//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 Into Equestria! // Story: My Daughter Chrysalis // by Scarheart //------------------------------// What is man? Are we fragile gods subject to the whims of chance? Do we make our own destinies or are they laid out before us like a winding road disappearing into a thick fog? Is a man as cruel as he is kind? Does he love as much as he hates? Does he hold his fellow humans in contempt or respect them as his equals? Does it matter if other humans are better or worse? Does it matter if I think of them as better or worse? Why did I walk away from my world, my race? Why did I turn my back on my family, the faces I knew well, their quirks, their personalities? Why did I turn my back on a world who never did anything directly to me as a whole? It was an imperfect world to be sure, but people as a whole tend to be kind to each other - at least in finding a route of tolerance, to be sure - and would rather socialize with a stranger than be alone. Yet we are as violent a race as we are a loving race. We wage war, we kill, and always for reasons not really making all that much sense. Oh, for certain there have been times when war was justified. However the lessons of the past have been often written by the victor, so at what point is the truth obscured by propaganda? This is part of the nature of humans; to deceive and deflect. Those who discover their enemy was not all that competent after the dust settles find ways to glorify their actions against that same enemy. We want to feel important, we want to be heroes. Being a father is reason enough for heroism. Daddies chase the monsters out from under the bed. Daddies roar at the monster in the closet to go away. Daddies make their little girls feel safe and secure. I had a human daughter once. Fate deemed she be taken from me before I could know her. Where does a father turn when his love is shattered? In my case, it came in the form of a changeling. Specifically Chrysalis, future Queen of the Changelings. I don't blame humanity for the state I allowed myself to fall. I blame my own weaknesses and my own failure as a son to my mother and father. I became so involved in my little world, shrinking it further and further that I forgot what it was to be human. I simply shut myself out of the world, living a meager existence, my daughter living with her mother. The shape-shifter who came into my life on a stormy summer night through an unpredicted bout of attitude from Mother Nature. Green lightning flashed, and there she was. That was thirteen years ago. She grew into a lovely filly on the cusp of marehood. God, that sounds ridiculously sappy, doesn't it? She became my daughter in every sense of the word, especially after I learned my real daughter died in a plane crash. Her body was never found, but her mother survived, along with half of the passengers. I've come to accept the loss, but there's always going to be a place in my heart where Crystal will always live. Right now, I've got my other daughter I'm chasing into a world of rainbows and wishes and skipping through the damn tulips. Or maybe its just a place where you're high all the time and everything's a hazy waltz through a burning weed field. I'll let you know when I get there. Yay me. While Luna pulled me through whatever the hell portal or wormhole or God knows what to call it, I could not help but think weird things about a place that by all means shouldn't exist at all save for in the minds of those with a colorful set of pastels in their imagination. This shouldn't be happening, none of this should be real. My Little Dashie is just a fan fiction written by someone who happened to be a fan of a cartoon show that hasn't been renewed in over a decade. I've turned my back on a real world with real problems where everything is practical and logical for a place where dragons eat gems and ponies have technology levels spanning across three centuries and power them with magic, of all things. I'm an idiot, I know. I never claimed to be intelligent. Chrysalis is the smart one in the family. I'm just the lucky son of a bitch whom Discord cheated the odds for a winning lottery ticket for the sole purpose of...well... Hell if I'll ever know his motives. Discord's an insane bastard. To this point, I like him, but at the time am scared shitless of his godlike ability. He's friggin' Q from Star Trek, for crying out loud - in animated form! I think he's just in it for fun and doesn't want to hurt anyone, but I don't know. Something about him suggests to me he's got other ideas churning between those ears. I just don't know what. Those alarm bells went off in my head the last time I saw him, now that I think about it. How long have we been walking through this portal? Or is it a wormhole? Or is it some cosmic being's colon? I have no idea. Luna just warned me to keep my hand on her shoulder. Fluttershy - a yellow pegasus with pink hair - tagged along as a living decoy in case I proved to be less than trustworthy (I would learn later it was Luna's idea to use her as a distraction while she gauged me). For some reason, I decided to pack a couple extra sets of clothing, stuffing them in an overnight bag as well as a few personal items. Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman... Well, I glance at Luna who plods ahead with seemingly not a care in the world, throwing a reassuring smile at me as my hand grips on her mane, not quite. I don't think Morgan Freeman would have the power of the a god, but he sure does a fine job acting like one. If God were to ever show up on earth, I'd be pretty content to see Mr. Freeman's face representing. The man's a good actor. Shut up. Anyways, Fluttershy is sitting on Luna's back, mostly due to the thing about maintaining contact with Luna's body for the travel (How did Celestia do it with six mares and later the addition of Chrysalis? Something to ponder!). Is Luna a god, erm - goddess? I try to speak, but no sound comes from my mouth. I can't see anything except for Luna and Fluttershy. There's nothing but darkness all around the three of us, even though Luna's tip of her horn glows with a soft white light. Not even a bit of wind exists in this place to tell us if we're going in a particular direction. I simply have to put blind faith in the alicorn as she makes headway. I tense a bit, wary and a bit scared of the unknown. Her eye flickers back to me and smiles through her gaze, reassuring me while at the same time maintaining a serious poise and demeanor. She's all business and not one to open up freely to someone she's just met. Namely me. I've earned enough trust to garner passage to Equestria, but I've got a long way to go before she'll trust me completely, if ever. I get the feeling I'm going on a time trial of sorts before I'm offered something more permanent. That's what it feels like to me at this point. I could be wrong, but at this point in time, worrying about things I have no control over isn't going to do me any good. Besides, I'm already committed at this point. I wonder if I'll ever go back to Earth again. I wouldn't want to put it behind me permanently. I haven't given up on humanity, but I think I do need to set myself straight. Maybe staying on another world for a bit will help set my head straight in regards to Crystal. I want to make sure Chrysalis is settled and happy, in the meantime. We're connected mentally, if you can believe that. It's some sort of hive mind, or something. I credit it with the plain fact we never had a major argument in the thirteen years we lived together. She imprinted on me and we bonded. I was regarded as, well, her queen. Or do changelings have kings? It was never explained fully. The point is, she regards me as not only her father, but her ultimate authority figure, so any disagreements we might have almost always fairly civil. It still didn't prevent her from developing a bit of an independent streak nor did it do anything to keep her from following in my footsteps of being a smartass. Changeling see, changeling do. Changeling mimic. Changeling talk to daddy in daddy's voice. It's creepy, yet pretty cool...and a bit disturbing the first time with the ever-so-popular proclamation of "gee, I sound like that?" whenever someone hears their own voice thrown back at them for the first time. I didn't realize it, but I suddenly became aware I had been muttering a steady string of curse words under my soundless breath. I couldn't hear my own words, but I could feel them as I mumbled. My eyes must have been saucers as those lovely four letter words and their friends streamed from my lips, taking little bits of my fears with them as I vented. I was a kid again, going through a haunted house of mirrors, terrified and waiting for the Boogey Man to jump out of a secret hiding place and gobble me up. How's that for a thirty-seven-year-old war veteran? Yay me. Luna soothes me somehow. I can only assume it's magic or whatever, but it's like a warm security blanket as if she knows I'm not comfortable. Hello, my name is Michael Spriggs and I've rediscovered claustrophobia. Hi, Mike! Supportive applause and I'm still walking and not freaking out. There's something to be said about having imaginary support group meetings in your own head. Luna just rolled her eye at me. Is she reading my mind? I think I see a pinprick of light far ahead of us. We're walking down in that direction. It seems like it's been forever since we started walking. I think a thousand universes spawned and died while we walked. Or are we floating? Nothing feels solid under my booted feet, yet they plant firmly on something with each step. Am I walking on dark matter? It takes an eternity, but we make it to the light until it's bright enough for Luna to douse her horn. I'm starting to feel a breeze and I smell...fresh