Rider MLP - Thanks.

Guest - I'm glad to hear it.

HYBRID BATTLESHIP INFINITY210 - As always, an awesome review my friend. I took a listen to that song, and while both good and fitting, I hafta admit it's not exactly my cup of tea. I appreciate the thought though.

link1able - Well buckle up, 'cause I have all kinds of twists and turns planned! I run across it from time to time in MLP fics, though not nearly as often as 'standard' relationships. I tried that Youtube link you included, and it wouldn't work for me.

GhostChris - Oh, I plan to; I've had more than one chapter idea run for multiple chapters already, and i don't see that trend or this story ending anytime soon. And let's not forget the second book i have planned as a continuation to this one once it eventually does end. Your wait is over good sir, a brand new chapter for you and all my readers!

A/N - Hiya everypony! Last chapter was kinda depressing huh? Well don't worry, this one will be back to the more light-hearted side of the story. I actually had a reader PM me over the course of last week and ask if anything like that had actually happened to me. I'd like to say right now that no, nothing like that has ever happened to me, and I apologize if it hit too close to home for anyone who has gone through something like that. I'd also like to make it clear that this is NOT a self-insert; while I may imprint certain parts of myself onto the main character, this is for ease of writing, not an attempt to create a self-insert story. Thanks to all of you for reading my little rants, and don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly, enjoy!

When I opened my eyes, I was sitting in the middle of a small clearing, surrounded by trees with the full moon shining down overhead. The night was calm and peaceful, with the sounds of various nocturnal creatures creating a pleasant atmosphere. I was drawn from my admiration and curiosity of how I had gotten here by a familiar voice behind me. "Hello Blake, it is good to see you again." I turned around and smiled at the owner of the voice.

"Hey Luna, it's good to see you too." I looked around momentarily. "I assume that this is a dream then?"

Luna nodded. "It is indeed Blake. As much as I wish this were simply a social meeting, I am afraid that there is something we must discuss." Well that's never a good sign. "My sister received a letter this evening from her student, Twilight Sparkle, stating that her friend Applejack had recently consulted her on how to approach you to engage in courtship. The letter went on to state that she believed that you had accepted this proposal."

I couldn't help but be worried. "I-is that not okay? I was under the understanding that herding was relatively common practice here…"

Luna had a stern, angry face as she approached me. "In fact," She said angrily before surprising me as her face melted into a warm smile. "It is perfectly alright; t'would be selfish of me to attempt to keep such a wonderful man all to myself."

My shoulders visibly sagged in relief as I chuckled at Luna's prank. "Whew, that's a relief… I thought you'd be angry at me. And you can refer to me as a stallion, I'd like to acclimate myself to my new home, and observing it's variances in language and customs will help."

Luna's smile grew slightly. "As you wish Blake. As much as I would like for us to spent more time together, the magic of this world combined with your own is causing several changes within you, one of which being a lower requirement for rest; as such, you shall awaken soon." Luna said sadly as she flapped her wings and began ascending towards the moon in the sky. "I fear we must part ways here for now, farewell Blake, I look forward to our next meeting." She said as she departed. I waved and called out a farewell of my own as she faded from my dream, never looking away from me.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up from the dream with Luna was the angry growling of my stomach. So instead of starting my normal routine, I decided to shuffle things around a bit and headed down to the kitchen first to make myself some breakfast to appease the angry stomach monster. I glanced at the wall clock on my way to the kitchen, noticing that I had once again only slept for around four hours. If what Luna had said was correct, it was likely that this would be the norm from here on out.

Knowing what I wanted already, I searched the kitchen for the ingredients. The eggs, bread and milk were easy to find, but the potatoes gave me some trouble. After several minutes of searching, I was ready to give up and make something else instead. Just as I was turning back to start my meal however, I noticed a small burlap sack in the corner that I hadn't before. I walked over and opened it up, revealing the potatoes I had been hoping to find.

