//------------------------------// // Greetings // Story: Final Fantasy VII: Darkness in Equestria // by Axel IV //------------------------------// Cloud was expecting the dungeon cell to be a bit more happy. Maybe with big glass windows, bright colored walls, and nice carpet flooring. It was too bad that the prison was exactly what he would expect back home. He had no windows, the walls were a cold dark stone, and the floor was blackened with who knows what. He had a soft rotten cloth in the corner for a bed, and he had bars to keep him in. The air was dusty and dirty, and he could practically taste rusting metal in the air. Well...at least something like this could be familiar. The large unicorn pegasus thing had immediately teleported him to where he was now. He guessed that it was the powerful creature that had levitated the large bear monster. It was a different pony then the rest of them, and he could exactly see eye to eye with her. Cloud sighed, sitting down with his back towards the wall. It was wise for her to leave his sword where he dropped it...But with his SOLDIER strength, he could probably bend the bars to get out if he wanted to. Cloud dismissed that thought. The ponies all knew he existed now...and he was sure that they assume that he was whatever came out from that meteor. He was the crazy monster they were after, and now they had found him. Well, it was going to have to happen one way or another. He just wished that it didn't include him sitting in a prison cell waiting for something. The blonde man sighed, running his hands through his incredibly spiky hair. What would happen to him now? Would they listen to him? They might just think of him as some weird monster from space. That was the likely suggestion. After all, he thought they were weird creatures at first as well. That really powerful pony...what was she? Not only did she have a horn and wings, but her power was incredible. Was she some kind of...god? The door to the prison swung open, and something walked in, illuminating him in the light. He forgot that the dungeon cell was pitch black...his mako infused eyes typically made it easy to see in the dark. When his eyes adjusted, he spotted the form of one of the pony guards. Just like the others, it was clad in golden shiny armor. But in this case, it was a pegasus. The pony walked up to the iron bars, glancing down at the strange creature. Cloud glared back. "Princess Celestia wants to see you." The pony grumbled, picking up a set of keys with his mouth from his saddle bag. Cloud lifted an eyebrow, "Princess...Celestia?" The cell door opened, and Cloud was released. He stepped out into the light, realizing he was facing down some sort of grand looking staircase. Was the prison directly connected with some sort of castle? This Princess Celestia either wasn't too smart...or she liked keeping her enemies close. Climbing the staircase, Cloud was led down impressive looking hallways, with beautiful stained glass windows and wonderful large columns that decorated beautifully. He had never seen something like this, and it was breathtaking. The space in the halls was incredible, and the air wasn't stuffy like the prison. The maids and servants gasped when they saw him walking with the guard, not expecting such a strange being walking through the halls. Cloud was going to have to get used to looking down to be able to see them. The guard stopped him before a large set of doors. The pegasus nodded to him before standing post outside of it. Cloud took the hint, and pushed open the large doors with ease. The room was huge, and up a grand set up steps sat the same creature who had teleported him to the dungeon. There were no others in the room, and Cloud felt that the air was different, despite the large open window to his right. He took a few steps, staring at the pony. Princess Celestia was getting a closer look at her visitor. His features were soft, and she found him quite...handsome despite not being one of her kind. He stood like a warrior, and he had a bit of a powerful presence. She cleared her throat, preparing to speak. "My name is Princess Celestia." She said, watching the fighter. "Cloud Strife." The blonde man spoke, his voice soft and reserved. She was expecting a much more complicated name, and she was happy that it was simple. "Cloud..." Celestia furrowed her eyebrows, "What...or Who are you?" Cloud had been expecting a question like this for some time. He had prepared himself in the cell to answer any questions she would ask. "I'm a human." He said, "And...By the looks of it, I'm from a different planet." Celestia blinked, obviously confused, "Of course you are. I have never heard of your kind before...Why did you come here?..." "That's what I would like to know." Cloud replied, watching the look of confusion grow even stronger on her face, "I don't even remember." "I...See..." Celestia