High Score!

Chapters

Prologue [Re-edited]
Chapter 1: Ready Player One [Re-edited]
Chapter 2: Ready Player Two [Re-edited]
Chapter 3: New Game [Re-edited]
Chapter 4: Hate Her? [Re-edited]
Chapter 5: Not a bother
Chapter 6: Tutorial
Chapter 7: Tweinstein
Chapter 8: Canterlot
Chapter 9: To Ponyville!

Prologue [Re-edited]

Luna sighed.

Another night without a single pony showing up for Night Court.

It wasn't a surprise – it was absolutely routine, in fact. That was the whole problem.

She tried to remind herself that the ponies of Equestria had grown up with one ruler, their entire lives, and now suddenly there were two. Some adjustment was to be expected.

Especially after one of them had tried to take over the nation and plunge it into eternal darkness...

No! That was Nightmare Moon, not Luna. Although, then again, even she struggled to tell where she ended and the Nightmare began.

In some aspects, as alien as possible. In others, like looking into a mirror. No, she couldn't blame her subjects for the confusion, or their fear. She deserved it.

It just hurt. It hurt worse every day, and it had been six months.

Which meant that, by now, it hurt... pretty badly.

Celestia had done whatever she could think of, of course, but she couldn't change the minds of her subjects on a dime. Nor would Luna want her to; she would have to earn their trust back.

Nor could her sister change the fact that Luna was far outside of her own time. The technology had changed, the culture had changed, enemies had become friends – the very language had changed.

The world had moved on without her, without a second thought. And it continued doing so, even now that she had returned.

It had been a thousand years. Change was expected, change she could handle – but the indifference she encountered from her own subjects was not a change she could accept so easily.

Not all changes were bad, however! There was one change that had helped her grapple with all the rest of it.

Games! Computer games!

She'd found them absolutely amazing! So far beyond anything they had imagined in her time! They weren't widespread, and most were rather primitive, but they were all enjoyable to try!

And on nights like tonight, when dreams were calm and she had nothing to do but stew in her own thoughts, they provided the solace she needed.

She found a belonging there, escaping into virtual realms, that the waking world never held for her.

She sighed, tapping the edge of her throne with her hoof, and casting her gaze across a room full of historical stained-glass windows – all lacking her. Again, not a surprise, yet painful nonetheless.

Even the guards – her only company, most of the time – didn't know what to make of her. They were courteous and professional, but Luna could still sense their caution, their... hesitation around her.

Having them there only made her feel more alone, somehow. And where else could she go? Leave the throne room and try to mingle among ponies too scared to even make an attempt at a friendly relationship?

Not for the first time, Luna's patience at this farce run out. There was no sense at sitting here, bored, alone, and miserable for the entire evening, night after night. Nopony was coming, she knew full well – no one wanted her counsel.

They took all of that to her sister, along with their respect, adoration, all of it. She didn't resent Tia for that, anymore. Nor her subjects. She deserved it, she knew.

Like everything else, it just hurt.

"Sergeant," she brought the guard to attention, "We shalt retire this eve. Prithee, disturb us not, unless t'is urgent?"

It took the guard a moment to parse what she'd said, but then he nodded. As she stood to leave, she paused, and said, "Forgive us—me, I did not mean to lapse into Old Ponish again."

He shook his head hurriedly, saying, "It's okay, princess. I understand."

Tia had made sure they would be accommodating. It wasn't that Luna couldn't speak modern Ponish, it was just new to her – like everything. The guard returned to attention, and Luna, having no more business – and absolutely nothing to say – left in the throne room, disappeared with a spell.

She didn't like leaving early, but she hated staying there. Leaving felt like giving up, but every time she stayed the entire time and nopony came, she felt worse.

If someone really wanted to see her, they could send for her. Sometimes, she was tempted to cancel night court entirely, but that felt a bridge too far – without it, her only remaining responsibility would be safeguarding the dreams of Equestria.

On some nights, that kept her very busy. On others, she simply had nothing to contribute. Celestia saw to all of the bureaucracy and general management of the kingdom – a well-oiled system a thousand years in the making that Luna scarcely knew the beginnings of, yet – and had set things up so intricately that even her direct involvement was rarely necessary.

Equestria was so peaceful, it barely had room for one princess. It had three! And even Cadance was more experienced than Luna, at this point! After years of studying under Celestia, she'd grown fully capable of governing a nation herself, if the need arose.

Redundant. Useless. Luna knew full-well that, at this point, she was simply another burden for her sister, and it made her want to scream into a pillow. Sometimes more than want-to.

But now wasn't the time for such thoughts! She was out of that awful, empty throne room and back where she could feel alive! She deposited her regalia on the dresser while opening her wardrobe.

She was far from fully-recovered from her exile – still smaller, her mane just barely having started to glow again and far from its full, starry luster. Even her coat was a bit lighter than it should be.

In short, she looked rather like her teenage self. And she'd learned a thing or two about what some teenage ponies liked to wear these days! She retrieved her hoodie from the wardrobe, and slipped it on.

Warm, comfy, snuggly, simply wonderful! This set the proper mood for a night of gaming. It was like receiving a hug from somepony all the time!

She parked at her desk and turned on her computer. She'd already tried all of the games Equestria had to offer – which only numbered in the dozens – but her mastery of dream magic also gave her insight into dimensional magic, and she'd made a few... modifications to the machine.

Human games! Her computer could access a whole other world, with their seemingly endless digital imaginations! If Equestria was advanced miles beyond her understanding, humanity – what little she could glean about them from their games – was leagues ahead!

They had multiplayer! Oh, Luna had tried to get Tia to play a few Equestrian games with her, but she simply wasn't interested. Those were so basic, it was more enjoyable to simply actually play ping-pong, or somesuch. This was on a different scale!

Hundreds, even thousands of people, playing together all at the same time, on the same game, from all across their world! And now, from another world, as well! She giggled at the thought.

Luna kept to herself, but simply being among them – treated as an equal – was a treat in itself! In Legends of Aetoria II, she was no outcast – no one to be feared, shunned, or treated delicately like she was made of fine glass.

Lelea, the level 2 dark elf, stepped into Aetoria, ready to seek adventure. Luna had only made this character yesterday, but she knew she'd explore much farther this time than with her other characters.

Adventures and treasure awaited!

"Lock and load, boys!" she quipped, repeating a line she'd heard several times and only vaguely understood, and all her worries seemed to vanish.

Author's Note

A massive thank you to SoloBrony for re-editing this chapter!

I've always wanted to do a story inspired by this picture. I have had in in my mind for a while, but it is only now after watching a certain Mario movie, which was amazing by the way, that I knew I had to start it out! :P

I know it is short for now, but I just wanted to get the ball rolling. :twilightsmile:

Chapter 1: Ready Player One [Re-edited]

Another day, another trip through hell...

Every step on the stairs was an absolute chore when you were this exhausted. It made every little thing feel like it was the worst.

Felix groaned as he finally got to his door and fumbled for his keys. He knew it wasn't really that bad, but it all comes down to how you feel.

Right now? He wasn't feeling it. Ugh.

So of course he got clumsy and spilled his wallet onto the floor trying to get the door open. Even stooping to pick it up hurt. God, a hot shower would be like an oasis in the desert, right now.

As he pushed the door open, he stared at his ID card, proudly displayed on the inside of the open wallet dangling from his other hand.

Name: Felix Fox
Gender: Male
Age: 20

Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Distinguishing Features: None

Blah blah blah, and more details, and that stupid picture. Days like this, he felt like that summed him up. It was really the Distinguish Features: None part that cinched it.

Not even remarkably unremarkable, that was how he felt. Damn, he really was in a bad mood today. Not that today was special; he always felt somewhere on the spectrum of 'why did I bother waking up this morning' after getting home from work.

He didn't hate his job, but he sure didn't like it, either. Same boring routine at the same boring garden section at the same boring store.

Distinguishing features: None.

He'd actually liked the garden section when he was a kid. Now he couldn't wait to be out of there whenever he had to go in. Irony.

When he was a kid he hadn't had to spend all of his time cleaning, stacking, or hauling dirt around. Simple, dull, unfulfilling work. He got it done, but he slacked where he could, which he felt bad about – but then, most people did the same. There wasn't much to strive for or be proud of, so he had no real motivation.

Heh, you could say that as an employee, he had no distinguishing features. He was starting to see a pattern, here.

Actually, that wasn't true. His job description didn't say anything about customer service, but he went out of his way to be accommodating whenever customers approached him.

Which happened a lot, given that he was a person in a uniform in a store. Just one of those things.

He wasn't a sociable sort, by any means – if you were one of his few friends, you could count on it being a long time before he went out of his way to contact or invite you somewhere. Hell, he barely talked to his coworkers, ate alone, that sort of thing – just didn't have much to talk with them about.

But he was a firm believer in the dying art of customer service – and, being more honest, just enjoyed helping people. Making someone's day helped the long hours pass just a little faster, made him feel less like a disposable robot and more like he had something to contribute.

That was the lucky times, though. Most of the time he really just stood around waiting for something – anything – to do. Or really, just waiting to be allowed to go home.

His biggest flaw – at least in terms of getting along in society – was his inability to turn his brain off and mindlessly do busywork. If something didn't interest him, he would lose track of it and it would go undone unless he put several times more effort than normal into getting it done.

Funny, he'd been told growing up that having an active mind and a good education were the keys to success. Now the world was insisting he throw all of that out and turn into a vegetable. Irony.

Did that rise to the level of a much-vaunted Distinguishing Feature? No, he was sure other people had the same problem, and just sucked it up better than he did. It just meant he was a slightly-substandard cog in the machine.

But none of that mattered now. He was home, free from the grip of tedium. This is where being a vegetable stopped, and being Felix started.

Home wasn't much – just the bathroom and the everything-else room – but he was still happy to be here. At least it was cheap! Fewer hours standing around staring at the clock to pay for the place.

One shower later, and he was in considerably better spirits – loosening up sore muscles after a day of work, cooling down from the mid-summer heat, washing all of the dirt and sweat away, it all did wonders for his attitude.

Getting out of work clothes and into some jogging shorts and a t-shirt did, too. There was still heat radiating from his work clothes when he got out of the shower – working out in the heat was a bitch like that.

He cracked a few windows to set up a comfortable cross-draft and got to work removing his bedding and converting his bed back into a couch – he just never had the energy to do it in the morning, but always cursed his laziness when he got back.

That done, he parked at his computer with a nice, cold soda. Finally, finally he was where he wanted to be, and he felt the tension slowly bleed out of him.

Heh, a day spent dead on your feet so you could come alive at night sitting at home. More irony. He took a minute to just relax and enjoy the breeze kissing his skin, the freedom to do whatever he wanted, including nothing.

Then he stretched out, booted up his computer and monitor, and got ready to delve into some gaming. He liked all sorts of games, but RPGs held first place for him – he could really immerse himself into them, and enjoy a taste of a life that didn't feel...

Distinguishing Features: None, basically. Heh.

He pulled the wooden desk a little closer on its wheels, and remembered it had been custom-made by his mother's boyfriend. Pretty cool gift; it made it very comfortable to play his games from the couch, use his keyboard, mouse, and so on without a bad posture.

Although acknowledging that just made him feel lazy, again. He ran a hand over his stomach and felt how he was chubbier than he would like – not rising to the distinguishing feature of being massively fat or anything, but the unremarkable, disappointing level of common unfitness.

All of the types of exercise he'd tried just felt like more braindead work, and he would forget about them even when he made the effort – he got enough of that sort of thing at his job, he couldn't manage it at home, too. He hated diets, too, as they generally took away some of the only things he enjoyed – plus, keeping them up was usually expensive.

Which meant more hours staring at the clock.

Part of him felt like something must be wrong with the world. After all, as he'd been so thoroughly exploring, he was average – no distinguishing features. So shouldn't it be easy to get along in society? Wouldn't he be the target audience, so to speak?

Most of him just felt like a whiny, lazy brat for even thinking that. Other people sucked it up better, other people found ways to get along, other people could deal with their problems. Felix chose instead to escape.

He shook off his darker thoughts and started going through his routine, checking forums, emails, Youtube notifications, and so on, and cracked a smile despite himself. Nothing interesting on that front – so, time to open up Steam and get into it.

He'd gotten pretty far in Legends of Aetoria II, but there was still a lot more to do!

Ninja-VS-Bear, the level 51 human knight, strode out onto the streets of a sprawling Roman-style city. He was just about to check his quest list when a notification caught his attention, and then gave him a little jolt of joy.

Lelea is online!

He only had to wait a moment before a second notification told him Lelea had sent him a private message, and he opened up the chat window with a smirk.

Lelea: Greetings to you, Ninja-VS-Bear! 😃

Ninja-VS-Bear: Hey, Lulu. Didn't expect you to be online this early. Got off work early again? 😉

Lelea: Indeed, it is as you say. And what of you, friend? 😇

Felix grinned. Lelea's real name was Luna, and they'd met three months ago when he swept in and saved her from a boss she had challenged before she was ready. He let her keep the loot, wished her well, and that should have been the end of that – just a simple case of some in-game jolly cooperation.

To his surprise, though, she messaged him right after, transferring half of the quest rewards. She was so insistent about it, too, which left him bemused and curious. She had such a strange, almost Shakespearian way of speaking, too – she was trying to curb the habit, but even now she tended to be very dramatic and formal.

Once he'd realized it wasn't something she did intentionally, he actually started to find it pretty endearing. How often could you meet someone like that? Never, really. Now there was a distinguishing feature!

Although it was just about the only one he knew of, for her.

He knew her real name – pretty rare one, the only other Luna he knew of was from a TV show for kids – she was female, and that was it. No other details; not her age, where she was from, even what she did for a living.

He did know how she felt about her job, though. Some of it was through reading between the lines, some of it was stated outright, but it seemed clear to him that she really, really hated her job.

She seemed to feel like she didn't have much to contribute, and just sat around waiting, doing nothing, for hours. Pretty relateable, really. She was leaving early more and more often, lately, which was a little worrying, but according to her it was fine, so he let it go.

But that was it. No other details. For all he knew, Luna could be a child, elderly, live in the same country or across the world – or might have been lying about her name and sex to begin with!

Nah, he thought with a smirk, she didn't seem like she would lie. And it wasn't like it was any of his business even if she had, really – he was careful not to form mental images of people he met online or get too attached, because you never really knew who you were dealing with.

Although it was hard to claim he hadn't gotten attached to Luna, really. The two of them had started off as a simple damsel-in-distress situation – something she didn't like him calling it, to his amusement – but, to his own surprise, he'd actually asked her if she wanted to go on a quest with him after she had contacted him to share the reward.

He'd never done that before or since – still wasn't sure why he'd found her so interesting that he'd reached out like that, honestly. She had been a little hesitant at first, too, but they ended up having so much fun together that they kept at it.

Three months later, they met up on a near-daily basis. It was the highlight of his days, what he looked forward to while he watched the clock run down.

Ninja-VS-Bear: Today has been absolutely hell! I am exhausted... 😩

Lelea: Oh? Did you have troubles with your superior again? 😟

Ninja-VS-Bear: Guess you could say that. The guy is just so, well, I don't know, energetic in all the wrong ways. He wanted me to pick weeds outside, which I can get, but he wanted me to pick them with my hands. I don't understand why we don't use one of those weed burner things to get rid of them, it is a fucking frustrating task otherwise! 😤

Lelea: That does seem very tedious. 🤔

Ninja-VS-Bear: That's a polite way to put it... 😔

Ninja-VS-Bear: But let's not talk about that. What about you? Anything to report? 😋

Lelea: Nay, nothing has happened that is worth discussing. 😐

This was one of those reading-between-the-lines moments. He frowned; 'nothing worth discussing' meant another bad day at work.

Sometimes she at least got to help people, although he had the impression it was separate from her usual job – but she was happier on days where she got to do it, at least. Seemed like the same sort of thing he did, helping customers despite it not being in his job description, really.

Now, how to lighten the mood? He grinned; he knew exactly what would get her mind off of it.

Ninja-VS-Bear: Seems like my fair lady is in need of a distraction~ 😉

Lelea: Yes, and it seems my knight in shining armor could use it too. 😜

Ninja-VS-Bear: Should we go to the tavern and rent a room then? 😏

Lelea: O///O

Lelea: You will stop such vile talks, this instant you scoundrel! Lol. 🤣

Ninja-VS-Bear: Your loss. 😈

Lelea: I am sure it is. Now put your sword away, and let us proceed with your current quest. If you behave, I might reward you later. 😘

Ninja-VS-Bear: Yes ma'am! 😳

He chuckled and got on with the quest. He always enjoyed the playful banter and innocent flirting, though he had to remind himself not to let it become more than that.

She was great company, a good friend; it would be all too easy to form a false mental image, even start to fall in love based on that image. He'd seen such stories end in heartbreak enough to know better, and he refused to have it happen to him.

It would be too easy to fill in all of the blanks, all of the things he didn't know about her with his own imagination – hell, it was unavoidable to a degree when she mentioned something about her life and he caught himself trying to visualize it, though such anecdotes were very rare.

There was a line he made sure not to cross; never ask for real pictures or anything like that, never prod her for personal details, keep his feelings purely friendly. She didn't want to talk about her personal life, and he respected that; it's not like he'd want to send her a picture of himself, either, for that matter.

Keeping the boundaries up was difficult after so much contact, though. They had a blast together, almost every day! And it wasn't like she didn't play along with all of the banter and flirting – she played the part of a snobby noble dark elf lady who was above such vile jokes, but the reality was that Luna seemed to enjoy mischief, and gave back just as much banter as he had given.

It was all in good fun, though, he thought. She didn't seem like the type to get a crush on him, or form some fantasy about how he looked. One thing that made it easier not to even entertain the idea of being more than friends was his own appearance; he wasn't ugly – heh, that would be a distinguishing feature – but he certainly didn't think of himself as attractive.

He wasn't dirty or grungy, but he was chubbier than he was comfortable with, had a double chin, and messy brown hair he thought looked bad. No, he couldn't see someone being attracted to him.

He did want to find someone. He'd had crushes on girls before, but it had never been mutual – he was a good friend, at best. He enjoyed goofing off with his friends, but he also wanted something deeper with someone – and he knew that made him prone to projecting romantic feelings onto people he shouldn't. Like Luna.

Which was why whenever they flirted he felt a little bit of warmth, and had to go through all of this to remind himself not to go there. The best he could hope for if he did was that he would lose his best friend, so he kept his feelings guarded and got right back into it.

Ninja-VS-Bear: Ready to find the crown of the sea? Don't worry, if you get into trouble I will save you, as always. 😝

Lelea: How noble of you. And when you are near death because you once again rushed into danger, I will be here to heal you with my magic.

Ninja-VS-Bear: Thank you, nurse Luna. 😘

Author's Note

Wow, I never imagined a simple prologue could gain so much attention! I imagine it is the cover that catches people's attention, haha! :pinkiehappy:

But thank you everybody so much for the encouragement. It means a lot. I just hope with this next chapter won't disappoint you. :twilightsheepish:

Anyway, this chapter is rather short, and the next one will likely be just as short, as I want to introduce them a little first, and not mix up lots of stuff in the first chapter. Next time we will go to Luna's perspective. I hope you guys will enjoy more chapters as they come out! :ajsmug:

Special Thanks To:
Bronyshot2020 for looking through the chapter, and doing some edits. Means a lot to me that we can help one another.

I am hoping to find a permanent editor, as I was this to be easy and pleasant to read, and I know I miss some things, even when I redraft. :twilightblush:

Chapter 2: Ready Player Two [Re-edited]

Ninja-VS-Bear: Thank you, nurse Luna. 😘

Luna giggled as she sent Felix an eye-rolling emoji; this banter was always a high point of her night. She couldn't get this sort of interaction anywhere else!

Of course, they had never met in person, being from different dimensions and so forth. That he was human was where her knowledge of his appearance began and ended, but she knew a bit more regarding his personal life.

For instance, that he hated his job, loved creative media such as music, art, and videogames, that he enjoyed a good cheese sandwich and – despite his flirtation staying strictly on the playful-goofball, innocent side – that he was a romantic at heart.

That last one was more of a guess, really.

Oh, he could come up with some innuendos that even made her blush – and just might make her sister immolate – but there was a strict line he didn't cross. He was very conscientious of her feelings and limits, and she was deeply thankful for that; how much of a disaster would things have been if, rather than innocently asking a few questions about her day and accepting whatever answer she gave, he insisted on more details? Or if one of his references to human-world events and concepts being met with silence caused him to become upset?

That hadn't happened, though. He had figured out very quickly that there were things Luna would be oddly silent about, or details of her life she would selectively omit, and had never even brought up how reticent she was. He chose to focus on what she did want to share and make the most of it.

She was profusely grateful for that. She was also very guilty about that.

What would she tell him, exactly? 'I'm a pony from a world with magic, not a human?' He would think she was joking at best, and insane or lying at worst! She knew very little of the human world – all the more reason to keep Equestria's existence a secret, for the time being – but she knew that they lacked real magic, and that such claims would be met with the most extreme skepticism. Outright anger, in the worst case.

So she kept silent on many things, only picking out things she could safely comment on – like Felix's relationship with his coworkers, or how he felt about his job. He had told her a great deal more about himself than the reverse; she knew he had divorced parents (apparently quite common in the human world) who were still on good terms (much less so, based on what he said about it), two sisters, and a brother.

She knew he loved his family, though they did not talk much, and that he was a loyal friend who always came through for others – though too shy to reach out to them. Or anyone, really; it was a wonder he'd contacted her to adventure with him at all.

She certainly never saw him approach anyone else. Help if they needed it, but move right on by without a word afterwards. No, she was special to him – a unique exception, the one person he reached out to, the person he spent almost all of his nights with.

She wanted to reciprocate, to be honest and open with him, but she knew she couldn't. So she kept it general, vague – no details, just impressions, emotions, that sort of thing.

She spent long, lonely, boring nights waiting for something to do – waiting where? For what? No details.

Sister was 'sister', they worked together – doing what? Where? She never said.

She enjoyed it when she got to help other people – helped them with what? She couldn't tell him she fought off their nightmares.

It felt very much like lying. Technically not lying hardly felt better than lying outright. That was how she rewarded his openness, honesty, the unique opportunity he'd given her by reaching out; with evasiveness, misdirection, dishonesty veiled in technicality.

She hated it. The closer they grew – and they had grown quite close in the past three months, she thought – the more she hated it. It had been nine months, now, since she returned to Equestria, and she was closer to Felix than anyone else.

No one could replace Tia, but her sister's constant concern, nagging, and sadness regarding her had put a wall between them. It actually hurt worse because they were close. Every conversation devolved into Tia's disapproval for Luna's lifestyle and behavior, how she should take the obvious route and go to Ponyville and make friends – it had been a thousand years, but Tia still did not understand how hard all of this was for her.

Nor did she understand just how hostile ponies really were to Luna. The last time she visited the marketplace, ponies screamed 'Nightmare Moon' and actually bolted. What kind of mass panic would ensue if she visited Ponyville?

Felix wasn't the only one Luna omitted some details from; Tia would overreact if she knew, do something rash to protect her sister. Luna knew that her exile had hurt her sister as much – more, perhaps? – than it had her, and Tia worried so much as it was. Bringing more sorrow to her was out of the question.

Luna knew Tia meant well, that going to Ponyville seemed like the logical choice to her sister. She also knew that if Celestia was aware of how bad Luna's reputation really was, how hopeless everything seemed – or how difficult all of this really was for Luna – she would be heartbroken.

Hopelessness is a feeling best kept to oneself, Luna felt.

She mustn't have been the only one to think so. The guards never mentioned Luna's difficulties in controlling her voice's volume, her continued struggles with modern Ponish, or the event in the market to her. They understood the situation just as well as she did; she was grateful for that little bit of common ground, that bit of courtesy.

Guards spoke little, but only a fool would think they also saw, heard, or understood little.

Luna had thought that bit of unspoken understanding might mean she could bridge the gap with other ponies in the palace, but it was not to be. They seemed intent to keep their distance, and so she did as well.

Keeping her distance meant she couldn't get hurt. Very, very easy behavior to fall into, for Luna – and difficult to climb back out of. No, there was no one else she could be close to like she was with Felix.

Before meeting Felix, she had thought she might have to wait a generation or two for ponies to forget about her – and then, maybe, she could find her place in the world. It was a horrible way to think, and she wouldn't be able to stand it, but there were times it seemed like the only hope she had.

But now she had a friend! Tia had repeatedly insisted that Luna needed to go to Ponyville, to reach out to Twilight Sparkle and learn about friendship. How else could she possibly make a friend?

Hah! Oh, Tia, if you only knew!
The idea of going to Ponyville had been a pit of terror in her stomach. It seemed logical, it seemed inevitable. But Tia always seemed to assume that everything would work out perfectly, because...

Well, for Tia, most things did. Luna knew her sister suffered from loneliness of her own – that the fawning obeisance of their subjects revolted her, caused her to even act out at times, and that Tia would love nothing more than to flee the palace and see the sights. Adventure, travel, perhaps start a war – more likely end one, somewhere, but the point was the same.

Celestia had her own struggles, Luna knew that. But they were not the same. Tia had no point of reference, no empathy for being a pariah whose every attempt at opening up was met with fear, enmity, or revulsion.

It was very much like a blind pegasus harassing an earth pony to stop making such a big deal of it and simply fly up to the clouds to join them. Tia couldn't see that she lacked the wings, and Luna had no idea how to explain it to her. Her attempts to do so were always met with a simple, 'but you have to try.'

She had tried! Over and over! How many times did she have to go through this? How much suffering did her sister want her to endure with a smile?!

No, no, Luna knew that wasn't fair. Tia just didn't understand, but would never want her to suffer.

And so the wall between them remained up, and Luna tried things her own way, despite Tia's disapproval.

It wasn't so bad. She had a friend – another pang of guilt for how little she shared with him – and they had good times together! Felix was doing another of his goofy victory dances over a slain monster, and she told him he really needed to cut that out with an eyeroll.

Of course, this just resulted in his avatar getting practically on top of the dark elf and dancing even more. Even fleeing didn't help – he just kept following her and cycling through dance moves! It was actually sort of impressive, that being hard to do with the UI in this game. Felix did tend to put more effort into goofy shenanigans than one might expect.

Finally, he stopped and gave her a thumbs up. She was about to blast him with a fireball and tell him off – in-character as Lelea, of course, not for real – when a familiar knock at the door caused her to freeze with dread.

Lelea: Brb.

She flicked off her monitor with magic.

Time for one of the talks with sister dearest. Oh, she hated being so reluctant to see her sister's face; if anything, she and Tia should enjoy each other's company, the way she and Felix did! She wanted a good relationship with her sister! She hadn't started gardening lavender and replacing it each night outside Tia's chambers because she didn't care!

But no, it was going to be another flight around the same clouds as every conversation, and Luna hated it, couldn't keep it from showing on her face, and knew that just hurt her sister more. Something had to give.

"Sister," Luna greeted as she opened the door. She tried not to sound cold, but she had her guard up, knowing what was coming and dreading the inevitable looks of disappointment.

Tia smiled, warm and sincere. If she took note of Luna's tone she didn't show a hint of it, of course. Of course. Because Tia never, ever seemed to struggle to be perfect.

"Luna, could I come in? I wanted to talk before going to bed."

At least Tia dropped the formal diction around her. It was her little way of helping Luna adjust to modern Ponish. Luna noticed these little details, but she didn't know how to thank her sister.

On the other hoof, she had to hold back a groan as this encounter played out exactly how she knew it would.

"Of course."

Tia strode in and glanced around. She didn't show disapproval or reproach at the state of Luna's room, but she didn't have to; Luna could well imagine it.

She did show a little worry, though. That surprised Luna; perfect sister had given something away. She hated making her sister worry. She really had to do something about it, but what? Nothing came to mind.

"What is it you wish to discuss with me, sister?"

The royal 'we' was never, ever used among co-rulers, but Luna couldn't help lapsing into formal diction, kicking herself internally for the slip.

Celestia's eyes lingered on the messy area near the computer, causing Luna to blush. "Well," Tia's tone took on practiced gentleness, "I wanted to know how you were doing?"

This was another lead-in to another discussion about going to Ponyville, which Luna would reject, which would worry Tia... Luna could see it all playing out in her head and hated every bit of it. It was bad enough being useless! She didn't want to also be a burden!

"I am doing fine," Luna replied, and she tried to put some sincerity in her voice, even a ghost of a smile. It didn't really manifest – she couldn't even meet Tia's eyes.

"Lulu," Tia's voice cracked with genuine concern, startling Luna, "I'm worried about you. Lately, you seem more distant than when you first came back."

Luna felt a cocktail of emotions; a flare of annoyance, a pang of guilt, a stab of shame. Part of her blamed her sister for the situation; Tia never seemed to listen!

But she mostly blamed herself. It was her fault, after all, wasn't it? Other ponies could deal with these situations. She was the broken one, and it wasn't Tia's fault she couldn't understand that.

She almost said, 'We just need some time,' a well-tred line with Tia that no longer did anything to allay her sister's worries, but the words died in her throat.

Tia was trying to be sincere, here, trying to reach out. Luna could see that. But how could she reach back? What could she do to make her sister understand, and put her at ease?

Something had to give! She settled for walking up to her sister and nuzzling her gently – a gesture that had become quite rare between them, lately. Certainly, Tia was taken aback.

"I am sorry for worrying you. I have been... occupied. But I do not wish us to grow apart."

Luna had grown well-versed in selective omission at this point, she realized with regret.

"Occupied?" Celestia's mind raced. "With... what? I've been informed you hardly show up for night court anymore, that you spend your time... here." Luna could feel her sister turn her head to the computer, and gently broke their embrace.

"Our subjects do not seek my council," Luna said bitterly, trying to swallow her frustration. "They do not come, and... I cannot bear to sit on the throne for hours and hours, confronted with my own... redundance. My uselessness."

"You are not useless!" Celestia's voice came out stern, and Luna was pulled back to her with a wing, prompting a startled 'eep!'

Their talks didn't normally go like this!

"Don't ever say that! I need you! Please!"

Luna had known how much her exile had hurt Tia, but she hadn't thought about what her behavior was signalling to her sister. Not until that moment, anyway.

Tia had felt like she was losing her all over again, she realized. Keeping everything to herself wasn't working. Luna refused to hurt her like that again! She hadn't realized how raw this was for Tia – forced smiles and endless patience had led Luna to think her sister only worried for her sake, like a problematic child under her care, or an errant student.

The wall was hurting Tia more than it was hurting Luna. It had to come down, if only a bit! It had to give.

"They still fear me, Tia." Luna's voice came out shaky. Honesty was unfamiliar, dangerous territory for her, these days. "They avoid meeting my gaze, whisper as I pass. Those who do not flaunt their fear openly show it in their eyes. It is..."

Luna chewed her lip. How much honesty was too much? She continued, "It is worse than I have told you. I did not wish you to worry overmuch; it is a problem of mine own making, for me to confront."

They stayed there, Celestia clutching her younger sister to her barrel, for a minute or two of silence as she contemplated. Clearly, she had taken the wrong approach to all of this.

You would think years of diplomacy with all manner of creatures had taught her better, but close personal relationships were always a... weakness of hers, and all that experience had actually only served to make it worse by ingraining habit and automatic behaviors that didn't work here.

She knew Luna was not some naive, errant teenager who simply needed a push in the right direction, but that was how she had treated her. In her defense, Luna very much looked the part right now – no, that was irrelevant. She hadn't shown Luna the respect she deserved – that she needed – and that was why this had happened.

She had to listen with an open mind. Questions, not unwanted opinions.

"Is that why you didn't want to go to Ponyville?" Celestia offered. Luna nodded into her barrel, and Celestia thought that over. Her first instinct was to assure her sister that Ponyville was a lovely, friendly, welcoming place, that Twilight would accept her unconditionally – but that wasn't true, was it?

After all, Twilight had sent her a letter detailing how the town had reacted to simple zebra visiting. Fear was not something the townsfolk handled well – and fear was exactly what Luna had said ponies felt towards her.

