The Night Court
Chapter Six: The Night Court
Germane glared at the cleanly, and dare he say it, cozy house. His train to Canterlot left tomorrow night, and he still had a few small tasks to take care of. He could feel the presence of his marefriend's helpfully-supplied list burning his coat through the thick material of his saddlebag, mocking him in its incompleteness.
And that was due, mostly, to one mare.
Before he packed up his equipment to take along to the royal castle, he still had two, or possibly three ponies to supply the Reflex. Vinyl Scratch and Dinky Doo (if the filly gave the okay - Ditzy and he would be explaining things), and... her.
Really, Germane just couldn't ignore things, anymore. He didn't want to, even. But this could turn out a lot of different ways.
He steeled himself, flattened his wings out nervously, and marched forward. Past the mailbox which read 'Bon Bon (& Lyra Heartstrings!). There was a smiley face painted on it.
Germane knocked.
"Coming!" A cream-colored mare opened the door. Her cheerful demeanor went sour at the sight of Germane. "Oh. It's you. Come to argue with Lyra again?" The stallion took a quick, steadying breath.
"No, Miss Bon Bon. I'm here for friendly reasons. And I'd like to give your marefriend an apology. She certainly deserves one." He got a dismissive snort for his trouble, but she did give him barely enough clearance to slip inside.
The two mares' home was cluttered, but not messy. Music sheets poked out between mythology, biology, and history texts on tightly-packed shelves. A ceramic pot was set out, behind which the purpose of his visit sat.
"Ooh, tea!"
"Not for you," declared Bon Bon. Lyra rolled her eyes and began pouring another cup.
"No, Bonnie, I want to hear this. It should prove to be... interesting." Germane gave as disarming a grin as he could, admittedly not his best given the circumstances, and sat. Ignoring his beverage for the moment, he took in the sight of the unicorn mare. She eyed him right back.
"Why are you sitting like that?" she asked. Germane shrugged. That was made easier by the way he wasn't in the typical (and peculiarly cat-like) repose of ponies.
"I'm getting back in the habit. What's your excuse?" Lyra's marefriend face-hoofed.
"Not this. Not again." Germane backtracked frantically. In hindsight, grilling Lyra for possible leaks of human culture had been as much a mistake as it had been a long exercise in frustration. But the revelation about human heritability and Pinkie Pie's father had cast a lot of doubt on his earlier assumptions.
"Look, I'm speaking as a representative of Princess Luna's Night Court, here," he said, waving an official seal. Forging one was grounds for prison time, and Lyra, at least, recognized that. "So you're welcome to check with her clerks on the validity of everything I'm about to tell you."
"Ah-hem," grunted Bon Bon. Germane rubbed his fetlock into his temples.
"Right. I also want to apologize, first, for grilling you for information leaks." The unicorn stiffened.
"What sort of leaks?" Germane glanced at Bon Bon, then reluctantly back at Lyra. He felt vaguely like he was trying to out somebody to their parents.
"Maybe we could talk... in... private? No?" he corrected himself at the double glares. "Um, Miss Heartstrings? Do you know what a 'human' is?" And then there was a flurry of movement and then Germane was backed into a corner between an icebox and a tall stack of cabinets. Lyra looked shocked, but Bon Bon looked pissed.
"Where did you hear that?" asked Lyra. The earth mare's tone had a great deal less wonder to it.
That, if Germane was honest with himself, wasn't a surprise. The question had been more a way of introducing the topic. Opening up a line of inquiry. Tipping his hoof, so to speak, because he wasn't sure what else to say.
Lyra was a town favorite to many ponies. Sure, she was considered a little odd, but she was earnest and kind. Picnickers and families out for the afternoon tended to settle themselves around wherever she chose to busk with her lyre. Three years after arriving in Ponyville, Germane had picked up on one too many of her 'weird little notions' and immediately gone into full alert mode, and he hadn't been very gentle about it.
Maybe it had been her fantastical story about fire-wielding bipeds hiding in the Everfree that had done it, but his first impression on her had been terrible. Bon Bon hadn't ever stopped being suspicious of him.
"I swear if you're trying to get Lyra laughed out of town I'll buck you harder than the Apple clan does their-"
"So you do know! Excellent!" Germane wasn't really sure why his default reaction to impending violence was to be polite and helpful. His mother had likely done too good a job teaching him manners. For the sake of getting over with everything, he locked eyes with Lyra.
"Unless I'm very wrong, Miss Heartstrings," and he probably wasn't, since he'd gotten several records sent overnight from Canterlot, "You were adopted from an orphanage just south of Baltimare, raised in Canterlot, and moved to Ponyville without anyone properly explaining where a six year-old filly came from, as if out of nowhere. The orphanage reports say that you didn't speak for almost a year after your arrival. I'm guessing a bunch of talking ponies must have seemed strange to you."
"Craft, I swear-" Lyra cut off Bon Bon, this time.
"Sweets? Let him talk." Bon Bon flinched.
"Lyra, he's messing with your head! Just because you feel different, sometimes."
"Just because you sometimes feel a little like... this?" In his moment of hesitation between one word and the other, Germane triggered the Reflex (he was capitalizing it now, for style). Both mares stared. He waved, waggling his fingers as he did so.
"Hey, little sister. How did you speak before you spoke Equestrian?" He cleared his throat. "Um, 'wəz ɪt lajk ðɪs'? 'o komo este', maybe?"
"ju ɑr lajk maj drimz!" Lyra jumped on him, hooves prodding at his ribs desperately. "Have you seen the cities? The flying machines?!" Her eyes widened to Pinkie-like proportions. "Can I go see ərθ?!" So she was weird, yes, but in an earnest way that made Germane's head hurt.
"I wish you could," he said honestly. "I wish I could, as a matter of fact. Miss Heartstrings, do you remember what it was like?"
"What... what was like?" she said slowly, her enthusiasm ebbing. Germane nodded, having a couple of things make more sense.
"I've never heard about somebody so young coming forward," he said, as much to himself as anybody else. "I think you're a human, Miss Heartstrings, like me and a couple others. Like in your... dreams. Can you tell me what you look like in your dreams?" The unicorn edged back, and seemed to shrink in on herself. Bon Bon put her forelegs around her.
"Sometimes I'm... about your size. Sometimes I'm a lot smaller. When I'm big, I'm wandering around cities made of tall glass buildings. When I'm small, I'm in an enclosed cart. We're going somewhere, and it's... it's snowy, outside the windows."
"Are you in a special chair?" asked Germane. "With lots of belts and cushions?" Lyra nodded. "That's a car seat. Safety equipment for children. Very young children, when they're in cars. Do you remember a loud noise, or a shake?" Slower this time, Lyra nodded again.
"The music stopped. The radio was playing 'classic'. Mom was..." The unicorn blinked. "Was that my mom? I was really a human?" She swallowed, thickly. "I... here I thought I was crazy and weird 'cause I wanted to be one."
"I never thought you were weird. Or crazy," said her marefriend sternly. She glanced back at Germane. "Is this some kind of trick? Because if it's not, you just made her very happy. But if it is, I'm going to make your life look like Tartarus during the off-season."
"Just come by the library with me, tomorrow at around three. If I'm pulling the blinders around your eyes, I'm sure Twilight Sparkle can have me arrested or something."
"Can Twilight do that?" Germane shrugged.
"I'm afraid to test it. Just... come by," he said, and triggered the Reflex to regain his quadrupedal footing. "Then you can see how you look like with feet." Lyra sniffed with suspiciously red eyes.
"Don't be crazy. I already know how I look."
"Twilight! Twily! Look!" The librarian mare watched the exceedingly odd spectacle of Pinkie Pie walking around... on her hands. Rainbow Dash was apparently timing the whole thing with a stopwatch. From her spot between Twilight and her mother, Dinky Doo clapped her hooves and giggled.
"Is that a normal thing?" asked Twilight. Ditzy, still a pegasus, shrugged.
"It's just a trick." She looked down at her daughter. "Your uncle Sean, you remember I told you about him?" Dinky nodded fervently. "He could do that, and juggle and do other tricks, too. Your grandma said he was like a clown too lazy to put on makeup."
"Can I learn?" asked the little unicorn.
"Ask Miss Pie to teach you." Ditzy paused. "Even if I don't know how she learned." Twilight watched as Pinkie collided with a chair and fell over, Rainbow Dash declared a new record, and Rarity tutted the whole affair from her place on one of the corner chairs. Unfortunately, Applejack and Fluttershy had both been too busy to make an appearance. One was repairing plows with her brother's help, and the other mentioned baby birds, and that had been the final word. Rarity, especially, had shown up at Germane's request.
'The last thing Ponyville needs is a bunch of naked ladies running around, Twilight! It would lower property values, or something.' The mare chuckled at the stallion's reasoning.
Free of her (admittedly self-imposed) duty, Rainbow Dash flitted over to Vinyl Scratch. The pegasus dropped from her typically brash self to something altogether more... goofy. The DJ grinned and nudged her. The two started laughing quietly between each other, just quietly enough that Twilight couldn't make out the conversation. Frankly, she mused, she wasn't sure she wanted to.
Rainbow Dash had taken the suddenly-revealed humanity of 'the really cool mare that I'm just sort of hanging around a lot' with far too much enthusiasm.
