Chapters The smell of grass was the first thing to greet the man who was slowly returning from unconsciousness. The man in question was in his 20s, had a pale complexion and dark brown hair. His left eye was chestnut brown while his right had an icy blue tone. His clothing were simple, a black shirt, a pair of blue jeans, brown shoes and a thick dark green coat.
The second thing to greet him was the uncomfortable brightness of the sun as he opened his eyes. He quickly closed his eyes and tried to shield them with his arm, only to realise that he couldn't move it. He tried to move other body parts, but the only thing he could move freely was his eyes. He couldn't even speak, but thankfully, he could breathe. Sleep paralysis wasn't an unknown experience for him, so he didn't immediately panic. He slowly opened his eyes to examine his surroundings. A tall mountain towered over him to his right and on it's side he could see white structures of some kind. To his left was a field which was dotted with the occasional tree.
‘Where the f**k am I and how did I get here?’. He thought to himself as he looked around trying to determine his location as well as how he got there. He tried to move his body again only to fail. He tried for several moments to force his body awake, but to no avail.
‘COME ON!’ He mentally screamed at his body. ‘WAKE UP!’ But no matter how much he tried to force it, he couldn't move his body and panic was starting to settle in his mind. His eyes moved around frantically and he started to hyperventilate. Normally he is not the kind of guy to panic, but waking up, paralysed, in the middle of a field, in an unknown territory is cause enough for most. He had never felt this exposed in his entire life. Suddenly he heard several voices in the distance.
“OVER HERE! I found somepony.” He heard someone shouting.
‘Who's out there?’ He mentally screamed only to be reminded that he was still paralysed. ‘GOD DAMN IT! Why can't I move my body?’ The frustration was soon replaced by confusion as he suddenly heard the sound of several pairs of flapping wings shortly followed by the sound of hoofs.
‘The f…?’ His thought was interrupted as he noticed that he was being surrounded by at least 20 ponies all clad in golden armor. This, in it if itself, was a strange sight to behold, but something even stranger was the fact that he could see wings poking out of their back. The confusion stirring inside him wasn't helped when one of the ponies actually addressed him.
“You there! Rise!” It ordered as it approached him. It's voice deep and unrefined.
‘WHAT IS GOING ON?’ He wanted to run as far away as possible even though he stood little chance of outrunning a herd of ponies at the best of times. Let alone a herd of freaking pegasi.
“I will not ask this again creature. Now STAND!” It's face was now towering over the poor paralysed man lying on the grass.
‘COME ON!’ He frantically begged his body to spring into action or at the very least let him use his voice. All he could do was brace for the worst when yet again he heard the sound of flapping wings. It was almost inaudible and the strange thing was that he suddenly felt a sense of calm washing over him.
“At ease captain. Stand down.” The voice was feminine, gentle, melodic and powerful all at once.
“As you wish your highness”
‘Highness?’ He thought to himself as he noticed that something was blocking the sun. He looked up and was astounded by what he saw. Looking down on him was a horse of the purest white with what looked like an aurora attached to it's head. There was a long slender horn sticking out of the head. There was no mistaking its status as a royalty. It was adorned with a golden crown and it also had a golden ornament around its neck with a magenta coloured gem of some kind in the middle of it. The gems colour perfectly matched the colour of it's kind and wise eyes.
‘......?’ Was all he could say to himself as he looked up into its eyes. It lowered itself down to his level and carefully placed the horn on his forehead and to his amazement, it started to glow. His eyes widened as he felt a warmth spreading through his body. After a short moment it stood up and spoke to the captain.
“He's completely paralysed from the neck down. Take him to the the infirmary at once.” It said in a tone that wasn't to be questioned.
“With all due respect your highness. The creature could be dangerous.” The captain tried regardless as he sensed hesitant to bring the so called creature to a place where it could potentially harm someone.
“I appreciate your concern, but I do not sense that he poses a threat as he is currently both alone and paralysed. Now take him to the infirmary this instant.” The paralysed man in question listened and pleaded that they would listen to the big white horse. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason he felt safe near it.
“Forgive me your highness. I was merely concerned as the creature is not known to us.” The captain turned to the group of pegasi. “You heard the princess now move! “
The man on the grass began to feel tired as the adrenaline left his body. He heard the white horse’s voice before the world around him turned dark.
Author's Note
Hi ^^
Thanks you for taking time out of your day to read this. I hope you will enjoy this story.
Have a good one :)
The Pink Admiral
Disclaimer: I do not own Hasbro's My little ponyClaimer: I own my OC character Michael Happer
He awoke an unknown amount of time later in a hospital bed. When he opened his eyes he noticed that it was nighttime. He looked around and realised that he could move his head slightly. The room was quite large and he noticed that he was the only one in it. The walls looked to be made of white marble and the ceiling seemed to stretch on forever. Although it could just be a trick of the light as the only source was the moon light flooding in from the large window to his right.
“Well at least I can move my head a little.” He said out loud and his eyes widened.
“I can talk?” Relief washed over him as he realised that the paralysis might be temporary. This however did nothing to help him figure out where he was. He needed to talk to someone.
“HELLO! IS ANYONE THERE?” He heard something outside the room, but it quickly faded and soon everything was quiet again.
“HELLO!” He called out again, but was met with silence. A few moments later, no one had shown up so he decided that he ought to get some rest. Hopefully he could talk to someone the next morning and get some answers. Just as he was about to fall asleep he heard voices accompanied by sound of hoofs on stone coming from outside the room.
When the door to his room opened the light that flooded in made him squint his eyes. He opened his eyes and saw a female pony that had white fur and a bright red mane tied up in a tight pony tail. She was wearing a nurse outfit. He noticed that she had neither wings nor horn. She was flanked on either side by ponies in golden armor and each of them had a horn sticking out of the forehead. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. Unsure what to say. He was about to try again when the nurse pony reached the bed and spoke.
“Hi there. Can you hear me?” She was mere inches away from him. She had huge green eyes and smelled like flowers. Her voice was soft and caring.
“ehh...yes?” He said a little hesitantly. He wanted to dismiss this entire event as a dream, but something in the back of his mind told him that this was simply to vivid. He could feel every part of his body and he could feel the air of every breath.
“You don’t have to be scared. I won’t hurt you.” She turned to the two guards. “Leave the room so I can examine my patient in piece.” The guards looked a bit hesitant before addressing her.
“We have orders that he is not to be left alone with anypony.” They stated firmly.
‘Anypony...seriously? What is this? A kids show?’ He thought to himself as he watched the exchange between the nurse and the guards.
“There, now that that is over, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Red Hoof and I’m your nurse for the evening. What is your name?” His gaze lingered on the door for a few moments before returning his focus to Red Hoof.
“ehh...My name is Michael Happer.” He paused for a moment before speaking again. “Can I ask what is going on? Where am I? How did I get here? Why am I paralyzed? Why are they guarding me? Am I a prisoner? Why?” He was about to continue when Red Heart put a hoof on his lips. He froze. He could feel the hard surface of the hoof and a faint smell of dust that came of of it. This wasn’t a dream, but how? He started to panic, but was stopped when he heard the nurse speak again.
“SShh...Take a deep breath and calm down.” He did as he was told and after a few moments he managed to calm down. When she was sure that he wouldn’t panic she spoke again “You are in the Canterlot hospital and I don’t know how you got here Michael or why you are under supervision by the royal guards. All I know is that you were brought into the hospital about 13 hours ago. You were almost completely paralysed and unconscious and it still unclear why. The good news is that the paralysis seems to be temporary. The doctor estimated that you’re going to be back on you feet in 2 weeks at the most.” She took a breath before she continued. “Now I’m just gonna do some test and then I’ll leave so you can get some rest.” When she finished a few moments later Michael decided to ask her one more question.
“What’s gonna happen when I’m leaving this hospital? Is there someone that I can talk to so that I can get some answers as to how I ended up here?” Red Hoof looked at him and answered calmly.
“You should focus on your recovery at the moment, but I do know that princess Celestia has requested an audience with you as soon as you’re feeling better. If anyone can help you, it’s her”
“Is she the one with white fur and a multi colored mane? I think she also had a golden crown and a kind of...ornament, I guess, around her neck.” Michael asked. Red Hoof gave him a curious look.
“You’re really not from around here are you?” She said as she raised an eyebrow. “But yes, she is the one with “white fur and multi colored mane” as you put it.” Michael chuckled a little nervously.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult anyone. I’m just...I don’t know...confused?”
He lay there in the dark a while as he tried to process the events of the day. There was surprisingly little doubt in his mind that he hasn't been dreaming. All the sensations had felt so real. Everything from the soreness in his muscles from laying down for more than 13 hours, the feeling of Red hoofs touch. He also remembered the texture of Princess...what was her name again?...Skellefteå?...Celsius? Any way. The texture of her horn was to vivid for a dream. At least in Michael's experience.
The question then remained;
How the f**k did he get here?
Needles to say, he didn't get much sleep that night.
The following days he recovered more and more from his paralysis and after 4 days he could move his upper body without problem. His legs still refused to respond to his commands. This made him somewhat frustrated, but he was glad that it was getting better by each day and he seemed to recover almost twice as fast as the doctors had predicted.
During these days he had learned a bit more about where he was. He had learned that there are 4 kinds of ponies in Equestria. They where pegasus ponies that had the ability to control the weather, there were earth ponies that didn't have wings or horns. Most of them worked with farming or something nature related and had great natural strength and stamina. Then there were the unicorns with the ability to wield magic. Michael had been skeptical about the Pegasus ability to control the weather and if he hadn't gotten the opportunity to witness some of the unicorn doctors and nurses use magic, he would have flat out dismissed it entirely, but the one thing he absolutely refused to believe was that princess Celestia along with her sister, Princess Luna, had the ability to control the sun and the moon respectively. They were also 2 of only 3 alicorns in existence. Alicorns had characteristics of all 3 kinds of ponies.
Another thing that confused Michael were the tattoos on all the ponies flanks. Apparently they were called cutie mark and it somehow symbolised a pony's greatest talent or something like that.
He was currently reading a book about various creatures that resides both within and outside of Equestria. If the book were to be believed, Equestria was home to a myriad of creatures that would be classified as mythological back home. The mere fact that he had gotten used to interacting with unicorns and the occasional pegasus was astounding to him.
His musings were interrupted when the door opened and he saw miss Red Hoof enter with his breakfast.
“Good morning Michael. How are you today?” Michael put the book down on his nightstand.
“Quite good actually. My legs are still refusing to move though.” He said with a hint of frustration.
“Oh you shouldn't fret over it. You have recovered a lot faster than the doctor predicted. I'm sure the legs will function again soon.” She said as she put down his breakfast. It was a simple breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, a glass of water and an apple.
Michael had been glad his mouth had been working when they had tried to serve some kind of hay based food to him. He should have realised that they wouldn't be omnivores. Strangely though they ate eggs. Which worked out nicely for him. As Red Hoof started doing her check up, Michael quickly finished his breakfast before he decided to share a thought with her.
“Do you know when I'm going to be able to see the princess? Because I had a thought.” Red Hoof looked up at him.
“Oh, and what might that be?” She said as she gave him a curious look.
“Maybe I should see her before I'm fully recovered. Let me finish.” He added when he noticed that she was about to protest. “If I were to go see her in my current state it would show her that I trust her and to be honest I'm getting restless from not leaving this room for 4 days.” He looked down at the nurse and saw very thoughtful expression on her face. “Soo...Does it sound like a good idea?” She was silent for a moment before she spoke.
“That...is actually a really good idea. It would do you good to get out of here.” She said with smile. “Of course, the princess could be very busy regardless, but I suppose it could be worth a shot. I'll make sure that she gets a request as soon as I'm done with my morning round.”
