Spotlight of Stars

by DE_K

Easy Street

After a swift splitting of ways, James reentered his assigned room to little fanfare. Getting lost and all of its subsequent consequences turned a ten minute task into at least an hour, but there was a silver lining, he finally felt tired. Crawling back into bed he was once more barraged by thoughts, so much was happening and he may have just ruined what traction there'd been. If this was as real as it felt he could not afford another freak out, there wasn't room for panic in his brand new reputation. All of James' current hopes were put into that guard not making a scene out of the little slip up in the hallway, and while he could see the logic of it, it was still difficult for James to allow himself the comfort of saying it's reasonable for things to be getting to him, he wasn't ready to understand this.

Laying in an uneasy state the bedding they'd so readily call his the human could barely form the thoughts to mutely lament its marvelous comfort, something he'd wished he hadn't needed to be in another world to have experienced. His sleep was troubled and restless with freezing hints of nightmares James failed to remember though he woke feeling the same panic he had the other day, trapped, observed, insignificant. He hoped this wasn’t going to become a trend. The sun seemed to rise quickly right before his eyes, going from night to early morning like a dimmer switch for the world. He’d squinted in anticipation but again the sun was gentle, comforting, and he dared to open his eyes a little wider which was when he noticed that the pegasus was up and brushing her teeth while making faces in the lengthy bathroom mirror.

This was a more manageable wonder James felt he could better handle, so he took a step towards normalcy as he sat up to rest against the headboard to watch for a few seconds before a familiar sight caught his eye. With one last noiseless glance to the humming pegasus he touched his sock adorned feet back to ground so he could inspect the neatly folded stack of clothing atop the unused reading chair they rested on. He hadn’t seen them so clean since he’d bought them, they were probably cleaner now all things told.

Quickly he undid the mystery servant’s work and looked back to his roomate before nearly jumping into his underwear and work pants, the set of pants missing their familiar coarse touch which was a surprise James wasn’t sure how to feel about. Finally decent in the most bare sense with respectable clothing his undershirt was next and took the place of his jacket, tucked into his pants followed by the cinching of his belt. Comfortable and not seeing any need for more at the moment James fell back to sit on the bed and leaned over in thought, hands clasped and arms on his knees.

Things were alarmingly normal, James felt things should be more hectic, explosive, everyone should be as lost and confused as he was. It felt like the calm before a storm, but it had to just be himself, he thought. 'They all seemed much more prepared for me than I am for them, Spate, the princesses Luna and Celestia, even the guards. I don't see any of them freaking out about me. I need to be like that. Looking up from the floor he had been too lost in thought to pay real attention to, he turned once more to his unlikely roommate. At the moment she was going through her mane with a brush and had the look of someone not unfamiliar with the early hours of day. "Spate," her ears perked, "what are we doing today?"

Hooves were not the most utilitarian of concepts when it came to using an item beyond a horseshoe and that itself wasn't any measure of dexterity, but the hooved races of their world got by much like Spate was this morning. After waking up to a gentle unlatching of the shared bedroom she found a maid who bore a disturbingly familiar batch of laundry, 'When did this happen! The answer was obvious, it was when she'd fallen asleep. 'Of course he'd want clean clothes, sweet Celestia why hadn't I thought of that.' The helpful servant took the deftest of steps through the room and Spate watched her with reluctance. Spate's own failure gave this one the opportunity to succeed as she snuck by with a starstruck expression, payload of apparel handled with the utmost care and placed upon seating as if each thread were to suddenly come unwoven. Stepping away from her mission, it was now their guest she saw, bringing a thoughtful look of amazement to her features, hidden as she was in the darkness the night brought. A ray of moonlight cut a line diagonally through the room from the balcony, across James' middle and ending just at the edge of Spate's impromptu bedding, though both mares had adjusted to the dark well enough to see more than their silhouettes.

The servant mare's expression hardened upon finding Spate lounged across the couch and that was all the exchange they had before she left, as silent as she'd arrived. The newly appointed pony representative laid herself down and looked to James, the weight of that glare a sturdy reminder of her responsibilities and the expectations she was already failing to meet. Dare she address this with her charge? He wasn't supposed to feel as if he needed to ask permission for everything he did and there was no desire to instill some sort of prisoner mentality but it was her job to be around and ensure everything went well, doubly so this early into his stay. 'Not even a week yet. She wouldn't be getting back to sleep that night so she instead decided to get an early start on the day.

