A Musician's Guide To: "Whatever this is"
Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Tailed Tailor's Tale Of Tailor...ing
Previous Chapter Next ChapterI woke up the next day to a knock at the door.
I ignored it, it had not sunk in that I was in Equestria. I sluggishly peaked open my eyes and freaked out a little, but I managed to stay quiet. As I collected myself, the knocking stopped and Chrome called from the other side, "If your awake, breakfast's on the table for you, as well as a list of things for you to do today... If nothing major comes up. I gotta get to work, see you in the evening."
While he was saying all of that; I was rushing to put my only set of clothes on. As he walked away from the door, I opened it. Walking to the table, I waved at him, he waved back, before closing the front door behind him and leaving me alone with a breakfast and a list.
The breakfast was pancakes. Pan. Cakes. Loving this place already.
The list was about what I was expecting:
'Go walk round town' psh naah
'go get a new set of clothes with the bits in the bag' He had left a small purse of around 50 bits there next to the note. Well, I cant wear this set forever, they already smell pretty bad.
'Make a new friend' Ew no.
'Go visit Feather' Yeah sure, she's pretty nice I guess.
So I put the purse in my pocket, ate the incredibly fluffy pancakes, freshened up in the sink then set out to find a tailor. I could visit Feather later. Maybe I could check in on Celestia or Luna. Maybe Luna's a better idea, since Celestia was not in the... best of moods when I left her.
Finding a tailor was pretty easy, just found the fancy-est place (that wasn't obviously a restaurant) I could see and walked in. I got some really weird looks while walking around, but no one confronted me, so the trip there went pretty well in my opinion.
The Tailor's shop was very organised and a pony was already being served. It was a small company by the looks of it, since the worker was also the owner of the shop. She was a light beige unicorn with a long brown mane and tail, her eyes a deep green. And a cutie mark of a wheel of thread. I waited for a while and the ponies eventually parted ways. When I saw this; I stood from the chair I had found and walked over to the owner of the shop. Seeing movement, she went into typical shop-keeper auto-pilot.
"Hello there miss, may I-" she stopped when she lifted her head to typical pony eye-level but didn't find a face. She slowly looked up to my eyes. I blinked. She shook her head and looked at me again. "Terribly sorry..." She waited for a name. It took me a while to pick up on but I eventually answered.
"Dan"
"Oh, terribly sorry Dan, I have just... never seen anything like you!" At least she's not scared or anything.
"Nah, don't be. I get that a lot." Technically a lie, since this was only the 4th pony I had spoken to. "You recon you can replicate these clothes?" I said, pulling on my t-shirt with one hand, and trousers with the other.
"Of course I can! Anything for such a unique guest! Anything else you need?" She said sweetly, leaning over the counter, leaning on her front hooves and looking up at me with emerald eyes that were actually scaring me with their intensity.
"I also have some clothes under these ones that need replicating too." Smooth. She took down everything I had said on a small pad.
"Anything else? And when do you want them done by?" She was really into it, her eyes were practically buzzing with excitement. Maybe she liked the challenge.
"Nothing else, thanks. But these are my only clothes you see, and I cannot be seen without them on, so I can't leave them with you. And I would like them done by this time tomorrow, though I have no idea how long any of this stuff takes, so just do it as fast as possible I guess, I can't use these clothes too many more times before they'll start getting really dirty." They were already dirty, they just weren't that bad. Plus, she didn't know what these looked like before, so it's fine.
"I understand completely, that deadline is okay with me. Let me just have a good look at them, then you can have them back. Should be no more that a couple minutes." She was getting all manner of different tools out.
After some awkward preparations, she got me to wait in a closet naked while she studied my clothes, because there were no other rooms in the building. The door to the closet slowly opened a tiny bit and some folded, and cleaner clothes were pushed through. "I washed them while I was at it, since they are your only clothes. I couldn't send a client away with dirty clothes! Hope that's okay."
"Nah, that's awesome, thanks." I quickly slipped them on and opened the door fully and walked out. "How much is this costing me anyway?" I had completely forgot to ask before-hand. Hopefully bits are worth a lot.
"Oh, it'll be 47 bits. You can pay now, or you can pay tomorrow when you pick the new ones up if you like." I poured the bits onto the counter in-front of her. She spent a moment counting then said. "Sir, this is 51 bits, you needn't pay extra!" She slid the extra 4 towards me, but I stopped her by pushing her hoof back towards her.
"No, I am not paying extra. Its a little custom from my land, when you get good service at an establishment you leave extra money, specifically for the person who served you. It's usually an extra 20% or so, but this is all I have. So take it, as my thanks." I let go of her hoof. She looked like she was about to cry. She leaped of the counter and hugged me so tightly that if she was not a pony, I would have assumed she was attacking me. All the while spewing 'thank-you's' over my shoulder. I returned the hug and she eventually let go, her eyes wet in the corners. We both started to head to the door.
