Chapters Xane groaned. He kept his eyes closed as he counted his aches and pains. His body lay partially on its side with his arms out in front of him. There was something pressing against his lower back, probably a tree. Luckily nothing seemed to be badly hurt though he did wonder at exactly what just happened.
Opening his eyes showed him that the ground in front of him was disturbed from his landing, and that it was level. The later was odd since he had been hiking one of the mountain trails in the Olympic National Park. Gently lifting his head up he looked around. The trees were deciduous. He wasn't where he used to be.
Shifting his arms he carefully moved himself into a sitting position. Xane leaned back against the tree. He brushed the dirt from his side and pulled his legs in towards him. Taking off the small pack on his back he checked the water bladder inside and saw that it was still intact. Reaching up he pulled the tie out of his hair, letting it out of its ponytail. Using his fingers Xane then brushed the dirt and other detritus out of the hair before pulling it back into the ponytail and tying it.
Checking the sky the trees obscured the position of the sun, but it was either late in the day or early in the day. Checking his watch said that it was 1:15 pm. He wondered if something happened to his watch since the light seemed wrong for that time. Xane decided that he should hike and try to find someone or someplace. It seemed unlikely that any search party would find him as they would start with where he used to be, and he could be relatively certain that anyone in his current area was looking for him.
Xane stood up and stretched out to ensure his body was in good shape from whatever happened. Not knowing what else to do he spun around quickly and walked off in the direction he faced when he stopped.
He put on of his earbuds back in and turned his music player on. He lost himself to the walk as he took in the difference of the forest he found himself in. The sky started to get noticebly darker when he stumbled across what could only be a game trail.
Picking up a stick he broke it at a spot where a branch had sprouted so each end was different. He then tossed the stick into the air while spinning it. Stepping back he let it land and checked which direction it seemed to point towards.
Xane then stepped onto the trail and faced towards his right before beginning his walk once more. He pulled the tube from the shoulder strap for his pack, took the cover off the end, flipped a valve and drank some water from it. He reversed the process before replacing the tube on the strap.
He walked unto the sky grew dark enough that he started having problems seeing the trail he was following. Deciding that it would be best to get some sleep until it was bright enough to hike again, Xane looked around to find either enough stuff to build a shelter or an easily climbable tree.
He didn't find much in the way of materials but his did find a good tree. He made his way up the branches until he found a few positioned so he could sit down on a junction with his back to the trunk and lean against another one.
Looping his arms around the higher branch he laid a hand on his shoulder and put head on top of it. He lay there for some time, listening to the forest trying to place some of the noises as the sounds of the night lulled him to sleep.
Xane was running through a forest. It was dark but he could easily see the area around him. The trees seemed to have been twisted into monstrous shapes.
A loud cracking sound came from behind him as whatever was chasing him broke a tree. As it crashed to the ground he could hear it's claws scrape the ground as it ran.
He made a sharp turn hoping to gain some distance when the tree he turned around at was shredded by the beasts claw. Xane is knocked down by a large chunk of the destroyed tree. He shifts it off of him in time to see the monster move to tower over him.
As the monster seemed poised to strike a killing blow a large flash of light drew its attention. A blast struck the beast sending it flying away from Xane.
“Art thou alright?” said a horse. A horse with wings and a horn.
Xane was dreaming, he could see that clearly. The horse was waiting for a reply from him.
“Yeah, I seem to be uninjured. Thanks for saving me.” He said as he stood up, being roughly equal in height with the dark blue horse.
The horse looked him over, her large eyes were just below his but her horn and oddly flowing mane gave the impression of her being taller than him.
“That is good. You are a human if my information is correct.” She said, a tentative touch to her words.
“Yes. I take it that is a surprise to you? My name is Xane.” He stated.
“Princess Luna, Diarch of Equestria, Mistress of Dreams. Yes tis a surprise. Twilight spoke of creatures similar to you from when she visited another world, but you aren't exactly as she described.” Luna remarked.
“Equestria? Another world... I wonder if that is what happened.” He said.
“Tis likely. I hast figured out where thou art. I shalt show thou what direction thine should head to reach the nearest town.” She replied as she shifted the dreamscape to aid in her guidance.
Xane memorized the directions as they were shown to him. He also noted how the Princess used her horn to channel magic as she changed things.
“So I guess there aren't many humans in Equestria?” He asked.
“Thou art the only one. My sister and I will investigate how thou came to be here. There didn't happen to be a large portal where thine arrived?” Luna replied.
