The Bright Equestrian Moon

I wake up for the first time in a couple of days without remembering a dream. I suppose nothing significant happened in my dreams and that Luna was busy visiting somebody else’s dream. Luna is snuggled closely to me with a peaceful smile as she sleeps. I gently run my fingers through her mane and kiss her forehead just below her horn. Her eyes flutter open as she slowly wakes. “Good morning, Luna, I’m sorry that I couldn’t stay up for you last night.”

She gently shakes her head and gives me a peck on the lips. “You have no need to be sorry, Travis; I was glad to find you sleeping when I arrived at our chambers. Is your pain gone?”

I sit up in bed, stretching and testing my arms and their range of motion. No pain at all, that spell really worked. “Yeah, I feel great, it seems like that spell worked, thanks.” I tenderly kiss her lips back. “I better test my legs as well…” I get up out of bed, stretching my legs and doing basic warm up type exercises. “That spell did an amazing job; I think I even feel a little better than before I had the pain in the first place.”

Luna gets out of bed and gives me a firm hug with her wings and forelegs. “That is very good to hear. I am relieved that my spell worked so well for you.”

I return the embrace and lovingly nuzzle the side of her neck. “So… We have that announcement to make today, right?... Did Rarity send my finished clothes that I’ll be wearing for the announcement?”

Luna lets go of me and nods, stepping to the wardrobe and opening it to pull out my new outfit along with my cape. “Yes, we do have to make the announcement today, and yes, Rarity did indeed send the finished attire.” She then gently lays the clothes on the bed, before looking back to me. “Last night I also thought to schedule the royal groomers for this morning to make us more presentable for the announcement.”

I raise an eyebrow as she looks back at me. “Royal groomers? What kind of stuff do they do to make us more presentable?” I then gently brush her cheek. “Besides, I already think you look amazingly beautiful.”

Luna blushes lightly with a smile. “Thank you; that may be so, but they well ensure that we look even better for the public.” She then smirks lightly. “For example, they will either trim or shave your growing facial hair for a sharper appearance.”

“Is it really getting that bad?” I feel along my jaw and chin a bit. I suppose I am starting to get a bit of a beard, perhaps she’s right?

Luna giggles and shakes her head. “No, it is not bad, but it could definitely be tamed a little.” She then quickly pecks my cheek.

I give her a swift peck in return. “All right, when are they scheduled for?”

She takes a quick look out of a window, then faces me again. “Any moment now, I believe.” There’s either a clock tower of some sort in view of the window, or she can judge the time by the sun’s position. Just as she predicted, there is a knock at the door. “That must be them now.” Luna turns to the door. “Come in.”

The door opens and two small teams of four unicorns enter. One team is made up of mares, the other is stallions. Luna and I are lead into the large bathroom by the unicorns and we are taken to different sides of the room. The bath is filled with water and a magic screen is put in the middle of the bath to separate us. The stallions look me over for a bit, before one speaks up. “May you undress and step into the bath so that we can begin, Sir?”

I look at the screen, then back at the stallions. “Sure… Although why is there a screen between Luna and me? I thought that bathing isn’t a big deal between different sexes here…” I then undress slightly nervously in front of my team of groomers, put my clothes on a rack, and walk into the bath.

They all begin running the water through my hair and over my body with their magic as one of them answers me. “You are quite correct in terms of normal bathing practice, Sir. However, keeping the mares and stallions separate is a tradition for the royal grooming of important events.”

“I see…” I lift my arms and legs, and change my posture to allow the groomers to clean me. It feels really odd to let a team of people clean me, but I guess I’ll just have to get used to it. They’re pretty thorough as well, almost uncomfortably so.

After they deem me to be clean, one of the stallions makes a gesture out towards a mirror with a reclining chair. “If you will, Sir, please step out so that we may dry you and move on with the grooming.” I nod and walk out of the bath to the mirror. The groomers immediately get to drying me with a mix of towels and magic, as one of them brushes my hair and studies it. “Do you know how you might want your mane styled, Sir?”

I look in the mirror for a bit. Hmmm, I could try a different style from before. My hair is a little longer than when I first arrived, but not by a lot. “Perhaps we could try with having it parted? Or is my hair too short for that?”

The stallion brushing my hair thinks for a moment. “That might work… And what of your facial hair, Sir? It must either be trimmed into shape, or removed.” The other stallions finish drying me and sit me down on the chair by the mirror.