“That sounds good, but could I possibly be allowed outside of this room anyway?” She sighed a little.
“I can't guarantee anything. The guards are under order to make sure you remain in here, but maybe I can persuade the princess that you leaving the hospital is a medicinal necessity.” She added with a wink as she took the empty breakfast tray and headed for the door.
Michael decided to return to his book as soon as she left the room. It was odd, but he started to enjoy himself a little in this strange new world. He did however miss his family and friends. When, or rather, if he ever managed to get home, they would never believe him.
He sighed. ‘I really hope that the princess can help me.’
Author's Note
Disclaimer: I do not own Hasbro's My little ponyClaimer: I own my OC character Michael Happer
Chapter 2: Meeting with royalty
It didn't take long for him to get an audience with princess Celestia. Nurse Red Hoof had sent a request right after her morning round as promised and Celestia had answered almost immediately and informed her that he could join her for lunch at noon.
Michael sat in a wheelchair as he was being escorted through an underground tunnel that connected the hospital to the royal castle where Celestia lived. They had decided to use the tunnel because it was more discreet. After all, it's not everyday a new sentient species appears out of nowhere even in Equestria. Rumours had started to spread about the sentient hairless monkey being treated in the hospital. Many journalists wanted an interview with said monkey, but Celestia had forbidden any and all media interference. This didn't stop rumours from spreading though. The fact that Michael was an omnivore had spread quite fast and while many argued that it's not that big of a deal since the neighbouring Griffin Kingdom consisted of omnivores, others were unsettled by the fact that an omnivorous monkey were being treated in Canterlot's hospital. Some had even demanded that he should be thrown out because they thought he would harm the many fillies being treated there. Red Hoof had told Michael about some of the rumors and even though he didn't like people falsely believing him to be dangerous, he could understand why.
It took almost 20 min to get to the other side of the tunnel. They exited through a pair of heavy iron doors that lead into a brightly lit corridor with huge windows. The walls and ceiling being made of white marble. There was a dark red carpet on the floor. Michael looked around in amazement at the wonderful and intricate designs. He was so preoccupied with admiring the scenery that he didn't notice that someone waited for him at the end
“I'm glad you appreciate my home Mr. Happer.” Michael was brought out of his thoughts and looked ahead and saw that Princess Celestia was waiting at the end of the corridor. Suddenly he realised something. He had never addressed a royalty. What should he say? Your highness? Your majesty? Princess?
“Um...hi...eh, your highjesty. I mean...your majiness.” He closed his eyes and winced at his awkwardness. “Um...I'm sorry Princess Celsius. I MEAN CELESTIA.”
He developed a sudden fascination with the red carpet as he tried with all of his might to turn back time a few minutes. Celestia meanwhile had to fight hard to suppress a fit of laughter at poor Michael's ordeal. The guards had a similar issue and had to bite down hard so they could maintain a professional exterior. The Princess took a deep breath before addressing Michael.
“It's quite alright Mr Happer. I take it you don't have much experience dealing with royalty?” She asked with an amused smile. Michael looked up and chuckled a little before answering.
“What gave me away? I taught I did an excellent job of hiding the fact that know next to nothing about interactions with royals.” He said as he put on a mask of ironic pride. Celestia gave him a bemused smile.
“And you almost had me fooled, but you should know that when you address a royalty you always start with “greetings your majiness.” and not “hi your majiness”.Otherwise it was perfect. ” She said with a smirk.
“Ah...I should have know.” He said as he swayed his head in mock disappointment. Celestia giggled discreetly before turning her focus to the guards.
“You may leave. I'll take him from here.” The guards did a quick bow before excusing themselves. Celestia then looked down at Michael. “Now, we're going to the gardens for some refreshments and a little something to eat. I thought you might enjoy the outside after being cooped up in that room for 4 days.” She said as she escorted him to the garden. Although Michael felt happy about not eating in the hospital, he still wanted some answers, but decided it was best to wait until they reached the gardens.
“That sounds nice Princess.” He said as he began to think about what questions he most wanted an answer for.
“This is an informal meeting Mr Happer. You may call me Celestia. Although I think I'm starting to like the sound of “Your Majiness”.” She said jokingly.
“As you wish, Your Majiness.” Michael replied as they both chuckled a bit. He liked that Celestia was so down to earth despite being a princess. “But seriously though, what do I say if I want to be...correct? Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with calling you “Your Majiness”, but I think it might be good to know how to properly address you.” Celestia nodded in agreement before answering.
“You are quite right Michael. “Your Highness” is used when addressing somepony who is either a prince or a princess. “Your Majesty” is used to address somepony who is either a king of a queen.” She turned her head to Michael. “I wouldn't worry too much though. Even some of the nobles get those mixed up occasionally. Just the mere fact that you are humble enough to admit a mistake and show a willingness to correct it, is more than most.” She added with a smile. Their conversion continued until they reached the garden. Michael took a deep breath as he enjoyed the feeling of the warm sun on his face. He took in the sounds and smells of the surrounding. They seated themselves at a table that had been set up near a stream of water and in the shade of a nearby tree. Michael looked around the garden, admiring the scenery. He took a sip of the tea that had been put out for them.
“I gotta say. Your home is not too shabby.” He said as he continued to look around. “As for myself I have a luxurious apartment with barely enough room for 2.” He added as he took another sip of his tea.
“Trying to impress me.” Celestia said in a mock tone as she raised an eyebrow.
“Trying being the operative word there.”
Celestia chuckled a little before she spoke. “Nurse Red Hoof informs me that your recovery is going smoothly. How are you coping with the situation?” Celestia asked in a sincere tone.
“Surprisingly good actually. I'm recovering almost twice as fast as the doctors predicted so hopefully I'll be able to walk soon, but I'm still not used to…” He said as he gestured around the scenery.
“Being in another world?” Celestia finished for him.
“Yes...that.” He said as he refocused on his tea. Celestia gave him an understanding look before she spoke.
“I’ve spoken to nurse Red Hoof about you. She seems to have spent the most time with you and thus have a better understanding as to what may have happened. You’ve told her that it was never your intention to end up here in Equestria. Could you tell me what happened?” Michael had a thoughtful expression on his face as he tried to recall what happened. After a minute he spoke.
“I honestly have no idea how I ended up here, but I can tell you what I remember.” He paused for a moment as he collected his thoughts. “The day I...was transported here wasn’t unusual in any way. Sure I had been working for 15 hour straight, but that’s what I get for being a musician in the middle of Christmas. Anyway, it happened when I got home.” He paused for a bit, unsure how to describe what happened next.
“What happened?” Celestia asked hoping to find some sort of clue that might help her send him to his own world. Michael was silent for a few more moments before he spoke again.
“Well...I was at the door, I unlocked it and stepped in.” He paused a little to make sure he remembered as much details as possible, but unfortunately his memory was a bit vague. “I turned around and closed the door and when I turned again everything...just went black...I don’t know how long it lasted. Could have been hours or even days for all I know. Next thing I know I’m waking up in a field of grass and I can’t move my body.” He was silent for a while as he tried to recall more details, but he couldn’t. He looked up at Celestia who seemed to be deep in thought. eventually she looked up at Michael.
“You say that everything just went black. Did you feel anything when it happened? Did it hurt? And do you remember if anything happened between the moment you left your home and the moment you awoke here?” Michael stared ahead at nothing in particular when he answered.
“It kind of felt like falling asleep, but almost instantaneously. When I woke up It felt like waking up from a reeeeally long sleep. I can’t remember anything that happened in between.” He said as he took the tea to his mouth.
“Hmm...I don’t think that I will be able to give a satisfactory answer as to why you’ve ended up here and It pains me to say this, but you may very well be stuck here for a long time. This may be hard to hear, but I’m not going to lie to you Michael.” He looked down. Her answer didn’t surprise him. What the f**k was he supposed to do now? Eventually he looked up.
“Soo...How long is a long time. Are we talking days, weeks...years?” He said as he looked up. Celestia gave him a sad look.
“It is almost impossible to say. It could take as little as a few month, but most likely it’s going to take years. I’m not going to say that it is impossible to send you back, but I can’t give you a timeline for when it will happen I’m afraid.” She reached over and lifted his chin with her hoof. “But I can give you a life here in Equestria. It may not be your home, but with time you may come to make this your new one.” She said with a smile. “I can’t tell you why you’ve come here, but I believe things happen for a reason. You coming here is not an accident.” Celestia had initially planned to ask a few more questions, but seeing Michael in his current state made her push those to the back of her mind. She had already decided that Michael wouldn’t be a threat to anyone so answers could wait.
“Soo...” She started. “Would you care to tell me something about you world?” Michael looked a little happier at this. He chuckled a little.
“Trying to change the subject eh?” He said in a joking tone before he continued. “I don’t mind, but I want to thank you.” Celestia raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?...Whatever for?” She said, curious what Michael was about to say.
“For being honest. I may not like the implications of what you just said and I don’t like the idea of being stuck here for years, but I appreciate your honesty.” He sighed before he decided to ask a question that had been plaguing his mind for the past days. “Anyways, could I ask you a question?” Celestia looked at him and gave him a curious look.
“Of course you can.” She stated as she took a sip of her tea.
“What I’m about to ask may seem a bit...insensitive? and I apologise if that’s the case, but I must ask, do you and Princess Luna really raise and lower the sun and moon?” He asked as he hoped that he hadn’t offended the princess. To his surprise she chuckled a little before answering.
“I don’t mind at all. There are even some ponies that aren’t entirely convinced that we can. It is good to question old beliefs, but in this case I can assure you that they are not lying when they say that we can bring forth both day and night.” Celestia found Michael's sceptical look very amusing.
“Doesn’t your world have somepony...or should I say someone that takes care of the sun and the moon?” She asked curious to find out more about Michael's world.
“Well...no. In fact it would even be wrong to say that the sun rises at all.” He then went on to explain how the sun and the moon worked back in his own world and Celestia felt like a curious filly for the first time in centuries. They talked a lot about the differences between their respective worlds. They were both so invested in their discussion that they didn’t even noticed when two guards approached them. One of them cleared his throat which caught the attention of Celestia.
“Pardon our interruption your highness, but they are awaiting your arrival down in the courtroom.” Celestia looked slightly embarrassed that she had lost track of time during her discussion with Michael.
“Oh my, Is that really the time?” She turned to Michael. “As much as I enjoyed our talk I must be elsewhere. These guards will escort you back to the hospital. When you are fully recovered we shall talk again. Until then.” Michael was about to answer when Celestia disappeared in a flash of brilliant white light. He blinked a few times in confusion.
“Did she just?...never mind.” He looked up at the guards who seemed unfazed by the display. “Well I guess it’s back to the hospital for now then.”
As they escorted him back to the hospital, he was deep in thought the entire way back. What would he do if he couldn't go back to his own world? Were there other humans living somewhere in Equestria? Or was he the only one?
There were many questions looping in his head that needed answers. He needed to speak to Celestia again even though he realised that she probably won't have all the answers. She was certainly one of his best bet though and he had managed to make a good impression with her despite his...less than successful introduction.He also hoped that he could talk to her again. Not only because he had gotten some answers, but because he genuinely enjoyed their conversion. She was down to earth and very humble person despite the fact that she is the ruler of Equestria and raises and lowers and sun. Even though Michael wasn't fully convinced of that fact yet.
After a while he was back in his hospital bed. He lay there and pondered about the event of the day. His thoughts were interrupted when nurse Red Hoof entered the room. She frowned a bit when she saw that something seemed to trouble Michael.
“I...don't wanna talk about it right now.” He said as he looked out the window. “Ask me again tomorrow. Right now I think I need some rest.” The nurse gave him a sad smile.
“I didn't mean to pry Michael. I'll come back in a while with some food.” She said with a reassuring smile as she left the room.
