"Alright, heartbeat seems normal," Twilight said, removing the round end of the stethoscope from my bare chest. Casting me a friendly smile, she gestured with her wing, saying, "Now turn around please."

Giving a quick nod, I swiveled on the examination table to present my back to her. "Ya mind at least breathing on the thing befo--ah, cold!" I exclaimed, jolting in place as Twilight had, without warning, unceremoniously placed the ice-cold disk-shaped section of the stethoscope on my back, giving me goosebumps as a tingle run up my spine.

"Heh, sorry," Twilight apologized. "Give it a bit and your body should heat it up again."

Being patient, I endured the icy sting of the metallic texture on my back and was relieved when it soon warmed up to an ignoreable degree. I was kind of amazed at how fast the listening instrument lost my body heat, but wasn't really surprised since the air outside, and even inside Twilight's castle, had become nippy as it prepared for winter's arrival; even now I could see my breath each time I exhaled. It's strange, but here in Equestria, ponies actually control and schedule the weather, so seasons here are a bit shorter than they would be back on Earth, and from what I heard, the incoming winter should be a week long, a week and a half, tops.

Truth be told, I'm kind of excited since, back on Earth, I lived in an area where winter simply meant a drop in temperature, so I'd never actually seen or experienced snow for myself.

Sliding the stethoscope around on my back, Twilight kept it on a spot, then said, "Breath in." I took a breath and held it. "Now out." I exhaled, watching as a white mist escaped from my mouth. "In." I inhaled again. "And out again." I exhaled. Feeling the piece of metal leave my back, I heard Twilight contently say, "Lungs check out. You can put your shirt back on."

"Oh finally!" I exclaimed, nearly shivering as I reached for my shirt. Fitting my head through the bottom of it, I then said, "You know, you really ought to look into getting this place some heating."

Using her magic to retrieve a pen and a clipboard holding her notes from atop a nearby table, Twilight responded as she scribbled some things on the paper. "Well, the castle does have the occasional fireplace, but we ponies aren't really bothered that much by the cold, what with our fur and all. Besides," Twilight tapped the pen against the wall, giving off a solid 'clink' sound, "it's virtually impossible to install heating vents leading into every room through solid crystal."

"What, was the Tree of Friendship on a budget what it sprouted this place?" I joked, sliding my arms through the shirt's sleeves and swiveling back to face Twilight.

"Harmony," Twilight corrected, playfully rolling her eyes. "It's the Tree of Harmony."

I know what she said, but what I heard was, "The Tree of Harm Many?" Smirking, I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted my head to the side. "That doesn't sound very friendship-y to me..."

Twilight lightheartedly scoffed. "Hmm, Funny. You're fine by the way, healthwise I mean...well, as far as I can tell."

"Oh, well that's good to hear," I said, straightening my shirt.

"Mhmm," Twilight sounded, placing the pointed end of the pen on the clipboard. "Now comes the questionnaire part. Smoke?"

Shaking my head, I gave her the same answer I always give during this part of Twilight's examination. "Never."

With a confirmatory hum, Twilight scribbled something on the form. "Drink often?" she asked, not looking up from the clipboard. "Alcoholic beverages, I mean."

I shrugged. "Just the occasional cider...nothing heavy."

"Uh-huh," Twilight uttered, making another movement with her pen. "Exercise?"

Putting on a coy smile, I scanned around the room, scratching the top of my head. "Uh...my job has me walk around town a lot...that count?"

Twilight eyed the ceiling as she began to tap the pen against her chin, seeming to mull it over for a bit before shrugging. "Eh, I'll count it; it's not like my exercise regiment is any better." After writing something down, she looked back to me. "Alright, last one: any recent sexual activity? No? Well alright then." She wrote on the paper, then turned towards the table.

"Actually..." I said, causing Twilight to pause mid-step. "Ya might want to change that last one..."

"Change the last one?" Twilight repeated, facing me with a confused expression. "Why should I chang--" Now understanding what I meant, her eyes widened before she adopted a bashful smile. "Oh, right, of course; I forgot you have a marefriend now. So uh," she sat on her haunches, "how did that go?"

Looking at Twilight as she leaned forward in curiosity, waiting for me to answer, I started to realize that maybe it would have been better if I kept my mouth shut, as I really didn't want to explain the circumstances of 'that'.

"Eh, don't you think that's kind of a personal thing to ask?" I rubbed the back of my neck as I looked way from her. "Lot different than asking me to wank into a cup..."

"Fine," Twilight begrudgingly said as she rose, rapidly clicking the pen. "I'll just write down that you have." Correcting the form, she then raised her gaze from the clipboard and gave me an embarrassed expression. "Speaking of...well, uh, Maurice?"

"Yeah?" I responded, wondering what had her so flustered-looking. "What is it?"

Her eyes shifting to the side, Twilight rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. "Yeeeah...um, listen, this is kind of a funny story, but uh...some kind of animal might have gotten into the castle and made a mess of things in my lab..."

Confused as to why she was telling me this, I pulled my head back and tilted it to the side. "And you're telling me this because...?" I made a rolling gesture with my hand, signalling for her to continue.

Giving a sheepish smile, Twilight eyed the ceiling. "Well...I was able to salvage some things, but your um," she coughed into her hoof, "'sample' might have been lost..."

Getting an idea of what she was implying, I deadpanned as I sat up straight on the medical table. "What 'sample'?" I asked for confirmation, hoping that it wasn't what I think it was.

Twilight's response came in the form of a nervous chuckle as she floated an all too familiar plastic cup onto the table besides me.

Looking at the cup, then back to Twilight, I said, "Are you serious?" Blushing, Twilight averted her gaze downwards and pawed at the floor with a hoof. "I thought you found out everything you could from my jizz?"

