An Old Stallion's Story

by Icer

Chapter Three - Breakfast with Royalty

Chapter 3: A Breakfast with Royalty.

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“Dad, I didn’t know that you were acquainted with the princesses!” One of the stallion’s sons, a unicorn stallion with a red coat and a brown mane with a hourglass cutie mark said, having settled into listen not much sooner.

The old stallion just face-hooved at his son, “Really Magnus? You’re asking that question, after all the times that you’ve seen the letter’s piled up? Heck, she was even at your wedding! For however brief a time she was able to be there anyways.”

Magnus’s face and neck managed to turn an even darker red in embarrassment, “Well… I sort of… I… ah… Well… I got caught up in the story, dad!”

“No worries Magnus, I’m just giving you a good ribbing. You deserve things like that every once in a while!” The stallion said with a bit of a smile, before turning back to his grandchildren, “Anypony else have any more questions before I continue?”

A brown earth pony colt started waving his right foreleg in the air, “Grandpa! I do!”

“Calm down Acorn, you’re not in a classroom, you don’t have to vie for my attentions! You all have my attention.”

Acorn just looked around at his cousins, before shrinking back a little and asking, “What was it like waking up here? You must’ve been really scared!”

The stallion gave an impressed smile to his grandson, “Scared? I was absolutely terrified! I was in a place where I knew no one, I didn’t even know the name of the nation or castle or anything of that sort. I was in a complete unknown, and the only reasonable reaction for me was to be terrified! But if there’s one thing that I had learned in all my times of reading silly books, watching movies, and dealing with politicians and people it’s that being panicked and screaming about every little thing never helps, it just causes more issues than you had in the first place. So, I stopped, slowed down, and looked at everything as though I were just seeing it through a looking glass. By acting as an observer, I was able to save myself from the panic that would have easily overwhelmed me if I had permitted it to. That is what I sounded and acted so calm, whereas inside of my own mind I was in a panicked fury trying to piece everything together without going insane.”

“Woah. Grandpa. That is so awesome! I never knew that you could do something like that! Were you like that the next day?”

“No Acorn, I was not. Sleeping the night through had helped me calm down quite a bit, letting me sort through what had happened and letting me get to know, in my head at least, what was going on and getting a better grasp of the situation, but you see when I woke up…”

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The light slowly crept into the room where John was sleeping, the sun increasing its brilliance ever so slightly as it was raised into the sky. John rolled over with a grunt as the sun peeked over the window’s frame shining into his eyes and causing some mild discomfort in his sleep. A knocking sound on the door to the room caused even more annoyance for the sleeping human male, making him roll over onto his stomach and stuff his face into the pillow unconsciously to attempt to drown out the noise, to no avail. The knocking sound persisted however, and slowly and steadily managed to awaken John from his slumber, much to his disappointment.

Upon awakening, there was a moment of confusion for John as he sat up and looked around the room at the slightly unfamiliar furnishings before the memories of his previous day set in, and with them John was jolted firmly awake as they came crashing in over his mind. Well, it would seem that I’m really here, and that the device really did work! In a manner of speaking anyways.

The knocking sound became even more insistent, and John looked up in annoyance before replying to it, “Alright alright! I’m up! Just give me a minute…”

With that statement, John threw the covers off of his body, and rolled over into a sitting position with his feet hanging off the side of the bed.

And it was that moment that Luna, with a bedraggled Ordered Quill in tow, decided to burst into the room with a big grin on her face, “John! Good news, my sister has agreed to meet with you…. Why are you looking at me that way and hiding back under the covers…?” Luna said as she paused to look at the human scientist inquisitively.

John’s face by this time had turned to a very close approximation of a tomato, with a bit of anger and embarrassment seeping through his features, having just jumped back under the covers to hide his nearly completely nude form, “You just came in! I’m not exactly decent! It’s just, you don’t do that!” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath, and then continued while putting his hand down, “Well, we humans have a bit of a modesty thing with clothes, from years of living in climates where our bodies aren’t adjusted to the cold climates we found ourselves in, as well as… Other reasons. Particularly those that have to do with the location of our reproductive organs. So, if you could just turn around, or better yet, leave the room while I’m getting dressed, and come back in when I call you… That would be great.”

