The day after getting mauled by a monster and taking two lightning bolts to the chest is not the most ideal day to have a mental breakdown and then spend an hour trudging into exile. Whatever was sustaining me in the hospital room and on the trek here had run out. I wanted to stop, but it was my fault Blitzen and 'Spect were here. I couldn't let them see me falter.

Thankfully, most of my injuries were to my arms and upper back. If my legs had hurt even half as much as my arm did, I don't think I could have taken another step. I cursed myself for not asking for a painkiller prescription before I left the hospital.

I was looking forward to checking out the cottage and finding out if it had a bed or even a carpet to lie down on. I felt a slight foreboding when I realized that this house must have been without a tenant for a very long time. I watched Blitzen struggle to pull the door open, the rusty hinges protesting as she forced them to open.

One look at the inside of the cottage made it clear we couldn't stay there without some major cleaning and more repairs than I could do before dark. Cobwebs were everywhere, and the wood flooring looked rotted in some places. There was a tattered rug on the floor, but saying it had seen better days was generous. What furniture I could see was in disarray. Quite a bit was broken.

"Blitzen, I don't think we're gonna be able to sleep here." I sighed and waved my hand around to indicate the interior of our new home. “I don’t think anyone has lived here in a very long time, and we’re gonna have to do some serious cleaning.”

Blitzen’s expression became worried, “But with you barred from Ponyville, where will we go?”

“I saw a clearing on the way here. I can make us a temporary shelter there. Something we can stay in till this place is cleaned up," I tapped my soul gem. "I've got a spell that should be perfect." Never mind that I only just found out I had it.

"And tomorrow, we can get started making the place homey. This house has a great structure, and somebody put real work into it when they built it. The carved doorways alone will be just gorgeous with a little polish." I continued as I ran my fingers over the intricate carving.

"I'm actually kind of sad to see this house in such poor repair. From what I recall, ol' Dunkle was a renowned craftsdonkey, and he built the place with his own hooves. After… I'd considered this cottage, but I was just not in the right place in my life. Now, it's perfect for us, or will be when we clean it up."

In the cooling early evening, I stood at the edge of the clearing, looking out over the meadow. Blitzen looked up at me, a confused expression on her face. Meanwhile 'Spect was eagerly waiting to see what I would do. I pulled out my glasses and put them on to try and cover how nervous I was. There was a tingle in my eyes as they reshaped themselves to accommodate my prescription.

"This is my first time doing this, so don't expect too much." I reviewed the spell floating in my mind's eye, the mystical symbols resolving in turn, clear as day. I knew it should be beyond me as a freshly minted Alchemical Exalted, but I'd already committed to trying. "If it works, we should be more comfortable than we would be with whatever ate the carpet in the cottage."

I felt the soul gem on my forehead grow warm as I concentrated on moving my essence. I realized I could actually feel the separate motes both inside me and around me as I called them into my soul gem. I reached up and pulled forth a ball of softly glowing blue energy from my soul gem. As I moved it around in my hands, the blue faded to white. The glyphs from the language of the Old Realm started shaping themselves in the energy ball as I moulded it into a shining orchid. Blitzen watched wide-eyed as I set the orchid on the ground.

I whispered a word that I could not repeat here. My mind can only hold it while I shape the spell, and without the magic, it's somehow just out of reach. I know the word somehow meant shelter, food, and place of the gods all at once. That's as close as I could come to understanding it with my conscious mind.

[Eleanor's sorcery calls forth her anima]

As that word echoed across the meadow, a carpet of luminous white orchids spread and began to grow. As they grew, they formed walls and rooms, towers and pillars, windows and balconies. Shining gold formed along the edges, and the structure solidified into a palace, the like of which might be found in dreams.

When I let go of the spell, I felt exhaustion push me down to my knees. Next to me, I saw Blitzen looking at me with awe and more than a little fear.

Seeing her fear pierced me through the heart. "It looks more impressive than it is, really," I said, trying to get her to stop looking at me like that. With a savage mental twist, I banished my charms. I figured I'd take the pain of being human with my injuries rather than see her fear me.

