The next morning went by in a breeze, got up, ate breakfast, and met with Celestia, where we talked about transport to Ponyville and how things would proceed.
First I would go to ponyville and meet the "Elements of Harmony" as she called them, some group of heroes of this world or another. Then I would be given a place to stay, and spend the night there before heading over to my pod the next day.
I was currently walking down the main corridor to the front gate of the palace where transport was supposedly waiting for me. So far, things were looking up as far as finding some form of evidence of my ship or some sign of human life. The pod was reported by the royal guard that found me to be mostly intact, or at least as far as they could tell.
As I trotted down the pathway through the front gardens, taking in the scenery around me. Flora of every kind littered the garden with beautiful bushes of flowers and vines creeping up lamp posts which would light the area at night.
The whole garden reminded me somewhat of a sanctuary, a peaceful place where someone...Somepony could come and relax away from the life of a politician or in this case, the life of royalty. Honestly I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to manage a entire country. I realize its probably not all that much different from running the fleet but still, you have to worry about so much more when you're a monarch...at least I would think so, maybe I should ask Luna about it later...
I was so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't even realized that I had reached the front gate. In front of me was a golden Carriage with 4 pegasi harnessed to it up front.
"You have got to be kidding me..." I mumbled as I looked over the not-so-stable looking contraption that was supposed to take me to Ponyville.
"Well...might as well" I said to myself and walked up to the guard near the door to the carriage.
As I approached, the guard seemed to look me over before giving me a small nod and stepping aside for me to enter, opening the door to the chariot/carriage for me in the process.
I gave him my thanks and climbed inside, the door closing behind me. The interior of the carriage was nice enough, plush red cushions on the seats and the walls lined with some kind of high quality fabric. This was about all I got before I noticed the indigo blue alicorn sitting across from me.
"L-Luna?! What are you doing here? I mean not that I am complaining or anything but I thought that you had duties to attend to in the castle?" I asked.
"We thought we would accompany thee on thy journey, we have yet to see this contraption that you came in and are curious." She explained simply.
"Huh, well it will be nice to have some company I suppose." I responded.
The carriage suddenly lurched forwards, being unprepared for the sudden movement I fell forward and landed ungracefully in to Luna's lap, who, to my embarrassment, was now laughing hysterically.
As I picked myself up I shot a half-hearted glare at Luna "You could have at least warned me" I mumbled as I took a seat, my face practically glowing red in embarrassment.
Luna continued to laugh for a bit before finally composing herself. "S-sorry we couldn't help ourselves" She said as she tried to stifle her giggles with a hoof.
I just rolled my eyes and turned my attention back out the window, however I couldn't stop the large smile on my face as I watched the scenery pass by below us. The physics of this world were still so confusing, it was like I was in a giant fairy tale, flying carriages? Like really?
Luna and I talked a little more about trivial things before she actually fell asleep mid-sentence, she must have been really exhausted, probably from all the work she had been doing. I certainly couldn't talk, I have fallen asleep during meetings all the time, much to my embarrassment.
Now however, a little more shuteye before we got there didn't sound so bad.
I shifted a bit in my seat before laying down against the window next to me and letting my mind drift off into a dreamless sleep.
I awoke with a start, the carriage jerking as we hit the ground, I guess we were there. I looked out the window and was greeted with the sight of a massive castle, which seemed to be entirely made of crystal. It was so large in fact that I had trouble distinguishing the top of the structure from my current vantage point. How such an architectural feat could exist I had no idea, much like many other things in this world, I had little understanding of it all.
I looked across from me to see that Luna was also awake and looked ready to pass out again, she gave me a small smile before the door to the carriage was opened and the guard from earlier bowed as he opened the door for us.
I was still getting used to the whole royalty thing, I guess meeting them first had been a god send, it probably saved me a huge amount of trouble.
Luna stepped out first and I quietly followed suit, the guard closing the door before quickly yet efficiently re-preparing the carriage and taking of behind us, leaving us alone with the massive castle in front of us.
"So...what now?" I asked curiously.
