I'm gonna be honest, I forgot about fanfiction. Just read it on fimfiction if you haven't already.
Celestia stepped forward, smiling at Twilight. She got down onto a knee, lowering herself to Twilight's level. Twilight looked right back at her.
Celestia held out her hand, palm facing up, just at the edge of the portal. "Take my hand, Twilight."
Twilight stepped forward, then lifted her front leg. She hesitated, but soon let her arm move through the portal. As her hoof reached through, it was transformed into a human hand.
It was actually very interesting, now that I could see the process. The purple fur of Twilight's pony arm didn't directly connect with the pale skin of her new human arm between the worlds. There was an inch or so where there was just nothing. That was probably the portal itself. So it wasn't just a window...
Twilight placed her hand into Celestia's. Hand holding... How degenerate...
Celestia grasped her hand and gently pulled her through, standing up as she did. Twilight's body passed through the portal. It had transformed her from a pony into a human.
Twilight Sparkle had entered the human world. She stood shorter than Celestia and I, and was a bit shorter than Red, which would work well with the clothes we picked out. She had a cute face, and her hair was somewhat long, reaching down past her shoulders. Her chest and hips were average... Maybe a little below.
She wore a plain light-purple shirt and matching skirt. She also wore tennis shoes. It was a bit different from the clothes she wore in the movie.
Celestia smiled at her. She gently pulled her into her embrace. Twilight returned with her own. Celestia soon pulled away and let go of her. "How does it feel, Twilight?"
"It's..." She examined herself. "Strange."
"You look cute." said Celestia.
"Uh... Cute?" She was blushing. "Th-Thank you, Princess..."
That doesn't sound like something a Princess should say...
Celestia was smiling, still looking at Twilight. "This is where you will be staying while you are here." she said, gesturing to the rest of the room.
"It's not much, but it works fine with two people." I said.
"Well... it's better than sleeping in a high school." said Twilight.
"That's the spirit!" I let out, smiling at her.
Celestia chuckled.
"I must admit, Princess, I'm excited to be able to study the human world." said Twilight.
"That's great, Twilight." Celestia happily let out. She paused. "Is this alright with you?" she asked her.
"What do you mean, Princess?"
"I want you to think about this one more time, Twilight. You will be staying a month with a man that you have just met. Is this something you're comfortable with?"
Twilight looked to me, then back at her Princess. "If you trust him, Princess... I'll trust him, as well." she let out with a confident smile.
Celestia smiled back at her. She nodded. "Very well."
Celestia turned to the portal, then stepped towards it. She paused, then turned around. She smiled at me. "This will be goodbye, again." she said to me.
I gave her a compassionate smile in return. "We'll see each other soon."
She nodded. She turned around again, then stepped through, her human body transforming into a large, white pony. She turned around once more to face us.
She may have had the face of a pony, but she still had the same beautiful smile.
She was still shorter than me. I stood almost a head taller than her, just like in my world.
"You look strange from this world." said Celestia.
"We can say the same thing." I replied.
"We have a gift for you, Twilight. Luna."
"I have it here." she replied, retrieving another book from beyond the frame. Luna stepped forward, passing the book through the portal. Twilight took it into her arms.
"Ancient... Magicks? I've never heard of this book before..." she said, looking at the cover.
"This book contains information that may prove helpful to you." said Luna, "It includes the spell we have been using to travel to the human world without the use of the crystal mirror."
"Thank you, Princess." said Twilight. She held it in her arms.
"Good luck, Twilight Sparkle." said Celestia, a smile on her face.
Luna smiled at us as well. "Good luck."
Luna seemed kinda strange to me. It looked like she wanted to say something.
"I'll be back soon." said Celestia, "Tonight will be a test, Twilight. I want you to feel comfortable staying with Phil for a long period of time."
"Of course, Princess." said Twilight, her face serious.
"If for any reason you feel uncomfortable, or you dislike being in this world, I need you to tell me."
"Yeah, don't be polite on my account." I said to her, "You can see how important this is to her."
"He's right. If you're unable to find a way home, you'll spend the entire month in this world. I'd like to avoid issues that may arise because of this."
"I understand, Princess."
"My own notes are on the table next to you, along with the books."
Twilight looked to it, then looked back. "You can count on me, Princess." she said to her.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Twilight. You can retrieve your..." She glanced to the side at something out of view. "Belongings then."
She nodded in response.
"Play nice while I'm away, kids." she joked.
With that, Celestia closed the portal. It was just me... and Twilight.
She looked to me. "Kids? How... old are you?"
"25."
"Oh... You're older than I am."
"Yeah?"
"I'm 23."
"How's being a human?"
"It's... interesting. I'm not fully used to it, yet."
"Yeah, Celestia and Luna had the same problem. Luna actually sprained her ankle walking up the stairs."
Twilight gasped. "Was she alright?"
"Yeah, she was fine. I gave her an ankle compress and she went home after."
"How terrible... I've had practice before. This may come as a shock to you, but I've been a human before."
I let out a loud, exaggerated gasp. "I'm just kidding, Celestia told me."
She smiled. "That's what I thought."
"You can pick where you wanna sleep. If you want. There's a couch up here, and a couch downstairs through that door." I pointed to it. "There's also the bedroom, but I kinda sleep in there."
"I'd... rather not. But thank you."
"That's what I thought. Basement, I take it? You can set up a studying..." I forgot the word. "Studying area down there."
"That would be nice. Thank you."
"There's a computer down there, so I'd like it if you were a bit careful. I think you've used one before, right?"
"I have, yes. I'm not very good with them, though."
