I waved goodbye to the Apple family as I headed to Rarity’s the next morning, a spring in my step.
I got a kiss from Luna, doo doo-doo doo-doo! I sang in my head as I skipped down the pathway to the boutique, fondly remembering the moon princess’s visit the previous night. Suddenly, I stopped. Wait, I’m in love with a pony, I thought carefully, does that make me a clopper?! No, wait, that’s only if you lurk the R34 threads… but what if it still counts?!

...Eh, who the hell cares.

I knocked at the door, which burst open instantly. As it swung open, an invisible force pulled me inside. I found myself standing in the center of the room, surrounded by various shelves of fabric, sewing supplies, and pony mannequins, while a white unicorn with a luxurious purple mane was measuring my arms and legs.

“Hmm, I’ve never made anything quite like this,” Rarity said to herself, “but I think I can manage.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle nervously. “Uh, Rarity? What are you doing?”
She kept on going as she replied, “why, taking your measurements, darling. I must make you something a little more presentable before Pinkie’s party, and the whole hood-and-long-sleeves thing just won’t do.”
I sunk a little. “Hey, this is a nice sweatshirt,” I pouted, and then Rarity’s words hit me. “Wait, Pinkie is throwing a party?”

The white unicorn looked up at me, surprised. “Have none of the others told you? Pinkie Pie wants to throw you a party before you leave. It’s in two days, when you’re scheduled to spend the day with her.”
I looked ahead sadly. Great, just what I need to make leaving this place harder: a party at the last minute, I thought as Rarity continued measuring my arms, making comments to herself that made me a little self-conscious.

“Okay, so what do you think of this?” Rarity held up a mirror and I stared at the sight before me.
“Um, it’s nice and all, but it’s a little… shiny,” I said as I stared at my reflection. She had gone a little too all-out on this outfit; it almost looked like the entire thing was covered in gemstones. I mean sure, it made me feel rich, but wearing jewel-encrusted clothing wasn’t my idea of “classy”.

“Okay, here’s something a little more ‘me’,” I said as I picked up a pencil and piece of paper and started to sketch out a good suit. When I had finished, Rarity stared at it, confused.
“This is what humans normally wear to sophisticated gatherings?” she asked slowly, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it looks nice, but wouldn’t you rather wear something a little more eye-catching?”
I shook my head and laughed lightly. “Trust me, just this alone can draw some stares.”

She thought about my request for a moment. “Okay, but I’ll need more supplies for it. Could you go down to the market and pick up these things for me?” she asked sweetly, giving me a list she had quickly written up. I read it up and down a few times, then nodded.
“Yeah, no problem,” I said behind me as I ran out the door. Woo-hoo, custom made suit! I thought happily, this week just gets better and better!

I wandered around the market for a couple of hours, occasionally getting stopped by the ponies that passed by. They were so friendly; each one of them had asked how I was enjoying my stay, what I had been up to, or something along those lines, and then wishing me a good day as they went on with their business. I had never had someone stop me on the street just to see how I was doing before, and to be honest, it was nice. Back on Earth, I would always tell myself to ignore strangers and to not care what they thought, but it made me happy knowing that these ponies who knew nothing about me actually cared for me in some way or another.

By the time I had gathered all the things I needed to pick up for Rarity, I was carrying four grocery bags full of fabrics, strings, and other assorted items. I hauled my merchandise all the way back to the boutique, where Rarity was already hard at work.
“Ah, there you are! And you got everything I’ll be needing!” she said happily as she ran some black fabric through the machine. “I just have a few questions about your outfit design.”
I shrugged. “Okay, shoot.”

“Firstly, what are these on the wrists?” she asked, pointing to the cufflinks I had drawn.
“Those are there to make sure the sleeves don’t hang off at the wrists, I think. Either that or just to look fancy,” I said, laughing at my joke.
“Also, I’ll need to borrow those things on your feet,” she said, pointing at my shoes, “so I can use them as a base for the outfit.”
I took off my shoes and reluctantly handed them to her. “Sorry about the smell,” I apologized as she quickly sprayed them with a blast of air freshener.
“That’s all I need for now, Allen. Just make yourself comfortable until I get finished,” she said as she went back to work. I nodded and headed to the living room, where I saw a light grey unicorn filly with a lavender mane staring at me.

“Hey, you're the guy that Applebloom was talking about earlier! The one who fought off the monsters!” Sweetie Belle cried, jumping into the air excitedly.
I laughed, trying not to succumb to the pure adorableness of her filly antics. “Yep, that’s me,” I said, “Applebloom told you about the fight?”
She nodded. “Yeah, she said you fought off a bunch of huge, crystal statues, and saved Applejack’s life! How’d you do it?” she asked, her eyes huge.
I grinned and decided it wouldn’t do any harm to show her the sword. I pulled out the crystal and held it straight out in front of me, and in a flash of white light it took on its bladed appearance. “With this!” I said triumphantly.
Sweetie Belle stared at it with huge eyes. “It’s so shiny,” she said, awestruck, “but how’d you beat those things with it?”
I looked at the blade, seeing my reflection in the side as I explained: “It comes from inside those creatures. The princesses charged it with magical energy so it would be indestructible. Now, I use it to defend myself when those things come for me.”
Sweetie Belle looked up at me, suddenly getting an idea. “You’re like a hero!” she cried, bouncing with excitement.