Celestia inwardly bucked herself for the grave oversight. Small wonder her sister had grown increasingly distant and irate at her constant, gentle insistence that she get out more; how much of this had she gone through to become as reclusive as she now was? How bad was it?

If it was anything like what Zecora, the zebra detailed in the letter, had faced... that must have been devastating for her little sister.

"Perhaps," Celestia said, her tone carefully even, "I was wrong to suggest it, after all. Overly idealistic in thinking it would be so simple. I am sorry that I was dismissive of your struggles."

Luna shuddered, holding back a flood of emotions. It had been some time since someone had genuinely listened to her, and it was painful.

"You were only trying to help. I'm the one who hid things from you," she said, ever-aware of her own fault in all of this.

"I understand why you did." Celestia gave Luna a gentle squeeze. "I should have listened more."

And talked less, she didn't add. It would just upset her sister if she showed the depths of her self-reproach, here and now, she knew. This wasn't the time for arguments over who was more at fault.

The two were silent for a few moments, while Celestia's mind raced to find the right words.

"Going to Ponyville by yourself is too much, I understand that now," she said, still putting it together, "but I am sure Twilight Sparkle could be a very good friend to you. Maybe... I could invite her here? So the two of you could meet?"

Luna chewed her lip. It sounded reasonable; she could spend some time out of her room, meet someone new, come out of her shell – or hoodie – just a bit.

Part of her wanted to take that chance, to reach out and say yes. But when she pictured it, she couldn't.

"Your student has her own life to lead. You sent here there for that very reason – and even if she did come here, she would feel obliged to be my friend. You've said many times she's very clever – the last thing I would want is for her to put together your intentions and think you're commanding her to be my friend. Or, worse still..."

Luna didn't voice out loud her fear of being rejected outright by Twilight, but she didn't have to. The thought chilled Celestia, too, though she knew it was incredibly unlikely. Fear of rejection was only natural for her sister at this point – but Twilight was an incredibly accepting pony. Perhaps Luna just needed a little push?

"You make a good point, but I still believe it is worth a try. When you're ready," she added, giving Luna a reassuring stroke of the mane. "I just don't want you to be alone. You need more than just myself – I want you to be happy, to have a friend."

"I have a friend!" Luna exclaimed, the pressure to be honest overwhelming her better sense for a moment. They parted from the hug, and Luna grimaced slightly as she looked away, unsure of how to explain.

Celestia was simply stunned for a moment, thinking over when Luna could even have met somepony. Her eyes trailed to the computer, and it clicked. Luna regretted opening her mouth when she saw that, knowing what would follow.

"Is it somepony you met in one of those games?"

The Internet was still very small in Equestria, but there were one or two primitive games that could be played on it, now. Luna didn't even think to correct Celestia's understanding of the situation; her face was burning from what an idiot she felt like, and she dropped her gaze to the floor. A 'friend', she had said – she knew Celestia wouldn't approve of how they had met, or the shallow relationship they had.

"... Yes..."

Celestia wanted to be supportive. This was, after a fashion, progress, right? At least Luna had somepony to talk to aside from her and the castle staff. Her first instinct was to be disappointed, disapproving – but she stomped that down. It hadn't helped their relationship in the past nine months, and it certainly did her no favors with Luna... before.

She gently lifted Luna's head with a hoof. "I'm glad you have somepony you can talk to, Luna. Does this pony know who you are? Who you really are?"

As new as the Internet was, Celestia knew it was largely anonymous, and it would be just like Luna to cling to that out of fear of rejection. Luna shook her head gently, still averting her eyes, and Celestia had to fight to suppress a sigh. Baby steps, she reminded herself.

Luna wanted to pull her hood up and close it, shielding her from Tia's gaze. The feeling got worse when Tia said, "A friendship has to be built on honesty, Luna."

"I have not deceived my friend!" Luna replied quickly, "nor would I ever!"

Celestia hesitated, not wanting to push too hard. Baby steps, after all. It was Luna who said, "But... I haven't told them the truth, either."

"Do you... trust this pony? Do you think they would reject you?"

Be respectful of her boundaries, Celestia reminded herself. She didn't know the whole situation, so it was better to ask questions than to offer unwanted opinions. Luna shook her head and said, "No, I... I trust him."

"Then I hope you find it in yourself to tell him the truth, maybe meet this pony." She gave Luna a gentle nuzzle. "You have so much to offer, Luna. Anypony would be lucky to have you as their friend. Please believe that."

Luna was silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you, sister," and nuzzled back. Celestia didn't know about the connection Luna had made to the human world – the spell was old, powerful, and the way she had used it was... perhaps reckless. She didn't want her sister to worry more, but she also knew keeping it a secret was yet more dishonesty on her part.

The two were at war within her, even as Celestia broke contact and said, with a smile, "I'll let you get back to your game – and your friend. Goodnight, dear sister."

"Goodnight, Tia..."

The feelings of guilt and shame only got worse as her sister departed. It made her want to crawl under the covers and vanish.

Even as she tried to open up with her sister, she was keeping secrets. Even as she tried to open up to Felix, she was keeping secrets.

She had once wielded the Element of Honesty against Discord. The thought brought a bitter feeling to her; how far she had fallen!

When she turned her monitor back on, she saw Felix's avatar jumping around hers, and the sight made her smile desite herself as she approached her desk, mind still whirling with thoughts.

Lelea: Back!

Ninja-VS-Bear: Took you long enough, is everything okay?

Luna hesitated. Should she tell him? After a few moments she decided against it. She just wanted to relax and play, forget about it all for a few hours.

Lelea: Yes, everything is fine. Let's go on with the quest. :)

Ninja-VS-Bear: Oki, then let's go! XD

Luna smiled as the tension quickly went out of her. Playing, bantering, exploring, undertaking quests, arguing over loot – simply talking and enjoying each other's company. All of this was so nice, so soothing.

She should have been able to lose herself in it completely, as she had countless other evenings, but as the hours wore on she felt a rising discomfort.

What Celestia had said was true; a friendship can't be built on dishonesty. And no amount of dancing around technical truths changed the simple fact that Luna was being dishonest. Felix had no idea who she really was; he had accepted her unconditionally for her personality, and that was deeply appreciated in itself, but the fact remained that she couldn't call this a friendship with any sense of pride or confidence.

Calling it that made her feel ashamed, in fact.

Tia had told her to put herself out there, to be honest, but... how? The frustration only built as time went by. Felix was her friend, he deserved to know whom he spent his nights with. For all of the solace he'd given her, it was only proper she should show some trust – but it wasn't like she could simply say it and expect him to believe her.

She had even avoided voice chat up to this point. If only she could talk to him face-to-face! If he had been a pony in Equestria, as Tia had assumed – more indirect deception on Luna's part – this could be so easy! She would have told him who she was weeks ago, if that were the case!

If he were here! If he were...

Luna stopped and seized on that. If he were here? Wasn't that... possible? To get him here? She knew the spells...

It was a ridiculous notion, one she would have dismissed before her talk with Tia, but now she couldn't let it go. Tia wanted her to make a real friend; Luna had a friend, but being apart had kept them from growing closer.

If she brought him here, that would resolve the whole problem, wouldn't it? No more nights of dancing around details with him, no more pangs of shame and guilt in calling him her friend!

Come to think of it, this was inevitable, wasn't it? What was she going to do, go make other friends and forget about Felix? No! That thought sickened her. Equally repugnant was the idea of simply leaving him in the dark, dancing around the details forever. As the years drew on, he would wonder why she never opened up to him, wonder what he'd done wrong – no, no, no! She wouldn't do that to him.

This was a solution – the only solution! She would have a real friend, she could finally be open and honest with the people she cared about! Tia would stop worrying, and Felix wouldn't have to get hurt by her dishonesty!

Besides, humans were fond of stories about being transported to other worlds, weren't they? Felix had said that when she asked what made games like Legends of Aetoria II so popular. (Well, he had also mentioned its excellent combat system, but honestly, that was a given.)

This would work! He would have a blast getting to explore a whole new world – not just a virtual one, this time! Her adventurous friend would love this, and she'd be there right alongside him! Yes, this was the solution!

She grinned widely as she began typing, feeling a sense of hope she'd never had before.

Lelea: Would you like to come visit me?

Author's Note

A massive thank you to SoloBrony for re-editing this chapter!

Again, wow, never expected my story to be featured on the top for so long. I really have no idea what to say!

I hope you guys will keep enjoying this story as more chapters come out. :)

Next chapter will be longer than the last ones, so it will take a little longer to write. So it won't be out tomorrow like these two others have.

Chapter 3: New Game [Re-edited]

Lelea: Would you like to come visit me?

Felix stared at the message.

Was she serious? His heart seemed to soar, then sink, then flutter, then soar and sink again as he turned it over in his mind.

Part of him wanted very-much to visit her, to put a face to the many happy evenings they had together, to be closer friends.

Another part was afraid that she was something so radically different from what he imagined that he could never enjoy her company the same way again. She could turn out to be a weird old man who got their kicks messing with people like him. It could happen – he'd heard stories.

That was the thing, he knew nothing about her! Anything was possible! No matter who or what she turned out to be, this would be a shock – for better or worse, he wouldn't see her the same way again. Their friendship would change, one way or the other.

"Damnit..."

He felt guilt bubble up inside of him. He had tried not to get too attached, not make any mental image of her. To some extent, he had succeeded, but even not imagining her had built up an image, of a sort. A negative space where she should be. It had made it easy for his heart and imagination to wander, made it easy for him to simply accept her without preconceptions.

Most of all, it had made it easy to accept they would never meet, and she would never tell him anything about herself. No personal details, ever, a permanent enigma. He hadn't exactly come to peace with that, but he'd done his best. And now it was all about to change!

He liked liking her for who she was. He'd gotten comfortable with things as they were – well, not completely, but he hated the idea that he would find her off-putting in person and drift away from her after that. That he would lose this, the thing he looked forward to most every day.

Of course, that was only half as daunting as the reverse. Felix didn't like how he looked – he felt a twinge of shame as he ran a hand over his stomach. This wasn't what he wanted to show her, to be judged by. It was all too easy to imagine she would take one look at him and write him off as a loser – it had happened plenty of times to him in the past, after all.

Echoes of rejection and mockery from his school days echoed in his mind.

He didn't think she was the type, but if she had formed a mental image of him, he was sure it wasn't this. How disappointing would this be for her?

Stop it, he chided himself. He was going into the unknown here – no idea what she was really like, and she was doing the same. Worrying over it endlessly wouldn't get him anywhere.

He gave a small, sad chuckle when he realized that his determination to keep from projecting an image onto the mysterious girl behind the screen had caused him to form a crush on her despite it all.

He'd taken her exactly as she was, and he'd like her. Too much. The fear he felt about meeting her made it clear he'd stepped over that line at some point without realizing it.

How pathetic was that? She probably just saw him as a friend and thought nothing of it, while he was sitting here fretting about romance. For all he knew, she was already in a relationship! Could be married with kids! Could be a grandmother! Could be an astronaut on a space station!

That last one seemed unlikely, but it would sure make visiting her interesting, he thought with a chuckle.

No matter what comes or how bad it gets, just keep making jokes! When in doubt, banter and goof off! That was the key. It kept his nerves settled, gave him a modicum of control. He felt a little better, and nodded.

Whatever happened, he'd just roll with it. Like in a game, right? Don't bog things down thinking about crushes, imaginary romances, or whatever. She was his friend, and he didn't ruin friendships. He'd take what she was willing to give and be satisfied, just like always.

She'd already brightened his life a lot. He might not be able to help wanting more, but he wouldn't let that spoil what they already had – and he sure wouldn't let his stupid shit hurt her. Hell no.

Leaning forward he typed back to her.

Ninja-VS-Bear: Sure, but if I need to go to space I might need a little heads-up. I'm not sure I can get the time off work to go to Mars on short notice.

The reply came almost instantly.

Lelea: Huh?

Ninja-VS-Bear: I don't know where you live, so I wanted to cover all of my bases. 😉

Lelea: Oh I see 🤣

Lelea: Don't worry about that, I'll take care of it

Felix raised an eyebrow. Take care of it? Take care of what?

Luna did sometimes have an odd way of speaking. Was she going to get tickets or something? Oh, or maybe by 'visit', she meant a chatroom or webcam conversation?

Felix grinned despite his nerves. There was just no knowing with this girl! She could be very serious, but she had a mischievous streak a mile wide, too. It really could be anything!

Well, he'd just roll with it, whatever she meant.

Lelea: Just give me a moment.

He stretched out and yawned, rubbing his eyes, and glanced at the clock.

Jesus! It was almost six! He'd forgotten to go grocery shopping, too.

Take-out again... ugh.

He pushed his desk back with a sigh of frustration and went to see if he had milk for cereal, instead. When did it get so hot in here? He stretched on his way over and thought he should grab a cold soda, too, but just as he reached the fridge he heard a strange electrical sparking sound that made him look up in alarm.

The TV he used as a computer monitor had gone completely dark! Crap, was it broken?

He tried the remote, and got on his knees to check the cables when that didn't work. They looked fine to him, but hopefully if anything was broken, it was just a cord. He leaned forward to get a better look, gripping the top of his screen for balance.

The frame held his hand, but his thumb pushed right through the glass, causing him to yelp and reel back. It was like he'd punctured a razor-thin layer of ice! There was nothing but a breeze under it!

The screen looked fine, he realized. But he was sure he'd punched right through!

"The hell..?"

He ran a hand over the screen experimentally, and felt an odd pulling sensation when he did so, before the solid surface vanished under his hand and the entire screen cracked apart with a loud bang!

Felix jerked back, and watched the glowing crack spiderweb and spread across his screen. It must be broken, and sparking on the inside! Crap, that was a fire hazard!

He barely had time to register that and think about where his fire extinguisher was when the black screen vanished entirely, the light spreading to envelop the entire TV. He realized with rising panic that the more the cracks spread and the light grew, the more of a pull he felt, like someone had turned on a vacuum cleaner.

The pull grew and grew in strength, so much so that it seemed the whole apartment was shaking. He had to call someone, but who was he to call?!

Felix yelped as an empty can of soda flew past him and vanished into the light where the TV used to be! He would have screamed, but he was simply too horrified to do so, transfixed like a deer in the headlights.

He stood up to start running away, but the pull grew in intensity to the point of making him stumble, and his hand passed through the light as he tried to grab something for support.

As soon as he touched it, the pull seemed to focus on him, and with a sudden, powerful yank, his arm was pulled into it. He barely managed to scream for a split second before he vanished from the world he had known, with no one the wiser.

He could feel himself falling, feel that he was being pulled left, right, up, down, turning back and forth like a leaf at the mercy of a dustdevil.

All he could see were blinding lights, forcing him to screw his eyes shut, and he screamed. Moving at speeds like this, he was positive of one thing:

Wherever he ended up, arriving there was going to hurt!

Even with his eyes closed, he saw images in front of him that he couldn't comprehend, flashing by too quickly to register. The only one he held onto was a small, colorful horse, but he hardly had the time to think about it.

After raising his arms to defend himself, he tried to force his eyes open, to get some idea of what was happening – just in time to see a blinding white light appear in front of him. One last scream and the air suddenly changed, the sense of momentum vanished, and he tumbled across a hard surface until smacking into something solid.

His world still vaguely felt like it was spinning – that was some fucking rollercoaster ride! He took a few seconds to simply adjust to being stationary again, thankful he wasn't in agonizing pain. Somehow or other, it seemed he'd stuck the landing and lived.

"Worst waterslide ever," he quipped with a groan, and slowly forced his eyes open again. To his surprise, someone was staring back at him with big, light cyan eyes.

Someone? Something? It was some kind of horse creature, and it was smiling at him!

They stared at each other, her smiling, him simply stunned.

Dark-blue fur, short-cut, glowing mane, horn?

Was that a fucking unicorn?

Holy shit. That was a unicorn.

... It was wearing a hoodie.

A unicorn in a hoodie is smiling at me, Felix realized, numbly. He blinked.

He concluded he must have hit his head a lot harder than he had thought.

A giggle escaped the lips of the horse, a girlish and very human-like giggle that made Felix flinch. "Dost thee wish to continue lying on the floor?"

Yeah okay, she could smile and she – clearly a she by the voice, right? – could speak, that might as well also happen. Smiling unicorns in hoodies could talk, that made sense.

Most of his brain was screaming in agony at the fact that what he was seeing had to be some kind of freaky hallucination. This left only a teeny, tiny portion to control his mouth.

"You know, I think I do, actually."

Honesty was the best policy, right?

She danced in place on her hooftips, giggling like a giddy school girl. "Thou knowest not how happy I am to see thee, friend Felix!"

That phrase – he'd heard that before! No, seen it in text chat! His face contorted into stupefied disbelief.

"L-Luna?"

Luna nodded excitedly and grinned. "Yes, it is I!"

She seemed to remember herself, and sat down, calming slightly. Her smile became more sheepish. "Forgive us—me. The gateway was not too rough, I hope?"

Gateway? Wait, did she mean the insane rainbow-waterslide-tunnel thing that had sucked him through his TV?

... Holy crap. Now that he thought it directly, he realized he'd just gotten yanked inside a TV and, seemingly, teleported somewhere.

He was sure he was awake. His head didn't hurt. This wasn't a dream, and despite a substantial portion of his brain screaming it couldn't be real – it seemed to be real!

What the fuck?! This stuff didn't actually happen! He could feel panic rising, but he seized on something he put together from what she had said.

"Wait, you brought me here?"

Luna nodded. "I did, and with great effort I might add."

"Guess opening a Stargate would be hard, yeah," he joked, desperately trying to come to terms with what the fuck was going on and not freak out. He started to sit up, saying, "But where am—"

A horrible sensation dawned. His bones were wrong. His muscles were wrong. He couldn't feel his fingers at all.

He looked down at his body.

Whatever he saw down there was not his body. It had pale blue fur and it wasn't human.

He raised his arms, and saw that his hands were fucking gone.

He screamed bloody murder, flailed and scooted away in a panic, and slammed into the bed behind him.

"Felix! Please calm down!" Luna cried as she reached towards him.

In panic, he tried to stand up to get away, only to pitch over as his hip joints no longer balanced a bipedal posture. He couldn't control his breathing properly, calm himself down – nothing fucking worked the way it was supposed to!

Two royal guards burst into the chamber, doubtless here to investigate the screaming. They found Princess Luna staring in horror as a clearly panicked, terrified stallion spasmed on the floor uncontrollably.

On seeing the guards, the stallion made a face like he'd just seen someone grow themselves an extra head spontaneously, glanced all around the room in panic, and then crumpled to the floor unconscious.

A few moments earlier...

Celestia yawned and stretched out on the couch. It was almost midnight; normally, she wouldn't stay up so late, but her discussion with Luna had set her mind working and she just couldn't relax. She'd relaxed with a book, instead, content that this would also make it easier to respond if Luna needed to speak further this evening.

Lulu would know if she was sleeping, of course. Benefits of being a dream-trotting princess.

She also hadn't wanted to put the book down, but it was time to get some sleep. She had to raise the sun on time regardless of how well she had rested, and after that would be another full day of work. She went to the bathroom to prepare for bed, her mind landing back on Luna as she did so.

She sighed as she brushed her mane. She had known it would be... challenging for her sister to return to Equestria, to return to her side, but she had underestimated the difficulties. Anticipated the wrong ones, in fact!

The Luna she had known a millennium ago had been bold, confident. She had only grown reclusive and morose towards the end, and Celestia had naively thought that with the purification of the Nightmare and enough warmth, encouragement, and attention from her, Luna would go back to her old self.

She had underestimated the depths of Luna's shame over what she had done, which broke any sense of self-worth her sister had once had, made her unable to stand up for herself. She'd also clearly underestimated how fearful the public was towards her sister – a horrible burden Luna doubtlessly felt she deserved.

How was she supposed to encourage her sister to make friends or be happy when Luna didn't seem to feel she deserved to? Rather than growing more confident, Luna had drawn in on herself increasingly. Skipping night court, avoiding simple visits, anything to be alone.

Celestia was keenly aware of the role she had played in that, now. Gentle encouragement becomes simple nagging when it is provided over and over, without listening to the other person's situation. Things had gone better, this evening – Luna had opened up to her, a bit. Because she had listened. But even so, she did not know how to move things forward from here.

It did warm her heart that her sister apparently had somepony to keep her company at night. Celestia could not stay awake all day and all night, clearly, so it was a relief that some night-owl pony had kept her sister from total isolation during those long hours. It might not be a proper friendship, but still. Still! Luna had seemed excited, almost smiled at her when she said she had a friend. That was a precious gift – whoever he was, Celestia was thankful for it.

Oh, she so, so hoped that Luna would talk to him as she'd suggested. She could see the reluctance written all over her face, the shame at not having told him. Just believe in yourself, sister! She knew Luna had so much to give, and surely somepony else would see it, too. Her sister at least seemed to be considering the idea when she left – who knows? Luna could be telling him who she really was right now!

That thought was part of why she hadn't been able to sleep. Privately, she had hoped her sister would come prancing up to the door, unable to contain herself with excitement at having been accepted. That would have been absolutely worth losing a few hours of sleep over!

But it hadn't come. Not yet, but someday. Her sister was a treasure, and somepony, someday, would surely show her that. That cheery thought had her smiling as she started to climb into bed.

A sudden, powerful wave of magic knocked her dizzy for a moment. She shook her head clear and looked around in alarm; somewhere, very close by, an incredible spell or magical explosion had taken place.

She closed her eyes and let magic flit out of her horn, concentrating to pinpoint the source. It had to be close.

Her eyes flew open in panic when she realized where it had come from, and she disappeared instantly.

The door was already open, and she rushed through it, taking everything in.

Luna's computer, a smoking wreck.

Two guards, now snapping to attention.

Luna, cradling an unknown stallion in her forelegs – he was passed out, she looked on the verge of tears.

A quick magical scan didn't reveal any serious injuries on anypony present, and Celestia took a moment to breathe and let her heart stop hammering.

Clearly, something had gone very wrong here, but she didn't perceive any further immediate danger. Who was this pony? Why was her sister upset? What was the right thing to say and do, here? She needed more information, and she focused her horn to get it.

What had caused the shockwave? The spell signature was focused on the computer, now in ruins.

It took her a moment to connect the dots. Had Luna summoned her friend here? But then why through the computer? And even then, that should have been easy! Well, no, that was incredibly difficult, but it wouldn't have required a spell anywhere near this magnitude, nor so... strange.

Luna had mastery over certain forms of magic, dreamwalking included, that Celestia knew nothing about. This had to be one of them, but what sort of magic—

The bit dropped, and Celestia froze. Now that she was looking for it, she could tell it was a dimensional spell. She walked up to her sister, and gently draped a wing over her, desperately pushing down the panic she felt.

"Lulu? Could you please tell me what happened here?"

Felix felt his mind clear, and his vision returning. As it did, he found himself not in any room, but in the clouds, floating gently in place. He couldn't feel his body, which was because he didn't have one. Somehow he knew that way okay, that this was okay. His mind was at ease, calm, and relaxed.

There was a gentle blue light floating in front of him, which resolved into a tiny cyan horse. It didn't look at him. It just stood on its cloud, looking around and not really paying attention to what was going on. It stood still, but in a way that showed it was alive. Swaying a little, blinking, an ear twitching, tiny little actions that made it look alive and not dead like a doll.

Some other things appeared in front of Felix, or rather, around the horse. Several text boxes faded into being, filled with numbers and detailed information.

It took only a moment for Felix to recognize this as a character creation screen – or maybe it was just a selection screen? There were no controls for changing how this horse thing looked. He looked at the basic information page – he didn't know how he knew how to do it, but as he shifted his focus the page shifted to right in front of him, making it easy to read.

Name: Felix
Gender: Male
Age: 20

Species Pony
Tribe: Earth Pony

Level: 1

Class: Player

An earth pony? Class: Player? Felix looked at the pony, and without even thinking about it, the basic information page vanished once more, giving him a perfect view.

His coat was light blue, his mane and tail only a slightly darker shade of the same color, with a streak of white. His eyes were green, like his own, which made Felix think a bit harder.

This was him, right?

He tried to think, it was like his mind was still half asleep, or in a daze. It was so strange being both conscious, and still not really. It was like floating between sleeping and being awake. He decided to give up the train of thought for now, and refocused his attention onto the pony in front of him.

The information screen had shown his tribe designated as an earth pony. Did that mean there were other types? He had barely thought about it when another screen showed him more information, or rather, tabs which he could click like in a computer game.

There were four tabs, one of which had a glowing blue border around it. The other three had no such glow. Felix focused on the one glowing, and it came slightly into focus. Inside it was a silhouette of what looked like a pony on its hind legs. There was a tiny label in the corner, 'earth pony'. When he focused a bit more, an extra window appeared, showing the tribe's attributes.

Attributes:

Strength: 20
Agility: 5
Stamina: 15
Intelligence: 5
Willpower: 5
Constitution 10
Magic: 5

Okay, so that was the active option – hence the glow – but what about the others?

He focused on the next one, this one showed the same silhouette, but with wings. The text on this one said, 'Pegasus', but it had a small red lock next to it. When Felix tried to will his mind to make the tab do something, he felt a small push back, as if the world itself told him he could not access this option yet.

He didn't know how he knew it, it was just what his instincts told him. He let the tab be for now, although not before checking the attributes for this tribe first; The pegasus tribe focused more on agility, with a boost to stamina and dexterity.

This was interesting. So the earth ponies were like the tanks, while the pega... pegasuses? Pegases? Pegasi, he decided, were more agile. He wondered about the two others, and quickly moved on. The next one was the same silhouette, but with a horn. 'Unicorn', it said, and just like the pegasus, there was a small red lock next to the text.

So unicorns had more magic than the other tribes combined? Were they like mages? Felix also noticed they had more willpower – did that affect their use of magic? He unfocused on the tab, and it minimized and returned to its place. The last one came into view as he shifted his attention to it.

However as it came into focus, he was met with a tab that had golden chains going over it like an X, with a big golden lock right in its center. Felix would have frowned, if he had a body. He tried to get more information, but each time he tried, the chains just rattled a bit, showing no name, no information, nothing.

Whatever this class was, it must be very high tier stuff. The gamer side of his mind felt excitement to get to a high enough level to unlock this option, but it was quickly overshadowed by so many other thoughts. Most of which consisted of questions about what was even going on.

He could not really reach the thoughts that would tell him what concerns he had. It was like they were just out of reach, and something told him if he reached them, he would leave this place. So Felix calmed, deciding instead to move on.

There were two more tabs left: attributes, skills. Naturally he started off with attributes, and as he focused in on the relevant tab, the attributes he had seen for his tribe came into focus. It had changed slightly, though. Next to each attribute there was a small plus sign, and above all the attributes there was a small counter.

Attribute Points: 5.

Felix considered where to put these five points. Normally he would put them in his favorite, Charisma, as that usually opened up a lot of interesting gameplay.

Then again, normally wasn't applicable here. Normally he had an idea of what he was getting into; here he had no idea. Not to mention there was no charisma attribute, so that was not an option anyway.

Should he play it safe and invest more in strength? Then again, if the tribe information was to be believed, he already had an advantage in that area; perhaps he should diversify, cover his bases?

Thinking it over for a moment, Felix decided to invest all five points into willpower, increasing it from its basic 5 to 10. His reasoning was he would be better prepared to push through whatever laid ahead of him. He had a feeling he was going to need it, but he couldn't remember why exactly he thought that.

Next up he looked at his skills, and he was shocked to see he had only ONE skill, nothing else whatsoever! Well, that wasn't true – he could see hidden options, black, and faded, like they had not been discovered yet. When he tried to focus on the grayed out options, he felt the world around him resist once again.

While disappointed, Felix didn't feel too angry. Some games kept skills hidden, letting the player discover them themselves. Skyrim was one such example, although even there one could access the skill trees, and see them all. His skills points were also empty, so it suggested he could discover skills, then perhaps level them up with time.

The one skill he did have though, did look rather interesting. The skill icon was represented by what looked like a glowing eyeball. When he focused on it, he saw the information he was seeking. Skill; Discerning Eye. The ability to see information about living things and objects.

That would come in handy! Although, it was not maxed out, which meant it could be leveled up to become more efficient!

He took a moment to think about his choices, which was only one choice, wondering if he made the right move. It didn't take him long to decide that, yes, this was for the best he could do for now. A warm feeling surrounded him, and the pony suddenly reared up to paw at the air with a confident smirk...

Then, everything faded into nothingness, and Felix felt his mind slip away once more...

"Urgh..."

Felix groaned as he felt himself return to the land of the living. His mind felt clouded, like he had just come back from a really deep slumber. His eyes slowly fluttered open, trying to get used to the sunlight lighting up the unfamiliar room.

He was on a soft bed, he realized. He glanced around, realizing it was a spacious room with rows of beds like his own.

There was a desk with some simple medical equipment on it. 'An infirmary.' Felix thought, as he tried to focus. Slowly but surely, his memory of recent events started to click into place once more. He was at home, he had been playing with Luna, and then suddenly...

His heart sank, and held up what he briefly hoped were his hands.

No such luck.

Where his hands should have been, there were now hooves. He tapped them against each other, still unable to believe they were real – but they were, as was everything else around him.

This couldn't be Earth, right? He had a sense that someone, somewhere, might have mentioned a spot on Earth where people turned into colorful ponies.

You know, maybe a footnote in a textbook, or something. Yeah, that was sounding dumber the further he pursued it.

"Not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy," he quipped. Hey, at least his mouth worked – as long as he didn't think about it.

A gentle breeze blew in from an open window nearby, and he smiled. Those always calmed him down, and it was a much-needed familiar sensation right now.

What would he see if he looked outside? He glanced down and wiggled his limbs.

Well, those seemed to work, in their own strange way, and he wasn't tied down. Nothing was stopping him from finding out.

He started carefully moving out of bed. He could practically feel the gears grinding in his brain as decades of human-body-muscle-memory came up against decidedly-not human physiology.

It was like trying to learn to ride a bicycle and drive a car at the same time, with no prior experience. He literally had to take baby steps.

He had just managed to get to the edge of the bed and dangle his legs off of it when the door opened, startling him.

His ongoing attempt at movement came up against the natural instinct to turn to the source of the sound, gears ground in his brain, and the predictable happened.

"Ow..." Felix grunted as he laid on the blue and white floor.

He heard a rapid clip-clop of hooves on tile, followed by a concerned "Are you okay?" from a male voice.

"Yeah," Felix grunted back automatically, and rolled over to see a mint-green unicorn with a light purple mane and white labcoat looking down at him.

Slightly more concerning – and that was pretty concerning, really – was the semi-transparent textbox over the unicorn's head.

???: Lv 7.

Felix stared at it for a few seconds, but when he blinked it was gone. Had he imagined it? His eyes returned to the rest of the pony. Despite having been prepared to see more of these ponies, he was still in awe that something like this could exist.

How was he supposed to react to a colorful pony in a lab coat that could talk, and looked at him with very expressive eyes? It was all so far from anything he had ever known!

He settled for the first thing that came to mind, propped a head up on one of his hooves – desperately trying to fight down the screaming part of his brain that insisted he should have had a hand there – and said, "Nehhh... what's up, doc?"

It didn't make the pony laugh, but Felix smirked, at least. Better than freaking out.

The pony just shook their head in confusion, and said, "Well... let's get you back up in bed, shall we?"

Sounded good to Felix. With help from the unicorn, Felix managed to get back into bed without making a fool of himself. Once settled back in, the unicorn smiled.

"So, your name is Felix, correct?" He asked, and Felix noticed a strange glow surrounding the unicorn's horn. He almost yelped in surprise when a clipboard suddenly came floating over to the pony. The unicorn simply took the clipboard with his hoof, and looked at Felix expectantly.

Felix looked at the clipboard, and then the unicorn's horn. Had the unicorn done that? He must have, right? It went right to him!

Oh, right. He'd gotten here via interdimensional town-portal or something. Magic. Magic was a thing, here.

Did that cost mana? What if he had a boss fight coming up?

Felix snapped out of his bewilderment, and gave a small nod. "Y-yeah, Felix Fox." He responded.

