"Luis, wake up," Noctis said poking my face
"Faiph mor minutts," I managed to slur out
"Oh, no mister! You messed up my natural sleep schedule, you suffer the consequences"
"U chous dat, Ah dint forse yu," I rolled to my other side, then Noctis got on top of me and grabbed my face, "Wat ar yo-," I was cut off by Noctis's lips
"Better?"
I blinked a couple of times, any resemblance of tiredness completely gone, "A lot," I pulled her for another kiss, "I love you so much. You have no idea"
"I think I do," she tapped my nose, "Now, come on! You're going to be late," she flew off the bed, "Get ready"
Ready for... RIGHT! The presentation, I pulled up the pip-boy and got dressed, "I win," I turned to Noctis still getting her blouse on
She gave me a disappointed look and said, "You always say that," then went into the bathroom
*knock knock*
I turned to the window and see a pegasus silhouette on the curtain, Okay... this is new... I opened the curtain to see RD waving at me. I awkwardly wave back as I open the window, "Hello, Rainbow. What brings you to the second floor window of my house?"
"Just that it's rain season, so we need every able pony to help today since, you know, a certain dragon accidentally squeezed our schedule," she sighed pinching the bridge of her nose, "I really would like to avoid a torrential rain like a few months back"
"I know what you mean. That day they closed the train lines going in and out of Ponyville. I was stuck in Canterlot for the night"
"Yeah. Could you give Noctis the schedule for today?" she handed me a piece of paper, "Thanks," she flew off
"Aaand she's gone... okay then," I went into the bathroom, "Red, the weather team needs you"
"Already??" she said fighting with her brush, "Fine, but could you give me a hand? My mane isn't cooperating today"
"Braids? Or just straight today? Or...?" I asked grabbing the brush
"Just straight, I still need to make breakfast"
After I finished brushing her mane, I told her I would get breakfast ready and left her the paper. When I entered the kitchen, I was truly surprised. Blueblood already was finishing breakfast with Nimble, and he seemed to be enjoying the work. Noctis came down not too soon after and was as surprised as I was
After breakfast, we went our separate ways, Noctis to her assigned area, Blueblood to town hall to look for more odd jobs, and Nimble and me headed to the school. We found Scootaloo along the way and, of course, they had a scooter race
We finally got to the school, and the two foals were talking up a storm about scooter tricks and the best places to go, I stopped them to say one thing, "You kids have fun, okay? I have to talk with miss Cheerilee first"
"Okay, dad, See ya," he flew up to me and extended his arm expecting a fist bump
Aww, no hug today? I gave into his demand, "Don't do anything you shouldn't do, okay?"
"Don't worry," he landed next to Scootaloo, "Come on, let's go before the bell"
They both ran inside, I wonder why he- Scootaloo was with us... is he... Nah... I looked at the two of them run into the class room smiling at each other, Uhhhh... Maybe...
"Prince Luis"
I held back a scre- manly yell of surprise, and turned around to see Cheerilee, "Hi!"
"Glad you could make it," she said putting her hands together, "Now, I know this is the family appreciation week, but I was wondering if you could talk a bit about your world instead. Only for a while, if that's okay with you"
"Yeah sure, no problem. I was going to talk about my world and some human family things for this presentation," I could probably get a projector... "One quick question. How good are the curtains in the room?"
==[POV - Noctis]==
"What do you mean this is the biggest shipment of rain clouds you could get us? I put the request days ago!," RD yelled in desperation
"I'm sorry, but there are other cities that needed the extra clouds today," the hardhat pony said
RD sighed quite hardly, "Fine. Fine. Just make sure we get at least fifteen percent more clouds two days from now"
"We'll try," the pegasus flew back to Cloudsdale
"I swear, those ponies want floods," she rubbed her temples, and then spotted me, "Oh! Noctis, what do you need?"
