//------------------------------// // Ponyville // Story: The Teacher // by Flyingboat Boy //------------------------------// "This...is where we're going to be staying?" Houston stared at the abnormal structure that towered before him, Natalya, and his group of robots. Overshadowing all of them, the early morning sunlight made it rather hard to make out but he could still see it enough to get a clear picture of it. Its design was similar to that of a tree fused with three pillars of a building. Yet, it wasn't as if the building was built externally and then installed into the base of the tree. Rather, it was like the building had grown with the tree. Speaking of the tree, its material was definitely not wood, its unnatural purple shine, and translucent blue hue quickly identifying it as crystal. Two structures made of gold and some other purple material sprung out of the infrastructure, creating a balcony and an entrance. To top it all off, a large eight-pointed star decorated the top of the tree building, like the star on the top of those pre-war Christmas trees Houston seen back in California before he moved to the Mojave. Overall, Houston was having troubles wrapping his heads around the design of the building. But...since this was the castle of a princess, he guesses he should be too surprised. Historically, such extravagance wasn't uncommon for monarchs. "Yeah! So...what do you think?" asked Twilight curiously. Of the original group of equines that Houston met since his arrival on this world, the only one that stayed with him so far was the one called Twilight Sparkle. All the rest had broken off once Twilight teleported their merry band to the fringes of the town in the early morning. Why early morning's? Twilight said it was to minimize shock should the townsfolk realize there was an alien suddenly walking amongst them. Anyhow, of the group, some left immediately without another word; like that extremely quiet pink and yellow one and the male/female (Houston wasn't exactly sure what gender that particular one was) rainbow-haired one. Others were more friendly with their departure, such as the one with the stetson, the white, prissy one, and the pink one which he swore was on Jet or something. Twilight remained behind to escort Houston and Natalya to the castle since that was where it was decided he was going to be staying as part of their agreement. "Its design is...unique to say the least" Houston turned and pointed to the smaller buildings that surrounded the area. Their straw-thatched roofs and simple wooden frames a far-cry from the crystal palace that stood in between them. "Sticks out like a sore thumb amongst all the derelict shacks, doesn't it?" "Well, I'd prefer to call Ponyville's houses modest. Since the town is a quaint village, we just choose not to expand heavily on the infrastructure side of things" laughed Twilight humbly, "But yeah, it does stick out rather badly. Are you new to thing like this?" "Not exactly, no" replied Houston as he thought of New Vegas and the Lucky 38, "I'm also having trouble understanding the logic behind using the crystal as a building material. Rather unusual, don't you think?" "Perhaps. I didn't build it though" agreed Twilight as she swung the heavy golden doors open and made room for all of them to fit through. Houston's head near whacked the door frame as he squeezed himself in. A L P H A wasn't so lucky and his tiny head made a loud crack as it collided with the heavy metal, causing Twilight to winch in the background as she noticed the large dent left behind, "Ouch! Is he okay?" "He's a robot. He doesn't feel pain" replied Houston briskly as he took in the decor around him. He whistled slowly as he noticed the high ceilings, large purple banners decorated with gold trimmings, and several crystal pillars lining the hallways. The crystal from outside extended even to the inside of the building, with every inch of the surface being made of the cool, clear material. Houston looked further down and noticed that they were standing in the middle of a long hallway, several bronze doors with stained green glass, probably that of other rooms lined the sides of the space in which they stood. "I take it you didn't build this either?" "Most of it came with the castle, yes" laughed Twilight. Houston frowned slightly as he took in the area they were in and noticed the lack of individuals. Now ignoring the fact that it was still early in the morning, what is an indisputable fact in any house of authority was the presence of some form of a security force. He'd seen this with the NCR, Legion, and House. Yet, here he was standing in a massive castle with not another soul in sight other than the current entourage. "Where's your security?" "Oh I don't have security" replied Twilight with a sight sense of pride in her tones, "It's just me, my assistant Spike and my protegee Starlight Glimmer. She's also another member of the staff over at the School of Friendship, just so you know. I hope you'll be able to meet the rest of them soon, but we'll focus on where you'll be staying for now" "Say, princess, you said you didn't build this castle. Where did the castle come from then?" called out Natalya from behind Twilight as she scratched her talons on one of the crystal pillars with interest. "Umm...it, grew?" replied Twilight as she walked over to one of the bronze doors near the golden entrance and knock three times with her hooves, "Hopefully they're in" "Whose in?" Natalya soon got her answer as the door Twilight knocked on swung open slowly and a figure poked