As I awoke, I reflected on the unsettling dream I had the night before.
I dreamt that on one of my wanderings, on the way home from a journey, I had gotten myself lost, only to find myself somewhere I could not quite place as real.
The place was filled with an air reminiscent of childish imagination, fit to be a setpiece of a storybook. I wandered, tired and thirsting, till I found a town that could shelter me. Then I could remember no more other than that I was found and I spoke with my saviours a little before passing out; benefactors robed in the colours of the rainbow that shone more beautifully as they approached violet.
It was a fascinating dream, one that I would not mind having again. If I knew sleeping would lead to things like this most of the time, my health would be faring much better. It slowly dawned on me then, as my mind cleared, that I wasn't home as I thought. The bed was definitely different, feeling a bit softer than what I was used to. My feet easily touched the end, which considering my height must mean this was a smaller bed. Looking around, the room appeared to be some sort of infirmary, with a stand opposite holding my used clothes, meaning that I was naked.
I had some time to myself for now to come to terms with things. My head was being ravaged by some dull pulse, the same headaches that wracked me on weeks spent burning midnight oil studying. In this state, even my own hand felt unnatural as I put it on my forehead trying to soothe myself as I looked more around me. While I was now clearly warded in a hospital, this meant nothing. The walls didn't look like any hospital near my home. Neither the bed, table, door or just about anything. I knew that in this sort of ward, I wouldn't have a window with which to look out to the city, and in my hometown, there wouldn't be so much nature.
There was so much grass outside. Even something as simple as swaying grass could keep me captivated as my head failed to gain any more sense. Grass was used for thatched roofs on houses that didn't belong in cities. I was in a rural place, far from home. With no roads leading anywhere I could see, I would have a hard time leaving too. I'd be damned if I had to trek through the jungle on the town outskirts just to get to somewhere civilised. The headache here intensified as if in response, and with my own newly realised hunger, I could only sit back on the bed, holding my head with both hands.
"Um.. is everything alright?"
A female voice. A nurse! An accessory perfect for a hospital room. Looking up, instead of the voluptuous, sultry caretakers that pervaded fantasies or the wrinkled, haggard matrons that generally occupied reality; some quadruped creature stood in the doorway, wearing something recognisable as a nurse's hat. It was white in entirety save its large eyes, which had blue irises, and pink... hair, for lack of a better term. All this was somehow enough to distract for just a moment from its pink tail of hair.
"Ah—ahem. Excuse me. Are you—are you the nurse?"
Something about the numbness of the mind in headaches made surprises like this less impactful and more readily accepted. If it could speak English, at least one major problem was out.
"Oh-yes, yes. Can-can I help you with anything?"
Doing my best to ignore how apprehensive she looked, I responded.
"Yeah. Will... lunch be served soon? And I'd like something for headaches, please. You see, I have an awful one right now."
"Yes, actually, I was here to bring you your food! If it's, well suitable. As for headaches, um...well, we have a few pills, if you know which one can help you. I'm sorry, I looked through the records, but we've never had anyone like yourself come in here before."
No one like myself here before?
Either way, if I was being treated with hospitality, the only thing I could do was accept. The creature pushed a cart into my room, then with its mouth, lifted a tray onto my bedside table. Some rice, potatoes, the standard hospital fare, except that there was no meat at all. Again, with its mouth, the creature passed me some separate bags of pills, the labels of which had no meaning. Their effects were clearly stated: RELIEF OF FEVER AND HEADACHES FOR PONIES AGED 4 AND UP, but their names were in some language I had never seen before. My mind managed to clear up just enough to suggest that taking 'medicine' I knew nothing about from a place so alien was a bad idea, so I turned them and the nurse away in hopes that decent food and water would be enough to last this through.
I briefly considered how fortunate I was that my meal was familiar human fare before thinking back on the nurse and medicine bag. I was in no mood to pay attention to the nagging thought about eating the food of another world and being bound there eternally as I began feeding myself. 'Ponies?' 'Pony?' The hunger keeping the confusion away dissipated through a surprisingly decent meal, leaving nothing to distract me from having to confront the strange situation I was in.
What was the nurse that tended to me? A pony? It did look like some form of horse, as if it were a cartoon come to life. Then there was the medicine bag that stated it very clearly. Where the hell was I? I looked out the window again and saw a train station that would hopefully bring me to an airport fast enough. Maybe a society inhabited by pony-people had just slipped my notice while being common knowledge in the rest of the world. Maybe I could call a friend and have them look things up for me, or at least just to hear a voice I knew.
No service. It would figure. Not even the emergency dial worked. The time on my phone was also drastically different from the time shown on the wall clock. While both the sky outside and the clock on the wall showed clearly that it was two in the afternoon, my phone had just struck midnight. I felt a great chill as another layer of resistance peeled off and I came closer to realising that I knew absolutely nothing about where I was, or how I even came here. Lying in bed and focusing on the white paint above helped stave away thoughts of how my missing might be affecting Sis, until finally the stillness was broken by the nurse returning.
"Just put this under your tongue..."
A thermometer to take my temperature. The red liquid within went up to about a third of the length, enough to guess that I was fine even if the units of measurement there were alien to me. Thirty six... something.
"Right.... Anything else, then? Any pain or dizziness?"
"No, I think I'm fine now."
"You do seem like you're a bit cold with all you're wearing, but... sure, I guess we could have you out soon. Just wait for us to finish filing everything."
Soon after, another creature came in. It was slightly larger than the Nurse and was a light brown colour, with darker brown hair. It wore a pair of spectacles on a face more rigidly defined than the Nurse and spoke with a clearly male voice, with a distinctive hum as it-or he spoke my name. It wore something approximating a doctor's outfit, with a white coat and green shirt, but fitted for creatures like itself.
"Right. Now, it seems like you're feeling better and shouldn't have any problems, so it should be safe to discharge you. Just take your things and walk down to the reception area on the first floor to finalise things," it calmly explained, as if my landing here was just another day's work.
Trying to think any more would probably shatter the delusion of normality that kept me going, so I picked up my bags and walked out, following the signs along similarly-decorated corridors like the ones in my ward. I came across more of these creatures, mostly the females who also were outfitted as nurses, receiving the odd stare every now and then from those not busy enough. Though it had the key traits of a hospital, the choice of aesthetic these creatures used were whimsical and colourful, as if the whole place were a children's ward. Considering the wooden hearts here and there carved into the paneling, perhaps a girl's ward.
"Right, just sign here..."
The receptionist handed me a form and quill with her mouth, and looked quite interested in how I signed it. It did take a few moments to figure out how to hold a quill, though.
"How much do I need to pay?" I spoke, a little less worried than I should have been. I thought that carrying a good sum on me would surely cover however long was I out for.
"For a night's stay, food and medication? Well, normally this would be around seventy Bits, but, regarding your situation... we have a hospitality fund for those unable to pay. Can you?"
Of course. Why would they be using my currency? Whatever the conversion rate, I should have enough.
"What is the conversion rate from this to.. to Bits? Is this enough?"
The receptionist creature stared at my banknotes for a few moments before shaking her head.
"I'm afraid we can't accept that. So if you need to use the fund, just sign here."
She gave me another form, most of which was in English, though paragraphs here and there were in another language.
"Oh, don't worry about that, it's just stuff for us to follow."
The receptionist must have noticed my confusion as I held the quill over the signature line. Signing it seemed to take a bit of weight off me.
"And there's that! Best of luck!"
"Thank you. But, um..."
I asked her if she knew the fastest way to get home.
"Huh? I'm afraid I've never heard of that place."
Never heard? I even said what country and continent it was in. Where was this, anyway?
"Huh? Oh, right. When you were found we took you in, you were barely conscious, but you told use your name and that you were lost. This is Ponyville. You know, in Equestria?"
I had to take a few seconds to process those names. This whimsical aesthetic was not confined to the hospital itself. Not that it was unpleasant, but it was unlike anything I had ever been.
"I.. see. Who found me, though?"
It was the only question I could think of asking that wouldn't be futile at this point. If I remained dumbstruck, I would break down.
"The librarian, the one who lives in the library. If you look for a really large tree, that's our library. It'd be nice of you if you said hello!"
With nothing else I could think to be done. I headed through the opened doors into the sunlight.
A gentle breeze welcomed me as I stepped out of the hospital, inviting me to take a good look at the town. Pleasing to the eye with a good mixture of colours in architecture, with a refreshing air one might only find in a rural community. My worries were relaxed a bit as I took in the atmosphere. Some creatures gave me stares as I walked down streets of dirt in lush grass, but most just went about their business. Some bore horns, while others bore wings, either walking on the ground or flitting about, handling clouds as if they were clumps of cotton candy.
As long as I didn't think too much of it and treated it as some walk in an immersive amusement park, I could remain in this sort of unfettered state. The bright buildings passed the sides of my view like they were flat panels just sliding in my direction, while the creatures were little more than coloured blobs that tried not to get in my way. Things blurred. I still wasn’t sure if I was seeing whatever it was that I was seeing. I could hardly tell if I was still asleep somewhere and having a mad dream I’d laugh about later, or if I really had woken up here in some wonderland.
Impossible, of course. I was letting my fears get the better of me. Somehow, even as I let my mind retreat as I wandered in the vague direction of the large tree, I found it. Shaking myself a bit so that my vision would clear, I had a good look at the sign right outside the tree. It had... an image of a large book, but no wording on the sign at all. It was nice that this library thought to cater to the needs of the illiterate. Maybe this tree-house was a popular landmark for them, with a door just barely tall enough for me and windows around, accented with ornaments and even a beehive.
Now, why was I here again? To.. thank the one who found me? How would these creatures even do that? I did well enough assuming the hospital staff would act like any other person, but perhaps it was their extraordinary professionalism at work. Should I just knock on the door and ask for- wait, I didn't even get their name. Bah, it wasn't as if I had much else I could do anyway. I knocked on the door, and waited for a very long few seconds.
"Yes, we're open! Come in!"
A female voice. A young lady's, it seemed, but unfortunately for me the one behind this door, if I were to extrapolate based on all the 'pony' creatures I found about town, would be a creature like them, too. A pity, because if anything, I needed some company right now.
Right as I reached for the door, it came open. In the doorway was another one of those creatures. Purple in fur colour, with long, straight hair, at least, relative to the head. It had a single horn on its head and on its back legs it bore a mark resembling a six-pointed star.
"Oh! You're the, um, person who got lost outside town the day before! Well, glad to see you're okay! Sure was lucky you were right where I and a couple of others were, huh?"
So this one was the one who found me? At least I wouldn't need to ask.
"Yes, I thought I should thank you in person. How... should I address you?"
Was it even appropriate to call it 'Miss'? Everything I had overheard through my stroll over town was spoken in contemporary English, but as a foreigner, one could never be too sure.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle! But you can just call me Twilight. I don't think I ever got your name, either."
Twilight... Sparkle? What sort of name was this? These creatures had names so.. flamboyant? Stunned as I barely managed to reply with my own name, I didn't even consider how mine would sound in comparison.
"Huh? Well, I... can't say I've ever heard of a name like that before."
For a second, its face held an expression of sheer confusion, enough to guess that my own name evoked the same reaction in it.
"So, anyway, do you have a bit of time? Because I've just been pouring over my books, trying to find any information of, um, who you might be, but the most I've been able to find were a couple of ancient myths where people who were kind of described like you were mentioned. And I thought that it'd be a great opportunity if could just ask you directly, so do you want to come in for a bit?"
Now it wore a face of interest, which was at least advantageous for me. What could I do but accept?
"Great, great! Just make yourself at home! Here, have a seat. Looks like you can fit in our chairs, at least!"
I stepped into the tree's interior, revealing a large circular room filled with books to the ceiling around the walls. A staircase to the side lead upwards, aligned against the curved walls of the tree's interior, while ornaments here and there added to the decor. The creature-Twilight Sparkle, pulled up a chair and motioned for me to sit, which I complied with as soon as I set down my bags. A notebook and quill suddenly began surrounded in some magenta light, floating in front of it, while its horn also glowed with that same light.
"Now, then, um.. how did you get to Ponyville anyway? Judging from everything you're carrying, it looks like you were traveling?"
I noted just how sharply upwards its ears were pointing while it gave me this interview. Then as I began to explain my situation, they slowly drooped down until they finally became limp, matching the falling of her eager expression to one more sombre.
"Oh... I see."
It stood up, and paced around the room.
"So you're lost, and don't know how you can even go back home. Actually, I've never even heard of this place you're from..."
It seemed a bit frustrated, as it gritted its teeth. Again a magenta glow manifested, this time on some books in the walls that floated over to Twilight. Their pages began to flip seemingly on their own as it then began looking through a multitude of books, mostly atlases.
"Yeah. There's no record of anything at all."
That was I going to do?
I was here, stuck away from any hope of going home. Judging by the sky, it was soon going to be evening, there were problems more immediate than being lost.I had some food packed away, at least. Maybe I could camp somewhere out of town while I continued to try and figure things out. Maybe there was a usable park bench somewhere. Maybe...
"In that case, why don't you stay here in Ponyville for a little while? I mean, if you have nowhere to go, you might as well try and figure things out here."
Twilight Sparkle's invitation was a stark ray of light in the sheer confusion of everything that had happened recently. Then again, what other option did I have? Even if I had to deal with living alone among a foreign... race, whose customs and culture were probably incomprehensibly alien, it still was a better option than wandering out into the wilderness alone no matter how I looked at it.
"I can't thank you enough for your offer. But I hope I don't impose."
"It's nothing! In fact, why don't you leave your bags here while I go see a few friends who might be able to help you?"
My bags started glowing with that same shade of magenta with Twilight Sparkle's horn, and they were levitated over to a side of the library where they would be out of the way. Was it... moving things with its horn?
"All done! Let's go, I can show you around a bit..."
The one called Twilight Sparkle led me out of the library and back into town. Across bridges over streams, walking on roads, while this purple creature made note to me things I might find useful. Food, clothing, a friend of hers I could plead help from, maybe. More creatures looked on at us, while some even made to ask Twilight Sparkle who its 'friend' was. There were brief introductions between a town inhabitant and myself, until we reached yet another building that looked remarkably distinct from the rest.
"Rarity? Are you in?"
Twilight Sparkle knocked on the door to large, round building resembling a walled carousel. Decorated in manner similar to the more elaborate buildings of the town, with more elaborate decoration and patterning. A creature similar to Twilight Sparkle came out, though different in colours, with variation in the way its hair and was styled.
"Hello, Twilight! And.. who is this? Friend of yours?"
Twilight Sparkle briefly went through my situation, after introducing me to this other one.
"Oh.. and you're saying he has no place to go? Don't worry, Twilight, we'll figure something out! "
'Rarity' turned to me. She looked at me intently, as if scrutinising my attire for a few moments, before turning away to lead us all to other locales in town. It asked me more about myself, though mainly focused on my clothing, starting with the odd topic of why I was wearing them in the first place. I was apparently very raggedly, and required a new set of clothes as soon as was reasonably feasible. Between all this I was still finding myself overcome with bouts of occasional fatigue, so my attention lapsed much while I was brought around for my two acquaintances to meet their acquaintances.
Either way, come evening, I had myself a room. Though I had to bend a bit to fit through the doorway, the interior was not too small to be confining. Not yet, anyway Twilight Sparkle offered to help bring my belongings over, somehow it was done in a few minutes. Her friend spoke with the landlord of the apartment building I was in, explaining in more detail why I wouldn't be able to reimburse costs of occupying a room, and making for arrangements. It came to that I would be housed here at least temporarily at no charge, giving me more time to figure things out. How much time I would need, or how I would figure whatever I needed to out eluded me for now. All I could want to do was wake up from whatever this was.
The creatures left, wishing me well. I laid down on the bed and, without thinking any more, retreated back into sleep again.
As my eyes drifted awake after a dreamless night, they scanned the room around me. A cozy room with light, cool-coloured wallpaper, clearly lit by the sunrise from the window behind. I blinked unclearly, hoping that it would change back into a room I knew better. It hadn't done so for a week and counting. I dragged myself out of bed to seat myself at a small chair and table, a little too small but becoming more bearable by the day.
