A Stranger Among Them
Chapter 6: Interlude
Well, time for the interlude. Officially, this chapter will feature more of the humor and non-seriousness (however much seriousness there ever was) of the story, simply as a bit of a breather chapter. Well, no music here. Just a little chapter of short stories. Please note that these do not go in any particular order. They are meant to be read at any time, and as such, they do not take place one right after the other.
Allons-y!
Verbal Reprimand
I sighed heavily as I cantered away from Flare's room. There was some business to take care of, now that I had done my part with my coltfriend.
And quite personally, I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible.
So, rather than take the entire walk to my room, I just teleported once I was outside of the Guest Wing. I love being an alicorn with insanely powerful magical abilities. The irrefutable laws of physics are my jump-rope, whenever they don't coincide with the irrefutable laws of thermodynamics.
So I appeared in my room, made sure Abby was nice and cozy up on her mantle, started using my magic to play my usual organ song, which, much to the annoyance of Tia and Squall, could be heard all through the castle. However, this time they earned it. Flare was right. They should have let me act, rather than watch the fight commence like that.
I was about halfway through the song when I decided to go ahead and get this over with.
"NIGHTMARES! ASSEMBLE!"
The call echoed through the castle. I don't normally use the Royal Canterlot Voice to send out that call, but when I do, they know that something's really got my horn in a knot. And I'm pretty sure they can guess what it is that is irritating me right now.
None of the Nightmares who remain are unicorns. All of them are Pegasi. The only unicorns of the Nightmares had vanished with Nightmare Moon's influence over me when I was struck with the power of the Elements of Harmony. As a result, it took the twelve of them a good few minutes to arrive on my balcony, standing at complete attention in a straight line.
I stared at them for a few seconds.
"Nightmare Frigoris, present yourself," I ordered.
The second Nightmare from the left stepped forward ten steps, halving the distance between him and me, and staring straight ahead at the wall behind me, a discipline that had been burned into his personality when he was created.
"My Princess," he said in his usual flat tone of near-apathy.
I noticed that Crisium was looking at me with a bit of a concerned expression, but once she saw that I had noticed, she quickly reverted to staring straight ahead. I know the two of them are as close as it is possible to be without actually being in love (something Nightmare Moon made sure not to include in the Nightmares' beings, so as to prevent them from becoming distracted by each other, and by any enemies we may have encountered), but she knows she cannot do anything to sway my decision here about Frigoris' punishment.
I started to canter around Frigoris slowly, the way Mama used to do to me and Tia when we did something we shouldn't have.
After I had cantered around him twice, I stopped in front of him, staring into his eyes, which remained fixed on the wall behind me.
"At ease," I said. "I do not want you answering these questions stiffly, like a military stallion would. I want you to answer them as casually and honestly as possible. Are we clear?"
Frigoris relaxed slightly and nodded, but I didn't give him time to indulge
"I will start at the very beginning. That night you two got… acquainted, what was it about Flare that caused you to dislike him so?" I asked in as even a tone as I could keep it, although I did notice it shake slightly with anger.
Frigoris let out a slight snort.
"First and foremost, the complete and utter contempt for your station that he showed, Princess."
I arched an eyebrow.
"Oh? How so?"
He seemed to swell with anger at the memory, for he drew himself up as he continued.
"When we met, he refused to call you by your title. We of the Nightmares are well aware of how lofty this title is, and he treats it, and by extension you, as though it were merely a fancy first name. In the months since, his actions have surpassed my original impressions in terms of his respect for you, but he still does not show you the respect I feel you deserve, given your station and experience."
He watched me cautiously as he finished, but I could tell, he completely believed that he was in the right about Flare, and that he thought Flare was a bad influence.
I took a long breath.
"Nightmare Frigoris, I appreciate your concern. I really do, for one because after a thousand years of trusted service to me, you have shown a fanaticism rarely matched by anypony here toward my sister, let alone me. However, one of the reasons that I enjoy Flare's company so much is because of the reason you have just pointed out. He shows me a courtesy that many ponies fail to when I am near: he is completely casual with me, despite my title, and he treats me like a pony being instead of like someone who could send them to the sun at a moment's notice, which I suppose I can do."
Frigoris opened his mouth to object, but he thought better of it and closed it.
"If he is a bad influence for me, I am sure my sister would have been able to notice it just as well as I would have. And even if I wouldn't have noticed it, I know Tia would never have let someone with such an influence near me once she saw the effects he had on me. I appreciate your concern about him, but your talents were more based around the ability to fight rather than the ability to judge personalities and the effects they have on people."
He lowered his head somewhat sheepishly, although his expression still looked passive and blank.
"Oh, and speaking of fighting, would you care to explain why you attacked him when he entered the castle?"
He let out a "Tch!" and raised his head upright.
"He put you in mortal danger, my Princess. That cannot go unpunished-"
"HE put ME in mortal danger? Are you certain of that, Nightmare?" I asked, feeling the anger start to rise. How dare he!?
He opened his mouth, then shut it again.
"For your information, Flare acts as a bridge between the outside universe and this world, through the enchantments that normally keep outsiders out. Tenebrae forced him here, and, to use his analogy, Flare is like a splinter, keeping the hole in the enchantments open enough so that outside agents can enter, and before you say anything about how removing the splinter would cause the wound to heal, Tenebrae has already thought that far ahead."
The moment I had mentioned a splinter, he had reared up and had already prepared to object, but now he simply responded, "How would he have thought that far ahead?"
I feel a little self-conscious about admitting exactly why Tenebrae could keep Flare here, but if it is any step toward making the two of them at least tolerate each other, it had to be done.
"Because, Nightmare Frigoris, Lux made it quite clear that, should Flare leave Equestria by some mode of transport that could possibly take him away from here, such as Doctor Whooves' TARDIS, Tenebrae would not be too shy about hurting his loved ones in both worlds to force him to return."
"He is a stranger here! What kind of loved ones would he have developed in all of two months in this world?"
That does it.
I raised myself to my fullest height, and looked directly at him.
"Nightmare Frigoris, I willingly entered the battle against Tenebrae this morning. You would not entirely understand, I do not think, because you were not made to. However, simply put, I love Flare."