Luna’s face turned an even deeper shade of purple in embarrassment once she had a better grasp of the situation, with Ordered Quill’s reaction being nothing more than a hoof smacking his lowered forehead. Seemingly as one they slowly backed out of the room and closed the door behind them, leaving John to sigh and get ready for his day.

First ensuring that they had indeed closed the door behind them, John stood up and grabbed his clothes from the chair that he had thrown them over the night before, taking a quick whiff to check for unsavory scents, and grimaced at the smell that he was awarded with. “I guess I’m not too surprised, I mean I did wear these for two days in a row… I wonder if I can get them washed… I’ll definitely need new clothes soon though.” He mused as he walked into the bathroom and quickly refreshed himself.

John walked over to the door, opened it with a bit of a flourish, and said “Okay, now you may come in. Just make sure that in the future I’m not such a disheveled wreck, please?”

“I’m so sorry John! I just didn’t know, it didn’t even occur to me! Can you forgive me?” Luna pleaded with a bit of a frown on her face.

“I’m not angry, I was just really really surprised is all.”

“Very well, John Q. Blake, are you ready for this meeting?” Said Luna with a bit of a mischievous grin.

“Which meeting are you talking about? I don’t remember any meeting.” John said with an arched eyebrow.

“Well, the one with my co-ruler, my sister of course! I can’t believe that you forgot about it, I told you about it yesterday.” She said with a barely contained snicker.

John’s face went a little white at that, “That’s right… You’re princesses aren’t you… Well, um… Princess. I hope that I haven’t been too rude to you? I mean, I don’t know the protocol at all and I’ve never even met a princess before and…” He fished with a shrug.

“Oh nonsense John! You’re new here, you don’t understand our ways… plus we… I like the fact that you’re not acting like a subject, bowing before me all the time and showing far too much deference for my position... instead of just seeing me for me.” Luna said with a bit of hesitation, and a blush, “I know I’ve been interrogating you pretty much since you woke up yesterday, but I wanted to let you know that you’re the first pony… person that has treated me as another pony since I came back. We… I want to thank you for this.”

“Oh, it’s no problem Princess. A person. Errr… Pony, no matter who they are, deserve to be treated the same as all the others, just because you’re a princess doesn’t mean that I can’t treat you like a friend.” The human said as he motioned to the door and started to move towards it, “Shall we on then? I mean, your sister is waiting for us right?”

“Yes! Yes we should!” Luna said as she snapped out of her emotional state. As John passed her, she couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose at the smell that invaded her nostrils, “John… What is that smell!? You do bathe do you not?”

“Yes! Of course I bathe. But I’ve been forced to wear these same clothes for three days running now, you don’t think that they wouldn’t start smelling would you?” John said with an incredulous smile and a shake of his head.

“Oh! In that case, that is very easy to fix. Just stand still for a moment.” Luna nodded as John stopped moving, and her horn glowed a dark blue as John’s clothing glowed as well for about half a second, the glow receding just as quickly as it had appeared, leaving much cleaner looking and smelling garments hanging from his body.

John jumped back in surprise as the light faded from Luna’s horn and his clothes, “What… What just happened? What was that!? How did you… Why are my clothes not smelling anymore?”

Luna couldn’t help but to laugh at his shock and surprise, she knew that his world did not have magic, from the descriptions that he gave of his world they were an entirely technologically based society. “It’s simple magic John. I used a common household spell to clean your clothes, straighten them up, and leave them smelling much fresher than they were earlier.”

John looked at the regent of the night with one eyebrow raised, “Magic?”

“Magic.”

“Magic doesn’t exist, Luna. It’s just superstition, card tricks, and sleight of hand.”

“Magic may not exist on your world John, but I can assure you that here, in Equestria and on this planet, even in this realm or universe, it is quite real. You cannot doubt that which is right in front of your eyes can you?” Luna’s eyes twinkled with mischief as she levitated the flowerpot that was standing on a side table in the hallway.

“But… How? How does it work? What makes the glow?”

“Well, there are spells that do various things, from basic levitation, to the most advanced forms like teleportation and cloud walking. You have to focus your will around the energy and picture what you wish to do for basic things, but the more advanced ones require… Wait. Glow? What glow?” Luna said as her face suddenly caught what he said last, confusing washing over her and Ordered Quills faces almost immediately.

“There was a glow. Around your horn, and around my clothes for however brief a second, and there’s still a glow on those plants that you’re holding. You… can’t see it?”