Next to the potatoes were small baskets with tomatoes, onions, even a few green peppers. Eh, why not? I asked myself silently as I grabbed one of each of the new vegetables with a new dish in mind. With all of the ingredients gathered, I set about making my breakfast, chopping, cracking, pouring and whisking merrily as I set about my task.

When I was done, I poured myself a glass of orange juice and took my meal into the library's main room. When I set the plate down on the dinner table, I admired its contents: a golden hued omelette, filled with tomato, onion, green pepper, and even a few daisies and some cheese I had found when I got the eggs and milk out, nicely browned toast with a light layer of butter and smeared with strawberry preserves, and last but not least, fresh hash-browns, all of it still steaming slightly.

After I finished my breakfast, I took my empty plate and glass into the kitchen and washed them, along with the other dishes I had dirtied. I then went upstairs quietly and retrieved my sword to resume what I was planning to make into my normal routine.

Every so often during my session, I would catch what looked to be a blotch of purple up on the second floor balcony. Knowing how early it still was, I doubted that either Twilight or Spike would be up yet, so I simply ignored it as a trick of the light.

Once I was done with my swordplay, I grabbed my shirt and headed back into the library to continue my morning routine. Once that was done and I felt clean once again, I left again and made my way towards Sweet Apple Acres, once again jogging to loosen myself up.

It seemed that my detour for breakfast had cost me less extra time than I had thought, as Applejack was just stepping out of the house as it came into sight. She looked over in my direction and waved, waiting in the pre-dawn light for me to get to her. "Mornin' Blake; how y'all doin'?"

I knelt down and wrapped the cowpony in a quick embrace. "I'm doin' pretty good AJ, how are you?"

She smiled widely. "Ah'm doin' great! Ah can't tell ya how much better Ah feel after what ya did fer me yesterday! Ah can't quite explain why, but Ah haven't slept that well in… Ah don't even know how long." She was quiet for a moment. "Thanks again Blake, y'all didn't hafta do that fer me, but Ah'm glad ya did." She said in a more reserved tone.

I knelt back down and wrapped her in a longer, tighter embrace. "Like I told you yesterday AJ, I'm here for you for whatever you need. So, what's on the agenda today?" I asked as I released the farm mare from the embrace.

"Well, not much really." She replied with a shrug. "We don't usually work the fields on tha weekends, but there's plenty a cleanin' that needs done. Ah figured we could start with tha barn an' move on from there."

With that said, she led me into the interior of the barn, which seemed to have hay strewn across the floor. I got to looking around to see what all needed to be done to clean up the place, and as I did, I began to notice things that I might not have if I hadn't developed a keen eye for such things during my years of inspecting building quality. I turned to the orange mare, who had picked up a broom in her mouth and began sweeping up the loose hay. "Hey AJ?" She looked over to me with a quizzical expression. "Did you know your barn's structurally unsound?"

She put the broom down and trotted over to me with a worried expression. "What d' y'all mean?" She asked sounding concerned.

"Well, look up there." I said, pointing to one of the support beams. "See how that beam with the brown streaks on it looks decayed while the wood around it still looks in decent condition?" She looked at where I was pointing for a moment before nodding.

"The brown streaks along with the decay are signs that there's a termite colony infesting that beam, which is one of the support structures for the barn. That in itself is bad enough, but if you look over there," I said as I pointed at another area. "You'll see that that support beam is sagging, which means that it's become waterlogged and it can't properly support the weight it's supposed to." Applejack's face grew more and more concerned by the second as I pointed out various other structural anomalies to her.

Once I finished pointing out all the defects, she was silent for a moment before turning to me. "What should we do? If it's as bad as y'all say, it ain't safe ta keep usin' tha barn, but we need it fer almost everythin' we do 'round here."

I sighed. "Your best bet would be to hire a contractor to tear it down and inspect the wood, saving and reusing what's in good condition to keep costs down, then build a new one." She frowned at the admission.

"There's one problem with that idea Blake; we could never afford somethin' like that." She said sadly.

I nodded my understanding. "Well, there's always Option B." I suggested.

