Art, Alicorns, and Anxiety
Starlight’s hooves were conspiring against her.
As she paced back and forth on the floor of the UN Embassy’s Atrium, trying to remember her next cleaning assignment, her hooves kicked up a rhythmic beat. Thanks to the Atrium’s excellent acoustics, the noise echoed throughout the chamber, boring its way into her head and breaking her concentration. Sometimes she wished her hooves didn’t make such a racket, but pacing was the best way she knew to jog her memory.
Starlight knew she was almost finished for the day; already she’d cleaned the toilets, vacuumed the conference hall, and dusted the light fixtures. But somewhere along the line her memory had been invaded by jumbled thoughts. She only hoped she could maintain her self control long enough to finish her daily duties. Right then she was only a few moments away from dropping everything and galloping off to check on Daniel.
Letting out a groan, Starlight plopped down on a bench and rested her chin on her hoof.
She took a deep breath, held it until her lungs burnt, and finally released it in a long sigh. As the ball of stress at her core started to uncoil, Starlight found her eyes wandering around the embassy’s atrium.
From what the thestral could tell, the designers of the embassy had had an obsession with diversity. The structure was a hodgepodge of architectural styles and materials from all over humanity’s homeworld. Hardwoods and marble shared space with paper screens and bamboo, while Van Gogh’s Starry Night Over the Rhone hung guarded by two smiling Buddha. The last arrangement made Starlight smile; an embodiment of inner peace coupled with the work of a man whose life was marred by tragedy. There was a lesson in there somewhere.
Personally, Star would have picked a style and stuck with it. Mixing them all together just made a mess, albeit one with an eclectic charm.
Starlight hissed. This wasn’t the first time that week her train of thought had switched tracks. Yesterday, she’d worked a full shift without realizing that she’d worn her uniform inside out. The day before that, she’d poured orange juice on her cereal and found her keys in the fridge.
It was a good thing that her employers were so lenient. So far, her mishaps had earned her nothing more severe than a sympathetic smile and the offer of an ear if she ever needed anypony to talk to. Back in her home country, had somepony in her position had a similar lapse of concentration on the job, they’d have been whipped. That is, if they were lucky. It was yet another reason why she’d sworn never to return to Letyucha.
Starlight’s ears perked up. Of course, the windows. That’s what she was supposed to do next, clean the atrium windows. Her ears drooped again. She was supposed to clean the atrium windows. The twenty-hoof tall windows, both in direct sunlight.
Starlight dug through her pockets and slipped on her tinted glasses. Sometimes she hated her job.
With a sigh, Starlight reached into her cleaning caddy and strapped a spray bottle of cleaning fluid to her right foreleg. A few flaps of her wings brought her up to the windows.
Wait a minute, something was missing.
Offering a curse to the Nightmother, Starlight slapped her forehead, then swooped down and snagged the cleaning rag from the caddy like an eagle catching a fish. With another pump of her wings, she sailed back up to the windows.She spritzed some of the cleanser onto the window, wrinkling her nose at the harsh ammonia smell, before she started scrubbing the glass as hard as she could.
Normally, her mind would’ve been completely focused on her work. Just her and the washrag, melded together into a single being. But her mind was proving uncooperative. No matter how hard she tried, all roads seemed to lead to that fateful dinner, only a week before.
She’d been so close; just a few more words and her feelings would have been free, no longer a prisoner in her heart. So why did she choke at the last second? What was with that feeling of dread?
Was she afraid he’d say no?
Unlikely; she was no expert in human body language, but Nightmare take her if he didn’t feel something towards her. She’d seen it in his eyes, those sharp, wonderful eyes. And his hands; all week she couldn’t help but remember the way his hand had caressed her hoof. So warm, so strong.
Starlight realized that she had been cleaning the same spot for almost five minutes. Shaking her head, she moved on.
Something bothered her about Daniel. If he did like her, why didn’t he acknowledge it? She’d read that human males—at least the ones in Daniel’s culture—were encouraged to suppress their emotions. To do otherwise would be a sign of weakness, like a thestral stallion sticking his tail between his legs. It was possible Daniel feared that expressing his feelings directly would be taken as a sign of weakness.
Starlight frowned. No, that was ridiculous. Daniel liked her because he could be himself around her, not some actor It had to be something else. Was he worried what his den would think? From what she knew of human culture, ever since the portal had been opened, dating a non-human had been a controversial topic. An understandable reaction for a species that had spent most of its existence as the only sentient beings on their planet.
But then again, his past relationship with Princess Twilight was hardly a secret. His den had to know by now that he had been intimate with a pony.
