"Doesn't she look adorable?"

Lyra bounced up and down, wearing a black hoodie courtesy of Rarity. And she looked so cute. He'd never say that out loud, though.

"It looks nice," Drake said with a wide grin. "Lemme show you something." He shifted over to her and grabbed her hood and yanked it over her head.

The mint green unicorn squealed. "I can't see!"

"They look great, Rarity," he told her. "You really know how to sew."

The unicorn sniffed. "Of course! I've made one for you as well." She levitated a human-sized hoodie.

"Wow, this feels amazing! It's like silk!"

Drake tore off his jacket, pulling up his shirt slightly, revealing black markings on his upper back and shoulder.

"A-HA!" Lyra tackled Drake onto his belly.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" he asked, his voice muffled by the bundle of cloth he had stuck in his mouth.

"You do have a cutie mark!"

"I already told you, humans don't have cutie marks!"

"Then what's this?" Lyra lifted up the back of his shirt.

Oh jeez.

Drake stammered. "It's a...tattoo."

"A tattoo?"

"Yeah. They're just drawings in our skin."

Rather painful ones, at that, but he didn't want to scare them away. Thank goodness he'd gotten rid of the stud piercings in his ears. They didn't look good on him anyway.

Rainbow Dash said, "Well then, show us!"

Drake cast his eyes downward. "Uh, I can't."

All seven ponies, and Spike, cocked their head in confusion.

"It's a...secret! Yeah, it's a secret, and I can't show you."

"For Celestia's sake," Rarity sighed, yanking at his shirt with her magic.

Drake yelped, trying to pull it back down. Lyra was the first to jump on Drake's back,studying the tattoo on Drake's shoulder. It wasn't normally visible, since he was always seen wearing clothes. What Lyra saw was a strange pattern of curves and lines, aggressive and rather sinister looking.

"What is it?"

"It's a tribal tattoo," Drake said, his voice muffled by having his face against the bed. "You can't tell my mom, okay?"

"Tribal, like Zecora?"

"Who?"

"But what does it mean?" Lyra asked. "And what's a tattoo?"

He shoved the unicorn off him. "Nothing. I got it when I was sixteen. Kinda stupid, but I thought it looked cool. But seriously, don't tell my mom." He grinned. "It's like a...cutie mark. Yeah. It's a cutie mark for humans. Except we get to choose."

"You get to choose your special talents?"

"Not exactly...We just like to draw on ourselves, that's all."

"I'd totally get a tattoo of the Wonderbolts," Rainbow Dash declared.

"So Twilight, what do ponies do at sleepovers?"

"They eat s'mores!" Pinkie squealed with a platter of said dessert in her mouth.

"And hot chocolate," Fluttershy said gently, hovering about the ground.

Drake took a bite of the treat, enjoying its taste. He'd never had s'mores before. Maybe it was because he'd never gone camping. He should've joined the Boy Scouts. It was a gooey mix of chocolate and marshmallow in his mouth. He washed it down with some warm chocolate milk, soothing his insides.

Lyra giggled when she saw his face. "You've got a mustache."

"Since we've all gotten settled, how about telling spooky stories?" Applejack suggested.

Dash nodded. "Yeah! I wanna hear one from Drake!"

"But not too scary, of course," Rarity added, gesturing to the ever-so-timid Fluttershy.

"I'm actually curious as to what sort of literature humans enjoy," Twilight said.

Drake loved horror movies. And video games. He read a Stephen King novel once, but then again he didn't do much reading anyway. He grinned wickedly and told the ponies to bundle up and get comfortable. The lights were dimmed in the library, leaving only the firefly lantern glowing in front of Drake, casting an eerie shadow.

He began to regale the ponies with the most horrifying tales that he knew of. Of course, they were only horrifying to them. To most humans they were rather silly. But after Drake managed to set up some context with the idea of telephones, he told them of a human girl who was babysitting.

"She picked up the phone and listened," he said slowly, ominously, leaning in closer to the ponies' faces and making eye contact. "There's was only the sound of harsh, heavy breathing. Then, a click. They'd hung up."

"How rude," Rarity whispered.

"A few minutes later the phone rang again, but this time, there was a voice."

