Princess Sparkle—the first alicorn seen by humans after Rainbow Streak made a show during First Contact. How could I describe her? Well, the first thing I’d say was that she seemed simple. Not in a bad way, of course, but very down-to-earth. She didn’t seem to exude the power and authority the Royal Sisters have, and frankly seemed quite normal. As the two friends began to engage in conversation, the disguised alicorn didn’t feel the need make a weird joke to try and break the ice.

Okay, maybe that was a little unfair to Princess Celestia, but I would always remember her as that one Equestrian ruler for her unfunny little jest in the UN summit.

Maybe it was because these two friends shared a deep bond of trust that Princess Sparkle didn’t need witty lines to start or continue their conversation. Hell, if I didn’t know she was a Princess, I would have thought these were two normal ponies just catching up. They talked about familiar places, and even a dragon named Spike. They seemed to be ignoring everything around them, whilst the crowd seemed to stop paying attention to them.

Which was odd, actually now that I thought about it. Rarity had a few greeters earlier. Where did they go? Even if the Princess was unrecognizable—which I already found rather curious as other than the mane style and missing wings, she looked exactly the same—I should have seen a few ponies trying to greet my companion. No one did. It was as if we three weren’t here. I looked around, took a step back, and found myself a little confused for a moment. In front of me were two indistinct white and purple ponies in front of me. I was sure I was with Rarity earlier. Where was she?

The white pony looked at me for a moment, then grabbed me by my arm with her extended foreleg, pulling me forward. I blinked as the two ponies suddenly got more detailed, revealing Princess Sparkle and Rarity. They looked at me, the former looking a little apologetic, and the latter quite amused.

“What happened?” I asked.

It was Princess Sparkle that spoke. “Sorry about that. My Notice-Me-Not spell has a limited safe range, and you stepped out of it.”

“Notice-Me-Not?” I asked, then realized I heard of something familiar from the fantasy books I read occasionally. “That’s like a spell that makes sure no one else is alerted of your presence?”

She seemed to smile, nodding. “That’s a simple way of putting it.”

“Wow,” I replied, a little excited. “So, what is its limitations? I mean, would all of your actions, no matter how odd, keep you from getting noticed? You said a field, right? How far is it? Is it like a dome, or a square? And how would you keep a spell like that active? Do you need to constantly concentrate or do you need to—”

Rarity coughed, then giggled, making me realize I was bombarding a Princess with what might seem to be stupid questions in regards to magic. Yeah, sue me. I loved the Potter books and the Dresden Files, and not just because I share my name with the protagonists. Still, Rarity was right to stop me as I was potentially annoying a high-ranking Equestrian official. However, instead of looking irritated, she looked very happy with my questioning.

“I’m sorry for my rudeness,” I said, offering my hand. “My name is Wingman, Princ—” I stopped when I noticed Rarity shaking her head. “Um… Miss Sparkles?”

“Twilight is fine,” the purple disguised alicorn replied, also offering her foreleg. It felt warm, and the coat felt well-maintained and soft. I almost hesitated before I thought, what the hell, went to one knee, and kissed it gently. When I looked back up, Twilight seemed to be a little flushed. Then again, with the color of her coat, it could have been a trick of the light as it faded after a moment. She then looked at me curiously. “Wingman?” She looked at Rarity. “Isn’t he—?”

I felt myself swallowing nervously.

“A Gentleman of good standing and very respectable manners,” Rarity interrupted. “I trusted him with my sister’s well being, and he didn’t disappoint. You won’t find a better pony.”

“High praise coming from you, Rarity,” Twilight replied, chuckling. She then looked at me. “As for your questions, yes there are limitations. The spell actively makes the crowd not look too carefully as long as I look like a part of the group. Hence my disguise.”

“That’s also why I stopped you from revealing her title,” Rarity added. “If somepony hears that, it will likely cause them to look twice.”

Okay, that made some sort of sense, yet not as well. Then again, what did I expect of magic?

Rarity wasn’t done yet, though, as she looked at Twilight a moment. “And really, Twilight, hiding your beautiful wings I can understand, but what is it with the style of your mane?”

