I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and neither, it seemed, could anyone else. Luna's Anthro form was absolutely stunning, I couldn't deny it. She was wearing a sleeveless silver and dark blue dress which seemed to shimmer with hidden starlight and moonlight. Her arms, while still covered with fur, were slender and oozed feminine charm. Her mane flowed behind her as it normally did, as did her tail. Her wings were folded behind her in a manner similar to my own.
There was a part of her dress that had been cut almost up to her hips, showing off some extremely smooth and attractive thighs. I saw a part of her cutie mark through the dress' opening. The dress did little to hide her rather impressive cleavage, but I noted a lack of bra. Instead, I noticed some dark blue fabric wrapped around them to maintain some semblance of dignity. On her hooves I saw her wearing black hoof-shoes, similar to the ones she wore in her Pony form.
Walking down the stairs, she moved as if she'd been bipedal all of her life. The grace and poise she carried about her only made her look more regal. She walked to stand beside her sister, facing the crowd. Celestia turned to the crowd once more. "I know seeing my sister in this strange form is unusual, and the next time you see her, she will be in a normal Pony form."
Slowly, I felt pairs of eyes looking back from me to Luna. I wanted to shrink back, but there was no place to hide, especially since I wasn't exactly inconspicuous. What the fuck were you thinking, Celestia?! This won't help her fit in! Celestia continued. "Now then, my little Ponies, feel free to greet my sister, but I would ask you not to overwhelm her. Thank you for your time, and please continue enjoying the Gala."
"Celestia just gave a great incentive for me to become a prince," I said a few minutes later as myself and the others were gathered in a corner of the courtyard, sipping on some punch.
"Really? What's that?" Twilight asked, eyes wide with curiosity.
"So I can depose her," I growled.
Twilight's face turned to one of horror. "You wouldn't…"
I leaned against a tree, slinking down. "No, I wouldn't," I sighed, "but I really wanna yell at her right now."
Zecora sat next to me, wrapping her arms around me. "My love, you're trembling."
"In rage," I said. "Honestly, I knew I'd be getting stares, but now I'm getting some different types. And let's not forget the rumors that'll probably be started by tomorrow. I can just see the tabloids tomorrow." I held up my hand and mimed a newspaper front page. "PRINCESS LUNA STARTS HERD WITH ALIEN AND ZEBRA?" My wings fluttered behind me every so often.
"How do you know what a herd is?" Twilight asked hesitantly.
"Intuition," I said. "I'm no fool, Twilight. There are tons of mares around, but I haven't seen as many stallions. That, and Ponies are a herd prey species. It makes sense for harems to happen here. Plus, I've been told about them."
"Oh," Twilight said.
"Not everything, but enough to infer. It's not an idea new to humans. Even early in human history, harems were a thing. Heck, there was an ancient king who was said to have had seven hundred wives and three hundred…well, concubines."
"What's a concubine?" Spike asked.
Twilight glared at me, so I said, "You'll know when you're older, probably. Freaking culture shock," I frowned as I slowly stood, helped up by Zecora. When I was standing, I felt more eyes on me. Taking a deep breath, I exhaled. "Come on, ladies and Spike. Let's see what else we can do."
"Darling, are you sure you're okay?" Rarity asked, a look of concern on her face.
Despite myself, I couldn't help but smile. Seeing Blueblood taken had to have been hard on her dreams of a fairy tale ending, but she was still concerned for my wellbeing. I knelt down, reached out, and took her hoof. "Truly, you are a lady of refinement, grace and poise. And a generosity that is deeper than any I've seen in my life."
Rarity looked embarrassed, and the others giggled. My mood began lifting at that, and just then I had an idea of one way to bring Rarity out of her funk. Turning to Zecora, I asked, "Would you be at all upset if I asked her for a dance?"
Zecora smiled, understanding flashing in her eyes. "I am not one to monopolize you, my love. Feel free."
Giving her a grateful nod, I turned back to Rarity. "Would the lovely lady honor a humble commoner like myself with a dance?"
Taken off guard a bit, she stuttered for an answer. I saw Spike glaring a bit out of the corner of my eye, but Zecora whispered something into his ear, and he relaxed. Finally, Rarity regained her composure. "My good stallion, I grant you permission for a dance." She had a gentle and caring smile on her face as I stood and walked with her towards the ballroom.
