…Maddock climbed the steps to the castle doors and knocked. He took notice of the fact that this castle was up in a tree, and it had something that looked like a star on top. It was a gigantic, grandiose place. He even thought that it surpassed the palace of Canterlot. Beside the castle, across a little stream, was another maze of buildings that appeared to be an institution of some sort. That must be the School of Friendship, he thought.

The wind whipped around him once again as someone opened the door. He found himself staring at a small dragon. "Uh…can I help you?" The dragon asked frankly. "Yeah," Maddock said, "I'm looking for a Princess Twilight. I was told she lives here. My name's Maddock, and-"

At this point, the dragon began smiling. "You're Maddock? Awesome! Princess Luna wrote to us and told us you were coming. Come in! Come in!" With that, the dragon turned and led Maddock down a humongous hall. Maddock tried to take it all in at once, but he surmised that it would take more than one viewing to truly appreciate the beauty and precise architecture that stood around him.

"Whoever designed this must have been some architect," he said breathlessly. The dragon laughed a bit. "Well, nopony designed it," he said, "it grew out of a magic chest that was unlocked by six keys."

"Six keys?"

"Yep! Twilight had one and her friends had the other five. I was there. It was an amazing experience. See, they were fighting this dude, Tirek, and-"

"Tirek? Oh, yeah, I remember seeing that in the Canterlot Times about how they beat him. They had a big ceremony honoring them afterwards, as I recall."

"Yep, they sure did. Did you go?"

"No. I don't really do royal ceremonies."

"Oh," the dragon said with a bit of disappointment. Then he turned up and stopped walking. "Ah, here we are," he said as he pushed open the doors in front of them. He took them into a gigantic room. Some tree roots hung from the ceiling, acting as a chandelier. Maddock found this an impressive, if a bit odd, interior design choice. Underneath the chandelier sat six thrones. Five of them were empty, but one held an occupant.

Maddock stopped short. The occupant was a very pretty purple mare. "Maddock, meet Princess Twilight Sparkle," the dragon said. Twilight regarded him with a friendly smile. "Hi, there," she said kindly before moving from her throne and sitting in front of him. She offered a hoof, which Maddock shook, more out of respect for her position than out of excitement over meeting her.

"It's really nice to meet you," she said. He cocked his head a bit. Why on earth is she so…civil? She's a princess, for crying out loud! She should be talking down to me and asking me to call her "Your Highness" and stuff like that. Out loud, he said, "it's nice to meet you too, Your Highness-"

"No, none of that," she said suddenly, "I'm the Princess of Friendship, which means everypony is-"

"Your friend?"

"Well, yes, to put it bluntly," she said, "so you don't have to call me Your Highness or be very formal around me. I'm just another pony. Truth be told, I'm not too much of a princess." Here she laughed. It was a sweet and gentle laugh, one that made Maddock curious about what that laugh could be hiding. Was it a sincere laugh, or just one that she used when greeting special guests?

She continued, "I'm more of Equestria's official ambassador for friendship. The title just comes with the job." She smiled at him. Her smile seemed sincere, but was it? Did she really have his best interests at heart, or did Celestia and Luna send him on a wild goose chase to Ponyville just to decrease the homeless population of Canterlot? That would figure, he said, they're all royalty. Why would they care about a homeless pony like me?

"So, Luna's letter said you were homeless in Canterlot," Twilight continued. She frowned a bit, but the frown wasn't so much in disgust as it was in concern. Could this pony actually care? He dared to ask himself. It would be refreshing to have somepony legitimately care about him instead of just feeling sorry for him and putting him up for the night. If only she didn't have that blasted unicorn horn, he thought.

"I'm so sorry to hear that you didn't have a home," Twilight said. Genuine concern laced the sweet vocals that met his ear. "But that won't have to be the case anymore," she went on, "as long as you're my student, you have a home here at the Castle of Friendship. Here, let me show you to your quarters."

With that, she turned and led Maddock down a long hallway. The young dragon came as well, carrying Maddock's things. After a bit of a walk, she stopped in front of a door. She used her magic to open the door, to which Maddock thought some very unsavory things, and walked inside. He followed and stared in awe at just how spacious the room was.

"It's not very much," Twilight said, "but consider it a gift from a new friend." She smiled again and this time Maddock couldn't help but smile back. It was as if he felt warm around this pony. But she's a former unicorn, he said, how the hay can I be so warm and happy around somepony who only seeks to show off to other ponies, no matter the danger?! Still, though, he did feel warm. It was the warmest he had felt in weeks, and he didn't want it to go away.

Twilight moved around him back to the door. "I'll just let you get settled," she said, "welcome to the castle family, Maddock!" With that, she and the dragon left and shut the door behind them. Maddock couldn't help but stare for a few minutes. Why are Equestrian royals so interested in me? He thought, and for that matter, why the hay do they want me to learn friendship? Friendship is for fools! Still, though, if it means I get to be around her for a few days…I guess it won't be so bad. UGH! But she's a former unicorn! Why am I having these thoughts?! Having no answers to these questions, he quietly unpacked his things.

He had no visitors for the rest of the day, save for the dragon coming by and checking on him every once in a while. His mind spun with the questions he was asking himself. Why did the royal ponies want anything to do with him? Why did Twilight ask that he not address her as "Princess" or "Your Majesty?" Didn't she realize her own position of power and influence? For that matter, why was she on his mind so much…and why didn't he want her to leave? She was once a unicorn, for crying out loud! He hated unicorns! So, why were these thoughts plaguing him?

He refused the dinner that was offered to him, stiffly telling Twilight that he wasn't hungry. Twilight looked taken aback by his bluntness, but gently accepted his refusal. He just wanted to be alone for a little while. As he turned to leave the banquet hall, Twilight called after him. "Maddock, is everything OK?"

He gave her a bit of a look. He thought about lashing out at her right then and there, for everything her pony kind had done to him. How dare she ask him if he were OK when it was magic, the element of harmony she embodied, that had taken what was dearest to him? Even so, he didn't want to be disrespectful to a royal pony. That could get him in major trouble with Celestia and Luna. So he sighed, "yes, I just…need some time alone."

"OK," Twilight said, "if you need anything, I'm right down the hall from your room."

With that, he left and returned to his quarters. His mind was spinning even worse than before. The questions amplified themselves until it felt like a marching band was playing a full concert in his brain. Upon arriving at his room, he silently shut the door behind him and prepared for the night. He normally didn't go to bed early, mainly because he was kept awake by the nightly noises of Canterlot mere feet away from his ear, but tonight he changed his routine. His mind raced in confusion and he fell into a troublesome sleep…