By some miracle I manage to find the garden that I walked through with Luna last night. It’s bright outside, but thankfully not oppressively so, I guess that’s the way Celestia manages the sun. I make my way over to a large tree near the fountain and sit down in the shade provided by its foliage. I watch and listen to the fountain from my shady spot. Some time to just relax would be great, not to mention needed due to my frustration with Discord.

I close my eyes and sit back against the trunk of the tree. I listen to the constant trickle of the fountain, to the leaves in a soft breeze, and the sounds of various birds and small animals. I try my best to calm down and meditate in the peaceful garden. Slowly my mood softens and my tension gradually fades, until I find myself feeling like I’m about to cry. What over? Being in a foreign land that I know nothing about? Maybe, but I really like it here so far. Perhaps I’m just tired? It’s a possibility due to my late night last night.

Most likely though, it’s about Discord. I haven’t had to deal with dickheads like him since high school. I was so sick of dealing with shit from people like him back home. I’ve never been good with being laughed at and taken advantage of. Also, I had never felt so fearful in my life as when he threatened me, even if it was just some sick joke. Feeling vulnerable at school was one thing, but being afraid for my life is another. Damn, now I’m crying. Why did I bother thinking about this in the first place?

I hear hoofsteps approaching, so I do my best to wipe my eyes and dry my face. I don’t want to be seen like this. I don’t want to look vulnerable. I suppose that’s something I’ve lost; the ability to keep a strong facade when I’m out and about. The hoofsteps sound closer now and I’m still nowhere near presentable, so I simply cross my arms and hide my face behind them. The hoofsteps stop in front of me and then I hear what must be whoever it is lay down in front of me.

“Travis?” It’s Celestia by the tone of her voice. I can’t bring myself to look up at her. “Did something happen?”

I sniffle a bit and remain still, just wanting to be ignored. Crying in front of others really isn’t my thing, it just makes me feel worse. I don’t want to talk to her like this. Maybe she’ll leave and give me some space.

“You can talk to me if you need to.” I guess she probably won’t leave. “There is no need to be ashamed of crying, it’s perfectly natural.” I feel her hoof gently rub my shoulder. “Now, did something happen, Travis?”

I very slowly look up at her and nod, trying to wipe my eyes some more. There’s probably no use in ignoring her, she could probably be here for a long time if she happens to have concluded day court. Something about her gives off a sense of being determined to stay until she hears my problem.

She makes a handkerchief appear and softly dries my eyes as she uses it with her magic. “What happened?”

I try to speak, but only manage to stutter one name. The name of my frustration, anger, and bringer of my sense of vulnerability. “D-Discord…”

Celestia shakes her head in what could possibly be disappointment and rubs my shoulder again. “What did Discord do?”

I do my best to tell her, although I struggle. It’s so hard due to the combination of my social awkwardness and looking so weak. I look down in nervousness. “H-He said it w-was a j-joke, but… But…”

Celestia tenderly places her hoof under my chin to lift my head back up. “But?”

I tremble softly. “He th-threatened me when I t-tried to stand up for L-Luna…” I then cry a bit more.

This causes Celestia to frown for a moment and then she gently dabs at my face with the handkerchief. “That was very wrong of Discord. I’ll give him a stern talking to. I’m sorry that you had to experience that.”

I nod a bit. “I f-felt so afraid… For m-my life… I’ve never felt l-like that b-before…”

Celestia then gives me a warm hug. “I’ll make sure that this never happens again. You shouldn’t have ever had to go through that.”

I hug her back, calming down now. I seem to be getting pretty liberal with giving hugs lately, but I suppose that I have a good enough excuse for it now. “Thanks.”

She smiles softly and releases me from her embrace. “You’re welcome, Travis. Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?”

I let go as well and lean back against the tree. “I don’t know, just anything other than Discord. For starters, why did you come out here in the first place? And why were you so determined to talk to me?”

“I regularly walk around the garden on my breaks from day court or other royal duties.” Celestia magically folds the handkerchief and sets it down on my lap. “As for me trying to talk to you, you looked like you needed somepony to talk to.”

