With a content sigh, I leaned back into the warm water, the only thing hindering me from completely submerging being the smooth porcelain surface of the bathtub.
"This bathtub is freakin' awesome..." I murmured, smiling faintly and slowly closing my eyes. As I lay in the water, I seemed to momentarily forget everything. The problems that plagued my mind, nor the time seemed to matter. The fact that I was bathing in a bathtub in a castle that stood in a world of multicolored ponies didn't matter. All that mattered was the beautiful radiating warmth of the water surrounding my whole body. Everything else just floated away.
But, sadly, it wasn't supposed to be for long. No sooner than the moment I opened my eyes, I was assaulted by the harsh reality. There were problems, things that plagued my mind, that I simply couldn't get off of my mind. Some of them were small, barely worth mentioning, while others were troubling me so deeply that my heart actually started racing — at least that's what I thought was the reason. It must've been that. It couldn't have been anything else.
I actually have an example for the latter kind of problem. A relatively fresh one at that.
That morning, I was gently coaxed out of the world of the dreaming by a weight on my chest. At first, I thought that it was just Scootaloo. I mean, the days she didn't have to spend the night in the orphanage, I always found her sleeping peacefully on my chest when I woke up in the mornings, even though I never actually caught her climbing up on it. But then again, Scootaloo wasn't as heavy as what I felt on my chest.
Not only was the heaviness putting me off, but it was also the fur that was touching my bare skin. It's hard to describe, but the softness that only Scootaloo's fur could match just wasn't there. Instead, it was rougher. Not unpleasantly so, it was still incredibly soft, but still not the same as her's.
And finally, there was the biggest hint that told me something wrong. I felt something nuzzling itself into the crook of my neck, almost lovingly, but I knew it couldn't be Scootaloo. Last I checked, she didn't have a rainbow mane.
I didn't allow Rainbow to catch me with my eyes open, as that would've made things even more embarrassing for the both of us. Instead, I faked a yawn, trying to give her a subtle hint that I was slowly waking up. Doing that appeared to have the exact effect I wanted it to have as Rainbow quickly but very carefully rolled down my chest, hitting the mattress beside me just when I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at her.
Needless to say, the morning was awkward after that, even though I tried my best to act normal. Aside from a brief "Good morning.", that was about all I said to Rainbow and Scootaloo before grabbing myself a change of clothes and escaping to the bathroom. I figured that that was the best time to try out the bathtub and get my mind off of what happened.
Too bad that I just couldn't.
I didn't know why Rainbow did what she did. Maybe she thought that I was comfortable, hell, maybe she loved cuddling and just didn't want to admit it. Knowing her, that very well could've been a possibility. What I knew for certain, though, was that she definitely didn't want me to know why she did what she did. And that fact alone was enough to worry me.
I sighed, splashing some warm water into my face in another desperate attempt to distract me from my thoughts, but even that didn't help any. Instead, pictures of her, of Rainbow Dash, appeared in my mind. My heart started thumping faster and faster, threatening to jump out of my chest. I can't remember having felt anything like that ever. What was wrong with me? Was it fear that I felt?
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Hey Daaaaad!" Judging by the voice, it was Scootaloo who knocked at the door. "You okay in there?"
I shook my head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"You sure? I called you like, three times already." She spoke through the door, her voice muffled from the obstacle it had to travel through, but yet not muffled enough to hide the worried tone it carried.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." I called back to her after a few seconds of silence, rubbing my temples for another silent second. "So, what'cha want?"
"Celestia was here and asked us if we would like to have breakfast with her." She paused. "I said yes. That okay with you?"
"Sure." I answered curtly. "Gimme a minute and I'll be out."
"'kay." I heard her moving away from the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Before they were able to overpower me again, though, I quickly stood up and stepped out of the bathtub, drying myself off with a towel before slipping into a new set of clothes. I walked over to the mirror, taking a moment to inspect my short beard —that I actually started to take a liking to— and then seeing that I was in a desperate need for a haircut. Maybe if I had luck, there was a barber or something like that back in Ponyville who was up for cutting my hair. There was just no way anyone was going to cut my hair in Canterlot, at least not that day.
Running a hand through my still rather wet hair, I tried to somehow look like I didn't just get out of the bathtub. I asked myself if they had hair dryers but a quick look around told me that they, unfortunately, hadn't. At least not there.