Thinking back to all the preparations she'd studied she took stock of his room, minimal but functional, clean and with room to grow into its resident. Spare everything if you knew where to look, curtains, blankets, towels, sheets, clothing, bathroom supplies, and a mini fridge that would not have looked out of place in any of Canterlot's residencies. After going through the motions of something she was certain of it was easy for Spate to refocus her energy towards the uncertain, she had all the resources she could want or need to help her help James, he made it back just fine and did what he set out to do, by those standards it didn't seem like such a bad thing. She did have to pay closer attention though.

Looking at a wall clock sunrise was near and there was more for her to do in the meantime before the work resumed. She entered the bathroom and took a moment to marvel at its size, even with how bare it looked. A pale glow emanated from the ceiling, tiny points of light allowing her enough visibility to maneuver without risking James' rest. Pulling a stool from beneath the counter Spa began sifting through the drawers along the long basin that was a sink and found what she'd needed right around the time her ears cocked back towards the room, there was low groaning and she could see him twisting a bit in his sleep and she gave a small prayer for Luna to help him. Back to her task at hoof, she fished out the toothbrush and paste in a grip that digit wielding species would say impossible, and one she was quite happy was in fact not impossible.

Looking herself in the mirror as she washed the morning breath away she couldn't stop herself to not think back to the elation she felt upon seeing the lone figure treading across the green earth, how clinical she'd started off the day, condemning the unlikelihood it'd be herself to find him. But she gave it her best, every hill a small possibility at a chance to help. Of course, it was a naïve, biased perspective of hers to think so resolutely that she'd be the right mare for this, but the same could be said for the hundreds of others who could be in the spot she stood now, an inordinately high number of volunteers. Whether it was chance, fate, or whatever force brought these rare, pungent tastes of humanity to their world she couldn't have any way of knowing, but she was here nonetheless. It was a light, bubbling feeling of giddy apprehension she felt that caused her to nervously smile into the mirror with a few furtive check ups thrown to the still tossing human.

There was a priority on dialogue throughout her education to be titled liaison, her teachers emphasized what it meant to be a pony, what made an Equestrian, and how to best convey their principles and earnest purpose. A ceaseless drill on understanding, compassion, and communication. A human was not a pony, that wasn't to say they didn't have the three mentioned values, but it was safe to say that the responsibility lied with the quadrupeds to bridge that gap and initiate goodwill. There were plenty of things to talk about, but what would he want to talk about? Well, she could only try her best to find something he could resonate with, hopefully today would bring good tidings their way now that can have a real day together. She hadn't heard any word from the princesses and there wasn't a step by step procession in place, as was mentioned before, they would take this at James' pace.

She'd noticed him sit up, and as she switched to a manebrush she knew that he thinking again, something that needed to be done she was sure, no good would come from rushing things before he had enough space to breathe. On a darker note, she had to consider that too much time to think held its own trappings. But he brought himself back to life on a subject Spate considered optimistic, he asked about what was in store today, he was willing to try. Leaving the bathroom she brought the brush along with her, cradled against her body with the help of a wing, just a step above having only hooves, no disrespect towards her earth-pony neighbors. "Today is all yours James," hopping up on the bed she continued her fastidious efforts towards grooming, "If you don't have any ideas though, I could always take you on a tour, or we could spend the day inside again and maybe call some books up to your room if you'd like." Spate's focus on him was absolute, however she kept it to a conversationally appropriate level.

Shaking his head the man stretched as he stood, "I don't think I could go another day sitting around, maybe starting with some breakfast would be good." He started putting the rest of his outfit on and she took that to mean he wanted to eat somewhere outside, which was perfectly fine. "I don't know for certain, but a castle this big with a live in staff should have some sort of food court or mess hall right? A dining room?"

Ah, somewhere outside, but not too outside, maybe important or not, but something the mare noted regardless, she had a scant amount of personal notes which she was hoping to improve on. "As it so happens to be, we do have something exactly like you're asking about, would you be ready to leave soon or did you need to get ready?" Spate herself was nearly done with her routine hundred brushes, and something to eat had been on her mind.

