> Memoirs of a brony > by travellingbrony > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chap 1: The Start Of Something New > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Memoirs of a Brony It seemed so surreal when it started.  Another day working at a dead end job which I hated, halfway round the world from the place I called home.  Not that I overly missed it. No, I always felt that I didn’t really belong there.  It was really exciting stepping out into the world on my own.  Seeing so many different things and meeting different people.  Then that one day when everything I knew came to a sudden halt, and I took a new path in my life that of which others can only dream of. This is my tale.  It is a tale of unbelievable power, impossible scenarios, and power which of the likes our world has never seen.  By the time you read this book I will have disappeared from this world along with my closest friends.  I am the Travelling Brony and this is the tale of my life.  I bid farewell to my friends and hope this book will inspire you in times of need.  May it be a reminder to never give up hope.  To always trust in your friends.  And most of all, that when faced with a difficult choice to always follow your heart. That day when it all started I felt so run down.  I had just finished a twelve hour shift at my job and wanted nothing more than to go home, relax, and crawl into my bed for some much needed rest.  I’m not sure when I fell asleep or how I made it to my bed that night.  But the light, Oh I remember the light that woke me.  It was soft, like a flashlight with low batteries.  It was strange to me; I knew my roommate wouldn’t use a flashlight to come home.  And the weird angle it was at seemed to bath the room in a pale glow.  Sitting up slowly in bed as not to alert whoever was out there, I saw a sight which still sends a shiver down my spine all these years later. Standing in my living room was a purple unicorn.  The soft glow emitting from her horn allowed me to make out the small dragon sitting on her back.  At first I thought it must be a dream.  I closed my eyes and tried to convince myself that when I opened them there would be no unicorn, no dragon, and no light. It seemed that I would never get that chance for as soon as my eyes closed I heard her speak.  “Spike, I don’t know what happened with that spell but I have no idea where we are.”  She said, voice cracking.  “I don’t think we’re in Equestria anymore Twilight” The little dragon Spike responded.  At that point I knew that saying something was the only thing I could do. As I slowly got out of my bed I could hear them talking about the unusual sounds and smells.  Living in the city I had grown accustomed to them.  The car alarms, passing traffic, drunks enjoying a night out, the music coming from the night club, not to mention the smell of a city were normal to me.  It was all new to those two, and looking back probably very frightening.  Debating over my next course of action I slipped into the living room.  What should I say?  This shouldn’t even be possible.  However, there I was looking at two characters from a TV show.  Building up my courage and taking a deep breath I flicked the light on and managed a weak hello.  Oh what I would have given to see the looks of utter confusion on everyone’s faces when they discovered the state the apartment got to in the next few moments. As soon as I said hello both Spike and Twilight let out a scream and jumped in different directions.  Spike flew into the flat screen TV which came off of its stand and crashed down on top of him.  Twilight had jumped backwards and knocked over the table and chairs which served as the dinner table.  All I was able to do was stand there shocked as I watched Twilight and Spike destroy my apartment.  After a few seconds I snapped and yelled at them to calm down.  It was at that moment I realized that Spike was down and out cold, trapped under my TV.  I went over to him to remove the TV but quickly found myself staring down the point of a sharp and magically charged horn.  “What are you? Stay away from Spike! Where are we?” Twilight screamed.  Knowing that Spike must be suffering under the weight of the TV I quickly told her that I was a human and that she was in my living room. “How and why are you here?” was the first question that popped into my head, but I quickly pushed this to the back of my mind for the moment. “Look, that TV is heavy; I just wanna make sure he is alright. I promise you I’m not going to hurt him,” I said.  Watching me very carefully with her horn pointing right at my back she watched, or should I say studied me, as I slowly bent down and picked the TV up off of Spike.   Tossing the broken TV onto its table I looked down at poor Spike.  He was out like a light with a large lump forming on his head.  Twilight ran over pushing me to the side as she looked down at Spike.  Tears formed in her eyes as she stared down at her unconscious companion.  “Twilight,” I said “He is just unconscious.  Let me move him to the bed, at least he will be comfortable there.” She looked at me for a second as if she was deciding if I could be trusted. After a few moments she gave a slight nod of her head and told me to “go ahead but be careful”.  I picked up the little dragon, who to my surprise was heavier then he looked, and carefully started carrying him to the bed in my room, Twilight following close behind.  As I walked the short distance to the bed I ran through all the questions floating in my mind.  How are they here? Why my place out of all the places in the world? How was I going to explain this all to my roommate? And many many more. Thankfully it seemed like luck was on my side.  Not a few seconds after I laid Spike down in my bed my phone rang.  Leaving Twilight to look down at her friend I went and picked up the phone.   It was my roommate calling to let me know that there was a family emergency and that he was heading over to his sister’s as soon as he was done work.  Taking note of my rare occurrence of luck (but still feeling bad about his family) I hung up.  I stood there for a moment as my thoughts raced but turned when I heard Twilight come up behind me.  “How is he?” I asked.  “He will be alright after a bit of a rest,” she replied her voice a lot calmer then it was just a few minutes earlier.  I asked her to have a seat on the couch so we could talk as I was sure we both had many questions that we wanted answers to.  “How is it you know our names?” was the first but not unexpected question that she asked of me as we sat down on the couches.  Knowing that I couldn’t tell her about the show I told her that I heard them speaking to each other while I was still in my bed.  After that the questions turned more to my world.  Now if this book somehow makes it there I won’t bother explaining the questions as you will already know them.  However if you’re not reading this in my world then disregard as the information is classified and dangerous. Looking at the clock hanging on the wall I realized that I had been answering questions for almost 2 hours.  Glancing over at Twilight I noticed that she seemed to be more relaxed and a little tired.  “Would you like a cup of tea?”  I asked her.  “Yes that would be nice” she replied.  Getting up and walking into the kitchen I started to brew some tea.  She followed me, curious.  After explaining to her how we make tea in our world and getting her a cup we both returned to the living room and sat back down.   While she was drinking her tea (via horn magic, which interested me greatly) I finally got to ask the questions that were on my mind.  It turned out that during her studies into old magic scrolls Twilight had found a spell which seemed to be an advance teleportation spell.  With it she believed that she would be able to teleport as far as Canterlot.  However, just as she was about to test the spell Spike fell onto her back from the ladder he was using to place books back on the shelf.  This caused her to break concentration and the next thing she knew she was standing in my darkened living room.  Then I turned on the light, scaring her out of her wits and from that point I knew the story. At this point I had to ask if she knew how to get back.  She looked over at me and with a voice that was full of tiredness she told me that it shouldn’t be too hard.  She would just have to reverse organize the spell, find the point it went wrong, and connect the destination to Equestria rather than just flowing randomly through dimensions.  Her entire explanation was way above my head but I just accepted it and moved on.   I looked at her falling asleep on my couch and suggested that she retire to the bedroom.  She had a brief look of fear on her face but it seems that she was too tired to really care and got up.  “Don’t worry about anything Twilight.  I’ll make sure you and Spike stay safe while you are in my home.”  I said to her as she headed towards the bedroom.  Turning at the door she looked at me and thanked me for the tea, the bed and for looking after Spike.  I told her it was no problem and to get some sleep.  As the door closed to my room with a purple glow I turned and looked at the mess that was my living room.  Giving a small sigh I did a slight clean up before grabbing a spare blanket and curling up on the couch to grab some sleep.  I was sure that when I awoke it was all going to be nothing but a dream. Waking up a few hours later from the sunlight streaming in from the open window my first thought was why am I sleeping on the couch?  Stumbling towards my bedroom door to lay back down for some more sleep my brain was not prepared to see Twilight and Spike laying in my bed fast asleep.  Closing the door with a soft click I took a few steps back and slumped to the ground against the wall.  It wasn’t a dream and there are two characters from a TV show passed out in my room.  I needed coffee; usually I worked first thing in the morning and got coffee there but it was my day off.  After pulling out the French press and making myself a coffee, I sat down on the couch and thought about what I was going to do.  There was no way to tell how long it would take for Twilight to figure the spell out.  How would I explain it to my roommate if he came home and saw the place trashed with a talking pony and a baby dragon staying in my room?  I wonder if he would’ve gone insane or just accepted it as normal after a brief shock.  He was a pretty relaxed guy although he would be pissed about the TV, but I could pay to replace it. Getting up off the couch I went and poured myself another cup of coffee and after a second poured one for Twilight as well.  I figured if she was here she might as well try some of the things we take for granted.  Grabbing a few apples from the fridge and placing them in a bowl I carried it towards my room (being a waiter has few but effective perks).  I opened the door and woke Twilight up with a semi-quiet “Good morning”.  Her eyes shot open and for a few seconds I could see the panic on her face as she tried to figure out where she was and who was speaking to her.  No doubt she thought it was all a bad dream as well.  After she calmed down and realized where she was I offered her the apples.  As she started on the first apple Spike let out a soft groan and asked what had happened.   As Twilight filled him in I started to think of a plan.  Impossible, is what I thought at the time but since so many impossible things have happened in such a short time I figured I would give it a shot.  After we finished breakfast Twilight informed me that she was going to start working on a way for her and Spike to get back home.  I told her she could have my room for as long as she needed and to just give me a little bit and I’d clean it up for her.  However I asked that she didn’t go outside as most people may have a negative reaction if they saw her and Spike.  She agreed that this was best as the less people that saw her, the fewer disturbances she would have on our reality.  She thanked me for letting her stay and I told her not to worry and that she was my guest.  Anything she needed all she had to do was ask and I would go out and get it.  I had already decided that until her and Spike made it home I wouldn’t be turning up for work.  She asked very sweetly if she could have another apple, causing me to laugh as I went to grab another one.  When I returned with a couple more apples (which she levitated out of my hands as soon as I got inside the room) I asked her that once she does figure it out she lets me know so I can say goodbye and throw a farewell party.  She agreed saying that it was the least that she can do in exchange for the hospitality. After breakfast I started to clean up my room as Spike took over dish washing duty.  For a baby dragon he is really good at stuff like that. He said he does it for Twilight all the time as part of his number one assistant duties.  As I was cleaning my room Twilight sat on the couch thinking about her spell and occasionally using her magic to write a few things down on some scrap paper I found laying around.  Figuring my room was clean enough I made myself a mental list of the things I needed to pick up for my guests.  After letting Twilight know that I was done in my room I headed out the door to pick up some paper, pens, apples, and other vegetables.  Returning from the market across the way I came across an unusual and quite hilarious scenario.  My phone was hanging in the air surrounded by Twi’s magic while a very spooked Spike was hiding behind the mares legs. It had rung while I was away scaring Spike, and Twilight had encased it in magic to prevent it from doing any harm.  