The hung-over mare struggled to sit up in the pile of paper that made up her bed. Her hoof still pressed to the back of her head. The unicorn stallion was dark blue in color, with bright yellow hair. His cutie mark was three white stars in a row, and he looked at her with concern.

“So…Now that I told you my name, can you tell me yours?” He asked. “And maybe tell me why your living in an alley?”

“Oh, um…” She said, trying to ignore the headache that seemed to threaten to split her head in two. “My name is Berry Punch.” She told him. “And… It’s a long story, I’d rather not get into it right now.” Berry wasn’t sure how she felt about this stallion. He was a stranger, and had no reason to be concerned about her. But looking at his sleek fur and kind gaze, she felt like somehow she could trust him.

“Good to meet you Berry Punch.” He said in a friendly tone, extending one hoof in greeting.

“Good to meet you too, um… Sky Star.” She extended her hoof awkwardly, and she shook it with his own. Berry had never seen this stallion before, and soon her curiosity got the better of her. “I’ve never seen you in Ponyville before, where are you from?” She asked, struggling to stand up so she could address him at eye level. She never felt comfortable with ponies looking down at her. And since she spent almost every night passed out somewhere in town, it happened a lot.

“I just moved here from Fillydelphia.” Sky Star told her. Then his expression turned to concern. “Listen…You seem like a really nice mare. I wouldn’t feel right, leaving you here like this. Why don’t you come stay with me? There‘s plenty of room, more than I know what to do with.” He offered generously.

“You… You would do that for me?” Berry asked, astonished.

“Sure. Come on, follow me.” He told her, turning and walking from the alleyway. Berry Punch followed more slowly. Even though the alleyway was cold and dark, but over the years, it had started to feel like home.

“Here we are!” Sky Star said with a smile. The sun was high in the sky by the time the two ponies reached Sky Star’s house. Berry gasped with astonishment as she gazed at the structure in front of her. They were standing in front of a huge building at the edge of Ponyville. A large dome covered a portion of the roof.

“THIS is your house?” She asked, eyes wide with surprise. Berry had never seen houses like that in Ponyville, or anywhere else, for that matter.

“Yeah, pretty cool, huh? It’s where I do my studies, too.”

“Studies?” Berry echoed. She wondered what a pony could possibly study in a house like this.

“Yes, see that dome up there? There’s a telescope inside it, that’s what I use to study astronomy.”

“Wow…” Berry mused.

“Well, I think we’ve stood out here long enough. Let me show you inside.” Sky Star offered, and led the way towards the front door. Berry followed close behind. Sky Star pushed the door open, letting Berry Punch go in first. “Well, this is the living room,” He said, closing the door behind them. Berry looked around. This didn’t look like any living room she had ever seen. There were sketches and posters all over the walls, depicting things that Berry had never seen. “What’s that one?” She asked, pointing with her muzzle to a sketch that seemed to show a colorful, cloud-like shape.

“That’s the Crab Nebula,” He told her. “It can’t be seen by plain eyesight, You need a powerful telescope to see it.”

“Wow, we never learned all THIS in Ponyville Elementary…” Berry said, full of awe.

“Probably not,” Sky Star told Berry. “ I had to go to an advanced school to start learning these things.”

“Well, what about that one?” She asked, pointing to a different poster. This one looked like dark stacks of clouds.

“Eagle Nebula.”

“Ah.”

“Well, let me show you the rest of the house.” Sky Star offered, and led the way through a doorway and out of the living room. They were now standing in the kitchen. It looked just like a normal kitchen, which surprised Berry. Judging by how the living room looked, she thought it would be covered in posters and models as well. “This is the kitchen. But you knew that. Would you like to go upstairs and see the telescope?”

“Sure.” Berry Punch agreed. They walked through another doorway. Berry stopped dead and looked up in surprise. A spiral staircase stood before them, climbing so high she almost couldn’t see the top, which was shrouded in darkness.

“W-we have to go up there?” She stammered, still staring upward.

“Of course, that’s where the telescope is. Let’s go.” He climbed up the stairs with ease, as if he had been doing it for a very long time. Berry Punch shook with fear as she followed him. She climbed more slowly, and gulped as she tried not to look down. Before long, she found herself stepping onto solid ground. She couldn’t tell how high she was, as the room was pitch black, but she was almost positive that they were inside that dome on the roof. Sky Star was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly the room shook and a loud rumble filled the air, turning Berry’s blood to ice. The red light from the setting sun flooded her vision, blinding her for a moment. The dome was slowly splitting in half. When her vision returned, she could see the dark blue stallion at the other side of the dome, his hoof on a large lever. But soon something else caught her eye. A huge black telescope loomed up ahead of her. It was not the kind of telescope that sat on a tripod. It was much more complex, with different lenses and components making up the structure.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Sky Star asked. Berry was speechless.

“Um…Berry?” He asked when she did not respond.

“Huh? Oh. Yeah, it’s pretty neat.” She finally replied, shaking her head.

“Would you like to see where you’ll be staying?” He asked her kindly.

“Sure.” Berry Punch said, and followed him back down the spiral staircase. She noticed that going down was much, much easier than going up.