It was early morning and the horizon was just starting to glow. It would be about another hour before the sun rose but, Shining Armor, Twilight and I were already awake. Twilight and her brother took me back to the castle in the town I passed earlier where I would stay the night and be sent to Canterlot before sunrise so that my departure wouldn't cause a disturbance to the town's residents. As of now, there were only a handful of ponies that knew of my presence in Equestria and until this "Princess Celestia" decides that it's safe to introduce me into Equestrian society, that's how it would remain.

Shining Armor and I were getting on the chariot that was waiting for us behind the castle. Despite Twilight's wishes to come with, she had to stay in Ponyville to help prevent the spread of rumors. An entire detachment of guards suddenly showing up and then leaving as quickly as they arrived would certainly be the talk of the town. Shining Armor was to speak on my behalf until a more permanent solution to the language barrier could be found. There was apparently another individual translating the conversation between Twilight and I. Said individual can't translate 24/7 for us but the last letter Twilight received suggested that Princess Celestia may have found a way to solve that issue and wanted to question me herself, much to Twilight's disappointment. She had a never-ending list of questions that she wanted to ask me but that would have to wait. I did agree to leave most of my belongings with her on the promise that she would keep them locked up and wouldn't touch them while I was gone.

Shining Armor hugged his little sister one last time before he left with the human to Canterlot. "Okay Twily, it's time for us to go. I know you're disappointed about not being able to come but I'm sure Princess Celestia will keep you updated on his progress," he said.

Twilight let out a sigh in response and said "It's okay. I have full faith that Princess Celestia is making the right decision. Who knows, maybe if she decides that he can be introduced to our society, he could come back here! Besides he doesn't seem that bad." Twilight said as the two siblings looked at the human who was waiting on the chariot. He was looking at the two pegasus guards that were hooked to the front end of the chariot with an uneasy look on his face. Both Twilight and Shining could tell that the gears were turning in his head and that he didn't quite like the idea of flying.

Twilight looked back to her brother and said "I know you will take good care of him Shining. I hope you have safe travels and don't forget to send me an invitation to the crystalling when Cadence gives birth!"

"Thanks, Twily. I promise you will be the first to know." Shining Armor said before getting on the chariot with Curtis. The two pegasus guards got a running start, jumped into the air and took off towards Canterlot. Curtis held onto the edge of the chariot as they took off to keep his balance. Shining Armor quietly chuckled to himself at the human's behavior.

The flight to Canterlot was short compared to the train ride for they arrived at the Canterlot castle shortly after sunrise. There were two Earth pony guards waiting for them and the two guards escorted them to the throne room where Princess Celestia was waiting. Shining bowed down to the princess when they approached the throne.

"Your Highness, I humbly present to you the human that escaped our dungeon. He claims to go by the name of Curtis and peacefully surrendered to my sister and I and has agreed to allow me to speak on his behalf until a solution to the language barrier is found." Shining said and rose to all four hooves.

Celestia returned the stallion's bow with a gentle nod of her head and replied "Thank you Shining Armor. I knew I could count on you and Twilight to come to a peaceful resolution to this difficult situation. As for the language issue, I believe I know a solution."

"You mentioned that in your last letter, what did you have in mind, your highness?" Shining asked.

"Well, not me, but I know of a certain draconequus that may be able to help. Discord, you can come out now." Celestia said and with a flash of light Discord appeared between Celestia and Shining Armor.

"Well well well, so this must be the human that I have heard so much about. I must say I am quite intrigued." The draconequus said as he floated around the human, who just followed him with an astonished look. Discord noticed the look on his face and then reminded himself why he was summoned in the first place.

"Oh yes, right. You can't quite understand what I'm saying, can you? Well, have no fear! One translation spell coming right up!" Discord said as he charged up the spell and then touched one finger on Curtis's forehead and cast the spell on the human, who fell to his knees once it hit him.

I shook my head to clear my blurry vision from a painful headache that came and left the instant whatever the hell that floating goat thing touched my forehead.

"What the hell man!?! That fuckin' hurt!" I yelled as I rubbed my head. Celestia and Shining armor were taken back by my outburst.

"Well, that's no way to speak to your hosts. You really should work on your manners." Discord replied with a smirk. The anger I had building up was gone the moment that thing said those words. Not because he told me to watch my manners, but that he said it in English.

"Wait, you could speak English this entire time? What was that zap for then?" I asked.

