Chapter Eleven—The Gala

Things got a bit more awkward when Twilight and her friends were all invited to some event called the Grand Galloping Gala. The ponies sure like their bloody alliteration… Anyway, none of the friends really wanted to go, and after hearing their reasons I agreed. However, Twilight felt it was her responsibility to be there, and decided to drag me along for whatever reason. Bloody women, man.

After some exhaustive preparations that went above and beyond what was probably required, we were off. Since it was just the two of us, and neither of us really wanted to be there, we didn't go all out on the transportation. I had heard that the last time they went, they used a bloody pumpkin carriage or some crap. We just got a ride from a palace chariot the day before and stayed at Twilight's old room so we could walk to the Gala the next day.

"Remind me again, why am I here?" I asked her, as we sauntered up to the front doors.

"A few reasons. One, so I wouldn't be alone if it came down to that. Two, your presence was requested in a letter I received. Three, I want to see how immune you are to the impromptu song magic that happens occasionally." My wings twitched at the second two reasons. I didn't much like the sound of them.

"Would it be chill if I just sort of hung out in the garden all night? I've heard it's pretty nice, if the animals don't hate you."

"Nope, you're going to be right where I can keep an eye on you. I don't know if I'd trust you loose in a room full of some of the most influential ponies in Equestria."

"You still don't trust me yet?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, but rather that you've already managed to befriend both princesses. Any more powerful friends and I might not be able to abuse you so much."

"Yes, and that would just be such a travesty."

"Shush, we're where ponies can hear us now!"

"The only people that will be listening are the servants. You can bet most of them are in someone's pocket, and some probably report to several people. The rich care too little to listen to the likes of us. Most probably won't even notice me, since I'm not something that's supposed to be in their world."

"Wouldn't that draw more attention to you?"

"Two possibilities: One, that I'll be completely unnoticed unless something happens to bring attention to me. Two, I'll be the center of attention the whole time. And since no one is even looking our way, I'm pretty sure the first will be true." Now, that wasn't entirely true. We were getting several sidelong looks, but no one actually addressed me. Most probably knew about me by now; I had been in their world for almost a year at that point, and had been at the palace once as a personal guest of the princess and the center of a decently sized sporting event. I suspected that if I ever found myself alone during this party, I wouldn't stay that way for long.

I wasn't specifically given a ticket, but since none of Twilight's friends came along, I was given one of theirs. It was enough to get me in, though I was given an odd look by the servant watching the door.

When I got inside, I was somewhat astonished by the changes in the palace. When I had been here before, it was quiet, regal, subdued. Now, though, it was boisterous and bright, full and fabulous. We made our way to meet the host, Princess Celestia. She didn't look overly surprised to see me, and made little comment on it. Twilight had learned her lesson from the previous year, though, so we didn't crowd Celestia for very long.

We weren't away from her for five minutes before another servant approached us with a plate of drinks balanced on a hoof. How he was walking on three feet and serving, I don't know; I tried doing something like that as a pony and it didn't work well. Anyway, he somehow discreetly slipped me a note, which I thought was neat, seeing how he did it. The note was somewhat disconcerting:
Meet me where we first discussed the exile in 30 minutes – C

It raised a few questions. First and foremost, how the hell did she write a letter if she didn't have hands and was constantly talking to courtiers? Second, what did I do this time?

Breaking off from Twilight was no problem. I just started a conversation with a nearby unicorn about magic and let the two of them duke it out while I silently slipped away. For a guardian, Twilight was ranking about as well as the parents from Rugrats.

While I waited in the sitting room, I sipped at the sweet punch, trying to think of what Celestia might want. My best guess was something involving Luna. I didn't really want to come in the first place, and if Celestia wanted to send me away I wasn't going to say no.

I was starting to wonder if I should just save everyone some time, leave a note, and bugger off back to where we were staying the night, when Celestia finally showed up.

I opened my mouth to greet her, but was interrupted with "You're not supposed to be here."

Instead of saying what I was going to say, I responded, "Yes, I'm supposed to be in fucking college. But sometimes life doesn't go as planned."