“No…. We… I don’t see anything of the sort, John.” Confusion seemed to set into her features even further as she tried to figure out what he was seeing, It can’t be magic? Nopony has ever been able to see magic. It just isn’t possible.

“Well, John. Look at the time, we better get going! Celestia is going to be late.” Luna said with a bit of haste, wishing to change the subject so that she could ponder the problem longer, and to perhaps consult her sister on the matter in the future. She turned and started to trot down the corridor, attempting to lead John to the more secluded dining that she and Celestia preferred to use when not hosing a dinner, only stopping when she realized that she could not hear the distinctive footsteps of the biped behind her.

“John, are you going to come along, or are we just going to have this meal without you? One that, I may remind you, you were invited to by two princesses.” Luna said with a bit of a mischievous wink.

With a shake of his head to jump him out of his reverie, John replied with a blank tone, “Well, yes. Of course. Let’s get going then.” He quickly caught up with the lunar princess, and the two, shadowed by Ordered Quill, continued on their way to the breakfast with the solar princess.

As they continued down the hallway to the more private areas of the castle, John couldn’t help but gawk at the extravagance that the building had. It seemed that every alcove had some statue or piece of artwork in it, the columns had real gold filigree on them, each column itself looked to be handmade and tooled with great precision. Everything about the castle screamed out perfection, while at the same time did not manage to look overly gaudy or repressive, such as he had found Versailles or the even a senator’s home to be.

One particular piece of art caught John’s eyes particularly well, as it reminded him extensively of a very unique painting by one of his world’s greatest painters, enough so that it caused him to stop and stare at the painting to make sure he wasn’t seeing a double. The painting was of the Princess Luna, lying regally with her right foreleg crossed over her left, her head held high and a look that did not say whether or not she was smiling. In the background was a valley complete with roads, trees, hills, bridges and a river. The scene was so similar that John couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“And what, I ask, are you laughing at? Do you not find the painting Moona Luna to be to your liking?” Ordered Quill asked with a bit of a huff, having stopped with John as he peered at the art piece.

“Yes John, why are you laughing at this portrait of myself?” Luna’s eyebrows arched up in a questioning manner.

“Moona Luna? Hah! That’s fantastic! To explain myself… And that outburst, there’s a very similar piece of artwork from Earth, it is in fact famous the world over, called the Mona Lisa. It was painted by a man named Leonardo da Vinchi around 500 years ago. The similarities were so striking that I couldn’t keep my humor down… When was this one made?” John explained as he looked back and forth between the painting and it’s subject.

“I’m glad that we have more similarities between our worlds than you originally thought John, it gladdens me to see that art is universal! This one was done… around 1,100 years ago if I remember correctly, by a unicorn stallion by the name of Deep Learner.” A pensive look covered Luna’s face as she thought back to that long gone era.

“1,100 years…? That’s impossib… No. Sentient equines. Magic. Interdimensional travel. Who’s to say that they can’t be ruled by seemingly immortal beings? It would only make sense, on some strangely universal ‘I’m going to mess with everything you believe’ sort of way.” John said with a shake of his head, “Whatever. Let’s just get going to this breakfast, see what other mind-blowing things I can learn about today before my brain decides that it’s had enough and locks itself away in a corner and just lets instinct take over to leave me curled up in a ball in a corner.”

Luna looked over at Ordered Quill, and the two shared a look of perplexity as John wandered off in the direction that they had been moving, still ranting to himself about going insane one bit at a time, “Quite an interesting fellow, isn’t he?”

“Yes Princess. Interesting is the word that I would use.” The Princess and her retainer quickly caught up with John, in order for him not to get lost as they continued to the private dining room of the two sisters.

The human didn’t speak any words for the rest of their walk, his mind tied up and wrapping around the concepts that he had just learned. Magic. They have magic. I guess that it’s not exactly outside the realm of possibilities, hell, Earth even has tales and stories of magic and wizards dating back through the ages, so it’s possible we even have it. We’ve just forgotten the how… And 1100 years ago that painting was created? That makes no sense. It would have to look much more aged unless… Magic. Once again that force comes to play. But how does she look so young? That makes even less sense.

