Voices broke the silence, disturbing the dragon’s slumber. Twilight was having an argument with someone, but Spike didn’t recognize the masculine voice... It wasn’t Shining Armor, maybe his father Night Light? The little dragon wished he could see what was happening, but first he would have to escape the giant ice cream tub he had fallen into.
When he finally escaped the delicious death trap he realized that it really was Night Light, though he was arguing with his wife Velvet and not Twilight. They were having a row over a pile of dirty dishes: it had grown so high that the roof needed to be removed. Velvet suddenly decided to take a plate from the bottom, and it turned out that the house was relying on it for its structural integrity: the whole thing came down on top of them. Once the dust settled the two ponies started yelling again, except it was Celestia and Pony Joe, bickering about what was better between cakes and doughnuts. While Spike wondered idly how he could have mistaken the pink alicorn for his mother the princess shouted a mighty battle cry and summoned a giant tidal wave of whipped cream topped with frosting.
Next thing he knew Spike was surfing on the sugary wave. He suddenly realized he was near to a jewel covered beach where he could see Rarity cheering for him. Next to her he could see his parents, Celestia and Pony joe, Twilight and a weird furless creature... And they were all making out.
Gross.
Thinking about ways to impress the white unicorn and to escape the nightmarish sight, Spike suddenly did a backflip, launched himself in the air and flew into outer space, his red cape blowing in the wind. It was pretty cool up there, he had to admit, maybe he could go to the moon next? Too bad he had not brought any sunglasses though... The sun was unbearably bright from up close. Wait was it getting closer?
Spike slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the glare of the morning sun shining directly on his face. He thought about what he had just experienced.
“Well, that was stupid.”
The little dragon stretched his tired muscles: evenings with Rarity were always pretty awesome, except for all the chores she asked him to do. But he was glad to help, he always was.
“Twilight?” Spike looked at his sister’s bed, the covers in total disarray. She had woken up before him, never a good sign: the unicorn was not a morning pony, her crabby demeanor in the early hours of the day were legendary in the family, result of her nocturnal studies. He sighed and went into ‘dragon assistant’ mode, cleaning up the mess.
After a short while everything was neat and clean, next task would be to go downstairs: Spike expected to find Twilight collapsed on the kitchen floor waiting for him to make a good pot of coffee. He was then surprised to find her in the middle of a standoff in the main hall. It was like a game of pony wrestling: in the middle of the ring, a purple unicorn, and in front of the door, backed against the ropes, the goofy creature from his dream. He remembered that he had seen him the day before, except now he was covered in a white sheet spotted with what looked like apple sauce stains. At least Spike hoped those were applesauce... Was this thing even toilet trained? Neither one of them gave him any attention, so Spike crept to the kitchen without a word.
“What the heck!” The back room was a mess: chairs overturned, apple bits everywhere and a smashed window to boot. Full of indignation Spike stomped his little feet backwards and faced the culprits.
“Hey, if you think I’m going to clean all of that, then you’ve got another thing coming!”
Both pony and human turned towards him. One of them with an astonished expression.
“A talking lizard...” Mès eyed the newcomer with a hint of superstitious awe.
“You can talk? And what do you mean lizard? Name’s Spike, I am a proud dragon!” Spike puffed his chest for dramatic effect.
“Dragon, like a draco ? Sorry but you don’t really look like one.” Forgetting momentarily about his predicament, Mès’s mind went back to all of the legends about dracos, terrible snake like creatures, the most notorious one coming from a greek myth: Ladon, supposed to guard the apples Hercules was tasked to retrieve. He even had a constellation named after him. Meeting such a creature would have been an honor, if only this particular dragon looked less like an overgrown salamander and more like the mythical reptile. “Are all real dragons as pathetic looking as you? You are kinda breaking my heart here.”
“What?! Do you live under a rock or something? I’m just a baby you dummy! Dragons are the most powerful creatures there is!”
“Gonna take a lot to convince me.” The man scratched his bald head. This sure was a weird place, where animals could talk and even use mystical powers. Which reminded him...
“Seems like the Iberians have a lot of things to hide.” Mès turned back towards Twilight. “Dragons, talking horses...” He ignored Twilight’s weak protest. “And animal sorcerers... No wonder the Empire could never truly break this land.” The man took a brief look at his palm before clenching his fist and staring at the unicorn. “So tell me master, have you taken this one’s freedom too?”
