Kyle’s eyes slowly opened as he awoke from his dreamless sleep. Day three. He thought to himself. Lying on the couch under the warm blanket, he contemplated simply falling back asleep. Unfortunately, as the discomfort in his waist informed him, that would not be an option today. Kyle rubbed his eyes and stretched before tossing the blanket off of him, standing up and walking towards the bathroom.
A few minutes later, after having taken care of business, Kyle stepped outside. The night was still strong, the air cool and crisp. Kyle looked up at the sky and noticed the moon at the western horizon. Must be nearly sunrise he thought to himself as he looked upwards once more. The sky was illuminated by countless stars. Each one, he knew, was a sun, many with their own planets. I wonder if Azeroth is up there… Kyle quickly shook the thoughts from his head. Such thoughts would only lead to despair. Instead, he headed towards the stream that ran past Fluttershy’s cottage.
The water was cool and refreshing as Kyle dipped his hand in. He took off his leather armor and boots and set them aside before removing his shirt. Without hesitation, he grabbed some of the water from the stream and threw the it upon his face, washing away the dirt that had accumulated there in the past few days. He did the same for his exposed arms and chest before submerging his head, rinsing the dried sweat from his hair. Finally, he stepped into the stream, allowing the water to rinse away all the dust and blood that had accumulated on the lower half of his body.
Satisfied that he was now cleaned, he bundled up his shirt and submerged it as well. He brought the now-soaking shirt out of the stream and began to clean his armor, using the cloth to remove the dried blood, dirt and sweat off of the leather. Once that was finished, he dunked the shirt into the stream once more and rinsed all of the grime out of it before wringing it out. He placed his wet clothing on a tree branch near the forest to dry.
With his washing out of the way, Kyle looked up at the sky again. The moon was beginning to set over the horizon, and the sun was beginning to rise, filling the eastern sky with the vibrant hues of the morning sunrise. Kyle figured he would still have an hour or so to spare before the day truly began. Still, he wasn’t entirely unused to waking up at this hour. Feeling too awake now to go back to sleep, he instead decided to practice a bit. He may have been stuck in an alien world, but that was no excuse for allowing himself to grow lazy.
Kyle began with a few simple rolls, making sure that he could still move around and land on his feet. Once he finished those, he closed his eyes and focused his Energy before unleashing it in a powerful Spinning Crane Kick. Satisfied that he could maintain his balance while spinning, he finished his physical training by jabbing and kicking at one of the trees just inside the forest, being careful not to hurt himself against the hard trunk. Even this close to the edge of the forest, the gloom of the place and thick canopy still blocked out most of the sky. Kyle reminded himself to never venture far in without a good reason.
Feeling good about his physical skills, Kyle stepped out of the forest and looked up once more and felt his jaw drop. The sun was now fully risen. It was still low in the eastern sky, but it had moved past dawn and gone straight into the full brightness of day. No way… I wasn’t training for that long, was I? Kyle wondered incredulously. Sure, he could sometimes get lost in training, but never had he lost himself for that long. He must have been at it for at least an hour and a half, even though it only felt like ten minutes. Kyle went over to examine his shirt, and sure enough, it was still wet. Something fishy is going on…
Kyle shoved the thought into the ‘will inquire about it later’ category in his mind. Sighing, he forced himself to complete his morning training. He sat down near the stream and folded his legs, preparing to meditate. Meditation had always been Kyle’s least favorite activity as a Monk. Even though it had real results that he had seen himself firsthand, it was boring and, at the same time, often overwhelming. Still, it was a part of the routine that he had been forced into by his mentor for over a year during his training. Kyle closed his eyes and reached out with his senses, allowing himself to be lost in the world around him. A small breeze circled around him, but he barely paid it any attention, simply allowing himself to become one with the world, with the Chi, the life-force of all the things around him.
His senses seemed to leave his body, and he flashed through the minds of a thousand other creatures nearby all at once. An ant, returning to the colony with a drop of water 20 times its own weight balanced on its back. A spider, wrapping up a fly foolish enough to have gotten caught in its web. A pony, walking to a door and opening it. A fish, gliding through the stream, looking for food. An owl, returning to its hollow tree to sleep through the day.
