//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Settling In // Story: To Equestria And Beyond (Rewrite In Progress) // by NightFurySpeedey8156 //------------------------------// Night Fury was racing through Canterlot, keeping pace with Luna. All the while he zigzagged through crowds of shocked ponies, his voice getting louder and softer as he got closer and farther away. "Ugh, if there weren't so many ponies walking around, I could be making better time. But, I'm glued to the ground… you're so lucky you can fly." Luna returned a soft smile and a blush, knowing that he was complimenting her. "Well, Thank you. But… Why should you be jealous, can’t you change your form? I know I read that in an old book somewhere…" "Maybe…? My species can turn into whatever we want, I never learned how..." Night Fury’s voice was more coherent, the crowds having thinned out the further away they got from the castle. "Well, that's a shame. Hopefully your parents can teach you soon." As soon as the words hit Night Fury's ears, all of his excess thoughts were washed away and were replaced with sorrow and sadness. He knew that he would have to say something about his parents sooner or later, but now was not the time. "Yeah, hopefully they will... If I can find them that is. “ "What was that?" "Oh, err nothing, just thinking out loud.” “BAKERY!" Night Fury snapped out of his thoughts as Luna spoke, finally seeing the bakery in front of them. He hadn’t realized how close they were to hitting it, having been going so fast and everything passing by being a blur. He gasped at the sudden realization and tried to stop, but his paws kept slipping on the smooth stone roads until finally… *WHAM* … the sound was quick and loud, And Night Fury could feel the building shake from the impact.. Luna landed quickly next to the feline who had now fallen out of the crevasse in the wall and was seeing stars, laying on his back looking up at her. "Fury?… Fuurrrry, you ok?" Night Fury didn't answer right away; His head was still spinning and his thoughts were more scrambled than eggs in a blender. He tried to focus up on who was talking to him, but he was seeing double and could barely form words. His embarrassment and her apparent beauty wasn’t helping either. "Owww, that hurt… really bad." “At least it wasn’t a window.” "You're right. Better banged up than cut up." Though, at that point Fury was feeling a little cut up about his chances with a certain princess. After letting his head soothe and dusting himself off, they entered the bakery. An orange pony with straw-yellow hair, apparently the baker, greeted them. "Your highness, the cake is right over there. Vanilla frosting with strawberries and strawberry filling." Fury had to keep his mouth from watering at the sight of it, but Luna seemed unmoved. “Thank you Applejack, we appreciate your work on this important occasion.” “My pleasure, your highness.” Applejack turned to Fury. “And who’s this?” "Applejack, this is Night Fury. He has traveled from far away to participate in the wedding." “Well, ya don’t say. Spike, Twilight, we got a foreign dignitary here!” Applejack called out, getting the attention of a green-and-purple dragon and a lavender unicorn.. Night Fury immediately felt uncomfortable being given such a lofty title in introduction. “I wouldn’t… exactly… call myself that. More of a temporary ambassador for my kind since… I’m the only one anyone knows of.” The unicorn’s eyes seemed to light up at that. “A new species?” "You could say that, yes." "OhmygoshIhavesomanyquestion-" Luna interrupted Twilight’s string of words with a hoof over her mouth. “Oh, look at the time! Excuse me, but this cake has to get to the castle right away.” They rolled the Cake-cart out of the bakery before the purple unicorn could keep talking, Night Fury following the lunar princess' lead, confused as to why she stopped Twilight from asking her questions. "Why did you interrupt her? She was going to ask me something." “She was going to ask you many things, and we simply don’t have the time right now.” "Oooohh, I get it. She's one of those cooped up in a library studying and doesn't have many friends types, isn't she?" Luna gave him an odd look. “You are both very right and very wrong.” By the time Fury thought to ask what she meant, he had to concentrate on making sure the cake didn’t hit any pedestrians, although he had something else on his mind. After returning to the castle, They rolled the cake into the ballroom and found Cadence and Celestia. “Perfect, you got the cake here just in time. But I have just one question, did either of you take a bite of the cake on the way here?” Cadence said, eyeballing the cake and the ones who delivered it. "No we didn't. Unlike my sister, we can actually control our cravings, though little Fury did get close.” Night Fury stood there scratching the back of his neck with his cheeks blushing a bright red. He hadn’t realized how much he wore his heart- or in this case his stomach- on his sleeve. Cadence chuckled as she walked up to the cake and inspected it, then looked at Night Fury. “It looks like it’s all here, so no harm done.” Cadence said with a soft smile, Night fury returned the gesture and nodded agreeably. “Well, I think it is well beyond my time to retire to my bed chambers, all this work has made me tired. Good day everyone." As she walked away, She levitated a banana from a nearby fruit bowl. Fury wasn’t sure whether it was wax or not. Luna proceeded to peel the banana and, without any prior warning, ate the peel and dropped the actual banana to the floor. “Um, did she just…" "Don't question it, that only happens when she's tired." Night Fury’s stomach grumbled. “Oh, uh, is anyone else gonna finish that?” He nodded to the stripped banana still on the tile. "I… don't think I would advise you to eat off the floor," Cadence warned. “Oh, please. I bet you