//------------------------------// // Canterlot // Story: A Doorway to Another Place // by Java Joe //------------------------------// "Rick, wake up, " Twilight nudged him slightly but he just grunted a bit and rolled over. "C'mon buster, wake up. We need to get ready to go to Canterlot. The train leaves in an hour." She nudged him a little more, then standing up on the bed, leaned over his face and started blowing in his ear. After a moment or two of trying to escape whatever it was that was happening he opened his eyes to see a slightly miffed Twilight looking down on him. "Mornin you. Wassup?" he said sleepily. "I can tell you what's not up. Now hurry up and get ready, we need to leave soon. I've been ready for 30 minutes so far. The train is leaving in less than an hour now and I know you get cranky if you haven't had your morning cup of coffee. Now move!" "Yes dear, " he mumbled as he got up and stumbled to the coffee maker. He made a cup for Twilight and when she asked if he wasn't going to make one for himself he simply said, "I'll get it on the flipside when we leave." He kissed her goodbye, then crawled through the window so that he could take a shower. 15 minutes later, looking as presentable as he could given the time frame, he came back to his bedroom, made a coffee and poured it into the travel mug that he hardly ever used anymore. Picking up his things he marched into the library where Twilight was starting to get impatient. "There you are! Okay, we need to get to the station to catch the train but we might be late because of you." "Babe, stop worrying. The train isn't leaving until 9, it's only 25 after 8 and it takes maybe 15 minutes to walk there from here and that's at a slow pace. So don't worry. We'll get there on time. So we'll go, stop off at Sugarcube Corners and get some muffins or something to go and enjoy them on the train. Deal?" Twilight wasn't convinced. Everything in her life was bound by rules, timetables and to-do lists. Everything in her coltfriend's life was bound by... well... nothing unless you wanted to count caffeine. His laisser faire attitude about just about everything was almost enough to drive her crazy sometimes. Not because it didn't work because for him it worked spectacularly well but because she simply had a problem when people didn't stick to the carefully drawn out plans and timetables that she created. It was 8:50 when they got to the train station, muffins and cupcakes in hand and that was more than enough time to get on the train, find their seats and dig into the baked goods before the train left. Twilight was grateful that at no time Rick said, "I told you so". It wasn't a long trip to Canterlot, but it was boring enough for Rick to fall asleep with Twilight snoozing in the crook of his arm. They awoke to the sound of the conductor calling out their arrival in Canterlot. They gathered their things, grabbed their bags and made their way to the exit only to be greeted by the royal guard when they stepped off the train. Twilight dropped everything and rushed forward to see a white unicorn dressed in military regalia. She nuzzled at him and he nuzzled her back before she just threw her hooves around his neck and laughed happily. Rick, feeling a little left out, stood back a little ways, not wanting to intrude on what was obviously a touching family moment. Twilight glanced up at him and motioned him forward. He approached the unicorn with more than just a little trepidation. This was not only Twilight's big brother, but the captain of the guard and a prince in his own right. Shining Armor looked at the human coming towards him with a mixture of suspicion and something else Rick couldn't figure out. When he was about two steps away, he raised his hand in greeting unsure how to greet Twilight's brother and whether or not he should hoofbump him, shake his hoof, bow or just wave in a non-threatening manner. He chose to wave and simply said, "hi there, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Shining Armor just stared at him, almost as if he didn't know how to deal with a talking monkey. Twilight noticed this as well and was about to say something when her brother smiled in a friendly manner and said, "welcome to Canterlot. I've heard a lot about you but I wasn't quite sure what to expect." "Hope I haven't disappointed you." "No, not at all. You've made Twilly very happy and the Princess approves of you so you must be a decent fellow. Come, I will show you to your rooms." "Wait a minute, " Twilight said. "Did you say 'rooms' as in more than one? You don't have to protect me from him, we sleep together all the time and I don't see why we can't do that here." Shining Armor simply smiled a bit and said, "trust me on this little sister. Wait till you see them." He led them through the castle until they got to the residential wing. The guards stationed at each hallway, snapped to attention each time Shining Armor passed. Rick did notice with some trepidation that there were a lot of guards here. More than he would have expected. Maybe it had something to do with the Princess and her baby or maybe it was something more. He wanted to point this out to Twilight but she was too caught up in trotting after her BBBFF as he led them through the hallways. Finally, he arrived before a set of doors which had more guards posted outside. They snapped to attention like all the others before them and with a wave of Shining Armor's horn, the doors opened. It was a luxurious room to be sure. Complete with pony sized everything which made Rick feel a little out of place. The balcony overlooked the Royal gardens, there were fresh flowers all over the room, plush, comfy looking chairs for relaxing or reading, a bookshelf, table with chairs but it was missing a bed. They were led to one end of the room where there was a doorway. Opening