Morning toast and tea. I didn't chew them thoroughly and panic whenever I felt something remotely strange in them any more. Well, why would I? I was just in a different place. The bread was decent, in fact, it was almost the same as regular white bread. Whatever weird taste the tea had faded over the mornings and probably didn't exist in the first place. Despite everything, I found myself slowly settling in. I might even end up missing the place once I was gone.
Today was going to be a big day. I'd spent the past days slowly acclimatising myself here with the aid of that one Twilight Sparkle. Very fortunate for me I'd met someone so well connected. I didn't have to spend most of my time cowering confused as I first thought.
I would be today brought before the land's Royalty. It was a stroke of some fortune that Twilight Sparkle appeared to be affiliated with governance even, so perhaps with their assistance I could be shipped off to a plane and be back out. Or was I to be taken prisoner? Perhaps as a specimen in a zoo of some sort? In that case, maybe I could negotiate for some form of annual leave. Either way, as I walked among streets still alien, the whistling of seemingly steam-powered trains greeted as I neared the train station, painted in colours that made them look like large toys.
"Oh, hey there!"
I was right on time. There she was, emerging from a small crowd and trotting up to me. She wore bags not unlike those one would put upon a horse's saddle, but nothing else.
"We'll probably have to stay there overnight like I said, so I hope you packed enough, uh.. clothes!"
I wore with myself a backpack, lightly packed with clothing and some personal effects. I didn't have much. Twilight Sparkle's bags, in contrast, seemed full, though it may have been her size in comparison to mine. The top of a large book could be seen from an exposed opening.
"They've opened up for boarding! Better get in early, I guess."
She led me through the station sparsely filled with commuters, up into a carriage of empty seats. She put herself down onto one at a corner of the carriage, then, with a waving of her foreleg, invited me to sit opposite her. The only thing to do now was to wait and see what happened next, because I had not much idea what to do. I was not yet acquainted on a very personal level with Twilight Sparkle, if it was even possible to be. I knew nothing about these creatures. What did they think? How did they feel?
The scenery of town outside began shifting away, and it was now clear that we were leaving the station. Not many were taking the morning train up, it seemed, so it was just myself and Twilight Sparkle. It was far easier to focus on the scenery outside than anything else.
"Oh, that's right! I brought this..."
The purple... unicorn, with that light around her horn, pulled the large book out of her saddlebags. Just as easily, she lifted it towards me. The cover had an image of a stylised, classical unicorn's head, bound in brown leather with gold trimmings.
"...as a more proper introduction to Equestria! It''ll be a few hours before we reach Canterlot, so we've got some time now..."
She looked at me with a smile. A little awkward, she seemed to be putting in a lot of effort. Again I could do not much more but accept her hospitality.
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria...
The book read like a fairy tale, telling the origins of the land. Ruled over by two deities whose spheres were the night and day, until one fell and became a demon, leaving the other to rule alone. It went on to describe the three major castes of ponies, and how they all played their role to ensure their place in the world. It was all hardly suited to be historical record, yet somehow sweet That had given it a strange consistency with all that I had experienced here, somehow making it believable.
I looked up to find Twilight Sparkle leaning forward from across, looking eagerly at me.
"So... what do you think?" Her eyes were wide and intense, this might have been something she'd wanted to do for a while.
"Well... it seems like a nice place. Like a fairy tale. The myth of your patron gods is very interesting, I like it. I know a few other stories like it–"
"Myth? But it's true! We're going to see Princess Celestia! Like the book says, she rules Equestria together with her sister, Princess Luna."
I wasn't really expecting to meet a queen worshipped as a living god.
"But didn't the book say that Princess Luna fell to become this... Nightmare Moon? How is she still around?"
"Oh! About that... well, it was a long while back, when I first came to Ponyville. See, it was the Summer Sun festival then, and I happened to be doing research and realised that Nightmare Moon would be returning that night! Before that, when I was in Canterlot, where we're going right now..."
Twilight Sparkle regaled me with tales of her exploits. Honestly, the restoration of a a fallen deity paled on comparison to some of them. I had thought life here would be idyllic to the point of boredom, but if all she said was true then this place was one rich in adventure and wonder. Perhaps it would make for a good destination on my vacation days when I got home. Twilight Sparkle was eager in explaining the mechanics of the world, and whenever I asked, I would get a detailed lecture on whatever the topic was. She seemed quite happy to carry on explaining no matter what I asked, even what might have seemed to be the most obvious of questions.
"So... what exactly is magic, anyway? I've heard of it in stories, but have never... well, seen it actually used."
Twilight Sparkle beamed.
"Oh! Well.. to be honest, there's no real concrete and concise explanation, but I'll do my best. You could call it a... ubiquitous natural force that can be applied in a wide variety of ways. The most basic would be..."
She went on and on in the manner of someone being asked about their favourite subject. Though knowledge of such things would have unsettled me, Twilight Sparkle's sentiment of curiosity and wonder put me at ease. It was infectious, listening to her speak on and on, sooner than I realised I too was drawn into her passion to experience it for myself. The scenery faded by the windows, till we got so high up that the clouds sank beneath the train. It provided a good backdrop to Twilight Sparkle's speech, about just what made her world run.
Before I knew it, the train came to a halt at another station.
"Looks like we're here! Welcome to Canterlot! The Royal Palace isn't far, you'll be able to see it once we get out of here."
The station alone gave a far different impression from Ponyville's. Rather than a rustic theme of wood, the station here opted for something more extravagant, with marble or ivory, and a colour scheme of predominantly white, purple and gold. Stepping out and viewing the city itself only confirmed the image of grandeur, as all the architects must have been determined that their buildings conform to one standard: Grand. Pony creatures walked about dressed in clothing resembling those worn by the wealthiest of society, and I almost felt belittled that I had not much better to wear than I did.
Beyond was the Royal Palace itself. Numerous spires rose into the heavens, cowing even the mountain the city was on into bowing down before the domain of the rulers. It dwarfed even the city itself, symbolising what must have been the sheer might of the inhabitants, even to inhabitants of the city that must be very important people in some way. The path to it through decorated streets, up to the gates to the palace grounds that Twilight Sparkle lead me through had what were called pegasus ponies in armour of some sort, as guards for perhaps the royalty.
"Business? Yes, I have here a letter stating that I, Twilight Sparkle, have been granted an audience with Princess Celestia, along with..."
The guards only twitched slightly upon hearing my name. Proof of extraordinary discipline and professionalism for one entrusted with serving royalty.
"Alright.. looks like we're on time, again! We'll just wait outside the Hall, until-"
"No need for that, Twilight. How about I take you and your new friend up to the meeting hall myself?"
Interrupting Twilight was an unearthly, soothing voice, one that could embody many traits, but had an unnatural degree of influence into your thoughts. No sooner had I turned around did I see a great white winged unicorn descend from above us, landing with a grace just as well as the voice.
"Princess Celestia! It's an honour to meet Your Highness again!"
Twilight Sparkle bent her front legs, putting herself down in a position similar to prostration. Was I to do the same? The great winged unicorn nodded to Twilight, who was paying no attention to it, or her. She was instead looking at me, desperately whispering.
"Hurry up and get down or something! Quick!"
Finding my legs and arms rather hard to move all of a sudden in the white unicorn's presence, all I could do was bow my head and keep my silence.
"And I'm happy to see you again, Twilight! And you..."
The winged unicorn bowed its head to me, too.
"As Princess Celestia of Equestria, I welcome you to our land. Perhaps we could speak more when we are more comfortable? Please, rise, and follow me."
Princess.. right. That would imply identification with female, would it? It-she did look feminine much like how Twilight Sparkle did. Either way, we were lead to a dining room instead, where on a grand table three seats were arranged.
"More comfortable than a Audience Hall, right, Twilight?"
"Yeah! Thank you so much, Princess!"
Princess Celestia laughed softly as I silently did my best to adjust a seat not meant for me. Eventually, I managed to fit myself quite neatly.
"Ah, yes, our visitor. Perhaps I could share some insight to your situation? You are what we call a human, and thought they are often regarded as myth, ancient records do clearly state the arrival of beings like yourself, through some form of magic that enables travel from your home world and ours. That method, however, has long been lost, though it may not be impossible to return you with a bit of effort."
So I wasn't to leave any time soon. Somehow, through all that happened, I found it easier to accept than I thought it would be, at least for now. I was not, thinking much at the moment, or perhaps I couldn't.
"In the meantime, you are Equestria's guest. Please, make yourself at home. If there is anything I can do for you, please, speak your mind."
I did not really have much I could even think of wanting now. I had been treated extraordinarily well for a vagrant. I was given somewhere to stay, provided with excellent contacts...
"I cannot thank Your Highness enough for your kindness, but I am afraid that I have been given too much already. I cannot possibly ask for more."
Princess Celestia laughed yet another gentle laugh.
"Well, then, should you require further assistance in adapting, then.. Twilight? Consider this another assignment. Give our guest whatever help he needs while he stays in Ponyville."
Twilight seemed to accept the task quite well.
"Certainly, Princess!"
"Thank you, Twilight. I hope both of you can be good friends! Ah, well, you see..."
She seemed to notice how I seemed a little confused.
"If this is about how I as a royal treat Twilight Sparkle, we go back a bit. She was my personal pupil a while back. And if this is about friends, well, friendship is very important for us in Equestria. Some would say that it is the source of the magic that keeps our daily lives going! As your hosts, we would like to invite you to become our friend, as well."
A call to friendship. Twilight Sparkle did not seem to mind, at least. Was my listening to her talk about magic on the train so important to her? At least, were I to offer something, I had a listening ear.
"Your Highness, shall we serve lunch now?" An attendant trotted into the room, a pony without wings or horn. Though obviously not human, he moved in a manner invoking that of a professional servant.
"Yes, our guests must be hungry."
The attendant nodded, and gestured in a stream of other servants. The aroma of a feast followed the white animals as they carried in silver platters, their contents still concealed. One by one the offerings were made on the table, then their flawlessly silver covers lifted. Spinach stir-fried with garlic and spices I could barely recognise. A single poached egg on a mashed potato bed, still steaming hot. Bread a perfect shade of brown, so much that I didn't realise what it was at first, accompanied by butter equally as finely coloured. The penchant for sweets wasn't absent here, as a simple custard pie found its way among the fanciful others. Drinks were the same, fine glasses that were filled with ordinary apple juice. I spent about a second waiting for the meat before settling with what I had.
"You're looking hungry!" Twilight chirped at me from the right. It wasn't hard to see how intensely I'd been staring at lunch.
"I think all of us are, Twilight." Princess Celestia had a hint of amusement in her voice, like a mother doting after children who had been away long enough to miss. "Shall we begin?"
It took a bit of restraint to follow the pace Twilight and the Princess set and not hungrily devour everything in an instant. The chefs didn't waste their effort on presentation alone. Seeing as I was happily occupied, the two... women began talking among themselves, something that felt like they had been meaning to do for a very long time.
That slowed down the pace I had to follow, of course. At least the bread was satisfying to chew, with a hint of sweetness leaking out the more time you spent on it. Twilight and the Princess to my side reminisced about days past together, and what had happened since the last time they saw each other. It was, obviously, a relationship far more than I'd previously thought. A genuine friendship between teacher and student. Briefly, I thought about just how lucky both of them were. A more fleetingly, how endearing it was. A good friend here would really make passing the days far easier.
"I hope everything was to your liking?"
Even with me trying to stretch it out for etiquette's sake, lunch was over way too quickly. The plates were left stripped and bare, ourselves full and satisfied. Princess Celestia certainly knew her own opinion of it.
"Incredible. I'm honoured to sample your cuisine. There's a very... interesting mix of fine dining and simpler fare, I think each really helps to bring out the best in the other." I did my best to think of something clever on the spot.
"The dishes are harmonious, wouldn't you say?" It probably turned out well, seeing the Princess' smile. "Anyway, the pleasure is ours. Now, you'll need to remain here for the rest of the day in case we need to ask you any questions while we prepare your papers, but feel free to spend your time as you please. I'm afraid I must return to my duties, but... Twilight, could you show him around?"
"Sure, Princess! Come on, follow me!"
Twilight almost skipped off, but kept that contained as a spring in her step. This was something else she must have been looking forward too. The crystal glass windows along the corridor we followed seemed to amplify the sun's brilliance, yet without making it more harsh on the eyes. Along the royal purple decorated walls, it was as if it highlighted the path of anyone walking through.
"Oooh! I love it when I come to Canterlot Palace. The library back home can't compare to what they have here! How about you?"
The next corner turned us towards what must have been the palace library, a magnificent archive by virtue of its appearance alone. Stocked with more books than I could imagine one could ever want, I almost followed suit with the spring in Twilight Sparkle's step.
"A repository of collective knowledge free for anyone to use. I love them. You know, I sort of envy how you live in a library, of all places. Could I come and visit again?"
"Of course!" Twilight Sparkle almost skipped around the shelves as she spoke, picking out a book here and there with her... magic, keeping them afloat near her before bringing them to a reading table.
"There! I think you'll like these! These were written for visitors from other lands, like the Griffon Kingdoms to the west. They're about Equestria, for a traveller. Here..."
We found a corner away from the stragglers here and there. The library was already quite empty, but I would still have preferred to be out of sight from a stray curious eye. Twilight sat across from me, and behind both of us were bookcases closing off the area. One could see from the window next to us that the sun was still high, though not so bright to impede reading. The glass was shaded for the comfort of patrons.
Twilight and I set our books on the reading table, and she was the first to draw from the pile. She turned first to a spread showing a map of a country. Equestria, according to the title. First, of course, I looked around the sides if there was a neighbouring country I could recognise. None yet.
"So here we are in Canterlot... see, it's the city on the big mountain in the middle. Fitting place for a capital, right?"
True enough, right in the heart of the land, complete with a depiction of the peak towering over the clouds. That wasn't the only place that held my attention. Mountains to the far north, seemingly made solely of crystal. Ancient ruins marked as dangerous, yet enticingly so. A strange line went around the map, which apparently depicted the projected path of a floating city for the next few years. In comparison...
"Ponyville looks pretty ordinary, huh? I thought so too at first, but it's really home for me." Twilight pointed at a town just a little south of Canterlot. The wording labelled it as... something, it was in characters I couldn't recognise.
"Twilight, I can't read that. What language is this in?"
"Hmm? Yeah, that's in the older Equestrian script. Not sure why they used it for Ponyville, maybe to show its Earth Pony roots... Actually, why don't I teach you how to read it? I'm sure you'll find it useful."
An invitation.
"That's very kind of you, Twilight. Thank you."
"Oh... well, I mean, Princess Celestia did ask me to help you out! It–it's nothing, no need to mention it." Twilight Sparkle seemed very pleased. Which was good for me, too.
"Say, what other written languages do you have where you're from, anyway? Just curious." Twilight seemed to have allowed herself to give into something. Her head dipped a little so that her eyes looked upward to me.
"Well... what I can read here is called English, at least that's the name I recognise. Maybe it's best if I start from the beginning. See, writing's a really difficult thing to come up with, so it's a lot more likely that most of the written languages we know came from a few that developed independently. We managed to trace every language to... four different sources, if I remember correctly. English is alphabetical, and based on where we knew the language evolved, it came from some of the first civilizations that learned agriculture and grew big enough to need to keep records. The Cuneiform script, used in ancient Mesopotamia, if you know those names."
Twilight's gaze bore deep. It was a look I knew very well. Not really because I had seen it personally, but I understood the feelings behind them. Wonder and fascination that fed the imagination, that in turn drove a mind to learn even more.
"That's not the only one I know, though. You have a pen and paper? Let me show you something"
Twilight dug in her bags, pulling out what I asked for. Holding a pen again felt right, though I hadn't done this in a while. I recalled the strokes, then made sure not to mess it up. For once, make it look neat and beautiful...
"Here. My name, in, well, my heritage's language. My grandparents never learned to speak English all that well, so that's how I spoke with them. Been a while since I used it..."
"It's like you're drawing a picture for each word... cool! I've heard of... character-based writing systems? Yeah, that's it! Never really seen it up close, though."
That was how it started, with Twilight and I indulging our and each other's curiosity.
It was long after the window grew dark that we realised we had forgot dinner, and even longer still before an attendant found us, telling us that our rooms had been ready for hours.
