Chapter 4: Settling In
Hayden looked in, surveying her new living quarters. Her wings twitched a little as she did so, betraying some of her worry that this might be a trick. How easily would it be to trick her into a cell, where she could be locked away and made to be quiet. They still hadn’t given her back her gun, which hardly filled her with trust.
But it wasn’t a cell, didn’t seem to have a lock at all in fact. In terms of living quarters, Hayden would’ve compared it with an upscale hotel… or at least an upscale hotel in an extremely backwards country. There was no running water, nothing more than a wooden tub and an opening in the wall for those sorts of things.
But the rest of the room was spacious. An ample workspace, one she could use for drafting or building or anything else that captured her interest. The bed wasn’t a sprawling four-poster that could sleep six, but it looked comfortable and luxurious. It might not have glowing chandeliers filled with magic lights, but it did have a single window and lots of sconces with unlit, fresh-looking candles.
“Congratulations, Hayden, you’re now the first of my ladies in waiting. The only lady in waiting I’ve ever taken, as it happens.” She pawed at the stone floor, ears flattening to her head as she spoke. “I may have to take others now, as a matter of course. My sister has dozens.”
Hayden fidgeted, wanting to scratch at the fake feathered wings she wore over her real ones. Perhaps helpfully (or perhaps as a curse) she had no fingers to untie the ropes that kept them bound to her. It took one of the aliens to attach them, or remove them. “And… and this is where I’ll live?” she asked, making her nervous way into the room. Looking at the back, she could see walls and walls of bookshelves stacked on top of each other and rising at least fifty feet into the air. This room wasn’t in the same tower, but it apparently took advantage of similar architecture.
Behind her came a slow procession of aliens. Well… this was their planet, so she should probably start using the correct word. Ponies. These didn’t have wings or horns, but still they managed to balance Hayden’s things on their backs with ease, stored in a few plain wooden boxes. They set them down in a small pile by the door, gently enough that even her glassware wouldn’t have broken.
“Indeed, Lady Hayden. I am dreadfully sorry to hear of your taking ill on the trip here.” That didn’t sound as much like concern as it was an order. “That you’ve taken so sick, in fact, you will see no pony but myself and healer until this condition of yours improves.”
“Condition?” Hayden asked, turning back to face the princess. “You mean—”
Luna gestured, and the servants who had brought her gear retreated without a word. The door glowed, and gently clicked closed. “We must practice your decorum,” Luna said, in a very quiet voice. “You must rehearse your story. It must convince the others at court, even my sister. Otherwise…” She shivered. “I don’t know that they would give Star Swirl a chance to explain. Perhaps Celestia would listen… but I doubt it. The others would likely attack you as a matter of honor, or throw you to the streets. That would… made integrating you into the court somewhat difficult.”
“I still don’t understand why you want me ‘integrated’ in the first place, Princess Luna,” Hayden hissed. “How is integrating me supposed to help you?”
“The magic is beyond you,” she said, pointing at the shelves. “You may study it, if you wish. Star Swirl selected each of these volumes while you were with the clothier. You… do know how to read, yes? You speak like one who is educated.”
The “clothier” had made her a pair of fake wings and not much else. There was apparently a dress on the way. Hayden still didn’t have the heart to point out how little wearing that interested her. Still hadn’t pointed out that she wasn’t supposed to be female at all. But given everyone’s assumptions, it was probably best to just let them keep assuming. Unless there’s magic for that too. She would never find out if she didn’t ask. But she didn’t want to ask today.
“Okay,” Hayden said, feeling as defeated as she sounded. “Yes, I know how to read. Pretty sure I’ve known that since I was like, four.” She shrugged, making her way over to the boxes and removing one of the lids. “Will you be more specific with your demands? Maybe if I knew what you wanted, I could learn it better. The sooner I get it figured out, the sooner you let me out.”
Luna walked past her, over to the window. The glass here was transparent, though uneven, allowing them to see out at the city below, along with all the verdant growth of the forest. It was hard to see where one ended and the next began. “I… don’t know.” She said, very quietly. “Hayden, you were brought here to help me with something. It’s… a delicate problem, one I have never spoken of to another pony before.”
“You need a doctor?” she asked. “I’m not a vet. I don’t know anything about ‘sensitive’ problems.”
Luna glared at her from across the room, eyes as cold as comets drifting in the void. “I see you are not ready to listen. We can discuss it another time, then.” She turned away, back towards the door. “Settle well, Hayden. My scribes are working as we speak to ‘research’ your history. They should deliver it to you by evening. It will be your responsibility to memorize it, and to begin your study of that.” She pointed up at the bookshelf. “Start with decorum, if you would. The court will eat you alive otherwise. Believe me, I remember.”
