Day 3, Stray Stallion Back Room- 5:30am
Boss stared at the ceiling as he felt a strange burning sensation in his chest. His shades glowed brightly as he sat up from his small bed. His thoughts raced back and forth, reviewing the events of the nightmares that had been given out the previous night. He felt an incredible urge to throw something. A voice on the other side of the room snapped him out of his thoughts.
“How many stallions died last night?” Catherine had a serious tone in her voice. She wasn’t her usual cheery self.
Boss sighed, taking a moment to reflect back on the night. “About five. All of them just Canterlot rabble.”
Catherine smiled, “Armor lived, right?”
Boss slammed a hoof on the floor. He shouted, “Only because Astaroth allowed him to!”
Catherine’s face twisted in confusion. “What do you mean he allowed Armor to live?”
“I set the tower up so that the only way to reach the door was to gather the bell and use it to transform the blocks to normal. Armor left the bell behind, and thusly couldn’t reach the door. Astaroth gave him an energy drink so that he wouldn’t die…” Boss explained, his shades glowing a deep orange.
Catherine laughed, returning to her normal demeanor, “So you got cheated by the man you work for? That’s really funny, Boss!” She clapped her hooves together in excitement.
Boss scoffed, “It’s not funny! It was because of his own lack of perception that he was placed in such a horrible position. Astaroth should not have saved him!”
Catherine stood up, walking toward Boss. “You know, Cadence will be back in town tomorrow. At least, that’s what Armor’s journal says. After tomorrow, things may get complicated.”
Boss adjusted his shades, a smile on his face. “Yes, and unlike last time, I shall be prepared for it. I will not be beaten this time.”
Catherine giggled, “You know, if things do turn out like last time…you may have to leave Equestria.”
Boss chuckled, “No need to worry about that. It won’t happen.”
Catherine waved a hoof and disappeared. Boss let out a deep breath and fell back on the bed. The burning in his chest wouldn’t go away. In the back of his mind, he was truly worried about how this would all play out. He feared that Armor may have potential to be a Man of Legend. Why else would Astaroth save him?
Day 3, Shining Armor’s Chambers- 7:25am
Armor let out a surprised shout as his eyes flew open. He quickly tossed himself upright, taking in the room around him. He looked at his hooves and other features, wondering just what exactly had put him on edge so suddenly. He felt as if he hadn’t slept a bit, as if he’d just been lying there in a sleepless stupor. His legs ached with tense muscles, as if he’d been straining himself the entire night.
A giggle caught his attention as his mind pieced together where he was. The blond-maned mare from the night before last sat up in the bed, her bare coat shining in the sunlight from the window. She spoke quietly, “Good morning, stud. Did you sleep well?” She let a smile stretch across her lips.
Armor’s eyes widened in horror as he realized what must have taken place. The worst part about all seeing Catherine in his bed again was that he didn’t even remember seeing her the previous night. He stuttered, “C-Catherine! Wh-what are you doing here?” He quickly scratched his mane with his hoof, trying to play it off as a type of short-term memory loss.
The pink mare giggled gently, “I think you know exactly why I’m here, silly…” Her voice trailed off and her eyes slowly moved down Armor’s figure until reaching a spot underneath the covers.
The stallion waved a hoof in front of her face, bringing her gaze back to his own. He stammered nervously, “B-but when did you get here? H-how’d you get in?” His face flushed red as she trained her gaze back to his nether regions.
She sighed, “You invited me in last night, you mule!” Her face twisted in anger as she apparently took offense to his forgetfulness. She scoffed, “If it was that unremarkable, maybe I should just stop altogether, humph!” She turned her head to the side and crossed her arms over her chest.
Armor looked at her with a regretful expression. As much as he couldn’t stand cheating on Cadence, he also didn’t want to hurt the new mare’s feelings. He pondered his next move for a few seconds before sighing, “I’m so sorry, Catherine… It’s just that I…must’ve been really drunk last night, that’s all.” He scratched his mane, remembering the time he spent in the Stray Stallion the night prior. He did feel a slight pounding in his head, so maybe he had drank too much.
Catherine turned her eyes so that she could barely see Armor out of the corner of the right one. She pouted her lips and muttered, “You didn’t remember the night before last, either.” She turned her head away again, lifting her muzzle in the air.
Armor thought back to what they’d said yesterday morning. He said, “I never once said anything about not remembering it! You’re just being self-conscious!” He hoped his memory didn’t serve him wrong.
