The Centurion Project

by TheEighthDayofNight


Chapter 9: Adjustment

Journal Entry

Day 1100

Found myself in an old town today. Funny enough, it hadn’t been turned into glass, and in fact looked intact on the surface. Of course, three years of absolutely no maintenance will tear down any structure not made of stone, so several buildings were filled with flooded garbage and the like. Slim pickings, but I made do. The good news was that there were no romance books. The bad news was that the reason there were none was because the town library was coated in twenty feet of mud. I didn’t realize I was on the roof until I saw the sign down the mud pile. A shame really. I’ve been thinking about taking a library and (after purging the scum of the earth books) making it a home away from home. I certainly need another stockpile. I may be young (never again a kid though) but I’ve got some ideas that may bear fruit for putting a piece of the world back together. If for no other reason than to make up for some of the stuff I’ve done. We’ll see.

Three weeks had passed, and throughout them, Elias noticed several things. First among them was that he was wrong. Working didn’t help. It didn’t hurt, but it didn’t put him at ease at all. That fact surprised him more than anything. When in the wastes, he had always found that moving on had warded off the nightmares, exhaustion had been his greatest ally. Yet even when he fell into bed, barely able to move his body, he still woke up only hours later, either sweating holes through the sheets, or with his voice blown out, usually both. Luckily for anyone around him, his room had silence spells that kept his night terrors to himself.

Every day Elias woke up hours before he was supposed to be up, as well as hours before his body got full rest. It resulted in him being irritable, more so than usual. What made it worse was that Elias realized that he had been absolutely wrong about his isolation. Not that it didn’t help; but when he was on his own, and therefore in control of what he did throughout any given day, he had complete control. He stopped when he wanted, and he moved when he wanted. Scavenging provided a measure of reward to all the effort, but here, why was he doing it? His obligation was there, but otherwise... it provided nothing for him other than three meals a day and a constant roof over his head. While he didn’t want to seem ungrateful for living in the greatest luxury he had experienced in his life, he also despised every second of it. He wished to go find that forest he had woken up in and explore it. This world was fresh and alive, yet here he was shuttered away, working the nights and sleeping away pieces of the day. It only made his self-reflections worse.

Other than that, boredom was a constant companion. Elias found temporary solace in learning and training, but at times it only seemed to make him angrier. Each swing seemed to strike with furious, deadly intent. Very few of his “fellow” guards had interest in sparring with him. While initially he had issues getting around their magical abilities, Elias had learned their weaknesses quickly. Pegasi and thestrals were fast and could fly, but they tended to rush their fighting, getting exhausted quickly. Elias merely had to land a hit or two before they went down, and since he was loaded with heavy armor, he could weather whatever hits they landed. His night guard armor was enchanted to re-direct magical attacks, so they were forced to engage him up close. Unicorns were more complex, since their magic could overwhelm the simple enchantments in his armor. The first time, Elias had no way to stop the unicorn from simply floating him ten feet above the ground before dropping him outside the dueling ring. When he faced the same unicorn again, Elias did so with a pouch full of sharp rocks. He had nailed the unicorn in the eye and had carried her wailing body outside the fighting bounds, before then taking the pony to the infirmary. While she was fine, she also held a grudge, and Elias found his midnight meal turned into hay more than once. It had only stopped when Nightshade watched it happen one night while she had been yelling at Elias for bleeding on the carpets. He didn’t have meal problems after that.

Earth ponies were substantially stronger than he was, yet also only slightly slower. These were his hardest fights, and more often than not, he ended up fighting them with sheer brutality, swinging as hard as he could at the weak spots in their armor. Most of the times this strategy worked, until he was just a hair too slow, and wound up with massive bruises on his chest from being bucked into a wall. His visits to the infirmary were frequent, and in truth, Elias found that he enjoyed them, even if he got yelled at by Scalpel every time he limped in, leaving a red trail in his wake.