John’s found himself looking around in awe at the castle as he walked, even with the musings in his head of a world filled with magic. The walls looked to him to be made of white marble with no tooling marks to be seen, at least to John’s untrained eye. The walls made his eyes flow upwards to the ceiling, which was engraved with many forms of pegasi flittering between and lounging on clouds, reminding him of the old cherubs from Western lore and architecture.

As John continued to follow Princess Luna and Ordered Quill to their destination his mind became more and more wrapped in the castle surrounding him. So much so that he did not even notice that the two ponies in front of him had stopped.

He ran right into Ordered Quill. Who John tripped over, knocked over, and fell into Princess Luna.

Who also collapsed onto the ground, leaving two ponies and one moderately sized human tangled up in a mess of limbs and clothing on the floor of the hallway.

It was to this mess of Homo sapien and Equus ferus caballus that a particular Solar Goddess opened up the door to the Royal Pony Sisters’ private dining room, to gaze upon what had caused such a rumpus. As her gaze swept over the quickly reddening face of the human male, the increasingly darker purple face of the alicorn princess, and the rosy cheeks of one unicorn assistant, she could not help but let out a snicker. Which grew into a low laugh, who’s sound managed to infect the three beings laying in a heap upon the floor and soon enough the hallway was filled with the sound of two guffawing male voices, and two giggling female.

The laughter continued on for a few minutes, and as it died down the three started to disentangle themselves from each other, being no small feat due to the size of the human, the alicorn, and the unicorn’s lack of familiarity of the other’s freedom of movement. Finally, John having just decided to roll off of the other two before helping them both up, they turned as one to face the elder sister.

John couldn’t help but gawk at the being standing in front of him; she was the antithesis of everything that Luna appeared to be. Where Luna was young in appearance, this new being was mature in the motherly sort of way. Where Luna was dark, this alicorn was light. Where Luna was short in comparison to John, this being forced him to look up. She held the appearance of one who held great power, but did not need to exercise it but for certain occasions. The grace of her stance and form did little to hide that power and it seemed to radiate from her like the sun itself. Then there was the apparent effect of her glowing, magic flowed out and around her form, magic the very color of the sun itself. A rainbow mane flowed around her, the magic emanating from her form clearly enchanting it to flow in such a manner.

The effect that it had on John was immediate, his smile vanished and his only thought was Kneel. Now. And kneel he did, he dropped to one knee with his hands on the ground and his head bowed, “Your majesty.”

To any outward observer it would appear as though a switch had been flipped or a spell had been cast upon John. His actions and attitude seemed to have changed so completely from that which they had seen before that it would seem that he was being manipulated by the alicorn in front of him.

The smile from her earlier mirth was quickly reduced to something similar to a smirk, “Rise. You do not need to bow here.” The Sun Goddess said with a nod towards the human in front of her.

“Yes ma’am.” John rose to his full height and extended a hand, “John Q. Blake, your highness. I’m sorry if I have offended you in any manner.”

A knowing smile crept across the white alicorn’s face as she stretched out a hoof to meet his handshake, “I am Princess Celestia of Equestria, charmed to meet you John. You have not offended me in any manner. But, I must ask you a question. You can see it, can’t you? You can see the magic around me, the magic in this world.”

“Well. I can see something, I guess if you’re going to call it magic then I’ll say it’s magic as well. Can… Can you see it?” John asked as he set his arm down to his side and arched a single eyebrow in question.

“Alas, no I cannot. It is not within my capabilities to do so, but I would be lying if I were to say that you are the first. There have been others like you, but none of your species. They have all been ponies of exceptional magical abilities. But come, I can see by your face and my sister’s that you are both hungry. We can discuss this at further lengths at another time and place. This is for us to get to know each other, and to have an enjoyable meal and company.” The Solar Princess gestured for John and Luna to follow her into the room as she turned about to return to her seat at the table, “Oh, and no need for formalities such as you have just shown. One such as you is different, separate from the bounds of our high society.”

The princess of the night and her aide looked on at the exchange in bewilderment; this is not the John that they had met the day prior, the human that they woke up this morning. This was an entirely new being to them, but they remained silent in the hopes that the exchange would show them what was going on. Luna took one more look at John and Celestia as they made their way into the dining room, before looking back to Quill and dismissing him with a nod, “I will not be needing you anymore today Ordered Quill, you are dismissed. Enjoy the day. I only ask that you be ready for court tonight.”