Twilight smiled. “Do you like it? I got it done at Day Spa.”

“It’s very nice,” I replied, honestly. Rarity looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and I gave her a shrug. Well, yeah, I thought it was very cool, the way her dark-purple mane streaked with pink was done in layered spikes. It was cute in a punk-ish way.

The disguised alicorn’s smile went even wider. “Thank you, Mister Wingman. As for your other questions,” Twilight paused, as if to remember my questions, “yes, it’s a field. A dome encircling me a few hooves away. That’s why you were confused earlier, and needed to be pulled back in or you’d have wandered away. And while the spell does take a good amount of concentration, I have these to help.”

She pointed towards her necklace, which was a very stylish silver chain threaded through amethysts that seemed to glitter unnaturally.

“It took me days to store the spell to the gemstones, and it’ll probably just last me until dinner,” Twilight said. “I’ll probably try and find some way to extend it, but it seems to work out well.”

“It does,” I replied, then paused. “But how did Rarity recognize you then?”

“Wingman,” Rarity began with a mock-hurt tone that had me looking back at her, “it’s like you don’t think of me as a well-versed unicorn. Of course I recognized Twilight’s spell and saw through it.”

I raised my own eyebrow, then looked at Twilight. She giggled. “Don’t believe her, Wingman. I designed the spell to let my friends recognize me and see through the field.”

“Twilight!” Rarity declared dramatically. “How could you?”

I chuckled along as Twilight’s giggling became stronger. Rarity began to pout, which got more pronounced as we continued our laughter unabated. The white unicorn sniffed. “I changed my mind, Twilight. Mister Wingman here is a very rude pony. Why don’t you banish him?”

I stopped laughing, looking at Rarity. That was a joke, right?

Twilight seemed to think so, because she just rolled her eyes. “I’m not doing that, Rarity.”

“Well, some best friend you turned out to be,” Rarity replied, before giving me a smile and wink. Okay, so it was a joke. I think? She turned to Twilight again, then asked, “Which reminds me, Twilight, what are you doing here?”

Somehow, the disguised alicorn grew even more excited. “Have you heard of the new breakthrough of human-pony research?”

I stood a little straighter at that, and Rarity nodded. “That’s actually why we’re here,” the unicorn replied.

“I was about to try it out,” Twilight said. She looked at me and Rarity. “Why don’t you join me?”

I was about to agree when Rarity suddenly said, “Actually, there is some business I must take care of.” I looked at her questioningly, and she gave me a small smile. “Wingman, why don’t you accompany Twilight. You have some fair knowledge about it, and both of you can entertain each other without the uneducated mare stepping on your hooves.”

I wondered if that was sarcasm. “Rarity,” both Twilight and I called, only for the unicorn to shake her head.

“Now, don’t let me interrupt you two.” She looked at me. “Wingman, I’ll be back in a moment, so please, treat my friend with the respect she deserves. I hope you don’t mind, darling.”

I looked at her for a moment, wondering if she had some sort of plan. However, without a reason to protest, I just gave her a solemn nod. “I’ll try my best, Rarity.”

“I know you will.” And without a word from us, Rarity walked away, disappearing from the crowd, leaving me a little confused.

I looked at Twilight, and asked, “What was that?”

Twilight looked at me for the moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know. If you’ve known Rarity long enough, you’ll know she can confuse the Tartarus out of you. Not as bad as Pinkie Pie, but it can come off as odder, as Pinkie is just naturally… odd.” She looked at the crowd. “Um, I think you can still chase after her.”

“And have her mad at me because I left her best friend alone?” I asked rhetorically. “No thanks.”

The disguised alicorn laughed. “Well, then I guess you should do as she says.” She motioned me to follow her. “Shall we?”

I looked at the crowd, then back at Twilight, and shrugged. “Lead the way.” Staying close together so I wouldn’t come out of her magical field, I asked, “Who’s Pinkie Pie? I heard her name once, back in Ponyville. Rarity mentioned her too, earlier.”

