Chapter 8:

Dear Princess Celestia,

With the week almost over, the time our dear guest has stayed has proven to be both educational and entertaining for me. X continues to shine on as an excellent student. We're he not a soldier, he may pass as a scholar with ease. Quite frankly his progress is amazing, to which I can't deny that it makes me somewhat... jealous. But I ignore such thoughts and instead continue to do my very best to teach him all about our way of life and of course as much as I can about the Elements.

In regards for your concern about us both spending too much time inside books, I've decided to take the next few days off for both us. I intend to show X around the town and hopefully even find something that he enjoys. That way he may pass the time and depending on what it is, maybe pass out as a job for him to do during his stay here. Though you've mentioned Luna and you were going to ask him about a beneficial proposition for him, I can only wonder what exactly do you both have in mind. Nevertheless, I believe it's still nice to have other options.

I'll write later regarding the events that may occur in this bright and sunny day.

You're Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

Rolling up the message, the lavender unicorn then turned towards her assistant"Can you go ahead and send this message Spike?"

"Sure thing Twi!" The young dragon exclaimed. Grabbing the parchment, he let out a small burst of flames and in an instant, the scroll vanished as it headed to it's intended destination "Breakfast is ready!"

"Thanks Spike" Twilight replied giving of a smile in the process "X! Breakfast time!"

"On my way" The stallion replied from the other room. When he entered the kitchen, both of them saw X clenching a book on his mouth. As he sat down on the table, he laid the book on the table, flipped the pages and continued to read.

"What are you reading this time?" Twilight asked in a playful tone

"Something else besides history for a change" X replied, his eyes still moving across the words inside it "This one is titled Space Adventures of Lightning Rider"

"You like Sci-fi novels?" Spike asked as he laid a couple of plates with food for both ponies

"I find it amusing how this novel describes technological advancements such as cryogenics and fusion energy" X replied. He gave a slight chuckle as closed the book "Anyhow, thank you for the food my scaly friend"

"Oh, sure thing X" Spike said. As he went to get his own food, the young dragon had a smile on his face. That was the second time in the week that X called him friend. The way he looked a it, the more friends the better. Especially when that friend is technically an alien.

"So has there been any word from the fair princess?" X asked

"No, still no word on how to get you back to your world" Twilight replied, her face giving a slightly disappointed look

"Ah well, I can wait for a while. But I really hope there's something to do around here besides reading" X said as he gave a glancing look at her"No offense to books by the way"

"Well X, I'll ignore that statement you said because I have good news for you!" Twilight said cheerfully

The stallion turned his gaze towards her "And that would be?" X asked as he took a bite from an apple

"We'll be taking a break from studying for a while and we're going to see the town"

"You sure that's a good idea?" X asked "Remember what Celestia said? About what others may think of me?"

Twilight quickly dismissed his statement "All the more reason for you to go out and prove that you're a nice pony. Plus, I think it'll be fun as well"

"If you say so..." X said as he continued to eat "So where are we going?"

"I can't tell you, it's a surprise" Twilight replied as she ate. He looked at her, rising an eye with worry. Just what was she planning exactly? As he was about to take another bite, he placed a hoof on his head. An unexpected jolt of pain caused him to drop the apple back into the bowl.

She noticed his discomfort and quickly looked at him "Are you alright?" Twilight asked

He gave out a quick smile and waved her off "No need to worry, just a simple headache. Guess I need that break after all"

"Are you sure is just a headache? I don't want to see you getting sick" Twilight replied

"No, no... It's fine. Really!" The stallion replied, smiling as hard as he could.

Twilight looked at him seriously, her eyes squinting "Ok, but I'll be keeping an eye on you. Alright?"

"Fair enough"

Without paying any more attention to the matter, the lavender unicorn continued to eat her food.

"This is definitely not good... I better figure out how to deal with this before it becomes unbearable" X thought to himself as he fidgeted nervously on his seat.