it revealed a bedroom done in light, pastel colours and a pony sized bed. "This is your room Twilight. And over there, " he said pointing at the door on the other end of the room and opening it with his magic, "is your coltfriend's room. Why don't you get unpacked while I show your friend his room." Shining Armor led Rick to his room which was done in a more masculine way. He was pleased to see that the bed was a lot larger and it was big enough not only to hold himself but Twilight as well. The unicorn looked at the human and said, "I'm not going to tell you how to act around Twilly. She's a grown mare and capable of making her own decisions. What I will do is say if you harm her in any way or make her feel like less of a mare, I will defend her. I know our parents would prefer if you slept in different beds but I won't enforce that. Just remember though that I'm watching you and I can make you disappear quite easily. Do we understand each other?" "Perfectly. But you don't have to worry about me. I'd rather die than hurt your sister. She means the world to me." Shining Armor looked him in the eye for a moment, nodded gravely and walked out. Rick sighed in relief as the captain of the guard left the room and more importantly left them alone. He walked into the sitting room just as Twilight came out of hers. She raced towards him and practically threw herself into his arms. "Isn't this great?!" she cried as she hugged him tight. "Yeah, it's one hell of a room. Gotta admit, I've never stayed in a real castle before, " they continued the embrace for a bit longer when Rick decided to speak up. "So what's with your brother? He's a little... protective of you." "Why, what did he say?" "It's nothing important. Only that I need to treat you with the respect you deserve and not to embarrass you or anything, " Rick left out the part about being made to disappear. "He's my BBBFF and he's just trying to look out for his little sister. Don't worry. I'm sure he'll accept you." Anything else Twilight was going to say was cut off as there was a knock on the door and Princess Cadance walked in. "Cadance!" Twilight squealed and ran over to see her former foal sitter. They did their childhood greeting then gave each other a big hug. "I'm so happy to see you Cadance and it's so great you're having a foal! Oh, you're going to be a great mother!" "Thank you Twilight, it's good to see you as well. But I understand you brought a special friend as your guest? I'd like to meet him if I could." "Of course Cadance, " Twilight looked over to where Rick was standing, he looked a little nervous. This was not only one of Twilight's oldest friends, but the wife of the unicorn that threatened him as well. But Cadance simply smiled, as Twilight led her over to her coltfriend. "Cadance, I'd like to introduce you to my coltfriend, Rick. Rick, this is my very dear friend Princess Cadance." "Uhm, hi." Rick said a little nervously. Cadance, cocked her head to the side but gave a gentle smile at Rick's clumsy greeting. "Hi yourself Rick. This is how we say hello in Canterlot." She reared up slightly, then gave him a hug. Shocked, and a little unsure how to continue as he had never before been hugged by an actual Princess Rick did nothing for a moment before deciding it was rude not to reciprocate and gently hugged her back. "There we go, " she said before dropping her front hooves back to the ground. "Rick, I'd like to welcome you to Canterlot and hope that your stay here with us is a happy one." "Thank you... uhm, sorry what's the proper term to refer to a Princess... I'm not quite up on my heraldry and I don't want to accidentally offend..." "My name is Cadance. I'd like you to call me that." "In that case, thank you Cadance. I appreciate it." "Cadance? Do you know if the Princess is available? I'd really like to see her too, " Twilight asked. "I believe she's in session right now, affairs of state and last minute plans for the ball tonight. She asked that I deliver her condolences for not greeting you but she will see you both later. Now I must go as well. Please feel free to visit the castle grounds and we'll see you later tonight, " with those words Cadance left the two of them alone. "So what do you want to do now?" "I don't know. I've never been to Canterlot before and I wouldn't mind seeing the sights unless you think that I'd cause too much of a scene or something?" Rick thought for a moment before coming up with what he thought would be the perfect place to visit. The library at Canterlot. After all if it wasn't for Twi wanting to create a doorway to the library they would never have met. He mentioned this to her and she agreed whole heartedly. The library, to put it bluntly, was bucking huge. It reminded Rick of one of those libraries you see in movies where the shelves just go on, and on and you literally can't see the other end because that's how it looked. Row upon row, shelves upon shelves just crammed with books. He breathed in deeply and sighed. There's just a certain smell that old libraries have that made him feel calm. Looking at Twi she too had a dreamy look on her face. And while he wanted to see more of Canterlot, he knew his fillyfriend wanted to spend some time here. "Okay, 30 minutes to look around and see what they have. No studying but you can borrow some books for later. You still need to take me around Canterlot remember?" Twilight just nodded and trotted happily into the library, eager to see what was new and interesting. Rick followed in her steps smiling at seeing her so happy. It had taken most of the morning but Trixie had finally managed to track down Rainbow Dash. The cerulean pegasus was notorious for taking naps when there was work to be done but with her speed, she always managed to complete her duties on time. Right now she was snoozing on a cloud which was drifting slowly