“No!”
“You, dragon, what is your role in this household?”
“Eh? Do you mean what I do? Well I do the dishes, the cleaning, I look out for supplies, that kind of stuff.”
“Mès, this isn’t what it looks like...”
“Then why don’t you explain yourself.”
“Well...”
“Did you feel that having one servant was not enough?”
“Hey, I’m an assistant!”
“Spike, not helping!” Twilight was clenching her teeth in frustration.
“You found me sleeping and thought that you could do with a replacement for your little lizard?”
“What? Are you trying to replace me?”
“NO, don’t be silly!”
“It’s true isn’t it! You told me that I was slacking off yesterday, and now you are going to throw me out!” The little dragon accused.
“She is. Probably needed someone with my physical abilities.”
“No, I would never...”
“Physical? Oh, now I understand.” Spike looked at Mès, as if judging him. “Sheesh I knew it would happen sooner or later, but not like this. You could just tell me that you want to have the house for yourself to do dirty things with him whenever you want, no need to hide it.” ‘Just like in my dream.’ He thought.
“What?!” Both Twilight and Mès exclaimed, the latter looking at the unicorn in a whole new way, making her blush furiously.
“I know when I’m not wanted, I’ll go get my things.” Spike started to climb the stairs, already planning on ways to get one of his friends to let him move in temporarily. If Twilight just wanted a new assistant, then he would have fought to keep his place, but if she wanted to do some mushy stuff, then he was out of there. “Don’t worry, Shining Armor warned me about this, I’ll be out of your hair for a while.”
“What did he tell you? Spike come back here!” Twilight broke eye contact with Mès, the horrified man taking that opportunity to open the door and bolt outside. He had been instructed to wait and listen to her, and he had. Now was the time to run for the hills before she forbade him to escape.
“NO!” Twilight tenetichaly grabbed Mès’s ankles, making him fall flat on his face.
“HELP!” Several ponies turned towards the unidentified creature caught in Twilight’s magic. “SHE WANTS ME TO BE HER SEX SLAVE PLEASE HELP ME!” Like an insect caught by a blushing purple spider, Mès was quickly dragged inside. Soon only the deep grooves left by his hands were left, and the library door slammed shut. Most ponies looked at each other before simply shrugging off and going on about their day. Ponyvilians always heard rumors about the eccentricities of Canterlot ponies, and it seemed that the new addition to the town was no exception. Best not to interfere on whatever role play this was.
Inside the library Twilight and Mès wrestled furiously, one wanting silence and the other trying to escape. After a few tiring moments the unicorn’s patience ran out.
“Okay, that’s IT, you asked for this. BE QUIET!” The order instantly sealed Mès’s mouth shut, which did not prevent him from squirming around even harder.
“Oh for pony sake... Look listen to me, please. You can’t...”
“Hmmhmmhm!”
“If you go out of shouting distance from me you’ll be...”
“HMMM!”
“I am trying to warn you...”
“HRMMMMMMMM!”
“... You are really irritating, you know that?”
“Hmmm?”
“Stop making sounds, stop moving and STOP BEING ANNOYING!”
Mès instantly went completely rigid and silent in an instant, resting on his back like a plank of wood. He looked resentfully at the unicorn on top of him.
“Sorry, but you brought this upon yourself.” Exhausted by their little scuffle Twilight sat down onto Mès’s belly. His defiant expression clearly stated ‘Do your worst, but I’ll get you in the end.’
“Look, Mès, please listen to me. Please, please pleeeease! Give me a chance to explain.” This time she had asked, not ordered him. Mès caught that fact and looked puzzled for an instant. Twilight took advantage of his confusion to continue hastily.
“I did not, in any way, want this to happen. When you got here you were hurt, I only tried to heal you, but something went wrong.” She pointed to his right palm with a hoof. “Something in your paw reacted to my magic, and the spell triggered itself.” A look of realization crossed his eyes. “I don’t know how but you are now bound to me by not only what you called Branding, but a unicorn spell too.” Mès raised an eyebrow in question. “Oh right, I told you that I was a pony, but I’m also what we call a unicorn, see?” She pointed to her horn. He rolled his eyes, if he wanted to say ‘fair enough’ or ‘whatever’ she couldn’t tell.