Luna looked over at me, "now we knock" As if to emphasize her point she walked forward to the massive castle doors in front of us and quite simply, knocked.
Knocking, really? You would think she would have like guards at the front or something, being a princess and all. Although in this place it doesn't really look like there would be anything to guard from except the occasional scuffle or something.
As Luna knocked on the massive doors in front of her, you could practically feel the echo it caused on the inside, and after waiting a short moment the door opened to reveal a baby dra-
"GAAAHHHHHH!" like a bolt of lightning I shot backwards in shock.
In front of me was an actual, living, dragon. Although It appeared small in size, emphasizing that it was still young, it still surprised the crap out of me.
For a long moment we just stared one another down, as if daring the other to make a move, until finally the dragon rolled its eyes and looked to Princess Luna with obvious annoyance.
"Foreigner?" he asked the princess
"Yup" Luna replied flatly, as if this was a normal everyday occurrence.
"Thought so" he then looked to me with slightly new found interest. "Well, why don't you come in and I will get Twilight for you" offered the dragon as he opened the door all the way to reveal the inside.
Walking through the large doors, the only thing I could do was stare in wonder at the entrance hall.
The room was absolutely massive, towering up above us to form a sort of arched roof with crystal chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling. A massive staircase was at the end of the hall which went up a ways before splitting off in two different directions, leading too two other doors.
At first I honestly couldn't move for a second as I stared wide eyed at the hall in front of me, never mind the dragon.
As a girl I had always wanted to live in a castle, of course that was just a dream but now that I'm actually here...It was a incredible feeling to say the least, almost nostalgic as I thought back to my youth days before the military and before the war.
Before I could continue to gape at the ceiling any longer a strong cough from the dragon broke me away from the little daydream I was having. Looking over I saw the little green and purple dragon with a large grin and a look that said "This never gets old".
"So...can I get you mares anything to drink?" he asked, surprising me with his sudden shift to politeness.
"Ummmm....coffee?" I asked hesitantly.
The dragon's smile became a bit more natural before nodding and turning to Luna, "Princess?"
The Alicorn shook her head to keep herself awake before responding "Coffee as w-well please..." she swayed a little on her hooves and a large yawn escaped her muzzle, causing the dragon, and myself to giggle a little before the dragon wandered off to get the beverages.
I looked over at Luna, "So....what's got you so exhausted?" I asked, trying to start some form of conversation.
"Hmm? Oh we uh...we are supposed to be asleep right now so technically -Yawn- we are actually staying up late as of now." she responded, yawing again behind a hoof, "we also did not get much sleep yesterday so there's that as well."
"Wait so...you mean the whole time we were hanging out, you were supposed to be sleeping?!?" I exclaimed.
Luna simply nodded before she stumbled again on her hooves, "We didn't want you to feel abandoned or lonely walking alone around the castle all day. So we decided to stay up and teach you some more about your body and in the process, have a lot of fun" She smiled at me.
I couldn’t help but smile back, "Thanks Luna, that really means a lot," I replied truthfully.
Luna nodded before making her way over to one of the many couches in the "lobby" so to speak.
She laid down, belly flat on the couch and stretched out, much like a cat would. Before I even got to the couch across from her she was already snoring, it was actually kind of adorable.
I sat down across from her on the matching plush velvet couch, thinking about how in the hell I got so lucky to end up on a planet as friendly as this one.
I looked around the lobby/entrance hall in wonder, I may be a capital ship captain, but that didn't mean I didn't know my architecture. A place like this shouldn't be able to exist. Hell, the ceiling shouldn't even be able to hold itself up like it was currently, it actually made me a bit nervous.
Just when I thought about calling for someone because it was taking quite a while, the little purple dragon came from one of the many doors in the room, carrying what appeared to be a server tray with two cups of coffee and 2 pots, also filled with the delicious nectar.
I briefly wondered why there were 2 pots of coffee, but I just put that thought aside, thinking maybe it was just courtesy that he do that.
Spike wondered over to the center table sitting between me and Luna and put down the refreshments, curiously he took one of the pots of coffee and held it as if it was his mug.