"Just inside, ladies." Twilight watched the door open and admit three hurried figures. Germane, upon her sighting whom made the mare break out into a smile, ushered the other two in and closed the door. For his part, the stallion looked desperately relieved to see her. He hurried over, stepping around the bouncing Pinkie Pie and skidding to a stop next to her.
"I do not do well with crying females, Twilight. She was like this when I met them outside, I swear it. You're smiling. Wonderful! Please, please don't start crying." Deciding that the good-natured ribbing at the expense of her stallionfriend's dignity could wait, Twilight gave Lyra and her marefriend a concerned once-over.
"You mentioned she might have trouble," she said tentatively, "but I honestly thought she'd be a bit more excited, if what you told me was true." The pegacorn sighed.
"The scenario is, in a way, a sort of wish-fulfillment for her, yes. But she just went from subconsciously desiring a different body to finding out she'd already lost said body. And, well, finding out the circumstances were hard on her. Not only will she not be seeing the place in her dreams, but she doesn't have enough clues to place her own origin back on good old Earth. She speaks a little bit of English, but it was a pretty wide-spread tongue." He shook his head, but Twilight saw his attention captured by Dinky Doo.
"You look excited," he told her. The filly grinned and continued hopping in place.
"This is so cool! Momma says I'm gonna be double-pretty. I can bring myself to show-and-tell, and it will be loads better than Silver Spoon's puppy that kept chewing on my saddlebags."
"You're bringing yourself to show-and-tell?" asked Twilight in bemusement. Ditzy brought up a fetlock to cover her smile.
"I said maybe, after the information gets out," the young mother clarified. "The, ah, 'Crusaders' promised to keep an eye out, in case of bullying. I know well how some children react to things that are different to them, after all."
"The Cutie Mark Crusaders know... and they haven't spilled the beans?" asked Twilight incredulously. Rarity made a delicate cough, drawing attention to herself.
"Ahem: 'Cutie Mark Crusaders Espionage Specialists'," she explained. "I thought they might want to see if their special talents are in keeping secrets."
"Miss Rarity, that's downright dastardly of you," said Germane with an audible tone of respect. Rarity fanned herself.
"Oh, it wasn't much, really." She grinned. "Though you may go on."
"Maybe after I get set up," the mad scientist suggested.
While he went to work running safety checks on the reflex device, Twilight excused herself from the couch to greet the newest arrivals. Bon Bon and Lyra looked more than a little overwhelmed. Both of them were staring at Pinkie with a kind of wide-eyed fascination. Understandably so, since the mare was trying unsuccessfully to turn cartwheels. Indoors. Twilight was just thankful that she looked a lot more... cushioned, she guessed, than most of the other humans she'd yet seen.
"Hey, girls. How are you holding up?"
"Just fine, Twilight," claimed Lyra unsteadily. Bon Bon sighed.
"Lyra's freaking out a little. Tell me, is this really on the up and up? He said that Princess Luna was in on all of this, but he's, well, Germane, you know?" Twilight winced- half of his reputation probably came from her own suspicions over the last couple years. Hay, he'd been mentioned to her before even that as being 'Olive Branch's wierdo colt'. That was the kind of introduction that made for a poor first impression no matter what.
"I know. Believe me, he's been nothing but honest since this whole 'humans' thing came out. He was just scared to open up in case the other ponies like him were in danger because of it. Honestly, it took me a long while to connect what he said with the stories you sometimes mention, Lyra." The unicorn brought her attention back at the mention of her name and gave a nervous chuckle.
"Yeah. There isn't a lot out there, but some of the older book collections in Canterlot are chock full of myths. It made me feel a lot less crazy, sometimes, you know?" Bon Bon 'shushed' her gently.
"I never thought you were crazy." Lyra gave a short, tight grin.
"I know. But I did." Her glance drifted back over to Germane. "I guess he just thought I was trying to somehow put the humans in danger, even if it was by accident. I get it, now. He must have been as scared as I was ashamed." Twilight thought back to the previous week and winced involuntarily.
"He tried to use a smoke bomb to escape Lu- uh, Princess Luna the first time she came to visit. Ran headfirst into a wall." Bon Bon laughed a lot harder at that than Twilight felt was entirely... fitting.
"Sorry, sorry," the candy-colored mare said as she wove off the others with one hoof. "That's still just an excuse, though. He has a lot of making up to do before things are squared away." Ponyville's librarian thought fast.
"He and the other coordinators already have a small library of books by and about humans put together. I think they'd let you read them before they became public knowledge," she hinted heavily. Bon Bon snorted.
"Are you kidding-"
"I'll take it!" declared Lyra with a new, brighter expression. Her partner sighed.
"Lyra? Sweetie-strings? You really have to learn how to haggle."
"But Bon Bon..."
Satisfied that she'd smoothed things over a little bit, no matter that it seemed based entirely on how crazy this town's ponies were, Twilight took a quick, assessing look around the library's main room. No pony looked like they needed her for anything, particularly. Pinkie had shifted back to her fuzzier self and, together with Vinyl, the two of them were trying to describe some sort of massive club opening last year to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was making appropriate 'uh-huh!' and 'nuh-uh!' noises to every other statement. Apparently communicating the full awesome required the use of hoof gestures and, possibly, interpretive dance.
Lacking any nerves to settle, and feeling like her own were a bit frayed, Twilight went back to one of the newest and strangest parts of her life. Aliens? Sure, a little bit crazy. Conspiracies? Old hat, really. She had a coltfriend. The mare smiled, then frowned, then hyperventilated for a little.
'Breath, girl. Breathing is important. Cadence would be disappointed with you if you stopped breathing. She taught you those exercises and everything.' Thus reminded, she counted off as she inhaled and went just a tad dizzy. The unicorn wasn't used to panicking because of good things. It was probably, she figured, because of too much all happening at once. Usually disasters and revelations tended to space themselves out a bit more. There was, figuratively speaking, always time to grab a nap and a sandwich between one point and the next. This time, there were no sandwiches.
'Note to self: schedule lunch after this.'
In the absence of food, she wandered over to the next best thing.
"How's the pre-check going?" she asked. Germane glanced back over the wing he was using to support his checklist. Twilight was pretty sure he usually just did it in his head in a very absent-minded sort of way, but she'd gone ahead and written it out for him. And he was using it!
"Just finished with the third run through. It looks good. Charge the crystal for me?" Twilight nodded and began feeding a thin stream of magic into the crystal set into the machine's side. Unless it was charging off of a larger capacitor or left on its own for several hours, Germane's portable magic batteries tended to run dry very quickly.
"So, do you like carnations?" she asked. Feeding magic was just about the easiest thing in the world, and left her plenty of spare attention for conversation. The stallion looked puzzled.
"They're nice, I guess? I suppose they smell very flowery." Twilight giggled.
"For lunch, you goof. I wanted to know if you'd like to stop by Rosette's before we go to the train station." He looked uncertainly at the equipment. "Luna's sending her own guards to bring your machine onto the train and keeping watch on it the whole way there. They've done similar tasks with delicate art pieces," she assured him.
"This is more important than art!" he protested, stubbornly.
"Germane? Food?" She wasn't about to pass out from low blood sugar, but she'd feel much more comfortable with two courses on her schedule. He shook himself.
"Right, that. Carnations are good. Tangy vinaigrette and a soup bowl..." One of his ears flicked distractedly. "Dang it, now I'm hungry, too. Let's get this show on the road." He raised his voice. "Alright, now. How many have we got, today? Three? In the circle, please. Don't be afraid, it's like getting you picture taken with a really ugly camera."
Dinky was off the couch before her momma could ask 'are you sure?' even one more time. Mister Craft had said it all really simple for her. There was going to be a flash, and then she'd get to sometimes be like her momma, and her uncles and aunts and grandparents that she'd never seen, but knew everything about. Her momma hadn't changed in front of her yet, but Pinkie and Germane had, and she wasn't scared of them at all. Even when she was a human, Pinkie still had cupcakes in her mane!
The little filly (almost eight years old) was the first one in the circle. Rainbow Dash's unicorn friend was next- Dinky thought they might be each others' special someponies, like Mister Craft and Miss Twilight, or Mister and Missus Holly next door.
The unicorn she didn't know, with the gold guitar for a cutie mark (and guitars were the coolest things ever, and Dinky hoped she learned it someday), was acting sort of weird. She'd step in the circle, then step back out, then do it all over again. It was a very silly thing to do. Dinky told her just that.
"Dinky Doo, you apologize this instant!" Dinky's ears pressed flat down when she heard her mother's scolding tone, but the strange unicorn mare just gave a funny little smile.
"What's got you so brave, little filly?" Dinky lifted her head right back up to look her in the eye.
"I want to be like my momma. She wasn't afraid, and I'm not neither."
It was weird, but the unicorn didn't hop back and forth after that. She just mussed Dinky's mane and sat herself down in the circle.
"Sweet, my old raver outfit!"
"Gakh!"
"Lyra? Love?!"
"Oh dear, she's a twenty-something wearing a three year-old's outfit. That looks painful. Rarity?"
"On it, darling!"
"Momma! Look!"
"I see, muffin! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Let me pick you up, here, oh my gosh!"
