CHAPTER 3

When Mike opened his eye's it wasn't the dilapidated and water stained ceiling that he had come to know from his old apartment, no what he found was the twisting turns of beautifully arching crystal that made up the roof of the guest room he was currently staying in. He laid there as he followed the swooping curves and turns that the light took as it traveled along the surface of the crystal, giving a lightshow that few would ever experience and one that Mike would never forget.

'So yesterday wasn't a dream then.' he thought to himself as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Breathing in with a deep good morning breath he noticed a disgusting smell had decided to greet him. He leaned his head down and took a few whiffs of his hoodie, nose crinkling in disgust. He couldn't really remember the last time he had washed his clothes, and the fresh air here had revitalized his senses. He could now smell his own horrid odor wafting off his clothing and it brought him near the brink of vomiting. He took a look around the room and found exactly what he was looking for, a bathroom. He stood up and made his way inside, expecting it to be large and extravagant. What he found was a simple bathroom with a toilet, shower/bathtub, and a sink. Ignoring his brief shock he stripped down to nothing and placed his clothing in a pile on the toilet seat. Staring at it as well as the shower, he could only wonder how they had plumbing considering that the whole village looked like something from the middle ages. 'Maybe it's only because this is a castle for a Princess' he thought as he stepped into the tub. Looking at the spigot and handle he could see that it was simply labeled hot, and cold. Mike loved hot showers, so he turned the handle as far as it would go.

Mike stood there as he felt the water begin it's cascade down his back. Now that he thought about it, it had actually been a while since his last shower. How he had not been able to smell how bad his odor was only made him realize just how bad earths air had to be compared to this place. After standing in the water for a good five minutes he decided to start cleaning himself. Looking around he found a bottle of shampoo, a bottle of conditioner and a bar of white soap. They bottles read Lavender Scented and the bar of soap smelled like what Mike could only place as the scent of spring. Shrugging he began to wash himself, getting everywhere he deemed too dirty to not clean. He avoided his feet, figuring the water and suds that ran down his body would take care of it, and moved on to washing his hair.

As he scrubbed his hair he thought back on the last time he had even combed it. He had been getting ready for date night with his wife at the time and had spent extra time trying to make himself look nice. Once he finished showering he stepped out and grabbed one of the four white towels that had been hanging on the metal rod near the shower and began to dry himself off. Once he was dry enough he wrapped the towel around his waist and tucked it so it would stay. Picking up his dirty clothing he walked out into the room and stopped, realization smacking him the face.

'I don't even know where they wash their clothes.'

Frowning, he looked around the room only to find a large empty closet. His frown deepened as he peeked his head outside his door. He looked to the left and then to the right, making sure there wasn't anyone (anypony?) around. Gingerly he took a few steps out and began tip toeing through the hallway. He looked around and became even more distraught over the fact that none of the doors in the hall he was in were labeled. Sighing to himself Mike walked to each door, taking a small peek inside. Many of them were bedrooms much like the one he had slept in. He continued down the hall until he came to the intersection that led to what he figured based on the sun rise, was a North Hall. To his left was the hall that lead to the foyer he had met Twilight in the other day. Figuring that that might be a good start be turned into the hallway and continued his journey to clean his clothes. What he didn't expect was to find Twilight at the bottom of the stairs.

She looked up at him with wide eyes and a curious look on her face. Mike felt his face heat up as she stared.

"Um...Hi?" he said in embarrassment.

"Y-You're completely hairless without clothes?" Twilight responded. At that, Mike could only mentally facepalm. Of course she would say that, especially if the way she acted yesterday was of any consequence. Mike could already tell she was a mare who enjoyed learning new things.

"Uh. Yeah, we humans don't grow much hair. If it's not too much trouble, could you maybe show me where you clean your laundry?" He asked, holding his dirty clothes out.

"Oh! Of course, follow me." Twilight said as she walked past him. "We have washing machines in the North Hall."

'Score one for me' Mike thought as he did a mental fist pump while they walked into what he had deemed the North Hall.

An hour and a half later Mike was dressed and smelled cleaner than he could remember, and he distinctly smelled of Lavender and Spring, which in his opinion wasn't necessarily bad. Grinning he followed the stairs back down to the Foyer. While his clothes had washed and dried, Twilight had given him a tour of the castle, which appeared to be much larger than it seemed on the outside. Once he got to the Foyer he maid his way to Twilight's study where she said she and this Spike of hers would have breakfast waiting.

When he opened the door he found Twilight sitting at the table with three books floating in front of her along with a piece of parchment, a quill and a fork that at that moment could be seen bringing bites of food to her waiting mouth. Smiling Mike went to take a seat at the table, until he noticed who else was sitting there. His eye's went wide as he found himself eye to eye with a Purple and Green dragon the size of himself, with leathery purple and green wings folded against his back.

