Chapter 2: Start Again

Asuya woke up suddenly due to a dream turned nightmare and kept himself from waking up anypony else. He rubbed his temples and stretched a bit, knowing that he wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon, when a thought struck him Where am I anyway... Canterlot? He looked out the window to check for the spires and such that populate the majority of the magical capital city. He didn't see any architectural structures like those in Canterlot, so Asuya rubbed his eyes just incase he was hallucinating or something and took another gander at the window. What he saw was a fairly tame town square surrounded by architecture that was simplistic yet also majestic in a way. The way the buildings all seemingly merged together while still being easily selected from each other just left Asuya in awe. While Canterlot has many ornate buildings and majestic sculptures, it just seemed to lack that appeal of unity that small towns embodied. Asuya was so taken by the view of this village that he never noticed that Spitfire had woken up. While she wasn't exactly elegant when it comes to sneaking, Spit still managed to walk over to Asuya undetected and positioned herself to execute her plan, smiling to herself as she did.

"Hey Asuya, how are you this morning?" Spit asked

Asuya didn't look at Spitfire, not out of disrespect, but rather due to being preoccupied with the view before him "Good."

Spit giggled to herself a little "Hey, um, can you come look at this for a moment Asu?"

Asuya nodded and turned to face the mare asking for him "Yeah sure, what is--" He started, but was cut off by Spitfire kissing him fairly passionately. Asuya's eyes easily doubled in size due to shock at the mare's unexpected action. Between still being in awe of the view of the town and the shock from the kiss, Asuya couldn't move at all. Spit eventually broke the kiss so that she could breath, giggling at Asuya's face. She leaned in once more for another kiss, this time placing one of her hooves around Asuya's neck. Both of them were blushing, Spit more so than Asuya as the second kiss connected. It was just as long as the first, but more calm and controlled. After about a minute, Spit once again broke the kiss, blushing heavily as she nuzzled Asuya.

"Good morning Asu~"

"G-g-g-good morning Spit..." Asuya stuttered, blushing unimaginably deeply.

"You're so adorable when you do that Asu... just makes me want more~" Spitfire giggled as she half teased Asuya.

"I... um... where am... are we anyway Spit?" Asuya eventually asked

"Why the Ponyville Hospital of course. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Princess Luna all found you a few yards from the Everfree with incredibly heavy injuries, so they had to take you to the closest hospital: here." Spitfire answered factually.

"Um.. I.. um.." Asuya stuttered for a little bit as he tried to sort out his thoughts given everything that's happened "About how close are we to the Everfree?"

"Ponyville is the closest settlement to the Everfree Forest, so not too far. Why do you want to know?" asked a puzzled Spitfire.

"Because I want to go home Spit." Asuya answered once he finally sorted his thoughts out.

"Wait, you live in the Everfree Asuya?" asked Twilight and Spitfire.

"Oh... um... I.. I'm sorry that I woke you Twilight... um... sorry..." Asuya responded, much like Fluttershy would, as he shrunk a bit.

"It's fine Asuya, it lets me see you more today~" Twilight said as she was blushing and smiling at Asuya.

"But.. um... yeah.... I live in the Everfree." Asuya meekly said, obviously not wanting to be in this situation.

Both Twilight and Spitfire raised they're eyebrows at this. Neither of them expected anypony to live in the everfree, minus Zecora of course, let alone somepony like Asuya. Twilight pegged him as the type to come from Manehattan given how good he is at fighting and Spit thought he just moved to Cloudsdale after he left the Wonderbolts three years ago. Both mares sat down beside Asuya to attempt to comfort him. But, to they're dismay, they're action only put him in a state of discomfort. When they would ask him about it, Asuya would just shake his head and say 'I just want to go home' over and over again. Twilight eventually wrote a letter to the Princesses asking for one or both of them to come help Asuya settle in Ponyville and asked Spitfire to keep Asuya company while she was gone. Spitfire obliged and stayed with Asuya, attempting to both comfort him as well as make a few moves on him every now and then while Twilight was sending her letter. A good 30 minutes passed before Twilight came back and Spit had neither gotten any closer to Asuya, nor did he ease up and move from his little spot on the floor. Twilight knocked on the door and waited as Spitfire got up and answered. As Spitfire opened the door, she notice not one, but three ponies waiting there. She stepped aside and bowed as she let in the two royal sisters. After they passed, Spitfire immediately rose and went over to once again sit next to Asuya, Twilight following and reclaiming her spot from before she sent her letter. Asuya just lay there, depression filling his features, as the two mares sat down beside him once again and as the two Princesses also approached. Why is this even happening to me... I just want to go home. Asuya thought, on the verge of tears as his thoughts start to cloud once more. Oddly enough, Luna broke the very awkward and saddening silence in the hospital room.