She swore she’d never fully understand humans, or males for that matter. Just her luck she ended up falling for someone who filled both categories.
As she cleaned, the sun came out from behind a cloud, sending a needle of light right into her eye. Star fumbled with her sunglasses, in her haste nearly dropping them.
“Sun-scorched windows,” she growled.
Based on the few human made structures she’d visited or seen in books, it seemed as though human architects could not get enough of them. Windows in bedrooms, windows in hallways, windows on the ceiling. By Tartarus, some human structures were nothing but windows! It was as if they loved the sun so much they could not bear to shield themselves from it.
Starlight flitted around the atrium, taking care to stay away from the light fixtures, golden chandeliers that when lit sparkled with cold radiance.
Lights, that was another aspect of human architecture that annoyed her. She was used to being awake during the day—her half-unicorn son had made that a necessity—but for a creature adapted to dimly-lit dens and soft moonlight, it was almost blinding. At every opportunity the humans burned their electric bulbs, even in the middle of the day while the sun shone down on them. Sometimes it was so bad she needed to take her lunch break in her bedroom with the curtains drawn and the lights extinguished, just to give her aching eyes a few minutes of peace.
Finally, the windows were spotless. More than spotless, they were all but invisible.
Angling her wings downwards, Starlight began gliding to the floor. On a whim she concluded her descent with a loop, alighting on the floor with a click of her hooves, before giving a bow to her imaginary audience.
Crossing the the last item off her mental checklist, Starlight wiped some sweat from her brow, and pulled at her uniform. That was the problem with these uniforms; every time she sweated, the fabric would stick to her body. Specifically, the parts of her body that a refined mare such as herself had no business mentioning.
Starlight made a beeline to the Embassy laundry room, peeled off the garment and dumped it in the nearest available basket. She was no stranger to it. During Starlight’s old job she would sometimes get clients who wanted the ‘maid experience’. It was easy money really; she’d put on the outfit, pretend to clean up the dingy hotel room she was in, and let the client ‘seduce’ her. The main difference between that and her new job was that she was expected to remained dressed all the time. That, and she finished each day with her dignity intact. That was a definite bonus.
With a yawn, the thestral arched her back until she felt her spine crack. Right then, all she wanted to do was lay herself down on the nearest couch and rest until supper.
“Momma!”
Instinctively her ears perked up and swiveled, searching for the source. Hoofsteps. Directly behind her. Soft, light, very familiar hoofsteps.
Starlight turned just in time to see a grey blur pounce at her and wrap itself around her barrel. Two teal eyes stared up at her.
“Hi Momma!”
Starlight frowned. “Slate,” she said, switching to her native Letyan to afford her some privacy against nosey ponies. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to wait for me in our quarters.”
The little unicorn colt’s ears, tufted like his mother’s, drooped.
“I’m sorry, Mama. But I really wanted to show you my picture,” he replied, following his mother’s lead and speaking in Letyan.
Starlight’s expression softened. That look never failed to melt her heart. She gave her son a nuzzle. “It is alright. But please, next time, wait until we get home. Now let’s see this picture that just couldn’t wait?”
Slate rustled through his bookbag, and pulled out a piece of drawing paper. “Look, look!” Slate held out the drawing, practically shoving it into his mother’s face.
Three figures depicted in crayon smiled up at Star, limbs linked together like a living chain. The first two were obviously ponies: stick-like quadrupeds with circles for heads and muzzles, and two triangles for ears. One had a tiny cone sticking out of the top of its head, while the other had two curved lines sprouting from its back. Standing in between the two was a biped, dressed in a crudely-drawn suit.
“This is very good, Slate,” Starlight said, ruffling his mane.”You’re getting better.” She pointed to the third figure, the biped. “But who is this?”
“Oh, that’s Mr. Daniel!” Slate said, beaming. “See, we’re all holding hooves together!”
“I see,” Starlight stuttered, briefly lapsing back to Equestrian without even realizing it. As she looked down at the drawing, a lump formed in her throat, and her knees started quivering.
“Are you okay, Momma?” Slate asked, cocking his head.
“Yes,” she replied too quickly, shaking her head. “Momma’s fine. She’s just a little tired from work.”
“Okay,” Slate said, ears drooping, though he brightened a moment later. “Oh, oh! Do you think me and Mister Daniel can play together after dinner?”
“I’m sorry, little star, but Mister Daniel is very busy now. He can’t be disturbed.”
