>you're in a library now
>though it would have been better just to use your computer to do all the research, you wanted to give the royal sisters a firsthand experience of the world spawned by human manipulation.
>which is exactly why you walked here.
>were they taking notes?
>or did they just have really good memories?
>you still don't know where those pajamas came from.
>one question at a time.
>you hope they weren't cold on the way here, what with only having thin layers of linen between them and the environment.
>you're sure your jacket pocket was enough.
>you left your breakfast behind.
>you have a generous amount of pocket change on you, you'll be fine if you get peckish.
>right pocket.
>remember that. Right pocket for change, left pocket for ponies.
>or not-quite-human-pony-turned-humanoids.
>humanesques?
>hoofers?
>deer friends?
>a snappy informal species title will have to wait, you've been orbiting the same table in the reference section for several minutes now.
>not like anybody was watching.
>what kind of a hippie under the age of seventy goes to a public library for anything anymore?
>you take a seat and remove the two princesses from your pocket.
>in looking at them, you find that they are still wearing pajamas.
>they're shivering like leaves.
>you place them on the table.
"Sorry. I should have brought a quilt or something to keep you warm."
>"F-forgot our jackets. N-n-not your fault," Celestia murmurs.
>a thin aura covers her and she ceases her shivering.
>"Did that the whole way here," she says.
>Luna had walked out of your field of vision earlier.
>she walks back over in a sort of indigo combat uniform, covering all but her head.
>"This was the warmest thing I could find," she says. "I don't understand- it's springtime. Does this place not take part in winter wrap up?"
"We usually just wait for the earth to tilt back towards the sun."
>"Tilt...? What, like some sort of cube?" Luna asks.
>the learning commences.
"It's really more like a ball."
>"What a waste of space!" Celestia shouts. "What would you need the bottom two thirds for if you can't live on them? Do most of you just live in tunnels and never get a glance at the sun or the moon?"
"It's... sticky, in Layman's terms..." you look for a good placeholder term to use until you start explaining gravity. "...Magnetic. To... everything."
>"That's pointless and convoluted," Luna states.
"No, it's science!" you joke. "Really, I don't have a way to prove most of the things I'm telling you. I've never been to space, the earth could be cylindrical for all I know. Is Equestria flat or something?"
>"Not by definition," Celestia replies. "From a distance or on the surface, the sky is always above the ground and the ground is always down. Earlier generations thought it was round once- for WHATEVER reason- until they found the edge and fell into the abyss."
>Celestia gestures to the edge of the table by waving her unnamed pedal appendage over the space below.
>that's actually kind of horrifying.
>"I suppose they expected a waterfall," she muttered cynically. "After that, they built their ladder to the moon and hollowed it out to build a place of absolute punishment and isolation within. Buuuuut that's all our history, and you seem to have enough of that on hoof- hand, I mean."
>she gestures to your right hand, which is resting on the table.
>"Where from, by the way?" Luna asks. "Humans were obscure, mythological concepts referenced only by avid researchers of their hypothetical culture before we came here. Are Equestrians just the same in your eyes?"
>you really didn't want to have to explain this.
>your fingers tense.
"Not exactly."
>"Not obscure?" Luna tilts her head.
"No. Popular. Verrrry... popular. Among all audiences."
>Luna is confused beyond words.
>her sister is beginning to share the expression.
"As individuals, your concepts weren't conceived until between four and five years ago. You are known here as fictional characters influenced by children's toys. The toys usually look like shit, so most of the older audiences just watch the show and try to ignore the underlying capitalism. A lot of us are also sexually attracted to ponies."
>Celestia appears mildly disappointed.
>"Hm. Less ominous than mythology, but there's still a creationist loop of some integrity that allows us to exist here. Between humans and Equestrians, one of them had to create the other."
>you shrug your shoulders.
"Could go either way, I suppose. That sort of thing usually kept me awake when I was a wee-minded little Anon. At this point it's sort of lost its spooky taste in favor of the ever-lingering flavor of depression."
>"Depression?" Luna asks.
"Yes."
>you force a smile.
"I botch the definition most of the time, so I'll just say it's highly unpleasant and extremely difficult to get rid of."
>"Well, sorry about that," Celestia says dismissively. She looks to her sister. "I suppose this is a decent amount of data for one day, yes?"
>Luna gives her sister a sideways glance.
>"Why haven't you changed out of your pajamas yet?"