//------------------------------// // Gratitude (14) // Story: Summoned // by BlackWing //------------------------------// Gratitude "Are you sure about this?" Princess Celestia asked. "Yep. There's only one way Equestria is going to get used to me, and that's with me getting out there. What better place to start than Ponyville? After all, they know about me the most, and will be the most accepting. Then we'll let the news spread from there." Alex replied. "What about you?" She asked. "Well, I'll be fine. Who better to make sure I don't get in trouble than your own student? Just remember, if you ever need me, you know how to call. Heck, I can still have breakfast with you in the morning, and I can still do whatever needs doing around the castle. Then you just unsummon me and poof, I'm back in Ponyville." "Well, just to make sure you aren't doing anything troublesome when I summon you, take this scrying crystal. I've set up the parent one in the summoning room. If I need you, I'll talk to you on it. That way you can get somewhere safe before I bring you over." With that, Celestia passed Alex a small glass sphere, like a marble, but the size of one of those extra large jawbreakers with multiple layers and sour gum at the center. He stuffed it in his pocket, gave everyone in the castle a temporary goodbye, then headed towards the pegasus dock where a chariot awaited him. "An hour flight. Might as well get comfortable." "Hey! Listen! Hey! Listen!" Alex heard a small voice coming from his pocket. He pulled out the scrying crystal to see that it was glowing blue. "Go ahead." With that, the center cleared up and he saw Celestia and Luna within it. "Alex, is it working okay?" Luna asked. "Yep, it's working great. I notice you made it sound like Navi whenever you call me." He replied. "Well, you mentioned how annoying that particular fairy is. This way, you won't be able to ignore it now will you?" Celestia laughed. "As if I'd miss out on a chance to talk to you. Still, good idea." They all laughed. "How's the flight?" Celestia inquired. "Well, I'm 1000 feet above ground in an open chariot. I'll be fine so long as the guards don't try doing aerobatics. It's a long way down." Alex gulped as he looked over the edge. "I've already sent a letter to Twilight explaining the situation. She'll be ready to receive you when you get there. I've also sent a diagram of the circle I used. She's going to make her own in the basement. This way, you'll have a means of permanent, two way transport. Just give the crystal to whoever calls you to unbind yourself." "I see the magic department has been studying the book." "It's good that they're getting some use out of it. Perhaps in the future, this spell set could be used for things like long distance transportation and such. The possibilities we could develop as side discoveries from trying to get you home are intriguing." Luna mused. She then held her tongue when she realized she mentioned home. "Don't worry about it Luna. It's alright. Until they find a way to send me back, I just have to accept that I'm here now." The carriage landed in Ponyville in front of the library, the town coming out to see what the commotion was. Many of them looked in shock at what they saw riding in the chariot, but many already knew who he was, having seen Lyra's 'I'm not crazy' photos. Alex stepped out, thanked the guards for the trip, to which they didn't respond, and was met by Twilight Sparkle. "Well Alex, I have to say, seeing you again is a pleasant surprise. Last I saw of you, you had died and we all went home. I was in quite a bit of shock when I got the letter saying you were coming here." The purple unicorn said, trying to brush out her rat's nest mane and tail. She had clearly run herself ragged trying to prepare for a new guest. "Yep, although, there is someone else I have to thank. A certain dragon that lives with you." "Sure, come on in, don't mind the mess." As Alex walked in, he noticed that there was NOT any mess, and Twilight had obviously been fretting about having her home neat when he arrived. "Spike! Alex is here to see you!" She called up the stairs. The purple and green dragon came running down, looking up in surprise at the human who's life he had saved. "Heh, you sure are tall when you're not lying in bed." He gulped. He didn't have time to back away as Alex had already picked him up and flung him over his shoulder. "I have to thank you. You saved my life. Because of your generosity, I'm still alive and kicking. See? Didn't I say that you're awesome?" He said after putting the uncomfortable dragon back down. Spike blushed. "Aw, it was nothing." He dug his toes into the wooden floor bashfully. "It's not nothing. You saved my life. You gave me a part of yourself. Sure, you won't miss it, but it made all the world to me. We've gotta hang out some time." He insisted. Just then, the door busted open to reveal Rainbow Dash. "Aha! I knew it! Alex is dead! Who are you impostor? Are you a spy?" She said in an accusatory tone. Alex stood there for a moment in thought. "Yes." At which point Dash flew right up in his face, scratching her chin with her hoof. "Nah, no spy ever admits to being a spy." She replied. "Unless I knew you'd think that and I'm throwing you off." He argued. "Ooh, he's good." Rainbow returned. "Oh for Celestia's sake, he's not a spy Rainbow Dash, by some miracle of nature, he got better after he died. Now he's here in Ponyville to make himself known to Equestria." Twilight scolded her friend. After that, the rest of the group came in. "Oh my gosh! You were all icky sicky and now you're all better header so now we get to party arty!" Pinkie Pie bounced. "Yep, I'm not looking forward to the surprise party for me getting better, because I don't know about it, and how can I look forward to something if I don't know about it?" Alex stated. Pinkie stood there thinking for a moment. "OOOOOOH right! I'm going to go to Sugarcube Corner now to NOT plan you a surprise party. Don't show up at eight!" With that, she bounced out of the room to do what everyone knows. "How'd you keep up with Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked. "How does Pinkie Pie keep up with Pinkie Pie?" Alex asked in turn. "Well, how about that, you're stubborn as a