodded off when the front door flew open and a cold wind rippled through the house. I quickly opened my eyes to see a snow covered Rainbow Dash staring at Fluttershy, trying not to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” I whispered.
She jumped and gave me a glare. “Didn’t know you were here, and just the way she looks…” Dash trailed off as she noticed Fluttershy’s red, puffy eyes. She angrily glared at me, her wings fluttering. “What did you do?” She accused as she lowered herself to jump.
I put my hands up in defense. “Whoa! I didn’t do anything, I swear!”
She hesitated. “Pinkie Swear?”
“…Yeah; I Pinkie Swear I didn’t do anything.”
“You still didn’t tell me what happened.”
“It’s not my place to say…” I said, closing my eyes and waiting to feel pain. When none came, I slowly opened my eyes and saw Dash standing over Fluttershy with a look of worry on her face.
There was a moment of awkward silence as I still cringed in fear. Dash finally sighed. “Alright, I believe you.” She said, looking like she still wanted to ask what happened. She walked away from Fluttershy and shook the snow off her body. Some of it landed on my face. I sneezed and she saw me and tried not to laugh.
“Thanks.” I said sarcastically.
“Anything for a laugh.” She said with a faint smile.
I sighed and put my fedora over my head again to try and sleep when she poked me.  I groggily lifted the hat so I could look at her. “Yes?”
“So what are you doing here?”
“I was making sure Fluttershy was okay. Rarity told me no pony had seen her in a few days.”
It looked like Dash was trying really hard not to laugh. “So… you were checking on your marefriend?” She asked before she started to laugh.
My face grew red. “Marefriend?”
“You know… the pony you’re dating…” she said through laughing.
“Oh… no! I’m not dating anyone-err-pony!”
She smiled. “Your face says otherwise.”
I face palmed and tried to change the subject. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh… uh... I needed to ask Fluttershy a question.” She said as her face turned slightly red.
“Oh?”
“Yeah… but she’s not awake… so I’ll just have to wait.” She said before taking a seat next to Fluttershy. There was a really awkward pause. “So… glad to be out of the hospital?”
“Very much so… I’ve hated hospitals my entire life.” I said with a faint smile.
She laughed. “Same here; which is weird with all the time I’ve spent in them.”
“Why do you spend so much time in them?”
“Well…” she started, one of her fore-hooves scratching the back of her head. “When you train as much as I do, they always don’t end peacefully.”
“Oh… I see.” I said. The snow was really picking up outside as me and Dash stared out the window. I glanced at Dash. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Well, when I first met you all, you pushed Fluttershy into me. Why?”
She grinned. “I was getting her back for kicking me when she wouldn’t go see the dragon migration with us and I was getting the feeling she was miserable with Shadow.”
“Oh…” I said, not sure how to respond.
Dash sensed the sudden change. “He dumped her, didn’t he?” I couldn’t respond. She sighed. “I knew he would; I tried to tell her but she wouldn’t listen.”
“People or ponies are blinded to the truth by their heart, no matter how obvious.” I said, shaking my head.
Dash turned and looked at me. “Personal experience?”
“Eeyup.” I said, going silent and thinking about Ashley, my last girlfriend. I felt my eyes start to fill tears.
“Hey, you okay?” Dash asked, concerned.
“Yep, just fine.” I said as I put my fedora over my face and closed my eyes, willing the tears to stop. I heard the flapping of wings and I felt my fedora taken off my face. I opened my eyes to her beautiful magenta eyes, full of concern. I immediately jumped up and ran past her and out the door into the snow storm.
I heard her yell my name but it quickly disappeared into the howl of wind.


--**--


“Fluttershy, you need to wake up! We have an emergency.” Dash insisted as she continuously poked the sleeping Pegasus.
“I’m... up, what’s going on?” Fluttershy asked half-asleep. She realized the jacket on her and the fedora in Dash’s hoof. “Where’s Leon?”
“I don’t know… he took off into the forest somewhere.”
“What?” She asked her whisper-voice loud. They both stared out the window as the snow continued to pour down. “We need to find him before he freezes to death... I mean if you’re not busy.”
“Of course I wanna find him! He was pretty cool…” Dash said with a slight blush that Fluttershy didn’t see.
Fluttershy rushed to her closet and grabbed two jackets and scarves, passing a reddish pink one to Rainbow. After a few minutes of getting ready, they both headed out the door as Fluttershy carried the fedora and Dash carried the heavier jacket.


--**--


“Note to self; if I survive, never EVER go into a snowstorm with just a long-sleeved shirt and pants.” I muttered to myself, shivering.
The tears froze as they slid down my face, not helping my already low body temperature. I could barely feel my fingers, my nose and ears were long gone. I tried to imagine wearing my jacket, but every time I did, pain flared through my head and I got really weak.
After the fourth try, I leaned against a tree, my sword in my hands. I stared at my reflection in the cold steel, my lips were blue and my face was completely white. My green eyes were glazed over, almost as if I was asleep. My gray streaked brown hair was covered in white snow.
“I wonder if it would hurt.” I asked myself as I thought cutting out my heart; it was already a dead organ. When no one responded, my deluded self started placing the tip of the sword over my chest.
I suddenly dropped the sword as voices flared in my head and I screamed in pain.


--**--


I was little, maybe six or seven, and sitting alone when two other kids, both boys, walked towards me. One of the boys, a blonde kid with dark blue eyes looked at me. “I’m Timmy and this is Kevin, what’s your name?”
I smiled faintly. “Leon.”
“Do you wanna play with us?” They asked.
“Sure!” I said as I got up and we ran deeper on the playground.
Kevin played on the monkey bars {I think that’s how you spell them} as Timmy and I sat on top.
“So why are you always by yourself?” Timmy asked.
“Well… no one wants to hang out with me or play any games.”
“Why, you’re pretty fun.” Timmy laughed.
“Thank you, you’re pretty fun too.”
Suddenly my nose began to bleed and Timmy quickly looked at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah… I’m fine; my nose sometimes starts to bleed.” I said as I grabbed a tissue from my pocket.
“Wait… you’re not Leon Kennedy are you?” Timmy asked, his face suddenly going white.
“Yeah why?”
He immediately jumped down and Kevin followed him as they took off running. “Stay away from us, you freak!” They yelled as they continued to run.
“Wait!” I yelled, but they were long gone. I felt something wet and cold fall on my face and felt tears trail down.


 --**--


My body was rigid as pain coursed through the numbness. My mind was reeling as another flashback hit.


--**--


“Oh Leon… I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” Ashley said as she looked at me with pity.
I held my head in my hands. “How long?”
“What?”
“How LONG have you been cheating on me?”
“We were broken up long before I met him.”
“Bullshit! We just broke up yesterday and I know you’ve been seeing him for a while!”
“Are you calling me a liar?”
“Yes!”
She slapped me and ran off before I could say anything. I just sat down on the porch that seemed to be the only thing not moving. My body started to shake as I felt another seizure coming on.


--**--


Snow continued to pour, making flying nearly impossible. Dash soared through the never-ending white rain, squinting to see a hoof in front of her. She flew as fast as she dared over the tree tops of the Everfree Forest, being the crazy one that flew while Fluttershy tried on hoof.
Where the hay is that stupid human? She wondered why he had rushed off in the first place. The jacket he wore was gripped tightly in her forehooves.
She came to a clearing and thought she saw a brief patch of black on the ground, pausing to get a better look. It turned out to be ‘nothing’, she flapped her wings, getting ready to leave again when she saw a glint of metal out of the corner of her eye. She headed down and landed on the snow. She trotted over and saw the sword dropped next to a hill of snow. It looked odd so she walked up to it only to notice the very slow rise and fall. She quickly brushed snow off to find pants and a shirt. She frantically searched for the head and found a very cold, half dead Leon leaning against a tree.
She quickly pushed him away from the tree and slipped the jacket on him. She saw his teeth chattering. She felt his face and found it incredibly cold; she also felt the frozen tear tracks.
She looked for a way to warm him up and failed to notice him waking up.


--**--


As I came to, I felt some warmth and struggled to open my eyes. I finally forced them open, only to be face to face with those beautiful magenta eyes once again. I realized Dash had somehow found me and I felt another layer of clothing so I’m assuming she draped my jacket over me.
“Hey… D-d-dash.” I struggled to say, my mouth refusing to work.
“Ohmygosh you’re awake!” She said, staring into my eyes. I felt a small pang of pain on my cheek, I assumed she had hit me. “What the hay were you thinking?” She demanded.
“S-s-sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” I said.
“Well duh, I can see that. Are you trying to kill yourself again?” She said. I failed to notice the corners of her eyes were filled slightly with tears.
I tried to laugh. “It wouldn’t be that big of a deal if I did.” I said, trying to get comfy before I died a second time.
“Horse apples!” She yelled, startling me. “Leon, in case you haven’t realized; you’re one of the group and if you weren’t informed, I’m the Element of Loyalty. That means I’m loyal to my friends and I won’t let my friend try and kill himself over something that happened before he killed himself the first time!”
I sighed. “Fluttershy told you?” My brain slightly hurt trying to understand what she had just said.
“No, you did remember?”
I slightly remember telling her after another one of our ‘heated discussions’ of Daring Do. We were both extremely tired and she decided to leave. Before she left, I felt a connection and I decided I could trust her. I stopped her before she left and told her everything. She was silent for a while before she told me of her past; the father that left her mother and how her mom had tried to work two jobs to keep up with the bills. Eventually her mom had to be rushed to the hospital due to fatigue. Her mom was still in the hospital, exhausted from working constantly. Dash visited her every other week. After that, Dash had started to cry and I held her as she tried to stop.
After a while, her tears had stopped and she went to leave before she ‘embarrassed herself more’ as she said.
Before she left, I had said; “it’s funny that all the years I lived on Earth I didn’t trust anyone, but I’m here for less than a month and I already trusted two people.”
She had stopped at the door. “Because here, we actually care what happens to you.” She said before disappearing.
I felt more pain as Dash had hit me again. “Hey Leon, stay with me.” She said.
“I’m okay… just really tired.” I said; my voice sounded very slurred.
She glanced around nervously. I felt weight on my numb legs and something clung to my chest. I looked down to see Dash nuzzling my chest, her wings covering what they could. I saw her blushing.
“Don’t get any ideas buddy; I’m trying to keep you warm.” She mumbled.
I faintly smiled. “I wouldn’t think of anything.”
“Oh my gosh; Leon, what’s wrong?” We both heard Fluttershy shout. Dash immediately jumped off as Fluttershy came over.
“Nothing Fluttershy; just a little cold.” I said as I started to shiver again.
They both grabbed my hands and tried to pull me up. “Come on; we need to get you inside.” Dash said as they flapped their wings and pulled me to my feet.
I laughed. “I can’t move my legs.”
They stared at me. “How is that funny?” Dash said, looking like she was mad. She looked at Fluttershy. “Stay here and watch him, I’m gonna go get Twilight.” She said before taking off in a blur of a rainbow.
Fluttershy stared at the disappearing Dash and then shuffled her hooves as I fell back onto the ground.
“Ouch.” I said as the snow billowed around me. My body started to shake, but it wasn’t because of the cold. “Not… again.” I managed to say before I blacked out.
> An Awkward Situation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I awoke nice and warm, almost like I was sitting in front of a fire. I opened my eyes and in fact was in front of a fireplace. I looked around saw that I was back in Fluttershy’s cottage, sitting in her poofy chair in front of the fireplace. I looked down and saw I was buried in a pile of blankets and jackets.
A cup of hot chocolate sat next to me and I went to reach for it when I saw my sword in its sheath sitting next to the cup. I hesitantly grabbed it and stared at it.
“Hey, he’s finally awake.” I heard Twilight say as several pairs of hooves walked briskly towards me. I turned my head to see Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash standing right next to me. I leaned the sword against the table.
“Look guys, I just wanted to say-” I was interrupted when Dash smacked me with her hoof.
“What the hay were you thinking Leon? You could’ve died a second time!” Dash said, almost fuming at me.
“Dash… I’m sorry.” I said, looking at her as I rubbed my cheek.
Twilight and Fluttershy shared a look and Twilight coughed. “How are you feeling?” She asked, trying to break us up.
I briefly glanced away from Dash to look at Twilight. “I’m better.” I said with a faint smile.
“Why did you freak out so much anyways?” Dash asked.
I felt the blood drain from my face and they all noticed my body stiffen. “It’s a long story.”
“Oh come on; it can’t be that bad. Besides, it’s not good to keep secrets from your friends.” Dash insisted.
I looked at her sadly. “Everypony has secrets from their past and I’m not ready to share mine.”
Before Dash could say anything, Twilight interrupted her. “Dash; he’ll tell us when he wants to. Let’s leave it at that.”
Dash wanted to argue, but knew she wouldn’t get anywhere. She sighed and shook her head yes. “Sorry Leon; I’m just a bit too nosy for my own good.” She said, staring at the floor.
“Don’t worry, no harm done. Just like they say, curiosity killed the cat.”
They looked at me with utter horror on their faces. “WHAT?” They yelled.
Even Fluttershy looked angry and very scary. “Who DARES hurt an animal?” She asked.
I held up my hands. “It’s an expression! No one literally killed a cat; it’s an expression from my world.”
They still stared at me in shock. “Your world is weird,” Twilight finally said.
“Tell me about it,” I muttered.
An awkward silence hung in the air. I avoided looking at any of the three and stared out the window when I saw a small purple dragon run across the snow; half his body buried. He finally made it to the front door and flung it open. “Twilight!” He yelled through hiccups.
“What is it Spike? Twilight said.
“I… I think there is a message… coming from-” he started before he was interrupted by a belch of green flame and a parchment flew out.
I fell back in surprise in the chair as the girls stare at it nonchalantly. Twilight caught it with her magic and unrolled it.
“What does it say Twi?” Dash asked.
“It… doesn’t make sense.” Twilight said, staring at the letter in confusion as she read it out loud.

Dear Twilight,
I’ve heard what happen to our guest and to hide his true identity; everypony he met besides you and your friends will think he had died in the blizzard from last night. I ask that you bring your friends and Leon to Canterlot so we can discuss what that means.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia

“What in the Equestria?” Dash asked, staring at the others, confused.
“So I’m dead again?” I asked, half sarcastically.
They stared at me, shocked. “Well, he kinda is.” Spike said.
“SPIKE!” they all yelled.
“What? He is or at least that’s what Princess Celestia said.” He said, trying to defend himself.
“Maybe we should let Celestia explain what she means?” I asked, looking at them.
Twilight hesitantly shook her head. “Yeah, I guess that’ll work.”
I shot Spike a glance and he faintly smiled. “So… how are we going to get there without me being seen?”
“We’re going to have to teleport.” Twilight said.
“Um… can you do that Twilight? I mean; you’re strong and everything, but um… I don’t want to sound rude or mean… but... that sounds challenging.” Fluttershy said, her face hiding slightly behind her mane.
Twilight smiled. “Thanks for your concern Fluttershy, but I’m Princess Celestia’s apprentice; I’m pretty sure I can handle a simple teleportation spell.” She said.
“But for that many ponies and uh… human?” Spike said, glancing at me.
“You guys worry too much; I can handle this.” Twilight said. She started headed towards the door. “Come on Spike, let’s go get the others.” She said as she opened the door.
He sighed. “Coming; see ya guys later!” He said as he ran to catch up.
We watched them till they disappeared down the road. Fluttershy yawned quietly.
“Um… I think I might go take a nap, if that’s okay with you guys?” She asked, glancing at Dash then me.
“Sure thing Fluttershy, get some rest.” I said.
“Yeah, no problem; don’t worry about us.” Dash finished.
Fluttershy nodded and ascended the stairs to the second floor and we heard the faint noise of a door shutting.
Me and Dash looked at each other in an awkward silence. “So… no changing the weather today?” I asked.
“Nope,” she said, looking away.
I sighed. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“I’ve been around you long enough to tell when something’s bothering you.”
She turned and glared at me. “Why did you run out into the blizzard?”
I sighed; I had a feeling that was what was bothering her. “I didn’t want to relive something.”
She stared at me. “Look, I know you don’t want to talk about it… but I just wanted to let you know I’m here if you need me.” She said, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. She looked very unsure of herself briefly.
I faintly smiled at her. “Are you sure you want me boring a cool pony such as yourself with my drama?”
“Well duh! If it helps a friend, I’ll do anything; Element of Loyalty remember?”
“Element of what now?” I stared at her vacantly for a moment before I remembered. “Oh; right…”
She sat on the couch and looked at me. “So?”
I sighed. “Well… it’s just your basic sob story. Meet a girl, date for a while, then she cheats on me with a good friend then dumps me; nothing out of the ordinary.” I said, trying not to go into too many details.
She didn’t fall for it. “Leon, I know that’s not everything.”
I looked away. “Do you really want everything?”
“Yes.”
I gulped. Well, here goes. “I met Ashley about a year and a half ago now on a video game from my world-”
“What’s a video game?” She asked.
“Please save questions till the end, this is going to be hard enough as it is.” I asked, to which she nodded. “So we met and hung out for a while, but we each had to go back to school. Then about a year later or so, we met up again and started playing some more. She told me how she was having trouble with her boyfriend at the time, so we started talking about it and I did what I could to help her. About a month later, she breaks up with her boyfriend and I try and help her get through it. We started to hang out every day; just talking and playing video games and watching movies, it was really fun.” I faintly smiled, the memories running through my head. 
“One day, I found a picture of my grandpa and me and for some reason I broke down and cried. When I told her, she made me feel better and helped me get through it. It was probably one of the happiest times in my life; I found someone that I could open up to without being made fun of.” I said, as I felt tears starting to build up. “Finally at around six months, I asked if she would be my girlfriend and she said yes; I was so happy. We spent pretty much every moment awake together.” The tears started to flow and Dash went to get up, but I stopped her with a brief shake of the head. “Then I got a job and I never was around. I tried to text her and call her on my lunch, but she never answered. Finally after three weeks, I had a day off and I met up with her; she wanted to break up. We got into a huge argument and she left.” I barely managed to finish. “A week went by and my friend Derek said she was seeing someone on the side, said it started when I started work. So the next day I got a hold of her and we argued some more when I brought it up.” My voice went out and I couldn’t continue, putting my head in my hands to try and hide the tears.
A pair of hooves wrapped around my neck with two wings trying to cover me. I peeked out from my hands and saw Dash hugging me; she was crying to.
“I know how it feels; to have your heart crushed and the remnants thrown to the wind.” She whispered.
I didn’t know what to do; I was afraid. “Thanks… Dash,” I whispered back, “I would like to hear it, if you wouldn’t mind sharing.”
She stiffened a little. “Fair is fair; you told me a secret, I should tell you one of mine.” She said and let go of me. I got out of the chair and we sat on the couch.
“Whenever you want to; if you still do.”
“I… I haven’t really talked about it.” She said, closing her eyes. Her crying intensified slightly as she took a deep breath to try and calm down. “When I came here to Ponyville, the only pony I knew was Fluttershy and she kept to herself. Pinkie and I ran into each other and she planned a welcome party for me. The next day, at the party, which was pretty cool with all the dancing and the awesome music, I met this stallion there.” Her eyes grew distant as she remembered, the tears slowly stopping. “He had a flame red mane and the color of his coat could only be described as the color of dried blood. Looking at him reminding me of staring into a fire; wild and untamable. He saw me staring and walked over quickly introducing himself as Wild Sparks. He said he worked as traveling fire spitter and wanted to hang out sometime. We decided to meet up the next day and for the next 3 months, hung out every day. The only bad thing was that he was a unicorn. Don’t get me wrong, I like unicorns but Pegasus are better since we’re not limited to the ground.” She said, quickly trying to reason her remark.
“Anyway, one day he asked if I was dating anypony and I answered no obviously. He immediately asked me out and the next night we went on a date.” She said reminiscing, slightly smiling. “I was so nervous that night, my wings couldn’t stop opening.” She said with a blush. “After that night, we became a couple and started to date. For four months, I was the happiest mare in Equestria, having found my other half.” Her smile vanished, a frown taking its place. She lowered her head so her mane covered her eyes. “Then on our four month anniversary, we planned on going out to eat at some stupid fancy restaurant.”
Tears started pouring out. “He never showed up. I waited and waited for hours and he never showed up. When the restaurant closed, I rushed to his house and kicked the door open; I… I found him passed out on the couch with some mare underneath him.” Her body started to shake and I hesitantly scooted closer to her. Her ears drooped, almost blending into the side of her head. “I ran out of there and flew back to my house. The next day we broke up. He tried to blame me when we did and started spreading rumors that I was a lesbian; just because I wouldn’t sleep with him.” She glanced up at me, tears streaming from her eyes. “So now we’re even.”
I didn’t say anything. I slowly put my arm around her shaking shoulders and pulled her into a hug. At first, she stiffened and acted like she was about to fight it off, but gave up and buried her face into my chest. I held her as she cried and I tried to sooth her, gently patting her back. After a few minutes, she seemed to be under control as she gently pushed against me and I released her from the hug.
“…Thank you.” She whispered.
“What in tarnation?” A southern accent quickly noticeable as Applejacks; rang out in the room.
Dash and I quickly looked towards the front door to see the rest of the girls staring at us with shock written on their faces. Both of our faces turned bright red and we quickly looked away.
“What do we have goin’ on here?” AJ teased, grinning. “Does our resident dare devil fancy-”
“I do not!” Dash interrupted, her eyes glaring at AJ.
“From the scene we just witness, ah reckon otherwise.”
“Girls, we need to head to Princess Celestia and see what she wants.” Twilight said as she looked at us. “Then we can deal with whatever that was…” She finished, shaking her head slightly.
“It was nothing,” I insisted.
“Your face says otherwise Leon.” Rarity said, pointing out my still bright red face, which got brighter.
“OH! OH! Now his face looks almost as red as a tomato!” Pinkie said; she looked over at Dash. “And your face does too Dashie!” She exclaimed.
“I think it’s time to see if you can teleport all of us Twilight.” I said, trying to change the topic.
“Yeah… I agree; where’s Fluttershy?” She asked.
“I’m right um here.” A quiet voice said from the stairwell. We all looked to see Fluttershy watching us from the last stair.
“What are you doing over there?” I asked.
“Well… it looked like a private moment and I didn’t want to intrude.” She said, looking away.
“Come on Fluttershy, we should try and hurry and see what the Princess wants.” Twilight insisted. She nodded her head and walked over towards the group. “Alright everypony; let’s see if I can do this.” Twilight said, her eyes closing and a look of extreme concentration appeared on her face.
Her horn started to glow faintly but quickly gained strength. After a few moments, you could feel the energy buildup in the air. The hair started to stand up on my arm. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and a loud popping noise before everything vanished.
> Learning to Fly
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Leon please wake up.” A distant voice said.
“Wha?” I asked, dazed. Something wet hit my cheek and I touched it, it was a tear. I groggily opened my eyes to see Fluttershy crying. “What’s wrong?” I asked as I felt that I was laying on something warm; I realized that my head was lying in her lap, my face started to get red.
She squeaked and looked down at me. “Oh thank goodness, you’re finally-.” She whispered.
“Hey, he’s finally awake!” I heard Dash yell and I was suddenly surrounded. “Bout time Leon, you had us worried.” She continued.
“Ugh; where am I?” I asked, glancing around.
“You’re in Canterlot Leon, my castle to be specific.” Princess Celestia said, her face looming above the others.
I looked around and noticed Twilight wasn’t here. “Where’s Twilight? Is she alright?” I asked, slightly worried.
Celestia smiled. “She’s fine, just exhausted. She didn’t realize how taxing it would be to teleport that many individuals.”
I sighed. “That’s good,” I lifted my head and the world started to spin.
“Whoa Leon, take it easy; looks like you got bucked in the chest”. Dash said, concerned.
“I’m okay… I think.” I said, trying to get the world to stop.  I looked over at Fluttershy, who was hiding behind her mane. I leaned towards her and grasped her in a hug. “Thank you.” I whispered.
I saw her face brighten and a small smile formed on her mouth. “No… um… problem.” She said.
I got up and could barely stand on my own two legs. After a moment, I finally got a look at the throne room… and was rendered speechless. The room put to shame anything I’ve seen; it was huge. The purple stain glassed windows depicted something, like Celestia and Luna fighting Discord and Twilight and the others fighting Nightmare Moon. There was a simple throne at the end on a raised platform and a long red carpet rolled from that all the way out the door. Everything was spotless.
“Wow…” I said in awe.
I saw Celestia smile. “Indeed. “You’ve never seen a castle except as a ruin haven’t you?” I nodded yes. “I thought as much.”
I looked at Celestia. “So... um… you wished to see us?”
“Indeed I did Leon.” She glared slightly at me. “I heard about your trek into the blizzard the other day.”
“I’m sorry-”
“It’s quite alright, you seem to be fine. In the meantime, it has let me give the townsponies an excuse to say that the ‘monster’ is gone.” She said, slightly hesitant.
“Me a monster?” I asked, confused.
“Well, according to the reports I’m receiving from Ponyville, yes.”
“But that doesn’t make sense; Twilight explained to the mayor what he was.” Dash said.
“I know but most ponies didn’t believe it.”
Before Dash could argue, I interrupted her. “What do I need to do?” I asked.
“Nothing; it’s all taken care of,” She turned around, her horn glowing.
“What do you mean?” I asked, even more confused.
“You Leon Scott Kennedy; are dead.” Celestia deadpanned.
We all stared at her. “What?” I asked.
“Yes; the human Leon is dead, died in the blizzard. But, I have a proposition for you.”
“Not like I have much of a choice.” I said with a small grin.
“Not really no,” she said, “since you can’t be here as a human, how about as a pony?”
“Wha?” I asked, my brain going numb.
“I can turn you into a pony but it does have certain limits.”
“Like?”
“Since it’s a smaller body, its energy reserves are very limited and miniscule compared to the body you have now.” She stared at me. “And since the transformation spell isn’t perfect, any strong emotion could break it.”
I thought about it and was very tempted. “What about my sword?”
“I could transform it to fit a pony but most don’t carry around swords.”
I sighed. “That’s alright, I don’t think I’ll need it.” I glanced at her. “And this is my only option?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Well then I guess let’s see how it goes?” I forced myself to laugh.
She nodded. “Do you have any preference of the type of pony you want to be?”
“Well… I’ve always wondered what having wings would feel like.” I thought out loud.
“I see.” Celestia said with a faint smile, her horn completely encased in a bright yellow glow. It wouldn’t be any other reason? She asked, her voice ringing in my mind.
I felt my face get bright red. “No…”  I trailed off, looking at the stain glassed windows.
“Whatever you say, now close your eyes.” She commanded, a faint smile on her lips.
I did as I was ordered and felt a great heat hit my chest. My body felt like it was being compacted and pushed towards the ground by gravity. My last thought before I passed out was of a rainbow streak running through the sky.


--**--


“Ugh…” I said, trying to open my eyes; they must have had lead weights attached to them. I finally got them open and was immediately blinded by the light. I squinted and after several moments, I could see… a green snout?
I started to panic, bringing my hands to my face, only to see two green hooves? What the hell is going on? Oh… right. I calmed down a little as my brain reminded me.
I glanced around and realized I was in a hospital room; again. I felt something on my leg and looked over to see a sleeping Rainbow Dash.
I smiled as she mumbled in her sleep. I hesitantly poked her and she groggily opened her eyes and stared into mine. She realized that she what she was using as a pillow and bolted up, her cheeks flushed with red.
“Good morning Leon,” she said, her face bright red still.
I tried not to smile. “Good morning to you too Dash, how long was I out for?”
“Only a few hours.” Her usual smug smile came back. “Guess what?”
“What?”
“You’re a pegasus!” she screamed, extremely excited.
I felt a smile tug on my lips. “Really?” I threw the covers off and jumped to the floor and turned to see my wings. They were the same green that was apparently the color of my coat. “What’s this?” I said, feeling something hanging off my back. I saw that I had a dark brown tail. “I have a tail,” I said flatly only for Dash to start laughing.
“Well duh, everypony does.” She said as she got up and hit me in the face playfully with hers.
I grinned and tried to turn around to do the same, but my hooves tangled themselves up and I fell flat on my face, causing her to laugh even harder.
“Well it seems you're awake; what do you think of your new body?” Celestia asked, stifling a laugh as I glanced up to her from the floor.
“I don’t know just yet… I have a feeling walking is going to be a challenge.”
“I may be able to help you,” She said, her horn glowing as she lightly tapped it against my forehead.
I felt like something was being crammed into my head as I suddenly knew how to walk and fly. I opened my wings instinctively and hovered off the ground. I pushed down with my wings and zoomed about in the little room, laughing.
“This is amazing!” I yelled, happier than I’ve been in a long time.
“It is, isn’t it?” Dash said from my side; I noticed she had followed me. “Come on, you haven’t seen anything yet.” She said as she banked left towards the window and opened it, signaling me to follow her. I looked at Celestia who nodded her head before I zoomed after Dash.
I felt the wind blow right through my mane as I shook my head. It was invigorating, being this free but in complete control. I never wanted to leave this feeling. I looked around, just noticing how high I was however. I gulped as I felt myself start to shiver and my wings started to slow down.
“What’s wrong?” Dash asked, concerned as she hovered next to me.
“This is going to sound weird, but I’m afraid… afraid of heights.” I said, trying not to panic. I heard the flapping of her wings as she flew off somewhere.
“Here, sit on this.” She said as she held a cloud.
I stared at the cloud, then at her. “I can’t.”
“Why not? You’re a pegasus aren’t you?”
“Ya but you-”
“Forget your human logic and just sit on the fluffy thing already.” She said, glaring at me. “Trust me.”
I sighed and gently landed on the cloud. It felt solid, but I could feel moisture slowly seeping from it. I dropped to my stomach and was suddenly exhausted. Something else pushed against me and saw Dash make room for herself.
“So what do you think?” she asked, not looking at me.
I laughed. “I’m actually happy, happier than I’ve been in years.” I said with a genuine smile.
“I’m glad.” She said, looking up from the cloud with a grin on her face.
Something seemed off. “Everything okay?”
“Pfft, of course it is; I finally got a new flying partner.” She said, glancing away momentarily. She grinned mischievously at me. “I have an idea.”
“What?” I asked, only slightly worried.
“Let’s have a race; first one to Sugarcube Corner wins. Ready, set, GO!” She said, before zooming off.
“Dash wait!” I yelled, flying as fast as I could to catch up to her.
I put all the speed I could muster into my wings and the huge gap between us slowly closed. We zoomed across the plains and the Everfree Forest, both of us grinning madly as I caught up to her and we were neck and neck.
I suddenly felt a tingle start at the back of my neck and I instantly recognized it. “Oh no.” I whispered before I felt my wings lock up and I plummeted to the ground, my body twitching and convulsing the entire way down.


--**--


She flew as fast as she could without breaking the sound barrier and he was still neck and neck with her.
This stallion is fast. She thought, slightly out of breath as they had been going all out from Canterlot and were passing the Everfree Forest. She glanced at him and saw him smiling and waving at her before returning his focus ahead. She giggled and felt her face go red. What the hay? Why did I do that? She questioned herself.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his wings lock up and a look of pure pain and fear spread across his face before he started to plummet towards the ground. She stared in horror as he fell faster than she thought possible.
“Hold on!” she yelled as she used her momentum to make a harsh U-turn and fly at him faster than normal. She felt the sound barrier slowly being warped around her as she tried to catch up to him. I’m not gonna make it! She put every ounce of energy she could muster into her wings and for a split second, she felt the world slow down before there was a resounding boom and she flew faster than she thought possible.
She quickly closed the distance between herself and Leon and grabbed him in her forehooves, noticing his body convulse as he stared at her with tears in his eyes. He tried to move his mouth, but no noise came out. She pulled up as sharp as she could and avoided colliding with a tree before she shed her momentum and flew herself towards a nearby cloud.
She landed heavily on the cloud, exhausted from having to do a Sonic Rainboom. She watched as Leon continued to convulse, unsure what to do; she felt completely helpless as she felt tears start to form in her eyes. She felt a hoof grab her and she saw Leon’s fore hoof attached to hers, his eyes staring at hers as he held on as his body was racked with pain.


