Neither of us got much sleep that night, mostly due to the coffee, even though I had only had barely half a cup. We finally parted ways around four thirty in the morning. Twilight had insisted that I sleep in her bed while she took the couch. She said it was to “make up for the misunderstandings”. I turned her down for the sake of comfort. I didn’t feel right taking her bed from her, and I had been sleeping on the cushion/bed for a week already. Besides, it was kinda comfy. No, we’d work on finding me a better sleeping arrangement later. For now, I was willing to keep using my cushion.

Regardless of how comfy I thought my bedding was, I was unable to relax enough to get any decent sleep. I had given up on getting any sleep around sunrise. Instead, I just waited in the kitchen for Twilight to wake up.

Sitting at the kitchen table with my head in my hands, I stared out the window, absentmindedly watching as the ponies of Ponyville woke up and started their day.

I was first aware of Twilight’s presence when I heard the sound of hooves on the stairs. She walked into the kitchen, looking as bad as I felt. Her hair and feathers were a mess and she had dark circles under her eyes.

It looks like she got about as much sleep as I did, I observed as I watched her walk over and collapse in the chair across the table. She sighed heavily and looked at me.

“G-g-good morning,” she stammered, trying and failing to hold back a massive yawn. I lifted a hand in response, still gazing into space.

“You didn’t get much sleep either, did you?” I shook my head slightly.

“Would you like something to eat?” I nodded, then proceeded to rest my head on the table. I heard Twilight get up and start moving around the kitchen. The sound of pots and pans filled the room as Twilight worked. I kept my head on the table and closed my eyes, dozing slightly.

After about fifteen minutes, I heard the sound of something being placed on the table. Raising my head up slightly, I glance at what it was.

I shot up, my eyes widening. There, placed upon the table, was a stack of steaming hot pancakes, covered completely in maple syrup.

“I figured you might like something other than bits of apples and water,” Twilight said, already working on more pancakes, the spatula grasped in her magic. I nodded, my mouth watering as I gazed at the pancakes like they were a gift from God.

Reaching over and picking up the fork, I dug into the pancakes with gusto. I practically moaned with pleasure at the warm fluffiness. They were delicious. After eating nothing but the apples Twilight had been feeding me all week, the taste of pancakes was heavenly. Twilight giggled at my antics.

“I take it you like them?” she asked, her tired eyes twinkling slightly. I nodded, still attempting to inhale the pancakes as quickly as possible. As I continued to scarf the fluffy wonders down my gullet, Twilight sat down across from me and started on her own pancakes, albeit with more reserve than me.

Breakfast was a silent ordeal, both of us concentrating on our plates. I finished first, leaning back in my chair and patting my stomach with a happy sigh. Twilight gave me a smile as she continued eating.

“So, now that we are actually on the same page, is there anything you need to do today?” Twilight asked, her mouth full of pancake. “I’ve been doing everything I think needs to be done for you, but now that I know I can ask you...” She trailed off, taking another bite of pancake as she waited for my reply. I looked around for a piece of paper and a writing utensil, but couldn’t find one.

Standing up, I shuffled out of the kitchen and into the main room of the library. Grabbing what I needed from Twilight’s desk, I shuffled back into the kitchen just as Twilight was finishing her last few bites. Sitting back down, I scratched out my question on the paper before sliding it across the table to Twilight.

+Do you happen to have a razor?+ Her eyes widened and she choked on the food in her mouth as she inhaled sharply. Coughing and sputtering, she looked at me in horror.

“W-w-why would you n-n-need a razor?!” she shrieked, or at least tried to. It was more of a hacking wheeze, but the terror was still there. I quickly shook my head and waved my hands, trying to calm her down. Grabbing the paper, I hurriedly try and explain myself.

+I was hoping to clean up my face a little.+ Still coughing and thumping her chest with a hoof, Twilight looked up from the paper at me with confusion on her face. I reach up and pull at my scraggly beard for emphasis. Her eyes lit up in understanding. After she finally stopped her coughing fit, Twilight got up and left the room.

While she was gone, I stood up and cleared the table. Placing all the dirty dishes into the sink, I turned the water on and began to clean. I figured that I could at least help out around the house now that Twilight knew I wasn’t just some stupid animal.

I had just finished the last dish and placed it on the counter when Twilight returned, a single blade razor held in her magic. She passed it to me and I grasped it gingerly. I stared down at it, studying the thing. It was like the old straight razors that barbers used to use. I looked at Twilight and raised an eyebrow. She seemed to understand my unasked question, and she lowered her head slightly, refusing to met my eye.

“Don’t ask me why I have it, but it’s what you need, isn’t it?” I nodded once. Heading over to the table, I picked up the quill and paper. Turning to Twilight, I handed my note to her.

+May I use your bathroom?+

“But of course,” Twilight said, a smile spreading across her face. “You don’t have to ask!” Trotting out of the kitchen, she waved at me to follow her. We headed up the stairs to the second floor. Leading me to the bathroom, she opened the door with her magic and ushered me inside.

“Help yourself to anything you may need,” she said as I looked around the large bathroom. I had never seen this room before. The times that Twilight had tried to wash me had been in a small bathroom just off of the main room downstairs. If you wanted to call it a bathroom that is. There wasn’t even a toilet. Twilight had later informed me that the room was originally intended to be used to wash clothes in, but she had tried to change it into a washroom for Spike. This bathroom was by far larger and certainly more comfortable. There was a toilet in one corner, with a large sink and countertop next to it. A large shower/bathtub rested in the opposite corner. The thing was large enough for me to lay down in it comfortably.