The unicorn smiled, nodding in clear satisfaction. "It is nice to meet you, Mr. Fox, I am doctor Peppermint."

Felix was about to ask if that was really his name when he noticed the almost transparent text reappear above Peppermint's head. It had changed!

Dr. Peppermint: Lv 7.

Felix stared at it in disbelief, and then saw as it faded away once more. He met the unicorn's eyes, tempted to ask if he saw that text box above his head, but then decided against it. Was this the work of his skill?

Someone would probably comment if that was normal here, right? Anyway, the unicorn didn't seem to have noticed him looking at something, focused on the clipboard.

"So, do you remember what happened?"

"Well..." Felix thought for a moment, and tried to summarize, "I was at home, and then my TV split apart into some kind of... portal, I guess? Are portals a thing, here?"

The doctor nodded. Phew. Okay, this might not be Earth, but at least some of his gamer knowledge was giving him a point of reference.

"It sucked me in, and I was given the world's least-friendly waterslide experience – someone should complain to park management, heh – before getting spat out on... some kind of marble floor, I guess. And then I realized I looked like this, and... I don't really remember what happened after that."

Peppermint gave him a sympathetic look. "Yes, well, I was filled in by princesses Celestia and Luna. I was informed that you had a magical accident, and so had changed species from Hue-Man to a pony." He frowned. "I'm afraid I am not familiar with your species, but the princess asked me to make sure you were healthy."

Felix frowned. "And..?"

The very least he could get out of all of this was a healthy pony body to be stuck in, right? Or did he have to worry about pony cancer from all of the crazy radiation he'd been through in the gateway?

The doctor smiled. "From a pony's perspective, you are completely healthy. Although I do understand you are not used to this kind of body, so your brain might have a bit of trouble figuring out its new parts. However, that should sort itself out quickly as you begin to walk around. The magic that transformed you should help you adjust, if you don't fight it."

None of this seemed real, and Felix was increasingly defaulting to treating it the way he would treat any of the not-real challenges he'd faced – in other words, like a videogame.

"I'll... try to let it do its thing. Fighting magic doesn't sound like something I'm spec'd for anyway."

The doctor cocked his head in confusion, and Felix added quickly, "I mean I'll take your advice. Fighting the magic making my body not drive me crazy, bad idea. I get it."

Peppermint nodded and smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. I know this must all be very difficult for you, but there are ponies here to help you get through it."

Difficult? Felix turned that over in his head.

"It's been confusing, but everything seems confusing and difficult when it's new. I've probably handled worse – not like I ended up in Dark Souls, right? Just gotta grind."

Just gotta keep making jokes, more like. But there was some sincerity to it; he just had to keep telling himself that, if he kept practicing and learning, he'd figure all of this out and be alright.

The doctor seemed confused, but said, "That... sounds like a very positive attitude. Keep at it, and you'll be fine."

See? The doctor was saying it, too, so it was probably true. Just roll with it.

Felix hadn't been the type to easily roll with stressful situations in his day-to-day life, but if he treated it like a videogame, he could almost see how to do it. He'd run into plenty of unexpected situations in those.

And he had the strong impression that being the sort of person who rolled easily with weird, mind-bending shit was something he wanted very, very much right now.

Fake it 'til you make it! he thought, and said, "So, how did I get here, exactly? All I know is that there was a portal, and Luna said she'd brought me here..."

Peppermint opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by another. "I believe I can answer that." A woman said, and Felix looked towards the voice. Standing in the doorway, taller than Peppermint, was a white unicorn with wings, a waving mane and tail, and big almost motherly magenta eyes.

Felix's eyes moved above the tall pony, and saw as a new text box appeared.

???: Lv. ???

Author's Note

An insanely big thank you to Aburi & SoloBrony for editing this chapter!

I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out, and I hope you guys enjoyed it a lot. :twilightsmile:

Name: Felix
Gender: Male
Age: 20

Species Pony
Tribe: Earth Pony

Level: 1

Class: Player

Attributes:

Strength: 20
Agility: 5
Stamina: 15
Intelligence: 5
Willpower: 10
Constitution 10
Magic: 5

Skills: Discerning Eye.

Chapter 4: Hate Her? [Re-edited]

"Princess Celestia," Dr. Peppermint said with a smile, bowing his head to the taller pony. Felix's eyes widened a bit – he hadn't expected to meet royalty! He knew nothing of this world's customs, but went for a courteous bow of the head. He heard her chuckle lightly, and he could almost feel the smile she gave them.

"Please rise, my little ponies," she said, her voice so soft and pleasant. Felix couldn't help but feel a little calmer, although he had no idea why. As he looked up once again, he saw the box above Celestia's head change.

Princess Celestia: Lv. ???

The information had been updated, just like it had with Peppermint. When the text started to fade, Felix looked back at the princess, a bit of apprehension returning. She smiled calmly as she trotted up, just a bit, keeping just enough distance to avoid scaring him.

"I am very glad to see you awake, Mr. Fox. How are you feeling?"

Felix hesitated before saying, "I... don't know, your majesty. I don't think I'm hurt, but..."

Physically, he felt fine, awkwardness in motion aside. Mentally, however...

He looked at the forehooves resting on his stomach, then looked up at her again, his eyes filling with dread. "What happened to me?"

Celestia frowned, and glanced at Peppermint, who nodded in understanding, bowed, and left the room.

"It is not easy to explain. In truth, there is still much I don't understand about the how." She looked more guilty as she continued, "You are here because Princess Luna, my sister, pulled you through an interdimensional connection she had created between our dimension and yours."

Felix felt his mouth open slightly, but he didn't speak, so Celestia continued. "The magic used is incredibly powerful and advanced. In truth, I'm amazed that my younger sister managed it without harming you. My best guess is that the spell she cast to protect you is also responsible for your transformation."

Felix found himself liking less and less of what he was hearing. He closed his mouth, gulping before he talked again. "But you can send me back, right?"

The look Celestia gave him told him everything he needed to know. His ears drooped, and his head turned down again.

"I am sorry, Felix. The magic Luna used is very complicated, and in truth, even if I could replicate it with my sister, finding your dimension again will be extremely difficult. Even if we do find it, we would still need to make sure you would come back in a safe place, and not at the bottom of the ocean, or in some desert, or deserted island."

His heart sank with each word she spoke, mind racing as the realization sank in.

How long would it take for people to notice he was missing? His job would find out first, and when he did not show up for maybe a day two, they would fire him. His apartment would still draw money from his account until there was none left, meaning he would get evicted.

He didn't have anyone he was in daily contact with, even his family. They were close, but he'd never been good about writing or calling frequently.

So how long would it take them to notice? A week? A month? Two months? He didn't always reply right away, so they probably wouldn't think anything of it before it became too worrying.

His mother would visit him, but when he wouldn't be there to open, she would use her spare key. When she did, she would find an empty apartment, left like he had just vanished into thin air.

She wouldn't understand, she would be confused, worried – and then what? The police would get involved, he would be one of those pictures they shown on the news, and they would figure something had happened to him. It wasn't like he'd packed up and left! All of his stuff was still at home – they'd think he was murdered, or abducted!

The scenario kept building and building in Felix's mind, and he felt his heart starting to pound faster in his chest.

His mother would be crushed, but what about his dad? He was his only son, his only child, how would this affect him? He'd started crying without even realizing it, and his breathing became faster and more uneven – for a moment, he thought he was going to pass out again.

Just as he felt like he was about to break, he felt something light and soft touch him; he looked up to find Celestia standing at his bedside, one of her wings gently pressed to his back. His heart calmed as he looked at the princess, like her touch anchored him and relaxed his nerves.

"Take a deep breath, Felix." She said with a caring and understanding voice. "Just breathe, slowly."

Closing his eyes, Felix took a few moments to steady his breath. Soon enough he started to gain some control over his emotions. 'Gotta keep it together, can't lose my shit now, calm down...' He thought to himself, and soon enough, he felt calm enough to look at Celestia again.

He wiped his eyes, nodding to her. "Thank you. Sorry..."

Her gentle smile returned slightly, and she removed her wing as she shook her head. "Do not apologize, your distress is quite understandable." Despite himself, Felix smiled a little, grateful for the pony's understanding. She then frowned a little, taking a step back. "I should also apologize for what my sister did. I can assure you that Luna never meant any harm."

Felix's ears perked up at the mention of Luna's name. Her name had been mentioned a couple of times, but he'd been too distracted to even think about her.

He was thinking now, though. He reflexively glanced around the room – despite knowing she wasn't there – and asked, "Where is Luna?"

He saw how Celestia's expression changed into a mix of sadness – and regret? "She's in her room. She's... quite distraught over what happened." It was Celestia who had to look away, this time. "She was already in a delicate state, but now, she is afraid you will hate her for trapping you here."

Hearing that stunned him. Now that he was thinking about what Luna had done, he wasn't sure how he felt. She had dragged him from everything he knew and possibly trapped him here for—weeks? Months, years? Forever?

The sound of Celestia clearing her throat jostled him from his thoughts. "I can understand if you resent her, and what she did. However, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive her. If you must hate somepony, I would prefer you to hate me."

"Excuse me?" That honestly baffled him – why would he hate Celestia? All she'd done was comfort him since he got stuck here!

She sighed. "I'm afraid I might have provoked her into action. We had a conversation, and... it didn't end on a positive note."

He thought that over in silence. Whatever Celestia had said, it had still been Luna who'd abducted him, right? Or was it even abduction since she'd invited him, and he'd said yes?

Celestia's voice snapped him from his thoughts with, "My sister has not been having an easy time, lately. She has isolated herself, become less certain of herself... I believe that you, Felix, have been her only comfort these past few months."

He was still coming to grips with that when she took a step back, and bowed her head to him, saying "So, I must ask that if you hate anypony, please, hate me. I'm the one who brought this on with the things I said to her – and I promise, I shall do everything in my power to see you home safely."

Shock quickly gave way to realization inside him.

Here was Celestia – a princess – bowing her head to him, begging him not to hate her sister.

He had to tear his eyes away from her; it hurt to watch. He didn't want to make anyone miserable, and he understood that Celestia just wanted to protect her sister. Didn't want Luna's only friend to tell her he hated her – that thought hurt, too.

How did he feel about Luna? The girl he'd been bantering and hanging out with for months. The girl who had wronged him – that much was clear – but did he hate her for it?

Her only comfort these past few months, Celestia had said. Isolated and unsure of herself.

He could see it. She'd talked a little about feeling lonely and like she was spinning her wheels at work, unneeded – wait, she was a princess. Like Celestia! And that seemed to mean a lot here – he hadn't run into any mention of queens or kings. It seemed like these two were running the show – running the country!

What did it say that someone in charge of running a country was playing games with him for months? That she 'got off work early' and said, over and over, that nothing interesting ever happened?

Isolated and unsure of herself. It took him a moment to connect the dots, and it didn't feel good when it did.

He wasn't sure of the specifics, but clearly, Luna was not in a good situation. Celestia had to be the one really running things – that must have felt awful. Who would want to be the useless tag-along party-member? The guildmaster-in-name-only?

Felix had no experience running a country, but he could only imagine it was like that, yet significantly worse. He'd seen guildmasters build up communities only to get shunned when someone more popular – and louder – joined up and started directing the conversation. It wrecked them.

How hurt did she have to be by what Celestia had said – no, this had been going on for months, how hurt did she have to be in general to try something as insane and dangerous as yanking him through a portal?

To have a friend visit her in person, Felix realized with a start. All of this had been because that girl he'd been goofing off with had needed a friend in her life that badly.

That cleared everything up for him.

"Please take me to her," he said, finally coming up from his thoughts. The conviction in his voice seemed to surprise Celestia, but she complied.

It was a strange world, but someone in it needed help – his help, specifically. No one else would do.

It was a scenario Felix actually had familiarity with.

Who said games can't teach you anything useful?

It had been several hours since Felix had arrived.

In her mind, Luna had seen it as nothing but excitement. Her friend, here! In Equestria! He could finally know who she really was, and she would have a real friend to share her life with, even if only for a scant few hours!

How could she have been so foolish?!

She hit her muzzle into her pillow and buried her sobs into it, pulling the blanket around herself tighter and trying – failing – to subdue the anger she felt at herself.

Of course he had fainted! His whole world, his very body, torn away from him! He came from a world without magic, barely the concept of magic, and she had surreptitiously dropped him into Equestria without so much as a 'by the way, this might sting a bit!'

Idiot! Small wonder none of her subjects wanted her counsel! Somehow she'd taken someone dear to her, given them a mental breakdown, and stranded him away from his home – possibly forever!

The pain hadn't set in at first. She'd been too terrified for her friend, too shocked at how wrong it had all gone.

She'd had to watch the guards carry Felix's unconscious body away. Because of what she had done to him.

That had left her to explain her idiocy to her sister in private. Of all ponies, Luna ought to have known how dangerous the spell was – Tia's scolding and disappointment were redundant to the self-reproach she was feeling.

Besides, nothing her sister said could hold a candle to the dread she felt for what Felix would say to her.

Assuming he would even deign to speak to her again in this life. The thought brought another choked sob.

Her only friend, and it had ended like this. How could she ever bring herself to try again? This was the second time she had brought ruin to the ones she cared about!

Idiot, idiot! What kind of pony didn't learn that lesson the first time?! No, normal ponies didn't make mistakes of such gravity with their loved ones! They didn't have to learn that from experience!

What was wrong with her? Was she just not capable of friendship, family? Love?

She choked on that thought. It wasn't the first time.

It was then that she heard a gentle knock on her door. She knew the knock well, and so didn't respond. Luna was in no mood to talk to her sister, not now, not like this.

"Luna?" Celestia said from the other side of the door. "Luna, can you please open the door?" Luna didn't reply, nor did she move.

At least until somepony else knocked on her door. "Luna..." Felix's voice said, making Luna look up, and her ears rise.

Why was he here? To end their friendship? To yell at her? "Luna, can you let me in, please? I want to talk to you, alone, if that's okay?"

No, no, no! It wasn't okay, she wasn't ready for this! She didn't want her only friend to reject her! It felt as if tears were going to burst from her eyes again, only for the despair to be overtaken by shame.

What she wanted really didn't matter, here. If he wished to scream in her face, she owed him that much...

She got out of bed, leaving her blanket behind, but she still had most of her head hidden by her hoodie. When she approached the door, she used her magic to unlock it, and then slowly opened it up – just enough to look at the two ponies outside.

Celestia looked worried, as she often did at Luna.

Next to her stood Felix, his green eyes locked onto hers, and the way he looked at her didn't exactly fill her with confidence. He did not seem angry or uncaring, but he also didn't share Celestia's look of concern. He seemed... focused.

He tilted his head. "Can I come in?" Luna nodded, moving away as she opened up the door for him. Before he made a move, he looked at Celestia. "You don't mind us talking alone for a moment, do you?"

Celestia shook her head. "No, not at all. I'll be in the hall if you need me."

Felix nodded, and unsteadily made his way into the room. Luna glanced at Celestia for a moment, who gave her a nod in return. She closed the door, and then turned to watch Felix as he looked around the dark room. Luna had closed the large curtains, preferring to stay in the darkness so she could hide from the world.

Looking at his legs, she saw how they were shaking slightly. His expression was anything but fear – he was still struggling with the body she had unwittingly stuck him with. One more hardship she had sent his way.

"You mind if we let some sunlight in?" Felix then asked casually, making Luna blink in confusion. She just nodded, using her magic to redraw the curtains, Celestia's sun brightening the room. She watched him as he trotted closer to the windows, looking out onto the city of Canterlot below.

Luna waited for him to speak, to yell, to accuse, anything really, but he just stood there in silence for what seemed like ages.

Finally he let out a tired chuckle. "You know, when I asked your sister if I could see you, I was sure I knew just what to say."

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and steadying himself – as much as he could, with his legs still shaking – and shot Luna a smile.

"You know you could have just told me? I did tell you before."

Luna balked at that, mouth slightly open and eyes squinted in confusion. She was still half-expecting him to yell at her, and now she had no idea what he was talking about.

"What didst thou tell us? We do not understand."

Felix smirked – both at the question and at its mode of delivery – and said, "That you needed help. That you needed a friend. I did say I'd always come rescue you, Lulu."

Her eyes shot wide at that. "But... that was in the game! How canst thou..."

Felix scoffed at himself and sat down, saying, "Guess I'm not very good at this. What I'm saying, Lulu, is that I don't hate you. I think I understand a bit of why you did all of this, and... I still want us to be friiiEE LULU—"

She'd cut him off via tackle-hug, that most aggressive of affectionate gestures, and the two went sprawling into the pillows near the window, burying her head in the crook of his neck.

"Thou hast no idea how joyous thine words have made us!"

Felix felt her tears soaking into his coat, and gently hugged her back, as best he could.

"Think I can guess. But, ah, could you loosen the hug just a bit?"

Luna gave him a gentle squeeze, getting an 'eep' out of him, and nuzzled into his neck.

"Nay, we shall never let thee go."

Felix scoffed, despite himself, and focused on keeping himself calm. His brief attempt at putting on his gamer persona hadn't amounted to much, but he'd gotten through, somehow, and that cheered him slightly.

At least his friend didn't look miserable anymore. The sight of her when he'd first entered the room had been wrenching, knowing this was the same person he'd spent so much time with.

The fact that they were magical ponies in another dimension was still a bit much to wrap his head around. Felix had reached out for the bits and pieces he could understand – his friend, sad girl, needs help, wings are terrifyingly large at full span – and seized on them with both hands (hooves, he realized dully), and did his best to ignore the rest.

"We—I, I never meant for any of this," Luna said, slightly more relaxed now, "I just wanted to see my friend. I thought I could send you back, but I was... stupid and selfish and such an idiot—"

"Hey, HEY!" Felix cut her off, and squeezed her slightly in turn. "Don't—don't start doing that. You made a mistake, but don't start talking that way about yourself. You're my friend, Lulu, I don't want to hear anyone talk that way about you. Probably – no, scratch that, definitely – you least of all."

The rising pitch of her voice and the sense of panic she exuded had actually frightened him, a bit. That sounded like a panic attack coming on, and while Felix only had a tenuous grasp of her situation, it was clear she wasn't in good mental health.

He'd come into this room specifically to make sure she would stop hurting. Not start hurting herself!

Speech bosses really are the hardest, he thought, and snickered despite himself.

Luna glanced up at him. Big, concerned, vulnerable eyes staring at him.

"How canst – how can you forgive me so easily?"

Felix cast his mind out for any preparation his gaming had given him for this, but came up short. How to be honest without tearing Lulu down, here?

"I... I won't lie, I'm upset." Her ears drooped, but he carried on, "I mean, fuck, what do I even say, here? I thought you were a human girl – turns out you're a magical pony princess from a whole different dimension! I'm stuck here with no clear way back, or... to even let my family know I'm alive. I don't know how anything here even works. But..."

"But?" The trepidation in her voice spurred him on.

"But... mistakes happen. You didn't mean to do this to me, I know you didn't – you're my friend, I know you wouldn't do this to me on purpose." He was explaining this to himself as much as to her, and went on, "And yeah, okay, it was dumb. But sometimes, when people are really upset or hurt, they do dumb shit. I've done dumb shit!" He waggled his free hoof, as if gesturing to all of the dumb shit he'd done. Luna scoffed.

"But this was – surely you've never done something so..."

"Extreme? Maybe not, but I didn't have the magic to pull it off. Who knows, if I had? Point is... I get it. It's understandable. I might not understand how much of anything works here, but I understand you, and I understand making mistakes. That's what friends do, y'know? Forgive each other for the mistakes, and move on."

He sighed, all the tension he hadn't realized he'd built up in that little rant going out of him. Luna buried her head back in his neck and shuddered.

"Thank you... thank you."

Felix chuckled despite himself. "No promises I won't be salty about this for a while. You might have some serious ripping coming your way."

She laughed at that and gently hit her head against his neck.

"I have it coming!"

"Indeed, milady," he said, putting on his most imperious tones, "your punishment for my... displacement? Shall be merciless mockery. Absolutely merciless."

He leaned his head away from her, far enough to make eye contact. He squinted at her carefully, and said, "Mostl—Predominantly merciless."

This got another round of laughs out of her, and he laid back and relaxed. That was it, he was spent, but things seemed to have worked out.

When in doubt, banter and goof off! It worked at his job, it worked in games, it worked everywhere! It never hurts to lighten the mood a little and remind the people around you that you're on their side. So went his thinking. Hell, it even made him feel better about it all.

Things might be strange in pony land, but at least he still had that going.

For her part, Luna clung to her friend and vowed not to waste the second chance he had given her. She knew he was putting on a brave face – that it would take time for him to come to terms with what had happened. She would help her friend, she would keep their friendship.

For now, though, she was content in simply holding him.

Author's Note

A massive thank you to SoloBrony for re-editing this chapter!

Wow, I think that is a personal record, having my story featured for a week straight! I'm honestly in awe, and I would be lying if I said it does not give a little a pressure to have the story live up to the expectations. :twilightsheepish:

Still, thank you all for all this mazing support, it really makes it all worth it. I know not a lot happened in this chapter, but I wanted this chapter to be on its own, and connect it to the next one in terms. I wanted these two scenes with Celestia and Luna to stand on its own.

Anyway, that's it for now, I hope you guys have an amazing Monday! :rainbowwild:

Chapter 5: Not a bother

Felix let out a small, tired sigh.

He'd stayed with Luna, all tangled up on the cushions by her window, for around half an hour before she'd started to doze off. It seemed her stress and anguish over losing him had been all that was keeping her going – she hardly had the strength to rise once it was gone.

She was happy, though. It was like his words had lifted every burden from her at once, and now she wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep.

On him, it seemed.

What, precisely, was the protocol for having a princess of... what was this place called, again? Whatever, point was, what was he supposed to do, here? Would it be an extreme faux pas if he slept here?

Probably not, he reasoned. From what little Felix had seen of these ponies, they seemed rather easy-going – perhaps even naive. With plenty of time to turn over what he'd seen in his head while Luna dozed, he came to the conclusion that this pony kingdom he found himself in was clearly the Big Good Kingdom faction of this fantasy-world.

Small favors. At least he hadn't ended up with the designated evil monster faction as a prisoner, or something. They had one of those here, right? In this world?

Definitely something to ask about later, he figured. He was just starting to properly doze – and get more than a little stiff from the unicorn-pegasus-whatever princess pony sprawled on top of him – when Celestia had come to his rescue.

She seemed relieved to see Luna smiling so sincerely, and more than a little amused at the situation. Luna only agreed to go to bed when Felix promised her they'd speak again, and things really were alright between them.

Now he was trotting alongside Celestia, his legs still wobbling any time he thought too much about it. As soon as they got out of earshot of Luna, Celestia said, "Thank you. I don't think I've seen my sister so happy in... many years."

"Don't mention it, princess." He smiled a bit. "Like I told her, I might be salty for a few days, and she has some teasing coming her way, but we can move past it. That's what friends do."

Felix could almost feel Celestia beaming at him, although she maintained a dignified composure. "That is very noble of you, Felix."

Felix almost scoffed, not out of dismissal, but more because he didn't feel he had done anything that special to deserve such praise. His friend was hurting, he wanted to help her get better, so he did. He would help any of his friends who needed it, it was just what he did.

It clearly meant a lot to Celestia, though. For that matter, it had clearly meant the world to Luna.

It was obvious that Celestia deeply cared about her sister. Hell, she'd asked him to hate her instead of Luna, begged him, bowed to him to get him to forgive Luna. Felix could well-respect that sort of loyalty and devotion to a sibling – he felt the same way about his own. He'd always stood up for his younger brother and sister, looked up to his older sister who'd done the same for him.

Would he ever see them again? He had to push that away, for now. Dwelling on it wasn't helping.

But Celestia's clear affection and loyalty to her sister did raise an important question – an unavoidable one that had been plaguing Felix since Celestia first explained the situation to him in the hospital room. Now was as good a time as any to find out what was really going on.

"Something's been bothering me, princess. You said that I was Luna's only solace for the past few months, but... doesn't she have you?"

Celestia cleared her throat uneasily. "I do my best to be there for her, but our duties keep us apart a great deal of the time. I watch over the day, while my sister's demesne is the night. We love each other dearly, but there is much we cannot share, and..."

She trailed off, seemingly struggling for how to put it into words, but, well, Felix had siblings of his own. He could put it together.

"There's some baggage there?"

She nodded, and he said, "I think I can understand. Siblings fight, sometimes, and it isn't always easy to share everything with your family."

The smile she responded with had a slightly pained quality to it. "All too true, I'm afraid."

There was clearly more to that story, but now wasn't the time. "Doesn't she have any other friends, though? Pony friends?" His confusion was evident in his voice.

"... She does not. Luna spends her time in solitude, aside from the two of us. She's had great difficulties making friends."

"Well that doesn't make sense," Felix said honestly, his fatigue dulling his sense of restraint, "Luna's a blast. She's hilarious – really clever, too. And it's not like she's an asshole or anything, either, she's genuinely one of the nicest people I've ever met. Who wouldn't want to be friends with her?"

He actually stopped and tapped a hoof to his head, his confusion growing as he added more-recently learned details. "Wait, isn't she a princess here, too? And I don't know how ponies see each other, but it's not like she's ugly or anything, either. She..."

Even Felix's fatigued brain knew better than to finish that thought out loud. Inwardly, though, he'd decided pretty quickly that Luna was quite pretty. Adorable, really, and beautiful.

He felt a little weird about that, but whatever. It was still true, and the point at hand was that unless the ponies here were all blind, they ought to have seen it, too.

His rumination was broken by Celestia giggling at him. He cocked his head – a far more dramatic gesture with his new body, he realized – and smirked at her. "What? Something I said?"

"It's just so nice to hear someone else recognize her positive traits. I was beginning to fear no one would. I've told her time and again that she has so much to offer others, but they never seem to see it that way."

"Not to speak ill of your subjects, but that's dumb. What, did they dump Perception, or something? I'd expect her to be fighting off suitors with a stick and overwhelmed with attempts to get her attention and be her friend."

"Is that how princesses are treated in your world?"

"Huh?" It took Felix a second to connect that. "Oh. Uh, maybe? Most celebrities get treated that way to an extent, actually, I think. But I just meant for who she is. Oh, but yeah, her being a princess – I'd expect it to be ten times as much, then, easily."

Celestia giggled again, and fixed Felix with a loose, amused smile. "Perhaps not all of my ponies are as perceptive as you are, then. What was it you said? Maybe they 'dumped perception?' "

"Hope it was for something good, because if they dumped it far enough not to even be friends with Luna then woof that was one big deficit."

He had to sit on his... haunches? In order to hold his hooves apart, to indicate how big of a point-drop had been applied. Did that ruin the effect? Celestia laughed again, so probably not, he figured, and they resumed walking.

Felix had been about to re-ask his initial question, but Celestia beat him to it and said, "Luna has some... history. She did some bad things, and scared the ponies of Equestria immensely. There are apparently many who still fear her, and even among those who do not, many who do not understand her. Being a princess also makes it harder for her to connect to others on a basic, personal level."

Well that was a bombshell. Was Luna some kind of ex-convict, or something? She was still a princess and in-charge, so how bad could it actually be?

Felix seized on the part he understood. "I can get how being famous and in-charge gets in the way of friendships. I've heard about that, a bit." He thought for a moment. "Are you speaking from experience?"

Another pained smile. "I'm afraid so."

Ouch. Lonely at the top, huh? That sure put some perspective on how Luna behaved and what little she said about her job.

They walked a bit in silence, Felix taking the time to look around. The royal palace was so big and beautiful, like something straight out from a fantasy book.

Then his mind turned to his current situation, and what his place was.

Clearing his throat and gaining her attention, Felix tried to look casual. "So, uhm, princess. What exactly do I do now?" She tilted her head slightly. "I mean, I can't go home yet. I don't have any money, nor do I have anywhere to stay. Not to mention I have no idea how this world works."

Celestia giggled and smiled warmly at him. "Are you afraid we're going to put you out?"

At first, he wasn't sure what to say. He honestly had been starting to worry about it, but the teasing lilt of Celestia's voice seemed to imply he was being silly for doing so.

Felix was tired, a little nervous, and a lot confused, but he caught a hint of that bantering prankster nature he always liked about Luna coming off of Celestia, and he couldn't just let that slip past.

"Oh, you know," he started, tired brain kicking online, "figured it was standard practice. 'Hey there, thanks for visiting our magical kingdom, here's a rusty dagger, the weak monsters are over thataway.' The inns here are cheap, right? They're always cheaper in the starter town."

Celestia was torn between confused and amused, but amusement won out when she saw his goofball smirk. Good! She had put him a bit more at ease – she liked how easily he seemed to slip into playful banter and such, as well. She could see why Luna liked him.

"Is that common in your world? Fantasy kingdoms dispensing rusty daggers, leaving adventurers on their own?" She tapped her chin in thought.

He grinned and took the setup immediately. "Oh, certainly. Rusty daggers, wooden swords, maybe just a stick, whatever's at hand, really. Especially if they're legendary heroes destined to save the world from imminent destruction – then you don't even get a free room for the night."

"Tough love? Have to toughen up the heroes, I suppose."

"Nah," he shrugged that off. "It's just, if they're destined to save the world, you might as well save some money, right? They don't need help, clearly."

"Destiny will sort it out," she said with a firm nod, doing her best to appear serious despite a grin fighting its way onto her face, "hardly worth thinking about. In fact, why not steer as many other hazards as you can find into their path, too?"

"Exactly!" Now he was giggling. "Real convenient, having a predestined chosen one around. Should really keep some in stock, just in case. It's not like they're hard to get – seems like you can't go to any fantasy kingdom these days without running headlong into dozens. A little creepy that they all have the exact same backstory and journey, but, hey, that's just how chosen ones are."

Celestia had no way of knowing precisely what Felix was talking about – in this case, the awkwardness of an MMORPG storyline playing out identically for every player – but she could put together that he was mocking some sort of fiction, and put on her best haughty, offended look.

"Excuse you, but I'll have you know that Equestria only accepts the finest of chosen ones. All of our epic, predestined heroes come with unique backstories and special talents!" She leaned in closer as he laughed. "And I assure you, we don't throw visitors to our realm out onto the streets with whatever trash is at hand and expect them to fend for themselves."

His laughter tapered off into a small smile as he nodded. "Thank you for that. Though, I don't want you to make a fuss over me – I know you must have a lot going on. I don't want to be a problem or a burden to you all."

Celestia idly realized that hidden within Felix's playful aside about being thrown out to fend for himself was a genuine concern about earning his keep while he was here. She was starting to get an idea of just what sort of person he was, but she didn't like the direction his mind was going.

She blew a distinctly unladylike, unprincesslike raspberry, leaving him bemused. "Burden?" She rolled her eyes and gestured at him as though an entire crowd was watching. "This pony! He's snatched up from his own world, trapped here, and the first thing he does is cheer up my sister – and the second thing he does is worry he's being a burden as soon as somepony offers to help him!"

Felix gave a bashful smile at that, looking away in embarrassment, and Celestia took the opportunity to gently pat him on the head. "Don't think of yourself that way. You're welcome here – you're a friend of Luna's, and any friend of hers is a friend of mine. Besides, I think I'll rather like having you around!"

The sincere warmth she gave off as she spoke put Felix at ease, and all he could think to do was bow his head and say, "Thank you very much, princess."

Celestia had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes or facehoof, though she still smiled at him. "Now, none of that, you hear? You are a guest in our realm, not one of my subjects, so you're under no obligation to bow to me – and I'd much prefer you to use my name rather than my title."

"Oh. Um. Okay... Celestia?" He seemed to find it difficult, and Celestia got a playful idea, grinning.

"You did of course remember to bow to Luna when you visited her earlier? Referred to her strictly as 'your majesty' or 'your resplendent highness Princess Luna', perhaps?"

He gave a snort at that, and then immediately cringed and said, "Oh, sorry, um... no."

"Because you're friends," Celestia pressed, and she gently used a feather to lift his head to meet her gaze. "I want to be your friend as well, you understand?"

