//------------------------------//
// Terrifyingly Beautiful 
// Story: Grey Little Pony 
// by Dusty Miller 
//------------------------------//

  Chapter Two:  Terrifyingly Beautiful




When the sun has gone, I see you


Beautiful and haunting, but cold


Like the blade of a knife,


So sharp, so sweet


Nobody knows your heart.


Princess Mononoke (-Hime)


Grey walked to the road going through the Everfree forest. To the right was the path the heroes had taken to battle Nightmare Moon. There was no point in going that way. That adventure has been done. Besides he didn’t want to talk to the vain water serpent.
 If I asked him what it was like to be beautiful I would get a vain answer anyway. 
Grey had been on some long runs through some of this area. It was always night-like because the tree canopy blocked all sunlight. It was as if the path was an endless arch cut into the forest. It felt very wild.
Someponies were so superstitious. Still it’s pretty dark. Different noises in this forest. 
The road narrowed into a trail. The forest closed in from the sides. Grey didn’t want to touch the plants, they looked so different. Sharp edges, contrasting dizzying colours, uninviting flowers that nopony would want to smell. Some were poisonous and there was no telling which ones were. The trail ended into daylight as it came along the river. There was yellow grass on the edge next to the river. He examined the grass, not very good to eat. Grey climbed down the bank to the river. The shoreline itself was wet sand and very firm to walk on. Grey walked a few steps into the river. He lowered his head to drink keeping his eyes up and looking around for any danger. It was the same river water that flowed through Ponyville.  Grey drank his fill, raised his head and looked at the opposite bank. More dark forest up on the bank. Grey felt exposed out in the open. He backed up until he was next to the wall of earth. Grey followed the wall along the river for several more leagues. The river widened and slowed. Grey knew that this was called a ford, and it was a good place to cross a river. The water came up to his knees at its deepest, Grey sloshed across being very aware that he was in the open again. Two thirds the way across Grey froze as he realized that there are things in the water that can be dangerous too. He remembered stories of small fish that were all teeth and could strip a pony of flesh down to the bone in seconds. Grey felt threatened from below and above. He walked slowly and stiffly the rest of the way. He feared every splash of water would attract predators. Grey shook himself and walked to the bank cliff and hid in the shade. Grey felt his heart beating in his chest. That little stroll across the river had exhilarated him. Grey continued hiking upstream. It was midday when he came across some large boulders against the riverbank. Grey was exhausted. 
This would work; squeeze between the boulders and blend. All the rocks in this area are the same colour as me. 
The sound of water moving put Grey to sleep instantly. 
A crow like bird with long greasy feathers announced its annoyance at Grey’s presence by screeching near his ear.
Grey woke in a panic. He was accustomed to waking and stretching slowly. Now his legs felt trapped and there was danger right next to him and he couldn’t run. The bird flew off. Grey realized what it was and calmed himself.
Okay, I need to find a way to wake up without drawing attention to myself. 
The only thing that had changed was the angle of the sun. It was now late afternoon. Grey was wide awake. 
Should I stay here where I’m camouflaged by the rocks or move on? I won’t be able to sleep for a long time and my stomach wants attention. 
A glint of reflected sunlight caught his eye. Grey walked down the river bank. The forest parted into a field. Grey climbed the bank to the field. Tall green grass grew undisturbed. A hundred paces from the riverbank stood a palace made of wood and glass.
Grey walked through the grass and looked up trying to figure it out. A set of stairs a pony height lead up to a veranda that went all the way around the building. The doors and windows were all at right angles not like homes in Ponyville. It had no smell. The grass was undisturbed right up to the stairs. Grey walked around to the other side. The stairs were wider and led up to the veranda and a more elaborate set of doors. This must be the front. But the back has the view of the river and the hills. Again the grass was not disturbed to the stairs.
Maybe it’s a winter palace and not in use until the fall.
Grey walked around to the other side. Here the sod was cut up and staked at the edge of the forest. The bare soil stretched from the palace to the forest. The soil was still moist and smelled fresh. No marks in the tall grass. Grey could see his path through but nothing else. He continued to walk in the same direction back to the back of the palace. The sun was already behind the hills. Not a good location to watch the sunset. Oh well. Back to the front. There was a hole in the tall grass. Grey went over to investigate. To the right of the stairs was a flat rock a pony with across. 
Time for some lawn care. 
Grey ate the grass from the rock to the stairs then the grass in front of the stairs.
You know that rock would be a perfect place for a guard pony to stand. 
So Grey stood there. 
The view in front of the palace; Everforest on either side with the field in the centre. The sky darkened.
I think I’ll go off in that direction tomorrow; but tonight I am the guard pony of the palace!
The stars were very bright in the black sky. The Milky Way was a ribbon of light across the sky. Then the moon rose. To Grey’s night trained eyes it was a bright as the sun. It was directly in front of the palace. It lit up the field as if it was a floodlight at ground level. Grey stood there and watch and thought. Okay I’m a guard pony. I am on guard. I stand guard, how? Stand at attention. 
Grey locked his knees and made himself very stiff. It didn’t take long for his knees to hurt. 
Relax keep some bend in your knees just like in sports. Keep your head up and still but observe everything.
The forest was a distant black wall on either side of the field. The noises coming from the forest weren’t much different than the noises during the day as far as he could tell.


In the moonlight I felt your heart


Quiver like a bowstring’s pulse


In the moon’s pure light,


You looked at me


Nobody knows your heart.


