> What's Out There?
>  by Sharky White
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Are you kidding me?! He could never make it on his own! Especially not... like he is..." My mother shouts at my dad, dropping her voice to mutter the last few words. I roll my eyes, she never really figured out how thin the wall between our bedrooms was. 

"Well, I think he should get to try. After all, we can't expect to keep him locked up like he is forever! If we don't let him go, he'll just leave on his own." My dad counters. I smile a little, he always had my back.

"Do you know how ponies would react?! Don't you remember how we reacted?!" Mom was getting angry, that didn't bode well for me or dad.

"Of course I do sweetie, but we got over it. I'm sure he can get others to like him, he'll be fine. After all, he may be different, but he's kind and smart. Nopony will mistake him for a monster or something like that." Mom pauses for a bit. That meant she didn't quite know how to reply. Dad had her on the ropes now.

"Well... No, no! Forget it! He's staying. I don't want him to go out and get himself hurt and lost!" Mom shut down the argument firmly. I flinch, there was no way dad could get through to her now. I roll over in my bed and sniffle a little.

"C'mon honey, he's been here 18 years..."

"Scotch, I said no!" Mom shouts. I could hear her stomp over to their bed and jump in. My dad sighs. I mimic his sigh and roll over further to smoosh my face into my pillow. I let out a small scream, it wasn't fair. I had heard other colts and fillies playing off in the distance my whole life. I never got to join them. I had heard of 'school', but my parents made me learn at home. I had memorized every single detail of our home. Every nook and cranny was etched into my brain, just waiting to be replaced with memories of the outside world. 

"Well... I guess I can't do anything about it..." I muttered into my pillow. It wasn't so bad here I suppose. My parents were always nice, I had all the food I could need... I couldn't shake the feeling that I was always missing something though. I gave another sigh. Before I knew it, I found myself falling into an uneasy, reluctant sleep with my clothes still on.


****************


"Star! Wake up!" My dad hisses, suddenly shaking me from my sleep. I jump out of bed quickly, slamming my head into the ceiling. I crouch back down as fast as I had jumped up, rubbing my head and squinting one eye in pain. I look at several butter-yellow unicorns as they whirl around in front of me. My vision quickly returned to normal and I was left looking at my dad. 

"What?" I hiss back, rubbing my head in annoyance. Suddenly some saddlebags are tossed into my lap. 

"Son, you're leaving." My dad informs me quickly. I look up to him in shock and almost burst into nervous laughter.

"L-leaving?"

"Yeah. You wanted to go, and you're going. Your mom is out cold, and I'm getting you out of here. I'm probably going to sleep on the couch for the rest of my life for this, but it'll be worth it."

"D-d-dad?"

"C'mon! You've been asking for this for years! I moved out of the house when I was fourteen. I think it's about time you finally got to see something other than the walls of this house and the stars in your window. I would love to be going with you... to show you some things and help you around. Toffe would never let that happen though."

"Really? Y-you're letting me go?" 

"Quit asking questions and just leave! I packed all your favorite books, a bunch of food, and some pictures of us just in case you miss us."

"What about my clothes?" My dad rolls his eyes.

"Ugh, I have no idea why you insist on wearing those all the time..."

"It just--"

"Feels right, I know. Look, there isn't any more room in the bags. You need to get going now! That bump you made might've woken your mother! Now, be careful, be smart, and be understanding. Not everypony out there will react positively to you. I want you to just be patient with them and be yourself. If something goes wrong and you need to use magic to defend yourself or something, dont hesitate."

'T-this is all so sudden... Shouldn't we wait for mom to agree?"

"Look, unless you want to be stuck here until we pass away, you need to go!" Dad started butting his head against me, pushing me towards the door. I took the hint and started trotting on my own. We soon reach the front door, and I reach out to the knob with my strange hooves. I had seen mom and dad twist this knob and trot out on their own many times, but this was the first time I would ever do the same thing. My dad gives me a gentle nudge and I force myself to twist the knob and push the door open. I'm met with a cold gust of wind and complete darkness. 

"Now son... Just remember, even though I'm not really your dad... I love you with all my heart. Your mother does too, and if you can't make things work out here... please come right back home. I'll welcome your mother's 'I told you so's just as warmly as I'll welcome you, ok?"

"T-thanks dad... Bye..." I reply nervously. I step outside, and pause. I stand up all the way, cautious to avoid the roof I knew would come. It didn't. For the first time in my life, I was able to reach my full height. I look down at my dad and he gives me a brave smile. Then he closes the door on me, effectively seperating me from my entire life up to this point. I took a few deep breaths and tried not to scream. I was lost now. It was cold, even through the ragged clothing my mother had made. The ground was covered in grass, which I saw all the time. I had never felt it though. Suddenly, I heard my mother's voice in the house. 

"Star?!" I heard her shout. I had an urge to run back to the house and fling myself back into my room. I could barely feel it though. There was an even greater urge to leave. I turned and started walking away as fast as I could. Eventually I managed to get my limbs to move faster, and I wasn't walking anymore. I believe this was called 'galloping'. I couldn't do it in the house, but it felt... good. Also hard. My hindlegs began to burn, my breathing became harsh and forced, I felt lightheaded. It didn't matter though. Because... 

"I'm free!" I whoop. I keep running. My heart raced, my body ached, and it was all glorious. Eventually I fall flat on the ground, unable to move from sheer exhaustion. I brush my legs against the grass I had landed in. It was soft... and wet. Dew, it had to be dew. I had read about dew, but it was much more cool and pleasant than it was made out to be. I manage to lift my head and look around. I see what I can only identify as 'trees' all around me. Large cylindrical chunks of wood, like what my home was made of, but unrefined. Judging by the amount of them, I guess I had collapsed in a forest. I couldn't just stay in a forest, I'd have to find a town. Luckily, dad had packed my favorite books, and one of my favorite books was actually more of a collection of maps. I would always pick places on it and try to imagine what they were like. I sift through the contents of the saddlebags, and eventully pull out my 'Big Book of Maps'. "Not the most imaginiative title..."

"Hoo!" Something erupts into action near me, disturbing the 'leaves' on the trees. I struggle not to scream my head off in surprise. After a few more deep breaths, I manage to return my focus to my map.

"Let's see... closest town... Ponyville." I mutter to myself after a long look at the world map. It was north, and after a quick star check, I realize I'm already heading that direction. With a few more minutes of self-preparation, I stand up and continue on the path to my dreams. I was finally going to do...

Something!
> Chapter Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I see lights off in distance, indicating the town I was searching for.

"There it is..." I mumble hesitantly. I had been looking forward to this moment for years, but now that I was actually there... "I can't just walk in... Dad said to be careful. I gotta... I gotta meet one of the citizens alone! Yeah, if I can talk to one and get that one to like me, the rest will be easy." I reason. "But... who would be out here alone at this time of night?" I mentally ridicule myself. "Nopony, that's who. I don't think so anyway. Mom and dad were never out at this time." I clamp my mouth shut as I realize I'm speaking out loud. I was at a complete loss for what to do next. My parents had made it clear that for whatever reason, it would be hard for ponies to understand me, what I was.

"H-hello?" A voice calls from someplace nearby. I freeze up, shocked from being ripped from my thoughts.

"Lyra, what're you doing?" A different, grumpy sounding voice makes itself known as well.

"I told you Bon-Bon, I heard talking! I swear!"

"Is this like that one Nightmare Night when you swore you saw a ghost?"

"Hey! I really did!"

"Uh huh, sure. Get back inside, ya spazz."

"It really was a ghost! Honest!" The voices quickly fade, and I'm left frozen on the outskirts of the town. Luckily I had enough sense to keep to the forest, otherwise I might have been spotted. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, and start to think about what to do again. I smack myself in the head for my stupidity. I was supposed to be meeting ponies carefully, not avoiding two of the first ponies I had seen, other than my parents, ever. I left my cover, but the two ponies the voices had come from were nowhere in sight.

"Great... Stupendous, wonderful, fantastic, nice." I mutter quickly and sarcastically. I look around a bit. There were buildings everywhere, maybe one, if I knocked and went calmly, had one of my future friends in it. I figure that it's worth a shot, and start to gently tiptoe into town. There isn't a pony in sight, not one. I can't work up the courage to knock on any of the doors though, and I find myself walking back in the direction of the outskirts of town. On my way out, I finally gain some bravery and walk up to the very last house I see. It is a big, carousel-like building with tons of almost gaudy additions and ornate structures. I am even more nervous because of the fanciness of the building, but I force myself to breath deeply and knock. I sit and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait. 

I knock again. Then, soon after, the door opens.

"What kind of pony comes by this la--" A tiny white filly with a light-pink, light-purple mane starts sleepily. She stops and slowly looks up at me. I clear my throat and get ready to introduce myself.

"H--"

"Monster!!" The little filly shrieks, slamming the door. I can hear her run screaming further into the home. All I can do is stand on the doorstep in stunned silence, mouth hanging open like an idiot. Then, the door suddenly opens again.

"Sweetiebelle, I'm telling you, a monster like that simply don't exist!" A new voice starts. My eyes fly open and I felt my forelegs drop to my side limply. The pony in front of me was an impossibly beautiful mare. Every single hair on her body seemed to sparkle and shimmer, and not a single one of her dark-purple mane hairs were out of place. She was wearing a cute little fluffy pink bathrobe. She turns to me, and I find myself immediately lost in her deep, pretty, light-blue eyes. "See, loo--"

"P-pretty..." I mumble dumbly.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" The mare suddenly erupts into a massive scream of fear, blasting me right out of my stupor. I flinch back, scared a little by her reaction.

"No no no no no! Shhh!" I try to calm her uselessly. With my attention on her, I don't even notice as a small crowd of ponies gather, reacting to the mare's scream most likely.

"Monster!" A voice cries out behind me. I turn to see a rather large crowd of ponies gathered. They look angry.

"No, I--"

"Get it!" One of the random ponies shouts. The rest roar in agreement and start charging at me. Instead of trying to talk, I take off at a gallop for the edge of town. They were a bit faster than me, but luckily the forest wasn't too far. I run for my life, and were I not running for my life, I wouldn't have had the energy to make it. The pure fear coursng through my veins gave me strength, and I manage to dive into the underbrush before they catch up to me. I can hear most of them stop cold, a few that can fly go over the trees, and just one or two run into the forest after me. I try to keep stumbling further into the forest, but in a matter of seconds, something slams into my back.

"Oof!" The 'something' grunts. From the sound of it, I had just been hit by a stallion. We slide along the ground, covering my front in... mud I believe it was called. I had never felt mud before, only seen it. The mud wasn't exactly at the forefront of my thoughts though, self-preservation still reigned.

"P-please! D-don't h-hurt me!" I shout pitifully. The stallion stands up and stumbles off my back.

"Y-you can talk?!" He shouts back. I curl up defensively the moment his weight leaves my back.

"Y-yes! Please! I j-just wanted to talk to her! I swear!" I ramble, my words pouring out quickly and coming out in a jumble.

"You talk..." The stallion mutters dumbly, clearly shocked.

"Yes!" I risk a quick look at him. He's a black stallion with a black and light-blue striped mane. I can't quite see his cutie mark.

"You... you said you just wanted to talk? I-is that some kind of trick?" He asks nervously. He didn't sound like a very brave pony on his own. He must have gotten swept up in the mob mentality.

"No trick! I swear! I didn't mean to scare her! I s-sorry... Sorry..." I found myself dissolving into a pile of whimpers and sobs. There was a very good chance that the crowd would find me and get me still. I was scared. After a few seconds of sobbing, the stallion trots over to me slowly.

"I-it's ok... Thingy..." He places his hoof an my shoulder comfortingly, like my father used to do. I calm down slowly, my sobs fade into nothing. "Uhhh... I'm... I'm Shadow Gale... Do you have a name?"

"M-my name is Star Watcher..." I stutter out. The stallions seems to become confused again.

"That name... It's so... pony-like..."

"My p-parents are ponies..."

"What? You look nothing like a pony to me..."

"I'm adopted..."

"Oh... then... what are you?"

"I don't know." I answered honestly. The surrounding sounds of pursuit and anger die away suddenly. I guess the mob had decided to go back to their homes.

"What in the name of Celestia are you doing in Ponyville in the middle of the night?" He questions more firmly, distrust seeping back into his voice.

"M-my parents never let me out of the house... I ran away only about an hour ago and came here..."

"Alright, this sounds a little fishy. Why would your parents never let you out of your house? Even then, why did you run here?"

"T-they thought ponies would... well, do what you all just did. I ran here because it was the closest town."

"What town were you in then?" 

"Peachington. My parents own the candy store there." I gave a little extra informaion, hoping it would help convince them.

"Hold on, I've been to that store! If you know them, tell me their names."

"Toffe and Butterscotch! Mom calls dad 'Scotch' for short! My dad never takes off his 'kiss the cook' apron! The counter only shows hard candies, you have to ask for soft ones! We always run out of chocolate by the end of the day!" I shout quickly. The stallion blinks a few times.

"Whoa, I only asked for names... Star. That kinda proves it though... So... You came here to make friends?"

"Yes!"

"And you decided knocking on doors at midnight would be the best way?"

"... Look, I've been stuck in the same house for 18 years... I guess I wasn't thinking straight."

