“Alex? I brought you some food. A plate of bread, cheese and hot fish. I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I got a bit of everything.” Pushing the bedroom door open, Fluttershy trotted inside, a food tray laying across her back and wings. “I know you must be pretty hungry.”`

“Fish? But you’re horses...why would you even have fish available to eat?” Alex mumbled as he sat up on the edge of the bed. His stomach grumbled at the smell, and he couldn’t help chuckling for a moment. “Not that I’m going to complain about it.”

“While ponies are mostly herbivores, it’s still good to have some protein in our diets. Especially pegasi like me.” Adjusting her wings, she slid the tray into Alex’s lap. “I don’t think you’d like hay very much, so I talked to the villagers about cooking up some non-hay dishes. I also have a couple friends who want to meet you so we can all talk about things, but that can wait until you’ve eaten.”

“Friends of yours? Are they better than that asshole of a doctor?” Alex carefully poked at the bread and fish to make sure they weren’t too hot before breaking a bit off of the cheese to give it a taste.

“Oh, of course they are. Rarity might say a couple slightly insensitive things at times, but she always means well and she’s the best pony I know when it comes to making clothes, so you’re going to have to get used to her eventually.”

Alex nodded, taking a bite of his bread. “Good, cause I can’t go around with this stuff anymore. Maybe the shirt but not the pants.”

“We can keep them anyways, and maybe you’ll grow into them again.” Fluttershy smiled as she watched from over by the door again, giving Alex some space for the time being. “The other friend is Twilight. She’ll have some more pointed questions about things, and I’ll need you to answer them honestly, because she’s going to help make it so that I can keep taking care of you as long as you need it, okay?”

“Right, because I’m just a kid to her.” Taking a bite of the fish, he hummed. “This is some good fish, you cook it?”

“Oh, no, not this time. I can cook at home but I didn’t want to make a mess of anypony’s home here if I dropped something in their kitchen. I’ve also explained to Twilight about your situation, but it’s a matter of more than just your appearance. You’re new to this body, you said, so we want to make sure that you’re familiar enough with it before any of us would be okay with leaving you alone for long.”

Sighing, he gave a nod. “Right, I suppose that makes sense. Not that much of a difference, not like I got wings or a horn or anything like that.”

“But it is different. You said yourself that you only think that you’re a ‘human’ so there’s a chance things could end up different than you expect them to. Twilight will be able to help with other things too, like trying to find out if we can help with the issues you have with your appearance.”

“You guys always this generous to weirdos you find out in the snow?” Alex joked, shoving some more bread into his mouth. “Must cost a lot of money.”

“Well, it’s not like it happens every day, and I make enough money to live comfortably with all my animal friends on the edge of Ponyville. This isn’t a matter of being generous either, since you need somepony’s help to keep that doctor away.”

Finishing his meal, Alex set the tray to the side. “If I can just get a new pair of pants, I’ll be set for a while. Think your friend can hook me up?”

“Well, I’m sure she can, but you’re going to need to be firm with her about your tastes. Normally I wouldn’t warn anypony about her like this, but she tends to make things very...pretty. She’s not unreasonable, but she’s going to want to make you look good more often than not and, well…” Fluttershy fidgeted for a moment. “Just, be ready for her to come up with girly things for you to wear for a while. She’ll come around eventually.”

“You got denim here? I could go for a pair of jeans.” Looking down, he frowned. “And now I’m picturing myself in mom jeans... great...” He blanched. “And now I’m picturing myself as a mom... that’s just weird.”

“Only for you, because you’re supposed to be male.” Fluttershy smiled as she approached Alex to take the tray back. “It’s supposed to be a lovely thing, but I’m not sure if I’ll get the chance to have foals of my own. You’d have to ask Rarity about the different kinds of fabric for a better answer. I know enough to be able to distinguish things, but not all the names.”

“Really? You just scream ‘mom’ to me,” Alex replied, handing off the tray. “Okay. I’ve been fed and watered, I think I can talk to your friends now.”

“Alright, I’ll let them know. You just relax, okay?” Balancing the tray once more, Fluttershy trotted to the door. “I shouldn’t be very long, so don’t get into any trouble, okay?”

“Trust me, I ain’t going anywhere,” Alex assured, giving her a thumbs up. “‘Sides, I could probably use a bit of alone time. Need to organize my thoughts.” He watched Fluttershy leave before leaning back in bed. “Jeez, my life is so fucked.”

