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                The Head That Wears A Crown                
                       -by Atticon-                        
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                   An Unexpected Visitor                   
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An Unexpected Visitor
“...Oh, where’d I put them? Spiiiiiiiiike! ” Twilight Sparkle sat in the middle of her basement laboratory, surrounded by a plethora of books, notes and magical devices. The young dragon clambered down the stairs and rolled his eyes. “What is it this time, Twilight?”
She looked of him with a mixed look of irritation and panic. “I can’t find those thaumic conductors anywhere! They should be here! They’re checked off on my spell reagent list!”
Spike gave her an incredulous look. “…They’re on the table next to you, Twilight.”
“Oh. Huh. Err, that’s good!” She gave a nervous giggle. “That’s great! That means I have everything to start the experiment!”
Her assistant frowned. “I dunno Twi. Don’t you think you’re overdoing it a bit? When’s the last time you’ve gotten any sleep? And didn’t even the Princess say long-range teleportation couldn’t be done?”
“Exactly! Just imagine how proud she’ll be when I manage it nonetheless!”
The dragon rolled his eyes once more as he turned and went back up the stairs. “This better not turn into another Smartypants Incident,” he mumbled to himself.
Freshly baked muffins. Even after all that time, he still found it impossible not to dwell on the fact that there he was, separated by his old home by the immeasurable expanse of time and space, yet still finding himself able to indulge in these delicious morsels of manifest nostalgia.
The stores in the cargo bay could last him decades if need be, which saved him from making the harrowing trip back to Earth more than every so often. The last time he restocked had been 23 years ago, yet it seemed only yesterday. Time seemed to pass differently for those who shared his curse.
Leaving the muffins to cool down, he proceeded to make himself a cup of tea. Darjeeling. The real thing, straight from the Himalayas. Not the commercial trash from the supermarkets upon which they oh so casually slap the label. At least they used to. They probably still do.
Sipping from his cup, he took in the reality of the ship that had been his home for the last century. One should hardly have cause to complain about the Nightingale. Luxurious, spacious and nigh-indestructible, it was truly one of a kind. An interdimensional palace, fit for a king. Hah. And what a king he made.
A youthful face, framed by bangs of ashen hair. Tall and lanky, his limbs seemed too long for his body. Dressed in simple black pants and shirt, he would have given the impression of a normal youngster in his early twenties, if it weren’t for his eyes. Bright orange globes which seemed to shine with an unearthly glimmer. Old eyes. Tired eyes.
He’d been cooped up in here for far too long once again. Once in a while he had need of these stretches of solitude, but having no one else but the ship’s computer to talk to eventually left him introspective to the extent that he’d been staring at his furniture for half an hour, while his tea had slowly gotten cold. He realized he should probably get out of this “parking spot” soon, lest he’d start talking to inanimate objects again. But where to go? His thoughts immediately went to Earth, but he rapidly dismissed the notion. Karlac? Too sunny this time of year. Tevran? Hell no. Last time he was there those posh twats of the Convent had roped him into another of their galactic domination schemes. He needed someplace new, someplace interesting. He sighed, realizing he was getting himself all worked up for no reason. He might as well take a shower, cool off a bit. Mens sana in corpore sano. Latin proverbs again. Yes, it seemed he desperately needed a change of scenery.
Having finished his shower and being in the process of putting on his clothes, he was suddenly assaulted by the ship’s alarms going at full volume.
“WARNING. UNIDENTIFIED LIFE FORM DETECTED. INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT.”
“I heard you the first time you loudmouthed waste of circuitry. Shut down the alarm and give me a status report!”
Immediately the alarms stopped blaring. The computerized, female voice resumed at a lower volume.
“Unauthorized teleport detected. Unidentified life form has been detected in living room area. Area has been put under quarantine. All exits have been sealed.”
“You’re telling me something teleported in. Whilst we’re inside a rift? Do the scanners show any other vessel?”
“Negative. No other vessels detected.”
He sighed. “Great. This better not be another of those “giant space flea out of nowhere” moments. Give me a visual.”
“Cannot comply. Energy spike resulting from unauthorized teleport has damaged various systems, including surveillance and intercom.”
“…So  the only option is to go inside and  check myself?”
“That appears to be correct, sir.”
“Nothing ever changes, does it?”
The computer had no response to that. He put on the rest of his clothes and went on to the nearest door to the living room area.
“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got. Computer, open the door.”
“Overriding security protocols. Disengaging locks. Opening door.”
As the door slowly opened, he protected himself with the standard counter-spells and shielding. Unexpected visitors were rarely of the friendly sort in his experience. What he saw when he entered the room however, was quite unlike anything he’d expected.