Again I dismissed the thought upon seeing the coffee in front of me, I grabbed one of the mugs and took a sip. It was perfect, pure black just how I liked it.
"Twilight will be down in a moment, she just woke up not long ago and is just now getting her own coffee" The dragon explained.
I nodded at the dragon in confirmation and looked over to see that Luna was in fact, still asleep. A mischievous grin spread across my muzzle as I thought about what I was going to do to wake her up. I looked over at her cup of coffee and a very evil plan formed in my head.
Setting down my coffee I got up and walked around to Luna's side of the table, the Drake at the end merely watching in curiosity of what I was going to do next.
Using my wing I carefully picked up Luna's cup of coffee and walked over to the edge of her couch. Lifting the cup I slowly brought it close to her nose and waited, sure enough, the still sleeping Luna tried to inch her head closer to the wake up medicine. But as she inched forward I backed the cup away, I then slowly waved the cup back in forth in front of her muzzle, causing it to twitch in response to the smell.
Luna opened one eye blearily and, in a half asleep stupor, tried to use her hoof to snatch the coffee from my grasp. Again I backed the cup away from her which cause her hoof to miss it and flop uselessly back onto the couch.
I desperately tried to stifle my laughs as I brought the coffee back to her face again. This time Luna tried to get up and after a moment of half asleep, not-so-much-coordination, she tried to pounce me to get to the coffee.
However considering she might as well have still been asleep, she actually just fell forward, past me, and onto the floor, rolling to a stop next to the table.
At this point both Spike and I burst out laughing, unable to contain ourselves anymore as Luna grumbled in irritation on the floor. Eventually Luna managed to get up and finally snatch the coffee from my grasp with her magic, grumbling in irritation.
After me and Spike finally managed to settle down and get back to our coffee, I noticed a small smile on Luna's muzzle.
"We shall admit, that that was a good jest," She said, looking at me over her coffee.
I chuckled lightly, "no problem Luna, it was all in good fun"
Luna mumbled something about getting revenge under her breath before returning to her coffee.
A few minutes went by in comfortable silence after that, simply enjoying our coffee when something kind of important came back to me.
"Uhhhh Luna? I have a small question"
"Hmmm?" She responded.
"Well..." I glanced over at the drake that was now engrossed in a comic book. "What does this Twilight pony know?" I whispered.
Luna looked up from her now empty cup of coffee, "Well, all she knows is that you are a "consultant" on alien technology and that you are here to examine the "artifact", she is quite excited to meet you," Luna explained carefully.
"Oh joy..." I mumbled.
"She also thinks you are from Canterlot and that you are a researcher on the subject" She continued
I gave her the most deadpan look I could manage
"*Sigh* I realize that you are not a scientist but anything you say will sound advanced to her," she assured.
Luna walked over and sat down next to me, placing her wing over my back, and leaned down so she could whisper into my ear, "do not worry so much, she is very friendly, you don't have to tell them now but the sooner the better I think, especially if you end up stuck this way"
She paused a moment before adding, "Your also going to need a new name"
I looked at her quizzically, "why would I need a new name?"
"Well your name isn't exactly...normal here, it might raise early suspicion that could make things a bit more difficult," Luna explained.
I looked down at my empty mug in thought before I craned my head up to Luna's ear, "If we find my ship were going to have to tell them anyway, and I still have to somehow prove to my crew that its me...assuming they are still alive"
Luna looked back at me with a sympathetic look and rubbed my back slowly in comfort,
"But...your probably right...let me think on it for a bit"
She was about to say something else when one of the doors at the top of the stairs opened and a very disheveled looking lavender Alicorn made her way down the stairs, cup of coffee held in her magic.
She seemed fairly oblivious to the world until she got to the couches where everyone else was, setting down her coffee she made a half attempt at a bow before plopping down in a cushion and chugging the rest of her coffee.
Luna and I simply sat there watching in amusement, wondering when she was going to notice who she was sitting in front of.
As if reading our minds, the little dragon came over and sat next to us, "Just give her a minute, she probably still has a bit of a "bookworm hangover" as I like to call it," he explained.
