John Smith is sent to Equestria as a liason between humans and ponies. But politics and conflict aren't the only things he will experience...
When former general of the United Earth Army John Smith is contacted by the leadership of Equestria in 2295, he is sent by Earth's government through an inter-dimensional teleporter to act as advisor and liaison between the two. While there, his time between advising the equestrian military and preventing wars is filled with getting to know the denizens and culture of this magical land.
There is a cavernous room, with white walls and flooring. There are several tables and desks scattered throughout, there surfaces covered in strange parts and electronics. At the far end there is a large sphere, seemingly metallic in texture and appearance, but unfamiliar to the average eye. Two people are near it, a woman in a lab coat kneeling at one side, and a man in what appears to be a blue uniform, with tall leather boots and ribbons on his chest.
The man's name is John Smith. Being a former general in the United Earth's military, his prestige indeed earned him the title as the Napoleon of the 23rd Century. The comparison to the old world general pleased John, as he admired the renowned Corsican.
Kneeling by the sphere is Doctor Elyse Franklin, the leading mind in Particle Physics. Her intellect is rivaled only by her knowledge that she is smarter than everyone else.
“How is it Doctor Franklin, is it ready?”
“Almost... just have to calibrate this field containment gyro...”
“I was told it was complete. How much longer?”
“Not long, just one more... there! Now we can fire her up.”
“Excellent. Thank you Elyse, you truly are a genius.”
“I am, but you and Doctor Heinderman are the ones who found out inter-dimensional travel was even possible. I just did what your plebeian brains limited you from accomplishing.”
“... Very funny. You know it was because we were contacted by the Princess. Now, turn this machine on. I'm already late to the Summit as it is.”
“Alright, alright. Activating in 3... 2... 1...”
The sphere lights up in a strange iridescent glow, and a low whirring can be heard. Part of it slides open, and multicolored, swirling light emanates from the opening. The former general walks up to the inter-dimensional doorway, gives the Doctor a parting nod, and steps in.
There is swirling light all around, colors flashing and ebbing, and the sensation of being stretched like taffy. John could feel himself getting somewhat nauseated, but he wouldn't have been able to throw up if he wanted to. After what seemed like an eternity and no time at all, the spinning and flashing quite abruptly, as well as John, sending him to one knee. Of course, the only thing that still felt like it was spinning was his head. After a moment of staring at the ground, John looked up to check his surroundings.
And what he saw took his breath away a second time.
The entire antechamber, for that is indeed what it was, was an odd mixture of styles. The nearest thing he could use to describe it was the melding of night and day. Looking up he saw at the center of the ceiling high above an odd portrayal of the sun, or was it the moon? It was yellow like the sun, but he could see silver swirls going through it. The entire thing emanated a combination of warmth and coolness, and seemed to put forth light of it's own volition.
Looking down from his stupor he noticed a line of people waiting for him. Well, ponies. He recognized princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but with them were about half a dozen armored ponies that, outside of their armor, didn't come much higher than his waist. Also in the group of equines was a couple of ponies wearing garment very similar to lab coats. John figured that these were the scientists in charge of studying the 'rainbow bridge' so to speak.
John stood up, straightened his uniform, and walked confidently over to the princesses, noticing the subtle wariness that covered the otherwise stoic faces of the guards. He came to Celestia and, forgetting where he wasn't, held out his had. The Princess hesitated a moment, and questioningly put out her hoof, holding it in front of her. John chuckled to himself and lowered his hand.
“Sorry about that your highness, I forgot I wasn't on my earth anymore. I'll explain what that was later. For now, allow me to introduce myself to you and your guards. I am the human Ambassador John Smith. I believe your sister Princess Luna and I have already met.” He nods to Luna, who returns the gesture.
“Of course Ambassador, we are pleased to meet you. Though I must say, my subjects and I have never seen somepony like yourself. We are all eager to learn more about you and your kind, and also about your 'earth.' But first, I believe we have a meeting to hold.”
