Local human gets caught up in a shocking situation
I made a sequel because sleep is for the week.
Anon continues his desperate floundering through pony society and trying to understand some of the forces at work. The results are shocking to say the least. Dragged on a diplomatic mission to a foreign land by the ruler of the land, Anon must confront more than a few fears and self doubts to overcome the coming storm.
Warning tags are for casual mentions and innuendoes so far.
(You don't really need to read the prequel to enjoy this story to it's fullest as it was mostly just for spoofs and laughs, but it is there if you'd like.)
I don't like to sing around others... Well not very often at the very least, because I did feel like a million bits after lulling the CMC's to sleep during that storm a whiles back. That was different though, because if I didn't then they probably would have had horrible nightmares and I was singing in a different language anyways. I mean really, who could let a bunch of scared children drift of like that when that storm was enough to even get me riled up.
The main issue with this seems to be the fact that as far as I've gathered this pastel coated world has some mystical force that drives most every sapient being to act like their everyday lives becoming a musical number in the celestial show of the universe is normal. I mean not only does it seem to be a fairly common occurrence around a smaller town like Ponyville, but the fact that it can occur within major areas and around major events such as an attempted hostile takeover of the country boggles my mind to no end. I've heard bit's and pieces of the event in passing, something that everything on the planet is supposed to have. The Voice.
Ever since the incident in the square when I bungled the 'event' for most of the town I had been getting a few more strange looks than normal, particularly from the element bearers who I had come to count as some of my closest.. associates in this new world.
...Associates huh?
"Am I really that afraid of calling someone a friend again?" I mutter under my breath as the room I'm in feels like it's turning on it's side... Wait it really is turning on it's side! I rush out of the room I had awoken in to confront the pony likely responsible for me feeling like my legs were going to give out.
"CELESITA! We'd better not be in one of those Hindenburg Mk. II's! You know I don't like flying!" I shout out as I stumble down the hall to the deck of what I had hoped was a regular ship rather than those flying deathtraps they love to look oh so nice. I had been smelling the relaxing scent of the ocean since I had awoken from the minor sleep spell the princess had asked to use on me so as to make sure I was a, 'rested and prime diplomat' for my people and to help their own. I know she mostly did it to help my travel anxiety and to give me a chance to get out of Ponyville since I was starting to feel weird after the mess I had made there.
"Anonymous? Just stay inside the cabin space for right now if you'd please! We're-"
Her voice was carried off by whatever was going on outside and though I was rightfully terrified of potentially being on an airship I wasn't about to let the one who had helped me so much since I arrived deal with a potential problem or threat without seeing if I could help her at all.
"Celestia? I'm coming out to help if I can, just let me know what I can do-AAHH!" I scream as I'm dragged from the portal to the outer deck by what felt like the winds of the strongest storms I had experienced back home. I scrambled at the deck, my hands clawing at the wood to find some purchase before I was brought too close to the edge. Finally I arrest my movement as I look around to see what could be causing all of this only to immediately wish that I had stayed asleep.
"Anonymous!" I was wrapped in a golden aura as Celestia dragged me towards the stairs near the door that I had just been yeeted out of by the gale surrounding us.
"Anonymous you must go back inside, we are dealing with Storm Sirens! It is not safe to listen to their song without protection." As she released me from the spell and nudged me towards safety I couldn't help but gaze out in fear and wonder at the figures dancing madly around our craft. Magnificent half-seen forms of living lightning and cloudy trails danced across the sky as the song of the storm reached my ears.
I felt tears well in my eyes as the sirens sang a somber tune who's pace seemed a stark contrast to how they streaked across the sky. The song called to me and something inside my bones resonated with their song, something that I hadn't felt since last I sang to a living thing. My mind flashed back to the storm that had been raging over Ponyville when I was watching over the Crusaders so their older counterparts could focus on prepping the town for the raging storm that had rushed in faster than any had expected. I remember feeling in my bones that something had to be done at least for the young ponies that I had tried to keep as safe and dry as I could.
I could recall now thinking I had seen figures in the sky that day before the windows and doors of my abode had been breached by the winds, having to curl up in a corner with a blanket and my body to shield the little ones. I had done the one thing I could think to do for them, the thing my mother had often done for me when I was a young child being terrorized by half seen shapes in the great storms that would wash over us. I sang to them a song of pain for those are the ones I remembered the best, I did make sure to choose one that they wouldn't understand though so as to not be further frightened.
"They need someone to sing to them..." I whisper, my words quickly stolen by the wind before any could hear my words. The crew was busy keeping the airship aloft whilst Celestia was trying to force the Storm Sirens away with her magic, but the elementals were non to easy to disperse or catch. It was then that I saw something that the others were too busy to see, a young mare with what looked like a swab as her mark was knocked unconscious towards the bow. What was worse though was the advancing Storm Siren that was approaching her.
"Celestia! Anyone! Help here please." Again my words were carried off as I gripped my safe anchor amongst the raging storm, my shaking legs unwilling to carry me into what my body called certain death. I looked around for someone anyone to help but... no one came.