Xane hung his head, which told Luna all she needed to know. Walking next to him she nuzzled him lightly to comfort him. He leaned into her nuzzling and sighed.
“Thank you Princess for spending you time on me, though you must have more pressing duties to attend to.” He said morosely.
“Thou can call me Luna. I'll be sure to inform the guard at the village to expect thou.” She said, giving him a final nuzzle. “Now awaken.”
Xane started awake. He stretched out and rubbed his stiff muscles. Climbing down the tree he looked around to find the path he had memorized in his dream.
Finding the first few trees that marked the direction he proceeded to hike towards the nearby village.
Xane was walking on a relatively nice road. He had followed the directions Princess Luna had given him until he had come to a road and turned onto it towards the village. It really was more of just a wide dirt path but it was easier to walk on than the general forest floor.
He was humming to himself to keep entertained as his music player had run out of power earlier in the day. He had also finished all the water in his pack and was wondering how much longer until he would reach the village.
It was around the middle of the afternoon and the forest widened up. In the distance he could see some houses that he figured would be the village. Continuing along the road he eventually came up to a much shorter pony standing alongside the road. They raised a hoof and held it out sternly.
Looking over the armour the pony was wearing, and how the stance they had taken Xane figured that this was the guard told about him. He came to a halt a fair distance away from the guard.
The guard opened their mouth and said something. Xane stood still for a moment and raised an eyebrow at the guard.
They repeated whatever they said cementing that whatever language he was speaking was different that what Xane spoke.
“I have no idea what you're saying.” He said.
It was now the guards turn to be confused. They shuffled their wings and said something in a more confused tone.
“If you can understand me take a step to the right.” Xane said, hoping that maybe it was just a one-way communication problem.
The guard raised a hoof to their helmet and whispered something. Xane decided to sit down and wait.
A few minutes later a unicorn galloped up, and after catching their breath chatted with the guard quickly. Then their horn lit up and Xane felt an odd sensation pass through him.
“Hello. I am Spoken Word. Would you be Xane?” The female pony said.
“Greetings. Yes I am he.” He replied.
“Good. I'm Aerial Flip. If you come with me I can get you some food.” The male pegasus stated.
Xane followed the guard into the town and entered a building. He sat down at the table the guard had set up and waited. It wasn't long before he brought out a variety of fruits and vegetables. There was also some water and juice brought out.
He ate hungrily of the first meal he had for a day even if he usually preferred more meat with his food. Once he had eaten his fill he drank some of the juice. It was still in the middle of the afternoon so he decided to take a nap.
Asking the guard about a place to grab a quick shower and a nap he was directed to a small bathing room and was told that he could sleep on the couch until a contingent from the castle comes to pick him up.
Several hours later Xane was drinking a little more of the juice when he heard something land outside. The sun was low in the sky and his earlier nap had given him some energy back, even if his legs were sore from all the hiking he had to do. He still felt tired since he only got a couple hours rest.
Flip opened up the door in time to let Luna and two bat-winged ponies into the building. Xane stood up hoping that that custom was ubiquitous here as on Earth. The princess waved him back and he sat down again.
“Xane, tis nice to meet thou face to face. I am glad my instructions found thine true.” She said.
“Pleasure to meet you as well Princess. Your guidance was most helpful.” He replied.
“Please do refer to me as Luna. I have arranged transport to Canterlot.” Luna said with a smile.
Xane nodded and stood back up. He followed her out to where a chariot sat. The bat-ponies stepped into harnesses as Luna gestured for Xane to climb in first.
As he sat down he felt a similar sensation from when the translation spell was cast on him. Checking the seat he didn't notice any seat belts and guessed what he felt was magic. Luna sat down next to him, sitting at an angle so that her forelegs and head were close to him.
Once they both were settled in the ponies pulling the chariot began to move allowing them to take off. Watching them as they flew something bothered Xane about the sight, though he could not place it. Shifting in the seat he felt the spell holding him safely inside the vehicle.
Luna nudged him when he yawned and tilted her head to her shoulder. Taking the invitation he leaned his head against her and napped for the duration of the short trip.
He woke up when they landed at the castle. Stretching a bit before he stepped out of the chariot. Luna waited next to it while he climbed out.
“Since thou art tired thou can sleep in my room for the night. I don't use it much at this time unless I am tending to my dreamwalking duties. Tommorrow we can see about assinging thou a guest room.” She said before turning away.