Overall, Elias hated being a guard. Isolation only worked when it was complete. Witnessing social interactions and not being involved rubbed him wrong. While he had no interest in making friends, he also had no interest simply repeating a cycle of work, eat, and half sleep. It also embarrassed him to admit that he had no idea how to make friends. Clearly the methods of providing food, shelter, and safety wouldn’t work here, since all three were plentiful. He thought to ask the ponies he knew, but quickly found that they had resumed life as it was before he arrived. Nightshade quickly became Captain Nightshade. Back talk was a punishable offense, and Elias didn’t much enjoy cleaning bathrooms he didn’t even use.

Luna was far out of his reach, and the only times he saw her was when he stood guard in the night court. During these times his job was to remain silent and do nothing. No help there. Whenever he tried to approach her outside of work, she was either busy, or she found an excuse to avoid him. She had been giving him a colder shoulder than before, and Elias suspected it had something to do with their time in the prison cell. He had no idea what had occurred in there that had so thoroughly driven her away, but since he had no evidence of what transpired, and she was a pony princess while he was just a human, he had no method to confront her about it.

Twilight ended up leaving after the first week, her interest only barely satisfied, but enough so that she could return home. Elias had no interest in writing letters to the hyper-enthusiastic pony, so that end was dead as well.

Only Steel Scalpel was left, but Elias needed an injury as an excuse to speak with him. After the fourth consecutive visit in a single day several days ago, Scalpel had gone off as well, and not in the usual bickering, scolding manner. He had gotten truly angry, screaming at Elias for getting hurt so often. As he tore into the man, Elias couldn’t help but feel like the pony had grown tired of seeing him, and he had left the infirmary with his head down. The next day when he got cut down the length of his right arm, Elias had patched it himself, using the last roll of bandages from his ruck. That had earned him another scolding from Nightshade, but he still didn’t visit the infirmary. Even now the cut was still healing, a thick scab running up and down his arm, occasionally cracking and leaking blood when he over-stretched his arm. It was also extremely tender, and Elias had an even more difficult time sleeping than before.

Elias growled as his pilla skittered off the ground to the left of the target. He rolled his shoulder as he tried to massage away the pain in his shoulder. That had been another recent addition. With his improving physical health, his nerves seemed to become more sensitive, likely because more of them were alive and kicking. Injuries that he thought were long gone had sprung up, resulting in days where it hurt to roll out of bed. Something that someone at the ripe old age of nineteen shouldn’t be experiencing. He still refused pain dulling magic though, he didn’t trust it.

The more he read on magic, the more conflicted his thoughts became on the subject. On one hand, it was an incredibly tool, both for healing, as well as a weapon. He had watched some of the unicorns practice. They could obliterate targets with a number of things, and at massive ranges too. On the other hand, he had no real protection from it. His armor helped, but only against the minor stuff, like conjured lightning or mind magic. And only weak mind magic as well. Besides, he would have to go back to the infirmary to get anything significant in terms of healing, and Elias now had a good reason to avoid the place.

Elias resisted the urge to scratch his arm as he grabbed another pilla, taking a deep breath as he stared down the straw dummy. He bounced the pilla in his hand for a moment, then he sent it flying through the air. This one stuck the dummy in the chest, hitting a few inches above the center of the target. Elias grunted in semi-satisfaction as he reached down to grab another pilla. As he scooped up the last one, he noticed a pony a few feet away, just... watching him. It wasn’t like the usual staring. Usually, he got one of three looks. The first was disgust. Elias assumes it was due to his species, though in truth it could have been a number of things. These he dismissed out of hand, only looking at the pony enough to memorize their faces as he made them look away with his much harsher glare. He saved each face for later. Elias never forgot a potential enemy.

The second type was the curious ones. They just wanted to know more about how the new creature worked. These took only a few minutes to get bored or driven away. Elias was not pleasant to be around, a fact he knew and had made no attempts to change. For the best. It was suffering, but he was better off alone. If only he could get himself to realize that.

