“Fun! Fun! Fun!” Josh groaned and rolled to his side before wincing and laying back down on his back. “Fun! Fun!” Josh slowly sat up in bed, a scowl adorning his face.

“If I hear the word ‘fun’ one more time I swear I’ll…”

“Fun! Fun! Fun!” Josh threw his hands up into the air, groaning.

“Oh for crying out loud!” The previous night was difficult for Josh. Because of the bruising on his ribs he was unable to sleep like he normally would on his side. If he had his phone out the moment that he fell asleep, it would of said six o’clock am. And because of that, and the incessant commotion that was going on outside, Josh only got six hours of sleep. Holding his phone, he realized this as the display showed him that it was currently almost twelve exactly.

A sudden knock came to the door to his room, as he opened his mouth to respond, the door suddenly flew open and Pinkie dashed inside, diving straight under his bed. Blinking, Josh placed a hand to his forehead while using his other hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

“Pinkie… Why are you under my bed.” Josh asked, glancing towards the side of the bed.

“I maaaay of done something… And it’s gone out of wack and…” A sudden commotion came from outside the window once more, followed by a loud crash.

“Fun! Fun! Fun!”

“And I just wanted to have fun with everypony, Joshie!” Pinkie said, whimpering as she poked her head out from under the bed, all teary-eyed. Josh stared at her, unsure of how to react.

“So I take it you’re the cause of whatever is causing all of the ruckus outside and why I’m awake .” Pinkie winced slightly as Josh’s voice took a slightly annoyed tone. Slowly getting out of bed, Josh placed a hand to his chest and stood up. As he slowly walked past Pinkie, he placed a hand on her head, ruffling her mane. “Lets go, Pinks. I’m sure we can find some way to fix all of this.” Pinkie’s eyes brightened as she looked to Josh, smiling happily.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ll be sure to bake you a nice breakfast muffin tomorrow morning and bring it to you!” Josh smirked and nodded as he slowly made his way down the stairs.

“So where are Twilight and the others?” Pinkie’s eyes widened as a bead of sweat seemed to form on her brow.

“Um well.. You see.” Pinkie started, sitting back and tapping her hooves together. “Earlier this morning I saw Twilight in town practicing her magic! And it seemed like she was having so much fun, she even turned a frog and a bird into an orange!”

“Uh huh..” Josh said, raising an eyebrow as he waved a hand, motioning for Pinkie to continue.

“And then while walking through town I ran into Rainbow Dash and Applejack! Rainbow Dash asked if I wanted to hang out with her by the pond, and that sounded like a lot of fun, so I agreed! And then Applejack asked me to help with her barn raising, so I agreed for that too!” Josh raised a hand up, covering his face with his palm.

“I see… And then what happened..?” Josh asked. If the sounds from outside had anything to do with Pinkie, he was scared to find out what the rest of the story would entail.

“Well I began to time myself running back and forth between Applejack’s and the pond where Rainbow Dash was going to be when I was suddenly stopped by Twilight. After I told her what I was doing, she gave me the bright idea that in order to hang out with Rainbow Dash and help Applejack, I’d have to be in two places at once.” Josh’s eyes narrowed.

“Why do I seem to remember a conversation we had yesterday about something really similar..?” Pinkie frowned, cleared her throat and prodded the ground with a hoof.

“Well…. At least there wasn’t a spell involved.” Pinkie said. “After Twilight gave me the idea, I remembered the Legend of the Mirror Pool.”

“Legend of the… Who-what now?” Josh asked, already becoming lost in all of Pinkie’s rambling.

“The Mirror pool! It’s a pool of enchanted water located in a cave in the Everfree Forest. My Nana Pinkie told me all about it when I was younger.”

“So what exactly does this pool of enchanted water do..?”

“Well…” Pinkie began, grinning awkwardly. “If you say a rhyme and step into the pool, when you come out, there will be a second you there! But then after the first time making a me, it began doubling! Then there were double me’s and double double me’s! And then so many me’s that I didn’t know what to do! So I brought them all to Ponyville to enjoy some fun, but now I can’t control them! But, you’ll help, right Joshie!?” Pinkie asked, looking at Josh with the biggest eyes that he’d ever seen. Sighing, he nodded slowly as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, let’s see what we can do to fix your problem.” As the two headed for the door, Josh stopped and looked at the pink mare. Blinking, he looked around the room. Seeing a brown quill with a white tip, he picked it up. “Here, hold still for a second.” Looking up at him confused, Pinkie tilted her head as Josh walked over to her with the quill. Crouching down to her level, he moved some of her mane aside and tucked the quill behind her ear.

“What is this for, Joshie? Do you want me to write something down for you?” She asked, slightly confused. Shaking his head, Josh smirked at his ingeniousness.

“Nope, nothing like that. You see, if we go out there, and there is an army of you’s. Then I wont be able to differentiate between you and the others. This quill here stands out and makes you different. That way you won’t get mixed up with the others.” Pinkie’s eyes widened as she grinned and bounced over to Josh, wrapping her hooves around his neck.

“Thank you for helping me, Joshie!” She said, happily before letting him go and bouncing towards the door. Josh shook his head and followed her outside, muttering to himself.

“These ponies are going to be the death of me…”

A Few Minutes Later, Golden Oaks Library.

