Twilight returned to the library alone after their sugar-rich lunch. Daimon decided to explore the city a bit more and also stop by the town hall to let an announcement of him working as a temporary troubleshooter while he didn’t find a job. Backing him on, the mayor quickly had his request ready on the public board and he could enjoy his day until somepony needed his services.

Since then, he found himself walking around Ponyville without any particular goal, until he found a fountain. Sitting down around it, he looked up at the sky and thought I have to talk with Celestia or Luna as soon as possible to see the situation of my family.

When he downed his head enough, he saw Lily approaching him. Nude, as most ponies were, she walked with certain that wanted to talk with the human and had a rather large smile in her face.

“Imagine my surprise when I went to the library and you’re out?” she started. “I thought you had forgotten that I would visit you.”

“Never,” he answered. “I keep my words whenever I give them. And I told you that we would talk.”

“If it is that personal to you, maybe you would prefer to get to my office first, where no other curious ears could hear you?”

“Before that, I would like to see how you send letters to one another. I need to send one to Celestia as soon as possible.”

“A letter to Princess Celestia? Well… if it’s that important, you could have Princess Twilight Sparkle to send it… She’s the Princess’s protégé after all… or was before she became a princess herself.”

“Good to see that these social taboos don’t exist here and a bookworm can turn into a princess,” Daimon chuckled.

“Oh… And you would like to show a bit more respect when talking about the Princesses, all four of them. Some ponies may not like that you are that intimate to them,” Lily said with a smile.

“Twilight seems to like it just the way I’m calling her…”

“She was just a rumble student not too long ago. Princess Twilight Sparkle is the newest princess in all Equestria, and is still getting used to all of her position.”

“Good to know that,” Daimon said with a grin. “And thank you. I’ll keep that in mind when I need to treat them as such, or unless they ask me to.”

“So, want to write that letter already?”

“It’s at the library right now. Maybe Twilight had found it and sent already,” he answered. “If not, I can ask her when I return. Now, where is your office?”

Lily nodded and guided Daimon to a rather rumble house. It was a small house with a few windows to allow the sun enters and a small garden at front. Daimon quickly recognized the flowers.

“I can see where the Lily from your name came from,” he said with a smile.

“Nice guess, but no,” she said with a smile opening the door for him to enter. “It was my mother which loved lilies. I was born with coat particularly close to a particular kind of lily, the one in the door, and those were a gift from my father to celebrate another year together, I was named after both, the present and the flower.”

“A lily given as a romantic gift,” Daimon nodded, appreciating the interior of Lily’s house. Nothing that fancy, but very cozy, plenty of books of all kinds, most of them story books which she could use as inspiration maybe. Over a shelf was lonely two books called The Winter Whisper and The Spring Soul. Reaching one of them, he read the cover properly in very drawn beautiful silver letters: The Winter Soul by Romantic Lily. “These are yours?”

“The first exemplar of each, and they’re a bit… bulkier, than the other impressed,” opening the cover, with her magic, Romantic Lily showed Daimon that it was completely handwritten, or whatever ponies used to say the same. “I asked just to put the cover on it, but decided to keep my originals.”

Placing the book back on the shelf, Daimon smiled, “It shows that you really like your job. Or else, after writing them, you would not want a constant remember of the time you spent on these books.”

She nodded, “Writing is my passion. When I received my first book from my parents, I haven’t left my room before finishing it. Since then, I decided I would write my own books and be famous worldwide. Easier said than done though. And then, after a moderate success from both my previous books, I got a creativity block.”

Looking at her, Daimon saw that it wasn’t something she was happy about. It was like someone… somepony, he forced himself, had torn away her happiness from her.

“What would be your next book?” he called.

“The Summer Solstice. And the last one in the series The Autumn Apotheosis. It’s a romance collection about how small changes to one pony made him lose everything and now he’s fighting his old habits to change again and restart his life.”

“Seems a very good story. Not my kind, actually, but even so, never judge a book by its cover,” Daimon said with a smile.

She smiled, “If you want to read them, I have the original copy with me. They weren’t changed by the censure though, so they may contain whatever was in my mind when I wrote them.”

Noticing that it was just a joke, Daimon smiled. “Maybe I’ll try them some day,” he said.

“Now that you know about my history and my dream, it’s your time to share.”

He nodded, “However, I warn you that my life is a bit harsh…”

“I’m warned.”

After a deep breath, Daimon started, “My mother has a problem. She doesn’t forget everything or such, but she tends to have a lot of problem to register any information as a longtime memory. And she’s an athlete, a very good one at that. She made a nice amount of money joining many competitions and has many trophies and medals for her merit. My father was a business man. Some would think that he isn’t present or that he’s a bad father, but no. For him, his family always came first.”

