Alone, I drifted silently through the inky blackness of the void. My whole body ached, and I hurt in places that I didn’t even know existed until the pain enlightened me to their presence.

I tried to move my arm, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, and couldn’t speak. I only existed within the darkness, alone and in pain. I tried to call out for someone—anyone—to help me, but no sound emerged from my mouth. I was lost in the darkness, alone.

I could feel my consciousness slipping, drifting away into the void. I tried to stop it, to hold on to what I was, to who I was, but it was slipping through my grip like water. A voice in my head, quiet and friendly, told me to just let go, to drift off into the emptiness. I tried to ignore it, grasping at my memories with more and more desperation, but it was useless.

I was going... going...... going…......

“Max!”

A piercing light burned through the darkness around me, carving away at the shadows and dispelling the blackness. Instantly I felt my memories—my very soul—return to me. I had a feeling that I was no longer alone in the darkness. Slowly, the light dispersed, but the presence remained.

I was dimly aware of the sensation of something grabbing my jaw and forcing my mouth open. Seconds later, I felt an object being shoved down my throat, and immediately air flooded into my lungs. I could breathe again!

“Max!”

The light flared again, and I felt my fingers twitch. It died out for the second time, and the darkness crowded back around me. It pushed against my body on all sides, trying to smother what little of me there was left.

“Human…” The pressure vanished suddenly as the darkness fled. Light flooded the world around me, and an eerie peace fell over my broken body. Even though I was in pain, I felt content just to bask in the presence of the being before me. Slowly, it approached, almost as if it were afraid that I would disappear. Warmth spread throughout my body as it reached my side. When it spoke again, its voice sounded feminine and gentle.

“D-did...did it work?” There was a brief pause as whatever it was examined me, before it breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank Existence.” I groaned as the pain flared up. The figure bent down and appeared to nuzzle its head against my chest.

“Rest, little human,” it cooed, warmth washing over me like a gentle stream. “You are safe here.” I felt myself slowly drift back into unconsciousness.

“...ntly. Gently! We don’t want to cause any more damage than what's already been done!” Gradually, I felt myself slipping back into wakefulness. Instantly I was assaulted by a massive amount of pain, it felt more real than back in the void, and I cried out in agony. My scream was muffled by something in my mouth, heading down my throat. It felt like a plastic tube of sorts, I was dimly aware that it was supplying me with precious oxygen. At the sound of my cry, several different voices gasped.

“How can he still be alive?” I felt a breeze blow across my body as I became aware that I was resting on something soft, but firm. More voices around me spoke up, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. There was a constant sound of metal clinking on metal in the background, and the sound of hoof beats. A deep voice barked out something that sounded like an order.

I attempt to open my eyes as I felt the thing I was resting on begin to vibrate. I frowned slightly as I realized that I couldn’t open my right eye. Wincing in pain as the surface beneath me lurched slightly, I groaned around the thing invading my airway.

“Careful!” a voice near my head snapped. Ignoring my right eye for the time being, I turned my attention to my left eye and forced it open. I was only able to get it about halfway open before the pain became too much. Colors blurred together as I tried to distinguish what was going on around me. As my vision cleared slightly, I could just barely make out the sight of the night sky above me. Every now and then a tree branch would flit by in the darkness, as would an occasional armor-clad pegasus. Their armor glinted softly in the night.

As I watched them fly by, I felt myself slowly drifting back into unconsciousness. My eye closed, I groaned softly, and then I knew no more.

Pain erupted in my chest as I was jolted into consciousness. Crying out in pain, I tried to sit up and move my arms, but found that I couldn’t. My limbs were bound; my wrists were strapped tightly to whatever I was lying on. As I writhed in pain, I felt a dozen pair of hooves try and hold me steady.

“His heart is pumping again,” A muffled voice said right by my ear. “But his heart rate is still too low.” The wounds on my chest felt like they were on fire. Falling back, I crack my eye open, my gaze darting back and forth. Ponies in medical masks surrounded me, working away at my body. Some of them had horns, which were all alight with magic. The wound in my chest was also surrounded in a magical glow, and it felt like pins and needles were being stabbed into it.

“Keep your magic charged,” one of the ponies said, eyeing something just out of my view. “We can’t afford to have his heart stop again.” The pony by my head shook her pink mane out of her face and looked down into my open eye. Her large, blue eyes widened as she saw me looking back at her.

“Buck, he’s conscious!” she hissed, causing several of the others to gasp. I felt her hooves tighten slightly around my head, holding it down.

