//------------------------------//
// Boredom, or a Philosophical Discussion on the Flawed Perception and Unstable Nature of Time 
// Story: Cryo-7 
// by Metal Pony Fan 
//------------------------------//

"Ooh," Berry started tapping Blue on the shoulder as a flight attendant pushed a snack cart down the aisle, "they have popcorn!  Let's get popcorn."

The stallion sighed wearily as he rubbed his face.  "We're not getting popcorn."

"Why not?  You don't like popcorn?"

"I like popcorn, it's just-"

"Good, because I love popcorn, even though I've only ever had it once.  So, let's get some."  She grabbed his hoof with both front hooves, and leaned so far in front of him, that she may as well have been sitting in his lap.  "Please?"

"Fine," Blueblood huffed as looked away from the puppy-dog eyes Berry was making.  He raised his hoof to get the attendant's attention.  "A popcorn, please?"  The human, already several seats ahead, retrieved a bowl of popcorn from the second shelf of her cart, and held it up.  Blueblood teleported it into his waiting hooves with magic.  "Thank you."  He then offered it to Berry.  "I can smell the salt from here, make sure you get a drink when she comes back around."

Berry happily relieved Blue of the bowl.  It would be a while before the cart came back by.  She and Blue were tucked away in the back corner of the shuttle, hardly prime seating, but there were plenty of empty seats around them, since most of the passengers were in the larger seats with video displays near the front.  "I think I'll take a scotch.  What are you having?"

The stallion beside her frowned.  "Berry, this a discount shuttle service that normally caters to families and school groups.  They don't serve alcohol."

"Oh," Berry said with a mouthful of popcorn.  She chewed and swallowed before asking, "what do they have then?"

Blue shrugged.  "Juice, soda, water?"

"Soda?"  Berry's head tilted.  "Like sodium carbonate, for washing?"

"Like carbonated beverages," Blue corrected.  "You've never had a soda before?"

"No."  Berry shook her head.  "But, I'm trying new things every day."

"Well, we can see what they have.  Surberry juice is pretty common throughout the galaxy, and soda from earth is popular everywhere.  Plus, there's always local specialties."

Berry nodded quietly, stuffing her face with popcorn.  "You know a lot more about the galaxy than I do."

The stallion chuckled at the complement.  "I'm sure that's just a temporary situation.  You'll get used to things quickly enough."

"New couple, eh?" asked the old pony pushing the drink cart.

"No!" Blue jumped to answer, turning around quickly.

"Oh," he responded with a chuckle, "I was sure you two were together, my mistake."

"But, we are together," Berry said with some confusion.  "And we really haven't been together all that long, so you could say we're new."

"She means, we're traveling together," Blue clarified, "we're just friends."

"Friends on a mission," Berry added, before eating more popcorn.  "This stuff is good."

The old pony chuckled.  "Well, you two, 'friends,' have fun with your mission, whatever it may be."

Blueblood stopped him before he walked away.  "Wait, um, could we get a Surberry soda, a water, and an orange juice?"

"Sure thing," the old pony said with a smile.  He reached his hoof into the middle of his cart, and withdrew the requested drinks, one after the other, with practiced speed.  He stacked them along the arm of Bluebood's seat.  "Anything else?"

"Not at the moment, thank you," Blue answered as he offered the soda and the water to Berry, keeping the orange for himself.  Once the drink pony walked away, he sighed miserably.  "Don't I get enough of that from mother and Brand?"

"Enough of what?"  Berry flipped down the table on the back of the chair in front of her, and arranged her bowl of popcorn and drinks.  "And how long are we going to be on this shuttle?"

"It's been five minutes," Blueblood groaned, pointing out the window, "we haven't even left the atmosphere."

Berry glanced out.  "Ooh, pretty," she muttered, watching the blue sky fade darker, and the pinprick stars begin to appear.  "So, when are you going to tell me more about the mission?"

"I was trying to, when you interrupted me for popcorn," Blueblood reminded her.  "Why is it so hard to say no to you?"

Berry smiled.  "Whenever Granpa asked that, grandma said it was because I was so ridiculously cute."

Blueblood cleared his throat.  "Anyway, you remember the mission briefing, right?"

The pink mare nodded quickly, then whispered, "An unknown party is planning to use the quantum computer core of the theatre ship Crystalia to run an unknown, and possibly malicious algorithm.  Most likely targeting interplanetary financial interests and the galactic sales tax.  We need to identify them, determine the algorithm's purpose, determine their connection to Hearson Financial, and, or, my grandfather, and put a stop to their evil plans."

"Uh, yes," Blue was impressed, though, she added the bit about the evil plans on her own.  "You were actually paying attention?"

Berry squinted at him.  "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You were playing with that little robot the entire time," Blue reminded her.  "I didn't know if you were listening to the briefing."

"Surveillance and Hacking Autonomous Robotic Teledrone," Berry corrected.  "Shart for short."

Blue squinted at her a moment, waiting for her to snicker or giggle, but she didn't.  "You're serious?  We are not calling it that."

"Why not?"

"Just trust me on this."

"Well, we can leave off, 'robotic,' since it's obviously a robot, and nopony needs to be told that, so then it's just shat!"

Blue rubbed his forehead.  This was shaping up to be a very long excursion.  "How about just teledrone?  Or Telly, if you want to shorten it?"