Michael couldn't help himself and smiled a little. “I could have ended up in a worse place I guess.” He said to himself as he looked out of the window, lost in thought.
Author's Note
Disclaimer: I do not own Hasbro's My little ponyClaimer: I own my OC character Michael Happer
It took him four days, but he was finally back on his feet. Granted he felt tired after walking around for only 15 min, but still it was progress. He sat down in his wheelchair and breathed heavily.
“That was very good Michael. If you keep this up you should be able to leave tomorrow.” Nurse Red Hoof said as she examined Michael. He looked up with a smile.
“I really hope so. I don't think I can stand being in this room for much longer, but I might just miss you bringing me food every morning.” He said with a wink. Red Hoof just swatted him in the back of his head. “Ow...ok I may have deserved that, but I want to thank you for all the help. I appreciate what you've done. You have kept me focused on getting better and you have been there when I needed someone to talk to. Even though I'm surrounded by people, it feels like you and Celestia are the only ones, so far, to not treat me different because I'm not a pony.”
“I'm glad I could help.” She said with a smile. “But it is a little odd that the others haven't gotten used to you yet. I thought for sure at least one of them would take the time to talk to you at least a little.” She added with a look of concern and a little sadness. Michael just sighed.
“I may not like it, but I do understand it. It seems that ponies as well as humans are afraid of things they don't understand.” He was silent for a moment before he added. “At least there just ignoring me and not trying to kill me.” He said only to receive another hoof to the back of his head.
“Don't joke about things like that Michael.” He stopped and noticed that she looked genuinely upset.
“I'm sorry. I was just kidding. Besides, I don't I have much time left considering how you are treating me OW...fuck OW. Stop it.”
“Language Mr. Happer.” Michael just rolled his eyes.
“Yes mom.” She simply pouted.
“Hmpf.” She uttered as she tried to look as dignified as possible. Michael started to chuckle and her eyes widened. “Don't you DARE.” She stated firmly, but all she managed was to seal her own fate as Michael's chuckle escalated to a full blown hysterical laughter.
“HAHAHAHAHA...oh my god you should see your face...HAHAHA...OW stop hitting me HAHAHAHA OW.” Eventually he managed to calm down. He looked over to the unamused pony as his chuckles slowly died out.
“Ok fine, I'll admit that it was somewhat funny. Happy?” She said with a look of annoyance on her face. Michael just smirked.
“You are just too easy to tease.” He said with a wink. Red Hoof just rolled her eyes before she picked up her equipment and headed for the door.
“I'll be back a little later. If you're feeling up for it you may walk around in the room without supervision, but there will be consequences if you hurt yourself. Do I make myself clear Mr. Happer.” She stated firmly in a mocking tone.
“I'm not gonna hurt myself. That's your job.” He said as he stuck his tongue out. Red Hoof just shook her head and left the room.
An hour before noon the next day, he was discharged from the hospital. He stood at the entrance to the tunnel that lead to the castle. He was flanked on either side by a guard and they were about to enter when they heard someone approaching from behind them. Michael turned around and smiled when he saw nurse Red Hoof.
“I thought this was your day of? Or did you come here to send me back to hospital because I accidentally hurt myself? ” He said mockingly.
“Ha Ha Very funny. No I just wanted to say goodbye to my favourite hairless sentient monkey, that's all.” She said as she stuck her tongue out.
“Thank you. For everything.” He said as he stood up and looked into her eyes. “I got a crazy idea. How about we do something, sometime, somewhere that isn't the hospital?” Red Hoof giggled.
“Deal. And I don't ever want to see you here again. Understood?” She stated firmly as Michael just rolled his eyes.
“I was about to say likewise, but that would be disastrous.” He said as they both chuckled. “Well I gotta go I can't keep “Her Majiness” waiting after all.” He said as Red Hoof laughed as she remember what he had told her.
“Take care.” She said as Michael started the long walk through the tunnel.
“You too.” She heard just before the heavy iron doors closed.
After the long walk through the tunnel and after navigating several corridors, they finally arrived in the garden. A table was set up in the same place as last time.
“The princess will be here momentarily.” One of the guards said before they excused themselves.
Michael was a little surprised that he was left alone, but didn't complain. He wanted to explore the garden, but the walk from the hospital had left him surprisingly tired so he settled with moving the chair out in the sun. He closed his eyes and felt himself relax from the gentle warmth of the sun and fell asleep.
He opened his eyes and saw a seemingly infinite grass plain. It was night and the moon was unusually bright. He was about explore his surroundings when he felt the urge to look behind him. When he turned around he saw someone standing next a tree. He approached slowly. He soon realised that it was a female human. She had long dark green hair that swayed in a non existent wind. She wore a long deep blue dress that went down to right above the ankles. Her feet were bare and the ground around them were covered in the softest moss. She had her back against Michael and as she turned the sun rose, replacing the moon in the sky. The last thing he saw was the look on her face. It was filled with sorrow and regret, tears flowing freely from her eyes. Then the world around them dissolved.
“Michael.” It was a soft caring voice. Michael slowly opened his eyes and squinted.
“Huh? what? who?” He heard a melodic laughter.
“I take it you had a restful nap?” The voice said. Michael looked up and saw a pair of magenta eyes looking down on him. He looked them for a moment, seemingly confused. Then he remembered.
“Oh right. Equestria. Magical ponies and all that.” He rubbed his eyes. “Man I must've been more tired than I thought.” He looked at Celestia again. “Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep.” Celestia just looked amused.
“It's quite alright Michael. You have been paralysed for more than a week after all. Feeling a little tired is understandable.” She said as she took a seat at the table. Michael stood up and let out a yawn. He stretched a little.
This was the first time that Celestia realised just how tall he was compared to the average pony. He had the same clothes that they found him in. Although he had chosen not wear his thick coat as it rested on his chair. Celestia calculated that he was probably only an inch or so shorter than her.
Having finished stretching Michael made his way to the table and sat down.
“It's strange. It feels like I've been sleeping for hours. How long was I out?” He asked.
“Couldn't have been more than 5 min.” She then noticed that Michael was deep in thought. “Did something happen?”
“Well...I had a strange dream and I can't shake the feeling that it's important somehow, but I don't know why.” He said as he looked over to the stream of water.
“Hmm...Tell me about it.” Celestia told as she leaned a little closer. Michael described his dream to her while she remained silent. When he finished he looked up at Celestia's thoughtful expression as he waited for a response. He was about to ask her when she spoke.
“I cannot say for sure what meaning this dream contains, but I suspect that you haven't seen the last of this it. You are right to assume that it is important. Feel free to talk to me if you ever feel the need for it. Although perhaps you should talk to my sister. She is the master of dreams after all.”
This piqued Michael's interest.
“Master of dreams?”
“She is the master and guardian of the dream realm. It's her duty to watch over ponies dreams and guard them from nightmares.” She answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Michael couldn't believe it.
“She can...see people's dreams?...how?”
“You should ask her sometime. I'm sure she would be more than happy to explain it to you.” She said with a smile. Michael remained quiet for a while before he spoke.
“Soo...There was something that you needed to talk to me about. ” He said as he leaned back a little in his chair.
“Yes, you see, there is a...dilemma that we need resolve. It has to do with you staying here.” Michael gave her a curious look, but remained quiet. “I'm sure you're aware about the many rumours that have been circulating about you?”
“You mean the monkey business? so to speak.” Michael noted.
“I suppose that's one way of putting it, but that's not the main issue. The citizens has not reacted well to the fact that you're an omnivore and while the neighbouring Griffin kingdom consists of omnivores. We have traded with them for centuries so they have become a common sight here in Equestria. The ponies are used to them.” She paused a little.
“So you're saying they fear me because they don't know me? And I'm also guessing that it doesn't help that I, seemingly, came out of nowhere.” Michael pointed out.
“You are correct. While I don't believe you will harm anypony, others might not be so trusting. Which brings me to what might be the solution here.” She paused momentarily to collect her thoughts. “The citizens wants insurance that you are not a threat to anypony. This means we have to prove, somehow, that you aren't. There is a problem though, you being an omnivore is not cause enough to put you on trial for anything. So what we could do is, with your permission, put you under house arrest for a time. After which, you will be given “a chance”, as it were, to interact with the people. This will show great trust on your part and while it's not going to convince everypony that you are harmless. It will put a lot of ponies at ease with your presence here in Equestria.” Celestia finished and looked at Michael as she awaited his response. He opened his mouth, but closed it again. He repeated this a couple of times before he waved his hands in defeat.
“I don't like it, but it makes sense...I have nothing. Well, I want to know how this “House arrest” is gonna be and how long it'll last.” He finished.
“Your house arrest will last for 2 weeks starting tomorrow and you'll have a room here in the palace. You will be able to roam free in designated areas and 2 guards will be at your side at all times, the exception being when you are in your room. That's all.” Michael just blinked in disbelief.
“That sounds more like a vacatio...I mean. I humbly accept these terms, your majiness.” He added a bow for dramatic effect. Celestia, already used to his antics, just rolled her eyes.
Michael chuckled a little to himself before he lowered his head and focus on a spot on the ground and sighed.
“Is something bothering you Michael?” Celestia asked.
“It's something that's been troubling me since I got here and I know it's not likely, but I gotta ask. Are there any other humans on this planet?” Celestia sighed. She had been expecting this question, but she hadn't been looking forward to addressing this issue.
“Michael. I have been alive since the very dawn of magic itself and I have never even heard a rumour about any creature that come close to fitting the description of a human. The closest match would be the few species of monkeys living in the land of Zebreika far too the south of Equestria. It pains me to say this, but you are, most likely, the only human in this world.” She finished with a sigh. Michael felt his heart sink to his feet. His chest was physically hurting and he had trouble breathing. Celestia leaned over and put a hoof on his shoulder.
“You may not believe me when I say this, but I know the pain of being separated from loved ones and your own kin.” She sighed, unsure if she should continue. What she was about to talk about was painful for her, but she decided to go ahead anyway. “Did you know I have been separated from my sister for over a thousand years and she only recently returned to Equestria?” Michael just looked at her in silent shock. He didn't know what to say so Celestia continued.
“You see...when Equestria was in it's infancy, me and my sister ruled over the ponies. I would raise the sun and watch over them during the day and she would do the same during the night. She spent countless years perfecting and adding to the night sky. Each night was more beautiful than the last, but because they slept through the night, her efforts went almost completely ignored. Through the years she grew to resent the ponies and she grew jealous of me.” Celestia paused. Painful memories resurfacing. Michael saw this.
“You don't have to talk about it. It's obviously something personal and I don't want to intrude.” He interjected.
“I thank you, but I've already decided.” She took a deep breath before she continued. “One day she refused to lower the moon and I tried to reason with her, but she had been transformed into something else. Something that called itself Nightmare Moon. She managed to overpower me so I had to use a powerful artifact known as the elements of harmony to defeat her. She was banished to the moon along with my sister and they were imprisoned there for a thousand years.” Celestia finished and looked down on the ground, fighting hard to keep back the tears. She stiffened when she felt Michael's hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, a little shocked, as he stood next to her and looked her in the eye's.
“I don't know why you choose to share this with me, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. You told me that I'm welcome to talk to you if I need to.” He paused. “I'd like to offer you the same thing. If you would like to talk I'll be happy to listen.” He said with a reassuring smile. “I know I'm almost a complete stranger, but it's good to get an outside opinion on things and I can guarantee you that I can offer a better outside opinion than anyone else on this planet.” He added with a wink. Celestia was stunned. Here she was trying to comfort Michael when he suddenly flipped the script on her.
“You would do that?” She eventually asked.
“Of course. It's the least I can do for what you've done. Besides I'm used to being a shoulder to cry on, so to speak. I don't know why, but people have always come to me when they've felt down. At first I thought it was really uncomfortable and I had no clue how to handle it, but eventually I got used to it and I started to enjoy helping others.” Celestia just smiled at this.