The castle was at that point of the evening, a scant hour before sunset, when the staff was making preparations to change shifts. The halls were busy with servants, functionaries, soldiers and bureaucrats all coming onto or getting off of their daily chores. Barring special occasions, it was the busiest time of day. Normally Luna was content to wait it out, but her good mood had her weaving between ponies like she had once when she was a student, several feet shorter and an anonymous pegasus among many. She had to hold in a giggle when, without her head held high and her straight 'royal gait' carrying her forward, it took most of the castle staff a good second to realize their princess was walking among them. There were a lot of belated bows.
She should, maybe, have felt a bit of worry over the conversation that would soon be taking place, but her mood was simply too... playful. She felt playful! Like a filly.
Luna wanted to howl at the moon, like Diamond Dogs used to do during their peace meets. Did they still do that?
'Probably best not to,' she thought. 'Lunacy' was, unfortunately, a word just over one thousand years old for good reason.
She entered the small (for the palace) banquet hall where she and Celestia took their private meals. Her sister was seated in front of a still-steaming plate of lasagna, and Luna's own flapjacks were soaked with just-melting butter. Their little compromises tended to edge on the absurd, but Luna was adamant about her 'breakfast' being composed of breakfast foods.
"Good evening, sister," said Celestia. The pale mare gave a small double take. "You seem... awake. Did you have the guards bring coffee to your chambers directly, again?" Luna shook her head and grinned.
"No, Tia. It is simply a very good day. I plan on enjoying it to the fullest." Luna seated herself and gave a cheerful nod to the stallion bringing out syrup. He genuflected and shuffled off. "I rather feel like mine own self." Her sister's first reaction was to smile, but that quickly morphed into something more like worry.
"Oh dear. Luna, you understand that the Rampaging Lights Festival was banned seven centuries ago, yes?" She squinted. "I don't see any steins..."
Luna huffed. You try to re-institute one old holiday, and your sister insists you send back the fifteen hundred homing badgers. April never used to be such a boring month...
"No, Tia. I promised to ask, first, about any holidays." She tucked into her breakfast cakes and feigned being completely oblivious to her sister's scrutiny.
"You've spent a lot of time out of the castle. More fact-finding missions?" Those had been Celestia's idea: extended surveys of modern Equestria's government and high society. There had been mixed results. Modern art had completely baffled her, the new settlements to the eastern territories had heartened her, and a Fillydelphian night club she's entered in disguise had left her giddy and covered in glow-in-the-dark paint.
"I'd hoped you might warm up to the idea. Did you visit anywhere interesting?" Luna licked syrup from off of her muzzle and nodded gently.
"Oh, yes. This last week I visited Ponyville twice. It is a very welcoming settlement. So many interesting ponies." Celestia nodded, and looked disappointed.
"I do wish I could have gone myself- this windigo variant that my student discovered was an unsettling thing to hear about after the fact. I sent a letter, but since you met with her yourself... is she well?"
"She is quite fine. Well," Luna quickly tacked on to correct herself. "She had the aid of her friends, as well as some of the other locals. A mister 'Germane Craft' was rather instrumental." Celestia brightened up.
"Olive's boy? I met that darling earth pony at the industrial fair about, oh, fifty years ago. Quite the gentlestallion. Twilight always seems to butt heads with his protege, though, on one thing or another. They're getting along?" Luna felt a familiar welling in her chest. Half maniacal laughter, half giggling cheer. Like the morning after changing around all the guise enchantments on the guards' armor. They'd looked rather good in plaid.
"They're getting along very well. In fact, once a few things came to light, Germane's standing in the town as a whole seems to have improved." Celestia finished a bite of her Bitallion dish and nodded sagely.
"As I had hoped. Her lessons are proceeding very well, it seems."
"I've read them," said Luna agreeably. "It makes for pleasant reading during the quieter hours, and I suppose I just wanted to better know the mare behind the quill. I was not disappointed." Twilight Sparkle hadn't disappointed in the least. Such lovely coloring, too...
"In fact," said Luna, seeking to make an opening in the conversation, "I've invited her and a select few others to the castle, tomorrow. They and I have a bit of news to share with you, dearest sister."
"Oh?" Celestia raised one eyebrow, intrigued, and lifted her tea cup. Luna couldn't have timed it better herself.
"Oh, yes. I am courting both Twilight and Germane." Celestia's cheeks bulged. "Germane is an Extra-equestrial being. I have offered him and several hundred other of his species citizenship within our borders." A fine spray of tea hit the table with enough force to rattle the silverware. "They call themselves humans."
Luna was graced with the sight of her sister falling flank-first out of her chair.
'Truly, it is the little things which provide the most joy,' she mused.
"What? What, you- Twilight- human- court- extra-equestrial- what- Luna!" The Princess of the Dawn, Diarch and Duchess of the Greater Territories, squawked and climbed back to her hooves with the aid of the table.
"Yes, sister. All those things," said Luna around a mouthful of baked batter and syrup. She could practically see the gears of Celestia's mind turning, trying desperately to prioritize a dozen questions. In the end, though, Celestia was a leader first and would make a leader's inquiry, first.
"There are... aliens living in Equestria? As ponies? Luna, while I've always appreciated your sense of humor, even, ocasionally, when aimed at myself-" Luna frowned. That would not be getting off on the right hoof, if that was her sister's first reaction.
"They transformed in front of me, Tia. They appeared in the wild magic territories, apparently after dying, and woke as ponies. They have lived as such for nearly a century, now, if Germane's accounts of Olive Branch are correct."
"Olive was an..."
"Alien, yes. His protege managed a rather tricky piece of spellcraft to allow them their original forms for short periods of time. He and five others have been coordinating their kind's peaceful existence in our borders. They were understandably worried when their cover was compromised, but I assured them their safety, Tia." Luna straightened up. "I am sorry I took action on policy without warning you, but making them citizens and assuring them that they belong was the most prudent course of action. Tia, they were terrified." The other alicorn seemed, finally, to slowly be grasping the reality of the situation.
"I see. That's... precisely what I myself may have done. Oh my, this is... humans, Luna, really?" Celestia's eyes focused on some distant point. "It might as well have been leprechauns. Or flutter ponies."
"But it wasn't." Luna stood, and circled the table to impress the sheer reality of the situation from nearer by. "Tia, it's just like in the stories. Trains and industry, and cameras and, I suspect, the electric toaster. Faust's sakes, one of them built an autocast the size of a pineapple!" She placed a forehoof on her sister's neck, trying to catch her eye. "It would please me to no end for you to be there when these coordinators come to the palace. Twilight, too, is going to be there."
"Luna, of course I will. This is momentous, if a tad sudden and unsettling. I'll join you at your night court, of course. It is not every day one finds they have extra subjects dropping out of the eaves." She cleared her throat and chuckled. "My, your story about 'courting' nearly sent me into shock! Really, as far as unilateral actions go, I can imagine worse- no need to play me for a fool on top of that!" Luna's grin slipped, slightly.
"That part... wasn't said in jest either, dear sister. Twilight and Germane truly are lovely, and I seek to court them. We built a pillow fort, together." It sounded weak to her own ears. Celestia's jaw dropped.
"My student?! An... an alien you just met?!" Luna stiffened in place.
"Twilight has never been aught but kind to me, and possesses many attractive qualities! Germane has spent years in service to two peoples, and that while existing in a state of suspicion!" She chewed on her lip, feeling unpleasantly like she was somehow disappointing her elder sibling. "They are beautiful and clever, Tia, and... I think we might be happy together. Is that very wrong of me?"
"That's not... wrong, per se, Luna, but..." The other mare looked frustrated. "Luna, you have only recently taken the full burden of your duties upon yourself, again. Ignoring whatever other concerns I might raise, is this wise?" And that, thought Luna, was the one objection she'd least been looking forward to.
"My duties have never been too much for me, sister. Winding the red tape still comes more easily to me than it does to you, if I'm not mistaken. I fell to the Nightmare in despair and loneliness, not by incompetence." Celestia winced.
"I must admit that your administration was so smooth, even at the final hour, that we were all caught by surprise. If your rule had suffered at all, I might have sooner... Luna, I will never be able to express how sorry I am." Luna made a mirthless chuckle.
"And you still don't have to. Just... bear in mind, please, that near the... near the end, work was all that I did. With your blessing, if you give it, I would very much like to pursue happier things."
"Oh, Luna. If she, and he, I suppose, are for it, then I won't stand in the way." Celestia swallowed dryly. "Even if it is Twilight. The little filly I half-raised. Whom my sister is now lusting over..." She turned back to the table. "I believe I need some wine."
Luna cheered, internally, and pumped one hoof in the air.
"This was inevitable, I see, now," said Germane as he twisted his neck to get a full look at his wings. Twilight wasn't any sort of expert, of course, but they looked a bit ragged. She bit her lip and tried not to giggle. She might not have entirely succeeded, given by the wry look she got.
"How -hnk, ha- so?" asked the mare.
"Because raised as a human or not, having never in her entire life considered the thought, every little girl wants to ride a pony. And of course it fell to the crazy uncle to provide a suitable steed. Sure, the crazy uncle himself being the steed is a bit off-script, but..." Germane shook his head dismissively. "Whatever. Tears all around, much rejoicing, I just have to preen." He snorted. "You know, this probably fills some sort of deep, psychological need from back before I was even a pony- I used to chew on my fingernails."
