//------------------------------// // Princesses and Ponies // Story: Equestria: A Flux Tale // by Star Sage //------------------------------// The Princesses are laughing at something as Octavia and Vinyl walk in, the Mane 6, save Rainbow Dash, giggling with them, with Rainbow looking a bit miffed, obviously a joke at her expense had just been told, probably by Applejack, considering her own expression. However, the laughing stills as Octavia and Vinyl stand there, neither moving, until every eye is on them, and they start forward, Octavia having a slight shake to her that, thanks to your position, you can feel. You try to give her a reassuring pat, but you're not sure how well it worked, as she stops in front of the others, and then turns her head to grab you, gently setting you down on the floor in front of her as she and Vinyl drop down in what is probably the closest thing the ponies can do to a bow. Looking up from your position on the floor, you can tell way. Luna is a lovely creature, every line of her body a curve, and meeting in such a way to make her akin to a piece of art. Even her eyes, softer than when you'd seen her last in the show, sparkle with kindness, probably because this was an informal visit, rather than an official function. Celestia, meanwhile, radiates authority. Her presence is a power in and of itself, but not a bad one. She's like the sun, something that has power unfathomable to mortals, yet a power that helps more than it hurts. Looking up at her, while she's massive, you feel she'd never do you harm, so long as you didn't step out of line, and so you bow your head and drop to one knee, placing one hand against your chest, and the other as a fist against the ground. Whether that was the correct way to bow, you didn't know, but it felt right to you. "So, this is the little human who caused quite a stir for my assistant yesterday," said Celestia in a voice that was....motherly. That's the only way to describe it. "Yes Princess. These two brought him over to Rarity's yesterday, and after a bit of a mishap, they then brought him here. I did a quick test, but the results were...impossible. I'm sure of my findings now, but they don't make any sense. The human, he absorbed my magic, when I used a spell on him, and he drained my equipment's power too," said Twilight, looking at you, not accusingly, but in that way someone with a curious nature always looks at a puzzle. You, for your part, remain in the bowing position, at least until a bit of Luna's hair touches your cheek gently, and you raise your head to look up at her. "Indeed? That is most interesting, isn't it sister?" says the Moon Princess, and her voice is actually nicer than her sisters. There's power there to be sure, and as the hair...mist...whatever brushes you, you can feel her power, like you felt Twilight's magic yesterday. More, you can feel her, all of her, her body and soul, and it's quite a feeling, forcing you to remain on one knee lest you fall over, before you can recover enough to rise, staring right into the faces of the Princesses. "It is. Tell me, human, what is your name, and from where do you come?" asks Celestia, and you feel compelled to answer, telling her your name, and then starting to describe your world, it's position in the heavens, and even getting down to your street and address. "That's enough, you can stop now," she says gently, raising a hoof before you, and you instantly stop talking mid word. "So, it is true, he's from another world then. Interesting," was all Luna said of your diatribe of your information, starting to rub her chin with her hair, making you think of Nightmare Moon for some reason, while Celestia just looks down at you, before getting down on her own knees to draw closer. "My faithful student says you have no memory of how you came to be here, is that correct?" she asks. "It is, Princess. I slept last night, drifting in a dreamless void, a normal thing for me, if not for most people, and when I opened my eyes, I was here, and a greatly reduced stature. Vinyl happened to be the first pony I spotted, and after avoiding her hoof, I grabbed onto her tail. I was then brought to Twilight with greatest haste, and upon being teleported out of a precarious situation, I found my stature enhanced, from the size of a pony's tooth, to the size of a mouse, as you now see me," you told her, trying to be brief, and not blame anyone for what had happened to you due to your size. "Interesting, perhaps the magic of my student caused said growth. Might I try an experiment? I would like to see if I could farther increase your height, using my own magic," she says, and you feel that it is a question, rather than an order, and one you can rightly refuse. However, that tone, her face, and everyone staring at you expectantly, you find yourself unable to refuse her, and so you merely nod. Wasting not a moment, Celestia's eyes close, and her horn begins to glow like a miniature sun unto itself, the tip of which slowly lowers towards you, as you feel the world hum with power. This is the force that Celestia can bring to bear, and you see now why she was the ruler of this world, so closing your eyes, you wait for that power to strike you, and with a flash, it does, taking your breath away. The world explodes with power. You'd felt it before, from Twilight, but her power was a drop besides an ocean compared to this. You could feel as it touched you, everything Celestia was. A ruler, a creature of power both political and magical. That power and wisdom coursed through your body, every vein alive with the fire of it, as your hair stands on end, and you shout, not in