The next couple of weeks were kind of a blur to me. In my dreams, I didn't see Athena again, but I kept busy not only by reconstructing the palace piece by piece, but also secretly exploring Ponyville. I also altered the barrier around my house so that it was completely soundproof and no one would be able to hear from the inside but also made me able to hear everything outside. I crafted it so that those I deemed welcome would be able to pass unhindered. Of course, while I was sleeping during the night, I didn't exactly see any of the events that played out in the first few episodes.

As it turned out, my search for the dragon's hoard actually bore fruit. On one night two days after the Poison Joke incident, I found the cave. Not only was the dragon not there, but there was a massive amount of ancient looking gold just sitting there with no dragon in sight. Teleporting all those coins back to my yard was draining on my dream magic, but I did need capital.

On the tenth night after discovering the cave, I was finishing up with teleporting the last of the gold to my backyard when I heard the flapping of massive wings in the distance. Turning invisible, I walked to the entrance and peered out. Despite having dream abilities, or astral projection abilities, I nearly shit myself when I saw a massive shadow blanket the stars and approach the cave. I closed my eyes and concentrated on changing my vision abilities.

When I opened them again, I could see everything as clear as if it was daytime. The dragon I saw approaching was definitely similar to the one I'd seen in Dragonshy. In its arms was a large amount of gold coins, which he set down deeper in the cave. Thanks to my enhanced dream vision, I saw the dragon looking around curiously. "I could have sworn I smelled gold here…" the dragon said, The voice was similar to the one from before, albeit slightly more realistic. "Well, it's alright, I suppose. This is a nice place to sleep."

I'd always felt myself as having a more outgoing personality in my own dreams, and in this astral form I felt no different. I inhaled slightly, then began to disguise my voice. In a booming voice, resembling the Smaug voice from the Hobbit movies, I began. "Well…thief. I smell you…feel your air…and I can hear your breath. Hmmph…come on! Come on down. There's plenty to spare!"

The dragon jumped in alarm, looking around. "Wh…who's there?"

"Did you honestly believe you could inhabit my kingdom and live?" I asked in as menacing a voice as I could. My dream abilities were running low, so I had to be quick about it. "This place contains my hoard, thief in the shadows. This mountain belong to me, and me alone."

"Who are you?" the dragon whimpered. I could smell piss now. Perfect. Time to really sell it.

I am Smaug the Golden, Smaug the Impenetrable, Smaug the Terrible, Smaug the Defiler. I am fire…I…am…DEATH!"

I released a mighty draconic roar. The dragon inside yelped in terror, flying away from the cave as fast as he could, dropping bits of his treasure as he did but managing to hold onto most of it. As soon as the dragon was out of sight, I gathered all the remaining gold and gems into one pile and teleported them away. That drained my nightly magic enough that I was sucked back into my body.

During some of my daytime free time, I found a website that allowed me to download every possible season and movie of the MLP:FiM TV show. However, I was still extremely hesitant to watch any more. I didn't want to discuss it with Zecora since she seemed afraid of the show itself. I'd already changed so much that I didn't want to risk doing too much more to change things.

When I wasn't doing anything else, I was spending time with Zecora. Not only did we continue our culture and potions lessons, but she began to teach me a lot about the history of Equestria and the founding of Ponyville and Canterlot. The two of us spent a lot of time together, and I grew to appreciate the older mare even more than before. It was always nice to have someone to talk with to keep me from going insane or having the breakdown that threatened to overwhelm me.

When I showed her the various coins I'd teleported to my house, she identified them as rare and ancient forms of bits, each of which were worth a lot of money. I knew I had to get some money in order to buy food from Ponyville eventually since I was running low.

It was a warm late evening when my life would change drastically once again…

"What did you think?" I asked as the credits to the Disney classic Sleeping Beauty began playing. Zecora and I were sitting on my couch in the living room. Outside, the completely restored Castle of the Two Sister gleamed in the late evening sun.

"I must admit, I'm growing to like these movies of yours the more I watch them," she replied as she stretched. "But is there a reason you're showing me ones that do not look like reality?"

I frowned. "It's just…you've seen the way My Little Pony depicts Equestria. The world it depicts, and the one you've shared, is much more innocent than the one I'm from. Humans can be kind and gentle, but we can also be brutal and violent."

"I am a full-grown mare, not some filly," she replied, sounding offended. "I will be able to handle a more mature story."

Immediately, I felt guilty. "You're right, you're right…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend."

Her frown slowly turned into a smile. "I'm not upset. I understand why you would be cautious. But I do enjoy learning new things."

Looking out of the window, I saw the sun starting to set. "Well, perhaps some other time? It is getting late. Do you want to stay here tonight again? I wouldn't want you to go home in the dark."

"We do tend to get caught up, don't we?" she chuckled. "I'll stay here, if you're offering."

"I'll prepare the couch bed," I said as the two of us got up.

Ever since that incident with the Poison Joke, I felt that the two of us had gotten closer. Maybe not friendship worthy, but seeing someone at their worst and not judging them was one way of opening the barriers between people. I'd continued to introduce her to some of my modern appliances, which she'd used to introduce me to some more exotic Farasi cuisine. With only a couple of exceptions, I was a huge fan of all she'd shared with me.

In return, I'd introduced Zecora to some Earth food, making sure it was vegetarian in nature. I'd also shown her the medicine in my medicine cabinet. She was utterly fascinated by the medicine and had asked to have samples of each so she could attempt to replicate them. When I asked why, she had said, "For you, my savior."