"That zap you felt was the spell I just cast on you. Thanks to me, you will be able to communicate easily with us now. You may think you are speaking and hearing your language, but I assure you it is all an illusion. You are actually speaking Equine and so are we, I just cast a little translation spell on you to make communication easier on all of us." the goat thing said as it floated over to me and put his arm that looked a lot like a chicken leg around my shoulder before floating back to Celestia's side. I just stood there, looking at him with complete disbelief.

"I'm not even going to try to understand how that works, but if it makes life easier then I'm all for it I guess," I said as I shrugged off any attempt to comprehend what he said. I was still a little shocked at the fact this world had actual "magic" but all things considered, my situation could be a lot worse than what it was so I decided to just roll with it.

"I'm happy to hear that human. I'm also very grateful that you decided to come here peacefully. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Princess Celestia and I rule the land of Equestria with my sister Princess Luna. I am afraid you will have to meet her later." Celestia said with a slight bow of her head.

I looked at Celestia for a second, silently questioning how her mane and tail were flowing even though there was no wind. I returned her bow with a nod of my own and replied "My name's Curtis. Nice to meet you, princess. I'm already acquainted with Shining Armor over there, so who is that?" I asked, pointing at floating goat thing.

"I am Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony." Discord said as he shook my hand. I couldn't help but chuckle at my situation. Less than a week ago I was sitting in a prison cell awaiting execution. Now I'm stuck in a world of magical horses, so it would only seem fitting that I would be shaking hands with the physical embodiment of everything that doesn't make sense.

"Spirit of chaos, huh? Sounds like fun." I replied. Celestia gave a satisfied smile after the introductions, happy that everything was going smoothly so far.

"I'm glad to finally have a proper introduction. Discord, I'm sure you have other things to attend to. Prince Shining Armor, I am very grateful for your help in this matter, and I am certain you are anxious to get back to Cadence with the foal so close to delivery. So if the two of you don't mind, I would like to speak with our new friend here alone please." Celestia said.

Discord disappeared in a flash of light and Shining bowed down again before he left and trotted out the doors to the hall. Once the two left, Celestia stood up from her throne and came up to me. She was much taller than all the other ponies I've seen and so far was the only one I didn't have to look down for in order to make eye contact. We were actually almost eye level with each other with her being half a head taller than me.

"Please, follow me. I wish to continue our conversation somewhere more comfortable."

"Sure, this is your home after all," I replied and followed the princess of the sun out the doors to the throne room. We made small talk along the way to Celestia's chambers which were in one of the castle towers. We were sitting on her balcony and I was busy admiring the view while Celestia poured some tea for the both of us.

"I must say, princess, I'm kinda jealous of your current living situation," I said as I took a seat at the small table.

Celestia smiled a little at the compliment and replied "Yes, being a Princess does have some perks, but it doesn't come without its challenges. Anyways, I wanted to ask you some questions."

"Ask away."

"Well...I would like to know how and why exactly you came to Equestria. We have a crystal mirror that acts as a portal between our world and yours. When my guards found you, you were bruised up pretty bad and you were also unconscious and had a bag containing equipment that we are not familiar with."

I nodded my head, already knowing that was gonna be the first question she asked. "Well your highness, I was actually hoping you would be able to help me out with that. You see, I don't remember anything before going through that portal. I was just sitting in my cell, minding my own business, and everything between that and waking up in that dungeon is blank."

"A cell? Is that what humans live in where you're from?" Celestia asked.

"Uh... no, not exactly. I was kinda in prison before I came here." I said as I nervously rubbed the back of my neck. Celestia couldn't help but frown from that, disappointed that the man sitting across from her probably did something that would deserve such a punishment.

"Something must have happened, for it doesn't explain how you ended up here. Oh well, there is a certain zebra I know that may be able to help with your lost memory, but we will deal with that later. What were all of those things that were inside that bag of yours?" Celestia asked.

"You have a point there, princess. As for the bag, that's another thing I can't explain. Inside it was nothing short of a miracle for me. There were weapons, ammo, food, there was even a gas mask, body armor, and the clothes I'm wearing now. I would show you them if I brought them with me, but I left all that stuff back with that other princess. Uh...Twilight I think her name was."

"Do you know why you would be sent through with those things?" she asked.

"I don't know exactly why, but I would guess it means that whoever sent me through plans on me staying here for a while," I answered.

Celestia nodded her head in thought. "Very well, I hope we will find answers in the near future. As for now, how about you tell me a little about yourself?" she asked.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, aside from the...misunderstanding we had when you first woke up, you seem to be handling the whole 'waking up in a new world' deal pretty well." Celestia pointed out.

