Life amidst the others

Later that day, I packed some fruits and some other types of foods I'd consider as edible and Lyra gave me some money for the train ride over and some for anything else I might need some money for. The currency appeared to be in the form of coins.

"Sixty bits should be enough for the train ride and anything else you might need the money for," She said as she gave me a hug across my chest.

The hug was very warming and surprisingly comfortable. Lyra was trying to keep her plastic smile on as long as she could until I exited the door. I left to the Ponyville train station and awaited the arrival of the train. After an hour of waiting, I purchased a ticket with some of the money Lyra has left for me and boarded. The train ride lasted for about an hour and a half. The entire ride, I had thought about Lyra and how sad I felt for her. I disembarked the train and arrived in Canterlot; the princess' castle stuck out compared to the rest of the city so I knew where I was headed. When I made it to the castle I was greeted by two guards.

"Halt! State your name and business," One of the guards said in a serious manner.

"My name is Shane, I request an audience with the princess," One of the guards were stunned after I mentioned my name and whispered into the other guard’s ear.

"You may pass," They both said.

The castle was just as huge on the inside as it was on the outside. The foyer looked as if it was 6 stories tall. I disregarded the topic of how big the castle was, trying to focus on what I mainly was here for. I was concerned with where I was going, because I swear I got lost for at least ten minutes in this castle until I stumbled into the throne room. The throne room was just as big as the foyer, it had a large rug leading up to two thrones. I was curious to know if there was another ruler over this kingdom or not, but it was irrelevant at the time. Celestia, a white pony, was sitting on her throne talking to one of her servants until she noticed me entering.

"Shane, I am guessing you've found out why you are here," She said with a serious face.

"More or less, I know it has something to do with you and Lyra," I replied walking closer to her.

The aura around her mane and tail were unrealistic, there appeared to be some sort of fabric like material but they were not, they also were cycling specific positions of her mane and tail to another. It was like one of those fake fireplaces with a fabric instead of fire, whipping around, but instead her mane and tail were moving gently and more peacefully. Her color pattern for her mane and tail were also completely different from the other ponies, she had a green, light pink, and some shades of blues in the form of stripes. She also had an image on her outer thigh; it was a picture of a sun. There was something else that stuck out between the other ponies and her, she was both a unicorn and a Pegasus and both her wings and her horn were huge. I guess it's not my place to judge her appearance.

Celestia beckoned me forward, her surprisingly calm aura only made it harder to refuse. I proceeded further until we were about one pony's length away from each other.

"Shane, what do you see?" Celestia said in a formal tone

"What do you mean?" I replied curiously.

Celestia sighed profusely.

"What I mean is what do you see, a land of magical ponies and full of abundance or a land where everything is normal to you that makes it so you follow the same routine over and over again?" She responded

I was curious as to what she was getting at, it was such an obvious question but did she really expect an answer to it?

"Your highness, I mean no disrespect, but I do believe this is such an irrelevant question," I politely responded.

"Shane, you don't understand. What I am telling you is, your life here is much more interesting here than it was on your own planet. I am giving you the option to either stay or go back to your normal life, I'll respect your opinion," She said.

I hesitated for a moment and I could not respond. The fact the matter is, she was right, my life was more abundant now than it was before I got here.

"I see, I will give you more time to think about it, until then, you may stay in one of my bedrooms until you have made your decision," She generously offered.

I could not deny her offer, I was still too deep into my thoughts of what I should do. Celestia called one of her royal guards and had them guide me to one of the bedrooms I could stay in, however they were on the top floor, climbing the stairs was a pain. Even if I did know how to fly with my wings, I wouldn't be able to get to my room without guidance. After climbing several flights of stairs the guard showed me to my room, it was as big as Lyra's house.

"Enjoy your stay, if you would ever like an audience with the princess, please let us know ahead of time," The guard said.

I nodded my head and walked over to my new bed, which was soft as ever, and continued to drown myself in my thoughts. Then several thoughts came to me. How would I survive on just fruits and vegetables? How will I live without technology? How will I get in the hang of being a pony? Would I ever learn to fly? Before my thoughts took over, my head rested on the soft pillow without any consent from the rest of my body and fell asleep.