Chapter 20: Royal Rendezvous
A loud knocking at the door to my room caught my attention. I glanced over at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was around 6:30. I could barely believe I had been reading for three hours, but it wasn't all too surprising considering how intriguing this book was.
The book I had picked at random revealed a lot about the history of the princesses that seemed to explain quite a bit of what I had seen from them in my short tenure in Equestria. From what I could tell, this book was several hundred years old and went into extensive detail on the story of Nightmare Moon, or at least what was known at the time.
The book told the story of Luna's descent into madness and her eventual transformation into the tyrannical alicorn known as Nightmare Moon. It described her attempted takeover of Equestria to bring forth eternal night out jealousy of her sister. Celestia used the powerful magical artifacts known as The Elements of Harmony to banish her sister to the moon when all else failed. A prophecy had emerged not long after that Nightmare Moon would escape her prison on the millennial anniversary of her banishment to wreak havoc upon the planet once again.
That was if this book even provided an accurate historical account. I had begun reading the history book Twilight had gotten me, but I had yet to reach this era so I had nothing to go off of. The thousand year banishment thing seemed too outlandish to be true, but Twilight had told me both sisters were well over a thousand years old so I guess anything is possible. The context behind it could also be completely different from what I had read. If I ever were to ask either Luna or Celestia about this matter it would have to be in an extremely delicate manner. I would likely be delving into old wounds that I doubt either of them wished to bring to light.
Regardless, it seemed that through whatever means Luna was saved upon her return and brought back into the fold as co-ruler of Equestria. It appears that Twilight and her friends played a crucial role in this, but I wasn't exactly sure as to how. I heard Twilight on one occasion refer to her and her friends in the context of "The Elements." Maybe she was referring to Elements of Harmony as described by the book. It would certainly fit considering the Elements were used to banish Nightmare Moon in the first place.
'This certainly explains why Luna was talking with an archaic accent when I first met her. That was likely the normal way of speaking before she was banished. She seems to be holding up extremely well for somepony that has endured a thousand years of isolation. Maybe that's just a facade though. Maybe she's really hurting inside and is too afraid to admit it. I know all too well how that feels after my parents died...
The book certainly painted Princess Luna in a new light. I wasn't entirely sure how to feel about learning that a pony who seemed so kind, if a bit eccentric, had such a dark past. It was fascinating to learn how much Luna had gone through and put into perspective how far she had come to be in her position today. It really spoke to ponies' ability to forgive others if my experiences were nothing to go by. Celestia likely felt immense guilt as well for banishing her own sister for a thousand years.
My thoughts were rudely interrupted as the rapping on the door increased in volume and frequency. I quickly scrambled to my hooves and returned to book to the shelf before making my way over to the entrance of the suite.
"I'm comin', hold on!" I called which brought an end to the knocking.
I opened the door to find a unicorn royal guard in the normal golden armor standing at the door with an annoyed look on his face, obviously displeased with my response time.
"The princesses have summoned you to dinner in the royal dining room sir. I will escort you now if you are ready to depart," he stated simply in a bored tone.
If on cue my stomach began growling like I hadn't eaten in days. In all the excitement of the trip here I had forgotten to eat lunch, so I hadn't had anything for awhile now. I blushed in embarrassment at my stomach's loud cries for sustenance before addressing the guard awaiting my response.
"Sure thing. Lead the way mister..." I replied motioning for him to introduce himself.
"Private Straight Spear at your service sir. Please follow me and we can be there promptly."
"Then lead on good stallion. Culinary adventure awaits!" I exclaim pointing down the hallway trying to lighten the serious tone.
He rolled his eyes at me and began walking down the hallway towards the spiral staircase I had come up earlier. He was far more expressive than any of the other guards I had dealt with but I could hardly complain. It was honestly boring for another pony to just put up my antics without batting an eye. This guy though wasn't having any of my nonsense.