I smiled a little and thought about how best to answer. "Well let's see, in less than two days I escaped a dungeon, hijacked a train and oh- sorry for that by the way. I also killed a dragon that wanted to eat me and a little filly for dinner, and now I'm sitting in a castle, meeting royalty and talking to the ruler of this beautiful land full of magic and talking, colorful miniature horses. All things considered, it could be a lot worse. And trust me when I say I have been in much worse situations than this." I said as I downed the cup of tea in one gulp and set it back down.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly do you mean by 'worse situations'?" Celestia asked, visibly concerned by my response.

"Well... I mean, I didn't pick up the skills needed to escape a dungeon and slay a dragon overnight. I joined my country's military so I could fight in the war that was going on. However, I was never a fan of taking orders so I got out as soon as I could. It wasn't all a waste of time, though. My performance in combat got the notice of a private military group and they hired me on. The missions we did were off the books, nothing that the government wanted to have any official ties too. That way if the mission ever went south they could easily bury it like it never happened." I said, making sure to tell the princess just enough information to make it seem like I'm being transparent while leaving out certain details she didn't need to know.

"Oh... I see. Does the human race wage war often?" Celestia asked with a sad and concerned look.

"More often than not, I'm afraid."

"Well, I am truly sorry to hear that. We may have our problems here, but war is, fortunately, a rare occurrence here." Celestia said. "Oh, one last thing, I don't believe you ever told me how you earned yourself a prison cell." Celestia pointed out.

'Fuck!' I thought to myself, hoping she would have dropped it. Oh well, it was my fault for letting it slip anyways.

"You're right, princess, I didn't. Just to clear it up right now, it wasn't for anything that I did. I was framed, actually. Remember when I told you that the private military group I worked for did mostly off the record stuff? Well, one day I was on a mission, shit hit the fan and people died that didn't need too. It wasn't my fault, but since I was the only one alive from my group they pinned the bodies on me, charged me for war crimes and next thing I knew I was sitting in a federal prison on death row." I said, hoping to have some dramatic effect to help me out.

It seemed to work because Celestia was staring into my eyes with a look of fear and sorrow on her face. "Oh my... I am truly sorry to hear that. It must have been hard dealing with all of that." Celestia said. It certainly wasn't the response she was expecting.

"I appreciate you telling me this, Curtis. It shows that you have trust in me, and I will certainly return that trust. Defending young Applebloom from that dragon then peacefully surrendering to Twilight and Shining Armor is more than enough to convince me that you are good at heart, despite your past. I will allow you to live among my subjects as long as you obey our laws and customs, and should the opportunity arise that you may go back to your world, I will be certain to let you know as soon as I am able." Celestia said with a smile.

"I appreciate that princess, I don't really like the idea of being tied to a chair deep underground for the rest of my life," I said with a wink at the end, reminding Celestia of how we first met.

Celestia couldn't help but giggle as she thought about it, realizing that they didn't really give a good first impression. She stood up from her cushion she was sitting on, satisfied with what she got from our conversation and invited me to walk with her as she showed me around the castle. We continued to make conversation, most of it being Celestia telling me about Equestria's laws, culture, history, etc. We walked around for little over an hour before Celestia had to take care of other royal duties.

"It's been nice talking with you Curtis, but I am afraid there are other matters I must attend to. See if you can find Prince Shining Armor, I already sent word that you are to go with him to the Crystal Empire. I am certain Princess Cadence will be anxious to meet you, she has been filled with grief ever since you escaped, believing that this was all her fault. I hope you will be able to cheer her up." Celestia said as we parted ways.

Now familiar with the layout of the castle, I decided to go to the castle guard's training area to see if Shining Armor left yet. I never really got a chance to apologize to the stallion for knocking him out. I could see some guards exercising in a group with what I guessed was their equivalent of a sergeant leading them. Most of the guards only stared for a few moments before carrying on with their business since most already saw me casually walking around with the princess.

I eventually found Shining Armor, who was setting up the chariot to go back to the Crystal Empire.

"Hey Shining!" I called out and waved to the prince.

"Oh, hey Curtis, everything went well with the princess I'm guessing?" Shining asked.

"Yeah, she gave me the all clear to live amongst her subjects as long as I behave. Where are you off to?"

"I'm heading back to the Crystal Empire. My wife Cadence is expecting any day now and she would NEVER forgive me if I miss the birth of my own foal. I also got word that you are to come back with me, I guess I just can't get away from you, huh?" Shining joked. There was a moment of awkward silence between us before Shining Armor spoke up. "Hey, sorry for the rude introduction I gave you yesterday. I was worried that you would try to hurt the others and I guess I kinda overreacted." Shining said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Bah, think nothing of it. You're a husband and soon-to-be father, that's punishment enough as far as I'm concerned. Besides, if I remember correctly I did kinda knock you out shortly after that, sorry for that by the way."