keep the palace floors as clean as a whistle.” Before any further argument could be made, he scooped it up in his paws, tossed it up, and swallowed it whole. Cadence and Princess Celestia shared a glance of concern as he swallowed. The palace floors were probably not as clean as he thought they were. Night Fury gave the two a small grin, knowing how disgusting that probably looked. Secretly, he was just happy to have shared a meal, technically, with princess Luna. “Yeah, not my best moment but when you're hungry, you're hungry." “Sure, do what you need to,” Cadence answered sheepishly. Celestia decided it was time to take charge. “Well, with that out of the way… maybe we should have a proper meal together and get to know each other." Night Fury’s face lit up. “Oh, wow, That’d be even better!” "Yeah, I could eat," Cadence added. "Then it's settled, follow me and we will have a proper meal, unlike whatever… that was… no offense." Celestia replied with a sheepish grin, uncomfortable with what just happened. "None taken. I'm not proud of it either," Night Fury said smiling with a blush as he followed the royals to the dining hall. The two royals and the ambassador soon reached the dining hall and walked inside. Night Fury felt small compared to everything. The glass windows, the columns holding the roof up, and even the table he was seated at were enormous compared to what felt like his tiny kitty body. "So, what do you two want?" Celestia inquired, wanting to know what was required to suit the ambassador's hunger. "I… don't know, let me think…. You know what, I really don't know what I want." "Don't worry, I have a solution." Celestia responded as she grabbed a bell in her magic and shook it once, letting it ring as the servers walked in. Three servers that looked almost as regal as Celestia herself walked in and placed their dishes in front of them. Celestia got the first serving of food, that being a salad and a glass of water, very minimalistic in any sort of calorie count. Cadence on the other hoof was the complete opposite, having gotten two hay burgers, a stack of hay fries and a soda, filling her guilty pleasure of eating greasy food. Night Fury got the last serving; a fried fish with shrimp and a lemonade, hot and ready for him on a silver platter. "Wow, this is just what I wanted. How did you know?" Night Fury asked, "Let's just say, I have a thing for knowing what somepony wants." Night Fury raised a paw at this, but his tummy got in the way of his thoughts. Without another word, he grabbed the fork that was placed to his right and poked into the shrimp, lifting it to his nose to take a sniff. He took a whiff of the shrimp, his face instantly lighting up as the smell was amazing. He took a bite and chewed on the shrimp, taking a moment to savor the salty, savory crunch of the skin and the firm but chewy meat on the inside. He gave a moan of satisfaction as he swallowed the first bite and couldn't believe how good it tasted. "Mmmmmwow, this is better than any fish I've ever tasted! But I have to ask though, how do you have meat in a-" "-Mostly plant eating society? We get asked that a lot. " Cadence said "Yes, well, having met with griffin ambassadors to decide on how to deal with the differences in diet and how to accommodate for their visits, we unanimously came to the decision of a trade deal. We receive meat and seafood fresh caught by the griffins in Griffin Stone, while they receive supplies and support from the Equestrian military in case of an invasion. Of course, there were some objections from the Canterlot elites, having felt uncomfortable with such 'disgusting foods' being imported from elsewhere, but with no other places to get such accommodations, we settled on the deal." Celestia added, explaining the past to Night Fury as they continued eating. "Huh, I never looked at it that way. But whatever works, works." "Yep, and we don't complain about it," Cadence added, taking a very un-princess-like bite out of the hay burger she was eating and swallowing it before looking at the other two with a ketchup stained muzzle. Night Fury gave a small snicker as he swallowed the piece of fish in his mouth and washed it down with some lemonade before speaking. "Um… Cadence you've got a little something… there," Night Fury said, gesturing towards Cadence's now red muzzle. "Oh, I didn't notice that. Thanks," Cadence added, taking notice of how sloppy she looked. She lit up her horn and proceeded to not grab a napkin, but the half eaten hay burger, rub the ketchup onto the burger from off of her muzzle, and eat the entire burger without any sense of using proper table manners. Night Fury shot an amused glance to the solar princess beside him. He got a smile and shrug in return as they finished eating, let the servants carry away their dishes, and started to walk the halls. “Wow, I have never felt so small just walking down a hall before," Night Fury said, taking in how big everything was compared to him. "You’re not the only one. I've walked these halls for years, and I still can't get used to the fact that everything is so huge," Cadence said, looking around at the stained glass windows that towered over them. Night Fury had never seen such beautiful imagery all in one place. They turned a corner into a hallway that had clear, unstained windows that allowed Night Fury to see the outside world. He slowed down to a stop, turning to the window and waking up to it, taking in the bird's eye view that he got of Canterlot in the setting sun. The two princesses noticed that the feline was no longer following them and stopped walking, looking back to see him looking out the window and taking in the sights of the city below. "Wow, I have never seen something so beautiful. The city lights, the setting sun, and the transition into night time." Night Fury said, a hint of bliss in his voice as he looked on at the