Crossing Over the Arcane Hiatus

Chapter 5: Compromise is Mandatory

The palace was huge. Down every hallway there were integrate and decorative murals and all the widows were made of stained glass. The windows themselves were maybe fifty feet high. The walls were marble and chandeliers hung from the ceilings. Potted plants littered the ground and long rugs ran down the length of each hallway, each one a different color. I was given a makeshift crutch by Luna to walk with; it was a long metal rod with a hook on the end that I could put under my arm, and my guess is that it was torn from a hat stand. Twilight was alongside me and by my estimate she was maybe four feet tall, and she seemed to notice I was looking around. We were being escorted by some guards down a maze of corridors until we came to one that had numerous doors on either side. We kept walking down to the end of the hall where a small fountain was trickling water. Next to it was a door and the guards stopped and took their places on either side. Twilight opened the door and led me in.

“Home sweet home.”  Twilight sighed. The room was exactly how I remembered it from the show; a large window that was the size of an entire wall overlooked Canterlot, blue walls, bookshelves everywhere, and a telescope pointing outward was sitting on a small balcony near the window.

“Sorry about the mess.” Twilight picked all books that were on the ground with her magic and hastily set them in a pile off to the side. I looked up to notice a large circular skylight, and then I could see the second story. There was a single staircase leading up to it where I assumed was a bedroom and more bookshelves. Twilight walked upstairs and patiently waited as I wobbled up them. On the second floor there was indeed a bed, actually there was two of them, but one was labeled “Spike”, and a desk was nearby. There were more bookshelves and another staircase that led to a third story balcony that had even more bookcases.

“I’m sorry…” she began again and sent a beanbag chair toward me. “You can sit there. I need to write a letter to Ponyville and tell my friends I’ll be gone for the night.” I looked outside the massive window and the sun was just starting to set. Twilight seemed to have finished her letter and then ran out of the room only to reemerge a few seconds later. I still stood there looking at all the towering bookcases, and slowly tried to sit down, but the crutch slipped out from under me and I fell backwards into the chair.

“Are you alright?” Twilight seemed worried.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve never used a crutch before.” I sat up and took my backpack off. Twilight opened it and took out all its contents, spreading them out on the floor. She sat down beside me, and then a couple books floated off the shelves and landed near her.

“I was hoping we could talk about our worlds!” She seemed really eager right now. Oh boy… “Maybe you could read some Equestria history books and I could read some of yours?” There was no use in fighting her. She sent me a book labeled ]he Sun and the Moon. I handed her the dictionary and the map I had.

“I don’t have any history books.” I told her, “but I do know a lot. I could tell you what I know. Also, that map is of the state I lived in, which is part of the country,” she opened it up and flipped it over, “The United States.” On the back there was a large map of the US, and in the corner there was a smaller map of the world. “And this is a small map of my planet.” Twilight was ecstatic and took out another book off the shelf. It was black, thick, and seemed like it had never been used. She opened it and the book was blank. Then she looked off towards a desk, stopped, and nervously looked back to me.

“Erm, can I try using that?” pointing to the pen.

“Sure. You can keep it if you want.” I took off the cap and handed it to her, but she ripped it out of my hands in an instant with her magic. After taking a minute to study the pen, she started writing in the book while looking back and forth between the map, the pen, and her work.

“Uhh, if you’re just going to copy the map, you can just keep that too. I have no use for it here anyway.” She perked up and grinned from ear to ear, quickly closed the book and then went to studying the map. Figuring there was nothing better to do, I began reading the book she handed me. It was the same book from the introduction in the first episode of the show.

Should I even tell them about the show? How would they react knowing they weren’t real? Or were they? I was here with Twilight in front of me, and she was real. So was the room, the floor, my broken leg, the pain, the book I held... I looked back to Twilight who was still overlooking the map. She kept saying city names and occasionally asking me if she pronounced them correctly.

“Oree-gun?”

“Oregon. That’s the name of the state.”

“Tut-wall-a-ten?”

“Tualatin.”

“Tualatin… Ee-you-gene?”

“Yup. Eugene.”

“Sherwood?”

“Correct.”

This went on for maybe an hour, and the sun was now set. I checked my watch and it was about 9am. Remember, ‘am’ is afternoon, ‘pm’ is the morning. I closed the book, realizing I was still on the first page. I noticed the other books Twilight had and looked them over. Lands of Equestria, probably geography, and a newspaper, Equestria Daily, which is likely sent nationwide.

“Quick question: How long has it been since I was found?” I asked her.

“Oh, just this morning, actually.” She replied. I looked back to the paper and it was dated August 16th, the same day as the storm. Looking back to the other book, I vaguely remember any geography of Equestria, but I do believe I know the general area where I assume I’d be spending a lot of my time. How do I get back to Earth? Is it even possible? Twilight spoke up.

