3:30am. That’s what the clock across the room currently read.

I wasn’t sure how long I had been asleep, or at what time we had retired last night, but it was still nighttime when I awoke. Faint moonlight was shining through the window, the starry sky poking through several holes in the cloud cover. It was snowing gently, with large flakes floating lazily through the air.

The fire had died down during my slumber, the flames reduced to glowing embers warming the hearth. Outside our door, just faintly, I could hear the sound of a patrolling guard walking past, his hoofsteps muffled by the carpeting.

Eeyup, it was early in the morning, and I was just lying there, staring up at the canopy of the bed. I currently had to go to the bathroom, but there was only one thing stopping me: the other occupant of the bed.

During the night, Twilight had somehow managed to snuggle up next to me, a foreleg and wing currently draped possessively over my stomach. Her head was resting atop my chest, a small smile on her muzzle. Every so often her wing would twitch, the feathers brushing against my skin gently.

I’ll admit that she was adorable, and I didn’t want to disturb her, but my bladder was currently demanding release, and the last thing I wanted was to have an accident in bed.

Moving slowly as to not wake her, I slowly worked myself out from beneath Twilight’s wing. The wing flexed once before folding back against her side. She grunted once, her brow furrowing slightly, before her face returned to its relaxed state.

I moved to the edge of the bed and stood up, my back cracking as I stretched. Running a hand through my hair, I shuffled barefoot across the chilly floor towards the bathroom.

Pushing the door open, I blinked once before having to squint as the magic candles inside immediately ignited, illuminating the room. I gave one of the candles a bemused look before licking my fingers and extinguishing it. After a few seconds it relit itself, the flame flickering merrily upon the wick. Sighing heavily, I shook my head before returning my attention to the matter at hand.

Shutting the door behind me, I shuffled over the toilet and proceeded to take care of my painfully full bladder.

After I finished, I made my way to the sink and washed my hands. Glancing up at the mirror, I looked at my tired reflection. My hair was starting to get a bit on the long side again, and my beard could probably do with a trim. My eyes had dark bags under them, and I felt exhausted. Twilight had said that this was another side effect of the potion, and should pass with time.

“Your body uses a lot of energy in order to change into a different species,” she had said as she had forcibly levitated me into the bed. “It’s normal to be a little hungry and tired afterwards. You did it twice, so the effects will probably be doubled.” She had insisted that I sleep in, and she would talk to the kitchen staff about preparing a large brunch after I woke up.

I wasn’t exactly hungry at the moment, though. I just felt like I had pulled several all-nighters in a row.

Turning off the water, I ran my wet hands over my face and through my hair. This just made my bedhead worse, but I didn’t really care. The cold water drew a happy murmur from my lips. I shivered as some of the water droplets ran down my back.

Pushing off of the sink, I stretched, groaning happily as my back cracked again. Lifting my arms into the air, I twisted my neck back and forth. This earned me some more pops and cracks from my joints.

At the height of the stretch, with my hand nearly touching the ceiling, I clenched my fists several times before—unable to resist the urge—I snapped my fingers. Instantly the yellow flames of the candles changed to a bright red.

I paused bring my arms down and glanced around at the changed candles in confusion. Slowly, I lifted up a hand and tentatively snapped. The red flames changed to a cool blue.

I glanced back and forth between my fingers and the candles before a smile slowly spread across my face. I began to snap my fingers continuously, the flames changing color with each snap.

snap

Lime green.

snap

Deep pink.

snap

Teal.

This continued for several minutes; I just snapped my fingers with childish glee as the candle flames cycled through every color possible. When I eventually stopped, the flames were a dark violet color.

As I looked around at the candles, I laughed softly to myself. I didn’t know they could do that.

I cast one last glance around the bathroom before opening the door and exiting, the flames extinguishing themselves as I left. As I shuffled back into the bedroom, my gaze drifted from the bed to the couch. I paused, half-entertaining the idea of going through with my original plan and sleeping on the couch, but upon glancing back at the sleeping form of Twilight, I relented. Her hooves were laid out in front of her across the bed and ever so often they would shift across the sheets, almost as if she was looking for something.

I watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest for several moments before quietly making my way back towards the bed. Lifting up the covers, I slipped back underneath. Twilight’s hooves instantly latched onto my arm, pulling it to her chest with a happy hum. Her wing flexed before unfolding, draping itself across my chest. She sighed happily, nuzzling my arm, before falling still again.

A smile touched my lips as I watched her, and after adjusting myself into a more comfortable position, I closed my eyes and slowly drifted back off to sleep.

“Two threes.”

~One four~

“Two fives.”

“One six—”

“Liar!”

Avera grumbled as she was forced to pick up the entire pile of cards. Quickly sorting it into her hand, she fished around for a couple of cards before throwing them down. “Three sevens.”

“Two eights,” Ebony said, smirking at Avera as she threw down the cards.

~One nine~

“One ten.”

“One Cadance.”

“Two Lunas.”

~One Celestia~

“One Harmony—”

“Liar,” Avera said nonchalantly, still organizing her cards. Primrose gave her an annoyed look before picking up the stack.