pain, but exhilaration. This must be what they say when they talk about power corrupting. It feels so glorious, so magnificent that you just want to let if take you. You feel yourself reaching, somehow, for more of it. It's hard to explain, it's like you grew an extra hand, one made of the same power, and grasped it, trying to drag it into you, all of it at once. However, as the power passes into you, you sense a 'pain'. It's the only word that comes to mind to describe it, and though you can't see Celestia, blinded as you are by the radiance of her power, you can still feel her, and feel her power lessening as more and more of it flows from her horn into your body. Feeling that, you suddenly have an image of yourself as a monster, draining her, taking her power for your own, and being a brutal dictator for this world. You can't help but feel somewhat enticed by the image, but you know it wouldn't be you. You couldn't hurt anyone, least of all someone trying to help you out of the kindness of her heart, and so you push away, pushing the power back where it belongs, and with a burst of magical might, you are tossed back. "Tia!" you hear Luna cry out, and though you cannot see it, blinded by the light, you know she rushed to her sister's side. "Princess!" echoed out of six different mouths, as the others followed suit, their hooves clacking against the ground. "Little guy!" was a voice lost to the others, and you felt someone come near, two someone's in fact, and you almost smirked. The two you'd been hanging out with since you got here cared more for your safety than that of their goddess. Now that was friendship. Well, that or they just didn't realize what had almost happened to the Princess, but you felt the former was more likely. "I'm okay Vinyl, I'm fine," you assure her, as she and Octavia come near you, and you blink against the spots, willing them to vanish. When that doesn't work, you just wait a little while longer, and soon you can see again, watching as the Princess slowly rises to her hooves, unsteady, but still there, and letting out a sigh of relief. "Princess, are you alright?" asks Twilight, as she stands in front of Celestia, who has Luna at her side helping to keep her on her hooves. Celestia, blinking herself, nods after a moment, and does her best to put on a smile for her faithful student, but it was obvious to you, and thus probably more so to Twilight and the others, that she had been shaken, and you can't blame her. Without thinking about it, you flew to her side. Mind, you'd been hovering since the magical energy burst, but you'd ignored that as now, as you came to a stop in front of the Princess, resuming you bow. "Celestia, I apologize greatly for what just happened. It was my fault," you quickly tell her, and you feel a shadow pass over you, and look up to find Luna, seemingly more terrifying that she had as Nightmare Moon, staring down at you. "And just what happened? What has't thou done to Our sister?!" she demands, slipping back into her old voice, the last a shout that nearly blew you away, but you take it, and try to stammer out what happened. It doesn't get far though, before Celestia, standing a bit more steadily, puts her foreleg on Luna's flank, and then motions for her to back away, before leaning down in front of you again. "No, little human, it was my fault as well. I underestimated the magical draining effect you would have on me," she said, and you feel her nuzzle up against you. It was...well, it was like having a sunny day touch you on your cheek, and you begin to wonder if you're going to run out of euphemisms soon if all this indescribable stuff keeps happening to you. "Still, though I seem to have failed in restoring your height, you do seem to have gained something from my attempt. Unless other humans can fly," she tells you, and for the first time, you notice that you're not touching the ground, as her cheek had pulled back, you had come with it, and looking down you find that you're a good foot or two, to the ponies so several times your own height from your perspective, off the floor. "Wha....um, no, no one on my world can fly without the assistance of a vehicle...I think," you add, wondering if Superman might really exist. Mind, he's not human, but...your brain decides to rebel at the recursive nature of reality, and after shaking off that feeling, you stare back at her, 'swimming' through the air to back away from her, so you can look her face to face. "No, I'm positive of it. And it is a marvelous gift you've given me, even if it's not the one that was intended," you tell her, trying to bow, this time finding yourself falling into a head over heels spin, that stops just short of the floor when you land in a fluffy mane made of sun shine and....moving on. "I'm glad, because I don't think I can try that again anytime soon. Until we do have you back to size, as I'm now surer than I was before that this is not natural for you, I don't think we should try to return you to your world. Though, if you really insist, I'm sure we could do that with a spell or two," she offers, and you feel it's genuine. If you really want to go home, she'll bend all her efforts to getting you there, and the way Luna's looking at you, you almost feel like it would be a better option. But if she's right, and you really are mouse sized compared to normal, than going home, especially if you can't fly there, wouldn't be a good idea. "Then I believe I shall remain here, for now," you tell her simply, as the hair pushes you back upwards, and you swim away from it. You are now at eye level with Celestia, meaning you are a bit higher than the other