--**--


Pain was everywhere; my entire body shrieked. I lay on the cloud, holding on to Dash’s hoof as she started to cry. I was shocked that she was able to break the sound barrier and a cascade of rainbows erupted behind her as she caught up to me. I wish I could thank her for catching me, but I was too much pain I couldn’t even scream.
Finally, after what felt like eternity, I coughed. My entire body was encased in sweat and I was breathing pretty heavily. “That… was… amazing.” I managed to say to her. She immediately grabbed me and pulled me into a hug, burying her face into my shoulder. I hesitantly rubbed her back, my limbs still shaky.
She pushed away from me and smacked me across the muzzle. “Don’t you ever do that again; okay? What the heck was that?” she asked, her voice still shaky.
I sighed. “That was a seizure. It happens to me every now and then. When I have one, I lose the ability to move or talk.”
“Why do you have… that?”
“I don’t know, the doctors on my world could never figure it out.”
“Maybe… maybe Twilight would know.” She said, looking scared.
I hugged her. “It wasn’t your fault and I’m sorry you had to see that.”
She sniffed. “It’s okay, just startled me is all,” she looked at me, “are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine… just really tired, how about you?” I asked.
“I’m exhausted.” She said with a yawn.
“Maybe we should take a nap before we head back to the others?” I offered.
“Sounds like a plan.” She said, lying down on the cloud.
I yawned and lay down to, resting my head on my forehooves. It was slightly chilly this high in the sky during winter. I shivered a bit until I felt Dash scoot closer to me and I looked at her. She slightly blushed as she leaned against me a bit. I raised a wing and hesitantly lowered it across her as she faintly smiled at me. It was warmer with somepony to share the cloud with.
I sighed contently as we both fell asleep, keeping each other warm.
> Consequences of thy Foalishness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Hey… hey, lug head… time to get up…” I heard a voice call in the blackness as I felt a hoof poke me in the side.
I groggily opened my eyes and saw nothing but the blue sky and white clouds. My body visibly trembled as I looked down from the cloud at the ground far below and started to panic. I had also started to hyperventilate, but stopped when I felt a comforting hoof on my back.
“It’s okay, we’re safe.”  Dash said calmly.
I took a few breaths to try and calm my nerves, my heart still beating rapidly. I looked up to thank her when I was struck speechless. Her body was outlined in the sun, highlighting her rainbow mane against the consistent blue of the sky, casting a shadow from which her magenta eyes seemed to glow. She took her hoof off my back and looked at me with a hint of concern. “What?” she asked, confused at my expression.
“Uh… nothing.” I said as I looked away to try and hide the heat that rose to my face. She kept staring at me, with a clear look of disbelief on her face. I got up and stretched.
“How about a race?” I asked with a yawn, trying to divert her attention from my face.
She turned away with unease, letting awkward silence fall over the cloud. "Are you sure that´s a good idea, since you had... that?" she asked in a concerned whisper.
I hesitated, unsure I heard correctly. “Oh I get it; you’re afraid I’ll beat you and become the fastest flyer in Equestria.” I said stretching my wings, thinking I maybe had a shot at winning.
Her ears perked up and she glared at me. “What was that?”
“You heard me; you know I’d win in a race.” I said with a smirk.
She looked down at the cloud, annoyed. I could tell she really wanted to prove her speed. “I don’t think we should.”
I blinked. “Did Rainbow Dash just refuse a race?” I asked. She gritted her teeth in frustration caused by my continuous pestering. Still, when I looked into her eyes I found nothing but concern, which instantly made me feel guilty about trying to goad her into a race. I sighed. "I´m sorry; we don't have to race."
She dragged her hoof across the cloud. “It’s not like I don’t want to; it’s just I want you to be one hundred percent before I beat you.” She said with a faint smile.
“After I have Twilight look me over, we’ll settle this.” I said, relieved of sorting that out.
Dash smiled and got up, her back popping. “Sounds like a plan.”
She started to hover off the cloud and waited for me as I slowly got up; we then made our way towards Ponyville.
As we flew I kept catching her glancing over at me, but every time we made eye contact she would blush and quickly look away. As I racked my brain to try and figure out what was going on, she asked me a question. “So how do you like being a pegasus so far?”
I thought for a moment. “I love it; being able to go anywhere, feeling the breeze go through your… mane, walking on clouds. I wish I had been born a pegasus.”
She smiled. “I’m glad I met somepony that gives flying as much importance as I do.”
I started to laugh. “Too bad I’m afraid of heights or I would be having the time of my life.” I said, shaking only slightly from looking down at the top of the trees we were flying over.
She laughed. “Don’t worry; you’ll get used to it.”
There was silence as we made our way towards Sugarcube Corner. “So Dash, I have a random question.”
“Shoot.”
“What do pegasi do for jobs? I’ve heard that they control the weather, but that can’t be right.”
“Well… we do, I’m actually the Weather Captain for Ponyville.” She said.
I stared at her. “But… But…”
“Remember we can walk on clouds here.” 
I sighed. “This is true.”
“Why were you wondering what we do?”
“Well I’m going to need a job-”
She laughed. “Don’t worry about it I got that covered; you’ll work with me.” She said with a grin.
I laughed. “I’d love to.” I suddenly started to slow down, my entire body breaking into a sweat. What… What´s wrong with me? I held a hoof to my heart as it hurt to breathe. I could feel something bad, really bad was happening, but I couldn't put my hoof on it as I felt my wings start to go numb, which made my body slowly sink to the ground. Dash was there in an instant, serving as support so I didn't fall completely.
“Are you okay?” she asked, very concerned.
“Y-yeah… I’m ok.” I struggled to say, my breaths in gasps.
“You don’t look so good.” She said, glancing around madly and finally spotting Twilight’s tree house. “Hold on, we’re almost at Twilights.” She said; I could hear the panic in her voice.
At this point my wings were limp at my sides and she struggled to keep us air borne, but she couldn’t hold my weight. We weren’t that high up so when we fell, we only got a few bruises. I instinctively pushed myself in front of her so I was sandwiched between her and the ground. The air was knocked out of my lungs as I laid on the ground and gasped like a fish out of water. I felt a tug on my tail and glanced down to see Dash struggling to pull me the rest of the way there. My body was roughly dragged across the ground as Dash pulled me by the tail.
Something wet hit my face as I looked up and saw rain clouds. Dash stopped and looked at the sky. “OH COME ON!” she yelled, waving her hooves at the air.
“Dash?” We heard somepony shout. I tried to tilt my head but it refused to move.
“Derpy what are you doing?” Dash said as the rain started to pick up.
“Oh I was just going for some muffins when it started raining.” Derpy said.
“Hey Derpy think you can help me out? My friend is real sick and I need help to get him to Twilights.” Dash said hurriedly.
“Um, if he’s sick then why not take him to the hospital?”
“Cause Twilight’s house is closer and we don’t have time.” Dash said as I felt her grab my tail again.
I felt somepony else pulling me as I struggled to talk. “D-dash.” I finally forced myself to say.
Immediately I stopped and Dash’s magenta eyes were in my face. “Are you alright?”
“Dashie…” I trailed off, not able to finish.
Her face went red as she struggled to say something. Instead, she quickly went back and grabbed my tail and they pulled me to Twilights. Everything went into a haze after that and I faintly remember hearing snippets of Dash’s conversation with a voice that I recognized as Twilights.
“What happened?”
“He… fell… seizure… fine before… race… stupid ego… I’m sorry…”
“It’s not your fault… I’m sure he doesn’t blame… How many…?”
I tried to talk or move, but my body wouldn’t respond. A haze set over me as I laid on what I assumed to be a bed in Twilight’s house. I tried to focus but all I could do was lay there in pain. I felt a pair of hooves gently wrap around me and I saw Fluttershy’s aqua eyes full of concern look down at me.
“It’ll be alright… we’re here for you.” She said; I saw her lips moving, but only caught maybe half the sentence. I felt the warmth of her body as she put my head on her lap. Something pinched me in the arm and I suddenly felt exhausted, my eyelids drooping. The last thing I remember is staring into Fluttershy’s eyes before everything went dark.


--**--


I opened my eyes in I was in a completely black room. It had what looked like stars as lights. I tried to stand but I when I looked down, I was on the moon. I started to panic and held my breath.
“Peaceful; is it not?” A voice asked in the darkness.
I quickly looked for the source of the voice and I finally found her. It was a… alicorn, just like Celestia, except it was a full foot shorter. Instead of a white coat, this one had a dark sapphire blue; her mane and tail had the same ethereal billowing properties that Celestia had, but was midnight blue. She had the same chest plate as Celestia, but was black and the jewel in the center was the same color as her mane. Her cyan eyes stared at me.
“Um… hi?” I asked, intimidated by her. I did an awkward bow, remembering that she must be Celestia’s younger sister, Luna. “Are you Princess Luna?”
“That I am, and thou must be the human I have heard so much about.” She said.
Huh; I heard she spoke like she was from the Middle Ages. “Yes… ma’am.”
“What is this ‘Middle Ages’ thou speaketh of?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.
Oh crap, she can read minds too… “Uh, it’s a time period on my planet that… uh… I like.”
“You’re lying,” she said with a slight grin.
I sighed. “The way you speak reminds me of how they use to talk. It’s not bad, just a little odd considering that mode of speech ended about five hundred years ago on my planet.”
She laughed, a hoof raised to her mouth. “I appreciate such honesty.”
“Never lie to mares or royalty; never ends well.” I said, a faint smile on my face.
“Indeed.” There was a moment of silence as we stared out into what I assumed was the sky and she glanced over at me. “I must ask thee why thou are not, by thy saying, ‘freaking out’?”
I laughed. “After everything that’s happened to me in the last few months, I kinda just learned to accept weird things.”
She smiled. “The one called Pinkie Pie?”
I chuckled. “Pretty much.” I sat there and thought of the crazy pink pony and the shenanigans that follow her. I glanced around again. “So we’re on the moon?”
“Nay, we are on but a mirage of the moon. It is in this lieu where I like to meditate.” She said, sitting down.
“Okay…” I said. Just ignore it, don’t even think about it. No more brain implosions. “So why am I here? Granted the view is beautiful, but I don’t think I warrant attention from the Princess of the Night.”
She blushed. “Thou flatter me too much; we are here to discuss what hath happened today.”
I grimaced. “Did I screw up that badly?”
She laughed again. “Indeed; thou nearly died again, if I heard correctly. Mayhap thou would be willing to answer my question, why did thee disregard my sister´s words?”
“Uh… what?”
She shook her head. “Celestia forestalled thee about overexerting thy new body, and the incidences that accompany such a deed.”
“Oh… right.” I said, embarrassed as I scratched the back of my head with my hoof. “I’m not that good of a listener…”
“It’d be advisable to pay heed to my sister’s counsel.” She said, staring at me.
“I know; I should’ve paid attention.” I sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“For?”
I stared into the night. “Ever since I came here, I seem to have done nothing right. All I’ve done is make everypony miserable in some way or another,” I looked at her, “hell I can’t have made it easy for you or your sister, what with being an alien from another universe and all.”
She frowned. “Thou do not understand thy importance.”
I laughed. “I’m not important at all.”
“There’th a reason for thee to be transported here instead of the void.”
“And why’s that?”
She looked away. “Thou hath to learn that thyself.”
I sighed. “Everypony here speaks in riddles.”
“Everypony does what they think is for the best, even if no other pony gets it. My sister ascertained it'd be best if thou came here. I don’t understand it myself, but my sister usually has a plan.” She faintly smiled. “Moreover, thou signify more to sundry ponies than thou dare admit.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, curious at what that meant.
“Thou will realize in time.” She said with a smile.
“There you are Lulu; I’ve been looking for you.” A voice said that I recognized as Celestia’s. She came into view and I quickly bowed as she came into view, but she motioned for me to get up. “Please Leon, you don’t have to bow.”
“Sorry Princess,” I said, looking at her with a faint smile.
She shook her head. “I see that you’ve already almost destroyed your body.”
I embarrassedly kicked the ground. “Yeah… I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”
“Did you learn your lesson, then?”
I felt like I was in school being chastised by the teacher. “Yes Princess.”
Luna laughed. “He’s quite the interesting one.”
“Indeed.” Celestia said as she stared at me. “You have a question for me?” she asked.
“Well… yeah; back in the Everfree Forest, I tried to summon my jacket and I couldn’t. I could summon stuff before, but I stopped being able to. Do have any idea why?”
She was silent. “Have you tried since then?”
“No…”
“Try now.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I visualized another jacket, just like I had before when pain flared in my head. “Still can’t.”
She sighed. “I see… then it is as I feared.”
“What is?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?” I asked, a little upset.
“It’s not the time or the place to say; you’ll learn soon enough though.” She said with a sigh.
“Umm... Okay…”
“Remember Leon; everything has a limit.” Luna said, standing up.
Celestia and Luna were silent for a moment, staring off into the distance. “Umm?” I asked, wondering what they were doing.
“It seems as if we’ve kept you here long enough.” Celestia said.
“Thy friends have become worried.” Luna agreed, switching back to her Middle English. I felt my body start to squish against itself as Luna’s horn was encased in a midnight blue glow. “Remember, if you are lost, look to the stars for guidance.” She said.
The magic in her horn launched at me and hit me in the chest. The last thing I saw was Luna encased in lunar glow before everything went dark.


--**--


This happens way too often. I groaned as I opened my eyes and all I saw was yellow. I heard a squeal and suddenly Fluttershy’s aqua eyes were in front of me.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. I could hear the relief in her voice.
“Felt like I was ran over by a car… again.”
“What’s a car?” They asked as I facehoofed, which hurt a lot more than I thought it would.
“Since humans can’t fly; we built machines for travel. A car is like a motorized horse with four wheels.” I saw a gleam in Twilight’s eye that I knew all too well; I’d piqued her interest.
The next two hours were a blur, nothing but question after question. Fluttershy had left around the halfway point, having to go care her pets. Dash had left and came back after finishing her weather duties.
Twilight had finally calmed down as she stared at the parchment she wrote my answers on. Something seemed to frighten the unicorn as she dropped the parchment and ran out of the room.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
Dash shook her head. “I have no idea-”
“Winter Wrap Up is the day after tomorrow!” Twilight yelled, charging back into the room with an even bigger piece of parchment this time, with Spike holding on to the bottom for dear life.
“And?” Dash and I asked at the same time.
“Don’t you understand? I have to plan the entire thing!” She said, starting to freak out.
“Umm Twi, don’t you think you should-” Spike started before he was interrupted.
I was grabbed by Twilight’s magic and flew over to her, levitating off the ground. “What are you going to do?” she asked quickly.
“Uh…” I stumbled, trying to remember what the jobs were from that book I read. “I guess… I’ll help Fluttershy with the animals?” I asked, forcing a smile.
Dash looked away momentarily as Twilight smiled and gently set me back in the bed. Another parchment appeared and she wrote something down.
“Yay,” Fluttershy said from the doorway. Everypony turned their heads to look at her as she hid behind her mane.
“Fluttershy, when did you get back?” Twilight asked.
“Umm… when you realized that Winter Wrap Up was two days away…” She said, looking at the floor.
“Oh… hehe; I must not have noticed you.” Twilight said, scratching the back of her head with her fore hoof.
“Hey Twi, could I talk to you for a minute?” Dash asked, pointing to a corner. Twilight nodded and they walked away from me as Fluttershy walked over to the bed.
“I’m happy you’re okay. I came back to… um… make sure you’re okay I mean if that’s okay…” Fluttershy said, her face hidden once again. I faintly saw a blush though.
“I´m sorry I keep doing this to you guys though… and you know I always enjoy your company.” I said, looking away.
“Oh, it´s okay… we are just glad you are not hurt that much…”
I faintly smiled as I looked at her. “You’re the best you know that?”
“No I’m not…” She whispered, I had to struggle to hear her at all.
“Yes you are; I can’t get mad or upset around you. You give off this calming aura.” I said, laughing and with a blush on my face. “Sorry.” I quickly said.
Fluttershy surprised me as she leaned towards me and kissed me on the forehead. My eyes grew as Dash turned around and her mouth opened as Twilight’s eyes grew wide in shock.
> Thinking on the Range (Unedited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I stared in shock as Dash and Fluttershy’s faces both turned red. My brain couldn’t comprehend what just happened but my wings did, they shot out with a “pomf” as they opened behind me. Dash didn’t even hesitate after that, jetting out of the room through the window. All three of us stared at her as she disappeared into the still cloudy day.
Fluttershy mumbled something and ran out of the room, her face obscured by her mane. All me and Twilight could do is stare dumbly as we heard her hoof steps disappear.
“What… what just happened?” I asked Twilight, who could only shake her head.
“I have no idea,” she said with a faint blush on her face.
“Why did my wings do that?” I asked, staring at the traitorous limbs.
“Uh… they do that when… you know… see an attractive mare…” She said, her voice breaking up and her face getting red.
“I had a feeling that’s what it was…” I said, my face red as my mind came up with some reasons why they did that. “Fantastic,” I muttered.
She smiled apologetically at me. “It’s not like it can get any worse right?”
I groaned and slapped a hoof across my face. “You just had to say it didn’t you?”
“Say what?” she asked, perplexed.
“The universe hates me and you just had to tempt it didn’t you?”
Her eyes widened as she realized what she had said. “Oh… whoops.”
I laughed. “Whoops; if I had a nickel…”
She cocked her head. “Nickel?”
“Ugh... form of currency from where I’m from.” I said.
She nodded her head. “Oh. Kinda like bits?” she asked, pulling a golden coin out of her dresser.
“Yeah…” I said, looking at the coin. I got out of the bed and stretched, earning a loud pop from my back. “Much better.”
She smiled. “How are you feeling?”
“Mentally or physically because mentally I have no idea what the hell is going on. Physically I’m tired.”
“Oh….” Was all she said.
I sighed and I walked over to her and asked for a hug. She nodded and embraced me, relaxing her head on my shoulder briefly. After a few moments, we broke apart and smiled. “Thanks again Twilight.”
“It’s no problem, always happy to help a friend.”
I headed back towards the door.
“Where are you going?” She asked.
“I’m gonna go relax and try and think some things out.”
“Oh, just be careful. Your body still hasn’t recovered enough to do any strenuous activity. If you try and do too much, you’ll turn back.”
“Okay, see ya later Twi.” I said over my shoulder.
“Bye Leon,” she said, waving a hoof as I shut the door.
I walked around Ponyville, watching the townsponies go about their daily business, most of them tended to crowd around the town hall and the marketplace. I sighed and flew off the ground, hovering in the air as I scouted for a nice quiet place to think. I found a nice cloudy haven away from the hustle and bustle of town, near a farm from the looks of it.
I flew up to the cloud and gently landed on it, still amazed that it could hold my weight and I didn’t fall through. I looked around and seeing no pony looking, starting jumping up and down using the cloud as a trampoline. After acting like a kid for a few minutes, I laid on my cloud sanctuary, avoiding everypony and thought what happened. Let’s see… Dash seemed upset when I said I’d work with Fluttershy… then Fluttershy… kissed me… what the hell is going on?! I groaned and smacked my face into the cloud and punched it in aggravation. “What the hell?” I said, staring at the cloud hoping it would have my answers. When it remained silent, I sighed and rested my head against it.
“LEON?” Somepony shouted below me. I looked down and saw it was Applejack; her cowboy hat a dead giveaway.
I rolled off the cloud and landed gently on the ground. “Hey Applejack, how are you?”
“Ah’m doing just fine, how bout yourself?”
I forced a laugh. “Can’t complain too much.” I lied. She stared at me for a few moments before I felt myself blush. “Uh… is there something wrong?”
“Your lyin’,” she said.
I laughed nervously. “Maybe a tad.”
“Ah know ya don’t like talking bout yourself much, but if ya ever need an ear, Ah’m here for ya.” She said with a sympathetic smile.
“Thanks Applejack; that really helps.”
“Don’t mention it sugarcube and please, call me AJ; all mah friends do.”
“Alright AJ,” I said with a sigh. “So… do you remember when we first met and I offered to help you on the farm?”
“Of course, why?”
“I was wondering if you needed any help.”
She laughed. “Not that Ah couldn’t handle it myself, but Ah guess Ah could always use the help.” She said, beckoning me to follow her. We walked in silence the little way before we stopped in front of a big white fence and sign that said ‘Sweet Apple Acres’. My eyes widened as I saw nothing but apple trees for miles.
I looked at her. “Do you own all of them?”
“Yep; mah family has owned this land since Ponyville was founded. Hay, Granny helped found Ponyville and made it to what it is today.”
I whistled. “Wow… wait, you do all this by yourself?”
She laughed and lightly smacked me on the back, which almost made me fall to the ground. “Nah, mah brother Big Mac helps out.”
“Big… Mac?” I asked, trying not to laugh.
“Yeah…” she turned and glared at me. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing; nothing.” I insisted but got nothing but a glare back. “Okay, okay; back on my world, we had food called Big Mac.” She didn’t say anything, merely looked at me weirdly and an awkward silence fell between us. “So, what do you need help with?” I asked, trying to get rid of the tension.
“Well first Ah got to see if ya can even buck the apples.” She said, walking over to a tree and turning around.
“What do you mean-” She kicked the tree with her back hooves and all the apples fell into conveniently placed buckets. My eyes grew wide and my jaw dropped to the ground in surprise.
She looked at me and laughed, walking by and closing my jaw. “It ain’t that hard; all ya gotta do is give them a good ol’ kick.” We headed towards another tree and she put down the baskets around the base. “Alright, now you try,” she said.
I stared at the tree for a few moments before walking up to it and kicking it as hard as I could. The tree shuddered and a few apples fell off. I collapsed onto the ground.
She looked at me with concern. “So maybe ya ain’t cut out to buck apples. But if ya are still willing to help, you could pull the wagon.” She offered.
“I think I’ll do that,” I said.
“Alrighty then; we just have to work the west side of the orchid today then we’ll be done.”
“Sounds like so much fun,” I said sarcastically.
“Sure is Mr. Sarcasm,” She said, laughing.
We went around and chatted little, enjoying the quiet. I thought about everything that’s happened in the last four months, surprised by how easy it was to switch to pony life. How easy they were to accept me as a pony, how they didn’t get furious when you made a mistake.
I sighed as I thought of Rainbow and Fluttershy; that was a situation I had no idea what to make of. On the one hand… or hoof rather, Fluttershy had been the only pony in the beginning that I got along with; her kind, quiet demeanor a lot like mine and she liked animals. She was also the one that visited me every day in the hospital, even with all her own problems; she’d still make time to spend with me.
Then there’s cool, confident Rainbow Dash. At first, she and I never really saw eye to eye, my pacifism conflicting with her competitiveness. We talked very little and she was the one that visited me the fifth most, only because AJ couldn’t leave the farm. But once you skim off all the egotism, you had a very insecure and loyal individual. That’s a big part of her personality, loyalty; she’ll never leave you alone and will help, even if she doesn’t agree.  She loves the spotlight, but hates the other side. She doesn’t let anypony really get to know her in fear of them finding out her “softer” side and leaving.
I sighed again. Just my luck. I stared at the ground, thinking.
“Uh… Leon; you there?”A southern voice asked.
“Huh?” I looked up to see AJ staring at me with concern.
“Ah’ve been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes.” She said, sounding worried. “Maybe it’s time we call it a day?”
“No… no, we’re almost done.” I said, moving to the next tree.
She caught up to me quickly and nodded as we both went silent again to finish up.
The next several hours passed slowly as both of us were too busy to try to chat; AJ was focusing her remaining energy on finishing up the trees while I tried to pull the cart. The cart was overloaded with apples, the buckets balancing precariously on the top. AJ finally finished the last tree, wiping sweat from her forehead as she carried the final basket to the cart and we made our way back to the barn.
A tall red colored earth pony was waiting for us. He easily towered over both of us and I almost wanted to say he was taller than Luna. He had a dirty blonde mane and tail; his eyes were light green. He had some freckles under his eyes, the same as AJ. He had a green apple sliced in half as his… cutie mark. He also what looked like a piece of straw in his mouth.
“Hey Big Mac, mind givin’ us a hoof?” AJ yelled as we got closer.
“Nnope,” he said, walking over and taking the cart harness off me and placing it on himself, which he pulled easily. We followed him into the barn and separated the apples quickly, the three of us making it short work.
We relaxed on the porch and Big Mac headed inside along with AJ. I sat there, alone with my thoughts as I stared at the sky. The sun was slowly disappearing over the tree tops. I heard … hoof steps behind me and felt something cold on the back of my head. I turned around to AJ offering me a jug of water. I accepted it gratefully and started to drink. She sat down next to me and sighed.
“Ah heard what happened at Twi’s house. Why didn’t you tell me bout your seizure things?”
I nearly spat my water all over the place. “What, how?”
“Big Mac was on his way to talk to the Cakes for something for Granny’s birthday and saw Dash and Fluttershy fly out of the library. After he saw you leave, he asked Twi what happened.” She looked at me.
I sighed and stared into my water. “I don’t know what happened and I don’t like to worry ponies.”
“If Ah would’ve known, Ah would’ve taken it easy on ya.” She was quiet and looked into my eyes. “Ya like them both?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“What do ya mean ya don’t know?”
“I just don’t!” I suddenly yelled as I stood up. “Fluttershy has always been nice to me and has always been there for me… and how do I repay her; by making her worry over my stupid, reckless impulses. Then Dash… I have no idea! She’s funny, confident in her abilities, always there for me suddenly… knows what I’ve been through and can still accept me for who I am…” I sat down dropping the jug of water and held my head in my hooves. “I just don’t know.” I felt hooves wrap around me and I relaxed into her embrace. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I could feel the tears building.
“It’s okay; Ah know how love can be a fickle thing. Ah may not be as knowledgeable as Rarity but Ah know mah way round a confused heart.” She said. She pushed my head up to meet her eyes. “You need to think about everything ya just told me and decide what you want. It won’t be the easiest thing ya have ever done, but doing what you’re doing now ain’t helping anypony.”
“I know,” I said, looking away. “But I can’t; knowing no matter which one I would likely choose the other would be hurt.”
“Ah think you're underestimating’ them Leon; they’ve both been in many relationships before. They know they can’t always get what they want.”
I chuckled. “Good song.”
“Pardon?”
“What you just said was a title of a song from where I’m from.”
She tilted her head sideways a bit. “You’re an odd fella.”
I gave her a small smile. “I get that a lot,” I gave her a brief hug, “I’m sorry for my little outburst.”
“Hey, it’s what friends are for right?”
I stopped again; what’s with everypony saying that word. “Friends?”
“Well ya; you offered to help me on the farm. You saved Fluttershy from that manticore and all, hay you almost died. And heck, any friend of Twi is a friend of mine.”
I  faintly smiled and nodded before I stood up and stretched. “I think I’m gonna take off, thanks for letting me work off some steam.”
“No problem,” she stopped, “wait, where are ya stayin?”
“Probably gonna crash on a cloud; those things are amazing.” I said with a grin.
She chuckled. “Are ya sure? We got an extra room if ya wanna sleep here.”
“That’s okay, you’ve done more than enough; I don’t want to be a burden.”
“You’re not so quit your belly-achin’ and come inside.” She said.
“No seriously, its okay; I want to sleep outside.” I flapped my wings and launched off the ground “Thank you!” I yelled back, looking over my shoulder to see her looking at me smiling and shaking her head. I waved once before I flew too high to see her. I let the cool wind blow through my mane as I closed my eyes and listened to wind whistle against my wings.
I flew with no direction in mind, letting the wind take me wherever it wanted. Ponyville quickly disappeared and I ended up in a field surrounded by trees. I saw a floating cloud house that looked way more like a castle. Rainbow streams were coming from the top and the entire structure had a blue tint. I assumed only one pony could live there and I slowly flew towards it, hoping to settle some things.
> Welcome to Ponyville/Equestria! (Unedited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I landed on the cloudy porch, staring at the front door. My heart said I should knock while my mind said I should run. I hesitantly raised my hoof and forced myself to knock on the door but at that exact moment, the door opened to reveal the rainbowed maned daredevil. I froze in fear as I gently bopped her on the snout. We stared at each other, not knowing what to say, both of us blushing.
I quickly lowered my hoof and stared at the cloud. “Sorry,” I mumbled.
“It’s okay. What are you doing here anyway; I thought you’d be with Fluttershy.” She said, a bit coldly at the end.
I looked up at her and saw her eyes were a blood shot. “Dash, are you alright?” I asked.
She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Course I am; had something in my eye. You didn’t answer my question.”
“Because I wanted to make sure you were okay.” I said.
She forced a laugh. “Of course I am; why wouldn’t I be?”
I stared at her. “Dash…”
“Look Leon, I’m fine, you don’t need to be such a worry pony. Why are you ignoring my question?”
I sighed. “Okay Dash, you win; I was… worried.”
“About?”
I felt my face get hotter. “You,” I whispered.
She blinked a few times and her face got a bit red. “What?”
“I… uh…” I stuttered, flustered. I could feel my face get bright red.
Luckily Pinkie shouted from the ground underneath Dash’s house. “DASHIEE!!”
We stared at each other and she sighed. She went over and looked off her cloud. “Yeah Pinkie?”
“Is Leon with you?!”
I poked my head off the side of the cloud. “Yeah?”
“OH! Well I was baking some cupcakes and I thought that you’d enjoy something good to eat after all this yucky sad stuff.” She jumped and down a few times. “So would you like to go to the Sugarcube Corner and try some?” she asked.
“Uh… sure?” I said hesitantly. What’s the worst that could happen? I looked over at Dash. "Do you want to join us?"
Dash frowned and shuffled her hooves. “…Sure.”
We both flew off her cloudy abode and landed next to Pinkie as she led us to Sugarcube Corner. The moon was already starting its ascent across the sky; it’s light breaking out in the cracks of the clouds. It was silent and slightly tense between me and Dash as we avoided talking to each other. Pinkie seemed oblivious to it, hopping along happily. It was eerily quiet, the streets devoid of ponies.
We made it to Sugarcube Corner and Pinkie opened the door. We peered into the darkness as Pinkie somehow got behind me and pushed me inside. “Go on inside silly, it’s not like it’s going to eat you; although if it could-” she started rambling to herself.
I hesitantly flipped the light switch on as the entire town was inside and they all yelled “SURPRISE!”
I froze as my wings shot out in surprise and my legs locked. I felt my chest tightened and everything went blurry. I saw several ponies hover above me and saw Dash’s eyes look at me with concern before everything went dark.


