Unintended Envoy

by Chowatron

Strangers in a strange land

Unintended Envoy
Chapter1: Strangers In a Strange land

Erik’s journal/diary
Entry 1
Time: GMT+1 22:43 19th March 2019
Local Time: unknown time (late evening) Year: 4 LR (Luna’s Return)
It was recommended to me that I keep a journal/diary of events. For what reason I’m unsure; perhaps in the far future, someone may see this and find out what happened to those nobodies that disappeared in such an inexplicable way. What the difference between the two is, I’m not quite sure. I imagine a journal to be a simple collection of observations and a diary to feature personal thoughts, feelings and ramblings, much like this one.

OK, let’s make this the first real paragraph. To any sane person the photograph on the page opposite to this one is a fake. Three grown adult (and I should probably add human) men, standing next to a variety of brightly coloured (they teach Oxford English in Europe) horses, or as they prefer to be called ‘ponies’.
We can get to them later though…for now, let’s start with us humans. On the far left the tall one wearing the tactical vest with the short but not shaven brown hair is Thomas Beckman, he’s the soldier of the group. He’s from America, somewhere in California I remember he mentioned. Under normal circumstances we would be loose acquaintances at best, but he is a pretty cool guy.

Next we have Doctor Benjamin Miles. He wears glasses (just to add to the whole doctor image, I swear he doesn’t need them.) He can be a bit of a downer, but I don’t really blame him; it seems as though fate has slapped him more than once. He is a really smart guy, but not enough, apparently. He almost got accepted into Cambridge and Harvard refused him.
Centre right; the one with the centre parting is me. I grew up in the Federal Republic of Germany; I could probably tell you everything about me right now, but if we get home and I can get this published, it would make a bad story. No fun if you know everything about a character before the end of the first page. That’s just my opinion; I’m a language expert, not literature.

Remember I said I’d get to the ponies later? Well, you’ll have to wait a bit longer.

Do you remember the horizon event? A universe wide event; systems across galaxies lining up for a brief amount of time. A high altitude viewing station was set up in the Alps; the UN pledged a large amount of support to the cause of the capture and observation of this phenomenon. I was there as an interpreter (science has no one language). It must have been about five minutes before when I walked into the room with a group of astrophysicists, the lead one enthusing in mandarin while I translated to English.

Walking into the room, it was impressive. A wide open room, with lots of screens and various instruments around the edges. A few armed security guards stood on the corners of the pentagonal room. The guards seemed to not want to get in the way and adopted a policy of laissez-faire. The centrepiece of the room was the large telescope. I almost let my interpreting fall out of sync. Almost.
---
Simultaneously in a far off land, preparations were also being made for the horizon event. Although their equipment was not as sophisticated, they still took this no less seriously. The room was only of a modest size. That was before its was filled with observers. Being situated at one of the tallest parts of the castle, it was an ideal spot for observation.
The room stopped for a moment as a figure entered the doorway “How are we coming along with the preparations sister?” Princess Celestia asked, walking into the room. The other ponies, used to seeing their matriarch, carried on with their business.

Luna dismissed the unicorn she was talking to, and turned to face her sister. “All goes well.” Replied the Princess of the Night, trotting across the room. “The time soon approaches, you should stay.”

Celestia considered the offer before saying, “I thank you for the offer but I wouldn’t be of much help. I wouldn’t want to impede you.”

Luna looked her sister in the eye before meekly saying, “I would…like you to stay.”

Celestia nodded in response before asking the big question: “When does it start?”
---
“It’s starting.” I called out to everybody. Everyone took their positions, knowing what to do. Well, I didn’t. My official obligation was to ensure language barriers didn’t intervene with preparations, but I still remained. This was history in the making and wanted to tell my children I was there (on a sad note I’m not even sure if I’ll have children anymore. That would mean finding someone I liked, has the same number of chromosomes as me and is of the opposite sex).
On an instrument to my side I could see a band of radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum I wasn’t familiar with, but I‘m no expert so I turned my head, looking around for someone to ask. Since everyone else was calm I just dismissed it as lack of knowledge on my part.