Finally, there were the “bullies”. For some reason, certain guard members saw him as a threat. Not a physical one to be feared, but a threat to their station, to be bullied into submission. Elias had no idea why they acted like schoolyard children, but he largely ignored them. If anything, he found their attempts to “torment” him funny. If he ever became irritated, they were usually scared away by a few harsh words, simple and easy. Human threats were so much more violent and colorful than pony ones. It also didn’t hurt that Elias meant every single one and had the capability to carry them all out.

This pony however, a blue pegasus, was looking at him with what he could only describe as childlike joy. Elias blinked a few times as he focused on the target in front of him, rather than the pony to his left. Elias took a deep breath as he emptied his thoughts and focused. This time when the pilla hit the target, it tore through the center of the target, “killing” it perfectly. As he followed through with the throw, he heard a little ooh, and he glared at the pony. The pegasus seemed to ignore his gaze as he looked at the targets, his tail swishing on the ground. Only after a few moments of complete silence did he realize that Elias was staring at him. The pony jumped, yelping as he did so.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt you! I just thought you looked cool!”

The pony stood up rapidly, but Elias put up a hand to stop him. The pony froze in an awkward squat. Elias motioned for him to sit, and the pegasus did so slowly.

“I just want to know why you’re watching.” Elias said. “You seem more... engaged than anyone else.”

The pegasus grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry, I just thought what you were doing looked really cool and wanted to get closer. And it is!” He said in a chipper tone. “The way you move, and you almost never miss, and all of it without magic? It’s so cool! How do you do it?”

“Practice,” Elias responded simply. The pegasus nodded excitedly, as if waiting for something else, some further wisdom. Elias didn’t have anything, so he merely pointed to all of the pilla sitting down range and grunted as he moved to gather them. The pegasus remained in place, his happy face still shining in the late-afternoon sun.

Elias tried to ignore the pony as he collected his pilla, pulling and tugging at some that were more stuck in the targets than others. As he snatched them up, he heard hoofsteps behind him, and Elias assumed the pony had left. Only when he scooped the last spear into his arms and looked back to the rest of his equipment did he realize that it had actually been the sound of three ponies walking up to the pegasus, who seemed to be intentionally avoiding their eyes. Elias frowned, speeding up his stride as he got closer.

“So, you’re hanging out with another freak now? Come on Flash, can you suck any more as a guard?”

Elias recognized the lead pony, a snow-white unicorn in gold armor. It was one of the “bullies”. One of the more persistent ones too. Elias had so far threatened him with a beating and a broken leg, along with a jab about glue that went far over his head. Elias’ frown deepened.

“Didn’t I tell you to not be within two hundred feet of me?” Elias said as he walked up, letting his pilla drop onto their cloth wrap. The unicorn’s friends flinched back, but the center pony remained still, a wide grin on his face.

“Guardsman Bright! How good to see you! Looking as sociable as ever I see.”

“Spare the words and get lost White Shine,” Elias snapped. “I gave you a warning, and if I have to put some muscle behind my words to make sure they're followed, then I will.”

White Shine took a step back, putting a hoof in the air.

“No need to be hostile Bright! We were merely saying hello to our friend!” The unicorn looked to the pegasus that was doing his best to vanish without actually doing anything other than looking sad.

“Isn’t that right Flash?”

Elias snorted.

“You having friends is about as likely as me growing a horn. Get lost Shine. I won’t tell you again.”

White Shine scoffed.

“You do not own this castle Guardsman, and you would do well to remember that I am actually a pony while you are a filthy-“

Elias kicked sand into the unicorn’s face. He crossed his arms across his bare chest as the pony sputtered, choking on the dust that easily slid into every open hole and crack. His friends looked at Elias in shock, as did the pegasus. Elias waited silently. As White Shine cleared his face, he glared at Elias, pointing a hoof.

“Princess Celestia will hear about this!” he screamed, spitting dust out of his mouth, “She’ll throw a freak like you in the dungeon for assaulting me!”