“When it happened I felt the Branding curse, but also the Familiar Binding spell,so we have to play by the rules of both. And a condition of the unicorn spell states that if you should try to run away...” Mès sighed, indicating that he had understood. He vaguely remembered a mention of magical lightning, he didn’t need a picture. ‘Now do you understand why I had to stop you?” He blinked slowly in response.
“I am truly sorry.”They stayed in that awkward pose looking at each other, lost in their own thoughts until...
“Eeeew, wait for me to get away, why don’t you!” Spike was looking at them from the top of the stairs, his improvised luggage on his shoulder. He hadn’t decided if he should have been disgusted or amused by the situation.
Twilight jumped from her compromising position and sent Spike to his room to unpack his little bundle on a stick. After taking a moment or two to compose herself she looked at the paralyzed man on the ground.
“You can move and speak.”
“What about being annoying?” Mès picked himself up and was promptly standing over Twilight, the unicorn’s eyes level with his belly button. She was so little compared to him... “Am I still forbidden to do that?”
“It’s in your nature, no spell can take that away from you.” She smirked at him, happy to receive a little contrite smile in return.
---ΩΩΩ---
After some sulking, Spike had finally consented to listen to Twilight’s explanations, and he had believed the part where he was not being evicted in any way, although he still looked suspiciously at Mès from time to time. He agreed to clean the kitchen in exchange for a trip to Sugarcube Corner to get whatever he wanted.
“With a little luck he will be satisfied before he ruins my budget for the year.” Twilight relaxed on a long chair while Mès took a seat next to her; he was busy examining his surroundings. He noted that the basement was illuminated by a series of lamps hanging from the walls, the roots of the old tree sticking out everywhere.
“Maybe next time you’ll think twice before throwing fruits at me.” He poked one of the many scientific equipment littering the underground room. “Or is this how your people usually treat newcomers?”
“Well, I am not really used to the whole ‘social interaction’ thing yet, still working on it.”
“No kidding. I saw others of your kind out there, so what’s your excuse? Do you live in this tree all year long?”
“For your information, I moved in this town not long ago. And I never was one for making friends before, I was kinda obsessed with books.”
“I noticed.” Mès pointed to the ceiling where the library stood. “Like a bird making its nest. You don’t have a pair of wings hidden under your fur, have you?” She reflexively shifted away from his outreached hand. He retracted it, looking at her with an amused smile. “Are you scared of me?”
“No.” She sighed. “And yes, just a little. I don’t really know anything about you yet, and I have given you enough reasons for you to hurt me. But you did not. Not when I cornered you yesterday, not when I pelted you with apples and not even when you realized that I was the one responsible for your branding.” Twilight looked intently in his eyes. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because I didn’t want to kill you. Or anyone else for that matter”
“But you had planned to.”
“Only because I thought you were in my situation, I am no bloodthirsty warrior. That night, the night I woke up here, I was about to run away when I saw the mark on your flanks. I thought that you had been branded just like me. I decided to stay because of you, to free you.”
“The Familiar spell! It was turning you loyal and protective of me...”
“I think that something was definitely making me care for you more than it was natural at first, like you were really important to me.” Mès noticed she was uncomfortable with this information. “Don’t worry, it didn’t last long: I left your side to prepare my escape eventually.”
“An intelligent being could very well be resistant to the feelings of servitude.” Twilight was frowning at the thought. Had the spell been off limits on superior species only for this reason, before the whole process was banned altogether? She had hoped that the taboo stemmed from a morality issue, not an inconvenience. “Then you would have ran if you had not mistaken my cutie mark for a brand...”
“And I would have been struck by lightning moments after. Yes.”
“And this morning?”
“If you think a couple of soft juicy apples to the face is the worst kind of abuse I suffered...”
“Not that.”
Mès considered before answering, knowing that he truth would not alleviate the unicorn’s uneasiness. But he also believed that lying always brought more pain than anything else.
“Actually I think I almost did attack you.” Mès thought about what had happened inside his head that morning. He felt a shiver run down his spine. “And that scared me. That feeling of hatred and anger... ” Twilight was taken aback by his eyes: she could catch a glimpse of the same terror she had seen in his gaze after the first order incident, when he had fled to the front door. “The reflex of throwing myself at you, to hurt you, to... I can’t stand that feeling.” Mès shook just enough for Twilight to notice. She put a hoof on his joined hands in a soothing gesture.