its head out. The figure was a griffin like Natalya, albeit a little bit smaller. She had ashen grey fur for her feline body, a dark grey beak and a head full of streamlined black feathers. Bronze eyes stared at them lazily as the griffin yawned loudly and rubbed her eyes. "I swear Spike...if you came here cause you left your prized figurine, then you'll be disappointed to-" Her eyes widened as her fatigue quickly evaporated on the spot and she noticed the white-feathered Natalya standing next to Houston. Her eyes lingered on Houston for a moment, before refocusing on her sister who stared back at her awkwardly. "Um...hi sis?" said Natalya unhelpfully. She still sputtered in surprise however when the black and grey griffin jumped towards her and pulled her into a massive hug. "G-Giselle?" "Thank Grover, you're okay" muttered the now named Giselle as she buried her beak into her sister's neck to hid her tears of joy. "Gaston and I had just about lost all hope. You've been gone for so long and the princess hadn't been responding to Spike for the last four days. I...We...feared the worst had come to you" "Awww...you really mean that sis?" Natalya poked her slightly with a playful tone, but all that did was made her choke a bit more as Giselle tightened her hug. "Yes...I really do..." mumbled Giselle miserably as she hung her head in shame, "I'm so sorry for everything I've ever said about you. You know, all that stuff about me wishing you were never born or how you were never my sister. I just...It took losing you for so long for me to realize how wrong I was" "Hehe...don't sweat it, sis," Natalya reached a talon around and patted her sister's head. With some difficulty of course. "You and I were drunk at the time. And I threw some nasty comments back at you too, remember?" "Yeah...well...I'm just so glad you're back" Giselle sighed softly as she finally directed her attention back to the elephant in the room. Her eyes first focused on Twilight, giving her what seems to be a thankful expression, before they moved across towards Houston. They widened for a moment as they trailed up and down, taking in his appearance. They then moved onto ED-E attached to his head, B-6-RK who sat down next to Houston's leg with a blank expression, and finally A L P H A standing behind Houston. Each time she did, the same look of surprise only grew larger and larger. "Sooo...about the alien" "He saved me" replied Natalya simply as she raised a talon before Giselle could ask any more questions. She turned back to Houston who still watched the entire exchange with mild interest, "You don't mind if I retire with the rest of my team, do you? You know, do some catching up?" "Not at all Birdie" replied Houston. It would make the tour with Twilight much easier if he didn't have a third wheel, "Take all the time you need" "Thanks, Houston. Come on sis" said Natalya as she took her sister's arms around her own and begun dragging her back into her room. "What? Oh. Yes." Giselle gave one last thankful look towards Twilight, and one worried look towards Houston and his entourage of robots before shutting the heavy bronze doors behind her, leaving Houston, his robots and Twilight alone in the hallways. "Wasn't that heartwarming?" asked Twilight happily as she led Houston up to a flight of crystal stairs. "Perhaps" replied Houston as he marveled at the architecture around him. He had to admit, for a building made out of rather perplexing materials, it didn't hold back on design. Everything seemed to be tree or rock-based with specific cracks in the wall shaped to look like the branches of a tree swaying in the breeze, complemented with a structure made to look like a pile of bright crystals erupting out of the walls. "Makes things easier for us" "Umm...not sure what you mean by that" Twilight finally reached the door on the utmost part of the stairs and pushed it open gently. Gesturing to Houston, he was greeted to a rather nice, though slightly cramped, suite. Granted it wasn't Lucky 38 level of luxury, but all in all, it was rather nice for what was provided. To start off, the most striking part of the room had to be the massive four-poster bed that sat to the left of the entrance. Made up of primarily crystal as its base, two rustic yellow frames decorated with trees held it together at the base and the head. Purple curtains were tied up at each of the four posts, exposing the purple blanket that covered the mattress and the two purple pillows underneath. Directly in front of the entrance was a large oakwood table, big enough for Houston should he decide to install a terminal at the center of it. A large purple armchair also complemented the table, giving him a fabulous view of the outside world if he chooses to swing his chair around to stare out of the massive glass door behind him that also led to a small golden balcony. Finally, to the right of the table and the left of the bed was was a small carpeted area, complete with several bookshelves stacked with books titled in a language Houston didn't understand, two comfy purple armchairs, a small coffee table and a crystal fireplace, where a small orange flame currently sat glowing away. Picture frames of meadows and a few books also sat atop the surface of the smooth white crystal. "It's not much," said Twilight as she closed the doors behind her and gestured the room to him, "But it's the only one in the castle with a bed big enough to fit your size. I apologize, if it's not any bigger than that" "That's okay Ms. Sparkle," said Houston as he brushed a finger over the