“But I wanted to have some space when I dealt with my thoughts, and time to recompose myself. I was hardly presentable when you came by. Was it really that simple to you though? Just because you thought I needed somebody to talk to?”

Celestia takes her time before responding. “I wanted to help you regardless, but you reminded me of Luna before she became Nightmare Moon. She tried to deal with her issues by herself, and I decided to leave her be. Instead I should have spoken to her. The point here is that I’ve learnt that I must try talking to somepony who needs to talk, even if they don’t realise it themselves.”

I slowly nod and think over her wise words. “I see, that makes sense, and it sounds pretty wise. I suppose wisdom comes with ruling a kingdom for over a thousand years?”

My question elicits a faint giggle from Celestia. “Not necessarily. One could rule or live for eternity and not become any wiser. One must also have an open mind and an interest in learning new things.”

I laugh a bit as well. “That’s true, although you’ll keep sounding wise to me. I might have to take notes of what you say and put them in a book of quotes.”

Celestia laughs a little louder, before coming back to the discussion of the day. “So, you were spending more time with Luna today?”

I nod and smile. “Yeah, we seem to get along pretty well, and that’s a lot coming from me. I’m not exactly a very social person.”

Celestia smiles back. “That’s good to hear, Travis. Just out of curiosity, why did you decide to spend more time Luna? After all, you said that you aren’t very social, and yesterday was only spent with her to learn your way around the castle.”

“Well, I still feel pretty lost around the castle without her. Also, Luna and I came to an agreement that I’d be her equerry from now on.”

Celestia raises an eyebrow at that. “Really?”

“Yeah, that seems to be the case. Is this unusual for her?”

Celestia smiles a bit more. “It sure is, as she usually spends her days alone, but it’s reassuring to hear that she’s had a change of heart. Luna’s needed some company for a long time now, and I’m not always around to be with her on a reliable basis.” Celestia’s expression then becomes serious and she looks into my eyes. “Do you understand the significance of your company to her?”

I nod and look back into her eyes. “Yeah, she told me about her past as Nightmare Moon and that having a friend to spend time with will help prevent her from becoming Nightmare Moon again. She said that the wellbeing of Equestria could possibly rely upon my friendship with her.”

Celestia’s gaze softens and her smile returns. “It really makes me happy to hear that, and before you mentioned that you stood up for Luna? Sorry to bring this subject up again, it just means so much to me that you would have done that.”

I nervously smile back. “It’s fine, and yeah, I stood up to Discord when I saw Luna becoming agitated by Discord’s behaviour towards her.” I seem to stare into nothing as I remember how she was there when I was so terrified to begin with. “When Discord first showed up, I was afraid because it was before I knew that he had been reformed. Luna was so quick to be by my side to comfort me, and to tell Discord off for scaring me like that.”

Celestia’s smile seems to turn slightly amused. “I see… You two must have become pretty close friends already.”

I scratch the back of my head. “Yeah, I guess she’d be considered my best friend in Equestria. Although it’s not more than that, not that I really need to say it. Discord seemed to think Luna and I were… Uh… Together… That’s not the case though.” I look away shyly. It’s immature, but talking about that type of stuff just makes me so embarrassed, even though I’m never romantically involved with anyone.

Celestia appears to stifle a giggle. “He’s known for taking things too far, or out of context. However, I could understand why he could think that, due to Luna’s change of heart on having an equerry. It really is unlike her. It’s possible that some part of her likes you in that way.”

I look away more and laugh nervously. “I don’t know though, isn’t that a bit drastic? We just met like, two nights ago. Also, she’s a pony princess, and I’m a human.”

Celestia doesn’t hold back anymore and giggles out loud. “You’re blushing, Travis. And yes, it’s drastic, but not out of the question. She has never had a romantic interest before. You may or may not know though, that getting your first potential first crush could lead to the desire of a relationship. If she’s never felt this way before, she may not notice just how drastic it is to you.”