Xane waited a half step before following her. He saw her smirk at how he was following protocol. As they walked through the castle, he paid attention to the path. Soon they arrived at an elegantly carved with a crescent moon in the middle of each of the double doors.
Inside was a fairly large suite of rooms. The walls were painted a deep purple, the ceiling had a perfect replica of the night sky and the floors were partially tiled with black onyx with a balck marbled carpet covering the rest. Sitting on the carpeted part of the floor was a large four poster bed with lace curtains that had a bat and skull design.
Xane yawned again and Luna gestured towards the bed. He took off his shoes and walked over to the bed. He sat on the edge as the princess turned the lights off and left to handle her duties. Once she left he took off his pants and crawled into the bed wearing his boxers and a t-shirt. The silk sheets felt really good and the pillows seemed to be clouds held in fabric. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.
Xane woke several hours later. He climbed out of the bed and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Once they did he walked over to the windows and pulled aside one of the heavy curtains. Looking at the sky he saw it was a little past midnight. Checking his watch it confirmed it was near 1 am.
Exploring the room he found a bathroom and took a quick shower. He sighed as he put on the only set of clothes he had. He really need to get them cleaned, as well as find a way to get more.
Opening the doors to the room he found a guard standing outside. The guard looked him over and said something.
Xane shook his head. “Translation spell must have worn off.”
The guard raised an eyebrow in confusion. After a moment's thought the bat-pony tapped his helmet and whispered. Once he got a reply he waved Xane to follow.
They walked through the castle until they came up on Princess Luna. She was enjoying a light snack, and waved for Xane to join her. A few words passed between her and the guard while he took a seat and picked up one of the grilled cheese sandwiches.
Luna had a thoughtful expression on her face. Then her horn lit up and Xane felt a sensation pass over him.
“I recast the translation spell, though I think I have a more permanent solution in mind. Once we have snacked we can see if it'll work.” She said.
Xane nodded around his mouthfull of toasted bread and melted cheese. They ate in companionable silence.
Once they had finished Luna had him sit on a couch. She cast a sleep spell on him and dreamwalked into his dream.
“Okay, first step, enter thine subconsciousness. Now that we art here I can access thine mind.” She said before channeling her power.
Xane felt the dreamscape blur as they deleved into his mind. Luna then started using her power to add memories of learning the equeastrian language to his mind.
When she felt that the information was sufficiently added to the speech center of his brain she brought them out and canceled the translation spell.
“So if it works I'm hugging you.” Xane said.
“Well, no reason to deny you that hug.” She replied before wrapping a foreleg about him.
He hugged her back for a brief moment. They pulled away from each other. Luna then guided them to a balcony where she could watch over the sleeping country as is her nightly duty. As they walked Xane watch her mane and tail flow, and even sublty admired her flanks.
That was when he realized what had been bugging him, she had no genitals. None of the ponies he had seen had. Deciding that whyever that was was a subject for private discussion he pushed it to the back of his mind.
Sitting on the balcony they chatted with each other, with occasional breaks for using the bathroom or tending to something that required the attention of the lunar diarch.
The topics covered mainly personal interests and included things like knowledge of the stars in the sky, though they were different Luna was intrigued at what he could remember about his home sky. She spent plenty of time listening to what his people knew of space and how they had managed to learn. The means that they had reached the moon and had been planning to visit Mars was especially enchanting to her as she imagined ponies walking on her moon and traveling the stars.
Eventually Luna lowered her moon to prepare the sky for her sister's sun. A guard informed her that breakfast was getting ready and Celestia had awoken.
Xane followed the princess to a small dining room, a table big enough to sit a few ponies sat in the middle with a few items having been placed on it already. They were getting settled into chairs when another alicorn arrived.
This one was white instead of dark blue, her mane had a bit more colour to it but was just as flowing as Luna's. She was also taller, her withers were as high as Xane's chest and his eyes were level with her mouth.
“Morning Luna. I take it this is the human you found the other day. Greeting to you as well, I am Princess Celestia.” She said.
“Greetings your Highness.” Xane said, bowing as he could in his seat.
“No need for formalities here. Just call me Celestia.” She stated as she took a seat next to Luna.
Breakfast was a tasty affair and devoured quickly. Afterwards Luna and Xane headed back to her room. He had figured he owed her something and had offered to give her a massage for all that she had done.
Once they got to the room, Luna divested herself of the royal regalia and laid out on her bed. Xane removed his shoes and sat next to her before he began rubbing away at her body. He gently massaged her as best he could, letting his fingers dig in whenever he found a knot of muscles.