A quick 'almost done' was given as answer before he moved to the recently vacated bathroom where James could look himself in the mirror and turn the sink on cold before leaning down to rinse out his mouth and hydrate. Grabbing one of the many variety colored washcloths which lined up beneath the mirror he dried his mouth and hands off, thinking about its texture against himself, in his hands, between his fingers, the focus on his senses dulling the concern he'd forced to the back of his mind. Pulling his lips back to inspect his teeth there was nothing to be considered out of place that might have made him look foolish to this world. "We can go now, if you're ready too."

Not sure what to make of his quick preparations, Spate mentally shrugged and physically nodded, leaving her manebrush on the end table beside her little couch, "I had an early start today so I was able to get ahead of my chores, plus breakfast makes for a very convincing argument." She finished with a smile as she looked up to the still taller being, even from her spot sitting on the bed she only came up to his neck. His hair had a critical case of bedhead, a fact which she voiced but that was waved away offhand, he didn't mind and she had no reason to push him. Acquiescing to his wishes Spate removed herself from the bed and headed to the door, holding open the comparatively larger doorframe for James to follow through. Disregarding the notion to lock his door with the sound logic that 'if this place needs to keep its doors locked there's more to worry about than locking them' and the blasé reminder that all he had was all he was.

Choosing the path taken in the late hours of the past night James was able to better take in the things he'd missed in his tired misdirected then redirected shambling. Even though it was more of the same dignified and pristine artisanship he'd witnessed beforehand that did not detract from its obvious beauty, the open windows on their way to whatever passed for a mess hall in this fairytale land gave sight to the lands far beneath his position upon the mountainside, looking down on the earth was easy from where he stood which made him wonder what connotations the locals had attached to Canterlot. The openness was a pleasant design though, this palace wasn't nearly as oppressive as one would think when considering medieval architecture, this defied all of his preconceptions as the Equestrian royals seemed to prefer a minimalists approach to regality, he could imagine that Spate would have no trouble gliding through the sparsely populated halls should she be so inclined.

Thinking of which, he noticed that she had been making efforts to speak with him for he didn't know how long, her tone wasn't so much hushed as it was conversational, and she was facing away, much lower than himself, and the breeze blowing through the windows all added up to a little horse that was very easy to accidentally ignore. Now that he'd noticed her however he picked up that she was listing the kinds of foods they could expect, and in an attempt to try to play off the fact he wasn't even consciously aware of her until that moment he asked if whoever was cooking would be able to make anything to order, which she animatedly responded to with a positive.

"Oh yes! If you don't find anything to your tastes and have an idea in mind for what you want all you have to do is say the word, we have only the best staff at Canterlot Castle and I promise you no one here would mind helping you out." She radiated with happiness at being able to talk with him like this. "What were thinking about having to eat, James?"

Seeing her get like this brought a smile to his face, which made her smile even stronger when she looked back and saw, "I don't really know yet, I was just curious about the service here, I never imagined I'd ever have the best anything at my beck and call." He gave an easy going laugh with his hands moving to his jacket pockets.

This was exactly what she'd been hoping for, that sweet, sweet dialogue. Now she just had to play her cards right and she'd be his best friend ever! Unless he already had a best friend. It was a sobering thought along the same vein many repetitious lessons went down, stay respectful of the life left behind. That new storybook beginning only went so far, there were old stories before James began his here. She was going to do her best to make sure that the story he had here would be a great one. Pushing aside her inner reproaches she refused to let herself be held back from the present. It didn't seem her voice was capable of a tone outside of sweet and soothing as she delicately offered a bit of what she hoped was comforting, "There's a lot here for you, you know. The best of what we've got."

