The Faculty Lot

“We have a guest today, my dear sister,” Principal Celestia announced as she strode gaily into Vice Principal Luna’s office. Even though she knew her sister and fellow faculty member like a book, she always stopped short when she saw how sparsely the office was decorated. Luna enjoyed the minimalist approach when it came to such things. Small potted plants were perfectly placed in all four corners of the room, and the only other thing in there was a bookcase and Luna’s rather sizable desk. The mahogany structure stood in sharp contrast to the sheer nothingness of the rest of the space. Her computer dominated its surface, but there were the typical school faculty traditions of books and pens and various other supplies, all perfectly organized.

“A guest?” Luna asked as she reared back from behind the screen of her brand new iMac. The school had made the decision to overhaul its technological leanings, and had switched from Windows a few months before. Luna, in particular, had been extremely supportive of the swap, and she could not have been happier with the performance of their recent acquisitions. Now her computer wasn’t constantly crashing, and they weren’t having to constantly pay their local Best Buy location to come out and take a look at it. It saved them a lot of money when it came to that department, and she couldn’t help but take some credit for it.

“Yes, a guest,” Celestia responded, “all the way from Equestria!”

Luna nearly spat out the coffee she had just sucked in. She had definitely heard of this alternate dimension, and had even been privy to an introduction with one of their princesses, but she never thought she’d actually have to help entertain a guest from there. She suddenly felt very inadequate, almost as if somebody had come into the room with a shrink ray and pulverized her size until she was no bigger than the average household mouse. Her pupils shrank until they were slits and she took on a lack of confidence that she’d never experienced before. Even though she was nearing her forties, she still sometimes felt that she was completely out of her element.

Her big sister took notice. “Um…are you okay, Luna?”

“Yes! Yes, my dear sister!” Luna said, quickly adjusting her dark purple top and customary black slacks, “I’m just…not used to doing this kind of thing. Normally, you do it.”

“Well, yes,” Celestia responded, “and I would, but I have to give a speech to some of our new employees in half an hour. I just want you to show our guest around the school, and help her understand a little more about our world. After all, she comes from a place where ponies can talk…I must admit, I’m still trying to wrap my head around that one.”

Luna smiled and nodded as her big sister turned to the side. “Come on in, Princess,” she said.

The Vice Principal once again choked on her caffeinated beverage as a new person entered the room. This one looked just like her, only her hair was done up in a ponytail and she wore radically different clothes. Her outfit consisted of a midnight blue dress that accentuated her eyes rather beautifully. A necklace of pure white hung around her neck, reflecting the subtle radiance that was found there. She smiled and walked over to Luna’s desk, hobbling a little bit as she went.

The Vice Principal quickly got up and caught her. “Whoa, there!” She said, “are you alright…er…Your Majesty?”

“Oh, yes, I’m perfectly fine,” the woman stated, “I’m just getting used to a place where you stand on two legs instead of four.”

Celestia came and stood between them. “Vice Principal Luna, this is Princess Luna. Princess Luna, this is Vice Principal Luna.”

The two ladies looked each other over with more than a bit of shock passing between them. The idea that human and pony counterparts existed in both worlds was mind numbingly bamboozling. They each blushed a bit as they felt like they were looking at some kind of distorted reflection. It felt like a perfect fit, but something just seemed off about the other one. For the faculty member, it was probably the fact that this pony turned person didn’t have a teaching degree or any kind of experience in the U.S. school system. For the princess, it may have been the idea that this human didn’t raise the moon every night. She remembered when Twilight had told her that the human sun and moon just kind of ran on their own, and that thought had shocked her so badly that she could not sleep the following day.

“It’s…a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Vice Principal Luna said as she held out her hand.

“The same to you,” Princess Luna said, “but…I’m afraid I don’t know why you’re holding out one of your upper extremities to me. I don’t wish to be rude, but is this some type of human greeting mechanism?”

The faculty member stifled a chuckle at the Princess’s rather adorable ignorance. “Yes, Your Majesty,” she said politely when she regained her composure, “it’s called shaking hands.”

“So that’s what these odd, rather stubby things are,” Princess Luna said as she gawked awkwardly at one of her new hands, “I find that the odd protrusions jutting from their base are interesting. Very interesting, indeed. Tell me, do you use them to grasp different objects?”

Once again, Vice Principal Luna had to blockade her laugh. “Yes, Princess. They’re called fingers, and they have many useful qualities.”

“Mm-hmm,” Princess Luna responded, “very, very astounding. Sometimes I wish that we ponies had these kinds of mechanical advantages built into our beings. But, such is life. Please do not think that I am unhappy in Equestria. I really am. But ever since Princess Twilight told me about her adventures here, I have been anxious to experience them in person. I have also heard of a place containing great power called: the faculty lot.”

“Well, then, follow me and I’ll show you what we have to offer,” Luna said as she smiled, “even the faculty lot.”