"P-please.." I cried out as my whole body shook with the effort that I was placing upon it. Finally I knew that in this moment I was alone. No one else was going to step in and save the day this time, no one could do what needed to be done except me. So with shuddering breath and shaky step I forced myself towards the prone cabin filly, unwilling to let her be harmed even if I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. The creature had turned its gaze on me as I inserted myself between it and the unconscious pony, sparks of light flickering in place of eyes as puffs of dark cloud emanated from it's nostrils.
"Wow there, easy now.." I know it's stupid to think that talking to a storm elemental like a horse would work, but at the least it wasn't charging me for now and being so close to what appeared to be the literal center of the storm gave me more solid footing though I could still hear the wind howling around us. Then I felt it again in my bones.. The call of the storm needed an answer and none of the others seemed keen on doing it so with a nervous gulp I slink towards the elemental and bring my lips towards its ear. With a shiver I begin to sing in almost a whisper so that only the Storm Siren could hear me, I sang of love, death, and the ocean. The eerie music box tones that would normally accompany the song were so vivid in my mind I could swear they were really playing, until I reach the peak of the song and actually heard the drums and organs flowing throughout the storm as the other Sirens began circling around us.
"No Anon!" I could barely hear Celestia over the Song of the Sirens and the music that flooded my mind, but still I kept singing to the storm until the drums stopped their thunderous thumping and the organs ceased the mourning howls as naught but the music box and my voice were left.
Hear my Voice,
sing with the tide,
Our love will,
never die...
I lean away from the now softly crackling form of the Storm Siren as the others of it's kin surround us, their forms lighter and calmer than they had been but moments before. The lead Siren brushed it's head into mine and I felt the tingling of a electric shock, but without the normal pain that'd follow as it turned and cantered off with the others into the calming storm.
"A-anon?" I heard a soft, concerned voice call from behind me.
"Yes Princess?" I answered, turning to face the gathered ponies. Unbeknownst to me at the time I may have had some residual storm magic in my system as my eyes were apparently glowing with miniature lightning storms.
"Anon I have one simple question," the ruler of the dawn started, "To use one of your turns of phrase."
"What the fudging, sugar honey ice tea was that?" Celestia said in a barely controlled voice as she gazed at me. I noticed that she was looking intently at my eyes so I tried to brush away the remaining tears that the events of the last few minutes had caused.
This too she now saw as she then asked, "Anonymous, what happened back there. Are you well?" She gazed at me with those big puppy dog eyes that all those cheating ponies have and her signature motherly voice.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine Princess. Just a tad overwhelming was all. I mean it's not every day that you get to stand in the center of the storm whilst on a flying deathtrap and stupidly try to calm the darn thing." I chuckle lightly as I look back up at the gathered ruler and crew.
"Well Anonymous, while I would like to know the why. For I seem to recall you being so afraid of our 'deathtraps' as you so lovingly call them that I had to use a sleeping spell to get you on board." She gives me a small smile that makes me hope I don't talk in magically induced slumber.
"Nevertheless I think the more prudent question is the how... How did you calm the Storm Sirens Anonymous? They are primal beings almost on the same level as the Wendigos and spirits of Chaos that create near uncontrollable storms, what did you do to them?"
"Uhhhh." Turning and quickly thinking of a way for me to get out of spilling the beans on exactly how I had taken care of the Sirens I quickly pulled on some old lessons that had sat unused for years. Then I turned back to the assembled ponies.
"Oh Celestia you wound me!" I strike a dramatic pose as the princess looks at me, confused.
"I'm sorry Anonymous but how did I...?" Celestia starts to ask, but I interrupt to keep her off balance.
"How could you say the why has no importance! Don't you know that I stepped out of the cabins relative safety to ensure that you and the crew were safe? How could I rest if one of you had been hurt?" I lather on the puppy dog eyes myself, glad to give the ponies a taste of their own medicine for once. It has the desired affect of causing some of those gathered to look down and run their hoofs over the deck in embarrassment meanwhile others are murmuring and looking at Celestia for her response.
Unsure as to where this is supposed to be going, but slightly thrown off by this direction she can only get out a, "I didn't say it was of no importance, just that the how was a more pressing.."
"Oh but why should the means matter if things turned out well in the end. After all, isn't it important enough that your little ponies are safe?" I kneel down and lift the head of the cabin pony that was still laying on the ground though she had regained her consciousness and turn her head towards Celestia to hopefully use the ponies natural cuteness against their ruler. Unfortunately Celestia seemed to have caught wise of what I was doing and moved towards me with a different motherly smile, one that said, 'I know what you're doing so best be truthful now.'
"My my Anonymous I do remember hearing that you had helped the element bearers' younger sisters in their latest school performance but I didn't know that you were such an avid thespian. Perhaps we should turn back now and have you put on a play for the nobility of Canterlot... Unless you wish to finally tell me. The. How." She stressed the final syllable with as much authority as she could muster and her best 'no nonsense' look, which considering she was a near immortal demigod who had ruled a nation for over one thousand years was what one might consider to be extremely effective. "No more stalling Anon."
Desperately trying to find an out I looked around but saw that I had trapped myself on the bow as I was now surrounded by ponies so I decided I had to acquiesce. Plus the thought of going on a stage again was horrifying, especially with Canterlots' nobility involved. "Fine, fine... I kinda sorta sang to the storm sirens..."