"Right... well... what to do... what to do..." The stallion begins pacing nervously, glancing at me every once in awhile. He sighs deeply. "Look, I can't leave you here, and you want friends. Would you like to stay with me for the night? I can try and help you tomorrow when everypony has calmed down a bit."

"R-really?! Yes! Please! That's so generous!" The stallion blushes a bit.

"No problem, it's the least I can do after tackling you into the mud." He mutters awkwardly. "Uhh... Wait here. I'll come get you when everypony is gone. Then we'll sneak you to my house, 'kay?"

"T-thank you! So much!" I cry, nearly grovelling. The stallion backs away awkwardly.

"Uhh... No problem... just uhhh... stand up and quit thanking me... It's... weird." He mutters. I stand up quickly and dust off my shirt and pants. The stallion takes his leave quickly and leaves me in the forest alone. I stand there, somewhat scared. Every single noise and motion startles me, causing me to imagine angry ponies coming from all directions to get me. I breath deeply and close my eyes, quickly calming myself down. Shadow re-appears in a few minutes, and he waves at me to follow him. We sneak quickly and quietly through the town. It wasn't until a few minutes into the sneak that something occurred to me.

I had just made my first friend.
> Chapter Three
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	Shadow takes me to a small shack on the opposite edge of town. Luckily, not a single pony seems to be still up at this hour, and I wasn't discovered. Shadow opens the door to the tiny house and slips in. I duck down, arching my back painfully like I had most of my life. I step into the house behind him and gently pull the door shut.

"Ok... uhh... bathroom is over there." Shadow says, pointing to a door at the back of the shack. "So is my bedroom, the kitchen, dining room, and everything else except the living room. Which we're in." I blink a few times.

"They're all in the same place?"

"Well, not the exact same place, the bathroom is seperate."

"Are you poor?" I ask blatantly. Shadow seems taken back by my direct question.

"Well.... uhh... Yeah, I guess."

"That's sad."

"... Look... I understand you're a bit new to the world, but you're being rude. Stop please."

"What? What'd I do?"

"First lesson in interacting with ponies. It's impolite to make comments about somepony's finacial state."

"Why?"

"Because it can make them feel bad."

"Why does the truth make them feel bad? I was only expressing observations."

"I understand that you were just expressing an observation, but it makes ponies like me sad that they can't afford more."

"Why can't you afford more?"

"Look, stop. Please. I already explained that it was rude, so stop."

"Ok, ok." 

"I'm going to bed. Sleep wherever I suppose." Shadow yawns lazily as he turns and trots off to bed. I look around for a bit, and eventually settle on curling up in a corner. It isn't comfortable. The floor is rough and itchy, even then, the adrenaline pumping through me isn't allowing me to sleep anyway. I remain curled up for hours, and eventually Celestia's sun becomes visible through some cracks in the walls. Shadow reappears moments later with a messed up mane and saggy eyelids.

"You look terrible." I inform him. He shoots me an irritated glare.

"Second rule, never insult somepony based on how they look. It isn't nice." Shadow grumbles before turning back and heading into the... bathroom. I could hear running water, and since it was so early, I assumed he went to the bathroom. He shows up again a few minutes later with a fixed mane and a clean-looking coat. "So, how should we start introducing you to the ponies of Ponyville?" He muses out loud. 

"What about breakfast?"

"Uhh... no breakfast today, sorry. Don't ask why, it leads back to the rudeness I was talking about last night." 

"Ok." I answer obediently. Something told me Shadow might be getting annoyed with me, so I simply did as he asked. 

"Ok, the simplest thing to do would be invite a few here to get to know you one-on-one. Then once some ponies know and like you, they can talk to the others and at the very least keep them from mobbing you."

"I would very much prefer to not be mobbed again."

"I figured. Now, who to get to meet you first...." Shadow starts pacing again, deep in thought.

"Oh! I know! There was this one mare that totally didn't freak out when that strange zebra mare came around. Twilight, I believe. I bet she'll accept you pretty easy."

"I guess. I'm kinda just blindly accepting what you say since I know nothing about who you're talking about. One question though; What's a zebra doing so far away from Zebraca?"

"What's Zebraca?"

"Homeland of the zebra race, neutral relationship with Equestria, mostly grasslands. You never heard of it?"

"Nnope."

"Huh. Well, you may want to read more."

"You know what? Let me do the talking. You aren't too great at it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"It means you're proving yourself to be... not socially savvy."

"... Right. Well, ok. So, are you going to go get this Twilight?"

"Yeah, be right back. First I gotta figure out where she lives." Shadow walks out of the house and leaves me alone again. I decide to explore the house a bit. I stand up, still very much bent over to keep from hitting the roof. I go through the only door, which leads right to a tiny room. It has a bed, a tiny nightstand with a small stove, portable and gas-fueled by the looks of it, and a tiny table with one chair. There was one more door that unquestionably led to a miniscule bathroom. Shadow was poor, dirt poor by the looks of it. After a little more exploring, I realize that not only is there no food, there is no place to store food either. He must be living day-to-day on what food he gets.

"Geez... I wonder why he's so--"

"Ok, now just remember not to freak out." Shadow's voice comes from the front of the house.

"Oh please Mr. Gale, I'm sure whatever your discovery is, I can handle it."  A new, feminine voice assures him. "What exactly did you say you discovered again? You weren't very clear."

"It's a new species of animal. He can talk, and he seems pretty harmless."

"Right, well, let have a look at him." The door opens.

"Star!" Shadow calls.

"You've named it?" The mare asks.

"Actually, 'he' had a name already." I interrupt, stepping through the door dividing the two rooms. The mare has a lavender coat, and a dark-purple mane with a pink stripe in it. She was a unicorn, and her cutie mark was a bunch of multi-pointed stars. The symbol catches my interest greatly. "That's an interesting mark..." I note, pointing at her cutie mark with one of the odd extensions on my forehooves. The mare is oddly familiar, I had seen her somewhere...

"Whoa! What are you?!" The mare exclaimes astoundedly. I shrug at her.

"Your guess is as good as mine. My name is Star Watcher, you are Twilight Sparkle, magic prodigy and student to Celestia herself if I'm not mistaken." For the first time, instead of looking interested in me, she backs away and seems a bit scared. 

"H-how do you know that? Can you r-read minds?"

"Uhhh... no. I read the article on the magical feat that led to your acceptance a while ago. You know, in the newspapers."

"You read?" Twilight asks, returning to interested instead of scared.

"All the time. I was kinda stuck in a house for 18 years with nothing to do but read."

"Really? Where did you live?"

"Peachington, my parents own the candy store there."

"So you were adopted. I assume, unless something very strange happened."

"I was adopted."

"Well, seeing as how you aren't still in that house, I'd have to assume that you ran away after 18 years of being stuck in the same place. Am I correct?"

"Well, yes. I guess I did. My father aided me though."

"I see. Well, Peachington is really close. You must've wandered into Ponyville on accident, huh?"

"Actually no, I came here on purpose."

"Really? How'd you manage to find your way here intentionally?"

"I had maps and the stars."

"Wow, good job. Well... Uhh... gosh, you look unfomfortable." Twilight takes note of my odd bending due to the shortness of the house.

"I grew up like this, I'm fine."

"Ok... So, why did you come here? Shadow was rather vague on details. He just kept warning me not to freak out."

"You've done a great job of not freaking out by the way. I haven't gotten mobbed again, so I'd say you're doing good. Now, as for the reason I came here... I just wanted to get out and see the world beyond my house. I was hoping to make some new friends here, and so far I've gotten mobbed and made only one friend." I motioned towards Shadow. He was sitting by me quietly, content to let Twilight and I talk.

"Friends huh? Well, I think you'll find you came to the right place. I didn't have friends when I came here either, but I have plenty now."

"That's a relief... Well... uhhh... What do we do now?" I ask nervously. I had no idea what to say next.

"You said you read a lot. What do you read about most?"

"I read a lot about magic, actually. It's very interesting. I've read a little about almost everything, but magic is my favorite subject."

"Really? Why does it intrest you so much? It's my favorite subject too, for obvious reasons, but why you?"

"Because I like using it. It's fun. Learning a new spell, finding a better way to cast something, just simply finding a way to use less energy on simple spells, or even just learning about magic itself is amazing."

"Wait, did you say you can use magic?"

"Yes, I did." 

"Whoa, what? That's news to me." Shadow pipes in. "You don't have a horn! How do you use magic?"

"Well... I just... I... let me show you." I close my eyes and focus my energy on a simple levitation spell. I point at Shadow, and a dark-blue aura surrounds him, lifting him a few inches off the ground.

"W-whoa! O-o-ok! I get it! Put me down!" He shouts. I release the spell and he falls roughly. "Oof!"

"Oops... sorry."

"Wow... A being that needs no horn to use magic! What other spells can you do?!" Twilight asks excitedly. I blush.

"Well... Uhh... that's about it."

"What?"

"Yeah... I can make a tiny force-field too, but it's weak and doesn't last long."

"H-how... you just said you spent your whole life learning about magic!"

"Well... yes... but my parents didn't like me practicing a lot. I know how to do a lot of stuff, I just... can't do it."

"That's a horrible waste of knowledge! Come with me, I'll show you how to use some of your talent." Twilight turns and marches out of the front door. I stay put. Eventually she returns. "I forgot you would get mobbed."

"It's ok, happens to the best of us."

"Sorry, your massive waste of knowlege upset me a bit. Not that I blame you for it, it's just upsetting."

"Right... well..."

"Would you like me to just teach you now?"

"Whoa, sorry, but the idea of some foreign creature learning how to use magic in my little, very breakable, house, bothers me." Shadow interrupts again. "Sorry. I just can't afford to suddenly have no house because of some magic fire or explosion or something."

"Don't be silly, we'd never do anything that dangerous." Twilight argues.

"Still, I'd just prefer you didn't."

"Ok, fine..."

"Umm, well maybe I can come over to your house and learn when I'm less likely to get attacked. Sound good?" I offer. Twilight turns to me and smiles. 

"Good idea! I can learn a bit more about you then too, but for now, I should write a letter to Celestia about this."

"Whoa whoa whoa! The last thing he needs is the royal guards coming here to beat him up and take him away!" Shadow shouts protectively.

"Relax! I'm just going to make sure she knows he's here. I'll make sure to be clear about his friendly nature." She turns back to me and smiles again. "After that, I'll talk to some of the townsponies and try to explain you to them that way you won't cause mass hysteria when you finally get to walk around."

"So... Does this mean we're friends now too?" I ask nervously, hoping it was a yes.

"Hee hee, maybe not quite yet, but you certainly have made a good impression on me. I'm sure we'll be friends in no time." Twilight throws me yet another smile, then trots out to do Celestia-knows-what.

"H-hey! Wait!" Shadow takes off after her. I wait patiently for him to return yet again. In a matter of moments, he comes back in. "Ok, she says we should try Pinkie Pie next. I know her, she loves friends. She'll be easy to get to like you. I'll go get her, stay here."

"Well, since I have nothing else to do..." I respond sarcastically. He rolls his eyes.

"Being a smart flank won't help you make friends either." He turns and leaves. This time I unstrap my bags from my waist, since I had finally remembered they were there. I reach into them and pull out a random book.

"Monsters and Dangerous Creatures: a Guide to Staying Alive in the Wild." I read the title out loud. I had read this book at least 100 times over, one more wouldn't hurt. I smile a bit as I realize nothing that looked like me was in this book. 

I would prove it to the ponies that there was a reason for that.
> Chapter Four
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After flipping through a few pages of the book and marvelling once again at the numerous ways to die, I hear... bouncing. Like the sound of a spring repeatedly being let loose. It was a puzzling noise to say the least, especially since it was accompanied by the sound of hooves hitting the ground right before it sounded again.

"Do I get to see the super-secrety secret pony yet?!" A femenine voice shouts excitedly.

"Sure, sure. Calm down, though, he isn't used to new ponies yet. I don't want you scaring him." Shadow gently orders the new pony.

"Got it! I'll be extra-mega quiet, like in the quiet game! Mr. and Mrs. Cake love that game!" The new voice hisses in a whisper that still manages to be louder than normal speech.

"I didn't say you had to be quiet, just calm."

"Ok Shadow! I can be calm!" The bouncing noise stops. The door opens, and a pink mare with a cotton-candy like mane bursts into the house. I'm so startled I drop my book and scramble into a corner. The pink pony's cutie mark is a bunch of balloons. I don't quite understand how they relate to her behavior. "Where is he where is he where is he?!?" She squeals excitedly. Her gaze locks on me and I gulp nosily. Instead of continuing to freak out though, she stops dead. 

"H-hi?" I squeak. Her eyes shoot wide open and she flings herself to the opposite end of the house.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!" She shrieks. Shadow bolts in and shoves a hoof into her mouth.

"Quiet! This is the new pony I was telling you about! He's nice, honest!" The pink pony, presumeably 'Pinkie Pie', smiles around his hoof.

"Ooof! Mhu bead!" She mumbles through his hoof. He removes his hoof from her mouth and she bounds toward me. "Hi my name is Pinkie Pie, what's your name? Do you eat a lot? You're too skinny! Here, come with me to the bakery and we can pick out a cake for your welcome party!" The energetic mare flies out the door after her rapid fire statments. I'm left sitting in the corner with my mouth hanging open, about to answer her first question.