I cover my face in embarrassment as I try to cover my blush and I reply from behind my hands. “But we’re both different species. It couldn’t possibly be right… right?”

Celestia laughs a little more, before toning it down. “We don’t judge between species here in Equestria. You are both living, feeling, thinking beings. If something were to happen between you two, that’d be your choice. Perhaps the more traditional and conservative ponies and equestrian citizens would find issue with it. However, the law and I don’t see anything wrong with it at all.”

I groan and shake my head. This is just too embarrassing… And too ridiculous at that. “Please stop, I don’t want to be thinking about that…”

Celestia is smirking when I look back up at her. “All right, I’m sorry if it disturbed you, and hope that I didn’t embarrass you too much. I just thought that I should let you know how I see the situation. You may want to keep it in mind.”

I try to recompose myself and hope that my blush is dissipating. “Okay… Uh, thanks… I guess… At least this embarrassing conversation has improved my mood somehow.”

Celestia’s smirk becomes a warm smile. “You’re welcome. Is there anything else you need to discuss?”

“I don’t think –” I then remember my situation with only having one set of clothes. “– actually, I need more clothes. Humans wear clothes regularly, every day in fact. It’s generally unacceptable to go out nude in public. I only have what I’m wearing now, so I’ll need more clothes to wear when I’m getting dirty clothes cleaned.”

“Hmmm –” Celestia gently taps her chin. “– there’s a very skilled tailor that lives in Ponyville that could make some clothing for you. Whilst she has only made dresses and suits for ponies, I’m sure that she’d be up to the challenge of tailoring the clothing of a species largely unknown to Equestria.”

I smile and relax, knowing that I might not have to spend a day nude, or too much time wearing dirty clothes. “That’s awesome, who is she and when can she come by?”

“Her name is Rarity and she’s one of Twilight’s friends. She should be able to come at the same time as Twilight if I send a letter soon enough. Would that be all right?”

I nod. “Yeah, that sounds good, thanks. I must admit though, it feels weird to have a princess trying to organise and set things up for me.”

Celestia laughs good naturedly. “It’s not every day that a sapient being arrives in Equestria from another planet, universe, or plane of existence. Think nothing of it, you’re my guest here, and a host should always see to the needs of their guest.”

I smile and nod my thanks. “That’s going in the quote book.” I then laugh as well.

Celestia blushes lightly in discomfiture and laughs with me. “Oh shush, you’ll make me feel my age.”

I then stupidly inquire. “Which is?” This earns me a bit of a swat from one of Celestia’s wings, not hard, but enough to put me in my place.

“Don’t you know to never ask a mare about her age?” Celestia appears to be somewhat flustered, but also slightly bemused.

I laugh a little and shake my head. “Sorry, I should know. I had a momentary lapse in judgement.”

Celestia giggles to regain her poise, giving me another playful swat from her wing. “Don’t you forget it.”

“I won’t.” I smile a bit. “You know, for princesses, you and Luna are pretty chilled and aren’t uptight at all.”

“Thank you, there’s no reason to be uptight or too formal when we aren’t performing royal duties. And to be honest, sometimes Luna and I just want to get away from being treated as royalty. I wouldn’t be surprised if your casual behaviour is a contributing reason to Luna potentially getting a crush on you.”

Oh no, not back to this subject again. I shake my head. “All right, all right, I’m sure that I’ve heard enough about the whole Luna thing by now.” That reminds me, I should probably go back to the library. “It’s been nice talking to you, Celestia, although I think I had better return to the library.”

Celestia seems to look fairly amused with my response. “Of course, Travis, it was lovely chatting with you too. I won’t keep you waiting.” She then gets up and walks deeper into the garden.

I shake my head some more and then get up as well, heading back inside. I can’t believe that Celestia was talking about Luna and I for some strange reason getting together, or at least Luna having a crush. It’s such a strange idea. She was so embarrassing.

I manage to make my way back to the library and see Luna reading through a book. I walk over to her and sit down on a chair beside her. “I’m feeling better now.”