"I'm sorry Anonymous, but I didn't quite catch that." Celestia and crew all strain their ears forward to try and hear my words as I try to hide the rising blush of embarrassment coloring my face a slow and steady crimson. Swallowing my mounting anxiety I get ready to repeat myself as the wind started to pick up.
"I said, I kinda sort..." The growing wind and light peel of thunder in the distance mask my words as I try to get the truth to their ears. My eyes are wired shut as I clench my jaw and prepare for them to laugh at me. Instead the gathered ponies are looking around fearfully as the storm begins to reproach.
"A-Anonymous please I didn't hear what you said, but I think maybe we should go back ins-" Celestia began to try and lead me back inside as she laid a wing on my shoulder, but I brush her off quickly and interrupt her.
"I said I sang to them okay! I sang to the weird storm things that were attacking the ship, because apparently I'm insane and that's what my stupid brain decided was best! Go ahead, laugh or call me insane I know it's crazy but it worked didn't it?!" I feel my abnormal flash of anger that came from nowhere disappear with the crack of lightning that punctuated my small rant as I go back to feeling anxious. Only now do I see the encroaching storm clouds, deepening my perturbed mood.
"Anon!" Celestia called loudly to me to snap me out of staring into the storm and as I turn around she envelops me in her wings and hugs me. "Shh, it's okay just calm down. Everything will be okay now." If not for the freak-out I was already having I probably would have gone bug eyed at what the diarch was doing, but as it stood I began to relax into her warm embrace as it felt like all the warm, pleasant summer days of my childhood had decided to give me a group hug. "You are not going crazy dear Anonymous and none hear would dare call you insane after watching you calm a Storm Siren."
"Well apparently I didn't do a good enough job of it Princess, the storm is coming back isn't it?" I can't help but relax further into her despite my claims of doubt as the softness of her fur stubbornly brings a smile to my face. I'm not fully able to dispel said smile when she opens her wings again and looks down at me with a smile of her own.
"And why are you so certain that a storm is sure to come from this my little human?" Her knowing smile deepens as she further unfurls her wings so that I may see a wonderous sight indeed. Beautiful clouds of white that seem as fluffy as the down of a baby penguins that had beams of Celestia's sun piercing through to sparkle upon the now calm sea below. A few creatures even seemed to be bursting up from the water to dance in these rays of light before returning to their oceanic home. It was such an idyllic scene that I even felt a few small tears of contentment form in my eyes only to find that a few of the nearby clouds began to mist us lightly, a chuckle rising from deep in my chest as I smirked at the coincidence.
"So I actually helped calm them down? I thought the storm was returning though..." I trail off as I catch Celestia looking upon me still with a warmth to outshine any of the heavens rays that pierced the clouds. "W-what is it?"
"You showed amazing courage Anonymous in both taming the wild Sirens with your Voice and braving your fears to protect my citizens despite how much the circumstances were essentially out of one of your nightmares from what Luna has told me." I blush again as she continues, "Though a storm was indeed approaching us it was from a parting gift that the lead Siren had left you with, do you notice now that you feel calm and safe that the sky reflects this?"
I look to the clouds again and start to piece together the meaning in her words. "So what my mood is affecting the weather now? Isn't that kinda dangerous?" I cast a worried glance over the crew in fear of accidently causing them harm.
"Shh, rest easy Anonymous," She says as she pets the back of my head with one of her wings before continuing, "it is most likely a smaller effect than you fear and almost definitely not a major threat to yourself or others. Your emotions likely were able to control so much of the remaining storm because it was one conjured up by the Storm Sirens in the first place."
Looking back towards the sky I do indeed see that the storms remains are in fact dissipating as most of the previous storm had begun traveling a great distance away, leaving this small pocket around us. With the threat the storm had posed gone, the crew offered some passing thanks to me and the princess before returning to their stations and preparing to get us back underway to out original destination with all haste. I start to feel a tad awkward as I notice that Celestia has yet to stop hugging me, not that I wanted her to stop, even though the danger was supposed to have passed and I didn't need to be calmed anymore.
"So uhh, that is what the Voice is supposed to be like? I thought it was kinda just for..." I trail off as I notice that at some point she had pulled me closer and into a seated position next to her on the bow, seemingly content to enjoy the view.
"Prancing ponies to sing about friendship in the middle of towns?" She gives me a knowing look as I chuckle nervously. "Well while it is a driving force for the maintained peace and happiness of my citizens it has also been an integral part of this world since well before myself or Equestria even existed. That your Voice was strong enough that you could emotionally connect with a Storm Siren and bring it calm is extraordinary to say the least, but what I wonder the most is why you seem so adverse to the idea of embracing your Voice and sharing it with others?"
I look down to the sea as I think back a few years to a time when I could belt out songs left and right with old friends without blinking even though doing so was often considered more strange in my home world than not singing in my current one. When did I stop singing to the world? When did I stop sharing my Voice?
"To be honest Celestia I used to be quite the opposite back home, my siblings would even make a bit of fun at my expense because of it, calling me a little songbird and such... Eventually though I think I lost my reason to sing except when I needed to let off a little steam." I hug my knees tighter to my chest and let her pull me over so I'm leaning on her barrel.
