//------------------------------// // Chapter Five // Story: To Live Another Life // by Brony2893 //------------------------------// “... Twilight Sparkle.” I shifted my gaze over and saw a pony I’d never seen before walking into my room. She was a shade of violet that seemed so deep it was almost unnatural, as well as her mane with its pink strip slightly off-center. This unicorn had the tell-tale facial features of a female, and a horn that seemed perfectly taken care of. I noticed all of this in the moment it took her to take a step inside and quickly shut the door after herself. She noticed Celestia first and was quick to greet her upon entering. “Hello Celestia, nice to finally see you!” The purple unicorn beamed with an almost unnoticeable jump. She was turned just enough for me to see her tail reflect the same pattern as her mane. On her lower-back was a small grouping of stars. One large purple star with several smaller, white ones surrounding it. After greeting Celestia she turned to me and quickly scanned me up and down. Something about her violet eyes was very soothing. “Who’s this?” She asked with a raised eyebrow, studying me the same as I had studied her. “He is the reason I summoned you here,” Celestia replied with a quick nod in my direction. Wait, she can just summon people? She must be pretty high in the royalty department. “Twilight, I would like for you to meet Edward,” She finished with a patiently waiting look to see how we interacted. Twilight scrunched her face ever so slightly at the mention of my name and gave me another studying glance. Her face was blank for the most part, but not off-putting. I smiled a little and am betting it looked a bit awkward as I glanced everywhere. Most people wouldn’t guess I was shy, but I most definitely was. “Um, hello,” I greeted, breaking the silence in the air. This seemed to break her of the situational awkwardness as well. “Nice to meet you, Edward,” Twilight smiled at me. She paused a little when she said my name, likely as alien to her as this world was to me. She pulled her eyes off of me and looked back over to Celestia. “Princess Celestia? Why am I here? Luna said the letter wasn’t as important as it sounded.” So she’s a princess? I wonder if Luna is a queen, or if she’s a princess too? “It is true the message was somewhat exaggerated, but still important nonetheless.” Celestia nodded her head towards me again. “It is about Edward, I would very much appreciate it if you could take him into your home for a temporary amount of time,” She finished with a smile. “What? Why?” Twilight looked understandably confused, a feeling I was secretly glad I wasn’t the only one experiencing lately. “I… umm, this is…” She stuttered, looking back and forth between the princess and myself. “Edward was... stranded in Equestria and requires somewhere to stay for a time until which he can safely return home.” Celestia stated. “Umm, sure I guess? I mean, of course, Princess!” Twilight grinned slightly too much as she corrected herself. Something about the situation made me feel uneasy. “Where’s he from? Why can’t he go home now though?” She asked while looking me up and down some more with her inspecting gaze. “He’s… from a land quite far away from here,” Celestia stalled. “How far away?” Twilight asked with a slight tilt of her head. "Very far, my student,” The princess replied. Twilight’s face took the appearance of somebody thinking over a difficult question. She took a few steps towards me before silently circling me for a few moments. I felt a little unsure about being looked at so much. She returned to her ‘spot’, completing the triangle the three of us made in the hospital room. She rubbed her hoof on her chin before turning back to Celestia. “Is he from Germaneia?” She asked while offering a hoof. “Further than that, Twilight,” Celestia shook her head. “Is Edward Prench?” Twilight persisted. “Further.” Celestia smiled. She seemed to enjoy the violet unicorn questioning her. “… Saddle-Arabia?” Twilight desperately asked. “Keep trying.” The princess’s smile turned into a smirk on the side of her face only I’d be able to easily see. Twilight seemed incredibly puzzled. She stared at me with a thoughtful frown as the gears turned in her head. Twilight does know Celestia is messing with her, right? It’s pretty obvious to me... “Is he from… the zebra territories?” She unsurely asked. I glanced down to my hooves and frowned. I obviously wasn’t a zebra. She must really have no idea what to make of me… that makes two of us I suppose. “I am afraid not…” Celestia shook her head. “Perhaps it is better if he simply told you?” She questioned, giving me an expectant look. “Oh,” I hesitated, not expecting to have the spotlight on me. Twilight waited for my answer with the greatest curiosity I’ve seen in years. “Well, I’m from... Earth, I guess you could say.” “’Earth’?” Twilight repeated to herself. She looked down to the tiled floor while she tried to think of where Earth was, though she’d never be correct. “Is that part of the dragon continent we haven’t explored yet?” Did she just say… “There are dragons here!?” I asked, unsure if my new ears had picked that up correctly. “Of course! Everypony, even the gryphons and zebras know dragons exist,” Twilight waved her hoof as she threw her head back and giggled, likely