I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes as I finished telling Star about the mental changes I was going through. Especially the times Stud Muffin had to interrupt my day or try to drag me off to… Let’s not go there... It felt better to talk about the things that bothered me, honestly. It was like I was letting a weight off my back. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was because she was a friend I could trust with the information. And it certainly is better than getting drunk and telling the story, like that night with Vinyl.
Star was quiet the whole time I told her the story. The only other noise was the sound of the train. Well, that and a crying filly. Oh… wait… that was still me. Dammit, stop crying. When I finished the story, Star gave me a sympathetic look. Or pity. Could be either. “I’m so sorry you had to be put through that…” She said, giving me a pat on the back. “But hey, now I know why you were so off kilter about dresses. Sorry for forcing you into it.” She added, trying to be humorous and apologetic at the same time.
I gave her a small smile. “Thanks for understanding… It means a lot.” I looked down at the dress I was wearing. “Though once this is all over, I’m burning the dress. Like, to ash.” I said, quite bluntly. Seriously, it just felt weird wearing this thing. Like it was helping my body and hurting my already fragile mind. There’s a very good reason to get this thing off. I swear, if Rarity enchanted this thing in any way… I’m going to snap.
Star smiled back. “I’ll help you. Burning things should be good fun.” She said, giggling. I joined her. I didn’t laugh, or chuckle. I giggled. Like a schoolfilly, alongside my friend. And you know what? I didn’t care this time. It felt good to let loose. Maybe I should enjoy this time, and stop fighting this body. Maybe.
I looked out the window to try and relax, moving my hair out of my face to give me a better view. The train was going up the mountain now. I swear… I could see forever… Sprawling shades of green laid out in front of me. Forests, farms, and grasslands. Equestria was a beautiful place to look at. From here, I could see Ponyville, that castle of Twilight’s sticking out like a sore thumb. Looking up, I could also see Cloudsdale. There is a place I have to visit. If it looks this good from here, I have to see it up close.
A giggling from behind made me realize I had my muzzle pressed up against the window. I turned around and looked back at Star. “Say, you think when we’re done in Canterlot, we can visit Cloudsdale?” I asked, somewhat sheepishly.
Star smiled and nodded. “Sure. I’ll see what I can do. Now come on, we’re almost there. Get yourself together.” She said, fixing my mane. I gave an unamused snort and she backed up quickly. “Oops. Sorry. I forgot you don’t like that style. Here, let me fix it.”
I held up a hoof to stop her. “No, it’s fine. You said it’s a good look for me, right?” I gave a reassuring smile. If I was going to start accepting this body, it was going to start right here.
Star nodded again. “Yeah, it gives you that sexy, slightly mysterious look. Very popular I hear.” She informed me. Before I could object, she put a hoof around me. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m your friend. Your wingpony. You’ll make it through this, and I’m sure your other friends will help you however they can too.” She reassured me.
The train slowly came to a stop at the Canterlot train station and I made sure my bags were secure before lining up with the rest of the ponies leaving the train car. I noticed one of them, a blue earth pony stallion, gave me a sympathetic look. I saw another stallion give me that look. The one Stud Muffin gave me when he first saw me. I passed him a sharp glare and he looked away. Yeah, he didn’t want what I gave Stud Muffin when we first met.
Star stepped off the train in front of that blue stallion, then he stepped out, then it was my turn. Looking around, I took a deep breath, then exhaled. “So… this is Canterlot… Pretty fuckin' sweet.” I stated simply.
Star giggled. “So, what’s the plan boss? Straight up to the castle?” She asked. “Because I know some great tourist places we could visit.”
I shook my head. “The tourism can wait. I want to get to the castle. We’ve held up the princesses long enough.” I said. “We’ll meet with the princesses, go to that little party, and then tomorrow we can go sightseeing.”
Star seemed satisfied by that and looked towards the bustling of Canterlot. “Well, shall we?” She offered, motioning towards the street ahead.
I looked at the busy street. No way were were gonna get there by walking. Then again, who needs legs when you got wings? Grinning, I spread my wings, taking to the air. Star followed my example. “We shall.”
Charcoal and Ceruline approached the train station just as the train pulled in. “Great, we got perfect timing. Come on Emby, time’s wasting!” Ceru said, running off towards the ticket booth.