Alone with his thoughts, Alex took the time to really sort them out. He had become Xion, lost at least twelve years of age, and joined the fairer sex. Of course, part of him revolted, raged against his stolen form. Another part though...that other part was quite curious about all of it, and he groaned as he recalled the odd, twisting feeling in his stomach when he’d heard Fluttershy first refer to him as a ‘filly.’

“Just something to... I dunno, get used to, I guess?” Hugging his legs, he gazed out the window. Ponies of all colors trotted amongst the buildings, their hoofprints dotting the snow. “I’ll have to get used to that too.”

Holding a hand up, he flexed and wriggled his fingers, marvelving at its differences to his old one. “At least Nicole won’t bitch at me to cut my nails anymore,” he joked in an attempt to lighten his mood. “It’s something.”

A knock on the door announced the return of Fluttershy, followed by a soft click as the door opened just a crack. “Alex, my friends are here. You’re not in the bathroom or anything, are you?”

“Nah, I’m just here on the bed,” Alex spoke, looking at the door. “You guys can come in, I’m covered and all.”

“Oh that’s simply wonderful!” A different voice called out as the door opened wider and a white unicorn with ridiculously-curled hair pranced in to look him over. “Oh my, somepony that actually wears clothes as a normal, everyday thing. This is going to do wonders for inspiration.”

“Rarity, please don’t scare him. We’re still new and strange to him.” Fluttershy walked in a bit slower than Rarity had, and was followed by a purple mare with both wings and a horn. “He thought this was a nightmare at first, and I asked you to stay calm…”

The purple mare stared at Alex for a bit; her eyes looking up and down his frame as her head tilted to one side. “Huh. I never thought I’d see someone like you on this side of the mirror.”

“And I thought unicorns were toys sold to little girls.” Alex shifted, letting his legs hang off the side of the bed. “So... I’m Alexander Lionheart, I take it you’re Twilight?”

Twilight nodded as she approached and sat down near the bed. “That’s what my friends call me, and I’d be happy to consider you a friend since Fluttershy’s gotten attached to you.” Fluttershy squeaked and turned her head away at this, attempting to hide behind her hair, but Twilight ignored this and continued. “Alexander, welcome to Equestria. There are a few things I’m going to have to go over with you about laws that we have and how your apparent age factors in, but first I’d like to assure you that doctor Heart Soother is going to be given a few stern lectures shortly.”

Rarity was doing her best to study Alex and his clothing without ever touching him. Her magic occasionally pulled at the loose fabric of his sweatpants as she hummed in thought. “You know, I have a spell that could resize these for you. Something I came up with that helps when a pony gains weight between the initial measurement and delivery of her dress.”

Alex looked at his clothes, then at to Rarity. “Shirt’s fine but if I could stand without having to hold my pants up that would just be peachy.” He stood up, demonstrating said fact. “Seriously, this is the pits right now.”

Rarity nodded and smiled before her horn lit up with an almost-invisible shimmer. “Alright. I’m going to need you to hold still, because this might tickle.” That same glow quickly surrounded his sweatpants and boxers, and his entire lower body. “Oh...you’re...but Fluttershy keeps calling you ‘he?’”

“It’s a thing, okay?” Alex asked, his mood souring slightly. “Could you please just do the thing and not worry about what’s below my waist, alright?”

“I-well, I’m sorry, it just caught me by surprise is all.” Rarity stammered for a second before closing her eyes and concentrating on resizing the odd garment. “Is it supposed to be loose or tight when it fits properly? It’s all bunched up right now so I can’t tell.”

Alex groaned, shifting on his feet. “It’s... supposed to fit tightly...” he admitted, his face tinting red. “I’m going to need new underwear too.”

“Underwear? Oh, this thin inner fabric isn’t a layer that tore away?” Rarity actually seemed confused about this until Twilight spoke up.

“Something we don’t use outside of the more... risque businesses in bigger cities, Rarity, but something I’m familiar enough with from my trips through the mirror. I don’t think Alex would appreciate the lacy, frilly kind, and it wouldn’t fit him properly due to the differences in body structure. If I can figure out how to make it open I can bring him through so we can get him properly fitted, for everything, so that you can have some examples to work from.” Her tone indicated that she knew a bit more than she was saying.