Rather than responding immediately, Felix took a moment to study Celestia and process what she'd said. Since he'd come here, he had mostly gotten by through a combination of jokes and trying to roll with whatever other people were doing, and it had been instantly clear to him that Celestia was a pony others held in deep reverence, just by how Doctor Peppermint had acted.

Going by what Celestia had said, that sort of behavior had left both her and Luna rather lonely, even if Celestia handled it better than her sister. Did she? Actually, he was assuming she did based on her composure, but he really didn't know that, did he? But the idea of goofing off with Celestia the way he did with Luna felt like it would be...

"You'll let me know if I... I dunno, cross a line? If you think I'm being disrespectful? I really have no idea where the lines are drawn here, to be honest, and I'm worried I'll fuck it up." He blinked. "Uh... sorry about swearing. Kinda makes my point, though."

Felix blushed, embarrassed. His mother would have smacked him upside the head if he spoke to their queen like that back home. He was usually more polite with strangers, but he was exhausted, and Celestia had made him feel so at ease it had been easy to slip into talking casually.

Celestia actually laughed at that, throwing her head back and holding a hoof up to her mouth. She fixed him with a mock look of motherly disapproval, and said, "Oh my, such vulgarity in my majestic presence!" She added another grandiose wave of her hoof, for emphasis, and even Felix was snickering, now.

She shook her head. "I've been around long enough to meet all sorts of people, Felix. You won't offend me by simply being yourself, and talking as you would at home. I want you to feel at-home here, as much as possible." She took on a slightly more pained look. "I am sorry we can do so little for you, in that regard."

"I'll get by," Felix said immediately, almost automatically. "Er, I mean... I obviously need your help to get back, but, I don't want you worrying too much for my sake, aside from that."

Celestia cleared her throat, considering her words. It was clear to her that Felix's sense of propriety could get in the way of him taking care of himself or expressing his difficulties, and she needed to do something about it.

"Though it was an accident, my sister still stranded you in our world. You are the responsibility of the crown – it is our duty to take care of you. It is, in fact, a matter of honor," and this, Celestia actually said with absolute seriousness, surprising Felix. "You wouldn't get in the way of us living up to that, would you?"

"Well... uh... no." What else was he going to say, really?

"Good!" Celestia snickered and broke eye contact as they began walking again. "Then make sure to take whatever hospitality is offered, hm? And don't hesitate to tell us if you need anything. Really, you aren't just a guest, anyway – in a way, you're an ambassador between our worlds."

"Ah, man. I love my country and my species, but they're really screwed if I'm supposed to speak for them," Felix said with a snicker.

"Or you're just the right person for the job, and never knew it. Destiny does work in strange ways, sometimes," Celestia said with a shrug.

Something about how she said that got Felix's attention. This was a world with magic, which played by very different rules from back home, and he realized he couldn't assume everything worked the same way here as it did back home.

"Is destiny not just a... metaphorical concept here? Just checking," he added quickly, in case that sounded incredibly stupid. Celestia actually looked at him with a degree of bafflement.

"Hardly," she said, after a moment. "Destiny is a very powerful force in Equestria. In fact, each pony's destiny leaves a mark on them in adolescence." She gestured at the symbol of the sun on her flank. "They had other names in the past, but the modern slang term for them is 'cutie marks.' " To his look of open confusion, she said, "It started as a playful thing to call them, to ease young ponies' apprehension over having them appear, and the name stuck."

The evolution of language around her was a never-ending source of confusion for Celestia, though she was still far better off than Luna in that regard. Felix seemed to accept the explanation with a nod, and said, "I guess I can see that. Humans sometimes have odd names for things like that, too. But... if destiny is an active force here, something more tangible, then does that mean I might actually... be stuck here forever? If I'm meant to be here?"

The thought was chilling. Some unseen force simply deciding he no longer belonged with his family, his friends, his home, and snatching him away to parts unknown?

Felix had read stories, watched movies, played games with that sort of storyline. They generally made it out to be a good thing, but facing it down himself, it was horrifying.

Celestia shook her head, saying, "No, that's not generally how these things work. Destiny can only open possibilities to you, give you direction – it's up to you what you make of it. Destiny always gives way to free will, don't worry. It's nothing to fear."

That wasn't easy for Felix to wrap his head around, but he tried. "So it's like... ending choices, or something. I guess I can see that. Does that mean... that one of those doors it will open to me might be the way home?"

"Nopony can say for sure what destiny has in store," Celestia said evenly, "but we can hope."

"What makes it so difficult to send me home, anyway?"

Celestia paused in their walk to sit and consider her answer. This human wasn't familiar with magic, after all.

"Well, there is still much I don't understand about the spell Luna used. When she's in a better state to discuss it, we can start analyzing what happened in earnest. However, the hardest part will be finding your home dimension, so to speak. Trying to home magic in on a dimension amidst all the cosmos is like..."

"Trying to find a needle in a haystack?" Felix said with a sigh.

"More like... finding a needle in a field that has been flooded for weeks," Celestia said, trying to push the metaphor as close to analogous with the situation as possible.

"Heh, and I don't suppose we have a magnet," Felix quipped.

Celestia paused, and said, "Perhaps that's akin to what Luna uses to perform such spells. Honestly, this type of magic is much more her purview than mine, I'm afraid."

"But she also feels I'm stuck here, right? She doesn't know how to send me back?" Celestia nodded, but quickly added, "But we haven't worked together on the matter, yet, in any depth. It may be that when she's thinking more clearly, and with the input of others, we can find something she overlooked. I cannot promise you our success, but... I do promise we will do everything in our power to help you return home."

The conviction and sincerity with which she spoke moved Felix. He could tell she really meant it, and for all that he wanted to go home, it was humbling to think she would go so far out on his account. "I really appreciate it. Thank you, Celestia."

She smiled warmly at him and gave his mane a quick brush with her wing. Then she glanced forward and said, "Ah, here we are."

They'd come to a brown, wooden door with an armored, white-coated pegasus mare standing guard in front of it. She snapped to salute at their approach, then returned to her regular posture as Celestia nodded to put her at ease.

"Sergeant Saber, thank you for accepting reassignment on such short notice," Celestia said with a pleased smile. Felix noted the text box that appeared above the guard's head.

Sgt. Saber: Lv 26.

"Not a problem, princess!" Saber responded with a smile and nod, otherwise maintaining a professional posture and scanning the area passively.

"Felix," Celestia got his attention and continued, "Sergeant Saber here will be keeping you safe and helping you navigate our world, until you've grown acclimated to it. Make sure to tell her if you need anything, or have any questions, alright?"

Celestia's tone was just a bit stronger with that last part, and Felix knew it was to keep him from objecting or keeping things to himself out of a sense of politeness. He didn't like the idea of being waited on, but given that he was essentially less prepared to tackle this world than the average child would be... "I understand. I guess I really will need the help. Thank you – both of you."

Saber gave a small nod, while Celestia said, "Luna and I can't always be available for you, so Sergeant Saber will be there whenever we are not."

Ah, right! At first, this bothered Felix because it felt like it was too much fuss over him, but in actuality, this was a way to reduce the burden he placed on the princesses, wasn't it? Running and country, and... princessing had to give them an awful lot to do, so they couldn't be bothered telling him every little detail. This was actually a good thing!

His spirits lifted momentarily, and that came with just enough energy to crack a joke. "Oh my, not being waited on hand and foot – or, er, hoof and hoof – by princesses, at all hours?" He glanced at Celestia, and she was grinning, so he continued, "What a bait-and-switch! Here I thought I was getting the royal treatment and everything. Well, well, I'll deal with it – just have to include it in your review. Very disappointed, though – you know how high my standards are."

Celestia was snickering, so Felix figured he'd gone just far enough with it. He said, "Seriously, thank you. This is all much, much more than I ever could have asked for."

"I've noticed. Left to your own devices I'm sure you'd have struggled to ask for the rusty dagger!" He smirked, and she continued, "Now, I'm sure you're exhausted – you should get some rest. I also imagine you must be hungry, by now."

"True on both counts," Felix said with feeling. Celestia grinned slyly at him. "That's the cutting insight that got me where I am today, you know," she said, putting on a faux regal stance that was rather undercut by the comically exaggerated face she made. Even Sergeant Saber shuddered slightly, so Felix had no chance of resisting, and laughed while holding a hoof to his head.

Celestia really was Luna's sister, wasn't she? He could see where Luna had gotten it!

"I'll let the kitchens know. Now, a good deal of work has piled up, so I must take my leave. If you need anything else, please let the Sergeant know, or use the pull-rope in your room to call a maid."

"Alright," Felix said, mind reeling a bit from the idea of calling someone to wait on him. Then he quickly added, "Um... good night, then, Celestia," taking care to use her name rather than her title.

She beamed at him. "Good night, Felix."

He smiled as she walked off, cheered by the thought that he had another friend in this strange place. Then he realized the awkwardness of his casualness with the princess in front of one of her guards, cleared his throat into his elbow slightly, and glanced at Sergeant Saber.

"So, uh... Sergeant Saber, right?"

She nodded, not making eye contact, and said, "Yes sir."

"Oh, uh, that's... you don't need to, uh..."

Suddenly, Felix had a very good idea why Celestia didn't want him standing on ceremony with her. He was meant to rely on this pony for guidance, right? It would be incredibly awkward if their every interaction was like this.

"Sir?" Saber asked. Felix straightened up a bit and said, "You don't have to call me 'sir'. Just, uh... you can speak freely with me. I'm just some guy, I'm no one important."

Saber blinked at that, and said, "Si—erm, Felix, you are a guest of the crown, and a friend of both Celestia and Luna. You're very important. Sir."

Felix stared at her for a moment, and decided to change strategy. "I stack dirt for a living."

Saber blinked a few times. "... What?"

"Yeah. I mean, sometimes I help customers find stuff, but, basically I stack boxes, pallettes, dirt. Plants, sometimes. Pull some weeds if I'm unlucky. That's my job."

Saber seemed to take a moment to process that, and said, "Well, I'm sure it's... important work?"

"Not even slightly. Like, they could literally just grab someone off the street and spend two minutes telling them how to do my job. Seriously. Don't take me that seriously."

Saber cleared her throat, and shuffled slightly. "I don't want to be impertinent to a friend of the princesses, is all..."

Felix knew the moment for a finishing strike when he saw one, and smiled as he said, "I'm saying cut the bullshit, Sergeant. Just us working people – er, ponies – here. Seriously, I'm just some guy – friends with some important people, I guess, but that's them, I'm me."

That finally seemed to get through, and Saber relaxed with a small smile. "Alright, I get it. I'm actually glad you're not the type to act all stuck-up just because of the people you know."

Felix cringed. "Yeah, something tells me neither princess needs a 'friend' like that."

"They sure wouldn't be in short supply around here," Saber said bitterly.

"Ouch. Guess that's part of why Luna was so lonely in the first place, huh?"

Saber stiffened slightly and said, "I can't comment on the private lives of..." She seemed to think better of it and relaxed again. "Uh, yeah. Pretty much most of the folks who come here for stuff like the Grand Galloping Gala are just stuck-up jerks looking to curry favor. Social-climber types."

So they had galas here, and they involved meeting with that type, huh? Felix made a gagging impression, and the Saber nodded. "Yeah, you know the sort, I take it."

Memories of high school and a few other social interactions came back. "Yeah. I'm not a big fan."

"Good. You know, I think we'll get along, Felix," she said with a relaxed smile.

He sighed with relief. "Good. I'd much rather us be friends – I know how to be friends. I wouldn't know where to start with... someone assigned to me."

"A servant?" Saber offered.

Felix shuddered. "Oh, God, no."

Saber laughed, and Felix went and opened the door. "Well, I'd better turn in. Getting hard to keep my eyelids open."

"You do that," Saber said, "I'll make sure nothing gets you while you rest," she added with a smirk.

"Okay, but if it's a really weak monster promise you'll call me out to help. Gotta get my experience in somehow."

He chuckled at her bemused expression as he shut the door, and then turned around to take a look at the room he'd been given.

Holy crap! It was larger than his entire apartment, and there was still room to go for a jog!

The windows were large, almost going from the floor right up the ceiling. A glass door let out onto a small balcony, and Felix could only imagine what kind of view he would have if he went outside. There was a giant bed, built out of what Felix could only imagine was expensive wood, along with a couch, some chairs, and the room was decorated beautifully. There was even a fireplace for the winter months.

Other than the front door and balcony, there were two other doors. On checking them, he found the first led to a luxurious looking bathroom – the bath was like a big swimming pool, carved into the floor! The second door led into a walk-in closet, although there were no clothes in there. Felix stared at that in confusion.

So far, the only nude pony he'd encountered was... himself. Doctor Peppermint wore a lab coat, Luna had her hoodie, Celestia wore those little jeweled things, and Sergeant Saber wore her armor. No one had commented on his lack of clothes, and whatever magic had been keeping him from losing his mind over his body being changed seemed to keep him at ease with being unclothed, but now that he was thinking about it, it was really bothering him.

Was being unclothed here normal? Someone would have said something otherwise, right? Or did they think it was normal for humans, and just didn't want to raise a fuss about his odd proclivities? Even if it was normal here, was he okay going around in the buff everywhere?

Well... he had a fur coat. That was sort of like clothes, right? And he hadn't seen a single pony wearing pants. It was a little tug-of-war in his head between not wanting to inconvenience anyone, and not wanting to be naked.

Ultimately, not wanting to be an inconvenience won out. Look at this room! It was overwhelming how far they were going out of their way for him! The least he could do would be to try to get used to the local customs, a bit, right? Right.

Seriously, was Celestia really going to set up in a suite like this? It was like he'd booked the penthouse at a super luxury hotel or something – he had the constant background anxiety that he needed to be mindful that this room wasn't his, and he should be careful not to mess anything up.

He could only imagine what Celestia's room must be like. Though, then again, Luna's room had been about this size, hadn't it?

The idea that they'd set him up in an actual royal suite bothered him. It would have bothered him more if his fatigue wasn't rapidly overtaking every other concern. Trotting to the couch, Felix plopped down with a tired sigh. This was the first time he had been alone since those few moments when he first woke up, and things had happened quickly to distract him after that.. Now everything was kind-of sorted out, and he had time to collect his thoughts.

The whole other dimension thing, it was still hard to wrap his head around. It was just so incredible, yet scary. He had been pulled into another dimension, his life was never going to be the same – even if he returned home tomorrow, this would be an unforgettable experience, which fundamentally altered his worldview.

Then there was the world itself, Felix's mind raced with a thousand questions. Despite his circumstances, Felix had always been a history nerd. Although he hated travel, he was in a world humanity had never touched, and everything everywhere was going to be new!

The whole concept of magic was insane, but so exciting to learn about!

However, the most pressing thing on his mind was his dream. Before he had woken up in the infirmary, he remembered this strange, and yet very real-feeling dream. And then there were the text boxes he had seen above the ponies heads, the information updates.

Did the other ponies see that too? Somehow he doubted it...

Should he tell them? It would make sense to let them know, to ask about it, but maybe now wasn't the best time. For now he would keep it to himself – not because he didn't trust them, it just didn't seem like the most important thing to ask about, and he wasn't sure what they'd make of it. Would they think he was crazy? He wasn't sure what qualified as 'crazy' here, really, at this point..

There was a gentle knock on the door, and Felix called for whoever was knocking to come in. A mare dressed in a frilly maid uniform trotted inside, pulling a trolley behind her with her magic. She smiled at him as soon as she saw him.

"Good afternoon, sir." She said, moving the trolley closer to the couches. "I'm Caramel Cream, and I have your lunch. I hope you like tomato soup."

Felix smiled. "I love it, actually." He smiled. "Thank you Caramel."

She gently pushed the trolley in front of him, and quickly revealed to him a bowl with red tomato soup, and some crackers. Felix almost reached for the spoon, then stared at it. Then at his hoof. Then back to the spoon, with a frown.

How in the ever-loving fuck was he supposed to use silverware with hooves? Why did ponies even have silverware? Did they think he had the weird convenient unicorn telekinesis thing he'd seen Doctor Peppermint doing? Was there some superpower he was meant to be using, here?

Stories about people going to other worlds rarely involved this much of a struggle with tableware, he thought bitterly. First the clothes, now this – the real basic stuff he took for granted in his world seemed so difficult here.

Caramel giggled lightly, and levitated a large straw into the bowl. "Princess Celestia explained you might need some help these first few days. Don't worry, sir." She smiled kindly.

Felix blushed, realizing just how much he needed to learn. Still, he was thankful for Celestia's foresight, even if it made him feel like a little kid again.

"Will there be anything else?" She asked, and Felix shook his head, thanking her for the soup. She beamed, but remained calm and cautious. "Of course, sir. Ring if there should be anything else." And with that she bowed to him and left the room.

He eyed the straw before carefully moving his lips to it. He could feel the steam move up from the bowl, and hit his muzzle. Carefully he sucked, not wanting to burn his tongue or mouth. The soup soon found its way to his lips, and to his pleasant surprise it was the perfect temperature!

Not only that, but it was delicious too! Hell yeah, bonus points!

It didn't take Felix long to eat it all, and once it was done he felt himself wanting nothing more than to go to bed. He hadn't been up for that long since he awoke in the infirmary, but it felt like his body and mind was exhausted.

He got off the couch, trotted to the bed, and plopped down, appreciating just how soft it was. It was like lying on a cloud!

Felix yawned, thinking he would just take a few minutes to lay here, then he would tug in properly. However, before he knew it, his eyes closed and he fell into a dreamless slumber...

To my most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

I hope this letter finds you well, and that you have been enjoying the weekend with your friends and Spike.

I am writing to you because I wish you to visit me at Canterlot at your earliest convenience – tomorrow, if practical. I'm sorry to pull you away from Ponyville, but I do not believe you will be away for more than a day.

I require an unbiased opinion in the matters of a magical anomaly which occurred when my sister opened up a path between our world and another.

There is no need to worry, Twilight. Everything is alright, but I would like somepony I can trust to investigate and offer their unbiased opinion.

I will explain everything in greater detail once you arrive. Feel free to bring Spike, it has been too long since I last saw him.

Please let me know when you can come here, and I hope to see you soon.

Your loving mentor,
Princess Celestia.

Felix moaned as he slowly woke up – he felt so comfortable, so relaxed! His mind wasn't screaming at him to wake up on time, or check his phone, or make sure his alarm wasn't about to blare at him.

Instead, he felt himself wake up smoothly and comfortably. He spent a little time with his eyes still closed, just enjoying the softness of the large bed and the peace that surrounded him.

Said peace was finally disrupted by a very gentle knock at the door. He yawned, stretching a bit, and finally opened his eyes.

Huh, the curtains were covering the large windows. Weird, he hadn't done that, had he?

He was greeted by the large room Celestia had given him, and it took him a few seconds for his mind to remember everything. Looking at his forehooves he let out a sigh. "Oh, yeah..." Oh well, he had been having a nice relaxing time napping – though the lack of dreams was weird, for him.
Another knock interrupted his thoughts, and he yawned again. "Come in," he said as the yawn diminished enough.

It was the guard from before who trotted inside, Saber. She looked at him, smiling a little. "Good morning, Felix. Princess Celestia asks if you wish to have breakfast with her and Princess Luna?"

Felix's eyes widened. Wait, morning?! How long had he been sleeping?! "Hm, did you say morning?" The guard gave a nod. "Did I sleep through the whole night?"

"Uhm, I would not know, but you didn't come out when you went inside yesterday. Caramel told me you had gone to bed, and that she drew the curtains for you."

Oh, that explained the curtains.

"Wait, did you stay outside my door the entire night?"

Saber favored him with a small, amused smirk, then shook her head. "No, I got relieved by another guard."

"Ah, yes, of course... Uhm, so breakfast. Yes, I would like to join, just give me five minutes."

Saber smiled, nodding as she left the room once more. Felix laid back for a few seconds, mentally preparing himself to leave this soft cream cake of a bed. With an amused sigh he finally managed to roll out of bed, and make his way to the bathroom.

"Right, so, how to do this..."

Almost twenty minutes later, Felix was walking beside Saber in one of the large hallways. Scratch that, they were all freaking large. Felix could feel Saber glancing at him, and finally he let out a sigh and asked. "What?"

Saber looked ahead again. "Just, uh... what took you so long? You said five minutes."

"Don't ask," Felix grumbled.

"Why would I—"

Felix held up a hoof. "Just trust me, I don't think I can handle the laughter right now." The guard looked hesitant, but decided not to pry. Instead, after a minute of silence, Felix said,"So, you mind if I ask you something?"

Saber shook her head. "Not at all. That's one of the reasons I'm here."

"I was just wondering if you could tell me something about this place."

"The palace?" She inquired.

"No, well, yes, that too, but I meant your country, your kingdom. Could you maybe give me the basic lore?"

"Oh, sure." She nodded, taking a moment to think of a basic version of the country's history. "Well, right now you are in the kingdom of Equestria, which is ruled by the two princesses. Princess Celestia of the sun, and Princess Luna of the moon. You are in the royal palace of Canterlot, the capital of the kingdom." She then shrugged. "I think that's as basic as it gets."

Felix was just about to comment on the pony puns, wanting to know if they were a frequent thing, when Saber stopped in front of a set of double doors. Flanking each side of the doors stood two white coated guards clad in silver armor. The two ponies looked identical.

Saber leaned a bit closer to him. "Royal guards, most elite of the three guard forces." Felix noted the text boxes come into view above the two royal guards' heads.

Royal Guard: Lv 50.

He had to admit, the two guards looked intimidating, but since he had been invited, there was no reason to worry. Right? They trotted up to the doors, the guards barely looking at them. Apparently they knew who he was. That was a relief.

Before Felix went inside, Saber looked at him. "I will leave you with the princesses. See you later, sir."

Her demeanor seemed more professional in front of the other guards, Felix noted. Plus there was that 'sir' again.

"Uhm, sure. Thanks for the escort, Saber."

She just smiled and gave him a small wave before trotting off. Turning his attention back to the door, he approached and pushed one of them open.

He was met with a comfortable-looking dining room, smaller than what he had expected, but still on the large side for normal people. Celestia was already sitting at the table, sipping on some tea when she noticed him. She smiled, letting the levitating cup gently float down to the table.

"Good morning, Felix. I hope you slept well?"

"Oh, good morning, princess. Yeah, I slept well, thank you."

Felix covered a small yawn, only to find Celestia making a small pouty face when he opened his eyes. "Felix, I thought I told you that you can call me Celestia."

"Oh, right." Felix chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, that bed was so soft I think part of me refused to get up with the rest of me. Still sleeping in there now."

The pout turned into a genuine smile. "I'm glad it was to your liking." Inwardly, she cheered; she knew almost nothing about where he'd come from, so it really had been a roll of the dice whether his accommodations would be comfortable to him or not. This had worked out! Another point to Celestia!

"Heh, yeah, hard to imagine anyone not liking a room like that," he said as he pulled out a chair and, with a bit of struggle, got seated at the already-set table. "Honestly, it was a bit intimidating. I know you told me it's a matter of honor, but I really feel like you're going to too much trouble for me."

"Not at all," Celestia assured him. "I told you yesterday, a friend of Luna is a friend of mine. I am also in your debt; I had feared Luna would be in even more despair now, but you helped her when I couldn't. For that, you have my undying gratitude."

Felix blushed a little at the praise. "Oh, wow. I just did what I thought was right, I couldn't leave her hanging..." He looked around, and saw that the pony in question was not here at all. "Speaking of which, where is Luna?"

"Oh, she'll be right back." Felix nodded, and Celestia went on, "By the way, I hope you don't mind, but I've arranged for you to take a few tests – nothing complicated – so we can assess how you are handling your transformation. It should also give you an opportunity to get more comfortable in your new body."

It took Felix's still-waking mind a moment to grasp that, but then he brightened. "Oh, a tutorial level!"

Celestia cocked her head with a confused smirk. "It's just an assessment, not training. Although, if tutoring in movement is something you desire...?"

It was Felix's turn to be confused, though it resolved on his face a moment later. "Oh, right, tutorial probably means something else here. Um, it's a human reference – basically, 'here's an intro to this new world!' "

Celestia's smirk had deepend. "Visit many new worlds, do you?"

"Oh, sure, tons. Loads and loads of new worlds," Felix was sure to make his sarcasm plain in his voice, and continued on as Celestia began giggling, "I know the score. First you give me an 'assessment', which is just, like – hey, look to the left, look to the right, press 'A' to jump, all of that. Then a goomba or something rushes in so I can learn to fight."

"Ah," Celestia said, finally realizing he was talking about some kind of videogame. Some advanced videogame, by the sounds of it! Then again, Luna had said the human game where she met Felix was quite advanced and realistic. As dots started to connect for her, she said, "That's where the rusty dagger comes in, isn't it?"

"It sure is," Felix said, nodding with faux gravity, "Serious business, tutorials. I'll be judging you, you know. You have some stiff competition!"

"Oh my," Celestia said, feigning concern. "And how have we done so far?"

"Well," He pretended to contemplate this, "the intro sequence sure was... exciting. Controls are a little confusing," he gave an indicative waggle of a hoof, "but I have to say the dialogue's winning me over so far. Also, that bed was just cheating. Huge points."

Privately, Celestia was relieved to hear all of that. It may have been delivered as a joke, but Felix was clearly being honest. She decided to keep it going. "And will you be disappointed if you aren't ambushed in the middle of learning how to move around?"

"Oh, terribly. I did say you had stiff competition! I bet you don't even have a dragon for me to slay as part of the tutorial sequences. If there isn't at least one whole village in flames by the end of it, how am I supposed to know the game will be exciting?" He snorted at that, although he stopped when Celestia looked mildly shocked.

"You... have dragons in your world?" Felix blinked a couple of times. "Uh, no. That's just a thing in, uh, stories and games. Why? Do you have dragons here?"

Now that was something to worry about. Celestia's laugh assuaged his nerves, though.

"We do, but there's no call for slaying anyone. In fact, you may get to meet one, soon. He's adorable."

An adorable dragon? Felix quickly tried to change his mental image of local dragons from 'Skyrim' to something more cute and cartoony. He was surprised how many options came to mind. "Oh, that kind of dragon. Not the mountain-sized ferocious type that can sweep buildings away with their tails."

"Oh, those too," Celestia said, and at Felix's nervous expression quickly added, "But they're not so bad. We get along, for the most part, and they generally keep to themselves, anyway."

"Phew. That's good. I didn't actually want to learn how to fight on my first day. Or fight a dragon – ever, preferably." Memories of permadeath characters lost to the fire-breathing menaces took on a different, more warning tone now that he knew they were freaking REAL.

Celestia nodded, and decided to change the subject to get his mind off of it. "I also invited my student, Twilight Sparkle, to come visit and examine the spell Luna used to bring you here. She's brilliant, with a special talent for magic – if anypony can speed along your return to your home world, it's her. Why, I believe she'll even enjoy the challenge," she added when Felix shuffled uncomfortably, inferring he once-again didn't want someone to make a fuss over him. "She does so love magical mysteries like this."

"Oh, like helping customers at the store," Felix said with a click of recognition. "Well, I hope she has fun with it." Celestia had been about to reassure him again when the side door opened, and in trotted Luna, who looked much better than the fearful princess he had found yesterday. She beamed as she spotted Felix, and her trotting almost became prancing as she made her way to his side.

"I bid thee good morning, friend Felix!" Luna said as she sat down.

Felix smiled, almost bewildered by the change in Luna. She looked happier, for one thing, and she had traded in her hoodie for a jewelry, a crown, and so forth which made her look... well, like a princess, actually. She was still smaller than her sister, and her mane and tail didn't wave like Celestia's did, but Felix had a much easier time recognizing her as royalty than he'd had on first meeting her.

He couldn't help but smile; it was nice to see her like this. "Good morning, Luna. How are you feeling?"

Her smile turned more gentle as she found a set next to him. "Oh, much better, thank you..." She said, not meeting his eyes at first, seeming a little more shy than before.

Felix decided not to comment on it, as the maids and butlers trotted closer, and started to serve breakfast. Less casual than he had imagined, but who was he to comment? They were the princesses after all. A maid brought him a bowl with some basic looking cereal.

He hadn't asked for it, but he was not about to refuse either. Looking at Luna, he noted she had gotten a fruit bowl, and was munching on a slice of pineapple. She looked so happy, it was adorable. Turning to his own breakfast, he looked at the spoon and frowned.

"Uhm..." He hesitated, but continued when he saw he had Celestia's attention. "How do you guys use utensils?"

Luna looked at him, placing her hoof on a fork, and lifted it like it was nothing. Felix raised an eyebrow, then looked at his own spoon. How did Luna do that? Then again, that was a question that could be tossed around quite liberally here, so he put it down to magic and moved on.

He pressed his hoof against the spoon, not knowing if it would just stick to it, but as he lifted it the spoon hadn't moved an inch. Luna giggled, and he turned to her with a smirk. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."

Luna shook her head. "Forgive me, I just found the attempt cute. Here, try and hold out your hoof like this." Luna raised her hoof, with its underside pointed towards him. Felix mirrored her, holding up his own hoof. Luna gently pressed her hoof against his, and for a moment he was unsure what she was doing.

Then he felt something taking hold of him. It wasn't something physical, like small claws or hairs holding him, but more like a connection, like... a magnet, maybe? It was a strange feeling to really describe. It was one of those things you had to try before you understood.

Felix pulled carefully, and found he could not escape her grasp, at least not with such a gentle pull. Luna giggled. "Typically yearlings teach themselves, but you are still growing accustomed to your body." There was a hint of a frown, some guilt still remaining.

Felix pressed back with his hoof, making her look at him. He smiled warmly. "Hey, don't worry. You will just have to teach me so I get up to speed." Felix winked, making the princess of the night blush just a little, but she smiled back.

"Quite right..." She said, taking a deep breath. "Try to connect your hoof with mine this time."

Felix narrowed his eyes, focusing on his hoof. There was something, but it was such a new feeling that Felix wasn't sure how to pursue it. Still, after a few tries, he finally felt the connection. Luna gave a few gentle pulls, smiling as he got it – although his grip was not as strong as hers yet. That would come with practice and time.

"Well done, Felix! Now, try with the spoon," Luna encouraged.

Felix did, and found himself having more control over the spoon now. It was still a bit shaky, but he found he could manipulate the spoon in his grip, and angle it as he needed. This was so weird, but also kind of cool.

"I can't believe I don't get an achievement for this..." He chuckled, finally managing to get some cereal. He let out a sigh, and chewed happily.

Celestia snickered lightly, but smiled warmly at both of them. She seemed quite proud of Luna for that, and he smiled, again finding his opinion of Celestia rising. She was a good sister, Luna was lucky to have her, despite their former missteps.

"When breakfast is over, Sergeant Saber will take you to the trainings grounds." Celestia said before taking a sip of her tea. "I'll ask her to give you some simple exercises to help you acclimate to your body more quickly – that tutorial you asked for," she said with a wink, and Luna looked between them and snickered.

Felix grinned. "Okay then. Am I jumping from platform to platform?"

"I do not know, but you do not need to worry. It won't be anything like military training, this is just to get you up to speed." Celestia responded, not noting the joke, or understanding it. Luna did however, and she nudged him with her wing smirking as she took a bite of a slice of apple.

Felix chuckled, continuing with his breakfast. Despite everything that had happened to him, and how insane everything was, Felix found himself actually looking forward to the day ahead. Now that he is here, he should make an effort to fit in and learn.

After all, when in horse-Rome.

Author's Note

A massive thank you to SoloBrony for editing this chapter!

Whew, so here is the newest chapter! IF any of you hadn't had the chance yet, check out the previous chapters and see the improved editing that gives so much more than before. SoloBrony and I have been hard at work, and I think we have found a good balance. :twilightsmile:

Thank you all for having supported this story, it has been overwhelming, but also really nice. It has given me some opportunities I never had before, working with a talented editor is just one of them. I hope you guys are excited for what is to come! :pinkiehappy:

Weee!

Chapter 6: Tutorial

"It is rare I get to enjoy mornings fully rested," Luna said, smiling calmly, seeming to enjoy the peace of the palace. With breakfast over, Celestia had excused herself, leaving Luna and Felix free to wander the palace and enjoy each other's company. That was why Luna had invited him in the first place, and Felix couldn't help but feel amused it took them this long to get around to it.