The others followed, and even though we received more stares, I just ignored them since I was focused more on not embarrassing myself on the dance floor. We went towards another room with large arched windows, a massive well waxed checkered floor, a stylized sculpture of Celestia, and a raised platform where I saw a small group of performers playing. Among them, I saw Octavia playing her cello. Other Pony couples were either talking to the side or dancing. A good number of them stopped and stared at us as we entered.
As we walked to the dance floor, Rarity whispered, "How are we going to dance?" She sounded nervous.
"Slowly," I said sheepishly.
She facehooved, but then stood on her hind legs. "Grab my front hooves," she ordered. I did so, and on instinct, wrapped one arm around her back as if she was a human woman. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"This is how humans dance," I explained. "Just let me know if your back starts hurting. I know Ponies aren't normally meant to stand for long periods on two legs." I moved one of her hooves onto my shoulder and grabbed her other one. "You ready?"
She looked nervous now, but nodded. "This isn't quite what I expected," she said.
"I would have practiced dancing if I had more time," I said apologetically.
She shook her head fervently. "It isn't your fault, darling. Now, how do we do this?"
"Follow my lead," I said. I moved to the right and, to her credit, she moved smoothly along with me. I paid attention to the rhythm of the music and moved forward. She took a step back in response, staring into my eyes with concentration. I chuckled softly as I took a step to the left and began a counterclockwise turn. "You're allowed to be having fun here, you know?"
"I'm trying to concentrate," she frowned deeper.
With a crescendo of the music, I moved closer and dipped her briefly. She yelped in surprise before I pulled her back up, one wing around her back to provide extra support. I began a simple sideways step, while at the same time slowly rotating. "How was that?" I grinned, feeling a bit more confident now.
"Please do be careful," she said, but at the same time she was blushing.
"For you, milady, your wish is my command," I said, smiling as we continued cutting a rug across the floor.
As the music continued, the two of us fell into a rhythm and began experimenting. I twirled her a few times, dipped her a few more times before she asked me to stop since her croup was beginning to hurt from it. As we continued to dance, her smile only grew and she began relaxing. As the song began reaching the end, I slowly spread my wings. "Ready for a big finish?" I asked.
"How big?" she asked.
"Just hold on tight." I wrapped my arms around her tightly. She squealed as I launched myself into the air. I thought I heard a gasp from a few of the nearby Ponies as I did so. Rarity clung to me tightly and began trembling as the song began to wind down. Slowly, I floated down using a mix of my magic and wings. When we landed, I carefully released her and she shakily returned to all fours. "How's that for elegant?" I grinned.
She was still a bit shaky, but she merely giggled after a bit and nodded. "I never considered that as an ending to a dance," she said. "Jethro, while the dance might have started out a bit rough, you made me feel like a real lady tonight." She did a Pony curtsy. "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart."
I bowed as well. "You're welcome. By the way, could you do me a favor?"
"What is it, darling?"
I put a hand on her back and turned her towards a somewhat frustrated looking Spike. "See that handsome young drake? Think you could wow him with another dance?"
"With Spikey-wikey?" she chuckled. "Why, of course!" She wobbled a bit, and I caught her. "Ahaha, after a glass of water."
Looking around, I saw another small refreshment table near the wall. I led her over, grabbed a glass and held it out to her. She lifted it with her magic and took very ladylike gulps. I never knew such a phrase was possible, but Rarity pulled it off. When she was done, she stood up straighter and smiled. "There. Completely refreshed." She turned and marched straight up to Spike, who's frustration turned to shock, then joy when Rarity offered him his hoof.
"Thank you for doing that for Spike," Twilight said as I rejoined the others, who had watched from the sidelines.
"It's his first crush," I said. "He should enjoy it while it lasts."
Zecora came up, wrapped her arms around me and planted a tender kiss on my lips. "You are quite the unique dancer," she said.