"My team needed more clouds"
"Sorry, can't give you these, they're needed on the southwest... Just get ready, the storm starts in fifteen minutes"
I saluted, "Yes, ma'am," I realized what I did, "Sorry, force of habit"
"Meh, I'm getting used to it," she started to fly off, but stopped, "Before I forget, our clouds were modified for the bigger storm, so be careful, they're heavier and pack a bigger punch. Might want to spread them out a bit"
"I'll keep that in mind," I headed back to my sector
==[POV - Luis]==
"So, what is it?" Cheerilee curiously asked
I turn it on, "It's a projector. It projects things," I begin to line it up with the standing screen, "Okay... there we go..." I plugged the laptop to the projector, and focused the image, "I'm set up"
"The stage is yours, prince," she motioned for me to start
"Alright, where to start? Hello everyone, my name is Luis- and for right now forget the formalities," I took a deep breath, "Okay, so as many of you might already be aware, I'm not a pony, I'm a human..." a light rain started as I went along my presentation, "...and that's why the MagLev can go that fast. Any questions?" Diamond Tiara raised her hand, "Yes, little filly?"
"When are you going to talk about your family? This IS family appreciation week after all"
I passed my hand along my scalp, "Right... I got a bit excited about the differences in technology, didn't I? Hehe, oops," I straightened up, "Okay, so human family dynamics actually depe-"
Diamond Tiara interrupted me, and very condescendingly said, "I meant YOUR family"
You little bastard... "Right... Okay... Let me start by saying, my mother, my real mother, is a teacher as well, social studies in high school, and my father a computer engineer, and my brother an automobile mechanic. Now, my parents got divorced, and before you ask what that means, let me explain..."
==[POV - Noctis]==
"We need to land! NOW!" I said, the lightning getting worse by the minute
"A'ight everypony! Once you touch down, stay low, keep away from trees and streetlamps, and head straight home! Dismissed!"
"I need to get to the school..." I whispered to myself
==[POV - Luis]==
"...basically, he fixes those," I said pointing at the car on the screen
"Thank you, prin-" lightning struck just outside the window barely drowning out the sound of the bell, "It appears class is over. Now what do we say class?"
"Thank you for coming!" everyone said in chorus
"Well, thanks for having me," I gave a little respectful head bow
"Alright everypony, please pack up and wait inside while I go get your guardians to come pick you up," Cheerilee said heading out the door
I stopped her, "Wait, let me give you something," I took out a rain jacket and gave it to her, "Here"
"Thank you," she put it on, said, "I'll be back soon," and went out the door
I just hope Noctis is okay in this storm... I start storing my stuff away. Nimble pulled on my sleeve, "Got everything ready?" he nodded, "Okay, let's wait until miss Cheerilee gets back, sound good?"
"Yeah"
"Hey, everyone, I have an idea. How about we play a game while we wait?"
So we played several games while we waited, slowly the amount of foals became smaller. Noctis came while there were still quite a handful of them waiting, and she decided help entertain the foals with me
"And then there was one..." I whispered to myself as the last foal left with their parents, leaving my family with the teacher, My family... I felt a small smile break through my lips
"Thank you for keeping an eye on the foals, Prince," Cheerilee gave me a small bow
"Don't worry, I actually wanted to be a teacher at some point. It was my pleasure helping out"
"If you don't mind me asking, what is your special talent?" the teacher inquired
"If you're asking about cutie marks, humans have none. If you actually mean a talent, then... I don't think I have a special talent," her face scrunched up in a bit of regret, "'Jack of all trades, master of none' you could say. Most of us don't have a special talent, so we work on what we like... Me, well... I haven't found that yet," I looked out the door at Noctis talking with Nimble with a smile on my face, "But I think I'm getting close"
"Thanks for the insight, have a nice day," Cheerilee waved as I made my way with my family
I waved back, then turn to Nimble, "I hope your old man didn't bore you half-to-death"
"Are you kidding?! Human inventions are awesome! And you're not old, you're only..." Nimble started to count on his fingers, "Ten years older than me!" his face scrunched up, "...maybe you are old..."