Was this how I could repay the deeds they'd done for me? Honestly, it gave me a sense of pride to be the one telling a new land about our accomplishments. Seeing the awe, shock and horror on Twilight, but feeling the wonder below. I'd secured myself a good friend. Both Twilight and the Princess would be pleased. Myself, perhaps time here would see a few more good things happen.
The following morning, Twilight Sparkle and myself would return to Ponyville, sharing more of our worlds over a train ride too short.
The crystal on the board shone brilliantly in the morning's light, as I caught a sight of it in a perfect angle aligned with the morning sun. The light I saw seemed impossibly beautiful. Unearthly.
In just a moment, it was gone. Somehow I felt a little sad. I kept looking, seeing if I could get that angle of light again. These things never came back.
"Hey, uh, you alright there?" A rough voice called to me from behind.
"Ah. Yeah, I'm fine, excuse me."
It was a few days since I returned from the Canterlot, that capital atop the mountain that overlooked the lands and beyond. After the welcome from the Princess herself, I felt a little less alien to the land of Equestria. Word got out about the formal invitation to stay, and the unease that accompanied my presence seemed to have at the very least calmed down.
I didn't expect to live off charity however long I was here. Twilight Sparkle and her friends had helped me find a trade working among the delicate mechanisms in a workshop. With just my hands I could help tremendously, and my employer at least seemed happy to have me around.
An older-looking male Earth Pony who could somehow handle things expertly with hooves, even better than the unicorns under him even with their magic. I was fortunate to have found him so soon, and he even offered to pay me by the week to keep food on my table. I now had some more time bought for me to figure out what I would do here in Equestria. Maybe once I was home I'd write a book introducing such a strange place. It'd be a revival of new age cults if I did it right. Funny thought.
"Hey, there!"
A familiar face greeted mine when I looked up.
"Oh! Hello, Twilight. What brings you here?"
Twilight Sparkle being around made me feel a bit better. It was good to have someone you knew visit when you barely knew anyone else. After all, she was my new... friend.
"Just wanted to see how you were doing! Princess Celestia did ask me to help you out, after all!"
"I'll be fine. Thanks a lot, Twilight."
Even if she was doing it for more professional reasons, having someone concerned was a good thought to start the day. "No problem! And by the way, I was hoping to have you over for dinner. In fact, why don't you come visit the library tonight? You can borrow whatever you like!"
It seemed a bit much to show so much hospitality, though. I had to wonder just how much she was doing this out of her own wishes. "Thank you! Is it really okay with you, though? I mean, if you're preparing this all of a sudden and all-"
"It's fine! I'd really like to talk with you more, actually. I could tell you more about whatever you'd like to hear about Equestria! And, well, I'd like to hear more about your home, too."
Even if I was still getting used to the faces of ponies, it was unmistakable that Twilight Sparkle was genuinely interested in hearing about wherever I was from. I felt a little better knowing that she wasn't doing his entirely out of sheer kindness or royal mandate. I could, at least, return something to who was becoming... no, who was my first friend here. It wouldn't have felt right otherwise.
I returned to work, a little more focused with something soon to look forward to. The day passed a little faster as I learned more about my craft, bit by bit, every rework a stepping stone to success. Ponies would still stare, something I managed to grow used to particularly quickly. I couldn't really tell what they were thinking.
"Good afternoon! How do you do today?"
A voice more refined than most ponies that sounded like one you'd hear in an upscale club.
"Oh! Miss Rarity! Can I help you with anything?"
Purple hair, styled feathered and resembling a classic actress. White coat, a brand of three diamonds on the rear legs. I was lucky ponies tended to be very distinguishable from one another.
" I heard you found yourself employment! Looks very fascinating, what you're working on. What is it?"
She peered at what was in my hands at that moment, a music box that had a depiction of a stage above.
"Well, it's one of the things we have here. A music box, I'm almost done with it. Just let me close it..."
I snap shut the lid on the clockwork within and wound it up, using my entire hand to operate a lever meant for hooves. A soothing tune began to play as I relaxed my arm. From the sides of the stage, two crystalline ponies came out and danced with each other. After a while, the stallion of the two ascended to the top of the stage, leaving the mare to keep dancing, though much slower. As the song ended, the mare returned to the back of the stage, much slower than how she had come out.
"And that's it. I don't really understand what it is myself, but I think it's working out well– Miss Rarity?"
"It-it's beautiful! Please, if this is finished, I must buy it off you at once! Excuse me!"
Somehow she had been moved to tears watching about a minute and a half's display. Wiping her eyes, she went off to speak with my employer, who looked quite pleased with whatever it was that I did. My first complete work was quickly wrapped and sold.
"I hope you enjoy it, Miss Rarity."
It did feel good to have your work appreciated.
"Please! There's no need to be so formal. 'Rarity' will do. I must say, I have been looking for something like this for quite a bit of time. I hope you'll tell me next time you work on something as beautiful!"
She waved with a leg and left. Before I could collect another set of materials from the workbench, my employer stopped me. "Mighty fine job you did there. That pony's hard to please, let me tell you."
I was fairly certain it was more the subject matter of the thing than my skill itself, but I wasn't about to let go of a chance to improve someone's opinion about me–
"Haven't seen one in a while that synchronised as well as yours did. No need to be shy, you did a good job. Good to see the past few days of learning paid off well. Anyway, we're going to close up shop soon, why don't you just head out early? I heard you have an appointment with a friend."
Feeling rather light hearted after compliments from both Rarity and my employer, I packed up and took a stroll towards the large hollow tree library where Twilight Sparkle lived. The idea of it had begun to grow on me, like some sort of long lost childhood fantasy that was only now being fulfilled, living in a hollowed out tree made into a library. I was looking forward to it more than I had thought. I reached the door timely enough for my knocking to have some of that carefree spring I rarely had since I arrived.
"Who's there?"
A male voice? Did Twilight have guests over?
The door opened out by the limb of something that looked a bit like a lizard. It was mainly coated in purple, with green ridges running along its back and a white underbelly facing me as it stood on its two hind legs. It was yawning drowsily, but quickly alerted itself as it caught sight of me.
"Huh? What IS that thing?"
I wanted to know, too.
"SPIKE! That's our guest!"
Twilight came rushing over from behind the lizard, floating him aside to greet me.
"You're early! I haven't managed to prepare much yet, but please, come in!"
The lizard pouted at Twilight as it was put aside like a toy, but Twilight paid him no attention, focusing on me.
"Thank you, Twilight. And..."
I turned back to the lizard, who had gotten over his annoyance to look at me more inquisitively.
"Oh, right! Spike, I already told you about him, say hello! And this is Spike, my baby dragon assistant. He stays here with me."
"Huh? Oh, right, right. Well, uh... hello."
"..Hello, Spike."
We stared down one another sheepishly, neither of us too familiar with what sort of creature the other was.
"What are you two waiting for? Come in!"
Hastily I walked in and let the doorframe brush my hair, I had forgotten to bend over to go in. With the confusion from the first time I came in gone, I could appreciate the library much more. Books line the shelves that made the walls of the room, filling every side with a multitude of colours that begged to be inspected. Books open lay on the table in the center, around a statue of a common horse's head. An image of the sun shone above on the ceiling made the woody brown of the tree's interior seem only more homely, as if windows lined with flowers peering outside from above the shelves wasn't enough.
It was the living image of a book-loving child's dream home. Personally, I used to imagine complex machines working covertly under the floor and within the walls, but this was far more than enough.
"Oh, hello there. How have you been?"
A yellow pony with wings on her back, and pink hair and tail. A brand of three butterflies. One of Twilight Sparkle's friends was here too, hopefully not to interrupt my daydreaming.
"Hello, Fluttershy. I've been fine, thank you."
"That's good to hear. Did you come to look at the books?"
I really appreciated how Fluttershy wasn't so shy about speaking with me. Among Twilight's friends, she was very helpful in getting me suited to my new environment.
"Well, that would be nice. I was actually invited over for dinner by Twilight, but it seems a shame not to do that–"
"You what? Twilight!"
Fluttershy trotted off into a back room where Twilight had retreated when I came in. A moment or two later, both of them came out, Fluttershy holding a small cardboard box that she gave to me.
"I don't think you'll eat what's inside, will you?"
I wasn't sure what to expect, but upon opening the contents it seemed obvious from the beginning. Long, golden strands of... hay? Of course.
Fluttershy, seeing whatever face I must have made, quickly took the box back.
"I thought so. Let me see your mouth..."
"Fluttershy? What are you doing?"
Twilight was probably as confused as I was. There wasn't much else to do, though.
"Hmmm... Alright. Don't you worry, I'll be back in a jiffy."
Fluttershy left through the front door, hovering a bit with her wings for a bit more speed. Spike yawned, saying he was sleepy and needed to take a nap. Twilight and myself were left alone in the library.
"Aaagh! I should have thought of this!"
Twilight paced the floor around the center table, following a groove probably worn there from many incidents of the same. "If Fluttershy hadn't been here, the whole thing would have been blown! Gaah!"
Her ears drooped down as she came back to me.
"I'm sorry, I really am. I invited you over and all, I said I'd help you, and..."
She hung her head low, hiding it from my height. I could only see a glimpse of her lavender eyes, different from how I usually saw them full of energy.
"It's... it's really alright, Twilight."
Her ears moved a little.
"Really, I'm happy enough that you asked me over to your house. I wouldn't have minded not having dinner just to visit. I mean, you live in a library! I've always wanted my house to be a library."
"And, well, it's good to have company. I still don't really know anyone, save you and your friends. I'm just glad you invited me in the first place. I hope I can come some more after today."
Her head rose slowly, showing eyes with that energy returned.
"You really mean it?"
"Well, yeah. I think a library would be very helpful for me."
Twilight's ears came back up, signaling for a smile to return.
"Well, alright, then! Make yourself at home! Oh, right! I did want to ask you more, but I think it's best if I contribute some more first. Anyway, I've got something here about the history of Ponyville..."
This time I was in no royal library, but I was no one to ask for more. Twilight lectured me about the purpose of the town and how it came to be. It trailed off to a conversation about Equestria in general, a land still alien.
Twilight Sparkle seemed just as eager to teach me about Equestria as she was to listen to the tidbits about home I had to add every now and then. The book lay long forgotten on the desk as we suited ourselves to the wooden, inviting floor, growing more and more at ease. The library itself soon vanished, Twilight's world took over as she described the experiences and wonders of her Equestria. What she spoke was not only fact, it had traces of herself. Her own thoughts gave the world colour that I shared.
"You mean you agree? I mean, I like to think about it this way, but it's pretty hard to find a lot of ponies that feel the same."
"Me too! You won't believe how many times I've tried to talk to other people about how these of books are really more enjoyable, but I've always been just shot down as an egghead–"
"I swear, if anyone calls me that again..."
Probably a few seconds after we had begun our conversation, Fluttershy returned.
"Twilight, I'm back! Oh... hope I'm not interrupting anything. It looks like you two are having fun."
Whatever high had managed to drive Twilight and myself speaking animatedly for so long had abandoned us, leaving me suddenly tired and hungry.
"Here you go! I hope I got it right."
Fluttershy handed me a lunchbox with a tempting aroma. I opened it a little too quickly.
A fried egg, a steamed fish and an apple on a bed of rice. I hadn't been able to find any meat in town. I had mainly been living off the bread my landlord sent to me, pies that were donated to me by another of Twilight's friends and my own packed food.
"I thought you'd like it. Looks like you do! By the way, you... might want to take a look at pet food stores for your meat groceries. Take care. See you too, Twilight!"
Was I just told to eat dog food?
I was certain Fluttershy had the best of intentions, but I couldn't help but feel.. insulted?
"Come on, I'm starving! Is.. is there something wrong?"
I had to quickly shake off whatever that was. The urge to hit something, anything.
"Sorry. Excuse me."
I had enough sense in me not to want to break something in my hostess' home. I made do with rising and doing my best to not storm out the front door and instead merely ran out. I ignored the pitiful, inarticulate protests behind as I broke back out into the cold night air, walking wherever.
I didn't really care that it was beginning to rain. Let the rainwater melt my skin off, I didn't give a damn. At least that would distract me from that terrible feeling within. I needed to get home. No, not that pathetic apartment in a place I didn't know. Home, with people I care about, who cared about me, where I worked on my hopes and dreams for the future.
Damn it all.
Perhaps I had offended some great power and it felt fit to toss me here as a joke. What a riot. Maybe if I stood here long enough a divine thunderbolt of some kind would knock me out, and I would wake up where I belonged. Or I'd catch it and kill the bastard myself. Or I'd just die.
Fucking hell.
I didn't really care about the pain in my fist as I drove it into a nearby fence. Nor that in my foot as I tried in vain to kick it down. These things were built sturdy. With my energy spent I was reduced to a fool standing in the rain, trying to vandalise public property for some kind of self-satisfaction. As the anger cleared, a bitter chill came over me. Not the rain. This came from within.
I wasn't sure if it was because I couldn't think of anything, or simply didn't want to. Fortunately there were no ponies about at this time, or I might have found myself being run out of town the next day.
"Umm..."
It was odd how no longer being exposed to the rain made me more aware of how soaked I was. The bright umbrella held over me seemed like it wanted to defy the mood as much as possible. Twilight, who held it over me, was getting wet too.
"You're hungry, right? Come on, I'll bring you back."
I didn't want to move my head, or anything.
"I'm not sure if that's enough."
"It's better than nothing, right? Please. You'll feel better."
There was a silence. Twilight's tail became more soaked by the second. At least she was here. It was easier to just follow her voice if I was unable to think anything for myself.
"I hope so. Sorry about running off like that. You're getting caught in the rain too, let me hold that for you."
We didn't speak a word as we walked back even as we huddled under the same umbrella. Being taller I could shield us both from the rain much easier. I wasn't sure if the library door came towards us too fast or not. The silence was a convenient shield.
"Alright. Here's a towel, dry yourself off... dinner's still hot, I'm starving. You must be, too!" Twilight did her best to liven up the air with her tone. Easier to just do as she said. Trying to think for myself at the moment was dangerous.
Once I had slowly dried myself off as much as I cared to, Twilight had set up two chairs and a table for our meal. Fortunately, I managed to fit in one just perfectly. Utensils for ponies weren't exactly suited to me, so I had started a habit of bringing my own around. Twilight was content with levitating her hay straight to her mouth, her towel slung over her back.
Despite any misgivings, my meal was delicious. Kept warm and filling, the sort that would appeal to someone just stuck in the rain. It had a homely sort of taste, and soon I found myself just gazing into the air.
"Are you alright? If you're still hungry, I got some snacks."
Twilight gazed softly at me from the side.
"I'm alright, really. Just pretty tired, that's all.
I resolved to focus on filling myself. I was probably a little more prone to being upset because I was hungry. That happens.
"It's alright. You can talk to me."
Outside, the rain continue to beat against the home. It was subsiding, but not by much yet.
"Are you maybe homesick?"
Twilight Sparkle was the smart sort. It was futile to hide from her something like this.
"A little, I guess."
As much as the talk with Twilight sparkle warmed me, thinking back about everything I told her made me realise just how much I missed it. As much as I was seemingly welcome here, it didn't look like I could at all belong.
"Uhm, well, see..."
Twilight sounded like she was struggling to find words. I didn't really want to look at anyone at the time.
"I don't think I can really understand what you're going through. I mean, I've never heard of anything like this. I can't even imagine what it'd be like to be pulled into another world without knowing if you can go back. But... I'll help you however I can, alright?"
I finally found some strength to look at her. Large purple eyes watched me, intent on filling me with some sort of reassurance. I couldn't look at them for very long.
"Twilight, I don't know what to say. Thank you. I..."
There was a smile.
"Just come visit whenever you want, alright? It's good to have a conversation partner like you. I haven't met a pony who thought so much like me before, you know? Why don't you take back some books later? It must be lonely in your house. Right, and I need to plan out how I'm going to teach you to read older Equestrian script, too..."
Those eyes were even more determined when I looked back. This time I could not resist and yielded. Everything seemed much better. "Still hungry? I know I am."
Dinner tasted like home, and that was fine. It wouldn't be easy getting used to Equestria, but with a friend, everything ahead looked like it would be fine. If friendship was important to the ponies of Equestria, I had to return Twilight the favour as much as I could.