I had to set the bags down I was laughing so hard.  I quickly stopped when Twilight looked at me with a hurt look on her face.  “Twilight, I’m not laughing at you I promise.  It’s just that it’s just a phone; we use it to communicate over long distances here.  It is completely harmless,” I explained.  This ended up becoming a long discussion on the communication devices we use in my world which I won’t bore you with here.   Never the less after a lengthy discussion she grabbed a few apples and retreated into the bedroom to focus.  Looking at the number on the phone I quietly swore.  It was my roommate; he may be on his way back right now.  I quickly called his phone only to have him pick up and tell me that he will be staying with his family for the next week and has already taken time off work.  I couldn’t believe my luck. As long as no one came into my apartment it should be ok. After a day of magic Twilight emerged from the bedroom looking tired and extremely hungry.  Spike had spent the better part of two hours teaching me the intricacies of vegan cooking.  This involved multiple trips to the store nearby for the proper ingredients.  After a dinner which I was quiet proud of and that earned praise from Twilight, the mare and the dragon retired for the evening.  After I was sure they were asleep I started packing my bag.  I knew that if Twilight saw me packing she would figure out what I was planning and I couldn’t have that, not quite yet.  After throwing a load of laundry into the machine I settled down for another night on the couch and drifted off to sleep.  I was woken up in the morning by a very dragon like face inches away from mine.  “You snore,” was all he said before heading into the kitchen to start breakfast.  After waking Twilight up and eating a great breakfast I told them that I had to go out for a while and to make themselves at home.  Taking my laptop and anything else I owned that I believed I could get a buck for I went and sold them at a pawn shop.  If my plan didn’t work I would be travelling far away so my roomy wouldn’t kill me anyways, so I didn’t need them anymore.  After a very aggravating eight hours selling my possessions to the local pawn shops and some random people who showed interest I returned home to a very happy Spike and an exhausted Twilight.  As soon as I saw Spike I knew that Twilight had found a way to get back home.  Helping Spike make dinner I asked Twilight how soon they were going to leave.  She mumbled that she would need a couple days rest to recover the needed energy to go back to her own world.  Holding an apple in my hand and avoiding looking at her directly I asked if it would take more energy to take other more than just her and Spike back to her world.  She sat up at this and looked at me while I tried my best not to make eye contact.   “Are you wanting to send us back with some apples or something from your world?” she asked in confusion.  “Well, there is that,” I replied, “But I was also hoping that I could come as well.”  Silence is all that greeted me.  Turning to look at Twilight I supported Spike who looked as if he was about to fall off the chair he was standing on. She was shocked that much I knew, but the hard work she had been doing plus me springing that on her seemed to have broken something.  It took me a few minutes of calling her name to get her to snap out of it.  The whole time I was trying to get Twilight’s attention Spike was stammering incoherent versions of why and what. Finally when she snapped out of it she asked if we could discuss it tomorrow after she had some sleep.  It was just too much for her to handle at the moment with her being as tired as she was.  I agreed as long as she promised not to disappear in the night and we actually talked about it the next morning.  After an awkward dinner she got up and Spike helped her to the bed on shaky legs.  After she was tucked in he came back out and told me that he hopes she says yes because it would be great to have someone who can cook and not burn the place down.  I told him that I hoped she would let me too, and to get some sleep because tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. When morning came I slowly rolled off the couch wondering how to state my argument when the time came.  Hoping for a few moments to get a coffee and perhaps a bite to eat before Twilight woke up I made my way to the kitchen.  Spike, who I noticed loved sleep, was already cooking breakfast and had made a pot of coffee.  Hearing my entrance into the room he turned and with a smile informed me that Twilight is always more agreeable on a full stomach.  After helping Spike finish breakfast, and downing a few cups of coffee, I went and knocked on the bedroom door and called Twilight for breakfast.  After a few moments the door opened and a ragged looking Twilight appeared.  “Wow, Twilight, you look like you haven’t slept a wink all night,” I told her.  “I fell asleep at some point but I spent the rest of the night wondering about what you asked and I want to know, why do you want to leave your world behind?  There is a chance you may never be able to return.”   As we ate breakfast I started to explain how I came to my decision.   “You see, my world is full of senseless violence.  A person walking down the street could be mugged, even killed for nothing more than the five dollar bill in their pocket.  War is rampant everywhere for reasons no one really knows.  They say it’s because of this reason or another, but in all honesty it’s nothing more than foolishness.  From what I learned from Spike, your world is much more peaceful and the notion of fighting for no other reason than to cause harm to others is absurd.  That’s one of the many things that make me want to go with you.  Another is the fact that I’ve never really felt at home here.  I admit I haven’t traveled all over the world but no matter where I go and the people I meet I never really feel like I’m where I belong.  The idea that there is another place for me to go, where no human has gone before, gives me hope that perhaps I will find a place there with friends that I can hold dear to my heart.  I’ve already sold most of my possessions to cover the cost of the TV and the other expenses that have occurred while you’ve been here and regardless what you decide I will be leaving this place.  The last couple days have been incredibly fun and I don’t think I would want to stay here anymore know that I wouldn’t be able to talk to you two again.” As I finished speaking my part, breakfast long over, she stared at me and sighed.  “There are a few other things you should know.  I cannot guarantee that you will survive the teleportation, nor can I guarantee that you will even be allowed to stay in Equestria.  This has never happened before to my knowledge and the princess may ask you to leave, and I may share that fate,” she said a frown appearing on her face.  “Twilight, there is no guarantee that by staying here I will be alive tomorrow, and even if I am forced to leave Equestria I will continue to travel and find my own place I can call home,” I explained “now with regards to the princess I will accept any form of punishment or the like which she wishes to place upon me, and if she tries to punish you in any way I will take the blame.   I’ll say I accidentally got transported with your spell or something, but I won’t let you suffer for this if you decide to let me come.” After a few moments of silence between us as she stared into my eyes, she informed me that she was still too tired to perform the spell anyways and she will make her decision by dinnertime that night.  Retreating to the bedroom for a well needed nap she looked over her shoulder and told me to be fully packed just in case.  Spike smiled and said that was a good sign at the very least, then returned to the kitchen to clean up.  After he was gone I pulled my bag out and started putting things inside that I assumed I would need in the upcoming journey.  Since I already had lots of clothes inside the bag I decided I would add a few other things just in case.  So I put a bag of coffee, my jacket, the pocket knife my father had given me, and a larger survival knife.  After about an hour of me packing up my stuff and putting the stuff I wasn’t taking into another pile to be donated or whichever my roommate decided, Spike came out of the kitchen and asked if he could bring some tea back as Twilight really seemed to enjoy it.  I told him that he is allowed to take anything that belongs to me but that he cannot take my roommates stuff.  With a large smile he ran back into the kitchen and I could hear sounds of things being dragged out of the cabinet.  Satisfied with my packing I went out to buy a few things for dinner and it being Twilight and Spike’s last night in my world, and hopefully my last as well, I bought a cake to celebrate. Returning home I went straight into the kitchen to start cooking dinner.  I could hear Spike talking to Twilight in the other room and thought it best to leave them be and surprise them with a nice dinner.  About an hour later, and a little help from Spike, I served dinner and let them enjoy a nice meal while I headed back into the kitchen to prepare the cake.  A little while later I brought the cake out, this received a puzzled look from both Twilight and Spike.  So I told them that no matter what the decision was, I enjoyed their company from the very start.  And that I will always remember them and regard them as good friends.  Spike ran over and hugged my leg while Twilight sat there with a slight smile on her face, tears appearing in her eyes.  I told her not to cry and that as eager as I am to hear what she had decided, it could wait until we had all enjoyed some cake and a nice cup of tea.  The cake gone, we sat at the table as Twilight explained her decision.  “I have thought over the matter many times and as much as I enjoyed my time here we will be leaving tomorrow.  I’m not entirely sure what the princess would think of me bringing a creature from another world to ours and I can’t even begin to imagine the implications it could have on both worlds.  However, as I want to learn more about you and your world and you are going on your own accord I cannot see a reason why it shouldn’t be allowed.   That being said I will have no say on any decision Princess Celestia makes, nor can I guarantee you will even survive the teleportation process.  You have already shown that magic is not evident in your world so I cannot say if you will make it.  So you may come, we will leave in the morning after breakfast, make sure your bag is packed and you are ready to go.  You’re a good friend and I would love to have you along.” I swear I could have done back flips at that point.  I hugged Twilight hard and thanked her at least a million times as Spike was cheering on the ground beside us.  Lifting him up I told him that now he has to teach me proper cooking as my cooking probably won’t be sufficient enough for a long period of time.  As me and Spike where talking about all the things he would have to teach me and the many things he wanted to show me I caught Twilight whispering under her breath.  “I hope that he is able to stay and that nopony is too worried about me.”  It was then that it dawned on me how much she must have missed her friends while she was trapped in my world.  As soon as Spike fell asleep and Twilight floated him into bed, I told her that her friends know that she is capable of taking care of herself and that if anything they will probably throw a party to welcome her home.  She smiled at that and gave a small laugh. “Once you meet Pinkie Pie you will understand.” she said in response to my slightly confused look. Offering Twilight another cup of tea we sat down and she told me all about her friends and her mentor, the Princess.  She told me of the adventures they had had, of Nightmare Moon (Princess Luna), her life growing up under the princesses’ tutelage, and the many areas of ponyville that I would have to get familier with.  She went into great detail about the library, which I asked many questions about.  Most were along the lines of what I could do to help out with her work and what I could do to make some money (bits) so I wouldn’t have to be a mooch.  She told me that working for the library I would make enough to live off of and that most of my tasks would be re-shelving and cleaning.  This lead into her describing the many times Rainbow Dash had crashed into her shelves causing them to topple over and spill books everywhere.  Noticing the clock on the wall I suggested that we head to bed as we had a big day ahead of us and we should both be well rested, especially if Pinkie Pie was as energetic as Twilight said.  Twilight returned to the bedroom and I turned out the lights, lying down with a large smile on my face as I closed my eyes trying to find sleep.  It finally claimed me an hour later as I was laying there like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.     When morning came I shot out of bed in a flash.  It wasn’t until I got to the kitchen to make coffee I realized it was only dawn.  Feeling like a fool but being wide awake I settled down on the couch and watched the sun rise through the window.  As beautiful as it was tinting the few clouds in the sky a rosy colour, I couldn’t help being glad that I wouldn’t see it again.  As the morning went on Spike appeared from the bedroom and we started on breakfast.  It wasn’t long before we had breakfast steaming on the stove and Twilight emerged from the bedroom well rested.  After finishing up breakfast we started to make preparations for our leaving.  