--**--


I awoke on somepony’s bed and groaned as I slowly leaned up.
“Well it’s about time you woke up sleepy head.” Pinkie said.
I jumped and turned my head as I saw Pinkie staring at me. “Whoa… what happened?” I asked.
“Well everypony shouted SURPRISE! And then you just froze and fell over, out cold. Then Twi picked you up with her magic and took you up to my room and you slept on my bed. Then you woke up and I started telling you what happened.” She said with a smile.
“Huh… So why is everypony down there?”
“For your party, duh.”
“…Party?”
"Well yeah; you're super awesome but totally late ‘Welcome to Ponyville/Equestria’ party.” She said with a huge smile.
“Oh… uh…thanks?” I said, not sure how to respond.
“No problemo; it is my shtick,” she said. We were silent for a moment. “So Dashie was superly worried about you.”
“She was?”
“Yeah, she wouldn’t leave your side till Twiliy took you up stairs." She looked at me with a sly grin. “What’s that about?”
I felt my face get warm. “Nothing.”
She giggled. “Uh huh.” She grabbed me by the hoof. “Come on; let’s get back to the party.”
She dragged me out of bed and we made our way downstairs. The party was still in full swing, the moon high above. “Pinkie, how long was I out for?” I asked.
“Only an hour or so.”
“Ah… okay.” There were a bunch of ponies dancing on the floor in front, the tables moved to the walls. I didn’t see Fluttershy anywhere and I turned around to Pinkie. “Where’s Fluttershy?”
Pinkie frowned a little. “I’m not sure; she said she was too busy,” then she suddenly smiled, “but don’t worry, every other pony is here.” She leaned closer to me. "And besides, she doesn’t like parties too much." She whispered.
Pinkie dragged me around the party, introducing me as Emerald Flash, which I chuckled at. Apparently the girls decided that I should have a fake name while being a pony, something about a human’s name not “normal”. Everypony said hi as I met the majority of the town.
Finally, Pinkie left me alone to go mingle with the DJ, one Vinyl Scratch or as she’s more commonly known, PON-3. I wandered around and couldn’t find Dash; I knew she had to be here somewhere so I went looking for Twilight, assuming she would know where Dash was. I finally found her talking to Rarity as they chatted down at a table.
“Hey girls,” I said as I walked towards them.
“Oh hey ‘Emerald’.” They said and Rarity giggled.
“I’m glad that you’re feeling better; what happened?” Twilight asked.
“I’m not sure, guess I kinda froze and passed out. I'm not a fan of loud noises so much.” I admitted.
“Oh… brain overload, gotcha.” Twilight said. “So what can I help you with?” she asked.
“Wow… creepy, just like you're a teacher.” I said with a little chuckle and she blushed. “Well I was wondering if either of you have seen Dash?” They looked at each other before breaking into huge smiles. “What?”
“Oh how romantic,” Rarity said.
"I knew it," Twilight said with a huge smile, "I knew my books weren't wrong."
“Wait what?” I asked, exasperated.
“Oh nothing dear, just wishing some stallion would do the same.” Rarity said, putting a forehoof dramatically over her forehead.
I stared at them blankly.
“I think she went outside a while ago.” Twilight said, struggling not to laugh.
“Thanks Twi,” I said, before turning around and heading towards the door. Now what in the world was that about? I silently made my way outside, the moon still high in the sky, illuminating the town. I looked around and saw a rainbowed silhouette on a hill outside of town. I lifted off the ground and made my way towards it.
She must have heard me before I landed because she turned to look at me. "Hey, I see you're okay."
"Yeah…" I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
"So what are you doing here and not at the party?"
"Well… I wanted to check on you."
"What do you mean?"
"Dash ever since Fluttershy kissed me; you're acting like you're mad at me."
She sighed. "I'm not mad…" She turned away from me. "I was just surprised."
I chuckled. "You and me both." I sat down next to her and stared at the stars. I waited for her to continue her thought but she did nothing but sit in silence. I looked over at her and saw that she was trying to ignore me. I sighed and looked at the stars. "You know, it's beautiful."
"What is?"
"The sky… where I'm from, you couldn’t even see the stars, even on a clear night." I laughed sadly. "It's truly amazing how different it is here."
Dash sat down and leaned against me, her head resting on my shoulder. "You miss home, don’t you?"
I sighed and watched the moon. "I do somewhat."
"Was there anypony that you miss the most?"
I sighed. "Not really… everyone there had their life and rarely talked to me. Every once in a while, I'd get a call or message… but mostly it was just me… alone." I stared at the stars. "It's funny really; that it'd take dying and being transferred to a pony dimension for me to notice how beautiful the sky was."
She glanced at me and tried not to laugh. "You’re an odd pony… err… human."
I laughed and leaned my head against hers. "You're just realizing this now? And wouldn’t it be pony?"
"Oh no, I've known this for quite some time."
I chuckled. "Oh thanks."
She nuzzled me briefly, which made my face heat up and my wings twitch. "You know me, gotta tell it like it is."
"At least I know I can trust someone not to sugarcoat things." She smiled at me and I smiled back. "So are we good?"
"…Yeah, sure." I sighed. She was silent, turning away from me. "Leon… do you like Fluttershy?" she whispered.
" …I like Fluttershy… but not in the way your thinking."
Her ears perked up. "Really?"
"Well… yeah. Sure she's great and kind, and nice… and pretty, but I don't think we will ever be together."
"Huh, why do you say that?"
"Well she did just break up with her other boyfriend…"
"So?"
"I don’t date people right after they broke up with someone."
"Still… one day you could."
I looked away to stare at the sky. "I just have a feeling."
She didn’t respond right away but sighed. "I understand."
"Are you sure you're fine Dash?"
"Yeah… of course I am."
I gently nuzzled her… or at least I think I did, rubbing my cheek against hers, making her face get extremely pink. "Okay; I just want you to know that I'm here for you if you need me."
"I-I… thanks."
"It's what I'm here for."
We were both silent as we stared at the moon, its bright light illuminating the village below. "Shouldn’t we get back to the party?" she asked, looking up at me.
"Probably… but to be honest, I think I'm gonna stay out here." I gently untangled myself from her and scooted a few inches away. "But if you wanna go back, I understand."
She scooted closer to me and wrapped her forehooves around me. "I think I'll stay here."
I blushed. "Thanks." I wrapped my wing around her and we both blushed
heavily.
"Leon! Rainbow!" We heard Twilight shout and quickly pushed away from each other, looking at the ground in embarrassment. She finally got to us and paused for a minute, catching her breath. She saw our faces and smiled. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"
"No… what were you gonna say?" Rainbow quickly asked.
"Oh right…" She turned to look at me. "Princess Celestia sent you a package. It's back in Sugarcube Corner."
"Hmm… I wonder what she sent me." I wondered out loud. "Lead the way." I told Twilight as the three of us headed back into the chaotic party. Most of the ponies had gone home however, leaving just Pinkie, AJ, Rarity, a gray pegasus with a yellow mane and golden eyes, Twi, Dash and myself.
When we got in there, Twilight levitated a package over to me and I caught it with my hooves before grabbing the parchment on top.
"What's it say?" Dash said from behind me, reading over my shoulder.

Dear Leon,
Even though I said you wouldn’t need it, I have done as you asked. My sister Luna also requests that tomorrow you come to the castle with Twilight. It seems as if she wants to get you ready for the future.
Princess Celestia

"What does that mean?" I asked Twilight, who stared at me in confusion.
"I have no idea." She said. "What does she mean, ‘done as you asked’?" she looked at me. "What did you ask her?"
"I… got nothing." I said, opening the box; inside was my sword. I picked it up with my hoof. "Now why in the world would she give me my sword back? She said I wouldn’t need it…"
"I don’t know Leon… but I have a bad feeling about this." Twilight said, looking over the letter.
"I guess we'll see tomorrow." I said and tied my sword's sheath around my back, making sure I could still use my wings without it getting in the way. Something else was in the box and I pulled out my hat. "Hey my hats here to," I said with a goofy smile on my face. I plopped it down on my head and smiled at them as they all chuckled. Dash grabbed it from behind and put it on her head.
"You looked like a dork." She said, sticking her tongue out at me.
"Oh like you look any better." I said, trying not to laugh as I pushed it lower on her face, almost covering up her eyes.
"Wait just a second," AJ said as she looked at Twilight. "Tomorra is Winter Wrap Up and yer gonna be at the castle, so who's gonna organize it like last year?"
Twilight's eyes grew as she realized it. "We'll… just have to hurry; I'm sure they'll understand. We'll get up early and leave at the first rays of dawn."
Dash pushed the hat up and glanced out the window. "Well I hate to burst your bubble Twi, but that might be sooner than you think." She said, pointing a hoof at the window. The moon was significantly lower than it was not that long ago. "I'd say three hours before sunrise."
Twilight's jaw dropped as she poofed in a bright light and disappeared. "Huh… wonder what that was-" AJ started, before interrupted by the same bright flash and a frantic Twilight carrying a scroll around, a terrified Spike hanging on the end.
"SPIKE!! Quick, we gotta get everypony ready for tomorrow - I mean, today!" She said, dragging Spike on the floor.
"Twi everything will be alright," Rarity tried to reason with the frantic unicorn.
"But you don’t understand, I'm supposed to organize the Winter Wrap Up and I won't be here!"
"But darling-" Rarity tried to say.
"Oh I know! I'll just tell everypony to wait till we get back." She rolled up the scroll with her magic, causing Spike to roll with it before falling to the floor again. She looked at us and smiled. "I'm sure they'll say yes."
We looked at each other before sighing. The grey pegasus looked at each of us and I only just realized one of her eyes started to drift towards the right, as if she was staring off into the distance. "They wouldn’t stop for one pony and besides, is it that big of a deal if they start without you?" she asked.
Twilight's face blanked as steam slowly came out of her ears. Before she could respond, I walked up to her and gave her a hug. "It'll work out, I promise. It won't do anyone any good to have you explode and destroy everything."  I leaned back and gave a sheepish smile. "That would kinda defeat the whole purpose of this "Winter Wrap Up" thingamajig."
She stared at me before a small grin broke out. "That’s true… it would be hard to explain to Princess Celestia why Ponyville is gone." She sighed and kicked at the ground with her hoof. "Thanks Leon."
I shrugged. "It's what I do." I mumbled with a yawned.
"I think it's passed somepony's beddy-bye time." Dash teased.
"Maybe it is… it seems like I've been going nonstop since I got out of the hospital. I said, yawning again. "I think I'm gonna go." I walked over to Pinkie and smiled. "Thanks for the awesome party Pinkie. I think you made me change my mind about parties."
Her grin reached her eyes as she pulled me in for a tight hug. "It's no problem Leonie; I'm glad that I changed your mind. Does that mean I can throw you more parties?"
I laughed or at least tried, being crushed kinda stifles that. "Sure… can… I ask for a favor?"
"Mmmhmm?"
"Can you let go? Kinda… crushing… ribs…" I started to see stars.
"Oh… whoopsies daises." She giggled and let go of me.
I gasped for air before I chuckled and headed towards the door. I paused when the door wasn’t getting any closer; I looked down and and was floating. I turned around to see Twilight holding me with her magic. "Yes?" I asked.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Home to sleep?"
"What about meeting with Princess Luna?"
"Oh yeah…" I chuckled. "I guess I sorta forgot."
"You're terrible…."
I smiled. "Of course."
"Come on, you can sleep on the way there." Twilight said, shaking her head. She led me and the rest of the girls out of Sugarcube Corner; that grey pegasus followed us. Twilight noticed and smiled. "You don’t have to come Derpy, you should go home. Say hi to Dinky for me."
Derpy smiled and nodded. "Okay, see you guys tomorrow and I will!" She promised as she somehow became airborne and made her way across town.
The rest of the trip to the library was silent as we traversed the dark town. Everypony yawned as we finally made it to Twilight's house. She turned and looked at the girls.
"Well girls, I guess we'll see you sometime tomorrow." Twilight said, still holding me in her magic.
"Eeyup," AJ said, tipping her hat to both of us before heading towards the farm.
"I wish I could come to Canterlot with you two, but alas, I can't! Goodnight darlings… ta-ta!" Rarity said, tossing her mane out of her face before making her way home.
Pinkie just nodded and hopped back home, waving frantically at us. Dash ruffled her wings, looking agitated.
"Well… I guess I'll see ya later." She muttered, kicking at the ground.
"Yeah…" I said as we both avoided looking at each other.
Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. "Goodnight Rainbow. Come on Leon." She said, waving goodbye as Dash lazily flew towards her house. I watched her through the window before sighing as Twilight finally put me down. "So…" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
She giggled. "What's going on between you and Rainbow?"
My face grew quite warm. "…Nothing." I said, staring out the window.
"Uh huh…" Twilight said before yawning. "Well the chariot should be here in a little bit; I'll go make us some coffee." She said, heading into the kitchen.
"Where's Spike?" I asked, not having seen the baby dragon since walking in.
"Oh he's already asleep." She said, before reappearing with two hot cups of coffee. She levitated mine over and I gingerly accepted it. I blew on it a few times, the steam covering my face.
I took a little sip and the warmth woke me up a bit. "Thanks Twi," I said with a small smile.
"No problem Leon… I have a feeling you'll need to awake for what's to come tomorrow." She said, gazing out the window.
"Yeah… I have a bad feeling about it." I whispered before taking another drink of coffee and watched the first rays of sun poke out over the horizon.
> A New Friend (Unedited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I walked into the house, carrying my backpack. "Mom, Dad; I'm home!" I yelled, slipping the backpack off my shoulders and throwing it to the ground as I took off my shoes. I looked into the living room and saw my sister and Mom hugging each other, crying; I saw my Dad out back, leaning against the support beam for our patio roof. "Mom?" I asked, running over to her.
She looked up at me, tears flowing from her eyes. "Leon… do you remember visiting Grandpa in the hospital?" she asked, her voice cracking from crying.
"Yeah, why, what's wrong?"
"I'm sorry… but he… he passed away last night."
The world lost all color as I stared at my Mom. "What?" I asked, feeling the tears starting to well up.
"He died last night," she said and tried to hug me.
I instinctively pushed away from her and I ran out the front door. I ran all the way down the street, passed the block and continued running. I passed the school and went across the street to the little park, where the town library is. It had several calming streams running through it and the geese lazily swam through it. I sat down on the edge of the stream, secluded from everyone else. I looked over and saw two people dressed in a tuxedo and a flowing white dress, taking pictures with several other people.
I hugged my knees to my chest as I stared blankly at the family of geese. I could feel the tears run down my face but didn’t acknowledge them, just trying not to interrupt the newly wed's photo shoot.
I heard someone walking up to me and sit down next to me, draping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into a hug. I didn’t see who it was, but I felt their tears on the top of my head as I cried into their shirt.
I looked up at them, but the sun was blinding me and I couldn’t tell who it was. "Leon?" They asked, their voice vaguely feminine and familiar.
"Why? Why did it have to be him?" I stuttered.
"Leon?" she asked again, this time her voice panicked as she grabbed me and shook me.
"What?" I asked, confused and scared.
"Wake up, we're almost there." She said, letting go of me as everything slowly fizzled out and the sound of a train horn blared in the background.


--**--


I groggily opened my eyes to see Twilight staring at me with concern. "What?"
"You were muttering in your sleep." She whispered, tears in the corners of her eyes as she gave me a hug." I'm sorry."
"For?" I asked, reciprocating the hug, but very confused.
"Your grandpa… I know how tough it is to lose a family member." She said, resting her head on my shoulder.
"Oh…" I muttered, enjoying her warmth. "It's okay, things happen for a reason eh?"
She pushed herself off me and looked into my eyes. "It does, we just can't always understand why." She wiped the corners of her eyes and gave me a small smile.
"Thanks Twi…" I said with a small smile of my own. She nodded and looked out the window and watched the scenery fly by. "We're almost there?" I asked.
"Yep," she said, staring blankly. "What do you think Princess Luna wants?"
"Not a clue," I said, walking over to her seat and staring at the window. "But we'll find out when we get there."
"Ponyville train to Canterlot, arriving in less than a minute; all disembarking passengers please be ready." A voice said over the intercom.
I chuckled as I sat down, waiting for the train to stop.
"Leon?"
"Hmm?"
She paused. "Are you ready to visit Canterlot?"
"Well… sure; I mean how bad are these ponies?" I chuckled. "Reminds me of the stereotypes I've heard about from New York."
She giggled. "You'd be surprised how deceiving stereotypes are."
For some reason, Dash popped into my mind when she said that. "Yeah, that’s true."
The train blew its horn once more before coming to a stop; the windows completely surrounded by buildings. Steam hissed out of the pipes and fogged up the windows. We exited the train and I stared in marvel at the city; it was bigger than I imagined, some of the skyscrapers blocking out the sun. Even more surprising was that the castle could be seen from the train station, standing tall over every building. My jaw fell as I saw thousands of ponies, all dressed in "fancy" clothing, wander the streets.
"Jesus… this is just like Los Angeles…" I muttered, turning around to see everything. I gaped at the castle. "So that's what it looks like on the outside." I stared, amazed.
I felt somepony pull on my tail. "Come on Leon, we don’t want to be late." Twilight said, dragging me along for a few moments before I started to follow her.
We made our way through the city rather easily, a pony every now and then looking at us, but most ignored us and went about their business. When we got to the palace, two guard ponies were standing at attention. They saw us and noticed Twilight, opening the door with their magic. She nodded to them as she passed by. They glared at me as I sheepishly smiled and quickly sped through the doors, which slammed together as soon as I passed the threshold.
I stared at the immensely grandeur hall, coming to a slow stroll as I stared at the room. It was the room where I became a pony and it was just as big as I thought it was, even larger now that I was half my original size. I saw Twilight talk to Princess Celestia as they both watched me, smiles on their faces. I blushed and quickly galloped towards them.
"So how are you Leon?" Celestia asked.
"Pretty good, can't complain too much." I said, after a quick bow.
"I'm glad to hear it." She smiled. "I see that you're carrying your sword."
I glanced back, looking at the hilt and nodded. "Yep but I was-"
"Wondering why I changed it?" She shook her head. "I can't answer that. My sister though, can." The door off to the side opened and revealed the once dreaded Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna. "Ah… speak of the pony." Celestia said with a smile. "Lu-lu, what are you doing up this early?"
Luna looked at us as she walked towards her throne till she paused and looked at me, her eyes calculating. "If I remember correctly, I called for Twilight Sparkle and the human." She said.
"True, but I assumed you wouldn’t meet with them till later."
"I would normally, but Twilight Sparkle has to get back to Ponyville to organize Winter Wrap Up." She said with a smile.
Celestia chuckled. "Indeed." She looked at us. "Then I'll bid you both farewell and I hope to see you soon." She sighed. "It seems I got paperwork to sort out anyways." She said, getting off her throne and heading towards the door Luna walked through, but not before giving a hug to Twilight.
There was silence following the door closing as the three of us stared at each other. Twi and I quickly glanced at each other before she cleared her throat. "So Princess Luna…"
"Please, call me Luna," she said in a tone softer than earlier. It seemed her entire demeanor changed once Celestia left; she seemed more relaxed now, the worry lines gone around her eyes. She looked at us. "I bet you two are wondering why I had called you?" She specifically looked at me. "And I bet you're wondering why Tia fixed your sword."
"Yes Pri-Luna." I caught myself.
"I'll explain when we get there." She said, a faint glow building in her horn.
"What do you m-" I started, but a bright flash of light cut me off. It felt as if I was being compacted, my ribs crushing my lungs. The pressure suddenly vanished as there was a loud pop and I was tossed on the ground. I groaned as I staggered up, looking around; we weren't in the castle anymore. It looked as if we were on top of a mountain, with nothing but endless trees everywhere. I saw Twilight stare in awe as well.
"Where are we?" Twilight asked, her voice sounding small and afraid.
"In our language, it's known as the Mountain of Sorrow." Luna said sadly. "It was the site of a terrible battle between dragons and griffins." She paused to look at us. "Ponies and several humans were caught in the crossfire and killed during the battle."
Twilight and I could only gasp in horror, Twilight holding a hoof to her mouth. "What in the hell are we doing here then?" I asked.
Luna raised a forehoof. "Patience Leon, he'll be along momentarily."
"Who will-" I tried to ask, but was cut off as a strong breeze and the sounding of drums ended my question. Twilight and I held on to each other as we tried to not fly away as the wind grew stronger, the trees almost bent over in half; Luna merely stood there easily and smiled.
Suddenly the sun simply disappeared as a giant shadow overtook us. I looked up, only to see a yellowish green colored belly. My eyes grew and my jaw dropped as a dragon bigger than the castle landed on the ground, creating small seismic waves.
It was ridiculously huge; it could easily be mistaken for a mountain range. It was a bigger than a mountain and longer than the bootlace worm. It was covered in dull gold and yellowish scales. Its wings were easily the size of several double-decker buses stacked end from end. Small, sharp spikes trailed down its spine and jutted out from the top of its head.
It folded its wings against its sides, creating a small windstorm as it bent its neck bent down to reveal a large head with eyes the size of two chariots stacked on top of each other, both a bright golden yellow. It smiled, revealing rows of sharp, white teeth. "Selena… it's been a long time." It said in a low rumble, causing stones to vibrate.
Luna went up to it and hugged its foreclaw. "It's been too long Glaedr; how has the past thousand years treated you?"
It chuckled, causing both Twilight and I to levitate briefly as it created mini earthquakes. "It's been an interesting millennium." He paused and slowly blinked as his eye stared at Twilight and I. He smiled. "And is this the fabled unicorn Twilight Sparkle?" He asked.
Twilight gulped. "Y-yes I am… but how do you know me?"
"You hatched my several times great grandson's nephew's son's son Spike and we do talk amongst ourselves." He chuckled again. "You've made quite a name for yourself young one; freeing Selena from Nightmare Moon's influence, stopping Discord, saving Equestria from the Changelings, and recently saved the legendary Crystal Kingdom on top of being Eliana's student." Twilight's face took on a heavy blush as she embarrassingly kicked the ground.
"It's Celestia now Glaedr." Luna said quietly. He looked at her quizzically. "Eliana changed her name to Celestia to help modernize her rule."
He snorted and a pouf of black smoke came out his nostrils. "Indeed," He paused and blinked again as his eye stared at me. "And this is the human that I've heard so much about?"
"Yes; his name is Leon Scott Kennedy of Earth." Luna informed him.
"You inherited a terrible history here on Terra, young Kennedy." He said sadly. "Your ancestors have done terrible deeds that most have forgotten or believe to be silly fables." He leaned his head forward and froze me with his gaze. "You intrigue me however; being that 'Celestia' deemed you suitable to be brought here and turned you into a pony." He faintly smiled. "And you did save an Element of Harmony correct?"
I nodded quickly, my mouth refusing to work.
He laughed, a loud booming sound that sent the birds flying out of the surrounding trees. "There's no need to be afraid of me young Kennedy."
"On Earth, there are tales of dragons killing people and pillaging villages." I squeaked and quickly covered my mouth.
He laughed harder, causing Twilight and I to stumble into each other's hooves. "Indeed; I remember hearing the tales from previous humans, saying how a heroic human came against a dragon and defeated them." He paused as he held a claw against his jaw, lightly tapping it. "Beowulf, Hercules and… Bard was it?" He asked. I nodded again. "But as you can see, not a dragon has done that here since the Griffin Wars millennia ago."
"But what of that teenage dragon that bullied Spike?" Twilight asked, her face contorted in confusion as we briefly looked at each other and blushed, standing on our own.
Glaedr sighed, slowly dragging a claw down his face. "The son of Ancalagon… that hatchling never ceases to cause me trouble. Those do not represent our race young one, but they do show our greed and arrogance in our youth. When he grows into a proper dragon, he'll learn respect." He shook his head. "I'll probably end up having to beat it into him." He paused, stretching his neck and laying down on the ground, resting. "Now to get to the matter at hoof." He turned his head and looked at Luna. "Selena, you are aware of the problems with the Griffins?" She nodded. He turned to look at Twilight and I. "Things between the three races… are difficult to explain." He sighed. "There are talks of another great war between the three." He looked at me specifically. "When the dragons and Griffins heard of you appearing on Terra, both sides begun to prepare for war."
"What? Why?"
"You have to understand that you are the sole human in Equestria in over a century; most individuals don’t remember it but the ones that do only remember chaos and death." His eyes grew cold. "The previous owner of that title decided to team with the Changelings and a sect of Griffins to try and take over Equestria. Obviously he failed, but his memory taints your kind. We dragons stayed out of the conflict, watching from afar. We refused to pick a side and closed down our talks with either nation. We only heard of his defeat thirty years later." He paused, looking at the sun. "From what I heard, Celestia banned anypony to speak of it and erased it from record." Before Twilight could interject, he raised a claw in her direction. "Don't blame her young one, she was in a horrible position to begin with and had to cave in to her advisors. She did the only thing she could do at the time."
He continued to stare at me. "And this is why I'm intrigued that she'd allow you to remain here and turn you into one of her subjects; quite intriguing." He blew smoke out of his nose again, causing Twilight and I to cough a few times. "Leon," he said, looking at me with a small smile. "From what I hear and feel, you have a good heart and do what you can to help anyone that you can. I have faith that you can redeem your kind in our eyes." He gently tapped a claw against my forehead. He got up and stretched. "I'm getting too old to travel as much as I use too." He chuckled, loud pops echoing throughout the mountains. "I should head back before I'm missed." He said, unfurling his wings.
"Wait! I have so many questions!" Twilight said, running in front of him.
He laughed. "I have no doubt of that young one; Spike says you are a most inquisitive pony." She blushed. "However, you can always ask me anything you want. Just have Spike send a letter and I'll get it." His smile faded as he looked at me. "I wish you luck on your journey young Kennedy. We'll meet again someday." He paused, looking at Luna. "Selena, there's a darkness growing from the north, far stronger than anything you can imagine. And it's not just the Griffins; things are brewing that have lain dormant for as long as I can remember. Be careful and keep an eye out for some old friends. Discord is the least of your worries and allies may come from an unlikely source." He advised.
Luna nodded and hugged his foreclaw again. "Thank you Glaedr and I'll tell 'Tia , till next time."
"Till next time," he agreed, lifting off in a gust of wind and took to the sky, his scales sparkling in the sky. We watched him travel through the clouds, his tail wagging as it disappeared.
There was a silence as we all thought about what he said. Luna looked at me sadly as Twilight was staring off into the distance, thinking. I smiled sadly back, not sure what to make of his advice.
It just gets better and better. I chuckled. "Well… that was interesting." I muttered.
"It's always a treat to meet with Glaedr; he was one of my few friends before Nightmare Moon." Luna whispered.
"… So is everything he said true?" I asked, hoping.
"It is… Glaedr is the oldest living dragon and hasn't spoken a lie longer than I've been alive." She sighed as she looked at the ground. "Nor has his prophecies failed to come to pass." Her horn began to glow again. "It seems as if you two need to head back to Ponyville to help them with the Winter Wrap Up." She glared coldly at the two of us. "Do not tell anypony about Glaedr or of what he said, understand?" We nodded. "Good; everypony will know when the time's right." She said, before there was another bright flash of light and the familiar pressure of being compacted hit me.
> Winter Wrap Up! (Unedited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Did I mention how much I hate being teleported?" I muttered as I got to my hooves and shook my head, accidentally smacking the hilt of my sword.
"You'll get use to it," Twilight said with a small smirk.
Before either of us could say anything else, Pinkie appeared out of nowhere and gave us a bone crushing hug. "You're finally back!" she said with a big smile.
"Pinkie we were only gone for a few hours." Twilight struggled to say.
"But what if you never came back? You didn’t even say goodbye." Pinkie insisted, her ears lowered against her head.
"Pinkie… you know I wouldn’t leave forever to Canterlot. This is my home, here with you and everypony else." Twilight said, trying to soothe the upset pony.
She stared at Twilight, her lower lip quivering a little. "Promise?"
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She said, doing the motions. Pinkie smiled and gave her a hug, which Twilight returned.
"I hate ta break up the touching moment, but don’t we got a Winter Wrap Up ta start?" AJ asked.
"Oh, right," Twilight said with a little blush. "Then we should get started if we're going to finish on schedule." She said, her horn glowing. Suddenly a scroll appeared out of nowhere. She looked at the girls before tilting her head slightly. "Where's Fluttershy? We can't start without her."
The room grew slightly colder as they quickly gazed at the ground, avoiding Twilight's gaze. Twilight and I shared a quick look while Dash looked at everypony before groaning. "If no other pony is gonna say it fine. Fluttershy found this human outside her house a few days ago."
Both mine and Twilight's eyes grew. "Another human?"
"Yeah, but he turned into a unicorn soon after she met him. She's been taking care of him since. Says he was barely conscious and had the same wounds Leon did when he landed."
"Then what are we waiting for? We have to go see them!" Twilight said, her horn glowing.
"Twilight wait!" I yelled, startling everypony and I chuckled. "Sorry, but I'd rather fly there then teleport."
She pouted for a moment as she looked at the others. "Why don’t we just walk there?" Dash suggested.
Twilight sighed. "Fine." She said as the girls followed her, me and Dash the last two.
Dash looked at me. "So how was the trip?" she asked.
"It was… interesting."
"So what did Celestia want exactly?" she asked.
I sighed. "I can't say."
Dash glanced at me. "Why not?"
"I was sworn to secrecy."
Dash rolled her eyes. "Oh I see, another secret between you and Twilight, gotcha."
"Dash, that’s not what I meant."
"Whatever," She said, flying ahead towards AJ and started to talk to her.
I sighed and stared at the ground for a moment. "Leon, I mean Emerald?" A voice said next to me. I looked up and it was that gray pegasus from the party… Derpy, I think.
"Hey." I said, giving her a small smile.
She tilted her head slightly as she walked with me. "Why do you go by two names?" she asked. "Isn't that weird?"
I chuckled. "Yeah, but where I come from, it's a common enough name so I came up with Leon as a nickname."
"Oh… that makes sense." She said with a little laugh. Her right eye seemed to be trailing off again. "So where are you guys off to?"
"To go visit Fluttershy, apparently she found something that she wanted Twilight's help."
"Oh…" She said, trailing off.
"Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on either."
She giggled. "Don't worry; I'm like that a lot."
There was a comfortable silence as we made our way to Fluttershy's house. As soon as we entered the park, however; "Watch out!" Some filly yelled.
Derpy and I turned towards the voice as three small fillies collided with the two of us. I groaned as I smacked the back of my head and opened my eyes and saw nothing but orange fur. "I'm so sorry!" The fur said as it moved to get off me. I recognized the little pegasus, it was the thing that ran into me as soon as I got out of the hospital… I think her name was Scootaloo, or something.
"It's okay Scootaloo." I said with a small chuckle.
She paused. "How do you know my name?" she asked, glaring at me. "I've never seen you except at your Welcome party."
I froze. "Uh… Dash talks a lot about you…"
Instantly, all suspicions are tossed out the window as her eyes grew huge. "Really?" She says in a small voice.
"Yes?"
She instantly jumped back and put her hooves on my shoulders before launching into a tirade of questions. My brain didn’t register a single one. Huh… I think I set her off, I guess she likes Dash; something we got in com- stop thinking like that! She doesn’t like you like that. I sighed, only to notice that Scootaloo was still staring at me.
"Yes?"
"Were you even paying attention? What did Dash say about me?"
"Scoots, we got ta go back to crusadin' remember?" A southern drawl that I recognized as Applebloom made me turn my head to see the little filly. She visited me a few times with AJ in the hospital.
"I know AB…" She looked at me. "If Dash thinks you're cool, then we'll have to hang out sometime." She said before running to catch up with the other crusaders.
Derpy helped me up. "Well, that was interesting." I said with a small chuckle.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I insisted. "Come on; let's go catch up with the others." I said, gently grabbing her hoof as we flew to catch up.
By the time we caught up, Twilight was already knocking on Fluttershy's door. Dash glanced at us and saw me letting go of her hoof, her eyes held a hint of sadness. Before I could get another look, she looked away.
The door slowly opened and Fluttershy's head poked out. She eeped and hid behind her mane when she saw all of us standing out here. "Hello…" She whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Hey Fluttershy, how is he?" Twilight asked.
"He's stable but the transformation wasn’t as smooth as Leon's… he still can't really move."
"Can we come in and see?"
"Oh… um… yes." She said, moving out of the way as everypony started piling in.
Derpy paused. "Well it was nice talking to you Leon, but I gotta go pick up Dinky from Carrot Top's… I'll talk to you later." She said, before waving goodbye and flying away.
I waved goodbye as I watched the strange mare fly away. I chuckled as she seemed to dip towards the ground but somehow kept herself afloat. I followed my friends inside Fluttershy's house. It was strange to go inside as a pony, everything seemed to be normal; I remember coming here after she broke up with her boyfriend and everything was too small. It was also my haven when I crashed onto the planet… I guess I've grown to like the house.
The couch was occupied by unicorn, his body covered in cuts and bruises. His seemed to have a midnight blue coat, but it was hard to tell with numerous purple blotches and his coat seemed to be laced with cuts. They all had bandages on them, however, so it looked as if he was blue and white. His black mane was slightly longer than the stallions I've seen here… his bangs covering his eyes. His tail seemed to be normal length. His cutie mark was a lightning bolt. He groaned in pain, his voice nearly on par with Fluttershys'.
"Is he okay?" Rarity whispered.
"I'm… not sure. He seems to keep coming to then passing out again. I've barely gotten him to eat or drink anything in the last two days." Fluttershy said sadly.
Twilight's horn was illuminated in a deep purple glow as it projected her magical aura that encased his body. The bandages were removed as she healed his body, the bruises disappearing as he seemed to become more relaxed. I walked forward to get a better look and both me and Rarity caught Twilight as she cut the spell of and sagged down to the floor.
"Easy Twi," I said, gently patting her back with my hoof.
"There… I think… that ought to do it." She panted. She glanced and us and gave us a small smile. "Thanks."
The unicorn was starting to come around, his eyes frantically moving underneath his eyelids. Finally, they opened to reveal bluish-green orbs as he looked around the round. His jaw dropped and he started to hyperventilate.
"Whoa… hey, easy there buddy. It's okay." I said, walking slowly towards him as he flinched.
He stared at me for a moment. "You're… sentient?"
I blinked. "Well yeah… we all are." I said, waving my hoof towards the girls.
"But… horses can't talk." He said flatly.
"Give yourself a good look in the mirror and tell me that afterwards." Dash said from behind me, an eyebrow raised. The girls glared at her. "What?"
The unicorn looked at himself and his eyes got even bigger as he raised a shaky hoof in front of his face. His eyes rolled into the back of his head.
“Wait!" I tried to stop him, but he passed out again and I facehooved. "Great."
We waited for him to wake up again before Twilight realized how late it was and she started to panic. "We have to do the Winter Wrap Up now!" Before we could even argue against it, she grabbed all of us in her magical grip and teleported us to the center of town.
We groaned as Spike saw us and blew on the horn that alerted the ponies of the town, causing them to converge on the town center. Twilight split us up into groups and the townsponies nodded as she gave the groups objectives. She sent me to work with Fluttershy, but she was too distracted with the unicorn to really direct me anywhere.
I wandered around the place, holding a bell in my mouth as I walked up to a little hole in the ground. I gently shook the bell. "Time to get up, winter's over." I whispered as I heard several ponies starting to sing. I looked over as the entire town seemed to be involved, expect Fluttershy. Dash was in the sky, looking happy as ever. That truly was her element. I felt a slight pinch and saw a small garden snake attached to my hoof. "Get off me ya crazy snake." I said, shaking my hoof slightly till it let go.
I wandered around, waking the creatures that usually attacked me as a response. It didn’t help when the Cutie Mark Crusaders decided to help me; they unleashed a bear that I had to get Fluttershy to subdue. It was quite horrifying and afterwards, I went off on my own. Finally I sighed as a beaver smacked me in the face with its tail. I glared at the creature as it seemed to stick its tongue out at me. I walked away and returned the bell to Spike before flying off towards the edge of the forest, watching the ponies sing their song.
After a while the ponies seemed to be ending their song as Twilight helped a few of the earth ponies, passing a few water canteens to them. I sighed as I shuffled my hooves on the now snowless ground, making sure I was out of the way of everyone.
"Leon? What the hay are you doing over here?" Dash's voice asked from behind me. I heard a pair of wings flutter and heard her land next to me.
"Just out of the way." I said as we watched the rest of the town continue with the wrap up.
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"Think about it Dash, since day one all I've done is cause everyone nothing but problems. And for this 'Winter Wrap Up' thing, I don’t know how to lure the animals out or clean their homes. Nor do I know how to clean the snow or anything else that they do." I sighed. "Hell, I don’t even belong here."
She paused. "You may not know any of the Winter Wrap Up techniques, but neither did Twilight till she found out that she could use her organizational skills to help. You just got to find what you're good at."
I raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"
"From what I've seen, you’re a good flyer, not as good as me obviously, but you could help me out."
"Oh please…"
She grabbed my hoof. "Come on, give it a shot. What do you got to lose?"
"Okay…"
We started to fly towards a cloud that was hovering over Pinkie as she ice skated across the frozen lake. "All you want to do is kick towards the center of the cloud and disperse the core." Dash said, pointing to where I was supposed to kick.
"I'll kick it and the cloud will disappear?" I asked, bewildered. She nodded her head. I sighed. "Why not?" I muttered to myself as I aimed my back hooves towards the center and gathered my strength before I kicked with all my might and felt the cloud explode. I looked back and there was no more cloud. "Huh… I did it."
Dash smiled and pushed my back hooves down. "See? You just gotta try new things till you find something that sticks." We smiled at each other without realizing it, blushing when we did. In the silence that followed Dash cleared her throat. "Hey Leon?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm… sorry about earlier."
I glanced at her. "Earlier?"
"Yeah… about the whole secret thing with Twilight; that was uncalled for and I'm sorry. I know if you could tell me, you would." She looked at me. "Right?"
I gave her a small smile. "Of course, I'd tell my best friend."
She looked at me, surprised. "Best friend?"
"With all we've been through, of course." I chuckled.
She blushed. "True…"
I gave her a brief hug. "Thanks Dashie… for everything." I felt her wings stiffen slightly and I blushed, but ignored it. As I pushed myself away, I saw her face was bright red.
She stuttered. "And don’t you forget it; now come on and let's finish these clouds. The one that has the least buys the winner something from Sugarcube Corner?" she asked.
I laughed. "Sure." Now how in the hell am I supposed to pay? I don’t have any bits…We flew off and spent the rest of Winter Wrap Up dispersing clouds together.
Sometimes she'd surprise me by flying through a cloud and kicking it into my face. Several times the cloud stayed on my face as it disappeared, giving me a long white puffy beard; Dash laughed pretty hard each time.
As we continued to clean up the clouds, it finally gave me time to think. It amazed me how much pain and happiness hanging out with Dash could be. I haven't laughed as hard as I do around her in a long time, almost like when I was with Ash- My eyes grew. That… that’s not right, it can't be… I looked over at her as she burst through a nearby cloud, the moisture sticking to her fur, giving it an almost angelic glow in the warm sun. I stared at her with my mouth open a little as I realized; I have a crush on her. I sighed and started to wonder what to do about it, only to realize it'd never work. She's so energetic and athletic and I'm… not. In fact, I'm pretty sure we're complete opposites.
The day seemed to fly by as the entire town seemed to wrap up removing winter. Dash, not very surprisingly, quickly beat me in the contest, having an easy 100-30 cloud ratio. I chuckled as she puffed her chest out at the end, saying it was easy.
At the end of the day, the town gathered at Sugarcube Corner to celebrate another on time cleanup. I talked Mr. and Mrs. Cake to let me work off the smoothie I owed Dash by cleaning up afterwards. They consented as the entire town packed inside.
The Cakes and Pinkie scrambled to fill everypony's orders as they all seem to wind down from the cleaning. The remaining girls, minus Fluttershy, sat in a booth off to the corner, away from the main group of ponies, who were laughing and dancing in celebration. Spike was sitting on a stool by Twilight, talking to Rarity as she giggled at a joke. I noticed Fluttershy sitting with the unicorn as they looked awkwardly at each other, then blushed and looked away.
I sat by the door with a cup of chocolate milk as my companion. I lifted it up to take a sip when Dash sat across from me. "What are you doing over here by yourself?"
I glanced at her. "Just thinking."
"About?"
"Just random things."
She stared at me. "Okay…"
I sighed. "It's just… I'm not sure what to do." She tilted her head but remained quiet to let me continue. "Have you ever realized something but then not sure how to handle it?"
"Well yeah of course I have, plenty of times." She said.
"What do you usually do?"
"Well… I ask for a friend's advice and see what they say. If I think its sound advice, I'll do it." She paused. "Other times, you just gotta buck up and try and do whatever it is you realized. When everypony said I couldn’t do the Sonic Rainboom and it was just a myth… I knew I could prove them wrong. I practiced every day but in the end, I still couldn’t do it." She sighed, taking a drink from her cup. "Then I saw those bullies messing with Fluttershy and it got my blood boiling… I ran up to them and challenged them to a race. And… well, I did the Sonic Rainboom, got my cutie mark and the rest is history."
We stared at each other for a few seconds before I looked away. "You make it sound so easy though."
"Some things can't be easy. If they were, then some of the greatest things in life wouldn’t be worth it." Dash said, staring into her cup.
"Yeah…" I pondered.
Before either of us could resume our conversation, Pinkie appeared between us. She looked at me.   "Do you wanna sing?" Pinkie asked.
"Not especially no."
"But it would be super duper awesome to hear a song from your homeland." She whispered.
"But I'm no singer; I'd just butcher it anyway." I insisted with my cheeks bright red.
She gave me her puppy dog face, eyes huge while her lower lip quivered. My god, does everypony have that? I knew if I continued to look, I'd fall for it so I closed my eyes.
"You can at least try." Dash encouraged, leaning across the table and gently nuzzled my cheek.
My face turned bright red as I sighed. Between Dash and Pinkie, I was doomed. "Fine." I muttered as I cleared my throat and walked towards the stage. The mic made a brief static noise as I gently tapped it with my hoof. "I'm not the most musically gifted pony, but I'll see what I can do." I blinked a few times, trying to think of something to sing. "Ok, I know a song but I don’t remember the entire thing, so consider this more of an abridged version." I rambled with a faint smile.

