Fugue - Volume 1

"So, what plans do you have for today?"

Twilight, Huey and Spike were sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Much to Huey's delight and relief, he discovered that having hot buttered toast was a common breakfast item that he and the equines both ate. Huey's question caused Twilight to swallow the mouthful of toast she was chewing.

"I was thinking that we could spend some time continuing our research on human anatomy," Twilight suggested thoughtfully. "You and I have been kind of distracted with getting you settled in and that business with Gilda."

"I'm fine with that," Huey replied with a shrug. "After all, if I ever become sick or injured, it'd be a great help for any physician who gets the misfortune of treating me."

"Now, Huey, there's no need to be so pessimistic!" Twilight scolded. "Remember that incident back in Canterlot?"

"Of course I do! I was almost impaled by your horn."

Spike glanced at the two, but swiftly returned his attention to his meal when Twilight waved her hoof dismissively at him to quash his curiosity.

"That shows that our healing magic works on the human body too!" She continued. "Admittedly, that only shows promise for treating physical trauma, whether you will respond to pony medicines and diseases is another question."

"Depends on if you have penicillin," Huey mused, causing the unicorn to tilt her head inquisitively.

"Penicillin?"

"It's an antibiotic," Huey replied. "I'll explain in detail after breakfast. There's a lot of stuff I know, presumably from school back where I came from, and I assume you'd want to know everything."

"You're right there!" Twilight chirped with excitement before diving back into her breakfast. The renewed vigour and speed shown indicating to Spike and Huey that she was eager to begin as soon as possible. Huey looked at Spike, who just rolled his eyes knowingly. The human smiled and shook his head before quietly eating the rest of his breakfast.

"So, what should we start with?" Huey asked. After breakfast, he had been swiftly taken upstairs to Twilight's bedroom, so that the pair could focus on documenting everything he knew in peace. Twilight tapped her chin thoughtfully with a quill she had procured. While Huey had sat down on the bed, Twilight was pacing the room with an inkwell, parchment and quill held within the grasp of her magic.

"Let's start with the important matters," She said. "We'll complete my notes on human anatomy before moving onto other biological and medical matters."

"As you wish!" Huey replied. "If I remember correctly, we'd just finished talking about the bones leading up to upper torso. I would like to say, before we continue, that I don't know all of them, so I might miss a few or name them incorrectly."

"Of course!" Twilight said in understanding. "Don't worry, I'm sure, if I can persuade the local hospital to provide some x-rays of you, we can accurately chart the skeletal structure of your body!"

"Very well! Before we continue, I'd like to mention that there's a number of different joints within the human body that allow varying degrees of movement."

"Synovial joints?"

"I wouldn't know about that," Huey admitted. "I learned these biological facts when I was very young, so we didn't go into that much detail, but I know for a fact we had ball and socket and hinge joints."

Huey then reached out with his arm and bent his elbow. After demonstrating the hinge joint in his elbow, he let his shoulder demonstrate its fluid movement to prove the presence of a ball and socket joint. Twilight nodded and continued to scribble notes onto her parchment.

"While the shape and structure of the torso may have a number of differences, it should be relatively similar to that of an equine, where the spine and ribs are there to protect the internal organs like heart, lungs and such, as well as the spinal cord."

Twilight nodded, hummed and quietly chewed the end of her quill as she listened to Huey explain almost every inch of his body and what was inside. Even though he admitted that there was much that he could not explain due to either being unsure or not knowing at all, his relatively in-depth lecture was truly enlightening.

"And that's what I know about the human skeleton," Huey finalised. "From the skull to the toes."

"Fascinating!" Twilight remarked as she arranged a growing pile of parchment that she had been writing on. "Maybe I'll write a book about you in the future!"

"Maybe," Huey mused. "Still, with the skeletal structure done and dusted to the best of my ability, what's next?"

"Well," Twilight began. "I think we should perhaps consider..."

Suddenly, the door to the bedroom burst open. Spike waddled into the room with a scroll in his grasp.

"A letter from the princess!" He declared. "She must have sent a reply to your first friendship report, Twilight!"