air? Lilacs? I'm taking my first breaths of a new world, a different land, a whole other reality! It smells like Equestria. I feel an eagerness in my step, an extra spring in my joints. This sense of renewed vigor is very much like, well, a horse running for the stables. I know I'm almost home, if you can believe that. Well, to be fair, I'm just happy this unpleasant part of the journey is almost done and I just want to get out of whatever this tunnel thing is I've been spending forever in. So it's not so much home as it is my current destination. Calling it home is far too arrogant on my part, I realize. I'll just be a guest. I need to remind myself that. This isn't some fantasy where I get to live happily ever after. Every movement I make, every word I'll say will be scrutinized. I'll be under a microscope, poked at and prodded. Chrysalis, I hope you realize what your daddy is going through in order to make sure you're happy in your new old world. Rather, what I might go through. It's too early to tell, but it doesn't take much of my imagination to conjure up images of me on a slab of metal with all sorts of probes and machines and other oddball things my twisted mind can think of me being attached to for study. The light grows brighter and brighter as we approach it. Soon, I can make out blue skies and fluffy clouds making their way lazily by. The skyline reveals the outline of a castle nestled delicately, it seems into the face of a mountain. A city sprawls around it upon the slopes, the spires and walls of the castle. As my eyes adjust to the brightness, the details they pick up become more defined. With the last few steps, I feel grass beneath my feet. I can also faintly sense my daughter. I'm beginning to grow an idiotic grin. She's sensing me as well. It fades as I start to connect to a sense of despair and it's not directed at anyone in particular. Its a distress stemming from our disconnection. I try my best to soothe her, but the distance between us is far, very far. For the both of us, it's like a faint tick in the back of our minds. We've tried to test the distance we can go in our summer long trips around America. I'm guessing she's five or six miles away. The connection is very faint, so that's medium long range for us. The range is limited to roughly twenty miles and it's like listening to a faint echo in your brain. Suddenly, Equestria is all around me as we stand at the top of a gentle hill. The air is warm, comfortable. The breeze I felt in the tunnel is more of a welcoming caress. Oddly enough, the bag I've been toting doesn't feel like it has any weight. As I pass over some invisible threshold and come fully into this new world, the weight returns. I picture my daughter must be bouncing around like a kid finding out she's going to Disneyland for the first time. One of the first sensations I'll note is I feel lighter, as if the gravity slightly less than normal than Earth's gravity. Weird. I ask Luna about it, and find she's been reading my face. "The difference is slight," she notes with a nod, regarding me with a knowing smile. It's not quite as warm a smile as her sister might have offered me, but it's genuine. It's her nature to be reserved, but she is perceptive as if she's approving my mental reconnection. Luna is the classic example of redemption. I suspect Celestia is trying to get her younger sister more involved with what's going on around her a morsel at a time. The Princess of the Night currently has a little triumphant smile on her lips, quite proud of herself. "Thanks for guiding me through whatever that was," I say to her, grateful. "That was kinda spooky." She raises her head proudly, her starry mane an odd contrast to the midday sun. "Think nothing of it. In time, perhaps you will be able to return the favor for the good of Equestria in the future. For the moment, I simply bid you welcome to my home." I don't think she can help but speak formally, though the warmth in her voice overcomes the stiffness in her demeanor. It's going to take centuries for her to adjust to normal, but she's endearing with what qualities she has. She's the prime definition of the stoic defender, a lady knight of the night, her might for right. Sorry, I couldn't help myself there. "Return the favor?" I ask curiously. "How so?" Again she smiles at me, this time with an apology attached to it. "I may be ahead of myself in that regard. Celestia will explain that bit at a time of her choosing, as she is far better in those matters than I." I'm about to protest when she raises a hoof at me, waving it a little. "Stay your queries, Mr. Spriggs! I am not prepared to answer them as properly as I would like. My sister and I must allow you to acquaint yourself with our nation and of course reconnect you with your daughter. We implore your patience." Her voice begs understanding, but her eyes show a bit of iron. "All right," I agree with a sigh and