Berry shrugged.  "I guess that works.  Anyway, I accessed its root commands and data recorder, and it seems like it was supposed to be the final delivery mechanism for the algorithm.  I found some test algorithms in its temporary memory, nothing useful to us, but whoever had Telly before didn't know how much memory or computing power he had."

Blue nodded.  She sure latched on to the name Telly quickly, thank the night! "Does that help us?"

"Not really, but it tells us that they probably obtained Telly second hoof.  They didn't even know how to set exclusive command authorizations, or access the cameras and movement controls."

"So, they couldn't move it, and they couldn't use it for surveillance?  You mean, they were only using it as a data storage device?"

Berry nodded, kicking the bag under her seat.  "I wiped the existing settings, installed a new control scheme, and set you and I as the only authorized users.  I also painted it, so nopony will recognize it."

"Good thinking," Blue took a sip of his orange juice and set it down.  "So, for the mission, you can use your name, but nopony can know the truth about your grandfather, or who I am, or why we're here.  My name is Blue Skies.  I'll be auditioning for a part in one of their plays.  We were able to find a last minute opening for a lighting technician for you.  It should fit your skill set, with a little on the job training.  They break their cast and crew up by experience level, so we'll at least be together in the novice section, but there's no guarantee we'll be on the same production."

"So, as far as anypony else can know, we're just there to work, right?" Berry took a sip of orange juice.  "Ooh, that's tangy."  She held up the little bottle, inspecting the opaque liquid within.  "What's in this?"

"I- That-" Blue stammered a moment, checking his empty hooves.  "You can't just drink other pony's drinks!  When did you even take that?"

"I can't?"  Berry looked at the bottle.  "Is this like the thing with spitting on the floor?"

"No!  It's a completely different set of considerations."  Blue grabbed the water bottle.  "You can keep it, but you really shouldn't do that anymore."

"I don't get it," Berry admitted.  "Are you sure you don't want it back?  I just wanted a taste."

Blue reluctantly took it back, wiping the rim with his hoof.  "Please don't make a habit of this."

"But, we can both try twice as many things this way."  Berry held up her soda can.  "You can have some of mine, if you want."

Blueblood was starting to realize that this would be a long trip.  "I've tried it before," he politely declined.  "I'm fine."

Berry then held up her popcorn.  "Have you tried this before?"





Three hours later.

Berry poked Blueblood in the shoulder, waking up the sleeping stallion.  She pulled her headphones off as he blinked himself awake.  They were actually his headphones, and she was listening to some music that he brought.  "I don't understand any of this.  What's a calliope, and why would it crash to the ground?"





Another three hours later.

The tables have turned.  Berry had given Blue his headphones back, and taken a nap of her own.  Only, she had latched on to his leg, and was smothering her face into his shoulder, muttering something about clouds as he tried to read the script for his audition.





Yet another three hours later.

Both Berry and Blueblood had taken naps, eaten, listened to music, read and memorized the audition script, familiarized themselves with Telly's controls, and sampled several different teas, juices, and sodas.  They had also lost track of the time left until they reached the theatre ship.  When would this end?

"Is it too early to eat again?"

Blue stretched out in his seat.  "I don't think so, you hungry?"

Berry yawned, and leaned against Blue's shoulder again.  "Not really.  But there's nothing left to do."

"Yeah," the stallion agreed, having long given up on his personal space, "I should have brought another book."

"I should have brought a pad."

"Mission protocols," Blue reminded her.  "Nothing with log-ins, or traceable information stored on it.  You would have had to buy it after the Opalescence dropped us planet-side, and you wouldn't be able to use any messaging apps, or your Grand Library, Aurible, or Steam accounts."

"I don't even know what those are," Berry groaned as she sunk in her seat, ears flopping forward. "I just want some video games."

"Right.  A pad with Fallout: New Tokyo would be welcome right now."  Blueblood shrugged.  "Well, we'll just have to talk to each other then."

One ear perked up, and she glanced over at Blueblood, considering it.  "Ok," she said as she pushed herself back up in the chair.  "What do you want out of life?"

Blue raised an eyebrow.  "Starting with the easy questions, huh?"

"Fire Brand said I should ask."

Blue rolled his eyes.  "Of course, he did.  What else did he say to ask?"

Berry shrugged.  "He said I should ask what it would take to make you settle down, whatever that means.  You seem pretty settled to me.  He also said to casually remind you, at every opportunity, that I'm not part of the chain of command."

"Ignore him!"  Blueblood ordered, blushing.  "He's worse than my mother!  Why can't they leave me alone about this?"

"About what?"

"Not dating."

"Dating?"  Berry asked.  So many things were confusing, and this was one of them.  Fluttershy knew words, and their meanings, but couldn't say them.  She knew the words, and how to say them, but it sometimes seemed like she was missing meaning and cultural context.  "As in determining the age of things?  Like with isotope decay?"

Blue squinted at her.  "Was that a joke?"

Berry shook her head.  "Nope," she answered, upbeat as ever.  "I am legitimately stumped right now.  I'm guessing there's another type of dating?"

"It's when two ponies spend time together, get close, go out for drinks, dinner, and stuff, to-"

"Like us?  Right now?"  Berry glanced at the shared armrest, and the table full of empty drinks and dishes.  "Are we dating?"