“That only shows that you are a kind, caring and trustworthy individual and I appreciate the offer.” She said with a smile.
“I'm glad I can help.” He sat down and saw some ponies walking up to them with some food. He could feel the smell of cooked mushrooms and onion which caused his stomach to growl, loudly. His cheeks turned slightly red and he looked over to Celestia who only laughed at the comical timing.
“Hungry?” She observed with a smirk.
“I suppose I can have a little something eat.” His stomach growled again, even louder this time. Michael just grumbled as Celestia just laughed again.
They were quiet for a while as they ate their food. Eventually Celestia broke the silence when she saw that Michael had finished.
“I would like to ask another question, if that's alright with you?”
“Of course.” Michael said as he leaned back a little.
“When we found you at the base of Canterlot mountain, we also found a portfolio with some...peculiar items let's say. Does this sound familiar to you?”
“You found my portfolio?” He asked, eager to get it back.
“So it is yours then? What function does the items serve?” She asked, hoping to shed some light on it's mysterious content.
“Well...There should be two computers in it. One laptop and one tablet. There should also a thick bundle of sheet music in there as well.” This surprised Celestia.
“How is that possible? Computers are, at the very least, the size of a large room.” Michael then realised that they must be in the equivalent of the 50s and 60s when it came to computers.
“It appears that humans are about 50-60 years ahead of Equestria, at least when it comes to computers. Could be because we don't have any magic, but I can guarantee that those are computers.” He paused for a bit when he realised something. ”But it's unlikely that I can prove it though. The batteries are probably long dead by now.”
“That brings me to another question I wanted to ask you. You say that you don't have magic, but we scanned you and found that you indeed have a magical signature. It is a lot more subtle than magic found here in Equestria, but it is there. Care to explain?” Celestia said as she leaned back slightly and observed Michaels reaction.
He just blinked and looked very confused. He was silent for a full minute before he answered. “ehm...I do?” Celestia sighed. It seemed that Michael was completely unaware of this fact.
“Indeed you do. The magical properties seems to differ from the magic found here, but we figured that it was due to the fact that you're from another world. Perhaps you call it something else where you're from?”
“Well...There are many philosophies around a type of...bodily energy. Some call it chakra and others call it chi and there are beliefs about what these can do, but one thing they have in common is that you must discipline your body and mind through...various exercises. These ideas have been around for thousands of years, but so far they have never really gained any foothold within the scientific community. Personally I don't believe it, but, then again, I never believed it could be possible to travel to another world. A world filled with colourful talking ponies, some of which claim to be able to raise the sun....ehm...no offence.” He quickly added. Celestia simply raised an eyebrow.
“Still not convinced I see. I will just have to show you one of these days. But enough about that. We can examine your magic in more detail at another point in time, but for now I'm afraid I have other duties to attend to.” She said as she rose to her hoofs. “The guards will show you to your room. Your portfolio is there as well. Until we meet again.
“ehm...could I just ask you a quick question before you go?”
“You just did, but I'll let you ask another question. Then I must be of.”
“This isn't really urgent, but could you tell where I can get some clothes? I only have these.” He said, gesturing to his clothing.
“Hmm...I suppose you would feel a little cold without fur to warm you so I can see the need for it.” Michael didn't exactly feel the need to point out that warmth wasn't the main concern when it came to clothing. “My personal student, Twilight Sparkle, knows a very talented fashion designer. I'll see if they could come here to Canterlot to help you. Will that be all?”
“Yes and thank you for all the help. I look forward to next time...your majiness.” He added jokingly.
“Likewise Michael.” She said as she took to the air. It was a strange site for sure and he was having a hard accepting what he saw. When he could no longer see her, he turned to the guard.
After a while they arrived at the room. Michael was surprised at how big it was. It was twice the size of the hospital room and it even had its own balcony and bathroom. The furniture included; a queen sized bed, a desk, a table and various other bits and bobs. He was glad to see that his portfolio was on the table. He took out his computer and flipped it open. He pushed the on-button and was shocked to find out that not only was there battery left, but it was full.
‘How?’ He thought to himself. ‘Did they do something with it? and how would they know to fix the battery if they're 50 years behind in computer technology?’ He searched the laptop and confirmed that all his stuff was still on it. To say that he was confused would have been a huge understatement, but he was glad it was working, however short lived it might be. He browsed through his photos, which included his family, friends and even videos of his performances. It started to truly dawn on him that he might never see them again. The final drop was when he saw an old recording of him and his mother as she thought him a song on the piano. He felt tears trickle down his cheeks as he watched the recording.
Several hours had passed when he finally stood up and realised that it was nighttime. He walked out onto the balcony and leaned his hands against the guard rail and looked up at the night sky. It was a beautiful clear night with a full moon that illuminated the room. He observed it for a while and realised that he couldn't find any familiar star signs.
He sighed as he went back inside and curled up in the bed. Sleep hit him like a rock.
Once again he found himself on an infinite grass plain. It was a bright day and the sun was high in the sky. He turned around and saw the same girl from before, leaning against the tree, watching him as he approached her. She still had a look of sadness on her face, but it was less prominent than than the last time. He walked up to her and looked her in the eyes with a curious gaze.
“Who are you?” She smiled a little and turned around and as she did the moon replaced the sun in the sky. She sat down by a pond that was next to the tree and dipped her bare feet. She was silent for several moments before she spoke.
“Come and join me.” She said as she kept her focus on the water. Michael hesitated for a moment before he complied. He sat down next to her and watched as she lazily kicked around her feet in the water. He tried again.
“Who are you?” She remained quiet.“Why are you sad?” He eventually asked.
This seemed to catch her attention as she stiffened and to his surprise she hugged him. He saw tears flowing from her cheeks.
“Because I hurt you.” It was the last thing he heard before the world dissolved around them.
Author's Note
Disclaimer: I do not own Hasbro's My little ponyClaimer: I own my OC character Michael Happer
Chapter 4: The Archaic Princess
Michael was now a week into his “self imposed” house arrest. He had explored his designated area which included a section of the garden, the library and even the dining hall and the kitchen. During this week he didn't see much of princess Celestia. They had exchanged a few word in the hallways and Michael had been informed that her student, Twilight Sparkle and her fashion designer friend, Rarity, would arrive the next day.
He was currently having trouble sleeping. It had been a recurring thing for the last few days. Since he was hungry he decided to see if he could visit the kitchen at night. He dressed himself and stepped out in the hallway.
“Do you know if I'm allowed into the kitchen at night? I'm kind of hungry.” He asked one of the guards.
“You are sir.”
“Great, let's go.” He said as they escorted him towards the kitchen.
They walked in silence through the hallways. Michael rounded a corner and was surprised when he almost walked into someone. He stopped and saw he had almost walked into a pony. Or to be more precise, an alicorn of a midnight blue colour. Michael quickly deduced that this was Celestia sister, Princess Luna. She was just about half a head shorter than him. He also noticed that her hair didn't flow in a non existent wind like Celestia's did.
“Oh I'm sorry...ehm...your highness.” He said as he did a quick bow.
“Tis quite alright. We were deep in thought and didn't pay attention to our surroundings. Thou must be Mr. Happer, correct?” Michael was a bit surprised about the archaic English, but choose not to comment on it.
“Yes that's right and, if I'm not mistaken, you must be Princess Luna. You are the sister of Princess Celestia right?”
“Thou art correct Mr. Happer. We are indeed the sister of Celestia. She hath spoken quite a bit of thee. Now pray tell, why art thou awake at this hour?”
“Um...well I couldn't sleep and I was hungry so I was on my way to the kitchen.” Luna looked to the guards who nodded in confirmation.
“We understand. We have intended to speak thee Mr. Happer, may we join thee?”
“Of course. There is actually something we I mean I have wanted to talk to you about.” He hoped that Luna wouldn't notice his little slip up, but unfortunately for him, she was very observant.
“Art thou making fun of the way we speaketh?” She said with a hint of anger.
‘crap. ’
“No no not at all. It's just that...ehm I'm a musician and there are lots of old songs that uses...that dialect so I'm familiar with it that's all. I swear I was not making fun of it.” He said as he hoped she would believe him. To his surprise she just laughed. He looked up with a confused look on his face.
“Tis quite alright Mr. Happer we know that our speech is...dated. Tis hard work to catch up with the development of the last millenia. Now, we shall follow thee to the kitchen.” She then turned to the guards. “Thou may leave us.”
“As you wish your highness.”
As the guards left, Luna and Michael headed towards the kitchen. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Luna broke the silence.
“Thou said thee wished to talk to us. What doth thee wish to ask?”
“Well...Celestia told me that you are...the guardian of dreams. From what I understood you watch over others dream and protect against nightmares. Is that right?” Michael asked as he looked at her.
“Correct. We are the caretaker of the night as well as the realm of dreams.” She than gave Michael devious smirk as she added. “but sister tells us that thou art not convinced of our claim Mr. Happer.”
“Well...eh...well no in fact I do not believe you until I can see it with my own eyes.” He stated rather carefully.
Luna simply raised an eyebrow. “Tis rather brave of thee to speak so openly of such things in the presence of the moon princess herself no less. While we feel a twinge insulted by thine statement, we nonetheless understand it since thou art not of this world. Sister informed us that there are no such guardians in thine world. Is that correct?”
There conversion continued until they reached the kitchen where they walked over to the fridge as Michael looked for something to eat.
“...and because of this you can sometimes see both the sun and the moon in sky at the same time.” Michael finished as he took out some cheese and bread to make a sandwich.
“Fascinating. If such a thing occurred here in Equestria the magical interaction between the sun and the moon could have serious consequences. It doth however explain thine doubt about the abilities of myself and mine sister. Thine world does sound fascinating we must say. We wish to know more about it, but thou wished to ask us something Mr. Happer.” She said as they seated themselves by a table in the corner.
“Just call me Michael.”
“And we ask thee, call us Luna. We shall extend the same courtesy as our sister did. Although, perhaps thou should call us your majiness.” She added with a smirk to which Michael answered with a roll of his eyes.
“That will haunt me for the rest of my stay here won't it?”
“We are afraid so Michael. Now, what doth thou wish to speaketh of?” Luna asked as she summoned a glass of wine.
“Did Celestia tell you about the weird dream I had?”
“She did and like her we do believe it's important, but what meaning it conveys, we cannot say.” She stated calmly as she tasted her wine.
“Well I had another one. This time it was day and the same girl was there. She looked directly at me this time. I went up to her and asked her who she was. She turned away and as she did, the night came out. She sat down by the pool and dipped her feet and asked me to join her. I did and again I asked who she was, but she just remained quiet so I asked her why she was sad. That must have gotten to her because she hugged me and started crying and said; “Because I hurt you” and that's when I woke up.” He finished and looked down at the table as he thought about the event.
“This is no mere dream Michael, but we cannot tell thee much at this time. With thine permission, we can monitor thine dreams so we may, more closely, examine it.”
“I'm not all that comfortable with that idea. What if I have...you know private dreams.” It took a moment for Luna to understand what he meant, but when she did, her eyes widened.
“Oh...We understand, but worry not. We have seen all manner of “private dreams” as you put it. Besides, did thou not reject our claims of raising the moon and wander the dreams?”
“Well yes, but what if I'm wrong? I'm not comfortable about the idea of someone else watching my dreams.” Michael answered as he shifted a little nervously.
“Thou need not worry Michael, we have seen all kinds of private dreams and we assure you we do not judge. Thou may come from another world, but we still doubt we will see anything new.” Luna stated casually.
“I'm not so sure. Us humans have quite the imagination.” He was quiet for a few moments before he hesitantly answered. ”But if this might lead to any clue as to how I got here, I'm game.”