“So you were not scared of me? You ran because you didn’t want to hurt me?”
“You frightened me just enough to stir a violent reaction from me. But I never used to react like that... Something happened to me, changed me. I don’t remember how I got here, I don’t even remember why I ran away or who I was with.” He subconsciously took her hoof between his hands. “And I am afraid to remember.”
“There might be something important you are missing, I’m sure I could jog your memories with a spell.”
“And what if I remember that I did something horrid. What if I ran from my home because I murdered someone in cold blood. Maybe I was running with an accomplice. Who knows, maybe I disposed of him too!”
“You don’t know that.”
“Twilight...” Mès’s eyes had a slightly unhinged glean to them. “Here is what I know: I know that I am a fugitive, I know that a large force has been tasked with my capture, I know that I overused my powers like never before, and I know that my hands reek of blood.” She compulsively drew her hoof back, earning a pained look from him. She recollected herself quickly enough.
“I still believe that you should try remembering. I will give you a few days, but sooner or later we will have to face the consequences for what we did.”
“We?”
“The familiar binding spell is forbidden here. If I had reported your arrival maybe I could have been forgiven, it was an accident after all. But I chose to hide you, tried to deal with it on my own, like I haven’t learned anything from my friendship lessons.” Twilight looked very grieved by that realization, Mès had no idea why. “The longer we wait, the worst it will be for us; especially for me to be honest. If there is one pony that can break this curse, it is princess Celestia, and she will want to know the truth about you. The whole truth. Then who knows, maybe you will be set free.”
“What about you?”
Twilight didn’t respond, she just watched him sadly. The silence stretched uncomfortably, so Mès chose to change the subject.
“What about this Celestia, what is she a princess of?”
“She is the leader of this land, Equestria. Have you never heard of her?” This really was an astonishing fact. The name of the immortal alicorn was known all over the world, by every race and ethnicity; the respect the name carried varied but still, Mès should have heard of her. “You mentioned Iberians, Romans, an Empire... I have never heard of those either. Nor have I ever read about anything like you.”
“Well talking animals such as yourself and your little lizard brat are stuff of legends in my home.”
Twilight considered all that information, she could only see one explanation.
“When you arrived, you were slightly scorched, like spike was the first time I teleported the both of us. Can you do anything like that?”
“What do you mean, ‘teleported’?”
“Disappearing from one place and reappearing in another. It is a very rare piece of magical talent to have, one that requires long studies, concentration and a lot of spare energy.”
“Oh yeah, I did that once when I was younger.”
“Did you reappear in one piece? Some say that if the unicorn lacks focus some parts can be... left behind.” She wondered if Mès had been covered in fur once.
“I returned whole, but I kinda blew a hole in the house I got into.”
“That is quite impressive...”
“And everything was on fire too.”
“Fire?”
“Yeah, green fire is kinda my thing. Used to happen whenever I lost control.”
“... I have a fire starter in my tree house...”
“Weird, I could swear someone called me that before.”
“I can’t imagine why.” She face-hoofed. Mès had a definite airhead side to him. Combined with the raw magical abilities he described, he could very well be classified as a dangerous specimen.
“Okay I think I have an idea about the way you got here, but first I need more information. Mès, can you tell me everything you know about the Empire, and for my sake, please please please try to stay on topic this time, with a cherry on top?”
---ΩΩΩ---
Mès had graciously agreed to keep his anecdotes to a minimum and Twilight had gathered an impressive stack of notes: amassing knowledge on another culture, or another world as she now suspected, was a tremendous honor. She would have been ecstatic at the prospect of publishing her findings if not for the head splitting migraine: Mès’s rambling, even at a minimum level, was more than she could handle in large doses. Thankfully they had taken a break for lunch, and were now in the restored kitchen.
Many facts pushed the unicorn to believe that Mès was native from another world entirely. First of all, no territory as large as the one he had described could be hidden from the rest of the world. Secondly, humans, as Mès had called his species, were the only known intelligent species there, except for myths and legends. Twilight had listened in a horrified stupor when Mès had described the equines of his world; she was strongly thinking about wiping her mind clean of a particular set of raunchy stories. Furthermore the level of technology the humans possessed was clearly milleniums behind Equestria or other nations.
