The Land Before Us

Chapter 4 – The land before us...

Matt still sits across from the princess of the unicorns but unlike earlier in this journey talking with the animal has become easier and almost slightly normal. The young kid has never truly been the most interesting person before but all of the attention that he is getting from the pony is starting to run to his head as more of his self rising story expels from his mouth, "...And back in my home land all of the monsters fear my name."

Princess Platinum has hung on every word as she tries to take in the strange creatures stories, "Well sir Matt you must be the talk of the mares in your land."

The young kid gives a laugh as he talks, "Ya, after I took on King Kong by myself I was pretty popular among the ladies."

"Matt, such a strange name for a distinguished individual." The white mare gives a simple giggle as she looks him over.

"Well I don't know if I would say that, wait until you meet my brother now hes a real cool guy." Matt quickly changes his words as he talks, "But hes still not the prince like me."

The mare's eyes blink over him as she cocks her head, "Tell me Matt, why would the prince of his land want to travel like you said you did?"

Matt expels a laugh as he talks, "Well after defeating Godzilla we thought it would be in the best interest of our people if we tried to expand our land."

Princess Platinum again gives another giggle to his words as she talks, "Well I now see that you truly are the important being I was hoping for."

Matt gives another laugh as his cheeks take on a little bit of a red shade.

The mare gives a slight gasp as she talks, "Your face has become flustered, are you sick?"

Matt shakes his head as he calms his laugh, "no...I-I just didn't think I would be talking to aliens today."

"Hm, well it seems that the divine ones have something for everypony no?"

Before Matt can speak back the carriage comes to a halt. Princess Platinum stops her laugh as she looks to the carriage doors, "It seems we have arrived."

The door swings down as Stone Hooves face comes into the night skies glow as he talks, "We are here Princess."

Matt blinks at the world outside as he talks a little low, "I-its night time? But how can that be it was noon only a little while ago?"

Stone Hooves gives the young kid a glare that silences him as Princess Platinum brings herself to her hooves, her horn glows a low pink as the silver crown is floated next to her, "Come Matt I have much to show you."

Matt grabs his jacket as he takes his first steps into the cold night air. The area around him is dark with only the light of a full moon and a few lit torches around. Matt swings his head around the medieval looking city, there are a few buildings scattered around his view but most just look like small wooden huts with poorly laid hay tops. But these are not the things he focuses on instead he drift his eyes to the gates that sit just a little ways down the stone road, there are two large banners that lay over the stone white walls, the banner match the purple emblem of the unicorn that are on the carriage.

"Stone Hooves, please take our guest to the palace." Platinum rolls the silver crown to flip upside down as she moves her magic grasp to the purple cloak.

The stallion shoots Matt a look as he talks, "Take our guest?"

Princess Platinum stiffens her posture as she talk down to the stallion, "Did I not make myself clear general?"

"Yes your majesty. Sargent!"

The smaller white stallion brings himself to Stone Hooves side as he stands at attention, "Yes sir?"

Stone Hooves's voice has a little bit of resentment as he nods his head to Matt, "Take the dragon to the palace."
Matt gives a smile as he looks at the larger stallion's face, "Thanks Stone Hooves."

The stallion is unamused as Matt follows after the other pony.

Princess Platinum holds a smile to Matt as he walks towards the stone gates, her voice takes on a whisper as she talks to the still hard faced armored stallion, "Stone Hooves keep the carriage waiting I need to prepare something for tomorrow's gathering."

"Yes your majesty." Stone Hooves moves to the two dark brown coated earth ponies still hitched to the carriage as he talks, "You hear the princess, keep these hooves galloping."

The two earth ponies nod their heads as they clap their hooves to the stone floor beneath them.

Princess Platinum calls out to the the stallion and Matt as she picks her pace up, "So Matt, what do you think of our fair city?"

Matt looks around the inner city in amusement as he swings his head from each building, unlike the shift wood buildings outside of the gates these buildings that surround the main street are all two story buildings, "I think it's amazing..."