Very busy was an understatement. Daniel had not left his office in almost three days. Everytime she tried to talk to him, George and Lenny would politely, but firmly tell her that the ambassador was not to be disturbed. While long working hours were nothing new for Daniel—part of the job, as he always said—he usually found time to take at least one break each day in whatever form it came; a short walk, a shower, or a sandwich from the cafeteria.
Slate’s shoulders slumped. “Aww…”
“I know, little star, I know,” she said, giving Slate a nuzzle. “Maybe some other time.”
Hopefully that ‘some other time’ was soon. With the way Daniel was behaving, with his dogged refusal to stop, he was liable to drown himself under a tide of paperwork. Given the amount of red tape that came with his position, that could very well be literal.
As Starlight comforted her son, her ears perked up as she heard hooves clopping on the embassy’s hardwood floor.
“Excuse me?”
Two heads, mother and son, whipped around at once. A purple alicorn stood in the hallway.
Starlight’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Every muscle in her body turned to iron. By the Nightmother. Twilight Sparkle. Princess Twilight Sparkle—the mare who had saved Equestria three times over, and one of the most powerful mages in recorded history—had just walked into the embassy.
“Hello, I was perhaps wondering if you could help me,” the alicorn said, smoothing out her purple mane, acting so casual it was as if she had no understanding of her own importance. ”I’m looking for the Ambassador. Can you point me towards him?”
Long-forgotten lessons kicked in, forcing Starlight to prostrate herself on the floor, no matter how much it hurt her pride. “Your Highness,” she said in the humblest voice she could muster, ”How may this servant be assisting you?
The alicorn gave a sheepish grin. “At ease, everypony,” she said. “No need to bow. I’m just here to see a friend.”
Starlight stood back up, brushing dust off of her coat. “Of course, Your Highness.”
To Starlight's surprise, the alicorn winced.
“Please, just call me Twilight. Believe me, ‘Your Highness’ gets old really quickly.”
“Of course Your… Twilight,” Starlight stuttered.
Twilight's eyes lit up. “Oh, you must be Starlight!” The alicorn smiled. “It’s so nice to finally meet you!”
Starlight gasped. “You are knowledgeable of my name?”
Back home, if you were a servant, you’d be lucky if a noble even remembered you existed. Having a ruler who was practically a demigod address you by name was…
“Don’t be so surprised. Daniel’s told me so much about you,” Twilight said, trotting up to Starlight. ”Apparently, you’re the ‘only thing that’s been keeping [him] sane’.”
The princess’ reputation as something of a bookworm was no exaggeration. She’d even vocalized the square brackets in her quote.
The tension in Starlight’s chest relaxed. “It is… what I do.” There was something calming about Twilight’s voice, as if Star was meeting an old friend that she’d never known she had. But then again, what did she expect from the Princess of Friendship?
Twilight turned her head slightly towards Slate, giving him a soft smile. “Hey there little guy! What’s your name?”
In typical fashion, the little half-unicorn darted behind his mother, clinging to her hind leg like a drowning pony at a log.
“This would be my son, Slate.” Starlight gently nudged him forward. “Will you say hi to Miss Twilight?”
Slowly, Slate crept out from the shelter of his mother’s shadow. “Hello…” he said, his voice a whisper.
“Aw, don’t be afraid little guy.” Twilight crouched until her eyes were level with Slates. The unicorn shivered, his gaze falling to the ground. “Hey,” she said softly, using the tip of her hoof to raise Slate’s chin until he was looking her in the eyes. “Want to see something neat?”
Slate gave a tiny nod.
“Watch.” The alicorn princess closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her horn lit up, beginning to hum with magical energy as glittering bursts of light erupted from her horn like a miniature fireworks display, illuminating the Atrium with shades of emerald, ruby, and sapphire.
“Wow!” Slate’s mouth dropped, his eyes wide open, going from withdrawn to bouncing up and down on the spot in less than a second. “Again! Again!”
“Sure!” Another fireworks display exploded from Twilight’s horn.
“That was awesome, Miss Twilight!” Slate reared up on his hind legs. “Can you teach me, huh, can you teach me?”
“Perhaps a little later,” Twilight said, ruffling Slate’s mane. “Right now, I’d like to see Daniel, if that’s okay with you.
“That may be proving difficult.” Starlight sighed.
“Slate,” she said, “Miss Twilight and I are going to see Mister Daniel. Go back to our quarters and practice your magic until I get back.”
“Aww,” Slate moaned, “I wanna see more of Miss Twilight’s magic.”
“Slate, Miss Twilight and I have very important business with Mister Daniel. It is not something meant for little colts.”
She gave Slate a hug. “Do not worry. I’m sure that Miss Twilight will gladly show you more magic later.”
“Yes. I’d be more than happy to,” said Twilight.