I looked down, smiling as I shook my head. “I’d love to say so, but I’m no hero. I’m just a guy looking for the way to get home.”
The unicorn filly suddenly looked sad. “You mean you aren’t staying here?” she asked quietly.
I looked away, unable to handle those massive, sad filly eyes. “I have to. I belong in my world, with my people. I would love to stay here, but I can’t.” At least, that’s what I had told myself. I wanted more than anything to stay in that world, but I just couldn’t; it just didn’t seem right.
“Well, even if you do have to go, at least remember all the fun you had here!” she said happily. Just then, a pair of fillies burst into the room: the yellow, red-maned Applebloom, and an orange pegasus I recognized as Scootaloo.
“Sweetie Belle, we’ve gotta get to the clubhouse! I have an idea for-” Scootaloo began, but stopped when she saw me.

“Uh, just meet us at the clubhouse!” she finished, smiling and glancing at me nervously. With that, they burst out the door.
“Wonder what that was about,” I said, thinking out loud.
Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I don’t know, but I had better go see what they need me for. It was nice talking to you, Mister Hero!” she said as she left.
I smiled warmly. Someone thinks I’m a hero, I thought happily as I laid back on the couch and dozed off.

It must have been a few hours later when Rarity’s voice woke me from my nap.
“Allen! Come and see your suit!” she called happily from the other room. I stood up slowly and went to see how it turned out.

“Wow, it’s awesome!” I said, turning around to see my full figure in the mirror. She had made a full tuxedo with a black tie and white undershirt. It fit great, too; the perfection of it made it hard to believe it was her first time making clothing for a human.
Hell, even the shoes fit nicely.
“Rarity, it’s perfect,” I breathed. “Thank you.”
The unicorn blushed. “It wasn’t too hard…” she said modestly. I smiled and gave her a big thank-you hug.
“Oh, my, um, thank you,” she said awkwardly, struggling a little, but eventually gave in.

The white unicorn suddenly spoke up. “Oh, goodness, it’s late already! Oh, I’m sorry, Allen; I wasted all the time we were supposed to spend together making this suit,” she said sadly.
I smiled. “That’s alright. This is probably one of the coolest gifts I’ve ever gotten. I’ve never owned a tux before!” I said, spreading my arms and looking down at my gentleman-like attire.
“You had better change back into your regular clothes,” she replied, giggling, “you don’t want to ruin your brand new outfit before it’s time to unveil it!”

The crystal pillar was angry. It had found that the thousands of years since the war had rendered the rest of the array useless; it was the only one left.
It quickly set off to work; obviously, the Sentinels would need a new edge in order to take on the human. Of course, it quickly remembered that humans have one major weakness.

{Try and escape this time, scum,} it thought wickedly as it shot out a beam, forming two Sentinels. Then, it fired another beam, this time forming three entirely new constructs: they looked like simplified, faceless eagles with straight, spear-like beaks. Two of the new creatures stalked over to the Sentinels and climbed onto them, latching onto the crystal statues’ backs and stretching their new wings. The remaining one looked at the pillar, expecting orders.
{Now, my Crystal Valkyries,} the pillar commanded, {go with the Sentinels, and see how well the human can fly.}

The Valkyrie nodded and swooped out of the cave, the now winged Sentinels running after.
The pillar suddenly remembered something. Something hidden deep in the Everfree Forest, beyond where the Sentinels could go. It was only the threat of the Sentinels that kept it into the forest, away from the citizens of Equestria.
{I must keep the boy away from it,} it said to itself quietly, {or I will have failed.}

I woke, once again, in the crystal world of my dreams. I sat up quickly, eagerly anticipating Luna’s arrival, but was slightly disappointed when Celestia appeared before me instead.
“Allen,” she said flatly, “how was your day?”

I stood up. “Pretty good. Rarity made me a tuxedo, and I found out that I’m making a name for myself as a hero,” I said, chuckling softly, but stopped when I saw the look Celestia was giving me.
“Allen, I need to talk to you about Luna,” she said slowly.
Oh, crap, I thought, panicking a little.

“I am perfectly fine with you making friends with Twilight and her friends, as well as my subjects and even my sister,” she began, “but you must remember: you are of an entirely different species than us. Do not mistake the feeling you are having right now for love.”
I gulped and nodded. “I understand,” I said sadly, avoiding eye contact with the white alicorn.
She nodded quickly. “Good. That is all, Allen. Goodnight,” and with that, she vanished once again.

I sighed sadly and turned my head upwards. A blanket of clouds covered the sky, drowning any hopes of seeing the moon that night.