Charcoal rolled her eyes at her silly companion as she observed her surroundings. Ponies had started to exit the train. Looking among them, she saw white pegasus mare step out, wearing a very matching black and white dress. “Huh… That’s a pretty mare. I wonder what the occasion is…” She trailed off as a familiar blue and pink mane came into view, her yellow coat mostly obscured by a blue dress. “Is… is that Sunny?”
Charcoal didn’t know what to think. The Sunny she knew was not a dress wearer. She even said that she didn’t ever want to be caught in one. And here she was, wearing a very pretty blue dress in public. She even had her mane styled a bit. Kind of a shy look. It suited her. Maybe she wasn’t actually their Sunny. Maybe she was the Sunny from this Equestria. There was only one way to find out. Before Charcoal could talk to her, she and the white mare took off. “Dammit.” She swore under her breath.
Charcoal spotted her tan friend in line to get tickets. Thinking quickly, she pulled Ceru out of the line, much to her dismay. “Hey, what was that for? I lost my place in line!” Ceru complained, well, more like whined.
Charcoal pointed up towards the direction Sunny and the other mare flew. “I saw Sunny. she’s here in Canterlot. Though… I’m not sure if it’s our Sunny.” She said skeptically.
Ceru ignored the skepticism and replaced it with confidence. “Even if it isn’t our Sunny - and I don’t know why you’d say that - we at least have to find out. Come on, we have to follow her!” She then took off running in the direction Charcoal pointed in.
The coal-colored pegasus took a moment to facehoof before taking off herself. She flew just above Ceru. “Okay, keep an eye on me. If we have to, we’ll signal each other so we don’t get lost. I’m going to follow her. You follow me as well as you can.” She instructed. Ceru nodded in confirmation, and Charcoal flew up above the rooftops, paying attention to both Ceru down below and Sunny up ahead. Her old job helped her pay attention to multiple things at once. Even still, she had to look down often to keep from losing Ceru in the crowd.
After a minute or two, it became clear that the two dressed up pegasi were heading in the direction of the castle. “Hmm… That could be a problem…” She flew back down to meet Ceru. “Well I have good news and bad news.” When Ceru motioned for her to continue, she explained. “I think I have an idea of where Sunny and her friend are going. The castle. We’re gonna need a plan to get in there.” Ceru opened her mouth. “WITHOUT doing it illegally.” She added. Ceru promptly closed it.
We landed at the front gates to the castle. I had to admit, when they built this crazy castle, they went all fucking out. It looked more extravagant than the show would like you to believe. Bigger, too. It was HUGE. As we approached the guards at the gate, one of them spoke up. “Are you Sunshine?” I nodded. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are expecting you. Go on in.” He said, opening the gate, which, of course, was made of solid fucking gold.
Star and I walked up to the already open front door of the castle, which had to be as big as a pickup truck. No, two pickup trucks. “Someone’s overcompensating.” I whispered to Star. I got a giggle in response. Entering the castle, it was about as big as I imagined. As in, it was pretty wide open. I could have a nice flight in here.
I must have been quite distracted by the decor of this place because I felt Star nudge my side. When I looked to her, she pointed in front of us. Standing there was Princess Celestia. She seemed to have a very amused look to her. “Welcome. You seem well dressed.” She greeted us.
I gave her a wave. “Yeah, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. Also consider arresting Rarity and Sweetie Belle for cruel and unusual punishment.” I said jokingly. Maybe.
Celestia giggled at that. “I’ll consider it. I take it they were the ones responsible for your current attire?” She asked.
I nodded. “Well, them and this cheeky git right here.” I pointed at Star.
Celestia spread a wing and pointed it down the hall. “Well no sense in keeping this any longer. Luna and I are excited to meet somepony from another world.” She started walking, and the two of us followed.
I looked around the interior of the castle. For a very roomy structure, it wasn’t very decorated. The windows did actually show the outside, so it was a step up from the windows from Twilight’s castle. Another thing was the color scheme. Twilight’s castle was filled with primarily cool colors, making the place a rather unwelcoming and dark place to visit. The main color of Celestia’s castle was white, inviting light into the building and giving the place a welcoming feel. I felt more comfortable in this castle than I did in Twilight’s.
We climbed up a flight of stairs. Well, I didn’t. I flew, because fuck stairs. I quickly reached the top of the stairs, grinning as the other two followed behind. “What took you so long, slowpokes?” I joked.
Celestia made no attempt to hide her amusement. “We were held down by our slow legs. And gravity.” She joked back. I rolled my eyes at that. “Well Luna is waiting for us, so I suggest we hurry this up. I’m sure we have much to talk about.”