"Sorry, I know that was rude. But why are you here? There was a reason you weren't sent a ticket, a reason you were supposed to be smart enough to understand!"

"I understand just fine. Good luck getting any sense into Twilight's head without telling her things she doesn't need to know. Besides, I heard Luna doesn't even come to these bloody things."

"Normally, no. But servants talk, and word has probably reached her by now that you are here."

"Even with these damnable wings I can still fit through this bloody window. Just say the word and I'll be gone."

"No, I have something… different… in mind."

"I also have the option of just chilling here for a spell. I mean, she's considerably more likely to look in the party areas than she is to look where no one is supposed to be." I was trying to avoid the solution I feared she had in mind.

"I'm sure you were seen by somepony on your way here. She would very likely find you eventually. Besides, what would we tell Twilight?"

"That I was disrupting the party with my humanness?"

"That will be a good excuse. Remember that one. Now, take your clothes off."

"Look, Princess, I know you've been alone for a long time…" The look she gave me could kill a lesser man. I sighed and did as she asked. "This isn't going to work, you know. I'll still be a bloody blank flank."

"Not if you're wearing a cape. And I can magic up a little something, for good measure; it won't be permanent, but it will do what we need it to. You are going to make Twilight's night."

When the change was done, and she had sent a servant to get some clothing, I began to see what she had in mind. "Oh, I hate you."

"I know."

"You realize that this is highly unnecessary, right?"

"Probably, but it will definitely liven up this otherwise dreadfully dull party."

"Have I told you recently how much I hate you?"

"You've mentioned it, yes."

"You're lucky I'm good at faking accents." A few minutes later, "This will never work…"

"Twilight mentioned you taking some dancing lessons. How good did you get?"

"I got good at dancing with a pony as a human. Dancing with a pony as a pony will be different, mind, but I did get some practice with it in the last time I was a bloody pony."

Before I go into detail about the rest of the very interesting night, I want to explain what the hell was going on: Celestia dressed me up as a Zorro of ponies. Large rimmed black hat, a black mask, a long black cape, and she did something to me to give me a "Z" cutie mark, bordered by smaller question marks. How she knew who Zorro was I don't know, but it was an interesting setup she got for me.

"Now, what's the purpose of this again?" I asked, right before she left to rejoin the party.

"Do you know how boring these parties usually are? This will provide hours of entertainment, especially if Twilight doesn't realize who you are."

"You are a terrible person and you should feel ashamed."

She smiled. "Then I guess it's a good thing I'm a pony, not a person." With that, she went back and left it up to me on how I would make my glorious entrance. I have got to stop letting this happen. Then an even funnier thought occurred to me: Does Celestia know that Zorro was usually a rebel? I was very tempted to get some revenge on her by going after Luna instead of Twilight, but figured that would probably end badly for me. I was even more tempted to go after Celestia herself, but that could end in a very bad way, for more than one reason.

I am so going to hate myself after this… followed by I am not at all this kind of person followed by Oh God why am I doing this followed by several litanies of hate, against Twilight for bringing me here, Luna for requesting me, and Celestia for making me do this. The last thought was Fuck it, take it like a band aid.

With that, I somewhat arrogantly burst through the front door, turning more than a few interested heads my way. Several of those faces turning my way soon had dropped jaws. There was one fellow, the dude I assumed was Prince Blueblood—Rarity's him—looking at me very, very hotly. I figured it wasn't often that someone as handsome as himself showed up, even if I still found it hard to believe I was even slightly passable. Before anyone could think to enquire anything about me, I cast my gaze slowly about the room, silently daring anyone to speak out against me. Blueblood saw my challenge, thought better about saying anything, and went back to his conversation about himself to some random bored looking female unicorn.

In my half glance, I noticed several things. One, that Luna had indeed joined the party, and was apparently searching for me; she had commandeered an unhappy looking Twilight and was roaming the hall, looking quite like a lost puppy. A few people were half-heartedly attempting conversation with her, but her dispirited answers didn't inspire total confidence, and thus she was for the most part left alone. Celestia was back on her landing, greeting courtiers as they came up. The line stalled a bit as I walked in, but soon continued along. The background music continued playing with nary a pause, though several musicians did look up as I entered. I caught the eye of one, a haughty, dark grey cello player with purple eyes, and nodded slightly to her as a gesture of common working-pony respect. She surprisingly returned it, though almost imperceptibly. I knew that was an alliance I could use soon.

