Choose Your Friends Wisely

Returning from my new job at Sweet Apple Acres, I hurriedly took a detour through the park. The reason for my excitement was that I was expecting a letter from Princess Celestia herself any day now, inviting me to the castle, much to the barely concealed jealousy of a certain fashion designer. Halfway through the park, however, I spot both Rainbow and Pinkie Pie, the latter chasing after the former for whatever reason. Realising that Rainbow was focusing on Pinkie, instead of the massive fucking mountain that was literally in front of her, I took a moment to just observe what was about to unfold.

And boy oh boy was it worth the watch.

Walking over to the pair, still laughing my ass off, I greet them both.

"Hey Pinkie...Haha...Hey Dash....Ha...Oh my god, the look on your face was priceless! HA!" And just like that, I was in hysterics once more, this time joined by Pinkie, who was unable to hide her own laughter at what had happened. Sighing in frustration, the rainbow maned Pegasus shot up into the air and out of sight, most likely from embarrassment. Now recovering from our laughter spree, I turned to Pinkie. "So Pinkie, what've you been doing? Apart from, y'know, causing mid-air collisions?" I ask.

"Well, I was hoping to pull off some pranks with Dashie, but now I need to go find out where she's flown off to." She replies. The mention of pranks intrigues me, as I look at the pink mare with interest.

"Pranks, eh?"

"Yeah! I'm the Element of Laughter, and pranks are guaranteed to have somepony laughing." 'Fair point'. And with that, she bounced her way out of the park, leaving me alone in the park. 'Well good luck with that, I guess.' Turning back around, I carried on walking, until I came across none other than Twilight Sparkle, who was too engrossed in a book to realise that I was standing only a couple metres away from her. If she'd looked up at this point, she would have noticed that I was silently making my way towards her, a mischievous smile on my face 'Oh, speaking of pranks....'.

"Right, for the last time, I said I was so-OW! Can we stop!?" So as it turns out, scaring the living shit out of a book loving pony whilst she was in the act of reading is not the greatest idea, if one can't figure that out. Especially when said pony has magic and a tendency for using your head as a dart board. For books. Thankfully, I was saved by an angel.

A pink, hyper active and innocently annoying as hell, angel.

"Twilight, Greyie," 'FUCK SAKE' "have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere?" Realising that Twilight was now distracted, I slowly began backing away from the unicorn.

"Isn't she right up there?" Replies Twilight, looking up to a certain cloud that was sitting right above the pair. Noticing the multi-coloured tail, Pinkie smiled.

"Rainbow Dash!" Shouted Pinkie to the Pegasus'. Moments later, a rainbow streaked away from the cloud at breakneck speeds, away from the pink pony. Not to be deterred, however, Pinkie merely began bouncing away after it, disappearing from view a few seconds later.

"Now, Greyson. Where wer- HEY! GET BACK HERE!" She shouts after me, realising that I had made significant distance between the two of us whilst she was conversing with Pinkie.

"NOPE!" I shout back, running towards the library as fast as I can, laughing all the way there. Reaching the doors, I throw myself inside, hiding behind the couch. Fully expecting the unicorn to blast open the door, I'm pleasantly surprised when nothing happens for the next minute. Letting out a sigh of relief, I stand from my position, only to freeze on the spot when a familiar, menacing yet playful voice is heard behind me.

"Going somewhere?" Asks Twilight, horn glowing, whose evil smile only grew when she saw my face light up in horror at the realisation at what she was about to do.

"Oh come on, Sparky! It was just a prank, bro-OH GOD NOT AGA-"

As an extra punishment for my innocent prank, Twilight sent me along with Spike on collecting a number of blank scrolls that she had ordered from the town hall, to restock her own supply for her friendship reports. Helping to carry half of the scrolls, I turn to Spike.

"Is this all of them?" I ask, gesturing to the pile in both his arms and on the table, about 25 in total. Whilst Spike was carrying less than me, he had smaller arms, and so couldn't carry all of them in one trip. With me helping, however, we could take them all at once.