"Alright. Well, don't touch it without my permission, please. They can be fragile. And expensive."
"I won't. I promise."
"Right. So, your room will be the basement. Now, sometimes I need the basement to do laundry and use my computer. If it's closed, I'll knock, but if the door is open, I'm going to assume that you're free."
She nodded. "That makes sense."
"Make sure to lock the bathroom door." I said, "I'm not used to living with people, yet."
She nodded again.
"And you can go into my room whenever you need. Your clothes are... in the dresser. Uh..." I scratched the back of my head. "You know what, I'm gonna move your clothes downstairs. Celestia put them into the dresser up here, but that's unnecessary. Speaking of clothes, bring some with you when you shower so you're not walking naked through the front room. See, I don't... I don't think I told Celestia that, I honestly don't remember." I let out a small laugh. "You can tell that I'm not used to people staying over for a while."
She nodded. "I'll try to remember."
"On the subject of clothes, women's underwear have two parts, so remember to wear both."
"You're talking about the clothing underneath my shirt, right?"
"Yes I am. It's called a bra. I'm not going to go into details, 'cause I don't know myself. Ladies wear them."
"Alright, I understand."
"You wanna take a look at what you're dealing with?" I asked her, gesturing to the books.
"That'd be a good place to start."
She walked over to the couch and sat down. She placed Ancient Magicks onto the table. I decided that now would be a good time to take care of something. I told her so before leaving for the basement.
She didn't respond. She was already engrossed in her book.
I went downstairs to begin tidying up. At least, I wanted to. It looked like Celestia had taken care of it. Even the couch was made neatly, just like a bed. Twilight should have enough space for whatever she needed down here. I shrugged to nobody in particular.
I heard a loud groan upstairs. Twilight must've fully realized what the issue with the books was. I went back up.
When she saw me, she began complaining about the books. "This writing style is inconsistent!" she let out, looking back to them, "It's practically illegible! This looks like it was written by a kid!"
She was upset.
"If anyone can figure it out, you can." I said, reassuring her, "That's what Celestia said."
"She said that about me?"
"Course she did. 'Cause you're a smart lady."
My compliment seemed to brighten her day. She sighed. She turned to the books again, examining them. I leaned forward and looked at it as well. A preliminary view did not give me any indication as to what this book contained.
"Can you believe this? Sloppy penmanship is the only thing stopping us from discovering a plethora of information..." she said.
She picked up Celestia's notebook, a three-ring spiral notebook I had given her. She opened it and began skimming through it.
"Can you use magic in this world?" I asked.
"No, not in the human world." she answered.
"Celestia could."
She looked up. "She could?"
"Yeah. Try it. It seemed like she used her hands to control it, so maybe try that."
She looked to her hand, then moved it above the books. A purple aura surrounded her hand. She gasped. It disappeared. The aura reappeared, then the book was surrounded by an aura of the same color. She pulled her hand up. The book came with it, floating in midair.
"That's very interesting." she said, "Why couldn't I use magic before..."
I shrugged. "Celestia... I think she said something about that, I just can't remember what it was."
"I suppose I can ask her about it later."
"Alright. You know, Celestia really trusts that you can study these books. She talked a lot about you while she was here."
"The Princess has?"
I nodded. "So I know how smart you are. You have a lot of book smarts in that noggin of yours. But the books aren't the only reason you're here, you know. Tell me, what is the reason that you are here, Twilight?" I asked her.
At first, she didn't understand my sudden change to a question, but she got it shortly. "Oh! To find a way to travel to and from Equestria."
"And?"
"And to bring you to Equestria."
"And?"
She paused. "And to study the human world."
"That's right. Celestia brought you here for a reason, and contrary to what you may think, it wasn't just to play a joke on you."
"Wasn't [i]just[/i] to play a joke?"
"She brought you here to study this world." I said, ignoring her question, "And you're allowed to study it any way you please."
She nodded. "I understand."
"Twilight... If you manage to figure out how to get me to Equestria, I will love you forever."
She snickered. "I appreciate it."
"And don't worry, Celestia will love you forever too, so it's not just my bargain bin love, you get the name brand stuff, too."
It looked like she was holding back a laugh. She gave me a pleasantly confused, "What?"
"Speaking of studying this world, I have something for you to see. Stay here, I'll be right back."
I walked into my room to retrieve my laptop. After a brief, fruitless search, I returned to the front room.
Twilight gave me a curious look.
"It was not in there." I said, turning to the basement stairs. This time, I returned with my treasure in my arms. "Anyways... This is a laptop." I explained it to her in very general terms, knowing that I would explain it more in-depth at a later time.
"Now, you aren't supposed to use the one downstairs, but you [i]are[/i] allowed to use this computer. You'll find it useful when you study the human world. This was expensive, so please be careful with it."
She nodded. "Of course."
I walked next to the couch. "May I?"
She slid over, away from me. "Please."
I sat down opposite to her, placing the laptop between us on the table.
She was intrigued by the laptop. I began explaining it.
I started with basic functionality, which she understood right away. I let her practice with it. After that, I taught her how to search for something with the browser.
Twilight was a curious little pony. She began asking more technical questions about how it worked, to which I simply replied that I didn't know. It was a complex machine, not something that I would understand, despite being a certified expert with them.
I told Twilight that if I explained it, I would get information incorrect and lead her to believe the wrong things.
When I told her that there was still so much more I could learn about computers, her eyes opened wide in wonder. I told her that I went to school for this subject, which she seemed impressed with.