“Keep him relaxed until the sedative kicks back in,” a male voice ordered, stress clear in his voice. “I don’t think he can do much in the state he’s in, but better to be safe than sorry.”

“It’s going to be okay, hon,” the nurse cooed nervously, running a hoof through my hair as she tried to keep me calm. I groaned again as the heat in my chest increased. I leaned my head back onto the table, my vision swimming as darkness slowly crept back around me. Closing my eyes, I slipped away once more.

“His blood pressure is too low; he’s lost too much blood! Where the buck is the nurse with those blood transfusions?”

“...and I understand that princess, but we’ve done everything we can for him at the moment. The only thing left to do now is let him rest, and pray.” The annoying sound of squeaky wheels assaulted my ears as I felt myself moving along on a flat surface. I caught bits and pieces of conversation around me as I moved, but I was unable to understand anything said. I was too exhausted to care however. As I fell back into my slumber, I heard a familiar voice speak up next to me.

“Thank you, Nurse Redheart, but I’ll be staying with him regardless.”

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

I don’t know how long I had been asleep for, but the first thing I became aware of as I slowly regained consciousness was that my entire body felt like I had been run over by a steamroller, then mauled by a bear. There was no part of me that wasn’t sore, groaning softly as I tried to shift my limbs. I was stiff all over, and any attempt to relieve that was met with pain.

The second thing I became aware of was the fact that I was lying on something soft and comfortable, and I was pleasantly warm. That, in and of itself, was almost enough to make up for the fact that I hurt all over. Almost.

For several minutes I was just content to lie there in my soft, warm surroundings and listen to the gentle beep of the machine next to me. I wasn’t completely sure where I was, but the whole thing had a kind of peaceful feel to it.

A small itch on the side of my head eventually got me to move. After relieving it by rubbing my head against the pillow beneath me, I decided that it was time to figure out where I was.

Cracking open my eye, I winced as it was assaulted by bright sunlight. Blinking back tears, I waited for my eye to adjust before looking around. My right eye was covered with something, so I only had the use of my left eye.

From what little I could see without the ability to move my head, I was in a bed inside of what appeared to be a hospital room. The walls and ceiling were painted different shades of green, and the window in one of the walls kept up the theme, having green curtains hanging from it. A second, empty bed sat next to mine, looking like someone had been sleeping in it.

Glancing down, I saw that my left arm was completely covered in bandages and was currently hooked up to what looked like a bag of blood. My right arm was in a similar situation, but with an IV needle jabbed into my flesh. In fact, most of the different parts of my body that I could see were covered in some form of bandage. Straining my neck, I saw that I was also hooked up to a heartbeat monitor.

Laying my head back down with a low groan, I rolled my eye in the direction of the window. Outside, the sun was just setting, casting the world in a red hue, and causing the clouds to look like they were on fire. As the sun gradually sank lower beneath the horizon, I just laid there and enjoyed the simple act of observing the beauty of the sunset out of the corner of my eye.

I was brought back to reality by the sound of the door handle turning. Rolling my eye around, I watched as the door opened slowly and Twilight walked in carrying a tray of food in her magic. Closing the door with her back hoof, she walked slowly over to the empty bed next to mine. Her brow was furrowed, and she was staring at the floor, a small frown on her face as she chewed on her bottom lip.

Reaching the bed, she finally glanced up, her frown deepening as she looked at me. Her eyes slowly roamed over my body, working their way towards my face. She froze and the tray clattered noisily to the ground as she saw me staring back at her.

“M-Max…?” she whispered, taking a tentative step towards me. Unable to move to respond, I just blinked at her slowly. “Oh, thank Celestia!” Instantly she was across the room, her hooves wrapped around my neck. I snarled in pain as my body screamed at the sudden pressure. She released me quickly and leapt back, apologizing profusely.

“Sorry, sorry!” Approaching my bed again, she gingerly ran her hoof over the covers, smoothing them out as she looked at me, tears in her eyes. Casting a quick glance at the mess she had made with the tray, she lit up her horn. All the food returned to the tray and she placed it gently at the foot of the empty bed.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, returning her gaze to me and giving me a small smile. I responded with a low, long groan. She giggled slightly at this, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I would expect so, given the state your body was in when we f-found you.” I gave her a questioning look, hoping she understood.

“When the ponies who took you removed your collar, I was immediately alerted and Sunny and I began to look for you,” Twilight said softly, still running her hoof over the sheets. “With help from my guards, we arrived just in time to blast that massive human off of you.” Another questioning look, and she cocked her head to the side.