While some of the other Nightmares looked mildly surprised at best, and Humorum had that look on his face that plainly said, "It's about damn time," Frigoris was not as composed. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and it looked as though he had been stricken by someone he had counted as a friend.
"I- you- wha-"
"And what is more, he has admitted that he returns my feelings. You see, Frigoris, I entered the fray to protect him. He did not put me in danger, for we both were already in it; I leapt to his defense, not he in mine."
He suddenly collapsed into a sitting position, completely stunned by this recent turn of events.
"I do not intend to punish you, for I think your near-fatal experience with Flare's little flower-spin move should be number one a reminder that he is not to be trifled with, even if he has no combat experience, and number two what you escaped with, taking into account what would have happened had I not intervened in time."
I turned to the other Nightmares and added, "That goes for all of you."
All of them dipped their heads and said as one, "As you command, Princess."
"Very well, then. Dismissed!"
The eleven others flew off, but Frigoris just sat there, staring at the ground, looking as though the worst possible tragedy had befallen him, although no tears were shed. Overall, he reminded me when Flare regained his memory just hours ago. There was a moment when he reveled in the situation, and then he just stopped, and he started making choked noises. I had no idea what to make of it at the time, but now, seeing Frigoris, something must have happened to Flare in the past that must have had the same effect on him. I'll talk to him later about it.
I cantered beside Frigoris and I knelt beside my most trusted solider.
"Are you alright, Nightmare Frigoris?"
The Nightmare shook for a moment, but then he nodded, sitting up slowly and sniffing. He had not shed a tear, which I didn't figure he would, but it was still disconcerting to see him like this.
"Can I… can I talk to him?" he asked softly.
I raised an eyebrow, confused.
"Talk to who, Frigoris?"
"I want to talk with him. With Flare. I want to talk to Flare, as soon as possible."
Under normal circumstances, I would have immediately denied his request, but there was something that was telling me I ought to let this happen. It might fix this little rift.
"Well, if I know him, he's probably sitting in his room, attempting to put his book of number puzzles back together after I unceremoniously shouted it to shreds. He too is recovering from one of my lectures, so at the moment, I would not recommend it. However, knowing him, he'll be out on the Landing in a few hours, preparing for a moonlit flight. He always does that when he has a stressful day. He tells me he finds the lights of Canterlot City rather soothing in the moonlight, but that he doesn't, or at least didn't, know why."
Frigoris dipped his head, then got up and started to canter out to my balcony, but before he got halfway there, he stopped.
"Princess Luna?" he asked hesitantly.
"Yes?" I asked.
"I'm sorry about attacking him," he said in a shaky tone of voice.
I stared at him as he sat there for a moment. However, I smiled gently at him.
"It will be alright, Frigoris," I said to him as gently as I smiled at him. "But don't go doing it again."
He dipped his head again, gave a shadow of a smile (which is something I have not seen him do in a very long time), and resumed cantering toward the Balcony.
"Have- have a good night, Princess," he said before taking off toward his room's window.
The Streets of Boston
"You want to go to Boston? Whatever for?" asked my absolute favorite of British Television Icons in Pony Form.
I tilted my head back and forth, appearing to consider the possibilities. I already knew what I wanted to go back for, but I did have to make it look like a spur-of-the-moment thing. I know he loves those kinds of gigs.
"This and that. You'll see when we get there. I promise it isn't anything… too bad. Not like a Dalek prison vessel or anything."
Derpy looked at both of us rather curiously. We were standing in an open field just outside Ponyville, right close to where I first came to, and encountered Tenebrae for the first time.
And, as luck would have it, I managed once again to find the only rock in the entire grassy area, first by stumbling, then by discovering it with my skull. At least this time I didn't have my head collide with stone during a fight with Tenebrae.
"How do you know about the…" he started, but then he shrugged it off. "Oh well, in any case, it's been a long time since I've been to Earth. Miss Hooves, would you like to come with us? I could show you around Boston while Fla- err, Jack here- does his business."
I gave him the Luna StareTM and capped it off by blinking at him.
"Why'd you just call me Jack?" I asked.
The Doctor sheepishly rolled his eyes.
"Well, I have to use a fake name when running around on Earth more often than not. I usually go by John Smith, or around here, I use Time Turner or Sepia Tock. You can be my younger brother Jack! How does that sound?"
I gave a slight laugh.
"Doctor, our facial structure is different, I'm a ginger, you're a Brit and I'm an American, and finally, this is somewhere I'm already known. There's no point in using an alias period, much less one that easily debunked. Also, something to point out is that my Earth name is actually Jack, except my last name is Thomas, and not Smith."
The Doctor nodded when I mentioned my points about the alias not working, but he positively cracked up when I brought up my real (and hated) name.
"I got your name right? Oh, that's just fantastic!" he said, with a very wide grin. I smiled in spite of myself too. There was something about this Doctor that made him much more entertaining than the ones before him.
He considered the matter, tilting his head from one side to the other and back, like a musical metronome.
"Oh, alright then. What about Miss Hooves? She kind of needs an alias while we're with the humans."
"That's something you can come up with. I'm just going to my little alleyway garage to grab something and head on back," I replied, shrugging my wings.
Derpy had been watching the conversation eagerly. The Doctor had taken her to visit other worlds, and he had told her much about Earth, but never had the Doctor actually taken her there, simply because he never really saw too much of a reason to. That said, I bet she hoped they had muffins on this planet called "Dirt."
Doctor Whooves turned and started walking out toward a little outcropping of rock, behind which I noticed the familiar blue "Pony Call" box, which he went and opened up, then he and Derpy went on in. I was close behind.
I know I've seen this happen on the TV quite a lot, there's still no way to be prepared for walking into what seems like something small on the outside, only to find that it is actually several times bigger on the inside.
And despite all the practice through last night I had tried to go through, my fanboyishness was starting to shine through. I stuck my head outside the door, looking the blue box over. I honestly felt like an excited little boy who just got his first bike. I would know. I've felt like that before.
"Wow," I said, impressed.
"Just go ahead and get it over with. I bet I know exactly what you're going to say," the Doctor said, nodding to Derpy, who gave a mischievous little grin.
"It's smaller on the outside!" I exclaimed.
Both of them sat there for a moment, giving me weird looks. I knew why. The running gag is that someone's supposed to say "bigger on the inside."
The Doctor shook it off, then motioned toward the TARDIS.