I nodded and went back to watching the mare chug her second cup of coffee, she was smaller than the other two alicorns I have previously met. A simple lavender coat and dark purple mane with pink stripes running through it, along with light purple eyes that were currently a bit bloodshot.
As her third cup of coffee was being set down on the table, she finally took the time to examine who was in front of her, her eyes wondered from Spike to Luna than to me. When she saw the latter her eyes widened to the size of bowling balls and she practically flew over the table in between us to get to me.
Faster than I could blink, Twilight was in front of me shaking my hoof vigorously, to the point where I thought it was going to be ripped from its socket.
"Youmustbethealienartifactexpertohmygoshitsahonortomeetyoumynamestwilightsparklefriendshipandmagicexperticantwaitoworkwithyou!!!!!" Twilight paused to take a long breath, but before she could continue a blue hoof kept her mouth closed.
"Twilight," said Luna calmly, "Why don't you and spike go get the room ready, and maybe start making a list of things you will need for your expedition to the crash site?"
Twilight tore Luna's hoof away from her muzzle and gasped suddenly, "Oooooo yesyesyes, SPIKE!"
"Ow, Twilight I’m right here!" Spike exclaimed, rubbing his now throbbing ears.
"Oh uh...sorry Spike" Twilight apologized.
"Its fine, I’ll get the bedding"
"Ok! I will make sure the room is clean" Twilight's horn glowed before she disappeared in a flash of light.
Spike rolled his eyes before heading towards the stairs, "geez it’s like she was possessed by pinkie all of a sudden" he mumbled.
I, was still sitting on the couch, my left eye twitching slightly. It wasn't until I felt a wing on my back that I snapped out of it.
"Wha..." I tried.
"Sorry about her, she gets a little...enthusiastic sometimes," Luna explained.
"No kidding..."
"Come, let us see where we are staying" Luna got up from the couch and started walking over to the stairs that led to the doors.
I nodded in agreement before following after her
I didn't take long to reach the room, however, it was quite the winding path to get to it. I had absolutely no clue how Luna knew where she was going, but I didn't ask, I didn't really want to pull the pin on that explanation grenade.
When we went through the slightly ajar door, my jaw nearly hit the floor for the umpteenth time sense arriving here. The room, was absolutely gorgeous. A large king size bed dominated the left side of the room, a night stand on either side of it. A closet took up the little space in between the wall and the right side of the bed, however still allowing enough room for Luna herself to slip in between.
To our right was a doorway with no door, which led straight into a full kitchen that had another door leading into what appeared to be a living room. Straight across from us were a pair of sliding glass doors which led onto a balcony.
Overall I felt like I just walked into a high rise apartment on Terra.
"Well this definitely isn't lacking," I stated obviously from the doorway.
Luna's head popped out from around the doorway that led to the kitchen, "This is nicer than my room in the castle!!!" she exclaimed.
I nodded dumbfounded as I walked slowly into the room, I took a minute to regain my bearings so I could look over the room again in a more tactical sense.
2 entrances counting the balcony, lots of large windows, that could be a problem, living room looks secure enough...except for the unnecessarily large window that takes up a entire wall...fun...bathroom off of the kitchen, full bath and shower...nice...1 bed...wait...
"Uh...Luna?" I asked cautiously.
"Hmm?" She responded, her head half buried in the fridge, most likely looking for something to eat.
"Are we both staying in here?"
Luna looked up at me from her position at the fridge, "Well yes, is that a problem?"
"nonononono not really a problem" I clarified, "it’s just that there is only one bed" I finished.
Luna simply shrugged, "we could just share it, that bed alone is pretty much the size of some condos"
I thought about that for a minute, "Yeah...fair point actually"
I continued to look around for a moment before realizing something, "Hey wait a minute, Luna! You stopped speaking in the ol' tong!" I stated.
"Huh? Oh...well you look at that," she smiled sheepishly.
I leveled a glare at her, "you never had the habit did you?" I asked.
She started backing up into the living room cautiously, strawberry in hoof, "well I uh...you see...hehehe"
I continued to hold my glare, matching her pace through the kitchen.