This was the part Kyle disliked so much. His senses flying from one creature to another, never getting more than a fleeting glimpse and yet at the same time seeing and feeling everything. So many different sights and sounds and smells and feelings… The first few attempts had left him over a bucket, heaving due to the incredible mental strain. Now, it was almost second-nature, though it still made his stomach churn. Even so, doing this allowed him better access to the Chi in the world around him, allowing him to utilize more Chi for more powerful abilities.
The sound of a door closing and a small gasp snapped Kyle back to his own body. He felt a small thump against his backside, and realized that he had been floating in the air slightly - not an uncommon feature of Monk Meditation, but still a bit of a shock to the unprepared. He opened his eyes and saw Fluttershy standing outside of the cottage staring at him with gaping eyes. Kyle immediately glanced up at the sky. He guessed that he had been meditating for half an hour, though with the incident earlier that morning, he couldn’t rely on the sun anymore for accurate timekeeping.
“Oh, um… g-good morning.” Fluttershy stammered, still staring at Kyle. “Um, what are you doing, uh, out here…?”
“Washing up.” Kyle explaining, motioning to the branch the held his shirt and armor. “And meditating.”
“Oh… right… well, um, somepony might see you out here, so, maybe we should head back inside… if you don’t mind, that is.”
Kyle sighed. He had been looking forward to a chance to stretch his legs for a bit today. Still, he knew Celestia wanted to keep his existence quiet for now, and the last thing he wanted was to anger the ruler of the land he was trapped in by exposing himself. He nodded and went to gather up his things off of the tree. His armor was dried, but his shirt was still damp. He left it hanging on the branch to continue to dry, and took the armor inside.
Once inside, Kyle placed his armor in a corner of the living room. He doubted he was going to need it anytime soon, and the tunic chafed a bit without a shirt on underneath. After grabbing an apple and a cup of water to settle his stomach, he settled back down on the couch with the book from the day before. He opened the book to the page he had left off, and scowled. He had just finished reading about the war between the pony races, how they had almost been driven extinct by the Windigos and their own hatred, until three ponies had finally driven them back with the power of friendship. Or something like that. Either way, ancient history wasn’t what he wanted. Instead, Kyle flipped to the Table of Contents and found what he was looking for, near the back of the thick volume - Modern Equestrian Society.
Over the next couple of hours, Kyle learned much about this world that he was in. Equestria was simply one country - the world itself was called Equis. Equestria rested in the middle of a large continent, situated between the Badlands to the South and the Frozen North. The primary species in Equestria were ponies (Of course), though not the only. He noticed several familiar creatures such as Deer, Cows, Dragons, Phoenixes and Griffons. A few, however, sounded completely alien, like Changelings, Diamond Dogs, and Buffalo. Finally, a few sounded familiar but not entirely accurate. The Minotaur sounded very similar (at least in appearance) to the Tauren, while Zebra sounded like a hornless Zhevra.
Kyle learned that the tattoos on the ponies’ flanks were called cutie marks, and apparently displayed what their special talent was. They would only appear when the pony displayed their special talent. This presented an odd paradox to Kyle. How can you display your special talent if you don’t know what it is? he wondered. He quickly sorted this conundrum into the ‘will inquire about it later’ category.
Finally, Kyle reached the part concerning the government. At the top of the government sat the two princesses: Celestia and her sister, Luna. It seemed very similar to the way the Alliance operated, with the two sisters at the top; many advisors and aristocrats surrounding them; and local governments whose officials were subservient to the princesses, but elected by the people. Where Twilight fit into this, Kyle was unsure - the book had apparently been written before she was made a Princess. Finally, Kyle read that Celestia and Luna apparently controlled…
“No way.” Kyle stated incredulously. “No way. That’s not possible.”
“What’s not possible?” Fluttershy inquired. Kyle looked over at her, having been unaware that she had heard him. “Um… if you don’t mind, that is…” she added quietly, looking away.
“This book says that the Princesses control the Sun and the Moon.” Kyle replied. “They control the seasons by moving these objects closer to and farther from Equis, control their orbits… but that’s impossible. Even the smallest child on Azeroth knows that our sun is far larger than our planet, and that we orbit the sun, not the other way around.”