As the three beings entered the small dining room the first thing that the human of the group noticed was a smell, a very unique and peculiar smell. The type of smell that any American male would be able to recognize within mere nanoseconds of smelling it. A very pervasive and one could say eternal smell, the smell of bacon and eggs.

All John could do was to stop and stare at the table, “You have bacon. Why do herbivores have bacon? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Celestia smiled a knowing smile as she took a seat at the head of the table in a very plain looking cushion, “Of course that wouldn’t make any sense. You however are an omnivore, as my dearest sister made me aware of last night when you two had finished your conversation. We are not the only species on this planet, for example the griffons are very partial to meat and need it for their diet. So, I decided that it would be prudent for you to have some meat at your breakfast; I am pleased that what we had in the kitchen storage is something that you appear to be able to eat. Now, please have a seat, we wouldn’t like it to get cold now would we?”

The man nodded in apparent understanding, not wishing to get into her statement too much after the shocks that the morning had already presented to him. As he had been following Celestia into the room he was already at the spot that was clearly indicated for him on the left side of the table as Luna had taken the cushion opposing him, whereas Celestia was to his left. Taking look at the cushion in front of him, John quickly concluded that the only way for him to sit mildly comfortably would be cross legged. As he went about getting into that mildly uncomfortable position he took a quick glance around the room. It was spartanly furnished, the blue walls did not have anything too gaudy on them, a picture of a small purple filly reading a book with a look of concentration was on the wall opposite him, and a clock sat on the wall behind him. The room, to John’s observations, was a room designed to help the owners get away from the world and just have some time to themselves. There was a couple of what looked to be bean bags by a window, with a small coffee table between them on the right side of the room, with a book case behind Celestia filled with what looked to be novels of varying stages of wear and age.

John glanced around at the two princesses to see how they were proceeding with their meal, quickly returning to the spread when he saw that they were watching him. Taking note of their observant eyes, he took only a couple strawberries, a kiwi looking fruit, two scoops of eggs and because of his assumption that the two alicorns would not be indulging in the bacon, put the entire plate of bacon by his plate. A little skeptical of the ability of herbivores to cook bacon, John’s first bite was careful, only to quickly eat the rest of the piece with gusto.

Celestia chuckled at the sight before helping herself to a couple of light rolls, “I can see that we made the right decision in opening those stores for you, just don’t expect to find meat too often here in Equestria. It’s not something that is commonly sold, and I do not believe that you could find a single butcher in our kingdom.”

Trying not to look too distraught John just shrugged before he replied, “That’s fine. I had several friends that were vegetarians, and while I don’t know too much about it I believe that I should be able to figure out some way to replace meat in my diet, and I do know my way around fishing and filleting a fish, even though I haven’t done it in quite a while."

“Good! I was worried that it would be harder to come to an accommodation with you on such a thing as your diet, but we will work with you to figure out what exactly you need in order to adapt your diet during your stay here. You will also be more than welcome to fish the streams and rivers, just do not over fish, it would be a shame.” Luna said with a nod and a bite of what looked to be a Danish roll.

“So John, if I may call you John, you told Luna a fair amount about your race and your planet… But what about your government? What are your laws, your officials, your bureaucracies like?” The elder sister asked as she took another bite of her croissant.

“Straight to the tough questions then, huh?” John’s eyes tinkled with a bit of a smile to let the sisters know that he wasn’t too serious about his remark, “We have a tiered government, Federal, State, County, and Local are all set up with their own type of power, in theory anyways. The idea goes that the Federal government has its sphere of influence, so working with the states to keep them from infighting, international trade and diplomacy, and a unified defense amongst other things. The head of that is the President, who is elected every 4 years, we just had an election the day before I came here, though I have no idea who won. With a 2-house legislature known as Congress, with the House of Representatives and the Senate, both of which have different numbers of people in it with certain powers each one could do, supposedly anyways. And then there’s the Supreme court, which is the third part of the federal government. They all have their different jobs and duties, but beyond an overview I would really not like to go into it, beyond the basic idea of their roles it gets into political theories and ideas – something that I’d rather not get into.”

Celestia nodded as she took in the information, “So you’re a democracy then? Or a republic? No monarchy in either case.”

John swallowed the bite of eggs he had just taken with a nod, “That’s right, though we used to be under a monarchy around 240 years ago, we rebelled against it and became a sovereign nation in our own right however.”