The lavender unicorn's eyes sparkled as she snatched the scroll from her pet dragon with her magic and unfurled it.

"Dear Huey," She read out loud. The unicorn suddenly stopped, her expression melted into one of confusion and surprise as she then squinted her eyes and read the opening salutation again to make sure she had not misread it. After realising that this was not a mistake, she rolled the scroll up and levitated it towards Huey.

"It's for you," Twilight said passively, all traces of emotion drained from her. Huey thanked her before taking the scroll and opening it back up to read it out loud.

"Dear Huey,

I must admit that I am surprised that you have also learned a lesson about the magic of friendship. However, it also warms my heart to see that, even though you were not given the task to do so, you opted to provide a very welcome addition to the lesson Twilight learned. In response to your postscript, I am feeling well, but would be most delighted if you have the time to return to Canterlot. I am aware that it is Twilight's task to care for your needs and document as much as she can about yourself, but I cannot hide the fact that I also have questions of my own to ask of you.

Hoping you accept my invitation,
Princess Celestia

P.S: Please express my deepest thanks to Twilight. Her first report shows great promise and is proof that I was right in entrusting her with studying friendship."

Huey looked up from the scroll to find Twilight's eyes sparkling with delight once more. The usually quiet lavender unicorn squealed loudly and began hopping manically round the room in a manner more befitting Pinkie Pie.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" She repeated. "Princess Celestia is proud of my work!"

Spike and Huey watched the overjoyed unicorn silently. While Spike looked on with mild disinterest, Huey was surprised on the effect some simple praise had on Twilight. After a minute of the unicorn expressing her joy passed, Huey reached out and grabbed Twilight as she bounced by him.

"Twilight, calm down!" Huey asked urgently. Twilight blushed and smiled awkwardly, realising that she may have gone overboard with her excitement.

"Sorry." She said apologetically. Huey rolled his eyes and gently scratched the unicorn's ears. Twilight cooed appreciatively, while her eyes fluttered in response. However, the petting swiftly ended when Huey stood up, causing Twilight to almost fall over due to her attempting to lean into him simultaneously. Much to the unicorn's relief, neither Huey or Spike noticed.

"It's quite alright," Huey replied as he turned the scroll over to glance at the back. "The only question now is... Do you come with me or not?"

Twilight tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Well, it didn't mention bringing me along," She reasoned. "So, I would assume she doesn't?"

"Hmmm... Doesn't need you present," The human mused. "What could that mean?"

"Maybe Celestia's found you a way home and wants to gauge whether you want to or not," Spike suggested absentmindedly. "And didn't want to upset Twilight at the same time."

"No, that can't be it," Huey countered. "Why keep it a secret? Twilight knows that work is being done to find out if there's a way for me to return home. It would be silly to keep her in the dark."

Spike shrugged before wandering downstairs, leaving Huey and Twilight to postulate together.

"Perhaps she wishes to help with my research?" Twilight thought out loud. "Canterlot is home to many of our most knowledgeable scholars, along with the best of Equestrian technology, so she might be documenting some of the more intricate parts of the human body?"

"Or..." Huey began dramatically. "We're looking too deeply into this. Why keep further experimentation a secret? Unless it was vivisection."

"Pffft, I doubt that," Twilight scoffed. "You're the only one of your kind, and vivisection is barbaric and illegal!"

"Well, then," Huey replied triumphantly. "If it's nothing to keep secret, it must just be a friendly chat or something, surely?"

Twilight grimaced slightly at the conclusion.

"I guess, but that just doesn't seem like her."

"Well, the only way to find out why she made this request is to actually visit her!" Huey stated authoritatively. "Are you sure you don't want to come along?"

"No, I can't," Twilight replied after a moment of thought. "I promised Applejack that I would help her with the apple harvest. I can't let her down!"

"I see. I'll make sure to tell her that you wanted to come, but couldn't. How does that sound?"

"Perfect!" Twilight said with a smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get going to the farm. Do you need anything before I go?"

"Money for a ticket to Canterlot."

"You'll find some in that jewellery box on the dresser over there," Twilight pointed out, causing Huey to glance at it and then her.

"A jewellery box?" He asked. "I didn't know you had jewellery."