"Right," he said. "Celestia had mentioned something about her watching over the day, you the night. Night-shift, huh? That's always rough."

"Is it?" Luna looked over at him with an amused expression.

"Sure. Lonely, underappreciated, sometimes not much to do. Always rough being out-of-sight, out-of-mind to your coworkers," Felix said, honestly. He knew some people thrived on night work, but it was usually a raw deal. "Any reason you two don't switch?"

"Well, since my sister is responsible for raising and lowering the sun, and I for the moon, it seemed most natural."

Sorry, what? Felix had stopped cold, and it took Luna a moment to realize and look back for him.

"Excuse me, did you just say you raise the sun and moon? As in, physically lift them? By yourselves?"

Luna had a mischievous twinkle in her eye, and grinned. "That is correct."

Felix squinted out at the sun through a nearby window, then looked back to Luna. "The fucking sun and moon in the fucking sky? That sun and moon? This isn't some kind of misunderstanding, right?"

Luna cocked her head, her expression becoming slightly confused. "Are there other suns and moons where you come from?"

"No, but, it's the... is something just really, really different, here? The sun's like a billion times bigger than the Earth! If Celestia has the strength to, like, even give it the slightest visible nudge, she could destroy the entire planet by, I dunno, snoring too hard or something! Like this is a scale of power I didn't realize we were dealing with here! Crap, is this a superhero comic world or something?" Felix rubbed his temple with a hoof as he tried to wrap his head around the insanity he'd just heard.

Ageless magic pony princesses in a fantasy kingdom? Okay, fine! He had wrapped his head around that! But this? Even ripping someone from a whole different dimension didn't sound a tenth as insane! What sort of force output would it take to raise the sun? Some crazy Latin prefix onto a really big amount of tons of TNT, he was sure. Nukes wouldn't even come close!

He'd talked about the sun, but even being able to move the moon in any visible capacity meant Luna – the girl right in front of him! – would be capable of, what? Ripping the Earth in half?

She did that every evening?!

Luna was shaking her head, and Felix came out of his thoughts when she said, "We are not nearly so powerful as you describe. Be at ease, friend Felix. Things must work quite differently, where you come from."

He took a deep breath and relaxed, shaking his head. "They really must. I mean, the sun and moon move all on their own, where I'm from. You ponies actually have to manage that yourselves, huh? Yeesh. I'll take your word for it that it's easier than it would be back home – like, I'm not physicist, but I'm pretty sure you could throw the entire Earth at the sun at an insane speed and it wouldn't even nudge it, much less raise it." He thought for a moment. "Wait, is this just an expression? Like you 'raise' the sun and moon by rotating the Earth?"

"Rotating the... huh?" Luna seemed very confused by that. "I am not sure what you mean, but no, not at all. It is even possible for us to raise both at once, if we so choose, though... we do not do that." She seemed slightly uneasy about something, but Felix was more focused on the rest of what she'd said.

"Both at once? So you could make an eclipse happen, if you wanted?"

Now Luna seemed really uneasy, to the point even Felix wasn't missing it. "We... could. Yes."

"Wow." Felix glanced out of the window again, just to confirm the sun was still there, and not doing a jig or something. "Seriously, wow. Yeah, okay, so you two literally move heavenly bodies around. That's, uh... huh. Some real mythical shit right there. Damn."

He looked over to Luna, who was shuffling uncomfortably, and knew how to brighten the mood. He shot her a grin. "That's honestly really goddamned cool, though. So you move the moon around, huh? I'm guessing no one else can do that."

"T... Tia can," Luna said with a bashful smile, not meeting his eyes. "Just the two of us."

"You're just built different, huh? Got a job only you can do. That's awesome."

The two of them resumed their pace as Felix tried to convince his mind to roll with this latest bombshell of information. So his friend was not just a magical pony princess from a fantasy kingdom, but she also wielded literally godlike powers? Not just political power, but genuine society-shaping magic that kept the natural order going?

There was only one way to deal with this revelation.
"That must be some wild grind-set you've been on, to get that strong," he said with a smirk.

Luna seemed confused for a second, but then grinned back, a little embarrassed. "I trained quite hard, that is true."

"No wonder you're bored!" Felix put in, ramping up the energy a little. "You must have cleared every DLC for this place a dozen times over. How long would it take you to recount all of your adventures?"

He had no idea if she'd been on adventures or not, but it seemed a safe bet, here. She took a moment to think.

"Days, at least," she said finally, and now his grin was wild and genuine.

"Oh, we're definitely doing that. I want to hear all about the Legend of Luna."

Luna laughed, and they continued on in companionable silence for a few moments before Felix asked, "Speaking of being built different, is that why you and Celestia have both the wings and the horn? The other ponies I've seen only have one or the other. Or neither, like me."

"Indeed," Luna said, nodding. "We are what is called alicorns, embodying the traits of all three pony tribes – earth ponies, like yourself, pegasi, and unicorns. You shall not see any others, with the exception of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, our niece."

"Alicorn..." Felix repeated, as if trying out the word. "Wait, so there are only three of your kind?"

"Indeed," Luna confirmed. "In the past, it was just Tia and myself, but Cadance ascended to the role while I was... away."

The way Luna said that implied some uncomfortable history there. There had been some hints that Luna had troubled history, but Felix decided to gloss over that, for now. "So every pony can become an alicorn?"

Luna thought about that for a moment. "Every pony has the potential. In all honesty, Tia would be better at explaining it than I. She is far more familiar with those matters."

They came to a very large training yard under the open sky, the scale of which impressed Felix immediately. Maybe it was just his new pony body seeing things as larger than he would have before, but between the sheer scale of it and all of the fancy equipment for sparring, the rows of benches for resting, and – was that an obstacle course?

This palace was hiding all sorts of tricks up its sleeve, wasn't it? There were even magically-floating platforms and rings!

"Welcome to the Canterlot guard's training yard," Luna said excitedly as the two made it out from the shade of the half roof which surrounded the yard. She was relieved to be off of darker topics – even if Felix had politely not questioned her too much about them – and had been looking forward to showing him this. If his expression was anything to go by, she'd succeeded in impressing him.

Then he grinned. "Out of Skyrim and into Sonic, huh? I'm down."

Luna had no idea what 'Sonic' was, but she was happy if Felix was happy. She had been about to respond when Saber touched down maybe two meters away, and immediately bowed deeply to Luna.

Felix noted that both Luna and Saber adopted very stiff, serious, professional postures as soon as they saw each other. Less Luna and Saber, more Princess and Sergeant, very suddenly. Saber snapped off a smart salute to Luna.

"Princess, I am pleased to report that everything is ready for the exercise!" Saber reported in a distinctly 'guard' voice.

It wasn't hard to see that both were unsure how to act, and so decided to fall back on what they knew how to do.

Christ, Felix could almost see the Berlin wall that stood between them. He had to do something to lighten the mood, without undermining Luna's authority, and without Saber going too much out of her comfort zone. Saber was still a loyal guard, and Luna was still the princess, but that didn't mean they couldn't be friends, right? Surely.

Felix smiled, and trotted up beside Saber, making her flinch a bit in confusion. "Luna, this is Saber, she is my personal bodyguard-slash-tour guide." Of course Luna would already know that, but Felix figured a more casual introduction could change the tone of their interactions.

Luna eyed Felix, then Saber. He could practically see them struggling with how to handle this. "I hope it's fine, but we're more casual since she needs to help me more than protect me. Hopefully I can add her to my companion list," He joked.

This made Luna snicker, and she gave a genuine amused smile. That wall was showing cracks already! "It is good to meet you, Sgt. Saber, please take good care of my friend."

Saber seemed taken aback. Felix wondered if she had ever really talked to Luna, had her address her like this. Saber shuffled a bit in place, scratching the back of her head as she tried to come up with a proper reply.

"I will do my best, Princess Luna," She replied, and offered a small smile of her own.

Alright, this was a good first step. Luna was still a bit nervous, but having him around seemed to calm her. "So!" Felix said, refusing to let the awkwardness return. "What do you have planned for me, Saber?"

It took Saber a moment to shift mental gears, remembering the task at hand. "Oh, oh! Yes, well, Princess Celestia said you needed some basic tests to get used to your body." She said that as if she understood it, but Felix could detect a slight trace of confusion. "She told me to make the tests as basic as possible."

Felix gave a nod. "Starting on easy mode, got it."

Saber turned towards the obstacle-course. It was a very big sandbox surrounded by tiles, with some very basic-looking small walls, turns, low hanging platforms, and so on in it. The sand was probably to cushion falls, Felix figured.

He'd probably need that.

"I want you to run through it, but it's okay if you slow down or hesitate. This is just to get you fully used to your body." Saber explained, smiling slightly. "If you handle yourself well, we increase the difficulty."

Felix nodded. "Sounds good." He said that, but when he thought about running and doing all of this stuff, he felt... excited? Back in his own world he wasn't very fit, he could be downright Jabba the Hutt lazy at times even.

So this was a new feeling to him. Was this what it was like to feel pumped?

Smirking, he looked at Luna. "Want to race?"

Luna looked at him, slightly surprised. She seemed to consider it, but a glance over at Saber seemed to subdue any such considerations. "I am not sure..."

"Come on." Felix encouraged, nudging her a little. Luna hesitated. "It'll be fun! Let's at least make a game out of it." He winked.

Then she smiled, and nodded. "If you wish," she said, then looked over at Saber. "You don't mind, do you, sergeant?"

Saber seemed taken aback by the change, but didn't protest. "Of course not, princess."

Hopefully, this could be turned into a light-hearted game. Loosen these two up around each other, help Luna come out of her shell a bit. Celestia had said ponies were afraid of Luna, right? Felix figured that if they saw her having fun, it would help change that.

Luna took a moment to remove her royal regalia, placing it on a bench near Saber. She wasn't afraid that it would be stolen, but it never hurt to be careful.

The two of them made ready near the start of the course, but before Saber said anything, Felix saw something completely new. Letters, suddenly appearing in front of him.

Quest: Foal Steps

Task: Complete Sgt. Saber's Test.

Bonus Task: Win a race against Princess Luna.

Felix blinked in confusion as the letters vanished once more. He was only brought out of his confusion when he heard Saber counting down. Luna was already getting ready to run, a small smirk touching her lips. He shook his head, trying to get back into the task at hand. Hoof?

"Go!" Saber called.

They both took off, and Luna was already over the first wall while Felix was stumbling and realizing he had to re-learn how to run. Big difference between this and walking, and he wasn't even good at that, yet! Just as he thought he was getting the hang of it, he came to the first obstacle.

Well. 'Obstacle.' That might be a little too grand of a title for a tiny fence that didn't come even a half-meter off of the ground, but Felix quickly realized he had no idea how to jump in this body, and that was about to be a serious problem.

He ended up doing his best Goat Simulator impression as he ragdolled his body vaguely in the 'up' direction, and then very much in the 'directly through the fence' direction.

Turns out, the soft sand for crash landings was a good idea after all!

Ow.

"Ow."

"You okay, Felix?" Called Saber from the sidelines.

"Yes, I'll be fine." He let out a chuckle, and then noted the sounds from a certain princess of the night landing next to him.

Opening his eyes, Felix looked up and found Luna looking down at him, her head cocked to the side, an amused smile on her face. "Art thou going to get up?"

Felix grinned, then nodded as he stood back up. "Well, I may not have jumped over the fence, but..." He looked back at the now broken fence. "At least we know I can smash shit."

Luna giggled. "You are just not used to it yet."

Felix couldn't help but laugh at how absurd it all was. He had been transported into a magical world with talking ponies, two of which could raise and lower the sun and moon. He was being taught how to do basic stuff like jumping, and he was seeing quest makers, and just...

Ergh, it was all a little much.

No, no, just roll with it! If he stopped to really put it all together, he was sure his head would explode. Then there was Luna, his friend. Looking at her, and seeing her look back with that adorable smile, and those big hopeful eyes, it somehow made it all feel more, well... grounded, somehow.

This world made very little sense, but friendship was universal, it seemed. Or, cosmic? Cosmological? Whatever! Point was, it was something he could grasp onto, and he did. Even if he smashed his face through every fence in the city, he knew he'd at least have someone there to laugh at it all with him. So laugh he did!

She looked him over. "What do you find so amusing?"

His laughs died down and he shook his head. "Nothing, I just thought how crazy all of this is. A day ago I was just some guy playing with dirt for a living. Now I'm being taught how to walk, run and jump by a magical pony princess." He turned towards where they had started. "Even if I'm stuck here, I'm really thankful it's with you. You make all of this so much easier! I know I can trust you while I figure it all out."

Luna blushed slightly, quickly following him as he headed back to the starting line. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course I do!" he replied instantly. "There's no one I'd rather go through this all with, honestly."

Luna looked down at the sand, moving some of it with a hoof absently. "That makes me happy..." She looked back up at him, her smile turning into a guilty frown. "I still feel very guilty about all of this."

Felix shrugged, bumping into her with his flank. "I know," he said gently. "But, we can get through. As long as we're together, we'll be fine." She smiled, bumping into him gently. Then he grinned. "But, we might have to wait with the race until I stop crashing into stuff."

They shared a laugh. Having to learn from zero like this wasn't going to be easy, but come on! You only live once, and there were worse things he could be doing than goofing off with Luna while going on a crazy adventure, right?

It sure beat the hell out of pulling weeds!

"Come on, Spike!" Twilight Sparkle said as she trotted along one of the many cobbled streets of Canterlot. "We have to hurry, Princess Celestia's expecting us!"

Spike groaned as he pulled a book-laden red cart behind him. "You remember how big the library here is, right? Did we really have to bring half the library with us?"

"There's almost nothing on interdimensional travel! And I had to bring my notes!"

Spike gave her a deadpan look, then robotically turned to look at the small mountain of paper on the wagon. Then back to her. "Twilight, I wouldn't call this 'almost nothing.' "

Twilight blushed slightly. "Well... maybe not almost nothing. But not nearly enough! This is a really complicated topic, and Celestia really needs our help!"

"If she'd known you were bringing a book-fort along she'd have sent a carriage, you know," Spike grumbled as he pulled the cart along behind the nervous, oblivious unicorn. It wasn't really too much effort – and he could just ask her for help if it was – but he knew if he didn't poke fun at her a little, she'd probably explode from nerves.

Or find an excuse to go hunt down more books. Heh, yeah, that's how it would go, he figured. Nah, he'd get this thing where it needed to be on his own, and hopefully Twilight would calm down a little in the process. He was a dragon! He could pull things at least as well as a pony, right?

He had no idea if dragons pulled things or not, but he decided he'd prove they could here and now.

They came to the gate of the castle within minutes, and were waved through as though Twilight hadn't ever stopped living here. Celestia was waiting right in the entrance hall, and Twilight wasted no time rushing up to her.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed, beaming as the taller pony leaned down to nuzzle her..

Celestia smiled warmly as they parted. "My dear Twilight, it is so good to see you again." The sound of a thump drew Celestia's attention to the door, where the little purple dragon sat down on the floor, panting as he sat against the cart.

"Oh, Spike! Are you okay?" Celestia frowned with concern as she trotted closer.

"Hey, Celestia. Phew..." He panted and waved.

"Dear me, Twilight, why did you bring your entire library?" Celestia asked as she helped Spike to stand, giving him a gentle hug while she boggled at the literary avalanche her student had brought with her.

"Oh, well, um... I figured if you needed help with this, it must be really obscure and difficult, so... I just wanted to be prepared?" Twilight offered, blush returning, complete with a nervous smile as she glanced at the bibliographic apocalypse she'd brought along and properly took it in for the first time.. "I... maaaay have overdone it, a bit?"

"A bit," Celestia agreed. "A butler... or perhaps two... will bring your luggage to your usual room, but for now, walk with me! Spike, would you care to join us, or would you like to rest a bit?"

Spike stood a bit taller, puffing his chest out. "Don't worry about me, Princess Celestia. I can handle it!"

Celestia chuckled, pulling the little dragon in for another quick hug. "Then let's go!"

The three of them started to make their way through a side corridor that took them to a long balcony that stretched alongside the outer wall, giving them a nice open view of the royal garden.

Twilight cleared her throat. "Sooo... about this 'magical anomaly.' Your letter mentioned it was due to a dimensional gateway, but you didn't really give many details." She looked up at Celestia expectantly.

Celestia snickered at her student's oh-so-polite demeanor. It put a bit of distance between them, sometimes, but she knew that Twilight genuinely loved her, and that helped. "I didn't, because I wasn't sure what I was dealing with, yet. Luna has helped fill in some of the gaps for me, but I must admit, there is a great deal I have yet to understand about this... incident. I thought you might understand it better if you were here in person."

They stopped at a balcony, and walked to the stone railing, looking down at the garden below. "You see, the abnormality is... actually, perhaps I'd better start at the beginning."

And so Celestia launched into a recap of what had happened so far, though she tried to skirt around Luna's state of mind as best she could. She didn't want to gossip about her sister, or push Twilight into being her friend, but revealing some amount of her motivations was inevitable.

Of course, even the most vague mention of Luna set off a wellspring of concern from Twilight. Celestia loved that about her student – she could be oblivious to others sometimes, true, but when she knew something was wrong, that somepony was hurting, she was always eager to help.

After reassuring her that Luna was doing better, Celestia had to explain why – the visitor from another world. Oh, that set off the other classic Twilight response – so, so eager to investigate! It was delightful to watch.

Celestia could almost see all the questions Twilight wanted to ask racing though her student's mind, and she had no doubt she was eager to get started. Still, Twilight kept calm, taking a deep breath as she looked her mentor in the eyes.

"So, where do we start, princess?"

Hah! Oh, look at her grow! Celestia smiled warmly as she thought of how, just a year or two ago, Twilight would certainly have been completely distracted by her own inquisitiveness. As terrified as Celestia had been to send her away, Ponyville really had done Twilight nothing but good. "First, let me show you where the portal opened. You might get a better grasp of the magic involved if you see the immediate aftermath."

Celestia led a barely-contained Twilight – she was bouncing on the tips of her hooves! – to Luna's bedroom, sharing a secretive chuckle with Spike in the process.

SPLAT! How many times was that, now? Oof. Felix grunted as he realized he'd lost count, but at least he'd nearly gotten to the end of the obstace-course a couple of times by now.

Groaning, he rolled onto his back, and looked up at the blue sky. "Ugh, it's like someone turned on inverted camera mode. Just as soon as I think I've got it I go off in the wrong direction again. Damn you muscle memory!"

He flailed a hoof at the sky.

"You alright, Felix?" Saber called from the sidelines.

"Yeah..." Felix called back half-heartedly. "Just picking up the pieces of my dignity. May take some time, I didn't have a lot to begin with and it's broken into really fine pieces."

He heard Saber chuckle while he just contemplated the clouds.

The sand was really soft, heated just a little by the sun, but still cooler under the surface. That, mixed with the gentle summer breeze, made him relax. Letting out a long and tired breath, Felix closed his eyes. As he took one or two more deep breaths, it was like his mind drifted off, shutting off the distractions of the world around him.

Something was happening to him, it was like his consciousness was being pulled somewhere—

"Art thou alright, friend Felix?"

Felix jerked, snapping his eyes open with a gasp to see Luna looking down at him. "Uhm, what?" He shook his head, feeling a little confused.

"We... I was afraid you had fainted, again," Luna said with naked concern.

"Oh, no no, I just relaxed for a few moments." He rolled over and stood up.

"Perhaps it would be good if we took a small break?"

Felix looked around, then let out a small chuckle. "That sounds good. I'll probably just add more sand ponies to the course at this rate," he said with a smirk as they rejoined Saber.

"It was a nice try," Saber assured him as the two of them sat down on the benches.

Felix gave her a coy smile. "Which, the one where I managed to bury myself up to my hips with a faceplant, or the one where I managed to break two fences at once?"

"You are getting better," Saber asserted.

He just nodded, leaning back so his head rested against the stone wall behind him. "I know, I'll get it sooner or later. Just need a tiny break..." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he relaxed in the shade of the castle wall.

Once again he found that strange pulling sensation in his mind. He took a few more deep breaths, and pursued the feeling. Like before, the world around seemed to fade out, while his mind created a new world around him. It felt like he was floating – flying, even – but only for a second or two.

He was back. Back in the clouds, looking at a version of himself standing like nothing was amiss. He barely had time to look at himself before a golden bar appeared above his head, filling up, complete with a counter incrementing as it did so.

And a label saying 'EXP' right next to the number.

The bar filled up, making the pony glow, smirk even more as it stood on its hind legs and pawed at the air in triumph.

Had Felix just advanced to level 2?

A quick check on his information tab confirmed just that! He had so many questions, but all he could do for now was press on. Attributes – hopefully he had earned some stat points? He had! Five!

Agility. Oh, God, did he need more of that! He doubled it, from five to ten. He may have lacked a body to smirk with, but the lookalike pony standing there was taking care of that. Hah! Doubled agility! In most games, that would mean stuff like acrobatics, gymnastics – general movement stuff, plus melee combat, dodging, stealth, the works. Might even increase raw movement speed! Always handy from running from mobs.

Tch. He hadn't discovered any new skills, apparently, and he didn't have more points for them anyway. Oh well – plenty of levels left in the sea! He'd get there.

Sure he had done what was needed, he felt a surge of energy, and just like that, Felix opened his eyes again. He was back in the training yard with Saber and Luna. How long had he been gone, maybe a minute or two? Didn't feel like a long time.

He glanced over at Luna, only to find her staring at him so intently it took her a second to realize he was looking back at her.

"Uh... something on my face?"

She jumped a little. "N-no, I just..." She hesitated for a moment, glancing towards Saber before leaning closer. "Are you feeling alright?"

Felix frowned. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, I just thought I felt..." She then shook her head. "No, it is probably nothing. Forgive me."

Felt something? Wait, had something weird happened while he was messing with the interface? Did he give off some weird magic vibes the magic pony princess could detect?

If all of this interface stuff – the levels, name tags, levels, skills – was unique to him, which it really seemed like it was, he had to let them know. Thing is, he had no idea if it was even real, or had any actual impact on the world around him. For all he knew, it was some kind of gate hallucination thing. Could be, right?

Well he knew one way to find out! No time to worry about vague what-ifs, he had shit to do!

"No problem." He shot her a cocksure grin. "You're just watching out for me, yeah? But I'm fine. Now... let's see." He looked back at the obstacle course.

"You ready for another race, Luna?"

Luna jerked slightly in surprise. "Wouldn't you rather wait until you've at least completed it once yourself?"

He slowly brought a hoof to his chin, as though Luna had just posited a truly profound bit of wisdom he needed to contemplate. "Hm, yes, that would indeed be the mature, sensible thing to do." He nodded firmly. "We're not doing that."

Luna spluttered as he hopped off of the seat and threw a grin at her. "Come on, moonbutt."

"Moonbutt?!"

Luna got up to follow him, still spluttering – and now blushing.

This race would prove if his attributes actually did have an impact, and if they did, he would tell them. If not... well, then he'd need a bit more time to figure out what was going on. In the meantime, why be sensible and reasonable in cartoon magic land? Just go for it!

As soon as they got out of earshot of Saber, he said, "Would you prefer 'Her royal lunar legness?' " Luna fumed at him, her face warring between an exaggerated frown and a grin. Hah! Ah, it was just like their banter in the game! He threw in, "Personally, I'm partial to 'crescent cheeks', but—"

"Scandalous cad!" Luna declared, giving him a playful swat on the hip. "We should have thee clapped in irons for such foul talk!"

He might have been intimidated if she wasn't grinning wildly while saying that. As it was, instead, his eyes lit up and he waggled them suggestively, saying, "Clapped in irons? Oh, my lady! I had no idea you were into that!"

Luna cocked her head in confusion.

Then her eyes widened and she flushed crimson, and he nearly fell over laughing. "Your face! Hahaha!" Luna spluttered and laughed, shoving him over and gently stomping him on the chest over and over while yelling and giggling, just causing him to laugh harder as he flailed in half-hearted defense.

"Knave! Irreverent jackanapes! Scurrilous rake! Outrageous, slanderous, filthy, vituperative rogue!" Each punctuated by another gentle stomp of her hooves as the strength went out of her with her giggles. "How dare thee speak of our majestic figure in such crass terms?!"

"Stop, stop!" he called out between laughs. "I only knew what half of that meant! Hah!"

At length, she did stop, and backed away as he stood up and dusted himself off. Both of them were grinning like maniacs and panting a bit. Felix sucked in a deep breath, and said, "I haven't, heheh, I haven't done anything like that since I was a little kid! Hah! Ahh... you're a riot, Luna."

"Hmph!" She tossed her head aside and turned her nose up. "I have nothing to – hahaha! Ahem! – to say to the likes of you!"

She cracked an eye to see how her comment had landed, only to find him at the starting line, waving to Saber.

"On your marks! Get set!"

Luna yelled in indignation and leapt to her position, and Saber couldn't help but smirk at their antics. She hadn't heard any of what they'd said, but whatever this was, it was adorable. Now they both looked so focused, which was even funnier. It was just a little obstacle course!

"GO!"

Felix leapt forward, surprised at his own speed but focused on the first obstacle.

Over the fence! Into a dive, slide! Roll, pop back onto four legs, jump to the next!

He'd never felt so alive! He'd memorized the sequence, mapped it out the very first time he looked at it, but even with his human body he could never pull off a sequence of moves in real life like he could in a game.

Until now!

Over! Under! Through! He wasn't surprised when Luna overtook him – shit-eating grin on the whole way as she did! – but they were both having fun, and that was all that mattered.

He made a controlled landing on the sand – no more faceplants, here! – and began weaving through a miniature maze, corridors of wooden walls to force zig-zag motions. Left, right, right, left, left, right, left, right, right!

Holy crap! He could actually do it, now! He was even spotting places where his route was inefficient and he could shave off seconds on the next run! Sonic indeed! This was speedrunning heaven!

Just a ramp and two platforms left! He put on a burst of speed – man, where was the Boost Gauge when you needed it, huh?! Someone hook him up with a Turbo skill! – and bounded up to the first platform, then the second.

The goal was in sight, and there was Luna, waiting for him! Go, go! Let's see what this pony body can do!

Oh crap.

In his excitement, he'd put out far more power on the last leap than he thought possible, and now he was flying directly at Luna!

Felix wasn't the only one surprised. Luna had been waiting to congratulate him on finally finishing the course – and so much faster than before! – only to realize far too late that he was much stronger than he had seemed.

SPLAT!

Saber rushed over to where the two of them had fallen into the sand – it was only a meter's fall, if that, but that impact looked like it might have really hurt!

Ooooonly to then come to a screeching halt when she spotted the two of them. Felix was on top of Luna, and they were staring into each other's eyes, noses touching.

Lips barely an inch apart.

They didn't look hurt, and Saber immediately turned her back to them, her cheeks tinting pink. After a moment, she cleared her throat, and called back, "Are you two alright?"

The two goofballs quickly got up, both blushing and both rambling something to the effect that yes yes they were fine it was just a little fall, nothing to worry about, nothing happened, and so on. Once that died down, they were left staring at each other timidly.

"Uhm, sorry about that..."

Luna shook her head. "N-no, I should have moved, or used my magic to catch you..."

"I should've, ah, controlled myself better, not gotten so excited." Felix insisted.

"But I could have given more room," Luna shot back.

There were a few seconds of silence, and then they both started to laugh. Saber turned back around, and seeing them laugh made her relax and join in. The whole episode was just so ridiculous!

"At least you won!" Felix put in.

"But you did much better, Felix!" Luna beamed. "You completed the course, with flying colors I might add. Isn't that right, Saber?"

Saber jumped a little, not expecting the princess to address her so casually. "Uhm, yes! Yes he did." She smiled, quickly recovering. "Although, he could have stuck the landing a bit better."

That comment made them all laugh again, and Felix grinned sheepishly. "Alright, fair enough." He chuckled.

"Well," a serene voice said from the side, gaining their attention, "I'm happy to see everyopony's having such a good time!" There was a hint of mirth in Celestia's voice, and she smirked at the three of them, while Twilight at her side simply smiled broadly.

Celestia quirked an eyebrow and deepend her smirk at Felix, causing him to flush immediately.

She hadn't seen the way he and Luna had landed, had she? He felt like he'd been caught doing something inappropriate.

"Felix, if you have a moment. I would like to introduce you to somepony."

"Oh, uh, right! Sure." Felix trotted over, quickly followed by the other two, shaking off the awkwardness from the past moment.

Celestia struggled not to laugh. Oh, he was adorable! And look at them, all dirty and laughing and just having a good time, not a care in the world! How many centuries had it been since she'd seen Luna that way? This pony – or, person, more accurately – Felix, he really did have a way with her, didn't he?

Now wasn't the time to sweep them all into a big hug – Celestia could hug a half-dozen ponies at once if she had a mind to! Those wings weren't just for show and getting caught in tight windows – but she sorely wanted to. No, she cleared her throat and said, "Felix, this—" punctuated with a gesture at the pony at her side, "—is my faithful student, who will be helping to investigate your situation."

Twilight gave a rambunctious wave, still smiling. "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle! It's good to meet you, Felix Fox!"

This delivered with an undercurrent of excitable energy that simultaneously put Felix at ease and made him nervous. At ease because she was clearly friendly, nervous because she seemed almost too friendly. Luna was right beside him, smiling nervously, too, which just made him more nervous. What did Twilight's behavior remind him of?

His brain suddenly clicked that he was an actual alien here, which distracted it from his mouth opening.

"Keep me for interrogation, I promise I have terrible drops."

Without looking away from Twilight, Luna kicked him in the flank with a hind leg, causing him to wince slightly and reboot his senses. "Ow! Oh, uh, right. Pleased to meet you too!"

Celestia finally burst out laughing.

Author's Note

A massive thank you to SoloBrony for editing this chapter!

Wow, so yeah, this chapter was a little delayed, but I hope it was worth the wait. SoloBrony has been hard at work, but has had to work at a slower pace due to his injury. I told him to take it easy, and work as he saw fit, and not rush himself. He has been doing great work, so I think he has more than earned my patience, and I know you guys understand. :eeyup:

Name: Felix
Gender: Male
Age: 20

Species Pony
Tribe: Earth Pony

Level: 2

Class: Player

Attributes:

Strength: 20
Agility: 10
Stamina: 15
Intelligence: 5
Willpower: 10
Constitution 10
Magic: 5

Skills:
Discerning Eye; The ability to see information about living things and objects.

Chapter 7: Tweinstein

Felix yawned.

It had been four hours since Celestia had introduced Twilight Sparkle – level 17 – and the first hour had been pretty fun. Twinkle Sprinkle – he'd resorted to nicknaming her whatever he could come up with to pass the time – had an avalanche of questions about the human world, and it was always nice for a history nerd to have an attentive audience to lecture to. He'd left out the gruesome details, but filled in with general knowledge like how society worked.

Unfortunately, after that things got more technical as he got bombarded with questions about how he felt and what he'd experienced. Twiggly Wiggly and Celestia had alternated questioning him and casting some sort of scanning magic, and past that second hour he was totally lost as they delved into pure discussion of magic theory between themselves and Luna.

Magic theory was not a field Felix was very conversant with, on account of it not even being a field back home, so where did that leave him?

Heh, Twirly Spurry.

+1 XP!

At one point, Felix had been so bored stiff he'd taken a moment to consult the interface – or perhaps it was The Interface (tm) now – to see if there was any possible productive thing he could be doing.

As if hearing his desperate cries for a quest, he'd been given an optional grind-objective of coming up with nicknames for Tim Tam, and each one that he genuinely found funny gave him one point of experience.

It was utterly silly, but it was technically a productive task, right?

That's right, Twilligan Spriggan (+1 XP!), you tell Celestia about how the magic weave is too frayed for proper analysis, whatever the hell that means. From what Felix had gathered, Luna had used her computer to reach out into the cosmos for any dimension with more computer games she could play, and that was how she'd found his home dimension.

It sounded very fancy. Glyphs, dimensions, matrices, there was even a reference to differential equations in there. And, apparently, all too tangled up and exploded and faded and whatever for them to figure out what the hell she'd done or how to reverse or recreate it.