"Well, come on in, then. We don't have all eternity to visit Boston for a few hours with, eh?"
I walked on inside as Derpy shut the door behind me.
"Now then, you may want to hold on to something, or at least prop yourself against a wall. This could get a little rough," the Doctor said as he started fiddling with the machinery in the center of the TARDIS.
I cantered on over to one of the supports, willed myself into my human shape, and clung on to one of the otherworldly supports.
The Doctor did the same, and when he transformed, it was in a wavy, tan-colored sort of aura. I asked him about it, and he simply shrugged and said, "It's the Sands of Time."
Derpy, surprisingly, already had a human form. In a burst of bubbles, she transformed into a college-aged girl of average height, who was wearing a grey hoodie and jeans. Her eyes were still the same, however, and her hair bore striking similarity to her mane, although it was much longer now.
There was still the slight problem that she still hadn't quite mastered the art of walking on two legs yet. The way the Doctor figured to cover this up was by having her walk in heels. That way they could just pass it off as her not being used to them.
"Now then, let's get moving, shall we? Allons-y!"
He threw the lever, and with the sound that brought little shivers of pleasure to me, the TARDIS vanished from Equestria, shaking rather violently as it soared through a vortex. And soon, it stopped.
"Well, here we are," the Doctor said, grinning eagerly. "Boston, Massachusetts, the year 2012, on September 29, approximately ten in the morning, Eastern Standard Time. Now, I may or may not be correct, because this TARDIS of mine has a tendency to take me many years off-course. Still, I trust her this time."
He walked over to the door and opened it, and I got my first glimpse of the Earth sky in months.
There are several differences between Earth and Equestria. Obviously, the native species is probably the first that comes to mind. However, that completely went over my head. The first thing that came to my mind when I stepped out with Derpy and the Doctor was how moody everything looked. The sky was a darker shade of blue than I remember it being, the colors around me were generally darker and less pronounced than Equestria's were, and overall, there was a clear contrast between the realms owned by the embodiments of Darkness and Light.
We had landed in an alleyway, and I had gone ahead and exited it to go and to find out where we were. It was a little chilly outside, and I wished I had been wearing something a bit warmer when I had gone to Equestria.
I glanced up and down the street and I saw immediately something that made me recognize where we were.
The Doctor wandered on out with Derpy, and they appeared to be deep in conversation. At least, they were until they got close to me.
"So, wonder where we are in Boston."
"Yawkey Way," I immediately answered.
The Doctor gave me a look that resembled Luna's earlier look of disapproval.
"How do you-"
"I live here, and Fenway Park is just over there," I said, motioning at where the large crowds of people were already gathered outside like they typically were on game day. "And it looks like the Red Sox are hosting the Tigers."
The Doctor raised his eyebrows.
"They are? Well that's just spectacular! Miss Hooves, how would you like to watch a baseball game?" asked the Doctor, looking like an excited child.
Derpy looked confused.
"Uhh Doctor? What's a baseball game?"
The Doctor launched into an explanation, but before he could do more, I pulled my wallet out of my pocket, removed around 50 dollars of the hundred I usually keep in there, and handed them to the Doctor.
"Here. You'll need this to get into the game."
The Doctor took them, then grabbed Derpy's wrist and started to pull her excitedly toward the stadium.
I, however, went the opposite way. My garage was close by, but it did require a bit of walking. About two miles' worth of it, to be exact. I crossed a few streets and passed by a few industrial buildings before finding myself at an alleyway between two four-story brick buildings, which I entered. I walked past the two buildings to a little T-intersection, and I made a left-turn. The garage door was on my left, on the back of one of these buildings.
I ran up to it, fished a key out of my pocket, unlocked the lock holding the door down, and I raised it to reveal the first room of my little three-room flat.
Oh, my motorcycle! How I've missed you!
I ran over to my black Ducati Monster 696, and I started to look it over from front to back, making sure no one had touched it while I had been gone. It was all dusty, but since I don't exactly live here anymore, that's not too big of a concern. Still, nice to see that it's still in working order.
The other things in the room caught my attention. First, my iPhone. That was the thing I was here for. As entertaining a land full of magical talking ponies is, there's something to be said about the Internet and its ability to make me laugh that Equestria doesn't have.
Of course, there's also the logic that the Internet should only operate on Earth, and not Equestria. Well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I looked the place over some more, even going so far as to grab a can of Pepsi from my fridge (only to remember that it is now a month or so out of date), but I was only here for one thing, not all of it.
I walked into my little living area and turned the TV on, and turned it to a local channel, which was showing the game the Doctor took Derpy to. Figured I'd go ahead and let them have their game while I chilled here for a while.
"The 'ell? When did yeh show up here again?"
I know that voice. That lilting Irish accent can only belong to one person on this Earth.
I turned to my garage room to find none other than the man from my flashback in the basement of the Old Castle standing in the door, wearing exactly the same outfit. Loose jeans, a light-green T-shirt covered by a dark brown leather jacket, shoulder-length red hair, and a crossed white, black, and grey bunnet perched atop his head.
His two friends were with him, too. One was wearing an almost stereotypical outfit, given his appearance. He was tall, muscular, dark-skinned, with brown eyes and a small nose. He wore a black stocking cap, a black long-sleeved turtle-neck and dark blue jeans. His companion was thinner, but just as tall, with short blonde hair, light skin, grey eyes, and he wore a tanned-yellow shirt with a green oxford unbuttoned over it, as well as much lighter blue pants than either of his companions.
"Ae said, when did yeh get back, Jackie?" he asked, using his old nickname for me when I had stayed with him following my parents' deaths.
"Oh. Hey Rory," I said. "Actually, I just got back today."
He tilted his head to the side, thinking the situation over.
"Where did yeh go for two months? No one jist vanishes like that."
I gave a slight chuckle.
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you half of the truth."
He walked on over and sat down next to me. Ross and Kent both went and sat in the two chairs around the room. We had hung out here a lot in the past. After a few years, I went ahead and made this little garage my home, and I worked at a friend's little pub up the street. I'd resigned right before my memory went blank and I woke up in Equestria.
"Yeh don't know that, laddie. Ae've seen mah fair share of interestin' things happenin' here and there. Oh, and how're the BoSox doin'?"