Seeing her stop along a doorway which appeared to be a miniature replica of the throne room doors and the subsequent smell after she opened it told him they'd made it to the food. Considering her words, he could feel the truth to them. From the treatment he'd received so far James imagined this would be a lot of extra effort to go through if they ultimately meant him any ill will, considering if the roles were reversed he had to admit it might not have been so easy for a pony to end up in the wilderness on Earth. It reminded him of parts the blue princess Luna had said, she seemed stressed. Taken apart and between the lines he felt that her words had good intentions however, he really fell into the thick of it didn't he? Everyone knew the things he did not. Forcing a smile up he looked at the now, Spa was looking a little more uncertain the longer he went without responding and inwardly he sighed, he really wasn't so introspective most of the time, "That sounds great, Spate. I can't wait to see it. But for now what is this amazing smell in the air? I can nearly taste it, like fresh fruits in steaming syrup." Looking around he realized that maybe wasn't a wholly inaccurate assessment, laid out similarly to a typical cafeteria there was a mixture of sleepy and primed ponies preparing for their day ahead, with no big fuss being raised at the duo's entrance. He was fairly stumped at the uniformity among a majority of the stallions present carried over from the few he'd seen his, but a brief explanation that boiled down to 'magic' was the sum of the answer he was given.

Relieved at James' words the pegasus maintained her lead with a calm gait and brought them to the back of the line, where trays and silverware awaited. "I'm really glad to hear you feel that way, James, we would love nothing more than for you to be happy here." She took her spot to sidle along the procession line, tray sliding beside her guided by a wing while feathers barely brushed across the smooth marble surface. It was clear the counter was short to the human as he looked over the sneeze shield down to the food they walked by, the first section being the fresh produce which was followed by more flowery selections. They both grabbed a small assortment of bowled fruits and Spa deigned for a few purple petaled plants James couldn't place before coming across the much fuller breakfast dishes, though with no carnivorous options both noted in varying degrees. For the human this was a casual sensible outcome for what he'd rightly guessed was a herbivorous people, something he found marginally curious after he'd eaten what was brought to the room yesterday. Spate was a little cross with herself for another case of her oversight. Reality was so much more involved than she could readily have been prepared for, still, he didn't seem to be having a negative reaction to this, they could always order something more suited for his palette.

Had they been watching elsewhere rather than doing their bests at focusing on the smallest sliver of their newly enlarged worlds they would have seen the faces of the other meal-goers as their own trays were forgotten in place of the giant among them, who would either reach over the cough guard, lean down to grab his choice that was protected beneath it, or make a passive comment about some little dish in a low voice. The usual din of any dining floor made an unusually specific turn towards a common topic bringing the dull roar into a simmering hivemind discussion, the human was really here.

Spate credited her experience here as to why she picked up on the buzz and held back a groan of exasperation, it was bound to happen but there wasn't even an attempt at subtlety here. She raised her voice a bit to try her own hoof at subtlety, "Do you think you'll be able to eat all that?" James had grabbed a second tray, insisting on doing all his picking in one trip.

With a tray for each hand and a good feeling about breakfasts here he gave a nod while following his guide to their seating, "Absolutely, your serving sizes here would make a kid's meal look like a good deal. Plus, this all smells kinda fantastic, I couldn't help myself." After seeing the flowers being served there in a whole variety of ways he was almost tempted to try some, but he preferred to go with some tried and true options, later would be a better time to try new things he probably couldn't process. "How about yourself huh?" James questioned her light choices, "You're not feeling that hungry?"

As they'd entered the seating areas Spate was happy to say tact still existed as the ponies around her had the good sense to change topics and not stare, although some did greet and wave, with varying degrees of confidence. James took that much in stride at least and offered his own greetings in turn, skipping any animations to save the food he held. With tray in mouth she first found a suitable bench for them that'd give them some space without completely cutting off her associates she laid her tray down atop it, "I suppose not, and I'm just more used to the routine here I think. No offense to the chefs, the food is always spectacular, but it'll be great come lunch time as well if we eat here again so I'm just not in a rush to cram like I'll be quizzed on breakfast." She ended that with a small laugh as James took his seat across from her, eyeing his trays that he now realized must have been carried in the mouths of others before, he chose to ignore that.

Fitting himself onto the pony bench wasn't too difficult, it wasn't his favorite arrangement but it served its purpose, "That makes sense, I can't imagine getting used to something like this but I guess people can get used to anything." His even tone had trailed off a bit towards the end, but he didn't want to get bogged down every time he thought of anything. Before she even had time to give him one of those sad pony looks he knew she would but probably not know she was, he found his voice, "So they serve three five star courses a day here, all you can eat?"