“Chris you’re probably not really dangerous…” she said. “If either Princess thought you were there would be no way they’d let you near anypony. This whole thing is probably just a big misunderstanding and I’m sure it’ll blow over soon and we can find a way to get you back home.”

“T-Thank you for trusting me.” I smiled at her and she smiled back. Wait… do I even want to go back? I had nothing on Earth, and here I have at least one friend and a place to stay…

“Wow Chris,” she was now scanning through the dictionary.

“Yes?”

“Humans sure seem like a friendly species!” She turned the dictionary in my direction and it read;

Human -adjective; Sympathetic, Humane.

“Twilight…” I felt the need to tell her how people actually acted. “That’s not entirely accurate.” She seemed perplexed by this new information, and looked back to the dictionary rereading the definition.

“While it’s true, Humans are generally nice around their family and friends, there’s a bigger and darker side to things. We are a very smart and advanced species, but this has driven some to lust for power. So there is constant corruption, thievery, murder, and war seems to happen nonstop. On Earth, there is constant famine in some countries while others simply throw food away. Humans reap resources without hesitation regardless of the consequences. There is overpopulation, ecosystems are ruined and the air itself are polluted, forests get destroyed, and entire animal species have gone extinct because of us.” Twilight was obviously horrified, but tried her best to hide the look. “Don’t get me wrong though, Earth is a beautiful place, as long as it’s untouched. I could show you some pictures on my laptop, but Princess Celestia has that right now. People just have a habit of destroying everything. There are others who try to fight against this, but corruption is so deep they have little to no impact on anything.”

An awkward silence filled the room after my brief explanation of Human civilization. Twilight was obviously shocked, but then solemnly chimed in. “We have that here, too.” She was forlorn with her head to the ground, and then looked back up to me.

“I just thought…” she closed the dictionary and kept talking, “Equestria prides itself on not being like that. We have always opposed conflict and pushed for compromise, so Equestria hasn’t been at war for more than a thousand years. However the rest of the world doesn’t fare much better, and albeit things are not as …extreme… as your world, such problems still persist.”

Another awkward silence, but this one was quickly halted by a knock at the door. “I’ll get it.” Twilight slowly got up and made her way to the door, only to return a minute later with a platter of food.

“A guard dropped this off.” She set the plate down, and only then did I realize how hungry I was. It was covered with assorted fruits and vegetables, as well as grass and flowers.

“Seeing as you’re an omnivore,” Twilight kept on, “It shouldn’t hurt you to switch to a vegetarian diet.”

“Of course!” I quickly snapped out of a trance and smiled. “I wouldn’t want to get in trouble again while I’m here.” She too popped out of the gloom we bestowed upon ourselves and smiled back. I started to eat some of the apples, and noticed Twilight had reopened the black book and was writing down everything I ate.

“You don’t suppose I could get some sleep soon?” I asked. “Princess Celestia said I should, and I’m starting to get tired.”

“Sure thing, come over here.” She replied. I struggled to get up with the crutch, but it slipped out from under me and I fell forward.

“I got ya.” I landed on Twilight’s back as she stopped my fall. “Need any help?”

“Yes, thank you.” She helped me get my balance and I followed her to the beds, limping the whole way.

“Here, you can sleep in Spike’s bed tonight. He’s my assistant, and since he’s not here I don’t think he’ll mind. It may be kind of small though.”

“It’s alright. I’ll survive.” I made my way over and fell into the bed. “So soft…”

Twilight left to go clean up the mess in the center of the room.

“Oh Chris, what about these?” Twilight eagerly lifted the two novels off the floor and walked towards the beds. “What are they about… oh, I see.” She giggled as the Human lay passed out in the bed. “You must be real tired from today. Get some sleep.” Twilight walked over to the dictionary, and started shuffling through it again.

It’s so strange that English and Equine are the same language. I wonder if there’s anything about Equestria in here… she skipped through to near the end of the book. Here we go…

Unicorn –noun; mythical creature resembling a horse with a single horn in the center of its forehead. Unicorns are often associated with cleanliness and purity.

So to Humans, Unicorns are just a myth? Twilight looked at the mess on the floor. Well they got that part wrong. Twilight smiled as she went up to a bookcase and found a dusty, dark green book. It was obviously aged and some of the pages were fading and torn, and the cover read Ancient Myths and Legends.

“Chris, get up please.”

“Hrmph. Just five more minutes…”

“You said that five minutes ago! And five minutes before that.”

“Ugh. Sorry…” I sat up. “I’m not a morning person.”

“…Obviously.” Twilight retorted. “Now get ready, we have to meet the Princesses in twenty minutes!” She looked at me with a very serious expression and ran off. I got up and shifted about, grabbing my crutch and followed where she went, right into the kitchen. It was a small kitchen, and not surprisingly it to had bookcases in it. In the center there was a small circular table with food on it, with four chairs surrounding it. Twilight was busy searching through all the cupboards above the sink. There was also a small stove and refrigerator.