“Ah, yes, well…” Rarity cleared her throat as she concentrated on her spell. “Let’s just ignore the cultural differences then, and work with what you feel you need, Alex.” The pants and boxers both began to shrink and contract as the spell worked to tailor-fit both to Alex’s new frame. “I do suppose you’d need more than this one pair if you wear clothes all the time, so I’ll just consider helping you to be a favor to Fluttershy.”

“Thanks.” Alex peered around his lower half, releasing his grip on his pants. “Now that am not afraid of accidental flashes, I think I can go out on the town.” He gave a thumbs up. “Good job.” The pants continued to tighten and became quite snug on his hips even after he let go, and there was the softest of touches as the spell carefully tucked and adjusted the boxers until they were no longer really recognizable as the original article. Alex frowned, moving his legs. “Well, that's a weird feeling.”

The tingling against Alex’s skin ended as soon as the spell considered the undergarment to be ‘finished’, but the sweatpants continued to shrink and contract, becoming tighter around his legs to the point that they looked more like yoga pants than sweatpants, but remained as soft as they had been before. “I t-think that does it. Two garments, custom-fitted, one fitting slightly tight. Sorry for any odd sensations, but it’s impossible to work magic that close to a body without some contact.” Rarity’s voice sounded weary as she backed away and sat down quickly. “Oh my, I’ve never used it to adjust sizes quite so much before. Let’s not do that again.”

“No biggie, thanks.” Moving over to the night stand, Alex grabbed a pitcher and poured Rarity a drink. “Here, have some water. You earned it.” He blinked as Rarity took it into her magic and floated it over. “That’s gonna take a while to get used to.”

Twilight cleared her throat, levitating a scroll and quill out from under her wing. “Alright, now that Alex’s clothing situation is taken care of, let’s get down to those questions you have and the laws that have to be obeyed, is that alright with you, Alex?”

“Sure, yeah. Whatever will help us get things moving so I’m not cooped up in here forever.”

“Alright, so, the first thing is the most unfortunate one for you. Equestrian law states that one who is not a pony is not an adult until either their thirtieth birthday or their body stops growing. It’s simpler for ponies, but there’s reasons for this stipulation. Dragons, for example, are still relatively immature even at thirty, but by that point they should have learned enough to be independent if they are to integrate with society rather than be lone drakes. The dragonlands operate a little differently, but dragons aren’t exactly the most nurturing type.” Twilight closes her eyes for a moment and looks down at the floor. “In your case, I’m willing to offer you a few basic proficiency tests so we can see where your education level is, but you’ll likely have to attend some form of school for a year or two for our history at the very least. Any questions so far?”

“I just wanna point out that for better or worse humans are considered adults at 18.” Alex poured himself a glass of water, gazing at his tiny reflection. “If I’m not considered an adult, I take it to mean I’m going to need a guardian?”

“That’s me. I-I mean, if you’re okay with it? We want to keep you close to Twilight so that you can take quick trips through the mirror if it’s needed just because she’s familiar with that kind of body. You don’t look suited to farm work, so Applejack’s not likely a good fit, and Rainbow Dash is, well, she’s...she’s a good friend, but she’d see you as slowing her down.”

“Right, and I already have Spike to take care of, Rarity has her businesses, and Pinkie’s too... Pinkie.”

Alex smiled, placing his hand on Fluttershy’s head. “I’m fine with that. Never thought I’d have a pegasus for a mom, but then, most of my imagination was tainted by anime.” Moving his hand, he scratched her ears. “Not a fan of going back to school though.”

“That all depends on how well you test and how well you learn in an unsupervised environment. The only reason Spike isn’t in school is because he was being taught by Princess Celestia alongside me on many subjects. His vocabulary isn’t the best, but I’ve been working with him on that.”

“And what’s this ‘mirror’, thing?” Alex questioned, sipping at his drink. “It’s not like, a portal back to my world, is it?” It was a confusing thought; none of them but Twilight knew what a human. Were they screwing with him? They seemed too nice for something like that.

“Only if your world has people with names like ours, and skin tones as varied as our coats. It’s a connected parallel dimension where ponies like us look like beings like you. I never got around to asking the girls there what their species was called, but that’s a minor quibble.”

“Human,” Alex provided, putting a hand on his chest. Frowning, he moved it before speaking. “Scientific name being Homo Sapien.”

“Right. That’s what your species is called. I’m talking about the versions of my friends on the other side of the mirror.”

“Ohhh, I think I’m going crosseyed at this, Twilight.” Rarity complained. “Couldn’t you have just told the poor girl ‘no’ and spared the science?”