Slate turned to Twilight. “You promise?”
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
Slate giggled. “Okay.” He turned around, waving over his shoulder. “Bye Momma! Bye Miss Twilight!”
“Goodbye Slate!” Twilight said, returning the wave as the unicorn sped off.
“He certainly is quick on his hooves,” Twilight said.
“He is half-thestral. It is being in his nature,” Starlight smiled at the retreating form of her son, though as she looked back at Twilight it slid off her face. “Now, you are being here to see Daniel, no?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes, I am. We exchange letters often. Every single week, in fact. But I didn’t receive his on the agreed upon day yesterday.” She glanced down at the floor. “I’m worried about him, he’s never missed a letter before.”
Summoning up her courage, Starlight placed a hoof on the Princess’ withers. “I am not surprised. He has been extremely busy lately. So busy that he is refusing to leave his office. I am worried myself.”
“How busy is he exactly?” Twilight asked.
“The Guards have reported that he has yet to bathe in three days.”
“Honestly,” Twilight muttered to herself, “that man can be too stubborn for his own good. I always said it’d be the end of him.” She shook herself out of her reverie, glancing over at Starlight like she’d only just realized she had company.
“Then again,” she said, blushing faintly. “I guess that’d be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.” Twilight motioned towards the hallway leading to Daniel’s office. “I’m going to try and coax Daniel out of his office. Would you like to accompany me? After all, two heads are better than one, and when you try to argue with Daniel, you need all the heads you can get.”
“It would be a great pleasure,” Starlight replied. “I am relieved to have the help. If truth be told, I was only a few hours away from kicking down his door myself, Nightmother give me strength.”
With that, the two mares set off down the main hallway.
“So, Starlight…” Twilight said after an uncomfortable silence, glancing over the waxed floors and fancy paintings. “What’s it like, working at the Embassy?”
The pair passed another pony maid, who stopped dusting a vase to stare open mouthed at Twilight. Starlight gave her co-worker a nod, though she doubted she even noticed it. “You are aware of the human tale of Sisyphus, no?”
Twilight nodded.
“Well, it is being exactly like that. Only I am not rolling a boulder up a hill. Everyday I am working to keep the embassy clean, and then everything is being undone the next day.” She chuckled.
Twilight laughed. “My job is more like Hercules versus the Hydra.” She snorted. “Everytime I solve one problem, two more pop up to take its place. Unlike him, I can’t burn them to keep them from coming back.”
Starlight couldn’t help but chuckle. “I am seeing what you mean.”
The two rounded a corner. At the end of the hallway was Daniel’s office. George and Lenny stood at attention, their armor hiding the rise and fall of their chests. Standing there like that, they were closer related to statutes than to stallions. The instant they saw Twilight, the two bowed, their movements jerky after hours of inaction.
“Your Highness,” George said. “Lieutenant Goldeneye.“ He motioned to Lenny. “And Lieutenant Silvereye, at your service.”
“At ease,” Twilight said just a little too quickly. “No need for bowing. I get too much of that from everypony else. No need for guardsponies to start doing it too.”
“Of course, Your—” He shook his head, tongue snaking out to wet his lips. When he spoke again, his voice was tentative. “Of course Princess.”
The alicorn just smiled. “How about Twilight?”
“Right, Twilight,” George said with a nod. “How may we assist you?”
“There’s no need to be so formal. I’m not here on official business, just here to see a friend. Would it be okay if you just treated me like an ordinary mare?”
The two squirmed in their armor, eyes darting back and forth. “Um, ah, yes.“ George said. He turned to Starlight.
George nodded to Starlight. “Good day to you too, Miss Starlight.”
“Uh, yeah,” Lenny said, “Nice to... see ya’ Star,” said Lenny, a slight smile on his face. “How’s the little guy?”
“He is the same. A hooffull.” Starlight chuckled.
“I’m can bet.” George took a deep breath. “So, Miss Starlight... Miss Twilight, what can we do for you two?”
“I’m here to see Daniel,” Twilight said. “Can you let me in?”
George glanced over at Lenny, who only shrugged in reply. “My apologies, Miss Twilight,” George said. “The ambassador has given us strict orders not to be disturbed. We can’t let you in“
“And even if we had authorization,” Lenny said, “Mr. H locked himself inside, and you can’t unlock the door from this side.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Twilight exclaimed, stamping a hoof. “What if there was an emergency? What if he needed help?”
George sighed, balancing his spear with one hoof while he used the other to rub the bridge of his nose. “That’s what we tried to tell him, Miss Twilight. But he refused to listen.”
