Present day

We have been so spoiled until today.

Letting out mutual sighs of disappointment, Twilight and I reluctantly got ourselves out of bed to begin the day, having slept in to try and keep snuggled up as long as possible.

It was the first time we were going to be apart for a full day after two months of being side by side almost non-stop, a result of our link limiting physical distance and flux concerns keeping us behind closed doors if we had no need to be out, as opposed to being more social. Such considerations had other benefits however, as limiting how much of everything I was exposed to all at once had helped a great deal in getting my head around my whole life being changed in almost every way imaginable, and many otherwise normal assumptions about myself thrown into question. I also had the sense that adding new questions to the list was more likely than answers just yet.

As I stretched a bit after standing, my eyes lingered on Twilight as she began to brush out her mane. She gave me a sweet smile when she saw me looking, prompting one in return from me. Although I had lost a lot by being torn from my world, I also gained a lot from the world jump. It had been just two months and I felt like nearly an entire lifetime had gone by.

The dramatic conclusion to our trip up to Canterlot for the Royal Summit, and then all the reveals, discoveries and pushing the boundaries of trust that happened with the rest of the girls on the train on the way back to Ponyville yesterday had capped off a particularly crazy week in a world where crazy seems kind of normal. Although now that I think of it, when you’re friends with Pinkie Pie, that’s also kind of expected I suppose. And for what I had been able to lock down so far in my fractured memories of the time period, that single week was in many ways half again crazier than most of the rest of the past two months put together.

I found it was still hard to believe I’d actually faced Shining Armor in a combat trial.

Thinking about that experience again, I knew I had lost by a wide margin. It was expected though, when he had specific training against bipedal opponents and real combat experience, while I was stuck working off a couple of for-fun sparring matches with Rainbow Dash. I simply lacked much experience against a pony, all things considered. At least I’d held my own before the magical combat portion, where I simply don’t have the training yet to even have a ghost of a chance.

As I remembered the antics Cadance pulled, I just gave a mental shake of my head and a sly smile. She was rambunctious and her own special kind of crazy, but her open acceptance of me was a relief all it’s own.

Thinking more about it, Cadance and Shining Armor both, actually. Even if Shining did privately admit to enjoying the chance to pound on me a little for dating his sister. Between our match and saving her twice now, I knew I had his respect as both her protector and her boyfriend. Or would it be more accurate for me to think of myself her coltfriend, considering my curious discovery?

My fuzzy ears wiggled a bit in amusement at the thought.

Taking my time as I got myself dressed, a simple button-up gray shirt and brown pants, Rarity’s work taking cues from the kung fu uniforms that came with me, I shifted myself back to regular human form so I could put some shoes on. I’d fallen asleep last night in pony mode, my white mane and tail and purple-tinged gray fur transitioning back to long brown hair and bare skin over the course of a several seconds.

While I was more or less just rolling with it, I still didn’t know quite what to think about discovering I had somehow gained the ability to turn into an anthropomorphic unicorn. At present, we were suspecting my link with Twilight made something in me go fuzzy or something like that. At least, I was thinking it. Currently, we really didn’t know exactly what caused it and had a lot to explore as we studied my full recorded magical signature. I really hope I don’t have any other unusual magical allergies. The experience with the necromantic energies of the timber wolves was plenty, a slight shudder passing through me at how that had felt. There was also the fact I shouldn’t have survived, and wouldn’t have, if not for the strange properties of my link with Twilight keeping me connected long enough for my body to recover.

Forcing my mind onto lighter thoughts so I didn’t start brooding, I smirked as I remembered last night. Twilight hadn’t waited much longer than an hour after we returned from the train before the bedroom door was shut, not that I was doing anything but teasing her at every opportunity just to rile her up. Both of us had wanted to experiment with the freaky ear thing Rainbow Dash somehow suspected, and subsequently tested, on the train ride back to town.

Of the many things I had seen, done, or otherwise been through in my life up to that point, world jump included, that was a moment where I could honestly say my mind had been well and truly blown. More than anything else I’d been through in this world so far.

It was just…completely brain-resetting on multiple levels that first time.

Giving a faint snort of amusement to myself as I remembered the ensuing events and effects, I pondered maybe spending some time to make a shielding spell that would give my disturbingly delightful ears little formed covers or something. Bio-magical traits, or whatever the term was, was just something else I’d have to get used to.

At least it only worked when it was a close friend or lover, limited to those that have a deep personal bond with me, according to what I was told. One more thing on my reading list to study up on. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about random ear attacks from the curious.

And I already made Rainbow and Pinkie both give me a Pinkie Promise not to touch them again, ruling them off limits for pranking on all levels.

One vague reference, combined with the kind of creepy delighted gleam in both Rainbow’s and Pinkie’s eyes, was all it took to shoot that whole mess down. Although there was a lot of stuff I’d grudgingly put up with, even secretly laugh over without admitting to it, that simply wasn’t going to be one of them. I deliberately refused to think about how much I might enjoy that kind of prank on grounds I’d have encouraged them and forget what it felt like to stop blushing or relax in the process. My freaky ear thing felt just a little too nice, and Twilight was the only one I’d allow to perv on me.

Regardless, the whole idea really shouldn’t interest me so much, but I couldn’t deny how much I found myself enjoying ear tugs now. Perhaps Twilight wouldn’t mind giving a little nip and tug before she leaves this morning…

Hmm…maybe I’m the pervert in this situation…

I had to pause and blink at a particularly ludicrous thought the next moment, the idea solidifying in my brain that I pretty much had a magical boner button when I’m in pony mode. There are times when the things I think of can make me stop and wonder just what’s wrong with my brain. I gave a mental eye roll and laugh, putting that train of thought aside for when Twilight gets back tonight.

I finished lacing up my shoes, mind wandering onto other things as I focused on my footwear.

They were made of some kind of durable canvas material Rarity had used in lieu of leather when making them, and were based on the kung fu shoes I’d brought with me when I fell out of the skies above Ponyville when I ended up here. My original ones had been destroyed at the start of last week when we first discovered my pony mode. My hooves had ripped them apart during my transformation. They simply didn’t have the materials to even try repairing them here, and the magical effort was ludicrous for something so ultimately trivial. And yet, there was a certain kind of surreality in the pang of deep regret I felt over my shoes getting destroyed.

It was easy enough to figure out why I felt that way. It was one of the few items I had from Earth. Losing one of those few things felt like I was drifting just a little further away from my former life, from my daughter and all the other people I cared about that I’d left behind. It didn’t help that I had so many deep questions spinning around in my head about my very existence now. If I didn’t have physical evidence I’d been there, I might have even begun to question ever being on Earth at all.

With all that had happened, with even the very meaning of my name having been a message somehow, I was left wondering how much of everything I am is my own doing.

The thought caused a sigh to escape, unable to answer how much of my life on Earth had been a lie. At least part of it had to be, after what I had learned so far. For now, I didn’t even know if I could ever figure any of it out at all without going back, which I was impossible. Even if we did have a way to open a portal of some kind, I couldn’t go without Twilight or it would just kill me because of our link. I wanted to know what was real in my life before I came here, yet I knew it may never be possible to truly find out.

When Twilight nuzzled my cheek and I snapped out of my thoughts, I realized I’d been staring at my feet, hunched over with my elbows on my knees and wishing the shoes were leather again as I sat lost in my head. She probably felt the wave of sad longing or other jumbled emotions through our link.

“Anything you want to talk about right now, Vojin?” Twilight asked quietly after she pulled back to look at me with a sympathetic expression.

After a short pause to consider, I shook my head and leaned in close, touching my nose against hers with a weak smile, voice soft, “Just had a moment of disconnect, Purple Angel. With everything that’s happened, I’m not sure quite where I’m at in adjusting to my whole life changing so drastically, and then continuing to do so a number of times in the past week. I need some time to absorb everything right now, but otherwise I think I’m alright. And if not, I know you will listen the moment I ask.”

She gave me a warm smile and rubbed her nose against mine before going back to her morning preparations, “It’s kind of frustrating that we’ve just had all these big things happen, yet I have to spend this whole week almost dawn to dusk at at town hall to get everything in order for when Celestia and Luna send the squad they’re putting together for us. It’s still hard to believe the girls and I are going to be getting actual combat training soon, after all the adventures we’ve had and managed to get through already.”

“I kind of know what you mean. A lot of what’s happened before now with you and your friends was crazy and plenty dangerous as it was. And for myself, I’m a trained fighter with a history of numerous street fights and brawls from seeing someone in trouble, but that’s not like combat training ahead of a war. I’ll be right there with you, learning who knows what about being an officer in the Guard. Despite pushing myself on practical technique and sparring practice, fighting skills have always been just a hobby for me, even if it was quite useful when I got myself into trouble,” I paused with a frown, thinking again, “Although, now I have to wonder just how much was truly just me enjoying martial studies in my spare time. With everything we found out so far, I can’t stop worrying about that nagging ‘what if’ of my whole life possibly being scripted somehow.”

Stepping up beside her, I started brushing out my own long brown hair so I could tie it back behind my neck in a horsetail and not look a mess. Fortunately, it laid straighter when I wasn’t in pony mode, which apparently gave my mane and tail surprising natural volume, and more curiously, a substantial silky softness. I was still trying not to think about how the crap I wound up being some kind of pretty boy analog to Helen of Troy in this world. My pony mode looks were something that would definitely take a lot of getting used to. It made me feel rather weird.