“Uh…” She turned, watching Luna as she walked away. “I’m a scholar, Princess. I don’t belong in a court.”
“Neither do I,” Luna muttered, as she made her way out. “That’s why you’re here.” She shut the door behind her. The thump echoed through Hayden’s vaulted space, with a sound of disturbing finality.
Hayden did not immediately start studying, as Luna had suggested. Instead she began removing her belongings from wooden crates, or at least the ones they’d let her keep. Almost everything was here, except for the weapons.
Hayden rolled her solar mat out in the window, and plugged her now-dead phone back into it. The intervening hours had made manipulating things without hands a little easier, though she still had to move slowly and deliberately with everything she did. She held the phone out towards the glass, watching the words “no service” with eager anticipation.
There was still a hope, however distant, that this might still be Earth somehow. If, maybe, she had been kidnapped, then subjected to who-knew what kinds of hallucinogenic drugs. Maybe she could use an object from her past to break free of the conditioning and escape. She could call the police, and they could come and take her away. A few hours in a hospital and maybe she could start thinking straight again. Even if she had suffered permanent brain damage, at least she wouldn’t give her kidnappers the satisfaction of having done anything with her.
But the status text didn’t change. It was instead joined by the “no GPS signal” icon. Not surprising either. There’s one thing I can do, she thought, thinking back to something she’d learned in high school. Cell phones could always dial emergency services, even if their own carrier did not have coverage. If anyone had a network on compatible bandwidths, the call would go through.
Hayden dialed, pressed speaker, and waited. There were a few seconds of silence, then it started to ring. It kept ringing for several minutes straight, not connecting. Hayden left it in the window, where she could still hear it, as she started unpacking the rest of her possessions. If the ponies won’t send me home, at least I can start making this place a home. She could still hear Star Swirl’s words in her ear, and she resisted the urge to start considering if any of her possessions would meet the requirement. Another day.
She set her sleeping bag atop the bed, though she wasn’t sure if it would make a difference. She opened her camp latrine supplies in the bathroom. She didn’t set up her tent indoors, though she was tempted. Except I might not fit through the doors. It wasn’t like she had ever gone camping with anyone else, so there was only room for one.
Her wireless speaker came last, joining the phone on the charging pad. It was still filling the solar with the sound of dialing, so she gave up on that for the moment. Maybe that means there was really a line. I’ll try again at a different time. But if she didn’t get some charging with the rest of the sun, she wouldn’t have her phone all night. That sounded almost as bad as being banished to a planet full of horses where she couldn’t even stay male.
By the time it was getting dark, someone knocked quietly on Hayden’s door, then pushed it open. Nightbreeze entered pushing a small tray in front of her, which had a large plate of food along with a brightly-lit candle.
Hayden looked up from the desk, where she’d been reading… from her now plus-sized Kindle. Granted everything of hers felt big now. “Lady Jest,” she said, inclining her head slightly to her. “I’m here with your supper, and light for the night if it pleases you.” She looked around the room, squinting. “Have you been sitting in the dark this entire time? There’s flint and tinder in the drawer!” She paused, watching Hayden with growing disquiet. “Those eyes… it wasn’t my imagination.”
Hayden blinked, finding she had to squint as well. The candle was an unwelcome addition to her quarters. Not when it was already so bright. Though… now that someone had pointed it out, the charging light had gone out on her phone, and only starlight came in through the window. That was curious. “I don’t know what you could be referring to,” Hayden said, her tone firm. She set the Kindle down on the table, not bothering to switch it off. The backlight could last for weeks, after all.
“Forgive a foolish servant,” Nightbreeze said, looking to one side. “I may not have understood the princess as well as she expected of me. When she suggested your condition was lasting… I didn’t know what that meant until now. I hope Star Swirl finds the cure quickly.”
“Yes, I… I would like that very much,” Hayden said, not sounding any surer than she had been before. “I guess you can light things up, sure. I must’ve just… adjusted to it, was all. And maybe then you can explain what you’ve brought me for dinner.” Even as she said it, she could feel her stomach rumbling deep in her chest. She could smell something delicious under that cover. Whatever it was, she wanted to rip the silver off and devour it right there.
“Certainly!” Nightbreeze took the candle-holder in her mouth, making her way along the outside of the room, and lighting each candle she passed. They took easily, crackling to life.
I wonder what animals they use to get the tallow. Probably not horses.