After finishing their breakfast, both ponies headed out for their destination. Still kept in the dark about where he was going to end up, he instead decided to try and enjoy the fresh air. The town was as peaceful as it could be, considering it's reputation. It's inhabitants going about with their daily lives, the sounds of laughter and joy coming from the colts and fillies that played together. A long time had passed since he could wander around without having to worry about reporting his location to his superiors. But their walk proved to be somewhat short for him, preventing him from fully enjoying the fresh air. They came upon what appeared to be a bakery, the tell tale smell of baked goods emanating from inside.

"Well here we are!" Twilight said in a cheerful tone

"Okay I'll bite... What am I looking at here?" X said trying to understand where exactly was here

"This is Sugarcube Corner" Twilight replied "Home to some of the best tasting sweets in all of Equestria"

"We ate just a while ago,why come here?" X asked as he continued to look at the odd building

"Well quite frankly it was mostly Pinkie's idea. You see I wanted to find something for you to pass the time while you're here"

"I appreciate your offer Twilight, but don't think I have the qualities to be a baker. " X said as he began to head back to Twilight's home. Before he could take another step, his body glowed in a purple aura preventing him from moving.

Twilight quickly trotted in front of him "Please X, just... give it a try. It'll be fun"

With a sigh X looked back at the door "Very well, let's get this over with then"

Entering the building, X was bombarded by the smell of sugar and the sight of many brightly colored pastries displayed across from him.

"X"SY!" A loud familiar voice yelled. He instantly knew what was coming. His vision went pink, his ears where ringing and he was short on air once more "I'm so glad you here! Oh we're going to have so much fun baking and making all the treats that will bring smiles to everypony!"

"That's great pinks... can you let go of me now?" X said as he struggled to get away from her. Twilight was chuckling from behind him.

"Okay!" Pinkie replied. As she released her grip from across the room two other ponies approached them. The first was a bluish pony with a pink mane who was wearing a yellow apron. Following behind her was a yellow pony with an orange mane. On top of his head, a hat with red and white stripes and a white apron covering his body.

"Good morning Twilight" said Mrs. Cake upon seeing her

"Good morning to both of you as well" she replied

"And who's this fella?" asked Mr. Cake

"This is X'sy. He's the friend that I told you about" Pinkie replied, practically bouncing in place

"Ah, so he's the one behind all the commotion that happened a few days ago" said Mr. Cake as he approached him. X was somewhat nervous as he got closer. He was expecting to receive a hoof to the face. "It's a pleasure to meet you" the yellow pony said cheerfully

"Uhm... Likewise sir" X replied, taken back by his attitude

"We've heard quite a bit about you, all thanks to Pinkie of course" Mrs Cake added

Figures she would spill every detail about me "About what happened ..." X said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"It's alright. We know that Discord was behind it all and you did your best to do the right thing in the end. So let us leave all of that in the past" replied the blue pony "Now then, what brings the two of you here today?"

Twilight steep forward and explained "Well Mrs Cake. We were hoping if you would help X here by giving him a job while he stays here with us. If it's alright with both of you of course"

"Well, it's nice of you to offer but I don't think we'll be able to pay you well for your work and it just wouldn't feel right" Mr. Cake replied

X was surprised once more. To see such honesty was rare for him, sure there were some honest Terrans out in the galaxy, but good luck finding them. "You don't have to worry about that sir. I'll do the work for free"

"You will?" The yellow pony replied "Well then, we could use some extra help in the kitchen"

In a blink of an eye, Pinkie appeared next to the gray pegasus, raising a hoof up in the air"Oh, oh!Can I teach him!? Please? I'll show him how to make the best treats in all Equestria!" She exclaimed as she bounced even higher than before with excitement

The Cakes and Twilight chuckled at her reaction "Of course you can" Mrs Cake replied

"YAY! Come on X'sy lets get to baking!" Pinkie exclaimed as she trotted of away with him.

Now in the kitchen, X was wearing a white apron and a small white hat on his head. He had his eyes closed, looking like he was meditating, as he sat on a chair. Waiting for Pinkie to tell him what to do. Across from him were several bowls and utensils laid neatly on top of a table.

"Alrighty then! Ready to create the most funtastic, tasting, sweetest sweets in existence?!" Pinkie exclaimed as she grabbed the nearby bowl.