“Yeah, you know how he is,” said Lenny.
“All too well…” Twilight grumbled. “Maybe I can make him listen.”
Both guards nodded. “You’re certainly welcome to try,” said George.
Both the guards shuffled to either side, their armor clanking, giving the alicorn more space to approach the door.
“I must warn you though,” said George. “ My partner and I have been trying to make him leave all day without success.”
“Yeah,” Lenny added. “I even tried pretending that the President of Japan was out here waitin’ to talk to him and he didn’t budge!”
George groaned and rolled his eyes. “You see what I have to deal with?” he whispered to the two mares.
Stifling a giggle, Twilight trotted up to the solid cherrywood door and rapped on it with a hoof. “Daniel?” Another rap. “Daniel, it’s Twilight.”
*****
Work, work and more work, that was all it had been for three days straight. It was never ending, and whenever he thought he’d finally getting on top of things, his secretary showed up to dump another issue in front of him.
To most people managing a conference over immigration to and from Earth may not have been an interesting job, or even a very important one. After all, on Earth, thousands of people moved to different counties every single day. But this wasn’t Earth, it was a totally new planet. There were no precedents for something like this. If he didn’t tread carefully, Earth/Equis relations could be set back decades. Even if it was a success, the proceedings would set precedents for future diplomatic meetings between the two planets.
The UN general secretary, Daniel’s de-facto boss, had made that very clear at their fortnightly teleconference a few days ago.
Since then, Daniel couldn’t even remember the last time he’d left his office. The closest he’d come to a break was the occasional trip to the ensuite restroom.
His last shower was a distant memory, his back and neck ached from the naps he’d been taking in his chair in lieu of sleep, and to cap it all off, hunger clawed at his stomach to the point that he felt faint.
But he didn’t dare stop, no matter how much his body begged him to. There was too much riding on the conference for him to waste time.
Shuffling one of the documents over to his discard pile, he pulled the next off his inbound stack. It was a memo from his secretary.
Griffon ambassador requesting attendance. Made very clear political repercussions if ignored. - Studious Mind
The rest of the document was a list of diplomatic retainers that the Griffon Empire expected to be seated.
Fighting down a groan, Daniel began to shuffle over the of papers that cluttered his desk. He knew that he’d put the seating plan somewhere off to the side, but then again he couldn’t remember when exactly that had been. The sun had been shining in through the window when he’d seen it last… or had that been the moon?
Wherever it was, he needed it. After that border dispute with the Minotaur Republic, the griffons had withdrawn their ambassador as a protest, to which the minotaurs had responded in kind. Seating them together would most likely end in both parties trading blows instead of proposals. That would hardly give them a positive opinion of humanity.
Then, just as he thought he’d found it, a knock at the door, followed by a voice.
“Daniel, it’s Twilight.”
With a gasp Daniel jerked to the side, sweeping a bundle of papers off the table.
Cursing under his breath, Daniel had to pause to let whose voice he’d heard sink in.
“Twi?” he asked, before realizing there was no chance she could hear him through the heavy door when he spoke so softly.
“Twi?” he repeated, his voice raised. “What are you doing here?”
“Are you alright?” the muffled voice replied.
Grumbling, Daniel leaned forward and started picking the papers up off the floor, his back and chair protesting at the same time.
“I’m fine Twi. Just busy.”
“Daniel, the Guards said you haven’t left your office in days. Don’t you think you should, I don’t know, take a break?”
“I must agree, Ambassador,” George pipped up.
“Same here!” Lenny added.
“Twi, gentlecolts, I only have a few days left until the conference,” he said, trying his best to keep the irritation out of his voice. From what he could tell, he hadn’t done a very good job.
“If I’m not ready by then, everything I’ve worked for these past few days will be for nothing.”
Finally managing to snatch up the last piece of paper from the ground, Daniel straightened himself up, beginning to search through them. As luck would have it, the seating plan had made its way to the top of the bundle.
Just as he was about to bring pen to paper to rearrange the seating, there was another knock at the door.
“Daniel, it is Starlight.”
“Star?” Daniel asked, his heart leaping into his throat. He hadn’t realized how much he missed the sound of her voice.
“Star, look, now’s really not a good time. I promise we’ll get together next week. Right now, I really, really need to prepare.”
“Daniel, all of this work, it is ruining your health! Do you not know this?”
“I’ll be fine!” he protested, resting his chin on his hand as he tried his best to start the seating rearrangement even with all the background noise. “Just… just leave me alone and let me finish my work.”
A bang sounded out, making Daniel jump in his chair. It took him a moment for his thoughts to catch up on his instincts. Star must have bucked the door.