"Let me finish!"  Blueblood nervously glanced around, but everypony else on the shuttle was engrossed in pads or music, and paid them no mind.  "The important thing that separates dating from just doing random things together is that they are trying to see if they like each other."

"Oh," Berry said with an understanding nod.  "So, we are dating?"

Blueblood blinked.  "What?"

"Well, we were enemies, and we're only now starting to trust each other, and we're finding out if we can work together or not.  So, it's kind of like we're seeing if we like each other."  Berry smiled at the young prince, confident in her logic.  "This is going to be fun, I've never dated anypony before."

"Berry, slow down," the blushing prince wiped sweat from his forehead, "I don't think I've explained this right."  He cleared his throat, and straightened up in his seat, freeing his hooves to aid his speaking.  "When I say dating is to see if two ponies like each other, I mean more than just as friends.  Dating is to see if you like each other enough to fall in love, and then to see if you love each other enough to spend the rest of your lives together."

"Oh!"  Berry shared his blush for a moment, sheepishly covering her mouth with her hoof.  "You're talking about courtship," she whispered.

"Yes," Blue answered quickly, relieved that they were finally on the same page, "yes, I am."

The earth pony was stunned into silence.  Fire Brand wanted her to court Blueblood?  Why?  And by settling down, did he mean marriage?  She wasn't ready for that!  Though, that was what courting was there for, to get you ready for that.

She sighed long and heavy.  How did she forget that was a thing?  It was even on her list of things to do when she left the junkyard.  Wait... "I forgot!"  She smacked her hoof to her head.  "How could I have been so stupid?"

"I'm not following," Blueblood admitted.  "What did you forget?"

"I had a list!  A list of all things I wanted to do when I finally left the junkyard and started exploring the galaxy."  She groaned.  "And I left it in the junkyard."

Blueblood raised an eyebrow, and saw an opportunity to deflect any talk of dating, and to turn her question around on her.  He was sort of curious what the heir of the galaxy's most notorious pirate wanted in life.  "What sort of things were on it?"

"All sorts of things."  Berry scratched her head.  "I don't remember all of the little things, that's why I wrote them down.  But I remember the important ones, stuff like seeing Granpa's homeworld, flying a spaceship, going swimming, or giving somepony flowers."

"Giving somepony flowers?"  Blueblood smiled, for the pony with the second highest bounty in the galaxy, highest being her grandfather, she was still a fairly normal young mare.  "Not receiving flowers from somepony?"

"Actually both," Berry shrugged.  "That's how you started courting somepony on Sevus, by exchanging flowers.  Flowers are super important.  Each one has its own meaning, and purpose.  If you give somepony a bunch of flowers, and they give you one back, it means they're interested in courting you, and if you're interested back, you put it in your mane.  Then, you do it the other way around, and they give you flowers.  Everypony thought I was dangerous, so I rarely even got to visit the flower fields."

"You mentioned that before, how you were an outcast.  I don't understand, wasn't your other grandfather the colony's leader?"

Berry nodded.  "Neither of us knew that until Uncle Astral figured it out.  Before that, everypony thought I was a witch.  The witch of the lake," she mimicked a hunched old crone telling stories, "her hooded form stalks across the water, untouched by monsters.  Is she coming to listen quietly from the shadows, or to steal your blood away with a wave of her hoof?"  She crossed her hooves and pouted.  "I punched one pony, who was trying to stop me from installing a water filter on a village well, and his nose bled.  After that, they started throwing rocks whenever they saw me.  And when the cough started getting worse, they starting searching for me in groups, and when a group of ponies finally attacked me, I..."  She looked down, ashamed to admit it.  "I left them hurt, and stranded in the wastelands."

Blueblood nodded slowly.  "Sometimes, ponies that are too close to a situation are unable to see the solutions right in front of them.  It happens often with the White Flags' line of work, especially when we apprehend one or more perpetrators of a crime, only to realize things run deeper than initially thought.  Often times, those who hire us don't care.  They have their scapegoat, and want the outsiders out of their business."

"How do you deal with that?"

"We call it the sovereignty protocol.  It's part of our treaty with the Galactic Assembly.  A big part of it is that, when somepony hires us, they agree to giving us full authority to act as we see fit.  It's in any contract or written communication exchanged, and if they break it, they have no legal recourse when we take matters into our own hooves, by force if necessary."

Berry's expression soured.  "You mean, like when you grabbed me on Delta?"

"Yes," Blueblood answered directly.  "That brings me to the second part of Sovereignty Protocol.  We see things through, in a calm, measured manner.  It's why you were brought to the Nemeton instead of being delivered directly to Sheriff Glacier on Canterlot Betta.  Our purpose is to provide an impartial hoof, whose only goal is to see justice served.  And third, we take responsibility for our actions.  If we make the wrong decision, we make it right, no matter the cost."

"That's for sure."  Berry's hoof rubbed the side of her snout, where the claw marks were faded enough to be hidden by fur, and she glanced over to see if there were any traces left of Blue's sewing needle injuries.  There weren't.  "Do you think it was the wrong decision?"

Blue saw her feeling her snout, and knew right away what she was talking about.  "Sending a team after you was a bad choice, but I'm not sure it was the wrong one.  Glacier may have hired other bounty hunters, ones content to blindly follow orders, had I refused.  Things could have gone better, but I think we all ended up where we needed to be."

