The passenger car constantly rocked as the train it was attached to pulled it forward, taking me and several other passengers to our destination. I sat near the back of the car, staring out the window as things like trees and rocks would occasionally wiz by; at first, I was lazily counting them just to pass the time, but after a while I grew bored of that and just decided to view the scenery. Eventually, I was nearly startled when I felt something being placed over my shoulder along with a female's voice speaking towards me.

"Are you ok, Maurice? You've been terribly quiet."

I sighed before responding, still looking out the window. "Nah, I'm...I'm good. Just uh," I shrugged, "just a little antsy I guess."

"If you're nervous about meeting my family, don't be; other than Ledger, there'll probably be one or two relatives at the estate. In fact, if this helps calm your nerves, and if memory serves correctly, my own father shouldn't be present." Despite trying to sound positive, I still managed to pick up small hints of doubt in her voice.

Pressing my forehead against the window's cool glass, I made an amused sigh. "Well, sounds alot tamer than one of those Apple family reunions I keep hearing about, so I'll admit that that is a bit of a relief to me. Still, for the one's who will be there, do you think they'll like me," I rolled my eyes, "aaand hopefully not freak out when I meet them?"

She release a cleansing sigh before responding. "Maurice, word in Canterlot has long since circulated that you've spent some time in the castle and are somewhat familiar with the princesses, so they had to have heard of you at some point."

"But...but how do you think they'll react when they realize that this creature they've been hearing rumors of is dating you, their relative?" I asked before turning to her. "Have you considered that, Tavi?"

Tavi, little pet name I call her by, and short for Octavia; she's what they called in this world, a pony. Basically they're aliens that look alot like horses from my world, and reside in this otherworldly land called Equestria. Oh, and apparently these ponies come in four flavors: earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, and alicorns--earth pony being what Tavi was. Also, did I mention that she's my girlfriend?

Actually, I shouldn't be calling them the aliens, because that description would be more accurately used on myself. You see, if it wasn't obvious by now, I'm not exactly from here. Now I'm not saying that I'm from some neighboring country or something like that--no no, 'cause you see, I'm not even from this planet...dimension--wherever it is I am! I'm just a regular ol', run of the mill human from the planet Earth who got zapped to this world with nothing but the clothes on my back and my charming personality.

"Yes, I've considered how my family would react to me introducing you to them as my coltfriend," Tavi said, adopting a weak smile before continuing. "But...I...I like to think that their characters are much more refined than some of those loathsome nobles that I've had the misfortune of crossing paths with back when I lived in the capital, so they'll surely be cordial and gracious hosts. And besides," she said, gesturing at the other ponies in the car, "not everypony is wary of you."

Scanning around the area, I immediately deduced which of the dozen or so passengers were Ponyville townsfolk visiting Canterlot like we are, and which ones lived there. I could easily tell them apart because the ones from Ponyville weren't afraid to sit closer to me, paying me no mind as they casually read from a paper or talked with friends, while the ponies from Canterlot I could identify as the ones who had purposely sat a good distance away from me, keeping their unblinking eyes forward and occasionally faking a cough or pretending to drop something so they could pick it up in order to sneak a glance at me.

It was these Canterlot ponies that I had taken into consideration when I chose to sit near the back, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. Still, despite the odd look they gave me every now and then, I was at least spending this train ride seated beside pleasant company.

Laying across all three seats in the row across the aisle from Tavi and I, her shades over her eyes as she bumped her head to music from her headphones, was our roommate Vinyl, a white, no nonsense unicorn who's insanity is rivaled only by my own. Also, on a kinda unrelated note, we uh...we slept together once... (Don't ask, complicated story that I really don't want to go into detail.) Casually chatting in the row in front of us was Bon Bon and Lyra, friends that we had invited on this trip; Bon Bon was the cream colored earth pony with a dual-colored mane, and Lyra being a mint green unicorn...who's marbles probably aren't all there... Seriously, she claims to have met a human before, but I highly doubt that since I'm Equestria's first and only.

Crossing my arms and resting my head back against the seat, I closed my eyes as I then said, "I'm just gonna take a nap, mind waking me when we get there?"

"Well we still have a ways till Canterlot, so why not?" Tavi casually responded.

As I tried to sleep, I thought back to how it was that I ended up here in this world. About three or four months ago (I kinda lost track...),I was on Earth, just hanging out with some frien--wait a minute...have I done this before? I'm like, getting a serious case of déjà vu here...

...Great, I've gone and made myself paranoid.

No longer feeling the need to sleep, I opened my eyes and nearly jumped when I spotted Lyra staring at me, looking over her seat like a colossal titan, ready to tear down humanity's wall.

"Can I...help you?" I asked after awkwardly staring back at her.

Smiling, Lyra tilted her head a bit to the side. "No, not really. Bon Bon and I just wanted to thank you again for inviting us. We've been planning for a while to visit Canterlot, but we know how pricey hotels there can be, so we appreciate you letting us tag along."

"Oh, uh." Eyes still locked on Lyra, I gestured to Tavi sitting besides me. "Thank her, not me; it's her dad's place we're staying at after all."

Raising a hoof, Tavi waved it dismissively. "It's fine, no thanks are necessary." Looking away, she then muttered under her breath, "Anything to diminish the tension that's soon to come..."