"What happened Anon... you can talk to me about it if you need to. I know what can happen to one who closes love and song out of their life, I know all too well... So please, feel free to talk to me if you want to. If not then we can just stay here for a while and watch the sun set, does that sound okay?" She offers one of her calming smiles as she lets me choose to vent to her or not and I notice just how much I had been shaking while telling her these things. Slowly I shake my head to rid myself of darker thoughts and lean into her fully as a few small tears fall from my eyes as I gaze out at her sunset.
"I lost the people that gave me reason to sing... and now I'll never get those back that weren't fully... gone." I manage to softly get out as I notice from the sound of my own voice that she had put up some sort of privacy spell. "I'll never find another human that can make me sing." I finish as she turns to look me in the eye.
"Maybe, but maybe you can still find another who can." She softly comforts me as we watch the sun set.
Oh give him a break would you, it's not like he's in the best of states right now.
I wonder who's fault that is! If he had listened to me-
Oh please, we both know you would have told him to do the same even if he had listened to you.
No see you made him act all selfless and goody goody when he helped Celestia and the crew. Now I would have told him to...
Hmm? What exactly would you have done differently? Not stopped the Storm Sirens, lie to the millenia old demigod, or not snuggle up to said demigod?
Oh shut it you... At least I would have made him look cooler doing it! Plus if he'd listened to me he wouldn't be cuddling her.
W-wait really?
Yeah! He'd have his lips near her ear and his hand right on her. Royal.. Celestial.. B-
punch!
Oh great, now 'Punchy' is coming back. Why does any part of us even think punching storm elementals is a good thing?
Dont forget gods, animated hard material constructs, and not to mention.
Ourselves.
Though it does help clear the mind every n-
Punch everything!
Oi, haven't you noticed we have the big white one snuggled up right now? No punching.
Punch big, fluffy pony!
Most definitely not.
In the face!
We said no!
With our face... softly.
Oh my..
Atta boy!
Meanwhile, outside of the mind of Anon...
"... mmm softly, with muh..." I mumbled out, half awake as Celestia lightly prodded me with a wingtip.
"Anonymous, are you awake? Do you need to head back into the cabin to retire?" She lightly shook me until I returned to usable levels of mental activity and sat up with a start when I quickly scooched away a few inches.
"Sorry Princess, was a bit lost in my head there for a second." I rub the back of my neck with a light blush and try to think of a way to apologize for scrambling away from her like she had the plague when she simply chuckled and draped her wing around me again. "So this is a normal thing for you? Helping people like this I mean, I would hope that Storm Sirens might be a less than common phenomenon for your airships sake."
At first she gazes out into her sunset her face unreadable to me until she looks back at me with a sad smile. "No my little human it isn't, but..." She pauses and studies my face for a moment as I wonder how well she can read my own emotions. "This scenario is a bit of an unusual circumstance, for both the Sirens and this. I know you have been troubled by your relocation to our world and that you've been struggling to find your place within it. If you feel that my actions are a tad too personal then I will respect your wishes, however I felt that maybe you could use the shoulder and ear of one who understands your loss..."
I stare at her features as she returns to gazing into the distance and see that while she still has that calm smile that most creatures see, she also has a few cracks in that mask that one would have to be very close to see. "You've ruled Equestria for over a thousand years and for almost a millennium you didn't even have the one pony that could truly understand you and stay with you instead of... fading away. You've made so many friends over the centuries and had to watch them disappear into the sea of time. Did you ever regret making new friends, knowing that they'd simply disappear sooner or later?"
Instead of answering me at first she closes her eyes and thinks back on all of the friends she has watched fade away over the course of her reign, then she opens her eyes and looks at me with a spark of true joy dancing amongst the tears of uncountable loss in her beautiful eyes yet unshed. Her mask gives way to show me a smile that while weighed down by the past still shows such unrestrained love for those who have had the pleasure of knowing her as a friend. She presses one of her alabaster wings tips to my own eyes that I didn't even realize were wet with my own tears before looking me resolutely in the eye.
"Never... I have never regretted the friends that I have made Anonymous, only not being able to have spent more time with them while I was able. Just as I was not afraid of making new friends neither should you, only ever be afraid of not making friends when you have the chance. Even if not every seed of love that you plant grows as tall as you'd wish, it is far better to look back on ones life and see a forest of friends big and small than to see naught but barren ground."
"I don't think I can stop being afraid so easily Princess... there's still so much in this world that I still don't understand. I can't even imagine what I will find at the end of a day let alone a month or a year." I shake a bit as my voice starts to crack, hating that I'm showing this much weakness to one who has probably seen more loss in half her life than I would if I lived my own three times over.
She pulls me closer and rests her head atop my own as my mind is calmed by the steady rhythm of her kind heart and the texture of her fur against my skin. She fills me with the warmth of the sun gently pushing the chill of winter away on a cool autumn day before speaking again.
"Maybe you don't need to know what will come in a month, a year, or even a day. Maybe you just need to see what you have in the now and go from there. A simple fact that many of my subjects seem to forget about me is that I don't know everything either, but having those I can rely on and care for by my side always helps when I don't know what to do. You have plenty of people around you who wish to be your friend and many more who will accept the love you offer, but you must learn to be the one to plant the seed for it to truly bloom." I begin to become lost in her embrace as I feel the hum of her magic pulse and echo through our bodies, the sun starting to dip below the horizon. I find her eyes meeting mine as she leans down to me, the last rays of her sun dancing around her hair as I move forward. Finally I gently press my forehead to hers and as the sun disappears from view I start to whisper. "Could you be my friend Celestia?"