thinking my question was a joke. After her short self-chuckling faded away and she saw my blank face, her own face froze. “Wait, you’re serious, aren’t you?” “Err… yeah, I really didn’t know dragons existed,” I rubbed the back of my neck before continuing. I looked over to Celestia who seemed perfectly content just watching us. “I mean, there were always legends and stories about them back home, but they were never proven real.” “Oh, dragons are definitely real,” Twilight laughed as she lightly rolled her eyes before composing herself and clearing her throat. “I think we’re getting off-topic here. You were saying where ‘Earth’ was?” “It’s, uh, it’s pretty far away from anything you know,” I stalled, nervous about her reaction when she knew the truth. “Let’s just say, it’s a world further away than you could ever travel to, or likely see. And none of your kind have ever been there.” “Wait, are you saying—?” She furrowed her brow as the gears turned in her head. “... You’re, you’re saying you’re from another… planet?” Twilight tilted her head as the question left her lips. “Well, that or another dimension,” I shrugged in response, glad the awkward part of explaining I was essentially an alien was over. “I haven’t really had a chance to nail down which it is yet.” “He can’t be serious…” She trailed off and looked over to Celestia who’d remained silent for the most part. The princess just smiled and blinked as Twilight gave her a look I couldn’t quite see. “He’s… he’s telling the truth, isn’t he?” “As unbelievable as it may sound, yes. He is not of our world, that much I am sure of,” Celestia nodded simply, not breaking her calm composure. Twilight looked back to me with a face comprised of shock, disbelief, and possibly even denial. I almost feel bad for Twilight… she must think this is some weird joke she hasn’t seen the end of yet. “Well, that would explain why he didn’t have a Cutie Mark…” Twilight trailed off and tilted her head while slightly biting her lip in thought. “… but why is he a pony if he’s an, an alien?” “Well, Twilight,” Celestia hesitated and flashed her eyes to the floor before quickly bringing them back to the violet unicorn. “That I do not have an answer to,” She finished with a studying glance of her own. “What I do know, however, is that Edward is most definitely telling the truth with what he says.” “I’m having trouble wrapping my head around this one, Princess,” Twilight slowly said as her gaze drifted up to my horn and looked it over through squinted eyes as if she were attempting to find some minute detail. “Try to think of him as being a part of a foreign exchange program then,” Celestia offered with a wink directed at the violet pony who ignored it and continued looking me over. “Edward, can you use magic at all?” Twilight asked me with her hoof pointed loosely at my head. “I saw your horn and it made me curious.” “Well, uh…” I awkwardly smiled and looked away for a moment at the recollection of my efforts the previous day and night. “I tried after I saw Luna do it, but it just hurt my head when I thought about magic. I think I wiggled a glass of water, but it was probably just my imagination,” I finished my explanation with a shrug. “Fascinating… do you mind if I…?” Twilight trailed off and motioned at my horn, silently asking to get a better look. “Uh sure, go ahead.” I replied and lightly shrugged. Twilight seemed satisfied and took a few steps towards me. She was only a couple feet from me as she raised her head and stood on the tip of her hooves in an attempt to better examine my horn. She wasn’t much shorter than me at all, but I quickly realized her difficulty and slightly lowered my head, pointing my horn almost directly at her. “Thanks,” Twilight said in a quick, cheery tone. All I could really see was the floor and her purple legs as my head was lowered. She leaned forward a bit more and made a few humming noises as one of her front hooves lightly tapped various points around the base of my horn. I felt like I was at, well, a doctor’s with how Twilight seemed to examine me all the time. I was broken out of my thoughts by something that was completely new to me in this world, a pleasant smell that for once wasn’t the sterile smell of my room. I quietly sniffed the air in front of me and picked up a faint aroma of some sort of flower or other plant. It was very pleasant, but all the more surprising when I realized it was coming from Twilight. Must be some kind of shampoo or perfume she uses, right? Wow, these ponies really seem to take care of themselves, I can respect that. I silently thought to myself. I suddenly felt a point at the base of my horn register an almost ticklish feeling that made me shiver and my skin twitch for the shortest of moments. “Hmm… that’s what I thought…” Twilight mumbled to herself before drawing away and letting me bring my head back up to normal height. “What is it?” I asked her while stretching my neck. “I felt a weird twitch when you were doing… whatever it was you did.” “It’s like I thought, you ‘technically’ have magic, but you haven’t learned how to properly access it yet,” Twilight replied quite studiously, a slight smile on her face. I looked over to the still-there Celestia who had an impressed, proud smile just visible on her white muzzle. Twilight, just now noticing she was