The mare is quick to talk over him as she holds her head up proudly, "Yes, the unicorns pride themselves in creating the biggest and best way of living anypony can have." But the pony's confidence is cut short as Matt speaks up again, "Well this doesn't hold a candle to my city."

Princess Platinum blinks her eyes at his words as she talks, "I beg your pardon, did you just state that there is a fairer city than ours?"

The armored stallion shifts a little curiously as he softens his army like trot.

Matt quickly changes his tone as he realizes her tone, "N-not that this is not a cool city and all, its just where I come from there are buildings that reach over a hundred stories."

The stallion that trails beside Matt gives a slight wide eyed stare as Princess Platinum expels a gasp, “Why...that's almost into the pegasus domaine, how do you manage this unless your kind can fly?"

"We use machines." Matt gives a low chuckle as he dips his free hand into his pocket, "You know for aliens you sure don't have a leg up on us."

The stallion speaks up a little as Matt's words hit him, "I would tell you to bite your tongue with that kind of talk when in the presence of a mare especially the Princess."

Matt looks at the stallion a little confused as Princess Platinum still hangs on his first comment, "Tell me again sir Matt you have metal carriages in your land that do not need hooves?"

Matt ignored her question as he asks one of his own, "How can you guys even build these building anyways? You don't have hands."

The mare blinks her eyes to his question as she talks, "It is the royal right of a unicorn to manipulate the land to their liking? Is it not the same where you come from?"

Matt starts to put his jacket on as he gives a light chuckle, "Ya pretty much..." His words are cut off as he looks over a large castle like building down the road, "Whoa..."

Princess Platinum squints her eyes to his astonishment as she talks, "You do not live in a castle sir Matt?"

"What? Oh no of course." He stutters at his words as he talks, "Its just I didn't think you would have such a big place."

The mare lifts her head up proudly as she talks, "Well the unicorn capital must be simply the best if Equestria is going to make it through these times in one piece."

Matt gazes away from the medieval looking castle as he thinks over her words, "What do you mean one piece?"

"Oh don't worry about that, you will be shown tomorrow." The Princess holds her head up high as the group comes to the large wooden doors of the massive stone building.

A stallion standing by the door steps forward as his deep male voice originates through the night, "Princess." The pony gives a low head bow before he continues, "I regret to inform you but the pegasus and earth pony leaders have already left for the night...-"

Platinum cuts the stallion off as she nods her head, "I am quite aware of that fact, but what I am not aware of is why you have not opened the door yet."

"Forgive me your majesty..." The stallion quickly darts to the door as he opens it.

Matt gives another sigh of atonement as he looks into the brightly lit room. There is a long red and gold trimmed carpet on the floor and the room seems to be lit by floating chandlers. On the right side of the room there are large windows that look over the outside town and in the distance parts of the forest that Matt traveled through earlier today. To the left there are more corridors that seem to lead out of the entrance room and into the rest of the castle.

As Matt holds his gaze to the moon lit windows as he tries to follow after the Princess he is stopped by the stallion at the door, the stallion stutters a little as he looks him over, "N-No pony can enter but the ro..."

Princess Platinum calls back to the stallion as she talks, "Sir Matt is allowed into the castle."

The stallion holds his stop for a few more moments before dropping his hoof, "W-welcome sir...Matt."

The young kid gives a sly smile as he dips into the castle entrance behind the Princess.

"Oh sargent do go and tell Stone Hooves I will be back in a little." Platinum gives the other stallion at the door a nod.

"Yes your majesty." The large wooden doors close as the stallion straightens up his posture.

Matt still holds his eyes around the medieval carved stone as the mare talks to him, "Sir Matt you will be staying in the castle for the time you are on our land, if you would you ca...-"

"Princess Platinum!"

The white mare's green eyes shrink a little as the loud bellowing feminine voice calls down to her. Shes quick to turn to the voice as she places her front legs to the ground, "Yes Luna..."