I followed Straight Spear past the entrance to Princess Luna's chambers which were still guarded by the same two ponies as before and down the long staircase into the maze of corridors. We spent a good five minutes winding through the various hallways before reaching a set of double doors which were flanked by yet another pair of royal guards. They paid us little mind as Spear, as I had now mentally nicknamed him, pushed open the doors and we entered in to what seemed to be the dining room.
It was a large rectangular room with a high ceiling, much like the entrance of the castle. Chandeliers dangled down from ceiling lighting the room and giving off a homely glow. In the center of the room was a long table made of polished oak that could easily seat fifty ponies. Instead of chairs that you would normally find surrounding a table on Earth, there were fancy purple silk cushions that made for more comfortable equine seating. A white tablecloth covered the tabletop end to end and atop it were fine china and cutlery as well as ornate golden candelabras.
At the head of the table sat Princess Celestia. She looked as stoic and regal as ever and was sipping on a cup of tea while reading a piece of parchment help aloft by the her magic. She had what appeared to be a slight look of bemusement on her face as she read whatever the paper said.
To her right in the first seat on the side of the table was Princess Luna. She... well... looked like shit to be honest. She had bags under eyes and looked absolutely exhausted while sipping on what appeared to be a large mug of coffee. If I had to guess, it seemed that she had just woken up and was obviously not a morning (or evening in this case) pony. Considering she was princess of the night it made sense that she got up around this time.
Spear cleared his throat to get the princesses attention before bowing and addressing them in a much more professional tone than he granted me.
"Your highnesses. I have brought your guest for dinner as you requested. I shall inform the waitstaff that everypony is present and ready to be served," he stated.
I gave off a confused look at that. Why in the world would you have a table set for fifty guests when only three were going to actually eat there? Certainly they could of just set three spots and left it at that. Either the castle staff had nothing better to do with their time or the princesses wanted to always be prepared to host a massive banquet or something.
Celestia looked up from whatever she was reading to look the guard addressing her in the eye. "Thank you Private Spear. After you have spoken to the waitstaff you are dismissed for the evening. Corporal Starfall will take over duties of watching Mr. Korzhakov here for the night." she replied in a motherly tone.
"As you wish your majesty," Spear replied bowing once again before turning and exiting out the same doors we had entered.
As he left both princesses attention now turned to me although Luna looked as if she could care less about my presence. Celestia seemed to genuinely brighten up upon seeing me and motioned for me to take the seat to her left across from her sister.
"Hello Vlad. So nice to see you again. Please take a seat so we may begin our meal," she said giving me a smile.
"Thanks for inviting me to dinner. It's not every day that a guy gets to dine with royalty, much less two beautiful ladies such as yourselves," I replied in an obvious joking tone giving them a smirk before making my way over and taking the seat Celestia had indicated.
Celestia giggled at my stupid joke while Luna gave me an incredulous glare clearly still waking up and not in the mood for my shit.
"It is so refreshing to have a pony speak with me so causally. I love my little ponies dearly but the formality in which they address me on a daily basis is often tiring," Celestia mused.
"Well if you enjoy it, I'll be sure to keep doing it," I responded giving Celestia a grin before turning to address her grumpy sister. "Good evening Princess Luna. I hope you slept well. I've looked forward to seeing both you and your sister again."
Luna seemed to perk up a bit at my words giving me a small smile before opening her mouth to reply. "Greetings Vlad. Forgive me for my lack of energy. I often require a strong dose of Zebrican coffee before I am ready to greet the night."
I chuckled at that. "Reminds me of my roommate in college. He would walk around mumbling aimlessly in the morning before he got some caffeine in him."
Celestia laughed at my comparison before turning to her sister. "See Lulu. I told you you're not the only pony that has trouble waking up."
Luna gave her sister the look that only siblings could give each other before turning back to me. "It has been nearly a week since we last spoke during your hospitalization. How have you fared since then?"
"I've been doing well. I've spent most of the week fully recovering from my injuries, but I'm ready to get back down to business with getting my home and workplace setup and finally learning how to fly once I return to Ponyville," I answer.