“Two twos.”

“Two threes.”

~One four~

“Two fives.”

“One six.”

“Two sevens”

~Two eights~ The guards stared down at the two cards I had just thrown on top of the discard pile, a look of trepidation upon their faces.

“Those were his last cards?” Ebony asked, giving Avera a nervous look. She nodded slowly, staring down at the cards as if they might explode. Primrose licked her lips, her ears splaying backwards.

Swallowing thickly, Ebony glanced up at me and said tentatively, almost asking, “...liar?”

I threw my arms into the air, a triumphant smile on my face.

“Motherbucker!” Avera cried angrily, throwing her cards into the air. Ebony’s ears splayed backwards and Primrose slammed her head onto the table.

“I don’t believe it,” she grumbled, her voice muffled by the wood, as I collected the pile of bits we were betting over. “I keep losing my money to a human!”

“How do you even have bits to bet?” Ebony asked, waving a hoof at me as I deposited the money into a bag. “You don’t even have a job!” I just smirked at her before collecting all the scattered cards and began shuffling them.

We were currently in the mess hall of the palace, sitting at the far end of one of the dozen or so tables located there. We had retreated here, mostly in my best interest, in order to get away from the others. All of them—especially Fluttershy—had spent most of the day asking me if I was okay. While it was nice at first, it got rather annoying quickly. So when Shining and Cadance had left to go see Nightlight and Velvet and give them the news of their grandfoals, my guards and I slipped out a side door.

We weren’t the only ones in the mess hall either. It was nearing the evening time, so a mixture of Solar and Lunar guards occupied the room as well. The soft murmur of voices filled the air as they ate and socialized.

The Solar guards all looked disheveled, many of them half out of their uniforms already. Messed up manes and tired eyes indicated a long day’s work, most of them looking like they were looking forward to heading to bed and falling asleep.

On the opposite end of the spectrum were the Lunar guards, who looked awake and alert, their dark lavender armor polished to a high sheen. Some had cups of coffee in their hooves, while others had steaming plates of food.

My guards and I received odd looks from some of the nearby guards, but for the most part we were left alone. Occasionally one of the guards would nudge a nearby neighbor, whispering to them as they motioned towards our little group, or more specifically, me. I ignored them, however, and focused on winning more money from my guards.

Grabbing a handful of chips from the bowl beside me, I popped them into my mouth before beginning to deal out the cards.

“I swear I’m going to regret this,” Primrose muttered, reaching into her pouch and pulling out more bits. Ebony nodded in agreement as she did the same.

I had just finished passing out the last of the cards when the door to the mess hall flew open with a loud bang, causing most of the guards—myself included—to jump. Twilight strolled in quickly, ignoring the guards and making a beeline straight for me. She had a package held in her magic, and she was walking with a slight skip in her step.

“Hello,” she chirped as she reached us. Tossing the package to me, she added, “Here, put this on!”

I grunted as the package thumped against my chest. Holding it up in my hands, I glanced at it before giving Twilight a bemused look.

“Oh, yeah, duh!” she said, rolling her eyes before tapping herself on the back of the head. “Your silly nudity taboo.”

I raised my eyebrows at that. Nudity taboo?

My thoughts were interrupted as Twilight’s horn lit up. There was a blinding flash of light followed by the feeling of weightlessness. I felt my stomach rising into my throat for a brief moment before gravity returned and I fell backwards with a yelp. However, instead of landing on the hard floor of the mess hall, I landed on something soft.

Blinking stars from my eyes, I pushed myself up and glanced around. I huffed loudly as I realized that Twilight had just teleported us back to our room. She was watching me with an eager expression, her tail flicking back and forth. Ebony looked indifferent to the teleportation, while Avera had a dazed look on her face and was swaying back and forth slightly.

Primrose was on the ground, rolling back and forth with her hooves over her eyes.

“Gah, bloody buckin’ heart bleed!” she cried as her wings beat uselessly against the floor. “That bucking stings, you mother bucker!” Lowering her hooves, she blinked her watering eyes. Her pupils were contracted, barely visible to the point that they almost disappeared into the iris.

“Warn me before you do something like that,” she growled. “Now I can’t see!”

“Sorry,” Twilight said, giving her a sheepish smile, which was lost on the temporarily blinded pony. Turning back to me, she motioned towards the package now sitting in my lap. “Going to put it on?”

I glanced down at the package before looking back up at Twilight, an eyebrow cocked.

“Go on,” she said, motioning with a hoof. “Open it up and put it on!”

Demanding, much? I thought, picking up the package anyways. Ripping apart the brown paper and twine, I paused as I eyed the black piece of clothing concealed within. As I picked it up, I realized that it was in fact, two pieces of clothing: a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of pants, both black.

“Well?” Twilight huffed as I stared at the clothing. “Put it on!”

~Why?~ I asked, lowering the shirt in my hands.

“Because, you’ll need it for what we’re going to do,” Twilight said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“And what are we doing exactly?” Avera asked.

“Not you three,” Twilight said, before motioning between herself and me. “This is just for Max and me. Don’t worry,” she added when Avera gave her a skeptical look, “we aren’t leaving the palace.”

