Blue Moon

Luna had made her way to the door and had brought in a... silver platter. Groovy. Covering it was one of those silver dome thingies you always see covering a silver platter, and beside the levitated tray were some utensils, a glass of orange juice, and one of those breakfast in bed lap-tables. She carefully set the table down over Pat, laying the platter, utensils, and glass on it. "Lean forward, if you can," she said. He was happy to do so, hiding the sudden sharp pains admirably. Luna used her magic to fluff and position the pillows to where he was now in a seated position, "Alright, you may sit back now."

Pat did, and Luna removed the cover from the noon breakfast. On the platter was a large plate with golden hashed brown potatoes, perfect sunny side up eggs, flaky buttered biscuits with a side of apple butter, and crisp- was that bacon? "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the strips of not-bacon.

"Oh, those are haycon strips. Hay weaved and laced with oats before being deep fried and served traditionally with breakfast. A relatively new culinary delight," she explained, proud of being able to apply some more of her recently acquired knowledge.

Pat shrugged and took a bite... and then thought better of it as he roughly swallowed the grassy-textured foodstuff. "You know, I don't think humans can eat hay," he said with a cough. "You can have it."

Her eyes widened, "Oh, I had forgotten! I remember that Starsw- I mean, humans cannot digest hay or grasses. I am sorry," she apologized. "And thank you," she added, taking the piece of haycon that he had bitten into in her magic and nibbling on it.

"No problem. Everything else looks delicious. And what do you mean, there were humans here before me?" Pat asked as he started trying to cut his eggs, his fine motor skills failing him.

Luna smiled again, but somberly, "There were once humans here, yes. Doubtless you see their influence in the designs of things around you. Handles, knobs, forks and knives, mugs... many things here are awkward for ponies to use by hoof. Or by mouth, as is often the case as well. Humans and ponies grew up together, you see. They worked together, they played together, and they built together. Why, most of-" she paused as she noticed Pat hadn't made any progress on his eggs. "Allow me?"

His face brightened, "Please do!"

She giggled again, a sound that Pat found he couldn't get enough of, and levitated his fork and knife to cut his eggs into bite-sized pieces. "As I was saying, Humans designed most of Old Canterlot, and that was seen as an inspiration for every pony architect of the age. Particularly the castle..." she trailed off as she fed him a bite.

"Dif' un?" he asked as he chewed, before swallowing and adding, "Or the one in the Everfree?"

She looked sadder, offering him another bite of egg. "The latter. That is the location of Old Canterlot... or the remains of it. I am not proud of-"

"You know." Pat hadn't taken the bite. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Tell me more about the humans here." He bit down on the fork a bit too hard, wincing.

"There are none left, sadly. I was present to see the last of them off; that may give you an idea of how long ago it was they died out." She offered him the orange juice.

Pat took a big gulp, puckering his face at the tartness, before asking, "So what happened? A few bites of the potatoes, please."

Luna switched over to the hashed browns, "None knew. The greatest medical minds of the era were baffled. Admittedly, not a difficult thing to do for the time, but all the same. Humans simply started dying. All ages, all races, all genders, indiscriminately and without seeming cause. Soon after the last passed on, ponykind gave up on trying to find out whatever ailment it was that killed them."

Pat's chewing slowed. He swallowed hard. "So, not to be insensitive, but is that whatever it was still..."

Luna's wings fluffed up slightly, "No no! With no hosts to carry, the sickness is long gone. You have nothing to fear." She calmed down, but began poking at the potatoes with the fork, looking sadly and pensively at them.

The silence lasted some time. Pat was the first to break it. "I wasn't expecting eggs and hashed browns as a traditional Canterlot breakfast. It's nice."

This pulled Luna back from her thoughts. "It is my sister's favorite. Simple, but filling. She says having a more simplistic, "homestyle" breakfast brings her somewhat closer to the hardworking ponies of Equestria. She loves them so..."

"What's your breakfast of choice, then?" he asked.

She smiled and giggled before answering, "I greet the night with a variety of fruits of the orchards and a glass of red wine. 'Tis no better way to start the night."

Pat raised his eyebrows and nodded, "Sounds like it. Do you have this for dinner then?"

She shook her head, "Nay, I prefer stacks of pancakes and biscuits covered in- Well, thou wouldst think me foalish."

"No, not at all. Tell me," he prompted.

She conceded, "Well, I have the chef prepare a chocolate sauce to pour over them. It's the definition of richness and decadence. I have a bit of a "sweet tooth" as they call it these days."

"We'll have to share one of your ideal dinners some time, it sounds delicious," Pat grinned before receiving a bite of biscuit.

Luna returned the grin before agreeing, "Indeed we must." The hungry young man finished the rest of his meal quickly, with the help of the princess, when she asked, "Would you mind telling me some of where you came from?"

"Sure, uh... what'd you like to know?" he asked.

"I'd like to know everything," she beamed. "Perhaps start with your society? The "people" and how they live, work, and govern themselves."

"Alright. The country I live in is sort of a democratic republic thing. The people of my country are supposed to elect a president who acts as leader for four years, and to act as a sort of checks and balances system there's also the senators, which each state of the country has a few of, I think... they can vote to approve or throw out rules made by the president and themselves where the president does the same for them... I think. It's been a while since I really studied anything about the government, and at this point it's so corrupt and practically owned by corporations and stuff that I don't think too much of it matters," Pat said with a sigh.