I was in an unfamiliar element dancing to tunes my feet did not know. It felt wonderful. I was finally back into the mix, back into the unfamiliar, making split second judgment calls that would either make or break me, depending on charisma, luck, and sheer audacity to see me through the night. It's good to be alive.

I gave a half laugh to myself, and sauntered inside. It was going to be a long night and I officially did not exist! I could not screw anything up no matter how badly I failed, because as soon as this ended I would disappear into the night, never to be seen again. Unless I end up dead, and what are the chances of that? My eyes flicked to Luna again. Maybe more than I think.

I casually mixed through the crowd, exchanging pleasantries with unsuspecting ponies, complimenting mares and encouraging stallions. I received more than a few pleased blushes from the mares and knowing smiles mixed with sidelong glances at a certain few mares from the stallions. It's not that I'm normally bad at conversation and knowing what to say, it's just that I so very often don't care. I say what I think because that's how I am. It earns me few friends, but the enemies I make are often very friendly. But tonight I wasn't me. Tonight, I was to be the life of the party, a mysterious and handsome pegasus called only Z. And my accent was Scottish, because fuck you.

I made a wide circuit of the chamber, with a certain goal in mind. I could tell from my occasional glances that Celestia was hiding a smile. I could also tell that Luna and Twilight had noticed me, but didn't know who I was or what I was playing at. Always keep them guessing was the advice I was always given in terms of women. Tonight, I would find out how well that worked.

I completed the circuit I was trying for, and greeted the two gentle mares before me, "Princess Luna," said with a courteous bow and an extra accented twang. "And Miss Sparkle, I presume?"

I received nods for my effort. Before I could be dismissed by Luna, however, Twilight—perhaps sensing an escape from the princess—asked me for a name.

"You may call me Z," I responded.

"That is what I may call you, but what is your name?" Twilight riposted.

"What is a name but what a stallion is called?" I almost said 'man' instead of 'stallion;' that longstanding habit almost biting me in the ass. I continued before my near slip could be noticed, "I am known in many lands by many things. Here, however, I choose to be simple, and to ask others to call me only by the mark I was given as a colt," said with a casual sweet aside of my cape, raising more than a few eyebrows of those ponies around me; few had seen a cutie mark so… odd.

"Many lands? Where are you from originally?" Twilight asked. Princess Luna was at this point getting rather bored with the conversation, and tried to lead Twilight away. She rebelled and Luna, somewhat exasperated, gave up and excused herself.

Goal one: Accomplished. Get Twilight alone and away from Luna, while not letting Luna onto who I was. I was having more fun with this than I probably should have.

Now, my answer required knowing the workings of a map, which I most definitely have. It also required a bit more history which few ponies knew, and I was wagering that Twilight probably didn't know much about either since it involved very little magic. Ponyville, you see, was in what on Earth would be America. Most ponies never get to any other continents. Most don't know anything about them other than that they exist. Scotland is, of course, in Europe in my world. I had no idea what the hell it was called here, either Scotland or Europe; I had seen them on a map, but I didn't bother to remember. But I did remember a strange piece of history: Not too long ago there was an odd bit of contention in Europe—not so much as a war, of course, but a few lines were redrawn, with nations made and nations broken.

So instead of an answer, I spun a bit of a riddle: "I come from a land far away across the sea, a land of glorious ponies, of wonderful art, and of beautiful mares, though it is a land that no longer knows the light of sun; recent altercations have driven my perfect homeland into extinction, and the best way to remember the dead is as beautiful, so I shan't belittle its name by gracing it with my unworthy lips."

"If you are so used to beautiful mares, why stoop to converse with one so humble as myself?"

