//------------------------------// // 17- Knock Knock // Story: Newfound Neighbors // by FrostTheWolf //------------------------------// It had only been a couple of days after our trip to the museum and since then, things ended up getting a bit weird. The day after the exhibit, everything seemed fine and there wasn’t any trouble or anything. However, when I left my house to go buy some groceries, almost anyone that I passed by would look at me with some sense of recognition. To me, they were complete strangers, and yet, they somehow saw me as some kind of celebrity. It wasn’t just humans either, but also a couple of Equestrians that I happened to meet as well. At first, I thought they just recognized me for being around the neighborhood, but as this kept going, it felt kind of creepy. After about a day or two later, when I was back at Smoky’s Firegrill Pizza with Ryan and my neighbors, that was when Ryan asked me a question that I was not mentally prepared for. “So, how do you like your newfound fame?” Anything going on in my brain just stopped at that moment as I stepped inside, before looking back to him, “ … I’m sorry, what? What fame?” “Seriously? You don’t know?” “As a matter of fact, yes. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told him as I walked up to the counter and placed my order. The same Kirin that was there as the oven last time was there. Yet, instead of journeying through Dark Souls, they were going through the Lands Between. Something that I noticed right off the bat when they stepped out into the world and was greeted by the sight of a golden tree. “Well-” “Excuse me? What did you just call me, you mask wearing punk!? I’m not maidenless, you are!!” “- Do you remember that museum and the exhibit you went to earlier in the week?” Ryan asked, “Well, an article for it came out in the paper the other day and guess who just happened to be on it?” As he said that, Ryan brought up his phone and turned it towards me. It was a web page that had an article for the county newspaper and… wait, what the fuck? “Is that-?” “Apparently, one of the photographers that was there when you went caught a picture of you at the front of the exhibit while you were with Princess Luna,” he told me, just as we reached the front counter to pay, “Next thing you know, some people online are starting to believe that you’re like some ambassador from the United Nations or something because up until this point, Princess Luna hasn’t been seen in the company of other humans before.” Oh god, this sounds like a story straight out of some random episode of TMZ, but a lot worse. “Please tell me that this is some kind of joke-” “Oh hey, Sammy!” I heard the familiar voice of Smoky from behind the counter speak up, “You’ve been a rather busy bee, it seems.” “Y-Yeah, I guess,” I could only stammer as I got out the cash to pay, “I’m still trying to make sense of it all.” “Come on, you should be proud! Being the friend of a princess is a huge honor! It’s so rare to actually meet a figure of royalty aside from Princess Twilight, let alone befriend them,” she replied, before popping open the cash register and giving me change, “So, how did it happen? Did you win some kind of contest to meet her or-?” “Honestly, I just happened to run into her by chance. That’s all I can say,” I said, before taking my receipt and making my way over to the table where Gizmo and Brisk were seated. “So, can I ask you two about something?” “Is it about when we were at the Museum?” Brisk asked. “… It’s somewhat related, yes,” I sighed as I looked back at the Earth Pony, “Apparently, everybody is making a big deal over me being friends with Luna after everything on Sunday. So, I have to ask. Is being friends with Royalty really that big of a deal?” As the stallion took a sip of his drink, he now looked back at me and just shrugged, “It’s a matter of perspective, actually… and it depends on which princess. If it were Princess Twilight, it would be kind of commonplace since pretty much every creature has met her at least once somehow before Princess Celestia had her take over and lead Equestria in her place. Celestia and Luna, on the other hoof, are a different story.” “How so?” “Well, until they decided to retire, Celestia and Luna weren’t often seen outside of the Castle unless they were attending some kind of celebration or event. Since they were the prominent figures of society and government for a long time, many ponies would think that being friends with royalty meant that they had something to gain from it. Like a ‘You scratch my back, I scratch yours’ kind of deal. So, even though we encountered her by chance and her taking a liking to you was by chance, many would probably assume that there was some ulterior motive behind it.” Oh great, we’re going down the rabbit hole of politics just because I asked about friendship… brilliant. “Well, it can’t be too bad now, can it?” I asked, assuming that he and Gizmo kind of already know about the current situation, “I mean, wouldn’t something like this just settle down after a couple days.” “Have you checked the internet lately?” Ryan then spoke up as if he was a fictional senator from