DragonLovingBrony (Ch 1) - Well, from all the positive reviews my readers send my way, I'd say that's a safe bet.

DragonLovingBrony (Ch2) - I thought so too, It seems that just about every HIE story starts out with the main character meeting up with Twilight right away, so I decided to mix that up.

Deepfreeze222 (Ch10) - Oh, don't worry about the length of your reviews, I actually appreciate long and well-detailed reviews; that gives me more information to work with as far as improving myself, especially if said reviews include flaws in the story that I may have overlooked.

Deepfreeze222 (Ch25) - I agree, it is pretty difficult to pull off romance without it seeming cliché, but I'm trying my best to make it realistic. As for Scootaloo, I based that loosely off of a personal experience. Only the little girl (my friend's daughter) wanted me to be her daddy after three days instead of over a week like in the story. Neither of us saw it coming either... Just "Will you be my new daddy?" one day while I was replacing the alternator in her car one day. I can also see Blake as a bit of an everyman, though when trying to write him as neither too much of a dick nor an overly nice guy, it can be kind of hard not to write him like that.

Deepfreeze222 (Ch29) - I'm actually making it so that everypony in the herd is getting different amounts of attention intentionally; for one thing, if everyone got the same amount of love, there wouldn't be a potential for drama. Plus, Blake's never been in a situation like that before, so I'm trying to convey that lack of experience through those flaws in how he handles things.

KillerPhone - Thanks Brah (Lol I promise I won't do that again). I hope your situation gets fixed so you don't have to use your mom's phone anymore (If it hasn't already), I know how much it sucks not having a proper computer or even a smartphone to work with.

Rider MLP - Oh don't worry, there's plenty of Scootaloo planned in later chapters.

raritysman403 - I'm always glad to hear when my readers enjoy my story.

centaurus2 - We'll see Starswirl again eventually, though when or why is going to remain a mystery. I can't argue with you there...

The Request Author - I figured it'd be cruel to leave my awesome readers with a month-long cliffhanger ;) Oh, don't worry, I know exactly what you mean (As I've said before, I've read a fic where a human comes to Equestria and becomes a literal god), so I'll be doing my best to avoid that.

bronyman78 - Thanks, it always means a lot to hear that, especially knowing that there are tons of great authors on this site alone.

King Tobi - I do try my best to keep things balanced yet interesting, I'm gald to hear that it seems to be working. :D

GhostChris - You must be a Jedi then.

A/N - Howdy everypony! It's been a long month hasn't it? I'm glad to report that I had a blast on my vacation. I actually got back the Friday before last, but some things came up while I was gone that I had to take care of before I could focus on much of anything else, so I apologize for the added delay. I had also planned to update yesterday on schedule, but some guy crashed his car into a pole on Monday and took out power to my house, among other places, and it only came back up earlier this morning, so I also apologize for that delay. I'd also like to thank all of you dor being so patient with my month-long absence, you guys are awesome. As always, if you like the story, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!

Rainbow Dash flew back over to the group and Rarity trotted up next, carrying her gift in her magic. I took it with my own and gently unwrapped the present, both to preserve the beautiful, shiny, purple paper and to practice the fine control over my magic. Once the box was unwrapped, I opened it to reveal what appeared to be several sets of nails and rings of varying sizes bent and looped around one another in various ways resting inside. "I couldn't think of anything I could give you of my own to help you pass the time here, but I found these while wandering around the market looking for inspiration." She explained with a small smile as I levitated one of the objects out of the box.

"What the hay are those, they just look like a jumbled mess." Vinyl asked.

"They're puzzles. You're supposed to figure out how to take them apart and put them back together again." I smiled at the beautiful white mare. "I had some of these that my grandpa made me when I was a kid. I love them Rarity, thank you."

She smiled and gave me a tender hug. "You're very welcome Darling." She whispered before breaking the hug and walking back to our friends.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me next! Me next!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly as she bounced over to the pile and grabbed a box wrapped in pink paper with a huge, dark pink bow at the top. "I thought you might like to try some of the new ideas we came up with for those super yummy cake pops you showed us how to make!" She exclaimed with her normal enthusiasm as she hopped over, balancing the box on her head.

