~~ Equestria: Crystal Empire ~~

Celestia situated her head slightly above the unusual being rather precariously, studying the creature’s strange physical anatomy. Luna held the strange legged creature in her magical aura, which surrounded him from head to toe. She trotted over to one of the palace’s entrances.

“We should get him close to a comfortable source of heat. He is dreadfully cold.”

Celestia and Cadence nodded, worried about the creature’s current health. Being out in the freezing northern landscapes must be physically taxing on such a frail body. Even in the magical bond, Luna could feel the creature shivering.

“I know of where we can put him,” Cadence said. She led the way through the entrance, followed by both princesses with the figure in tow. After ascending the few flights of stairs and back into the lobby, she pranced her way to a guest room next to hers and Shining’s. There was a fireplace in one corner of the guest quarters that was already ablaze.

Earlier, Celestia had treated Cadence’s personal guards to a friendly conversation while her sister and Cadence were out perusing the arctic landscape. She learned a lot about the guard’s everyday routines and of Cadence’s and Shining Armor’s increasing companionship. Aside from a few personal hiccups, they were managing to hold the empire together much better than she had expected.

The embers of the flame gracefully lit up the room, which also reflected off of the furniture. Everything in the room was carved out of the most delicate of crystals—even the fireplace was remarkably crystalline in appearance, aside from the flames. The cushions and the bed were made of the most delicate and finely knitted satiny velvet, which was about as soft as Celestia’s sun-bathed coat. The crystalline reflections colored the room in a gentle amethyst glow, accentuating the bright red satin cushions and comforter.

Cadence slipped the comforter off of the bed and laid it flat on the floor next to the foot of the fireplace. Celestia grabbed hold of a few blankets and a couple pillows lying around various parts of the room. Luna placed the figure on top of the half-folded comforter, making sure that he was placed closest to the fire. Celestia placed a pillow below the individual’s head, just before Luna let go of him completely. She placed the other pillow behind him, letting his back rest upon it.

A small groan escaped his mouth once Luna let go of him. She grinned softly, knowing that she didn’t crush the frail being in her magical bond. It was a heart-touching moment that she would never forget. The fire illuminated the left side of his face with a warm glow, reflecting off of the smooth skin slightly accented by a thin, fuzzy layer of hair along his jaw line and cheeks.

Celestia wrapped him tightly with a single blanket, covering up all but his head. She then placed the other two loosely over him to keep him cozy. It was going to take a while for them to nurse him back to good health; fortunately, they recovered him in time and kept him alive long enough to reach the safety of a comforting sanctuary.

Luna knelt down and pecked his right cheek with a light kiss. Her face blushed with a light red hue below her eyes; it felt like a magical moment for her. She stood back up on all fours and smiled.

“Sweet dreams, visitor.”

~~ ??? ~~

You know, there comes a point where all sorts of delusions fail, be it fantastical, ludicrous, or just flat-out dumb. Many people would tell you what they ‘thought’ they saw as opposed to what they actually experienced. Sometimes their stories are believable; other times, they’re just full of themselves.

Me? I couldn’t decide if what I was feeling was either fantasy or if I was actually having the time of my life. I mean, I start things off with a space rock that seemed to have transported me to some frozen, barren landscape, and then things get worse when I had no supplies on me whatsoever, aside from my electronics, which, unfortunately, failed to work. To top it all off, I just about had an appointment with death’s hand.

Seemed like a certain 'somebody’ had other plans, though.

I think we’d all agree that I wouldn’t be able to tell the rest of my story if I had actually died out there. Somehow, lady luck appeared at the last moment, and I was rescued by a winged unicorn, who, suffice to say, was a bit of a charmer—in a literal sense.

I don’t know what she did to me, but it felt like I was being belly-rubbed over every inch of my body. I don’t know if I was going crazy, but I fucking loved every second of it. It made me feel that much more alive. Come to think of it, I think I am still alive.

