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// Chapter 23 - Sunday 
// Story: My Family and Other Equestrians 
// by Blade Star 
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        Today was Sunday. I had had an agreement with my parents about Sundays. In spite of my atheist beliefs, on the first Sunday of every month, I would accompany them to church. This would be a change for them. My family were by no means ‘god fearing people’, but they did believe in attending every week. In Equestria though, there were no churches. 

The show had never been fully clear on this matter, but as far as I was aware, Equestria lacked the concept of religion. It wasn’t really necessary when you could simply make an appointment to see one of the princesses. While they themselves were not gods, they were fairly close to the definition. 

As such, it seemed Sunday in Equestria was set aside simply as a day of rest, without any theistic connotations. Most of the shops in town were closed as was the school. Twilight kept the library open, but she rarely saw any patrons on a Sunday. As she had also suspended our magic lessons until the Monday after the Running of the Leaves, I had little to do. This was very much the calm before the storm though. Next week, until Wednesday, was Cider Season, and then on Thursday was the race. As I wouldn’t have a great deal of time on my hooves in the near future, I decided to use this moment to visit my family. I had neglected them a bit since everything had settled down. 

My parents had selected a nice enough house just outside of town. It was by no means out in the sticks as our previous home had been, but it was a good walk to Town Hall. The final sale of the property was due in a day or so and I wanted to have a look round before then. 

So, after breakfast, I set off for the address I had been given. Twilight had said she and my parents would meet me there to show me around. Rarity had really come into her own over the matter. Owing to my family’s unusual nature, non-pony furniture, such as chairs and higher tables were required. This was being handled by carpenters in town. Rarity however, had insisted on helping with the interior design, in addition to extending my family’s wardrobe to more than a mere two outfits each. It was therefore no surprise when I ran into her on the way there. 

“Hello Rarity,” I called as I spotted the white unicorn ahead of me. 

“Oh, hello Blade Star,” she replied, leaning out from behind the pile of clothes held in her magical grip. “I just thought I’d deliver these new ensembles to your mother and father. I simply cannot stand the idea of them only possessing a couple meagre outfits.” I rolled my eyes at this, although it was very generous of her. 

“Really my dear, you are too kind,” I chided her. “You’ve made almost a dozen outfits between them, at least let me pay you for the material, if not for the work.” Rarity instantly harrumphed.

“I insisted that these be free. They are gifts, and I shall not take a single bit from either you or them.” She held her head high with her eyes closed. There was no way I could argue with that. So, we quickly fell into normal conversation. 

“How’s business at the Boutique been then? I heard from reputable sources,” (Pinkie Pie) “that you’ve had quite a few orders for your autumn line.” She nodded.

“Quite, though I’m already working on the new winter collection. Fashion does move at such a pace, Blade Star, sometimes it is hard to keep up.” She paused for a moment. “You know Sweetie Belle talks about you all the time. It would be nice if you could stop by for tea at some point.”

I inwardly groaned at this. Rarity was a wonderful pony, but afternoon tea with her could be, to quote Discord ‘quite dull’. I quickly wracked my brains for a credible excuse, or even a way to postpone such a thing. But before I could she offered another suggestion. 

“Actually Blade Star, in a couple of weeks, I will be going up to Canterlot to show off my new line at Hoity Toity’s fashion show. If you don’t mind, I would appreciate a stallion such as yourself coming with me.” I raised my eyebrow at this, causing her to start and instantly backtrack. “No no no, I didn’t mean like that! Just as a friend and for appearances.” She smiled hopefully at me. 

“Oh alright,” I said, giving in. “just let me clear it with Applejack and Twilight first though.” It wouldn’t hurt to go with her, and I hadn’t spent as much time with Rarity as I had with the others. So, after Cider Season and the race, I was off to Canterlot. 

As we continued to chat, the house came into view. It was a nice looking place. Standing out on its own was a two story building. Out front was a decent fenced garden, with a path leading to the front door. Vines climbed up the entire front facing wall of the house. Looking in through the windows, I could distinguish the kitchen on one side, and a living room on the other. The whole thing struck me as homely. The sort of building you imagine as the archetypal childhood home. Waiting for us was Twilight and my parents. 

“Hello Rarity, hello Blade Star,” Greeted Twilight. We both returned her greeting.

“Hey there, my boy,” Said my father. Neither of my parents, or Lizzie for that matter had been able to convince themselves to call me by my new name. Fairly understandable I guess, for the moment they both called me son, boy or something to that effect, while Lizzie called me bro. The latter I have yet to explain, she never called me that back on Earth. 

My dad had the keys to the house with him, borrowed from the estate agent. He turned the key in the lock and let us in. It was still quite strange to stand next to any member of my family. As a human, I had been about 5’8, now though, I was just a little over 4’2, though I could regain my height if I stood on my hind legs. As a result, I was the shortest person in my family. It’s so strange to go from being taller than both my mum and little sister; to having them both tower over me. On the other hand, everything in this world was better suited for me, most of the furniture in this house was being custom made due to the difference in scale. 

Walking inside, I was greeted by a very nice, cosy hallway. There were two doors, each one leading to either the living room or the kitchen. In front of us was the stairs, which led up to the bedrooms and the upstairs bathroom. Beyond the stairs was the utility, leading to the back garden. All in all, the building was not very deep, but it by no means felt cramped. It reminded me of my old home back on Earth.

