//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Canterlot Wedding Part 1: Calm Before the Storm; Prepare For The Wedding // Story: The Tale Of A Lost Wolf // by Solaris Night //------------------------------// The sun shone high up in the sky as the girls were enjoying a peaceful picnic. They chatted among themselves, while Trider was taking a nap under one of the trees. Applejack looked at him as she raised her glass, ready to take a sip. "Ya sure ya don't want anythin ta eat Trider? Usually you'd be gobblin up food like a pig." She paused as she realised the implication of her statement. "Eh, no offence." Trider didn't even crack an eye open as he grumbled. "If it ain't meat, I ain't interested." The girls looked at each other with worried expressions. It has been a couple of days since the Diamond Dog incident and the mares and the Kanisar settled that matter between themselves. However Trider was no longer allowed to venture into the Everfree or anywhere else that was too far away from Ponyville, by himself until Celestia decided on his punishment. That made Trider so angry he wanted to walk into Canterlot and punch Celestia in the face, but he accepted the condition non the less, mostly because his friends begged him. But as he and the girls waited for the Princesses reply Trider grew more and more annoyed, mostly due to the lack of meat. "Just leave him be darling. If he wants to be a sourpuss, just because he doesn't get what he wants, let him. We don't want his childness to ruin this gorgeous day." said the fashionista. "That coming from the mare who faints when a drop of juice falls onto her dress." Trider said loud enough for everyone to hear. The rest of the Mane 6 laughed at that, while Rarity could only huffed. A pleasant atmosphere descended upon the group once again, as everyone returned to their picnic and Trider began to lightly snore. The all of a sudden they heard someone calling out to Twilight. As they looked in the direction of where the voice was coming from, they saw Spike running up to them. When he reached them he was huffing like mad, trying to fill his lungs with air. "Spike what are you doing here? You should be resting!" Twilight exclaimed as she approached her assistant. When Spike was brought to the hospital after his run in with the Dogs, the doctors found out he had multiple open wounds, bruises and even broken bones. He was treated with some of the best healing spells known to ponykind, but despite that he still had to rest, before his body was fully healed. "Urgent. Message. From. Princess. Celestia." he said in between each breath, getting the attention from everyone, especially Trider. He huffed as he stood up and streched. "About damn time. I was begining to think her punishment was that I would no longer be allowed to eat meat." No one paid attention to his remark as Twilight opened the scroll, that Spike gave her, and began to read its content. "Dear Twilight, I'm sure you're as excited as i am about the upcoming wedding in Canterlot." She paused as she looked at the scroll and then the girls in confusion. "Wedding?" Disregarding what she read till now, she continued. "I will be presiding the ceremony, but would very much like you and your friends to help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion. Fluttershy, I would like you and your songbird choir to provide the music." "Oh my goodness, what an honor." "Pinkie Pie, I can think of no one more qualified than you to host the reception." the librarian continued. "Hip, hip, hooray!" Pinkie cheered as she did a few cartwheels across the blanket. "Applejack, you will be in charge of the catering for the reception." "Well color me pleased as punch!" the cow mare said at that. "Rainbow Dash–" The prismatic mare yawned, clearly not interested in the wedding. "...I would very much appreciate it if you could perform a Sonic Rainboom as the bride and groom complete their "I do"'s." At the news Rainbow jumped into the air and pumpred her fist. "Yes!" "Rarity, you will be responsible for designing the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids." Her jaw agap the mare could barely comprehend what she was just told. "Princess Celestia wants me to– asjcndslh ...wedding dress? For a Canterlot wedding... I, ah, ooh, oooh!" She collapsed onto the ground, while Fluttershy tried to catch her, but failed. "Told ya!" Trider snarked. Not paying any attention to him she proceeded to read the letter until the end. "And as for you, Twilight, you will be playing the most important role of all: Making sure that everything goes as planned. Also, make sure you bring Trider along with you, as I plan to bestow his punishment when the wedding ends." Trider groaned when he heard that. "See you all very soon. Yours, Princess Celestia." She flipped the scroll over, trying to find if she had missed anything. "But... I don't understand. Who's getting married? " Spike, realising his mistake, smiled sheepishly and gave her another scroll. "Heh, maybe I should have given you this first." Twilight took the scroll and unfurled it. "Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and..." She stopped reading and gasped loudly. "My brother?!" Everyone looked at her in shock and confusion. "You have a brother Twilight?" asked perplexed Rainbow Dash. Twilight nodded affirming what she said. "Oh so that was the guy I saw in her pictures. Thoguht it was her boyfriend or something." Trider said with a hint of relief. "So it's yer brother who's gettin married. That's great news." Applejack spoke up. Twilight gave her a glare before she spoke up. "Yeah, great news. That I just got from a wedding invitation! Not from my brother, but from a piece of paper! Thanks a lot, Shining Armor. I mean, really, he couldn't tell me personally?" She continued her triage by levitating a sandwich and making it 'talk' like a person, while she herself put on a more masculine voice, trying to imitate her brother. "Hey, Twilight, just thought you should know I'm making a really big decision that changes everything. Oh, never mind, you'll hear about it when you get the invitation." She dropped the sandwich and her glare hardened even more. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? Who in the fuck is that?!" She finished with a snort. Everyone looked at her in awe, due to her little outburst, except for Trider who was trying real hard to repress his laughter. Fluttershy walked up to the angered mare and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Um, Twilight? Are you okay?" Twilight sighed as her shoulders slumped. "Sorry, it's just that Shining Armor and I have always been so close. He's my B.B.B.F.F!" Everyone looked at her confused not knowing what she meant by that. "Best Brother Because of Familial Fondling?" Trider asked, earning glares and scowls from everyone, especially Twilight. "What? Like any of you have any fucking idea what it stands for. And just so you know, that one was the most timid one I could think of." Disregarding his dirty remark Twilight explained. "It means Big Brother Best Friend Forever, FYI." The girls ooohed, while Trider only scoffed. "Still think mine was better." he mumbled. "Before I came here and learned the importance of friendship, Shining Armor was the only pony I ever really accepted as a friend." She then continued to tell the group about all the times she and her brother spent together, about all the adventures and misadventures they shared. "I just thought he would remain my Big Brother Best Friend Forever, well forever." she finished. Applejack then placed her hand onto Twilights shoulder. "Well as one of yer P.F.F.'s..." "Not even gonna try on that one." "As I was sayin, as one of yer P.F.F.'s or Pony Friends Forever, I wanna tell ya that I think yer brother sounds like a real good guy." The rest of the grils nodded, agreeing with her statement. Twilight smiled as she spoke. "He is pretty special. I mean, they don't let just anypony be Captain of the Royal Guard." Raritys eyes widened and a smile, which could rival Pinkies, spread across her face and she screeched. "So you're telling me, we are not only helping out with the wedding of not only a princess, but a Captain of the Royal Guard?" "I guess we are." Twilight said in hesitation. Without warning the fashionista fainted once more and the other girls, plus Spike began to talk amongst themselves about the upcoming event. Trider on the other hand wanted nothing to do with it and just went back to his tree and continued his interrupted nap. The sound of the train echoed across nearby mountains as it was reaching its destination, Canterlot. The girls, CMC and Spike inside their compartment were all discussing how each of them will enjoy the wedding. While they were chatting away, Trider was leaning on the wall of the wagon trying to tune them out. "Trider." Rarity called out to the man gaining his attention. "I sincerely hope you have brought the hurrendous tuxedo I made for you." The Kanisar huffed and directed his attention back to the window and the outside view. "I ain't going to the wedding." At that everyone looked at him like he grew a second head. "Why in Tartarus not?" exclaimed the fashionista. "Cause it ain't my thing." He immediatelly sensed that they wanted to argue, so he stopped them before they could. "The only reason I'm going with you is because Celestia called for me. She never said I had to participate in the event or its preparations." "Awww, please come it'll be fun I promise." Pinkie said and gave him a puppy eye look. But Trider stood his ground against her assault, so she decided to raise the power. She grabbed the CMC and whispered her plan to them. Once they were ready they all turned to him and said in unison. "Pweety pwease." Triders right eye twitched at the combined forces of the pink mares and fillies puppy eyes and pouted lower lip. Such an attack would make any normal opponent bow in defeat, too bad he wasn't a normal opponent. "I said no and thats final." Their ears folded to their heads in defeat. "And you seriously wanted to use that technique on me. My people are part wolf, therefore part dog and we basically invented that move." Saying that he widened his eyes and made such puppy eyes that it made even Rainbow say 'awww'. "So buzz off and leave me alone." Utterly defeated Pinkie and the CMC went back to their seats and wallowed. "Really darling what is wrong with attending an event where a mare and a stallion exchange vows to spend the rest of their lives together. it is a very important event and it is very romantic." Rarity then looked at Twilight and continued. "Also brother of one of your close friends is the one to get married, didn't you say you would do anything for your friends?" "Would you dress tacky if I asked you?" Trider asked. The mare almost wanted to slap for even suggesting such a thing and Trider smirked. "Exactly. I don't mind doing something for a friend, but she already has you to help out, so why would she need me?" Rarity sank into her seat, clearly having no arguement against that. "And as for wedding being an important event, on my planet only a rare few actually go through it. Most of us see it as redundant." "You don't have weddings?" Twilight asked, only for Trider to nod. "Then what exactly do you do when you've found your special somepony?" "I prefer the term soulmate, since it ties into our tradition that all the Kanisar do, even the ones that get married." He lifted his arm and created a small ball of Ki. "I already told you all about how my kind can manipulate Ki to fight." Everyone nodded. "Well Ki is different from person to person in many ways. Either in color, texture and so forth. Because of that it is believed Ki is directly connected to ones soul. So when two Kanisars fall in love, they create a Soul Ring." "Soul Ring? What is that?" Fluttershy asked in the name of everyone present. "Basically its pure Ki put inside a special bracelet that doesn't let it escape. So once it's trapped inside it remains there until the bracelet is broken. That's why it is also called Eternia by some Kanisars, because it stays forever." He smiled as he saw the faces of awe on everyones face. "And like I said before, since