I couldn’t tell exactly, because I was in a deep slumber, yet my mind continued to roam around in dreamland. The image of her standing in the middle of the grass field dominated most of my mind. It seemed like I even saw her in certain portions of my dreams. It felt creepy, in a sense. Oddly enough, I felt secure as well. She did save my ass after all, and I got to appreciate hers for the brief moment that I had with her. I had this feeling that we would meet again at some point.

On second thought, why am I suddenly having touchy feelings for a horse? Personally, that just seems wrong on every level… bestiality, you know? Of course, it seemed even stranger for said horse to have human-like intelligence, and flawless beauty that could stun an elephant.

I’d have to admit, though—she was that beautiful.

For now, I just floated on into a wave of distant memories and strange dreams that seemed like they could never end, letting my worries distance themselves from me. In short, it felt like I was asleep for a long time—maybe hours, days, even weeks. I think something was bound to wake me up at some point, though. Maybe it’d be her that would do the honor, or it’d be my stomach.

For the longest time, I just could not get that image of her out of my head. I could’ve sworn I imagined myself ‘kissing’ her on the cheek when I went up to her like that. I even saw an image of her laying down on me, hugging me tightly as if she were comforting me from something. At least I didn’t imagine us doing…

Ouch. Okay, I’m starting to feel something tugging at me. It felt like something was pinching me on my arm. Was it something that I said? Was she somehow spying on me in my sleep, like she did not too long ago—however long ago that was? I didn’t notice any telltale signs of her immediate presence, though she may as well be hunkering herself deep in the back of my mind. Maybe she’s studying the way I think, or perhaps she wants to know if I’m of any great threat to her or the other two mares that I saw.

I know it’s ridiculous to ask questions now when I had next to no clue what was happening around me right now. I feel like it’s never too early to start pondering about possible scenarios. The fact that she rescued me meant that I was worth bumping into, somehow. Maybe all she needs is a little pep talk. In that case, I’d definitely be down for a kind-hearted chatter with a couple of winged unicorn mares. Maybe they could shed some light on what happened to me…

…that is, if they even knew what happened to me in the first place. For all I know, they could just glance at me as though I was some sort of ridiculous storyteller. Then again, that’s just me making peachy assumptions. Judging from her gentle demeanor, it seems like they might not be as harsh as they initially seem.

Let’s hope I’m right.

There’s that tugging feeling again. No sign of her anywhere, yet I could feel something push against my sub-consciousness. As funny as that may seem, I really was feeling all sorts of strange sensations that I thought were never possible.

First, there’s the fact that I can feel the exact orientation of the sun, even while it was on the opposite of the planet. It was as if it was watching me twenty-four seven. Second, there’s the fact that while there are the normal sub-stimuli that occur during sleep, there’s some sort of dominating presence that hung over me like a an invisible and immobile shroud. It made me feel like I was being stalked upon like I was prey.

C’mon, horses hunting humans? Let’s be real about this—horses are, predominantly, herbivores. That does exclude the fact that these horses seem more civilized and have a mind of their own, though there could be more to them that I may have missed to support that fact. Maybe there were humans, or human-like individuals, here as well.

Despite that fact, everything else here seemed quite spectacular and calming. It was the first time that I actually felt peace flowing through my mind. It really helped calm down my senses quite a bit, though I still had quite a bit of stress leftover—mostly due to the fact that I had absolutely no damn clue where I was.

I felt a third tug. This time, it was quite a bit more forceful than the last two. At this point, I could hear the faint sound of her voice this time. It was barely audible at first, then it stopped. I attempted to listen in on the faintest noises, hoping that I could hear her if she was whispering to me. No luck.

Then, out of nowhere, I felt what seemed to be a hoof press up against my chest, though there was nothing physically touching me. A chilling, gentle wind brushed against my ear, almost like a feathery breath. It was at that point that I finally heard her voice, clear as day.

“Rise and shine, our faithful visitor.”