city below. "I never knew you were so into the night. Then again, your name is Night Fury, so that probably should have been a dead giveaway," Cadence added. Night Fury chuckled, not taking his eyes off the horizon. "Yeah, I really do like the darkness. Being able to move around under the cover of night without being seen, letting out my wild side, and just… being able to be myself are some of the things l like about the night. But my favorite thing about it is when there's a storm rolling over." Night Fury answered, smiling at all his childhood memories. Cadence gave him an odd look, not expecting him to like the loud, bright, and potentially dangerous nature of a storm. "Really, I wouldn't have guessed that you would like having a storm pass over at night. How come you're so excited by them?" Cadence inquired "Well, when I was little and learning how to control my speed, my dad took me out at night, during a storm to help me gain control of my powers. He always told me that 'If you have a reason to start running, it will all come to you naturally.' I never understood what he meant, until that very night. We started running as the storm blew over, rain pounding on the canopy above us as we ran, not holding anything back. We were at a good pace for a while, until I started getting tired," Night Fury said recounting his memory as he pictured that rainy night. By now, Cadence and Celestia had sat down with him to listen to his past, intrigued as to how he got his power. "I wanted to keep going, but I just couldn't keep going. My dad called to me to keep up with him, but I was losing it, and fast. That is until a lightning strike touched down a couple of feet away from me, rattling me to the core with how bright and loud it was. As my mind started to panic and I started to get scared… something happened, something that would change me forever." He continued, Cadence was wide eyed as he went on with his story, the drama reeling her in as the stakes got higher, even Princess Celestia was leaning in some to get a better ear in on the story. "I started glowing red, electric bolts rolling over me like a lightning rod, getting brighter and brighter until… BOOM!" The two princesses jumped back at the sudden outburst, not expecting the loud noise. As soon as they recovered from the shock of the drama, they leaned back in, only for Night Fury to not continue speaking. "Well, what happened next?" Cadence asked "Oh I don't know, maybe I should just leave it there. Seems to be getting late anyway." Night Fury replied, hiding a sly smile behind a paw. Cadence scrunched up her face and pouted, he didn't even get to the good part. "Oh come on, it was just getting good!" Cadence whined, Night Fury took another look at Cadence's expression and smiled, this time openly. Cadence's eyes widened in surprise as she realized that he was just joking and that he didn't mean anything he said. "Ohhhh, you were just messing around, weren't you?" She said with a cheeky tone "Yep, I wouldn't leave you hanging. I've never been a 'to be continued' type cat anyway." Night Fury chuckled, Cadence and Celestia both doing much the same as they settled in for the rest of the story. "Now as I was saying, My powers just burst out of me. I started flying down the muddy path at breakneck speeds, nothing holding me back as I ran faster and faster. Thunder boomed above me, rain pounding the canopy as I dodged obstacle after obstacle with ease, I had never felt so alive…" Night Fury said in a dramatic tone, both princesses were amazed by his storytelling, feeling as if they were right next to him in that exact moment. Night Fury continued. "...I soon reached the end of the path, stopping right at the front door to my house. My dad wasn't too far behind as he stepped up next to me, he gave me a smile and told me 'That was amazing son, you're a natural'. I was so excited to have finally gotten the hang of my speed, and after that I continued perfecting it, learning new tricks from my ancestors, and the rest is history." Night Fury finished, Cadence clapped her hooves together, fully enlightened and entertained by the drama of Night Fury's acquisition of his ability. Celestia only smiled at the end of the story, holding up her regal mask for the sake of any prying eyes wishing to sneak a glance at her without it. "Bravo, Bravo!" Cadence cheered, elated with the feline's performance. "Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all night." Night Fury replied jokingly, laughing gleefully along with Cadence at the joke. The laughter soon died down, Night Fury speaking up about the situation. "You know, when I got my invitation to this wedding, I would have never expected that making friends would be this easy. I was always a loner, only having my parents to talk to since I was an only child. But now that I have gotten the chance to do it myself, I realize what I've been missing out on in life." Fury said, Celestia put a hoof on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes, a motherly look that Fury had never seen before. "I'm glad that you see it that way. I believe it is time we all retire for the night, shall we?" The solar princess inquired, Night Fury and Cadence both nodded in agreement as they followed Celestia to where they would be sleeping. As they walked, Night Fury thought to himself… "Could this be the start of a new life?" "Could I stay in Equestria and actually prosper?" "Could I be the first of my kind to make a name for myself in Equestrian history?" …As he continued to walk with the two royals to his chambers. All of these questions went unanswered though as the trio soon arrived at his room and he got settled in for the night, letting himself drift off to sleep and all of his thoughts fade away until tomorrow. As tomorrow would be another day, a brand new day in what he could only assume, was his new life in Equestria.