"Yeah, that's all of them, Grey, now let's get back to Twilight before she decides to bury me in books as well." He answers, chuckling at the memory of earlier. Wanting some payback, I grab a nearby quill, dip it in ink, and begin drawing.

"Hold on, give me a minute........Aaaand...Done!" Putting the now perfect scroll on top of Spike's pile, and collecting the ones still on the table, we make our way out of the town hall. We barely make it a couple of feet, however, before we're interrupted.

By thunder, of all things. Whilst I may not be scared of neither thunder nor lightning, I'll admit I was shocked at the phenomenon. Less so than my scaly friend, however, who dropped all of his scrolls in fear. Hearing the sound of laughter to my side, I turn to face none other than Pinkie Pie.

"The hell did you do?" I ask, genuinely confused as to how she had magically summoned thunder. Her answer is to gesture towards the sky, still laughing. Looking up, I quickly understand what exactly was going on. 'Oh... We've been pranked by the dynamic duo of Pinkie and Rainbow... Heh..Good one'. Spike was still recovering from his shock, before he suddenly began hiccuping.

"Oh Rainbow Dash, we startled Spike into getting the hiccups!" Cried Pinkie, before falling into another fit of contagious laughter, which I couldn't help but chuckle at.

"She got you good, Spike." I say, smirking.

"Good one, Pinkie *hiccup* Pie. *hiccup* You're always pulling a fast one *hiccup* on me." Picking up a scroll, he lets out another hiccup, resulting in the scroll being set ablaze.

"Oh no, you're not hurt are you?" Asks Pinkie, fearing for the dragon's safety.

" Ne-*hiccup*-eh, don't be *hiccup* silly, dragons are *hiccup* fire-proof." Explains Spike, easing the prankster's fears.

"Oh, okay, good." And with that, both Rainbow and Pinkie descend once more into laughter. Picking up the remaining scrolls, Spike suddenly hiccups once more, setting every last scroll in his arms on fire. Including the one I had prepared for Twilight. "I wish the same thing *hiccup* were true with scrolls."

"Spike..."

"Yea, *hiccup* Grey?

"When you set them on fire, do they go straight to the princess?"

"*hiccup* Yeah, why?" I was unable to answer him, as I had now joined both Pinkie and Rainbow in laughing. Only, my laughter put a stop to theirs.

"Why are you laughing?" Asked Rainbow. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I explained to the trio what exactly that scroll contained, much to their shock, horror, and finally, amusement.

(Princess Celestia) POV

Levitating the mountain of scrolls that I had suddenly found myself buried under, I gracefully move them to one side of my study. Before I can investigate these rogue scrolls, a voice at my door demands my attention.

"Sister? May we enter?" My sister asks from the other side of the door.

"Yes, Luna, you may." I respond, watching my now fully grown enter the study. Opening her mouth, she quickly takes notice of the abundance of scrolls in the room.

"What is all this?" She asks, gesturing to the empty scrolls.

"I'm unsure, but I would guess that my faithful student's assistant, Spike, would know." I answer. Our attention then turns to a particular scroll, that had just now bounced down from the top of the pile to our hooves. Levitating it in front of my muzzle, I realise that this scroll actually contained something. Opening it, both myself and my sister find ourselves questioning its contents. "What.....is this?" I ask my equally perplexed sister, as I use my magic to return the empty scrolls back to Spike.

"We...are unsure..." She answers, tilting her head in confusion.

"It's a drawing of some kind....Is that Twilight?" I asked, realising who the unicorn in the picture was.

"Indeed sister, it would appear so. And is that a claw?"

"It looks like one, but the middle digit is extended upwards, whilst the remaining four are lowered....Is it a gesture of sorts?" I muse.

"Whilst we may be puzzled by this riddle, we do believe our new friend, Greyson, would be able to enlighten us to the meaning of this, upon his arrival, Tia." My sister remarks, looking to the bottom of the scroll. Following her gaze, we find ourselves laughing, as I see exactly what had been written. 'Oh, you are an entertaining one, Greyson.'

"Indeed he shall, Lulu." I agree, still chuckling, using her own nickname against her, much to her annoyance.