“Towels are located under the sink, just shout if you need anything.” I froze, then looked back at her, raising an eyebrow at her choice of words. She stared up at me, confused, before she realized what she had said. Blushing, she slowly backed out of the bathroom.

“I-I mean, just… um, flag me down if you n-need anything,” she stammered. Turning around she dashed down the hallway. Chuckling to myself, I closed the door and walked to the sink. Turning on the water, I studied my face as I waited for the water to heat up.

My cheeks and chin were covered in coarse, scraggly beard that would have made a homeless man jealous. Back home, I used to shave on a daily basis to keep up with the dress code at work. However, after three weeks of being ignored, my face was now covered in thick, coarse hairs.

When the water had finally heated to a decent temperature, I held the razor underneath the stream. After all, a heated blade worked better than a cold one. Bringing the razor up to my face, I pulled my skin taut with my free hand. As the edge of the blade touched my skin, I hesitated for a second. I had never shaved this way before.

I hope I don’t Sweeney Todd myself. Taking a deep breath, I begin to shave. A steady cloud of hair fell from my face as the blade slid across my skin. I had some difficulty getting the hairs on my neck due to the collar. Twilight had insisted that I keep it on for now, as a human wandering around town without a collar, or any other means of identity the owner, could easily be picked up and shipped off to the pound. Not wanting to get separated from the one pony who I had confided my secret in, I had agreed to keep the collar. It wasn’t all that uncomfortable, actually.

I carefully scraped my cheeks and chin clean of all the offensive hairs, but stopped when I got to my upper lip.

I had been the kid that had started to get a dirt 'stache in the fifth grade. By the eighth grade, I could grow a full mustache in a matter of days. My nickname around the middle school, as well as high school, had been ‘Mustache Max’ because I was the only one who could pull it off. At work, they had called me 'Mario' due to my Italian blood, and the fact that I looked just like him in the red uniform. I had had my mustache for over nine years. The mustache had made me who I was.

I stared at my face in the mirror, my face hairless except for the mustache still adorned on my face. I know it was silly, but even after all I had been through, after everything I had seen in this new world, the sight of my mustache made me realize all I had left behind. My friends, my family, my co-workers, my life. It reminded me of everything. It represented who I was.

I stared at the mustache for a few more seconds before I brought the razor up to my lip and slowly began to clear the hairs away. As the hair fell from my face, I remember the good times, and the bad times, of my past life. As I shaved, I remembered my hopes, my dreams, my fantasies. I remembered everything that had made me who I was. And as I cleared the last patch of hair from my lip, I let it all go.

The mustache represented who I once was. Now, it was time to move on and get a fresh start on life.

I stared down into the sink filled with water and hair for several long seconds, before I snorted and proceed to empty the sink. Throwing the razor onto the countertop with a clatter, I gaze at my clean shaven face one last time before turning to the shower, an amused expression on my face.

I get sentimental about the weird shit, I thought as I turned on the water. Stripping down, I tossed the ‘clothes’ Rarity had made for me onto the toilet lid and hopped in the shower.

I emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, drying my hair with a lavender towel. My hair had been medium-length when I had first been thrown into the desert to fight for my life, but now it hung down in front of my eyes. It didn’t really bother me that much, but I should probably ask Twilight if there was some way to get it cleaned up.

I headed down the stairs and found Twilight sitting on the couch, her copy of Your Human and You open in front of her. She looked up as I approached and gave me a quick smile. I raised an eyebrow at her and motioned at the book.

“I was just thinking about how your presence here affects everything we know about humans in general,” she said, looking back down at the book. She closed the book and ran her hoof over the cover, caressing it caringly. She smiled down at it like a mother would a newborn child.

“Back before I first moved to Ponyville, I used to spend all my time studying and reading every book I could get my hooves on. I thought all my problems could be solved simply by reading a book,” she said, picking the large tome up in her hooves. “Even after I moved here and made friends, there were times that I found myself returning to the pages of my books.” She tore her gaze away from the book and looked up at me, a small smile on her face. I tilted my head to the side, confused at where she was going.

“But it would seem that you can’t solve everything just by reading about it; you’ve shown me that.” Grasping the book in her magic, she lifted it out of her hooves and into the air between us.

“It would appear,” she said, shooting me a mischievous glance, “that my book on humans is now completely useless.” With a flick of her head, she sent the massive tome flying through the air. It landed with a large thud in the trash, causing pieces of crumpled up paper to fall on the floor.

Standing up, Twilight stretched and yawned, her tongue poking out of her mouth slightly. It was really quite adorable, and I smiled at the sight.

“I have to go pick Spike up from Applejack’s. You want to come along?” She asked, picking up the two halves of what had once been the leash. A quick flash of magic and the strip of plastic was whole once more.

“I’ll make it worth your while!” she sang as she turned and waved the leash in my face. I chuckled at her silliness and nodded. I pulled my sack-shirt over my head, and Twilight clipped the leash on me before heading to the door. Reaching out a hoof and grasping the doorknob, she turned back and looked up at me.

“This is it,” she said, a large smile slowly spreading across her face. “A fresh start.” Twisting the knob, she thrust open the door and stepped out into the sunlight. The sound of birds chirping and the laughter of ponies filled the air. Clouds drifted lazily through the rich, blue sky. A warm breeze whispered gently as the grass and trees swayed back and forth. It was a perfect day.

As I stepped out into the sun, Twilight smiled up at me. A gentle tug of the leash and she was off. I followed as she called back over her shoulder, “Let’s go write our own book on humans.”

She's not serious… is she?