"Well we wish you the best of luck in those endeavors. I apologize that this trip was thrust on you all of a sudden, but we would appear uncaring of our citizen's selfless deeds had we not arranged it. This is quite a common ceremony that you will be honored at. We established the tradition of recognizing civilian heroics long ago as a way of giving the common pony the spotlight for rising to the occasion. Though I suppose we can also use the opportunity to get to know each other better while you here," Celestia replied with Luna nodding to indicate her agreement.
I gave Celestia a surprised look at her remark. Did the princesses really want to get to know me better? They had essentially been my benefactors since my arrival here some two weeks ago but I hadn't thought too much about it. I couldn't believe how much both seemed to care about my well being. I figured that after the novelty of "the alien from another dimension" wore off they would treat me like any other citizen.
Celestia seemed to sense my confusion and quickly added to her previous statement, "Vlad I wish you to look past our titles and see us just as friends. We may of met just a short time ago but both Luna and I want you to find happiness here. You did not grow up in Equestria and were not taught from a young age to dote upon us like our subjects so often do. If there's anypony that could see us both as simply friends it would be you," she explained giving me a wink.
"My sister speaks the truth. You are the first pony besides Tia that I have been able to hold friendly conversation with since my return. Whether you realize it or not, you have helped me acclimate to the modern era and I would happily call you friend," Luna input.
"I'm honored that you both care for me so much. I would love to be your friend as well your majesties," I said with gratitude in my voice.
They honestly were fun to talk to outside the public eye. They could just be themselves and not feel the need to impress everypony they saw. They were just sisters who laughed, joked, and cried like any other pony.
"Please, there is no need for formality in private. You can just call me Celestia," the alabaster alicorn replied.
"And you may call me Luna," her sister added looking much more awake and alert having finished her coffee.
"Awesome! So why is it that you guys are using this big dining hall for a three pony dinner? Wouldn't it be more practical to have a private dining room for stuff like this?" I questioned.
"I told you this hall feels like a poor use of space most days sister. Vlad here has only confirmed it. Why can we not have a dining area like the old castle where we could enjoy a meal with close family and friends?" Luna chided.
"I suppose it does feel empty with all these unoccupied seats. I just always traditionally had meals in this hall since the palace was built and got in the habit of eating here. I thought you were just joking when you complained of it before. I will look into the matter of setting aside a room for private dining at your behest," Celestia replied to which Luna beamed in response.
"What's good to eat 'round here? I don't see any menus..." I asked.
"Vlad, we are princesses. Nearly anything we desire to eat can be prepared for us. Simply inform the waitstaff of your desired meal and they will prepare it," Celestia chuckled.
As if on cue a trio of ponies in fancy suits came in through the doors and walked over to our end of the table. One had a notepad and pencil suspended in their magic while the other two provided glasses of water, napkins, and lit the candelabras on the table.
The head waiter who introduced himself as Esteemed Cuisine took our dinner orders. Celestia ordered a roasted cauliflower dish while Luna requested her "usual evening affair" whatever that was. I ordered one of the best dishes with a decent vegetarian alternative I could think of which was French or "Prench" Onion Soup. I had tried it once by accident, the beef broth having been replaced with mushroom but it was quite tasty. The waiter noticed my accent and asked if I was from Stalliongrad to which I gave some workaround answer that seemed to satisfy him. He soon took off with his two companions to give our orders to the kitchen.
"I guess I'm gonna have to come up with a better cover story until you two find it privy to reveal my true origins to the whole world. I mean it's bound to get out eventually considering most of Ponyville knows, but I can deny it as rumor and hearsay anywhere else for now. I doubt telling everypony I meet that I was born in The Russian Federation and made home in The United States of America will go over well, especially if they have basic knowledge on geography," I mused.
"This 'Russian Federation' you speak of. It is where you get your accent yes?" Luna asked curiously.