"How polite of you," I joked, grinning. "I would never have been that graceful back on Earth. I'd be shuffling my feet and grabbing my partner's butt." I looked up at the ceiling, looked passed it towards where Ponies believe their version of heaven is, Elysium. "Thank you, Athena. I owe you so much." And all I could do at that point was smile. At that time, it didn't hurt to mention her name or think of her. Maybe I was riding the high of my dance with Rarity, maybe it was because I had the love of my life in my arms comforting me, or maybe I'd started healing from my loss. Whatever the reason, my smile remained.
Someone glomped onto my back. Pinkie Pie wrapped all her legs around me. "You're finally smiling," she said, but to my surprise, it was a soft and tender tone. In some ways it reminded me of Fluttershy's voice, but with Pinkie's signature higher pitch. The pink mare nuzzled my face affectionately, then jumped off, landing on her feet like a cat.
"Finally smiling? What do you mean? I've smiled plenty since getting here," I asked.
She reached up, poking to my chest. "A smile in here. A smile about Athena."
Reaching back, I found Pinkie Pie's sweet spot and began scratching her there. She shuddered and purred slightly. "I suppose you're right there," I chuckled.
"Pardon me, Sir Bethridge?" a deep and somehow sensuous female voice sounded from behind me. "Might I have a moment of your time?"
With Pinkie still on my back, I turned and came face to face with a Unicorn mare who could easily have been a mini-Celestia, were it not for the completely pink mane and tail, and the fleur de lis on her flank. She gave me a warm smile, batting her eyelashes at me, but I recognized who this Pony was immediately. "Lady Fleur De Lis," I said, bowing respectfully.
"My, you know my name?" she asked, putting her hoof to her mouth in slight astonishment.
"A man would be blind not to have seen your image," I chuckled, standing up again. "Even in Ponyville, I've seen you on magazine covers." Which was true. I'd seen a few in the Ponyville Spa, so it wasn't a lie. Hell, I'd even seen a magazine called Playcolt where she'd been the cover display, revealing her…goods.
"I should certainly hope so," she cooed, sliding closer to me.
Beside me, Zecora stood beside me, taking my hand in hers. She was trembling a bit, but judging by her smile, nobody would have been able to tell save for me just how jealous she was becoming. "Might I introduce my marefriend and date for the evening, Lady Zecora Mtunga Dawa."
Fleur De Lis looked at her, the smile never vanishing from her face. She lowered her head in polite greeting. "Pleased to meet you as well," she said politely enough before looking her over a bit more closely. "Forgive me for asking, but I was under the impression Zebras looked more like Ponies."
"Normally, I would be," Zecora replied. Her voice was a bit strained, but I doubt anyone else but me could hear it. "However, I'm under the influence of a temporary magical spell thanks to Twilight Sparkle which allows me to take this form."
"Really, now?" She looked Zecora up and down again, then chuckled. "I wonder how I would look in this form? But I digress." She turned back to me. "A group of us were wondering if you would join us for a little while, Sir Bethridge? We heard what the Princess said about you helping to avoid a war, and we wanted to hear more about it from the stallion of the hour himself."
"You honor me too much," I said. "I did what needed to be done. That doesn't make me a hero. Makes me human. But I'm afraid I must decline your offer. I made the mares beside me a promise to spend the entire evening with them."
She looked slightly disappointed. "Are you sure we can't convince you otherwise?" she asked, fluttering her eyes at me pleadingly.
I chuckled and shook my head slowly. "I'm sure. Forgive me. Perhaps another opportunity will present itself, or perhaps I'll give an interview to one of the bigger newspapers and you can read about it then."
She waved a hoof. "No need to apologize. I am disappointed, but not upset with you. I was greatly looking forward to hearing about what happened, but a promise is a promise. Do enjoy the Gala." And with that, the supermodel turned, walking back to a group of mares and stallions who were all gathered around a table. She swayed her flanks in what I assumed was a seductive move, even going so far as to lift her tail so I could get a look at the goods, but I immediately bowed my head.
"She's gone now," Zecora said, not making any more effort to hide her jealous anger.
I pulled her immediately into a hug. The other girls came around, expressing concern. I'd never seen Zecora jealous before, it just didn't seem like something she was capable of if I was honest. "My love?" I asked, "What's going on?"