"Where we needed to be," Berry repeated to herself.  If she wasn't kidnapped when she was, or if things had gone smoother, she may not have gotten a message out in time for Radio to receive it, and attempt a rescue.  And, if she and Radio weren't there when the assassins attacked, who knows what could have happened.  Maybe the assassins sneak up and kill everypony?  Maybe nopony walks around the back of the ship, and the assassins get caught without incident?  "You think it was destiny?"

The Prince shrugged.  "I hesitate to slight free will, but maybe a little?  Makes it sound like a fairy tale."

"But, it basically is a fairy tale," Berry pointed out.  "A young mare goes on an adventure, and meets a handsome prince?  That's the summary for like half of all fairy tales ever!  But most fairy tales don't end with them going on super secret spy missions."

"There are similarities, yes," the Prince conceded, "but most fairy tales are based on romantic fantasies that simply aren't..."  Wait, did she say handsome?  "Um..."

"Hey!" Berry jabbed him in the shoulder with her hoof, surprising him with the sudden change in tone.  "You never answered my question earlier."

"What question?"  He winced as he remembered.  "Oh, that question."  He pressed his lips together as he thought it over, before answering, "as Prince, there are a lot of considerations I have to-"

"You keep saying that," Berry interrupted.  "Considerations this, considerations that, sets of considerations.  I didn't ask about that."

"I know," Blue sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "but as a prince, I can't separate myself from the needs of my people so easily.  You want to know what I want?  Well, ask any of the thousands of residents of the Nemeton what they want, and you'll have your answer.  I just want to be true to my role, and be the best Prince for them that I can."  He looked to see Berry's reaction, but was confused by her smile.

"That's a good answer."  The earth pony patted his hoof with her own.  "You're a good pony, and I'm sure you're a noble Prince."

Blue found himself smiling back.  "Most ponies tell me to be more selfish after hearing that."

Berry shook her head.  "That wouldn't be you.  At least, as far as I know.  And, honestly, I don't know you all that well.  But..."  She curled her hoof around his.  "I do know I'm glad I met you."

Caught off guard, the young Prince stammered out an unconvincing, "B-berry, we shouldn't be- um...  Can we talk about this after the mission?"

She nodded happily, not letting go of his hoof.  "Blue, would it be ok if I gave you flowers?  I mean, I wouldn't expect one back, obviously, but you've been really nice to me, and I think it would be nice if you were the first pony I-"

She was interrupted by the drink cart lady, calling out from the front of the cabin, "Thank you, everyone, and everypony, for choosing Swift Flight's shuttle service.  We have arrived at theatre ship Crystalia, and will be docking shortly.  Please gather your belongings, and prepare to disembark."

"Aw," Berry's ears drooped, "it's over?"

Blue sneakily stole his hoof back, and placed it over his racing heart.  "About time," he muttered.  "I thought you wanted the trip to be over."

"I did, at first, and it was kind of boring there in the middle, but it actually ended up kind of fun, overall."  Berry grabbed her bag from under the seat.  It was actually one of Juki's school bags, and she was borrowing it. It was a bit large for the preteen colt, but it was well sized for her, and her minimal belongings. She would rather have her tool belt, but it was still on Delta.  "We'll sit together on the way back, right?"

"Of course," Blueblood answered as he pulled his own duffel out from under his seat.  "Your company made the long trip all the more bearable, despite some...  hiccups in communication."

Berry's head tilted to the side.  "But, neither of us had hiccups at any point during the flight."

"Exactly."  The Prince maneuvered out of his seat and into the aisle, then held Berry's bag for her as she did the same.  "It's a figure of speech."  He moved out of the way as another pony walked past, but most passengers were taking their time getting up.  "A hiccup can refer to any minor disruption, such as those caused in our conversation when cultural differences caused us to refer to the same thing by different names."

"Oh, you mean the courtship and dating thing?"  Berry took her bag back once she was in the aisle, and slung it over her shoulder.  "So, why don't you date, or court, or whatever?  And don't use the word, 'considerations.'"

"Uhh..."  Blue scratched his cheek.  "Berry, that's really unfair."

"I know," Berry smirked, "you like that word.  But, what kind of considerations?  Do you just not want to?  Because you can just say so.  But if there are reasons, I'm curious."

The young Prince squinted at the energetic mare.  "Berry, why are you so interested in this?"

She replied with a smile and a shrug.  "I dunno.  I guess because you're different from most ponies I've met, and I want to know why."

Blue pressed his lips together as people and ponies around them started shuffling towards the exits.  "Different?  In what way?"

"That's the thing, I don't really know."  She and Blue started shuffling along with the flow of the crowd.  "That's what I want to find out.  I've met all sorts of ponies since leaving Sevus, but none of them make me feel like you do."

Blue froze in the middle of the path.  A not so gentle knee from the human behind him shoved him to the side, but he barely noticed as he stared at the mare in front of him.  "Feel?"

Berry turned around, dodging the impatient biped that Blue inconvenienced.  "Yeah, feel," she confirmed as she ducked out of the way of a group of ponies.  "Blue, is everything all right?  I don't think I'm good with facial expressions, so I'm just going to ask.  What does yours means right now?"

Blue grabbed her and pulled her along to an alcove behind some seats, where they could stand without being walked over.  He swallowed hard, and asked, "Berry, please be honest with me, what do you mean by feel?  What do you feel?  Be specific."