"Look... Basicsly, this thing can give you any piece of information that you want. I don't know the physical process that makes it happen. That's beyond my capacity. But it might not be beyond your capacities. I mean, quite clearly, you are a very bright lady."
"Thank you, Phil. I have a question. What is that?" She pointed to the entertainment center, probably to everything that was on it. "Is it another computer?"
"Yes it is. That is a game that you can play using those controllers on the TV."
"It seems a little small to be a computer."
I got out my phone and held it up for her to see. "Well, this is a computer, too." I said, "You'd use this to talk to people over long distances. Specifically, a computer is anything that computes, though we attribute the term to electronic devices that can compute. An abacus, for example, can be considered a computer."
She eyed it for a while. "I have a lot to learn." she said, "But, first things first! I can study this world when I've accomplished my task."
I nodded. "Good idea." I closed the lid of the laptop and set it to the side.
She had a strange look on her face. She was hesitating to do something. "Hey Phil..." she finally started.
"What's up?"
"Are you really the Princess's fiancé?"
I nodded. "I am, yes."
"I'm really surprised to hear that."
I shrugged. "Yeah, we're a weird couple, ain't we? A pony and a human..."
"Well, they do say that love can find you when you least expect it." she said with a smile.
"Yeah, something like that. I think it surprised her more than it did me."
"Princess Celestia is such a unique pony. You're lucky to have her as your fiancée..."
"Yeah, I know..." I said with a smile. I stood up, then turned back to her. "It's nice to have you as a guest, Twilight Sparkle."
She smiled up at me. "Thank you, Phil. I'm glad that the Princess has given me this chance. I promise that I won't squander it."
I smiled at her.
I went into the kitchen. I ate not too long ago, I think. I wasn't too hungry, but I could snack a bit. Celestia may have left some Twinkies. Then again, knowing her, they're completely gone.
"How has it been with her, so far?" Celestia asked me from Equestria.
"It's been fine." I replied.
"Very good. My goodness, is this difficult... It's not very easy to speak with you between worlds like this. You seem to be friends already."
"Yeah, seems like it."
"How does she seem to you?"
"I dunno. Maybe... a little apprehensive, but I'm working on it."
"Is she pretty?"
"Yeah..."
"That's what I thought. It seems our theory is correct."
"The one where their looks are carried over?"
"That's right."
"So does that mean you have a massive ass as a pony, too?"
She chuckled. "Perhaps if Twilight completed her research, you could find out. Speaking of my behind, I can still feel the effects of what we did yesterday..."
"Well, I'm still sore." I said.
"Do you think penis size translates the same way? I looked it up, and pony penises are larger than human penises on average. I'm getting excited just thinking about it."
"I bet you are..." I sighed. "What should I do with Twilight? She's just gonna stay sitting here for a whole month if she keeps this up."
"Twilight won't be hard to please. If she looks bored, perhaps you could suggest a movie. You'll be fine."
"Maybe. It'll be kinda weird watching a movie without my cuddlebug."
"I want to be there, I do..."
"I know, Celestia."
"I'll see you soon. I love you."
"I love you, too."
"Take her into town. Show her the library. She'd enjoy that."
"Yeah, she probably would."
With that, Celestia took her leave. What a wholesome, mature conversation.
Oh hey, I forgot to tell Twilight something...
I poked my head into the front room. "Twilight!"
She jumped in surprise, then looked up to me. "Yes?" She had been spooked.
"Sorry... Anyways... Two days from now, I'll have work. I won't be here during the day if you'll need me. That won't be an issue, right?"
"No, of course not."
"Alright, that's all. If you need me, I'll be downstairs, passing the time."
"Alright."
"Although, before I do that..."
I went into my bedroom and retrieved Twilight's clothing, then brought them downstairs. After all her clothing had been moved. I sat down at my computer desk.
This was a rather interesting situation I have found myself in. I'm getting worried that Twilight would become bored in this world, even though I knew she wouldn't. I have to remember that Twilight was not Celestia. I did not have to entertain her like Celestia.
I started playing a video game. I had my headphones on, but only one cup covered my ears in case she needed me.
After a long while, I heard her voice.
She had called my name from the top of the stairs. I called back, letting her know that it was alright to come down.
I heard her walking down the stairs. I took my headphones off and turned to her.
Her eyes went from me directly to my computer. "What... is that? Is that another computer? It looks so different."
"Yes, yes it is. As you can see, the main machine..." I pointed to the tower. "Is connected to three output devices." I gestured to the monitors behind me. "The difference between the laptop upstairs and this computer is the processing capabilities. This computer is used for more resource intensive purposes, such as playing games. I trust I have answered your questions?"
"Yes, you... have... Thank you. What do you mean by... games?"
"Here, watch." I turned back to the screens.
"Alright."
Tonight's game was Overwatch. It's fun and addicting. I certainly wasn't the best at it, but it was so fun that I just kept on playing after losing.
I started a quick-play game. While we waited, I gave her an explanation of the game.
"This game has you play on a team of six against a team of six to push a payload or capture a point. And it's all with real people somewhere in the world."
"Real people? You play with other people? How?"
"It's... computer science. I don't know for sure."
She stared at the screen as the game loaded up. I chose my main man, Friendly DJ Healer. There were no other supporting characters on our team, which was unfortunate, as Friendly DJ Healer had a low, yet consistent heal rate.
"So this is the game." I said, "This is the kind of thing you would do if you're bored, or if you want to have fun, or if you're with your friends or something. Or, if you were really good, you could play at a competitive level."
"Huh..." She just watched me play. She was awestruck. She couldn't begin to understand how this was done. "You know, I used to play games with my friends in Equestria, as well. They weren't as... incredible as the game you showed me, but they were still rather fun."
