>With goodbyes being as pleasent as usual. You and Spike exit the castle and head for the cottage.
>As you both walked, you had wondered how exactly he managed to save an empire. You turn to him and ask him.
>He chuckles as if it was a common question "Oh that? Wasn't nothing. Me and the gang were...." And he explains to you the tale of how he saved the Crystal Empire. Though his perspective on things were perhaps skewed, as he made himself sound like a burly action hero escaping tons of explosions to return something called "The crystal heart". But you didn't know any better. His tale fascinated you.
>You stop him for a moment. "Hey, could you show me some of those moves? Maybe if I learn a few of them, I could become a great protector like you!" You liked this thought, to be a hero had to have it's perks, and you'd beable to protect Fluttershy and all your friends if you learned from the master that is Spike.
>"Show you my moves,huh?..." Spike was enjoying the attention he was getting, nopony had ever looked up to him like this before. He felt like a bonafide super hero. "Well, ok.....but just one"
>"Alright, now check this out...." Spike stood at the ready and made karate sounds as he gave a hard punch forward, chained it into another punch, into a thrusting kick. However, he got alittle ahead of himself and tried performing a frontal flip kick, which he successfully manages to land back on the ground without tripping. You were amazed he could move with such grace, and imagined a punch from a dragon could really hurt.
>Spike was just amazed period, even if by accident. He never landed back on his feet after flip kicking before. He took a breath, and told himself "Yup.....only doing it once"
>"So, uhhmm...Why are you an assistant anyway? Shouldn't you be a knight or something?" You'd think he'd be some high ranking warrior, not what seemed to be a glorified gopher.
>"Nah, I've been Twilight's number one assistant for all my life, I ain't giving that up to be a knight. Have you seen any of Princess Celestia's royal guards? They just stand around doing nothing all day.....talk about booooooring"
>You told him you actually knew nothing of this princess, you also thought about his words. You thought maybe threats to Equestria must have been more rare than winning a lottery.
>Spike was astonished by those words "Are you kidding me?!? Everypony knows about Princess Celestia, who do you think makes the sun rise everyday!"
>You ponder that, you have bits of memory of planets circling the sun which creates the illusion of a rising sunrise and sunset......but then you remember Discord moving the sun, but he didn't seem the type to make it his job. "ummmm...."
>"Wow, no wonder Twilight wanted to talk about the princess with you. I didn't think that you didn't even know who she was. Are...you even from Equestria?"
>You frowned at the question. You really didn't know how to answer it. You told Spike in a sad tone you didn't know, you really knew nothing of Equestria besides what you have been told or seen, and sometimes what you have been told wasn't accurate.
>Spike noticed that his words may have been a tad insensitive. But he really was surprised by your answer. He started to guess that you really weren't from Equestria. But that didn't make sense, things don't just randomly poof out of nowhere. 
>"Hey, don't worry about it. Like I said, it just makes you more mysterious. That means you could be whoever you want to be, I bet you could even save a kingdom someday like your pal Spike. Bad guys wouldn't know what you were and would go running the other direction the moment you let out a heroic warcry" Spike gave you a confident smile.
>That.....did seem pretty cool actually. You started to think about it. But then realised. "That's cool and all....but what happens when the badguys know I can't actually fight them?"
>Spike didn't expect that question and paced forward as he thought. Then he had it, turned around and pointed to your hands. "Except you could fight, you got hands like I do. That means you could carry around something like a sword and shield. Give yourself a cool mask and a cape and you could be a super hero with a name like....uhm...."Horzorro" or something cool like that."
>Again, you began to think. And in actuality. That was true.Ponies didn't seem very capable of wielding a sword and shield. Villainous ponies probably cower in fear to that sort of thing.
>You both began to walk again, the sun was pretty low at this point as the glow of the moon could be seen in the other direction, the streets were becoming pretty empty. You were imagining scenarios in your head of defeating various badguys in quick swift movements. Until you realised. "Did you say we were pals?"
>"Well yeah, You're friends with Fluttershy right? And Twilight too? That and the fact you seem to be a pretty cool guy makes you a friend in my book."
>There was abit more to it than that. Spike never had another young boy to talk to who looked up to him the way you did, it made him feel special.
>You smile to yourself, that was the easiest friend you ever made. But, you felt you had to correct him on something. "Actually, Fluttershy is my mom"
>Spike didn't seem to understand that response, he looked puzzled "You're mom? I dunno, I don't remember Fluttershy getting with anypony..."