a smile. Fluttershy speaks up with her quiet voice. I had almost forgotten she was with us. Having hopped off Luna's back she bashfully asks, "May I go, princess? I mean, if you don't need me for anything else...if that's all right with you." "Thank you, friend Fluttershy." Luna's face was hidden by her mane as she addressed the shy yellow mare fondly. "Please give my regards to your adorable little animal friends." "I will." Fluttershy offers me a farewell, "It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Spriggs. You seem like a nice man. I hope everything works out for you." I smile. "Thank you, young lady. Have a safe trip home." She nods and flies away (just a few feet off the ground) in a direction away from the castle. I notice beyond her and at the bottom of the hill we're on are a couple of smaller rolling hills partially concealing a dirt road. The road itself winds lazily towards a little hamlet a couple of miles away. The large hill I'm standing on certainly affords a lovely panoramic view of the surrounding country. Orchards and farms spread out in the valley in a very humble tribute to prosperity. It reminds me of the Yellowstone caldera, where the mountains form the rim and a large forest spreads out to the south and west of me, beyond the little village Fluttershy is currently heading for. Canterlot castle is true north of where Luna and I are standing. Fully able to make out the details, it really does look like something out of a Disney movie. There's just no way such delicate towers reaching majestically skyward should be able to maintain their grace. The sun gleams off the white stone. I assume its some sort of quartz or perhaps even marble, along with other bright colors upon the rooftops. Nestled around the castle and its pristine walls and huddling into the side of the snow capped mountain is the city of Canterlot, reminding me of something from the Industrial Revolution, without the soot and smoke, a mix of European construction. It's as if the architects wandered about the Old World from my planet and cobbled together a very picturesque scene one can only dream of. "Oh my God," I breathe, gaping as if I'm seeing civilization for the first time. Luna interrupts my intake of visual beauty. "It is not much," she sniffs, "but I call it home." Her giggling is at my expense. I don't mind. She tilts her head skyward, expectantly as if waiting for something. I shift my back uncomfortably on my shoulder. "What are we waiting for?" "A chariot for you, Mr. Spriggs." "Call me Mike, Princess Luna." "Not until know you a bit better, Mr. Spriggs. I'll call you by your first name when you have earned my trust. My dear sister is more open to folk as unique as you, but I prefer to act with more discretion and suspicion until my own unease with the unknown are settled." Ouch. I guess she really didn't take that little jaunt into my dreams and memories with anything more or less than professional. She's a cool customer. "I can respect that." She nods coolly and indicates an approaching spot in the sky drawing nearer. It seems to be coming from the castle. "Ah, there it is. Please stand firmly in the center of the chariot and grip the hand rails. We usually use this particular model of chariot you will be riding in for dignitaries from the minotaur or diamond dog nations." Out of curiosity, I peer behind me to look at the portal I had just stepped through a few minutes ago. There's nothing there but broken stones of what must have been some floor of a long forgotten ruin from ages past. Two broken pillars, the left one roughly three or four feet high and the right just a tad taller than me are all that remain of what I think was some sort of grand columns. They're so old and faded, it's difficult to make out what they might have once been. "Why was the portal out here?" My question has a hesitation halfway through it as I gape and gawk at the nothing that's now there. "What happened to it?" "It closed because I commanded it to do so." "Oh." I guess that makes sense. "It was also out here in case something unwelcome decided to come through it." "From my world?" "That and there are things in between worlds that always seek a way into realms they do not belong." Her tone suggests the topic is something she takes very seriously. "There is a battalion on standby to observe what comes in and out of the portals here. Such places are scattered throughout Equestria, relics from her Golden Age." Luna paws at the ground with a hoof with a stern expression. "Most are useless and few unicorns have the ability to maintain one for overly long periods. Such magic is forbidden unless the need is great." The next question from my mouth was probably more bitter than I intended. "Was taking my daughter from me such a need?" "I would have been content to leave her with you and in your world," she admits softly. "I can understand the sense of isolation it must