Dustin Pedroia blasted a double that scored a run, putting them one up on the Tigers at the bottom of the first.
"Well, yeh owe me fer keepin' the lights on here, Jackie. Ever since you vanished, I've been makin' the payments on this place so Ross, Kent, and I could use it, and it wasn't much, but it's still money out of mah pocket. Pay me back when yeh can, okay?"
I tilted my head to the side.
"That's going to be a problem, Rory. I'm leaving today after the game's over. I just came by to pick a few things up, stay until my friends get out of the game, and go ahead and leave. That reminds me, how much were the bills?"
"Oh, only about thirty dollars."
I counted the cash out and gave it to him.
"Tha's what I liked about yeh, Jackie. Yeh always paid yer stuff off quickly. Well, since our work here is done, we're headin' off ta Murphy's. Yeh want to come with? Serena and Jamie'll show up, I'd wager. We can hang around till it's time for yeh ta be off."
I chuckled.
"I'm gonna have to pass, Rory. It's nice being here and all, but I have friends waiting on me. Tell them I said hello. I'll be in and around every so often, bu they're going to be few and far between, I bet."
Rory nodded.
"Right-o, then. Well, will yeh be needin'-"
"No one touches the Ducati. I still like it."
"Damn. Ae was hopin' yeh'd want it to go somewhere it could be taken care of. Well, be seein' yeh, then. Have a nice day, Jackie."
With that, he, Ross, and Kent all got up and took their leave. I watched them go, feeling a little stab of sadness. Rory had been the one who had cared for me since my parents had died, and we had always been on very nice terms. He had taught me how to live on the streets, had homeschooled me, and generally raised me into the man/pony I am right now, for better or worse.
"I bet that's going on the Top 10 tomorrow night," came a statement from Joe Buck as Justin Verlander made a bare-handed ground ball fielding and caused a double play with a throw to second.
I checked the inning.
They had moved into the second.
Well, long story short, I finished the game, which the Red Sox won in extra innings, and decided to go ahead and head on back to the TARDIS. The Doctor and Derpy met me there. Derpy was clad in memorabilia from the game, including but not limited to an inside-out baseball cap (for rally purposes), a foam finger, and she was carrying a baseball autographed by Dustin Pedroia.
Cue jealousy.
"Yeah, she caught a foul ball in the fifth, and when a few of the players came out to sign, she got it signed by the one who hit it," the Doctor explained.
"Where were you sitting at?"
"Upper Deck, about halfway down the first-base line, and about a quarter of-"
"That was fun! I like baseball! Can we go again sometime Doctor? Huh? Can we? Can we!?" Derpy interrupted with a squee like an excited child.
The Doctor gave me a sheepish grin as he opened the TARDIS' door.
"I think giving her a large Coke was a bad idea," he remarked.
"You think?" I asked, raising an eyebrow with a nice little troll-smirk that could possibly put Luna's to shame.
"Well, time to head back. Miss Hooves, if you would kindly spin that wheel over there, we'll be off."
With a flash of tan, wavy sand, and a burst of bubbles, the two of them reverted to their usual pony forms, and closely following them, I transformed as well. I noticed my iPhone, which had been in my pocket, seemed to have vanished, as well as my wallet.
"Let's get back, shall we? Allons-y!"
And with the usual sounds, the TARDIS returned home.
Moonlit Reconciliation
Flare Dancer yawned widely as he started to canter on out toward the landing. It had been quite the stressful day, despite the fact that it was supposed to be a day off. It started off so simple. Attend a party with your crush, dance with her because she promised you one, get done, go back to Canterlot. Annoyingly enough, just like in movies, nothing ever goes according to plan. Demigod of darkness shows up, who happens to be the patron saint of Discord, and completely throws the entire day into disarray. First, by attacking Flare. Second, by in a sense, forcing Flare and Luna together. Third, by causing his mortal enemy/sibling to make an appearance and take up even more time. More stuff happened, but overall it was minor. There was this one detail about a fight that wrecked half the Canterlot Castle Entry Hall, but it doesn't really matter much.
He passed right through the archway that led out onto the landing, then suddenly stopped and turned back to the entry. He had sensed somepony with the Pegasi's ability to detect beings. He wasn't very proficient at it, but even he was able to differentiate between a living being and an inanimate stretch of stone wall.
"Who's there? Show yourself! I've been attacked twice today, and I'm not taking kindly to anyponies slinking around in-"
The figure he had shouted at emerged from the darkness to reveal none other than Nightmare Frigoris. Frigoris stared blankly at Flare, possibly at best amused by the thought of Flare attacking him, though he had almost faced quite the serious injury in a previous bout with Flare.
"…the dark," Flare finished, giving Frigoris a suspicious look up and down. "Why are you here? Come to apologize, I suppose?"
Frigoris dipped his head immediately. Flare seemed startled and a little more suspicious because of this.
"I have."
"Did Luna put you up to this?" Flare immediately asked.
Frigoris made a slight twitch when Flare mentioned Luna without the title "Princess" in front of it, but other than that, he betrayed no reaction. Despite his new knowledge of just how close his Princess and his nuisance of a rival were, he still had difficulty resolving himself to the fact that Flare wasn't giving her title the respect he felt it deserved.
"In a manner of speaking, though she did not order me to."
Flare said nothing. He continued to look Frigoris up and down.
"She did tell me that you would be out flying this evening, given your habit of taking a flight over Canterlot City when you've had a stressful day," Frigoris supplied. "She says you don't know why."
Flare turned back to the stone railing of the landing, beyond which the lights of the city shone at the base of a cliff, each one a star in the otherwise-inky landscape.
"Well, I didn't back then, but I do now," Flare said, shuffling his feathers, quite eager to get on with the flight. However, as long as they were holding a civil conversation, he may as well go with it. "Used to be, when I lived in the human world, the lights of the city of Boston had this same effect on me whenever I had a stressful day. I'd go up to a hill and just look at the city's lights for a while. Now I can fly over the nearest thing to that city that I have here."
"There is the city of Trotston, out by Manehattan, since it seems like the Equstrian counterpart," Frigoris supplied, in one of his rare instances of actually wanting to help me out.
"Well, I'm sure it would be cool to see a ponyfied version of my hometown, but it just will not be the same."
Frigoris lifted an eyebrow.
"Ponyfied?"