Even now, Mès displayed amazement and awe when Spike turned on the stove, took eggs from the fridge or ran a piece of salad under the faucet. He was now playing with it, turning it from cold to hot while giving the water a series of flicks to test the temperature. Twilight had seen Rarity’s cat doing the exact same thing before, she had to admit it was pretty cute. She added some observation on the scroll she had with her, along with other notes on his behavior.
“You really don’t have any plumbing where you come from?”
“Well I know that some roman cities have sewers and very sophisticated bath houses, but nothing like this!” Mès left the tap running and turned to the fridge. “And nothing even close to this ice box. You persist in telling me that this doesn’t work with sorcery?” He opened the door and stuck his face inside.
“No.” Twilight magically turned the tap off and closed the fridge door. “It works with electricity, science. It’s not free so please stop turning everything on.”
“Science, peh!” Mès had a mixer in his hands, pushing every button. “Sounds like sorcery to me. And this thing is broken.”
“You have to plug it in. That little cord, put it into the hole there.”
“Hmm...” Mès looked at the power plug with interest.
“And don’t put your fingers in it!”
“Damnit. Well at least I can try to make this thing work.” He looked a the mixer and concentrated. “Maybe if I could just apply the right amount of power... Oh yeah, forgot I’m completely out.”
“Maybe your magic simply does not work in this world.” Mès discarded the appliance and stared at his hands. “Did this ever happen to you before?”
“Never. This is the first time I can’t get my power to go up.”
“Happens to the best of us brother.” Spike said with a smile. “Lunch is served.”
“Nice work little one, smells delicious.” Mès sat next to Twilight while Spike brought the pan to the table. The man eyed suspiciously at the food, sniffing a bowl of what looked like fried grass, made a face at a plate of seasoned salad and finally grabbed a handful of scrambled eggs from the frying pan.
“You could at least use a plate...” Twilight added a few scribbles to her report.
“Ha, you sound just like... like... like someone I know.”
“Still can’t remember much?”
“Nope. Can’t shake the feeling that I’m in trouble either. I still don’t know why I ran away, or who I was with, but I do remember who was chasing me.” Mès pointed to his egg covered palm. “Bastard that put his stigma on me. He was always creeping around me since I was little. Maybe he tried to enroll me as a fellow Damned and I refused?”
“Stigma, you mean the sign that transforms itself into a Brand right?” Twilight flipped through her notes. “And the Damned usually put the stigma on sorcerers when they are just babies, correct?”
“Yep”
“That sure complicates things, if you had just received my mark it would be easier to find a way to remove it, but if you have been prepared to accept it your whole life...”
“That’s the idea. It’s impossible to remove, becomes a part of me.”
“What about cutting your arm off?” Spike said jokingly while munching on a bunch of hay fries, barely listening to the conversation.
“Wouldn’t work either, the spell would replace the brand on another part of the body. Amputation is pretty common when you work as a slave, so that would be too easy.”
An awkward silence followed Mès’s statement. He felt the mood shift and gazed around the table where Spike avoided his eyes and Twilight had pushed her salad away, apparently not hungry anymore. ‘Well this is going to be fun...’
The meal went on wordlessly, the only noise being the human’s gulping, the dagon’s crunching and the unicorn writing.
“Okay.” Twilight took her notes while Spike gathered the dishes. “Time to do some tests.” She and Mès headed towards the basement. “Let’s start with some scientific data.”
---ΩΩΩ---
“Mès! Please stop moving around or this won’t work!”
“Nooo! Get that thing away from me!”
“I swear it won’t hurt, don’t be such a baby.”
“Stop using your magic on me! Let go of my toga! Spike was right about you!”
“It’s just a probe, it’s a scientific tool to gather information about your body.”
“NOOOO”
---ΩΩΩ---
“Okay, the probe is out of the question, I’ll have to make do with a thermometer and some blood samples. For now lets analyse your brain waves.”
“Do I have to be strapped into this thing? And what’s with this weird helmet? Why are there so many lights on it? What are those rope thingies coming out of it? And why are they going into that big closet? Is that a scroll coming out of it? Is it supposed to be on fire? I’m getting a ‘something is about to blow up’ vibe... Oooh what’s that green bubbly thiiiAAAAAH!”