She looks at me and softly smiles. “I am relieved to hear so. If you ever need to talk about it, I will be here for you.”

I blush a bit as I think of what Celestia told me. “Yeah, thanks… I’ll keep that in mind.”

It seems that Luna takes notice of my blushing and hesitant tone. “Why the blushing and tentative voice?”

I rub the back of my neck and look around nervously, blushing more. “Uh, it’s nothing… Just something that I spoke to Celestia about…”

She gives me a look of curiosity. “And what did you speak to my dear sister about?”

I shake my head and keep my gaze away from Luna. “Just something embarrassing, that’s all… I didn’t even really discuss it with her… She just told me something and I told her that I didn’t want to talk about it…”

I feel Luna’s cool magic around me as she gently turns my head to face her. “What was this thing? You cannot say this much and not tell me what it is about.”

I blush intensely as I have no choice but to tell her. “It’s silly really… But I told Celestia about what happened with Discord, and then about how I’m your equerry. That’s when she said that… Um… You might, uh… Have a crush on me…”

Luna blushes heavily too and releases me from her magical grip. “I see… I will have to have a talk with her sometime…”

I let out a sigh of relief at her mild reaction, but now that she knows about what Celestia told me I may as well ask. “Um… So, is she correct in her guess?” Did I really just ask that? I rub my face as I keep blushing. Dumb me. Why would I ask that?

She is quiet, before opening her mouth, and closing it, no words coming out for some time. “We… We need to… I need to talk to Celestia.” Luna then rushes out from the library.

Well shit, judging from that reaction, it’s highly likely that Celestia was right. This is ridiculous. Luna’s a pony. I’m a human. She’s a princess. I’m just some nobody. Her crush must be a phase or something, most crushes are. There’s just no way something like that could work.

I don’t want to think about this anymore, so I look down at the book that Luna was reading. I skim through the pages and notice that it is about historical events between Luna’s banishment and return. There is some cool stuff about how after Luna was banished a military group known as the Earth, Unicorn, Pegasus Guard - or E.U.P. Guard for short - was created to protect Celestia and keep the peace.

Apparently after that, a select few pegasi from the pegasus division of the E.U.P. Guard were chosen to form a group to perform at a celebration. It marked the first celestial year of peace. They were then named the Wonderbolts by the general of the Pegasus division of the E.U.P. Guard called General Firefly.

I continue to read through the book, before putting it down for a break. I go to get some lunch at the dining hall, then I go back to the library. I spend the rest of the day reading about Equestrian history. I manage to read about Discord, as well as some place called the Crystal Empire and an evil king called Sombra. It is getting dark when I finally read about more current history such as the second defeats of Discord and Sombra, as well as Discord’s reformation. I finally finish reading about the most recent event of the very quick rise and fall of a magic stealing centaur named Tirek.

I look around to see just how dark it is outside and I decide that I should get myself some dinner. Heading towards the dining hall, my thoughts return to the matter of Luna. I haven’t seen her since she ran off to talk to Celestia. It was probably a terrible idea to ask her whether Celestia was right about her or not. Oh well, it’s already happened and there’s nothing I can do to reverse it. Then again she does have night court, so it occurs to me that she’s probably there at the moment.

Arriving at the dining hall, I make an order for fish and chips with a drink of hard cider. Luckily it seems that the kitchen must have been supplied with fish due to what I assume was Celestia’s order. Also, I strangely had to specify that they should use potato rather than hay for chips. I never thought that chips could even be made from hay.

As I’m waiting for my dinner, the dining hall double doors open, revealing Luna. She makes her way to the table and orders a vegetarian pasta. I then decide to break the silence. “Um, sorry about earlier today… I probably shouldn’t have asked that question…”

Luna waves her hoof. “No, it was within your right to ask such a question after such a talk with Celestia.”

I nod slowly. “So, did you get to talk to Celestia today?” I hope that this isn’t another bad question.

Now it’s Luna’s turn to nod as she replies. “I did indeed get to speak with her. We had a rather lengthy discussion on the matter.”