over Sweet Apple Acres. A nimbus of pink light surrounded the cloud which promptly vanished, the pegasus fell but managed to save herself before hitting the ground. "You!" she shouted as she flew straight for Trixie intending to pound her into the dirt. A nimbus of pink magic now surrounded Rainbow Dash, slowing her down and bringing closer to Trixie but keeping her out of striking distance. "Lemme go!" Rainbow Dash cried as she struggled within the bubble of magical energy. "I'm not here to fight you Dash. I'm here to talk and I need your help. Give me 5 minutes, if you don't like what I'm saying then I'll leave and never bother you again." "Why should I trust you after what you did to Twilight last time? You used her for your own reasons then threw her away like yesterday's garbage!" "Yes, I deserve that, " Trixie said with shame that she didn't feel in the least. "But I'm here because of you and you need to hear what I have to say. Listen to me for 5 minutes, if you don't like what I say then I'll leave and won't bother you again. Do we have a deal?" Rainbow Dash looked at her disapprovingly but nodded. It couldn't hurt to hear what she had to say and if she felt like it after she could still pound Trixie into the dirt. "It's that human that Twilight Sparkle is with. He's not right for her, he's not right for Equestria and the longer Twilight stays with him the worse off we'll all be." "What do you mean? He's great to Twilight. She loves him and... and he... loves... her..., " Rainbow Dash stumbled over the words, feeling the pain that only unrequited love can cause. Trixie smiled inwardly as this was the reaction she was hoping for. All it would take is a little pushing and prodding to get Rainbow Dash to turn on the human and it would destroy Twilight in the process. Her revenge against her former fillyfriend would be complete. Putting on a sympathetic face she placed her hoof around Rainbow Dash's shoulder and gave her a hug. "This is why only you out of all the ponies here in Ponyville understand. And what about Twilight? She's been spending all her free time with him. When was the last time the two of you spent any time together just having fun? No, it's that human's fault and I've got just the right plan to get rid of him." She led Rainbow Dash down the road as she explained the details of her plan and what Rainbow Dash needed to do. "That was great! " Twilight sighed as they walked out of the library. I wish I could spend all day there. Looking at Rick she quickly added, "but that wouldn't be fair. We still need to see more of the city." "Don't worry about it, we've got some time before this evening. If you really want to go back I could always poke around Canterlot myself." Rick did think however that maybe there was a way he could add to Twi's information. It would take a little work but a magical doorway could effectively be replaced with a magical window. He'd have to check up on a few things once they got back. Twilight thought about this for a moment and almost headed back to the library but she really wanted to show him around. She shook her head and simply said, "the library can wait. You can't." He reached down and felt her forehead, then took one of her hooves and glanced at his watch. She looked at him strangely wondering what he was doing. "Sorry, just checking your temperature and pulse. I wanted to make sure you weren't sick or anything, " he replied with a smirk. She nudged him in the ribs and said, "c'mon funny-man. We've got a city to see." Canterlot, was to put it mildly, impressive. Twilight led Rick through the streets and to the credit of the residents they hardly blinked. Of course these were jaded city folk that had seen it all and even if they hadn't seen the likes of him before they'd simply act like that did. It just wouldn't be seemly to goggle at somepony and some... thing walking down the street. Lunch was the next thing on their agenda. They managed to find a place where Rick could eat but it took some time to get his order right. It's not hard to mess up a salad, but the inclusion of hay and daisies in it was a little too much. As if to make up for it Twilight brought him to the place she claimed had the best doughnuts and hot cocoa in all of Equestria: Pony Joe's. "Twilight! It's been forever since I saw you. How have you been?" Pony Joe called out to her as she walked in. "And who's your big friend there? I can't say I've ever seen him around." "Joe, this is my coltfriend Rick he's a human from another world. Rick, this is Pony Joe, the best baker in Canterlot." Rick and Joe greeted each other and settled on a hoofbump after some awkward attempts at shaking hands. A couple of doughnuts and some hot cocoa later Rick had to admit that Joe definitely delivered. The rest of the afternoon was spent seeing the sights like a couple of tourists. Well, 1 tourist and 1 pony. But as is usual in these situations, they weren't able to see everything and had to head back in order to get ready for tonight's festivities. "Babe? Is there any way I can get some boiling water here?" "Why do you ask?" "I want to make some coffee before we get all set up and I'm assuming you'd want one as well?" Rick asked Twilight. "I'd love one, but how are you going to get one here?" He went into his room and pulled out a glass contraption and a small, non-descript bag. "It's called a French Press and it's what I use when travelling to places where it might not be possible to find a local Starbucks." "Leave that to me, " she trotted over to the door, spoke to one of the guards and within minutes a servant came to the door with a pot of boiling water and two cups. Rick spooned some of the grounds into the press and poured the water on top. Letting it steep for a few minutes, he them placed the top on the press and pressed it slowly but purposely down. They sat