That’s actually a hard choice. I’m usually pretty cleanshaven when I can be bothered, but maybe if I keep my facial hair it’ll work with my new planned hair style. I think I’ll try keeping it. “I’d like you to trim it neatly so that it’s even throughout, and shave off any hair from my neck. If I don’t like the look after you trim it, I’ll get a clean shave instead.”

He nods and levitates over a box of barber equipment. “Of course, I’ll clean up your facial hair first, then I’ll style your mane.” He then reclines the chair and gently holds my hair back to keep it out of the way. He also lathers my neck with some sort of cream.

In the mirror, I see the other stallions taking my clothes off the rack I set them on, and replacing them with my new outfit. I then notice the one managing my hair prepare a straight razor and delicately float it towards my neck. I tense up a little, but trust him to not hurt me. I feel the cold blade on my skin as the groomer shaves the hair from my neck. It isn’t long before he puts the razor away and brings out some scissors. He tidies up my beard and moustache with extreme focus and perfectionism. “What do you think of this, Sir?”

I sit upright to study myself in the mirror. My beard looks so clean, and not too long either. My neck looks the smoothest it’s been in a long time. He’s done a really nice job. “I think it looks really good; you’ve done a great job with it.” I lay back in the chair.

“Yes, it does look good.” He dries my neck with a towelette and makes the chair upright again. “Now I’ll see about styling your mane.” He gets a comb and parts my hair, studying it once more to see how it sits. “Hmmm…” He levitates my hair and snips little bits of it here and there with his scissors, before letting my hair sit again. “Almost...” He plays with my hair a little bit more until he smiles and steps out of the way so that I can see the mirror. “Perfect.”

I don’t know how, but he’s made my hair just how I envisioned the best-case scenario in my head. It’s parted neatly and goes with my new trimmed beard perfectly. I give the stallion a thankful smile. “You’re right, it is perfect. It’s just how I wanted it.”

He nods and gestures towards the rack with my newly made clothes. “You may now step over here to get dressed.” The other stallions are standing by the rack and they each carefully lift some clothing with their magic.

I get up out of the chair and walk to my team of groomers, stepping into my underwear and pants as they dress me. Again, it feels a little odd; I can dress myself after all, but I guess it’s a tradition. The clothes feel like they fit perfectly; they’re so comfy. The groomers study me from all angles and then take me back to the mirror. Holy shit. I look amazing. I laugh at how good I look. I look like royalty, except for not having a crown or jewellery. I’ve never felt so handsome… I think I’m gonna stop gushing about myself; I’d hate to become some narcissist.

“What do you think, Sir? Is there anything we could improve upon?” Another one of the stallions asks me.

I spin slowly once to see my cape flow with the wolf and moon design on the back. “I think it’s the best I could’ve hoped for. I can’t think of any ways to improve it. Thanks.” I then look at my shoes that I still need to put on. Oh. They’re runners. They really wouldn’t suit my new outfit. Hopefully nobody will see my feet when Luna and I give the announcement. “Actually, I do need something else, but it won’t be ready for the announcement. Are there any cobblers who could make me some formal shoes or boots?” They probably don’t, now that I think about it. Horse shoes are very different from human shoes…

One of the groomers reveals a notepad and pencil, supposedly taking notes on what I want. “I’ll see if any cobblers will be up to the task of making shoes for a being of your anatomy.”

I give him a grateful smile. “Thanks, that would be really helpful… And I was wondering, do you know if anyone will see my feet during the announcement?”

He shakes his head. “No, you will be positioned on a balcony with a railing that would obscure the view of your lower body.”

Well, that’s quite a relief. “Good, that means I’ll be able to make do with wearing my runners for now.” I put my socks and shoes on, looking back in the mirror. They seriously clash, but they’ll have to do until I can get formal shoes made. My stomach grumbles a little and I look back at the magic screen between me and the way out of the bathroom. “I’m pretty hungry for breakfast… Is the grooming finished?”

One of the other stallions gives me a nod. “Yes, your grooming is finished, but we are still waiting for Princess Luna to be finished being groomed.”