I looked at another screen showing the countdown. Full line-up in: 00:00:10

I felt an odd shiver in the room. At the time I dismissed it as anticipation: it tends to get to me.
00:00:07

My legs shook and my stomach felt drained of blood. More severe than usual, but I still dismissed it.

00:00:05

The room began to shake others; noticed it. Not anticipation.

00:00:04

The unusual wavelength reached a very high frequency.

00:00:03

An anomaly of some sorted formed in the room. The guards rose their weapons and shouted for everyone to flee the room. Most people didn’t need telling twice from the looks of things. I noticed someone standing still, looking at the anomaly in awe, maybe fear. I ran to grab him.

00:00:02

A security guard had the same idea as me. He ran in front, weapon raised, while I shook the man back to his senses. An admirable display of wordless coordination.

00:00:01

We begin to move back, but the anomaly flares up, consuming us.

00:00:00

I wish I could explain this better. I’m still unsure as to what happened but I saw the brightest, whitest light. And there was the sensation of falling, but not landing.

When I came around, my heartbeat was heavy, mind even more so. I tested my major muscle groups: they all responded minus one. My left arm was on strike; must have slept on it.
I opened my senses up to my surroundings. Grass and dirt were beneath me. I could see the man we had ‘saved’. He lay next to me, still unconscious.

“Hey.” A familiar voice inquired. “You awake?” I pushed the ground with my right arm to turn onto my back and face the voice. I had many questions, but they all seemed to be variations of the same thing.

“What happened?”

A man stood over me with an MP5 slung over his shoulder by the strap. I recognised him as the guard.
“Damned if I know. But,” A smile rose to his face. “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” I smirked slightly as I rose to my feet. Once I did, his tone got harsher. “What the hell were you doing interfering with my job like that? I’m supposed to keep people safe so people like you don’t play hero.” There was a moment of silence. “However, since every other guard in the room ran, thanks for trying. I’m sorry, I suppose I could have a least told my name first. Thomas Beckman.” He extended a hand.

“Erick Klein.” I took his hand and shook it, my brain acknowledging some of what was said.

“Once Mr Gawker over there wakes up, we’ll get moving.”

“Which way?” Thomas just shrugged in response. I unzipped one of my pockets and removed my smartphone. After typing in my passcode (4-3-2-1, oh the originality, it burns) I checked for a signal. None.

“Unless you have a satellite phone, that’s getting you nowhere. Wait, can you see that over there?” Thomas pointed to a mountain in the distance. I walked up to his side and had my eyes follow the gesture. I could see a mountain in the distance. Focusing harder (not easy with a rising sun on your face), I could make out a plateau that had a castle on it. It looked to be European, crossed with a touch of fairy tale inspiration.

“Well, I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
---
“We flew over the area as you ordered, your majesty. It was dark but you should be able to see everything.” The guard pony handed over a file loosely containing several photos; Celestia gave her thanks and opened the file.

The pictures detailed three creatures not of equine or any other known category of species. Celestia could only make general notes. It was hard to tell but they seemed to be considerably taller than the average pony, almost her size. They had four legs, two close to the head that ended in hands. Celestia guessed that would make them forelegs. They were bi-pedal judging from the spacing and length of the legs and the forelegs; they had a special name, arms, if she remembered correctly. She could also see they mammalian due to the fact they had areas of skin underneath their clothes and hair the on their heads.

The photos confirmed the worst. The magical spike brought through life. The question was how to approach them. If they were hostile, they couldn’t be allowed to roam free but, what could she do then? Celestia cast her doubt aside. They wore clothes so it would be right to assume they had some level of civility about them.

