Twilight nervously paced back and forth outside of Town Hall as she waited for Nathan and Sunset to arrive. Even though she herself had only gotten there ten minutes earlier, she was growing anxious as to how the situation she left the human with played out. What exactly did he have in mind that would cure Sunset of her 'problem' without resorting to the traditional method? How long would it take? What if it didn't work and the two wouldn't be able to live together harmoniously? All these questions and more raced around in her mind as she kept pacing.

"Greetings, Princess Twilight." A voice said, making the alicorn jump as she wasn't aware that anypony else was around. Turning around, Twilight found Mayor Mare standing on the steps leading inside the tall building.

"Oh! Hello Mayor." Twilight replied. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing quite well today." The elderly earth pony said. "And yourself?"

"I'm alright." She replied. "Just waiting for my friends to arrive." She then turned her head to look toward the way she came in hopes of seeing the two of them approaching. But they were nowhere to be found. "That's strange." She thought. "How long does this alternative method take?"

"I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to meeting this creature." Mayor Mare said, interrupting Twilight's moment of thought. "From what I've heard, he is very kind."

"Yes." Twilight said before turning her head around to look at the gray maned mare. "He is very kind. I've spent the last few days with him as he's done his best to adjust to living here in Equestria. From the way I see it, he is adjusting nicely. He already has secured himself a job with the Equestrian National Railroad and has been tasked with taking all of the harvested apples from Sweet Apple Acres to Manehattan for their Nightmare Night festival."

"That's incredible!" The gray maned mare said in an impressed tone. "He hasn't even been here that long and has already done more than some of the ponies in town who've lived here for years!"

"I know." Twilight replied. "And now, he's currently helping a former student of Princess Celestia with a problem that needed to be promptly fixed."

"Oh? And what exactly would that be?"

"Oh. It's uh... complicated." Twilight said before giving a sheepish grin as her cheeks acquired a light shade of red. "But I'm sure that the two of them will be here any minute now."

"Alright. Well when they do arrive, we can get this whole thing started." She then turned to walk inside. "I'll go ahead and finish getting everything ready for them."

"Sounds good." Twilight replied before watching the elder mare walk inside. Just as the door closed behind her, the young alicorn felt something tap her on her back.

"Hey Twi." Nathan's voice said as she turned around to find him and Sunset standing in front of her. "Hope we didn't keep you waiting too long."

"Nope. You're fine." She replied. "I was wondering where you two were. But I had a feeling that you'd be here soon enough."

"So how exactly is this gonna work?"

"I believe a pony is going to show us all of the available houses here in Ponyville and you two will just decide which will be the best one for you." Twilight said as she started to walk up the steps. "I'm sure that we'd have to make some modifications to the house you choose to accommodate everything that you'd need."

"Like taller doors." He replied, making the two ponies chuckle before Twilight made the doors leading inside open with her magic. As they walked inside, the little alicorn couldn't help but notice Sunset walking extremely close by Nathan's side with a big smile on her face.

"Even though I'm not quite sure what Nathan did, it looks like it helped her out tremendously." She thought as she followed the two of them through a hallway. She would definitely have to ask how he managed to calm Sunset's heat without having to resort to the traditional method. After a few minutes of walking, they came to a door with a small sign next to it saying 'Ponyville Real Estate Office'.

"Looks like this is the place." Sunset said before she used her magic to open the door. As the two ponies stepped inside, Nathan had to bend down slightly to get through the doorway. Inside the small room was a large wooden desk with several filing cabinets behind it. But to their surprise, no other pony was there.

"That's odd." Twilight said while looking around. "I could've sworn that Mayor Mare had everything ready for us."

"Everything is ready, Princess Twilight." A voice said from behind them. Turning around, they found the elderly mare standing in the doorway.

"Oh! I'm sorry." Twilight replied as the gray maned earth pony walked into the room and sat down behind the desk. "I just wasn't expecting you to be the one showing us the available houses today."

"Well the one who was originally going to be doing it is ill." She said. "So I'm filling in until she is back."

"I see."

"So..." Mayor Mare said as she turned her attention to Nathan and Sunset. "What kind of house are you looking for."

"Well. Preferably a two bedroom house that isn't too far from the railroad station." Nathan replied. "Don't really want to be too far from my engine." Mayor Mare just nodded in response before turning around in her chair and getting up before making her way over to one of the cabinets. After opening it up, she reached in and pulled out a few folders before bringing them back to the desk.