“How did we find you?” she asked, looking into my eye. Gritting my teeth, I shook my head once, barely moving. “Where’s Sunny?” At that, I nodded once, still gritting my teeth in pain. “She’s back at the library with Spike. I can send for her right now if you would like.” Shaking my head once more, I dropped my head back, groaning in pain. The simple act of moving my head left me with no energy.

Breathing heavily, I just stared up at the ceiling. Beside me, I could feel Twilight’s hoof stroking the bedspread continuously. Finally mustering up enough energy, I glanced back down at her. She was just sitting there, running her hoof absentmindedly over the covers as she stared off into the distance. Tears slowly slid down her cheeks, dampening her fur. As her hoof neared my hand again, I reached out and grasped it weakly with my fingers. She flinched and blinked once, then glanced down at my hand.

“S-sorry,” she murmured, ears splayed backwards. “It’s just...it’s just…” More tears streamed down her face as her breath hitched in her chest. “I thought I lost you.” Leaning down, she nuzzled my hand with her cheek, closing her eyes as she cried silently. “They had to revive you twice, and even then they weren’t sure if you were going to make it.” I twitched my fingers, trying my best to stroke her cheek with the tips. It wasn’t much, but she seemed to get the message because after several minutes she sat back up and smiled weakly at me, wiping the tears from her face.

“T-thanks,” I blinked once, before glancing over at the table beside me. Twilight followed my gaze. Her eyes widened and her face lit up when she saw what I was looking at. Lifting up the cup of water in her magic, she floated it over to me. She gently opened my jaw and stuck the end of the straw in my mouth. I sucked greedily on the cool, refreshing liquid, shivering slightly as it raced down my parched, cracked throat. Draining the glass quickly, I closed my eyes and sighed happily. This caused Twilight to giggle.

“You should get some more sleep,” she said, placing the cup back on the table. “The doctor said the best possible thing for you right now is rest.” Leaning over, she gently nuzzled my head before retreating to the opposite bed. Her horn lit up and a book slowly floated into view. “I’ll be here when you wake up again, I promise.” A smile touched my face, then I closed my eyes, and happily drifted back into oblivion.

I fell to the ground as the entire castle shook from the force of the shout. The faceless statues around me tumbled as well, breaking apart as they crashed to the floor. The horse whinnied in fear, her wings spread wide as her head whipped back and forth. I tried desperately to regain my footing, but the floor was shaking too much and I was flung back down.

With a loud crack, the floor opened up beneath us, the stone crumbling away. My companion took to the air, her wings beating feverishly. I was not so lucky, and with a shout of terror, I plunged into the darkness beneath.

I fell for several seconds before I hit the ground. Landing, my legs crumbled beneath me and I rolled, narrowing avoiding a chunk of rock. As debris fell around me, I rose to my feet. Thankfully, the shaking had stopped. Glancing around, I saw that I had dropped into a large, circular room. Light streamed down from the new hole in the ceiling, dust and other fine particles hanging in the air. The light filled the center of the room, casting the edges of it in shadow. Through the dust, I could see something sitting in the middle of the ring of light.

Coughing, I made my way towards the object, digging slowly through the bits of ceiling, pillars and human statues. As I neared the light, I saw that the thing was actually a large, stone pedestal. A short pillar rested on it, a stone orb sitting on top. Six smaller orbs branched out from the pillar, each with a different symbol etched into it. Moss and vines grew over the entire thing, a testament to how long it had stood there.

Standing beside the weird structure, I stared up at it in awe. I had just reached out a hand to touch the dust covered surface when a deep growl echoed around the room. I spun around quickly, eyes widening in horror. Behind me, glowing red eyes glaring at me from the shadows, was the Darkness. It was huge, nearly fifty feet high. Its head brushed the remains of the ceiling as it towered above me.

“I see you,” it growled, the room shaking slightly. Heart pounding in my chest, I slowly backed up. Eyes darting around the room, I looked for an escape route, but the room had no doors or windows. The only way in or out was through the hole in the ceiling. As my companion was nowhere to be seen, I was on my own. I was trapped with the Darkness. The ground shuddered as I heard it take a step towards me. Quickly, I snapped my head around, eyes locking onto the beast.

