The Only Human

by BigD

Chapter 5

“Does Princess Luna treat everyone like that, or am I just special?” asked Mark as he and the six ponies left Celestia’s throne room. Mark had just gone through what felt like hours of interrogation, the two princesses questioning him on just about everything under the sun regarding himself. Luna had warmed up a bit after her little staring session, but she was still firm and somewhat stern with him, continually warning him to speak only truths throughout her questioning. Even Celestia had gone into her “stern mother” mode. He was more than happy to go once he was dismissed.

“Oh, you’re special, darling, no doubt there,” teased Rarity with a giggle, playfully bumping her flank against him. “But he does raise a good point, Twilight. Princess Luna was a bit more…uncouth than usual. Did she mention anything to you about not trusting Mark?” she said, turning her attention to the lavender unicorn.

“Not really. But since we freed her from Nightmare Moon, she has taken to her role as a protector of Equestria rather strongly. My guess is she’s just a bit wary of Mark because he’s so strange. Do bear in mind she’s only just met him, and even after being with him for so long, I still find him somewhat strange…no offense,” she said quickly, turning to Mark with a blush.

“It’s okay, Twilight. I never expected to fit in overnight, I just…it was a bit unnerving, Luna coming up to me like that. I felt for sure I’d done something to offend her,” he said, his heart pounding a bit as he remembered that unblinking gaze she’d given him.

“Keep in mind, Mark, Luna’s been gone fer over a thousand years, so she ain’t adjusted ta how things work ‘round here. Ah reckon that’s how things were done back in her day, so don’t worry too much ‘bout it. ‘sides, you seemed to do the right thing with kissing her hoof an‘ all,” said Applejack, giving him a thump on the shoulders…and drawing a squawk from Rarity.

“Maybe if we invite her to Markie’s “Citizen Of Equestria” Party, she can learn more about him…a lot more,” squealed Pinkie Pie with a giggle, drawing a collective groan from everypony and a scarlet blush from Mark. “What? Don’t tell me none of you saw her checking him out?” she said, that big grin of hers never wavering as she turned to look Mark in the eye. “Better be a good boy, Markie-poo! Princess Luna can be a big meanie if you‘re bad.”

“Aw come on, Pinkie, they only jest met. Yer tryin’ to tell me Luna’s already got a crush on him?” said Applejack huffily, Rarity the only one catching what sounded like a note of jealousy in the farm pony’s tone and smirking. She would have to investigate that later…and she couldn’t help but feel a bit of jealousy herself. Though she knew of Spike’s feelings for her and reciprocated them, she was starting to see Mark in an interesting light…and he DID look rather dashing in his suit.

“Alright, girls, enough of all that. Mark’s passed his test with the princesses, so we have to move on to the next order of business now that he’s a citizen here,” said Twilight, her horn glowing as she produced a checklist from thin air and began going over it. “Fixing up his home, getting him a job, helping him learn the laws and customs, getting him insured, and-”

“Actually, I was hoping we might go out and…have some fun?” said Mark hesitantly, watching Pinkie Pie out of the corner of his eye to see if she was about to go party crazy. When she didn’t, he continued. “It’s not exactly like back on earth, but I wouldn’t mind enjoying the night life here. It’s been a while since I just got to enjoy a night on the town,” he said, moving over to a nearby window and looking out at the streets of Canterlot. The sun was still up, but from what Twilight had told him, it was almost time for Celestia to lower it and Luna to move the moon in its place.

“Markie has…has earned a rest, girls. And…although I’m not much of a…night pony…we have too,” said Fluttershy, looking out the window with Mark, the human giving her a warm smile and politely stroking her mane, drawing a little giggle from her. “I wouldn’t mind spending the night out with you,” she said softly, slowly extending a wing to wrap around him.

Mark heard the other girls come up behind him and look out the window, Applejack bumping up against him on one side, Rarity the other, Twilight moving a bit in front, Rainbow Dash hovering above…and Pinkie Pie getting up on her hind legs and almost forcing him to the ground as she rested on his back, looking over his shoulder with a giggle.