Matt doesn't follow the mare's motion as he stares to a large bright blue maned dark blue coated horse trotting herself down the red carpeted hallway. The larger pony has two gold bands that wrap around the large horn that pokes out from her mane, but this is not what Matt focuses on instead he stares to the wings that are folded to the ponies back.

"Why does thou not kneel before Luna?' The pony's teal eyes squint to Matt as her loud voice again calls out, this time directly to him.

Princess Platinum talks before Matt can expel a breath as she brings herself up, her voice still does not have her confidence like before but the larger pony still listens, "We are sorry Luna but he is not from this land."

"Not of this land?" Luna's voice still bounces off the walls as she holds herself in a completely straight posture.

"Yes Luna I'm not." Matt speaks up for himself still a little big headed from the way he’s been treated by Platinum.

The large dark blue pony blinks at him for a moment as her voice lowers a little, "What is thou? We have not before seen a being such as thou on these plains."

Matt swallows as he talks, "I'm a prince from the planet Earth." His jaw twinges at his lie but he holds strong.

The white mare moves herself to Luna as she holds her head to Matt, "Sir Matt if you would not mind, could you just go down the hall and wait there?"

The dark haired man nods his head as he starts his legs up and walks past the dark blue mare, the pony stands a few inches taller then him and as he walks past her he shutters a little with the thought of no longer being the biggest thing in the room.

As Matt gets a good ways down the large entrance room Luna's voice starts up as the pony brings her eyes to the white mare in front of her, "Princess Platinum did not show up at the peace meeting today, our sister and I are very displeased."

The mare puffs her chest out a little as she talks, "I regret to say that due to circumstances that you can clearly see making the meeting on time proved more difficult then once thought."

Luna seems unfazed by the excuse as the dark mare talks again, "Why did our Princess bring a unknown creature into the capital?"

Princess Platinum shifts her eyes to the young man to make sure of his distance before she talks in a low voice, "Luna this being has a strange aura about it...at first I thought that this thing was nothing special but after performing a simple mind calming spell I felt a strange magic."

The large mare blinks a little at the white pony's words as she listens to the white mare continuing, "...I believe this Matt might hold something we need to stop this war before it even starts."

Luna cocks her head slightly as she follows in an awkward low voice, "We must do this?"

Princess Platinum nods as she talks, "Only for this night, I need somepony else to reassure me of my thoughts."

"Should we not wait for our sis...-"

Platinum cuts the large pony off as she talks, "No, Celestia must not find out until after the meeting tomorrow."

"We are unsure if we can keep this from our sister."

The white mare squints her green eyes as she talks in a serious voice, "Luna, Celestia will send this creature back and we may never know if this may be the answer."

Luna hesitates for a moment until she gives a low nod, "We will do this task, but only for this night only..."

Princess Platinum cuts the dark pony off as she turns herself back to the door, “Thank you Luna, you truly are kind just like the brightness of the sun.”

Luna’s face tightens up but she nods to the white mare as she makes her exit from the castle doors. The dark pony takes a moment before she turns herself back to Matt, her loud voice comes back to her as she walks over to the short kid, “I have been tasked with watching after you this night, does the Matt require anything?”

Matt gives a little laugh as he looks over the pony in front of him, her voice bounces off the walls of the stone castle and it seems almost pointless to talk so loud.

“You have found amusement in this question?” Luna blinks at the strange creature in confusion as he stops his laugh.

The young kids laugh is not halted by her words but by the rumbling that calls from his stomach, his voice lightens up as he sheepishly talks to the strange animal in front of him, “Um... can I have something to eat?”

Luna stares blankly for a moment before she brings her body past him, “It would seem that substance would be in order, especially if you have traveled as far as the Princess.”

Matt follows after the tall mare as her voice slowly starts to lower, “Tell us, what does a Matt eat?”

The dark haired kid adjust the jacket around himself as he talks, “You got any hot dogs or burgers?”

The mare stops as she turns her confused face back to him, “You wish to eat a flaming dog?”

“...O-or a salad?”

Luna nods her head as she starts her trot back up, “Very well Matt, follow.”

End of chapter 4