//------------------------------// // 012 - A Day out on the Town // Story: Welcome to Distopia // by LucidDreamer //------------------------------// “Deer boy, you’re great, but I’m her boyfriend.” Lorraine blinked the sleep out of her eyes as she came into the common room. John and Alastor were a few feet apart just staring at each other. “Yes, and that’s wonderful, but don’t you think she’d like to spend some time with me?” Alastor countered. “Yeah, probably. However, I’d love to spend the day just browsing shops with her. It would be really nice to have a proper date for once.” John said with a huff. “Uh, what?” Lorraine blinked in confusion. “Lorraine, darling, we are currently deciding which of us should take you out on the town today.” Alastor said, with a smile at the noodle dragon and a smirk at the bug. “It’s just a shopping trip, can’t both of you come with me?” Lorraine asked. “Well… yes.” Alastor said, his smile faltering a bit. Lorraine paused for a moment. “Did you think this was a date?” “It’s not a date?” John asked, looking at the noodle dragon in confusion. “He was saying it was some kind of date thing.” “I did not use those exact words.” Alastor quickly glanced between the two of them. “I just need to run some errands, I don’t care which of you go with me.” Lorraine groaned. “I just don’t want to go by myself.” “Then why not all three of us go?” John offered. “I mean, if it’s not a date, and just a get things run then we might need more hands, metaphorically, to hold stuff.” “Fine, fine.” Alastor sighed, but not before shooting the smol bug a look. “I suppose that will have to suffice.” “Great, now let’s get some food in the poor noodle before she faints.” John said, happily trotting over to the noodle dragon. The streets of Canterlot were busy. There weren’t any taxi carts that they could see, but the streets were still filled with ponies, oddly enough, a fairly even split of genders. It was weird to see, compared to the virtually mares only Ponyville. Alastor might have gotten a few approving looks, but beyond that no one bothered him. Lorraine got a few looks of confusion or awe, but beyond that, it was much the same as Alastor. John, however, seemed to get the attention of mares simply because he was smol and cute. “Awwww!” The umpteenth mare said as the three of them paused to check their map. John thought it was kind of fun and flattering at first. At first. The smol bug deadpanned at the mare as he sat on the noodle dragon’s back. “How old is he? He’s adorable!” The mare squealed and bounced on her hooves. “Thirty.” John said bluntly, intentionally deepening his voice. The mare froze and blinked at him. “Oh.” Then she went pink. “O-oh! I am so sorry!” “Meh.” John tried to ignore the snickering deer hiding behind Lorraine. “You’re the twenty-something-eth person who’s thought I was either a child or a pet.” “Oh you poor dear!” The mare gasped. “It’s fine. It’s fine.” John sighed, shaking his head. “Excuse me, we need to be going.” Lorraine spoke up. “Of course, sorry, sorry again.” The mare nodded quickly and trotted off. “This is going to happen all day.” John grumbled. “Seriously, being small was cute at first. Now it’s just getting on my nerves. Probably need to work on transforming more.” “That, or evolve into something bigger.” Alastor commented. Lorraine listened as she refolded the map and started on their way again. “Ha. What with the well of love I have from my scaly, fluffy (for now) love, I’d probably explode if I tried to actively use more than a little.” John chuckled. “At least you’re not going hungry.” Lorraine commented. “Too true. Though… Hmmm…” John hummed. “I wonder if I could learn to condense some love, like that emotion jelly stuff, and donate it to changelings in need or something like that. Feel like a bit of a dick by not doing anything with this, no doubt, excess of love.” “Good luck in finding any Hiveless.” Alastor added as the pair walked together. “It’s almost a death sentence to be without a Hive.” “I’m sure you’re right.” John nodded. “And now I’m just curious as to what kind of Hives there are.” “That, I actually do not know.” Alastor shook his head. “Changelings were never my forte.” “Well, we are in Canterlot, which has one of the biggest archives in Equestria.” Lorraine spoke up. “You have a point.” John nodded. “Looks like I’ll be spending more time in the library.”  