"I'm hoping that word doesn't mean what I imagine it does," said Twilight archly. Her coltfriend looked a bit confused for a moment, before running over his own speech in his head.
"Oh, no. Means those blunt claws I've got. Only really useful for leverage, but they can get ragged unless they're groomed. No actual nails involved." He looked back over his other shoulder. "Dang it, I think she loosened one up. I know Dinky's more careful when she's on a ride-along on her mother's route..."
Twilight peered over and could actually spot it- one of his primaries was hanging askew.
"Erm, I could get it, if you'd like?" she suggested, charging up her magic. Germane's eyes bulged and he reflexively flattened both wings to his sides.
"No! No." He glanced around, though for what Twilight couldn't guess. The mare dropped the energy completely, more than a little put out.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I know I'm not as delicate as Rarity, but I wouldn't have hurt you. Is this a human thing that I don't know about?" That had been number fifteen on her list of 'things that could go horribly wrong with my relationship': irreconcilable cultural differences. Germane quirked an eyebrow at her.
"What kind of opinion would a human have on wing care, Twilight?" He chuckled, and loosened up, slightly. "I get to teach a pony about pony culture. Well, pegasus culture, at least. First thing- preening is private. I mean, preening others is private. Second thing- it's done manually. Otherwise you might as well be plucking chickens." Twilight hesitated, but didn't feel entirely convinced.
"Why haven't Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy ever said anything? No offense, but they've been pegasi for a bit longer than you." Almost immediately, she was struck by how badly that last statement might have been misinterpreted, but Germane didn't seem to take offense.
"Has Miss Dash ever assumed you didn't know something she considered obvious all her life?" He waggled his eyebrows. "Has Miss Fluttershy ever asked you to touch her feathers?" Twilight felt herself flush. Fluttershy was tremendously pretty, yes, but she'd never considered, out loud, that is...
"Point made," she growled out. "Let's eat before hunger makes me say something stupid. Again." She looked at the ground. "Does it... bother you when someone reminds you that you weren't born a pony?" He was quiet for a while, though whether that was him trying to think of an answer or trying to collect himself, she couldn't tell.
"I guess I can't have it both ways. Proud human, proud pegasus. Pegacorn, whatever. It feels sort of selfish, put like that, but yes, a little. Like I'm purposely pulling the wool over everybody's eyes, when I certainly am not trying to. Then you get ponies like Ditzy, who tried to be open, and that... often doesn't end well. Didn't, at least. Maybe things will be different, now. Dinky, Miss Pie, and others, I'm sure, will be 'also a human', instead of 'also a pony', if you get my drift."
The best Twilight could do was stay extra close to him through their meal and until they got to their outgoing train. If Germane's little looks of gratitude were anything to go by, then she was at least doing something right. Hopefully. She just didn't have any books to suit the situation, except maybe Rarity's collection. And those were more 'right before bed and only when Spike is at a sleepover' reading materials, not psychological manuals.
Twilight's friends saw them off, though she was pleased to note Ditzy and Dinky both stopping by the station to wave off Germane. She wondered if he might not need a few lessons in friendship, and then got all flustered at the thought of actually teaching. He might, she thought, like meeting some of the academics from her old school- certainly they wouldn't lack for conversational fodder. It would be a good chance for her, too, to reconnect with ponies she'd once ignored.
And of course they'd be meeting Luna again, and she'd get to show Germane off to Celestia and show both him and Luna off to her parents. Twilight had no doubt that Germane was overreacting and that the meeting would go just swimmingly.
"Alright, Twilight, you and your lug take care, alright?" Applejack hoofed over a small picnic basket- Apple family cooking at its finest. The unicorn smiled and gave her a quick hug.
"Of course we will. We'll be fine. Canterlot was my home before I moved here, remember?" Applejack nodded, and warned her to eat before they arrived, or else some of the pastries would grow stale.
"Have fun doing your egghead things, Twilight. Just don't stay cooped up the entire time." Twilight huffed.
"I'll be doing plenty of fun things on top of my 'egghead things', Rainbow, which I remind you that I also find fun, thank you very much." She smiled. "I'll be back soon enough, promise."
Fluttershy gave her own soft-spoken good-bye, and Rarity of course had the last word.
"I'll actually be coming with, darling," the unicorn said, which explained the staggering pile of luggage nearby. "I thought I might offer my services to the other coordinators- Plum had a few ideas from her own culture that I can't wait to try my hoof at." She coughed discretely, and leaned forward. "I'll have my own compartment. I assume it won't be too much trouble to have my darling Spike along with me? He has a more delicate touch for fabrics than any other assistants I've had, and I imagine he'd just be bored while you and Germane go over your... preparations." The eyebrow waggle was entirely out of character for the mare, but Spike, thankfully, didn't seem to pick up on it at all in light of the sudden invitation.
"Of course I can! Can't I, Twilight?" It was all she could do not to laugh at the little dragon's puppy eyes, but she managed to hold a straight face when she gave her permission. The little guy promptly over-burdened himself with Rarity's luggage.
"Twilight!" Pinkie appeared, quite possibly out of nowhere. "You realize, of course, that this means party?" she asked with a faux-classy accent. "This is the biggest thing since the discovery of the sprinkle! Almost," she corrected herself, looking worried that she might have somehow implied that sprinkles were in fact second-best to anything. Then she brightened right back up. "I'm calling in the whole Pie family when you get back- Pa and Inkie and Blinkie and Maud and Ma too need to know and it will be just like a sort of extra birthday party, cause, you know, it's like being two ponies at once and that's twice the mmph mmph mmph!"
Her last words were muffled by Applejack's helpful hoof. The farm mare winked.
"Best to get along quick, now, before this one builds up any more steam. She's liable ta float, I'm bettin'."
"Come along, Spikey!" A moving pile of luggage homed in on the pale mare's cajoling tones.
"Yes, Rarity!"
"Come on, Germane," Twilight told the stallion, who gave Dinky and Ditzy one last quick hug. As he turned to walk back to Twilight, he was nervously trying to catch a glimpse of the luggage cars, probably to figure out which one had his machinery. The Night Guard hadn't made it obvious, which was probably the point, really.
"Alright, I guess. Lead on."
It was the middle of the week, and pretty late in the day, so Twilight wasn't surprised to find that the train was pretty quiet. Snagging a compartment for some privacy wasn't a problem, and Germane didn't protest when she hopped up onto the bench next to him. He smiled and slid over to make room.
"I'm curious," she said.
"Color me surprised." Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, though. What's next from the busy little humans? Any..." she strained to keep her voice natural, "interesting scientific equipment? Measuring apparatuses?" Germane groaned.
"Twilight! You've seen most of what I'm doing. The autocast was my side project- the telescope is my 'big work'. I already said you could use it or look over my data. Of which I now have about a month's worth from after that storm nearly melted half the freaking fuses." He sighed. "We're all working from memory, remember? And not all of us are eidetic little mages. Luna's teeth, mare, I never lived to see the end of high school!"
"What about that technology trust? You said Plum and, uh, Frost, was it? They run that, don't they?" She saw him straining to remember, before finally giving a heartfelt shrug of defeat.
"Something about metallurgy, airfoil design for cargo airships and industrial lasers. I think a mare near Appleoosa is trying to write a collection of Robert Frost's poetry. There's more, but it's hard to keep track of." It was all, Twilight felt, pretty exciting stuff, but whenever Germane described Earth, it was with a kind of romantic leaning that brought the utterly fantastic to mind. She felt like she was unfairly expecting a lot more of him and the other humans. Obviously, he caught some of what she was thinking by her expression.
"You can only advance so fast, Twilight. And a lot of what we know, there's no real use for, yet." He twisted, slightly, to more fully face her. "You think we're describing some amazing stuff? Twilight, Equestria is a living fantasy. You control the weather! You have instant, if limited, matter transmission! If Earth had had earth ponies..." he gnawed on his lower lip. "We had nearly seven billion people, Twilight."
"What." She tried to parse that number, and utterly failed. "How... how do you fit that many people?" Germane gave a snort.
"You don't. You get water shortages, and crowding, and starvation. We advanced so fast just to keep up with ourselves, I think, sometimes. Millions of people devoted themselves to just mimicking half of what Equestrian agriculture does without straining itself. Applejack's family would have been revered as saints, in a lot of places. And your medicine! Twilight, what's cancer?" The mare was caught off guard again.
"A growth disorder," she answered as a matter of course. Then the stallion laughed, just a tad bitterly.
"It's an out-of-control death sentence where recovery was measured by rates of survival, without magic. My mother had to have her left breast -teat, here?- removed when I was fifteen. We were pretty sure the disease wouldn't come back." Twilight's eyes blew wide, and then he seemed to actually hear himself talk. "Oh, oh hell. Twilight, I'm sorry. Everything's fine. I'm grouching- I shouldn't grouch like that."
Twilight simply watched him for a while. She could tell he was getting more uncomfortable by the second, but she really didn't want to risk phrasing things the wrong way.
"You don't ever get the chance to talk, do you?"
"Huh?"