Ki and soul are believed to be closely connected, when one gives their Ki to another it's almost like..." "Giving your literal soul to them." Rarity finished for him and she began to get teary eyed. "That is so beautiful. I guess even savages like Kanisars can have some beautiful things about them." "We're here, we're here!" The atmosphere was ruined by Pinkie screaming and pointing further ahead of the train. Look and behold there in the distance you could see the border of the city. The train passed through a magical barrier that was erected over the city. Everyone got a tingling sensation when they passed through, but noone said a thing. When the train stopped at the station the group saw a large number of guards patrolling. "What's with all the guards?" Rainbow asked confused at such tight security. "I'm sure they're just taking the necessary precautions. Royal weddings do bring out the strangest ponies." As soon as Rarity said that Pinkie sneezed and a stream of streamers left her nostrils and Trider broke off the handle to the wagons door. "That was an accident." Trider shouted, trying to defend himself. "Anyway, let's get going we've got work to do." the white mare said. "And ya've got a big brother to congratulate." Applejack said as she turned to look at Twilight. Twilight narrowed her eyes and made her way through the guards. "Yeah. Congratulate. Then give him a piece of my mind." she said the last part through her teeth. The girls and Spike looked at her in worry, while Trider could only smirk. Twilight was making her way through the city in a fast pace. the others went to do their own tasks and to also sight-see, while Trider followed her, because he had a meeting with the Princess. Soon they reached the castle, which was crawling with even more guards than the station. As they were approaching the castle walls, they could see a stallion clad in purple armor giving out orders to the rest of the guard who wore gold armor. "I'm guessing that's him." Trider thought as Twilight marched closer. "I've got something to say to you mister." she shouted to the stallion. Hearing the shout the guards raised their spears, ready to battle, but they lowered them when the purple clad stallion removed his helmet, letting his mane to fall down and calling out to his little sister. "Twily!" He descended down the stairs so he could hug his baby sister. "Ah, I've missed you kid. How was the train ride? I-" Before he could finish or even embrace her, she backed off. "How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married! I'm your sister, for Celestia's sake!" she said, while glaring at him. She averted her not wanting to look him in the eyes. "It's not my fault!" he said, trying to defend himself. "Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security. Didn't you see all the guards at the train station?" "Yeah! there's a big wedding coming up. Maybe you heard about it?" she said as she walked away from Shining. Shining followed her and he now stood in front of her. "This has nothing to do with the wedding. A threat has been made against Canterlot." Twilight looked him in the eyes trying ot see if what he said was the truth. "We don't know who's responsible for it, but Princess Celestia asked that I help provide additional protection. This, you need to see." He took a few steps back and focused his magic into his horn. A blast of energy ascended towards the top of the dome and connected with it. Once it was done Shining gasped and grabbed his head. "Nice light show." Trider finally decided to speak, catching the siblings attention. "Who or what are you?" Shining said narrowing his gaze towards the Kanisar who he only now noticed. "Trider Lykosgrothia, but you can just call me Trider. As for what I am, I'm a Kanisar from planet Inu, nice to meet ya." he said as he gave him a small salute. Shinings wondering gaze turned to a glare as he heard who he is. "Ah, so you're the alien Princess Celestia and Princess Luna told us about." The stallion gave him a look over, trying to asses him. "The Princesses said you were strong and dangerous, but from what I'm seeing you don't look that tough." The sentence struck a nerve with the Kanisar and he raised one of his hands now engulfed in a red aura. "Wanna see how tough I really am pretty boy or are you too scared you'll dirty your beautiful coat?" The two now had a full blown staring match, neither one backing off. Shining placed a hand onto his sword, that rested at his side, while Trider lowered his stance, ready to charge. Before any one of them could do anything, Twilight jumped between the two and stopped them. "That's enough you two!" she shouted. She looked at Trider and he could see pure rage behind her eyes. "What do you think you're doing trying to pick a fight with my brother, who, mind I remind you, is the Captain of the Royal Guard, while we are inside the castle surrounded by countless soliders? Do you want to get killed." Trider looked away, unable to keep eye contact with the enraged mare, and released his Ki. Shining chuckled at the scolding the Kanisar received, but Twilight wasn't done yet. " And you, why are getting riled by him? You are the Captain, try to act like it." Shining folded his ears, he was always powerless when his sister berated him. The other guards looked at the event playing out, some laughing at their captains misfortune. Twilight then turned around to them and gave such a cold glare it would make Windigos shiver. "Get back to work. There's nothing to see here." They gulped and silently returned back to what they were doing before. Some of her anger now gone she turned to the two. "Now you two apologize to each other." Shining grumbled as he walked up to Trider extending his arm. "My apologies." Trider took his hand and squeezed as hard as he could. "Ditto." The two continued to hold hands, each one giving it their all, trying to break each others hand. Twilight sighed and finally decided to split the two. "Alright that's enough." She turned to her brother. "We should get going. Trider has to meet up with Princess Celestia so they can