Shining laughed a bit at the human's jest. "Well, I guess that makes us even. Hey, Princess Celestia says you're okay to live here and that is more than enough to convince me you're okay. I'm sure Cadence would love to meet with you now that we have this whole misunderstanding cleared up." Shining said.

"Alright, why the hell not?" I asked as I got on the chariot with the prince and we left for the Crystal Empire.

The flight over took little more than an hour, and the chill of the northern climate was obvious. It didn't affect Shining Armor or the guards much, but since I only had the one layer of clothes on, I couldn't help but shiver from the cold, even after we entered the empire's weather shield. We came to a stop underneath the castle as we got off the chariot and the guards took off. Shining looked over to me and couldn't help but laugh.

"Not used to the cold I see." Shining stated, amused by the man's shaking.

"Well I don't exactly have all the body hair you ponies have now do I? Bloody hell I'm so cold I'm probably a woman by now." I said as I just started to get feeling back in my fingers.

Shining laughed at the joke, assuming a "woman" was the human equivalent of a mare. We started to walk towards the castle entrance but one of the servants burst through the door, breathing heavily as if she just ran a marathon.

"Your Highness!!! It's Princess Cadence, she's gone into labor!" the servant managed to say despite being out of breath.

Needless to say, the news hit Shining Armor like a freight train, and for a moment he just stood there processing the information. I noticed the trance he was in and attempted to snap him back to reality.

"Hello, Shining? Your wife is giving birth! You should probably get a move on." I suggested and waved a hand in front of the prince's face. The prince snapped back to reality and realized the gravity of the situation.

"Oh my gosh! CADENCE!!! THE BABY!!! HOLD ON HONEY, I'M COMING!" Shining yelled as he took off as fast as he could, determined not to miss this crucial moment in his life. He ran past the servant, whose eyes were fixed on me.

I started to chase after the prince and as I passed the servant who was looking at me with a complete 'W.T.F.' look on her face, I shrugged my shoulders and said "Parents can be so dramatic sometimes am I right?" and ran after Shining Armor. Since I only had half the amount of legs Shining Armor did, I couldn't keep up with him and nearly got lost. Fortunately, all I had to do was listen to the sounds of Princess Cadence giving birth to know which way to go, the castle staff giving me looks and the occasional scream when I ran past them.

I eventually found the royal couple's bedroom where the princess was giving birth. The room looked like the typical scene one would see at any other time a woman was giving birth. The woman, or mare in this case, lying on her back with her legs held up while breathing rapidly and screaming in pain every few seconds. The loving husband was next to her, dabbing her forehead with a wet cloth and holding her hoof. Hospital staff frantically running around while the doctor barked orders at them. All of this excitement and chaos just because a certain prince didn't pull out.

"You're doing great honey, keep it up you're almost do-aaaggh" Shining was cheering on his wife Cadence, who apparently wasn't in the mood for it for she suddenly had the prince's throat in a tight grip with her magic.

"Shining, I love you, but once this is all over I swear I will kill you!!!" Cadence threatened.

"Wha- why!?!" the prince managed to get out. The fear and confusion now evident in his face.

"BECAUSE YOU DID THIS TO ME!!!" Cadence snapped before another contraction made her let go of her husband, who collapsed to the floor gasping for air.

'I should probably introduce myself later.' I reasoned before slowly backing out of the room, closing the doors behind me. I turned around to start wandering around the castle but before I left a pegasus guard with an orange coat and blue mane approached me.

"Uh...excuse me? You must be Curtis, we have received word that you will be living in the castle for the time being and so we have prepared a guest room for you during your stay. I was sent to escort you to your room and show you around the castle if you desire." the pegasus guard said.

"Sure thing. I should probably find something to do anyway since the Prince is a little occupied at the moment." I said right as Cadence yelled in pain. Both the guard and I looked at the closed doors and cringed a little. I turned back to the guard and said "Alright, lead the way uh...I didn't get your name."

"Oh, my name is Flash Sentry. Follow me."

Author's Note

Sorry I took so long getting this published, I've been having trouble finding the right motivation to continue writing this story, but I eventually did it, and now I hope I will be able to crank out chapters faster now. I wanted to get this up before Christmas was over but I'm an hour late. Anyways, Merry Christmas ya filthy animals, and thanks for taking the time to read my story!!!