By the time he had finished she was mostly asleep. Xane made to move off the bed when a wing wrapped around him and pulled him into Luna's forelegs. Looking up he saw her eyes half lidded before she nuzzled him. Taking the cue he laid one of his arms around her barrel and snuggled up into her embrace. They fell asleep in that position.
Xane sighed happily as he woke up. His leg felt a little numb though that was because it was currently under his snuggly bed-partners barrel. He then began a careful process of removing himself from the limbs holding tightly onto him.
Several minutes of gentle movements found him free of the bed. He picked up his watch from one of the end tables and saw that it was just before noon. Stretching out a bit to help himself fully wake-up Xane walked through the castle in his mind's eye. Thinking about where the princesses' private dining room was he figured he would grab some lunch for himself. Looking over his clothes, and just how dirty they have gotten, he decided that after lunch he would see if he could find out a means of getting new clothes.
He stepped out of Luna's bedchambers and turned to the guard posted outside.
“Good day. Would there happen to be a royal tailor?” Xane asked.
The guard stood still, a living statue.
“Stoic guard and all that. I'll just make my way to get some food and figure it out for myself. Have a nice day.” He said cheerfully.
He then headed down the hallway to his first destination. Soon he found himself at the entrance to a fair-sized kitchen, at least considering how large some of the other kitchens in the castle are.
A quick scrounge in the pantry led to a bowl of ice cream, strawberries, and chocolate syrup. Xane sat down at the table in the dining room and started to dig in. Celestia found him partway through the bowl.
“I see you tossed something together for lunch. Planning on grabbing a quick snack for myself.” She said, before a slice of cake floated out from the kitchen.
“Have to eat something, diplomatic lunches usually don't lend well to satisfying hunger.” Celestia continued as she sat down.
They ate in silence for several minutes. Xane noticed her looking him over, taking particular interest in his clothes. She hmmed to herself as she finished her cake and floated the tableware to the sink. As she left she spoke to one of the guards.
Once Xane had finished his meal and placed the bowl and spoon in the kitchen's sink he found out what Celestia had told the guard. He soon found himself standing in front of a mirror as a unicorn ran a measuring tape along his body. His dirty clothes had been removed and handed to one of his assistants to be cleaned and a pattern made of them to quickly make a few replacements.
Luna entered the room to find the tailor taking exacting measurements so that he could make some properly fitted outfits and formal wear. She walked up as one of the seamstresses walked out of the haberdashery with a large chunk of foam to shape into a body form they could work off of. The tailor noticed her presence and finished his measuring before informing Xane that he had everything they needed and showed him where a few sets of fresh clothes sat.
He dressed in one of the new outfits and greeted Luna.
“I wanted to show you around the town. Show off the sights and help you get to know your new home.” She stated.
They walked around the city with Luna showing off a few of the historical monuments and her favorite shops and stops around town. She even took him to the edge of the city and they enjoyed a rest as they took in the extensive view that the mountainside vantage point offered.
On their way back they stopped at Donut Joe's for a drink. Luna had a cup of coffee and Xane got some Hot Chocolate. Once they returned to the castle they swung by the tailor's to pick up the rest of the clothes that they had finished. Returning to Luna's room she had Xane stash his clothes next to her dresser before letting out a large yawn.
Feeling a bit tired himself Xane joined her on the bed as they grabbed a quick nap.
They awoke in time to eat dinner with Celestia, after which he watched them perform their heavenly duties. He couldn't keep his eyes off Luna as she channeled her magic and raised the moon into the sky, allowing her body to be bathed in it's light. The beauty of the sight entranced him and he was still admiring it when he heard a slight giggle.
Shaking his head he noticed Luna watching him. They moved over to a balcony and had a guard fetch them cups of their preferred drinks. This night they ended up talking literature finding that there seemed to be some crossover in certain genres, though there did seem to be less interest in science fiction. Xane guessed that was because magic was a tangible force to the ponies.
He entertained Luna for the first part of the night primarily by recalling what he could of his favorite books. There was even one or two that had counterparts in his new world.
A guard eventually turned up with a report about a monster sighting by one of the night patrols and Luna left to deal with it. Giving a slight yawn, Xane decided that he would grab a quick nap and still not having gotten a room of his own he figured that Luna wouldn't mind him using her bed again.
