Four Corners

Fox awoke with a jump. He'd had a nightmare, one of which he couldn't just make out. It was one of those weird dreams where you can't remember when you wake up. His back hurt, and he felt something warm wrapped around his midsection. Krystal? He couldn't remember.

Groaning, Fox slowly opened an eye. He was in a very fancy-looking...

Oh, yeah.

Now Fox remembered. He was invited to spend the night with Princess Cebrestia. No, It was Celetria. He'd somehow been teleported into a strange world by a mystic black portal, and even though he should have been in distress, he was relatively calm. He was stranded on alien planets before, and he knew what to do. Daring to turn his head, Fox saw Celetria's long, white arm wrapped around him like a teddy bear.

Wait. Did I... Did we...?

Fox very slowly slid out from under Celetria's arm and stepped out of bed. He found his jacket hung on the bedstand beside him. That was strange... He didn't remember hanging it there last night. Oh well. Reaching over, Fox pulled on his jacket and turned to face Celetria. Her hair was a frazzled mess of magical pastel rainbow. Then, he remembered. It was Celestia, not Celetria. And they certainly didn't do... that.

Fox didn't want to rudely awaken the princess of a foreign world just yet, so he took a seat in a chair across from Celestia's bed. This one had a simple mahogany table in front of it, and another chair across from Fox. Fox yawned quietly and looked out the window. Due to his natural tendency to wake up early, it was still dark outside. He guessed it was around 5:00 AM by the dim, red light shining over the horizon.

A few minutes later, a shift in Celestia's bed caught his eye, and he turned to see Celestia rising from her bed.

"Morning, Foxy Woxy," She mumbled. That caught Fox's attention.

Now he was wondering if they did it again.

"Erm... Morning."

"I see you're already up and ready to go?" Celestia cracked her neck and slid out of bed, slipping on her golden horseshoes.

"Ready for what?" Fox yawned.

"Why, for your introduction into Equestria, of course!"

"Oh, uh..." Fox stuttered. "I don't think I should really go into public just yet, your highness."

"Nonsense! I'll just get myself ready and..." Celestia remembered her snapped horn. "Never mind." Fox was secretly relieved by the fact.

"Sorry 'bout that, princess."

"No worries, Mr. McCloud. This isn't the first time I've been bedridden for a week."

"Oh?" Fox turned to Celestia.

"Nope. I've been injured lots of times, but due to me being... me, I always manage to get up and running in a short while."

"I see," Fox trailed off, peering out the window at the rising sun. "So, you mentioned before that you had a younger sister?"

"You mean Luna?" Fox nodded. "Yes, she's rising the sun as we speak."

"Is she anything like you?" Fox asked.

"Well, she spent 1000 years on the moon, so she's somewhat off-course."

If Fox had any coffee, he'd be spitting out gallons right now. He rose from his chair faster than a bullet. "A thousand years?!"

"Mm-hmm. She was... corrupted by an evil force and I had to banish her there."

"Wow, Princess Celestia, I knew you were powerful, but... but..." Fox began pacing around the room, trying to comprehend what 1000 years of solace must've been like. "How did she survive?"

Celestia winked at Fox. "Immortality, remember?"

"Y-y-yeah." Fox was short of words.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm just the narrator, but hey, I know lots of stuff. Fox has a cool attitude. Never gets angry, never gets scared by anything. He just puts his head to it, and gets his shift done. But now that Fox knew of Celestia's true power, he decided it was better to stay on the good side of the princess.

Fox's stomach growled, drawing Celestia's attention to him. Fox shook the thoughts from his head.

"Hungry?"

"Starving," Fox mumbled. "What's to eat?"

"Let's see, shall we?" Celestia trotted over to a small rope hanging next to her bed. Giving it a light tug, the faint jingle of a bell could be heard.

Not two seconds later, a mare trotted through the door. To Fox's surprise, she had a green coat and a darker green mane. Fox hadn't known ponies came in other colors. Maybe she was a rare breed?

