//------------------------------//
// Stage Fourteen: Icy Breath 
// Story: Alternative Reality 
// by Crystal Night 
//------------------------------//

"Are dragon attacks that rare? I thought that would be common in such a place. Magic and all that." - wondered the jackal.
They had finished dinner moments ago, while Celestia took her turn to rest, it was Luna's time to resume her duty.
"It was...centuries ago."

"Oh."

"Anyways, we can go there later, after I get some sleep of course."

"So, this Crystal Empire is exactly what the name suggests?"

"Yep." She looked at him. "You don't look impressed."
Infinite simply shrugged.
"Back on Mobius, we have a place called Lava Reef, it's a nice little place filled with old temple ruins, if you don't fall in the lava which is pretty much everywhere."

"That seems like a very dangerous place."

"True but it contains good loot."
They reached his room and stood there, none dared to say anything.
Luna was the first to break the silence.
"Thanks for today, I had fun and it was different from my usual days."
He tilted his head.
"How are your usual days?"

"Staying in my room..."

"Let me guess, reading comics, right?" The princess looked away, trying to hide a nervous smile. "Wait! Is that actually true?"

"Do.Not.Tell.Anyone!"
The jackal just stared at Luna, trying his hardest to stop the laughter waiting to be released. Unfortunately for him it was too much.
"Hahahahah."
Luna crossed her forelegs with a annoyed expression on her muzzle.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."
Infinite wiped a tear from his eyes.
"You have to admit it's rather funny when you think about it. A princess of the moon, with magic far superior than anyone else, can literally move the moon, not to mention very capable in combat, likes reading comics in her spare time."

Luna thought about it. Well he wasn't wrong, it was a bit funny all things considered. 
"I guess when you say it that way, it makes sense." - she smiled. "Who knew you had a sense of humor."

"My sense of humor is great, even if it's a bit dark at times."

"Well, make sure to get some proper rest."
Infinite nodded.
"Good night Luna."

"Good night Zero."





"Do we really have to do this?" - asked Infinite. "Flying is much easier."

"That may be true, but the Crystal Empire is much further way than Ponyvile. I don't want to spend the whole day flying either."
The duo made their way to the train station through Canterlot's streets. Of course that wasn't the issue. No, the issue was the masked jackal walking alongside their lunar princess. The staff and guards at the castle got a bit used to seeing them together, but no one else from outside knew about this.
"I swear if they don't stop looking at me like that, I'll throw them into Null space."

"Do that, I'll send you into the moon."
Upon their arrival, Luna told him to follow her into their private train section.
"This is very fancy." - he said gazing around.
"A bit too fancy for my taste, but it has its uses." They sat down and Luna looked at him. "You can remove that now."

Infinite took off his mask and placed it by his side. He glanced out the window, watching the ponies going back and forward.
"Why do you still use that?"

At first the silence was the only reply, until he finally spoke.
"Because I have to."





During their way to the Crystal Empire, Luna managed to fall asleep, however the jackal was still wide awake, gazing at the sleeping princess.
He let out a smirk, she definitely had a certain beauty, even when sleeping like this.
Infinite grabbed a blanket and draped over her. Luna smiled, as he went back to his seat.
He took the mask into his hands and just stared at it. Did he really needed the mask? Why did he needed it? He knew why, but...
The landscape suddenly changed, the green giving its way into the snowy white.
That probably meant they weren't too far from their destination. He just hoped nothing would happen, specially if those dragons were indeed flying around.
Infinite kept staring out the window for minutes, simply gazing at the snow. It was nothing to him, he had seen it before, but in here it looked different. Perhaps his eyes were just playing tricks on him.
A loud yawn caught his attention as Luna slowly rose up, stretching herself.
"Slept well?"
The princess blushed.
"Y-Yeah." The jackal just giggled.

"We shouldn't be too far now."

"By the way, can I ask you a favor?"
Infinite shrugged.
"Sure, what is it?"

"You think you can behave yourself while we are there? Princess Cadance is gentle and understanding, however Prince Armor might be a bit...how do I say this? Difficult to trust in others due to certain things."

"You basically don't want me to cause any drama right?" Luna nodded. "I suppose that's easy, but I will use my mask."

"If that makes you more comfortable, then sure."





"This is quite odd..." 