"What was that last part?" Bon Bon asked, looking around her seat.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing, nothing at all," Tavi answered with a slow shake of her head.

Lyra and Bon Bon looked at one another, shrugged, then returned to their seats, Tavi's words gone unnoticed by them except for me. Turning to her, I saw that her gaze was fixated on the back of the seat in front of her, her hoof occasionally fiddling with her bowtie around her neck before anxiously running up and down the length of her seat's armrest.

Getting a little worried for her, I then asked, "You ok there, Tavi? You seem a little, I don't know, nervous."

Without even looking at me, she moved her hair to drape over her shoulder, then began to run her hooves through it. "Nervous? W-Why would I be nervous? Just because I've been away from home for quite some time and haven't sent a single letter to them during my absence, then suddenly show up again and introduce you, my non-pony coltfriend, to what little of my family might be there, you think that warrants for nervousness?"

Eyes scanning the ceiling, I rubbed the back of my neck. "Well geez, Tavi, when you say it like that...yes... Call me a little curious, and I know that you said that it was a long story that you didn't want to talk about, but why did you leave Canterlot in the first place, then cut off all contact with your family until now? I mean, you must have had a good reason."

"You're right," she answered, "it is a long story that I don't wish to go into detail, so all I'll say right now is that something happened that caused a decision to befall on me where I was forced to support one of two opposing family members. So, rather than picking a side and risk hurting the other, I ran off, ceasing all communications with them in the hopes that the entire situation might defuse on its own while I was gone." Her ears perking as she picked up my amused huff, Tavi turned to me in confusion. "What's so funny?"

"Well, Tavi," I said, baring a lighthearted smile, "it sounds to me like your family just had a fight; which is not surprising 'cause, you know, family argues. It's just one of those things that are bound to happen."

I thought that might cheer her up, but I was confused and surprised when she simply faced forward, saying in a low voice, "Oh if only it was an argument, Maurice... Things would be much simpler then..."

Frowning a bit at the sight of Tavi now twisting her hair, I scooched closer to her, wrapped an arm around her, then pulled her in for a sideways embrace, my efforts appearing to work as she seemed to calm down enough to the point where she removed her hooves from her mane.

"Tavi," I said, causing her to turn her head enough to look at me from the corner of her eye. "If you're this worked up, I can spend this whole trip elsewhere while you meet up with your family. I mean, you've been out of touch with them for so long, so I'd hate to be the cause of any bad blood between you and them. Hey, uh, Bon Bon?"

"Yeah?" Bon Bon asked, looking back from around her seat.

"Exactly how pricey do those hotel rooms go for?"

Turning fully so she could glare at me, Tavi boldly interrupted Bon Bon before she could answer. "You're not staying in a hotel. Like I said, there might be some relatives of mine there, but there's also the possibility that it'll just be Ledger." Lifting my arm off of her, she took my hand and held it in-between her hooves as she spoke. "You're my coltfriend, Maurice; I'd proudly declare that to whoever may be at the estate. And, on the off-chance that they disapprove, well...well its their loss really," she slowly ran a hoof down my cheek, "it just means that they won't have the chance to see how wonderful you truly are." After finishing that, her eyes widened a tad, almost as if she were surprised by what she said. Then, to my confusion, her expression eased as she said, "Thank you for that, Maurice."

"Heh, thanks for what?" I asked with a small smile, my head curiously cocked to the side.

Releasing my hand, Tavi faced forward and rested more comfortably in her seat. "For giving me some much needed assurance."

Resting back in my own chair, I placed my hands behind my head, leaned back, then stared at the car's ceiling. "Well uh...you're welcome for that, I guess."

"Still," Tavi added moments later, "just to be on the safe side, let's spend the day in the city before heading for the estate. We can peruse some establishments in the meantime."

Turning to her, I slyly grinned as I said, "You just want to stall until the last second, don't cha?"

"Was I really not that subtle?" she answered without missing a beat.

"Well this is possibly the first and last time I go anywhere with you for a while, Maurice," Tavi said as she, Lyra and Bon Bon were looking at some dresses.

After the train had finally made it to Canterlot, we hopped off it, hired a courier to take our stuff to Tavi's dad's place, then made for the shopping district where we were now in one of the city's many boutiques. The interior of this establishment appeared to be coated in marble and mannequins dressed in fancy looking garments were spaced around the store, displaying what they had in stock. Meanwhile, as the girls were busily browsing around, I was sitting atop one of the store's benches, bored out of my mind as I waited for them to finish, and, looking around, I could see that I wasn't alone in this endeavor, as I could spot other equally uninterested stallions in the store, all waiting on their friends or significant others as well.

Getting a bit sleepy-eyed from boredom, I sat in a manner similar to The Thinker statue and tiredly replied with, "Why, what'd I do?"

"Oh you know very well what you did," Tavi answered before pulling her head back in surprise after flipping one of the dresses's tags in order to get a look at the price.

I grinned into my knuckles. "Mmm, you're gonna have to be more specific; I've done a lot of things after we got off the train..."

Tavi moved on to another dress and began inspecting that one. "I'm referring to what you did at the train platform--in front of that advertisement encouraging ponies to visit Manehatten, the one displaying an image of the Statue of Friendship."

