Twilight's horn began to glow brightly.
"We're going to teleport to a place that's just how you want it," Green tightly gripped the accessory in his hands as a reflex. "Are you ready?"
"Uh, yeah?" Barely had Green uttered these words when he felt himself being dragged by an immense force, his vision blurred, and he felt a pressure inside his chest. Everything happened so fast that before he could scream, he fell to the ground violently.
The trick left him temporarily deafened and spitting out some dirt that had been in his mouth, when he looked up, he saw Twilight repeating "sorry" several times as she approached and offered him her hoof to help him up. Contrary to what he initially thought, when he took her hoof, she lifted him up quite easily.
"I'm sorry," Twilight said, looking genuinely apologetic.
"No worries," Green said, brushing the dirt off his clothes and looking ahead. They are surrounded by a forest that looks dark and foreboding, with tall, thick trees that block out even the slightest hint of light.
"This is the place," Twilight still looks somewhat distressed. "It might be intimidating, but this part is safe. A friend of mine lives here."
Both walked until they found what must have previously been a solitary, large tree. Now it's hollowed out and transformed into a house decorated with jars hanging from the branches and rather disturbing masks.
Twilight knocks on the door and then turns her attention to Green.
"First of all, you need to know that Zecora has already seen a human."
"So you brought the other human here too?"
"That's right," said Twilight, giving him a look that's hard to decipher.
The sound of a door opening caught the attention of both, and in the doorway stands what is undeniably a zebra to Green, only smaller. She looks at them silently before smiling and addressing Twilight.
"What a surprise, oh my dear, did Twilight come with a friend sincere?"
"Hello, Zecora!" They shared a friendly hug. "Sorry for not letting you know before, but I need your help with something," Twilight cleared her throat. "Zecora, let me introduce you to Green Mist," she gestured towards him. "Green, let me introduce you to Zecora," she said, making the same gesture, this time pointing at Zecora.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Green said, leaning slightly and smiling at her. She smiles back.
"The pleasure is mine, Green Mist, no doubt, but why choose a name so odd, if I may ask about?" Green directs an expectant gaze at Twilight, but she isn't sure if it's due to Zecora's curious way of speaking or if it's a silent comment to emphasize that question
"That's not my name, it's my nickname..."
"Zecora, we could talk more comfortably later," Twilight interrupted, "But I came to ask if the human can stay here for a while."
"For me, there's no issue with the human's stay," she directed her gaze at Green, "as long as this idea meets his way."
"Of course, no problem," he responded quickly. After this, Zecora fully opens her door and invites them in with a gesture of her hoof.
"Welcome to one of my lairs so sweet," Twilight was the first to enter, the traveler followed her, "Ideal for days and nights, a cozy retreat."
"... cozy," Green said with an awkward smile as he observed the decorations. Twilight let out an adorable laugh at his words.
"You remind me of a friend," she said as she sits on a sofa, the human remains standing.
"For now, make yourself at home," Zecora added, referring to Green. "I'll prepare everything while you roam."
Zecora withdraws to the kitchen, leaving her guests to themselves. Silence prevailed for a few seconds until the human gathered the courage to ask.
"So, does Zecora improvise everything or is it some kind of vocal magic or something?" Twilight gave a pensive look.
"I've never really thought about it like that. I doubt it's magic, so it must be just her culture. After all, everypony adapts to their environment," Green noticed the growing interest of the pony; he knew where she was heading.
"Well, one always takes something from the place they're in, whether it's an impression, experiences, emotions..." the traveler lightly stroked the accessory. Twilight was about to add something, but she was interrupted.
"It seems you've settled in just right," Zecora asserted, looking at them with a smile. "So, how about dining with me tonight?" she asked as she sets a series of quaint sandwiches and cookies on the table in front of them.
"Of course," Twilight turned to Green and levitated one of the appetizers with her magic, "I imagine you must be hungry, right?"
"Actually, I don't feel hunger," the traveler picked up one of the sandwiches and carefully inspected its contents. "I don't need to eat either. Are these flowers inside?" His train of thought was interrupted by a loud gasp.
"What?!" Twilight exclaimed forcefully, "But... how... they too..." She repeated fruitlessly, trying to gather her thoughts.
"But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy food!" The traveler said cheerfully, taking a bite of his sandwich. It tasted like literal bread with flowers, so he struggled to swallow the contents. "Although that doesn't mean I can eat or enjoy everything." He directed his gaze at the purple alicorn, who still looked incredulous.
"How is that possible?" Twilight asked in a low voice. "It's impossible for a living being to survive without feeding on something!" She didn't even know where to begin with her questions.
"Are you okay?" Her gaze made Green a little nervous, so he looked away, seeking help from Zecora, but she seemed to be in a playful mood. When she noticed the human's gaze, she let out a laugh.
"You..." said Twilight, drawing the attention of those present. "How do you sustain yourself?! Do you need to drink?! Why can you eat if you don't need to?! Are all of your kind like this?!"
"Twilight, I suggest you calm down, my dear friend," said the zebra, silencing her with a hoof gesture. "Let's start with simple questions, that's how research should tend"
"You're right, Zecora. I think I lost control a bit," the alicorn sighed heavily and focused her attention on the traveler. "Well, let's start with your real name."