I opened the box to reveal that it was packed full of the delicious treats, each one individually wrapped in clear plastic. "Ooh, these do look yummy; thank you Pinkie." She smiled and gave me a hug of her own before zipping back to the group.

The rest of the gift giving went much the same, with Lyra giving me a deck of cards and several board games to play when I had company, as well as a few puzzles for when I was alone. Vinyl gave me a miniature record player as well as several records of music she had created just for me. Applejack had brought the obvious cart of food so I could have a break from the bland hospital food.

Scootaloo, surprisingly enough had a gift as well. "I had Hammer Hoof make these for me." She explained as she brought me a pair of lockets that were formed from two halves of a heart with I'll Love You Always inscribed so that it could only be read when the halves were brought together. I gave her the biggest hug I could manage, tears trickling down my face at the gesture. I looked up to see that my eyes weren't the only ones that were brimming with tears caused by my soon-to-be adopted daughter's love. We eventually broke the hug and she laid down next to me on the bed.

This left Twilight, Fluttershy and Derpy with gifts yet to give. Fluttershy timidly brought her gift next. I unwrapped it to reveal a potted bouquet of flowers. "This way your room will smell nice all the time." She explained with a soft smile. "And they all make nectar, so if you open your window, you can watch the hungry little hummingbirds have a little snack."

I thanked her and Derpy trotted up next as Fluttershy took her place among the group. "I couldn't think of anything to bring you to help pass the time, so I brought something of mine instead." Once I finished unwrapping it, I pulled out the contents to reveal what looked to be some kind of strange teddy bear.

It seemed to have the same general shape as a teddy bear from Earth, but instead of the typical brown fur, it had blue, almost transparent fur speckled with stars and a large six-pointed star on its forehead. "This is my ursa-teddy from when I was a little filly. I would fall asleep with her and she would make me feel safe during storms or if I had a bad dream. I named her Nyx after the hero of an old story my momma used to tell me at bedtime. I thought she could keep you company at night after visiting hours are over." I smiled and gave the klutzy mare a big hug.

Twilight was the last one to bring up her gift. I took the plain purple gift from her magic with my own and unwrapped it as I had all the others. Inside the box were more books, though these seemed to be spell books rather than any sort of leisurely reading material. I chuckled; glad the doctor had cast a general anesthetic spell to keep the pain down. "Giving me homework Twilight?"

She giggled. "Not exactly, I just thought you might want to practice with all the down time you'll have. And since you can actually use your magic properly now, it seems like you'll actually get to make progress."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." I dead-panned.

Her ears splayed back. "Oh… I uh, I didn't mean it like that."

Twilight yelped as I picked her up in my magic and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I'm kidding again Twi, I'm grateful to you and the rest of the girls for all the thought you put into making this easier for me." She smiled as I put her down.

All of our attentions were drawn to the door at a sudden knocking. A moment later, the door opened to reveal none other than the princess of the day herself. "Hello Blake, hello girls." She greeted as everypony bowed to the solar diarch. "Please rise. Blake, I have a few things I wish to tell you. The first thing is that I have spoken with the doctor in charge of your care, and he believes that you shall be well enough to return home in the next two weeks."

This news was met with a chorus of delighted chatter from the girls. "However, not all of my tidings are glad; I wished to wait until your recovery was under way to inform you that ex-prince Blueblood escaped his cell during the commotion caused by Nightmare Moon and her minions. We do not currently know his whereabouts; however, we believe he will attempt to seek passage out of Equestria, possibly to the Stallion Empire or Saddle Arabia. In the case of the latter, Desert Star has agreed to capture and extradite the fugitive for sentencing. The Stallion Empire however… is not keen on voluntarily cooperating with the other nations of Mythis. If he were to flee there, it would be nigh impossible to return him here."

Twilight walked up to her teacher. "But Princess, what if Blueblood tries to hurt Blake? He could be in danger this very second."