ponies, the first time you've gotten to see them from that angle. From below, even the ones you liked were quite intimidating, as even Octavia, kind though she'd been to you, was simply huge compared to you, making you a little nervous. But looking down now, they were as adorable as the show made them out to be. "Excellent. Spike. I require a note to be taken," she says, and Spike, whom you hadn't noticed before, came out from behind Twilight, quickly grabbing a quill and parchment, before standing beside the Princess. "'To Professor DawnChaser at Manehatten University. Professor, I believe I have some proof for your theories on Magical Sink Holes, as you called them in your last book, and would request that you come to Ponyville as your earliest convenience, to meet with one suck hole, a being called a human who comes from another world. Signed, Princess Celestia,'" she dictates to the dragon, who scribbles it all down, and then, before he can wrap it up, she leans close and whispers something in his ear that makes his eyes bulge a bit. He looks at her with a raised eyebrow, or the dragon equivalent anyway, for a moment, but then writes one more line, before rolling the scroll up, and then breathing fire on it, sending a whoosh of magical dust out the window, and towards the distance. "DawnChaser? I haven't heard of him before. Is he new at the University?" asks Twilight, walking closer to her mentor, and Celestia nods. "He isn’t, it’s just he's not really a teacher, but a lecturer, considering he's always a bit distracted. Still, he's got a spell that could help our friend here, or at least put him on an equal hoofing, which should help. Now, I believe Luna and I should return to Canterlot, as I have a meeting at noon, and Luna needs to prepare for the Night Court again," says the Sun Goddess, and suddenly you hear the theme song for an old TV show in your head, as the others just nod, none of them needing to be told what that is. The monarchs start for the door, with everyone else following a distance behind. Not really wanting to be disrespectful, as you still had more questions for Celestia, you follow behind them, figuring that this wouldn't be the last time you met her, as you doubted you would be going home anytime soon. The Princess exited, and you saw, out one of the windows as you passed it, their guards quickly putting up some things they'd been playing with together. Oddly, you got the impression of dice, which sounded interesting. You remembered that gems, being common, were nigh on worthless here, especially since dragons ate them, but that they used coins of gold called bits for money. It may have been a trick of the light, but you swore you could see one of the bat winged guards of Luna place some sparkling things into his pack. That meant they had gambling here, which made you resolve to find out how to play. Heck, they might not have real poker, which would mean you could start a trend here in Equestria if you could get some cards, and even if they did, you could probably still introduce some fun games. "Twilight, We thank you again for your hospitality, and hope to visit again in the future. Knowing the good Professor, he'll be in Ponyville by the end of the day, so We would suggest that some of you take our new guest around the town, as from what We were told, he didn't have much of a chance to look around yesterday," said Celestia, and for a moment, you wonder why she's using the royal plural. Well, you wonder until you look around and find a veritable sea of ponies standing around, probably finally having noticed that chariots of their rulers. Even with Twilight here in Ponyville, being visited by their monarch was quite an event, and likely she used it to keep up proper appearances. Of course, others were keeping up appearances as well, as you saw Hooves, both Derpy and Doctor, as well as two others near them, two Unicorns, one of age with the girls, and one much younger, obviously a family unit, with the Doctor looking just as excitedly at the Princesses. "Of course Princess," she said, bowing her head. Luna, meanwhile, looks at you, the evil eye still in full effect, though a bit less harshly than before. Celestia seems to be better for now, and she might slowly be forgiving you for what happened. That didn't mean you wanted her to be staring at you like that though, and were glad when she and Celestia both got into their own carriages, and then flew off into the distance, the crowd quickly dispersing, though out of the corner of your eye, you saw the Doctor give you a meaningful look. What meaning it had you couldn't say, but it must have had meaning, and you resolve to meet with him again later, if you can, as the Six, and Octavia and Vinyl, walk back into the Library. "Well, that was nice o' the Princess, to at least try somethin' to get you back to normal, don't you think?" asked Applejack as she turned towards you, the others all doing likewise and you nod. "I'm very grateful for it. Even with the failure to get bigger, I now have some locomotion of my own that allows me to get around semi normally," you tell her, demonstrating it by flying upward, and then floating down, finding that the swimming motion, while feeling natural, wasn't really necessary. All you had to do was will yourself in the direction you wanted to go, and you went. Kind of nice really. "So, how fast do you think you can go?" asked Rainbow Dash, flapping her wings to come near you, and you have to avoid her as she nearly plows straight into your form. Mind, that's probably what she wanted, as she grins at you cockily, trying to goad you into flying as fast as you can.