"Oh! I don't," Twilight corrected. "I just use it to store my bits. Ten should be more than enough for a ticket!"

"Thank you, Twilight, I'll see what I can do to repay you." Huey said gratefully as the unicorn wandered towards the stairs

"No need to worry about repaying me. Best of luck with the trip!" Twilight said, while she trotted down the stairs. However, the unicorn swiftly returned moments later.

"Actually, it might be better if you take my research with you anyway, just in case!" She said with an awkward smile. Her horn glowed, causing a massive stack of papers to be neatly packed away into her saddlebags, which she levitated over to Huey.

"Um... How am I meant to carry this?" He asked. "It's designed for ponies, not humans."

"Well, why not have them wrapped round your neck?" Twilight suggested. "If you buckle the strap, it'll be like wearing a necklace!"

"Hmmmm..." Huey mused, while examining the light blue bags with pink, six pointed stars used to decorate the buckles of the bags themselves. "I don't think that will work, but I'll think of something."

"Alright! Best of luck again!" Twilight chirped before rushing back downstairs. "Spike! We're going to Sweet Apple Acres!"

Huey smiled and swiftly approached the aforementioned box. It was a simple, metal box, cuboid in shape and very plain, with a hook catch holding the lid closed. As the door to the library slammed shut, signalling Spike and Twilight's exit from the premises, Huey opened the box and took ten of the gold coins within before rushing out of the door to the train station, after snatching up the saddlebags .

"Lyra would die, if she saw you!"

Huey looked out of the window and grimaced. His swift walk to the train station had occurred with no problems, even his discussion with the station master to obtain a ticket to Canterlot had been problem free. However, much to his annoyance, the money he had taken was only enough for a third class ticket, the cheapest. As a result, he was forced to sit with the rest of the passengers, one of whom, a very friend blue unicorn with a white and dark blue mane and tail, accompanied by an hourglass on her behind, had immediately taken the opportunity to sit next to him and was nattering to him in a manner reminiscent of two old friends meeting again.

"I swear!" The unicorn continued to ramble. "She would be so happy, her heart would burst!"

"Um... Sorry to interrupt," Huey said passively. "But, could we at least... You know... Introduce ourselves first before we move onto other topics?"

"Oh!" She exclaimed, followed by a cheerful giggle. "My name's Minuette. I'm a unicorn, duh... And I'm heading home to Canterlot after visiting some friends in Ponyville!"

"That's... Nice," Huey replied, the unicorn's Pinkie Pie-like energy unnerving him. "Name's Huey. I'm a human... And I'm heading to Canterlot... To visit some friends... From my home... In Ponyville."

"Oh my gosh!" She gasped in delight. "That's the exact opposite of what I did! That's such a funny coincidence!"

Huey smiled weakly. He would not have minded her behaviour, if she hadn't been so forward from the beginning. The shock of meeting an equine that had done the complete opposite of staring, pointing and generally being afraid of the strange creature that was Huey had knocked him off balance.

"I guess it is," Huey stated submissively. "Um... Pardon me for asking, but do you visit Ponyville often?"

"All the time!" Minuette chirped. "Lyra and Bon Bon, a unicorn and earth pony I know, live in Ponyville, and are really great friends of mine!"

"All the time?" Huey repeated with a hint of incredulity. "The long train rides either way don't bother you at all?"

"Not at all! Spending time with them makes the journey totally worth while!"

"Fair enough, where I'm from, such long distance journeys aren't done so frequently or willingly. We have other forms of communication that make such a thing sort of redundant."

"Oh, you!" Minuette scoffed politely. "Sending letters to your friends doesn't even come close to actually spending real quality time with them!"

"That's true, although the cost of long distance travel is much more expensive, so I guess it's mostly a problem regarding whether one had the funds and time to do what you do."

"Well, I'm glad I don't have to worry about such things like you do!" Minuette replied, her happiness bordering on the point of becoming physical in form. "I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't visit Ponyville so often. It'd be absolutely horrible!"

"It would be a rather horrific chock," Huey concurred. "Still, it's doubtful that will happen, so..."