There was a small dining table near the window, and Hayden made her way over. She unrolled both sets of dining utensils and plastic tableware. She was never wishing she’d just happen to meet someone interesting on the trail, no sir. She hadn’t packed enough of one camp meal for two people either.
“I… don’t know what the noble lady is doing,” Nightbreeze began. “But you must not be thinking of inviting me to your table.” She pushed the wheeled tray over, lifting the cover and setting the single platter in front of Hayden. There were no utensils.
Duh. What am I supposed to use them with? “You don’t eat with me?” she asked, staring skeptically down at whatever it was Nightbreeze had brought. Vegetables in some sort of creamy broth, with crispy cooked grass on the side. It looked like hay, but obviously it couldn’t be hay.
She sniffed. It was hay.
“No!” Nightbreeze giggled. “I eat with the other servants, Lady Jest. I’m not fine enough for a meal like this.”
“It smells amazing,” Hayden agreed, sitting down awkwardly on the cushion. It wasn’t a chair exactly, though it did have a back of sorts, and that helped.
“If you think that, wait until you’re Luna’s guest at high table!” Nightbreeze exclaimed. “The smells that drift from there could feed a mare and four foals, I tell you.”
“Right,” Hayden said, looking awkwardly down at the food. Then she reached to the side and casually took a scoop with her spoon. She didn’t think about it at the time, just moved her hoof very carefully, brought it to her mouth, took a bite. It wasn’t as good as it smelled. It was better.
She had trouble identifying the different tastes involved—it was the sort of thing that richer people ate, who could afford fresher ingredients and a professional chef. The ponies obviously knew how to appeal to their own tastes.
“What is that?” Nightbreeze asked, staring down at the spoon with obvious interest. “You’re using a… like a ladle? Only… smaller. Silver?”
“Titanium,” she answered, slowing down. As she did so, she realized she had no idea what she was doing, and the spoon tumbled out of her grip and onto the table in front of her. How had she even been holding it in the first place? “Silver is heavy and it bends too easily. Titanium doesn’t. My second set is aluminum, though.” She pulled them closer with one hoof, so Nightbreeze could see. “Not as nice, but I didn’t have enough money for—”
“Celestia above.” Nightbreeze bowed again, lower than she ever had before. Almost as low as she had for Luna herself. “Forgive me, Lady Jest. I had no idea you came from a family of such high renown. I assumed because I did not know your name… clearly, I did not know the nobility of Equus as well as I thought I did. Please take no offence.”
“I… have no idea what you’re talking about.” Hayden reached over, pushing up on the pony’s shoulder to force her back into a standing position. “I just told you I couldn’t afford two sets of silverware, and now you’re bowing?”
“Aluminum,” she repeated, staring at the second set, scratched, and dented from many meals as it was. “Only Celestia herself can afford such wealth. Whatever nation sent you here… must be wealthy indeed. Where is House Jest from, anyway?”
“Luna hasn’t… Princess Luna hasn’t told you yet? I thought you were helping keep my secret.”
“I… yes, but… she just said you were from far away, and that I was to repeat the story she gave me whenever anypony asked after you. She didn’t say I wasn’t allowed to ask.”
“I’m from very far away,” Hayden said. “Another world. A world beyond your understanding. Well… I say that, but there’s lots here I don’t understand. So maybe don’t take it to the bank quite yet.”
“Remarkable.” Nightbreeze bowed again, retreating. “Forgive the interruption. I don’t mean to pry, Lady Jest. It is always my business to know everything I need about her grace’s guests to serve them better. This is the first time I have ever had one as exotic as you.”
Hayden wasn’t sure she liked her tone, so she just looked back to her food, focusing on the spoon again. But now that she was looking at it, she found making it move the right way was immensely difficult. It kept falling from her hoof, no matter how she tried to grip it. There was a little fleshy part in the center ringed by harder flesh, if she could just get it to prop the metal up against… but no luck. She gave up and set it back down.
“You’re forgiven,” Hayden said. “Just… please stop calling me that. Where I come from we really don’t believe in nobility. Everyone just called me Hayden, you should too.”
“Hay-don,” Nightbreeze repeated, fumbling the word in her mouth. “I will try, Lady, but your name is strange. The tongue is difficult for me. I don’t know how you can say it so well. You must be almost as experienced in your translation as the princess herself.” She bowed. “Forgive me for being so forward, lady. I will… leave you to your meal.” She did exactly that, so fast that Hayden couldn’t protest.
But in some ways, Hayden wasn’t upset to be alone. No one watching meant that she didn’t have to fight to use utensils her body was no longer suited for in order to keep up appearances of dignity.
