Author's Note

Whew! This took a bit to write, but I think it was worth it! Also, just a heads up that I will be posting my first Equestria Girls story later today. I hope you'll enjoy it, and I hope you continue to enjoy this one! Happy reading!

A Summons

I spent the next day or so recuperating in that hospital room. The medical staff were just as surprisingly friendly as the other ponies had been, and I grew attached to them. Dr. Maneford, the specialist who observed me, quickly made his way onto my “favorites” list. He was funny and extremely charismatic, even when explaining everything that was wrong with me. It was nice to have someone to speak with when my new mare friends couldn’t be there.

But that didn’t mean that they had stopped caring. Every single day they made sure to drop by and check on me. Their friendship bloomed around me like the wonderful blossoms of the springtime gardens, and I felt warm around them. My heart would soar whenever one of them trotted into my room and left me a get well card or some flowers. So they do the same things when one of their own is sick as we do back in the human world, I told myself, how fascinating.

I got to know each of them on a rather personal level. Rainbow Dash was obsessed with speed, flight, and the Daring Do novels. We had a two-hour conversation…or, I should say, SHE had a two-hour conversation…about the entirety of the series and every single character therein. By the time she finished, I felt like I had participated in a whirlwind reading session whereupon I stumbled my way through each book. I also found out that Rarity was obsessed with fashion and designing clothes (she even insisted on designing me an outfit), Pinkie Pie was obsessed with parties, and Applejack, the orange pony, was obsessed with apples and the farming of such fruits.

But the event I looked forward to the most was when the princess would make a visit. She stayed in Ponyville until just before I left the hospital, returning to her home in their capital city of Canterlot shortly after. I actually shed a couple of tears when she left, because I felt like I had missed an excellent opportunity. She was a great mystery to me, and I continued to pine for knowledge of her. In my world, princesses and princes and kings and queens were detached from the common populace. In this world, Princess Twilight seemed to love dwelling among the ponies who ranked beneath her. Her subjects were also her best friends. What a spectacular way to run a kingdom, I thought, I wish our human leaders could learn friendship.

The day I got discharged from the hospital was a day that would change my life forever. I was sitting at the door, waiting for Fluttershy to come and lead me to her home. She had graciously offered to let me stay with her during my time there, and I had accepted. I could see her pink and yellow head bobbing on the horizon, when suddenly, a deep blue pony raced past her. He was dressed from head to tail in a heavy suit of armor. It surprised me to see a soldier, because I figured that Equestria just didn’t have any enemies. Or…at least…it shouldn’t, I reasoned.

The unicorn guard arrived at my hooves and magically removed a scroll from his saddlebag. He popped off the seal and began announcing, in a rather annoyingly official voice. “Hear ye, hear ye! Stony Tail, the newest pony in Equestria and the newest friend of Her Most Royal Majesty, Princess Twilight Sparkle, hath hereby been summoned to the grand castle of Canterlot for an official meeting with Her Highness!” After he finished his small announcement, he stuck out his hoof. “I am Tactician, second in command to Sir Shining Armor, the commander of Her Majesty’s forces. I am to bring you to Canterlot at once, Stony Tail!”

“Oh, that’s alright,” I said kindly, “I actually was-“

“You cannot refuse an official summons of the Princess!” Tactician barked, “now, we must be off!”

Without warning, he grabbed my hoof and drug me over to where a royal chariot was waiting. Fluttershy, to her credit, did not try and stop them. At first, I was upset with her. You’re supposed to be my friend, and you’re not doing anything to impede these whackos?! I shouted at her internally. But then she smiled and nodded, as if everything was going to be alright. I trusted her, even though she didn’t say anything, and I cautiously settled onto my haunches.

“Brace yourself!” Tactician yelled.

“Brace my-SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELF?!”

The reason that’s been entirely capitalized is because that was my scream when the chariot suddenly took off into the air. I hadn’t noticed the four Pegasi guards who were piloting the contraption, and I was thrown into the back of it when we left the ground. I didn’t know ponies could fly that quickly. Heck, before this, I hadn’t known that ponies could fly at all! But once we got going, their movements softened and we soared majestically through the sky towards a city that, I swear, was hanging off the side of a very tall mountain.

“There it is, Mr. Stony Tail!” Tactician said, “the grand city of Canterlot, monument to all of pony kind!”

It truly was magnificent to look at from afar, and I once again experienced the “stapled mouth effect.” As we drew closer, I noticed that every tower in the town gleamed with the light of the sun. They were extremely grandiose in nature, yet they seemed to have every exquisite detail covered. Nothing was missing, and it felt as if I were flying into a cavalcade of wonder. We flew through the streets, and I noticed that all of the businesses here had a rich sheen about them. Obviously very successful ponies live here, I told myself.

Then we flew into the castle courtyard itself. It was breathtaking, with garden upon garden of amazing blooms and the tallest trees anyone could have imagined. We were brought in to land by some ponies magically waving flags, and the Pegasi parked us exactly where we needed to be. My mouth continued to hang loosely against my chest as we disembarked and trotted into the truly stupendous building.