I couldn't help but chuckle, "Not that old," I sat him on my shoulders and took Noctis's hand, "Now let's go before Miss Cheerilee kicks us out"
We made our way back into town, but something felt off, I couldn't put my finger on it... until I noticed the smoke coming from our house. I placed Nimble on the floor and ran to the house, I got to the house in record time
Thankfully there was no fire, but I investigated anyways. I jumped to the roof and examined the hole, Probably lightning... I thought, then I realized on what part of the house it struck, The gate! I jumped into the hole. The gate was intact, and nothing around it suffered any damages, electric or otherwise, but that left me wondering, Did the naquadah absorb all of it?
"Luis, are you in there?" Noctis called out
"Yeah, in the workshop," I answered, looking around for a second time, Even the power armour is intact and it's right next to the ring!
"What happened?"
"It appears that lightning struck the stargate, that's not the surprising part though. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, got damaged... like, at all," I looked back up to the ceiling, "Well, apart from the roof anyways"
I was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of the stargate dialing. That was a third lock... my eyes snapped open, I turn to see Noctis looking at me with concern
"That's not supposed to happen, is it?" she whispered
"No," I sat up and equipped my armour, "Stay here," I said as I walked out the door. As soon as I entered the workshop, I took out my sword, And there goes my wall again in three... two... one... ... chevron eighth got locked in, "Uhhhh... What?" Nine locked in... I stood there in complete bewilderment as the gate locked in fourteen symbols, "Sooo... What n-"
Electricity started arching in the middle of the ring, the center started to fill with electric bolts, when suddenly, the electricity jumped to the dialing computer. I stared in complete confusion as the matrix took a small trip through the pc's screen, and after a couple of seconds, the screen the screen came back to normal
"I'm going to guess that's not supposed to happen?" Noctis said from behind me
"No. It isn't," I put the weapon away as I approached the screen, "Did it wake up Nimble?"
"Let me see," she said stepping out of the room
I popped off the pannel to check for any major damage, thankfully there was nothing, "Good"
Noctis came back not to soon after, "Thankfully no, it didn't," she said with a bit of releive
"Blueblood?"
"I don't think even getting struck by lightning would wake him up," she said playfully
I reattached the panel and had a sigh of relieve, "Now, let me check if-"
"Are you coming back to bed? I want to sleep," Noctis said, finishing her sentence with a big cutesy yawn
I can check that tomorrow... I changed back into my pijama pants, "Yeah," I started walking to her, but stopped, "Let me do something..." I turned off the generator with my magic, and uplugged it from the stargate for good mesure, You never know... "Now, let's go befor- *yawn* yeah, that"
As soon as we got to bed, we snuggled up together. There was something very soothing about how soft her fur felt, one of the few reasons I stopped wearing a shirt to bed. So soft, and warm, and... nice... I fell asleep mid thought
The next moring, Noctis got up early and got 'good enough' ready and headed out to bust as many leftover clouds as possible. A cloudless sunny day was scheduled all day, so getting that out of the way quickly left her with the whole day free. I had breakfast ready by the time she came back
After breakfast, Noctis took Nimble to school and Blueblood headed into town. Me in the other hand, went into the workshop and checked for any damage to the generator, and thankfully there was none. I then started adjusting the room, moving the stargate forward just enough so it didn't burn the back wall, as well as expanding the room to be flush with the front of house, giving the initial vortex enough space to not destroy anything. I also changed the front wall into a large door, turning the room into an actual garage
I wiped the non-existent sweat from my brow, "Nice!"
"What is that?" Noctis asked as she came into the room pointing at the door
"Well, you see, Red, this is a garage door," I activated it, Gotta love the interaction radius, "It's automatic too," I throw her a small contoller, "Here"
She barely catches it, "Hey! Watch it!"
"Sorry... Now, press the button and the door will close"
The button is pressed and the door closes, "Neat," she said a bit impressed, but then her expression got confussed, "If you were going to change the wall for a door, why did you still expand the room?"
"...Because..." I gave her and innocent shrug
She facepalmed, "What am I going to do with you?"
"Got to Sugarcube Corner?" I suggested
"If I get fat is your fault," she said giving me a kiss on the chin, "Why do you gotta be so tall?"
