______*Mana's journal.*______
"So.....I'm not even lying, I'm not joking or pulling anyone's leg, but Canterlot sucked, it felt like being near the rich nobles back at the Earth Kingdoms, but with them being prejudiced against anything that wasn't a pony or talked back to them.
Not everyone was like that though, I did meet two interesting individuals that caught my attention, no, not the princesses, and not Twilight's brother or Cadence, anyway, let's just say that Canterlot is a solid zero out of ten, I don't know why Rarity likes it so much, I don't see the charm."
______*The present, Mana's perspective*_______
The train came to a stop as we reached Canterlot, I removed the bark I covered the window with and returned it to my body.....that sounds weird, but that's what I did.
As Spike gets up and I follow him, I grab my bag with my wooden arm and sling it over my shoulder, Onyx chatters and tugs my hair lightly. "I know your excited to see someplace new buddy, but seriously keep it together, we just got here after all." I say as I walk over to the door to exit the train.
To my surprise, Twilight is the first out of the train. "Seems she wants to see her brother after all." I say to myself.
We all exit the train one by one and I am personally surprised at the level of security here, there are guards all over the place and they are all carrying spears and swords.
Another thing that I noticed is the particularly suspicious glares I am personally recieving, I roll my eyes as Onyx takes cover behind my neck. "Relax buddy, we'll be alright." I say reassuringly.
I follow in silence as Spike, Twilight and her friends make their way past the guards after a blue haired unicorn stallion let them know to allow us through.....or more specifically, Twilight, Spike and the others, I however am given the short end of the stick and almost have to go through what I can only assume to be hours of interrogation.
Thankfully, Twilight pulls through for me, saying that I'm with her, that alone seemed to be enough for the stallion.
As I walk over to Twilight I noticed a skeptical glance from a nearby guard. "See Onyx? I told you so." I say calmly yet teasingly.
Onyx just shakes his head silently.
As I join the group, I notice Twilight walking off with the stallion, I nudge Spike and motion him to follow, he nods with a grin, knowing what I'm planning.
We carefully follow Twilight and the stallion to a rampart, where Twilight reveals him as Shining Armor, as Spike and I listen in, we soon spot a large unicorn Pegasus hybrid mare, an Alicorn from what I've heard, make herself known, she had pink fur and had a beautiful mane comprised of multiple colors, she carried an aura of authority with her, it made me.....uneasy.
I watch in stunned silence as Twilight proceeds to do something embarrassing in front of this mare, and Spike can only snicker at the scene as Onyx and I facepalm.
It is then that I learn that Twilight had no idea that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was her old foalsitter Cadence, which led me to believe that she and Shining Armor didn't really keep in touch. "Hey." Spike whispered. "Do it." He urged.
I shake my head. "It'll, be too obvious here, I need a more discreet time." I say quietly as Twilight began to scold Shining Armor after Cadence left. "Ah, that's what I've been waiting on." I mutter as I create a poison ivy leaf and sent it toward the stallion.
I grin to myself, one thing I did learn how to do was control objects I created when they were detached from me, for instance, a poison ivy leaf.
As Twilight and her brother talk, a poison ivy leaf makes it way over to them, completely ignored because of the argument, and soon, it landed on Shining Armor's nose, he swatted it off his hoof and walked off as he and Twilight finished their talk.
Spike and I quickly leave before Twilight blows her top, and we are soon wandering the streets. "So, where do you want to go?" I ask.
Spike looks at me and shrugs. "I don't know, I didn't explore much when I lived here, and last time I was here, all I did was hang out at Donut Joe's." He admitted.
I tap my chin and look around, I soon shrug and look at Spike. "Want to explore in a random direction and hope we get lucky?" I ask.
Spike mimics me and looks around, he sighs. "No.....we might as well head to the castle, Twilight is expecting us to be there." He says sadly.
I cross my arms. "Well darn, I have to watch preparations for a wedding I don't care about, what's the point of a vacation then?" I muttered that last part.
Spike nodded in understanding. "I know how you feel, but we are stuck with it, might as well make the most of it." He replied.
_____*Canterlot castle, fifteen minutes later.*_____
Twilight sighed as she walked with Mana and Spike, she said nothing as she silently brooded, she didn't want to get them involved, but she knew that Cadence was a imposter! she would never have forgotten their greeting, even under these circumstances.
The three soon found the rest of the group discussing their parts in the wedding, and Twilight heard Mana speak. "Hey Twilight, your brother have any allergies?" She asked.
Twilight looked at Mana curiously, but shook her head. "Uh, no.....why?" She asked.
Mana shrugged. "You should probably let your friends know, they are probably concerned about that." She replied calmly.
Twilight was unsure why this was suddenly a major concern, but she nodded and let it go for now. "You two can go ahead and explore if you want, this castle has a lot of history in it that might interest you Mana." She suggested.
Mana nodded and looked at Spike. "What about you Spike? what do you want to do?" She asked.
Spike pointed at Twilight as she walked over to her friends. "I'll probably stick with her, keep her from doing something stupid." He replied as though it were obvious.
With that Mana and Spike seperated, going their seperate ways.
Mana looked at Onyx who started to chatter and tugged her ear towards the hallway on the right. "Ok ok, we'll go your way." She said with a small smile, happy to have her pushy squirrel friend back.