What…?

~~~~~

I never expected to hear a fire crackling next to me when I woke up. Not only that, but it felt like I was wrapped up in the softest silky, almost cotton-like, fabric ever made. It felt just as wonderful as it was when that one mare had me on her belly. Now I’m starting to sound all melodramatic, yet everything here seemed positively exaggerated.

I felt comfortable, to say the least. I didn’t feel wet, and I didn’t feel like any part of my body was frozen over at all—save for my right foot, which actually felt fine despite the fact that I had it deep inside a boot packed with snow. Frankly, I could still feel that my right knee joint and my ankle were still tweaked out of alignment.

At least my leg wasn’t broken. This is the one time where I’ll actually thank karma this time around.

With the confirmation that my legs were still attached, let’s check up on my arms. The fabric wrapped around the entirety of my body, in a cocoon-like fashion. My arms were, frankly, tucked inside the fabric. Luckily, it didn’t feel like they were restrained or strapped down to anything. I could actually move around. At least there wasn’t some sort of old-world voodoo village tribe dancing around me for that matter. I probably would’ve felt a bit less relaxed at that point.

I was also lying down on something soft—a bed, perhaps? Thank god I was lying down on a bed this time! I don’t know how long I could’ve handled sleeping on a horse’s belly, although the feeling of actually sleeping with another individual at this point seemed slightly sensual.

In all honesty, the fact that there was an open fire near me felt comforting. At least there were a few familiarities in the physical scope of things—according to what I felt.

I could smell something pleasant dominating my senses. It smelled like a combination of basil and spearmint. I also heard the clattering of porcelain nearby—as in, ‘I could barely reach it’ nearby. I think somebody was in the same space as I was.

Now would come time for the moment of truth. What would the visual side of the world be like? What was I prepared to see, and what was I not prepared to see?

Well, I was prepared to see those same mares that I briefly saw in person not too long ago. I was also prepared to see myself in some sort of wooden lodge, with a human-like individual sitting next me, clattering two porcelain plates together like cymbals next to my ear. It sounded more like clanging, though—like a bell.

I felt somewhat restrained by the winding cloth that surrounded me. At least it wasn’t strapped tightly around me. Able to move, I slowly but surely moved the cloth outwards, allowing my arms a greater degree of movement. I felt the edges of the cloth rub out from under me, and I felt the relief of pressure from my arms. I was free, at long last, for was seemed to be a couple minutes of getting the cloth unraveled. I swiveled my arms out from underneath the fabric and angled them slightly above my head. I breathed in a significant amount of air and exhaled in a long, satisfying yawn—stretching both my arms and my legs to full extension.

My god, it felt good to stretch myself out.

Aside from the crooked feeling I got from my right leg, I felt the stressful weight of my thoughts lift off of me. For the first time in several years, I felt lighter. It was as if I had much better clarity crawling through my head. Instead of the routinely scrambling thoughts that clouded my thinking and my vision, I could actually think and see straight.

I finally opened my eyes. The filtering rays of the sun blinded me for a minute or two. The stimulus of the bright light reflecting from the, oddly, glossy surfaces actually hurt for a moment. I was able to get a hold of myself, shaking my head and holding myself up with my elbows. I yawned again—this time, it was more of a sigh than an actual yawn.

The first thing that I noticed was the gently glowing fire that I was sitting next to. It had a nice aromatic feeling—it felt quite remarkable. I noticed that the fireplace itself was surrounded by a glass-like wall and mantle. Come to think of it, all of the walls that I could see were all made from some strange textured glass. I wasn’t expecting to be sitting in the middle of a glass house, however that worked out.

I then noticed the doorway where the sunlight was filtering through. Judging by how high the sun was, it felt like it was morning. The doors were also of the same textured glass, shaped and molded to look like a fancy set of windowed double doors.