After brushing my teeth with the oversized toothbrush I bought a while back, and stealing Rainbow's hairbrush from the counter by the sink to make me look at least a little presentable, I exited the bathroom and headed for the living room. Waiting there for me were both Scootaloo and Rainbow, the latter looking a little bit too happy for my taste. It was earl in the morning, after all.
"Hey there!" Rainbow said, skipping up to me. "Huh, your hair's wet."
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Rainbow, that's what normally happens when it comes into contact with water."
She appeared to be in thought for a second, looking at my hair intently before she suddenly smirked. "Wait, I'll take care of it!"
It took me way too long to realize what exactly that smirk meant.
Before I even was able to say anything, she was already up in the air, flapping her strong wings into my direction. She generated a strong gust of warm wind, a gust that I felt slowly drying off my hair. The side effect of that was that, by the time my hair was dry, I probably looked like I just came out of a wind tunnel.
"Thanks, Rainbow..." I sighed, already turning around and heading back for the bathroom to save my hair.
"That's what you get for using my hairbrush." She giggled evilly. "And no problem."
With a shrug, I said, "Well, that just means that I have to use it again, doesn't it?"
"Hey, I don't want any of your weird human hair on my hairbrush!" She called as I walked back to the bathroom with her following closely behind. "Hey, did you hear me?!"
"Loud and clear." I answered back, stopping in front of the door to the bathroom, turning my head around to face her. I shrugged, suppressing the grin that was trying to appear on my face. "I just don't care."
Not able to hide the grin for any longer as she glared at me, I quickly gripped the handle and was about to push the door open when something soft and feathery collided with the back of my head, hard enough for it to actually sting.
I narrowed my eyes, slowly turning my head back towards Rainbow. "Oh, it is on."
****
A total of five minutes were spent chasing Rainbow through the whole time before I finally caught her and another ten minutes were spent tickling her until she couldn't breathe anymore. Fortunately for her, Scootaloo finally managed to break us apart by telling me that we still had to go to breakfast. I agreed to a temporary cease-fire with Rainbow.
But just when we were about to leave, there was a series of knocks on the door. Opening the door, I saw none other than one of the guards that escorted us to the castle the day before standing in front of me. It was the mare, Zephyr if I remembered correctly, who was ordered by Celestia to escort us to the dining room. Once again, she didn't really look too happy, and she ignored each attempt from me to start a conversation the whole time we were walking. I wasn't too sure why she was like that, but it had to be either because she didn't like us (or me), or simply because she didn't like escorting us (again, or me).
Either way, it didn't take long before we reached our destination. Strangely enough, though, our destination wasn't the dining room from the prior day. No, it was actually a big door that led into a giant hall with one giant marble table in the center of it. The walls opposite of the entrance were adorned with two big banners. One of them showed Celestia standing atop the sun, while the other showed Luna standing atop the moon. Besides that, the room looked a lot alike to the throne room, with the same pillars I saw there in nearly the same spots. The only difference was that the throne room was a lot longer than this hall.
All in all, this dining hall looked a lot like the one I imagined princesses would dine in.
At the table, I already saw all the others seated, appearing to be waiting for something. Or, more precisely for someone.
"Good morning!" Celestia suddenly greeted us, a friendly smile on her face. She looked at Zephyr, giving her a thankful nod. "Thank you, private. You are excused."
Zephyr bowed down, glancing up at me for one last time before turning around and swiftly leaving the hall, gone before I was even able to thank her myself. Not that it would've mattered.
Once the door slammed shut behind Zephyr, the three of us went over to the table and joined the others, being mindful to chose those seats that weren't too far away from each other. After each of us was finally seated and greeted all the others, the door to the dining hall suddenly burst open again. In came four unicorns, all carrying what appeared to be at least ten serving trays full of various kinds of food, plus the necessary amount of silverware and plates in their magical grasps. What amazed me the most about those four stallions was probably the fact that the whole way over to our table, they didn't dare to look anywhere else than up to the ceiling, all the while walking with a kind of coordination that must've taken weeks to get down right. None of them tripped, nor did anyone even walk out of line once. If I hadn't known better, I would've guessed that they were there to perform some sort of show for us. A really boring one, but hey, we got our food.
Once they stood close enough to our table, they floated their trays over into the center of the table, then levitated the plates and the necessary silverware in front of each one of us. With that done, they swiftly made their exit, none of them even pausing once to look at any of us — not even me.
"That was...interesting." I said, breaking the awkward silence that reigned over the table. Shaking my head clear, I then turned my head towards Celestia, giving her a questioning look. "Soo... This is the official dining hall?"