“Art thou certain? Thou seem most uncomfortable with the idea.” Luna observed.
“Uncomfortable? Yes absolutely, but I'm willing to push past it if it can help me get back. Even if it's just a tiny chance, but I would still appreciate it if you would keep any private dreams you may see to yourself” Michael answered as his cheeks got a little red.
“Of course Michael we think it goes without saying that we do not plan on sharing what we may see unless it might be important.”
Michael remained quiet as he thought it over. He still didn't like it, but the potential reward far outweighs the potential awkwardness that might occur.
“Ok. Let's do it.” He finally said.
”Very well it shall be done. We shall begin this very night.”
Later that night.
Luna found herself in a peculiar place filled with humans. She saw people walking around carrying glasses filled with a foamy yellow liquid. The scent of alcohol and sweat permeated the air. She observed as they interacted with one another and came to the conclusion that humans does not appear to be all that different from ponies.
After a few moments she saw Michael sitting over by a bar and taking to what Luna assumed to be a female human. The girl in question had short light brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. She was wearing glasses and Luna had to admit that she had a very charming smile. The girl and Michael seemed to have a joyful conversation with one another.
Luna walked towards the two when she noticed that everything around her began to slow down. She looked around and noticed that everyone were moving very slowly. She looked back towards Michael and the girl and noticed that they were about to kiss.
Suddenly the scenery changed and Luna found herself in what she assumed to be a bedroom. She just rolled her eyes.
‘Well that didn't take long.’ She thought to herself.
Then the door to the room was slammed opened as Michael and the girl from the pub came into the room. They were locked in each other's embrace as they fiercely kissed each other. As they approached the bed they started to rip each others clothes of.
‘Oh my.’ Luna thought to herself as she blushed a little from the sudden display.
They were at the end of the bed, still locked in a firm embrace when the girl suddenly and forcefully shoved Michael onto the bed. She took of the last of her clothing and climbed on top of him. She stayed her lips inches away from Michaels until he grabbed the back of her head and forced them to meat. The girl moaned in pleasure as Michael pulled her hair.
By this point Luna was blushing furiously despite her best effort. She wanted to look away,but she was transfixed by the scene in front of her. Suddenly the girl climbed further up.
‘Why is she?...oh my.’ Her blush intensified as the moaning escalated.
Needless to say it got worse from there.
The next day Michael woke up and felt quite rested. He didn't know why, but he felt great. He got up and walked out onto the balcony. It was a bright day and the sun was high in the sky. He looked out over the garden as his eyes paused on his favourite statue. It was a kind of chimera that looked like it was performing a wagner opera. Unfortunately for him it was outside of his designated area so he would have to wait to take a closer look at it.
He took a seat in the sun and started to read a book he got from the library. It was titled “The ABC’s of magic: A unicorn's guide to mastering spells.” Michael had accepted the fact that magic was very real thing here in Equestria or at the very least that there was an unknown force, to his world anyway, with seemingly endless applications and he wanted to know about it.
After a while a guard came out on the balcony.
“Excuse me sir.”
Michael looked up from his book. “Yes?”
“Princess Celestia has requested your presence in her study room sir.” Michael closed the book and stood up.
“Oh right! Her student is coming today. Just give me a moment and I'll be right with you.” Michael said as he went over to the table were his belongings, along a pile of books that he borrowed from the library, were spread out. He put the laptop into the portfolio and turned to the guard.
“Lead the way sir.”
They arrived at Celestia's study a short while later. As they entered Michael took in the room. It was circular with two huge windows on the far side of the room. Of to the left wall was a fireplace, next to which several pillows were placed. On the other side he saw a desk of some kind. Strangely enough there was a note stand next to the fireplace.
On the far side of the room Michael saw a sofa group and next it, a cabinet where he mused that Celestia kept a secret stash of alcohol.
He saw Celestia, and to Michael's surprise, Luna standing over by the fireplace as they both read a scroll of some kind. They both turned around when Michael and the guard entered. Celestia turned to the guard.
“Thank you. You may take your leave.”
“Greetings your majiness...es?” He said a little hesitantly as he tried to figure out a good plural form of majiness.
“Good day to you Michael. How are you feeling?” She asked with the ever present benevolent smile.
“Very good actually. I felt quite refreshed this morning for some reason. I don't know…” He noticed that Luna seemed to avert her gaze and then he noticed that her cheeks had a dark purple tint to them. His...adult dream suddenly hit with full force, complete with every detail and he suddenly realised that Luna had seen it too.
“...*gasp*...you? saw?...oh my god…” He suddenly started to blush furiously as he suddenly wished he could take back what he had agreed upon yesterday night. “Oh my god I'm so sorry...oh god...you can actually...holy cow this is embarrassing.” He focused on the floor in a vain effort to make himself disappear through it. Luna seemed more composed, but there was no hiding the intense blush that made itself present on her cheeks.
Celestia's gaze just switched between the two as she tried to put the pieces together. Eventually she gave up and broke the awkward silence.
“What is going on here? You two are behaving like children caught doing something naughty. ” This just made it worse as Michael was sent into a coughing fit and Luna just refused to look her in the eyes as she tried to stifle a fit of laughter, but she failed.
Celestia just looked on in complete bewilderment as her sister suddenly fell on the floor laughing like she was possessed and Michael tried his hardest to compose himself. Eventually they both manage to calm down enough to try to answer Celestia's question. Michael was the first one to regain his voice.
“I'm sorry...What was the question again?” He said whilst having to use all his focus not to burst out laughing at the scenario.
Celestia just sighed as she looked him in the eye. “What is going on between you two?” Michael took a deep breath before he answered.
“Well...you told me that I should speak to Luna about my dreams right? so last night I talked to her about it and I gave her my permission to monitor my dreams and later I had a...ehm...”
“Filthy animalistic mating scene is the only way to describe what we witnessed last night.” Luna huffed and tried to look as dignified as possible.
Both Michael and Celestia just stared at her in complete silence. Then they promptly collapsed on the floor in an intense fit of laughter.
“HAHAHA...oh my god that's gold..ow my stomach it hurts...hahaha ow.”
“Oo...I'm afraid he's got you there sister. I on the other would have valued Mr. Happer’s privacy and avert my gaze.” This was met with a simultaneously raised eyebrows from both Luna and Michael.
“Pfft As if/Highly unlikely.” Was the collective answer.
“*gasp* The nerve of you two. I would never.” She then leaned over and whispered in Luna's ear, just loud enough for Michael to hear. “Tell me everything.”
“SISTER!”
Michael was about to protest this development when he realised something. “There is no possible way I can prevent you from talking about this is there.”
Celestia just chuckled. “Probably not. I haven't seen Luna this flustered since...well ever and I must know why. ”
Michael waved his hands in defeat.”Fine! We're all adults here. I'm not ashamed. I enjoyed myself.”
“Yes. Twas hard to miss.” Luna stated with a smirk. Michael's face just turned bright red as he averted his gaze and grumbled, much to the amusement of the two sisters.
Michael was about to retort when a guard entered the room.
“Pardon my interruption your highness, but Twilight Sparkle and her friend Rarity is here to see you.”
“Very well let them in.” Celestia said before the trio stood up to greet them.
The first one to enter was a lavender unicorn. She had a dark purple mane with a band of pink going through it. Her cutie mark was that of a six pointed pink star. From the description Michael had been given he assumed this to be Twilight. This left Rarity who had a white coat and a stylised mane with a similar dark purple colour as Twilight. Her cutie mark was three light blue diamonds.
Twilight walked right up to Celestia. “It's so good to see you Princess Celestia.” She exclaimed before they nuzzled a bit.
“I'm glad to see you to my faithful student.” Michael was impressed that Celestia switched from playfully teasing and flat out childlike behaviour to mature and loving mentor in the blink of an eye.
Twilight then turned to Luna. “I didn't expect to see you Princess Luna.” She said with a smile as she bowed.
“Rise Twilight Sparkle, you, alongside your friend here, freed us from a thousand years of torment and helped us reunite with our sister.” Michael noticed that Celestia flinched at that statement. “You need not stand on ceremony with us. Allow us to thank thee.” And, to everyone's surprise, she bowed down in front of Twilight and Rarity. “We are eternally in your depth.”
To Michaels amusement, both Rarity and Twilight blushed heavily as they tried in vain to tell that Luna that it was not necessary. Michael then realised that he had missed a vital detail in Luna's statement.
“Wait you two managed to free Luna? How?” He had actually never asked how she had returned. He always assumed Celestia did it.
Twilight looked at Michael with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. The urge to ask him a million question and go into her famed lecture mode fought for control of her body. Having tutored her since childhood, Celestia noticed this and stepped in.
“Do you remember that I mentioned a powerful artifact known as the elements of harmony?”
“Umm...yeah isn't that the thing you used to. ..” He stopped when he realised he was stepping into a sensitive topic. “eh...I mean yeah I remember.”
“The elements of harmony is a collection of powerful artifacts which contain; the elements of laughter, honesty, generosity, kindness, loyalty and magic. My student, Twilight Sparkle alongside her friends Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy, are the new wielders of the elements of harmony. They are the ones that saved my sister.” Celestia said as she looked at Twilight and Rarity with pride in her eyes.
Michael just blinked in surprised as he took in this information. “Huh?...eh...nicely done?” Luna just gave him a deadpanned look before she spoke.
“Nicely done? These two along with their comrades managed to purge from us our darkness and reunite us with our sister and all thou hast to say is “Nicely done?””
Michael just shrugged. “What? It's true. I would even go so far as to say very nicely done.” He could see Luna's eyes twitching.
“Why thou.” She was silenced when Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder and chuckled a little.
“At ease sister. Michael is just teasing you.”
“*gasp* Moi? Teasing a member of the royal family? The nerve. I would never.” He finished as he pretended to look insulted.
Twilight just looked on in bewilderment at the display. “What is going on princess?” She asked as she looked at Michael and Luna who were just chuckling at her confusion.
“Think nothing of it my dear student. Michael is just a bit...peculiar.”
“Says the winged unicorn who claims to be able to control the sun.” Michael quickly retorted.
This, apparently, was the wrong strategy to befriend Twilight. Her eyes twitched whilst she tried to contain her unholy rage.
“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!? Celestia raises the sun everyday. How dare you say something like that? And it's not…”
“Twilight!” Celestia sternly silenced her. “That's enough. Michael's world operates very differently from our own so neither myself nor Luna feel insulted by his words.” She said before she turned to Michael. “And Michael, while I myself don't mind much what you may call me or think of me, I think you should be more careful with such statements as they will be interpreted as disrespectful even if that is not your intent.”
“Of course. I'm sorry princess.” He said as he did a quick bow before turning to Twilight. He could see that she was visibly upset with his previous comment. “I'm sorry” He knelt down to her level. “Look, I'm not trying to insult her or you when I say I don't believe what you say. My world is very different from this place so it's hard to adapt. Trust me, I have a great deal of respect for Celestia. Heck I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for her.” He said before jerking his thumb towards Luna and added. “The blue one ain't so bad either OW.” He rubbed his head and looked up at Luna who just looked away, looking as innocent as she could. Celestia just sighed at the display. “My name is Michael Happer by the way.” He said as he offered his hand which Twilight accepted, albeit a little hesitantly.
“Uh...Hi my name is Twilight Sparkle...um sorry that I lost my temper like that.”
Michael just waved his hands dismissively. “Don't worry about it. It happens.” He said before turning to, whom he assumed to be, Rarity and offered his hand once more. “Michael Happer.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Happer I'm Rarity. I look forward to working with you. I do enjoy a good challenge.” She finished as she examined him from a distance. A thousand ideas flooding her mind.