"You forming a herd is something I can accept easily," she said, her voice trembling, "But that stuck up…whore…was trying to steal you. I could tell."
I had never heard anything like this from Zecora before, so I held her tighter. Pinkie, who might not have been able to understand what we were saying, definitely heard the anger in Zecora's voice, and the concern in mine. She adjusted herself so she was hugging both of us. She nuzzled the both of us, then used her hooves to reach around to somehow tickle us. Zecora was the first to giggle, then I joined in as the Element of Laughter got us laughing our asses off.
When she jumped back onto the ground, Zecora and I were giggling like schoolchildren. We were probably receiving stares, but I didn't care. The fact that Pinkie had done something like this in an effort to cheer my marefriend up really spoke volumes to her own caring nature. "Thanks, Pinkie, I owe you one. In fact, I have an idea as to how we can get you what you want."
"Yer not even bein' subtle anymore," Applejack chuckled.
"Everyone deserves to make this the best night ever," I said. "Especially when the alternative was a completely ruined Gala." I pulled out my phone. "Twilight?"
"Yes?" she came up.
"Are you able to use magic to boost the sound from my phone and make it sound around the room?" I asked. "And make it sound like it should, and not tiny?"
I played a soft song, and she listened before her horn glowed. The phone began hovering above my hand. For a brief moment, the song permeated the whole room, then stopped. I saw many Ponies looking around in confusion. "Yes," she said sheepishly.
"Alright. I'll be right back." I made my way quickly to the stage.
As I approached, Octavia saw me approaching and, without stopping her playing, she smiled at me. "Mr. Bethridge," she said in that lovely British accent, "I'm pleased to see you here."
"Same to you, Miss Melody," I said. "And please, call me Jethro."
"Of course, Jethro. Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked, not missing a beat with her playing.
"Awww, can't a guy come and say hi to a familiar lovely face?" I teased.
She blushed. "Apologies, of course you can," she said, abashed.
"You're forgiven. Although, as long as I'm here," I began, earning me a smirk from Octavia, "when this song is over, I'd like to have another one played. And don't worry, you won't need to play anything."
"Oh? Are you planning on singing something acapella?" she asked.
"No, it involves using this to play music all around the room," I said, holding up my phone which she'd seen before.
"That marvelous device, eh?" she said, looking excited. "I'm sure we could all use a break. Thank you."
"You're welcome. How much longer is this song?"
"No need to worry, we're halfway done," she said.
"Understood. I'll leave you to it," I said, bowing and heading back to the main dance floor. I walked up to Pinkie. "Pinkie, wanna cut the rug with me?"
She looked a bit unsure. "But…all the dances are too fancy schmancy for me," she said.
"Not when I pick the tunes," I grinned. "We're gonna show them how to freestyle."
Immediately, Pinkie squealed her signature squeal. "You mean it?" she asked eagerly.
"Definitely. Let's show them how the Number One Party Pony in Equestria throws down," I grinned. "And I think I have just the song."
When the song finished, and Rarity and a glowing Spike returned to the group, I made my way to the stage. Octavia handed me an old-style microphone, and I cleared my throat. "Might I have everyone's attention?" I never particularly liked having my voice echo around the room like it did whenever I used a mic or an intercom, but I sucked it up. The Ponies all stopped their conversations and glanced at me. "I'm sure a lot of you have heard about the alien wandering around Ponyville, and I'd like to formally introduce myself. I'm Jethro Bethridge."
By now, I had all the Ponies attention, and they began gathering around the stage. I cleared my throat. "I'm not really much for a speech, but I did want to say hello, and to say this: While I love a slow dance as much as the next guy, er, Pony, I certainly feel like it's alright to allow our inner…foal loose every once in a while. I know this is meant to be a more sophisticated affair, and I don't blame a lot of you for restraining yourselves. But for this next song, one from my own world, I'd like you all to try letting loose for just a bit." I peered out. "I see Ponies out there who could use some kind of stress relief, and what better way to do that than to party your hearts out. Of course, you don't have to join. It's an invitation."
Looking over to Twilight, I gestured her forward. She walked up, blushing as I placed the phone on a stand. The phone was surrounded with her magic, and I hit play. "Time to party!" I shouted, leaping into the air and landing in front of a startled Pinkie. "Let's go!"