~And what are we doing exactly?~ I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, first you’re going to put that on,” Twilight said, pointing at the clothing in my lap. I glanced down at the clothing again before shrugging. What’s the harm? It’s just clothing.

Folding the apparel back into the brown paper, I stood up from the bed and made my way towards the bathroom. As I opened the door, the candles flickered on again, back to their original color. The sight of them caused me to smile. Making sure the door was closed behind me, I snapped my fingers, changing the flames to a happy pink almost immediately.

I snickered, snapping my fingers again—causing the flames to turn a deep, rich purple—before turning my attention to the package in my hands. Letting the brown paper fall to the floor, I unfolded the garb and gave it a closer look. It was made out of a lightweight black material that felt firm, yet was surprisingly stretchy. The apparel was comprised of two parts: a long sleeved shirt and a pair of pants.

I studied them for a few more seconds before shrugging. Stripping off my current attire, I donned the new set. It hugged my body, yet still allowed for comfortable movement. It was tighter than anything I would have worn back home, yet did not feel as restrictive as I thought it would. The end of the sleeves had holes in them that allowed my thumbs to poke through, causing the sleeves to cover most of my hand.

Running my hands over the fabric, I glanced at myself in the mirror, giving my reflection a bemused look. I looked like I was in a black jumpsuit, almost like a ninja or something out of a Metal Gear game.

As I continued to stare at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help the urge. Lifting the neck of my shirt up over my nose, I proceeded to karate chop the air in front of me, spinning around, and basically making a fool out of myself.

I stopped after a couple of minutes, lowering the neck of my shirt back to its proper place. Giving myself one last look in the mirror, I stooped down and picked up my discarded clothing. Opening the bathroom door, I slipped out, the candles dying out behind me.

As I exited, Twilight glanced up and a large smile flashed across her face.

“Excellent! They fit,” she said, clapping her hooves together happily. “I was afraid that they were going to be too small.” Standing up, she moved past me and into the bathroom, opening her saddlebags as she went. “My turn!”

As the bathroom door closed, I turned to look back at the others.

“Somepony want to take a bet on what’s going on?” Avera asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Buck if I know,” Ebony said, shaking her head. Primrose just shrugged.

~I don’t know~ I signed, ~but judging by what I’m wearing, this is either going to be interesting, or ridiculous~

“I’d put my bits on ridiculous,” Primrose grunted, rubbing her eyes with a forehoof. She paused before her eyes widened and she swore explosively, “My bits are still on the table in the mess hall!”

This caused Ebony’s eyes to widen in alarm as well. “So are mine!”

The pair quickly bolted to the door, racing off down the hallway in a mad rush to get back to the mess hall. Avera gave the swinging door a bemused look before glancing over at me.

“Welp, seeing as we’re not invited to this little shindig, I’ll just be following them,” she said, fluffing her wings. I nodded and she quickly followed after her fellow guards, closing the door behind her.

As silence descended upon the room, I moved over the couch. Sitting down upon it, I picked up my bags and started to sift through them. A rainbow stain covered the side of one of the bags. It was faint, but still visible against the dark violet cloth. Pulling out one of my notebooks, I placed it in my lap and flipped to a blank page. Extracting a charcoal stick as well, I proceeded to doodle while I waited.

Soon I had a cartoonish drawing of an alicorn chasing her tail around in midair, a happy smile on her face. I stared at the drawing for a few seconds, a small smile on my face, before giving her a mustache. And a monocle. And a top hat.

As I closed the notebook and slipped it back into my bags, the bathroom door swung open. I glanced up only to do a double-take at what Twilight was wearing.

She had on a black body suit which hugged her body nicely. Holes along the sides allowed for her wings to be free. The hooves of the suit appeared to be padded, muffling her hoofsteps as she walked.

As she levitated her saddlebags over to the bed, she smiled. “They still fit me, surprisingly. I only had to add some wing holes.”

~That’s nice~ I signed as I stood up. ~But why are we dressed like this?~ Twilight paused before giving me a sheepish smile.

“It’s, uh… it’s a surprise?” she laughed weakly. I raised an eyebrow.

~Am I going to like this surprise?~

“Most likely,” Twilight replied quickly, “although I think I’ll keep it a surprise a little while longer.” I eyed her for a few more seconds before shrugging.

~Well, as long as it doesn’t end up like the last surprise I received, I’m fine with it~

“Excellent!” Twilight chirped happily, clapping her padded hooves together. She glanced out the window before continuing, “It looks like Luna’s already raised the moon for the evening, so this should work out perfectly. Let’s go!”

As she trotted towards the door, I picked up my bags and buckled them around my waist. Moving to stand behind Twilight, I watched as she cracked the door open and stuck her head out, glancing both ways before slipping out.

I exited the room, closing the door behind me. Turning, I paused when I saw Twilight sneaking down the hallway, pressing her body up against the wall as she tiptoed along. I brought my hand up to my face, watching her with a bemused look for a few seconds before chuckling softly. Moving softly, I followed after her, walking down the middle of the corridor.