Flare gave a little start.
"Oh yeah, I forgot. Well, there's a show in our world that features Equestria as the setting for a show. Well, there got to be quite a few fans of the show, which, naturally, featured ponies as the protagonists, to the point where people started making pony versions of everything. We called it 'ponyfication.'"
"I see," Frigoris said, sounding a little amused by this. "Your culture sounds interesting. No surprise that young mint-colored mare in Ponyville seems enamored by it. You humans are a curious lot."
"You should see the folks on the Internet," Flare muttered.
"The what?"
"Oh. Nothing, just something we invented. Something I don't quite trust showing the general public just yet."
Frigoris tilted his head.
"I… see…"
They lapsed into a slightly awkward silence for a little bit, but Flare, given his usual tendency to not sit in one place for more than six seconds at a time, decided he was going to go on out and fly.
"You coming?" he asked Frigoris on his way.
Frigoris raised an eyebrow, a little surprised by Flare's welcoming him on a normally-solo flight like that, but followed.
With a rushing sound, Flare shot himself into the air as fast as he could. While definitely not the fastest flier in Equestria, he had definitely improved to a reasonable speed, able to compete with Luna on her best day. There was nothing quite like the feeling of the wind on your face and blowing through your hair at a lightning-fast speed, which is one reason why he got a motorcycle instead of a car/truck/van/gas-guzzling-horrid-American-monstrosity-of-a-Hummer on Earth.
He didn't hear Frigoris behind him; the wind rushing past his ears was too loud. Nevertheless, he knew Frigoris was there, following him. It's kind of a pity they had to fight like they did. To Flare, Frigoris seemed like an OK pony. While he may not be smart enough to have figured out what was going on between him and Luna, his heart was in the right place when caring about Luna's safety.
"I don't know whether Princess Luna has told you anything regarding how we were created or not," Frigoris started as they soared by the Canterlot Clocktower, "so I'm going to assume she hasn't. We Nightmares were not created with the capability to love."
Flare turned and raised an eyebrow.
"We were created with a sort of love, like an unconditional love, and a love for our kingdom, but no relational aspect of it. And from what I've seen of it since we were accepted into Equestrian society, I pose a question to you, Flare Dancer."
Flare turned back and nodded. "Let's hear it," he replied.
"Are your intentions with my Princess honorable?" Frigoris asked.
Flare said nothing for a moment.
"I understand why you ask, and my silence does not mean my intentions are dishonorable. I'm simply thinking of a way to explain it. See, when you truly love someone, your intentions will always be honorable. You have my word that no such intent will ever come out of my relationship with her."
Frigoris made a grunt, which sounded to Flare like an approving one.
"Just know, Flare Dancer, if ever your intentions become less honorable with her than what they are now, or if ever she comes to harm and it was within our power to prevent, there will be a reckoning between you and I. You have my word."
They both lapsed into silence as they flew around the city some more.
"Also, I hear you have a session with Captain Squall tomorrow," Frigoris said, sounding very much amused. That more than anything alarmed Flare.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Well, not in the long run, you see. But you won't think so while you're in it."
If Frigoris was intentionally screwing with Flare's nerves, he was doing a damn good job.
"A word of advice, save your energy during your Pegasus Magic lessons. You're going to need all the help you can get."
Flare didn't know whether to trust Frigoris on this one, or just ignore it. He sincerely hoped he could do the latter without any penalty, but something in him was saying it's probably best to trust him.
A few more moments of flying, and they found themselves back at Canterlot Castle's Landing.
Frigoris immediately started to canter on inside, but he paused before he passed through the archway inside the castle.
"I see why you like flying over the city at night. I didn't think I'd find it so calming."
He resumed cantering in, but stopped again.
"Do be sure and get a good night's sleep. You're going to be missing a few hours a day starting tomorrow. I'm asking Cordon Bleu to bring popcorn to the event."
Flare sputtered, and within minutes, he was running at Frigoris, who had mysteriously vanished from the scene.
Short, But Sweet
The sessions with Captain Squall were fairly popular betting faire among the soldiers and castle staff. While no one really bets on who will win, because that would be a landslide betting margin, they bet on how long the challenger will last before giving up, or if they will accomplish their intended purpose.
As is the case with Flare Dancer.
Captain Squall was rather infamous for his philosophy about training guards who couldn't manipulate direct lightning and ice magic back when he served my sister and I when we were at the Old Castle, and a thousand years hasn't changed that.
Among the small crowd gathered to watch this particular session were the Nightmares, my sister, Cordon Bleu, who had always been kind enough to provide popcorn for these sessions, which he thoroughly enjoyed, and Rainbow Dash, who had claimed she had a day off from her weather management in Ponyville. When asked how she found out about this sparring session, she had shrugged and replied, "Twi told me."
And that irritates me. The only way Twilight Sparkle could have found out is if Tia sent Spike a letter mentioning the subject, and when Tia mentions something in the slightest, she wants someone to hear it. Tia must have thought the presence of Rainbow Dash at this fight would be in some way entertaining.
Little wonder Flare called her Trollestia yesterday evening.
However, it's bad enough that she obviously has a crush on Flare- and before you say anything I am not jealous. In the slightest. At all. End of story.
…
Okay, maybe I am a little jealous.
But anyway, she was still there, and she kept pestering me with questions about Flare. And these aren't the kind of questions that a filly feels comfortable answering about her coltfriend to the general public. These are questions about his favorite food, which of course I had to circumvent considering his less-than-favorable taste in eating and how everypony else might react to him being a professed meat-eater in a society where we have sentient cows and pigs, what he does in his spare time, which I found rather harmless (if rather stalker-ish), and my personal favorite (sarcasm), what he thinks of her.
While I am a princess, and I am supposed to keep my royal dignity and all that horse-apples that I utterly despise, this is one of the first times I have ever found the nearest pillar of marble and literally bashed my head against it in frustration. It was then that I rediscovered that a horn, while useful for manipulating the laws of physics, does not make for something to ram into a pillar of solid white rock.
When Flare found out that Rainbow Dash was in Canterlot, he reacted in typical Flare Dancer fashion. Meaning he did his absolute best to convince her to help him prank me in the most fantastic way possible for the… what was that expression he used yesterday? For teh lulz, was it?