She nodded her head. "It is."
"Uh, not tryin' ta sound like Ah'm questionin' ya or anythin' like that, but why are we here, princess'?" Applejack asked the question no one really wanted to ask. "Didn't ya say that you didn't really like this hall?"
"Yes, I indeed do not like it here." She frowned a little, looking around the big, spacious hall. "It is so empty and... big. It reminds me of my work as a princess, and that is one of the last things I want to think of in the mornings."
"So, why did you chose here?" I asked, keeping the conversation going.
She shrugged. "I did not really feel like cooking when I woke up this morning."
"But princess, you could have asked me!" Rarity said, almost sounding offended.
"Or me!" Twilight added a little too enthusiastically.
Spike, who sat right beside Twilight and who went thereby unnoticed by the purple alicorn, went a little green in the face the instant Twilight offered her help at cooking. He quickly shook his head, mouthing something that looked a lot like "Don't." to Celestia.
He must've been deeply impressed by Twilight's cooking skills.
"While I appreciate your offers, I can not take you up on them." Celestia said, a grateful smile forming on her face. "It is simply not how you treat guests."
The colors returned to Spike's face and he heaved an audible sigh, drawing Twilight's attention.
"Spike? Are you okay?" She asked, looking at the purple dragon with a concerned look.
He smiled sheepishly. "I'm fine."
She looked at him for another long second while I tried to suppress the urge to rat out the little guy. That would've been just mean and even the thought of doing that made me feel bad. Besides that, from the few chances I had to talk with him, Spike seemed to be a really nice guy.
"Thing is, Twilight, Spike doesn't seem to be too impre-" My hand instantly shot out and clamped Rainbow's muzzle shut in one incredibly smooth move. I wasn't going to give Rainbow the satisfaction to get poor Spike into trouble just for some laughs.
Her head, after finding that her mouth didn't bulge, instantly shot towards me, making me release my grip on her muzzle. A small frown formed on her face. "What the heck dude?"
"You know what the heck, dude." I said with a stern look, though I still couldn't hide that little bit of satisfaction I had in my voice. I already knew that what I had was only a short-lived feeling of satisfaction, because I sure as hell wasn't going to get away with that. Knowing her, I was pretty damn sure that she'd get me back for hurting her pride in the company of her dear friends and the princess nonetheless. But, from the looks of it, I wasn't the only one that saw what Rainbow tried to do. Everyone, excluding Celestia who still wore that same smile from before on her face, was looking at her with a look of pure satisfaction on their face. Even Twilight was, and she sure as hell didn't even know why I did what I did. Another jab to Rainbow's pride.
Rainbow zero, William one.
Anyways, breakfast went by rather smoothly. Between the incredibly delicious food on our plates, conversations were rare and brief. It was only when the waiters from before started carrying away our dishes to get them washed in the kitchen that conversations spiced up again.
"So, if I may ask, what are you all going to do today?" Celestia asked as the last tray was carried off the table.
Of course, Rainbow was the first one to speak up. Go figure. "Me and the Squirt here-" She grabbed Scootaloo with one foreleg and pulled her close to her side. "-are going to visit the cloud stadium. We might get lucky and see the Wonderbolts practicing their new routine!"
You must be quite surprised that Rainbow didn't include me too, am I right? I know you are, don't deny it! The thing is, I actually declined her offer to join them. I was never the type of guy that liked to watch sports, so there was no real reason for me to join them. I probably would've only spoiled their fun if I would've joined them.
"Well, I am going to visit the opera house." Rarity spoke with a sudden spark in her eyes. "They are showing the new opera of the magnificent Lyrica Lilac."
"An opera?" Rainbow asked, one eyebrow raised in confusion as she finally let go of a very annoyed-looking Scootaloo. "I didn't know you liked those."
Rarity giggled into her hoof at that. "Oh dear no, I do not like them. I'm only there for business with Mrs. Lilac and to see a bit of Equestria's most famous opera house."
"I-" Pinkie started suddenly, an unnervingly big smile on her face, grabbing our uttermost attention. "-am going to go cannon shopping!"
She struck a pose, one hoof in the air while she somehow managed to stand on her chair on her two hind legs. Behind her, there was a small explosion of confetti.
For a minute, it was completely silent, no one daring to question the pink pony or her abilities to defy the laws of physics.
"O-kay, Pinkie Pie." I said, breaking the silence. "That's...cool. Just don't, you know...uh...buy too many, okay?"