"Yes, I lived there and spoke Russian for the first few years of my life. My accent faded after moving to the United States but I never fully lost it. I assume Stalliongrad is the equivalent in this world considering your waiter isn't the first pony to mention me being from there," I responded.
"Tis quite strange that your world has so many similarities to ours," Luna noted with a intrigued look.
"Yeah I've found it weird too. Several of your cities have almost the exact same names as ones from my world, just more pony-ized. You guys have Manehattan while my world has Manhattan. Fillydelphia versus Philadelphia. Las Pegasus instead of Las Vegas. Hell, even Stalliongrad is a play off a Russian city formerly known as Stalingrad. I could go on and on."
"Who's to say which world is playing off the other?" asked Luna.
"I guess that's fair. Just seems so strange that there's so many parallels." I responded with a shrug.
"While the nature of dimensions and dimensional magic is highly debated, there are theories that infinite parallel dimensions exist where quite literally anything could be. If this is the case, then it is not so outlandish that our worlds share many similarities. Your appearance here has provided evidence to support these claims," Luna lectured, clearly very captivated by the current topic.
"Yeah, you're right. I've heard of the multiverse theory, but I never thought I would be putting it to the test. It's kind of a relief that I can draw so many similarities to my home world. I don't think I'll ever get over the pony place names though. Makes me want to laugh every time I think about it. Especially Ponyville. That would be like my species naming a city Humantown or something," I chuckled.
"You just said that your species named a city Manhattan. Didn't you tell us before that 'man' was another way to say humankind?" Celestia giggled.
"That's hardly a fair comparison. And I'm fairly certain Manhattan was named after what the natives of the area called it in their language. It wasn't named after the species that inhabits it," I snarked rolling my eyes at Celestia.
"Don't let our strange city names keep you up at night Vlad. I would hate for my sister to have to give you sleep counseling," Celestia retorted with a wry grin.
"You two are insufferable, it's like listening to two foals argue over a toy," Luna grumbled before glancing at a large grandfather clock in the corner of the room, "Tia, it is nearly time to lower the sun and bring on the night. Would you like to let our friend observe?"
"Of course. Vlad, would you care to see us preform our sacred duty? Not many ponies get to see it in private," Celestia asked standing up and following Luna to a set of glass doors leading outside.
"If you're certain... then I'd be honored," I replied not even sure what I was about see. If the sisters truly controlled the sun and moon then I had a feeling I was about witness an amazing spectacle.
"We would be more than happy to show you. Now come along, we don't have much time," she replied beckoning me to the doors.
I got up from my seat and walked through the glass doors onto a large balcony overlooking the castle gardens. Both sisters had taken spots on either side of the balcony and were watching the horizon intently. They stood there in absolute silence for what seemed like ages while I sat a good distance back not sure what to expect. And then, as the clock in the dining room struck seven, Celestia took a deep breath and lit up her horn.
Energy crackled through the air as the light from Celestia's horn became brighter and brighter nearly making me shield my eyes from the light. The air swelled like a hot summer's day and I felt the temperature increase dramatically. Just at it seemed the air might burst aflame from the energy, she raised her head to the sky and her eyes fixated on the bright orb of the sun. Slowly but surely the sun began to descend towards the horizon, the sky lighting up in the bright orange, yellow, and pink of the sunset. Eventually the light of the sun dipped out of sight and the world was plunged into twilight.
Celestia's horn ceased its activity and she released a breath she appeared to have been holding. She looked to her side and nodded to Luna as if to cue her before the younger sister began her part of ushering in the night. Celestia turned and winked to me as my jaw was likely touching the floor at that point. I was so lost in the moment that I nearly missed Luna begin by lighting up her horn much like her sister.
The energy radiating from Luna felt much different than Celestia's had. Rather than the feeling of heat and flames, the air took on a cool, almost eerily calm state despite the high amounts of magic. Luna looked out over to where the sun had just departed and steadily began to raise the moon to take its place. The sky darkened as the moon rose into the sky and night finally fell over the land. Stars twinkled to life, scattered across the heavens like small milky drops in a black ocean.