"I won't forget this Dan. I have never seen such charity here, this place needs more ponies like you." Its moments like that that really warm my heart, it also puts a cinder-block onto my train-of-thought's tracks. I was so overwhelmed by this; I had no responses canned and ready, so I just changed the subject without sounding too rude.
"Hm, that is unfortunate to hear. I don't think I ever got you name?"
"Oh, dreadfully sorry. I always was forgetful." I doubt that, you run a business that's based on a structure of deadlines. "My name is Hazel Thread."
"Well, it was nice meeting you Hazel, but unfortunately I have ponies I need to go visit. See you tomorrow?" I had the door half open and I turned for her response.
"Of course, see you tomorrow Dan!" She said cheerfully. I nodded in response as I headed over to Feather's address. Well, I guess the task 'make a new friend' was not as bad as I thought. She seemed like a pretty nice girl: mature, sophisticated, but does not expect sophistication in others just because she is. Hm. Maybe Canterlot is not as bad as I thought.
The ponies on the street seemed to hear the last of our conversation, since I got a couple extra-weird looks on the street as soon as I stepped out. Perhaps they didn't expect me to be smart or something? I don't know. Ponies are just weird sometimes.
Once I got to Feather's address; I was greeted with a note on her door. That read "Dan, Celestia needs to meet you again, says it's about yesterday. No one knows where you are, so if you read this head to the throne room, the guards have been told to let you in. See you back at Chrome Star's tonight if you can make it. - Feather Flame"
Well great. I began heading towards the large palace. Judging by the sun it was just past noon or so. I eventually found the large gates leading inside. The guards either side of the door looked me over and nodded as I passed. Hm, those guys are okay, at least they didn't hold grudges. I didn't remember the way to the throne room, so I wondered around, looking for a servant or something. I saw a guard patrolling down a nearby hall and I sped up slightly to catch up to him.
"Excuse me sir," he turned to me, he looked just like every other guard, never figured out how they did that. "Which way is the throne room, I have a meeting to attend." I could see his mind working away behind his eyes. He narrowed them.
"Dan, right?" I nodded, his face returned to the usual neutral expression guards have. He gave me some helpful directions and I thanked him and continued walking. I could tell he was dying to talk to someone, he tried to make conversation but stopped when I said that the meeting was urgent. I do not envy those guys, they have barely anyone to talk to. I would ask Celestia to make some kind of break room or something for them, if they don't already have one; but I'm in no place to ask her to build a whole new room.
Sure enough, his instructions lead me to the throne room doors, the guards saw me coming and opened the door for me. I nodded to them and walked in, ready to face... something. I walked in and noticed that the throne room had a lot more occupants than last time I was there; ponies were lined up in front of Celestia's throne, and Celestia was talking to each of them, one by one, before dismissing each one. She noticed me and gestured me to the small chair in the corner with a less than obvious eye movement. I sat and waited for what must have been a couple hours. During that time, a pony brought me some food. Nothing good, just typical greens, but it was a good enough lunch, I guess Celestia must have ordered me some food or something while I wasn't paying attention.
The pony at the front of the line would tell Celesita about a problem or ask a question and Celestia would do her best to answer it for them. All of the ponies that left had a beaming grin on their face. Celestia was very good indeed. But it was slightly worrying to see that the ponies were so depended on her.
As the light streaming through the windows began to darken there was a flash in the room, I turned from my zoned-out state to see that Luna had teleported onto her throne. All of the ponies, except the one being talked to, moved to the right and formed a line in front of Luna, and she began doing the same as Celestia, with the same results. Once the pony with Celestia was dealt with and walked away with a skip in his step, Celestia looked to me and gestured me forward. I stood in front of her at the same distance that the ponies had. She looked at me, waiting for something.
Nope, I ain't gunna. I will be a friend, not a subject. After a couple seconds there was some murmuring and gasps from the line to my right.
Then a pony spoke up "That is royalty you are looking at, you know!" I could tell just from her voice that she had been fed by a silver spoon all her life. "Bow! Creature!" Needless to say I was surprised, and very offended. But I had prepared for this, though I expected it to happen sooner. Celestia gave me a look of 'go on' and I gave her a very hidden nod. I turned to the line and found the entire line looking at me with a range of shocked expressions, one particularly tall mare was staring daggers at me.
"My land does not have royalty." I said "We give respect to those who deserve it." If I had stopped talking there; I think half the line, including Luna, who was now listening, would have pounced on me. "And I have yet to meet Celestia properly, so I have had no chance to judge her character. Until then, to me, she is just another pony." They seemed to understand my reasoning, but I was still being stared at with some very malicious glares. Luna got back to talking to ponies, but didn't look overly amused. I turned back to Celestia to see her composure had never dropped, but I am sure she was shocked on the inside, maybe. I'll get her eventually, I thought to myself. "So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked in a deliberately sweet voice, the ponies in the line huffed.
I was right, this IS fun.
A yellow bubble formed around me and Celestia. "This thing sound-proof?" I asked.
"Yes. Tell me, you know of the Creator-" She said, in reference to Faust "-, we know very little, but what little we know is bad. How much do YOU know about Her?" She said with a scary expression.
