I stirred awake. I stretched out my limbs as far as I could, and let out a quiet yawn. “That was the best sleep I’ve had in months!” I said aloud quietly. I checked my watch, and saw it was 6 A.M. “Well no wonder it still looks dark out.” I got up from the bed, put my vest and sunglasses on, and opened the curtains. If it wasn’t for my pair of sunglasses, my eyes would’ve been burning. The sun was out already, and blasted into my face. I looked back to see that Luna wasn’t in bed.

“Finally awake, are we?” said a voice from the doorway.

“Princess Luna!” I exclaimed, giving a bow.

“You don’t need to do that. You’re not exactly one of my or Celestia’s subjects, you know.”

“Right,” I said, giving a sheepish smile.

“Now, have a good sleep? You stayed in bed for longer than most ponies.”

“Wow, I did? That’s...Wait, you ponies get up this early in the morning?”

“What are you talking about?”

“My watch says it’s...” I face-hoofed. “I forgot, time-zone differences. What time is it now?”  I walked over to the window before Luna could answer.

“Let’s see...If I got this right...the sundial should work if it faces true celestial north...” I explained, to whom I’m not sure. Also, where the heck did the sundial come from? “Aha! It is...12 P.M.?! I must have stayed up longer than I thought... Well, I guess that answers that question.Can I sleep in your bed every day? It sure feels nice.”

Luna chuckled at the question. “Of course not, Green! You need to get your own bed. In fact, that is what I came here for. Celestia and I need to discuss on your being here.”

“Alrighty then!” I said, with a lot of enthusiasm.

She led the way and I followed her down several corridors. Most of them were simple, with a few paintings and some had tinted windows like you’d see in a church. Colorful, I thought. We finally arrived at the throne room, where Celestia was waiting patiently. Or at least I hope so. Don’t want to be sent to the moon for keeping her waiting.

“Green! How nice to see you! How did you like your sleep?” she asked, with a warm smile on her face.

“It was definitely better than the ones I’m used to. I really enjoyed it. So, what are we here to discuss?” I answered, while Luna was going over with her sister.

“Ah, yes, that. We need to talk about you being summoned here. First things first, do you wish to stay here in Equestria, bound by a summon?” asked Princess Celestia.

“Well, yes, but not by a summon. Thing is, I need to be able to go to other places to explore, not just this one,” I explained.

Celestia nodded, and removed the summon from me (a strange light enveloped me, then disappeared.)

“Don’t worry, it’s not like I’ll be leaving anytime soon. Besides, I can send clones to explore as well,” I told them. “In fact, I think I already have.”

“Okay then. That’s figured out. Now on to the next order of business,” said Luna.

“If you are staying here, then you need a house to stay in. Or, do you prefer to travel to your own world and stay there for the night?” asked Celestia.

“Well, I don’t typically go home and rest. It would be too much of a hassle to do so, seeing as how I would have to travel back and forth between planets. That, and time doesn’t pass much when I go to different worlds, so if I left and came back, it’ll basically be like I never left at all. No, I usually stay in the planet I’m currently adventuring in, most of the time in a tent of some sort- because I’m mostly on the move instead of actually staying in one spot- or occasionally, a house I pass by,” I informed them. “I guess I could buy a house here. Or better yet, build one.”

“Then so be it,” proclaimed Celestia.

“You will need a job to earn enough bits to maintain yourself,” reminded Luna.

“Oh, right. Forgot about that....I mean, I tend to literally make the currency of the planet from my watch. It’s not counterfeit, but it does feel wrong to do so. I could speak to Applejack and see if she’ll let me work for her for a few days. Until I find a job that I could stay in,” I said.

“I see...But, what is wrong with keeping a job with the Apple family?” asked Luna.

“Well, I feel like I’d be too dependent on them. I don’t want to be a bother,” I admitted.

“It is a job, Green. You’d be helping them, they’d be paying you,” objected Celestia.

“Well, if you say so. Is that all the matters that needed to be attended to?” I asked.

Celestia checked a list that magically appeared. “It would seem so,” she replied, “but what about your flank?”

I was taken aback a little at the question. “What do you mean?”

“You have no Cutie Mark,” pointed out Luna.

“You can’t exactly go into town without one,” said Celestia.

“I suppose so, but it’d be better than having to go into town as a human. I’d be an alien to them,” I replied.

“And we can’t just make them magically appear either,” acknowledged Celestia.

“I know who could help me; the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Though I’m not too sure how they’ll think of me, seeing somepony of my age without a Cutie Mark,” I exclaimed.

