Ditzy didn’t know what to do next.

She stared at John and Twilight for what seemed to be a very long time, mulling over the options of either running away, or actually say something—neither seemed like a good plan to her. Her eyes shifted from John to Twilight and back, she was torn as to what to do, and began breathing erratically. What was she to do? Was Twilight there to reprimand her? Maybe even take her away! Could she even do that?

“Ditzy!” she snapped back to her situation when her named was called, she looked up and saw John with a worried look, noticing his helping arm.

“T-thanks, I’m okay.” she raised her foreleg and allowed John to pick her up, his fingers closing on her hoof awkwardly as he helped her up. The three stared at each other for a while, but neither spoke, until finally, Twilight groaned and pushed past John to stand face-to-face with the mare.

“Ditzy.” she began, Ditzy gulped as Twilight stared intently into her eyes. She took and deep breath, and said: “I came here to apologize for my behavior back at the library, I know it was an accident, I know you didn’t mean it, I know you wanted to save Spike, and I know about your injury,” she grabbed Ditzy’s leg and brought it to her attention, a small bump was still visible where Spike’s scale had been stuck.

“W-what?” Ditzy hid her hoof, confused about the unicorn's change of heart. She had apologized for her attitude, something that she didn’t expect from Twilight.

“I’m apologizing! I feel really bad for what I said to you, it may have been justified, but I went a bit overboard. I probably made you feel awful too…” she finished looking down on the floor and her ears flattening against her head in apparent shame. Ditzy stared with wonder at the pony apologizing and smiled, a huge load off of her withers.

“I accept your apology, even though I shouldn’t have to. It was my fault after all,” she said quietly, but still loud enough for Twilight to hear. “Sorry, Ms. Sparkle.” she finished and bowed slightly (“bowed?” John thought as he saw the pony do the odd action) Twilight raised a brow at the motion, but soon had a cheerful grin on her face again.

“Call me Twilight, I’m guessing you might as well. Any friend of John’s is a friend of mine,” she extended her hoof and Ditzy did the same, they bumped them together and smiled at each other for a bit before John interrupted.

“Good to see this issue solved, now, maybe we can go back h-”

“Oh no you don’t, mister. We are making you meet some ponies before the sun sets.”

“B-but… Ugh.” John complained, getting a giggle out of both mares.

“It’ll be fun,” at this, John stuck out his tongue, an act that Twilight mimicked before turning back to Ditzy. “Alright Ditzy, we should go. No hard feelings, alright?”

Ditzy nodded and blinked as a sudden reminder popped into her mind. “Oh yeah! See you at the party,” she whispered loud enough so she could hear.

“What party?” Twilight asked confused, Ditzy reached into her mailbags and grabbed Pinkie’s invitation, she hoofed it to Twilight who quickly read its contents and giggled as she finished it. “I guess I’ll see you there then?”

“Of course, wouldn’t want to miss it, but first I have to take care of a few things before I do, so if you don’t mind er… Twilight, I have to go for now,” she closed the door behind her and opened her wings. “See you later then?”

“You got it, Ditzy.” the mail mare grinned and sloppily, took up to the air, flying in an odd zigzag pattern before quickly losing control and flying straight into the clouds.

John stared as both mares exchanged mild chatter, he smiled as they bumped hooves together.

“Good to see this issue solved, now, maybe we can go back h-” he began, but was quickly interrupted by Twilight.

“Oh no you don’t, mister. We are making you meet some ponies before the sun sets.”

“Crap.”

“B-but… Ugh.” John complained, getting a giggle out of both mares, he tried to think of a retort, but quickly gave up, now being ignored by the mares who had returned to talking again leaving John to his own thoughts..

“Today is gonna suck… But maybe it won’t be so bad. As long as Twi is there... Buying me some lunch,” he was shaken out of his thoughts as noticed Ditzy take off into the air, she seemed to fly out of control, doing odd moves before disappearing into the clouds.

“Uh… Do you think she’ll be okay?” John asked, realizing she was no longer in sight.

“I think she’ll be fine,” Twilight assured him, not really sure of it herself..

“Come on, let’s head home, I think I’ll let you off the hook for today,” John loudly sighed in relief after taking the words in, glad that he would be able to avoid meeting the ponies for another day.