_____*Mana's perspective.*______
I have to hand it to the interior decorators, they sure can do their jobs well, the walls look as though they were built from a combination of stone, quartz and diamond, it made a pleasing color to look at, the windows appeared to be made of a combination of stained glass and regular glass, the floors were obviously made from cobblestone, I recognize the feel of it anywhere, but the obvious enchantments made it look like porcelain or smooth stone.
I pause at a crossroads of sorts, I have two paths to go, forward or left, I look at Onyx and he points to the left, I shrug and follow his directions, I place my hands in my pockets and look around as I walk through the empty halls. "Where do you think everyone is?" I ask my friend.
Onyx chatters rapidly taps my shoulder. "Waiting for the wedding?....why would that stop affairs of state?" I ask him, the squirrel simply shrugged. "Ugh." I just continue walking without bothering to reprimand my friend.
I soon spot someone else wandering these empty halls alone, I say nothing as I walk past the blonde haired unicorn, clearly I startled him as he let out a shocked Yelp as I walked by him, dropping something on the floor.
I simply turn my head and stare at the stallion who seemed to be quickly regaining his composure. "Your jumpy." I say calmly.
The stallion gulped and seemed to fully calm down. "No....not really, i just wasn't expecting anypony to be in the castle, with the wedding and all." He replied easily.
I shrug. "I'm exploring, I was actually surprised to see a lack of people here, seeing as this is the castle, unless political matters take place elsewhere." I then look at what he had dropped, it was a small photo of a white unicorn filly with red hair, I reach down and grab it, I then give it back to him, he actually seemed surprised I handed it back. "You seem surprised, I'm guessing people don't help you often." I remark.
The stallion simply took it and looked at it for a few moments before looking at me. "Not without being told to do so, no, apologies, I should introduce myself." He said.
"My name is Blueblood, and you?" He asked.
I shrug. "I'm Mana, I came along with my caretaker and friends for the wedding......and I'm regretting it already." I say with ease.
Blueblood raised an eyebrow. "How so?" He asked.
"Everyone I walked past in the city either snubbed me, gave me a look of disgust or straight up said I was a monster." I take a breath. "I'm not offended, it's just mildly annoying." I say as I cross my arms. "So, why are you here? you live in Canterlot or are you just visiting?" I ask casually.
"I live here." Blueblood answered. "But living in Canterlot does have downsides, the politics for one." He joked.
I smirk and Onyx says something to me. "Eh?" I look at my squirrel who points at Blueblood and then and the castle. "I see." I turn to face Blueblood. "You must be pretty important to live in the castle, ambassador am I right?" I ask.
Blueblood eyes Onyx for a moment before shaking his head. "I am not an ambassador, that would be easier for me though, i'm the nephew of Princess Celestia, head of the noble court, and as you can imagine, it's not an easy job." He replied.
I chuckle. "Politics never are easy, everyone needs to be ahead, instead of just working together, trust me I'm no stranger to the effects it has on the people." I reply.
Blueblood cleared his throat as he hid the photo with his magic. "If I may ask, what exactly are you?" He asked bluntly.
"Human." I reply easily. "And as far as I know, I'm the only one here in Equestria." I add.
Blueblood nodded. "I see, well you may want to watch who you say that too, many nobles here will take advantage of a new species such as yourself." He warned.
"Thanks for the warning, hey, do you happen to know the directions to the library?" I ask.
Blueblood nodded. "Of course, go to the end of this hall, make a left and then make another left at the end of that hall." He replied.
"Thanks, this castle is a maze." I say as I walk off.
Onyx chatters and flicks my ear. "Jerk." I say as I grab Onyx and stuff his squirming body into my bag. "I warned you Onyx." I say as I continue walking.
I soon reach the library and I step inside, I whistle as I take in the sight of it, I heard from Twilight that this was a massive library, and now I see she was correct, bookshelves upon bookshelves lined with books, I notice the mare that Twilight mentioned, a brown furred earth pony mare with a black mane and tail, I walk forward into the library and look around some more.
"It is a sight to behold isn't it?" A female voice said, I look and see the mare standing near me. "It is." I mention as I focus my attention on the mare.
The mare had a calm smile on her face and gave off a calming presence. "Are you looking to check a book out?" She asked quietly.
I shake my head. "Wasn't planning on it." I reply.
The mare nodded. "Very well, but I will need to see your library access card." She said.
I blink, but then I remember the piece of paper Twilight gave me. "Uh, one second." I open my bag and see Onyx asleep, I see the piece of paper and take it, I then show it to the mare.
The mare examines it for a few moments before looking at me. "Very well, go on ahead, but please be quiet." She said before walking off.
I walk over to one of the many bookshelves and sit down at a desk, I grab a nearby book and begin reading, instantly liking my choice of book.
______*later that day.*______
I walk into the room that Twilight, myself and Spike were sharing with Pinkie Pie, much to Twilight's annoyance, I sit down on the couch and lay back as Spike and Twilight enter. "You two have a nice day?" I ask with a grin.
Twilight glared at me and Spike simply waved me off. "We had a.....interesting day Mana." Spike said evasively.
I raise an eyebrow at Spike's odd behavior, but i decide not to question it as Twilight looked like she was about to scream in anger. "Canterlot sucked for you guys too?" I ask.
"I......yea, let's go with that." Spike said as he inches away from Twilight.