A soft gasp from Fluttershy. She clung onto Rainbow Dash.

Drake growled out, "'Have you checked the children?'"

Applejack was nearly crushing Rarity with her arms.

"The girl didn't know what to say. So she hung up. She called the police. She went upstairs and found the children still sleeping."

Twilight visibly relaxed.

"Then another call."

PInkie's eyes were wide as she held a pillow.

"It was the police."

Drake remained silent to let it sink in.

"'The calls are coming from inside the house.'"

The ponies gasped and screamed. The lights were on immediately.

"How's that for a scary story?"

"That was so scary!" Fluttershy squeaked.

"It was alright," Rainbow Dash said with a nervous laugh, still sweating a little. "I wasn't scared at all."

Drake rolled his eyes. "I've got some more!"

"No!"

"How about...we do each others' hair?" Rarity suggested.

Spike and Drake looked grossed out. Applejack and Rainbow Dash grinned.

"Pillow fight!"

"Egad, no!" Rarity shrieked, before she received a pillow to the face. "Mmmfgh! Not again!"

"Girls!" Twilight giggled as she swung a pillow.

"Eep!" Fluttershy squeaked and smiled as she was whacked a few times too.

Drake grabbed a pillow of his own and turned around, glaring at a certain unicorn who had just swatted him. Lyra gave him a sheepish grin, slightly apologetic. The boy rolled his eyes and threw his pillow at her, catching her in the muzzle. It was a ridiculous affair. Soon Drake was dominating each pony, playing some form of twisted whack-a-mole. The mares looked at each other and fixed their gazes upon him, having stopped fighting each other.

"Oh, that's so not fair."

"Get 'im!"

Even Fluttershy joined in on the assault. Drake was buried beneath blankets and pillows as the girls all pounded him mercilessly. Drake laughed and shielded himself as they viciously beat them with their pillows.

"Agh, no! Stop!" he cackled.

They all collapsed in a tangled mess on the bed, panting and giggling at the same time.

"So Drake, tell us about your friends!"

He froze.

"Friends?"

"Duh! Your friends! You know, buddies, pals, acquaintances!" Pinkie said.

"Uh..."

Crap. Think of names. People.

Drake began to sweat. They were all watching them, six pairs of eyes wide in anticipation.

"You have friends, don't you?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head.

It was an innocent question. There was no hint of mockery or scorn in the pink party pony's voice.

"Yeah!" He scoffed. "Totally! I had plenty of friends, believe me."

"You 'had' friends?" Twilight ventured.

Drake caught himself. "Have. I meant have. I have plenty of friends."

"What are their names?"

"I forget."

"You forget? How do you forget your friends' names?" Rainbow Dash asked, perplexed. "They're your friends!"

"I haven't seen them!" he quickly said. "Yeah! I haven't seen them in a really long time."

That was true, right? It wasn't a complete lie, more like a white lie.

He gulped and smiled even wider, trying to focus his attention elsewhere. Those shelves were really dusty... Before he knew it he was already making up more excuses.

"All my real friends are back home, in California."

"California?"

"It's a state," he answered. "I moved to Virginia awhile back."

"That must have been rough," Applejack said sympathetically.

Oh, you have no idea.

"But haven't you tried to make new ones?" Fluttershy asked.

No. No, I haven't, and I won't, and...

"Sure! I've tried! But they're all jerks!"

No, they're not. You're lying to yourself. Stop lying.

He sounded ridiculous. Like a petulant child.

"That can't be true."

"It is," he insisted. "I'm the new kid in town. I'm easy to make fun of." He puffed his chest out. "But they stopped after I socked one of 'em in the teeth."

They were taken back. Right, physical violence was something quite new to ponies.

"Oh, but he is all right, isn't he?"

"Who?"

"The boy you hit."

He'd gotten into so many fistfights he couldn't even remember their names.

"I guess? It was nothing. Now a kick to the ribs..."

Even Applejack winced a little. "Now Drake, I'm all for uh, rough and tumble messing around, but don't you think that's a bit excessive?"

"What was the fight even about?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I dunno. Stupid stuff, I guess. Name calling and teasing, stuff like that. It gets on your nerves."

