I stood atop the tallest spire of the Palace of the Two Sisters, looking over the landscape before me. The silvery light of the moon shone over everything, illuminating the world with its glow. A breeze ran through my now longer brown hair, a few strands falling across my face. Pushing them to the side, I sat down on nothing and sighed.

Looking up at the heavens, a small smile appeared on my face. "No matter what universe, no matter what planet, the stars are universal."

"Indeed they are," a soft voice said from beside me. Turning, I saw Luna looking at me with a curious expression. "That is thou, Jethro, isn't it?"

"Correct, your Highness. My dream form, astral form, shadow form, whatever you want to call it," I replied, bowing respectfully.

She held up a hoof. "Young human, there is no need for formalities at the moment. We are just about to begin our nightly duties."

"What are those?" I asked, curious to hear what she was responsible for in her own words.

"We have recently begun to look over the dreams of the Ponies within Equestria, dispelling nightmares and giving the populace peaceful slumber," she replied.

"Huh…fascinating. Well, it's good that I haven't dreamed since I got here or you'd have found me," I chuckled.

She turned towards me suddenly. "Thou hast not dreamed?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Only doing what I'm doing now." I raised my hand and a small ball of flame appeared in it. I tossed it around from hand to hand, chuckling at the power I had in said dream. "Being able to lucid dream while in reality has its perks. Thankfully I don't have much power yet." I tossed the fire into the air and it vanished.

"And yet thou hast enough to reconstruct this palace," Luna said.

"It took me longer than you think, and that was because I was gathering all that gold, too," I replied. "I needed capital, after all."

"Indeed," Luna said, looking at me curiously.

I nervously looked away, and then up at the sky. Instantly, I relaxed. The stars in all their glory brought the smile back to my face. "I love the night sky," I said softly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luna look at me sharply. "Truly? Thou do not jest?"

I shook my head, my dream bravado coming back slowly. "No jesting here. I've always preferred the night. Maybe because it's quieter and I can hear myself think, or maybe because the stars are the only constant in a never changing life. Even here. Stargazing has always been one of my favorite hobbies. That, and looking at the stars and planets through my telescope." There was another reason, but I didn't go into detail on that.

"What dost thou mean?"

"The constellations are the exact same here as back home," I said, pointing to a group of stars. "Look. There's the constellation Ursa Major and Minor."

"Strange," Luna said thoughtfully.

"What's strange?" I asked.

"The fact that the constellations have identical names here," Luna explained.

"That…is strange," I agreed. "I wonder…"

"What do you wonder?" a new voice said from behind me.

Turning, I saw the majestic Alicorn Celestia approaching us, wings outstretched and flapping. I knelt before her. "Your Highness, my apologies."

"Please rise," Celestia said. "I told you that you had special status here, didn't I?"

I felt myself blushing a bit as I stood up once more on nothing. "I was always told to be respectful. And when I'm in the presence of two princesses who can literally move the heavens when you're from a world with absolutely no magic like that…well…"

She waved her hoof with a chuckle. "Well, I hope that in the days to come, we can work on alleviating those fears. What were the two of you discussing?"

"The similarities between terrestrial and Equestrian constellations," I replied, looking back at the sky. "It's so identical it's scary."

"Indeed? Well, that is something I'm sure Twilight Sparkle will be most interested to hear," Celestia said with a wry grin. "Along with so many other things."

"So, she's a bookworm?" I asked. She was depicted similarly in the show, but I did want to know if it was the same here.

Celestia laughed heartily at that, surprising me and Luna. "Very much so," she said, wiping some tears from her eyes. "Don't be surprised if she begins pestering you about your Earth."

"I'll have to learn to say no to that, no matter how insistent she is."

Celestia giggled. "Indeed so. Now, there was one more matter I wished to discuss with you earlier, but we ran out of time. May we do so now before I retire for the night?"

"Of course," I said, nodding at her to continue.

She smiled and gestured for us to head to a balcony near the tallest tower. We all flew there and landed. "Now then, while I am greatly impressed and grateful for your total restoration of this palace, I am concerned about your current living position. I did say I hoped you would visit Ponyville more frequently, but it's dangerous for you to travel that great distance often. You live too far away from Ponyville, and having to travel through Everfree in order to gather supplies is dangerous, considering the monsters that exist there."