“Care enough to share?” This voice surprised Celestia; she was too caught up in herself to remember she was in the company of her sister

“Of course.” She gestured with a hoof for her to come closer. She did. After looking over them for a second, she pointed to an object that was metallic; it was attached to a strap worn around the neck.

“What’s that?” Luna inquired.

“I’m not sure. It has a grip so a tool or weapon at a guess.” Celestia mused, still uncertain as to what to do. If that was a weapon it was different to anything faced before and could pose a risk to the population of Equestria. However, only one of them seemed to carry a weapon. “This is a delicate matter. How do you think we should approach this?”

“I can take a few guards and meet them, while you get in contact with the elements and tell them to come. I don’t think we should tell anypony that doesn’t need to know until we can ascertain the intentions of the new arrivals.” Luna answered somewhat excitedly, like she had been waiting for that question.

“That’s a good plan, but are you sure you want to take on the responsibility of first contact?” Celestia’s voice expressed a level of concern.

“It’s almost as if you’ve forgotten it was I who established relations with almost half of Zebrica.” Luna replied dismissing her sister’s doubt.

“The elements can be here by evening.” Celestia said, turning to make her leave.
---
“If you’re a doctor, can you explain what happened?” Thomas asked: he sounded annoyed. I couldn’t think less of him for it; I wanted answers as well.

Miles seemed to give an awkward laugh before saying a single word: “Psychiatry.” This made Thomas snap. He broke out into a fit of laughter before exhaling deeply and saying something to himself that I couldn’t make out, which was probably for the best.

Between the three of us, we had little in the way of survival skills. Thomas began walking towards the castle on the mountainside. I had no idea how he would manage the vertical aspect, but he seemed the type of person that faced problems as they come.

We walked for about an hour. Me and Miles made some small talk, exchanged stories and the like. Thomas spoke out occasionally when he had something smartass to say. Miles seemed a little misanthropic when talking about certain topics. Someone should give him the positive attention he deserves, so I praised him whenever I could without being condescending. I don’t think he cared much for the attention, but I think he was grateful for the gesture.

We were discussing our favourite soft drinks (the good ol’ Coke vs. Pepsi debate) when Thomas stopped still and raised his weapon. He hissed at us to be quiet and motioned upwards with his weapon. I looked up and was greeted with a strange sight. The simplest way to describe it would be a ‘Sky Chariot’. It looked like it was being pulled by horses with wings. Pegasi. They didn’t have the type of wings I would have imagined. They were black and scaly, like a bat’s.

“Doc,” Thomas addressed Miles. “I’m not slipping into psychosis am I?”

“Psychosis is actually a generic term used to-“Miles shook his head, “No, I’m seeing it too.”

The thing seemed to be getting lower, preparing to land near us. It came down and gracefully landed, with little dirt displaced. A creature came out. I assumed it to be of importance, hence the escorts, but you could also tell by looking it over. it was taller, had feathery wings that when unfurled would have a long wingspan. A horn adorned her head. That surprised me little, like it somehow made sense that if there are pegasi, a unicorn wouldn’t be out of place.
The figure and the guards approached us slowly, they were as cautious around us as we were them. As they got closer Thomas jerked his weapon, in response the guards raised theirs. They were technologically outmatched but they still looked determined, whether out of true resolve or ignorance of modern weaponry, I was unsure.

I walked out in front of Thomas, much to his irritation, and raised my hands before making a gesture.
“Everyone, calm down.” I said, palms pointing downwards. Thomas let go of a breath he was holding and lowered his gun to a more neutral position, the guards returned this act.
The leader spoke in a language I didn’t recognize. There was no aggression evident in the voice; the pitched tipped me of that they were female

“I don’t understand.” I said, to no response. No big deal: English is just one of my languages. “Ich kannst nicht verstehen? No eniendo? Je ne comprends pas?” The leader’s expression changed on the last one. She nodded at me. I remember thinking some along the lines of: ‘Well, of course the Pegasus-unicorn knows French’.