“Oh, well, you see, our sun orbits our world.” Fluttershy replied, sitting down next to Kyle. “It’s a bit larger than the moon, but also a bit farther away, so they appear to be the same size.”
“Even if that is true - which I doubt -,” Kyle continued, “The sun and moon are massive! The amount of energy required to move those objects through the sky is… inconceivable.”
“Well they are the princesses.” Fluttershy replied. “They were the first Alicorns ever. They have more magical power than anypony.”
Kyle sighed and folded his arms. “Nope. Until I see it happen, I’m not believing it.”
“Oh, well, I guess I can’t make you believe.” Fluttershy said, sounding a bit dejected. “Maybe someday you’ll get to see them raise and lower the sun and moon.”
“Mhm. Yeah, right.” Kyle retorted as he turned back to the book.
“Um… Mr. Kyle…” Fluttershy began, but was cut off by Kyle’s hand.
“Please, no Mister.” Kyle said. “I’m only 25. Calling me mister makes me sound old. Just Kyle is fine.”
“Oh, right, sorry. Um, Kyle, I was just wondering… um, if you don’t mind, but why are you reading about our society?”
“What do you mean?” Kyle inquired, marking his spot and closing the book.
“Well, um, aren’t you worried about how to get home?”
“Of course I am.”
“Then why aren’t you trying to find a way back?”
Kyle scratched his chin, feeling the stubble starting to grow in. “Well, a few reasons.” he began. “The way I got here was a massive portal in Azeroth, which snapped shut behind me. Odds are that it won’t open again anywhere near enough to me for me to slip back through, assuming that it’s still going haywire. Which basically means, I don’t think I’m taking the same cart out of this world that I used to get here.”
“Okay… I understand…. I think… but, um, why aren’t you looking for another way back?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m no mage.” Kyle replied, leaning back into the couch and closing his eyes. “I never studied the theory and principles behind magic. I can do my basic Mistweaving and all that, but portals? That’s advanced-level magical study right there. I’d be about as useful looking for a solution as a Gnome would be in trying to reach the highest shelf. Don’t get me wrong - I want to go back.” he added hastily. “But I have no idea how to even begin designing a spell that can do that.”
“Oh… I see…”
“But I guess I haven’t really answered your original question.” Kyle admitted. “Why am I studying your society? Well, again, for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s interesting how similar your society is to ours. Even though this world is much… calmer.” he quickly covered, not willing to get into the whole soldier thing again. “But there are differences. I figure, if I don’t know how to get home… well, I might as well not make myself look like an uneducated ass while I’m here.”
“A very smart decision.” A voice said from the doorway. Both of their heads snapped up to look at the source of the voice. Standing in the doorway was Princess Celestia, her mane still billowing beside her and actually blowing against the wind today.
Fluttershy immediately dropped to the floor, while Kyle lowered his head in a respectful bow. Even if the story about her controlling the sun was bogus, it wouldn’t be smart to show disrespect to the leader of Equestria. “Princess Celestia.” he murmured before raising his head to look at her. “What are you doing here?”
Celestia’s face was expressionless for a moment, and Kyle felt a familiar trickle of sweat run down the back of his neck. Twilight had mentioned she would be sending her findings from the night before to Celestia. Had she considered him to be too great of a threat? Was she here to banish, or worse, kill him?
Finally, Celestia’s face broke into a warm smile. “Ms. Fluttershy, how is our patient doing?” she asked the still-prone Pegasus.
Fluttershy looked up, her face the epitome of nervousness and anxiety. “Um, well, that is… I, uh… I think he’s, um, alright.” she stammered. “He, uh…”
“I’m feeling much better.” Kyle interjected. “I can walk without trouble, no more headache…” he trailed off with a shrug.
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard of a creature recovering from a blow to the head so quickly.” she said, the question behind her statement clear.
Kyle shrugged again. “Neither have I.” he admitted. “But the results don’t lie.” To prove his point, he stood up with no difficulty
Celestia nodded, her eyes closed. “Interesting… In that case, Mr. Slater, I would ask that you walk with me.” she stated. “I believe we have a matter of some importance to discuss.”