We continued to talk as I played.
"You mean like Dungeons and Dragons? No, wait, wait... Yours was Ogres and Oubliettes, right?"
"Yes! How did you know?"
"Nerd."
"Hey!"
"We got that here, it's just called something different. I used to play when I was younger, but I became too busy to play. And by younger, I mean like two years ago. That was when our last campaign ended."
"How long did the campaign last?"
"Well, it officially lasted eleven years."
She gasped. "Oh my gosh!"
"But there was a six year break in there. They met up once a week, and I was there for the last three years playing some other campaigns."
"I've never been involved in a campaign that's lasted that long before."
I shrugged. "Really interesting crowd, though. Two college professors, a radio host, a museum curator, and a writer, all over the age of fifty. Then there was me and my sister. Literally the smartest people I know. Aside from you and Celestia, of course."
"That's incredible..." She chuckled. "You know, I once played a game that Princess Celestia created."
"That so?"
"She was a ruthless game master... That was when I was younger, though. I barely understood the game."
"Hey, maybe me and you could play a game one of these days, then."
"[i]You and I[/i]." she corrected. She smiled. "That sounds like a lot of fun."
"But before that, we gotta get those books studied."
She nodded. "That's right. I was told that I might be away for an entire month. It was a bit of a surprise. When I asked why, Princess Luna didn't answer me. I can see why, now. It wasn't something that would have easily been discussed over letters."
"Yeah..."
"So this is where the Princess has been these past few months?"
"She... She arrived here two months ago, then went home at the end of the month. We had already fallen in love at that point, so it was a really tearful goodbye."
"The... Princess was crying?"
I nodded. "Yep. Me too, but don't tell anyone." I smirked. "Celestia spent the next month in her libraries looking for a way to come back, which she did find."
"Ancient Magicks." she said.
I nodded. "Yep."
"Didn't you have something to ask, or did you just wanna see what I was doing?"
"Oh, right... What should I eat while I'm here?"
"Uh... Well, anything would work, really. I have meat though. Celestia said that ponies don't eat meat, so I imagine you won't want to... I'll come up and help you in a short while, after I finish this game."
"Thank you."
After a while, I got a screen that said defeat. I think we won...
"Oh, you lost?" asked Twilight.
I shrugged. "It happens. It's no big deal. Let's get you something to eat." I stood up.
"You seemed to have a lot of control with your fingers."
I shrugged again. "Years of practice. You like mac'n'cheese?"
"I... Yes, I do. It's been a while since I've had it."
"Alright, I'm gonna make you some mac'n'cheese." I said to her.
The two of us headed upstairs and I got to work on preparing the both of us a meal.
"Yeah, you can eat anything you want." I said to her again, "The meat is in a drawer in the fridge, so just avoid that and you'll be good."
"I remember that humans eat meat regularly."
"Yep. Meats is my favorites foodses."
"Meat... is your [i]favorite food[/i]." she corrected.
"Yeah, something analogous to that." I replied
"Uh... Yeah... You know, back in Equestria, I..."
My phone started ringing. Twilight stopped talking, curious. I looked down at my pocket, then pulled it out and looked at the name. It was Trevor.
"Hold on Twilight, my friend is calling."
She nodded.
I answered it.
"Talk to me, baby." I said to him.
"Phil-man, what are you doing?"
"Making mac."
"What do I do if my mouse stops working?
"What?"
"Yeah, it just stopped. The buttons on the side still work. Is it... like... the drivers?"
"Maybe. You've had it three years, maybe it's run its course. Try reinstalling the drivers, then..." I felt a sudden pain in my other hand. I yanked it away from the stove with a small gasp followed by a quiet obscenity and looked at it. Just a burn, I'll be fine. "Anyways yeah, the drivers." I said, shaking it off.
"What'd your dumb ass do?"
"Burned myself."
"Dumbass."
"Yes, my ass is dumb."
"Alright so what if that don't work?"
"Try another mouse."
"I did. My other mouse works."
"Mmm... You might have to buy another."
"Aw man... I didn't wanna hear that..."
"Well, too bad."
"No you too bad."
"Now look here, pal... You."
"No you."
"No, 'tis you who are the bad... too..." I said to him.
"No you."
"Yeah, well... Fuck you."
"No, fuck you."
"Finagle my cadoodle."
"Whatever. There goes fifty bones."
"Yeah, sorry. Keep it though, I might take a look at it later."
"Alright."
"Right, fuck off."
"Yep, fucking off."
I closed the call and put the phone back into my pocket. "So yeah Twilight, if you want me to make you something, just ask, 'cause odds are I will. You were saying something?" I looked to her. She seemed confused. "Everything alright?" I asked her.
"I thought that you said that was your friend."
"Yep."
"Well, you were very rude to him."
"Oh. Yeah, I'm always rude to my friends. I'm rude to them, they're rude to me, it's how we communicate. We love each other, don't worry. It's... hard to explain. Sorry."
I got the two of us some bowls and piled the food into them. Twilight seemed to like it, which was nice.
After dinner, Twilight returned to the couch to read her books. I had cleaned up the kitchen. It was nearing bedtime.
I gave Twilight a new toothbrush. While I was thinking about it, I threw away Shining's, Soulfire's, Luna's, and Red's toothbrushes. They wouldn't need them. I kept Celestia's just in case.
And while I was thinking about it... "You know, your brother actually came here." I said to Twilight.
"What?"
"Yeah. The first month that Celestia was here, he came to get her back. He ended up getting trapped here with her. Him and another guard, Soulfire Dawn."