“Nous ne vous voulons aucun mal (we mean you no harm).” I said.

“Bonnes nouvelles. Je suis la Princesse Luna, je dois vous demander de venir avec moi.”

“They seem friendly.” I said over my shoulder. “The lead one is royalty and wants us to go with them.” I turned my attention to the princess. “Nous amierions avoir une assurance de l’mmunite diplomatque.” Playing it safe, I pleaded for diplomatic immunity. They had some sort of hierarchy, so hopefully they had some form of diplomacy.
The princess nodded in response and turned around, gesturing with a hoof for us to follow. I noticed a mark on her flank. It was in the shape of a crescent moon.

As I went to catch up, Thomas and Miles started a small exchange.

“Makes sense for them to have an escort, being royalty and all.” Thomas mused.

“Wish I had a personal guard.” Miles murmured, just loud enough to hear.

“You got me.” Thomas offered.

“One that isn’t such a wise guy.”

“No can do on that one, I’m afraid.” Thomas came back with, shrugging his shoulders.
---
Luna remained quiet through the flight; on occasion she looked at the creatures, but always turned away before she could raise suspicion. It was lucky that at least one of them spoke a recognisable language. The language barrier was always difficult to work around, as she remembered it. Where they learnt Prench was also a prominent question. She had been to Prance before, and had not seen anything like the current occupants of her ‘vehicle’. Although there was some uncertainty as to their origins, there was relief in the fact they were friendly.

It was a short flight. The clouds were few and there were no other obstructions. As they approached the castle, an elevated landing area came into view. The descent was expertly executed, like it had been done many times before. They stopped roughly in the middle of the area, which spanned only 120 meters: a narrow window, depending on the speed. Luna could see some discomfort on the faces of her guests after the landing. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise; they more than likely were not used to flying, lacking wings. Luna motioned for them to disembark they all did, nodding their thanks.

The three all cleared to make room for Luna to pass. She could hear them talking, likely exchanging thoughts. She addressed one of the pegasi at the front.
“Grey, you shall escort us.”

“With the utmost respect your majesty; my job entails getting you to places, not wiping your flank when we arrive.” he said, his demeanour was casual and the lack of enthusiasm in his voice made him come across as nonchalant. Luna did loathe him and his lazy attitude at times, but he was capable in his role.

Luna in response looked sternly at him. She took a deep breath in, and then out again, before saying flatly, “You would do well to not make me look bad in front of company.”
Showing indifference Grey loosened himself from his harness and walked behind Luna.
---
I’ve flown before, lots of times in fact, but that normally involved a layer of aluminium between me and the open. The airstrip was notably smaller than any I had seen. On the other hand, it wasn’t designed to accommodate a Boeing aircraft.
Luna gestured for us to dismount first, everyone got the message. Thomas was first out, then Miles, then me. We didn’t loiter around, clearing away for the princess.

“This place sure looks nice up close, think it’s got a pool?” I said jokingly.

“Isn’t that a prerequisite? “ Thomas asked, examining the building.

“It is a royal palace, not some mansion.” Miles said, with a serious face; this killed the mood a little. I looked over to Luna; she was talking to one of her guards. He seemed quite to acting quite flippant, given the importance of with whom he was speaking.

Luna returned to us with the guard in tow and told us to follow. We were led through the halls of the palace until we were stopped and told to wait. Luna walked on in to the room leaving us and the guard. I could have tried to start a conversation with any of them but would have been awkward, we knew each other loosely at best; we were for all intents and purposes strangers in a strange land. Two pegasi, they were guarding the door to the room, one on each side. Their wings seemed to be more ‘natural’ than the others; they had feathered wings, like Luna’s. They wore golden helmets and chest plates. I assumed it to be some sort of alloy; pure gold was too soft for anything like that. I noted this observation to the others so they could revel in my pseudo-intellectualism.

