Piercing rays of golden sunlight slipped between the cracks of the curtains in Miles's guest room. Unfortunately for him, they were placed across his eye-line. Miles slowly opened his eyes. Upon glancing at the clock to his left, he noticed it read twelve o'clock.

Miles dragged his legs across to seat himself on the side of the bed. Thankfully he slept well, as these ponies had beds that were much too long for them, and so it suited his large frame quite well. He still berated himself for oversleeping, though. He had been glad to note the previous evening that their bathrooms were also seemingly identical to those on Earth.

He stood from his bed, straightening himself up to his full height with a crack of his back. He then made his way over to the chair leaning against the radiator under the curtains, which held his clothes upon it, neatly folded into a pile. He took his clothes in hand and brought them into the bathroom to put on after a shower. He barely fit in the shower, but made it work well enough to clean himself of any leftover carnage from yesterday. After being cleaned and dressed, Miles began to make his way around the castle, taking himself on a self-guided tour. He had not taken Twilight up on her offer to explore the castle the previous night.

As he plodded along, making sure his posture was perfect at every moment, Miles cast his mind back to the previous day, and found himself struggling to come to terms with all that had transpired. In the space of a near-instant, he had seemingly travelled across dimensions. Unless he had fallen into some kind of coma and was currently dreaming of rainbows and unicorns. However, this whole experience seemed much too vivid for that to be the case.

Miles chuckled to himself as he mused over how this entire ordeal felt even stranger now that he'd had some time to digest it than it did in the immediate moments following his arrival.

He eventually reached a door and heard voices chattering behind it. Upon opening the door, he was greeted by the other three inhabitants of the home eating breakfast over a small table. Twilight looked over in his direction and her eyes lit up immediately. "Oh! Miles, you're just in time for breakfast. Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"I slept splendidly, thank you, princess," replied Miles.

"Princess?" Starlight spoke up, sounding disgusted by the almost affectionate tone Miles had used.

"Yes. She is a princess, isn't she?" Miles raised an eyebrow at her as he made his way over to the table. Twilight subconsciously gulped as she noted how heavy his footsteps seemed. Miles then seated himself across from Twilight and between Spike and Starlight.

Yeah, I suppose she is..." mumbled Starlight. The stools at this table were a little smaller than the seats they had used the previous night, so Miles had to hunch uncomfortably so as to not push Starlight and Spike off of their seats with his broad shoulders. With the four of them huddled over a small table like this, the size disparity between them became more vividly noticeable than it was before, and Starlight in particular began to look very uncomfortable. Miles noted the uncomfortable expression on her face was not one of fear. She shrunk away from him, as though touching his arm would give her some kind of disease.

Twilight had her cheeks stuffed full of pancakes like a chipmunk as she ate faster than her little body should have been capable of. She looked over at Miles with shimmering eyes, gesturing to the huge stack of pancakes to her right. "Miuws, feew fwee ug-" Twilight tried to speak before swallowing, causing her to choke briefly.

Miles gritted his teeth slightly as he looked down at the table in front of him, hearing Spike and Starlight giggling quietly at his sides. Spike was the first to speak. "Twilight... You might wanna work on swallowing all those pancakes before you try to speak... pfff" Starlight simply held her hoof to her mouth in an attempt to muffle her giggles, but to no avail.

Twilight bolted upright in her seat, flushing a deep crimson as she hastily swallowed the full quarter pound of pancakes held within her apparently cavernous cheeks, wincing slightly as it all painfully slid down her oesophagus. She panted slightly and said, "Ehehe... S-Sorry... As I was saying: Miles, feel free to take some pancakes for breakfast and use anything you'd like from the kitchen."

"How come we're in a different kitchen from last night?" Miles questioned as he glanced up from the table and rolled his jaw in an attempt to loosen it once more.

"Well, I'm glad you asked! This kitchen has better suited storage for breakfast time, and is positioned better for required accessibility and any atmospheric-"

"-What Twilight is trying to say is we have different kitchens for different stuff, since this castle is big." Spike deadpanned, cutting off Twilight.

Twilight frowned. She then simply went back to stuffing her cheeks with pancakes. Miles said, "I see... Well, I don't mind if I do, then." He reached over and grabbed three pancakes with a pair of prongs, however appeared slightly troubled by the pancakes, glancing feverishly between the large stack and the ones he had chosen.