In retrospect, changing to an ordinary human was possibly one of the dumber things I'd done since arriving in this world. I'd survived the Catoblepas solely because of my powers, and even enhanced healing takes time. I barely kept myself from crying out as a new wave of agony ripped through me. My chest was burnt, the fern-like pattern known as the Lichtenberg figure raw red on my skin where it wasn't bruised. I could feel at least a couple of cracked ribs pulsing with pain every time I took a breath. And my left arm just dangled, unresponsive, other than slight twitches from my ruined elbow. I wanted to pass out from the pain, but I gritted my teeth and held onto consciousness.

At least Blitzen wasn't looking at me with fear in her eyes anymore. And with the sunlight nearly gone, she couldn't see how hurt I was. I gave a weak grin, "Come on, let's get inside. I wanna see what it looks like."

I stood up and awkwardly opened the door with my right hand. The palace looked dreamlike from the outside, and the inside was equally marvellous. Gilded columns lined the entry hall, with statues of heroic-looking figures between them. The floor was marble with a gold inlay. Ahead of us lay a massive set of golden doors. Softly glowing flowers on the columns lit the hall. I saw smaller doors set in the sides of the hall, and from what I recalled, they would lead to bedrooms.

"El… this is… the last time I saw something like this was when I visited the palace at Canterlot," Blitzen looked around in amazement.

'Spect voice echoed in the vast hall as she spoke to me, "Do you really think she's not gonna notice that you look worse than the time I nearly killed you with the giant hammer?" .

Blitzen gave me a shocked look, and I heard her gasp. "Celestia's wings, Eleanor! We need to get you to bed. I knew we shouldn't have left the hospital…" She stepped closer so I could lean against her, which I very carefully did as we walked towards the bedrooms. She took my bag in her mouth.

"No… it's my own stupid fault. I… you were scared… of me. Scared of my powers… I wanted them gone. Turns out they were keeping me from feeling the worst of it. I can call them back in the morning." I said, trying to ignore the pain in my ribs.

"Oh, Eleanor… You're right. I was scared. Making this,” her hoof indicated the vast room around us, “it's like something out of a tale of Starswirl the Bearded. I was scared because why would you need a broken pegasus around when you can do something like this?" I cringed inwardly, hearing the pain in Blitzen's voice.

I stopped in mid stride, "Ok… we need to talk, seriously talk… when I'm not suffering the effects of my own stupidity. But the mare that didn't panic when an alien landed in her living room, who did everything right that night and who has stayed with me after everything the last couple of days could throw at us, is not broken. It's just you, me and 'Spect here. Nobody, nopony else around to get in the way while we talk." Also, nobody to give me an excuse to avoid this. For cripes sake, Eleanor, you punched a Catoblepas in the face. You can have a real conversation with the mare you're going to be living with.

No, I should be honest with myself here. The mare who is letting my unemployed, banished from town, mass murdering ass live with her. I'm starting to wonder what god she pissed off that she got stuck with my bullshit. If I were any kind of decent person, I'd leave before she got hurt being around me.

And yet, for all my internal protests that I should leave, I couldn't bring myself to go. I was a mess, but one Blitzen seemed willing to take into her life. I couldn't just reject her generosity like that.

We made it to the first bedroom in the hall, and it was as luxurious and opulent as expected. I would have paused to take it all in, but Blitzen clearly wanted me to lie down. I winced a little as I got into the bed, but it was amazingly soft. The sheets were softly scented with lavender.

Blitzen set my bag in a chair. "You stay in that bed, Eleanor. I don't want you hurting yourself any worse before you can change back," Blitzen's tone was stern, but her ears betrayed her worry for my well-being, dipping forward and down. "Now, is there any food here?" She asked.

I nodded, "There should be a kitchen and pantry at the end of this hall if I remember the design right."

Blitzen set a hoof by my hand, lightly touching my fingers. "I'll go get us something to eat. You and 'Spect wait here."