"It's really hard to describe," she admitted with a chuckle.  "It's a lot of things.  I admire the way you're nice to ponies, even if they aren't nice to you.  I'm really happy that you respect me and find value in my skills.  Whenever you complement me, I get all warm and fuzzy.  I look at you more than I can explain why, especially when you aren't watching.  Oh," she added with a smile, "and when we're close like this, my legs feel all weird, heavy and wobbly.  Kind of like when I fell asleep from that sleeping potion in the cloth, only, instead of sleepy, I feel all energetic and my heart's going thump-bump-bump really hard!"

Blue pulled a handkerchief from the side pocket of his bag, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.  "Night, preserve us," he muttered, "this is not in the mission protocols."

"What isn't?"  Berry gasped.  "You know what it is?  What makes you different?"

"Please, tell me this is a prank, and that Brand put you up to it."  Blue noticed that the departing crowd was starting to thin out.  "Shoot, Berry, we have to go, just, could you do me a favor, and whatever you feel for me, can we discuss it when we get back to the Nemeton?  And focus on the mission for now?"

"Sure, we can do that.  But, I'm really good at focusing on a bunch of things at once."  She shrugged.  "You know, in case you could just tell me what makes you different.  I won't let it affect the mission."

"Berry..."  With a groan, Blue started walking again.  "If you feel weird around me, remember that I punched you... hard... In the face."

"Well, yeah."  Berry followed close behind him.  They were almost the last ponies off the shuttle.  "And I head-butted you, and held a knife to your neck.  We fought as equals, and that means a lot to me."

Blue winced.  "Well, that backfired," he muttered as he reached the shuttle door.  He was expecting an attendant to be checking ponies off the shuttle, but there was only a cardboard cutout of the popcorn lady, waving everyone off with one motorized arm.  "And that is tacky as hell."

Berry was just as perplexed, and pointed at the wall behind the cutout.  "That black dot is a holo-projector.  Why did they build a physical sculpture for this?"

"I have no clue," Blue replied.  Shaking his head, he stepped out the door, and off the shuttle.

"Damn, you are one hot stallion."

Blue froze at the unexpected compliment, as a mare his age stalked towards him.  A blue unicorn, she walked with slow confidence, and an almost predatory smile.  That demeanor was not lessened by her eyes.  Her long brown hair was styled over one eye, with large curls that bounced with every slight movement of her head.  But, the eye that Blue could see was bright, valentine red, and lined by expertly cared for lashes.

She offered Blue a sultry smile.  "You must be Raul."

"Blue Skies," he corrected quickly, "and, who are you?"

"Blue Skies," she repeated, laughing.  "This must be fate.  And might I repeat myself, you are one hot stallion."

Berry  stepped up beside Blue, and looked up at him in confusion.  Then, dashing the new unicorn's smile, casually laid her hoof against the side of Blue's face.  "No, he's normal temperature."  She looked back at the brown-haired mare.  "You have a really pretty laugh."

Blue dragged his hoof down his face.

The unicorn mare, to her credit, backpedaled quickly.  "I didn't know he was spoken for, I wouldn't have been so flirty if I knew.  You must be the hopeful new lighting tech?  You were the only pink being to step off that shuttle."

Berry smiled.  "Yep!  That's me!  I was a general repair tech back home, so I'm pretty new to lighting equipment, and actually running things.  I hope I don't get in the way too much."

"I'm sure you won't.  As long as you don't creep on me, or steal ponies' lingerie, like the last guy, you could break the lights, and I wouldn't care."  She quietly added, "the director might, though.  So, home?  Where is that?"

Blue stepped in, raising his hoof.  "It's-"

"Just a tiny space station," Berry interrupted, waving her hoof dismissively.  "You wouldn't know it, nopony does, and I am glad to be gone.  It's not like this place.  Everypony knows the Crystalia.  My grandfather used to tell me stories about this ship.  What do you do here?"

"Honestly, I'm pretty new myself.  My grandmother had some history here, but my mother wanted nothing to do with the place."  She looked around the combination lobby and landing bay.  "And, here I am, back as a novice director.  But I'm assistant director for the upcoming play, so it's not all bad."

"I think I'm auditioning for a role in that same play," Blue added.  He was surprised, Berry was a natural at this.  She didn't even lie, at least not to his knowledge.  What other hidden talents did she possess?  "I didn't recognize the script we were provided, but you called me, 'Raul,' am I correct in assuming the actual play is going to be the Phantom of the Opera?"

"You are.  Grand Finale uses modified excerpts from other plays as audition pieces," she explained, "to keep anypony from putting preconceived notions of characters into their role."

"Hard not to have notions when it comes to a play as famous as that one."

"I think even Grand fell into that trap."

"How so?"

"He pegged you as our Raul from the moment he saw your picture."

Blue smirked, "I'd rather audition for the role of Phantomé."

"You'll break his heart.  Raul is an ideal role for an inexperienced pretty boy, no offense.  Phantomé is much more complex, emotionally nuanced, and half his face is hidden at any time.  That would be kind of a shame."

Berry agreed.  "It sure would be.  He has a strong, inspiring face."

Blue stared at Berry, mouth open and brows together as he tried to think of an appropriate rebuke.  How do you tell someone not to compliment you?  And it was a really nice, sincere compliment.  With a defeated sigh, he looked back at the unicorn mare.  "If you let me audition for Phantomé, at least, perhaps I'll surprise you.  And, if not, I'll gladly play Raul."