still standing right in front of me sheepishly smiled and stepped back to where she initially was. “Um, maybe we should get back to why we’re all here in the first place?” I offered after clearing my throat. “Yes, that would probably be best,” Celestia interjected. Twilight seemed to look away and consider something before looking back to the princess. “I guess I could take him in…” Twilight trailed off, unsure of how to continue it seemed. “But, I don’t know if I can afford to house him too. Having your home and place of employment be the same building is a benefit, but I don’t know if I can financially handle it.” She remained looking at the princess with a frown. “Do not worry, Twilight, I have already signed off to have five-hundred bits sent to you every two weeks while Edward is living with you in Ponyville.” “You’re… you’re giving me one-thousand bits every month?” Twilight’s jaw dropped at what I assumed was a reasonably large amount of ‘bits’, which I surmised to be their form of currency. “Yes. Think of it as a royally-funded foreign exchange program.” Celestia said to the shocked Twilight. “You shall teach him our ways and customs so he can be more comfortable in Equestria, and he might even tell you about his world.” She finished with a smile directed at me. “But, how will I explain to my friends that I suddenly have a stallion living with me?” Twilight had a hoof raised and waved it slightly for emphasis. “I mean, they all know I only have one brother and they might assume we’re… dating…” She trailed off with an awkward smile back and forth between me and the princess. So she has a brother? I wonder what he’ll think of… wait, she’s right, this is going to be weird. “Oh Twilight…” Celestia took a few steps towards her student and momentarily wrapped a wing around the nervous mare. In truth, I was just as nervous about, well everything. “I am sure they will listen once you explain things.” “Can I tell them who he really is?” Twilight asked after a few moments. “That is up to you, although if they are told they must keep it a secret,” Celestia finished with a serious, but not threatening tone. “I do not wish many ponies to know of where he is from, the results may be… undesirable.” “Don’t worry about that, princess,” Twilight smiled to Celestia. “I’ll make them all Pinkie Promise to keep it a secret.” ’Pinky Promise’? I examined my hooves with a confused smirk. But… ponies don’t even have fingers… “Then it is settled, Edward, you will live with Twilight in Ponyville until Luna and I can find a way for you to go home,” Celestia smiled while looking between Twilight and myself. “Any more questions from either of you?” “I have lots of questions, but they can wait until later,” Twilight replied before her and Celestia both looked to me. “How are we getting to this ‘Ponyville’ place?” I questioned. “Cause I’m still a bit new to the whole walking on four legs thing.” I flashed a weak smile. “Don’t worry, there’s a train that takes us there.” Twilight spoke up. “Well, it seems like there isn’t much reason for me to stick around anymore. I should return to the throne room and let you two be on your way,” Celestia said as she slowly walked over to the door past Twilight, whom she turned to just before exiting. “Oh Twilight, be sure to send me letters on how he is adjusting, won’t you?” “Of course, Princess!” Twilight seemed strangely happy to send letters on something as dull as recording me. “I’ll send you one every day.” “Then I will take that as my cue to leave. The papers were taken care of when I got here, you are free to leave at any time. Goodbye, Edward,” Celestia smiled and nodded to me before returning the same farewell to Twilight. “Bye, Princess,” I waved a hoof at her, hoping that same body language applied here as well. “Please, just Celestia to you,” She waved a hoof back to me. “I’m not your princess after all, so Celestia is perfectly acceptable.” She smiled to me. “Alright then, I’ll try to remember that if— I mean ‘when’ I see you again,” I corrected myself. The princess seemed satisfied enough at how things went and quickly nodded to each of us once more. “Good day you two.” Now with Celestia gone and the door shut, the room became uncomfortably quiet, both me and Twilight unsure of what to do next. She seemed happy enough to take me in, but I still sensed some uneasiness from her. We just stood across from each other on nearly opposite ends of the room glancing around, neither of us sure what to do next. “So, uh when does the train leave?” I asked to break the tension. “We’ve got a couple more hours until we can leave,” Twilight replied and followed it up with a light shrug and a glance out the window. “We could walk around a little bit and stop for some lunch? I haven’t eaten yet.” I was reminded of how hungry I was almost the entirety of my stay at this hospital. Having only munched on a few apples and seldom anything else, I gladly accepted the offer of ‘real world’ food. “Lunch sounds fantastic." <><><><><><><><><><><> “So, I’m assuming you’re not normally a pony back in your world, huh? Judging by your earlier reluctance to walk a lot.” “Pretty much. It’s very… strange not having the body you’ve lived your whole life with,” I answered her. We were walking through the city I was informed was called ‘Canterlot’. It was certainly