As it slowly stepped towards me and emerged from the shadows, I felt my jaw drop. It was like no creature I had ever seen before. It looked like someone had taken several spare parts from different animals and combined them into one creature. The thing had the head of a horse, with a deer antler and goat horn atop its head. Its right foreleg was that of a lion, ending in a massive paw. The left one was that of a bird of prey, it’s long, sharp claws scratching at the dusty stone as it advanced. Two massive wings extended from its back, the left one covered in blue feathers, while the right one was bare and leathery, like a bat’s wing. Its long, snake like body was covered in brown fur, and ended with a scaly dragon tail. As I took in its appearance with a shocked gaze, it glowered down at me, its red eyes burning into my soul.

“There’s nowhere left to run,” it hissed, baring its teeth. Its mouth was filled with long, pointed teeth that glinted in the dim light. A long, forked tongue slithered from in between its teeth as it spoke. It drew nearer, but I was unable to run away. My feet felt like they were glued to the floor, and my legs were like stone.

“If you will not help them,” it roared, stopping just in front of me. I had to crane my head back just to look into its smoldering gaze. “Then you have no more purpose here!” With that, it raised its massive lion paw high into the air. Long, black claws emerged from the paw. With a roar, its paw descended upon me. Screaming for all I was worth, I raised my arms as I tried to stop the inevitable end. Closing my eyes, I turned my head and waited for the impact.

“ENOUGH!!” boomed a second voice, echoing around the room and causing the castle to shake again. A gale force wind ripped through the room, tearing the very stones from the walls and floor. “AT LONG LAST, WE HAVE FOUND THEE!!!”

I awoke with a start, my eye snapping open. My breaths came in short, ragged gasps and I was dimly aware that the heartbeat monitor was going haywire. My heart felt like it was attempting to break free of my ribs and make a run for it. My eye spun in its socket, trying to take in as much of my surroundings as quickly as possible. All my senses were on high alert as some old fight-or-flight instinct kicked in.

The entire room was shrouded in the darkness of night; the curtains drawn to block out the bright moonlight on the other side. Twilight was asleep in an armchair in the corner of the room, soft snores coming from her slightly open mouth. I could just make out a sleeping form in the bed next to mine, a blue wing indicating that it was Sunny. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the room that I could see.

“T-that’s impossible,” a voice breathed by my right ear. My heart rate skyrocket and I twisted my head around. Standing beside me, staring down at me with large, shocked eyes, was a dark pony. She had a large, spiraled horn on her head. Her mane was a mixture of several different shades of blue and seemed to flow in a nonexistent breeze, small stars twinkling in its depths. She had a large pair of wings folded across her sides. Fear welled up from deep within me. I had met three of the alicorn princesses already, and there was no doubt in my mind that I was now looking at the fourth one.

Standing beside my hospital bed, looking down at me with a gaze that held such intensity, was Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria and one of the two ponies that I did not want anywhere near me right now.

As we stared at each other, her teal eyes drilling into my brown ones, Twilight stirred, awoken by the sound of my heartbeat monitor going crazy. Sitting up, she blinked the sleep from her eyes as she quickly turned her attention to me. Her concerned gaze changed to one of panic as she saw the pony standing beside me.

“L-Luna?” she stuttered, jumping off of the armchair and stumbling slightly. “What are you doing here?” Luna didn’t seem to hear her, or was just ignoring her, as she stared down at me.

“Twilight Sparkle, what is this?” she asked, turning towards Twilight but not taking her eyes off of me. Twilight paused, eyes darting between the two of us, a confused expression on her face.

“H-he’s a human.” Luna’s eyes narrowed at this, and she snorted in irritation.

“Impossible,” she huffed, glowering down at me. “He is no human.”

What?

“What?” Twilight asked, ears splayed backwards. “W-what makes you say that?” Silence fell across the room as Luna continued to stare down at me, broken only by the beep of the heartbeat monitor next to me. My heart rate was slowly dropping, but it was still pretty high. I was surprised that the doctors hadn’t shown up yet. In the bed beside us, Sunny snored softly, oblivious to what was happening near her.

“We have been tracking down a string of nightmares that has been troubling Equestria for the past several months,” Luna eventually said, her gaze finally leaving mine. Looking over at Twilight, a small frown crossed her face. “Normally it is an easy thing to fix. Find the nightmare, enter the pony’s dream, and help them face their fears. Once taken care of, the nightmare disperses and peace returns to the Dreamworld.