smooth crystal structure of the fireplace and examined the small layer of dust that coated his finger afterward, "Just needs a little cleaning. Other than that, it's perfect as it is" "Really? Thank goodness!" Twilight sighed in relief as she levitated the pouch containing the rest of Houston's aircraft shrunken down, "Should I leave you to get settled in while I go and resize your plane?" "No...not yet," Not until this equine princess answers some questions that's been tearing up at Houston all day. "Please, take a seat. I have some questions I've been meaning to get off my chest" "Okay...?" Slightly confused, Twilight followed Houston's gesture and sat down on one of the armchairs by the fire. Houston sat directly opposite her in the other armchair. "So, what do want to know?" "Where to start," Houston chuckled to himself lightly as he pointed to the entire room with a spinning circle, "I'll start with you. What is your role in all of this?" "I...beg your pardon?" asked Twilight back equally confused. "Your role" repeated Houston, "Your stance on the political hierarchy of your government, to better summarise it. From what Natalya has told me so far, your system is an obligatory diarchy with the majority of power centered around the sphere of influence emanated by your dual bodies of authority. The two princesses are allowed to set what rules they want, as long as it lies within acceptable parameters of social values. You, on the other hand, represent an outlier to the model. She never mentioned the third princess. So I'm interested in what role you actually play in the decision-making of this nation, enough that it gives this castle and all this luxury in the middle of this dilapidated village" "Oh, well my role in Equestria is the Princess of Friendship" replied Twilight proudly. Too proudly, might he add. "Friendship?" "Yeah! You don't know about it?" asked Twilight as she watched Houston's unamused expression with a worried look. "I know about it, don't you worry" "Then why do you look so...displeased? Do you not have friends?" "Oh, I had friends" Houston internally grimaced as flashes of the burning Hopeville and Ashton flooded his mind. Then there were the bodies scattered around him, burned beyond all comprehension and reduced to piles of pulpy flesh and molten metal. He shuddered, forcing those images out of his head, "I don't talk about it though. Besides, don't you think your title is rather...childish?" "No, I don't" Houston had to admit, the equine did look rather adorable as she pouted her cheeks in childish disappointment at him. "Friendship is not something to laugh at. It is a core tenant of our philosophy of harmony" "Explain this...harmony philosophy" "It's our main belief," said Twilight simply as she sank back into her armchair to get comfortable, "Before we were unified, ponies were split into three tribes, all based on their races. Unicorns with unicorns, Pegasi with pegasi and Earth ponies with earth ponies. We had peace, but it was a fragile one built on interdependency and plagued with generations of mistrust and paranoia" She bit her lips and her ears faltered. "We learned though. Quickly learned how disharmony could have, and nearly, destroyed us. Funny enough, the threat that faced all tribes was of our creations, feeding off our hatred and distrust of one another. It nearly consumed us" Her ears peaked up slightly and an optimistic look carved itself on her face, "But in our hour of darkness, we saw the flames that friendship brought forth. It pushed back the monsters we created and saved us. Which is why we had so adamantly held onto the ideas of Harmony. It saved us and gave us the chance to rebuild again" "This translates into your system of government?" asked Houston with keen interest. He had to admit when he heard all this talk about Friendship and Harmony, he thought he was going be bored out of his mind as they talked about holding hands and frolicking in the fields without a single care for the reality of life. But now, he had to respect them slightly. Theirs was a culture build on despair and pain, not that different from his. The only difference was they found that Equilibrium. Humanity still had a way to go. "Correct. There are actually four princesses in total. Celestia and Luna are the main ones in charge but they represent the Sun and the Moon respectively. Their diarchy is mean to represent the balance and Harmony between day and night. Cadence, which I have yet to introduce you to, is the princess of Love, meant to represent the harmony amongst families. Me, I represent Friendship, the harmony between ponies. Mutual respect and trust" "But what you do specifically?" emphasized Houston "Well, I run a school, to begin with, teaching the principles of Friendship for anyone willing to learn. I know that may sound rather shallow, especially compared to Celestia, Luna, and Cadence who run countries. But Celestia and Luna are retiring soon, and it's up to me and my friends to take over in their place" Twilight got out of her chair and walked over to the exit, exhaustion visible on her face, "I enjoyed our talks, but I must really go and resize your plane and then rest, sleeping on the forest floor isn't exactly the best for my health" "Please, do. A L P H A, follow the princess. Make sure that she sets the aircraft down without damaging anything. Once that's done, return to me for further commands" commanded Houston to which the robot gave a garbled grunt in response. Houston then turned his attention back to Twilight standing by the door waiting for A L