Spike appeared with a bag from the kitchen full of fruits, veggies and teas to which I added the last of the coffee.  Twilight spent the time that me and Spike spent gathering the things we wished to take, to gather her magical energy through concentration.  It was around ten in the morning when she announced that it was time.  I put on both my jacket and my bag and asked twilight what I needed to do.  “All you need to do is to hold onto my mane, I think,” she explained, “Spike always gets teleported with me while he is on my back so you should be brought along, but we will do a test first just to make sure.”  Holding onto her mane I felt a warmth flow through my body and within a few seconds I found myself looking at the place I was standing just moments before.  It left me a little dizzy but I decided not to say anything which could damage my chances of going. Knowing that the teleportation would work I took one last look at the room around me, and the city through the window.  Twilight asked if I was ready to which I gave a nod and a steady yes.  Grabbing hold of her mane once again I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth spread through my body once again I felt myself getting pulled away from my world.  After what felt like hours but was more than likely just moments I felt solid ground beneath my feet.  Opening my eyes, I looked around a dim library, the shelves filled with books, light filtering in from a few windows.  It had worked; I had left the human world behind, never to return.               > Chap 2: Arrival > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chap 2:  Arrival I had complete faith in Twilight, but I still couldn’t believe that I was actually there.  All the colours seemed more vivid and the room smelled of a forest.  Although that was probably because we were inside a living tree.  As I took a few steps around the room my head started to spin wildly.  As I stumbled to the side I found myself supported by Twilight.  “Why didn’t you tell me you where experiencing dizziness from the teleportation?”  She asked the concern evident in her voice.  “I didn’t want you to tell me I couldn’t come due to a little dizziness.  Just let me sit down for a second and I’ll be fine,” I replied as I sat down on my bag.  “Just take it easy,” Twilight said “I’m going to send a letter to the princess now but once you feel better move your stuff into the basement please. Oh and don’t touch anything down there.” She added walking towards a desk against the far wall.  “I’ll give him a hand and make sure he doesn’t touch anything he shouldn’t.”  “Alright Spike, by the time his stuff is put away this letter should be ready to send,” Twilight replied.   As I followed Spike towards the door that which I assumed leads to the basement I noticed something in the sky through one of the upper windows.  As we started down the stairs into the basement I mentioned that I saw something in the sky but it was too far away for me to tell what it was.  His eyes went wide and pointing at an empty spot on the floor he told me place my stuff as he ran up the stairs.  Placing my stuff down at the appointed spot, I turned to head back up the stairs when I heard Spike call out to Twilight.  “Twilight, you don’t have to worry about writing that letter to the princess.  That’s a royal carriage heading this way,”   “Why would the princess be coming here?  And why would she bring a full sized carriage and not just her chariot?”  I heard Twilight ask no pony in particular.  As I reached the top of the stairs Twilight glanced towards me and informed me that it might be best if I remain in the basement for the time being.  “Ok Twilight, I’ll keep my ears open and my mouth shut.  When you want me to come back up just give me a shout.”  Taking one last look at Twilight I realized just how nervous she was.  Her eyes were watching the carriage make its way across the sky and she was trembling slightly.  “Hey Twilight, everything will work out fine, you said she trusts you completely before.  I don’t see any reason why that would have changed in a few short days,” I said as I turned back towards the basement door.  “Th-Thanks,” Was all she responded with, however, even with the slight stumble over her words, her words came out much more steady and calmly. Once down in the basement I pulled a few items of clothing out of my bag and made myself a little pillow.  Staring at the basement door I waited for the moment when whoever was in the carriage arrived.  It was only minutes before I heard the door slam open upstairs followed by a chorus of “Twilight, Spike your ok,” From a bunch of different voices.  Her friends must have been in the carriage as well, which would explain why the princess came in such a large carriage when her normal mode of transport is a chariot.  I wasn’t aware of who was talking at the time but after I had gone upstairs I was able to put names to the voices I heard while downstairs.   “Now my most faithful student please tell us what happened.  The only information I have gathered from your friends is that a few days ago a powerful blast of magic lit up the sky, and both you and Spike were nowhere to be found,” Asked the Princess.  “Well I was working on an advance teleportation spell which would allow me to teleport over large distances, Spike fell from a ladder onto my back causing me to slip in my concentration and the next thing I knew I was in a completely different world.”  “Another world?  Was there Ponies there?  Did they throw you a party?  Where they nice?” Asked the Pony I later learned to be Pinkie asked rapidly.  “No Pinkie there were no ponies there that I could see, however the creature that I met there was quite nice.  He let me stay with him as I worked on the spell to make it back.”  For the next forty minutes I listened to Twilight explain in great detail the last few days living in my world.  She avoiding talking about me for the most part but there was questions she had to answer, but she always painted me in a good light.  Finally I heard the door to the basement open and Spike came down the stairs. “I slipped away for a minute; Twi is going to call you up in a moment.  Don’t worry though, the Princess is really nice and all of Twilights friends are great as well.  There won’t be any problems.”  Sure enough a few moments later I heard Twilight call out to Spike that it was time for the thing she brought from my world to come out.  Walking up the stairs I hesitated at the door and took a deep breath.  It was time for me to meet the leader of equestria and Twilights friends.  Not that I had any choice at this point.  Putting a nervous smile on my face I opened the door and stepped through. Stepping into the room I gave the best hello I could manage at the point.  Looking at the ponies in front of me I saw five who where around the same size as twilight and one wearing a crown who could have only been the Princess who was about the same height as me.  The Princess had a white coat and a long flowing mane.  She had both a unicorns horn and Pegasus wings.  I found out later that the term for that was Alicorn.  Looking at Twilights friends I first noticed the pink pony Pinkie Pie, Standing beside her was a white unicorn named Rarity.  Standing slightly behind an orange pony named Applejack was a yellowish Pegasus named Fluttershy, and hovering above them was a light blue Pegasus named Rainbow Dash.  Now I didn’t know their names at that point, but it wasn’t long before I did.  They didn’t notice me at first but then I seemed to catch Fluttershy’s eye.  Guessing that the hello I gave when I entered the room wasn’t the loudest I went to try again when Fluttershy screamed.  The others quickly turned towards me and let out a gasp including the Princess.  The door to the Library flew open and what I only could assume was a royal guard darted into the room, and before I could register what was happening I found myself flying through the air.  I hit a bookcase near the stairs leading up to Twilights room and heard a horrible snap and the top half of the bookcase came crashing down in front of me blocking me off from sight.   As I slowly regained my senses I could make out Twilight screaming at the guard.  I heard steps which could only belong to Spike hurrying towards me as I lay there in a crumpled heap.  As Spike came around the side of the ruined bookcase he let out a small gasp.  “I’ll be fine Spike, no worries,” I said as I attempted to lift myself up off the ground.  For some reason my left arm felt numb but as I put pressure on it to lift myself up, I felt a pain like I never had before; causing me to let out what could only be described as a strangled sob.  Looking at my arm, which had gone numb again now that there was no pressure on it, I saw what looked like a white stick jutting out just below the elbow.  Now I had never broken a bone in my life before but I always imagined it would be non-stop pain.  It seems this wasn’t the case but the amount of blood that was leaking from the wound was something to be concerned about.  Now I had gone to scouts when I was a youngster as well as taken a first aid course just a few years previous so I knew mostly what I had to do.  “Spike, get me a clean cloth and fresh water quickly,” I demanded.  He took off running so fast at the point I don’t think Rainbow Dash could’ve caught him.  His frantic pace plus the fact that he was pale as a ghost stopped Twilights raging and got everyponies attention.   “Spike? What’s wrong? He isn’t hurt to bad is he?” Twilight asked.  She had seen Rainbow Dash take crashes harder than that into the libraries shelves, I found this out later, but Rainbow has a harder head then most.  As Spike made his way from the kitchen with a towel and a pail of water I heard him call out to the confused ponies.  “He’s hurt really bad Twi, He is bleeding badly and I’m pretty sure I could see bone sticking out of his arm.”  Now I have to give the little guy credit, He is after all just a baby dragon but he handled the situation very well, not passing out till later.  When Spike came over to me with the towel and water I was already beginning to look pretty pale.  After he placed the pail next to me, I scooped water out with my one unbroken arm and gingerly cleaned the wound the best I could.  The next thing I did was not only one of the most painful, but one of the most stupid things I have ever done in my entire life.  As Twilight moved the bookcase aside with her magic I grabbed the towel in my teeth and started to push the jagged end of bone back into my arm.  Even with the towel, the sounds that escape from my mouth where primal and loud.  Twilight was calling out to me while the others stood there and stared at his horrible sight.  Tears where flowing freely down my face and if anyone dare say they wouldn’t cry I suggest they try it sometime.   This was my first encounter with the ultimate compassion Fluttershy feels towards all living things.  It seems that when she first got a look at me sitting there in all that blood she froze.  She hates the sight of blood, which makes sense when you look at how much she cares about every living creature.  As soon as she saw the tears on my face though she came flying over.  I could barely see at this point but I felt a soft hoof touch my unbroken arm and a quiet voice telling me to stop.  “Hmmm” Was all I could say with the towel in my mouth.  “If you try to force the bone back without properly aligning it, it won’t heal properly and could result in permanent damage to your arm.”  Spitting the towel out of my mouth I spoke with a very shaky breath, “if I don’t place it back and seal this wound I’ll lose too much blood.  And judging by your reactions a few minutes ago I don’t think a doctor would be very happy to see me either.”  As I attempted to pick up the towel once again I found that I couldn’t move.  “You are quite right; a doctor would not know how to treat you, being a creature he has never seen before.”  The one speaking to me was none other than the Princess herself.  She was also the reason for my inability to move if the glow from her horn was any indication.  I couldn’t even speak her hold on me was that great, I was a little worried that she might just hold me there as I bled to death, but I didn’t know her then nor was I thinking the most clearly. I did however notice that Fluttershy hadn’t moved from my side.  “Now just stay still,” like I had a choice, “I’m going to use what I have learned from examining your body structure these last few moments and do my best to set the bone in its natural place,” the Princess said as she stood over me.  That was the first time I was impressed by the scope of her power but it was not the last.  I felt almost no pain but I was able to watch through the corner of my eye the bone slid back under the skin and into place.  It may sound weird but that itching you get when a bone is healing isn’t so bad when it happens in a span of a few seconds.  The wound then slowly began to close; now at this point I was able to turn and look directly at the amazing feat happening to my body.  It was amazing to watch but after a few seconds of watching my muscles pull themselves together I couldn’t handle much more and turned my attention back to the Princess.  The spell was defiantly not something she was used to doing everyday as I could see the sweat forming on her head and the glow from her horn was quiet intense.  Glancing past her I could see the others staring open mouthed at this feat of magic, or at the fact that the Princess was healing a creature she knew nothing about I never found out.  I looked back over at Fluttershy and she seemed to be antsy about something.  “I have done all I can for you, the rest will have to heal on its own,” The Princess remarked as her horn went dark and she stepped back.  “I don’t know how to thank you enough Princess, if there is ever anything I can do to repay you just let me know,” I said as I moved my arm which felt like it had never been broken.  As I went to push myself up I felt a restraining hoof on my chest which was light yellow in colour.  “You just sit there while I take care of these other cuts, please” Said the timid Pegasus beside me. I didn’t even realize I had other cuts, but I did as I was told and didn’t move.  I did however start to talk and ask questions.  I learned all the ponies’ names and even managed a slight half bow to the Princess before I got told not to move.  I explained to them how I came to be in that world and the reasons why which I have covered before and feel no need to repeat.  The Princess seemed to understand my position but what concerned her was the reaction others would have to me.  Based on the reactions seen so far in that room, I may cause I wide spread panic which could result in things taking a very bad turn for the worst.  “Well if it’s not too much trouble for Twilight I could always stay in the library and help out.  I could earn my keep here till we figure out a way for me not to scare everypony out of their wits.”  The reaction I got was not what I was expecting, I expected some explanation why it wouldn’t be a good idea and perhaps some concern about me staying in the town.  However, nopony really had that reaction, the Princess was lost in thought and the others had various reactions.  “I would feel better if he stayed nearby at least until his wounds heal, if that’s ok with you” Piped Fluttershy as she tied a firm but gentle knot in a bandage that covered a wound on the side of my head.  “I wonder what sort of garments I could cook up for him. It would certainly be a challenge,” inserted Rarity.  “We have to have a party, I mean this is just like when Twilight first came to town but he came from another world, but we should still have a party, I’ll invite everypony in ponyville and we can all welcome him to town and,” Pinkie Pie was cut off by Applejack putting a hoof over her mouth. “Now Pinkie we can’t have all of ponyville knowing he’s here, it would cause problems we’d best avoid.”   I learned over the next little while that if no-pony is around Pinkie can and will keep talking for hours about subjects that go off into seemingly random directions.  “It would be kinda cool to have someone new to show my tricks to, plus he might have a few ideas from this other world of his,” Rainbow Dash seemed to say to herself.  Noticing me looking at her she quickly spoke up again “But don’t think for a second that I trust you.  If you attempt to harm one of my friends I’ll hit you so hard and fast you’ll be back in your own world before you realize what happened.”  “Fair enough, but I don’t plan on hurting anypony,” I countered, which only got me a dead level stare from the rainbow maned Pegasus.  “Well if it’s alright with the Princess I would be glad to have you around.  Your tall enough to reach most of the shelves without a ladder and Spike has been teaching you the finer points of cooking,” Twilight mused for a second, “But we would have to see what he thinks about that when he wakes up.”  It was then that I noticed that Spike had passed out from the sight of the blood and my bone sticking out of my arm.  Twilight had levitated a blanket down onto him and assured us that he would be fine but I still felt bad for putting him through that.  “So Princess is he able to stay?” Twilight asked.  Still deep in thought the Princess didn’t answer right away but when she did her answer made me want to jump for joy.  “Yes he can stay but there will have to be certain precautions taken so that nothing goes wrong.  I’m sure we can come up with a solution which will appeal to everypony.”  Fluttershy stepped back from me about a foot and softly told me that I was all bandaged up, so I lifted myself off the ground and stood up.  Standing up I was about the same height as the Princess which seemed to surprise a few of the others.  Then again the most likely only saw me for a few seconds before I was flying through the air.  “Twilight, why don’t I make some of the tea I brought from my world while we work this entire out?”  “Ok but be careful, you still don’t look the best.” She said and pointed me in the direction of the kitchen.  Spike had taken the bags which contained the various food stuffs we had brought from my world inside and laid them on the table.  I picked up the tea and was looking for a way to heat up some water when I heard the door open behind me.  “Hey Twilight, what would I use to heat up some water for the tea?” I asked not really looking at the doorway behind me.  “Um, I’m sorry, but I don’t know where she keeps the kettle, I’ll go ask her,” said a soft voice which could only belong to Fluttershy.   Cursing myself for not turning around before I talked I continued my search in vain for a kettle for a minute or two when Fluttershy returned to the kitchen.  Looking up from my crouched position near an open cabinet I met her eyes which caused her to give a little squeak.  “Sorry but before, Fluttershy right? I sorta just asked without looking to see who it was,” I said to her. “Oh it’s ok; I just wanted to make sure you would be alright.  You’re still pale from the blood loss and it wouldn’t do for you to collapse in here and injure yourself more,” She explained.  I was touched, back home when someone was injured people didn’t really care unless they where family or close friends, but here was a pony who was obviously still a little scared of me, coming to make sure I was alright.  Giving her a warm smile I asked “so did you find out where she keeps the kettle? I don’t want to keep them waiting for long.”  “Oh, yes, Spike keeps it just in here,” she said as she opened up a cabinet close to the door and pulled an old black kettle out.  For the next couple minutes we didn’t really speak as I boiled the water and got the tea seeping in a large teapot.  Fluttershy told me where the cups where but explained that I would only need five glasses as Rainbow Dash found the talk to be getting boring, Applejack was needed back at the farm, and Pinkie went back to Sugercube Corner to help out the Cakes.  Bringing out the tea and the glasses, which amused them all except Twilight who had seen my carry things using nothing but my hands before; I set them down on a small table and poured a glass for everypony before taking one myself.  Rarity actually looked at hers suspiciously for a second before she realized that Twilight was sipping on it without any problems.   “This is simply divine,” she exclaimed after taking a few sips. “What is it made off?”  “Well this is wild rose tea so I’m going to have to say roses.  I’m not a huge expert on teas to be honest,” I replied to her question.  Fluttershy and the Princess where surprised and delighted by the wonderful taste the tea had.  I think it was the tea that finally convinced Rarity that I wasn’t a bad guy, cause as she said “Nothing that would enjoy something so tasty could actually be evil.”  If only that was true in my world we would be able to solve a lot of problems.  I was about two thirds of my way through my cup of tea when I felt very sleepy.  As the others were listening to Twilight talk about the other things she had tried in my world I made my way over to a wall and slowly slide down it till I was sitting on the floor.  This didn’t escape notice for very long and Fluttershy quickly ran over to me asking what was wrong.  “Don’t worry Fluttershy, I’ll be alright.  The combination of blood loss, the warm tea, and the dizziness I felt from the teleportation is taking its toll.  And if I’m not mistaken my body also had to use up a lot of its energy to help with that healing, did it not Princess?”  “Yes it did so it is no surprise you are tired.  Take a nap and we will discuss everything when you awaken, for now I shall talk to Twilight and the others.”  Within seconds I was asleep.   I slept for near sixteen hours and when I woke up I was surprised to find a blanket over top of me and a curled up Fluttershy, who had fallen asleep reading a book beside me.  It was light outside so the whole library was lit up but getting up I felt like I had slept for ages.  My bones seemed to think the same as the popped multiple times as I stood up.  Draping the blanket over Fluttershy I picked the book up and went to place it on the table.  Glancing at the title I knew it was nothing other than a romance novel.  Now I won’t say I’m prejudice against romance novels but you read one you have pretty much read them all.  Placing the book on the table I walked over to a shelf marked history and, picking a book at random I made my way back to the wall I slept against and sat down to read for a while.  When it comes to reading something that catches my interest can keep it for hours and learning about the history of a world I have never seen before captured my interest greatly.  I was actually surprised when I Twilight arrived followed by Spike and the Princess.  “Oh, hi, I hope you don’t mind but I grabbed a book of the history shelf over there to keep myself occupied while everypony was gone.” I explained after giving a bow towards the Princess.  “That’s quite alright.  Is Fluttershy still asleep?”  “No I’m awake now, um where did my book go?”   “Sorry I saw you sleeping there so I placed it on the table over there so you wouldn’t lose your place.”  “Thank you” Fluttershy said in her soft voice.  Now at this point two things started to nag at the back of my mind. One was what the Princess had decided in the last seventeen hours I’ve been asleep, and two why was Fluttershy sleeping on the floor beside me.  Choosing to start with what I hoped was the shorter of the two questions I asked Fluttershy first. “Um Fluttershy I don’t mean to be rude or anything but why where you sleeping beside me?  I mean no disrespect it’s just with me being such an oddity here I figured you would be well scared of me. “Now that I look back on it, it was incredibly easy to tell that Fluttershy was the element of kindness based on those first couple days.  Her answer to my question was so timid and quiet it was hard for me to make out.  “Well you passed out and you had lost a lot of blood.  I stayed to make sure nothing bad happened while you were asleep.  Once morning came you looked a lot less pale so I sorta drifted off.  I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.”  She explained as she hid behind her pink mane.  “It's perfectly fine; I don’t feel uncomfortable at all and thank you for looking out for me.”  “It’s no problem at all, but I should really get back to my animal friends.  Angle bunny is probably worried.”  She said as she disappeared out the door taking the book from the table with her.   Now with my answer from Fluttershy, which for some reason made me feel very calm I turned my attention to the Princess.  “Sorry for not asking you first your majesty but I figured Fluttershy’s answer would take less time then what we had to discuss and I didn’t want her waiting around.  It would feel kinda rude to me,” I apologized to her.    “It's not a problem at all, you are right that this will take a while and it would not have been fair to her to have to wait for us to finish talking.”  “Well your majesty I did notice that you where talking to Twilight while I was conversing with Fluttershy and before you make any conclusions I want you to know something,” and taking a deep breath I went into the speech I had prepared in my head.  “Twilight is at no way in fault for me being here.  It was my idea to come here and since we have become friends she agreed with me and let me come along. No matter what your decision I want it to be known now that any punishment or scolding you wish to administer to Twilight I will accept instead.  The same goes for Spike as well.  I will not have them punished for something that I asked for.   If you wish to have me removed from here and confined in some faraway place or worse I will accept that for your word that no harm or punishment will befall Twilight or Spike.”   Staring into her eyes I left no room for her to escape giving me her word right then and there.  Now before this the only time I met royalty was a kid in a costume during a school play.  Needless to say I was terrified that she would strike me down on the spot or turn me into a toad or something worse.  She did have an enormous amount of magic at her disposal after all.  Glancing at Twilight I saw her standing there with her mouth wide open and Spike almost a mirror image on her back.   Laughter, the Princess was laughing, “Oh my, that was wonderful.  You have known them for such little time but yet the extent your willing to go for your friendship is truly astounding.  You have no need to worry though nopony shall be punished.   I was actually discussing with Twilight the possibilities of a working version of this spell,” Well that just goes to show just how far I can shove my foot into my mouth I guess.  “You can’t talk to the Princess like that, it’s not right, she is the Princess after all,” Twilight glared at me, making sure I got her point.  “I’m sorry Princess, I got a bit ahead of myself there and I shouldn’t have,” I apologized turning my gaze downward.  “There is no need to apologize.  You were looking out for your friends, and nopony should have to apologize for that.  Now would you like to hear my decision?”  “Yes,” I answer, already prepping myself for the worst.  “I have discussed it with Twilight and we have arrived at a conclusion.  