have a meeting." Shining nodded and the group began to head to the throne room. After a short while Twilight decided to continue where she and Shining left off. "So you're using your special force field to defend Canterlot against an unknown threat?" Shining nodded. "Okay, okay, I get it. You've got a really important job to do. But still... how could you not tell me about something as big as your wedding? Am I not that important to you any more?" she said in a broken tone. They stopped on a small bridge that connected two small towers and Shining looked at his sister. "Hey. You're my little sister. Of course you're important to me." He tried to assure her. Then a small smirk grew on his face as he continued. "But I'd understand if you didn't want to be my best mare now." Twilight looked at him in surprise as she pointed a finger at herself. "You want me to be your best mare?" "Well... yeah." "Smooth man. Very smooth." Trider said in a mock tone. Shining looked at him in disdain. "You're also more than welcome to come. Any friend of Twilights is welcome." he said trying to put on a nice act. "Oh I would gladly come just to ruin your mood, but my dislike for weddings outweights my pleasure to see you miserable." the Kanisar spoke. A smile spread across his face at the news. "Good to hear that." He then turned to his sister to hear her reply. "So Twily, will you accept my offer." "I'd be honored!" she said in proud tone, but then it got angry again. "But I'm still pretty ticked you're marrying somepony I don't even know! When did you even meet this "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza"?" Shining looked at her confused. "Twily, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadance, your old foalsitter." Gears in twilights head turned as she heard what her brother had told her. "Cadance? As in the Cadance?" She shook her head in disbelief. "As in the greatest foalsitter in all the history of foalsitters?!" Shining chuckled at her mood shift. "You tell me. She was your foalsitter." "So actually know this Princess Mi Amor- Ugh, that's a mouthfull, I'll just call her Cady. So what is Cady like?" Trider asked, wanting to know more about this pony that made Twilight forget all about the weddin fiasco. "Ohmygoshohmygosh! Cadance is only the most amazing pony ever! She's beautiful, she's caring, she's kind..." She rattled off the top of her head, while having flashbacks of all the good times she spent with her. "So she's like all the rest." Trider said in sarcasm. "Bet she has a nasty side to her, like she's into the occult." Twilight paid him no mind as she continued to praise her old foalsitter. "How many unicorns can just spread love wherever they go? I only know of one! And you're marrying her!" she said as she turned to Shining. Then she began to jump around him and sing like a small filly. "You're marrying Cadance! You're marrying Cadance!" She began to jump towards one of the towers until she suddenly stopped in front of a pony. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important." she said in slight sarcasm when Twilight stopped her frantic singing and jumping. "Cadance!" Twilight called out to the pink alicorn. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap you hands and do a little shake!" While she sang that she did a small dance, that made Trider fall to the floor, holding his sides and laughing. "Too much, too much." No one paying him any mind Cadence looked to the purple mare and gave her a confused look. "What are you doing?" she asked. Twilight turned around so she was again facing her friend. "Cadance, it's me! Twilight!" "Uh-huh." the alicorn said in an uniterested voice as she walked past her and headed for Shining Armor. Twilight had a look of disappointment on her face as Cadance and her brother hugged. The princess's eyes then fell onto Trider as curiosity began to well in her. "Excuse me, but who might you be? Are you-" she looked at Twilight. "Twilight was it?" Without even waiting for affirmation she turned her attention back to the Kanisar. "Are you Twilights pet or something like that?" Trider picked himself off the ground, now clearly pissed off. He looked her in the eyes as rage began to well inside of him. "Listen here missy. Call me that again and I promise that right after the wedding, there will be a funeral." Shining stepped between the two, trying to protect his special somepony. "Try it mutt." Trider, not in the mood to be scolded by Twilight again backed off. As the tention slowly diminished Shining turned to his sister. "I've gotta get back to my station, but Cadance will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going. I think I speak for both of us when I say we couldn't be more excited to have you here." he said. "Right, dear?" "Absoulutely." the alicorn said in a slightly dark tone. "Well, we'll let you get to it." was the last thing Shining said as the couple walked off, leaving Twilight and Trider alone. Twilight looked where the two left with worry. "Cadance acted strange. She didn't even remember me." Trider walked up to her as he gritted his teeth. "I think you're better off like that. I don't like her." "You don't like almost anypony you meet." "True." His expression then darkened. "But she is different. She has a sour smell to her and my nose never mislead me." With that said, then began to head to the throne room once again, trying to forget the encounter with the bride. After a while the two finally made it to the throne room, where Celestia was already waiting for them. The throne room was enormous, with white marble floors, purpleish walls and pillars. On the side walls there were many stained glass windows, each depicting a different motive. A long red carpet led all the way to the back where stood two thrones. One was giant and made of gold, while the other was slightly smaller and mostly black. On each side of the throne hung a tapestry. The room was also filled with numerous guards, some of them clad in golden armor, while other in dark purple and all of them were carrying a spear. Celestia was in the middle of conversing with