The best part of the day? Oh that was easy. It was going home with a bored but still relieved Starlight, and having the installers show up not long after. Water, precious water, and the wonders of the Internet were brought to us with smiles. We were living in modern times again!
Starlight clapped her hands softly before she turned the sink back off. "Wonderful. You don't know how much you miss it until it's gone."
Kevin was hanging up the TV in the living room carefully. "It'll be a lot less boring around here, now that we have Internet."
"How, exactly, does that work?" asked Starlight as she wandered off towards the bathroom. She returned clad in fur, with my clothes all folded up in a bundle, floating beside her.
I claimed those. "Explaining the entire Internet would be quite a task," I explained as I dropped the clothes into the hamper for later washing. The house had come with a washer and dryer, which was nice. "Suffice to say that there are a variety of... productions available there."
Kevin powered up the TV and sat on the couch with a remote. He pat the spot beside him. "I'll show you how to work it."
Starlight bounced up next to him and listened intently as he went over the buttons. Almost immediately afterwards, her magic snatched the remote and she got to browsing. "These are all productions? There are so many of them! How do you even start to choose one?"
I let them bond. I had papers to keep sifting through. I had pored over them during the day, looking for traps and twists. I had to research terms and double-check everything. Accepting a secret bid from the government was no joke! It also made this above-board. That was comforting, in a way. There was no 'secret' way to get actual clearance. If they shoved us through the proper channels to get it, then we're on the books, and not just some shadowy presence operating without the blessings of anyone else.
Of course, there was the fact that I was, literally, an agent of a foreign power... I put a hand to my head as I got back to reading over everything. I would be honest. They would turn me down if they wanted, but that wouldn't be my fault. If I was honest, then I haven't committed anything wrong.
That night, we ordered in pizza and watched some scary movies that even Starlight started seeing the humor in after we assured her none of the people on the screen were actually being hurt. We gasped, laughed, and had a good time of the whole thing. A quality evening, especially compared to the usual night back at my old house that would have me alone. I was starting to get used to having company, and I liked it.
We were all getting ready for bed when a phone call came in. "Linda? It's Mom."
Oh, lovely. "Hello, mother. I made it all safe and sound."
"Great to hear, but I wasn't worried for you. You could handle a little trip," she said confidently through the phone. "How's the new neighborhood? Is there really avacado on everything?"
Not everything... "The neighborhood's nice, so far I've seen so far. What's up, mom?"
"The old house, it's still under your name, right? We're going to need it starting next week if that's alright. I still have a spare key."
That was fast... "There's not a lot of furniture left," I warned. "And the services are cut, so you'll have to turn them back on."
"We can handle that. You'll be coming for the party, right?"
I realized I actually had a really good excuse for that. "Sorry, work has gotten really intense."
"Who's that? Do you have someone over?" She had heard Kevin speaking to Starlight. My mother gasped dramatically. "Do you have--"
"--No, mom. He's a tenant."
"Oh..." I could hear the disappointment in her voice. "Wait, are you gay?" I went red. "Now don't be ashamed if you are. I'm not like that. Is that why you ran off to California? I expect to be invited to whatever wedding you have."
I groaned inwardly. "Mother, the lady you hear is a friend, not a friend friend. They're both involved in what has me so busy at work though."
"Well bring them along if you have to, but can't you make it?"
I had too many complications in my life. "I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to do that right now. Sorry. You can use the house though."
"Thank you for that, dear, but if anything changes, you let me know."
We exchanged love yous and I hung up gratefully for it being over.
"Who was that?" asked Starlight, looking up at me. "That was a person, right?"
"My mother."
Starlight perked her ears. "You are so lucky, being able to call your family like that. If I wanted to talk to my parents, I'd have to make a day trip out of it, ride over, and see them in person."
Why didn't I feel lucky? "Do you get along well with your family?"
Starlight tensed faintly. "It's complicated..."
I quickly waved it off. "It's alright. It usually is. I get jealous of people who are just happy with theirs without any asterisks."
"Asterisk?"
"Complications."
Starlight gave a soft ah before she pointed to the closest bathroom. "It's available so you can get ready for bed. I'll see you in the morning."