Oddly enough, the glassy walls weren’t transparent, nor were they even translucent, though they reflected light and objects off of them like finely polished mirrors.

The room I was in was basked in a soft pink tone. I must be honest here—it felt weird being in a girl’s room, but the atmosphere felt inviting despite that fact. I still smelled the heavy scent of herbs and mint, and I quickly glanced over to my right.

The rest of the room was decorated with what looked like various pieces of household furniture made almost entirely of the same glassy material. Unless they were made of something stronger, like diamond, I’m not sure how glass furniture could hold anybody up. I certainly didn’t expect a horse to be sitting on top of a couch.

No, my eyes were not fooling me. Staring back at me with contemplative eyes was the pink mare that I saw last night, I suppose. She was perched perfectly on the silky crimson cushions of the purple-stained glass couch in such a manner that she almost reminded me of the way a dog would sit. She almost looked cute doing so. Her flowing, curly hair of yellow, pink, and violet strands ran down the length of her head, neck, and chest until it barely touched the cushion. Her tail, prepped in the same fashion, wrapped around in front of her hooves. Judging from her height, it seemed as though she was almost as tall as me, if she were to stand on all fours. She certainly seemed intimidatingly frightening at first, yet her glowing violet eyes suggested otherwise.

It looked like she was wearing some sort of oversized golden yoke around her neck (which reminded me more of a life preserver than anything else) and what seemed to be a little, flat crown on top of her head. Was she some sort of prized show horse or something? Where were the human-like beings that assisted in keeping her prim and proper? Were there even any at all? Judging from the pictures that hung on the walls, they all depicted of other horse-like individuals. Was this society run entirely by steeds of mares and stallions?

I’m not sure if she noticed my dumbfounded look when I gazed deeply at all of my surroundings. I mean, this was definitely an eye-opener for me.

I caught a glimpse of a cup that hovered just inches away from her mouth. Her gazed was locked onto mine, yet she still managed to tip the cup towards her slightly. I saw steam rising up from the inside of the cup. I then shifted my gaze to the table that was only a couple feet away from me. On the top was a silver rectangular platter with what looked like delicate porcelain teacups circling around an equally exquisitely crafted teapot.

Wait a minute—this mare was drinking… tea?

And how in the fucking blazes was a teacup hovering just before her??

I know I’ve witnessed some weird stuff earlier in my life and heard of some bizarre stories in the past, but this was definitely off the fucking rocker!

I think I was more entranced by the floating teacup than anything else at this point. I tried to formulate and contemplate how in the living hell it was able to do that. Was there some sort of whirring helicopter blade underneath that enabled it to hover before her? I didn’t see any on the other cups. Let’s see, fishing wire? It’d probably get tangled up in her horn and in the other cups. Antigravity? Magic?

Magic?? Who the fuck was I—Harry Potter?? Of course magic was a bunch of hooey, yet there was nothing, physically, plausible that explained such a phenomenon as graceful and mysterious as this!

"I take it you slept well?"

My whole body froze. I was so entranced by the mysterious floating cup that I barely even registered her voice. It sounded sweet and melodic—higher than the dark blue mare’s voice. It was also clearer than the other mare’s Ye-pseudo-Olde English tone. God, I felt as if that mare took both Webster’s and Shakespeare’s dictionaries and ran them through a fucking blender. At least I understood what she was saying, roughly, so I’d give her some brownie points for that.

In any case, my mind could hardly register the pretty pink mare’s voice that I was at a loss for words. I found it quite odd and fascinating that they even spoke English in the first place. Was that like the most commonly accepted universal language? Well, at least I wasn’t gonna have much of a hard time getting used to their language. That’s an added bonus for time well spent.

I tried my best to respond, yet I only found my own mouth gaping wide open. I heard her giggle, as if I was the most amusing thing she'd ever seen. To be fair, I think I did make an awkward face, but who wouldn't after waking up in a mare's room with floating teacups in front of you?