"Monsters? Does that include the Wood Deerfolk?" I asked curiously.

Celestia and Luna both looked surprised at that. "The Deerfolk?" Celestia shook her head vehemently. "No, not at all. They are a secretive society, but they are no monsters. Anyway, I am still worried about your wellbeing. You told us earlier you have the ability to teleport objects while in this form? If we set aside a small plot of land in Ponyville, would you be willing to attempt teleportation with your house?"

I frowned, scratching the back of my neck thoughtfully. "A tempting proposition, your Highness. But it's a bit risky. You have to understand that my house somehow has all the modern amenities I'm used to. If I moved everything, I'm not entirely sure if those would stay. Not only that, I'd have to do it all in one go. Moving all of that treasure through teleportation was draining and took fifteen days. Moving something as big as my property in one go? It might be too draining."

Celestia nodded. "A very good point. Perhaps Twilight can help with that. She is the Element of Magic, after all."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. "It would be nice to be able to live in or near town. Especially with how dangerous Everfree is. Well, for the moment my house is able to repel any creatures thanks to that barrier, so I should be safe within it. My food supply is definitely starting to suffer, and I've had to throw away some things that got moldy." Realizing I was babbling, I shut up, face getting warm.

The two princesses looked at each other before giggling softly. Celestia walked up to me and put a hoof on my shoulder. "I understand you're more than overwhelmed by these circumstances, but I can assure you that my sister and I will be doing all we can to help you settle into Equestria."

"Being richer than God will probably help," I said wryly.

Celestia smirked. "Try not to break our economy too much, Jethro. We just came out of a recession. We don't need it to happen again."

"I would never," I said, faking an insulted tone before a grin crossed my face.

Just then, I remembered something. Pausing, my grin faded. Both princesses looked confused, then concerned when they saw the troubled look that must have appeared on my face. Celestia walked up to me. "Jethro, is there something wrong?"

"Can…can I ask for some advice?" I said softly.

"Of course," Celestia said with a reassuring tone.

I nodded and, sitting on the rail looking over the land below, I looked at the two of them. "Ever since I came here, I've watched only a handful of the episodes of the My Little Pony show, but I stopped about a month ago after I saw how Zecora reacted to them. I was afraid of changing things any more. I just want to hear your thoughts. I'm terrified I'll change something that will be disastrous for the world. I've even kept myself from looking up future events from my world's internet. What should I do?"

Celestia smiled warmly at me, draping a wing over my astral form. "Jethro, while I understand your fear of changing something that might lead to a worse event, your presence in Equestria has changed the events of history already. I know you're nervous about changing something more than you already have, but as of now, the future is uncertain. I don't think it would be wrong to continue watching this show of yours. I commend you for your strength to not watch it, but I don't think it would be wrong to continue, seeing as the history of that show has already changed considerably."

"Our sister is right," Luna added, "thy presence has already affected the events of this world. It is quite likely some events will not happen as this show depicts."

"I suppose. Butterfly effect and all that," I replied.

"However," Celestia added, "we can't make that decision for you. I understand your fear, but if you choose to keep on watching, we wouldn't stop you."

I smiled slightly and nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Thank you. I'll think a bit more about it."

"That is all we can ask of you," Celestia said.

"I understand. Thank you for all you've done. I'll take my leave. I don't want to take up any more of your precious time."

"Don't be a stranger," Celestia said, waving as I began flying up.

"We hope to see thee again as well!" Luna shouted after me.

Turning away, I shot into the sky, heading up further and further into the atmosphere, eager to see the world from space…

It had been three days since I'd met with the princesses and the elements. After thinking long and hard about it, I decided to keep the show on my external hard drive after all. I was still a bit concerned about changing things, so I decided not to watch it.

Two days after I had met with the princesses and the Elements of Harmony, two letters were delivered to my house by a nervous looking Pegasus with what looked like a lazy eye. One was an invitation from the Mayor of Ponyville to the town so she could officially welcome me to Ponyville. Another was a party invitation sent by Pinkie Pie.

Thanking the delivery Pony, I tipped her with some of the actual bits Celestia had given me in exchange for three of the ancient bits. This seemed to give the Pegasus mare more of a reason to relax. She thanked me and flew away after I'd given her two letters back to give to the mayor and Pinkie.