Elias bent down so that he was at eye level with the pony.

“Go ahead Shine. We both know she’ll interrogate every single witness under a truth spell. I’ll include your “friendly” behavior very clearly. With luck, we’ll share a cell. Then you’ll have all the time in the world to learn about human prison culture.”

Elias grinned sadistically. White Shine gulped and finally backed away, a small look of fear springing up in the pony’s eyes. He gestured to his stooges and they made a hasty departure. Elias waited until they were out of sight before he bent down to collect his pilla. He didn’t make it far before the pegasus pounced on him.

“That was so great!” the pegasus shouted in his ear. “They can’t even do anything back; they’ve been bothering me forever! My name is Night Flash! Do you want to be my friend?”

Elias shoved the pony off roughly and jabbed a finger at him.

“First things first," he snapped as the pegasus frustratingly landed lightly on his hooves, "don’t jump on me. I’m not a bed and you are not a dog.”

The pegasus grinned sheepishly, his big brown eyes still bright and happy.

“Heh sorry. I got a bit excited.”

Elias dusted himself off, only partially successfully due to the dirt clinging to his sweat. Elias grimaced at it as he tried to wipe it off on his underwear. He looked at the pegasus as he did so.

“Got a name?”

“Guardspony Night Flash!” the pegasus said excitedly.

Elias squinted at the pegasus.

“You’re a guard? Why do you put up with that bull then?” he said gesturing over his shoulder to where the bullies had fled.

Night Flash looked at his hooves as his smile dipped.

“It’s just easier to let them say what they want sometimes. I tried fighting them once, but they outnumbered me, and they beat me up. I ended up spending two months in the infirmary.”

“And you didn’t report that because?”

“They threatened to get me banned from the guard, and then blacklisted. White Shine has some powerful family members that could hurt my, and by extension my family’s reputation in Canterlot. I don’t want to burden them with that, so I just let him get away with it.”

Elias stacked his pilla, wrapping the now dusty cloth around them. He’d clean it later.

“Let me know if it happens again. They’re punks, and cowards. Any show of force will turn them away. Use their status against them, if they want to blacklist you, threaten to take your story to the newspapers. They seem to love controversy in noble families. You might also try to see if their parents would disown them. That would be a treat.”

Elias pulled the rope right and swung the bundle over his shoulder. Night Flash was looking at him in shock.

“H-how do you know all that?” the pegasus asked. “The rumors I heard said you didn’t know anything about pony culture.”

Elias shrugged.

“I read a lot.”

He strode toward the table where the rest of his gear waited. He needed to take another shower before his shift started. He really didn’t want another lecture on hygiene. Ponies didn’t know what dirty meant. He had half a mind to stop showering all together to prove a point. Unfortunately, it was far too relaxing, and Elias knew he would never willingly go without the luxury again. Damn it, he was becoming weak. Soft ponies and their wonderous showers with that heavenly hot water.

Elias let the bundle thud onto the table as he grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat away. It was always sunny and warm in Equestria, and if the books he had read were in anyway true, that was intentional. The pegasi evidently scheduled rain for most evenings, while keeping it dry, warm, and sunny during the day. It had taken him less than a weak of waking up early to get a nice tan in the late afternoon sun.

Night Flash popped up beside him, his wide eyes flashing with excitement as he tried to look at both Elias and all of Elias’ gear. He oo’ed softly and Elias watched as he slowly reached out a hoof, like a cat about to push an object off a table. Elias softly nudged his scutum, moving it closer to Flash’s extended hoof. As soon as his hoof came into contact with the steel frame of the shield, he oo’ed softly again, then looked to Elias, as if asking permission. Elias gestured at the shield as he grabbed his sword belt, looping it around his waist as he kept an eye on the pony.

“Go ahead. I highly doubt you can break it just by looking at it.”