"... Did you understand any of that?" I ask Shadow.

"She said 'oops, my bad.', asked if you ate a lot, then said to come with her to pick out a cake for your party." Shadow explains easily. I nod, then frown.

"Party?"

"Yeah, a welcome to Ponyville party. She always has almost the whole town come to a party for new ponies."

"... And you think this is a good idea for me?" Shadow's eyes widen.

"Oh buck!" He shouts, dashing out the door. However, he comes back in after only a few seconds with a thoughtful look on his face. "Actually, that may not be a bad idea!"

"The whole town. Seeing me. Before we've had a chance to explain me. Sounds brilliant. I love angry mobs after all."

"Well, Pinkie Pie is friends with everypony in town. If she throws a party for you, everypony will know she knows you. If she knows you, you can't be bad! That way everypony will get to know you aren't bad without me slowly introducing you to all of them."

"Hmmm... So... then what's a real party like? I've only ever had really small parties with my parents."

"It's loud, fun, and exciting whenever Pinkie Pie is involved. It is her talent after all."

"Oh, and that explains the balloons and energy then. She's a literal 'party pony'."

"Well, yeah. Like I said, it's her talent after all. Anyway, I'll introduce you to more ponies later. Right now, I gotta get to work." Shadow turns and trots into his room.

"What exactly do you do?"

"Well, I'm an alchemist. Amateur of course. Not that I don't know my stuff... Nopony buys the medecines and such I make."

"Why not?" 

"Well, I'm just not well known I suppose."

"Really? Are you shy or boring or something that would make ponies not notice you?"

"... You certainly are a blunt one. Well, in any case, I need to get to work now."

"I thought you didn't have any customers. Shouldn't your work be getting out there and attracting them?"

"Well... I would but..."

"Shy, totally shy."

"Shaddup. I actually have one thing I need to get done for a customer that should... be... arriving...... in a few hours." Shadow slowly turned his head to me and his gaze became fearful. "Oh geez..."

"What? Shouldn't ponies be coming to meet me anyway?"

"Well uhh... this one is... Look, it's just not a good idea. Here, come hide in my room." I follow Shadow as he turns and trots into his room. "Just hide in here for a bit, ok? She likes to come by early sometimes, and I'd hate for you to scare the daylights out of her."

"Shouldn't I just meet her and prove I'm no threat?"

"Look, it's just not a good idea."

"Fine, fine." Shadow turned his back to me resolutely and I heard some glasses clink as he went to work. I find myself extremely tired after my lack of sleep, sudden increase in running, and encounter with the impossibly energetic party pony. I look at Shadow's bed longingly, but it is far too small for me. I settle on stealing the pillow off of his bed and laying down at the foot of his bed. I fall asleep in seconds.


***************


I wake up to a gentle hoof stroking my foreleg.

"Oh please Shadow? You know you can't support a pet!"

"F-Fluttershy, h-he's not a p-pet!"

"Yes he is! Just look at him, all curled up next to your bed like a sweet little puppy! Except, you know, he's more of a big bald monkey. It's still sweet though." I felt a small kiss on my cheek. It reminded me of the kind of affection one would expect from a mother.

"Fluttershy, d-don't do that! I don't know how he'll r-react!"

"Shadow, please quit changing the subject! C'mon, let me keep him, pleeeeeeease?"

"What the Tartarus is going on here?" I interrupt sleepily. The warm weight that had been pressed against my side vanished suddenly.

"Eeeeee! It t-talks!!" The new voice, presumably this 'Fluttershy', squeaked.

"I t-tried to tell you!" Shadow retorts gently.

"Were you just petting me?" I yawned at the blurry butter-yellow pegasus. I rubbed my eyes and blinked the sleepiness away. She had a long pink mane that was straight, save for the curls at the bottom. Her cutie mark was three butterflies with blue bodies and pink wings.

"Y-you talk..."

"Did you call me a monkey?"

"You found a talking animal Shadow! Ooooh! You gotta let me have him now! Pleeeeeeease?!" The pegasus turned to Shadow and gave him a look that could only be described as soul-suckingly pleading. I looked into those eyes and would have given her every bit to my name, had I any. Shadow seemed to lose himself for a moment before shaking his head firmly.

"For the last time, he's not an animal Shy! He can think and talk and such!" Fluttershy drops her begging stare and turns it into a little pout.

"That doesn't make him not an animal! As far as I'm concerned, he's just a big, smart animal that needs love and care!" She turned to me. "I mean look at him! He's got no fur, in this drafty house! You must be freezing..."

"Fluttershy, you're not normally like this." Shadow mumbles fearfully.

"Well of course not! There's an animal that needs a proper home though, and I intend to give him just that!"

"I-I don't mind it here..." I interject.

"Sush! You must be sick, saying things like that." She flew up to my head, which meant she was only hovering a few inches off the ground, and rubbed a hoof on my face. "You feel warm, that's it, I'm taking him with me Shadow!" I was pretty scared now, and I looked past the pegasus to Shadow and mouthed the words 'Save me' to him.

"Fluttershy, you can't take my friend! Please, listen!"

"Shadow, you're endangering this poor bald monkey! Look, if you can get this house fixed up, you can come get him, but for now he's coming with me!" Fluttershy starts pushing me towards the door, and I felt myself walking along.

"Ugh! Fine! Don't worry Star, I'll come and get you in no time!"

"Wait, she's pushing me outside! Help!" I yell.

"Don't be scared little monkey, you'll love it at my house. There is lots of food and other little animals for you to play with!"

"Could you quit talking to me like I'm a pet?!" I suddenly realize that we are in the town. In the middle of a huge crowd of ponies. All staring at me. Then I notice that none of them look mad. They're all staring at me and looking as confused as I felt. I guess I was much less intimidating with a tiny pegasus pushing me along. In fact, eventually a few start laughing. I just look from side to side in enveloping bewilderment. I keep looking from side to side even as we leave town and arrive at a little cottage inside a tree.

"Here we are little monkey! Your new home!" The pegasus announces. I'm pushed forward into the house. It's much warmer in here than Shadow's home. It's much bigger as well. There's lots of seats and a fireplace, and... animals. Animals everywhere. I recognized most of them right away. Bunny, robin, snake, turtle, eagle, butterfly, dog, cat, and many more. They all looked at me at the same time.

"... I'm scared." I whimper. I had just basically been abducted and was now in a building filled with potentially hostile little animals.

"This is the newest member of our little family guys!" The pegasus announces happily. "Hmmm, what to name you..."

"Star, my name is Star."

"No no, that's your old owner's name. Let's think of a new o--"

"No, it's the name my parents gave me. I'm keeping it. Also, I'd like to go back to my friend's house."

"Nonsense! It's my job to keep cute little animals like you out of unfitting homes!"

"Quit speaking to me like a dog! One, I'm smarter than some animal, two, I'm bigger than you, not some 'little animal', three, you just basically foalnapped me!"

"I didn't 'foalnap' you! I rescued you!"

"Look Ms. Fluttershy, I'm sure you meant well, but I was fine where I was!"

"Sush! No more arguing! It's not healthy to stay at that house. Shadow is nice and all, but he can't afford to support a pet."

"Not a pet."

"He can't afford another mouth to feed then! My point is, you'll be much better taken care of here."

"... What the heck is wrong with you?"

"I saw a starving," She poked my stomach, "cold," She rubbed my bare foreleg, "and possibly abused little animal." She poked another spot on my foreleg and I hissed gently. The area she had poked was a deep purple. A bruise I realized. I must have gotten it while running into the forest. "I had to get you away. When asking nicely didn't work, I had to take you."

"Well... I guess from that strange point of view it makes sense, nonetheless, I'm no animal and you can't just take me away like that. Besides, Shadow didn--"

"Well, you're not a pony, gryffin, dragon, zebra, minotaur, goat, mule, donkey, or cow, so you're an animal. You may be a smart animal, but you're still an animal."

"Ugh, you're not giving up on that are you?" She shakes her head firmly. I sigh. I briefly think about just leaving, but if the townsponies saw me trotting back without her, they might assume the worst. "Fine, I guess I'll stay here awhile."

"Yay! Don't worry, mama'll take good care of you!" She assures me with a light kiss on my head. I frown and stand up, forgetting to duck. Strangely though, I don't end up slamming my head into the roof. I can stand all the way up in the protective pegasus' house. Fluttershy wanders off to go tend to other animals as I take a seat on a couch. Luckily it was long and sturdy enough to support my weight and size. My thoughts quickly return to Shadow, and I feel bad about having to leave my first friend. 

"Don't worry buddy, I'll be back." I mumble to nopony.

"Here, eat this." Fluttershy orders as she hoofs me a long, curved, yellow fruit. A banana. I had seen bananas, but never eaten one. My parents weren't fans of it. I shrug and open my mouth to bite it. "Whoa whoa whoa!" Fluttershy takes the banana and peels off the yellow outer layer. She hoofs it back to me again and I timidly take a bite out of the pale white part. It's ok, not something I'd eat all the time, but ok. Fluttershy smiles approvingly and gets back to work. 

"Oh well, at least I know I've made another friend." I mutter to myself. I wasn't quite sure if my relationship with the pegasus really counted though. "Eh. I'll take what I can get." I admit to myself as I take another bite of banana.
> Chapter Five
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Fluttershy turned out to be irritatingly caring. I couldn't have a moment of peace without her trying to dote on me like a concerned mother on a sickly child.

"Would you like a blanket, Star? You look chilly."

"No, I'm fine."

"Would you like some more food? I thought I heard your tummy growling!"

"No, I'm fine."

"Would you like a hug? You seem upset."

"No, I'm fine."

"Ok, well tell me if you need anything Star!" The irritating pegasus leaves me alone for the first time in hours, but I notice that she's hovering around me still. She puts on an act of taking care of the other animals, but I can see her still tossing worried glances my way every once in awhile. I sigh and pull out another book from my saddlebags. The last book my dad had been able to pack: "Beginner Level Spells and Charms". I had read every level of difficulty, but this was my favorite because it was always the most tempting to use. It would've been easy for me to sneak in a simple illusion spell or minor creation spell at my house. I refrained though.

"Mind if I practice magic?" I turned to Fluttershy and ask expectantly.

"Y-you can use magic?"

"Yes." Fluttershy begins looking around at the suprising amount of animals around me. 

"Ummm... M-maybe later, ok?" She eventually offers weakly. I sigh deeply.

"Ok then." I put my book back and lean further into the couch boredly.

"... Do you need a--"

"No! I'm fine!" I cut her off in annoyance. Fluttershy flinches and looks at her hooves. 

"O-ok... I'm sorry..." Her hurt look makes me feel a bit bad. She was just trying to help. After all, in some part of her mind, I was the sick, hurt animal she rescued.

"... I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so harsh. I do need something, as it turns out. Where can I find a shower or bathtub here? I'm still filthy from my run in the forest last night." 

"You were running through the forest?"

"Yeah, I was being chased by the townsponies."

"W-why would they do that?!"

"They thought I was a monster because some... really... pretty..." I shook my head. "White mare started screaming her head off."

"D-did she have a shiny purple mane?"

"A very shiny, pretty, curled, deep-purple mane..."

"Why are you talking like that?"

"Huh?"

"I said: 'Why are you talking like that?'."

"Like what?"

"Nevermind. It sounds like you ran into my friend Rarity."

"Rarity..." Her name rang true. In all my reading and in any of the ponies I had seen thus far, nopony matched her beauty. Which made her a true rarity.

"You're doing it again..."

"Huh? What?"

"Talking all wierd..."

"I don't know what you mean."

"... F-fine, well the bathroom is that way. Go ahead and clean yourself off sweetie." 

"Ugh..." I groan. I send up a silent wish to Celestia for Fluttershy to quit with the pet names. With a quick jump and turn, I start on my way towards the bathroom. I quickly find a little shower, just barely big enough for me to stand in. Wasting no time, I strip, pull off my saddlebags, and fold up my clothing before placing it on the counter next to a small sink. I fiddle with the water knobs a bit before finding the perfect temperature, nearly scalding, and stepping into the shower and drawing the curtain. I scrub myself with Fluttershy's shampoo and step out of the shower in a matter of minutes. I use her bathroom as well, figuring it couldn't hurt since she wanted to help me so bad anyway. However, as I turn to grab my clothes off the counter, I realize that only my saddlebags remain on the counter. "... Fluttershy?"

"Yes Star?" She calls back from the living room.

"Have you seen my clothes? Did like a little rabbit or squirrel steal them?"

"You mean those dirty, torn rags that you left on the counter?"

"My clothing, yes."

"Oh, I threw it away."

"What?"

"I threw it away. It looked like torn, dirty rags. I didn't think you needed them."

"That I understand, but why were you in the bathroom while I was showering?"

"I was giving Angel Bunny a quick bath in the sink."

"... While I was showering?"

"Yes."

"... Why?"

"Because he needed a bath."

"And you decided the best time to give him one was while I was showering?"

"I saw no reason not to..." 

"Fair enough." I rub myself down with a blue towel that had been draped over a rod on the wall nicely. After I'm done, I drape it back over the rod on the wall and strap on my saddlebags before stepping into the living room. "Do you have anything I could use for clothing then?" I ask hopefully. Fluttershy turns to look at me and shakes her head.

"Sorry, I don't really keep clothing and stuff here... Why do you want it anyway?"