With the rain stopped, the evening air felt cool rather than chilling as I stepped out the door, some of Twilight's recommendations under my arms. I held them close on the road back.
"That? It says 'finite'. See? The letters here... read slowly with me. Note the placement of the marks. Fuh-Ei-Nie-T."
Come the evenings of two days a week, Twilight Sparkle and myself arranged to meet at her library for lessons. Though first a request by the Princess of the realm, Twilight took it upon herself to better tend to my needs as an outlander, teaching me not just the language I could not read, but what life in her land was like and how it could be lived.
"Could you read everything in that novel you borrowed the other day?"
We sat at the desk in the tree library's middle, texts and notes piled up at the sides of our workspace. The evening's cool air could be felt even inside, keeping my attention fresh and alert. Not that there was much need for that. Over the past weeks I had been delving more and more into knowledge of Equestria, not relying just on Twilight's tutelage.
"Mostly, yeah. There were still a few sentences I couldn't fully understand, but I more or less got the idea from context."
"We can look it over when we're done here! Finished yet?"
Twilight had me do a series of tests. Comprehension passages, like how one would be tested in English back home. The texts used were all derived from other books, some stories and others essays that could about anything from the nature of magic to how much a pony just loved having candy. I learned about a lot of nice books that way, Twilight was more than happy to accommodate me. 'The library hasn't had a lot of visitors lately', she said. 'It's fine to take however much you want!'
"Right, and... very interesting. I guess that counts as correct too... are the pencils too small? No offense, but your handwriting is kinda hard to read..."
I winced a little. I thought I was trying to make it neater.
"Hmm... perfect! I'd answer a little better in some places, but you did it! I had planned to spend most of this evening with this passage, but I guess there's no need! You did well!"
Twilight's praise put a bit of warmth in my chest.
"Guess you can go home, now. Unless there was anything you wanted to take out or return?"
I reminded her about the book I wanted to discuss. Besides, it was still pretty early. I wasn't ready to leave so soon.
"Oh, right, right. Hmm... why don't you come up to my living room? We'll both be comfier there."
I knew Twilight lived in this library, but I had never seen where she actually, well, lived. I did wonder what a pony's home would be like. My own room was kept sparse, only a few bare essentials and an ornament here or there that came with it. I'd never seen how a pony lived in their own homes. I thought of stables and hay bales, but that thought was becoming more ridiculous. Many differences I thought I'd have difficulty adjusting to turned out to never exist at all.
Twilight led me up a staircase to the back, brining me to a large room on the second floor. The floor and walls were the same, they still had shelves line with what were probably Twilight's favourites. References on plant life, essay collections, 'Dark Desires after–
"Here! Take a seat! Want some tea?"
Just as I was getting to the interesting part, too.
Twilight seated me opposite her over a table, opening my book between us. She offered me an armchair, resting on one herself.
"Oh, right! This one is a favourite story among a lot of mares. I know Rarity's a huge fan, but I haven't read it myself. Let's see..."
Twilight went through the text where I had noted places difficult to understand. All with bits of paper placed between the pages, of course. I didn't like to imagine what should we probably do to me had I tarnished the book in any way.
"This one? It's another word for friendship. It describes friends who met recently but aren't so close. Not just acquaintances, it's a bit more, when they want to be closer friends and aren't quite there yet."
"Huh, Twilight. Looking at the context of all these, most of them seem like they'd be words for friends."
"They are! Like Princess Celestia said, it's a very important thing to us. Studying it was why I decided to stay here. Did I ever tell you I was from Canterlot?"
Twilight beamed in pride.
"Yeah, I remember Whatever made you decide to come here? It doesn't seem like it's someplace you'd get to study magic a lot compared to there."
"Oh, it wasn't me! It was the princess' idea, actually. Remember when I told you it was the Summer Sun celebration and I figured out that Nightmare Moon would be freed that very day?"
"Yes, the demon and all."
"Right, I did! And–"
"–then when you were proven right, you led your comrades to victory over her and used the Elements of... of–"
"Harmony!"
She seemed eager to have the story she liked to tell so much repeated back to her, with that big grin.
"Harmony, right. Then she was restored and you decided to stay here. I never got why, though."
"Well... ahahaha..."
Twilight's grin melted into a nervous laugh.
"Uh... you could say Ponyville is a better place to learn about friendship than Canterlot for me. That's also why Princess Celestia assigned me to stay here. I... didn't have a lot of friends back in Canterlot. I was quite a shut-in."
She looked about sheepishly at everything except me. For the briefest moment, I felt a twinge of weakness in my chest, amid the understanding.
"Then through your first adventure you made friends whom you've stuck with ever since, right? I'm still not sure how my friends managed to get me among them. Must have been a miracle of some sort!"
I laughed, easing Twilight as she joined me.
"Wonder how they're doing now. I was supposed to meet them..."
I counted the days since everything started. Twenty. Today was Friday. Conveniently, the days of the week were exactly the same as home, like many other things.
"...Today. Huh. Hope they're taking the news alright."
I kept up a weaker smile, thought Twilight discarded hers so I wouldn't be forced to freeze it.
"Can you remember more about how you got here now?"
"Some more, yeah. I was moving to university. I was really excited about starting a new life, you know? Learn new things I never thought about, meet new people... I guess I sort of got what I wanted." I shrugged, relaxing as I thought of the good things that happened at the very least.
"No wonder you were carrying so much with you. Turned out pretty useful, huh?"
"It did. I think I had even more, I was moving after all. Wait..."
My head still hurt to even think about that day, but over time it was at least getting easier.
"Did you get something else? What was it?"
"Right. I was driving. I was on the road, then suddenly I was... somewhere else. The car had run out of petrol by then, somehow. That's when I got out to find help, and packed a backpack in case I needed to be away for long. That's how it all started. Next thing I knew, I was in the hospital."
Twilight nodded slowly as she thought over it.
"Maybe we could go find your things tomorrow! It was just you with your carriage, then? No wonder you were in such bad shape. How much were you pulling? You must be pretty strong!" Her voice brightened up, probably interested in the otherworldly artifacts she could spend all her time studying.
"No, not a carriage, Twilight, I said car. Uh... it's pretty much a carriage that provides its own power, like a train. Except you don't need rails, you control it completely from inside."
"Oh."
Twilight took a brief pause.
"Well, either way, we should look for it! That sounds like something really fascinating. I'd like to see all the things you were carrying with you, too!"
A bit more chatting and we agreed to go look, though no one else was free as far as we knew. Slowly, conversation shifted back to the books, as it was supposed to.
"This word? It's the name of one of the rituals to generate rainclouds. Pegasopolis loanwords were always difficult to read."
I had read enough about Equestrian history to know that the nation was founded by the merger of three civilisations, but wasn't aware of...
"Rituals that generate clouds? So the weather is always controlled?" I was quite puzzled.
"Yeah! Though we actually use machines now. There's actually a schedule posted around town. There's no need to bring out an umbrella if no rain is planned. No wonder I see one in your bag all the time."
No wonder everyone seemed to know just when to get ready for rain, save a few who forgot and had to run to shelter with me. It never did seem to rain much on Fridays either.
"Nice place, your Equestria."
"It might be a bit silly to be proud of just where we're born, but I'm pretty proud of our accomplishments! O-of course, I'm sure yours would be just as advanced! I mean, it is, from what I've been hearing from you."
"Nice to hear you say that. I mean, I've always been proud of our achievements. I could recount the growth of our race since we first learned writing over and over. And now I've got a different perspective agreeing!"
I leaned backwards, trying again to think about just where I was. As the days went by it seemed less and less likely that I was even still anywhere near Earth. Yet looking around Twilight's house, everything seemed remarkably similar. I briefly thought about some sort of convergent evolution, but looking at the powers these ponies had, that was also unlikely.
"Actually, why don't you tell me about your history? Try to use as many Equestrian words as you can, it'll be good practice!" Twilight grabbed a notepad and pencil, then shuffled in her seat to get herself more comfortable.
"Right... uhm, actually, I'm not sure where to start. Let's see... you know a place called Africa?"
"...I don't think so. Zebraca, you mean?
"No, Africa. It's this place that's full of hot, dry weather all year round. A lot of big, rolling plains with animals like Lions, Giraffes, Zebras–"
"Wait! Zecora's a zebra! Maybe she could help you out?" Twilight almost flew out of her seat as she leaned forword, eyes wide.
"Maybe. She... doesn't look much like the zebras I know, though. " I had seen this Zecora around town before, but never thought of her as a link back home.
"Wouldn't hurt to try, right?" Twilight was insistent. There was a lot in it for her, too.
"I guess not. Another time, alright? Anyway,, it was in this hot land where we first came about. We don't really know much about how we lived, we fought to survive like any other animal. About... maybe a hundred thousand years later, we spread out to some cooler lands to the North. There we found animals and plants we could domesticate, like dogs and grain, and for the first time we didn't have to spend every waking hour worrying about food anymore..."
Twilight stepped in to tell me to replace a word every now and then with one of those I had been studying, but after some time she stopped and just listened, leaning against the side of her chair as I spoke about as much as I could remember about ancient history.
"A lot of it sounds pretty sad, though." Twilight sighed, sitting up to face me. She had been leaning back in her chair, her eyes closed as she imagined the great cities I described in great detail. The notepad and pencil were left to the table, abandoned after a long time spent on her lap.
"What does?"
"Your history. So much conflict and tragedy, so much lost..."
"Well, maybe. What matter is that we moved on past those and became stronger for it. We fought our way to where we are, and I always believe that we'll keep progressing. I've got so much more to tell you, though most of it's not too clear till much later." I puffed my chest out and sat up straight as I spoke, locking Twilight's eyes filled with wonder onto mine. It was a long while since I had a nice listener to tell a good story to.
"Where was I? Right, the seas were low then, so a lot of land could be reached just by walking. That would have been about twelve thousand or so years before what we call the common era..."
It was another hour before I noticed Twilight hadn't moved much since she last closed her eyes. She didn't answer when I called out, when I looked at the clock I realised she was doing what she probably should have far earlier tonight. As quietly as I could, I packed away my belongings, though truth be told I couldn't help but spend a few moments now and then to look at her. She did look quite cute like this.
It was probably best to leave a note as a goodbye for tonight. Her pencil and notepad were right there next to her, it was a simple matter telling her what a nice evening it was and that I hope we could meet up again soon. She sighed a bit as I left the note on her table... the nights were getting a little colder. Not really thinking about what I was doing, I walked over to her bed and took off the blanket. The star patterns were like my own favourite blanket, I chuckled to myself as I put it over her on her armchair. She sighed again, this time sounding far more comfortable than before.
I left the library feeling rather pleased with myself. I didn't hold my book so close as before, but repeated that scene of Twilight happy over and over.
On the first Saturday with tree leaves turning orange, I'd resolved to stay home and slack the day away. The week had been busy with customers ordering larger numbers of crafts than ever, and after all that time in the workshop I really, really just needed a break. The sun outside the window was already high up, sharing what heat it cared to until it would in turn take its vacation during the winter.
Something hard hit my head from the side. A large book leaning against the wall had fallen onto me. I ignored it, simply turning under it to get back to the warm spot I'd created on the bed. Maybe I'd lie here for another fifteen minutes... an hour? Nah, however long I liked. I managed to finish that story last night, there wasn't any rush. Though there was a pile of books by my bedside still waiting... nah. It was good enough here.
"Hey there! How you doing?"
A purple unicorn pony was at my bedside.
"Good enough, Twilight, why don't you join me?" I scooted over a bit to give her space to crawl in. She did so eagerly, stretching her legs under the blanket... somehow, and turned to tell me something.
"Hello, you in?"
"Uhh..?"
The sound of rapping wood came out of her throat. Her eyes lost their shape and melted the more I tried to focus on them. "Hey, you in there? They told me you should be home!"
Again, the knocking, and now I was finally in some state that could be described as awake. Grumbling, I pulled myself out from warm, safe bed and dragged my feet to the front door. Hoping to placate whoever was behind, I pulled it open as forcefully as I could. I was in no mood to do things like check whoever was trying to enter my home, my morning was already ruined.
"Eh? Good morning, Twilight." True enough, it was that same purple unicorn behind the door. A little wide-eyed at my less-than-gentle invitation, but she shook out of it quickly enough.
"Afternoon, you mean." She looked to her side and at the window at the end of the hallway, blinking at the sun ray that caught her. "I was passing by and I thought I'd pay you a visit! I'm not causing you any trouble, am I?"
Feeling a lot less grumpy than before, I was happy to accept. "Of course not, Twilight. Please, make yourself at home." No sooner than after she put a foot, no, hoof onto my floor that I reconsidered saying yes so fast. At least she seemed less disgusted and more interested with my clothes strewn across the floor.
"Haven't seen you wear that before, by the way." Her head slowly titled about as she looked me over. "Aren't you cold in that? It is getting chillier these days. Something you wear at home?"
"...Yeah, sometimes. Why don't you take a seat? I... need to change now, and let me clean up a bit." I snatched a pair of shorts and a fresh t-shirt off a clothes hook before rushing into the bathroom, the only place in this small apartment closed off from everywhere else. Twilight didn't seem too bothered with me greeting her in my underwear, at least. It didn't sit well with me, though. Just wasn't right.
Twilight was busy looking over my apartment when I came back out. I'd done my best to ease the place to my tastes with what I had. My phone held a special place on a countertop, though now I left it off to save power for a last call if I had the hope. Right next to it were a set of car keys, also living a new life as an ornament. My music player lay atop a stack of papers, lyrics written on them so I could make do with imagining the songs in my head rather than squander precious, fast-fading power actually listening to them. What clothes weren't hung on the hooks or on the floor were in the wardrobe, where Twilight was busy poking her nose.
"Ah! Sorry! It was just open and all..." She sheepishly smiled and scurried back to my book pile.
"Eh, guess I should have closed it, then. Anyway, I'm going to make my breakfa–uh, lunch, yeah. Want me to make you anything?" I was hungry enough that I didn't mind condensing both meals into one. That and it was too late to have breakfast, was a safe guess.
"Sure! I really want to try your cooking, actually..." Her eyes glazed over a little, just briefly, before she went and busied herself looking about while sitting at my small dining table. All I was really doing was a simple noodle soup dish, a little sauce into the boiling water, an egg... I could hear Twilight probably moving about the apartment behind, but concentrating on the dish was more important. A little more and I had a meal enough for two.
Snf, snf... "Smells good!" Twilight sniffed the air from her seat, straightening herself up to get a few last wafts. A soft grumble came from her belly as she expectantly watched me serve us both.
"Let's eat!" Twilight nodded in return, then levitated her utensils to begin. I had a pair of chopsticks to myself, but I hadn't seen them used around here and didn't think these ponies would really know how to use one anyway.
As usual, I'd admire my work before devouring it all. Presentation was... fine, I suppose. The noodles weren't bad for the time taken to actually cook them, though they could have been boiled a little longer in broth. Of course, I had a judge to please. I just had to look at her and wait for a response before I continued eating any more.
"How is it?" I figured it would be important to get the opinion of a local's palate. I guess that was why I was quite anxious about her opinion.
"It's pretty–" There were a few slurps of broth and noodles both. "Good!"
My entire back relaxed, I didn't even know I was so tense. "Thanks! I was saving my meat for tomorrow, so it's good that you came by today instead."
"Pretty salty for this weather though..." Slurp. Munch. Her comment sank my heart a little. "Oh, but still, I like it!" Slurp.
"Well, that's really good to hear. I can certainly see you're enjoying it. Mother always told me I take too much salt, anyway."
"Ehh?"
It would be pretty awful if that last slip of my tongue startled Twilight so much. It wasn't my place to be unloading all my troubles onto her.
"Sorry!" She rubbed her hooves together awkwardly. "I guess I do eat a little too fast, eheh. My mom used to tell me off for it!"
"Eh, doesn't bother me. Makes me happy I can see you're enjoying my food, you know?"
We continued thereafter without speaking. Twilight started off quiet, but quickly resumed her devouring. I myself ate a lot slower than usual, spending more time looking at Twilight. Giving back felt better than it should. Not to say I was any slouch, I knew my noodle-eating better than anyone I knew, so despite Twilight's considerable advantage we finished at the same time.