I knew perfectly well what incident she was talking about, but, seeing that I'm bored, I decided to tease her. "Oh yeah... I remember the ad, but not doing anything wrong..."

"Oh please," Tavi shot back with a roll of her eyes. "You got on your hands and knees before it, then yelled to the high heavens 'You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you all to hell!'"

I began chuckling in response to Tavi's little reenactment. Still, that statue kind of support's Twilight's theory about the worlds influencing each other, so it kind of makes me wonder which one came first. The one on Earth? The one here? Or perhaps some third party world? Deciding to leave that question for a smarter man than myself, I skimmed my eyes to the side and spotted Vinyl seated beside me, sitting in a posture resembling my own.

"And why aren't you fawning over the dresses like with the others?" I curiously asked Vinyl, lazily nudging her with an elbow.

"Eh," Vinyl dully answered with a small shrug. "They're just really expensive frou-frou dresses, nothing to get excited about. I'd rather spend that many bits on that cool bed we saw a while back. The uh...the mark seven something or other. Hey, Octy?" She made a quick, light whistle towards Tavi. "Yoo-hoo."

"Yes?" Tavi answered, not even looking back at us as she ran her hoof over the fabric of one of the dresses.

"Are you gonna buy anything or not? 'Cause Maurice and I are falling into comas here!"

"It's true," I added with a nod, my eyelids getting heavier with each blink.

Tavi casually shook her head. "No, no we're not planning on buying anything; we're merely browsing."

Vinyl scratched the back of her head. "Well uh, when are you gonna be done 'browsing'?"

"Who knows? There's no rush; we do have all day, and many other stores like this to check out."

"Great," Vinyl said in feigned excitement, clapping her forehooves before rubbing them together as she turned to me. "Bail?"

Eyes half-open, I scanned the store one last time, then looked back to Vinyl and nodded. "Bail."

And at that, we both rose from the bench, then made for the exit, but not before I gave Tavi a little heads up.

"Yo, Tavi. Vinyl and I are ditching class, so you got an idea as to where we should meet up later?"

"That bored, hmm?" she remarked. "Fine, I'll spare you this time, so wait in front of this shopping plaza's fountain around eight. Understood?"

"Gotcha," I replied, giving her a quick peck on the forehead before exiting the store.

Stepping out the doors, I met up with Vinyl who was waiting patiently for me and noticed that the buildings' shadows around us were getting longer, hinting that the sun was about to set and that we had a couple hours to entertain ourselves with. Back when I kinda lived in Canterlot for a while, before I joined the program that set me up with my roommates, I had spent most of my time solely in the castle, so the city itself was uncharted waters to me.

"Any idea as to where we should go?" I asked Vinyl, recalling that both her and Tavi lived here prior to moving to Ponyville.

She shrugged. "Beats me. Let's go to a grocery store or something; gettin' kind of hungry."

Feeling a little famished myself, we turned down the corner of a street and entered the first convenience store we spotted. Inside, a few shoppers were quizzically staring at me from around aisles, all keeping their distance as Vinyl and I pulled some bags of chips off the store's shelves, then brought them over to the cash register, where a unicorn stallion wearing a striped vest with the store's logo embroidered onto it was reading a magazine behind the counter.

"Three bits each," the cashier unenthusiastically said, not bothering to raise his gaze off the magazine and snacks we placed on the counter before him.

"Shoot, my money's in my bag. Ya mind spotting me, Maurice?" Vinyl asked.

"Yeah, sure. No problem," I answered, reaching into my pocket.

"And while we're at it," Vinyl added, turning to the cashier as she used her magic to pull some items from around him before placing them on the counter. "I'd also like a pack of gum, three of these chocolate bars behind you, two strips of hay-jerky, a bag of trail mix, a packet of mini-doughnuts, some of these gummy worms, cheese crackers, one of those freshly made cookies you have behind the glass--taking this big one, this bag of pretzels, and, just because I don't wanna get fat, a diet soda." To the stallion's and my own confusion, Vinyl placed the items in a few bags, then carried them out the door as she said to me on the way out, "Ight, Maurice. Go ahead and pay the buck now."

Hand already outstretched, I was too late to voice my protest to her, as Vinyl had already exited the building, her tail being the last thing I saw of her before she left me holding the metaphorical bag. Facepalming as I sighed in defeat, I spoke around my hand.

"So uh...how much does that all total to?"

I didn't receive an answer, and removing my hand from my face, I could see why. The cashier's expression was one of shock, his attention diverted long enough from his magazine to finally notice me. Not wanting to freak this guy out anymore than I currently am, I planned to slam onto the counter whatever amount of bits I could muster in my hand, then bolt, but before I could do that, he spoke.

"Oh wow... You're him!" he said with alot less fear than I expected.

I pulled my head back a bit. "Excuse me? Um, him?"

Smiling, he raised a hoof and pointed at me. "You're that human thing--from Ponyville! The one giving all those tours!"

Hand on my chest, I relaxed a bit upon hearing that. "Oh, so that's where you... Yeah," I nodded, then pointed a thumb at my chest, "yeah that's me. So I take it you've visited there before?"