Instead of answering, she stretched her neck over and lay her head over his barrel. He smelled like electricity, soap, and peaches. It was weird, she felt, to be the one not working herself into an anxious fit. On the other hoof, now she had somepony to get to know, all of his -many- quirks and behaviors. Relationships (according to Cadence and her often-unsolicited lectures on romance) required patience, level thinking, and affection. As terrible as it sounded, Germane's worries didn't affect her nearly as much as it did him, so stepping back to gain perspective wasn't much of a reach, for her.
She'd never known Earth, and every human she'd ever met she'd first known as a pony. And unlike the stallion, she hadn't made herself responsible for their well-being. Maybe it was because he felt he had more to live up to, but the other coordinators had been much more comfortable with their positions.
Heck, she probably wouldn't ever be responsible for more than a few research assistants, if she ever went into more formal academia. Not like the coordinators, or the princesses.
Miles away, in the middle of writing out party invitations, a certain pink mare broke into a ten minute fit of giggles. She wasn't sure why, exactly, since that sometimes just happened, but she enjoyed it for what it was.
"I talk plenty," replied the pegacorn. "Some days, it's all I do!" Twilight resisted the urge to roll her eyes, especially since she was sure he wasn't lying about that. Scratch that, she knew for a fact that it was true.
"Alright, then. How are you feeling?"
"My left forehoof is a little sore, and I think I bit my tongue last night but-" Twilight gave him a gentle prod in the ribs. "Oh. Just, tired, I guess."
"Not good enough." She cleared her throat. "I have trouble sleeping at night, sometimes. I'm afraid of disappointing my teacher, or getting too distant from my parents. I worry about Fluttershy living so close to the forest, and I worry about raising Spike right."
"Oh. Feelings, feelings." Germane frowned. For a moment, Twilight was afraid he'd clam up completely, before he just started babbling. "I miss my parents. And my brother. I feel bad because I miss Olive Branch more than I do them, sometimes. I'm angry that I was a pariah and a joke in Ponyville for the longest time. I miss Earth, and I feel just as terrible that I can't show Equus off to anybody that I remember from there. I hate that I get tired when I fly for too long. I'm frustrated it took so long for us to talk to each other, and that I can't help but fear the worst all the time." His mouth moved, like he wanted to say more, but finally let his jaw click shut and shut his eyes. His ears folded down over his skull, flattening themselves. Twilight gnawed on her lip, thinking as hard as she could for some kind of answer.
"I don't think I can fix all of that," was what came out of her mouth.
'Stupid!'
Except... Germane laughed, opening his eyes and turning to look as straight-on at her as he could. His eyes lit up like whenever he showed off some new, clever little circuit that had no practical use but to exist, or whenever he saw one of the ex-humans going about Ponyville while visibly happy. Like when Dinky had demanded a ride from 'Uncle Germane'.
"You really would, wouldn't you? I mean, if you could. Which you can't." Before she could shrink away, he added, "And neither can I. It's really alright, though. Things are better now, Twilight. When I thought the worst was going to happen, when I gave up, you went and made everything better. You and Luna both."
"It, well, it just seemed like the thing to do," said Twilight demurely. Germane shook his head.
"And you did it. The prettiest, most list-makingest mare of them all. You know, it took me forever to think I was having some sort of weird, lucid dream when I first came forward? At this point, I find myself praying that I won't wake up any time soon." The unicorn had to blink, hard, to keep her composure.
"Just don't forget you can talk about things now, okay? But not right now." She placed a hoof on his bag. "Spread your wings, please."
"Huh?" He didn't struggle when she stretched the limbs above and behind his whithers back, but stared at her with wide eyes.
"You're going to teach me how to fix these things properly," she declared. "Do the left one yourself, first, then I'll do the right." The stallion turned a sharp pink from the neck up.
"I can't wait for you to meet Princess Celestia! She's the kindest mare I've ever known, and I'm sure she'll like you just as much as I do!" said Twilight as the train eased itself into Canterlot station. Then she frowned, slightly. "Or maybe not quite so much. I mean, since her sister..." The mare twitched. "Nevermind that! I'm assuming you're still okay with the total disclosure policy?"
Germane winced. He'd been awfully insistent, before, on secrecy. She probably thought he was still on some sort of hair-trigger. Which he was, but that was his own problem. He and the five other coordinators had quickly come to an accord on being as accommodating toward the royal family as possible. Now, all he was dealing with was his own insecurities and worries, which weren't Twilight's responsibility.
"Tell her anything you'd like. Everything. Every last detail. I'm not going to cause you to lie to her or hide anything, anymore, Twilight." He thought briefly of the situation had it been reversed- should it have been her hiding something from him and some hypothetically-alive Olive Branch. Olive had been like a father to him for five years. How close would Twilight be to the princess after over twice as long? It made him feel worse when she smiled at him.
"I'll have to rewrite this all as a friendship report, later. Once I've had time to place everything in context, I mean. After following you into the Everfree and meeting the other humans... well, meeting most of them again, really, when you asked me to keep it a secret-" Germane flinched. "Germane?" she prompted, looking at him with concern in her eyes.
"I bullied you. Don't leave that part out."
The stallion wondered. He'd evaded -or thought he'd needed to, at the time- the wrath of one princess. The other coordinators would be plenty responsible enough to handle their end of things for the crown, like Luna had asked of them. He couldn't imagine the elder diarch of Equestria letting him off easy for intimidating her student. And then having the gall to date her. Maybe she'd exile him. Or imprison him. Or imprison him in the place he'd been exiled to...
A hoof halted him at the door to their compartment. Twilight was glaring at him in a way which reminded the stallion that she was a very powerful mage. Maybe she'd just come to her senses without the intervention of her mentor. He'd probably leave the train sideways any second now, and without the aid of a door.
"You were scared. You were very scared, for a very long time, and you thought you were doing the right thing. I can admit we never really got along before and that had to have had some weight on your decision to-"
"To treat you like Nightmare Moon herself," Germane bit out. Twilight sighed.
"And then the minute you knew Ponyville was in danger, you risked everything to help me stop that storm. When I asked you to, you trusted me enough to carry me through lightning and under a sky of hungry windigoes. Every ex-human I've met loves and trusts you to do everything in your power to keep them safe. Are you really apologizing just because one time when you did what you do best, it happened to hurt my feelings, a little?"
"Um, yes?" said Germane uncertainly. Apparently the mare had thought this out before, and just not mentioned it.
"Then apologize," said Twilight. Germane tried to search her words for some sort of trap, before he resigned himself finally to not knowing what would happen.
"I am sorry. I am very, very sorry." He wasn't sure what else to add. Twilight smiled brightly until her cheeks dimpled.
"Apology accepted! I forgive you. Now according to Eigenhoof's Social Compendium, you'll have to treat me extra nice for the rest of the day. Now, the Compendium suggests chocolates, flowers, or chocolate-coated flowers but there's this hefty tome that just came into the book stores recently that I haven't had the chance to order-"
Germane triggered the Reflex, stooped, and wrapped himself around the mare. Twilight made an 'eep' noise.
"Ger-mane! You can't walk to the castle like this, yet!" Germane buried his face further into her mane, and savored the scent of ink and lavender.
"Hugging's easier with human arms. I'll change back in a second. Then we'll get you flowers covered in chocolate and books. I mean also books- not as a flower coating because the chocolate would ruin the pages."
"Isn't it tiring to change that quickly?" asked Twilight.
"Don't care. I really l... I really think you're lovely, you know." He eased off and changed back. The stallion staggered, some, but got his footing and gestured toward the door. "After you," he said with a tired grin.
Further up the platform, the four travelers met the rest of the small Ponyville contingent. Lyra, Bon Bon, Ditzy, Dinky, and Vinyl were all waiting. Redheart was, of course already squared away- and beyond that, she had duties to the clinic.
"Did you all grab a compartment together?" asked Twilight. The group nodded or gave vague confirmations. It was an exhausting trip up to the capitol, and it was especially late in the evening besides. Spike, she saw, was actually sleeping on top of Rarity's luggage as the unicorn levitated the many packages along as one mass. It was an impressive feat for the seamstress, and an adorable one for the dragon.
"Yeah. Let's get to this- I've got a club to see tonight. Gotta keep up on the competition, you know?" said Vinyl Scratch. She might have winked, but it was impossible to be certain with her shades in the way. Twilight nodded in agreement anyway.
"We don't want anypony waiting on us. Shall we?" Germane agreed and wrapped a wing around her barrel as they walked. Dinky wrinkled her nose at the attention her uncle was paying to some other mare. The stallion obviously noticed.
"And how did you like the trip, Miss DInky?" The filly shrugged.
"Momma and Miz Vinyl told us stories about President Kennedy and Mickey Mouse. Then I told Miz Lyra about Snow White, except momma said she was really a human and the donkeys were dwarves!"
"Oh?"
"Yeah," said Dinky with a quick nod. "Um, what's a dwarf?"
"A little human," said Vinyl, who was cracking her joints. Dinky's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Am I a dwarf?" Neither Dinky nor, Twilight admitted, herself knew why half the adults began laughing. The group kept going along the lamp-lit streets for some minutes more before reaching the massive square before the palace and stopping dead in their tracks.
Twilight wasn't quite certain what she'd been expecting. The coordinators, for sure. Some of the other ex-humans, too. But this...
"There are so many," she muttered in shock. Germane held her closer.