"No, I said that I leaned through it that you have no magic in your being," Twilight answered, looking back to me. "I never said that I gave it a complete and thorough examination; I had to put those other tests on hold when some things came up, so there's still plenty to learn."

Returning my sights to the cup, then back to Twilight, I shook my head. "Well I'm not filling that thing now!"

"And I'm not asking you that!" Twilight stated as she shook her head, sitting on her haunches and raising her forelegs in a defensive manner. "You can do it at your own leisure, but I need a new sample, otherwise all of my time would have been for naught!" Lowering her forehooves to the ground, Twilight's ears flattened as she gave me a pleading smile. "But you'll do it, right? Science buddy ol' pal?"Ah geez...she's giving me a pouty face...

Resist, Maurice...y-you must--well...I guess I don't want Twilight's time to have been a total waste...and she could probably learn more about me healthwise this way, so...

"Fine!" I answered, throwing my arms up as I looked way. "I guess I can hand it to you within a day or two..."

"Really?" Twilight asked, her eyes beaming as she flashed a wide smile. She then hopped around the examination table, chanting, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Waiting till Twilight stopped prancing around me, I reluctantly pocketed the cup, then asked, "We done now?"

Smiling, Twilight nodded. "Mhmm, yeah." Seconds later, her ears perked up. "Oh," she said as she used her magic to pull a brown messenger bag off a hook rack besides the door, then floated it over to me. "I got everything you asked for: pens, pencils, paper, a notebook, a dictionary, even a new bottle of protein tablets, all there."

"Oh wow, thanks," I said as I looked into the bag, confirming that everything listed was indeed there.

"No problem," Twilight said with a smile. "So what are they for, by the way?"

"Oh, uh." I got up and flung the bag's strap over my shoulder. "My free-time back on Earth was usually spent watching a show or playing a video game, but since I can't do that here I've been incredibly bored--and I can only read the same books in the house so many times--so I've decided to take up writing again, you know, something to pass the time."

Twilight tilted her head and smiled at me. "Really? Writing? Most ponies I know would rather paint on a canvas than do that."

I made an amused huff. "Yeah, well, I'd do the same if I could, but the only drawings I can make are stick figures." Pointing a thumb at my chest, I jokingly said, "But me only talent am writing."

Twilight gave me a curious look before saying, "You mean 'my only talent is writing'..."

My expression going neutral, I pointed at her, saying, "Grammar Nazi, that's what you are...a big ol' grammar Nazi..."

"A grammar what?" Twilight asked with a confused expression.

Chuckling, I walked over to the door and exited the examination room. A few seconds later, Twilight exited as well, then began to lead me towards the way out of her castle.

Walking the halls besides her, I debated whether or not to tell Twilight about my incident with Speakeasy, but ultimately decided against it since I knew that she would get concerned and try to involve herself, only to find out that there isn't much she or the other princesses can do, so I wasn't going to add more stress to their already busy lives by mentioning him. Besides, it's already been a week since I had watermelon for breakfast and I hadn't seen a sign of him or his lackeys since, further confirming my earlier theory that his threats were hollow and that the whole incident would blow over like Highground's.

As we continued to walk, an awkward silence grew between us and the only sound to be heard was our combined footsteps--or in Twilight's case: hoofsteps. After turning a few corners, I was soon relieved when Twilight eventually spoke.

"So...I've made a bit of progress with my research into finding you a way home..."

I stopped and turned to her, seeing that she halted as well.

"You have?" I asked quizzically. I knew she's been looking into a way to get me home, but even with this world's magic I saw that as an impossible feat. I already made peace with the fact that I might never be able to return, so I retained my enthusiasm.

Twilight nodded. "Mhmm, nothing solid right now, mostly theories and conjecture, but I thought you'd like to know that I am still looking into it."

Appreciating the sentiment, I got on a knee and ran my hand through her mane. "Well thanks, Twilight, that's nice of you," I said with a smile, giving the back of her ear a quick scratch--which she seemed to enjoy--before getting up.

Seeming to be in a momentary state of bliss, Twilight gave her head a quick shake before resuming her walk down the halls with me. "It's difficult to recreate from scratch the exact scenario with you and the lightning, but not impossible." She then looked down and said in a slightly infuriated tone, "Oh if only I had my data collecting tools with me there at the time, that way I'd at least have something to work with..."

I shrugged. "Well I wouldn't blame you if you can't do it, you know what they say: lightning in a bottle and all that. Besides, it's not like you can go back in time."

"Huh," Twilight said, stopping.

After taking a few steps forward, I turned back to her and gave her a puzzled look. "Twilight?"

As she tapped her chin with a hoof, I heard her mutter, "Actually, we do have lightning in bottles here..."

Hearing that, I pulled my head back. "You're shittin' me?"

Ignoring my comment, Twilight continued her muttering. "But as for that time travel comment...hmm..."

"You have that in bottles too?" I asked. "Please tell me you keep it in a blue police box..."

"Huh?" Twilight uttered, snapping out of her trance-like state to look up and see that I've been watching her. Blushing and rubbing the back of her head, she said, "Oh uh...I shouldn't have said that." Coughing into her hoof, she straightened her posture and stated, "I cannot confirm nor deny the existence of time travel spells."

Confused as to why she said that, I kept my eyes on her as I slowly shifted my head to the side. "Uh...I didn't mention anything about spells..."

Her eyes widened. "Oh...well...uh..." Putting up a wide and almost creepy smile, she rushed past me and gestured with her wing for me to follow. "Hurry up! I've got an extremely busy day today! Busy, busy, busy!"

