Putting together a plan and feeling like I had some measure of control again was such a soothing balm that I got the best night’s sleep I had in years. It was a more long term plan that was going to require patience and acting like I was going to try and improve my outlook. That meant I had to get out and let myself integrate with pony society until I could gather what I needed.

Determined to get off on the right foot I got up and planned to have what I dimly recalled being normal once. One thing that was not normal for me and that I had forgetting about in my glee of having a plan was that when I woke up Windfall was sleeping on my bed instead of the couch. She sleepily awoke as I began moving and explained that she was taking her job of watching over me seriously.

I made a sarcastic remark about whether or not she’d follow me to the bathroom to which she straight facedly replied that she’d get Tough Hoof to do that. We went down to make breakfast when I noticed we were almost out of meat products. Luna had promised to arrange for me to get more though as of yet she hadn’t told me anything about it. Turning to Windfall I asked, “How does one go about contacting Princess Luna?”

She shrugged, “I’ve never tried before so I have no idea. Twilight Sparkle is on intimate terms with the princesses though so maybe she could help you. Why do you need to talk to her anyway?”

“I’m running out of meat and I doubt I’d find a seller around here.” Grimacing I continued, “I don’t have access to my weapons so I can’t even try hunting if nothing else works.”

Lifting a apple with a hoof in defiance of natural laws she took a bite before saying, “I guess we’re paying Twilight a visit then.”

“Looks that way doesn’t it,” I remarked as I grabbed some remaining sausage and bacon and began to fry it. A little later I added in some eggs and ended up with a tasty breakfast meal. The excellent taste added to my better than usual mood and prepped me to conquer the day. My mood was so good I almost kicked open the door to shout ‘look out world!’ Of course I didn’t do that because that would have looked very stupid.

With Windfall trotting beside me I made my way through Ponyville, almost humming I was in such a good mood. It felt very odd to me given how long it had been since I felt like that. Even so I had to admit that I liked this feeling; I liked it very much. My spirits were so buoyed that I was walking through town without knowing where Twilight lived and I didn’t even think about that or care.

After a while of walking around I finally realized I had no idea where I was going. “You know, this town is a lot bigger once you walk around in it than it looks from the outside,” I remarked I then continued, “Where is Twilight’s house anyway?”

Windfall chuckled at my comment on the town before answering, “She lives in the library John.”

Of course she does. Why the fuck didn’t I think of that?

Windfall began to trot ahead, “This way!” Following her I nearly ended up face palming as I recognized the large tree library from having passed it three times already today. We went in though I nearly had to get on all fours to get inside. Thankfully the interior was much roomier than I feared looking at the size of the door.

I was looking around the library when I heard a male voice from my left, “Heya John! Hi Windfall! Good to see you again!” Looking over I saw Spike standing on a set of stairs with a smile waving at us.

Returning the wave I walked over, “Hello Spike. Is Twilight Sparkle here?”

“Oh yeah, she’s right upstairs. I’ll go get her.”

He ran up the stairs and I resumed my room gazing. My eyes fell on a brown owl sitting on a perch watching us. It hooted at us and to my surprise Windfall pointed a hoof at me and said, “Him?” Another hoot and she pointed at herself, “Me?” This was of course followed by another hoot and she angrily stomped her hoof, “Well who do you want?”

Is that really happening or am I in hell?

“Oh I see you met Owlicious,” Twilight said as she came down the stairs.

Windfall pointed at the owl with a hoof, “He keeps asking me who but he won’t specify anything else!”

Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder, “Yeah he does that sometimes; don’t let it get to you.”

You have got to be shitting me right now.

Twilight then turned to me, “Good morning John. You look almost happy today.”

I coughed when I attempted to chuckle, “Yeah there must be some virus going around, do you have a cure?”

She began pulling all kinds of books from the shelves with her horn, “Oh I have cures for all kinds of things though I don’t know why you would want a cure from being happy.”

This time I did facepalm, “That was my lame attempt at a joke Twilight.”

She blushed in embarrassment which I didn’t know ponies could do and put the books away, “Ahehe, sorry about that. May I ask why you did come here?”