“Ah, yes. My apologies for being late, your majesty. Our scientists had a couple issues with the bridge generator. Lead the way”
With that the whole group (minus the scientists) made their way across the chamber to a large arched doorway. They then exited into a long, bright halway, with many doors on each side. The themes and decorations were much more simplistic than the antechamber, but still beautiful. John also noticed that when the guards thought no one was looking, they would venture glances over at him. Every time he looked, they would snap back into their stoic expressions. He was impressed overall though at the discipline they had. It wasn't quite the level of professionalism the UEA Planet Guard had, but it still was impressive.
John lost track of how many turns they made. Normally he had a good sense of direction, but his brain was a little below maximum power between the teleport and the processing of the new environment. He noticed that he felt a little bit lighter than usual, as if he weighed less.
The gravity must be slightly less powerful here than Earth.
The princesses at that point came to a halt before another set of double-doors. The guards stationed themselves on either side, and Celestia opened the doors while gesturing for John to enter. With a nod he did so and walked over to the big oblong table in the middle of the room.
This must be the council chamber where the summit is being held.
There were already two... ponies... at the table. A white unicorn with a blue mane, sitting next to a pinkish alicorn. Both seemed slightly smaller than the princesses, though not by much. They came up to his chest by first guess. There was also a shorter purple alicorn, who might not of been as tall as a guard. Odd, since all the royalty he had encountered so far tended to be much taller than the 'ordinary' ponies. John stood behind a seat at the middle of the table, and waited for the princesses. Though the table and the chairs seemed much too small for him, as the table barely made it up to his thighs!
Celestia and Luna went and sat at the end of the table.
“Please make yourself as comfortable as you can, Ambassador.” Celestia scrunched her face looking at John standing next to the small chair as she said this. “Unfortunately our furniture was not intended to accommodate your species, but we will do our best to rectify that. For now, feel free to do what feels best to you.”
“Thank you, your highness. I completely understand.” There seems to be a lot less formality here than Earth. They must not have seen as much strife and conflict. Tribulation breeds strictness after all.
Celestia looked at the gathering and spoke up. “Let's begin. As you all know, my sister Luna -” Luna tilts her head in acknowledgment, “- contacted Ambassador Smith from Earth through her dream-stride abilities. We invited him here to give us an outside perspective on our... conflicts, and to build a bridge of friendship between us and newly discovered Earth. Ambassador, would you like to say anything to introduce yourself?”
John hesitated, wondering if he should stand up. After thinking about it he decided not to, as the atmosphere seemed much less formal.
“Well, my name is John Smith, for starters. I am a formal general of the United Earth Army, and acting representative of Earth. It's a pleasure to meet you all, and I look forward to getting to know your customs and way of life.” He paused for a moment, I could use this informal nature. It doesn't have to be the dry, impersonal interaction it was on earth, I could actually get to know them. “And please, call me John. I believe in treating everyo-... everypony as equals.”
“Of course, John. If everyony will introduce themselves...”
The pink alicorn spoke up “My name is Cadence, and this is my husband Shining Armor. We rule over the Crystal Empire, far to the north. Though we aren't formally apart of Equestria, we might as well be considering I'm the adopted niece to Celestia.”
Shining Armor adds a “pleased to meet you.”
The purple alicorn then introduces herself. “I'm Twilight Sparkle.” She pauses for a long time, clearly studying John, until Shining armor makes a face at her and nudges her shoulder. “Oh, right, sorry! I'm the princess of Friendship and Shining Armor's sister.” She ends with an embarrassed blush.
After the introductions, the summit went fairly smooth. The princesses gave John the rundown on the 'state of the realm,' and offered him guards. He accepted, with the condition that if it was too awkward or impersonal, or made him unapproachable, he would go without them. He also said he would like to meet up with each of them separately, in order to get to know them better. They agreed, and then Celestia informed him that she had prepared a room for him in the residential quarter of the castle.
The guards showed John to his room. They waited outside while he got settled in to where he would be staying for the foreseeable future. As he entered the room he immediately noticed the rather mountainous stack of luggage and equipment that had been sent through the portal ahead of him. Looking at the stack, he thought that maybe he requested too much. But it was better to be prepared, right?
He grabbed his suitcase from the pile and left the rest for later. He would have time, and there was too much to see to waste the afternoon on unpacking. He grabbed his favorite outfit: navy blue cargo pants, his favorite white t-shirt, and a hat. Wearing dress uniforms was fun on occasion, but not very comfortable, and he had a few hours before his meeting with Princess Luna.