something to see. Everywhere around me were fancy shops, restaurants, strip-malls and even what I guessed to be a theater. I wasn’t looking at any one thing for too long, there was just so much to see! I saw other ponies of nearly every color imaginable, which went double for their manes too. I started to notice they all had peculiar symbols on their lower backs, and no two were the same. There was an hourglass, a trio of flowers, some stars and a telescope, even one that was simply a giant, red diamond. There were different ‘breeds’ as well. There were ones with wings I recognized as pegasi from stories back home, and the same for unicorns, which were clearly the majority here. I didn’t see many ponies without wings, but they seemed somehow better built from the quick glances I gave. “Hey, Twilight? I know the horned ponies are unicorns, and a flying one is a pegasus…” I trailed off as a white unicorn guard in golden armor passed us. He seemed to stare right through to my soul as he eyed me. “What are the ponies without horns or wings called? Just, ‘ponies’ then?” “They’re called ‘Earth ponies’ actually,” Twilight replied, a thoughtful tone in her voice. “It’s strange really, that your world is called ‘Earth’. Is your planet terrestrial in nature?” She asked me without a pause. “My planet is mostly water, but just over a quarter is solid land,” I answered her, recalling all those wonderful days in various science classes. That’s not sarcasm either; I was quite the nerd back in school, though you wouldn’t guess by my sheer size. “I’m guessing they’re called Earth ponies because they have something to do with earth then? I mean like, the ground,” I wondered out loud, hoping I was right.” “Actually, yeah, that’s essentially it.” Twilight gave me a slightly impressed look as we continued to walk. “We can talk about the other pony tribes later, for now let’s get some food before somepony hears our conversation and gets suspicious.” “Sounds like a good idea to me. I’d rather not draw a lot of attention.” I agreed with her, I was already getting enough strange looks being the only pony without some sort of special symbol. Twilight smiled to me before signaling us to turn down a street and coming up to some sort of outside restaurant with tables and chairs on a fancy patio. I approached one of the chairs and gave it a curious glance before sitting in it like I saw all the other patrons doing. Twilight was already seated and watched me with interest. She seemed to always be watching me out of the corner of her eye, seeing my reactions at various things, I didn’t really mind though. While we waited for a server to come and see us, I decided it was a decent time to ask about something that was bothering me. “Hey, Twilight?” I asked to get her attention while she looked off in her own little world. “What’s with all the pictures on everybody’s backs? I don’t get what they mean.” “Oh,” she said as she glanced down to her own symbol of stars before replying. “Those are called Cutie Marks, and they show what a pony’s special talent is.” She motioned over to a green pegasus seated a few tables away. “See how hers is a bunch of clouds? She must have something special when it comes to weather,” Twilight simply stated before pointing to a white unicorn that was walking past us. “And see how her Cutie Mark is two music notes? She’s likely got a special talent in music.” “A double-note, I remember those from band class actually,” I pointed out. “I think I get the concept now, but why don’t I have one?” I asked as I looked down to see nothing more than my orange coat. “Well, you just haven’t discovered your special talent yet,” Twilight replied as she thoughtfully rubbed her chin. “You not having one is very strange, but understandable. Most ponies get them when they’re only foals. Hmm… I wonder if you’ll ever get—“ She was cut off as a waiter walked up to our table. He was a dark gray color with a blonde mane and a horn to match his coat. “Here are your menus and some waters, sir and madam. I will return in a few minutes for your orders” He said as two laminated menus gingerly fell onto the table from his side bag, and two glasses of water floated from elsewhere. His accent was a mix of French and, something else I couldn’t place. He turned in place and trotted off inside, leaving us alone. I grabbed the menu with my hooves and, well, it didn’t go too well as you might imagine. My hooves just clumsily slipped over the surface again and again, until a faint purple aura enveloped it and brought it up to eye level. I looked over to Twilight and saw her menu was doing the same, with a matching aura emanating from her horn. “Uh, thanks,” I sheepishly smiled and hid behind my menu after she gave a silent smile in return. I started at the top of menu and figured I’d work my way down. I scrunched my face up as I kept on going, until I was forced to sigh and push the menu down and looked at Twilight. “Twilight?” I almost whispered across the table. “I can’t read this.” She immediately set her own menu down and gave me a bewildered look. “What?” “I mean, I can’t understand any of this,” I deadpanned and motioned to the menu in front of me. Twilight bit the inside of her lip and brought my menu up next to her own and compared them before quickly giving me an even more confused look