She simply smiles and slowly breaks our contact before looking me in the eyes once more. "I think I would like that my dear little human." Then she pulls me close and whispers softly in my ear, "And I won't ever regret it my friend."
Everything is warm... Everything is nice... I feel something large and fluffy next to me so I instinctively wrap my arms around it and try to pull it closer. I feel a feather land upon my and and think of large white wings surrounding me as I press my face into the softness and sleepily start to mumble. "Mmm.. so freaking sooooft.."
"Anon?" I hear a kind, motherly voice call out to me and I nuzzle deeper into the soft thing. I didn't care to know what was going on, only soft mattered now. As I tighten my hold on the soft goodness I held I hear a throat being cleared.
"Anon, do I need to come back in a little while?" I hear the speaker take a step and have a thought.
Wait... nice voice isn't coming from soft thing? Darn.
I gaze up from the bed I'm resting on and my eyes are greeted by a smile that could rival the sun in warmth. Then I look at what I was snuggling and see a big ol' downy pillow. Sitting up with a deep sigh of someone leaving the realm of comfy goodness to face the world I rub the remaining sleep from my eyes.
"Celestia...? When did I fall asleep?" I feel a small heat enter my cheeks as I wonder how much of last night I had dreamt up and if any of it was real.
Seeing my face and likely reading my thoughts in an instant she kindly lays her wing on my shoulder and as her smile turns a tad mischievous she whispers in my ear, "Why just a short while after the proposal..."
"The What!?" I jump out of my skin and my mind races until I hear her muffled laughter as she hides her face with a wing. "Oh for... very funny Princess."
"Terribly sorry Anonymous, but it was too good to pass up. As a side note it is a little past noon now, you were very worn out and fell asleep soon after I lowered the sun." She smiles warmly at me as I see a sparkle of mischief that soon fades as she puts on her 'business face.'
"So how far off course did the storm set us?" I slip into my own calmer mindset to assess the situation and try to help find any solutions needed.
"Actually your friends from yesterday brought us closer to Neighpon rather than away from our goal. I imagine it's another gift from your newfound friends."
Shaking my head as I stretch out the stiffness from my body I then turn to the Princess. I notice that her regalia and person are looking a tad more.. regal?
"Wait how close are we to the isle?"
Celestia smirks a bit and moves to open the window. "Why we are already there Anonymous. Well above the island off the mainland, but this is where the diplomatic meeting was scheduled to take place."
I look out the window after shivering from the sudden rush of outside air and indeed see a small island down below with the main isle of the country visible in the distance.
"So why did you come here the hard way again? Can't you just kinda 'poof?' That or just call then up with magic or something."
Celestia gazes towards the isle below before answering and when she does it's with her mouth in a thin line. "While teleportation is possible it is incredibly rude to do so unannounced and could be viewed as an act of aggression. As for why we did not communicate remotely... Well the reason for our visit requires a personal touch and we must be willing to show them that they have our full time and attention, not some passing thought."
I nod along as she describes why we came the way we did however something still tickles the back of my mind. "I understand the path we took now Celestia. We needed to show them how much effort and time we are willing to invest into your nations positive relations. Why did we come here though, to this island in particular instead of their court?" I scratch my chin in thought as I wait for her to explain.
...
And I'm still waiting? I turn to the diarch and see a darker mood than ever I had seen on her face in the time that I'd known her.
"Celestia? Are... are you okay?" I slowly press my hand to her neck causing her to flinch as she came out her thoughts.
"Apologies Anonymous I was lost in my thoughts for but a moment. I will not lie to you my friend," my heart does a little flip at her saying 'friend and promptly falls on its face as she continues, "what we are coming to do is to pay our respects to those who were lost in a terrible moment of our history."
I keep my hand in contact with her and try to comfort her as best I can as I wait for her to continue. Her eyes stare into nothing as she recalls the past.
"It was an idiotic conflict that both our nations were dragged into, but still we fought each other without holding back. This island is the site of the largest battle of that conflict and also the memorial that we have built together with the neighponese. To be truthful Anonymous I did not ask you along to act as a fully fledged diplomat... I needed somepony that I could justify coming with me so as to not be completely alone. I hope you are not too angry at my selfishness."
I lift her chin up so we are meeting eyes before smiling at her. "Celestia it's okay for you to drag me along for this. That's what friends are for right?" I see her eyes become wetter before I open my arms and she is quick to step closer and accept my embrace as we gaze down at the fields of loss that our airship is approaching.
Soon I feel a strange pull on my bones and my heart as something comes from deep in my memory.
"над берегом реки…"
"Anonymous? What was that?" I look to her and try to recall the meaning of the tune I felt rising in my chest. Then I sing the snippet that I could sing in my native language.
"The 'black tulip' is circling over the river bank ..." I lightly sing just this tiny bit as I feel my own eyes mist up. I feel her nudge me softly in concern so I hug her just a bit tighter.
"Just a memory of an old friend Princess... just a memory."