“That could work,” reasoned Celestia. “Just don’t give away your identity. We don’t need everypony to worry about an alien staying here.”

I nodded in understanding.

“Well, how about some breakfast before you be on your way to do your work?” suggested Luna.

My stomach rumbled. “Well if my stomach agrees.”

--------

After eating a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich (that I made, mind you) I flew off. At first I had some difficulty, still trying to get used to my wings, but I got the hang of it; thrust, drag, lift, and weight. It felt great, feeling the sense of freedom of being in the sky. The wind blows in your face, you’re above the clouds, you get to see the birds, too. And even better, it was a sunny day.

I landed near the farm (crash-landed, I should say; still suck at landing) and heard someone, or rather somepony, bucking trees. I trotted over to the direction of the sound, and saw Big Macintosh. He bucked another tree before noticing me. (Woah, a rhyme. I’m so bad at those.)

“Can Ah help ya?” he asked.

“Uh, yes actually. I’m looking for a job here,” I told him.

“Then ya came ta the right place at th’ right time,” responded somepony from behind him.

“Oh really?” I replied, my eyes lighting up.

“Yeah. Ya see, there's a swarm a' hungry caterpillars headed this way. If we don’t get all these apples picked, they’ll be eaten,” explained Applejack, coming up behind Big Mac.

“Eeyup,” added Big Macintosh. “What about them fellows that came here? Said they needed a foalsitter?”

“Ah told them we couldn’t,” replied Applejack. She turned to me. “Thanks fer agreein’ ta help, Green. We certainly need it right now...”

I smiled and said, “Then I suppose you don’t mind if I use my powers, then?”

Before either of the could open their mouths to say anything, I teleported a bunch of baskets in front me and put them each under trees. Then, I stomped my hoof to the ground, creating a tremor, which in turn caused the trees to shake and their apples to fall off. The baskets quickly filled and I brought them back to the barn. I repeated the process for several acres and it probably took no less than a couple of minutes to do so.

I turned to face them and saw both of their mouths gaping open. “What?”

I got no response from either of them. I’m assuming they were too awestruck. Finally, Applejack spoke up. “That was...”

“Sure somethin’,” finished Big Mac.

They paid me 600 bits, which I’m assuming is a lot.

“Thanks,” I told them.

“Yer welcome. And thank ya much for helpin’ us. Like Ah said before, we really needed it,” replied Applejack.

“Well, if that’s it, I best be on my way to look for more work. I could try to find those fellows you were talking about. I recall you mentioning that they needed a foalsitter. Though I’m not exactly good with kids...” I said.

“You should still try,” affirmed Applejack.

I nodded. They told me that the ponies who came over were Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who were over at Sugarcube Corner. I thanked them once more, and I was off.

-------

“Now, Pinkie, are you sure you really understand the responsibility of watching over two babies?” urged Mr. Cake.

“I can be responsible. Why, responsibility is my middle name. Pinkie Responsibility Pie,” assured Pinkie Pie.

I came in as she said that, and answered with somewhat of a smirk. “I thought your middle name was Dianne.”

“Oh, hey Green!” replied Pinkie Pie.

“Hey,” I answered with a cheer.

“Excuse me, but who might you be?” asked Mrs. Cake.

“Oh, that’s Green! He just arrived here, remember?” responded Pinkie Pie.

“So you’re the stallion that we had the party for! Well, nice to meet you!” greeted Mr. Cake.

“Likewise,” I replied with a smile.

“We really have to get going,” said Mrs. Cake.

“Actually,” I interrupted, “I heard you needed a foalsitter? Thing is, I need a job right now to earn enough bits to build myself a house.”

“Well, you’re a little late, Green. I’m already foalsitting for them,” said Pinkie Pie.

“Oh,” I said, tilting my head down.

“Maybe you’d be a better idea than Pinkie, though,” whispered Mr. Cake.

Apparently, Pinkie heard him and yelled, “I can take care of everything, no problemo, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Everything is under control.”

Pinkie pushed us out of the shop and closed the door. Mr. and Mrs. Cake left in a hurry, leaving me alone.

“Well, that certainly went well,” I said to myself sarcastically. I pulled out the list that Princess Celestia gave me and looked at what else I needed to do. “Let’s see. Job, done. House, needs to be done. Cutie Mark...I should do that right now...Where would they be, though?”

Out of nowhere came three young fillies, racing each other. They were going rather fast, too. One of them didn’t see me, and was closing in quickly. I recognized the filly as Sweetie Belle, when it finally occurred to me that I should be jumping out of the way. I realized too late, however, as Sweetie crashed into me and the other young fillies followed. We rolled down the street and crashed into a wall.