"I had it at one point...ummm...It mmmaaayyy have been a joke Celestia wanted to play on you, she said it would uh..."loosen you up", hehe" She was now in the living room, while I was at the fridge next to the doorway.
"Celestia’s idea huh?" I asked accusingly.
Luna visibly gulped, "Ok so maybe it was my Idea...I thought it would be funny..." Luna was backed up against the couch, trying to disappear into it.
I had stopped next to the fridge when I asked my previous question, raising an eyebrow at her, "So this whole time that I have been trying to decipher the way you talk, you have been playing one big prank on me?" I pressed.
"Luna looked like she was actually trying to pass through the couch when she mumbled in a small voice, "yes..."
I continued to stare her down with a raised eyebrow, trying to figure out why she thought that would be funny. I looked over at the still open fridge and noticed the bowl of strawberries that Luna had gotten hers from, at which point a very evil and very very childish idea came to mind.
Luna seemed to take notice of the large grin now plastered on my face, and for a second I'm pretty sure she was actually concerned about my mental state.
Reaching over, I grabbed the bowl of strawberries with a wing, using the convenient little handle on the side and pulling it in front of me.
Luna looked from the strawberries, to me, back to the berries, and back again, before her eyes grew wide in realization. "You wouldn't dare..." She said.
I grabbed a strawberry and balanced it on my hoof, "I'm not sure what you’re talking about," I stated innocently.
"Now let’s not do something you might-" Began Luna.
SPLAT!
Before she could finish her sentence a red strawberry hit her square in between the eyes, before slowly sliding down her face, and into her lap.
"-regret..." She finished.
I grabbed another strawberry in my hoof and struggled to keep my laughter in check as she wiped the strawberry off her muzzle and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.
In a deathly calm tone she opened her eyes and said, "Oh, you have made a terrible mistake young one"
My laughter instantly stopped as I looked at her death like expression and gulped.
Oh boy
Twilight trotted down the hallway towards Luna and the artifact expert's room, she had yet to get a name due to her erratic actions this morning, which she still had to apologize for.
She had a skip in her step however as she levitated her notebook next to her and thought about all the questions she was going to ask them.
She would have teleported to the room after she got her stuff but she figured if she took the small amount of time to walk it would give them some time to settle in the living quarters.'
Twilight turned the corner and noticed the door slightly ajar, trotting the last few paces Twilight came up to the door with a large smile on her face.
However as she came to the doorway, she yelped and ducked as a bright red strawberry went sailing over her head and into the wall behind her.
Twilight looked back up to see the most horrifying, odd, and amusing scene she had ever witnessed.
"You will never take me alive dark night!!!" Shouted the white Pegasus mare from behind the overturned dinning room table.
"I will drown you in darkness you Red Atrocity!" Luna yelled back from behind a now very stained couch.
Strawberries and for some reason, black berries, were being thrown back and forth between the two mares, both of which were laughing uncontrollably while throwing berries and mock insults at each other.
The entire room was completely stained from floor to ceiling in strawberry and blackberry juice, random furniture, overturned and used as improvised cover.
Clare popped back up for another shot, only to be smacked right in the chest by a blackberry, splattering all over her already stained white coat.
"GAH! NOOOO! I've been hit! The dark night has beaten me!" Clare yelled out as she fell to the ground with a wet squish, further smearing the fruit on the floor.
Luna popped back up in ceremonial victory, "YES! I have defeated the red atrocity!!! HAHAHAHA THE WORLD IS MINE!" she yelled out.
The white Pegasus on the ground groaned in mock pain before sitting up slightly, a strawberry held in her hoof, "TO MY LAST BREATH!" She yelled, before throwing the strawberry and hitting Luna right in the gut.
As if she was hit by a hundred pound weight, Luna doubled over in mock pain and began to slump to the ground, "Curse you Red Atrocity!" She managed to get out before she collapsed to the ground with an over exaggerated last breath.