Whilst the duo of pranksters went on their merry way of pranking the poor inhabitants of Ponyville, me and Spike had returned to the library with the scrolls we had originally been sent to collect, minus one. 'Oh mate, if I'm not banished to the sun by the end of today, it'll be a bloody miracle. Still funny as fuck, though.'. Upon seeing us, Twilight thanked us both, before realising that she was one scroll down.

"Why is there one scroll missing?" She asked, her gaze fixed on me.

"Really? You're going to blame me instantly? Where's the trust, Sparky?" I ask. Seeing her horn light up, and knowing exactly what she was planning, I quickly raise my hands in surrender. "All right all right! Calm down, Sparkles! Blame Pinkie and Rainbow. They pulled a prank on me and Spike, causing Spike over there," I point towards him, getting a wave in return, "to hiccup and send all the empty scrolls to Princess Sunshine-"

"Celestia" Corrects Twilight.

"-who then sent all but one of the scrolls back." I finish, ignoring her interruption.

"Why did she keep one of the scrolls?" I shrug, trying my hardest to keep the smile off of my face at the knowledge of the scroll's contents being seen by Celestia, and quite possibly Luna as well. Shrugging, Twilight focused her attention back to her experiments, whilst I grabbed a nearby book and lay down on the couch. I was barely five minutes into it when I heard a small explosion come from Twilight's direction. Lifting my head, I see that the mare had managed to cock up her experiment somehow. "You good?" I ask.

"Yes, I'm fine. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash swapped my normal ink for disappearing ink instead." She replies, seemingly unfazed by the prank. Chuckling at their antics, I go to the window in which they were still laughing at.

"You two having fun?" I ask the pair.

"Wowie, Greyie!" 'I'm going to punch you in the throat' "Pranking ponies is so much fun!" Exclaims the pink prankster, getting her laughter under control.

"Yeah, it's a blast, big guy! Why don't you come join us?" Offers Rainbow. Seeing as how I had nothing else to do, I nod.

"Meh, I got nothing else to do. Let me grab my coat." And for the rest of the day, our little trio terrorised the entire town, ranging from painting the apples on AJ's farm, to placing small, toy bunnies on the doorsteps of the flower mares, who had yet to get over the traumatising experience their gardens had gone through not too long ago. We did plan on pulling one on Fluttershy, but we realised that the poor mare was too innocent and sensitive to be on the receiving end, and so we just ended up messing with each other. Bidding the two mares farewell, I headed off back to the library, completely oblivious to the pair of them laughing behind my back. Or more appropriately, at my back

I walked through the entire town before I realised that the pair of them had stuck a note on my back, saying 'I AM A COLTCUDDLER' in messy, pink handwriting, complete with a Sugarcube Corner logo.

Suffice to say, I got a lot of weird looks that day, most of which came from the mares. I'm pretty sure I saw one or two of them lowering their heads in sadness, but I wasn't exactly sure. At least Twilight and Spike got a good laugh out of it, though Twilight did have to be reminded of the fact that I was, in fact, not swinging that way, much to the amusement of Spike. 'I'll get them all back, in time.'

As I had done the previous day, I went to the farm, worked, got paid, and left. Granted, my arms were sore each time I came away from the job, but it meant that I was putting in hard work. 'Think on the bright side, Alex. After a month or two, you'll be the most ripped human on the planet. Oh wait, you already are.... Well that's depressing...' Turning the corner, I see something that puts me on edge. 'The hell is that...thing..doing to Fluttershy?'

In the middle of the street stood what looked like a hybrid between a lion and an eagle. 'Hold on a second....Aint that a...what is it called agai-Griffon! A griffon! That's what it is! Knew I recognised you from somewhere.' Quickly making my way towards the pair, I just about make out a part of their conversation.

"-rry, I-I-I was just trying to-" She's cut off by the griffon, who begins mocking her, much to my rising anger.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Why don't you just watch where you're going, doofus!?" 'Oh you did NOT just say that, you little fuck!' I'm now beelining towards the insensitive griffon, who I'd now established as a female, judging by the voice.