Suddenly the smol bug gasped and bounced on the noodle dragon’s back. “Plushies and collectables and stuff!” He pointed a hoof at a bright red shop across the street, with balloons hanging above the door. A rack of plushies sat right outside the door. The sign on the front of the building stated Big Bad Wolf Emporium. “That’s a bit of a weird naming choice, but okay?” John blinked at the shop’s name, then grinned at Lorraine. “Wanna go in?” “Yeah, let’s see what they have.” Lorraine nodded. “Lorraine you sound so enthused.” Alastor chuckled. “John’s so delightfully excited.” “I don’t see what the big deal is, I just want to buy a plushie.” The noodle dragon shrugged. The pair trotted across the street and walked into the shop. It was brightly lit and had rows and rows of various games, puzzles, and toys. There was a wall entirely made up of shelves that held only plushies. John immediately hopped off Lorraine’s back and quickly trotted to look at pretty much everything. Alastor however, stayed by the noodle dragon’s side. “Hello hello!” A happy stallion’s voice called out as a pegasus hovered down from a second level that none of them had noticed on first entering. The stallion had a gray coat, a mop of a dark brown mane. His eyes were bright green and sparkled with barely contained joy. He wore a light brown tweed jacket and a black bowtie. “Welcome to my shop. I run a shop now. Hello there.” He paused between each sentence and seemed to wave his wings about as he spoke. “I am…” He paused and pulled a name tag out of his jacket pocket. “I am Colt Smith. Yes, Colt Smith.” He smiled at the pair as he returned the name tag to his pocket. “Why hello my fine fellow!” Alastor said happily. “It has been too long since I saw a stallion with a style as dapper as yours. That’s quite a fine bowtie you have.” “Thank you.” He used his wings to straighten his bowtie. “Bowties are cool.” “Indeed they are.” Alastor nodded. “Now, my good stallion, I’d ask where to find your plushies but you have a whole wall of them!” He gestured a hoof at said wall of plushies. “Yes, of course. Who doesn’t like a good plushie, eh?” Colt grinned happily. “Now we have a special on, buy one plush, get one free.” “That’s not exactly a good business model, but I’m sure the fillies and colts love it!” Alastor laughed. Lorraine, meanwhile, stared at Colt Smith. She felt like she should recognise him for some reason. However, it didn’t come to her. So, she shrugged and plodded off to look at the plushies. John trotted up to her happily with a small box on his back. “They have little figures. Like stylized, collectable sci-fi diamond dogs and stuff. I am content. See any plushies you want?” “Nothing stands out.” Lorraine replied, looking over the shelves. “I would help, but short, so I will keep looking around.” And the smol bug disappeared into the racks again. He reappeared momentarily climbing up a box that held smaller, more neighponese-styled, plushies. As he got to the top of the box, he lost his balance and fell in. There was a small ~pomph~ as plushies went flying in all directions. Lorraine giggled as a black hoof emerged from the pile and dragged the bug out of the plush quicksand. “Do you have anything in particular you’re looking for?” Alastor asked, trotting up next to her. “At least, when it comes to stuffed animals.” “I don’t really know, it’s not going to be easy replacing the one I had before.” Lorraine shook her head. “Oh, that does remind me.” Colt popped up on her other side. “We do, do custom orders.” He paused. "... Actually, hold on." He trotted off into a back room behind the register and came out seconds later with a battered cardboard box filled with magazines. He placed the box near Lorraine. "Here you go, every toy catalogue ever printed, you should be able to find what you want in there, probably." “The box doesn’t look that big” Alastor commented dryly. “I’m fairly good at packing things.” Colt replied with a grin. “Well, not really, but they’re still all there.” Lorraine opened the box and flipped through a catalogue. John was happy with his purchase, he had a sack clenched in his hooves as he sat atop the noodle dragon once again. Lorraine plodded down the street, towards their original destination. “And you’re not telling us what you ordered, why?” Alastor asked, trotting slowly to keep pace with the dragon. “It’s something important, that’s why.” Lorraine said with a nod. “Well, important to me anyway.” “And that comic shop Spike recommended