The Earls and Their Ponies

"I never imagined I'd see a castle anywhere ending in 'ville'." Aloise said. "Learn something new every day." The castle didn't fit with the rest of the town at all. The surrounding buildings were made out of wood, or even carved out of live trees, but the castle was made out of crystals and stones. Inside the entry hall stood the most perplexing creature ever beheld by human-turned-weird-pony eyes. "What are you?" Aloise blurted out.

"Aloise, Ciel, this is Discord. Discord, these is Earl Aloise Trancy and Earl Ciel Phantomhive." The two earls, briefed on Twilight's princess hood during the journey, did not comment when Twilight referred to them so informally at first.

"Ciel, I don't think we're in Britain anymore." Aloise said, staring at the creature known as Discord.

"What was your first clue?"

"Britain? Where's that?" Twilight's innocent gaze faltered when she took in the shocked expressions of the ponies she held in her magic aura. There was a long, awkward pause.

"Well," said Discord. "This is quite an interesting development. Let's just say that Britain is very far away from here. Very, very far." Ciel and Aloise exchanged a horrified look.

~*~*~*~*~

Twilight had gathered the rest of the mane six, Discord and Spike in the conference chamber. She looked around the table solemnly. "Now then," She said. "You've all met these mysterious ponies from this mysterious Britain. Discord knows where it is, but it's very far. Their primary objective seems to be to get home, but we have not confirmed this. Ciel claims that Aloise has attempted to foalnap him previously, which is why I set Lyra to stand in the hall where I put their rooms while we have this meeting. The question remains; what do we do with them?"

"I suggest we let them loose and see what happens."

"That's a terrible idea!" Rarity shuddered, appalled by the very thought.

"It would be interesting. Things have been pretty boring since this castle popped out of the ground."

"I'd be more likely to call it peaceful." Applejack glared.

"Alright, so we keep them comfy and safe here? They'll never get home that way."

"He does have a point. Remember the breezies?"

"Ciel and Aloise aren't a tiny, helpless wimps! They're ponies with intent!"

"Rainbow Dash is right. If we keep them here, they'll be comfortable, safe and stuck, but not happy." Discord concluded.

"Right." Twilight said. "Which means we need an alternate course of action. Any ideas?" Everyone was stuck.

~*~*~*~*~

Lyra sat in the hallway, reading a book about humans. She was so engrossed, she didn't notice Discord until he tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jerk up and look around for a few moments. "Thanks. I wasn't paying attention." She admitted, taking up a solid stance against the wall.

"Why don't you check on our guests? Humans can be so unpredicta-- Oops! Forget I said anything." Lyra turned to him, eyes alight.

"Humans? Are they really humans?"

"What?" Discord said, the tone of lying creeping into his voice. "No. Of course not."

"I'll go check on Ciel right now!" She rushed into Ciel's room. Discord emitted a small chuckle.

~*~*~*~*~

Aloise didn't like being alone. He was hiding from the loneliness when Discord entered. The draconequus was surprised when entering provided him with a hug. "Don't leave me alone! I hate being alone!" Aloise cried. Discord looked around for some method of trying to pry his new leach off.

"Okay, okay! I tried to tell Twilight, of course but she didn't believe me." Aloise backed up.

"How did you know?" The tone was cautious, the eyes were suspicious. This was not someone at ease.

"Why Earloise, how do you think?" The tone was lilting, and while the voice hadn't changed, it had because much more recognizable.

"You!" Aloise shouted. "This is all your fault! Get out!" Aloise flung everything he could at Discord to facilitate in making him leave. Discord just sighed.

"Alright then. Avatar of Chaos out! Peace!" The unfamiliar slang was the last thing Discord said before closing the door, leaving him in loneliness once more.

~*~*~*~*~

"I don't have time for this! I have to find a way to get home!" Ciel said. "Leave me alone!" The green unicorn sat back, disappointed. She snuffled a bit, before talking again.

"But Discord said you were human. And I've read books about humans. I wanna know what it's like." Ciel looked around. Why is everyone so sensitive?

"You remind me of Elizabeth."

"Who's Elizabeth?"

"Elizabeth is... She's my fiancé."

"Fiancé? You going to get married? When?"

"It'll be a few years, yet. It was an arranged marriage, from when we were kids, but we are very close."

"Well, it's better than being arranged to marry somepony you don't like."

"Do speak as an observer, a speculator, or someone who's experienced it?"

"My family is reasonably well off, and pretty high ranking, socially. At that point, social mini-factions start to arise. Arranged marriages are ways to clear some of the pressure off your parents and new inlaws. They tried it for me once, and they don't know where I am to try it again."

"I see." Ciel looked at her for a while. "Maybe you remind me less of Elizabeth than I thought." She looked at him quizzically. "That's a good thing, because I would probably go insane if everybody here was the same as the people I know in Britain."

"Yeah, probably." She nodded. "I have to go check on your, um, not-friend." She walked out, calling over her shoulder. "Can I come back later?" She was enough like Elizabeth to keep him reminded of what home was like, but not enough to send him over the edge. Ciel nodded.

"Yes. Yes, you can."