{Due to FimFic’s new lyric rule, click here for the song}

The ponies stared at me blankly and I sighed as I looked at Pinkie. "Another song then?" She nodded and I rolled my eyes. "Ok, so this is a very popular song back where I come from. But it's going to sound terrible without a background band." I chuckled.
"Oh no problemo Emerald, I got it covered." Pinkie said, grabbing Spike and putting him on a piano she had materialized. She handed him a stack of papers and he stared blankly at them before starting to play a very familiar beat.
I chuckled at her and shook my head before clearing my throat again.

{Once again click here}


Once I got to the chorus, Pinkie jumped in and started to sing along… somehow. I laughed as Pinkie winked at me.
Half way through the song, all the ponies in the building were dancing. It was quite funny actually. It was surprising to see the unicorn and Fluttershy nodding their head to the beat, with the unicorn lip singing the song. I laughed as Dash smiled at me.
Once I finished, everypony applauded and I did a short bow before almost running off stage. I wandered back towards Dash and sat down, my cup in hoof.
"Not bad," she said. "What was the first song though?"
"Oh, it was from a book I read a long time ago." I muttered.
"And the other?"
"'Don't Stop Believein' by a band called Journey." I looked at Pinkie as she was hopping along with a few ponies that I recognized as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "I'm just wondering how Pinkie knew it."
Dash shrugged. "It's Pinkie, no pony will ever figure it out. She even got Discord once." She chuckled at the memory.
"Only Pinkie understands Pinkie." I said with a smirk.
"That's the spirit!" Dash agreed and we both laughed.
The rest of the party was spent with helping Twilight talk to the unicorn and somehow getting roped into helping the CMC, as they called themselves. They took me to their clubhouse and initiated me into the group, because I apparently didn’t have a cutie mark, which is some form of sin to them. I just chuckled as Scootaloo went crazy on the bongos. When we got back to Sugarcube Corner, most of the ponies had gone home. I helped Twilight converse with the very shy and quiet unicorn, Ivic. His name sounded strangely familiar to me, but I couldn’t place it.
He told us of the random inter-dimensional portal that appeared in his room and how it sucked him in and he ended up landing in Fluttershy's pond. Twilight gasped and went on a huge tangent about portals that only Ivic seemed to get, everypony else just stared at her. She blushed and explained it in simpler terms; apparently some cosmic rifts do happen every now and then but it's just extra energy the galaxy somehow creates. But it's strange to have one happen in a house… let alone absorb somepony and teleport them anywhere specific. Everypony nodded that they understood and talked to him a little bit to get to know the guy. He seemed nice, shy and quiet but nice. He reminded me a lot of a male Fluttershy… which I'm not sure is a good thing or bad. Anyway, the topic of where he's supposed to live came up and Twilight offered the library, which had an extra room. Ivic paused and looked at Fluttershy before nodding.
After that, we noticed that Luna had raised the moon a while ago and Pinkie and I still had to clean up the place. Twilight picked Spike up on her back, he'd fallen asleep a while ago and led Ivic to her house while everypony left for the night, expect me and Pinkie.
She giggled at me as she hoofed me a mop and I mopped up the floor as she gathered all the trash and threw it away. She started to hum a little song as she did so, hopping along the counter, pushing paper cups and plates into a large bag on the floor. After an hour or so of that, the Sugarcube Corner was back to its normal, non chaotic self.
I wiped sweat off my brow and I gave her a tired smile. "Well that was fun."
"Yes sir ye bob." She agreed.
There was a brief moment of silence. "Hey Pinkie?" I asked.
"Hmm?" she asked, glancing at me.
"How did you know that song?"
She giggled. "Well it is a very popular song." She admitted.
I sighed and chuckled. "That's what I thought." I headed towards the door. "Goodnight Pinkie."
"Wait just one stinkin' minute mister." She said, sounding a little angry.
I froze and slowly turned around. "Yes?"
She glared at me as she made her way towards me until she was inches away from my face. I started to back up until she broke out into a smile and gave me a bone crushing hug. "You didn’t give me a goodnight hug."
"…how could I forget?" I wheezed out before giving her a hug back. "Pinkie… crushing… ribs." I struggled to say.
She let go of me. "Whoopsies, sorry Leonie, I don’t know my own strength sometimes." She said with a smile. "Goodnight."
I nodded weakly and dragged myself out. I sighed as I looked at the town, cleaned of snow and winter. It was quiet, everypony asleep in town; the only lights came from the sparsely placed street lamps. I wandered around town for a bit, taking in the peace and quiet before finally taking off and gliding on a down draft towards my house.
I made it and took out the key Celestia had given me and opened the door; it was even quieter inside than outside. I poked my head and tried to peer into the darkness but couldn’t make anything out. I had to fly up to close the door behind as I rummaged around the house. I quickly realized everything was too tall for me to reach normally, having been made for when I was a human. I groaned and left the house quickly, favoring the clouds anyway.
I found a rather comfy looking cloud a little bit a ways from the town. I sat down and sighed, looking out over the Everfree Forest and the town. It's amazing how in the three odd months that I've been here, my life has changed so drastically. Between nearly dying, saving a pony, getting turned into a pony and finding out I had a crush on one... It must be a dream and I'm going to wake up in my bed with a Looney Tunes rerun on the television. I lay down on the cloud and got comfy, relaxing on the cloud. What a day… I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Well, with this equestrian diet, if I ever do go back to being human, I'm gonna be pretty healthily. I chuckled to myself.
What about Dash? Is it ok for me to like a pony? Granted, I'm a pony now… but only in body. I felt myself slip deeper and deeper to the sleep I wanted and my last thought before I succumbed to exhaustion was of Dash flying through that cloud, her body covered in the water and her bright magenta eyes staring at me, full of happiness.
> Mystery in the Everfree (Unedited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Something fervently poked me in the side and tried valiantly to get my attention. I groaned and tried to move away but it seemed to follow me wherever I went. "Wake up Leon, we got things to do." It said.
"Five more minutes," I yawned and scooted away.
My assailant sighed and I felt warmth my cheek. I muttered under my breath and cracked open an eye to see what it was; it was none other than Dash, nuzzling me. My eyes instantly shot open, my heart pounded against my chest and I scrambled into a sitting position, watching her as both our faces went red and she tried not to laugh.
"What was that for?" I asked, stretching and turning away so she couldn’t see my blush.
"For not waking up," she giggled.
I faintly smiled. "So? It's not like I had anything planned for today. Thought I could finally sleep in."
She paused. "Well, I was thinking about showing you around Cloudsdale, thought you'd enjoy it."
"You mean that cloud city?" I said, pointing into the distance.
"Unless you can think of another reason why it'd be called Cloudsdale," she smirked.
"Touché Dash, touché." I paused and looked at it. "Why do you want to go there?"
"One, cause it's awesome. And two, since you're going to be working with me, we gotta get your paperwork filled out and let the big wigs know." She said.
"Oh wonderful more paperwork," I said with a small frown.
"Trust me; I like it as much as you do." She said, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Last one there buys the winner something at Sugarcube Corner?"
I sighed. "I don’t have any bits…"
She paused, thinking. "Then how about this, loser has to do anything the winner says for the rest of the day?"
I smirked and held out a hoof. "Sounds like a horrible idea, you got yourself a bet."
She laughed and shook my hoof. "Okay..." She squinted before turning around and pointed back into town. "On the other side of town, a little past the town exit, is Cloudsdale." She said.
I nodded and we bent down, our wings extended. "On your mark…"
"Get set…"
"GO!" we both yelled at the same time, two blurs rushing towards Cloudsdale.


--**--


I sighed, my chin resting on my chest. "Alright Dash, you won." I panted as we collapsed against each other on a bench in some park.
Cloudsdale was just as I pictured an entire city made of clouds to look like, blindingly white and puffy. It seemed to have a Greek theme to it, pillars everywhere throughout the city. Pools of rainbows were as frequent as the fountains in Canterlot. The streets were lined with houses that looked like Dash's, just not as grand or large. Most were simple one story houses, a few two and even a three story house sprinkled in. The pegasi didn’t seem to notice either of us as they continued to wander around in their own little worlds, going place to place. A few fillies ran around near us playing tag, laughing.
One place stood out in particular; it was an enormous building, rainbows spilling out on the side. I stared at it, my mouth opened wide. "What is that place?"
"That's the weather factory." Dash said, a little breathless. She had a smug grin on her face.
I chuckled. "Oh dear, I don't like that look," I grinned at her.
She softly punched my arm. "You shouldn't…" She said and put a hoof to her chin. "Hmm… what should I make you do?" she muttered and tapped her chin lightly. She went silent as she stared off into space before a devious grin appeared on her face. "I know what I want you to do. When we finish here, you have to volunteer to help Rarity."
I looked at her, eyebrow raised. "And that’s bad how?"
She laughed. "You'll see," she said, getting off the bench. "Come on, let's start that paperwork." She walked towards the giant building. I watched her for a moment before shrugging and got up to follow. It was still weird to walk on clouds, their damp structure scaring me every time I move my hoof and I half expected to fall through.
We were silent walking next to each other, my mouth slightly opened as I stared in awe at the city. I was about to ask her something when my thoughts were interrupted by three ponies laughing. "Well if it isn't Rainbow Crash. And look, she has a friend." Somepony said.
I turned and saw three pegasi sat off to the side, looking at us. The tallest one had light tan coat with three basketballs arranged in a triangle for a cutie mark. His brown mane flowed down his face, covering his eyes till there was just a tint of green.
To his right was a shorter pegasus with a brown coat. He reminded me of a surfer, his mane the color of sand and it hung to his head. He had a dumbbell for a cutie mark. 
The final of the trio was a shorter pegasus, a bit thicker than normal. He had a gray coat and a black mane covering his eyes, which seemed to be a running theme here. For his cutie mark, he had three footballs, arranged in the same pattern as the basketballs.
Dash glared at the three as she led me closer to the factory.
"What's wrong Crash? Who's that pony anyway?"
I looked at them before turning to her. "Who are they?"
"Just some bullies from flight school." She said, her lips pressed into a thin line. "I thought I got rid of them after I won the Best Young Flyer but apparently not." She grabbed my hoof. "Just ignore them."
I nodded, ignoring the three pegasi heckling her as they followed us to the factory. I could see Dash trying not to let them bother her and ignore them like she said, but that was fading fast, her mouth clenched. Finally, she stopped in front of the factory, whirling around and glared at the three.
"What do you three want?!" she yelled angrily.
"Well that's no way to treat old friends," the tallest said.
"Yeah old friends,” the surfer said, getting a hoof five from the other.
She rolled her eyes. "I thought you three wanted to hang out after I did the Sonic Rainboom."
"We did, till we realized it was fake."
Dash’s eyes went wide with shock. “Excuse me?”
"We know how good of friends you are with Celestia’s student. Wouldn’t surprise me if you had her help you.”
Both mine and Dash’s jaws dropped. That’s… that’s just a bunch of bull! “Hey-” I started, Dash cutting me off.
“Are you saying that I can’t do the Rainboom?”
“When was the last time you even tried to do it?"
She went to open her mouth, pausing. She blinked a few times. "I-I just did it the other day."
“Oh? What about trying out for the Wonderbolts?”
“I-”
All three of them laughed. "Admit it; you know it’s a hopeless dream."
"Is not!"
"Is so!"
"Not!" Dash stomped towards them, head to head with their leader.
"So!"
“Hey!” I interrupted, Dash and the three pegasi at me. I quickly grabbed Dash’s hoof and pulled her back. “Come on, let’s go.” I insisted and we left the three.
“That’s right, better leave before you embarrass yourself.” The leader chuckled, high hoofing his friends.
Dash grinded her teeth and went to say something. “It’s better if you just ignore them.” I interrupted, pulling her towards the building.
“But I could do the Sonic Rainboom in ten seconds flat!”
“I know but with those types of ponies, it would be a waste of time.” I opened the door for her to the Weather Factory.
She sighed and grumbled under her breath, walking through the door. I shut it behind me and stared in surprise. Streams of rainbows fell from holes in the wall into separate pools while doors led off into multiple corridors. Ponies stood on each side of the pools, testing and sampling the rainbows with sticks they tentatively poked into the swirling colors. A few chairs sprinkled the sides leading up to the receptionist. 
She had a light gold with pale apple green highlights, her bangs just hovering above her eyes. Her pale gray opal coat stood out against the white clouds as her blue eyes flicked back and forth as she flipped through a pages of a magazine.
“Hey Helia!” Dash yelled, slamming her hoof down on the counter.
The pony in question jumped and rapidly shut the magazine before she looked up at us. She paused and with a quick blink and sigh, flipped back to her spot in the magazine. “Hey Dash, what’d you forget this time?”
Dash’s cheeks turned a slight shade of pink and she chuckled nervously. “I didn’t forget anything… just wanted to get the paperwork for the newbie here.” She said, grabbing my hoof and pushed me closer.
Helia looked up again with a raised eyebrow at me. “You wanna be a weather pegasus?”
“...Yes?” I asked, confused.
Helia shrugged and turned around, getting out of the chair and rummaged underneath the counter. She returned with a small clipboard. She hoofed it to me and a pen. “Just fill out the forms and you’ll be all set.” She said, sitting down and returning to her magazine.
I sighed and walked over to a seat, sitting down and grabbing the pen. “I hate paperwork…” I muttered as Dash flew off to talk to somepony.


--**--


What felt like hours later, but was only about fifteen minutes, we walked out of the weather factory, wandering aimlessly around Cloudsdale.
“So what exactly do I do?” I asked and scratched my head.
“I thought it was self explanatory; you help with the weather.”
“I know that, I mean… how do we do that?”
“Well, at the start of the month, your captain, which is yours truly, will get a schedule of the weather for their area. Then we get the clouds from here and push them to Ponyville or get rid of them. Really depends on what the higher ups want I guess.”
“I see…”
“And since you’re new, you’ll partner with me till I think you’re okay on your own. And from what I’ve seen during Winter Wrap Up, you’re not that bad.” She said with a grin.
“Thanks… I think.”
“Trust me, you’ll get the hang of it fast, it’s not that hard.” She said, looking around.
“If you say so… it’s just weird, being able to control the clouds and weather.” I said, carefully walking with her. I stepped on a damp part and instinctively hopped back before tentatively poking the spot.
She shook her head. “Look, you’re not gonna fall through. Trust me, you’ll be fine, now come on, let’s go home.”
I followed her and watched where I walked, making sure a hole wasn’t going to magically appear in front of me. It’d be my luck and just what I need, another trip to the bloody hospital. I think I’ve seen enough of that place for a lifetime. We were silent as we walked to the edge of the town and took to the sky. The sun was still high in the sky, brightly shining down on Ponyville.
We flew leisurely, Dash giving me a few tips, mimicking the motions. Finally, we saw Ponyville coming up, the Everfree Forest looming eerily behind it. Dash turned to me and grinned, her wings flapping a little faster. I rolled my eyes as I pushed my wings to match with hers, quickly gaining on her.
A moment later, we were neck and neck, straining to get ahead of the other. Dash laughed and shot forward, her tail leaving behind a rainbow after image. I gritted my teeth and pulled right next to her, our wings buzzing. She held out a hoof and I quickly grabbed it as we twirled and corkscrewed down. I suddenly had a bad feeling, barely able to control my descent. We screamed, Dash yelling excitedly, enjoying the sensation. I closed my eyes tightly, my other hoof grabbing Dash’s. 
We abruptly pulled up, Dash grunting with exercison. She steadied us for a brief moment before we gently descended again. I opened my eyes and let go of her hoof as we landed lightly next to town hall. We leaned against each other for a moment, dizzy.
“That was awesome! We need to do that again!” she said, holding a hoof to her head.
“Yeah… totally…” I muttered, waiting for the world to stop spinning.
“I can’t believe we pulled off a duo Tornado Pull!” she said.
I looked at her clueless. “A what?”
“It’s an old weather pony trick; you create a tornado and it helps clean up the clouds super fast. No pony does it any more, it’s sorta dangerous.”
“I noticed,” I chuckled.
“But we did it, a duo version. I don’t think that’s been done before… I’ve been wanting to try it out for ages but no pony wanted to do that. Except Derpy…”
“How’d that go?”
“Had to help rebuild half the town.” She said, turning away to hide a blush.
I laughed. “Well… glad we didn’t crash.”
“Please, I wouldn’t have let us, I had it all under control.”
I shrugged and groggily started walking. “If you say so, you’re the boss.”
Her cheeks reddened and we headed towards the library before she stopped us. “We should go see if Rarity needs help.”
“You mean, right now?”
“Well duh, you lost the race so you have to do what I said remember?”
“Yeah… but, fine.” I said exasperated and we turned and took the street towards the Boutique instead.
I pushed open the door, the little bell rang from the top. “Just a moment!” We heard Rarity say and we waited in the front room. The marshmallow unicorn appeared moments later, surprised. “Oh Leon, Rainbow, and what are you two up to?”
Me and Dash shared a look before she nudged me forward and I coughed. “Well… I was wondering if you needed help.”
She blinked. “Well… I do have the spring lineup to get ready for…”
“Then I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
She smiled. “That’s so kind of you, thank you darling.” She turned to Dash. “And what about you Rainbow? Would you like to help?”
“Celestia no,” she said. Rarity’s gaze darkened and Dash backed up towards the door. “I just remembered… I have to er… go talk to Pinkie. I’ll see ya around.” She hastily added before leaving, the door slamming shut.
Rarity rolled her eyes and led me into the back of the shop. It was strewn with bobby pins, fabric, ribbon, and several creepy pony mannequins. I shivered and kept an eye on them, making sure they didn’t start moving by themselves. Her cheeks turned pink when she caught me looking around. “Sorry for the mess darling, I’ve just been a bit preoccupied coming up with designs.”
“It’s no problem, just tell me what I can do to help.”
She scratched her chin for a moment. “Well I was hoping to try out a new style of vests, but the mannequin,” she pointed at a clothed one in the center of the room, “doesn’t quite capture the right feel.”
“Uh huh…” I said, not sure what she was saying. 
“It won’t take long, besides, it’ll give me some new measurements to toy with.” She smiled as a tape measure, clipboard and a pencil floated to her. “Just stand still and I’ll write a few things down.” She said, the tape measure wrapping itself around me.
I followed her instructions, letting her get as many numbers as she needed. She wrote them down on her clipboard, a pair of red glasses resting gently on her nose. I watched as she dragged over the vest from the mannequin and took a pair of scissors to it. Some thread and needle traveled over, adding a few pieces to make it look fuller.
“So… what were you and Rainbow up to, if I may ask.” She asked, the pencil flying across the paper.
“Oh, she took me to Cloudsdale to get me signed up for Weather duty.”
“I see…” She said nonchalantly, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. 
“What?”
“Oh nothing darling, I just find it cute.”
“Find what cute?” I asked.
She ignored me and hummed a tune, putting the vest on me and taking more measurements. Every time I tried to get an answer out of her, she went silent, refusing to answer. Eventually I gave up and silence fell on us, the only noise pencil on paper.
“So… how are you?” I finally asked.
“Simply marvelous darling, thanks for asking.” She batted her eyelashes. “And how about yourself?”
“Not too bad, could be worse.”
“Mhm…” She muttered. “Keeping busy, I suppose?”
“Yeah… at least I’ll have a few days before work starts.”
“Indeed,” she paused, “oh, Twilight wanted to see you.”
“Really?” I asked, eyebrow raised. “Do you know why?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I thought I saw some crystal ponies by the library, but I was in a hurry.”
“Crystal what now?”
“Crystal ponies darling, from the Crystal Empire. Her brother, Prince Shining Armor, runs it with Princess Cadance, his wife.”
“Oh…” I shrugged. “Guess I’ll have to see why she wanted to see me.”
“Well we’re finished now, you can head over there if you want. Tell her I said hello.”
I stretched for a moment, my hind leg gone numb. “I will.”
She put her clipboard and pencil on the table and gave me a quick hug. “Thanks for all your help today as well.”
I gave her a hug back. “It’s not a problem, glad I could help. I’m quite good at standing still and doing nothing… perfected in the hospital.”
She smiled and led me out, waving goodbye as I took a deep breath of fresh air. “Finally!” Dash said above me.
I looked up to the bottom of a cloud, Dash’s head peeking out from the side. “Hello.”
“What took so long? I thought you’d be in there forever… Was about to grab Pinkie and bust you out.”
“It wasn’t that long… only an hour or so.”
“Like I said, forever…” She groaned, hopping off the cloud. “So how was it?”
“Not too bad, I half expected to be grilled about something or another. But it was nice, kinda relaxing.”
Dash stared at me in horror, almost as if she was slapped. “You’re joking, right?”
I shrugged. “I don’t mind standing and not moving for long periods of time, used to do that at work.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, back on Earth I was in customer service for a few years. Lots of standing for eight or so hours. Incredibly boring and frustrating but hey, it was a paycheck.”
She went quiet as we headed to Twilight’s. “Do you miss it?”
“Miss what?”
“Home, Earth… whatever you wanna call it.”
“Oh…” I stopped, not sure how to respond. “Well of course I do…” I rubbed the back of my neck. During our talks in the hospital, I tended to shy away from anything related to how I got here. Only Fluttershy knew and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. “Just a few things.”
“Like?”
“A few friends, my family…” I said, trying to think. I realized I never really sat down and thought about who or what I’d miss. All the people I was close too probably got over me dying fast, I’m sure they expected it for quite a while. Obviously there’s no internet, tv, video games. Huh… it’s odd, since I’ve been here, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t really had time to miss them…
“So uh… where are we going?” She asked, hoping to lighten the somber mood.
“To Twilight’s, apparently she wanted to see me, something about a crystal pony.” I said, glad for the topic change.
“How odd… usually Cadance doesn’t show up unannounced.”
“Cadance? Doesn’t she rule the Crystal Empire?”
She nodded. “Also Twilight’s sister-in-law and foal sitter, they were really close…”
“Oh… I see.” The library came into view, the massive tree hard to miss. Two crystallized ponies stood at the door, watching us as we got closer. “Er… hello.” I said, unsure as the guards watched us silently.
I opened the door and half expected the guards to stop us. When they didn’t, we walked inside. Twilight was talking to somepony as the two sat on the couch. He had a white coat, his hooves a dark blue. His two toned mane, a sapphire blue with light cerulean blocked his face. Next to him was a rather large suitcase with visible no markings indicating what it was.
“Shining? What are you doing here? I thought Cadance would be here instead.” Dash asked, surprised.
Twi looked at Dash. “Dash! That’s a bit rude!”
“It’s fine Twily,” Shining said, getting up to get a better look. He was a little taller than me and we sized each other up. “So this is Leon, I take it?”
I nodded. “Yes, and you’re Shining, Twilight’s brother?”
“Indeed,” he held out a hoof. “Nice to finally meet you.”
I shook it. “So how is Cadance?” Dash asked.
“She’s doing well, enjoying a small break from the Crystal Empire.”
“Really? Then who’s in charge?”
“The Minister, Amber Waves. Fantastic mare, really knows her stuff.” He said, looking slightly awkward.
“Ah…” Me and Dash shared a look before he cleared his throat.
“So…” Shining started, “the reason I’m here is one, I wanted to say to Twily. It’s been a long time.” He said as Twi’s cheeks turned red. “And secondly, I wanted to test something.” He said, his eyes glancing back to my sword. “Ah, you’re carrying your sword. Perfect.”
“What’d you mean?”
He ignored the question. “Do you mind if I see it?”
“Uh… sure, why not.” I said, undoing the clasp and hoofed it to him. Shining took it out of its sheath, eyeing the blade.
“It’s a reverse blade, interesting… Any reason why? Seems very impractical.”
“It’s… a long story.”
He nodded, not asking for details. His horn started to glow as his aura encased the sword and he let go. “Not bad, balanced expertly.” He said, replacing it in its sheath. “Very unusual…” He held it out and I took it back. “I heard you killed a manticore with it.”
“Yeah, but it nearly killed me in return.”
He faintly smiled. “Very stubborn creatures, especially those tails of theirs. Anyway, Leon, I was asked by Princess Celestia to test you on your swordsmanship, to put it bluntly.”
“What? Why?”
He hesitated. “I’m not… entirely sure.”
“Err… alright… I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” I faintly smiled. “Always wanted to learn how to fight with a sword.”
“Good, Princess Celestia will be happy.” He said, his magic encasing his suitcase and popped it open. “But I’d rather not accidently hurt ourselves, so we’ll use wooden swords.” He said, hoofing me one.
I grabbed it and tried to hold it. It was light compared to my sword and I gave it a few test swings, making sure I wouldn’t hit anypony. “You ready?” He asked and I nodded. “Good, we can spar out back.”
He led the way out, the guards standing at the back door as well. They watched us as me and Shining stood a few feet from each other, Dash and Twilight watching from the sidelines.
“So what-”
“We’ll go easy, since I don’t want anypony to get too hurt. Just come at me with everything you got.”
I gulped and he smiled. “Don’t worry, I used to be the Captain of the Guard, I’ll be fine.”
“I wasn’t worried about you…” I muttered, putting the sword in my mouth. I swung my head a few times, trying to get the feel for it.  So bizarre… I guess I’m used to holding in my hands. Shining held his sword in his magic, the aura shining brightly. Oh that’s fair…
We stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. I took a deep breath and unfurled my wings. I flapped them once, pushing as hard as I could and zoomed towards him. He didn’t blink, watching as I made a low pass for his hoof. His sword flew to protect him and I turned, corkscrewing away. I landed and breathed again. I tentatively jumped towards him, swinging my sword back to strike his face.
His sword flew up, blocking me and using my own momentum, pushed me away. I backflipped and landed before charging again. I attacked with no rime or reason, hoping my attacks would catch him off guard; his sword was there to meet each strike.
I decided to change tactics, during one swipe he bounced back, I dropped the sword out of my mouth and grabbed it with my hoof, twirling it around for a moment before launching another attack. He faintly smiled and let me get as close as I could before he parried.
His brow furrowed and his sword lunged at me. My eyes widened and I got a block up just in time. I grunted, the tip of his sword had whacked my rib. I pushed against it and ran in close, hoping to get a shot while his sword was far away.
I swung overhead and almost hit him, but his sword blocked it with its hilt. He pushed it with his magic and I stumbled back as his sword came at me. I couldn’t blink as he rained blow after blow at me. I knew it was only a matter of time, our wooden swords a blur. I took a quick glance at him and saw he wore a small smile.
I didn’t have time to think and just let instinct take over and I somehow managed to block and parry each of his attacks. I grinned, going on the offensive as we traded blows. My hooves were going numb, not use to all this exercise but I continued to evade his strikes while he effortlessly blocked mine.
It went on for what seems liked days, our swords almost breaking under the repeated blows. Finally, I lunged, thinking I had perfect shot. It turned out to be a ruse as he smacked my hoof and I dropped my sword. He twirled the sword around and hit me squarely between the eyes. I fell to the ground with a groan, holding my head.
“Phew, that was some good sword work. Haven’t had a workout like that in awhile.” He said, walking over and offered a hoof.
I looked at it for a moment before I accepted it and got up. “But I didn’t even hit you once.”
“Don’t worry, I was trained by an expert.” He stopped for a moment  and grabbed the two swords. “You’re pretty fast,” he stated simply, “but lack any form. Very uncoordinated and wild. However, you did do some things I’ve never seen before. Where’d you learn them?”
I blushed slightly and looked away. “I… I saw them in a show once, thought might as well try.”
“Well with a bit of training, I’m sure you’ll be a great swordspony.” He looked at the girls. “What I’m about to say is better left not repeated.” They nodded and he sighed. “The reason Princess Celestia wanted me to start training you is because she’s worried.”
“Worried? Why?”
“The other nations are nervous. They just heard that another human has entered Terra and as I’m sure you’re aware, it didn’t end so well last time.”
“I heard… but it couldn’t be that bad.”
He shrugged. “Be that as it may, Princess Celestia and Luna both got a bad feeling and they wanted to make sure you were able to protect yourself.”
“But what if I turned out like the last human? Wouldn’t teaching me how to fight better be kinda counterproductive?”
“Yes well… she said you won’t turn out like your ancestor.”
“How does she know?”
He glanced at Twi and Dash. “Let’s just say your friends will make sure that won’t happen.”
They avoided my eyes as I looked at them, confused. “What-”
“Well, I should be heading back to the train station. Gotta make sure to get to the Crystal Kingdom bright and early tomorrow.” He said, putting the swords back into the suitcase. The guards appeared before him, one of them winking at Twi as her cheeks went pink. Shining hugged her and held out a hoof for me. “I’ll let Princess Celestia know how you did and she’ll probably send somepony over to help train you.”
I shook it. “That’s great… but what did you mean before?”
“Not sure, I didn’t really ask what she meant.”
I went to argue as a guard cleared his throat. “We’ll be late your majesty.”
“Alright, well it was nice meeting you. And Twi, don’t be such a stranger, you should visit more.”
“I’ll try…” She said nervously, the three of them leaving. “Look Leon, before you ask, I don’t know what he meant.” She said, already cutting off my question.
Dash still refused to look me in the eye. “Twi…” But I stopped myself. If they’re not gonna say anything, better not argue… Even though I really wanted to know, its best not to piss off a unicorn.
I got up, my body shaking and took a deep breath. I took my sword from Dash and threw it around my shoulders. “Imma go lay down for a bit, I’m tired…”
“Alright, stop by later if you can. I wanted to ask you about something.”
“Err… sure, I will.” I said and took to the sky. “See ya later Dash.”
“Wait, I’ll come with you.” She said, flying up to me.
I nodded and waved goodbye to Twilight before gliding away, Dash right beside me. “What’s up?” I asked.
She was silent, looking like she was fighting to say something. “Just… I guess that’s why they made him Captain of the Guard.” She said finally.
“What’d you mean?”
“Well… nothing against him, but I always thought Shining was a bit… pompous.” I raised an eyebrow. “When I heard he was a guard, I assumed he was pretty much unbeatable but was tricked by Chrysalis and beaten by Sombra.” She lowered her voice. “Now I wouldn’t say anything to Twi, but I never really thought that much of guards since then, always seeming to get their flanks kicked.”
“Well, I can tell you he definitely knows his stuff.” I said and found a nice puffy cloud, I pulled up and landed lightly. “I did everything I could to hit him and he easily blocked. He was toying with me the entire time; I’m sure if he wanted to, he could’ve ended in like five seconds.” I laid down and got comfy, Dash landing next to me. I yawned and used my sword as a pillow. “I think he’s just gets put in a bad spot with no warning.” I stared up into the sky, my eyelids getting heavy.
“Yeah, you can say that.” She said, getting comfy as well. She laid down, stretching out next to me. “I’ve been meaning to start catching up on my naps.” She muttered through a yawn and snuggled the cloud.
I faintly smiled and closed my eyes. “Enjoy your nap Dash.”
“You too…”