"B-b-b-but I... I-" Suddenly, the griffon takes in a sharp breath, before releasing it into a deafening roar. Directly into Fluttershy's face, causing the poor mare to fly away in fear, tears streaming from her eyes.

Now I'm pissed. 'Oh. Now. You've. Fucked. UP!'

"Ugh, please, all these lame pon-AHH!" Cutting her off with a punch to the beak, I send the cunt crashing down onto the floor. Getting back to it's feet, it looks directly at me, a mixture of pain, anger and shock evident on it's features.

"What the heck is your problem, you.....you....what even are you?!" Demands the griffon, still holding a talon to her injured beak.

"That's not the important question right now, sweetheart. What you should be asking, is why I'm being so kind as to even be letting you speak right now, after what you've just done to that poor mare." I reply, anger being the most recognisable thing in my voice at that point. Rubbing the spot where my fist had connected on her beak, she snarls.

"Yea, you're right. I shouldn't be asking questions. I should be doing THIS" She yells, raising a talon, before bringing it downwards. Just before it could connect, however, I side step it and, bringing my foot under her other front leg, and also reaching forward and grabbing her throat, I throw her over me in a surprising show of strength. Landing in a heap, she has no time to react before she finds herself with my knee on her throat, her leg still being held in an iron grip. Having no time to question how I'd even managed to pull off such a feat, and also ignoring how light the griffon turned out to be, I gaze into her fearful eyes.

"Now that wasn't very nice, Mrs Griffon." I mock, my knee still against her throat. Thankfully, her back legs were unable to reach me, so I had nothing to fear from them. Plus, she was already laying on top of her other front leg, whilst I already held the last leg in my hand, applying pressure to it to keep her from trying something she'll regret.

"Oh come on, big guy....Lemme go....This isn't funny anymo-EURGH" Applying a bit more pressure to her neck, she's unable to finish her sentence.

"Aww, what? This isn't funny anymore? But I thought we were having so much fun! I mean, you seemed to be enjoying yourself, when you terrorised my friend!" I growl. At this, the griffon's eyes widen in shock.

"Is that what this is about? It was just a joke, I didn't mean it, I promise!" She rasps, my knee remaining exactly where it was.

"Really, now? It didn't seem that way to me." I reply. Bringing my knee away from her neck, so as to prevent her choking to death, but still keeping her where she was, I begin speaking once more. "Now, Mrs....?"

"Gilda!" The now named griffon coughs, gasping for air.

"Gilda. Lovely name. Mrs Gilda, I want you to do something for me. Just one thing, and that's it."

"Yea, sure! You name it, you get it!" She replies, desperately nodding her head.

"Great! I want you, to apologise. Right here, right now, to all these ponies, for what you just did to one of their own." I say, gesturing to the surrounding crowd, who were staring at the pair of us in a mixture of both shock and awe. 'Looks like they weren't expecting me to be so badass.' Nodding her head, I release her, allowing her to get back to her paws. Looking around at the mob, she sighs, and mumbles a barely hearable apology, before quickly shooting into the air and away from the street.

Sighing in frustration, my attention is quickly brought to the noise around me. Looking around, I realise that many of the ponies were now looking at me, stamping their hooves into the ground, with some of them shouting praise and approval at my actions. Giving the crowd a bow, I turn on the spot and begin heading back towards the library, completely oblivious to what a certain pink pony was plotting.

Hours later, I found myself in a rather uncomfortable situation. Pinkie Pie, in all her innocence, had decided to throw Gilda the griffon a party, for whatever reason. The worst part about it? She had personally invited me, coming to the library herself and handing me, Twilight and Spike our own little invitations. 'Oh, this is NOT going to end well.'

Making our way there, I can't help but ask present company what they've heard about Gilda so far.

"I've never heard about her, before." Answers Twilight.

"Me neither." Concurs Spike.

"So you didn't hear about what happened earlier?"

"Earlier? What happened earlier?" Twilight asks, now turning to face me.

"Meh, nothing much. I'll tell you later, seeing as how we're here." I reply, gesturing towards Sugarcube Corner, where I could already see Pinkie Pie greeting guests. Making our way inside, I quickly became aware of the whispers and stares coming my way. Getting a drink, which was unfortunately not alcoholic, 'Goddammit, why?', I make my way over to Fluttershy. Noticing that I was now stood right beside her, Fluttershy gives me a smile.