"Lyra!" Minuette squeaked, causing the human to flinch. "We were talking about Lyra."

"Yes, you were," Huey corrected subtly. "I remember her name being mentioned by someone else. Why do I make her name spring to mind?"

"Well!" She began. "Lyra has a deep interest in these creatures she calls humans. She sits really strange, likes to talk about things called hands. Most people think it's really weird, but, personally, a girl can daydream, right? Still, you're a human! You aren't just something she made up, you're real!"

"Yes, I am real," Huey confirmed. "But you just said she knows about humans. Are you saying that she's met one of my kind before?"

"Well, she says she has, but no one believed her. She doesn't really talk about humans that much anymore, only with her friends, everyone else just acted really mean!"

"That's not nice at all!" Huey declared angrily. "I mean... Obviously, I'm biased, since I am a human, but what kind of morons would be so cruel?"

"All kinds of ponies," Minuette responded, a hint of sadness bleeding into her tone. "She's really nice though, honest! You really should go and see her sometime. Tell her I sent you and you'll be treated like family!"

"The pair of you are close then?"

"Very! She's an absolute star!"

"Well, I don't see why I shouldn't introduce myself," Huey remarked. "Would it be possible for you to note down her address when we arrive in Canterlot?"

"Of course, Huey!"

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

Huey was delighted when the train finally arrived in Canterlot. However, the delight was not caused by Minuette, on the contrary, her presence and persistent conversation had actually made what would have been a dull journey fly by. The human was actually mildly disappointed that he and the unicorn had to part ways so soon, however the knowledge that she frequently visited Ponyville made the pain a little easier to bear. With Lyra's address in his pocket, Huey began his walk through the city streets.

As expected, many of the locals stared and pointed in wonder, however Huey was much more confident. Unlike Ponyville, Canterlot was patrolled by members of the guard. It was inevitable that word of Huey's existence and situation would have spread round the barracks like wildfire, ensuring that they would know him when they saw him, and would not be suspicious of him. The actual journey to the castle was long and arduous, a fact Huey noted as he kept track of his location by keeping the massive spires of Canterlot Castle in sight. Unlike his first journey to the train station, which had been provided by a chariot pulled by a pair of pegasai guards, he was on his own and forced to walk the distance.

"I should have had Spike send a reply stating I would be coming immediately." Huey huffed with a shake of his head.

By the time he had arrived at the castle, his legs were in pain and the first signs of blisters were beginning to appear on his feet. The human grumbled as he wandered towards the gate. Much to his surprise, he found his way blocked when a pair of guards crossed their spears in front of him, planting a cross of wood and steel in his path.

"Open court is no longer in session," One of the guards barked. "Come back tomorrow."

"I'm not here for open court," Huey stated. "I was invited here."

"By who?"

"Princess Celestia."

The two guards shared a glance before one of them retracted their spear.

"Wait here," He ordered before heading through the gates. Huey folded his arms patiently and looked over at the solitary guard on gate guard duty.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" Huey said nonchalantly. He was not surprised when no response came.

"You know, I actually know a place where I'm from that has royal guards," He stated quietly. "They're just like yourself. Firm, well trained and, when on duty, totally silent. They get a lot of tourists trying to make them laugh or just outright annoying them. So, don't worry, I'm not going to try and do that to you. In fact, you actually have my respect. It must take a lot of patience to put up with so many trying to make you slip up."

As expected, the guard remained absolutely silent and still. Huey grimaced, the urge to try and scare or make the guard laugh was rising within him, however he swiftly suppressed those feelings when he saw the guard's colleague return.

"Her Royal Highness wasn't expecting you today," The guard stated. "However, you are permitted to enter."

"Thank you, sir," Huey replied gratefully with a nod. "Thank you to you both. I hope the rest of your shift goes well."

With no response given, Huey rolled his eyes and wandered through the gatehouse. Once inside the castle proper, he was swiftly ushered into the rabbit warren of corridors by a servant. A wave of embarrassment washed over him when he began to wonder whether he was being escorted to the throne room, he was completely unable to remember which doors led where. His question regarding his destination was swiftly answered when the servant stopped outside a pair of doors. Huey opened his mouth to provide his thanks to the servant, but found that they had already begun their retreat into the warren. The human huffed, nervousness rising within him as he looked at the door handle. Even with the knowledge that he was expected, the final step of knocking on the door proved to be nerve-wracking.

