"I can't have a party without the guest of honor!" Pinkie said two hours later, pacing the partially-decorated Golden Oaks Library. She crossed over to the window and stared out at the dark streets of Ponyville. "I sent an invitation, I mentioned it at least a dozen times! Why hasn't he come?"

"Yeah! How can anypony not want to come to one of your totally awesome parties?" Rainbow agreed.

Twilight thought for a moment. "Why don't we go ask him?"

All was quiet at 221 B Boulevard. Phillip had put on a record: the sound of a piano and bass playing Central Colt Park West gently wafted around the room. Standing in the kitchen, he reached into a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of cider. Not the foamy kind that Sweet Apple Acres sold: the harder, darker, stronger version. He poured a healthy dose into a shot glass, added some ice and replaced the bottle in the cupboard. Taking the shot glass—the sole vice he allowed himself—to the window, he looked out towards the distant, blazing lights of the library, piercing the darkness like the beam of a lighthouse.

He glanced towards the fireplace, where a fire was happily crackling. The invitation had been received, and tossed into the fire without a second thought.

Can't they bloody figure out that I just want to be left alone? he thought.

Are you sure that's what you want? the little voice in the back of his head piped up.

He considered telling the voice to shut up once again, then realized that he had never actually answered that question. He didn't have an answer. He, who had solved mysteries that had baffled the Royal Guard's best investigators, who could learn almost everything about another pony at a brief look, couldn't answer a question that he posed to himself.

He raised the glass towards the library. "Here's to you lot," he said softly. "May you..."

He never had a chance to decide what to toast them for, because a knocking at the door interrupted his thoughts. He sighed heavily and shut his eyes, quelling the urge to growl or curse. It could only be them.

"It's open," he called.

The door opened, and his hypothesis was confirmed when he heard six sets of hoofsteps make their way into the house. He turned to find himself nose-to-nose with Pinkie.

"Why aren't you at your party?!" she screeched.

"I didn't want to go," Phillip said flatly.

"Why not?" Pinkie asked, pressing her hoof against his forehead. "Are you sick? Did flying monkeys stop you from coming?"

Phillip briefly raised his eyebrow, but repeated, "I didn't want to go."

"Why not?" Twilight asked.

"You're such a big grump!" Pinkie said. "You know how big a grump you are? This big!" She stretched her forelegs out several feet. "A party is just what you need to turn that frown upside-down!" She manipulated Phillip's cheeks to stretch a grin across his face.

Phillip swatted her off with a grunt of irritation. "I don't care," he said, turning away and sitting at the piano bench. "Go on, all of you. Go have your parties and laugh and play with your friends. Bloody leave me alone."

Pinkie simpered, looking hurt. Her mane deflated and lost its bubblegum pink coloring. The room was silent, except for the record continuing to broadcast its music.

Then Fluttershy strode forward. "Phillip, there's something bothering you, isn't there?" Phillip didn't answer, but turned away a little more. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," he grunted.

"Well, if something's bothering me, I find it helps if I talk about it. If you ever do want to talk about what's bothering you, you can talk to any of us, you know."

Phillip didn't answer. "We want to help you," Fluttershy said. "If...well, if that's all right...um..." Phillip still did not say anything or turn around.

Twilight sighed. "Let's go, girls." The ensemble turned and began to slowly head for the door.

"Why should you care?"

The sudden voice caused all of them to stop and turn.

"Nopony's ever cared about me," Phillip said, looking up.

"Ponies should care about each other," Fluttershy said, floating over to sit beside Phil.

"And you care about others," Applejack added. "Remember when that varmint tossed that foal into the river? You could have caught him, but you jumped into the river and saved the youngin' instead."

"And when you came to the library, you placed yourself between us and Heavyhoof," Twilight continued. "You wanted to protect us from them." She sat on his other side. "You care about others. Why don't you let somepony else care about you?"

Phillip was silent for a long time, seemingly thinking. Then he finally sighed deeply. "I suppose I'd better start at the beginning." He took a long sip from his drink and began to speak.

"As you probably figured out from my accent, I'm not from anywhere near here. I was born and raised in Sydneigh, Aushaylia."

"Aushaylia?" Twilight repeated. "I know I've read about that someplace..."

"It's a region of Equestria. It's on an island off the southeast coast," Phillip explained. "We liked our privacy, so there's not a lot of other ponies who know about us." He took another sip of cider. "My mother died when I was a baby; I don't remember her at all."

"I'm sorry," Twilight said. Phillip waved her off.

"My father raised me. He was a good stallion, and I...I loved him very much. He taught me saxophone and piano, got me interested in jazz. I remember when I was old enough, he would take me once a week to the Opera House off the coast, and I would play with his band in concert..." A smile briefly crossed Phillip's face and his eyes once again took the faraway look, as if he had been transported to a different space and time; but the look of happiness quickly vanished.

"But I was very introverted and detached, even as a child. Not to mention that I did not earn my cutie mark for a long time. As you can imagine, I had difficulty making friends and was bullied quite a lot. So I had an idea: if I learned as much as I could, and became really smart, I could earn the respect of others. So I started reading and studying as much as I could, and you know something? I found out that I was smart, really smart.

"Thing was, though...I started thinking I was better than everypony else. I became...arrogant. Selfish. Inconsiderate. You wouldn't have liked me back then. I don't." He scowled, pausing for a moment, then took another sip and continued.