That’s good to hear, at least she was able to have a talk about it. “Are you feeling better now after talking?”

Luna nods softly again. “Yes, I am. However, I must apologise for leaving you alone so suddenly.”

I give her a reassuring smile. “It’s fine, I can totally understand why you would have rushed off. I did kind of put you on the spot there.” I’m not going to bother asking for her answer to the question that caused this. I probably don’t want to hear it anyway; it’ll make things awkward if she answers yes.

Luna blushes a bit and looks down at the table. “I do however, have my answer to that question that I ran from earlier today.” Oh no, she’s gonna tell me anyway. I brace myself to hear what she has to say. “My answer is yes, Travis; I do indeed seem to have formed a crush on you.”

Yeah, I really didn’t want to hear that. I close my eyes and can’t help but let out a sigh. Things are going to be so weird now. So much for just being casual friends. Even if I told her that I’m really not interested in her that way, the knowledge is still there that she thinks of me that way.

“You are not pleased with my answer?” I hear her tone become weak, her voice also seems to tremble slightly.

I open my eyes and look back at Luna, her expression becoming upset. I might not have an attraction or romantic interest in her, but I don’t want to see her upset. “Luna… We’ve known each other only for two days. We’re both different species. And while I’m sure that it’s not a problem in Equestria, it’s not acceptable on Earth. I’m happy to be a close friend, heck, your best friend, but I don’t think that I could correlate with your crush on me.”

Luna looks into my eyes. “Do you truly feel that way? Celestia believes that some part of you cares more deeply for me than what a friend normally would.”

Oh man, is she serious? Now apparently Celestia thinks I could harbour feelings for Luna? Is that what Celestia’s amused look was about when she finished our conversation before? I sigh again. “Look, perhaps I do care a lot about you, but as a close friend. You’re the first pony I came into contact with when I arrived in Equestria. You’re also the pony that I spent my first day with here. And you were there for me when Discord scared me.” I blush a bit at that thought.

Luna’s mood appears to improve as I speak. “Does that mean there is a possibility that you may change your mind on remaining just friends?”

I put my hands over my face and groan. “I don’t know… The idea is still extremely weird to me due to the species difference. Did Celestia say anything about this being way too rushed, and perhaps drastic? As I said, we’ve only known each other for about two days.”

Luna seems to look a bit let down again. Trying to balance this discussion so that she doesn’t get the wrong idea, or get upset is seeming impossible. “She said that it is natural for crushes to develop rather quickly. She also told me that quite a few couples in Equestria form from either the first meeting, or first few days.”

You’ve got to be kidding me, if she’s telling the truth - which she most likely is- then the ponies here must have almost fairy-tale-like relationships. “Back on Earth, getting into a relationship with somebody so soon after meeting them is very rare. It is generally seen as rushed and not serious; possibly done out of desperation for a relationship than true love. Occasionally it works out, but not often.”

Luna then gives me a hopeful look. “Would you like to see if it will work?”

I shake my head firmly. “No. As much as I would like a relationship in general, with anybody really, this is too soon, and strange. How about we do it the other way around? We try to just be friends for now and if this crush isn’t a passing phase you could try talking to me about it again later.”

Luna nods slowly, seemingly disappointed, but luckily not too upset. “I suppose I can accept that. It is a reasonable answer. I do not know why I feel this way and understand that it must be very abrupt to you.”

I smile, relieved that we’ve finally come to some level of understanding. “Thanks, I appreciate that you’re willing to at least try to put your crush aside for now. I’m happy to have you as a close or best friend at the moment. So, how was night court?”

Luna’s expression deflates a little. “It was largely uneventful and boring. I read through and responded to petitions that were unresolved in day court. It would have been better with you there. What about you? Did you read any of the books after I left you alone?”

I nod happily. “Yep, I read about all the various threats that Equestria faced after your banishment and return. It was so interesting and exciting. I think that I’m fairly up to date now. The last thing I read about was the magic stealing centaur called Tirek.”