I took up her offer. Oh how I had missed a hot shower. I felt the weight of the day being washed clean of my body and savored it. I emerged clean and refreshed. The house was becoming a home, and I liked it. I couldn't help but smile a little. There were a lot of things I was liking about how things were turning, even if there was a lot of other complexities.
I turned in on a nice and soft bed. Sleep quickly came for me, and I awoke in the grasp of stone. I shook free without delay. Thanks to the bell I could hear, there was no reason to do anything else.
Imagine my surprise when I could see and there was Celestia practically snout to snout with me. She even had a few flecks of abandoned stone across her front. "Good afternoon, True."
I jumped back a step. "Oh! Were you waiting for me?"
She nodded as her magic brushed the stone flakes off. "There are important matters to discuss. Let us begin, if you are ready? I do not mean to ambush you, True. It can wait if you prefer?"
It was far too late for a more sedate entry into Equestria. "Go on. What's on your mind."
She gave a wan smile. "Many things. Let us begin with your ambassador-hood."
"About that." I raised a hoof. "Twilight brought up that we should likely just keep the portal heavily restricted. She said that was possible."
Celestia nodded in agreement. "A wise suggestion, but that does not preclude offering a hoof of friendship. Are you willing to be that hoof?"
Ugh, how did that even factor into what I was already doing? "I'm not an ambassador. I'm not sure I would be any good at it. They have me lined up already to become an agent on 'their' side, helping to manage ponies that end up there."
Celestia's ears lifted. "Is that what inspired your idea of official greeters before? You are to become one, for the humans? That sounds delightful."
I hadn't thought of it like that, but... "In a way, that's exactly what they want me to be. It isn't where I got the idea, but it just worked out that way. I can't do that and be ambassador."
Celestia nodded softly. "Very well. We'll have to get another pony then. There is something you can do, with your newfound position. You can ensure that they enter the country with all due process and are shown how to begin diplomacy."
Oh... sure... "Hold that thought. I have to finish getting the position. Equestria seems to be light on paperwork, at least around you, but--"
Celestia seemed to understand before I even finished. "Officials beside myself create veritable mountains of paperwork. If you think Equestria is immune to that, allow me to correct that. Neigh, I understand this." She leaned closer suddenly, her sweet breath rolling over me. "I can be patient. I will be content knowing that you will act when possible."
I remembered the conversation I had had with Twilight before. "Celestia, is this possible?" She looked confused. "I'll grow old, and die."
She let out a slow breath, just as sweet as the first. "You will. I know not how long that will be, but you will." She gave a ghost of a smile. "But won't we all? What is the purpose of avoiding it?" She rose up to her full height. "I am asking too much of you. You occupy a fragile position, balancing between your homeland and ours. It's not fair that I complicate it with advances."
I stiffened and suddenly barked, "No!" I think we were both surprised by my outburst. "No, I mean... I'm an adult." I've said that a lot recently. "I can make my own decisions."
She reached up and set her hoof on my nose. She smelled nice. "And being an adult, you will accept mine. True Shot, find your own purpose. We will be friends, but I fear not more than that, but there is little to regret in friendship, and I welcome yours."
I suddenly knew exactly what Kevin had felt like. Celestia was taking the high road, the one neither of us really wanted to take. "You are a wonderful woman, Celestia. You deserve a man that can focus on you entirely and spend more time reminding you how lovely you are."
Celestia quirked an ear and a smile. "I presume that to be mare and stallion, but I appreciate the thought." She kissed each of my cheeks. "You are a lovely stallion, but not mine."
"Celestia." She paused in turning away. "You say you want to be friends, but we haven't been, not really. You don't know me all that well, and I know almost nothing about you. None of that is right." I walked up to her, circling back to be in front. "If we're going to be friends, let's be real friends."
Her smile was radiant, but most of her was, come to think of it. "That is about the best response to this decision I could think of. I would visit you, but I hear you already have a pony there, besides, Equestria needs me here, and we need not disturb the human nation by having a foreign noble appearing without warning. When Twilight gets the mirror portal situated, I would like you and your friend to visit me, knowing you will not suddenly be taken from me, at least not by stone. We will speak of things and learn of one another, as friends should do."