“Trust me, I don’t have much of a story to tell. I told Starstreak here everything in about half an hour. And I know nothing about anything else you might find important.” I tried to explain to her.
The larger princess said nothing, but opened a door and motioned for us to enter. I did so, with Star behind me. It looked to be a guest suite. It looks far too fancy for my taste. Especially the bed. I was so tempted to just jump onto the bed, but two things stopped me. First, I was in the presence of a princess, who was right behind me. Second, there was another one, lying right on where I wanted to jump. Curse you Princess Luna. Curse you.
Princess Luna got off the bed and sat down at a table that was sitting next to it. Star sat at the other end of the table and Celestia sat between them. Where did I sit? The bed, of course. Right after I flopped down ceremoniously onto it. “Woo! So comfy!” I looked over to them, and waved. “Go on. What do we have to talk about?”
Princess Luna cleared her throat before speaking. “Young Sunshine… On behalf of my sister and I, we welcome you to Equestria. I hope your visit has been satisfactory so far.” She said.
“Oh yeah, it’s been fun. If you don’t count being forced into a dress and my sanity snapping for a moment on the ride here. Oh, and let’s not forget the lovely way I was sent here in the first place. Thanks Skittles!” I ranted, most of which was filled with sarcasm. Rolling onto my back, I let out a sigh. “Juuuuust fantastic… Losing my mind in a body that ain’t even mine.”
Celestia and Luna both had bewildered looks on their faces. “Perhaps… you should start at the beginning…” Luna said.
It’s been a relatively quiet day for Private Banner. The two mares that were just let in was the most contact he had all day, and it wasn’t even him that had contact with them. It bored him greatly how nopony would take the time to just have a simple conversation with him. It was because he was a guard on duty, wasn’t it? He just stood there like a boring statue and kept out the riff-raff. Today was especially important for that second one since there was some sort of formal gathering going on tonight. The princesses were busy with their special guest, so he was just standing here alone. Even his partner who was here with him ended his shift after those pegasi went inside, leaving him to just stand here.
It wasn’t as though he hated his job. Joining the Royal Guard was the best way to get away from his folks in Manehatten and still make a living. Not to mention the fact that mares love a stallion in armor. The only problem was having “stand still like a statue” duty. Unfortunately, that’s the majority of what he had to do while as a guard.
He spotted a couple ponies walking towards him from the crowd. One of them was a black pegasus wearing a hard hat that matched her orange mane, a construction pony vest, and a saddlebag with a blueprint roll sticking out of it. She had a stern look on her face, like she had a bad day or something and now has some pent up anger. Aaaaand that anger was about to be directed at him. Great.
Behind the pegasus was a tan earth pony mare. She seemed oddly cheerful, considering the mare she was with. Perhaps she was the cause of the mare’s bad mood. She was dressed similarly to the pegasus, with a hard hat and vest. Banner idly wondered if these two were here on business. If so, it would’ve made sense to tell him. But then again, why would anypony tell him anything? He was just a Private on gate duty.
As the mare approached the gate, he stepped in front of her. “Excuse me ma’am, no visitors today.” He said, trying to put as much authority into his voice as he could.
The pegasus mare adjusted her glasses and looked him right in the eyes. For some reason, a chill went down his spine. “Excuse me?” She asked, her tone as cold as ice.
His ear flicked nervously. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you through…” He insisted, but his tone was anything but insistent. If anything, he was getting progressively more nervous under the gaze of the pegasus.
She huffed and tapped a hoof on the ground. “Are you trying to keep us from doing our jobs?” She seemed to be getting more irritated with every passing second.
Private Banner was sweating under his armor. “Um, no… ma’am… But what is your job, if I may ask?”
“I am here to scope out the site for Princess Celestia’s new greenhouse. And I am on a tight schedule, so unless you want to explain to your superiors why I was held up at the gate, I would suggest letting us through. Now.” The mare demanded, stomping her hoof on the ground for emphasis.
The poor guard lost his composure completely at that point. “Y-yes ma’am. Go on in. Sorry for keeping you.” He said, opening the gate for the mares quickly.
The mare gave him a curt nod. “Thank you. Have a nice day.” She said, much calmer as she and her partner walked past him and onto the castle grounds.
As Private Banner shut the gate behind them, he let out a sigh. “I need a break… Wait… What’s a greenhouse?”