"Hey, you must be Mike. Twilight was telling me about you, I'm Spike." He said as he held out a claw to him. Shaking off his shock he grabbed the Spike's claw and shook.

"Um, yeah, nice to meet you Spike." Mike said, still slightly surprised at seeing that even Dragons existed here.

Mike sat down and looked at his plate, He found eggs, hash browns and two delicious looking pancakes that were covered in syrup. As soon as he eye'd the food his stomach grumbled. Smiling he grabbed his fork and knife and began to dig in.

To say the taste was amazing was a disgrace to the food. It was as though sweet amazing delicious nirvana had graced his tongue. It was a good five minutes before he had finished his food. Sitting back, he rubbed his stomach and let out a burb and an excuse me as he allowed his food to settle. At that point Spike let out a burp of his own. But what surprised Mike was that Spike's burp was followed by a green flame about two feet long. When the flame dispersed there was a scroll left behind, one with a golden seal.

"Hey Twi, you got a letter from the Princess." Spike said, patting his chest.

Twilight immediately dropped her books and snatched the letter in her magic. Breaking the seal she opened and read the letter, her facial expression going from worry to excitement.

"Mike, Princess Celestia wants to give you a tour of Canterlot. And she also want's you to meet her sister, Princess Luna." Twilight said, her smile even wider. "Maybe you can be Luna's next friend!!"

'Next friend? She must not get out much.' Mike thought to himself.

"Ok, so uh, when do we go?" Mike asked. He wasn't in any rush as he had nothing to do anyway, but it was his understanding on earth that you didn't want to keep royalty waiting. He had been told that by an old friend who had been from Britain.

"Well we have a few choices. We can take my old balloon, the train, or we could teleport. I'd advise we take the balloon or train as teleporting is always disconcerting for first timers." Twilight said as though she was reciting from a script.

"Well, I mean I wouldn't mind trying teleportation. Sound's interesting." Mike said. He frowned slightly, knowing that at one point his wife had wondered the same thing when she was alive.

"If you really want to then I guess we could. I'll need to get my crystal. The crystal allows me to perform spells that would normally take way too much magic, and it helps with long range teleportation, as it usually leaves me feeling exhausted without it." Twilight said as she moved toward a door behind her. "I'll be just a moment."

* * *

Mike stood uneasily on a balcony of Canterlot Castle as he tried to quell the nausea that had come about from the teleporting. It had felt like he had been stretched and squeezed through a drinking straw, and that didn't feel too great. Twilight looked at him with worry as he tried to control his dry heaving, his face green.

"Mike are you ok?" she asked.

"I-ugh-I'll be fine in a-blegh-second." He replied.

After a good five minutes he stood up, the green from his face had receded a great deal and his nausea was beginning to cease. Teleporting was now on his list of worst ways to travel. Sure it was fast, but geez at what cost.

Once he was good to go he followed Twilight into the castle, his jaw once again dropping in much the same way as it had when he had entered Twilights castle. This castle was built for the eye's. Everything from its lush, soft gold and purple carpets, to the dual night and day tapestries that where strung about the hall ways. What struck Mike the most was the windows. They where stained glass that would usually depict great feats. And so they did, but what confused Mike was that they all showed a pony that looked a hell of a lot like Twilight, and she was surrounded by other ponies who were depicted with a glow coming from jewelry that they were wearing.

'Maybe Twilight's a lot more important than just being a Princess.' Mike thought.

Before he knew it they had come upon a large set of double doors. One side showed the sun, shining bright and glorious. The other showed the Moon upon a starry sky, where it's light beamed down on a small village of ponies happily staring at it. He had to admit, the artwork on the doors was a Masterpiece. Twilight however had seen the door multiple times and continued moving forward, opening the door using her magic.

What Mike noticed upon entering what he figured was the Throne Room, was the Two Thrones at the back, one was occupied by Princess Celestia, and the other Mike guessed was Princess Luna. What had stopped him though was Princess Celestia herself. Princess Celestia had said she was the Princess of the sun, so Princess Luna had to be the Princess of the moon, and what he could see was exactly as such. Princess Luna's coat was a deep shade of blue, the same color of the first darkening hours of the night. Her mane shimmered and flowed behind her much like her sister's, but her's looked to embody the night sky itself, with dozen's of twinkling stars, and the same could be said for her tail, which he could see shimmering just behind her.

It was a rather beautiful sight to Mike, but despite is love of the night, he far enjoyed the light of day, unless said light was waking him in the morning.

"Is something wrong?" Celestia asked, her eyebrows raised in amusement.

'Crap she can read my thought's can't she.' Mike thought in panic.

"U-Uh n-no, nothing's wrong." He replied, his face heating up in embarrassment.

