I had some free time on my hands, so I decided to head up to Canterlot and surprise Luna. I was thinking that she would be overworked, and that she would welcome some time to relax, so I arranged for us to go to on a picnic atop the very tower where I had proposed to her.
Everything was in place, and only required Luna's presence. So there I was, walking through the many corridors of the castle, returning the salutes of guards and the waves of the staff. But then my ears picked up what sounded like hushed voices coming from a closet where the maids kept cleaning supplies. I crept up to the door and placed my ear against it.
"I can't believe this," a voice said. I was surprised to find that it belonged to Twilight, though what she was doing in a closet was beyond me. "Of all your hair-brained ideas, 'trans-universal holidays' has to be the worst one yet."
"Don't get on at me, Twi," a male voice replied. "It's not my fault our resident scientist can't get his calculations correct. Now shush, and give me some light so I can find the damn door handle." I heard the hum of magic, followed by seeing a purple light emanating through the bottom of the door. "Thank you, my dear. Now... where is the— a-ha, here it is! ONWARDS TO FREEDOM!"
I moved away from the door in time, just as it was suddenly taken off its hinges and sent clattering to the floor. I stood in stunned silence, listening to the sound of hoofsteps on marble. Sure enough, Twilight came trotting out of the cupboard — and promptly froze in place upon seeing me. I stared back at her, making sure to pay particular attention to the wings she was sporting.
"Hey, Twilight?" the male asked. "Are you all right?" I heard the sounds of movement as he left the cupboard. "You're making me nervous, Twi, what in the hell is— holy crap, another human?!"
I snapped my head to the right and saw, to my considerable shock and consternation, another human. He was just as tall as I was, and was wearing a rather dapper suit. We stared at each other for a moment before I managed to find my voice again. "GUARDS!"
Clanking armour and hurried hoofsteps heralded the arrival of every guard in the area, who all took one look at the new arrivals and levelled their weapons at them. The other human put his hands up slowly. "Now now, lads," he said. "There's no need to be so hasty. My other half and I are simply here on holiday."
The guards didn't back down, as one of them helped me to my feet and dusted me off. "Are you all right, Royal Courter?" he asked, saluting me stoically. I nodded. "Good to hear. Now, what are your orders? Shall we take these two to the dungeon?"
"What are you doing?!" Twilight yelled. "I am Princess Celestia's student, so you will release us at once!"
"Celestia's student is a unicorn," I replied sternly, pointing at her wings. "She is not an alicorn." I looked at the human. "What about you? What's your story?"
He chuckled. "First of all, my name is Geo," he said. "Secondly, my... I mean, our story is quite a long one. But to cut it short, we are both from another Equestria — a version where different things happened. Twilight and I are married, and we are Prince and Princess alongside Celestia, Luna and Cadence."
"Uh-huh," I replied, not convinced. I turned to the guard. "Follow me, we're taking them to Celestia and Luna." He nodded, and I started walking — making sure to mutter "Well, that's my plans for this evening ruined" under my breath.
***
When I entered the throne room, Luna looked at me joyfully — but her expression soon changed to one of confusion when she noticed that I wasn't alone. The two prisoners stepped forward and bowed.
"Evening, ladies," Geo said jovially. "It's a fine day for crossing universes, wouldn't you agree?"
They looked at him blankly. "Er, Owen?" Celestia asked. "Who is this man... and why does Twilight have wings?"
"She's not the Twilight you know," I replied. "They have both stated that they are here from another universe — a version of Equestria where things happened a lot differently from here. I find that very hard to believe, because that level of science - or magic - is nearly impossible to accomplish."
"Of course you would say that," Geo deadpanned. "Because you've not met the guy who perfected the science which brought us here." He sighed. "Look, Twilight and I came here to get some respite from our royal duties. We were told that this version of Equestria would be just as welcoming as our own."
"Royal duties?" Luna queried. "What do you mean by that?"
"In our Equestria, Geo and I are Prince and Princess," Twilight replied. "It's a long and complicated story, but basically... our Celestia had been training me to become a Princess from the very day she took me as her student." She looked at Geo wistfully. "And along the way, I met – and fell in love with – this wonderful man."
"We've been through a hell of a lot in our time together," Geo added. "But I for one don't regret a single second of it. We came here to experience new things, and would very much like to get that chance. I assure you we mean you no harm." He looked at me. "And it would be nice to get to know a new human. So what do you say, Owen, do you want to give us a chance?"