---ΩΩΩ---
“Sorry about your brain analyser thingy...”
“No... No matter... I guess I’ll just have to get a new one.”
“All these contraptions are really amazing! What’s this one?”
“It’s an experimental tesla coil, I use it to no wait don’t PUSH THAT BUTTON!”
---ΩΩΩ---
“Hey Twilight, Fluttershy is here to see you.” Spike poked his head inside the basement, discovering a very disheveled Twilight, fur sticking out from static shock. “What happened to you?”
“Nothing. Tell Fluttershy that I’m sorry but I am very busy right now.”
“Okay.” Spike noticed that Mès was standing in a corner of the room, slightly bent over. “What’s up with you?”
“Nothing.” Mès shifted his toga slightly.
“Right, just a friendly advice, don’t mess with Twilight’s equipment, she can get a little scary when she’s angry.”
“Yeah I noticed.” He shot an accusing glare at the purple unicorn.
“Don’t give me that look, I said please, so it wasn’t an order. And I advise you not to move around too much or the probe won’t work properly.”
---ΩΩΩ---
“Time for some magical experimenting. This should be easier.”
“Very well. Tell me when you want me to start throwing fireballs at you.”
“Maybe later, for now I would like to see how you react to various types of spells, all of them completely harmless of course.”
“Like the healing spell that got me in this mess?”
“That was special, you don’t have any more cursed runes on you now, do you? And I would rather see what happens in a controlled environment, not in the middle of the streets.”
“Let’s get this over with then. What are you going to start with? Electricity? Fire? Ice?”
“Nope. Mustache.”
---ΩΩΩ---
It turned out that Mès was receptive to all of Twilight’s spells, proving that he was fully compatible with Equestrian magic. This meant that his lack of magical faculties where only a result of his cross dimensional teleportation, his powers would be operational after a long period of rest.
“I want to try something, but I will only do it if you agree.”
“As long as it doesn’t involve my backside...”
“I want to see what kind of benefits the familiar spells have given you, and how much we can bend its rules. Because of the Branding, it’s clear that you can’t disobey my commands, but you managed to fight the allegiance aspect of the Familiar spell, and you also crossed the threshold of this house without my permission. That’s two rules you’ve broken so far, that leaves us with two more.”
“Sleeping near you, like a guard dog and...”
“The lightning. Twilight’s horn ignited. “I’m going to simulate the mechanism that triggers the lightning bolt, it should not provoke the full reaction.”
“Okay, do it.” Twilight released her spell. “Wait... ‘Should not’?” Mès’s last words never reached the unicorn, he heard his voice echo as if a vast chasm separated them. Yet he could still see her right in front of him. He was about to yell something to test the magical abyss when a tiny lightning bolt appeared above him, giving him a slight jolt.
“No such luck...” The magical void disappeared in an instant, Twilight’s voice reaching Mès without interference. “That’s one rule we won’t be able to bend.”
“Guess I’m going to have to stick around you for a while.”
“Sorry.” She hung her head, defeated. Mès was free to do as he pleased, but only when she was near. She was his ball and chain. The thought was truly too much to bear. Twilight was considering ways to make it up to him when she felt a hand on her head. Looking up she realized that Mès was kneeling down, putting their heads at the same height. He had a sad smile on his lips, but his eyes were understanding.
“It’s not your fault.” He patted her head carefully, the motion so gentle that she began to lean into it. “If we are to be joined by this unholy bound, I think we should at least try to get to know each other.” He rose up and lead the unicorn to the stairs. “I’ve told you a lot about my life, now why don’t you tell me something about yours?” Mès wanted to cheer her up, but he also had to admit that the mare intrigued him: she was well read, intelligent and very stubborn, and he usually couldn't stand such people. But she was an exception. A small part of his mind danced with the idea that as far as slaves were concerned, Twilight’s mark was not the worst Brand to bear, far from it. The rest of him was wondering how to free himself as quickly as possible. If Celestia could not do it, sadly he would have only one option.