>"Well.....she sorta found me, and...she just took care of me just like that...and...it just sorta happened...but....I'm....I'm glad it did"
>"Well, Fluttershy is the kind of pony to nurture anything.....and I mean anything. aheh. So, how's that like anyway?" Spike thought it interesting, that she'd just make you her son.
>You smiled, any chance to tell anypony about the wonderful mother you had always filled you with pride "It's great! She always there when I need her, and I always do my best for her whenever I can. I always dust and try to keep the cottage clean, you have no idea how messy it can get...." You stopped yourself, that sounded pretty girly to say to a dragon "Ahrm, and of course I defend the cottage from all kinds of things that threaten us"
>Spike snickered "Like dust?"
>"Like....hey!" You almost laughed, defending everyone from dust did seem humerous. But that did feel alittle insulting, and as you looked down. You noticed some sticks on the ground by a small tree. You walk over to them and pick two up and toss one to Spike "Catch!"
>Spike was surprised by the toss and nearly missed, fumbling with the stick "Hey! what was that for!"
>You went and stood before him, and put on the fakest spanish accent you could "You have insulted the home of my Mother, my friend. I'm afraid you and I must battle for the sake of honor!"
>Spike caught on rather quickly and held his stick towards you, also attempting an accent "Well if you're usual opponents weren't of the fluffy dust bunnies, perhaps it would not be so insulting"
>You immediatly drop the accent "Hey! come on!....that's it! I'll make you eat those words!" You immediatly begin thrusting your stick as Spike jumps backwards swinging his. Engaging in the most embarassing, ungraceful swordfight the likes of anypony has ever seen.
>"Haha! You're too slow Anon!" Spike manages to dodge an overhead swipe as he stabs his stick at you, which you manage to barely dodge "Is this what the hero of the Crysta.......SPIKE BEHIND YOU!" You lied, there was nothing behind him.
>"Huh?"Spike looks behind himself as you go for a second swing, but he immediatly jumps forward with a hearty "Haha!"
>You stand astonished "How did..."
>"Usual villain trick, used in Power Ponies #35 and #67, gotta do better than that Anon"
>"That's it Spike! I'll show you my true power...take THIIIIIISSSSSSSSS" You jumped back, and charged towards him.
>"Oh yeah? Then I'll show you my true power too....HYAAAAAHHHH" He charged forward aswell.
>You both rush and clash your sticks together and push at one another, an epic struggle to be written down in every kindergartner's storybook.
>"Spike, I shall make you apologise I swear! And make you eat a bug!" You growled
>"Haha, not if I beat you first, grawr" He growled back.
>"And so the two warriors struggled under the twilight of the sun and moon, both backing thier resolve with one hundred percent conviction. Neither, despite thier newfound friendship, willing to back down from the challenge as their spirits burned with an awesome fury. Surely one of them would realise the futility of this battle, and stop the fight to enjoy a delicious cookie?"
>"Spike....was that you?" You started to relent
>"I thought that was you" Spike himself, weakened his efforts.
>"Hey! I don't sound like either of you, you know!"
>You both look to your side as Pinkie was smack dab in both your faces, smiling and holding a plate of cookies on her head.
>You both gasp in surprise and fall onto the ground past eachother.
>You slowly pick yourself up, completely surprised by the appearance of the jolly pink horse. "P-Pinkie....What are you doing here?"
>She just giggled "I could ask you both the same question. Nonny, why are you and Spike fighting with sticks?"
> You didn't know how to answer that exactly, so you went with a generic response "We were just playing"
>Spike picked himself up aswell. "....and I was winning too"
>You looked at him "Yeah right, I was about to beat you for sure"
> Spike pointed to you "Yeah.....in your dreams"
>"Pffft, whatever. You're just lucky Pinkie came along..." You crossed your arms and turned away.
>"And it's super lucky I did too, you both would have been hungry if I didn't come along." Pinkie jumped into the quarrel all smiles.
>Spike spoke up "Hungry? I could have fo...." Suddenly his stomach growled, yours growling shortly after ".....well..maybe I'm alittle hungry..." He started to rub his scaly tummy.
>You sighed "Yeah.....me too, so....umm...should we postpone our match?"
>Spike nodded "Yeah we better, it'd be pretty unfair if I clobbered you while you were hungry"
>You snickered "yeah, yeah, I'm sure"

>Pinkie placed the plate on the ground carefully, there. Three very large cookies laid ontop. She took one and offered you both one each. She started to happily nom on the one she picked out. They were sugar cookies.