Twilight and Spike rushed to the Library. “We have to find something about that legend that Pinkie was talking about, Spike. I’ve never heard of anything like it before.” As Twilight and Spike got to the Library, they saw a few of the townsponies had already begun to gather and talk amongst themselves, and not one looked happy. As they noticed Twilight approach, they began to talk loudly and angrily. After a few minutes of listening to the ponies, the crowd began to grow larger and larger. Taking a deep breath, Twilight looked around before addressing them all.

“Okay everypony. Please, calm down.” Rarity, one of the ponies in the front row stomped a hoof.

“Calm down!? I just had a pinkie hurricane raging through my shop!” She said, huffing.

“And they trashed our critter picnic.” Fluttershy added, frowning. After a moment, the ponies began to get louder and angrier while Twilight slowly backed towards the door of the library.

“Please everypony, just hold on while I try to figure something out!” Twilight said loudly, quickly opening the door with her magic in the process. “Come on, Spike.” She said, while heading inside, the small dragon following after her. Once they were inside, Twilight shut the door and ran over to her bookshelves, pulling books off and quickly glancing at them. “I have to try to remember the name of that legend she mentioned.”

On the other side of the library, Spike moved some books aside and raised an eyebrow as he spotted a horseshoe pinned to the shelf behind the books. Reaching towards it, his claw brushed against it, pushing it in, activating a hidden switch which caused the back of the shelf to raise revealing a book behind it. Pulling out the book out, Spike fell over backward, landing with the book on his face. Levitating the book off of his head, Twilight opened it up and looked through it. “Aha! Here it is! The legend of the Mirror Pond” Smiling, Twilight looked up and over to Spike. “It describes a spell I can use to send all the Pinkies back to where they came from!” By this point, Spike had gotten up and brushed himself off. Walking towards the front door he looked back towards Twilight.

“That’s perfect! Let’s go!” Raising his claw to open the door, Twilight continued.

“But theres a catch… If I can’t find out which one’s the real Pinkie, I might send her back by mistake!” Twilight’s eyes widened as she looked up in horror at the possibility of losing her friend.

“Well.” Spike said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “We’ll just have to figure out who the real one is then. Shouldn’t be too hard.” Twilight stared at Spike for a moment, who shrugged at her and held the door open.

Josh groaned, running a hand through his hair. “How are we supposed to find Twilight or the other girls in all this nonsense.” He muttered dryly as one Pinkie bounced around him.

“Well there are a bunch of ponies gathered over by the library, Joshie! Maybe Twilight made it back there!” Pinkie Pie said, pointing towards the library with a hoof. Looking in the direction she was pointing, he ran a hand over his face.

“They weren’t there ten minutes ago, did we really pass her up that quickly..?” Pinkie shrugged before bouncing over to join the rest. Ignoring the one that was bouncing around him, he followed the real one towards the Library.

Walking back outside towards the group of ponies, Twilight looked around.

“Does anypony know how we can tell the real Pinkie from the rest of them!?” She shouted. The crowd began to discuss it amongst themselves for a moment as they contemplated Twilight’s question. Suddenly, Twilight’s eyes widened as she spotted Josh making his way through the crowd. Clearing her throat, she began to approach him. “Oh Josh, I’m really sorry about all this! What are you doing awake and out of bed?” She asked, worried. Josh waved a hand, dismissing the question as he turned around and nudged Pinkie forward.

“I believe I found the real one, now can you send the rest back so I can get some rest?” Josh asked, raising an eyebrow.

Twilight looked at Pinkie, who was seated on the ground, tapping her hooves together once more.

“She’s the real Pinkie?” Twilight asked. Nodding, Josh tapped one of Pinkie’s ears, showing Twilight the quill that was hidden behind it.

"I have an inkling that she may be the real one.” Josh said, grinning as Twilight placed a hoof to her face, causing Pinkie to giggle. Spike watched the three and rolled his eyes, heading back towards the library.

“If you have it all figured out, I’m going to go back inside.” The small dragon said, only to be engulfed by Twilight’s magic.

“No, you’re coming with me. We’re going to go to the apple family and see if they can round up all of the pinkies so I can send them back.” Spike groaned as he was deposited onto Twilight’s back. “Josh.” She said, turning towards him. “Can you take the real Pinkie into the library until the rest of the commotion blows over?” Josh nodded.

“Yeah, it’s no problem. I’m going to make myself something to eat, do you want anything?” Twilight shook her head, smiling.

“No thanks, I already ate. Feel free though to use any ingredients from the fridge.” Josh nodded and thanked Twilight as he turned to Pinkie.

“Alright Pinks, lets go.” Pinkie nodded, smiling as she followed Josh into the library. Twilight and Spike watched the two go, shutting the door behind them.

“I wonder how much harder that would've been if Josh wasn’t here…” Twilight muttered to herself.

“We probably would still be at this for a few more hours while putting the pinkies on some silly test to find out which one is the real one. Like watching paint dry.” Spike said, chuckling to himself. Twilight giggled in response as she began to head towards Sweet Apple Acres.

“Can you imagine Pinkie Pie sitting still that long? Yeah, it may of worked, but I’m glad that we didn’t have to do that.” Spike nodded in agreement. The two walked in silence for a few minutes until Spike smirked and lightly tugged on Twilight’s mane to get her attention.