One would expect the memorial site of a major battle would be a certain way. That the air would be still, the sky would be grey, and the colors of the world to be muted... That's not what a grave or a memorial is truly like though as one comes to learn after visiting enough of these places of death. People may build structures that reflect mourning and loss in some attempt to show what all should feel at the memory but the rest of the world cares little about that. As I stepped onto the gangplank that lead from the airship I had traveled on for a time I could feel the warmth of the sun surround me and Celestia wasn't even giving me a hug.
"Strangely pleasant day for mourning the dead isn't it?" I remark to my traveling companion with a sad smile, a bit of familiar morbid humor that my old home had instilled in me resurfacing.
"Hmm while you are correct Anonymous I think it's best to give the Neighponese the benefit of the doubt in the current circumstance. After all if those Storm Sirens you helped calm the other day had been roaming their skies then it's unlikely they could keep any concrete weather plans. Furthermore I-"
"Princess I was only joking." I see Celestia's face scrunch up as I interrupt her before it softens at my next few words. "It was only a bit of the ol' gallows humor swinging about." Her eyes soften out of her diplomatic mask that she had donned before departing the ship as she approached me.
"Pardon Anon, but did you say, 'gallows humor?'" She begins to unfurl one of her wings as if to wrap me in another embrace before hesitating. She must have realized that her mask of perfect calm had begun to slip and quickly straightened before the nearby ponies could notice.
"Yeah it's just something that you pick up on after a while in my world, it's a usually futile attempt to add levity to a morbid or hopeless scenario." I give a dry laugh as I shake my head.
"Well while I am sorry that humor like that is necessary in your world, I am glad that it is less so needed in the world that you now call home." She gives a polite nod with her political mask firmly in place as we both notice the group of Neighponese officials approaching in the distance. Seeing the minute tells of worry in her that I had come to understand due to our recent closeness an idea blossomed in my mind.
"Well while I'm glad the world you've nurtured for millennia is bright enough to be unfamiliar with the humor, it's not so cheery that you didn't know what a gallows was." I remark dryly as I see her stumbled internally behind her mask before she gazes at me from the corner of her now twinkling eyes.
"Oh my already trying to sharpen my wits and give me a measure of my defenses before the foreign diplomats arrive? Maybe you were truly the right choice to bring on this voyage, even if you can be a tad blunt at times." Celestia speaks aside to me as I watch the corner of her mouth fight the urge to smirk.
"Of course dear princess. For after all is it not the blunt stone that gives the blade its sharpness?" I speak aside to her as well as I sink further into my 'aloof accent' before turning my head towards her and speaking plainly, "Besides who else would you have brought, Twilight and her friends? You would have been stuck with at least fives times the annoying friendship songs during the time it would have taken them to deal with the Storm Sirens."
"I don't see why not dear Anonymous, their songs can be quite enjoyable to listen to or take part in." I see her smile mischievously with her eyes as she leans in to whisper, "Though I do think I enjoyed your wonderful voice during our voyage too." If her inner grin was much wider I'm sure that a certain stripped cat would have to throw in the towel as I look away, my face adorned with a small blush from her praise.
"Alright, alright Celestia you've had your fun. We can get back to grinding on each other later, for now we- Celestia?" I notice that she had stopped in her tracks with a small tint of rose on her own divine visage as I look and think back confusedly. "Is something the matter your highness? Wha-OH... oh my... Uhh well that was a slip of the tongue to be certain. Forgive me?" I rub the back of my neck in embarrassment before she slowly nods her head and clears her throat before we continue on in awkward silence.
Putting the idea of throwing myself into the harbor to rid myself of the embarrassment I felt out of my head I instead focused on the approaching Neighponese diplomats and guards. Noticing that we lacked such an entourage of guards I looked warily between those approaching and Celestia.
"Is there a particular reason that they have those boys in lamellar with them when we don't even have one of your plated ponies on this trip?" I try not to show too much distress incase any of those approaching have a keen eye.
"While it is abnormal to have that large a retinue on what is currently supposed to be neutral ground for our stay, I'm sure there is a good reason my little human." Suddenly Celestia fully focuses on them as we finally reach speaking distance. "Greeting honored council members, will any of the imperial family be joining us soon?"
A female pegasus with vibrant, almond shaped eyes at the head of their group of apparent councilmembers to the imperial family is the one to respond, "Yes honored ruler of Equestria. We must apologize for the guards and lack of the imperial princess's presence for your arrival but we have been greatly harassed by a herd of Storm Sirens as of late. As I'm sure you know we couldn't risk her majesty's safety so she has been patiently awaiting your arrival at the village." Both the council members and Celestia bow lightly to each other as greetings are then exchanged.
Afterwards another council member, this time a male unicorn with similarly shaped eyes speaks up. "Princess Celestia who or what..." his eyes narrow towards me with suspicion as I notice the guards are also tense at my presence, "is your traveling companion that you would bring to the meeting with the princess?"
Before I could go into a little song and dance about being a murder ape that can grant wishes to mess with the uptight unicorn Celestia spoke up. "Anonymous is one who I deemed worthy of aiding me as a honorary diplomat and he," I both feel and see the pointed look that she gives him as she stresses the word, "is a human. The only of his kind in all of Equis as far as we know. Not to mention he is the reason that you no longer have to worry about those Storm Sirens."