"We'll see.  I'm supposed to escort you to the rehearsal stage, for your audition.  You might as well join us, the lighting crew is sorting through the last of equipment transfers, they'll want to meet you."  She held her hoof out to a door labelled, 'authorized personnel only.'  It was in the opposite direction from where the other shuttle passengers were headed.  "We've got everybody else going through our new props and gear in the pilot's lounge.  Our director's in there too, so make a good impression, and then we'll head to the rehearsal stage."

"A good impression?"  Blue followed as she walked towards the door.  Berry followed beside him, glancing over, and he winked at her.  "I'll do my best."

The pink mare swallowed hard.  If there was one thing she knew about Blue, it was that he knew how to make a first impression.  And he probably wasn't even trying to last time.  What sort of impression would he make by putting effort into it?

The unicorn mare opened the door, and stepped through calling, "Grand?  The last two finally arrived!"

"Ah, good!"  Called an older unicorn from a pile of props surrounded by interns.  He scratched his well trimmed mustache with the shiny metal ball on the end of his enameled cane.  "I'm getting nowhere with this, so let us take a break, and let us meet our Raul!"

"Raul?" Blue asked as he stepped into the room behind Berry.  He smiled at the director, then reached over to flick the light switch.

His bag fell to the floor, and a wind blew over the ponies.  The door slammed shut.  Darkness claimed the room.  Most felt a harsh chill, save for one pink earth pony who felt only a warm breeze.  A single candle rose from the prop pile, and flickered to life.

The white unicorn was nowhere to be seen.

"This cursed form?"  The voice echoed in the small chamber as smoke danced in the shadows.  "This tortured soul?"  A white stallion stepped from the shadows into the farthest boundary of candle's light.  He wore a a shimmering cloak that looked woven of night itself, and the right half of his face was obscured by shadow.   "You wish to saddle me with a name so limited?  So..."  He stepped towards the candle, and it's light danced over the dark steel mask that covered half his face.  "So... mortal?"

He blew out the candle, and another one lit across the room.  Ponies turned to see him standing there, as if he never moved.

"I have lived here."

He blew out the candle, and was standing beside another that flickered to life nearby.

"I have died here."

The previous candles flared to life, but the stallion stayed where he was.

"I am bound to this place in ways you can not comprehend."

The iron mask obscured the right side his face, but his cloak couldn't hide the nearly black fur on that side.  The left side of his coat maintained its pure white coloring.  He walked among the interns, glancing at them, whispering, "My soul walks these walls."  He shouted, rumbling the room, and everyone in it to the bone, "My voice echoes upon the stage!"

He faced the director.  "My very heart is etched into this place.  I have been here before you, and I will remain long after you depart.  You seek my name?  You may not know it."  He turned away.  "I have a new one now, and I have discarded all connection to the damaged thing I once was."

"I was death."  The stallion smiled.  "I was nightmare."  His lips parted, revealing sharp teeth beneath.  "I am these things no longer."

"Now, I am merely a tool," he brought his hoof to his mask, "a voice."

"You may call me..."  He unhooked his mask, and pulled it away from his face.  The fur was like the rest of him, split down the middle between dark and light, but his right eye was that of a demon of ice and night, not a pony.  Its piercing, evil light flickered like the candles as it swept over the room.  "... the Phantom."

He walked the room, turning on every pony in turn, menacing grin on his face as they stepped back, or jumped in fear.  Until he came to the one pony not startled by his appearance.

"And what of you, my dear?"  He stalked towards Berry, towering over her.  His smile turned from one of menace, to one of amusement.  She stared, not in fear, but in awe.  "I have stripped away the shell, that bright, shiny veneer you saw, leaving only my ugly truth.  Yet, you have not turned away?  Having seen me without my mask, do you fear me?  Will you run from me?"  He gently traced his hoof across her cheek.  "Or shall we sing together, join our voices for all to hear?  Let that beauty, hidden even deeper within, stand strong?"

Berry stared into his eyes, staying still and silent.  This was just part of the audition, right?  She didn't want to intrude on Blue's acting, but it really looked like he was waiting for a response.  And, her heart was doing the thing again, she could hear it in her ears.

He leaned in, breath falling over her as he asked yet another question.  "Will you stay by my side?"

"Yes," Berry answered immediately, forgetting the audition, forgetting everything around her.  She was focused only on the stallion before her, the warmth and power she felt, and its perfect reflection in his eyes.  One side, gentle and caring, the other harsh and strong.  Two sides of one pony.  "Yes, of course I will."

His hoof still rested on the side of her neck.  "Then, from this moment on, you are mine.  And I will protect you."  He sat before her, and brought his other hoof to mirror the one already touching her.  "I will give you my love, and I will expect you to offer yours, from now, until shadows consume all, and we are torn from this life.  Do you still agree?"

Berry was starting to doubt this had anything to do with the audition.  But, still, she gave him a small nod.

"Then, I will not doubt you, my companion, my muse," his hooves traced slowly up her neck, pulling her to him, "my love."

He swept her up into a kiss, soft and tender, lasting only a moment.  As he pulled away from her, she stared up at him, cheeks red as any rose, but quickly looked away.

Blue glanced back at the director.  " I trust there will be no more talk of casting me as the character Raul?"

"Oh...  No!"  The director held up his hooves.  "None whatsoever.  The role of the Phantom is yours."