“One of our best friends,” Twilight replied easily. “She’s… unique. Speaking of friends, I do want you to be aware that I have heard about you from my other friends.”

I absently scratched the back of my neck. “Yeah, I got the notion you had.” I paused for a moment, enjoying how unobstructed we were as we moved forward. People and ponies around us stepped away as we approached. “Not all bad, I hope?”

She smiled rather ruefully. “You’re an oddity, Mister Wingman,” Twilight replied. “I have had Rarity, Cheerilee, and Cadance speak on your behalf.”

I blinked. “Cadance?”

“Mi Amore Cadenza,” she clarified, and that was all that I needed to hear.

“I’ve never met her,” I replied, finding it a little odd I had an actual Princess speaking up for me. Well, it did make me feel better, but still, strange.

“Maybe Rarity talked to her about you,” Twilight explained. “They’re also friends. And on the other side, I have Rainbow Dash and Applejack talking against you. The former more than the latter nowadays, though.”

I grunted at Streak’s name.

“Then there’s that whole HERD mob incident with Sea Swirl.” I bit my tongue before I could say anything. I really didn’t want to be reminded of her. “All in all, I’m still making up my mind. Ah, here we are.”

I blinked, and realized she was right. We were now in the center of the room, showcasing what I was looking for. There were rows of it displayed in wooden tables. It was rectangular in shape, its clear display showing off sharp looking backgrounds, and little icons that I was sure were applications, ready to open. As we approached a recently vacated space, Twilight’s field seemed to have caught the others around us, leaving it alone for our use.

“Wow,” Twilight said. “So that’s what a tablet looks like.” She looked at me. “Do they look the same as Earth’s?”

I looked at it more closely, slowly picking it up with my hand. “It’s surprisingly heavy,” I replied, “and a little thicker than usual, but yes, aesthetically, it looks like most tablets on Earth.”

I sat down on the seating pad and began to run my fingers around it, shifting from one screen to the next. Blinking, I placed my finger on the status bar, which displayed the energy level and time, and slid my digit downwards. I got a few more options, and I clicked on the gear symbol. I pushed another icon that brought me to the system settings, and clicked on software version. I laughed when I saw a familiar looking green mascot, and the word P*ny.

“What is it?” Twilight asked, sitting right beside me and looking over.

“Nothing,” I replied, “just familiar with this interface.” I let my fingers travel through the familiar steps, checking out its features. It felt like my own smartphone, except it was strangely slower. There was something odd with the display, some sort of flickering that lasted less than a second, before it smoothed out. I checked out the keyboard; it was QWERTY, though it did have options to change it to a keypad and Dvorak as well.

I shook my head, confused. “It’s like any tablet, but slower,” I said. “They said this was supposed to be designed for Equestrians, but I don’t see it. It doesn’t even have an Equestrian option on the keyboard.”

Twilight looked thoughtful. “Let me try.”

I gave her the tablet, and to my amazement, once she touched it with her hoof, it began to go to a multiple-window selection option, and just as quickly, opened a notepad application. No keyboard appeared, but somehow, Twilight began to produce words—first in Equestrian alphabet, then to the human alphabet. Just as quickly, the message was erased, and the program closed. And she didn’t even move her hoof.

“What the hell,” I muttered.

Twilight stared at the tablet for a moment, then nodded. “Oh, I get it. They’re using smart-crystals to allow ponies to use it. Very innovative.”

“Smart-crystals?”

Twilight nodded, looking at me. “You know how we use gems to store in magic to perform different tasks, right?”

“Like your necklace,” I replied.

“Yes, like my necklace, or a fire-gem,” Twilight said. “They work by expending stored magic, and perform certain tasks. Smart-crystals are oddities though.”

“How so?” I asked.

“Well, to explain, I’ll have to go back to the time of Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“You guys consider him the father of modern magic, right?” I asked, getting an enthusiastic nod from Twilight.

“He was an amazing unicorn stallion, and probably the smartest pony ever. He earned that title. Anyway, during his time, magical gems were already in common use, mostly as a means to help start fires for the pegasi or earth ponies. However, he was interested in these clear crystals that seemed to channel magic, and at will, could start a fire, teleport somepony, or even mimic dragon-fire magic.”