“However, these particular nightmares have been troublesome,” Luna continued, beginning to pace back and forth along the length of my bed. “Something was preventing us from getting to their source, and by the time we fought through the barrier, the individual had already awoken. It has been troubling us nonstop for several months. That is, until tonight.” A small smile touched Luna’s lips at this. “Tonight, we successfully tracked the nightmare. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that the cause of all our frustration was this...creature.” Returning to her original position, Luna looked down at me with an intense, annoyed gaze.

“Humans don’t dream, Twilight Sparkle,” she said, her voice icy. “In all the years we have been alive, we have not encountered one dream from a human within the Dreamworld. So I will ask once more and once more only: what is he?” Twilight and I both seemed to sag at the same time. Closing my eye, I sighed heavily. The game’s finally up. When I opened it again, I looked over at Twilight and gave her a small nod. Her ears were splayed back as she returned the nod. Turning to look at Luna, she took a deep breath, then began.

“His name is Max, and he is indeed a human, Luna,” she said, holding up a hoof when Luna made to interrupt her. “I know you said he couldn’t be one, but he is, I swear. Although he is different than most other humans. You see, he’s actually intelligent.” Luna’s eyes narrowed, but her expression softened slightly.

“What do you mean, intelligent?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

“He understands what we are saying, and can respond in kind.” At this, Luna inhaled sharply, her wings snapping to attention.

“Impossible!” she hissed, “No human in history has ever been recorded having that ability!"

“Max, raise your right hand,” Twilight said, not taking her eyes off of Luna. Slowly, and with great difficulty, my right arm rose into the air. “Now hold up three fingers.” Grunting in pain, I did as she requested, holding up three fingers. “Now, lower two fingers.” I shot both of them the bird, smirking slightly. Throughout all of this, Luna’s eyes grew bigger and bigger, her mouth opening in shock.

“T-that’s not possible,” she breathed, staring down at me in awe. I shot her a wide, tooth-filled smile, and she backed away immediately.

“This is Max, Luna,” Twilight said, placing a hoof on my bed. “He is a human, who can smile, swim, think, and reason for himself.”

“Where did you find him?” Luna asked, taking a tentative step towards me. She no longer looked angry, just wary. She studied me with a curious gaze.

“Princess Celestia sent him to me several months ago,” Twilight said, keeping her hoof on the bed.

“This is the human that Tia talked about?” Luna asked, running her gaze over me, a slight frown on her face. “What happened to him?”

“He was taken by a gang of ponies and forced to fight other humans in a giant pit,” Twilight said, her voice cracking slightly as she lowered her gaze. “We just barely managed to get him out in time.” Struggling against my own weariness, I stretched my arm down and grasped at Twilight’s hoof again.

“You have our sympathy, human,” Luna said, looking me in the eye. At this, Twilight perked up.

“Does that mean you believe us?” she asked, a hopeful look in her eyes. A shake of Luna’s head caused it to fade.

“Not just yet, Twilight Sparkle,” she said, a thoughtful look on her face. “Although, you have given us a great deal to think about. We shall return to Canterlot to process it all.” Slowly turning around, Luna shot me one more glance before heading towards the door. “Rest assured though, you shall receive no trouble from us.”

“Thank you, Luna,” Twilight said, smiling at the lunar princess. Reaching the door, Luna opened it silently. Just before she slipped out, however, she looked back over her shoulder at us.

“Don’t thank us yet, Twilight Sparkle,” she said, the smile absent on her face. “Unfortunately, we must tell Tia of this interesting development.” With that, she was gone, and the door closed with a soft 'click'. Both Twilight and I stared at the door for several minutes, neither of us moving. Sunny snored softly from the other bed, still in a deep sleep. Eventually, Twilight turned to look at me.

“I think,” she said, chewing on her bottom lip as she looked at me nervously, “it’s time to tell the others the truth.” I stared at her blankly for several seconds, just looking into her eyes. The little voice in my head was screaming at me not to do it.

Then I blinked, and nodded my head once.

Over the next couple of days, my condition improved immensely. The doctors and nurses took good care of me, changing my bandages on a regular basis and making sure that I had painkillers. I was confused at first as to why I was in a hospital since I was a human. Don’t get me wrong; I was extremely grateful for the medical attention, but back home you would never see a horse being treated at the hospital.

Twilight had explained that, even though ponies took their humans to the vet when they were sick, any serious injury was dealt with at the hospital. It had something to do with ponies and humans having similar anatomies, and doctors being trained to take care of both. And they did take care of me.