“Hope I don't disappoint then.” He said with a smile. He turned to Twilight and saw, much to his amusement, that she had suddenly developed a look of curiosity and child like glee. The opportunity to learn from an unknown sentient creature made it impossible for her to stay calm.
“I'm gonna guess that you have a question for me. Am I right?” At that statement Twilight’s pupils grew to the size of dinner plates. They twinkled with an insatiable hunger for knowledge. This followed was by a sqee that made Michael’s heart stop. She was so excited that she practically vibrated on the spot. Unfortunately, she was so excited that she couldn't utter a sound.
Michael just chuckled at the comedic display. “I'm gonna go ahead and guess that you would like to know at least the following: What am I?, Where do I come from?, Why am I here? and How did I get here?. Did I get that right?” She nodded her head very enthusiastically as she added a barely audible. “Yes please.”
“Shall we take a seat?” Michael suggested.
They seated themselves on some pillows by the fireplace. When Michael felt sufficiently comfortable, he started.
“I'm a human or Homo Sapiens if you want the scientific name. As to how and why I got here I'm afraid we haven't figured that one out yet. Now, when it comes to where I'm from.” He paused for a bit to think of a way to explain it. “I'm from another dimension. A place called earth.”
Twilight couldn't contain her excitement anymore. “Oh my gosh. You have to tell me everything. What's it like? Are there other humans there? Can they use magic? Is it different from our magic? If so h…”
“Twilight. I know you're excited, but please give Michael some space.” Celestia calmly pointed out. It was then Twilight noticed that she had crawled closer and was more or less sitting in Michael's lap.
“Hehe. Sorry I didn't mean to…” She said as she tried to hide her embarrassment.
“I was actually wondering when you would notice.” Michael commented with an amused look as he, without realising it, put his hand on her neck and started to scratch it.
“Hey! what are you...oh...mmm...aahh.” She finished before collapsing onto Michael's lap.
He removed his hand when he realised what he was doing. “Oh sorry I didn't mean to…” He was cut of when his hand was enveloped in a purple aura and forcefully returned to the unicorn's neck.
“I didn't say stop. This is your punishment for insulting...ooh princess Celestia...mmm right there.” She said as she practically started to purr.
Everybody just stared, dumbfounded by the scene in front of them. Michael just blinked a few times before he just shrugged and continued to massage the neck of his newly acquired lap unicorn.
“Celestia. I was wondering if you could help me with something?”
She had to tear her eyes away from her purring student before addressing Michael. “Of course I will. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
Michael reached over to his portfolio and withdrew his laptop and placed it on a pillow next to him.
“Yes, you said that it was a computer.” She said as she eyed the black rectangle next to Michael.
“Something interesting has happened to it and I think you, Luna and, from what I’ve heard, Twilight can help me figure out what.”
Luna gave him a curious look before speaking. “Art thou certain Michael? We have been gone for a thousand years. Modern technology eludes our understanding.”
“I don’t think this is a technical problem. You see, these things run on a battery that needs to be recharged from time to time, but I have been monitoring my laptop for the past week and I’ve had it running for up to 8 hours day. That’s more than five times what you would expect from it and the battery is still full. Something has happened to it and I don’t know what and I can’t think of any other explanation other than magic. Which is why I’m asking you.” He finished as he looked at the royal sisters.
“That is indeed very interesting Michael. There are enhancements that could do what you described. We shall keep it here for the day and examine and I’m sure that once Twilight wakes up she will be more than happy to help us.” Celestia said with a smile as she looked at the sleeping form of her student.
Michael looked down and saw the most adorable thing he had ever seen in his life. Twilight had, somehow, managed to snuggle up against his outstretched leg as she hugged it like it was a teddy bear.
“Oh my, it’s probably because she was up all night yesterday, trying to find out about humans. She was very excited to meet you Mr. Happer.” Rarity explained.
“Then I think we should let her sleep. She can stay here while me and Luna examine this computer. In the meantime why don’t you two get started.” Celestia said as she took the laptop in her yellow magical aura and levitated it to her desk.
Michal had to awkwardly wiggle his way out the surprisingly firm grip Twilight had over his leg. Amazingly, she didn’t wake up. She just crawled up on one of the pillows and continued her peaceful slumber.
Michael turned to Rarity. “Shall we?”
“Absolutely. I’ve set up shop in my room.” Rarity then turned to the princesses and bowed. “It’s been a pleasure and an honour to meet your majesties and I look forward to seeing the both of you again.”
“Likewise Rarity. I hope that you can forgive the briefness of this meeting.” Celestia said as she did a court bow in return.
“Oh, it’s no problem at all your highness. I completely understand.” She said as she headed for the door.
Michael nodded his head towards the sisters. “Your majinesses.” They just nodded before they shifted their focus to his laptop.
A few hours later Michael was on his way to see Celestia about his laptop. As he, and his accompanying guards, stepped in he noticed that Celestia and Twilight was seated by the fireplace and were deeply engaged in a discussion about something.
“Pardon your highness. You wished to see Mr. Happer.”
“Yes, thank you. You may leave.”
Once the guards excused themselves, Michael made his way to the fireplace and seated himself. He turned to Twilight.
“Did you sleep well?” He said with a mocking grin. Twilight blushed and looked a bit uncomfortable.
“ahem...Yes.” Michael just laughed before he turned to Celestia.
“So, did you find anything?”
Celestia levitated the laptop to Michael. “We did and it is most interesting. The magical signature of your computer closely matches that of your own so we suspect that the magic originates from your world. It's unlike any magic found here in Equestria. It's a lot more potent, but at the same time its effect seems very subtle. We did some scans and and Twilight calculated that your computer is not going to lose power for at least a thousand years.”
Michael's jaw just dropped. He was in complete shock, not only because of the implication of what she just said, but also because the causal way she said it. Like she has experienced such things on a daily basis.
“Eh...a thou...a thousand years? How is that? Who?...WHAT?” He felt like someone had dropped his brain down a particularly long flight of stairs. It refused to function and his jaw remained dropped.
“That is a most unbecoming look for you Michael.” Celestia teased him.
Michael shook his head to snap himself out of his dazed condition. “Ok...First of all, are you absolutely certain?” He asked as he slowly got back control of his mind.
“Well no. It could be far more than that. A thousand years is a low estimate.” Celestia explained as mundanely as if she just had a taste of a really bland brand of tea.
“Although rare, enchantments that last on these timescales are not unheard of. This Palace has several enchantments that has allowed it to stand for the last eight hundred years.” Twilight explained she noticed the still present bewilderment on Michael's face.
He was quiet a for a moment. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he finally managed to speak.
“Ok...I'm just gonna believe you two on this one. I have no way of disproving you. Did you find anything else?”
“The enchantment present in your computer is something that can not occur naturally. Someone or something must have put it in place and although the magic within it differs from the magic here in Equestria the underlying mechanics of it seems to be very similar. This is why we strongly suspect this to be the case.” Celestia explained.
“So you're saying that someone enchanted my computer and that it was likely someone from earth? Could this...person have sent me here?” Michael observed as he delved deep into his mind to see if he could remember any more details from when he was transported away from his home.
“It's...possible, but we can't know for sure at this stage. All we know is that someone has put an enchantment on your computer and we also know that it's harmless. Anything more than that is just speculation at this point.” Celestia explained as she looked at Michael and noticed that he was deep in thought. “And before you ask. No, I can not say if your dreams are connected to all of this somehow, but it is something we should keep observing until further notice.”
Michael took a deep breath and sighed heavily. “Yeah I guess you're right. No point in meaningless speculations. Thanks for the help. We know something now at least.”
“I promised to assist you in anyway I can, but to be honest Twilight did most of the work.” She said as she smiled proudly towards her prized pupil.
“Oh, I didn't do that much. It's just that I was so excited to study an unknown form of magic. I'm sure you would have managed without me.” She said as she blushed a little at the attention.
“Even so, you did a good job today Twilight.” Celestia wrapped her wing around the unicorn affectionately and brought her closer.
“I just think you used Twilight so you wouldn't have to do all the work yourself.” He smirked when it had had the desired effect on the purple unicorn. She was grinding her teeth in anger, but stopped when she heard her mentor giggle.
“Now, where would you get such a ridiculous idea.” She said in a slightly chastising manner before adding. “I would use her then I would take all the credit for myself.”
“Exactly, Princess Celestia would never...wait what?” Twilight looked at her mentor with shock in her eyes. It didn't help when both Michael and Celestia started to laugh.
“I'm only joking Twilight. You did an excellent job.” She said as she nuzzled her.
“Wow! I didn't expect that from you Celestia.” He then looked over to Twilight who still had a look of surprise on her.
“Thank you for your help Twilight. It means alot to me.”
“Eh...no problem I'm glad I can help.”
They sat in somewhat uncomfortable silence until Michael spoke again.
“So...Any of you want to see the computer in action?”
“YES!” Was the collective answer from Twilight and surprisingly, Celestia. They looked at each other before they chuckled at their excitement.
Michael spent several hours showing them the various tasks that can be performed by a computer, including; games, movies, writing, and he did a simple program that could generate a random sequence of numbers, but one of the things that impressed them the most was a film he showed them. The film in question was “Lord of the Rings” and they almost didn’t believe Michael when he pointed out details and landscapes that were the result of computer animation. It amazed them to no end that computers could create such intricate and detailed environment. They only stopped when a guard informed them that supper was ready
They continued their talk on the way to the dining hall. Michael made a quick stop at his room to leave his laptop. Twilight hadn't failed to notice that he was reading “The ABC’s of magic” which excited her to no end as she went into lecture mode about various book titles that he should read and why and in which order. Finally Michael stopped her and promised to go with her to the library so she could give him a small selection of books. Of course, Celestia knew very well about Twilight's definition of “a small selection” when it came to books could range from 20 to 400 books, but choose to let Michael figure it out on his own.
Shortly they arrived at the dining hall and saw Rarity seated at the table as she conversed with Luna. The two turned towards the trio as they entered the hall and seated themselves. Michael seated himself next to Rarity who told him that the outfits were completed and awaited him in her room.
“We trust that by now thou knoweth what we discovered about thine machine?” Luna asked Michael.
“I do and I don't know how to feel about it honestly. I don't like the thought that someone might have sent me here.” He sighed. “But at least we know something now and that's better than to wander around blind, so to speak.”
“Tis deeply troubling indeed.”
He was about to answer when the doors suddenly flung open and an irritated unicorn with an air of arrogance strode into the room. He looked like a ponified version of a stereotypical aryan human. He had a brilliant white coat and a blonde mane. His cutie mark was similar to a compass design and what it was supposed to represent in actuality, Michael had no clue.
“I can't believe those imbeciles. Don't they know who I am?” He fumed as he seated himself next to Twilight, much to her displeasure, but she held a good poker face. Michael noticed that Rarity seemed very excited when she saw who had entered, to which he just rolled his eyes.
“I asked for one simple thing and...” Michael tuned out the rest of his rambles as he assumed it wouldn’t be of any importance to him. He could tell that this would be one pony he wouldn’t get along with and he was fine with that.
“Blueblood that’s enough.” Celestia silenced him before he embarrassed himself further. It was then that he noticed that he wasn’t alone with his aunts. He hadn’t even noticed that he had seated himself next to Twilight who occupied his usual spot. He looked to the other side of the table and saw Rarity who tried her best to hide a furious blush on her cheeks. When his gaze paused on Michael his face contorted into a sneer of disgust.
‘This is going to be fun. ’ Michael thought sarcastically.
“What is this creature doing here? He is contaminating the royal dining hall with his presence.” Michael could feel himself getting angry, but chose to remain silent. Maybe he just had a bad day? The thing that annoyed him the most wasn’t the insult, but the way he talked like Michael wasn’t even present.
“Prince Blueblood I will not have you insult my guests under my own roof.” Celestia chastised him sternly.