On that third morning, I'd gotten dressed, only this time in a long black overcoat covering my business suit. I figured that if I was to meet the mayor, I had to dress to impress, even if Ponies didn't wear clothes.

The walk through the Everfree Forest was, once more, an uneventful one, and that in and of itself was beginning to unnerve me. As I approached the border of the town, I saw a crowd of Ponies gathered around the outskirts of the town, looking towards the forest. As I drew nearer, I saw the Elements of Harmony standing among the crowd.

The day after I'd met them, the Elements of Harmony had brought me breakfast from the palace as a means of apologizing for their behavior earlier. Of course, I'd forgiven them all. I hadn't seen them since then, as I had been busy trying to figure out the logistics of transporting an entire house and property. I sent a letter to Athena, asking if it was possible. She'd replied immediately, informing me that at my current power level it wasn't possible, but she was willing to lend me some more of her power for one night. All I had to do was get things set up in town.

As I walked closer to the crowd, most eyes that were on me were one of fear and suspicion, but a handful were fascinated with me.

Turning towards the front of the crowd, I saw an older mare standing at the front. She had a light beige coat and silvery white hair and tail. Around her neck was what looked like a collar of some kind with some fancy tie. I wasn't entirely sure what to call it, but it made the bespectacled mare look respectable. Behind here was a podium facing the crowd. I assumed by the tied-up scroll on her flank that this was most likely the mayor, considering the stationary had a similar mark in a corner.

I stopped before her, removing my coat and holding it in the crook of my arm. I saw Rarity's eyes widen, but I kept my primary focus on the mare in front of me. She was smiling, but I could tell that she was nervous. Clearing her throat, she extended a hoof. "Welcome to Ponyville, Mr. Bethridge," she said, in the voice I knew was an official politician tone.

Great, even in magical fucking Ponyland politicians are the same, I thought as I reached down to shake her hoof. "I'm glad to be here," I said with a disarming smile, once more not showing my canines. "And please, call me Jethro. Whenever someone calls me Mr. Bethridge, I start looking for my father," I chuckled, hoping to break the ice a little.

Her smile froze a bit, but then became slightly more genuine. "Of course, my apologies," she said.

"No need to apologize," I said., standing up straighter. "I'm just glad my second visit to your fair town is going much more smoothly than last time."

Her ears flattened slightly and a frown creased her face. "I'm afraid I must apologize for that, as well. It was incredibly rude of us to hide from Miss Zecora and yourself."

"For that, I do forgive you," I replied.

Looking relieved, she turned to face the gathered Ponies. "Fillies and gentlecolts," she began, "I would like to introduce you to our newest neighbor, Jethro Bethridge the human." Turning to me, she stepped aside from the podium. "Would you care to say a few words and perhaps answer a few questions?"

I sucked in a breath. I was never that good at public speaking, even at my bank job, but I knew I had to allay some of their fears. I stepped forward, adjusting my tie. Grabbing the sides of the podium for support, I looked out at the crowd of Ponies. "Greetings to everyone out there. My name is Jethro Bethridge. I am a human from another world called Earth. I arrived here over a month ago, so I'm still trying to get used to the ways of your world. At the moment, I'm very hard to visit since my house is directly through the Everfree Forest, but I am in the process of trying to move closer. I know that's probably a lot for everyone here to digest, so I will be answering any question I can. Starting with the representatives of the media I see here today," I said, looking over at one side of the crowd where I saw a few reporters. I even saw a handful of younger Ponies among them.

The first hoof to go up belonged to a Unicorn with a brown coat, black mane tied back in a bun and glasses over her blue eyes. I pointed to her. "Yes, miss?"

"Nosey News, Canterlot Daily," she said in an official sounding tone as she pushed up her glasses. I held back my snort at her name while simultaneously making a note to be careful around her. "Can you tell us how exactly you arrived in Equestria?"

I saw Twilight's ears flatten a bit. I cleared my throat. Celestia had asked me to not share the finer details, although it felt like more of an order. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I'm not allowed to say. What I can say is that one evening I was back on Earth, and the next my entire property was in Everfree." Looking around, I pointed to a dark gray Pegasus stallion who had his hoof raised. "Yes?"

"Midnight Star, Equestria Daily," he said. "What are your thoughts on our world so far?"