Sensing my discomfort, Twilight brushed me with her wing and gave me a soft look. I knew she wished there was something she could say, some statement to put my mind at ease or answer the endless questions. There simply were no answers forthcoming right now, maddening as it was for both of us.

“You know, I still have a hard time believing you could possibly have so much paperwork to go through over at the town hall with the mayor,” I commented, seeking a bit of distraction as we headed down to breakfast.

“Ugh. Tell me about it. It was a while ago now, when Celestia gave me the authority to approve various measures and funding requests for Ponyville. At first, it sounded rather simple. Then I found out I have to go through all of the same paperwork the regional council would deal with in order to ensure the process is handled,” Twilight paused and made her voice sound stuffy and uptight, “‘With all of the quite necessary considerations and due process that anypony needing to review a decision made with public funds might know the whole of the matter with certainty.’”

She wore a flat look as she muttered a following, “As much as I love being accurate and organized with records and data, they somehow found a way to make it so dry and forced that even that part of it manages to be an onerous chore. Everything has to be specifically the way it’s expected, regardless of any inefficiencies I find and could otherwise correct, or it gets rejected and the whole process of whatever it was has to be restarted if anypony pulls a random review. Which, I should add, suspiciously tends to happen rather often with anything I personally approve. Sometimes I think there’s somepony on the regional council or their staff that spends a disproportionate amount of time looking for ways to give me headaches over clerical errors. I have been told it does seem more frequent than usual, but the precision with which I hold myself to keeps it under control well enough. A couple times I was even able to turn it back with proof it was a clerical error on their side because we have copies of everything here to check against.

“At least Mayor Mare is also very understanding and easy to work with. Most of my side of it is just review and signing off my approval, or bringing up points needing elaboration or clarification. She and her staff do what they can to help me, but I have to personally look through a large part of it according to designated processing checklists. At least I still get some small satisfaction from completing each checklist and knowing I am making the whole mess a lot easier for the town getting what we need in a timely manner. While I know the experience in governing and civic leadership is the point overall, I would be quite happy to do without it. It’s just one week though, so the mayor is caught up with the backlog and even a bit ahead of things for when I’ll lack the time to keep up because we’ll be training. High priority matters that couldn’t be planned for are all I have to deal with afterward, and the rest just has to take the normal three or more months of processing time like it used to before I could step in and shorten it to a week or two. There will be a small gap, but we have some interim measures to cover the transition first up today so the town overall will be unaffected.”

As she finished her venting, Twilight gave a little coo as I scratched behind one of her ears, her wings shifting a bit as she let the frustration go and leaned into my touch. While Equestria seemed to have a lot of well constructed means with which to catch abuses of power, it seemed to do nothing to improve bureaucracy and paperwork woes. I couldn’t tell if the comparison with Earth was worse or not, having never been involved in government work.

“I am not looking forward to whatever kind of paperwork I’ll probably end up dealing with, now that I’ve been drafted into the Guard at a rank equivalent to a Colonel, even if I’m barred from any actual authority until I’ve had enough training. I doubt it’ll be anything as bad as what you have to handle, but it’s certainly going to be new territory for me,” I said, pausing as a thought gave me a small smirk as I glanced at her, “I don’t suppose you give lessons on efficient means of completing boring paperwork…?”

She caught my eye with a sly smile that slowly grew wider, “Hmm. That depends on whether or not you will provide adequate compensation outside of the previously established list of interaction we have in place…”

Returning her smile, though my own was a bit lascivious, I leaned a little closer and spoke low, “I’m sure we could come to an agreement beneficial to both parties. It may require some...vigorous negotiation, but I confess I find myself in need and am open to an initial proposal of desired compensation to start.”

Twilight moved closer, her nose almost touching mine as her dancing eyes narrowed, a wide grin on her face now as she spoke in a husky tone, “I think that…you’ll have to cook dinner after the first lesson.”

I blinked.

After a second to process, I just chuckled and leaned close enough to nuzzle her cheek, breathing her in as she stifled a soft giggle and nuzzled back.

Once I drew back a few moments later, I looked at her with a smirk, “Tease… Sometimes it feels like I can almost read your mind, then I turn around and get a reminder that you can just as easily keep me guessing when you want to. It figures that females are no less a mystery here on Equus than they were on Earth and our link sharing our emotions doesn’t make it much easier. If me cooking for you is what you want, you may consider it done, Purple Angel.”

Twilight gave me another sly smile as she finished brushing herself and I tied my hair back before we headed down for breakfast.

Not long after a pile of pancakes between the three of us had been devoured, Twilight was at the door with Spike, looking pensive. Heck, we both were as I knelt beside her.

“I really wish we had another option, or it made sense for you to come with me,” she said with a frown.

Waving a dismissive hand, I responded with the blunt truth, “And we both know that even if boredom didn’t make me do something distracting, I still won’t be able to get much of anything done. I’m technically not even allowed to be in the same room because of confidentiality rules, regardless of you having a loophole to use. Yeah, it’s not the best time for me to be alone, but it’s just what we’re stuck with. The rest of the girls have their own things to catch up on or arrange too. I’ll survive though. Stop worrying about me so much.”

Twilight took a breath and let it out, her face turning a bit more determined as she gave me a nuzzle and looked into my eyes, “Can I at least hear you say it one more time? Please?”

Her request had me give her a bemused smirk and slight eye roll that was more to tease her than anything else, leaning in and kissing the tip of her nose before touching mine to the spot and giving her an easy reply, “Even if the scripted life turns out true, it doesn’t change the fact that I still have you.”

For a moment, her eyes flashed with her worry and concern for me, before she gave a soft hum and met me in a tender kiss, a wing curling around the back of my head to hold me close for a lingering moment before she pulled back, a more genuine smile on her face now, “I’ll be back as early as I can, my stallion.”

“I know,” I said in return with a soft look, then turned my attention to Spike and gave him a serious look, “I expect you to be extra attentive this week, Spike. Twilight has a lot more work than usual to get through and she’ll be counting on you to keep her on task, as well as minimizing any extraneous tasks that will cut into her time for getting through the mountain of paperwork. Don’t let her work through lunch and make sure she keeps hydrated. Understood?”

Spike gave a sharp salute, “You can count on me! I haven’t been her number one assistant all this time for no reason!”

“Good. Maybe tonight we can chat a little more about the Power Ponies’ current arc and how they’ll save the city from the Mane-iac’s army of hair gel cannon robots,” I said with a smirk, seeing his eyes brighten at the prospect.

I met Twilight’s eyes again before she turned to leave and knew she felt my discomfort about being left alone, knowing I was all too likely to spend a lot of time thinking about everything we’d learned. Both about things coming our way, and the mess of things concerning myself on various levels.

As I watched her walking off down the street and out of sight towards Town Hall from the door, I felt everything loom so much larger in my mind. Just because you’re able to handle the difficult things life can throw your way doesn’t mean they weigh any less.

Closing the door to the library, the click of the latch was almost thunderous to my ears in the heavy silence of a now empty building, causing tired sigh to escape.

It’s going to be a long day.

It was little more than an hour after Twilight had left and I had spent at least ten minutes on the same page about earth manipulation spell mechanics before I finally gave up trying to study for the time being. Dropping in a bookmark before setting the blasted thing down, I rubbed my eyes with the fingers of my other hand.

With Spike off with Twilight for the day to help her handle the paperwork, and the rest of the girls all likely busy catching up on things they missed over the past week we were in Canterlot, on top of needing to prepare their schedules for the coming training, I was hesitant to visit any of them and unintentionally interfere with their efforts. At the same time, being left alone was driving me a little nuts due to one of the many discoveries about myself seeming to start yelling in my head, now that I’ve been left with time for my mind to wander.

I had just under two years.

Of all the things that had happened, staring at what was essentially an eventual magical overload from the forming of the soul link with Twilight and the resulting physical burnout at the end from more magic than my body could withstand was the hardest one to take in. Not even Celestia or Luna knew anything to stop it. Only daily and consistent use of at least a moderate amount of magic to keep my inner reserves from getting too full, just to keep it from accelerating, was the one option available to me.

And it made being alone right now a difficult prospect to stomach.

I removed my fingers from my scalp where I’d been tugging a bit at my hair in impotent frustration and stood up, feeling an urge to grab my guitar. If a bit of music didn’t calm it down, I’d just take a walk and see where I ended up. According to the current calculation, with Twilight staying at Town Hall for the day, I should be clear on safe distance even as far as part of Sweet Apple Acres now, so long as I kept aware for any signs of getting too far from her.

Up the stairs and back down with my guitar, I felt the loneliness of the empty library digging into my head and decided to sit out front. Some sun and space, and the company of any ponies passing by, might help me settle down so I could get back to studying. If not, at least it would help me relax so I wasn’t so on edge before a walk.

In short order, I was settled cross-legged against the base of the library tree, back resting against the broad trunk.

As I looked around the area and saw various ponies going about their day, not many gave me much more than a glance, with a few even giving me a friendly wave I had to return with a forced smile. While I wasn’t out and about too often in the past two months, it seems I was more or less old news at this point. For a moment, I wondered if Ponyville was a good sample of Equestrian acceptance of foreigners or not.