>"So whatcha you two doing out so late anyway? Just play fighting?" She asked, still munching
>"Nah, I was actually just taking Anon home. You both know eachother already?" Spike asked as he picked up the cookie and began eating.
>"Yup! And I could already tell without a doubt that he'd fit right in, see?" She pointed to your face, you didn't notice you were smiling from the comment. "Look how cute he is when he feels happy!"
>Before you could say anything, Spike interjected, closing his eyes and wagging a claw "He's not cute Pinkie Pie, he's cool like me. Ya gotta get it right"
>"Awwww Spike, I didn't mean to leave you out of it. You're cute too, you know" Pinkie smiled at him.
>You started to giggle as Spike nearly choked "Noooo, not cute. Cool, Awesome, you know. Because were manly and brave"
>"Awwww, come on Spike. To me, you both looked sooooo cute dancing around like that." She put her hooves together "It was like a waltz between two best friends, hehehe"
>"A waltz?" You both react with disgust.

>The three of you finish the cookies while conversing with one another, Pinkie always staying on top of any surprise disagreement with her cheerful demeanour.
>She takes the plate off the ground and flips it back onto her head. She waves a goodbye to you both, and wished you both well and a safe ways home.
>You couldn't stop smiling. Something about Pinkie made good humor rather infectious.
>You looked at Spike, he seemed in better spirits aswell. Though it could also be the fact you both just had delicious sugar cookies.
>"Hey Spike, can I ask you a question about Ponyville? I figure you can give me the straightest answer since your not a pony" You looked abit, in a wondering state. The stars started to appear overhead.
>"Huh? Yeah sure, what do you want to know?" Spike started to look up aswell, at the stars.
>"I just want to know for sure, is Ponyville really this friendly? It's really nice and all, but...I sometimes wonder if someponies fake it" you sniffed the air, even at night. It was brisk and clean.
>"Nah, it really is nice here. Not all ponies are super nice but most of them are. Now if you want to see a place where alot of ponies can be jerks, you should see Manehatten. Heck, some of them in Canterlot can be pretty snooty"
>Canterlot....hmmmnnnn
>You start asking about Princess Celestia at the mention of Canterlot. You had no real idea what she was like, and apparantly she wanted to meet you. "So is Celestia? ummm...you know, snooty too?"
>"She's nothing like that, she's actually really nice. Though, if I were you. I'd never ever cross her" Spike looked at you with seriousness in his eyes.
>That's a curious response, you ask him why.
>"Well, if you really do something bad. And I mean really bad. She usually banishes you from Equestria. She even banished her own sister to the moon for one thousand years"
>You stop as your eyes widen and your face turns pale.Spike looks back at you "Anon?"
>You gulp, and start shaking as you fixate your eyes on him. That wasn't ok, that was definitely not ok. "Hold on,Hold on....Are you telling me this pony banished her own sister to the moon? For what exactly?!? "
>"Well you know, it was a sort of power struggle thing. Princess Luna thought ponies didn't appreciate the night and stuff, she got kinda jealous"
>You thought for a moment. Jealousy equals banishment to the flippin moon? And everypony was ok with this? oh nope nope nope, she sounded like a tyrant. "Spike.....I...kind of just want to go home now....and hide....forever"
>"Why? is it......ahhh come on Anon, she's not like that. She's not going to banish you. It's not like you're doing anything bad enough for her to do that. Come on, trust me" Spike gave you a thumbs up.
>"Spike....she banished her sister for jealousy...I'd rather just meet her sister than her"
>"Ahh cooome on Anon. It was worse than that. Luna also turned into a scary being named Nightmare Moon. She was going to destroy all of Equestria if Princess Celestia didn't do something"
>Nightmare Moon? Destroy Equestria?...You start to become aliitle flustered as you cover your face with your hand. "Spike...."
>"Yeah?"
>"Ahrm, maybe you should have mentioned that part BEFORE scaring me half to death! Don't you think?" You raised your voice at him. But you felt you were in the right. That description beforehand actually did make her sound like a scary tyrant.
>Spike tapped his claws together, looking apologetic "Gee, sorry Anon. I didn't mean to scare you, ya know? I just forgot that you didn't know like......anything at all about it"
>You turn abit in frustration. 
>"Relax Anon, heh...come on, now who's being uptight?"
>"I'm not being uptight! I'm being..." You turn to him and point "I'm being....I'm...ummm"
>Spike smirked at you, he found your reaction alittle humerous, and felt if he added some humor himself, you'd calm down "Uptight right, Twilight?"