have left you with when she was gone. But, such a memory is not good for the constitution! Think instead of the happy reunion you two will surely share within the hour!" It's not a bad consolation prize to look forward to. I tell her just that and she smiles at my words. "Excellent!" The mare turns to me fully, expression grave. "Now, kindly remember you are a guest here at the whim of myself and my sister. You will be confined to a wing of the palace until we can determine public reaction to your presence and if such a thing would even be feasible. It is my opinion you will be frightening at first to most ponies," she speaks, stepping towards me, her head bobbing for emphasis as she is clearly trying very hard to explain this as clearly and plainly as possible. "How would you wager the attitudes of the mares who were with my sister upon that day when they first came a-calling upon your doorstep?" I pondered her question by rubbing my chin. "Well, they didn't say much and did a lot of staring at me. I think I intimidated them." "Indeed you did. Remarkably, Fluttershy was the least affected and volunteered to come with me once Discord's plan was discovered and explained from his very mouth. To her, you are like a manticore." I blink. "Okay." Sure. Whatever. I've just be equated to a monster. I'm sure Bigfoot is out there sipping on a cup of tea, reading this and saying, "Quite." Snooty nod added for emphasis. The chariot arrives, pulling to a stop. The two bat winged stallions pulling it have dark coats beneath their dark gray armor. Each one sports an ornate helmet with nose and cheek guards trimmed with polished steel. Both of them are powerfully muscled, heavy in the chest in shoulders especially. They bow to Luna with reverence, maintaining a military bearing. "Mr. Spriggs, your chariot awaits." The princess gives me a slight toss of her muzzle, suggesting in my eyes I should get on quickly. "Is it safe to ride on?" "Usually," she smirks at me and is the first to board. "Come. There is much to tell you while we ride. Not all is as you see in what we provide for your world to know." Wait? Provide? I follow her and climb on the back of the chariot at Luna's side. My bag is shoved to the front and against the inner wall at my feet. "What do you mean by that?" The chariot lifts off and I don't know how this is managed. Magic, I guess. I stare at everything; my ride, the two bat ponies pulling it, the princess bemused by my wonderment of what's going on. As she looks on, she explains, "We've known of your world for a long time. As a matter in fact, our time lines are converging and have been doing so for the past thousand years. As the centuries have come to pass, our worlds have unexpectedly converged, exchanging ideas without knowing it and even having famous ponies here a lot like famous humans from your world." I stare at her, blinking like a dumb mute. She's not paying attention to me, as her monologue comes with her looking upon her land with a distant stare as if recollecting old memories. "Where do you think the human grasp of algebra comes from?" My answer is more of a guess, "Uh, the Middle East?" "No. Starswirl the Bearded first came across it some fourteen centuries ago. His notes ended up being transferred through one of his experimental spells. Dimensional jumping, in the broadest of terms. Your scholars from that region found it and their curiosity and desire to learn did the rest." Luna chuckles. "He was trying out the magic my sister uses these days for sending and receiving letters through flame." "So you've known about Earth?" "Yes. You can't come to our world because your race has lost its touch with its magic." Huh? "What's that supposed to mean?" "Exactly what I mean. Did I say something amiss?" The princess laughs, seeing my confusion as I'm clearly not believing her. "I don't expect you to believe me. The last human sorcerer in your history was a man by the name of Merlin." "The one from King Arthur?" I ask incredulously, mindful to maintain my grip on the chariot's rail. She nods. "The very same." "That's crazy!" "Only because you only believe magic does not exist." She leans towards me slightly, arching a brow with an aside, "which begs me to ponder what you thought of Chrysalis and her learning of her magic, hmm?" Her eyes twinkle with merriment. Okay, she got me on that. I get the feeling Luna and I are going to be butting heads a lot and I can't tell if that's going to be fun or a major pain in the ass. I think I should try and get her to like me first. So, for the remainder of the trip to the castle, I listen to her intently as she tells me the do's and don'ts expected of me during my stay, as well as a few more tidbits of Equestrian history and culture. I try to pick the proper time to present a question, which is frequently I might add, as some of the Equestrian customs require some clarification. For the most part, it