"What do you mean?" - she inquired.
He moved his hands around.
"All of this. No one is simply staring at me." The pair was walking towards the castle, passing by several crystal ponies and other creatures as well. Luna noticed what he was implying.

"Oh that, maybe it's because the Crystal Empire it's a bit more acceptable of other species. The citizens of Canterlot are still struggling with that part."

"Yeah, I could see that." At least it felt nice not being watched by every angle.
As they approached the castle, the guards bowed their heads.
"Princess Luna, what a pleasant surprise, how may we serve you?" - asked the guard, who seemed very young and full of energy.
"We are here to speak with Princess Cadance and Prince Armor, it's about the dragon attacks."

"Of course, your Majesty, please come inside, they should be in the throne room." They lit up their horns and opened the doors.
The jackal chased after Luna, being amazed by how the castle looked on the inside. The outside was impressive as well, not mention how tall it was. He knocked on the walls. It really was made out of crystal.
There's one question that demanded an answer. 
"Luna?" She looked at him. "What's the deal about the castles having so many hallways? And this one has a lot of stairs too!"
The blue alicorn laughed.
"To be honest, I have no idea."

They arrived at the throne room where Cadance and Shining waited for them.
"Aunt Luna it's so great to see you again." The pink princess gave her a hug, however she felt something.
"Aunt?" - inquired the jackal.

"I'll explain later. Infinite, this is Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, everyone this is Infinite, he's from a different world and he's helping us with a odd issue." He simply waved in a very awkward way while Cadance seemed very interested and Shining had a doubtful look in his eyes. "In your letter you said dragons attacked?"

The princess sighed. "It came out of nowhere. All of the sudden they showed up and attacked us, we managed to push them back but I'm afraid they will return."

Shining stepped forward. "We increased the number of guards and send out some scouts, unfortunately those blizards make it a bit difficult to follow their tracks."

"Do you know the reason for this?" The couple looked at him and shook their heads. If histories were true, dragons liked gold and other gems, a lot. This place was literally made out of crystals, but if they never attacked before, why would they do it now?
Luna noticed he was deep in his thoughts, even though he still wore that mask it was becoming easier to read his expressions.
"Your Majesties!" - a guard yelled as he quickly bowed. "The dragons! They are back!"
The group gazed out the window, seeing a large group of dragons heading their way.
The white stallion placed his helmet as he left the throne room. "Stay here. The rest come with me!"
Luna also followed him as Infinite and Cadance stayed behind. They watched at they made their way to meet the dragons head-on. "Usually the empire is protected by the crystal heart, but somehow they can get past it." - the princess informed him.

"So it's useless?"

"Against them? Pretty much yes, we took some casualties last time."
Infinite's eyes locked onto the night monarch. I can't let her get hurt. I need her. Cadance looked at him. The jackal was about to leave when Cadance called him.
"What are you going to help?" He nodded as the princess followed him. "I'll be coming too. I don't want my subjects to get caught in this." That part was true, but she wanted to make sure of something else.
The pair quickly flew above the houses and landed next to them. Shining was about to protest, but a stern look from his wife shut him up.
"What's the plan?" Infinite stretched his arms and legs.

The old captain was quick to reply. "Send them back. What?" Infinite shook his head.

"Get everyone to safety and stay back. I'll handle this myself." A strange red aura surrounded his body as he took off.

"Be careful Infinite!" - shouted Luna. He looked back at her as he nodded his head. Meanwhile Cadance gazed at each other and smiled.

There's one thing I've been meaning to try out. Infinite let out a bright flash of red. For a second everyone was blinded but as they gained their eyesight, many were confused and some scared as a large monster was just outside the empire's borders.
"What is that thing?" - asked Shining Armor.

"That thing, is Infinite." - answered Luna with a smile as everyone looked at her.
The large being shook his arms up and down before spinning his body. He pointed one arm at one dragon. "Catch me if you can!" Then he shot the arm, punching him right on his face, sending it crashing down. The other dragons roared at the new threat and chased him.
"He's luring the dragons away." Cadance glanced at the guards. "Keep the ponies safe." They saluted and left them. "You think he can deal with them?"

"I know he can."