It was made of the smoothest stones painted white, and the top of it was a bright purple. Four symbols were engraved above the front door, and I recognized one as the cutie mark of Princess Twilight. The others I didn’t know, and when I tried to ask Tactician about it, he simply said that they were the “emblems of destiny.” I noticed that he had a habit of sometimes speaking cryptically, but I never pressed further about it. I accepted his explanation and we went into a great hallway.

The carpeted floor masked our hoof steps as we approached some giant double doors. Twilight’s mark was etched above this one as well, and Tactician stopped and turned to me. “Now, then,” he said, “royal protocol and etiquette demands that you bow to Princess Twilight with your nose touching the floor. You are not to look into her face until she bids you to do so.”

“But Princess Twilight is my friend-“

“ROYAL PROTOCOL WILL NOT BE BREACHED!” He barked sharply.

“Okay, okay,” I said, “sheesh.”

He turned and opened the door and we entered the throne room. It was even more spectacular than the outside of the castle. Beautiful stained glass windows adorned the walls, and I recognized one as having Princess Twilight fighting off some kind of evil force. So Equestria does have enemies, I told myself, but it looks as if Princess Twilight has everything in hand…er…hoof.

I turned and nearly ran into Tactician’s rear end. He was already bowing, and I snapped back to reality. I immediately dropped on my nose until I felt a sweet aroma invade my nostrils. It warmed my olfactory senses, causing my others to spin out of control. I nearly burst out giggling, but remembered where I was and to whom I was bowing. I also felt a warm, soft, yet somehow commanding vocal tone in my ear. “Arise,” it said, “and come sit next to me, Stony Tail.”

I looked up, and there she was. That great mystery and paradox that I had become so fascinated by ever since meeting her. Her eyes shone like the sun, and the same sparkle once again graced her pupils. She smiled at me and I felt extremely comfortable, almost as if I was meeting a very dear friend. While I did consider her more than just an acquaintance, I did not consider her among my close friends. At least…not yet, anyway.

I obediently went and sat next to her as she dismissed Tactician from the room. He didn’t look too happy to be disallowed from the proceedings, but he did as he was told. He turned and marched out of the room with his tail stuck high in the air. The princess and I couldn’t help but laugh a bit at how silly he looked. “Oh, Tactician,” Twilight breathed, “he really is an excellent general and he works well with my brother, but he can be so stoically serious!”

“Your brother, Your Majesty?” I asked with a cock of my head.

“Yes, Stony,” she responded, “my brother is Shining Armor. I’m certain Tactician mentioned him in my summons.”

“Er, yes, ma’am, he did,” I said respectfully.

She chuckled. “You don’t have to be so formal,” she said, “I was the Princess of Friendship for so long, I’m used to ponies simply addressing me by my first name in these private situations.”

Now I’m really intrigued, I thought to myself. How could a pony who was the ruler of all Equestria simply allow her subjects to treat her with such seeming disrespect? It seemed so out of place. But, I determined in my heart that I would never treat her poorly and I would always obey her wishes. If she wanted to be addressed as such, then that’s how I would do it.

“Where are you from?” She suddenly asked.

I had no answer, so I began doing what I did when Fluttershy asked me my name. My eyes darted around the room, looking for some kind of map. Suddenly, I caught sight of a globe that was resting on a small table nearby. It was turned to a place called Shire Lanka, and I figured that was as good a place to be from as any. “I’m from Shire Lanka,” I told the princess. But my lie felt like a punch to the gut, and my stomach churned. I realized that I hated being dishonest with the princess. But I couldn’t reveal everything to her now! Not with so many amazing things to be discovered!

“Shire Lanka?” She asked in puzzlement, “hm…I’ve never heard of anypony being born and raised there. Explorer ponies go there all the time, but you’re the first native pony I’ve met.”

“Yes, um…my mother and father were explorers,” I lied, “but they were killed a few months ago by bears!”

“Bears?” Twilight asked, “that’s horrible! I’m so sorry for your loss!”

“Oh, it’s okay.”

“Well, then, they must have been Equestrians, right?”

I realized that my small story about being from Shire Lanka needed even more leverage to be believable. I had dug myself into a hole, and the only way I could see to keep going was to continue digging. So I launched into an entirely fabricated family history, of how everypony in my family going back generations had been explorers there and had lived there and had died there. I finished with beads of sweat on my brow and she had a look of disbelief on her face.

“So…everypony in your family for fifteen generations has been there?”

“Yes, Princess.”

“And this is the truth?”

“Yes, Princess,” I said, hiding a sharp wince as I did so.

She sighed. “I’ll take your word for it,” she said kindly, “because that’s what friends do. The Elements of Harmony demand honesty, and I know you wouldn’t violate our new friendship by lying to me.”

I felt my stomach churn harder and my conscience was screaming at me to pry open my mind and deliver the truth. But my heart just wouldn’t allow myself to be honest. I needed to be with this pony, and learn all I could from her. As my mind wanted to be straightforward and find a way back home, my feelings became even bigger obstacles. They seemed to grow in opposition to common sense, and I soon fell under their spell. Little did I know it, but they would lead me through love, heartache, happiness, blood, and tears before it was all over.