“So! You like Josh, huh?” Twilight’s eyes widened briefly as her cheeks darkened. “Yeah, thought so.” Twilight began to pick up speed as she walked towards the farm. “So when are you going to tell him?” Twilight shook her head.

“I can’t just… Tell him, Spike! What about you telling Rarity, huh?” Twilight said, glancing back at him. Spike crossed his arms and looked away.

“I’m getting to it…” The young dragon said.

“Uh huh.” Twilight said, giggling. “I’ll tell him when the time is right, Spike… I haven’t known him that long, and there are still things about him that I want to know before I make my decision.”

A few minutes later, the two walked into Sweet Apple Acres, to be greeted to the sight of Applejack and her family fighting off waves of Pinkies.

“Git, ya varmints!” Applejack yelled, while stomping on the ground.

“Applejack!” Twilight yelled, making a dash through the chaos towards her friend.

“Sorry, Twi. I ain’t got time, I have to keep all these Pinkies from ruining the rest of mah farm.” Applejack groaned as a loud thud echoed from the east side of the farm. “One of our cousins from Manehatten is s’posed to be here by the end of the week, and ah was hoping to have the farm fixed up in time. But with all of this goin on, I don’t see how it’s possible!” Twilight smiled at her friend, raised her head high and placed a hoof on her chest.

“Applejack! I have the solution to your problems! All you have to do is round up all these Pinkies and I can send them back to where they came from!” Applejack raised an eyebrow at her friend before shrugging.

“Ah don’t care how, but if you say you can, I believe ya Twilight.” Glancing to one side of the yard, Applejack waved towards Big Mac and Applebloom. Both had their own hooves full with the Pinkie assault. “Hey Big Mac, Applebloom, help me round up all of these Pinkies!” She yelled loudly over all the commotion. “Twilight here has a way to send them all back!” Big Mac and Applebloom looked up over to their sister and nodding. Moments later, the three apple family members began to work on rounding up all of the Pinkies that were located at their farm.

“Are you sure that you can do the spell, Twilight?” Spike asked from her back. Looking back at him, she raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a really simple one, but I can only cast it on one Pinkie at a time. As long as the Apples can keep them then occupied and rounded up.” Spike nodded to Twilight and turned his attention back to the roundup. A few minutes later, Twilight carefully walked towards the group. Noticing her approach, Applejack glance over at her.

“Okay Twi, it’s all you.” Nodding, Twilight closed her eyes and focused on the spell. A bright light engulfed her horn and moments later a beam shot out and enveloped one of the Pinkies. A popping sound was heard moments later as the pony vanished and a purple tendril of light flew out of the group and shot in the direction of the Everfree Forest.

“Yeah Twilight! That seemed to do it!” Spike said, grinning as he threw a fist into the air. Once more, Twilight sent the spell towards the group and again another Pinkie vanished in a puff of light. A few minutes went by as Twilight began to pick up speed, rapidly doing away with the Pinkies. Once the last one was taken care of, she sighed and sat back on her haunches, rubbing a hoof over her forehead.

“Woo, that was a workout.” Twilight said after catching her breath. “Applejack, do you think that you and your family can round up the rest of the ones that are in town so that we can send them all back as well?” Applejack grinned, tipping her hat.

“Why ah think that won't be a problem, Twi.” Turning back to her siblings, Applejack called out. “Hey Bloom, Big Mac. We’re heading into town to round up the rest of them.”

“Eeeyup.” Mac said, nodding to his sisters as the three then turned, galloping towards Ponyville.

“Well that went over well, we better follow them, Spike.” Twilight said, glancing towards her assistant.

“Yeah, I can’t wait till all of this craziness gets finished.” Spike muttered as Twilight quickly began to pick up the pace and follow the Apples.

Golden Oaks Library

Josh bit into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that he had prepared a few minutes prior. “So how long do you think it will take to clean up the mess, Pinkie?” Josh asked as he raised a glass of milk, washing down the sandwich.

“Oh, knowing Twilight, it shouldn’t take too long.” Pinkie said, sitting on the couch beside Josh, strangely quiet as she stared out the window, watching the other Pinkies get rounded up by the apple family. Noticing this, Josh stood up and closed the curtains.

“Hey now, what's wrong Pinkie?” Josh asked as he sat back down. Turning to look at Josh, Pinkie smiled softly.

“Oh, it’s nothing really. I just am sorry that I caused everypony so much trouble.” Josh chuckled to himself as he ruffled her hair.

“Pfft, don’t worry about it. We have the real Pinkie safe with us, so thats all that matters.” Pinkie’s smile widened as she pressed her side against Josh, cuddling close.

“I dunno what would've happened if you weren’t here, Joshie. I could of been one of those Pinkies out there, being sent back into the pool.” Josh pulled her close into a hug, smirking down at her.

“Yeah, you’re my friend, Pinkie. I wouldn’t dare let something like that happen to one of my friends. Just do me a favor?” Pinkie looked up at Josh curiously.

“Yeah?” Josh chuckled, ruffling her mane once more.

