Author's Note

Sorry about the two day absence guys! Some things happened and my schedule got messed up. But i'm back with another chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Royal Meeting-Part 2

The tour continued on after the library. We passed through the residential hall, as I decided to call it after finding out that other people actually lived here, and went straight for the kitchen.

Turns out, I hadn't eaten ever since I got here, and was understandably starving. So, it was with a growling stomach, and embarrassing laughter that we all made our way to the dining hall, Twilight making conversation along the way.

"So...I don't think I ever asked you your name." Twilight said as we turned a corner. I could see steam risng from what had to be the kitchen, considering said steam smelled delicious. I could only wonder what the food tasted like.

"It's Mike. Mike Vilmont." I answered, my head still turned in the direction of the kitchen. I was just barely paying enough attention to answer her question.

"well, it's nice to meet you, Mike. My name is Twilight Sparkle."

Hm. Wasn't expecting that for a name. Princess Twilight Sparkle. Pretty prissy for a title, but...I like it

When I finally managed to tear my eyes away from the kitchen and look straight, I said, "It's nice to meet you too, Twilight. Say, what's that delicious smell in the air?"

"Oh, that? That's just my assistant, Spike. He's cooking dinner."

"You have a personal chef?" I asked, intrigued.

"Nope. Spike's my assistant He helps me with everything, not just cooking." Twilight corrected me.

"I see. So is he a good assistant?"

"Well, he is my number one assistant, after all. That should tell you all you need to know."

"I see. So he's that good, huh?"

"Yep! Although he was kind of jealous that I needed another one for nighttime research. Don't tell him I told you, though." Suddenly, Twilight turned around and leaned up towards me, no doubt trying to whisper in my ear. I tunred my left towards her and she said,

"He tends to get a little cranky when I mention it."

She pulled back, and I turned forward and smiled at her. "My lips are sealed." I said, making a sealing gesture with my thumb and index finger over my mouth.

Twilight smiled at me. "Good. The last thing we want is for Spike to get jealous again."

Our conversation continued well into the dining room, which was just one more right turn and a left away from my field of vision. When we got there... I was speechless.

The place wasn't a dining hall. It was a banquet hall. The high ceiling was like an insurmountable wall, and the stain glass windows poured their colors onto the ground through the aid of the sun's rays. The chandeliers held candles rather than light bulbs, and there was a six pointed purple star mounting the back wall. It felt more like a church than anything.

But nothing could've prepared me for the spread. Sure it was the usual plates, knives, forks, and spoons, but there was also a horn of plenty full of fruit, bread, and other small samples. And the table, the table alone looked like it would cost several millions of dollars to install (I say install because the thing looked for all the world like it was built into the floor). The thing took up most of the space in the room lengthwise, and almost looked like it would never end.

It had a table cloth set on it that bore the same insignia as the six pointed star on Twilight's right shoulder. But even despite that, it still somehow managed to catch enough of the sun's light to shine through the fabric like a neon sign that said,

"Warning: Fancy Food Alert!"

I could only imagine what the whole thing would look like once there was actual food on the table.

Apparently, Twilight could see my awed expression, because she asked,

"Quite the shock, isn't it?"

I snapped my head in her direction so fast I think I might have heard a few bones pop. "Oh, you have no idea. Where I come from, we don't have things like this anymore."

"Really?" Twilight asked as we sat down to wait. The way she asked it made me think she had already thought something about me. Her next words confirmed my suspicions. "I thought Canterlot nobles ate like this almost everyday!"

This time it was my turn to give her a curious look. "What's Canterlot?"

It was at this moment, That Twilight knew, she fucked up. Her entire expression fell from happy, to confused, to downright sad as she looked down at her shoes. It was as if her entire world had come crashing down. Or at least her preconceived notions of me.

"But...but I thought...With you, and the suit, and the hair, and the... I mean I kind of had a feeling with the way you talk but-" Twilight was stumbling over her words at this point. "Ugh! Nevermind!" Eentually, however, she just gave up.

"Oh, you mean, my suit? This suit's for-"

I cut myself off as I looked down to see that I did indeed still have my funeral suit on. I went to sleep in it on the day I got here, wherever here was.

Seeing the suit again brought back memories of my parents, especially my dad, who died in a suit similar to this one.

The thought that I had somehow died and been brought here briefly crossed my mind, and it only served to make the pain that much harder to bear.

Slowly, my situation started to sink in. I was in an unknown place, with unknown people. There was no one I knew, or was familiar with, and everything around me was different. I had just gone through some big changes pretty fast, and it was all starting to catch up to me.

It took me a moment to realize that I was gripping my tie like my life depended on it. I let go, only to see it slightly wrinkled from the pressure I had put on it.

Twilight, ever the observant one, noticed this too, and decided to speak up. "What, Mike? What is the suit for? You don't have to tell me now, or even at all, but know that I will be here if you do decide to tell me."

I looked over to Twilight. Her eyes were sincere and her expression was one of pure, true, honest to goodness worry, as if I was the only one that mattered in that moment.

It wasn't like I was trying to gauge whether she truly cared about me, but even if she didn't, she cared enough to hear my story. To give me an ear that would listen to all of my troubles. But there was one thing keeping me from doing that.

As I looked all around me, at Twilight, and at the kids who, despite their silence, were now standing behind me, their hands on my shoulders, I realized that, well, I couldn't just ruin dinner like that, now could I?

I put on a small, but slightly genuine smile, and said, "I'll tell you girls later, after we eat."

It seems Twilight understood, as she smiled at me and said, "Alright. We'll wait until after dinner, then."

Suddenly, Twilight got up and walked toward the exit, leaving both me and the girls stunned for about two seconds each.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" I called to her.

She turned to me and giggled, smiling "It's nothing! I just have to go tell Spike we have a guest!" She turned back around, only to realize something and do a complete 180 all over again. "Mind telling me what it is you prefer to eat?"

I laughed and answered her question, in great detail I might add. She nodded and turned around, walking away. All I could do was watch her leave, all the way up until she disappeared behind the corner to the kitchen.