Author's Note

I apologize to all who have enjoyed this story thus far that it has taken me so long to put out a new chapter. I wont bother you with the details but I will hopefully be able to get back to putting out chapters more regularly. Please enjoy this new chapter.

Chapter 10

(present day)

The Alicorn walking in to the dining hall is absolutely adorable. She is wearing an adult fluffy bunny onesie. One of the ears is folded over while the other stands up. God this mare is adorable, but why is she…? Of course this must be Luna, Princess of the Night and Co-Diarchy of Equestria. Explains why she looks like she just woke up.

She gives a simple yawn but the outfit she is wearing makes it so cute and innocent. It seriously makes me want to snuggle the ever loving crap out of her. The fur of the onesie is a soft shade of muted blue. Her tail flicks out from where the bunny’s fluff ball of a tail would be.

“Evening Sister.” The princess of the night sleepily mutters.

Celestia clears her throat. “We have guests tonight, dear sister, I do believe you should change you attire.”

This causes Luna to look at those around the table. First she spots Twilight, who waves sheepishly at her. Must be the outfit she is wearing, slightly embarrassing but also extremely endearing. I mean seriously how can you not find her just so lovable.

Next her eyes land on me and boy does she light up bright. She goes from midnight blue to tomato red before I could even blink and in a flash of blue magic she is gone.

“Well that was exciting” I say with a grin and a slight Scottish accent.

WACK!! “That was Princess Luna and it would behoove you to pay your proper respect Walker. We are being given a lot of leniency here. Please don’t ruin this.” Mira begs and demands at the same time.

*Too late my dear little bug*. I grin devilishly. “I am truly sorry dear Mirage but I can ‘behoove’ nothing since I clearly do not possess the required appendage to allow for such actions.”

With nothing more than a sigh and a facepalm she goes back to sipping her water.

Several moments of silence fills the dining hall.

“Okay I made a bad joke, no need to release the crickets on me.” I say with an eyeroll.

“Well before Princess Luna showed up you were about to explain your new biology.” Twilight supplies.

I stick my tongue out at Mira. “At least I still have one friend in this room. Not like you Miss. ‘You don’t know me’.”

Mira growls. “That was forever ago. When are you going to let it go?”

“When I’m dead.” I respond with a grin before turning to talk to Twilight again. “Well you see during my stint with the dragons they preformed some ritual that has imbued me with…”

Wouldn’t you know it I get interrupted by a buzzing sort of sound. Looking around I see that the Princess of the night has returned, only this time she is properly dressed.

Adorning our dear Princess of the night is an elegant floor length dress. The shoulders are simple straps that sink down the front, leading to a square cut just above her impressive bust line. It reveals just enough to be tantalizing but still conservative. The body of the dress is lace. The holes have a white material behind it giving the outfit the appearance of being the night sky.

Since she wasn’t here long before the outfit change I wasn’t able to get a good look at her but now that I have. Damn she is good looking. Now that I think about it though, I have yet to see a pony that wasn’t attractive in their own way. I mean seriously every pony I have seen in this world is unbelievably attractive. That may just be my own bias coming into play.

Our dear Princess stands just a little shorter than her sister at 6’7” maybe 6’8”. She looks like she is around 170lbs maybe 180. Her bust, hips and waist are very well balanced for her height. Unlike Celestia, Luna is a more petite type woman. Not to say Sun-Butt is fat, but she is definitely more ‘filled out’ than her sister. She is plump in all the right areas. Seriously what is with the females of pony society they are all 9’s or 10’s in the looks department.

“..alker?”

I will never understand this world. There is just so much shit that just doesn’t fit. Like all the stupid horse puns for shit. Or the fact that…

“WALKER!!!”

“MAC SOITH” I holler and jam a finger in my ear to try and lessen the tinnitus. Not that it does much good.

“You were staring off again.” Calmly states Mira with a flat look on her face.

“Your point? I mean seriously, can’t a guy fucking think about shit for five seconds.” I retaliate.

“Five seconds would be fine, but you were out of it for like five minutes.” She says with a sigh. “Walker please let someone take a look into your mind. You always stare off like that at weird times and it worries me.”