The living room looked as if a small hurricane had dropped by to visit and had left in an outrage after finding the place lacking in hospitality. Most of the furniture had been blasted against the walls, and some panels had fallen from the ceiling exposing cables and circuitry. And on the opposite side of the room, a small, purple, vaguely equine-looking creature was staring at him with eyes reflecting confusion and fear. He took a slow, tentative step in its direction.
The creature’s eyes went even wider and it backed up against the wall, then it spoke with a feminine voice.
“S-Stay where you are! Don’t come any closer!” The horn protruding from her forehead began to glow.
Ah. One of those. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. This was going to be a long day.
“My, what a thing to say to your host. Especially after partially demolishing his home.”
She gasped. “Y-You can talk.”
It would seem he would be rolling his eyes quite a lot at this one.
“What an astute observation. Clearly your intellectual capacity must be astounding. Yes, I talk. And walk. And am capable of many other things. Now if you don’t mind, I don’t take kindly to having a magical aura offensively projected towards me in my own home. It has the tendency to sour civilized conversation.
The equine had the courtesy to blush at this reprimand, yet still eyed him wearily as she dampened her aura. “What are you? And where am I?”
He clicked his tongue at her. “Seeing as you are the uninvited guest perhaps I should be the one asking questions first? No matter. Now, as for who I am: you may address me as Cyrus. I am a human of Earth, or was at least born as one. If you’d ask for my occupation, it would be something along the lines of scholar, sorcerer, traveler. As for where you are: you are in my home, the Nightingale, a vessel which is currently suspended within a rift between realities. And like all answers I see by the look on your face that these only create more questions for you.
It was a strange thing to observe a look of complete and utter befuddlement coming from an equine.
“I - Wha - Bluh?”
He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at that. “Perhaps you’d like to take a seat?”
He levitated two of the overturned couches back to their usual positions and sat down in the one on his side of the room, then motioned for her to sit down in the other, which she reluctantly did.
“I’ve never heard of humans or a place called Earth! And what do you mean, a ‘rift between realities’? What…”
He held up his hand to cut off her stream of questions. “Patience, little one. I believe it is my turn to ask questions now. Computer, load up the database if you please.”
The equine watched in astonishment as the holographic interface appeared out of thin air.
“Now, unless my memory eludes me you are a denizen of Equestria, on the world of Equis. Is that correct?”
“Yes.” Confusion returned to her expression, followed by fear. “D-Does that mean I’m…not on Equis anymore?”
He smiled kindly at her and resumed in a calm, gentle voice. “Once again, patience. I cannot give you conclusive answers to the questions you might have unless you fill in the gaps in my understanding first. Please, tell me who you are and how you came to be here. Or at least tell me what you were doing before you found yourself in my living room.”
“My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am a unicorn from Equestria, and Princess Celestia’s personal protégé.” She frowned. “It’s still a bit fuzzy. I remember a light, and a gust of wind.” Suddenly, realization dawned on her. “The spell! I was attempting to cast the long-range teleportation spell I’d been developing. Everything was going fine until…until the portal opened…I don’t really know what went wrong but somehow I found myself here.”
Yup. One of those. “Let me guess. You attempted this spell even though your mentor explicitly warned you that it couldn’t be done?”
She bit her lip, and the guilt was clear in her eyes. “Yes…but it should have worked! At least…in theory…”
He gave her a cynical look. “Everything works in theory, my little sorceress. Your mentor is right in that it can’t be done, at least not using conventional technology or arcane science.”
He activated the shutters, which slowly started to open. “You’re very lucky the Nightingale was “parked” right here, so to speak. Ending up in the vacuum of a rift between space is hardly a pleasant way to die.” The now open shutters revealed a swirling vortex of energies. To merely look at it made the mind spin. “You attempted long-range teleportation by ways of a gap between two points. Suffice it to say that those kind of gaps are quite a bit larger than you’d imagine, and they lead to more place than one.”
She was still staring at the window, completely at a loss for words.
He chuckled. “Take your time. Do you like muffins?” She merely nodded, still looking at the window. “Excellent. I’ll be right back.”
He went back to the kitchen area where he once more made tea, and then brought it back to the living room along with the remaining muffins. When he returned she turned from the window and met his eyes.
“I, I can go back, right?”
Her fear of not being able to return home practically radiated off of her. How very unlike me, he thought.
“You must be quite fond of your home. Fear not. Though I’ve never been, your reality is not unknown to me. It’ll take me some time to prepare the ship for a reality jump, but I should be able to get you back within 24 hours.”
He put the tea and muffins on a table he levitated over between them, sat down and then added:
“For a price.”