She quickly sat back down, nodding her head feverishly. "Okie dokie!"
"Anyways...As for what I am doing today..." Twilight said, a dreaming smile starting to appear on her purple face. "I am going to visit the Library of Magic!" She threw her hoof up in excitement. "Yay!"
Rainbow leaned over Scootaloo, whispering, "Wow, what a surprise, am I right?"
I made a sound somewhere between a snort and a giggle. Unfortunately, Rainbow and Scootaloo weren't able to contain their amusement, much to the growing suspicion of Twilight.
"What?" Twilight asked, narrowing her eyes at us. "Why are you laughing?!"
"Hehe, n-nothing Twilight!" I managed to blurt out between my giggles. "G-go on. Heh."
Her eyes still narrowed at us, she continued, "I haven't been in the Library of Magic since I was a little foal. Just the memories of all the books that might lie around there, only waiting to be opened by somepony..."
"E-egghead."
"Pffff..." My cheeks puffed up, the air they contained desperately trying to find a way out and partly succeeding.
She glared at us, suceeding in shutting us up for the moment. "Of course Spike here-" She smiled down at the purple dragon sitting to her left. "-will be accompanying me."
Spike lifted his little arms up in the air, taking a big breath in. For a second, it looked like he was really excited about going to the library with Twilight, but then his face quickly fell and he exhaled audibly.
"...Yay..."
That was it. After Spike's enthusiastic little statement, there was no way on Equestria that me, Rainbow and Scootaloo could've contained our laughter. One more snort from Rainbow, and we burst out laughing.
"You three are just so...ARGH!" Twilight huffed in annoyance, puffing out her cheeks as mine, Scootaloo and Rainbow's laughter continued to echo through the spacious hall. "Stop being so foalish! This isn't even funny!"
She was right. In hindsight, nothing was funny about that. But that didn't stop us from laughing for at least one minute straight before the three of us finally calmed down. Once the three of us did eventually calm down and I wiped the last stray tear of amusement out of my eyes, Celestia decided it was time to speak up again. "Now that you three have calmed down.-" She turned her head towards Fluttershy, who, fittingly enough, shied away at the ruler's gaze. "-what will you do today, dear Fluttershy?"
"Uhm...I-I wanted to visit the royal garden and visit some of the non-hibernating animals..." She dared to come out from behind her pink, long mane a little, but just a tad. "I haven't spoken with some of them since last winter. I'm really excited to see some of them again..."
"Fluttershy, this sounds lovely!" Rarity offered, smiling at the meek pegasus.
"I agree." I said, smiling warmly at Fluttershy. "That's pretty cute."
"Hehe, thanks..."
"What about you, Applejack?"
Applejack just shrugged her shoulders. "Ah've gotta run some errands for the farm. Buy some new wooden planks because someone-" She shifts her eyes suspiciously at me, a small frown on her face. "-destroyed all the ones Ah had in stock.
I raised my hands in defense. "Hey, not my fault you only have rotten wood in your stock!"
"William, Ah bought 'em last month. They were stored in perfect conditions." She deadpanned. "You broke most of them clear in two."
"Well...!" I looked down at my hands, silently cursing them for not giving me an answer. "Then...Uh...You ponies should make sturdier wood! Yes!, that's it!"
Applejack facehoofed.
"How about you, William?" Celestia interrupted Applejack right when she was about to speak up again, effectively hindering her from rebutting. William one, Applejack zero. "What are your plans for today?"
"Yeah dude, what is it you wanted to do today anyway?" Rainbow asked from my side, a small proud smirk building up on her face. "I mean, you declined the offer to go to the second most awesome stadium in whole Equestria with the most awesome pegasus ever. What's wrong with you?"
"First off, you're right." I stated, to which she grinned in pure satisfaction. I ruffled my daughter's mane, grinning down at her. "Scoots here is indeed the most awesome pegasus ever."
Rainbow's face fell, grumbling something under her breath that didn't sound like it was nice at all. Scootaloo meanwhile was trying to fight the blush away that was forming on her face, but to no avail.
"Daaad..." She punched me lightly in the side, barely strong enough for me to even feel it.
I smiled as the others snickered a little. "Secondly, I don't know. I'm not really the kind of guy that likes to watch sports. So, I don't think that visiting a stadium would be very interesting for me. Plus, I'd only make it less awesome for you two."
"But, what are you going to do then?" Twilight asked confusedly.