Pondering what to play as I checked the tune, my mind wandered across the thought of what it might have been like if this had been an Equestria like some of the stories I’d read in the past back on Earth, the ones where spontaneous musicals broke out. It was an entertaining thought, though it also begged the question of whether or not such magic would’ve been strong enough to make me a better dancer. Never could sort out how I could flow in a fight, but still have two left feet if I tried to move to music without it being pre-planned and practiced.

Since I was going to be doing a song from Earth, I knew the locals wouldn’t have a clue what I was saying, though I hoped any that did choose to listen would enjoy it. Maybe I should ask how English vocals sounded to a pony at some point. While I still couldn’t remember playing it for her, Rainbow apparently likes AC/DC, but that’s hardly a good example for the kind of vocal clarity for what I had in mind.

A bit more thought led me to pick the song Never See This Life Again by Bret Blackshear for no specific reason past feeling right for the moment. My eyes closed as I began to play, and I let myself slowly fall into the music.

Along the way, as I followed my emotions, the song grew just a little more somber, just a little more subdued than the original. My deeper ranged baritone keeping restrained and softer as I began to sing.

<Don’t show me my dreams…and the people I could become…>

A whole new world had opened for me. At the same time, just about everything I thought I could hold firm had been shaken and left in disarray. I had found great joys, a chance to live a life I’d never imagined in the process.

And yet no matter what else happened, good or bad, I only had two years to make the most of it before I would be gone.

<I don’t want to go home… I’m not ready to call it a day…>

Once I got through the turbulent emotions I knew I had to tackle first, I figured my only real option was giving this time everything I had. I’d always felt I was called to protect others, and I supposed that feeling was far more purposeful than I previously thought, now that I was apparently the first of the Guardians meant to protect the Bearers from whatever pile of crazy we were headed for. Here’s hoping I can gather the other five sooner, rather than later. Some of the visions I saw left me more than a little unsettled about the dangers ahead.

<Don’t get to the end...say what might have been…>

As the song headed towards it’s end, I thought about the fact I was going to leave Twilight far too soon. I distantly sensed the tightness in my chest and cool lines on my cheeks. The very thought hurt.

Before I came here, before we became linked and found so much love could rise between us, I was more or less content with life. While my tendency of finding trouble had risks, the notion I might lose my life never bothered me too much and I wasn’t really afraid of death. I always figured that when my time came, nothing I did would change it, so I saw no reason to be afraid and decided to live life as best I could.

Then Twilight came along, and suddenly dying terrifies me.

<Oh, and go to sleep, and dream tonight… let your spirit soar and your heart take flight…>

We even spoke about it for a moment once and she asked, almost begged, we not mention it for now. To give her some time to accept it a little first.

I was terrified not for myself, but because of how much I knew it would hurt her in the end. And no matter how much I wanted otherwise, I couldn’t do anything to change that.

<Don’t get to the end, say what might have been… Cause we’ll never see this life again…>

My fingers stilled as the last notes faded, leaving me to take a slow breath and put the fears away once more. I knew Twilight would be able to sense how I was feeling. I could allow a short bit of sad of this kind, but I needed to rebalance myself again so she could focus on her work and not spend all day distracted with worry for me. I felt worry coming from her as it was already, and I couldn’t let her worry.

For Twilight, I’ll stay strong.

I opened my eyes with a quiet sigh, the troubled thoughts largely out of mind for now and feeling much calmer, only to be surprised at finding two recognizable ponies standing a short but respectful distance away with both curiosity and concern in their expressions. I guess I was lost in the song enough that I didn’t hear them approach.

Clearing my throat and making a quick wipe at my eyes with the back of my right hand, I gave a brief wave and weak smile before speaking in Equestrian once more, “Oh, uh...hello Octavia, Vinyl. Just got lost in a somewhat sad song is all. Nothing to worry about. Did you like the music?” I paused at a realization, “Uh...I know this sounds weird, but have we met yet?”

The grey earth pony mare with a black mane and her friend now looked a bit bewildered.

Octavia raised a suspicious eyebrow as Vinyl tilted her shades up to reveal her striking red eyes with a smirk, the pale yellow unicorn mare with a somewhat spiky two-tone blue mane speaking with a chuckle, “Yup, sounds weird, but nah, we haven’t met you face to face yet. We did see you get that medal from the princesses for saving Princess Twilight from falling out of the sky when she wasn’t able to fly, though. How’d you hear about us enough to recognize us? Don’t tell me I’ve got a legend right outta fantasy stories as a fan already! That’d just be awesome!”

Pausing, I had to wonder for a moment if I’m ever going to get used to being considered a myth made real in this world. Her comments also reminded me of the ulterior motives and hidden games Celestia and Luna were playing at the time when they gave me that medal, and the spell they had me under, but I shoved that out of my thoughts as I didn’t want to sour my mood again.

I gave a snort of amusement at her response and the glimmer of hope in her eyes, I shook my head and grinned, “Nothing that simple, to be honest. I recognized you from what I saw on my world before ending up here. While I know you’re a DJ and do club music, and Octavia is a cellist, I’m afraid that’s also pretty much the extent of my knowledge. I asked if we’ve met because I recently had a little mishap with a mind spell and I’ve got some memory malfunctions right now.” Then without considering it properly because I’m an idiot, I added, “You know, a lot of humans on Earth go back and forth on you two being lovers. Is it true?”

Octavia’s cheeks gained a touch of pink as she closed her eyes, turning her head to one side and letting out an exasperated sigh, muttering something to herself.

Vinyl just laughed out loud as she glanced at her companion, “Ha! I told you even an alien might think we’re dating!” Vinyl turned back to me with a grin, “Nah. We’re actually first cousins. Tavi’s got a hot flank on her, sure, but it’s no touchy for me. Well, unless I get kinda drunk first, but that’s usually followed by a smack across the cheek and she gets all cute mad for the rest of the night. Kind of a pity really, since on those rare nights I hear she’s got somepony in her room, I can hear her turning into a total wildcat in b-OW!”

Vinyl was rubbing her shoulder, grinning shamelessly at Octavia after receiving a solid punch from the gray mare.

Octavia gave her a withering glare even as she wore a brilliant blush, “Vinyl! Why must you persist in your incessant pursuit of causing me such extreme embarrassment?!”

Turning back to me, Octavia gave a strained smile, her blush slow to fade as she cleared her throat and visibly forced calm into her voice, “My apologies for that most unseemly display, Mister Drayce. Vinyl has the most dreadful habit of teasing me at every opportunity. However, as it has now been brought up in such an uncouth fashion, I may as well confirm that we are indeed family and thus not involved with one another. Leaving such matters behind us, I am most intrigued by that song you were playing. There were some interesting elements in the sound, and while there were similarities, the arrangement was a touch different than I have heard in comparable styles previously. Considering I have never heard that language before, and your particular uniqueness, is it safe to assume that was a song from your world? I would be most interested in hearing more about your music in the future.”

I had to grin at that. It was potentially both a great distraction from my thoughts and an opportunity to make more friends, even as I privately geeked out about meeting ponies I recognized again, “Heh, well if you ever get to meet Princess Cadance, you might find Vinyl isn’t that bad. Oh the story I could tell you from meeting her just days ago up in Canterlot… Anyway, it certainly is a song from Earth. While I never wrote any music myself, I’ve learned to play a few.” I paused at an idea, grinning wider, “Hey! Would you two like to hear some of the songs I’ve got from Earth? I have a pretty wide range on a device that came along with me. If you have the time, I’ve got many hours of songs available.”

Vinyl’s ears perked up at that, eyebrows raising and now very attentive, “You’ve got something to play a ton of sound from your world? Dude, we totally need to have a sit-down.” Then turning her head to Octavia with a sly grin and a nudge, “Tavi, neither of us has anywhere to be for over an hour. I know we were gonna clean the house a bit after getting breakfast, but surely even you can’t turn this down.”

Octavia sighed with a roll of her eyes, “While under most circumstances I would call you out for trying to escape the needed cleaning, I find that I must agree with you in this particular instance.” She turned back to me with a polite smile, “Mister Drayce, we would be delighted to hear some of the music your world has to offer.”

“Excellent!” I realized I was maybe a little too excited to have some company and gave a slight cough, reminding myself to relax as I stood up, “Why don’t you come inside the library and have a seat at the table. I’ll grab my smartphone and we’ll see what might interest you. And please, just call me Vojin.”

As I headed back inside, I held the door open and the two mares came in, myself motioning them to the table. With a quick comment about grabbing my phone upstairs and putting my guitar away, I went to do just that. I sat down at the table with them as I brought up the music player, starting to look for something that might interest them to start off.

Vinyl’s shades tilted up as she eyed my phone with interest, “Your music player looks kinda strange and tiny compared to the stuff I’ve got. That thing has hours of music?”

Nodding with a sly smirk, I realized I had something perfect as I instead went to pull up a video I’d saved ages ago as I replied, “It’s actually multi-functional. I can type notes, take photos, record both sound and sight, as well as play it back. There are some other functions, but I don’t have access to the required infrastructure to demonstrate, considering it requires remote links to stuff that only exists on Earth. It also functions entirely magic-free, making use of very careful manipulation of electrical energy.”