“I see… I can wait then.” I look back in the mirror and study the various details on my coat and cape to pass the time. Rarity’s work is just so brilliant. I wait a little longer and the magic screen dissolves, revealing Luna and the mares that were grooming her. I can’t pin point any specific changes in her appearance, but she somehow looks more beautiful than before.

She looks towards me, giving me a lovely smile with a light blush. “You look so handsome, Travis; you clean up nicely.” She then walks over to me and kisses my cheek.

I smile back and return the kiss, blushing a little as well and nuzzling her neck after. “And you look very beautiful, Luna. I thought that you couldn’t possibly get any more beautiful than you already were.”

Luna nuzzles me back and then faces the two groups of groomers. “Thank you for your excellent work, you may now leave us.” They all nod their respect to Luna and head out. My stomach grumbles again and Luna giggles. “Would you like to go have breakfast now?”

I nod and laugh a tiny bit. “Yeah, I’m feeling pretty hungry.” We both leave the bathroom and make our way down the stairs of our tower.

The guard thestral is standing by the door and he salutes as we approach. “May I accompany you leading up to and during your announcement for the sake of tradition, Princess?”

We stop as Luna considers his request. “Yes, it may be wise to hold up some semblance of tradition as we are about to announce a disturbance to said tradition.” She looks to me. “Would you accept his company, Travis?”

She doesn’t really need to ask me, I mean, she is the princess. “Yeah, of course, although you really don’t need my permission. He’s your guard after all, so it’s your choice.”

“I know, but I thought it would be polite to ask you, since you are part of the announcement.” Luna pulls me to her side with a wing. “Also, in the future, he will be your guard too.”

I gently put an arm around her. “Okay, thanks for asking then.” I look at the guard. “Considering that we’ll be seeing each other often, I’d like to know, what’s your name?”

“I am Midnight Blockade, but don’t take my name too literally, I can work during the day too.” He gives me a nod and holds out his hoof. “It’s nice to be formally introduced, Sir Travis.”

I lean down and shake his hoof firmly. “Yeah, nice to meet you too, Midnight.” It just occurred to me that he must have extremely long hours. How could somebody work both day and night? They’d need to sleep at some point. “And I’m curious, how do you work for so many hours? You’re the only pony I’ve ever seen guard this tower.”

He looks me in the eyes. “I’m afraid that information’s classified.” Wait, what? Is he part of some kind of experiment or something? He then begins laughing loudly as my face betrays my surprise and confusion. “I’m just joking! I’m not the only guard who works at this tower. By chance you simply haven’t been around when I go off duty, and I’m the guard who is on this post most often.”

I laugh a bit with him. Of course, he doesn’t work all day and night. “Right, I should’ve expected something like that.” It’s so obvious. Being in a land of magical ponies is making me more gullible… I mean, if magic exists, it isn’t a stretch to think that there might be a spell that can keep somebody up for hours on end and stay healthy. I suppose even magic has rules and limits, although I don’t really know what they are.

Luna speaks up. “Shall we make our way to the dining hall now?” It seems I’m not the only one who’s hungry.

I nod. “Yeah, let’s go get some breakfast.” We leave the tower and go to the dining hall, Midnight standing by the door while Luna and I sit. I order toasted banana bread and a hot chocolate, and Luna orders pancakes and coffee. The wait isn’t long before we’re served our breakfasts, which we eat fairly quickly. “So, when are we making the announcement?”

Luna looks out the window from her seat, then back at me. “In about half an hour. I thought it best to schedule the announcement early to get it out of the way sooner.”

I nod again. “I see… What time is it now? And how do you know? Can you judge it by the position of the sun?”

She smiles and nods back. “It is half past ten now, and I can indeed tell the time from the position of the sun.”

I smile back. That’s pretty impressive. “That’s really cool; I’m impressed.”

Luna dismissively waves a hoof. “Oh, it is not so hard when your duty involves moving a celestial body each day for centuries. It simply becomes natural.”

I suppose she’s right. She has years of experience. “So, should we head over to the balcony where we’re making the announcement?”

She taps her chin lightly. “We have more than enough time to reach the balcony, but it would not hurt to arrive early and wait for the allotted time of the announcement.” Luna rises from her chair. “We may go to the balcony now if it would make you more comfortable with the timing.”