As We Like To Party by Vengaboys played, I lifted Pinkie onto two hooves, much like I had done with Rarity. As the song continued, I allowed the rhythm to take me.
Pinkie, as befitting her titles, began laughing and dancing to the beat. Inexplicably, she was dancing in a more human manner, much like how she did in the show when she sang about Zecora. Taking both of her front hooves in my hands, I began swinging the giggling mare around.
The moment the beat dropped, I let her down and began pretty much freestyling it. Pinkie Pie did the exact same thing. There was a twinkle in both of her eyes. Something came over me, and I saw the same thing come over Pinkie. Our dancing began to synchronize somehow. We both looked surprised, but after a few seconds, simply shrugged and rolled with it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a few other higher-class Ponies bobbing their heads with small amused smiles on their faces. But I focused solely on the happy party Pony. As the song began reaching its end, I grabbed her and tossed her into the air, where she spun, defying gravity. I yawned, patting my mouth, then gasped, holding out my arms, catching the laughing Pinkie just as the song ended. As silence followed, I put her down, and grinned. "I'd like to see Jim Carrey do better," I laughed. Reaching out, I grasped my phone with my magic and it flew towards my hand. Turning to the others, I bowed. "That's a sample of human music. Thank you for listening and I bid you adieu for now."
When we rejoined the others, Pinkie and I were panting heavily, the exertion just catching up to us. Twilight floated some water over to us, and I gulped it down gratefully. "Guh! Okay, Twilight," I said, turning to the Unicorn. "You saw what happened out there. What happened?"
"Hearthope magic," Twilight said. "It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's because two or more Ponies have the same hopes in their hearts at a specific time. What was your hope, Jethro?"
I turned to Pinkie and ruffled her reality defying mane. "That she would be happy."
"You silly boy! I wanted the same for you!" Pinkie said, giggling. "But thank you, this was one of the highlights of the Gala. You made it the best night ever!"
I grinned. "You deserve to enjoy yourself."
"That was mighty interesting dancin' there," Applejack said.
"You've gotta teach me!" Spike exclaimed eagerly.
"A bit uncouth for this crowd, but it was enjoyable to watch," Rarity admitted.
"You looked like you had fun," Fluttershy said with a cute smile.
"I had no idea what I was doing," I admitted. "But I had fun."
"Sir Jethro?" a familiar voice called out. Turning, I saw Luna herself approaching me, a few Ponies following her at a distance. Most still had looks of fear on their faces, which pissed me off. However, since this was the Gala, I had to remain calm.
"Princess Luna," I said, reaching out towards her. I bowed my head and, as with Celestia earlier, took her hand and kissed the back of it before rising. "Allow me to be poetic and say that your beauty rivals, nay, surpasses that of a summer blue moon."
The awkward Anthro Alicorn looked embarrassed, but hid it in the next few seconds. "We thank thee for thy kind words," she said, and I could tell she meant it.
"I don't say anything I don't mean when it comes to the beauty of a woman," I chuckled. "By the way, I wasn't expecting to see you here." Lowering my voice, I whispered, "especially since you didn't show up in the Gala episode."
"We weren't planning on it, but when we heard thou were coming, we changed our plans," she admitted. "We hope we weren't interrupting anything?"
"Not at all," I said, turning to the others. Unsurprisingly, Fluttershy was hiding behind Rainbow Dash nervously, and the others save for Zecora and Twilight looked on their guard, more or less. I groaned. "Are you all serious, right now? This is Princess Luna, not Nightmare Moon."
Zecora stepped forward first and curtsied. "Your Highness, I am honored to meet you officially."
Luna looked at her. "Thou art the Zebra from the Everfree, correct? We are impressed that thou can live in such a place."
"You honor me, your Highness," Zecora said with a smile.
"Are we correct in what we have heard, then, that thou and Sir Jethro are special someponies?" Luna asked.
"We are in a relationship, yes," Zecora said, looking over at me with a loving smile.
I smiled back, putting an arm around her, then turning back to Luna. "She is my marefriend, yes."
Luna nodded in understanding. "We are pleased that thou have found love in our world, Sir Jethro. And we are happy for thee as well, Lady Zecora."