is like a block away.” John commented, looking at the map he’d tugged out of Lorraine’s saddle bags. “Any comics you’re looking f- wait, Teen Titans.” He finished flatly. “And Power Ponies.” Lorraine added. “I prefer The Darkness myself.” Alastor commented. “Of course you would like that.” John rolled his eyes as the bright blue shop came into view. “You like the story or the violence?” “Both. Why?” Alastor said deadpan. John just face-hoofed. The comic shop, by the name of Natural 20, wasn’t anywhere near as overwhelming as the toy store. Everything was organized nicely. The comics were arranged by section. There was even a spot upstairs with tables for people to play games. It even had a few ponies and other races milling around. John immediately hopped off, but not before stowing his previous purchase in Lorraine’s left saddle bag. He waved at the mare at the counter and trotted towards the back. That seemed to be where they had the graphic novels and manga. As he trotted back he passed a purple dragon. “Hey Spike.” “Hey John” John paused. “Spike!” John whirled around. “John!” Spike yelped, dropping the comic he’d been reading. “Alastor.” Alastor said, striding up. Both smol entities blinked at the tall deer. “What happened?” Spike asked, after returning to look at the bug. Lorraine plodded up and the purple dragon gasped and hugged her leg. “You’re alive!” “Hi.” Lorraine said awkwardly. “What happened?” Spike asked, looking up at her. “The girls brought Gilda and me with them ‘cause they’re gonna go see AJ. I couldn’t really come on my own after Twilight left with you. That, and the trainstation won’t sell me a ticket. Is everything okay?” “Ish?” John spoke up. “Well, in short, I need to change species.” Lorraine said weakly. “I’ll fill you in more later.” “What?” Spike blinked. “Okay.” “Oh there you three are.” Gilda’s half-annoyed grunt spoke up behind John. John craned his head up. “Hey G.” “Bug.” Gilda nodded then looked at Lorraine. “Fuck, you look like shit.” “Gilda, that’s rude!” Spike gasped. “But it’s true though.” Gilda gestured a talon at the noodle dragon. “And she’s not wrong.” Lorraine said with a shrug. “Well, now we’ve found you, we can follow you back to the castle, unless you have other plans.” Gilda raised a brow. “Check out here, then another book store, then probably a little browsing?” John shrugged. “That sounds right.” Alastor nodded. “Lemme just go grab the comics I wanted to get, then we can find some place to take a break.” Lorraine said. “I need to sit down for a bit.” “Go do that.” John nodded. “Lemme help.” Spike offered, as the pair went off to comic hunt. The group, now up to five, found themselves at a small cafe. There was a slight cool breeze, but nothing that was too bothersome. They sat at a small metal table, and while having a bit of a snack and some drinks, the two new arrivals got filled in on the past day. “Shit. Aren’t you dealing with enough already?” Gilda asked bluntly. “Well, yeah, I was just going to put up with it. I didn’t think I had any other options, now I do.” Lorraine said with a shrug. “But- Wait. Isn’t Shadowmancy like evil?” Spike asked. “No, though many people believe it is.” Alastor spoke up. “And this is coming from an adept Shadowmancer.” “Also coming from a demon, but context would still be appreciated.” John added. “Of course.” Alastor nodded, seemingly not caring about John’s small jab. “Let us see, for the laymen of the group.” He paused a moment. “If Elemental Magic is based around focus and control, and Light Magic is based around belief and conviction, Shadow is based around understanding and self-reflection. Shadowmancy has always been a more cerebral art. The darkness can act as a mirror of sorts. Most do not like what they see reflected in said mirror. This normally causes people to go mad. All the dark sorcerers you read about, more than likely were driven mad by their dark reflection. Or in worse cases, the Reflection taking the place of the conscious mind.” Alastor paused to drink more tea. “Is Shadowmancy dangerous, absolutely, especially if one goes into it expecting it will function like magic they are already used to. However, if you understand what this magic entails, then you will be perfectly fine, so long as you accept your Reflection.” “Why am I equating Shadowmancy to like, martial arts or something. Not the fighting but, but the, use it as a form of meditation kind.” John spoke up. “Where do you