He shook his head. "No, never. I just know about you 'cause, well, you're kind of one of the reasons anypony even visits that place. Now don't get me wrong, it has to be a nice town if one of the princesses lives there an' all, but most ponies are interested in seeing or meeting a one of a kind, talking creature like yourself...eh, no offence intended."

"None taken," I replied with a casual and dismissive wave of my hand.

The stallion then gave me a wide and wholehearted grin. "Say uh, listen. If your presence alone brings in so many ponies, how would you feel doing a little endorsement for me, hmm? Nothing fancy, just take a picture with me in front of the store and write a little something nice about the place; I'd even throw in all those things your friend took, free of charge. So what do you say, yes? Alot of ponies would want in on this kind of deal."

Hmm, well...feeling around in my pocket and guestimating that the amount of bits I have on me won't be enough to cover all those snacks, I guess I could do it. Seconds later, my mouth formed into a grin, which grew and grew more mischievous by the second.

"You got yourself a deal! And uh...alot of ponies, you said?"

I'm Maurice the human, and this is my favorite bar in Canterlot~

After finishing scribbling that on the bottom of the picture showing me and the owner standing in front of his bar, I handed it to him, and much to his delight, he tucked it away before placing two mugs full of cider--both on the house of course--onto the counter before Vinyl and I.

"We got to do this kind of thing more often," Vinyl said, sitting atop the stool beside me as she violently ripped a piece of hay-jerky loose, chewing loudly and contently while occasionally licking at her chocolate-stained muzzle before taking a hearty swig from her cider.

Popping a pretzel in my mouth, I drowned it with cider, making it a bit soggy before I began to chew. Swallowing, I began nursing my wrist as I rotated my overworked writing hand. "I don't know, Vinyl. I've endorsed enough today, and we've got plenty of snacks now anyways!" I gestured at two garbage bags beneath us, both chalked to the brim with junk food.

Vinyl gave a quick nod. "True, and we've made off with a freaking dragon hoard of goodies; I swear, it's like Nightmare Night!"

Taking the time to finish my cider with one last upward chug, I set the mug down, wiped my mouth with my arm, then rose from my seat before making for the front door.

"And where are you going?" Vinyl asked in a curious tone, swiveling atop the stool.

Hand on the door, I turned back to her. "Out. There's something I'd like to take care of since we're in Canterlot and all. Just sit tight and I'll be back soon."

With Vinyl shrugging before turning back to the counter to sip from her own mug, I opened the door and stepped out, the cool air and star-filled night sky greeting me as I made for my destination. After a few minutes of walking down the lamp-lit, desolate streets, I had reached my goal, as I now stood before the entrance to the castle. Standing at both sides of the gate to the monolithic and almost Disney-esque designed castle, were two sentries, both able-bodied bat ponies adorned in ebony armor. Seeing that it recently became night, they had obviously taken over these posts from their golden-clad counterparts an hour or two ago.

As I walked past the entrance and into the courtyard, the guards made no attempt to stop me, their postures as still and stoic as statues as the allowed me through; they obviously remembered who I was, so they didn't bother asking for my identity. Making it into the castle itself, I walked down the well-lit halls, passed by more guards and some of the night staff until I reached a familiar and nostalgic door.

Placing my hand on the handle and finding it to be unlocked, I opened it, reached into the abyss, then fumbled along the door's side until I found the light switch. Flipping it onto the 'on' position activated the ceiling light in the room, revealing it to be my old guestroom. Stepping in and closing the door behind me, I walked towards the center and scanned around, finding everything to be just how I had left it; the bed unmade, the trash bin filled with discarded snack wrappers and empty chip bags, and a few crumpled papers that I had half-assedly doodled into were strewn about.

Done with my visit down memory lane, I laid myself face-first onto the ground, reached my arm into the space under the bed, then proceeded to blindly feel around, my face cringing in disgust from all the grime and dust-bunnies. Right when I was about to lose hope, my fingers made contact with something thin and made of hard plastic. Grasping it, I retracted my hand from under the bed and discovered the item to be a pair of reading glasses, the thing I had come here to retrieve.

"I knew they had to be here," I muttered to myself, sitting on my knees as I inspected them. Condition-wise they were fine, but the lenses were coated in a thin layer of brown dust, making them impossible to see through; I'd have to run these under a sink before putting them on. These glasses were in my pocket when I was zapped here and one of the few things from home that I owned, so I was a little disheartened when I failed to find them in my luggage after moving in with Tavi and Vinyl. I wasn't exactly blind and didn't really need them, but hey, they make me feel smarter when I wear them.

After blowing some excess dust off the glasses, I folded them, then made to rise onto my feet, only to become started when I heard a familiar yet motherly voice coming from behind.

"They informed me that you were in the castle..."

"Jesus!" I yelled in shock and surprise, hand above my rapidly beating heart as I frantically turned around. "Fuck, Celestia, knock on the door or something when you come in! I could have been wanking in here for all you know!"

Celestia, the radiant ruler and goddess of this land smirked before chuckling into her golden-clad hoof. "Apologies, Maurice, but in my defense, I wasn't even aware you had returned to the capital." She leaned forward with a curious brow on her expression, forcing me to lean back a bit as she looked me over from top to bottom. "What are you doing up here in Canterlot, by the way? Not that it's not great to see you again, but shouldn't you be in Ponyville?"