said quietly, "I'm sorry to hear that." This...human seemed much more calm and collected then what she expected him to be. Well, going up against a creature like an Ursa Major pretty much meant you had to be fearless. "So..." Cloud started, "Where exactly am I?" "Equestria." Celestia replied, "I rule Equestria with my sister, Princess Luna." "Equestria..." Cloud repeated. This was just sounding more ridiculous than he thought. "I have to thank you." Celestia smiled lightly, "You saved some very precious ponies to me today. And I'm sorry that I sent you to the dungeon...I didn't know if you were hostile or not. I got to thinking, and I realized that you couldn't be some sort of enemy. You did save the town and defeat the Ursa Major without killing it." "Ursa Major...So that's what it was called." Cloud decided to ask some more serious questions, "Is there a way I can go back home?..." "I...don't know." Celestia replied, biting her lip, "I am sorry, but something coming from the skies is unheard of. I can, however, put forth the idea in some of my most powerful unicorns. We can see if we can find someway to get you back home." "I see...." Cloud said, scratching the back of his head, "So I guess I'm stuck for a while." "It would appear so, Cloud." Celestia smiled again, "In the meantime...My most faithful student and her friends would like to thank you." The throne room door opened up behind him, and Cloud glanced back to see the same six ponies that he had observed over the course of the week he was in the forest. He could tell that they were all nervous, anxious, but very thankful for what he had done. He decided to keep the fact that he was practically stalking them to himself. When they all stepped in, the large doors closed again. Cloud was left in some sort of staring contest, watching them as they watched him. It was a bit awkward for him at first. Then suddenly, the pink one ran up to him, practically shoving her face into his, leaning up against her body with her eyes wide. Cloud staggered back, blinking in surprise. "So this is what you look like!" She declared, "I have been trying to find you for a while, Mr. Alien! But you were always too fast! But not today! Today I have finally found you! You have been hunted! Captured by the great Pinkie Pie!- "Pinkie...." The purple unicorn said, laughing nervously, "You haven't captured him. You just met him." The pink pony leaned in, bursting Cloud's personal bubble. She sniffed loudly before pulling away, smiling brightly, "Okay dokey lokie!" "His name is Cloud Strife." Princess Celestia smiled, "And don't worry. He won't harm you." The blue pegasus dashed up to him floating around and getting a good look at him, "You aren't so super soldier will shiny metal armor! And what kind of name is Cloud anyway!" The pegasus crossed her front hooves, grinning down at him, "There is no way you're cooler than me!" "C'mon, Dash." The orange, stetson wearing pony grinned, "He beat an Ursa Major by himself. Plus, he swung a sword four times bigger than you are like it was made of paper! I'd say he's much cooler than you could ever be!" The orange mare than smiled at him, "My name is Applejack." Rainbow Dash was trying hard to think of something to say back, but she couldn't find any words. The white unicorn who had been observing him from afar walked up, circling around him before clapping her hooves together, "Why, those garments you are wearing are splendid! They do give you a strong, fighting sort of look! Now, if only they were white..." Cloud blinked, starting to feel a little creeped by the ponies already. "Don't mind her." The purple unicorn smiled, "Her name is Rarity. She runs a clothing store in town." She cocked her head, "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm happy to thank you for saving our lives. We owe you a lot." Cloud spotted a yellow mare giving him a sort of...half glare, half feared stare. "And that's Fluttershy." Twilight laughed lightly, "Please don't mind her. She's not so good at socializing." Cloud hadn't said one word to any of them, and here they were, talking to him like some friend they knew long ago. Cloud expected this, but it was a bit strong for him. "But seriously!" Rainbow Dash yelled, rushing back up to him, "I do have to admit...you were super cool! How can you swing a sword so easily that's THAT big?! How did you just jump around like THAT?! And how does your hair defy gravity like THAT?!" Cloud took a step back, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "That's enough, Rainbow." Twilight giggled, "The poor thing hasn't even said a word yet." They all looked at him expectantly all of a sudden, and Cloud was taken back. What were they expecting? What was he supposed to say? "Are you all okay?" He asked, each of them nodding in response. He really couldn't think of anything nice to say besides that. Talking to the ponies