P H A to follow her, "Where are you going to set the aircraft down anyways?" "Just outside on the hills between the castle and the school. If you go to the balcony in this room, you should be able to see it" "Very well. Thank you, Ms. Sparkle" Nodding to Houston, she and A L P H A quickly left the room and the heavy door shut closed with a light tap. Houston stood there for a moment, watching the area in which his bodyguard and his host left, before reaching up and ripping the cords attached into his skull. He shuddered as he felt the familiar rush of hormones and endocrine fluids flood his systems, drowning out the flamboyant voice of his brain and melding together to form the real courier, the real Houston. "Harmony, huh? Cute, but ultimately garbage" muttered Houston as he detached the wires from ED-E's ports and placed them on the table. He then stripped off the outer layer of metal from his armor and threw himself onto the bed, sighing heavily as he felt the softness of the pillows and blankets envelop him in their warmth. "Still...they seem to be doing well for themselves. Perhaps...maybe I can afford to...dream a bit" B-6-RK also injected with ED-E. "Do whatever you want, as long as you don't cause trouble in any way" shrugged Houston on the bed as he wrapped the blankets around himself and closed his eyes, "But if you really want to do something, I guess you could go and patrol the castle or something like that" Surrounded by his warm blankets and his thoughts, he heard his robots exit the door, closing it quietly behind them as they left. Enjoying the brief moment of peace, he prepared to lay back and let sleep embrace him, hopefully without any nightmares for once. "Humph?" Reaching underneath his pillows, he found the source the discomfort poking at him in the back of the head to be a white envelope. Written in a language he couldn't understand, he huffed as he crumpled it and tossed into the wastepaper basket by his desk, glad to rid himself of the unnecessary distraction to his rest. "So...did the alien impregnate you?" Natalya did the most comical spit-take ever with the glass of water Gaston had given her. The big lug had been ecstatic to see her the moment Giselle woke him up by kicking him off the top of the bunk bed. Greetings were made, hugs were given out, and Natalya sat back to just enjoy the moment of being reunited with her team. Then Giselle dropped the bombshell question, causing Natalya to douse Gaston sitting directly in front of her with water. As Natalya spent the next few moments beating the cough out of her chest, the bigger and soaked griffin turned to a sheepish Giselle with an unamused expression. "Where did you get that?" asked Gaston as he rubbed some of the spit-water out of his eyes. "What? You've never seen the alien movies and comics? There's always some scene where they bring back a survivor of an alien attack, only for their chest to burst open by some space fetus or something" said Giselle simply as she jumped onto Gaston bed and made herself comfortable. "Never mind that," said Natalya once she composed herself, "Since when were you into movies and comics?" "I always did, I just never bothered to show you, that's all. Remember, I didn't really like you before this" shrugged Giselle. "Well I didn't know until last night, so you're not the only one Natalya," said Gaston from the back as he used a towel to dry himself off, "That does explain why she was getting it 'pretty' well with that dragon last night" "Ha! Is this true? Did you hit on the princess's assistant last night?" Natalya turned back to see Giselle looking back at her unashamed as can be. "What? He likes Ogres and Oubliettes. I like Ogres and Oubliettes. What's not to love?" "He's so young though, even by dragon standards!" "He lives a long life. I live a short life. Might as well enjoy it while I still can" Giselle brushed off Natalya's comments with apathy and instead redirected the attention back to her, "This brings me back to my original question, Did the alien impregnate you?" "No!!" "Are you sure? No even a little? Cmon, he must have done something" teased Giselle, though her playful tone went quiet as she noticed the abundance of bandages wrapped around Natalya's wings and midriff. "W-what happened to your wings?" "You asked me what he did to me, didn't you," said Natalya, wincing as she tried to flex her wings with limited success. Despite injecting her with what he called a combination of chemicals called Stimpaks, Hydra, Med-X, and Fixer, she still found it pretty hard to move her wings. Granted there were feelings near the base of it, but that was about as far as it went. "B-but...you're wings..." sputtered Giselle completely horrified. "Yeah... sorry about that sis" Natalya also shot a regretful look towards Gaston who watched from behind with a flabbergasted expression, "Guess we won't be competing for the next Games, huh?" "Forget about the Games!!" Natalya physically recoiled as her sister sprung from her perch on the top buck and scrambled to Natalya in panic. Talons clung at Natalya's wings as Giselle fanned them out herself and stared at them in shock. "W-what in Tartarus are you doing?!" Natalya shoved her sister aside and edged back away from her. "What am I doing?! What about you?!" screamed Giselle back. Natalya and Gaston stood in shock as Giselle emulated the famous 'Griffin Screech', one said to be so strong that it was capable of sending a pony flying on just sheer force alone. Of course, being Griffins, Gaston and Natalya were able to dig their talons into the