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It was a few months before Equestria got its magic back. I had just come back from the bar, wasted as hell. I was so drunk that once I made it to my front door, I pissed all over it thinking it was a toilet. I entered my apartment, made a beeline towards my bed, threw up a couple times, and finally went to sleep.
 
When I woke up the next morning, I had a headache. I was hung over. I headed towards the bathroom mirror and stared at my own reflection: bags under my bloodshot eyes. Vomit on my chin. A five-o’-clock shadow. I didn’t even take my morning pill that morning, I just trudged back to my room. But when I got there, I saw the most unexpected thing I had ever seen before, laying on the very bed I slept on.
 
It was pink. I thought I was so drunk that I stole a pink blanket without knowing what I was doing. So I walked up to it. But then I stopped in my tracks when I got a closer look. It was the size of a pony. That’s because it was a pony. Furthermore, it was an earth pony. And it was a mare.
 
I heard so much about the earth ponies. From what I heard from the boys at the pub, earth ponies were bloodthirsty savages who spared not a single soul. I stood there lost in that thought, not realizing she was waking up. And when I came to my senses, it was too late. She was wide awake and looking at me dead in the eye.
 
This time, I was terrified. I didn’t know what to do. Should I scream? Should I report this to the authorities? Would she try to stop me? I was pondering my next move when I saw the look on her face: she was just as frightened of me as I was of her. I slowly walked towards her, but she tried to back away. She had tears in her eyes when we were both standing two feet away from each other. I finally picked up the courage to say something.
 
“H-hello.”
 
She sat on my bed frozen. She must’ve been more afraid of me than I was of her. I tried talking to her again:
 
“It’s nice to meet you.”
 
Again, no answer.
 
“My name is Alfred Venturer. What’s yours?”
 
“Cassie,” she finally responded.
 
“Cassie? That’s a beautiful name,” I replied. “And you have a beautiful voice.”
 
Her pupils dilated. She must’ve started to realize I wasn’t as bad as she thought I was. But I could the she was still unsure of me.
 
“So, what brings you here?”
 
Then she started to sob. “I-I’m sorry!” I said. “I didn’t mean to scare you! I was just trying to get to know you!”
 
“It’s not that,” she said. “I just don’t feel like talking about it right now.”
 
“Oh,” I said. “Mind if I hug you?” She shook her head no.
 
We sat on the bed hugging each other for thirty minutes. When she finally stopped crying, I asked if she felt better. She nodded. Then my stomach started to growl. It was already 10:30 in the morning. I was hungry. “Whoa! I’m hungry! Want me to make you something to eat?”
 
“Yes, that would be nice.”
 
And that was the beginning of something special.
 

 
Day by day, we began to trust each other in our secret relationship. I rarely ever went back to the pub. In fact, it had gotten to the point where every time i’d pass by the pub, I’d flip both of my middle feathers at the place. Cassie mostly stayed in my apartment, but when she did go out, she’d wear a pair of fake wings that I had crafted myself using my superior art skills. (They honestly didn’t look that good, but she told me that I should take pride in my work. Besides, they seemed to have worked surprisingly well.)
 
Soon, she finally told me why she came to Zephyr Heights in the first place: Apparently, she had been the victim of an abusive husband. Every time she made one little mistake, he’d slap her in the face. But the way she saw it, it was like he’d do it every time she moved a muscle. It had gotten to the point where he’d slap her multiple times. Then one day, she actually peed herself just because she accidentally broke a plate doing the dishes. She ended up receiving twice as many slaps as she’d gotten before. At that moment, she had decided that enough was enough. She shoved him out of the way and ran out the door crying.
 
She didn’t feel like Maretime Bay was safe anymore. She wanted to get as far away from her husband as possible. So she set out on a journey for some other civilization. She didn’t know where, she just wanted to get away from Maretime Bay as soon as possible. She told me that the journey was horrible: she had to live through harsh weather, hot temperatures, and pesky bugs. But when she arrived at Zephyr Heights, it was nighttime. It took her five hours to scale the mountain. But when she reached the civilization, she tried to find the closest, safest place she could find, which just so happened to be my apartment.
 