"You met my big brother?!" she asked, surprised, "Why didn't I know about this?"
I shrugged. "We became friends, him and me. And Soulfire, to a lesser extent."
"That's great! I didn't even know he came here..."
"He was nice. He was very nice."
"That's my brother."
"Although, he could be pretty scary at times. I definitely didn't wanna make him angry. He didn't like how I treated Celestia."
"I can see why..."
"I know, I get it. It doesn't look like I show her respect. But you gotta remember... We're in love. We're a couple."
"I know, I know."
"We can be informal with each other, we can poke fun at each other. That's 'cause we love each other..."
"I know. I can really see it between you two. I'm usually clueless when it comes to that kind of thing, but I can definitely see it."
"I know, right?"
"More than anything, I'm just surprised that the Princess found someone."
"Yep. She came to another world and found love trying to get back."
"It sounds so romantic when you say it like that." she cheerfully let out, "It's like a fairy tale..."
I let out a sigh. "Yeah... Hey Twilight?"
"Yes?"
"Are you going to stay up late?"
"I want to. I need to research the books."
"Alright. Don't stay up past two. Tomorrow's important, too."
"Of course it is. Tomorrow is the day that will allow me to retrieve my equipment."
"Equipment?"
"I've brought along necessary traveling gear and some general tools that I use to study new places. If I had known where I was going, I would have packed a tad lighter."
I shrugged. "Yeah. Don't matter now, though."
Twilight uses more hand gestures than Red. Red was never a human before, so I guess I understand why. Interesting...
I wonder what I could do with Twilight...
As I made my way into my room, I gave Twilight a pleasant, "Good luck."
She thanked me as she read.
I closed my door and went to my bed. The sheets smelled fresh.
I miss her already... Why did I immediately miss her when I got into my bed? I wanted my cuddlebug back.
I wonder how long it will take Twilight to work on the books...
December 1
The next day, I woke up and went out to get some cereal. Twilight was missing, so I assumed she was downstairs. If I went down to wake her, it'd be pretty creepy.
What am I gonna do until Twilight wakes up? She's in my computer room. Hmm... Bored... It's really boring around here without Celestia.
Do I need to shower? No, I smell fine. Bored...
I'm really boring... It was like this two months ago, except instead of just being really bored, I was really bored [i]and[/i] cried a lot.
It was early in the day. I grabbed my laptop and sat on the couch. The books were open. I looked at them, but I still had no idea what I was looking at. Twilight had made some progress, there were two different handwriting styles in the notebook. There were a few extra lines in the notebook that Twilight added.
Hmm... Here's a good idea... Clean out the dresser so I won't have to rummage through Celestia's clothing.
I went into my room to do just that.
Oh... Celestia already took care of it... There was a laundry basket full of Celestia's old clothing next to the dresser. She had a lot less bras than panties... Stupid Wal-Mart bras just kept breaking...
I could... do chores... Celestia took care of a lot of those recently, too...
Hmm...
I just went back to the front room and got on my laptop again. I hate not having anything to do.
How dare Celestia be so helpful...
Oh wait a minute... Video games! I'm such an idiot...
I wasted time playing Mario Kart as I waited for Twilight to wake up.
It was a short while later before I heard footsteps on the basement stairs. The door opened. She seemed shocked to see me.
"I almost forgot I was here." she said.
"Yeah, you get that sometimes."
She had very poofy hair. Bedhead.
"Cereal for breakfast." I said, "Or whatever, I'll make you something if you want me to."
"I'll eat cereal."
"You look terrible. How late were you up?"
"Two, like you said. Like you suggested."
"That was a dumb idea."
"I know, I'm sorry."
"Did you... Here's a question, did you sleep in your clothes?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Just wondering. Our guests here always slept in their clothes, so no big deal."
"Do you?"
"I... Personally no, but since I have a guest, and a lady guest at that, I do."
"Oh. Well, thank you."
"Yep. I moved your clothes downstairs yesterday, so you should be fine. You can probably tell that I usually don't have people staying here often. Red's clothes were just in my dresser, and Celestia didn't care. Your brother and Soulfire wore my clothes 'cause we were about the same size."
"Who is Red? Was it the pony with the red coat I saw in the castle?"
"Probably. We had an intrusion in our world whose name was Red. She lived with us, too. We just sent her back."
"An intrusion?! How did that happen?"
"I think... she came through the mirror like Celestia had. She was nice. Red was about the same size as you, so we thought about just giving you her old clothes, but you probably wouldn't have cared for that, so Celestia and Red got you a new set."
"Princess Celestia chose them?"
"Yep... I kinda feel like I'm rambling, to be honest."
"No, no, I appreciate what you're saying." she said to me, "I really do. You understand my situation, so you're helping me adjust. Thank you."
"Oh... Well, you're welcome... You're a very nice lady."
"Thank you."
I wasn't being too friendly, and I wasn't being too distant. I think spending all that time with Celestia made me view ladies differently from before I had met her...
Twilight had a pleasant smile on her face.
I may see ladies differently, but that didn't mean I was immune to awkward conversation pauses. Before it reached that point though, I said, "Have you made any progress with these things?" I gestured to the books.
"Yes, actually. It's slow, but I am making progress. It's very interesting how..." She explained something as if I would understand her.
I smiled as she spoke and when she was done, I said, "No idea what you're talking about, but it's great you're making progress."
"Oh right, you don't know anything about magic..." She chuckled nervously. "Sorry."
I shrugged. "Anyways... Breakfast."
"Oh, right... I forgot all about that."