than before. “It all looks like scribbles to me.” I said before she could voice a question. “But…” She trailed off and tried to make sense of it all. “You can speak our language just fine, why wouldn’t be able to read it? Wait, how can you even speak our language!? You’re not exactly from around here,” Twilight questioned with a slight tilt of her head, the pink strand in her mane falling over the side of her horn. “Oh, yeah when Luna first found me I couldn’t understand anything that was said, so Celestia came the next day and did some sort of spell to make me speak your language,” I replied nonchalantly before I looked down to the table with a sad look. “I guess it only works with speaking, and not reading.” “Huh. I suppose that makes some sense,” Twilight said with a quick tilt of her head the other way, moving her mane even more. “Well, I guess I could teach you to read while you’re with me too?” She offered. Great, now I really feel like a child… can’t even read. I mentally complained. “Sure, sounds good to me.” I guess I might as well just go along with it; reading does tend to have its advantages. “Do you think you could read the menu to me? I don’t exactly want to go hungry,” I finished with a weak laugh. “Alright then...” She replied as she brought one of the menus back up before listing off various items. “They have simple things like hay fries, daisy sandwiches. Then they have stuff like spinach lasagna with a poppy sauce, a pumpkin calzone with mushroom dip…” She continued to list off dishes for a few minutes. Each one sounded less appetizing than the last. I didn’t want this light, non-satisfying stuff, I wanted real food. “That stuff sounds great and all,” I interrupted. “But do they have anything less…vegetarian on the menu?” “’Less vegetarian’? Wait, you mean…” Twilight’s voice faded away as it dawned on her what I was insinuating. She looked around before leaning towards me and whispering. “You eat meat!? You’re a carnivore?” Twilight asked before leaning away and looking perhaps just a bit unwary of me all of a sudden. “Well, technically we’re omnivores, so… we eat more than just meat at least.” This seemed to ease her down, if only a bit. “Oh, well...” Twilight blinked a few times as she looked at me with unsure eyes. “I guess I can’t hold that against you, it’s just who you are, I mean ‘were’, wait that didn’t come out righ—“ “It’s alright, no harm done,” I interrupted her and flashed a nice smile. “And the spinach lasagna sounds just fine.” I added as I saw our waiter coming back. After she placed our orders and the waiter left, she looked back to me with a face full of questions. “So… what kinds of animals did you eat back home?” Twilight hesitantly asked, it was obvious she didn’t really want to know, but she seemed to need to ask. “Umm, cows, chickens, pigs, fish…” I recounted as I mentally counted each animal off on invisible fingers, each seemed to make Twilight a bit more uncomfortable than the last. “… lamb, turkey, whatever it is hot dogs are made out of, even had duck once.” I could see her face was almost completely drained of color, absolutely mortified. “Let’s move on, shall we?” “Yes, um I actually had a question about you if you don’t mind.” Twilight asked after shifting in her chair and a moment to regain her color. “What were your species called on Earth? What did you look like?” “We’re called ‘humans’,” I said in a bit of a hushed tone, careful to not be overhead. “We’re bipedal, with hands that have fingers and we don’t have fur, for starters,” I stopped once I noticed Twilight actually pulled a small notepad out of her side-bag and started taking notes. After a few moments she motioned for me to continue. “Well, uh our skin colors range from really pale to really dark, almost black, and a lot of us are a pale, pinkish color. It can change depending on where you are in the world though.” “Uh huh,” Twilight mumbled as she quickly took down everything I said. “Do you have different tribes like ponies do?” “No…” I just blinked to her. “We’re just male and female. We don’t have magic or fly either…” I looked up to my horn, wondering if I’d ever get my magic working and what I’d be able to do with it. Twilight continued to write for a couple minutes after I last spoke, flipping several pages in her small notebook. I took it as an opportunity to try and come up with some questions of my own, which of course I had many, although there was one I simply had to know above all else. “Hey, Twilight? What color are my eyes?” I asked, causing Twilight to drop her pen and raise an eyebrow, not sure if she heard me correctly. “How do you not know the color of your own eyes?” She blinked her own violet ones at me, curious. “Well, I’ve only been here a few days, and I haven’t exactly had a chance to look in a mirror,” I finished by pointing to my face with my left hoof. “Oh, I guess that makes sense.” Twilight slightly shrugged before looking at my eyes with that studying gaze I had a feeling I’d be getting used to. “They’re a slightly dark shade of hazelnut.” She said before quickly looking away. “Thanks.” I smiled in return. “Lunch, is served.” A heavily accented voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked over to see our waiter levitating two large, covered plates in a yellow aura. I had to admit, the magic seemed