I wasn’t entirely sure where we were going, but Twilight seemed to not want to be seen. Whenever we came to an intersection, she would check that the coast was clear before darting forward. She would avoid the light of the torches on the wall, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. At even the slightest sound she would freeze, her ears perked up and quivering.

I just followed along faithfully, my hands in my pockets. I would stop when she did, and would start walking again when she moved forward.

We continued this little jaunt for nearly half an hour until I found myself in a part of the castle I had never been before. It had a more industrial feel to it than the rest of the castle. The doors were now metal and appeared to have letters and numbers etched onto them. I glanced at one as I walked past.

Institute for Human Research

R&DT - 129

I paused, staring at the words. Slowly, I turned to look at Twilight.

~Okay, seriously. What are we doing here? Are we even supposed to be here?~

“Shhh,” Twilight shushed me, glancing around fervently. “We’re here to look at something.”

~Okay, but—~

“Shhh!” Twilight shushed me again before slinking forward. I glanced back at the door, chewing on the inside of my cheek. After a few seconds I sighed before slowly following after her. Why am I getting flashbacks to a certain apple farmer?

When I finally caught up to Twilight, she was peeking around a corner, her head low to the ground. She was still for a few seconds before moving slowly around the corner and down the adjacent hall.

She had take only a few steps before she froze, her ears perking up.

“Guard!” she hissed, dashing into the shadows of a nearby pillar. “Hide!”

I just stood in the center of the hallway, a confused look on my face.

“Don’t just stand there, hide!” the shadow hissed at me. “No, don’t look at me!” it added as I glanced towards it.

As I stood there, scratching my head, the sound of growing hoofsteps came from behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I eyed the approaching guard. He was a dark gray unicorn decked out in lavender Lunar Guard armor.

He eyed me curiously as he drew nearer.

“You’re out a little late, aren’t you, laddie?” he asked. “Does your owner know you’re out and about?” His eyes drifted to my saddlebags, widening as he saw the cutie mark upon them. “Does Princess Sparkle know you’re wandering around by yourself?”

I just stood there, staring down at the guard with a blank look on my face. He was silent for a few seconds before snorting.

“Well, whatever the reason, don’t stay out too late,” he said before walking around me and heading off down the hall.

A few seconds after the guard rounded the corner and vanished from sight, Twilight emerged from the shadows, an annoyed look on her face.

“Why didn’t you hide?” she asked, an ear twitching. I gave her a confused look.

~Why did you hide? Are we not supposed to be here?~ This caused Twilight to balk, her ears splaying backwards.

“W-well, no, but… we need to…” she paused, staring at me with a blank expression before snorting softly. “Nevermind,” she huffed, stalking past me. “Let’s get moving.” I sniffed, rubbing my nose with the back of my hand before following after her. My stomach growled softly as I walked, a reminder that my body was still lacking in the calorie department.

“You’re still hungry?” Twilight asked in surprise, glancing over her shoulder at me. I nodded, giving her a sheepish smile. She was silent for a few seconds before sighing softly.

“Remind me to get you something from the kitchens after we’re finished here,” she said warmly before turning her attention back to in front of her. She eyed the doors as we walked past, muttering under her breath. Her attention went from the right side of the hall to the left and back again as she glanced at the door numbers.

After a few minutes Twilight stopped suddenly, nearly causing me to trip over her in the process.

“Ah, here we are!” she chirped happily, pointing at a door on the left. Glancing over, I eyed the etched words upon the door.

Institute for Human Research

B&A - 334

~And what’s in here?~ I asked.

“You’ll see,” Twilight said as she sidled up to the door. She glanced both ways down the hall before pressing an ear against the metal of the door. Her horn lit up softly, and she closed her eyes, her tongue poking out in a cute manner as she concentrated.

After a few seconds the door handle took on the same color as Twilight’s magic, and, her eyes still closed, her brow furrowed. There was a loud clunk and she gasped, opening her eyes and smiling widely. Moving her head from the door, she grasped the door handle and gave it a turn. The door swung open silently.

“And we’re in!” Twilight giggled as she peered into the darkened room. A small ball of lavender light appeared at the tip of her horn, pushing back the shadows. She paused, staring into the room for several seconds, before stalking inside.

I poked my head into the room after her. ~Why are we breaking into this room?~

She didn’t answer. She just skulked through the room, glancing side-to-side as she muttered softly to herself. The spotlight from her horn drifted across the room in a searching manner. She paused, glancing under a desk, before resuming her search.

I sighed, shaking my head, before following after her.

As I entered the room, I glanced around, squinting to see in the gloom. From what I could see, several desks, covered in an avalanche of papers and scrolls, dotted the room. There was also a couple of mobile whiteboards, placed at random around the room, each one covered in writing and equations I didn’t understand. Various vials and containers lined one of the walls, bubbling quietly as they simmered.

All in all, it looked like a makeshift laboratory, although for what purpose it had been built, I couldn’t say.

Taking another glance around the room, I noticed a strange device sitting in the corner. It looked like someone had taken an electric wheelchair and combined it with a swivel chair. Wires ran from a small box strapped to the bottom of the contraption, running up to a small machine embedded within the armrest, a red joystick sticking out of the end.