"I ate a while ago. Uh... Cereal is..." I told her where to find the cereal.
"Alright, I'll be back soon."
"No cereal bowls in the front room, we don't want to risk a spill on the books."
"Good point."
Twilight went into the kitchen and prepared herself some breakfast. I looked through the doorway as she did. The milk and cereal were floating through the air surrounded by purple auras. She was using magic to make it. Neat. And lazy.
"Hey, Twilight?"
"Yes?" She looked to me.
"How long do you think it will take you to get through the books?"
"I couldn't say. The writing is inconsistent and hard to follow. I find myself stuck on the same line over and over again because I just can't read it."
"That... sucks..."
She nodded. "I'm confident, though. If I can isolate his writing style, I should be able to finish reading these books soon."
"That's great, Twilight!"
"The problem is, it almost seems that it was written by multiple ponies. The text was written in different ink using different quills, and the letters are written inconsistently."
"Maybe it [i]was[/i] written by multiple ponies."
"It's possible."
"Maybe it's purposefully written like that."
She shook her head. "I don't know. I'll be continuing my studying after I finish eating."
"Well... have fun."
She gave me a small smile. "I'll try."
"In the meantime... I will be... Hmm... You're studying upstairs?"
"Is that an issue?" she asked me, curious.
"No, not really. I was gonna play a video game, but I don't want to distract you."
"Don't worry, I won't be distracted."
I could already tell that she would be distracted.
"Alright, then. Well, I'll be in the front room if you need me. Remember, I'll answer any questions you have."
"[i]Any[/i] question?"
"That is correct."
"Well... I [i]am[/i] curious about something."
"Ok, shoot."
"Can you tell me how you and Princess Celestia met?"
"Yeah, sure. As the story goes, Discord sent her here as a prank and I found her in a parking lot. So, random chance."
"Oh. That... was a little underwhelming. Why would Discord..."
"You really think he had a reason?"
"I have no idea... How... did you fall in love?"
"Ok... That's a bit harder to explain, but... Ok..." I took in a breath. "Celestia fell in love with me because I treat her like a normal person. Or pony, whichever you prefer in this situation. I treated her like she was my friend, not like a Princess. So that helped attract her to me, because I wasn't formal with her. Truth be told, I wasn't always nice or respectful, either. Since she was away from Equestria and away from her responsibilities, she let her emotions run free, including her love. She got attached to me, and we just... Before you knew it, we ended up together."
She was smiling. "What about you? Why did [i]you[/i] fall in love with her?"
"Oh, I'm an introvert. I love anyone that comes into my life. Celestia was a really beautiful, really friendly lady. I fell in love with her as soon as I first saw her beautiful smile."
"Oh, how romantic..."
I just smiled.
"So you haven't been together long then, right? You said it was just a few months ago that you met and you're already saying that she's your fiancée. How do you know that she's the one?"
I shrugged. "I dunno. I just do what she tells me."
"What she tells you? Does that mean that she asked [i]you[/i] to marry her?"
"Technically, neither of us have asked yet. I... We have a personal agreement. It's a little complicated."
"Oh... Alright."
"I dunno. I mean, there's a lot of explaining that I can do to show you how and why we love each other, but it's just really complicated and it'll take a long time."
"I have time."
I sighed. "You really want to know?"
She nodded.
"I... I'll tell you later. Maybe we could both tell you. I'll be out here."
"Alright."
With that, I went into the front room and turned on the game.
Twilight came out a while later after she was done. She was staring at the TV.
"This is... a video game?"
"Yes it is. More computer mumbo jumbo."
"Hmm... It seems that computers can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes."
"Oh yeah... Twilight, you are in an entirely different world right now. You are in a technological wonderland. And it's all ready for you with just a click of a button."
"It's... incredible..."
"It is. You wanna play?"
"Play? You mean your game?"
"Celestia did. And Red did, too."
"The Princess played this?"
I nodded.
"Well... I should really get to work... But..." She picked up the second controller I had gotten for her.
"One game can't hurt." I said, "However, one game can be a very slippery slope."
"Don't worry, I don't get hooked on things like these."
It was about an hour later before Twilight realized that she had been playing far longer than she had expected. She suddenly let out a yelp, then put down the controller.
"I'm supposed to be working!" she let out.
I let out a small chuckle. "Sorry, Twilight. Alright, I'll stop playing."
"No, you don't have to... Uh... Thank you..."
"Did you have fun?"
"Yes, I did..." She chuckled nervously.
"That's nice." I got up and turned the game off. "Celestia will be here in a few hours. Then you can get your stuff."
She nodded.
I sighed. "I really just wanna say 'good luck' and walk downstairs, but Celestia sent you here for a reason, you know? Me walking away kinda defeats the purpose of this. I did it yesterday, though. I... Mmm..."
She gave me a smile. "You're worrying too much, Phil. I appreciate it, I really do. I don't dislike it here."
"Well... Thank you. I really wish there was something I do to help."
"There... might be something..."
"Oh... Alright, lemme hear it."
"Did you help Princess Celestia with these books?"
I shook my head.
"Have you tried?"
I shook my head again.
She reached for the journal and picked it up, then held it out to me. "You may not understand the contents, but you should be able to help me read them."
I took the journal from her hands and opened it to the first page. "You know, you're really smart. Coming up with all these ideas."
"Why, thank you." she proudly replied.
"I probably could've helped Celestia the same way." I said, skimming the scribbles in the book, "But I'm lazy. I thought about it a few times, but going near her made her lose focus."
"What do you mean?"
"She would always look up to smile at me when I was near. She would rather spend time with me than study."