“Listen to me, you stubborn kretyn!” Starlight hissed. “If you are not outside of this sontse-scorched office within a khvylyn, I swear by the Nightmother’s name that I will—”
All he’d wanted was to be left in peace, to let him focus on his work and try his best to drag himself out of the hole his boss had thrown in him. But, it appeared that some people just couldn’t recognize a man who needed solitude
“Enough!” he yelled, not realizing until after it had been said that he was screaming. “Listen, you stupid pony. If this summit isn’t perfect, if one tiny thing is out of place, the immigration issue will be done!. The General Secretary will shove his foot so far up my ass I’ll be tasting shoe polish! He’ll take away my assignment, fire me, and have me thrown into the next available portal to Earth.”
The bottom of Daniel’s stomach fell out. Oh God, he hadn’t thought about any of that before, but he was right. His whole career was riding on this one event, his entire future. What would happen to him if he screwed up? Immigration would fail and he’d be fired. He’d be deported back to Earth and never be allowed to see his friends again. Starlight would abandon him, his parents would be ashamed to call him their son. Not even the dinner theater he used to work for would take him back!
He’d be a laughing stock, the kind of man who went down in history books as an utter failure. Earth-Equis relations would take decades to recover. They might even shut down the portals all together!
Though he couldn’t place when it had started, his heart was hammering in his ears, while his lungs worked overtime trying to draw in more air. But, no matter how quickly he breathed he just couldn’t catch his breath.
Clinging to his desk like a life raft he looked up at the ceiling. The office was spinning, while the darkened walls drew closer, sealing him in.
It just couldn’t be happening, it just wasn’t real. Nothing he did mattered at all, he was just a puppet with its strings being pulled. He was a passenger in his own body, a spectator as he looked down at the failure that clutched at its chest with a cry, just before it fell to the floor.
*****
“Ambassador? Ambassador?!” Lenny cried out, hammering at the door. The only response was a thud, followed by more gasping breaths.
“You two, break it down!” Twilight ordered, though her face had turned white. Starlight looked just as bad, her hoof holding Twilight’s as the mares lent against each other for support.
George and Lenny hurled themselves against the door, their back legs hammering at it with a precise rhythm. Under the onslaught the door splintered, then cracked in half.
“Daniel!” Starlight yelled as she hurled herself into the breach.
The office had definitely seen better days. The carpet was littered with coffee cups, energy drink cans, and food wrappers. Daniel’s desk was cluttered with books and papers, as if his desk was populated with miniature skyscrapers. On top of that the room stunk of stale sweat and unwashed bodies.
The two bodyguards rushed to Daniel’s side. “Silver,” George shouted, “get the doctor. Now!”
“You got it.” Lenny gave a salute, before dashing out the door.
George hovered over Daniel’s quivering form. Twilight looked him over.
“He’s having a panic attack!” Said Twilight. “We need to calm him down before he passes out!”
Starlight furrowed her brow and dashed to Daniel’s side. She helped him up and wrapped her forelegs around him.
She stepped towards him, running her hoof through his mane. Without warning, his arms snaked around her barrel, and with an eep of surprise she was pulled in close. He hugged her to him like a teddy bear, pushing his face into his chest. She could feel wetness again her coat, but barely noticed. His breathing was slowing down, and so all she did was wrap her forelegs around his neck and hold him.
“Daniel… listen,” she whispered. “Everything, it will be all right. I am here.” George and Twilight each put a hoof on Daniel’s shoulder. “We’re all here.”
Daniel’s breathing slowed to something like normal. His shudders became less violent.
In that moment, Starlight realized how silly it must’ve looked; A grown human twice her size hugging her like a scared child would his mother, while a princess ran her hoof through his hair.
But despite it all, she couldn’t find it in herself to be embarrassed. She just prayed that Daniel would be alright. Hopefully, the Nightmother was listening.
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Yes new chapter, thank you both for your hard work on this story and take all the time you need
Argh. Its been so long, I forgot her name was Starlight. Now I'm confusing canon and OC characters. Anyone else getting that?
Oh, the grin that came on my face when I saw that this was updated.
THERE'S A SEQUEL!? *Instant add*
"Well now, time to get to work on the last chapter of Celestia, then I can-- ERMAGERD UPDATE!"
Woot there is more! Soul crushing fear and paranoia, ah that's the good stuff. So much fun to be had, at least he has Twi and Star to help him.
I like it! You're definitely capturing the stress of a diplomatic position perfectly.
Also, I looked up Letyucha...apparently, it's Ukrainian for "bat". Appropriate given Starlight's Slavic accent.