They walked the streets in relative silence, barely meeting anypony on the way back, a few ponies waved while others just ignored the pair, the clopping sound of Twilight’s hooves was the only thing that could be heard, and it was what John focused on while he asked the mare a question.

“Did you really mean all those things you said to Ditzy back there?” she turned to him with a pokerface that would rival Celestia’s, then grimaced as she realized it was a serious question.

“Of course I did. After you told me about it, I felt awful,” she said, turning her attention back to the road.

“Well, I noticed you weren’t too sure about meeting her.”

“That’s because I didn’t know how to apologize. I was afraid that I would say the wrong thing, and yet, all that I said came out easily, surprisingly,” she confessed getting a light blush that was barely visible through her obscure coat, but one that John noticed easily after seeing it so often.

“I’m proud of you,” he exclaimed, ruffling her mane once again.

“When are you gonna stop doing that? In case you didn‘t notice, I like my mane to STAY brushed, thank you very much,” Twilight complained while fixing it with her magic.

“That depends, when will you stop thinking it’s annoying?” this earned a shove from the pony which nearly made him lose his balance as they approached the treehouse. “You know? I still think this is a fire hazard waiting to happen,” Twilight rolled her eyes and opened the door.

“Previously injured humans first,” she offered, John gave Twilight a quizzical look, but shrugged and made his way in, closely followed by Twilight who quickly closed the door behind her, John turned around at the sound of the door slamming and glared at Twilight.

“Geez! Twilight, you scared the shit outta m-”

“SURPRISE!”

John seemed to freeze as the sound of numerous different voices came from behind him, it took all of his willpower to turn around, as he hoped the voices had come from his own over reactive imagination, but his heart sunk as his eyes took upon the sights.

Ponies.

There were ponies everywhere, the sheer amount of colors hurt his eyes, each popping out on their own, it seemed most of the ponies he had met even partially were there, surprisingly, Rarity as well, albeit, staying far in the distance. The place was adorned with balloons, with some other decorations strewn around.

“W-what is this…?” John asked more to himself than at the ponies present, but he got an answer either way.

“It’s a party, silly!” he looked down and found the pink pony from the previous day, he fell back on his behind at the sudden appearance of the pink bright equine. He gulped as he stared at her, her big eyes scanning him with joy.

“Oooh! You already healed!” she went straight for his foot and stared at it with wonder. “You are faster than me! But not in the sense of speed as in going fast, because nopony can go faster than Dashie!” a muffled ‘yeah’ could be heard from the crowd of ponies, John had a bet that cry would have come from a certain rainbow maned Pegasus. “But in the healing way.” she finished.

John was at a loss as to what to do, different emotions ran through his mind; anger at Twilight for tricking him, surprise at the ponies in the room, and most importantly; fear of the pink pony in front of him. He gulped as he stared at her, she was a walking logic destroying nightmare, she could obviously bend the laws of physics as he had noticed her appear in a completely different place at times, people on Earth would argue that magic was illogical, but even that followed certain logic for it to work.

The pony in front of him did not, and that frightened him.

“Hurry up, Lyra,” called out an annoyed Bon Bon, she had been impatiently waiting for her 'friend' to finish taking a bath. She had taken longer than usual after she noticed her lyre and saw breadcrumbs all over it , neither pony had known who had done that, but in the end, Lyra spend the good part of an hour taking the sticky remains off her instrument.

It would be much later that she would be bonked by Bon Bon after not realizing that she could have easily cleaned it up with magic.

“We are gonna be late!” Bon Bon complained, they had gotten the invite from Pinkie as Lyra was busying herself with her instrument, of course, she had not stopped, and now the pair was running late. “You know what? I’ll see you at the party, meet me there,” Bon Bon groaned, finally at the end of her wits, leaving the house. Lyra quickly came out of the shower with a clumsily put towel in her mane, she tripped a few times as she made her way downstairs, only to find that Bon Bon had already left.

“Oh, horse apples!” she cursed, quickly getting on her hooves, she moved to the mirror and began brushing her mane, making quick work of it, she put the brush down and grabbed the package that housed the human’s present, something that he might just enjoy.

“Well, at least I think he'll enjoy it,” she turned to the side and found the object that had caused her irritation beyond belief throughout the day.