In response, I raised my open palm inches away from her face, then moved it near her, eliciting her to crane her neck back and give me some space. Once I had it, I slid my glasses into my pocket before answering her.

"I didn't run away if that's what you're asking. I'm uh...kinda on a little vacation here with my roommates."

Backing up to sit on the bed, I took the time to update Celestia on my new life in Ponyville, and she was more than eager to hear. I told her of my wacky yet fun life with Vinyl and Tavi, my job, friends I made like my co-workers as well as Ditzy and her daughter, Twilight's unnecessarily thorough checkups she gives me, and that I was now dating Tavi, but, I had chosen to leave some things out, like my encounter with Highground and Speaskeasy (both of which I haven't seen since forever ago, so I consider those bridges crossed), and, for obvious reasons, the fact that I had slept with Vinyl...

"Well I'm glad to hear that the program worked out for you then," Celestia said as she rose from the floor, where she had been laying on while listening.

Getting up as well, I nodded. "Yeah, for once, things are going great for me. What about you, Celestia? What have you been up to?"

"Oh, other than boring old paperwork, nothing much," she said as she walked over to the window, staring out into the night sky. "Right now, I'm just putting up the finishing touches for the Gala. The deadline is in a few days, but with Twilight helping me organize it, we should be finished just in time." She turned back to me with a small smile on her muzzle. "Secretly, I'm hoping that something unexpected happens. Something wild. So, I might have sent an invite to someone who might tip the odds in that favor."

"Heh, well good luck with that," I said as I headed for the door.

"Maurice," Celestia said as my hand hovered above the handle.

I turned back to her. "Yeah?"

Looking up towards the moon, Celestia continued. "Since you're here, why not drop by on Luna as well. She's holding night court right now in the throne room, so she could probably use a little company. Just try not to be too much of a distraction, as Luna has been taking her duties very seriously as of late."

Opening the door, I nodded back to her before exiting into the hallway, then made for the throne room. Walking down the corridors and taking a few turns, an elaborate set of humongous double doors leading into the throne room eventually came into my vision. As I approached, I saw that it was open by a crack, spotting flashing lights and a guard that was peeking out from it, which I thought was strange because normally there would be two positioned outside the door. Stranger still, the guard's eye widened in surprise as it focused on me before frantically slamming the door shut with an audible boom.

Confused yet undeterred, I opened the heavy door and curiously stuck my head through the opening, finding the wide throne room illuminated by strong moonlight shining through the ceramic windows and eight or so bat pony guards present. The guards were facing forward, but for some reason, they were all looking at me with tense eyes; another odd thing I detected was that some of them were lacking their helmets, which I'm pretty sure they were required to wear while on duty.

Curious by the empty throne, and wondering where Luna was, I stepped in, closed the door behind me, then decided to ask the guard beside the door, who happened to be a mare wearing her navy blue hair in a ponytail.

"So uh...where's Luna?"

"Here! I'm here!" Luna announced just as the mare opened her mouth, stepping out of a room besides the throne; her ethereal mane looked a little disheveled, and she appeared to be removing a black scrunchy from from it. "Apologies," she said, trying to fix her hair as she moved to sit atop the throne. "I was preoccupied with..." Luna became silent when she finally faced forward, her mouth soon forming a lively grin when she saw that the visitor was me. "Everypony, at ease. It's safe to resume where we had left off."

Once she said that, almost all of the guards in the room released a simultaneous sigh of relief before walking towards the center of the room, save for the mare by the door who instead began peeking outside it again. Once they had formed a semi circle, Luna used her magic to levitate a black, box-shaped gem and things resembling arcade sticks out of the room she had emerged from and placed them before the guards. After a few seconds of watching them hook these items together, I was baffled when a magical screen materialized before them, showing what looked like a paused game of Street Fighter, only with ponies instead of humans.

"There, everything is set up again," Luna said, using the scrunchy to tie her hair back into a ponytail before declaring, "Let the tournament continue!"

Almost as if she had waved a checkered flag, one of the two guards holding the arcade sticks unpaused the game before inputting a series of button combinations, ordering his in-game character to start beating the snot out of the other one.

Stepping around the whooping and hollering ponies, I stood before Luna, then pointed a thumb back at the guards before saying in a confused tone, "Uh...what's going on?"

Luna raised a brow at me. "What does it look like? It's a gaming tournament of course! Winner at the end of the bracket receives the honor of challenging me to a match; I prefer worthy opponents, not noobs."

"Wow uh." I scratched my head in bewilderment before muttering, "You're uh...talking like a normal person..."

Crossing her forelegs over her chest, Luna rolled her eyes, saying in an exasperated tone, "Oh not this again...you've already told me the first time..."

"First time?" I repeated, wincing in confusion before shaking my head in an attempt to get back on track. "What's going on here? Celestia told me that you were busy, and that you were taking your duties very seriously with 'night court'." I said that last part using air quotes, then gestured up and down at the ponies behind me, all huddled up in front of the magic screen.

"Hmm, night court," Luna uttered in disdain as she rolled her eyes. "No pony ever shows up to that. So, rather than stand around here for hours on end until somepony actually does, I decided to entertain myself during this time with my equally bored guardsponies here by hosting several of these tournaments."