"Yes, madam?"

"Breakfast, please," Celestia smiled. "And some for my guest as well."

The maid turned her gaze to Fox, who ushered a quick wave. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't run off screaming like Fox thought she would.

"Right away, your highness." The mare promptly trotted out of sight, silently shutting the door behind her.

Several minutes of chatting and growling stomachs later, a quiet knock was heard on Celestia's bedroom door. "Breakfast, your majesty!" It was a different voice. Female, but still different.

This time, instead of a green pony, Fox saw a pure blue coat and short black mane and tail come walking in. She was levitating a tray with her greenish-blue magic, covered with a shiny metal dome. Giving Fox a trivial glare, she trotted over to where Fox and Celestia sat, she set the tray down on the table and lifted the cover off.

"Dandelion salads, your highness, just the way you like them."

Fox's spirits immediately dropped. Just what he had feared.

"Enjoy." The blue pony said before ushering out of the room and shutting the door quietly behind herself. Fox and Celestia were alone again.

"Well?" Celestia asked, picking up her sandwich. "Dig in! Nopony's watching."

Fox twitched at the interesting quirk of language. "Uhhh..."

"What's the matter?" Celestia took a bite of her sandwich. "Don'f you like sanwiffes?"

"I do, princess, but... I don't think I can eat this." Fox pushed his plate towards the center of the table.

"Why not?" Celestia tilted her head.

"I eat food, not plants, if you know what I mean."

"Oh!" Celestia giggled. "How unfortunate. Would you like something else?"

"Sure. Got any ham?"

Celestia's sandwich dropped to her plate instantly.

"Oh. I see." Her voice sounded strangely nervous. "You're... one of them."

"What?"

"A carnivore."

"Actually," Fox leaned closer. "I'm an omnivore."

Celestia avoided Fox's gaze. "I'm sorry, I'm just sort of unsettled by anything that consumes meat."

Fox was puzzled. Surely some creatures on this planet ate meat, right? Celestia must've heard of them, or seen them. Why was she so unsettled by the fact that Fox ate meat? Fox understood that, because Celestia was a peaceful, herbivorous creature, she must've been slightly creeped out by meat-eaters.

"How about something less meaty?" Fox joked. "Do you folk have anything else I might be able to eat?"

"We have apples," Celestia said, meeting Fox's eyes again. "Would you like one of them?"

"I would love one," Fox said.

A minute later, Fox was taking his second bite into the most delicious apple he'd ever tasted. When he was finished, he laid the core on his plate, which was promptly whisked away by a butler at the ring of a bell. Fox and Celestia chatted idly for a few more minutes before Celestia excused herself, sat up and trotted over to her balcony. Fox watched as she pulled the telescope he had seen earlier to her eye. She tilted it skyward, into the still-dark sky.

"Fox, come see this! Quickly!" Celestia's voice called to Fox from the balcony.

Hustling to his feet, Fox scuttled to the balcony beside Celestia just in time to see the sun starting to peek above the horizon.

"Now you'll see something spectacular," She whispered. "Watch."

Fox watched in awe over the next few minutes as the sun rose like he had never seen before. Although he'd seen many sunrises and sunsets before, he'd never seen the sun rise so quickly in his lifetime. Perhaps it was an irregular orbit, or asymmetrical planetary mass?

"Wasn't that something?" Celestia asked. Fox nodded in response. "Normally, it'd go a lot quicker, but Luna has been raising the sun for me."

Fox heard her say that before, but he'd dismissed it as a lie or a joke. But now, he'd seen it with his own eyes. Luna had raised the sun, and she was younger than Celestia. Just how powerful was Celestia? Suddenly, there came another knock on the door. Celestia walked over and opened it. In the doorway stood a tall, dark blue mare.

She was almost as sexy as Krystal. Maybe even sexier.

"Sister! I did it! I raised the sun, all on my own!"

Fox's ears pinned themselves against his head at the volume of the mare's voice. His view of Luna was out the window now.