She looked at me quizzically again. "What's 'Option B'?"

I looked down at her and smirked. "We do it ourselves." I said, like it was the natural answer.

She looked somewhat shocked when I said that. "Ah couldn't ask ya ta do that Blake. Ah'm sure mah family c'n handle it."

I chuckled. "Aw, c'mon AJ, who else could spot the bad wood like I can? Besides, aren't we in a herd together now? I figured that would mean we would do things like this together."

She looked at the ground with a slight blush. "Ah guess yer right Blake, if'n we're gonna do this, we're gonna need all the help we c'n get." She finished with a smile. "Besides, Ah don't mind tha view when yer workin' hard." She said with a wink as she edged closer to me.

I chuckled. "Well, you're pretty easy on the eyes yourself little lady." My eyes snapped open as I realized not only what I just said, but that it was true.

Applejack had both a hurt and confused expression. "Ah thought y'all couldn't tell with ponies. Did… did y'all lie ta me?!" She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

I quickly knelt down to her eye level, causing her to look away. "Look at me Applejack…" She complied hesitantly, the hurt and anger evident on her face. "I. Did NOT. Lie to you." I stated firmly but gently. "I don't know how to explain it, hell, I didn't even notice it until just now, but you don't look the same way to me as you did yesterday. If I had to guess, I'd say that the magic that's caused all the other changes to me changed me overnight so that I see you as I should see you, not as I did." All the negativity seemed to melt off her face, being replaced with a hopeful smile. "And what I see right now… is a beautiful mare, not just in body, but in mind as well." It felt strange to honestly say something like that to what was essentially a miniature horse, but after my conversation with Luna and realizing that the inhabitants of this world are so much more than mere animals, I threw that thought to the wayside and embraced my new reality. And a moment later, I was embraced by my favorite cowmare.

"Ah… Ah don't know what ta say… nopony's ever complimented me like that before. Thank you Blake." She whispered into my shoulder. We sat like that for a moment before she spoke up again. "Now, enough of tha sappy stuff, what d' ya say we get ta cleanin' this barn?" She asked as she leaned back, showing a bright smile.

I chuckled and stood up, motioning for her to lead the way. The work went by fairly quickly, as all we were doing was removing the tools, hay and various farm implements from the rickety barn so that it could be rebuilt in the near future. We were around halfway done when Applejack turned to me. "Ah got a couple a questions fer ya Blake, if'n y'all don't mind me askin' that is."

I turned to face the farm mare, still holding the hay bale I had picked up to carry out. "Sure AJ, you won't upset me with a few questions."

She smiled gratefully before continuing. "Thanks Blake. Anyway, Ah was just wonderin', when y'all said that magic was changin' ya, what did ya mean?"

I set the hay bale down and sat on it, figuring it a good time for a break anyway. "Well, for starters, I don't need to eat meat anymore; which is pretty much a requirement for a healthy human diet. I also apparently only need to sleep for around four hours a night now, as opposed to eight or more like humans normally need. I've also noticed that my sense of smell is keener, letting me smell things I couldn't before; for example, up until today, ponies didn't have a noticeable aroma to me, but when we hugged earlier, I noticed that I could smell apples, hay and a hint of sweat coming from you."

Applejack grimaced. "Are y'all sayin' Ah stink?" The cowpony asked somewhat incredulously.

I simply smirked at her. "Not at all AJ, quite the opposite in fact, I like the smell, the apples lend a sweet fragrance while the earthy scent of the hay both dulls and compliments the sweet smell of the apples without overpowering it, and the sweat adds its own, unique aroma that compliments the hay and tells me that you're not afraid of a little hard work. All in all, it's quite pleasant." She smiled at the compliment, likely sensing the honesty in my words.

After a moment, I continued with telling her about my changes. "Anyway, I also have magic of my own now, though according to the princesses, I was born with it and it just didn't manifest till I came here. It also seems that I can work harder than I ever could on Earth; the work I've been doing with you the past few days would have left me sore and achy for the next several days, but I feel fine. As far as I know, that's it… so far at least. And I don't know if it's magic or not, but I'm a lot more touchy-feely than I ever was on Earth; I think I've been in more hugs this week alone than the entire twenty nine years I was on my old world."