I sighed. "I guess... but I still don't believe you when you say your universe has perfected trans-universal travel." I folded my arms and stared at him. "I'm going to need to see some pro—"
I was cut off first by a bright white light, and the feeling of something solid landing on me. When the light subsided, I was surprised to see yet another human sprawled across the floor — but I was even more surprised to find that it was Applejack who had landed on me. She shook her head and groaned.
"Hoo-whee, that was a rough landin'!" she said. "Just as well Ah landed on somethin'—"
"Someone," I interrupted. "You landed on someone." She looked down at me and gasped. "Yeah, hi... could you get off me, please?"
She scrambled off me and went to help up the other human, who rounded on Geo and grabbed him by the collar. "You jackass," he said. "You told me it wouldn't hurt!"
"I said that stepping through the portal wouldn't hurt, John," Geo replied, pushing him away and smoothing the creases in his shirt. "I didn't say anything about the landing, especially when the portal opens a few feet above ground."
Luna clopped her forehooves together eagerly. "Another human!" she squealed excitedly. "Could it be that Geo was telling the truth about trans-universal travel?"
I rubbed the back of my head nervously. "All right," I muttered. "I guess he was telling the truth after all." I looked at John and held out my hand. "Hi there, I'm Owen, it's nice to meet you."
Instead of shaking my hand, John instead opted for picking me up in a bear hug and squeezing the life out of me. "Another human, eh?" he grinned. "How the hell are ya, mate?!" He finally put me down, grabbed my hand and then shook it furiously.
I finally managed to tear myself away from him and quickly sat by Luna's side, putting my arm around her neck and leaning into her contentedly. "Let me guess," I said to John. "You and Applejack are a couple, and had the same idea Geo and Twilight did?"
"Eeyup," Applejack nodded. "Ah don't rightly go on many holidays, 'cus I'm usually busy 'round the farm, but John managed ta convince me to take one."
"Fair enough," I replied. "So... what was your plan? Come here, hope that we don't throw you in jail for trespassing, and then just kick back and relax for a few days?"
"Pretty much," Geo shrugged. "I'm not really one for ideas." He pointed at Twilight. "Twilight is the brains of our relationship, and I'm just the comic relief." He groaned. "I've lost count of how many times I've been hit with something, usually a book." Twilight giggled and nuzzled him. "So what's your story, 'Royal Courter'?"
John looked at me, and spent a moment looking at how I was holding Luna. "So that's your title?" he asked, to which I nodded. "Am I right in thinking that 'Royal Courter' is just a fancy way of saying 'Princess Luna's fuck buddy'?"
If I had been eating or drinking anything, I would have either choked or spat it out with the way I spluttered at this statement. I was about to reply when Luna cut in. "I'll have you know," she said. "There is more to our relationship than just sex." She looked at me with half-lidded eyes and smiled. "This man means more to me than life itself. He helped me to realise we were two lost souls, who are both alike in so many ways. We too have been through so much in our time together, and this has helped us to grow closer together and reinforce the bonds that we share — which, in one instance, was quite literal." She grinned wickedly at me, and I blushed.
"I'm not going to ask you to go into further details," Geo said. "But I know how you feel. Twilight and I are alike as well — we were both reluctant to make friends, but once we were finally forced to do so... we were glad to have them, and each other."
Twilight was about to reply when John interrupted her. "We get it, guys. You love each other and I love AJ, who loves me back." He turned to face Luna and I. "We didn't come here to compare relationship notes. What do you do for fun around here?"
"Well..." I said. "I've got some games consoles back at my house. You are more than welcome to—"
"All right!" John cheered. "Hey, Geo, we've got a chance to get some gaming dignity back, so let's take little Owen to school!"
I glared at him. "Oh, it is on," I said. "My house is on the outskirts of Ponyville, you can't miss it."
"I shall teleport us there," Celestia said. "After all, I would like a chance to talk to you, Twilight, while the men play their games."
Twilight nodded while Celestia charged her horn, ignoring Geo's pleas to let him get the train. One flash of magic later, and only Luna and I remained in the throne room. She stood up and unfurled her wings to their full span, flapping them a few times. "Well... this has certainly been an entertaining start to the evening," she said. "But I dare say that it is only going to get more entertaining." She noticed me looking at her wistfully. "Owen, are you all right?"
"Sorry," I chuckled, standing up. "It's just... they were the first humans I've seen in God knows how long. And seeing how they were with their partners... it made me realise, once again, just how lucky I am to have you." I leaned in and kissed her cheek. "I love you, Luna, always and forever."
She kissed me back. "I love you too, Owen, always and forever," she whispered. "Now, I believe you need to show Geo and John just who they are messing with." I nodded. "Good man."
With those words, she teleported us both to my house — where I promptly added to Geo and John's already dismal gaming record.