//------------------------------// // Chater IX // Story: The Shameless First Person Self-Insert // by sbloom85 //------------------------------// Tonight was the night of the Hearth's Warming Eve party at Canterlot Castle. Twilight and Cadance were supposed to drop by at the party and I hoped they would show up. It looked so much like Christmas outside it wasn't funny. If it was Christmas Eve back home, my parents and I would be spending a few hours at a friend's house. My parents... I hope nothing happened to them while I've been away. Knowing my mother, she probably worried herself to death over me and the computers are fried. Knowing my father, he didn't know how to pay the bills that my mom didn't already have on auto-pay, which really wasn't much, just property tax... nothing big. So there I was, putting on a suit for the party while knowing nothing about what was happening on Earth. Rose was helping me put the finishing touches on my tux. I wore a white tux in contrast to my black coat. It came with a black bow-tie and silver cufflinks. As I looked myself over in the mirror, I thought I looked pretty damn good. Rose was already in her dress, and for a dress that had a low price tag, it was real nice. It was a tube dress, black in color with matching slippers. She also wore a gold necklace with a jade hanging in the middle. It was an heirloom passed by her mother and she hadn't worn it since she last saw the stallion who came before me. “You should wear this more often.” She said as she finished adjusting my tuxedo. “Come on, we don't want to be late for the party.” I nodded and followed her by her side. “I'm glad your father likes me and I'm glad to have a mare like you.” She giggled and gave me a quick peck on the lips. “And I'm glad to have a stallion like you.” I kissed her back and chuckled inwardly. Life was not as good to me as it had been for these past six months. I really wanted to ask her right now, but I should wait until I get the ring back from Celestia. We headed to the living room. Landscape was waiting for us at the door, dressed up in a spiffy tux of his own. “I think we're ready.” Landscape chuckled. “Good. I was thinking you two were doing the pony-pokey.” My brain froze for a moment, then I looked to Rose and she was blushing furiously as she looked back at me. “Let's get a move on.” She only nodded in agreement and cantered off. Rose, Landscape and I stood in front of Celestia and we bowed. “Good evening, Your Majesty.” I said respectfully. “I trust the party is going well?” She chuckled. “About as well as you can imagine. Forgive me Scott, I wish we could spend more time together, but I do have a lot of guests to greet.” I nodded understandingly. “Of course.” Luna emerged from the throne room and stood beside her sister. “Misters Bloom and Landscape, Lady Rose. It is always wonderful to see you all.” She gave her sister a smile. “Take a break and mingle, sister, I shall greet the next guests.” Celestia returned the smile. “Thank you, Luna.” She waved toward the throne room. “Shall we?” Rose and I entered the hallway leading to the throne room followed by Celestia who quickly walked beside me. “Twilight tells me you had some fun in Ponyville while you were there.” I nodded in agreement. “Oh definitely. It was nice to get away from Canterlot for a while...” I looked toward Rose, whose head hung a little low. “I wish you could've been with me, Rose. I did miss having you around.” Rose smiled at me and nodded. “I wish I could've been there too.” Celestia giggled. “You two are so good together. I must admit, I'm a little jealous.” The first pony we ran into was Prince Blueblood. Naturally. However, in the presence of Celestia, he decided to remain civil. He gave her a courtesy bow. “It's an honor to have you in here, Auntie.” 'Auntie'? I never really considered him to be related to Celestia. I theorized that both her and Luna were celibate, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. A lot of my own headcanon had been thrown away during my visit. He stood up, looked at me and gave me a quick glare before returning his focus to Celestia. “Auntie, if you could, there are a few representatives from FAMARP who request your presence.” My ears perked. “FAMARP? Isn't that the Foal and Mare Abuse Recovery Program?” Blueblood nodded. “Do they have an office in Canterlot?” Again, he nodded. “Great. I think I'll make a donation tomorrow.” Celestia gave me an excited smile. “That's kind of you, Scott. Now if you'll excuse me...” Celestia followed Blueblood to the FAMARP reps and he gave me a rather curious glance. I looked to Rose with a smile. “What do you think? About fifty bits a month?” She gave me a slow, thoughtful nod. “That sounds reasonable. I think you impressed Blueblood.” I chuckled as we made our way through the throne room. We spoke to many of our friends in Canterlot; Twilight and her friends from Ponyville and Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. I shouldn't be surprised to see all of them, but there they were. Cadance gave me a quick hug and kissed my cheek. “It's good to see you again, Scott. We're starting to miss you in the Crystal Empire.” Shining Armor nodded in agreement. “The ponies there are curious about other songs from your world.” He chuckled as he thought about his statement. “To be honest, I am too.” I let out a thoughtful hum. “Well, if there's a way that I can go back to Earth, I'll see what I can do about bringing more music.” “I've been thinking about that, Scotty.” Twilight said as she approached us. “I found a spell that can teleport ponies, or people in your case, to other worlds. It's a pretty powerful spell and requires alicorn magic to cast.” We were all taken aback. “Really?” I asked. I knew it was possible using chaotic magic, I should not have been surprised that it can be done using regular magic. I was more surprised to see that the Crusaders were here too as they galloped up to me. “Scotty!” They greeted as they tackled me. “Have you found anypony to join the crusade?” Scootaloo asked as she gave me a noogie. I shook my head as the fillies climbed off of me and I stood up. “Sorry, I've been kinda busy lately.” I glanced around and saw Celestia was at her throne. I think it was time. “Excuse me for a moment.” I looked to Rose and smiled. “Rose... I have something to ask you.” I motioned toward a table and we walked side-by-side to it. She looked pretty anxious as I looked behind her. Celestia and I made eye contact and I nodded. She returned the nod and levitated my gift from behind her throne. It floated towards us and gently landed on the table between us. Rose's irises expanded as she eyed the ring from the top of the tree. “Scott? Is this...?” I smiled as she lifted it with her magic. “Rose... will you marry me?” All eyes were on us now as she looked at the ring, then gave me a smile like she was a foal who had just gotten everything she asked for and then some. With her magic, she slid the ring onto her horn, laughed and gave me a squeezing hug. “Yes! I will!” All around us, ponies were cheering. This was an emotionally powerful moment for me, but all I could do was laugh inside. I pulled her back and grinned at her. “This has been the best year of my life, Rose.” I looked to the side and saw Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight. All four princesses were smiling, Luna was busy wiping tears from her eyes. I walked up to Twilight, my smile not faltering. “Would it be possible to send me home? I want to tell my parents this in person.” Twilight nodded in excitement. “Of course.” She looked to her fellow princesses. “Celestia, Luna, Cadance, if you would take your places.” The four princesses circled around me. Their horns flared up one by one. The golden glow of Celestia's was the first, followed by Luna's midnight blue, Cadance's cotton candy pink and Twilight's lavender. I looked to the side and saw Rose. She was reading the letter I received from my parents, the one I never read myself, then gave me a sorrowful gaze as if she wasn't going to see me again. Her father stood next to her, holding her back. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. This was the moment of truth. “Stop!” Ka-pow! The four magic beams struck me and the next thing I heard was the steady beeping of a heart monitor. “He's coming around!” I slowly opened my eyes. My vision was blurry and I felt light-headed, but I could tell I was in a hospital. I felt fingers... I was human again. I looked around and saw human doctors doing their best to keep me stable. One looked to another and told her to fetch my parents. “What's your name?” Scott Bloom. “Do you know your parents' names?” Larry and Penny. “Do you know what year it is?” 2014? “Good. Do you know where you are?” A hospital? “Northstar hospital in Iron River. You were in a coma for the last two months.” What?!