He woke up and found that Luna had managed to snuggle up to him while he slept. He tried to repeat his feat from the previous day and slip out of bed but instead only managed to wake her up. She leaned over and nuzzled him before rubbing the sleep from her eyes and getting out of bed.
Watching her walk over to the bathroom to freshen up reminded him of his question.
“Hey Luna. There's something odd I've noticed and was hoping I could get a clarification.” He sated.
She turned to look at him, “Sure ask away. Anything to help you better get accustomed to Equestria.”
He coughed into his hand as he tried to think of a delicate way to formulate his question. He ended up deciding that a straightforward approach would be best.
“Well, I've noticed that while ponies don't seem to wear clothes, their genitalia aren't visible.” He asked.
“Oh. That's an illusion. You see, a long time ago, even before the three races united, an unicorn noble felt that it would be uncouth for the common pony to gaze upon his noble genitals. So he used illusion to hide them when he went out, but amoungst the other nobles he still showed them. The fad spread to the other nobles, and eventually he reworked the spell to be so simple that any pony, be they earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn could utilize it. Truly a masterful feat of spellcraft, researchers have tried to replicate the result with other spells but are unable to.” She explained. “Here, let me show you.”
She turned around so her hindquarters was pointed to Xane. She wiggled her hips lightly to draw his attention. Even though she used magic, her horn didn't glow.
The shift happened so fast that Xane blinked several times thinking he had missed the spell being dispelled. Then he caught sight of Luna's neithers. They held a dark blue colouring a few shade darker than her coat. His eyes were glued to the sight, drinking in what he saw. Then they were gone again and he could see a rather mischievous smile on her face along with a deep blush.
He shifted in position while Luna finished going into the bathroom to brush her coat and mane. Once she finished up he took his turn before they headed over to breakfast.
While they ate Luna informed Xane that she had to oversee some trainees for her Lunar Guard.
Xane sat on the edge of a field as he watched Luna run a few guards through some of the duties they would be taking on once they joined her guard force. They spent most of the morning as they moved about the castle grounds so that they could get a comprehension view of the duties.
Once they had eaten lunch they retired back to her room Xane proceeded to give Luna another massage. She sighed as he worked his fingers to loosen up her tight muscles. Soon his ministrations had lulled her to sleep. Holding off a yawn he lays down next to her and fell asleep.
Luna nudged him awake.
“Tia left a note, she had to arrange a dinner with some visiting diplomats so we're on our own for dinner.” She said.
“Well, how about he head out, see what Canterlot has to offer for a pair on the prowl for fun.” He suggested with a smile.
She agreed and they spent a little time getting ready. Xane dressed up in one of the nicer outfits that the tailors had made for him.
They soon found their way into the city and were looking for a nice restaurant. They eventually walked into one that seemed interesting, and since he was with Princess Luna they were quickly given a table despite how full the venue was.
As they were looking over the menu, most of which was purely vegetarian, a particular smell reached Xane. Looking around he noticed that a few table behind him was a griffon slowly eating a steak as they discussed something with their dinner partner.
He smiled as he knew what he wanted to get as his entree and turned the page to examine what beverages were being offered. He and Luna had quickly decided what all to get before the waitress showed up.
“Greetings, I am Daisy Petal. What can I get you two for drinks tonight?” said the earth pony as she sat down next to the table and pulled out her notepad.
“Yes, I would like some coffee.” Luna said.
“Hot chocolate for me.” Xane stated.
“I see you have finished looking over the menus, have you already decided on what you would like to order as well?” Daisy asked.
“Yes, could we get some mozzarella sticks for an appetizer, and I would like the Royal Salad.” Luna replied.
“I would like to order a steak. Medium Rare.” Xane said, noting how the waitress held her reaction while if Luna had any she hid it far better.
“What would you like for your side dish?” the watiress replied, having quickly regained her composure.
“A baked potato would be lovely.” He answered.
They sat quietly, enjoying the atmosphere of the restaurant until their drinks were delivered. Xane had wondered if Luna would question his meat-eating but since she had been told about humans previously he guess she probably knew that they were omnivores.
Instead they ended up talking about what to do after dinner, a conversation that carried on after the mozzarella sticks had been placed on the table and up to their entrees being presented to them. He did notice that while eating Luna did seem to avert her gaze slightly when he took bites of his steak.
Luna handled the bill and left a great tip for how well the waitress had dealt with not only having to serve royalty, but also someone who had ordered meat.
