"Okay, I admit it...it is a lot bigger close-up."

Jay's sense of awe was as clear as day upon his face, as he gazed upwards, to the sublime and impressive figure of the Friendship Palace. In the bright light of the day, it glistened, creating an almost magical look about it. Although, given what he'd heard of the pace and how it first appeared, that probably wasn't all that inappropriate. Still, he wasn't just here to gawk aimlessly. He was here at the request of somebody very important. So, clearing his throat and making sure he was prepared, he marched forward to the enormous doors before him. Once there, he took a few calming breaths, before raising his fist and banging a few times. At first, there was nothing, just silence, save for the echo of his knocks. But, after almost a minute of waiting, he watched as the doors creaked open. He had expected to see his host greeting him on the other side, but instead, he was made aware of another, and definitely younger voice calling up to him.

"Welcome to the castle!"

Looking downwards, Jay saw a young-looking green and purple reptilian being of some sort smiling up to him. After blinking a few times, the human managed to fumble his words out.

"Um...hello?"

Smiling wider, the youth before him opened the door wider, allowing him entry.

"Name's Spike. Pleased to meet you!"

Jay nodded.

"Jay David."

Stepping to one side, Spike watched as the visitor entered, making sure to close the massive doors behind him once he was inside. Now fully within the castle, Jay took a moment to look around the place. It was impressive, no question about it, and what drew his attention most of all was what appeared to be the large roots of a tree, which hung down from the ceiling of this place. Placing his hands on his hips, he took a few further steps inside, all while Spike walked alongside him.

"She'll be right along."

Jay looked down and nodded to him, allowing the youngster to lead him inside further. Once he'd been brought towards the centre of the chamber, it was here that he noticed the large round table right in the middle of the room, with six thrones surrounding it. He took a moment to stare at the thing, wondering for a moment what this was or why it was here, only to be kept from this train of thought by yet another voice calling out to him.

"Ah! Mr Jay! Welcome to my home!"

Looking up, Jay, at long last, saw his host. At first, he assumed it was another unicorn, like Rarity, only to be met with the surprise that this mare bore a pair of wings. She smiled to him, and then later to Spike as the latter walked past her, though where he was going, Jay could not say. The new mare, lavender in her colouring, drew nearer to her guest, before taking a seat at the throne that bore her mark. Raising a hoof she gestured to the other side of the table.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. Please, take a seat."

Though a little unsure of all of this, Jay nevertheless did as requested, and sat directly opposite her. For a time, there was silence between the two, and when it was over, Jay suddenly remembered who it was he was with right now, and so gave a very formal-looking bow of his head.

"It's an honour to be welcomed into your home, your Majesty."

Twilight, for her part, seemed taken aback by this gesture, though broke out into a smile soon after.

"There's no need for that kind of thing, Sir. I may be a Princess, but I don't want you to treat me differently from anypony else."

Raising his head again, Jay chuckled nervously, before speaking up again.

"Sorry. It's just...well...royalty is kind of a big thing where I'm from. Getting to meet one is...you know...pretty special."

Giggling, Twilight placed her hoof upon the edge of the table as she replied to this.

"Well, in truth, I've been hoping to meet you for some time. News travels fast around here, and I was surprised to learn that Ponyville now has a human resident."

Hearing that, Jay nodded briefly.

"Ah, yes, I heard Pinkie Pie mention that. You've met other humans before?"

A nostalgic smile crossed Twilight.

"I have. Though I haven't seen them in some time now. I really should get back to them at some point."

Looking back to her guest, Twilight continued.

"I was wondering how you've been feeling lately. Settling into Ponyville okay?"

Jay nodded.

"I am. And thank you for asking."

Twilight's chest swelled with a slight degree of pride.

"Well, I am the Princess of Friendship after all. Making sure everypony gets along with each other is pretty important to me."

Jay tilted his head to that.

"The Princess of...Friendship? I wasn't aware that something like that needed an official government title."

Again, Twilight laughed.

"Believe me, it gets pretty complicated. Nopony really knows what the rules are with this sort of thing, but I like to think I've been doing well with it."

Considering that, Jay gestured over his shoulder, to the door he'd just come through.

"Well, I can only speak to what I've seen, and if the rest of your land is as friendly as the people here are, then I'd say you've been doing a pretty good job."

A blush came to Twilight at that.

"Oh stop! I just lend a hoof here and there."

She glanced back to him.

"Tell me...has being in Equestria been in any way difficult for you?"

Jay was suddenly struck with a look of confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Twilight thought on her words carefully before starting to explain herself.

"It's just...when I last visited humans, I became a human myself in order to do so. Have you experienced anything strangle like that? Maybe turning into a pony on occasion?"

Now, Jay was used to the ponies saying bizarre things to him at this point, but even by those standards, that was a rather odd thing to comment on. So, after thinking about it for a moment, he shook his head.

"Nope. Can't say I have. Or any other magical things either."

Twilight nodded.

"I see. Well, you'll be sure to let me know if anything happens, right?"

Jay chuckled.

"Believe me, if I start growing wings or a tail, you'll be the first person I come to."

Twilight smiled to this, but before she had the chance to reply, she turned at the sound of somebody approaching her from behind. Sure enough, it was Spike, and he was carrying a tray of tea cups. Twilight seemed eager to get her cup, and so her horn began to glow, levitating hers right in front of her. Spike then carried the tray over to Jay, who took his respective cup and took a quick sip of it.

"As much as I appreciate this...I do enjoy other drinks, you know. Not that I’m ungrateful or anything."

The young Princess looked to him, seeming slightly embarrassed.

"I figured that would be the case, but...it's the biggest thing my friends have said about you so far."

Jay sighed to this.

"Yep...comes with the Britishness, I suppose."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, prompting Jay to respond pre-emptively.

"Long story. Still, I'm happy to have been invited over."

Twilight's smile returned, and she raised a cup to him.

"And I'm happy you're here. Making new friends is always important, especially for me. And given how many big and crazy things happen around here, it's nice to just get a moment to relax every once in a while."

Jay let out a dry laugh after another sip of his tea.

"Preaching to the choir on that one, Princess."

Together the two gulped down their drinks at more or less the same time, and when it was over, they let out simultaneous sighs of contentment.

"You know...I've met a lot of your friends. Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity...they seem like good people," Jay remarked.

Twilight nodded, smiling warmly after he'd said that.

"They are. We've been through a lot together, and I couldn't imagine my life without them."

Jay looked to her, looking both relaxed and deep in thought.

"It's good to know...that you have people that close to you in your life. I've had friends, but they've rarely been numerous."

Looking to him, Twilight's expression softened, and then she smiled to him yet again.

"Well...I hope your time here in Ponyville can help you with that. There have always been plenty of ponies here who are willing to accept more friends. So who knows? Maybe you'll find one or two for yourself."

Jay took those words in, considering them carefully, before breaking out into a smile of his own.

"I...I would like that, Princess. I really would."

Twilight, for her part, rolled her eyes.

"I told you, Jay, you don't need to call me Princess."

Laughing slightly, Jay raised his now-empty cup to her, smirking somewhat.

"Like I said, I'm British. Trust me, you'll get called Princess a lot. At least, until we know each other better."

Hearing that, Twilight sighed, shaking her head a bit while maintaining her earlier smile.

"Well...guess I've got some work to do then."

Leaning back into his chair, Jay's own smile widened.

"I look forward to it."