“You weren’t kidding. This is a pretty nice place, Mum,” I said, having looked all around the ground floor.

“Yes,” she replied. “As soon as the sale goes through and the new furniture’s finished, we can get out from under poor Twilight’s hooves.

“Oh please,” Twilight countered. “It’s been great having you two over. And you’re welcome to drop by anytime.” She turned to my father. “Do you want to hang onto those law books, Roger?”

“Sure, if you don’t mind. Your princesses said I could start working at the court tomorrow as I now have sufficient knowledge of your laws. Hey, while I’m thinking about it, I better stop by the train station; see if I can get a season ticket or something for the commute.”

Since my father would be working in Canterlot, he would need to take a train pretty early on. That was no different to what he did back on Earth. Day Court was held every weekday, so it would be similar to his old routine. He handed the house keys to my mother.

“Here, take these back when you’re done, love. And don’t forget to lock the door behind you.” He turned to face me. “Fancy coming down to the station, lad? I could use the company.” I agreed and we both set off, leaving Twilight, Rarity and my mother to continue to look around the house. 

We headed back the way me and Rarity had come, and entered Ponyville proper. It was nice to see they were both settling in. Soon enough, they would have their own home, and Lizzie would be able to join them if she wanted to. We both strolled down the main thoroughfare towards the station. It was a nice enough building, but relatively non-descript. We were confronted with the timetable and price list, in Equestrian, of course.

“Erm, I don’t suppose you could translate this lot for me?” My dad asked hopefully. I sighed and responded, setting in motion an odd turn of events. Firstly, my southern accent kicked in.

“Dammit, Dad! I’m a unicorn not a universal translator!” I complained. Instantly though, my father had a smile on his face. The kind of smile you associate with trolls. There was a brief silence.

“That’s it!” He exclaimed all of a sudden. “I know what I’ll call you now.” I already half saw where this was going, the effect of a particular turn of phrase and my southern accent pointing to one logical answer.

“What?” I asked half-heartedly.

“I shall call you ‘Bones’!” he professed. I bloody knew it! He took his liking for Star Trek way too far. On the other hand, at least he’d stop calling me ‘boy’. Resigned to my fate, I set about translating everything for him and we managed to get him a season pass for Canterlot.

With that done, we walked to the nearby park. Sitting down, my father looked at me curiously.

“You know you look like a dog when you sit like that, right?” He said. I laughed as I looked at the natural position I had taken up on the bench. 

“Would you rather I sit like Lyra does then?” I briefly repositioned myself into what resembled my father’s posture. “Because I can tell you, this is by no means comfy for a quadruped.” We both laughed as I resettled.

“Bones, I know it’s you in there, but I still can’t get over it,” he said at length, shaking his head and smiling. “It’s just so strange, knowing that my own son is a, well.” He trailed off.

“A horse, a pony?” I offered, he nodded. “You just have to realise dad, these ponies aren’t like the ones on Earth. Don’t think of them as ponies, think of them as aliens. That’s what they are really, except for appearances; they’re nothing like the creatures we remember.” This seemed to give him food for thought, and we both relaxed for a while. 

“How’s Applejack?” he eventually asked. “You seem to really have settled down up there.” He grinned as if he was implying something.

“She’s fine; we’re all getting ready for the start of Cider Season tomorrow. There ought to be around two dozen barrels of the stuff every day. You just wait; the queue’ll be a mile long.” My father smiled knowingly.

As he was about to continue, he was interrupted by Spike, who ran up to us. In his claw was a scroll bearing the seal of Princess Celestia.

“Hi you two. Just got this when I was cleaning the library, looks important.” He handed the scroll to my father.  Breaking the seal and opening the scroll, my father was confronted by a letter written in Equestrian. I cast my horn alight and gently took the letter from him.

“Here, let me translate that for you,” I said, pre-empting his request. I looked over the letter, quickly translating the letters in my mind. “Dear Roger. As you now feel that you are ready to aid me here in Canterlot, please find enclosed your Royal Travel Pass. As a representative of the Equestrian government, you have the right to free travel across the nation for the purpose of work. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Signed Princess Celestia. P.S, Sorry I didn’t give this to you in my last letter, it completely slipped my mind.” I couldn’t help but grin.

“Well, looks like Trollestia strikes again,” I said jokingly. “Come on, we can probably get that ticket refunded.” My father laughed as well.

“I still can’t get over the whole magic thing,” he said. “Even you’re using it now.” I decided not to show off my teleport ability this time, he seemed more than fascinated by levitation and Spike’s fire breath. We headed back to the station; luckily my father was able to get his money back, particularly after he displayed his newly acquired pass. 

We then returned to the library. Lizzie had returned to Fluttershy’s, while my mother and Twilight had come back here. We found the human in the kitchen cooking happily, while Twilight busied herself with reshelving books. By the smell of things, my mother was doing a nice soup dish for dinner. 

“This must be the first time you’ve cooked for a princess, eh Mom?” I said as our little trio entered.

“Oh dear, you know Twilight doesn’t care for that title,” she replied. “You staying for dinner?” I was about to decline and head on home for the evening, but I did promise myself that I’d spend more time with my family today, so I agreed.

“Sure why not. You making croutons to go with that?” I asked.