Spike and Twilight were busy stuffing their faces, but Starlight took note of his expression in earnest. He began to sweat slightly, seemingly making his mind up after a few moments. He placed the middle pancake of the three he had chosen back onto the pile and then split the pile in a specific point, selecting a pancake from around the middle and substituting it for the one he had previously. He then rebuilt the stack and moved it back over to the side of the table, now seemingly somewhat content with his choice.

After one final cautious glance in Miles' direction, Starlight went back to her own breakfast, wanting nothing more than to be done with her food and far away from this creature.

Twilight broke the silence that followed. "So, Miles, how's about I show you around town before you go meet up with Discord and Fluttershy at her place? Princess Celestia messaged me this morning already and told me she's issued a local notice of your arrival to the citizens, so there should be little panic if you go out and about."

"That sounds great, Twilight; I can't wait." Miles smiled at Twilight as they continued to eat. Once they were done, Spike waddled over to wash the dishes as Twilight made her way towards the exit of the castle immediately. Starlight was already nowhere to be seen once again. "Hold on there, princess. I only have two legs," Miles teased.

"Please, call me Twilight; it feels weird to be addressed as a princess for me, still." Miles grimaced subtly.

"Alright, Twilight," he said.

Once they had made their way outside, Miles got his first taste of life in this world beyond the looking-glass. "Wow... So you ponies live in a world that's almost as colourful as you are."

"Yeah, it sure is a nice town... We don't have enough time for me to show you everything, but I can take you on a quick tour to the more well-known spots. Come on!" Twilight sprinted off to the right while giggling to herself, seemingly excited to show her world to Miles. She had expected another remark from him about how he only had half as many legs as her, but to her surprise he matched her speedy pace with no issue. He actually appeared quite content.

Twilight, however, was unable to keep this pace for long, and so slowed with heavy breaths as they reached their first landmark. "T-This... Is Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie stays with the Cake family and sells baked goods... Huff..."

The many ponies walking around the market square showed varied levels of reaction. Some slowed their pace, looking up at Miles seemingly in awe, interest or fear; others picked up their pace, dashing away in fear or shovelling their children off.

It seemed these ponies were quite skittish; he hadn't done anything since his arrival and yet many were already terrified of him. Miles chuckled to himself for a moment, while Twilight looked up at him in confusion.

"What's so funny? Don't mind those ponies, Miles, they'll get used to you soon enough. Us ponies value love and tolerance above all else, so you're unlikely to experience a lot of discrimination from them once they get to know how gentle you really are."

Miles's laughter picked up. He held his stomach as he chortled. His laugh was exceedingly loud, and Twilight's ears pinned against her head in embarrassment as she looked around in a panic. "M-Miles, you're not helping yourself here!"

"I-I'm sorry, Twilight. Perhaps it's just nerves getting to me, you know?" Miles feigned the wiping away of a tear in his eye as his laughter died down.

"I guess I can understand that..." trailed Twilight.

"Excellent," Miles said, clearing his throat. "So, where to next, Twilight?"

"Well-" Twilight suddenly stopped, leaving Miles confused. She was looking off behind him with an unreadable expression.

Miles turned around, following her gaze. At the end of it he found a small, green pony approaching him with apparent wonderment. He found his eyebrow climbing.

The green pony said, "H-Hello there..."

Another female. Miles took a step towards her and smiled. He replied, "Hi."

Her jaw seemingly came loose. Miles took note of her legs quivering the slightest bit. She remained silent, gawping at the human for what felt to Twilight like an eternity. Miles held the green pony's eye hostage, crossing his arms as he tilted his head to the side. His smirk grew.

Eventually, Twilight could take no more and said, "Uhh, hi, Lyra. This is uh, well... I'll let him introduce himself, I guess."

To Twilight's horror, Lyra did not react at all to her words, and neither did Miles. The two remained in their staring contest. Eventually, Lyra shook her head and made to speak. However, as soon as her vocal cords began to vibrate, a cream-coloured pony trotted up to her and roughly dragged her away. The green pony yelped and tried to scramble back towards Miles.

Miles snickered and turned back to face Twilight. He said, "Well, that was certainly something."

Twilight's ears folded and she replied, "A-At least she didn't do anything bad, I guess."

They then started a staring contest of their own, with Twilight unsure of just how to follow up on such a bizarre moment. Miles took a knee in front of her and said, "So, you said we're going somewhere in particular..."