strikes me as not really being all that different from the culture I grew up in. Still, being a biped in a world dominated with quadrupeds already presents all sorts of interesting challenges, I can tell. After fifteen minutes in the air, the chariot (the flying chariot) begins to loop lazily on approach to what appears a rather large and long courtyard within the walls of the castle itself. The building we're heading towards reminds me a little of the opulent palaces in Europe (Versailles comes to mind), but with its own distinct flair. Below me teems Canterlot, her streets teeming with the populace. Bright colors and banners and flags dangle everywhere, creating an almost festive atmosphere. There are ponies everywhere. Some are even dressed in assorted odd styles. Some are simple, others ornate. I'm too high up to clearly make out details. It's certainly colorful to look at. A few eyes drift up, see the chariot. They see one of their princesses and not the hairless ape gaping down at them. Luna waves politely and smiles at those who call out to her gleefully. Her reputation has improved since returning to her place on the throne she shared with her sister, I'm thinking. "What's the occasion?" I ask Luna curiously, throwing a hand at the bright giddiness presented by the city. "Prince Blueblood is finally getting married," is her reply. Am I hearing relief in her voice? "My sister insisted a week of celebrating before the ceremony. He'll be wed this Sunday. I was not going to object and the family was carefully selected to deal with his...personality." Is there a faint wickedness in her smile? "Political marriage?" I ask curiously. "Oh, by the moon no!" she laughs. "He impregnated the daughter of the ambassador of one of the independent pony states. He was rather adamant in regards to the incident. The mare's father was quite furious with him. I suspect the mare in question did this deliberately, but I do not go into the dreams of my subjects without just cause." "So it's a shotgun wedding?" The corner of my mouth twitches. She pauses as she gives me an odd stare. "Shotgun wedding?" I supply the answer helpfully, "It's a form of marriage from my nation's nineteenth century where parents often forced couples to marry as it was considered taboo for a woman to have a baby out of wedlock. The suspected father to be was often held at gunpoint at the alter by the father of his bride-to-be and forced to make the girl in question a respectable woman." "Oh my." Luna puts a hoof to her mouth and starts giggling after picturing it in her mind's eye. "Oh my! Yes, it is an arrangement not unlike what you just described. Is that still a common practice in your modern times?" "Not anymore." "Pity." I scrunch my brows as I recall something Luna said. "Wait, you selected the family this Blueblood was marrying into?" Her eyes widen briefly. "Oh. Did I say that? It is not to be discussed further." "You brought it up -" I suddenly have a hoof in my mouth. "Not. To. Be. Discussed. Further." Her eyes warn me through her smile. Okay, this is one complex lady I'm dealing with. I nod. The hoof falls away. I think the two pegasus are trying hard not to laugh. The corner of her lips quirk upwards. "Besides," she adds in royal repose, "my sister will kill me if she is not allowed to tell you herself the gory details. In private, of course." A dangerous glance flickers towards her two bat winged guards. They clear their throats and concentrate on flying the chariot. During the whole time, the connection to my Chryssie has grown stronger and stronger the closer I came to her. I put it in the back of my mind where it buzzed ceaselessly, as if the severed threads were reconnecting. As I've mentioned before, we can't speak to each other's minds, but we can feel each other's emotions. I look ahead and see a familiar large mare with the multicolored mane like a sunrise through a prism, with her golden crown and halter. Celestia bears tolerant humor towards a figure practically bouncing impatiently next to her. There are few ponies in front of what I assume must be the palace, and one of them is shifting restlessly from one hoof to the other next to a third member of the greeting party, Twilight Sparkle. She's a charcoal gray mare with a long and straight teal mane and emerald green eyes, roughly Twilight's size. It doesn't take much of an imagination to tell who she is. Luna steps off first, offering a throaty chuckle upon seeing Chrysalis in a form I've never seen her before. It makes sense, considering this is a land of ponies and whatnot. I'm right behind her and as she goes to greet her elder sister, the little dark mare - shorter than the Chryssie I know - approaches me, her lower lip quibbling as she's on the verge of tears. "Daddy, is that you?" My daughter, I know it's her, stumbles forward awkwardly after a nudge from a sympathetic (and tearing) Twilight Sparkle. Chrysalis is