//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Chomps & Cider // Story: The Ambassador // by NapoleontheLesser //------------------------------// The guards showed John to his room. They waited outside while he got settled in to where he would be staying for the foreseeable future. As he entered the room he immediately noticed the rather mountainous stack of luggage and equipment that had been sent through the portal ahead of him. Looking at the stack, he thought that maybe he requested too much. But it was better to be prepared, right? He grabbed his suitcase from the pile and left the rest for later. He would have time, and there was too much to see to waste the afternoon on unpacking. He grabbed his favorite outfit: navy blue cargo pants, his favorite white t-shirt, and a hat. Wearing dress uniforms was fun on occasion, but not very comfortable, and he had a few hours before his meeting with Princess Luna. After getting dressed he sat down on the bed (which was very low to the ground, considering it was made for 4ft tall ponies), and stared at the luggage. He decided leaving it in the middle of the room wouldn't do either and neatly stacked it against the wall opposite the door. John walked out of the door to see the guards still keeping watch for flies and other dangerous monstrosities. Guarding sucked, he knew. “Hey, you guys can go at ease for a moment.” The guards glanced to each other, sat on their haunches, and looked at John. “So, do you gentlemen -” the guards raised their eyebrows in confusion, “sorry, uhh... gentle-colts? Do you know what the best thing for a newcomer to do is in Canterlot?” The one on the left spoke up. “Well sir, we guards like to hang out at the Chomps & Cider, or you could visit the markets, there's usually lots of tourists there.” “Thank you. Also I would like your names, so I'm not just calling you 'guards' all the time.” “I'm Wild Haze, sir,” said the left one “and this is Silver Mane.” The right one finally spoke. “It's a pleasure.” “Spectacular! Now, mister Wild, mister Silver, lead the way to Chomps & Cider.” The two guards obliged and lead John through the city to a small bar-and-grill style establishment. He walked in and was somewhat surprised by the atmosphere of the restaurant. Unlike the sports bars back on earth, this one's interior was bright and vibrant. As he looked around, he realized that all the patrons were staring at him and his guards. He put a smile on his face and waved a friendly hand. The ponies turned back to their food and drinks, but John could hear them talking about the strange being that graced their restaurant. John and his guards walk up to the bar and greet the bartender, who has a face of pure confusion. “Good evening my dear sir!” John said. “My name is John. I just arrived to Equestria through a rainbow portal as an ambassador from Earth in another dimension. How are you?” The question was met with a blank stare and puzzled face by the bartender and chuckles from Wild and Silver. “Well then, I'll take a hot soft cider and grilled celery please, and these fine gentlecolts will have...” Silver: “Hard cider on ice.” Wild: “Sparkling water, cherry.” They waited at the counter while the bartender absently made their drinks. John decided he might as well strike up conversation with his guards. After all, if he and his guards were friendly, they would guard him even better. “So, you two must be curious about where I come from. Do you want to ask any questions?” Silver tilted his head in thought, but Wild immediately piped up. “Yes sir. Are there different types of humans?” “Well, yes, sort of. I mean, we're all pretty much the same, except for skin color. That's not even as varied as your coat colors. What about you guys? What's the difference between ponies? And please, call me John, or Ambassador at most.” “Well, Ambassador, there are three types of pony. There's pegasi, like myself, unicorns, the magic users -” he pointed over to Silver, “and earth ponies, who are the strongest.” “I see. I noticed that you both have white coats, though.” Silver spoke up. “We dye our coats white as part of the requirements for Celestia's Royal Guards.” “Ah, that makes sense.” The bartender returned with the drinks, and said that the grilled celery would be ready shortly. John was a little disappointed that there was no meat, but he wasn't surprised considering the population was made entirely of herbivores. While he sipped his cider (which was delicious; ponies did a much better job on their fruity drinks than earth, apparently), Wild continued the conversation. “Ambassador, if you don't mind me asking, why were you the one to come here to Equestria?” “Well, to be honest, I've always been somewhat of a misfit, considered strange, by my peers. And I was the first person that Princess Luna made contact with, so that also added to me being a good candidate... That, and no one else volunteered.” Wild and Silver both glanced at each other with thoughtful expressions when they heard that John was the only one willing to represent earth to equestria, but they didn't say anything about it. John got his food and dug into it, as he hadn't eaten since before arriving through the portal. After finishing up, he paid for the drinks and food from the allowance Celestia had given him and started a tab with the bartender. After all the place was nice, and he planned on visiting often, if only to help the locals get used to his existence. The guards led John back to the castle, and he relieved them of duty for the night, as he didn't think he would need guards for his meeting with Luna. Since he had about an hour before he was to meet with her, he decided to get a jump start on unpacking the supply cache of luggage in his room.