Catherine turned to glare right at him. She shouted, “Do you think I’m stupid?! I could tell how flustered you were! You don’t have to lie to me, Armor…” She shoved him hard with a hoof, knocking him flat on his back.
Armor’s thoughts raced as he tried to figure what the fuck was going on. He didn’t remember seeing her last night. He didn’t remember either of their nights together. He knew he hadn’t drunk too much last night. He knew for a fact that he didn’t invite her to his chambers. Something was wrong, but he wasn’t sure what it was. On top of everything else, he couldn’t remember his dream to save his life!
He managed to sigh, “I’m sorry, really. I’ve been out of it lately, okay? Can you forgive me?” He smiled sheepishly as Catherine turned back to face him.
She tilted her head and smiled. She lunged on top of the laid-back stallion, her lips curled up in happiness. She giggled, “I guess I’ll forgive you this time. But you better not forget again, okay?” She placed a hoof right on the tip of Armor’s muzzle, preventing him from speaking. She lowered the other hoof under the covers.
Armor’s mind immediately registered what she was reaching for. He gently shoved the mare a few inches away, not quite in the mood for what she wanted. The pounding in his head prevented any kind of relaxed thoughts as he continued trying to piece together the events of the last few days.
Catherine sighed, “I thought you liked it when I-…?” She pulled her hoof back as the stallion pushed her away. He placed a hoof to her muzzle to silence her as he looked out the window at the sky.
Armor cheered, “Believe me, I definitely do, but I’ve gotta go!” He leaped over the mare and rolled from the bed, heading for the chest where he stashed his armor. He immediately started placing it on, expecting Catherine to leave as he prepared for ‘work.’ Instead, she walked up beside him place a hoof to his underside.
The armor he wore covered his chest and head, but his flank and hooves were completely exposed. He lurched back as the mare place a hoof beneath him. She giggled, “Aw, come on Armor! It’ll just be a quickie! <3” She winked, causing Armor to hesitate with his response.
Thoughts flooded his brain. He cast out the attempts at remembering his dreams or his nights with Catherine. Instead, he focused on what was going on at that moment.
Okay Armor, you’ve gotta decide right now. You don’t actually have to work today, so there’s no reason to rush out of here willy-nilly. I mean, she really wants to ‘help’ you out… But wait, this is so wrong! Cadence will be back tomorrow, and if she finds out… You’ve gotta break it off with Catherine, now! But…I don’t think it’d be right to break the poor girl’s heart, would it? She really wants to make you feel good, so why not let her just this once?
Armor’s thoughts flip-flopped back and forth from accepting Catherine’s advances to breaking ties with the mare on the spot. Much to his relief, a knock came to his chamber door just as the pink mare started another advance. Relief quickly vanished as he realized that the pony at the door could be anypony, and only a select few would keep his affair secret. He decided to risk it and called to the pony to enter the chamber.
Much to Armor’s delight, the pony that entered was none other than Rain, who beamed a smile at his captain. He laughed, “I thought you said we aren’t allowed to wear our armor off duty, Captain?”
Armor was confused that Rain completely dismissed Catherine’s presence. That is, until he looked to the spot Catherine should have been in. To his horror, the pink mare was nowhere in sight. Armor decided to chalk the mare’s appearance up to guilt, and cast her out of his thoughts. Trying to maintain a calm expression, he tossed his armor back into the chest and slammed it shut, taking a seat on it.
Armor chuckled, “I must have been sleep-walking… I don’t remember putting it on at all!” He scratched his mane as the soldier stepped further into the room.
Rain sighed, taking a seat on the chest, “You seem a bit off, Captain. Have you been getting any sleep?” He had a glazed look in his eyes as he stared at Armor.
The white stallion sighed, “Not much, if any. I wanna say I had a weird dream last night, but I can’t remember it…” He noticed a shiny object near Rain’s chest. He examined it further to find that it was a necklace.
The soldier noticed Armor’s attention and grasped the necklace with a hoof. He chuckled, “Do you like it? The marefriend bought it for me. It’s made of pure onyx!” He flashed the necklace to Armor, who immediately felt a sense of familiarity with the object.
Looking into Rain’s eyes, he noticed the glazed look. He asked, “You don’t look like you’ve slept well, either…”
The brown stallion’s black mane looked sleep-tussled and tangled up. He chuckled, “Yeah, I had a nice little nightmare last night. Something about being chased by a demon or some shit.” He waved a hoof as if he expected something to fly at his face. He let out a deep sigh and lowered his head.
Armor asked, “So what brings you to my neck of the castle, Rain?”