"Yeah," the pegasus agreed. "I remember being bullied when I was in flight camp."

"Me too," Fluttershy said.

He wasn't all that surprised with Fluttershy.

"So what'd you do, Rainbow? Give 'em a good buck to the face?"

"Hah, I wish!" She shook her head. "Nah. I beat them at their own game: flying!"

"I didn't say anything," Fluttershy said quietly.

"What'd they make fun of you for?"

"I was a terrible flyer. I still am."

The rest of them were quick to contradict her.

"You shoulda slugged them, real hard. Right on the muzzle. Sent 'em to the nurse's office and they would've never messed with you again."

Lyra piped up, "But that's not a good way of solving the problem!"

"Don't tell me you'd actually talk out with them?"

The ponies coughed and averted their eyes.

Peaceful ponies here, Drake. They were worlds apart.

"Just talking about it won't get the message across, believe me. Adults always tell us to walk away or tell the teacher or something dumb like that, but the truth is that that just makes the problem worse."

They remained silent.

"Anyways, I have my old friends. What do I need new ones for?"

You don't have any friends, you loser.

"Drake? Am I your friend?"

His Adam's apple caught in his throat. Lyra, a friend? Well she was nice. She was very nice. And generous. And funny. He though of all the great things that would've made Lyra a great friend to have, besides the fact that she was a pony.

He licked his lips and stammered, "Well, uh, sure, I mean..."

Lyra's muzzle suddenly pressed against his nose. He couldn't look away. She fixed him with her golden orbs.

Drake wanted to say yes. The word was on the tip of his tongue. A friend. He could actually have a friend. But bitter memories resurfaced, the kind that made you feel awful guilty. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Images of familiar faces, old friends.

He had friends, yes. But they were gone now. What had happened?

They'd stopped being friends.

But...why?

They were jerks, that's why. There was no question about it in his mind. People were jerks and that was a fact of life. Nobody really cared for each other. Nobody really loved each other. Love was a lie. It was all just a big farce with a bunch of lying, two-faced phonies! All his friends ever did was use him.

And then they abandoned him.

No. Not again. It was bad enough that his friends abandoned him, but his...

The smell of cigarette smoke rose to his nostrils. That wretched man, sitting in his chair, reading the newspaper, smoking a cigarette. He couldn't remember his face or his name.

But he hated that man. That man he'd refused to call...

His father.

"Lyra, we've only known each other for a couple of days," he tried. "I mean, you're nice and all but..." He shook his head apologetically. "No." He shook his head. "No, we aren't friends." He cast his gaze at the floor to avoid seeing her tear up.

"But we can be friends, right?"

Never again. He would never be hurt again.

He stood up and shuffled to the door, shutting it gently behind him.

"He has a lot to learn about friendship, doesn't he?" Lyra sniffed.

"Yes he does," Twilight said with a determined look on her face.

---

Drake felt lost, both figuratively and literally, that is. Lyra was supposed to get him a map...

But that didn't really matter. He threw on a jacket and left, just like that. He didn't know when he'd come back, or where he was going. What he needed was some time to himself. His canvas shoes padded softly against the empty cobblestone streets of Ponyville. There was not a single pony in sight. He looked up.

He could actually see the night sky for once, filled with billions of twinkling stars. The full moon cast a glow that made him feel comfortable.

Restaurants and shops were all locked up for the night. Well, that is, except for one; a cafe, situated in the far corner near the bridge. There was a single light on and he could see a pony moving around. Drake's stomach grumbled. Maybe there were leftovers.

He approached the restaurant and pushed the door open, the bell twinkling. There was a pony wiping off the tables with a rag. Slicked blue hair and white coat. The pony looked up and opened his mouth before stopping short.

Drake stared, then said, "Hey."

"Good evening, sir. We're just about to close up."

"Got anything for leftovers?"

The pony blinked.

---

Drake stabbed a fork into his Caesar salad, the lettuce zesty and crisp. He was starting to get sick of salads, but he didn't have much of a choice. It cost about five bits, but he didn't really care that much. The waiter was kinda snooty, but that didn't really bother him.

"Anything to drink?"

"Whatever you got, man."