“Gold could be stronger here.” Miles suggested. “When you’re in a land of talking equines it is pretty much ‘screw logic’.” Thomas made a muffled noise to signify his agreement with Miles.
---

“Has there been anything recorded on them in the past?” Celestia asked. It was doubtful as in her long lifespan she had never encountered them.

“We haven’t found anything yet. I would most definitely like send someone to talk with them whenever possible.” The academic earth pony responded. Over the years, with her students, the xenobiologists had documented in detail things from beyond Equestrian borders.

“That depends on the news my sister brings.” Celestia said, acknowledging Luna’s entry to the room. She had returned faster than expected and was unharmed.

“They seem to be reasonable, so I brought them here for us to begin relations. Their native language is foreign to me but at least one of them has shown the ability to speak Prench.”

Celestia felt better from hearing the news . Although she was most able, she gained little but ill feelings from using her power to dispose of threats. “Can we begin work on a translation spell?”

“With a sample of their language we can. But I feel another would be better suited to that task; somepony with a…firmer grasp of modern Equestrian.” Celestia nodded and Luna continued, “They made an unusual request for something called diplomatic immunity.”

“An unfamiliar concept to you? During your…” Celestia paused up for a second thinking of the right word. “Absence, it became an issue that other cultures have different laws. Diplomatic immunity is the protection from prosecution of crimes that are culture exclusive and or of a diplomatic nature. It shows consideration for other’s views, as have they in asking.”
---

Attempts to start a conversation with Grey failed. We got his first name from him and that’s it. Most times he would just deflect the question on us or brush it off with something like ‘we’re not friends’. I don’t know how he would make many with an attitude like that. However, he didn’t seem to want to be here, so I gave the benefit of the doubt to him.
Luna walked out from the room and motioned for us to go in. Awaiting us was a tall white Pegasus unicorn. She was taller than Thomas, the tallest of us. She had a mane of various colours (insert joke about hair dye expenditure here). She unfolded her wings, attempting to impress. It worked.

“Greetings sirs, I am Princess Celestia. I am the main political leader of Equestria. My sister Luna has explained the situation to me. It would seem through no choice of your own, you have ended up in our Country. It has also been explained to me you would like diplomatic immunity, a right normally reserved for ambassadors; it is not a request I can authorise on a whim, without reason. Once we resolve the issue of language we can discuss this further.” I echoed her words to my companions.

“May we talk one to one?” Celestia said, nodding at me before she turned to walk to the other side of the hall. I was about to follow when Thomas shoved something into my hand. I looked down to see what it was.

“Useful for resolving diplomatic disputes.” He said, almost like he had experience.

“It will probably jump out my hand if I try to fire it.” I said accepting, it anyway. It was uncomfortable, but I managed put the handgun in one of my pockets, despite the fact it was so large. He walked across the room to Celestia.

“You seem like a sensible individual and you are welcome here. Where you come from things may work differently, so let me impart you some knowledge; I am responsible for raising and lowering the sun. Every day. As I please. And, if necessary, where I please." Did I believe that was possible? No. Did I believe she was lying? No. I have to give it to her: she knows how to play mind games. Lulling you into a false sense of security with her kindness before, BAM: I posses power that can kill you on a whim, just if you were getting any ideas. I really wanted to say something smart at that point, something to do with the fringe threat of nuclear terrorism and how I’m used to the fact that heat could find its way to me anytime, without prior notice. Instead I just nodded. Dumbly. Knowing the trick, unfortunately, doesn’t make you any less susceptible to it. Celestia carried on casually: “Although the two of us can communicate, your companions may be a problem. To remedy that I would like to take a sample of your language to work on a translation spell.”

“Will taking this ‘sample’ hurt?” I queried, always a safe question to ask.

“That depends on your psyche and how easy you make it for me. Just think prominently about your language.” Celestia reassured me. This probably would have been a good time to say I’m fluent in over seven but I chose to think about English. By thinking of English, I mean common words and phrases, grammar rules, pronunciation and the like.