"I don't think I'll be eating much dinner later..." She burped into a hoof. Onto a hoof?
"Want to hang out a little more while you're here? I could continue my story where we left off–"
"Want any help with the dishes?" Twilight hadn't heard me, I think. She was levitating her own bowl to the washbasin behind me.
"Uh, yes, yes, because I was going to do the dishes before that, yeah." Probably not a good idea to show Twilight too much of my sloppiness in one go. "I mean, nah, it's fine, go ahead and look around some more first."
"I can't let you do that alone! Got to pay my compliments to the chef, right?" Twilight was insistent, standing to my side with a dishcloth. At least this way work would be done faster. I quickly soaped and rinsed our bowls and utensils, she dried them and put them aside. Efficient, the both of us.
"Right, then..." She settled herself onto a carpet. "Read yourself late last night?"
I myself sat across her, fondling through a stack of her books lent to me. "Hah, yeah. I'm not sure why I read a kid's textbook from cover to cover. Well, it is about magic, and I don't know anything about that..."
"Oh, speaking of which, Princess Celestia herself asked to see you!" Twilight lit up as she did when excited. The sparkle in her purple eyes was unmistakable.
"The Queen herself?" I'd been hoping for another lazy day like today, if things kept their pace.
"Princess! Yes, it's her. She said she's interested in speaking to you herself!" She beamed with some sort of pride. Maybe it was in being recognised for her efforts with me.
"What would she want to say to me, though? Actually, I'm not sure what I'd have to tell her, too." I wasn't all that opposed to the idea, maybe she had good news and they'd managed to charter a plane out of here. Spaceship? Teleporter? For some reason, all three seemed equally likely. 'Likely' was a pleasant, comforting word to use.
"Well, I've been sending her letters about what we've been doing–I mean, she did ask me to help you out!" I must have made some sort of face on hearing our time together being compiled into reports, as I felt my face slowly relax. "She'd want to make sure you're doing okay and all." Sunlight from the window behind me shone on her, as if vouching for her.
"I guess that's okay then." I shrugged. Better than her not caring, I figured. "When does she expect me?"
"Is next Saturday okay? You'll have to take a night train ride on Friday, actually, I think. Oh, maybe we'll get to see Princess Luna!"
"Yeah, should be fine." I did my best to hide my grumbling. The rains scheduled for the coming weekend would have been great to stay at home to watch.
"Cheer up, I'll come with you! I've got more business to settle myself." She tapped my shoulder to straighten me back up. "And by the way, I told Rainbow Dash about that carriage of yours that you lost. She'll tell us as soon as possible when she finds it, alright? Now, where were we..."
We got back to our matter at hand pretty quickly. Stories, language... I was still reading a particularly interesting romance novel, one Rarity had recommended, but Twilight hadn't read it and could offer no comments. Things shifted to me again, rather, the habits I had that ponies weren't familiar with.
"So why do you wear clothes all around anyway? Is it to make up for your lacking hair?"
The question itself from Twilight's cheerful visage was a little stinging. I-I wasn't hairless.
"Well, uh, yeah, I guess that habit evolved from that need. See, our kind first arose in a pretty hot land called Africa, I think I told you that already. Not having lots of hair helped us stay cooler! But then we moved to other places and had to learn how to cover ourselves to stay warm. There are a few other stories that also explain why we wear clothes so much..."
"Wait, so, during the summer you'd be fine going about naked, then?" I wonder if Twilight realised the nature of her question eventually.
"Nnnno." I tried to think of a better way to say it.
"Why not? Wouldn't it be just right for you, then?" She tilted her head in puzzlement.
"Yeah, I wouldn't be cold, but... it's just not acceptable. You can only be completely naked in, uh, special situations."
"Like what?" She looked intently into my eyes, as if she already had a vague idea of the answer and wanted me uncomfortable.
"Uh, when you're with someone you're really close to."
"Like your friends? Or your parents?"
Did she really have no idea? She kept those curious eyes on me, prying out whatever they could behind mine. No use getting around it.
"No, Twilight, your... lover."
Those curious purple eyes had me locked in them too. On that last word, they widened and released me at last. Saying that last word took some stamina, I didn't know why.
"Oh, uh, I see." Twilight stuttered. "Interesting, though! Thanks for the insight!"
She'd gotten it at last, at least. She went to poke around some of the rest of my belongings.
"What's the black flat thing, by the way?" She lifted my phone off its sacred spot on the counter, giving it a sniff for some reason.
"That? It's my phone. It's supposed to let me speak to anyone who has another working one from really far away. It's got a camera on it too, let me see if I can turn it on..."
Twilight ooh'd at the animation upon opening. I hoped to hear a message tone of some sort, but of course, there was nothing. Twilight seemed confused over how to manipulate a touch screen, but enough demonstration with my fingers was enough for her to learn to use her hooves, or nose.
"Haven't you tried calling for help?" She seemed hesitant to ask something so obvious. I told her about how reception worked, and her mind took it all eagerly.
"And by the way, there doesn't seem to be room for film on it. How does the camera work?"
"Like this. Smile, Twilight!"
Her camera face had a pretty big smile. I told her what I knew about electronic data storage, and the smile she wore at that outshined the other. I quickly snatched a photograph of that.
"And there you go, another one."
Like a child with a beloved new toy, she scrolled through both photos of her, and with my permission the rest of that folder.
"Is that you? Who's all that around you?" She pointed out a picture of a me with a group.
"Oh, that's my mom and dad. If you can't figure out who are the ladies, look at their chests, the shapes of their bodies in general..." It was easier by the passing days to distract the less happy thoughts with explanations for Twilight. It wasn't long till I had to stop her, though, as I still wanted to save a smidgen of battery for whatever I would need it for.
"Oh goodness, is it so late already?" Twilight looked out the window. By now the sun was already readying itself for bed low in the sky. "Well, thanks for having me over! See you soon!"
I bade her goodbye and escorted her out the building. I wasn't sure what I was going to do for the rest of today now that I didn't feel like sleeping anymore, but I didn't mind my plans changing too much.
The apartment felt warmer than before she'd come in, though for the next few days it would feel somehow emptier.
Outside the train's shuddering window was Equestria's bright white moon, turning its light onto me to wake me up. Below it were the many vast regions of the land, bright enough under the early morning's starry sky to savour from my view. The train was high enough to see so much, but there was still a bit of time before we could alight at Canterlot, the capital and seat of the twin God-Queens.
It was hard to get worked up for it at the moment. After work ended the evening before, I barely had time to rush home and ready myself before heading for the train station in Ponyville. Falling asleep on the train itself once we were finally off wasn't easy, and now I was nursing a few aches from sleeping on seats not built for my rather extraordinary needs. Across me, Twilight was still sleeping peacefully, a few flicks of her tail complementing the rhythm of her breathing every now and then. Resting on these seats must be something she's developed an art for.
It wasn't just the both of us here, however. Someone else with us seemed as displeased as I was. Spike, Twilight's... baby dragon pet, was well awake and staring out the window as well. His eyes lingered away, the green in them marred by dark spots around highlighted by moonlight. They shifted and met mine, then stilled.
"Hey."
He called out to me first. There was a pause before I gave my answer.
"Yo."
Silence. We were exhausted, I supposed. His eyes drooped back down, then away.
"How're you dealing with Ponyville? I'm sure Twilight's been helpful." He started again, probing me.
"Can't even begin to say how much. She's taught me a lot, been a friend... made it fine, I guess." Come to think of it, he wasn't a pony, either. "Been to Canterlot much? I hope the beds there are more suited for us."
His eyes narrowed a little.
"Yeah, they are. I'm going to take a nap moment we get to our rooms." He yawned, the tip of a green flame poking out of his throat. "Twilight will be up and about though, and she'll probably drag me along instead. Bet you could stay in bed if you asked nicely."
His eyes shut, and he leaned his back on Twilight to try sleeping again. My gaze lingered on them until we reached our stop at last. The moment the train braked, Twilight shook awake, renewed with rest wrested from these seats.
"We're here, guys! Let's move out! Spike, wake up! You too, hope it's not too early, you can sleep a little longer when we reach."Twilight leapt from her seat, Spike and I crawled. She trotted before us, we staggered. The white and gold of Canterlot wasn't enough to catch my attention this time, but with my eyes to the ground there seemed reflected a path of pale white light. Twilight followed it and we were brought to the Palace, guard ponies with wings of bats standing sentinel this time.
"Purpose of visit?" The bat-winged stallion guards were more awake then even Twilight, eyes bright with energy. Before we could answer, a loud booming voice threw me back.
"Welcomed guests! It is most pleasing to finally see you! Twilight Sparkle, Spike the Dragon and..."
A great dark winged figure descended from the lit night sky. It resembled Princess Celestia, but was a dark blue throughout its whole body, splotches of black and the brand of a crescent moon upon its hind legs. Around its black tiara was a mane resembling woven sky, stars swimming within. It spoke my name without a hint of difficulty, even.
"Princess Luna! We're honoured to meet you!" Twilight and the guards drooped to something akin to a kowtow, Spike merely bowed. I followed Spike's example.
The twin of Celestia breathed in deep, but Twilight shook her head. She started back and wide eyed and seemed to have realised something. "It's good to meet you in person," she spoke, softer with a voice not as refined as her sister. "We too should welcome you as our guest. You seem very interesting, indeed. We hope you'll get some sleep before the sun rises, we are certain the palace quarters will be more than pleasing for you."
She and her escort lead us to the guest quarters. Only Spike entered the room meant for both Twilight and him, and she told him she expected him in the library within the next two hours. "Oh, but you look really tired, rest up well, alright? Princess Celestia won't be expecting you for four." She faced me with those words , smiled and left, leaving me with just Princess Luna.
Recalling the story about her fall from grace, I wondered if it was perhaps inappropriate to leave her so suddenly and sleep. "Go on now, we've got more... work to do. We shall see you soon!" Princess Luna assured me, standing by the door to my quarters. I thanked her for her hospitality, and entered my room, whose bed was decorated with her sigils in a web-like pattern. Not that I had energy to think over it, for I was tiring and the bed was wondrously inviting. It was easy to do as she asked and go to sleep.
Twilight was speaking to me. We were in a restaurant that I recognized as one of my favourites back home. We sipped on our drinks, ignoring Spike and his winged partner sitting away from us, though they watched us distantly. No words came out of our mouths, but the thoughts behind them seemed clear and that was enough. No sooner did a waiter walk by and serve us both my favourites of all foods. A beef steak, drizzled in smoking mushroom sauce, and a cutting of grilled salmon besides them soaked in pepper. I dearly wanted to have my steak again, but instead gave it to Twilight, as thanks and because I wanted her to taste what I considered food of gods. I took a bite off my own salmon and watched her face as she took her serving. As her mouth closed over, her eyes turned into starlit void, and colours melted over us and turned dark. There was a voice at last behind them, though it did not seem like Twilight's at all.
"It is good to see you again, honoured guest. How are you faring today?"
Princess Celestia greeted me from her seat in the dining hall. She sat facing the doorway I entered from, on a grand chair at a round table. To her left was another pony much like her, though obviously younger. A horn and wings both, and a pink coat. Eyes not dignified like Princess Celestia's or faint-lit like Luna's, but bright with vigour. An image not unlike a glass heart decorated her back legs.
"I would like to extend my greetings as well! I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but please, just call me Princess Cadence."
"Good morning, Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence." I took a bow, and then I was welcome to seat myself. Upon waking at sunrise I had plenty of time to wash and dress myself, so today I didn't feel as much an embarrassment as before. Rarity had been helpful, making some semblance of formal clothes familiar to me from description. At least now I felt fit to face them properly.
"We hope you will find your breakfast suited to your tastes. Consider it Canterlot's gift."
Princess Celestia smiled as her servants were summoned to deliver our meal. Among the spread available, Princess Celestia had to herself eggs cooked till they bloomed, woven with herbs almost unearthly in their shape. The other had waffles, a stack whose tiny grooves numbered innumerable amidst a honey that almost glowed. Despite their own, both looked on curiously as the waiter removed the lid on my plate, and within was what was clearly a salmon steak, grilled to near-perfection with steaming pepper sprinkled over. Fortunately I had enough semblance of self left to stop my drool leaking.
"Shall we begin?"
The meat tasted different from what I knew, but having it alone was enough. Manners almost went out the window. The argument for eating slowly and gracefully was that I'd have more time to enjoy the meal, and that eventually won over. Conversation went pleasantly from the start. Yes, Equestria has been very welcoming and thank you very much. I would be sure to voice out any concerns if I had more trouble adjusting. Explain more of my culture and lifestyle? Certainly, here, let me show you what we call a phone... interesting, no? I believe I have power enough for another picture. As you can see, it has a camera built into it that doesn't require physical film... you both look quite dashing.
"Morning, Princess Celestia! And Cadence!"
A shrill male voice came rushing in, followed by its owner. A white-coated blue-haired male unicorn, a brand of a shield marked with a somewhat familiar six-pointed star where ponies had their brands. He wore a headpiece like a galea, the ones that the guards wore, but more finely decorated. He sat himself to Princess Candence's left, then shared a kiss.
"Oh, that's right! Twily's told me about you! I'm Shining Armour–Prince Shining Armour, Caden– Princess Cadence's husband. Good to see you!"
'Twily'?
He grinned at me, but it lacked the grace of the Princesses. I merely nodded, not sure how else to respond, again. Time to sip my tea again.
"Morning, Princess Celestia! I brought those documents– Oh, BBBFF!"
'BBB-FF?'
Twilight had come in from behind me, carrying a stack of notes. She then ran to Shining Armour and they embraced.
"Goodness! Are you alright?" Princess Celestia took note of my sudden coughing. "No, no, just choked a little. Went down wrongly, I'm very sorry about that, please excuse me."
"Little sis! It's so good to see you again. I didn't know you'd be here!" The white stallion cooed over Twilight. The discomfort in my throat faded, but in its place was a slight hollow in my chest.
Twilight took her seat to Shining's side, then passed her documents to Princess Celestia.
"Now let's get to business," she said, her voice yet gentle and dignified. "I have been looking more into what we know of your kind in our records. As I've said, we know your kind has come here and left before. This is confirmed in the most ancient of our texts, perhaps when written language was first developed."
"Might be why we speak the same! Maybe our languages once met?" Twilight would have been quickly lost in speculation had Princess Celestia not continued.
"However, nowhere is it clear stated by what means they left. The fragments are contradictory and unreliable... crossing a bridge of light, ferried by water, past a reflection... do you recall anything like this?"
"I'm afraid not. I know I was nowhere near the sea, and there were no bright lights of any sort." I recalled nothing, really. I was lost, and saw nothing.
"Then I am afraid it may be a very long time till we can find you a way back."
The hollow in my chest grew larger, and a chill overtook my arms. I reached for my cup to sip some more tea, but hadn't the strength to even lift it anymore. I was still facing Celestia, but my eyes weren't really focused anywhere, and the room blurred away.
"Our offer of you as our guest still stands, of course. As of now you are afforded residency indefinitely, and are free to do as you wish within our laws. We will not cease our efforts in returning you, but you should be prepared to stay for a long while. In fact, if you wish it, you will be afforded a room here at the Palace instead."
Ah, wonderful. I'd have to stay here but I get to live like the ponies. Never mind that I wasn't one. At least in the palace I'd have full reign over myself. I could hide away and pretend everything was fine. The luxurious pleasures of royalty could make the days pass faster, perhaps. If only I could just sleep now and have them wake me up once everything was finished.
I was asked to think it over the day, and was dismissed. The room shared their sympathies and left me be. I stumbled out, not sure where to go if I had anywhere to go at all, then wandered the halls of the Palace aimlessly.
For a whole day I wandered, stopping only when called to lunch and dinner in an empty dining room, traces of leftovers in the air each time. I had intended to tour the palace to see how much I'd like living here, but I could barely give opinion on the colours of the walls, much less what the place itself was like when it all melted into a mess of grey if I stopped concentrating at any time. I could only do that for a few minutes.