--**--

Several weeks passed by as I got used to my new job. Dash and I would usually take the hardest jobs and I learned what not to do. A lot. Several times we had to make a quick trip to the hospital to stop me from electrocuting other ponies. She thought that was hilarious, I not so much.
When we finished fixing the weather, we’d usually go to Sugarcube Corner and I’d get roped into helping Pinkie and Dash pull off a prank or two. Once I was able to leave them, I went back home and practiced with my sword. My face got red as I thought back on how easily Shining beat me. He did it so effortlessly...
Every other week, I’d have to go out shopping and I’d wander aimlessly around the market, meeting quite a few nice ponies. I managed, abet accidently, to run into Derpy several times. She had a small unicorn filly with her, hopping excitedly on her back. I found out it was her daughter, Dinky. She stared up at me and somehow I got roped into dinner that night. It was a fun dinner, Dinky talking to me about how much she loved her mom, what she was learning in school, helping Derpy with dinner. It was a good night, one of the few times I was able to relax and laugh easily. It soon became a once a week thing to go over to Derpy’s for dinner or they’d come over to my house and I’d cook.
I even saw Fluttershy a few times and we enjoyed walking and talking. Seems Ivic was getting better, Twilight and Fluttershy training him on magic and how to be a pony. I asked why Celestia didn’t just implant how to do it like she did with me, but Twilight said it was impossible. Since he was a unicorn, his magic would interfere with the spell. Magic is weird like that, she said.


--**--


I flew over the Everfree, trailing a rogue cloud. Stupid thing! I finally caught up to it and pushed it back. It was supposed to rain for the weekend and we needed all the clouds we could find, the weather factory having a bit of a hiccup. I grumbled under my breath, checking periodically to make sure I was going the right direction.
I looked down and a glint of something bright blinding me for a second. “What the…” I said, blinking to get the spots to go away. “What was that?” I muttered and looked  back down. It flashed again, the sun just in the right spot. “Stay right there.” I said, hitting the cloud and flying down.
I was just over a small clearing in the forest, the canopy open to reveal a nice small babbling river. A small pair of saddlebags hung from a low branch just on the edge, the water moving the bag. The top of something poked from a rip in the side.
I landed right next to it and picked it off the branch. I didn’t see a cutie mark on it, usually the clasp would be in the shape of something, so they’d know who the owner of it was. I paused and looked around the forest, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. I tried to avoid going in, having learned both from the manticore and the blizzard that it was a dangerous place. I opened the lid and looked inside.
What caught my eye was a dirty broken mirror, the shard glinting the sunlight from the rip on the side. Next to it… was an egg. “What the hell…” I said, picking it up.
It was a small crimson red and gold egg, the gold splotched in random spots. It was dirty and I walked over to the river, splashing water on it. I turned it around, trying to find some form of markings. I grabbed the bag and put it back in, then maneuvered the mirror pieces so they’d block the rip. I flipped the lid closed and made sure it locked before putting it on. I flew up, back to the cloud. I took one final look around the Everfree before I started push the cloud.
How weird… maybe Twilight will know what it is. I headed back to Ponyville, the egg cold against my side.
> What Am I Doing? (Unedited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“It’s a what?”
“A phoenix egg,” Twilight said as a book floated over. She flipped through the pages before she stopped. “Ah, here it is; a phoenix are magical birds that regenerate by bursting into flames-”
“I know what a phoenix is, but how did an egg get in the Everfree?”
She tapped a hoof to her chin. “That’s a good question… Their nesting grounds are a good two days and a half away from there…” She turned to the saddlebags and looked them over once again. “And neither had a cutie mark on them?”
“Nope, that’s how I found them…” I held up the egg, looking at the weird markings trailing down its sides. “Couldn’t Rarity find who made them by the stitching or something?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I think you’ve been reading too many Sherclop Hooves books. Although it could be possible, which would be very taxing, to tell who made them; even if we did, we won’t know who bought them. We don’t usually keep receipts.”
“Oh… I see…”
“Hmm…” Twilight tapped her chin, looking over the bag once more before picking up the shard of glass. “I wonder what this is for.”
“No idea…” I sat down, and put the egg down. “What are we gonna do about the egg?”
She sighed and turned. “Well, we have two choices; try and return it to the phoenixes, or we can take care of it.”
“You don’t sound so sure on the former.”
“Even if we found the right parent, I doubt she’d want it. It’s been meddled and touched by ponykind. They’d ignore it.”
“So I guess we’re taking care of it?”
She smiled. “If that’s the case you better go see Fluttershy, she’d be more help than I am with this sorta thing.”
“True, seems to be her area of expertise. Thanks again Twilight…” He paused. “What about the bag and glass?”
Her horn glowed for a moment before a small blue pouch floated into the room. “Here, you can borrow this to carry the egg in. I wanna see if I can find anything… We gotta be missing something obvious...”
I took the bag and put the egg snuggly away, strapping it around my waist. “I get that feeling too, but I’m not the smart one here.” I headed towards the door. “Well if you find out anything, let me know okay?”
“Of course… Oh, and Leon?”
“Yeah?”
She turned to face me.  “Princess Celestia wanted me to confirm if you could still use your powers or not?”
I shook my head. “Haven’t been able to for a good while.”
She faintly smiled and nodded. “Okay… I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
“See ya Twi,” I shut the door behind me and took off for Fluttershy’s.
I feel like there’s always something she’s not telling me...  I sighed and patted the pouch. Well better get you to an expert little one.


--**--


“Oh dear, I’m not entirely sure Leon… I’ve never looked after a baby phoenix... “
“It’s fine Fluttershy, but I still think you’re still the best pony for the job.” I faintly smiled.
She blushed and looked away, a small part of her mane covering her face. “W-well t-thank you, that’s very kind… but… um…” She paused before smiling at me. “I guess I can help…”
“Thanks Fluttershy! You’re the best.. Now… uh… what do we do?”
She giggled and thought for a moment, picking up the egg with a hoof. “Well I’m assuming you’d have to keep the egg warm and clean. Besides that, I’m not sure… there isn’t  a whole lot of books on phoenix care.”
“I see… so what, I have to sit on it till it hatches?”
“Oh no no no, we have to keep it warm yes, but it’s no ordinary egg. Phoenixes are used to extreme temperatures, so we’d need to keep it by fire… Hmm…” She turned to her fireplace and put the egg down. “Leon, why don’t you clean it while I get a small fire going?”
“Yes ma’am!” I saluted and picked up the egg, walking over to the sink and waited for the water to warm up. “So Fluttershy…”
“Hm?”
“How do we know its getting ready to hatch?”
She put some logs in the fire and started it up, watching the fire crackle. “Oh, it’ll start moving around. Usually they only stay in their egg for a few months at the most.”
“I see… hehe…” I washed the egg off and wiped it off before walking over. “Mmm… nice and warm…” She smiled and went into the kitchen, rummaging around before she returned with a small bundle of sticks. “Uh… isn’t that gonna catch fire?”
She shook her head as she put it in a large metal pot, making a small nest. “I’m hoping that the metal will keep the egg warm enough…” She walked over and put the pot in front of the fire. She took the egg and nestled it in the debris, keeping a careful eye on it as she scooted it closer to the fire. It seemed to warm up, the pot getting warm. “There… Let’s just keep it like that for awhile.”
I hugged her and she blushed deeply. “Thanks Fluttershy, I wouldn’t know what I’d do without you.”
She mechanically patted my back and I let go, her face was bright red. “It-It’s n-nothing Leon, glad I could help.”
Hehe… if you say so. You don’t mind if I leave it in your expert care?”
“Oh no, means I can write down what I learn…”
“Careful there, starting to sound like Twilight.”
She giggled. “That’s not a bad thing…”
“Not what I meant… but if you need anything, let me know, okay?” She nodded. “Thanks again, I’ll see ya later.” I walked out, trying to think. I blinked and popped my head back inside. “Hey Flutters, quick question…”
She eeped and turned back around, taking a deep breath. “Y-yes?”
“How often have you found phoenixes in the Everfree?”
“Never… this’ll be the first time.”
“Hmm… gotcha. Sorry about scaring you.”
“It’s fine,” she giggled and shook her head as I left again.
First time huh… I trotted through town, deep in thought. I almost didn’t hear the faint hooves behind me but continued as if I didn’t. I looked around, I was in the middle of town, ponies everywhere. Probably just heading the same way… I tried to pass a look behind me; no pony was there, or at least following me. 
Carrot Top waved at me as she saw me looking. I waved back, slightly unnerved. I walked a little faster, making my way home. Alright, if I can just find some way- I facehoofed. Wings, right. I unfurled them and took to the sky, hopping up and landing on a cloud. I peered over the side, scanning the ground below me. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
I frowned and bit the inside of my cheek. Maybe… I’m going crazy...  I got up and flew home, my senses on high alert. I landed and opened the door; my house was quiet… too quiet. And dark; no wonder why I don’t come home often. I shut the front door and it creaked.
Of course… I rolled my eyes and cringed slightly when it clicked shut. It took a moment before my eyes adjusted to the dimness as I looked around, trying to notice anything different in the shadows. “Alright, I know you’re here, why not show yourself?”
I heard a very faint hiss before the buzzing of… wings? I saw a blob of darkness flying towards me and I rolled away from the front door. I jumped towards my closet, hoping to get my sword before the fur on the back of my neck rose. I flapped my wings and flew up, only for sudden pain laced up my back. I grunted and hit the ceiling, blinking as I re-connected with the floor. A hoof smacked my face and I kicked with my hind legs, a ‘oof’ coming from my assailant.
I laid on the floor for a moment before I launched myself at him, punching everything I could. It tried to defend himself and I felt a searing pain in my hoof; its fangs were sunk in my hoof. I punched it in the side of the head and it wouldn’t let go.
I pushed it off and grabbed a pillow from the couch. I whacked him with it and wasn’t sure if it was surprised or dazed as it sat and stared at me with cold, almost lifeless, blue eyes. I hit him again and chucked the pillow at its face. I turned around quickly and opened the closet door. I grabbed my sword and yelped, the thing tackling me.
We fought for a moment over the sword before I had to use it to stop it from biting my neck. It snapped a few times, drool oozing out of its mouth.
“Get off me!” I shoved with all my might and pushed him off and he tumbled back. I got up and drew the sword out, dropping to a stance.
The creature shook its head and rose to its hooves. Suddenly my fur bristled as I felt something lean towards me. “I think that’s enough…” It hissed in a feminine voice. Something slid up and rest next to my throat.
I gulped. “W-who are you?”
“Merely messengers…”
“That try and kill ponies?” I panted, a bead of sweat falling into my eye.
“Nay, but our queen wished to test if the stories were true…”
“Stories?”
“Of human prowess in combat.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you and your queen, but I ain’t human. Just a simple pony.”
It laughed and my ears twitched at the sound. “You can fool many ponies, Leon, but you cannot fool us. We can sense it.”
I chuckled nervously. “Hehe… Can’t blame a guy for trying. Ponies weren’t too fond me...”
The creature smiled and pulled whatever was against my throat away. “No, but let us cease hostilities… my dear brother can get quite… out of hoof.”
“Nonsense dear sister… I merely enjoy the challenge.” The brother said and lights turned on in my house. I blinked and tried to rid the stars from my eyes as I finally got a good look at my attackers.
“You’re changelings,” I said simply, surprised.
“Yes,” they said together. Both were identical down to the last detail; black carapaces, leather-like wings, cold blue eyes. Holes dotted their hooves and they had a crooked horn.
“I thought Twilight and the others shot you to kingdom come.”
They paused and looked at each other. “She may have weakened us, but we had a nest nearby. We’re not as easily defeated as they think.” The female said.
“I see… and what’s stopping me from running out and telling them that we have a pair of changelings in town?”
“...Our queen would be most displeased and I’d hate for anypony to get hurt.”
“Was that a threat?”
“Merely a suggestion. I know your type, you hate it when your friends are hurt.”
I grinned. “Well I hate to break it to you, but I’m pretty sure the girls could handle themselves, they tend to be saving ponies.”
“Ah… you believe we’re referring to Twilight and her friends… No, no…” The brother smiled. “How is that ditzy mare… Derpy? Right?”
The room got colder as I glared at him. “Excuse me?”
“I hear she’s taking quite a liking to you… it’d be a shame-”
I shot right up to him, my sword out of its sheath before I realized it. “You wouldn’t.”
He raised an eyebrow, not even worried. “By all means kill me. Just know that if you do, you’ve sealed her fate.”
I studied him, staring into his reflectionless eyes. My brain was going a thousand miles before I sighed and pulled away, sheathing my sword. “What exactly do you want?”
“Well… if we found you worthy,” the female started.
“We’d escort you to a point where you’d meet,” the male continued.
“Our queen,” they finished together.
“...So let me get this straight; I’m supposed to follow you to god knows where to meet your leader.”
“That is correct.”
“Why?”
They shared another look, one of hesitation. “We… do not understand.”
“Why would I do that? That’s like… a nono all around. You just don’t follow strangers back to their ‘home’.”
“We-”
“And why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“The ‘we’ thing instead of ‘I’ and you finish each other’s sentences… it’s creepy.”
“We are of the same mind… mostly.” The female smiled, showing her fangs.
“And another thing, aren’t you supposed to be protected back at home?” I pointed at her and she tilted her head. “Aren’t females important or something?”
“Well yes... but I can handle myself.”
I went to open my mouth but her brother interrupted me, and looked quite furious. “Enough, please, with the questions. What is your answer?”
“Well…” I paused, trying to wrap my head around anything. If I don’t, I’m sure I’m going to have changelings to worry about… but if I do… oh boy. “I guess I really can’t refuse such a courteous offer from royalty. But only if I can bring my sword.” I finally said.
“There will be no need-”
The sister put a reassuring hoof on her brother’s shoulder. “As you wish, but I must warn you. Do not draw it near our queen unless you you want to fight every changeling in our nest.”
“Understood.” Only I would draw this much attention… I tied the sword around me and took a deep breath.
Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be…” Something hit me. “How are we going to go through town, you two are going to stick out like a sore thumb?”
Even as I finished the sentence, they changed. The brother suddenly grew a little taller, his body sprouting light blue fur. His webbed mane turned into a long and slightly unkempt, a darker shade of blue, same with his tail. He had blue eyes and blinked once. He also had a cutie mark, two horseshoes linked together.
The sister grew slightly as well, her mane turning two shades of silver. Her tail was kept clean with a small ribbon at the bottom. Her coat was sandy brown and three apple slices was her cutie mark. She smiled and looked at me with pale green eyes. “Is this… better?”
“Uh…” Was all I could utter.
They both grinned and headed towards my door. They beckoned me and I followed a moment later. What am I doing…
I followed the duo, who were waving to ponies that wandered by. I was silent, trying to figure a way out of the situation. If they could slip in unnoticed, imagine what they could do to you when they actually wanted to hurt you… I hope Derpy’s okay... 
Although I’m sure I could’ve taken the brother… I didn’t even sense the sister. She was way too good. I think I understood what she meant by ‘taking care of herself’.
We were almost free of the town, Fluttershy’s cottage not too far away. I sighed in relief as the two seemed to drop the act for the moment. That is, until we heard a pair of wings.
“Leon?” Dash called out.
I gulped and the two changelings turned to stare at me. I saw the brother tense slightly, but the sister passively looked at me.
I turned and saw Dash land in front of me and I threw on a smile. “Hey Dash.”
“What are you doing way out here?” She paused and turned to the pair and stared at them. “Don’t I know you from somewhere…?” she asked, looking at the brother intently.
“Probably, I’ve seen you a bunch of times. Always flying off and saving ponies.” The brother said, smiling. “It’s good to meet the great Rainbow Dash.
Dash grinned and puffed her chest out slightly. “Heh, well thanks… I know it’s awesome to meet yours truly… but… Hey, wait a minute. I remember now.” The brother got ready to attack. “I saw you during the parasprite attack!”
He paused. “Oh yeah, those pesky little buggers. Kept attacking everything.”
“Yeah,” Dash laughed. “I hated those things…” She shook her head at the memory and turned back to me. “And what are you doing out here?”
“Oh, you know, just… looking for something.”
She raised an eyebrow. “By the Everfree?”
“Well he was helping us… I lost something when I went in there and he was kind of us to escort us through. Said he had a lot of experience with the forest.” The sister said.
“Pff… you could say that…” Dash rolled her eyes. “Just… be careful okay? I don’t want to have to take you to the hospital.”
“Heh… I’ll do my best. Hey, quick question.”
“Hm?”
“Could you go check on Twilight, she wasn’t acting like herself.” She went to say something else but I gave her a tight hug. “Thanks, you’re the best.”
She blushed and coughed. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” She took to the air. “I’ll catch you later then, better go do that before it interrupts one of my naps.” And with that, she zipped off. a rainbow trail behind her.
I sighed and turned back to the changelings. “You got so lucky…”
“Very… let’s go.” The brother said and led us into the Everfree.


--**--


Dash flew to Derpy’s, trying to piece her mind back together. Stupid, stupid! Why’d you freeze like that... She groaned and looked down, realizing she was already halfway through the marketplace. Okay, now if I turn here, I’d- She blinked; in the marketplace, was one of the ponies she just ran into.
She quickly nose dived to the ground and landed next to him. Yup, same cutie mark; coat, tail, mane, and eye color. It was… an exact copy. “Hey! How’d you do that?”
He eeped in surprise. “D-do what?”
“How’d you get back to from the Everfree that fast?!”
He looked at her concerned. “I haven’t been near the Everfree in ages…” He turned and motioned at the saddlebags on his waist. “I’ve been shopping all morning.”
“But I coulda swore-”
“Then you must be mistaken. Now if you’ll excuse me.” He said and walked away.
Dash stood there, flabbergasted. She shook her head. I know that was him! She walked over to a stall and asked if he’d been there a few minutes ago. When the salespony said yes, her brain went into overdrive.
There was some hammering going on behind her. She turned and saw somepony working on a new stall. Derpy was helping her, holding a plank steady. “Sorry I crashed into you again..” She murmured.
“It’s alright, at least Ambrosia was nearby to help.” Carrot Top said. “Thanks again Amy, I’d have to close early…”
“It’s no problem CT, glad I could help,” Ambrosia said and turned around with a smile.
Dash had to do a double take; it was the other pony from before too! She rushed over to the trio. “How long have you been working on this?”
Uh… about twenty minutes, give or take… Why?” Ambrosia asked, confused.
Dash ignored her, her mind trying to figure out what was going on… until something clicked. Wasn’t feeling herself… exact copies… She turned and looked at the Everfree. He didn’t… She quickly flew up again and tried to look for me.
She flew to Twilight’s as fast as she could, hoping she was wrong.
> Into the Changeling's Den (Unedited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Everfree Forest was a scary place to be. It existed beyond the control of the princesses and no matter how much the pegasi try to control it, the weather had a mind of its own. Once you pass into the canopy, the sun disappears and you left in near darkness, the sense that you’re being watched with every step.
I’ve nearly died three times since I came here, twice in the Everfree. I glanced around, straining my ears to hear anything that’d give away an oncoming attack. Nothing stirred nearby, which didn’t sit well with me.
We went deeper into the forest, the hoof-paths we were using simply vanishing. The forest’s shadows got stronger and I had to pay attention where I walked.
The mare smiled as she glanced over at me. “Is everything alright?”
“Just peachy, such a big fan of the forest…” I muttered, nearly tripping over a root.
Her horn glowed for a moment before a werelight appeared on it, giving our little traveling party some light. “There you go.”
“You’re too kind.”
She rolled her eyes and led us deeper. I had completely lost where we were going, all I knew was we were deeper in the forest than most ponies I think have ever gotten.
Silence reigned once more, the only sound our hoofsteps as I nervously looked around and noticed certain markings on the trees. I tried to look at one when a pair of eyes appeared out of the gloom. It stared into mine and I froze.
Several more emerged around us and somewhere something hissed. The pair that I followed hissed back, and it was quiet once more before half a dozen changelings literally materialized. I gulped and loosened up the best I could, in case I had to fight.
The changelings walked up to the pair next to me and were talking in their weird hissing language. The fur on the back of my neck tingled and I had a gut feeling there were more watching us. I stared and watched them talk about something as every pair of eyes turned and looked at me.
The female motioned with her head and I hesitated before I followed, the other changelings falling next to me. It took a second to realize that they had surrounded me and I looked up. The canopy was rather close to the ground, so no flying away, unless I flew through tree branches.
I followed the group of changelings and I noticed that there was green goo everywhere. It looked almost like a spider’s nest, the goo solidified like a web. I gulped and they led me deeper. Soon, the only light came from little orbs in the goo. I tried to be as discreet as possible and get the lay of the land; it really didn’t help. I had no idea where I was till they led me to a cave and a pair of changelings walked from the opening.
“Is he the one?” one hissed.
“Indeed brother,” another answered.
The changeling smiled and before I knew it, I was more or less forced inside. If I couldn’t see before, I was going off sheer blind luck. I could feel the ground decline gently and I stumbled my way through. I heard movement all around me but the faint luminescent orbs weren’t giving me much to work with.
We stopped outside one of the large caverns and everypony stopped. They forced me forward and pushed me inside. I looked around and my body tensed. I was surrounded by thousands of them, every pair of eyes on me. I gulped and reach for my sword.
All the noise abruptly stopped as they glared at me and I lowered my hoof. I looked in the center and a tall pony sat there, watching me with cold green eyes. She had long slender hooves, holes dotting the bottom. Her fur, no shell, was a deep grey/black with her abdomen a few shades of green. Long dark cerulean hair covered her face, split by a broken and crooked horn. Her leather-like bug wings rested at her sides, her tail swishing curiously.
“Hello there,” she said, her voice sounded like two people were talking at the same time.
“Hello back.”
She smiled and revealed a pair of fangs. “How are you Leon? I hope my daughter and son didn’t harm you.”
“Uh… just fine, thank you.” I stuttered.
She got up and slowly walked over to me, looking down. “I see… you taste… better than I remember.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing…” she trailed off and closed her eyes. 
I fidgeted. “Um… not to be rude, but Queen-”
“Chrysalis.”
“Queen Chrysalis, but I was wondering why you asked for me.” I put a bit of an emphasis on it.
She regarded me for a moment, not saying a word. “I remember the last time your kind was here. Tall, handsome, had a way with words like you wouldn’t believe. He got my mother to agree to an alliance…” She said wistfully, lost in memories.
I coughed nervously, quite aware of the thousand to one ratio I had going against me.
“Then he turned and killed her. And forced the changelings to join his army.” She continued, her eyes full of fury. “And we were slaughtered, nearly pushed to extinction.”
“I’m sorry Chrysalis… but-”
“So when I heard another human had appeared in Terra, I had to at least see him. But I knew Celestia would have her hooves all over you.” She said, her horn glowing as my sword pulled me off the ground.
“Whoa, hey now!”
“And what is this? A sword?”
“That’s mine!”
She pulled it out of the sheath and looked at the blade. It seemed to almost glow, a faint light coming from it. She hissed and quickly put it away. “I see… of course.”
I stared at the blade, confused. “I-I don’t understand.”
“Of course you wouldn’t, pawns usually don’t.”
I glared at her. “I am not a pawn.”
“Oh?” she asked, eyebrow raised as I was unceremoniously dropped to the ground. “You inhabit a pony body, live in Ponyville, and help Celestia’s prize pupil. All the while answering to her and Luna’s beck and call. I believe that is a pawn.”
“I’m just trying to repay her for letting me stay and healing me.”
She laughed, my wings rustling nervously. “Whatever you say Leon or should we call you Emerald now?”
A small bead of sweat trailed down my back. “How do you-”
“Know? I have loyal subjects in many places. I hear quite a few things.” She went to sit down and I was pulled towards her. “I hear that you saved the Element of Kindness from a manticore.”
“Uh-”
“And went on a secret meeting with Luna and Twilight.” She lowered her head, our eyes level. “I’d be very happy if I could hear about that.”
I put on my best poker face. “Sorry, top secret.”
She pouted but there was a hint of something in her eyes. “I figured… but it was worth a try.” She got up and hissed as a few guards came towards us. “You’ll tell me in due time.”
The guards grabbed me and I fought against them. “What the hell are you doing?!”
“You’re too dangerous to leave alone without the proper supervision. We wouldn’t want another war.” A devilish smile appeared on her lips. “And we have much to discuss.”
“You can’t do this!” I struggled against them, their grasp was like iron.
“Oh? But I believe I have.” She laughed, the rest of the changelings followed suit as they led me away.
I could hear the buzzing as my captors forced me down a side corridor and into a maze of passageways. I fought with everything I had, I didn’t even make them grunt. I thought I was strong or at least up to par, but I was useless against them. If only I could reach my sword… I tried to dip forward a little so the blade would slide out and it slipped out slightly, right before they grabbed my sword with magic and held it inside.
Finally we stopped and one opened a cage. I got a quick look around, there were a bunch of cages lined up near mine with ponies inside. I couldn’t get a good look before they tossed me inside, my sword landing awkwardly on me. The cage door snapped and locked shut.
I rushed to the door. “Let me out!” I yelled. I paused and peeked out between the bars. Jesus, I’m being hit with all the clichés, aren’t I? I sighed and turned around, looking over the cell.
Beds on opposite walls, cell door at the front. No windows and the only source of light was a rather mute orb at the top. Nothing else. I sighed and hopped on the closest bed. “Could be worse I guess.”
I heard a very faint snort and looked at the opposite bed. I just realized I wasn’t alone and took a look at my cellmate.
It was… a filly?! My mouth dropped and my eyes widened. She couldn’t have been older than six, probably around Dinky’s age. She stared at me, her eyes lifeless, just two crystal blue eyes staring at me. A splash of freckles dotted her face, almost covered by her filthy and stained white fur. Her wings were all mangled and her feathers rustled. Her dirty sand blonde mane was all over the place and places were nearly burned off. She didn’t have a cutie mark and she leaned heavily on one side.
I jumped up and slowly walked towards her and she scooted back. “Hey, it’s alright… I’m not..”
She was quiet, but I could see the fear and panic in her eyes. I sighed and went back to my bed. “My name is Leon, what’s yours?”
No response.
“...”
“....”
“I see…” I grabbed my sword and laid it on the bed before I headed back to the door. I tried to pry at the bars with all my strength, all it did was make me tired and angry. They didn’t even budge. I groaned and peeked outside. There were no changeling insight. I  tried to wiggle in between the bars… If only I was a wee bit lighter, I might have fit.
Something rustled and I turned and saw the filly had gotten under her bedsheets. She flipped over to face the wall and curled into a little ball. I was so tempted to just go give her a hug… but that look she gave earlier, it was pure and utter terror. I walked over to the bed and got up, resting my head against the wall. I wonder if they’ll notice I’m gone…


--**--


A few hours went by before a changeling appeared. He slipped two trays of food and water inside. He stared at me for a moment before leaving. I scooted the food over to the filly, who gazed at it, only barely nibbling on the bread and drinking water.
I didn’t realize how hungry I was till I had ate my food. I drank the water and went back to staring at the ceiling. I wasn’t sure how I’d escape. It seems like Chrysalis had read the evil villain handbook, no guards by the door. The door securely locked with some sort of key. Bars are pretty much impossible to break by hoof alone. No window to escape through.
I’ll figure out a way… I glared at the door and got up, slipping my head through the bars and studied the lock. It was one I was sorely unfamiliar with, but it seemed to be the classic key lock. I don’t remember seeing a changeling with a key, so they probably unlocked it with magic. If that was the case… I wasn’t going anywhere without them wanting me too.
I bit my lip and trotted back to my corner and grabbed my sword. I pulled it out of the sheath, the blade gleaming once more. “I don’t understand you… You’ve never glowed before…” I murmured, looking over the blade. It was just like the anime I took it from with not a scratch nor chipped edge. I tapped it against the wall, thinking.
So it surprised me when I got a reply, tapped with a hoof, at the cell door. I quickly turned and saw the female changeling from before, a faint smile on her lips. The filly was hiding under her covers as far as she could get away from the door. I got up and put myself between the two.
A pang of sadness crossed her eyes before they went neutral. “Don’t worry, I’m not here for her.” She said calmly as she unlocked the door.
“Then what do you want with me?”
“Queen Chrysalis wants to talk to you, privately.”
“Tell her she can shove it. Unless she’s going to let me go, I got nothing to say.”
She sighed. “I’m honestly surprised you haven’t tried charging your way out.”
“Heh, I’ve seen enough movies to know there are guards all over. Probably at important crossroads.”
“Oh my, so wise from one so young.”
“Ha-ha,” I said and stood my ground. “So go tell Chrissy what I said and leave us alone.”
“Chrissy?”
“What? I can’t be witty?”
She rolled her eyes as her horn blinded me for a second and I was caught in her magic. I struggled against it but it was pointless again. She put the sword on my bed and led me out of the cell, the door shutting and locking. Well… it is magic locked. Great. I saw the filly peeking from underneath the covers, her eyes locking with mine. I gave her a small smile and let myself be taken to the chamber.
But we weren’t going to the big room as we took a few noticeable turns away from it. “Where are we going?”
“The queen’s personal chambers.”
“Oh.”
She snorted and we went quiet. She finally put me down and I walked besides her. We both knew I wasn’t going anywhere so I might as play along for now. I heard some faint crying and muttering and I glanced around. We passed through what must be there prison, because ponies were in cages. But… they were fillies and colts too. Some other ponies were with them and I gave them a good look. From the way the fillies were reacting, it was like they were talking to their parents or something. Each tended to cry and the pony would hug them and brush their mane. Their eyes were closed, but I could see a faint glow under them.
“What’s going on there?” I motioned towards the cages.
“We’re feeding.”
“Feeding?” It took a second to click. “On fillies and colts?” I hissed.
“Obviously.”
I wish I had my sword still, I would’ve beaned her over the head before running over there and whacking each of them. Fury rose in my chest and I could tell she and every other changeling nearby sensed it. Each pony regarded me coldly, a flash of green before they returned to the fillies and colts in their care. “You’re stealing love from children?!”
“Orphans, more or less.” She said neutrally.
“How could you even do such a thing!?” Everypony was started to notice and guards appeared from the darkness.
She used her magic to force my mouth shut. I still screamed and raged at her. The filly in my cell made a lot more sense, I’ve had a few orphan friends back on Earth. The looks they gave were a bit… haunting to say the least.
We moved, more or less against my will, down a corridor and paused at a closed door. A row of changeling guards stood there solemnly watching us. They moved aside as we entered.
Chrysalis was waiting for us, sitting on her bed with a huge grin. The magic was released from my mouth and the door shut behind us. “How could you?” I asked, my voice barely containing my anger.
“Do what?” she asked innocently, a smug smile on her lips.
“You know damn well what I’m talking about!”
She laughed and motioned for the female to leave. The female nodded and left, giving me a last glare. “Oh Leon, the tales I’ve heard were correct.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“You truly are so predictable.”
I glared at her. “You’re feeding on the lives of innocent fillies and colts, orphans no less. You really have no shame.”
Her smile disappeared. “No shame? Shame is for ponies who can afford to worry about their appearance. Ponies don’t know what it’s like, to fight tooth and hoof for survival.”
“And here comes the big ‘boo hoo’ speech.” I said coldly.
“You do well to watch your mouth in my presence.”
“Or what? You gonna hit me? Torture me?”
She was quiet before leaning down to me. “I don’t need to hit you, I know exactly how to pull your strings. You share a cell with a little pegasus filly.”
My eyes turned hard as my body tensed. “Lay one hoof on her...”
“I already have, my little hero.” She whispered into my ear.
I don’t remember what happened next, Chrysalis was standing and then she was on the ground, my hooves around her neck. “Don’t you dare.”
She smiled and I flew off her, hitting the wall hard. “It would be wise to not lay your hooves on me ever again, if you value her life.” She said as she got up and loosened her body.
I gritted my teeth and got to my hooves. “Let the kids go and I might just spare your life.”
She laughed. “That’s rich boy, considering not even Princess Celestia could defeat me.”
“But what about Princess Cadance?” She froze and I smiled. “I’ve heard the story, Chrissy.”
Her eye twitched. “Chrissy?”
I gave her a grin and laughed. “Something wrong?”
She took a slow, deep breath. “I forgot how infuriating you humans are.”
I coughed. “Yeah, we are a pain in the neck, that’s for sure.”
“But that’s alright, I enjoy breaking the witty ones.”
“Ha, in your dreams Chrissy.”
She seemed to glow for a moment before green fire erupted around her. I blinked and felt my face get warm. When the fire vanished, Rainbow Dash stood in her place. Her eyes, however, were the same. Instead of the beautiful magenta, it was the cold eyes of Chrysalis. “What about now, dear Leon?” She walked over and nuzzled my cheeks.
“Get away from me.” I said through clenched teeth, my face red.
It killed me a little when she put on a pained expression. “B-but don’t you love me?” she whispered in Dash’s voice.
It’s just a changeling! It’s not really Dash! It was a lot easier to think then to believe. It took everything I had not to hug her. I shut my mouth and closed my eyes. “Chrissy, leave me alone.” I growled and pushed her away.
She laughed and I could feel she changed back to normal. “Oh, I’m going to have fun breaking you, my sweet, delicious human.”
I took a shaky breath and looked at her. “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but I’m going to stop you.”
“And whose being the cliché one now?”
“I stand by my words.”
“And I stand by mine.” She hissed and the guards entered, carrying me out. “Maybe one day you’ll understand.” She said, the door slamming shut.
They paused outside the door and before I even knew it, they were beating me. I tried to defend myself, but I could barely shield my head. They continued for awhile, my body screaming before I felt them pick me up. We went to my cell and they tossed me inside.
I groaned and looked around, the filly hiding underneath the covers. “It’s alright, they’re gone.” I whispered and pulled myself up. I staggered to my bed and fell on it. I sighed and closed my eyes. Everything hurt and I grabbed my sword protectively. I opened a swollen eye and saw the filly look at me sadly.
She hesitated for a moment before ever so carefully making her way to me. She stopped at the bed and looked extremely nervous, like a deer caught in the headlights. “S-sp-sparkling Shield.” She murmured quietly, with a hint of a southern twang. “That’s my name.” She said before running over and hiding in her bed.
I faintly smiled and nodded before falling asleep, the pain engulfing me.