“Guest? Surely you're joking aunty? This monkey is nothing, but an animal.” He said with a sneer as he glanced at Michael like he was some disgusting creature in a zoo. “It belongs behind bars.” He finished with a snark.
Michael had had enough and stood up to leave and when he had the attention of everyone present he spoke.
“I apologise that my species disgusts you, Your highness.” Michael said with barely restrained anger as he spread his arm widely as he bowed. “Would I have known of your disposition towards us mere monkeys I would have chosen more wisely when I was conceived.” Michael took a deep breath before he continued, not realising that he switched to his native language. “Och nu om ers höghet ursäktar mig så tänker den här apan gå och klättra upp i ett träd.”
With that he stormed out of the dining hall and he didn’t slow down until he reached his room. Once inside he slammed the door shut and walked out onto the balcony. He gripped the guard rail so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His eyes still fuming with rage. As he looked out his gaze once again paused at the wagner chimera. It must have been a trick of the light, but he could have sworn that it looked straight at him for a short moment. He quickly dismissed as he thought back to the event in the dining room. He sighed and started to drift into his mind, but was brought out again when he heard a voice from behind.
“May we join thee?” The unmistakable dialect of the lunar princess made itself known. Michael remained silent as he kept his gaze trained on the surrounding scenery. Taking that as a sign to proceed, Luna stepped out onto the balcony. They remained quiet for a while as they took in the landscape in front of them.
“I might have overreacted a bit, but I’m not sorry about what happened.” Michael finally stated.
“We taught thou handled the situation as well as can be expected, but pray tell, what language didst thou speak at the end of thine outburst. ”
Michael just blinked in surprise at that. “I spoke swedish? I didn’t even realise. I must have been really mad then.” He chuckled a little at the mental images of the completely baffled prince.
“Swedish? We have never heard of a languages by that name.”
“The languages of the place I was born in, a country by the name of Sweden.” Michael explained as he started to realise how much he missed his home. “You know how I told you about how the sun and moon works back home right?”
“Yes twas a most interesting tale.”
Michael had a glint his eyes as he knew Luna would like what he was about to tell her. “Well Sweden lies far up to the north and in the northern most part you can experience something that’s called polar night. It’s a period of about a month I think during the winter when the sun never rises above the horizon. This reverses in the summer and the sun never dips below the horizon.”
Luna's eyes widened at this information. “How is that possible? Surely you jest?”
“I’m not joking. I’ve experienced it for myself. My grandpa had a summer cottage in northern Sweden and I once spent the entire polar night there. Grandpa would take me out stargazing when it was pitch black. It’s...indescribable really and out there in the middle of the forest you could see thousands of stars if the sky was clear. He would show me where all the planets where and tell me the names of the constellations, but my favorite memory is when I first saw an aurora.” He said as he closed his eyes and recalled pleasant memories spent outside, just watching the stars.
It filled Luna with delight to hear someone speaking of the stars in this manner. She knew that her night was far more appreciated in this day an age, but it was still joyful to experience it first hand, or hoof in Luna's case.
“Thou have an interest in the stars? We did not know. It pleases us, even though it is not our night thou speaketh of.” She said as she looked at the landscape.
“I have watched the stars here a few times and they are beautiful, but I can’t find any familiar constellations and it only reminds me of how far away I really am from home.” He sighed and looked down at the garden beneath, a single tear trickled down his cheek as he felt the emotions well up inside of him. He wished all of this was a dream, a weird an oddly specific and vivid dream, but a dream nonetheless. That he would wake up soon and everything would go back to normal and he would get together with his friends and family again. He tried to hold back the tears, but to no avail. He sobbed quietly in a vain attempt to hide his outburst from the Lunar monarch who simply hugged him as he cried. He clung to her tightly as his tears soaked her midnight blue coat. They stayed like that for a while before Michael broke the embrace and slid down on the floor and just stared at it as the tears flowed freely from his eyes.
“Why?...why...I miss my family. My friends. Am I ever going to see them again?” He said as he looked up with watery eyes at Luna.
“I can not say Michael, only time will tell. My sister believes it’s possible, but she dares not predict when it could happen.” She laid down next to Michael. “You can speak to me should the need ever arise.”
Michael looked back at the floor and remained silent for a few moments before he noticed something. “Hey, what happened to we, thou and thine?” He asked curiously hoping to distract from his dark thoughts.
“I can use the modern dialect, but we...I am not as proficient in its use as I am with the old.” She then looked up as if something called to her. “Tis time to raise the moon. Would you like to see?”
Michael's eyes widened as he momentarily forgot about his little break down and got to his feet. He wouldn’t wanna miss this.
Luna’s horn began to glow in a blue aura as she held her head high. At first nothing seemed to happen, then to Michaels disbelief the moon rose above the horizon, wrapped in a blue aura of the same colour as the one that enveloped Luna’s horn. He couldn't believe it. Here he stood and witnessed an alicorn raising a moon. A BLOODY MOON. The moon stopped high in the sky above canterlot and shined brightly upon Michaels, at the moment, rather unintelligent looking face.
Luna finished and smirked when she saw Michael's reaction. “Doth thou believe our claim now Michael.”
He opened and closed his mouth several times before he found his voice. “How?”
“Magic and as the fillies say, Duh!” She proclaimed with no small amount of satisfaction.
“That’s not fair. You can’t just toss around the moon and explain it away with magic.” A rather baffled Michael tried to reason.
“Well, tis the truth whether you think it fair or not.” Michael just grumbled as Luna chuckled.
They remained silent for a while as they watched the stars and eventually exhaustion hit Michael as he let out an audible yawn.
“I think I’m gonna go to sleep now if you don’t mind.”
“I understand and remember that I will always be here if you need anything.” She said as she put a hoof on his shoulder. Michael smiled as he hugged her.
“Thank you.” He said as she returned the hug.
“You are welcome Michael. Sleep well.” She said as she broke the hug and took to the sky.
Michael watched as Luna flew away into the night sky before he retired to his bed. He was asleep before he even hit the pillow.
Author's Note
Hello and thanks for reading this!
Wow It's almost been a year since I uploaded the last chapter. I'm so sorry if you have been expecting a new chapter since then. I have simply not prioritised my writing this past year. I won't bore you with the details, but I went through some personal stuff which might have been the reason I put this story on hold for such a long time. I have one more chapter ready after this one. I will upload it tomorrow.
Once again thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it.
P.S. Critisism is welcome. This is, after all, the first long story I have ever attempted.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hasbro's My little ponyClaimer: I own my OC character Michael Happer
The second week passed without much excitement for Michael. He hadn’t done much besides reading some of the 50 or so books that Twilight had assigned to him as “homework”. They covered a lot of topics such as, the history of Equestria, modern day politics, various plants and animals, and several books on magic and its underlying mechanics. He had also talked quite a lot with princess Luna as he was more of a night owl than an early bird kind a guy. They had gotten into a routine of sharing a midnight snack whilst talking about all manner of things.
He was currently heading to Celestia's studies as she had requested his presence after his house arrest. She had mentioned that they would talk about what would happen to Michael now and how she would help him make a living in Equestria. He had initially doubted whether or not he was going to succeed as a musician in this world. After all it was basically all he knew so he wouldn’t know what to do otherwise. The vast majority of his life had been about music. He had worked as a choir leader, music teacher, performing pianist, piano teacher. His initial doubt had faded when he had found something that could help him greatly. He carried a smile as he reached his destination and knocked.
“Come in.” Came Celestia’s reply.
He went inside and greeted her.
“Morning.” He bowed before he added. “Your majiness.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. “You seem to be in a good mood. I take it you have given our conversation some thought then?”
Michael seated himself opposite of Celestia by the fireplace as he smiled towards her. “I have. I was having doubts about how I would manage, but I think I have a solution that will benefit not just me, but you and maybe even all of equestria.”
“You certainly seem confident in yourself Mr. Happer. I’m all ears.” Celestia said as she summoned some tea for the both of them.
Michael gathered his thoughts for a few moments before he spoke. “Do you remember that you suggested that I should relocate to...what was the name? Ah Ponyville. Your idea was to let Twilight help catalog everything that I know about earth so that it can be preserved.”
“I do.” Celestia stated as she took a sip of her tea. “Am I correct in assuming that you have found something that will ease this process?”
Michael just smiled as he opened his laptop. “Not only ease it, but make it redundant.”
Celestia gave him a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”
Michael moved over and seated himself next to Celestia as he opened a program the laptop. “After our conversation I had this nagging feeling that I had forgotten about something and I was right. This right here is an encyclopedia, by the name of Wikipedia, that contains not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of articles about about earth, mankind, religion, math, physics, politics, works of fiction and much much more.” He finished as he looked over at the solar monarch who carried a look of sheer bewilderment and disbelief. “5.3 million articles to be more precise.” He added with a smirk.
Celestia just stared at the laptop for a few moments before she spoke. “I must apologize. It is not often words do not come easy for me. I’m a bit shocked to be honest. You have both told and demonstrated that technology from your world is ages ahead of anything currently in equestria, but to think that humans have come up with a way to store this much knowledge on something so small?”
Michael chuckled to himself before he spoke. “You look like I did when I first saw Luna raise the moon.”
Celestia just giggled. “I can imagine that I do, but tell me. What do you plan to do with all this knowledge?”
Michael took a deep breath. “I want to sell this information to you and in exchange I want your help in setting up a living for myself. I do not expect you do give me a lifetime worth money for this, but I do hope that you will be willing to help me get on my feet, as it were. Once I have set my plans in motion I do think that I will earn more than enough to make it on my own, but I have nothing to fall back on and I’m hoping that this will act as a fail safe. At least for now.”
Celestia took in his words and thought them over for a few minutes before giving her answer. “I would be a fool to deny such a generous offer and although I doubt that you are lying. I would like to see some proof of your claim. If you are right I can provide you with a decent income for your first year here in equestria as well as provide counsel should you find the need for it.”
“That sounds fair enough. As for proof I’m obviously not going to go through all 5 million articles with you, but ask me any question you might have about my world and I’m fairly certain we can find an article about it.”
The next half an hour was spent going through various articles that Celestia thought Michael would have no knowledge about and after briefly going through about 10 articles she was convinced.
“I must say that I’m am very impressed by this Michael. I, of course, know that not all information stored in here will be beneficial to equestria, but, as I said previously, I would be a fool to deny such a generous offer.” She paused for a moment as she sipped her tea. “I would still suggest for you to relocate to ponyville. Twilight is more than capable of going through this encyclopedia and extract anything that might prove useful to equestria.”
Michael remained quiet for a few moments before he spoke. “There is one things that you should know about wikipedia.”
“That being...?”
“It is an open encyclopedia. Meaning that anyone can edit the articles. This means that certain information might not be accurate. It is still, however, far more accurate than anything I could recall from memory, but one should keep in mind that not everything in it is 100 percent accurate.”
“That sounds like a manageable drawback that can be easily overcome.”
Michael looked down and sighed before he continued. “Another...well I wouldn’t use the word drawback, but something to keep in mind is that this encyclopedia describes human history quite accurately. Both the good and the bad and from what little I have read about equestrian history humans have done far worse things.”
Celestia noted how Michael's shoulders slumped as he told this. He was clearly uncomfortable talking about this. “Equestria has a long history of both prosperity and war. I have my doubts that ponykind is either worse or better than mankind.”
Michael had his doubts about that, but choose not to comment on it. After a few moments of silence Celestia decided to ask Michael what he planned to do with the money he would acquire.
“Well..I haven’t worked out the details of this, but I’m hoping you’ll be willing to help me. I want to get in contact with someone who will be able to build me a custom piano. I have actually played the one in the big ballroom. The keys are way to big for me though so I’m hoping that someone would be able to build one, specially made for me.”