"I know what she is, who she is, where she is and how she created THIS." I said gesturing to everything. Celestia looked at me with apologetic eyes.
"You were right, I do NOT want to know all that. Thank you for stopping me. But, please, tell me..." she paused, I looked at the floor, preparing answers in my head. "...What of our existence?" I looked up at her, she looked like she was preparing for an executioner's axe, her hair was not flowing and instead was floating - still - in the air. I drained all emotion from my face, and slowly shook my head.
Her horn glowed brighter as she hung her head slightly and we appeared in a completely bare room with no windows or doors. The walls were black and the only light in the room was a tiny solar system, hovering in the center of the room. She dropped the bubble, looked at the ground and let out a shake-y sigh. Then collapsed.
I was frozen. What was I supposed to do? After a couple seconds I sighed as well, and sat next to her. Her head was buried in her hooves and her hair was hanging limp on the floor. Upon sitting I automatically went to put my hand on her back, but then I stopped myself. I knew nothing of pony anatomy or rituals, that could be a very intimate move, and I wanted no part of that, so I just sat there in silence. I did however, lean on her, very slightly, just so she knew I was there and didn't snap her head back up and stab me in the face with her horn or something.
I sat there until I almost fell asleep, I decided falling asleep on a princess on day two was a bit too enthusiastic, so I stood and walked over to the solar system. A small blue and green planet, span around a stationary orb of light and a small moon orbited around it. Seeing this reminded me of a sad song from back home, I whispered it under my breath.
Celestia lifted her head slightly in my peripheral vision, as I stared at the floating orbs.
I paused, the end of a verse, and the pianos filled the silence, I assumed this was my imagination. Celestia was slowly getting up. I continued louder.
I continued for a couple minutes, it was nice. But I didn't have that much control over myself, I would never have sung that loud. Or that well, either.
Celestia tapped me on the shoulder with a hoof, she was one of the only ones who could reach that high. The pianos stopped abruptly and I realized what had just happened. I turned and stared at her. She stared right back, a sad smile slowly creeping onto her face. Her eyes were warm with emotion, and I could not help but smile back. "Did that just happen?" I said quietly. Her smile deeped and her horn glowed.
"Yes, it did. We will talk tomorrow, for now, go get some sleep." She said, before I appeared in Chrome's house and in front of a very surprised pair of ponies that had just closed the front door behind them. I could not resist. I clicked both my fingers and pointed at them.
"Ayyy, sup guys. I'm back. What'I miss?" They both just stared at me.
Feather recovered first. "Where WERE you today??"
I explained my trip to the tailor's and getting her note, I didn't mention what happened with Celestia.
"Wow Dan," Chrome said after I summed up my day. "Here for 2 days and you've already bagged yourself a mare!" He nudged me where a shoulder would be a on a pony as he walked past me and into the kitchen area. Well, that's a side of Chrome I have never seen before. I mean, Hazel was nice, but I wasn't looking for anything, like, at all.
Feather rolled her eyes, and walked over to greet me in the form of a hug. "Don't mind him, Dan." She said in a slightly hushed voice. "He's had a couple drinks." I was very suprised, and not just at the fact that Chrome of all people liked to drink.
"Alcohol exists here?" I asked, shocked and slightly exited.
"Yeah, why? Did it also in your world?" I nodded, she just shrugged. "Hm, maybe us three should go out for a drink some time." I liked the sound of that.
"I like the sound of that." I said. "But I think I will be busy tomorrow, I have got to pick up some clothes from Hazel, then I have another meeting with Celestia."
Chrome put a hoof over my shoulder and leaned on me, his chin resting on my other shoulder, "Oh, look at you Dan! Not one, but TWO mares!" He raised his free hoof to enphasise the 'two'. Feather rolled her eyes. I ignored what he said and looked at his uncomfortably close face.
"Um... Chrome?" I asked, he looked at me, almost smacking me in the face with his nose. "How are you up here?" I looked down to see that he was on his back legs, swaying slightly, and using my shoulder to support his weight. "Oh. You can do that?" His eyes went unfocused and his hoof lost its grip on my shoulder.
"Nope." He rasped, just before he fell to the floor, completely passed out. I flinched at the sound his body made as it impacted the harsh, kitchen floor. Feather just giggled and pulled him onto the couch by his tail. Not using her magic for some reason.
"He'll be fine." she said to my worried expression. If a human took that fall they would have at least broken a tooth or something, he landed on this chin. Guess cartoon logic was in effect, and it was funny-looking enough for no harm to be done.
A couple hours later, after Feather had left, I went to bed. After putting a lamp-shade over Chrome's head of course, for ironys sake. That night, I could not stop thinking about what had happened with Celestia. Was that song magic or something? That would explain why the ponies all burst into song sometimes, but thats only when something is happening, when they are very emotional. I wasn't. I just willingly... DID it. Celestia said she'd explain, so am sure she has an answer. I've got stuff to do tomorrow, got to get some sleep.