While Octavia looked surprised, Vinyl was rather laid back as she took it in stride, looking thoughtful as she spoke, “Huh. I’ve got some pretty small devices, but they’re still at least twice that size, and they only manage playback through special sound crystals that make up the bulk of the necessary bits. And they only manage a couple of songs at a time, even under the more complex standard enchantments. I’ve been playing with ways to reduce the enchantment demands of the crystals and the reliance on magic, but that thing is way ahead of me from the sound of it. How does it make the sound during playback?”

“Something of an inventor, eh?” I grinned, the video I wanted now ready to play, “As far as I understand it, considering I just bought the thing like most humans do and had nothing to do with how it’s made, the speaker is a little piece of specially made ceramic or something right here,” I pointed out the tiny grid of holes where the speaker was on my Galaxy phone, “I don’t know the details of how it works though. I just know it’s surprisingly powerful for being so tiny. Same with the light and camera next to it.”

“I guess you could say that. It’s all for finding new ways to create sound in the end. A speaker made of the same kinda stuff as pottery though? That’s a new one to me. Let’s hear it then. What sample of Earth music did you wanna show off first?” Vinyl replied with interest, Octavia wearing her own intrigued and hopeful expression.

My grin turned a bit sly again as I got ready to start the video of two famous cellists back on Earth. “How about a playback you can watch? It’s a pair of cellists being creative and playing a pop music piece.”

Holding my phone propped up on the table in a good spot for them to watch, I hit play on the ever popular Smooth Criminal by 2Cellos. I’d saved it to my phone years ago for whatever reason and now I was really glad it was available to me here. With the situation I was in, stuck in a whole different reality, the images and videos on my phone were the only specifically human connections I had left.

As the song played, both their eyes widened as their faces lit up. The sheer fascination and excitement they wore as they watched made me smile.

Once the song had ended, Vinyl said something I wasn’t expecting as she turned to Octavia, “Tavi, you think we could play that?”

As I eyed them with curiosity, Octavia rubbed her chin with a gray fetlock for a few moments before she nodded, “Yes, I do believe we could, given enough time for you to practice.” Then she turned to look at me as she spoke further, “Mister Vojin, I don’t suppose you happen to have sheet music for that performance by chance?”

“I’m afraid not. Even if I did, I’ve seen Equestrian musical notation. While the comparable basics are easy enough to see, the appearance is different from Earth musical notation in most of it. It’d probably be almost as hard to work with as transcribing the sound off the audio recording until you learned to read it, but I lack much knowledge of anything more than the basics to begin with so I wouldn’t be able to explain most of the symbols. And no calling me a ‘mister’ either. You’re gonna make me feel old,” I said with a chuckle.

“Mmm, noted. Well then, would you be willing to let us make recordings of our own for us to work with?” Octavia inquired, “Based upon what I have heard already, I am certain that there shall be quite many songs and melodies we would be positively delighted to learn of. As both Vinyl and myself are in the business of music, perhaps we can come to an agreement and see that the songs you have brought with you might be heard by the ponies and other races around Equestria and beyond. It would provide us with a tremendous influx of new sources upon which to draw, and we can surely work out a tidy share of royalties along the way.”

Quirking a brow at her, I snorted in amusement and shook my head, “No, that’s not going to be necessary. For one, none of it is my work and I wouldn’t feel right getting paid for it. For two, I have no real need for bits, and I’ll be getting a pretty solid pay rate from the Guard soon anyway. Don’t ask why for now, please. What I do need though, is not having all my eggs in one basket as it were.

“If my phone breaks, it’s all gone. If you two can copy a song and give me a copy in turn, that’s all I really want.” I paused to sigh, knowing what I was going to do with my phone eventually, for no reason other than I won’t be able to use it anymore. “As it is, after certain things happen, I plan on turning it over to the crown for study. Human non-magical materials science is off the charts compared to what you have here, to say nothing of computer technology you’ve never even conceived of yet. It will be an invaluable research and advancement opportunity for Equestria in the future. To that end, I also would require it doesn’t leave this library. Might be a little paranoid, but it’s the only one of it’s kind in this world and truly irreplaceable.”

Vinyl Scratch hummed for a moment before she spoke up, “Well, to make good recordings of the sound as it plays, we’d need a designated space to isolate external noise like I’ve got back at the house. My setup is way too big to move around though. I don’t suppose you have an option for headphones or something like that? A way to plug in for the audio?”

“It does have that, actually.” I paused then, an idea coming to mind, “Now that I think of it, you wouldn’t happen to be able to read minor electrical fluctuations with your magic, could you?”

“I got a spell for something like that. Why do you ask?” Vinyl replied.

Nodding, I continued, “Well, the plug probably isn’t going to work the same as your version, but headphones are pretty simple devices. If you’re careful about testing the pair I have, like simple electrical circuit powered by a lemon careful, you might be able to rig something up. Since it just translates a tiny electrical charge into sound vibrations, do you think you can figure out a way to translate it into something you can record? Maybe an adapter?”

Vinyl grinned, “That should be easy enough. I’ll have more trouble dealing with lyrics while running the translation spells and fixing the weird parts that come out. Speaking of translations though, would you be willing to create a translation key for me if I gave you a list of words to record in both Equestrian and your human language? I’d also need occasional sit-downs to go over additional words not on the list as they come up, but that’d just be you saying it in your language and the spell should tell me the rest, as well as you checking to be sure a translation was accurate and keeps the original meanings.”

Taking a second to think it over, I gave her a smile as I held out a fist, “I’ve got a lot of work ahead for some stuff coming up, but when I’ve got time, I’ll be happy to do what I can. Just make sure the better parts of this music can reach out to listeners everywhere. I think I’d much prefer to exercise some altruism here and make some new friends. At most, you’ll both owe me a favor or something. Sound good to you two?”

Both mares returned the smile and nodded as they bumped my fist with a hoof.

“Sounds good to me, dude,” Vinyl said in response.

Octavia was a little more expressive, “While I have some lingering feelings that I am unfairly taking advantage of your generosity, I can see you mean it wholeheartedly. If all you truly desire in return is copies of your own music and my friendship, I will most certainly not turn you down. What other songs come to mind? I’d love to hear something more about classical styles from your world…”

For the rest of the hour, the three of us went through a few more songs of widely varying genres, more focused on note patterns and melodies than lyrics due to the language gap, and made some initial plans for future visits. Vinyl was going to get some stuff ready for analyzing how to recreate or make an adapter for headphones that would work next time as well. It would just be a short visit one evening, but she said all she could really do at first was get some data to work with.

As we headed for the door so they could leave, I found myself with the strangest feeling of purpose or a connection to them for just a moment, but whatever it meant I couldn’t say. It was gone before I could do more than notice.

Pushing yet one more oddity out of my mind for now, I opened the door for them as we said our goodbyes, “I look forward to when you can drop by next week, Vinyl. Hopefully you can figure out how to mimic my headphones sufficiently so we can start making copies of everything soon after. And I’ll definitely be looking forward to the show you two are planning for Nightmare Night. Can’t believe I forgot that’s in two weeks. Guess things have been just that crazy for me lately.”

“No sweat, dude.” Vinyl wore a grin as she spoke, “Once I have a chance to take some readings and see what exactly is happening on your headphones, I should be able to whip something together within a day. I didn’t minor in applied magitech studies during my doctorate for nothing after all.”

I blinked at that, raising a brow as I asked, “You have a doctorate?”

Vinyl just grinned wider from behind her shades, “Yeah, in Music Theory like Tavi. What? You think I just guessed my way into clubs and making DJ PON3 a widely recognized name? I totally earned it by building all the gear I use that gives me a unique sound. I even had most of the same courses and graduated the same day as Tavi, though we went in different directions professionally. You should’ve seen us tearing up cello recitals back then! It was a blast!”

That made me blink again, but I decided not to question anything else until she could drop by again or we might be lost in conversation.

“Well you’ll have to tell me a story or two when we can start this little project,” I said, then looked to Octavia, “I’ll be looking forward to seeing you then as well, Octavia. It’s been a pleasure meeting you both.”

With a warm smile, the gray mare dipped her head, “I could say the same of you, Vojin. I wish you the best of luck in your upcoming endeavors. Until we meet again.”

“I’ll drop by in the afternoon next week and take a look at those headphones of yours. See ya then,” Vinyl said with a grin before the two mares headed off into Ponyville.

I watched them leave for a few moments before closing the door with a quiet smirk, happy to have the opportunity to make more friends. Once we’d been able to make copies of the music collection I had, maybe I’d be less worried about anything happening to my phone. I still had some other work to do with preparing for such a thing, but Twilight helped me figure out a way to get the photos copied into a physical form like regular photographs. It was a relatively short but useful learning path for my magic studies to do it myself, and should help me cope with losing everything I knew so suddenly by preserving what I did have.

Still, even after that chance to distract myself and relax, the moment I looked at the book I had been studying earlier, I felt myself hesitate. I could tell right away that if I tried to sit down like that again right now, I’d wind up right back where I was just over an hour ago.

Blowing out a breath in unanswerable frustration, I went to put my phone away upstairs and was about to head out for a walk when I noticed my old hat hanging on a hook on the wall. Seeing it made me pause as I tried to recall the last time I’d worn the beat-up waxed-cotton brown fedora and found myself coming up blank. I used to wear the thing almost every time I left the house, uncaring that it was old and kinda ugly. I liked it, and that’s all that mattered to me.