The windows lost their light, and finally exhaustion crept up to me. I'd missed my chance to see the raising and setting of the moon and sun, I realised, but that barely mattered now. The guard outside my room only got a nod for his greeting as I went in, legs too tired to walk more but heart not yet still enough to sleep.
The bed didn't even look all that inviting now, anyway. The only light in the room came from the balcony, where a brilliant night sky shone in defiance to me. I found myself drawn there, in the stars there were a few things yet familiar.
Three in a row, Orion's Belt. A little below shone one far brighter than the others. Sirius among Canis Major. Much of the rest didn't make sense, or seemed to shift even as I watched. Then there was Princess Luna, kicking the moon a little to move it. It wasn't the same. It wasn't the same at all.
"Hey, um... good night for stargazing, huh?"
Twilight's voice. She was on the balcony next to mine. She leaned on the railings towards me, watching with those large eyes of hers. Her hair had a little bit of dishevelment, and the scent of old parchment wafted.
"It could be."
"I'm really sorry about today." She frowned. "I spent the whole day combing the archives again, but there really wasn't anything that could help. And those that maybe, maybe could, the research needed to get those working would take... well..."
I didn't need her to continue.
"Well, um... maybe you could find more things to do in the meantime!" Twilight suggested, slight hope in her voice unrestrained. That hope found a way deep in to ensnare me, beckoning from deep within something. "I mean.... find a way you can spend your time here happy?"
"Twilight, it might be a little strange to ask this, but... what's your dream?"
"Hmm? Dream?"
"Yeah. What... keeps you living? What do you want to have?"
A brief silence overtook us both. Twilight looked around, hints of pink shading her cheeks.
"Eheh, well... ever since I was little, I've always wanted to know things."
"Know things?"
"Yeah! Like, what water is made of, why things fall down... that's when I turned to books. Books taught me so much. And when I learned more, and the ponies behind these great discoveries, I decided I wanted to be one of those ponies. Famous ponies like Starswirl the Bearded... I wanted to learn things and discover new facts, then use them to make the world better. I want my name to be known like that one day."
"So I studied hard and became Princess Celestia's pupil. In fact, finding out just how far I could go was what made me earn my cutie mark!"
She gestured to the brand of the six-pointed stars upon her.
"And, well... here I am now, still going for that."
Those purple eyes sparkled now. They reached into me and pulled me, refusing to let me go. What she said...
"You know, Twilight, I'll always remember the first book I really read. It was a big book of knowledge, just a lot of facts for kids."
Twilight kept silent and smiling, her ears slowly rising.
"It changed me forever. It told me what the world was like beyond what I had seen. It told me what was deep in the ground, why seasons come and go, how our bodies worked, how our people came to be. That's what got me into books too. I also wanted to know more."
"Huh, sounds like me!"
"Of course, I was a small kid. I couldn't decide just yet if that was what I really wanted to do when I grew up. Then I found something else."
"And what would that be?" Twilight's ears stood alert. That face she wore, eyes wide and filled with curiosity...
"It's something I want to show you myself, Twilight. Could I come over to you?"
"Sorry, Spike's sleeping and I don't want to bother the poor guy. I'll come over to you instead!"
Moments later, Twilight was here with me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. A sliver of battery was left that would be completely gone if I went through with what I was planning. Not that I had anything to lose, it would be all gone anyway by the time I had any chance of returning.
"Here, Twilight. Take a look at these pictures."
Twilight was confused, her brow twitching as she looked over the last folder on my phone.
"A circle?"
"Not exactly, Twilight. See, many years ago we started trying to learn about space. Even now, we don't know how to send people up beyond our Moon, but we could send machines, probes to float away for as long as they could last and collect information to send back. Then we started thinking, what if there were other worlds with intelligent life like us? What if they met our machines, and wanted to know about us? How would we communicate when there's no guarantee that we'd even think of language as remotely similarly?"
Twilight's silence, wonder building in her eyes. It was invigorating.
"So we decided to introduce ourselves through pictures and music, and show our understanding of the universe was at least taking a first step. Here, you go through the pictures, I'll explain them to you."
She sat by me on the open, balcony, night air stilling around us. The first was a map of the universe around us we knew. Pulsars, great spinning stars as I explained to Twilight, were used to mark where our world was.
Next were mathematical definitions. Those worlds would be in the same universe as us, so we defined our measurements based on constants in nature. Those circles, they represented how one of the most common elements changes states. That number shows the time taken for it so they can figure out what one second is.
Images of planets, other worlds we knew near ours. A picture of Earth's atmosphere, Twilight recognised the chemical names indicating the gases we had. Structures of elements, then how they came together to form the building blocks of life as we knew. These weren't too foreign to her, but from another perspective it kept her captured.
Pictures of us. Now Twilight's eyes lit like the stars above her. The creation and birth of new life. A mother nursing her child. Scenes of people with their children and families, or just on their own, living.
"Hey, the people over here look way more like you!"
We moved on to the pictures of the world itself. A street where carriages both self-powered and pulled by animals traveled. A field of winged train carriages that could take to the skies. Large dishes that communicated with machines beyond the sky. Massive workshops that churned out thousands of products daily. Vast cities that knew no night or day, making do with their own lights when the sun went down.
We came to the end, a message. Twilight had leaned in close and read the words in a whisper.
"This is a present from a small distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts, and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours..."
We read it to the end together. The heat in my mouth spread to my eyes. At last, all power in my phone was lost and it shut off, never knowing if it would be used again.
"What do you think, Twilight?"
"I-I don't know what to say. It's beautiful, your hopes and wishes and accomplishments and all... I wanted to hear the sounds, I want to know more."
Her own warmth grew into me from my side.
"Mmhmm. That's when I made my decision. I wanted to be one of the great people who brought us so far, and still continue to move us forward. That what I would do with everything I learned, or just... leave my mark, somehow. So I studied hard, got accepted to school, and when I was almost there... well, here I am now."
No one said anything for the passing minutes. We sat there unmoving and watched the skies. The soft moonlight tried to ease me, but I turned it away.
"You don't have to stop here, you know."
Twilight started, sitting straight and looking clear at me.
"You're in Equestria now. How many of your people even know about us? Our last visitor was in the ancient past. Imagine... you going home with Equestria's collective knowledge. You'd be a revolutionary! What if you studied magic and brought it back? What if you created something new because of what you know now and what you'll learn here? Come on... don't be sad."
Hope unyielding in her voice. Again, her words held me thrall.
"You're right, Twilight. It's not over yet. But on one condition."
"Hmm?"
"Let me help you. Your dream's so much like mine, we're the same. I want you to reach it, too. Ask me about absolutely anything, I'll do my best to answer. If you need a partner with your projects, come find me. Let's remember what we said to each other here, alright? And if any of us ever falter, the other will come wake us up."
She smiled. My lips were bound to do the same.
"So that means you ARE coming back to Ponyville with me, right?"
"Absolutely. You're my friend."
With our heads and hearts clear, we could finally find it in ourselves to enjoy the night sky. We sat with each other, without any more words needed. The moonlight seemed satisfied with us at last, and gave us a more soothing view. Stars dimmed, soaking in the comforting night sky. Twilight set her back on mine, gazing upwards with only soft breathing heard.
Stargazing on a palace balcony with a girl. Huh. I was even dressed for the part.
What felt like only moments later, Twilight excused herself, a soft goodnight trailing her head out the room door.
We were back at the restaurant. Twilight bit onto the steak and swallowed, then offered me something off her own plate. With her smile was joyous laughter in the background around us.
Vast stretches of grassy hills, sparsely marked by trees. A flower occasionally poked through, interrupting the green with a bright yellow or pink. Above, cloudy sky, occasional oases of sunlight shining through. Mountains in the distance, surrounding us like a great barrier. To my side, my unicorn pony companion, Twilight Sparkle, steadily trudging on forward with me.
Today was another Saturday, yet chillier than the one before. A few days ago, one of her friends came with news about finally having found a very important possession of mine. We quickly made plans, as we'd be hiking to a valley far from Ponyville. None of her friends were free, so it was just down to the two of us, walking down the wild trails far from town. We left at sunrise, spirits high at the time, but now they were beginning to be tested.
"Hey, um... I've used up all my water. Could I have some of yours?" Twilight was holding her own bottle upside down to show it was empty, her brow furrowed. Her lips were looking quite dry.
My canteen was larger and I'd been drinking less, so there was plenty to spare. I drew it from my backpack; Twilight lifted it from my hand and sipped for a while. Her eyes gazed into the distance, unfocused. Probably exhaustion, poor thing.
"Hey, you alright? Don't worry about saving some for me, I'm good to go for a while."
"Eh? Oh, uh, just spaced out a bit, sorry. Twilight grinned sheepishly and returned me my canteen.
I decided I'd have some water myself. A few sips was all I needed for now. It was wet on this side of the opening, Twilight drank from here, did she?
"Tired? You're spacing out too. There's a stream up ahead we can rest at." Twilight looked at me concerned. I quickly put away the bottle, and we continued.
Talk among us had been animated in the morning. We didn't speak about any one thing in particular, as we found many topic we could spread out. It started with a question, whatever it was about already long-forgotten as time melted away in our voices. Light orange woodland turned to plains hours later, and here we were. Quieter, since the distance had taken its toll on us, but we were comfortable that way.
"Here we are! And look at the time, I guess we may as well get seated for lunch!" Twilight had brought use to a stream of clear water, levitating her map with magic to conform our position. She made another mark on the map with a pencil to mark the latest in our trail, then laid on the grass.
I offered today's lunch. Sandwiches packed into lunchboxes, enough to feed us and easy to carry. Twilight had asked for daisies mixed with her garden vegetables. I made do with ham and cheese, toasted to golden brown, though no longer hot.
"Let's eat, Twilight."
"Yeah, let's!"
Lunch with Twilight again. Not in my house this time, but out in the open fields of Equestria. Cool breezes blew on us, and her hair flowed with it in hypnotizing fashion. She held her face to the wind to catch the air, and her dark blue mane blew out behind her, scarf she wore to resist the elements riding with it.
"Huh, Twilight, you look like one of those models from back home."
"Hmm?" She looked at me, large eyes innocent even as her hair looked like the image of a windblown model.
"Yeah. Photographs of women with their hair swept in the wind are popular. Hold on, stay still... yeah, perfect."
She looked...
...
For a moment, she was not Twilight Sparkle the unicorn pony. For a moment, I forgot that she wasn't human. For a moment, she was–
"Y-yeah, it is pretty windy, huh?" She smiled, eyes squinting in the air currents. She quickly looked down, probably to give her face reprieve from the wind. Back to her lunch, and I followed. We were both hungry.
The thick clouds above floated over us leisurely, sailing upon the winds. Twilight and I both sank into the soft grass, barely paying attention to our meals despite being in the midst of eating. A few flowers surrounded us, some drinking from the stream they were growing nearer to. Purple and magenta most common, but a few white flowers were trying to grow among them.
Munch, munch...
Twilight was eating far slower than I remembered from when she visited. Upright, focused, posture proper. Hmm.
"I've never actually prepared a... flower sandwich before. Is it alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's good. You should try a bite yourself!"
Twilight pushed the sandwich towards me, a clean uneaten end to my face.
"You, uh... you can eat flowers, can you?"
Her face was beginning to droop in disappointment.
"I think I can actually. May as well..."
I had heard about edible flowers, at least. I tore off a leaf and a petal.
...
"So, how did you like it?"
Twilight looked on hopefully. Ears upright, leaning forward.
"It's.. interesting. I'm not very used to it, myself."
"Oh, well, hmm." Hoof to her chin, eyes to the side and upwards. Deep in thought, looking for ideas. "I should introduce you to some other flowers, then! There's a nice cafe I used to visit a lot. You've been mainly eating pastries aside from what you make yourself, so I should introduce you to what other pony food is like!"
"Sure. Next week?"
"Yeah! How's breakfast sound?"
"Sounds good."
"Right then! It's a d–"
Twilight stopped herself short, then looked down and coughed.
"Yeah, it's a deal."
Back to our lunches. I stepped over to the stream for a bit, refilling both our canteens. Twilight's horn glowed, as did the bottled water, and small specks of dirt came flying out. Useful, this magic of hers.
She watched my own sandwich as I picked it backed up, eyes following with intent.
"Hmm? Want to try some of mine, Twilight?"
Maybe she wanted some cheese. Or did she prefer her bread toasted?
"No, um, well... could I try some of your meat? Just a small piece."
"Are you sure? I mean... is it alright for you? It won't cause you any problems, will it?"
"Nah. It's just... not common for ponies to eat meat. It's not unheard of in far-off lands or history, but it's just not done around here. Still, I'd like to try."
I let Twilight tear off her share. Barely anything, a thin slice, like something off a shredder. She looked carefully at it, gave it a sniff, then dropped it into her mouth. Those purple eyes of hers looked upwards, left and right, before shutting as she chewed. Finally, she swallowed, a slight grimace on her face.
"You alright, Twilight?" I couldn't imagine what would happen if my food caused her any harm. I knew about meat-eating horses, but Twilight...
"Yeah. It was... different. I can imagine it being a pretty good source of nutrition, though!"
"Mmhmm. Hope you liked it."
Twilight enjoying, or at least willing to try something of mine felt somehow fulfilling. Conversation petered out, then came back in as we finally finished our sandwiches. The grassy bed we were on was alluring and almost had us glued, tempting us for rest that would quickly become a nap.
"Guess we're done. Ready to head off, Twilight?"
"Yep. Thanks for lunch, again."
Back to our hike. We passed the stream, then went over more soft, rolling hills. The wind blew at our backs, keeping us moving even when our bellies enticed us with the pleasures of laying on the grass for another break. The mountains came closer around us, and the clouds began to part, letting more of the sun shine through.
"Noon already, Twilight?"
"Almost."
"We've been walking for five hours already. How much longer?"
"Soon..." She inspected her map again. "Just beyond those mountains over there."
To the distance, two mountains towered next to each other, like great gateposts, or guardians of whatever lay behind. Clouds hung low over them, spilling to their bases. The sound of our footsteps were all that made noise as we walked. The silence of anticipation had become sacred.
Fog stood as a gate between the mountains, reducing what we could see of the distance. Not enough to deter Twilight and myself.
"Fog's getting pretty thick, Twilight. Twilight?"
It had come to us, and I couldn't see much farther than my face. The shade of purple beyond the white blurs made its way to me.
"There you are. We should stay close, let's not get lost."
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief.
"I should probably hang on to you or something. Or, uh... how about you hold onto me? Or just my scarf, yeah." I couldn't see her face, obscured as it was.
"Yeah. Sure."
Just lightly grab her scarf, that's all. Behind her neck, there, it was loose enough to just grip a bit. So we wouldn't get lost, of course.
"Oh, right. Hang on... there we go." Twilight's horn glowed, illuminating a path through the mist. The ground was clear and safe to keep on moving. We kept our silence.
At last the fog thinned, and through it, a massive valley. Waterfalls in the distance spilled into rivers that flowed on to feed many others. Sheer cliff faces hinted at stranger trees at their tops, cloaked in clouds that contorted themselves into whatever they fancied. Closer to the earth sprung shrubs and trees, all flowering in colours seemingly to rebel against the green.
"Look! Is that it?"
On a flat stretch with nothing but grass, something metallic, with glass windows.
"Yeah, Twilight, I think so."
I moved on forward first, letting go of her and breaking into a sprint over the distance. Yes, it was a car. My car, inside still loaded with the things I remembered bringing.
"It is! Come on, Twilight, come look at this!"
My pocket, my pocket. I did remember to bring the keys, right? Yes, they were there.
Click. The sound of doors unlocked.
"It's working! Twi–"
"Ow!"
Twilight tripped and fell face-first into the ground, trying to run to where I was. My high spirits fell with her.
"Damn. Are you alright? I rushed to her, though not before I dropped my backpack by the car.
"Oww... yeah, but I think I sprained my hoof..." She tried to stand back up, but winced when she tried putting pressure on her left foreleg. She looked at her hurt leg, dejected. "Don't know how long I'm going to need to rest here."
"Easy, Twilight, come on. Hold onto my arm or something." I bent over, giving her my forearm for her good leg to hang on to. She was surprisingly heavy, not that I was deterred or anything. Slowly I led her to the car's side and set her down.