They ended walking around the streets once more as they searched for an after dinner activity. Eventually they were drawn to a music venue and checked to see what kind of music was being played. Seeing that it was a concert for a metal band they decided to join the crowd.
This time the clerk gave them free tickets figuring that they would get more people coming in if they saw one of the Diarchs patronizing their venue. Xane noted that the music held a similar beat to the genre it shared with his world. He and Luna easily got into it as the music flowed throughout the building.
After several songs, and plenty of dancing, Luna took a break so she could ensure the moon was raised on time. Once she had done so, she leaned against Xane who put an arm around her to offer some support.
When the concert had ended it was near midnight and they felt that it was time for a snack. The pair walked down the streets, enjoying the nighttime air and observing the nightlife of the city. Donut Joe's came into view and they veered towards the shop's entrance.
Inside they had their usual drinks and bought a few doughnuts to fill their stomachs with. Eventually they left and returned to the castle where they made their way back to Luna's room. They spent a little time getting ready for bed.
Once they had cuddle up, they found their faces close to one another. Something led them to slowly close the distance until their lips met. The contact lasted for several seconds and soon turned into a kiss as each realized the fires of passion had begun to burn within themselves. They gently pulled away from the kiss and shared a smile. Xane nuzzled into Luna and soon they fell asleep.
Xane woke to his bed-partner stirring. He was met with a face full of Luna's coat when he opened his eyes. Rolling over slightly he looked up to see Luna using her magic to move one of the curtains aside. She hmmmed for a second before her horn glowed strongly with magic.
Once she had lowered the moon she gave him a nuzzle before hopping out of bed and going into the bathroom to freshen up. When he had taken his turn they got dressed and headed over to breakfast.
As they entered the dining room Luna shifted one of the extra chairs next to hers. Celestia raised an eyebrow at this but held her remark until they both had sat down.
“I take it our guest will not be requiring the room you told me you were going to arrange.” She said.
Luna looked a bit sheepish as she replied “We had a lovely night out and I will admit having someone to share my bed with is pleasant.”
Celestia smirked, then stated “It sounds like you had quite the date last night. Should I start looking into a compatibility spell for you?”
Xane decided wisely to stay out of the conversation until otherwise brought in on it. Luna laid a wing over him pointedly before taking a bite of her breakfast. He smiled around the mouthful of food he was chewing and just basked in the contact.
After a moment they turned to business as Celestia discussed how her diplomatic dinner had gone. When they had all finished the solar diarch trotted over and used her wings to pull both Xane and her sister into a hug before leaving to tend her duties.
Luna led Xane off towards the residential wing of the castle. Swinging by a room she opened the door and trotted over to a section of the room that had been made up to resemble a forest. As she started to look through the branches Xane leaned against on of the trees. He jumped slightly when some movement caught his attention.
His marefriend rushed over and gently picked up the animal in her magic.
“Tibbers! There you are.” She said bringing the opossum over to herself.
She turned around to show off her pet while placing him on top of her head. Xane stepped over to her and watch as the sleepy animal nestled itself into the ehteral mane.
“I usually can only spend a couple hours a day with him so every so often I bring him along with me for a full day.” She stated before gesturing towards the door.
Xane nodded and followed along with her out of the room. Soon they found themselves in another room lounging on a couch as he was introduced to his new worlds entertainment. Luna had set up a room with a bunch of games. From board and card games to the latest in electronic gaming. She also had a large table set up for tabletop and miniature gaming.
They were playing one of the older game consoles. A popular role playing game that reminded him of one of his personal favorites. This started a long discussion of games of both of their worlds which eventually led to them just learning about each other.
After some time a guard informed them that lunch was being prepared and they saved the game and headed down to get some food. They ate and found that they were both getting tired so they cuddled up in Luna's bed for a nap.
As they walked to dinner later, having spent a couple more hours talking with each other, Luna's assistant informed her that night court was scheduled for tonight. She sighed as she let Xane know what that meant and how she wouldn't be able to spend the first half of the night with him.
Celesta had arranged for a beef stew to have been prepared for him to eat for dinner and both sisters had scooped some of the stew into bowls for themselves. Luna kept a couple pieces of meat in hers while her sister only left the vegetables in.
After dinner they held their ceremony for setting the sun and raising the moon. Luna then went off to prepare for night court and Celestia gestured for Xane to join her.
They ended up on a balcony with a table and tea set laid out along with various sweets. Celestia sat down as she set the teakettle on a small flame. Xane took a chair and popped a small piece of chocolate fudge into his mouth.