"You can drop the sir, your Highness," I smiled.
"Only if thou call us Luna," she said regally.
"Fair point," I said.
Luna walked up to me. "Might we borrow him for a while? We wish to speak to him in private. We shall try and be quick."
Zecora chuckled. "I have no problem with it." The others nodded their assent.
"We'll be in the courtyard when you're done," Twilight said as they all turned to head outside.
When we were alone, Luna looked at me. "Please, follow us," she said. Turning, she headed up the same stairs she'd come down from. I followed, trying not to stare. Luna, Anthro or not, rivaled her sister in terms of looks and regal grace. Sure, Celestia's movements were fluidic and slender, but Luna's were purposeful and full of surety. Almost militaristic.
When we passed through the door from before, I found myself in a well-lit sitting room with a massive window overlooking the night sky. Luna approached the window and stared out, a small breeze blowing against her dress. In that moment, I didn't just see Princess Luna, Diarch of the Moon, but Luna, a gorgeous woman.
She turned and motioned for me to join her as she sat in a chair that she'd used her magic to pull to the window. A second one came and faced the other. I nodded and sat. The chair was large enough for me to be just comfortable. Luna's horn glowed again and the door closed, the sounds of the party below vanishing. "We thank thee for coming with us here. The stares of our royal subjects were becoming harder to bear. 'Twas like we were a monster to them," she lamented.
"They're all fools," I said. "I don't see a monster here before me. I see a Princess hoping to regain the trust and admiration of her subjects." She smiled gratefully, but there was still a hint of sadness in her eyes. I decided to change subjects and asked, "So…did Celestia put you up to this?" I gestured to her voluptuous body.
She shook her head. "In fact, our sister attempted to talk us out of this action multiple times."
"She did?" I asked in confusion.
"Well, she merely asked if we were comfortable appearing in this form," she admitted. "She mentioned it as a joke a few weeks ago, and we thought it a grand idea." She brushed a bit of her mane aside. "Dost thou not enjoy it?"
Okay, still gonna yell at you, Cellie, I thought, but I couldn't help but smile at the hopeful expression on Luna's face. "My earlier praise wasn't for naught," I said. "In language more familiar to you, thy Anthro form is a bright shining star amongst these dullards."
Luna giggled. "We appreciate thy attempts, but coming from thee, thy phrasing sounds forced."
I snickered. "Apologies, your Highness."
"Call us Luna," she admonished me.
"Apologies, Luna," I chuckled. "Well, why did you want to take this form?" I asked.
"The idea came when we about thee during breakfast," she said. "Our sister was speaking about how she wished to introduce thee to the Canterlot high society tonight, but when we mentioned thy form being quite foreign to them, she jokingly suggested one or both of us take this form. We thought it was a marvelous idea."
Why that manipulative, sexy Pony, I thought. "Why, though?"
"To show the masses that thou had the support of the crown," Luna explained. "Our sister knows our Ponies better and has explained some of their more…less than accepting qualities of non-Ponies in more recent years."
"Hell, they were terrified of Zecora, and she's more Pony shaped than I am," I replied.
"Indeed," Luna said. "Thy lover is quite the sight in her current form," she added. "What didst thou call it earlier? Anthro?"
"It's short for anthropomorphic," I explained. "It means having a humanoid appearance."
"We see," she said. "We approve of this moniker."
"May I ask how you managed to make yourself look like you've been walking on two hooves like it was natural?" I asked.
"We did not wish to look foolish in front of thee…the other guests," she corrected, looking a bit sheepish. "We asked our sister to request more samples of thy wings."
"That explains why Twilight wanted 'additional samples for analysis'," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Thou are not upset, we hope?" Luna asked. "'Twas not her fault."
"No, I'm not upset," I said. "If anything, Celestia's getting an earful later when I can get her alone."
"For our sake, do not," Luna said. "'Twas our idea."
"Maybe, or maybe she made you think it was her idea," I said. "But for your sake, I'll forget it. Just this once."
The two of us sat for a little while longer in silence. As we did, I noticed a small change in Luna's expression. It started off as a frown, then she slightly opened her mouth a few times as if to say something, but dropped it. Finally, just as I was about to ask her if she was alright, she opened her mouth. "There was another reason we-no, I…wanted to take this form. A more…personal reason."