“The guards came by earlier, and after I told them what you… what you’d be eating, they brought you breakfast. Partially because I don’t have any food here anymore.” On the kitchen table there was a large bowl of apples, some carrots, and amusingly a large pitcher of water. Twilight motioned to me and I sat down and begun to dig in.

“Come on, you can’t go see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna with your mane like that.” Twilight was looking at me wearingly.

“My, what?”

“I meant your hair. Now sit still.” Out of nowhere I was attacked by something, got caught off guard, stumbled, and fell out of my chair. Twilight burst out laughing while I tried to get back up.

“At least tell me what you’re going to do! That scared the hell out of me.”

“Alright, here,” it was a hairbrush, floating, and she set it on the table, “You can do it yourself.” She was trying her best to contain herself at what just happened.

“Thank you.” I took the brush and began to straighten out my hair when there was a knock on the door that led back out into the palace.

“Oh, it’s time to go! You can leave your stuff here, I’ll be sure it gets back to you later.” Twilight very quickly threw on one of those satchel-things over her back, and put a few books in it. Then we were out the door.

You’d think that being injured and relatively scared would at least calm them down somewhat. The four guards that were escorting us were very nervous around me, but Twilight seemed calm like I was just anyone else. We zigzagged ourselves back through the maze that was this enormous palace until we came to what must have been the front entrance. There was a large staircase to my left that went up the back wall and then separated into two smaller staircases that each let to different hallways. At the landing where the stairs separated there was a large stained-glass window with images I couldn’t quite explain. The one hallway we came out of was on the ground floor, and it opened up perpendicular to the beginning of the stairs. All walls of the entryway were white marble, similar to the rest of the castle. Princesses Celestia and Luna were standing in front of the large golden double-doors that lead outside. There was also a pony talking to them; an older brown stallion wearing red robes with gold stitching, and a darker shaded hood ran over his head.

“This could be the source of our problems.” The stallion was talking to Princesses. “We need to keep it contained.”

“We don’t know that for certain, and until there is any definitive proof we have no right to revoke the natural rights of any being.” Celestia replied.

Were they talking about me?

“Even if he is not a native to this world, this is still Equestria.”

Yup. The two probably would have kept talking but Luna diverted their attention towards us as our party approached. The stallion who Celestia was arguing with turned to me and went wide-eyed.

“So that… is it really…” he was mumbling under his breath.

“Chris…” Celestia began, looking to the stallion and then back to me. “After much debate, it has been decided not to detain you against your will.”

“Thank you, your highness.” Was that even the correct term to use?

“It does…” the robed stallion kept mumbling and kept looking up at me. “…It’s like... just like the…” The stallion murmured something else before running off.

“Even though you are not native to these lands or even this world as it would seem,” the Princess continued, “You will have the full right of an Equestrian from this point on, but that does not mean you can do whatever you please. You will also be put under constant surveillance as our scholars and researchers learn more about your kind and the events that took place yesterday.”

Scholars? Oh right, I overheard them being mentioned in the forest yesterday. Was that robbed pony a scholar?

Celestia now turned her attention to Twilight. “My faithful student, I trust you to report to me at least once a week on Chris’s behavior; what he does, how he acts, and how others see him. Seeing as the two of you seem to get a long, it will probably be the least stressful if you keep an eye on him. Why don’t you spend the day showing him around?”

“Alright, Princess.” Twilight looked like she had been when I first gave her the dictionary. “Also,” she opened her satchel and gave the black book to Celestia. “In here is everything I’ve learned so far since yesterday. And the stuff you gave him before is still in my room. We left it behind because we didn’t want to be late.”

Celestia seemed pleased and took the book from Twilight. She used her magic and the book disappeared in a small flash of light. Then I noticed Luna had produced my duffel bag and gave it to me.

“In there is everything of yours we hadn’t given you before.” Luna said, “And don’t worry, we’ll send the rest of your belongings to the library in Ponyville.” Before I could thank her Celestia spoke up again.

“And Chris, anypony you meet might not take kindly to you at first. However they should lighten up if they get to know you.” She winked.

“Thank you, Princesses.” I looked at the two royals. “I don’t think I have much of an option.”

“Yeah Chris,” Twilight was now talking to me. “Everypony in Ponyville is real nice, and I can’t wait for you to meet my friends!”

Great…

Now we were outside the large double doors. I took a deep breath of fresh air.

“So where are we going?” I asked Twilight.

“Well, mostly everypony here in Canterlot is kind of stuck up…” Twilight said with a slight frown. “So we should go to Ponyville first. Everyone there is really nice and understanding, and I can’t wait for you to meet my friends!”

I looked down the path through the front garden that led downhill when I heard a small noise.

“Hey, Twi’ out yet? She should‘a been out by now.”

Was that…

“Miss Sparkle?” Replied the familiar monotone of a guard. “Yes, she should have just been let out. Seeing as the two of you are close friends, you can go up and wait for her by the front gate, if you want.”

Yup. Here comes Applejack...