"Good."  The dark prince ran the tip of his tongue over his lower lip, then then leaned over and nuzzled his snout into the side of Berry's neck.  "Then, if the audition is over, my little evening dewdrop and I are tired from our long journey."  His grin was feral and sharp as Berry had the self-consciousness to try and hide her blush with her hooves.  "Is there a room we might retire to?"

The question raised a lot of raised eyebrows.

"D-down the hall," answered one of the interns, pointing to another door.  "There's a sign pointing out the dorms.  Your room is 115 in the Stallion's dorm, hers is 212 in the Mare's."

"Which one is larger?"  Phantom Blue asked without taking his eyes off Berry.

"Yours," the intern said quickly.  "You had a lead role, so you got a better room.  It even has its own bathroom, most rooms don't."

Blue glanced back.  "I find it odd that you know so much about everypony's room arrangements."

"I'm the logistics intern," he explained happily, "I set the room arrangements, and take care of most things involving food, ticket sales, prop shipments and personal mail.  Well, at least for our production."

"Makes sense," Blue said with a shrug.  He looked back at Berry, bringing his hoof to her chin.  She was still trying to hide her face.  "Shall we go, my dear?"

The candles died out, and the lights switched on.  In the brief moment of darkness between the two, Blue and Berry had disappeared.  Everypony exchanged glances, unsure what they just witnessed.  But there was one pony who knew exactly what he saw.  Grand Finale knew.  He knew exactly what he saw.

"That power!"  He shouted, waving his assistant over as he flipped through a clipboard full of paperwork.  "That dark confidence!  Even ignoring the change in his appearance, his entire being felt steeped in shadow.  A true Phantom, if ever there was one!"  He studied something on his papers, then pointed at a random pony.  "You, you're Raul now.  Somepony get him a copy of the script."

The assistant director shook her head, picking up the discarded iron mask as it crumbled to dust.  She was pretty sure it didn't come from the prop pile.  "I told him to make a good impression, but that was unexpected."

"In the best of ways, Blue Skies," Grand Finale chuckled, "unexpected in the absolute best of ways."





Berry found herself in a nondescript hallway when the lights came back on.  Blue was next to her, smiling like an idiot, laughing to himself like a maniac, and feeling his own face with his hooves.  Their bags were on the floor between them.  She couldn't even look at him right now.  To steal a line from Growl, what the hell was that?!

It wasn't a scene from the Phantom of the Opera, she knew that much.  And it sure as hell wasn't the scene they practiced on the flight over.

Her heart was doing the thing again, really, really, super hard, and her hooves were shaking.  That was...  real?  The declaration of love, and even her answer, it happened, and she meant it.  It was a spur of the moment realization, but it was the only explanation that made sense.  She must have been falling in love with Blue since the moment he set her free on the Nemeton.  And, Blue must have known from the moment she told him about him feeling different.  But, the way he acted just now, it didn't really seem like something Blue would normally do.

Not that she knew him well enough to say that.  It just felt different.  And not in a bad way, either.  The confidence, the sweet words, even the soft touch, were all very nice.

She swallowed hard, and looked over, intent on asking him just what he was thinking.  But, he had conjured a large mirror, and was inspecting himself in it, posing, and flexing his well defined muscles.  "Oh," the stallion muttered, "if only he knew what he had going for him."

Berry looked away again.  She didn't really want to, but she had a feeling that she would be caught if she stared the way she wanted.  Mere moments later, a touch at her shoulder told her she was caught anyway.

Berry slowly looked over.  Blue was there, hoof on her shoulder, smiling softly.  It was much warmer of a smile than before, but when he opened his mouth to speak, the sharp fangs were still there.  "I apologize, my dear, if I was too forceful back there.  I have not had this level of control in ages."

"Control?"  Berry squinted at him.  "Blue?"

"Not exactly."  The stallion stepped back and started down the hall.  "I am the shadow that lives inside him, the Nightmare.  He drew a little too deeply on my power, and I now control his body."

Berry found herself following.  Physically following, anyway.  Metaphorically, she wasn't sure she followed as well.  "You're part of him?  Will he come back?"

"He will wake up," Not-Blue answered, "soon enough.  I have no desire to replace him."

"That's... good," Berry said with some hesitation, "I guess.  What made him use so much of your power?"

Blue stopped walking, and reading the numbers on the doors he passed, and glanced back, smirking.  "You did."

"Me?"  Blue started walking again, and Berry ran ahead of him.  "No, wait, why would I make him use your power?  How?"

"Do you remember what you said on the shuttle?"  He smiled, and slowly cornered her against one of the doors.  "You are so honest, and strong.  You fight, even when the entire galaxy is against you.  I'm so glad you you are a good, and honorable pony.  It worries me when you're so close, because I'm scared of how much I enjoy your presence.  I find myself staring, in awe and appreciation, that such a small, and beautiful mare, can be such a fierce warrior and skilled technician.  I must distance myself, or I fear I shall fall into something I can't leave behind."

Back against the door, Berry nervously met Blue's, or the Nightmare's, eyes.  "Um, that's not what I said, at all."

"No, it isn't."  Nightmare Blue placed his hoof on the door.  "It's what this young stallion wanted to say in return, but couldn't.  He is so duty-bound, wrapped up in obligations to his family, his kingdom, and even to me, that he can't even let himself want what he wants.  And what he wants, is you.  He used my power because he wanted to impress you, not the director of the play, but you.  He wanted you to see a side of him that didn't involve the skills used in your capture."  He slowly looked up.  "Well, would you look at that?  Room 115."