"Huh," I sounded as I turned back to screen, then back to Luna. "But where did you get a game like that? The last time I checked, Equestria's games were like, in the eight-bit era. That there is way too advanced."

Moving to lay on her side, Luna supported her head atop her hoof as she smirked at me. "Normally, you'd be right, but I used a spell to copy that game, and a few others, from a very reliable source, made a few alterations to it so that simpler ponies can enjoy, then uploaded the magical equivalent of their programs into that black image projector gem the guards are currently using."

Not trying to think on it too much since magic is apparently involved, I merely nodded before something occurred to me moments later.

"Wait, what source?" I asked. "Where can you get something like that? And why does it look alot like this one game from Earth?"

"Oh, let's just say that it originates from a place that you might be familiar with," Luna coyly said as she shrugged.

Feeling like she was trying to play some mind game with me, I decided not to fall for it by asking anymore questions and instead chose to fill her in on my life in Ponyville just like I had done so with Celestia earlier.

"My, sounds like you're adjusting just fine here," Luna said after I finished.

I shrugged. "I guess; other than a few little hiccups, things are going swell for me."

"Hiccups?" Luna questioned as she took on a curious yet worried tone. "Maurice, what are you implying by that? Is something wrong?"

Shit. I should have just lied and said that everything was fine, 'cause I really don't want to mention the two bridges I crossed. "Oh, um... No, just uh...y-you know... Sometimes...sometimes ponies give me this weird look and all--but it's fine... It's perfectly understandable to me."

"Hmm," Luna sounded, casting me a piercing, scrutinizing glare. "Well that sounds truthful, but I can't help but sense that there's more to it."

I shook my head. "What? No." Giving her a small, half-assed wave of my hand, I turned around. "Well uh, I got to go now. Great seeing you again."

"Wait," Luna spoke, stopping me in my tracks after I took one step. Turning my head back to her, I saw that she was looking at me with a sympathetic expression. Taking a calming breath, Luna turned her head towards one of the stained glass windows, her eyes focused on the bright circle that was the moon before she continued. "Maurice...I...I know that you feel like you're not worth troubling others with your problems, we're similar in that regard more than you know, so I--"

"How would you kno--"

"Not important," she interrupted back. "What I'm asking here, is that if there is a problem, you don't hesitate to come to me about it. Alright? So, I'll ask you this once before you leave: Is. Something. Wrong?"

I stared back at her, yet didn't answer, trying to keep my face calm and composed but was unable to prevent the occasional twitch of my cheek or corner of my mouth. A part of me wanted to tell her, but another part said to just let it go; Speakeasy and Highground were no longer a problem, heck, I haven't seen them in forever, and truthfully...I really didn't see myself as worth the time and worry of Luna...

"No," I said with a smile as I shook my head. "Nothing's wrong." I pointed a thumb back at the exit. "So uh...I got to go now."

"Hmm, very well." Luna said as she laid down on the throne's pillows. "I hope you have a wonderful weekend; and remember: my offer still stands if you wish to talk."

"Gotcha," I answered with a nod before making for the exit. "Laters."

As I was walking past the guards, I looked at the screen and watched as one of the characters lost the last bit of their life bar, the screen flashing 'K.O.' and some of the guards cheering as a result while one of them hung their head in defeat.

"Alright, alright, who's next?" asked the guard who won, holding one of the arcade sticks and looking around.

A guard looking at a sheet of paper showing a pencil-drawn bracket spoke up. "That would be uh...Stella."

"Shit," the winner said, his ears flattening as he sat back onto the floor.

"Did one of ya pussies mention moi?" the guard by the door--who I'm assuming is this Stella--said in what sounded like a Scottish accent as she walked towards the group. Looking at the guard who had lost the match, Stella pointed a hoof at him, saying, "Oi, you there, loser, get your fuckin' flanks over to the door, 'cause ya got lookout duty now."

After the defeated guard had the controller yanked out of his hooves, then pushed towards the door by Stella, she sat onto the floor and grinned maniacally at her opponent.

"On second thought," her opponent said, sounding intimated as he rose the arcade stick, "who'd like to take my turn? Hmm, anypony?"

"Oh, I'm sorry about yer kin's economic state, what with ya losing your family jewels and all," Stella quipped. Huffing in amusement, she placed her hoof on her opponent's shoulder and shook him. "Oh come on! I'll even make this a little interesting! I win, and you treat me to a free round at the tavern for a week!"

His expression puzzled, the other guard tilted his head to the side. "And what would I get if I win?"

"Pfft, fat chance of that happening." Stella shrugged. "I don't know; I wager me godly flanks or somethin'."

"Hmm, those flanks are indeed godly," Luna added, angling her head to look at said flanks from the throne.

Thinking that I've stayed long enough, and wondering if she was wagering sex or literally her ass, I exited of the throne room and walked out of the castle, making my back to the bar so Vinyl and I could meet up with Tavi and the others.

"Well...here it is," Tavi said, standing before an ornate wrought iron gate, Lyra, Bon Bon and I gawking at what was at the other side of it.