"You gotta have some fun, though!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, sounding shocked. Then a light bulb lit up over her head, quite literally. And I mean that in the way that she had a freaking light bulb over her head. "Hey, wait, you can join me and help me buy cannons! That would be so much fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!"
I quickly shook my head. "Uh no, thanks, Pinkie. I think I'll pass."
She deflated a little, the light bulb disappearing again. "Awwww..."
"How about-" Celestia started, getting my immediate attention. "-we do something together?"
"Wait, as in...you-" I pointed a finger at her shortly before slowly pointing at me. "-and me?"
"Yes, that is indeed what I said." She smiled, nodding her head once.
"I mean, not trying to sound rude or anything, but don't you have anything else to do? Like, ruling a country?"
She waved her hoof at me nonchalantly. "Even a princess can have some free time once in a while. I am sure that my little ponies will understand that. Besides, if they have any concerns, they are free to come back later tonight when Luna is awake."
"If you insist..." I scratched the back of my head, taking a moment to think everything through. I still wasn't too sure if it was a good idea to accept her offer since she did have more important things to do, but if she really wanted to spend some time with me... Who was I to deny the request of a princess? "Eh, alright, why not?"
"Splendid!" She said, clasping her hooves together in a sign of content. She suddenly stood up, rising to her full height, giving us a sorry look. "I am terribly sorry, but I have to go. I have to make some arrangements for later." She then looked back at me, her smile coming back a little. "How about we meet in the throne room in about fifteen minutes?"
"Sure, seems good." I ran a hand through my still dishelved hair, giving her a nod. "I gotta make myself somehow look, well, not like I just woke up, anyways."
"Alright." Celestia declared, looking around the table. "Hopefully you all are going to have a fun day. Of course, you are all invited to join me and my sister for dinner tonight." She lifted her hoof one last time, waving the others a goodbye as she lit up her horn. "See you tonight, hopefully."
And with that and a blinding golden light, she teleported herself out of the room, leaving behind the rest of us.
****
We didn't stay for too long after Celestia was gone since everyone had to prepare something in some way or another. Rainbow and Scootaloo, for their part, were quick to leave again after we arrived in our quarters, grabbing nothing more than a bag of bits with them. Upon me asking why they needed so many bits, Rainbow answered,
"To buy merchandise, duh!"
Yeah, I was no expert on how Equestrian pricing worked, but taking around four hundred bits with her seemed to be a little...too much, if you ask me. But, what did I know?
So, the two of them left, leaving me behind to prepare for whatever Celestia had planned out for us today. After brushing my hair thoroughly so that I wouldn't look like some homeless person while walking with the princess of Equestria, I grabbed some bits out of my own bag, stuffed them into my pant's pocket and made myself on the way to the throne room. And, contrary to what you may believe, I didn't even get lost on the way to the throne room!
Well, mainly because I asked a guard where I had to go to get to the throne room, and he was kind enough to escort me there. But that's beside the point!
I thanked the guard as he opened the door for me, quickly entering the big throne room and then walking over to the center of said room. It appeared that I was a little too early, as Celestia wasn't there yet. Fortunately, I only had to wait for about half a minute before Celestia also arrived, though her method was a little bit more flashy than mine.
"Hey." I said, taking a second to look her over. To my confusion, she was wearing her admittedly beautiful regal attire, even with the golden tiara atop her head. I honestly thought that she wouldn't need it because it wasn't like we were going to a political meeting or anything like. "Uh, why the attire?"
For a second, she looked confused. With one eyebrow raised, she looked down at her chest, where the golden chestplate covered part of her pristine white fur. "Oh, that?" She asked with a pointed look. "I did not even notice that I put it on. Muscle memory must be starting to get to me."
"Yeah, I know what you're talking about." I said with a knowing nod. "I check my pockets for my wallet and mobile phone every morning, even though I know that I left both of them back on earth."
"I know what a wallet is..." Celestia said, quickly giving me a questioning look. "What is a mobile phone, though?"
"Uhm..." I tapped my chin with my fingers, trying to think of a way to explain the concept of a phone, technology that seemed to be light years ahead of theirs, to her. "You guys don't have telephones, do you?"
She shook her head after a short moment of thinking. "No, I am afraid not."
"Well, then... A phone is basically a smaller, more compact and, in many ways, more useful version of a telephone." I began explaining. "A telephone lets you communicate with people from different places. You could talk to a person across the globe without as much as one second of delay." I stopped for a moment, Celestia appearing to be deeply interested in what I had to say. "A mobile phone is smaller, around the size of my hand-" I showed her my hand to give her a rough picture of how big. "-, lighter, has more functions, etcetera etcetera. You can play games on these things, hear music, surf the internet, watch movies... The list could go on for days."