Picking it up and plopping it on my head, I had a moment of wondering at the feel, noticing something was different from the comforting familiarity it had before. I couldn’t quite place what it was. It just didn’t sit quite right anymore as I took it off and looked it over with a frown.

Running my fingers over some of the frayed stitches and tired shape, I couldn’t help the thought that came to mind about my now former life, about the shifts in myself I’d had in the past two months. It occurred to me that even if I made it back to Earth tomorrow somehow, familiar as it was, I’d be longing to come back pretty fast. Somehow, some way, something about this world carried a sense of rightness that was always missing on Earth, now that I was focusing on the matter directly.

Hanging my old hat back on the wall, I felt a little more accepting of things with that bit of understanding. It didn’t explain why I felt so oddly comfortable, why I had that feeling of my somehow being where I was always meant to be, but knowing I had gained that much of a connection to Equestria let me feel more at ease with trying to make it my new home.

If nothing else, at least I know I’ll never spend much time being bored. And if I did, Pinkie would probably fix that pretty fast.

Besides all that, I remembered my pony mode also came with an enlarged cranium that would likely just tear up my old hat if I was wearing it and made the switch. Maybe I’d be fine with losing it someday, but for now it was one more comfort from my old home. I hadn’t thrown away the remains of my ruined kung fu shoes yet as it was.

Rolling my shoulders and feeling done with being mopey, I left the library and headed down the street. I had no actual destination in mind, just looking to see where I felt like going at each turn for now.

Many of the ponies I passed greeted me politely, which I returned with a more genuine smile than I’d worn earlier. It was kind of curious how openly accepting Ponyville seemed, despite my unusual presence. Maybe all those notions about it were true, and the frequent disasters and random shenanigans in town really had inured them to the unusual.

Several times, I had to smirk to myself, seeing a familiar sight on occasion. I noticed Sugarcube Corner was surprisingly similar to the show’s interpretation, retaining the cartoony styling, while other businesses, such as the day spa, had more elegance than was depicted.

Turning a random corner, I nearly bowled over a familiar pair of ponies and couldn’t help but smile, wondering to myself even as I minded my manners, “Oh, pardon me. Blind corners are a constant peril.”

The mint green unicorn with a harp cutie mark had to crane her neck to meet my eyes, “Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t watching where I was going too well as it was. I’m Lyra Heartstrings, and this is my best friend Bon Bon,” she said, gesturing to the cream-colored earth pony beside her, “I don’t mean to be a bother, but I can’t help but wonder. What’s it been like falling out of the sky and living in Ponyville, Mister Drayce? A lot of ponies have been curious about you. Especially when you seemed to hole up in the library with Princess Twilight all of a sudden.”

Giving her a grin and figuring that a lot of ponies in town knew my name at this point, I replied, “Nice to meet you, Lyra. And you, Bon Bon. I can’t say much for the falling out of the sky bit, considering I was mostly unconscious for it, but living here has certainly been interesting. Aside from the obvious ways and the differences in culture though, I have to say it’s not all that different from Earth and human society. Half the fun has been discovering the differences between what I had learned about Equestria before I arrived and what it’s really like. One example would be bumping into ponies I had some knowledge of, such as you two, though it’s only by appearance that I recognize you, for the most part.” A curiosity popped into my head just then and I had to ask. “I know it probably sounds ludicrous, but I have to ask Lyra...are you obsessed with humans by chance?”

I had to blink when Lyra’s jaw dropped, her face taking on an expression of being absolutely floored and speechless. It was further confusing when Bon Bon started to snicker, faintly at first, and slowly failing to contain herself as it grew into guffaws that had her leaning against the nearby wall of the building beside us.

Sputtering for a moment as she collected herself, Lyra facehoofed with her eyes shut, a long suffering groan escaping, “One time! It was one time! I try going as a human for one NIghtmare Night and everypony thinks I’m obsessed! And now I actually meet a human and even he thinks I’m obsessed! Yes! I like the myths and know most of them but I’m not obsessed!”

As she looked back up at me with a severely put upon expression, I gave her an apologetic, sheepish smile, “Er, sorry. It’s just something a lot of humans back on Earth have taken to in absence of knowing much of anything about you. I suppose it would be safe to assume you’re not a martial arts master either then?”

“Augh!” Lyra’s eye twitched a bit as she plopped onto her haunches and threw her forelegs in the air, “That one too?! Next I suppose you’ll tell me lots of humans think I’m some kind of really skilled mage or something, right? Yeah, I went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but it was because I’ve got a musical talent, not raw power or something. It’s more than just a school for mages and I’m only a bard. I just play music, and sometimes help Bonnie in her shop when I don’t have anything scheduled. Is it my coat color? My mane style? What is it about me that keeps making everypony think I’m crazy?!”

As Bon Bon slowly got control of herself, fresh laughter starting up with almost every word out of Lyra, all I could do was blink. I had to catch myself before I made a quip about Lyra’s last question, starting to notice a few ponies in the vicinity were currently staring at the three of us. I started to wonder if ponies were more susceptible to being dramatic. I also wasn’t going to question where the connection was that I had insinuated Lyra was crazy.

Clearing my throat, I gave her an apologetic look, “My apologies, Lyra. I didn’t think it was a sensitive topic.”

Going back to facehoofing, Lyra gave an exasperated sigh before meeting my eyes with a sheepish look and faint blush. “Um...yeah. I kinda get asked this stuff for no reason sometimes, and hearing it from a human this time was a bit much. Sorry for overreacting a little there,” she said, then glanced at Bon Bon with an accusing look and prodding her with a hoof, “And you! Was it really that funny Bonnie? I mean, come on! You didn’t have to laugh that much, did you?”

Bon Bon gave Lyra a smug look that said a whole essay, saying only a simple, “Yes, it was, and yes, I did.”

Lyra just huffed and crossed her forelegs before looking away, pointedly ignoring the two of us.

Turning to me with a smirk, Bon Bon didn’t look the slightest bit sorry, “You’ll have to forgive her. She knows I’m going to tease her for months over this. I’d better drag her home so she can sulk and be silly about it. Thanks for giving me a great laugh though, Mister Drayce. It was nice meeting you and I’ll be sure to say hi next time I see you.”

Rubbing the back of my neck with a sheepish grin, I could only nod, still a little flabbergasted from Lyra’s reaction. “It was nice meeting both of you. Maybe next time we meet, we can talk about music or something. Until next time, Bon Bon. Lyra.”

The pair went on their way and I went back to my walk, but it wasn’t long before I found myself interrupted again as I went around another blind corner. I hoped it wasn’t going to become a regular problem.

Landing on the ground with an ‘oof’ as something collided with me, I took a second after opening my eyes to process the gray pegasus mare sitting on me, rubbing the side of her head where I think she bumped the wall, her blond mane looking rather disheveled. A quick glance confirmed bubbles were on her flank, making my present circumstances take on some degree of sense, at least with a certain way of looking at it. There was a bit of mail scattered about, the mailbag the mare wore hanging open at an odd angle.

“Uh, hello. Are you alright?” I asked her, still pinned to the ground with her sitting on my torso. Why was I not surprised that this was how I ran into Derpy?

“Yeah, I’m okay. My bad. I was going faster than I should have. I know it never seems to end well, but I was trying to finish my delivery route a little early today,” she replied before giving a gasp upon opening her off-kilter yellow eyes, a hoof covering her mouth. “Oh gosh! I’m so sorry, Vojin!”

All I could do was smirk and shake my head as I waved off her concern, “Don’t worry about it. I’m durable enough, and it’s better than a head injury or something like that. Now are you going to let me up, or continue using me as a cushion?”

Derpy responded with a tiny giggle and blush before she got to her hooves and I helped her collect the spilled mail in short order.

“Thanks for helping me clean up my mess. I wish I wasn’t such a klutz. Can I treat you to another muffin soon to make it up to you?”

Kneeling there in front of her, I frowned at that before quirking a brow at her, “Another muffin? When did we share muffins? Have we met before?”

What followed I wasn’t quite sure how to process as Derpy gave me the single saddest look I could never have imagined, her bottom lip giving a faint quiver even as her wings drooped, her ears going limp and speaking with a wavering voice that sounded so heartbroken I thought I was going to shatter with my heart, “Y-you don’t remember me?”

As I saw signs of tears in her eyes and heard her give the faintest sniffle, I realized I just made Derpy sad.

How exactly did I become such an evil monster that I made Derpy cry?

“I-I’m sorry, Derpy! I had my brain scrambled by magic recently and don’t remember several things right now. I-I’ll share some muffins with you right now if you want. Just d-don’t be sad anymore, ok?” I said with my hands up, eyes wider as I started feeling a mix between shame for my crimes and a strange desperation to make her smile again. Part of me wondered if she somehow had a secret ‘sadface’ power yet unidentified or something.

Wiping at one of her eyes with a fetlock, Derpy started looking hopeful and the sense of crushing horror that I made her sad began to lift, “You mean you didn’t just forget about me? You and Twilight were so nice when I spilled the mail just as I got to the library. We even shared muffins since I hadn’t taken my break yet. Most ponies only deal with me for as long as they have to before ignoring me again, but you both gave me a goodbye hug and invited me back. I knew Twilight is really nice and we talk sometimes, but you’re the first guy in a while that didn’t try to escape as soon as possible. Out of all the guys in Ponyville, only Happy Hops, Time Turner and Big Mac ever treat me as nice as you did.”