He finished up. Before he left he remembered to tip the guy. He didn't know how much he was supposed to give, but he guessed that he'd given a generous amount, judging by the way his face lit up.

Still, he left to the park. Normally filled with colts and foals playing with their parents, the playground was silent. He sat down on a bench, closing his eyes for a bit. The playground brought some memories, good and bad. Good, like how much he loved to swing, feeling like he was on top of the world. Bad, as in the first time he'd given a boy a bloody nose.

He wasn't homesick. Not in the least. was nothing for him back home.

After a while he decided it was getting late. His watch told him it was midnight.

The library was dark.

"They must be asleep," he murmured.

He padded quietly to the door, twisting the knob and slipping in.

Drake was suddenly blinded as the lights went on. He saw that everypony was in fact, not sleeping, and were waiting for him. The others were watching, standing behind Twilight. He glared at Twilight. She gazed calmly back at him. Fluttershy quivered slightly and shrunk back as his eyes fell upon her. He didn't look at Lyra.

"Go back to bed," he finally said bluntly. "It's late."

"Yes, yes it is," Twilight said.

Lyra said, "And we need to talk."

Oh, for the love of...

"Okay?" He faked a yawn. "Could we do this some other time?" He kicked off his shoes.

Twilight knew she would have to approach Drake carefully. There was no telling how he would react to a direct confrontation. Twilight Sparkle decided to go a different route and coax some answers from the human rather than try and confront him, get him started and let him do the talking.

"So tell us about your friends."

His eyes flashed. They'd already gone over this. He faked a smile and said, "Fine."

He doesn't want to talk about it anymore, Twilight noted. Bringing it up again would end the conversation very quickly. She decided to press her luck.

"I'm just curious, that's all."

"We just want to help you, that's all," Fluttershy said sweetly.

"Keep out of this."

Fluttershy shrank even more. He felt a little bad for being so mean. Instead, he changed the subject.

"Was there something you wanted?" Drake asked irritably.

"Maybe just a quick chat, sugarcube," Applejack said. "Settle down."

He turned to face the mint green unicorn. "Drop it."

"Drop what?" she asked sweetly, feigning innocence. "I'm just trying to help a friend in need."

Now he can't ignore it, Twilight first step in solving a problem is addressing it. She let Lyra do the talking, seeing as she had spent the most time with the human.

"You're not my friend," Drake said firmly to Lyra. "Stop trying to act like you are."

"Yes I am."

"No, you're not."

"Um, yes." The mint green unicorn nodded and grinned. "Yes I am."

Drake gave a frustrated groan. "Why do you keep bringing this up?"

"Because when I see a friend that needs help, I help them," Lyra said.

"And if your friend doesn't want your help?"

"Sometimes, he doesn't know that he needs it." Lyra gave an insufferable giggle. "And in your case, I don't think you have much a choice."

Drake was scared, because in that moment he almost wanted to deck her. They must have noticed his fists clenching and the way he tensed, and shifted back. He took a step forward.

"Now you listen-"

Rainbow Dash flared her wings in a sudden display of protectiveness and nudged the boy back with her hoof. "Hey," she snapped. "Back off."

She was definitely the Element of Loyalty.

He loosened his stance, remembering how intimidating he was to them.

"What's wrong, Drake?" Twilight soothed.

He huffed, blowing some air up at his bangs. "Is this the part where we start talking about our feelings?"

"Just tell us why. We want to help you."

"I don't need your help!" he snapped. "Or anyone's, for that matter."

"Ignoring the problem isn't going to make it go away, Drake," Twilight said. "Sometimes, it just makes it even worse."

"What problem? There's no problem!"

"You're still in denial."

"My only problem is currently being stuck here with a bunch of talking ponies who can't keep their nose out of other people's business."

"Why don't you have friends?"

"Who said that?"

"You did."

"What? No I didn't. Stop putting words in my mouth."

"I don't think you can put words into ponies' mouths, Drakey! Besides, what would words even taste like?"

The others shushed the pink pony.

"What are their names?"

"You wouldn't even know them if I told you-"

"How old are they? When's their birthday?" Pinkie asked.

"They're um, my age. How am I supposed to remember all their birthdays?"

