Ch. 14 New Day New Problem

Time for chapter 14 and time for Mike to get his mind blown. He gets the talk from the Princesses and he finally realizes why the mares continue to hound him.

I do have a big announcement; sadly I don't think I will be able to update next week. I have to help pack two houses and it won't be an easy job. I will try and see what I can do but I make no promises for now. On a lighter note, it seems we have a tie between on the poll:

Oblivion Hero of Kvatch X Golden Saints and Dark Seducers: 5 total (2 poll votes, 3 pm's)

Diablo 3 FemDiablo X Nephalem: 5 total (2 poll votes, 3 pm's)

And bringing up the rear

Morrowind Nerevar X Azura: 2 total (1 poll vote and 1 pm)

As a result, I will work on the top two one-shots and try to release them and the other three will be placed on the back burner for now. If the one-shots turn out well enough they might be made into multi-chapter stories. Anyway enough time has been wasted so let's read!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, all characters copyright of their owners.

Mike woke up with a queasy stomach. Too much dessert will do that but it was a special occasion. Chrysalis had gotten her hive working and the citizens of Ponyville were slowly adjusting to their new neighbors. 'And I thought Celestia loved cake. Chrysalis just matched and beat Celestia with how much she ate!' The memory of her practically stuffing slice after slice into her mouth made him almost burst out laughing but he held his tongue in check. After glancing at his watch he made his way to the Latrine to do his morning business. A few minutes later and he was back in the same garden he was the previous day. His last attempt to run was thwarted by Nightmare Moon so he prayed that today would be better.

"Mike."

'Crap' Mike thought with a sigh. 'So much for that.' As he turned around he saw Nightmare standing in the entrance watching him. Couldn't he get one morning to himself anymore? "Do you need something Moon?"

Nightmare just regarded him with a slight tilt in her head. "I am curious as to what are you doing up this early. Not many ponies would be up right now."

"I was trying to get my morning exercise in before the day started. I have to stay in shape somehow." He joked with a cheesy grin which dropped as she examined him closely. Even with his daily exercise and training with the guards he only gained a small amount of muscle which didn't really suit him well. He was hoping he would put on some more muscle mass so that way he wasn't a scrawny soldier but it seemed his body just wanted to fight against him. "Ok maybe trying to get in shape might be a better phrase."

"That's better but why are you doing it this early?" She questioned.

"Habit really, they always woke us up this early for Physical Training and it became a habit that you can't kick. It does help you wake up and get ready for the day though." He replied with a grin.

Nightmare watched as he began to stretch and wondered if she should inform him of what is about to discussed when Celestia wakes. It concerned him so he should be warned but on the other hoof she might scare him off if she informed him and that made her feel uneasy. Chrysalis and Cadence were right, he was different from them and they didn't know about his own feelings and customs.

"Are you coming with me?" his voice shook her from her thoughts. She debated on it before deciding.

"I'm afraid not. The guards still view me with suspicion and if they saw me running with you they might get the wrong idea." She replied with a somber expression. She wanted to but with her situation right now it wouldn't be a good idea.

"I understand." He said simply. He would've liked to have a companion to talk to and incase of an emergency but he did understand her concern. It could cause a huge problem and that was something he didn't want right now.

"I will see you at breakfast however." She stated as she graced him with a small smile.

"Alright, take care of yourself." He said as he began his run. As he began to get out of sight, a small blush crept onto her face. He asked if she wanted to come with him and he showed concern when she denied him. 'Now I see why they are smitten, but would they accept me in this?' that one thought occupied her mind as she walked out of the garden before another and more ugly thought reared its head. One that scared her and would scare the rest of them if they thought of it too. 'Is he even single?'

-Scene Break-

"So what is this about?" Mike asked as he stood before Celestia and Luna in a private room. They had asked to speak with him regarding an important matter that has come up but one glance at them had set his mind going awry. They were nervous but doing their utmost to hide it.

"We merely wish to ask about your experience in our world so far." Celestia said with a disarming smile. "After all, we wouldn't be good hosts if you had complaints but didn't discuss them."

"Yes, please tell us about your time so far." Luna parroted.

Mike could see their hooves had small twitches in them like they were about to jump and their eyes kept glancing at each other every so often. He briefly wondered if he should play their game but decided against it. The military wasn't an entity for pleasantries and dancing around a subject. It was straight and to-the-point. He gave a sigh before taking the plunge. "Princess, all three of us know that's not why we're here."

Celestia's smile faded as one of her hooves pawed the ground hesitantly. Luna was literally shaking and her wings looked like they were about spring open. Something else was up and Mike had a small yet uneasy feeling about what this was about. That feeling was all but confirmed when Celestia brought out an old book and levitated it over to him. "We have marked a few passages we would like you to read over. We will talk to you about it later in the day." Celestia said as she finally calmed down enough to speak.

"We just ask that you read it all thoroughly before just tossing it aside as it would explain something's you should know about our world and how things are done. Also please keep an open mind on this and don't jump to any decisions. Can you promise that?" Luna asked with a small hesitant look.

"I promise but I'm not going to be sacrificed to anything am I?" He joked lightheartedly to reduce the tension. It worked as the princesses gave some small laughter at his attempt.

"No nothing of the sort, though the Dragon Kingdom is due their yearly tribute." Celestia added and laughed more when Mike became paler at the thought.

"No sister it's the Griffons who are due." Luna said as Mike resembled a ghost at this point before she too began laughing loudly.