Eyeing the contraption curiously, I took a step forward, only to have something crunch softly beneath my foot. Upon glancing down, I saw that I had stepped into a pile of feathers. They were light brown with hints of gray in them, and upon picking one up, I noticed that they were slightly bigger than Twilight's. If anything, they reminded me of eagle feathers.

Standing back up, I eyed the feather in my fingers curiously, twirling it around slowly.

As the cone of light drifted across the room in front of her, Twilight frowned slightly.

“Now, where did they put it?” she muttered to herself, one of her ears flicking against her head. Behind her, she heard Max shifting around, grunting softly. Ignoring her human, she continued to search around for her intended target.

Sifting through papers on one of the desks, she snorted quietly.

“Where is it?” Her tail flicked back and forth in agitation. “Don’t tell me they moved it without telling me,” she grumbled, allowing the papers to fall back to the desk.

Looking up, Twilight made an unhappy sounding murmur as she glanced around the room.

“Don’t tell me that this was a waste of time—” she began to say, but stopped when her eyes landed on something in the back of the room, resting on a stand upon a small desk. Perking up, she took a tentative step forward, her eyes narrowing. A few seconds later her eyes shot open and she squealed happily, dashing forward.

Practically skipping to the desk, Twilight skid to a stop and stared down at the item with a large smile on her face. Max’s iPhone glinted softly in her horn's light, sitting comfortably on a custom-made glass stand. She could see her own reflection in the cracked screen, her eyes sparkling gleefully.

“There you are,” she cooed, reaching forward and picking the device up carefully in her hooves. “Now then, let’s get to work.”

Holding the device in one hoof, she used the tip of the other to press the circular button on the bottom of the screen. Instantly, the screen lit up and the picture of Max’s home world appeared in the center of the screen. Twilight’s eyes quickly flicked up to where the battery icon, as Max had called it, was located. It currently read that it was forty-two percent charged.

“Excellent, it still has a charge,” Twilight muttered. She about dropped the phone, however, when Max’s face appeared next to hers, a confused look on his face.

~This is what we were looking for?~ he asked. ~Why did we break in just to see this?~

“We didn’t break in,” Twilight squawked after she stopped fumbling the phone in her hooves. Max blinked before glancing back at the door, which had been left ajar. He looked back at Twilight, raising an eyebrow.

“We did not break in,” she repeated, huffing as she ruffled her feathers. “I, as a princess of Equestria, have every right to examine this device whenever I feel like it.”

~And the door?~ Max asked, bemused.

“I didn’t feel like bothering the doctor for his keys,” Twilight said, ears flattening against her head as she gave him a sheepish smile. Max stared at her for a few seconds before shaking his head with a huff. With that, he returned to studying the feather gripped between his fingers, clearly uninterested in what Twilight wanted his phone for.

“All the better,” Twilight muttered as she returned her attention to the device. “It’ll be more a surprise that way.”

During the time she had been talking, the phone had turned off, forcing her to press the button again. Once the screen had lit up, she placed the tip of her hoof on the part that told her to ‘slide to unlock’. However, upon trying to slide her hoof across the screen, nothing happened.

“Oh, right, hooves don’t work,” Twilight grumbled with a frown. Staring at the screen for a few seconds, she leaned forward and pressed her muzzle against it instead. A quick jerk of her head, and the phone unlocked with a soft click. She smiled to herself as the ‘main screen’ appeared, the rows of small, square icons covering it.

“Now, let’s see here,” Twilight muttered, flicking through the menus with her nose, her eyes going slightly cross-eyed as she browsed. “It was a picture of a sunflower, wasn’t it? Where is it?” Her muzzle accidentally activated one of the icons, and she blinked in surprise as the screen turned blue and the words ‘Facebook’ appeared in front of her.

“No, that’s not right,” she huffed. “How did Max get out of these before?” Fidgeting around the screen with her hoof, she smiled as it bumped against the circular button again, sending her back to the ‘main screen’.

“Now then, I want the one labeled… ah!” She smiled as she spied what she had been looking for: a sunflower with the word ‘Photos’ beneath it. Pressing it with the tip of her muzzle, she squee'd softly as rows of pictures appeared on the screen.

She began to skim quickly through the photos, her eyes darting back and forth as she searched for a specific picture. Her eyes lit up when she eventually found it. Moving her muzzle to the screen, she tapped the picture with her nose, enlarging it.

The picture was of Max and his ex-mate, both standing side-by-side, hugging. The female was leaning her head on Max’s shoulder, staring out at Twilight with a smile on her face.

Twilight stared blankly at the picture for several seconds before closing her eyes and sighing softly. When she opened her eyes again, she glanced over her shoulder at Max, who was still preoccupied with the feather. Swallowing thickly, Twilight returned her attention to the phone. “Alright, let’s do this.”

Gazing down at the picture, Twilight began to put as much information as she could to memory. She has brown hair, straight, hanging down to her shoulders, small tuft sticking up in the back. Serene blue eyes outlined with a hint of makeup. Soft face, rounded cheekbones. Small gap in front teeth, but teeth are not crooked. Eyebrows appear to be plucked or trimmed, and forehead isn’t as protruded as an Equestrian human's. Nose is also slightly smaller.