Taking a steadying breath as I boggled at the mare before me, I just gave her a rueful smile, “I’m sorry, I can’t remember that right now. I’ll ask Twilight about it when she gets back from dealing with a bunch of paperwork at town hall tonight. There was a problem with a mind spell and it left me unable to remember some things from the past two months. I’ve also forgotten some of the time I’ve spent with Applejack, since it turns out I’ve helped the Apple family out on the farm and have no recollection of ever doing it. Would a hug let me make up for it and help you smile now?”

I had barely opened my arms before a now smiling Derpy threw herself against me, wrapping her forelegs firmly around my ribs as I held her for a long moment with a soft chuckle.

“Thanks for cheering me back up, Vojin. I know I’m kind of emotional. Feeling like a pariah so much makes finding the really nice ponies mean so much more.” Derpy nuzzled my shoulder as she held tight. “It’s just the life I’m stuck with. My condition makes it hard for me to go anywhere safely. At least I’m really durable and don’t get hurt from most of my accidents.”

Once we separated again, I found myself rather curious as I got to my feet. “What condition do you mean? I know you’ve got some eye trouble, but only one of them wanders so that can’t be it, can it?”

Derpy flexed her wings a bit, then gave me a sad, resigned smile as she went to a hover to match my height. “Yeah, if I need to really focus my vision I can just close my bad eye. I have a rare distortion in my flight magic called Snow Flurry’s Scramble. It causes random and uncontrolled spatial disorientation, along with messed up sensory information. Most of the time I can deal with it well enough. My accidents happen when it gets really bad and I have a hard time with actual distance, direction, and strength control versus the messed up version I get. Add in me being unusually strong for a pegasus and it’s pretty bad, as the town hall can attest after one extra bad day. At least at home, I can sit or lay down until the bad moments pass. I’m just one of the really unlucky ponies that doesn’t qualify for a treatment from a Spellweaver team and there aren’t other options. It’s manageable and not life-threatening. I’m used to it at this point, considering I was born with it.”

That gave me a frown, not knowing enough to really say anything, but it was clearly something for me to think about. If for no other reason, the fact that I actually am a Spellweaver, despite having next to no magical training yet, means there was the potential that I might actually learn how to help Derpy in the future. Definitely something for me to look into later.

Putting that thought aside for the time being, I just gave her a sympathetic nod of understanding. “I’m sorry to hear that. You never know though. Miracles can come out of nowhere sometimes. You’re always welcome to visit. If you have a bad day, stop by for a muffin break at the library with me, if I’m available. I’m gonna be real busy soon, but any time I can, I’d be happy to sit and chat a little, ok?”

She jumped forward from her hover and wrapped her forelegs around my neck, hugging tight with a happier smile as I brought my arms up to return it. “Thanks, Vojin. It’s really, really nice to have another friend. Each one I get is so very precious to me.”

Once she was back to hovering, I gave her a nod, “You’re welcome. I’d best let you get back to work. Hopefully the rest of your day is calm enough. Take care, Derpy.”

“Thanks again for cheering me up, Vojin. Have a great day!” Derpy said before going back to her mail route.

Returning to my walk, I let myself ponder a bit over my somehow being a Spellweaver and having the capacity to enact real miracles even the most powerful unicorns and other mages could not. The rare teams of three gifted ponies, almost always unicorns, that existed had trained for over ten years to accomplish true miracle healing. Yet here I was, carrying the ability as a natural gift, no need for a team. It was a sad thought when I weighed how much time I had to learn how to use it, compared to how many years a real magic education takes the average unicorn. Let alone Spellweavers just learning healing.

A helpless sigh escaped as I acknowledged that I might very well have the capacity to even fix what was wrong with myself and save my own life, but there was no viable knowledge of dealing with issues of the soul to go on for me to even begin trying. It was a terrible trap to be in, needing time to study and experiment for the answer, but not having enough time to study and experiment for the answer. The bloody catch-22 dilemma was going to drive me up a wall.

It was in that state of mind I bumped into yet another pony as I went around a blind corner, finding myself wondering what was with my luck today as I looked down at the white-coated mare.

“Oh, I beg your pardon, Vojin. I fear my sunhat caused something of an obstruction in my vertical awareness,” Rarity said as she adjusted her off-kilter headwear. She had a pair of moderately laden saddlebags on her back that looked to have some bolts of cloth sticking out.

I just gave her a lopsided smirk, “No worries, Rarity. I was a bit lost in thought myself. This is the third time I’ve gone around a corner and bumped into a pony in just the past hour. I’ve been having some great luck.”

Rarity gave a polite laugh with a hoof over her mouth, “It sounds like rather great luck indeed, darling. Might I ask what has you out and about? After only ever seeing you with Twilight these past two months due to the constraints of your curious link, it is rather novel to see you by yourself.”

Her question brought to mind what I had just been thinking moments before, as well as why I needed to go for a walk, leaving me with a bemused expression, “Well, considering you know about certain, ah, time constraints I’m stuck with, I found being alone in the library wasn’t sitting well and opted to take a walk. And before you say it, I knew you girls all need to get ready for next week, in addition to making up for last week’s time in Canterlot. It isn’t anything I couldn’t put up with for a day, so I didn’t want to be pestering any of you, at least until tomorrow.”

Rarity gave me a knowing smirk before speaking, “Ever trying to put others before yourself, I see. Well darling, lucky for you, I am in no rush. As we were not certain what to expect, and considering our past meetings with Princess Celestia have long had a terrible tendency for turning into sudden adventures, I planned for a very light workload. I presently have no commissions due until the end of the week, and those I do have are all but finished already. I was just returning from a small supply run. With the cat out of the bag as it were, you are coming to the boutique for tea. I won’t have a friend dealing with such distress by themselves if I have anything to say about it. I won’t take no for an answer~!” she said in a sing-song tone.

I had to chuckle a little and shake my head at her expression, my only response being a wave of my hand for her to lead the way. Any other response I could’ve made would’ve been either weak excuses, or rather rude, and both of us knew it.

We had been in her kitchen, seated at the table chatting about some sketches Rarity had been making some initial plans with for over an hour, which was more engaging than I would have expected before meeting the fashionista in the flesh. As per usual, she was eagerly seeking the opinion of a very different set of eyes as we had agreed on almost two months ago. My coming from a world where clothing was vastly more common had given me more perspective than I’d ever anticipated, as it turned out. Even if fashion generally made about as much sense to me as painting a picket fence plaid, most of my opinion wrapped up in a big ‘why bother’ pragmatism, I had still been exposed to countless ideas simply by living with it. It was a comfortable exchange, though I had to wonder how much she noticed I was entertained by her exuberance and dramatic flair.

As I took a sip of my tea with a faint smirk, it wasn’t hard to accept the notion she would readily play it up if she did, the ham.

I listened as Rarity continued on, “I simply cannot thank you enough for all the ideas you have given me, darling. Even without seeing those photographs on your miraculous little human device, as positively magnificent as that was, the inspiration I have garnered through our conversations has been simply marvelous. It is difficult to say just yet, but I daresay I might bring about over a dozen new trends if I play my cards right!”

“Heh, well hopefully those cards play the way you’re hoping,” I commented back as a thought came to me, leaving me rather curious about a particular aspect of Equestrian society and voicing my thoughts, “You know, it just occurred to me, barring having simply forgotten due to the Rose Window spell’s backlash, that I am kind of in the dark regarding pony perceptions of physical attractiveness. Although I was raised to see a mind first, that doesn’t stop me from noticing the obvious aspect of what my eyes perceive.

“Could you give me some insight into what the typical Equestrian thinks is beautiful in another pony’s looks? I know my pony mode is apparently stupidly attractive for some reason, which is probably going to feel extremely weird for a while after finding that out on the train yesterday, but I have also noticed my natural human form has attracted appreciative looks here and there. That’s not even counting Twilight’s obviously biased opinion. I’m curious because I look nothing like a pony, and even in pony mode I’m still quite different in my bipedal body structure, yet a few are obviously looking at me with interest now and then. What do ponies think is attractive?”

Rarity’s expression became thoughtful as she set the sketches down in the other room with her magic. I’d noticed she was rather good at levitating things without needing to look at them. A skill I was nowhere near good at yet.

After a pause to consider with a sip of tea, Rarity began to answer, “Hmm…that is quite the tricky question to answer properly when you lack having grown up with the same exposure as we ponies have. I suppose as a fashion designer I would be among the best qualified to answer it with a certain informed objectivity. Remembering our conversations past, I already know you are familiar with things like bone structure and symmetry. That said, I suppose the first thing I should point out that I believe you are not familiar with is the two primary considerations and the two secondary ones. The Solar Ideal, the Lunar Ideal, and to a lesser extent, those that are exotic, and those that have eye-catching rare physical characteristics.

“For a majority of ponies, the Solar Ideal is the epitome of beauty. I think it goes without saying this is inspired by Princess Celestia herself. A pink mane and tail on a pony with a white coat is considered the most desirable combination. Though most curiously, a white mane and tail upon any light-colored coat other than white, like your own lavender-tinted gray, is held in almost the same regard. However, a white mane upon a white coat is typically considered quite bland and uninteresting.”