believe many martial arts came from?” Alastor asked, raising a brow at the bug. “Point.” John pointed a hoof at him. “Thoughts, dear Lorraine?” Alastor asked, looking at the noodle dragon. “Sounds like something I’m already familiar with.” Lorraine said with a shrug. “Then you should have little problem.” Alastor chuckled. “Darling, look here! Here’s that wonderful noodle dragon that’s doing all the wonderful things for the stallions.” An overly excited stallion’s voice spoke up. That caught everyone’s attention and they looked around to see a white unicorn stallion, with a blue mane, tail, and moustache (also wearing a nice pressed suit coat and monocle) trotting swiftly toward their table. Trailing him was a thin, elegant white unicorn mare with a styled pink mane. “Goodness.” He said, stopping next to Lorraine. “You must be the luck dragon that all the papers are writing about. You’ve been doing quite the work for stallions my lady, and I can say that that is quite the noble endeavor.” “What?” Lorraine said, blinking at the stallion. “Well yes, most of said papers are tabloid trash, but still! You defend those wonderful stallions, err, buck and…” He looked at John. “I dunno what a male bug is called. Call me John.” John shrugged, only to yelp as the stallion vigorously shook the smol bugs extended hoof. “Yes! John, quite the unique name I must say, my good bug.” The stallion nodded. “Oh and where are my manners! I am Fancy Pants, of the Canterlot Treasury, this is my wife Fluer de Lis.” He gestured at the mare beside him. “A pleasure.” Fluer nodded. The mare’s voice bore a hint of a French accent, at least from what John could catch. “Miss Lorraine, surely it must be difficult being out in the open like this.” “How so?” John asked, blinking at the mare in confusion. “Well she is so exposed, and luck dragons are so rare.” Fluer said. “Surely you must have guards.” “Yo.” Gilda raised a talon, as the sound of static temporarily filled the air. “My friends do the job just fine.” Lorraine replied. “Oh I can see that.” Fancy replied, unconcerned by the threat of Alastor. “Of course the Radio Buck himself makes an excellent guard.” Fluer commented, batting her eyelashes at the buck. “My dear, I was sent here to look after our newest arrivals.” Alastor said with a slightly strained grin towards the mare. “Sure.” Lorraine rolled her eyes. “Are you in Canterlot for long?” Fluer asked. “Just another few days.” John replied. “We’re gonna head back on Thursday. Give Lorraine a day to recover depending on how the interview on Wednesday goes.” “Oh how delightful.” Fancy said with a happy smile. “How would you like having dinner with my wife and I? Not tonight, I’m sure you have plans, but tomorrow night perhaps?” “We have no plans, but Monday night dinner at a Noble’s House sounds good.” John said with a nod. “It simply seemed rude to demand that you come the day of.” Fancy chuckled. Fluer quickly spoke up. “So, Lorraine, have you seen all the popular sites around Canterlot? Such as the Canterlot Botanical Gardens, or the Museum of Equestrian History, or Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns? Perhaps even the Magical Conservation Committee Headquarters?” “Ummm, no?” Lorraine replied. “Not really.” “Only other place we were planning on going was a bookstore.” Spike spoke up. “Well, we shan’t keep you from it.” Fancy said, taking a step back. “Terribly sorry for so rudely interrupting your meal.” “We will have our invitation sent out the moment we get home.” Fluer said with a smile. “I will make sure the castle receives it. Oh, and I do hope you decide to visit the Headquarters. They have many services to offer someone such as yourself.” “Uh, thanks?” Lorraine said as the pair left. “Well, they were certainly pleasant.” John said awkwardly. “And suddenly, nobleponies.” Gilda snorted. “Mmmm, I wonder,” Alastor spoke up, “did the tabloids get Lorraine’s name? We never gave it.” “Knowing how tabloids work. I wouldn’t be surprised.” Spike shrugged. “I lived in Canterlot for years, some companies are like vultures.” “Hey, that’s an insult to vultures.” Gilda pointed a talon at him. That got a few snorts from around the table. “How are you doing, love? Rested up enough?” John asked the noodle dragon. “I’ll finish eating, then we’ll head out.” Lorraine nodded. “Take your time.” Alastor waved a dismissive hoof. That evening, their small suite had gained a couple new residents. However, Lorraine