--**--


Time was hard to tell inside the cave; what seemed like hours was probably only be a few minutes. I tried to pick the lock for the longest time. Sadly, it wasn’t as easy as they show in the video games and most of the time, I stood there getting frustrated. When I wasn’t trying to pick the lock, I sat at the door, watching the changelings and whenever I was led to Chrysalis, I tried to gather the guard movements. It was hard to do without drawing attention to myself, but I learned what I could.
They’d bring in food every seven odd hours and a few times times, they took Sparkling away. She’d always come back moments later, looking more tattered and exhausted. Then they’d take me away to Chrysalis. Sometimes, she’d be Dash. Others, maybe Twilight or any of the girls. She even transformed into Derpy a few times. Each time I’d fight against it and be beaten afterwards. 
Sparkling never ate or said much, mostly just ‘slept’ in her bed. I guess after being here for as long as I assumed she was, you’d give up hope. I couldn’t afford that, I wasn’t gonna sit there and die. So I kept at it, even though I knew it was pointless.
The female changeling was the one that usually got me. It had come a point of the day to argue with her. There was something about her, the way she acted, that made me hope that she wasn’t too happy with Chrysalis. But she always defended the Queen, even if she wasn’t excited about the way they use children. By her defense, the children would’ve died in the orphanage. And the changeling weren’t wrong, they could eat like normal ponies, or so she said. But love kept them strong and let them able to change into ponies. I tried to show her how evil it was, and she agreed. But they did save them from a slow death and they had just enough to stay alive. And besides, they were making them happy and playing with them. 
The worst part, most of the orphans weren’t old enough to understand what was going on and the ones that were had been here too long to argue. So it slowly became a game of her trying to convince me it was a good thing, not necessarily evil, to save the. No matter how they tried to sugar coat it, I knew it was bad, even with their ‘logical’ reasoning.
Pretty soon my body constantly hurt, a few cuts here and there. My right eye got swollen shut at some point and I think a wing might be broken. But I kept at it, no matter what. I stopped eating mostly, my stomach not able to handle it anymore. I just drank water. 
Sparkling watched me a lot, lying on her bed and I tried to get her to talk, but it usually ended when she turned away. So I murmured to myself. I had to, or I could hear the fillies and colts down the hall, playing and laughing with their changeling captors. I could tell by the haunted look in her eye that she could hear it too.
There were a few times where I found the cell door mysteriously unlocked and I took the risk and ran. Each time I got a bit further, but more of a beating when I got caught. After a few times, I finally got the jist of the layout and began planning my escape. I had to try before I got too weak to do it, I could tell I wouldn’t last much longer. I could feel myself starting to slow down and I would lose track of time way too often. Sparkling even came over a few times and had to shake me to get my attention.


--**--


The female opened the door to go to Chrysalis’ chambers once more. I staggered up and followed, making sure my sword was ready. We headed down a familiar path and she turned to look at me. I avoided her eyes and tried to act normal. They could sense emotions so I had to act usual or my plan would be over before I even acted.
We passed by the other cells and were coming up to the crossroads and I gathered all my energy that I’ve been saving. I took a deep breath and as soon as we hit the crossroad, I pulled out my sword and swung it at the guard. It smacked him right in the horn and he dropped with a yelp, clutching it. Guards swarmed me as I rolled out of the way and kicked one as it sailed by. I heard a crack and he stayed down.
I held the sword in my teeth, eyes darting in the darkness. My ear flicked and I hopped out of the way, landing on a changeling’s back and slammed the pommel into his head. Another tried to grab me with magic but my sword suddenly shone a flashing bright light. It blinded him long enough, and me, so I could accidentally smack him.
I took off down the corridor, gritting my teeth and putting on more speed. I could hear the buzzing of their wings as they chased me. I flew, heading back through the cells. I had to jump to avoid a tackle and run along the wall to avoid another. A changeling came swinging with a hoof-sword and I slid by, swinging my sword. He wasn’t ready and both swords hit him in the face, his sword nearly carving half-way through. It’s blood exploded everywhere and covered my face.
I closed my eyes and wiped them the best I could, heading back to my cell. I paused and got just enough moment and power to hit the lock. The lock shook and for a moment, I was afraid it’d stay shut. But it folded and the door swung open.
Sparkling peeked from the underneath the covers. I held out a hoof. “Come on! We don’t have much time.”
“None, I’m afraid.”
I whirled around and the brother was standing there, a dozen guards behind him. I turned to face him and held the sword even.
“Put down the sword and surrender. Surely you don’t think you can take on thirteen of us in your condition.”
“I can sure as hell try. I’m going home and taking Sparkling with me.”
“Oh, how cute. You got her to talk.” He chuckled.
I could feel the fury bubbling in my chest and adrenaline was kicking it into overdrive. My sword shone and I lunged at him. He slipped past me and went to hit my side. I whapped him with my wing and flipped over, landing a back hoof on a guard’s head. I nearly impaled my leg on his horn as we went down and I jumped out of the way.
The others reacted instantly and moved out of my way, dividing on each side of me. The rest of the fight was blurry, a flurry of sword fighting and sheer dumb luck I only got a few hits in return.
I panted and paused, trying to get air. I had most of them down, only two looked dead. The brother stared at me, his eyes betraying nothing. The remaining guards flanked him, so it was a six on one. I could hear the buzzing of wings approaching and surprised reinforcements took so long to get here.
The brother faintly smiled and the incoming buzzed stopped, before retreating. I cocked my head and listened before they disappeared all together. I was happy they were going away, not too sure I was thrilled as to know why.
“My queen is most interested in seeing this.” The brother said, apparently able to read my mind.
I gulped and tried to get my body ready for round two. The adrenaline was fading fast and I could stop from shaking completely. It took all my willpower to not collapse right then and there. He nodded and the remaining guards slowly walked away, slipping into the blackness. I knew they were watching and waiting for the signal from Chrissy to attack.
“So… it seems we get a repeat of before.” The brother whispered.
“Y-yeah… and I would’ve won, if not for your sister.” I croaked.
“But not this time. I seem to have a little bit of a advantage.”
“Aye,” I said and lunged. 
He ducked and pushed the sword away and went for a right hook. I dropped the sword and bit his hoof, grabbing the falling sword and swinging it. It smacked right into his side and he grunted before punching me. I gasped in pain and let go as he mule-kicked me away. I slid into the cell, the brother flying after me. I quickly rolled to the side and missed him stomping on my skull. I tried to do the same to him but he grabbed my hooves and flung me into the wall.
I sat there for a moment, dazed and saw him walking up to me. There was a blur of movement behind him before he screamed. Sparkling had flung herself and bit his wing. He tried to shake her off before he smacked his wing into the wall. She cried in pain and let go, falling to the ground in a ball. He went to step on her when I tackled him away, punching him in the eye.
He yelled and tried to get himself in a better spot to hit. I wouldn’t let him and we rolled on the ground, trying to beat each other senseless. Finally, he got on top and started bashing my head against the ground. Stars exploded and danced across my vision as I fought against his grip.
A flash of light and something hit the ground next to us when suddenly he howled in pain. Sparkling stood there, her entire body shaking as she held my sword the wrong way. I looked at what fell and saw half of his horn on the ground. He growled and kicked the sword out of her hooves and grabbed her. He squeezed her by the throat and she tried to get out of his grip. She couldn’t and started to shake, her body desperately trying to get air.
I crawled over and grabbed my sword. I yelled and stabbed him in the stomach, the tip of the blade nearly poking Sparkling in the belly. He let her go and she dropped to the ground. I pulled the sword out and he started to fall when pain erupted in my chest. I looked down and he had plunged a small hoof sword right into my chest. It was just below the shoulder. I whimpered and almost fell flat on my face, the world dimming. He hit the ground and he let go of the sword. 
He grinned. “Looks like it’s draw...”
I didn’t answer, instead put my sword away and made my way over to Sparkling before picking her up. I held her in the crook of my arm and she held on feebly.
“Where are you going?” The changeling asked, struggling to rise.
“Home.” I said and slowly made my way out of the cave. My body was about to cave in and I couldn’t see. I limped through the corridors, my blood making weird plopping noises as it hit the ground. We weren’t stopped or followed, shockingly; I half expected to be hounded by changelings the entire way out. 
But we got outside and nearly went blind from the light. Even though there really much different, the light in the cave was nothing compared to this. It was nearly as bright as the sun. I wobbled for a moment before gritting my teeth and continued forward, an eerie breeze causing us to shiver.


--**--


Chrysalis and the female silently watched them leave, the leaves rustling in the breeze.
“Why did you let them go my Queen?” the female asked quietly.
“Because I am not sure what Princess Celestia has done to him, nor why she allowed him to roam about her kingdom freely. It begs to be seen.”
“So why did you want us to capture him?”
“I wanted him to see that not all that remember his kind look back fondly. There will be things stronger than I that will hunt him down for vengeance.” She sighed. “It would be best if he stayed as a prisoner here… He had so much love to give.”
The changeling daughter hesitated for a moment. “You don’t think he’s like the previous one?”
“No, not at all. Foolish, easily predictable, and no control over his emotions. However he is a good swordspony.”
“I still can’t believe he beat Brother.”
“Indeed, I’ll have to talk to him about his failure.” She turned to leave. “But we don’t have to worry, if he survives the Everfree, he’ll have enough things to do for awhile.”
The female followed right behind. “What should I tell the others?”
“Pack up, we’re leaving.”
“As you wish my queen.” The two changelings disappeared back into their den, Chrysalis already plotting once more.


--**--


I’m not sure how I did it, but I managed to make it through the Everfree. I would’ve sworn that we’d be prime targets. Maybe I’m just dreaming and I’m still stuck at the changeling den. But I could make out the edge of the forest and tried to go faster.
My body didn’t agree and I tripped, my mind going faster than my body. I tried to protect her and landed with an ‘oomf!’. I laid there for a minute or two before forcing myself to rise. Everything hurt and I really just wanted to sleep. My eyes kept drooping close.
We made it out of the Everfree and I took a deep breath, the clean air giving me a second wind. I shambled my way down the road and headed towards Fluttershy’s place. It was the closest and I knew she’d be able to help.
We almost made it there before somepony spotted us. “Leon!” Dash yelled from the sky and quickly landed in front of us. She looked exhausted, small bags underneath her eyes. I heard galloping and saw the rest of the girls headed this way.
My brain instinctively reacted and I had my sword out, barely able to hold it steadily and took a step back.
“Leon… what are you doing?!” Dash yelled.
I started to hyperventilate. I really hope it wasn’t another changeling, I couldn’t do anything. My sword wasn’t glowing… but I didn’t know what that meant. So I had to think of something, something the real Rainbow Dash would know. My mind raced and everypony looked exhausted and horrified. “D-dash, w-what did you call Shining Armor?” Not the best question in hindsight, but I really wasn’t on my A-game.
She hesitated and tried to chuckle. “R-really? It’s me-”
“What did you call him?”
She rolled her eyes. “I called him pompous, then went on to explain why.”
I sighed and the sword dropped from my mouth, with me almost hitting the ground. Dash caught me just before. “W-what happened?” she whispered before noticing the filly. “Who is that!?”
“H-help her…” I feebly pushed her into Dash’s hooves.
Fluttershy came over and took her from Dash before rushing off with Rarity to the hospital. I leaned against Dash and struggled to stay conscious. “C-changelings came… threatened Derpy… Had to go. Led me into the Everfree, big nest of them.” I tried to talk fast.
“N-no, it’s fine. I understand, we figured it out.” She said, holding me close. Dash held me close and rested my head gently on her chest.
“Chrysalis was there… leading them…” The remaining girls gasped. “Kept transforming into you girls… I had to be sure… I-I’m sorry…” I closed my eyes as my body started shutting down. I could hear her heart and listened, ignoring the pleading Dash as I blacked out.
> R&R (Unedited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The sun was on its descent, the sky a mix of orange and purple. A few clouds lazily floated by, a gust of gentle wind making the trees shake. A lone kid sat on the beach, watching the sunset. The ocean lapped at the sand, almost touching the kid’s feet.
I pulled my feet closer to myself and sat there silently, a few kids splashing in a final game before they left. I pulled the jacket closer and stared off into space.
Maybe the kids were right, I am a monster. I mean… I could get them all sick, why should I try to play with them? I don’t want to hurt them. I sighed and looked at the darkening ocean. I’ve always heard drowning was a painful way to go, it’d probably suit me just fine. For a moment, I didn’t do anything and sat there, running a hand through the rough sand.
I got up and slowly made it to the ocean waters. It was freezing and I nearly chickened out right then and there. It was getting close to the middle of August and the waters were getting chilly. I gulped and went deeper, the water rising up to my stomach. I started breathing fast, going deeper till it was almost at my chin.
Someone screamed behind me and I heard a loud roar as a large wave surged for me. Before I could blink, it crashed into me and I was pulled under. I fought for the surface but something was forcing me down. My chest burned for air and I struggled for a few moments, my eyes burning from the water.
Not exactly how I... I trailed off, my eyes closing and I could feel myself sinking deeper and deeper.
Suddenly I heard a whoosh as flames erupted around me. I whirled around, the ocean gone and I was back in my house. It was being eaten alive by the flames, my only escape blocked. I tried to run but my legs wouldn’t move. I looked down and saw they were chained to the ground. I bent down and struggled to move them, my entire body moving in slow-motion.
The fire, however, was alive and heading my way. There was nothing I could do and stopped. I took a deep breath, trying not to cough as the fire slammed into me. I yelled in pain, my skin blistering. I cried for help, no one around. I thrashed about and felt my hands being held, sudden shackles forcing them to be still. I stared at the ceiling. “Haven’t I been through enough!?” I yelled at the top of my lungs, using the last air I had managed to get before slumping forward into black.


--**--


I took a deep breath, everything slowly coming back. I heard a faint hum of a machine to my right and tried to open my eyes. My right eye was still swollen shut and my left could only open a little before it shut, the light to bright. I grunted in pain and tried to move. My hooves felt heavy and most of what I did feel was in a cast.
There was something wet on my forehead and I could just see the faint outlines of a cloth. There was movement off to my side and slowly turned, the world spinning.
“Easy…” Nurse Redheart murmured, a smile on her lips as she checked a few things. “Welcome back Leon, you gave us quite a scare.”
I grunted and tried to get my mouth working. “Ugh…”
She took the cloth off my forehead and put a new one on, it was nice and cold. “You have a mild fever… seems you picked up something.”
“How is she?” I croaked.
“The filly?” She hesitated before walking out of my sight before returning in a moment, holding a clipboard. “Her fever broke yesterday… She was malnourished and can’t keep anything done really, so we’re giving her small helpings of soup and water. Seems to be holding. Her body is healing slowly, there was a lot of damage over time. She had a some infections but I think we got the most of it. There were quite severe markings on her neck…” She raised an eyebrow.
I coughed and tried to move but was stop by a strong hoof from Redheart.  I groaned and nodded, conceding. “She was grabbed by the throat…”
“I see… I thought as much…” She looked at the filly and my head fell that way. Sparkling was sleeping peacefully, the bags under her eyes mostly gone. What I could see of her coat that wasn’t bandaged was clean and groomed. Her mane was the same. “It was quite the challenge getting her to relax long enough to do it, but with Fluttershy here, we got her to calm down enough for us to give her a bath.”
“Thanks…”
“No problem, now we just gotta get you back to normal.”
“Heh, how bad was I?”
“Both of you were malnourished, so we’ll probably feed you the same when you’re strong enough. Few broken ribs, your wing was fractured in a few places. If that stab wound was any lower, it would’ve punctured your lung. But we got all the cuts and bruises, along with the stab wound closed and cleaned. We weren’t sure if we could break the fever though, you were thrashing about pretty bad.”
“Ah, I see…” I looked around and saw the window. It must’ve been two or three in the morning, the moon high in the sky. “W-what time is it?”
“Two thirty in the morning,” she paused, “you’ve been here for a week.”
“A-a week?”
She nodded. “You were in rough shape… It was a hit and miss a few times.”
“Oi…” I stopped and thought for a moment. “Wait… i-if I’ve been here for a week… how long was I captured?”
“A month.”
My eye widened. “I-I couldn’t tell… when there’s no way to track the sun, time is a really hard thing to keep track of.”
“I can imagine. Didn’t help you forced yourself to do most of it without sleep.” She had me answer a few questions, just to see how much I recovered. It seems I was going alright and I should be out in a week. 
Apparently Princesses Celestia and Luna were in town, having heard of my capture and escape. Not sure why but I had a feeling Twilight was responsible. They were probably discussing what to do with Sparkling. I wonder what Celestia will say about the changelings. Apart of me wants to go after them… but I know they’re long gone. Chrysalis is no fool. Even on the off chance I could lead them back, there won’t be any point.
As Redheart was wrapping up, my body decided then it was a good time to voice its complaints. Everything hurt and I was still so… tired. I yawned and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.
“That’s enough for tonight. We can continue this later.” Redheart was turning to leave when she paused. “Oh, also… I suggest thanking a certain pony that never left your side.” She said with a smile.
I turned and saw Dash asleep in a chair, her head resting against the wall next to my bed. A few books were stacked on my nightstand and a blanket was draped over her.
“No matter how much we tried to move her, she’d wind up right back there. So we stopped after the third night.” She shrugged and headed to the door. “It’s not my place to say, but it was… quite admirable… and adorable.” She teasingly added at the end. “Goodnight.” She was gone and the door clicked shut.
I sighed and looked at Dash. Her chin rested against her chest which raised and lowered slowly with each breath. I hissed as a pang of guilt shot through me. I knew that she’d be by my side, Element of Loyalty and all… but seeing her like this… I didn’t realize how much she’d devote to being with me.
Which made me realize how bad I screwed up. Not only did I get kidnapped, I let them go with all those fillies and colts. I did manage to rescue Sparkling however, so that’s a plus. I pulled a sword on the girls and nearly got Derpy hurt. Just by being here. I would’ve put a hoof over my face but that took too much energy.
I’m sorry I couldn’t save you all… My nose started running and I sniffed. The door creaked open and I opened my eye again, quickly trying to wipe my nose.
The female changeling stood before me, silently watching. Before I could even move, she was holding a hoof to my lips. “Peace Leon.” She whispered as she lowered her hoof.
“Says the one that kidnapped me.”
“I regret what happened but the Queen wanted to speak with you. I didn’t know her plans were to detain you.”
“Of course not, you only made sure I followed and took me to see her every day for a month.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry; but you must understand, you can’t say no to her.”
“I did.”
“And look what happened.”
I grunted. “So what do you want? To finish me off?”
“No, I wanted to ask you a question.”
“Then ask and get the hell out.”
She nodded before turning around and walking over to Sparkling. I growled and leaned forward, almost blacking out from the pain. She rested a hoof against the sleeping filly’s mane and brushed it. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you defy the Queen? What good did it do you?”
“Because the Queen may have kidnapped me, but I had ponies to protect.”
“The Elements?” She raised an eyebrow. “I doubt they need your protection.”
“No, you used Derpy against me, I wasn’t going to let her get hurt. I could never live with myself if that happened. Then I found out you’ve been brainwashing and feeding off children. I had to rescue them.”
She rolled her eyes. “I still don’t see the big deal.”
“They were children, literally at the end of their ropes. And you pretended to be their parents.”
“We made them happy, gave them food, shelter and protection.”
“Under lies and deceptions.”
She glared at me. “We are changelings, we feed off love. As you yourself is an example, we can’t get love by asking.”
“No, but you seemed to do fine before the whole Canterlot thing.”
“Because we’ve been feeding off orphans for years. You do not understand how long we were preparing for that assault.”
“Oh, I can imagine it was quite a while.” I rested against the pillows. “The fact is what you’re doing is wrong.”
“By trying to exist?”
“Not what I meant. I’m pretty sure there are ponies somewhere that would willingly give up love for you.”
“Would you?”
“No.”
“Exactly my point.”
I sighed and got a hoof to rub my eye. “Once again, we’ve come to a stand still. Is that the only thing you wanted to ask?”
“No.” She hesitated for a brief moment. “Why did you go back for the filly?” she asked in a whisper.
I opened an eye and looked at her carefully. “You can’t be serious.”
“Very. You could’ve escaped without half these wounds. But yet you chose to go back and endanger yourself to save her.”
“Obviously you haven’t heard of me, I’m stupid like that.” I licked my lips. “But I had to save her, because she would’ve died soon.” Before she could say anything, I interrupted. “You weren’t showing her the same kind of attention you were the others. She looked pretty bad when I got there and every time she came back, she had new wounds.”
“She made it harder on herself.”
“Did she not surrender love either?”
“It was hard to steal love by impersonating somepony that was dead.” The changeling dead-panned.
“Oh…” I guess that made sense… but it made me even angrier. “So you tried to steal love by using her dead parents?”
“We didn’t know at the time-”
“Do you have any idea how traumatizing that must’ve been?!” I said, a little loudly.
“Shut up!” The changeling hissed as she stomped up to me. “The world is not an easy place to live. You have to grow up fast or you die.”
“Heh, you sound just like Chrissy.”
Her eyes turned cold. “I am nothing like the Queen.”
“Oh? I can see her in you, you know. The way you argue things. That’s totally a Chrissy thing.” 
I could hear her fangs grinding against each other. “We know all about how you came to be, Leon. Do not look down at us.”
“So what? I killed myself… I think I know a thing or two about the world being rough.”
“Or you were just too weak to live in yours.”
“Funny, I seem to be doing just fine in yours.”
“For the time being. We are the least of your worries. Just wait till the other nations learn of your existence.”
“Oh, I’m shaking in my boots.”
She grinned and headed towards the door. “If you think we were a challenge, you’ll learn soon enough. Not all nations play as kindly as we do.” She turned to look at Dash. “Be careful who you show affection to. Not everypony can be protected.”
“Get out.”
She turned and left, the door shutting behind her. I sighed and leaned heavily against the pillows. I closed my eye and could feel my body starting to drift off. She’s right though...