Cliff hangers! The thrill, and anxiety, of them!
This is gonna get good. Old love interest there with the new one that he hasn't admitted. From the sounds of things, unsaid, Twi has figured out Daniel has a thing for Star. Now, is she going to push him into opening up? I hope so!
6751348
Yes. Yes it is.
Awkward meeting between not-quite-ex and present-not-quite-date is a go! Daniel's so screwed once they start truly cooperating though.
6751297
No! Back to work with you! Now!
*surreptitiously shuffles my own incomplete chapter off to the side*
I can say I am vary happy to see a new chapter and as you say quality is way more important then quantity.
I do under stand how final semester of university is granted it has ben several years but I remember.
now
this chapter is really good and I think the ending is super good now lets hope things grow from this moment.
...but despite it all, she couldn’t find it in herself to be embarrassed. She just prayed that Daniel would be alright. Hopefully, the Nightmother was listening...
Yeah, that moment when you realized you just grabbed onto your new girlfriend for support right in front of the old girlfriend, who is also a princess, who also knew you in the biblical fashion, who also has a tendency to panic attacks, impulsive reactions, and a magic ability that goes to 11.
Good luck, Daniel! You're going to need it.
I am interested in why the hell does the UN not send any help whatsoever to Daniel (the guards at least should be mostly human, as an embassy is considered part of the country it is from). Also they have enough strength to bully any single equestrian nation to do their bidding, if push comes to shove.
This came as a surprise. This chapter sure did get my hopes revitalized.
It doesn't matter if you take another month or two. At the very least, the quality is there to compensate.
Thank you for the update.
Whoooohohoho! Another chapter well done!
Ooooh the happy feelings... they are overflowing my body hole.
Awesome job you gaiz!
I spotted a couple of "" that were unfilled, a bit odd.
And another was backwards somewhere.
But awesome job guys! :D
6751445 Because human politicians are greedy, selfless, cruel, or a mix of the three.
Also, bully ANY Equestrian nation to do their bidding? You seem to forget one little detail there - these are ponies you don't really f**k with. You think humans have a chance against magic and wings and sheer strength?
6751422 I don't think Twilight would be mad. I see her as accepting the new changes in Daniel's life with Starlight.
Oh god, every time I say that name it reminds me of the Equality bitch now. Damn you Starlight Glimmer! You make it hard to enjoy this story now!
Thank god this is decently written otherwise I'd go on a killing spree.
6751552 And that's better?
Twilight: You two go ahead. I'll just sit here and take notes. Don't mind the camera. It's for science. Do you mind if I take a few measurements?
6751548
According with the prequel, Equestrian politicians aren´t better either.
Also, while I don´t want to turn this into another war thread, I think you greatly overestimate the ponies abilities vs modern human military resources and tactics.
6751548 Greedy, selfish and cruel does not mean stupid. More people can work more effectively, and notice a possible error more easily than one man.
And yes, humans can take on the ponies, even if I meant the griffons and the minotaurs in my previous comment. Magic is not an instant I win button, and even though possibly a strong weapon, I'm not sure how many ponies can use it as such.
Wings, and strenght though? Machineguns.
Also Equestria doesn't seem to have a standing army, nor the industry to quickly assemble one.
The elements of harmony/rainbow power could be disabled by simply taking one of them hostage, and they doesn't seem to have anything else of that caliber.
Also they are lacking in transportation aside from railways, a fast advance can mess a lot of thing up.
Alicorns though should be able to stir some stirrable up, for that some nuclear deterrent can be used to keep them out of the fight.
Wow. What a bureaucratic nightmare. Daniel needs an assistant. He's an ambassador to an entire alien world for an organization in which having a staff of assistants is common, and he has powerful friends in Equestria who could probably make that happen even if it wasn't...
At least he could get somepony who can read a document and generate an accurate précis.
6751567
6751584
6751590
You know what? If I reply to any of you, it'll lead to trouble, I can see that plainly. I don't wanna ruin this story by escalating things further. The author doesn't deserve a massive flame debate here so please ignore me cause' I don't want to spoil things for the author, okay?
Besides, I don't really know why I responded to comments I didn't understand in the first place.
6751663 You should not worry about that. As long as you give well thought out answers and don't act as a douche it won't devolve into a flame war. The comment section is for giving your opinions. Don't be afraid to do so.
6751675 Well-thought out answers?
After tonight, I don't think I'm capable of that. There's always some smart ass who manages to make me look a retard.