Princess Mononoke (-Hime)


So much Royal Canterlot Voice!
“Who for art thou and why art thou pointing thy’s backside at my manor!?”
That’s not good. And that voice, it fills the field like a storm.
She appeared before Grey. Terrifyingly beautiful! His heart clattered. Her coat was so black purple that he could barely see it. Her mane and tail flowed continuously. They contained star lights: no, they were real stars. If he reached out he would be in space with the stars. Grey was getting mesmerized. 
Look someplace else. 
That horn looks long, sharp and lethal.
She was looking down at him with large beautiful angry eyes.
Don’t make eye contact, don’t make eye contact.
Grey had seen Princess Celestia once or twice in Ponyville. He had always been at the back of the crowd while she was usually on stage giving encouraging speeches. Celestia was always much larger than other ponies.
Now this was a god that stood before Grey, and she was ticked off.
Bow stupid, bow.
Can’t, frozen.
Princess Luna spoke slower, “Who art thou?”
It was still like a wind in Grey’s face. He saw no point in saying his name. Who would he be in comparison to her? 
So he said, “Your majesty, I am the guard pony of the palace.” 

/]*[\

There were so many things wrong with that statement that Luna didn’t know where to begin. She had put her mansion in the middle of the Everfree forest for solitude and now a simple earth pony had found it. This one was obviously frightened and had no military training whatsoever. What was he doing here?
Luna softened her voice. “Why art thou out at night?”
“I have always worked during the night. I don’t mind it at all.”
“Ponies sleep at night, if they come out at night they come out in groups with lights not by themselves in the middle of the Everfree Forest. What pony game is this? What doeseth thou know of the night?”
“I assure you your majesty I’m not playing. The night? I know that if I pay attention to the stars I can see that they move in a semicircle around the North Star. Over a few nights the planets tend to wander. I know the consolations Orion and Starswirl but no others. The moon’s orbit wobbles. Although tonight the moonrise was exactly from the East and lit up the field beautifully. On the night of your um, liberation, the moon was at its epigee and exactly over Equestria. I miss The Mare in the Moon.”
“What does that mean? We stand before thou.”
“I’m sorry your majesty from Equestria we could see your image on the moon. To some it was scary which lead to the Nightmare Moon stories. To me it was a little comforting. You were always there looking down on me, sorry I didn’t mean that you would always be there; I don’t know how to talk to royalty.”
“Thou thinketh thou are a guard pony. Thou art trembling. What use would thou be?
Grey didn’t know how to answer that so he remained quiet.
“If this palace, as thou calleth it, came under attack by dragons what would thou do?”
“Your majesty I would shout the alarm and run into battle.” That was a line from a story Grey had read. 
“A dragon would not waste his breath on you. Thou wouldeth become a greasy spot at the bottom of a dragon’s footprint.”
Thou wouldeth shout the alarm, for what purpose? Thou cannot even fathom the distances we can see. Does thou even know how far away the sun and the moon are?
“No your majesty. I do know that the sun follows the moon.”
Is that something a follower of The Princess of the Night would say?
“I have nothing to offer you but my loyalty and my life.” Another line.
Luna thought to herself, Ponies were born into their lots in life. Guard ponies more so. They came from long lines of families and were tested thoroughly before even being accepted into Royal Guard training. Were ponies leaving their casts now and taking whatever positions in life they wanted? Look at this one. Low born earth pony with a broom for a cutie mark.
“We have decided that thou may play thy pony game. Thou are forbidden from touching my manor.”
She was gone. No flash or twist of light just gone.
Did I just offer my loyalty and life to The Princess of the Night? I was going to wander off in that direction tomorrow and now I’m NightMare Moon’s guard pony, cool.
A new crisis was growing inside Grey’s bladder. 
Don’t think about it. 
What are my choices? Go back to sweeping streets; wander around the Everfree forest until something eats me.
Grey shifted his weight from one back leg to the other.
What would a guard pony do in a situation like this? First of all he would have taken care of it before the start of his shift. Maybe there is a signal he would give other guard ponies to give him a break. What if she’s watching me from one of those windows behind me?
Grey continued to shift his weight until his back legs were almost dancing. He yelped and ran for the forest edge. At night the edge of the Everfree Forest is a black wall. Grey found some bushes and relieved himself. He walked back to the flat rock and thought. 
Job one make a list of guard pony duties. First on list find a place to take care of that properly.
Since I’m going to stay I’m going to have to set up a routine. I can’t stand on this rock forever. Let’s see exercise, eat, patrol, stand guard that’s all I can think of. That’s less than my old job. That can’t be right. They say that getting into the Royal Guard is one of the hardest things one can do. What am I missing? The training, the entrance exam. To pass the exam a pony needs strength and heart. 
Grey had heard rumours that ponies would drive themselves close to physical and mental collapse just for a chance to challenge the exam. Then the training, something militaristic. The only thing Grey could remember from the old stories about heroes and military training was drill sergeants yelling, running and push ups. 
What is so hard about pony push ups anyway?
Grey thought of scenarios where the pony being guarded was attacked. He couldn’t think of too many and he only had a vague idea of what the throne room in Canterlot might look like. This saddened him a little so he thought of the exhilarating feeling he had when he crossed the river and thought about the dangerous things in the water. 
And meeting Princess Luna, wow. Well maybe meeting isn’t the right word. The adrenalin rush and the feeling of being so alive. Is this what it feels like to win a game or race? I could get used to this, if I stay alive that is.
The moon had disappeared behind the palace some time ago. The sky in front of Grey was starting to lighten. The sun would be coming up soon. 
See, the sun follows the moon.
The field was lighting up. Grey looked around for a place to sleep. There was a big old oak tree separate from the forest. He moved carefully through the tall grass so not to make an obvious path for a predator to follow. It was mossy under the tree and Grey found a nice soft indent. He pressed it down with his hooves making a nice pony nest. Grey put his flank toward the tree and faced the palace. He was below the level of the grass. This was as safe as he could get. Grey slept.



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