“I know Mira, but honestly they won’t find anything. It’s just that I like to take time and think through my thoughts.”

“What were you thinking about that made you need to think so deeply?” Asks Twilight, her head tilted slightly to the side, as if she were a curious dog.

Looking over at Mira with a grin, I can see she is vigorously shaking her head ‘NO’.

With a sigh I look back over to Twilight. “Sorry I am being begged not to tell you.”

Looking around me Twilight asks Mira. “Why don’t you want him to say it?”

“Because 75% of the time his thoughts aren’t even appropriate among adults. I don’t know where he learned to think the way he does but I will tell you all now; never, ever, ask what he is thinking about unless you are prepared for weird in the extreme. One time I asked him what he was thinking about and he went on a five minute rant about whether cheese tasted green or not.”

All heads in the room turn towards me, even the guards.

“What? Oranges taste orange, which is just weird. So I figured if they tasted like a color why wouldn’t other food? I mean true cheese is more of a yellow color but so are bananas. So one has to taste yellow and the other must have taste like a different color. So after some testing I decided that cheese tastes green but only if prepared properly. Speaking of food where is ours?” Of course now everyone is staring at me to like I sprouted a second head.

“Here is your steak and potatoes. I hope you enjoy.” Says Mr. Fucking Creepy Smile. Who I might add is right in my damn face.

Of course his sudden presence scares the shit out of me, causing me to fall backwards in my chair.

From my place on the floor I look over at him and in the calmest voice I can muster at the moment say “Dude you are seriously fucking creepy. Do you always scare the crap out of the people you serve?”

He at least has the decency to look ashamed. “Sorry it’s just that I don’t get to cook meat for anyone in the castle very often and just got really excited.” He backs up a little and holds out a hand to help me up.

Now that he isn’t being so creepy I can actually get a look at him.

He stands around 5’5”, decent build. He looks like he is part red-tailed hawk and lynx. It’s a very interesting combination. For a second I could swear that his eyes are a blue color but when I blink they are bird yellow. *Okay that was weird*

Sitting back in my chair once it’s set up, I look down at the meal brought to me. The steak looks juicy. The potatoes are mashed with a light and fluffy texture. The smells coming from the plate are intense. Garlic being the most pervasive of the smells coming from the plate makes me salivate like my mouth is connected to a faucet.

“MMM. God this smells absolutely delicious.” Cutting into the steak releases an ocean of juices across my plate soaking into the potatoes. The inside is a light pink meaning he cooked the steak only just. Taking that first bite was an exercise in self control. It literally took every ounce of will power to not just tear into the meal bare-handed.

Fidgeting in place the griffon asks. “Is it to your liking?”

Looking up at him with a dopey smile spread across my face. “Marry me!”

Mira the only one not surprised by my reaction just sighs. Everyone else in the room gasps at the sudden request.

“He enjoys your meal very much and is just too stupid to realize what he is actually saying.” Explains Mira.

“Shut up bug. I need this man in my life to cook. If I had someone of his caliber I would eat till I couldn’t move. I want to have your food-baby.” I take another bite of the steak with a bit of the potatoes on the side. *Oh dear lord I think I just came!* The potatoes are surprisingly sweet. Here I thought the garlic was in everything but it seems to only have been used in the steak. *What did he use to sweeten the potatoes?* Taking another taste I still can't figure out what he did.

“How did you get the potatoes to be so sweet?” I really need to know because this is how I’m cooking my own from now on.

He grins. “I’m glad you asked.” He looks down a little. “Most don’t even notice.” With a shake of his head he smiles again. “I add a splash of cream instead of butter-milk while blending the potatoes.” The grin taking over tells me he did something else.

“That’s not all is it?” A shake of his head tells me I’m right. I take another bite of just the potatoes, just to savor it and figure it out.

*I can taste the cream now that he mentioned it. There is also hints of salt and pepper but its light so as not to over power.* Taking another bite I stumble across an odd flavor mixed in. “Is that thyme I taste mixed in?” I ask, looking up at him.