"Asuya, would you like to tell us what's wrong?" Luna asked as she took a sit in front of the depressed stallion, her sister following suit.

"I... I.... I just want to go home..." Asuya reiterated for like the hundredth time that morning

"Asuya, would it help if we gave you a home right here in Ponyville? That way, you can keep in touch with society and you will still be close to the Everfree." Celestia offered warmly.

"While I appreciate the offer... I... I can't ask you to do that Your Highness. I can't ask that from anypony." Asuya responded, shaking his head as he did so.

"And why is that Asuya?" Luna asked, concern and curiosity starting to appear in he features.

"Well.. because... I just don't want to be a burden on anypony." Asuya said, shaking his head a little as he responded to the midnight blue Alicorn.

"Asuya, you would not be a burden to us. You single-hoofedly saved my personal student and I want to thank you. If you want a house in Ponyville, or any settlement for that matter, it would be the least I could do." Celestia responded with a warm smile spreading across her face as well as reaching her eyes.

"Besides, Hearth Warming is in two days. Don't you want to stay and celebrate it with us?" Spitfire asked as she leaned on Asuya just a little.

"Well... I mean... I do... but... um... I.. um... also...." Stuttered Asuya as he tried to answer Spit's question honestly while still not being too harsh, blushing as she started to lean on him.

"You need to speak up more Asuya, I can't really hear you." Spitfire said, teasing him a little bit.

Asuya just shook his head at that. While he wanted to tell them the truth, he really didn't want to hurt their feelings. The four mares just looked at him with raised eyebrows and concern in their eyes, unsure how to help Asuya, let alone what's bothering him in the first place. After a good few minutes of lightly crying, Asuya stood up and sighed.

"I... I... I'm sorry that I wasted your time. All of you deserve a better friend than me... I should probably be going then..." Asuya said, hanging his head a bit as he did so, and walked towards the door.

Before he could even take literally two steps, Asuya was glomped by both Spitfire and Twilight, each starting to cry a little bit. Luna also made a move to stand as well and similarly glomped Asuya, just not a quickly as Twilight and Spitfire did. Seeing this, Celestia glanced at her sister with a raised eyebrow which, in turn, caused Luna to blush slightly.

"Asuya, please don't leave..." pleaded a somewhat distraught Spitfire "It was hard enough the first time..."

"Please listen to us Asuya, you're not a bad pony..." Twilight said, attempting to reassure both herself and Asuya. "All of us really want you to stay."

"Agreed, we all want to get to know you better" Luna said, blushing lightly.

"I'll see to it that you get a quality home right here in Ponyville. Would you also like me to get you a job for income?" Celestia offered.

Asuya sighed "I'm assuming that I'm not going to win this argument am I?"

All the mares in the room shook their heads at Asuya's question. "Fine, I'll stay here in Ponyville." Asuya said, succumbing to defeat. Luna, Twilight, and Spitfire cheered a bit, hugging Asuya a little bit tighter. "But.. um.. Your Highness," Asuya said as Celestia got up to go get his living arrangements set up, causing her to turn her head and look at Asuya

"Yes?" Celestia asked simply.

"I... um... well... you don't have to build a house for me... I... well... I can build my own house." Asuya stuttered a bit.

"Are you sure Asuya? Building a house is more difficult than you'd think..." Celestia questioned, an eyebrow raised

"Yeah... um.. I'm sure. I've kinda... well... I've done this before." Asuya responded as the three mares around him released him from the triple hug.

"Well, if you say so. Just remember, if you need me to help you at all, please don't hesitate to ask. Also, please drop the 'Your Highness' and 'Princess' stuff. Just call me Celestia, or Celly for that matter" Celestia said, smiling warmly at Asuya and walking out the door.

The rest of the day was fairly tame, mostly consisting of Spitfire, Twilight, and Luna all hanging out with Asuya as he quickly finished recovering. within a few hours (around noon for those of you who want to know times) Asuya was released with perfect health. Against his will, Asuya walked around town with the same three mares from the hospital as he was introduced to countless amounts of ponies. The only ponies he didn't meet where Applejack, she was on business in Manehattan and will stay until further notice, and Pinkie Pie. While Twilight was enthusiastic about introducing Asuya to the possibly insane party pony, Pinkie and the Cakes were just way to busy. The group eventually made it back to the Library to relax and prepare a little bit for the upcoming holiday. Again, against his will, Asuya agreed to stay at the Library with Twilight until he finished building his new house, but he did compromise with Twilight and moved the spare bed from Twilight's room to the basement. As Spitfire and Luna left, Asuya found himself engrossed in a book series and completely missed their departure and made a mental note to apologize to them ASAP. Around Midnight, Asuya succumbed to blissful sleep, after saying good night to Twilight, and made sure to continue reading the next day. And that's exactly what he did. Literally all day, from when he woke up to about midnight once again, Asuya was engorging himself with the knowledge held inside the Library. Twilight eventually brought Pinkie over, but Asuya was so engrossed in his studies that he didn't even seem to acknowledge Pinkie's presence, which basically sums up that day. Seriously, not much else really happened.