Rain suddenly remembered why he had shown up in the first place. He cheered, “We’re heading to the bar early today. Be there at five, okay? We’ve got some stuff to discuss with Boss.” Without saying another word, the stallion hopped to his hooves and darted from the room, remembering something important he had promised his marefriend.
Armor was left alone to ponder his thoughts. He sighed as he tried to figure out why the necklace was so familiar to him. The image of the necklace rested right on the tip of his mind, and he knew he recognized it from somewhere. He then thought back to his dream, and tried to figure out what it had been about. Rain said something about being chased by a demon, which felt familiar enough. At the same time, most nightmares are about demons, so there’s no telling just what exactly he meant by ‘being chased’. Armor was left with the feeling that he too had been running from something.
A stern but gentle voice drew him back out of his thoughts. “I’m glad to see you were lying about having to work today!” The pink mare’s blond mane was strewn about her face as she angrily stomped over to Armor. She scoffed, “And you didn’t even bother to introduce us! How rude!” She shoved the stallion hard off of the chest, causing his legs to flail wildly.
Armor was taken aback by Catherine’s sudden appearance. She had completely disappeared from the room just moments before, and now she was back, acting as if she’d always been there. The confused stallion shouted as he sat upright, “Where the hell’d you go?! I was gonna introduce you, but you just left!” He thrashed a hoof forward in anger, making Catherine giggle at his outburst.
“You silly, I had to use the restroom…” She pointed a hoof to the smaller doorway on the far side of the room. Armor’s own personal facilities… For some strange reason, he never considered the fact that she may have just went to the restroom to allow Rain and himself to talk…
Armor sighed, “Sorry I lied about working, but I really do have someplace to be.” He stood up on his hooves and headed for the door to the chamber.
Catherine giggled, “That’s okay, I have a Girl’s Day with some of my friends in town. I have to be going soon, too.” She winked as Armor opened the door and headed through, shutting it promptly behind him.
The confused stallion let out a deep sigh as he thought about everything that had happened to him. He wondered just how he would find his way out of this whole mess. He needed to break it off with Catherine, but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. At the same time, he didn’t want to hurt Cadence, either. The conflict in his own mind was starting to fatigue him. He shook his head violently from side to side before deciding he would simply talk to Boss in the bar later that evening. Celestia knows none of the others would understand his situation…
Day 3, Stray Stallion- 5:35pm
“…so I tell her how much the champagne costs, and she starts flipping out on me!” Rough downed his glass of whisky as he recounted the tale of a love long lost.
The five soldiers were gathered at their usual table, Octavia standing off to the side listening to the stories. Although she thought about how it was way too early to be drinking, she was at least getting paid extra for putting up with the five crazy stallions. Boss stood behind the counter, chatting away with two particularly tired-looking stallions. The one at the far end of the counter was the same as the night before.
The one closer to the center of the counter was a new face in town. He was a short amber-coated stallion with a dark-gray mane. He wore a white business-esque collar around his neck with a red tie that hung down past his chest. It had a golden dollar sign imprinted on it. He down a bottle of beer as he and Fancypants exchanged financial secrets to one another. Boss listened to their own special brand of arguing.
After chatting with the soldiers for half an hour, Armor decided to go talk with the two businessponies at the counter. Besides, he needed to talk to Boss anyway, so why not be friendly while he was at it?
He took a seat between the two stallions, who sat at least five seats apart despite their conversation, and ordered a glass of rum and cola. Nodding his thanks and taking a sip, he turned to greet the new pony. “The name’s Shining Armor. I don’t think I’ve seen you in town before… Are you new here?” He extended a hoof to the obviously worn-out stallion on his right.
The stallion chuckled as he hoof-bumped the captain of the guard, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Armor. The name’s Filthy Rich, from Ponyville. Call me Rich…” He raised his empty bottle to Boss, wanting a new beer.
Fancypants sighed, “Last night was another sleepless one. How about yourself, Armor?” The comment brought their previous day’s conversation about the climbing and the familiarity of one another.
Armor nodded, “Same here. I think it may have been the same dream, too…”
Mr. Rich scoffed, “Small world after all, eh? I had a crazy dream last night! Some monster was chasing me up some stairs, and it took everything I had to keep running… I think I barely got away…”
Rain’s ears perked up as he listened to the three stallions carry on their conversation. Lightning laughed, “Didn’t you say something about a nightmare, Rain? Maybe you oughta join in the sentimental hoopla!” He waved a hoof dismissively to the older stallion, which evoked an angry glare and a threatening hoof to the arm.