Twilight perked up and shouted, "Oh! We'll next be going to Carousel Boutique, which is Rarity's home and place of business. Maybe she can get you fitted up with some clothes sometime soon. You mentioned during our first proper conversation yesterday that you humans almost always wear clothes, right?"

"That's right, Twilight. We don't have natural coats, and it's also a public decency standard."

"Hmm, that's interesting..."

Once they had been to look at Rarity's boutique, they made their way past several landmarks of Ponyville, such as the town hall, the schoolhouse, the hospital, the School of Friendship, the day spa and a few of the various shops around the town.

Twilight and Miles were finally close to Fluttershy's home shortly before three o'clock. Twilight sighed with satisfaction and said, "Of course, there are other places, such as the train station and Sweet Apple Acres, but those are a little out of the way, so we can visit those some other time."

"That's great, Twilight. Thank you very much for the tour," replied Miles.

Twilight lifted her chin slightly, replying in a posh, joking mockery of his English accent. "You're very welcome, Miles. The pleasure is all mine." Twilight giggled to herself once she finished, not noticing Miles's slightly strained smile. He began to chuckle along with her after a few moments, however.

"Oh, aren't you funny, Twilight?"

"You know, Miles, it might just be a coincidence, but your accent sounds just like that of Octavia Melody..."

"Pray? I'm afraid I do not yet know of whom you speak." Miles smothered some extra lather on his accent in self-mockery.

Twilight's giggles erupted into laughter, and Miles laughed along with her. "I guess I can look into that coincidence later," she said as her giggles slowly began to die down. "For now, you better head on up this path here to Fluttershy's cottage; I'd guess they're already waiting for you."

Miles patted her gently on the withers. "Thanks, Twilight. I'll see you later. Do you want me to meet you back at the castle? I remember my way back from here."

"Sure! See you then!" Twilight waved at him as she trotted off and rounded the corner, peeking back around it once Miles had set off up the path. She continually berated herself for what she was about to do, but remained steadfast in her decision that it was for the greater good. Surely Miles earning Discord's stamp of approval was imperative to his integration into their world.

The short path to Fluttershy's cottage was serene and peaceful, unsurprisingly reminiscent of the mare herself. Birds seemed to flock, drawn in through shared birdsong. Their chirps harmonized with the gentle flow of a nearby stream beneath the bridge he crossed. As he approached the front door of the cottage some birds flew by his shoulder towards a birdhouse in a nearby tree. Miles hummed. He was somewhat surprised that Discord would venture anywhere near this place.

Miles cocked the joint of his forefinger and rapped on the font door, noticing its being partitioned around the midsection. He stepped back from the door in anticipation and after a few moments he heard the approaching clopping of hooves. The top half of the door slowly creaked open and a little butter-yellow head poked from behind it.

"O-Oh, Miles, good afternoon..." An almost silent voice called to him. "Come on in; you're right on time. Discord is here already, so..." She appeared as though she wanted to say more, but instead found herself rubbing her forehooves together. Eventually, she spoke, somehow even quieter than before. "J-Just sit, uhm... Feel free t-to sit with Discord while I go, uhm..." She squinted her eyes closed and the bottom half of the door opened. She lowered her head and trotted deeper into the house with her strawberry-pink tail tucked.

Miles had to crouch down to fit through the door, but was pleased to note the ceiling of the interior was much higher than the doorway. The inside of Fluttershy's cottage was as warm and homely as one would expect, with various ornaments and critter beds scattered throughout, including picture frames of Fluttershy with her friends and many of her with Discord. Miles blinked slowly and rolled his tongue.

As expected, Discord was sitting across the room upon a large chair, with a small table in front of him. Two other chairs had been pulled up around that same table. Discord quickly noted his presence and waved at him cheerfully.

"Miles! So good to see you again! Won't you join me?" Discord gestured to the chair across from his with a paw. "Fluttershy won't be long; she's quite adept at preparing tea." Miles walked across the room and over to his seat without a word.

Miles heard a very muffled, slight twinkling sound to his left for a moment. He looked over at the window, but saw nothing. Before he could investigate further, Discord cleared his throat loudly. Miles leaned back and smiled at Discord, offering up a hand. "Good to see you again too, Discord," he said. "I must admit I've been quite looking forward to this; I feel as though our impressions of each other yesterday were somewhat unsavoury." Miles offered up his right hand. "To a better introduction?"