Thank God for an easy question, I thought. "It's an exceptionally beautiful world from what I've seen and heard about it," I replied. "There are still parts that are particularly alien to my human sensibilities, but I have no doubt that I will be able to adjust in time." I turned to a pink and purple Earth Pony who had her hoof raised. "Yes?"

"Amber Glow, The Canterlot Chronicle," she said, "How do you respond to the rumors spreading that you are a meat eater?"

I sighed. This was one of the things I was afraid of. Clearing my throat, I straightened and gripped the sides of the podium. "You are correct. My kind does eat meat, however there are many among my people who can live normal everyday lives without eating any meat as long as they stick to a proper diet, which is what I plan on doing once my own food runs out."

I saw several other hooves raised. Turning to the rest of the crowd, I said, "I'll now take questions from the general populace as well."

"Damn, you Ponies are sure a curious bunch," I said as I collapsed into a large chair. I had been standing in the sun in a suit for a couple of hours, answering as many questions as I was able to. I dabbed at my forehead with a handkerchief.

Mayor Mare chuckled as she sat down at her desk. We were in her office, a circular room with filing cabinets, bookshelves, a sloping ceiling and a pink desk to one side. "Well, I'm certainly confident you assuaged some of their worries and fears," she said. "It's not every day we receive an alien in our quaint little town." Grabbing some papers, she shuffled them in a remarkably human gesture. "Now then, shall we get down to business? I understand you're looking for a piece of property in Ponyville to purchase so you can teleport you home and property to, correct?"

"That's right," I said. Celestia had mentioned setting some property aside, but after some thought, I'd decided I wanted to try doing it on my own. She'd tried to insist, but I did my best to politely decline. She respected my wishes thankfully.

"Well, according to the measurements Miss Twilight Sparkle provided, I have here a number of plots of land available for purchase that are more than large enough to meet your needs," she said, handing me a stack of papers.

"Wow, all this?" I asked, looking at the stack in my hand.

"Yeah…" she looked a bit nervous. "Ponyville recently just came out of a small recession, but we're bouncing back!"

"I'm glad to hear things are getting better," I said, looking over the documents.

"Well, the Royal Treasury did give us all a small stimulus package to help boost the economy back," the mayor replied, looking happy about it.

The more I'm here, the more I see that this isn't just some children's world, I thought as I looked over the different properties. As I did, I realized an important question I'd missed. "Ugh…I just realized…I have no idea how much a bit is really worth."

"Really?" the mayor leaned forward. "Well, I'm not Filthy Rich, but perhaps I could help. What unit of money do you use?"

"Well…I use the American dollar," I replied, pulling out my wallet and retrieving a dollar bill. "If we could figure out how much something common costs, that will help."

"Alright, well how much is an apple worth in your world," the mayor asked.

It took us about ten or so minutes to establish some form of currency exchange rate. According to my calculations with my phone's calculator (Which fascinated the mayor immensely) a bit was worth about twelve and a half American cents, which corresponded with the Wikipedia article I found on it. With that, two bits was about twenty-five cents, meaning eight bits was worth a dollar. With that, I resumed looking over the property prices, feeling confident in my money situation.

As I looked them over and did the prices in my head, I was surprised by how cheap a property was here when compared to home. The prices averaged to around 160,000 bits, or around 20,000 dollars. However, one piece of property stuck out. "Pardon me, but this property here…Shady Acre…why is it so cheap?" I asked, pointing to one that cost only 80,000 bits, or 10,000 dollars.

She took the paper and looked it over. "Ah…this one…to be honest, I almost didn't include it due to its…colored history."

"Colored history?" I frowned. "Please enlighten me."

She rubbed her hoof with the other nervously. "Well…lots of rumors say that the house that stands there now is haunted. That, and it was said to be the sight of some…less than savory events even before that."

"Aah…that would do it," I said, looking more closely at the image of the house. It had a vaguely Victorian appearance to it, albeit with years of wear and tear on it. "How long has this house been abandoned?"

"Over twenty years, but the rumors of a haunting didn't start until approximately five or six years ago," the mayor said.

"Who owned the property?" I asked.

"A Pony named Lucky Star, may she rest in peace," the mayor replied. "Unfortunately, during the recession, she lost the house and had to sell it. The bank owns it now."