After three days of care and the use of several spells and potions, most of my minor injuries had all but disappeared. I still had multiple bandages wrapped around my right leg, left arm, both hands, chest and face, but I wasn’t complaining. At least I didn’t look like a mummy anymore. It was on this third day that Twilight finally left my side. She had kept her promise and stuck by me through my recovery, providing whatever help was necessary, but we had finally decided that it was time for her friends to know the truth.

When the nurse had entered to change my bandages on the third day, Twilight had gotten up and left, telling the nurse (and me) that she was going to get her friends. The nurse nodded, then returned to checking my wounds. She had finished changing my bandages and left, closing the door behind her. As I waited for Twilight to return, I closed my eyes and pushed my head further into the pillow, trying to calm my nerves. I didn’t want to do this, but now that Luna knew the truth, we could no longer keep it secret. I'm blowing this whole thing way out of proportion. Everything will be fine.

As I lay there with my thoughts, the door swung opened and Twilight walked in, her friends close behind her. I rose to a sitting position, wincing as my limbs protested. I might be healing, but I was still sore. Twilight immediately rushed over and helped me into a seated position.

“Easy now, Nurse Redheart said to not strain yourself,” she whispered. I grunted once before scooting back and resting against the headboard. Her friends just stared at me, mouths agape slightly. I must have looked like quite the sight, covered in bandages and cuts. Fluttershy looked to be close to tears.

“Shoot, sugarcube. Ah knew ya said it was bad, but not that bad,” Applejack said in a hushed tone. “What happened tah the poor fella?”

“Does this have anything to do with the rumors going around about some sort of human fighting ring?” Rainbow asked, cocking her head as she looked at me.

“They weren’t rumors, Dash,” Twilight sighed, placing her saddlebags on the bed with me. “And that is exactly what happened.” As Twilight told the girls what had happened, I grabbed Twilight’s bags and popped them open. Rooting around inside of them, I searched for what I had requested Twilight to bring with her. As Twilight finished the tale, there was an audible gasp from the group before I was immediately set upon by a yellow blur.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Fluttershy sobbed, clinging to my chest. I grunted in pain. Despite the doctor’s best attempts, my ribs were still broken and tender. They were healing fine, but any pressure caused pain.

“This is all really sad,” Rarity said, refusing to look directly at me. “But why did you need us to come and visit it today?” If it weren’t for the fact that I was currently distracted with trying to pry Fluttershy off of me, I would have rolled my eyes.

“Well, recent events have brought certain things to light, and I think it’s time that you girls know the truth,” Twilight said, shuffling her hooves as she stared at the ground. I managed to free myself from Fluttershy and she returned to stand with the rest of the group. I returned to rooting around Twilight’s bags. “You see, the truth is, even before the events of the past couple of days, Max doesn’t act like a normal human…” Twilight trailed off, trying to think of the best way to continue. I silently cheered as I found what I was looking for. In the resulting silence, Applejack snorted before rolling her eyes and smiling.

“Don’t tell me he’s misbehavin’ again,” she said, tipping her hat back on her head. “Ah still stand by what Ah said before sugarcube: if ya don’t want him tah cause trouble, ya gotta get ‘em neutered, although it would be a waste of good breedin’ material,” she added in an undertone. Twilight sputtered at this, face turning red.

Ignoring the flustered mare, I grabbed the pad of paper and uncapped the marker I had taken from Twilight’s bags. Quickly writing out a message, I cleared my throat to get everyone’s attention and held up the pad.

+Please don’t cut off my balls; I’m rather attached to them+ A hush fell over the room as everyone looked at me in shock, including Twilight. I just stared back at them blankly, waiting for a response. I said that I would tell them the truth. I never said I would be tactful about it. Eventually, Applejack leaned over to Twilight.

“Twilight?” she asked, not taking her eyes off of me. Twilight facehoofed, dragging her hoof down her face. Turning to the rest of the girls, she put on a strained smile.

“Girls, the truth is, Max is unlike any other human in the fact that he is completely and utterly intelligent,” she said, waving a hoof in my direction. To illustrate her point, I smiled. Everyone’s eyes widened and their jaws dropped to the floor, causing me to chuckle as well. Soon, Twilight joined in the laughter as her friends continued to stare. The first pony to move was Pinkie Pie.

“Does this mean that I get to throw you a ‘Hurrah-For-Being-Intelligent’ party?!” she gasped, leaping into the air. I blinked at her in surprise before my smile grew wider.

+Depends. Will there be food?+

“Of course there will be food, silly!” Pinkie said, rolling her eyes and waving a hoof at me. “It wouldn’t be a party without snacks!”

