Chapter 54

11-23-14, 11:47 A.M.

Jeremy woke up to see nothing but shades of midnight blue and far-off stars. It took him a solid five minutes to realize that he was currently staring into the arcane depths of Luna’s hair, and he pushed it off to find that sunlight was streaming through her room. Luna herself had fallen asleep some time ago, and her hair was everywhere as she gently breathed into her pillow. Smiling, he quietly got dressed and exited the room. Once outside, he immediately bumped into Celestia, looking oddly stern.

“Good morning, Celestia. How’s it going?” he asked, noting her look and wondering what it was about. She surveyed him with a seemingly annoyed eye.

“How come I don’t get a dinner date?” she wondered aloud. Jeremy nearly choked as she burst into laughter.

“D-don’t scare me like that!” he finally managed to get out.

Unfortunately, this only made Celestia laugh harder, while Jeremy adopted a petulant frown. After a moment, she calmed down enough to continue.

“So, how about it? I do have a day off, after all…” Jeremy raised an eyebrow as she led him through the palace.

“A day off? How often does that occur?”

Celestia briefly considered. “Hmm… Perhaps once every month or so? Sometimes I forget to take it,” she answered.

Jeremy smirked. “Sounds good to me, what did you have in mind?”

Princess Celestia shrugged. “I did like the beach back on Earth – perhaps we could do something similar?”

Jeremy gave her a quizzical look. “Isn’t Equestrian weather regulated to be the same everywhere?” he responded, gesturing to the snow and clouds.

Celestia chuckled. “It’s a bit more complex than that… but you have the general principle right. However, we do leave some parts of Equestria uncontrolled.”

After a moment, Jeremy accepted this, and shrugged. “At least let me get my bathing suit this time…”

Celestia giggled as he headed back through the portal to change into the necessary clothing and grab a towel, as well as empty out his backpack for the day. “You humans and your clothing stipulations – honestly, who wears clothing underwater?” Celestia teased.

A flash of light later, and they were standing on a brilliantly white beach, the sun shining overhead as though winter was already a distant memory. Jeremy looked around in surprise, feeling the instant temperature difference.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“The very edge of the San Palomino Desert. Just like your Mexico, it’s near the equator of our planet, and there is little need to regulate the weather here due to low population density,” Celestia informed him.

Jeremy nodded appreciatively, surveying the area with a hand to his forehead to keep out the bright sun. Behind them, a massive mountain could be seen amidst a dune-covered desert. To his right, he could spy greener hills, as well as clouds – which, in Equestria, probably meant a city. Finally, he gazed out towards the open ocean – nothing much to see there beyond the moderate waves.

A few minutes later, they were in the water, splashing each other and laughing as the cool waves provided shelter from the hot sun.

“It’s too bad we didn’t bring surfboards,” Celestia commented.

“Who needs a surfboard?” Jeremy responded indignantly.

Positioning himself as though he were about to take a dive, he waited until just before a wave hit before springing forward, aligning his body so that he rode the wave all the way back to shore. Getting up, he could just make out Celestia’s surprised expression where they had been just a few seconds ago. He swam back to her, and she regarded him with a delighted expression.

“Where did you learn to do that?” she asked.

“My dad taught me – it was a favorite beach activity of ours,” Jeremy answered.

A part of him twinged uncomfortably at the mention of his parents, but he managed to ignore it. However, it appeared Celestia had noticed.

“…Could you teach me?” she asked a moment later.

Jeremy surveyed her with an amused look. “Hmm. Might have to modify the technique a bit, considering your body type…”

11-23-14, 2:00 P.M.

It took a few tries, but in the end Celestia got it – spreading her wings really helped, and Jeremy watched as she appeared to be gliding on top of the wave.

“That is… far too fun,” she declared, getting up after the most recent attempt and shaking the water off. Jeremy laughed, toweling himself off before changing back into his day clothes.

“So, where to for lunch?” he asked, feeling his stomach rumble.

“Los Pegasus is nearby… perhaps we could stop there?” Celestia offered.

Jeremy gave an interested nod, and they teleported once again, this time arriving in the middle of a crowded street. Jeremy recalled the similar occurrence with Luna, and smiled as the passersby had the exact same reactions – either shying away in surprise or nervous bowing. Celestia merely smiled at her subjects for a moment before setting off down the street, Jeremy once again following.