"Tell me the truth," Twilight said, "Things aren't okay, are they?"

"What's with the third degree?" Drake avoided Twilight's gaze.

Twilight acted quickly. He doesn't take well to being confronted. He feels threatened. Keep applying pressure.

"Did something happen to you?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Drake said quietly.

"Did someone hurt you?"

The boy snorted.

"Did someone...leave you?"

His eyes flashed. "What did you say?"

"Did someone abandon you?"

"No," he said quickly.

"I don't have ta be the Element of Honesty to spot a liar from a mile away, Drake," Applejack said.

"You aren't going to let go of this, are you?"

The ponies shook their heads.

"Okay. Fine. I'll tell you. It's not that interesting, really. So when I was five, my dad walked out on me and my mom-"

There were seven simultaneous gasps.

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"Oh no." He shook his head. "No no no, please, Sparkle. The last thing I need is for people to start feeling sorry for me."

"That must have been awful!"

Yeah, it was.

"No, no, not really. He just wasn't around anymore. What, don't ponies get divorced?"

"No!"

The idea was so appalling, he didn't try and pursue the topic anymore.

"It all makes sense now," Twilight whispered.

"Yeah, that's great. I'm going to bed," he bristled.

"You're bitter about your father leaving you, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not."

"To have someone just leave like that!"

"I'd like ta give yer father a piece of my mind!"

You and me both, sister.

"It's no wonder you're like this!"

"Like what?" Drake smirked.

This time, Lyra spoke for Twilight. "Sad."

"What?" He laughed. "I'm not sad. I'm happy as can be."

"You're unable to form meaningful, lasting relationships with other people. I'm not surprised," Rarity suddenly piped up. "How can anyone, when the most important person in their life simply abandons them?"

"You can't trust anybody because you're afraid!" Twilight explained, as if it was really that simple.

It really was that simple, wasn't it? He'd tried to bury it all, push it to the back of his mind.

Drake's eyes were stinging. He blinked a few tears back and bit the inside of his cheek.

"Afraid?" His voice quavered. "Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of being abandoned."

He wasn't crying. What was the point of crying? That last time he cried was when he was seven. Only wimps cried, and he wasn't a wimp.

"Yeah?" Drake's voice betrayed a sob. He hung his head, covering his eyes with his hand. He wouldn't let them see him cry.

"You keep everybody at arm's length out of fear of being left alone again. No friends-"

"No family," he muttered.

"-then you'll never be hurt again."

"Exactly," Drake said, having calmed down, "right. Which is why this conversation is now over and I'm going to bed."

"You should also seek closure."

He snorted, "Twilight, this isn't therapy, and you're not my therapist. I'm not traumatized."

"But you are, Drake! Look how it's changed you!"

He exploded. "For the better! Who needs people, anyway? Just when you think you know somebody, just when you think you can trust them, bam!" He pounded the chair for emphasis. "They stab you right in the back. As far as I'm concerned, there's only one person that I can trust, and that's me," he said, pointing at himself.

"No friends, no family?"

"When I'm rich and famous, I won't need friends or family."

They regarded Drake with a sad, pathetic look.

"That's incredibly lonely, isn't it?"

"Yeah, well. I figure I'll have it all figured out when I grow up."

"I'm glad you've opened up. I'm going to help you, Drake."

"Whoa, whoa," Drake protested, "This is my problem. Not yours."

Twilight trotted over to the human, their faces close, her muzzle practically touching his nose.

"Exactly," she said in a quiet, soft, firm voice, "wrong. This is our problem now, Drake."

"And what is the solution to my predicament, Miss Sparkle?" he said sarcastically.

"The Elements of Harmony!"

"I'm sorry?"

"We're going to help you make friends and be a friend, Drake!"

"Good luck. I think it's a little too late."

"I figure we've already taken the first step," Applejack said. "You were honest. And one of the most important things in friendship is being honest with each other."

"Uh huh," he yawned. "What's for breakfast anyways?"

The ponies shook their heads as he left upstairs.

"This is gonna be a tough one, girls," Twilight said.

"It never gets any easier," Rainbow Dash said sarcastically. "Nightmare Moon, Discord, and now humans. I'm gonna hit the hay!"