The tension in the courtyard was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. The 'thing' looked in confusion at the soldiers before it.
The soldiers looked in confusion at the 'thing' before them.
The 'thing' finally spoke. "Houston, we have a problem."
Steimer looked so surprised that he nearly fell over. "It speaks Equestrian!"
Cadence stepped forward, towards the 'thing'. It was humanoid in shape, but was all white, and wore a pair of heavy boots on its feet. The chest piece was covered in wires and cables, linked into an exo pack covered in dials and more wires. The arms terminated in a pair of black (or possibly grey) gloves, and in place of a head was a large, bulky helmet with a bronze visor.
Cadence spoke up again. "Hello?" she asked. "Can you understand me?"
"Yes, I can understand you," the 'thing' replied. On its left arm was a symbol consisting of red and white horizontal lines, with a blue badge covered in white stars set into the upper left corner. "You getting all of this, Buzz?"
"Buzz?" Luna asked, suddenly. "Who is this Buzz?" However, she got a sense of who these two men were.
Cadence stepped closer to the 'thing', which was now almost certainly a human.
"Are you sure it is safe?" Captain Hook asked, stepping forward.
Luna shot the captain a glare, before speaking herself. "Pray tell good sir, but what is your name."
There was a momentary pause, before the figure spoke again. "Armstrong. Neil Armstrong. NASA."
"Are you lost?" Cadence asked.
Armstrong moved the visor up, to reveal a human face on the other end. "You could say that," he replied. "This doesn't look like the moon."
"Is that what your machine was for?" Captain Hook enquired. "We thought it was some sort of military craft."
Seconds later, the other figure, presumably the 'Buzz' that Armstrong had referred to, emerged from the hatch and dropped down the ladder. He turned around, and started to walk over. "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
"Is there an 'a' in there?" Armstrong asked. "I thought it was 'one small step for man'."
"Beats me," the other said. "So, where are we?"
"You are in Equestria," Luna said. "We do not know of this 'United States' from which you hail, but it seems as though you have peaceful intentions."
Cadence spoke up again. "Should we move this field of conversation indoors? I doubt we want to stand in a cold courtyard in the middle of the night."
"And what is wrong with the night?" Luna asked.
"Cold?" Buzz asked. "It's absolutely boiling in these spacesuits. These were never built for such a high gravity environment."
"Corporal Bakewell!" Captain Steimer ordered. "Have the Castle staff prepare some attire for these two gentlemen. I imagine that they want some food and rest after their hardships."
"Right away, sir!" Corporal Bakewell replied. He and two other soldiers headed back indoors, presumably to find what they were ordered to find.
Neil Armstrong's life had gone in many different directions, but this wasn't quite what he had been expecting to happen to him today. He had ditched the spacesuit whilst indoors, and changed into a suit which had seemingly appeared from nowhere and yet was perfectly tailored for him. Now he was being escorted down a long corridor by two guards, both of whom were completely silent and dressed in purple armour which looked like it had come straight out of a fantasy film. He sighed. Life was sometimes bizarre. He just hoped that, wherever he was, his family was OK.
"Where are you taking me?" he asked one of the guards.
"To the throne room," the guard replied. "That is all I can say."
It was clear that no other answer would come from them. Neil just nodded and continued walking. The corridors somehow had a perfect echo to them, and his military training meant he found himself instinctively walking in step with the two soldiers on either side of him. As a result, a loud booming preceeded them as they walked down the hall, and this continued for many minutes. Neil pointed to one of the stained glass windows.
"What do these all mean?" he asked.
"Some of our nation's greatest victories," the other guard said. Suddenly, Blueblood appeared from another corridor, having somehow evaded the guards.
"Who is this?" he asked. "Who led the commoners in?"
"A guest for the princesses," the guards replied in unison, which was mildly creepy. "Now, sir, if you wouldn't mind, please go and let us continue."
Blueblood looked down his nose at Neil. "I've got my eye on you," he said, and walked off.
The trio resumed their walk to the end of the corridor. "Is he always like that?"
"I can neither confirm nor deny that," the guard replied. "Eyes forward, please." After a few more minutes of walking, they reached the end of the corridor, and the two guards stopped in front of the door whilst another pair relieved them. Both of them were more of the heavily armoured ones that Neil had seen earlier.
"Her Royal Highness' guest," said one of the first guards.
"We shall see him in," said the first of the Noctis Metalican. "You are excused from duty. Return to your posts."
"Yes sir," the two other guards replied, and turned. They marched down the corridor and returned to their posts.
After another wait, which seemed to last for an eternity, although Armstrong could not verify this as his timepiece had stopped working, a voice spoke from inside. It was filled with regal authority and natural power. "You may send him in."
"Yes, my lady," the Noctis Metalican replied in unison. They opened the doors. "Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna."
The bright light from the chamber flooded the rest of the corridor, and Neil covered his eyes to avoid being blinded. He wished he still had his helmet on. Nontheless, he stepped into the room, and took a seat at the table before him.