"Maybe a hundred there who came forward. And families. It's not all of them, but yeah, that's us." They were gathered at the base of the great white steps, between lamp posts and over cobblestones. There must have been -Twilight's eyes darted around and she did some on-the-fly multiplication- two hundred and eighty ponies. Plus some bemused-looking members of other species, just for flavor. Germane had claimed all of the humans had come forward as ponies, so the others must be friends? Family?
'Oh my goodness that pegasus is touching wings with a hippogryph.
"Twilight?" The purple mare jerked out of her daze. Germane was eyeing her worriedly. "The other coordinators are already up at the front- come with me, please?"
"Um, uh, yeah. Sure." It came out a lot less elegant than she'd have liked. Her coltfriend smiled in relief.
"Awesome. See you guys inside?" he asked of the others.
"Wouldn't miss it, darling."
"See you soon!"
"Are you and Miz Twilight going to kiss the princess?"
"Dinky!"
"That's our cue to go," declared Twilight, dragging along Germane.
"Whoa, right. Got it, okay." They trotted forward quickly, only barely skirting the crowd but even that was enough to get Germane a long line of greetings and Twilight a lot of inquiring, star-struck gazes.
"Hi Liddy, Brawn! Hello, Professor Factor, I got your last letter- talk later? Serenity, how's the band? Bluebeard! I don't know who you are, there, but hi!" Twilight had never seen Germane so enthusiastic about a crowd, but he knew just about everypony -everybody- by name. She herself recognized maybe a dozen. Fluttershy owned two of Serenity Love's albums. Maybe Twilight could get her an autograph?
Finally, they made it to the head of the crowd and the five coordinators. They, too, had their own little entourages. Not counting the ponies she had already noticed, she now saw dozens of foals in between the taller adults.
Further, she noticed a tendency among the masses to wear clothes. That wasn't exactly uncommon among the population of Canterlot, but there were a lot more -the only word was casual- garments. Clothes were to her experience either a way to show off or protect the wearer from harsh work conditions.
"Hey there, Germane, Twilight," called Frost. "Ready to head in?" The two of them nodded, and Plum sent a small array of sparks into the air. The crowd quieted in an instant.
"I think that this is as many as we can expect, tonight," the mare said with a soft poise that nevertheless was caught by each expectant ear. "Walk proudly. From this day onward, we are no longer strangers. We are neither alone nor lonely. We have made a home, and now we may open our doors, hearths, and hearts to a new and happy world." Jimminy stepped forward next.
"We've given a lot of ourselves, and gotten a whole lot back. And I think we can do even better." Next came Archer, who looked fondly at his spouses and children.
"We've made families, and those families have made us, in a lot of ways." He glanced at the other coordinators. "Anything else?" he asked at a much quieter volume.
"You said it all," said Frost. "Blueroot? Germane?" Blueroot shook his head, but Germane stepped in quickly.
"Let's go meet the in-laws," he said, breaking the tension and simultaneously making Twilight facehoof for the sudden death of a momentous, dignified atmosphere. Applause broke out.
Offset Illumination, one of Princess Luna's many secretaries and seneschals, stared with rapidly-widening eyes at the crowd tramping through the halls of the castle toward the Night Court. Her Highness had mentioned a group would show up that should be given all priority, but she had either underestimated or just understated the sheer size of it. He only took the smallest of comforts that Princess Celestia's own student was standing with one of the leaders of the surprisingly calm mob.
"Ah... appointments?" he managed to ask. An earth pony with a russet coat overtook the others just slightly.
"Hominids Anonymous, to see Her Royal Highness." Offset glanced at his appointment book and confirmed that, yes, the odd name matched what he'd penciled in earlier.
"Er, list of supplicants?" A mare at the first speaker's side stepped up and smiled placidly.
"We were unsure as to who might exactly accompany us this night, good sir, but we can gladly give you our names. I am Plum Perigee, born Sakura Yakamura."
"Archer Crass, born Danny Salzman," stated the first stallion. He pointed. "Shouldn't you be writing this down?" With a start, Offset gripped his quill magically and began writing.
"Blueroot, born Jonathan Jacob Myers."
"Germane Craft, born Bertrand Scott Merkle."
"Twilight Sparkle."
"Frost Wicker, born Jean Francois."
With a dawning sense of horror, Offset realized that they expected him to take every single name of what looked to be the largest group to ever attend the Night Court. Individually.
"Her Highnesses will see you, now," stated the guard. He was a thestral, one of the breed of flying ponies most often connected to Luna, if Twilight remembered correctly. Then the guard looked over at his partner who was at the other side of the massive double doors.
"Mind handling yourself for a while?" The other guard boggled.
"What?" Instead of answering, the first 'bat pony' turned to Twilight.
"'Scuse me, but is that stick-in the-mud still taking names?" Unsure of how to defend some pony she didn't actually know, the mare settled for nodding uncertainly.
"Likely for a little while yet. I think there were some late stragglers," she added helpfully. The guard looked cheerful at that.
"Awesome. I've got to get my citizenship, then." With that, he hurried off. The other guard remained staring after him. Slowly, Twilight turned toward Germane and raised one eyebrow. He shrugged and turned toward the other five coordinators.
"Is he one of yours?"
"Nope."
"Nuh-uh."
"First I've heard of it."
"Twilight?" prompted Germane. The mare gave him her attention.
"Yes, Germane?"
"If Celestia's a secret human, I am giving up, going home, and going to bed."
The mare couldn't help but snort as she tried to hold back her laughter. Quiet came over the whole crowd again, though, as one confused-looking bat pony pushed the court doors open. The entire crowd, coordinators and all, stood stock-still.
Twilight cleared her throat and gave Germane a nudge. The stallion twitched and began a slow, respectful walk forward. The others took this as their cue and formed up in a near-orderly fashion.
The night court's hall was just slightly smaller than the day court's, and really only differed in its decorations. The banners were a deep blue, and all had Luna's mark. The stained glass windows depicted history here, too, but they had a decidedly more martial theme to them. The number of guards was just slightly higher, but the thestrals and darkly-armored other pony tribes didn't stand nearly so stiffly.
And on the throne, there was Luna. While the gravity of the situation struck her as much as it ever did when Twilight was in on a state occasion, it was certainly the first time she'd seen a princess on the throne and thought 'she looks hot tonight'. The mare bit the inside of her cheek to keep her composure.
Then she saw Celestia.
The diarch of dawn and handler of the sun and her own teacher was sitting on a massive cushion near the throne and looking on with open interest. She leaned toward her sister and whispered something, and Luna nodded back just slightly. Of course they hadn't brought in a second throne, so by Twilight's awareness of court etiquette Celestia was just 'in attendance'. Still...
"Announcing the party 'Hominids Anonymous' and... various guests," called one guard with a scroll. "Here at the open behest of Her Highness Princess Luna."
Celestia looked on as her sister had the group introduced to the court at large. She resisted the urge to wave to Twilight, who thankfully seemed to be only at a 'four' on the Sparkle Panic Scale, as devised by Princess Cadence. 'Two' was roughly baseline for the mare, while 'five' meant she would begin babbling archaic theory at the first available chance. 'Seven' was when she'd start getting trigger-happy with her spells, and...
'Not relevant, Celestia,' she scolded herself. Tonight was, for all intents and purposes, Luna's show. Celestia was there to play voyeur. If Luna hadn't offered, she would have begged or sneaked in under a disguise.
The pony next to her was familiar, but only vaguely. For one thing, he lacked the 'light of madness' in his eyes that Twilight had described in her letters some months ago. Though Twilight had been stressed herself with that whole Running of the Leaves event.
Maybe romance ('Not with my sister do not think about Luna thinking about them like-') would have caused a new perspective in the young mare's eyes.
Celestia let her attention grow to encompass the entire crowd and had to exercise restraint in order not to boggle at the sheer number of them. Her eyes involuntarily tried to suss out some real signs of inequinimity, but there wasn't really anything to see. The adults were nervous, but no moreso than Celestia expected of first-timers in a royal court. The foals were just as restless and awestruck as any, and she had to restrain a smile at the sight. The castle really didn't see enough young ones in its halls.
The Bearer of Generosity, dear sweetheart Rarity, was in a hushed conversation with several ponies that Celestia recognized from the society pages. They were, to a mare, fashion designers and consultants. Spike was there standing guard over an imposing pile of luggage and bolts of cloth. It was the strangest (if temporary) dragon's horde that the princess had ever seen. She stifled a giggle.
"Present yourselves," ordered one of Luna's guards. The six coordinators, if Celestia had her guess, plus Twilight stepped forward. The unicorn mare kissed the green-maned stallion's cheek and hurried off to the side. Mindful of the presentation space, she circled the court and made for Celestia's location. If Twilight knew the etiquette, and she surely did, then she knew that Celestia's cushion represented a 'witness's gallery'. When Twilight hesitated a short distance away, Celestia gave an encouraging nod and shuffled over on the pillow. Really, she didn't take up that much space. Twilight smiled prettily and bounded over.
"Hi!" she whispered, settling in like they were both in the archive towers and discussing geometric theorems again.
"Hello, Twilight. You have had a busy few weeks, have you not?" asked Celestia. Twilight nodded, and her ears tilted back with guilt. "I'm sure it shall prove interesting. You've been studying this whole 'human' development, unless I miss my guess?" The mare at her side nodded with a frantic cheer.