---ΩΩΩ---
The evening had been nice. The sun had disappeared behind the distant mountains, its last rays shining against Canterlot highest tower. As the first stars began to appear Twilight wondered what Celestia could be doing at this hour. If her mentor could see her right now, longing on her balcony with Mès sprawled on the floor alongside, how would she react?
“The stars are different.” Mès was looking at the darkening sky with an expression full of wonder. He and Twilight had spent a good few hours talking about everything he could see from this spot, but the vision of this unknown celestial tapestry was what finally made him accept the truth: he was not on his earth anymore. He pointed excitedly at a shadow cutting across the stars. “Look! Another one!”
“I hope that sooner or later you’ll get used to seeing pegasi fly around.”
“Never. Winged horses are the only roman legends that really appealed to me spiritually. They say that the sun God rode in a chariot pulled by four pegasuses. I always pictured Ra, guiding the sun along the sky behind those mighty steeds.” He breathed in, basking in the fresh air. The scents in this world were truly wonderful, he could not have imagined so many different fragrances before. By concentrating just a little bit, he could feel the gentle flow of power under his body, even if he had no access to it just yet.
“So this is what peace feels like.” He looked at his confused companion. “Not having to be fearful, no iron restraints, food that doesn’t taste like manure...”
“I guess you’ve gained some things from all of this.” She winced at his analogy, she was not quite used to his choice of words yet.
“And lost some others.” He glanced at his right palm, but it was not enough to ruin his good mood. “A friend once told me that everything has to be balanced somehow, can’t have too much good without some bad to make it feel even better.” He grinned at her, Twilight responding with her own smile.
They laid in a comfortable silence for some time, Mès on his back attempting to take in the new constellations, Twilight comfortably stretched on her side, thinking about the near future. Now that she knew Mès would not spontaneously combust whenever a unicorn used a spell near him, she could introduce the man to her friends. The only danger would come from his reactions.
“Speaking of friends, I happen to be very close to two pegasi, and one of them can be easily startled.” Twilight began.
“Which one? Plinkie Pie? Applejar?”
“No, they are earth ponies and Rarity is a unicorn like me. I’m talking about Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.”
“Your names are really strange. At least Celestia’s is normal. I mean common, Shining Armor, really? Might as well name him Oiled Breastplate.”
“I would advise you not to call him that to his face...” Mès gave her a grin indicating that he had every intention to. “But I guess you’ll have to learn the hard way.”
“If he’s as little as you then I don’t really see a problem.”
Twilight gave him a mock punch to the head, Mès taking that opportunity to grab her fore-hoof and nibble at it like a dog with a bone. He had been very amused by her questions about his carnivorous diet and was delighted by her reactions whenever he mentioned any predatory habits. Spike chose that moment to appear at the balcony door, finding her sister giggling as her ticklish hoof was thoroughly devoured.
“Hrmm” He cleared his throat, attracting their attention. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything?” He waggled his eyebrows, making Twilight blush once again. She tried to free her hoof but the amused human clung to it, growling like a wolf. “Dinner is on the table, I’m going to start ahead, join me when you’re finished.” Spike left the scene shaking his head. “You were right bro, I should have bailed when I had the chance.”
---ΩΩΩ---
The atmosphere at the table was much more lively than it had been at lunch: Spike and Mès had argued about everything and anything they could think of, from the need to clean the improvised toga, to the benefits of a bipedal stance over quadrupeds. They were now talking about their favorite foods.
“Not to insult your cooking, but nothing beats a good roasted pig.” Mès proclaimed while examining the vegetarian pie in his hands. He picked at it, selecting a slice of carrot and showing it to his audience. “See this? Replace it with a good portion of pork fat and then we will talk.”
“Mès, I already told you, no meat.” Twilight frowned at the bit of carrot Mès was dangling in front of her. “You will have to make do with substitutes: omnivores can get the proteins they need from eggs or fishes.”
“Why? You are not going to tell me that pigs can talk too?”
“Not in the literal sense, no...”
“It’s settled then. Tomorrow I’ll go find a good fat pig and show Spike how to roast it. Dragons eat meat right?” Mès’s big smile made it obvious that he was joking, he knew better than going against the local morals. When in Rome...
“I think I might be up to it.” Spike was not in the least interested in eating meat, but it was always fun to make fun of his sister.