I get up too and stand by her right side. “Yeah, I tend to go early to scheduled events to make sure I’m not late.” We nuzzle a bit and then head off to the room where the balcony comes out from. Midnight follows just behind and to Luna’s left. We soon arrive at the room, which is a moderately sized hall with tall columns and stained glass windows. The columns have sconces set on them with flowers. The stained glass windows depict some of Equestria’s history. The balcony is at the end of the room and far bigger than I expected.

We get to the room, but don’t step onto the balcony just yet. Luna looks me over quickly as she cleans off some crumbs from my coat with her magic. “We will wait until eleven o’clock before walking onto the balcony.” She looks out of a window again. “We have twenty five minutes until the scheduled time.”

I nod and look at the balcony from inside the room. “Okay, should we decide what we’ll talk about in the announcement and how we make it?”

She nods as well. “Yes, that would be wise. I will walk onto the balcony first, then I will introduce you and assure them that you are friendly. You can then tell the crowd how you arrived here – briefly, not too detailed –, speak about yourself shortly, and reassure them that you mean no harm.”

The plan is good so far. “Right, then should we address our relationship? I mean, it’s the one thing that they’re the most curious about.”

“Of course, this announcement is meant to inform them of what they are most curious about.” Luna strokes her chin. “After telling them as such, what would they then wish to ask so that we may answer before they do?”

Hmmm, that’s a good idea. We should try to think of questions they might ask after the announcement. “They might want to ask about my intentions with you? And if my relationship with you would affect them in any way?”

“Yes, they would likely wish to ask those questions…” Luna smiles and gently places her hoof on my cheek. “So, after we announce our relationship, you should discuss your basic intentions and assure them that you are not after power. I can let them know that our relationship should not have any major impact on them.”

I smile too and tenderly place my hand on her hoof. “I can’t think of anything else we would need to announce that’d be relevant. So, maybe we could then end it there with some sort of positive farewell?”

“That is a fair plan.” She kisses my lips lightly. “If there are questions that we are missing, then we can answer them in court tonight.”

I fondly return the kiss. “Yeah, we can, although hopefully we won’t need to.” I then hug Luna and rest my head against her neck, closing my eyes. I feel her hug me back with her wings and nuzzle me. “Even though we planned it out, I still feel really nervous, Luna.” I hug her a little tighter.

Luna holds me a little closer with her wings. “I understand, Travis. Do not worry, we will be together from the moment you step onto the balcony. And I am sure that you will do fine.” She kisses my cheek.

I kiss her back. “Thanks… I wanna stay like this until we have to start the announcement.” I keep close to Luna with my eyes still closed, as I enjoy the affection and slowly relax.

After what feels like hardly any time at all, she lets go of me and I open my eyes. “It is time for me to open for the announcement.” That time went so fast.

I nod and nervously smile. “Okay, go ahead.”

Luna steps out onto the balcony with Midnight behind her to the left and there is some cheering, followed by murmuring as she raises a hoof. All of a sudden, she addresses them extremely loudly. “GOOD MORNING, FAIR CITIZENS!” Holy shit. That was seriously loud. I rub my ears a little.

The crowd is silent now as Luna pauses and clears her throat. She then continues, fortunately not as loudly. “I thank you all for gathering here this morning to hear this announcement!” Luna pauses again. “Four days ago, a being from another world arrived in Equestria! A being known as a human! He arrived by accident and had no means of return! My sister, Celestia and I gave him refuge in Canterlot Castle! Since his arrival, he has been only kind and friendly! So, please do not be afraid as I ask you to welcome the lovely Travis Blackbourne!”

I take a deep breath and then walk out onto the balcony, standing at Luna’s right side. Fucking hell… There are hundreds of ponies, maybe thousands, filling a massive plaza on the ground. The sight of such a large crowd focusing on me is breath taking. It is quiet for a moment, and slowly the crowd begins stamping the ground and cheering. I guess they stamp instead of clap.

I wave to the crowd as I try to compose myself. I take another deep breath. “Hello! It’s great to see you all! As Princess Luna said, my name is Travis Blackbourne! I am a human from a land called Australia on a planet called Earth! On Earth, magic is thought to be fictional, but my friend found real magic! He cast a spell, and it had the unintended effect of sending me here, to Equestria!