Applejack gave a wide-eyed nod, obviously surprised at how different I was from what I used to be. "Ah see. Mah other question is; Y'all said we were a herd earlier, but Ah thought you were gonna talk ta Luna about it first."

I had been half-expecting this one. "Well, Luna beat me to it. She came to me in my dreams this morning and told me that she had gotten wind of you wanting to ask me out through a letter that Twilight sent Celestia, and that she was fine with it. She said it would be selfish to keep 'such a wonderful man' all to herself."

Applejack's worried expression gave way to a huge smile of relief. "Well that's a load off. That's all Ah really wanted ta hear, so how's 'bout we get back ta cleanin' this here barn so ya c'n make tha Cutie Mark Crusader meetin' later?"

I couldn't help but be grateful that she had mentioned that, I had all but forgotten that today was the day of the meeting with everything that had happened. We finished up clearing out the barn in relative silence, only breaking it once in awhile with idle small talk.

Soon enough, we were done with our task; and it appeared that we were right on time with it too, as no sooner had we walked out of the barn with the last of its contents than a group of three certain fillies came trotting around the corner of the house. "Heya Blake, are ya ready fer tha Cutie Mark Crusader meetin'?" Applebloom asked excitedly.

I couldn't help but crack a warm-hearted smile at the three fillies that were smiling hopefully in front of me. Before I could respond though, Applejack beat me to it, chuckling and saying, "Yep, he just finished helpin' me out, and he's free ta play with y'all fer as long as he wants, assumin' he don't got nothin' else ta do that is."

The three eager fillies seemed to hold their collective breaths as I rubbed my chin, pretending to think. "I don't know… I think I hear Twilight calling me."

"Please Blake!" they begged in unison, giving me the saddest puppy-dog eyes I'd ever seen.

I pretended to cringe away from them. "AAH! The cute! My only weakness!" I said dramatically. "I have no choice but to do whatever these adorable fillies desire. Oh woe is me!" I said in an over-the-top fashion as I sunk to my knees and placed the back of my hand against my forehead as I pretended to swoon.

I was immediately swarmed by giggling fillies as my performance ended. "YAY! Blake's gonna go crusading with us!"

The three girls giggled even harder as I scooped them all up in my arms and began walking in the direction Applejack had told me their treehouse was in, said mare chuckling behind me as I walked away with an armload of cuteness.

Before long, the treehouse came into view, and I had to admit that it was impressive; it actually looked like a small tan house in a tree, complete with a fenced in deck around the perimeter. I set the three still-giggling fillies down and they promptly scurried up the wooden ramp that led to the treehouse. "C'mon Blake, let's go inside so we can officially induct you into the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Sweetie Belle said excitedly in her adorably squeaky voice.

I did as asked and made my way into the small treehouse, finding that it was only barely big enough for me to sit down in. Sweetie Belle took her place behind a small podium and knocked a hoof on it like a gavel. "Hear ye hear ye, I hereby call this official meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to order!" She stated in as official of a tone as her adorably squeaky voice would let her before she pulled out a rather large scroll and tossed one end over the podium, unrolling it. She cleared her throat before beginning her recitation. "We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, elect Blake to join us as a brother, friend, confidante, ally, bosom buddy, umm… guy pal, compadre, chum of chums..." She paused for a moment, looking over the scroll. "Scootaloo, I thought you revised this again after we swore in Babs Seed."

Scootaloo gave an embarrassed grin and blushed while rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. "I did, it's only half as long as it used to be…"

Sweetie Belle groaned and face-hoofed. "Nevermind, we'll just have to make due." She then looked back over to me. "We'll just skip to the end. Let's see here... ah, here we go! And fellow Cutie Mark Crusader! You are solemnly sworn in, here this day, in witness of your fellow sisters, friends, confidantes... grr."