They stopped in at a fast food place, much to Jeremy’s surprise.

“Is it odd to say that I was expecting a restaurant?” he quipped as he walked in with her.

Celestia smirked at him. “Everypony acts so surprised that I visit food places that aren’t “high society” – honestly, it’s food. As long as it’s delicious, I don’t care how it’s prepared or served.” Jeremy looked at her for a moment before grinning.

After they ate and paid, they once again began traversing the streets of Los Pegasus – which, Jeremy noted, had quite a different atmosphere compared to Manehattan. Where Manehattan had been bursting with shops and other more suburban architecture, Los Pegasus was more about entertainment – yet another corollary between worlds, Jeremy supposed. Casinos and arcades were everywhere, and while Celestia frowned at the more hardcore gamblers, she seemingly enjoyed watching the more lighthearted institutions.

“So, where would you like to go next?” Celestia asked.

Jeremy briefly considered as he looked off in the distance, his eye caught by the nearby mountain. Following his gaze, Celestia smiled, and a moment later they were on the very top of the mountain. Shocked by the temperature change once more, Jeremy drew his arms around himself and began shivering.

“I c-changed my mind, this was a terrible idea,” he managed to get out, and Celestia looked at him in amusement before lighting her horn.

A second later, the numbing chill in Jeremy’s body dissipated, and he looked at her in confusion.

“A warming spell,” Celestia explained, looking at him and stifling a chuckle as he adjusted to his new conditions.

“If this keeps up, my skin cells will go into shock from rapid temperature change,” Jeremy joked as he watched snow melting on his skin with fascination.

“What did you even plan to do here, anyway?” Celestia asked curiously, looking around as though she expected to find some sort of obvious entertainment.

Jeremy laughed. “I was just thinking about all the other vacations I’ve been on, and was reminded of the times I went skiing.”

Celestia nodded in understanding, and walked over to a nearby tree. Jeremy watched in interest as she stripped two slabs of bark off using magic, and drew some of the resin out of the tree before changing this into wax. Once this was applied to the underside of the newly formed skis, she gestured for him to step on, and he did so curiously, finding that after yet another spell the skis would not come off.

“Nice innovation,” Jeremy commented, appraising the wooden slabs.

“What about you, are you going to ski as well?” he asked, wondering just how she would accomplish such a thing.

Celestia laughed. “No, I have a better idea. Race you to the bottom!” she cried as she sprang into the air and sped away. Jeremy immediately gave chase, laughing as he accelerated dangerously down the snow.

A few minutes later, they were racing down the mountain, Celestia matching his speed through clever use of her wings and the roaring winds that accompanied the mountainous terrain. Jeremy, meanwhile, was concentrating on not hitting trees – this route had a relatively level slope for a mountain, but did not feature any cleared paths. Unfortunately, he had lost sight of Celestia some time ago – perhaps she was waiting for him at the bottom.

Jeremy arrived at what he estimated was three-quarters of the way down the mountain to find that he could not progress further – it was too warm for any snow here. Curiously, Celestia was nowhere in sight.

“…Celestia?” he called to the open sky, hoping something hadn’t happened. A second later, he received a torrential flood of emotion from his mental link, and Celestia promptly teleported in front of him and tackled him to the ground, hugging him tightly.

“Where were you? I thought something had happened!” she exclaimed, not letting go for a second. Jeremy attempted to obtain enough oxygen to reply.

“I thought we were racing – did you lose me?” he asked. Celestia nodded, standing up and looking at him with worry and concern etched across her face.

“After you disappeared into the trees, I thought I heard you crash somewhere, and by the time I found out it was something else you were gone,” Celestia explained.

Jeremy stood up awkwardly due to the skis still attached to his feet, and hugged her back. “Thanks for the concern, but I’m fine,” he answered.

Celestia looked away in embarrassment, and Jeremy tripped over his skis as he attempted to break the hug by stepping back.

“Oh, right,” Celestia remarked as she removed the spell, and Jeremy gratefully got to his feet normally and without incident. A moment later, the skis were gone, presumably back to the tree they had come off of, and Jeremy elected to walk the rest of the way down the mountain.