“Don’t try to have fun in more than one place at the same time. There is only room in Equestria for one Pinkie. You.” Josh said, poking her gently on her nose. “And I prefer it that way.” Pinkie smiled, hugging Josh tighter.

“Thank you, Joshie. You’re a good friend.” Josh blinked, shaking his head.

“I dunno about that, but I’m glad that I could help cheer you up.” Pinkie pulled away, looking at him scoldingly, pushing her hoof to Josh’s nose.

“Shush you, you’re a great friend.” Crossing her hoof over her chest, she flapped them beside her before putting one against her eye. “And that’s a Pinkie promise, mister.” Grabbing the rest of Josh’s sandwich, she scarfed it down. Looking down at his hand where the sandwich was only moments before, he blinked in confusion. Moments later, a few popping noises could be heard, originating from outside. Leaning back, Josh moved a bit of the curtain aside so he could view what was going on, only to be greeted with the sight of Twilight firing off spells at a crowd of Pinkies. Letting the curtain close, he stretched his arms above his head, only to wince slightly, pressing a hand to his chest.

“Well my pink little companion, it would seem like Twilight is almost finished with your friends outside. Do you have any work today?” Pinkie placed a hoof to her chin in thought for a moment before shaking her head.

“Nopers!” She replied, grinning. Josh nodded, looking off to the side, lost in thought. “Something on your mind, Joshie?” Pinkie asked, curiously.

“Trying to think of something that we can do for the rest of the day.” Josh muttered, frowning. Suddenly, Pinkie perked up, an idea coming to her.

“After Twilight is done, lets go to Sugarcube Corner! I want to treat you to something tasty!” Josh raised an eyebrow.

“Something tasty?” He asked curiously. Nodding rapidly, Pinkie grinned.

“Yeah! Like, cupcakes! Or cake! Or… Well we have a lot to choose from at Sugarcube Corner!” Josh ran a hand through his hair, shrugging.

“Well I suppose we can do that, do you think that Twilight and the rest of the girls would want to join us?” Pinkie shrugged. “Well I suppose we can always ask them.” Stretching once more, Josh groaned. “I can’t wait till this all heals up, I want to get out and actually do something constructive.” Moments later, the front door opened and Twilight slowly walked in, groaning.

“What I would do for a nap…” Twilight muttered. Spike walked in behind her, shutting the door. Looking up, Twilight focused on Pinkie, only to groan. “You’re the real one, right?” Nodding quickly, her eyes wide, a bead of sweat quickly traveled down the side of Pinkie’s face.

“Are you okay, Twilight?” Josh asked, a bit of worry in his voice. Perking up, she turned to him, smiling.

“Yes! Of course! I just, need a little rest is all.” Spike glanced between the two before rolling his eyes and walking into the kitchen.

“So I take it you wouldn’t be up for some snacks at Sugarcube Corner?” Pinkie asked. Sighing, Twilight walked over and jumped up onto the couch beside Josh, leaning on him.

“Maybe in a couple of hours Pinkie. I just need a break. All that spellcasting wore me out. Did you know that you made almost a hundred copies of yourself?” Pinkie’s eyes widened.

“Really? A hundred Pinkies!? Oh wow Twilight, I am so so so super duper sorry!” Pinkie said, fidgeting a bit as the realization hit her. Smiling softly, Twilight shook her head.

“It’s okay Pinkie, it is all sorted out now. Alot faster than it probably would of originally been if Josh hadn’t of been here for you.” Both mares turned to Josh, smiling.

“Thank you.” They both said at once before turning to each other and giggling. Josh’s eyes widened slightly for a moment, before he joined the two in laughter.

“Really, it was nothing… I’m glad that I could help get it all sorted out.” A growling sound could be heard a moment later, interrupting anything else that anyone was about to say. Giggling again, the two looked up at Josh.

“I can wait on rest, lets get you something to eat. I thought you said that you were going to make yourself some food?” Twilight asked. Pinkie turned away, blushing. Twilight raised an eyebrow at Pinkie. “So, Sugarcube Corner then?” Twilight asked. Josh shrugged and slowly stood up, stretching.

“Sounds good.” Josh said, as he waited for the mares.

“Spike, want to go to Sugarcube Corner with us for dinner?” Twilight called towards the Kitchen. A moment later Spike walked back into the living room with a glass of water, drinking it.

“Yeah, sounds great.” He said, placing his now-empty glass on the counter.

“Oh! This is going to be just great! Do you think we should invite everypony else too, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, bouncing up and down. Shaking her head, Twilight frowned.

“That probably wouldn’t be that good of an idea.” Twilight replied. “I know for certain that Rarity and Applejack are going to want to fix their respective places first. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash may be interested, if we see them on the way over we can ask them if they want to join us.” Pinkie smiled, nodding.

“Okie Dokie, Twilight!” She turned to Josh and gently grabbed his hand in her hoof, pulling him towards the door. “Come on Joshie, let’s get you fed!” Josh gently tugged his hand out of her grip, chuckling quietly.

“Okay okay, I’m coming, geesh.” He glanced to Twilight as he walked towards the door to keep up with Pinkie. Glancing over his shoulder, his eyes made contact with Twilight’s causing her to look away, her cheeks darkening. Glancing towards Spike, Josh raised an eyebrow, only to have Spike reply with a roll of his eyes.