"Hmm...." She said as she opened each of them to reveal pictures of available houses. "Well we don't really have many two bedroom houses available at the time. These are the only ones." She then pointed back to the empty drawer that remained open. Nathan and Sunset both came closer to the desk and took a better look at the folders. But with neither one of them all that familiar with Ponyville, they couldn't figure out where these houses were.

"Twilight?" Nathan said as he looked at the houses. "Do you know where these houses are?" Hearing this, Twilight walked over to the desk and stood between the human and Sunset as she looked over the folders. She rubbed her hoof under her muzzle as she looked at the addresses and recalled which parts of Ponyville they were in.

"Are there any other houses other than these?" Twilight asked before looking up at Mayor Mare. The elderly pony just shook her head.

"We have many families here in Ponyville." She replied. "These are the only two bedroom houses that are empty." Twilight sighed as soon as she heard that.

"What's wrong, Twi?" Nathan asked after hearing his friend.

"None of these houses are close to the station." She replied. "They're all on the other side of town. Far away from the station." Nathan just sighed as soon as he heard that.

"Well what about a one bedroom house?" Sunset asked, making both Nathan and Twilight look at her. "If you say many families are here, then there must be plenty of one bedroom houses that are open."

"Yes. There are many of those open." Mayor Mare replied before turning around and opening another drawer. This time, the drawer was filled with folders of houses available.

"Sunset. Are you sure?" Nathan asked. "That would mean we'd have to share a room. Possibly even a bed."

Sunset just chuckled after he said that. "I wouldn't mind." She replied. "Besides. Look at all of those folders. There has to be at least one house close to where your train is." Nathan turned his head to look at the open drawer. It had to have at least 20 different folders within.

"Alright then." He said. "It's worth a look at least." After saying that, he stood back and waited as Mayor Mare retrieved the folders and laid them out on the desk. With Twilight looking at each of them, she managed to narrow it down to just one.

"This one is a few blocks from the train station." She said as she held up the folder in her magic. "It's the only one that would fit your needs." She then levitated it over to the human to allow him to look through. "I can help with adjusting the size of it to meet your height."

"That would be nice." He replied.

"So is this the house that you would like?" Mayor Mare asked.

"Well, we'd have to look at it first." Sunset replied. "We'll have an answer for you after that."

"Alright then." She said. "I'll be here when you make a decision."

"Okay." She said before the three of them left the small room and made their way back outside. From there, they began to walk to the house that they selected. As they walked, Twilight continued to wonder what exactly it was that Nathan did to seemingly cure Sunset of her heat. The question kept racing through her mind. But it would have to be something discussed in private.

"You okay, Twi?" Nathan asked, making the little alicorn jump before she looked up at him. She must have been in such deep thought that she didn't even notice the human was staring at her.

"Oh! Umm.... yes. I'm fine." She replied as a slight shade appeared on her cheeks. "Just thinking. That's all."

"Oh really?" Sunset replied in a playful tone. "What you thinking about?"

"N-Nothing." Twilight quickly stuttered before she took the folder out and opened it up to hide her face. Nathan and Sunset both chuckled when they saw her do that.

"So which side of the station is this house on?" Sunset asked.

"North side." She replied. "So we should be coming up on it pretty soon." However, with the folder still in front of her face, Twilight couldn't see what was in front of her until she bumped into the human from behind. "Oops!" She quickly said while backing up. "Sorry Nathan."

"It's alright." He replied before pointing his finger at a small house. "I think this is the place." Once she heard that, Twilight quickly looked at the picture in the folder before looking at the house.

"You're right." She said. "How did you know?"

"Well if you didn't have that folder in front of your face, you would've seen the sign right over there." He replied before directing Twilight's attention over to the real estate sign on the front lawn. Twilight just gave a sheepish smile in response before she and Sunset walked up to the door. "I'll just wait out here since it would hurt my back to be bent down for so long. If it looks good to you, Sunset, then we'll take it." He called out as Twilight levitated a key up to the door.

"Alright!" Sunset called back while Twilight opened the door. Once that was done, the two mares stepped inside. From their first glance, it looked like a normal house only without furniture and decorations. The wooden floor and tan colored walls gave it a cozy feeling along with a stone fireplace. A large window on the same side of the room as the front door gave a great view of the front yard as Sunset looked out and gave a quick wave of her hoof to Nathan. She saw him smile before he waved back.