“Boy, Rarity.” Fluttershy’s voice was gentle, but the rebuke was almost immediate.

“Err, right, boy. Sorry Alex.”

“It’s fine.” Alex sighed, putting his glass down. “The one question I’ve wanted to ask is: what other human is here? Because I can tell you, he’s not related to me.”

“I’m sure he’s related to you somehow, dear. If not by blood then there must be some other kind of connection. Your jacket and his are nearly identical.” Rarity couldn’t help herself. “Slightly drab, but I assume there’s some kind of function aside from fashion that they serve.”

Alex chuckled, rubbing his neck. “And here’s the part where I tell you guys I was turned into a fictional character. I don’t suppose you three know what a video game is, right?”

“A form of entertainment that is only just starting to become popular here in Equestria, with one colt home in Ponyville being quite skilled at a couple ‘arcade cabinets.’” Twilight cleared her throat softly. “I think books are better, but I can see their charm, I guess.”

“Okay then! I got turned into a video game character by the name of Xion,” Alex explained, grabbing his coat. “These coats are used by a group called Organization XIII to protect themselves when they moved through portals of darkness.”

“Ohhh, that sounds about right…”

“He did step right out of a shadow to intercept Starlight’s spell....”

“Girls, focus.” Twilight snapped, then blushed. “Sorry, I just think that we should avoid trying to confuse Alex.” She took a steadying breath and shook her head. “So, portals of darkness? The one we thought was your father stepped out of a shadowy portal to block a lethal spell that a twisted unicorn cast at us. I believe he said his name was Xenas, but I was a little confused at the time.”

“Xemnas?!” Alex blurted out, dropping the coat. “He’s the damn villain! Oh great, just great. He’s gonna turn us all into nobodies and Nort us!”

“Alex?”

Throwing his hands up, Alex continued to ramble. “Oh right, Xion wasn’t even a Nobody, she was a copy of a Nobody. Less than nothing!”

“Alex…”

“Not only do I have to deal with being a teenage girl, but now I literally don’t exist. Great that’s just fucking great! Thanks a lot, Nicole!” Alex suddenly found himself tackled and pinned to the bed by a hugging yellow and pink blur.

“Alex! Calm down, please. You’re here, you’re very obviously real if I can hug you and you can feel it. You’re okay...please...please calm down?”

“He didn’t seem like a bad guy to me. I mean, sure he was a little cold when he rescued us, but that doesn’t make a person bad.” Twilight had shied away at Alex’s outburst, and was standing with one hoof raised in front of her.

“Allow me to dissuade your feelings of worthlessness,” a deep male voice spoke. A pillar of shadow filled the corner, depositing a tall, tan skinned man. Piercing amber eyes locked onto Alex, taking him in. “You are not a Nobody; nor are you a puppet. You are not really Xion, you just look like her.”

A light flashed in Alex’s hands, something akin to a sword appearing in his grasp. Without even thinking, he lunged at the taller man, swinging his new weapon.

“Alex, no!” Fluttershy cried out as she spun into a hover above the bed; having been thrown free by how fast Alex managed to move.

Xemnas caught the blade, raising his arm so Alex dangled from it. “I will not harm you or the ponies. I’m going to set you down and you are going to dismiss your keyblade.”

Alex struggled for a few seconds, but couldn’t even manage to kick Xemnas, or pull the weapon free from his hold. “Ugh, you….fine! I’m not sure I know how to do that...I don’t even know how I summoned it, really, but I won’t attack you again unless you give me a reason.”

“I had almost forgotten just how temperamental a teenager can be.”

“...shut up and put me down...”

Once he was set down, Alex backed away from Xemnas and sat on the edge of his bed to look at the keyblade he’d managed to summon. It looked like a combination between a katana and a set of sunbursts, with a turquoise stone set into the area between the katana blade and the half-sunburst ‘key’ portion. “Okay, so, this is a thing I can do now.”

“You didn’t mention you had a weapon,” Twilight said pointedly. “I can’t let you keep that; it’d be breaking the law.”

“I didn’t even know I had it, not for sure anyways. I don’t really think you can take it away, though.”

“I can certainly try.” Taking the keyblade in her telekinetic grasp, Twilight pulled it from Alex’s hands. “I’m not sure what this is but-” she stopped as the weapon shimmered and teleported back to Alex. “Right.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought was going to happen.” Alex looked over to Xemnas and shrugged. “So, how exactly do I dismiss it? I’ve never done this before.”