Afraid that I might get left behind and lost because of the pace she was moving, I practically jogged to keep up with her. Eventually we made it to the castle's entrance.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Maurice," Twilight said as she opened the entrance doors.

"Right back atcha'," I answered as stepped out through the doorway and walked down the small set of stairs. Gripping the bag's strap, I turned back to her. "And thanks again for the writing supplies."

Twilight made a dismissive gesture with her wing. "Don't mention it. Are you heading over to the Coming of Winter Party tonight?"

Coming of Winter Party, it's an unofficial holiday celebrated in Ponyville where the idea is 'Hey, since we're gonna have to clean the town up for winter's arrival anyway, why don't we throw a huge party?' Said party is gonna be held tonight in the more business focused part of the town, that way those who just want to skip the party and sleep in their homes can do so without all the noise keeping them up.

"Yeah," I said with a nod, giving Twilight a thumbs up. "Tavi, Vinyl and I are all heading over tonig--"

"We're here, Twilight!"

"Whoa, is that Maurice?"

"'Course it is, what are ya, blind? Get 'im!"

Eyes widening, I recognized those three young female voices coming from behind me, as well as the sound of running hoofsteps rapidly approaching. In response, my muscles naturally tensed in an attempt to brace myself, but my assailants still managed to use their combined weight and force to knock me face-first onto the ground.

Grunting, I used my arms to push myself a few inches off the ground, then flipped myself onto my back in order to get a look at my attackers. There, I saw three young fillies smirking down at me, all lacking a cutie mark. The first was a yellow earthpony with a pink bow tied around her red mane named Apple Bloom. The second was a white unicorn with the pink and purple mane named Sweetie Belle. And lastly, the third was an orange pegasus with a short, purple mane named Scootaloo. These three little shysters called themselves 'The Cutie Mark Crusaders' and I had met them through their older sisters; Apple Bloom obviously being Apple Jack's, Sweetie Belle being Rarity's, and Scootaloo being Rainbow Dash's sister-from-another-mister.

As I got up and patted myself, I recalled a day from a few weeks ago were these three approached me and, seeing if they could get tour guide cutie marks, asked if they could help me with my tours. I allowed them and oh what a day that was, heh heh he--NEVER AGAIN....I'm still carrying the physical and emotional scars from that day...

"Sup, girls," I greeted them, looking into my bag and confirming that the contents within were spared from the ambush. "What're you all doin' out here?"

"They're here to see me, actually," Twilight answered, stepping down the stairs. "I occasionally take some time out of my busy schedule to mentor the Crusaders in a few subjects."

"Yeah, what she said!" Sweetie Belle said with a nod.

Scootaloo then spoke up. "Hey uh, Twilight, is it ok if we bring an extra filly with us today? We promise it won't be anything like last time."

"An extra filly?" Twilight questioned, using a wingtip to tap her chin in thought. "Well...it is just one, so I highly doubt it'll be a repeat with Spike and the nachos, so I guess it's all right."

Scootaloo happily nodded, then turned back to the road leading away from the castle and shouted, "Alright, she said yes! You can come out now!"

Seconds later, a figure emerged from behind some trees by the side of the road, a figure I was familiar with.

"Dinky?" I asked as the unicorn filly walked over. "What are you doing here?" I pointed a thumb at the Crusaders. "Since when did you start hanging out with these three?"

Apple Bloom took this moment to answer me. "Since we started recruitin', that's when!"

"Actually," Dinky said as she stood before me, giving me a warm smile, "it felt more like a draft to me."

"Yeah, it is getting a little drafty out here," Scootaloo added, covering her shoulders with her wings.

"What happened?" I asked Dinky, smirking as I placed a hand at the side of my waist. "Did they say 'Does this rag smell like chloroform?' and the next thing you knew, you woke up in their clubhouse wearing one of their trademarked capes?"

Dinky, being a pretty smart filly for her age, understood my joke and merely smiled back at me with a roll of her eyes. "Heh, no. I just split one of my mom's muffins four-ways with them during lunch at school, then they started begging me to join."

"Well, we was scoutin' you out anyways, but that muffin sealed the deal for us!" Apple Bloom chimed in.

"If you say so," Dinky said to Apple Bloom, giving her a small smile and a dismissive shrug.

"Eh, girls?" Twilight added, all of us turning to her. "Kinda on the clock today," she gestured with her head for them to enter the castle, "I've only got an hour to tutor you all before I have to tend to my other duties, so can we hurry this along please?"

"Oh, right, sorry Twilight. See ya, Maurice." Sweetie Belle said before she, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo walked up the stairs and entered the castle.

"Later," I said to them with a wave as they walked further in. Lowering my gaze from the door, I saw that Dinky was standing at the foot of the stairs, seeming reluctant to enter.

"Dinky," Twilight said to the young filly, giving her a gentle smile. "Come on, head inside; I won't bite."

Rubbing her foreleg with a hoof, Dinky lightly chuckled at the alicorn. "I know that...it's just...this'll be my first time entering the castle, so I guess I'm a little nervous."

"Oh, well don't be," Twilight said encouragingly. "Just take it one step at a time and you'll have entered before you know it."

Dinky rolled her neck and started to stretch her leg muscles. "Alright, sure, I can do that."

I could have left at this moment, but I stayed because I found Dinky's climb up the stairs to be pretty entertaining; she was keeping her gaze on her hooves the entire time and took almost a minute just to walk up like, five steps.

Once Dinky had noticed that there were no more steps to take, her expression turned joyful and her mouth opened as she was about to say something, but was instead interrupted by a voice coming from above.

"Hey, Muffin!"

"Mom?" Dinky questioned, looking skywards.