"Two things, I'm tall because that's how I am, and if you ever get fat, it would be a cold day in hell. I mean, your job is all about excersing you wing, legs, and stuff, then if AJ needs help around the farm, you are the first one to volunteer us, and you help Fluttershy when the bigger animals need a bit of thrashing, AND you help Pinkie and the Cakes when the get large deliveries of ingredients and with their large home deliveries and even their catering. So no, it's kind of an impossible task, even if I wanted to"
"Jeez, I was joking..."
"And I was giving you a very convoluted passive-aggressive complement. Sorry, I vented a little there too..." I said rubbing my nape
She grabbed my arm and smiled politely... then flipped me over to the floor, positioning herself on top of me, "I think we're even now," she said finishing with a small peck on my lips
"Let me think..." I pushed off the floor and flipped us over with me now on top, "I don't think so," I said with a sly smile, she smiled back. Then I felt her hooves on my stomach, Oh fu-, my thoughts were short-lived when my feet left the ground, and air left my lungs as I hit the ground, and she stood victoriusly over me, "Okay, you win," I said a bit winded
She helped me get up, "Come one, let's get some cupcakes"
==[POV - Noctis]==
We sat down and started eating, "I have to tell you something"
"What's up?" he said, taking a bite out of his cupcake
"I was invited to the guards pre-gala party, and I can have a 'plus one'. Mind joining me?"
"When is it? It might interfere with my 'very busy' schedule," he said with air quotes
"A week before the Grand Galloping Gala," I took a big sip of my milkshake, Mago... he giggled at something, Did I moan?!!
"Sure, but I would have to find this 'Elusive' guy that Rarity recommeded for a formal suit"
"Why is that?"
"She mention him when I said her suits might be a bit too feminine for my taste. Something of an 'opposite' to her apparently"
What is that supposed to mean? "How... 'opposite'?"
"Rarity makes dresses with suits to go along, Elusive makes suits with dresses to go along, that sort of thing"
"Oh! That's nice, maybe I should pay him a visit too," Rarity is a great designer, but...
"Why is that?" the curiousity in voice became very apparent
"Don't get me wrong, Rarity's dresses are great, probably the best. But... they're just so..."
"Frilly, extravagant, flamboyant?"
"Yes... Too much for my taste. If this Elusive guy is more... restrained on the dresses, then he might be a better choice. For me at least"
"Well, then. When I go to the exercise this month, do you want to come with? Elusive lives in Canterlot"
"When is that again?"
"Literally whenever I feel like going, but this month. So any day within the next... week and a half"
"Why is it not on a schedule again?"
"Because if someone wants to infiltrate Canterlot, they'll have a very difficult time timing it with the guard exercise"
And I thought I was paranoid as a guard... "I don't know if Nimble should come with us, I usually stay behind with him, but... it feels to soon to go back to the city he left," I looked down at my now empty plate, If we take him... what if he feels like we might taking him back to the orphanage while there?
Luis gently placed his hands on mine and said, "Don't worry, we'll think of something," I looked up to see his smile, "It'll be fine"
==[POV - Luis]==
Okay okay, keep calm! DON'T PANIC!! Nimble won't mind, right? RIGHT? He knows we love him... Yeah, he won't think... but what if he does?! We can't take him! It might be hard on him. WHAT CAN I DO?!?!
==[POV - Noctis]==
How can he be so calm? we just stared at eachother for a few seconds
"Anyways, like I said, we'll figure it out," he stood up and grabbed my plate and cup, "Let me take care of that"
"Such a gentlecolt"
"Of course," he said with a smile as he walk over to the counter
What if we can't think of something tho? I looked down at my hands, gathering my thoughts
"Noctis?" Luis asked with worry in his voice, I turned to him, "Are you okay?"
"Aye. I was just thinking-" an idea popped into my mind, "-what if we go another day? For the clothes I mean. There's still almost five months to the party," It'll give us more time to plan
"I guess..." he gave me his hand, "Want to take a stroll through the park for a bit?"
"That sounds lovely," I stood up and held his arm like I always do as we headed out