Berry craned her neck, flattening herself to the door.  "So it is," she chuckled nervously, "I should probably head to my room then?"

The door opened behind her, and she fell flat on her back.  Blue stepped over her, running his tongue over his fangs.  "Without so much as a goodnight kiss?  I have a better idea."  He helped the pink mare to her hooves, standing closer than he normally did.  "Let's have a sleepover.  We can talk, mare to mare."

The door closed behind them, and Berry stared as Blue walked through the room.  "What?"

"Didn't I tell you already?  I'm the Nightmare.  It's right there in the name.  Night Mare."  Blue walked from the main bedroom to the small room to the left.  "Well, the kitchen is pathetic."  There was a low pop and a rattle.  "Fridge is empty, too."  Blue walked out and across the bedroom and through the door across from the kitchen.  "Bathroom is rather impressive, and well-stocked," echoed the voice, "shower would hold us both easily."

Berry shook her head.  She was getting more and more confused by the minute.  "Why would it need to hold both of us?"

"Are you being coy right now?  Or naive?"  Blue emerged from the bathroom only long enough to float a delicate glass bottle over to Berry.  It was small, and pink in color, or at least, the liquid inside was, and it lent its color to its container.  "Apply a single drop of this to each fetlock, and let it dry.  Do not rub.  If you think it isn't enough, you may place one more drop on each elbow, then the back of your neck, under your mane."

Berry stared at the container as Nightmare Blue retreated back into the bathroom.  He emerged again with a small bottle of his own.  It was much more square, and sturdy-looking, but a similar amber color.  He unscrewed the top, and pressed his fetlock over the open bottle.  Then, with a quick motion, he flipped the bottle upside down, then back upright.  He repeated the motion with his other hoof, then pressed his hoof briefly against his chest, then back of his neck.

He smiled at Berry as he screwed the lid back on the bottle.  "I think you'll appreciate this one."

He set the bottle down on the floor, then stalked over to Berry.  He swept up her bottle, as she hadn't even touched it yet, and lifted the top with a soft pop.  It had a little dropper underneath.  "And I know he'll like yours."

Berry turned to protest as he swept one of her hooves up in his own, but the scent hit her first, heavy, and spicy, mixed with his own.  "What is that?"

"Sandalwood and cinnamon," he answered as he touched the dropper to her fur.  It was wet for a moment, cold as it evaporated.  He moved on to her other hoof, leaning close as he reached across her and applied the perfume.  "If you like it, don't be shy."

She looked up as he wrapped his hooves around her.  She did like it.  The scent was faint, but overpowering.  She took every opportunity to take in more of it, short of burying her face in his chest.  One hoof pulled her mane to the side while the other touched the dropper to the base of her neck.  She flinched at the cold, but when she opened her eyes, he was smiling that warm, wistful smile again.

Or, she was, Berry reminded herself.  This was the Nightmare inside Blue doing all this.  "So, um, what's mine?"

Nightmare Blue swept up her hoof again, burying his snout in the fetlock, and taking a deep sniff.  His eyes fluttered shut.  "Strawberries, of course, with a little note of vanilla."

Berry blushed at the reaction.  "Do you like it?"

"That he does," Nightmare Blue answered, taking another sniff.

Berry found herself smiling.  "What about you?"

Nightmare Blue's eyes opened, and for the first time, he seemed knocked off stride.  "Me?"

Berry nodded.  "I'm really glad that Blue likes it, but I want to make sure you like it, too."

"And why would that matter?  I'm merely a shadow in this body.  You may not meet me for a long while after this."

"Well, doesn't that make it even more important that you like it?  And, if I'm going to, um,"  She shrugged.  "If you're part of him, I need to get to know you both."

"Is that so?"  He sighed.  "You truly are an astounding mare, and one worthy of my host's affections.  When he wakes up, be sure you tell him that I approve of you."  

"I like you, too."  Berry shrugged.  "When you called yourself Nightmare, and shadow, and all that, I was worried that you were going to be mean or evil, but you're actually really nice."

"Yes, well, if that's true, it's only because my hosts and their partners have given me time and reason to reflect on my sins."  He brought his hoof to Berry's face, caressing her cheek.  "And speaking of time, it has been a long time since I have been this close to another pony.  And as I mentioned, you may not meet me again for a while.  Would you keep me company tonight?"

Berry shrugged.  "Well, yeah, you already said we were going to have a sleep over, right?"

"You are so adorably naive," Nightmare Blue chuckled, "don't worry, I shall hold myself back."

"I don't think I understand," Berry admitted.

"You will," he whispered to her, leaning close.  "If you would allow me?"

Sandalwood and cinnamon drifted off him like whisps of fog, and Berry felt like she did after drinking at the bar, warm and relaxed inside.  She also felt like she did when Blue gave her his last handkerchief, that soft one with the monogram that was in her bag right now.  She felt safe here in his embrace, even if it was Blue's shadow holding her.  He was a good pony inside and out.  Even his inner demon was nice and gentle.

He leaned closer, breath falling on her ear as he whispered, "Well?"

She steadied herself against him, taking a deep breath of perfume from his neck before whispering back, "I trust you."