Looking up as well, I spotted Dinky's mother, Ditzy, wearing her mailmare hat and carrying her mailbag strapped to her side as she descended. With a big ol' smile plastered on the gray pegasus' face, she landed besides her daughter and scooped her up in a hug.

"Dinky, what are you doing here at Twilight's?" Ditzy excitedly asked, happily rubbing her chin atop her daughter's mane.

Seeing that Dinky was unable to respond, on account that her face was forcibly buried in her mother's chest, muffling her attempts to speak, Twilight answered for her.

"She's here to learn a few things from me with the Crusaders, apparently she's one of them now."

Upon hearing Twilight say that, I quickly clasped my hands over my mouth and tried to keep myself from laughing as I imagined Dinky, confused as the Crusaders sat around her at a table, slamming their hooves on it in rhythm as they chanted 'One of us, one of us. Gooble-gobble, gooble-gobble.'

Ditzy released her daughter from her death-hug with a noggie, then said to her, "Aw, I'm so proud of you, Muffin! You've gone and made yourself some new friends!"

With a near-quiet chuckle, Dinky turned away from her mother and gave an embarrassed smile as she rubbed the back of her head with a hoof.

"Hey Ditzy," I said, finally greeting her.

Now noticing my presence, Ditzy turned to me and broke into a smile. "Hiya Maurice! What are you doing here?"

Ditzy's smile being infectious, I returned the expression as I crossed my arms over my chest and shrugged. "I was just about to head home actually; was here for my physica--" I was interrupted by a flash of light and a loud click.

Blinking, I turned to the source and saw several ponies approaching the castle from the road, almost all of whom were carrying cameras and taking pictures.

"Twilight!" I yelled as I turned back to her, seeing that Ditzy and Dinky were both trying to sheild their eyes from the flashes. "I'm so sorry, I was positive that there were no tours scheduled to come over today!"

Twilight shook her head. "No, you're right: there are no tours today." Her expression went fearful. "Actually, I'd prefer it if they were tourists, 'cause this is worse, much, much worse..."

Looking back to the nearing ponies, then back to Twilight, I asked, "Really? What are they?"

Ears flattening and wings drooping, one word escaped from her mouth. "Paparazzi..."

Once they got close enough, the slew of mares and stallions who were blinding us with their camera flashes, began to call out to Twilight.

"Princess, over here please!"

"Give us a smile!"

"Princess, look here!"

Probably wanting to escape from all this, Ditzy pulled out some envelopes from her bag and handed them to Twilight, saying, "Alright, here's your mail. Bye Dinky, have fun!" she said with a wave before flying off.

"Bye mom!" Dinky yelled before entering the castle, Twilight following her and closing the door after her.

Thankful that the paparazzi were only focused on Twilight and were now taking photos of the door were she just stood, I walked around them and headed home.

"Heyyo~ Is anyone home?" I announced as I entered the house, closing the door behind me.

"Ah, Maurice, you're back," Tavi said, walking into my vision. "How did your physical go?"

"It went fine, clean bill of health as far as Twilight can tell." Keeping my hands behind my back, I grinned as I approached her. "Hey uh, Tavi, I got ya something on the way here."

Tavi pulled her head back and smiled. "Really? What is it?" she curiously asked as walked around me, trying to get a look at what I was keeping behind my back.

Denying her a peek by rotating to face her, I shook my head. "Uh-uh-uh. Close your eyes..."

Failing to get a look at the item in question, Tavi sat on her haunches with a playful huff before doing so.

Acting quickly, I held the item out, then said, "Alright, go ahead and open them now."

After opening her eyes, Tavi blinked twice when she found that I was holding before her, clutched in my hand by the dethorned stem, a single rose.

"Oh my," Tavi said in joyful bewilderment, placing a hoof over her chest as she eyed the rose while breaking into a smile. "Is that for me?"

"Eh, what can I say?" I said, rubbing the back of my neck and looking away, grinning as my face got warmer. "I guess I like to think of myself as a hopeless romanti--" I felt the rose go taut before loosening again. Confused, I looked forward again and found that the flower-end of the rose was gone, petals and all, and that Tavi was chewing.

"Thank you," Tavi said as she chewed, covering her mouth with a hoof, then swallowed. "It was very delicious."

Remembering that roses are considered a delicacy by ponies, I raised the stem before my eyes and stared at the empty space were the rose bud once was, thinking to myself, Huh...if the mare I bought this from clenched her head in panic and yelled 'The horror, the horror!' before fainting--just because I dropped a bit for the rose, I might add--then imagine how'd she react when seeing this...

"Anyway!" I casually exclaimed, discarding the stem somewhere behind me. Looking out the window and seeing that the sun was now setting, I walked over to my room's door, opened it, fished the plastic cup out of my pocket, tossed it and the messenger bag onto my bed, then turned back to Tavi. "We all set to head over to the party?"

Tavi nodded. "Mhmm, well I am, but let me check on Vinyl real quick." As soon as Tavi made a motion for Vinyl's room, its door opened on its own.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I'm ready too," Vinyl dismissively said as she exited her room, carrying in her magic her heavily-customized turntable-slash-mix board that she had dubbed Wubz.

"You're bringing that along with you?" Tavi questioned, pointing at Wubz. "Why?"

Cocking a brow, Vinyl looked at Wubz, then to Tavi before answering in a tone that implied that the reason was obvious. "'Cause I'm lending my setup for the party, duh. Did you not see me lug speakers and wiring out of the house all day?" Before Tavi replied, Vinyl faced-palmed with a smile. "Heh, whoops; almost forgot the auxiliary cables for Wubz here. Here Maurice, hold this real quick," Vinyl said, floating Wubz into my arms before going back into her room.

