Rebirth

As I walk deeper into the castle, I can't help but feel that I'm closer to the gallows. My gut feelings aren't usually wrong, but I seriously hope they are this time.

A guard turns to me. "Mark Cleveland, right?" She says. In my state, it's no surprise that I almost jumped out of my shoes when she did. After I calm myself down, I nod. "Princess Luna is looking for you. Follow me."

This guard seems nice enough. I hope Princess Luna is too. I follow the guard. During the walk, I notice that I'm breathing quickly and my pulse is faster than normal. I look forward at the guard in hopes of calming me down.

"Quit looking at my plot." The guard says. She didn't turn around to check. After a second, I notice that I was.

Instead of saying that it was an accident and seeming like a liar, I come up with something else. "I'm a guy. It's a biological thing." She keeps looking forward and grunts, but doesn't stop walking.

The rest of the walk is in complete silence. After a few minutes, the guard stops walking. I do too. "The Princess is in this room." She leaves and I think I hear her say something along the lines of 'Don't look at Luna's plot.'

I shake off the guard's words and knock on the door. It's quickly covered in some bluish aura. "What the hell?" I ask myself out loud.

The door opens. "Mark Cleveland." A female voice says from inside the dark room. "Please, enter." It's calm and soothing. Usually, calm and soothing voices don't scare the hell out of me. This isn't one of those times. "There is nothing to worry about."

"Who are you?" I ask. My legs force themselves to walk into the room.

"I am Princess Luna." The voice says. A tall creature walks into view. She's a pony that's a little taller than the average pony I've seen. I notice the horn on her head is covered in the same blue aura as the door. She also has a pair of wings. If what I encountered of Alicorns is true for all, Luna really is a Princess. "Please, don't be afraid. I won't harm you."

I look at her closely. I don't know much about body language, even in humans, but I can tell by her eyes that she's telling the truth. That, or she has a great poker face.

"You don't trust me, I can tell." She says in her still soothing voice. "How may I gain your trust?"

"How do you know about me?" I ask quickly, making sure my voice is strong.

Princess Luna nods and closes her eyes. I see a smile on her lips. At least, what I think would be a smile on a pony. "A creature we thought was mythical suddenly arrives to a town near the capital of a major country does not happen every millennium. When it does, it does not go unnoticed."

She's got a point. I think there's more to the story, though. "Is that all?"

She shakes her head after a brief hesitation. "No, Mark Cleveland. I should tell you that I have the ability to enter dreams."

Oh… So she knows about Epona, then. "You're the one who Epona was talking about, then…"

Princess Luna nods. Her reaction confirms that she knows about Epona. "Yes I am."

"Don't tell anybody." I say quickly. "I don't know how my friends would react."

"I understand, Mark Cleveland."

"Can you just call me Mark?" I ask, getting a nod in return. "But seriously. Don't tell anypony. I mean… I talk to a goddess in my sleep. I'm still trying to get used to it myself. They'll probably ask a whole bunch of questions. I don't like not having any answers."

"I won't tell anypony, Mark. Not even my sister, Princess Celestia."

"If what Twilight Sparkle told me about Celestia is true, then you can tell Princess Celestia." I say. When I mention Twilight's name, I notice Princess Luna practically beams with happiness. She notices too and tries to hide it. The key word is 'try.'

"Twilight Sparkle is a great pony. She is the reason why I am here. She saved me twice."

So Princess Luna is like Princess Peach and Twilight is like Mario. The image of Twilight wearing Mario's hat and a moustache is fun to think about. I barely manage to keep a smile off my face. "When I was coming here, I was honestly scared for my life. I'm glad you're friendlier than I expected."

"What makes you think I would be a bad pony?" She asks with a perplexed look on her face.

I'm going to assume the whole 'sent to the moon for a thousand years' is a touchy subject for her right now. "I've heard that you're past isn't exactly… average."

Princess Luna looks to the side with an annoyed look. I ready myself for any attack she might throw at me. "I… understand. My past was far from the average pony…" She looks back to me. "I know you are talking about my time as Nightmare Moon."

"If it doesn't cause you to kill me, then yes I am."

Princess Luna actually giggles at that. I didn't exactly mean it as a joke. "It is okay, Mark. If what I have heard of you is true, I have no reason to harm you."

"Thank you, Princess Luna." I give her a bow of respect.

"Please, just call me Luna."

"I'll try to remember, Luna." A thought comes to my mind. "Is there any way I can get an identification of some sorts? Something like this?" I pull my wallet from my pocket and show her my driver's license from Earth.

Luna looks at the card, presumably to read it, and nods. "Yes you can. However, under normal circumstances, only ponies can have identification cards."

"Oh." My voice is downcast. Without an ID, I probably can't get my own house or drink alcoholic things.

"Under normal circumstances. I'm certain that one of the Princesses of Equestria will be able to give you assistance."

"Oh." This time, my voice is more upbeat. "I guess I didn't hear that 'under normal circumstances' part."

"Please, follow me." Luna says and opens the door from across the room. Her horn and the door are covered in that bluish aura from earlier.

"Is that magic?" I ask. To be honest, after arriving into a town filled with talking mythical creatures, where I'm a mythical creature to them, not much is very surprising. Not to mention the goddess that I sometimes talk to. If those exist, magic probably does, too.

