trans_9 | Suddenly, Princess Celestia! [Open]

Celestia had lived a long life, but the past few days were the strangest she had ever experienced. She had awoken from a pod in a strange chamber, only to find herself whisked away to a strange maze soon after.

This maze had had her most concerned - as Princess of all Equestria, she had duties and responsibilities, after all. She could only hope that her sister Luna was managing on her own, and do her best to escape this maze and return to her beloved subjects.

Escape came unexpectedly though, when Celestia found herself suddenly dropped from the mess hall ceiling, where she landed on top of one of the tables with a thud, her hooves sending plates and trays and cutlery flying in all directions. Have a rather elegant pony - or perhaps a horse? - with a long horn on her forehead, graceful wings adorning her back, and a mane and tail that was a multicolour and gravity-defying sight standing on your table, diners, looking rather bewildered.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I hope I didn't ruin your meal," she said, with a chuckle. Then she looked around at her surroundings, her expression turning concerned. "Now this doesn't look at all like Equestria..."

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"Oh, I see! You press the key for the letter you want," Celestia said, marveling. With her magic, she pressed down a few of the buttons, managing - but my Earth pony and Pegasus subjects would find this a little tricky. Is there an alternative way to use it?"

"You've mastered it about as thoroughly as I have, now. I've no doubt there are accommodations, given the nature of the crew, but this sort of Muggle gadget is far, far away from my areas of knowledge."

Now, if these devices had been sensible magical artifacts, they could all have used them easily. But, Muggles did seem to love complicating things...

"Muggle gadget?" Celestia asked, unfamiliar with this strange term. "Are they a kind of creature?"

And he'd done it again. He rolled his eyes at himself, smiling. "'Muggle' is a term for a person who cannot use magic, as opposed to a witch or wizard, who can."

"Oh, so there are different kinds of humans, like ponies!" Celestia said, nodding her understanding. Fascinating, to learn what these other creatures were like. "And how do you tell the difference between the different kinds?"

If they were anything like ponies, then the ability to have magic would be accompanied by certain physical characteristics as well.

"Wizards can do magic, Muggles can't," he said, shrugging. "Many wizards will claim that wizards are better, more noble or pure or what have you, but, though I only rarely interact with Muggles, I don't believe that is the case."

"How strange - why should one kind be better than another?" Celestia said, shaking her head. Such strange ideas! "Earth, Pegasus, and Unicorn ponies may be different, but each has their own special skills and strengths." She laughed. "Your fellow wizards do have some funny ideas. But is there no physical difference?"

To her first question, he shrugged. "There is no physical difference, no. Muggleborn wizards often live all their lives without their parents or friends being any wiser, until the letters arrive accepting them to Hogwarts, or whichever magical school they will be attending. I take it there is such a difference, among your kind?"

"Yes - only unicorns can use magic, and they all possess a horn on their forehead. Pegasus ponies have wings, while earth ponies have neither wings nor horn, but possess great athletic potential."

Classifications which, as Remus may note, did not in fact describe Celestia herself.

Certainly true, but clearly this was beyond any knowledge he possessed.

"And they are all intelligent and verbal? Forgive my asking, but on the world I am from, neither unicorn, nor winged horse, nor pony is any of these things, though the unicorn is known to be quite magical."

"All ponies are intelligent and capable of speech," Celestia said, looking surprised. "And yet those of your world are not?"

The idea of her own ponies, unintellectual and not even able to communicate, was distinctly unsettling. Celestia could not help but feel a pang of sympathy for her poor equine brethren who did not possess such gifts.

"That is correct," he said, sympathetically. He can guess what a shock it might be to hear of a world where humans were no more than mere animals, unintelligent and even inacapable of magic. "We humans are the dominant creature, as I imagine horses, or rather ponies, are on your world."

"Your world sounds like a strange place indeed," Celestia remarked. "Are there many humans like yourself?"

"There are hundreds of thousands of witches and wizards in the world, and many many times more Muggles," he said. He did not know the exact number of Muggles, but the sheer number of them probably could not be overestimated.

"Your world must be a very busy place!" Celestia remarked.

Busy? He wasn't certain how to characterize it. He had only known the one world, after all, and it simply was what it was. "Yours has far fewer people, I assume?"

'People' was not a bad choice of words, he hoped. They were intelligent, and had some sort of society. Besides which, despite the dominant creatures being 'ponies', could there not be others, just as wizard societies knew of goblins, centaurs, even house elves?

"Some parts of Equestria can also be rather busy," Celestia said, chuckling. "You should see Manehatten!"

But she wasn't sure she wanted to put a number on all the ponies who had lived there. Too much of a painful reminder of just how many were lost.

Lupin would wonder about that name if he were more familiar with American cities. He was not.

"I hope you find some of your people here, awake and safe," he said. "Most crewmembers are human, but not all, so I hope you don't feel too out of place here."

"Thank you," Celestia said. "For your thoughts, and for all of your assistance. You've been very kind."

She looked up, noting the exit of the mess hall. "I hope you won't mind, but I should really be going. I need to try and see if I can find any of my subjects. But I do hope that we can speak again in the future."

"It was nothing special. Most people here are kind in turn, even given the circumstances." He moved to the side obligingly, clearing her path.

"Kindness is always special," Celestia said gently. "I hope you have a good day," she added, as she walked towards the exit.

Suddenly, Princess Celestia! [Open]

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