“Mmf,” groaned Scootaloo.

The ponies were all on top of me, so I couldn’t get up. Apple Bloom, however, got up quickly and exclaimed, “Did they appear?” She looked at her flank, and her face saddened.

“Well, racing isn’t our special talent,” responded Scootaloo.

As those two got off of me, Sweetie Belle finally got up and noticed me. “Oh my gosh! We’re so sorry!” She jumped off, and I was able to pull myself up.

“Right, sorry ‘bout that. We were tryin’ ta get our Cutie Marks, again. Ah guess we have ta keep tryin’,” said Apple Bloom.

“Hey, you’re that pony from before...Green, right? We had a party for you and everypony went. I’ve gotta say, those were some pretty slick moves!” said Scootaloo with a grin.

I smiled and replied with a simple, “Thanks.”

“Hey, how come you don’t have a Cutie Mark?” asked Sweetie Belle.

The three little ponies looked up at me, waiting for an answer.

“Uh,” Think, think. What is a plausible lie? I thought. Should I just tell them the truth? I’m an inter-dimensional traveler. I’m not really a pony, I’m an alien from a different planet. “I have one, it’s just invisible!” Real smooth.

As soon as I said that, all three ponies burst out in laughter. “It’s true!” I yelled.

“Yeah, and I’m Discord,” snorted Scootaloo.

“Okay, I admit it. I still haven’t found my special talent yet. Emphasis on ‘yet’,” I said. “In fact, I was searching for you. I was hoping you three could help me find my Cutie Mark, so I can actually ‘fit in’.”

“Really?!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. “That means...”

“A FOURTH CUTIE MARK CRUSADER!” yelled all three of them in unison. They dragged me off to who knows where while I was rubbing my ears from the sudden burst of loud noise.

We went back to a familiar farm, only this time, to the fields. We passed several trees before arriving at the official Cutie Mark Crusaders’ tree house. It was rather quaint, posters of various ponies filling the inside. There were stools, too.

“How do you like our tree house?” asked Apple Bloom.

“It’s amazing!” I told them, as I looked around. “When I build my house, it’ll probably look like this. Or at least, have a room like this.”

They all smiled at me. “Right, first order of business; How are we going to help Green get his Cutie Mark?”

“We could try an’ do a bunch of things like we did before,” suggested Apple Bloom.

“Actually, you mentioned building a house, right? Why don’t help you? Maybe we can get a construction Cutie Mark!” proposed Sweetie Belle.

“That...sounds like a great idea,” agreed Apple Bloom.

“All in favor, say I!” said  Scootaloo.

“I!” exclaimed all three ponies.

“Great!” I said. “Now, where are we going to build it?”

“Hmm,” thought all of the fillies.

“Well, were would you want it?” asked Sweetie Belle.

I thought for a second. “Well, normally I’d have it in the sky, but there’s already a city in the sky. Hmm, not underground, those dog things could be there....not underwater either; don’t want my stuff getting wet. Can’t be too far from Ponyville, so a different town is out of the question.” I kept pondering.

“Why’re ya thinkin’ of all the most craziest places ta put a house?!” asked Apple Bloom.

“Uh, right. Maybe it could be on the outskirts of town? Like Fluttershy’s, but not into the Everfree Forest like Zecora’s. I know! At the edge of the forest entrance! I think I remember seeing a hill there,” I continued.

“Well, let’s go then!” exclaimed Scootaloo.

She and Apple Bloom were heading off while the Sweetie stayed behind.

“Isn’t it a little dangerous to be near the Everfree Forest?” asked a frightened Sweetie Belle.

“It ain’t! Ah’ve been there several times mahself,” replied Apple Bloom.

“And I’ll be there to protect you anyhow,” I assured mainly to Sweetie Belle.

“Well, if you guys say so...” answered Sweetie Belle.

Reluctantly, she got up and joined the other two, while I was behind. “Onward!” I yelled. We galloped for a mile or so, then slowed down to a trot as we began to get tired. We passed through the town, stopping by Sugarcube Corner again. I felt it was rather redundant going to the farm and back into town.

“I'm happy to help! It's no trouble-” Twilight was cut off by a door slam. “At all...” she finished. She sighed and turned to face me.

“Oh, Green! You really shouldn’t sneak up on ponies like that,” she told me.

“Right, sorry. Uh, what just happened back there?” I asked her.

“Pinkie Pie is having trouble with the babies, but she wouldn’t let me help her.”

“I see...I guess Mr. Cake was right about me being a better idea...”