I notice that the unicorn councilor has begun to eye me up in a different manner, as one warrior might size up another. "I apologize for my earlier rudeness honored diplomat Anonymous, we were all a bit on edge as of late but now that you have bravely driven off the Storm Sirens we can relax once more." He and the other ponies begin to bow to me as I quickly reciprocate with a deep bow of my own before answering him.
"It's okay honored councilmember, we are both a tad alien to one another so a few misunderstanding are bound to happen." I try to brush off the insulting manner of his initial reaction to me and focus on helping smooth things out. "However I did not fend anything off really, the Storm Sirens ended up leaving on their own."
This causes the surrounding ponies to look at us in confusion as the pegasus mare who had first spoken looks between me and Celestia for an answer. "We did not see any maelstrom departing though, the storm was calm so you must have defeated them."
Celestia gives her one of her signature soft smiles before explaining. "That is not entirely true, you see Anonymous has only recently begun to embrace the powers of his own Voice and used it to calm the Sirens whilst they were assailing our vessel. Once calmed they departed with little more than a drizzle."
The group of ponies were no longer confused but were rather staring at us in complete shock until the pegasus councilmember whispered reverently, "No one has calmed a Storm Siren since the days before the Age of Unification though..."
This caused those gathered to speak amongst themselves in their native tongue as even the stern faced guards began to look between each other. Meanwhile the pegasus began slowly moving towards me with a look on her face that did not mix well in my mind when combined with her pink hair, I was half expecting her to say 'Yuki' to me before Celestia cleared her throat to gain all of their attention.
"Now then I do believe it is time for us to meet the imperial princess is it not?" This causes the previously stern and uptight unicorn to resume his self control as he orders his guards to about face so to give time for the other councilmembers to collect themselves before heading out. As we start to head out though he looks back to me and gives me another bow.
"Thank you again honored diplomat... my younger brother was caught in the storm that you calmed that day, if you had not stopped the Storm Sirens then who knows what might have happened to him. I swear that I will pay this debt back to you one day." He says this and pounds his chest with a hoof as I run my hand through my hair and sigh.
"H-hey it's okay man, I mean I didn't even know he was down there so..." My words trail off as I could see that I have pretty much no chance in Tartarus that I could change the stubborn pony's mind so I shook my head and simply fell in line beside Celestia. "Well at least he's not looking at me like I'm a threat anymore."
"Oh don't mind him too much Anonymous for he is only doing his job as you have done yours." Celestia beamed at me as I could see her laugh a little on the inside as I breathed a sigh of relief now that I wasn't the center of attention for a host of foreign diplomats and guards. "You have gone above and beyond what I was expecting of you on this voyage, maybe I should give you a full time position as one of my formal diplomats?"
I groaned internally and maybe just a bit externally as I gave her a withering look that failed to faze her in the slightest. "Ugh can we please go back to the hurricane now please and thank you. I would much rather be flailing around on the deck of a sideways airship than right here."
"I'm afraid not dear diplomat for we have the entire day ahead of us and besides I can assure you that the airship is quite level right now. Not to mention there are quite a few fantastic tea shops on the island that we could visit if you behave." She looks at me pointedly.
"Fine... I won't throw anyone out of a window without you say so Princess."
The pegasus mare looked back at us for a moment in question. "Wait did he really do that on his last diplomatic mission?"
"Oh no my dear..." I see the pegaus sigh in relief. "This is his first diplomatic mission, you see while he was staying at my castle a rather rude noble said some very... disparaging things about my sister and I that Anonymous happened to overhear and well the rest is history as they say."
The pegasus looks between us to see if there is some sort of joke going on while I mumble under my breath, "You talk the sheet you get the yeet..."
The sounds of people on the other side of the door distract me from my breathing exercise and disrupt what little calm I had gathered up until that point. Frustratingly I look to my traveling companion with a look that hopefully shows her how irked I am and how much she owes me for dealing with matters of the court. I can handle meeting strange or exotic beings in the form of a diplomat or civilian, but I had barely gotten used to dealing with Equestria's nobility. Thus the fact that I was about to meet an entire new group of aristocrats, among which was counted one of the princesses of this foreign land, did little to help my mood.
"Please relax Anonymous, everything will be perfectly fine." The pony who had just decided to tempt fate by saying the words you should never say was none other than Celestia. "I will handle the formalities and greetings, the only thing you should have to worry about is being yourself... and maybe refrain from sitting near any windows."
I couldn't help but cast a sidelong glance at her for a moment before I saw the light twinkle of mirth in her eye, causing me to shake my head. I know that she means well and I've been getting a fairly good feeling from the ponies of this land so maybe it won't be so bad. After all even miss 'yandere pegasus' stopped starring back at me every five st-
"Where did...?" My voice trails off as I realize that she hasn't been in front of me for a short while, but I can't recall where exactly she went to. With a light sense of 'she's behind me with a knife' I turn to check our rear only to see two guards trailing behind the procession.
"Is something the matter Anonymous?" Celestia showed her concern with an ever so slight cresses in her brow as she notices my tension.