Clare pumped her fist in the air, "Yes *cough* but alas, I am mortally wounded! I pass knowing I did a great deed this day!" and then she too slumped back onto the ground and closing her eyes slowly.
Twilight just stood there, completely at a loss of words for what just happened
Luna, on the other hoof started laughing on the ground, clearly trying to suppress it to maintain the illusion of being dead.
Due to Luna failing miserably, the white Pegasus on the ground also started laughing, and before long both of them were laughing uncontrollably on the ground.
"Oh..oh man I- *HA* I haven't had that m-much fun in so long," Clare managed through her laughing.
"M-me neither" Luna replied.
"Uhhhhh" Twilight finally managed to get out.
This got the attention of the two berry throwers who immediately stood up and hid still intact berries behind their backs, as if there wasn't enough evidence in the room, aside from the fact that Twilight witnessed half of it, to point to them as the culprits to the now newly "painted" condo.
Twilight shook her head and tried to gather her thoughts, taking her fore hoofs and rubbing her temples gently in circles. "You know...I won't even ask, just PLEASE get this cleaned up and meet me in the study" Twilight said before turning around and promptly walking back down the hallway.
The two mares stood there for a little bit before Clare looked over at Luna
"Your fault," Clare accused.
"WHAT?!?!"
I stood under the shower enjoying the feeling of the warm water running down my back, it was almost nostalgic really, even though it was a really nice shower I kept having flash backs of taking a shower in my quarters back on the ship.
I was also in a different body, on a different planet occupied by said species, and I am sharing my room with royalty of the same species.
Please, someone, pop out of a wall somewhere and tell me this all some weird dream... I looked over through the slightly open door, Luna was standing in the middle of the room, her horn glowing. All the stains were cleaning themselves up as her magic worked through them slowly, she was humming a happy tune with her eyes close, her head bobbing back and forth.
but do I really...want it to be a dream?
I blinked suddenly at the thought, bringing everything to a halt
My crew could be dead, I could be totally alone in this world and I just admitted that I like it here?? What is wrong with me?
...but I'm not alone here...I have Luna now...Don't I?
She’s always been there for me…ever sense I got here she has done nothing but help me settle in and get used to things so they are at least...bearable
And what did I ever do for her? Nothing. I have done nothing for her and all she has done...is be my friend when I needed it most.
I smiled softly and turned off the water before stepping out into the bathroom. I looked at the towel on the hanger and my smile was immediately replaced by a frown.
"Oh this will be fun" I mumbled.
I grabbed the towel with my teeth and brought it into my fore hoof, looking at it as if it just assaulted me.
*Sigh* "How in the world am I going to do this?"
A small knock came from the partially open doorway, "Need some help Clare?" Luna's voice said through the crack.
"Uhhh...*sigh* yeah...I do..." I replied
The door opened all the way and Luna made her way inside with a small tired smile on her muzzle.
I smiled sheepishly at her, "sorry" I mumbled.
"It’s ok, I'm not sure how a Pegasus or an earth pony manages without magic either" laughed Luna.
Luna grabbed the towel with her magic and started running it through my coat and mane...Just thinking about how I had those things was weird but...it didn't freak me out anymore...it didn't feel nearly as alien as it did before it felt...almost as if I had this body all my life.
The probably should have scared me, or at the very least weird me out a bit, but honestly I'm not so sure anymore.
The towel continued to dry out my coat before she slowly started working through the feathers on my wings
Truth be told I had totally forgotten about my wings, obnoxious things at times, you would think I would remember having something like that.
"Hey Luna...you think we co- *Gasp!*" A wave of some of the most intense pleasure shot through my body, my wings shooting outward and my entire body locking up on its own.
"Oh stars, I'm sorry Clare! I didn't mean to I swear!"
"Wha...what...just...happened?" I asked, still in a complete daze, my face completely red and a VERY familiar heat in between my legs.
"I accidentally touched your flight muscles...I-it’s a p-pleasure zone for pegasi...I'm sorry I didn't mean too" She apologized.
"N-no it's ok...I had no idea that's how this worked...well...the more you know r-right?" My wings were still completely stuck out at my sides and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get them back down.