Luna sat at the other side of the table, facing towards the doors so she could see this person. She was certain this person had no clue who she was, and she had to be careful not to reveal that she was of Equestria either, or from this person's world as well, just fifty years in the future. As she looked on, Armstrong covered his eyes to shield them from the light. A natural reflex, so she excused it. "Please do sit," she said.
Armstrong hesitantly took the seat, still quite wary of the situation. Again, understandable. To be thrown into a totally alien environment must be quite disorienting. Luna was used to it, knowing his intended destination all too well.
Luna spoke again. "Which would you prefer. Armstrong, or Neil?"
"Just Neil," he replied. "It'll make things easier." Suddenly realising what he said could be perceived as offensive, he quickly added something else. "Sorry, your majesty. I misspoke."
Luna sighed. "I would prefer if you called me Luna," she replied. "Constantly being called 'your royal highness' and 'my lady' does get a bit tiresome after a while."
"I can imagine," Neil answered, as he relaxed slightly, though still keeping his guard up. "This wasn't exactly where I was planning on ending up, but life has a habit of throwing curveballs our way."
Luna suppressed a chuckle at the irony of the statement. Both of them were foreign travellers, far from home. "Where are you from, Neil? I saw that your ship had the name of a country on it which I did not recognise."
"Ah, the USA." There was a momentary pause. "I was born in Ohio in 1931, and served in the air force for several years. I fought over Korea-"
"Korea?" Luna asked. "What is Korea?"
"The world is divided into two major power blocks, led by the USA and the Soviet Union," Neil explained. "We don't like each other very much, and Korea is divided into two countries. The northern bit, led by the USSR, invaded the south, and I was part of the forces deployed to drive the North Koreans back. Nearly didn't make it back, either."
He paused, as if his next thoughts troubled him. Luna sat patiently, giving him the time he needed.
She nearly jumped when he began speaking again.
"I was chosen in 1958 for the space program. That's another thing the Soviet Union and us are fighting over. The moon. In 1961, President Kennedy-"
"This President sounds like a man of great power," Luna commented.
"The President is the leader of our country," Neil explained. "We elect a new one every four years. It's currently Richard Nixon. Where was I? I remember. President Kennedy set it as our nation's goal to get a man onto the moon before the end of the decade, and we've been working towards that ever since. It's been a tough road, and I lost good friends along the way, but a few days ago our mission, Apollo 11, launched. I was to be the first man on the moon, but as you can see we're nowhere near there now. Instead of walking on the moon, I'm here, far from home, and talking to you." He stopped. "So, how about you, Luna? Are you somehow connected to the moon?"
Luna nodded, shifting slightly in her seat. "Yes. I am one of the two monarchs of Equestria. My sister, Celestia, is the Princess of the Sun, and I am the Princess of the Night. It is our duties as the diarchy to lead the people of Equestria, and we have other roles beyond signing laws and standing for photographs. The very cycle of day and night is ours to command."
Neil looked confused. "The sun and the moon move by gravitational force. No human can control that."
"That may be the case in your world," Luna replied, "but it is not the case here. In our world, magic is the lifeblood in everything. All creatures have their own magic, and each is unique. My sister has the responsibility of both raising and lowering the sun. I, on the other hand, raise and lower the moon. It is a great power indeed."
"With great power comes great responsibility," Neil replied. "Our country has checks and balances to ensure those who have power can never abuse it for their own gain or to become a tyrant."
"A pity no such power was exercised in my case," Luna sighed. "Or great heartbreak could have been avoided."
"What happened?"
"It is a long story," Luna continued, "but the people of Equestria played in the sun and hid through the night. I was in the background, destined to forever be in my sister's shadow, and I grew jealous of this. One night, I refused to lower the moon, and the result was not pretty." Now it was Luna's turn to pause as she began to process painful memories. "My anger changed me into a monster, and in order to maintain harmony I was banished to the moon for one thousand years."
"How did you survive?" Neil asked. "There's no air on the moon."
"I was sealed within it," Luna replied. "Eventually, I escaped, and attempted to plunge the world into eternal night. But a group of six heroes stopped me, and returned me to normal. My sister chose to forgive me for my wrongdoing, but it took me a long time to get used to the new ways of the world. I still fear that the monster I once was still lives inside me, and will escape if given the chance. That I cannot allow to happen."
"Good morning, Luna!" called a cheerful voice. In a panic, Luna quickly moved the moon out of the way, and the sun shot up just as suddenly.
Celestia entered through the doors, followed by some civil servants and a butler carrying cake. She (Celestia) was now dressed in her day attire of a white dress with low cut puffy, yet long, sleeves, golden gloves, and a full, but not excessively large, skirt with two panniers that looped around the back. On the back of that was the symbol of the sun, and Celestia also had her crown on her head, her rainbow hair swept back to keep it out of her eyes.
"I trust the night was not too problema-" Celestia stopped, and turned to see Neil. "Who's the visitor?"