Despite her apparent confusion, Celestia continued on. "So, the mobile phone is a newer telephone, correct?"
After a moment of thinking her statement through, I nodded my head. "Yes, basically."
"Fascinating..." She muttered, appearing to be deep in thought. Not for long, though, as she quickly brightened up again, shaking her head once to get her mind off of what I had told her. "You simply have to tell me more about your kind's technology later."
"Can do." I answered with a smile and a nod.
"For now, we should probably head out." She said with a small smile, turning around and motioning for me to follow her. I saw her clapping her hooves together in excitement. "Come on, William. We are going shopping!"
"I-I...uhm...do we have to?" I asked her reluctantly, still standing on the same spot as before, not daring to move forward. The prospect of going outside, out there, where those not-so-friendly noble ponies were, wasn't a really exciting one to me. But, I would've been lying if I said that it came unexpectedly. I actually did expect it, but I still hoped that she might think of something different to do in the castle. Maybe have some conversations, show me around, or something like that.
She stopped midstep and turned back around, giving me a questioning look. "Why, what is wrong with going outside? It is quite beautiful today and I think some fresh air could do us both some good. Or do you not enjoy shopping?"
"It's...it's not that..." I muttered, hesitating to tell her the truth. Why I hesitated, I don't know. Maybe because of the feeling I had somewhere back in my head that if I were to tell her the truth, I'd ruin something.
"And what is it then?" She inquired with one eyebrow raised.
"Some ponies in this city just don't take too kindly to me."
She looked at me for a few long, awkwardly silent seconds, then suddenly hid a giggle behind one hoof.
I raised an eyebrow in agitated confusion, getting a little annoyed that she would laugh about something like this. "What's so funny?"
"Sorry, I was not laughing at you." She quickly said with a look of sincerity on her face, stepping a little bit closer to me. "Let me guess, mainly the nobles reacted so...strongly towards you, right?" I nodded my head at her question, interested in what she had to tell me. "It is just that you are not the only one having to deal with those problems. I can assure you that some nobles in this city do not take too kindly to any other species. Some of them even react to their own species like that."
"Or, well, to me and Luna." She finished sadly, her head dropping a little.
"What?! To the both of you?" I asked, surprised that someone would even think about reacting to their ruler like some did in the city to me. I mean, no one in their right mind would do something like that, not even me — and she isn't even my ruler. There was just something motherly about Celestia that told me that she would care for everyone she loves, including her subjects. Maybe I was wrong in that assumption, hell, I probably was, but it just seemed like that to me. The smile she always wore, the way she looked out for me and my friends...
For some reason, seeing Celestia like this, sad that some of her subjects weren't willing to give her the love back she gave them every day, made me feel a little down too.
"Yes, indeed." She answered somberly. "Some of them think that I and Luna simply aren't capable of ruling a country."
I shook my head in bewilderment. "That's just... That's just dumb." My face softened into a small, gentle smile - or at least what I tried to be gentle. "From what I've gathered so far, you two are probably the most capable rulers I've ever seen. I don't think that anyone back in my dimension could measure up to you two. Actually, I'm perfectly sure."
Was that... Was that a hint of red I just saw on her cheeks?
"You don't speak down to us like you were some kind of god, even though you technically are." I said, taking a split second to think over my words. She technically was a god, wasn't she? I mean, she could probably kill off all life on this planet by just pulling the sun a little closer to it. Scary thought, to be honest. I mentally shook my head in order to continue. "You don't treat the girls like they are your subject, you treat them like they are your friends. Hell, I'm an alien from another dimension that you've only known for a few weeks now and you don't treat me any different than you treat the girls."
"So, yeah, you actually are the most capable, most loving ruler I've ever had the pleasure of meeting." I finished with a small smile, nodding my head as if to confirm how sure I was about what I said.
"That's...quite flattering, William. Thank you." There it was! I did it! The blush that adorned her cheeks was a bright red, fitting her elegant white fur quite well. I got a princess to blush! Not everyone can claim something like that! "So, shall we go now? I am quite sure that no one will bother you as long as we stay together."
"I got to ask, though..." Celestia started, pausing a second to make sure she got my full attention. "How many rulers have you met?"
"None." I shrugged my shoulders. "Does it matter, though? What I said was still true."