+Okay, but you’ll have to talk to Twilight about who can come+

“Oh, so it’s going to be a private party? Well, in that case I better do all the baking by myself. What’s your favorite type of cupcake?” The others watched in awe as Pinkie and I bantered back and forth. Fluttershy and Applejack just looked shocked, Rarity looked horrified, but a smile was slowly spreading across Rainbow Dash’s face.

“This. Is. Totally. AWESOME!” she cheered, leaping into the air. She immediately zoomed over and started hovering around me. “So, can you really understand me right now?” she asked, her face lighting up. I nodded once and she squealed happily. “That is so cool!” I rolled my eyes and bopped her in the nose with a bandage-covered hand.

“Twilight, how long has this been goin’ on?” Applejack asked, eying me suspiciously.

“Ever since the first week I had him,” Twilight said, not meeting Applejack’s eye.

“WHAT?!” Pinkie cried, wheeling around and latching onto Twilight’s face with her hooves. “He’s been able to understand us this whole time and you never told me?! Think of all the parties he’s missed!!” She shivered slightly, as if there very thought frightened her.

“Yeah Twi,” Rainbow agreed, flying over to join Pinkie. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner? Think of all the great pranks I could have been pulling with him!”

“I didn’t tell you girls because we wanted to keep it as quiet as possible,” Twilight said hanging her head. “And also because Max isn’t that trusting of too many ponies.”

“What? Why wouldn’t you trust us?” Pinkie asked, looking at me and tilting her head to the side in a comical manner.

“Let’s just say he didn’t have the best time before he came into my care. You remember what he looked like when he first arrived, right?” Twilight said, turning to Fluttershy. The timid pegasus nodded distractedly, staring at me with an odd expression on her face. “Well, that’s kind of the reason why he didn’t want ponies to know he was as intelligent as they were.”

“So what changed?” Applejack asked, still looking at me. I was trying to keep a straight face, but it wasn’t helping that Rainbow was behind her, pulling funny faces. Pinkie Pie sat on the bed beside me, giggling at the display. I was surprised that she had accepted everything so quickly, but then again...it was Pinkie.

“Recent events have led to the fact that we can’t keep this secret for much longer. Both of us agreed that it was time for you girls to know. Just, don’t tell anypony just yet,” Twilight said.

“Don’t worry, egghead. Your secret’s safe with us,” Rainbow said, swooping over and crashing onto the bed with me and Pinkie. I winced slightly as the movement from her landing caused my leg to shift. For the most part, they were taking this pretty well, especially Rainbow and Pinkie. I had yet to hear a word from Fluttershy or Rarity though.

“That still doesn’t explain why he’s intelligent though,” Applejack said, rubbing her chin with her hoof.

“You girls remember that time we got transported to the world where everypony’s gender was swapped?” Twilight asked. Her question was met by a general murmur of acknowledgment. “Similar situation,” she said, waving a hoof at me. “Max comes from a world where humans are intelligent, and he somehow got teleported to Equestria.”

“Wait, so he’s like, an alien?” Rainbow asked, sitting up and perking her ears. At Twilight’s nod, she pumped her hoof in the air. “Aw man, this just keeps getting better and better! I’m in bed with an intelligent alien human!” Pinkie and I burst out laughing at this, causing Rainbow to look at us in confusion. Her face turned red and her wings stiffened as she realized what she said. “I-I didn’t mean it like that,” she huffed crossing her forelegs and pouting slightly.

“Ah tried tah have ya breed him,” Applejack said, staring at me with a glazed expression. “Ah tried tah use him as a stud for mah humans…”

“Um, excuse me,” Fluttershy said, her voice barely above a whisper. “But if he is intelligent, can he talk? I mean,” she hid behind her mane as her voice lowered, “if he can understand us, why can’t he talk?”

"Wait, aren't you supposed to be, like, able to understand animals?" said Rainbow from her position on the bed. "So why can't you just use the same thing on him?" she asked, jabbing a hoof in my direction.

"I can understand animals," Fluttershy said, sinking farther into her mane. "But I can't talk to humans at all; none of them seem to understand me, sorry."

“We don’t know why he can't talk,” Twilight admitted, shuffling her hooves slightly. “He says that he was able to talk just fine before coming here, but ever since he was teleported to Equestria, he hasn’t been able to talk at all.”

“Oh no, is he injured?’ Fluttershy asked, perking up instantly. A look of concern flashed across her face as she looked between me and Twilight.