was really overwhelming. "So, does Cloud have a place to stay?" Twilight asked, looking at the princess, "Or is he going to go back home soon?" Cloud heard a tinge of sadness in the last thing she said, but he guessed that she just wanted to find out more about who he was. She seemed like an intelligent sort. Celestia thought for a second, "No, he does not. I was thinking of him being in Canterlot so I could observe him, or he could go back to Ponyville with one of you." Cloud glanced at the ponies, reading the excitement on their faces. Why were they being so happy about that? "I see!" Twilight smiled, "He could stay with me! I mean, I do have a basement he could make some space in." "Wait..." Applejack thought for a second, "Isn't that where that weird machine is?" Celestia watched the group leave, her eyes lingering on Cloud for a while longer. Was it right to put her trust into him so easily? He did save her little ponies, but it seemed a bit too nice. She probably should have kept him in the dungeon a bit longer...Sighing, she made her way out of the throne room, entering a small golden door. This room was more like a private resting place for the princess. There was a fireplace, beautiful paintings, comfortable chairs, and a large window that she would use to check up on Canterlot. Seated in one of the chairs was Clear Skies, the only pony who made it back from the snowy mountains. She was had Celestia left her....muttering and mumbling her words to herself as she watched over the fire. "Sister..." Princess Luna said quietly, stepping out of the darkness, "How was that human?..." "He seemed trustworthy enough. I sent the elements of harmony to watch over him. I don't think that we'll have any problems." Luna nodded before taking a seat by Clear Skies, her face filled with concerned. "Did she say anything intelligible?" Celestia asked, standing behind he sister. "A little..." Luna replied, "She said...that she saw the snow dragons." "Is that what attacked her?" Celestia asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "No..." Luna shook her head, "She saw the BODIES of the snow dragons. Hundreds of them...each one lying dead in the crater." Celestia's eyes widened, clenching her teeth softly. Snow dragons were some of the most vicious creatures in Equestria. What horrible thing could have wiped them all out? "There...was one other thing..." Luna said, looking back up at her sister. "She kept saying something about a creature...with a single black wing." Cloud was a bit of a show in Canterlot, and he didn't like it much at all. The people from Edge all knew who he was, and he did gain a high level of annoying fame as well...But being a whole different creature was a different kind of attention. The noble ponies in the big city either thought he was some animal or something from a freak show. He was getting stares from just about everybo-everypony. Man, he wasn't going to get used to that. "Don't worry about this, Cloud." Twilight smiled, trotting alongside of him, "None of these ponies will give you trouble. I promise you." He really wasn't worried too much about that. He really wasn't worried about himself at all at the moment. His mind was fixed back on his home planet. Why didn't he remember what happened? They boarded a train, and each of the ponies crammed themselves right beside him. They were each staring at him expectantly, a glimmer in their eyes. He twitched a little bit, not liking his situation one bit. Did they expect him to say something again. "Um...what?" He asked. They blinked, not realizing how they were staring at him and quickly blushed, looking away. "Um...." Applejack started, scratching the back of her head, "So, Cloud...could you tell us about yourself?" Cloud sighed silently, knowing that this question would pop up sooner or later. "What do you want to know?" He asked. He would rather keep most of it a secret, and would only tell trivial things. "Like your family and friends!" Rainbow Dash squeaked, "What are they like?" Cloud thought for a second, "Well..." He looked at Rainbow Dash, "I have a friend who acts just like you do." He glanced at Applejack, "I have a friend who sort of talks like you." He turned back to the window he had been watching, and they all blinked. "Is...that it?" "That's it." "What...what about a whole life story sort of thing!?" "Not interesting." "What about where you lived?!" "Not interesting?" "What about a love, or a special somepony?" A small image of Aerith flash through his mind, and he grimaced. Although he knew she forgave him and that it wasn't his fault, he still could not forget the moment he lost her. They each noticed that he stiffened, and he turned to face them. "I...had a person close to me once. She...died right in front of me." Cloud turned his gaze back to the window, completely killing the mood. He got no more questions on the train ride.