Nice.

Still, apparently Twitchy Squiggle (+1 XP!) was the best mage in the world, or something, so he figured she'd probably sort it out sooner or later. Felix had seen this sort of thing once or twice – when someone is very competent at something, they tend to ramble about how something is impossible at great lengths, and in doing so identify each and every specific way it can't be done – and of course laying it all out like that, they inevitably find some weakness in that armor and, boom, solve the problem.

He very much got that vibe off of... off of...

Twilight Sparklebutt, of the east-coast Sparklebutts, renowned archmage and student of Celestia herself. Lady Sparklebutt to you, peasant!

+1 XP!

He snickered and rolled his eyes, only to jump slightly as a voice jolted him from nearby.

"That bored, huh?"

Felix looked over and saw a small purple lizard-person standing next to the couch, smirking at him. Oh yeah, Twerper-derp (+1 XP!) had introduced them briefly, earlier – apparently, this was a dragon, here? Celestia's smirk when she told him so made him suspect they had the bigger sort, too, so she was just messing with him. This one must be young.

What was his name, again?

"Spiky, right?" Felix asked, a little unsure.

The little dragon chuckled, shaking his head. "Close, but no." He held out his claws with a friendly smile. "I'm Spike. Nice to meet you, Felix."

Spike: Lv 5.

Felix smiled back and reached out to awkwardly shake the claw with his hoof.. "Nice to meet you too, little dude. So you came with Twiggles?"

Spike blinked at the name, then let out a small laugh, trying not to be too loud so as not to disturb the others. "Oh yeah, we arrived a few hours ago," Spike answered, climbing onto the couch and sitting down beside Felix. "I'm guessing you have no idea what they're talking about?"

Felix's smile turned sheepish. "Is it that obvious?"

Spike grinned. "Don't feel too bad, I have a hard time following along half the time too, and I live with Twilight."

For a moment, Felix wondered what sort of relationship the two had. Pet? No, he could speak, don't be dense. Just because they're different species doesn't mean they can't be family. Adopted brother, maybe? Or maybe they're just roommates?

"Live together, huh? You two family? I don't really know how that sort of thing works, here."

When in doubt, always reinforce that you have no fucking clue what you're doing! People might forget, otherwise, and then they'd judge you! Oh, the horror.

But seriously, best to remind people, or they might be confused at the lack of basic knowledge. Spike seemed a little thrown by it for just a second, hesitating and chewing his lip over. Uh-oh, was this something complicated?

"Uh... sort of. I've lived with Twilight ever since she hatched me."

"Uhm, what?" Images of Tryhard Sparkplug (+1 XP!) sitting on an egg came to mind, but were swiftly interrupted by the growl of his stomach – which seemed to be making a good effort at roaring rather than just growling. Yowza.

Now both princesses, Triforce Speedrunner (+1 XP!), and Spike were all staring at him, prompting an uneasy grin from Felix. "S-sorry, I guess I've gotten pretty hungry? I didn't even really notice." Given he hadn't eaten since breakfast, it was to be expected, really.

Luna stifled a giggle while Celestia smiled warmly and said,. "It would seem we have missed lunch. No matter! Spike, could you be so kind as to show Felix to the kitchen?"

Spike jumped off the couch with an enthusiastic energy. "Sure thing! Come on, Felix, follow me!"

Felix followed the little dragon out into the hallway, glancing back at Celestia briefly, but she was just all encouraging smiles and apparent obliviousness to the fact this made him a bit uncomfortable.

It almost felt like the children had been sent to get some snacks from the fridge while the adults finished their conversation. Celestia wouldn't see it that way, he figured, and he knew he had nothing to contribute, but still.

The past hour he had just kind of switched off, so maybe this was a good excuse for him to get some air. They could return after a late lunch, and he could resume coming up with funny names for Twiggle Pigs (+1 XP!).

"Hey, Spike?"

"Mm?"

"What did you mean when you said she hatched you?"

"Oh, that?" Spike smirked. "Twilight had to hatch me from my egg as an entrance exam for Celestia's school."

"Are you serious?" Felix asked in disbelief. "Uhm, okay, so that's a thing. That's not how we do it in my dimension. I can't imagine going to an entrance exam back in my world, and then suddenly they bring in a screaming pregnant woman, telling me to deliver the baby as my test."

Spike snickered, then looked at Felix with curiosity. "So you really are from another dimension?"

"Yup."

"What's it like in your world?"

"Hmmm. Well, it's kinda hard to describe. I guess you can say we share similarities, but humans don't have magic at all. In my world, the sun isn't moved by anybody. We don't have all these fantastical creatures you have here, only in fantasy books."

"So there's no dragons either?" Spike asked.

"No, but we do have ponies, although they are nothing like ponies in this world."

Spike tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Most of them are bigger, bulkier, no wings or horns, and they're not sapient. Nothing in my world is, except humans.." Felix thought how to best describe them. "In fact, other than the general shape, there really aren't many similarities between ponies from your world, and ponies in mine."

"Wow, so humans are the only sapient species in your world?"

Felix nodded. "Yeah. Probably for the best, we have, ah... plenty of trouble getting along with each-other as it is. How about you, Spike?"

"Me?" Spike actually seemed a little surprised.

"Yeah, what's your story? Do you have a family?"

Spike thought about it. "Twilight's like my big sister – I've been with her my whole life. Plus, I am her number one assistant!"

"Really, then who is number two?"

Spike flinched. "Uhm, actually, I'm her only assistant..." He replied sheepishly.

Felix chuckled. "Then I guess you must be doing a good job, or a lot of work."

"You have no idea..." Spike said, letting out a long breath, but still smiled. "Twilight is great, but she can be a bit much when she goes all obsessive mode." He quickly looked at Felix. "Don't get me wrong, I love her a lot."

Felix grinned at the little dragon. "Don't worry, Spike. I didn't think you didn't. I have siblings too, I know how it is. You love them, but you still get tired of their habits or quirks."

Spike relaxed. "What siblings do you have?"

"I have three siblings – an older sister and a younger brother and sister. We have the same mother, but... well, it's a little complicated, but we all love each other."

Probably better not to dive into too much detail, Felix figured. Spike didn't seem put off or anything, instead perking up, eyes wide.

"Wow, so you have three siblings? That must be a lot to handle, I've just got Twilight and Shining Armor."

Who was Shining Armor? Eh, Felix figured he'd find out soon enough, and nodded. "That's nothing really, my mom has eight sisters." He laughed. "Pretty awesome when you get to have eight doting aunties who love to spoil their nephew with treats and toys whenever you visit." Felix continued to laugh, memories flooding through him of his large and close family.

But the more he remembered, the more he thought, the more guilt crept into him. His laughter slowly died out, same with his smile. He became quiet, his trotting the only sound around him as him and Spike walked. "I should have made a bigger effort to spend more time with them..." Felix finally said, although had not meant to voice it out loud.

Before, time seemed to be on his side. There had always been time for a phone call or a visit, which was why it was never urgent. Now though, he wished he had called every week, visited more, made more of an effort. Now though, he didn't even know if he would ever see them again.

Life really does come at you fast. You never know when the end will come, for you or your loved ones, and Felix was just starting to really grasp that. He hadn't lost anyone in his family to sudden tragedy, but he'd heard that same bit about how you always wish you'd spent more time when you had the chance from those who had.

Damn, so that was him, now, huh? If he never made it back...

"Don't worry," Spike said suddenly, gaining Felix's attention once more. "If anypony can help you, it's Twilight and the princesses. They will find a way. Trust me!"

Felix looked at the little dragon, his smile and utter confidence in Twilight and the princesses were rather encouraging, and Felix couldn't help but smile a little once more.

"Thanks, Spike..."

The dragon grinned. "No problem! Now let's get something to eat! I can almost taste the gems!" He licked his lips, and the two resumed their walk.

"You eat gems?”

One visit to the royal kitchen and sandwich later, the two of them returned to find Twilight talking at what seemed like a million words per minute to the princesses, only to stop abruptly when she spotted Felix.

"Felix!" She exclaimed happily.

"Uhm, hi, Twil—EEP!" Before he knew it, he was snatched by Twilight's magic, and pulled closer to her and the princesses.

"Gotta buff my magic resistance, clearly," he mumbled.

"I have good news!" Twilight grinned, puffing out her chest in pride. "I think I have found a way to send you home!"

Felix's eyes lit up. "Really?!"

Twilight nodded energetically. "Yup! it shouldn't take more than a year, give or take."

"A year? Oh, well, that's still really good news!" Felix smiled, a little bummed out that it would perhaps take a year to send him home, but at least he would be going home!

"Twilight," Celestia's voice was calm, and both she and Luna seemed more reserved, Felix noted. "Perhaps it would be best if we fill him in before we start celebrating?"

Twilight giggled sheepishly and took a moment to calm down. Felix sat down to listen intently – it was clear she was winding up to something.

"Okay, so we discussed your situation, and we have come up with a lot of theories on how to send you home safely to your own dimension." Twilight explained, taking on that unmistakable teacher-voice. "Basically, we are facing three main problems. 1: We need to find your dimension. 2: We have to build a connection between our dimensions, and 3: we have to make sure it is safe for you to use."

Felix nodded, glad Twilight explained this in simple terms. "Now, from what princess Luna explained about her spell, I would say her computer worked much like a radio, with her magic working through it as a sort of transmitter. If we pretend that all the other dimensions are radio frequencies, then—"

"Then you need to find my dimension's frequency again?"

Twilight nodded. "Exactly, and that can be a bit tricky. Still, I think it will be much simpler once we get Princess Luna's computer repaired. Then if we assume your computer may not be broken, then perhaps we can reestablish the link as it was, and if that is the case, it would solve our two other problems in one easy swoop!"

Felix nodded. "So, if we can find my computer, then we have a dimension, and a safe destination for me?"

"Exactly!" Twilight smiled.

Felix smiled, getting more hopeful by the second. "That's amazing, Twilight!"

Celestia cleared her throat – in that oh-so-polite hey-look-at-me sort of way. The more serious expression she wore told Felix she did not share in the same hopes as Twilight.

"Felix, what my student has told you so far is true," Celestia admitted. "That being said, this is very complex magic, and things may not go so easily as we hope. If we can tag your dimension again using Luna's computer, then, yes, things will be greatly simplified, but... I don't want you to be devastated if things don't work out that way."

Felix nodded with a shrug. "Sure, I figured as much. But having a chance to get this done easily and quickly is still a major step-up from where we were this morning. If it doesn't work out?" He gave another shrug. "Then we're just back to where we were before. This is still good news on balance. Every spin of the wheel is a chance to win, right?"

Twilight cocked her head in confusion, but Celestia nodded. Luna did as well, and put in, "Perhaps we shall be lucky, and have you home within a year."

The sad look in her eyes told Felix she didn't have much confidence in that really happening. Felix let out a sigh, and put on a small smile. "Okay, okay, I get it. This is going to be hard, and we are hoping for a Hail Mary. However, we have a plan, and it is more possible than we thought before to send me home, yes?" Celestia and Luna both nodded. "Then that is good enough for me, knowing there is a chance, and we have a plan."

He let out a long, relieved sigh. "There is a chance, and we have a plan. I'm lucky we have that much."

Twilight trotted over, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Felix. I promise I will help in any way I can." Then her smile widened. "In the meantime, you should take your time and see Equestria! There is so much to see and learn!"

Felix grinned. Tweinstein (+1 XP!) had a point. Equestria was a whole new world, and there was so much to see, so much he could learn. A year was a long time away from his family, but he couldn't do anything about it, and it would help no one if he just sat and waited in his room. He might as well spend the year getting to know Equestria!

"Why don't we go to explore Canterlot tomorrow?" Twilight asked. "Spike and I can take the afternoon train back to Ponyville, then there will be plenty of time for us to go around and see the city."

"Oh, that sounds like a great idea!" Felix responded, actually feeling kind of excited. He hadn't really gotten a good look at the city, other than from an occasional window view.

"Then I believe we have a plan," Celestia said with a smile. "We will begin preparations, and work on getting you home Felix. In the meantime, you can stay here at the palace, and suggest that you make good use of your time here." She smiled, seeming to beam at the idea of him exploring her and Luna's kingdom. "I'm sure Luna would love to accompany you from time to time as well."

Luna glanced at her sister, then at Felix before she returned to shuffling a little in place. Felix grinned, trotting up to Luna. "We are going on our very own adventure, Lulu! Isn't that great! Imagine all the XP we can harvest on the way!" He paused. "Oh, yeah, uh... I forgot to mention something..."

Felix shuffled sheepishly as all three mares stared at him. "Uhm, Luna, is it normal for ponies to have a real HUD perspective?"

Luna looked confused. "Excuse me?"

"Like, is the normal to see names and levels floating above other ponies heads, or get experience points and level up?" Felix almost mumbled as he was starting to admit what he had seen. He didn't really want to pack it in, and so just admitted it right then and there. "Because, I have those things. That's a thing. A thing that is happening to me."

Twilight looked completely lost, while Celestia had a mix of confusion and concern on her face.

Luna seemed baffled as well at first, but then her face lit up with recognition.

"I felt something strange at the training yard – was that related?" Luna asked, trotting closer to Felix, her eyes looking him up and down as she examined him.

"Yeah, I think so..."

Felix started to explain everything he had seen, felt, and experienced. He told them in great detail about when he entered a sort of real dream, how he had attributes, and could apparently level up, and manipulate his talents. It was only Luna who understood what he described, but as he expected, she was perplexed how any of this was possible.

While Celestia and Twilight may not understand the game mechanics aspects, they did understand how unusual and significant this was. Luna did her best to help explain it to them, which helped a lot, but even then it was hard to tell how much they understood of it.

"So, if I understand you right, you can manipulate your strengths after gaining enough experience through doing certain tasks?" Twilight asked, almost shaking from excitement.

"Yes, exactly. In the training yard, I leveled up and pumped my agility."

Luna nodded. "That's why I felt that strange shift in you, and why you did much better at the obstacle course."

He looked at her, a little unsure. "I don't know about the first, but definitely yes to the second." Felix looked down at his hoof, scraping a little at the carpet below him. "Sorry for not mentioning it before, I wasn't really sure how to bring it up before I knew if it was real or not."

Celestia trotted over to him, and he looked up. She smiled kindly. "It is alright, Felix. I understand there is so much happening around you, I'm sure you had a lot on your mind."

"No kidding..." Felix admitted, smiling back.

"I think we should stop for today, and discuss this in more detail on a later point." Celestia said, looking at them all. "Later we can all eat dinner together, but for now I think it would be best if we relax. I'm afraid I have to return to my duties, perhaps you would like to join me Luna?"

Luna looked at her sister, hesitating for maybe a second or two, but then nodded. "I would like that," she said with a small smile. Celestia looked very happy, but in a more calm and controlled way.

Twilight clapped her hooves together. "I will go to the library! Spike, I will need your help!" She declared, and the little dragon nodded without much enthusiasm.

"I think I will go take a bath or something, maybe take a nap..." Felix yawned a little, his mind and body were both spent. "See you ladies later." And with that, the group parted.

Felix was glad to have told Celestia and Luna the truth. He was equally glad that they didn't make a big deal out of it, as in, screaming thousands of questions at him. No doubt they wanted to know more in time, and Felix was happy to provide them any answers he could give.

For now though, he was just happy to get a chance to rest...

Author's Note

A massive thank you to SoloBrony for editing this chapter!

Chapter 8: Canterlot

Felix walked through his living room, although he had to walk around the pillars holding up the tiki torches. He came to the flaps in the tent that led him into the back of the police car, driving through the streets. His faceless friend was sitting next to the police officer, and they talked about something.

Felix stood up from the egg he had been warming for a bird, but he had to run to catch the jelly donut that was leaving from the station in ten minutes, or something.

"I never thought a human's dream could be so... creative." The voice of Luna suddenly said.

It was like a switch had been flicked on, with Felix suddenly becoming aware of everything around him, for real this time. The world around him seemed to freeze, and flicker slightly.

Felix looked around confused, not sure what was going on. "Luna?" He called into the frozen world. "Is that you?"

A gentle blue light flashed before him, and there stood Luna with an amused smile. "So this is how humans dream. Seems chaotic."

Felix looked a little startled. "Dream? You mean this is a dream?" Then he looked at the donut train, and he nodded. "Yeah okay, that makes sense." Then he looked at Luna, his eyebrow raised. "Wait, are you part of my dream?"

She favored him with a smile. "In a sense. As princess of the night, I also have the duty to protect the dreams of our subjects. It is why I can travel through the dream realms, and fend off the nightmares that would keep our subjects from having a peaceful slumber."

Felix blinked, trying to connect the dots. "Wait, so we are in my head." He glanced back at the giant jelly donut train. "Yeah, again, that makes sense..."

Luna looked at all the strange scenes playing out. She had frozen them, and so they looked more like sets on a stage. "Ponies' dreams are more orderly. They are more lucid in a way." She looked back at him. "Is it common for humans to have their dreams be so chaotic?"

Felix let out a small thoughtful hum. "Uhm, yeah I think so. I mean, some can have lucid dreams, so they can shape their dreams and take part, but I think most just go with the flow while their brain is on auto-pilot."

He couldn't help but smile a little when he thought back on some people who liked to talk about their dreams. It was always so random, and it was always funny to see them try to find meaning in every little detail they could remember. Then he looked at Luna, raising an eyebrow.

"Not that I really mind, Luna, but how come you're here?"

Luna's smile turned a little sheepish. "Well, I was curious how humans dreamed, and I wanted to see you."

Felix grinned. "So you came to visit me in my dreams? That's pretty cool." He looked around at the frozen scenes. "Uhm, this is a pretty strange place to hang out, don't you think?"

She chuckled sweetly, looking around at the strange concepts his mind had come up with. "I admit, your thoughts are really... Unique, but also, well, you." She grinned, making him smile in return.

"Gee, thanks."

"You're most welcome." Luna replied, almost coyly. "But this is your dream, you can shape it as you wish."

Felix took a moment to consider this. Then he closed his eyes, trying to think of a relaxing place he wanted to be. Soon enough the images around the two of them changed, and Luna watched with not a small amount of pride as Felix turned this random dream into a landscape with trees, a lake, and a small bridge.

When Felix opened his eyes, he actually looked a bit surprised. Tilting her head, Luna asked, "was this not what you expected?"

He looked around, smiling a little. "Well, I don't know. I wanted some place relaxing, I just didn't think my mind would take us here of all places. I haven't been here for years." He looked around at the tall trees, the sand of the shore, and the clear water of the lake. "My dad used to take me here when I was a kid. During winter, we would all come here to walk on the ice."

Felix slowly approached the water, and touched it with his hoof. His smile widened in surprise. "It really feels like I'm touching water. Are you sure this is a dream?"

Luna giggled. "Your mind remembers much more than what one might think," she said, her eyes looking over the simple, serene landscape. "This place means a lot to you?"

Felix ran his hoof over the water's surface, amazed how real it all felt. "Yeah, well, I have a lot of happy memories with my family here." He stood up fully, turning to her as he did so. "You must have fond memories with your sister too."

The expression Luna gave him told him that yes, she did, but there was something there. He had gotten a sense of it here and there, and Celestia had told him she had a certain history. He hadn't wanted to ask, despite his curiosity into the matter, so it surprised him when Luna suddenly spoke up about it.

"I did something terrible long ago..." She said, not looking at him. Instead she walked to the water, looking out at the landscape before her. "I gave into my deepest and darkest parts, and allowed myself to be swallowed up by a darkness I didn't know I had within me."

Felix listened, his eyes going a little wider – he knew when she said a thousand years, she meant a thousand years. He also didn't think she was speaking in metaphors, but instead meant every word in the way she said it.

Terrible events a thousand years ago, being swallowed by darkness – it's one thing when that's an NPC backstory in a game, but it was another entirely to have it be fact, plain and simple, and actually know someone went through that. What was he supposed to say or do, here?

He wanted to trot up to her, be close to her, but something within him told him to wait, to give her a moment to collect herself. The silence hung between them for a few seconds before she continued with a small sigh.

"When you go with our sister's student out to Canterlot, I know it is only a matter of time before thou learn of our past. Maybe not tomorrow, or the day after, but at some point you will learn." Luna turned slowly to face him, but her eyes didn't meet him. "I would rather thou learn of deeds from me, than from somewhere else..."

Before Felix could say something, the world around them seemed to shift. The clouds in the sky vanished, the day changed into night, with hundreds of stars, and the full moon. Both of them stood and looked up at the night sky.

"It was a time of peace. Equestria was blossoming at an incredible rate, and the future seemed too bright to us back then. Our enemies had been defeated, and it seemed for the first time in ages, Celestia and I had a chance to just enjoy the calm, and see our subjects."

The stars moved above them, making figures that looked like Luna, Celestia, and other ponies.

"Our kingdom prospered in those years, and so did our subjects. They showered my sister with their love and admiration, which left me feeling I was in my sister's shadow, overlooked by our subjects." Luna sighed, looking down at the water which reflected her image back at her. "I grew bitter, and jealous of the love they so readily showed to my sister."

She closed her eyes, trying to find the strength to go on. She didn't want to, but she knew she had to. Opening her eyes again, she looked to the stars once more, which showed Luna running away from Celestia, looking to what seemed like a larger version of herself.

"Celestia didn't mean to leave me behind, she isn't like that, but nevertheless I felt alone. My bitterness and jealousy turned into anger and hate, and so I slowly gave into the darkness that had been given birth deep within my heart."

Felix watched as Luna was consumed by the larger pony, transforming her into something Felix could not recognize. It was an alicorn, but it seemed wrong, even with the limited details the stars could show.

"And so I rebelled against my sister, I refused to relent the sky to her and her sun." Felix watched as the star figure of Celestia confronted a scary-looking Luna. "Celestia pleaded and begged for me to stop, but I was no longer myself – I became something else, something terrible. I became Nightmare Moon."

If he'd been back home, this sort of story might have made Felix laugh. After all, didn't this just sound like a fantasy-version of a teenaged temper tantrum? Some edgy kid's story of how they embraced darkness and got back at the ones who had made them feel isolated? Except Luna was that angry, edgy teenager, it seemed – and rather than getting a chance to grow out of it, to learn to deal with her emotions and find a healthier avenue, her magic had made it real.

Because she was living in a world where magic reacted to emotions and made them real. And she just-so-happened to be some sort of mysterious alicorn super-magic-pony with more power than she knew what to do with.

Holy crap.

Felix shuddered slightly just thinking about it. How was someone supposed to cope with that? What would he do if his innermost thoughts and feelings ran the risk of flooding into the real world?

Suddenly, Celestia's careful, patient demeanor and very deliberate way of speaking and acting was seeming a lot less voluntary and a lot more... mandatory.

"There could only be one way to settle our dispute, and it was too late for words..." Luna continued, and looked on in shame as stars made a sort of tapestry of the battle that followed. They depicted an epic battle between what came near to two goddesses, which was a terrifying thought.

"Celestia didn't want to hurt me, and in her hesitation and doubt we gained the upper hoof. We had her beaten, and victory was in our reach, but then..." The stars seemed to vanish, leaving only six burning brightly. "In desperation, my sister used the elements of harmony, hoping it would end the battle."

The moon's glow seemed to become brighter for a moment, and when it faded, a figure of a mare seemed burned into it. "She did not know what would happen, but when she used them, the elements banished us to the moon for a thousand years..."

The sky returned to normal, clouds and sunshine followed. Blinking a few times, Felix turned to Luna, who looked even more ashamed than before. Felix thought about what he could say, but before he had a chance to, Luna continued.

"Even when we came back to Equestria as Nightmare Moon, we tried to plunge the world back into an eternal night, and get revenge on our sister. Were it not for our sister's student and her friends using the elements of harmony, I fear we might have succeeded this time."

"But you are here, you're Luna again..." Felix said, feeling the words jump out a little clumsily as he tried to imagine Luna as this Nightmare Moon, but he just couldn't. There had to be more going on than he understood – what did it mean for her to be swallowed by darkness? It didn't seem the right time to ask.

His words might have come out a little clumsily, but nevertheless, Luna favored him with a small smile. "Yes, and I have Twilight and her friends to thank for that. However... my crimes, while forgiven, still linger in the mind of the ponies of Equestria, and I don't blame them."

Felix wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what he could say. Luna just smiled gently, maybe out of slight amusement. "You don't need to say anything, friend Felix. I did not share this because I wanted you to feel bad for me, I just wanted you to hear the story from me..."

"It's a lot to take in, Lulu." Felix admitted. "I mean, gosh, I've been here for like two days. It's a lot to process."

Luna nodded understandingly. "Forgive me, I did not want to burden you with my story..."

Felix looked a little bemused, but then trotted closer to her, and pulled the slightly larger alicorn in for a warm hug. "Thank you for telling me, Luna." There was more to be said, and more to share, they both knew it, but for now, Felix was just happy Luna shared this with him. "It must not have been easy for you to tell me, but I am glad you trusted me enough to do it nonetheless."

He felt how Luna tensed for a moment, but then hugged him back with just a little more force than before. Something told Felix she had really needed to get this story off her chest, and Felix was happy to lend an ear. The two stayed like this for maybe a minute, when the world seemed to shake gently.

"What was that?" Felix asked.

Luna chuckled, breaking their embrace. "You are waking up, it must be morning."

Felix had completely forgotten they were in a dream, but now that he realized it, it only seemed to wake him up faster. He looked at Luna, who took a few steps back.

"Where are you going?"

Luna giggled. "You are waking, I cannot stay here. We shall speak again soon enough. Thank you for listening to me, Felix. You really are a good friend."

Before Felix could reply, everything went black, and it was like his mind went back to sleep, right before he started to wake up. Felix groaned, then yawned as his eyes fluttered open. He was awake, and back in the room Celestia had assigned him.

He felt kind of awkward. Just a few seconds ago, he had felt wide awake in his dream. Although now that he was awake in the real world, he felt just as groggy and tired as he did every morning when he woke up.

It seemed even powerful god level tier dream magic could not help him with how slowly he woke up. Yawning, he let himself plop back into bed, and enjoy the comfy warm nest he had built for himself.

"Just five more minutes..." He mumbled.

One quick morning routine, and Felix was walking – or, trotting, because he was a pony now – alongside Twilight and Spike down the streets of Canterlot. He regretted not being able to speak more with Luna after their meeting in his dreams, but Celestia told him at breakfast that she slept in.

Fighting off nightmares, apparently tiring work. That kinda seemed obvious in retrospect, but wasn't Luna technically asleep while she was doing that, too? The whole thing was confusing, but Felix figured he could put off learning about dream magic for now.

What was clear was that Lulu took the whole thing really seriously. Even with night-court suspended, she was still hard at work helping people cope with their emotional problems across Equestria.

How fucking cool was that? Why did this girl lack self-confidence again?

"I'm so glad we got a chance to spend some time together," Twilight's excited voice broke his internal review with a jolt. "We didn't really get a chance to talk yesterday."

Hadn't they talked a whole lot? Though, really, it was more like an interview. This was definitely more casual. Yeah, okay, Felix could see what she meant.

"It's definitely good to get a chance to hang out in a less, uh, official setting. And I really appreciate your showing me around Canterlot!"

Twilight giggled. "It really is the pearl of Equestria. There is so much history here, and you can learn a lot about ponies." Her expression became thoughtful for a moment, then continued. "But I wouldn't hold Canterlot as the standard. Ponies all over are different."

Felix nodded. "I get it. People back home are different depending where they live, like city and country folk."

"And there are a lot of snobby nobles in Canterlot, too." Spike said with a note of mild disdain.

"Nobles?" Felix asked.

Twilight sighed. "Yeah, Canterlot is the cultural center of Equestria, and it is where Princess Celestia and Luna live."

Felix nodded, understanding. "Ah, so naturally the nobility followed suit."

"Exactly, but they're not all snobbish, honestly." Twilight quickly added. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea. A lot of ponies living here are really nice and friendly."

"Don't worry, Twilight." Felix smiled. "I get it. Don't judge on stereotypes, and all. I'll just have to figure it out if I run into one – assuming I don't instantly run them off with my total cluelessness."

They shared a laugh while Felix thought about it. It wasn't like he'd ever had to deal with nobility back home – and even if he had, that would have been in the context of a modern, democratic society. This place had nobles at the height of their power, including all that decadant better-than-thou stuff Felix had read about in school. Would he even be able to get through so much as a 'How-do-you-do' before they smelled the commoner on him and turned away in disgust?

Well, then again, he seemed to be doing alright with a pair of princesses, didn't he? Although he had a feeling they just might be the best of the bunch, so he should keep his expectations for other nobles a bit lower.

No bias on his part, this was just a reasonable conclusion based on evidence and facts. Lulu was the best, and some of that bestness naturally rubbed off on her awesome sister, and that's just how it was. Sorry, nobles. Them's facts.

"Felix? What's so funny?"

Whoops, he'd been snickering to himself, and now he was grinning like an idiot, and Twilight looked all confused.

"I was just thinking, maybe I'm the one who will have standards too high to interact with the nobles." Felix stuck his nose up in the air and put on his best haughty face, which was only severely ruined by the giant shit-eating grin he still had plastered on. "After spending time in the company of such fine individuals as yourselves, however could they hope to compete?"

Twilight was just at the start of an eyeroll and a smile when Spike chipped in, in the flattest tone of voice and accompanying look of distaste, "They couldn't."

Felix bust out laughing at that, and soon the other two followed suit. "Damn, Spike!" Felix breathed between laughs. "Most people would play down a compliment like that, but not you!"

Spike puffed out his chest. "You're hanging out with the smartest pony in Equestria and her number-one assistant! We're not going to lose to anybody."

Twilight's face was turning a few shades of red at this point from the crossfire of praise she was under. Felix idly wondered how that worked with fur while they all shared another laugh. Soon enough, they entered a large entrance hall, which was exactly as one might expect from a fantasy magical palace. A big staircase, red carpets, and stained windows, not to mention the huge-ass front door.

There were a few ponies scattered around. Some merely trotting along, others standing in a group of two or three talking about stuff. These were not guards or the serving staff. The way they dressed told Felix they were of the nobility.

Twilight took him to the large double doors, walking into a large courtyard, with a beautiful fountain in the center. Looking back, Felix saw just how massive and yet beautiful the palace was. He could only imagine how it looked from afar.

"It's awe inspiring, isn't it?" Twilight asked with a small smile. All Felix could do was nod. "I used to look at the palace from my window when I was a filly. It always gave me the push I needed to study hard, so Princess Celestia would accept me into her school."

It wasn't hard to understand why. It was hard not to feel a sense of pride looking at the royal palace, and Felix wasn't even from here. As they continued towards the golden gates, Felix took note of the ponies coming and going.

"So, what are all these ponies doing here?" He asked, seeing there were so many different looking ponies trotting to and from the palace.

Twilight perked up a bit more, and Spike gave a playful groan as he knew Twilight was going into tour guide mode. "Well, the palace serves as not just the princesses' home, but it is also the seat of the government of Equestria." Twilight replied, then stopped as she looked at the ponies coming and going.

"Princess Celestia also holds day court, which is an opportunity for all ponies who wish to see the princess. Some come with concerns, for advice, disputes, or to simply see Celestia."

Felix thought back to what Luna had told him about night court. He could understand a bit more why it hurt that no one trusted her enough to bring their concerns to her. At least for now, she didn't have to worry about that, and got to work with Celestia a bit closer for the time being.

"I see..." Felix mumbled, glanding back at the palace, wondering if Luna was still asleep. Then he smiled, returning his focus back to Twilight. "Alright, I think I have seen enough of the palace, time to explore the big good guy city!" Twilight giggled, and Spike grinned before turning around with him, and walked outside the grand front gates of the palace.

Felix barely took three steps before his eyes widened, and his eyes darted around. The road up to the palace was wide, with neatly cut trees providing shade for ponies walking on the sidewalk. The buildings were mostly residential, or official buildings, so it wasn't too exciting, but Felix enjoyed seeing ponies going about their day.