‘The Book’, it was a simple name, but one that she found appropriate, not really knowing what else to refer it as, considering it was just that.

“You again?” she asked it, nearly hoping for an answer. The book had caused her obsession with humans, in fact, adding the word itself to her vocabulary, she had planned to get rid of it, but something seemed to stop her each time, almost as if the book itself kept her from doing so. “Don’t you think I can’t do that… I can get rid of you whenever I want… I just don‘t feel like it!” she complained. She approached the book and poked it, then she hit it slightly, until finally, she pushed it off the table, landing with a louder thud than she thought possible.

And then, another thud.

“Woah! What the b-”

A thud that was in fact a knock from her front door.

“Oh… Heh heh heh…” she laughed sheepishly, glad nopony had seen her. She headed for the door and opened it expecting to see Bon Bon standing there.

“I knew you’d be back, I mean, who can resist my charm?”

Except it wasn’t Bon Bon.

“Well, I must say this is the most interesting greeting I’ve received in a while,” a voice with a rather regal tone could be heard instead of the usual whiny sound of her beloved partner. Lyra looked up and noticed who was in front of her; a hooded Princess Celestia.

She had just basically flirted with the Princess of a whole country.

“Oh oh…”

~~~~~

“So, what do you think? Is it great? Or is it super DUPER great?” asked the pink spawn of Satan.

I turned to Twilight who held a rather flat look on her face, then back to the pink pony in front of me, and my options were clear; accept the physics bender, or piss off my dear pony sibling for rejecting one of her friends.

…

I think the answer was rather obvious.

“It’s both of those things at once?” he answered, and she grinned with an unnaturally big smile and jumped in the air.

“Great! I’m glad you like it so much! Come on!” she SOMEHOW grabbed my arm and dragged me across the house, I turned back to Twilight who held a small smile on her face. I knew I would have to get her back for this somehow.

The opportunity came when I noticed it; Twilight’s scrolls that rested upon a shelf. I passed by them and grabbed the first one I could, I put it in my back pocket as I was being dragged, and despite my situation, a smile popped into my lips as I thought about her reaction later.

We made our way through a flurry of multicolored ponies (I was surprised how easy they could fit in the treehouse) we then finally came to a stop by a table that held what seemed to be punch, she grabbed a cup, again, I don’t know how, and han- er, hoofed it to me.

“Here you go! Drink!” ignoring the crowded space of ponies constantly bumping into me, I observed the red liquid with suspicion, but I found nothing that could drug me or even potentially kill me in plain sight, not that she would get away with it either way—at least that’s what I told myself. I put the cup to my lips, and poured the drink, savoring its odd flavor. It was rather strange, it had a slight feeling of kool-aid, but it tasted slightly sweeter, I doubted this world would have that kind of manufactured products, so I didn’t question it.

“Good?” she asked me as I put the glass down, and I had to be honest.

“Yeah, it was pretty good,” I said without showing any emotion, wouldn’t want the hellish thing to catch me off guard.

“Oh, well that’s good!” she seemed to frown slightly as she moved me to the table holding the treats, there were cakes, muffins, and even cupcakes, and I felt a toothache coming at the amount of sugary goods. I set my sight on the cupcakes and picked one up, holding it in my hand for a few seconds, imagining what this nature defying creature could do with it; maybe she lured ponies to her house where she chopped them to pieces and then turn them into cupcakes which she later served for her friends.

…

“Jesus, that’s stupid,” I admitted out loud, causing Pinkie to turn to me, surprisingly confused. Ignoring her, I took a bite out of the pastry, instantly cherishing its taste.

“This is quite good.” I said while withholding much of my appreciation, and avoiding to mention her name. I felt that even mentioning it would curse me or something, I turned to her just to notice her staring at me with a serious face. I realized she was getting suspicious, and I had to look for something to get her off my case, anything.

“Here you go.” said distraction came in the shape of a hastily wrapped box forcibly shoved into my hands, my eyes fell upon its giver, which surprisingly enough, turned out to be the marshmallow pony herself; (I found the term rather appropriate) Rarity.

“Um, thanks,” I said with effort, still mildly surprised.

“Don‘t. In any case there are a few things in there, I managed to get your measures when you were knocked out yesterday and made you some extra clothes based upon your original, that way you don’t stink up Twilight’s place wearing the same rags everyday, not to mention I gave them a touch of my own. They are MUCH better than those rags you call clothes,” I could have retaliated, but I couldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth… Or was it pony? I looked inside the box and saw a flower pattern in one of the shirts.

“God dammit.“

My questioning at her dislike of me for no apparent reason had to wait, I wasn’t going to deal with her when I have Ms. Pinkie here, but I could at least try to show some appreciation… Ugh.

“Well, I still do, thank you Rari-” thankfully, I was so ’gracefully’ interrupted before I could finish that sentence.