"Humble? You have nothing to be humble about, my dear! Of the many beautiful mares of which I so meekly claim to have known," Not the Biblical 'known,' I hope she realized, "few could hold a candle to the beauty I see before me."

"Oh, there are a few that are close to my… beauty?" she remarked quite coyly. I don't know if she knew who I was yet, but I think she was having a bit of fun.

"There are neither perfect stallions nor perfect mares out there, my dear, and to pretend that anypony is an absolute paragon of beauty would be a lie. I am many things, but a liar is not one of them."

"Oh? Of those many things you are, are you perhaps somepony I may once have met named Navarone?"

"Navarone?" I said with a bit of confusion. "I have heard tales of this creature, yes, but do I not have considerably more legs than he? I would also bet I am shaped somewhat differently than he, in many ways and areas. I had heard he was here, and was somewhat hoping to meet him, but I assume from his absence that I was misinformed."

"I see," she said. "Tell me, Mr. Z, what do you know of this land?"

"Please, Madam, it is just Z. We are all ponies here, there is no need for any titles."

She nodded, smiling a bit. "Only if you agree to the same. My name is Twilight. Twilight Sparkle."

"Twilight Sparkle," I whispered quietly, as though savoring the name. "Shall we walk, my dear, and savor the young night together?" It would be at this point I would offer my arm to the lady, but I don't think that would work well with hooves; I have not had the long practice servants obviously went through.

She graciously accepted my offer, with a proffered "It would be my pleasure." We walked into the night, followed by a few jealous glares and more than a few knowing smiles.

"To answer your question, dear, I know very little." We were talking and walking in the garden, surrounded by the weakly echoing noises of the extravagant wildlife. "I am newly arrived here from overseas, after more time wandering than I would care to admit. It is amazing what you never seem to find while exploring the world, and it is just as amazing what is so abundant. I came to this land to continue my wandering, but heard there was a grand party here on this night, so my travels conveniently brought me here. I have seen many of the wonders of this world, but never before have I laid my eyes on the great Princess Celestia herself, or any of the creatures of Navarone's sort, the so-called humans."

"You obviously didn't think very highly of Princess Celestia, if you preferred to come to one such as me instead of meeting her."

"I met her yesterday, actually. Despite my generally unknown status, it appears that during my travels I have built up a sort of… aura, I suppose, of worldliness. She saw me gazing upon her with unguarded wonder yesterday, and knew that among her many fans, I was seeing something amazing and yet at the same time I was seeing it with the jaded eyes of a long-time traveler. It was not long after that short meeting that I was summoned to the palace. Through the busy and boisterous preparations I came, with all the possessions I owned in this world upon my back, and met the princess under the shade of this very garden. She is a wonderful scholar, though I suppose that comes from the boredom of living thousands of years; she easily beat me in any contest of wills I gave her, and was always kind about her victories. I must have impressed her, at any event, as I was offered a billet in the palace for as long as I was willing to stay, and an invitation to this event."

"And meeting Princess Luna doesn't appeal as much to you?"

"Princess Luna obviously wanted nothing to do with me. The poor mare looked as though she had lost a lover, and I wanted to let her continue her search. You, however, appeared to be here alone, and were beautiful; you did not appear to be in line with Princess Luna's search, and were looking for an escape. Am I such a terrible pony for respecting the wishes of a princess to search for a lost love and respecting the wishes of a beautiful mare by escorting her away from a place she doesn't long to be?"

"Yet you have no qualms attaching yourself to vulnerable innocent little me?"

"Innocent, probably. Vulnerable, though? Hardly. I can see the intelligence in your eyes, and there is no need to hide it from me. That is part of your beauty, though not nearly all of it."

"One could say that innocence implies vulnerability, just for the sheer fact that innocence means one is not yet hardened to the facts of life, and is thus vulnerable to being lied to or disappointed."

"One can say many things, but most of them aren't true. There is strength in innocence, a strength I fear I have lost long ago. There are also many types of innocence, but that is another subject entirely."

"I don't think I'm as innocent as you think I am."