The disturbed stallion thought for a moment before sliding from the booth and taking a seat between Armor and Mr. Rich. Lightning’s face twisted in confusion as he didn’t really mean to run Rain off.
Rain greeted the two non-guard stallions, “The name’s Rain. How’s it going?” He ordered a beer and nodded to the two stallions.
Fancypants nodded and cheered, “Fancypants, nice to meet you!”
Mr. Rich followed suit with, “Filthy Rich, at your service.”
The four stallions started sharing what few details about their dreams they could remember. They each felt a sense of familiarity with the other three, so much so that it was a bit disorienting. Armor and Rain had a reason to be familiar, what with being friends for years now. The other two stallions, especially Mr. Rich, had no reason to be so…remembered.
After about two hours of listening to the four discuss the dreams, Boss decided to change the subject. He cleared his throat and turned to Mr. Rich. He asked, “So what brings you to Canterlot from Ponyville, Mr. Rich?”
Mr. Rich took a swig of his beer and pointed a hoof at a poster hanging on the beam beside him. The poster had a picture of a group of uniformed Pegasi that anypony would recognize. Underneath the picture were the words ‘The Wonderbolts Super Show’ with a few times and dates scribbled underneath. It was a flyer for the upcoming Wonderbolts show, the most popular group of Pegasi in Equestria. They were performers that could move fast and do amazing stunts and tricks in the air.
Boss examined the flyer, completely unaware that it had been taped to the beam of his counter. He thought to himself how unusual it was that people would show up from such a faraway town like Ponyville to see a few Pegasi fly around. He couldn’t see the appeal, especially if the town the viewer came from already had a Pegasus in it.
His thoughts were broken when Mr. Rich continued, “My daughter, Diamond Tiara absolutely adores the Wonderbolts. Since I’m on vacation this week, I decided to go ahead and take her to one of their shows.” He sighed and took another swig of beer.
Rain looked at the troubled stallion with a curious expression. He asked, “So what’s wrong with you? You seem out of it for somepony that’s had a single bad dream.”
Mr. Rich shot Rain an angry glare as he chugged his beer. He bowed his head and sighed, “I’m just glad to be away from the Misses for a while. I mean, after what happened…” His voice trailed off as his mind was drawn back to an event that took place a day or two ago. When he realized the others were waiting on him to finish his story, he cleared his throat and turned his head away.
Fancypants scoffed, “One stallion’s business is his own, Rain. No need to pry too far into it. We all have luggage…” Armor thought back to what Fancypants said yesterday about relationships being about status and not connection.
The white stallion slapped a hoof to the counter and muttered, “Like you, Fancypants? What kind of luggage do you own?”
The elegant stallion lost his proper posture and twisted his face in anger. He took a swig of whisky and grumbled, “Right now I’m in the process of learning a certain fashion designer’s secrets to use in my own business. After that, my luggage is empty.”
Rain sensed the tension growing between the two stallions. Armor’s hoof hit the table as he shouted through clenched teeth, “What kind of mule are you? How can you just use somepony to get more of what you already have?!” Rain leaped from his stool as he felt anger swell in his captain.
The rest of the bar fell silent as Fancypants returned the anger with his own, “At least I have something to gain from my actions! From the way you talk, you do it for no other reason than because you can!” He of course meant using Catherine for pleasure while Cadence was away, a comment that made Armor get really angry.
Before any other words could be shared, Brawny leaped from his booth and caught Armor in what can only be described as a full-nelson. Rain quickly stopped Fancypants’s advances toward the stallion. Boss watched in silent amusement as two of the very few stallions who were good at his game nearly tried to beat each other up. Although they had no idea they were the same ponies from within the nightmares, it was still fun to watch such friends fight.
He could almost taste the irony as Filthy Rich intervened in the fight, acting as the voice of reason. He shouted, “This fight won’t get anything done! You both have your problems, fine! But don’t make those problems a burden on the rest of us!” With that, the two stallions seemed to calm down, realizing that they were acting like fools in front of all of the bar patrons.
Armor blushed as he realized he had snapped for almost no excusable reason. Fancypants sat back on his bar stool, taking a swig of his whisky and placing his head on the counter. He looked at the other five stallions by the bar and sighed, “This lack of sleep is driving me insane… Those damn nightmares…”
The five of them all settled down, taking a seat at the counter. The rest of the bar sprang back to life in an instant, realizing the fight had been avoided. Brawny, Rain, Armor, Mr. Rich, Fancypants, and Boss were all gathered at counter, enjoying their favorite beverages. Even Boss liked a bit of alcohol every once in a while to calm his nerves.