“Rebellion… So you have war then?” Luna asked with a bit of a sad look.

“Well, yeah. Of course we have war, don’t you?” John’s right eyebrow quirked up with a questioning tone, and when the two princesses shook their heads he continued, “Well you must have had it at some point to at least know what it is. Yes, we have war, and judging from your looks you disapprove of that.”

Luna’s frown grew deeper, “Yes. We disapprove of that, but if I may ask why do you fight? Is it not easier and more profitable for both sides to come to a mutually benefiting agreement?”

John leaned back on his cushion and looked up at the ceiling, thinking about his answer before continuing, “It could be, yes. I am not a soldier, I am not a general, so I have never actually fought in any war, so take what you’re hearing from me with a grain of salt. All I know about war is what I know from the history books, television, and movies. What I do know about it is that a lot of time and expense has been used with every war to try to prevent the wars from happening, but in the end they all seemed to be inevitable due to the political climates. You really shouldn’t form an opinion on any of this just from me though. I’m one man who doesn’t even focus on that stuff, it’s really only ever been a passing hobby of mine.”

The solar princess nodded to herself as she pondered the information that she had just been given, her mind racing over this visitor’s world. She took a sip of her tea and looked at the clock on the mantelpiece above the door to the dining room before coming to a quick decision, “John, it has been a pleasure to meet you, though I must say that I must be going as I have my duties to attend to. Court waits for nopony, not even one such as myself. I am going to give you the ability to go throughout the palace, though I must request that you have a guard with you the entire time, I will have Shining Armor assign you one and set up a schedule. This afternoon I will make an announcement about you to Equestria about your existence, so that any sightings and rumors will be quelled quickly. We will meet again at a later time; I wish that you have a good day.” The princess finished her tea and then started to make her way to the exit of the dining room.

A surprised look jumped onto the human’s face, and he had to scramble for an answer, “Uh… Thank you! Thank you very much your highness. Just… Uh… You have a nice day as well!”

Celestia nodded her head as she continued out the door, before pausing and looking over her shoulder, “Oh and John, please do access the Royal Library. I have a feeling that you will find it enlightening.” The goddess returned to her exit and made sure to close the door behind her.

“Well that was certainly… something.” John said as he looked back to the lunar princess.

“Um. Yes. You could say that. You really have war?” Luna looked to be on the verge of tears at this point in her questioning, as she looked at John hoping the answer would be no.

John, showing an amazing ability at missing the point, responded, “Yes. We have war, but it’s not what defines us if that is what you are worried about. Our architecture, artwork, our societies are much greater than just war. If I could I would show you all of that right now, heck, if I even had my laptop I have a couple movies that I could show you that would show that to you in 2 hours easily.”

Luna was instantly distracted by the mention of a new piece of technology, “Laptop, what, pray tell, is a laptop?”

“Well, do you know what a computer is?” Seeing the nod from the princess, “A laptop is a compacted computer generally designed for detached work, detached from the power source that is. I use mine mostly for browsing a large network of computers known as the internet and for movies mostly, though I do have a lot of work and papers on it. I had it in my bag when I went to the lab. I must admit, that I’m a little confused as to where it went when I got transported here, it should have been right next to me.”

“Was it in a small canvas bag that had a single strap?”

“Yes, it was! I take that it made it?”

“It did indeed. I had it, and all of the other devices that came through with you, moved to a secure vault. I will have your bag returned to your room immediately.” Luna said with a nod and a bite of her muffin.

“Excellent! Just one question however, what do you use for a power source? I keep seeing lights all over the place, but I don’t see any outlets or cables running through the castle, do you use electricity?”

“We do! Good observation and you cannot observe the outlets because they are hidden by simple sliding doors. To many it would be considered unseemly to have such things appear in broad sight.” She said with a twinkle in her eye, before using her magic to slide open one of the outlet slots.

John was once again surprised by her use of magic, but he managed to conceal the surprise so not to alarm her. He watched as the magic extended from her horn through the air to the outlet, opening up the concealed slot, noticing for the first time a distinct musical quality to the levitation spell at the same time, but he decided not to bring it up to the princess, “Interesting. You appear to use the same, or at least similar, plugs and sockets. I wonder if I’ll be able to use my laptop and equipment with them… If so it would certainly make for returning home much easier!”