ground and take the blast, though the shock was still there as they marveled at the voice strength of this small griffin. "How could you be all lovey-dovey with that...that THING, after all, it's done to you! It took your wings and you're okay with that?!" "Giselle...please...calm down" pleaded Natalya. "Calm down?! How can I calm down when my sister had her wings clipped by a space monster?! What else did that creep do to you, huh? Huh?!" "Sis..." growled Natalya. Okay, now she was getting rather annoyed herself. "You might not even be my sister. You might be a carbon copy of her or something! I've seen aliens in the comic books do that. Just take an anal probe and then-" "GISELLE! SHUT UP!" As Giselle's rants got more and more paranoid, Natalya, in turn, responded with her own 'Griffin Screech'. Much louder than Giselle's rather adolescent level, Natalya's immediately commanded respect from not just Giselle, but also Gaston whose been watching from the sidelines for a majority of the conversation. "He did nothing to me, okay?" said Natalya slowly, once she recollected herself into a much more calm persona, "Not intentionally anyways" "What do you mean?" asked Gaston, considering how paralyzed Giselle remained. "It was an accident. The Matriarch Quarry Eel. It left me broken on the edges of the Gorge. Had it not been for Houston, for his robots, I may have not lived to be here with you today" She turned to her sister who by this point had recovered and looked back at her with a remorseful expression, tears forced back by will, "What happened to my wings...was just a result of miscommunication. But it's okay, I've made a deal with him in exchange for fixing my wings" "What...kind of deal?" Gaston sounded cautious as he asked that "Nothing much. Tell him about our world and in exchange he'll fix my wings" shrugged Natalya, "My part of the deal is even more unnecessary now that he's staying in the castle. The only downside is he insisted I stay close to him while he researches. Don't know why though" "Sis...I'm sorry...sorry for losing my head there for a moment" Giselle's eyes widened as Natalya pulled her into a warm hug. "Nothing against you...you featherbrain" "Still, you don't think the alien might have impregnated you?" "Giselle...how many time must I keep telling you this. He. Didn't. Impregnate. Me" The firm tone in Natalya's voice pretty much snuffed out any energy in that conversation anymore and Giselle fell silent as she let her sister gently hug her. "Also his name is Houston. I'll have to introduce him to the two of you later" "Funny name. Houston" pointed out Gaston sitting across from the two sisters and grabbing a pillow to use as a headrest. Natalya deadpanned. "Gaston, we are literally in a land where ponies are named Happy Days, Cotton Candy and other nonsense. Why would you think Houston's name would be any different?" asked Natalya "It's funny because it's nothing like pony names. That's why. Just food for thought" responded Gaston "Since when were you a thinker?" laughed Natalya, "Honestly are you guys even my team anymore? Since when was my sister such an emotional wreck and since when did you become a philosopher" "You being gone...it's given us time to rethink ourselves, to be honest" confessed Giselle miserably, "I just hope that-" She stopped as she felt behind the pillow she was using to prop herself on the floor. Fiddling around in it, she found withdrew three white envelopes. "Who are they for?" asked Natalya as she and Gaston watched Giselle slice open the top with the tip of her talons and removed one of the sheets of paper inside to read it. "One for each of us, it seems" She frowned as her eyes trailed over it, "Seems there's going to be a party in the Town Hall. A welcome party for the alien. Come and see the wonders of the cosmos for yourselves." "Does it say when?" pointed out Gaston. "Tonight. 7 o'clock. Here" Giselle passed over an envelope to Gaston and Natalya. Ripping her's open, Natalya too read it and confirmed the location and time of the party. Seems the pinkie pony had decided it would be funny to make a sketch of Houston and his robots to accompany the invitation. Not saying that it was bad it was rather accurate with the visual details. But it all felt out of place more than anything else. "Perfect then. It'll be the perfect place for me to introduce you guys to him" Tossing her invitation expertly over to the top of a dresser, Natalya leaned back and sighed in relaxation. "So. What do you guys want to do now?" Twilight quietly sipped from her glass of punch as her eyes skimmed across the heavily decorated town hall. Once again, Pinkie Pie had outdone herself with the decorations and the catering. Streamers, balloons, confetti and a large banner with the words: Welcome to Ponyville filled the main atrium of the town hall. Party foods of all kind filled the tables of the party, of which many residents of Ponyville currently stood near, eating and conversing with one another. Twilight had to admire how Pinkie Pie quickly put together the party with no stones uncovered and no corners cut. Twilight herself had just gotten back to her room, exhausted after draining her magic to resize Houston's plane, only to find Pinkie Pie standing at her door to give her a party invitation before racing off to the next resident. Seems she was determined to invite everyone in town to the party. And everyone did arrive. All eager to catch a glimpse of the human mentioned in Pinkie's invitation. Twilight caught a glimpse of several notable figures; Spike and Starlight