The road leading directly to the palace was one of four main roads in Canterlot. All leading to the city center, which was a very large plaza. The city was a beautiful mix of stone work, parks, trees, bushes, grass areas, and canals. The canals were fed from the three waterfalls coming from the upper mountain, which he could see from a distance.

Everything was very clean, and despite the city's size, it seemed rather easy to navigate if you could just find one of the four main roads.

The city had a large collection of shops, cafes, restaurants, theaters, libraries and so, so, much more. It wasn't hard to see why Twilight described this place as a cultural pearl of Equestria. She did her best keeping her explanation of the city's history easy to understand, as there was a lot of Equestrian general knowledge he did not yet possess.

The royal college and university were grand, although they did not move onto the campus grounds. Twilight and Spike had to leave in a few hours, and it would be easy to be caught up in one area for too long, so for now they mostly stuck to the main roads.

There were a lot of side roads and alleys on every side, each of them seeming to hide even more interesting sights, shops, and history. As a history lover himself, Felix found himself drawn to the small sideroads, before Twilight quickly got him back on track.

After about three hours, Felix started to get a good picture of the main geography of Canterlot, at least he would be able to navigate without getting lost, as long as he were close to the main streets.

The four main roads lead to four different areas of Canterlot. The one Felix had come from let to the palace.

Another led to the more tourist oriented district. There were a bunch of hotels, the grand station, and the warehouses for cargo that was brought on large airships.

The sky docks were really amazing, and Felix figured he could spend hours watching the ships arrive and depart. It was a smart way to keep the main cargo coming in and out of Canterlot to the sky, thus not getting unnecessary train traffic, that would make the noise and logistics more annoying for the residents.

The third road, which was right across from the one leading directly to the palace, was the noble district. Everything that was most expensive, which was houses, apartments, manors, restaurants, cafes, shops, anything you could think of, was up that road, likely why Felix didn't see a lot of ponies traveling that road.

The fourth and final road was the one leading directly to the city gates. This was the busiest of them all, but thankfully the roads were so wide you did not need to worry about bumping into every pony. If ponies didn't come by train, or the few airships that carried passengers, ponies would have to travel up the mountain road, and enter the city here.

Felix enjoyed seeing ponies that looked like they had traveled far. Almost all of them had that childlike sparkle in their eyes as they entered, looking just as much in awe as he did when he stepped out of the palace gates.

At this point a few hours had passed. Felix only became aware of it when Twilight suggested the three of them find a place to have lunch. They found a small corner cafe, and decided to sit outside under the shade of a tall tree.

Felix ordered something safe. He might have a pony body now, but it still took some effort to convince his mind that he could eat stuff like hayfries, or dandelion sandwiches.

As they waited for the food, Twilight looked at him with a big smile. "So how do you like Canterlot?"

"I love it." Felix answered honestly, feeling a bit of the giddiness return. "We've not even scratched the surface of what there is to see yet, and I can't wait to explore the city some more!"

Twilight smiled, happy to see some pony so enthusiastic about taking a tour to see the sites. Spike let out an amused snort, sending Felix a slight grin. "You almost sound like Twilight."

Felix shrugged. "It's not every day that I get to explore a fantasy realm. So why not throw myself fully into it?" Then he turned to Twilight, tilting his head slightly as he remembered something. "Twilight, can I ask you something?" Twilight nodded. "If you are Princess Celestia's student, how come you don't live at the palace, or at least in the city?"

"Oh, well..." She blushed a little, seeming a little embarrassed. She let out a small laugh. "Well, you see, before I went to Ponyville, I was rather..."

"She was a mega shut-in who rarely slept, ate, or showered if it meant she had to leave a book alone." Spike cut in, enjoying the look Twilight was giving him.

"Spike! That is NOT why the Princess sent me to Ponyville." She huffed.

Spike just shrugged, still smirking. "Might as well have been."

Rolling her eyes, Twilight returned to look at Felix. "There is a small level of truth in what Spike is saying." She glanced at him, sending him a small glare. "Although not about the shower part." She mumbled, then continued to explain.

"But yes, when I stayed in Canterlot, I only focused on my studies. Princess Celestia wanted me to go out and meet ponies around my own age, you know, make some friends." She smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "I didn't really understand the value of friendship back then..."

Felix smiled a little. "And now?"

"Now I don't think I could live without it. The Princess sent me to Ponyville to oversee the preparations of the Summer Sun Celebration, but really I think she wanted me to go out and socialize. It was then that I met my five best friends. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy." Her smile grew, and her eyes were full of warmth as she spoke of her friends.

It didn't take much for Felix to get her to tell him about them. As the food arrived, she told him about how she came to live at the library, although the way she skipped through the summer sun celebration seemed a bit strange.

Twilight happily shared some of the experiences she and her friends had been through. From something as simple as helping Applejack with the harvest, to standing up to a freaking smoke-snoring dragon.

Felix listened with such attention he almost forgot to eat, while Twilight – assisted by Spike – happily told him about their friends, their new home, and some of the adventures they had been on.

'If I ever get home, then this would make a great TV show...' He thought, and took a bite of his cheese sandwich.

The conversation continued, Twilight kept talking about her friends, and what it was like living in Ponyville. Felix was happy to let her do so. Never really one to talk much about himself, this suited him nicely.

"And so I write a letter to Princess Celestia every week, detailing what I've learned about friendship." Twilight explained, taking a sip of her juice.

Felix had to suppress a small giggle. So far all he had seen of this world had been so light-hearted and innocent. Of course, this world wasn't free of danger – Twilight had made that quite clear. Even so, if a massive dragon could be cowed into leaving a mountain by giving it a stern look in the eyes, how dangerous could this place really be?

His thoughts once again turned to Luna, and what she had told him about Nightmare Moon. The threat she had posed to Celestia and Equestria had been very real, and she had paid a very harsh price. Being stuck on the moon for a thousand years? Felix wasn't even sure if he could imagine living that long all alone.

"Felix?" Spike asked, making Felix look up from his plate.

"Hm? What?"

"You okay?"

Felix managed to smile a little at the dragon, nodding as he did so. "Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about something."

"About home?" Twilight put in. "Your family, your friends?"

"No," Felix assured her. "But they are on my mind..." He raised a hoof and gave it a little wave, as if waving away the topic itself. "I don't want to talk about it."

Twilight gave a somber nod, but then tried for a little smile. "You haven't told me much about yourself. Do you have friends like mine?"

Felix let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "No, I don't have friends like yours. I barely see my friends." Seeing Twilight's confused expression he continued. "I am kind of a loner, and we are all scattered around the country, doing our own things. So meeting up every day is not really on the table."

"Don't you write to each other?"

Felix shrugged. "Occasionally, but we all have different lives now. It isn't like when we were kids." He let out a small chuckle. "Some of them are even starting to get kids of their own."

That thought was still strange to him, as none of them were even thirty yet. Still, they had their life in order, and seemed happy about it, so who was he to judge?

"Anyway, as I said, I am a loner. So it will take a while before anyone will even notice I'm gone." Felix said with a small smile, but the mere thought did give a twinge of pain inside him.

Twilight frowned. "I'm sorry, Felix."

Felix just shook his head. "Don't be, it could be a lot worse." His smile turned more genuine. "Of all the places I could have turned up, I'm glad it's a world as magical as this."

Both Twilight and Spike smiled now, but Twilight's quickly faded as she noted the time. "Goodness, we should probably finish up and get going. Our train leaves in 25 minutes." She waved over a waiter and paid for their meals. "We should be able to make it comfortably to the station if we leave now."

"Alright," replied Felix, quickly finishing his sandwich, "Let's go."

They followed the now-familiar main road, which led to the station and sky docks. On the way, Twilight and Felix talked about this and that, with Spike contributing now and again. Mostly, Felix took in the sights, trying to glean new details of the small shops and homes of the ponies.

At some point, they passed a small flower shop. Beautiful dark-blue flowers with an inviting, gentle glow caught Felix's attention from the storefront.

"Felix!" Spike called from further up the street. "You coming, buddy?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry!" Felix called back, glancing at the flowers one last time before catching up to Twilight and Spike.

"Saw something you liked?" Twilight asked, tilting her head to the side.

Felix chuckled. "Yeah, perhaps. I might go back to take a look before I head back to the palace."

"Wasn't Sergeant Saber supposed to meet us at the station?" Spike asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, Princess Celestia wanted to make sure Felix got back alright."

Felix blew a raspberry, rolling his eyes as he did so. "It's not like it's complicated to find the palace. It sticks out like a sore thumb."

"A sore what?" Spike asked.

"Oh, human reference."

"Oh."

"Anyway, I think I'll be okay." Felix assured her.

Twilight quickly nodded. "I think so too, but I think it is also in case you want to keep exploring the city. Help you with questions, and cultural understanding."

"Yeah, okay, that makes sense..." Felix admitted, although it still felt weird to be assigned a guard. Then again, he was on friendly terms with Saber, so perhaps he should just look at it as friends hanging out?

"Not that it matters anyway." Spike said, gaining both pony's attention. "Because I can't see Saber anywhere."

They looked ahead, seeing the large building of Canterlot central station. Twilight thought about it, then looked at the very large clock on top of the building. "Well, we are a little early, and perhaps she is waiting for us at the platform with our stuff."

She turned to Felix with a smile. "Want to come inside and see us off?"

Felix thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head. "As much as I would like to, I think I will head back to that flower shop we passed before."

"Are you sure?" Spike asked. "What if Saber is on the platform waiting?"

"Well, if she is, just tell her to wait at the main doors, I won't be long. If she isn't, then I should be back to see her before long. Worst case scenario, I'll just head to the palace."

Twilight thought about it for a moment, then gave a nod. "Alright, I don't see the harm in that. If I see her, I'll tell her where you went, perhaps she will meet you there."

"Sounds good."

Glancing up at the clock once more, Twilight took note of the time. "We better get going." She turned to Felix again with a warm smile. "It was really nice meeting you, Felix. I hope you come to Ponyville to visit."

Felix smiled back. "It was nice meeting you too, Twilight, and you too, Spike." Felix chuckled, holding up his hoof, to which Spike bumped it with his tiny fist. "And yeah, that would be pretty cool. I'll ask the Princess if I can come by soon. We just need to assign an adult to accompany me." Felix joked, making Twilight giggle.

The three said their final goodbyes, and when Twilight and Spike had vanished through the large doors, Felix turned and went back to the shop with the beautiful flowers.

The bell above the door announced his arrival, and a mare swiftly came out of a backroom near the counter and smiled at him..

"Hello, welcome to my shop! I'm Daisy. How may I help you today?"

Daisy Luck: Lv 5.

Felix smiled back, and gestured to some flowers near the display window. "Hello, Daisy. Well, I just came by your shop, and I spotted those dark blue flowers there."

Daisy smiled, knowing instantly what he was talking about. "Ah yes, the Night Shades." She trotted closer to the window, and Felix followed her. "Beautiful, aren't they?"

Felix nodded. "Yeah, very." He looked at the price tag, not sure if the amount written on it was a lot. Not that it mattered, he didn't carry any money, but he hoped he could earn some soon. "Are they expensive?"

"Hm, yeah, a little. They are hard to grow, and very exotic. Although it depends how many you need, and if you want them mixed in with a bouquet." Daisy admitted.

"Well, I just need one."

The mare smiled a little more. "Well in that case, I would say it cost about the same as a bouquet of normal flowers."

"I see, well, you can probably tell I don't have any money on me now, but I hope to come back with some later." Felix admitted sheepishly. "You wouldn't happen to have a quest I could complete? Maybe some big rats in your basement that need to be driven off?"

The mare looked confused, then shook her head. "Uhm, no, I don't even have a basement."

Felix shrugged with a slight grin. "I figured, but it never hurts to ask..." He chuckled.

"Although," Daisy then continued. "If you want, I may have a small job you could do as payment for the flower."

"Really?" Felix asked. "Because that would be great."

The mare nodded, and turned around. "Let me just check something in the back, then we'll see what we can do."

"Thank you."

She smiled, and trotted over to the counter. Just as she was about to walk through the door to the backroom, the bell rang again.

"Just a moment!" Daisy called from the back.

Felix took his eyes off the flower and noticed two stallions walking inside– a unicorn and an earth pony. Both looked normal enough, although there was something about them Felix didn't like. The way they were moving around, the way they were browsing, it seemed off, somehow. Like they weren't really interested in what they were looking at, just going through the motions.

Felix shook his head. He had no reason to suspect them of anything, so why was he so on-edge? He tried to ignore it and return his attention to the flower, wait in peace for the storekeep and all that, but he just couldn't – he kept glancing at the newcomers, keeping tabs on them. He also felt like they were doing the same to him.

He wrenched his attention off of them, and instead focused on a large vase. This gave him a view of the store without it being as obvious he was looking around – and that's when trouble started..

The two moved closer to the counter a bit too fast for Felix's liking. With a well-practiced motion, they had opened the cash register, levitated the money into some saddlebags and started to move out of the shop again. It happened so fast, and so silently, Felix's wouldn't even have noticed if he hadn't paid attention.

On reflex, he whirled on the thieves and yelled "Hey! Stop right there!"

Felix had never liked thieves, but he had never really liked conflict either. He'd never seen anyone steal anything before, and of course he always liked to imagine he would do something if he did see it, but now that it was happening, he had surprised himself.

He wasn't the only one surprised! The two thieves jumped in shock and bolted for the door. The unicorn used his magic to open the door, and the two leapt outside with Felix in hot pursuit.

"STOP! THIEVES!"

As Felix ran out of the store, he was sure he saw a glimpse of a shocked Daisy Luck coming out of the backroom, but he was already gone. Ponies around the street either didn't understand what was happening or were too surprised to react in time.

The thieves made use of this, and ran down one of the side roads. Felix followed, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what he could do! He'd never done anything this rash before in his life! Sure, maybe he would call out thieves, but he couldn't imagine himself chasing after them!

The hell had gotten into him? Something about all of this just bothered Felix on a deeper level than he'd expected. It's not like he'd have tried to run down someone swiping from a store in his past life, so why did this seem to piss him off so much more? He didn't have the time to sort it all out, but he also didn't feel like he should just stop himself and let the thieves escape, either.

The two thieves kept running, moving into different small side roads and alleys, making it hard to keep up. Felix just barely managed it, probably thanks to the training Saber had provided him. Soon enough, the chase came to an end as the thieves ran into a closed-off alley.

Felix came to a stop, panting, but still ready for... uhm, for what exactly?

He hadn't thought this far ahead, he'd just acted. Now he had them caught, but they were two against one, and Felix wasn't exactly sure how far two thieves were willing to go to get away.

Above their heads, Felix saw their levels.

Thief: Lv 8.

Thief: Lv 9.

Okay, that wasn't good. They had higher levels than him, and Felix had only learned to walk and run yesterday!

Still, he was here now, so there was no backing out. Felix gave them his best intimidating look he could muster, puffing his chest out. "You two! Return what you have stolen, and you can leave!" Felix didn't really want to let them leave, but he wanted to avoid fighting two opponents.

The two thieves looked at one another, and silently came to an understanding. Both sneered, and turned towards Felix, both getting into what Felix could only interpret as combat stances.

"Move out of our way!" The earth pony growled.

Felix glared back at the stallion. He didn't want to fight them, but he had a hard time feeling intimidated by two brightly-colored little ponies! Come on.. "Fuck you! Give that lady back her money, you asshole!"

Felix's mind went into overdrive. Had this been back in the human world, he would never have done anything like this. Yet somehow here, he felt empowered, he felt more confident and brave.

The two ponies shared a look of shock at Felix's outburst – whether because of the profanity or simply because of how obviously aggressive he was being, he had no way of knowing.

"We won't tell you again." The unicorn warned.

"Return the money." Felix repeated, which seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. There was no going back now, it was time for combat.

For a moment, Felix imagined the encounter song from one of the pokemon games. He wondered if his gaming powers would let him fight like that, turn based and all. At least he'd have some idea of what to do, then, even if he had no clue how to fight with this body. As it was, he tensed up to leap towards them, only to immediately see stars.

Before Felix even had a chance to react, the earth pony had rushed him and, punched him right in the face, eliciting a worrying crack sound. One moment he had faced the two thieves, and now he was on his back, seeing the blue sky above him, and covering his bleeding nose.

"Fuck! You piece of shit!" Felix cried out.

"Felix!" Some mare yelled above them.

"Damn, it's the guard, run!" One of the thieves said, and Felix could hear them galloping away for a moment.

"Stop right there!"

A stallion yelled, and Felix felt and heard several hooves coming into the alley. He didn't see what was going on, but he heard what sounded like a quick struggle, and the two thieves letting out defeated grunts by the end. Before Felix could turn over to see what had happened, a familiar face came into view above him.

It was Saber, giving him a worried look. "Are you okay?"

How the hell was he supposed to know? He hadn't ever studied pony anatomy before! This long part on the top isn't supposed to leak this much, right? Bah!

"Yeah..." Felix replied, his voice a little strained as he kept a soft pressure on his bleeding nose. "Just peachy..."

Saber landed next to him, and gently helped him to sit up. She leaned in a little, trying to get a better look at his nose. "That doesn't look too good, can you remove your hooves so I can take a quick look?" Felix nodded. "Good, tilt your head back a little."

Felix did so, and removed his hooves so Saber could get a better look. At the corner of his eye, Felix saw how the two thieves were surrounded by six town guards, already putting them into chains and securing the money.

"I think it's broken..." Saber sighed. "Nothing doctor Peppermint can't fix, though." She looked over at the rest of the guard, giving the two thieves a look Felix had never seen her use before. "Take those two away, and get the bits back to their rightful owner!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The guards replied.

There was an uncomfortable pause.

"Uh... who's the rightful owner?" asked one of the guards.

The thieves shared a look. "Us...?" one of them ventured, hopeful.

"Daisy Luck, the flower-store owner," Felix put in with annoyance, though it was a little funny watching the thieves lose heart. The guards nodded to him and set off.

Saber saw them off, then looked back at Felix with a more gentle and worried look. "Let's get you back to the palace."

"Thanks..." Felix mumbled, trying to avoid letting blood trickle into his mouth.

"And that's why I propose we make a commission, and look further into this very serious matter."

Luna restrained the urge to scream. Her sister might be able to pretend to give equal consideration and care to each and every matter the council brought forward, but simply avoiding unnecessary deployment of the Royal Canterlot Voice was the absolute limit of what Luna could manage at the moment, and she felt it was fair.

Given that she'd just had to sit through a lengthy, detailed monologue about napkins!

"Thank you for that detailed explanation, Minister Prickly. But I think the issue of the napkins can be solved without the need of a commission if we just talk to our supplier and make them correct the simple mistake."

An hour! On napkins! Before her banishment, they'd have been discussing famine! War! Whatever the heck Discord was getting up to, or whatever the latest monster Starswirl had accidentally unleashed was!

Napkins for an hour! As though the ruler of the nation had nothing better to do!

Then again... she didn't have anything better to do, did she? That was why she'd told Celestia she wanted to be more involved, why she'd been invited to these meetings so she could get back into practice with governance. She resolved her duties in the dream realm, she held her unattended night court – there simply wasn't enough to keep her busy.

Which meant listening to drivel like this. Apparently, Equestria was now such a comfortable place to live that meaningless nonissues like these were sometimes all there was to talk about, apparently.

This was a good thing, right? Sure, Luna reasoned. It was a good thing they were that peaceful... as long as they didn't lose track of the bigger picture. The point where people started to forget that trivial issues were trivial, that appearances are not as important as substance, there would be a real problem.

It was an attitude she had definitely spotted a few times among the nobles of Canterlot, and it made her want to stay shut inside. But she had wanted this, and it wasn't like everything the council brought forward was vapid, so she would endure the occasional bit of eyerolling tedium.

There were some issues that genuinely sounded quite interesting. Luna still had to do some research to fully understand how things worked in the modern era, but it was clear some ponies genuinely still had ambitions, or wanted to solve real problems.

Napkins! Honestly!

Luna raised an eyebrow as a small side door opened and a maid stepped inside. It wasn't unusual for staff to come and go, to make sure every pony had everything they needed, like water, tea, or some fruit, but this maid looked a little worried as she approached Celestia.

Celestia calmly leaned closer to the maid, and her eyes went ever-so-slightly wider as the maid whispered something to her.

She gave a small nod to the maid, and then sat up straight again. "Ministers, a private matter that requires our attention has just been raised. I know we still have an hour left, but if there is nothing urgent I would like to conclude the meeting for today."

The ministers looked a bit surprised, if not a little disappointed. Although none seemed to think they had anything important enough to keep the Princesses from a private matter.

"Thank you, everypony." Celestia smiled, and the ministers all got up, bowed, and left the large meeting room.

Once the last pony had left, and the door was closed, Luna turned to her sister. "Sister, what is the matter?"

Celestia's smile faded, and she looked at her. "I'm afraid Felix got into a fight in Canterlot. He's gotten a minor injury, but he is alright. Doctor Peppermint is with him now."

Luna's eyes widened, and her ears fell flat. "An injury?! Even if they say it's minor, why would he be with the physician if so?"

Celestia smiled gently and lent a comforting wing. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, sister. Don't get too worked up now – that won't help him either, hm?"

There was probably some advice on leadership and governance in there, but Luna wasn't of a mind to care. Still, Celestia's calm tones at least got her mind on track so she could put her concerns into words.

"He is still brand-new to this world and his body! Any traumatic events could have serious repercussions for his mind, sister. Prithee, we must go see him!" Luna said, and sprang to her hooves.

Celestia stood as well, and in a flash, the two sisters teleported to the front door of the infirmary. Luna didn't wait around – she moved to the door and almost burst it open, but managed to control herself just in time. She'd barely started to open the door as she heard Felix groan and wince in pain.

"FFffudge, it hurts..."

Peppermint sighed. "If you just sit still, I can mend your snout in a second."

"I know, I know, I can't help it..."

As the door fully opened, the princesses saw Felix sitting on one of the beds with Peppermint standing in front of him and Saber standing beside the door. When Saber saw who it was she quickly came to attention, while Peppermint simply looked relieved – and Felix looked embarrassed.

Peppermint bowed. "Your highnesses."

"Sorry for intruding, Doctor," Celestia said. "But we heard Felix had an altercation."

Luna quickly stepped forward, and moved closer to Felix, who held a red stained cloth to his nose. "Are you alright, friend Felix?" She asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"Yeah, I just decided to do something stupid, and chased after two thieves..."

"But where was thine guard?" Luna asked, reflexively switching to old ponish. She looked back, and quickly found Saber, who started to look rather nervous. "Guard, why was thou not with Felix?"

"Uhm, I..." Saber stammered.

"It's not her fault." Felix quickly said, letting out a grunt as the snout still hurt a lot. "We came too early, so I decided to go to a shop I had seen."

Luna frowned, her eyes becoming more gentle as she looked at her friend. "Why did you not wait for your guard?"

Felix let out a small chuckle. "I'm not a child, Luna... I figured there was no harm in going to look inside a small shop."

Luna wanted to argue, but she found she could not. "But you got hurt..."

"Well, that's because I'm an idiot newb in this world. Had I been in my own world, I would probably have stayed out of it..." Felix said with a small sigh, and a small amount of shame. "Besides, Peppershaker can fix me right up, right?"

+1 XP! Felix idly noted with slight amusement that he got tiny bits of XP for nicknaming everything, now, apparently.

Peppermint sighed. "Yes, if you're finally ready to let me do it."

Felix hesitated for only a brief moment, then nodded. "Alright, doc..." He lowered his hooves and the cloth.

Both Luna and Celestia winced as they saw the injury. Peppermint – used to treating guards with injuries like this – was less disturbed. He leaned in closer, gave it a quick examination, and then nodded. "Alright, this isn't too serious. We just need to drain some of the fluid and apply a basic healing potion, then give it some time to heal."

As exciting as the prospect of using a bona fide healing potion sounded, Felix couldn't help but feel a little concerned. Especially about the 'draining fluid' part. "Will it hurt?"

"A little, but just for a second. We just need to wash your nose out first." Peppermint assured Felix.

"Alright, do what you have to do." Felix said, bracing himself.

Peppermint retrieved a nasal spray-bottle and carefully set it in Felix's nostril. The sudden rush of very-cold liquid caused Felix's breath to catch, but it wasn't as bad as this sort of thing was back home. At least his nostrils were a lot farther from his eyes.

"Alright, try blowing your nose out for me."

Felix did so gently, and discovered a whole new dimension to the pain of the injury he had. Still, despite it feeling like the top of his snout had just burst into flames, he managed to clear his nose and breathe normally.

"If I didn't know better, I'd almost imagine you'd done this before. It seems like you can breathe properly, so we're using the potion now."

"Didn't you know? Back home I grew a snout and broke it all the tiii-YIYIYIYAAAHOLYSHITWHAT—"

Felix was cut off mid-quip by the sudden application of the potion to the top of his snout. Where before it was on fire, now it was on electrical fire, and some sensation he couldn't quite describe but felt like it resonated with the deepest part of him.

A little static interference touching his soul, almost.

Felix dully realized that must be what magic felt like – dully, in the back of his mind. Because the front of his mind was concerned with his entire body spasming in shock at the unfamiliar and incredibly invasive feeling on his face, at least until it died down.

The entire room had gone quiet and still at his little outburst.

Peppermint whistled. "Well that was new."

A few moments of silence reigned as Felix gingerly clutched his snout, finally broken by Saber saying, "Oh, right. I guess you've never felt healing magic before, huh? Based on what you've said."

Felix nodded slowly, prompting a round of laughter from Saber and a sigh of relief from Luna as she exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "So that was all that was!"

"But don't you feel better now?" Peppermint smirked.

Felix sighed, nodding. "I do..."

Luna placed a comforting wing around him, making him blush a little. He didn't mean to whine, but he had never broken his nose before, or been in an actual real fight. This was still very new to him.

"I'm glad you were not hurt any worse than this, Felix." Celestia commented, then turned to Saber. "I trust whoever did this is in custody?"

Saber gave a firm nod. "Yes, the thieves were apprehended and taken into custody." She then gave a small smirk. "I would even add if Felix hadn't run after them, we wouldn't have found them."

Felix snorted. "I delayed them at most..."

"We wouldn't have even known the shop was robbed if you hadn't raised the alarm, and if you hadn't given chase we would have soon lost them." Saber insisted. "It was a brave thing you did. Not many ponies nowadays still raise the hue and cry and give chase like that."

Felix looked down at the floor, his cheeks burning a little at the praise. And, hue and cry? That sounded like something he might have heard of in a history book, but he hadn't consciously invoked any law or tradition. He'd just, well... "Well, the owner was kind enough to help me, so I couldn't just stand by and watch her get robbed..."

He felt Luna give him a small squeeze with her wing, and he could practically feel Celestia beaming at him. All of it made him blush even more.

"I'm curious, Felix. What was it you were trying to get in the shop?" Celestia asked.

"Oh, well." Before Felix could answer, there was a small knock on the door, and the maid from before trotted inside.

"Uhm, forgive the interruption, but a mare wanted me to deliver this to master Felix." She trotted inside with a bouquet and a card.

Felix quickly spotted five beautiful night shade flowers mixed in with the bouquet – the other flowers serving as a complement to make the night shades stand out even more. The maid trotted over to Felix, placing the flowers on the nightstand next to the bed, and handed him the card.

Felix quickly opened it up.

'The guards told me what happened.

I'm so sorry that you got hurt, but they promised you would be alright.

Thank you so much for helping me. I hope this arrangement helps you forget the injury, and shows you a bit of how grateful I am for what you did.

Please drop by whenever you want. You're always welcome in my shop.

Sincerely.
Daisy Luck.'

"You did something great today, Felix." Celestia smiled, then leaned in with a smirk. "Maybe you really are the chosen one." She teased, making Felix laugh.

"Yeah, not the greatest start to an adventure in a fantasy-land I've had, let me tell you. Then again, definitely not the worst, either..." He sighed, then turned to the flowers. "At least I managed something." Taking the flowers, he turned and offered them to Luna, who looked startled as he presented her with them.

"F-for me?"

Felix smiled sheepishly. "Y-yeah, I wanted to cheer you up... You have shared so much of yourself with me these last few days, I wanted to show you how much I appreciated it... So, yeah, for you."

The blue glow from the flower seemed to burn just a little brighter as Luna took them. "Night Shades..." She smiled. "My favorites."

Felix chuckled, feeling his cheeks burn again. "Yeah, I thought of you when I saw them."

Now it was Luna's turn to blush. She looked at him, leaning in just a little, and planted a small peck on his cheek. "Thank you, Felix. I love them."

Felix blushed even more, but didn't say anything as Luna pulled him in for a hug. Celestia, Peppermint, and Saber in the meantime left the infirmary, letting the two of them enjoy the moment alone.

Author's Note

A massive thank you to SoloBrony for editing this chapter!

And so it has finally arrived, our latest chapter! Wooohooo! :pinkiehappy:

Sorry for the LOOOOOONG wait, but today we finally got the chapter done, and there were some rewrites, and a few ideas we needed to go over. SoloBrony is fine, he has just been beaten back with his health, but he is in one piece.

Thank you all for your patience, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story! :twilightsmile:

Chapter 9: To Ponyville!

“You think you’re tough?” Felix asked, gasping for breath but still grinning cockily. “I bet you hire gold-farmers to skim loot for you! Probably couldn’t make it out of the undead asylum on your own!”

There was a notable groan from the side, and the voice of Saber soon followed. "Are you going to do this every time you get to take a small break? Is talking a mandatory part of fighting where you’re from, or something?"

Felix glanced to his side, seeing Saber watching him with a raised eyebrow. He glanced back at the training dummy he’d been trash-talking moments ago.

“Arguing with strawmen is a central part of our culture back home, in fact.”

Saber’s resulting confusion bought Felix a few more seconds to catch his breath, and he said, “Besides, you can’t take these things lightly. Who knows when the punching bag will decide to Counter you?”

Saber’s look turned flat. “I’m fairly certain it won’t ever do that.”

“Must be running a Destiny Bond moveset,” Felix said with a sagely nod. Saber smirked back at him.

"You just want a longer break, don't you?"

"... Perhaps."

Saber sighed, but still let out a chuckle at Felix's antics. "If you don't stop wasting time and get back to training, I'll have you run laps around the courtyard until you drop!" Felix couldn't quite tell if she was joking or being serious. It was hard to tell with her lighthearted demeanor.

He figured it wasn't worth chancing, and so moved forward and swung his hoof towards the dummy. "Hya! Aaay!" He said with each punch or kick he tried to perform.

Saber wasn't impressed. "And stop doing that!"

Felix punched the straw dummy, letting out another "Hyaa!" as he did so. "Sorry, it just feels more cool with sound effects. Not to mention every video game character does it."

Saber rolled her eyes again. "Well, this isn't a video game, and it does not make you look cooler."

Felix grinned at her. "You're right. No need to fix what isn't broken." He waggled his eyebrows. She laughed a little, and he laughed as well. "Sorry, it is just so surreal doing this. It hasn't quite sunk in yet. To be here," he gestured around the courtyard with his hoof. "Trained by a magical pony, in magical pony land. At times it all just seems so surreal."

"I can see why it may mess with your head a bit," Saber relented. "But you asked for this."

Felix nodded quickly, sending her a smile. "Oh yeah, I didn't mean to sound whiny or anything. I just sometimes get this wave of, 'wow, this is really happening to me.' " He chuckled. "But I am really grateful to you for doing this."

Saber grinned. "No problem, now get back to it!"

It had been five days since the trip to Canterlot and the run-in with the thieves. The whole conclusion to that ordeal had ended with him getting a bloody nose. Despite being praised for his heroic effort, Felix had been embarrassed with how he had been unable to do shit.

If he was going to stay here for a while, he didn't want to be a useless burden who needed constant protection. Even though most had told him what he had experienced was really rare in Equestria, Celestia had been unable to tell him flat-out he would NEVER face danger while he was here.

So she and Luna had agreed to let Saber train him and show Felix the basics of pony combat. Since he had just learned how to walk and run without crashing into things, Saber was taking it very slow. Even to the point he half expected her to remind him to press the square button to attack.

Even though this was only the second day of training, Felix had advanced two levels! One being gained on the day of the flower shop incident, and one just yesterday.