I looked over the details of the property. I probably could easily clear out the overgrowth with my dream magic, but I didn't want to explain my powers to the general population just yet. "Hmm…I'd like to see this property first, if you don't mind," I said, pointing to Shady Acre.

"Of course. I'll escort you there personally. Would you like to go now?" she asked.

Looking at the time on my phone, I nodded. "Pinkie Pie is throwing me a party at around five, so I don't want to be late for that, but since it's only two right now, I think we can squeeze a visit in."

She nodded and got out of her chair, grabbing a saddlebag and throwing it over her back. "You know," she said as we headed out of the office, "I had heard you were, shall we say, rolling in it. I didn't realize you were so frugal."

"I prefer to think of myself as being cautious," I replied. "Back home, I managed a small bank for my town, and I've seen people lose their money in stupid ways. I've learned to be a little more…cautious."

"I see," she said as she opened the door to the outside. Warm sunlight shone in our faces as we walked out. "Well, I do hope you will make your stay in Ponyville a pleasant one."

"If by that you mean stay out of trouble, I can't promise anything other than to try," I replied with a wry smile.

She chuckled at that. "I appreciate your candor, Mist-Jethro," she said, catching herself.

As we walked, she asked me some more questions about my home and myself. I was all too happy to answer anything she asked, so much so that we almost passed by our destination. I paused in front of the gate to the dilapidated and overgrown property. "Miss Mayor, is this it?" I asked, indicating the scene before me.

"What? Oh! Yes, yes this is it," the mayor said with a nervous chuckle. Pulling out a large set of keys from her saddlebag, she fiddled a bit with them before finding an older key. She unlocked the gate and it opened with a loud creak. Nearby, I saw a few nervous Ponies backing away or quickly hurry by. Even the mayor looked nervously ahead. "Well, here we are," she said, putting a hoof forward.

I'd noticed that Ponies seemed to have a harder time hiding their true emotions behind a false sense of bravado. I smiled and stepped forward. "Miss Mayor, I'll go ahead and go in alone. I can tell you really don't wanna go in there." And before she could argue, I stepped onto the property.

"Please be careful!" she called out. "I'd hate for you to be injured on my watch!"

"I'll be careful!" I replied, chuckling. Always thinking about her status as mayor. Typical politician.

The walk through the brush was unusually quiet. Whoever this Lucky Star had been, she must have enjoyed her privacy since the entire property was surrounded by trees which were overgrown. Some were even dying.

As I left the small artificial forest, I took my first look at a gorgeous Victorian-eque style mansion. In its day, it had to have been the cream of the crop. It had an open front porch, which had to be redone, old shingles on the roof, tall vertical windows and more. The paint was peeling in places, and the windows were either shattered in places or boarded up. Despite myself, I felt a shiver go down my back.

The door itself had long since disintegrated from the weather and rot, so I walked in cautiously. Turning on my phone's light, I looked around. To my surprise, the furniture was still more or less intact. I felt like I'd gone to yet another era as I wandered around the first level. It looked as if whoever had been living here left instantly.

As I walked through the dust covered kitchen and admired the antique appliances, I thought I heard some animal moving around upstairs. Freezing, I listened carefully. A couple minutes passed. Exhaling softly, I went back to exploring, but a few seconds after I moved, something upstairs crashed. The ceiling in the living room began to buckle before it crashed. Something fell through and I heard something crack. Something like a bone breaking.

I quickly but quietly rushed back out to the living room, which by now was full of dust thanks to the fall. In the middle of the dust I saw some kind of figure lying limp among some debris. I heard a groaning as it tried to stand. Shining my light on it, I gasped in horror.

Lying in the middle of the floor was a Pegasus. The voice told me it was a mare, but she was gaunt and nearly skin and bones. One of her legs was twisted nastily, and I could see bone protruding from it. She was trying to move as I rushed over to her.

"Shit, this isn't good," I muttered as I shone my light over her. "Hey, don't go to sleep on me now," I said as I knelt beside her, putting my hand behind her head. I felt something wet as I did so. Pulling back my hand, I saw to my horror it was stained with blood. "Miss, miss? Talk to me! Don't fall asleep on me!"

She opened one eye, and when it landed on me, both eyes shot open in fright. "Stay away….STAY AWAY!" she shouted, trying to scoot away, but the moment she did, she coughed up blood.

"Whoa! Easy there, I'm not gonna hurt you," I replied, hands raised. "but we need to get you to a hospital right away!"