"Can you climb in? Hang on, let me help you." I opened the door for her, then helped her get inside. Fortunately the passenger seat was cleared out the last time I left. She seemed comfortable enough on the seat, left leg lifted a little.
"And, uh, hang on, I hope this isn't too uncomfortable for you..."
I pulled over the seat belt. At least it didn't take too much effort to fit over her.
"What's this supposed to be?"
"It's a seat belt, for safety. The vehicle should still be working, so while you're a passenger in here it's best if you buckle up. It can move pretty fast, so you need to be secured. It's.. not too uncomfortable, is it?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
When the door closed, she smiled at me through the window.
Round to the driver's seat. Left foot onto the clutch and down, key in hole, hopes about to be tested.
The key twisted, and the familiar purr of the engine came to life.
"Whoa! So there's a small engine somewhere here, is there?" Twilight's eyes came to life again.
"Yes, I should show you, but that's once we get back. We've been walking on wide open ground the whole way, so getting back shouldn't be a problem. Just sit back and relax."
Shift to first gear. Handbrake disengaged. Release the clutch a little, then right foot down on the accelerator, and only slightly. These familiar actions were comforting and stilled my hands. I hadn't even realised they were trembling.
"We're... we're moving!"
Wonder and amazement in that voice. Any and all fatigue from the walk faded away.
"Like I said, Twilight. Enjoy the ride."
I drove us slowly at first Fortunately, the windscreen was clean and there was no need to check if the wipers were still working. Scenery passed us way faster than before, and being seated made us much more at ease.
"I don't think I can really take this through Ponyville. I can probably stop at my house, then I'll help you home, alright?"
"I just hope this'll be better by then. Thanks.. thanks a lot."
"It's no problem. Can't wait to show you what else I've packed in here. I'll definitely lend you whatever books you want, I've got a few textbooks you might be interested in. Not today though, I'll need to sort them out first. Oh, and get you home safe."
She giggled.
"So careless of me, really."
Taking a girl home. Driving her home, even, after a long day out. That was what I was doing right now.
"Heh, back behind a wheel after so long and I'm already driving a girl back."
"Eh? Is this something significant in your culture?"
"Not really. It's just commonly assumed that a girl being driven home by a guy is... well, uh, dating him."
I had to focus on the road. That's why I didn't look at Twilight, yes. Focus on the path, I mean. There wasn't any road here. Right.
"I–I see."
A silence. Twilight was tired and had to nurse her injury, I was sure.
The clouds finally decided to move off, letting through sun rays too long stifled. Lowering the windows as a good idea to let in more air for myself, and Twilight requested the same for her side.
"What's that weird black case you have there?"
"That one? A computer. Think of it as a... device that can carry out instructions to do a wide variety of tasks. I don't think I can show you unless you've got a suitable power source anywhere, though."
"Hmm... let's take a look sometime. There's so much here, it's a shame if it went to waste."
Conversation carried on till we made it back to Ponyville, within a single hour when it took us from sunrise till noon on foot. The ponies about that saw us stared, but at least they treated it like any other carriage as they got out of the way. Twilight was better, but I made sure to accompany her to her library anyway. Wouldn't have felt right otherwise.
"Do take care of yourself, alright? Tell you what, I'll bring over a few books tomorrow, and you can have your pick. Maybe even all of them. Just promise me you'll rest well."
"Yeah, don't worry. I had a fun time, anyway. Never been on a walk so long for a while!"
"Well... see you tomorrow, Twilight."
"See you tomorrow! Have fun with your old stuff back!"
I had a load of my old possessions to sift through, full with pleasures I thought I'd lost forever, but for a while, they didn't seem as important as I'd imagined.
I found myself in a spring, the steamy mist blurring whatever world there was outside. The warm water caressed my body, yet touched every nerve before silencing it. It was warm, not unbearable, but enough to break a man so that he can be rebuilt. Up above beyond the mist was a few hints of daylight, slowly inching their way across a a night sky to become its equal.
The spring urged me to relax. I obeyed and leaned back into smooth stones. Some of the mist parted, revealing a small walled garden and a house at the end of a short stone trail. A house more familiar, almost like back home. By the sides of the path leading there lay lovingly-tended bonsai to welcome you from the house or the spring. All that mattered at the time, though, was where I was. I wanted to melt into the waters.
Ding.
A bell. Why was the front bell ringing? Nobody should be here but me, this was my space and mine only.
Ding.
Whoever it was wasn't leaving. This hadn't happened before. My body cried for the spring's embrace as I lifted myself out into the cold air, but putting on a nearby robe made it just warm and cool enough in all the right places. I had to go into the house and get to the front door before I could send them away. It was a place I knew well enough to reach wherever I wanted in the time it took to blink.
Ding.
"Stop that." I barked to the door. Whoever was behind it at least understood I was arriving.
My intruder's identity stopped the next words about to escape my mouth. Hair that looked like it was drawn from the sea in the night sky. A deep night-blue body that ended in an image of a crescent moon, set upon a black splotch. Birdlike wings folded to the sides and a long horn set on the head.
"Good evening. May I come in?"
I'd only seen Princess Luna once before, but she was much different from the last time. She came without any grand entrance or entourage or an amplified voice. It was as if she really did walk up here and ring the doorbell like anyone else.
"This is new. No one's ever come here before. It's forbidden."
"Could I ask for an exception? You're free to refuse, I am now just a guest."
"It couldn't hurt, I suppose. Don't go in too deep, we can chat nearby."
I took the night princess into a spacious living room. A fire from behind shooed the cold air away. Not enough that it became hot, but the room found that perfect balance.
"Make yourself comfortable." I pointed her to a sofa while I leaned back on my own couch. "Anything to drink? There's tea, or beer. That's what I feel like having now, at least."
"You have quite the imagination." The night princess smiled. "I'll have whatever you take. That way I'll actually get to taste it."
"That's fine." Instinctively, I knew where to reach for a perfectly chilled bottle. Just somewhere I wasn't looking. There were two glasses on the table when I looked back, chilled as well to preserved taste."
"I used to have these to celebrate good days. They were only made in... in a distant land, and when I bought the last batch they told me they'd stopped bringing them in. The last one I opened, I shared with my friends. Left me with almost nothing, but I already had the memories of drinking something so divine. Figured I might as well give the experience to them. Anyway... enjoy, Princess."
She lifted the glass off my hand with that horn magic of hers. She sniffed, then took a sip. She held her eyes closed to examine the taste.
"Hmm... overwhelms the senses as it goes in, but when it fades it leaves you refreshed and wanting more. Thank you for sharing this with me. Although... if you finished your last bottle already, then what's this?" The night princess ended her sentence with a smirk.
"I'm sure you know the answer. I'm trying not to think about it." I distracted myself with a sip of my own. It was exactly as she described.
"You needn't be concerned. While I'm here, I can keep your dream stable, so long as you don't wish to wake up."
I already knew just where I was, of course. This one living room was far bigger than the whole house was on the outside. Besides, I had never been in a place like this before. Bits of it were pieced together from places I liked enough to remember and associate with peaceful times. With Princess Luna's assurance, I managed to gain some more clarity and clear the dark corners of my vision.
"That's reassuring. I don't often get to do this. So what brings you here to visit me? That is, if you're even Princess Luna, and not a stray bit of my imagination."
"You ask good questions." She laughed. "What if I told you something you couldn't know on your own? Tomorrow, go look in the bushes near Ponyville's library. You'll find a purple maneclip, one very dearly missed by Twilight Sparkle. If you return it to her, she would be very grateful."
"Very helpful, I hope I'll remember that. I suppose I can accept that you really are Princess Luna appearing in my mind. I think I saw a book describing that power of yours. I supposed there's not much I can do to stop a living goddess."
A shadow began to creep about the room. It stayed far from me, but slowly crept towards Luna, who looked at it with an expression of mild interest.
"Oh, it's not like that. I can't see everything. Only what you're dreaming about, which could be either real or a complete fantasy, and when I'm here talking to you, I can't force secrets out." Her horn glowed a faint blue tinge, and the shadow stopped in its tracks. She looked at me reassuringly, and the shadow slid back into a storeroom somewhere until it was needed again.
"So, how has life in Ponyville been for you? I am sorry I couldn't join your meeting with my sister the other day, my duties limit the times I am available."
"That's fine, your Highness. It... well, it's hard to say."
"Oh, no need to be so formal. This is your mind, after all."
"Of course. Anyway, Princess, it's not as bad as it could be. All things considered, actually, things are going about as well as they could. Still..."
"You were offered a room in the palace, weren't you? You would have been waited on hand and hoof. I heard you rejected that. Why would that be?"
"That would have been nice. For a while, at least. That night I had... I had a very good talk with Twilight."
"Oh, my! What kind of good talk?" She looked very. very interested, the way her head was leaning in.
"I don't get to talk about it often. It was about what our dreams were. Turns out Twilight shares a lot more with me than I thought."
"Of course! The two of you have gotten along very well. I am happy to see you've made a good friend in her. But why would that make you want to leave the castle?"
"Earlier than day, Princess Celestia told me that it would be very long until I could get home. Very long. I... I had to accept that. I knew I couldn't be happy if I just sat around waiting for something to happen. So when I spoke with Twilight, I figured it'd be... meaningful to do something with her.
The room lit up a little. My couch grew softer and took on a silky texture. The same happened to Luna's seat. She fidgeted around to accommodate the new extra comfort. A new warmth overtook the air.
"This is a very happy thought for you, isn't it?" Luna had finally found her position, curled up on her sofa. There was even a blanket hanging nearby. "I can feel it very clearly."
"It is. Well, of course. It's good knowing that someone shares ideals and dreams you hold dear. If I can't work towards my own, I can at least help Twilight make hers come true. I can live a little through her. Vicariously."
"I see, I see..." Princess Luna sipped some more of her drink. It had changed to a steaming mug of hot chocolate. So did mine, to fit the mood. Sweet, warm and fulfilling. "Like I said, you've grown close."
"We have. I'm happy for that."
"Happy enough to leave things as they are?"
"Well, of course I'd like things to get better. What are you asking?"
"Well, from what I've seen... Don't worry about it so much. Follow your heart. I think you have a good one."
The couches suddenly grew stiff. The warm fire faded, and our drinks froze in their mugs.
"Just what have you seen, Princess?"
She put a hoof to her mouth, holding back a giggle.
"Today wasn't the only time I came to visit you! The first time was when you stayed in the palace. It was very difficult learning to enter your mind before, so I had you sleep in a room I prepared myself. That's also how I learned what to have the kitchens prepare for you."
"That's right. Ponies don't usually eat salmon, do they? That was delicious."
"I'll be sure to tell that to our kitchen staff. Anyway, I did want to come have a chat with you after that, but every night you were... busy. I didn't want to interrupt."
Veins of ice were creeping into the room. The windows were already blocked by a fine frozen layer. Luna looked around at the freezing legs of her couch and laughed.
"Come now, there's no need to be afraid! Everyone dreams, and they have no control over what they do dream of. It would be especially hypocritical of me to judge somepony just because of that. I must admit... you don't look like it, but you can be absolutely adorable."
The icy, frozen veins, not sure quite what to think, retreated back through the windows and outside. Luna's horn glowed, and the out-of-sight fireplace was relit. Our drinks managed to get warm again and the couch unfroze, letting our weights sink back into the cushions.
"Supposed there'd be a problem if it wasn't a just dream, huh?" Somehow my drink had gotten cold the moment it parted the mug. It left a chilling trail in my throat on the way down.
"Well... that's up to Twilight Sparkle, isn't it? Or 'Twi', or 'Wiley', or –mmmph!"
A strip of masking tape had helpfully held Luna's mouth shut. It was simple for her to pull it off and resume laughing hysterically.
"Ahahahaha! I do apologize, I didn't mean to peek into that, but it kept coming up... "
I could only sigh and distract myself with another few gulps. It had turned to water, or something like it. It didn't have a taste.
"Oh, you don't have to look like that! We were all young once. Even my sister and myself." Luna worked her magic again to warm our room. This time she drew teacups from behind her couch, bringing with them a faint aroma.
"Let me share some of my thoughts with you. Tea made from a herb that blooms at night." She floated her mug over the table between us for me to snatch out of the air, after placing my previous drink out of sight. "The scent of the flower draws moths. When they drink its nectar, it stimulates their mind so they remember where it is. If it's found other flowers like it before, it also helps them remember so they go around and spread its pollen. I drink it to help me recall memories I value. Of course, this isn't the real thing, but I'm sure you'll appreciate the taste."
The liquid in the cup was a faint blue. It was sweet at first, but as it went down the tongue there was a hint of bitterness. It only made the next sensation sweeter, like a reward for enduring.
"To be young again... I remember the first time a stallion truly caught my eye. I spent so many sleepless days wondering just what was happening to me..."
The drink in my hands grew warmer. She took another sip of her own.
"I wondered if he thought the same way about me as I did for him. One night, we found ourselves together out in a field. We were watching the night sky... under the moon and the stars, I decided to tell him just what I thought."
"And...?" It was nice of her to put the pressure off me.
"He thought the same way. I'll always remember the sky we saw when I heard him say those words. I think... I think that's where I learned to love the night."
She sighed. Her couch was no more, replaced by a patch of grass. She lay on her back, staring up into a large hole in the ceiling. Pale white light shone on her, but left a shadow to her side.
"That's very sweet, Princess. I can't imagine anyone turning you down."
"Oh, you, save your words for someone who matters," she laughed. She laughed less like a royal, and more like a doting aunt. "We went through many things together. I changed, in many ways." Her horn flashed and her wings fluttered, slightly. "With every new chapter of my life, I could depend on him to keep me at peace. He always told me how beautiful my work was when I needed kindness, or a moment of comfort on daybreak."
"Sounds like a wonderful partner. He's very lucky to have met you to love. Can I meet him sometime?"
The light on Luna flickered and dimmed. The grass she lay on stopped their dance and grew still.
"I had to leave him behind a long time ago. I am very different from most ponies, aren't I?"
It took me a while to understand. I had to recall one of Twilight's many eager lectures. Princess Luna, as Nightmare Moon was banished for a millennium. It was Princess Celestia who executed the sentence, the same Princess Celestia who I had met recently. The depictions of her from old texts described her about the same as she appeared to me. And of course, they were living gods. Which meant...
"I–I see. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you bring that up."
"Don't worry about it." Princess Luna stood up. Her horn glowed a deep purple, and the grass patch faded away. "I've come to accept it. I have to, just like you."
She repaired the hole she bore in the ceiling while I downed the rest of her tea. The bitter tinge was far more overpowering than before, but the sweet flow that came after lovingly melted into my mouth.
"Would you still have done it if you knew it would end that way , Princess? Just curious. You don't have to answer."
She looked down, her eyes expressionless, before turning away.
" I... I don't know. It's not a question I can answer, I'm afraid. All I know now is that I've made plenty of good memories, and that I'll treasure them as long as I live. Even if it only felt like a few moments... that's the brighter side I should see. I found something else to comfort me, just like you."
Princess Luna rose and turned to me, finding a reassuring smile to show.
"Thank you for being a wonderful host. I hope you'll entertain me the same way again." She bowed her head, then began walking to the door. She left an empty trail behind her, wiping away whatever her image touched to leave a grey void.
"You won't stay longer? You're very welcome either way, Princess. What happens when you leave, though?"
"Whatever you like. Most go back to nothing before having another dream, but I can't recommend that for you. You have something important to wake up for, don't you?"
She opened the door to a similar void, slowly enveloping my vision. She was the only thing not melting into it as she spread her wings and hovered in its midst.
"I suppose I do. I had a lovely time. When will I see you again?"
"Whenever it's convenient for us both. Isn't that enough questions? Now, you have a very good morning."
I began to feel the cloth of my bed taking shape just before the alarm started to ring. My eyes opened without any of the usual protest, and my body stood up to shut it off and begin the day.
My room lay in a mess. Last night's work lasted until sometime in the wee hours of the morning. Different clothes tried on and rejected lay abandoned on the floor. Old lifestyle magazine clippings whose models I tried to imitate, being thankful I was the only one to see the resulting mess every time. Some books on the bedside, whose clever lines I tried to memorise in a single night to reuse when appropriate. I would have looked really cool, too.