Celestia shook her head. "I agree with you Twilight, my nephew has shown himself to be far more devious than even I had previously thought. With that said, I do not believe Blake is in immediate danger, if I know my nephew, he will bide his time and wait until the search for him has died down before even considering taking revenge upon our dear friend. However, that shall not stop Luna and I from taking measures to ensure his safety in the event of such an attack. That is why you have encountered guardsponies outside of Blake's room. We also have agents attempting to track the fugitive Blueblood in an attempt to monitor his movements and recapture him if possible."

The others sighed. "Well, that makes me feel better." Derpy said. "So Princess, was there anything else you wanted to talk about, or would you like to spend some time with Blake too?"

Celestia smiled at my goofy marefriend. I became nervous though, as I saw the pained look hidden in that smile. "Actually, there is one more thing I wish to discuss with him, though perhaps it is something best said in private."

I glanced around at all the girls as they turned and made to leave the room. "Wait." They all stopped and turned to me. "These girls are the best friends I've ever had and more. I consider each one of them like family; as far as I'm concerned, anything you want to say to me, can be said in front of them."

Celestia closed her eyes and nodded. "Alright. With what I'm about to tell you, their support will likely be welcome." The girls all looked at Celestia nervously. "What I am about to tell you may be difficult to hear, but I assure you, it's the truth. Do you remember when I told you that Luna donated some of her blood to help save your life?" I nodded. "While it saved your life, her blood has also given you what most would consider a curse."

Twilight trotted over to me and faced her mentor. "Princess, what do you mean? What's going on, is Blake alright?"

Celestia sighed and hung her head slightly. "There is no easy way to say this, so I will just say it; Blake Marshall, the blood that now flows through your veins has altered your lifespan in a drastic way."

I tilted my head in worry and confusion as far as the wrappings would allow. "What do you mean? Am… am I going to die?"

She sighed again and closed her eyes. "No, you are not going to die. What it means is quite the opposite; that you shall live far longer than you were originally meant to."

"P-princess?" Applejack inquired. "How long is Blake gonna live?"

"Dear Applejack… I won't lie to you," She turned back to address me. "Unless slain by outside means, Blake will not see the end of his days until sometime after his three thousandth birthday."

Celestia

The look on my dear friend's face was heartbreaking. It was made even moreso as I realized that he was trying and failing to curl up into a ball. For the first time in a long time, I felt hot tears stinging my eyes with regret. "Please…" He whispered, almost inaudibly. "I… I think I need to be alone."

I looked around at the other mares in the room. "Come along girls, we should respect Blake's wishes and leave him to his thoughts."

As we left the room, I noticed that one member of Blake's group of friends and lovers seemed to be missing. Doing a quick head count, I noticed that the cross-eyed Pegasus… Derpy I believe her name was, wasn't among the group. I looked back into the room to see her seated next to his bed, gently stroking his unwrapped arm and whispering things I couldn't hear to the broken human. Did I do the right thing, telling him so soon? I was snapped from my thoughts by Rainbow Dash flying up above the others. "What's the big deal?! So he's gonna live longer, so what?"

Before I could rebuke her bad attitude, my student glared at her friend. "Rainbow Dash! Don't you get it?! The 'big deal' is that he's going to have to watch all his friends and loved ones die, over and over, for the next several thousand years!" The brash Pegasus pinned her ears to her head in shame and slowly lowered herself to the floor as my beloved Twilight continued. "How would you feel if somepony suddenly told you that you'd have to watch your special somepony wither and die right before your eyes and that you would have to live with that over and over again?!" I draped a wing over Twilight's shoulder to calm her.

She looked up at me with tear-filled eyes, tears that began flowing as the sound of quiet sobbing could be heard from the other side of the now closed door to Blake's room. I wrapped my hoof around my student's neck in a comforting gesture. She quickly pulled back and looked up to me. "Oh princess, I need to be there for him!" She turned to head back into Blake's room, but was stopped by a distraught Applejack.

"No Sugarcube. Blake's hurtin' a lot right now. He said he wants ta be alone, and we need ta respect that, even if Derpy decided ta stay behind with 'im. Trust me Twilight, the best thing we c'n do fer Blake right now is give 'im some space ta think."

Twilight looked as though she would argue with her friend, but after a moment, she nodded her head as her ears lowered. "You're right Applejack, we need to let him come to terms with this on his own…" Fresh tears filled her eyes and she wrapped her hooves around her friend's neck. "Oh Applejack! I feel so helpless! I… I want to help him, but there's nothing we can do right now."