After she had absorbed as much information as she could from the picture, she leaned forward and swiped her nose across the screen, moving to the next photo. She continued swiping until she came to another picture with a human female in it. If she remembered correctly, this one was Max’s mother.

Alright, Twilight thought as she began to eye the human. Remember, general characteristics. Terran humans are slightly different to Equestrian ones, and I want to get those details.

This continued for several minutes; Twilight skimmed through Max’s phone, looking for pictures of human females and studying them. While she could have just gone to Applejack’s farm and requested to study a couple of her females, she wanted to get as close as possible to what Max was familiar with back home. After all, if Celestia’s spell worked in the way she had described, Twilight would be able to form the features that she wanted, and she wanted them to be perfect.

While Twilight fooled around with my phone, I studied the room we were in. Now that my eyes had gotten used to the darkness, I began to notice the piles of feathers dotting the room. Some were in the corners of the room, others were under the desks and tables. There was even a pile of primary feathers atop one of the bookshelves. Either someone was collecting them, or someone had a molting problem.

Bending down to return the feather I had taken back to its pile, I paused. Long scratches marked the hardwood floor, looking like something had scraped at the floor with claws. Or knives, considering the depth of the cuts.

Upon further inspection, I noted that there were scratches all over the floor. They were all the same; always grouped together in three parallel scratches.

What came through this room? I thought as ran my fingers over one of the cuts. Wolverine?

As I stood back up, Twilight shifted slightly behind me.

“Oh shoot,” she breathed, her voice barely audible. “I didn’t mean to hit that.” Ignoring her, I looked around the room again, chewing on the inside of my cheek. Suddenly, I felt a shiver run up my spine, goosebumps breaking out across my skin. The eerie feeling of being watched settled over me, and I whipped my head around, staring into the darkened corners of the room.

There was nothing there, however. I turned slowly, my eye darting back and forth as I searched for any sign of something in the room with us.

Nothing’s here! There was nothing in the shadows; nothing at all except for feathers and dust.

After several moments with nothing happening, I slowly began to inch my way towards Twilight. I had only taken a single step when loud music started playing, scaring me half to death and causing me to jump.

“That’s great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane, and Lenny Bruce is not afraid!”

Twilight yelped in surprise, her wings flaring and horn sparking. The phone instantly left her hooves, getting flung high into the air, the music still playing. Her head snapped up, and she yelped again as she watched the phone arch in the air, starting to fall back to the ground. Dashing forwards, Twilight quickly extended one of her wings, using it as one would use a safety net on someone falling.

As the phone landed in her soft feathers, she closed her wing around it, cushioning the fall. Pulling the wing close to her chest, she opened it and quickly began to fumble with the phone, a panicked look in her eyes. After a few seconds the music stopped and silence descended upon the room again.

Twilight slowly lifted her head, turning it to give me a sheepish smile.

“Heheh… oops,” she laughed weakly.

I moved my hands to reply, but was interrupted as the room was suddenly filled with a loud buzzing and clicking sound. Twilight’s pupils shrunk, her ears splaying backwards.

“Oh no,” she breathed, lifting a hoof. “The Doctor’s drones!”

I took a step back, glancing around to find the source of the buzzing. It seemed to be coming from everywhere, the very air thrumming with it.

As the sound increased in volume, I glanced at Twilight, confused. What the hell is going on?

She looked back at me, the whites of her eyes showing. The phone, once the center of her attention, now rested loosely in her hooves.

She swallowed thickly before opening her mouth. Before she could speak, however, a black shape launched itself at her from off of the ceiling. She yelped in surprise and shock as the blob latched onto her, her horn lighting up.

I let out a yelping bark, my eyes widening. Twilight!

Dashing forwards, I moved quickly to help her. As I did so, a second dark blob detached itself from the shadows of the ceiling, flying straight for me. A brief glimpse of red, domed eyes was all I got before the magic around Twilight’s horn fired off, striking me in the chest.

The world went black as my lungs were crushed by an invisible force. I was assaulted by a strong pulling sensation yanking me through the darkness. My stomach lurched into my throat, and a sense of vertigo hit me.

A split second later it stopped, and the world phased back into view with a loud pop. I was suddenly made aware of the fact that I was hugging something warm and soft in my arms. Cracking my eye open, I blinked in surprise as my sight was blocked by a strange, dark-blue wall of fur.

Slowly, my gaze drifted upwards…

...right into the blue eyes of Princess Luna.

She looked down at me, a bemused look on her face, an eyebrow raised slightly. I had my arms wrapped around her neck, my body perched in between her forelegs.

A low murmur of voices cause me to glance around. I had been teleported into the throne room, right into Luna’s lap. Gathered around the throne dais, shocked expressions on their faces, were at least a dozen or so ponies, all dressed in over-the-top, frilly outfits. There was even one with a monocle in front of his eye. Two guards were posted in front of Luna, both glancing back at me, confused.

“Well, hello there,” Luna said, drawing my attention back to her. She had a small, amused smile upon her face.