In any case, I had to spend the rest of time between our lesson and Squall's session using magic to pull wads of cloth from the pipes of my organ. I had sat down to play, and I started pushing keys only to find that there was no sound.
Speaking of Squall's session, Flare looked a mess as he sat in the center of the training room, waiting for the Captain to come out.
The training room is quite simple. It's a large square room, with an upper deck for observers to stand, like our little group. The floor is made of dark wood, with a lighter square in the middle for a sparring ground. Of course, with Pegasi, the colors won't matter. This is likely going to be a fight taking place in the air.
And knowing Squall, Flare is going to be waking up extra sore tomorrow morning.
The doors to the room opened and Squall cantered in, completely casually, in a manner that was one you would not expect right before a duel. He wore no armor today, unlike his normal appearances, which gave us a rare view of his cutie mark. It was two crossed swords, covered by a shield emblazoned with the symbol of Equestria, the two likenesses of my sister and I, chasing the tail of the other.
That is what I liked about Squall. He may be Celestia's personal captain, but his purpose in life isn't merely to guard one princess over the other. His purpose is to guard Equestria itself.
"Well, the time has finally come for the two of us to spar together, Flare Dancer," he said as he walked on up to the lighter square of wood.
Flare nodded, looking rather tense.
"There are a few ground rules I want to lay out before we begin. First off, I am aware of your ability to shift forms, so I must ask you to remain in your current form, simply because this will benefit you in the end that way. Second, this may be a friendly spar, but I want you to strike with intent to kill. That is the only way this exercise will accomplish its purpose. Last, but certainly not least, there are no rules on striking and the like. After all, all's fair in love and in war. Use your cheapest tactics, your dirtiest moves, just do anything you possibly can to win the fight. Do I have your word that you will abide by these rules?"
Flare nodded again. His facial expression contained an equal measure of apprehension and anticipation. He was both ready and not ready for this.
"In that case, let us begin."
Squall shifted into a fighting stance, weight on the back legs, bending low over the front, and preparing to charge or leap. He raised a hoof and motioned to send the message, "Come at me."
Flare, rather than charge headlong into this frontal assault, began to pace around Squall slowly. It looked like he was taking his time to evaluate Squall before charging openly. I doubt he'll think of anything he can do that Squall won't anticipate. Squall is an accomplished thinker as well as fighter. I have yet to defeat him in chess, a skill he applies to the battlefield as well.
For several seconds, there was no sound, save for the small clopping noise that meant that Flare had taken another step. However, the ground seemed to bear no potential fruit for Flare, so he spread his wings and took off, flying around Squall, who stayed in his selfsame position of preparedness for a fight. In fact, his eyes were shut tight. It was a tactic that usually gave opponents a false sense of security whn charging, but he quickly would turn it against them.
Flare continued circling Squall in the air for several seconds as well. I was starting to get restless.
Suddenly, he dove at Squall, flying at top speed. Squall leapt out of the way, but rather than hit the ground hard, Flare pushed off of the two hooves he had intended to collide with, and sprang bottom hooves first at Squall, who leapt to the side once again to avoid the attack.
The moment his hooves touched the ground, Squall launched himself at Flare. Flare had no time to react before he was suddenly tacked and viciously slammed into the ground.
Flare was given no chance to react in any way. Every time he hit the ground, the Captain would pick him up again and pile-drive him, throw him, or in general wreck him.
Having the ability to slow things down is nice, because I can take a moment to appreciate the look of panic on Flare's face as he hurtles through the air toward one of the pillars supporting the viewing deck.
For the most part, however, I watched at normal speed. Commentating on the match below always makes it more entertaining. And Rainbow Dash's cringing made it so worth it.
I knew she was a black belt in some martial arts form or another, I forget the name, but I could tell, she was in full "How would I be able to take on that?" mode.
After half-a-dozen takedowns, Flare finally managed to right himself by landing hooves-first on a pillar and pushing off. With a snarl, he managed to tackle Squall, lift him into the air, contort himself into a bipedal position while holding Squall stomach-up onto his shoulders, and drop towards the ground at an alarming pace.
A second before he hit the ground, it suddenly dawned on me what was going to happen, and I let out a small "eep," and clenched my eyes shut.
With a sickening crunch, Squall's spine was dislodged, and Flare tossed him up and kicked him into a pillar.
He wiped some blood off his mouth with a satisfied smirk. The Nightmares all had expressions of surprise, but no one else's reactions could top Rainbow Dash's. She was whooping and jumping up and down as though the Cloudsdale Chasers had won the National Hoofball League championship. As she had never seen Squall fight before, she wouldn't know what was coming next.
With a slight groan, and several popping sounds, Squall managed to stand up and pop his spine back into place with relative ease. He had suffered many worse injuries over the time of his service, and he could shake this one off as relatively minor.
Squall gave a slight smile as Flare's smirk turned into a look of absolute dismay.
"An excellent tactic. However, if you had brought my back down on one of your knees, you would likely have broken my spine, rendering this fight over, and making you the first person ever to best me in nearly a hundred years, back when Juggernaut was being trained. But you didn't, and I'm not going to give you another opportunity like that again."
He drew himself into a bipedal position, cracking his neck and shoulders in the process, then returned to his fighting stance.
With no warning, he was tackling Flare into a wall. The walls of the sparring room are much more solidly reinforced than the more showy rooms of the main castle, and thus, it held when two ponies collided at speeds nearing the average speed of flight.
Flare looked absolutely trashed. He was battered, bloody, and he looked exhausted. Nevertheless, he still kept trying to fight. He threw two punches at Squall in quick succession, but both were dodged effortlessly.
And then it happened.
Flare, in a sudden burst of absolute rage and frustration, threw a powerful punch at Squall, and crackling on his swinging hoof were bolts of lightning.
Squall caught the hoof inches from his face and examined it, and then he smiled. The electricity slowly fizzled into nothingness.
"Excellent. But we continue. You may have learned what it feels like to harness this power, but you must learn how to call it out when needed, and in situations not requiring rage to do so. Now, calm yourself and throw the punch at me again."
He let go of Flare's hoof and backed away, cantering back to the lighter square.