“Oh my, I’m sorry sir, a-are you alright?” I turned to the sound of the voice, just to see a pony with a dark mane and wearing a bow scrutinizing me with a worried look, I eyed her look slightly, but, I didn’t have time to analyze her any further when I felt a cold spot on my side, I looked down, a growing stain of punch on my shirt, that against my luck, it was completely white.

“I’ll clean that up for you!” she offered, but I kindly refused.

“That’s okay, er…“

“Octavia. And again, I‘m so sorry…” she apologized once more.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Octavia, and don’t worry about it,“ I turned to Pinkie and quickly excused myself. “I… gotta go change, be right back,” I moved clumsily through the crowd of equines, it was a rather difficult task, even with my height factoring in, regardless of my now ruined shirt. I thanked my good luck, and headed upstairs. A quick change later, I beelined for the bathroom, and locked the door. “Okay, calm down John, if you do, you can avoid any problems.” I stared in the bathroom mirror and looked at myself; I noticed all of my features, my mouth, my nose, my eyes, the beauty mark near my mouth. I nearly lost my concentration as I inadvertently compared it to a cutie mark. I hadn’t changed at all. Of course, that’s to be expected, seeing as I’ve been in Equestria for only 5 days… “Has it really been only 5 days? Sure has felt like longer…” I said to myself.

I shook my head clearing out my melancholic thoughts, I was quickly derailing the problem at hand.

“Okay, just play it cool until the party is over, then you don’t have to socialize with her any longer… I hope.” I stared into the mirror once again, imagining Twilight beside me, and how she would certainly think I was being too harsh on Pinkie, and frankly, I probably was. Still, I could not stay calm, she just scared me beyond belief, and I didn’t understand it. It might have something to do with my own beliefs (which quickly flew out of the window when I discovered Twilight anyway), still, all I knew was that I saw her as a threat, and there was nothing I could do to change that, I would have to deal with that fear at some point, but it was not going to be now. I left the bathroom, and breathed deeply as I prepared myself mentally to go back downstairs. “Geez, I just want this stupid party to be over with. Stupid pink pony,” as soon as I finished saying that, I heard the sound of something drop. I turned to the side and noticed it; Pinkie Pie was staring at me, she quickly closed the distance between the both of us, making me fall back, she stared at me without so much a trace of emotion, her following words coming out just as neutral.

“I’m sorry that my party wasn’t to your liking,” and without another word, she made her way downstairs, as she did, I could hear the voices there come to a stop.

Apparently not ones to waste time, I heard hoof steps coming up, I hoped that it could have been another pony, even Rarity would have been a very welc-

“John, what happened?” Twilight began as soon as she reached the top.

It's never going my way, is it?

“Why did Pinkie leave? She would never leave a party like that, especially not one she threw,” I kept my sight on the floor as she waited for an answer, I heard her hoof steps and she came upon my line of sight, looking up to my face from her position once she reached me, I cursed my choice of place, mentally cursing the fact that I was taller than she was.

“John. Answer me,” she ordered me in what appeared to be a calm facade.

“I… Called Pinkie and her party stupid,” ignoring the sudden chill I got at the mention of her name, I kept my gaze on. Twilight who seemed to be controlling different emotions at once, until she finally reached what seemed to be calm.

Next thing I knew, I was being kicked in the stomach by Twilight.

“…I deserved that…” I kneeled in the ground, gasping for the air that had been so violently knocked out of me.

“Go. Find her now,” if it wasn’t clear before, Twilight was furious at me, and who could blame her?

“Okay…” I quickly accepted, then limped past her, but I suddenly felt myself being lifted to the air and put back on the earlier spot by Twilight‘s magic.

“What are you doing, Twilight?” I asked her confused.

“Go through the window,” she commanded me.

“But, we are in the second floor!” I said giving my very valid complaint.

“Your point?”

“I could get hurt?” I asked rhetorically. wondering if she had gone insane.

“I know that, but would you rather deal with Rainbow Dash and Applejack then? I don‘t normally use violence like I just did, instead, I would have used my magic, and that would not have been any better. I don‘t think they would restrain themselves the way I did,” I closed my eyes and began thinking, the different outcomes coming to mind… None of them were favorable for me.

“Point taken, but why didn‘t you just say that?” I asked her honestly confused.

“I think we have established I’m furious,“ even if she was, she sure was keeping a very straight face throughout.

“Right…“ without another word, I made my way to the balcony and gulped as I looked down, it looked much higher than I imagined it would be. I looked back inside just to find Twilight already gone from the spot, I sighed and put my foot on the ledge, praying to whatever Gods of this world, I began my climb down… Instantly losing my footing, thanks my lack of fitness, and I saw the world slow down as I fell to my doom…

… Or I would have if I hadn’t landed on a bush.

Shocked at my luck, I slowly got on my feet, then quickly dusting myself off and being thankful that I hadn’t DIED, I began my search for the pink pony.

…

“Where the fuck do I even begin…?” realizing that Twilight would not forgive me until I had found Pinkie, I set off in a random direction, hoping to stumble across Pinkie Pie by luck alone.