Waiting patiently for Vinyl to return, I inspected Wubz, wondering how Vinyl even knew how to operate this thing; it was made from some sort of pearl-white aluminum with a jet-blue border and purple mats the same color as her shades, took almost my entire arm-span to hold, and was just covered in all kinds of buttons, switches, knobs, and sliders. Curious as to what the bottom of this thing even looked like, I carefully flipped it and was surprised at what I saw. There, crudely scratched onto the bottom of the thing by some unknown tool, were symbols, symbols that I recognized as Japanese Katakana.

Remembering my classes from college, I began to sound out the characters. "Ba...i...nu...ru... Bainuru..." Seconds later, I made an amused huff and grinned when I realized what the symbols were sounding out. "Huh, it's Vinyl..."

"What was that? You called?" Raising my gaze, I found Vinyl standing before me, having just retrieved the cables she forgot.

"Oh, uh, nothing," I answered, shaking my head with a smirk as I decided to save what I found for a later time. Walking over to the door with Wubz in my arms, I turned back to my roommates. "So are we finally ready to go now, or what?"

The party was a bit bigger that I had originally thought... The park, right in the center of were the party was being held, was filled with what seemed like half the town, all dancing and shaking their things under the bright moon and night sky to music being played by some performers using Vinyl's equipment atop an elevated, brightly lit stage. Meanwhile, dozens of local vendors, taking advantage of the festivities, had set up stands around the park, selling snacks, drinks, and other commodities to the crowd.

Now that I've been in Ponyville for around two months now, and constantly seen giving tours, the townsponies had grown more accustom to me, so the glances they gave me as I moved among them were more casual than hesitant. However, I might have given them a new reason to stare when I decided to pull out my Elaine from Seinfeld-esque moves on the dance floor; 'the dance of my people' I called it...

Deciding to take a breather, the girls and I separated from the crowd and searched among the vendors for something to quench our thirsts. Soon enough, we found Berry Punch, selling drinks from behind a portable bar, as well as Lyra and Bon Bon seated at a table besides her.

"Huh, that was ridiculously fast," I said, sitting in between Vinyl and Tavi for warmth against this frigid air as I looked at the latest (and by 'latest' I mean like a few hours ago) edition of 'The Daily Equestrian' that Berry managed to get her hooves on before being distributed. Prominently displayed on the front page of the paper was a picture showing a confused-looking Ditzy and Dinky, standing next to an annoyed Twilight in front of her castle; the headliner above the image, written in bold font, read as:

Has Princess Twilight Sparkle Taken An Apprentice Of Her Own?

Realizing that someone in the newspaper company had taken a few liberties with the situation in the picture, I scoffed, then tossed the paper onto the center of the table, pulled my mug of cider closer to me and took a swig from it. Lyra, who was sitting across the table from me, spoke, her voice still audible despite the music blaring from across the street.

"Hey, it's not that bad, they're just trying to drum up gossip so they can sell more papers; nopony will take it seriously. Heck, I remember this one time, they released an article saying that, due to budget cuts, Celestia shut down some monster hunting agency or something, it's silly really."

Bon Bon, sitting next to Lyra, nervously smiled as she rubbed a shoulder. "Heh heh...yeah....silly..."

"I know," I said, setting my mug back onto the table. "It's just...I'm worried how this'll affect Dinky; she's a good kid."

"She'd probably enjoy it," Berry chimed in from behind her portable bar, handing cider to her paying customers before waving them off. "It's not everyday you show up on the front page of a newspaper, so it'll probably give her something to brag about to her little friends."

"Well there is that," Tavi said with a shrug, a mug in between her hooves. "At least it's not a Gabby Gums column."

"Ugh, I know!" Lyra answered with a dismissive shake of her head, readying her mug near her mouth. "I still remember the one those kids made about me: 'Local nutcase believes in made-up creature' is what it said." Wrapping her lips around the mug's rim, she took a hearty chug from it before slamming it back down. Gesturing at me, Lyra then said, "But look at that, Maurice is here, so who's the nutcase now!? Heh heh, not me!"

"Nope, still you," I jabbed before sipping from my cider.

Lyra tilted her head in confusion at me. "What, why?"

Shrugging, I answered with, "Well, other than the stalking--"

"Observing," Lyra corrected.

"'Observing'," I said with air quotes. "There's just no way you met a human before. From what I heard, and I heard this from Celestia herself, I'm Equestria's first and only."

Tavi nodded. "Maurice has a point there, Lyra. Are you sure that what you encountered as a filly wasn't some other upright creature, like say...a diamond dog or a minotaur?"

Crosssing her forehooves over her chest, Lyra's expression changed to agitated. "Geez, you sound just like my parents...and my school teacher...and my psychiatrist...and that mare at the bank..."

"All of whom you bit when they said you were wrong," Bon Bon added, her eyes focused on her mug as she slid it back and fourth.

Tavi pushed herself away from the table a bit, gazing at Lyra. "You're not gonna bite me, are you?"

Deciding to put this whole matter to rest, I guzzled a healthy amount of my cider for liquid courage, placed the mug back down, then leaned forward and said, "Alright Lyra, I'll bite. What exactly went down when you met this 'other human'."

Lyra seemed exited, her ears perking and her mouth sporting a wide smile, clearly eager to tell her tale. "Well, it--"

"Oh, here we go," Bon Bon unenthusiasticly interrupted, pulling her mug closer to herself. "Everypony, use this moment to take a looong drink from your ciders...you're gonna need it."

"Anyway," Lyra said, turning back to me after giving Bon Bon a hard look for that comment. "I met the other human a long time ago, back when I was a blank-flank filly. See, back then, I lived in Canterlot, but because I got grounded, I wa--"

"Oh yeah," Bon Bon interrupted again. "You were grounded for a month because you shoved another filly's head into a beaker."