After a relieved laugh Spa took a sample of her flowery plate to consider her words before swallowing, "Almost, but not quite. The ponies here are either getting ready for or just ending their shifts, considering the time. Instead of three large meal blocks we have two, when morning shift begins or when night's turn is here. Midday meals are usually during a lunch break, in which case it would be a small to-order thing for us or the more aristocratic ponies would have lunch sent to their rooms, much like how yours was delivered the other day."

Digging into his own choices he crunched on some toast while raptly listening in on how horses schedule their lives, "Again, that makes sense. So is this all you have to operate the castle?" Looking around he commented on the surprisingly empty seating arrangements, if this really was all they had.

Once more she took a moment to find just the right words, briefly she wondered if this man had to think about what he said as much as she was having to lately, "No..." A slow, direct start to lead her explanation, "it's just the time of year when we keep a skeleton crew onboard." She poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher on the table to chase down her hayfries and ward off the dry throat of a mare on the edge of spilling a secret she wasn't sure was ready to be shared.

However to Spate's alarmed surprise there was a bright look of recognition on her table partner's face, "That's what the security guy said last night when I wanted to get my clothes washed, why is that? Is it the holidays? I thought it was weird how a place this big didn't have you little guys all over it."

Cringing at the reminder of her lax performance she persevered nonetheless, "Yeah, so how was that anyway? I uh, noticed you'd gotten your things cleaned when a maid brought them back." She thought she was doing well, James thought if nothing else poker was a very promising prospect here, though he was confused why this would cause her such consternation, and then immediately understood after half a second's thought.

Suddenly looking appropriately abashed James awkwardly scratched at the stubble he'd grown during his few days away from home, "It was alright, I don't know if it counts as being lost if I was actually looking for directions instead of the laundry room, but the guard I found helped out exactly how I was hoping." An until-then unseen side of James surfaced when he shrugged and raised his hands apologetically, "Sorry if you woke up while I was gone, hope I didn't worry you too much."

Not exactly what bothered her, but the little grey mare decided it wasn't worth getting into detail about. Waving his apology away she assured him everything was alright, "It's nothing to worry yourself about James, I'm just glad you made it back safe and sound, not that there's anything that would hurt you but still." Her portions had been finished a few minutes ago so now she found herself nursing a crispy glass of their table's rosewater, "How'd we do then?" She asked while gesturing towards his person, sweeping over him with a hoof.

James pinched a bit of his pants and pulled at it, rubbing it in an exaggerated show of consideration, "I'd say it's about par for the course at this point, full marks across the board. I think my clothes might actually better off than when I first bought them." Brushing off a few crumbs his efforts rewarded him with the smile he got from the easily spooked Spate was what he was hoping for. It was then as he washed down his last bite of something that tasted like a cross between a mango and a pomegranate he realized he wasn't going to finish his tray, but the rosewater was a surprise he sipped at, not exactly to his tastes but the novelty made it worthwhile.

Nodding along with a growing grin she was happy to know he thought so highly of their services thus far, and he had been talking much more today, "All of us do our very bests, we take pride in the little things as well as the big." An approaching stallion caught her eye however, hesitant in his steps as he approached from behind James. "Hi there," she addressed him with some purpose behind her words, causing the human to turn in his seat to see who she spoke to, "Something I can help you with, Terrace?"

His ears couldn't decide if they were going to lay flat or stand sharp as both of their attentions shifted to himself, having his name called directly settled the matter as they chose an angled compromise, "Hey Spa, and... human," Terrace stood at the end of their table between the two of them, struggling to not paw at the ground as his burst of confidence slowly wisped away. Suddenly he pointed the same hoof that wanted to dig at the ground up to the human, Terrace's gaze shaky but refusing to back down, "My name's Terrace, um, what's up?" His embarrassed smile added to the flushed look his guard signature white coat was suddenly colored with.

James, caught by surprise, first looked to Spate for some sort of clarity and she silently touched her two forehooves together out of the new pony's sight while mouthing an apology. What he had at first glance assumed was her just asking for forgiveness, for some reason, the alien realized she was in fact pantomiming a fist bump. Bewildered, he obliged, softly punching the outstretched hoof and apparently making the stallion's day as Terrace stared where the two had briefly connected, "Hey Terrace, I'm James, the human. And nothin' much man, just trying my best. How about you?" In what he hoped was a discrete act, James rubbed his knuckles against his legs, it was a weird feeling to bump a pony, and not at all how he'd expected a hoof to feel.