“Yeah. Princess Celestia did say it was time for a vacation…and I think it’s time we all got to see Mark unwind,” said Twilight, suddenly turning to Mark with a mischievous smirk, the other girls all giggling and starting to prod him back to his room, his mild protests falling on deaf ears. “If Mark wants to enjoy the night life, I say we give him the full tour,” she said, happily leading the way into his room, the other girls closing the door behind them as they disappeared inside.



Princess Luna gazed into her mirror as she floated an eyeliner brush up to her face, drawing dark auras around her baby-blue orbs. That done, she applied some purple lipstick, then began to brush her shimmering mane. She and her sister had just raised the moon together, and being the Princess of the Night, it was time for her evening patrol. A princess had to make sure her subjects were safe, after all.

“Do you always get so dressed up for patrol, Lulu? Strange, but I can’t seem to recall you doing that before,” came the warm, teasing voice of her sister, her hoof steps clopping against the floor until she appeared in the mirror beside Luna.

“The Princess of the Night has to look her best, Tia. And we have a guest in our kingdom now. Just as he was expected to make a good impression on me, I must return the gesture,” she said calmly, placing the brush down and inspecting herself, giving a coy wink and smile, much to the amusement of Celestia.

“Speaking of our young guest, was it really necessary for you to give him…the business?” she asked, giving a somewhat stern look to her sister, who only rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Tia, how many threats have we dealt with since my return? How many nearly led to the end of Canterlot, never mind Equestria?” she said, her own voice growing firm as she turned and looked Celestia dead in the eye. “I have nothing but respect for you as a ruler, dear sister, but I cannot fully share your easy-going manner towards strangers. Mark had to show he meant no harm, and challenging him as I did was the best way.”

“Mark is far from a simple stranger, little sister. He’s been here for a fair amount of time, and in that time, he has not done a single act to warrant suspicion. If anything, he has gone above and beyond in trying to earn our trust. I would think Twilight’s letters demonstrate that clearly,” replied Celestia, calmly meeting Luna’s gaze. Her sister could become rather set when it came to her natural suspicion.

“And how long, dear sister, did the Changeling queen hide right under our noses, and as a pony whom we both have been around for decades no less? How much strange behavior that should’ve set off alarms did we ignore?” retorted Luna, her sister frowning and looking down. “Twilight was the only one among who knows how many who saw her for the imposter she was, and what did you do when she presented her suspicions?” said Luna, resisting the urge to poke Celestia in the chest with her hoof.

Celestia didn’t reply for a moment, her heart growing heavy as she remembered that day, one that was far from her best moment. Twilight had indeed been right about the fake Cadence, and Celestia still had trouble dealing with the fact that she had spoken against her student and had nearly crushed her heart. Luna did have a point there, though she’d also sank said point as well.

“That is true…but this time, Twilight was the one who expressed confidence that he meant no harm, and Twilight’s other friends have accepted him as well. Regardless of how strange he is, I believe that warrants him at least some trust from us,” she said softly.

Luna’s expression softened, and she extended a wing to hug her sister, nuzzling her cheek. “I’m sorry, Tia, and you are right. Perhaps I will find this young Mark and make some amends. He did remember the proper way to greet a princess, so I suppose that’s earned him some reward,” she said, Celestia immediately brightening up and smirking.

“Oh? And your appreciation for him couldn’t have anything to do with his body, could it? You really must practice your observation skills, Lulu. You make it so obvious when you‘re checking somepony out,” she said, giggling as Luna blushed, her cheeks turning dark purple.

Luna’s mouth opened, but no words came out, feeling her cheeks grow hot as she closed it, then opened it again, trying to figure out what to say. Yes, she had been checking him out, mainly because even by stallion standards, he was good-looking. Not to mention Luna was rather curious to learn more about him.

“It’s okay, Lulu. He is rather attractive for not being a stallion, not to mention polite and humble. Though I am surprised your eye is on him after so many stallions have tried to court you,” she said with a giggle, nuzzling Luna’s flushed cheek as her sister frowned and looked down for a moment…then seemed to look into space with a small smile.