Kyle hesitated, doubt flowing through his mind. What did the Princess want to discuss? Did she really just want to talk? Was this a trap? A million deceptive thoughts flowed through his mind in an instant. Kyle took a deep breath and, with great effort, forcibly shoved them aside. If she had wanted him dead, he would be dead already, of that he was sure. Even if the stories of her strength were likely exaggerated, she did radiate a great amount of power, much like the Naaru. “Alright.” he conceded. “Lead the way.” Celestia turned and exited the house. Kyle followed, waving goodbye to Fluttershy as he close the door behind him.
Kyle had expected Celestia to head towards the countryside, away from the town. Instead, she seemed to have turned to walk towards the town. Kyle ran over to the tree and grabbed his shirt before jogging after her, pulling it over his head as he did. An awkward silence descended as he matched her pace.
As the pair approached the outskirts of the town, Celestia suddenly veered off of the path, stepping towards the forest. Kyle paused for a moment, but followed anyway. Sure enough, the Princess stepped into the gloom, and Kyle followed behind her.
Celestia stopped in the middle of a small clearing only about half a minute from the edge of the forest. She turned to look at Kyle, her expression blank. “I must say that I am impressed.” She said suddenly. “Few of my Ponies could follow me into here without questioning my motives or destination.”
Kyle blinked, surprised by the compliment. “I figure I’ll find out when we get there.” he commented. “I figured you weren’t gonna try to hurt me. If you’d wanted to, I’m sure I’d already be dead without you having to take me into the Everfree.”
“You are quite perceptive, young one. I would not have expected such a trusting train of logic to be followed by a species whose members are so… violent.”
“So, Twilight told you about that already, eh?” Kyle asked, to which Celestia nodded. “So I’m guessing you’re here to question me further about that?”
“Partially correct.” Celestia nodded. “I would indeed like to know more about your people. However, I would hazard a guess and say that asking a member of a species to describe his species, especially in the context of war, would lead to a… biased answer.”
“I suppose so.” Kyle admitted. “But unless you have a better idea, I’m not sure how else you intend to get more information on Humans.”
“As a matter of fact, i do have a better idea.” Celestia said with a smile. Kyle’s heart rate increased as Celestia continued. “There is a powerful bit of magic, unusable by any but the most advanced Unicorns and Alicorns, that allows the caster to see the memories of their target. I would use this on you, in order to see your viewpoint of Humans firsthand.”
“Couldn’t I just tell you what you wanted to know?” Kyle asked. The idea of someone else rummaging through his memories wasn’t exactly a pleasant thought
“Perhaps. But it would take far longer than the memory-reading spell, and would be biased. With this spell, I can see what there is to truly see of Humans through your eyes, without the bias your explanation would have.” When Kyle hesitated, Celestia cracked a small, reassuring smile. “I won’t continue without your permission.” she said gently. “But it would be beneficial for us both for me to know more about your people.”
Kyle closed his eyes for a moment, not saying anything. Finally, he nodded his head. “Alright.” he said quietly. “You want to see my memories, my knowledge of humanity? You’ll see them. But I don’t promise you’ll like what you see.”
Celestia closed her eyes, and her horn glowed with an aura similar to what Twilight had done when she used magic. However, instead of a purple hue, this aura glowed a vibrant gold. A beam of light shot from her horn and hit Kyle in the head. He instinctively flinched back, expecting pain or to be thrown backwards. Neither happened. Instead, it simply connected the two. As he watched, Celestia’s eyes twitched under her eyelids, and sweat began to form at her brow.
Finally, just as Kyle was beginning to wonder whether anything was happening at all, the beam stuttered and faded. Celestia’s eyes snapped open, and she collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Kyle rushed over to her, helping her rise to her hooves once more. “That was… enlightening.” she grunted, her voice not quite carrying the same power that it had before.
“Are you alright?” Kyle asked.
“Nothing I won’t recover from.” Celestia replied, brushing Kyle’s question aside. “It’s been a long time since I’ve looked into another being’s memories. I'd forgotten just how strenuous it can be. However… the information was worth the effort.”