"Hey, in my defense, I didn't think her head would actually fit in it," Lyra replied with a roll of her eyes before returning to her story. "As I was saying...I got grounded 'cause of that, and since my parents knew I could easily sneak out of the house to go hang out with my friends, they decided to bring me here to Ponyville where they owned a secluded cabin in the outskirts of town. Man, let me tell you, it was boring! I had absolutely nothing to do; parents were getting all--ugh--smoochy in the rest of the house, and I had no one to talk to, so I just sat alone in my room, bored out of my mind.

"Then, one night, about a week into my punishment, it happened. I was sleeping in my bed when I woke up to a noise in the room. Wondering what the heck it was, I pulled my head out from under the covers and saw, standing at the other side of my bed and silhouetted from the moonlight coming from the open window, a creature...a creature that was standing on two legs and had two arms, just like Maurice here!

"I was scared, I wanted to scream for my parents in the other room, but I didn't when it spoke. It was saying that it was ok, that it wasn't going to hurt me, and that it just wanted the half-eaten pie I left on the nightstand. Just wanting it to go, I floated it over to him and was kinda surprised when it thanked me before climbing out the window.

"The next morning, I woke up and thought that it was just a strange dream, but when night returned and I went back to bed, it came back! This time, it wanted a drink from the glass of water my mom had left for me; so just like the pie, I let it have it so it would go.

"Then, lo and behold, it came back on the third night, wanting my cookies! At this point, I realized that it really didn't have any intention of hurting me, so I decided to talk to it." Lyra smiled. "He never bothered to tell me his name, but I didn't care; I finally had somepony to talk to! Right when my folks went to sleep, he'd show up and we'd play games, I'd sometimes sneak into the kitchen to bring him a snack, we'd talk. Heh," Lyra huffed with a smile, shaking her head a bit, "he said my stories were cool...and he called me bro.

"But that's not the best part. See, my room in that cabin had a lyre hanging off the wall that was more of a decorative piece, but I'd sometimes take it down so I could play it for him. I wasn't very good, and I had to be careful not to wake my parents, but each time he visited and each time I played, I gradually got better until...well," smirking, she gestured at her lyre cutie mark, "this appeared."

With one sigh, Lyra's expression went from cheerful, to downtrodden, her ears flat as her gaze was fixed on the wooden table before her. "But one night however, after two weeks had passed and my punishment was almost over, he showed up and said that it would be the last time he would be over. He said that he had to 'fone home' or whatever, and that I shouldn't be sad because he will always be," she pointed a hoof at her chest, "in here...or something like that. I remember him wiping a tear from my cheek, saying that he will be back one day and that we'll have a milkshake when he does...heh, his treat."

Lyra sighed again, lowering her chin onto the table and splaying her forelegs onto it. "And true to his word, he stopped coming, and my family and I returned to Canterlot. Eh," she said with a shrug," I eventually made the mistake of asking my parents what kind of species he was and my folks insisted that there was no such thing. After weeks of trying to explain that there was, my folks began to worry that I might be losing it, so they decided to send me to a few institutions."

"You know," Lyra said, sitting upright again. "Even I was starting to believe that I really did go bonkers there, but then BAM," she exclaimed, pointing her forehooves at me, "human; so the one I met as a filly had to be real."

Realizing that Lyra had finished telling her tale, and having only just half-listened to it because of the music's fluctuating volume, I raised my mug to her and said, "Hey, cool story, bro."

"Huh..." Lyra uttered, cocking her head and giving me a wide-eyed, curious look. "That's exactly what the other human said..."

"Sure he did," I said to Lyra with a nod before turning to Vinyl besides me, having just noticed that she's been silent for a while. "Yo, Vinyl, ya there?"

"Hmm?" Vinyl sounded, not even looking at me. She then waved a dismissive hoof, saying, "Ya ya, it was a cute story."

I smirked, realizing that Vinyl had spent this entire time gazing at the source of the music in the midst of the dancing ponies in the park. "What, you afraid that they're gonna break your toys?" I teased in a mocking tone.

Vinyl shook her head. "What? No. Just waiting for my cue."

"Your cue?" I asked. "What, are you gonna waltz up there and re-tune everything?"

"Mm, something like that," Vinyl answered, shrugging.

Deciding to leave her be, I rejoined the others as they started a new discussion.

"Huh," Bon Bon soon uttered after sipping from her mug. "I just realized that we don't have a pegasus in the group..."

Ah, so this is the pony equivalent of 'Guys! I just realized that we're lacking a black friend in our all white group!'

'What, no way!'

'The horror, the horror!'

As I quietly chuckled to myself, Vinyl rose from her seat. "Alright ladies," Vinyl said, giving us a quick, half-assed salute before walking towards the park. "Be back in a bit , so don't wait up."

Raising my mug at her, I nodded, then took another sip as I turned back to the others.

Minutes later, after chatting away with the rest of the girls, I was nearly startled when a stallion's voice came from behind.

"Octavia...is that you?"

Tavi's ears perked before she and I turned in our seats, where we found a unicorn stallion standing there. He was beige, almost golden in color, had teal eyes and an orange mane and tail, wore some kind of dark-blue vest with a white tie, and was sporting a cutie mark depicting an open book with an ink-dipped quill writing into it.

Tavi scanned him top to bottom before putting on a smile of disbelief. "Ledger?" she asked. Once the stallion returned the smile and nodded, Tavi immediately rose from her seat and enveloped him a hug, excitedly asking, "Ledger, what are you doing here?!"