“But don’t regular magic gems do that already?” I asked. She nodded, happy.

“Yes, but only one type of gem can be specifically used for each spell,” Twilight responded. “For example, fire-gems can only be used to store fire spells and nothing else. It has to do with their properties that only seem to resonate to specific spell wavelength and—” she stopped, then looked at me. “I’m boring you, aren’t I?”

I shook my head. “Overwhelming me, yeah. Boring me, not really.”

“Really?” she asked, her tone slightly disbelieving.

I nodded. “Please, continue.”

Twilight smiled. “Okay, but I probably should just continue with the smart-crystals. So, these crystals are a little different because they can be used to cast any type of spell.”

“Sounds very useful,” I commented.

“Very, except for the fact that it wouldn’t store any energy at all,” Twilight replied. “Star Swirl noted that while the crystal could mimic any spell, it wouldn’t be used to store the magic for long term use as it would activate almost immediately before becoming inert again. However, thanks to his experimentations on the crystals, he discovered what would be his foundation of modern magical theory.”

“Which is?”

“That magic is basically our intentions pushed outwards, acting as an extension of our will.” She motioned towards the tablet under her hooves. “The crystals are basically reading what my intentions are and translating them the best it can. For example, if I want to check the time”—the screen flashed, and the clock application opened—“it will give me what I need.”

Okay, now I was scared and awed. This was way more advanced than anything I’ve ever encountered outside science fiction. While I could probably translate the crystal as a very fancy mouse and keyboard, I’ve never heard of any type of input device that would actually read the intentions of the user, and accommodate with its best possible guess. The programing on that tablet must be absolutely, insanely complex.

“Of course,” Twilight continued, “that’s why it seems slow to you. You don’t have any innate magic, and I’m guessing the crystals don’t respond to your touch.”

I nodded. “It still does have an interface for human input, I guess.” I paused for a moment. “Wait, hold on, if the crystals can only read magic, then does that mean that earth ponies or pegasi can’t use this?”

“While they don’t have a flexible focus like unicorn horns,” Twilight explained, “earth ponies and pegasi still have innate magic in them, though extending outwards a little differently. The former have an intimate connection to the ground. That’s why they are stronger, and have an affinity to earthen talents. The pegasi, despite having smaller wings compared to their bodies, can fly because they have connection to the air, and gives them talents required for skywork. If I would guess, almost any native Tellurian could use this tablet.”

Wow, that was a rather big breakthrough. “These crystals seem really useful. Do you think it can be applied to anything else?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes! In fact, these crystals have already been extensively used by another pony adaptation of human technology.”

I blinked. “Which one?”

“The new telephones,” Twilight replied. “Have you seen them?”

I nodded, remembering my phone back in the house. I had thought it was odd when I first saw it. They changed the larger, more pony-friendly keypads to something more similar to what humans use. After the whole talk with Twilight, though, I finally learned why.

“The keys in the new keypads are crystals,” I guessed. “Ponies can just touch them and just think of a number, and the crystals respond to it.”

“Correct,” Twilight said with a nod, then looked at the tablet. “If this is just what both our species can do right now, can you imagine the possibilities in the future?”

I looked at Twilight, and for a second, I was reminded of my conversation with Eve months ago, that I might have gotten a crush on Princess Sparkle. It was mostly a joke, though, and more of my liking her for speaking highly of humans in an article. Now, having met her, listened to her, and saw her in person, that joke could now be a little true.

The disguised princess seemed to blush at my gaze—this close, I could confirm it. “What? What is it?” she asked, softly.

I just smiled. “You’re an awesome pony, Twilight.”

That darkened her cheeks even more. “Oh, you’re just saying that.”

I chuckled. “No, I’m serious. You’re smart, beautiful—I mean, I’ve only been around you for a few minutes, and I think you’re someone fun to be with.” After a moment, I added, “And have an awesome hairdo.”