‘Spect's smile disappeared as soon as Blitzen left the room. She berated me in a harsh whisper, "Don't glare at me. You're like a walking bruise where you're not burnt. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I didn't want Blitzen to be scared of me." I replied with a bit more of a petulant tone than I'd intended.

‘Spect reasonably explained, "You summoned an Ivory Orchid Pavilion. A palace fit for gods with supplies for hundreds to dwell in luxury. Did you think she'd be unmoved?"

"'Y'know what, if we're gonna go over uncomfortable topics, why the hell are you mortal?" I demanded.

My query was met with 'Spect snapping her mouth shut and turning the chair to face the wall.

"Fine, awkward silence it is then." I sighed.

'Spect piped up in a serious tone, "Y'know, I'm thousands of years older than you. Thousands of years being the exact same thing, and it would have been thousands more to come. I got a chance to rewrite my story, so I took it. Besides, I kinda like you, you big dope. You got a raw deal and had to do something that broke you, but you held on till you'd done everything you could to save my world before you let yourself fall apart, and you tried to keep helping even then. Now drop it. Let me be a silly filly, k?"

Blitzen came back with a basket with some fruit and what looked like the makings for some salad. She set the basket on the bed and hopped up next to me. 'Spect climbed out of the chair and onto the bed. Even with me and two ponies, the bed still had plenty of space. I carefully sat up, propping myself up with the pillows. Blitzen took some bowls out of the basket, and I leaned forward to help, only to be stopped by her hoof gently touching what had to be the only uninjured part of my chest.

"Eleanor. El, please. Let me serve the salad. You've done enough for one day. You're hurt. Relax," she said gently.

Blitzen served the salad and we ate. I realized around the third bowl that I had not been taking care of myself very well. I was running off caffeine and magic, and that wasn't going to work. I could almost hear Dr. Emerald admonishing me for neglecting my health in such a way.

Blitzen was looking at me with gentle concern shining in her eyes. "Eleanor, I know we don't really know each other yet, but is this going to be a thing with you? Throwing yourself into danger, getting hurt, and not taking care of yourself?"

I let out a slow sigh. "The first two? Probably. The way Exaltation works, I doubt I'd have survived the process if there weren't some spark of heroism in me. Likely buried in some deep forgotten corner, stuffed in between the psychic couch cushions like loose change. I will try to take better care of myself. Everything's just been hectic these last couple days."

Blitzen grinned. "That's one way of putting it. I just wish it hadn't gotten you so badly hurt."

I grimaced. "Same here. At least I should be fine in about twenty days or so, enhanced healing and all. Just can't push myself too much."

"And you won't push yourself. Not if I have anything to say about it" Blitzen said in a firm tone, and then her expression softened. "Did anypony tell you what happened to me? To my wings?"

I shook my head. "No, I knew something happened but I figured it'd be best to hear it from you."

Blitzen nodded and her eyes shimmered with remembered pain. "I was working with the weather team when a massive thunderstorm blew out of the Everfree."

"This was before Rainbow Dash moved to Ponyville, she probably would have handled it in ten seconds flat." She continued with a faraway look on her face as though she were watching it happen in her mind. "It took us a bit longer. We had it almost contained when I got hit with a stray bolt of lightning."

She paused, eyes closed, and steeled herself to tell the rest. "I fell, and by the time my head cleared, I'd been caught up in a gust of wind from the collapsing storm. It tossed me into the Everfree and I landed hard. It took a day and a half for anypony to find me and by the time they did there was nothing the doctors could do for my wings. I'd broken a few other bones and I was in the hospital for months because I was stubborn and I kept pushing myself, acting like I was alright. All I was doing was making things worse."

She placed a hoof gently on my hand. "Eleanor, if you've got magic super-healing, let it heal you. Don't just keep hurting yourself trying to pretend you're not hurt."

I could hear in her voice that losing her wings still haunted her. I could imagine it must have been horrific, being badly hurt, unable to move, and stuck in a dangerous wilderness. And here she was worried about me of all people.

"I'll take it easy and let the healing work. Light cleaning only for the next day or so. Should be able to do more after that." I told her.