Flash’s tail swished and his eyes seemed to grow even more excited. How, Elias had no idea. He had thought the pony was as happy as he could be, but it seemed this one contained boundless happiness. With a quick flap of his wings, Flash was on the table, walking around the shield as he inspected it. Elias watched the pony as he looked at the shield, occasionally prodding it as he circled it. Elias blinked and looked away, focusing on putting his belt back on. As he listened to the pegasus coo softly at the shield, Elias tied all of his armor together with a rope. It would make it easier to carry it back to his room without getting it dirty.

Tucking his tunic in his belt, Elias shouldered the armor and the bundle of pilla. Night Flash held up the shield, still in awe. He had the handle facing him, and he looked between it and Elias.

“How do you carry this thing? It’s huge!” Night Flash tried to lift the shield from the table, trying to balance on his hind leg as he tried to stand.

As he began to pitch backward, Elias grabbed the edge of the shield, catching it, and him in one motion. The pegasus grinned sheepishly again.

“Sorry.”

Elias flipped the shield so that its face laid flat on the table. He pointed to the steel handle crossing the shield horizontally.

“I hold that to fight.”

He then pointed to the two leather straps running vertically.

“And those to carry it on my back.”

He then grabbed the steel handle, bracing the shield against his body as he began to walk away. Night Flash hopped down from the table and followed him.

“So how long have you been in Equestria?” the pegasus asked.

“A month,” Elias replied shortly.

“Wow!” Flash said. “Have you gone out exploring? Where have you visited?”

“I haven’t gone anywhere,” Elias said. “I was brought to Canterlot when I was hurt, and so I stayed here after making an agreement with the princesses.”

Flash looked at him in awe.

“You met the princesses and you’ve only been here a month? That’s amazing! I’ve lived in Canterlot all my life and I’ve only met them once at guard graduation.”

“Uh huh,” Elias said, already becoming irritated with this conversation. He had no idea why. “You said you’re a guard? Where’s your armor?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m not on duty tonight!” Night Flash replied.

The pegasus bolted ahead for a moment, grabbing the door for Elias. He grunted a thanks as he tilted his body to fit through. Elias heard the door close, and then Night Flash was at his side once more, trotting along with glee.

“Captain Nightshade wanted to see me for an incognito assignment for tomorrow night. There’s some kind of big rave going on downtown, so she wants some guards who can blend in there. She says I can get along with anypony, so I’ll do great!”

Elias had no issue believing that. His mind froze for an instant, paranoia creeping to the front. Why was he still talking to this pony? He was making small talk, an oddity if he ever experienced one, especially for him. Elias felt himself tense up, and he looked down at the pony trotting blissfully at his side. Night Flash hummed quietly, as if completely at peace with the world.

“Hey, do you mind if I ask you some questions?” Night Flash asked.

“No,” Elias replied, immediately cursing himself silently. Why did he say yes?

“Thanks!” Night Flash replied in his chipper tone. “I just wanted to see if any of the rumors are true. First question, do you eat ponies?”

Elias blinked.

“Why would you be talking to me if you thought I ate ponies? Actually, better question, why would I constantly be around ponies if I ate them?”

Night Flash shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re like a snake and only have to eat a pony every once in a while. Or maybe you’re like a vampony and just have to drink pony blood.”

Elias didn’t begin to have time to unpack either of those statements.

“I eat meat, not ponies. I make a point of not eating anything that talks,” Elias replied.

He had never been desperate enough to attempt cannibalism, and he liked to think that he would never become desperate enough. Eating something that talked back to him? That had irrefutable proof of intelligence? No, he’d die first. That counted for ponies too, misshapen though they may be. If it sounded human, then it wasn’t food. Night Flash seemed happy enough with the answer.

“Cool, so you’re kind of like a gryphon. That’s really the only rumor I cared about.”

Elias thought the pegasus would fall into silence. Instead, Night Flash threw him for a loop when he asked;

“Can we be friends?”