Rarity tapped her chin with a hoof as she looked at a random point in the air before continuing, “Since the return of Princess Luna, the mostly absent Lunar Ideal has begun a slow rise back towards prominence. I expect it will take quite some time yet, but if I recall my fashion history, a dark blue mane and tail over a black coat was once given nearly the same regard as the Solar inverse. Again, a black mane upon any dark coat was also quite prized, with the same issue for those with black upon black. This also applies to any given coloration being overly similar between mane and coat. Of course, both Ideals are only accounting for single colors, which is a large part of why and how we ended up with the secondary considerations.

“For yourself and your unusual appearance, the interest in the exotic clearly applies. It has different forms and aspects involved, but generally it is an appreciation of health and fitness in non-pony forms. Aspects such as more muscle definition than might be seen among ponies is often one of the more openly expressed. As you already heard from Applejack about your own form, your more visible musculature is quite defined, yet not overstated. As with anything of this nature however, it is a matter of perspective. I know of one pegasus stallion in town that has taken muscle definition to quite an extreme, much to the enjoyment of his minotaur marefriend. The fact you are also a biped provides a very different presentation, which is something often in line with those that value a more muscular appearance. Personally, I believe this is driven at least on some level by the minotaurs, and to a lesser extent, other bipedal races. I could continue all day with the various aspects of the exotic consideration, so I think I shall stop myself here.”

For my part, I was fascinated as I took in Rarity’s explanation. Having nothing to say at the moment, I simply let her continue. I could only imagine what kinds of rabbit holes were in the psychology behind it all. It was certainly something to talk with Twilight about later, that much was certain.

“Mmm,” Rarity took another drink of her tea before she went on, “That of course leaves us with the other secondary consideration I mentioned. Those with rare physical characteristics that stand out. At it’s simplest, it is ponies with unusual patterns of color in the mane and tail. The more contrast or rarity, patterns in particular, the more desireable it is perceived. In most cases, a two-tone mane and tail are only varying shades of the same. Variances in one’s coat tend to be lightly colored in most cases, though I suppose it is worth noting that this is reversed amongst the Thestral population. With me so far, darling?”

I nodded with a lopsided smirk. Curiously, I found myself wishing I could tilt my ears towards her and wondered for a moment about just how amusing I really thought my pony mode ears were, “It’s easy enough to keep up with. I know you’re skimming the surface, too, but all complex subjects need to be built up at some point. I suppose I can understand a little bit better why some ponies look at me the way they have. Not sure how I should feel about it to an extent though, considering I seem to be getting more looks here than I did on Earth. Hmm...I fear I can’t recall. What was it you found interesting about me again?”

Rarity smirked back with a teasing twinkle in her eye and a brief chuckle, “I’ll not be stroking your ego any time soon, lovercolt. I think dear Twilight has you well in hoof in that regard as it is. Tell me though, now that I have explained the most important parts, how do you believe myself and the girls line up? I am curious what you think, and if you have understood Equestrian perceptions of beauty correctly.”

Giving her a grin at her deflection, I finished off my tea as I took some time to think. Pony society was quite open, and from what I had seen so far, very accepting, even encouraging, of differences. I wondered if the fact Ponyville was both disaster-prone and the last rail stop before Canterlot, providing a moderate frequency of foreign travelers always passing through, had anything to do with it.

“Well, I remember from what I knew on Earth that Fluttershy has the top spot. With similar colors in both her mane and coat, Pinkie would likely be last. I suppose with her blonde mane and orange coat being relatively similar colors on the sliding scale, Applejack would be fifth. Rainbow, I guess she lands in fourth. That leaves yourself in second and Twilight objectively in third, though my personal bias puts her at the top of my list. Really, all of you are rather close overall, I think. I see some differences, like Pinkie’s slight pudge, but overall, adding in what I have seen of bone structure and physical symmetry leads me to think you’re all up there in the looks department. How close am I?”

“Pretty close, actually. You have only one of us girls out of order,” Rarity said as she gave me a pleased nod, “but as with anything so ultimately subjective as physical beauty, things are quite flexible. Strictly speaking from the viewpoint of the Solar Ideal, I am ahead of Twilight in a general sense. However, giving equal consideration to the Lunar Ideal quickly leaves Twilight ahead of myself.

“The one you have out of place is Rainbow Dash. In most perspectives, she is a close second to Fluttershy and quite well ahead of my own appearance, I must humbly admit. Her prismatic mane and tail is something exceptionally rare and eye-catching. Quite honestly, if she so desired, and attended the appropriate care of her appearance, our dear Rainbow Dash could be a dominant force as a fitness model.” Rarity paused with a frown and a look of something I couldn’t place. “I must admit, knowing what I do now, I can understand why she wants nothing to do with beauty and thrives as the utter tomcolt she is.”

That made me quirk a brow, “Sounds like there’s a bit of a tale there.”

“Oh, forgive me darling,” Rarity waved a dismissive hoof, “I had not intended to say such a thing. In trying to extend my trust in you as we have been, I let it slip my tongue without thinking. Still, I suppose I can at least tell you it is her story to tell if she trusts you enough and feels you should know. Beyond that, it is not my place to share, and very private.”

“I understand. I won’t pry,” I replied, “But Rainbow is really seen as that attractive?”

“Indeed she is,” Rarity said, “Had she the same natural grace as our darling Fluttershy, I daresay the two might even stand equal. While we are on the subject of physical beauty though, I wonder if I might convince you to show me your, as you call it, pony mode again? There is something I would like to check.”

I couldn’t help the devious smirk I got as my eyes narrowed playfully, “If you take a moment to recall, Rainbow said pretty much the same thing just before she tugged on my ear like the pervert she is, testing if I was a nom & pop stallion. Which, apparently, I am. Are my ears safe from you, or no?”

It was impossible not to laugh lightly at the sudden blush Rarity gained as a hoof covered her heart, her eyes going wide and head pulling back while her jaw worked wordlessly for a few seconds before she let out an embarrassed laugh of her own, “By Celestia, you really are terrible, Vojin… I can assure you, I have no intention of playing with your ears, but if I do, you may restrain me in any manner you desire.”

That made me laugh louder, seeing her giving me a teasing, confident smirk even with the light blush she wore.

With one last chuckle, I met her eye, “Heh, I’m not the only one, Rarity. I’ll bet putting you in a room alone with Cadance for such an exchange would get interesting rather quickly. But yeah, no problem. The change only takes a matter of seconds whenever I will it. And no blushing at me wearings socks again, skewed as things are.”

Rarity let out a sigh as she shook her head with an amused grin on her muzzle as I worked on getting my shoes off, a teasing exasperation in her voice, “Ever the hoofful, darling.”

It wasn’t long before I was pulling my long white tail from the back of my pants and rolling my shoulders to settle the fur under my shirt. I gave my now mobile, fuzzy purple-tinged gray ears a wiggle, wondering if I was ever going to get tired of having the ability to move them so freely in pony mode.

Adding in a twitch of my nose and flex of my differently shaped jaw, I looked to Rarity as she eyed me thoughtfully, “I’m all set. What did you want to check?”

“Your fur, actually.” Rarity replied, causing me to arch a brow as she went on, “To be specific, the way it settles when disturbed. A thought occurred to me, and ever since, my curiosity will simply not rest until I know. If you could please lean down a touch so I might reach your cheek with my hoof and have a close look?”

Now confused at what that had to do with anything, I simply complied from my seated position.

Rarity touched my cheek and rubbed with the grain of my fur, then against it, then back again with a focused sound of interest. She did this a few times, including ruffling my fur and smoothing only part of it, then comparing the two. Once, she ruffled my cheek fur and just stared at the area, leaving me ever more confused with every action until she finally stepped back.

“Positively remarkable. I am going to take a guess here, assuming you have done so at some point in this past week since discovering you could transform yourself in such fashion, that brushing your mane is much easier like this than in your human form?”

I looked at her with a furrowed brow as my ears shifted about, “I didn’t think about it much at the time, but yes, actually. Same with brushing my tail. Why do you ask?”

“My goodness. You truly do lack any knowledge of ear control etiquette whatsoever and how it displays your emotions, don’t you?” Rarity looked between my ears and eyes a couple times with an amused twinkle in her eye and a sly little grin, “As for my asking about your fur and mane, it stems from things I have spoken of with Twilight in the past regarding her becoming an alicorn. It turns out, while not exactly unique to the Princesses, the high flow of ambient magic in their bodies contributes to encouraging a peak physical state on all levels.

“You can ask Twilight for all the specifics she discovered upon looking into it, but suffice to say, you have a most enviable capacity for reduced fur and mane care needs, much like she does. What little I understand of how it functions lines up well with your hybrid appearance being magically derived, which would give you some of the appropriately high natural ambient magic in your body. Much like Twilight however, you are not at the same level as Princess Celestia or Princess Luna, and to a lesser degree, Princess Cadance. As I understand it, they need only a short brushing after getting out of bed before they’re set for an entire day. You have no idea how much I envy their good fortune.”

“Huh. While I’ve never been the type to do anything fancy with my hair, I can see how that would be nice,” I replied, feeling my ears doing whatever as I thought about what I just heard. As curious as it was to learn though, it was just a nice little bonus on top of the rest. Pity it didn’t cross from pony mode to my regular human hair though. Less fuzzy frizzy frump troubles with my long hair wouldn’t be an unwelcome change. It took a fair bit of brushing it out in the morning to prevent ‘spaz hair’ from setting in.