Lily just nodded, “I see I’m getting the bigger version then. Let’s get to the kitchen so I can fix us something to munch on while you tell me.”

Following her to her kitchen, Daimon noticed the lack of chairs and quickly thought that being in a town of ponies, chairs exactly a need. They followed a human concept of comfort after all. For his surprise, though, Romantic Lily had a small box for him to sit on.

“Sorry… not exactly comfortable but the closest to a chair I have…” she said.

“Can’t blame you actually,” Daimon said with a smile, sitting down and making himself comfortable. “My father taught me absolutely everything he knew, and how family comes above of everything else. And then, he died in an accident while travelling to a business reunion. My mother and my little sister were left alone with me then.

“But I had learned from my father to be strong and suddenly I became the man of the house. So I started acting as such. And mysteriously, after my father’s death, they appeared: the friends. They started to approach our family, saying how sorry they were for our loss and that my father was a good person… And no more than two months later my mother was facing financial problems.

“They weren’t friends. They were parasites,” Daimon said closing his hand. “Suckling all the money they could from a poor woman that could remember they never had paid her. Then I began to act as the man of the house, and since my mother trusted me truly, she cut the laces with those friends. Since then, I began writing down whenever she borrowed money to others so she could claim payment. As a result, most friends disappeared.

“However, the ones that didn’t start to make a much worse damage. They tried to help giving advice how to better educate us. They started filling my mother’s head with ideas that we should be taught in a full-time school,” Daimon said and let a smile grow in his face. “When my mother brought that possibility to us, my father’s words played a token on our lives. ‘Family always come first’ I had said her and she said she would never part from us, for a wish of our dead father. The last of her called friends left her.”

Daimon took a deep breath before continuing. Noticing, Lily turned and looked at the human, which face was deeply in memory: he needed to open up more than he assumed, she thought. And, from that angle and without that bad boy face of the party, he was even kinda cute, she allowed.

“Not that I blame them. It’s not easy to be friends with someone that you will always be new friend to,” Daimon said. “But I was determined. Whoever would approach my mother would have a hard time. So I build up a troublemaker persona, the typical problem boy that don’t trust anyone and is sufficient by himself.

“I inherited my mother’s physical preparation and she often say I am as handsome as my father was. So it was easy to spread my new reputation, first, through the school, then for the neighborhood. Whoever happened to try and approach my mother thought twice after listening stories about me, but for my mother, it was someone else like me, since I kept my true personality while with her.

“More often than not, I would play it rough on some other boy at school, but after the audience was satisfied and had left, when I was alone with that guy again, I asked him forgiveness and explained why I did what I had. Some said I was crazy, others that I had a split personality, but none ever dared to approach me again, what suited me fine. I had to create a reputation for my persona.”

“So you placed yourself in isolation so you could use yourself as a shield to protect your mother and sister?” Lily asked more than a little surprised, serving sandwiches for both of them with some orange juice.

“More like a filter, actually. Keep the rough ones out, but those that I felt she could trust, I allowed closer to her,” he answered. Picking up a sandwich, he took a bite of it.

“And now that you’re there…”

“I’m afraid that my mother is abused again.”

“I guess I can understand your fears…” Lily also took a bite from her sandwich.

He though, let out a humorless laugh, “I really hope you don’t. It’s one thing that you only understand when you have to pass by. I often looked in the mirror and asked myself which one was the real me…”

“That must have been hard on you…” she commented.

“You learn to deal with this kind of thing when you have to…”

“However, you don’t have to around here, Daimon. You can be yourself,” she said.

“Easier said than done…” he answered her.

She only nodded at those words. Deciding to change the subject, he looked at him as he ate some more of the sandwich, “Well… Daimon, I’ve read your announcement for a troubleshooter. You see, I’m moving in a few days. I will pass through Canterlot and then make my way to a village close to Neighagra Falls. Would you like to help me with the moving?”

“You understand the concept of a job, right?”

“Don’t worry. I will pay you for your work. And if you decide to help me with settling in, I pay passage, food and a place for you to rest during our travels,” she said with a smile.

“I can understand you asking for help to pack things and transport them to the train or whatever you’ll use. But why asking me to go with you?”

“You said you want to talk with Princess Celestia,” she started. “As I said, I’ll pass through Canterlot. Princesses Luna and Celestia each took a time from their respective periods to hear to their subjects. You could talk with her directly there.”

“But and about you? Will you only leave your friends?” Daimon asked.

