Project 8: Equestria

How long has he been in this tub? Has it been minutes? Hours? Days? Damian really couldn't tell. It has been so long since he last was able to enjoy a long, hot bath in peace, that he couldn't be bothered to keep track of time. Al he knew, was that almost all the bubbles were gone. Damian was really enjoying this time, but all good things must come to an end, and this was no different. He had gotten out of the tub and drained the water, before drying himself off and walking out of the room.

Now Damian is a grown man, and is not ashamed of any part of himself; that said, when he walked out of the bathroom naked and saw a maid fixing his bed, it didn't really phase him. "Good afternoon, or is it evening? I'm not sure what time it is." He said as he began to dress himself. The maid was professional, to which Damian is very thankful, and she left without much of a peep. And once more, he was left alone... until a knock at the door redirected his attention.

An armored head popped through, "The Princesses requested your presence at dinner, casual wear."

"Your casual wear, or mine?" The head simply pulled back out of the door, leaving Damian to finish getting dressed. Once he thought he was presentable, and then followed the guard to the dining room. Despite being a castle, the room was rather simple. There was an ornate chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a single extended table in the center of the room. Upon the table, there was an assortment of food, Damian had never really seen this much food in one place before; sure he had been to plenty of buffets, but never had there been this magnitude in one place. He then wondered darkly about who will suffer once this food must be thrown out. Sitting at the table, were several ponies, Damian recognized the two princesses, then there was a third winged unicorn, and two other unicorns.

"Mr. Watson, I am pleased you could join us. Take a seat." The third winged unicorn had said.

"I apologize, but I do not believe we have been introduced properly. As I see you know, I am Damian Watson; who might you be?"

"Ah, where are my manners, I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, you can call me Cadence; and this is my husband, Shining Armor." At that point, a confident, although slightly arrogant voice sounded to Damian's left.

"And, I am Prince Blueblood." Damian nodded. He was curious, why were the princes without wings, and where was the king and queen? It wasn't his place to judge, as it was not his place to be rude to his hosts. One of the unicorns, Shining Armor, spoke up,

"So, from that uniform, I'd say you were some kind of soldier. That true?"

"Very much so, although I'd say my interests have been more founded in the sciences than on the field of death."

"Such as?"

"Engineering, mostly." These ponies were asking a lot of questions. The unicorn seemed satisfied, until his wife continue,

"And where are you from?" And isn't that the question. Damian weight the benefits versus the drawbacks, and decided that answering this question, was not in his best interests.

"Tell me Ma'am, have you made your decision on the appointment?" He asked, earning a glare from the pink pony. He could see on the faces of all the ponies there that they were looking forward to that answer.

"I have, and have already sent out the invitations. They should arrive at the end of the week."

"Should?" Damian heard quiet laughter coming from the prince.

"But of course," The prince began, "There is no telling when they would show up. The world IS a big place, after all." Damian chose to remain silent after that. It wasn't that he didn't have anything to add, it was more along the lines of him internally fuming at the technology level of this place. Dinner went smoothly after that, as the ponies faded into another conversation that Damian had little interest in; instead, his mind went back to his crystal. He subconsciously started toying with it, deep in though, until a door slammed open; this, of course, got Damian's full attention.

"News from northern Equestria, your highness," A guard said, damn nearly falling over as he tried to run while bowing. All in all, it would have been funny, if what he said after didn't get him thinking again, "It, has returned." Being in his industry, Damian has heard 'it' be used to describe a great many things, and very few of such were good. But nevertheless, Damian was curious.

After hearing the Princess offer, from Damian's perspective, several halfhearted apologies to the table, she left. After about a minute had passed, Damian had also excused himself, and went off after her. He was going to know what it was, not that anyone would know he knew what it was.

After passing through a great number of hallways, he managed to find the princess; writing a letter, under the light of a stained glass window. Damian watched for a while, until she lit the parchment on fire; and watched the smoke, almost magically, fly out an open window. Damian was confused and amazed, this new form of instant information could come in handy, though he wondered if it could be intercepted. Deciding he would rather not be caught watching, Damian took several steps back, rounded a corner, and went on his way to his room.

Damian was somewhat disappointed that he could not learn more about whatever it was, but he does have more pressing matters at hand. The meeting at the end of the week. Upon reaching his bed, he began to take off his clothes, until he was left with nothing more than an undershirt and boxers. He folded his clothes and placed them on the nightstand next to his bed, before climbing in and going to sleep; complaining the whole time.