I woke to the sound of someone knocking at the door. By some brilliantly annoying acoustic property of the pavilion's design, the sound of a knock at the front door could be heard in my room as easily as if I were at the door myself. I dragged myself out of bed, leaving Blitzen grumbling in her sleep as I limped my way to the room’s entrance.

Getting out of bed was far more painful than I liked, and I wasted no time returning to my Exalted form. The relief of being able to breathe without pain was almost euphoric, but then I remembered there was someone at my door, and I needed coffee. I grabbed a spare sheet and wrapped it around me as a makeshift toga.

Bleary-eyed and bedheaded, I went to the door. Opening it revealed a small herd of ponies. Alex, holding a large casserole dish, and Trace, with a large basket were also there, but the colorful herd captured what little attention I had at the moment. I recognized Rainbow Dash and Twilight. I was surprised to see Rarity with them after my mishap with the Thousandfold Courtesan Calculations charm.

[Eleanor answers the door]

I was pretty sure the yellow one with the pink mane was Fluttershy. I remembered that on the show she was mostly quiet and meek unless provoked. I wasn't sure if that held true here, but I resolved to try to avoid upsetting her. The only other one I thought I recognized was a mare with a light plum colored coat and two-toned pink mane. Even with my trained memory the recollection was hazy. I seemed to recall she was a schoolteacher and her name was Cheerful? No. Cheerilee.

The others I didn't recognize, a light brown stallion with a darker brown mane and tail, and hovering close to him a gray pegasus mare with blonde mane and tail.

"We came to help with fixing up your cottage. What is this?" Twilight asked as she indicated my conjured palace.

"Temporary shelter. Ivory Orchid Pavilion spell." I croaked out, my throat clearly a bit hoarse from snoring last night.

I realized I wasn't being properly hospitable. Temporary though this may be, the pavilion was mine. The first dwelling of my own I'd had in a long time. These were guests at my door. I cleared my throat and waved a hand to forestall further questions for a moment and spoke the oath of hospitality that Cupyri taught me. "Be ye welcome to my home and hearth, by the sacred laws of hospitality. So long as ye harbor no ill toward any under my roof, my strong arm shall shield ye. Ye shall drink of my wine and share the bread of my table, so mote it be."

The ponies seemed shocked and even embarrassed. What had I said wrong? I ran the oath through my head and couldn't understand. I'd said the words perfectly as I remembered them.

Alex stepped towards me and said in a quiet voice, "Eleanor, this is one of those cultural differences we hadn't gotten to. Offering bread to a pony is an invitation to be intimate." He looked about as embarrassed to be in the position of telling me this as I found myself to be, hearing it.

I put my hand to my face to cover the blush I could feel rising in my cheeks, "Haven't had coffee yet. Can we forget the part where I inadvertently propositioned everypony? Great."

"At this point, I think it's a tradition for every human to make that mistake. Welcome to the club, sport." Alex said jovially. He raised the dish with a smile, “I hope you like eggplant.”

I looked between my fingers and saw that most of the ponies seemed relieved. Cheerilee looked a little disappointed, though. I was beginning to get the sense that for as weird-looking as I had to be to them, there must be something about me that some mares found attractive. Even without the charm debacle, the reactions were too frequent to be merely coincidence.

No. Not thinking about that without coffee. Gah, now I have Van Halen's Hot for Teacher playing in my head. Why does my brain hate me?

I opened the doors and motioned for everyone to come in, grinning a little at their amazed expressions as they saw the interior of the pavilion. As the ponies walked past, I caught myself staring at Cheerilee.

Oh gods, did I just check out her flank? ... yep. That's what I was doing. The pile in the "don't wanna think about it" section of my mind is getting out of hand.

A quick glance at Cheerilee told me she'd seen me staring at me. Our eyes met for a split second. She noticed that I noticed. Her reaction was surprising. Instead of looking away embarrassed or something, she smiled and winked.

I began to get the sense that trying not to think about what I was feeling wasn't going to work for much longer.

