A few days later found me on a train heading down the mountain and across the plains away from the city of Canterlot with Revenant Wings and another of the Celestial guard. A bag with a few sets of plainer clothes more suited to smaller-town life was given to me by Princess Celestia before she had Shining Armor escort me to a train station in Canterlot. Princess Cadence was there as well, and it was her idea to send with me Revenant Wings and another member of the guard to make sure that I stayed out of trouble; not that I would find it, but to be able to report back on my progress to make sure that I was getting along fine in Ponyville.
Shining Armor hadn’t taken the relocation well. He was… disappointed, to say the least, about the fact that I wasn’t going to be in Canterlot anymore. Truth be told, I felt like I was going to miss him, too, but I didn’t say anything even as he clung to me for dear life until Princess Cadence had to use her magic to pull him off of me. He remained calmer after that but I could tell he didn’t want me to leave quite yet. The fact that I reminded him I was going to stay with his sister in Ponyville seemed to make him feel better if only so that he could communicate with me every once in a while through letters and his sister.
I received no word of the communication between Princess Celestia and her protégé, Twilight Sparkle. However, according to both Princesses Celestia and Cadence, she had been happy to take me in and teach me things about Equestria, and Celestia had sealed the deal by letting her know of my studies of Princess Luna and the fact that I had been doing homework for it and doing well at it. Twilight had apparently sent word that no homework would be assigned but that she would be helping me with life in Ponyville.
Princess Luna was not present at the station to send me off. Celestia gave no reason for her absence, though Cadence revealed she had locked herself up in her quarters and had refused to come out. I didn’t tell any of them, but I wanted her to be there for reasons even I couldn’t figure out why.
The train left early on Monday morning so that it would arrive in Ponyville by early evening. It was not far away, having been visible from my quarters back in Canterlot Castle, but I was still given a car normally used for ambassadors that contained a private sleeping quarter for the trip down. I had entered the car with Revenant Wings and another guard and had said goodbye to the rest of the ponies I had known from Canterlot and was soon on my way.
“First big trip outside of Canterlot Castle?” Revenant asked me.
I nodded. “The farthest I ever went outside the castle was the one time when Shining Armor and Princess Cadence took me to the park and the Wonderbolts stadium. I haven’t seen any of Equestria outside Canterlot’s borders.”
Revenant folded his wings and sat across from me at the table in the car where I was sipping a cold can of a sweet vanilla soda I found in an ice chest and watched the scenery pass by. “It’s a small town. Hardly more than five hundred residents. It’s one of those towns where everypony knows everypony else. I’d be hard-pressed to find a pony I don’t know after spending a week in that town last summer.”
I sighed. “Not sure if I want that much attention,” I admitted.
Revenant, despite having the guttural voice that most of the guard had, managed to be quite reassuring and soothing when he spoke. “Don’t worry about it. Twilight came from similar situations as you did coming to Ponyville, so she’ll be able to understand and make sure the residents of Ponyville both keep their distance and help introduce them to you in a way that will be comfortable for you.”
I was momentarily relieved.
Revenant became serious, though, as he continued. “It should be noted, however, that Twilight is a Princess much like Celestia and Luna and Cadence. You will need to treat her with the utmost respect. Approach her appropriately and with proper manners. Twilight will be less restrictive than Princesses are, but decorum must be maintained.”
“Why is she staying in Ponyville if she’s a princess?”
“She likes the quiet.”
I shrugged. “Certainly will be a relief to get out of Canterlot.”
Revenant flagged an attendant that walked in the car and asked for a glass of water with a slice of lime. The attendant got the drink and returned with it, and Revenant took a sip of it. “How are your wounds doing?”
“Much better than when I left the hospital wing two days ago, to be sure,” I responded. “I can’t move too much and was warned against rough physical activity. According to Celestia, that information was also sent in the letter to Twilight.”
“That’s good,” Revenant said, taking a sip of his drink. “Twilight will know what to do if anything wrong happens. And there’s Ponyville Hospital, which is as highly skilled in medical practices as any hospital in Canterlot.”
I sighed and watched the scenery pass by some more while we finished our drinks.
“You should probably take a rest, sir,” Revenant told me. “We’ll still be a few hours before Ponyville and who knows how long the introductions will last.”
It sounded like a good idea, so I went over to the sleeping quarters and laid down on the bed with Revenant standing guard outside the door.
* * *
When I was woken up the sun was beginning to set in the sky. Revenant was knocking on my door when I woke up, calling through: “Nemo! I just got word we’ll be approaching Ponyville in fifteen minutes.”
I woke up and rubbed my aching muscles, stretching slightly as I got out of the bed. I exited the car and got myself a glass of plain ice water as the train started to enter a valley in between two small mountain ranges. Looking out of the window, I saw in the distance a small town of wood and stone houses with a large oak tree in the center of it. A small stream ran by on one side, and on the hills behind there stood a large orchard and a dark, thick forest. Ponyville was in sight.