You seem to have two choices, the world you left has changed since you left and I could not guarantee the well being of anypony who went there so I cannot send you back.  However, the choices I can give you are, one, you can taken to the edges of Equestria and set out on your own accord free to do as you please as long as you do not return.  Or two, with a few rules you may stay in this library with Twilight and work as her helper.  We shall discuss the rules after you make a decision.  I shall return in a few days for your answer.”  And with that she turned towards the door.  “Wait,” I called.  She stopped moving towards the door and slowly turned towards me.  “Yes?”  “I have already decided, If Twilight will allow me I while stay here and abide by any rules you decide on as long as they bring no harm to my friends.  If you have the rules made up already I would be glad to hear them.”   The Princess gave me a smile and then I found myself getting a hug which crushed the breath out of me.  “I’m so glad you made that choice.”  “Ya, it’ll be nice not being the only one having to cook around here.”   “Since you are staying I believe it is best if we went over these rules.  Twilight since you are already aware what I will be telling him I shall discuss it with him in the side room.”  “Of course Princess, I shall start setting up a few things.”  And with that I followed the Princess through a door opposite the one leading to the basement and entered a small room.  Books lined the room here as well but it was a library and over time I got used to seeing them all the time.  Sitting ourselves across a table from each other the Princess started going over the rules with me.  “You will have to remain indoors during the day as ponies that see you will get a fright.  You may go out at night but only after the town has gone to sleep and nopony is around to see you.  Naturally the ponies that have already seen you, which are all Twilights friends, you don’t have to hide from but others you shall.  You shall obey Twilights orders when it comes to the library as you are working for her and will be getting a wage from canterlot.  It shall be small but it will be enough for you to feed yourself and keep your clothes in good repair.  If another pony see’s you, you must report it to me or my sister immediately.  Twilight or Spike will be the best way to do so.” “Um Princess I don’t mean to interrupt but I’m guessing you already knew what I was going to pick based on how thorough your being.”  She gave me a smile.  “I didn’t know but I hoped, Twilight regards you as a friend and I wouldn’t have wanted to see her upset.  These rules aren’t really meant to be harsh even if they sound a bit so.  I’m not used to being this involved in a rules system, but don’t worry it will all work out alright.  My sister will be helping as well, her name is Luna and mine if you haven’t already heard is Celestia.”  “I don’t think it would be very proper for me to be conversing with you on a first name basis Princess.” “In Public no but when it is just Twilight and her friends around it should be amusing.”  “This is getting her back for surprising you when I came out of the basement isn’t it?”  “In a way yes, even royalty like a good joke now and then,” she said with a wink.  “Um Celestia I don’t mean to pry but what happened to that solider that sent me flying?”  “He has been demoted to guard duty in the upper garden for the time being.”  “Well I don’t think he should be punished, he was doing his job after all.  If you were in danger what he did would have been very brave.”  She looked shocked, “I didn’t think of it like that.  I guess I will reinstate his post, but he has been sworn to secrecy as well.”  “Even better reason to keep him close then don’t you think?”  “Are you implying one of my guards sworn to keep his word shall break it?” she asked a bit of a frown appearing on her face.  “No, well yes but I’ve lived in the human world my whole life.  That’s how they/we think.  I meant no offence.”  “I see, do not worry I shall take no offence as I can see how that would be.”   “Princess may I ask what it is you do?  I mean Twilight hinted at it before but didn’t really go into much detail.”  Now that opened a whole new can of worms as she went into detail what her duties entailed.  The Interesting thing about royalty no matter where they come from is that they all wish to have someone or somepony to talk to on a normal level.  I understand completely, it would get tiring listening to ‘your majesty’ and ‘your highness’ all the time, but I digress.  The sun was nearly set when Twilight knocked on the door.  “Have you covered all the rules Princess?  It didn’t take this long when we planned them out.”  “Yes Twilight we have covered the rules and we have been enjoying some interesting conversation.  Since Luna shall be covering for me this evening I shall finish up in a few minutes and head on home.”  Taking note of the chance I had to test Twilights reaction.   “But Celestia, are you sure you wouldn’t like a cup of tea before you leave?”  The look on her face was priceless.  It took all of my effort not to fall on the floor laughing.  Both the Princess and I had a good laugh that night but boy did I hear about it the next morning.  Spike offered to make us some tea and Twilight went off to read, not amused that we had played a joke on her.  After they had left the room Celestia became very grave.  “There is something else I have neglected to tell you.  It is not something that can be left in the dark as it would not be fair for you not to know.”   “This doesn’t sound like something good.”  “Indeed it is not.  I have yet to tell Twilight as I believe it only to be right that you’re the first to know.  While I was mending your arm, I discovered that the magic of this world is having a profound effect on your body.”  “But my arm is completely fine now.  I thank you for that if I haven’t said it enough, so what effects could the magic of this world be having on me?”  “The magic that we use dwells within us, we may draw on the magic flowing around us but in doing so it becomes ours.  However, it seems the magic that flows in this world, sustaining the life we see all around us is treating you like a threat.”  “Which means what exactly?  I know I can’t use magic as where I come from it doesn’t exist.”   “That is not entirely correct.  The potential for magic is there however it is blocked by something I cannot figure out.  It may be the magic of this world is trying to remove that blockage but I cannot be sure.”  “Ok, that sounds a bit weird to me but you know magic better than I ever will.  So what is this magic going to do to my body?”  “It is trying to remove the block inside you, but in doing so it seems to be destroying your life force as well.”   “Wait a minute here, destroying my life force?  What does that mean?  Am I just going to fall over dead in a week or something? “The life force is the best way to describe the essence which keeps all living things alive.  The best I can work out is this block is so enrooted inside of you that in trying to remove it the magic is causing your life force to disappear.  When I used my magic on you it didn’t seem to have any positive or negative effects on the rate the outside magic was moving.  So no you will not die in a weeks’ time.”   “That’s good to know, how long do I have before this outside magic stuff causes me to keel over dead?”   “Based on what I saw when I examined you I can safely say you will last a year, but no more than a week more.”  “So basically I have a year to live?”  “Unfortunately yes I will do my best to find a way to counter this but I cannot promise anything.”  “Well then I shall make the most of my time left.  I want Twilight and her friends to remember me for who I am not because of this, so if it is alright I would prefer to tell them in my own time.”   “Of course, in the mean time Luna and I shall see if we cannot find something to help.” “Thank you Princess, I just hope that this last year of my life will be better than the others. “  “I’m sure it will be.  You have made good friends within Twilight and Spike and I know that they shall make it fun.”   “I hope so; I’d hate to die of boredom before my year was up.  Dying early doesn’t exactly appeal to me,” I said with a weak smile.  Hearing a crash from the doorway both the Princess and I whipped around to face it.  The door was open and had been for some time, the secret was out already. > Chap 3: Princess of the Night > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3:  The Princess of the Night.         Waking to the sound of laughter coming from the main part of the library I shook the sleep from my head and replayed the events from the night before.  Spike had come into the side room bringing the Princess and I some tea and being so intent on our discussion we failed to hear the door open.  Spike heard everything we talked about, at least the grave situation i found myself in.  When he figured out exactly what we were talking about, he had dropped the tea pot and cups onto the floor which caused Twilight to leave her books and come running.  I was impressed with how quickly the Princess was able to convince Twilight that Spike had accidently dropped the tray.  Of course Spike wasn’t able to get a word in edgewise and i now owe him a favour for both taking the blame and not spilling my secret.  After Twilight had gone back to her studies involving the impeding effects certain flowers have on a unicorns magic, we pulled Spike into the room and worked out a deal.  When all was said and done i promised to tell everypony before my year was up, I also agreed to teach Spike some of the ways men impress the ladies in my world.  If i had known Rarity was the object of his infatuation i probally wouldn’t have told him the things i did but we shall get to that later.   The Princess had left not to long later and with Twilights permission Spike and i started setting up a room for myself.  For a tree it had a lot of rooms, most of which were filled with library books but an old storage room ended up working perfectly.  Over time that room would be filled with objects and books from all sorts of places but that’s not important right now.  What is important is the laughter coming from the main part of the library.  Not knowing who was down there i wasn’t able to just walk right out and do as i please.  Now when i wake up in the morning the first two things i have to do is use the bathroom and do some early streachs to wake myself up completly.  However, one thing i noticed is that useing the bathroom isn’t actually needed in this world.  I’m not sure how it works and some part of me tells me that i don’t want to know.  So completing my strechs and hoping that whoever was down there would leave realativly soon so i could get something to eat i started my day.  I found out it was safe to leave my room in the most peculiar way.  I was stretching out my back when i noticed something odd.  The door to my room was open but nopony was there.  Leaning back up so i could face my doorway without falling over, i noticed a certain pink pony walking across my ceiling.  That is not something someone who has just woken up should see; even more so if you are coming out of a streach. Well after i let out a scream of surprise and fell on my butt, i heard the wounds of laughter from behind me.  “That’s for the joke you and the Princess played on me last night,”  Said Twilight with a grin on her face.  Spike was rolling on the floor he was laughing so hard, the events from the night before kept tucked neatly away.  “Morning sleepyhead or should i say afternoon as it is after lunch time?  Did you forget to wake up?  I guess you need alot more sleep cause you’re so big but the Princess is near the same size as you and i don’t think she sleeps that much.  I didn’t think this would actually work as a joke but Twilight said it would and it did but i still prefer something like sneezing powder.”  Giving Twilight a puzzled look which she caught onto immediately, she introduced and explained.  “This is Pinkie Pie,  she stopped by this morning to invite us to a party to welcome you, and well she brought those shoes for some reason and we decided to pay a little joke on you.”  “Well im all for a good joke Twilight but you can’t have forgotten the rules already.  I can’t go anywhere until the town is deserted.  Pinkie Pie, how am i suppose to come to this party?”  i asked still confused at this pink pony who was walking on my ceiling.  I know i mentioned that before but seriously a pink pony, walking on the ceiling, its not something you come across everyday.  If it is you must either be related to Pinkie or spending to much time in the bars.   It seems she hadn’t stopped talking while i was conversing with Twilight but the question i had asked she picked up on in a second.  “Oh thats no problem, i already told everypony that we where going to have the party here and Twilight agreed.  I told them to be here around seven, so get ready to party.”  “Well not to be a downer but who is everypony?  The only ones who can know that im here are You, Twilight, Spike and your other close friends.  If anypony else discouvers me it won’t end well and the Princesses will have to be involved and i don’t wish to trouble them if i don’t have to.”  “Don’t worry about that.  It will only be us seven and you here tonight.  Twilight informed me of these silly rules before i invited everypony.  I mean how can you start living here if you don’t met other ponies?  You won’t be able to attend any of the great events or anything.  That’s absolutely horrible.” Pinkie Pie puzzles me immensely, with her last statement i watched as her mane seemed to lose some frizz and become slightly straighter.  