Friday - Golden Oaks Library

The rest of the week was uneventful. Josh turned his focus on his drawings and schematics, trying to get his mind off of the slowly diminishing pain in his chest and palms. Twilight, to Spike’s dismay, would ramble about Josh’s different traits and what made him so appealing to her whenever he wasn’t around. Friday eventually came, to Josh’s relief. He’d been preparing for this day for the past week, whenever he wasn’t working on his drawings.

“So what do you plan on doing again, Josh?” Twilight asked, walking into the guest room, a confused look adorning her face. Smirking, Josh leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and crossed his arms.

“Well, I spoke to the Cutie Mark Crusaders yesterday. They told me that they have a clubhouse that they can hide me in. I just have to head there and spend the day in it. Not to mention, there is supposed to be some sort of float thing today in town, so that should help keep the trail off of me.”

“You mean the Summer Harvest Parade? Pinkie told me that she was going to be in it, so she won’t be able to hide with you. Apparently her float is supposed to be a head of lettuce.” Josh nodded to Twilight.

“Yep! Thats the one. The crusaders told me that they’re going to be in it too apparently. Applebloom has a cousin that showed up recently and since they’ll all be working on the float. I’ll have the clubhouse to myself.”

“You’re not going to be too bored, are you?” Twilight asked worriedly. Josh smirked shaking his head. Holding up his right hand, he flicked his wrist, encasing all of his fingers in electricity.

“With magic? Are you kidding? I don’t think I’ll have to worry about being bored.” Twilight’s already worried demeanor seemed to get worse.

“Are you sure you should be using magic already?” Josh waved a hand, dismissing the question.

“I’m fine, honest!” He said, grinning. “The doc said to wait till Friday and that is what I did. Today is Friday, therefore, magic!” Twilight groaned, facehoofing in the process.

“If I have to drag you to the hospital after hearing about some sort of accident between you and a rogue tornado, don’t think I will just brush it off as a fluke.” Josh cleared his throat while running a hand through his hair nervously..

“Hey, come on Twilight. I’ll be fine, aren’t I always?” Josh asked, grinning sheepishly.

“No.” Twilight said, deadpanning. “You’re not ‘always fine’ you haven’t been ‘always fine’ since you ‘dropped’ into my life.” Twilight stomped a hoof, pressing her point. “I just want you to be fine for once…” She said, sighing, turning her attention to the floor. Moments later, she felt Josh’s arms wrap around her neck in a hug.

“Hey… None of that, okay?” Josh said, quietly. “I really promise to be fine. If it makes you feel better, I won't use anymore magic for the rest of the day, okay?” Twilight slowly wrapped her hooves around Josh in return.

“Thank you.” Twilight said, slowly pulling away and turning towards the door. After a period of silence, she sighed once more, shaking her head. “If you plan to avoid the reporters today, you better head to your hiding spot before they show up here.” Scratching the back of his head, Josh stood up and stretched. Walking past her, he stopped and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her mane.

“I’ll be back by the end of the day, okay Twilight? Just relax, I’ll be fine.” Twilight nodded as she watched Josh walk down the stairs. Moments later she could hear the front door open and then shut.

“Well you two are definitely getting closer, thats for sure.” Spike said, grinning as he stood in the hallway nearby. Twilight raised an eyebrow at him.

“Did you sort the section that I asked? Cross Referencing any of those creatures I assigned you?” Twilight asked.

“I went ahead and sorted the books on mythical creatures. I couldn’t find any information on past experiences encountering any ‘Master’ or…” Twilight raised an eyebrow at Spike, motioning for him to continue. “Or…” Spike threw his claws into the air. “Orcs!” Twilight grinned at her assistant.

“Yeah, I didn’t think you would, but it was worth looking none-the-less.” Twilight said, giggling to herself. Spike crossed his arms, looking at her expectantly. “Okay fine, you can go and spend the day with Rarity. Grinning, the young drake quickly ran downstairs and out the front door. “Stallions…” Twilight said, shaking her head, sighing. Making her way downstairs, she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of tea that she had brewed only a few hours prior after waking up.

“Well, I guess now is as good of a time as any to look through spells that involve shaping air and wind… If there is even such a thing.” She said to herself, as she sat down at the table in the front room, levitating a couple of books over from a shelf to herself in the process. Taking a drink of her tea, she sighed happily and began to read. Only to be interrupted less than a minute later by a sharp rapping at her door.

“It’s a library, come on in!” Twilight called, groaning. The door opened a moment later, revealing a golden armored earth pony with a large satchel strapped to her back. bandages could be seen underneath the armor. The pony’s dark hair was tied up in a ponytail, and an air of superiority radiated from her.

“Miss Twilight Sparkle, the element of Magic.” The pony started, placing a hoof to her head in a salute. “My name is Dawn, I am a Solar Guard sent here by Princess Celestia to assist a resident who is staying at this library. Is the human, ‘Josh’ about?” Twilight blinked, remembering the letter that Josh had requested to be delivered to this same pony when they were leaving the medical ward at the castle, earlier in the week. Quickly shaking her head, Twilight set her teacup down.