“A price?” Fear returned to her face. “You…you mean to hold me as a hostage?”
He laughed out loud. “So dramatic. Where do you get these ideas, little one? Such a vivid imagination you have. I merely ask that you sit and talk with me.”
“Sit? And talk?”
“Nothing more. Tell me of your world, and perchance I shall regale you with tales of my own. Are you not interested in learning of the multiverse beyond the confines of your own world?”
At this, fear and apprehension made way for the youthful enthusiasm of a student who simply could not learn enough. It was going to be a long day indeed. He’d probably need more muffins.

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                     Before The Plunge                     
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Before The Plunge
She had been exhausted from the long conversation, and the strain the botched spell had caused on her had started to rear its ugly head. He had accommodated her in one of the guest quarters, where she now lay sleeping on the –for her at least – rather oversized bed.
She had talked for hours of her home, and of her friends and their adventures together. She had shared in immaculate detail how she had become the student of Equestria’s ruler, and her mission to learn of the ‘power of friendship’. He in turn had shared a few stories about the wonders of his universe, although he’d avoided any mention of Earth, or his own past. There was no need to tell her of such things. She’d already seemed disturbed my some of the darker tales. The concept of a war spanning an entire galaxy particularly seemed to horrify her. Nonetheless, if there was any truth to her own stories, her world had hardly been peaceful either lately. Her description of Equestria had invoked the vision of a tranquil utopia at first, yet it was not without enemies.
And after further studying the records he had on her reality, he feared that peace might soon leave that place entirely. He could be mistaken of course, but he’d lived long enough to be able to put two and two together. There’s no such thing as coincidence. He should probably investigate. That would be the right thing to do at least.
He held that thought for a moment. The right thing to do. Why? He held no obligation towards her or her world. Why should he care?
Because you can’t help but care.
His face contorted in a sneer in response to the little voice in the back of his head.
“And look where that has gotten me.”
He sighed, and started preparing the Nightingale for tomorrow’s jump. After finishing up on calibrating matrices and calculating coordinates, he returned to the living room area where he found Twilight lying on the couch, gazing through the window at the void.
“Having trouble sleeping?”
“Yes…I just can’t stop my mind from thinking about all this. It’s just so…” She fell silent.
He went to stand beside her. “It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? Realizing just how insignificant you are, just how much more of existence there is beside everything you’ve encountered.” He smiled at her. “Trust me, it was the same for me when I was your age.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “You’re the first of your kind I’ve met so far, but you don’t really seem much older than my age to me.”
He let out a long, hearty laugh at that. “I get that a lot. Does wonders for the ego.” He walked over to the liquor cabinet – which had oddly enough been spared from Twilight’s rather violent way of entry - and poured out a glass of whiskey. “Tell me. Your mentor, Princess Celestia. How old does she look?”
She blushed furiously. “W-What?”
“Compared to regular ponies. In her twenties? Thirties? Older?”
She became increasingly flustered. “S-She’s the Princess! Debating stuff like that really isn’t appropriate!” Still,  she started frowning as she pondered the question.
“She looks…young…I suppose? I mean, older than me, but not as old as my mom. Aah! No no no, that came out all wrong…”
Then realization hit her like a brick and she looked over to see him carrying a gleeful grin on his face.
“Oh.”
“Oh.” He mimicked back at her.
“So, then…you’re immortal?”
He took a sip from his glass and leaned back against the couch.
“Truth be told, I’m not certain. If not, I definitely age at a much slower rate than the average human. I am but nearing the end of my third century, so it’ll be a while before I can confirm if I just age more slowly or not age at all anymore.”
“So you’re to other humans what the Princesses are to us ponies?”
Suddenly, a shadow fell across his features. His eyes glinted with annoyance, and a hint of anger.
“No. No, I don’t quite think that analogy carries through.”
She fell quiet, taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor. He finished the rest of his glass in one gulp then stood up to leave.
“You really should try to get some sleep. We’re leaving for Equis as soon as the reactors are fully charged, which should only take a couple more hours. Good night.”
“Good night…”
He returned to his sleeping quarters. It would probably be best if he tried to get some sleep as well. He let out a guilty sigh. He should probably apologize tomorrow for his curtness. He pondered just what he was getting himself into, then fell into uneasy slumber.
Cyrus woke up with the sound of his alarm clock after a troublesome night’s rest. Time to say goodbye to his little self-imposed exile. After a quick shower, he went over to the kitchen area to find Twilight staring at the inside of his fridge with a look of horror on her face. She turned around when she heard him come in.
“You’re… a carnivore?”