"I saw, Luna," Celestia said, smiling. "It was even faster than last time. I'm very proud of you!"

"It's a lot heavier than the moon, Tia." Luna turned and noticed Fox. "My, who is this?"

"Luna, I'd like you to meet Fox McCloud. He's ended up in my bedroom by accident."

"Creative name." Luna smiled and waved.

A nickel for every time...

Twilight, Milvar and Naughty were prancing through a wide open field of tall grass and flowers. The sun was beginning to set, marking the end of another wonderful day. They'd played all day, discovering just how many colors butterflies came in and how many blades of grass were outside of the Canterlot castle, which was in the distance. Small puffy clouds floated in the sky.

Twilight was having a wonderful time; Milvar and Naughty held hands as they skipped gayly through the field, singing. Twilight sat upon a red and white plaid blanket, reading one of her favorite books. To her surprise, Twilight saw Milvar and Naughty heading towards her with the most beautiful flower she'd ever seen. She couldn't begin to describe it.

Heck, I'm the narrator, and even I can't describe it.

Twilight accepted the gift happily, levitating the flower to her nose and giving it a firm sniff. The smell of springtime filled her nostrils as she giggled, watching Naughty and Milvar make "grass" angels.

Drip.

A speck of rain landed on Twilight's nose. Looking up in surprise, Twilight found that she had completely missed the heavy black rainclouds rolling in. Twilight called out a warning to Milvar and Naughty...

Who were nowhere to be seen.

Sharp winds suddenly tore Twilight's book and flower from her grasp, throwing her from the blanket she was sitting on. She tried to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth. Rain was now slamming against her in all directions, throwing her this way and that. Then, something mysterious happened.

A tall, white... thing... rose from the earth, far in front of Twilight. It stood in a posture similar to Milvar, but it had a strange golden visor preventing anything from being seen inside. It towered over Twilight, who again could not scream for unknown reasons. She tried to run, but her legs wouldn't respond. The creature plodded closer to Twilight, who just now was realizing how tall it was. It looked to be taller than Celestia herself.

In the distance, the storm clouds never seemed to end. Darkness was covering the land, with lightning and harsh winds blowing every which way. The sky turned to red, and then, it happened.

Canterlot exploded.

Pieces of the castle and other buildings were seen flying outward from a huge fireball, crashing everywhere around Twilight, but seemingly missing Twilight and the tall white creature entirely. Once Twilight thought it couldn't get any taller, the creature slammed its gigantic hand onto Twilight, closing on her and lifting her face-to-visor with the evil human. It was at least the size of Canterlot now, and when Twilight was brought up to the creature's face, she could see herself reflected in its visor. A loud, rumbling, robotic voice emanated from the monster's body.

JOHN MADDEN.

Now Twilight could scream. It was the loudest, shrillest scream anypony had ever heard.

FOOTBALL. The monster began to crush Twilight with its enormous fingers.

PONY.

Twilight felt several bones snap under the pressure.

PONY.

Blood now squeezed itself from Twilight's mouth, nose and ears.

WAKE UP, PONY.

Everything faded to black as Twilight's eyes exploded out of her skull.

"Pony! Wake up!"

Twilight screeched at the top of her lungs as she scrambled against the wall for safety. Milvar stood in front of her bed, helmet missing and no shirt in sight, revealing his bulging muscles and manly chest hair.

"Pony, it's just me!" Milvar said, reaching out with both arms. "It was only a dream."

"A dream?" Twilight asked, voice trembling.

"Just a dream," Milvar repeated. "Must've been pretty bad; You were jumping around something fierce."

"Yeah..." Twilight's tiny heart slowed down as she regained her composure. "Where's Naughty?"

"He went to get us some breakfast." Milvar chuckled slightly, scratching his goatee. "You should've seen his face when he woke up next to you!"

"Oh..." Twilight blushed slightly. "I had to sleep somewhere."

"... True," Milvar said, walking over and sitting on his bed. "Still."