left the group to rest in their own way. She’d found a guard and asked a simple question. “Where’s Luna?” Thus the noodle dragon stood outside of Luna’s chambers. Tentatively, the dragon knocked. “Tia, I do not want to talk anymore. Just leave me be.” Came a disgruntled reply from the other side of the door. “Uh, It’s Lorraine.” Lorraine said awkwardly. There was a moment of silence. Then there was the sound of hooves. The door opened and a cranky looking, small blue alicorn scowled at the noodle dragon. “What do you want?” “Well, I wanted to talk?” Lorraine asked. Luna poked her head back into the room. “Not in here.” Luna stepped out and shut the door. “You can say whatever you want while we trot.” Lorraine nodded and followed the alicorn as they trotted down the hallway. “I take it you are still going to go through with the transformation then?” Luna asked, not looking at her. “Why shouldn’t I?” Lorraine asked in response. “You were given this for some purpose and you’re just going to throw it away.” Luna snorted. “And now you’re going to work with The Nightmare, don’t come crying to me when you screw something up and she possesses you to fix it.” There was a moment of silence only broken by the clop of hooves and click of claws on stone. Luna paused in her trotting. “I tried everything. I really did. I even tried to teach you like I would teach a foal, but you couldn’t wrap your head around magic.” “And I told you, I can’t imagine using my magic against anything.” Lorraine replied. Luna’s jaw clenched. “You won’t be able to tame the Shadow. You can’t even wield the Light.” “Well wanna test that?” Lorraine said, a little testily. “Since you’re such an expert and all, walk me through it.” “...” Luna opened her mouth, closed it, then returned to walking. “Fine.” The pair walked out to the castle gardens. The moon, for once a crescent and not a full moon, shone down on the pair. “Huh, I didn’t think you guys had the lunar cycle.” Lorraine commented. “Pfft.” Luna snorted. “Why wouldn’t you want to see my moon every night?” “Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t several creatures rely on the phases of the moon, not to mention the tides?” Lorraine frowned a little. “I thought you wanted to prove me wrong.” Luna countered, glaring at the luck dragon. “And I just wanted to try being your friend again.” Lorraine replied. Luna huffed and looked away for a moment. “I may not have my full power, but I can still draw out a reflection.” Her chest puffed out as she smirked at Lorraine. “You must conquer this, only then will you be worthy of the Shadow.” “Okay.” Lorraine nodded. Lorraine sat on her haunches across from the alicorn doing the same. Luna’s horn lit a light blue. The luck dragon was swiftly engulfed in that same blue glow. Luna’s face twisted into a look of concentration. Her horn lit brighter. The glow increased around Lorraine’s head. There was a flash. When the stars were blinked out of her eyes. Lorraine saw that Luna looked somewhere between shocked and pissed. “That should have worked.” Luna snorted. “I cast the spell and the first thing you see on getting your vision back is your Reflection. But it’s. Not. Here.” She growled a little. “That shouldn’t be possible. Unless- No.” She shook her head. Luna’s horn lit again. An amorphous, dark blue mass emerged from Lorraine’s chest. It quietly just floated between the two. It was like a dark blue cloud of smoke. Luna blinked, looked at the smoke, then looked at Lorraine. “Oooo, pretty. What is it?” Lorraine asked. “A. Tamed. Shadow.” Luna said through grit teeth. She seemed to rally herself. “It means nothing, it hasn’t manifested as anything.” “So how do I do that?” Lorraine asked. “Well, I am not the Guardian of Shadows anymore. I am not at liberty to tell you.” Luna replied as her horn died and the blue mass disappeared back into the noodle dragon. “Okay. I’ll ask Alastor, maybe he knows.” Lorraine said with a shrug. Luna scowled at her. “Fine. Go to him then.” She snorted and glared. “I made the Shadow bend to my will. I refused to sit back and let things happen. No matter what I did, I was never recognized for it.” “So what did you do?” Lorraine asked. “I showed them.” Luna looked up at the moon. “They refused to see my works, so I forced them to see them.” “No, before then.” Lorraine shook her head. “Ugh.” Luna snorted in disgust. “I raised the moon night after night. I wove the stars into beautiful