Infinite's plan was working. The dragons kept chasing him down and tried their best to strike him. He looked back and noticed they were very far from the empire. The giant punched two more as it laughed. No wonder the doctor likes building Death Egg Robots, they are really good. Instead of the usual red and yellow, or the ones being used very recentely, this one was black, red and white, matching his colours. He didn't do it on purpose but Infinite liked it nonetheless.
The Egg Robot spun his body, hitting several targets which only made them more angry. The dragons then proceeded to use their cold flames. At first it didn't hurt, but that wasn't the problem. 
Infinite tried his right arm, that's when he saw his arm was frozen! He used his jetpack to get some altitude and immediately dropped onto two unlucky dragons as they shattered into pieces. He dodged another volley of cold flames and punched another into the next country.
Unfortunately they still had quite the few numbers on him and the illusion was taking more damage. If this kept going, he would lose the illusion and resort to other tricks. 
That's when a magical beam slammed into a dragon, breaking in half.
Everyone looked at the source who was none other than Princess Luna.
He quickly body blocked a tail before spinning as he delivered a powerful strike. "What are you doing here?" The only eye gazing at her.

"I'm here to help," she then noticed his frozen arm. "and it looks like you need it."

"Fine, but be aware of their flames."
With the combined forces of the metal giant and the lunar princess, the dragons begun to fall one by one. Infinite turn around just in time to extend his arm and pushing Luna away as a pair of teeth sunk into his arm. The robot grumbled in pain as the dragon was punched again and quickly destroyed by a barrage of magical swords.
She saw his arm was fading in and out of existence. "Are you okay?"

"This is nothing. Look at them." The last few dragons got away, heading somewhere. "Let's follow them quickly and end this!" Luna landed on his shoulder. Whatever this thing was, it was indeed very large, maybe the same size of the castle, if not bigger.
They chased the group until they stopped at a nearby a large blue crystal and by the looks of it, they were trying to protect it.
"What do we do now?"

The robot chuckled. "Just sit and wait." His red eye glowed intensely, aiming at the crystal. Infinite then fired the laser directly at it. The dragons tried blocking it but the power of the laser was too much as it broke them apart. A big explosion happened and the blue crystal was sent flying into every direction. He blocked Luna with his arm as some shards hit him. Dragons fell to the ground and shattered, no longer posing a threat.

"I guess that's the end of them."

Luna gazed at the remains, feeling very unsure. "Unfortunately we will never know why they attacked."
The robot merely shrugged.
"I don't care. I don't get paid enought to care."

"You don't get paid at all!" He laughed.





After a brief talk and some dinner time, Cadance offered them a room to stay for the night. Oddly enough she only had one guest room free. After their return, Infinite noticed Cadance was acting a bit strange, but to be fair he didn't know enough about her.
Infinite got inside and sat at the couch unaware a certain princess was at the balcony. "You can take that off now, it's just the two of us. Get over here." He spun his head and suddenly felt his cheeks very warm. The sky was perfectly clear as the moonlight shine brightly on Luna. Again, those eyes, he could get lost in them and never get tired.
Infinite felt his mouth dry and shook his head. "Y-Yeah, sure." He cast the mask aside and sat down next her, gazing down at the empire. It had a perfect glow and beauty to it.
"Does it hurt?" - she asked pointing at his arm.

"Of course not." He flexed but winced in pain.

"Silly, wait here, I'll be right back." Luna left him and a few minutes later she return with a first aid kit. "The illusion didn't work?"

"It's something new I haven't tried yet so I don't really know." Luna gently cleaned the wound, wincing a bit more. Infinite felt his heart beating faster than ever, but he wasn't the only one. Luna was trying her best to hide her blush from him. Her heart haven't felt like this in a very long time. She slowly wrapped a bandage around his arm and as she looked up, their eyes met.
"Inf...Zero, thanks for saving me, I really appreciate it."

He scratched behind his head.
"Just doing my b-best."
Luna then got closer and kissed him on the cheek. She got up and yawned. "We should get some sleep, still got some stuff to check on tomorrow."
Infinite simply stood there, trying to process what happened. Did she really...kissed me?

"The bed is large enough for the two of us, just in case you might want to sleep on it." - suggested Luna.

Once more he shook his head. "I think I'll sleep on the couch if you don't mind."

"No worries, my offers stands though." - she said with a playful wink. That only served to increase his blush. Luna giggled and set her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. "Good night Zero. Sleep well."

"Good night Luna." He watched Luna fell asleep after a few minutes. Those feelings from earlier...they felt stronger. He touched the bandage.

Am I...falling for her?