Returning the embrace, and his voice ecstatic, this 'Ledger' guy patted her back. "Came here on business, but decided to stick around for the festivities!" He separated from the hug, yet kept his hooves on her shoulders. "What about you, what are you doing here? You leave Canterlot without so much as a word, then I run into you almost half a year later out here in the country?"

Backing away so that his hooves would slide off her, Tavi's smile became less mirthful, her gaze lowered as she pawed at the ground. "I'm sorry about that, Ledger...things were..." She took a breath. "Things were getting a little too hectic for me there and I simply had to escape..."

"Yeah, well, I guess I can understand where you're coming from, so I can't really say that I blame you," Ledger said, shrugging and casually looking around his shoulders. Turning back to Tavi, he cocked his head and smiled. "Still, a letter or two would have been nice."

Rubbing her shoulder, Tavi gave him a near-quiet chuckle. "Heh heh...a-apologies, I've been busy forming a life outside of the capital." As soon as she finished that sentence, Tavi's ears pointed straight. "Actually, I recently got myself a coltfriend."

"Really?" Ledger said in contained surprise, a hint of a smile on his face as he leaned forward a bit.

Moving besides me, Tavi placed a hoof on my shoulder. "In fact, this is him. Maurice," she said to me before gesturing at Ledger with her other hoof. "This is Ledger. Ledger, this is Maurice."

"Hi," I greeted with a friendly smile, raising from my seat and extending my hand towards him.

With eyes widening, Ledger looked me in the eyes, then down to my hand. "Whoa," he uttered, taking a wide step back. "I thought he was in some sort of get-up, or--or maybe even a diamond dog..."

"Ledger, don't be rude!" Tavi scolded in a similar matter that a mother would to their child.

"No, it's fine," I said to Tavi, retracting my hand. "He's from out of town, so of course he's never seen me before." Rubbing the back of my neck, I decided to try and salvage whatever I could from this awkward situation. "So uh...how do you know this guy?"

"Ah, of course; I didn't really explain, did I." After clearing her throat, Tavi gestured a hoof at Ledger. "He's my brother."

My expression went blank as I pulled my head back in surprise. Turning from Tavi to Ledger, I uttered, "O-Oh..."

"Well, no, actually," Tavi continued. "He's my father's ward, but he might as well be."

Oh...so he's not related to her...

Ledger gave me a hesitant nod. "Eh, yeah..." Turning to Tavi, he then spoke to her, yet his eyes would occasionally dart up to mine as he did so. "Say, uh, Octavia...do you wanna continue this elsewhere?"

"Ledger," Tavi said, her tone irritated. "You aren't honestly intimidated by--"

"It's ok," I cut in, shrugging.

Tavi looked up to me, her expression worryful. "Are...are you sure?"

Sitting back down on my seat, I retrieved my mug and gestured with my head for her to go. "It's fine, I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."

"Oh, well...alright then..." Walking past Ledger, Tavi made a motion with her head, saying to him, "Alright, come along now."

"Yeah..." Ledger replied, not removing his gaze from me until he began to follow her. Once they were almost out of earshot, I heard him say, "You can't seriously be dating that thing!?"

Expecting a comment like that, I just sat there, hands wrapped around my mug as I watched Tavi and Ledger turn a corner down the street. Once they were gone, I finished the last of my cider, set the mug back onto the table, then sighed.

Am I worried that I just let Tavi walk away with an admittedly ok-looking dude whom she isn't related to by blood and has an apparent history with... Maybe... But this is Tavi here, and I doubt she'd be the kind to repeat my mistakes; I just have to trust her.

Just like she trusted you...

I gave my head a good shake and slapped my cheeks for good measure, trying to get that thought out of my head. Succeeding by finishing the rest of the cider left in Tavi's mug, I soon shivered.

"Brr...l-lot colder now that Vinyl and Tavi are gone..."

Seeing that Lyra, Bon Bon and Berry had started their own little conversation amongst themselves, I rose from my seat and decided to head back to the dance floor, hoping that dancing in the middle of that mosh pit in the park might warm me up a bit.

I arrived at the park just as the current song was at its end. Finishing, the performers on the stage gave their bows and thanks to the audience before walking off, only to have another walk upstage and take their place. I was surprised, as I immediately recognized this new performer as the same charcoal gray unicorn mare who I witnessed sing at the Hoof Tapper.

The unicorn mare silently stepped up to the mic, turned back to a stallion sitting behind Vinyl's turntable at the back corner of the stage, then nodded to him. The stallion returned the nod with one of his own, as well as a wave of his hoof, then moved some things around on the turntable, causing the large speakers at both sides of the stage to give off a rhythmic beat.

Turning back to the crowd with a smile on her face, the mare closed her eyes and bobbed her head with the beat, then, once she had the flow down, she reopened her eyes and began to sing into the mic with a confident shake of her head.

Already finding her voice pleasant to the ears, my mouth formed into a widened smile when I recognized the lyrics. It was the same song from the jazz club, only now it was being sung in an 80's rock style fashion. With my head bobbing to the incredible music, along with the rest of the crowd, I was surprised almost a minute into the song when Rainbow Dash herself swooped over the stage, clearly a part of the show when she added to the song's verse.

Thinking that this couldn't get better, I was shocked yet again, when Vinyl, in a blinding flash of magical light, poofed into existence besides the charcoal mare....rapping. Now, in case you didn't get it the first time, let me repeat. Vinyl Scratch...is rapping onstage...and it sounds awesome!

But, like all good things, the song came to an end and the music faded into silence. However, the audience still cheered, stomped their hooves, and hollered at what a great performance it was, and Vinyl seemed to be enjoying this as she egged the crowd to cheer even louder. With the crowd now fully riled up, Vinyl took a few steps back, then ran forward and actually jumped off the stage! Fully expecting this, the group of ponies she landed on caught her with their raised hooves, then began to pass her to others.

