Chapter 3: New Acquaintance
The procession of days continued unabated, and the only human in Equestria had come to enjoy the quiet monotony. Over time, his strength had returned, and the morning chores had become simply routine. It had been nearly a month now that he had lived here, and thanks to the manual dexterity that having hands allowed him, he had taken quite a bit of the daily chore load from the tiny yellow Pegasus. Hands were simply more efficient. Of course she had complained and begged him off, telling him he didn’t have to work so hard. It hadn’t taken him long to convince her it was no trouble at all, and Fluttershy seemed glad for the reprieve. So here they sat, at the end of another day, drinking lemonade and sitting in the grass in front of the quaint little cottage.
“Thank you, f-for your hard work today, Brass.” Fluttershy said quietly, sipping her lemonade from a straw as she laid leisurely in the sun, wings spread. Even when she was calm she was still shy.
“It’s no trouble, and it’s barely hard work anymore, Flutters. I have to thank you and Twilight and your friends for taking care of me. And I especially have to thank you. I wouldn’t have a place to stay were it not for your kindness, so it’s only fitting that I work hard to pay you back.” The boy suppressed a chuckle and patted the yellow pony’s withers gently, just between the wings.
“What? No, no. You don’t owe me anything. Not a thing. I won’t hear of it.” It was rare for her to get adamant about something, but when she did, she meant business. Quirking an eyebrow at her, the young man met her gaze with his own.
“It’s a gesture of respect. Don’t think so much of it. Besides, I couldn’t freeload. It’d just be poor manners!” He said, a warm smile spreading across his face. A snort, sounding composed of both minor annoyance and acceptance was her reply.
“Okay. But I still don’t think you owe me anything. I’m the element of kindness, after all.” The somewhat flat look on her face spread into a smile as she had her wings massaged. “But I’m not going to say no to that.”
From far off, in the distance, a familiar voice shouted a greeting. “Helloooo!” The two leisurely lounging friend’s gazes shot in the same direction, to encounter a galloping purple pony that could only be Twilight Sparkle. “I have great news!” She called, coming closer and closer, the expression on her snout one of giddy excitement.
Sitting up, and setting aside the glass of lemonade, Brass crossed his legs and waited for Twilight to come closer. She galloped full on, still with that giddy grin as she slid to a stop in the dust, panting heavily from exertion. He had become used to her eccentricities, and they amused him quite a bit. He and Fluttershy sat watching the panting mare as she gathered her breath to tell them this wonderful news.
“I…” Pant. Huff. Wheeze. “Sent a…” Pant. Huff. “Letter.” Her coat mottled with a few dark patches of sweat, she looked as though she was going to pass out. Spying the glass of lemonade that the boy had set down, her horn glowed with magic, and it levitated to her face, where she chugged the entire thing in mere moments. “Whew. That hit the spot.”
“HEY!” Brass called out, reaching for the glass, somewhat annoyed. “That was my lemonade!” He said crossly, fixing the unicorn with an annoyed glance.
“Oh! Sorry! I was just..thirsty?” She grinned sheepishly, and stared back. The blonde boy let out a huff, and sighed.
“Well what’s so good about this letter then?” He said, screwing his face up in a ‘get-on-with-it’ look.
“Right. So, I send out regular letters to Princess Celestia, to discuss with her my findings on Friendship and how this translates into my view of things as a whole. Imagine my surprise when I found a whole new talking –species- to be friends with! I was so excited I couldn’t sleep so I started reading a book on Minotaurs and then since I was hungry I had to look up a recipe on…”
“Twilight.” The boy interrupted, holding up a hand to shush her. “About the letter?” He interjected with a question.
“Oh yes, right! So I sent a letter to Princess Celestia to discuss the matter of having a new species in Equestria that can talk. She’s never written me back so fast! I came out here to tell you that the Princess wants to meet with you, and has deigned it important enough that she’ll be visiting here tomorrow!” The mare spat all this information out like she would explode if it didn’t exit from her somehow.
Fluttershy’s face took on a ghostly pallor, and she let out an eep, retreating back into the house with a “SorryIneedtoclean!”
The blonde boy and purple pony watch Fluttershy’s outburst with some alarm, before Brass addresses the hanging issue. “You want me to meet a Princess? Like a real, legitimate royal personage? Why does she want to meet me?” He asked, eyes wide and confused.
“You’re a whole new thing to Equestria, Brass! I’m sure she just wants to meet you and get to know you!” There was a note of assurance in her voice, and it calmed the boy visibly. Had his hackles been raised before, they were…somewhat less, now. “Well, I’ve got some more reading to do before tomorrow. I’ll let you get back to what you were doing! I’ll be back to check on you after the Princess’ visit, and I expect you to tell me everything!” And with that, she was off, to go do purple smart horse things.
-----A bit earlier, in Canterlot----
Not for the first time this month, Celestia was done conversing with the Griffin ambassador, who had just left the room in a huff of feathers and anger. The Solar potentate checked to see that she was alone, and let out an exasperated sigh. From a corner of the room, as if melding out of the shadows themselves, her counterpart steps out into the waning sunlight.