"Oh, yes! I have several high-resolution scans of Germane's brain -in both forms- that I think the medical college will be very interested in. The blood work-ups show a relatively low platelet count, but a much higher percentage of steroidal chemicals. I think. Humans are basically mammals, but their protein profiles are very different than any Equestrian species except, perhaps, for certain sea cucumbers..." Her speech slowed and then stopped at the princess's inquiring look. "Er..."
"Do they like music?" Twilight gaped, momentarily, before collecting herself.
"Yes? Germane's mentioned jazz, at least. And," she gestured with a hoof toward the crowd. Celestia furrowed her brows until she saw just what the other mare was gesturing toward.
"Miss Serenity Love? And that's Treble Throes." The latter had a distinctive mark featuring the tragic mask over a red curtain. Now that she considered it, the mask lacked the muzzle shapes normally found on the iconic tragedy and comedy symbols of old theater.
"Amazing," breathed the alicorn. "That stallion was always so polite. The Sphere Theater always sends season tickets, remember? I believe I took you to see-"
"Death of a Salespony," finished Twilight with a grin. "I remember. That was the best seventeenth birthday present a filly could ask for."
"If only Spike hadn't fallen asleep halfway through," replied Celestia. She brought her attention back to the mass of ponies and other creatures up front. "I suppose it is only self-evident that they are enough like ponies, at least in their psychology, that they were able to integrate so quickly. That is a heartening thought."
"Germane has his strange moments," admitted Twilight. She froze, then. "Er, he's the, ah, the one right-"
"I recognized him," supplied Celestia, who was working harder to keep a straight face. "Has he taught you that it's some common human parting gesture to kiss? How exotic." Twilight went from frozen to something one degree even more still.
"N-no... he and I, we're, you see... we're dating." The violet mare swallowed. "I was going to mention it but it seems like it would be a bit of a conflict of interest and the first point in valid scientific studies are to maintain a distance between the researcher and the subject but he keeps bringing snacks and candles and cider whenever I bring out the electrodes and-"
"Electrodes?" prompted Celestia, one eyebrow arching delicately.
"Eep."
Luna surveyed the massive crowd that gathered in and all but filled the court. Aside from the many, many supplicants, she'd arranged for several members of the press, a gathering of the less... distasteful nobles, and several minor ambassadors. That last point was to put off what would surely be a long and exhaustive round of foreign information exchanges. The griffons, most certainly, would grumble to no end.
She'd worked through a good dozen scrolls and pots of coffee the last few days to get her speech just right, and to see that things went as smoothly as possible.
'Ooh, this shall be so much fun!'
The princess maintained her composure and, to enhance the gravity of the moment, stepped down from her throne. Her own height and the slightly raised dais would serve to keep all eyes on her.
"Not since the establishment of the great trade routes over the territory of the Hippocampi, those now known as 'Sea Ponies' in the common tongue, has this country opened relations with a new species. And yet, as many of you gathered here know, this latest contact has in fact been happening for some time. Today I see ponies, griffons, hippogriffs, minotaurs, and..." she blinked, thrown off-balance.
"Pardon us for asking, but is that a changeling?"
A black, chitinous hoof waved tentatively from the back. The pony next to its owner began rubbing at her temples with her wings as if to stave off a headache.
"He's with me!" the mare announced. A quick glance to the side informed Luna that none of the coordinators were especially surprised, so she made a quick, internal shrug.
"Yes. Well, then. As I was saying! Among these species, gathered here in harmonious presentation, there is another." This comment was aimed specifically at the reporters, who were writing as furiously as possible with hooves, mouths, and magic. Luna turned to the six ponies at the front of the crowd and gestured grandly at the dais with one wing. They cantered forward with varying levels of serenity and confidence. Luna found herself extremely pleased when Germane, clearly sweating under his stoic demeanor, chose to stand closest to her of the six.
"I present the coordinators of Hominids Anonymous, who tonight represent the race of humans. If you might demonstrate?"
One after another, they triggered the Reflex. Gasps and looks of confusion, wonder, worry and awe came from the crowd. Luna reminded herself that most of the ex-humans hadn't yet had the chance to use Germane's device, and so might be seeing the Reflex themselves for only the first or second time. Several reporters began vibrating in place, visibly restraining themselves from blurting out a salvo of questions. Her seneschal had been very clear, though, on the conditions of their presence. Questions would come later.
"If you would care to speak a few words?" she asked. The humans traded a complicated series of looks, shrugs, and quirked eyebrows.
"Well," said Blueroot, who was a lanky, chocolate-skinned human with touches of grey in his mane, "We each, as we phrase it, came forward to Equestria on our own. We woke up alone in a strange place in new bodies, and quickly found -or were found- by those who'd already come forward themselves. Since then, each of us has learned to make the best of our new lives here. As some of you know or noticed, we're physically no different than ponies, most of the time." He cleared his throat, and gestured toward Plum. The woman gave a graceful nod and stepped forward next.
"Recently, we were graced with a machine that lets us take our old forms for a few hours at a time. Unlike some magical transmutations, it is neither permanent nor adaptable. There is only one form to change into, and there is only one form to which we may return. Still, it is the ultimate proof of our pasts, and we must be grateful." She stepped back again, and gestured. "Specifically, we must be grateful to Germane Craft, here. Our youngest coordinator and the developer of the Morphic Reflex Device."
The human in question had to be pushed forward by Archer Crass before willingly speaking up in front of the crowd. Shouts and applause, a mix of both stomping and 'clapping' hooves, broke out. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head and made a short, quick bow.
"I, ah, just missed wiggling my toes." There was a smattering of laughter by those close enough to hear. "Really, though, I just wanted us to show how proud we were on top of how proud we are. And I'm, well, very proud of everybody here today. The, uh, Princess Luna will be hosting the device with a couple of her staff that I'll be training up, or I can be found in my workshop in Ponyville. And that's big news, don't get me wrong! But we're also here for an equally important reason." He turned and looked expectantly at Luna.
Inwardly, she was grinning like a foal. It had been much too late to plan around any speeches the coordinators had made, but they had all done rather well, in her opinion. Now was the last big 'official' event of the evening. She stepped forward again and raised her voice.
"Will all those who came forward as ponies please line up in the center of the room? We can get the oath out of the way. Any foals born in Equestria may stay with their family members, but are naturally born citizens and need perform no such task themselves." There was a great shuffling and commotion as the crowd tried to organize itself. Near the back, a familiar mare shot up both a wing and a hoof and waved the limbs wildly in the air.
"Yes, my little, er human?" The mare grinned, before looking sort of nervous.
"Um, your highness? Since you're doing all this anyway, do you think you could maybe..." The diarch of the night looked between her and the changeling to her side. A quick glance backward at her sister provided nothing more than intense interest on the other alicorn's part.
"Why not?" she said, more to herself than anything else. "If you would see either myself or my sister at some point, though, afterward?" Both mare and changeling nodded eagerly and ran to join the shortest row of ponies.
While Equestra wasn't officially 'at war' with the changeling race as a whole, she was uncomfortably aware that this would end in tears and paperwork for somepony. Luna only hoped that they would appear during the Day Court to place the issue on her sister's proverbial wings.
"Alright, everyone! Follow along and repeat after me, if you would!"
"Genevieve Pumpkin, you get back here this instant!"
Germane jerked back onto his rear hooves and rolled his wings to stay upright for a second as a five year-old ran by naked and laughing. Her mother followed seconds after.
"Pardon me, Mister Craft," the woman muttered respectfully before returning to full volume. "You will put a shirt on before I catch you or you'll be short desserts for a month, young lady!" Germane mused over the mother's brunette hair, and the daughter's own pumpkin-orange locks. He didn't want to be the one to unravel the genetic mysteries behind that one.
Mother and daughter had just come from one of the six clothing tents set up by Rarity's acquaintances. The mare had planned well ahead for this event, he thought with some admiration. They were all cleaning up on the sales of the nice, comfortable garments, but Rarity was the only one offering discounts for sketches of genuine human fashions by her more artistic customers. The pegacorn had a solid idea on just who would be cornering the fall market from her Ponyville boutique.
"Hello, Germane."
The voice prompted him to turn and face the oldest human he'd seen in over a decade. The fellow was stooped, and looked to mostly be standing under the power of the mare and hippogriff to either side of him. The mare Germane recognized as one of the message runners for the HAC- Marigold Cirrus was as all-around helpful as anybody. Anypony, really, since she happened to be one of the few non-humans and non-relatives of such to be in on the secret. One of Archer's cousins by marriage, he was pretty sure.
On the other end of the hippogriff was a griffon hen with silvered feathers and a pair of bifocals. She regarded Germane cautiously, but without hostility. The pegacorn had to puzzle things out for a bit, before realization hit and his eyes darted toward the old man again.
"Thistle? It's been a while." Jimminy Cricket's predecessor grinned and made the change back to pegasus. The stallion sighed and visibly relaxed.
"Ooh, but that's just easier with four legs these days, I hate to say." His eyes opened slowly and he gestured to the two beings to his right. "I hope you remember my nestmate, Layra Clawswick?"
"I only met you the one time, I think," admitted Germane, "but I do remember you. Hearthswarming, or was it Christmas?" The griffoness nodded pleasantly.