Judging by the look of sadness on her face, i gathered that these events that happened in town where something she thought everpony should enjoy and the fact that somepony might be left out truly made her sad.  “Look Pinkie, i don’t know what type of events happen around here throughout the year but im sure within a few years ill not only be attending them but ill be helping you set them up.”  Spike shot me a glance that spoke volumes at that comment, and i knew that he wanted me to fess up then and there.  “How did you know i set up for the events? I mean i do and its fun but you knew already.  Guess my reputation as ponyvilles premier party pony is getting around.”  Even Twilight seemed puzzled at this but i played it off as if i had only guessed baised on her personality.   It wasn’t to much later that Pinkie decided to leave, something about making sure everything was ready which i still don’t understand as the party was happening there.  I passed the hours learning from Spike the various duties that i would be doing while i was there.  Surprisingly he did not mention any word of me telling the others but i could tell it was in his thoughts.  Spending the last hour before the party reading a book on the various edible plants, which was surprisingly large and very helpful, i listened for the telltale sound of the other ponies arrival.  I had just finished reading a segment on the ever-ice root when i heard a bang followed by Pinkie’s high pitch proclamation that it was time to party.  Making sure i was somewhat presentable i peeked out into the library to make sure it was only the ponies we were expecting.  Sure enough i could make out Pinkie bouncing around the library like her tail had caught on fire, so i crept along until i could see the entirety of the main room.  Most of the ponies i was told to expect where there.  Rainbow Dash was seemingly trying to get Pinkie to calm down but by the amused expression on her face she was enjoying the pink ponies randomness to the full extent.  Fluttershy was in discussion with Twilight, over what i do not know but she seemed to be very animated, so did Twilight for that matter.  Spike was nowhere to be found but from the light in the kitchen i was sure he was hiding from Pinkie in there.   “So why aren’t Applejack and Rarity here yet?” I heard Twilight ask from my hidden corner such as it was.  “Oh well, Rarity said she had to finish up something for your guest,” piped up Fluttershy.  She was hard to hear over such a short distance, it made me realize just how soft spoken she was most of the time.  “And Applejack is just finishing up some last minute chores, she’ll be along shortly.” Inserted Rainbow Dash.   “At least she better be”  “What do you mean Rainbow?” asked Twilight.  “Well come on Twilight, your friend is not exactly normal.  Its a little unnerving ya know.  And no offence meant to Fluttershy but i’m one hundred percent sure that if he hadn’t been hurt she wouldn’t have come either.”  “Then why are you here?  If he seems like such a danger to everypony why did you all come?” Twilight countered, her voice growing in volume with every word.  “Because im sticking by my friends and if he trys anything i plan to stop it.”  Looking out into the room i could see Fluttershy and Pinkie both beginning to look upset and there was no signs of Twilight and Rainbow stopping anytime soon.  Sighing softly i stepped out into the room which got me an instant glare from Rainbow and looks of shock from the other three.  “We where just um well,” started Twilight, but i quickly cut her off.  “Twilight its alright, i can understand Rainbows concern as well as any other ones you all may have.  Its true i am a stranger here but i wouldn’t harm anypony, i left my world with Twilights help to escape that type of violence.  I’m not asking you to trust me completly Rainbow, im just asking that before you judge me, you take the time to know me.” Rainbow seemed shocked, then again so did all the others.  Spike had come out from the kitchen during the fight and was looking at me with a slight grin.  “He has you there Rainbow. When Gilda came to town you told us the same thing over and over again,” Spike said, joining in on the conversation.  “Ya but just look how she turned out to be,” Rainbow argued back, but you could see the arguements losing strength on her tounge.  “How bout this Rainbow, If i ever hurt you or anyone of your friends, you may do what you wish to me up to and including taking my life.  Does that sound like a fair deal to you?”  I said to her.  It took me a few seconds to realize that nopony was moving, or hardly breathing for that matter.  “You really mean that? You can’t mean that. Nopony gives anypony the right to take their life. Ever,” interjected Twilight, snapping from her stupor.  “Twilight, in my world someone can lose their life for saying hi to the wrong person.  I’m not a pony as Rainbow has pointed out so clearly so i believe i can do this.”   Rainbow was just looking at me like i had just started to fly around the room on her wings.  “Do we have a deal Rainbow?” i asked as i stuck my hand out in front of me.  Reluctantly she placed her hoof in my hand and we shook on it. “Deal,” she agreed although she looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but there at that moment.  The major issue being solved i turned towards Fluttershy and Pinkie to say hello. “Hi girls, its good to see you again and right side up this time,” i said with a smile.  Pinkie seemed to be back to normal at that comment and started bouncing around the room again, saying hello and talking randomly to both me and Rainbow.  Twilight was conversing with Spike over something but Fluttershy just stared at me.  I was able to see her small form trembling slightly, but i couldn’t understand why.  “Fluttershy? Is everything alright?” i asked her.  “No everything is not alright,” She shouted, not a quiet voice like she had been using but an actual shout.  “I don’t care what things where like in your world but you will not be throwing your life away like that.  I know Rainbow would never do something like that but you should never, never say such a thing.”  “Im sorry Fluttershy, you went through all that trouble to help me get better and then i went and made that promise to Rainbow.  I won’t be taking back my word to Rainbow but you don’t have to worry as i don’t plan on hurting any of you.  Im sorry i hurt your feelings Fluttershy, i’ll do my best to think more before i speak next time.”  Calmed down now but still a bit shaky she stopped shouting.  “It’s ok, im sorry for yelling at you.  I just don’t like it when something i care about does something like that.”   Dismissing her apology with a wave of my hand and a casual, you have nothing to be sorry about, we started talking about other things.  I learned that she takes care of many animals, lives near the everfree forest and not to far from Sweet Apple Acres.  We where involved in a discussion on the varies animals she takes care of when there was a knock and the door, it opened to reveal both AppleJack and Rarity, who quickly came inside.   “Howdy all.” “Good evening,” They said as they walked inside.  A course of hellos and the like answered back.  Rainbow went and started to talk to Applejack about what i had promised to her and Rarity had started to talk to Fluttershy about some spa.  Grabbing some punch from the table i went into the kitchen to see what Spike was up to.  “So are you going to tell them since they’re all here tonight?” Spike asked me as i walked in.  “No Spike, Rainbow has a great distrust for me and she isn’t the only one.  I can sense that the others are wary of me so telling them now would do nothing but upset Twilight.  Besides its a party, your suppose to have fun at a party.”   “Well, alright, but i heard Rarity out there so if you will excuse me,”  He said heading towards the door with a moon struck expression on his face.  Draining the punch from my glass i headed back into the main room.  For the next couple of hours everything was mostly peaceful, except for a brief moment when Twilight cornered me about my promise to Rainbow Dash.  The party was winding down, and Rarity had just given me a dark cloak so i could move around at night easier, how she worked out making it fit i still don’t know, when Pinkie asked a question i was hoping i would never have to answer.  “So, Twilight told me she didn’t see any ponies in your world.  Were they all out of town, cause that would be silly for all the ponies to go out of town at the same time. Who would control the weather that way?”   “Well, you see, the ponies in my world don’t live in the cities. They live out on farms or ranchs for the most part.”  “Oh, so they work on farms like Applejack does? Do they have lots of apple trees?  And what about the Weat-“  Her tirade of questions where cut off by Applejacks hoof.  “Now I’m sure he’ll get ta that Pinkie.  Just let him continue and keep quiet for a moment will ya.”  Sighing i started explaining what happened in my world, doing my best not to expose to much.  I’ll include what i said then so you can have some idea what i was talking about.  “First of all, the weather isn’t controlled by Pegasus, It flows naturally around my world.  In fact there are no Pegasus in my world, or unicorns for that matter, at least not anymore.  If there was once they seem to have been wiped out.”  This revealation caused a few gasps but i continued before i could be interrupted.  “We have myths that involve both Pegasus and Unicorns, but those are old and no one has seen either for centuries.  As for the ponies that are around, they spend most of their lives on farms or the like.  None of them seem to be able to talk like we are at the moment.  They are usually ridden around by other members of my race as a mode of transportation or for helping with work around the farm.”   I’ve left out a lot of what i told them but needless to say the questions about farming went on for near twenty minutes before Rainbow asked a very difficult question.  “If there is no Pegasus ponies, who flies in the sky?”  “Well Rainbow, we have most of the same creatures in my world as you do here from what Fluttershy tells me.  But my race has come up with devices and machines to fly in the sky as well.”   That seemed to make her think, while Pinkie started talking about her balloon and flying machine.  The conversation lasted for nearly two hours in itself but was finally ended by a large yawn from all ponies present.  Spike had already passed out up in his bedroom, so Twilight and i saw the Guests to the door and wished them goodnight.  I thanked Rarity again for the cloak and made plans to use it that night. Twilight looked like she wished to continue on with our discussion but i could see that she was almost falling asleep on her feet.  After giving her a slight hug and thanking her for the party i promised to continue the discussion in the morning.  Not feeling tired myself i bundled myself in my new cloak and peeked around outside.  Nopony was around that i could see but to play it safe i decided to leave via a window in the rear of the library.  Walking through Ponyville was amazing that first time, I saw SugarCube Corner, where, dispite her endless energy Pinkie had already turned out the lights for bed.  I spotted Raritys boutique which was dark as well and since i could only see a few homes with lights on i decided that it was safe to continue my wanderings.  I never really got to take a good look at my new home from the outside before then and even in the dark it was impressive.  I could make out at least three stories which was interesting as Twilights room was only on the second floor and i’d seen no way to access the third so far, but that was for another time.  Picking a direction which seemed to have fewer houses i walked towards the edge of town.  It took me ten minutes perhaps to reach the edge of town and only another fifteen after that to reach a hill that looked down over the town.  Sitting there looking at the town i smiled to myself at where i was, and the fact that even with death being so close, i was never happier.  I find it funny that, when faced with death, every creature with some sembalence of intelligence  will reach one of two stages.  Either they will do their best to make the most of their time left, accepting what will come but still fighting for that every moment of life they can get.  Or they seem to resign themselves to being nothing more than a husk of their former selves.  They wallow in self pity and before they know it their time is up, and because they have done nothing but mope they end up leaving behind a bunch of regrets.  Well i wasn’t going to be like that, even if in a year i would fall over dead, i would still make the most of my time here.  Sorry was beginning to ramble there. So i was sitting on that hill, overlooking the town when i heard a sound behind which nearly made me faint.  It was the sound of Pegasus wings, if i hadn’t been around Rainbow the last few days i wouldn’t have recognized it but it was still a unnerving sound.  As i sat there, hoping that whoever it was would mearly overlook me, which i knew was highly unlikely, the unknown pony spoke. “So you are the creature my sister has spoke about.  What brings you out into the dark of the night?”  “Princess Luna.  For a few moments i thought some other pony had been out and had seen me.  I’m glad it was you who landed behind me.”  “How is it you know my name?  My sister said you had never spoken about me.  Unless you have heard the name from Twilight Sparkle perhaps?”  “To be honest Princess, i’m not sure how i knew your name.  