6751675 And I'm aware I replied to your comment twice now, so don't bring that up.
In response to Comrade_Pony, that's no problem, we all know how much of a pain school can be.
commentphotos.com/gallery/CommentPhotos.com_1406563899.jpg
6751542
I apologize for the few minor errors like that we may have missed. It's been busy for me so I didn't really have time to do a thorough final read-through of this like usual, and my editor is super busy with his job because of Christmas so we decided it was best to get this chapter out now instead of making you guys wait even longer. I promise those sorts of errors will be gone from next chapter onward.
6751663 You just have to look at the funny side of this. I mean, imagine poor Daniel in a few weeks:
Dan: What do you mean, you're publishing a paper on human... mating practices? The only human you've been around is me!
Twilight: It's not a paper, it's a preliminary report, only circulated in a few dozen universities and research institutions until the actual paper is published in six months. That reminds me. Will Equestrian research institutions be able to access Earth universities and their paper collections?
Dan: Yes! And the other way around too! (pause) I want those photos back.
Twilight: All of them? Including the copies I sent with the papers?
6751691 Why in the world would you look like a retard? You simply brought up magic, a thing we have absolutely no idea how strong it can be. It was not a stupid point even if I could counter your argument. For example (continuing with my comment as a base) if Equestria would not crack and is able to turn it into a war of attrition, magic can easily outdo the humans, simply by saving lives an recomissioning soldiers faster. Maybe make golems as disposable mass infantry.
You give yourself no credit when you should. Don't belittle yourself.
This has become one of my favorite stories.
Dont push yourself,, school and life do come first.
But I would like to thank you for a very entertaining tale...
Uff, panic attacks, really nasty buisness.
6751720 I have a step father who calls me fat despite that I nearly weigh 12 pounds, and I've been almost pushed to the brink of tearing my hair out by MegaMan 9's cheap spike placements in its levels, and I'm unable to send some posters to a friend's friend who is having a head surgery procedure and I wanted to send him an early Christmas present except international postage is very expensive during December, and I've an animation to do for another friend that because of my animation methods I doubt I can do in time before Christmas Eve.
Personally, I'm not in a mood to see funny sides right now. Maybe tomorrow, okay?
No, I'm not being sarcastic or rude with that last remark.
6751720 Tell you what. Can you send me that joke of yours again to me tomorrow? I mean it, please do it tomorrow when I'm in a better mood.
If you do that, that'd be great. I'm not in the right mood at the moment to properly appreciate the comment you made.
6751731 I don't give myself credit because I've yet to earn it. And I'm 6 foot, 4 inches tall, I'm not belittling myself any time soon, mate.
6751742
You must be made of styrofoam.
6751716
You can thank my co-writer for that line.
There needs to be an apostrophe to show ownership. "Starlight's"
Double period.
Random space here.
More double periods.
Speech tick?
Or humanity a positive opinion of them.
This should have three periods and a space.
"leaned"
Lower case S.
"her"?
"against"
I didn't point out all the instance of double spaces between words since they can be easily found using the "Find" function.
Hmmmm, Love Interest 1 and Love Interest 2 have met. This could be very good or very bad.
6751760 I have exercised a LOT so I could have an excuse to laugh at my step-father.
Being hungry a lot of the time isn't helping my cause, I must admit.
6751760 Also, hello good author.
I am ashamed that was the comment you chose to respond to...I'll excuse myself from this story and come back when I feel less of a douchebag for commenting here...
6751756 It is half past 2 in the morning, I can't sleep, I am groggy, have an exam tomorrow in economics, while I'm studying bloody geography (I mean what the hell university?) and I laughed at your height comment. That was gold. I'll give you credit just for that.
(This comment section was deviating from the story way too fast)
6751717 No need to apologize my friend!
hehehe, still an awesome chapter regardless 
Keep it up, and thanks for the delicious update!
6751791 The real funny thing is that I wasn't being funny.
And yes, let's both stop being pricks to this author and cease our talk. Leave room for the other commentators, okay?
6751243
I've been working on this story for so long I totally forgot there was a canon character called Starlight.
This put a great big smile on my face.
Ah, the meeting between the missus and the ex. I can only imagine the embarrassing stories they'll swap once he calms down.
another great chapter
SAPIENT
6752308
I'll fix that.
Heh, looks like Lesson Zero all over again. Hopefully Twilight picks up on it and plays Celestia role in getting Dan to accept help from friends... lots of awkward help from old marefriend and new marefriend, heh.
That reminds me, does this Equestria have herding? If it does then Twilight shouldn't mind if Daniel gets cozy with the new marefriend. (I swear, the ponies are all a bunch of free love 60's hippies) Tho Dan will be spazzing out secretly...