"I guess" X replied as he got up. "What do I do?"

"First, we take a bunch of these!" She exclaimed as she juggled a dozen eggs. How she could do it so easily proved to be a mystery for him. She tossed a couple of them his way, causing him to react on instinct. Using his psionics, he kept them floating in the air to prevent them from breaking.

"Now, put them in a bowl!" Pinkie said as she let them fall inside it, X followed suit and did the same.

"Stir them up!" she said as she grabbing the mixer behind her while the gray pony observed

Moving faster than a medivac hitting it's afterburners, she headed towards the nearby fridge and back "Now we need lots a milk!" she exclaimed as she held a carton of the bovine liquid

"I'm no expert on cooking, but are you sure you should be pouring that much?" X asked

"Well we are making a big cake, so we need lots of everything!" Pinkie exclaimed as she continued to pour "Pass the Flower please!"

"Don't you mean, flour?"

"Yep!" She replied cheerfully

"Alright then" X replied as he did what was instructed. Looking at a lone sack in a corner, he headed towards it and picked it up "Here you go"

"Thank you very much X,sy! Better take a deep breath!" She exclaimed as she emptied the entire sack. As she shook it, the white powder began to coat not only the bowl, but the entire room. Just how much could it hold? X wondered as the mist continued to become more prominent. In the end, only X's green eye could pierce the white sweet haze.

Flapping his wings, X managed to get rid of the fog around them. Though now everything near him was covered in white. "Pinks?" He said as he looked around, trying to find Pinkie. For some reason, his ocular implant was coming negative on finding her heat signature. "Oh man, I hope you ain't on the fritz now" He said aloud, referencing to his eye

"I'm right here!" Pinkie shook her head, giggling as her body shifted from white to pink "Now it's time to get hot!"

"Get hot?" X said in a quizzical tone

"We're going to put this into the oven silly!" She explained as she picked up the huge bowl.

"Uhm, Pinks I don't think that will fit inside the..." before he could finish his sentence, Pinkie tossed the bowl to him. Looking inside it he found that all of the batter inside it was gone

He looked at her, eyes wide in surprise "How the hell did you..."

"Get ready X'sy!" she exclaimed as she clutched a stick with one of her hoofs

"Wait, ready for what?" X asked somewhat worried. As the timer ticked down, the oven rumbled more and more ominously. Until finally, a loud DING was heard. His pupils were the size of pricks as he wondered what was going to happen

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Pinkie exclaimed as she unlatched the lock on the oven. As it opened, X could have sworn that he heard the sound of a Siege tank firing followed by the impact of being hit by one of it's shells. The mix of the batter launched out with such force that it knocked him back towards the wall.

With the barrage over, he found himself plastered on the wall, clutching the bowl tightly. This place will be the death of me

"Nice job X'sy. Not a single spill!" she said cheerfully as she gave him a helping hoof.

A couple of minutes later, the batter began to take the form of a cake. It's size was twice as big as him.

"Now comes the funnest of all the fun parts of making a cake" the over-reactive pony said "Let's get to decorating X'sy!"

X followed all her instructions to the letter while at he same time striking some conversation with her. For the most part it was Pinkie who was talking, which didn't bother him at all. The topics ranged from what where the sweets called where he came from, what they tasted like and how could she make them.

"You know. I've mostly spent my life either training or keeping my psionics at peak form. Never had a chance to actually lay back an do what normal people do like relax or just taking it easy" X said as he tried his best to decorate the cake

Pinkie's usual demeanor shifted to being calm for a change, listening to X's every word with attention "So you've never been able to have fun? True fun?"

"I've had down time before. As much as my superiors would have wanted me to be working at all times,I'm no machine so i need to have a break from time to time" X replied "I've never thought I would be living a civilian's life... Ain't half bad..."