I blinked before giving her a closed lip smile.

“To what do we owe this pleasure?” she continued, her voice soft, barely above a whisper. Her eyes darted to my shoulder, and her smile grew. Her horn lit up, and I felt something being removed from my shoulder. “Ah, I see you and young Twilight Sparkle were poking around the good Doctor’s lab, weren’t you?” I nodded, barely moving my head. “Let me guess, the drones?” I nodded again, earning a small chuckle from Luna.

She turned her head, glancing down at one of her guards. “Do go down to the Doctor’s labs. We’d best free Twilight before the drones have too much fun with her.”

“Of course, your majesty,” the guard said with a salute before trotting off.

As he moved through the crowd of what I assumed were nobles, one of them stepped forward. He was a white unicorn dressed in a black suit, his red mane slicked back.

“Your Highness, are you alright?” he asked, clearly feigning concern. “This… thing didn’t hurt you, did it?” He shot a glare at me, his eyes narrowing.

“Nay, Silver Stream,” Luna said, shaking her head as she placed a wing across my back. “We were merely startled. It’s not every day that a human so willingly drops into your lap.”

“Such a filthy creature,” one of the other nobles, an older mare, said, looking down her muzzle at me. “Just look at it, so… scruffy looking. Unkempt. It’s clear that nopony has groomed it in a while.”

“Princess Sparkle seems to like the look,” Luna said, running an eye over my beard with an amused look. I suddenly had the feeling she was playing with the nobles. “This is her human, after all.” Another gasp went through the crowd confirming my suspicion.

The red-maned unicorn’s eyes lit up, a smile which sent shivers down my spine flitting across his muzzle.

“Princess,” he cooed, stepping forward. “If you’d permit me, may I return Princess Sparkle’s human to her? She’s probably worried about him, no?”

Luna cocked her head to the side, a thoughtful look on her face.

“That’s an excellent idea, Silver Stream,” she said, Silver’s smile growing wider. “Lieutenant Shade—” she turned and glanced down at the second guard “—if you’d be so kind, please return this human to Captain Primrose. I do believe she can be found in the mess hall at the moment. She can look after him until such time as Princess Sparkle is made free again.”

The smile had completely left Silver Stream’s face.

“Your highness, I must insist,” he began as I got down out of Luna’s lap.

“That’s quite alright, Silver,” Luna interrupted, holding up a hoof. “My guard can handle this task. It's just one human, after all.” Silver scowled, but hung his head and backed off.

The guard approached, waving his hoof for me to follow him. The nobles parted as the guard and I passed, some of the mares eyeing me intensely, small smirks on their faces. I feel like a slab of meat. None of them moved to stop us, thankfully, and we soon reached the throne room doors.

As the massive doors closed behind us, the guard turned to look at me.

“Come on,” he said as he began to walk down the hall. “Let’s get you back to the captain.”

We moved down the corridor, the guard’s armor clinking softly in the silence. Every so often he would glance back at me to make sure I was following him.

As we rounded a corner, the guard almost walked face first into a mare going the opposite direction. By the look of her clothing, she was a noble as well.

As I moved to stand behind the guard, the mare’s eyes darted up to look at me. A small smirk flashed across her muzzle.

“Well, well, well,” she giggled, cocking her head to the side. “What have we here? Princess Sparkle’s human out and about without his owner? This is a surprise.”

“Excuse me, ma’am,” the guard grunted, “but I have to get him back to his handler.”

“Of course,” the mare said, returning her attention back to him. She fluttered her eyelashes, giving him a sultry look. “Or you could leave him with me.”

Aw hell no, I thought as the guard let out a snort.

“I-I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said, shaking his head, “but I have my orders. Now, if you'd kindly step aside.”

You tell her! I thought, silently cheering the guard on.

“Oh, those nasty orders,” the mare sighed, leaning against the guard and rubbing his chest plate with a hoof. Her horn lit up, and a bag of bits levitated in front of him. “Is there nothing I can do to change your mind?”

“I… I really shouldn’t,” the guard stuttered, ears splaying backwards. He swallowed thickly as the bag of bits was levitated into his side pouch.

...you bastard, I grunted, shaking my head in disgust. My eye darted off to the side, and I perked up upon spotting a familiar sight. Oh… this is gonna be good.

“Don’t worry,” I heard the mare whisper into the guard’s ear. “I’ll be sure to get him back to Princess Sparkle… when I’m done with him.” Pushing herself off of him, she turned to look me. “Alright, big boy. Let’s get you back to my roo—oh my!” She yelped as I picked her up suddenly, hefting her over my shoulder.

“Well,” she said, smirking down at the flustered guard. “He seems to know what he waAAAAAAHAHAHAYH!” She screamed in surprise as I tossed her into the open cleaning closet just off to the side. Landing unceremoniously inside of a bucket full of soapy water, her back legs thrashed about wildly as she struggled.

I closed the closet door with a click, before pushing a small pillar in front of it. Straightening back up, I dusted off my hands before glancing over my shoulder at the guard. He looked up at me, his ears splaying backwards as he took a nervous step back. “Um… good boy?”