Elias stopped. His room was just ahead, maybe thirty seconds of walking. He could just bolt, leaving the question unanswered. The issue with that plan was that the pony might come asking again later. It wasn’t a good option. That left him with two options, yes or no. The small voice at the back of his mind screamed yes, while the paranoid center calmly shook its head no. Even if he wanted a friend, he had to push the pony away, for his own good.

“No,” Elias said forcefully, resuming his walk.

It took less than a second to feel the absence at his side. He couldn’t see the pony, but Elias had already seen enough crying ponies to imagine the sight; the fuzzy creatures always seemed to cry. It was a pitiful image. The whimper that hit his ear a second later didn’t help. Elias sighed as he stopped again. He knew he shouldn’t look back. It would make him soft; he knew what was waiting. His paranoid voice screamed at him to keep walking. It was for the pony’s safety. The voice at the center of his mind was shouted down as the voice at the back became louder, shouting for sympathy. Things were different here, if he was willing to reach out. He didn’t have to tell his story, it said, but he did need to change, or the same thing would happen again. Cruel that his mind knew how to feed on its own paranoia.

Taking a deep breath, he half turned. He saw Night Flash turning, walking away slowly with his head downcast and his wings drooped, dragging at his sides as he walked. Elias felt like slamming his head into the wall.

“Wait,” he said.

Night Flash’s head perked up instantly, and he looked at Elias with hope in his eyes Elias felt a second urge to just walk away, but this one he suppressed. It may have taken months to accomplish, but he was finally getting lonely. He wouldn’t last long without someone to talk to. The pony before him might just be that person.

“Look, Night Flash was it?”

The pegasus nodded, a smile touching the corners of his mouth. Such optimism. It felt foreign that it was directed at Elias.

“I’m not a good person. I cannot be anymore clear about that. But… let’s talk about this in private. I won’t flat out tell you no, and doing so was cruel and I’m sorry for that, but I won’t say yes either. How much time do you have before you need to see Captain Nightshade?”

“I can see her any time tonight,” Night Flash answered.

The pegasus was perking up significantly now. His wings were once again tucked at his sides, while the tears were gone from his eyes. Elias had no idea how his emotions bounced back and forth like that, nor really why his rejection had caused such an intense reaction. It didn’t matter, Night Flash didn’t seem to care as long as the carrot of friendship still hung in front of him.

Elias took another deep breath, then waved to the pony.

“Come on. My room isn’t far, we’ll talk about this more there.”

Night Flash quickly found his way to Elias’ side once again, though this time slightly more subdued. Elias noticed the pegasus frequently glancing up at him, and Elias did his best to avoid eye contact. Still, it felt… better to have someone next to him. More comfortable than walking through the halls alone. They remained silent until his door came into view, as well as an irritated looking Nightshade. Internally, Elias groaned.

'Not again,' he thought.

“Guardsman Bright, I seem to distinctly remember giving you a watch for the purpose of being on time, and yet here we are playing this game again.”

She blinked in surprise when she realized he wasn’t alone as usual.

“Guardspony Flash, I thought you were off today.”

The demeanor of the pegasus at his side changed immediately. Snapping to attention the pegasus had a serious poker face, revealing nothing. Any traces of emotion vanished from his body language, and his voice seemed to drop an octave as he responded.

“I was just stopping in to see you Captain about the concert tomorrow night. I wanted to report that everypony is ready and on standby to meet up outside by eleven-thirty. It should go smoothly.”

Nightshade nodded.

“Excellent. I have full faith in you Flash; you’ve done stellar work in the past, and I expect the same going forward.”

Her gaze turned to Elias, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes when her nose curled in disgust.

“Do I need to remind you again about the cleanliness standards Guardsman?”

“No Captain,” Elias said, sighing. “I was coming back to cleanup before my guard shift. I must-“

“Actually Captain, Guardsman Bright was just showing me how some of his tools worked,” Night Flash cut in, surprising Elias. “He was beginning to pack up when I interrupted him. It’s my fault Captain.”