Twilight laughed at that last part, moving her free foreleg over it. “It is a nice hairdo, isn’t it?”

“Very awesome,” I replied, gently grabbing the hoof touching the tablet. I squeezed it reassuringly, trying to silently tell her that I meant every word.

She felt good, warm. This close, I could smell the odd, yet pleasant scent of rose and fresh parchment. Her eyes seemed to look away, but only for a moment, before going back to me. She smiled demurely.

“Thanks,” she said softly. After a while, she chuckled, gently touching my hand over her hoof. “For what it’s worth, I think Rarity is right. You are a good pony. Person,” she corrected herself.

“Thanks. I’d rather not have a pony that I admire not liking me.”

“Admire?”

“Well, you did earn your title after extending the hand—hoof,” I corrected myself, “of friendship to humans.”

Twilight blushed. “I just did what I thought was right. I mean, I know how a lot of ponies initially saw your race, but I always felt humanity, on the whole, is an impressive civilization with a rich varied history that showcases their creativity and bravery in facing a world as harsh as Earth’s. We could learn a lot from each other.”

I smiled. “I also remember you disagreeing with a duchess a few months ago. You know, the one that talked about how humans didn’t belong in Equestria?”

Twilight blinked, surprised. “You remember that?”

“Quite,” I replied. “Eve and I went out for lunch, and I read the article there.”

“Eve?” Twilight asked.

“Ever Ring.”

“Oh, yeah.” Twilight nodded. “Ever Ring does work in Gentlemen for Mares, doesn’t she? As a Handler?”

“My Handler, actually,” I admitted.

She smiled. “You must be pretty close to have lunch with your Handler.”

“Well, she has been one of my best friends since I came here in Equestria,” I said. “Helped me out in a jam more times than I can count.”

Twilight nodded. “That sounds like her. Though, I always was a little confused why she chose that profession, actually.”

“You have a point. I think, with her voice, she’d be better as a radio host.”

That got her to laugh. “Not that! Okay, maybe. She does have that deep, smooth voice when she wants to.”

I nodded with agreement. “Like smooth jazz that allows you to slide all over the place.”

If possible, her laugh got a little louder. Was that a chortle from a Princess I just heard? “Jazz?” she asked, still giggling.

“It’s a type of genre of music on Earth,” I replied. “You should check it out.”

“Alright, I will,” Twilight said, nodding, “Anyway, what I meant that she has an uncanny gift of research. Did you know she was actually one of my lead researchers back in First Contact?”

“I knew she was part of it, but not that she worked with you personally,” I replied. “She is helping you out again, though, right?”

Twilight blinked. “And how did you know that?”

“She mentioned it.”

She looked at me for a moment with an amused expression before saying, “Friend, huh?”

I nodded as convincingly as I could. “Best friend.”

Twilight opened her mouth, then seemed to have spotted something to her left. “Speaking of best friends…” and she let the sentence linger. I blinked, then looked at my right, where she was looking, and saw Rarity, with a somewhat excited smile on her face.

“Well, aren’t you two thick as thieves,” the white unicorn said.

Twilight didn’t miss a beat. “We’ve found some common ground. And I think you’re quite right about Wingman.” She looked at me and gripped my hand hard. “Wingman, please take care of my friend, alright?”

“Uh—”

Before I could say anymore, Rarity interrupted me with a breathless, “Let’s go.”

I blinked. “What?” I asked, rather stupidly.

“Let’s go,” Rarity repeated, less breathless but still flustered. She looked at Twilight at the moment, biting her lower lip with a strange indecisive expression. Twilight seemed to understand as she shook her head, smiling.

“It’s fine,” the Princess said.

Rarity looked grateful, then bent her head down slightly, rubbing her cheek on my shoulder. “Wingman, please, let’s go.”

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll just have to reserve a tablet—”

“I took care of it,” Rarity replied. “Now, we must go.”

Then, without another word, she bit my hand gently and helped me up. “Go where?” I asked. She didn’t reply and just dragged me away.

Author's Note

Thank you editors and pre-readers. Enjoy guys.