I saw a glow encompass her horn. My head felt weird, like blood was rushing through it. My vision darkened slightly, and then it returned. I looked over to see Thomas’s hand on his weapons safety. I looked at him and he promptly threw his hands in the air and shrugged.

“That was new.” I said, turning back to the princess.

“Your reaction to magic was quite a strong one.” The princess noted, before moving on. “It has been a long time since I last encountered a new language. Some of your colloquialisms are intriguing. I must pass this knowledge on to begin work immediately.” Celestia nodded her head in courtesy began to walk away. I noticed she had a sun on her flank: I must ask what these symbols mean sometime. “If you feel up to it, there should be a unicorn who wishes to speak to you.” I walked towards the same exit as Celestia, stopping behind Thomas.

“-And then he goes and completely overshadows me.” Miles ranted to Grey. “He didn’t even put half as much effort in as did but-“

“Miles.” Thomas said sternly, in an effort to make him stop. “Ben. Benjamin. Miles!” Miles stopped. “Stop talking gibberish to the gu… to him, you’re scaring, if not boring, him.”

“Oh he’s getting some of it, right?” Miles looked at Grey, somewhat pleadingly. Grey nodded his head slowly; this planted a look of triumph on the face of Miles. At the very least out of this exchange, I got see that a nod of the head was a shared gesture.

“Hey guys,” I called out for their attention. “I’m wanted by someone. Can I trust guys to play nice while I’m gone?”

“Sure thing, mom.” Thomas remarked. “If you can’t leave use alone in a land full of talking horses-“

“Magical talking horses.” Miles chimed in.

“-Magical talking horses that don’t speak English, where can you?” There was a notable pause before Thomas gave his straight answer in a more serious tone, “We’ll be fine.”

A load relieved, I exited the room. The guards at the door glared at me: it would have been unnerving, if it wasn’t for the fact I had over a foot in size on them and a fir arm in my pocket. I can’t blame them for it though; I’m an alien to them. I’m glad that ponies don’t have the over-curiosity humans do, or else I would have been sliced open at nearest air force base before I could write this.

I saw a unicorn waiting for me: she had an aquamarine coat (had to check my paint chart for that. Would have said mauve but apparently that is a type of purple). Her amber eyes seemed to perk up. She walked up to me and began to introduce herself, in Equestrian.

“I can’t speak Equestrian.” I tried to say, using pieces of the language I had heard. To my current understanding it came out more like, ‘I can no say Equestria’. It wasn’t a bad first attempt… in comparison with my first Urdu sentences, it was quite good. I was given a look of confusion before the unicorn laughed in an awkward fashion and tried again.

“Sorry about that. I’m Lyra, Lyra Heartstrings.” The unicorn offered a hoof out to me, which I shook. It was a little awkward due to the size difference.
---

Lyra Heartstrings was easily considered to be a successful pony. Graduating from Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns proved that. She was also a figure in the scientific community, having written papers on bipedal creatures. She did it only for the academic credit it came with though. Music was her passion, that’s what she wanted to be remembered for.
Lyra led Erik into a room of a very modest size, a desk with chairs on both sides. A bookcase was to the side. Some sort of study or interview room. Lyra used magic to bring over an empty book, a quill and a length of measuring tape.

“Starting with some measurements?” Erick asked, raising his shoulders, ready to stretch out his arms. Lyra nodded, grabbing the tape and beginning to check his height. Lyra noted that he measured 1.81metres. “An average height.” Erick said.

“Arms.” Lyra ordered, starting to measure arm span. “So what do they call you? Don’t answer that, you’re Erik, bad question. What I meant to ask is what is your species called?”

“We call ourselves humans, but the formal species classification is homosapiens. Although I doubt you call yourselves Equus-whatever.” Lyra nodded in response, whilst titling the page. He made a fair point. The arm span measured the same as his height. “I weigh in at about 63kilos last I checked, that’s a little below average… want to know my shoe size next?” Erik asked, Lyra couldn’t make out if he was annoyed or genuinely trying to be helpful.