“So, I guess you won,” Celestia commented as they made their way down the increasingly level slope.

Jeremy laughed. “I don’t think it was really a fair win – let’s call it a tie.”

Celestia smiled at him, and they both fell silent for a moment.

“So… where to next?” Jeremy asked, wondering if she had something else in store.

“Somewhere safe, and open, please,” Celestia muttered.

Jeremy stifled a giggle as he tried to remember the one map of Equestria he’d ever bothered to study. “Well, I feel like I’ve been just about everywhere, except for Appleloosa…”

Celestia briefly considered. “Have you been to… Neighagra Falls?” she asked.

Jeremy shook his head, feeling stupid for forgetting such an important landmark. Celestia smiled, and a second later they disappeared again.

Popping back into existence, Jeremy was surprised by something that wasn’t temperature, which was by now something to be thankful for. What he was surprised by was the sudden influx of noise as they stood next to the massive waterfall, Celestia surveying it as calmly as ever.

“Well, this is certainly a lot more open!” Jeremy loudly remarked so that he could be heard over the noise of the falls.

Celestia smiled and nodded. Jeremy regarded the waterfall once more, watching in interest as fish jumped straight up the steep slope in order to reach wherever they were going. Ponies were milling around and taking pictures, and there were some shops nearby as per the usual tourist industry regulations.

A few minutes later, he turned to Celestia with a devilish grin. “Race you to the bottom?” he inquired, leaning over the railing and jabbing a thumb downward to be sure she got the point.

Celestia glared at him. “Don’t even think about it,” she sternly replied, and Jeremy chuckled.

11-23-14, 5:27 P.M.

After a while of calmly watching the falls, they agreed to return to Canterlot. Celestia lit up her horn once more, and they reappeared in front of the castle gates, Jeremy appreciating the familiarity for once.

“What a day,” he remarked as they passed Luna, who nodded at them serenely before resuming her journey in the opposite direction.

“All in all, busier than your typical Sunday, hmm?” Celestia replied as she opened the door to her bedroom.

Stopping for a moment, Jeremy stared at her.

“…What?” she asked curiously.

“So I just had a day-long date with you… on a Sunday… Did you do that for the pun?” he accused, smirking.

Celestia looked confused for a moment, but as soon as she realized what he was talking about, she was overcome with giggles. “Oh, goodness no! That was coincidental,” she answered.

She then adopted an equally devilish smirk. “Besides, if it was planned, we’d have had to reschedule Luna’s date for Monday.”

Jeremy slapped a hand to his forehead, now chuckling as well, and Celestia headed off to lower the sun, both still greatly amused.

By the time she returned, Jeremy had flopped backward to lay on the bed, his exhaustion catching up with him. After looking at him for a moment, Celestia chuckled and shook her head, lifting him up with her magic and gently tucking him into her bed.

“M’ not gonna be out that long, just need a sec to rest…” Jeremy mumbled in response.

“Take as long as you need,” Celestia replied, and exited, closing the door gently behind her.

An hour later, he traipsed downstairs to find that Ethan was once again out of his cell, seemingly waiting for him under the watchful eyes of both Princesses.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Jeremy greeted as he walked up to Ethan, who shrugged.

“Same as usual, I guess.” Jeremy gave a semi-interested grunt in return. “So, I’ve been hearing about your weekend. Mind explaining it to me in more detail?” Ethan queried.

Jeremy looked at him, eyebrow raised. “Why?” he replied.

Ethan shrugged. “I just want to hear what the other cities are like.”

Mentally shrugging, Jeremy proceeded to explain what he had seen and heard so far. Ethan listened in rapt attention, and by the time Jeremy finished, he was wide-eyed with wonder.

“Cool,” Ethan commented. With that, he wandered off to the dungeon to lock himself in, and Celestia got off her throne and gestured for Jeremy to follow.

They both crawled into bed, Celestia immediately snuggling up to him. Jeremy laughed as he placed an arm around her.

“Celestia, you’re being adorable again,” he mock-complained, and Celestia raised a half-lidded eye to meet his gaze.

“Before this happened, I never had anyone to cuddle with. Can you really blame me for enjoying it?” she retorted.

Jeremy gave a satisfied hum in response, and leaned into her as they drifted off to sleep.

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