“He wasn’t afraid of me, Tia. Most ponies all but run away when I give them the business…but he didn’t. He didn’t quite act as I was hoping for, but he did good…and he even knew to kiss my hoof,” she said, looking down at the one he’d kissed. The last time she’d offered her hoof for that, back in Ponyville during Nightmare Night, everyone had cowered from her, still seeing her as the dreaded Nightmare Moon. She had greeted many a noble in such a manner as well and they had either cowered away or scoffed at the very idea of such an act; manners had indeed fallen a bit since her banishment.

“Our little ponies still don’t fully trust you, do they, Lulu?” said Celestia softly, extending a wing to pull her sister to her. The dark mare nodded, a few tears brimming in her eyes, quickly wiped way before her make-up was ruined.

“Even after Twilight’s help on Nightmare Night, some ponies still have fear in their eyes when I approach. And since they heard about my pranks on Nightmare Night, many of the nobles seem to think it’s okay to prank me about my…other self. I do not like it, but I do not wish to be seen as the Nightmare if I get onto them.”

“And Mark is a clean slate, somepony you can be with without being pre-judged?” asked Celestia, Luna nodding and turning to her, gently kissing her cheek.

“More than that…he and I are…similar. We are both in a world we have trouble understanding and living in, even if for different reasons. True, his is because he is not Equestrian, but perhaps having something in common will allow us to…comfort each other,” she said softly, turning back to the mirror and giving her mane one final brush.

“He can’t have too many friends, Lulu, and if you think spending time with him will make you happier, I certainly won’t forbid it. Just take it slow with him; I don’t think Twilight has quite explained how courting works on Equestria, so he will need time to adjust. I get the impression that males like him aren’t as rare on his homeworld as they are here,” said Celestia, politely straightening her sister’s crown before stepping away.

Luna gave her reflection one more smile, found it and her make-up satisfactory, and moved to the balcony, spreading her wings and taking off. With a powerful flap, she made her way into the sky, heading for the bright lights of downtown Canterlot.

Behind her, Celestia watched until her little sister disappeared from view. Only then did she speak the words on her mind: "Just remember, dear sister...he is not immortal."

Author's Note:

I hope I'm not overplaying the ponies' attraction to Mark. I'm still figuring out how relationships work in Equestria, and there are as many theories as there are romance stories on here, so I just have to kind of go the way I feel. Something to keep in mind is that Mark is the ONLY human male in Equestria, so I think it's inevitable that he'll have more than one special somepony.

I also hoped I've adequately explained Luna's behavior in the last chapter. As always, constructive criticism is welcome.

And if anyone thinks the last line holds a special meaning for the future, well...time will tell.

Comments

[spetsnaz pinkie pie]

For the love of celestia please! No Sparity!

Gah! Just typing that makes me want to vomit!

... Worst ship ever!!

[BigD]

3355644

Eh, I was actually going to address that, because it's such an integral part of the show that I don't think I can just gloss over it. Still not sure which way I'll have Rarity go, but it's something I feel I need to address.

[Sonson-Sensei]

3355723 I have to agree with my man spetsnaz down there, Sparity sucks! It would have been entirely fair to gloss over it, considering they aren't dating in the show, it's just a kid with a crush. Not much different then a kid having the hots for his babysitter.

Anyway yeah you maybe overplaying the pony attraction a tid bit. I understand the lack of stallions would generally make ponies more open to different species relationships, but they still wouldn't necessarily have a physical attraction to him, just because he's male. I mean he has to look pretty freakin alien to them, being bipedal and fur less. Just be careful, you may slip into stu territory, by having so many ponies wanting a piece of the human.

[BigD]

3358273

Well, the attraction isn't just because he's male. It's also because he shares some of the values the ponies have; Applejack appreciates hard work and a willingness to get dirty and Rarity values manners. He has both, so I think it natural they would find him appealing.

As to his bipedal nature and lack of fur, do bear in mind that some dragons and the Diamond Dogs have those same traits in the show, so they wouldn't be completely alien to them. I'm also keeping in mind the lesson the girls all learned in "Bridle Gossip". In the six months he's been there, Mark has shown that, despite what he may look like on the outside, on the inside, he's not that much different from the Mane Six.

[ArcaneVisions]

I always reference xenophila for a good working herd system. It is pretty well thought out.