"Ok, I'm gonna try doing the good host thing. But first, I need coffee." I said as I started walking to the kitchen. A quick search of the pantry revealed that I clearly wasn't awake enough for this. I found a sack of the toxic nuggets from the world I was on before this one. The nuggets were meant to be fed to a specially bred lizard that would process the toxins and secrete a supposedly drinkable caffeinated liquid. Two problems presented themselves. One is that I don't have such a lizard, nor were they likely to be found in this world. The second problem is that I'd sooner die of thirst than drink that awful stuff ever again. I took the sack and found a garbage bin to chuck it into.

"So… no coffee. Is it too early for wine?" I asked the room.

Alex turned to Rainbow Dash, "Dash, sweetheart, I think our friend needs a little liquid sunshine."

Rainbow Dash just said, "Got it!" And in a flash, she was gone. It couldn't have been even two minutes later when she brought a carrier with several cups of coffee. She set the carrier on the counter and held out a coffee to me. "Good thing Mrs Cake always has a pot going. Here ya go, El."

I flashed her a grateful look, "Thank you, I owe you one."

"I'll have to catch you later on that. Need to go help the weather team get the clouds ready for winter. See ya later, don't let Alex work too hard." Rainbow Dash said as she left as quickly as she'd arrived.

If I hadn't just dealt with a world where a whole contingent of gods handled the weather I'd probably find it weird that weather was a job like any other.

As I sat and sipped my coffee, Rarity sat down across the table from me.

Her blue eyes caught mine, "You seemed surprised to see me earlier."

I looked down at my coffee. "I thought you were mad at me."

Rarity made a small sigh, "More embarrassed at my own reaction than angry with you, darling. You didn't mean to use your magic after all. And let us just say you have a certain allure even without your magic."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm starting to get that. It's… not what I'm used to. I don't know how much you know about my homeworld's culture, but on a scale from one to ten, at my best, I'm a four or five. People usually just don't notice me like that."

"I can assure you that will not be the case here, especially once I see to your wardrobe." Rarity said firmly. "Speaking of which," a wrapped package levitated out of her saddlebag and onto the table in front of me.

I undid the ribbon and opened the package. I was not ready for what was inside. It was my sweater, the one shredded when I transformed on the train to Ponyville. I carefully lifted it from the wrapping. There were some slight differences in the embroidery, but it was a nearly perfect replica of the one I'd destroyed. I felt tears welling up as I held up the gift.

"Rarity… I don't know what to say. Thank you so much!" I said, tears running down my face as I smiled.

She waited while I regained my composure before replying. "Yes, well, when you told me your clothes had been destroyed, I asked the others if they remembered what they looked like and tried to remake the items from their description. I gather I succeeded?"

I looked at the wrapping paper and saw that she'd remade my shorts as well. My tears threatened to return. "They're perfect. I can't believe you went to such trouble."

Rarity sniffed. "Nonsense, it was no trouble at all. I just could not bear thinking of how you must have felt losing your clothes on your first day in a strange new world."

I remembered I had something for Rarity. "Oh! I have starmetal now. I want to use a piece for a small magical gift, but the rest is for you. If you want me to shape it into your designs, just let me know."

"Wasn't that something you needed?" Asked Rarity.

I smiled. "Autochthon wanted me to make artifacts and weapons with it. Frankly, it would be put to far better use decorating your lovely creations."

Blitzen trotted into the kitchen, grabbed a coffee and flashed me a smile that made my heart sing. "I probably should have told you to expect this. Every time somepony moves into a place that's been vacant for more than a couple years, anypony not busy comes to help clean the place up. And my friends… Well, I should go see if we are still friends, I suppose. I was kind of a nag for the last few years." Blitzen sighed. "Also, 'Spect told me you may feel better in this form, but you still need to heal, so don't push yourself. Light cleaning only."

I nodded. "That's my plan. Especially since we have more help than I was expecting."

As Blitzen went to talk to her friends, I noticed Twilight Sparkle had trotted up behind me.

I finished my coffee and greeted her. "Morning, Twilight. I've had coffee so I can answer some questions now. Though if it's about this place, I just cast a spell someone else wrote a long time ago."