--**--


Sunlight streamed in from the window, hitting me right in the eye. I turned my head away from it but I heard somepony giggle. I moaned, wanting to go back to sleep but opened my eye. Fluttershy was there, smiling at me.
“Good morning…” I muttered.
“Good morning, how are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked.
“Like I died… again… For the third time or so.”
“Oh, I can go get Nurse Stable…”
“I’m fine, how’s Sparkling?”
Fluttershy faintly smiled. “Slowly getting better. She actually just finished breakfast.” She moved out of the way to show the filly awake and sitting up on her bed, looking at me.
“Hi…” She said quietly before looking at her sheets. “T-thank you… for saving me…”
“It’s not a problem, glad I could. How are you feeling?”
“A lot better, Ms Fluttershy and everypony has been helping me…” She fidgeted, her eyes flickering up to mine before back at the bed. “S-sorry you got hurt because of me.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m just glad you’re okay.”
She looked at me and went to say something else but stopped when the door shot off its hinges and streamers flew into the room with a loud bang. She yelped in fear and nearly flew off the bed. Fluttershy and myself were right behind her.
Pinkie appeared behind her party cannon. “Oops, silly me. I forgot that I packed the cannon extra tight. Sorry everypony~!” She hopped into the room and Fluttershy gave her a small look.
“Hey Pinkie,” I said and waved a hoof.
“Hiya Leon!” She bounced over. “How are you? Better?”
“Mmhm…”
“Goody! Means I can throw-”
“No parties just yet,” I interrupted.
“Aww… No fun…” She pouted and hooked a hoof over. “Still gonna throw a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party for Sparkling.”
“I’m not sure that’s…” I stopped as she gave me the puppy eyes. I sighed. “Alright, alright…”
“P-party?” Sparkling squeaked.
Pinkie was next to her. “Well of course you need a party! You’ve been stuck in a nasty ol’ dungeon for like ever! You haven’t mingled or had any friends! And everypony needs friends! I mean, can you imagine living without your bestest friends~!? I know I couldn’t!”
“Pinkie, maybe we can have a low key party…” Fluttershy offered. At the look on Pinkie’s face Fluttershy eeped. “I mean, till she at least gets better.”
“You’re right Fluttershy, we have to wait till she get better.” Pinkie nodded, the matter settled. “Oh! I better go get Leon some breakfast before they put it away.” And just like that, she was gone, leaving streamers everywhere.
“I-is she always like that?” Sparkling asked in a hushed voice.
“That’s Pinkie for you…” I leaned forward, the dull pain in my head slowly receding.
Fluttershy was there in an instant. “You should lay down, you were hurt pretty badly…”
“I’m doing better…” I protested.
“I’d listen to Fluttershy, her instincts were correct.” Princess Celestia said as she stood in the door with a little smirk.
Everypony bowed in the room, Sparkling blue eyes wide in shock. Celestia smiled and motioned for us to rise before walking over to the filly. “Hello little one, what’s your name?”
“S-sparkling… Shield…” she whispered.
“It’s nice to meet you, my name is Princess Celestia.”
Sparkling went to bow and Celestia rested a hoof against her head. “There’s no need to bow.” She sat down gracefully on the floor next to the bed. I realized how tall she was… she was still almost level with Sparkling. I heard movement off to the side and saw a pair of guards flanking the door. “How are you feeling little one?”
“A-a lot be-better! T-thank you…”
Celestia smiled. “It’s my pleasure but I’d recommend thanking the doctors and Fluttershy. They were the ones that helped.” Sparkling nodded dumbly. Celestia smile quickly turned into a frown. “I know this is gonna be hard, but can I ask you a few questions?”
“O-of course Princess…”
I faded in and out of the conversation at this point, Celestia asking Sparkling questions about the hive, Chrysalis, her parents. I wanted to listen, but my brain was still fuzzy. They must’ve put me on some serious painkillers… I chuckled to myself and didn’t hear Celestia call my name till the third time.
“Leon?”
I blinked and rubbed my eyes for a moment. “Huh? Oh, uh… sorry Princess. I was lost in my own world for a moment.”
“It’s fine… I understand you’re still recovering but I need to get your view as well.” She said, holding a hoof up to her mouth to cover a smile.
I nodded and told her everything I could remember, save the meeting with the female changeling last night. I was surprised how impartial it sounded, I thought I’d be furious and upset. I guess I’m becoming a bit more cynical. Go figure. 
After I was done, we all sat in silence. I looked at Celestia and she looked back. I had a feeling she knew what was on my mind. “Princess?”
“Hm?”
“We’re not going after the others, are we?”
She blinked slowly. “What do you mean?”
“The other fillies and colts.”
She was silent for a moment before she seemed to age before me. I could see the thousand plus years in her eyes. “It would appear so yes…”
I sighed. “I thought so…”
“What do you mean we’re not?” Twilight asked, walking in with Princess Luna right behind. She turned to Celestia. “There are innocent fillies and colts being abused.”
“How?” I asked.
“Huh?” She looked at me.
“How are we gonna get them?”
“Well, we have Sparkling lead us…” She trailed off as Celestia shook her head.
“She doesn’t remember and neither does Leon.” The sun goddess stood and I could see why some ponies feared her. A burning desire for revenge bloomed into her eyes as she glanced at Sparkling. “I sent several ponies to comb the forest once I heard of Leon’s kidnapping and they haven’t found anything. Chrysalis is no fool. She would’ve left the moment these two escaped, on the off chance that they could lead us back.”
Twilight looked crestfallen and everypony avoided looking at her. “Oh… those poor fillies…”
“I know… I feel the same way you do.” I said. “What are we going to do Princess?”
She sighed and shook her head. “There’s nothing we can do…” Luna whispered.
“But, on the bright side, Leon is back and did save Sparkling. For that, you have my thanks Leon.”
“It was nothing, was the least I could do…” I faintly smiled.
“Breakfast~!” Pinkie’s voice carried down the hall as the bubbly pony hopped back in, carrying a tray on her head. She set it on my lap and smiled. “Oh, and I ran into another pony that was wondering if you were awake.” She said with an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle.
“Uh…?” I asked, confused.
“Hey Leon, how you feeling?” Dash asked, standing there with a grin.
My heart skipped a beat as she came over. “I’m doing a lot better hehe…”
She blushed faintly and I quickly looked at my food and shoved a mouthful in. Thank you Pinkie…
I could feel everypony’s eyes on us and I’m sure Dash could as well, if the blush and grin on her face said anything. She leaned forward and whapped my snout.
“Ow! What was that for?” I rubbed my nose.
“For drawing your sword on me when I was trying to help and for not telling me those were changelings! What in the hay were you thinking?!”
“Well it’s not like I could’ve said anything. If I did, they could’ve hurt Derpy. I didn’t want to take the chance.”
“I doubt that, they aren’t even home. Dinky and Rumble nearly set the whole thing on fire in a cooking accident. They’re having the entire place remodeled and they’re staying with Carrot Top.”
“Oh…”
“Yeah, ‘oh’. If you would’ve told me, we could’ve taken them.”
“I’m not sure about that… the female, she was scary good with magic. Like, Twilight scary good with magic. And I barely beat the brother in a hoof fight.”
Dash paused for a moment and sighed. “It’s never easy with you, is it?”
“Coming from you, no, no it’s not.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, her eyes narrow as we were snout to snout.
Pinkie pushed us apart. “Okay, okay, let’s calm down… No need for shouty pants.”
Me and Dash both glared at each other before turning away and everypony laughed. I sighed and rolled my eyes as Princess Celestia got up and smiled. “As much as I want to stay here and help, sadly, me and Princess Luna must depart. I’ve neglected my royal duties for long enough.” She turned to Twilight. “Twilight, would you like to accompany us?”
“Of course Princess.” Twilight smiled and the three of them went to leave.
A thought popped into my head. “Wait, Princess.”
She paused and looked over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“Why did you want Shining Armor to test my sword skills…” I trailed off, realization dawning on me. “You had a feeling something like this would happen, didn’t you?”
She blinked again, Luna’s face going neutral. “Perhaps… perhaps not.  Maybe I felt it’d be good for you to learn, just in case.” She smiled. “Goodbye Leon, I do hope you feel better.” She said before stopping at Sparkling and gently nuzzled her cheek. “And you too little one.” The three left, Twilight and Celestia talking about something.
Sparkling’s jaw was unhinged and she held a hoof to where the princess had nuzzled her. “Well that’s vague enough to be a hint.” I murmured to myself as Pinkie hummed something.
Fluttershy and Sparkling whispered between them and Fluttershy disappeared for a moment, returning with a wheelchair. She helped Sparkling in it and she called my name. “Leon?”
“Yeah?”
“I-is is alright if I take Sparkling to go see Nurse Redheart?”
“Uh… yeah… I’m not really sure why you asked me. Not like I’m in charge of her or anything...”
Fluttershy smiled and they left too. I watched them leave suspiciously, my brain trying to handle everything at once. “Is anypony else getting the feeling something happened when they weren’t paying attention?”
“Oh yeah, well, Sparkling sorta said she wanted to stay with you, since you did save her from the mean ol’ changelings. Everypony thought that’d be a good idea so she’s like your daughter now!” Pinkie said.
“Oh, I see… WAIT WHAT?” I asked in shock.
“Yeah, you saved her and there was a big argument about putting her back up into the orphanages… but she asked if she could stay with you.”
“...Well then…”
“Is that bad?”
“No, it’s just…” I looked down at myself. “I can barely take care of myself, let alone a filly…”
“Don’t worry about it; you’ll have Fluttershy and Auntie Pinkie to help! And I know Rarity would love to help as well. Oh, maybe even Applejack could help when she’s not busy.” She turned to Dash. “What about you Dashie?”
“Oh… uh, yeah, sure.”
“Yay! That means everypony will help you out so you’re not alone~” Pinkie grinned at me.
“Thanks… I guess… I’ll do my best…”
“That’s the spirit!” She grinned ear to ear before something chimed in her mane. “Oh no!” She pulled out an egg timer from her mane. “They’re gonna be burnt!” And just like that, she zoomed out of the room, the egg timer hitting the floor.
Me and Dash stared at it. “Should I  even ask?” 
Dash shrugged. “Better not.”
It was an awkward few minutes, neither looking at the each other. Finally, Dash rolled her eyes. “Well I guess since you’re not gonna say anything, I will.”
“Oh joy…” I muttered. “I love interrogations…”
She looked me in the eye. “What is wrong with you?”
I raised an eyebrow. “You know why I did it.” I crossed my hooves.
“I know, no matter how much I try and get it through your thick skull-”
“Well excuse me for trying to protect Derpy!”
“But you didn’t! All you did was get yourself hurt!”
“At the time, I did what I thought was right.”
“...I understand that, but can’t you admit you did the wrong thing?”
“Wrong how? I saved Sparkling, I’d call that a win.”
“You nearly died, you almost attacked us, and…”
I wonder if she could see my heart cracking with each jab because she trailed off and looked away. But she was right, I did something really stupid and it nearly cost me my life. I’ve never said I was a smart person, but damn, when I screwed up, I screw up royally. I glared at her, refusing to acknowledge the building wetness in the corner of my eyes. “And what? Anything else you’d like to accuse me of?”
“Leon… something happened to you while you were there… didn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
She walked up and rested a hoof against mine. I ignored my heart fluttering for a moment. “This isn’t you… You’re defensive, you’re snapping at everyone… Almost as if you’re afraid of something.”
I chuckled. “I’m terrified…”
“Of what?”
I glanced at the sheets. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me Leon…” she whispered. “It matters because you mean a lot to me…” Her cheeks turned slightly pink. “I mean,  you’re a good friend… I don’t like seeing you so…” She paused, trying to find the right word.
“What does it matter though Dash? Why should I say anything? All it’ll do is cause you to worry.”
“Exactly! It’s better if somepony knows your pain.”
“I disagree…”
She growled deep in her throat. “Dang it Leon, why won’t you ask for help?”
“Because I’ll get you hurt okay!” I snapped and she got blurry as tears rolled down my cheeks. “Just by knowing me...” I gestured at myself and Sparkling’s bed. “Look at me, I barely made it out of there… but she survived longer than I did. This entire thing was because of my ancestor that I don’t even know. Everything's gonna try and kill me because of him, no matter if I’m anything like him.”
I angrily smacked the bed. “Think about it… everything that’s happened… The secret meeting, the changelings… They even threatened that they were the least of my worries. Too much has happened in such a short time, I can feel the pressure building up inside. Celestia knew what would happen, she wanted me to learn how to protect myself so she sent Shining Armor to give me a practice fight. Hell, she even let me keep my sword!” My head hit the headboard. “There’s so much she’s not telling me… but what can I do? I understand that some things have to be kept a secret, that’s the nature of things… but at least a little knowledge or a warning would be nice.”
No matter what I do, I’m judged for something I have no control over. I’m not like my ancestor alright? I don’t want war… I don’t want anypony to get hurt because of me… but everypony is going to get hurt Just because they know me or are close to me. I have powerful enemies… and there’s nothing I can do about it.” I paused and sighed, wiping my eyes. 
“You want to know what happened? The changelings… broke me Dash. That’s what they did. They made me realize I really should’ve just stayed dead. Every day was torture, physical or mental. Chrysalis is an expert at what she does… there were times I thought I’d break and just give in to my… urges. I wanted to… but… something stopped me. Each time was worse… and towards the end, I knew I’d lose that fight.” I whispered. “Then, when we escaped, I did everything to protect Sparkling… but I’m no hero. I realized that. Saving Fluttershy was a fluke, the manticore just underestimated me. I should’ve died there. I had lost a lot of blood… I’m surprised I didn’t.”
“You wanna hear something funny? All these stories I hear of you or the girls saving everypony made me think that I could. Sure, I’m not as fast or strong as you… but I thought I could give it a try. And look what happened… I failed spectacularly…” I gestured at myself once more. “Look at the great and mighty hero now… barely alive.”
I took a deep breath and before I could continue, a pair of hooves wrapped around and pulled me forward. She forced me to rest my head on her shoulder as she held me tightly, not saying anything.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice rough.
“I’m sorry…” she whispered, holding me close.
“Heh, there’s nothing to be sorry about. You didn’t do anything…”
“I’m sorry for everything…” she said and nuzzled me gently.
I’m not sure what happened, but the tears wouldn’t stop. I held her tightly as I cried and she gently rubbed my back.


> Well Then... (Unedited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	If I’ve learned anything in this new life, it’d be hospitals are so... boring. I can see why Dash doesn’t like it in here. You’re stuck on a bed and can’t do diddly squat. It was a long week cooped up inside. 
Luckily I don’t remember much of it, the drugs they had me on were really strong. Twilight visited a few times and I asked if she could ask Celestia to repurpose my house to be more pony accommodating, since Sparkling couldn’t fly. Nor could she reach anything in the house as it was.
I spent as much time as I could with Sparkling, trying to get to know a bit about her. But she was so quiet and hesitant, she really didn’t open up that much. Unless Fluttershy was around, and even then, it was like pulling teeth from her. We asked if she remember where she was born; all she could recall was it was by the coast. I asked around and got a few replies. I discussed my plan with Dash and she liked it. Said she’d help too. Her and Derpy took off and must’ve found her hometown, they were still gone. Hopefully they still had what I wanted, although talking Twilight about it, maybe not. The outer towns don’t usually keep records that long.
It was a little something, but if there’s a chance I can make her happy, I will. Anyways, since Dash was gone, it was pretty uneventful; Celestia and Luna had to return to Canterlot, but they said they’d check up on us soon.
Once they left, I asked the girls if they wanted to help renovate a room for Sparkling. They all agreed and even said they’d help pay. I tried to refuse, but they insisted. Rarity said she’d help ‘spruce up the place, since a filly lives there now’. I’m not entirely sure what that means, but should be fun to see.


--**--


The rest of the week dragged on before we were finally free of the dreaded hospital. Sparkling and I walked out, Nurse Redheart waving goodbye, we waved back as Sparkling gulped; it was pretty early in the morning and ponies were wandering back and forth. I smiled at her. “Everything will be fine, I promise.”
“I-If you say so…” she murmured and followed closely.
It was strange, I figured the girls would want to see us out, guess they were busy. I took a bit of a detour and tried to avoid as many ponies as possible. Finally we hit my house and I stopped and gaped.
Last time I saw it, it was a bit run down and spiders were thriving in my house. Now… now it had a fresh coat of paint, the shingles were completely new and something frilly hung from the edge of the roof, in a lacy pattern. The windows had light green curtains and the windows themselves sparkled in the afternoon sun. Fresh flowerbeds sat under the windows and the grass was cut and watered.
I blinked. “Well then… They said they’d clean it up a bit...”
“Bit much?”
“Just a bit…”
I led her down the small path and opened the door, which didn’t creak. I grinned at the thought and nearly had a heart attack when something exploded with confetti raining on us. I took a sharp intake of air and somepony darted underneath me.
“Surprise!” A chorus of voices called out and I realized my house had visitors. All the girls were there, each with a big smile; I grinned back and noticed Dash was back too. I went to say thanks when another pony came out of my kitchen.
His coat was black, mane and tail light bluish gray, with a streak of lighter blue running down the middle. His cutie mark was a thundercloud with a single lightning bolt. He looked really familiar… but I couldn’t place his name. I know I’ve seen him a few times…
“Thunderlane?” I asked and tilted my head.
“Yo?”
“What are you doing here?”
“He’s with me,” Dash said before she walked forward and gave me a hug. As she let go, she slipped an envelope to me. “Found it.”
“Thanks Dash… but I-”
Thunderlane walked over and Dash let go before he kissed her on the cheek. I blinked and was sure my mouth dropped a bit before it registered. “So… you two are together now?”
They nodded and Dash refused to look me in the eye for some reason. “Oh… well, congrats...” It quickly dropped to an awkward silence as the other girls were watching us carefully. 
Dash coughed and grabbed Thunderlane’s hoof. “Well we gotta go, we’ll catch ya later.” She forced her way past us and left, Thunderlane right behind her.
I watched them go and knew the girl’s eyes were on me, waiting for my reaction. I didn’t feel anything honestly, which was surprising. I half-expected to feel something… but there was nothing. Just emptiness. I felt a hug and turned to see Pinkie, trying to give me a grin.
“We didn’t know when the right time would be…” Rarity said, looking morose.
“Hey, it’s alright. It’s not like we were together or anything.” I forced a chuckle. They still looked sad. “Come on now, it’s supposed to be a party. We got out of the evil hospital and now we have a guest.”
Sparkling peeked out from underneath me and waved. The girls seemed to relax but I caught Fluttershy’s eye. She faintly smiled as the girls gathered around Sparkling. The party dragged on for a long time, time flying by. I let them talk and wandered around the house.
Everything was newly painted or refurbished and I could barely tell it was mine. I went into the kitchen and stared at the new ice box they put in, the chrome still gleaming. I walked over and put a hoof on the counter, I could still smell the last coat of soap on it.
“W-what do you think?” Fluttershy’s voice came from behind me.
“It’s so new… I remember being amazed at it when you guys did this for me when I was human… but this is incredible.”
“Princess Celestia hired only the best craftsponies and plumbers.”
“I can tell…”
We sat in silence for a moment, the only noise the muted conversations from the living room before she looked at me sadly. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Hehe, of course. I mean…” I hesitated, trying to find the right words. “It’s just… Maybe I was going crazy, but I thought she liked me.”
She knowingly smiled. “Do you like her?”
I blinked, caught off guard. “What?”
“Do you like her?” she repeated.
I paused to think about it. “That’s the thing, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter anymore, she’s happy with Thunderlane. And that’s all that matters, right? Her being happy?”
She walked over and gently hugged me, patting my back. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be, it’s not your fault.” She nuzzled my cheek and I felt my face burn before she let go. “Besides, I’m sure I was just being crazy. Who would like me?” I laughed as she gave me a glare.
“Oh there you two are. Are you ready to go?” Rarity asked, hiding a smile behind a hoof.
We looked at each other and nodded; the girls formed up on me and Sparkling and we headed towards the market. I bent down and Sparkling climbed onto my back, able to hide from most ponies. Sadly, Pinkie, Twilight, and AJ couldn’t stay. Apparently the Cake twins needed foalsitting and Pinkie was the only one available. Twilight had something from Celestia to do, and AJ had to get ready for prime-time applebucking season.
We said our goodbyes, but thankfully Rarity and Fluttershy stayed with us as we went to the store. It was a small one off the side of the Quill and Sofa store, which confused me. Why would the guy selling sofas also sell quills? Never really got an answer for that.
The bed store was a small one story building, a sign with a bed and sleeping pony on it. We opened the door, a little bell jingling off the top. Rows upon rows of beds greeted us, save for a small area off to the left where a pony sat reading a magazine. He had slicked by grey mane and a big smile turned his head from the counter. “Morning folks!” he greeted, closing the magazine.
“Morning,” we said in sync.
He got up and walked towards us, his tan coat groomed to perfection. His smile was nearly blinding as he got closer and his brown eyes quickly studied us. “So what can I get for you today?”
“We’re merely browsing.” Rarity quickly said to stop his pitch.
“I see, well…  if you need any help, I’ll be over at the counter.” He said, nodding to our group before going back to the counter and opening up a magazine.
I bent down and Sparkling hopped off my back. “Alright Sparkling, we’re here for you to pick out any bed you want.”
“A-are you sure?”
“Mmhm, I want you to be happy with it so don’t mind being picky.” I smiled.
She paused and looked around before she grinned and walked up to the most basic bed, just a wooden bed frame with a mattress. She hopped up and laid down. She squirmed in it for a moment before she buried her face into the pillow. “I like it,” she said after a moment of lying down, her mane a mess.
Rarity twitched. “Are you sure you don’t want something more… extravagant?” she asked. Sparkling shook her head as she was encased in a blue aura. “Come darling, let’s pick out a better bed for you!” Rarity wouldn’t listen and dragged her off, Sparkling not even struggling against the magic.
She seemed very lost and concerned as we followed Rarity. She let Sparkling down and picked out a bunch of over the top beds. Sparkling would hop up and try it out, but in the end she didn’t like them. There was one that made Rarity’s eyes sparkle. “This is the perfect bed!”
Sparkling struggled to get up and nearly sank to the bottom. “What is this!?” she squeaked, her voice panicked. She flailed on the bed, trying as hard as she could to get to the side, but kept fumbling back into the middle. The bed rippled with every motion and her eyes stared horrified at every little wave.
“A water bed~ I’ve always wanted one, but with Opal…”
I helped Sparkling off and we wandered the rest of the store for another hour. We tried a bunch of different beds, Rarity remarking on each one. But Sparkling didn’t want any, no matter how persuasive Rarity was. Finally I bent down to her. “You still want that first bed?”
She fidgeted nervously and looked at the ground. “Mmhm…”
Rarity gasped. “But why darling? It’s so… simple...” She said distastefully.
She looked up at us. “But it’s comfy… and nice. I mean, a bed is just a place to sleep, right? Besides, I’m used to a dirty mattress on the floor or a sleeping bag. That bed is luxurious.”
I chuckled. “Well, looks like we have our pick.”
Rarity sighed but relented as Sparkling hopped happily with us as we headed to the counter. “Excuse me,” I said.
The salespony quickly looked at us. “Did you finally decide on which one?” I nodded and pointed. He deflated a little. “Are you positive I can’t get you to change your mind? We’re having a sale-”
“No sir, I’m quite sure I want that one.”
He sighed and nodded. “If you’re sure…” He paused once more, just to make sure. I glared at him. “Fine, fine. It’ll be two hundred bits.”
“For that…? That’s outrageous.”
“I’m sorry ma’am, but it’s a very sturdy bed.”
“It’s literally a bunch of wood and mattress.”
“But the mattress is full of special clouds from Cloudsdale. And that wood was crafted by the finest woodspony from Hoofington.”
Rarity went to argue more but I shook my head. “It’s fine Rare.” I hoofed over the bits and he greedily took them.
He walked into the back for a moment before he returned, two earth ponies following him. They grabbed the mattress and frame and loaded it to a wagon out back. He held out a hoof and I shook it. “Now if you need another bed, I’ll give you a deal.”
“Heh, no thanks, I’m good.”
“If you say so… have a good rest of the day.” He said and waved, going back into the store as the two earth ponies hooked themselves up to the harnesses.
Our group led them to my house and they sighed before they stopped in front. They took the mattress out of the wagon and made their way slowly upstairs to her new room. We got out of their way and let them set it up. I had to go back to the wagon to get a few tools for them, since they couldn’t carry it all. After they built the bed, Rarity came up and forced them to move it against the far wall, which they grudgingly did. As they packed up and got ready to leave, I rushed into my savings and tipped them a few bits.
“Why are you being so frivolous with your bits?” Rarity asked as the two earth ponies left, wagon in tow.
“Because I know what’s it’s like to do manual labor and get barely anything in return.” I grinned and turned around, going back inside.
Rarity sighed and shook her head, following me inside. “Very well, I guess it’s understandable.”
Fluttershy was helping Sparkling with her bed and I finally got a good look at the room. Rarity had really went all out on the room. It had a fancy rug, thick curtains with frilly lace. There was a chest full of toys in the corner, a table underneath the window. Next to that was an empty bookcase next to it, a few bits of dust stained it. Her closet door was open, completely void of anything, except for a dresser.
Sparkling surveyed her room and gulped. “It’s so… big…”
“Heh, sorry about it being empty. We didn’t know what you’d want…”
“No, no it’s fine…” She got off the bed and hugged Fluttershy and Rarity. “Thank you for helping me…”
“Of course darling… It reminded me of when I help my little sister.” Rarity giggled.
“You have a little sister?”
“Mmhm, she’s only a few years older than you actually. I’m sure you’ll meet her soon; you and she would get along splendidly.”
“M-maybe… Ah don’t know…” Sparkling quickly walked over to me and hugged me. “Thank you…” she whispered.
“Heh, don’t mention it, just trying to give you everything you need.” I patted her head as she hugged me tighter.
“As much fun as I’ve had today, it is getting a tad late and I must return to the Boutique. I still have some orders I can get through.” Rarity said with a flick of her mane.
“Thanks Rare, you helped a bunch.”
“It’s no problem darling, glad I could help.” She walked over and hugged both of us. “Take care of yourselves, and you too Fluttershy.” She winked and walked out of the room, her hooves clopping against the stairs.
Fluttershy and I shared a look. “Wanna stay for dinner?” I asked.
“If it's okay, I mean, as long as I wouldn’t be a bother…”
“Nah, its fine. I was gonna go out to eat. I have to go to the store tomorrow. I’m sure I don’t have any more food.”
“Heheh, yeah… we had to take all your food out… It was pretty bad…”
“Dang… Oh well.” I chuckled and looked at the two. “Alright ladies, where are we eating?”
“Well… there’s a small little restaurant that opened up not that long ago…”
“Oh?”
“Mmhm, it’s mostly an outdoor restaurant. I’ve been there a few times, it’s nice.”
“What’s it called?”
“Mossy Gardens…”
“Sounds good to me. Let’s go!” I said and led us down the stairs.
The sun was on its descent and there wasn’t as many ponies out as there was before. We showed Sparkling a few things around town, just so she’d semi-know her way around. She kept close to us and whenever a pony would walk by, she’d hide from them the best she could.
We finally got to the restaurant and took a seat. It wasn’t crowded at all, maybe two or three couples. The waitress came by and took our orders. As we waited, I got Fluttershy to talk about all her animals and Sparkling’s eyes lit up.
They started talking about them and I just sat and watched. It was good to see both able to get out and not freeze up in front of other ponies. Food arrived and we ate, it was surprisingly good. I let Sparkling try some of mine and she really liked it so we switched. Heh, her food wasn’t that bad. Ponies began to thin even more, leaving us and just one more couple. A few ponies would trot by, but most were inside by now.
We finished and I paid as we left; Fluttershy wasn’t too happy about it and promised she’d get the next one. I nodded before all three of us walked towards Fluttershy’s house.
We reached her front porch and she stopped. “Thanks for dinner Leon… it was wonderful.”
“Anytime, thanks for coming and helping out.”
She smiled and bent down to give Sparkling a hug. “You be good for him okay?”
“I will,” she squeaked as I laughed and Fluttershy hugged me.
“G’night,” I said as she let go.
“Goodnight you two,” she waved as we turned around and headed home.
I heard the door click behind us and sighed. “That was nice, glad she could stay for dinner.”
“Mmhm… Hey Leon?”
“Yeah?”
“You like her, don’t you?”
I nearly tripped. “Whaaa?”
She laughed, a high pitched giggle. “Well, it’s just… maybe I spent too much time around changelings, but I could almost see it.”
“Hehe… it’s funny you mention it. I’ve talked to her about it, I do love her, but as a sister. She was the closest thing I had to a friend when I arrived here.”
“W-what do you mean? A-arrived here?”
“Oh yeah… You don’t know. Well… it’s a long story that’ll have to wait till we get home.”
“O-okay…” she scooted closer as a pony walked by. I lifted my wing and pushed her close.
“It’s okay…”
“I-I know, but it’s just hard… Ah see another pony and Ah expect it to be a changeling…” she whispered.
“I know… I had the same for a bit…”
“How’d you beat it?”
I shrugged. “Dunno, it stopped when I finally accepted that not everypony was out to get me.” I bent down and she climbed up. She rested her chin against my head. “It’s gonna take some time but I’ll help you in anyway I can.”
She smiled and closed her eyes as we walked home in silence. “Hey Leon?”
“Yeah?”
She hesitated and her wings fluttered. “Why did you come back to save me?” she whispered.
“Because…”
“Because?”
I sighed. “Because… I couldn’t save everypony. And I made the choice to save you. I didn’t know you, but I could feel your pain… You weren’t like the others and you were gonna die soon… I couldn’t just not help you.” I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know, as soon as I saw you, I knew I’d do anything to protect you. Call me weird and crazy all you want, just what I believe.”
She was quiet and her body shivered a few times as I felt the tears hit my mane. “You got hurt because of me though…”
“I always will to protect you, it’s what family does.”
“But we’re…”
“You chose to live with me, that means we’re family. One way or another, we’re family. We may not be flesh and blood, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be family. Fluttershy and the others are like my family here and now you are too.”
She nodded and wiped her eyes. “Come on, let’s go.” I flapped my wings and took off. She eeped in fear and we flew home. She stood up and let the night wind blow through her mane. A few tears sprinkled past and fell to the ground.
I landed and we walked inside, quickly locking the door and turning off the lights. We made our way upstairs and she paused at her door. “What’s wrong?”
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“Is what okay?”
“All this money you’re spending on me... “
“Sparkling…” I bent down to be level with her. “I wasn’t going to let you sleep on the couch or the floor. You’re gonna be living with me and you’re gonna have to get used to a lot of new things. And I’m probably gonna be mean sometimes, but parents got to be at times.”
“Heh, I know…” She hopped up on her bed and stared at the ceiling. “It’s just… weird. I’ve only known how to live outside and in a cave… Having a room, an actual room all to myself… It’s a bit…”
“Intimidating?”
“Mhm…”
“You’ll get used to it. And hey, when you get friends, you can have all sorts of sleep overs and whatnot.” I grinned.
She giggled and yawned, rubbing her eyes.
“Tired?”
“Very… it’s been a long day.”
I chuckled a bit. “Yeah… oh, before you go to bed, I have to give you something.”
“What?”
“Wait right here,” I said and rushed down the stairs, grabbing the envelope from the counter. I walked back upstairs and she sat on the bed. I hoofed it to her and she took it.
“What is-”
“Open it.”
She looked at me quizzically before opening and pulling out its contents. She stared at the paper in her hoof. “W-what is this?”
“It’s your birth certificate.”
“But why-”
“Because I needed to know your birthday, you know. Proper father stuff.” I sat on the bed next to her. “There’s one more thing.”
There was still a paper folded in half and she unfolded it. She sat there in shock, tears forming in her eyes. Her hooves shook the picture she held.
It was a stallion and mare, smiling happy at the camera. They were in their wedding outfits, standard tuxedo and white dress. Ponies stood next to them, all grinning ear to tear.
The stallion had a dark brown coat, not a hint of silver on him. His chocolate brown eyes gleamed in the still photograph, his cutie mark hidden by his black tuxedo. His black mane had some grey in it, but just at the temples with a horn parting it in the middle.
The mare was a stunning chestnut orange with beautiful sea-green eyes. Her sandy blonde mane was caught in a draft, forever gently waving. Freckles dotted her face, some hid by smile lines. Her cutie mark was hidden as well.
“D-daddy… a-and Mama…” She sniffed.
I put a hoof around her and she leaned into me, crying. “I thought you’d like to have something to remember them by. And to know they can forever watch over you. I know I’m not your real dad, but I’ll do my best to take care of you.” I whispered, rubbing her back.
Her body shook, the picture falling to the ground as I pulled her into a hug. The night continued on, a lone filly cry filling the still air.
> Hearth Warming Memories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Autumn passed in a blink of an eye, snow already covering much of the land. I guess being stuck in a cave for a month kinda screws with your sense of time and summer and autumn vanished. It seemed like yesterday that we had just finished that Winter Wrap-Up song and dance.
A week ago they held their annual ‘Running of the Leaves’ thing. Not entirely sure what it was about, but it was a nice get together for the town. The doctor forbade me from partaking, wanted to be sure I wasn’t going to strain anything, so I sat on the sidelines and watched with Fluttershy and Sparkling.
Apparently last year Dash and AJ got into a big contest and tied for dead last and it seemed like they were repeating the same mistakes; the two trying to out boast each other. Strangely enough, didn’t see Thunderlane anywhere near her.
Sadly whenever me and Dash talked, there was something off about it. It was like she didn’t want to spend too much time with me or be around me. I’m not sure, but whenever I’d look into her eyes, there was something… there. I just couldn’t put my hoof on it. We’d get as far asking how the other’s day was before it’d lull into awkward silence or she’d leave.
Anywho, Twilight came in first place much to the surprise of everypony, with Dash and AJ coming in dead last again. Looks like history repeats itself, amongst the laughs of many ponies. Derpy got fifth place, tumbling at the end and nearly took out the finish line.
A few days back we held a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party for some new unicorn. Name was Inky… Inky something, I can’t recall his last name. Nice guy, was bedazzled about everything, I remember feeling the same during my own party. Pinkie was dragging him everywhere and he could barely keep up. After Pinkie left him alone, I saw him hesitantly wander up to Derpy. The two of them hit it off well, made me smile.
I kept seeing the two of them together too over the next few days, both laughing and smiling. I couldn’t stop grinning, glad she found somepony to make her happy. There seemed something off for him too though, like he was burying his pain. Hopefully Derpy could help him with that. She’s good at that sorta thing.
Sparkling was doing much better as well, the doctor said she’d be fine soon enough. Her body had healed nicely, if not fast, after all the abuse it endured. She was still a tad timid, not liking the party for Inky. Said it was too loud and filled with too many ponies, which I agreed with. But you don’t not come to a Pinkie party. It helped that she had the CMC, but I’m not sure about those fillies. Always trying reckless things to get their cutie marks. Last time I caught them was when they went manticore fighting in the Everfree.
Me and Fluttershy spent a lot of time together, which made me happy. It was just like last year, save I wasn’t in the hospital. When I asked what her plan was, she said she didn’t have any, well alone that is. Usually every year the girls would get together and have a little party. She invited me, said me and Sparkling were more than welcome.
I’ve been working hard to make up for missing so much work. What was strange was I wasn’t working with Dash anymore. When I got back, I was re-assigned to work with Flitter. Don’t get me wrong; she’s nice, a good flyer, we get along well enough, and quite funny… but she wasn’t Dash. And every time I went to talk to Dash about it, she wouldn’t answer or said she was too busy.
I brought it up with Fluttershy, who only looked at me sadly and gave me a hug. I will never understand these mares as long as I live. Why can’t I just get a straight answer? Why does everything have to be in riddles? Ugh, so infuriating.
Since I had to go back to work, Fluttershy volunteered to watch Sparkling, thankfully. She also homeschooled her a bit, to help her catch up with the other fillies. We talked and she wants to enroll as soon as possible. I brought it up to Ms Cheerilee, who said she could right after the holidays. Sparkling liked her and couldn’t wait; we went shopping for school supplies, Sparkling excited and nearly bouncing around. It was good to see her in such good spirits.
One of the biggest challenges was she didn’t know how to read. We had to teach her, and when I say we, I mean mostly Ms Cheerilee and Fluttershy. I just sat back and watched. Anyways, after that, she read everything I had and we had to go the bookstore. Guess her and Twilight have something in common now.
During one of our trips to the bookstore, I happened to catch a glimpse of a Daring Doo book. I’m not even sure how, it was buried in a pile of other random books. Without even thinking, I snatched it up and bought it. It’s sitting on my dresser now, just looking lonely. I don’t even know if Dash has this book, but she probably does. I mean, it is Daring Doo, she has at least three copies of each book.
Christmas or Hearth Warming, as it was known here, arrived quickly and I barely had any time to prepare. It was a week away and I scrambled to get most of my shopping done. Rarity helped me decorate, well, more of she decorated for me. After she left, me and Sparkling toned it down a bit and left to get a tree.