He cleared his throat and chuckled, “Ever hear the story of the Woman’s Wrath?”
Lightning laughed from within the booth, the name obviously sounding funny to him. Rough delivered a punch to the side with a hoof and silenced the laughter. Brawny sighed, “No. Why, is it some sort of play or something?”
Boss smiled, adjusting his shades. He laughed, “Not quite. It’s actually a curse. Where I come from there’s a legend that says men who cheat are cursed to climb an almost endless tower. Any men that can’t climb the tower are killed.” He clapped his hooves together before pouring himself another shot of whisky.
Armor thought about this for a second before scoffing, “Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And I bet there are monsters that can turn into other ponies, right?”
Boss continued, “Ah, but this is quite true. In fact, I’ve been cursed by this Woman’s Wrath before myself. It was back in my younger days, when I was quite the lecher.”
Mr. Rich laughed, “Oh yeah? And how are you alive?”
The bartending stallion sighed, “I reached the top and got my wish. Sadly, I lost my lover and my job, but at least I was free from the curse.”
The womanizing rich pony at the end of the counter couldn’t hold back his laugh. He choked out, “And I bet that’s how you got here, eh?”
“I believe him. I mean, if we’re all having nightmares about climbing stairs, can’t they be the towers in the legend?” Armor spoke up, planting hoof on the counter.
Rain nudged him in the side with force. He scoffed, “I’m having nightmares and I’m not cheating, you dolt!”
Fancypants clapped his hooves and chuckled, “I may use mares for personal gain, but I would never cheat on my target.” The other five ponies gave him disapproving glares.
Mr. Rich sighed, placing his head on the counter, “I can’t say the same. I’ve done my share of wrong…”
Brawny stood up from his stool and headed back towards the booth where Lightning and Rough sat. He said bluntly, “You guys are depressing me. Take a fucking happy pill, would ya?” He plopped down in the booth, trying to take his mind off of the sad stallions at the bar.
Rain scoffed, “I’m not a cheater. I’m just not…completely committed.” He held his necklace in his hoof, thinking about his marefriend.
Boss shook his head as he sighed, “The legend also says that men who refuse to commit are also cursed. That could explain your problems.” He pointed his hoof at Fancypants and Rain.
Fancypants’s ears perked up. He chuckled, “Yes, because some curse is going to kill me for doing what I’ve always done. Why wait until now to stop me?”
Rain laughed, “Yeah, I mean why would something kill me just because I don’t want to have kids?”
Armor hit the counter with his hoof and muttered, “I guess that’s a double-whammy for me, huh? I don’t want to get married and I’m cheating on Cadence. This is lovely…”
Mr. Rich placed a hoof on Armor’s shoulder and stood from his barstool. He laughed, “I’ve had enough of this depressing jargon for one day. I’m heading to the hotel… Take care, fellas. Don’t let the demons make you fall tonight!” He chuckled as he headed out of the bar.
Rain turned to say something to Armor, but found the guard captain already passed out. He looked at Boss and asked, “Uh…did you drug him or something? Hey Fancypants, check this out…?” He turned to the rich stallion on his other side, only to find that he was also unconscious.
Octavia stepped up behind them and giggled, “Well, they were talking about loss of sleep. I guess it only makes sense they’d be out.”
Brawny got up from his booth and headed over to Armor’s side. He sighed, “Guess I’ll carry the Captain to his chambers. It’s early, but I’m feeling pretty tired myself…” He lifted Armor over his back and headed for the exit.
Rain picked up Fancypants and decided to carry him to his house, wherever that may be. “Mind helping me find this guy’s place, first?” he called to Brawny.
Lightning and Rough walked up beside the burdened stallion. The latter of the two laughed, “We’ll keep you company, Rain. We’re feeling a bit out of it, too…” He yawned.
Lightning scoffed, “Speak for yourself, dude.”
They all headed off on their ways. Brawny was carrying Armor to his chambers before heading to bed himself. Rough, Lightning, and Rain set off to find Fancypants’s home within the large city. Although it was still rather early, a wave of sleepiness seemed to have crashed over the patrons of the Stray Stallion. By eight o’clock that evening, the bar had been cleared out aside from Boss.
A smile stretched across Boss’s face as he played through the last few hours’ events. He had successfully dodged a bullet by telling the stallions the story of Woman’s Wrath. Now that they were aware of his having been a victim at some point, they wouldn’t expect him to be the cause of it anymore…
“In every man's heart there is a devil, but we do not know the man as bad until the devil is roused.” --James Oliver Curwood