She giggled, shaking her head at me, although I still managed to spot that faint smile of her's. "Not, it does not matter."
****
It came to no surprise to me that once we were out on the streets, all eyes were on us. An alien accompanied by one of the princesses of Equestria sure was going to raise some kind of attention. But, there was one thing that was completely different than the day before where I walked with the girls through Canterlot.
Ponies didn't even dare to say anything against me, at least not openly.
So, all in all, it was a pretty pleasant morning. Well, besides for the cold and all the snow, of course. I wasn't too fond of the winter if you didn't know that already.
Anyways.
Something that really surprised me was that shopping jewelry, of all things, with one of the rulers of Equestria was surprisingly fun. I have to admit that the first time we walked into a store, and she asked me to help her decide which pieces she should buy, it was kinda...awkward. The kind of awkward when you go shopping with someone you, well, don't really know well. I didn't really know if it was smart to make jokes here and there, or what she really liked and what she didn't when it came to jewelry. But, that bettered. We really warmed up to each other, and really quickly at that. If I have to take a guess, I'd say it was around the time when she started joking about her own weight, and I kinda rolled with it.
Celestia and I had been out shopping, mainly jewelry but also some other things like dresses and accessories, for quite some time, maybe four hours or so, before we finally decided to do something different. After some reasoning with her, I managed to convince her that it was high time to get some lunch. It was nearing twelve o'clock, after all. Maybe a little early for lunch, but I was hungry, and hungry me couldn't have cared less.
On our search to find the perfect little café (or fast food restaurant, I honestly didn't care), we conversed about this and that, but mainly about from where I came from. About my old home's technology, whereas she told me about the Equestrian equivalents. Turns out that they didn't have that much in the points of technology, much less anything electronic. They're pretty much a medieval race, with some exceptions here and there, like the camera, but even that was powered by magic.
But, exchanging words about technology with one of the princesses of Equestria was really fun, surprisingly enough. I thought that it would be a lot more, I don't know, strict than it already was with Twilight, but Celestia turned out to be a really fun and chilled character.
"You know, I gotta ask-" I started, looking at my princess-y companion to the side. "-where do you keep pulling out the bits for all of that jewelry?" I pointed down at the little bag I was carrying, a bag that was full of all kind of jewelry. From simple gold chains, over to expensive diamond rings - why ponies needed rings was beyond me.
Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks, right in the middle of the bustling market street. The only reason why I even realized that was because everyone made a big arch around us, as if not to come too close to the weird alien and the princess.
"...It's not from where I think it is, is it?" I asked with a nervous giggle, coming to a stop a few feet in front of her.
I looked at her from over my shoulder, right in time to catch her wink at me. "From where do you think I pull them out?"
"O-kay." I said unsurely, keeping cautious eye contact with her. "Now you're just making it weird."
With a little giggle into her hoof, Celestia motioned for me to come closer with one hoof, and then pointed at her right wing. As she unfurled it, I saw that she hid a small bag of bits behind it. How she even held it there was beyond me.
I laughed once before I realized that there was still a small little flaw. "I'm pretty sure you can't even fit remotely as many bits in as you have already spent."
"Oh, ha-ha." Lighting up her horn, she opened it up and showed me the inside. It was completely empty, well, besides for the small portal-like bottom. At least that's what I thought it was. It was spinning and golden-glowing, alright. "See that?" She pointed a look down to the pseudo portal, which turned out to be quite real just a second later as a golden coin popped out of it.
"Ah, that actually makes sense."
"I have not spent that much...right?" She asked insecurely, biting her lip.
"Nah, you're good." I jiggled the bag in my left hand, feeling it's heaviness throwing me off balance a little. How the plastic bag managed to survive the weight was another thing I couldn't explain to myself. Probably some kind of magic. "Uh, I think."
"I can still carry that bag, Will." She said as we resumed walking. "I have magic, you do not."
"And I got this here." I said, pointing a finger at the arm that was busy carrying the bag. "Besides, how do you plan on shopping with this bag constantly annoying you?"
"Fair point."
"That was a joke."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Sooo..." She started after a few seconds of awkward silence. "What do you think of Equestria so far?"
"Well, it's better than Earth, that much is sure." I laughed dryly. "At least you ponies are not constantly trying to kill each other."
"There has not been a real conflict since over a thousand years if you do not count the Changeling invasion and Discord. So yes, we are indeed trying our best." Celestia stated with a hint of proudness in her voice. "When did your race fight the last war?"