"Oh? This might surprise you, but there is a great difference between what you learn from a book and what you learn from experience. You may have led a full life, and may even have traveled a bit. You might have loved and lost, loved and kept, and possibly even been betrayed. You may have seen oceans great and wide, tracts of empty land stretching as far as the eye can see, and you might have seen the largest fabled city in the clouds, the eponymous Cloudsdale I also hope to see soon. But there are perhaps only three beings on this continent that could claim to have done more in their life than I, and I am not so certain about two of them. Perhaps this human Navarone, as I have never seen his lands. Perhaps Princess Luna, for I have never in my life been to the moon. But definitely Princess Celestia, for she has lived in one life thousands of years, and probably has commonplace dreams more interesting than the most wonderful thing I have seen. You might not be innocent, in your eyes, but to me there is little you could say."

"You are a bit of a braggart, and more than a bit of a poet."

"I wish I could say that I have little to brag about, but I have lived a life, whereas most ponies just have a life they occasionally toy with. And I am no poet, though I do speak from the heart; it tends to spin everything lyrically."

"I think you're also a liar."

"You wound me! As I have said, I am many things, some of them even bad, but none of them a liar." If she ever figured out the game I was playing, I would probably have to hide for several days before she stopped rampaging.

"How can I trust somepony I believe to be a liar when he tells me he is not lying?"

"Now you speak in riddles. Which would you prefer to believe, dear? That I find you beautiful, or that I'm lying? That I am somehow your human Navarone in disguise, or that I am what I say I am?"

I could tell she was about to speak again when I saw we had completed our circuit, and were again near an entrance to the palace. I even recognized the song that was playing; it was one of those that Pinkie Pie used to teach us to dance. Before she could open her mouth, I said, "Would you care to escape the chill of the night and return to the party? I hear a song I recognize, and would love to dance with you."

I cut her off just right. "I don't know how to dance! I mean, I've read on the subject, and I've watched some friends practice, but I know nothing of the art itself!"

"There's part of your innocence showing, my dear. Come, there is little to it; I can teach you as we go along. Just follow my lead." Throughout that dialog, we had entered into the palace, finding a half-full dance floor in front of us. The clatter of hoof on tile was like music to my trained ears, and I longed to start this farce. I marched her into position, and started the dance with 'just follow my lead' still dancing in her ears.

She was awkward, of course; between not expecting to be dancing and not knowing what she was doing, awkward was probably a weak word for it. But she learned fast enough, and finished the dance considerably better. We launched into the next with alacrity. It was one I was less familiar with, but we did well enough for ourselves. It lasted for a spell, and then a dance wherein partners were swapped came up. I almost bowed us out of this one, but Twilight seemed to want to continue, so I stayed with her.

After a small succession of partners that seemed rather pleased to find themselves in my arms—forelegs, whatever—I got a very interesting surprise: Princess Celestia herself. I recovered smoothly from the stumble I barely made, and whispered to her, "Princess, what a surprise."

"Hello again, Z. I see you are enjoying yourself, and my young student."

"There is no hospitality like royal hospitality, love. I find it so little in my travels across the world. Shame I only met you yesterday; I feel like we could have gotten to know each other better."

"Some dalliances are best kept short."

"I am ever the traveler, my lady."

"Anything you need?" asked in a more serious and quieter tone.

I quietly responded, "If you see me nod at the band, teleport me to the sitting room. They'll talk about this one forever, if all goes according to plan."

She smiled. There was a lot to be said about that smile.

With that, partners were swapped again, and I took what knowledge I gained from that exchange with me. She should know better than to think I would linger with Twilight; of course I would toy with her and bail. And that is all that would happen, too; I had no illusions of anything else. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve, though, as well as an ace hidden that would definitely liven up the night for Celestia, if I could pull it off.

When the dance ended with Twilight again in my arms, I managed to lead her off the floor. She seemed considerably livelier after that, and the conversation we were having took off. I managed to lead her to the question I needed her to ask: "Tell me, how do you typically travel?"

"For long trips, I try to stick to trains or if possible boats. Ponies may not have been made for the sea, but the sea seems to have been made for us… It is so beautiful, so open, so free! But even the sea has nothing on the absolute freedom of flying. There is no greater wonder in the world, even if you include your princesses. I feel sorry for any earth ponies that never get the chance, though I have heard that there is a spell known to some unicorns, a spell that grants wings, even if for a short time."