standing with the CMC near party cannon positioned at the doors to surprise Houston when he walks in, Mayor Mare speaking with the Rich family as they talked over cups of punch, and her Canterlot friends who had arrived to visit Lyra but soon found themselves invited to the party as well. Speaking of Houston...he's late. Profoundly late to be precise. The party was scheduled at 7 o'clock and yet he still hasn't arrived yet, despite the time nearing the 9 o'clock mark. Twilight skimmed her eyes over to the doors with worry. Natalya and her group of Griffins had arrived early, so Twilight thought Houston was shortly behind them. But it seems not to be and the suspense of waiting for him to come was tearing at her from the inside. It also seems quite a number of the guests were getting agitated too. Pinkie had tried her best to satiate their boredom by doing the thing she was best at most, hosting the party. Music, dancing, and games were all well and good in giving the guest a good time. But if the guest of honor didn't get here soon... "Sugarcube, yah wanna go check up on him?" Applejack asked as she sipped her punch besides Twilight. Of all her friends, baring herself and Pinkie Pie, only she and Rarity had been the most receptive of their new guest. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had been reluctant to attend the party; Rainbow Dash because she was still annoyed over the human mistaking her gender, and Fluttershy because she was terrified of him, yet both still came once they were convinced to give him another chance at mending things over. "Yeah...I think I will" agreed Twilight as she set down her cup and charged up a teleportation spell. Nodding to Applejack besides, Twilight vanished in a flash of purple light, leaving the country mare all on her lonesome as she gave an apologetic look to the guest around them blinded by Twilight's sudden disappearance. "Hey AJ, where did Twilight go?" asked Rainbow Dash as she trotted over and grabbed a cup of punch herself. "She's gone lookin for that Houston fella" replied Applejack as she slid a tray of Sweet Apple Acre tarts over to her, "Tarts? Granny made them for this occasion. But seein how Houston ain't shown up yet, might as well not waste the food" "Definitely" Rainbow Dash accepted them gratefully and delved right into them. Twilight popped right back into the physical realm with a bright flash of light, not that there was anyone in the dark hallways to notice. As the residue light of her spell dissipated and Twilight was once again shrouded in the darkness of the night, her eyes spotted the dull shade of light emanating from Houston's room. That and the faint sounds of what could only be described as music akin to jazz flowed from behind the confines of his door. "Strange" muttered Twilight as she listened to the tunes. It was somber, unique for a jazz track. She reached over and gently pushed open the doors, only to be visibly shocked at what she saw. The room...it had been utterly transformed in her absence. The crystal floors that once were bare were now constricted by a mass of wires and cables, all linked up to various ports on massive machines she'd never seen before. Littering the various cabinets were bits and bobbles in small containers, presumably for machines, though arranged with sticky notes written in a language she couldn't read apart from the numbers. Boxes and crates, the same as the ones from the planes, laid stacked and ordered to the right of the entrance, some of them opened and their contents unveiled for all to see. The crystal walls now had images plastered onto them, some of the posters of male and female humans in clothing similar to formal wears with visceral imagery to accompany them, others black and white photos of desert landscapes. Finally, there was the table placed in the middle of the room, where Houston currently sat with B-6-RK lounging on his right and ED-E floating behind him. Houston had complete swept it clean and replaced it with his own things. A large curved machine with a screen and several buttons arranged in a complex formation stood on his right, while a small device with two spinning disks was on his right, spewing out the tunes that Twilight's been hearing since she arrived in his room. Twilight shook her head in an attempt to shake away the amazement. Directing her attention back to the human of the hour, she noticed he was also staring back at her, as he was- Was that her media player? Yes, it was! It was her media player! The device in question laid strewed across the middle of Houston's table, its body ripped open and its wires severed. Seems Houston was fiddling around with the player, connecting it with the device attached to his wrist. As he moved the wires around and plugged them in several ports on the player, he would then reach over and press and few buttons on the device on his left with one hand expertly. Honestly, Twilight was impressed at his level of multitasking. A garbled screech that caused Twilight to flinch came from Houston's throat. He gestured to a metal case near the door. Peering inside, Twilight saw a green and brown headset. Is this...what I think it is? thought Twilight. Turning over to Hoston, she saw him place his own green and brown headset on his head. It was then that she finally realized that he wasn't wearing his wires. Placing the headset on her head, accommodating for her horn, of course, she gritted her teeth as static filled the chambers of her ears, before slowly dropping until there was a faint hum at the back of her head. "Sorry