Nightshade looked between the two. Her eyes narrowed at Elias, who simply met her with a dead look. Nightshade snorted.

“Alright then. Make sure to have yourself cleaned up and presentable Guardsman Bright, you’re on throne room duty tonight. I won’t have you stinking in public.”

Elias nodded silently. The thestral gave him and Night Flash one more once over, then snorted again as she turned around to walk away.

“Carry on you two.”

Elias waited until she was out of sight before moving. He glared down at Night Flash.

“What was that?” he asked.

The pony shrugged.

“You did the same thing for me; buck, you helped me much more. Besides, it was all true. You were finishing up, I delayed you.”

Elias accepted the reasoning. Technically they were now even. He had helped the pegasus, and now he had received help in return.

“Alright then, what was that change in attitude though? You seemed… well incredibly serious. Given how you’ve acted around me so far, that isn’t what I expected.”

Night Flash shrugged again.

“When I was still in training I kind of developed a second personality for when I’m on duty. He does all of the heavy lifting and serious stuff so that I can have all of the fun!” As he said the last word, he hopped, fluttering his wings slightly as he spun in a circle. “It’s just my way of separating work and life.”

Night Flash grinned sheepishly when he realized Elias was still watching, albeit with an eyebrow raised.

“Sorry,” he said.

“No need for an apology,” Elias replied. He fished a key from his sword belt and fitted it into his door. As he began to turn the key, he stopped, looking over his shoulder. “Oh, and uh, thanks for that. You saved me a lot of trouble.”

“No problem!” Night Flash said, his chipper tone back in full.

Elias unlocked the door and quickly pushing it open into his dark room. He flipped the light switch as he walked past, and let the bundle of pilla drop from his shoulder. It hit the ground with a thud, and was followed quickly by his scutum. His armor he laid on his bed, setting it down gently. He then took out his tunic from his belt and threw it over the armor before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He gestured for Night Flash to take the one chair in the room. The pegasus dragged the chair until it was directly in front of Elias, then settled in it.

Elias ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head as he thought how to start the coming conversation. He really needed a haircut, his hair was at his shoulders now, and crawling steadily down. That didn’t matter now though. He had to get this done the right way. Elias looked back up to Night Flash, who waited expectantly, already at the edge of his seat. Elias scratched his nose as he spoke.

“Let’s start with the obvious then, you want to be my friend?”

Night Flash smiled and nodded.

“Yup!”

“May I ask why?”

Night Flash shrugged.

“I like having friends, and I don’t like it when I see ponies without friends. Everypony should have at least one friend.”

Elias bit his cheek.

“You don’t know anything about me though. I could be anyone, could have done anything, and you don’t know. That’s all right with you?”

Night Flash thought for a second, then nodded briskly.

“Yup!”

Elias sighed. He couldn’t do this. He should have played his cards with Nightshade or Luna. At least they had the common sense to be wary. Despite his obvious capability to be completely serious, Night Flash seemed to want to not care.

“Look, Night Flash…” Elias paused, then growled in irritation. He wasn’t good at being emotive. Best to just rip off the band-aid. “Look, if you want to be friends with me, I have rules. These are for both your well being, as well as my own. I’m just going to list them, and if you decide you still want to be friends afterwards… then done. We’ll be friends, and I will do my best not to let you down. If not, then we will leave on even terms and be done with each other. Agreed?”

That seemed to get the pony’s attention. His serious demeanor returned, and he simply nodded once, silent. Elias put up a finger.

“First, don’t ask about my past. As far as you and the rest of the world are concerned, my life started a month ago. Anything before that is off limits unless I talk about it first. This is my biggest rule, and if it’s broken, then I’m sorry, but I won’t speak to you again. Simple as that.”

Night Flash nodded.

“Alright, can I ask personality questions though? I do want to get to know you better, and you can just tell me if I overstep.”

Elias nodded.

“That sounds good.”