~~~~~

“P-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p…”

“Worry not, I was not angered by your greeting," she looked outside quickly and then turned her attention to Lyra "… I believe it would be better if we continued this inside, if you don’t mind,” Lyra moved out of the way, allowing the royal guest in, her mouth was having difficulty with the name, but her mind was certainly having the opposite effect.

“PrincessCelestiaPrincessCelestiaPrincessCelestiaPrincessCelestia.”

“Are you well, my little pony?” Lyra gulped at the addressing, and quickly straightened up, saluting the Princess of the sun, and closing the door with her hind legs.

“Y-y-yes sir! Ma’am!” she responded, her old habits resurfacing once more.

“I see that you were part of the Unicorn Corps, but please, be at ease,” Lyra sighed loudly and let herself relax. Or as relaxed as she would be with a goddess standing in her house.

“Princess Celestia, it’s an honor to have you visiting my home, h-how may I help you?” she was having a hard time keeping a straight face, trying to make the Princess feel as comfortable as possible.

“Oh, I think you know why I’m here,” she looked down upon the book on the floor, Lyra picked it up with her magic and stared at it, eyeing the minor details in it, such as the stars on the covers, it was a simple looking book by any means.

“You mean this, right?” she grabbed the book with her hooves and moved towards the Princess, she grabbed the book with both hoofs and presented it to her, and using her magic, Celestia took it.

Or rather tried, as Lyra was not letting go.

“It’s alright, you can let it go,” the Princess told the mare, noticing her odd behavior.

“I-I know, and I’m giving it to you…” she responded, not keeping a straight eye on the Princess.

“Is something the matter?”

“Well… I…”

“Go on, it’s alright.”

“I don’t want to part with it, honestly…” Celestia eyed her with the slightest hint of emotion in her features, that quickly disappeared into her usual emotionless stare.

“I believe there is a story here, but I will not pry. Unfortunately though, I need this book,” Lyra flinched slightly and let the book go, nearly reaching out for it once again, but kept out of her reach by the Princess.

“It’s how I met her…”

“Met who?”

“Bon Bon… It was right when I moved to Ponyville, when I arrived, the first thing I did was visit the outskirts of the Everfree Forest; I know, it was dumb of me, but I wanted to see the dangerous forest lots of ponies mentioned myself, and I that’s when I found it… The book in the river… There was a glint, a light coming from it, I edged closer, and I jumped in the water.”

She looked up just to see the Princess, focusing her attention on her, she nodded, a sign for Lyra to continue.

“Well, I was not expecting the current to be so strong, I would have tried to quickly get out, but the book… It seemed to be calling me. It’s strange, I know, but I kept going until I grabbed it, that’s when the current took me, I thought I was a goner, and then… I passed out.”