"Time passed. I grew and eventually reached high school. Then, when I was thirteen...it happened." He stopped for a moment, as if gathering his wits, then continued. "One night, I had an argument with my father. I don't even remember what it was about, but I got so angry that I actually left the house. The last thing I said to my father was that he didn't even know me. I wound up wandering around Sydneigh for hours, just being angry—at the world, at my father, at everypony..."

He took another longer sip of cider and paused again. The silence stretched out for several seconds.

"After I'd calmed down, I decided to go home. I came home to find that a burglar had...had broken into our home." Phillip's voice had changed, taking on a slower tone. His hooves had started to tremble and a look of pain had crossed his face again, much more intense this time. "And he had...attacked and...fatally wounded..."

The six mares gasped as the realization took hold. Phillip lowered his face onto his hoof, trembling. He gave a long, low moan like a wounded animal and tears began to stream down his face.

"There, there," Fluttershy said, hugging him gently. He momentarily stiffened in surprise, then leaned into her, accepting the embrace. "It's okay to cry. It just means that you're a pony, not that you're weak."

After several seconds, Phillip's crying subsided, but the look of severe pain on his face remained. Fluttershy gently released him and he continued his story. "I was able to examine the scene and determine the identity of the burglar, and tracked him down." He spoke through gritted teeth, this grip on the shot glass tightening so much that the mares feared that it would shatter. "I beat him to a bloody pulp. I wanted to kill him...to get revenge for what he did to my father...

"But I looked at his face, and..." He swallowed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I couldn't do it. It was just some drugged-up kid looking for something to sell so he could get high again. I couldn't bring myself to kill him." He paused again, more tears falling down his face. "And the worst part was, I felt like it was partly my fault."

"Phillip, that's not—" Twilight started to say.

"I had a responsibility," Phillip cut in, his voice heavy. "A duty as a son to his father, to protect him. If I hadn't left, then..." He shook his head, sighing. "You can understand that, right?"

Twilight paused, then nodded silently.

"When my father was buried, I made a promise on his grave," Phillip continued, "that I would honor him by using my talents to help others, to protect them. And that..." He looked down at his flank. "That was when I finally earned my cutie mark."

The room fell silent once more; the record had long ago stopped playing. Phillip continued to cry silently, finally letting out the pain that he'd been holding back for so long.

"Is that why you left Sydneigh?" Twilight asked.

"No," Phillip replied. "After my father died, I finished my education at Pranceton University, then went through training with the Royal Guards, worked with them as an Investigator. But then..." He swallowed and blinked. "One year, while I was home on leave, there was a fire. Most of Sydneigh burned down and the land became uninhabitable. We all had to leave back to the mainland. I left the Guard and spent the next fifteen years going from city to city. The thing is...none of them felt...right."

"You mean none of them were like home," Applejack said. Phillip nodded.

"Two months ago, I wound up here." He shrugged. "And here we are."

Twilight slowly reached out and touched his shoulder. "Phil, I'm really sorry about—"

"Sorry never did anypony any good," Phil grunted, throwing her off. "I don't want your pity. I don't want anything from you."

"Listen," Twilight said, speaking slowly as she chose her words with care. "What you've gone through is horrible, and it's not fair what happened to you. But you shouldn't have to take it alone anymore." She put her hoof back on his shoulder. This time, instead of throwing her off, he turned to look at her. Gray eyes met purple. "Like you, I didn't really have any friends growing up, save Spike and a few close family members. But I would not be who I am today without my friends. It was something that couldn't be taught in any school, but I found out that until I got some friends, I hadn't learned anything worthwhile.

"And I think that what you really need are some friends." The six mares gathered closer around him. "Will you accept our friendship?"

There was silence for several seconds. Phillip finally wiped his eyes. "I don't make great company."

"I didn't either," Twilight smiled reassuringly. "With some time and practice, it's something you can learn."

Phillip thought about it for a moment. "Then, I guess...maybe I could come to the party."

"Yay!" Pinkie said, springing up with an explosion of confetti and hugging Phillip very tightly. "Now, come on everypony! Let's party!"

With that, she trotted happily out the door, rambling on about how much fun everypony was going to have. The others followed. Phillip found himself alone with Twilight.

"She's never gonna leave me alone now, is she?" he muttered, staring after Pinkie with a slightly aghast look on his face.

"Nope," Twilight said with a light laugh. "But it'll never be dull, at least."

Phillip let out a short grunt of laughter. "You know, maybe you should bring your saxophone," Twilight suggest. "You should play a set for us all."

"I'd like that," Phillip nodded. He picked up his case and placed it on his back.

"And Phil?"

"Yeah, Twilight?"

"Welcome to Ponyville," she said, extending her hoof.

He looked up at her. Slowly, as if he had not done it in years, a genuine smile crossed his face. One last tear formed in the corner of his eye, but he quickly blinked it back. "Thank you," he said, shaking it firmly.

Placing his gray trilby on his head, Phillip Finder stepped out the door and headed for the library, his new friend walking next to him.

Author's Notes:

And that is my story. I hope that you've enjoyed my work. Please leave a like and favorite if you feel so inclined and some constructive criticism.

That's all for now. See you soon!

Josiah