“Just think of it vanishing, and it shall do so,” Xemnas instructed, gesturing with a hand. “It will come to you.”

Glaring at the blade, he concentrated on making it disappear. A beat passed before it dematerialized, leaving his hands empty. “Oh hey, it worked. Go me.” Looking up, he glanced between everyone. “So... now what?”

Twilight looked from Alex to Xemnas. “Alright, I’m going to have to at least make a note about the ability to summon a magic weapon that cannot be forcibly removed in the official paperwork regarding your species, even if not all of you have that ability. If the wrong person uses it, that’s no different than a rogue unicorn going around stealing cutie marks.”

“Keyblades are not limited by race,” Xemnas corrected. “We will discuss them later. There is something I need to look into.” Another pillar of darkness appeared, it’s depths pulsing randomly. “I will leave Alex in your care.”

“Oh, um, okay then. It was nice seeing you again, and thanks for saving us.” Twilight awkwardly turned to look away from the corner of the room and rubbed her eyes. “Something about those portals, they don’t feel right, but he did a good thing… anyways, where were we before someone other than me had a nervous breakdown for once? Heh.”

“I got turned into a video game character,” Alex reminded, retrieving his coat from the floor and slipping it on. “And thankfully, I only look like her. There any other laws I should know about, Purple Smart?”

“Well, we inadvertently brought up the subject of weapons there. It is illegal for minors to use a weapon that is capable of actually injuring, but I’m sure we can get a special case exception for you with that, what did he call it, keyblade? Injury in the case of weapons means something that would require urgent medical attention, so bruising and other minor injuries don’t count. For the time being, please try to only summon it if you have no other option.”

“Trust me, I wasn’t planning on it.” Alex nodded, zipping up his coat.

“Good. When we get to Ponyville, I’ll need to speak to the mayor. You and Fluttershy will have to work with Foal Protective Services.” Fluffing her wings, Twilight regarded both in question. “They might push for formal adoption over simply guardianship.”

“If that’s what it takes to keep Alex safe and taken proper care of, then I’ll do it. I wouldn’t want him to end up with somepony who wouldn’t be able to keep him clothed.” Fluttershy smiled and leaned against Alex’s side.

“Fluttershy, they might have a problem with your...common guest.”

“Only if they want to be pranked into oblivion by him. He’s not over often enough to be a problem for Alex, I’m sure.”

“What, you got a junkie roommate or something?” Alex questioned, searching the room for his gloves. “Had one of those once, sold my old Transformers for uh... you know what, nevermind.” Finally locating them under the bed, he slipped them on. “I’d appreciate it if you guys played the pronoun game a little less.”

“Oh, you’ll meet Discord soon enough, Alex, and he’s just unpredictable.”

“Right. So...” Alex moved over to the door. “If there's no other laws, we can talk and walk. I need to get out of this room. Oh!” He turned, a smile on his face. “Do any of you know who pulled me out of the snow? I’d like to say thank you to them in person.”

“Well, there are a few other laws, but we can talk about those on the train since you’ve agreed to come with us. We’ll run into Double Diamond and the others on the way through town and we can ask him where the others are if we don’t see them.”

“Oh, we’re leaving today?” Opening the door, Alex came to a stop. Turning the group, he pointed at his feet. “What’d ya do with my shoes?”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure Sugar Belle took those to dry because the insides were staying wet and cold from the snow that melted. Are your paws-”

“Feet, Fluttershy.”

“Are your feet too sensitive to walk without them for a little while?”

“No, it’s just, they don’t have a whole lot of protection. It’s all soft tissue, I don’t have hard hooves like the three of you.”

“Oh, no, no no, I simply will not do another resizing so soon. I still have a headache from fixing your pants. Making you more is going to have to be my top priority once we get home.”

“Oh, so they’re all soft like the frog of our hooves, and you don’t even have any real padding on them like you would if they were paws. No wonder you wear something protective over them.” Fluttershy nodded as she realized that this all made perfect sense.

“I wasn’t asking you to fix my shoes, I just wanted to know where they are. I can make do with tightening the laces for now.” Leaving the room, Alex made his way downstairs. “Humans have a lot of strange things going on with them. Like a superfluous set of teeth that don’t grow into our mouths correctly, or an organ that doesn’t really do anything.”