Mike joined them a few moments later as he remembered they were joking. He was able to release the tension in the room and get a few laughs from the Princesses before court resumed. "I will look this over." He repeated as they finally got their laughter under control.

"Excellent, now we must begin court for the day. Mike you have been given the morning off for your task and we expect to see you at lunch. We wish for you to meet somepony." Celestia said with a small smile as she and Luna exited the room.

Mike watched them exit before looking back to the book in his hand. Somehow things just got complicated as he knew that feeling was dead-on. "An Overview of Equestrian Customs" He said aloud. As he opened the book to the marked section and read the name of it, his world just became one big problem. 'Herding.' He thought with an uneasy stomach. 'This day just got a whole lot worse.'

-Scene break-

Mike had lost track of time while reading the book and was startled out of it when a servant knocked on his door and announced that lunch was ready. Mike marked his place in the book and followed the servant to the dining room. When he arrived, Celestia and Luna were already there along with a light pink Alicorn that he never saw before. The servant announced his arrival before departing leaving him alone with the three Alicorns.

"Ah Mike we were beginning to think you wouldn't show up." Luna said in a teasing tone.

"You wound me Princess." He joked with a laugh.

The three Alicorns let a few giggles out before their mood turned serious. "How much did you read into the book we gave you?" Celestia asked with curiosity. This caused Luna to start shaking with nerves again and caused the pink Alicorn to straighten up.

"Far enough." He replied simply. "May I ask who this is?" He gestured to the pink Alicorn.

"Ah excuse me; this is my niece Princess Cadence. She is a ruler of the Crystal Kingdom." Celestia stated as Cadence bowed.

"You must be Mike. It's a pleasure to meet you." Cadence smiled warmly.

"Likewise ma'am"

Luna was getting impatient and nervous at the same time. "So did you enjoy the book then?"

"It isn't too bad though I wish you both would just tell me what you want me to know. I don't like dancing around a subject." He said as he saw Luna frown. This talk was going south fast but he wanted them to come out and say it.

"So you understand the concept of what we wanted you to read then?" Celestia asked.

"It's not foreign to me if that's what you're asking. Some religions in my world practice it to an extent though it isn't called herding, it's called polygamy."

"So you know if it then." Luna said with some small confidence. Since he knew it then there's no reason to beat around the bush.

"What do you really want Princess. Please stop dancing around this and just tell me straight." He said with a frown.

Both Princesses sighed before Celestia spoke up. "More than a few have enjoyed your company far more than usual. We have been fighting amongst ourselves the last month and it has led to strained relationships. Our own Elements are fractured by this and we need them for defense. This seems to be the simplest ways to overcome this and we asked that you keep an open mind to this."

"We aren't throwing you to the wolves so to speak. We just want this to be settled so everypony isn't biting each other's heels. We weren't sure how you would react to this which is why we asked you to read and understand." Luna added with some hesitation.

Mike was silent and already thoughts of denying this were forming, chief among them the species difference. It was too big an obstacle to just give in, plus he was still sure he could find a way home from here. A small part of him however wasn't against the idea.

Cadence saw the conflict in his heart and tried to pull on that. "Everypony would be disheartened to know that you didn't even give it some thought. If you would at least do that then it would soften the blow to them but do really want to leave them heartbroken just when something is about to happen?"

'Low blow Cadence.' He thought mildly. He knew something big was going to happen when Nightmare informed them a couple days ago and the Elements might be needed really started to drive the point home. The Elements wouldn't work if something like this was breaking them and that was something as a soldier he didn't like as a faulty piece of equipment spelt danger for anything. ' Everyone said a soldiers life is a sacrifice no matter what it's for. The needs of the country and its people come first and everything else is secondary.'

Cadence smiled as her point was hitting home. A little magical tug at his heart didn't hurt either though she honestly didn't need it. He was just like Shining and his military training wouldn't let anything happen if he could prevent it.

"Can I get some time to think on this?" He said finally. He needed to think on this, though he knew his decision was already made even if he didn't know it.

"That's all we ask. Take all the time you need." Celestia replied with a smile. She was happy to see that he wasn't outright rejecting it and wanted to think on it. She had a good feeling about this and she believed he wouldn't reject it without a clear cut reason.

Luna let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Thank you for taking the time for this Mike. We know this might be much to ask for but you are our friend no matter what you decide."

Mike simply nodded with a heavy sigh. What happened to his simple life? All he had to do was wake up, do his daily duties and then go to bed. He couldn't say his life wasn't interesting anymore though and that made him laugh a little which eased the awkwardness of the situation. "Can we eat now?"

All three Princesses cracked a smile at this and nodded. They were already exhausted from this and it was only noon. Now that they had his assurance though they could get through the day easily. The hard part was over now they just had to wait.

Outside the room, Nightmare was smiling as well. The Princesses job was done now it was her turn. She doubted that she was needed as he seemed to have his mind made up, but a little more persuasion couldn't hurt as long as she didn't go too far. Everything was so close to being complete and she just needed to give him one more push and they would all get what they wanted. She only wished that nothing would come and endanger this once in a lifetime chance.

Sadly, her wish wouldn't be granted.

That will close the book on another chapter. Mike was given the idea and next chapter will be his decision. After that will be another small time skip and we will begin villain's movement. Stay tuned as things are about to heat up.

Mind my warning about next week, but it doesn't mean I won't try to write at least. Till next time fellow Bronies and Pegasisters!