Luna's horn powered down as she looked into the night sky as if to inspect it. Seemingly satisfied with what she saw, she turned and with her sister in tow began walking back towards me and the doors.
"I trust that was to your liking Vlad? Your mouth may catch flies if you do not close it soon," Luna teased as I quickly shut my gaping maw.
"Wow... I can't say I've seen something so beautiful in my life. T...thank you for letting me watch, I'll never forget it," I said stumbling over my words.
"The pleasure was all ours. I assume that this was not something seen on your world judging by your reaction," Celestia replied giving me a warm smile.
"No definitely not. The sun and moon operated on their own where I'm from. Seeing you two move them at will is baffling to me," I stated honestly.
"All the more reason to let you witness it. Now let us return so we can enjoy our dinner," Celestia responded as we all made our way back through the doors and into the dining room.
Waiting for us was what I could only describe as the most pompous looking pony I had ever laid eyes on. He was tall unicorn with a pure white coat and a stylized blond mane and tail. His cutie mark was a gold and silver compass rose. His face expressed that he felt himself more important than those around him. Upon our reentry into the dining room he turned to address Celestia.
"Auntie, there you are! I require your assistance at once! The parliament had the gall to deny my proposal for a new tax exemption for the noble families. You must overrule their decision with haste, I will not have my name sullied!" he whined like a spoiled brat.
"Blueblood, I will do no such thing. The nobility get far too many tax breaks as it is. I see no reason to further line their coffers. Now if you'll excuse us, we were about to enjoy dinner with our guest," Celestia said clearly straining to keep a neutral expression.
That turned Blueblood's attention to me upon which he scoffed and gave a disapproving look. "You're dining with this transient? He is barely fit to dine in an alleyway waste bin much less the royal dining room."
My eyes narrowed at that. If this little asshole wants to insult me he's got another thing coming. "You think you're so great? I'd rather copulate with a brick wall then spend one more second looking at your ugly mug. They should call you Blueballs cause I doubt you've gotten any with that attitude."
Both sisters' eyes widened at my words. Celestia quickly cast me a disapproving glare that screamed disappointed mother. Luna meanwhile looked like she was trying to prevent herself from bursting out in a fit of laughter. The pony I insulted looked like he had just been slapped in face. He was quick to recover though and his expression turned to rage.
"How dare you speak to a prince that way?!! You will regret your words very soon you little street urchin! Auntie! Have this pony arrested and brought to the dungeons. He must pay for speaking to a member of the royal family in such a manner."
Celestia seemed unsure what to say for a moment. She quickly recovered and cleared her throat. "While Vlad's behavior is certainly unacceptable, you did insult him first nephew. I think you both need to think on your actions and offer an apology to each other."
"Apologize to him?!! I shall do no such thing! If you will not arrest him I will simply gather the guards and do it myself," Blueblood retorted.
"I am not going to allow you arrest our guest Blueblood. Now if you do not wish to make amends then I suggest you take your leave," Celestia replied firmly.
"But... Fine, I will leave. You will regret crossing me you unsophisticated oaf. I'll see to that!" he yelled angrily pushing to doors open and storming off.
I glared at him the whole way as he departed not taking kindly to his threat. Once the doors had shut behind him Celestia let out a sigh while Luna began guffawing now able to express her amusement at what had transpired.
"Vlad, I wish you hadn't responded in such a manner. Blueblood can be... a challenge at times but he's mostly harmless. Now he will likely go out of his way to make your life difficult," Celestia chided.
"Nay sister. Vlad has finally put that spoiled rat in his place. His words were quite amusing," Luna retorted still chuckling.
"Luna, we cannot condone speaking to others in such a manner amusing or not," Celestia states firmly causing Luna to stop laughing and adopt a bashful look.