All traces of anxiety were washed away at fist-to-hoof contact and James thought that ears perked high and a much easier smile better suited Terrace's visage. Slowly, gently, the proffered hoof was brought back down to earth and there was no attempt to reign in his happiness as he beamed up at the human, "Awesome. Thanks James!" And that was it, a quick set of introductions and the unlikely group was back down to two.

The two left behind looked to each other before watching Terrace return to his own table, welcomed by controlled but not terribly subtle whisper yells neither James or Spate could make out through the distance and other conversations around them as he proudly displayed a certain hoof to be admired by his friends. "Well, that was something." Perhaps surprised at his casual tone, Spate's eyes jumped from the guard table to James as she repositioned herself on the suddenly uncomfortable bench seat, "Do you know him?" James looked back over to his guide, and she squirmed.

"Uhh, yeah." She took a noncommittal sip of her water, "You get familiar with ponies you work with for a couple years," a sip at an empty glass before pushing it away, "I'm really sorry about all that, James." Spa rubbed her neck while taking up the same apprehensive, unsure smile Terrace first had and the man did not appreciate how fragilely these horses stepped around him.

Sighing, James brought his arms down across the table to gesture at Spate in a way to hopefully drive his point home, "It wasn't that big a deal, don't worry about me. He was quick about it at least, and pony hooves are weird, like in a lot of ways." Surveying the room he saw more of the same peeks as before and rolled his eyes, considering the looks a foregone conclusion at this point James decided a change of scenery would be best, "Hey Spate, what else do you got here at casa del pony?"

Not missing his agitated tone or his notice of the occasional spectators those things were filed away to not further provoke James and instead she addressed a curious thing he said, "You know Sponish? That's really neat, but Casa Del Puñ isn't anywhere near Canterlot." This time she did miss his now-typically calm smile briefly morph into a nearly affronted expression as she thought on somewhere he might like to see.

'Is she for real right now?' "Sponi-"

"Oh, I know!" Spate clapped a hoof down against the table, "The library has everything, we could get you started on familiarizing yourself with things here, if you wouldn't mind." Smiling at her quick thinking the bench was left behind so she could stretch her legs.

Not one to be so easily thrown off, he followed suit in standing and accepted her offer, "Sure, sounds like a plan, lead the way Spate." Taking their trays to the return station the last thing those still within the cafeteria heard before the pair left was James, "So, Sponish?"

Author's Note:

Hope things are coherant for you all so far. let me know your thoughts on things here

Comments

[A Drunk Soviet]

I'm glad your continuing this, I really hope to see more of the background lore of other humans arriving, and how they shaped the world in the future, and I really like James and spate here, good job!

[DE_K]

10051009
Happy to hear it, thank you for the encouragement. I'm certain you won't be disappointed

[Vaalintine]

Very nice, though I do detect an undercurrent of stress. While very cushy and friendly seeming, it DOES seem like a prison and Spate more like his keeper than someone who can be truly trusted and depended on. It seems like he is a metaphorical golden goose, and they're expecting him to lay an egg for them. They really don't seem to have let him know anything really about what's going on, and it seems rather suspicious they were right there to get him when he woke up. Seems to me they brought him to equestria.

[ClosetBrony]

I am pleased to see this story has an update. I do hope you continue. It feels we've only scratched the surface about these characters and the world they reside in.

[DE_K]

10057579
I'm happy to see this story has people thinking, there's going to be much more to consider next chapter
10058433
At the risk of patting myself on the back I'd like to say you're right, I'm hoping to let you all see this alongside James just as well as he can, if not more due to some extra perspectives

[ClosetBrony]

10057579
I believe Spate mentioned in thought that Luna had a knack for knowing where a "new" human would turn up. Perhaps the dimensional crossing causes a ripple in the dream realm that Luna can triangulate?

10058547
I look forward to it. Additional POVs can help clue the reader into things the protagonist might not know right away as well as setup a situation that reveals said information to the MC.

[A Drunk Soviet]

Is this going to get a new chapter in the future?