"Please…don't eat me," she whimpered, tears forming in her eyes.

"I won't eat you," I said as reassuringly as I could. "I promise. Now, we really need to get you to a hospital, and there's no way you can go there in your condition."

She looked down at her leg, and her eyes widened more. "AAAAH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS SO MUCH!"

Deciding to risk it, I rushed over and took off my coat. Wrapping her up in it, I looked her in the eyes. "Hang in there, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"No…please…I can't pay…" she whimpered, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't worry about the money, I'll pay for everything, but we need to get you out of here now!" Lifting her up, I made my way out of the house as quickly as possible. When I reached the outside, I headed to the exit as fast as I dared. When I saw the gate, I shouted out, "I need a doctor, stat!"

The mayor looked at me in terror as I burst through the door, trying my best not to aggravate the injured mare's injuries. "Jethro? What happened? We heard a crash, and-"

"No time for that!" I gasped, panting heavily. "Where's the nearest hospital? I've got a severely injured mare here that has a broken leg and a serious head injury!"

"Th-That would be Ponyville Hospital, but-"

"Lead me there, hurry!" I shouted, panic setting in quickly.

"R-Right!" The mayor turned and began running down the road. Holding the injured mare close, I ran as fast as I could.

The two of us zoomed through the town until we came to a multiple storied building. She slowed to a trot and lowered herself. "Here it is," she said, panting heavily. "My, I haven't run quite so hard in years!"

"Thanks, miss Mayor!" I thanked her. "I'll see you later!"

"Glad to be of help," she replied as she sat down. "I'll be out here for a bit, catching my breath."

"Understood." I rushed up and burst through the front door. Finding myself in a reception area, I called out, "I need a doctor! Please! It's an emergency!"

"Good heavens, what's all the ruckus?" a white Pony with light pink mane and tail rushed in. Seeing me, she frowned. "Please keep it-"

"No time, nurse!" I removed part of my jacket to show her the injuries on the mare I was still holding. "She needs help!"

"Oh my!" the nurse gasped, rushing over and dragging a gurney over with her teeth. "Place her here right away! I'll call for a doctor. What are her injuries?"

"Serious head trauma and a broken leg as far as I can tell," I replied, doing as the nurse instructed. I gently removed her from my jacket and placed her on the gurney.

A Unicorn in a doctor's coat came rushing down the hall. "Nurse Redheart, what's with-oh? A new patient?" He looked down at the now unconscious mare. "Alright, what are the injuries?"

"I was told a broken leg and some major head trauma," the nurse replied, looking back at me questioningly.

"That's right," I replied. "She fell through a floor in the old Shady Acre house while I was looking around. Her wounds could be infected, too. Who knows what-?"

"You were in Shady Acre?" the doctor asked, a sudden serious look in his eyes. I nodded. The doctor turned to Redheart. "Nurse, take this…stallion…for an examination. That house was built with asbestos. I'll handle this patient here."

"…Fuck…" was all I could say, gulping as the fear from before now skyrocketed. I could feel my heartrate increase as well. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead.

As the Unicorn doctor rushed the Pegasus away, the nurse approached. "Please come with me," she said.

"R-Right," I said, gulping as I followed her. "Will I be alright?" I couldn't conceal the trembling in my voice.

"Don't worry, a single exposure to asbestos is normally harmless," the nurse said in a reassuring tone. "The doctor's just being careful. We're not sure how being exposed will affect…well, an alien."

Quickly pulling out my phone, I did a Google search. "Well, according to this, it's pretty much the same for humans, but I understand the need for caution."

"In here," she said, leading me into a small room. I followed. Looking around, I saw I was in what looked like an x-ray room. She told me to sit in a chair that was a bit too low to the ground for my taste, but I complied. "Well, I'm sure there's nothing wrong with you, but whatever possessed you to go to that wreck?"

"It was on a list of homes the mayor found for me," I replied as she began moving equipment around. "I'm looking to move my home to Ponyville instead of where it is now, and that was the cheapest property. Although, when I saw it, I really wanted to just fix it up."

"Sit still," she commanded, and I did just that. I heard a whirring noise. "Well, there was no need for you to go in all alone." After a bit, the whirring died. "Okay, you can move now."