No sooner was the pony gone than Hayden lowered her head to her plate and devoured everything on it. She couldn’t tell what was garnish and what wasn’t, and frankly she was too hungry to care. At least if she was a prisoner, she would be a well-fed prisoner. Small consolation that will be if I’m here for weeks and I don’t have a job when I get back. What would happen if she didn’t get back in time to pay rent? Would anyone even notice she was gone?
Those were questions for another time. For now, it was time for her to get as much rest as she could. Tomorrow she was going to have a lot of studying to do.
In a way, it’s an opportunity. Thousands of books about an alien culture, and I can somehow read them. If I ever get home, nobody’s going to believe a damn word I say. But that was a problem for future Hayden. Present Hayden got into bed and started struggling with her legs, searching for a comfortable position. There were none, not with fake feathers wrapped around her wings. That’s something to ask Nightbreeze about. I need to remember to get her help with that tomorrow. Assuming I’m not already gone by then.
But she’d seen Luna’s face. There was no chance this would be resolved that quickly. Whatever Luna really needed was buried deeper than could be extracted in a few hours.
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Hm if the phone goes No Signal it means it is not finding ANYTHING not even a different network, in those condition it won't even call emergency services.
I find the protagonist kinda... passive, considering his situation. Sure, from a rational point of view there is no much he can do, but....transported to a magical world, as an alien quadrupedal female? forced to pretend to be a Princess´ consort just so the other Princess don´t order him executed by mistaking him/her for a demon ? emotionally he should be a wreck, or a roallcoaster
While they may be able to dismiss the phone as a magical construct or whatever on a cursory glance, they won't be able to dismiss the immense complexity of the inner workings. Not to mention his spoon made of titanium, an element which wasn't discovered until the 18th century and wasn't refined in enough of its pure state to be useful for another couple centuries.
A single-limb Centipede's Dilemma. If you think too much about it, you can't hold anything. And Hayden doesn't seem like the type who can easily let go of a problem.
Still, if she can be a bit less abrasive around her accidental abductor, she may give Luna what she's really looking for.
Inb4 this is a prequel for PAFP and this is how they found humanity.
Could be beeswax candles
... Till next week...
Weird phone. I can't dial without carrier signal.
And i'm still not convinced that keeping hayden a secret is to haydens benefit instead of Lunas own.
I'm going to follow this. So far I kind of like the fact that he actually has some knowledge as an alien outsider that could be helpful. And as an alien outsider has made some both minor, like the aluminum set, and major, committing lesè majesté by insulting Luna to her face, mistakes. Some authors have Humans or anyone with a human mindset either all better or all worst the ponies. I think the best have them be just different.
8370076
Honestly it could just be shock. Not in the temporary sense, but the psychological sense. Some people after experiencing something traumatic like witnessing a murder kind of "shut off" in a way. Hayden could be subconsciously pushing emotions and evidence away to keep herself some modicum of sanity. Some of the signs of Psychological shock are numbing or detachment from emotional reactions, Perceiving events as surreal or dreamlike, and a sense of physical detachment.
8371456
It's almost entirely Luna's benefit. It's unlikely Celestia would stand for hurting Hayden, but she'd definitely be infuriated with Luna and Star Swirl being so careless. Even if that weren't the case, it's still in Luna's favor.
Rrrrrr...
My rage only grows...
I'm pretty sure Luna and Starswirl have no intention of ever sending him back. Most likely they'll just kill him if it seems he's not "changing' enough and thus 'excise' him from Luna completely.
And Luna being a complete bitch to her captive at all times while refusing to speak of the 'problem' she brought him here to help with, and the successful resolution of which is the condition of his release; really doesn't help.
I'm going to keep going however, as the description says "The real question is whether Equestria will survive her mistake." Which gives me hope he will eventually get some power and agency, and hopefully exact some justice/retribution.
8371456
the yours is weird. emergency signal does not require active recognized carrier, it can be received passively, but allows normal phone call only if base responded to call. 111, 911, 999, depends where you are. 111 is universally used one.
modern phones allow that even in locked state (or have option to enable keyboard on lock sceen at least).
8649629
Luna is not being a bitch. its important to mention that she's probably not used to people caring, and also, i think she might still be trying to get used to the idea of hayden's existence. also, it probably would be a good idea to let Hayden (or Evening Star, as she shall be called later) get used to Equestrian manners and way of being before unloading Luna's problem on her anyways.
And I'm done. Two thirds of the main cast are complete monsters who kidnapped a person, denied they are a person, threatened to murder them at an unspecified later date if they do not meet their vague demands, and then enslaved that person. Why would I want to read this?
Obviously she is not referring to cat food portions.