"Um...Luna...how do I get my wings to stop...well...doing this?" I asked hesitantly.
"Err well usually...um..." Luna tried.
"I think I get it and no, no way, I am not comfortable with doing...that in a body I am still getting used to"
"I figured you would say that, here" Luna put her horn above my back and cast some form of spell.
Immediately my back loosened and I stopped feeling so...aroused, at least enough that I could get my wings to cooperate.
I turned around and looked at Luna, "why did my wings do that?" I asked.
"It’s an um common sign of arousal for pegasi..." Luna said quietly, her face a new shade of bright red which stood out heavily against her blue coat. The towel still held awkwardly in her magic.
*Sigh* "hey it’s ok, it was an accident, let’s just...forget this happened ok?"
"o-oh ok...here" Luna took the towel and started to dry out my mane properly.
As the towel worked through my mane I shook my head and laughed softly, "I can't believe I am saying this but...for the record...that felt really nice..." I said softly, my face practically on fire. Why did I just say that?
The towel only paused for a minute before continuing on my mane, not saying a word, Luna finished drying my mane before hugging me from behind, and taking me by surprise, I could only stand there frozen.
Smirking she whispered softly, "That comment aside...I'm so sorry you had to go through this Clare..."
I put my fore hoof over hers, "its ok...this may be...completely absurd," Luna chuckled lightly, "but...with your help I'm getting through it...you are one of the best friends I've ever had." I told her truthfully.
A blue wing came down in front of me and wiped a tear away from my eye that I didn't even know I had, "really? What about back on your world?"
I craned my neck to look back at her, "sure I had friends but...not like this...I've known you for barely two days and you have already brought more happiness to my life than anyone short of my parents sense their death all those years ago...Thank you Luna...for everything...even that blackberry you threw at my chest... I probably deserved it"
At this we both broke out laughing, Luna still hugging me lightly from behind.
I'm not sure how long we stayed like that, but however long it was I enjoyed every second of it.
Eventually though, Luna let go, much to my disappointment, "well...as much as I would love to just throw more blackberries at you, we shouldn't keep Twilight waiting any longer"
I chuckled lightly, "yeah... probably not, I don't think she would appreciate another war zone in her castle" I stated matter-a-factly
"Yes, probably not..." Luna said as she started towards the door, "let's go then shall we?"
Smiling like a school girl I followed her out the door, wondering what a meeting with the crazy lavender princess would bring.
So answering my previous speculations it turns out that a meeting with a crazy Alicorn princess is a very...tame event surprisingly.
"Thanks," I told Twilight as she set down a cup of coffee in front of me.
Normally I would prefer scotch or maybe vodka, but I don't know how these ponies would react to someone asking for liquor, or if they even have liquor.
Twilight smiled cheerfully, "of course!" The small Alicorn walked around and sat herself down across from me at the large crystal table. Luna excused herself moments ago, saying she had some royal matters to attend to.
I had my own suspicions but she left before I could say anything, clever mare.
"So um, I never got your name?" she asked.
I thought about it, what would be something that would fit in this world, yet be...meaningful and not something I would regret later?
All of a sudden I got a flashback from the incident that landed me here. The ship, my crew...the lightning...
Lightning... That was it, as far as I could tell the pony's names here were mostly objects, or emotions...at least for the most part in some way or another.
What felt like at least a few minutes for me was really only a couple quick seconds for her as I thought over my answer.
"Lightning Streak...My name is Lightning Streak," I said, more to myself than to her.
"Well it’s a pleasure to meet you Lightning," Twilight said before she started rearranging papers on the table and maps of a forest.
"So, do you have any Idea what this thing is?" Twilight asked, sitting back down across from me.
"Well sure I have a few...Ideas but I can't really say anything with any degree of certainty without actually seeing it" I stated, trying to sound as dignified and scientific as possible.
Which in other words resulted me just trying to talk like I had a stick shoved up my ass like all the other scientists in the UEE but that's beside the point.
"True," Twilight conceded, "we will be going out to see it tomorrow! I can't wait!" She exclaimed enthusiastically.