“What troubles you, dear Sister? Has the Day Court been so troublesome?” Asks Luna, her dusky voice catching Celestia’s attention immediately. The bright white Alicorn sits up a bit straighter and adjusts herself, a small smile climbing her snout.
“Sometimes I tire of addressing the same issues year after year, dear Luna,” her almost motherly tone full of fatigue. “It seems as though the Griffons are Tartarus-bent on this treaty to allow them to hunt in our lands. They are certainly stubborn.” She mused, before her visage took on a more concerned façade. “I’m also concerned about Dappleshore. The patrol I sent should have returned, or at least reported by now. I am sure they are fine, but it does worry me some.”
“Worry not, Sister. We shall send our Nightguard to Dappleshore this eve, and discover their fate. It has…troubled me also. I have had no dreams from Our little ponies in that region, and such a development concerns us greatly. We shall have you an answer by the morning.”
“Thank you, Luna. It will be a great weight off my mind.” Despite the tension between them, and the ever-looming presence of the fact that she had banished Luna to the moon for a millennia, she was still her wonderful and beloved little Sister. It seemed as perhaps, that time would heal this rift between them, and that brought the Princess of the Sun some joy reserved solely for her person, rather than for the Kingdom. As she mused a moment more, there was a flash of green, and a scroll bearing Twilight Sparkle’s seal appeared in front of her. “Oh? What is this?” With a flash of magic, she opened the scroll and read.
----
Dear Princess Celestia,
I have made an incredible discovery! Although I haven’t quite figured him out yet, a couple of weeks ago Fluttershy found a creature in the forest that calls itself a ‘Human’. I have been researching and talking to him, but unfortunately there seems to be no mention of his species. He was pretty badly injured, but we nursed him back to health. He seems to have lost his memory. And he can talk! Not all stunted, like minotaurs, either! He’s incredibly intelligent, and I look forward to helping him figure out his past, and make new friends in the process.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
----
As she finished scanning the letter, Celestia was already writing out a response as she spoke to Luna. “It seems there is a matter in the Everfree that will require some of my time tomorrow, Luna.” She said coyly. “I think perhaps I shall leave the ambassador to bicker to himself tomorrow. It will serve him with some time to cool off.”
“An excellent idea, Sister. We shall assure that the diplomats are informed of tomorrow’s change in schedule. We hope your business is…pleasant.” The night mare grinned conspiratorially, and the two mares share a giggle as Celestia finished penning her letter, and sent it away with a bit of magic.
----
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
A new friend is always something wonderful! I find myself curious to meet your new friend, and I shall endeavor to meet him tomorrow. Please let him know, as I am always eager to learn more about my little Ponies and the friendships we make. We must recognize and acknowledge the differences between ourselves and others. Even other species. Such things are, without a question, important to Equestria, and all Ponykind.
Princess Celestia
----
Celestia stood then, and trotted with her sister to the balcony that gave a truly magnificent view of all of Canterlot, and a good portion of the lands beyond. The warm orange glow of the sun invigorating all it touched, some small portion of Celestia’s mind slipped into a reverie, of many years before, when they had done this every day. Much like the sun, she mused, everything comes full circle, given time. With an exercise of magic that she had done instinctually for years, she forced the mighty sun to yield to its sister, as her own sister’s magic awoke the moon. Like a well-choreographed dance, one fell, and the other rose. For a long while, the two sisters sat staring into the sky, sharing a companionable silence.
“I am tired, Luna. I think I’ll turn to bed for the night, and prepare for my ‘business’ tomorrow.” She said, “I hope your Night is peaceful.” She said warmly, nuzzling the top of her sister’s head affectionately with her chin.
Returning the affectionate nuzzle only half-heartedly, Luna’s gaze was fixed on something in the distance. “I am certain it will be, dearest Celestia. Rest well.”
The sun had gone to bed, and now must it’s Princess, who wound her way through the castle and to her chambers. With a click, the door closed, and the excited smile of the Princess behind it. “A ‘human’, hm?” She said, before tucking herself in and closing her eyes. “We shall see.”
Elsewhere in the castle, Luna had called her Nightguard to assemble. She looked less than pleased, and with a full platoon in front of her, she gave her orders, her voice regal and loud. “Assembled Nightguard, tonight you are to travel to Dappleshore, and determine why We have received no word of your brothers in the Dayguard.” She looked around at the lightly armed and armored ponies, and knew that each one was a deadly warrior in his or her own right. “Should there be any disturbance, thou art given our dispensation to deal with it as thou seest fit. Our only directives are these. Ensure that thee return to Us with a report, and should there be any danger to Our little Ponies in Dappleshore, handle it. Any other information is to be relayed to Us immediately upon thy debriefing” She stood aside then, fixing them with a fierce look. The Nightguard gave a sharp salute, and in formation, sailed out of the room.
Tonight, Canterlot was full of the sound of wings.