quite useful to the unicorn, and almost pretty, almost. The waiter set them down in front of us and quickly pulled off the tops, allowing the sweet, alluring scents from within reach our noses. My spinach lasagna with poppy sauce looked delicious, which was likely reflected on my face as I stared at it. I looked over to Twilight’s plate and she only wanted a daisy sandwich, a ‘favorite’ of hers she told me. After making sure we were set, our server trotted off back inside and left us alone to eat. I looked back over to Twilight and saw her easily eating her meal with magic, something that would not be so easy for me. I stared at the silverware on the table, wondering how in the world I would even eat with only hooves. Just like with the menu, I tried to manipulate them without much success. After a few failed attempts I looked up to meet my violet friend’s gaze. She silently, curiously watched me with exaggerated, slowed chewing. I glared back down at the silverware, mocking me as my stomach churned. “Twilight? How do ponies without magic eat?” I asked without taking my eyes off the offending fork. “Well, earth ponies and pegasi have more of a natural talent for manipulating objects with their hooves...” She trailed off as I looked over to see her giving a quick glance to her own silverware, easily floating before her. “... unicorns have their magic to assist them, so ponies like you and I aren’t as naturally...” Her voice faded as she mentally searched for the right word. “Dexterous?” I offered with a raised eyebrow. “Exactly!” She exclaimed back at me before giving a quick glance between my uneaten meal and myself. “If you want, I could—” “You are not feeding me—” I interrupted with a dark glare. I am not a baby... “... teach you to use your magic,” Twilight deadpanned with her ears slightly fallen. “Oh, that sounds fine,” I grinned quickly, hoping to forget my momentary rudeness. “Good,” She smiled before glancing off to the side, as if trying to remember something. “You said you used your magic to move a glass of water before, right?” “I think I used it,” I politely corrected. “I’m not sure if I actually did anything other than give myself a migraine.” “Did your horn glow before, when you attempted to use your magic?” Twilight quickly asked. “Umm... I kinda had my eyes closed when I tried actually,” I sheepishly grinned in response. “Here, I want to try something,” she said as her horn lit with her magic and without even blinking brought her fork up to the middle of the table, levitating a few inches and pointing upwards. “Try to move it now.” “How? If I couldn’t move anything before, what makes you think I’ll move something you're holding?” I questioned with a hoof pointed at the skyward-pointing cutlery. “I’m not actively holding it, I only told it to levitate until somepony else manages to move it,” Twilight corrected. “Try to move it with your magic, and this time I want you to have your eyes open so you can see what you’re doing. “Alright, but don’t complain if it somehow turns into a black hole, or turns into an inter-dimensional portal that spawns demons... or if it talks,” I said with a light sigh and a shrug. I took in a long breath and slowly released it to calm myself. I looked at the suspended fork and tried to concentrate, my vision of Twilight behind it went hazy as my eyes focused only on the silver surface of my objective. “Good,” Twilight quietly complemented. “Now, try to imagine the texture of it, feel the curvature and points of the object with your mind. Imagine you are physically holding it, and slowly tighten your grasp around its surface,” she instructed as if it were out of a text book. “Ok,” I replied with a flat monotone voice, trying to not lose my concentration. I started to think about how it must feel, the smooth surface and the pointy tips of the fork as I mentally reached out to grab it. After a few moments, I felt what I could best describe as a ‘ping’, feeling something not attached to your body. I didn’t move a muscle as I closed in around the source of the magical feeling surrounding the eating utensil. Very slowly, the aura surrounding the fork faded from Twilight’s color to my own, a soft, brownish green hue that matched my eyes perfectly. The two colors flashed as mine fought for control over the small object. Eventually my magic enveloped the rest of the violet, and when I had control, the fork slightly bobbed in the air as it changed owners. “Yes!” Twilight exclaimed before quickly composing herself and issuing further directions. “Good, now that you’ve got it in your magic, I want you to slowly bring it towards you. Keep a steady concentration and take your time.” I drew in another large breath and let it out without taking my eyes off the fork. I ‘pulled’ it with my magic and the result was a barely-noticeable twitch from the floating object. I tried again and again, each time it hardly did anything. Feeling frustration build up at the lack of results, I ‘pushed’ my entirety into moving the utensil all at once. I blinked after the momentary exertion and when I opened my eyes, the fork was gone, and Twilight’s face was blank with shock. “Twilight?” I asked to get her attention while I looked around me, looking to see if the fork fell off the side of the table. “Where’d it go? I tried moving it, I blinked