Celestia looked impressed as she contemplated her next words. “I am sure that something along those lines can be arranged Michael.”
They spent the next hour discussing the details of Michaels plan.
“So it's a deal then?” He confirmed as he sipped his tea.
“It's a deal. I'll inform you when everything is ready. It will most likely take a few weeks to set everything up, but I will do what I can to speed up the process.” She said as she took a rather generous serving of cake that she had summoned at some point during their conversation.
“That's good. I must remember to thank Luna for this. She talked me into this after all.”
“Really? You two are certainly hitting it off well.” She teased.
“We've been talking quite a lot this week actually. She's been teaching me the star signs and telling me stories about Equestria. I've been telling her a lot about my own world. It's too bad people still seem to mistrust her for what she did. She's really an awesome person. She even shares my passion for music.” He said with a smile.
Celestia couldn't help smile at this. It was heartwarming to hear someone talk about her sister this way after so many years of hateful comments. It didn't matter that it was spoken by a non pony from another dimension.
“You do not judge her then?”
“Judge her? For something she did centuries before I was even born? In a world that isn't even mine? I'm not even entirely sure what she did. Why she did it, or what caused it. To judge her for that? That's just beyond moronic.” He proclaimed as he took a serving of cake. He was surprised to see a tear flowing from one of Celestia’s eyes when he looked up. “Are you alright?”
“I'm perfectly fine Michael. It just brings me joy to hear someone speak so kindly about my sister.” She wiped the tear from her face. “I don't think you realise how much it would mean for my sister to hear that. She already thinks rather fondly of you so you should tell her.”
“I will and thanks for the help.”
“I'm glad I can be of assistance and I'm looking forward to the results.”
They continued their small talk for a while until Celestia had to be elsewhere.
With nothing else to do Michael decided to take a walk in the garden. He walked along the outside of an enormous hedge maze when he rounded a corner and saw his favorite statue. A chimera with a mismatched set of limbs. He still had the eerie feeling that it looked right at him, but decided to ignore it. He stepped closer and looked for any kind of information about the statue, but was a bit disappointed when he couldn’t find any. After a little while he continued his walk through the garden. Eventually he reached a high tree that looked quite easy to climb. He smiled to himself as he decided to climb to the very top of the tree and enjoy the view. Unbeknownst to him a certain midnight blue alicorn had watched him climb the tree with a mischievous smile on her face.
Michael sat at the top of the tree and relaxed as he observed the surroundings. Suddenly he felt something lightly tap his right shoulder. He looked over in that direction and was confused when he could only see the enormous hedge maze that he passed earlier. When he turned back he instantly froze as he saw a pair of reptilian eyes stare at him with malice a mere few inches away from his face. Michael screamed, rather high pitched one might add, and panicked as he felt himself falling of the branch. He continued screaming for a good 3 seconds before he realised that he was no longer falling, but suspended in a light blue glow that surrounded his entire body. Surprised, he looked back and saw princess Luna laughing triumphantly as she sat Michael back onto the branch. He hyperventilated for a few moments before he managed to compose himself enough to get angry at Luna who was still laughing at his predicament.
“You...you BASTARD. I thought I was gonna die.” He continued to breath heavily before he added. “Good one though...bloody good one.” He said as he started to laugh himself. Luna joined in as they shared a good laugh for a while. After they both calmed down they looked at the scenery below them when Michael suddenly punched Luna in her shoulder. “Never do that again.”
“Serves you right you...royal bastard.”
Luna just giggled before she continued. “As much as I enjoyed seeing you shriek like a frightened mare. I came here to inform you that your transport to ponyville will be ready momentarily. Shall I take us there?”
“I didn’t shriek like a...” He stopped as he saw the sceptical raised eyebrow of Luna as she just smirked triumphantly. He just sighed in defeat. ‘No point in arguing with a demigod horse ’ Thought michael. “...never mind. Let’s go get my stuff first.”
“You need not worry. It has already been taken care of. Now I shall take you to your transport.” She said as they both vanished in a flash of light.
As soon as they reappeared Michael collapsed on all fours as he the content of his stomach had a sudden urge to evacuate. Which they did rather spectacularly. Michael finished his undignified exercise for a few moments later as he breathed rather heavily as he looked up at Luna, who smiled sheepishly at him as she cast a spell to remove Michael's little accident.
“Luna...I thought we agreed on a no out-of-the-blue-teleportations policy after the first time. Or perhaps you are growing senile in your old age hmm?” Michael smirked as he, somehow, managed dodged an incoming hoof strike from the midnight princess. He waved a finger in a disapproving manner. “Ah ah. You scared the living crap out of me. I get to insult you at least once for that.” He said triumphantly only to receive a hoof strike in the back of his head.
“We don’t recall agreeing to such an arrangement. Therefore we have no obligations to comply with thine demand.”Michael just grumbled in response.”Besides, the transport is ready.” She said as she gestured towards “The transport”. If one could call it that. It was a open wooden carriage with two pegasi guards strapped into a harness that was attached to the transport. Michael gulped as he realised that they were supposed to fly him to ponyville. There didn’t seem to be any kinds of safety to this at all.
“They are not gonna fly me to ponyville. Right?” He said as he eyed the guards loading his belongings onto the flying death trap.
Luna just chuckled before she spoke. “I can assure that it is harmless despite what you may think of its appearance. Numerous enchantments have been cast upon this transport to prevent one from falling out of it. I assure you that your journey will be safe.”
Michael still eyed it suspiciously for a few moments before he spoke. “Ok I’m gonna trust you, but if I die I’m coming back to haunt you for the rest of your eternal life.”
“I’ll hold you to that. Safe travels Mr Happer”
“See you around Your majiness.” Michael said as he gave her a hug that she happily returned.
A little under 15 minutes later he arrived in ponyville. The guards stopped in front of a large oak tree that seemed to have been hollowed out. Michael would have been impressed had he not been busy feeling sick after the, less than smooth, ride to ponyville. He would, probably, also have noticed a certain lavender unicorn who stood outside to greet him. She noticed that he had taken on a shade of green that she couldn’t remember him having when they last met. She walked up to him.
“Hello Michael. Are you alright?” Michael just chuckled.
“Define “alright”. I have felt better, but I will be ok.” He said as he stood up on unsteady legs and stepped out the smooth grass with wobbly legs. He was about to reach for his stuff when they were surrounded by a purple glow and hoisted into the air.
“I’ll carry your luggage. Come on. You’re going to stay in the library with me.” She said as she headed for the door of the hollowed out tree and it wasn’t until now that Michael noticed the library in question. He looked up at the building in amazement.
“Wow you live here? 10-year old me would freak out. I used to climb trees a lot when I was young. Still do to be honest.” He said as he admired the tree.
“I’m glad you like it Michael. It’s even better on the inside. Come on.”
Had he been paying a little more attention he would have noticed that Twilight shuffled around a little bit as if trying to hide something, but he didn’t and when he entered the library he was welcomed by an ear shattering…
“SURPRISE!!” He jumped high into the air and landed in an undignified heap on the floor as he could hear several ponies laughing at his predicament.
He swore a little to himself as he lifted himself up from the ground and looked at dusins of colorful ponies looking at him with big smiles. A pink pony with ridiculously fluffy hair and three balloons for a cutie mark approached him and started speaking at hypersonic speeds.
“Hi I’m Pinky Pie and I’m Ponyville's number one party pony. I was gonna ask if you were surprised, but then you were all like GASP” She jumped up in the air and stayed there as she continued her rapid fire explanation. “And then you were like CRASH” She fell down and made a very impressive imitation of the undignified heap that was Michael mere seconds ago. “And then you were all like “grumblegrumble” and that’s when I came up to you and you looked all confused and I said: “Hi I’m Pinky Pie and I’m Ponyville's number one party pony. I was gonna ask if you were surprised, but then you were all like GASP And then you were like CRASH And then you were all like “grumblegrumble” and that’s when I came up to you and you looked all confused and I said: “Hi I’m Pimmrph mmmrph.” She was abruptly interrupted by a cyan blue hoof that stuffed her mouth.
“Heh heh! Sorry about that Pinkie likes to talk a lot. I’m Rainbow Dash fastest flyer in Equestria.” She said as she reached out a hoof for Michael. He simply raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the pegasus. She was cyan blue with a striking rainbow coloured mane. Her Cutie mark was that of a rainbow coloured lightning bolt.
“Names Michael Happer. Fastest human in equestria.” He said as he gave her a mock bow.
“I bet I’m faster.” Rainbow said proudly as she pumped her chest.
“I think it would be reeeeally embarrassing if I a beat you in a race.” He said as he gestured towards Rainbow. “You have 4 legs and a pair of wings, but to be fair a athlete level human could probably outlast you in a marathon.” He said to aggravate the pegasus.
“Oh yeah. Wanna try me.” She said as she stepped closer to Michael who only chuckled.
“Simmer down sugarcube. He’s just messin with you. Howdy, names Applejack.” Applejack had a bright orange coat and a long blond mane that was tied up in a loose ponytail. She wore what Michael would classify as a stereotypical cowboy hat. Her cutie mark was three red apples.
“Pleasure to meet you. My names Michael Happer.” He said as he reach out his hand. A gesture he regretted not one second later. The orange country mare shook his hand so violently he thought he would dislocate his shoulder. When she let go his hand was still shaking so much that he had to forcefully stop it with his other hand.
“Ow...that’s...quite a handshake.”
“Hehe...I’m mighty sorry. Here let me make it up to you.” Before Michael could protest Applejack shoved an apple fritter into his mouth.
“Mmphmph.” Was his response.
“You’re welcome sugarcube.” She said as she trotted over to Rainbow Dash who just laughed at Michaels ordeal.
Despite a rocky start Michael found himself enjoying the party. He talked to several of the ponies that lived in Ponyville. He had an interesting meeting with a certain green unicorn, named Lyra, who became absolutely fascinated with his hands for some reason. He also encountered Applejack's older brother who went by the name of Big Macintosh. He meet a dragon by the name of Spike who was, apparently, Twilight's assistant. They had known each other since Spike was hatched from an egg. After a several hours the party died down and as everyone were leaving Michael noticed a shy looking pegasus that he hadn’t spoken to yet. She had a cream coloured coat with a long pink mane that covered one of her eyes. Her Cutie mark was that of three pink butterflies. She spoke to Twilight before glancing over at Michael before quickly exiting the library.
“So...Michael how did you like the party?” Twilight asked quite excitedly.
“It was great and just what I needed. Thanks.” Michael said as he sat down in a sofa and looked around the room. He hadn’t really taken the time to examine the library. The room he was in now was a rather large circular room with bookshelves that covered most of the wall. On one side of the door a staircase hugged the wall as it spiraled up towards the second floor. On the other side of the door there were two doors, one leading to the kitchen and the other lead to the basement.
“Oh this wasn’t my doing. This was all Pinkie Pie.” Twilight said as she took a seat next to Michael.
“I must remember to thank her the next time I see her.” He let out a sigh.
“You’ll be sleeping in the guest bed in my room.”
“Sounds good.” He stood up and let out a big yawn. “I’m gonna go to bed now actually. It’s been a long day.”
“I have a few things that I need to do before going to bed, but I’ll be sure not to wake you up when I’m done. I’ll just need to go up and get a few things.” Twilight said as she got up and followed Michael up the stairs.
They entered the bedroom. “Here we are. That’s your bed over there. I hope it will be comfortable for you.”
“I’m sure it’s fine.” He said as he sat on the bed and started to remove his clothing.
A moment later Twilight was about to ask a question when she noticed that he was already out like a light. Twilight giggled a little before she went downstairs.
Author's Note
Disclaimer: I do not own Hasbro's My little ponyClaimer: I own my OC character Michael Happer