“Yes, I need to contact Luna about an arrangement we she made with me and I have no idea how to do that besides going to Canterlot and trying to gain an audience with her which sounds like a major hassle.”

Twilight lit up, “Oh is that all you need well I can help you there! Spike can send a letter to the princesses and receive them. It’s one of his unique talents.”

That was both impressive and convenient, “Pretty handy ability there Spike.”

He grinned, “Yep.”

“Twilight do you have any paper and pens I could borrow?”

She nodded, “I certainly do! Here you go.”

In my hands now lay a roll of parchment ready made to become a scroll and a feather quill pen and a bottle of ink. My eyebrow went up at the old fashionedness of it but I said nothing. The tech tree is all over the place here, I thought as I wrote out a letter to Luna letting her know I was low on meat and asking how it was coming getting more. Spike took the letter and breathed green flame on it and I watched a sparkly cloud fly out the window and head towards Canterlot. If my masculinity were a physical thing this place would force me to kill it out of mercy.

Instead of saying that though I simply asked, “When can I expect an answer?”

Waving a hoof she said, “I couldn’t tell you honestly. Most of my letters go to Celestia so I’m not sure how punctual she is with her replies. Don’t worry about it though; we’ll let you know when an answer arrives. Anything else we can do for you?”

I was about to say no when an idea that could help my plan popped into my head, “Any chance you have a book about Canterlot on hand…er hoof? It’s quite the place and I’d like to learn more about it.”

Gleaming she rushed over to one of the shelves and pulled down a book that looked different from the others near it. In fact it was so different that it felt out of place with the rest of the books. With a smile she gave it to me, “Here you go! Everything you ever wanted to know about Canterlot and more! It’s my personal favorite book on the subject and in fact I’ve already read it ten times!”

Her enthusiasm almost made me smile again, “Thanks Twilight, I’m looking forward to reading this. I’ll bring it back when I’m finished with it and then we can talk about another book perhaps?”

I swear I heard a squeal, “Of course! I’m so glad to see you like books despite what your rough exterior would suggest. Oh I didn’t mean to offend you I just, I mean I…um…”

With a sigh I said, “Don’t worry about it; I know I come off as more of a thug than anything else. Back before the whole kidnapping and everything that came after I loved to read though mostly science fiction novels. In fact I went to college to become a writer myself.”

She perked up, “Oh that’s right you mentioned that during the breakfast we had in Canterlot.”

“You’re right, I did mention it. Obviously my life has not gone in that direction and it’s been a long time since I’ve really had the chance to read for pleasure. It’s something I’m looking forward to.”

“Well enjoy that book John and there are plenty more for you to read when you finish that one!” On that cordial note Windfall and I took our leave and headed back out into town.

Windfall remarked as we walked, “Since when were you interested in Canterlot?”

“Since our last visit. Having had a chance to see more of the place made me more curious about it. It is a very beautiful city and one I wouldn’t mind visiting again.” All of the above was true at least without having to divulge any other motives. Even as I answered the question I was busy making a list of other books I would need to borrow at a later date. I was so involved with my planning I nearly walked right by the martial arts dojo.

Windfall tapped my arm with a hoof, “Hey John don’t you want to go in, see if you are supposed to work?”

Blinking with surprise as I came back to reality I sheepishly said, “Oh uh yeah, I probably should do that.”

Unsurprisingly Tough Hoof was waiting for me inside, “Good to see you John, Windfall.” He leaned forward, looking at me quizzically, “John you almost look happy today. I’m glad to see it but I’m curious as to what made you so upbeat.”

Oh wouldn’t you like to know! Out loud I said, “I decided to not try and fight with you ponies anymore and just accept your help. It’s actually quite freeing to be honest.”

He smiled, “Oh I’m very glad to hear that! It will be worth it, I assure you. Will you feel up to returning to work soon?”

“I’m up for it now if you like.”

“Great! C’mon in and let’s get started shall we?” The rest of the day passed quickly enough as I resumed my routine and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. It was almost too bad I had other plans but only almost.