tapestries. I made new constellations. Of course, I wasn’t allowed. So what if sailors needed my stars to see?” Luna growled. “Thus I requested that I be moved to the Dream Realm. If I wasn't allowed to craft the skies, then surely the Dream had more freedom. There I fought Night Terrors, the beasts that prey on pony's dream. No one cared about that, so I moved on to helping ponies with their fears. The Nightmare said that I should be helping all mortal races, but why should I care for non-ponies? I am a God of ponies first and foremost, shouldn't I be treated as such?" Luna paused and huffed at Lorraine's confused look. "My sister and I took ponidom under our wings to save them during the Dark Age. We became ponykind's new Gods. Even so, ponykind favored my sister." She shook her head. "I did so much, while ruling Equestria. And what happens? Everypony praises my sister for Equestria’s success.” She returned to glaring at Lorraine. “I had power and I wasn’t recognized. Worse, I was shackled by laws that shouldn’t concern one such as I. What hope do you have of doing any better?” “But don't you have a duty of care? What about the movement?” Lorraine blinked. “Oh, that can still continue. Don’t expect it to get much further when the luck dragon is no longer it’s face.” Luna snorted again. “Would you believe that I thought of it? I convinced Celestia that it was a good idea. She couldn’t see the source of the problem. Then you two came along. An outside perspective is exactly what was needed. She didn’t believe me until we got back from talking with you and your coltfriend. Even better, you are a luck dragon. The sway you could have...” “Did… Did you not see me explode?” Lorraine replied. That got Luna to quiet. She looked at the ground. She looked torn. “Well this certainly seems like a lively conversation.” Alastor spoke up from a few feet away. Luna jumped. “How- How long-” “Oh, ever since you tugged out our cute noodles unmanifested Shadow.” Alastor said with a grin. “Congrats my dear, somehow you tamed your Reflection.” “I have no idea how, but, cool?” Lorraine smiled at the buck somewhat shyly. ‘Oh thank God.’ ‘You’re welcome, my daughter.’ Lorraine blinked. ‘Wasn’t referring to you, but okay. Hi Solaire.’ ‘You have more restraint than most, many beings would have… Hmmm smote her with the fire of a thousand suns.’ ‘But I don’t want to hurt anyone.’ Lorraine replied. She glanced over at the alicorn and deer. Luna was being pissy while Alastor just had this smug grin on his face. ‘Ah, were you able, you would wield my fire well. But, I must admit, you take to the shadows my fire casts just as easily.’ ‘Thanks. So does this telepathy thing work with all the Gods or just you?’ Lorraine asked. ‘Or is this more a prayer thing?’ ‘Oh, all the Gods may communicate as such. However I have always been the most… Chatty? I believe that is the correct term. Most Gods do not appreciate when I speak to their followers. Though all I offer is words of encouragement. And, I believe you may want to pull your buck away from Luna before they get violent. Just because I approve of violence when necessary, does not mean it should be sought out.’ Lorraine nodded, then blinked. “I was a Demi-God millennia before your ancestors took the first steps out of Mem’s waters!” Luna snapped at the buck. “And your point is?” Alastor raised a brow. Luna put her hooves to her face and groaned loudly. “Ah,” Alastor looked at Lorraine. “Done? Wonderful, let’s get you back to some friendlier faces.”  “We are not-” Luna got cut off. “What are you guys even arguing about?” Lorraine asked as the buck trotted over to her. “I haven’t the foggiest.” Alastor shrugged. “I was simply critiquing Luna’s Shadowmancy technique.” Luna looked about ready to explode. Before she could, shadows briefly covered Lorraine’s vision. She felt a momentary coolness, then the shadows receded and they were standing in the common room. Spike was reading comics. Gilda was reading a book. John was intensely staring at the figures he’d set up and occasionally moving one the barest of centimeters. “I have retrieved the noodle.” Alastor announced. “Yay.” Came the tired reply entirely in unison. Lorraine blinked, trying to process the teleportation. She looked at the buck. “Warn me next time.” As Alastor led Lorraine over to the couch so she could sit down, he chuckled. “No promises. Now, you have yet to reveal what you got at the quaint little toy shop.”