"Hi, Greyson." She says, still as quiet as ever.

"Hey, Flutters. Enjoying the party?" I ask, keeping an eye out for a certain griffon.

"Well, yes, but I don't think it's a good idea, after what happened earlier today." She says, referencing the events that took place hours before.

"I agree. After what happened when you left, I don't think she'll be too happy to see me of all poni-people here, at her own party" I chuckle. At this, she looks back towards me, tilting her head in that adorable way that all ponies do, apparently.

"What do you mean?" Bringing her to a nearby table for us to sit down on, I begin telling her about what had happened after she flew off. One quick explanation later, minus the violence, which I didn't think she would've appreciated hearing, and she was looking at me in shock.

"You really stood up for me like that?" She asks, looking at me in surprise and appreciation.

"Well, yea? We're friends, Flutters, and we've gotta stick together." I say, giving the mare a smile. Before I knew it, the Pegasus' had flown over to my side of the table and was in the process of hugging me. Returning the hug, I notice Twilight making her way towards us. Releasing the Pegasus', who returns to her side of the table, blushing madly at what she'd just done, I turn to Twilight.

"Sup, Sparky. You having fun?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." The unicorn remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"Is that jealousy I hear, Sparky? If you want a Greyson's-Specialty Hug, just ask, sweetheart." Rolling her eyes at my antics, she turns to Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy, you've met Gilda, right? What's she like?" Asks a curious Twilight, who doesn't seem to notice the look of unease come across Fluttershy's muzzle.

"Oh, um, well, I'll tell you later, Twilight." Replies the yellow mare.

"YOU!" Suddenly, the collective attention of the entire room is directed to a single pony in the doorway. A single, angry, hovering pony, and her griffon companion.

Said pony was, quite coincidentally, very angry at me, if her glowering face was anything to go by.

"Oh hell, here we go." I mutter darkly, moving away from the table and towards Rainbow Dash.

"Who in the hay do you think you are, Greyson?!" Growled the outraged mare. Shrugging, I give her my best answer

"I think I'm a single, fun loving guy with-" I'm cut off, however, when Rainbow grabs my collar, much to Rarity's displeasure.

"Don't play smart with me!"

"Something tells me you're angry with me, skittles." I say, further angering the mare.

"Angry!? ANGRY!? Oh, I'm way above angry with you, Greyson! Who do you think you are, bullying Gilda! My friend!" 'Oh, that's just rich.'

"I'm the bully? Oh, irony is beautiful. What exactly has she told you, Rainbow?" I ask, gesturing towards the griffon beside her.

"More than enough!" She answers, avoiding the question. Unbeknownst to the pair of us, Fluttershy and Pinkie were both trying to get our attention, but failing quite miserably.

"No, please, go on. I want to know exactly what she's told you, so I can laugh about it later."

"Fine! She told me that you attacked her, for no reason whatsoever! Look at her beak, everypony! Look at what a bully does!" Shouts Rainbow, gesturing to the mark on her beak. 'Well shit, I actually left a mark? Go me.' "If this is how you treat my friends, Greyson, then I don't want you to be one of them!" This causes our friends in the room to let out a gasp, with Rarity seemingly fainting on a coincidentally placed couch. I, however, am unflinching.

"Did it ever occur to you that there was a reaso-" She refused to let me finish.

"NO! I don't want to hear it, Greyson! Just get out." 'Seriously?

"Rainbow, I'm seri-"

"GET OUT!" She screams. Knowing that any further arguing would get me nowhere, I chuckle.

"Fine. Whatever. I'll go." I concede, moving towards the door, but not before giving a dark smile to the Griffon, which goes unnoticed by all but the pair of us. Taking pride in the fear that shot through her eyes for but a moment, I turn back to the rest of the room. "Enjoy the party, all. I'll be off god knows where, doing whatever it is that bullies do, I guess. G'night, folks!" And with a quick salute, I turn and exit, ignoring the protests coming from inside. Now in the middle of the street, I began heading off in a random direction, no destination in mind.

