//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Guys // Story: Out of Darkness // by Sir Shining Armor //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Guys. ~Shard~ Shard had counted himself as a stallion of many different friends, but his closest were the colts around him. Whenever he wasn't hanging with the princess, he could usually be found with one (or all of them) on one of their Guy's Nights at the Crystal Palace in Shard's room. Cosmic Flare provided the teleportation spell that brought the others there instantly. The group consisted of Bryer Shade - (son of Discord and Fluttershy) - and Boulder (son of Trouble Shoes and Maud Pie) - though a new addition to their group was Blitzkrieg, the only son of Rapid Fire, one of the Royal Guard Ponies that had fought beside Sombra in the final battle with the Umbrum. Blitz was a dark blue Pegasus, and he had lean but very powerful legs, frame and a short-cropped, buzzed mane style. His Cutie Mark was a yellow lightning bolt over a black shield, meant to symbolize his extremely fast reflexes and his special talent in hoof-to-hoof combat. They were a motley crew, but Shard thought of them all as like the brothers that he never had. Most of the time whenever they hung out he was the one that held it all together. Flare's ego and Shade's moodiness were a dangerous mix, especially when their tempers rose. Shard did his best to keep the peace, as did Boulder, albeit in a much quieter way - and Shard found his respect for the strong, reserved pony growing. Tonight's meeting, however was going much more smoothly - now that Shard had dropped the news that he was dating Flurry. What followed was a round of bro-hoofs and congratulatory pats on the back. Even Boulder gave one of his rare, small smiles. "Congrats, little buddy." He said simply. "You finally got the hint, huh?" Shade said, giving him a nudge on the shoulder. "'Bout time." "Yeah!" Flare agreed. "I always said you deserved somepony great and powerful like Flurry. Didn't I? I saw the way she looked at you when we were training as foals." "You always thought she was looking at you, ya big lump." Shard deadpanned, but in a good natured way. "Was I wrong to think that?" Flare replied, giving a winning grin. "One look at me and my Magic - and they can't resist me." "In your dreams." Blitz deadpanned in a manner decidedly less good natured. "You think you're Celestia's gift to mares, but you're far from it." "Shut up!" Flare said. His grin had disappeared. The two stood up, staring intently at each other. For a moment, Shard worried they would come to blows. That, he mused, would be an extremely close fight: While Flare was well trained in Magic - the son of two powerful Unicorns - Blitz was an expert flier and skilled in Karate. "That's enough you two." Boulder said levelly. He stood to his full height, making it clear who was the tallest of them, a move that Shard considered a bit overkill, but it was effective. As an Earth-Pony, Boulder had the greatest physical strength out of all of them, but it took a lot to get his temper going. When it did, though, things usually ended badly for the offender. Fortunately, the conversation after that went smoothly. Their topic of discussion went to Shard's date with Flurry and what they'd be doing - with his friends offering tips on how to ensure he kept her interest. Flare however kept insisting that he impress her with grandiose displays of Magic, not unlike what Trixie would have done if she were on a date. That continued on until Boulder helpfully pointed out that Trixie was not into mares - and that Flurry wasn't the type to be impressed by magic shows. Instead, he suggested that he bring her a gift of crystals that he'd brought from his mother, Maud's cavern home outside Ponyville. "Oh, a gift of gems for the Crystal Princess?" Blitz asked sarcastically. "How original." "You got any better ideas?" Flare asked, giving the Pegasus a dirty look. "I got a few, yeah." Blitz returned, ignoring the glare. "How about after your dinner, you take her for a romantic flight across Cloudsdale and together you...-" Shard interrupted by tapping Blitz on the shoulder. With a raised eyebrow, he gestured to his body, which (he noted with some humor) was bereft of wings. "Oh, yeah." Blitz said sheepishly. "Sorry. I forgot I'm the Pegasus." "And I think you're all forgetting..." Shard said, "we're going to be having dinner in Twilight's Castle. Since she was the one that asked me, I think she's already got everything all planned out." _________________________________________________________________________________ Once that was over and done with, they started their usual routine of sitting around a long table, playing cards and talking about the latest novel in the Song of Frost and Flame book series. It had been six long years since the last book, A Waltz with Wyrms had been released - and despite his promises, the author, Gorge R. R. Smarty had yet to finish the newest one. Many of his fans like Flare and Shade were on pins and needles waiting for it. "He needs to get off his fat flank and publish it already." Flare complained. "We've waited long enough." "It'll be done when it's done. We just need to be patient." Shard said. Truth be told, he found the series to be a bit too dark for his