She pushed herself away from Kyle and stood on her own once more. “I feel I have a better understanding of your people now.” she stated. “Your people are young… very young… and yet, in your short existence, you Humans have developed and conquered much. You constantly strive for that which you do not have, or have not yet done, and yet when you accomplish these goals, you simply set your sights higher. A sad fate, really, to never be truly content with what you have, but to always desire more. A journey with no end, no satisfaction...”
“You are warriors, yes, but out of necessity, not choice. You have recently found yourself at constant war, whether against this Horde that pervades your modern history or some other, more sinister force. In the face of constant peril, you have banded together with those who are not like you in common, mutual self-defense - a Grand Alliance, you call it. And yet you seemingly shun other races… this Horde that I have found.”
“This Horde is fascinating to me. I see that you have a great dislike for the Horde and its members, because they have hurt you. But I know not their motives. Survival? Retaliation for past transgressions? Fear? An interesting missing piece of this puzzle…” Celestia paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. Just as quickly, she snapped back and continued. “Yes, you, personally and as a species in general, are capable of inflicting great suffering, and have in fact done so, but almost never out of malice.”
“Did you catch all of that?” Celestia asked suddenly, looking over her shoulder into the forest.
“Yes, Tia.” A voice replied. Another pony stepped forward and emerged from the gloom of the forest. This pony was another Alicorn like Celestia, but her body was slightly smaller. Instead of the white body and multicolored mane of Celestia, this Alicorn’s coat was a bluish-purple, with a translucent blue mane that blew in a non-existent wind. Her face was expressionless, her eyes locked squarely on Kyle
“You must be… Princess Luna” Kyle said, inclining his head respectfully.
“Indeed. My sister has spoken much about you, as has Twilight Sparkle.” Luna’s gaze moved over to her Celestia. “I have seen your memories as well, young one, through my sister’s spell.” Kyle raised an eyebrow at Celestia, who averted her eyes, almost seeming embarrassed. He shrugged and looked back at Luna. “I must say, considering your position, you are handling this situation quite well. Many lesser ponies would have gone mad by now.”
“This is hardly the strangest thing that’s happened to a Human.” he commented, trying to play off the craziness of the past couple of days as if it were normal. “Time travel, fighting madness incarnate, defeating Death itself… After all that, traveling to an uncharted world seems routine.”
Luna laughed. “A brave facade.” she said with a smile. “But your courage is still to be commended.” Luna turned to Celestia, who was still looking embarrassed at having been caught sharing Kyle’s memories with her sister. “I believe that we have come to a decision?” Luna asked.
Celestia cleared her throat. “Oh, right. Yes… yes we have.” she replied, quickly resuming her regal demeanor. “Our decision is two-fold. Though you Humans have the potential to spread much chaos, you also have the potential to spread much harmony. The first part of our decision is that we will have our best and brightest researcher of magic begin investigating for a way to send you back home.”
“Well there’s some good news.” Kyle grinned. “What’s the second part?”
“As I said, you have the potential to spread much harmony through our lands, by showing us new magic, new ways of healing, new ways of doing things. Things that we may never have thought of otherwise. With your consent, I would introduce you to the rest of the world. Though I would like for you to remain in Ponyville, in order to maintain close proximity to the researcher assigned the task of sending you home, I would also like for you to interact with the rest of the town, and perhaps the country or world at large. Let others see what Humanity is like, ask questions, and the such. Maybe you could learn a few things as well while you’re here.”
“So… what, I’m an ambassador for my entire world?” Kyle asked incredulously. “I dunno about that…”
“Only in a symbolic sense.” Luna reassured him. “No negotiating settlements or contracts, no listening to some stuffy old senator endlessly rabble on even though you’ve told him to shove his hoof up…” Luna trailed off as Celestia glared at her. “No no, none of that.” Luna backtracked. “Just… letting everypony know what Humans are, and answering questions mostly.”
“Well… I guess I could do that, though I still think you could have gotten a better guy for the job.” Kyle conceded. “Alright, let’s do it.”