"Oh? So you weren't just staring at me for the past five minutes?" Celestia said with a small laugh.

Mike's face heated up even more. He wanted to apologize, but at that moment he locked up, and could not say a word.

"Well, seeing as Mike can no longer speak, I shall do so. As my letter stated, I would like to have you take a tour of Canterlot. Sister, how about you give him a tour hmm? I'm sure you would love to stretch your wings for a bit." Celestia said.

"Of course dear sister. If that be thy wish then I shalt do it." Luna said, trying to contain her curiosity in the creature that was standing before her.

"Well Mike, are you okay with my sister giving you a tour of our fair city?" Celestia asked.

"I-I guess. Sure." Mike said, trying to mask his still flushed face.

* * *

It was later that evening when they had returned from the tour. There had been so many place's she had shown him, places Mike would love to visit if he had money. The entire tour itself however was more awkward than anything Mike had ever experienced. They barely talked at all while Princess Luna had shown him around. How was he suppose to be her "New Friend" if she wouldn't even speak to him. And even his attempts at small talk where dashed against the rocks as she continued to ignore him. These were his thoughts as he stood on one of the highest balconies of the castle, the moon shining down on him as he gazed at the stars that he could no longer recognize.

"It's such a beautiful night out." Mike said to himself, unaware that he was being watched.

"Tis truly magnificent is it not?" Luna said as she stepped up to the railing from behind him, startling him in the process.

"P-Princess L-Luna!?" Mike stuttered. She had come out of nowhere, making him jump.

"We are sorry. We didst not mean to frighten thee." Luna said.

Mike had noticed earlier but now he was curious.

"Why do you speak like that?" He asked.

"Ah, we see that thou hast noticed our speech. Tis been a thousand years that we we're locked away within the moon, thus we have not hadst as much time to acclimate ourselves with the language ponies of today speak." Luna replied, staring up at the moon with a forlorn look.

"We are curious Mr. Mike. What seest thou in our sister?" Luna asked, turning her gaze to him incredulously.

"Y-Your sister? I-I'm not s-sure what your talking about." Mike said as he turned away. What most wouldn't know is that Mike, when afraid, bashful or otherwise embarrassed, he would resort to a stutter that he could have sworn he got rid of.

"Oh? So dost thou not find our sister to thy liking? We had hoped otherwise. Though we hast been gone for many a moon, we still findeth time to enjoy the comforts of our mate. Said mate t'would be Twilight Sparkle, your, what did Tia call it again? Roommate?" Luna said. "Irregardless, our dear sister neglects said comforts of the flesh and heart, seeking to please herself with the running of Equestria, or in this previous case, Vacationing in your world, with which she hast grown so fond."

"Sooo, you're trying to set me up with your sister?" Mike asked, he himself returning the incredulous look she had given him. "And ya know, somehow I'm not surprised Twilight would fall for you either, she seems the type to be obsessed with learning, and here you are, a great figure from the past."

"Thou would'st be correct, though it hast changed this past year. I am rather fond of her." Luna replied with a smile.

"So, if say, I decide to ask Celestia on a date, you're not going to mind? I'm sorry but I kind of find that hard to believe. I had a sister growing up, and any time she had a boyfriend, which would be I guess mate or coltfriend here right? I'd get pretty damn protective. It usually involved threats of bodily harm." Mike said smiling. He had always had good memories with his sister.

"Nay Mr. Mike. We would not mind if thou decideth to pursue our sister. But, thou hast not said what thou thinkest of our dearest sister." Luna replied, a small small on her face as she looked about Canterlot.

"W-Well, She's g-gorgeous to be honest. P-Probably the m-most beautiful w-woman I've ever met." Mike said, a blush rising to his face.

"Woman? We dost not know what thoust means." Luna said, tilting her head much in the same way a puppy would.

"Ah, I forget, it would be Mare wouldn't it. Haha, I feel like I may just have as much trouble with how you ponies speak just as much as you do Princess." Mike laughed.

"Hmmm, T'would seem so. So, art thou going to ask our sister on a date?" Luna asked, giggling as Mike's face flushed red once more.

"W-Well that depends. Consider me a friend, and I'll consider asking Celestia on a d-date." Mike replied with a smile.

"Thou wouldst be friends with us?" Luna asked.

"Sure, I think being friends with the Princess who creates the night sky would be pretty cool."

"Well, then Mr. Mike, Friends it is." Luna replied with a smile.

"Ok first things first though? No more Mr. stuff. It's just Mike."

Author's Note

All right, and thats the third chapter done. Sorry if that took so long everyone. Had some things to take care of and I was proof reading it myself. If I missed anything, spelling, grammar, etc. Please let me know and I'll get right on fixing it. Hope you all enjoyed the new chapter!!!!

-StormHoof