That had earned him 10 attribute points, but no skills yet.

For now though he had invested the attribute points in intelligence, raising his stat from five to ten, and his stamina, raising it from fifteen to twenty. He honestly didn't know if raising intelligence did make him smarter, but he had to get some benefit from raising it. Or at least that's what he hoped.

Felix made a mental note to raise constitution next. Then he would be able to endure more damage should he fight again. He hoped he wouldn't have to, but while he was here he wanted to be prepared for anything.

But for now, he had his straw arch-nemesis to deal with!

He was sure he looked silly from the outside, but in his mind, Felix was in an intense battle for survival! Leaping forward again, he delivered a series of punches and kicks, just as Saber had shown him.

After a while, Saber stomped her hoof into the sand to signal Felix to stop, which he did, panting from the effort.

"Nice work, cadet Felix," Saber said with a smile.

Felix let out a snort, but still smirked. "Thank you, ma'am," he responded with a half-assed salute.

Saber giggled. "I think that will do for today. I think we can start sparring, perhaps tomorrow if you feel up for it?"

Felix grinned at her, but before he could respond, he felt a rush of energy passing through him. He knew this feeling now! Smiling wider, he saw the text appearing in front of him.

Quest Complete!
450 EXP!

LEVEL UP!
+New Skill.

Felix's ears perked up. A new skill? Finally!

Quickly he focused his mind, and the skill came to him as being summoned to the forefront of his mind. He smirked inwardly; he was getting quite adept at using his mind character menu.

Skill:
Earth Shaker; Sends a shockwave through the ground damaging all hostiles in the area of effect, targets in Hide/Cloak will be revealed and receive additional damage.

Earth Shaker? Now that sounded fun, not to mention hella useful! He also received five attribute points, which he quickly put into the constitution, raising it to fifteen. Grinning, Felix opened his eyes and looked at a confused Saber.

"Equestria to Felix, are you okay? I was starting to think you had fallen asleep."

Felix shook his head, then smiled excitedly. "Actually, can we try sparring right now? I want to try something!"

Saber looked taken aback for a moment by the sudden surge of enthusiasm, but then smiled and gave a nod. "If you're sure you're up for it, cadet. Sure, I guess I can give you a shot."

"Nice! Thank you!"

Saber giggled at Felix's antics as she led him away from the dummies and to the sparring circles on the opposite side of the training yard. Most were in use, and a small crowd was gathered nearby, watching their fellows spar and waiting their turns. Some of them were glancing towards the two of them, Felix noted.

He had no doubt that pretty much the entire guard force knew who he was. Perhaps not that he was human, but that he was an outsider of some sort – maybe even that he wasn’t a real pony. The furtive glances he caught told him that they saw him as a curiosity, at the least. Still, he’d never gotten the feeling they thought badly of him, so, small favors.

As Felix felt slightly self-conscious about the obvious curiosity some of the guards had about his upcoming spar with Saber, he idly realized that this lack of enmity despite his being an outsider meant he was probably getting treated better by the guards than Luna herself was. That stung a bit.

He wondered if the news of his strange gamer powers had made its rounds around the palace. Perhaps that explained why they wanted to watch? Or maybe they just thought it would be funny to see a total newbie like him get thoroughly owned. In either case, he could understand the appeal. As for Felix, he didn’t really care how well he did per se; he was just here to test his new power out.

Perhaps it was a bit reckless to use? But then again, his powers were apparently working on gamer logic, and Saber wasn't an enemy, so in theory she wouldn't be hurt like hostiles would. This was just a practice match after all. Intent probably mattered with magic stuff like this, right? Right.

Felix idly made a mental note he should actually look stuff like that up. Like, in a book. Probably. Or maybe ask someone? Or—

"Are you ready, Felix?" Saber asked with a somewhat bemused smile, both at his odd request for a spar and at his apparent inner dialogue.

It was obvious she wasn’t taking this that seriously, but then, neither would Felix if he was going to fight with someone who literally just learned to walk less than a week ago. He gave a confident nod and a roguish smile as he said, “Yep! I am fully prepared to make a fool of myself,” drawing a few chuckles from the spectators.

"Alright, if you're sure." She said, and got into what Felix imagined was a pony fighting position. Felix copied the stance, feeling like a cat that was ready to pounce on its prey. "GO!"

Saber lunged forward, giving Felix only a second to act. In truth, he had no idea how to use his new power, but as with Discerning Eye it seemed to come naturally; he reared up halfway on his hind legs, then slammed down with all his strength while yelling “Earth Shaker!” picturing the skill clearly in his mind’s eye while his body merely followed along.

As soon as his hooves stomped down on the sand, he felt the ground shake around him. He watched with awe as a shocked Saber stumbled forward and landed in the sand. Around them, the other spectators also stumbled down, although with much less intensity than Saber.The shaking lasted somewhere from three to five seconds, and made everyone around him struggle to keep footing the entire time. The surprise was clear on all their faces.

"You good?" Felix asked, with a slight hint of concern. The way she’s fallen said more ‘surprised’ than ‘hurt’ to him, but he couldn’t help but worry.. She got back up, her initial shock giving way to a look of confusion, and then finally an exasperated smile.

“What in Equestria was that? Did you cast some sort of spell?”

Actually, that was a good question. Was he using a skill like a spell?

"Uhm, I'm not sure." Felix honestly confessed. Saber raised an eyebrow, and opened her mouth to say something else, when a call boomed across the entire training yard.

"ATTENTION!"

Felix flinched at the booming male voice. Everypony else snapped to attention. Felix wasn't a guard, so he wasn't sure what he should do. Before he could think about it though, an older stallion came marching closer with an angry look in his eyes.

"Who the buck did that?! Some pony used magic without permission!?" The angry looking stallion shouted to them all.

While no pony did look at him, Felix had the sense they were all thinking about him. He wasn't really sure what he should do. Should he just raise his hoof and admit to it straight out? Or was somepony else supposed to answer? Before he could decide what to do, somepony else appeared in the yard.

"Lieutenant?"

That was Celestia’s voice, Felix clocked instantly. Unmistakeable. Everypony else clearly did too, as they all turned and bowed towards the voice practically like it was choreographed. Kind of wrongfooted him, actually. Were ponies just naturally herd-coordinated? Was he herd-coordinated? No, clearly not. Was he defective? Problems for later.

He smiled upon seeing Celestia and Luna entering the courtyard, waving for a moment, then felt awkward to be the only pony not bowing, so he quickly followed the others, sweeping into a proper courtly bow that would have been perfectly serviceable had he still been bipedal. He was not, and thus this type of bow – standing up on two legs, one foreleg swept under his chest and the other stuck out behind him at an angle – was both excessively physically demanding (thanks, Agility points!) and absurd-looking. The princesses saw him do this, and hid their muzzles behind their hooves as they giggled at the display.

Nailed it.

"Please rise, our little ponies." Celestia said, somehow managing to balance regal grace with clear amusement. "Now, please tell us what just happened?"

“So your strange powers can do more than only affect yourself…” Celestia said thoughtfully, once Felix had finished recapping. They were enjoying tea and cakes in the garden, which struck Felix as an almost impossibly quaint response to the disturbance he’d caused, but he was determined to roll with it.

What could possibly go wrong with being an interdimensional diplomat, causing an incident sort-of resembling a terrorist attack during routine military training, and then having a tea party with foreign heads of state?

See, that sort of observation was why he tried not to actually think too hard about what he was doing most of the time. Instead he chose to think of it as goofing off with Saber, and now goofing off with his confused friends (who happened to be royalty but that was decidedly unimportant. What’s in a career, really?)

“Guess so!” Felix nodded along. “Although I guess you could argue it just, uh, empowered me? Maybe? I don’t know where the lines are drawn for what counts as internal or external for magic. I’m sure you’d know better than I would whether it’s significant or not. Damned cool either way, though,” he added, prompting a laugh from Luna.

“You seem to be taking it rather well that your magic is so unknown to us,” Celestia said with a raised eyebrow. “It doesn’t worry you?”

“Compared to having my entire worldview shaken by the existence of magic, getting nicked off to another dimension, turned into a different species, all that? Nah, it’s whatever,” Felix replied with a grin and a shrug. “I’d be more surprised if whatever magic-stuff I’ve got going on was normal for this place. I’m an alien! Totally different species from a totally different dimension! It’s practically a miracle I’m as normal-looking for all of you as I am.”

This was one of the many things Felix had tried hard not to think too hard about, instead opting to laugh it off and just keep rolling with whatever weird crap happened to him until something he couldn’t laugh off showed up. Working so far!

Celestia sighed with a slow nod. “I suppose that’s true. It just worries me that there are things happening to you we cannot understand.”

“I choose to think of it as potential. I mean sure I might get magical super-cancer or something, but I might also get crazy superpowers. Who knows?” Felix laughed. “And given how things seem to work here? I’m banking on it not being so bad. Magic here doesn’t seem prone to being, ah, dickish. Does magic have a personality? It seems like it does. And a sense of humor!”

Celestia and Luna traded a look at that, and Luna snickered. “He is not wrong.”

“So, you guys said you felt strange magic, right? That’s why you came to investigate?” Felix put in, genuinely curious about this tidbit they had shared at the start of this little get-together. “Was it powerful or something?”

“Oh, no,” Luna said with a grin. “It was honestly so faint that if it were not so bizarre, we’d never have even noticed. Like a child’s magic,” she threw in with a teasing tone.

“The shaking also helped,” Celestia put in with a smirk.

“Well darn, there goes my dream of being the chosen one,” Felix said with an ‘aw drat’ swing of his hoof. “I guess I’ll have to settle for being an NPC with weird abilities. Probably some third-rate optional party-member for the hero, hmph.”

“Why do you think I didn’t tell you to go fight rats?” Celestia put in, and Felix barked a laugh.

“Oh, so that’s how it is! I get the cushy bedroom – and honestly, thank you very much for that – and none of the normal tutorial stuff because I’m just some background character. Makes sense. Well, it’s still a step up from stacking dirt for a living. Ten-out-of-ten would ride the weird magical waterslide to get out of a shift again,” he said with an exaggerated nod.

"But it is still interesting. You said that this Skill of yours isn't a spell?"

"Well, it isn't listed as a spell," Felix said, looking at Luna as he figured she knew best what he meant.

She did. "In games, skills and spells are listed differently. Skills don't use mana, but need a cooldown period. Some use stamina."

“And this didn’t use mana, so I don’t think of it as a spell,” Felix concluded with a smile at Luna. Having someone around who got him was nice! As much fun as it was messing with Saber and Celestia, Luna was his real anchor in this world – the only person in this entire world who knew where he was coming from. Literally!

Felix beamed at her as he considered this, not noticing that beneath her reciprocal smile there was a small blush forming.

“Not a spell,” Celestia mused, snapping the two out of the moment. “A more subtle sort of magic, perhaps.”

“Well, I mean, I don’t really know anything about magic,” Felix said apologetically. “Not really my area, y’know? So maybe it is a spell, or whatever. It’s not like I know the terminology.”

Celestia shook her head with a soft smile, lapsing into magic-teacher mode. “Magic is what the user makes of it. If it helps you to think of spells and ‘Skills’ separately, there is probably a good reason for it. It’s up to you to discover how best to use your special talent, although we’ll do what we can to help you understand it.”

“Usually, magic directed outwards in a controlled, deliberate fashion is considered a spell,” Luna put in. “Something with structure, a very deliberate cause, as thine—erm, as your ability had. The way you described picturing it in your mind’s eye before using it is also much like unicorn spellcasting.”

Felix took a moment to absorb that, tapping his chin. “Hmm, so… like a spell in how it’s used, but all I visualize is my own movements. Like a special move in a fighting game, only, kind of a spell?” Felix’s expression became one of amused befuddlement. “A spell-move?”

“Oh! I quite like that,” Celestia said with an enthusiastic smile.

Felix snickered. “It sounds better than ‘magic move’ at least. Look at me, I do those magic moves. I got them magic hands!”

“You don’t have hands anymore, Felix,” Luna said with a perfectly straight face, as if he had somehow forgotten.

Unable to pass up a perfectly good bit, Felix shook his head and waved her off. “Nonsense! Why, they’re right—” he held up a hoof, then stared at it in mock shock and horror. “Egads! Where’s it gotten off too?! They can’t be trusted without supervision, you know – they’ll probably fall in with the wrong crowd!”

“That’s the problem with magic hands,” Luna said sagely. “They’re never around when you need them. Or you just forget you have them until you’re at the final boss and they don’t work anymore anyway.”

“They’re really only good for completionists looking to get into the secret areas,” Felix affirmed with such frankness it left Celestia utterly at a loss as to where the joke had ended, or if it had even been one to begin with. Surely humans didn’t actually have hands that wandered off? What in Equestria were these two even discussing?

She cleared her throat and tactfully changed the subject. “Erm, please do tell us if you discover any more such abilities, so we can help you understand them?”

Felix nodded. "Of course. I really appreciate the help!" He said with feeling. Honestly, Celestia was just so accommodating! It kinda made him feel guilty.

Celestia continued to be accommodating, unaware of the internal strife she was causing him (and thus, one might argue, failing to be accommodating, in a roundabout way, if one was inclined towards such arguments): “In fact, perhaps you should speak with Twilight about this. She loves all manner of magical puzzles, and the idea of a ‘spell-move’ would certainly intrigue her.”

"You mean, write to her?" Felix asked.

Celestia smiled, but shook her head. "No, I mean, go visit Ponyville." She then looked at her sister, her smile widening, her eyes taking on a spark of inspiration. "In fact, why don't you both go to Ponyville?"

Luna looked between the two of them in surprise, as if searching for a punchline. "You are sure, sister? I haven't left the castle since you brought me back."

Felix noted a hint of pain as she mentioned the last part. He figured it was about what she told him about Nightmare Moon. Even though she told him the truth, it was still hard to imagine her as an evil queen of darkness, and not the adorkable Luna he knew her as.

"I'm not sure it's the right time for me to show myself again, much less to the good ponies of Ponyville." There was a flash of inner pain in Luna's expression as she said that, and Felix remembered what she had told him about how she got redeemed.

Celestia was apparently prepared for that. "I know how you must be feeling, Luna. However, I still think it will be good for you to go out for a bit. But, going as you might bring a lot of attention, so perhaps a glamour spell will be most prudent."

"Glamour spell?" Felix asked, "what's that?"

"Magic that changes appearance for a certain time," Luna explained, still looking a little worried, but more relaxed now. "Sister, are you sure it will work?"

Felix looked back at Celestia, who had just finished another slice of cake. She smiled confidently. "I know it will, Luna! Besides, you have our chosen hero to protect you if anything were to go wrong," She teased, and Felix was sure he saw a slight blush on Luna's cheeks.

"I am also sure Twilight and her friends will be happy to help you two out, and show you around." Celestia then added, as she slid yet another cake onto her tiny plate. Felix couldn't help but wonder where it all went. "I will write to her, and if we are lucky, you might be able to go tomorrow."

Felix found himself smiling widely. Normally he had never been one for long travels into places he had never been before, but this was a magical kingdom filled with colorful tiny horses! Of course he had to see more!

"Thank you, princes—eh, I mean, Celestia." He looked at Luna with an excited grin. "It's going to be fun, right Luna?"

Luna looked back on her friend. His excited expression lifted her spirits, and she found herself smiling back as she gave a firm nod in return.

Celestia watched them as she sipped her tea. Once again, Felix had managed to calm her sister, and even got her to take a leap of faith. Perhaps it really had been fate that had pushed these two together. The chances of Luna finding the exact dimension – and the exact person to connect with – by sheer random luck would have been, quite literally, beyond astronomical.

It was more than luck that Luna had found someone like Felix; Celestia had seen fate’s gentle guidance at play more than enough times in her life to recognize its touch here. Of course, fate’s opportunities – like all magic – was only what you made of it, Celestia knew. She had to change her approach to helping her sister, and while sending her to Ponyville to come out of her shell a little would help, this would not be as simple as Twilight’s situation had been.

She spent a moment fretting over how best to handle the situation; how much should Twilight tell her friends beforehand? Should they know who Luna was ahead of time, or was it best to let her meet everypony in disguise with a fresh slate? How much did they know about Felix?

Ultimately, she decided to just leave the decisions to Twilight. Luna was taking a leap of faith in agreeing to go, and Celestia had to do likewise; her own ideas about how best to help Luna had failed, so it was time to step back a bit, as much as it worried her. Surely this would be a good experience for Felix and Luna both, right?

Celestia foresaw another afternoon of uneasy pacing in her throne room waiting for news (and probably confusing her guards), just as she’d gone through when she sent Twilight away. The thought actually brought a slight amused smirk to her face; after all, that had turned out all for the better, hadn’t it?

She looked over at Felix and Luna, who were bantering about how best to distribute residential, commercial and industrial districts in a city, of all things. Something to do with some game, Celestia gathered, but they both looked so engrossed and happy, even as the conversation turned into a surprisingly heated debate (apparently, Luna felt very strongly about ‘walkable cities’, while Felix felt mass transit was better. Who knew?) It made her worries melt away to know that Luna would be in Felix’s care, given his strange ability to relentlessly cheer her up.

“What do you think?” Felix suddenly directed at Celestia, wronghoofing her completely.

“Huh? Oh! Well, I’ve always been fond of trains?” she offered.

Luna blew a raspberry. “Mass transit is naught but a crutch for thine poor neighborhood-layout skills!” she declared.

Celestia really had no idea what to say to that, or if she should take offense. Felix snorted and shot back, “Well you can’t blame her for liking trains!” he said, waving a hoof at Celestia wildly, “she bench-presses the sun every morning! She could suplex a train any time she wants!”

“You can just use phoenix down on it instead,” Luna responded, provoking a look of mock outrage from Felix.

“That’s practically cheating!” He retorted.

“I actually have a pet phoenix, so I could do either,” Celestia stated indifferently with a sip of tea, causing Felix to stop and stare at her in fascination.

“Wait, are you being serious?” he looked over at Luna in befuddlement. “Phoenixes are real? She has one as a pet?” Luna’s nod of affirmation rendered him speechless.

Celestia had two takeaways from that thoroughly alien exchange: firstly, that things would indeed be fine. Second, she really ought to play a few of these games if she ever wanted to understand anything Luna (or Felix, for that matter) ever said in the future, shouldn’t she?

Felix was pacing impatiently in front of Luna’s room the next morning as he waited for them to finish the glamour spell – whatever that meant. Celestia had said that Twilight and her friends would be showing them around Ponyville today! Explore more of pony-land, meet more of the locals! Snag some quests? Hah, could happen!

Canterlot was a kickass city in Felix’s very-well-informed opinion. He knew fantasy architecture and damn if Canterlot was not a truly stunning example thereof. Even so, the first step in any big new open world game was to explore! It was time to get his bearings beyond just the starter-town!

Of course, realistically, he knew some rustic little town called ‘Ponyville’ would probably be boring and peaceful and not-at-all a good spot for big quests or XP, but hey, he could dream, right? As far as Felix knew, it could be a hotspot for monster attacks and disasters! One every week! Not that he was hoping anyone got hurt, or anything. It was just that after having been thrust into a magical-isekai-fantasy-world-adventure type of thing, he had expected that sort of thing.

And if all this musing on the wondrous possibilities of the supposedly-quaint-and-peaceful little town he was visiting was really just a thin veneer to help him stay upbeat and cheerful for Luna’s sake, did that really matter?

If nothing else, it helped distract him from the fact that this outing felt suspiciously like a date. With the cute pony princess he’d already had a couple of somewhat-romantic-ish moments with. Just the thought of that brought heat to his neck and face and made his pacing pick up a notch - which was why he was trying not to think of it. Luna was his friend, he’d tried hard not to think of her that way, and right now she was very emotionally vulnerable - especially towards him, both because he was her only friend and because she felt she’d wronged him. Now wasn’t a great time.

Then again, when was a great time? And they were practically being sent on a date together by her sister! Did Celestia even realize what she’d done? Probably not, Felix figured - he was still new here, but he got the impression ponies (as opposed to humans) weren’t quite so prone to assuming a male and female were interested in each other automatically just because they were near each other. Just a vibe he’d gotten. In some Earth cultures, assigning a female guard to a male guest would be seen as downright scandalous - here, Felix had a vague-yet-growing sense he’d have to explain at length why someone might think that.

He might even have to bring some diagrams.

The wait was agonizing. Felix had wanted to see the glamour spell in action, but had been turned down - he gathered it was somewhat like changing clothes back in the human world. They had seemed embarrassed when he asked. Come on! It’s magic! He wanted to see it for science! Magical science!

Felix was contemplating how to build magitek suits that could be operated by ponies when the door finally opened.

Finally, the door opened, and out stepped Celestia with a mischievous grin on her lips. "It is done, my sister is no more." There was a dramatic pause, and in one elegant side step, she revealed... no one?

Felix near-instantly figured out what happened – that Luna must have shied away – and, with a mental agility that surprised even himself, immediately flopped onto his rear and began clapping with his hooves. Slow-like.

“Bravo, bravo! Well done! You truly did make her disappear!” he declared. One of the guards was visibly struggling not to laugh, and Celestia directed a look at Felix that was so flat it could probably be used as a surveying tool. With a groan, Celestia walked back into the room, disappearing from sight.

“Come on, Luna! You look absolutely adorable!” Felix heard her say, somewhat muffled by distance. A similarly muffled-reply (this one too faint for him to hear) came in a voice that resembled Luna’s, but wasn’t quite right.

Celestia scoffed loudly enough to be clearly audible even out in the hall. “No he is not.” she insisted. Another inaudible reply. “No you don’t.” A few more such exchanges passed until Celestia – apparently having had enough of this – stamped the ground rather loudly. “Sister, don’t make me drag you out of here!”

This time Felix heard the not-quite Luna voice respond with a more clear, "Okay, okay..."

Celestia strode back out, clearly satisfied with herself, and once more beamed and declared, “Ahem, like I said. My sister is no more! But in her place, please say a warm welcome to the adorable Starry Skies!” Celestia punctuated this declaration by stepping aside, and this time someone actually came out – looking very embarrassed.

Starry Skies was, as it happened, adorable indeed – even more so than most ponies Felix had seen, which was saying a lot, really. Luna had adopted a pegasus form with a long white mane, tail, and feathers, along with blue eyes and a black coat that offered a stark contrast. The edges of her eyes were white, too, which was a distracting little accent he rather liked.

The fact she was half a head shorter and very obviously bashful just added to how cute she looked. Her resemblance to Luna was visible because he knew where to look – especially in her expressions – but no one else would figure it out. It fell to Felix to properly welcome Luna in this new form and put her at ease.

Which he did by wolf whistling very, very loudly.

“Yowza, someone shelled out for the premium DLC skins,” Felix said with a mischievous glint in his eye. “You’re just showing off, aren’t you?”

This display got the intended response from Luna, which was a long-suffering eyeroll paired with a faint little grin that told him the joke had landed and jostled her out of her embarrassment a little.

“Thank you,” she said in a quiet voice.

Celestia had at first been mortified at Felix’s actions, but upon seeing Luna’s response she sighed in relief and giggled.

“I take it that was a compliment?” she asked. “It wasn’t clear.”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Felix said sheepishly. “Sorry, gotta remember not everyone speaks ‘gamer.’ “

Luna stepped up beside Felix and nudged him. “Well, that shall be fine, since it will just be the two of us, hm?”

Felix started slightly, and glanced over at Celestia. “Oh, you’re not coming with us?” he asked in surprise. Somehow, he’d just assumed she would – although in retrospect, he realized, she was probably busy. Running a country. Because that was her job.

He was still getting used to that.

“No, I thought you two would have a better time on your own,” Celestia said brightly. She was oddly chipper, Felix noted. “Sergeant Saber will be escorting you to the station, though.”

Felix contemplated this situation deeply. So deeply, in fact, he sat down and rubbed his chin with his – what the heck was that part of a pony called anyway? Fetlock? Fetlock! He was clearly deep in thought.

“So what you’re saying,” Felix said slowly, “is that I'm going to be alone with Luna all day, away from the safety of the palace.”

Luna cocked her head for a moment, and then rolled her eyes with a grin. Celestia, ever the diplomat – some would say downright enabling – decided to give Felix the setup he needed.

“That’s right. Is something the matter?”

Felix shook his head, and shared a look with Luna. She braced for impact. “Not at all,” he said. “It’s just that I realized that this is an escort quest.”

Luna groaned. Celestia, not missing a beat, said, “That’s right. I expect you to keep my little sister safe and happy, or there’ll be no… XP, was it? None!”

Felix sat up straight and saluted. “Yes ma’am! You can count on me! Guy who needs levels is reporting for duty, and I’ll make sure she’s back in bed by curfew!”

“I’m not a foal,” Luna said, groaning again.

“Well yeah,” Felix said, giving her a bemused look. “Escort-quest for a kid would be pointless since they’re invincible anyway.”

“Real life isn’t Fallout, Felix!” Luna cried, waving a hoof at him in frustration. Felix waved his hoof right back.

“It totally is for me, though! I put points into my intelligence stat recently, Luna! My life is a videogame!” He paused. “And heavens know I needed that stat-boost.”

“Oh let’s just go already!” Luna huffed, clearly not nearly as annoyed as she was putting on as she began striding away.

“Oh no! My escort target is already running off without me!” Felix declared, scampering after her. “Don’t you know there’s always ambushes everywhere during these things? It’s like you’ve never…”

Celestia watched them go off together, banter fading to a low din as they rounded a corner. She smiled, feeling as if a giant weight had been lifted off her heart. Despite the unfortunate circumstances that had led up to this, Celestia was grateful that Luna finally had someone who could help her out of her shell, and back to the Luna she once knew.

No, Celestia corrected herself. Someone better. And, hopefully, she would be better this time, too – a better sister to her.

By the time Felix and Luna had made their way to one of the palace’s many staircases, the banter had died down. Luna had grown quiet, and Felix caught her making furtive glances through the windows.

“Nervous?” Felix offered more than asked.

Luna sighed, nodding. “It has been a long time…”

Felix considered that. “You… have been outside the palace since coming back, right?”

Luna walked in silence for a few seconds before responding. “Very little, and usually only at night, when most are asleep…”

“Only the boring ones, duh,” Felix said with a snort. Luna looked over at him with bemused – and slightly amused – expression.

“What do you mean?”

“Uh, night life?” Felix said incredulously. Luna’s blank expression told him something wasn’t coming across. “You know,” he pressed, “Night clubs? Dance clubs? All-night LAN parties?”

“Are those real where you come from?” Luna asked in surprise. “I thought they were just made up for games!”

Felix thought back to how much time they had spent gaming together at night, when Luna’s night-court had apparently given her fuck-all to do. Did ponies really not have any night-life? Or maybe Luna had just been too shy to find it? Either way, this wouldn’t do, Felix decided.

“They are real where I came from, and I bet there’s something like that here, too. We’ll find it together!” Felix declared. “The days of shut-in Luna are over. I’m nervous too, but we’ll be alright as long as we tackle it together, yeah?”

Truthfully, Felix was more nervous about making sure Luna had a decent time than anything else that might be going on, but he tactfully left that out.

“If you say so,” Luna said uneasily, scuffing the floor as they approached the double-doors that marked the palace boundary. “To some extent, I wonder what the point is. I can hardly expect to befriend anypony, disguised as I am. Is it not so?”

Felix had a feeling Luna’s occasional lapses into archaic speech might undermine the disguise just a tad, but shrugged.

“Whether you choose to tell them who you are not is your business. That’s the freedom the disguise gives you! You won’t get anyone acting weird while you’re in public, so you can spend time getting to know someone in peace. Besides, you need to level-grind your social! You’re out of practice with public places, right?”

“I am…” Luna agreed reluctantly. Felix seized on this.

“Well there you go! It’s a step-by-step process. But you’ll see – being locked up in here all the time isn’t the answer. Life will be much better—”

As Felix said this, he pushed the double doors open, and mid-sentence his tone suddenly changed to that of singing (in a rather impressive register and cadence, in his estimation) as he spontaneously flung himself through the air to land perfectly in line with a group of ponies acting as… backup dancers?

“~Ooooout Theeeeeere!~”

On perfect cue with the deeply-confused Felix’s declaration, an entire chorus of backup ponies echoed calls of ‘Out there! Out there! Friends await! Out there! Out there! It’s not too late!’ in a slowly-falling volume.

Everyone dispersed and went about their business. Felix stood there utterly stupefied.

“That… what?” he babbled. “Did I just stumble into the ass-end of a musical number?”

Luna snickered at him lightly. “That you did, friend Felix. I suppose this was your first exposure to song magic?”

Felix opened his mouth dumbly and closed it a few times, and then took on a stern expression.

“Luna, you live in a world of fucking musicals?”

Luna flinched slightly. “... Yes?”

“Oh my god,” Felix said as he looked around with fresh eyes. “It’s a fairytale pastel musical wonderland. I don’t know if that’s perfect or cringe.”

Luna giggled and cocked her head. “Why would it be cringe?”

“I have so many questions!” Felix said suddenly, spontaneously energetic. “What happens if a song number breaks out in the middle of a surgery?! Or a fire?!”

Luna recoiled from Felix’s unexpected enthusiasm. “It wouldn’t?” she said in a questioning tone, leaning back from him as he leaned far too intently forward. “The magic of harmony that makes it possible would never take hold in such a scenario.”

“So it’s sort of like a subconsciously mutually-agreed-upon thing? Now that’s efficient…” Felix said, trailing off into thought.

The silence lasted a few moments, Felix clearly in deep consideration, before Luna suddenly went from slightly unnerved to giving him a wry look.

“You are imagining how to use this concept for videogaming, aren’t you?”

“Of course!” Felix belted out. “Haven’t you?! It’s perfect!”

Luna paused to consider. “I… suppose?” she said, only half-grasping what he meant. “For some sort of… cooperative, coordinated game…?”

“Not just that! Think about it! It lets people subconsciously agree on what kind of experience they want to have and then coordinate perfectly! There’s gotta be a use for that…”

“You are taking this a bit better than I expected,” Luna admitted with a roll of her eyes. “I would have thought your first heartsong would be more of a shock.”

“Well I’m still in the learning-the-mechanics phase of exploring this world,” Felix said, tone very faux-academic and clearly put on for effect. “It’s only natural to expect to find strange new experiences as I do so, you see. Indeed, indeed, quite,” he added, just for more effect. Luna snorted.

“And you truly have nothing similar in the human world, I take it?”

Felix half-choked with laughter, ruining his academic facade entirely. "In my world I know how annoying people would be if they were suddenly dragged into some rando's musical number." He started to mock and sing what he could imagine someone singing about in his world. "Not that you probably care, but I just need to share, that I'm not wearing any underwear!"

"Felix!" Luna laughed, and gave him a playful shove.

"Sorry, but it's true!"

Felix laughed back. He couldn't help but wonder if any song would do the trick. Felix knew a lot of dirty and funny songs. If that had been in his heart, would the ponies be magically compelled to join in? He snorted and struggled not to laugh at the thought.

"What?" Luna asked.

Felix waved the question off. "Don't ask, I don't want to risk another incident." He chuckled, and they both walked to the large entrance to the train station.

They quickly found Saber waiting for them with their tickets – plus some spending bits. Celestia had certainly thought ahead. It was a reminder how lucky Felix was to get help from someone like her. He really owed her!

After saying goodbye to Saber, the two of them found the platform with the train waiting to take off. Standing side by side, Felix looked at Luna, who looked more relaxed now, but still a little nervous.

"Ready?"

Luna looked at him for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Ready."

Smirking, Felix dramatically pointed to the train. "Alright, to Ponyville!"

Author's Note

Name: Felix
Gender: Male
Age: 20

Species Pony
Tribe: Earth Pony

Level: 5

Class: Player

Attributes:

Strength: 20
Agility: 10
Stamina: 20
Intelligence: 10
Willpower: 10
Constitution 15
Magic: 5

Skills:
Discerning Eye; The ability to see information about living things and objects.

Earth Shaker; Sends a shockwave through the ground damaging all hostiles in the area of effect, targets in Hide/Cloak will be revealed and receive additional damage.