“No, he’s not. Josh won't be back till later tonight. He has some business he will be taking care of.” Twilight said, a hint of curiosity in her voice. “Why would the princess send one of her guards here?” Reaching towards one of her many bags that were stacked on her back, Dawn pulled out a royally sealed letter and hoofed it over to Twilight.

“I believe all information concerning my stay will be laid out in that letter.” Dawn stated, matter-of-factly. Levitating the letter over to herself, Twilight broke the seal and began to read through it.

My Dearest Student Twilight Sparkle

The pony standing before you is one of my most trusted guards. Her name is ‘Dawn’ and she has been sent there for a few different reasons. One of which is to give you, Josh and the other elements some extra protection in case any problems arise again in Ponyville. Another reason that Dawn is there is to ‘Train’ Josh. I do understand that Josh is still recovering from his most recent encounter with the Scions of Darkness while in Canterlot, and I do not expect for his training to start immediately. So I hope that you wouldn’t mind providing Dawn a place to stay while she is there. Thank you Twilight, and I look forward to the next letter you send to me regarding your studies.

Princess Celestia

Twilight stared at the letter for a moment longer before looking back to Dawn, who had placed her bags to the side and sat down to rest.

“Well, if you were sent here by the Princess then I guess I can welcome you.” Twilight said, offering Dawn a friendly smile. Nodding to Twilight, Dawn ignored her smile and glanced towards her bags.

“Do you have a place where I can put my stuff?” Dawn asked. Twilight tapped her chin as her gaze drifted over to a door that was next to the staircase.

“Yeah, I believe I do have a place. I’ll just have to clean it up a bit first. Oh this is so sudden!” Twilight said as she quickly made her way over to the door and headed into the basement.

Sweet Apple Acres: Crusader Clubhouse (That evening)

“So you have a new member, huh?” Josh asked the three Crusaders who had met him in the clubhouse a few hours after the harvest festival.

“Yeah! She’s really cool too! She’s going to start our Manehattan branch of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Scootaloo said, grinning.

“Oh Ah can’t wait till she comes to visit again.” Applebloom said.

“If you had gotten here sooner, you would of been able to meet her too, Joshie!” Sweetie Belle commented, having picked up on the nickname that Pinkie used for him.

“Well you all seem to be in a good mood now at least, when I asked you the other day if I could hideout in your clubhouse today, you seemed a bit… Down.” Josh said, crossing his arms. “What happened to change that?”

“Well, my cousin wasn’t really all that nice to us at first.” Applebloom said quietly, glancing to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah, she was a really mean bully to us, but then we learned from Applejack earlier today that she was being a bully to us because she was being bullied in Manehattan!” Scootaloo said.

“Why was she being bullied there?” Josh asked curiously.

“She doesn’t have her cutie mark either.” Stated Applebloom. Josh nodded as the gears in his mind seemed to move.

“Let me guess then, she teamed up with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to pick on you three, just to prevent herself from being picked on here in Ponyville.” Josh said, glancing at the crusaders. “So how did you end up befriending her?” Scootaloo grinned and sat back.

“I was wondering when you were going to ask that, Josh. So you see, because we were being bullied we came up with a plan to completely embarrass Babs!” Applebloom nodded at Scootaloo, continueing where her friend left off.

“We made a new float last night, and boobietrapped it.” Josh’s eyes widened. “We hooked it up to one of Granny Smith’s egg timer’s. Babs decided to fall into our trap and take control of our float during the festival. When the timer went off it caused the float to go haywire!”

“Applejack showed up right after the float left and told us all about how Babs was getting bullied in Manehattan, so we decided to try and retake the float before it ended up falling into a mudhole. We ended up saving Babs in the end and ended up in the mud ourselves. We made up and became friends with her after that.” Scootaloo said, finishing the story.

“Why does life have to be so Ironic!” Sweetie Belle groaned, placing her hooves over her face. Josh chuckled, shaking his head at the three fillies.

“You kids have all the fun, don’t you?” Josh asked, continuing to shake his head, not noticing as Scootaloo slowly got up and quietly walked behind him.

“Yeah we do!” Scootaloo said, jumping up behind Josh and latching onto the top of his head. Josh’s eyes widened as he looked up and came face to face with the grinning filly. Moments later, Sweetie Belle hopped into his lap. “Hey Josh.” Scootaloo began. “The sun will be setting soon, mind taking me and Sweetie Belle home?” Josh shrugged and looked down at Sweetie Belle, who was in the middle of a long yawn.

“That wouldn’t be too much trouble, would it, Joshie?.” Sweetie Belle asked, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. Josh looked out the window of the clubhouse and saw the sun going down in the distance.

“I suppose I could, though you’ll have to show me where you live, Scoots.” Josh said. “If you wouldn’t mind waiting for another thirty minutes to an hour anyway, just to give the people who are looking for me time to give up.”

“Stay as long as ya like, Josh. Ah do have to head on over to the house here soon, otherwise Applejack will give me a stern talkin’ to.” Applebloom said, frowning.

“That’s fine, Applebloom. Thanks again for letting me hide here.” Josh said, giving her a sincere smile. The small farmfilly beamed up at him.

“It’s no problem, just be sure the other crusaders get home safely.” Josh nodded while Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

“We’ll be fine, Applebloom. As soon as the sun sets, Josh said he would take us home.” Applebloom nodded.