Colorado as he sat down next to me, “Shortly after the article was published, someone on Facebook happened to recognize you and mentioned you by name. Since then, your unwanted fame immediately started to grow skyward to the point where some are now calling you ‘The Princess Whisperer’.” “Okay, that sounds excessive,” I groaned, before looking at all three of them. Being friends with the princess is nice, even though it sort of happened on the spot. However, being followed around by people acting like a pack of hyenas and having everybody know who you are without any sense of privacy? Not so much. “Well, if you ask me, I think all of this will just die down in a couple of days,” Gizmo said, “I mean sure, this is all that people are talking about now, but it’s possible that something else would just happen to distract them-” As if it was right on cue, I heard something from behind me as I felt it hit my head and fall onto my plate. “Oww, what the-” When I realized what it was, I found myself staring at the strangest of things. It looked like a scroll, held together by a red cloth like it was a letter from Hogwarts or something. “How-?” “Don’t look at me,” Ryan was the first to speak, “One moment, we were just talking with you. Next moment, a flash of green fire appeared and a scroll hit you in the head.” My gaze shifted to the scroll for a short bit, before looking to the two Equestrians that were across the table from us, “Do either of you know what just happened?” “Dragon fire message.” I blinked for a moment, just trying to process what was said as I looked at Gizmo, “Uh, what? Doesn’t fire… burn things?” “It does, but if you have enchanted parchment and the right kind of ink, dragon fire can be used as a way to quickly send letters to creatures no matter how far,” the unicorn explained, “You know how you humans have email? Well, in Equestria, we have d-mail. Dragon mail.” Huh… okay, that actually sounds rather handy. Yet, there was still one other question that came to mind. “Well, who do you think might’ve sent this then? Can either of you tell?” “Well, it’s not Azure, that’s for sure,” Brisk was quick to answer, “The color of the flames we saw was green, while his is more cerulean.” “And how does that prove anything, if you don’t mind me asking?” Ryan retorted. “Well, depending on the type of dragon and their scales, the color of their fire changes with it.” the earth pony added, “However, that won’t exactly help us with trying to figure out who sent this. I mean, outside of us and that one meeting with Luna, I’m not sure who would try to reach out to you.” Well, when he put it that way, I guess there was only one option. Slowly, I began to undo the scroll and read what was written. Dear Samantha Axle, I understand that this may seem a bit sudden, but I hope this letter finds you well. My sister has told me much about you after your chance encounter with her not long ago and I was rather surprised to learn how you happened to become friends with her so quickly. Not only that, but some of the other things she shared with me about not just you, but the equestrians that live in your neighborhood that you see as friends. So, instead of hearing more recollections from Luna, I wished to reach out to you instead. Truth be told, there are many Equestrians who think that starting a new life in your world and leaving their old life behind is scary and that no creature would welcome them with ‘open arms’, as your kind would put it. However, I believe that your story and how you came to be friends with your newfound neighbors can be inspirational to anypony who takes the time to listen to it. Yet, I believe this will be a better conversation for us to have in person. I look forward to meeting you as well as your friends very soon. Sincerely, Celestia “Uh… please tell me that I’m not misreading this,” I said, before handing the scroll over to the Unicorn, “Because if this actually is who I think it is, how exactly would they know it would reach me?” Gizmo took one look at the letter, before her pupils shrank as she reached the bottom of it. “T-The ink would automatically send the scroll to whoever it's written to when a spell is cast on it.” “Okay, but how would she know my full name? I only told Luna that my name was Sam.” “Maybe Luna got Mistral to look into some records or something?” Gizmo added as Brisk took a look at the parchment now, “I would also think that she could’ve cast some kind of spell on you, but there isn’t any kind of leftover residue on you-” Before she could finish, I got a ring on my phone as I went to see what it was. Lo and behold, it was a text from dad… with a picture attached? “Hey, uh… Sam? There’s a visitor here that wants to see you.” In the attachment, all I saw was an all too familiar princess wearing what could only be described as a Steve Jobs turtleneck as she stood outside the house. “Okay, guys, I think we need to go back like… now.” “Huh? But didn’t we just get here a short while ago?” Ryan asked. “Plans changed unfortunately,” I told them, before showing what dad sent me, “Because apparently, there’s a former princess at my front door that wants to see us.”