"The purpose of this session was to frustrate you to the point where you would experience the feeling of holding lightning energy in your hoof. The rookie Pegasi guards always get this session, because while most of them may be able to move clouds, and cause clouds to produce lightning, they usually cannot punch with that energy right off the bat. Therefore, I teach them how it feels to bring it out with this session. With some cases, I simply use this session to get a feel for their fighting abilities. Not that I don't do it for others, like yourself."
Flare hobbled over to the square. The fight was now over, but Squall would now drill Flare on how to use lightning punches with relative ease and grace, and then move on to ice, and eventually, how to manipulate clouds without actually touching them, a diversionary combat technique that Pegasi Guards could make excellent use of in situations that required stealth.
"Alright everypony, fight's over, let's all go back to our posts," said Tia as she started to usher everypony out of the sparring hall. "Rainbow Dash, I need you to deliver this parcel to Twilight Sparkle for me, and I need it completely intact, so make sure you avoid any stormy weather patterns that should be hitting the Running of the Leaves paths today."
Rainbow Dash saluted, took a small box from Tia, and flew on out. The Nightmares had all started chatting about the fight. Even Frigoris seemed surprised by how Flare had been able to mark Squall. All twelve of the Nightmares had marked him, as well as several other current guardsponies of note, but never like that, dislocating Squall's spine. Perhaps now Frigoris will learn to respect Flare as a fighter, given that he nearly trashed him, and now managed to mark Squall.
Cordon Bleu returned to the kitchens, claiming he had to make Tia's luncheon, and Tia herself had to return to the throne for her duties. She had taken her daily time off to come and watch the fireworks.
I stayed and watched for several minutes after, observing as Squall managed to teach Flare to bring out his lightning in ways ranging from a standard punch, to simply generating a small amount on your hoof.
When the session was over a half-hour later, Flare was too exhausted to fly up and meet me, so I flew down to him.
"How was it?" I asked, slightly concerned.
However, despite his exhaustion, he was as giddy as a schoolcolt. If you find that hard to believe, imagine Pinkie Pie hyped up on sugar, and yet, right at that part where the energy crash happens. There's a lot of energy there, but it's halfway gone.
Nevertheless, he still won't sit still!
"I can make lightning!" he managed to say rather blearily, before losing his balance and falling over. He managed to stagger back to his feet, still grinning and shuffling like he always does. Well, this makes it a great opportunity for trolling.
"You do realize you're going to have another session tomorrow, right?"
Which is totally true. Squall's gonna be teaching him independent cloud manipulation tomorrow. However, the look on Flare's face was totally worth it.
He went from grinning broadly to giving the most fearful expression I have ever seen him give.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Flare!" I cheerfully piped, and with that, I was off, not bothering to wait until Flare caught up.
What Is This "Internet," Thou Speakest Of?
My life is complete.
Through some experimentation, I was able to channel a small amount of electric energy through my plug when it was plugged into my iPhone, and as a result, I have unlimited battery for abso-effing-lutely free.
Also, for some reason, Canterlot Castle has 3G coverage. I guess AT&T wasn't lying when they said they covered almost everywhere. Well, I guess that means Internet!
Seriously, though. How does AT&T have coverage all the way out here? As far as I can tell, I'm on another world. How the hell can I receive Internet out here?
Who cares!? I'm just glad I have it!
At the moment, I'm sitting in my bed, in my human shape. I discovered very quickly that hooves, while they are very awesome for channeling electricity through, tend to mash all the buttons at once when you try to type with them.
This, unfortunately, led to me accidentally sending a text to the phone number 1268569683865345 that had a lot of gibberish in it. I received a reply that I had sent it to an invalid number (within moments, mind you) and had promptly chucked the phone toward my bookcase.
And of all the things it had to hit, it hit the Sudoku book I had taken a few hours to repair. And it caused the book to fall off of the shelf and land in front of the door pages-down, which chose that moment to fly open at the behest of Imbrium, who had come to deliver a message from Luna referring to the Grand Galloping Gala's preparations, and how I was needed to help out with them.
Meanwhile, the pages of the book were now piled on the floor underneath the door and up against the wall behind it.
Long story short, and ignoring my rage at the hours of repair work wasted and having to be done over, I decided to use my iPhone only when in human form. Considering I had to pull it from my pocket in that state, it seemed pointless to shift back anyways.
Now, I rarely if ever use my iPhone to listen to music anymore. During my first month in Canterlot, Celestia had gifted me with an experimental alarm-radio, mainly because of my tendency to sleep in unless something loud wakes me up. There were currently only a few stations, since the development was rather new, but some of the shows I found more entertaining than the music I had.
"It's that time again! Turn all the speakers to eleven, break out the drums and the electric guitars because we are the spark that lights up the morning! This is… THE VINYL SCRATCH!"
Speak of Tenebrae…
One of the more entertaining talk shows I had found myself listening to was now on. From what I understand, they have some form of transcript readily available for those who want to listen in on the more popular episodes.
In any case, I was currently browsing through one of my favorite sites ever, that being Fan Fiction dot Net. I tried my hand at writing fiction a few times. Never worked out so well. Always had a few Sue-ish traits in my characters. More often than not, they would have some combination of black and red, with a flame motif.
Ignore the protagonist of this story's hypocritical comments.
The door to my room opened, and in walked the most beautiful pony in the world. At least in my opinion. But if I thought anyone else was prettier than Luna, that just wouldn't be right at all.
She took one look at my current form, made a slight grimace, and cantered on over.
"So you choose to spend your break time playing around on that little electronic device," she commented in a flat voice.
"Eh, just for the moment," I replied.
She furrowed her brow and looked at the screen.
"It looks like you are reading a book. How is a book contained in something so small?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
I proceeded to explain the internet to her in a very general lecture. And since she was so enamored with iPhone, she kept pressing me for details, which I tried to circumvent.
"Well, what is it you are reading?" she asked, giving it a quick scan.
"Just some fanfiction."
"Pray tell, what is this 'fan-fiction?'"
I paused for a moment, giving a small laugh. I knew she was going to ask this sooner or later in this little conversation.
"Well, there are shows, books, games, and all that in our world that have inspired something of a devoted fandom. Most of these fans are content in themselves to simply say 'I like this game' or to wear a shirt of it. Then there are those who take it a step further and use their abilities to write fictions based on that story. That, dear Luna, is fanfiction. A fictional story written by a fan of a typical form of entertainment that takes place within the world of that entertainment form."