“Ah know, Ah know. Goodnight everypony.” Standing up, Applebloom made her way out of the clubhouse, and headed home.

Scootaloo yawned and got comfortable on top of Josh’s head as Sweetie Belle curled up on his lap. Blinking, he glanced down towards the window, the last rays of sunlight fading beyond the horizon. “I guess better now than later.” He muttered quietly to himself as he slowly stood up, being careful as to not jostle Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle too much. Holding the two fillies he walked out of the clubhouse and quietly closed the door behind himself.

“Tomorrow I’ll start really weaving my own spells.” Walking down the ramp he began heading back into town.

“Do you think I can watch..?” Scootaloo said tiredly from her perch.

“Oh, you’re still awake, Scoots? Well if you want I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” Josh replied. A moment later, Sweetie Belle looked up at him, catching his attention.

“Can Applebloom and I watch too? Oh and can you play some more of your music?”

“I don’t see why not, just make sure that you three get your chores finished first. I don’t want to get in trouble with your families. If you do get the okay, I’ll be out in the park where I played my music last week.” Happy with Josh’s response, the two tired fillies went silent once more. The walk to Rarity’s boutique took ten minutes and by the time Josh had dropped off Sweetie Belle with Rarity, the sky had fully darkened, leaving Scootaloo and himself in darkness.

“Hey Scoots.” Josh said.

“Hmm..?” She replied.

“Where do you live again? I don’t think I’ve learned where you live yet.” A long pause filled the air. When Scootaloo didn’t reply, he glanced up at her worriedly. “Scoots?”

“Umm… Turn right here.” She finally said, quietly yawning in reply. “It’ll be the third house on the left.” Hands in his pockets, Josh followed the directions and finally arrived at a two story townhouse. Flowers sat in planters under one of the windows and Scootaloo’s infamous scooter was leaning beside the front door. “Alright, this will be fine.” She said as Josh began walking towards the front door. Kneeling down, Scootaloo hopped off of his head and slowly walked towards the door. Glancing back to Josh, she waved before heading on inside.

With a flourish of his long black coat, Josh turned and began to walk back towards the Library. The silence of the peacefully quiet town bringing a smile to his face.

“Huh, you have a way with the young ones don’t you?” A familiar female voice asked from his right. Glancing over, Josh made out the form of an armored pony. Flicking his wrist, an orb of light appeared above his hand, illuminating the area around the two.

“Dawn? What are you doing here? How are you doing?” Josh asked as his eyes widened. Waving a hoof, she turned and began walking to the Library.

“I’m fine, we’ll speak more regarding the reason why I’m here once we get to the Library.” The mare paused for a moment, causing Josh to look at her confused. “You know, I was wrong about you… And for that, I apologize.” The statement itself caught Josh off guard. The day guard didn’t treat him very friendly during the short time he had been graced with her presence during his stay at the castle.

“If you hadn’t been there, I don’t know how many of my fellow guards, much less the princesses themselves would of been injured during the assault. Unfortunately for you though, from what I heard, you were more of an annoying distraction to the attackers rather than an actual problem for them.” Dawn said. Josh frowned, quickly walking in front of Dawn as they approached the Library, holding the door open for her.

“Welcome back, Josh.” Twilight said as he walked in behind Dawn. “I see that you’ve met up with Dawn. Would you two like some tea?” Dawn shook her head and walked over to the couch. Josh stopped beside Twilight and frowned, after a moment, he glanced her way.

“You know why she came here right, Twilight?” Twilight looked towards the front room for a moment before nodding.

“Yes, but it would be best if she told you.” Josh groaned, placing a hand over his face.

“I really can’t stand situations like this.” He muttered to himself. “I’ll just have some water if that’s okay.” Twilight smiled up at him, parting ways and heading into the kitchen as Josh walked into the front room and joined Dawn on the couch. Turning to her, he stretched his arms above his head, sighing. “Okay, let’s cut to the chase, why were you sent here, Dawn?” Josh asked, crossing his arms.

“Wow, you’re not subtle are you?” Dawn said, a bit taken aback by Josh’s abruptness.

“Yeah well you wouldn’t of been sent here if it wasn’t important. So if you can give me all the details, that’d be great.” Josh grinned and leaned back on the couch.

“Well, a straightforward question expects a straightforward answer… I am here to train you and help with keeping watch over Ponyville while I am training you.” Josh raised an eyebrow as Dawn continued. “It was obvious to everypony watching you fight at the castle that you have absolutely no idea how to fight. So I will be teaching you how to fight with a weapon of your choosing.” Josh stared at Dawn, unsure as to how to respond. A few moments later, Twilight entered the room and sat down beside Josh, levitating a glass of water onto the table in front of him.

“A weapon?” Twilight asked, frowning a bit at the idea of Josh having to fight. “You mentioned training him, I assumed you meant in self-defense.” Dawn shook her head.

“In order to be effective, Josh is going to have to train himself physically as well as magically.” Twilight chewed at her bottom lip in thought as she stared at the cup of tea being held aloft in her field of magic.

“A lance.” Josh stated matter-of-factly, catching both mares off guard.

“A lance?” Twilight asked, her eyes widening. Josh nodded, smirking.