Twilight gave a small smile. “I’m sure she’ll handle it. Hey Sweetie, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo! How are all of you?”

“We’re trying to help Green get his Cutie Mark by helping him build his house!” answered Sweetie Bell.

“Really? Green, you could have just asked me. I would have let you stay--”

“I don’t want to be a bother,” I interrupted Twilight.

“Really, it’s no trouble.”

“Nah it’s fine. Besides, I already told both Princesses about this. Me building my house, getting a job, and getting my Cutie Mark, that is.”

“Wait, you need to find a job?” asked Twilight. “How did you have all those bits before, when you bought all those apple goods?”

“Those, were converted from currency that I had before. I can either convert or create the currency. I don’t like to create the currency, however. It feels like I’m making counterfeits, even though it’s real. And since I don’t want to use all the money I have on just one planet, the only other choice would be to find a way to earn money,” I explained. “Besides, the Gods won’t let me create some anymore, they won’t state a reason, but if falls into the whole ‘restricted reality-bender’ thing. Also, if I make too much of a currency, it losses it’s value overtime, especially with inflation.

“Oh, okay. Do you want some help with all that? I kinda have an open schedule seeing as how I was intending to help Pinkie.”

“Sure, if you want to,” I told her. “By the way, where’s Spike?”

“Oh, he went to go help Rarity with her work. You know him,” she replied with a smile. “Why do you ask?”

“Just thought he could help me... Anyways, let’s go!” I said.

We finally moved on (much to Scootaloo’s relief), and continued through the town, eventually reaching the forest. Nopony paid much attention to me, contrary to what I was told. I guess being a ‘blank flank’ isn’t to uncommon. Then again, they did just hear about me last night...Although, all they know is that I was a random passerby that happened to be sent in time with the mane 6. I persuaded Pinkie (with the help of Twilight) to not tell everypony about the truth; “Don’t want them to worry,” is what we told her.

“Well, we’re here,” I said, concluding my thoughts. Funny, time flies when you’re thinkin’.

I looked around, searching for the hill I thought I saw. “Over there, to the right!” I pointed with my hoof. We (somewhat) marched over to the hill, and saw it was pretty low. “Yep, definitely a hill,” I  remarked.

“What exactly were you planning on doing?” asked Twilight.

“Building a house,” I replied.

Twilight rolled her eyes and said, “I know that! But where were you going to build your house?”

“Behind the hill, though I remembered it to be bigger... Meh, I’ll just build it in the Forest itself, then.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” responded Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah, there are some scary things in there,” added Apple Bloom.

“Well, Zecora lives in there, doesn’t she?” asked Scootaloo.

“Yes, but, she knows more about the forest than we do,” answered Twilight.

“Don’t you have books about this place?” I asked Twilight.

“Well yeah, but they’re rather confusing...” replied Twilight sheepishly.

I thought for a second. What should I do?

“Maybe you could ask Zecora?” suggested Apple Bloom.

“Uh, that’s not a bad idea...” I agreed. “Be back in sec’!” I went into the forest faster than they could blink.

---------

I entered the forest in such a rush, I pretty much lost my direction. Luckily for me, I had my watch to tell me the way. “Let’s see...North is that way...so...”

“200 steps West,” said my watch.

“Righty-o!” I exclaimed, and galloped toward Zecora’s house. You know, this place really isn’t so bad. I don’t know why the ponies are afraid of it. The Everfree is more natural than Ponyville, so I guess that’s why I like it. The trees don’t look at all spooky, but that may have been because of Nightmare Moon. I think I did see a Treevil, however. Those trees shouldn’t be here though, but I’m thinking it was just my imagination. The creatures here also remind me of those back on Earth that have yet to be discovered; strange and bewildering.

I finally arrived at Zecora’s and saw through her window that she was making some sort of potion, though for what I am unsure. I knocked at the door, and waited. She put in a final ingredient and said an incantation before opening the door.

“Ah, Green! Come in, come in; don’t be obscene!” she exclaimed.

“Actually, I just needed to ask you something. Some things, really,” I replied while going inside.

As I entered, the first thing that caught my eye were all the weird masks, followed by the extensive amount of bottles full of things. In the middle of the room was a big pot that was filled with a purple, bubbling liquid. Steam was coming out of it, too. The hut was pretty small, so I’m surprised she can fit all this.

It finally came to my attention that I hadn’t seen Zecora at the party, yet she knew who I was. “Wait, how do you know who I am?”

“So you know I wasn’t at your party?  ” she asked.