I stared down at him for several seconds before giving him a large, tooth-filled smile. With that, I turned and headed off down the corridor towards the mess hall, whistling softly to myself as I went.

Heart Care yawned, her jaw cracking slightly. Blinking tears from her eyes, she rubbed at them with a forehoof before pushing her glasses back up her nose.

“No more staying up to read crappy romance novels,” she muttered to herself. It was already hard enough to fall asleep when the sun was in the sky; she didn’t need to add to it.

“I just had to agree to do the night shifts,” she sniffed, stifling another yawn before returning her attention back to her work. Walking around the medical table, she eyed the human that was currently strapped down onto the metal surface.

“Human male, found wandering the streets of Canterlot,” she dictated, a quill and clipboard hovering nearby in her magic. “He was acquired by the Lunar Guard early this evening. Showed aggressive behavior upon them trying to catch him, and continued to struggle after capture. Was drugged, but the tranquilizer wore off earlier than expected.

“He appears to be mature, probably around 8 years of age.” Moving to stand beside the human’s head, she glanced down at him, studying his features. The human’s eyes followed her around the room, his head strapped firmly in place. A gag in his mouth prevented him from snapping at her.

“Blue eyes, brown hair, full beard,” she listed off, adding the information to the clipboard before moving on. Pulling back his lips, she inspected his teeth closely, viewing them against the gag. The human growled in discomfort, but Heart Care ignored him.

“His teeth appear to be slightly deformed. Possibly intentional. They look sharper than they should,” she muttered, brow furrowing. “Why would anypony do that to a human’s teeth? I know that pit fighters like to give their humans every advantage possible, but his body doesn’t show any signs of fight damage.” Scrunching up her face, Heart Care clicked her tongue before sighing.

Slowly walking around the human, she poked at different parts of his body with her hoof, humming softly to herself. Lighting up her horn, she lifted the hem of the human’s torn-up shirt, peeking underneath.

“He appears to be slightly malnourished, although muscular,” she said, cutting off her magic and allowing the clothing to fall back into place. Her eyes flicked to his arm, and her brow rose. “Marking on the arm. Not a brand though. It almost looks like an artificial cutie mark. It’s a black box with a yellow star inside, and a smaller white star inside of that. Will mark as possible identification of owner.”

Drawing the symbol onto the paper on the clipboard, she marked some info down before picking up a thermometer in her magic.

“He appears to be in perfect health for a human of his age,” she said, placing the thermometer against his forehead. “No arthritis, no cataracts, no tumors.” The thermometer beeped once, and Heart Care pulled it back, glancing at the readings.

“Temperature is… ninety-eight point six marenheit?” Heart Care blanched, her eyes widening. “That can’t be right!” she squawked before placing the thermometer back on the human’s forehead. A few seconds later it beeped again and she pulled it off, glancing at the display. The temperature still read ninety-eight point six degrees.

“Wha… but… that shouldn’t be… h-how are you still alive?” Heart Care sputtered, staring at the human in shock. It shouldn’t be possible; the average human body temperature was eighty-six point three. Humans became delusional at anything higher than eighty-nine, and prolonged exposure at temperatures over ninety-five degrees was lethal. This human before her shouldn’t be alive!

Yet here he was, glaring up at her, very much alive.

"This is… I’ve got to get Summer Song,” Heart Care muttered, taking a step back from the human. “This is incredible! We have to get more data before we inform… the… princesses.”

Heart Care trailed off, swaying on her hooves. She struggled to keep her eyes focused, the clipboard clattering to the ground as her magic flickered and died.

“Wha?” she slurred slightly before, with one last wobble, she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

The human blinked in surprise as the unicorn’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she suddenly dropped to the floor. Silence filled the room, interrupted only by the ragged breathing of the human through the gag.

Trying to move, the human flexed his hands before pulling against the binds. He grunted and strained, trying to free his limbs. The leather straps refused to budge, however, leaving him trapped upon the table. Huffing loudly, the human dropped his arms, glaring up at the ceiling in silence.

Then, the sound of hooves came from the other side of the door.

Turning his head, the human watched as the door handle was suddenly surrounded in a sickly yellow aura. With a click, the door swung open.

The human stared at the gray unicorn stallion that stood in the doorway. His dark gray mane, streaked with white, stuck out in a chaotic mess of hair.

As the unicorn stepped into the room, his blue eyes flicked down to the unconscious body of Heart Care. The clipboard beside her began to smoke slightly before suddenly bursting into flames. Within seconds it was reduced to ashes. The unicorn snorted once, his eyes narrowing, before returning his attention to the human. With a flash of magic, he found himself free of his bindings.

Sitting up quickly, the human proceeded to rip the gag from his mouth, spitting as he did so. Swinging his legs off of the table, the human stood up, towering over the new pony.

Glaring down at the stallion, the human twisted his neck, cracking it loudly.

The stallion just grinned at the show of intimidation. His horn lit up, causing the human to take a step back with a growling yelp. However, the yellow aura surrounded not the human, but the pony’s throat.

“Hello, there,” the Archmage chuckled, smirking up at the human. “I have a… proposition for you, my dogface friend.”