for a few minutes on the balcony, drinking their coffee and enjoying the view. But they couldn't dally and had to get ready for tonight's party. Twilight had brought the same dress she had worn for the Grand Galloping Gala. She had considered getting something new, but this wasn't going to be a huge event like the Gala and more of a small intimate party for family and friends. That would be the case if a party of 100 ponies could ever be considered intimate. It was also the first time she had seen Rick dressed in anything other than his t-shirt / shorts combination so she was pleasantly surprised when he stepped out of his room, fully dressed in what she assumed was high class human wear. It fit well, but gave him enough room to move freely. He looked a little imposing all dressed in black but at the same time incredibly yummy. "Rick. We're going out more often and you're wearing that thing when we do." "Do you like it?" He then proceeded to model it by walking up and down an imaginary catwalk and doing what he called "catalog poses" which involved him standing still in the most ridiculous ways that were supposed to look spontaneous. Twilight giggled at this not fully understanding what he was doing but knew he was playing around as it was his wont to do. "And, what do you think of my outfit?" She trotted around in a circle to give him the full view. He had to admit it looked good on her. Ponies might not necessarily wear clothes on a day to day basis but when they did, they typically looked good when they did it. "You look lovely, but we might have a problem." "What? Is there a tear or something wrong with my outfit?" "Definitely. You look so good in it that I doubt anypony will be paying any attention to the happy couple and will be looking at you instead, " he said with a wink. Twilight blushed, then putting on a lustful air said, "get your cute butt over here and give me a kiss before I do something unbefitting of a mare." Rick was more than happy to oblige. They arrived at the ballroom and were announced by a grey maned unicorn as the Lady Twilight Sparkle and her consort. A couple of unicorns came forward to greet them, Rick wasn't sure who they were until Twilight called them "Mom & Dad". The brother and sister-in-law were one thing, but meeting your girlfriend's parents the first time is always a bit of a struggle. Dads immediately disapprove of you, or at the very least make you work for their approval while Moms typically are a little more welcoming. He approached the Sparkles with as much dignity as he could while secretly shaking on the inside and introduced himself to them. Typically he had done well with his girlfriend's mothers up until now as he could be a charming SOB when he put his mind to it so hopefully ponies could be equally charmed. "Mr. & Mrs. Sparkle, my name is Rick and it's a pleasure to meet you both on this very happy occasion, " not knowing if he should try to shake hands, or hug or do whatever he chose instead to bow deeply to them. They dipped their heads in response but the look they gave each other showed that they weren't familiar with this kind of greeting. They chatted for a few moments, had some nervous small talk and then the grey maned unicorn announced the arrival of the Princesses and Shining Armor. Everypony turned to face them as they walked down the centre of the room towards the dais where their table was. Ponies dipped their heads in respect as the royals and the guests of honour passed by. Celestia gave Rick a welcoming nod as she passed as did Cadance. This did not go unnoticed as there was a quiet murmur from some of the assorted ponies when it happened. "Fillies and Gentlecolts!" Celestia spoke. "We are here today to honour Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor on the announcement that the princess is with foal!" There was respectful applause at the mention of this or the pony equivalent of stamping their hooves, the happy couple looked happy and shared a brief kiss. "As is tradition, can both families please come forward so that they may share in this blessing." About a dozen ponies, the Sparkles included, came forward to stand with the happy couple as Princess Celestia spoke a blessing over them. Once done, more applause and the ponies went to find their assigned seats. Rick found himself seated at the Sparkle's table which was uncomfortably close to the front of the room. He felt like he was on display and more than once did find ponies from other tables looking in his direction and whispering to the ponies next to them. Twilight placed a reassuring hoof on his hand and smiled as if to say thank you for going through this. But in all honesty, while he might feel uncomfortable with the scrutiny he was willing to put up with all of it and more for the sake of his fillyfriend. Twilight's father kept up an almost constant barrage of questions. Nothing you could really take offense at, but it was clear from his words that he didn't approve. Rick kept hoping something, anything would happen to save him from this grilling. Sometimes it's just not nice to tempt fate because at that moment there was a huge crash that came from the one of the picture windows shattering as a rainbow streaked through the hall. There was panic, screams coming from left and right and Rick felt a something stab him in his side as he instinctively threw himself over Twilight Sparkle to protect her. He could hear the guards galloping into the hall to take order but something was wrong. The sounds seemed to be coming from far away. Shaking slightly he pulled himself off Twilight, and felt something rip in his side as he did. Twilight called out his name, he had trouble focusing on anything, the room felt like it was spinning, he tried to catch himself on the table, he felt himself falling and then there was only darkness and silence.