	--**--


I brought in the box of lights, putting them on the table as Sparkling came out from underneath the tree, a watering pot in her mouth. I turned and smiled, the tree we picked out was just as grand as the ones back home, a full pine tree with just a hint of snow on its branches. The tip of the tree nearly touched the roof and took up a good part of the living room wall.
She turned and looked at the lights. “Oh my… a-are you sure all of them are gonna fit?”
“That’s what the pony said.” I shrugged and unboxed it, blinking in surprise. I turned the box over and read how many lights, there was a lot more than I thought. “Oh wow… uh, I may have went a bit… overboard…”
She was silent for a moment as I started the weary process of untangling the lights. “Hey Leon?”
“Yeah?”
“Why are we doing this again?”
I looked up at her quizzically, lights slowly piling on the floor. “Doing what?”
She waved her hoof at the decorated room, the stockings hanging next to the fireplace. “All of... this, I don’t understand. Why go through all this hassle for something you’re gonna have to take down anyways?”
“Oh.” I paused and scratched my head. “What I always thought or at least was told, was it a good excuse to spend time with family. Especially after a long day at work, dealing with that stress, it lets your mind wander through memory field. It helps you unwind from a long day.” I walked over to the tree, fighting with it. “I mean, sure, it sounds weird if you think about it, but it’s just the thought of decorating for a holiday that means so much to everypony…” I shrugged. “I dunno how else to explain it, it’s a tradition I suppose.”
“Oh... “ She hesitated for a moment before she walked over and helped me with the lights, holding the slack I nearly tripped on. “Leon?”
I wrapped the first string of lights on the tree and grinned when they stayed. “Yeah?”
“Thank you…”
I patted her head with my wing. “Don’t mention it kid, now help me with these lights.”
She giggled and nodded. For the next few hours, we struggled to put the lights up, without toppling the tree. Finally we got it, with only minor electrical burns. Whoever figured out how to bind magic in these little bulbs are geniuses, because I never would’ve thought it was possible. It was very similar to electricity, but I guess it’s only a matter of time before they got to that point. I went over to the box of ornaments we bought and one by one, let her decorate the tree.
I watched her decorate the tree, pausing for a moment to look to see where it needs more attention. She found a spot, near the top of the tree, just out of reach. She tried to reach it anyways, the branch just missing the hook. She sighed in frustration and leaned up on her tip-hooves, tongue slightly out in concentration. She started to teeter as her wings buzzed to life and tried to stabilize her. I got up and stood next to her to help, but she shook her head. “I… got it…” She muttered before the ornament safely hooked on the branch. She turned and gave me a toothy grin, her tail swishing back and forth.
When we were finished, I grabbed the remote and pushed the button. The lights flickered on after a moment, her eyes grew wide with wonder, her mouth slack.
“What do you think?”
She was enthralled by it, the lights’ reflection dancing across her eyes. “It’s… so pretty…”
“Aye,” I wrapped a wing around her and pulled her close. “Thanks for helping.”
She blushed and nodded, leaning against me for a moment. “Hey L-leon...?”
“Hm?”
“Thank you for everything…”
“No problem kid, glad you finally got a place to call home.”
“You know you didn’t have to.”
“Aye, but I wanted to. You deserve some happiness.”
“So did the others…”
“They will… eventually… I promise you…”
She was silent for a moment, watching the lights. “You… you think they’re okay?”
I sighed and looked at the tree, wondering how many of those other fillies and colts knew about decorating. “I honestly don’t know Sparkling. Whether we like it or not, I know Chrissy won’t let them suffer unnecessarily.” I gritted my teeth. “I guess… that’s the best I can say.”
Suddenly there was a very quiet knock on the door and we both grinned at each other. Sparkling dashed off and beat me to the door, opening it to reveal Fluttershy, hoof hovering to knock again.
“Oh, sorry… I didn’t mean to dist-oh!” She squeaked as Sparkling nearly tackled her in a hug.
For a moment, Sparkling hugged her tightly before letting go, both embarrassed. “S-sorry…” she said bashfully.
Fluttershy smiled. “I-it’s okay, I’m glad to see you too.”
“Hey Flutters, come on in.” I asked, a small smile on my face as well.
“Oh, sorry,” She blushed and walked inside. She wiped her hooves on the mat and went to take off her scarf. “I was just wondering if you-” She noticed the tree and her eyes twinkled in the light. “Oh my, it’s beautiful…”
“Good tree huh? I picked it-”
“I helped!” Sparkling blurted.
I rolled my eyes and Fluttershy giggled. “Okay, we picked it out.”
Sparkling grabbed Flutter’s hoof and dragged her over to the tree. “D-did we do a good job?” She asked, a little flustered.
Fluttershy was silent for a moment, a hoof on her chin as she inspected the tree closely. I hid the grin with a hoof, trying to swallow the laugh as Sparkling nervously danced on her hooves.
“I’d say… you did…” Fluttershy glanced over and laughed. “You did amazing, both of you did.”
Sparkling let out a sigh of relief as Fluttershy pulled her into a hug. Sparkling smiled and nuzzled into her chest, her eyes closed.
“So what’s up Flutters?” I asked, trying to pick up around the living room.
“Oh! Right! Well, I was wondering if you’re going over to Twilight’s for Hearth Warming eve… I mean, if that’s okay to ask…”
Before I realized it I blurted out, “are you sure you want me there?”
She looked at me, confused, Sparkling was watching me, carefully. “What do you mean?”
I shook my head and waved a hoof dismissively, making sure my face was hidden. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”
Sparkling and Fluttershy shared a look. “A-are you sure-”
“It doesn’t matter Flutters, it really doesn’t.” I sighed and turned to them, forcing a smile. “Besides, I’m not needed there, right? If Dash is there… maybe, maybe it’s better for me not to be.”
“That’s not how it is…”
“It certainly seems that way. Besides, you girls have been friends long before I came along. I don’t need to be at every party.” I shrugged, putting the empty light box on top of the ornament one.  “I’m used to being alone, Sparkling, you should go…”
“Is that what this is all about?” Fluttershy asked in a small voice.
“Eh, maybe. I don’t know. It just feels… weird. But it is what it is.”
“Leon, you should try and talk to her-”
“Don’t you think I’ve tried Fluttershy? I’ve tried everything, going over to her house, trying to get her at work… She’s avoiding me…” I looked at the two of them. “Did I do.. Something wrong?”
“Well, you did point a sword at her.” Sparkling added and wilted under our gaze. “What? It’s true…”
“Leon, please, come over to Twilight’s. I’ll try and get her to talk to me before then…”
“Don’t bother, if she doesn’t want to be my friend, that’s fine. I’ve gotten over enough friendships.”
Fluttershy glared at me and I nervously scratched against the floor. “You can’t keep doing that.”
“What?”
“You know exactly what. Pushing it off or burying it inside.”
“I know Fluttershy, but it’s the best option right now. I’m not about to start something this close to Christ-I mean, Hearth Warming.”
Fluttershy sighed and walked over to me, giving me a brief hug. “If you want to talk, I’m here for you.”
I hugged back. “I know Flutters, and thanks.”
Fluttershy nodded. “I have a few errands to run, but I’ll be back later, okay?”
“Sounds great, I’m cooking dinner, trying out something Pinkie was telling me about the other day.”
Fluttershy faintly smiled and headed towards the door, waving goodbye. It was quiet in the house once she left and I took a deep breath.
“Were you serious?”
“About what?”
“What you said with Rainbow Dash. Do you think it was better if you weren’t around?”
I let out all that breath and sighed. “I don’t know kid, definitely feels that way.” She blinked and tilted her head. “What?” I asked.
“You’re an idiot.”
My mouth opened up slightly, surprised. “W-what?”
“I don’t believe I stuttered.”
I glared at her but she didn’t flinch. “What do you know? What would you know?”
“Not much, but enough that you’re a fool if you think your presence wouldn’t be wanted because of Rainbow Dash. You seemed to have forgotten who was there every day you in the hospital, or the fact that she searched for you every day you were gone. Who was the first pony to find you afterwards?” She walked over to the staircase. “You need to realize that maybe you’re not the only one dealing with some conflicting issues. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but it’s obvious she cares for you. I mean, even a useless pony such as myself have seen it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to see how Daring Doo escapes the collapsing temple.” She said and before I could reply, she disappeared upstairs.
I stood there in shock, my mouth slack. I looked around the room and decided to throw the empty boxes in the basement. I did everything I could to not think, trying to block out those thoughts. I’ve dwelled on them long enough, and if Dash didn’t want to be my friend, that’s fine.
Why she did what she did I’ll never understand, but as long as she’s happy, I don’t care. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? I didn’t know if she was. I never saw her. Of course she is, she’s with Thunderlane and all the girls.
Pff… A second voice said, very similar sounding like mine. Like that matters.
I sighed and smacked a hoof against my head. “Now’s not the time to go crazy.” I mumbled as I started making dinner. Pinkie’s recipe was short and sweet, something I was quite happy with. I never was good in the kitchen and I’d rather not have my kitchen catch on fire, again.
Well everypony’s a little crazy, just some are better at hiding it.
“Shut up… uh, me.” I said, dinner simmering and I plopped on the couch.
Wow, how mature.
I growled and suddenly there was another me sitting next to me on the couch. “Okay me, what do you want?”
I looked at me, hooves under my chin. I want you to admit that you like her and that’s why you’re afraid to meet with her.
I refused to look myself in the eye, staring at a couch cushion. “I… I do not...”
We’re really bad at lying, you know this right? I am you, I know how you feel dummy.
“But… it’s true, I don’t like her…”
Okay friendo, sure you don’t. If that’s the case, why have you been so mopey?
I blinked and turned to me. “I’m not mopey.”
You gotta stop lying to yourself. Ever since you found out about Dash and TL, you haven’t been yourself. Trust, I know me.
“So what if I’m not? Everything is fine.”
I looked at me, an eyebrow raised. If it was okay, we wouldn’t be talking now, would we?
“Uh… Leon?” Sparkling’s voice called out.
I blinked and opened my eyes, I was on the couch, my head in my hooves. Sparkling had a hoof on mine, her eyes full of concern. “Oh… Uh, hey Sparkling, what’s up?”
“You okay? You’ve been muttering to yourself for a few hours…” She shuffled her hooves a little. “I tried to get your attention, but… you didn’t respond…” She stared at the floor. “Leon…”
“What’s up kid?”
She hugged me tightly, burying her face into my chest. I sat on the couch, stunned, one too many times today, and hugged her back.
“I’m sorry for what I said earlier…”
“Nah, don’t sweat it. It’s true, I have sorta been letting it eat at me.”
She nodded and looked up at me, a small smile on her lips. “What?” I asked.
“Dinner’s almost ready.”
“My casserole!” I jumped up and high tailed into the kitchen, Sparkling giggling at me from the living room. I took the casserole out of the oven; thankfully it was only slightly charred, but still edible.
Somepony knocked on the door, the same quiet knock as before.
“I got it!” Sparkling yelled and let Fluttershy in.
I heard them talking as I set up the table, glad that I got that extra seat. Fluttershy walked in as I set up the final bit of dinner.
“Oh, it smells wonderful.”
I pulled out a chair for her and dinner seemed to go by smoothly. She had to go pick up some groceries for her animals and then pick up a present or two. She asked how my shopping was going, it was going fine. All that was left was Fluttershy, but I didn’t tell her that.
Sparkling kept asking questions about Hearth Warming to her, like why it was so important and why ponies spent so much on gifts. Fluttershy said about the same thing I did, and I don’t think Sparkling really likes having all that attention.
Dinner was fun, talking about school and finding friends. It seems Sparkling was really excited for it. It was a weird sight, never was one for school. Guess when you’re raised on the road, school would be interesting.
After dinner, we decided to go out and watch a new movie that just came out. Apparently it was doing really well at the box office. It was some superhero movie, I think it was called Mare do Well vs Supermare, with some stupid subtitle. The tickets were pretty cheap, apparently they were having a holiday discount and the food was good. There was just something about movie theatre popcorn that was amazing.
Anyways, we got into the theatre and it was pretty empty. Only like five or six other ponies in there, so we got to pick our seats at our leisure. The movie started and Sparkling was transfixed by it. She was on the edge of her seat the entire. Me and Fluttershy spent most of the movie watching her reactions. Most of the time, I forget that she’s never really had this luxury before. It makes me a bit sad, but glad she can enjoy it now.
The movie was alright, but not what I expected. Story wise, it was a complete mess, but the actress that played Mare Do Well was fantastic. So I guess it has some redeeming qualities.
Afterwards, we walked around town and watched ponies trying to pick up last minute gifts. We window shopped for quite a while, till we were the only ponies left and most shops had closed already. We walked Fluttershy home, giving her a big hug goodnight.
Once we got home, I sent Sparkling to bed and picked up a bit, trying to figure out what to get Fluttershy. Most of the gifts I’ve gotten were stashed in my room. I did the dishes and pondered, staring off into the darkness.


	--**--


The sun had just risen into the sky, a few clouds protecting the ground from its warmth. Me and Dash sat on a cloud, watching the sun rise. The two of us had been there for awhile, the cloud floating lazily by Ponyville.
Dash had her mane up in a ponytail for some reason, snuggled against me as I had a hoof around her. My chin rested on the top of her head, the two of us simply relaxing in the morning light.
She moved out from under me and stared into my eyes. A smile had slowly grown on her and I returned the smile. She went to say something but what came out wasn’t words, but a blood curtling scream.
The dream suddenly vanished as I threw the covers off my bed and stumbled out of bed and towards the scream. It came from Sparkling’s room and I all but ripped the door off its hinges.
Sparkling was curled in a little ball, her eyes closed tightly. The bed was in complete disarray, a pillow hanging half off and the sheets all over the place.
She must’ve been having a bad dream, her hind hoof twitched and her tail swished about. I rushed over and gently rubbed her back.
“It’s gonna be okay…” I whispered, at a lost of what to do.
She fidgeted some more, tears streaking from the corners of her eyes. She muttered something unintelligible and her body spasmed like she was just hit.
I scooted into her bed and pulled her into a hug, holding her tight as her body shook intensely. She buried her face into my chest and after awhile, she finally seemed to loosen up. I didn’t let go, gently rocking her back and forth while whispering reassuring words to her.
Her eyes blearily opened, puffy and bloodshot as she looked at me. “I… I…”
“Shh… It’s alright kid, I’m right here.”
She deflated and what little courage she had broke and she cried. I rested my chin on the top of her head, still rocking back and forth for what seemed like eternity.
Through the sobs, she told me what she was dreaming and my jaw clenched tightly. Chrissy will pay for what she did, eventually. I swear it.
After a while, she calmed down a bit. I went to get up when she tightened her hold on me. “C-can… you stay…” She whispered, her voice cracking.
I nodded and let go of her for a moment, pulling her sheets over both of us. “Of course kid, I promised you I’m never leaving.”
“O-okay…” She was terrified to sleep again and used me as a pillow. I watched her eyes slowly droop close, until she passed out from exhaustion. I rocked her slowly, my eyes starting to close and with a yawn, I was out. Her grip never loosened.


	--**--


The rest of the week passed by almost in a blur. Between constant working, making sure Sparkling would be ready for school when it starts up again, talking to Fluttershy about what happened, and trying to get Dash’s attention, the days tended to blend together.
I was surprised when I was able to get all the gifts for everypony and had enough money to pay for the house and the other bills I’ve missed on. Apparently I had backup from Celestia, who convinced them that I’d pay when I returned. She had a lot of faith in me to make up for it.
Hearth Warming Eve was here and it was a normal day for the most part. Me and Sparkling wrapped the presents, well, most of them. I had to hide hers obviously. 
Now being the expert present wrapper I am, it only took half the day to wrap the handful of gifts. The best thing was, Rarity’s and Twilight’s were easy enough, just a small card and an envelope each. AJ’s… well, we all went in on some new supplies and tools for the farm, thought that’d be the thing she needed the most. Fluttershy and Spike were hard, but I hope they liked what I got them. And Sparkling was a near mystery, if it wasn’t for Spike, I’d be in the dark.
It had snowed a lot lately, the entire town coated in the cold fluf. WIth the remaining time we had, me and Sparkling went walking around. The CMC were running around town, launching snowballs at random ponies. I tried to figure out what was going on, but sadly I was one of their targets. When I went down, Sparkling avenged me and took out Scoots and Sweetie before she too, was taken out out by Applebloom. Sadly however, ponies don’t like being randomly hit with snowballs and saying they’re trying to get their pitching cutie mark wasn’t really working for them.
After helping them get out of trouble the best I could, me and Sparkling made a tactical retreat back to my house to get ready for tonight. When we finished, we had just enough time to get everything together and start heading over there.
We were one of the firsts there, Pinkie arriving only a few minutes before us. She was in the kitchen, baking a fantastic dinner for us. The fireplace in the corner of what I’d call the living room was going. To be honest, I will always be surprised a giant tree full of books have a fireplace. They must have some sort of magical field to stop any embers.
Anyways, while we waited for everypony to show up, Sparkling and Spike talked about the latest edition of Power Ponies while me and Twilight talked about some quest she had to go on for Princess Celestia. She had to leave soon, and the other girls were going. It was to the Crystal Empire or whatever. I remember Fluttershy talking about it, she had asked me to watch her animals.
AJ and Rarity showed up at the same time, Spike materializing at Rarity’s side. AJ thanked me for earlier and told me she scolded AB for it already. Fluttershy came next, the quiet knock barely audible over all the talking.
Dash was last to arrive and kept her distance from me. I could tell she was surprised I was there and there was something else. I ignored it the best I could as we all talked about what we’d been up to lately.
Pinkie announced that dinner was ready and my mouth watered at the sight. The table was lined with so much food; rolls, several different types of casseroles, lasagna, a bunch of sandwiches. Me and Sparkling stared in awe as everypony helped themselves. Spike had his own special dish, a giant diamond, by the looks of it.
Dinner was lively, everypony enjoying the vast amount of food and the atmosphere was lively. Me and Sparkling sat together, Fluttershy on the other side of her. Everypony was talking and laughing, AJ and Dash competing for something or another. Rarity and Twilight were discussing the upcoming trip.
When the food was gone, we all dragged oursevles to the living room, barely able to stave off the food coma. We all relaxed on the furniture, the fire crackling being the only noise.
I got up and staggered to the middle of the room. I cleared my throat and blushed when everypony’s eyes were on me. “I… uh…” I scratched the back of my neck. “I just wanted to thank you all for looking for me… during, you know…”
“Of course darling, you’re our friend.” Rarity said.
“And we don’t leave any friend behind.” AJ finished.
“I know that… and I’ve been thinking. You girls are the closest friends I’ve ever had… including the ones from Earth. And I just… wanted to show you my appreciation with some gifts…”
“You didn’t have to, we knew you cared.”
“Still, they may not be much, but with the season and all…” I walked over and grabbed our gifts. I hoofed them out to each pony, Dash being the last one. “I know you don’t want me around, but I thought you’d want this.”
She opened her mouth to say something but quickly looked down, opening the gift. She smiled and held the book tightly to her chest. Thanks… She said, ignoring the world and diving in.
Twilight opened her card and smiled, the book signing thing falling into her lap. “What’s this?”
“It’s where you go and meet the author and they’ll sign your book. Thought you’d be interested in meeting that one professor of yours.”
She squeed and jumped up, dancing a bit. “I haven’t seen her in ages! I’ve been meaning to visit her.”
I smiled and went to say something when I was suddenly pulled into a double hug, Rarity and Pinkie squeezing me tightly.
“Thank you for the opera ticket darling, I’ve always wanted to see Cirque du Soleil. Heard they put on a fabulous shows.”
“And I love Smiling Joe! He’s my favorite party supplier!” Pinkie giggled.
Rarity kissed my cheek and I could feel my face getting warm. “I-it was nothing… just thought you’d both like a little something.” I mumbled, rubbing my cheek where she kissed me.
I could feel Spike glaring daggers into my back and I turned to him, holding a gift for him as a peace offering. He took it, slowly opening it. His eyes instantly turned to hearts as the statue came into view. “Oh wow! Limited edition Radiance!” He turned to me. “How’d you get this?”
I tapped my snout. “My lil secret.”
“Well… thanks! This is awesome!” He said, completely enraptured by it.
AJ held her card confused and pulled out the slip. “What in tarnation is this?”
“Well… I was talking to the girls,” they nodded, “and we decided to chip in to get you some new equipment for the farm.” I said.
And just like that, I was in another bone crushing hug, this time from AJ. She pulled the other girls in it, and for a long moment, didn’t say anything. Finally, she let us go and pouted for a moment. “Ya’ll shouldn’t have…”
“We know, but you need some new stuff. Thought it’d be what you needed the most.”
She nodded and held onto the slip tightly. I turned to Sparkling and hoofed her a small package. “What’s this?”
“Open it.”
She did, and squealed, ripping the protective packaging and flipping through the pages. She rushed over and showed Spike, who grinned and the two of them sat off to the side, reading the new comic books.
I smiled at Fluttershy as she blushed. “I uh… wasn’t sure what to get you…”
She had already opened her gift, it was a receipt for all the food for the animals she was taking care of. She gently hugged me and I hugged back, a both of us were smiling.
“Sparkling…” She said and Sparkling turned.
“Oh! Right!” The filly walked over to the tree and brought a gift, hoofing it to me.
“What’s this?”
“Just a little something from all of us…” She put a wing over Sparkling.
“You girls didn’t have to get me anything…”
“Says the one that bought us all something,” Rarity said.
I rolled my eyes and opened the gift, well, I opened to a box. I lifted the lid and a scarf sat nestled up. I picked it up, it was soft, almost velvety. It was a mix of their colors, almost like a rainbow. I wrapped it around and the tassels were just to my knees. It fit snuggly and I nuzzled it. I walked over and hugged everypony.
“Thank you… for everything that you all have done for me…”
“There’s no need to thank us, we’re your friends.” Twilight said.
I nodded and everypony turned as the front door opened and closed, Dash surprising everypony as she silently left.
“What’s up with her?” I asked.
“Who knows…” AJ muttered.
“Who's ready for dessert?!” Pinkie asked rather abrasively, everypony groaning and holding their stomach.

--**--

Me and Fluttershy sat off to the side, the girls and Sparkling talking about school. Spike was engrossed in his comics, his new statue of Radiance right next to him. Twilight and Sparkling were talking about something or other, I wasn’t really paying attention. I was too busy grinning like an idiot and playing with my new scarf.
Fluttershy turned to look at me and giggled. “You like your new gift?”
“Oh yeah, I love it. I was always jealous of people who could pull off scarves. Heh, good to know my pony body is better than my old body.”
“Well I’m glad you enjoyed it so much. We weren’t sure if you’d like it.”
“Nah, I’m pretty easy to shop for. Or at least I hope so.”
“I don’t know about that…”  We went silent and watched the girls for a moment. “You really went overboard, you know?”
I nodded. “I know, but it feels like I owe you girls and Spike something… After what happened.”
“Is that why you’ve been working so hard?”
“Heh, you knew?”
“Well it would explain the bags under your eyes… And Rainbow Dash mentioned you were at the factory a lot…”
I rubbed the back of neck. “Oh, Dash saw me?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Of course, it’s hard not to when you never leave.”
“Well, if she saw me, why didn’t she at least say hi?”
She went quiet for a moment and looked out the window. It was sprinkling, the snow gently falling down. “I don’t know, it’s hard to say.”
“Aye…” I sighed and snuggled my scarf.
“Hey Leon?”
“What’s up?” I looked over and saw Fluttershy fiddling with her cup, her face was bright red. I raised an eyebrow before she gripped the cup firmly and nodded to herself.
“I have…  a secret to tell you…” She seemed to steel herself.
“Oh?”
She sighed a little. “I know this is sudden… but… Well… I…” She squeaked and turned away and whispered something, quickly covering her mouth.
“What was that?” I leaned closer to her, my ears straining to hear.
“I… I liked you,” she murmured.
My brain didn’t register what she said; I leaned back, blinked, and gaped at her. “Huh?”
“T-there was a time… Wh-when I… Liked you…” She said, her big blue eyes on me, watching my every move.
My face must’ve been set on fire, because it was suddenly very hot. She stared at me so I said the first thing that came to mind. “Wha?” I irked out.
She nodded. “W-well… I really did; you were always there to help me, and the way you go out of your way to help others.”
I waved a hoof dismissively, trying to bury my face in my new scarf. “It’s nothing…”
“I think it is.”
I looked at her, trying to see if she was lying. “W-why are you telling me this now? What brought this up?”
“I was just thinking… And I thought, after everything… There were times when we didn’t know if we’d see you again… So I just… wanted to say it… before something happened…”
“Oh… You worried that I’m gonna get snatched again?”
“M-Mmhm…”
“I doubt they’d do something so stupid again, at least so soon.”
“Leon...” 
“What?”
She leaned over and kissed my cheek. I blinked and that’s about all the control I have left. My mouth dropped open as I stared at her. She faintly smiled, her face red as well. A weight seemed to be lifted off her shoulders.
“I… I wanted to make sure. But I was right. I still care for you, but it felt more like kissing my brother…” She giggled a bit, I must’ve missed the joke.
“…”
“Y-you alright?”
I shook my head, my brain off on vacation. Finally, I got my voice back. “Well that was… unexpected.” I squeaked out.
“I-I’m sorry i-if that was awkward...”
“It’s not that… It’s just… I see you as a sister. Have for a long time. And I never really got kissed by my sister before. Was not… expecting it.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I gave her a brief hug and she sighed. “What’s up?”
“You know what you have to do now though, right?”
“What?”
“Talk to Dash.”
I let go and fiddled with the scarf, I could tell I’m gonna have fun with this. “I… I don’t know if I should.”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“Because she doesn’t want me around.”
“That’s not true.”
“Oh really? Then where has she been? Why does she treat me like I don’t exist?” I was faintly aware that the conversation had died down and everypony and dragon was listening. I think Fluttershy could tell too.
“You have to understand…”
“Understand what?”
“I… I can’t go into details, but everything isn’t okay with her either. She’s going through a very difficult time.”
“Is that why she was distant tonight?” Fluttershy nodded. “Is everything alright with her and Thunderlane?”
“Why don’t you go ask?”
“Because it’d be easier for her if I just got the gossip from you?”
She shook her head. “It’s not my story to tell. If you wanna know, you have to ask her yourself.”
“Even if I said please?”
Fluttershy gave me a small stare. ‘You can’t keep running from this.”
“Who said I was the one running?” I got up and stretched. “But it seems I need to be the one to ‘confront her’, because apparently it’s my fault.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Oh it is, but that’s okay, I’m used to it always being my fault.” The other were trying to act as if they weren’t listening as I walked by and went outside.
It was cold out, the snow blanketed the ground. The streetlamps were lit, small orbs of warmth in the otherwise freezing world. Dashie sat by the library sign, staring at the sky. Snow had started to cover her a bit and she shook her head, trying to disperse it. I walked up and sat next to her.
“Hey Dash.”
She turned at the sound of my voice. “Oh, uh,  hey Leon.” She scooted a little away from me and I went to say something, but closed my mouth.
We sat in awkward silence and both stared into the sky. We kept stealing glances at each other, but we must’ve been too afraid to speak. 
“So…” I murmured, grabbing a clump of snow and forming it into a ball.
She sighed and shook her head. “You want to say something?”
“Aye.”
“But don’t know how to?”
I hesitated for a moment. “...Aye.”
“Ugh…” She facehoofed, giving me a sideway glance. I could see her trying to hide a grin.
I looked over at her and faintly smiled. “A pain in the neck I am.”
“Tell me about it…” She was smiling too, which made my heart flutter.
“Hey Dashie…” She turned and faced me, blinking once. “What happened to us?”
She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“Why… why are you avoiding me? I let go of the clump of snow. Ever since I got out of the hospital, you’ve avoided me…” I looked her right in the eyes. “D-did I do something wrong?”
I watched as realization clicked and the look of horror cross her eyes. She turned away and went silent, staring at her hooves. After a few painfully quiet minutes, she murmured something.
“What was that?”
She turned to me and for the second time ever, I saw Dash crying. “I’m sorry Leon…”
“Whoa, hey! I’m sorry, there’s no need to cry.” I said, trying to fight the urge to hug her.
She nodded. There is though, some Element of Loyalty I am…
I scooted over to her and draped a hoof across her shoulders. “I’m sorry too…” I paused and blushed as she leaned close and just rested against me. “Uh… is everything alright?”
She sighed. “It’s just… I’ve been thinking. I guess I never realized how much I’ve avoided you till now. I guess my mind’s been elsewhere.”
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing…”
“Dashie… I’m not that blind. This isn’t like you, you’re not usually the queen of mopesville.”
“Hey! I am not the queen.”
I raised an eyebrow and smugly smiled at her. “Oh really?”
She rolled her eyes and grabbed some snow, throwing it at my face. “Quiet you.”
“Hey! I’m just trying to help.”
She seemed to deflate a bit and bit the inside of her cheek. “I just… It’s hard having a boyfriend that doesn’t want to really be around you.”
“...What?”
She nodded and got up, my heart beating a little less intensely. “Thunderlane always seems to be distant, but whenever we’re in town, he wants to be all lovey dovey. Especially when we go to pick his brother up from Cloudchaser and Flitter. No matter what I do, he always picks the time and when our dates are, when we can hang out… She held up her hooves. “Even tonight, he said he’d come by…” 
She stopped for a moment as a pair of ponies walked by us, it was Derpy and Inky. Derpy saw us and waved, Inky waving after a moment. I waved back, Dash grinning as they continued home.
“Are they together?” She asked quietly.
“I don’t think so, but they totally like each other.”
“Oh really? Who told you?”
“No one, you can see it by they look at each other.” I shrugged. “I may be hanging out with Rarity a bit too much…”
She snorted and it felt like the old Dash was back, her grin in full effect and happiness in her eyes. Then as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, replaced with sadness. “I don’t know what to do Leon…”
I patted her back for a moment. “Do you care for him?”
Her jaw went slack for a moment, in shock. “Of course!” She said, slightly offended.
“Then talk to him.”
She sighed. “I’ve tried, he avoids those talks. Said it reminds him of his last relationship, and he doesn’t want to remember it.”
“I see…” Our eyes met again… and it was hard to explain. I felt something click and it was just like the old times. Looking at her, I think she knew that I liked her, but there’s no way it’d work now. I was too late, she’s in a relationship now. I couldn’t say anything. I was the one that turned away from our moment. “I don’t know what to say.”
She nodded with a soft sigh. “I know…”
“Hey Dashie?”
“Yeah?”
I put a hoof on hers. “If you need to talk or just somepony to hang out with, ya know you’re more than welcome over at my house, right?”
She looked at our hooves and smiled. “Yeah, I know.”
I grinned and got up, shaking the snow off me. “Good, I didn’t wanna sass at you.”
She got up and did the same. “Oh please, I could outsass you any day.”
“Challenge accepted.”
She held out a hoof. “Whatever you say.”
I bumped her hoof as we glared at each other before we both started laughing and it felt… good. Even though it was only a couple months, it felt like years since I had her laugh. And I gotta say, I missed it.
And then it dawned on me where we were and I grinned. “Hey Dash?”
“Yeah?”
“We should probably head back inside, it’s getting late.”
She was confused for a second, before realization struck her and she looked up into the still falling snow. “Huh, yeah… guess you’re right.” She took a deep breath as a gentle wind blew her mane back, snow and all. “I sorta forgot I was outside.” Old Dash was back, her trademark smile with it. “Hey Leon?”
“What’s up?” I asked as I led our way back into the house.
She got close and hugged me and for what has to be the fourth time today, my face must’ve been shoved into an oven. “Thank you.”
“N-nah, don’t mention it.”
She nodded and I opened the door for her as we traveled back inside.
The rest of the night was fun, with everypony smiling at the two of us. It’s as if they heard our conversation and somehow Pinkie had snow in her mane, which she never explained to me.
Pretty soon everypony started heading home, AJ and Rarity leaving first. Pinkie was next, giving everypony extra hugs before hopping away. Dash soon left after that, holding onto her book tightly. She gave me a final smile and flew off.
Soon me and Fluttershy left, Sparkling half asleep on my back. With a quick hug goodbye,  I walked Fluttershy home and we paused outside her house. She said she probably wouldn’t be able to visit tomorrow, her parents were throwing a party. I told her to have a good time and left, Sparkling lazily waving bye.
Me and Sparkling made it home and trotted up the stairs, Sparkling murmuring to herself. I gently slide her off my back and into her bed, tucking her in. I turned around and turned off her light, about to shut the door.
“Mmm… L-leon?” She half asked.
“Yeah?”
She rubbed her eye with a hoof and blinked, trying to focus on me. “W-will you always be there?”
“Always.”
She smiled and her head hit the pillow. “Night…”
“Goodnight kid,” I said, but she was already fast asleep. I quietly shut the door behind me and walked to my room.
I dug out the few small gifts I had hidden from her and walked down the stairs, putting the gifts under the tree. I made my way up to my room and collapsed on the bed, quickly dozing off myself.


	--**--
	

There’s nothing like being awoken in panic. One minute, I was lying peacefully on my bed, passed out. The next, there was a crazy hyper filly on my bed, talking quite loudly about something and I was on the floor, suddenly awake.
Sparkling blushed and grinned. “Good morning sleepy head!” She said, a little too enthusiastic for being so early in the morning.
I muttered something and got up with a yawn.
She sat on my bed, wagging her tail before grabbing my hoof and dragging me down the stairs. For such a little filly, when she’s excited, she’s strong.
She let go of me and dashed to the tree, her eyes practically sparkling. I staggered over to the kitchen and got something to drink, clicking the tree on on the way. The lights sparkled and danced as Sparkling sat next to the tree, looking around.
I sat down next to her and hoofed her the few presents. I leaned back and watched her open them. They weren’t anything fantastic. A new blanket, that me and Fluttershy made together, some new books that Twilight recommended, and a Mistress Mare-velous plushie that I had to hunt down.
She squeed and hugged the plushie tightly, her wings buzzing happily before turning to me. “I know it’s not much…” I said.
She football tackle hugged me, nuzzling my chest. “Are you kidding?! These are amazing! Thank you!” she exclaimed and let go, skimming the new books and pausing only to tie the blanket around her neck like a cape.
I got up and rustled her mane, getting ready to make some breakfast for the two of us. It wasn’t anything amazing, just some hashbrowns and cereal.
As I was setting the table, Sparkling silently came up behind me and tapped my side. “Leon?” she asked with something in her mouth.
I turned and saw she had a gift. “What’s this?”
She held it out and I took it and stared. I looked at her and she smiled. I raised an eyebrow and slowly unwrapped it, the edge of a picture frame slowly revealing itself.
The wrapping paper fell to the floor as I stared at the photo, my mouth open. It was a picture of me, Sparkling, and Fluttershy right after I had gotten out of the hospital. Fluttershy took us to watch comets fly by, the other girls having their own plans. Featherweight was taking pictures of the sky and must’ve gotten us by accident.
I turned to her, a smile on her face as she hugged me tightly. “Happy Hearth Warming day Leon.”
I hugged her back, a grin on my face. “Happy Hearth Warming day too kid.”