“Quite. Anyways, I got you this book to start you off, and to help you with Equestrian culture and society. I think that it would be very helpful for you.” Luna levitated a book from on top of the book shelf over to the human, who plucked it out of the air and Luna’s control when it was close enough.

“A Traveler’s Guide to Equestria: All you need to know in order to survive in the country of Equestria by Long Traveler. Huh, that’s not something I actually expected to see. Puntastic name too. Thank you very much Princess Luna.” John said as he bowed his head in her direction.

John stood up and cracked his back and knees as he did so, unaccustomed to sitting in such a position for such a long time. He twisted his back to get out any more kinks, and in the process his back let out several resounding cracks as well.

Luna’s face took on a disgusted look as she stood as well, “What was that?”

“Oh, it was just my back cracking back into place, it happens when I’m in an uncomfortable position for any period of time, like that one. Uh… Is there any way that I could get a chair or a stool made? If it’s not too much hassle, it’s just that your tables are just too uncomfortable for me to sit on.” John said as he twisted the opposite direction, gaining more pops and an even more disgusted look from the princess.

“We should have some that would fit you, it would be a matter of just getting them for you when you need one, many places actually have stools there for ponies to sit on, and it’s just a matter of height for you. That, and my sister and I prefer to use cushions on the floor when we are eating alone.” She concluded with a nod, “OH, and you mentioned that clothing is a matter of modesty for you?” She paused until she got a nod from the human, “In that case I’ll send for a tailor to make some more clothing for you, I would think that no more than 7 different outfits would be enough for you, am I correct? Good. They will be here this afternoon, I’ll notify the guards to send for you when the time comes.”

“Oh, thank you princess! This is very generous of you, is there any way that I could pay you back for all of this? I mean, you’re giving me a place to stay, clothing, and food… Plus access to your castle and your library. There has to be something that I could do for you!” He fiddled with the book in his hands as he waited for an answer.

“Nonsense, if anything we should be paying you. The information that we have learned about you and your world is invaluable, and will keep us and our scholars debating over the issues for years. Consider all of this as just a gift from friends to a friend.” Luna said with a smile, being very pleased with herself.

“Oh… Uh. Thank you, I guess. But there has to be some way that I could…”

“No. You are accepting this as a gift. And that is final. There will be no ifs, ands, or buts about it!” She gave him a look that clearly indicated that that was the end of the conversation.

“Well…. Thanks. No, not just thanks. Thank you very much for this, you’re really being too kind.” A look could be seen in the man’s eyes, one of pure gratitude that had not been seen from his eyes in quite a long time, “I guess… I guess that I should let you go though. You are looking very tired, and I do have this book, and entire civilization’s library to read through! I wish that you have a very restful day, and I will see you again this evening, correct?”

“You are correct John, I wish you luck in your research, and anypony around you would be more than welcome to answer any questions that you have, the staff have already been informed of your presence in the castle.” Luna said with a smile before she started to make her way out of the dining room.

John slowly followed her, his mind mulling over the conversation that he had just had with the two princesses, before coming to a very quick decision, “Princess, if you’ll wait just a moment.”

Luna only had time to turn around before the human’s arms were around her neck, embracing her in what she could only guess was a hug, and a brief one at that.

John released the alicorn from his hug and then said, “Thank you very much for this princess. You really have no idea what this means to me. It’s… It’s more than generous.”

“Think nothing of it John, but really, I am quite tired and must get to sleep. And I will not be keeping you from your research any longer.”

John nodded before he met the guardspony sent by Shining Armor to escort him, and they made their way to places unknown in the palace. Leaving a certain sapphire alicorn to ponder the events that had just transpired between that human and her sister, especially as it pertained to magic, before she retired for her daily rest.

Comments

[Icer]

Some notes:

I feel like this chapter turned out all right, I'm happy with it but I think I could have done a much better job.

Secondly, sorry that it took so long for me to put it out, I had other things like life and research pop up that I had to prioritize, as well as writers block for this story. In the time that I had writers block for this one, I wrote the entirety of Letters to a Lunar Goddess and started on a third, fourth, and fifth fics that I'm going to be working on in addition to this one.

A heads up for this summer however, I will be putting out chapters in any of those much slower than you are used to, as I'll be starting a job where I only have access to a computer around 20 hours a week. I'm sorry for this, but I love the job and I wont be giving it up for anything.

Stay frosty.
- Icer