I gathered my bags and made sure that I had everything I needed before heading off the train. I sat at the table in the car, my fingers drumming the duffel bag that had my clothes.
“Breathe, sir,” Revenant told me. “You’re nervous.”
“I have full right to be,” I responded. “I’m entering a place where I won’t know anyone and I won’t have anyone I know to reassure me. Well, besides you, but no one like the royalty who were watching me every step I took.”
“They are still watching,” Revenant said, voice returning to a more calm intonation. “Celestia can see you with the sun, and Luna will watch you with her moon.”
“Celestia, I trust. Luna is not a matter of whether she can, but whether she wants to.”
“She will, if Celestia decrees it.”
“That’s what concerns me.”
Revenant raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
A few minutes later, the train stopped in at Ponyville station. I gathered my bags and pulled a coat out as an evening breeze wandered through the town. I took my bags and followed Revenant outside as the other guard took a salute.
“I shall tell the princesses that you’ve made it to Ponyville safely,” the guard said, flaring his wings out. “They told me they wanted the report. I’m afraid I will not be accompanying you any further.”
I nodded. “Thank you, sir.”
The guard nodded then flapped his wings and shot away into the sky as a white and gold blur, leaving me and Revenant Wings alone on the station platform.
“Well,” Revenant said as I watched the pegasus guard fly away into the sunset, “our destination is the Golden Oaks Library, home of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Shall we?”
I nodded, picked up my bag and hoisted it over my shoulder and followed Revenant off the platform and into the quiet streets. Evening brought with it cooler temperatures yet most of the residents remained unperturbed as they attended restaurants and cafés with open patios for dinner or perused the wares of whatever shops and stalls were still open for business. As we traveled through town, we passed a building that was shaped like a giant cupcake, and another blue and white building that reminded me of an olden-style carousel from the outside. Soon after we turned a corner onto a wider street and made our way on the main road through town, now within view of the Golden Oaks Library.
All throughout our walk through town, I noticed that the ponies of the town were staring at me in confusion. I constantly had to remind myself that while the ponies in Canterlot Castle had been informed of my presence, it was highly likely that any sort of information about a human arriving had not yet reached the ponies in Ponyville. Revenant nickered or whinnied sternly at anyone who tried to approach for questioning and made everyone else back off, but it was still unsettling to see so many pairs of eyes staring at me, to see them all whispering about me in tones I couldn’t hear. I found myself wishing I was back in Canterlot going through my studies with Luna. At least there I could walk around without anyone que
“Welcome!”
Before I knew what was going on, something collided with me square in the chest and I was launched backwards. I was on the ground clutching my chest in pain before I realized what happened: a bright pink pony with the poofiest and most out-of-control mane I ever saw was standing in front of me, bouncing energetically up and down. I had hardly recovered from the crash when the mare opened her mouth and started speaking rapid-fire.
“Welcome to Ponyville! My name’s Pinkie Pie and I’ve never seen you around somewhere before, and that means you must be new around here and if you’re new around here that must mean you don’t have any friends and since you probably don’t have any friends here I thought I would introduce myself to you and be your friend!”
I was exhausted just listening to the bright pink mare.
“Oh! You’re a human! I’ve never seen a human around here before; I’ve heard of a few coming around here before but I’ve never seen a human myself. Where’d you come from? How do you like Equestria?”
The mare must have had a thousand more questions to ask with that much energy, but I didn’t hear any more of them; Revenant grabbed an apple from a stand with his hoof and thrust it at high speed inside the mare’s mouth. The street almost immediately faded into silence as the mare tried in vain to continue speaking around the apple in her mouth.
Revenant flung two bits over to the stall owner before turning to the mare. “Pinkie Pie, I understand your enthusiasm but I must ask you to refrain from further questioning until we have spoken with Twilight Sparkle. This human, and myself, are here on business from Princess Celestia and were to report immediately to Twilight Sparkle.”
“Oh, you’re heading to Twilight’s?” the mare said.
“Yes. Now could you please move out of the way?”
“Yes, mister guard. Hope to see you around soon, human!” And she hopped away. Not walked, hopped.
I coughed a few times from the impact.
“Are you okay?” Revenant asked.
“Is that going to happen every time I meet a pony here?”
“No. That would just be Pinkie Pie. I hope you aren’t damaged at all from that.”
“I’ve had worse,” I groaned.
I was, however, out of breath just from listening to the mare and felt a pain in my chest where the bandage was; I ended up walking the rest of the way to the Golden Oaks Library hunched over. In addition, I was covered in dust from head to toe from being flung backwards onto the dirt roads that ran through town.
Golden Oaks Library was a hollowed-out tree in the center of Ponyville. It stood about three floors tall, containing not only the library but the home of Twilight Sparkle, the resident librarian, and her offices as one of the newest Princesses of Equestria. She had been in Ponyville four years by the time of my arrival and had been crowned as a princess a few months before my arrival; this all I learned from Revenant Wings, who was helping me brush the dust off me before we entered the library itself.