“That’s just it though,” Twilight said. “His vocal cords aren’t damaged, and I can't detect any magic at work, so I don’t know what’s preventing him from talking. He doesn’t seem bothered by it though.” I shrugged my shoulders at her inquisitive glance. Being mute had bothered me in the beginning, but after several months of not talking, I had gotten used to it.

“So, what do you say girls? Will you keep this just between us?” Twilight asked, shooting everyone a sheepish smile. Applejack seemed to snap out of her daze. Shaking her head, she shot me another glance before turning to Twilight.

“Shoot, sugarcube,” Applejack said, throwing a hoof over Twilight’s shoulder. “You can count on us!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow agreed, throwing her hoof over my shoulder as well. I winced again. “You can totally count on us!”

“YAY! GROUP HUG!” Pinkie cheered, wrapping her hooves around me in a hug, causing me to yelp in pain. Before I could protest, Rainbow and Fluttershy had also wrapped their hooves around me. Twilight and Applejack joined in a few seconds later. The only one left out was Rarity, who just stood in the corner, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Come on, Rares,” Applejack said, turning to look at the pristine mare. “He ain’t gonna bite ya!”

“I’d rather not darling, if it’s all the same to you,” she said, looking over at me nervously. The others joined in trying to convince her to join, but she continued to decline. Turning to Twilight, I managed to free both my hands from the mass of ponies.

~If the pretty unicorn doesn’t want to go near me, that’s perfectly fine~ Twilight blushed slightly, her mouth opening and closing.

“What did he say?” Pinkie asked, still clinging to me like her life depended upon it. Twilight’s blushed deepened as she looked away.

“He said ‘if the pretty unicorn doesn’t want to go near me, that’s perfectly fine’,” she mumbled. I tried to facepalm, but my arm was currently stuck back underneath a pony. You didn’t have to repeat it word for word, Sparkle, I grumbled slightly. Rarity shifted uncomfortably at this.

“I’m sorry dear. I do believe that you could be a fine...ah, human, but I just can’t right now,” she said, before her voice lowered slightly and her ears drooped. “Not after what happened with Sweetie Belle.” They dropped the subject after that.

The rest of their visit was spent answering a variety of different questions, some ranging from what my favorite food was, to what my old world was like. Rarity had perked up slightly when she learned that humans on my world wore clothes all the time, and even had different types of fashion. There was an odd glint in her eyes, but she looked away from me when I glanced over. My favorite question, by far, was when Fluttershy snuck up to me and asked me in a whisper if Twilight was taking good care of me and making sure I was fed well. I had laughed and given the cute thing a hug, which promptly caused her to blush.

Eventually they all had to leave, as the visiting hours were over with. With each promising to keep quiet about my intelligence again, they slipped out with waves and calls goodbye, leaving me and Twilight alone with our thoughts. Sunny returned around nightfall, having been looking after the library for Twilight during the day. Snuggled up on the other bed, she had promptly fallen asleep, her mouth hanging open slightly. The sight caused a small smile to touch my lips. Twilight rested at the foot of my bed, careful not to put any pressure on my injured foot. Her eyelids were drooping and she had a content smile on her face. As I sat there, trying to fight off sleep, I remembered what Rarity had said earlier.

~What was Rarity talking about earlier?~ I asked as I nudged Twilight with my good foot. ~What happened to Sweetie Belle?~ Lifting her head, Twilight blinked owlishly at me, yawning loudly.

“During one of the Crusader’s attempts to get their cutie marks, she was attacked by an infected human,” Twilight said, fighting back another yawn. She could barely keep her eyes open, and I felt like she was already half asleep. “She survived the attack, but it left her with a few scars. That’s probably why Rarity doesn’t like you, or humans in general. Don’t take it as too much of an insult.” Lowering her head again, she closed her eyes and snuggled deeper into the bedspread.

I watched as she quickly drifted off to sleep. Leaning over, I winced as I reached for the light. Turning off the lamp, I laid my head back and stared at the ceiling, a multitude of thoughts running rampant through my head. I felt as if Twilight’s friends had been a little too accepting of my intelligence. It had taken both Sunny and Twilight several days to come to terms with the fact, but here they were, talking to me like it was normal within minutes. And they forgave Twilight for not telling them right away? Call me paranoid, but something seemed off. Or was I putting too much thought into it? Were they such good friends that they could simply forgive and forget?

Frowning slightly, I reached up and ran my fingers over my bandaged eye. Whatever the case might be, they now knew the truth of the matter. Now all that was left to do is sit back, and hope for the best.