As the two of us prepared for bed, Zecora said, "Hey, you know I'm planning my monthly trip to Ponyville for tomorrow. Have you decided on whether or not to come with me or not?"

I froze in place. I'd been putting off my inevitable visit to Ponyville for the past month, and the thought of it made me anxious. "I…well…"

Zecora walked over and put a hoof on my shoulder. "I understand you're scared, but I'll be with you. And I could use your help. Besides, you can't stay away forever."

I inhaled deeply. "I know…but I'll probably be mistaken for a Diamond Dog or something not welcome," I replied, "and if the princesses find out about me…"

"Just tell them what you've told me," she said with a reassuring tone.

I smiled slightly. "The truth shall set you free, as the old saying goes."

"So…you'll come?" She sounded hopeful.

I swallowed a bit, but finally nodded. "Yes. I had to go at some point."

Her smile was a radiant one. "Perfect. But we'll have to get up earlier than normal," she replied as she moved away from me.

"Will eight in the morning be too early?"

She shook her head. "Not at all."

"Alright, I'll set an alarm on my phone," I replied as I set it for seven thirty instead. I did want to make some semblance of breakfast for us. "I'll see you tomorrow morning. If you want, feel free to use the shower."

"My my, Jethro, are you implying something about me?" she asked in a teasing manner.

"Not at all," I said with a straight face. We stared at each other for a moment before we burst out laughing.

"Thank you for the offer, but I am more exhausted than normal. I'll take a shower tomorrow morning before we leave," Zecora said.

"Alright, sounds good to me. Sleep well."

"And you as well."

And with that, the two of us headed to bed. I turned off the lights after some light evening reading, then closed my eyes…

Nearly every time I woke in my astral form, I ended up in the throne of one of the princesses. Tonight was no exception. I was seated in one of the thrones when I opened my eyes. The room was dark, but it was complete. I'd, of course, discovered a few secret areas of the palace and had restored them all. Fabrics, books, walls, armor, everything was spick and span. The massive library was organized by author's last names. I'd even begun to think about constructing a false mountain around the palace so I could call myself King Under the Mountain, but decided that was too much.

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting you to go to Ponyville at all," a familiar female voice said from nearby.

I looked over at Luna's throne to see Athena beaming over at me. I couldn't help myself: I ran over and threw my arms around her. "Oh my! I wasn't expecting this either!" she chuckled, putting a hoof around me.

"I'm glad I can see you again," I said after breaking the hug. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, but what about you? You've made a new friend, and I can tell you two care about each other."

I hesitated. "Zecora's…not a friend. She's my closest neighbor. Sure, I care about her, but that's just what neighbors do."

Athena stood and got off of the throne, looking down at me. "Jethro…there's nothing wrong with making new friends. You know you've been acting quite friendly towards her all this month."

"There's a difference between acting friendly, and being a friend," I replied. "Sure, I like talking to her. It keeps me from going insane. She's taught me a lot, too, and I've tried to do the same. And she's seen me at my most vulnerable and has been nothing but kind, generous, honest, and more. But friends…?"

Athena sighed, shaking her head. "I know how hard this is for you, but you need to try…my faithful student."

I crossed my arms and smirked. "I'm not Twilight Sparkle, and you're not Princess Celestia."

A small smile appeared on her face. "You're right. I take more direct action than Celestia."

I tilted my head. "Well…you were a goddess on Earth, so…I guess that makes sense."

"All I ask of you today is that you try." Athena's smile had vanished, replaced with an earnest expression.

We looked at each other for a little while, until finally I sighed. "Alright…Princess Obsidian Star."

She giggled. "Very good, my faithful student Jethro Bethridge." She began to glow in that all too familiar way she used whenever she was about to vanish, but stopped when I held up my hand.

"Hey, before you go, I have a question," I asked.

"Shoot."

"If I mention your name and that I'm your student or whatever, how will people react to that? Especially the two sisters. I mean, it's all but inevitable that I'll meet them."

"That is…" she paused. "It's hard to say. I don't know how history remembers me. The Alicorns in the palace might notice me and try and punish me."

"Huh…just one more mystery, then," I muttered.

She began glowing again. "Keep what I've said in mind." And before I could call out to her, she vanished once again.

I collapsed back into the throne I'd been at, staring up at the ceiling. The only thing I'd changed about the palace was the ceiling here. I'd placed small crystals everywhere to imitate nearly perfectly the night sky from my home, which matched the stars from Equestria exactly. I'd also crafted images in the stained-glass windows depicting an image of Earth's sun through a hydrogen alpha filter as well as an image of my moon with the maria I was familiar with. I'd also hung a globe of Earth from the center of the ceiling.

I ran my hand through my goatee and through my now slightly longer brown hair. While I appreciated Athena's concern for me, just the thought of calling someone my friend made me uncomfortable. Acquaintance, perhaps. Close friendly neighbors. But…friend? I just found the idea more than a little scary, the more I thought about it.

Shaking the thoughts aside, I flew up towards the ceiling, passing through it. Flying up towards what I assumed was the two sisters' bedchambers, I landed on a balcony outside the empty bedchambers. Gazing up at the alien sky, I sighed. "You've made a nice and beautiful sky tonight, Luna. Is that how it works? What are stars in this world anyway? Ah, I suppose I'll have time to ask at another time." I closed my eyes. "Guess I'll be seeing you fairly soon…"