“Oh my, that’s fascinating.” Fluttershy reared up slightly and clapped her front hooves together a few times before setting back down. “You’ll have to tell me as much as you can at some point so we can get it all written down in case any more of you show up.”

“You know, I just realized that if I get appendicitis I’m probably screwed. You’d have no idea how to fix it and I’d die of septic shock or something.” Putting his hands behind his head, Alex stopped on the landing. “God, I get morbid sometimes.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much. Medical magic is pretty advanced. Rainbow Dash broke a wing and was flying again in less than a week. I’m sure a simple septic infection wouldn’t be too problematic.”

“Nah, you have to remove the whole organ when it goes bad,” Alex said, glancing around for his shoes. “Nature blessed us with an organ that does nothing and can kill us if it goes bad. Thus is the human condition.”

“Oh dear. I’m going to have to insist we get a full-body medical scan of you when we get home so the doctors in Ponyville can figure out if the spells they have can be applied to you then. The last thing I want is for you to get sick and our doctors to be clueless.”

“I can do that.” Heading down to the first floor, he scoured the room for his shoes. “When you said Sugar Belle took them, did you mean to her place or are they here in whoevers house?” Snapping his fingers, he pointed at Twilight. “Socks. I need my socks too.”

A knock at the door interrupted any further conversation, but there was no wait between the knock and the door opening to allow a pink unicorn with curly purple hair and a cutie mark of a cupcake topped with a cherry inside. “Oh, I thought I heard voices. I just figured I’d stop by and drop these off now that they’re dry. I also asked Threadbare to make a few more of these things you had on since it looked like there weren’t enough to fill the empty space from your, um... well they aren’t hooves!” She held Alex’s shoes and a bunch of socks up in a sparkling field. I’m Sugar Belle, by the way. What’s your name, snow creature?”

“Alex. Thanks for drying my shoes out, Sugar Belle.” Taking the pile, he placed them on the table. “That takes care of my sock shortage. Only one pair at a time is worn though.” Dropping onto the couch, he grabbed a pair of socks and pulled them on. “Tends to get hot and uncomfy with any more.” Examining his shoes, he slipped his feet in. “Well that’s a hell of a difference. Wow, my feet are small.”

“And that’s why I had Threadbare make a bunch of these ‘socks,’ because those fell right off while we were carrying you here. I figured you just weren’t wearing enough layers or something.”

“That is quite the size difference, darling.” Rarity slipped her magic around one shoe for a moment before recoiling as if she’d almost stepped in something. “RUBBER! Oh how revolting! No no no, I must make you something suitable to wear as soon as we get home. This crime against fashion shall not stand!”

“Whatever you use, it has to last and protect my feet like your hooves do for you,” Alex pointed out, tying his shoelaces as tight as possible. “Lucky my shoes are rubber and not something like leather.”

“What’s wrong with leather? As long as the cow dies from natural causes and has said that she’s fine with it…” Fluttershy trailed off as Alex stared at her. “What? Griffons have used it for centuries and it’s a sturdy material.”

“Okay, I think I’m ready to get out of here now.” Rising up, Alex tested his shoes. Despite being as tight as possible, it was very clear they didn’t fit right. “Eh, just gonna have to do.” Holding a hand up, he made a checklist of his things. A thought occurred to him, prompting a question. “Hey, Sugar Belle, did you guys find a little rectangle with me?”

“What, like a diary? I didn’t see any books, but we didn’t really stick around to search since we were more concerned with getting you here.”

Shoulders sagging, Alex pat her head. “Don’t worry about it, Sugar. Probably got messed up in the snow anyway. Alright, I’m ready to go if you guys are.” Not waiting for a response, he grabbed the doorknob and stepped outside. Cold winter air greeted him, his sense trying to prod him back into the warm house.

One completely improvised musical number later, Alex was sitting on the train looking shaken as he stared out the window. “Okay, note to self: this world is slightly less crazy than Atlantica in the second game... but it sounds better and has less stupid in the plot.”

“It’s just the Song of Harmony,” Fluttershy soothed, wrapping a wing around his shoulders. “You’ll get used to it. You might even join in, if you wanted to at least.” She giggled. “I could even teach you how to sing!”

“Uhhh, maybe some other time. I really don’t know if I’d be comfortable singing with this voice for a while yet, like, not even along to some of my favorite songs.” Despite this, a small smile wormed across his face. “The upside is, I don’t have to hear my voice crack again.”