My eyes slowly gravitated down from the mare’s eyes until I caught sight of the nearest teacup. The scent of the tea, snaking its way from out of the pot, seemed invigorating and captivating. I scooted myself out from under the few layers of the satin crimson fabric towards the table, where I carefully knelt up in a position similar to hers. I made sure to prop my bad leg on a pillow to alleviate any awkward pain.

I could really smell the tea now—it was gentle and effervescent. It didn’t bother me in the slightest. I saw the teapot hover slightly off of the chrome platter. The pot tipped over a small amount, dispensing the hot liquid from the tip of the elephantine neck into the cup. The pot settled back down on the tray with a light tap. The steaming tea presented itself to my eyes. I couldn’t help it much longer.

She spoke once again. “Would you care for some tea?”

Instead of checking if it was all an illusion, I wrapped my hands around the cup, which felt warm to the touch. Okay, so the cup was real, and it didn’t suddenly try and float away from my hand. Maybe it had something to do with that long horn of hers. I remembered reading about common mythology telling of unicorns having magical tendencies, though I never did believe those stories. Now I was really starting to doubt my mythos.

I brought the cup closer to me, taking in a good whiff of the steaming concoction that was held in my hands. The combination of basil and spearmint almost made it smell like eucalyptus extract, except that it wasn’t as potent of a scent. I brought the warm cup to my mouth and took a small sip.

The temperature of the water was a little painful at first, but that was to be as expected from piping hot tea. It was the resulting taste that really took me by surprise. My head was swirling with the delightful, slightly bitter taste of licorice root doubled with the relaxing sensation of spearmint. How did my mind even register basil anyhow? It was probably the first thing that came to mind.

Fuck logic. This was the best thing I’ve ever tasted, since the arctic base camp. I took a little longer sip, giving the tea a chance to cool down before I swallowed it. The sensation of warm, minty water rushing down the back of my throat made all the difference.

I let loose a heavenly sigh of relief, which had a profound effect on the mare sitting on the couch opposite of the table. She giggled lightly, smiling as she did so and holding up a hoof against her chin.

Priceless.

I felt warm and fuzzy on the inside as I saw the mare’s bubbly grin. Her gentle laugh further relieved the tension that was pent up inside me. I felt, surprisingly, welcome around this mare, who had a friendly disposition towards me.

“I’ve never seen anypony that satisfied with our tea before.”

Did she just say “any’pony?’” She smiled at me, blushing as she did so.

Wow. Things took a drastic turn toward the interesting. I really didn’t know what to say now. Seems like they do have a slightly different vocabulary after all. I didn’t want to sound like a literary buffoon in front of her and somehow offend her in some way. I did have to compliment her, though.

Well, here goes.

“I’ve never had tea this satisfying before. This is wonderful!”

Did I just strike a chord with her somehow?

Before I said that, I imagined her looking at me with a pleasant smile and making a subtle complimentary reply back. The sight before me was not at all what I had imagined.

I’m not sure if she had ever seen or heard a human before, based on her ‘pony’ vocabulary instead of ‘body,’ but what began as a bubbly grin morphed into a half-scream and half-giddy smile. She pushed her cheeks together with her hooves, giggling like a goofy schoolgirl. Her eyes dilated to the size of golf balls. I tell you, I’ve seen some pretty interesting reactions before, but this one easily took the cake.

Amazingly, she didn’t drop the teacup from whatever magical bond she had surrounding it.

“So you can talk and understand us after all!”

Yep, suspicion confirmed.

“Cadence? Who are you talking to?”

I heard a masculine voice call out from the other side of the doorway, just beyond the glittering wall. I felt my heart drop after realizing that fact. Almost immediately after, a white-coated unicorn walked through the doorway. Presumably the one that spoke, he had his eyes set on the pink mare, which I assumed to be the one he addressed her as ‘Cadence.’

The stallion had a blue mane with a lighter blue stripe along his length of hair. His tail was also of the same fashion, swaying in the slight breeze as he propped himself on the back of the couch, with his two front, powerful hooves hanging over the backside. This stallion could easily kick my teeth in if I strung off on the wrong chord with him.