Ever since i came here my mind seems to be playing tricks on me.”  The Princess shot me a genuine interested glance as she sat down on the hilltop beside me.  “Would you care to explain what you mean?”  “Ok lets start from the beginning, when Twilight first came to my world with Spike i knew both of them on sight.  However, whenever i try to remember how i would have known them, i seem to get a massive headache.  It was the same with her friends and with your sister and yourself.  I’m not sure what exactly is going on but i’m worried what my memory is keeping from me.”  The Princess seemed to take this all into deep consideration, but it was only a few moments before she asked me a question.  “When you first saw these ponies, did you announce that you knew their names before hand?”  “No, i waited until i was introduced, the reason i did not act the same with you was, well i was hoping you could help me.”  “Unfortunatly, i have no idea what is going on so i cannot be of much help.  Perhaps it is just the magic that is attacking you slipping in extra information.”  “That might explain it, however i seem to know a few things about ponies as well, i’ve done my best not to let that information slip out but i almost messed up with Pinkie Pie today.”  “Well i suggest you watch your words carefully till you actually learn the information then” The Princess said with a slight smirk.  I will always remember that smirk she had, due to the rapid rate it disappeared when i spoke the next bit of information i knew.  “Well then Princess, would it be considered bad taste to ask how someone with such a spry sense of humour become Nightmare Moon?”  That seemed to knock the wind out of her and she responded in an almost hiss.  “How do you know about that? How much do you know?” “Well to be honest not much.  I know you where once Nightmare Moon and that you where defeated and changed back into who you are now.  What or who defeated you is a complete mystery to me, and as far as i’m concerned that is all in the past.  I didn’t mean to upset you so much.”   We sat on the hilltop in an uneasy silence, doing nothing but staring at the starry sky above.  I’m not sure how long it was before the silence was broken but during that time i felt that no matter what the darkness could hold, i was safe with Princess Luna there to watch over me.   She eventually broke the silence and brought me away from my thoughts.  “You never did tell me why you were out here tonight.”  “Well Princess, I’m not allowed to be seen by other ponies as your sister may have told you.  So the night is the only time in which i can go outside, but i don’t mind that.  The night sky is beautiful, and when you sit under the stars and moon, you can think more clearly.  It is the time in a day when everything is at peace, and in that it relaxes me.”  “There are many creatures that hunt and move around in the dark of the night.  Do you not fear them?”  I turned towards her with a slight smile, “No, not really, They are only trying to live.  Besides i don’t think anything to dangerous would come close to town like this.”  The Princess was content with this, and decided to tell me a tale, wether or not it is true i shall never know.  “Back before i was corrupted and turned into Nightmare moon, i was happy almost all the time.  The night was dark and held many secrets for most ponies but there where always some who worked late hours or enjoyed a vivid nightlife.  There was a stallion who worked in the palace during the day, but every night he would spend hours gazing up at the night sky.  I saw him many a time, but being royalty i did not speak with him.  Till one night as i was flying by i heard him crying.  It was the crying of a stallion who had had his heart crushed.  Since he was one of my subjects, i believed that was a good enough reason to speak with him, a Princess cannot leave her subjects when they are unhappy and the sobs that broke from his chest where powerful.”  The Princesses eyes seemed to glaze over as she recalled this time from so long ago.  She was facing towards the stars and i followed her gaze enraptured by her story. “”When i landed beside him, he did not even glance towards me so powerful was his sadness, that it took me a few moments to speak to him.  I was used to my subjects instantly noticing me and saying some form of acknowledgement that when he did not speak to me i was unsure on what to do.  I got his attention by lightly coughing and he spun towards me like i was a ghost.  ‘Princess Luna’ he said ‘why are you here? I’m sorry if my cries have disturbed you.’  I told him not to worry and that it was his cries that brought me there.  I asked him to tell me what had caused him such great sadness that he was crying so loudly under the stars at night.  He told me that for the last few months his wife had been very sick, she was stuck in the hospital and the doctors knew she wouldn’t have lasted long.  So every night he would sit up and gaze at the stars and write poetry and songs for her.  For it was a song that he wrote which brought them together and he wanted her last days to be good ones so he decided that every night he would come up with a new song or a new piece of poetry and after his day in the palace he would take it to her.  Over the past few nights he had been writing a song which would describe their life together and promise that even after she passed on, he would still remember her and treasure every moment they had spent together.  But that was not to be, for while he was working in the palace that day, his wife took a turn for the worse and slipped away.  He was crying not only for his loss but also because he believed that if he had finished his song one day sooner she would have heard it and it would have brought her peace.  When he had finished his story i could do nothing but stare, here was a pony who had suffered through such a loss and here i was intruding apoun his grief.  I felt ashamed for stopping, not that it was wrong but because i had interrupted his mourning with my presense and questions.  When i apologized to him for bothering him, he waved it off and told me that it was nice to know that not only did we Princesses care about our subjects but that we would also take the time to help them in their time of need.  I left later then i thought that night as my sister was already raising the sun.  I told him to take time off to recuperate and deal with everything he had to get done.  I was not usually awake during the day back then so i had never seen this pony before but when i returned i informed my sister and she agreed that what i had done was right and sent a messanger with her condolences as well.  Over the next couple nights i saw the same stallion gazing up at the stars and i would always stop by to say hello but nothing more.  The night after the funeral i saw him for the last time, if i had paid more attention that night it may not have been the last but i didn’t.  He told me that he had sung his song he wrote over her grave and left a book full of his writings, both songs and poetry beside her.  The next night i did not see him, nor the night after that.  I grew concerned and asked my sister if he had come back to work, which she informed he, he had not.  I went to the same place i had always found him and there apoun a stone was a note.  Dear Princess Luna, it read, I thank you for all the time and help you have given me during this whole ordeal but im afraid i must say goodbye.  I have realized that without my wife this place holds very little for me, i thank you for your friendship as well, and i hope you find this note or that somepony brings it to you.  I am going to travel the land and write about what i see and hear.  Perhaps someday we will meet again, and i shall have great stories to share.   We would never meet again,  it was two months later that he was found,  some beasts had found him on the open feilds close to a small village and tore him to peices.  The only reason anypony could identify him was the mark he carried in his saddlebags that showed he worked for us.  When the guards asked why he was out in the fields with no one to help him, the villagers told us that he had left as the sun went down.  He had said something along the lines that no matter what the night may hold, it holds the beauty of the stars and the moon as well.  So do not believe that the night is always safe, for even near to towns danger can still lurk in the dark.” Sitting there underneath the night sky Princess Luna had tears in her eyes and her voice had started to crack by the end of her story.  Looking towards her i couldn’t help but think about all the ponies that both her and sister had known that had grown old and passed away.  It must be hard seeing those that you love and care about grow old and die while you live on, time meaning nothing to you.  “Princess, i promise i shall be careful out in the dark and im sorry you lost your friend so long ago.”  “It is ok, it has been a long time since then but with all the time i was banished it seems like it was only a few years ago.”  With that we fell back into silence once again, me with my thoughts on my now much shorter life and her with her memories.  Breaking the silence once again i asked the Princess why everypony made such a big deal about the deal i made with Rainbow.  “You made a deal with your life on the line?” she asked me.  “Yes, i figured it would be the best way to let Rainbow know that i never plan on harming any of them.”  Sighing she turned towards me and explained why they were all so shocked.  “When you made that deal, you passed control of your life over to Rainbow.  You may not have understood it then, but i shall explain it for you now.  The magic in this world swirls around and through everything.  When you made that deal you passed on the control you have over your own life force.  For most agreements made the magic just flows around it and breaking it will cause minor if any consequences.  However, since you have placed your life as something which can be taken in the bargain, if it is broken you shall die as the magic forces it way out of your body and leaves a hollow area around you.”  I was shocked to say the least.  I had thought that maybe they where shocked because i had made a comment about death but apparently they either knew about this or at least where told at sometime never to do so as the consequences would be horriable.   “Well, at least Rainbow won’t have to worry about it for longer then a year,” i muttered mostly to myself.  “You are not planning on hurting one of them are you?” The Princess almost yelled at me.  I proceeded to explain the situation i was in and how it came to be that i ended up with a shorter life span.  “So that is what my sister is studying late into the night.  She stays up late reading tomes that where old back before i turned to the darkness.  But how did she become aware of the magic’s effect on you?  Just by looking at you i cannot see any evidence of this.”  So i explained to Princess Luna the events which had happened when i first made my apperence to her sister and Twilights friends.  “Wait, you took a full on blow from a royal guard and only suffered a broken arm?”  “Um, ya, is that not suppose to happen?”  “When a royal guardsman sees one of us in danger, he is to assess the threat and respond accordingly. The fact that he attacked you means he saw you as a threat to the Princess that had to be removed.”  The princess said the last word in a tone that left no room for guessing.  “So when he attacked me, he was trying to kill me then.  How come it didn’t work?” i asked her, curiousity winning out over shock.  “You must be made of sterner stuff then it seems.  But please do not inform Twilight and her friends about this, it is not common knowledge that the royal guard has been trained in that matter nor should it be.  They have only used it a half dozen times to defend us against threats, usually we deal with it ourselves.”  “So i can withstand a blow from a royal guard, which should have killed me, but my body is to weak to last more than a year here.  That’s just wonderful, at least i won’t have to worry if Spike drops a ladder on my head then.”  The sarcasm in my voice couldn’t be missed by a deaf pony.   “Well, if you like, we can always get some royal guards to use you as a practice dummy,” the Princess said in a neutral voice.  I looked over at her and i could see she was doing her best not to laugh.  Our eyes met and we both broke out laughing, we laughed for a long time imagining me as a practice dummy.  The laughter was broken when i let out a large yawn.  “You should return to Twilights and go to sleep, there is only a few hours till dawn now anyways.”  The Princess said her laughter slowly fading away.  “Perhaps your right, i enjoyed talking to you tonight Princess, we should do it again.”  “That would be acceptable, i have a lot to catch up on from the past thousand years and with you living in a library im sure we can both learn a lot and share it.”  “Sounds like a plan Princess, i’ll do my best to learn what i can and we can exchange what we have learned for the next year.”  The Princess nodded but she seemed to be thinking about something else.  “Uh Princess, you’re starring off into space there. What’s on your mind?” i asked her.  “You may have touched on something earlier but i will have to do some reaserch back at the castle.  I may have a solution but i cannot be sure.”  “Well, if you do figure one out i’ll be glad to have it but im not getting my hopes up.”  Saying our goodbyes the Princess took off into the night sky and quickly disappeared amoung the darkness.  