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Hearth's Warming Day

It was around 3pm in Ponyville as Twilight and Asuya where walking over to Sugarcube Corner for the 'Welcome to Ponyville' party that Pinkie was throwing for Asuya that he was never told about, as is customary for said party type. Upon nearing the home of the hyperactive party pony, Asuya's instincts instantly kicked in and he began to plot out escape routes incase of an ambush since all of the lights in Sugarcube Corner were off. Twilight never even noticed Asuya's paranoid actions and just kept walking and talking about some of the ins and outs of the town as she lead them towards the darkened building. What made things even worse was that Asuya didn't notice anypony on the streets while he was scanning the surroundings for escape routes, which set him on edge that much more. By the time they reached the sugary building, Asuya had his wings fully extended protectively and his glasses transformed a into headgear much like a Teragrace Helm (Cabal Online reference. I'll be doing that a lot.) as he prepared himself for the worst. Twilight opened the door and walked inside, motioning for Asuya to do the same. Against his better judgement, Asuya followed suit and walked into the darkened building. After he walked in something closed the door behind him, which made him jump and ready to bolt. As he crouched defensively, all of the lights were instantly cut on and everypony in the room said 'Welcome to Ponyville!' throwing confetti everywhere. Since he was still paranoid from earlier, Asuya freaked out and bucked the door behind him open and attempted to escape. But before he started to fly, Twilight pulled him back to the party via her magic and held him there until he calmed down.

"I... I... I'm sorry that I freaked out like that everypony" Asuya said, shrinking a bit due to embarrassment.

"It's alright Asuya, you didn't hurt anypony here." Twilight said, attempting to reassure him that he did nothing wrong and letting go of her magical hold on him.

"Yeah! I mean we probably should've asked you if you like surprises in the first place. I mean I like surprises, but that's just me. I also like cupcakes and cookies and I'll have a muffin someti-" Pinkie Pie said, only to have a cupcake shoved into her mouth to keep her quiet.

"Any-who, Welcome to Ponyville my dear. I know we've already met once, but I'd like to introduce myself once again. I am Rarity, fashionista extraordinaire!" Rarity said, striking a small pose as she introduced herself again.

"H-h-hello..." Asuya stuttered "It's.... nice to... um... meet you... again."

"Are you OK Asu?" Spitfire asked as she got past the crowd and sat down next to Asuya.

"Y... yeah, I'll... I'll be fine. I'm... well... I'm kinda... um... shy..." Asuya responded meekly, shrinking as he said the last word.

"Ooooo! I can help you with that!" Pinkie said as she finished her cupcake and grabbed Asuya by his front right hoof, zooming off the way only Pinkie can and introducing Asuya to everypony at the party.

Since literally everyone in Ponyville was at the party, that's really all Asuya did for the duration: get introduced to random ponies by a hyper-active bouncing pink blur. It was an interesting day to say the least, especially since he and Fluttershy both agreed on a place near her house for Asuya to construct his. With that done, Asuya headed back to the Library since he didn't really have anywhere else to stay while his house was under construction. Being polite, Asuya knocked on the front door of the library and waited for a little bit for Twilight to finish whatever it was she was doing and let him in. A good minute or two passed before Twilight came to open the door. Asuya bowed a bit as he entered the building, which caused Twilight to blush a bit.

"Why so formal Asuya?" Twilight asked as she walked in behind him

"Oh... um... did I go to far?" Asuya asked, his embarrassment starting to show.

"No, it's fine Asu, just curious~" Twilight giggled

"Oh... um... OK. So... um... what now?" Asuya asked, a little lost as to what to do since his 'Welcome to Ponyville' party ended about an hour ago.

"Easy, now we celebrate Hearth's Warming. Just you and me~" Twilight said, blushing a bit as she turned off the lights so that the room would be lit only by the candles she had setup earlier.

"Um... aren't we... um... you know... supposed to... well... give each other gifts?" Asuya stuttered a little, starting to understand why it took Twilight a few minutes to answer the door.

"We are~" Twilight said, blushing as she walked up to Asuya.

"Then... um... what are you doing Twilight?" Asuya asked, really confused by Twilight

"What do you think?" Twilight said as she neared Asuya

"I don't know." Asuya said plainly.

"Well, my present to you is... well... me." Twilight said, blushing heavily as she hugged Asuya

Asuya just stood there, unsure how to react to what just happened. Why is this even happening to me? Isn't there some other stallion that deserves this kind of attention more than I do? All I want to do is get my sister back and yet Life keeps making things that much more difficult. Asuya thought, blushing a bit as Twilight hugged him. Twilight broke the hug and rested her forehead on Asuya's, blushing as she did, and leaned in. Asuya braced himself as Twilight leaned in, know exactly what she was trying to do, and blushed as their lips met. It lasted a good few seconds, both Asuya and Twilight blushing up a storm, until Twilight broke it.