"It just feels right to wear something."

"Why?"

"I honestly don't know. It just feels right. I'm strange, I know."

"Well, if it bothers you so much, maybe later we can get Rarity to make you something." Fluttershy offered thoughtfully. I was suddenly quite happy at the prospect of seeing the beautiful mare again, but for some reason I was also hesitant to go as I was.

"Uhh... I think I'll try and stitch something together for myself first..."

"Why would you bother to do that?"

"I think it's a bad idea to see her while I'm naked."

"Wh... but everypony is always naked!"

"I know, but I just feel like it's a bad idea."

"... You're a strange little monkey. Well, if it makes you happy, go ahead. I think I have some spare cloth in the shed just outside. I'll get it for you." Fluttershy trots out quickly and returns a bit later with a bundle of white cloth in her mouth. She deposits it into my waiting forehoof and steps back. 

"Ok, do you have a needle and thread?"

"A needle in the house full of very soft, curious, injurable animals? No, I don't."

"... Touche. Oh well. There would likely have been more of my blood in the clothes than string anyway." I place the bundle on the couch next to me as I sit down on it. Fluttershy clears her throat awkwardly.

"Ehm... Uhh..." A blush is spreading across her face.

"What?"

"I uhh... I guess your species has no sheath..." Fluttershy is now looking away and blushing furiously.

"Well, no. Is it a big deal?"

"N-no... I guess..." Fluttershy hastily leaves me for the first time since I had gotten here. I grin a little bit and lean back into the couch.

"I wish I had known that would've gotten rid of her hours ago." With peace finally restored, I pull out my monster book again and start reading. Unfortunately, Fluttershy returns in minutes with a determined look on her face. I guess she had decided not to be disturbed by my strange body.

"It's almost time for dinner, Star. What would you like?"

"My dad packed food for me, I'll be fine."

"That's fine, but you're in my care now. I'll be making your meals."

"I don't need your care."

"Yes you do, you're an abused litt--"

"For the last time! I! Am! Not! An! Animal!" I screech at her. She turns to me and gives me an angry glare.

"Yes. You. Are." She seethes back. "You may be smart, but you're still an animal. I took you in and cared for you, and all you've done is be mean and distant! I just want to help you!"

"I am not a freaking animal!"

"Star! Everypony is an animal! I'm an animal, gryffins are animals, all these little critters in here are animals, and so are you. Just because you and I can talk and think, we aren't different."

"That... is actually a very good point."

"Exactly! Now please... stop being so mean and just let me help you?" She pleads. I sigh in resignation.

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry. Could you at least stop calling me an animal and all those little nicknames like 'monkey'?"

"Ok, I guess... Now, what would you like for dinner?"

"I'm not hungry honestly. You should just tend to the other animals." Fluttershy gives me a few hesitant looks.

"... Ok." She finally conceeds. She leaves once more and returns with a box of green cylindrical food pellets. She pours them onto the floor and giggles a little as the animals all over her house dive into the green pile. I laugh a little too, it's a nice mixture of cute and funny. With nothing else to do, I sink back into my own thoughts. I find them drifting constanly between Fluttershy and Shadow.

She's awfully annoying... She means well though. I guess. I sure hope Shadow's ok. Wait, who am I kidding? He'll be fine without me. After all, I onlly arrived yesterday. Maybe Fluttershy's right. Maybe he'll be better off without me, he could hardly afford to care for the both of us. Then again, I can't just leave him like I did. I know! I'll just sneak back tonight. Who knows, maybe I can help him get some money! ... Fluttershy though... will she be sad? I cast a worried look at the caring pegasus, but she was rolling on the ground, covered in little puppies. Nah, she'll be fine.


***************


A few hours later, Fluttershy announces bedtime for the entire cottage.

"Ok Star, where to put you..." Fluttershy wonders out loud.

"If you don't mind, I'll just sleep on the couch."

"Oh no, that'll never do!"

"No really, it's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Ok..."

"Goodnight Fluttershy."

"Goodnight Star." Fluttershy turns and heads to her bedroom. After hearing the sound of bedsprings, I stand up and tiptoe to the door. I gently ease it open and step out into the cool night air.

"Goodbye Fluttershy." I whisper back into the house as I shut the door. With a deep breath followed by a sigh, I turn and head back towards Shadow's house.

"I brought you a blanket, Star." Fluttershy's voice comes from the house.

Maybe I should gallop now. I rush forward into a full-out gallop, leaving Fluttershy's cottage behind me.


***************


With a heavy breath and lots of relief, I reach the door to Shadow's house. I knock quickly and quietly, hoping it was loud enough to get Shadow's attention without attracting anypony else. After a few moments, I prepare to knock again.

*knock* *knock* *smack* Shadow opens the door mid-knock, and I fail to catch myself before accidentally knocking on his face.

"Ow!" He cries. I quickly clamp one of my oddly shaped hooves around his mouth and move us both into the house.

"Shhhh!" I release his mouth and shut the door behind us.

"Star?! What're you doing back here?"

"I ran away from Fluttershy and came here."

"You did? Awesome! .... Where'd your clothes go?"

"Fluttershy threw them away."

"Why'd she do that?"

"They were torn and dirty. She didn't think it was a big deal."

"She should've asked."

"Well she should've asked before foalnapping me too. She didn't do that either. She was just trying to take care of me, and honestly it's not that important. It's not like anypony else wears clothes all the time."

"Yeah, why did you say you wore those again?"

"It just feels right. I get nervous when I'm not wearing them. I'll live for now though."

"Ok, good. Well... wait, do you hear that?" Shadow pauses and cranes his ears towards the door. I turn my head towards the door as well, and in a few moments I hear hoofbeats.

"Oh dear Celestia, she's caught up already!"

"Fluttershy?"

"No, the freaking tooth fairy! Yes Fluttershy! Hide me!"

"Why are you acting so scared? It's just Fluttershy. We can just explain to her that you want to stay here."

"You don't understand! She doesn't care! She's going to take me away again!"

"That still doesn't really explain why you're scared."

"She's annoying as Tartarus! I do not want to go back and get pestered every two bucking seconds about whether or not I need something that I didn't last time she asked!"

"Alright, alright! Calm down! Here, let's.... Get outside!"

"What?! You want me to go to her?!"

"No no, it's dark outside. Let's just slip out and run a bit. Then we can wait and watch the house until she leaves. When she does, we'll just walk back in. No problem."

"Then quit talking and let's get to it!" Shadow and I bolt out of the house, slamming the door behind us, and run off to hide behind the next house near us. It's a simple brick house with a dainty flower garden on the front next to the windows. Hiding behind it is a simple matter, we just turn the back corner and stick our heads out to watch Fluttershy. She seems to be in a panic as she knocks frantically on Shadow's door.

"Shadow?! Shadow!! I know he came here! Give him back!" She cries. The mare was off her nut. I guess that's how she acts when she thinks one of her animals is in danger. Eventually she pushes the door open to run into the house. After only a few seconds of exploration, she comes back out. "Star! Star!" She whines, sounding desperate and a bit... hurt. A part of me wanted to go back to her, but Shadow was my first friend and I intended to stick with him. "Please come back Star!" She takes off in another direction and Shadow and I walk back to the house.

"Well, seems like she took a liking to you." Shadow says with a touch of bite in his tone.

"I guess... Couldn't get her to leave me alone. She seems to think that I'm some abused animal that requires care." I reply, ignoring the strange tone he had used.

"Abused?"

"Yeah, the bruises I got from the run last night made her think I was abused."

"What?! She knows I would never do something like that!"

"I guess not... I wonder why she's so protective of me. There's gotta be some sort of reason."

"Well, from what I heard recently, she failed to take care of some bird or something. She's likely a bit protective of any sick or injured animal she finds."

"I guess that makes sense. Well, now that that's over, let's get to bed. I've still got plenty ponies to meet tomorrow, and I've gotta find out some way to help you make money as well."

"Oh no, you don't have to do tha--"

"Shadow, I'm your friend and I live here. I should at least try to help pay my way."

"... Ok I guess. Seems fair."

"Cool, then let's get some sleep now." Without another word, we part ways and I curl up on the floor of the living room. Thanks to my exhaustion from my recent run, I'm asleep in no time.
> Chapter Six
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I wake up with a dry mouth and crusty eyelids. I had somehow managed to roll all the way to the front door in my sleep. With a groan and a stretch, I sit up on the floor and rub the sleep out of my eyes. A flash of white catches my eye as I blink sleepily. There is a piece of paper on the door. I pick it up and read it curiously.

"Dear Star,

Gone to get some herbs from Everfree Forest and Froggybottom Swamp. Be back in a few hours. In the meantime, I've scheduled a meeting with two ponies. One is named Colgate, the second is named Applejack. They both know to expect something unusual, so they shouldn't be too hard to handle. Good luck.

Best wishes,
Shadow Gale"


"Oh great, he's leaving me alone to deal with them..." I mutter. It must have been unavoidable, otherwise he'd likely have stayed. "Colegate and Applejack... Well, I dunno about Colegate, but I'll put good money on Applejack being a part of the 'Apple' family. Since that's the biggest farming family in all of Equestria, I figure I can expect a very rural stallion." I tried to think of a way to relate to him, but I knew nothing about farming. I'd have to relate to him on a male-to-male basis. As for the Colgate pony, I had no idea what to expect. Colgate was more of a unisex name than Applejack, and the name gave me no hint as to her occupation either. I'd have to wing it... which would be ironic if Colgate turned out to be a pegasus.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

"Who is it?" I call.

"Colgate! You don't sound like Shadow..." A femenine voice responds. Colgate was a mare.

"Uhh... yeah. I'm the unusual thing Shadow told you about."

"What do you mean? You sound fine to me..."

"Lemme open the door and you'll see." I trot slowly over to the door and pull it open. I'm confronted by a thin unicorn mare with a light blue coat, and a half-blue, half-white mane. She gasps and falls backward.

"W-w-waa--" Colgate starts to scream. I lunge forward, clap my hoof over her mouth, and drag her into the house in one stunningly fluid motion.

"No no no no no, don't scream. I'm no monster, I swear! Here, I'll let you go. Don't scream." I release her and she stumbles into a corner, falling back against the wall.

"What are you?!" She hisses lowly.

"I don't know. Please, don't be scared. I just want to be friends."

"F-friends?" The mare asks in disbelief.

"Yes. Here, let's start over. Hi, I'm Star. You must be Colgate." The mare cautiously gets to her hooves.

"Yes..." She mumbles warily.

"Good, Shadow told me you'd be coming. You know Shadow very well?"

"Uhh... I've seen him a few times... When he drops by for a check-up."

"Check-up? Are you a doctor of some sort?"

"I'm a dental hygenist. Dentist, that is." She states more firmly, trying to not look scared.

"Oh, you would love my parents." I say with a small smile. She tilts her head.

"Why?"

"They owned a candy store. I'm sure they'd create plenty of buisness for you." Colgate returns my smile with a small chuckle.

"Really? What are they like?"

"Well, my dad is a yellow unicorn wi--"

"Wait wait, your dad is a pony?"

"Yes."

"Then what in the name of Celestia is your mom?!"

"A pony."

"... I don't--"

"I'm adopted."

"Oh... That makes sense then."

"Yeah, I don't know who or what my real mom and dad are."

"Well... that's sad."

"It's not so bad. I never knew them, so I really don't know what I'm missing. Anyway..."

"Can... Can I see your teeth?" Colgate asks suddenly, surprising me. 

"Uhh... I haven't had the chance to brush in awhile..."

"That's ok, I just want to see." She assures me. I was a bit hesitant, but I didn't want to upset her.

"Ok..."

"Yay! Ok, lay down." I lay down flat on the floor and Colgate trots over to my head. "Ok, open wide." I open my mouth slowly and Colgate leans over me to look. I see her horn light up and I feel a tingly sensation on my teeth. "Brushie, brushie, brushie..." She begins to hum to herself.

"What are y--"

"Shush!" She scolds, forcing my mouth back open with magic. I panic a little, but allow her to continue. After a few minutes of tingling in my mouth, she backs off with a smile. "You've got a pretty mouth!" She announces happily.

"... I beg your pardon?"

"Your mouth! It's really pretty. You've got all these different teeth! Sharp ones, flat ones, they're so different from the teeth I'm used to seeing. I can tell you take good care of them too, I just gave you a quick cleaning to make them shine!"

"Thank... you."

"You should come by my place! I could get a more in-depth look."

"As tempting as that sounds, I'm afraid I can't leave this place." I sit back up and lick my teeth curiously. They taste slightly... minty.

"Why not?" The dentist whines, tapping her hooves poutily against the floor.

"Because the majority of the ponies here don't know me. There's a good chance I'll get attacked again."

"What do you mean again?"

"I mean when I first came here I got attacked by a huge mob of ponies."

"Oh... Hey! I have an idea! I'll help spread the word about a nice monster-like thing. Then, when ponies are calm enough to not freak out, you can come visit me!"

"... Sure, why not?"

"Promise?" The mare asks intensely, leaning toward me.

"Y-yeah, promise."

"Yay! I'll get right on it! See you soon Star!" Colgate darts out of the house eagerly, and I can't help but wonder if I made a mistake agreeing to her idea. At least she hadn't bothered to notice my lack of a sheath, which only reinforced my parent's objections to my wearing clothes all the time. In any case, I just put the event aside in my mind. I still had to prepare for the Applejack fellow. I had been doing well so far with my 'winging it', but I would feel safer with a plan. 