The library was closed, but Revenant wasn’t perturbed. He walked up to the door and knocked on it a few times with his hoof. “Miss Twilight Sparkle? This is Revenant Wings from Canterlot. I have Nemo here with me.”
“Just a minute!” came a voice from inside. This was followed a short while later by the door opening to reveal what initially looked like a normal lavender unicorn mare with violet eyes and a purple mane that had a pink stripe down the center. A closer look revealed a pair of slightly small lavender wings that didn’t look like they would be big enough to carry her own weight for much more than a few seconds.
“Hello!” the alicorn said cheerfully. “Good to see you, Revenant. And you must be Nemo.”
“Miss Sparkle,” I said, bowing slightly to her out of respect.
The alicorn laughed. “Please, Twilight will be okay. Why don’t you come in? I have a vegetable soup cooking and some fresh bread from Sugarcube Corner for dinner.”
The thought of food appealed to me and I followed Twilight Sparkle and Revenant Wings into the interior of the library. The library’s interior was warmly and brightly lit and contained quite a few shelves filled to the brim with books. A central table had more books littered all over it, many of them opened and heavily annotated. In one of the corners stood a glass case with what looked like a crown surrounded by five necklaces, all with a different design, and in the back was a staircase that led up into the upper levels of the library.
“Oh!” Twilight exclaimed. “I probably should show you to your room.”
I readjusted my bags position and followed Twilight up the stairs and to another large room that was filled with even more books. A bed and what looked like a perch were seated on a ledge just above this floor, while another doorway led to a small room with a dresser, a comfortable-looking bed, a nightstand, and a small lamp. A rather large window adorned the wall next to the bed and looked out over Ponyville in the direction of Canterlot Castle. I dropped my bag on the bed and followed Twilight back down to the base of the library and off to a side room where a kitchen and small table was.
Twilight got to work filling three bowls with the vegetable soup and placed a bowl of the fresh rolls in the center of the table before inviting me and Revenant Wings to sit and eat with her. I sat at the table and ate as politely as I could, though relished each bite of the soup and bread I took.
“So, you’re Nemo,” Twilight said, looking over to me. “Princess Celestia told me you would be staying here until the Summer Sun Celebration coming up at the end of next month. How did you get to Equestria?”
I looked over at Revenant Wings, who shrugged and said nothing.
“Well… Celestia transported me here. But I don’t really feel like staying.”
Twilight blinked in confusion. “That’s odd. I’ve heard of Celestia bringing humans from Earth here but I’ve never heard of one that wanted to go back. So… why are you still here?”
“Because Celestia said she had to wait until the Summer Sun Celebration to charge up a spell to send me back. The reason for the time being that she’s never sent someone back across before.”
“Oh,” Twilight said. “I heard you had some tutoring sessions with Princess Luna, as well?”
“Yes. They… didn’t turn out so well.”
“Oh…”
“It’s a long story.”
“Well, I like long stories. So… what happened?”
“I think he means he doesn’t want to talk about it right now.”
“Oh, sorry,” Twilight said, flattening her ears. God, she looks adorable when she does that.
We ate dinner in silence for a little bit; I ended up having a second serving of the soup.
“Where’s your dragon assistant?” Revenant asked.
A dragon…?
“Oh, Spike’s off having a sleepover with the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Twilight replied. “They were over at Apple Bloom’s tree house telling scary stories when I last checked in on them.”
“You have… a dragon assistant?” I asked.
“Yes. He’s only a baby dragon, though; probably not much taller than your waist.”
“That’s a… comforting thought.”
Dinner continued in silence for a little while longer.
“We… met Pinkie Pie on the road here,” Revenant said.
Twilight nearly spilled her bowl of soup with how fast she launched out of her chair and came over to me. “Oh my gosh! Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?”
“From previous circumstances,” I responded.
“She left shortly after arriving when I told her she wasn’t supposed to be impeding royal duty,” Revenant continued.
“Oh. I’m so sorry about that. She’s friendly and honestly really nice, but she can be a bit energetic when meeting someone new. I’m sorry she gave you so much trouble.”
“It’s alright,” I said. “Nothing you could have prevented, I’m sure.”
“Still…” Twilight began, but she didn’t expand on that thought anymore.
After dinner, I asked Twilight if I could just go up to my room and sleep for the night before explaining anything to her. Twilight agreed and led me and Revenant back up to the room.
“I’ll be out here for a little while longer if you need anything,” Twilight said. “I’m usually here studying until late in the night, so don’t worry too much and don’t hesitate to ask me anything if you’re having trouble.”
“I suppose I’ll be heading out for the night, then,” Revenant said. “I’ve got family here in town I can stay with. I’ll be seeing you tomorrow. Take care, Nemo.”
“Thank you, Revenant.”
Once Revenant had left, I walked to the room and shut the door. I changed into a more comfortable set of clothing and laid down on the bed. It wasn’t long before I had fallen fast asleep listening to the scratching sound of Twilight’s quill on a piece of paper in the study outside the room.