I told her not to worry. As long as we were together, she was safe. She smiled and hugged me. I hugged her back.
 
Just then, I felt something. It was flowing through my veins. I felt powerful. Suddenly, I had the urge to flap my wings, so I did. I flapped progressively faster and faster until I felt myself being lifted off the ground. I was… flying?! Cassie looked up at me in shock. Then she rushed over to the TV and turned it over to the news. I wasn’t the only one flying; the other pegasi were flying as well! Magic seemed to have come back. “CASSIE, PINCH ME!!!” I shouted. She did. It was real. Magic had actually returned. We both cheered in pure excitement. Then I picked Cassie off the ground and took her out flying in celebration.
 
We flew for several minutes. We flew past the Jumbotron, around the palace, and three laps around the perimeter of the city.
 
Then I got a little carried away and flew to Maretime Bay to thank the five heroes who brought back magic.
 
When we finally found them at the then-destroyed lighthouse, I told them everything that happened. I told them about us flying (Cassie was still disguising herself as a pegasus) and how we got to reach heights we’ve never reached before. They congratulated us and welcomed us to Maretime Bay. But then, suddenly, we heard a loud, rough masculine voice shout, “HEY!!!” We all turned to see a reddish-brown stallion with a faded blond mane and a wrench for a cutie mark step towards us with a five-o’clock shadow and a golden tooth. He came up to me and shouted, “What are you doing with my wife?!”
 
“Who?” I asked without thinking.
 
He bitch-slapped me and said, “Don’t you play stupid with me. You know damn well that’s my wife behind your…” He noticed her fake wings and growled, “What did you do to my wife?”
 
“Nothing,” I replied.
 
“BULLSHIT!!!” He shouted. Then he grabbed ahold of my throat and stared to strangle me. Then the yellow stallion, Hitch, tackled him and started punching him. “What the heck is wrong with you?!” He shouted.
 
“HE FUCKED MY WIFE, THAT’S WHAT!” he screamed.
 
“HEY!” I shouted. I was about to defend myself when Cassie stepped in.
 
“He didn’t do a thing to me, Buckley,” she said. “He fed me and took care of me. Unlike you did.”
 
“Nonsense. I took care of you, too. I put meals on your plate-”
 
“You beat me and slapped me every time I made a single mistake!” She said with tears in her eyes. “You call that caring?!”
 
Hitch asked Buckley, “Sir, is this true?”
 
There was an awful long silence. Then he finally let out a long, heavy sigh and answered, “Yea. I slapped her. But I was only kidding.”
 
“Well, your so-called wife didn’t see it that way,” Hitch said. He then slapped a pair of hoof-cuffs on him and said, “You’re under arrest for domestic abuse.”
 
Then the short one, Pipp, pointed out, “Wait. Cassie’s a pegasus. How could she have been in a relationship with an earth pony?” Cassie then remembered she still had her wings on. She then took them off and said, “I was never a pegasus in the first place.” She then officially broke up with Buckley as Hitch carried him to the station.
 
Later that night, Cassie and I were walking down the streets of Maretime Bay. We talked about how her whole life had changed since the day we met. I told her that I still can’t believe I could fly. She chuckled. We were passing under a street lamp when she stopped in her tracks. She then went on to tell me that I had changed her life forever. That she now had a reason to live. It was a miracle. I told her that my life had changed, too, ever since I quit alcoholism. We both smiled at each other. Then, we both leaned forward and kissed each other. It was our first kiss ever.
 
Needless to say, ever since that very moment, the street lamp we kissed beneath still shines twenty-four hours a day.  
––  
It turns out, the boys at the pub were way off about the rumors. Not only were they wrong about earth ponies, they got the rumors themselves mixed up. The common rumors about earth ponies was that they were incredibly stupid, while us pegasi were the savage ones.
 