"Thanks. Well, everyone else was too scared to approach because they think it's haunted," I replied as she led me out of the room.

"Yeah, there are some crazy rumors going around about that place," she sighed. "It's the sight of some irresponsible dares on Nightmare Night, too."

"I'm guessing that teens get dared to enter that house?" I asked.

"Yeah. Plenty of Ponies get injured trying to explore that house." She led me to the lobby.

"Wait, that was it?" I asked.

"That was it," Redheart said with a smile. "Now, I believe you have a party to go to? A Pinkie Pie party isn't one to miss."

I shook my head. "No, I'm not really in a partying mood right now. I can't…not until I make sure that mare's alright."

Redheart raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, the doctor is the best in Ponyville. He'll be able to-"

"You don't understand," I said, a hint of desperation in my voice. "It's my fault this happened to her! I need to make sure she's alright!"

Redheart backed away, shock quite apparent on her face. She cleared her throat after a while, then nodded. "Well, feel free to wait here. I'll tell the receptionist to bring you something to eat or drink if you want."

"Some water would be nice. I'm not really hungry anymore," I said, sitting in the largest chair they had. I could tell my face was scrunched up in worry. Nurse Redheart left. The receptionist, a young fuchsia colored Pony with a typewriter for a cutie mark approached with a glass of water for me. I thanked her and sipped on it nervously.

Minutes turned into an hour, then more. I'd been there an hour and a half when the nurse came back out. I stood immediately. "How is she? Is she okay?"

"Relax, Mr. Bethridge," the nurse replied. "The doctor cast her broken leg and bandaged her other wounds. She's resting now, but she'll be alright."

A wave of relief instantly washed over me, but that wasn't really enough to make the worry go away. "Wait, what about her asbestos intake? She's had to have been living in that house for a while now."

"The doctor already checked. She doesn't show anything at the moment, but if she does, we do have a treatment for asbestos poisoning."

"I'd like to see her, please," I said.

The nurse faltered. "I…I'm not allowed to-"

"I'm the one paying for her hospital bills," I interrupted, glaring down at her. "I need to see this for myself." I softened my gaze. "Please…"

The nurse facehoofed and sighed, but nodded. "Come with me. She's in the recovery ward." Leading me down a well-lit corridor, I soon found myself in a large room with hospital beds lining the walls. In the corner, I saw the dark gray fur of the Pegasus. She had a cast on the broken leg, bandages around her head and her shoulder.

I quickly made my way over to her. She had a crimson overgrown mane and tail and was on an IV drip. Seeing how gaunt she was, I bit my lip nervously. "God…she looks awful."

"It might look like that," the voice of the doctor said, approaching from behind, "but she'll pull through. She'll be on soft foods for some time, though."

"I understand," I replied, looking down at the sleeping mare.

"There is something else unusual about her, though," the doctor said, causing my stomach to tense up. He must have noticed my facial expression, because he waved his hoof. "It's nothing life threatening. She just doesn't have a cutie mark."

"Wait, for real?" I looked down at the mare. She wasn't a filly, obviously. "How old is she?"

"If I had to guess, she's somewhere in her mid-twenties," the doctor said, looking the mare over. "While it's not unheard of for somepony to not receive a cutie mark for years, it's extremely rare."

"She must have been living in Shady Acre for years," I said.

The doctor sighed sadly. "I see. Well, I'm glad you brought her here, Mr. Bethridge. She might not have lasted much longer in there."

"Yeah…" I looked at the sleeping face of the Pegasus, a feeling of guilt washing over me. Turning back, I asked, "Can I please stay here until she wakes up? I…I want to talk to her."

"Stay?" the nurse asked. "But don't you have a welcome party to go to?"

"I…I'm not really in the mood for partying right now," I said, looking back at the injured mare. "I'm too worried."

"You can take our word for it, she's in good hooves here," the doctor said.

"I know, and I trust you," I replied, "but…this is my fault. I need to apologize to her."

The nurse and doctor turned to face each other. The doctor sighed softly, but smiled in understanding. "Alright, but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave when visiting hours are over."

"I understand, thank you," I said softly. The nurse and doctor left, leaving me alone with the unconscious mare. I scooted the chair I was in closer. Growing tired from all the excitement, I lay my head on the side of the bed. With my final moments of consciousness, I whispered out, "I'm sorry…"