They sat in silence for a time before Celestia asked “I would like to know of your world. Another world's history is quite intriguing for me, and in return I'll give you a brief overview of our own.”
Xane took a couple minutes to think about how to shorten human history easily before taking a breath and starting on his long discourse.
“Well human civilization started roughly 10,000 years back. There's some stuff with prehistoric tribes and what-not with developing irrigation and beginning to domesticate animals but things only started getting interesting around the stone and iron ages. There a few conquerors and empires from there. Hannibal crossed mountains by dissolving a path through the rocks. Alexander the Great turned an island into a peninsula, a few hundreds Spartans with a few thousand other Greeks held off the Persian empire for a time.
“Of course there was more than just war. The Chinese dynasties invented paper, black powder, and a lot of science and philosophies. They used the black powder for fireworks, but also made cannons with it. They even built a wall spanning several hundred miles to keep out invaders. That also leads me to the Mongolians. They almost conquered the known world, only being stopped because tradition dictated that when their leader died, the body is returned to the capitol where the next leader is chosen.
“When Marco Polo explored his way on over to the east, he met the Chinese and begin a trade route between the western and eastern cultures. A few more centuries go by and they started to sail across the oceans. They 'found' the New World and those who lived there. However, they brought new illnesses as well which several devastated the inhabitants. It didn't help that one group had fought a civil war amoungst the various tribes which had whittled their numbers to near extinction.
“That was further exasperated with how the settlers treated the natives, just taking the land and purposefully infecting them. When the colonies separated from the original host country with a small war, they eventually made treaties with the natives granting them some land though largely the land belonged to the new government. People explored the new continent and with a few gold rushes spread built cities and towns all over it. Then some places started taking people from one of the other continents and making them slaves to work plantations. That led to a civil war with the slave keeping states segregating from the still new country. Luckily the original country won and laws started being instituted to end slavery.
“Once the industrial revolution happened things started changing quickly. New types of transportation started being developed, new technologies allowing for food to be better preserved and even advances in medical knowledge. Though rising technologies led to war once more. It quickly spread to engulf most of the developed countries of the world. Some remained neutral but most took sides. We had created planes allowing us to fly some time before but the war brought about great leaps in that technology.
“When the war ended several of the countries entered into an economic depression, which sadly helped bring about the next war. This war brought about rocket science. It also brought about the deadliest weapon humans ever made.”
Xane took a deep breath and accepted the drink Celestia offered. A few more minutes go by, mainly with him thinking of how best to explain what the weapon was.
“Do you know much about atomic structure?” He asked.
Celestia raised an eyebrow “A little. Some of our scientists have dabbled in it, and I know that the sun is powered by nuclear reaction.”
“Excellent. Then you should be able to understand what I'm about to say. The weapon we made was powered by nuclear fission. They developed it so that several hundred pounds of material to fuel that reaction. All said, 2 bombs were dropped, and obliterated cities the size of Canterlot here, roughly speaking as I don't know how many ponies live here nor the population of Nagasaki and Hiroshima at that time.”
Celestia paused as she took in what he meant as well as just how much life was lost due to the weapons.
“Of course, with how much life was lost due to those singular attacks somewhat paled to the total death of the wars. An actual portion of the world's population perished during the 50 years both world wars spanned.
“After that things calmed down somewhat. A couple more minor wars, however nothing serious as the threat of the nuclear weapons kept things from escalating too much. Then two of the countries who had them started a cold war. Mainly spies and other subterfuge with a lot of economic and military buildup. During this time Russia put the first man-made satellite into orbit. They never broke into open war as the worry of a nuclear war between the 2 shadowed everything they did. It ended when Russia's economy collapsed from the constant buildup.
“One of the biggest scientific achievements was landing a human on the Moon, and their return. We did a few Lunar missions but their funding dried up and National Aeronautics and Space Agency, NASA, ended up mainly putting things into orbit. They eventually helped build the International Space Station, and astronauts would spend a few months stationed there. They also launched probes out away from the planet to scout the rest of the solar system, but also a few aimed towards the sun to check out the inner planets. We even landed probes on the next planet out as well as a comet.
“Some of what we placed in orbit were telescopes to better look at the rest of the universe. We had even began working on plans to land people on that next planet but there was a decent amount of worry about wars starting up again. There were a couple more fought but there was a fair amount of focus on the science.”
He felt glad to be able to end on that somewhat hopeful note, even if he did tweak it a bit to seem more hopeful.