and it was gone when I looked again. Umm... Twilight?” I asked again as I saw her eyes slowly drifting straight up to the sky. “It’s... gone,” she whispered, dumbstruck at what I’d just done. “What do you mean ‘gone’?” I questioned. “Where did it go? I didn’t disintegrate it or anything, right?” “I worriedly asked. “Oh, it’s still whole,” Twilight said as she looked down at the table, her eyes quickly darting back and forth as she thought. After a moment she looked back up, her eyes looking to the sky once more. I followed her gaze and saw nothing but the tops of the taller buildings and a perfectly clear, blue sky above us. “Twilight? Did I—?” “Yes.” She interrupted, both of just still looking straight up. “It’s up there, somewhere.” “Do you know where it’ll land?” I nervously asked before gulping to myself. The thought of a supersonic fork impaling some innocent pony was not a comforting picture. “No. I wouldn’t have even noticed if I’d blinked too,” Twilight answered in what sounded an almost impressed tone. “It was so fast I barely noticed as it instantly accelerated to a speed appropriate to the magic you put into it.” “How fast do you think that was?” I asked as my gaze drifted to the knife that rested next to my plate, slowly using my hoof to push it away. “Fast enough that I don’t think it will come back down.” Twilight looked back to the sky one last time. “Let’s... let’s put this lesson on hold for now, before we end up owing the restaurant a new patio,” Twilight nervously laughed. I silently agreed and nodded to her before deciding the hard way of eating would at least for now, be the safer route. It took a few tries, but I eventually had a decent way of manipulating the silverware not currently coasting through the atmosphere. “So, does that always happen the first time?” I looked over and asked Twilight, who’d finished eating much quicker than I did. She’d been writing something down for quite some time and I noticed an occasional glance up to me, and the sky. “Does what always happen?” She asked with a raised eyebrow as she closed her small notebook while we talked. “Sending something into orbit the first time you use magic,” I replied with a slight deadpan and a hoof pointed straight up. “Oh, well... no,” Twilight answered after a few thoughtful moments. “It does correlate with a theory I recently thought of, and you may have actually helped me with.” She brought her notebook up off the table and beamed. “What ‘theory’? And how did I help?” “I’ll spare you the little details for now, but,” Twilight halted her words as she quickly flipped her book open and scanned something. “Essentially it’s a hypothesis that a unicorns first use of magic is always a rather...” She trailed off as she looked skyward once more before turning back to me. “... A rather sequential expenditure of energy, after which, their powers are reduced to ‘average’ levels. Normally a unicorn’s first magical release is when they are still a child, but you’re a fully grown stallion, which would likely explain why yours was so powerful.” “So, I can safely use my magic now?” I asked, my voice full of hope. The look on Twilight’s face made it quite apparent she was not very keen of my plan. “I’d prefer we were somewhere less crowded first,” She waved a hoof towards the street and the seemingly endless crowd of mostly unicorns everywhere. “There would be less chance of... catastrophic disaster that way.” “Makes sense I suppose,” I agreed and shrugged slightly, I certainly didn’t want anybody getting hurt because I was an idiot and couldn’t control myself. I was going to stay silent, but something came to the front of my mind at that moment. “Hey, what happened the first time you used your magic?” Twilight nearly dropped her water as she took a drink. “I... I’d rather not talk about it right now.” She managed to say whilst coughing from her drink. I must have hit a sensitive subject, I’ll be sure to tread carefully in the future... I quickly thought to myself. I turned just in time to see our waiter arrive and place a small slip of paper, likely the bill, on our table and collect our plates. “Have a wonderful day you two, and don’t worry about your little, ‘accident’, your secret is safe with me,” he finished with a nod before turning and leaving. “Thanks.” I nearly squeaked out, my face likely a reddish hue as the embarrassment of that situation made itself known again. I looked over to Twilight who was levitating some gold coins from her bag to pay for the meal. Curious, I picked one of these coins up and set it on the flat, bottom part of my hoof as I examined it. They must have been the ‘bits’ the princess and Twilight were talking about. Seeing it as little more than a shiny coin, I quickly put it back with the small pile atop the bill. “Come on, if we make the train now, we’ll reach Ponyville by nightfall,” Twilight simply said as she got out of the chair and levitated the bag from beneath the table. I quickly slid out of my chair, ready to leave and get to my temporary home. <><><><><><><><><><><> The Canterlot train station was, unsurprisingly, a very crowded place. Throngs of ponies were constantly coming and going from the spectacular city. Twilight and I sat on a bench and waited until our train pulled up, in the meantime there was something I’d been mulling over for quite some time now. “Twilight?” I asked to get her attention next to me. “Yesterday when Celestia and Luna saw me, Luna said they both ‘commanded great power.’ What did she mean by that?” I asked with a slight tilt of my head, eagerly awaiting an answer. Twilight glanced away for a moment as she registered my question and tried to formulate a response. “I’m not sure how things work in your world, but here Celestia and Luna raise the sun and moon every day and night.” What... “How... how is that possible?” “I stuttered, lost at the concept of something so large being moved by an individual. I looked up to the mid-afternoon sun then looked back to Twilight with a bewildered look. “They move that!?” I asked with a hoof pointing towards the blazing star. “It may sound strange, but it’s true,” Twilight nodded, confirming what I still thought to be a ridiculous and impossible idea. “Celestia raises the sun in the morning, and Luna raises the moon every night.” “Wow, I’m kinda having a hard time wrapping my mind around something like that,” I admitted and looked back up to the sun. How powerful are the princesses? I’d certainly hate to see what would happen if I ended up on their bad sides... “What do you mean? How else would it move without magic?” Twilight quizzically asked, regarding me almost as if I were crazy. “By itself? Like it’s supposed to!” “I’m assuming that’s how it works on your planet?” Twilight asked, slightly quieter than her previous statements, lest somebody passing by get suspicious. “For starters it’s not magic that moves them, it’s—” My reply was cut short by an ear-splitting whistle travelling through the station. My ears reflexively flattened as the assaulting sound echoed. “I’ll tell you later.” I slid off the bench and followed Twilight to our train. Before heading inside I gave the railed vehicle a curious look, noting its strange, colorful designs covering the entirety of the exterior. We eventually made it to our private cabin. It was pretty spacious for what I expected, a small group of ponies could easily maneuver around it without problems. With only the two of us, it felt empty yet calm, just the way I wanted it. There was a table in the middle, a few other miscellaneous pieces of fine furniture and a bunk bed on either side of the room. Twilight casually lifted and set her bag on the table before lightly stretching. “I’m gonna take a nap on the way to Ponyville, I didn’t sleep at all last night,” she said with a yawn, the tiredness in her eyes making itself known. “What about you?” I opened my mouth to answer but was momentarily interrupted as the floor beneath us lurched forward. I looked over to the window and saw we were slowly moving away from the city now. “I’ll stay up for a bit, got a lot to think about,” I shrugged and walked over to the window and pushed the shades the rest of the way up, letting the midday sun further illuminate the half of the cabin that naturally became mine. “I bet,” Twilight lightly smirked before turning and going to the bunk bed on the right side of the room and flopping herself into the bottom bed. “Let me know if you need anything, Edward,” she said as the window shades on her side of the room magically shut all the way. “Just call me ‘Ed’, it’s a nickname from back home,” I looked over and lightly smiled. She gave me a tired smile in return before turning her back to me and pulling a blanket over herself. I looked out the window and watched as the edges of Canterlot quickly turned into countryside that seemed to stretch forever. I contently sighed to myself, happy at finally having some quiet time to just think. The train was slowly picking up speed, the scenery before me moving away a little bit quicker as I thoughtfully stared out the window, reclined on my hind legs and my chin resting on the window sill. After a few minutes I heard a light snoring sound coming from the other side of the room. I gave a glance at the rest of my surroundings, taking in all the little details of the room. This is really happening, isn’t it? Everything over the past couple days really began to sink in now that it was quiet. I thought about everything the princesses and Twilight said, how eager they all seemed to make sure I was comfortable during my stay. But... what if I never do leave? What will happen to me if Celestia and Luna don’t find me a way home? Everybody seems nice enough, but this isn’t where I belong... I wish I was back home, in my room listening to my cd’s and just spacing out... I exhaled a long breath and drew my gaze from the window for a moment. My eyes eventually came to rest on an inkwell sitting on the table. I looked up to my horn and thought I’d give my magical endeavors one more shot for the day. I remembered Twilight’s advice from earlier, about ‘feeling’ the object with my mind. I took a few breaths to steady my nerves and reached out, a slight dark green, almost brown field of magic surrounding the tiny inkwell. After a few minutes of carefully pacing how much of myself I put into it with no visible results, I released my magical grasp and frowned. I sighed to myself in defeat and turned back to the window. I have a feeling this is going to be a long stay... The calm, scenic view outside sped past as we continued on our destination, bringing me ever closer to my new home.