already crying, her lower lip quibbling, caught somewhere between joy and relief as if a personal nightmare had just come to an end. I'm reminded of a father coming home from war as I drop my bag. Two long strides and I fall to my knees, wrapping my arms around my daughter's neck. My own emotions erupt and suddenly I'm crying. Her hooves wrap around me and the embrace is tight, a sobbing changeling and human combination feeling right. After a long, warm moment of a family embrace I had yearned for, I pulled her back. "Let me have a look at you!" I tug playfully at one of her ears, caressing a cheek. "Why aren't you in your normal form?" My question is soft, not fully comprehending. Her face changes from joy to resigned sadness. "They scream and run when they see what I really look like, daddy." I look at Celestia, who nods unhappily. "I'm afraid I can't command my ponies to not be afraid of changelings. Some memories linger painfully and are not easily set in the past. The fear and anger are justified, but I assure you I am working on a solution to promote a positive relationship between ponies and changelings." Her wings shuffle uncomfortably against her sides. "Let us get you settled, Mr. Spriggs. I should think you and your daughter would like to be alone for a while. Your quarters will be next to hers. I would escort you there myself, but the duties of the crown require my presence elsewhere. I bid you welcome to Equestria and hope your stay here is enlightening." "It is good to see you smiling, Chrysalis," Luna offers gently. With that, the two royal sisters offered pleasant farewells, leaving me standing with my daughter, the both of us turning our attentions to the third and youngest alicorn of the group. The purple mare pulls Celestia aside and the two share a quick hushed conversation. The white alicorn chuckles and gives her student a quick nuzzle, and departs with her awaiting sister. I notice she's eyeing me nervously, clearly not comfortable around me without Celestia. I find my eyes wandering around, specifically to the guards dotting the courtyard. They're all staring at me. None of them are overly friendly, but neither are they blatantly hostile. "Do I scare you?" I ask plainly, offering an apologetic smile. She shakes her head. "Oh, no, it's not that Mr. Spriggs!" Twilight insists. "I'm far too curious about you to be afraid." "Oh, so you're hiding something else," I suppose, shifting the strap on my shoulder. "Hell of a welcome here, Miss -" her name falters on my tongue. Chryssie stares at me like I just blasphemed against the church. "Oh! My name's Twilight Sparkle!" she tells me in a rush, flushing a little. I already knew her name, but thought breaking the ice with simple introductions might put her a bit more at ease with...well, whatever was bothering her. "Michael Spriggs," I announce deprecatingly. "How are you and Chryssie getting along?" "Daddy!" she hissed at me while bumping me with her flank. "Oh, just fine!" Twilight beams. "It's nice to meet you on a less stressful level. Last time was pretty -" "- Heart wrenching?" I offer to finish for her. "- fascinating," she finishes her own sentence, "but yes, I wasn't comfortable when we went to your world. I mean, I was! It was the first time I'd ever been to your world to meet a human face-to-face. I don't know how long you're going to be with us. The Princess really doesn't know herself. We just want you to enjoy yourself while you're visiting." I quirk an eyebrow at her. "You mentioned it was the first time you went to my world to meet another human. You've been to Earth before?" Her mouth hangs open slightly, eyes growing round as she stares back. A wide smile - too wide, if you ask me - stretches across her pretty little face as I think I see a nervous twitch in her eye. "Why, whatever do you mean?" she asks. Abruptly she spins on a back hoof, adjusting her wings with a nervous titter. "Let's see you to your room, Mr. Spriggs!" "Call me Mike." "Let's see you to your room, Mr. Spriggs! This way!" She trots off hurriedly, hanging her head a little bit as I think I hear her muttering to herself. I follow after her, my own thoughts swirling. "Daddy?" Chryssie falls in step at my side. "I love having you back and everything and I've got so much to tell you, but please promise me one thing while you're here?" "Hmm?" I ruffle her mane affectionately. "What's that, pumpkin?" "Please don't embarrass me!" she pleads in a whisper. "No promises. God made daddies to embarrass their daughters. I thought you knew that." She giggles, her expression much like Twilight's was just moments ago. So, I'm in Equestria, following the swishing tail of an alicorn muttering to herself into the gaping maw of an ornate palace with my shape-shifting daughter with no idea what lays in store for me. I'm already suspicious of the obvious. I think the ponies are planning to make themselves known to Earth.