Twilight gave me a small smile. "From what I've heard, I wouldn't blame her."
I sat down next to Twilight and placed the book onto the table. I started with the first words. Some lines were more legible than others.
I traced the first few lines with a finger. It looked like an introduction page. "Star Song. Age... uh... fifty-something, maybe. This is hard to read."
"Keep trying." she said, encouraging me.
"Did Celestia leave any notes on this one?"
Twilight looked to the notebook, grabbing it and going through it. "Yes, she did. It seems she only went through the first few pages. It mentions Star Song's assistant and his occupation as a magical analyst. It also mentions that he... doesn't get paid for his work. Hmm... It says that she made it to page fifteen."
"Alright. Page fifteen." I counted out the pages. "Huh... You know what? These pages are a little... empty."
"What do you mean?"
"Here, look." I showed her. "There's a lot of white space on each page. He starts new lines often."
"That's an interesting observation. Good work." she said to me.
I didn't know if she was being nice to make me feel better or if she really meant it, but it felt good to get a compliment from her.
"It seems like he separates his points per line." I said.
"The same can be said for this book, as well." she said, "Although it's a tad less organized."
"Mmm... Hey Twilight... do you think this poor penmanship is a cipher?"
"I don't think so. Translating the writing in the book into readable text shows a clear dialogue. It would still be unreadable if it were a cipher."
"Mmm... Yeah, good point."
It wasn't very easy to read the journal. His penmanship was worse than mine, surprisingly enough. It was like he tried to write this with his hooves.
Twilight was right. With time, I could start to make out what was being written. I slowly followed along with the text on the page, initially writing down what it said on the notebook, but switching to my phone soon after because my own bad penmanship will render my own notes unreadable.
She looked to my phone and saw that I was typing as I read.
"What are you doing?"
"Copying using a different medium." I replied.
"A different medium? How do you retrieve what you've written?"
"I can print it." I said, "Onto paper. Later on."
"Hmm..." She seemed interested.
"I can... You could use the laptop to do the same thing. If you wanted. But it wouldn't be as fast as writing it down for you." I looked to her notes. "You're already doing so well with pen and paper. Pencil and paper."
"Could you show me?"
"Oh... Yeah, of course."
The laptop had been set to the side to give Twilight room to work. I picked it up and put it onto my lap. After opening it, I opened a new Word document for her.
"See, here. You'll be able to type using the keyboard." I typed out the phrase, 'Hello Twilight.'
She was gazing at the laptop, fascinated by it.
I deleted what I wrote. "Wanna try?"
"I would. Thank you."
I picked up the laptop and handed it to her.
"Try typing something." I said.
She tapped a few keys with her index fingers. A short while later, I saw the message, 'Hello Phil.'
I smiled at her. "I can teach you how to type properly. But it might take a while. You might just be better off sticking with the pen and paper."
"I'd appreciate the lesson." she said, "It's not often I get the chance to practice using my hands."
"Well, alright. Flatten your hands and use all your fingers. Place your thumbs onto the..." I began teaching Twilight the proper way to type, as taught by my elementary school's Captain Something's Something Something.
"Hey Twilight, do you know why the keyboard isn't alphabetical?"
"No, I don't."
"It started with the typewriter. You ponies have typewriters, I know that. They have three buttons on them. How they work, I do not know, but you have them."
"Oh, they..." She explained to me how their three button type writers worked. *I can't say anything here because I have absolutely no idea*
"Neat. Anyways, our typewriters had anywhere from 26 to... like... I dunno, like 50... keys. And all these keys are smushed up all into one little box, which was an issue. Can you tell me why?"
"Hmm..." She had her thinking face. "If the letters were too close together, the letter heads would jam!"
I gave her a surprised look. "Yes. Exactly. Very good." She looked proud of herself. "So engineers designed the 'QWERTY' layout based on the frequency of letters in our language, [i]and[/i] the typical placement of one's fingers on the keyboard. Probably. I might have to fact check that last part."
"That's incredible!" she happily let out.
"I know, right?" I said with a smile. It really was incredible. Basing a keyboard layout on the frequency of letters is ingenious. "You know, you remind me of Celestia, a bit."
"I do?"
I nodded. "You both get excited learning about technology. Wanna hear something that'll really freak you out?"
"Freak me out?"
"Oh yeah. It'll blow your mind."
She gave me an excited smile. "Ohh, I bet it's something great..." she giddily let out.
"You ready for this?" She nodded. "Humans have been... to the moon."
"To... To the moon?"
I nodded.
"No... That's... impossible?" She looked like she wanted to believe it, but couldn't.
"It's possible, Twilight. 238,900 miles away, and we've set foot on it."
"You're... Are you joking?"
"I'm not joking."
"You're joking, you have to be!"
I smiled at her. "I am not joking."
"How?! How is that possible?! You're lying!"
"I can show you."
"You... You can... show me?"
I nodded. "I have proof. Humans have proof, Twilight. Proof that we have been to the moon."
"Show me! Show me now!" she demanded.
I just kept up my smug smile. "Alright, alright, calm down... Give me the laptop."
She immediately handed it to me.
I got on the internet and searched simply, 'Moon landing'.
Twilight was staring intently at the screen. She had no idea what to expect.
I clicked on the first YouTube link that looked genuine.
Twilight moved closer to me than what I would call comfortable.
The video played. She stared at it.
"That... That's the moon!" she yelled, "That's the moon, that's the moon, that's the moon!"
She grabbed my shirt and shook me as she excitedly repeated her phrase over and over again. She probably wasn't even aware that she was doing it.
Twilight let out a high pitched scream that would put even Celestia to shame.