"I know that spell!" she exclaimed, louder than she meant to. A few glances were cast our way, but most of the smoldering gazes were by now cooled, and instead of hate cast her way there was merely curiosity. She continued, quieter this time, "I cast it before for a friend. It gave her the most amazing wings…" I waited for a beat, letting her come to the conclusion herself. "I could… I could cast it again now, if you would want to show me the sky."

The way she phrased that… I'm treading in dangerous waters, here. I hope my plan doesn't break the poor lass… I know I said she was strong, but I think we were all about to find out just how strong she was. Yes, I'm a bad person. But in this case you can blame Celestia. I'm just hoping she holds up to her end of the bargain, because if this goes according to plan, and I'm still in the room after, Twilight might well be mine.
Time to roll the dice…

"Cast your spell. I shall dance with you in the air if you can make yourself a set of wings," said with a secret smile.

"I might ruin my dress, though…"

I led her to a small alcove and, with a sweep of my hoof, I divested myself of my cape, showing my mysterious 'cutie mark' off to all who cared to see. "We are all ponies here. There is no shame to be had. Ruin it or remove it, if you want the freedom of the air."

She silently removed her dress. I gazed upon her with feigned admiration, whispering, "Ay, Dios mio!" She blushed, then went about casting her spell. When she had finished it, I couldn't help myself, and let out another, "Ach, mein Gott!" The wings she summoned… Gossamer and honey dew, supposedly. Either way, they were the wings of a butterfly: delicate, tender, beautiful. I showed her how to spread her wings and fly, in that small room, then led her out, back into the dance hall.

At this point, she gained more glances than I, as well as many whispered remarks. I detached myself from her for a second, long enough to talk to my new friend in the band, the grey mare from before. "Ma'am, I have a request, if you would be so kind…"

"Your name, sir?"

"I am called Z. And you?"

"Octavia. Tell me your request." I gave her the song Pinkie Pie used to get Fluttershy and me to dance in the sky. She raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "It is an old song, but beautiful. We will play it for you." I hurried back to Twilight's side.

The song started, and with that I lifted Twilight into the air. My center of balance as a pony was very different from my center of balance as a human, so I had to take a moment to get my bearings before I started. It gave me a chance to look around the room. We had the eyes of everyone, and I found myself smiling and nodding along to the tune. When the proper beat came along, I started the dance.

And God, did we dance. She was awkward, not knowing the either the 'steps' or how perfectly to fly, but as soon as I picked up my balance I more than made up for it. The dancing below us stopped, entranced as the dancers were with such a thing they had never seen before: A lovely pair dancing in the air, a mix of dainty butterfly wings and strong angelic wings, a duo dancing to a tune that had long gone unheard by many of the dancers in the hall. It was a sorrowful dirge we danced to, and it was beautiful.

When at last the mournful sounds ended and the last notes echoed off the great hall, I posed a question to Twilight, smiling before me: "Tell me, my dear, have you ever before danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" With that last little idea in her head, I nodded to the band and Z disappeared into the storybooks of Equestria.

I turned the lock of the sitting room and waited for Celestia to meet me. I doffed what little of the silly costume I had left, and settled in for a long wait; after that little show I pulled, I expected a long wait.

I got it, too. It took several hours for the door of the sitting room I was in to be unlocked and pulled open by Celestia. I mockingly bowed.

"You are cruel. I should make you go out there like that and fix this," she answered me. I merely waited. "But I suppose I deserved having to deal with that. I can already tell that legends will be made about the great Z: lover, rogue, stealer of hearts and mysterious stranger. You definitely gave me the show I was hoping for, and for that you will probably never, ever be attending any of my parties in the future."

"I hope we did not hurt Twilight too badly."