I smiled softly at that, she was like a child who just got her new favorite toy for Christmas, it was honestly really refreshing after everything that had been going on recently.
"So with this thing landing so close to your castle, how were you not the first one at the site?" I asked curiously.
Twilight looked down at the table, turning red with embarrassment, "well uh...yeah...I was um...busy?" she tried.
I almost laughed at the poor woman's expense, I knew this look WAY to well from certain officers who were showing up late to duty or not responding to calls.
I smiled mischievously at her, "you were out with some handsome stallion weren't you?" I asked rhetorically, already being about 90% sure of the answer.
At this she blushed furiously and started stuttering almost uncontrollably, trying to form something of a coherent response.
I finally let the laugh building in the back of my throat out, breaking my serious composure, "its fine! Happens all the time where I'm from, but I do have one question for you," I leaned in across the table man I am enjoying this way too much
"Yes?" she squeaked out in a tiny voice, her fur the color of hot lava.
The grin from before got even wider as I stared her down, pausing dramatically "...is he cute?" I asked.
The reaction was pretty much immediate, her wings shot out from her sides and she fell backwards out of her chair.
I fell out of my chair too, except for a completely different reason, I was on the ground laughing like a mad-woman while Twilight tried to pick herself up off the floor.
Once she got up off the ground she tried to throw a glare down at the laughing mare but couldn't keep the small smile off her muzzle.
I got up off the floor and sat back down in my chair, and looked back at the mare across from me.
Twilight, to her credit, managed to hold the half-glare at me before the rest of the smile overtook her and she rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Ok I will admit, that was pretty good." Twilight stated truthfully.
"Yup! But you never answered my question.." I pressed.
Twilight raised one eyebrow at her before sighing dramatically and plopping back down in her chair, "I am afraid that is privileged information Ms. Streak," She said professionally, however she was not able to keep the smile of her muzzle in the slightest.
I smirked, "oh we can play this game, but for now I offer a cease fire for the sake of our little..."project" we have going on here."
Twilight chuckled lightly, "Of course! I accept your truce," Twilight brought over one of the maps of a forest area, which I assumed was the forest infamously known as the "Everfree" where my pod was found.
"I thought we could go over the layout of the forest and plot a route to start," Twilight said, taking a marker and started making labels and marking things, while a notepad took notes to her right.
"Yeah sure, works for me," I replied, not fully knowing what I was in for.
"8 hours...8...hours..." I stated numbly from my place in the large bed in the room I was sharing with Luna.
Luna was just walking in from the balcony where she had raised the moon from just moments ago, "Yes, she can get a bit...overzealous sometimes"
"A little?" I asked.
Luna sighed as she plopped down on the opposite end of the bed, "ok so maybe it can get REALLY out of hoof sometimes, but you got to give her some credit, she’s very thorough," Luna pointed out.
"Yeah, that's true, I'm just surprised she didn't try to do a full background check on me or something"
Luna laughed lightly, "fair point," she conceded.
Luna settled down in the bed, pulling the covers up over her with her magic, "sleep well Clare, we have a big day tomorrow"
I smiled at the Lump of covers that covered Luna before settling in myself, using my mouth to pull the covers up a bit higher, "good night Luna...wait, I thought you were nocturnal?" I asked, suddenly realizing.
A laugh came from the lump of covers across from me, before a blue hoof came out from under the covers and swatted at me half halfheartedly, "I will explain that tomorrow or something, to tired," she mumbled.
I chuckled before turning and laying on my side, making sure I didn't pinch one my wings doing so or something
I really need to ask her about flight lessons at some point...
"Good night Luna," I said one more time.
“‘Night," came the mumbled reply from under the covers.
I closed my eyes and hummed in contentment, who would have thought that I would end up in a place like this? What are the odds that I would get stranded on a nice planet. Every movie ever states otherwise so why me?
Not that I was complaining really, just crazy to think about.
I shook my head slightly, letting my mind drift off into sleep, the promise of finally getting some answers at the forefront of my mind.
Tomorrow , I thought before finally slipping into the land of unconsciousness.