"It's nothing Princess, was just a bit confused as to where the pegasus council... mare? Is that how that word works here?" I trail off for a moment as the vernacular of the world derails my thoughts a smidge. "Anyway I was wondering where she went, she disappeared a short whiles back if I'm remembering right."
"Oh is that all? I was fairly sure that she left to inform their princess that we would be arriving soon." Celestia nodded her head as if it was the most natural thing in the world, but considering what else passed for normal here it might as well be.
The unicorn that I had assumed was the head of security or held some other martial office watched us closely as we conversed before he decided to speak up himself. "While it does not surprise me that you wouldn't be caught unawares by her skills honored Princess it is rare that others would notice her exiting unless she wished them to. She helps the princess handle more... private affairs, so it a requirement of her job that she is able to move with great subtlety."
"Well don't think too highly of me for noticing. After all I only really noticed her absence after the fact, not her departure itself so I'd probably only give me half credit." I give a low, dry laugh as I shake my head while the unicorn merely raises a brow before nodding to his retinue.
"I think you deserve more credit than you think to give yourself honored diplomat, look upon the guards around you." I follow his instruction and glance over each guard in turn that is close enough to fully observe. The first guard I miss the tell thinking it was nothing out of the ordinary, but after the second I realize that every guard that I can see has a lotus flower pinned to their armor.
"Those flowers... your men didn't have them on at the docks and I would certainly have noticed if they all moved out of formation to get them from a vendor. So you're telling me that she somehow slipped away, gathered a bundle of lotus flowers, slipped back in, and then proceeded to pin one to each of the guards as she left again?" I'm almost certain my face gives away how unlikely this seems if my tone does not.
"It is a mixture of training and having fun at my men's expense that she does this you see. However the fact that she was unable to do so to you, despite your lack of actively sensing her activity says a lot." He gives me a pointed look as I note that I am the only one aside from him and Celestia that does not have a lotus on my person. "This shows that while she was able to slip away without you being fully aware, she was unable to penetrate your passive senses without alerting you."
"Well I guess a bit of passive defense is better than no defense in the end. Probably going to just chalk this one up as another piece of random human phenomena that I don't fully understand." Upon the questioning looks of the delegation surrounding me as well as Celestia giving me her own gaze of curiosity I decided to elaborate a little. "Just some quirks of my kind that I find a little bit weird y'know? Things like hysterical strength where someone can suddenly lift thousands of pounds of metal to save a kid or when you sometimes wake up at night and get this prickly feeling like something is watc-"
"Anonymous?" Celestia stops to follow my gaze as I stop and turn around to find a lotus blossom drifting down from a nearby roof. Once I picked it up I return my gaze to them and catch them exchanging looks between each other as I hold up the lotus blossom.
"I guess the message has been relayed?" I let the unicorn levitate the blossom out of my grasp as he fixes me with a strange look.
"Strange phenomena indeed honored diplomat, strange phenomena indeed." He turns to lead us into the final stretch of our journey to reach the princess. Once he had moved a ways up the column Celestia walked a tad closer before quietly questioning me.
"So it that how you were able to get so much distance with that noble?" I can't help but smirk as her eyes twinkle with mirth.
"No, that was just me being angry about what he called my generous hosts... That and once he realized I was going to yeet him out the window he stiffened up like a board so it was almost like throwing an insufferable lawn dart into the garden." I can't help but chuckle at the memory.
Celestia barely holds back her own jovial nature as she recalls things from her perspective as well. "Yes an insufferable lawn dart that stormed into the court with a gourd still fixed upon his horn to file a complaint." We both smile at the memory as the retinue stops before a large building.
"Say, before we go inside and get bored to death with more politics... What ever happened to old 'Bitch-kebab' anyway?" I nearly break her mask with that one as if we hadn't been in a political setting I imagine she'd have actually gone into a laughing fit over that one.
"If you must know he has been staying in the background of most political discourse thanks to his little blunder in bringing up that case in front of the entire court. After all it's quite difficult to explain why one was thrown from a window if the pony they are explaining it to is the very same they had just insulted prior. In the end Sir Fancypants scorned him in front of the other nobles saying that he was lucky that you aimed for the gourds instead of the compost heap like he deserved." Celestia gazed at me in an unspoken question of whether I had been aiming or not.
"I may have had the opportunity, but I figured he'd go and be a problem for someone else before cleaning up so I thought him tracking in a bit of produce would be the better option." My grin widens as she tilts her head towards me.
"I thank you for being ever so considerate as to where you throw the nobility, both on my behalf and the maids." Her small smile grows as well as I tilt my own head to her and speak in my mock courtly voice.
"Myself and my noble yeeting arm are ever at your service my liege." I finish with a light chuckle before rising back up as I await her response.
Before we can delve further into our little banter session the unicorn that had escorted us so far cleared his throat to draw our attention to the meeting that awaited us. As he sidled up next to us to lead us inside he paused for a moment before making a remark. "Please do avoid marring the princesses gardens with annoying nobility... after all we do have a harbor."
I look back at our escort as the small grin he had disappears into his professional mask before he steps towards the entryway. With the sudden break in his normally professional behavior mixed in with a surprising amount of humor I couldn't help but mutter to myself, "I like the way this guy thinks... Best not to tell him what Americans like to throw in harbor though."