"There's nothing that brings a smile to me like seeing another pony happy. Seeing you being happy is even better!" Pinkie said as a warm smile ran across her face

"...Hmm, Really could go for a Mirafruit pie. That is some good eating" X said to himself as he finished decorating his part of the cake

"Welp, I'll do my best to make something as sweet as those pies" Pinkie replied as she finished her part as well

Backing of a couple of feet, X took on the sight of their work. A large pink cake , decorated beyond imagination in sweets and sprinkles stood proudly in the middle. As he continued to look on, he felt an embrace though this time without the air crushing force

"Thanks for your help X'sy. You did and excellently funtabulous job"

"No problem Pinks. I'll admit, it was kind of fun" X replied "Thought next time I ain't standing in front of the oven"

The day was almost gone, the once blue sky now tinted orange. Leaving the kitchen, X came upon the sight of Twilight reading a book.

Looking up for a moment she saw him approaching her "Oh hey X! Tell me, how was your day here?"

"Not what I expected to do today, but it was enjoyable" X replied as he rubbed his head

"Are you feeling alright?" Twilight asked

"Yeah, just that headache again. It'll pass like before"

"X, why do I get the feeling that your not telling me everything?" Twilight said looking at him with concern

"It's fine really... Nothing but..."

"X..." Twilight cut him of, looking at him seriously

Seeing that she wouldn't let it go, he gave out a sigh and decided to talk "Alright fine. Better to tell you now than to wait until I can't handle the pain"

"Pain?" she said with worry in her tone

"Remember what a ghost is? Well I was on my way to become a specter. It's basically an upgrade to a ghost, making him or her a stronger psion. But there's a process in becoming one and it involves the use of something called Terrazine. I haven't taken another dose since arriving to this world and I'm starting to feel the effects of it. Frankly, I'm astounded that it took this long for me to feel it, usually it takes a couple of hours to feel withdrawal effects"

"But what can we do to help you? We don't have any of that Terrazine here" Twilight said as she began to think of ways to aid him

"Nothing to do. Just wait until my body gets over it and goes back to normal" X replied, an indifferent look on his face

"I'm sorry X. I really wish there was something I could do" Twilight replied crestfallen at not being able to help

"Hey come on now, no need to feel all down. It's not that bad" X replied as he gently tapped her "If you want to help me, then how about we get something to eat"

"I hardly think that's a solid way to help"

"Trust me it is. I'm starving" X replied a loud rumble coming from his stomach

"Oh, I have just the treat!" Pinkie exclaimed as she rushed back to the kitchen. When she came back, she was clutching a plate and on top of it stood a solitary cupcake. She placed it on top of a table ready for X to eat it.

X said as he looked at the pastry. The color of the frosting was bright purple and it was covered in multicolored sprinkles. "Is it me or is this thing... glowing?"

"Go on, give it a taste!" Pinkie said "It's one of our best sellers!"

Grabbing it with a hoof, he slowly took a bite. Instantly he was beset by pure flavor "Mhh...This is... Amazing!" X said as his eyes twinkled with glee

"Yay! I knew you would like it!" Pinkie said as well

The gray pony continued to eat it, savoring each bite. "God, this is like eating something straight from heaven" But as he continued to eat, he began to felt somewhat weird. Still he continued to indulged himself until it was all gone. He laid back on the chair, contemplating the idea to lick the remaining frosting from his hoof.

"Thanks pinks, that really hit the..."

Twilight looked at him "X?" She didn't receive a reply from him

"X are you ok?" she said as she nudged him

"I FEEL GREAT!" X exclaimed, his blue eye as wide as a diner plate. It reminded Twilight of herself when she would have her...episodes. In a blink of an eye, X was gone. A trail of dust was left in his wake, heading back into the kitchen. Both ponies headed quickly towards him, inside X was moving around quite fast and his progress on baking was even faster. Already there was a tower of freshly made cupcakes waiting to be consumed.

"X... Did you do this?" Twilight asked with awe at his speed

Turning around, he saw X's eye twitching and a rather strange smile on his face "This? Yeah, I did it! Not hard when you know what you are doing. I mean thanks, Pinks! This is quite a way to have fun. Also means more merchandise for the Cakes to sell. I could tell they are nice folks, I did read a bit of their minds. I know, I know. That was a bad thing for me to do, shouldn't go around prodding into others business. I'm sorry. Cupcake?" The speed at which he talked even surprised Pinkie.