"Come on, Huey," He muttered to himself. "Just do it and you won't have a choice!"

Taking a deep breath, he rapped on the door with the back of his fist. Much to his surprise, there was no response. Huffing in mild irritation, he knocked on the door again. When there was still no reply, he gingerly grasped the door handle and opened the door.

"Your Highness?" He called out into the room, which was pitch black due to the lack of any lit candles. "Are you here?"

His question was answered with words, not actions, when a golden light began to sparkle into life around a horn so long that there could be only one possible owner. Huey watched from his spot on the threshold as the aura grasped a small fork, which began dancing around in front of the faint outline of Celestia's face, barely visible in the soft light emitted from her magical grasp and horn.

"You can come in." A weak and miserable voice murmured. Huey gulped before stepping into the room. With a gentle thud, the door closed behind him, leaving Huey in the darkness.

"What happened?" Huey asked outright, realising that it was silly to ask if everything was okay. The urge to approach the princess rose within him, but the lack of a visibility deterred him.

"Am I a bad pony?"

The query startled Huey, leaving him speechless and stuttering in surprise. It was not a question he was expecting.

"I... Um... I don't know," Huey stammered. "I mean... If you want a fair opinion, could I hear what's happened from the very beginning?"

Silence fell between the pair. After a few moments passed, the princess' horn suddenly emitted a much brighter light that caused a nearby candle to ignite, providing Huey with the visibility needed to see a great deal of the room. He had been escorted to the Princess' bed chamber, its owner was laid haphazardly on the bed. The first feature Huey noticed was that the Princess' mane was not in its ethereal form, consisting of pink, pale green and contrasting shades of blue. Instead, it was a long, flowing sea of hair that was the norm for the regular pony-folk, pink in colour. Also of note was the lack of royal regalia, the tiara, necklace and horseshoes were nowhere to be seen. All that was present was Celestia in her purest, unadulterated form. The alicorn's eyes were puffy and bloodshot, her cheeks a shade darker than the rest of her coat and slightly matted, indicating recent and heavy crying.

Huey frowned as his gaze settled on the fork in Celestia's grasp, which was being used to cut into a massive slice of chocolate cake. The piece that was cut off was swiftly scooped up and stuffed despondently into Celestia's waiting maw. The human tilted his head with concern and walked over to the bed, while dropping Twilight's saddlebags close by.

"Celestia..."

The princess finally looked at Huey, her jaw moving visibly as she chewed her comfort food.

"Hand over the cake." Huey ordered gently. As expected, Celestia grasped the plate with a hoof and pulled it closer to her.

"No." Celestia replied curtly through a mouthful of chocolate cake, causing her human guest to roll his eyes.

"It will only give you a stomach ache," Huey explained. "So, please, give me the cake."

The princess shook her head vigorously and grunted dismissively. Huey huffed and stretched out his hand authoritatively.

"I'm not going to ask again," He said gravely. "Give me that plate now."

Celestia gazed into Huey's eyes for a moment before obeying. Much to his annoyance, the princess took his demand literally and provided only the plate, the cake now bathed in her magic as it levitated next to her. The human sighed and put the plate down on the bedside table.

"That's it, I'm taking the cake!" Huey declared before climbing onto the bed and crawling towards the princess.

"No!" Celestia protested as she levitated the cake away from her pursuer. "It's mine!"

"Cake isn't going to help you!" Huey countered, his hand attempting to snatch the cake from the air, but failing when it floated higher. "You're already miserable! You don't need to make it worse by feeling sick."

"But, it makes me feel happier!" She explained. Huey paused to shoot a deadpan glare at her.

"Your cheeks are literally drenched with tears and your eyes are bloodshot, it's not done anything!" He exclaimed. "So, give it to me!"