“I may not seem like it now, but I am normally a quiet person! I usually stay on my own, and out of peoples’ way! Since arriving in Equestria, I have spent my time with Princess Luna! We’re helping each other become more social, and I am thankful for her company!” I briefly look at her and pause, then look back at the crowd. “Now, I realise that I may be very different from you! Some of you might be afraid! I am a new species from another world! However, I will never mean any of you any harm! In fact, I hope that we all get along and that those of you who I may meet become my friends!”

I wait for a response from the crowd, or for Luna to continue the announcement. I hope that I did all right for the first half of the announcement. The crowd responds first, with another round of stamping and cheering. I turn to Luna and whisper. “Maybe you should be the first to talk about our relationship? Also, I’m not sure how to make a good transition. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course, and I do not mind.” She whispers back, before facing the crowd and raising her hoof again. This time the crowd becomes silent without Luna having to speak with magically loud volume. “Some of you may be aware of rumours about Travis and I! Rumours stating that we could be in a romantic relationship! It is true!” The crowd quickly begins murmuring, which becomes louder and louder. Luna raises her hoof again until the crowd quietens. “In the few days we spent together, we became very close! Travis was there for me so that my routine was no longer lonely! I came to care for him, and him for me!”

I nod and speak up. “I wasn’t expecting to find romance when I arrived! I was just happy with friendship! I enjoyed spending my time with Luna just as friends! And then as she said, we came to care greatly for each other! We are two different species from different worlds! I couldn’t explain it, but I began to feel immense love for her! I tried to bottle it up and hold it back, but I couldn’t deny it!” I gently place a hand against Luna’s withers to find comfort. Fuck, that whole part I said was probably unnecessary. And really cheesy. Oh well, I’ve already said it now.

Luna supportively puts a wing around me and picks up where I left off. “And so, we entered a romantic relationship! I understand that it is sudden, and that only a few of you have met him! However, he is a very kind individual who only means well! I hope that you treat him fairly and that you bear no ill will towards him!”

“Thank you, Luna.” I whisper, before addressing the crowd again. “Some of you might think I have some sort of ulterior motive! That I might be seeking power! However, that is further from the truth! If anything, the idea of any power gained is daunting to me! It’s not something that I desire! I arrived here by accident! And I fell in love without meaning to! My only goals are to live here peacefully, be with Luna, love her, and receive her love in kind!”

Luna continues the speech. “Now, some of you may be wondering if this new relationship will affect you! The truth of the matter is, it will have no impact on your daily lives! Life will go on as usual! Maybe in the future we will progress this relationship further and Travis will become a prince! But even then, it will not change how you live your lives! This will only affect those few nobles who may have been interested in courting me!”

I decide to add just a little more. “To any nobles who may have been interested in Luna, I am sorry! I cannot change the way I feel and neither can Luna! I don’t mean any offence to you by being in this relationship and I still hope that we can get along!”

Luna gives me a soft nod of approval and a smile, before looking over the crowd. “Thank you for listening to us, but we must end the announcement here! If you still have any concerns about us, please see us during night court! I wish for you all to have a lovely day, farewell!” She gently pulls me to her side and waves at the crowd with a smile.

I wrap my arm around her to hold her to my side and wave too with a nervous smile. “I’d like to thank you as well for being a great crowd! Equestria has been amazing so far for the short amount of time I’ve been here! Have a good day, good bye!” We then make our way off the balcony and back inside. Shit. I hope I didn’t look like a complete wanker. I notice that I’m shaking. I give Luna a firm hug so that I can calm down. “I felt so tense… How was I, Luna? I feel like I did some unnecessary rambling…”

She hugs me back just as firmly and kisses my forehead. “You were fine, Travis. Perhaps you rambled a little, but it was all right. You did great for your first time.”

“Thanks…” I nuzzle her and then kiss her cheek. “I feel so drained. I was nervous the whole time… Could we do something low effort just to relax? Like watch a movie or something?”

Luna nuzzles me back and smiles. “Of course, we can watch a movie.” She lets go of me and turns to Midnight who was behind us the whole time. “You should return to your post now.”

Midnight salutes her. “Yes, Princess, your speech was great.” He then looks at me. “Good job out there, Sir Travis. It’ll get easier with time, and you’ll get better at it. Farewell.”

I smile and nod. “Thanks, see ya later, Midnight.” He nods back and leaves for our tower. I wrap an arm around Luna and she wraps her wing around me. “Let’s go watch a movie.” We then head off for the castle cinema.