“That won’t be necessary, you can sit.” They took seats on opposing ends. The chair looked uncomfortably small for Erik, but he didn’t complain, just shuffled. This gave Lyra a good look at his hairless face. It was easier to look at than other bipedal creatures, such as minotaurs. It was a pale colour. He had two eyes that were small in comparison to any ponies. Some sort of cartilage started from between the eyes and stopped a little above the-

“You going to ask any questions or just stare?” Erik asked, bringing Lyra into the present.

“Just start where you feel comfortable, I’ll interrupt if I have any questions.”

“That would be nowhere. Well, my full name is Erik Klein. I am male. I was born on the 3rd of October, 1990. That date might not mean much to you, but in my country, that’s a pretty significant date. I’m from a planet called earth; it is the third closest planet to the sun in its solar system. The planet is covered in roughly three quarters by water. The main continents are…” After a lesson in earth’s geography, he went on to give a quick primer session about religions and political systems. he continued talking for around an hour, listing out one hundred and ninety six countries.

“Not to question the intelligence of humans, but I am quite a knowledgeable pony and I can’t name every country we have made contact with.” Lyra commented.

Erik smiled, “Neither can I.” he said raising his smartphone, “Virtual encyclopaedia.”

“Virtual? As in not real?” Lyra questioned, not fully understanding the concept.

“’Digital, would be a better word.” Erik grimaced. "It's real, but it doesn't occupy a real space." He then went on to explain the premise of digital technology and its benefits. Lyra wanted to get her hooves on Erik’s phone, but he was adamant about not letting her near it. Which was fair: it did look fragile. Lyra noted this all down, taking in all the aspects of extra-terrestrial life. It was all outside her field of expertise, but who cared? She felt privileged to be one of the first to speak with an alien, and lucky that she chose to pick up a second language. She asked some questions which in hindsight were plain stupid. She learnt however that both their races had a pop culture featuring aliens as strange coloured versions of themselves. They had a few more conversations discussing the similarities and differences of human and pony culture, until one interesting topic arose.
---

“So, you a big fan of music Lyra?” I asked. I quite liked Lyra, I admit. She was intelligent, experienced and a good listener, but not afraid to ask question.

“Yeah I am,” That was no surprise; the unicorn with a lyre on their side likes music. “It’s what I do. Well, at least when I’m not meeting people from other planets. Can you play an instrument?”

“A bit of acoustic guitar. I can’t play melodies very well though, prefer rhythm parts. Let me take a guess, you can play the lyre?”

“That obvious?” She deadpanned.

“Sort of.” I commented, before reaching my hand into my pocket and pulling out my phone. I pushed the central button and the screen came on. I went on to the music player and was greeted by a list of mp.3 files; a fraction of what I had on my desktop. “Want to hear some human music?” Lyra nodded energetically: she must have wondered how I would do such a thing with no instrument. “Right then, let’s start with something that stood the test of time. This piece is about three hundred years old.” Tapping the screen, the music began to play. The screen read Vivaldi/Four Seasons (Winter). I let the music play for a while before commenting on “Hear that pizzicato? The plucking of the strings instead of bowing them?” Lyra nodded and listened on.

“Are you a musician?” Lyra asked, curious.

“Grade two, listening and appraising music, leaving secondary school.” I said with some pride. I let the music play while I searched for a more contemporary song; you couldn't go wrong with a bit of Michael right?

Author's Note:

What do you think? I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I have to give proofreading credit to BlackRoseRaven. If you like my work or not check them out; they are leagues better at writing than I am.

Comments

[Jayellow]

Next time, I'd recommend waiting until your story is actually accepted before adding it to groups.

[anon 490834]

This is good

[Fireheart 1945]

2205058

Yes it is