milliways_bar | (no subject)

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After the Witch's defeat, Tumnus had to relearn how to love Winter but not Autumn. As the air grows ever more chill in Narnia, he has many reasons to bake and fill his home and Cair Paravel with the smells of home.

Today he backs through the door while holding a plate of freshly baked ginger scones and laughs as he says, "At least no one has arrived for tea yet."

Then he finds a seat by the fire and orders some tea before looking around for friendly faces to share the scones with.

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Here, have a unicorn. One that looks very different from the unicorns in Narnia.

She trots over to settle down on the rug in front of the fire, taking a sip from the mug of cocoa she's magically levitating in front of her.

She's beautiful and unusual, Tumnus smiles and says,

"Would you like a ginger scone with your cocoa?"

Twilight starts in surprise a little; she didn't realize there was anyone else sitting nearby. "Yes, please."

"They're still warm. May I ask a rather impertinent question, what are you?"

He's never seen a Talking Horse or a Unicorn like her before and offers the plate of scones.

"I'm a unicorn," says Twilight simply. Her horn glows pink and purple as she lifts one of the scones off the platter. "And you? I've never seen a human with ears or feet like that before."

"I'm a Faun and I've never seen a unicorn your color before. You're very beautiful."

Did you know unicorns can blush through their fur? You do now.

"Oh, no. I'm not really... you think so?" She stumbles through the sentence, clearly taken aback.

"I do. My name is Tumnus and I'm from a land called Narnia. Where are you from?"

He doesn't want to make her nervous and pours himself some tea.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle. I'm from the kingdom of Equestria," says the unicorn. "I'm from Canterlot originally, but I moved to Ponyville last year."

"Do you have any humans in Equestria? For a long time we didn't have any in Narnia."

Twilight shakes her head. "I'd never even heard of them before I came here. I don't think they exist in my world."

"I had never met one until a number of years ago. It was quite surprising, but now I consider her a good friend,"

Lucy was a good ambassador for humans.

"From coming here, or...?"

"No, she came to Narnia from as I've now learned an Earth. She and her siblings rule Narnia as they helped to save it."

"Save it from what?"

Interested Twilight is interested!

"The White Witch, she held Narnia in Winter for a hundred years until Aslan returned and Lucy and her family freed Narnia,"

When Tumnus says Aslan's name, there's a deep reverence in his voice not unlike how Twilight might speak of Celestia.

Twilight notices. "Who or what is Aslan?"

"Aslan is the lion that watches over Narnia. We're his,"

Tumnus has felt his breath and been restored from stone.

"What does he do besides watching over you?"

Luna and Celestia watch over Equestria... but so did Discord.

"It depends if he's needed, but whenever Narnia has a need of him he is there."

Twilight quirks an eyebrow. "That doesn't really answer my question."

"When last Narnia needed Aslan, he helped to defeat the White Witch and crown our new rulers,"

He taps a hoof as he feels as if he's misunderstood her.

"So it's... kind of like how Luna and Celestia defeated Discord?"

"I'm afraid I don't know who any of those names are. How was Discord defeated?"

"Luna and Celestia are the princesses of Equestria," says Twilight. "They came to power when they used the Elements of Harmony to turn Discord to stone."

"That's a harsh punishment. Are there queens in Equestria?"

Tumnus takes a long drink of tea, he's satisfied the Witch will not return. To turn her to stone would mean someday she might free herself.

"No, just the Princesses," says Twilight. "We don't need anypony else."

"Narnia has two queens and two kings, they're brothers and sisters. High King Peter the Magnificent, Queen Susan the Gentle, King Edmund the Just and Queen Lucy the Valiant. I serve in their court. I asked because in the monarchies I've known princesses become queens."

Twilight shakes her head. "The Princesses are just... Princesses," she says. "They are sisters, though. Celestia raises the sun to bring the day, and Luna raises the moon to bring the night."

Tumnus is quiet as he thinks about that,

"The sun and moon don't move on their own?"

"Of course not," says Twilight. "In fact, a thousand years ago, Luna refused to let Celestia raise the sun. She'd become jealous of how everypony worked and played during the day and didn't appreciate the night."

"How did she stop her from doing so? The Witch held Narnia in Winter for a hundred years but that was through her magic. She stopped the seasons of Narnia."

"...I don't know," Twilight admits. "It's really advanced magic. I don't think I could ever manage to move the sun or the moon, even with the Elements of Harmony."

"I only know the magic I've seen and experienced and don't know how to do any. What do the Elements of Harmony do?"

"They're the most powerful magical in Equestria," says Twilight. "They harness the power of friendship to restore harmony to the land when it's out of balance."

"The power of Friendship? Have you used it to win many wars?"

"We used the Elements to turn Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna," says Twilight with a faint frown. "And when Discord came back, we used the Elements to turn him back into stone. They're not for fighting wars."

"Then how does Equestria defend itself against other threats?"

He is trying to not think about being stone but that was a difficult time for him.

A blank look. "Like... what?"

"Neighboring countries that invade or pirates? Those sorts of dangers,"

Tumnus is aware of them as helping the kings and queens decide which steps to take is a large part of his role.

"That's what the royal guard is for," Twilight points out. "But Equestria's been at peace with its neighbors for centuries, so Celestia just keeps an honor guard right now."

"I think I understand. You have no need of an army but if there is one, you have the royal guards?"

Twilight nods. "If there was some kind of significant threat, there'd be a call for able-bodied ponies to enlist in the Royal Guard. It's happened in the past."

Tumnus nods and smiles as that makes much more sense to him,

"I understand that. All Narnians will fight if we're needed."

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