"My name... well, I..." Green is interrupted by Twilight's shout.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Twilight repeated as she pulled out a quill along with a stack of notes and scrolls seemingly out of nowhere. This action was done with such desperation that one of the scrolls fell to the ground and unfurled until it reached the feet of the human.
"Wow," was all that dared to escape his mouth as he looked at the scroll between his feet. Blushing, Twilight rolled up the scroll again, tapping it with her nose in a rather adorable manner.
"Sorry about that, it's just that the situation calls for it," Twilight said with all those papers in her hooves and a quill in the air ready to jot down notes. "Anyway, let's start with the basics. Why do you prefer to go by your nickname instead of your real name? And what is your true name?"
The human reflected, searching for the right words for what he would say next. "Well, I have to admit I lied to you a little," Twilight's quill wrote furiously on one of the scrolls. "Hey, but there's no need to jot that down!" The quill stopped in its tracks, and Green lets out a sigh that seemed to have been pent up for a long time. "This is difficult to explain. The truth is, I don't remember my real name." Twilight's quill mobilized again, but this time in a more subdued manner. A question seemed to form on her face, but she decided to stay silent for the moment.
"Please continue," she said as she took a sip of the tea that Zecora was distributing at that moment, and the human thanked her with a smile.
"I'll try to explain. In my world, when we trained for traveling, we were instructed to choose a name that suited the world we arrived in. I've done this so many times that eventually, being named in so many different ways, I forgot what my original name was."
"Wow! But why?" Twilight asked with excitement in her eyes.
"It's partly about depersonalizing the individual and being able to form and break bonds with ease. I don't recall it, it's been a very long time, you know?" The human finally took a sip of his tea and smiled contentedly.
"But if your true name you can't recall with ease," Zecora interrupted. "I presume from your past world, your nickname you seize."
"Yes, my last name was Luhan."
"And what was that world like?" Twilight interjected excitedly.
"The truth is... quite hostile. I'd rather not talk about that place," the disappointment was palpable on Twilight's face. But the human had already thought of a way to cheer her up. "But if you want, I can tell you the reason why I don't need to eat," Twilight's eyes lit up at this, and she nodded vigorously with a smile. "First, you have to understand that all humans of my time have this quality. We were born with it through centuries of genetic and biological intervention." The traveler saw Twilight take a deep breath, a prelude to the barrage of questions that raced through her mind after this revelation. The human stopped her in her tracks before the storm unleashed. "Before you can ask anything, I don't know any technical details, I'm not a scientist or a doctor."
"I think I understand what you're saying. If you were born this way and the process took centuries, it must mean that right now it's as natural as breathing..." Twilight's eyes blanked out, and her pupils started to dilate slowly in understanding. "I can't believe I didn't realize it before. Your race ended hunger!"
The traveler smiled with satisfaction. "Humanity achieved harmony between survival and happiness. That's why all humans can eat, even though it's not necessary." He picked up one of the chocolate cookies from the table and took a slow bite, savoring every moment of it. "Simply because eating is one of the things that gives us the most pleasure. This is the kind of thing we manage to do, turning a necessity into a luxury."
Both Twilight and Zecora were clearly shocked, with the alicorn even having her wings slightly loose and raised, occasionally fluttering. "You have to let me examine you, please. If I can decipher even the basics of your organism, it could be the most important discovery of the century!"
"I don't know, maybe someday," the human huffed roughly. For some reason, the atmosphere in the room was becoming increasingly heavy, and the occupants began to feel a sense of unease, but Twilight planned to do something about it.
"How do you travel, pray tell. I saw no ship nor strong magic spell," Twilight said, poorly imitating Zecora's tone.
"Are you serious, Twilight?" Green asked amusedly.
"I guess Zecora's rubbing off on me over time," they all chuckled at that comment.
"I travel with this," Green said, exhibiting the accessory. Quickly, Twilight took it from his hands and stepped back a few paces, stopping only due to the tension created by the strap connecting it to the human's belt.
"Wow! It looks like one of those egg-shaped timers someponies use for cooking," she said, observing that the object is separated halfway by a horizontal line that spins on its own axis. With her hooves, she tried to turn it, but it doesn't budge an inch. "It's really tough!" The alicorn, exerting more force, tilted her head slightly and, thanks to this, managed to see Green, who now had a look of astonishment with his mouth wide open. "Sorry!" she said, embarrassed, with her ears drooping.
"Don't worry, you couldn't move it," the traveler said, tense as a rope. "And you're right, it's like a timer. It indicates the amount of time I'll stay in a world because traveling between worlds takes a lot of energy. What it shows me is the amount of time it will take to recharge."
"And how much time is left?"
"I don't know, I haven't calculated it yet. It's a bit of a lengthy process. I'll answer one more question and then ask one myself, okay?"
"Of course," Twilight pondered for a moment. "I've got it! Why did you choose to come to this world? Or how did you find out about this world?"
"Those were two questions, but that's okay," the human finished the contents of the cup with one last sip. "I didn't choose this world, and I never knew of its existence."
"What, but how...?"
"When the countdown on the accessory ends, it sends me to another world randomly, and so on with the next. Now it's my turn to ask, right?"