He noticed the pegasus shift nervously in his seat. Elias quickly realized the body movement as the same one the pony had made earlier when he had pounced on him earlier. That needed to be stopped before Elias reacted in the wrong way.

“Rule two,” he said, extending another finger, “No physical contact. I’ve noticed that ponies like being in contact with one another, but I’m not like that. Earlier, we both got lucky that I didn’t try to stab you. This is really just a safety concern. I’m jumpy, always. So, no touching until I can lose some of my… old habits.”

Night Flash stopped squirming and nodded.

“What about hoofshakes and pats on the back?” he asked.

Elias pondered the question for a second, rocking his head back and forth as he decided.

“Only if you talk to me first. You seem like a genuinely nice guy, and I really don’t want you to end up with a knife through your hoof.”

Night Flash nodded again.

“Engage vocally and then light friendly motions. Got it.”

“Rule three,” Elias sighed deeply, “I have issues. Bad ones. I can’t promise that I’ll always act rationally. I am paranoid, I have nasty anger issues. I’m not a social person, and I can be cold. On top of that, I’m out of my natural environment. Not just because you are a different species, but because all of this,” he said, gesturing to room around them, “is new to me. The world I came from was rough and you had to be rougher to survive in it. It’s left me with some nasty scars that I’m trying to heal, but it will take more than a month to do so. Those old habits I just mentioned don’t end at being jumpy. I apologize in advance if I do anything to hurt you, and if you ever feel the need to stop being friends, I get it. I’m not an easy guy to be around.”

“If I can be stop being your friend, that means were friends, right?” Night Flash asked.

Elias looked at the pony nervously. The pegasus was beginning to squirm in his chair again.

“If you follow my rules and still want to… yes. I suppose we are.”

The squirming intensified, and for a second, he thought the pegasus would pounce him anyway. He tensed in anticipation, making sure his hands were near his lap rather than his sword or dagger. He was surprised when a hoof came out in a slow motion. Elias’ eyes flicked between the outstretched hoof and Night Flash’s eyes.

“Rule number two friend.” The pony grinned, and upon seeing Elias' nervous expression, the smile softened into something dangerously approaching caring. “I do really want to be your friend Guardsman,” he added, keeping his earnest grin on his face.

Elias nodded, and he felt a smile touch his own face. He shook the hoof with his hand, gripping it firmly.

“All right Night Flash. Friends it is.”

Night Flash smiled broadly.

“Great!” He hopped down from the chair and slid it back across the room. “I hate to duck out on you when we just met, but I promised my parents I would have midnight meal with them.”

Elias waved the pony’s excuse away.

“Don’t worry about it. I have to clean up and get to work anyway. And… thanks Flash. It means a lot that you are willing to try being my friend despite me being, well me.”

Night Flash smiled.

“It’s no problem! Like I said, everypony needs a friend, even if they aren’t a pony. Do you mind if I bring some of my other friends to mid-meal in a few days?”

Elias silently dreaded the question. A single friend was one thing, but several all in the span of a few days? It seemed like too much.

Elias mentally slapped himself. He was a warrior and he couldn’t conquer social interactions? To hell with that weak part of his mind. A good fighter knew balance. Elias nodded to Night Flash.

“Just make sure they know the rules. I don’t want to cause problems between you and your friends.”

Night Flash waved the statement away.

“Psh, I don’t think you will. They’re great ponies, you just have to meet them first!”

Elias checked his watch. Twenty minutes. It would be fast, but he could still make it. He looked up to force Night Flash out, but found the pony already outside his door. Upon making eye contact, the pegasus waved.

“See you later friend!” he shouted as he ran down the hallway.

Elias sat in dumbfounded silence for a second, then he felt a smile creep across his face. He felt the voice in the back of his head fall silent for once, satisfied that he had done something… good. Actually good. Elias rose from his bed, slowly approaching the door and closing it softly. His mind gave him a good memory for once, of friends long past, their eyes bright like those of Night Flash. Elias smiled wistfully, then cleared his head as he moved to get ready for his guard shift.