I nodded, then she responded. “Let me give you a greeting, one that is hearty.”

She told me who she was, and I tried to tell her who I was as well, but she interrupted me before I could do so. “You do not need to tell me, for I know who you are, Green Mii.”

I was a little shocked, to be honest. “Woah, no one, pony, or zebra knows my last name. Well, maybe some do, but not whole lot do. And wait, did you just rhyme ‘me’ with ‘Mii’?”

She smiled and answered with, “You are smarter than you look, but everything I know comes from this book.” She went over to a bookcase and grabbed a book that was full of mysterious writings. She flipped to a page that showed the same prophecy Princess Celestia told me.

“What the-? How is this here?” I asked.

“This prophecy the Gods and I know, that it was decreed true a long time ago,” she replied.

“That doesn’t exactly answer my question.”

“Does it?”

I thought for a second, and then realized it did answer my question, but left me with another. “How do you know the Gods?”

“This book cause the Gods great chafe, so they gave it to me to keep it safe,” she answered.

“I see...But that is not what I came here for. I came here seeking advice; advice on how to live in this forest, if possible.”

“You wish to stay here in this forest? You may stay here with me to rest.”

“But I want to build my own house, and I was wondering if perhaps I could build one inside the forest,” I responded.

“That I do not recommend; It will lead you to a dead end.”

“Really? How so?”

“That, I cannot tell, but build your house outside and you shall do well.”

“I feel like you’re hiding something from me. Is there something in the forest I should know about?”

“There are monsters that constantly lurk here. If you stay, you will live with misery and fear.”

Instead of continuing to argue with her, I took her advice. I decided maybe it was best to stay outside the forest, just in case somepony needs me for help or in case of an emergency or something. Still, maybe I could build it closer to town, just for that specific reason.

“By the way, why do you choose to rhyme a lot?”

“It is how I speak. It also makes me unique.”

“Hey, maybe I should try as well!” I suggested.

Zecora gave me a ‘go ahead’ smile.

I thought for a minute. “Well, if I know anything about rhyming, it’s all about the timing!” Ha, nailed it! “Look, I know that was cliché, but I didn’t know what else to say. Yeah, I’m on a rhyming spree, no one can stop me, you see!”

Zecora began to laugh, and so I decided to join in. We laughed for a good minute, and I sighed. “Rhyming is hard.”

I said thanks for everything, and headed out.

“Goodbye Green, my friend! Make sure you tie up any loose end!” yelled out Zecora.

I waved goodbye and continued my way out of the forest.

-------

By the time I returned, Twilight had apparently taken the CMC back into town as Scootaloo was getting bored of waiting for me. Twilight also told me that they tried to start building, but ruined my supplies instead.

“And they’re really sorry for that,” said Twilight, almost in a plea.

“And I understand that. You don’t need to tell me 100 times, I get it; they’re sorry. So don’t worry, I forgive ‘em,” I told Twilight.

She had a relieved smile on her face, and I smiled back.

“Now then, I should probably actually start building my house, shouldn’t I?”

“Of course. By the way, what did Zecora tell you?” asked Twilight.

“Um, that I shouldn’t build my house in the forest because of monsters that would make me live with ‘misery and fear’,” I said. “I really don’t understand myself. I could take on any monster, and if such monsters exist, why is she there?”

“Maybe she wants to protect you from something? You did say that she had a book about several prophecies including the one that Princess Celestia told you about. That book could be protecting her from whatever monster is there, and could also be attracting attention, however,” Twilight explained.

“You’re right...That sounds plausible, I mean, it does makes sense. And perhaps, the monster could be...” I trailed off, thinking that the monster could in fact be one of the monsters that Princess Celestia warned me about.

“Could be what?”

I shook my head, snapping back into reality. “Could be, nothing. I mean, she does have all those potions, so she can take care of herself.” I tried to come up with a logical lie so that Twilight wouldn’t find out about the Darkness and what could happen if it found her or any of my friends.

“Right, so, where are you going to build your house?” she asked.

“Uh, probably closer to town, like the outskirts, maybe? Just in case, you know, an emergency? You guys could reach me easier,” I said, trying to get my mind off of what could happen with the monster.

“Okay then, let’s go!”

The trot back wasn’t as slow as getting here, for some reason. Maybe it was because we were hurrying back or something, I don’t know. I managed to carry most of the supplies on my back while Twilight levitated some in front of her.

“Isn’t that dangerous? You know, somepony could be right in front of you and you wouldn’t see them,” I told her.

“I think you breaking your back instead of using magic is more dangerous,” replied Twilight.