"Yeah." Twilight peered out the window to find that the sun was just beginning to rise. "You're up early."

"I always woke up early for guard duty," Milvar replied.

"You can go back to bed if you want," Twilight said. "I don't have any special duties for today."

"I'm fine."

"Suit yourself," Twilight mumbled, burying herself in the bed covers. "Nighty-night."

The door opened suddenly, startling Twilight. Peering out from underneath the blankets, she saw Naughty walkign in carrying a tray of various foods. Including donuts.

"Breakfast, Milvar," He spoke quietly. "She still asleep?"

"No, she's awake, just tired." Twilight heard shifting. "Twilight?"

"Mmm."

"Naughty's got breakfast here. Want some?"

Twilight reluctantly lifted the covers off of her and lazed off the bed. She saw that Naughty had taken her into thought, grabbing some hay fries. Not the best breakfast, but it would do. He'd also grabbed several donuts and some peanut-butter sandwiches. Also on the tray were several tall glasses of milk.

"Thanks," Twilight said. "And, uh, sorry about the whole sleeping next to you thing."

"Don't worry about it." Naughty smiled slightly. "I've been through worse."

The three ate breakfast, chatting quietly well into the day. Just as it was turning to noon, a knock came at the door.

"Twilight Sparkle?" Luna's voice was at the door. "My sister requests the presence of you and your... guests."

"Coming!" Twilight replied, hopping off the bed she had been sitting on all day. "We'll be out in a bit!"

Luna opened the door and walked in carefully, eyeing Twilight's two new friends with awe.

"I see you have adopted the aliens that nearly murdered my sister." Luna raised an eyebrow at the strange looks she was given by the two aliens.

Naughty couldn't keep his eyes off of her horn. It was much longer than Twilight's and probably sharper. Nestled behind it was a crown that looked expensive. She wore regal chest armor jet black in color and light blue horseshoes.

Milvar, however, was interested in her mane and tail. They sparkled like the night sky, waving in some weird ghostly wind. They drew him into a trance, reminding him of the night skies back in Skyrim.

"Can I help you?" Luna asked, glaring at Milvar.

"Your hair," He said, pointing. "It looks awesome!"

"Oh!" Luna turned away, her cheeks flushing red. "Thank you, but I'm afraid I can't say the same for you."

Milvar looked down at his hairy chest and beard. They weren't very well kept. Shrugging, Milvar took a seat on his beat.

"Princess Luna," Twilight said. "I'd like to introduce Naughty Bear and Milvar."

"Charmed," Luna replied, holding out her hoof. Naughty and Milvar shook it kindly. "You're the ones who came through the portal?"

Milvar and Naughty nodded.

"We just wanna go home," Naughty said. "I miss Perfection Island."

"We wish to let you know that you shall be returning home soon." Luna smiled at the good news. Milvar and Naughty did so also.

"Just how long is that?" Milvar asked.

"We estimate... 7 days."

"That's not too bad," Milvar replied. "I could surely go for more donuts."

"Me too!" Naughty chimed in.

"I think that sounds wonderful," Luna chirped. "However, I think it's time for us to meet the other foreigner here."

"There's more of them?" Twilight asked.

"Certainly," Luna replied. "A short red fox who happened to land on our sister's balcony."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Milvar pulled his tunic over his head, leaving his helmet to rest on his bed. "This trip can't get any stranger."

Milvar and Naughty were out of breath by the time they reached the top of Celestia's spire. They stood before the regal wooden door with the sun. Milvar marveled at the craftsmanship that went into the golden sun design, even if it was simple. It was as if it was forged in the Skyforge.

Naughty was surprised by the sheer height they were at. The pressure change had popped his ears and he was light-headed. He was also short of breath. Twilight and Luna were unaffected, seemingly by either having traveled up here often or their equine nature.

"We have arrived," Luna said.

"Celestia's bedchambers..." Twilight smiled as she knocked on the door. "I always came in here as a filly."

"Come in!" A voice from inside called.