"I.. um... well.. thanks Asu~" Twilight stuttered a bit, blushing heavily.

"W-w-wait do you mean?" Asuya stuttered, utterly confused as to what Twilight was talking about.

"Well, this was my first time... My first kiss" Twilight said, blushing heavily.

"Oh... I.... I'm sorry..." Asuya said, feeling guilty since he has also kissed Spitfire recently. Granted he didn't exactly mean to, but still.

"What? Why are you sorry Asu?" Twilight asked, utterly confused.

"Well... I'm sorry... that... um... I was... well... you first..." Asuya said, shrink a bit as he did.

"Why would you say something like that Asuya? You're a great pony... and cute too." Twilight responded immediately, blushing a bit as she said the last part.

Asuya shook his head and walked for the basement, wanting to sleep this off and hopefully understand it more the next day. Before he made it halfway down the steps though, he remembered something and walked back upstairs. He walked past Twilight, saying 'Wait here...' as he walked outside. A few minutes later, Asuya returned to the library with a medium sized package under his wing, which perked the curiosity of the really confused unicorn in the room.

"What's that Asuya?" Twilight asked as she got up and looked at the package as best she could.

"It's... well... a... um... gift." Asuya said as he gently laid the package on the floor, blushing as he did so.

"Really? Who for?" Twilight questioned.

"Well... um... you." Asuya said meekly.

"Really?" Twilight said, looking over to Asuya only to see him nodding. Twilight turned back to the present on the floor and began to open it. Much to her surprise, the box contained two separate things. The first thing Twilight saw was the ornately crafted cake that had 'Thank you for all of your help Twilight' written on it in cursive. When she looked at Asuya, all she could see was him looking away, blushing up a storm. What puzzled her the most though was the other gift. All it was was another box. Upon closer inspection, Twilight discovered that it was in fact a jewelry box. She was left speechless when she opened it. Inside was a White Pearl Necklace that had literally every single pearl was carved in such an ornate way, that even though each pearl was different, it blended as if it was all one long pearl. At the end of the necklace hung a gold pendant in the shape of the sun, like Celestia's Cutie Mark, with a white moon engraved in a midnight blue circle right in the middle of the golden sun. Twilight was speechless, This necklace must've cost a fortune Twilight thought.

"H.. ho... how did you get this Asuya?" Twilight asked, completely dumbfounded.

"Hmm? Oh that. I.. well... I... um... made it." Asuya said.

"No, not the cake Asuya. I meant this beautiful necklace." Twilight said, still gazing at the ornate piece of jewelry.

"Um... I made that too Twilight." Asuya said

"You did!?" Twilight said, mouth agape as she turned to face Asuya.

"Um.. yeah... is that bad?" Asuya said, completely lost

"No, it's... incredible Asu..." Twilight said, still flabbergasted at her gift.

"Happy Hearth's Warming Twilight" Asuya said as Twilight glomped him.

The rest of the night was fairly uneventful, since Twilight had asked all of her friends to wait till the next day to come over and celebrate the holiday. Twilight tried on her new necklace and hugged Asuya multiple times, still wanting to thank him for the jewelry. Spike eventually came to the library and instantly saw the cake, which Asuya happily handed to him. While Spike obliterated the cake, Asuya picked up where he left off the day before and began reading once again,Twilight leaning up against him as he did so. After eating half of the cake, Spike was full and decided to hit the stack, saying good night to the two ponies still in library. After a few hours of reading, the clock tower tolled midnight and Asuya put an end to his endless study session. As he was about to get up, he noticed that Twilight had fallen asleep next to him. Asuya lifted Twilight up onto his back as gently as he possibly could and walked up stairs into her room, placing her into her bed gently as to not wake her up. Satisfied that she was still asleep, Asuya exited the room, closing the door on the way out, and headed back into the main room to clean up the mess he had made. It took a bit to re-shelf the dozen or so books that he had completed, so Asuya didn't get to bed until like 1AM. As soon as he got into his bed, he could feel the blissful grip of his subconscious pushing his eyes closed. Blissful sleep took over his entire body in a matter of minutes, leaving him to dream. Visions of Twilight and Spitfire crept into his subconscious, as well as his old home and the few neighbors he had. But Asuya primarily dreamt of one thing:

He once again dreamt about his sister, hoping she was still alive.

Author's Note: I'm sorry if all of this seems a little rushed, I wanted this to be finished on Christmas, but that just didn't happen. I tried to finish it yesterday, but then I got Skyrim. Please feel free to comments, I'd love the criticism. Anyway, thanks for reading!