Strangely enough, I felt an aura of protectiveness hanging just above me in his presence. ‘Cadence’ smiled and looked at the stallion.

“You haven’t met our new guest, have you?”

“No, I haven’t,” he spoke, carrying his words across the room with such precision that it almost brought me to my knees. Actually, I was already on my knees. Point being, he didn’t seem nearly as aggressive as I had imagined.

The pink mare gasped. She looked back at me as if she just saw something in the window, though literally there weren't any around in this room. “I’m so sorry! I forgot about my introduction!” Recollecting herself, she cleared her throat. “I’m Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadence if you’d prefer.”

Well, slap my hand and fiddle me like a viola. A princess… pegacorn, I guess you’d call her? What an equally intriguing name as well. That’d make the stallion a… prince?

“This here is Prince Shining Armor—” Called it. “—captain of the royal guard, and my lovingly sweet husband.”

I wanted to gag so hard right now, yet I somehow resisted the urge—that, and I had a mouthful of warm tea in my mouth. So, allow me to briefly explain something here. Humans have adopted the concept of marriage for a very long time. I don’t personally remember when, but whatever. Point being, it’s only natural for me to praise a married couple in their success, since we’ve been doing it for a long time.

Horses, on the other hand…

Last I checked, horses didn’t even understand the basic concept of marriage, at least on Earth. Yes, there was the usual courtship and the mating and the bonding, but there was never any in-between counseling between a mare and a stallion, as far as I was aware.

Then again, I was on a completely different world with a populace of a completely different mindset.

Seems like I’m just gonna have to go along with the flow while I’m here, I guess. I’d hate to ruin the already bubbly atmosphere that was hanging on my shoulders.

“What’s your name, if I may ask?” Cadence inquired.

That question caught me off-guard. I’m not sure why, but maybe it had to be the fact that both Cadence and Shining Armor were looking at me with such unnerving and questionable gazes—it almost felt kind of creepy.

I swallowed a mouthful of tea with an audible gulp. I contemplated whether I should tell them my full name or if I should give them a made-up name. A nickname for myself didn’t seem like a bad idea, though I didn’t want to behave contrary to my true personality. I think the dark blue mare would have realized at some point that I’d be covering myself up with a fake identity, and would probably question me out of my mind.

So, I chose the logical choice, though I just stuck with my first name to be simple.

“I’m Mark. I’m a geologist.”

Maybe a little too simple.

“You study rocks?” Shining Armor said.

Okay, that really surprised me. How in the bloody hell did they understand that word? Did they have geologists of their own here as well?

“Mark,” Cadence repeated with a giggle. “What a nice name. Mark.”

I didn’t know whether to thank her or whether to keep my own trap shut. I had an awkward hunch that the day was just going to drag on with Cadence and Shining Armor begging me to do something entertaining for them, like tap-dancing or something along those lines.

As I set the cup down on the table, another hovered itself in the air, followed by the teapot which poured into the cup that I would assume Shining Armor had his hold on. He raised a brow in question, looking at my cup.

“Want some more, Mark?”

I looked down and saw that my cup was almost empty. I felt bad trying to turn down a friendly offer.

“Please.”

Upon command, the teapot hovered toward me, tipping over and filling my cup till it was almost brimming at the edge. The pot set itself back on the table, and the floating cup made its way in front of Shining Armor. I must say, these two were quite skillful in their use of magic. At least neither one of them tried to strangle me to death.

I grabbed hold of the handle this time, and I raised it in the form of a toast. “Thanks.”

Both their cups rose in a similar fashion. “You’re quite welcome,” he said. Their cups made contact, completing their personal toast.

I honestly cannot remember the last time I had tea quite like this. What a perfect wake-up call.

Author's Note

Expect our resident human to be told about the circumstances of his arrival in the next chapter