"When? It's probably still going." I said somberly, making Celestia actually stop dead in her tracks. "Yeah, we humans have a pretty interesting way of living. I can assure you that there was not one single century back on earth where there hasn't been a war where at least a few hundred thousand have lost their lives."
"A few hundred thousand? You say it like that is nothing..." Celestia stated, audibly shocked as she resumed walking. "I know from Twilight that your species is incredibly high developed in the field of technology and that there are over seven billion of you... But she left that part out."
"Yeah, which was probably for the better." I said with a slow, calculated nod. "You don't really want to hear more, believe me. It would probably only make me look worse."
"Will, I do not think that there is any way you can change my opinion of you with something others of your species are doing." Celestia said with a genuine smile to me. "You have proven to be one of the most fun and charming beings I have met in a very, very long time. So, do not worry."
"Jeez, that's really sweet of you to say." I said with, if you looked really closely and squinted your eyes, could've maybe looked a little like a blush. Just maybe. I rubbed the back of my head. "But still, let's better change the topic. I don't really like to talk about mass murder. Ask me something else."
"Yes, let us better." She hummed in thought, glancing at my chest for a short second. "What I wanted to ask you since the day I met you was why you cover yourself with clothing? It is kind of..., excuse me, weird."
"Eh, we humans don't really do naked like you ponies do." I shrugged. "Clothes help us keep us warm since we don't have any fur and all that. They also protect our really sensitive skin. Plus, it's kinda a social thing. You just don't go around waving your junk at other people."
"At least most people don't do that." I added after a second of thought. "There are some...uh, weird exceptions."
Fuckin' weird nudists.
"So, you wear clothes to mainly protect yourself from nature and hide your anatomy" She noted, but suddenly blushed. If she was anything like Twilight, I already had a hint on what was coming next. "So, your people don't have a sh-"
"Celestia, no." I cut her off firmly. If I would've let her end her sentence, we sure would've gotten more attention than we were already getting. One of the last things I wanted to have was attention. "No anatomy lessons. No comparing me to a stallion. None of that. We don't talk about that."
Alright, I may have said that a little bit too loud. I was able to feel the gaze of at least half the street on the back of my head. Maybe, I hoped, the reason actually was because I was me and not because they heard what I said.
"Fair enough." She huffed, blush growing warmer before she finally got it under control. "Anyways, Twilight told me that your species if normally unable to conjure any kind of magic. That is true, right?"
"Yep."
"And that there is no form of magic on your world?"
"That's right."
"What I am wondering myself now is, how was your species able to develop to such a high-advanced one?" Celestia questioned with a slight tilt of her head. "No offense, but you do not really look that strong."
I raised an eyebrow. "Did you just call me weak?"
"I did not!" She quickly said, trying to defuse the situation as quickly as possible. "I was merely asking-"
"Celestia, jeez." I said with a chuckle. "I was just messing with you."
She furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance.
"As for how we did it...I can't exactly tell you, to be honest." I shrugged. "My best guess is that, aside from the fact that we humans can really adapt well, there was probably a lot of luck involved. I mean, you wanna know how we humans discovered fire? How we learned that we could cook our food with it?"
"How?"
"Through a lightning storm that set afire some trees." I said with a small chuckle, right when we were rounding a corner. "Like I said, sheer luck that we got this far."
"While we are talking about food..." She said, suddenly stopping before pointing at something to our left. Following her hoof with my eyes, I saw that we pretty much stood in front of a rather small, pretty modern-looking café. After looking at the sign above the café, I frowned.
"StarBUCKS...?" I asked with a small waver in my voice, followed by a groan. They even wrote 'bucks' in bold letters. "Are you fucking serious?"
"Is something wrong with it, Will?" Celestia tilted her head at me, rather cutely I might add. "This is one of my favourite cafés in Canterlot."
"Ignoring the fact that we have a coffeehouse chain with the same name back on Earth..." I gestured at the sign with both of my hands. "They made their café a freakin' pun!"
"A pun in which-" Realization dawned on her face. "Oh... I see." She quickly shook her head, gathering her thoughts. "That does not matter, though. This establishment, I can assure you, is quite good."
She headed for the door leading into the pun, motioning for me to follow her over her back once she stood in front of it. After a few short seconds of hesitation, contemplating life as the bad pun-name still made my brain melt a little, I swiftly followed her into that hell-hole of a café. It was a hard decision, but I was rather going in there than standing alone outside on the streets, without the protection of a princess. I sure didn't want to get lynched that day.