"Let's see, relate to him as a stallion... uhhh... 'Ya see the game last night?' ... Nah, I don't even know if there was any kind of sports game last night. 'Any fine mares here?'. No, I don't want to sound like a perv or something.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK* A powerful banging came from the door, causing me to jump slightly.

"Well, so much for having time to make a plan..." I mutter to myself. This stallion was pretty strong to make a sound like that. "Who is it?"

"Applejack!" A shockingly femenine voice answers. "An' who are you? Ya sure don' sound like Shadow." I quickly move to the door and pull it open. In front of me is an orange earth pony mare with a blond mane and a hat that looked like something out of the old cowpony books I read.

"You aren't a stallion!" I exclaim in surprise. The mare steps back and gazes at me with wide eyes.

"... Whoooee, Shadow said he had somethin' strange, Ah wasn't expecting it to be this strange."

"You aren't scared?" I ask curiously. It had been foolish of me to just throw the door open, but luckily this mare appeared to be pretty brave.

"Nah, Shadow said the thing, bein' you, is nice, an' Ah trust him."

"Oh... well, would you like to come in?"

"Sure." The orange cowmare trots into the house nonchalantly. "Sorry Ah'm late, by the way."

"You are?"

"Yeah. Shadow wanted me here at sunup ta talk to 'im before he left. There was a problem with mah mornin' chores though, so Ah'm a bit late."

"I see. So, my name is Star. You're Applejack. How nice to meet you." I extend a forehoof towards her as she closes the door behind herself. She accepts the hoofshake warmly, placing her hoof in mine and shaking me vigorously. When she's done, I see stars and my eyes seem to be rolling around.

"Nice ta meet ya. So, what brings ya to Ponyville?"

"I came here to make friends and get out of my house."

"What was wrong with yer house?"

"Nothing really, I had just been there for nearly 18 years." Applejack's eyes widen.

"Whoo boy, 18 years? Why?"

"My parents were afraid other ponies would freak out and attack me or something."

"What?! That's ridiculous! We here at Ponyville would never, eve--"

"Yeah, I got attacked by a mob when I got here."

".... Oh. Well uhhh... Ah'm sorry."

"Not your fault, I don't think. Unless you're the one that yelled 'get him'."

"Well gosh, Ah can't believe that happened Star. Ah'm sorry, and Ah'm sure the ones that went after ya will apologize too once they know you were just tryin' to be friendly."

"I certainly hope so. Enough about me though, how are you? How's the farm?"

"The farm and Ah are just fine, thank ya fer asking. We're gonna have to shut down soon, winter is comin' on fast."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Well, it means money's gonna stop comin', but Ah'm gonna have a lot more time on mah hooves as well. Ah can't wait for a bit of a break."

"Good! Glad you've got something to look forward to. Speaking of tight money situations, do you happen to know where I could make some bits? I wanna help Shadow out." I waved around the ragged house. "You know, after I can walk around freely." Applejack curls a hoof under her chin and thinks for a moment.

"Well, what can ya do? Ya don't look too strong or nuthin, so what're ya good at?"

"Well, I'm really smart, I can use magic, I know nearly everything there is about making candy, and I have some rough knowledge of a few languages."

"Well... maybe you could get a job as a tutor or somethin'. Last I hear, some of Cheerilee's students were complanin' about not understanding some of the stuff she taught 'em."

"Good idea Applejack. That actually sounds like fun."

"No problem Star, Ah'm happy ta-- Oh fer the love of Celestia, can ya cover that thing up? Ah know ya can't help it, but it's distracting." Applejack turns away from me hastily, pointing a hoof at my lower body. 

"Oh, sorry. Nopony else seemed to mind. I'd love to cover up, but my clothes have been thrown away. I don't really have anything else."

"Ah guess it's no big deal. Oh! Ah can go see iff'n Granny Smith can knit somethin' fer ya if you'd like."

"I'd love that, actually. You don't have to th--"

"Hush, it's no trouble at all."

"Well thanks then. So, what do we do now?"

"Well, can ya tell me more about yerself? Like what 'cha are and the like?"

"Actually, I can't. I don't know what I am."

"What? How do ya not know what you are?"

"I just don't. In all the reading I've done, which is a considerable amount, I've never discovered anything in any writing that even remotely resembled me. Excepting minotaurs and centaurs, but even they aren't quite the same."

"Huh, that's mighty strange. Ah can't imagine not even knowin' what Ah was."

"Eh, it's not so bad when there's no alternative."

"So what're yer parents then? Ah'm assumin' you were adopted by ponies from the way ya talk about 'em."

"Correct. Actually my--"

"Wait wait wait, did ya say you could use magic earlier?" Applejack suddenly interrupts. I sigh deeply.

"I wish everypony would stop being startled by that. Yes, I can use magic."

"H--"

"I don't need a horn to use it, no. No, I don't know how. I just can."

"... Ok, well Ah should get goin' now. Ah still got work to do yet."

"Really? Well, I won't keep you. Have fun, Applejack." 

"Ha ha, Ah will Star. Best a' luck to ya in your friend-making." Applejack gives me a warm smile as she leaves. With her gone, I go back to my corner and sit against the wall.

"Whew... This stuff is nerve wracking." I mutter to myself. Straining to keep from making a bad impression on beings that naturally assume you're a monster is difficult. "I certainly hope I don't have to meet many more ponies before I can actually do stuff. After all, I've basically run away from being stuck in a house, just to end up stuck in a house." 

"Hello?" A voice calls from nearby. I freeze up. "Is somepony here?" It continues. It's masculine. "I'd swear I heard talking."

"Uhhh... Yeah! In here!" I shout suddenly, deciding to make a friend on my own.

"Whoa! Who's in Shadow's house?!" The voice shouts accusingly.

"I-it's me, Star. I'm a friend of Shadow's."

"Yeah, sure. Hold it Star, I'm comin' in!" The stallion gallops to the front door and throws it open. It's a green stallion with a light blue mane and a halo as a cutie mark. "What th--" I magically tug him into the house and slam the door behind him before he can scream.

"Yes yes, I get it. I look like a monster. I'm not. I don't know what I am, but I'm only here to make friends and see the world outside my house. Shadow took me in and that's why I'm here."

"... Ok." The stallion says understandingly.

"What?"

"I said ok. I can see you're telling the truth." He states simply.

"... What... you just know?"

"Yeah. It's my talent." He points to the halo cutie mark. "Keeping ponies honest. That means I can tell when somepony is lying from a mile away."

"Oh. Well. That saved me a whole lot of time. Well, as long as you're here, let's talk for a bit." The stallion nods in agreement and taps his horn thoughtfully. I hadn't realized he was a unicorn.

"Well, my name is Truth Seer. I'm a detective. What's your whole name and occupation?"

"I'm Star Watcher, and to be honest I have no real occupation yet, other than learning."

"Ah. Well, it's nice to meet you. I--"

"Truth!!" A femenine voice calls. Truth suddenly looks mildly panicked.

"Have to go! I'll come back to talk more soon, bye!" Truth vanishes faster than any pony yet, leaving the door open in his wake.

"That was odd." I say to myself as I shut the door gently using my magic. Once again, I am left in the house by myself, so I pull out my magic book. "What Shadow doesn't know won't hurt him, right?" I flip the book open to the 'Protection Spells' page. I'm faced with a list of various wards and fields used for defense against different things. Most were surprisingly specific, but there were a few all-around shields as well. The only one I had ever actually been allowed to practice was the weakest all-around shield, simply named 'Protective Barrier I'. With a simple downward movement of my eyes, I locate 'Protective Barrier II'. All it really required was an increase in the amount of energy put into the spell. With a flick of my hoof and a grunt, a dark blue barrier, slightly thicker than usual, comes into existance from the ground to the ceiling.

"Ok Star, I'm home!" Shadow calls as he opens the door and trots in. He gasps when he sees the barrier. "Star!! I told you not to pr--" 

Then the wall across from me explodes in and something slams into my shield.
> Chapter Seven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Star!! What did you do?!" Shadow shouts worriedly. 

"That wasn't me!" I shout back. The room is now full of dust and splinters are lodged in the front of my barrier. It couldn't have been me. Were that some kind of magical backlash or fail, the barrier would have faded. That, and the outline of a body on my barrier told me there was no way it was my doing.

"Oh my gosh, I am soooo sorry!" The body on my barrier apologizes, totally unfazed despite the impact. It was femenine, a mare had just blown up our wall somehow.

"Rainbow Dash?! Is that you?" Shadow asks in surprise as the mare peels herself off of my shield. 

"Yeah, sorry. I was flying and some stupid bug hit my eye." The dust slowly settles and I drop the magic quickly. The splinters fall to the floor and click against it.

"M-my house! Oh my gosh, I... I... Oh geez."

"Uhhh... I'll pay for that." The 'Rainbow Dash' offers. With the dust level lowered to the point of faint visibility, I can see some of her features. She's a cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail. Her hair appears to be carefully styled to look unstyled. Were it truly unstyled though, the hair colors would mix. It gave her the impression of trying to look like she didn't care how she looked. It seemed a bit pointless to me, but it wasn't my mane after all.

"Oh my gosh, my house..." Shadow mumbles weakly. "This'll take days to repair... Where am I supposed to stay?"

"Uhh... uhhh." The mare begins to akwardly turn side-to-side, as if an answer would jump out at her. Instead, she saw me. "Waah! Shadow, there's a monster in your house!" She cries, leaping in front of him protectively. "Run, I'll hold him off!" I hold up my hooves in a display of peace.

"Actually, I'm his friend. I'm the one responsible for the magic wall that cushioned your impact."

"You aren't fooling me! Shadow! I said run!"

*sigh* "Rainbow, he's telling the truth. This is my friend, Star. He's no monster, and I'd like to point out that my house is missing a wall. Can we focus on that for a bit?"

"B.... but... Look at him!" Rainbow Dash protests, waving toward me wildly. Then she seems to look at me more intently herself. "Actually... He's kinda shrimpy..." She notices.

"Hey..." I warn.

"He's all thin and scrawny..."

"You're one to talk there tiny!" I counter, pointing out her slim build and comparitively short body.

"Hey! Watch it! You're talking to the fastest pegasus in Equestria! I'm not small, I'm lean!" She takes an aggressive step towards me and I match it by lighting one of my hooves with magic aura.

"Hey, don't you come at me! You're the one that just broke through our wall and proceeded to insult me!"

"Both of you, shut up!" Shadow shouts, stepping inbetween us. He turns to me. "Star, threatening ponies with magic is not going to make you any friends!" As he finishes, he turns to Rainbow Dash. "As for you, you can't just break through my house and insult my friend!" His fierce expression breaks down a bit. "I mean... could you be a little nicer? Please?" Rainbow Dash's aggressive stance falters and deflates into an akward stand. She starts kicking the ground nervously.

"Right, sorry." She mutters. I cross my arms over my chest defiantly.

"Now, I can't afford to fix thi--"

"I said I'd pay for it!" Rainbow Dash interrupts.

"Got it, but even then, Star and I can't stay in a house that's missing a wall." The colorful home-wrecker seems to think for a moment. I could only imagine how much pain it was causing her. It struck me suddenly that I didn't like her. At all.

"Well, you could stay at my house." She offers to Shadow.

"Isn't it made of clouds?"

"Yeah." 

"I don't think I can walk on clouds." I interject. Rainbow Dash glares at me.

"Well it's a good thing I wasn't offering you!"

"Well then where the heck am I supposed to sleep?"

"Not my problem, I'm just taking care of my friend!"

"Uhhh... Twilight seemed to like you a bit. Maybe we can ask her really nicely?" Shadow offers.

"You said 'you'. Aren't you coming with me?" I ask worriedly.

"Uhh... ehm... I'd... I'd like to, but..."

"But he's going with a real friend." Rainbow Dash states smugly. I scowl at her. I really wasn't liking her.

"Shadow..." I mumble.

"T-that's not true... but I would like to go with her." He mutters lowly. I nod slowly.

"Ok. Ok, I understand."

"Thank you... I'll go talk with Twilight real quick. Go hide in my room, that way no passing ponies see you." I numbly trot to his room, a little upset and confused as to why he was choosing that rude, mean, destroyer of property over me. I figure there had to be some important reason that I just wasn't seeing. Nonetheless, I couldn't rid myself of a small feeling of betrayal. In an effort to brighten myself up, I remind myself that I might be going to Twilight's house. She had been the one that was encouraging the practice of magic. I'd get to finally use some of my knowlege there. With my hurt forgotten, I fill with a sort of eager nervousness and pull my spell book back out. Almost as if I were studying for a life-defining test, I read as quickly as I can while commiting it to memory. It feels like no time has passed at all before Shadow returns to the house accompanied by two other ponies.

"So you're sure you don't mind?" Shadow asks skeptically.

"Of course not, anything for a fellow magic lover!" Twilight's voice assures happily.

"I dunno Twilight, I don't like that... thing." The voice of Rainbow Dash, who I was quickly associating with the spawn of Discord, says cautiously.

"Hey, watch it! He's still my friend!" Shadow protests. Twilight trots into Shadow's room.