Discord reached out and took Miles's hand in his paw. "Agreed. To better times." They shook and released without a hitch. Discord then snapped his talons and summoned up a large plate of cucumber sandwiches. "Care for a cucumber sandwich while we wait for dear Fluttershy?"

"Did you already have these prepared?" Miles questioned with a raised brow.

"Oh, no no no, I can create these at will. Fluttershy and the rest of our friends certainly seem to enjoy them... Although, Pinkie Pie seems to prefer my chocolate rain..." Discord turned his head away and looked at Miles from the corner of his eye with a slight smirk.

"Chocolate... Rain?" Miles raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Discord had already tipped the entire plate of sandwiches into his mouth (including the plate itself) and summoned up another. "Yes, chocolate rain," he said simply between chews.

"I think I'll be okay for now, Discord, but thank you for the offer." Miles seemed troubled by something.

"Well, if you'd prefer, I could make something else for you... Is there anything else you'd like to eat? Just name it and it's yours," offered Discord.

Miles frowned slightly in disbelief and replied, "You can create food from nothing?"

Discord nodded. "I can create anything from nothing, Miles. I'm Discord, the Lord of Chaos; I can do anything!" Discord raised his arms to his sides and lifted his chin. Trumpets sounded behind his head and showered them both with confetti that dissipated before it touched anything.

Miles sat in silence as he watched the sandwiches on Discord's plate split their crusts from their whites roughly. Discord noticed Miles's chest pocket contained a neatly folded napkin. He then closely watched Miles's expression as he ate the crusts and haphazardly mushed the whites into a ball. He placed the ball into a pocket that he pulled out from his chest, which snapped shut and showed no signs of ever having existed. He then daintily patted the place the pocket had been and summoned up a fresh plate of sandwiches on the table between them.

Discord pretended not to notice Miles shuffling in irritation, instead summoning up a nail file and filing his claws absentmindedly as the gentle clip-clop of Fluttershy's hooves approached from the kitchen. She trotted into the room with her tiny rabbit friend Angel Bunny in tow carrying a small cup of sugar.

"So sorry I took so long. Th-The kettle has been acting up a lot lately..." Fluttershy lifted the tea tray from her back with her mouth and placed it close to the centre of the table. As Fluttershy trotted over to her seat, she thanked Angel for his help and he hopped off upstairs. She hummed uncertainly in her usual angelic voice as she seated herself. Discord noticed Miles wringing his hands slightly beneath the table and staring intently at the tea tray.

Discord looked over at Fluttershy and cheerfully remarked. "Oh, no worries, dearest. Miles and I got to have a nice chat while you were away. I feel we're on much better terms, now. Isn't that right, Miles?"

"Hm?" Miles seemed distracted by the tray, yet did his best to remain polite. "Oh. Yes, I do believe I can agree."

Fluttershy clopped her hooves together. "Oh, wonderful! How's about we get started with some tea, then? Discord, do you mind if I take a few of these sandwiches?"

"Of course, dear, take as many as you'd like." Discord's eyes were half-lidded. He felt glad to see Fluttershy's nerves dulling with him around.

"Thankyou..." Fluttershy gently beat her wings. She grabbed some sandwiches and placed them on a small, pearly plate. She placed it on the arm of her chair and then went back to remove the three teacups from the tray and placed one in front of every individual at the table. She then reached back for the teapot. However, she felt her hoof be stopped by a gentle push from Miles's hand. Discord visibly bristled in his seat.

"Please, allow me, Fluttershy. I have longer... Appendages." Miles hummed as he looked into Fluttershy's eyes. His dulcet tones rumbled the table beneath her hoof. She then giggled lightly and leaned back into her chair.

"Of course... Thank you, Miles," she said. She looked up at Discord with her baby blues. "Isn't he a sweetheart, Discord?"

Discord screwed up his face at his friend's comment and quietly mumbled as he looked off to his right, "Yes, yes, a real sweetheart..."

Discord noticed Miles use his reaching for the teapot as an excuse to nudge the tea tray directly into the centre of the table. Discord then looked over towards the wall of the house. He could see Twilight looking through with her magic. He hoped she could also see Miles's odd behaviour.

Discord signalled towards Miles subtly with his eyes as he looked at the wall, but flinched as he noticed Miles glaring at him. Miles poured Fluttershy's tea into her cup without breaking his lock.

Discord swiftly looked back over in Fluttershy's direction with a smile and smoothed over his beard as Miles came over to pour his drink for him. Miles looked into Discord's face with a friendly smile. Once again, he began to pour Discord's drink without looking at what he was doing. Discord's blood chilled by just a few degrees.