After getting dressed he sat down on the bed (which was very low to the ground, considering it was made for 4ft tall ponies), and stared at the luggage. He decided leaving it in the middle of the room wouldn't do either and neatly stacked it against the wall opposite the door.
John walked out of the door to see the guards still keeping watch for flies and other dangerous monstrosities. Guarding sucked, he knew.
“Hey, you guys can go at ease for a moment.”
The guards glanced to each other, sat on their haunches, and looked at John.
“So, do you gentlemen -” the guards raised their eyebrows in confusion, “sorry, uhh... gentle-colts? Do you know what the best thing for a newcomer to do is in Canterlot?”
The one on the left spoke up. “Well sir, we guards like to hang out at the Chomps & Cider, or you could visit the markets, there's usually lots of tourists there.”
“Thank you. Also I would like your names, so I'm not just calling you 'guards' all the time.”
“I'm Wild Haze, sir,” said the left one “and this is Silver Mane.”
The right one finally spoke. “It's a pleasure.”
“Spectacular! Now, mister Wild, mister Silver, lead the way to Chomps & Cider.”
The two guards obliged and lead John through the city to a small bar-and-grill style establishment. He walked in and was somewhat surprised by the atmosphere of the restaurant. Unlike the sports bars back on earth, this one's interior was bright and vibrant. As he looked around, he realized that all the patrons were staring at him and his guards. He put a smile on his face and waved a friendly hand. The ponies turned back to their food and drinks, but John could hear them talking about the strange being that graced their restaurant.
John and his guards walk up to the bar and greet the bartender, who has a face of pure confusion.
“Good evening my dear sir!” John said. “My name is John. I just arrived to Equestria through a rainbow portal as an ambassador from Earth in another dimension. How are you?”
The question was met with a blank stare and puzzled face by the bartender and chuckles from Wild and Silver.
“Well then, I'll take a hot soft cider and grilled celery please, and these fine gentlecolts will have...”
Silver: “Hard cider on ice.”
Wild: “Sparkling water, cherry.”
They waited at the counter while the bartender absently made their drinks. John decided he might as well strike up conversation with his guards. After all, if he and his guards were friendly, they would guard him even better.
“So, you two must be curious about where I come from. Do you want to ask any questions?”
Silver tilted his head in thought, but Wild immediately piped up.
“Yes sir. Are there different types of humans?”
“Well, yes, sort of. I mean, we're all pretty much the same, except for skin color. That's not even as varied as your coat colors. What about you guys? What's the difference between ponies? And please, call me John, or Ambassador at most.”
“Well, Ambassador, there are three types of pony. There's pegasi, like myself, unicorns, the magic users -” he pointed over to Silver, “and earth ponies, who are the strongest.”
“I see. I noticed that you both have white coats, though.”
Silver spoke up. “We dye our coats white as part of the requirements for Celestia's Royal Guards.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
The bartender returned with the drinks, and said that the grilled celery would be ready shortly. John was a little disappointed that there was no meat, but he wasn't surprised considering the population was made entirely of herbivores. While he sipped his cider (which was delicious; ponies did a much better job on their fruity drinks than earth, apparently), Wild continued the conversation.
“Ambassador, if you don't mind me asking, why were you the one to come here to Equestria?”
“Well, to be honest, I've always been somewhat of a misfit, considered strange, by my peers. And I was the first person that Princess Luna made contact with, so that also added to me being a good candidate... That, and no one else volunteered.”
Wild and Silver both glanced at each other with thoughtful expressions when they heard that John was the only one willing to represent earth to equestria, but they didn't say anything about it. John got his food and dug into it, as he hadn't eaten since before arriving through the portal. After finishing up, he paid for the drinks and food from the allowance Celestia had given him and started a tab with the bartender. After all the place was nice, and he planned on visiting often, if only to help the locals get used to his existence.
The guards led John back to the castle, and he relieved them of duty for the night, as he didn't think he would need guards for his meeting with Luna. Since he had about an hour before he was to meet with her, he decided to get a jump start on unpacking the supply cache of luggage in his room.