"We?" I gave her a look. "Yes… I suppose I am at least partially at fault for this. Yes, we hurt her, but no, we didn't hurt her badly. One look at that cutie mark I gave you is enough to tell anypony that you can never settle, and Twilight Sparkle was always a smart one. Everypony else was very, very confused, though. Including me. You had her, Navarone. Why let her go so soon?"

"Because though I find myself attracted to some pony's personalities, I cannot find myself attracted to any pony's body. I gave her the perfect night, lacking only the wonderful ending many would expect."

"And that's the only reason?"

"If I had finished this night with her, she would have been considerably more hurt to find me gone. I could never… No gentleman could use a lady so, and I would not have my perfect reputation as Z so tarnished."

"You are not allowed to partake in any politics here unless you are scheming with me."

"I would never scheme a rebellion unless the rebellion deserved to win."

"Then I cannot wait to have you locked in the palace, under my eye, in six and a half years."

"You, maybe, but I meant what I said to you, while we were dancing: I am ever a traveler. Locking me in a cage would kill me."

"Your cage of love is something you will have to discuss with Luna. Which does remind me of something… Your last words to Twilight, what were they?"

I waved, and said, "Let them be forgotten. It adds to the mystery, to have the last words of an errant lover for only the ears of the beloved."

"Are all humans so good at lying, or is that just your special talent?"

"I get a lot of practice. Now, would you kindly turn me back into a bloody human? I would very much like to get to a bed." She smiled and did so. I quickly dressed myself again.

"It's good to have fingers again," I whispered, stretching them. Louder, I said, "Is Luna gone?"

"Yes, she left shortly after you stole Twilight away."

"Are we bad people, for doing that to her?" I don't know if I meant Twilight or Luna, in that remark.

"I don't know." I don't think she knew who we meant either.

"Also, where did you get the idea for the cutie mark you gave me?"

"It's the one you would have had, if you had stayed a pony. The letter would have been different, however. Which does raise a question, but I trust you have your reasons."

"That name means nothing anymore. I thought the magic to give someone a cutie mark didn't exist."

"It doesn't exist for Twilight. And I couldn't have made it stay; it was temporary, but that is what it would have been."
What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets…

"I better go and collect the poor lass, then. We have a long way to travel come the morrow." She nodded, and I left her to her thoughts, ill or kind.

I found Twilight in the small alcove where she had summoned her wings. She was holding my cape like a talisman, as through it was the only thing real in a crumbling world of lies. I was starting to think I had made more of an impression than I thought when she looked up and saw me.

"Where have you been all night? I told you to stay by my side!"

I gazed at her wings and raised an eyebrow, but didn't mention them yet. "I was called away by Princess Celestia; apparently I was disturbing some of her guests, and she politely requested I wait in an ill used sitting room. I was just now allowed out."

"You know, I had to distract Princess Luna because of you! She's the one that requested your presence, and you weren't even here to see her!"

"Blame Celestia, not me. Or rather, blame her guests for such sensibilities. It looks like you didn't miss me much, personally."

"Yes, I had… quite a night. Tell me, have you seen a white pegasus wearing a hat and a mask anywhere? His cutie mark was that of a 'Z' surrounded by question marks."

"I saw someone that might have been him out of the window of my little cell; it was hard to tell, but I think it was if nothing else a white male pony of some kind. Not too many of them around, I've noticed."

"So it wasn't a dream…" she whispered.

"What?"

"…Nothing. Let's… let's go back to my home." She dropped the cape and picked up her dress.

"You leaving that here?"

"Dreams have no place in life." I smiled at that.

We flew back to her place in Canterlot and slept like the dead. The next day we flew back home to Ponyville, where gossip had already completely overblown the story of Twilight's saga.

She answered a few questions, left some unanswered, and all of her friends expressed desires to go to the next Gala, to see if the mysterious Z would return for his lost love. I'm glad no one asked me about it; I don't know if I could have answered with a straight face. It was at that point when I honestly started to think that I might be a bit of a sociopath.

Oh, and if you're reading this journal, Twilight… Well, I'm glad I'm dead. Try not to completely kill Celestia; she's probably still useful. And if for some reason I'm still alive, at least give me a chance to explain it in a way that will change your mind about brutally murdering me.