Surfing the crowd, Vinyl used her magic to gather some items from around her.

My cheering stopped, however, when I saw that the items Vinyl was pulling towards herself consisted of a funnel and several mugs of cider.

Oh...oh this can not end well...

It didn't end well...

The party had ended and I was currently walking home besides Tavi, giving a passed-out-drunk Vinyl a piggyback ride.

"I'm sorry about Ledger's reaction towards you," Tavi apologized, cutting the silence.

With my hands behind me, holding Vinyl up by her haunches, I shrugged, being careful not to drop her. "It's fine, really, it is. Honestly, his reaction was pretty tame compared to most."

"Still, I feel horrible for it..." As we continued to walk, Tavi looked up to me. "How about you let me carry Vinyl, hmm? I do have the earthpony strength and stamina to make it home with her in tow."

Again, I shrugged. "Nah, she's the reason I'm not freezing my ass off out here." For emphasis, I exhaled a long trail of mist from my mouth.

"You're cold?" Tavi questioned in a worried tone before seeming as if she just realized something. "Ah...of course: you lack the fur that we ponies have."

"That and I'm used to a warmer climate; plus, Rarity hasn't finished making those winter clothes I asked for." Finishing that sentence, Vinyl began to stir. Grinning, I turned to her head that was resting on my shoulder. "Hey Vinyl...you ight?"

With her eyes still closed, Vinyl raised her head a bit from my shoulder, but soon had it plop back onto it. Soon, she spoke, her speech heavily slurred. "Ugh...wha...what's goin'...what's goin' on...ma-man?"

Tavi snickered. "Ah, lack of memory; one of the many clear signs that somepony has lost their sobriety. Tell me, how many hooves am I holding up?" The answer was none.

Vinyl lightly shook her head, rubbing her chin atop my shoulder. "Sicksteen... and am not--eh--dot...not drunk!"

"Vinyl," I said. "You drank several ciders through a funnel as you surfed a crowd, challenged Berry to a drinking match--which even I think was a foolhardy thing to do, jumped through her bar's window when you lost, then helped yourself to a few drinks while you were in... Vinyl, my prognosis: drunk!"

Vinyl was queit for a few seconds before speaking again. "...Ya...ya know, Mar...Maurice! Dat shounds leik someting a drunck poneh would shay..."

Keeping my eyes forward, I merely responded with, "Uh-huh...sure it is..." A minute later, I began to hear this chomping noise near my ear. "Uh...Tavi?"

"Yes?" she asked.

"What's Vinyl doing?"

Tavi soon gave an amused huff. "She's...she's trying to bite your ear."

"Ok..." I said. "Huh, Vinyl, why are you trying to bite my ear?"

Due to Vinyl's intoxication, her response was almost an incomprehensible slur. However, being of the Spanish persuasion, and therefore guaranteed to have had that one uncle who tries to give you life advice when drunk, I was able to decipher her ramblings as, "I'm...I'm tryin' to...to nibble on your ear...so you will geht in the mood...so we can have the shexs again..."

Thankful that Tavi didn't seem to catch that, I nervously chuckled at Vinyl. "Heh heh heh....heh...g-go home Vinyl, you're drunk!"

"I taught we were goin' home..." Resuming our walk, Vinyl eventually squeezed her hooves around my shoulders, complaining in a filly-like voice, "Oooh...I have to go to the bathroom!"

"We're almost home, Vinyl," Tavi said. "Just hold it for a little bit longer." I stopped in my tracks, and after Tavi took a few steps ahead, she turned back and gave me a curious look. "Maurice?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

With unblinking eyes facing forward, and expression showing multiple degrees of horror, I answered her. "She...she doesn't have to go to the bathroom anymore..."

Releasing a satisfied sigh into my ear, Vinyl chuckled.

"Typical..." I said to myself, shivering in my bed under the covers, still moist after taking a quick shower. "I ask for a little warmth, and the universe has Vinyl pee on me..."

Trying to go to sleep, and hoping not to wake up dead from hypothermia in the morning, I was soon alerted to a knock at my door.

"Y-Y-Yeah?" I answered through clattering teeth.

"It's me," said Tavi's voice from behind the door. "May I come in?"

"It's...it's o-open."

"Ah," Tavi sounded, opening the door before entering, her body highlighted in my dark room by the moonlight streaking through my window. "I cleaned Vinyl off and put her to bed."

In response to that, I could only give a slow, shaky nod.

Seeming concerned, Tavi then said, "Maurice, I...I don't want to intrude, but...I could hear your shivering from Vinyl's room...and...well..." Ears flattening, she nervously smiled as she bumped the tips of her forehooves together. "Well it's obvious that you're freezing, and...and I do have fur, so...so I was wondering if you'd allow me to...to sleep...with...you..."

I was speechless; other than the occasional kiss or hug, Tavi didn't like to get very physical in our relationship. The thought of her sharing a bed with me was too much to pass up, almost causing me to thank this cold.

"Yeah...yeah, of course," I answered with a smile, nodding my head almost violently.

Seeming to be satisfied with my response, Tavi smiled as she walked over, and as soon as she was close enough, I pulled the cover back for her. Once she stepped onto the bed and scooched next to me, she laid on her stomach and positioned her head over my chest.

"Comfy?" I asked.

Smiling, Tavi nodded. "Mmm, yes...very..."

After placing the cover over the both of us, I rested my head back onto my pillow and enjoyed her warmth and vanilla-like sent.

Before I knew it, I was fast asleep, not shivering in the slightest.

Author's Notes:

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