>You continued pointing, stumbling on your words "I'm...urm...umm..not Twilight. I'm...not.....darn it fine. I'm being alittle uptight. But not Twilight levels"
>Spike puts down your finger, still smirking. "Whatever you say Twilight"
>You narrow your eyes at him "You do know that next time we fight, I'm gonna make you go running back to her,right?"
>"Sure do, Can't wait to tell her how I managed to topple the scary human" he snickered.
>"That's not what I...GRAWR, just you wait. I'm going to...." You don't notice that you reached the gate to the cottage, and smack into the gate door. Falling over as Spike laughs at you.
>You look straight up into the sky "You know what Spike, you are one......" You can't even come up with an insult as he continues to laugh "Fine, laugh all ya want. Just get over here and help me up when your done"
>Spike stops laughing and helps you up. You brush the dirt off your suit and think of whapping him in the back of the head. But you were close enough to home and didn't want to risk Fluttershy seeing you smack a baby dragon.
>Spike yawned "Well, this is where we part ways. I gotta be getting back home for some shut eye."
>You nodded "Yeah I guess, it's getting late....I've actually never been out this late....or at all really...without my mom...I hope she isn't worried..."
>Spike looked up at you "Ahhh she'll be fine. I swear, you worry as much as she does. Ya gotta relax Anon, take it easy. Look, I promise everything is going to be ok. Or my name isn't Spike"
>You sighed, well. The only way to know if Celestia was truly scary was to meet her face to face. Everypony seems to revere her as some benevolent goddess. So surely you are just overthinking things. "Thanks Spike...I guess I'll see you around"
>Spike shook his hand with you as you went past the gate, He looked back as he started off back to the castle and called out for you. Making you look back to him. 
>"Oh and Anon! Remember to bring back that book when your done. Twilight is really uptight about that type of thing"
>Oh right...the book, You lifted up the right part of your suit where you had it stashed in your right back pocket. You waved and thanked Spike as you turned to knock on the door to the cottage.
>But before you could....it opened
>Fluttershy stood before you, she had a saddle bag on with some wraps and bandages
>Her eyes grew wide as she hugged onto you instantly "Anon! Oh my little Anon! I was so worried about you!"
>You hugged her back. You wondered why she was so worried. Did she think you got hurt or something? The medical supplies seem to indicate yes "....hi mom...what's up?"
>Fluttershy began to check you for any injuries, she was pretty frantic "What's up? Anon! I thought you may have tried to get home on your own! I thought you might have gotten hurt! It's so late Anon! Why didn't you have Twilight..."
>You hug onto her tightly "Mom...mom...calm down. I'm ok, things just took longer than they should...heh...and Spike brought me home. See...I'm ok" You gave a peppy laugh, hoping it'd calm her.
>She nuzzled into you gently "Anon, I was just so worried about you..."
>"It's ok mom, really. Relax. See...I'm ok" You lifted you arms so she could get a good look.
>She noticed however your suit was dirty, and your bowtie was crooked. She moved aside so you could enter the cottage "Anon....what happened to your suit?"
>You looked at it...it was pretty dirty. Probably from the sword fight and falling to the ground. "ummm, me and Spike just played around alittle before getting here. Sorry, I guess it ate up some of our time..."
>Fluttershy nuzzled into you again "Anon..."
>You hugged her as she nuzzled "Mom, come on. I promise I'm ok..." 
>You started to understand why'd she'd be so upset. Even Discord got you home before the sun lowered. And here you are coming home at night with a dirty suit. She probably didn't even notice Spike walking off.
>Fluttershy started to tear up. But she now tried to level herself off. Her little gentlecolt was home now, there was nothing to worry about, she had to remember the difference between worry and babying you. She took a deep breath and sighed and wiped her tears before looking at you. "It's just good to have you back Anon. I'm not worried anymore...ahrm...I made you dinner. It's on the counter." She gave you a small smile, she really was happy you were home.
>And so it was another night in the cottage.
>You ate dinner and showed Fluttershy the Daring Do book Twilight had lent you. Fluttershy seemed delighted you took an interest in reading, mentioning how fun it can be. You nearly groan at the comment, but stop yourself, you didn't want to insult her.
>You ask her if she can read a chapter to you. But she gives a rather surprising answer you wouldn't expect out of her. She told you that you should read it yourself, that'd it'd help you hone your reading skills. But she'd be happy to read a chapter you've already read to help with your understanding of it. That didn't make much sense to you...but you didn't want to argue this. She already probably worried half the day about you.
>When bedtime came around, you pulled out "Friender", your doll, and curled up to read what you thought, was a good book.