“I told you already, I don’t know how to use your kind of magic! In fact, you promised to show me some spells after I was done with my house!” I reminded Twilight.

“I know, I know. But what I don’t get is how you used spells before.”

“Those were ones I knew from different worlds. Before, I used to not take abilities with me to other worlds, thinking that too much knowledge would kill me, but after seeing that my mind could actually process much more than I thought, I stopped doing that and carried over skills,” I explained. “By the way, I didn’t use my horn either; I used my hands, err, hooves and watch to cast those spells.”

We finally arrived at the spot, just on the outskirts of town like I said. I was feeling really tired, much to my surprise. I let down the supplies without much care, and they made a pretty loud thump.

“Tired?” asked Twilight, as she let down all of the supplies she was carrying in the same manner I did.

“Yes...and I’m sure you are too,” I said, huffing. I finally collapsed on the ground, and started breathing rather rapidly. “Whew! I didn’t realize how tired I was...”

Twilight collapsed on the ground next to me. “Yeah, me neither...”

We stayed lying there for a few minutes, just staring at the sky. The clouds drifted by and made me recall that the weather here is manipulated by the pegasi. It was certainly a beautiful sky, regardless.

“You know Twilight, back at my home planet, the weather isn’t controlled,” I spoke.

“It isn’t?” asked Twilight, who was genuinely intrigued.

“Nope. In fact, it’s nearly unpredictable. Now that I think about it actually, Earth is a lot like the Everfree Forest; it’s, how you say, natural. Of course, we learned to control some of it, but it still pretty much does what it wants.”

“And you can live with that?”

“Well, yes, but, often there are times when it gets to be unbearable. Like earthquakes for example. There are little ones, who seemingly do no damage, then there are the huge ones that destroy homes and such. We do help each other out, but lately, the planet’s a mess,” I explained.

“What do you mean by that?” asked Twilight.

“Well...humans aren’t as friendly as you ponies. They fight over the most trivial things. What’s worse is that there are actually some people who would, and I quote, ‘just want to watch the world burn.’”

Twilight stayed frozen. She was shocked to hear that anyone could even think of such a thing. I looked at her, but she refused to look back. In fact, she just looked away. I couldn’t blame her; when I found out that some people are just plain evil, and that life isn’t fair, I was pretty much as shocked as Twilight Sparkle is now.

“You okay, Twilight?” I asked, concerned that maybe this was too much for her.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine...” she sighed.

“You sure?”

She simply nodded.

“Okay, if you say so. Mind if we don’t talk about humans anymore? They can be crazy, I know, but some are really good. So please, don’t take it the wrong way. I’m sure every species has their own fair share of ‘evil’ beings.”

She nodded in agreement, and looked at the sky. I think she became lost in thought, as did I. We eventually got up, though and began to think of ‘blueprints’ for my house.

“I’m thinking it should be invisible to everypony except my friends. What do you think?” I asked Twilight.

“Green, let’s focus on the actual ‘building’ of the house first,” reminded Twilight.

“So, I can’t pick out the color?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and frowned at me. “No, we’ll cross those bridges when we get to them. Now, what size do you want the house to be?”

“Medium-large,” I told her.

“What?”

“Uh, big? Like, a mansion. Then again, ponies could easily crash into it if it were a huge invisible mansion...” I thought for a minute, then an idea struck me. “I’ve got it!”

I replicated myself to begin working on the house. Dozens of clones of me appeared and they lined up. I decided it would be best if they were all in their Celestrian form, as they have opposable thumbs. They marched up to get the supplies and began construction.

Twilight was staring with her mouth agape. “How...?”

“I can clone myself. Did...I perhaps, forget to mention that?” I said in a sheepish smile.

“Don’t you think ponies might notice that humans are here?” pointed out Twilight.

“Nah, they’re invisible. Plus, nopony can hear them. I’m basically putting them under a veil,” I explained.

“So do they know what to build?”

“Yep, I told them exactly what to do.”

After a couple of minutes, they all yelled out, “Finished!”

“Thanks for the help, guys!” I thanked them. They returned to my watch, and after the dust cleared, we saw my new house.

“Um, Green? I think your clones need work,” retorted Twilight.

“Really? How so?” I asked.

“They built a shed.”

“That’s what they want you to think...It’s all a conspiracy!”

Twilight gave me a puzzled look, and I decided it was best to actually show her what I meant. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

The shed was dusty, and looked old. It was brown in color, well, most of it anyways. The color fades everywhere and there were spots of gray. It was pretty small, it looked like only one pony could barely even fit. But that was all on the outside. I opened the door, and motioned for Twilight to enter. She seemed skeptical at first, but decided to go inside. I entered as well, and closed the door behind me.