“I will assume that Bon Bon rescued you?” Lyra looked up from her spot smiling.

“Yes, actually. We have been together ever since.”

“I am glad this book helped you meet, but know that even if you hadn’t found it, you would have met her anyway, friendship always finds a way.

“Friendship? Don’t you mean lov-“ she stopped as she suddenly blushed, realizing her own openness.

“One could say that love is a stronger form of friendship,“ she trotted towards Lyra and kneeled, looking at her directly. “And what you told me about the book calling you? I’ll tell you that the book WAS in fact calling after you,” Lyra blinked several times, staring at the Princess in disbelief.

“H-how?”

“I cannot tell you much, but I will say that this book, is rather special. As you probably noticed, it was not damaged after it had been in the river.

“O-oh, well… I suppose not,” Lyra blushed immensely, noticing she had not realized that fact before.

“It’s alright. I thank you for giving me the book, but I must now go. I don’t think I need to tell you to keep the book a secret. Specially from Twilight Sparkle,” Lyra held her own at the mention of the unicorn, she didn't need to question her reasons, she looked up at the Alicorn ruler and nodded.

“As you wish, Princess,” satisfied, the Princess nodded back and left a bag on the floor.

“W-what is this?” Lyra wondered, looking at the large sack on her floor.

“You could say it’s thanks for keeping the book safe,” Lyra looked into the bag and nearly flinched at its contents, there was bits, but not just a handful; the bag contained what anypony would refer to as "a small fortune".

“I… I don’t know what to say… except thank you, your majesty,” Lyra bowed and the Princess held a smile on her face, she bowed in return, shocking the mint colored mare even further.

“No. Thank you for taking such good care of the book. Now, I must really make my leave, I really need to return to my duties, I do not think Luna will appreciate that I left her in charge while she should be sleeping,” she laughed a bit, thinking of the reaction and turned back to Lyra one more time. “Goodbye,” and with a flash of light, she was instantly gone.

Lyra only stared dumbfounded at the spot where the Princess stood seconds before, she rubbed her eyes and then turned to the bag of bits. It was still there.