"So uh... Sunset." Twilight said as she looked around. "What do you think?"

"It looks nice so far." She replied before looking around the room. "Will definitely need a higher ceiling for Nathan." She then began walking toward the bedroom with Twilight close behind. As she walked, Sunset couldn't help but notice the alicorn seeming a bit lost in thought. "Something on your mind?"

"What?" Twilight quickly asked. "N-No. I'm fine."

"I know when somepony is distracted." Sunset said before stopping. "Come on. You can tell me."

"It's just...." Twilight replied before her cheeks turned red. "H-How did Nathan cure you of your heat without.... you know." Sunset just chuckled when she heard what was asked.

"Let's just say that he's got some.... magic fingers. If you know what I mean." She replied before winking at the purple one. "I'm sure if you ask him nice enough, he'd give you a demonstration." Twilight's eyes widened when she heard that.

"You think he would do that for me?"

"All you can do is ask." She replied as she used her magic to open the door leading into the bedroom before stepping in. Once inside, she saw that the room had a small window that gave a view into the backyard. It looked big enough for two small beds or one bed big enough for her and Nathan to share. "I think we can make this work out." She said as she looked through the window.

"That's good to hear." Twilight said. "Should I go tell Nathan that you like the house?"

"I can tell him myself." Sunset replied before leaving the room and going back to the living room. "I'm just not sure how long it'll take for us to get some furniture in here. Especially a bed. I don't know how much they are here."

"Don't worry about that." Twilight said as the two walked into the kitchen and looked at the empty cupboards and counters. "I know where we can get a few chairs, a table, and a couch for a good price. As far as the bed, I have an extra one that you guys can have. It's a spare I used when Applejack, Rarity, and I had a slumber party."

"You'd just give us that.... for free?"

"Of course." She replied. "After all. What are friends for?" Sunset couldn't help but give a smile after hearing that. This was certainly a new experience for her. She was used to having things given to her when she was Celestia's student, but she saw it as more of her deserving to have them given due to her status. But having a pony give her something that she needed out of the kindness of their heart because of being her friend was new.

"T-Thank you." She said before she gave Twilight a hug. This unexpected action stunned the alicorn for a few seconds before she smiled and returned the hug.

"Should we go tell Nathan now?" She asked once they stopped hugging.

"Yeah." Sunset said. "I think he'd like it here. It will need to be bigger though."

Twilight chuckled after hearing that as the two mares walked back into the living room. "Don't worry. I got that covered too." She said as Sunset opened the front door. Once outside, she saw Nathan leaning against the mailbox.

"So how is it, Sunset?" He asked as they walked toward him. "Should we get it?"

"It's a nice place." She replied. "I think we'd like it here." Nathan just smiled after hearing that before turning to look at Twilight.

"Looks like we'll take it then." He said. "All it needs now is for it to be a bit bigger."

"Sounds great." Twilight replied. "I'll go tell Mayor Mare that you'll buy the house and to send the bill to Princess Celestia. Be right back." After saying that, Twilight disappeared in a flash of purple magic, leaving Nathan and Sunset alone in front of their new home.

"So...." Sunset said, making Nathan look down at her. "Looks like we'll be sharing a bed after all. Twilight said she had a spare that she would give us."

"Well. It's better than sleeping in my chair back on 1506." Nathan replied before turning to look down the street toward his parked locomotive. Even though they were only a few blocks from the station, he could clearly see his engine stand out with the yellow and red paint. He then sat down on the grass by the mailbox. "If only I had a way to get my things from back home. Princess Luna said she thought she knew of a way, but she hasn't gotten back to me on that. Even if it was only one thing, I'd be happy."

"And what would that one thing be?" Sunset asked as she sat down beside him.

Nathan sighed for a moment before looking at his friend. "A picture of my parents." He replied. Sunset just slowly nodded her head in response as she listened. "It was taken a few days before the accident. It's the only thing I have to remember them by."

"What happened to them?" Sunset asked. Nathan just sat there for a few seconds in silence. Sunset gulped, thinking that she crossed a line. "I'm sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."

"No." He softly replied before breathing in deeply. He then let out a long sigh. "You're fine. It's just that... I haven't really talked to anyone about it other than family."

"Well I'm here for you." She replied before placing her hoof on his leg. Nathan looked down at it before looking at her. She had a warm smile on her face, giving him the notion that she genuinely cared about him.