First eye-roll of the day. “Omnivore. And before you ask, no I don’t eat ponies or any other sapient life form. I didn’t expect this to disturb you to this degree. Aren’t the griffins of your world carnivores as well? Not to mention that pet owl of yours you’ve told me about?”
She visibly relaxed. “That’s true I suppose…but it’s considered a taboo to talk about it. Most ponies just act like nothing’s out of the ordinary and never mention it.”
“Hmph. Herbivores. You’re startled by anything.”
“Hey!”
He grinned. “You were looking for some breakfast I suppose? There’s still some muffins left over from yesterday, unless you’ve already had your fill of those?”
“I don’t mind. They were delicious!”
“Thank you. Two centuries worth of trying to perfect the recipe. It’d probably hurt my feelings if you didn’t like them.”
They sat down in the adjacent dining room, devouring what was left of the muffins in silence. Cyrus then spoke up.
“Look, I’m sorry if I was rather…blunt, when I left you last night.”
A look of concern passed over her face. “Don’t worry about it. I mean, it was something I said, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. But nevertheless, I should not have reacted in such an uncouth manner. You have nothing to be sorry about.”
She smiled. “Neither do you. You’ve been very hospitable, and I couldn’t get back home without your help.”
“Ah, yes, speaking of which. I’ve got a bit of spare time on my hands, and I was wondering whether you’d be agreeable to introducing me to your mentor? Equestria sounds like a wonderful place, and it’d be a shame to simply leave right after dropping you off.”
She grinned. “I’d love to! I think she’d very much like to meet you as well. I’d kind of like to see the look on her face when she hears about a reality where the world orbits the sun.” She giggled at the thought.
“Wonderful! In that case, I have some final preparations to make. Take your time to finish your breakfast, then meet me at the bridge in an hour.”
“Okay!”
When she joined him on the bridge, he’d exchanged his casual attire for a set of elaborately embroidered robes, the patterns of which seemed to shift and swirl around.
“Rarity would probably start drooling at the sight of those robes you’re wearing.” She giggled.
“Your dressmaker friend? At this old thing? It’s hardly much to look at, but it’s the closest thing to anything ‘ceremonial’ I’ve got in my wardrobe. I’m meeting royalty after all. A sorcerer needs to keep up appearances.”
She smiled at him. “It looks very impressive. Especially the enchantment, I haven’t seen anything quite like it. And anyway, you shouldn’t worry. Princess Celestia isn’t really all that concerned about formality.”
“To quote a human you’ve never heard about: “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”
She frowned at that. “I noticed you’re always wearing clothes. Do humans have some sort of taboo concerning nudity?”
He laughed. “Very observant. Yes, humans wear clothes most of the time, partly because we need them to survive in colder climates, due to our lack of fur and whatnot, and partly because of various cultural and societal norms. It has caused most of my kind to become rather prudish.”
She giggled. “Does that include you as well?”
Well I’ll be damned, she’s starting to sass back.
“Not really. But the sight of me naked would probably be enough to ruin you for stallionkind. I’m not that selfish.”
Her cheeks turned a magnificent shade of red. She then quickly rolled her eyes at him. “Urgh. Apparently colts will always be colts. Even if they’re not ponies to begin with.”
He laughed. “And it seems I’ve retained my universal ability to annoy females. Anyway, if you’re ready we can get this show on the road and get ourselves to good old Equestria.”
“You’ve finished preparing then? You’re sure you can get us there? It’s not too dangerous is it?”
“Let’s just say I’m way for confident about me and this ship’s capabilities than you should’ve been about that teleport spell of yours.”
She scowled at him. “No need to rub it in…”
He grinned. “Learn from your mistakes, little sorceress.” He brought up the ship’s interface. “Computer, are we ready to jump?”
“All systems nominal. Energy flow stable. Matrices aligned. Coordinates accepted. We are ready to jump, sir.”
He turned to Twilight. “Are you ready?”
She nodded nervously, and looked through the bridge windows at the swirling vortex of the rift.
“Good. Commence Jump. Keep your hands and hooves inside at all times.”
“Wha?”
“Commencing Jump. Three. Two. One. Ignition.”
The Nightingale suddenly lurched up and forward at an astounding speed. Unprepared for the slight tremor that accompanied it, Twilight fell over on the floor.
“Ow!”
Cyrus looked down and grinned at her. “Oops. I might have forgotten to mention these rides tend to get a little bumpy.”
“You mention this now?” She threw him an annoyed look. “You do this on purpose don’t you?”
“Maybe.” He helped her up. As she looked over at the window she saw they were now floating right above the vortex, edging closer and closer to the abyss in its center. The ship started shaking more violently.
“I-Is it always like this?”
Cyrus merely laughed. “I’ve always loved this part.”
And then the ship tipped over.