taste. The irony of that was not lost on the son of Sombra. He grinned teasingly. "You looking to read more about those mouth watering dishes he describes every chapter?" It was no secret to anypony that Smarty's books were known for two things: The appalling death toll among its characters and the vivid descriptions of its foods. "I don't care about that, I'm waiting to see if Prany and Whinyon will finally meet!" Flare replied, throwing up his hooves in frustration. "I'm more interested in finally getting the answer about who Ahorse Ahigh is." Blitz said. "I keep telling you, it's Prancerys." Flare insisted. "She's the most obvious choice." "That's precisely the point." Blitz said. "It's too obvious!" While the discussion went on, Shard noted that Boulder and Shade had said little. They seemed more focused on the cards in their hooves. Both of them had excellent poker faces - and neither had made any move to raise or lower the pot. "I call." Shard said, laying his cards on the table. "King of Spades and Four Threes of Hearts." "I fold." Shade said sullenly. "Me too." Said Blitz, suddenly looking very sorry for himself. "Boo-ya!" Flare said, laying his hoof down. "Full house!" He had a triumphant grin as he reached over to the pile of bits, ready to take what he thought was his winnings when suddenly, Boulder lay down his cards. "Four Aces." Boulder said flatly. "Aw, hay." Flare grunted. "Boulder always wins!" "I'm ain't much into winnin'." Said the Earth Pony, his ears drooping. "Don' know where my luck comes from, on account of my Pappy bein' so unlucky." "Your mother was lucky enough to meet your father." Shard said, trying to be helpful. "Who would have thought Maud of all Ponies would fall for a clown?" "He made her laugh by falling." Boulder explained, his ears pointing back up. "Somethin' that nopony has ever been able to do before or since." "I wouldn't call that luck." Flare said, putting a hoof on Boulder's shoulder. "I'd call that being a great entertainer!" "Just like Trixie?" Blitz asked caustically. "Yep!" Flare said, either oblivious or ignorant the sarcasm. "Next round." Shard called, taking all the cards. He started to reshuffle. "Shade?" The Batpony hybrid shrugged. "I'm in." "Me too." Blitz and Flare said, surprisingly in unison. "I'm out." Boulder said, rising from his seat and trotting towards the door. There was a notable shake in the table - and a shift in its height when he stood up fully, nearly knocking the deck over. "I gotta get back to the rock farm. Grandpappy Pie is ill." "Sorry to hear." Shard said. He knew through the Pie Twins that Boulder's grandfather, Igneous Rock Pie was getting on in his years. Likely, he was not long for the world. That meant that Boulder would have to be the one to inherit the rock farm. "Does he need healing? I know a little of that magic from my mother." "You cheer me." Boulder said, sounding utterly morose. "But I think this is somethin' I'd rather do alone." "As you will." Shard said, slightly disappointed. He liked Boulder - and it saddened him to see him so glum. "Good luck on your date, Shard." Said the Earth Pony, a moment before he shut the door behind him. Shard turned back to face his other friends and sat back down, but his head felt a thousand miles away as the conversation started back up again. He could barely focus on the cards, even as he reshuffled them and dealt them with almost mechanical precision. It took him a moment before he realized that Shade was waving a hoof in front of his face. A moment later and he had also conjured a microphone with his chaos magic. "Shard?" He was asking while holding up the microphone. "Hello, Equis to Shard? Come in, Shard." "Hmn?" The son of Sombra said. "What was that?" "You zoned out on us." Shade said with a concerned look. "What's going on in that empty space you call a head?" "Oh, his head's not empty." Flare joked. "I think it's full of rocks!" "Oh, thanks." Shard replied in good humor. "Mind if I pick your brain?" Shade said, conjuring a pickaxe. He alone grinned at the terrible pun. "We were discussing the grim-dark nature of Smarty's works." Blitz said. "I think it could do with a little more hope - a little more action and some less deconstruction. It does get tiring after the first few dozen times." "Some ponies like that." Shade pointed out. "Like me for example." "How would you do it, Blitz?" Shard asked, deciding it was time to satisfy his curiosity. Blitz thought for a moment, then replied. "I think I'd have it be real lighthearted at first. Things start off slow - with some filler, some well developed characters - showing it from their viewpoints. Then as the story goes on, things start getting dark and serious, just as the bad guy shows up. Things get real bad for a while, then the cast goes through Tartarus before coming out clean on the other side." "'Happiness is like those palaces in pony tales whose gates are guarded by Dragons: We must fight in order to conquer it.'" Shard quoted. At his friend's bemused looks, he grinned. "Count of Mounted Crispo." "Yeah, I agree with Blitz." Said Flare. "Things start off slow, but they only get better as time and the story goes on." "Agreed." Shard said. "Hope things only get better between all of us." Especially between me and Flurry. He thought to himself.