The Element of Honesty returned the gesture. "Shh, Ah know Sugarcube, we all feel tha same way… We just gotta trust Blake and be ready ta be there fer 'im."

Feeling uncomfortable watching their pained moment, I excused myself and left the mares to head back to the palace. Upon entering, I sought out my sister's chambers, hoping to find guidance and solace with her. I stood outside her door for some time, contemplating just how I would tell her what had transpired. After several deep breaths, I gently knocked. A long moment went by and there was no answer from my dear sister. Just as I raised my gold-clad hoof to knock again, the latch clicked and the door opened. On the other side was a somewhat disheveled Luna; it was obvious that I had woken her from a deep and likely pleasant sleep. I smiled sadly at her. "Hello sister. I'm sorry to wake you at this hour, but there is something I feel we must discuss."

She yawned and gestured me into the room. "Is something the matter sister? How fares Blake, is he well?"

I sighed as I took a seat next to her on the bed. "I would not consider the situation dangerous… however; it does involve our resident human." Her face clearly showed her worry. "I won't sugar-coat this… I told him the consequences of transfusing him with your blood."

My sister was quiet for some time, her face shifting between several unreadable emotions. Finally, she turned to me. "You. Did. WHAT?!" She shouted. "He is both physically and emotionally unwell, and you told him something like that?! Why would you do such a thing sister?" She was rightfully angry with me.

I sighed and hung my head low. "I honestly do not know why I did that sister, but it is done, and he does not seem to be handling the news as well as I had hoped." I looked over to her to see a scowl on her face. "I do not blame you for being angry with me, but now is not the time for that; Blake should be our main concern."

Her face softened and she nodded slightly. "You are right sister. However, do not think that we will not be having a discussion about this once we have seen to dearest Blake's health."

I smiled weakly and we got off of her bed and headed our separate ways, Luna to the hospital, and me to the throne room to resume my duties. I couldn't contain an exasperated sigh as I made my way to the ornate hall containing an equally ornate throne. As much as I loved my little ponies, the burden of both rulership and countless years of life still weighed heavily on me.

It has now been three days since I told Blake of the consequences of the transfusion, and he has refused to allow any visitors to see him. Even Miss Hooves was unable to get much reaction out of him, being forced to leave in order to return to Ponyville and care for her younger sister. My own sister has been understandably distraught over his emotional shutdown, his refusal to eat or sleep exacerbating her worries. Nurse Snowheart had even tried bringing him special meals like she had on the first day after he had woken up, but he refused even those. It was as though he had lost his very will to live.

Blake

I had lost track of time, I was so lost in thought that I didn't really care what was going on around me. My thoughts kept turning back to those I loved and how I would have to watch as they passed on while I endured the ages. I knew that Luna and Celestia had done just that for a millennia or more, but I justified that as them being born into that role. I didn't have that luck, we humans had toyed with the fantasy of immortality, but it had always been just that; a fantasy.

A voice slowly crept its way into my thoughts, quiet and demure. At first, I thought it was gentle little Fluttershy, but the voice itself was off. As I focused on the voice, words became audible. "…I do not know if you can even hear me right now… I know that I would be lying if I said I knew what you were going through, but I want you to know that I will be here for you." I recognize that voice, that's… Luna. "Please Blake, come back to us soon; it has been three days and you have hardly slept, eaten or talked to anypony at all." Has it really been three days?

"Luna…" I croaked out, both my voice-box and throat sore from dryness and lack of use. Luna's eyes shot up to meet mine. "I'm sorry…"

She choked out a sob and lunged at me, wrapping me in a hug as best she could. "No Blake, I am the one who should be sorry… it was not fair of me to force something like this on you, but… I…"

She trailed off as I began caressing her disheveled mane and cheek. "I understand… I'm not mad…" Talking wasn't getting any easier. "I just needed… time to… think…"

She looked into my eyes before her own began darting all over my face. "My poor dear, you're dehydrated! And you must be famished as well; I shall fetch somepony to bring you food and water!"