There was a large, and I mean large yard, almost football field sized, with a lush and green lawn that had a few palm trees and other tropical looking plants growing out of it. The earth red tiles before the gate parted through the grass, split a third of the distance in order to make room for a reflecting pool, rejoined, then ended in front of a large, two story mansion that was almost entirely green because of the leaves and vines covering its walls, sparing only the front doors and windows; if I squinted a bit, I could kind of see some of its uncovered sections, making out that the house was painted bright yellow beneath all that shrubbery.

"Wow...it's so...big," Bon Bon eventually said, breaking the silence that had built up.

Too awestruck to say 'That's what she said', I turned to Tavi and said, "Um...how are we gonna get in?" I grabbed one of the gate's bars and gave it a little shake. "It's locked."

"Not to worry," Tavi said, shaking her head with an amused huff. Walking over to one of the gate's columns, Tavi pushed a button on it that I didn't even see.

"Yes?" said an older male's voice coming from a speaker built into the column that I also failed to notice. "Who is it?"

Smiling, Tavi neared her muzzle to the column and answered with, "It's me, Valet. Octavia."

The voice immediately responded, excitement underlined in his voice. "Oh! Apologies for the inconvenience, Mistress Octavia! I'll have it open right away!" I soon heard a loud buzz and the sound of the gate unlocking before they swung open on their own. "Welcome home, Mistress!"

"Thank you, Valet," Tavi replied before she and Vinyl walked down the path, the rest of us following.

After taking the minute or two of walking down the pathway, we eventually made it to the front steps of the house, where a unicorn stallion in a butler uniform waited for us, standing in front of a lined up row of eight or so maids, all different races, ages, and colors of the pony rainbow, bowing their heads respectfully. The lead stallion, if I had to guess by appearance, was in his late forties or early fifties, had a rust colored coat, blue eyes, gray, wavy mane that was getting white on the sides, a graying goatee, and had a cutie mark depicting one of those servant bells.

"Valet!" Tavi exclaimed as she ran up the steps, embracing the older stallion a hug.

"Mistress!" Valet called back, returning the gesture. "Master Ledger said that you would be arriving soon!" Ending the hug, the stallion pulled back, keeping his hooves on her shoulders. "Where have you been for these past few months, child? You had everypony here, and more importantly, me, worried!"

Her smile becoming sheepish, Tavi eyed the floor. "I'm sorry about that, Valet, and I'll explain later, but first, did you get our luggage?"

"Of course!" Valet answered. "I was a bit concerned when it arrived here without you, but I had I still had the girls bring them up to your room."

"Much appreciated, Valet," Tavi thanked.

"Yo, sup Valet," Vinyl greeted with a nod after walking up the short steps.

"Ah Vinyl... Vinyl, Vinyl, Vinyl," Valet nearly singsonged as he unhanded--uh, unhoofed Tavi, moving over to Vinyl with a contained smile on his lips. "I'd be lying if I said I missed you..."

Placing a hoof over her chest, Vinyl spoke in mock disappointment. "Aw, Valet baby, I'm hurt."

Rolling his eyes with an amused huff, Valet looked over Vinyl's shoulder, spotting Lyra, Bon Bon and I standing at the foot of the steps. "Well don't be shy you three; any friend of Mistress Octavia is more than welcome here."

Taking that as our queue, the three of us climbed the steps and stood before the butler, his chest puffed out proudly as his eyes inspected us. After Tavi introduced Bon Bon to Valet as her friend from Ponyville who owned a sweet shop there, and Lyra as her other friend who freeloaded off of Bon Bon--a statement that Bon Bon confirmed and Lyra denied--she then gestured a hoof at me.

"And this is Maurice, my other roommate and...and coltfriend..."

"Um, hi," I meekly greeted, holding a hand out to the older stallion.

"Pleasure to meet you," Valet said, placing a hoof in my hand and giving it a small shake. "I hope that you're treating the Mistress well."

Huh, well this is a nice change of pace; he doesn't seem fazed by the whole human thing.

"You can relax, Valet," Tavi added, standing besides me and nuzzling my side. "He is."

Seeming to be satisfied by that answer, Valet nodded before walking over to the front doors. "Well, it is getting late, and the air is starting to have a bit of a chill to it, so please, do come inside," he said, opening the door with his magic, then gestured into the interior. "The staff and I would be more than happy to fix you all up something to eat while you wait in the dinning room."

Accepting his offer, all of us walked in, stepping through the doors and entering a large marble foyer that had complementing furniture and dual staircases composed of white risers and black treads. Following Tavi as she walked into one of the side hallways, and Valet and the maids moving elsewhere, we soon stood before a pair of double doors crafted from polished wood.

"Alright everyone," Tavi said as she pushed the doors open, "just sit any...where..." She became silent when the doors fully opened, revealing three unicorns on the other side, sitting at the far end of a large dinning table; one of them I instantly recognized as Ledger, but the other two were young mares, both seemingly around Tavi's age. One was white with blue eyes and a black mane that resembled Tavi's, only her's was mid-length instead of long. The other's coat was black, shared the same blue eyes as the other, and had a white mane that also looked like Tavi's, except her's was short. Also, despite the black one's being white and the white one's being black, the two shared a similar looking cutie mark, both musical notes that I have no idea the name of.

"Well Octavia, welcome home," greeted Ledger, smiling as he rested his head atop his hoof.