"You raised this with a single spell?" Twilight asked, amazed.

I raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, wait till you see the mess in that cottage. I just couldn't make Blitzen or 'Spect sleep in that."

"But how many blaaneras did you expend to make this? Even as a temporary structure, it must have required an extraordinary amount of magical energy." Twilight asked as she levitated a quill and scroll out of her saddlebag.

"About twenty motes of essence and a fair amount of concentration to force it into being. Anyway, it's not as impressive as it seems. The spell is pretty fixed in what it does. I can't alter it, not even a little." Which I dearly would have loved to do as the palace was not only overkill for a temporary shelter, it was gaudy, tastelessly extravagant overkill.

"Twenty 'motes'." Twilight mumbled as she wrote something down on her scroll. "And how many motes do you normally have?"

I thought about it for a moment and checked my new sense for magic. "Forty-five, plus thirteen committed to my charms. And can I just say it is really weird being able to not only sense this energy in and around me, but to be able to quantify it as well?"

She nodded at that. "I imagine it would be, given that humans generally don't use magic. Given the structure and the limitations you mentioned, on the Starswirl Power Scale, I'd estimate you at around one kilo-blaaneras. However, you don't seem to have the versatility expected from a unicorn with that power."

I was curious about this power scale she mentioned. "So, what level are you? You have to be up there. Fifteen hundred? Two thousand? I mean, you teleport all over the place!"

"Oh, my goodness, no. I'm just at 127.684 blaaneras of raw power."

I blinked slowly. "Hold on. You mean to tell me I'm packing eight times more power than Twilight Sparkle? The freaking element of Magic?"

She shrugged, "I'm just good at creating and optimizing spells. I'm just a boring old unicorn."

"I cannot even imagine a boring unicorn. You most certainly do not fit that description. Anyway, what is the average for unicorns?

She replied sheepishly, "Five-ish."

I grimaced. "Twilight, I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asked.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to keep my voice level as I struggled with the idea of having nearly two-hundred times more magical power than most unicorns. "I'm sorry for not saying the stream of profanity running through my head. I know you are a grown mare, and that you're not a cartoon character, but I see your face, and I just can't say certain things. But feel free to imagine me using whatever profanities you're familiar with."

Twilight grimaced. "I'm guessing you feel a bit overwhelmed?"

"A bit. Maybe you should read the rulebooks for the world I got these powers from. They're on my tablet. Go over them with Trace. Just make sure he checks them first. There's art that can be unsettling even for a human, and descriptions of spells and charms that might also be disturbing. I'll make you a list of the charms I have. Maybe you'll see something that puts my power at a more comfortable level."

Alex cornered me before I could leave the room. He looked around to make sure nopony would overhear us and gestured for Trace to come over. "I hate to do this, but we need to know more about what happened in that other world so we can reassure the Mayor that it won't happen here."

"Well, I doubt there's an orbital weapons platform here for me to hack into. Nor that I would be able to choose the password if there were." I sighed. "Shortly after I arrived in the prior world, I realized the world was not just familiar, but there were people there that were specifically part of a game scenario I'd written."

"I don't know if you can appreciate just how terrified I was when I realized that. There were gods that would know that there was someone in the world who knew their secrets. And they could do far worse than kill me." I shuddered with remembered fear. "Even dying wouldn't protect me from them. So I decided to act. There was a gathering of the Infernal Host scheduled. Fifty god-monsters more powerful than I'll ever be and each one a willing servant of the Demon Emperor. The location was a place that would be destroyed afterwards. I figured out a way to bring about that destruction earlier. I realized anything I thought of that fit the setting and didn't contradict prior information would be true. An-Teng had orbital weapons platforms. The passwords were what I thought they were. Whether it was intuition or creation, I couldn't tell you. But it worked. Beyond my wildest nightmares, it worked."

I stared at my feet. I couldn't face either of them. It was bad enough before, but now they had to see the depths of my cowardice and what a monster I was, far worse than those I'd slain.