“… I need a vacation…” her eyes grew wider, appreciating the bag more as her face took a satisfied grin. “Don’t mind if I do!” she giggled and put the bag somewhere safe, then headed out, ready to have fun with her partner, already thinking of a way to give her the news.

~~~~~

The sun was quickly setting, twilight was apparent in the horizon, and most ponies were already packing up, there was nary a soul outside, as most ponies had gone inside, any sort of noticeable activity was non-existent, for the exception of a human who was still running around searching for a certain pony.

“Damn it!” John yelled to the skies, getting a few odd looks from the few passerby ponies, but being pretty much ignored, he looked ahead and found that he had reached the end of the town… Again.

“Crap, this is the 3rd time,” he held himself by grabbing his knees, taking a much needed breather, his feet felt like lead, and he wished nothing more than to sit down. “Gotcha…” he walked a bit farther than the times before, officially leaving the town for the first time on his own (to his own amusement), he had managed to notice a tree, deciding that it was a good place as any, he headed there ready for a good rest. “Maybe I can come up with an excuse for Twi… Ugh…” walking sloppily, he made it to the tree, falling on his behind unceremoniously hard, getting a hiss out of the him.

As he shamelessly rubbed his behind, he thought: “I can’t believe I searched for her for hours…” he looked up and noticed the night sky slowly coming up, he looked upon the few stars in the sky, noticing the odd way they popped. He kept his eyes on vast darkness, noticing the stars follow a simple path, his eyes finally stopped when he noticed a rather tall tower in the distance. “Canterlot,“ Twilight had mentioned the general direction of the regal city before, it hadn’t taken John much effort to realize that it was one of the Princesses doing her thing. “It must be Princess Luna, it's odd, but I must admit though, it lo-”

“Looks beautiful?” John jumped off his grassy seat as he heard the voice, he turned his attention to the sound and noticed the pink pony he had been frantically searching for all day, she had apparently been seating by the tree and eating a sandwich, the odd thing about her was that her mane was not its usual fluffy self, but instead, flowing free with the gentle breeze, a noticeable contrast from her usual hyperactive self.

“Is it you…?” John edged closer to her, Pinkie gave him a passive look as he slowly took upon her appearance, she was Pinkie Pie alright, the balloons on her flank was enough of a telling sign. He had not seen the mare’s cutie mark before, but the balloons were a good sign to use for a pony whose talent basically said “party animal” as Twilight had told him on Earth.

“Yes, it’s ‘me‘,” she replied calmly doing quoting marks with her hooves (something that John couldn‘t grasp quite yet), surprising the human and stopping him on his tracks. “You don’t have to act so surprised, it’s still me,” she took a bite out of her sandwich and turned back to him. “Would you like to join me?”

“Um… Sure…” he reluctantly approached the tree and took a seat next to Pinkie, she looked up to the sky, seemingly admiring the stars, just like he had been doing himself. “Are you okay? You aren’t acting like yourself…” the pony turned to him, giving him a rather cold stare.

“So, a stranger who just met me yesterday knows how I’m supposed to act?” she raised an eyebrow while John fought with his own words, unable to come up with the correct response.

“I… Guess you raise a fair point,” he finally admitted, getting a small laugh out of her.

“I was only kidding,” she finished her sandwich in one more bite and turned to him again. “You know? Only a few other ponies have seen me like this.”

“Well. what is ‘this’, exactly?” he asked looking at Pinkie from top to bottom.

“You could say it’s the way I relax," as she noticed the confused look John gave her, she continued. "What? Did you think I was the hyperactive, physics destroying pony all day? That requires a lot of energy, you know? Even I need to sit down and relax once in a while,” John’s eyes grew wide at the realization of Pinkie’s rather valid reasoning.

“I see… Sorry for assuming,” Pinkie only nodded silently while John admired her from his spot.

“I’m sorry, John,” he blinked a few times, surprised at her sudden apology. He racked his brains, but was unable to understand the reasoning behind it, quickly noticing this, Pinkie explained further: “I’m sorry that the party I threw wasn’t to your liking, it was the first party I threw for a creature from another dimension, I assumed everything would have turned out fine, but I suppose I shouldn’t have assumed. Right? So no hard feelings?”

John stared dumbfounded, he processed the words and quickly realized what she had said, rubbing his temples at an incoming headache that had begun building up, he turned to Pinkie once more.

“Don’t apologize,” Pinkie turned her head to the side in confusion.

“Why not? I threw a bad party and I’m apologizing for it, that’s how it should be,” with every word coming out of her mouth, the worse his headache became.

“No, that’s not it, I meant tha-”

“I was not being pushy? I believe I was, since I was not being understanding of your own customs, why else would you call me ‘stupid’?” she looked down on the floor as she said it, looking legitimately sad at her seemingly ‘bad’ behavior.

“Er… Liste-”

“I’ll be sure to avoid bothering you from no-”

“PINKIE!” she froze in place, surprised by John's raised voice, then giving John a small smile seconds later.

“That’s the first time that you refer to me by name,” she burst into laughter, but John kept his gaze serious as the mare continued in hysterics, after a few minutes, she finally stopped, allowing John to continue.

“As I was saying, don’t be sorry… It was my fault,” he slumped his shoulders and looked down at the floor, too ashamed to keep a straight eye on her. “I was… Scared of you, I guess I was scared of what you were capable of! It wa- it IS still weird… But you know… I think I can look past that… I guess I learned tha-”