I tried to watch her go for a minute or two waving in the direction i thought she took.  I do hope she was flying in that direction, otherwise if anypony else saw me they would have thought i was crazy waving up at the sky.  After a few moments i turned and started to make my way back towards the town.  I still remembered Luna’s warning about the dangerous things that roam around at night but with her have just been there i was fairly sure i was safe.  Entering in nearly the same place i left i started to make my way back to Twilights library for a good long sleep.  However it seemed that i wasn’t going to be able to make my way through town as easily as i left.  As i was passing by a group of houses i heard the sound of somepony walking down the street.  Knowing i could not be seen i quickly looked for an escape which fortunately for me was easy to come by.  The house next to me was a simple one story place and with how the windows were placed it was not hard for me to climb up onto the roof.  Staying as low as possible i made my way up onto the mostly flat roof and hoped that whoever it was, wasn’t going to take off into the air and see me.  As the little pony walked closer i could hear that they were talking to themselves.  From the pitch of the voice i was able to determine that the pony walking below me was female and risking a quick glance over the edge i was able to comfirm that she was quite young.  She stopped almost directly below me, much to my dismay, and started to complain to the night air.  “I don’t understand why they have to sell the house.  I mean come on, its not like a lot of ponies are moving into ponyville.  It’ll take forever to sell, at least ill be able to spend more time with my friends before i have to leave.”  From up on the roof i could hear her voice crack and the sobs that poured forth.  Now when i was younger i had moved a few times and i have moved quite a few since then.  I knew that leaving all your friends behind and going to some strange place wasn’t the most amusing thing to go through, especially when your younger.  So i decided to take a big risk, and moving closer to the edge where i knew i could be heard but not seen i called down to the little filly.  “Isn’t it past your bedtime? Why are you out wandering the streets?”  The sobs stopped instantly and the filly jumped up and looked around for whoever was talking to her.  “Who-Who’s there?” she asked, looking around nervously.  “Just somebody who happened to be wandering around at night, now, what seems to be causing you to wander you around so late little one?”  “I’m not little,” she said with a defensive tone.  “Just where are you anyways? And why should you care about my problems? And why didn’t you say somepony?”  “You have a lot of questions it seems.  Well first off i said what i did because i’m not a pony and secondly i always believed that if you spend the night looking for answers you should be able to find one.  Besides it’s always better to offer somepony help if they need it don’t you think?”  She seemed to have calmed down a bit and gathered the general direction i was in but not my precise location. She sat down on the ground and started to talk some more.  “I wasn’t expecting to find anything out here tonight.  I just couldn’t sleep so i decided a walk was needed to clear my head.  The house i live in went up for sale today and i really really don’t wanna move.”   “I can understand that, i moved a few times before and it can be nerve-wracking.  But it doesn’t mean you won’t ever see your friends again or that the new place your going will be bad.  You’ll still be with your parents and they wouldn’t take you anywhere that would be bad for you.”  I explained hoping to cheer up the little filly a bit.  Instead she seemed to get even more upset.  “You don’t understand, everything i have is here, my friends, my school, and the one pony i look up to more than anything.”  I noticed she didn’t say anything about her parents but i dismissed that as a normal for somepony so young.  “Well then, why don’t you explain to me what makes you so upset about this and then head off home to bed?  It’s only a few hours till morning and you do need some sleep, you’re still growing after all.”  She shot a glare in the direction my voice was coming from so i slipped back from the edge a bit more.  “This is the first place i’ve lived that felt like home, and now if somepony buys my house i’ll have to leave and i don’t know where i’ll go.  I can’t go back to my old place, nopony liked me there and without my friends ill be all alone again.  Why did my house have to go up for sale at all?” The little filly was crying by the time she finished her short explaination.  I was never the best at dealing with crying young ones, or crying females for that matter and this little filly fell into both catagories.  “But there is no guarantee somepony will buy your house right away is there? I lived in a place for five years before it sold.”  I told the young filly.  It was strange, when i thought about events like that my memory was clear as a bell but when it involved my current situation i was completly lost.  Forcing those thoughts to the back of my mind i focused back on the filly below me.  “What should i do? I haven’t told my friends yet or anypony else. What if they’re glad i’m leaving?”  Letting out a silent sigh i gave her the best advice i could think of. “Your friends won’t be glad your leaving, but if you don’t tell them that it may be happening they will be upset.  When your house sells i’m sure you won’t be leaving right away as packing takes time you know.  And if your friends care about you as much as you obviously care about them, i’m sure you could convince Pinkie Pie to throw a massive party for you.”  Risking a glance over the edge of the roof i could see the little filly lost in thought.  Her thoughts where interrupted by a large yawn which betrayed just how tired she was.  “I heard that yawn,” i called to her, “why don’t you head on home and get some sleep, think on what i said.  I plan on being around for awhile so if you need to talk just let me know.”  “And how am i suppose to do that?  I don’t know who you are or what you look like.”  She had me stumped for a few moments but i quickly came up with a solution.  Taking a symbol off my necklace i threw it against the building opposite and watched it land on the ground near the filly.  The sound of something landing beside her made her jump a bit and it was hard not to laugh.  “Take that and place it on a necklace, when you need to talk just hang it on the door of the big tree near the center of town.”  “You mean the library? But Twilight lives there, she might wonder why i’m hanging a necklace on her door.”  While i knew it was the library as i lived there i had to come up with a way for her not to suspect such.  “Well if it’s something thats bugging you during the day talk to your friends about it.  But if its one of those things that is going to cause you to walk around late at night then hang it there before midnight.”  The little filly agreed and i told her that it was nearing dawn and to head on home. After the little filly was gone, which i checked from the roof top, i slowly made my way down to the ground and continued my way towards the library.  By the time i climbed back into the window i had left open and made my way to my room i could see the sky turning a pale pink in the horizon as the sun rose and lit up the clouds.  It was a sight i learned to enjoy as time went by but that first morning was the best.  I sat and watched the sun as it climbed into the sky and pulling the amazing gift from Rarity around myself i laid down intending to get some sleep.  Twilight i learned, had other ideas, when i told her i would continue the discussion in the morning she decided that once the sun had risen it was morning.  Before my head hit the pillow my door flew open and she rushed in with a quill and notebook floating behind her.  Sitting up fully i stared at her with wide eyed astonishment, to which she only replied, “The suns up, it’s morning, and i stayed up for hours coming up with questions to ask.”  “How did you stay up for hours thinking up questions when you could barely stand up right last night.  I was worried that you would’ve fallen asleep on the stairs but yet you came up with questions.”  I was stunned to say the least, but i learned something very important that morning. Never, under any circumstances, tell Twilight that you will continue a discussion in the morning.  If she has any opportunity to learn something new she will wake yyou up at the crack of dawn and she will have come up with at least a hundred questions at some point during the night.  Thanks to Spike’s tendency to sleep as much as possible i wasn’t saved till nearly two hours later when a knock came from the front door.  It was AppleJack dropping off a delievery of apples and the whole process did not last long however it was enough to wake Spike up from his long nights sleep.  Twilight returned to my room just before i laid down and floated an apple towards me.  As i plucked it out of the air and took a bite Spike wandered into my room looking for Twilight and asking what he should cook for breakfast.  Looking over at me i’m sure he was surprised at the sight, wrapped up in my new dark cloak with dark rings under my eyes and swaying slightly, i was not the most energetic at the time.  “Uh, did you have a good sleep?” he asked me with a grin on his face.  “Not yet Spike, but im sure i will when Twilight runs out of questions.”  “So did the cloak from Rarity keep you warm outside last night?” he asked, glancing towards Twilight.  It seems that she was so engrossed with the questions she had she didn’t even notice that i was wearing Rarity’s gift much less that i hadn’t been to sleep yet.  At first she apologized for keeping me awake and not noticing how tired i was, but then i swear i saw a light turn on over her head and she glared at me.  “You went out last night. And didn’t return until this morning.  What if somepony saw you?”  She wasn’t happy that i could tell but i was tired and figured it would be a funny reaction so i told her something i shouldn’t have, at least not right then.  “Well Twilight, somepony did see me last night but i don’t think it will cause any problems.”  Twilight looked ready to explode and when she asked me who it was it sounded like she was doing her best not to scream.  “We have to tell the Princess who it was that saw you last.  What did they look like? Where you able to see their cutie mark? What colour was their mane?”  As mean as it was i started to laugh and between chuckles i explained.  “The Princess already knows Twilight, after all it was the Princess who saw me.”  She seemed confused and asked me why Princess Celestia would be out in the middle of the night.  Giving her the biggest grin i could manage and throwing a wink towards Spike i told her.  “Now what makes you think it was Celestia?  After all there are two Princesses ya know.”   I almost fell to the floor i was laughing so hard, the looks on their faces were priceless.  Twilight managed to recover quicker then Spike and with a sigh of relief asked how my meeting with Luna had come about.  I told her how Luna and i had met, however i did not inform her of the story she told me or of the memory malfunction.  Even with the lack of sleep i was able to determain that telling Twilight about the little filly would cause problems, so i kept that to myself for the time being.  “So since you saw a bit of ponyville, did you like the town?” Twilight asked me.  “To be honest Twilight, i couldn’t see alot of it since it was dark but from what i could see it looks great.  Hopefully i’ll be able to see it in the sun before the year is out.”  Spikes attention was on me in a second and his pointed glance made me realize just how close i was to spilling my secret then and there.  Twilight seemed to be wondering about my choice of words as well and told me so.  “It would be kinda disappointing if i was here for longer then a year and never got to see the town in the light of day,” I explained “But i’ve had a long night so would it be ok if i catch a few hours sleep?  I know there is more you want to talk about Twilight but we have all the time in the world.”  A faint blush touched her cheeks from her embaresment, she started to apologize for keeping me up when i had been up all night talking to Princess Luna, but i quickly waved it away.  “No need to apologize, you didn’t know and i did say i would talk to you in the morning, it’s my fault.”  Spike just rolled his eyes and i knew he was expecting me to tell Twilight everything then and there.  Trying to deflect the conversation away from that topic and keep it away i asked Twilight if she knew how to cut hair as mine was getting long.  The result was exactly what i was hoping for, which was a look of puzzlement from both Spike and Twilight, followed by laughter.  She told me she would ask Rarity to stop by later that day or the next and headed towards the door with Spike following close behind.  They where both still breaking off into slight giggles and stifled laughter and as the door was closing behind them i heard Spike speak to Twilight.  “He sure is random when he is tired, i wonder what would happen if we got him and Pinkie together when he was like this.”  “I don’t want to think about it Spike, we both know how random-AH!”  “Hi Twilight, Hi Spike, where you looking for me?”  the sound of Pinkie’s voice carried through the now closed door and remembering my meeting with her i could only imagine where she had appeared.  I drifted off into a deep sleep with a smile on my face at the thought.