Before I could say anything to stop her, Luna had already left the room in search of a nurse. If she had stayed, I would have pointed out the cart of goodies that was still sitting in the corner. Oh well, I suppose those aren't exactly the best for me right now anyway.

Luna returned moments later, practically dragging a protesting nurse in her magic. This one had a light purple coat and a dark purple mane with white stripes. She also seemed to be a little on the plump side compared to most ponies I'd seen. As soon as she laid eyes on me, she immediately broke free of Luna's magical hold, a feat which baffled me, and took off down the hall screaming about a monster in the hospital. Luna gave me a pained look before taking off after the hysterical mare.

"Luna, wait!" I attempted to call out, noticing the rage in her eyes, but I was too weak to get my voice above a loud whisper.

I could hear Luna yelling at the nurse pony to come back, but all I could do was wait for the commotion to die down. After around five minutes according to the clock on the wall, Luna came back into the room, once again dragging the plump nurse pony with her magic. With a flip of her head, causing her starry mane to swirl and glitter beautifully, Luna brought the nurse face-to-face with her. "Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" She asked in an icy tone.

The nurse gulped as Luna turned her to face me. "I-I'm s-sorry sir…" She said, trembling. "I-it was wrong of m-me to run away s-screaming like that…"

"It's ok, I forgive you." I told the cowering mare, doing my best to even out my voice from the dryness in my throat, hoping to assuage her fears. "I'm Blake, Equestria's resident human, what's your name?"

The nurse relaxed visibly. "I'm Sweetheart. If I may ask, what happened to you?"

I looked myself over as best I could in my current state. "Long story short… Nightmare Moon and I had a bit of a disagreement; she thought it was a good idea to hurt a lot of ponies, many of whom I care about, and I showed her the error of her ways." I was really wishing someone would bring me a glass of water or something, but something kept me from asking.

"OH MY!" she exclaimed excitedly. "You're the Hero of Canterlot everypony's been talking about!" She gasped suddenly. "Oh my goodness, where is my head?! Let me get you some water!"

Luna released Sweetheart from her magic as said mare dashed out of the room. "Well, that was… interesting." I said as I smirked at Luna.

She frowned. "Indeed… perhaps our ponies require a lesson in tolerance." She replied as she looked back to the door.

My reply was cut off as said door burst open and Sweetheart galloped back in with a clear plastic cup of water with a few ice cubes and a bendy straw. I called on my magic and made to cast the levitation spell on the glass, but the aura surrounding my arm fizzled and popped out of existence as a massive headache and a great deal of fatigue washed over me.

"Oh Dear!" I heard Luna exclaim. "I am so sorry Blake, I should have warned you about using magic in your condition. Here, let me help you."

My headache and fatigue cleared almost as quickly as they came, and as my vision cleared, I saw Luna levitating the glass out of Sweetheart's grasp and over to me. I sighed as the straw was levitated towards my mouth. "I am sorry Blake, I know how you detest feeling helpless, but in this case it cannot be helped."She smiled slightly. "At least all is well and you can rest easy." That actually seemed to help somehow.

"Thanks Luna, that actually does make me feel a little better." I clamped my lips around the offered straw as I finished, gratefully sipping the refreshing liquid.

As soon as the cool water hit my stomach, it gurgled violently and I was suddenly overcome with a sense of weakness and my un-casted hand began shaking furiously as a gigantic hunger pang slammed into me.

Just as I felt I would pass out, Nurse Sweetheart came to my rescue, carrying what looked like an apple fritter over to me. "You poor thing, you must be starving; how long has it been since you last ate?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but slowly closed it as I thought about it. "I… I don't remember."

Luna sighed. "It has been more than three full days since the last time he has eaten or drank, so it is not surprising that he is in his current state."

Sweetheart's eyes widened. "Three days?!" She suddenly sounded upset. "Oh my, when you told me he needed food and water, I had no idea he was so bad off!" She looked down at the fritter before tossing it back onto the cart. "I'm afraid you're going to need something far more nutritious than a fritter to get your strength back up. I'll be right back!" She was gone before either of us could say anything.

Oh goody, my first meal in three days and its going to be hospital food… yay…