"Oh my," Luna remarked as she gingerly nibbled on a strip of haycon.

"Yeah. The people themselves live pretty much freely, which is nice. Every man has the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, or somesuch. People own businesses, or work for those who own businesses, or work for the government in law enforcement or the military or the post office-"

"Your country has a standing military?" Luna interrupted.

"Yes. I don't think it should according to some treaty or something, 'cause we aren't or weren't technically in a war, but I don't really know. I'm glad to be rid of the world as I knew it," he said with light contempt.

"But surely you had family or friends that made it bearable," she prompted.

Pat settled back into the comfortable pillows. "Yeah, that I did. I had my mom and my little brother. My mom raised me and him on her own, got us a good education, and made sure she and I got through college. We had just found work, and things were lookin' up."

"What profession did you pursue?"

"Well. I wanted to be a doctor. But that takes too long and is way too expensive. I settled on nursing, because I could still help people and afford to get my degree. The docs get most the respect, but I got to work more with the patients. It was nice."

Luna nodded, "Do you know that I too am a student of the healing arts? I learned them from my sister. She created them to care for her- our ponies. I am not as good as she, but I am still more competent than any other, even in this day."

"Wow. So you were the one who bandaged me up 'n stuff?" Pat peeked beneath the covers, looking over the loose pajamas he wore and the bandaged around his abdomen where the shirt had pulled up some. "I've gotta say that I'm impressed with your technique. And the fact that I'm wearing clothes. Where did you get them?"

"I had them made by a seamstress in ponyville. You would not know her-"

"Rarity's Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and magnifique. Yes, I know her. She was my favorite before..."

"Ah, yes," Luna remembered, "the "program." I will be honest will you, at first I thought it was amusing, but I am unsure now how I feel about it. A princess's life is always under close scrutiny, but to have hundreds of thousands of extinct creatures observing my every movement-"

"Twi's every movement," Pat corrected.

There was a grim silence before both said as one, "She must never know."

They both laughed, before Luna recalled a question she wanted to ask earlier, "You said earlier that I was your favorite. Why is that?"

Pat thought for a moment, blushed, thought a while more, then answered. "At first, it was a bit superficial. I loved your coat color and the way your mane complemented it so. The pale, powdery blue on an almost lavender was gorgeous, and combined with the sweep of your mane and the styling, it portrayed youth, innocence, and beauty. And after you were freed from Nightmare Moon, it sharply contrasted her look, making you very distinctly different and... vulnerable? It triggered that male protective instinct thing. But that alone wasn't enough. And you didn't get any air time until a year later. But then when you showed up in a flying chariot on Nightmare Night, cloak billowing in the wind, hood pulled up, eyes a-glow, and you leaped down from it into the crowd and pulled back that hood, I was transfixed. You were amazing! Darker coat, mane now similar to you sister's but instead like the night sky itself enshrined your face, despite that the eye was drawn to your body which has all the right curves, your regalia shimmering in the moonlight, and then you spoke with such presence! And as the night went on, you were revealed to be sweeter, caring about your subjects, doing all you could to get them to like you. You carried yourself with a measure of both confidence and awkwardness that I could relate to. My guess was that you spent the last year holed up in the library learning everything you could about the thousand years you missed so that you could be the best princess you could be. Seems I was right. And I admire that. And then you went out with little to no time to practice local mannerisms and speech so that your ponies would have their princess amongst them for a special holiday night. And that entrance... You're awesome. Literally and colloquially. Does that answer your question?"

Luna sat there and blinked a few times. "Yes. Quite. That was a most informative and praising answer... though I am unsure it is entirely deserved."

"Completely deserved. A hundred and twenty percent totally deserved."

She blushed, the red showing through despite her dark coat. "Well, we may argue that at a later time. I will remove these dishes from us," she said as she gathered up the tray, lap table, and silverware, "And if you will excuse me, I will take a brief walk. I would like to contemplate the things you have told me."

As she stood, levitating the breakfast things at her side, Pat nodded. "I'll be right here when you get back," he quipped mirthfully. In his head, however, he was running over everything he had said, cursing himself out for some of what he said and some of what he didn't. Luna left the room, gently closing the door behind her.

Luna was walking the halls, contemplating the human. There was still much he could tell her, if she could get past the resentment he had for his own world. He did seem to like her, almost idolized her if that description of her was anything to go by. It was flattering, but a bit unsettling. Or was it the hundreds of thousands of eyes she had had on her at every moment she was with Twilight Sparkle that was unsettling?

She sighed and started to make her way back to Pat's room. It was right next to her own; she had insisted he be brought there. She wanted to be sure he was well cared for at all times. After all, he is the last of his species in this world.

As Luna thought, she saw her sister approach. "Good afternoon, Luna. How is that human doing? Is he still naked and drooling on the pillows?"

"N-no! I received his clothing by post just this morning and he is now dressed." Luna never really caught on to when Celestia was just messing with her. "And he's doing very well, actually. He just awakened. He has had much to say... some of it very interesting."

"Oh? Perhaps I might wish to speak with him-" Celestia began.

Luna, however, cut her short, "No! I'll tell you everything later, just... for now leave him to me. Please?"

The white alicorn of the sun smiled knowingly at her sister. " Of course, as you wish. Do with him as you please." As they went their separate ways, she called back "Just remember to have the sheets washed when you're done!"

Luna never really caught on to when Celestia was just messing with her.