"Hey Star, how are you?" She asks sweetly. I had no idea why this particular mare was so nice to me, but I liked her for it. Especially since it was just enough kindness, unlike Fluttershy, who had gone just a tad overboard.

"I'm about as well as somepony can be when a rude mare crashes through your wall."

"Hee hee, fair enough. Look, Rainbow's being a bit stubborn right now, but deep down I know she's sorry for what she did, ok?" I could feel a bit of my hatred for the prismatic pegasus diminish.

"Ok. So, I guess Shadow spoke to you about me already?"

"He sure did, and I'd be happy to let you stay for a bit. We can get to that magic practice I was asking about, if you'd like." I return the lavender mare's kind smile.

"I'd love to, but are we going to get to your house without being seen?"

"Easy. Hold onto me and I'll use a few teleportation spells to get us there largely undetected."

"You can do that? Just teleport us both?"

"Yup."

"I have so much to learn." I mumble in awe. Twilight turns her back to me and motions for me to grab onto her.

"Well, let's get started then!" She says excitedly. I place my hoof in the middle of her back, and suddenly a sucessive burst of flashes fly by us. After a few seconds of disorientation, I manage to steady myself and look at my new surroundings. I'm in a building with a strangely grained floor and walls that appear to be undivided. Not only that, but there is a staircase that looks almost carved out of the wall. I barely take the time to think about any of that or what it could mean because...

"BOOKS!" I cry, arriving at the shelves faster than a wonderbolt. In the same moment I begin randomly pulling a few off of the shelves and carry them to a corner. I begin examining them immediately. "Read it, read it, ohhh, that's neat." I pick one of the books from the stack and shove the rest to the side. As I open it though, it's magically taken from my hooves by a pinkish-purple aura.

"As much as I love reading too, we're supposed to practice magic, remember?" She gently reminds me as she re-shelves the book. I cross my forelegs poutily.

"All right..." 

"Now, come stand next to me." She orders as she levitates a table from the center of the room to the side. I stand up dutifully and trot over to her. "Ok, remind me what spells you can perform?" 

"Basic levitation and protective barriers one and two."

"Two? I thought you said you only knew a really small and weak one."

"Well... I maaaay have practiced the second on at Shadow's place." I roll my eyes up to the ceiling and try to look innocent.

"As much as I admire the desire to learn and grow better, you should have followed Shadow's rules." She ridicules lightly. "Now, how did the spell work?"

"Pretty well. It protected me from the rainbow mare that divebombed into our house and nearly hit me."

"Really? Did it hold up well? Did anything seem strange about it to you?"

"Well, now that you mention it... Rainbow Dash had to almost... peel herself off of the barrier." Twilight's face scrunches up in a displeased manner.

"That's not good."

"How so?"

"Well, let me show you." She steps away from me and ignites her horn with a pinkish aura. Suddenly, a wall of pinkish light flies up between us. "This is a correct barrier." She announces as she taps on it with a forehoof. It clicks in a glass-like fashion against her hoof. 

"Ok, now what did I make?"

"Well, while making the barrier, you might have been a little distracted. Because of that, you made it incorrectly. Allow me to demonstrate." Twilight stares at me intensely for a bit, and her barrier seems to waver. "This is what you made." She places her hoof against it and pulls it away with a slight sucking sound. The shield is sticky.

"Well, it protected me from the impact, so how does it matter if it's sticky?" I ask slightly irritatedly. The mare's obvious show of superior ability was making me a bit jealous.

"I'm about to show you. Now, when struck at high speeds by blunt objects..." Twilight punches the barrier. It doesn't budge, but I can't help but feel it was more due to her... not physically intimidating body structure than the actual barrier. "However, if one were to simply apply a gentler effort..." Twilight presses against the barrier, and she slowly slips through it with ease, placing her right below me.

"Alright, I see your point. However, I don't think my enemies would try to slowly walk through my shield."

"You have a good point, but this weakened barrier has one more drawback." Twilight's horn flares again and a pinkish sword comes to life in front of her face. With a twirl and a slash, she slices cleanly through the barrier and it dissolves into thin air.

"... Oh. Well, I see your point." I pause. "Did I just pun?"

"Hee hee, good one." Twilight giggles a little. "Anyway, try making another barrier. This time, I want you to focus entirely on making it. Nothing else." I close my eyes obediently and focus all of my thoughts into making the wall of energy. As soon as I'm sure all of my thoughts are on making it, I let the magic flow and will the barrier into being.

"Did I do it?" I ask without opening my eyes.

"Well, you made a barrier, yes." Twilight says. I open my eyes to see a dark blue wall in front of me. "Now to see if it's properly made..." She trots over to it and peers at it closely. Without warning, she flips her magic sword around and stabs my shield, shattering it into tiny pieces that fade instantly.

"Why did you break it?!" 

"To test it."

"You could've knocked on it or something!"

"Well this was more of a two part test. Part one was for the barrier, part two was to see your strength as a spell caster."

"... How did that accomplish testing my strength?"

"Well, obviously I broke your shield, but in the process my sword broke at least a little. By seeing how much it broke, we can tell how strong you are."

"Oh. Well, what's the result?" Twilight brings the blade to her face.

"Let's se--" Twilight stops short. The blade is about 1/3 of the way broken, leaving it blunt and scarred with cracks the rest of the way through it. "Oh my..."

"What? Did I fail?"

"Star... a level two barrier should have barely cracked this thing. Maybe chipped it. This... is a very good sign!" 

"It is?"

"Yes! It means you have the capability to be very powerful."

"As strong as you?" I ask hopefully. Twilight seems to think for a moment.

"Weeeell, maybe not that powerful. You could probably get close."

"...That kinda sucks. Well, can I learn that sword spell?"

"Well, I don't see why not. Ok, stand right next to me." I step to Twilight and stand just to her right. "Ok now, this is a bit different from the spells you know. Instead of using gentler, more defensive thoughts to use this spell, you'll be using aggression."

"Aggression? Really?" 

"Hee hee, yes. We'll be using aggression to make the sword." She says sarcastically. I roll my eyes.

"Ok, I got this." I close my eyes and focus on my earlier jealousy. It had made me a bit angry, so I figure it would work. I began to feel the emotion start to flow, and with a quick burst of magic, I summoned the sword into existance. I opened my eyes to see a sword that looked similar to Twilight's but with a wider blade base. It was dark blue and seemed to be pretty solid. "Ha! First try!" I cry victoriously, throwing my hooves up in celebration. The sword waves in response, and the narrow tip wobbles before going totally limp.

"Maybe not quite yet..." Twilight tries to say with a straight face, despite the obvious laughter welling up inside her.

I guess I really did still have a lot to learn.
> Chapter Eight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Come on Star, try one more time!" Twilight encourages.

"No! I'm just not aggressive enough!" I whine back, tired of failing the sword spell. My latest attempt hung before me, no more than a magic stick. Not even sharp. I simply wasn't able to make myself aggressive enough.

"Hmm... What about when Rainbow was making you mad earlier? She said you got so mad you almost used magic on her. Try thinking of that." As she finishes her sentence, I can already feel my very feel my acute dislike of the pegasus settling in.

"Grrrrr..."  I growl, summoning the sword once more. I didn't close my eyes, so I see this one form. It starts out as swirls of blue energy slowly coming together. It forms a hilt, good. Plain and simple, but good. The blade begins to form moments after, perfectly sized and sturdy-looking. Eventually, it forms a seemingly flawless shortsword. I draw it closer to me nervously. It doesn't flop over. With a few experimental swings, I realize I've actually succeeded in making a sword. 

"You did it!" Twilight shouts happily.

"Y-yeah! I think I did!" Then the handle falls off of the sword. It is quickly followed by the blade.

"..."

"... Forget that." I hiss, releasing the spell and allowing the sword to fade. I swoon suddenly, losing focus and stumbling back.

"Star?!" Twilight exlaims as I fall backward. I hit my head on the floor and sit back up in pain. It only serves to make the swirling in my head and vision worse.

"Oh Celestia... my head..." I moan.

"W-what's wrong?!" Twilight sounds unsure for the first time since we had started the lesson.

"G-get me an apple..." I order weakly. Twilight rushes off without question, and returns with a yellowish apple. She hoofs it to me and I bite into it. After quickly devouring the apple, the spinning starts to slow down and my head becomes clearer. "T-thanks."

"What just happened?!"

"I-it's no big deal. Sometimes that happens when I use a lot of magic. Like that time I spent the whole day levitating random stuff. I get really hungry, and then I start to get really dizzy and sick. I'll be fine, I just didn't notice I was hungry."

"Really? Typically overuse of magic causes exhaustion, not the effects you just listed."

"And you expect me, possibly the only being of my kind, to have typical effects?" I reply sarcastically.

"Hey, don't get snippy with me!" Twilight orders forcefully. "I was just stating that the typical reactions aren't like yours, not that I assumed you would display them."

"Right, right. Sorry. I get a little touchy when that happens. Anyway, let's just quit with the spell practice for now."

"I was going to say that anyway. Here, you rest here while I go get some of those books for you." Twilight turns and trots off to the library shelves. She carefully levitates a few select books off of them and examines them. After looking at a few books, which she shook her head at and placed back on the shelves, she finally settles on two books and brings them over to me.

"Sweet, books." I held a hoof out for one. "Why'd you bring two? I usually read only one book at once." Twilight sits down beside me and levitates me one of the books.

"Well, the other one is for me. What? Did you expect me to sit and watch you read?" She replies back in a tone that makes it seem like she's teasing me. I decide to ignore it and look at the book she had given me.

"Magic Dueling: Rules and Strategies. Why would I be reading this?" 

"One day, when you've trained enough, we're going to duel. You're the strongest natural magic user, other than myself and the princesses, I've ever met. I think it would help us both grow better."

"You want me to duel you?!" I screech in a bit of a panic. "There's no way!" Twilight holds up her forehooves peacefully.

"Not now, and not any time soon. When you're ready. Don't worry."

"Then... why read it now?"

"It's never too early to learn, right?"

"Ok... I guess so." I look at the book and hesitantly open it. To my relief, it seemed that the old form of dueling, to the death, had been abolished. Instead, dueling was now a competition of tricks. The rules seemed relatively simple, as all spells that didn't cause harm were allowed. They also didn't allow use of spells on the opponent, only spectators could be targeted. Sort of like unknowing volunteers. In my intense reading, I didn't really notice a warmth against my side until I paused for a moment. I look over to see that Twilight is leaning against me while reading. "What are you doing?"

"Reading." Twilight answers without looking up.

"I meant why are you leaning on me?"

"You're soft and warm." Twilight explains distractedly, not really seeming to care that she was leaning on me.

"... Could you stop?" This time, Twilight lowers her book a little and looks up at me.

"Oh, I'm bugging you?"

"Well... it's just strange."

"Sorry, I'll move." Twilight wiggles off of me and sits about four inches away. Satisfied, I turn back to my book and continue reading.

"TWIIIIIIILIIIIIGHT!" A familiar voice shouts from outside. I couldn't quite place who it was, but they did a very good job of disturbing my reading. Twilight was having a similar reaction to the voice, but she seemed to know who it was.

"Pinkie?" She mutters questioningly. Suddenly I remember the pink party pony I had met earlier. "Do you know her already?" Twilight asks suddenly.

"Yes, I've met her already." 

"Good. Go ahead and come in Pinkie!" The door bursts inward and Pinkie Pie came tumbling through it as if somepony had thrown her. She bounces back to her hooves as if nothing had happened and bounds backward to close the door behind her.

"Oh good, you're here! I was really sure you'd be here, but you never know, you could've been out shopping or something. Anyway, I met this new creature thingy that Shadow found, and I wanna throw him a surprise party, but I don't know what he likes! Do you have a book here that could tell me what he is, what he likes, his favorite party games, on second thought maybe you've already read a book like that and can just tell me what he-- Eeeeeeeeeek!" Pinkie's rambling comes to a sudden halt when she finally notices me right next to Twilight.

"Hiya." I greet her nonchalantly.

"Ohmygosh! I totally didn't say anything about a party or a book or finding out what you-- Twilight come upstairs!" Pinkie Pie is suddenly holding a small pellet, which she throws onto the ground. A huge plume of pink smoke explodes into the room, lowering my field of vision to about a single inch in front of my face. 

"Waaa!" Twilight suddenly screams. I can only cough and wave a hoof in front of my face until the smoke disappears. When it finally does in about 20 seconds of waiting, Twilight and Pinkie Pie are gone.

"... I saw nothing." I simply go back to reading my book in peace. At the same time as I finish my book, Twilight comes down the stairs. "Oh, hey. Where'd Pinkie go?"

"She jumped out a window after I helped her as much as I could."

"... Ok then. Well, I finished reading the rulebook, and may I say I'm quite happy you won't be killing me."

"What?"

"I only knew about the olden dueling style, not the newer version. I thought you were going to duel me to the death."

"Wha- Of course not! I could never do that!"

"Well I know that now. As I said though, I was only aware of olden dueling. So, naturally when you said dueling, I assumed it was in the only style I knew."

"No way. Besides, that form of dueling was ab--"

"Abolished by Celestia some years ago because she didn't want ponies dying needlessly. I know. It was in the book."

"Well. No need to cut me off. Anyway, do you think you're ready for--"

*Guuuuurk* My stomach suddenly growls louldly, cutting Twilight off again.