Another thought occurred to me a moment later, “You know… Before we leave the topic, I notice you didn’t specify how beauty perceptions change between sexes. Is there any difference?”

“Ah, you are right. I did not draw such distinction. Well, generally there simply isn’t a distinction to draw. There is some tendency within the Solar Ideal to allow stallions a slightly darker coloration compared to mares. Most intriguingly, this is again reversed within the Lunar Ideal. Particularly among Thestral communities, a more lightly colored allowance is made for stallions, with mares being held more rigidly to the Ideal. Of course, this is all a matter of just a few shades, so it is a relatively minor aspect.”

Rarity paused, looking like something else came to mind before continuing, “I should also point out that it is generally considered exceptionally bad form, even to the point of it being insulting to others, for a pony to artificially change their natural colors. There are allowances for wearing a costume, such as on Nightmare Night, or to a costume party, but that is typically it. Even then, many simply choose to forgo the idea. The exact origins of this escape me at the moment, though I believe it had something to do with a famous cult that had a number of the nobility among their ranks. A certain set of circumstances took place from their dyeing themselves different colors that it ended up becoming almost symbolic of liars and charlatans. The severe rejection of such actions amongst those in high society eventually trickled out, and into the common belief.”

“Interesting. Back on Earth, I know it’s usually considered perfectly normal among humans to dye their hair if they feel so inclined. In some lines of work, such as acting, it’s even assumed as part of the job, so that is a very different cultural view than I’m used to,” I noted.

“I find I must agree with you there. The idea that it would be so common as to even be a job requirement in certain fields is a strange concept. Objectively speaking, I suppose I can see it being a potentially useful tool in the acting field. We ponies simply prefer the use of wigs and costumes to suit a performance role, with some embellishments via makeup as the closest to changing colors,” Rarity returned, looking like she some mixed feelings about the topic.

The two of us continued to trade banter and conversation for a couple more hours. There was also one each of assisting her with something in the shop, and talking her out of making me model something. Mostly with threats of teleporting away if she tried anything.

As all things must end eventually, the day had moved into the afternoon when I finally turned to bid Rarity goodbye, back in my normal human form, “I really can’t thank you enough for keeping me company today, Rarity. If I wasn’t expecting Blossomforth to drop by with our pet birds after she finishes her weather shift, I’d probably stay almost until Twilight was supposed to get back.”

With a dismissive wave of her hoof, Rarity smiled, “Think nothing of it, darling. I can only imagine what must be going through your mind at any given moment right now. You simply must drop by again tomorrow if you find yourself in a similar state of disquiet. I have but a day’s work for the entire week, after all. I have the time.” Rarity leaned a little closer, holding a hoof by her mouth as she stage-whispered, “And just between you and me, were it not for my sharing your company for these past few hours, I would have been reading from my collection of romance novels most of the day.”

That caused a light snicker to escape. “Your secret is safe with me, m’lady,” I made a momentary flourish and bow, “Take care until next we meet, Rarity. I’ll see you when we have the first meet with the squad, if not before.”

“Ta ta, darling.”

***

Later that evening, I was distracting myself with Solomon, my still fairly new pet raven, courtesy of Fluttershy of course. In the back of my mind, I still hadn’t sorted out exactly why I’d picked him up just days before going up to Canterlot. Compared to everything else though, the rather smart, and somehow a little imperious, shiny black bird was an afterthought to consider another time.

Presently, I was only paying token attention to the same earth manipulation book I’d tried to read earlier, knowing a day focused more on relaxing after an excess of stress wasn’t exactly uncalled for. Having only progressed two pages the whole day, I’d pretty much thrown in the towel on any serious studying for the day.

Honestly, with all the crazy shifts in my life, the discoveries, Celestia and Luna casting that spell on me and the backlash of breaking free so suddenly, the worries of keeping the girls safe, the tremendous expectations I was now under, and then still having to make the most of the life I now had...well, a day to unwind was perhaps less a luxury and more necessity to preserve my sanity. Maybe I needed a day around Pinkie tomorrow.

Solomon and I were playing a whistling mimicry game of some sort. We were doing an approximation of the Andy Griffith tune as Solomon sat on my shoulder bobbing his head after his part, when Twilight and Spike returned. The latter didn’t look much worse for wear, giving a quick greeting before heading into the kitchen to make dinner. Twilight though, she looked weary as she levitated her saddlebags off to the side and dragged herself over to the couch where I was sitting. Realizing her intention, I got Solomon off my shoulder, amused when he took wing and immediately went to land on the perch beside Owlowicious.

Twilight crawled onto the couch and unceremoniously flopped into my lap, leaned against me with her eyes closed as she let out a sigh of relief.

“I claim this lap as the sole property of Princess Twilight Sparkle. As a loyal citizen of Equestria, I hereby decree you shall massage my shoulders until such time as I become a puddle,” Twilight nuzzled me with her shoulder at the edge my stomach, her nose pressing into my shirt as she took a deep breath and letting out another, more content, sigh, “Let it also be known my stallion’s scent is the most soothing scent I have encountered this day. You may begin my massage now.”

Chuckling at her antics, one hand settled against the base of her neck, just above her shoulders, where my fingers began to knead at her tension. In seconds, she simply melted with a satisfied groan and a lazy nuzzle before going still.

“Long day though it was, did you at least get through as much as you were hoping?” I asked her, my free hand moving to her mane and scratching softly at her scalp.

“That’s…ooohhh,” she started, a dopey smile coming to her features and melting a bit more against me before she could reply. “Mmm… Thanks to things being prepared and organized into a functional logical order, I was actually able to get a little farther than I hoped. It’s mentally exhausting to put up with so much all at once, but at least I know it’s only four more days. If I keep ahead, the last day will be a short one on top of it. After that, maybe indulging in another study of Earth culture or human biology will be in order. I still want to see what you know about more specific human reproductive processes and conditions again, just in case you remember something else. At the very least, I want to take some special focused scans so I can create the appropriately detailed diagrams to reference beside my notes.”

“You sure that’s the real reason for you being so interested in my reproductive anatomy?” I teased.

“Mmm, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t…,” Twilight hummed as she slowly cracked one eye open to look up at me from my lap, then slowly pulled herself up to look me in the eye as her forelegs hooked onto my shoulders, a sultry smile on her face the entire time as she moved in close, taking a slow lick that travelled from under my chin and along one side of my jaw. “And I love licking your jaw when you’re freshly shaved. It always reminds me of licking you in…other places…”

A shiver passed down my spine and glad I had a little spell to shave with on the fly with how much she loved my chin being smooth, already knowing where things were going when we went to bed tonight. My hands settled on her flanks as I touched my nose to hers with a knowing smirk, “Whatever happened to my uncorrupted, sweet, adorkable, shy-about-intimacy mare?”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed playfully as she pressed closer, deliberately making sure we were sharing our every breath, “First, she found a stallion she loves. Not long after that, she started getting laid on a regular basis.”

My hands gave her flanks a squeeze as she wiggled herself as close as she was going to get before bed, deliberately letting her weight press into me and giving a faint, cute little growl that threatened to make me start laughing, “You’ve been thinking about tonight for most of the day, haven’t you?”

I took great delight in seeing her blush as she gained a sheepish grin, the look in her eyes softening and her voice turning a little quieter, “I, um, I really want to try the next position on my checklist…,” then Twilight’s eyes took on some concern, “I also haven’t forgotten how you felt this morning. I know you’ve been feeling okay for most of the day since, but did you want to talk about it?”

Tilting my head to the side, I moved in to capture her lips for a gentle kiss before moving back to where we were and gave her a warm smile, “Later, Purple Angel. Kind of just working on the coping process. It actually led to meeting some new friends along the way, too. I can tell you about what happened today during dinner.”

Author's Notes:

Additional stories in this verse:
The Wonderbolts Initiative - Focused on the Wonderbolts (obviously) and what pegasi are capable of. There's a rundown of pegasus flight magic, as well as a few little hints about the verse. The battle that Spitfire related to Rainbow Dash in the first book is also presented as it happened in full, along with some hints of Equestrian airship technology. I'll add to this somewhat rarely as ideas come up.

To Earn Our Equality - Ongoing story (Jan 11, 2016) - This is a complex story, but in short, TEOE is the tale of how earth ponies rose above being seen as lesser ponies by unicorns and pegasi, as well as some of the cultural shifts that made it possible for the three tribes to eventually unite and be victorious during the Windigo War (secret for now ). To expand further, it takes place about 400 years before the Unification and Founding of Equestria, and within the verse, about 4000 years in the past when even the royal sisters hadn't been born yet. Also has one of the various humans that have found their way to Equus in the past, in this case a general from ancient China. The story also shows the single most renowned earth pony general in this verse's history, and how she became a legend on par with the likes of Achilles or Heracles are on Earth. Additionally, it will also be developing the natural magic of earth ponies in the PH verse. Updated largely in alternation with Protecting Harmony until the story is completed.

Lastly, for this chapter specifically: Gibbs rule #40 “If it seems like someone is out to get you, they are.”

Edit: Forgot the two song links. There's always something. *sigh*