"Umh..." Twilight looked at him with a mix of worry and confusion. Where did this side of him come from? "X...I think it's time for us to go home, don't you think?"

"No cupcake? Oh... Ah well, you're right it's getting late. But I want to take a moment and stretch my wings. Haven't flied today!" X replied as he bolted towards the door

"X wait!" Twilight yelled as she trotted after him. She tried her best to stop him but he was already in mid-flight by the time she got outside.

"I'm going to break the sound barrier!" That was the last thing Twilight heard as he gained distance

"This isn't good. Pinkie you go get Fluttershy, I'll go get Dash. We'll need their help to get him back"

The pink mare placed her right hoof on her face like a soldier would to salute an officer "Okay dokey Twi! I'm on it"

Everything was a blur to him. The last thing that X could remember before he blacked out was flying across the sky, enjoining the sensation of the wind hitting his face, the scenic view of the landscape from above and defining sound of reaching Mach one. He could recall that a voice was exclaiming for him to stop and land, but couldn't quite make it out who it belonged to. He did have to admit, that sudden rainbow bursting from behind him was quite a sight.

Opening his eyes slowly, his vision a bit blurry. Sounds around him were muffled. As his vision recovered he saw a familiar yellow pony looking at him, smiling warmly. Looking around he saw the other 5 talking among each other. He tried to move but found that his body was extremely fatigued.

Feeling something covering his body, he noticed that Flutter threw a blanket over him.

"Ugh. What happened?" X said in a groggy tone

"You had what the doctor called a sugar rush" Flutter replied in a soft tone

"That would explain why I feel like I got hit by a truck" X said "I didn't do anything bad, did I?" He asked

"No you didn't. On the contrary, you helped Pinkie and the Cakes a lot today" She said as she smiled warmly

"Good" He replied as he laid back "What?" he said as Flutter continued to smile at him.

"Nothing. Get some rest, ok? It's pretty late" she replied as she laid forward and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead

He blushed slightly and gave a quick smile at her as he hid his head under the blanket. Extremely tired, he closed his eyes and slept.

"Is he going to be alright?" Rainbow asked

"Yes he will. The doctor said that he just needs rest" Twilight replied

"What exactly happened to him?" Rarity asked

"Yeah,very few poonies other than myself can do a... what did he called it? A sonic boom?" Rainbow added

"Wow, he went that fast? Wish I could have seen that" Spike said

"The doctor said he has a rare condition. Apparently X can't eat too many sweets or else he'll be all jumpy and hyperactive" Twilight replied as she looked at Pinkie "And not in the good way"

"Oh" Pinkie said softly looking somewhat sad

"It's okay Pinkie, he can still eat what you bake. Just not that much. Besides he said he really likes your cooking!" Twilight said in an effort to cheer her up, which worked.

"You're right! He did say he loved it!" Pinkie said as she regained her bounce "And thanks to him, we have so many cakes that will bring smiles to ponies everywhere!"

"I know what you mean, I've never seen someone cook that fast" Twilight replied "By the way, what did he say when you caught up to him Flutter?"

"Yeah you were blushing so much" Rainbow said as she looked at her . A smug grin on her face

The timid Pegasus blushed slightly at the attention she was receiving "Well...that's not important right now. I think it's best to let X rest"

"She's right. We should let him sleep" Twilight said "Night's already out"

"Have a good night girls"

"Alright, I guess I'll see you all tomorrow" Rainbow said

"You all have a good night dears" Rarity said as the group headed towards each of their homes

With all their friends gone Twilight readied levitated a quill and paper "Come on Spike, we have a letter to write" Twilight said as she headed up stairs.

Downstairs X was sleeping soundly"...mhm...best...cupcake...ever..." he mumbled in his sleep

Before anything else, I want to say I'm sorry for taking too long to come up with more for this story and to actually say thanks to you guys for having the patience to put up with it. Guess you could say you have the tolerance for it. Right, lame jokes aside. Thanks really for taking interest in this story. As I always say, I thank you for your time and hope you enjoyed what you've read.

I'll do my best to make the next one as soon as possible but as good as possible at the same time. I'm gone.