“A lance.” He said once more in confirmation. “Spear, halberd, lance, long stick with a pointy end… Any of those would work, as long as I can keep the enemy as far away from myself as possible.” Twilight pondered this for a moment before nodding.

“Out of all weapons, I suppose that one would definitely be the safest to use…”

“A lance user… They should of sent Wirbelwind….” Dawn muttered to herself, placing a hoof to her face. “A lance is all well and good, but you probably should get some basic hoof to hoof combat down as well. I will request that Wirbelwind is sent here from Canterlot to train you in lance combat.”

“Um, who is Wirbelwind? I don’t think I saw any lance users during the assault on the castle.” Twilight asked.

“I’d be surprised if you did. Wirbelwind is part of the night guard, she was most likely off duty during the attack, and was probably asleep.”

“I see.” Josh muttered to himself as he closed his eyes and yawned. “So when do we start hoof to hoof combat, Dawn?” Dawn looked at Josh with a raised eyebrow.

“I thought you needed to rest?” Josh waved a hand, dismissing the idea.

“I got plenty of rest this last week, I’m ready to begin whatever training that you decide to throw my way.” Dawn raised an eyebrow and glanced over to Twilight, noticing that her eyes were the size of saucers.

“Uh huh… If that is the case then we will start tomorrow. I hope that you’re ready for a long and tough experience, nopony learns self defense and hoof to hoof combat overnight. By the time I get through with you, you will be battered and bruised. You will also hopefully learn what you need to as well.” Josh winced at the idea, nodding.

“Well, the sooner we get it taken care of, the better.” Lifting his glass of water off of the table, he took a drink. “So where are you going to be staying while you’re here in Ponyville, Dawn?” Josh asked curiously.

“Um.” Twilight began. “I made room for her in the basement, so she has her own space as well.” Josh blinked and stared at Twilight for a moment.

“Wait, when did this place get a basement..?” Raising a hoof, Twilight pointed to a door right below the stairs, holding back a laugh as she did so. “You mean to tell me that this place had a basement the whole time I’ve been here and I wasn’t aware of it…” Twilight nodded, giggling a little as she did so. Josh placed a hand over his face, groaning. “Well that should show you how much I’ve been paying attention to my surroundings.” Dawn stared at Josh for a moment, shaking her head.

“What have I gotten myself into…” She muttered to herself as she hopped off of the couch and made her way over to the basement door. “I’m going to turn in for the night, if you’re as ready as you say you are, be up bright and early, we have a lot to cover in a short amount of time.”

“Of course, I’ll be heading to bed myself here shortly. Night Dawn.” Josh said, smirking. Dawn glanced back at him before shaking her head and heading down into the basement. “Well that went better than I expected.” Josh muttered after Dawn left.

“What do you mean by that, Josh? What were you expecting?” Twilight inquired.

“Well, she wasn't the kindest of ponies to me when I was staying in Canterlot, I’m just shocked that she is being so civil with me.” Twilight smirked, shaking her head.

“You’re just a strange creature, Josh. Seeing you does take some getting used to for a pony.” Josh looked at Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

“Well you seemed to take my arrival in Equestria pretty well.” Twilight shrugged, smiling to the Josh.

“Maybe some ponies just take seeing strange creatures easier than others.” Josh contemplated the idea for a moment before shrugging.

“Completely possible.” A buzzing noise suddenly came from the pocket of his coat. Reaching a hand in, he pulled out his phone and looked at the display with a raised eyebrow. “What does Connor want?” He muttered to himself, staring at the device. Twilight placed a hoof over her face.

“Well aren’t you going to answer it and see what he wants?” Josh looked over to her and then turned his attention back to his phone. Answering it, he placed it to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Josh, my boy! How are you holding up? It’s been about a week or so since we last spoke.” Josh rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger.

“Almost a week indeed, we last spoke on Monday when I was heading back to Ponyville. Is there something you need, Connor?” Josh asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Yes, yes of course. I should be arriving in Ponyville within the next week or so, I will be bringing with me a few companions that I have have made, I’m sure you've heard of one of them by now.”

“You’ve made, traveling companions?”

“Of course I have, I am perfectly capable of making friends, mind you.” Josh scoffed, chuckling to himself.

“I’m sure you are. What day exactly will you be here so I can be ready?” Josh asked.

“Next Wednesday more than likely.” Josh nodded.

“Alright, that sounds good, I will talk to you then, Connor.” As Josh was about to hang up, he could hear Connor from the other end of the line.

“Don’t you have other things you have to tell me?” Josh smirked, his finger hovering over the ‘End Call’ button.

“Nope.” And with that, Josh hung up the phone line and turned to Twilight. “ I think I’m going to head to bed myself now. I will talk to you in the morning.”

“Alright Josh, I will talk to you then.” Twilight watched as Josh got up and walked towards the staircase that led up to his room. Sighing to herself she then looked over the table at the books she had place there earlier in the day. “Well, if I want to help out Josh as well, I need to learn all I can about these elements of nature.” Flipping the book on top open to the first page, she began to read.

Author's Notes:

Really didn't like this chapter... After reading it over, I've come to realize that everything seems to happen extremely quickly... I'm really not that good at Slice of Life type stuff at least in my opinion. o.- Fun chapters will be coming up next. I promise.