one of her secretaries, when she saw the two approach her. She dismissed the mare and focused her attention on her student and her friend. "Twilight it so good to see you." She then looked at Trider and her tone hardened. "Trider." "Celestia." Just then Celestia released a loud yawn and she blushed. "Princess are you ok? It's afternoon so how come you're tired? Are you feeling ill?" asked Twilight in worry. "No it's nothing." she assured her pupil. "It's just that soon after I left Ponyville, we received a distress call from one of the nearby towns. Apparently a dragon decided to terrorize them in order to get their food and gold." "That's terrible." the purple mare said in a sad tone. "It is. But fortunately I was able to defeat the dragon, but it was a long and hard fought battle. I'm still recovering from using so much energy to defeat him, but I'll be fine once I get some proper rest." She then turned her attention on the Kanisar. "How are you doing Trider?" Trider crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. "Would've been better if I didn't have to wait so long for you to finally get your ass moving." All the ponies in the room looked at him in shock, hearing him speak that way to their princess. "Trider watch your language, you're speaking to-" "I know who I'm speaking to Twi, but I don't give shit about it. I tried to be nice before, but now I'm done being nice to her, just cause she's royalty. If she wants me to be respectful to her, then she needs to prove she can be respected." He gave Celestia a hard look as he continued. "But I'll give her this, she has enough of my respect for me not to outright insult her." Twilight wanted to chew the Kanisar out, but was stopped by her mentor. "It's alright Twilight, I can understand why he acts like that." She looked at him again as she continued her conversation. "Rest assured that once the wedding is over, we'll have a much needed talk. But until then, what do you plan to do?" "Not going to the wedding for one." Celestia wasn't surprised at that, since she speculated he was the kind that hated that kind of thing. "I thought maybe I would check this city out, since I didn't have the time to do so before, because a certain mare had a bone to pick with her brother." Twilights chheks turned a shade redder, as he said that. "But you will probably forbid from doing that, cause I might hurt one of your precious subjects, am I right?" Celestia smiled which confused the Kanisar. "Quite the contrary. I actually want you to see what this city has to offer, plus you might meet some new ponies to befirend." Trider scoffed at that, but it didn't stop Celstia from finishing. "However, you will be accompanied by at least two guards at all times, so we can make sure no unwanted incidents happen while you explore." "Great, babysitters. Just what I needed." Trider said in sarcasm. Celestia then pointed to two of the guards and they approached. Both of them were clearly female, due to how the armor was shaped, but one had golden armor while the other had a purple one. "I would like you to meet Private Dynamism and Sergeant Rose Blade." Celestia said as the two mares got closer. Trider couldn't tell the difference between the two and the rest of the guard as the armor hid most of their features. "A pleasure working with you, sir." said the one in golden armor. Trider looked at the two, clearly something bothering him. "Is something wrong, sir?" asked the mare in pruple armor. "Eh, not really. It's just that I alone will attract quite a lot of attention and having two armored mares following me might make things even worse." Celestia mulled over what he said and then nodded. "Agreed." She then stood up and looked at the two guards. "Private Dynamism, Sergeant Rose, before you embark into the city you will first dress into your civil clothing adn tkae with you only one weapon, just in case." The two struck a firm pose and saluted to their ruler. "Yes, mam!" they said in unison. "Follow us." then said the mare in the golden armor. Trider followed the two to their barracks, but before he left he turned to Twilight. "Good luck on the wedding preparations." And then he left. Trider stood in front of the barracks, waiting for his escort to return. "I'm finished." he heard a voice say and when he turned his head to look to the owner of said voice, his eyes nearly fell out. In front of him stood one of most gorgeous mares he had ever seen. Her crimson red mane, that reached to her mid-back was a deep crimson red color, as was her tail. Her coat was of pure white color, that it could rival Raritys, and her horn of same color. Unlike her coat however, her eyes were dark brown color, almost black. She had a slender figure with about D-cup breasts, her waist was thin which emphasized her hips and she had long slim legs. At the moment she wore a dark green blouse and a sky blue skirt that went to her knees. On her hip also layed a sword which was attached to her black belt. The Kanisar tried to say something, but was still speechless. He didn't expect a female guard to look so beautiful, so he was caught off guard. The mare giggled at his reaction and she walked to him, while seductively swaying her hips. "Like what you see sir?" she said as she closed the distance between the two. Trider, recovering from the initial shock, looked her in the eyes and he saw a playful mirth behind them. "Can't complain." he answered in a stoic tone. The mare satisfied with his answer chuckled as she stepped to his side. Only now that she was so close could Trider see she was in fact a bit taller than him and it somewhat annoyed him. "So where is the other one?" he asked. "She should be out soon." the mare answered. And true to her word the other mare ran out of the barracks, skidding to halt in front of the two. "Sorry to make you wait, sir." she said in between breaths. Trider once again looked at the mare in shock, but it was a different kind of shock then from the first mare. This 'mare' wasn't even a pony. While her basic body structure was similar to that of a pony, there were a few key differences. Her