As soon as he said that, the mares turned to the entrance, then bounded for Tavi. "Octavia!" they both exclaimed, colliding into her in a mad frenzy of hugs.

Tavi had difficulty speaking under the physical pressure the two were exerting on her. "Alto...Tenor...it's...it's great to see you two as well... Um, girls...a little leg room please..."

"Oh, sorry about that," the white one said as they both released her. "It's just been like, so long since we've seen you!"

The other then turned to the rest of us, pulling her head back in surprise as if she had just noticed us. "Oh, who are your friends? I mean, we know Vinyl already, but who are the other three?"

"Geez, I never get so much as a friendly hello here," Vinyl complained under her breath.

"Ah, of course. Proper introductions are in order after all," Tavi said as she turned back to us. "Everyone, these two are my cousins from my father's side, both twins. The white one is Alto and the black one is Tenor."

"Greetings," Alto said, giving us the pony version of a curtsy.

"Hello," Tenor added, mimicking the gesture.

After Lyra and Bon Bon introduced themselves to them, the twins stood before me, seeming to take special interest in me.

"Well well well," Alto said, circling around me. "So you're the human dating our cousin. What do you think, Tenor?"

"Hmm," Tenor sounded, circling me in the opposite direction of her sister. The sight of these two prowling around me like sharks intimidated me somewhat and had me playing the Jaws theme in my head. "I'll admit, he has an impressive stature and," she took a sniff, "nice scent, but how do you think he fares after hours?"

"Umm..." I uttered, taken back by their straightforwardness.

"Girls!" Tavi exclaimed, seeming to take offence at that comment.

"What?" Alto questioned, both sisters ceasing their circling. "You know we're only joking."

Tavi merely gave them a stern look with pursed lips before eventually speaking. "So...since you already know, I'm assuming Ledger told you two that he's my coltfriend..."

"Yup, pretty much," Tenor replied with a nod, prompting Tavi to turn her head enough to spot Ledger through the corner of her eye, causing him to shrink behind the table.

"Oh!" Alto said with a clap of her hooves, using her magic to pull Marchello seemingly out of nowhere (I'm assuming from behind the door), then placed it upright before Tavi. "We heard you outside, and since it's been so long since the last time we preformed together, we kind of ran up to your room and brought it down here."

Grinning, Tenor placed a hoof over Tavi's shoulder. "Yeah Octavia, what do you say? I'm sure your friends would like it while they wait for the food."

Standing upright and leaning on the cello for support, Tavi shook her head with a grin. "Heh, fine. But next time, girls, please don't go through my luggage."

Smiling, Alto rolled her eyes, saying, "You know, it was kinda in a big, hard to miss case."

"Semantics," Tavi casually replied as she accepted her bow being offered to her by Tenor's magic. "Vinyl, Lyra, Bon Bon, Maurice, would you all care for a seat?"

All of us soon seated around the dining table, Alto and Tenor moved to stand at both sides of Tavi and Marchello. "You still remember the lyrics, right?" Alto asked once they were in place.

Baring a smug smile, Tavi huffed in amusement before saying in a challenging tone, "Oh just try to keep up."

Seconds later, almost without warning, the three started singing, Tavi not running her bow over Marchello's strings until around ten seconds in. Tavi's cello playing was supported by the twins, who's lyrics started off in English, but then suddenly shifted towards what sounded like French. Despite not understanding the lyrics, I still greatly enjoyed the melody the three produced, trying my best to hum along with them.

Right when the song finally ended, all of us except for Vinyl applauded them, the three of them bowing their heads as we showed our approval. However, right when all of us stopped, I picked up the sound of someone still clapping.

"Well well, still as great as ever I see...my little Octavia," said a new male's voice, coming from somewhere in the dining room behind me.

Wondering where I've heard that voice before, I turned around and... What. The. Fuck...

"Shit...forgot about you," I heard Vinyl mutter as I looked back with wide unblinking eyes, staring at...at Speakeasy... The white, diamond-shaped spot atop his dark blue muzzle reminding me of who he was.

Smiling widely, he winked and clicked his tongue at me as he casually walked past me, giving me a glimpse at his cutie mark for the first time. It was one depicting the image of a silver drinking flask with a horseshoe insignia in the center of it.

"F-Father?" Tavi said as he stood before her, sounding unsure if it was him. "What, what are you doing here? I thought you were on tria--"

Placing his hoof atop her shoulder, Speakeasy wordlessly cut her off before answering with, "Nah, sweetie. What I'd tell ya? They were bound to realize that they got the wrong guy." He then pulled her into a quick hug, Tavi returning it as she buried her head in his shoulder. Soon pulling away from the embrace, Speakeasy then asked, "So how have things been going for you while I was gone? How's your mother?"

Genuinely smiling as she eyed the room, it took her a couple tries before locking onto his eyes. "Things are...things are going great! And...and as for mother...well..."

"Well what?" Speakeasy asked.

"Well, she's doing good, but the last time I saw her, she...kind of beat up my coltfriend Maurice in an alley... Um, Maurice? What are you doing?"

I didn't answer her, as my upper-half laid flat atop the table.

Oh my fucking god... They're both her parents...

Author's Notes:

Here's my patreon. Come on guys, I'd really like to go to my first ever convention. Babscon.