"Hey, I don't care who he is. If you talk like that to me I'm gonna respond in kind. He insulted both of you as well by implying you had poor taste in guests," I grumbled.
"We have learned to overlook our nephew's lack of subtlety in such matters," Celestia replied.
"How is somepony like that related to you in any manner?" I asked genuinely curious.
"He is not our nephew by blood if that is what you're asking," Celestia explained, "He is the heir of the line of Princess Platinum, one of the founders of our nation. It became a tradition after we assumed our current position for Luna and I to adopt the heir of her title as our niece or nephew. They have very little actual power, just only what being a member of the royal family affords them."
"Royal heredity was the downfall of many great kingdoms in the my world. The crown would pass by bloodline rather than merit. Sooner or later you end up with an inept ruler who tears the nation asunder," I mused.
"Which is why I shudder to imagine what he would do should he ever have any real power behind his title," Luna input.
"Let's hope we never have to find out. I would recommend you hold your tongue in his presence in the future Vlad. If Luna and I are not present to stop him he may well throw you in dungeons. One of the few luxuries afforded to him is the ability to have the royal guard detain citizens if only for a short period of time," Celestia said chuckling.
"I'll... keep that in mind. I apologize for escalating things," I replied having cooled down from my encounter with Prince Asshat.
"We all make mistakes Vlad. It is whether we learn from them that matters," Celestia lectured wistfully.
"Let us return to our seats, I believe our food shall arrive shortly," Luna interrupted.
"Yeah, I'm starved. Let's eat!" I chirped in response as we took our places at the table once more.
The food soon came with Esteemed serving us our respective dishes. Turned out Luna had ordered a breakfast platter of sorts that included pancakes, eggs, hash browns, and assorted fruit. Figures that she would eat breakfast food after waking up. My soup was absolutely delicious, probably the best meal I had eaten since my mother passed. The food here was certainly an upside to distract from all the pompous pricks running around.
Dinner was filled with stories of family, friends, and days long past. As with all good things though, it came to an end shortly after we finished our meal. Luna excused herself to prepare for night court and Celestia retired to her bedchambers wishing me goodnight. When I emerged from the dining hall to return to my room I noticed all the guards now matched the two from outside Luna's chambers earlier.
This included my new escort who was a mare by the name of Dusk Starfall who was much more friendly and conversational than her day counterpart. Apparently many guards enjoyed conversation, especially the more experienced ones. You just had to know who to talk to. She explained that the golden armored royal guards I was used to seeing were simply known as the Solar Guard and mostly only worked during the daytime. At night the Lunar Guard took over the duties of protecting the castle and Canterlot proper.
She told me that guard armor is enchanted to make each guard look as identical as possible when worn, but a trained eye could recognize individuals. When I asked about the bat wings and eyes she surprised me by telling me they weren't from any enchantment. The vast majority of the Lunar Guard were made up of a nocturnal pony race known as thestrals or more colloquially, bat-ponies. They were like a cross breed of pony and fruit bat from what she described. They lived all throughout Equestria but were more highly concentrated in Canterlot due to their association with the guard. They were fiercely loyal to Luna as princess of the night and considered her their matriarch of sorts.
We eventually reached my room once again and I bid Starfall a good evening before retiring for the night. It had certainly been an interesting day and I could only imagine what would happen come tomorrow. The ceremony that I was here to be honored at would take place at the conclusion of day court tomorrow. Celestia had assured me it would be quick and painless but I still wasn't all that looking forward to it.
I figured that was a problem for the me of tomorrow though as I drifted off to sleep dreaming of new friends and fine food...
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yay this and you are alive!
I don't know, but stereotypical asshat Blue Blood is kind of old, and boring/annoying.
And beside the original encounter during the gala (when Rarity is kinda acting like a gold-digger with too much romance novels), we don't see him much as far as my knowledge up to season 5 go. And can be interpreted in all kind of ways; from Ciaphas Cain expy, to secret competence, to standard asshat...but a loyal asshat.