A few minutes later, and I find myself alone in the park. Walking through it, I reflect on what had just happened. 'So a few lies from Gilda and Rainbow just eats it up like Nazi propaganda, eh? Wow.. Element of Loyalty my fucking arse. That griffon bitch treats Fluttershy like shit and Rainbow just stands by and accepts that? What the hell is wrong with her?'

My thoughts are interrupted, however, by an all to familiar feeling. That tiredness from a few days ago had returned. This time, even stronger than before, and with symptoms to boot. Struggling to stay on my feet, I stumble around through a couple of bushes before hitting a nearby tree. The impact forces me to my knees, whereupon I then fall to my side, now enduring a sudden coughing fit. Turning onto my back, I'm unable to do anything as I lose all control of my senses and fall unconscious.

Shooting up from where I lay, I quickly took in my surroundings, realising I was still in the park. However, it had gotten pretty trying to figure out just what in the hell was wrong with me. 'No... No, this aint normal... I thought it was just me being tired before, but now? This is wrong....This aint fucking natural at all...Holy fucking shit...'. A sudden gust of cold wind brought me back to reality, and I realised that I'd been standing in the same spot for quite possibly a couple of minutes by now.

Shivering, I begin making my way out of the park, and straight towards the library, hoping it would be very bloody warm when I arrived. Making my way there, I ignore the concerned stares of passing ponies, including the shouts of familiar voices such as Lyra and Ditzy Doo, the latter of whom I'd met earlier in the week. More accurately, she'd crashed into me. I couldn't have been angry with her, however, upon seeing her condition.

Reaching the library, I shake myself down, hoping to make myself look as fine as humanely possible before entering. With that done, I proceed to open the door and head inside. Closing the library door behind me, I quickly realise that I was alone. 'Means the girls are still at the party. Or looking for me' Wanting nothing more than to sit down and figure out what the hell was happening to me, I'd barely even reached the couch before I heard the library door open, and my name being called by multiple mares. Turning around, I'm just about able to see multiple ponies jump/fly at my abdomen/neck, tackling me down onto the couch, whereupon I'm then buried under multiple bodies of warm, fuzzy fur.

"Greyson! You're okay!" Cries Twilight, who had latched herself onto my stomach, refusing to let go.

"Really? How'd you figure that one out, Sherlock?" I sarcastically remark, earning a hoof to the side of the head, courtesy of Applejack. "Ow. Okay, lesson learnt, don't hit me again, please."

"Where have you been, darling? We've been ever so worried for you, what with you being gone for hours, no less." Questioned Rarity, a look of concern on both her face and all those present. Including Rainbow, surprisingly. Choosing to ignore her for now, and the fact that I'd now apparently been missing for hours, I look to Rarity.

"Oh you know, took a walk around Ponyville, saw the sights, cleared my head and then came back here, becoming victim to the Ponyville football team's signature tackle maneuver." I say, gesturing to the mares still holding onto me. Those being Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy, who were still not letting go any time soon. "But in all seriousness, girls. I'm fine, really." I say, reassuring them. Unfortunately for me, I forgot that Applejack was the Element of Honesty, and I couldn't fool her.

"Ya' sure, sugarcube? Because ah' don't remember seein' ya' this white before." She says, gesturing to my face. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, I ask for a mirror, which Rainbow quickly retrieves. 'Surprised she didn't smash it over my head.' Looking myself over, I quickly notice just what had Applejack concerned. My skin had gone from it's normal, slightly tanned colour, to a very pale one, almost like snow. Coming up with a half lie to convince both Applejack and the girls to stop worrying over me, I shrug.

"Huh... Must have been the cold. I was out there for a while, to be fair." Thankfully, Applejack and the girls accept this line of thought and drop the subject of me looking like a 3D milk bottle, instead explaining to me what had happened shortly after I'd left the party. As it turns out, Pinkie and Fluttershy were not happy with what Rainbow had said, and when they told her what Gilda had done, she couldn't believe it. Realising that Gilda had lied to her the entire time, Rainbow basically did to her what she did to me, ripping her a new one and sending her packing. Feeling like shit, she had organised the girls into a search party, when they realised I wasn't at the library. They'd been looking for hours, before Lyra had seen them, and told them that she'd seen me heading towards the library.