“That will ruin your diet Spike.” Twilight grinned, getting into the game. “And think of poor Applejack, how will she win prizes if her best pigs get eaten by a meat crazed human? Mès, don’t even think about touching them.”
Mès did not respond like she anticipated. He looked stricken, shocked, and it took a few instants for the unicorn to understand why.
“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!”
“What? What’s up with Dummy?” Spike considered Twilight’s words. “Wait, was that an order? It didn’t count right?”
Mès slowly put his squashed slice of pie down: his hand had convulsed when Twilight had inadvertently forbidden him the very thought of hunting or eating a pig. Receiving orders was not a pleasant sensation, this time it had actually hurt.
“That was... not enjoyable.”
“Sorry sorry sorry sorry! I’m such an idiot!” She hanged her head down, remorse overwhelming her. “If only I had never tried to heal you, if I had been more careful...”
“What’s done is done. Just do me a favor and be more careful in the future, yes?”
Twilight shot an apologetic gaze at Mès, who was busy licking his hands clean, slobbering all over them. She was about to apologize for the umpteenh time when he spotted her expression and cut her off.
“I already told you, there was no way of knowing what would happen at that time, you were just trying to help me out.” She smiled bashfully. Despite his rough exterior, Mès could be very kind when he wanted. “Besides, I much prefer to have your mark than the stigma from that crazy Melkor, much prettier!” He then started to pet her mane, a gesture that would have been sweet if Mès’s hand was not covered in spit. An evil grin spread to his lips.
Spike burst in a fit of laughter when he saw her disgusted expression, doubling over when she almost fell from her chair trying to get away from his sticky fingers. Incapable of resisting, Mès started to run after the unicorn like a game of tag, stalking her while she fled out of the kitchen and up the stairs with a big carnivorous smile. As Twilight’s squeals echoed in the library Spike cheered loud enough for Mès to hear.
“Welcome to the family!” His smile faded somewhat when he saw the state of the table and floor where the man had eaten.
---ΩΩΩ---
Silence had returned in the library, Spike was already asleep in his basket, snoring quietly. A shadow loomed over him.
“He’s an adorable little dragon when he’s asleep, ain’t he. Too bad he’s such brat when he’s awake.”
“Because you are one to talk?” Twilight was sitting on her bed, still trying to dry her mane completely. “That was disgusting!”
“Maybe, but you have to admit that it was funny.”
“No.”
“Aw c'mon, you bathed didn’t you? Ain’t no harm done.”
Seeing that Twilight was ignoring him, Mès made for the bed across the room, stripping from his toga and burying himself under the covers. Now that was a bed. He had not slept for more than a day, and within moments he was snoring, much more loudly than Spike.
Twilight sighed at the sight of him: he had already managed to dislodge all of his covers, on one side of the bed an arm was dangling and on the other she could see a foot sticking out. She magicked all of the lights off and slid under the covers. She was about to fall asleep when a rustling of fabric took her attention. She heard something walk around the mezzanine, the sound coming to a stop right by the side of her bed.
“Mès? Is that you?”
Her horn lit up, but there was nothing there. She craned her neck to look at the floor, and discovered that Mès was sleeping on the ground, wrapped in a blanket he had dragged with him. The light rose the man, and he looked up at the unicorn in confusion.
“The heck am I doing here?”
“I think it’s the Familiar Spell, telling you to sleep by my sides...”
“Oh... Okay.” Mès rose up, grabbed one of Twilight’s pillows and laid down on his cover once more.
“Wait, don’t you want to... You know? It would be more comfortable if...” She couldn’t bear to say the words ‘sleep with me’, there was too many ways to misunderstand that statement.
“The ground is fine, I usually don’t even get a blanket you know? Tomorrow we’ll think of something.” Mès cocooned himself up, closing the argument. Twilight extinguished her horn, plunging the room in darkness once more. After a few moments of silence Mès spoke again.
“And I can’t stand the smell of that perfume of yours.”
“It’s just shampoo.” She mumbled.
“Well it stinks.” He yawned hugely.
Twilight quickly fell asleep, exhausted by the tiring day, Mès following suit just moments after, barely registering his last thoughts, drowned by exhaustion.
’Can’t sleep in another’s bed, she would skin me alive.’
Mès’s mind was lost to his subconscious, and a whisper escaped his lips, heard by no one, including him.
”Aurora...”