"It.... happened when I was 15." He said. "During the winter season. I was part of the high school basketball team and we were playing our school's biggest rival at their gym. There was a big snowstorm coming in, but the game wasn't cancelled. My parents said that they'd come and watch me play. I was so excited when I heard them say that. But as the game went on, I kept looking up toward the stands. They never showed up."

Sunset listened intently as she watched a tear begin to form in his eye.

"Toward the end of the game, two police officers came and talked to my coach. He then waved for me to come over. According to them, my parents were waiting at a train crossing a few miles from where we were. But because the roads were slick, they.... got rear ended by a semi." His body began to shake as he tried to contain his emotions. "They ended up getting pushed onto the tracks in front of the train. There was... no time to react. Both of them were killed instantly."

Sunset's jaw dropped as soon as she heard that. She immediately got up and wrapped her hooves around him in a gentle hug.

"I'm.... so sorry." She said in a soft tone. "I've never heard of anything like that before. You must have been so devastated."

"I was." He quietly replied as he wrapped his arms around her.

"But then.... why have a career with the same thing that killed your parents?"

"I've always had a passion for trains." He replied. "Ever since I was a kid, I would hang out by the tracks that ran through town and watch the them pass by. Guess it's just ironic that my parents were killed by the same thing that I've admired."

"I... see."

"So after that, I had to live with my uncle until I was old enough to live on my own." He continued. "Once I turned 18, I went to a special school that helped me become an engineer. Once I was finished, I got hired by Union Pacific to work on the San Bernardino-Barstow line, which meant I had to move from my home state to a completely different one."

"I kinda know how that is." She said after letting go. "Going to an entirely different world and getting used to a new body was a little tough for me."

"Well. At least you have some friends and a new home here." He said as he put his arm around her. Sunset looked at his arm before looking at him and giving a gentle smile. Just a few seconds later, Twilight reappeared holding two keys in her magical grasp.

"Congratulations!" She proudly said before giving both of them a key. "You two are now official residents of Ponyville." As soon as she said that though, she looked at Nathan who still looked a bit sad from what he had talked about. "What's wrong, Nathan?"

"Huh?" He asked. "Oh. I was just talking to Sunset about what happened to my parents."

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you later, Twi." Sunset replied. "I don't think he wants to tell it again."

"Oh. Well.... okay then." She said before placing her hoof on his leg. "Just know that my friends and I are here for you if you ever need to talk."

"Thanks Twi." He softly replied before looking at the key in his hand. He then turned and looked at his new home. "So uh... how exactly are you going to make this place bigger for me?"

Twilight just chuckled before her horn ignited with her purple magic. Both Nathan and Sunset looked on as her purple colored aura engulfed their new home. The sound of Twilight grunting beside them made the human think back to the time she tried lifting his locomotive by herself, but his eyes were fixated on the house as he saw it begin to grow taller and wider. After a few moments, Twilight's magic dissipated.

"There." She said. "That should be big enough for you now."

"Only one way to find out." He replied before walking toward the house. As he walked, he noticed that the windows were taller too. "Must be so that Sunset can still take a look outside." He thought before placing his hand on the doorknob and turning it. Once the door opened, he stepped inside and for the first time since coming to Ponyville, he didn't have to bend down to clear the doorway.

"So what do you think?" Twilight asked as she and Sunset walked behind him.

"I like it." He replied. "It has that warm and cozy feeling."

"I had that same thought." Sunset said as she stood beside him.

"I made sure to make the ceiling higher and doorways taller for you. But I also made the counters and fixtures tall enough to not only be easier for you to use, but to also keep them at a height for Sunset to have easy access to as well." Twilight said as she demonstrated by walking into the kitchen. The counter top was at the same level as her muzzle. "If you need it shorter, I can take care of that too."

"Sounds good." Nathan said while looking around. "Now all it needs is furniture." But after saying that, his stomach growled. He looked down at it before chuckling for a moment. "But first. How about some lunch?" Both Twilight and Sunset just laughed for a moment before nodding in agreement. After that, they all walked out of the house and started walking to the Hay Burger for a meal.

Author's Notes:

What's up everypony?

I'm so sorry for the long time between this and the last chapter. I've just been busy with work, other projects, and personal issues. I'm hoping to get back to updating this on a more regular basis. I'm hoping that this chapter was worth the wait though. If not, then I'm sorry.

Full steam ahead, my fellow bronies and pegasisters.
- Harms Way