All of this leads to where we were now, with Rainbow apologising and asking for my forgiveness.

"Rainbow?" I say, after a while.

"Yea?" She says, looking up at me, trying her hardest not to break down in tears.

"You're an idiot. A hot headed, arrogant, boastful idiot." At this, she looks back down to the floor. "But," I continue, drawing her attention back to me, "you're still my friend, and I have way more flaws than you do, skittles." I say, laughing, before the stunned mare decides to join the three ponies still holding onto me, and take her own position around my neck, laughing whilst she does so. After a moment, she relinquishes her hold, seemingly embarrassed at what she had just done. A minute later, she, Applejack and Rarity made themselves scarce, bidding us all a good night. A movement on my chest reminded me of the three mares still holding onto me.

"You three can let go now."

"Awwh." Came the unanimous response, before Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy reluctantly released me, with the last two exiting the library moments later. Twilight, however, remains on the couch with me. Before she could ask me more questions about tonight, however, our attention is drawn to the familiar sound of Spike belching up a letter. Looking at it's seal, Spike turns to me, eyes wide in shock.

"Greyson, it's for you! From the Princess herself!" He exclaims. 'Took her long enough. ' Thanking the dragon, I take it off of him and open it up, reading it out to both him and Twilight, who was trying to get a better view of it's contents by leaning on my shoulder. Clearing my throat, I began reading the letter to the pair.

"

To My Friend, Mr Greyson,

I must apologise for the lateness in which this letter has arrived, even though I had told you when we first met that it would only take a week before this invitation was extended to you. However, the process of re-familiarising my sister with modern day Equestria has proven a time consuming task, not to mention the added responsibilities of running an entire kingdom.
However, I do believe that the time has come that myself, Luna, and the staff here at the castle are now ready for your visit.

Tomorrow morning, a royal guardspony shall escort you to a royal carriage, whereupon you shall be transported from Ponyville to the castle, where you shall stay for a week, unless I deem it fit to alter the time that you would spend upon castle grounds. During this week, we shall be discussing your possible residency in our kingdom, and the question of returning you to your home. At the same time, we shall also be touring you around the castle itself, where it's facilities will be open for you to use at your leisure, as long as it puts none of my subjects, or yourself, in any danger. We are looking forward to your arrival come tomorrow.

Signed, Princess Celestia.

"

Looking to the bottom of the scroll, I notice an extra message written down, but before I could read it out, Spike lets out another belch, bringing an all to familiar scroll with it. 'Is that what I think it is?... Oh christ, this'll be interesting.' Turning back to the letter in my hands, I read out the final part of the letter.

"P.S My sister and I have been quite perplexed by your scroll's meaning. Though we find your description of my faithful student amusing, both myself and my sister are unfamiliar with the meaning of the gesture, but I do hope it is meant to mean something positive. A compliment of some kind, perhaps? You must explain it to myself and Luna when you arrive.

Upon finishing, I am unable to hold in my laughter anymore, much to Twilight's confusion.

"What did she mean? What scroll? What gestu...Oh no.." Eyes widening in realisation, she turns to Spike, who was already laughing at what he had seen in the scroll, using her magic to levitate the scroll from his hands over to her. Looking at it's contents, she drops it in horror at what lay within. Holding up the letter, I am able to fully gaze at my master piece one last time, before finding myself flung into the corner and buried yet again under a large pile of old books.

A crude drawing of Twilight being given the bird, with the words 'Sparky Is A Twat' written and underlined underneath. 'Worth it.'

Author's Notes:

And the plot thickens. Something is wrong with our protagonist, and hopefully the Princess(es) have the answers. For the next few chapters, we'll see Alex staying at the princesses castle, bonding with the pair of them, and meeting a few familiar ponies that we all know and love despise we know them, basically. That's all I'm going to say.

See you in the next one, folks! Peace.