Twilight gasped as she struggled to comprehend that my house broke the laws of physics. “Welcome to the ‘Realm of Green’.” The ‘shed’ was a mansion on the inside. There were two staircases leading up stairs, and a spiral staircase leading to the third and fourth floors. In the foyer, there was a big chandelier on the ceiling. The floor was a golden-brown marble, and in the middle, there was a circle with the image of the universe. There were windows in which you could see outside, but it’s too confusing to get into how that actually works. There was a double-door in between the staircases, which lead to many other rooms. It was pretty empty, however, as it was barely built.

“How does this even work?” asked a very perplexed Twilight.

“Magic. I mean, ‘reality-bender’, remember?” I said, reminding myself that Twilight wouldn’t get the joke and instead take it literal. Although, some of the house is indeed, littered with magic. Like a magic barrier against intruders, or a veil of magic to keep it out of sight from strangers, and a spell to keep it intact so that if a major disaster happens, this house stays standing, no matter what.

“Well, I can’t exactly argue with that. Though I’m not sure how sound will work in here. If we were to call you from outside, would you be able to hear us everywhere?” asked Twilight

“I’m not entirely sure myself, but just incase...” I focused my mind, and created a security system that allowed me to see all around the outside of the house, throughout the house. It also let me here throughout the house, and outside the house as well.

“Where are you going to leave that?” asked Twilight.

“Everywhere in my house, and one outside. It’ll only be accessible by me, though. Hoofprint/handprint, eye recognition, voice recognition, password, etc. It’s so I can see what’s happening, like maybe, against intruders, or something,” I explained thoroughly.

“I see. Hey, mind if I use some of the rooms here? There’s so much space, and I’m pretty sure it’s a little empty because you did just build it. It’s okay if you won’t let me, don’t want to invade your privacy, after all,” asked Twilight.

“Uh, sure, go ahead! Besides, I can always make more space if necessary. I also happened to borrow an ‘Infinite Storage Cube’ from a certain boy genius,” I said.

“Great, thanks! I bet Pinkie will like using this for bigger parties...” said Twilight.

I chuckled at the mere mention of the idea.

“Speaking of which, how do you think she’s doing?” Just then, I heard a loud banging noise. At first I thought it was nothing and paid no attention to it. But I kept hearing more and more bangs so I finally asked Twilight, “Do you hear that?”

Her ears twitched several times as she answered, “Yes. What do you suppose it is?” She looked at me with a worried expression on her face, then glanced at a nearby window.

I noticed where she looked at and said, “I could go check it out.” I walked over to the window and looked outside. Not many lights were turned on outside, and a few turned off. I looked over at Sugarcube corner to see that lights were flickering on and off. I also felt the vibrations coming from that direction. I looked over at Twilight Sparkle, and she saw my worried look. “It’s Pinkie Pie,” I told her, “Something’s amiss at Sugarcube corner.” She nodded and we left in the direction of the bakery.

After rushing to the building, I had to stop to catch my breath. “Curse my human limitations!” I huffed and puffed for a while, but Twilight rolled her eyes at me. “What?”

“Ugh, come on! Pinkie could be in trouble!” yelled Twilight.

“Okay, okay. Let’s go.” We went up the stairs, turned through some corridors, and went down a hallway. “Man, this place looks creepy at night...” I whispered.

Twilight looked at me, slightly amused. “Scared?”

“N-No! I’m just saying--” I was interrupted by Pinkie Pie, who began to cry in room ahead of us. I looked at Twilight and her eyes were wide open. “Come on!” We rushed into the room and saw that Pinkie was almost literally crying waterfalls.

Twilight walked over to her, and talked to her in a rather soothing voice. “What happened?” Pinkie, however, didn’t answer; she just continued to cry. Pumpkin and Pound Cake saw her crying and grabbed a sack of flour. They flipped it over, covering their bodies in flour.

Pinkie noticed this and stopped crying. She giggled and admitted, “Y'know, you're right; That is funny.” We all laughed, and Twilight and I realized that whatever happened here tonight was fixed. After cleaning the babies up, we put them to sleep in their crib. Pinkie wrote a letter to Princess Celestia, detailing the responsibility of being a babysitter.

We heard somepony come inside, then saw it was Mr. and Mrs. Cake. “Pinkie Pie! We’re back!” announced Mr. Cake.

“How did everything go?” asked Mrs. Cake. She then gasped as she noticed that Pinkie Pie did rather excellently in her babysitting.