"I said no!" Celestia insisted forcefully. Huey turned towards the floating cake and stood up on the bed to make another attempt at grabbing it. However, his attention was broken when he felt the alicorn wrap her forehooves round his waist to stop him. Without looking, he reached down with a solitary hand to push Celestia away. Instead, his hand grasped a hard, cylindrical object that caused Celestia to gasp. Huey yelped as a short, sharp shock zapped through his hand, causing him to let go of the object and hold his hand protectively.

"The hell was that!?" He shouted, while looking down at Celestia. As soon as he noticed that her horn wasn't glowing anymore, his gaze looked up at a familiar brown object falling towards him.

"Oh no." He muttered before the slice of cake collided with his face with an unceremonious splat. Silence fell, neither of them willing to react to the comical event. Huey looked back at the princess, only one eye operational due to the other being covering in cake. Celestia looked nervously up at him and bit her lip, a soft blush tinting her cheeks as she tried not to laugh.

"Don't you dare," Huey said before scraping a large chunk of the confection off his face. Celestia averted her gaze and coughed politely as she levitated a towel over for the human to use.

"Thank you, Celestia." He replied before wiping the rest of the cake off. "At least the cake's gone."

"No, it isn't." Celestia countered as a slice of lemon drizzle cake floated towards her. Huey face-palmed and sighed.

"I'm not going through that again." He stated. "Look, if you're not going to stop, at least let me control how much you eat."

"What?" Celestia asked. "Do you mean... Feed me?"

"If necessary, yes!" Huey said forcefully. "So, hand over the damn fork already!"

Begrudgingly, Celestia levitated the fork towards Huey, who swiftly snatched it, while she placed the cake onto the plate. Huey then laid down, his back against the headboard and watched as Celestia laid next to him and let her head and neck rest in his lap. Huey rolled his eyes, memories of petting Pinkie Pie returning to him as he picked up the plate and cut off a small piece of cake for the princess.

"Here comes the choo-choo train!" He teased. "Open up the tunnel! Chugga-chugga! Choo Chooooooo!"

Celestia immediately caught the hint and played along, her mouth opening with a childish "ah". Huey cringed internally as he placed the cake onto the royal tongue. He was immensely grateful that neither he, nor Celestia, would dare speak a word of what they were doing to anyone. Huey's embarrassment would probably kill him, while Celestia would be deposed in the ensuing scandal. However, the pair were in privacy and, it seemed to Huey, a moment of distraction for the depressed monarch would give her much needed respite from her worries.

"Does Celestia want more?" Huey asked playfully, earning him an equally child-like nod after Celestia had finished her current chunk of rich confectionery. With a chuckle, he sliced off another piece and fed it to her. When a small piece of sponge ended up on the edge of her lip, Huey could not resist the urge to tease.

"The cake goes in your mouth, not around it, silly!" He scolded gently as a finger wiped it off her face. The princess pouted in response, causing him to smile.

"How are you feeling now?"

"A little better," Celestia admitted and laid her head in his lap. "Thank you."

"Sometimes, a brief moment of distraction and silliness can do the power of good," Huey remarked. "However, that doesn't solve the problem troubling you. What's on your mind?"

Celestia sighed. She knew that she could not run away from it, but it was easier to do that or ignore it, rather than bravely take the issue head-on.

"It's Luna."

"Your sister?" Huey clarified. "I remember you mentioning she's been reluctant to let go of the past."

Celestia nodded sadly and sighed again, causing Huey to gently stroke her neck. The alicorn hummed gratefully and closed her eyes.

"You wanted to know if you were a bad sister," Huey said. "Thus far, all I've heard is your hand... Um... Hoof rather, being forced by circumstances. You can't seriously judge yourself solely by what you did when faced with things out of your control!"

"You heard only my words and Twilight's," Celestia countered. "If you truly wish to understand. Let me show you what happened."

"Sh-Show me?"

Huey watched as Celestia craned her neck so that she was face to face with him. Her horn began to glow brightly, causing the human to squint. With what little vision he had, he noticed the alicorn's eyes glow with the same magical aura surrounding her horn, which was gently being tilted towards him. As soon as the cranial appendage touched his forehead, a sensation comparable to electrocution coursed through every atom of Huey's being, causing him to scream in shock before all noise ceased and his vision was eclipsed by white.