"Congratulations Blake!" Applebloom cheered excitedly, cutting Sweetie Belle off. "So, why don't y'all tell us a bit about what humans're like? Maybe we can get our Cutie Marks in somethin' from your home." The farm filly said with a big grin.

The next hour would find me regretting being so open with the girls, especially concerning certain aspects of my former diet. I ran for my life through Ponyville proper, looking over my shoulder at the three fillies who were currently giving chase. "Cutie Mark Crusader Carnivores is a terrible idea!" I shouted back at them as I noticed the bib-wearing, utensil-armed fillies gaining on me.

Suddenly the three were enveloped in a purple aura and lifted from the ground. I stopped as a familiar mare's voice rang out. "Girls! What do you think you're doing?!"

I walked over before they had a chance to respond. "It's ok Twilight; we were just playing a game, sort of a modified version of tag." I told her, not really sure if it was the truth, but still wanting to protect the girls.

Twilight looked suspicious, but apparently decided to drop the issue, letting the girls down gently. "Well alright, if you're sure." She turned to me. "Say Blake, I need to pick up a few things, would you care to join me?"

I looked down at the girls, who seemed to be gesturing me to do so. "Sure Twi, I'd love to."

We began walking through the town together, and I told her about finding out just how bad of shape AJ's barn was in, and my swearing-in of the CMC. We stopped at a vegetable stall so that Twilight could stock up for the next few days. As she was making her selections, something over to my left caught my attention.

I looked over to see a construction crew demolishing an old concrete building. What caught my attention was the size of the wrecking ball they were using, or rather the lack thereof. Excusing myself from Twilight, I walked over to see just how they were knocking down a building with such a small ball. I suddenly heard a gruff voice to my right. "Hey kid, like what you see?" I looked over to see a sturdy looking earth pony with a light brown coat and darker brown mane wearing a hardhat sizing me up. "You look the type, how much do you know about construction?"

I chuckled inwardly. "I've been around a site or two. Is that wrecking ball enchanted or something?"

The pony, who I guessed was the foreman, shook his head. "Nope, it's just steel."

I grew slightly worried at that, that a building could so easily be knocked down by a ball that was less than half the size I was used to. "I see. And I take it that building was condemned due to structural weakness?"

The foreman's face grew stern. "There wasn't anything wrong with that building, it just needed to be taken out of the way for new construction by the lot's owner. What are you getting at kid?" he asked somewhat angrily.

"The ease that it's being taken down with concerns me; a proper building should be much sturdier than that."

The foreman audibly growled. "I'd like to see you do better kid; I don't have the resources to waste showing you up though."

"Perhaps I could be of assistance." A voice that could only belong to the princess of the night said from behind us. "I know that Blake is a competent engineer, and I would like to see what he can do. If you are willing, I will fund this challenge."

The foreman seemed to think on this for a minute. "Deal. We each build a wall, three meters square and thirty centimeters thick, and the one that's the hardest to destroy wins. My crew will provide the supports for both walls, and only damage to the wall itself will be counted."

I thought about it for a moment, then asked, "What does the winner get, besides bragging rights?"

Luna spoke up. "The winner shall receive a commission to make improvements on the construction methods of Equestria as a whole."

I thought about it some more. "I'm in." I said with conviction.

"'You're in' what?" Twilight asked, trotting up to us with saddlebags laden with groceries.

"Just a friendly wager to see who can build a better wall."

"…I see." She said unsurely. "Hello Princess Luna, what brings you to Ponyville today?" She asked the midnight Alicorn as the foreman returned to his site.

The Lunar ruler regarded Twilight warmly. "I have come to pay a visit to my coltfriend, Blake. How are you today Twilight? It has been too long since we've seen one another."

"I'm well thank you. I didn't know Blake was your coltfriend; Applejack will be disappointed…"

Luna smiled down at her. "Actually, we have already worked that out, and have decided to form a herd with Blake."

Twilight's jaw nearly hit the ground. Today was shaping up to be interesting.