“I see, so if you have read about the key points of Equestrian history today, what do you plan to do tomorrow?” Luna softly smiles as she asks.

“Hmmm, I’m not sure, I just hope that Twilight will be able to visit tomorrow. Which reminds me that some tailor named Rarity is going to come with her. That way, I can have some more clothes made for myself.” I chuckle a bit. “It would suck to have to wear dirty clothes for too long. Also, I don’t think I could bring myself to spend a day nude whilst my clothes are being washed. It’s a human thing.”

Luna brings a hoof to her chin. “Very well. Shall I think of something for us to do tomorrow?”

I smile and nod. “Yeah, that sounds great. I’m sure that you could do a better job than me with finding something to do, since you know this castle better than me.”

“Would it be acceptable for me to visit your dreams tonight to tell you of any plans that I may make for tomorrow? I remember you saying that you are interested in lucid dreaming and the dreamscape.”

That would be so epic, I smile wide at the idea of it. “That sounds awesome!”

Luna smiles too. “I am glad to hear that.” The doors to the dining hall then open.

A unicorn stallion walks in, pushing a trolley that is carrying a tray with a dome lid, cutlery, and a glass of what must be hard cider. He places the tray, cutlery and cider on the table in front of me. Then he lifts the lid to reveal a well cooked fish, and chips to accompany it. It smells great. “Fish and potato chips with a glass of hard cider. Is this to your liking, sir?”

I nod hungrily, my mouth watering at the sight and smell of my dinner. “It is, thanks.”

He then turns to Luna. “Your pasta will arrive shortly, Your Majesty.” The waiter then leaves the hall.

I look up at Luna. “Should I wait for you to get your pasta before I start eating? I vaguely remember something about it being polite to wait for everyone at the table to have their meals before starting.”

She waves her hoof at me. “You can start now if you would like, I will not mind. However, you may also wait if you are more comfortable with that.”

I think for a moment and decide to place the lid back on the tray, simply taking a sip from my glass of hard cider. It’s pretty good. Sweet, but not too sweet, just the way I like it. It then occurs to me when I look at my covered tray that the cooks of vegetarian morals managed to prepare fish for me. “Hmmm, I was wondering, how do the cooks here know how to cook fish? I would expect them to only be able to make vegetarian dishes.”

“Oh, that is fairly easy to explain. Our chefs are trained to prepare both vegetarian and meat meals for any potential carnivore or omnivore visitors. This is especially important when it comes to diplomatic visits from other sapient species outside of Equestria. However, the meat is generally restricted to fish.”

“Fair enough, that makes sense.” It isn’t long before Luna’s pasta is brought in and presented by the same waiter.

The waiter looks at Luna. “Is this pasta acceptable, Princess?”

She gives him a polite smile. “Yes, thank you.” The waiter then leaves once again, and we both eat our dinners peacefully in silence. The fish is amazing, even though I normally think of fish as average tasting. I’ve really missed eating meat.

After dinner, we head off to our respective rooms and stop in between them. I smile at Luna and give her an awkward hug, hoping she doesn’t take it the wrong way. “Good night, Luna.”

She hugs me back with both her forelegs and wings. “Good night, Travis, we shall meet in your dreams tonight.”

I nod a bit. “Yeah, see you there.” We then let go of each other and go to our rooms.

When I enter my room, I turn on the light. It seems that it was cleaned while I was out. I then turn on the bedside lamp, flick off the room light, then remove my shoes, pants, and shirt, before getting into bed. It still feels just as comfy as yesterday. I idly check my phone, and yep, as expected the battery is now dead. It probably died a while ago. I put it down on the bedside table. I finally switch the lamp off and close my eyes, allowing myself to be taken by sleep.

Author's Note

So, Chapter Seven is finally out. I'm just leaving an author's note on this chapter (It most likely won't become common) since I'd like you to ask you, my readers a question. Do you think that the pacing and time is going by too slow? Should I skip by more time in my chapters? Or is it fine the way it is?

Also, now that I've written an author's note, I should thank you for reading through so far. Thanks!