tail wasn't like a ponys, but it was more like that of a lizard, her wings weren't feathery, but had skin like texture, like a bat and her hooves weren't hooves, but looked like dragons feet. On a few parts of her body and face he could see traces of scales and spikes. She had a childish figure, with small breasts, not so prominent hips and short height. Although she looked like a child, there was an air of maturity surrouding her, which didn't let anyone ever mistake her for a teenager or worse, a child. Her coat was black, while her scales, spikes, short mane and tail were ash grey. Amongst all of her unique attributes the one that stood out the most were her silver eyes. Unlike ponys, her eyes were that of a predator than prey. She wore a red jacket over her small white shirt that covered only her breasts and she had blue skinny jeans on her legs, while on her arms rested two large braces. "What in hell are you supposed to be?" Trider asked bluntly. Taken aback by his sudden question the mare, fixed her composure. "For your information, sir, I am a half-breed between a dragon and a pony." she said in a proud voice. "Wow, whoever had the balls to stick his dick in a dragon has my respect." the Kanisar said in awe. "Actually my mother is a pony and my father is a dragon." She gave him a look over, before she spoke up. "So you're the wolf alien the Princess told us about. She said you were dangerous, but you don't look like it." Trider chuckled at her observation. "That's cause you caught me in a somewhat-of-a-good-mood." he said as he rubbed her head. She swatted his hand away and scowled. "Please refrain from doing that, sir. I hate it when ponies do that." A grin appeared on Triders face. "Dully noted." He then turned around and began to head to find the castle exit. "Oh yeah, what were your names again?" The white mare chuckled at his forgetfulness. "Have you already forgot what our names were, sir? It has barely been twenty minutes." The Kanisar scratched his head as he replied. "Yeah, I just remember names better when I can connect them to a face y'know. Besides back then you wore your armors so I have no idea who is who." "Well then let me introduce myself." the white mare said as she put a hand over chest and she gave a slight bow. "My name is Sergeant Rose Blade, of the Solar Guard, Unicorn Divison." "And I'm Private Dynamism, of the Night Guard, Pegasus Division." the dragon-pony said in a proud tone, while pointing a thumb at her chest. "Uh-huh, so Rose and Dyna. Nice to meet you. I'm Trider." he said nonchalantly. "Dyna?" the mare asked confused. "Why did you call me Dyna?" "Because your name is a mouthful, now lets get going already, before the Princess decides to lower the sun early." With that said the trio headed for the city, eager to see what it had to offer. 3 hours later The group was walking down a busy street, heading to their next destination. All around them ponies were looking at the strange creature none of them had ever seen. They whispered amongs themselves about what he was, was he dangerous and many other things. Trider however paid them no mind, he was already used to the ponies being cautious and mean to him. All of sudden his stomach growled and it was so loud nearby ponies backed away in fear they might be his next meal. "How far away is this place, I'm gonna die of hunger before we get there." he whined to the mares. "Just a little further, sir." replied Dynamism. For three hours they had been walking all across the city, visiting all the monuments and well-known locations. Everywhere they stopped the mares would tell him some intersting things about the place or sight and they would continue. To Trider none of it was all that impressive, that was until they arrived to the city park. This park however, unlike most parks he had ever seen, was located at the edge of the city, so you had a clear view across the land. Trider spent nearly an hour there taking in the the magnificent view it had to offer to him. It sort of reminded him of his home planet The serenity was broken however, when Trider felt a pain in his stomach due to the lack of food. When he told the mares of his troubles, Dynamism voted to go to a restaurant she often went to. Soon they were in front of a small building with sign that read 'Papa Bronze'. They entered and immediatelly Triders nostrils were assaulted by delicious aromas, some of which he never smelled before. They took their seats in an empty booth and began to look through menus. "So, why did you choose this place Dynamism?" Trider asked. "Because it's one of the few establishments that serve dishes that aren't only meant for ponies, but for those of more carnal diets as well, sir." she explained. Not sure what she meant Trider wanted to know what she meant by that, but then his eyes fell onto a certain section of the menu. "They serve meat here?" he asked in utter disbelief. "Yeah, since I'm part dragon, it's necessary for me to ingest some of it every once in a while and I also know your preference for it, sir." Trider groaned as he rubbed his forehead. "Okay that's enough." he said and gained confused looks from the mares. "What's wrong, sir?" asked Rose. "You can stop with the whole respectfullness and sir bullshit." he explained. "I know you two are on duty and what not, but I really hate it when you adress me like that, so can you just pretend this isn't a mission and just act like you're hanging out with your friends." The two mares looked at each other and then shrugged. "It's fine with me and honestly, it was getting on my nerves as well." said Dynamism. "Certainly." agreed Rose. "It's much more relaxing when we can talk like equals." Just then a waiter arrived to their table, a notepad and pen in his hand. "Have the mares and... uhm... sir chosen their dish?" "I'll have some sausages with the side of fries and some apple juice." ordered Dynamism. "I'll just have a simple green salad with lemon dressing and a glass of water." said Rose. "And you sir?" Trider was almost drulling, seeing all of the meat dishes, but then he saw the price. "Awww, come on I