“You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover?” he looked up from the floor just to see Pinkie somehow back to her puffy maned self.

“Heh… Yes. You need to stop finishing my sentences, Pinkie,” the pink pony gave him a frown that quickly turned into a big grin.

“But that’s just not fun, silly!” John couldn’t help it, he instantly burst into laughter, he laughed away, not really knowing why, after grabbing his now aching sides, he turned to Pinkie once more. “I guess I just learned a lesson here, huh?” she quickly nodded.

“I think somepony needs to write a letter to the Princess!” he looked at her with confusion but she just rolled her eyes. “Nevermind. Muffin!?” she brought out a muffin seemingly out of nowhere, John's mental alarm nearly kicked in, but he resisted the urge and took the sweet.

“Geez… Thank you Pinkie Pie, I was hungry,” he took a bite and spoke again. “Again, I’m really so-” a hoof went into his mouth, preventing him from speaking any further. Pinkie held a big smile on her face and shook her head, and getting the hint, John nodded and tried to get the taste out of his mouth after she removed it, instead of the muddy taste of the floor, he had tasted something else entirely. “Um… Are your hooves made of cotton c-” he stopped himself and laughed the question off.

“It’s just Pinkie Pie, don’t question it.” Twilight’s words came to mind. “I guess I should learn that phrase by heart, huh?”

“Wanna stargaze with me!” she began, getting him out of his wondering thoughts.

“I think I shou-" he stopped to toy with the idea, but it was mere seconds before his mind had been made. "Ah, fuck it. Sure, Pinkie,” he let himself fall on the grass, Pinkie laying down next to him, and the pair silently watched the sky as night finally came, no words were said to ruin the otherwise calm moment the pair shared.

“Another morning, more paperwork… Ugh.” Celestia went through her usual hearing assignments and certain bills that she had received, her nephew Blueblood had been the one using much of the castle’s fortune to buy anything and everything, every clerk in Canterlot had allowed him to get it for free because he had been the Princess’ nephew, but Celestia herself would not allow that, and she payed everything in full.

She soon came to regret that decision, however.

Still, it was a morning like any other, one that could be indistinguishable from others. That was at least what she thought as one of her guards made his way into the throne room rather forcibly.

“News from Northern Equestria… Erm… Your Highness…” he finished awkwardly after nearly forgetting his manners.

“Yes…?” Celestia’s curiosity was piqued, there were quite a few ponies who lived there who would call for an emergency for a number of reasons such as famine, natural disasters, or what she liked to refer to simply as ‘It has ret-

“… Princess?.” Celestia shook her head, getting out of her thoughts and turned her attention back to the pink maned pony in front of her.

“Right… Ahem. I was simply told to tell you that… It has returned,” at this, Celestia gasped loudly, then turned to the guard at her side.

“Find Princess Cadence and Shining Armor,” the guard nodded and ran out of the room, she made the other ponies to leave as well and took out a scroll as soon as the door closed.

“My dearest Twilight, you must come to Canterlot at once…” she began, and she wrote the letter as fast as she could and sent it on its way, she closed her eyes and opened the ‘contact‘, as she liked to call it.

“Ugh… What is it you want, sister. We are trying to sleep,” responded the grumpy voice of Luna inside her head.

Despite the situation, Celestia couldn't help but crack a smile. “I apologize sister, but it seems that we have a problem… He has returned,” there was some silence and then a light snore could be heard from the other side, Celestia sighed in disbelief, but she couldn’t blame her, she had kept her up most of the previous day, so she could be lenient… Enough.

“LUNA!”

“Ah! I apologize… What were you saying?” Celestia rolled her eyes and relied her message.

“Oh, it’s nothing. The Crystal Empire just returned, but it’s okay, you may go back to bed if that’s what you want,” sarcasm wasn’t one of her much enjoyed forms of speech, but she was good at using it when she had to.

“… I will be there shortly,” and with that she cut the communications, leaving Celestia on her own once again.

“Was bringing him along a good idea?,” she closed her eyes, mulling over the thought. “Ever since he appeared, things have not come to be as I had predicted them, and something could very well happen... unfortunately, this is a gamble I must take,” she opened her eyes and kept a fierce look on her face.

“I know you won't disappoint me, Twilight.”

Author's Notes:

After Chrome decided to be a prick and shut down right when I was done, I had to paste it here again and fix what I remembered.

I may have left some things in there, but I'm too tired to check, hopefully you guys will tell me.

Anyway, as I said before, this is the end of Arc 1, and I will be taking a break (especially after taking so long with this one), and I hope you don't hate it too much.

As always, leave any comments about what you liked or disliked, constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Notes 11 - 4/9/2018

WHY CAN'T I HOLD ALL THIS OoC. Man, I'm really ashamed of the way I wrote Twilight here. I'm starting to notice a lot of conveniences that came through forcing characters to act a certain way, and of course, they are usually the most pivotal to the point. Thinking about it, some things that came out of them feel more like they would belong to Starlight than either Twilight or Rarity. Then there is that last bit. BOY was I trying to set up a TON of junk. I'm kinda bummed I wasn't a better writer to do it.

But hey, story goes on. Gonna continue this wacky journey of mine.