Life in Maretime Bay was great. I decided to move in, Cassie and I bought a house nearby, and we both got jobs. Because she had a thing for foals, she decided to become a preschool teacher. I was feeling rather smart, so I decided to hit the books and start studying. In addition, I developed a passion for curiosity and mystery, so I visited the library and checked out a bunch of crime novels. I also purchased a few puzzle books and a Rubik’s Cube to test my wits. I even went as far as to start playing–and get hooked on–the Professor Layton series. I later was inspired by the games to become a puzzle maker myself.
 
When summer rolled around, we hired a gardener named Bushy Twee. While he would work, we’d talk about stuff like memes, YouTube, politics, etc. He would later become my best friend, paying me visits just because he could. We’d joke around and watch SMG4 every Saturday and Wednesday. We’d play video games (mostly ROBLOX), we’d share memes we made/found online, and we’d do little roleplays. It was nice having him around.
 
I began to feel like I could contribute to our relationship. I told Cassie that I would like to be a college professor in critical thinking. She told me it doesn’t really work like that. I can’t just magically become a college professor; I hadn’t even gone to college. She also told me that there are no critical thinking classes in college. “I mean, sure, some classes do teach critical thinking,” she said, “but there aren’t any classes that teach critical thinking as a subject.” But I just passed it off, saying, “Then I’ll just get a job there and teach it myself.”  
She then responded with, “That’s gonna require a few degrees, you know, including a master’s degree. And how do you plan on doing that?”
 
“You’ll see,” I answered.
 
The very next day, I attended college to get a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. But during that time, Cassie had a huge surprise waiting for me. When I came home one day, I found Cassie covered up, curled up on our bed. But she wasn’t asleep. And she was looking at me with a tired smile. When I asked her what was going on, she told me to lean forward. And what she whispered in my ear really tickled me pink:
 
_{“I’m pregnant.”}
 
I was ecstatic. It was music to my ears. We were having a baby! I ran out the door cheering. Everyone congratulated me when I ran past them. It was a miracle.
 
The baby came eight months later. She remains to be one of my greatest treasures of all time. Her name is Winter Heart.  
––  
After I had officially earned the title of Professor Venturer, I decided it was time to take our relationship one step further. I purchased a beautiful crystal ring from Bridlewood. Then I arranged a date with Cassie for that night. She accepted and hired Bushy to take care of our then 2-year-old baby. After that, we were off on our date.
 
We went bowling, tried out an escape room, played laser tag, and won a contest, among other things. We had a blast. We eventually arrived at a park in Zephyr Heights. We laughed and joked around while we walked together. We had arrived at a gazebo and took a few selfies, and posted our photos on Facehoof. But then, my phone died just when I was gonna post my favorite photo. I felt a little down. “Aw, don’t feel bad, Ventie! You still got me!” she said.
 
I looked up at her and said, “You’re right. It doesn’t.” Then, I dropped to one knee, took out the ring, and asked her if she could be my bride.
 
With tears in her eyes, she accepted. It was wonderful.
 
The next day, we went to the Crystal Brighthouse and told the Mane Five the news. We told them that because magic had returned eight years ago and the three races were reunited, the two of us were happier than ever. We then told them that we were now engaged. They all got excited, especially Izzy. Because almost immediately, she decided it was time to throw a party. I was delighted to know we were going to get a party, but was a little concerned that we were throwing a party this early. I was about to say something when it was already too late; the first guest had already arrived. And then another. And then another. Soon enough, there were guests left and right, including Bushy and even Buckley! What else could I do but have fun?
 
We played games. We told stories. We danced. We sang. There was cheering, laughter, and joy all around us. I felt like a soldier who had just returned from war. And when it was all over, Pipp shared a toast: “These two may not be entirely special, but they’ve actually done a lot for our society, teaching us all very interesting things. Thanks to Cassie, our foals will grow up to have fresh and intelligent minds, and thanks to Alfred, our community will use what they learned to solve even the toughest problems. So, here’s to a successful future for both of them! Cheers!”
 
“Cheers!” We all shouted. It was the best day of my entire life.
 
But even so, all good things must come to an end, as the very next day would be forever shrouded in history as the first day of the Livestream Incident.  

 
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