can't even pay for one of these." he said in a broken tone. "It's ok, the Princess said that any expenses will be covered by her, so order anything you want." Rose said in a reassuring voice. Triders eyes sparkled in joy. "Ok, maybe she isn't so bad after all." He then set his menu down and looked the waiter directly in the eye. "I want every meat dish you have." The waiter was taken aback by his request and asked again to see if he misheard him. "I'm sorry sir, but did you say every-" Trider stood up so he was now looking him straight in the eyes and said in a serious voice. "Every. Single. One. Of. Them." The waiter looked like he would faint any minute, wrote down the orders and headed to the kitchen. When The Kanisar sat back down, Dynamism went face to face with him. "Are you crazy? Do you know how much food you just ordered? And how much that will cost?" she asked, anger in her voice. "No. I do. And I don't care since Celestia is the one to pay for it." Trider answered nonchalantly. "You're taking advantage of her kindness. Don't you feel any shame?" "One, she made me go days without any meat, so it's only fair. Two, it would be rude of me not to go all out with her offer. And three, it's not like I told everyone in the building to order what they want, because the Princess was paying for it." Trider said in a bored voice. "Like it would make a difference if you did, looking at how much you ordered." Dynamism was almost fuming at that point. Then Rose put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "It's ok Private. Something like this wouldn't even make a dent in the royal treasury, also I would like to see him reap what he sowed." the mare said, with a hint of amusement. "I'm sorry, we couldn't help, but overhear you saying something about aunty paying for your meals." a voice said to the group. All of them turned to the source of the voice. The voice belonged to one of the two stallions who now stood next to their table. "Y-y-your majestys!" Dynamism nearly shouted as she stood from her stool and saluted to the stallions. "At ease solider." said the one with the blonde mane. "Blueblood, Charming what brings you two here?" asked Rose nonchalantly. Dynamism looked at the mare with wide eyes, seeing her act so casually towards her superiors. "Just here for a drink nothing else. Do you mind if we sit with you?" asked Charming. "Of course, take a seat." replied the mare offering them the free chairs. The stallions sat down and Dynamism followed suit. "Who're these guys?" Trider asked, curious about the new-comers. "Oh, forgive me. Trider these are Prince Charming Heart and Prince Blueblood. Princes this is Trider." Rose introduced them. "So you're the one aounty talked so much about, it's an honor to finally meet you in person." said Charming while offering his hand. Trider took his arm and shook it. "Geez, is there anyone she hasn't told about me?" Blueblood offered his hand as well and the Kanisar shook it as well. Dynamism was fidgeting in her seat, clearly nervous due to the presence of the princes. Charming noticed her nervousness and put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, we won't hurt you." it helped a little, but she was still frightened by their presence. "Just because we are your superiors doesn't mean you are in any sort of trouble. You two are here because you're helping Trider here, aren't you?" The mare nodded slightly. "Good, so you can relax and enjoy your meal." "Dyna." Rose called out to the mare. "Don't worry how you act in front of them, they would actually prefer if you were more open to them." "As long as it is not in public that is. We do have an image to uphold." added Blueblood. "So Rose, how do you know the princes, because the way you act towards them isn't that of a solider and their superior, but that of friends." asked Trider, wanting to know about their connection. "Good observation Trider." she said in happy tone. "Me and Blueblood studied under the same swordmaster, while I got to know Charming when I hung out with Blueblood." Trider satisfied with the answer then turned to the princes. "So you two are princes. Does that mean you two are Celestias and Lunas equals?" "No, no. The title of a prince is just a title. It only means we are the highest of the nobles, though Blueblood does hold a rank of general." Charming answered Kanisars question. "Uhm I'm sorry, but I have a question Blueblood, sir." After getting conformation from the stallion to continue, she asked. "Don't take this the wrong way, you don't even have to answer." Sweat started to drip down her forehead, as she became more and more nervous. Eventually she gathered her courage. "But the way you act now is nothing like I heard ponies talk about. They say you're pompus, narcissistic and many other things. Are they lying to sully your name, sir?" Blueblood sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Yes and no." The answer confused the mare, but before he could explain Rose jumped in. "Dyna, most of those things you heard came from the mares that dumped Blueblood once they found out 'what he's relly like'." she said the last part while making quotation marks with her fingers. "You see, because Blueblood is a prince, many mares see him as a gateway to a life of luxury if they get hitched with him. So most of the time mares don't really love him, but his money. That's why when a mare seems interested in him he puts an act to drive them away." "Why doesn't he just reject them. Isn't that easier?" Dynamism asked, clearly still confused at why make things so complicated. "I tried that, but it only makes them more determined to get me, rather than giving up. In fact one mare once tried to make me marry her by claiming I was the father of her child, which we later found out was a lie." Blueblood said in a dark tone, clearly not happy at the particular memory. "I see." the mare said sheepishly. She then looked over to Charming. "How come you don't have the same problems?" "Because he's antisocial." Rose once again butted in before the stallion could reply. "The only time you see him out of his room is