Alex waited a moment before replying. "Thank you. I'll explain things to the mayor." Another pause. "I'll ask Luna to intervene if I need to."

He put a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched a little. "Different realities mean different rules. You know that. I'll admit I've never been in a situation like yours, but I understand being in a situation out of my control. I'll back you 110%."

Trace gently added, "While I've never been in a situation truly on the same level as yours, nor am I all that invested in guiding those in need down a path of self-redemption like Alex here, I do know a bit about having to make calls that lead to death, destruction and, in some cases, tragedy. I can say this, Eleanor, stay close to those who support you, keep your mind on the positives, and focus on the path ahead. In time, you will find the strength to make peace with your past and grow from it.”

I looked up with a strained grin. "Thanks for that. Out of my control… it's so hard to imagine anything being in my control since I picked the damned cellphone that started this mess."

“Then let this be the world that grants you that control. You said so yourself that your status as a jumper has seemingly come to an end. From what I can gather of your newfound state, you'll have no shortage of time to find yourself, so let the peace of this world help you regain control of your life so that you can live your life with that clarity.” Trace said kindly.

I chuckled. "Heh, Clarity's pretty much guaranteed." I didn't explain what I found amusing. I figured he or Alex would get to that part of the book eventually.

In the bright light of day, the cottage didn't look as bad. I saw stone tile under the wood flooring and signs that the wood flooring had been a later addition. The rugs were a total loss, but the walls just needed some cleaning. The first project was making sure there weren't any animals nesting in the cottage. Tempting as it was to let 'Spect deal with that, I felt Fluttershy might get upset at whatever methods 'Spect would use.

Fluttershy trotted in, and within minutes, there was an orderly exodus of small animals. Some were even carrying out what must have been their nesting material. I started to feel bad about evicting them. Looking over the collapsed wreckage of what must have been a toolshed, I had an idea.

"Fluttershy, can you help me design a proper shelter for these guys? I can use the remains of the toolshed for materials, and they can have a more suitable place to live than the cottage." I asked as she followed the last of the animals out of the cottage.

Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes! That’s a wonderful idea. My little animal friends will be so happy! Thank you, Eleanor!”

With the animals cleared out, we set to work. As the day went on, I noticed a pattern. There was always someone near me, chatting about minor things like the work we were doing or the weather. Even when I tried working on something by myself, somepony would find me for some small talk.

After Twilight had made the same comment about the weather for a third time, I decided it was time to find out what was up.

"Twilight, did someone ask you to keep me company while I cleaned the roof?" I asked out of the blue.

She looked surprised, like I'd seen through some clever ruse. "How did you guess?"

I chuckled, "You mentioned that cloud formation at least twice before. It's okay, I was just wondering."

"Doctor Emerald thought it would be best if you had your mind kept busy. He'd spoken to Miss Introspective, and they were concerned you might dwell too much on your memories." She looked at me like she was expecting me to be upset.

I found that I wasn't upset but rather the opposite. Given what Autochthon said, confirmed by me, they had every reason to think I was some kind of monster. Yet here was Twilight trying her awkward best to keep me from thinking about what I'd said and done. "It's okay," I repeated. "I appreciate it. They weren't wrong. Left to myself, I probably would brood on it. I'm glad to have friends here to help me think of other things. But let's talk about magical theory instead, okay?"

If I could bottle the expression of glee on Twilight's face, I'd never have to worry about being an unemployed loafer. I had clearly chosen the right topic. I knew the look of the nerd who has found an audience willing to listen to their passion. Mostly because I'd worn it myself more than once. I smiled and returned to scrubbing moss and fixing shingles as Twilight went into lecturing professor mode.

I'm skipping the 400+ pages of Twilight's lecture on magical theory and practice in Equestria as while they're interesting to Eleanor, I just don't have it in me to type them out. Also there was far more than anypony needs to know about Starswirl the Bearded.

Many thanks to Techogre for editing and suggestions. Also thanks to Marvelous Cheshire, Tosety, Discord's Advocate, KMCA, and Warpd for their support.