Still, somehow I woke up rested. Something must have blessed the four or so hours of sleep I ended up forced into. There couldn't have been a better day for it.
Having woken up before planned, I had plenty of time to laze about and wait. The warm spots on the bed created overnight were especially nice, especially in a room chilled by winds adjusting to the settling of autumn. They had blown open the windows again while I slept, they enjoyed making sure I never woke up too hot.
Out the open window were the first rays of daylight. A great orange tinge on the horizon taking over from the deep blue that still blanketed Ponyville. Not something I paid attention to very often, but it was captivating. I had some time to spare.
Twilight Sparkle, Twilight Sparkle. Hers was an image I couldn't get my mind away from. I had to deeply consider who she was to me.
She was the one who found me and brought me to safety. When I came to, she was the one I who helped me find a place to stay. She was the one who taught me how to live here, and also listened while I relived my former life so I wouldn't forget. She is a unicorn pony. A body of an animal, though her face was enough to look like a person's, and her mind was brilliantly intelligent. She was also someone I...
Gah. How could I have fallen so low? Of all the things I could have been guilty of, I… never thought it would be zoophillia. Her hair was silky and straight, perfect. Her voice gentle, soothing, but with firm resolve when the time came. The way her tail sprang out so enticingly...
It still wasn't easy to accept that I had developed a crush on Twilight Sparkle.
Worse still, I was acting on it. As I was, there was no way I could simply cut her off. She was my only real friend. I still needed her to teach me more about living in Equestria. I needed someone to talk to, someone to while away the time with, someone to share my thoughts, ideas and memories with. Really, I shouldn't be putting such a good arrangement at risk. There was nothing rational about this.
To help absolve myself of the responsibility, I kept it mind that it was she who invited me out. Nothing I could do about that. The worst thing I could do now was get my hopes up. At least I knew my chances weren't impossible. Ponies courted between their castes and apparently with other species too, if that subgenre on Twilight's shelves was anything to go by. If she didn't feel the same way about me, I could live with it. If she did... there lay a whole score of problems too numerous to even consider.
Didn't stop me from preparing my best clothes today. Well, not 'best' as in fancy and formal, just nice clothes that suited the occasion. This was just a breakfast d– a breakfast meetup. Maybe Twilight would like it if I brought something she hadn't seen. Boxes still lay about unopened, I'd focused on unpacking essentials like clothes. Just in time for the autumn winds, growing colder and colder by the day. As much as I enjoyed the end of summer's heat, I had to keep warm.
Not much of a problem today, looking outside. Not many clouds to obscure another day of sun, now that the twilight had transitioned to dawn. Maybe I should bring something Twilight would like. A textbook? I already lent her some the other day. My phone? It would be nice showing Twilight more of that since I had spare batteries to use it with, but that was still something best saved for emergencies. Flowers? ...No, that would be being very forward, and no matter how either of us felt it would still be strange. Not that I could even head out to find some right now. It took until a sun ray hit my face for me to realise how much time I'd dawdled away. Right, casual meetup. Simple, comfortable pants, white T-shirt under a blue jacket to go with the blue sneakers. My wallet, designed for paper money, had to be replaced with a coin pouch I could attach to my pants, or a bag. After a bit of obsessive combing and triple checking that I had everything I needed, I left my home, or what worked as one.
Weekend mornings were only a little less busy than weekdays. Ponies preferred to wake up at daybreak for their business rather than stay up late into the night. A pity, because a wave of self-consciousness was washing over me, and I had no familiar crowd with which to blend into and hide from my imagined judging eyes. The foals about the streets playing were, today at least content with giving a friendly wave rather than asking me for yet another' interview'. Something about working to gain beauty marks, that's what they kept asking me about. As far as I could recall, anyway.
"There you are! How has your morning been?"
There she was. It must be easy to be a pony and not have to think about what to wear. Her mane did seem a little straighter than usual, but she was how I'd always seen her. I felt a thumping in my chest that I needed to suppress.
"Hard to tell, just woke up. Good air today, though."
"Table for two of us, please!" Twilight had to pay more attention to the waiter than me, which was more distracting that it should have been. "Hope you slept well! I've been so busy, but I've been getting really good nights lately for some reason. How about you?"
"Come to think of it," I thought out as we were lead to our tables. "Me too. Mostly last night, actually, haven't felt this good in the morning since.. well, as far as I can remember. I'm usually not a morning person. By usually, I mean never, by the way."
"Hahaha!" Twilight's laugh. Her sweet giggle. Curse it, and how it made my chest grow weak. "Me too, actually! It's hard to stop studying at night when you've got another page to go... so you decide, just a little more... you've built up momentum you don't want to give up, you know?"
"I know, I know very well."
"Right! What do you feel like having, by the way?"
Twilight slid me a menu. As expected, no hope of bacon. But wait, eggs were available. Which wasn't exactly meat, but it'd fulfill the same craving. Pancakes drizzled with honey was the description of another item, my stomach decided that it had room for both. I could smell a lucky table already having a stack of those. To round that off, breakfast tea, the same as Twilight.
"Wow, pretty hungry, huh?" Twilight remarked as we sent the waiter on his way.
"As a horse. It–it's a saying." I had to quickly intervene in Twilight's confusion over my attempt at wordplay.
"Ooooh. Right!" She quickly nodded her head, indicating that she understood quickly. Well, probably. She was very clever, after all.
Be natural, be natural. I had to remind myself every time I wasn't stuck trying to make it not too obvious I was gazing at her.
"How's your leg doing, by the way?" She had hurt herself the last time we went out together. I got my first chance to play a hero to her when I brought her back to Ponyville. Fond, fond memories, even if it was just around a week ago.
"Oh, it got better really fast! Don't you worry!" She quickly waved it off, looking away and smiling. "I had to rest a while, but those textbooks you sent helped pass the time! Couldn't understand this part though, I actually brought it with me..."
She opened the pages of the thick paperback volume with remarkable care, even if her using magic made it harder to tell.
"This? I'm guessing it's the when they use the word 'fingerprints'? They're a unique way of identifying people, since every one of my kind has a different set, so it's a word used to mean something that can be used as a unique identifier. Here, see?"
I held up my right hand to show her, pointing them out to her curious face. She drew her head near, so much I could feel the breath off her nose.
"Why don't you try and feel the ridges?" Before I'd realised what I said, it came out. I wondered whether I would congratulate myself over a moment of genius like this or curse myself for being so brazen. Twilight's hoof, trembling, drew my hand. Closer, closer....
The first thing I felt was the soft hair that covered it, like a teaser that lasted a painful half second of longing. The lucky finger that first got to feel her touch was the index, prodded a few hesitant times at first. As if struck by a moment of courage, she finally touched me with her whole hoof. All at once my fingers were overwhelmed on the smooth surface of her coat, and in sheer fright I nearly drew back.
It couldn't have just been the cool morning air. Were ponies always this warm? Twilight's hoof was like a fire in the midst of a blizzard. It might as well have shined, the way all my attention was drawn to it. Just a limb. Just a foreleg covered in a purple fur layer.
"I... uh, a little I guess? They're small, so it's pretty hard..." Twilight kept her focus on the hand, being absolutely still save for the investigating hoof that kept poking about my fingers. By a deep, almost bestial instinct, I closed them. Right then was when Twilight's hoof grew hot, enough to create a small summer at our table. Her eyes widened for the briefest moment before she turned them away to concentrate on something away from me. I didn't feel right looking at the same time. My hand was around her soft, warm hoof, and that's all I could think of.
"How about now?" I asked, just to keep the illusion going. That same base instinct made me run my fingers about her hoof, feeling her hairs fill the valleys of my hand. Somehow, they were a perfect fit. Between keeping down my chest and holding onto the hoof, I had to think of how to bring this situation forward to what I wanted.
"Hmmm... yeah, a little better. Now..."
Right as she pushed it into my hand, I squeezed. I could make out a small gasp escaping Twilight's mouth before I realised what I'd just did. I dared to squeeze her hoof again, and again she pushed in, holding on in return. Then it was her turn. She rested her hoof right into the crevasse of my grip, turning around to make a space for itself and reward me with more of that warm grip. I wanted it to last forever.
"Pardon me. Your orders?"
And just like that, it was gone. The waiter, possessed by some malevolent force, decided that this was the best time to serve us our food. He stood there, nonchalant, almost insolent in the way he broke this up. We drew away and I was left with nothing but a hollow feeling in my hand that was in heaven just seconds ago.
"Thank you. Thank you very much." He nodded as if he was barely listening to my impotent frustration as he put down our breakfasts, which really wasn't worth any attention once I was done with my moment of indignation. A slab of pancakes for both of us, drizzled in honey and topped with a block of rich, creamy butter. I had an omelet, but Twilight had her egg scrambled. They sizzled in their juices, aromas working in tandem with the sweet pancakes to convince me there were other things in life worth pursuing.
My gaze finally returned to Twilight, who looked back expectantly.
"Right! Let's eat!" She, too, decided that food was the best thing we could get at the moment. It really was. Ponies had a gift for pastries, given that it probably made up half of what they ate. It was clear the pancakes were freshly baked, and the honey free of the usual processing required by the industry that stripped it of its wilder taste. I had to hold myself back from the urge to devour it right there. What would Twilight think? The elegant way she cut her pancakes and lifted the pieces with her magic, she'd definitely be put off. I had never seen her be so formal before, but I can't fall behind here.
"Earth ponies usually do the farming, right?" I managed to force myself to take a break from devouring breakfast to add conversation.
"That's right! It's a connection they have to the land that makes them good at it. The best farmers are in... harmony with it, they understand the land and know how to get the best out of it! They tame the land to make it theirs."
Like the way you're making my heart yours. That's when Twilight would have gasped, swooned over my clever wordplay and declared her feelings for me on the spot. If I said it like I wanted to instead of backing out. Damn it, it wouldn't work anyway, right?
"Wow. That sounds amazing. Ever thought of trying to apply your magic like that? Find some new secret to working the land? Seems like it'd be a profitable line of work."
"Oh, you're giving me too much credit." Her cheeks glowed with a faint pink tinge as she lowered her head, her hoof in front of her mouth to try drawing attention away from her smile.
"Am I? Imagine the headlines. Twilight Sparkle, herald of a new green revolution. Your name plastered over every billboard in the city, then you receive your many, many awards that only make it so even more people hear your name. They want to know who the talented Twilight Sparkle is...."
"Goodness!" Twilight giggled. "You're really flattering me here!"
"Not flattery if it's true! Well, could be true in time. You're brilliant enough, I can see that..."
And cute, witty, pretty....
"W-well, so are you! I've never seen anyone pick up knowledge so fast. I-it shows when you tell me stories of your home. I you'd have to be very well read to understand things to a level where... well, to what I enjoy."
"And you're saying I'm the one with the flattery here, Twilight." I had to lean on the table to accept that compliment, barely holding myself back from a big grin. Her eyes turned to meet mine, our heads leaning into each other. "Truth is, Twilight, you're..."
CLANG!
Very nice. Of all times something could have fallen of the table, it had to be now. Somehow my fork had moved over to the very edge before dropping off, deciding that the chance of getting a scratch on itself was worth ruining the moment.
"Don't worry, I'll ask for something to clean it. Excuse me!" Twilight quickly recovered and got back to the business of doing customer things at a cafe. The sting of working up all the courage for nothing left me limp. Well, the food was still hot. There was that compensation. The same unfettered waiter came to give me a wet cloth for cleaning my cutlery, not caring that he probably never saw anything like it in his life. I was expecting a bit more attention for bringing utensils when ponies usually ate straight off their plates. Twilight didn't even comment on it. Well, she'd seen it a few times already, but still.
"Thanks for that." I retreated to wistfully cleaning my fork. Twilight waited for me to finish before eating again. Very polite and nice of her. Not at all a way to make up for it, though.
Clearly, ponies weren't as skilled as they were with eggs as with pastries. It wasn't by any means bad, but maybe built for a different palette. Still, it was made up for with a good spread of seasoning. Spices should count for something grown by earth ponies. It fulfilled the craving for protein, just very barely. It needed sausage bits cooked in to be complete.
"Well?" asked Twilight as she sipped her tea. "I drop by here when I feel like having a larger breakfast. What do you think?"
Right at the moment I was thinking that we were done eating far too fast.
"Great! I'm really, really full. Thanks for bringing me here! I still don't really know what's good around town..."
"Let's take a walk. I'm bursting, I need to stretch my legs a little. Come on!" She hopped out of her seat and walked me to the counter. Before I could even count the money in my pouch, I heard the cashier wish us a good day.
"Oh. Twilight, how much do I owe you?" There went my plans of gallantly footing the bill, gently hushing her protests and insisting that it was only right.
"Hmm? Nothing, my treat! It was me who asked you out anyway, so it's only right on a... well, on an outing."
"What? But–"
"Oh, don't worry about it, alright?" Twilight was the one hushing my protests instead. There was no fighting this when I'd already lost.
"Huh. Next time, then." No arguing here. "Got any good places in mind?"
"Oooh, next time?" She suddenly grinned before falling back to her composed self. "Well, uh, I was thinking a nice park to sit down. Ever been there?"
"I don't think so. Care to show me the way?" Truth was, I never really felt like leaving my place for pleasure. The explorer in me was held back by the worrier over my days here. We followed where the crowd was until the park came into view, then took the path away from them. We went somewhere more hidden away by the trees and bushes, somewhere off where we'd be to ourselves. The trees were losing their lustrous green, getting ready to shed their weight for the coming months.
"There's a bench. Let's relax a while. The air's really good around here." I pointed out a bench by the side of the footpath, a few pretty flowers growing just beside. Twilight hopped on first and scooted to give me space. It was warm, and not likely from the bench.
My hand rested on the seat. Twilight's hoof was right beside it. I just had to inch over a little. There, they were touching. A patch soft and warm, unlike the hard wooden bench below. My heart was pounding as if possessed in a frenzy just like that.
"Any plans for later?" Twilight asked. I wasn't fit to think about her tone. She wasn't moving her hoof away.
"I was thinking of packing up some more at home, but that can wait. Got anything in mind?"
"Hmm... not really."
She twitched, just a little. A small shiver. Her hoof strayed a little closer, not daring to test limits that weren't really there.
"It's nice enough being here." Enough as in satisfactory, but there was something more I wanted. I allowed my greedy hand to creep further around her hoof. Gently, gently. "Thanks for asking me out on this...."
"My pleasure! A good outing's a great way for... for people to bond." Twilight's expression fell after the short pause in her words, like being resigned to some sort of defeat.
"Outing?" It was my turn to get something done, wasn't it? I hoped she wasn't feeling the sweat in my palm. My pounding chest had enough to deal with. "Dates are better at that."
There. It was done. Now to see it through so I could finally put this to rest.
"I–I like that word." Twilight's cheeks made that pink colour again. It became a lot warmer than the sun should allow.
"How about me? I suggested it."
"You're–you're a great word too! Wait, no, I mean– I mean it! I–"
"And I really like you too, Twilight."
I held onto her hoof, finally feeling the courage to squeeze tight. Suddenly everything in the world seemed right. What was I so worried about, anyway? Actually, why did anyone worry about a thing? Everything was perfect. The violent thumping in my chest cheered before finally calming down, exhausted and glad for a chance to rest.
"Strange, though. I still can't feel your finger ridges." She finally turned to face me, her face free of a worry and doubt I hadn't noticed until they were gone.
"Oh, don't worry about that, no one really can. I lied." I shrugged.
"Just making sure. I actually read about that in an earlier chapter already." Her face broke into a mischievous grin that I couldn't resist copying. Just like that, we broke into laughter. The tension in the air was gone just like that, and I could feel the carefree atmosphere that surrounded our meetings return, sorely missed. We laughed until we buckled over, realising the absurdity of the situation. When we were done, panting and heaving, I looked into those bright purple eyes again. Now, I knew they were looking back at me the same way.
"So, what was that about plans for later? We've started the day off so great. Shame if it ended so soon."
It was the best morning I had in a long, long time. Even better knowing now that I could have many more like it.
"Glad you asked!" She pulled out an stack of notes, jotted with ideas and recommendations. There was a timetable, several timetables even, with different plans for the day.