His grin gets bigger and brighter. “You have quite the tongue there my friend. Yes I added thyme to the potato while I baked them in the oven. By wrapping it in cooking foil I was able to trap the moisture and the flavor. But the real trick to cooking ‘sweet tasting’ potatoes is the temperature. Most just cook them at 190 degrees Celsius for an hour. But if you drop it to 145 degrees and let it cook in the foil for a bit longer you break down the starch in the potato, which is just a complex sugar anyway.”

God damn this Griffon is an amazing cook. I would have never thought of something like that. It’s such a simple change but it completely changes the flavor. Also requiring so little seasoning you don’t overpower the naturally delicate flavor of the potato. Damn these are good.

“You sir are a master chef for coming up with such a trick. I live life on the road and have tasted many different foods because of it. This however eclipses all the potatoes I have ever had. The delicate flavor of the potatoes, the strength of the meat, and the subtle hints of seasonings mixed in. The whole meal is very well balanced.” A little over the top but seriously, it’s the best steak and potatoes I have ever had since I got here.

He bows, beaming with pride. “Thank you for your kind words they warm this simple chefs heart.”

“Hey don’t belittle yourself in such a fashion. You made me something that is more than a simple meal. You gave me a plate full of life and energy.” I say with a smile and hold out my hand. “ I hope that you will continue to cook me such amazing feasts.”

He takes my hand and gives it a firm shake. “I would be honored to cook for you during your stay here.”

“Walker why is it that everywhere we go you always make friends with the weirdest of the weird?” Mira ask with as she sighs.

“Because of wierdmaste.” I say with conviction.

Princess Luna pipes up with “What the buck is weird-muh-stay?” Her muzzle scrunches up as she tries to pronounce the word.

Damn these ponies are adorable. I think I’d have diabetes by now if it weren’t for those dragons. Chuckling I say. “It’s a joke from my world. The actually word is Namaste, which means, in essence, I bow to the divine in you. In this particular instance it means I bow to the weird in you.”

“Why wouldst thou bow to the weird in another?” Luna asks completely confused.

“Simple really, we are all weird on the inside. Very few people in this world truly express what makes them different, mostly because this world has so many different ‘looking’ individuals in it, that very few use their unique personality to identify themselves. Why bother trying to stand out through your mind when you can do it by simply existing? Physical appearance is very important in this world. Who you are on the inside is mostly over looked simply because the different races have their own unique traits on the inside; this causes the more unique outliers in the world to be over looked. So I choose to acknowledge those that choose to be different.” I explain while continuing to eat the amazing meal prepared for me.

Looking up I realize I have become the center of attention. Sighing I place my fork down and fold my hands. “Take a look around the room.” Wave my hand around the room getting all to look. “There are multiple color combinations, heights, weights and even species in just this one room. Therefore each one of us stands out without having to doing a thing.” I place my hands back on the table and stare at my plate. “To me just standing out visually is boring. Anyone can make a few changes to their appearance and suddenly they seem special, unique, and different from anyone else. To me it’s more important that you stand out based on who you are instead of being different just because it’s how you look. Anyone can ‘peacock’, but it takes someone truly special to be willing to stand out through actions. Take this meal for example.” I point to my half eaten meal. “It looks quite plain. It looks like basic steak and potatoes, but” picking up my fork and knife I cut a piece of steak, than scoop up some potatoes before eating it. I savor the flavor of the food before continuing. “the flavor, what’s on the inside of the food is what truly makes it the amazing dish it is. Looking over the table I can see a veritable ocean of colors and shapes. Each dish is trying to stand out visually. Each one is ‘peacocking’. Each dish screams out its desire to be tasted, simply because it ‘looks’ good. To me what is on the inside is important. I could care less about titles or looks or any such nonsense. For me it boils down to who you choose to be when it matters most.”

The silence growing begins to become awkward. Sighing I finish my meal before standing up. “Princesses if you would please excuse me I wish to get cleaned up.” I turn and look to the guards. “If one of you would be so kind as to show me to my quarters, I would like to bathe before their Royal Highnesses ask that I continue the tale of my life.”