mule. Ya won't lay down and die even after you're dead." Applejack joked, bringing laughter from the rest of the group, Fluttershy excluded. "Well, when I was laying there, I heard all your voices begging not to go. Soon as I heard Blueblood say good riddance, I told myself 'Ain't no way I'm gonna die. I'm gonna live just to deny him the satisfaction!' Then, when I got up, I helped train the new guards, of which he's a part of." "And?" Rarity asked, looking for details. "I think he's in therapy right now." "Well, It's good to see somepony finally brought him down to where he belongs. Insufferable little.... besides the point. I'm glad you're better. I'll have to make you some new clothing while you're here." "Do ya think you might wanna help out on the farm later partner?" Applejack asked. "Well, I can't applebuck or I'll break my legs, but I'm sure I can help load and unload baskets or something like that. I'm not as strong as you ponies, despite being about three times as heavy. Also, I think we're missing one." As soon as Alex said that, he heard and 'eep' from behind the curtains. Everyone looked at each other, then at Fluttershy's hiding place. They all rolled their eyes. For her to be hiding from him now, after the display at Canterlot, was absurd. Pulling the drapes back, he saw the yellow pegasus curled up, trying to remain hidden. He knelt low, wrapped his arms around her, and gave a firm but gentle hug. "See? I won't hurt you. It's fine. I'm like a big, 200 pound teddy bear. I'm really soft and squishy." Fluttershy giggled, stopped shaking, and returned the hug. "Was that so hard? Come on, you know me. Sure, I look a little scary when I stand up, but that's just because I'm so tall. Or, are ponies short? I don't know. Either way, I'm still me. And you're still adorable." Fluttershy blushed and hid behind her mane again, although now in the middle of the room instead. After taking a tour of the town, which brought several curious stares, but none with fear, the group finally entered Sugarcube Corner. "SURPRISE!" "Oh wow! This is awesome, and I totally didn't know about it!" Everyone just laughed at the obvious lie. It didn't matter, they were all having fun. Lyra had an absurd number of 'I told you so' moments before Bon Bon finally hit her over the back of the head with her hoof to make her stop rubbing it in. "Hey! Listen!" "Oh, that's the princess. Go ahead." Alex said to the small glowing blue glass. "How is everything?" Celestia asked. "Pretty good. Twilight should have the Ponyville circle set up in about a day or so. Everyone's getting used to me. I don't have a place here to sleep yet. Think you can bring me back to the castle? I wanna make a grand exit." "Sure, just tell me when you're ready." "Alright everypony, I had a great time, but I should really get headed home for some shuteye." "But, you just got here? Do you have a place to sleep already?" Pinkie asked. "In fact, I do. Canterlot. As for how I'm gonna get there, don't worry. I'll be back in a couple of days after Twilight get's my transportation ready. Alright Princess Celestia, go ahead." At which point, Alex disappeared in a small flash, the air rushing to the spot he had been occupying. Everypony started to look a little worried. "It's alright everypony. That's just how Alex travels long distances. It's a kind of magic that the princess discovered about a month ago, and he's helping her develop it." Twilight explained, which put the rest of the ponies back into their party mood. "That was great. Too bad I can't see the look on their faces, I expect it would be something like this..." Alex made an overly exaggerated look of bewilderment, causing Celestia to giggle. "Oh! By the way, I need to talk to Fiddle Stick. I found something out." "Or, you could just send him a letter." The sun princess suggested. "Right. Okay, Dear Fiddle Stick, in regards to physiological changes due to the introduction of draconic DNA, I have found a marked increase in sociability, spontaneity, and confidence. Dragon blood made me more fun to be around. No physical changes have occurred. Sincerely, Alex." "Did that sound okay?" "Yep, now I'll just send it off." Celestia's horn glowed as the letter disappeared. Alex watched intently as she performed magic, almost like a child at a performance. "Alex?" She asked. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Just kind of lost myself when you used magic. It never gets old, no matter how much I see it. Well, off to bed. See you tomorrow morning at breakfast." "Sister, is something troubling you?" Luna asked. "No, I'm not troubled, I'm interested. It's Alex. He came to this world, and he regards it with almost childlike wonder, despite being full grown. I just performed a simple spell, and he seemed intrigued by it. His world doesn't have magic, so this is all new, and he seems to want to know more about it. Almost like a unicorn foal would." Celestia replied. "I assume if Widget were to go to his world and see all the machinery, she'd have the same look. Still, being interested in magic and being drawn to it like a unicorn would be are two very different things. Are you sure you saw that look?" The moon princess asked. "I've seen countless foals come into my school for gifted unicorns. He had the same look as when Twilight studies something, the very same intense focus. It's a shame really. He doesn't have a horn, so he'll never be able to perform magic, but he's so intrigued by it. I almost want to just teach him magic theory to satisfy his desire, even if he can't use it." "Well, it would be a great way for the three of us to bond." "Three of us?" "Well, yes, I mean. We both have our royal duties, during our times off, we could both teach him what we know. You weren't thinking of keeping him all to yourself were you?" Luna asked with a judgemental tone. "Oh, no, of course not! The more the merrier." Celestia had a bad poker face. She didn't want to admit it, but she hadn't even thought of including her sister in the activity, something that should have been a fairly obvious step. Luna cautiously walked away, heading out to hold night court. "Luna came back after a thousand years, and here I am, trying to blow her off..... Maybe there is something wrong with me, but what?"