Fluttershy appeared pleased as she watched the two, but Discord remained frozen. Miles's gaze stripped Discord down to his soul. At that precise moment, Discord returned the smile. His essence writhed and creased in a chaotic storm. Miles set the teapot down. The gentle clink caused the pair to blink, severing their spiritual mingle with a silent screech.

Miles's gaze slowly turned towards the wall Discord had been looking at, and Miles couldn't help but notice this was the direction from which he had heard a twinkling sound when he first entered the cottage. Discord began to sweat slightly as he cleared his throat and said, "Thankyou, Miles. Me being the Lord of Chaos - I could have filled them all instantly myself - but I appreciate the gesture."

Miles turned back to face Discord as he sat back down in his seat. "Of course. My pleasure."

Discord detached his arm and wrapped it around Fluttershy, pulling her close. She eeped. "Oh, Fluttershy, I have to say," he mused as he sipped from his cup, "this tea is delicious... What kind is it today?"

Fluttershy appeared startled, as this was the same tea she had prepared for him many times, but answered honestly regardless. "O-Oh... Thank you, Discord. This is just normal yellow tea..." Fluttershy had noticed their gazes wondering over to her wall, and so she grew anxious that she had perhaps left something embarrassing over there. She feared she would simply drop dead on the spot if either of them spotted her secret saucy writing projects.

Fluttershy began to shake a little bit as she quickly scanned that area of the cottage for anything she might have left there near the images of herself and Discord... Thankfully, she couldn't see anything she feared she might have left lying around, and so breathed a sigh of relief.

Miles returned his gaze over to the other two members of the gathering, and suddenly clapped his hands together in an effort to reset the mood. His clap made Fluttershy flinch into herself and hide behind her mane. He continued, "Alright, that should be everyone sorted. Now, let's see how good this tea is..." Miles lifted his cup to his lips, flicked his eyebrows up at Fluttershy and took a sip, finding that he did indeed enjoy its contents. "Discord is correct, Fluttershy; this tea is indeed quite tasty."

"Th-Thankyou..." she replied.

Silence reigned over the table for the next minute, as everyone sipped from their cups. Surprisingly, this included Discord. Miles finished off the last of his beverage first and set down the cup in satisfaction. He then leaned back in his chair and spoke up in a teasing tone. "So, is this all you guys do: sit and drink tea in silence every week? Or do you, you know...?" He bit his lip and touched his fingers together. He suppressed a chortle.

Fluttershy looked down at her cup and fidgeted with its rim. A deep red flush threatened to spill off the sides of her face.

Discord merely frowned at Miles and said, "I'm not sure what you're implying. We simply have a nice chat about our lives and enjoy each other's company, like best friends do." Discord and Miles stared each other down for a few moments.

Fluttershy felt the atmosphere begin to crush her shoulders.

"I... I'll be right back..." Fluttershy meeped. She flapped her wings and quickly took off upstairs, leaving Discord and Miles alone once more.

Miles looked over at Discord with a slight grin. "Well, that one went down like a lead balloon, eh?" Miles elbowed Discord in the side, and Discord felt tempted to drop a lead balloon over his head, but resisted the urge. Miles paused, his smile disappearing. "You know I was kidding, right?"

"In case you couldn't tell, Miles: dearest Fluttershy is a sensitive soul." Discord tossed his cup into the air and it fell onto the tray directly on top of Miles's, the two slotting together perfectly. Miles noticed this and grated his teeth. Discord continued, "I'm going to go up and check on Fluttershy. I suggest you get going for today." The door to the cottage flung open.

Miles peered through the exit and smacked his lips. "Hmm... Alright, no problem. I'll see you around. Send Fluttershy my kindest regards and utmost apologies." Miles cracked his knuckles as he made for the exit, hearing another twinkling sound come from the wall as he approached the door. Miles exited the door and glanced over to the right, yet saw nothing from whence the twinkling sound came. The door closed roughly behind him and he cracked his neck with a twist.

Miles kicked a stray stone from the path into the stream running below the small bridge leading to Fluttershy's home as he made his way back towards the castle. "A sensitive soul... 'Best friends'..." Miles laughed quietly to himself. The next piece of the puzzle reared its head in his mind's eye.

Author's Note

06/10/2024 - Touched up with some changes/additions.