for coming in unannounced" Twilight might as well test the waters here. If the device worked like she thought it would... "Not at all Twilight Sparkle. I have been...eager to speak with you" said Houston as he tapped the two spinning disk device on his right with the screwdriver in his hand, "Tell me, do like this tune?" "It's interesting..." replied Twilight uneasily. She couldn't help it but feel slightly on edge with the way the music sounded and the way Houston spoke. It was so different from the flamboyant tone she was accustomed too. It sounded...gruff...and tired. Like an old stallion speaking despite him looking no older than thirty years old. The way he moved was also unexpected. When he had been connected to his floating machine, his body was limp and vacant, like a puppet that moved with strings but no life. This Houston carried himself with an aura of authority. He genuinely made her feel like she was the smallest pony in the room. It was like...Celestia. And Luna. When they're judging in Day and Night Court. "Interesting..." repeated Houston before chuckling lightly, "I guess that is a good way to describe it. Where this specific radio wave was captured, I guess it is an interesting place" "Is that my media player?" "Is it? Apologies for taking it then but I need it for my lessons" Houston ripped out a blue wire and casually tossed it over his head, "Makes them learn better. If they see it. By the way, the first lesson is tomorrow. Can I get an outline of the classroom?" "Oh! Erm...I was thinking you teach the entire school all in one go instead of teaching it to class by class" Twilight materialized her notebook and flipped it open until she found the pages she was looking for, "How does the first lesson in the morning sound?" "Perfect. But enough about me" Houston placed down his screwdriver and directed his attention completely onto Twilight. "You didn't come here to for me to ask questions about tomorrow. You came here for a specific reason. So...how can I help you?" "Why didn't you come to the party? Pinkie Pie said she mailed you an invitation" Guess Twilight should start off with the reason she came here. What she didn't expect was for Houston to reply with one of the smuggest looks she'd ever seen. It was catty and child-like, yet there was a hint of cold ruthlessness behind those brown eyes. "Ah yes. The party" Houston gave snarky grin as he sat back, "The better question is why should I be wasting my time with such frivolous events?" "I...I beg your pardon?" "It's stupid really, your parties. Honestly, they are a waste of time and resources. Resources that could be spent elsewhere" Houston barely flinched as Twilight teleported directly in front of his face, her eyes thunderous while he just stared back at her coolly. "Oh, struck a nerve did I?" "How dare you say that!" yelled Twilight as she flared her horn up threateningly, "Do you have any idea how much effort Pinkie put in that party for you?!" "And did I ask her to make me a party?!" He smirked as Twilight faltered for a moment, "I don't know how much effort she put into it and frankly, I don't care. The contract never stated that I had any obligation to attend any events that you might host. The extent of my side was to make lesson plans and teach your students. That was it" "How could you say that?!" Twilight was furious now, she could feel her blood boil with a desire to do nothing more than zap the human before her, "How could you be so dismissive of her efforts? Does the fact that she did everything for you just because she wanted to make you feel welcomed mean nothing to you?" "Really now?" Houston raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but quickly pushed it down as he replied, "Then that is her loss not mine" Twilight snarled at him before forcing herself away from him in disgust. No. No way would she allow herself to be provoked by him and relegate herself to his level. "You...you are a nasty person. You know that?!" How do you honestly expect any friends in this world if you continue to act like that?!" "I don't." With those two words, Twilight's heart froze over. Turning to him slowly, she saw him look back at her coldly with those brown eyes. Gone were the warmth that she saw when she first came in the room, nor the empty glaze whenever he was plugged into his machine. These eyes were cold, lonely but with hints of malice behind them. "W-what?" This time she couldn't raise her voice. She was too stunned to try. "Friendship. Is a joke." said Houston slowly as he emphasized each word clearly to the point that they felt like darts to her heart as he said them, "There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who sit at the top and those like me, the gears of the machine. From my experience, those at the top never care about the ones at the bottom. They may say they do or offer the hands of 'friendship'. But all of them, except for one, always made their dealings excessively extravagant whilst holding knives behind their backs. I want my contracts, to be clean, and professional. None of this excessive nonsense to distract me" Twilight remained silent as she heard him speak. What terrified her wasn't how he was so adamant against Friendship. It was the fact that she saw a bit of herself in him. A bit of her old self. Before she met her friends from Ponyville and neglected her ones from Canterlot. "What about Natalya?" asked Twilight hopefully. Surely he must be bluffing. He took care of Natalya while she was hurt after all. Perhaps...maybe he wasn't so... "Ah yes, the griffin" Houston gave a predatory grin, "Rather convenient. Wasn't it. Her injuries by the way" "What do you mean?" Twilight almost regretted asking him that question. "I lied when I said I'm an average doctor. In truth, I'm actually an expert in medicine. A rarity where I come from. I could fix anything; humans and most animals" Houston placed his cheeks in the palm of his hands, "But consider this. If I did mess up on one wing, why are there the same scaring patterns on both of them" The pit in Twilight's stomach grew worst as she considered what he might be referring to. "Y-you did that to her? You purposefully severed the nerves in her wings?" Houston shrugged at Twilight's question. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. I'll leave that for you to decide. I won't lie this time when I say that her biology was rather hard to wrap my head around. But at the same time, her wounds remain rather convenient, no?" "I've had enough" Twilight edged away from Houston's desk and started trotting towards the door, "I...I don't think I can do this anymore. Goodbye" Despite her attempts to quickly pull out of the room and find a place to vomit, she still found herself edging back as Houston called out to her before she could remove the headset. "Twilight Sparkle. Before you go." "What?" "This morning you spoke to me about Harmony and Friendship. I just want to know...would you go far to ensure Harmony?" "I don't see the reason why I should be answering this for you" "You don't have to" replied Houston, "Just merely curious" Twilight bit her lips as she stood there, silent whilst Houston just watched on from behind. One part of her told her to ignore him and just leave. Another was debating in her head as to the motives behind his question. The final part just told her to answer him and be done with it so she could retreat back into the safe confines of her friends. "Yes. Yes, I would" answered Twilight back really tired. "Even at the cost of Friendships?" Twilight bit her lips at that one. That one was a hard one to respond to. "No. Never" And with those final words, she removed the device from her head and walked out of his room, closing the doors behind her and allowing the darkness to once again overcome her. Sighing, she charged up a teleportation spell, regretting what she was going to have to say to Pinkie and the rest of the guest at the party. "Pathetic" snorted Houston as he kicked his feet back onto the table and watched the princess leave his room with exhaustion. "If that is how one of the leaders of this worlds think, then I worry for the stability of this country" Pushing his chair back, Houston walked over to the balcony door behind. him. Unclasping the lock, he stepped into the night and sighed as he allowed the soothing winds to slowly wash over him. "At night. It's rather beautiful" Houston swung himself onto the edges of the railings and stared into the darkness. Off in the distance, he saw the outlines of the lights coming out of the large spiral building sitting in the middle of the town. Silhouettes could be seen moving against the yellow backdrop, all of them ponies though he did see the occasional griffin body in the mix. He frowned. It kind of hurt to confess to Twilight Sparkle that he purposefully severed the nerves in Natalya's wings. It pained him to inflict damage on such a beautiful specimen, but the opportunity that she provided him proved to be far greater than if he tried to fix her wings. Not that he was sure he could have fixed her wings even if he tried. Make no mistake, he still intends to fulfill his side of the agreement. It's just... Nevermind. He'll think about that bridge when he gets there. For now, he should be worrying about the bigger picture. Telling Twilight Sparkle what he did had been a great gamble, bigger considering how villainous he made himself sound. But, if it all works out, Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the townsfolk will get the message to leave him alone and let him focus on fulfilling his side of the deal. No parties. No friendships. No unnecessary distractions. It will make it all less painful. Peering down the edges of his balcony, Houston spied A L P H A hard at work arranging his plane in an order that made it look like its original purpose, should Houston ever find the motivation to repair the plane. Seems quite a few parts were missing in the forest, something he will have face down the line. But everything else apart from that seems to be in order, so it should be fine for now. Twilight Sparkle promised to keep everyone away from his plane, which was another added bonus. "Huh?" Houston reached into his pants and withdrew a small cylinder vial of amber liquids. Oh, there it was! He forgot he still carried these things around with him. "Might as well get stoned before my first lesson" muttered Houston. Jumping off his seat and walking back into the warm confines of his room, Houston sat back into his chair and pulled open a case in one of the drawers. Taking out a thin, clean needle, he dipped the thin metal into the vial and pulled up the lever until it was three quarters filled with the amber liquid. Then, using his belt, he wrapped it around his left arm three times until the veins bulged, allowing him to stab the needle into his arm and push the lever own. Houston sighed as he placed the needle onto the table, pushed his chair, and sat back to allow the homemade concoction of Mentats and Med-X to work their way onto his brains. Just focus on the contract. Just focus on the contract. Focus on the contract.