She let go of me and brought her hands close to her face. They were clenched into fists and shaking with excitement. "Ahhh! I can't believe it! Space travel is possible! If humans can go to the moon, then that means, given enough time of course, ponies could go to the moon too! That would bring about a whole new age of science! An age of exploration! Space exploration! Just a tiny sample of the lunar surface could give us an extraordinary amount of information about the history of our planet! And we won't stop there, no sir, we'll go even further! We'll go to Mars! Venus! Mercury! We'll colonize all the rocky surfaces in our solar system. Before you know it, ponies will be traveling amongst the stars. The things that have yet to be discovered, the things that..." She glanced at me, then paused. Her face got a little red. "I'm sorry... I got a little excited." She scooted away from me.
"Have you heard the experiment of the hammer and the feather, Twilight?"
She nodded. "The question as to why a hammer and a feather do not land at the same when dropped from the same distance."
"And the answer?"
"The feather's larger surface area is affected by wind resistance, so the hammer will land before the feather."
"Very good. It's a fact. There's no disputing it. Imagine if this experiment took place in a place with no air. Say... the moon." I searched for the video in question. "This experiment was done with respect to the philosophers of old. We know the answer now, of course, but I want you to see it for yourself."
The two of us watched the video. Exactly as the laws of physics would have described, both the hammer and feather landed on the ground at the same time.
Twilight kept silent this time.
"Incredible, isn't it?" I asked.
She nodded. "Thank you for showing me this, Phil." she said to me.
"He's full of surprises, isn't he, Twilight?" we both heard.
The two of us looked forward. We saw the portal to Equestria again. Celestia was staring at us through it. She was smiling.
"Princess!" Twilight let out in surprise. She stood up to show respect to her Princess.
I smiled at her, standing up as well.
Celestia stepped through the portal, transforming into a human as she entered my world.
"Were you listening to us?" I asked.
"I was, yes. I apologize. I was curious. I wanted to know how you were getting along. It seems you're doing well."
"We are, for the most part." said Twilight.
"Oh? For the most part?" asked Celestia.
"We're getting along well..." said Twilight. She was nervous. Even Celestia's friendly smile could unintentionally induce nervousness in the hearts of her subjects.
"Is everything alright between you two?" asked Celestia.
"It's probably the way I treat my friends." I said, "You know how I am."
Celestia chuckled. "Twilight, you may find this strange, but he treats his siblings the same way."
"You do?" she asked me.
"My younger ones, yeah." I said, "And they insult me the same way."
"When I met his family, his little sister gave him a rather offensive insult as we were leaving. It's one even [i]I[/i] feel would be inappropriate to repeat. And yet, Phil took it in stride. It's rather interesting to see a part of his culture like this, is it not?"
"Part of his culture? I... I guess I didn't think about it like that..."
"Just 'cause it's part of someone's culture doesn't mean it's right." I said, "Otherwise, you get a bunch of idiots using incorrect formulas and getting incorrect answers to questions they don't even know." I made up an example on the fly to appeal to Twilight. Good thing too, I was thinking something racist before.
Celestia stared at me. "I... can't say that you are wrong, but I feel it's wrong to believe that."
"Sounds like customer support." I said to her, "See Twilight, Celestia is supposed to give you good advice, but sometimes good advice isn't as good as it seems."
"That's... He's right, Twilight. Phil, stop trying to confuse her. It's not your business how she chooses to live her life."
I shrugged. "Ok."
"I understand what you mean." said Twilight.
"Oh... Well good." I said, "Here's some good advice, don't listen to my advice."
"You give sound advice." said Celestia, "At some of the oddest times, too... It's... strange."
"Well, you and I have differing opinions on things. You're more optimistic and trusting than me so some of my advice would be less useful. I solve practical problems."
She looked like she wanted to question me further. She sighed, smiling at me. "Have you settled in yet, Twilight?" she asked, changing the subject.
"I suppose. I haven't been here long, but Phil is doing his best to make me feel welcomed."
I shrugged. "I feel like I'm doing well." I said, "Although it [i]is[/i] a little awkward for me at times."
"I noticed... You seemed almost lost in your own home." said Celestia, "You won't need to worry. Twilight has grown into a rather independent woman. She's far more mature than our last guest."
"Th-Thank you, Princess!" Twilight let out, surprised with Celestia's compliment.
"And Twilight..." said Celestia, "I would like to thank you once again for your help with this matter."
"Of course, Princess." she seriously let out.
"I can't begin to tell you how important this is to me. Any progress you make will bring us another step closer to our goal. To... To my goal. It's a selfish request, I know. It was selfish of me to ask this of you."
"Not at all, Princess. I appreciate the opportunity."
"I'm glad, Twilight. I take it that you are choosing to stay in this world?"
"I am, Princess."
"Very good... You may return to Equestria now, Twilight. The portal will be open until midnight. This should be more than enough time for you to retrieve your equipment."
"Thank you, Princess." she replied.
Celestia stepped to the side. Twilight stepped forward. She glanced at Celestia before stepping through.
Celestia looked to me with a smile. "How is she?"
"Well, she hasn't tried to poison me, yet."
Celestia let out a laugh. "I'm telling Red that you said that."
"No, don't tell her, she's gonna yell at me!"
She laughed at me again.
"She's nice." I said with a smile of my own.
She leaned in close to me and whispered, "Her reactions have been quite amusing. I have not been disappointed thus far."
I gave her a smile. "I do my best."
She smiled back at me. "You're doing very well, Phil. I'm glad she's here. And... I'm glad you've become friends."