“Are we in the right place?” mused Mr. Cake.

“Shhh!” hushed Pinkie Pie. She looked over at the babies who were sleeping soundly in their crib.

“P...Pinkie. This is just... just...” said Mrs. Cake.

“Amazing, is what it is,” finished Mr. Cake. “We had no idea how responsible you really are. Would you be interested in becoming our go-to babysitter on a permanent basis?”

Pinkie gasped and pulled out a notebook. “Hm- Ah- lemme check my schedule! I should be available a week from... never!” She looked terrified and exhausted at the same time. She then looked over Pumpkin and Pound Cake.

“Pinkie...” sighed Pound Cake.

“Pie...” sighed Pumpkin Cake.

Pinkie smiled and then looked back at a sad-looking Mr. and Mrs. Cake. “I have some free time next Tuesday,” she told them. We all chuckled, and headed downstairs.

“I still can’t believe you managed to keep ‘em in check!” I told Pinkie Pie. Babies, aren’t exactly my specialty. I’ve had some really bad experiences with them.

“Me neither!” agreed Twilight.

“Pretty much none of us here thought you could do it,” concluded Mrs. Cake. Pinkie frowned at first, but then smiled and giggled afterwards.

“Well, it wasn’t easy. They really were a hoof-full. And don’t even get me started on their sense of humor!” admitted Pinkie Pie. We shared one more laugh, and decided it was time to go to sleep.

“See you all later!” I said as I left the building.

“Goodnight, Green, Twilight,” said Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Twilight and I headed out towards the library, as it was in the direction of my house. It was a quick trot, and for some odd reason, I expected to see Princess Luna out here again. Of course, she wasn’t.

We arrived at the the door of the library, and Twilight told me, “Goodnight, Green.”

“See you tomorrow, Twilight,” I yawned. She went inside, and I waited until the lights went out before I left too. I slowly made my way back to my house, looking at the night sky while doing so. I saw a big shadow pass by the moon, but I paid no attention to it, believing that I was simply hallucinating because of how tired I was.

As I arrived at the front door of my shed, an all too familiar voice came from behind me. “Having fun, are we?” he asked. His voice was like a metallic screech going down my back. It almost haunted me.

“Not now. I’m really sleepy. Can we do this tomorrow?” I asked.

“Hmph, look at you; You really think you’re one of them? You think they accept you for who you are?” he jeered.

I didn’t even need to look back at him. I didn’t need that face haunting my dreams. “Look, I’ve been through this already. It was yesterday; Discord asked me the same thing, and you know what the ponies said? That they accept me. That they like me for who I am. And right now, the last thing I need is someone repeating the same irritable questions!” I yelled at him. I could hear the shuffling of footsteps. He was taken aback by my burst of anger. However, that didn’t stop him from saying what he said next.

“You really believe that? Look at yourself. You transformed yourself into a pony! Pathetic. That’s what you are. Pathetic,” he mocked.

“You know what?!” I exclaimed. My furiousness was seriously rising at this point. It was almost like my blood boils whenever I’m around him. “I have to transform myself into whatever the race is for the planet I explore. You just can’t get that through your thick skull, can you Blackshade?!”

“Hm, hm, hm. So you do remember me... Ha ha ha! You stand no chance against the Dark Gods! You barely even found out about them!” reminded Blackshade.

Grr, this guy was really getting on my bad side now. I took in a deep breath, and told him, “You know something? You’re not even worth the trouble. Get out of here. Nobody wants you; nobody likes you. Just leave.”

“Hmph, fine. It does not matter; I’ve done what I’ve needed to do, and that was to remind you that you are not safe. We are always watching you.” I shuddered as he said that. “ I will be back, and when I am, you’ll see just how weak and pathetic you truly are. Ha ha ha ha!” And with that, he flew off.

Man, that guy just gives me the creeps. He’s completely covered in darkness, his teeth are extremely pointy (his breath is putrid by the way), his eyes are yellow with no pupils, and his voice is of course, like the sound of metal being scratched. He is humanoid, and he was evil the first time I met him. For some odd reason though, he kept following me in every world I went through, saying that “We are always watching you.” I had absolutely no idea what he meant by ‘we’, but now I realize he meant the Dark Gods. I wonder if they are as terrible as he is? I’ll tell Princess Celestia about him tomorrow, but for now, I just want to rest.

I entered my house finally, and headed upstairs. My king-sized bed seemed to be begging for me to get in it. Even the bed covers seemed to be calling out to me. “Okay bed, you win.” I slipped into my bed, and I drifted to sleep.