Celestia then launched into a comparative lecture with her world's history. Talking about some of the battles between the three pony tribes before uniting together against the Windigos. Then she talked about how she and Luna took over their duties relating in raising and lowering their respective heavenly bodies. She also discussed some of the wars she had to deal with against some of the other species that inhabited the world.
Eventually she settled on discussing how more technologically advanced his world was, and how much he could remember of how some of them worked. She made several notes to hand off and see if maybe some of them could be replicated for their uses.
They ended talking for a couple hours and a yawn from one set off the other so they decided to get some sleep. Celestia gave him a nuzzle and he returned with a chaste hug before they went their own ways.
He was nudged awake. Looking up he caught sight of a fairly tired Luna noting that she wasn't in bed with him which he took to mean that her duties kept her up all night.
They went and got breakfast where she leaned against him as they ate. When they got back to the room she flopped down on the bed while using magic to shed her regalia. He sat next to her and began giving her a massage. As he worked the night's stress from her she sighed happily.
“You know with how well you do this, you could probably get work doing it.” She said, her eyes beginning to close.
She had fallen asleep well before he finished the massage.
Not feeling much tired himself he freshened up and took a walk. He wandered around the castle before running into Celestia on her way to the gardens. She smiled warmly at him and asked him along.
Soon he found himself walking the gardens around the castle as Celestia made several small required decisions, though most were okaying the decisions made by lower offices that tasks had been delegated to. They made small talk while walking.
“Why do you call it a kingdom when neither of you are Queens? Shouldn't you refer to it as a principality?” Xane asked.
“Well, it's a bit to do with vanity. Going by Queen makes me feel old. We refer to it as a kingdom because when the three tribes combined, the tribal council determined to become one. Luna and I just didn't want to change it.” Celestia remarked.
“It's a similar reason why we still refer to it as the Crystal Empire. It was once such, but it was ruled by a princess and now is far from what it was at it's height.” She finished.
Eventually they settled in to have lunch with Luna joining as they finished up their meals. Celestia left to continue her duties and Xane hung around while Luna ate.
Once she finished she dragged him out of the castle to the town. They walked around for a bit before Luna led him into a building. The exterior was fairly nice, but the interior was far more grand. She informed him that the place was a spa that primarily catered to members only so most common ponies weren't allowed.
She spoke with one of the employees before Xane found himself in a massage room with one of the spa ponies laying on a table. He applied a small amount of one of the scented oils, after checking to see if he could use them and was of a scent acceptable to her. He began working his hands along her body.
Xane gently massaged the body of earth mare and used his fingers and knuckles to help ease out the knots in her muscles. Once he had finished she commented on his skill while noting he could improve much with some training. She also said that with how dexterous his fingers were he was able to get her muscles better than the unicorns could.
He and Luna left the place with him having a job to fill up some of his time during the day. They swung by Donut Joe's to grab an afternoon snack and some coffee and hot chocolate. Luna picked up a couple extra doughnuts before they returned to the castle.
They found Celestia in an office going over some trade negotiations. Luna dropped the bag with doughnuts in it on the desk for her sister before informing her about their trip to the spa. She was happy for him before shooing them out of the office to focus on work.
Luna and Xane were waiting patiently. They had set up a prank for some of the Lunar guard and were now anticipating the payoff. Soon a small contingent of the bat-winged ponies marched around the corner.
That was when the prank was set off. First a blanket carefully stretched across the top of the corridor had one end fall down. A bunch of feathers floated down obscuring the vision of the guards and distracting them from the second part of the prank.
As the squad made their way out of the large pile of feather, some sneezing as a feather tickled their nose, it became obvious that each of them had their coats and armour dyed varying shade of pink. They soon noticed this when more than one had found their freedom from their feathery confinment.
The sight set Luna and Xane laughing and the guards stared at them for a moment before chuckling themselves. Luna gave them the rest of the day off to go get disenchanted.
They head back to Luna's room to grab a quick nap, sharing a kiss before climbing into bed.
Celestia met them in the dining room. They all had dinner and afterwards Luna headed off to get ready for her shift. Celestia stretched out to try and relax her body. Xane offered to give her a massage to help. She had him follow to a cozy room before she lounged out on a couch.
He moved his hands across her body as he worked the stress out of her muscles. He noted how much more knotted her body was than Luna's and suggested she try to pry some time in her schedule to hit a spa. Celestia gave a large yawn when he finished his massage and she left to go to sleep while he went to find Luna.