"Yes it is, Mark." Luna says. I called that.

I follow Luna to wherever she's taking me. We get a few odd looks from guards, although most keep their heads forward.

On the way there, she tells me a bit about herself and her sister. The two somehow have the ability to move the moon and sun respectively. Their magic has to be extremely powerful to be able to do something like that. My respect for them has increased drastically.

"Where I'm from, the Moon orbits the Earth, which orbits the Sun, naturally."

"Really?" She sounds surprised and briefly stops. "I've never heard of such things." The Princess keeps walking and I continue to follow her. After another minute, she stops at a door and opens it. Both the door and her long horn and surrounded by that aura again. I make a mental note to watch out for any other aura that surrounds me.

Luna enters the room, but I don't follow. "Hello, Princess Luna." A male's voice inside says. "Are you here to check up on the ponies that got their IDs? It's a little early, isn't it?"

"No I'm not. I am here to assist in giving another an identification." Luna says.

"Well, who is it? We don't give ID's to ghosts." He laughs at his own joke.

Luna, however, doesn't laugh. "Actually…" She pokes her head out of the door and looks at me. "Could you come in?" I follow her inside.

The pony drops his drink and I hear something break. "What in Celestia's name is that?"

"This is Mark Cleveland." Luna says, barely holding in her aggression that I can feel from here. "He is a human."

The pony almost faints and reaches for a cup on his desk. He notices that he dropped it. "You're telling me that a mythical creature is… here? And you two are friends?"

"Yes." She says, more blunt than a lead pipe.

The pony breathes in and out, probably to calm himself down. "Wow. I'll… get the ID ready. I'll just have to adjust the camera." He walks to a small set to my left that I didn't notice until now. It looks like something from picture day at school. When he moves past me, I notice that he glances up at me, then quickly looks forward again.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"Don't hurt me!" He says in a high pitched voice.

I hold up my hands. "I'm not going to. Are you okay?"

He looks at me and Luna. "I-I hope so… Let's get this over with." He quickly adjusts the camera and takes my picture. After the picture is taken, the pony quickly writes something in a typewriter.

"Thank you. I'll be sure you get a raise in payment." Luna says. I follow her out of the room. "I apologize for his behavior. He is only used to talking to ponies. I should have informed you."

"It's okay, Luna. I think I'll have to get used to it." I let out a sigh. "When will I get my ID?"

"It should arrive to you within a few days. We will send it to Fluttershy when it is finished." Luna says. She stops walking. "The answer may be different, depending on your answer to my offer."

I turn to look at her. "What is it?" I run some possibilities through my head. Maybe they'll make me a knight or something. Is there a dragon for me to kill?

"As the Princess of the Night and Moon, I request thee, Mark Cleveland, Reborn Human in Equestria, to…" She pauses dramatically. "Live in Canterlot." She puts on a cute playful smile on her face.

Okay, that wasn't one of the possibilities I thought of. Because of what I thought of, and Luna's smile, I laugh a bit.

"Is that a yes?" She asks, still smiling.

After a second, I stop laughing. "I'll have to think about it, Luna. Canterlot reminds me of Seattle. My old home. All of the friends I've made so far, besides you, live in Ponyville."

Luna nods. "I understand, Mark. If you wish, I will ask you later."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Luna smiles and goes off somewhere else. I'm sort of leaning towards Canterlot because I've always loved big cities. If the pony that took my picture is any foreshadowing, I'll probably terrify everypony in the city. The average residents of Ponyville didn't seem to mind.

I keep thinking about where I should probably live until a pony I don't recognize walks up to me. He's a white unicorn with a dirty blonde mane. "What in Tartarus are you supposed to be?" He asks in a posh British accent. "Oh, you must be one of the new servants from out of Equestria." He smiles at me.

"I'm not a servant." I say to him. "What are you supposed to be? The token asshole?"

The unicorn glares at me. "How dare you speak to royalty in such a manner? Do you even know who you are speaking to?"

"No. I don't care, either."

"I am Prince Blueblood, nephew to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and cousin of Princess Cadence." He says, ignoring what I said. "You are nothing but a peasant. Leave the castle."

Technically, this guy's right. I don't have any money and I'm officially homeless. "Princess Luna invited me here. I have no reason to leave." I show him the letter.

He reads the letter. "I apologize. You are not a peasant." I smile. "You are a beast."

My smile drops. Fortunately, I see Princess Luna walk up behind Blueblood. "And whom is this beast?" She asks. Blueblood's smile falls, and mine returns

He turns around. "P-P-Princess Luna! I'm terribly sorry. This be-human lost his way and I-"

"Prince Blueblood." Luna interrupts him. "You may leave."

He hesitates before trotting off. I don't need to have 20/20 vision to see that his tail is literally in between his legs. "I'm glad I'm on your good side, Luna." I say to her.

"As am I, Mark." She says.

"That guy was really annoying. I'm glad you stepped in."

She smiles. "I don't like Blueblood either, to be truthful."

"So, am I done here? Not to imply that I don't like your company."

"Yes. Our business is complete."

I thank Luna and walk out of the castle. Twilight said to meet her at Donut Joe's or something like that. The conversation with Prince Dickface sort of made me forget. Getting pissed off like that tends to do things to me like that.