"Christmas. A full two weeks before Hearthswarming. You and that Olive fellow brought a cask of the Sweet Apple Acres Cider. Rare as," she grinned, "hen's teeth, it is, up near the Thermalback mountains."
"This is my son," said Thistle. The Hippogriff bowed uncertainly. He looked to be maybe seventeen, but had a griffon's typical bulk. Germane was struck with a sudden suspicion, and growing excitement, over as to why he'd been called over.
"A pleasure. Er... can you...?" The younger male smirked and triggered his Reflex. A tall, athletic human was standing in his place. His hair was a speckled grey and brown that mimicked the pattern of his feathers, and his eyes were amber things just a touch larger than average.
"Well I'll be," mumbled Germane. Hippogriffs invariably gave way to griffons or ponies, depending on which species they had offspring with. If the teenager had his eye on a particular hen, there might soon be a generation of human griffons.
Then his imagination sort of went to an odd place, eventually culminating in the image of a truly massive dragon, one of the genuine Great Wyrms, shifting back and forth from human form.
'I am living in a video game, and it is wonderful,' he mused to himself.
"Germane!" The mad scientist's ears spun on their own at the sound, and he gave a quick bow to the three beings.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but duty calls."
When he cleared the crowd, he immediately spotted Twilight. Which was good! Then he spotted Luna. A little more nerve-wracking, yes, but still good. And then he spotted Princess Celestia, at which point he had to fight the urge to run away.
"Your highnesses," he said, sketching a quick bow. "Twilight." The darker alicorn pouted.
"Did I not ask that you call me Luna, Germane? I thought us closer than that." Germane's heart seized up at that.
"Right, of course. Um, Luna. What may I do for you?"
It was her older sister that answered.
"I've offered to tidy up things here," said Princess Celestia. "Mister Frost has been asked for an interview from Equestria Daily, and I thought I might like to sit in on it. In the meantime, my sister would like to spend time with you and Twilight."
"If you would like!" interjected Luna, who was suddenly gnawing on her lower lip in a very distracting way.
"I-" Germane glanced toward Twilight. "We? Yes, we would be happy to." Celestia beamed.
"Excellent! I expect that you will treat both my sister and my dearest student with the utmost care, correct?" Germane was struck by a gaze that held unfathomable age and power behind it, bathed in the light of an unforgiving sun and forged in the death of an era of chaos.
"Yes?" he squeaked. And just like that, he was again being regarded by the much-loved mother figure of all of Equestria.
"Go along and have fun, then!"
Germane had trouble moving his legs, even after Luna swept him and Twilight along with a wing each toward 'her tower'.
Twilight made a slow, full circle to take in the room. Luna's sitting room, the first chamber of her tower suite, was a beautiful, richly-upholstered space that she'd never had the chance to see. Obviously it hadn't existed in its current state before the alicorn's return to Equestria and, shortly thereafter, sanity. It was soothing, really, with lots of silver highlights that accented both the living quarters and the mare that occupied them.
The unicorn was very upset that she seemed permanently unable to banish the heat from her cheeks. Germane was much more still, but looked to be taking things in just as much as she was. Of course, this also included the taller mare who was rushing around the suite picking at a completely imaginary mess to 'make it suitable for visitors'.
"Luna?" said Twilight, speaking up. The princess froze in place with a comical expression of shock on her face. "You've seen my library and Germane's workshop. I'm pretty sure this place is neater than either of them. Combined."
"Yes, well, we, that is, I, have had the benefit of several days' advance notice of your arrival. Those times I've visited Ponyville have tended to be much more abrupt. I could not possibly expect to hold you to-"
"Luna?" This time it was Germane that interrupted her. "Your home is awesome. Thank you for inviting us." The princess nodded, slightly. "Um... Twilight? Do that thing where you say things that don't sound stupid. I don't think I can do that thing right now."
Twilight's ears folded back flat against her skull. She was in a pretty mare's room, with a pretty mare, and there was also (thought he'd probably protest) a pretty boy and they were both looking at her with pleading eyes and-
"This is awkward, is it not? It shouldn't be. I... I invited you both here, have stated my intent to court you, and yet..." Luna wrung one forehoof over the other. "If, ah, if either of you are here because you somehow feel obliged or fearful that I would react badly otherwise, please banish such thoughts from your head. I am aware that there are still many who have not forgotten nor forgiven my past-"
Twilight's heart stuttered for a bare second.
"Luna!" she exclaimed. "I know better than that! You're a wonderful pony and I'm just nervous. I only just started my first real romantic relationship a few weeks ago, and that was with an alien, d-list villain!" Germane jolted and glared.
"I am not a villain, thank you very much! And I'd be at least a c-lister!" He coughed and turned his attention back to Luna. "Also, I didn't really have an impression of you, from before. My childhood monsters were giant bees and clowns. Also, I might have... slept through the Summer Sun Celebration where you came back." The last sentence was blurted out, and only experience dealing with Pinkie let Twilight catch it all. Luna seemed to have caught it all too, if her shocked expression was anything to go by.
"You slept through it. The entire town was in an uproar, the sun didn't rise, and you slept through all of that." Germane folded, slightly, under the taller mare's scrutiny.
"I went on a three day engineering binge. I do that sometimes. The time before that, I built a too-powerful toaster. The time two months ago, I woke up next to the frame of the Morphic Reflex Device. Occasionally I have just too much coffee and just enough spare wiring and then things go fuzzy for a while. And then I wake up and sometimes I find out we have a new princess," he said, gesturing toward the alicorn.
"What counts as a 'too-powerful toaster'?" asked Twilight dubiously.
"It toasts entire fields of wheat. Talent Mark Fugues can be weird." At his words, Luna nodded.
"I do remember crafting the summer borealis. Apparently I was under the influence of an old Zebrican recipe..." The princess's words slowly ground to a halt before she sighed and drooped. "I did just mention how awkward the situation was, yes?"
And again, mused Twilight unhappily, the conversation was taking a turn for the worst.
"It doesn't have to be!" she interjected. The suddenness had the other two ponies silent and listening in a flash. Twilight cleared her throat. "Gaspode Blather's Guide to Romantic Interludes was very clear on the order of events in what he called the 'starting stutters' of a new relationship." She reached into her saddlebag. When she came back up with the tome she'd brought along for light reading, the silence in the room had taken on an entirely different quality. Luna and Germane were glancing between her and each other. Their lips were quivering for some reason.
"What?" asked the smaller mare. The other two lost the battle and fell into light laughter. "Oh, very funny! I'm trying to apply a simple, step-by-step process to something that I'm trying to take very seriously, and-"
"You are quite precious, Twilight," said Luna, who was suddenly wrapped around her neck. "Germane? Why do you stand there when there is a hug to take part in?" Limited as her view was by the princess's ethereal mane, Twilight was still able to make out the stallion's face. He had the same awkward, 'obviously a third wheel' look that Twilight had so often worn herself. The librarian quickly reached out the only hoof she had free and waggled it in his direction.
"Well?" she said. It was a rather nice hug, after all. She was the last pony in the world who'd want to exclude somepony else, especially when that other pony was as isolated as she'd once been, in many ways.
'Friendship lessons are definitely in order,' she thought as the stallion tentatively came closer. A quick application of magic yanked him the rest of the way.
"Aye, whoa! Um, okay. Hugs. I can do hugs." A few seconds after another light, warm pressure had settled on the two mares, his voice came through again, this time muffled by Luna's mane. "Um, now what?"
"Do you have any more stories?" asked Luna, stepping back and looking hopeful. Twilight reluctantly let Germane step back so he could answer in kind.
"Erm... six more stories from the Harry Potter series, the Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Sandman, Firefly, um... lots of stuff?"
"Something romantic," said the alicorn, looking a bit more energetic. Twilight found herself reluctantly perking up herself. Germane mulled the request over in his mind before shrugging.
"Disney it is, then. Does anybody have popcorn?"
"Guards! We require popcorn!" While Luna went over to the door, Germane leaned in.
"Um, do you think I could hear a couple stories from Equestria?" He scratched sheepishly at one foreleg. "I always felt too embarrassed to ask for anything out of the kid's section."
'This is simultaneously embarrassing and adorable,' thought Twilight. Still, 'Gideon Griffon' had always been one of her favorites as a filly...
Stats
Page generated in 0.032 seconds
Total duration
1,021 users online
1,362,847 hits today, 1,822,946 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Damn fine story, bro
Another great chapter!
I know it's (probably and hopefully) not what you intended, but that could be taken in a very interesting way.
Wasn't it said or implied that some other ponies in the fashion industry are former humans? Wouldn't they already know all about human fasions, and wouldn't they have already tried to use them?
Awesome chapter.
Homing badgers...
AWSOME !!!
Ohhh nice romance comming, i also need popcorns
Eghehe troll luna is always good
Cue Ponyville burning to the ground in a screaming panic, while he stands there not quite sure what went wrong.
4984920 I think the bit about Rarity was meant to imply that she would be cornering the market on clothes designed for the human body. For all we know, the ex-human fashion designers have already turned a tidy profit implementing human fashions and design principals to the pony clothing industry.
Great work.
I feel you, Luna. That's how I've felt when reading about every fifth paragraph of this story.