Canterlot Apartments.

[Plush Ramen]

Once used by ponies not wishing to stay in the main city, this apartment building has seen better days as its abandoned structure stays crumbing and broken. 

[Astral Midnight]

[Enter: Astral Midnight from Exit Path]

Cautiously poking his head through the door, Astral looks inside of the apartment building. No apparent residents, other than a few bugs here and there. I shouldn't set up so close to the door. Who knows what kind of trouble I could get in if I'm caught, Astral thinks to himself.

Making his way towards the back of the building, Astral notices what looks like a small office. Glancing around quickly, he raises the hood of his cloak, and proceeds to check for anything valuable within the office. After finding nothing of use, he removes his hood. Wasting my time. I've got enough to make until I manage to get more supplies, hopefully.

Having reached a suitable position, not too far back, not too far forward, Astral throws down his bag. When he opens it, he is greeted by the scarce amount of food that he managed to gather from his old camp before he left. Trying not to think of his friends, Astral begins to explore the building, in hopes of finding anything of value, whether it is a book explaining recent events, some bits, or some food that hasn't yet gone bad.

[Citizens In Equestria]

Wandering through the rooms of the apartment with small knocks signalling her arrival, an employee of this facility had been around for a routine check up. Making sure there weren't dead bodies nor criminal activity going on in her building, the tall earth pony truly cared for the lives of others. Finishing up some touches and offering a basket of bread to each room, the peach colored mare with a short yet pulled into a ponytail soft green mane had caught a glimpse of something else.

Noticing the strange dark stallion lurking the halls and rooms with a distant gaze, Peach Gardens had cleared her throat with a distinct vocal cord to signal his attention. Not wanting to scare the creature, her posture had not been stern, yet overly concerned perhaps as she pondered more on his intentions.

"Excuse me sir? May I assist you today? I am the land lord in this building. What room do you live in?"

[Astral Midnight]

Startled by the sudden presence of this tall mare, Astral instinctively reaches for his hood. Assessing this new pony, he deems her non-threatening, for now. He stands up a bit taller, and begins to speak, "I -uh, I'm good, thanks," nervously smiling towards the mare.

"I'm not actually living here, you see? I was just on my way into the city when I needed a place to stay. I figured I'd just stay in here for a while, and see what all I can figure out," he manages to get out without hesitating too much. Astral was never much of a talker, but he knew how to get out of hairy situations with his words, which saved him from getting kicked out of Canterlot many a time.

"Where are my manners? I'm Astral Midnight, but you can just call me Astral. I've away from society for a few years now, so please excuse me for any rudeness or questions I may have." Inspecting the mare even more, Astral notices the bread baskets that she has. "You wouldn't mind if I got one of those baskets, would you?" he asks nervously. He was running a bit short on food, and that bread sounds much better than what he has in his bag back at the makeshift camp. I wonder if she's found that. He thinks to himself, hoping she doesn't have some form of telepathy or something.

[Citizens In Equestria]

Smiling in a warm manner to the obviously exhausted dark colored pegasus, Peach Gardens could only offer a nod and a gesture for him to take one. Offering Astral the basket, in her mind, the earth mare was doing the right thing. He needed food and slumber, not a strick land lord to kick him out on the streets.

"It is very nice to meet you Astral, my name is Peach Gardens. Please feel free to contact me if you are having any trouble feeling at home here. I apologize for the mess lately, it seems its incredibly difficult to find a good clean up crew after each and every creature coming and going around here. So I appreciate your patience and understanding on the matter. In your room you'll find a small fridge with water, please take what you need."

Happy to help in the rough times of the post war, Peach assured herself that not every creature was a threat to her or her building. Hoping to gain more loyal ponies by keeping up her customer service numbers, the light colored mare would rather spend the money today for a better future tomorrow.

[Astral Midnight]

Going to be using a slightly different writing style for this post, trying to figure out what works best for me.

Cautiously taking one of the baskets, Astral thanked her. It had been quite some time since he had talked to anypony as nice as this mare. Peach Gardens, that's a very nice name. "I'm only going to stay here for a little while. I'm going to try and head into the city in the morning." Astral turned to walk away, but then quickly turned back around and asked, "While you're here, could you by any chance fill me in on recent events? I've been gone for a while, as I mentioned earlier. If not, that's fine. Even if you can point me in the right direction to find some information, that would be greatly appreciated."

Astral really had no clue as to what had happened in the past few years, but he was sure it couldn't be all that good. All he really wanted was sleep, that was for sure. Astral waited for her reply. Any information is good information.

[Citizens In Equestria]

Shifting her hooves and not sure where to start, the peach colored mare offered a small smile to her words. Hoping he knew all about the war, the after effects of such winds were bound to create some stragglers from land to land. From the brutal beatings to the slavery in the Crystal Empire, Peach Gardens had felt.. actually relieved to be on this side of the war. She did not have to run, nor did she need chains, for the Queen.. was actually trying. Hating to think those words might just be true, buildings were being built, and homes were being given to the homeless, so what did they have to complain about now?

"Forgive me for drifting off. The Queen of the Changelings rules this land. Queen Nightmare Moon rules along side her.. but Im afraid she is hardly heard from. Perhaps they discuss things before telling us? This land is slowly being rebuilt thanks to the Queen of the changelings. I mean.. I cant say I dont miss.. how it.. used to be. But we re getting treated fairly well for post war citizens. The Crystal Empire though, I would never go there."

[Astral Midnight]

Astral smiled in return. "I see. Well, thank you. I'll be on my way now." Though the information Peach Gardens had given him was a start, it only left more questions, and he no longer felt like interrogating her. All that Astral wanted was a good night's rest. Everything will come together eventually, maybe even tomorrow.
Astral headed towards where he had set his stuff down. Maybe that's what we saw, when we tried to come back. It makes sense now that I think about it. I need to know more. Astral was deep in thought when his stomach interrupted him. Upon reaching his equipment, Astral sat down to eat. Finishing the scraps he had, he remembered the water the mare had told him about. Astral rose and checked the fridge, grabbed the water, and sat back down. Noticing the sun starting to go down, Astral prepared a bed area for himself. He laid down and silenced his mind, quickly falling asleep.

[Early the next morning]

As he opened his eyes, Astral noticed the sun starting to rise from the east, or so he hoped it still rose from there. As he stood up, his mind suddenly sprang to life. All sorts of thoughts about everything flooded his brain. After the rush had left, Astral gathered his belongings, and headed into town.

[Exit: Astral Midnight to Main Street in Canterlot]