"-- Lunch?" Twilight continues flawlessly, as if that had been her intended question.

"Uhh... y-yeah." I mumur, slightly embarrassed. "I guess I'm still really hungry from the erm... magic practice." Twilight giggles a little, which made me wonder again why she did that so much.

"Then come with me, I was about to make lunch anyway."

"O-ok." I continue to speak weakly. Twilight turns and heads towards a little doorway on the other side of the main room. I quickly stand up and follow her, and predictably the doorway leads into a small kitchen/dining room. It's basically a small square divided almost in half by a counter. The kitchen half had a stove in the black-right, a sink in the back-left, and a fridge placed close to the dining room half along the left wall. The dining room has only a small wooden table with a four plain wooden chairs around it. 

"Alright, what do you want?"

"Uhh... I dunno. What do you have?"

"I have..." Twilight opens a few cabinets and the fridge magically. "Apples, oranges, hay, daisies, carrots, some sugar cubes if you want a snack, peaches, some lettuce--"

"I'd just like some fruit, thank you."

"Ok. That sounds good to me too... let's see..." Twilight levitates a few apples, oranges, and peaches out of the cabinets. I scoot one of the chairs away from the table and sit on the ground where it had been, which put me at about the same height as a normal pony sitting in a chair. Twilight sets a little pile of the various fruits in front of me, then sits down across from me.

"Thank you."

"No problem. So, how are you liking it here?"

"Well, I've had the most fun I've ever had in my life just in this house. It's fantastic, really." I answer matter-of-factly between bites. Twilight blushes a little and starts rolling an apple on the table.

"Wow... thanks. I-I was more talking about Ponyville though..."

"Why do you sound so nervous?" I ask curiously, not missing her stutter. Twilight seems slightly caught off guard by my question.

"Well... You know, I live in a library. Most ponies don't view being here fun. I mean, my friends come over here and we have fun together, but I don't think they view being here itself as fun."

"Why not? This is the best place ever! I never got to see this many books, ever! Not only that, but I've used more magic in two hours here than I have most of my life!"

"Most of my friends aren't... well-read. In fact, only one really stops by to read. Even then she only reads one series that I got her to like. I also don't give them magic lessons. You're the only... being I've ever taught anything."

"You don't have to call me 'being', you know. I think of myself as a pony, just like you. Might as well call me that."

"Ok, I'll try. Might take some getting used to though."

"Ok. I guess. Well..." I finish the last bite of my last fruit and neatly lay the core next to the other cores and peels. "I'm sorry to hear that your friends don't like all the same stuff as you."

"No no, it's a good thing! I've learned that it allows me to try all sorts of new things that I normally wouldn't do. Like once, I entered a race with my two friends, Rainbow Dash and Applejack."

"Oh. Well then good for you. I was going to say it's a good thing we like the same stuff, and we're friends now... Are we friends? You said 'not quite yet' last time."

"Hmm... You seem really nice, and it's great to finally meet somepony like myself. I'd say we're friends now, and I like having a friend that likes the same things as me." Twilight gives me a broad smile. I feel my visage brightening considerably as well.

"Oh, good. You had me a bit worried when you started talking about it being good to like different things."

"Hee hee hee, no need to worry."

"Hey, how old are you? If you don't mind me asking." I ask due to a sudden strike of curiosity. Twilight gives me a hesitant look.

"About 19. Why?"

"I dunno, just suddenly wondering."

"How old did you say you were?"

"18. Well, actually I'm exactly 18. Today is my birthday." Twilight's eyes shot open and she smiled even wider. "Don't do anything! Seriously, calm down! I want nothing done for my birthday. I even made my parents try to forget when it is." Twilight's face falls to a frown almost instantly.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because, I'm another year closer to death. Yipee. I don't want to celebrate that." I explain simply. Twilight gives me a blank stare. Then she continues staring. And keeps staring. "Hello?" I ask hesitantly. Twilight doesn't budge. I suddenly realize she isn't blinking. I stand up to go over to her and see what's wrong. In the proccess, I accidentally knocked over an apple core. It hovers right where it had been pushed by my hand. In mid-air.

Something was very wrong.

"My son... it's nice to see you after all these years." A soft but powerful voice calls from the doorway. Wait... S-son? I turn to look at the source of the voice.

Nevermind, something was far worse than very wrong. The figure in the doorway wasn't my father. In fact, it looked like...

Me.
> Chapter Nine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Waaagh!" I turn and try to run away, only to realize there's a wall behind me. I slam into it pretty hard and end up falling backward and hitting the back of my head on the edge of the table. The blow is enough to bring tears to my eyes and cause me to yelp.

"Son?! Are you ok?" I hear the sound of the thing approaching me from around the table. I scramble a bit more and hide under the table, desperate to not be seen.

"G-get away!" I shout weakly.

"Son, there's no need to fear me." The light tapping of the approaching thing's steps stops abrubtly. 

"Q-quit calling me son! Leave me alone!"

"And what else should a father call his son? Hmm?"

"Y-you're n-not my dad! M-my dad is B-butterscotch S-swirl!"

"Oh come now. I was so hoping you had been raised smarter than that. Tell me, what physical similarities do you share with your adoptive pony father?"

"Please just leave me alone!"

"You need not fear me. Have I made any aggressive actions against you? Please son, just let an old man see his boy." The figure pleads. I think for a moment. His words were true, he hadn't attacked me. There wasn't any real harm in just talking to him... was there? I slowly peek my head out from under the table. The figure remained near the other side of the room with his limbs held up in peace.

"Ok... I'll bite then... You haven't attacked me so... who are you?"

"I am your father... my how you've grown..." His expression looks... lost. He looks like he lost something, and just found it. A sort of bittersweet hapiness. He takes a few steps towards me, and I recoil back defensively. His expression changes instantly to pain. 

"My father, huh? Prove it." I challenge, beginning to doubt his claims.

"What would you like to know? I can tell you the names of the ponies I gave you to, if you wish."

"No way, anypony could know their names... that wouldn't prove anything."

"How about the fact that I'm the only thing you've ever seen that looks like you?"

"That's... Ok, that's a good point." It suddenly struck me that the figure looked old. Very old. He was more wrinkled than a decaying apple, and his hair was pure white. He didn't only have hair on his head, like me, but he had a lot of hair growing from the bottom of his face. A very long, snow white beard. He had no coat, like me, and the showing skin was pale white with small brown spots. He wore simple robes, not like bathrobes, but a dark-blue robe that looked very... He was wearing clothes. He was like me! "Y-you wear clothes!"

"Yes, and would appear that you don't." The figure laughed jovially, as if this were the funniest thing in the world. 

"N-nopony else here almost ever wears clothes..." Could it be true? Could this... thing really be my father? "O-ok... let's say I believe you." I state strongly. The figure immediately smiles and makes it clear I have his full attention. "Let's say you are... my dad. What's your name then?"

"My name is Merlin. I have a great many titles as well, but 'Merlin' will do for now... maybe until I can get you to call me 'dad'."

"Alright then, 'Merlin'. If you're my dad, then where is the rest of our race? In all my reading and studies, I've never heard of anything like us."

"Well son--"

"Star." I correct forcefully.

"Very well, Star. You see, we don't exist. Not on this world, not in this plane of existance." He says simply, as if that explained everything.

"T-then... How... where..."

"We come from a vastly different place. A world far, far from here and a few realities away."

"Why... why am I here then?! HOW am I here?!"

"I put you here, a long time ago."

"You mean to say you abandoned me on a totally different plane and planet?! What kind of dad does that?! What, was I not good enough or something?!" I could feel my confusion quickly changing into anger. Merlin assumed a look of shocked pain and waved his hooves defensively.

"No! No! I would never do that! You meant the world to me son... I didn't merely abandon you, I gave you up for your own protection."

"Protection from what?" I seeth.

"Allow me to explain. I was a very powerful wizard. I spent my days defending my friend's kingdom from all manners of threats. One day... shortly after you were born, another threat presented itself. I sensed it years before it actually appeared, such was its power. A beast like no other was coming; a destroyer of magic." Merlin pauses for a moment to take a shuddery breath. "For the first time in my life, I was very scared of not being able to defeat an opponent. I knew the beast, if it won, would rid our world of magic, killing all those who could use it and steal all of it from the planet itself. I couldn't risk allowing you to die with it, so I sent you here."

"So... you sent me here... to save me?"

"Yes. I left you with two trustworthy ponies after much consideration. Then, I returned to our world to combat the beast."

"And now you've beaten it and are back to take me home?" I ask knowingly, not quite sure how to feel. Merlin's expression became even sadder and he slowly shook his head.

"No... no. It proved too much for me. I was slain, and the world rendered void of magic. You are all that's left of our old ways." I could feel my expression become overly shocked.

"W-what?! B-but you're here! Right here, in front of me! You can't be dead! I can't be all that's left!"

"I'm sorry to tell you that I am in fact, not in front of you. When I left you here, I knew you would have questions that needed answering when you grew up. All you are seeing right now is a spell; a magic fragment of myself I left in you to activate on the exact moment of your 18th birthday."

"Y-you're dead..." I whimper. "No... no..." My father stood here in front of me, I accepted that now. At the same time, I found myself unable to bear the idea of never really seeing my real father. It wasn't fair for me to finally meet him to never get to really see him. "That... that's not fair." Merlin, or the magic image of Merlin, walked over to me and patted my shoulder.

"Now now, don't be upset. Rejoice! You're alive and well, and that's all that matters to me. I know it's not fair for me to suddenly do this to you, but there are things you must know." I looked up at him with teary eyes and sniffle.

"W-what could be so important for you to taunt me like this with your presence? Do you know how often I imagined finding my race as a child? How often I dreamed of belonging? I gave up on all of that years ago, and here you come to tell me we do exist and that I'll never find you!"

"I know, I know Star. You're right, it isn't fair. However, fair isn't a real thing. The very nature of life is unfair. I would never have done this had I not thought your life could depend on it."

"And how does my life depend on this?"

"As I said, I was defeated by a monster that destroys magic. Well, to be more accurate, it consumes magic. Our planet, home of the mighty Earthen Wizard race, was but a snack for it. I put you on this planet because I knew the high levels of magic would make you stronger. However..."

"... I live on an all-you-can-eat magic feast, don't I?" I ask worriedly. Merlin nods gravely.

"It is only a matter of time before the beast discovers this world, and at that time, you will have to succeed where I have failed. You will have to save this world from certain destruction."

"... I... but... how... can.. fruit..." I gaze at the peels weakly, as if they held the words I wished to speak. "I... I can't even make a sword..." Merlin grabbed me by the shoulders and lefted me up to my feet, surprising me with such strength from his frail frame.

"Then grow! Become strong! Find others to aid you in your cause as I could not! The power of the great Wizards runs through your veins! You can-- no, will defeat it! I have faith in you son!" Merlin suddenly pulled me into a hug. In shock, I hugged him back.

"O-ok! I'll do it dad!" I agree whole-heartedly, caught up in his vigorous speech.

"I know you'll make me proud son... Though I regret to say it, my time here grows short. I will speak to you again, but now I must go." Merlin started to become less solid in my arms.

"N-no! Wait! I still have so many questions! M-my mom! What was she like? How powerful can we be? What in the name of Celestia are these things?!" I back away a bit and hold up my oddly-shaped hooves and wiggle the extensions. Merlin sees them, smiles widely, and began to laugh.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha... Ha ha ha ha ha!" He fades even faster as he laughs.

"N-no! This isn't funny! Please, answer me!" My shouts are in vain, in moments he vanishes, still laughing. I fall to my knees and start beating the ground where he had stood. "Dad! Merlin! Merliiiin! Answer me!"

"Star!" A voice booms from everywhere at once. I sit straight up and whip around in confusion. "Star!" The voice calls again. I recognize it as Twilight's voice. Strangely enough, she's still sitting in her chair, totally immobile.

"Twilight?" I mumble.

"Star, get up!" She calls again from everywhere at once. Suddenly, I feel woozy and unsteady. The feeling spreads rapidly, and I fall to the floor almost unconscious.


*****************


"Star! Are you alright!?" Twilight is shaking me. I'm laying on the floor. Why am I on the floor? I crack my eyes open to see Twilight shaking me vigorously with an extremely frightened expression.

"Twilight?" I ask weakly. She jumps about 5 feet into the air and squeals a little. "Whoa, what's wrong?"

"Y-you're ok! Oh thank Celestia!" She rushes back over to me and hugs me warmly.

"Uhh... personal space?" She just as quickly releases me and clears her throat.

"S-sorry... You just had me so worried..."

"Why? What happened?"

"What do you mean?! I should be asking you what happened! One moment, we're talking about birthdays, then your eyes started glowing and you fell over! What was I suppose to do or think?!"

"Wow... that's... strange."

"Well? What happened?!" Twilight re-asks a bit more firmly.

"I... I met my father." I inform her, still a bit shocked myself. She gives me a blank look.

"... Laying on my floor?"

"Uhh... It would seem so. It was a spell. He put a spell on me when I was a baby, it seems."

"A-and it just now activated? That's what the glowy eyes and falling was for?"

"Yes... it was." 

"You sound... really distant. What happened? Did you get to talk to him or was it just a vision of some sort?"

"Yeah.. we talked."