when he nneds to get a new book at the library, when he needs to eat or when there are designer clothes on sale." "I can't argue with that." Charming said as he and the rest laughed. Then the waiter came back to the booth with their orders. "Here are your orders. For you sir, the rest will come later." Only when Blueblood coughed did the waiter notice the two new additions to the booth. "M-m-my liege, what can I serve you on this fine day?" "I'll have some cider and my brother will have..." He looked to Charming. "Scotch?" He nodded and waiter wrote down their orders and immediatelly left. While that was going down Trider was already wolfing down his order and they all looked at how fast he ate. "What is this meat? It tastes like chicken, but it has something more to it." he said in glee. Dynamism looked at him confused. "Wait when you hunted your food, did you ever salt it or put any spice on it?" "Nope." He looked at the dish in front of him and a smile crossed his features. "But I will from now on, if it'll taste this good." With that said he finished off the rest of the meal in seconds and waited for more. "So Trider, was it hard getting used to our ways and culture?" Rose said trying to learn more from the alien. "Eh, not so much. A lot of things are the same, but some are totally different." he answered. It was Bluebloods turn to ask. "Like what exactly?" "Well for one the interactions between ponies. On my planet my people aren't so touchy-feely like you guys are. Also there is the thing with herds. When I heard that about 70% of the pony population was female and that because of that herds were more or less mandatory, it shocked me to say the least." he explained. "Why?" asked Charming for everyone present. "On my planet poligamy is looked down upon, but despite that I don't care if a man has one, two or five mates." "So would you be willing to form a herd, if you found someone you loved?" Rose said while leaning over the table. "Not gonna happen." he said bluntly. "Why not? You just said you don't mind herds." asked the mare. "it's not the problem of herds, it's the problem of finding someone special to form it with." The group looked at him flabergasted at his statement. "What do you mean by that? You've been in Ponyville for a month, surrounded by some of the most beautiful mares Equestria has ever seen, heck you're even living with one of them and you're telling me you don't have a crush on one of them?" "Yep." was his only response. "Bullshit." Rose shouted. "There has to be a reason why you don't have a special somepony." She paused as her face turned to one of shock. "Don't tell me you're gay." At that statement Blueblood and Charming backed away from Trider a bit. The Kanisar gritted his teeth at the mares nosying. "No I'm not gay. I just don't like anypony, that's it." "Is it because we're not of your kind?" Blueblood threw in. "No and would you drop it already, I don't have to tell you shit about my love life. So if you don't have anything better to ask just shut the fuck up." Everyone remained quiet after his little outburst, Blueblood and Rose having their hands on their swords. It was only then Trider realised he relesed some of his feral side and he calmed down. "Let's just eat, ok?" he said in a defeated tone. Nobody objected and they returned to their meals. It was already getting dark when the trio made their way back to the castle. The streets were now mostly empty, which suited Trider since he longer had to bear the looks he received. "Just a little more Rose." he said to his companion who was leaning on his shoulder. "Hurray. *hic*" the mare said in semi-loud tone. She had quite a bit to drink, she wasn't downright drunk, but she was dizzy enough to not be able to walk on her own. Soon the group stumbled upon the Mane 6 minus Twilight and Spike. "Hey guys." Trider called out to them to catch their attention. The girls turned around and waved to him. When he reached them the girls looked at the two mars that were accompanying him. "Hello Trider. Who are your friends?" Rarity asked in curiosity. "This are Rose and Dyna. They are guards who were watching over me while I explored the city." Trider explained. "Rose had one too many drinks and is now a vegetable, while I'm her wheelchair." "He-*hic* Hello" Rose said in weak voice. "Hiya." greeted Dynamism. "Wow, are you a dragon?" The voice came from the young drake who was now face to face with the mare. "Well I'm half dragon and half pony." she said, while a blush crossed her face. "That is awesome. So does that mean one of your parents ws pony while the other was a dragon?" he asked excited. "Y-yeah." "Sweet." Spike said as he jumped away, while saying something to himself, leaving the mare confused and with a major blush. Trying to ignore the drakes enthusiasm, Trider looked to the girls and saw one of them was missing. "Where's Twilight?" he asked. "She stormed off a while ago, after proclaiming that Cadence was a bad bride and she didn't deserve her brother." Rainbow explained. "But if you ask me she is just being possesive." "Don't be so sure. When I met her, she said I was Twilights pet." The girls looked at one another, clearly not expecting a princess to say something like that. "Plus I didn't like her smell. She smelled like spoiled milk and my when someone smells unpleasantly they usually are unpleasant." "Wait a second sugarcube." Applejack intervened. "Yer sayin ya don't like her just cause she doesn't smell nice. Ah'm sorry but that is a poor arguement. Also maybe ya misheard her when she said that ya were Twilights pet." Trider pondered what the cow-mare said. "Maybe, but I still don't like her. My nose was never wrong when it came to people." At that moment Fluttershy yawned, clearly tired from her long day. "Maybe we should head back to the castle, it is getting rather late." Rarity said and other nodded in agreement. As they began to head back, Trider stopped and looked across the sky. Dynamism looked at him. "Is something wrong?" Trider began to walk and when he reached the mare he spoke. "It's nothing, just smelled something sour."