“Splendid!” Luna exclaimed, clapping her front hooves together.
“We shall send out messages to the other nations tonight to inform them of the situation.” Celestia added, turning to leave the forest. Kyle and Luna moved to follow her. “Tomorrow, we shall have a press conference at Ponyville Town Hall where we shall introduce you to the world.”
“Yeah… sure thing.” Kyle stammered, suddenly incredibly nervous. “Uh… just out of curiosity, how big is this press conference going to be?”
“Probably several dozen reporters and journalists.” Luna replied. “Plus the live crowd open to the public…” She trailed off as she noticed a bead of sweat form on Kyle’s forehead. A mischievous grin appeared on her face. “Mr. Slater, you wouldn’t happen to be afraid of crowds, would you?” She asked innocently.
“Afraid of crowds? No.” Kyle replied, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Afraid of speaking in front of crowds? Very much so.”
“Oh just relax. It’ll be fine.” Luna said, elbowing Kyle in the ribs.
“Right…” Kyle said sarcastically, not believing Luna’s reassurances. “So… I’ve a couple of question to ask you two.”
“Go ahead.” Luna’s head turned to Kyle.
“Well, Twilight left a book for me to read over at Fluttershy’s house, concerning the history of Equestria and modern society. The book claims that you two control the orbits of the Sun and Moon. But that’s impossible… isn’t it?”
“No, Mr. Slater, the book is accurate.” Celestia said as the trio stepped out of the forest. The sun was high in the sky, signaling that it was midday. “But I have seen that you Humans feel the need to observe things for yourself in order to accept new facts. ‘Seeing is believing’, I believe the phrase goes.” Celestia turned to her sister. “Perhaps you could demonstrate, Luna?” she asked. “Maybe raise the moon slightly for a moment??”
Luna nodded and closed her eyes. Her horn lit up with a dark blue aura, and at first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, something on the eastern horizon moved. Kyle watched in awe as the pale white sphere rose just above the horizon, and then fell back down.
“Wha… How…” Kyle stammered, looking between the two Princesses in shock. Clearly he had underestimated their powers. Celestia giggled at Kyle’s flabbergasted expression. “How… how did you do that?”
Luna opened her eyes and chuckled. “It is my special talent, to control the moon and the night skies.” She explained. Her eyes flickered back to her flank, where a cutie mark of a crescent moon against a black sky rested. “Just as Tia’s special talent is to control the sun.”
“Okay, yeah, the mages back home would be throwing a hissy fit right about now.” Kyle said in wonder. “You have effectively decimated our entire understanding of how the moon and sun work. At least now I know why it looked like an hour and a half had passed in ten minutes earlier...”
“Indeed?” Luna asked a non-question as the trio set off towards Fluttershy’s house again. After a moment, Luna spoke up again. “You said you had a couple of questions, and yet have only asked one. What else did you wish to know?”
“Oh right. Well, I was just wondering who this magical researcher is. After all, I assume I’m going to be spending quite a bit of time with him.”
“Her.” Celestia corrected as Fluttershy’s cottage came into view. “And you have already met this Pony. Her name is Twilight Sparkle.”
“Really?” Kyle raised an eyebrow. “I thought she was a Princess, not a researcher.”
“She has been a Princess for only a few months.” Celestia explained. “Before that, she was my personal student at the Academy for Gifted Unicorns in Canterlot. She was on a long-term research project here in Ponyville. Her special talent is magic, and it clearly shows - Before her ascension, she was the most skilled unicorn since the legendary Starswirl the Bearded himself. Becoming an Alicorn will only have increased her skill. And if I recall correctly, she was particularly adept at teleportation magic. If anypony can find a way to send you back home, it will be her.”
“I see.” was all Kyle could say. Before anything else could be said, a terrible sound pierced the air. The sound of something - no, someone - screaming. Kyle immediately focused his Chi and raised his fists, looking around for the source of the noise.
“That came from the forest.” Luna said gravely. “Somepony is in danger.”
“Well then what are we standing around here for?” Kyle demanded, rushing towards the treeline. “Let’s go!” The two sisters exchanged a glance and a quick nod before galloping after the human.