“Well… I said I can understand your fears, Daimon,” Lily answered. “My reasons are different, but I learned to trust mostly in myself or only in a few other ponies that had proven worth it… And now a human as well…”

Daimon shook your head. “Maybe it’s time for you to share the full version?” he commented.

With a deep sigh, she looked deep into Daimon’s eyes, “As I said, when I first received my first book, I haven’t left the room before I finished it. I was a filly at that time, didn’t even had my cutie mark as yet. And by then, I just hated to lose time to read, and thought it would be even worse to waste time writing a book that somepony else would think was also a waste of time. However, mom had given me two options: or I read a book, or I found a way of entering Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

“I just locked myself in my room. My mother was… is a hard pony to deal with and the book she put me to read had easily over two thousand pages,” Lily said. “She told me that it was for my own good and that everypony must like to read and all things like that. I took almost a full week to read the damn book, my father bringing me food by the window from outside the house.

“When I finished reading my book, I almost threw it at her face. We had a fight and, as expected, dad stood at her side. I had indeed learned that reading wasn’t a waste of time, but I wasn’t going to give my mother that taste. Joining a common school for common ponies, satisfied that I finally could read without my mother knowing I liked it. At home, though, all books that reached me were thrown carelessly around. My parents, though, got the grades they wanted from me and mostly let me alone.

“My cutie mark appeared during one of my classes. My teacher was teaching about the pleasures of creating complete new worlds perfects for us and how these worlds can take you away from your harsh reality.”

“And if reading wasn’t such a waste of time, maybe writing wasn’t also, right?” Daimon asked.

Lily chuckled, “Something like that. The way she talked with all that passion made me want to try it out and suddenly I had created my own world… When he read what I had written, he said I had the talent, if I wanted to focus it. One thing, though, is hide the fact that you like reading. Another completely different is to hide a cutie mark that shows your love for writing.

“When I returned home that day, I knew I would have another fight. My mother had already prepared my future, you see… I was going to be a doctor or something like that… I never saw anypony as angry as my mother when I told her I would be a writer. ‘Those damn sloths don’t earn decent money, stay day after day doing nothing useful, wasting paper to write books that nopony reads twice’ and kept yelling and shouting things like that.

“I just made what any adolescent pony furious with their parent and willing to face the whole world to live their dreams would do. I ran from home. It was a hard reality at first, but soon I found a job and had a nice home. My first typewriter came not long later and whenever I had some free time, I wrote my books. I have a lot of them published already, all with none to low success, until I started this new collection of mine. The Four Seasons granted me my moderate fame and a nice income so I could properly leave my old life behind. I moved to Manehattan first.

“Life there isn’t easy, big city demands high life cost. Then came my second book and I managed to hold myself very well. At least until my parents found me there. The letter came that they were about to visit me. I ignored it and took everything I got and moved again. Passing through Canterlot to see old friends of mine, I decided to embark in the first random train I saw at the station. Then I met with her for the first time, even if we didn’t talk at all. Princess Twilight Sparkle was just a unicorn at that epoch. She was talking with her friends and was distracted, so she never noticed me.

“That’s how I got to live in Ponyville, keeping a low profile there. However…”

“Your parents found you again,” he said, quite doubting there was another explanation.

“Yes. They are coming in five days, but I’m moving in three. With your help or not, I’m going, Daimon, but I really preferred to have the help of somepony… someone I trust.”

“Why would you trust me?” Daimon asked her. “The first time we met, I had bumped into you. The second, I showed you I can be a bastard. The third, I made you jump from a bridge like a suicidal pony.”

“The fourth, you opened your heart to me truly,” she continued from him, “and allowed me to do the same. Daimon, you’re the only po-person I’ve opened like this in a long time! And you understand my reasons. You would understand why I would always keep moving…”

The human took some time assimilating that information. Yeah, that sounded rather selfish. But she was right, and both of them had something in common, they had to harden themselves so they could protect themselves from a lot of worse harm. He closed his eyes.

“Okay. I will help you,” Daimon said but before her smile grew too big he continued. “I will help you, but I have one condition. We’ll leave in six days, not three.”

“What?”

“I know. In five days you will have to face your parents. And that’s why we’ll take six days. You will face them, and I will be at your side when you do, so you can have someone to support you, as your mother has your father.”

“And… why would you do this?”

“Because…” a thought crossed Daimon’s mind. “Well… because ‘Friends are ponies you can support yourself when you’re feeling down’… Aren’t they?”

He nodded. Rainbow Dash had said it at their reunion on the library.  Maybe these ponies were really changing him somehow… Next Chapter: Episode 06: The Family Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 9 Minutes