I kept quiet, knowing better than to say anything. I'd seen Trixie like this when we were together, and judging from that experience, she wanted me to listen. Luna took a deep breath, then continued. "Thou-I mean, you and I haven't spoken often, but when we do, you have been nothing but kind and accepting of me. Other Ponies even around the palace have not been. You are one of the few who have treated me well. You even complimented our-my night."
"Because I love the night," I said, standing and leaning against the windowsill, looking at the blazing stars. "I have special memories I've associated with the nighttime. And the one thing about this world that it shares with Earth? The night sky is identical. The constellations are exactly the same. Hell, I've used my telescope to observe some interstellar phenomenon that match the ones from my world." I pointed up. "The Pleiades Cluster, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Orion Nebula, and that's just to name a few. Whenever I use my Morphean magic, I normally hover miles above Equestria and just stare at the night sky."
Luna looked touched, and, standing moved beside me and looked up at the sky. "Thy words mean much to us," she said. "We wish thou had come before our fall from grace."
Even though I'd only heard the song recently, the words had stuck with me surprisingly. I thought if anyone could use the words, it was Luna. "Isn't it great to be different? Isn't it wonderful to be exactly who you are? When you learn to start accepting yourself, you'll become a shining star."
"Thou have a lovely singing voice," Luna whispered. "What song is that?"
"Great To Be Different," I whispered back. "It's a song made by a fan of My Little Pony."
"There are songs about Equestria?" she asked, looking shocked.
"Yes," I said. "Remember the one I showed you and Celestia? There was a song that fans of the show thought your response would be. Would you like to see it?"
"If we might, we would be most grateful."
I pulled out my phone and opened YouTube again. After finding it, I played Luna's Reply. Somehow, I didn't think she'd enjoy the soliloquy. She listened, tears in her eyes as the song played out. When it was finished, I decided to play an animation called Children of the Night.
As the animation ended, Luna was shedding tears. I took out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eye carefully. Holding back tears of my own, I lifted her chin to face me, smiling gently. "Your story touched plenty of people. Hell, back at my former job, one of the people who worked for me told me his favorite princess was you."
"Give us a moment, please," she said shakily, and I went silent, continuing to stand beside her. I put an arm around her as she trembled from pure emotion. After a while, she looked up at me, and the smile she gave radiated gratefulness and joy. "Thou hast no idea how much we wished to hear news akin to what thou hast told us."
"It was my pleasure," I said. "With very few exceptions, nobody is beyond redemption and deserves to be happy."
She smiled up at me. "Thank you for the talk and for showing us these works of art. 'Twas beyond enjoyable." She looked back at the door, then back at me. "Please forgive me for cutting this conversation short, but we shouldn't keep thee from thy companions and special somezebra. We should return to the Gala."
"I'll walk you out," I said, offering her my arm. When she hesitated, looking confused, I chuckled, reaching down and taking her hand, placing it through my arm. "Like this."
"How…intimate," she blushed as we walked towards the door.
"It's how a human male escorts a human female in these sorts of situations," I explained as we walked out the door.
The two of us walked down in comfortable silence and made our way towards the courtyard. When I saw my friends and marefriend, I waved. They all waved back and began to approach. Turning back to Luna, I smiled. "I enjoyed our talk as well, Luna. Do enjoy the Gala, would you?"
"We will, Jethro. We shall see thee later, we hope," she said as she gently pulled away from me, but not before slipping a small metal object into my hand. "Put this on. It shall send a message to the other nobles of Canterlot." And with that, she turned and retreated, the same regality returning to her as she did.
Looking down at my hand, I saw a simple metal chain necklace with something attached to it. At first, I thought it was a coin, but upon inspecting it further, I saw it was a kind of silver medallion. It was the size of an Eisenhower dollar coin. On one corner, a crescent moon was emblazoned, and in the center Luna's cutie mark had been carved into it. In the center, a sky-blue stone was set. Turning it around, I saw that the other side was identical. I was a bit hesitant, but I figured there was no harm in putting it on.
And so, I did.