"About what?"

"How I'm supposed to save the world..."
> Chapter Ten
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight stares at me for a bit, not really reacting. Eventually, she cracks a smile at me.

"Oh, I get it. This is a joke of some sort. I should've figured that out when you said your 'father' put a spell on you when you were a baby. The amount of power it would take to get a spell like that to function would be massive."

"What?"

"Of course you're joking! You just pretended to pass out to scare me, didn't you? Very funny Star, and nice improv on your story for the joke. Unless you planned that too."

"I'm sorry, you think I'm kidding?" I ask a bit wounded. What was so funny about me saving the world?

"Well of course you are! I mean, saving the world? You can't even walk out of this house! It's brilliantly funny, very good."

"I'm serious." Twilight's smile drops at my words.

"Alright, it was funny when I finally caught it, no need to drag it out."

"Twilight, listen to me!" I sat up out of her embrace and laid my hooves on her shoulders. "I really did see my dad. Something very dangerous could be coming, and it needs to be stopped." Twilight seems to waver in her belief that this is a joke.

"O-ok, then explain. This had better not be an elaborate continuation of your joke..."

"Not a joke!"

"Wait a minute, how do you explain your father having the ability to place an 18-year operating spell on you, huh?"

"Easy, he was a great wizard. The most powerful wizard on my world!" I didn't honestly know if he was the most powerful, but it sounded cool that way. Twilight gives me a confused look.

"Your world?"

"Yes! It turns out that I'm not from this planet. Even this plane of existance, apparently. There's a whole other place that's filled with my kind!"

"Then how did you get he--"

"Getting to that! If you would let me tell the story, we might get somewhere!" 

"Alright, tell me then." Twilight sits up straight and gives me a disbelieving stare.

"Alright. Now, my dad told me that he took me here years ago. He said something was attacking my home, something he didn't know if he could beat. He said it was going to destroy all magic on my world, including killing all those who use it. My dad, not wanting anything bad to happen to me, took me to a far away planet, here. Then he said he put a magic fragment of himself in my memories just in case he failed."

"Why would he need to? Couldn't he just have left you to live a new life uninterrupted?"

"Well... The monster that destroyed all the magic on my world... turns out it eats magic. This place is filled to the brim with it. He said that would make me stronger, but at the same time... we live on a giant magic feast. It's only a matter of time before it finds this place." I finish with a low and serious tone. Twilight was beginning to look scared.

"S-so... you mean... A m-monster is coming to kill us all? P-please tell me this is s-some sick joke..."

"Twilight, why would I joke about this? Anyway, he said I needed to train and prepare. He wants me to try and succeed where he failed. He wanted me to get help too, like he couldn't."

"Oh dear..." Twilight stands up and starts pacing nervously. "Oh dear, oh my, oh dear... SPIKE!" Twilight sreams suddenly. I clap my hooves to my ears and wince.

"Ow! What was that for?!" 

"Letter! Celestia, send NOW, tell danger!"

"Twilight, breathe!" I grab Twilight by the shoulders again and give her a little shake. "Calm down! Look, there's no need to cause a panic now. There's no reason to believe it's going to come soon, or even find us at all. I'm sure a being like Celestia would already be aware if something that powerful was approaching anyway. If anything, we should just train and wait. I should train."

"B-b-but but but--"

"Words! Use them!"

"What if we all die?!"

"We won't! Look, we have Celestia, you, and I at least to combat this thing. I'm sure that between us we can take it. So, let's not cause a panic, and just keep this to ourselves. The last thing we would want to do is alert the country and never actually have it show up. Could you imagine the panic?" I found myself greatly enjoying being the calm and rational one in the moment. It made me feel a little bit better about how much I had sucked at magic earlier. Twilight seemed to be calming down.

"R-right... ok... ok. That makes sense. Don't freak out. Don't freak out." Twilight closes her eyes and starts inhaling deeply.

"Alright, good. Good. Now, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes... I think I'm doing better." Twilight opens her eyes again and a little purple dragon steps into the dining room.

"You called, Twilight?" He asks.

"Oh hey look, a dragon." I note. I turn back to Twilight, then whip my gaze back to the dragon. "A dragon?!" Once more, something I had read about, but never seen. I felt my eyes roving his form to take in every little detail I could. He was small and young, that much was obvious. He stood on two legs, just like me. Not only that, but his arms end in structures extremely similar to my strange hooves. He has green rounded spike scales from his head down to his tail and pale underbelly scales. He turns his head and I see his green eyes with slitted black pupils.

"Awww, what did you bring in here to study this time Twilight?" He whines. "Please tell me this one won't make as much of a mess as your last study!"

"I beg your pardon?" I ask insultedly. "Make a mess? Study object? I'll have you know I'm a thinking creature just as much as yourself, thank you. I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak of me as an object. I can only handle so much of that."

"Oh!" He seems surprised to hear me talk, which was strange since I spoke when he came in. Maybe he hadn't heard me? "I'm sorry Mr, I didn't realize you weren't an animal or something."

"Why does everypony jump to animal or monster?" I wonder aloud.

"Oh, Spike. This is Star, he's a friend of mine. He'll be hiding out here for a while." Twilight explains to the young reptile.

"Hiding out? Are you a criminal? An alien? Oh! Are you somepony famous wearing a really good disguise?"

"No no Spike, he's none of those things." Twilight seems to be trying not to laugh, quite the change from her terror only moments ago. "He just looks strange, and some ponies don't understand that. He's staying here for a bit until his house gets fixed or ponies accept him."

"Why don't they understand? He looks fine to me."

"Because he's a little scary and really big when he stands up. Don't worry, we'll get them to like him."

"Ok, if you say so." Spike mumbles disinterestedly. "So, what did you call me for?"

"Oh, nevermind that. I changed my mind."

"Alright then. Well, I'll just go back to re-organizing the upstairs shelves then..." Spike trudges off irritatedly, likely upset by being called for nothing.

"Alright now, you're calm? You're ok?" I ask Twilight warily. She nods at me.

"Yes, I think I'll be alright. You need to be more careful before you pull out a statement like 'A world ending abomination is coming.' though."

"Well what was I supposed to do? Ignore it and hope the world didn't get eaten?"

"Well no, but you could've been more gentle with the news."

"So you wanted me to gently tell you our world was going to be eaten? Yeah, sounds simple enough." I counter with a dangerously large amount of dry sarcasm. Twilight shoots me a glare and snorts.

"Look, all I'm saying is you could've done better. Anyway, what should we do about all this?"

"Well, like I said, we should just keep training and getting stronger. We should start training now, actually." 

Twilight nods in agreement and starts trotting towards the living room. "I agree. The more prepared we are, the better." she pauses at the doorway leading to the living room for just a moment to turn around and give me a cheeky smile. "Besides, you could use the practice!" 

I frown at her and cross my arms in annoyance, but she just chuckles and continues into the living room, totally ignoring my unhappy demeanor. With an exasperated sigh, I follow her into the living room. I notice Spike, who was still going up the stairs after having left the dining room only moments before. "Hey Spike! We're about to practice some magic, wanna watch?" I offer, figuring it's only polite to ask.

"Oh, love to Star, but I gotta organize the upstairs shelves still, remember?"

"Actually Spike, I think the shelves can wait for now. You should help Star and I practice! You were always a big help when I was learning tricks." Twilight gives both Spike and I a big smile as she talks.

"Well... ok, sure! Sounds a lot more fun than organizing bookshelves anyway!" Spike quickly runs down the stairs and joins us in the living room while Twilight once again levitates the table in the middle of the room and moves it off to the side so that we have room to practice. "So, what trick are we trying to teach him?"

"Well, I think mastering that sword spell from yesterday would be a good first step."

"Whoa! You're teaching him combat magic?!" Spike suddenly seemed very nervous. "On second thought, I'm not so sure I wanna be down here. I got shelves to organize, later!" Spike hurriedly rushes up the stairs and disappears behind a door. I watched him vanish and turned to Twilight after he left.

"There a story behind that reaction?"

Twilight blushes slightly and refuses to meet my eyes. "Let's just say that I wasn't always as good as I am now and leave it at that..." she clears her throat and turns back to me, her blush gone. "So, anyway, the sword spell! Ready to give it another shot?"

I sigh deeply and spread my hindlegs a bit into a balanced stance, bracing myself slightly. "Alright, guess I'll give it a go." I immediately began to think of things that made me angry, namely how no matter how mad I got, I just couldn't get the spell. Blue swirls of energy slowly formed and gathered into yet another magic sword. To my great irritation, the blade on my sword appeared chipped and dull. With an angry cry, I cancelled the spell and flopped onto the ground. "Ugh! Why can't I get it right?!"

"Hmmm..." Twilight rubs her chin thoughtfully with a forehoof. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you thinking to channel aggression and make the sword?"

"This time I was thinking about how I can't get the freakin' spell right!" I huff and ball up the strange appendages on my hooves.

"Oh, well that explains it! You are thinking angry thoughts, not necessarily aggressive thoughts."

"Aren't they the same thing?"

"Not quite. Pretty similar, but not the exact same. After all, you can be aggressive for reasons other than being angry. For example, take a mama bear. If you just stumble near her cubs on accident, she will act aggressively and maybe even attack you. It doesn't mean she's mad, you haven't done anything bad after all. She's just protecting her children."

"Actually I think she's mad you got near her babies."

"Not according to Fluttershy."

I snicker a bit. "Not sure how much I trust her knowledge of animals." I stood again with a small sigh. "Alright, I'll give it another shot." I stand up and try to think of something that made me aggressive. Something that would make me willing to fight.

"Oh, I got it Star! Why don't you imagine someone is trying to take your books?"

With a sudden burst of blue light, a glowing, massive blue sword appears in front of me, perfectly sharp and with no defects to be found. It's almost three times the length of Twilight's short sword she had summoned before. My expression is flat and cold, determined even. "No one touches the books." I stated calmly and clearly. Twilight's eyes go wide and she trots over to examine the sword a bit more closely.

"Errr... I love books too, but that result was a bit unexpected." she mutters as she taps the side of the blade experimentally.

I felt my expression soften into a sheepish grin, but the sword didn't fade. "Well... my books are basically the only friends I've had for 18 years. Present company excluded of course. Even then I met you literally 2 days ago."

Twilight smiles softly at me. "I guess I can understand that. There was a time in my life when books were my only friends too. Granted, a short period, as before it I had my older brother-"

"Shining Armor, captain of the guard, right?"

"... right. Not too long after he left to follow his dream, I went to follow mine and got Spike. So to an extent, I can relate."

My sheepish grin grew into a bigger, more genuine grin directed at Twilight. It was kinda nice to hear someone say they knew how I felt. At least, close. "Ehm... so, how'd I do on the sword?"

"Oh. Well, just as with the barrier I must say this is the best display of raw talent I've ever seen. Still excluding myself or the princesses obviously. One thing that I should mention though, is I've never seen anyone conjure a claymore. This is a minotaurian weapon. Albeit, admittedly a bit smaller than actual minotaurian claymores."

"Oh... Does that mean it's stronger?"

"Well yes and no. In the same way that an actual claymore is heavier, but stronger, a magic claymore such as this will take more effort to move and swing, but will hit harder. It's basically literally a sword, just made out of magic and hovering. Whereas a short sword, like mine, is lighter and much faster."

"Oh. Well why is mine a claymore? You said you've never seen one before."

"Well it's theorized that when a pony uses this spell, it summons the melee weapon they would've used had they chosen the path of a soldier or warrior. Most ponies summon short swords, long swords, or daggers because those are weapons that we can hold in our mouths and use. Using something like a claymore would be incredibly difficult for any non-unicorn, and unicorns just use magic to fight. The minotaurs however, are a magic-less race. A lot of them, the ones that take to battle anyway, heavily prefer lots of armor and big weapons like the claymore. Since you have a similar body structure and could presumably use a claymore, I guess that's what you'd be swinging around if you were a warrior."

"Oh." I mumbled in response. "Neat." I gave it a few experimental swings, taking great care to keep it away from Twilight as I did. It didn't feel especially hard to move, I suppose. Then again, I'd never moved a magic sword before this. "You know... to be honest, I don't really know how much a sword is going to help us against whatever's coming..."

"To be honest, if it's as bad as you say, I don't really either. However, it's important for me to figure out what you're good at and where you'll exceed as a mage. After all, most ponies can only learn a few tricks that relate to their talent. The princesses and I being the exception to that, as my talent is magic, and they're incredibly powerful."

"Ah well... I never got my cutie mark." I remark with a touch of sadness, turning to show her my blank, still unclothed flank. "So I've no idea what my talent is..."

"Well, judging by how quickly you've gathered the spells I've taught you so far, and how effective they've been, I'd say it's combat magic."

"I still don't have a mark though..."

"Well it's possible your species doesn't get cutie marks. I mean, ponies, so far as I know, are the only species to get them."

"I guess that's possible..." I sigh and poke my flank with a small frown. "I was really hoping I'd get one someday though..."

"Well..." Twilight seems to pick up on my sadness and react a bit. "M-maybe I'm wrong. I mean, could be anything really..."

I smile a bit. "Yeah... there is still lots of stuff I haven't done after all!"

Immediately after I exclaim that, the room suddenly seems to erupt into a cloud of pink smoke. 

"SURPRISE!"