She processed that information quickly and nodded.
"I think I get it. What is this you are reading?" she asked, giving it a much closer look. "I see the names 'Sora,' 'Donald,' and 'Goofy' in it. They are characters, I assume?" she asked, looking back at me curiously.
"Well, yes. They are the protagonists in a game I played back on Earth called Kingdom Hearts. It's a rather strange story, full of the words Darkness, Light, Heart, and Key, but I like it. There exists a fanfiction for just about every known world out there. There even exists fanfiction about this world here."
Her eyebrows shot right up into her mane.
"Really? How is this possible?"
Now I have to explain to her all about the bronies, and how I was never actually one of them until I got forced here. That's going to be a topic of conversation I am not going to enjoy in the slightest.
Eventually, I managed to segue into the matter that she had fanfiction about her, and I proceeded to show her one.
As she read it, her look grew more and more incredulous and in general, it plainly said, "wat."
After she had her fill, she retreated to the edge of the bed, contemplating what she had seen, and I pulled one of my personal favorites up to read.
"What are you reading now?" she asked when she chanced another look at my screen.
I shrugged.
"Just a fic written by this nineteen year old college kid with no life outside of ponies. It's quite sad, really. His author's note even says he ponyfied his PC."
"PC?"
I blinked uncomprehendingly for a moment, but then I remembered ponies don't have computers.
"Never mind."
"Don't the stories we have here prove entertaining enough for you? We have books like Harry Trotter, The Adventures of Daring Do and all sixteen of her books, and The Lord of the Rings and the Middle-Equestria universe. That last set's a personal favorite of mine. J.R.R. Coltien was a genius when he wrote it."
No way. No freaking way. Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and Lord of the Rings have all been ponyfied. I suppose I should have seen it coming, but every day I find new surprises that compare to something my old life.
I gave a short laugh.
"I've read them all. They were under different names on our world. They were called Harry Potter, The Adventures of Indiana Jones, although there were only four installments, and they were all movies-"
"Movies?" she interrupted with a curious look.
"Moving pictures. Imagine a slide-show played so fast that it looks like they're doing things in real time, complete with people voicing them. Anyway, the last one was called The Lord of the Rings as well, but instead of J.R.R. Coltien, it was J.R.R. Tolkien. All three of them are personal favorites of mine as well."
She furrowed her brow.
"Moving pictures that can actually look like the events are happening in real time. I'll tell the Manehattan Institute of Technology to begin researching and inventing a camera that can capture photographs that fast. Then we'd have to find a way to incorporate the sound…"
She trailed off. I seem to have given her genuine inspiration. However, I am well aware that movies already exist here. Rainbow Dash made me watch a few the first days I was here. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she gets the letter back saying, "We've already invented these! Where the Tartarus have you been?"
Well, then she'd write a letter back explaining that she was on the moon, and then this whole issue about disrespecting royalty would come into play, and the moon may very well have several new denizens in a few weeks.
Maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but overall, no sense attempting to recreate existing technology. I explained to her that they had already been invented. She gave a slight laugh.
"It seems I am further behind than I thought I was. Well, I may have to give these a look. They may make the time after the Grand Galloping Gala that much easier to live through, especially considering what we're facing."
And that reminds me. I haven't seen or heard either hide or hair of Tenebrae since our last little meeting a month ago. Knowing him, he's probably biding his time, waiting for a moment to strike.
Well, what will come will come, and I'll just have to be ready to meet it when it does. Which should be easier now that I can create lightning and do several basic Pegasus combat techniques. Squall gave me this little lecture about how, for all points and purposes, I'm essentially one of the Nightmares in all but name, and because of that fact, I have to be able to protect her. I mean, I'm the on Tenebrae singled out to torment, along with those closest to me, which makes it my responsibility to protect Luna.
He started with lightning, then moved on to a special technique for cloud manipulation without actually touching them, even to basic weather control distractions. After he had taught me the basics, he explained that there was no such thing as an advanced Pegasus combat maneuver. The thing he told me the first time I had asked how to shoot lightning served to be his response to my posing that question about advanced moves. Simply the limitless imagination and ingenuity, combined with these basic elements.
Luna noticed I was deep in thought.
"I'll leave you alone to your thinking," she said with a smile, and she began to canter on out.
However, I jolted up and dashed after her, heading for the kitchens. Screw introspection, I'm hungry!
Well, I must say, that chapter took forever. Not because of writers block or anything. I knew what I wanted to write. It's just, I like to only write a little at a time (though that won't stop me from writing large chunks at once), as that gives me time to decide "No that's stupid," or "Yeah, that can work." The main cause, however is divided between two issues.
1) Planning out the two sequels I said I was going to write. I have some excellent ideas, some of which I have told to some of you readers (you know who you are). However, I have not put all of my muffins in one basket, but rather, I put a some of the same in several of yours' baskets, and left others out. I find that If you put them all in one basket, Derpy takes them all, and you are left with no muffins.
2) Band Two-A-Days over the course of the week leading up to Fall 2012 Semester. Speaking of which, anyone else catch my little bit of self-deprecation in Chapter 5? Well, it appears Flare has been reading a story about himself. FANFICTIONCEPTION! A fanfiction within a fanfiction.
Speaking of which, college is starting, and that means that once again, writing this takes a bit of a backseat. But fear not! I shall continue to attempt to write at a reasonable pace.
Also, has anyone else caught my nods to other fanfictions that I like to read? For example, Luna's Abacus comes directly from the fanfiction Progress, and in this chapter, the whole Vinyl Scratch radio show comes directly from The Vinyl Scratch Tapes. I like to imagine all of these taking place at once (although, it would be hard to mix and match them, considering some of their events take place at the same time as mine, and in the case of Progress, it is rather difficult to ship Big Mac and Luna while Flare and Luna is going on). I would give a nod to Through the Eyes of Another Pony, which served as my inspiration for writing this 60k+ novel of a fanfiction (which I'm rather proud to say is at the moment my Magnum Opus, which means my longest, and possibly greatest work, though I have at least two more fics that should be longer than this one will be when completed), but considering the similarities between it and this, I figured I could go without. If, however, Cards Lafter is reading this, how do you like it?
Well, that is all I have for you today. Have a good day, readers, give me feedback about the chapter/story please, and all the usual stuff I put at the end.
