//------------------------------//
// Dawn of the Sixth Day 
// Story: Equestria: A Flux Tale 
// by Star Sage 
//------------------------------//

The void lifts, and instantly you are awake. No shifting, no moving this morning, just one second asleep, the next with wide eyes. Mind, the next instant they’re shut tight again, as the light streaming in through the large doors aggravates the headache that makes you groan against leaving the calmness of the void.

It takes a few more minutes before you get up, rubbing the side of your head, wondering why you had to go and cry like that last night, breaking down in front of that older version of yourself. It was embarrassing to think about, though you must admit, it did you a world of good. You’re happier now, and running a few glasses of water from the sink and drinking them down greedily, you’re feeling better.

“Hmm, I wonder where everypony is?” you say to yourself as you gather up the clothing you’d tossed onto the floor, and then send it down a chute handily marked, laundry. Once that was sent off, you then select what you’ll wear for the day, which was a pair of short shorts, and a t-shirt. It was pleasant after all, and you really enjoyed the feeling of the wind on your skin here.

The next order of business was decided for you by your stomach, which chose to grumble at the fact that it wasn’t getting fed nearly enough lately. Chuckling and patting the growling beast, you finally walk over to the cabinets that you’d been told about the first day, and begin to rummage through them, looking for things.

Interestingly, there really was variety here. Not that any of it deviated from an herbivore’s diet, but there seemed to be every type of plant and seasoning you could think of within the confines of the kitchen. That included a large flower blossom which you looked at, and then, just as an experiment, tore a tiny piece of a petal off of, and popped into your mouth.

“Mmm,” you say to yourself, glad you had. The flower, a golden, glowing thing, tasted like that broth from the night you’d spent in Celestia’s bedroom, like something fit for a god. Thinking that, you refrain from eating anymore, figuring it was rare enough that it might be worth saving as a snack, while you gather the things needed to make some pancake batter, figuring you wanted something breakfast themed, and that your pancakes would be different from those of the Professor.

It takes several tries to get the stove top in your tiny kitchen working, but after a few times, you cheat and just place your hand on it, imagining it growing hotter, which it does, allowing you to start pouring the batter, a bit thick but still good, into a pan, cooking the flat bread disks until they’re golden brown. It doesn’t occur to you until you’re cleaning up that you probably could have just willed the stuff made too, no stove required, but smelling them, you decide it was worth it.

The next search is for butter and syrup. Unfortunately all you find is the former, in a cold box of sorts in the wall. The other you don’t see anywhere, at least not visibly marked as such. It could of course, be in one of the many jars in the kitchen that are sealed with wrappings over their tops, like old time preservative jars, but you quickly decide not to mess with those, at least not yet, and so resign yourself to just butter.

Soon enough, about an hour after you awaken, you’re sitting at a table, sized for you for once, and eating a meal with silverware you’d found during your rummaging. It was actually kind of nice, to be doing something that felt so normal, and outside, you see only the sky, allowing you for just a moment, to forget where you are, and what difficulties you usually have with this world.

Upon finishing your meal, deciding it wasn’t too bad, even with the lack of syrup, you walk over to a sink, and begin to hand wash the dishes, something you hadn’t done in months thanks to an old washer in your apartment. It continues to build the illusion that everything is just normal, as the plate, pots, and bowls are cleaned off in the sparkling water from the faucet, and then set back inside their cabinets.

Feeling full, you proceed to the balcony, and with a bit of effort, you push them open against the wind, showing you a world just past mid-morning. The sun is growing closer to the center, but is probably before eleven o’clock, meaning you’d slept till about ten, a normal morning for you, and one you could get used to, considering the hours the ponies had been keeping you up of late.

Beyond your little balcony, you could see the huge dais that was Celestia’s, the place where she raised the sun and moon for a thousand years. Of course, at the moment, said balcony was empty, with nary a soul in sight, while below it, a few forms milled in the courtyard of the palace, none of them seeming to look up at you.

“So, what now?” you ask yourself. You don’t recognize any of the ponies below, and figure that they’re going about their duties, tending to things. That seems like it would be annoying to disturb them, asking where the others are, as most probably wouldn’t know. You could ask the Princesses, but Luna was probably asleep, and you got the impression that Celestia held court all day.

Not seeing much point to standing there, you go back inside and look around your apartment, hoping for some sign of what to do next. It had actually been rather nice having your day drawn from one event to the next since you got here, nice enough that now that you have no plan at all its actually rather scary.

Trying to control that line of though, you make your way out of the apartment and into the hall, looking around, and then being startled when a hoof falls right outside your door, one that’s almost pitch black as it rises upward into the air, attached to one of the armored guard ponies that patrolled the palace.

“Hmm,” you say, and will yourself to float upward. Used to it now, you are quickly raised up to about eye level, and start off after the guard, who’s got a large horn sticking out of his head.

“Excuse me, can I ask you something?” you say, coming towards him, and then have to flit backwards as he quickly turns, his horn glowing, and his stance telling you he’s ready for a fight. Interestingly, at least to you, his eyes find you as soon as he turns, and you’re staring into a pair of deep blue orbs flash chill one second, and then instantly thaw, becoming something like a clear day sky.

“Oh, it’s you Little One, how might I assist you?” he asks, rising out of his fighting stance, his horn ceasing to glow. He doesn’t smile, mind, but he does soften from that battle ready war horse you’d been looking at.

“Um…well….I wanted to know if anypony left any instructions for me,” you ask, trying to phrase your thoughts in a way that didn’t sound completely pathetic, considering you were literally asking what you should do today.

“The Princess left instructions for us regarding you, mostly ones involving leaving you alone until you awoke, but nothing specific,” he tells you in an almost gentle way.

“Oh, well, I’m up now. So, what’s next?” you ask again, just doing it directly.

“Heh, confused without some direction in your life?” he asked you, smiling for the first time, and suddenly you have a flash, and snap your fingers while pointing at him.

“You! You were the captain pony in charge of the guards that Big Mac and the Prof…” you trail off at the end, thinking it might not be a good idea to remind the ebony black unicorn about that particular incident, but he just keeps smiling.

“Stopped from making bigger foals of ourselves. I must admit, I wish the Professor was a little more gentle with his lessons on decency, but he’s always got to show off his fun tricks,” he tells you with a chuckle, rubbing at a spot on his neck where you remembered seeing a bruise before. Nothing was showing now, either because it had been healed by magic, or the armor covered it up.

“You know the Professor?” you ask, not having met anypony besides the Princesses who’d known him, and they seemed tight lipped about that subject, one the pony himself refused to discuss.

“I do indeed Little One. I was here when he was still doing experiments in the city, though I was just a brash young colt then. I actually tried to get him thrown out of the Royal City about once a month, and it became a game with us, as I recall,” he told you thoughtfully, leaning himself against one wall in a very laid back fashion.

“Must have been a fun game,” you add, floating over to a nearby table and sitting on the edge.

“You have no idea. You think he’s bad with that size changing spell, you should have seen him when he used a summoning spell on a regular basis. Or worse, the duplication one, I think it took me a full week to catch all the various versions of himself running around Canterlot after one of those had gone wrong,” he told you, and suddenly you have the image in your mind of a thousand of the nutty Professors running around doing things. That was not an encouraging image, and it made you shudder a little.

“Exactly. Anyway, I suppose we should find out where your friends are. I had shoo most of them away when they came by, at the Princess’ orders, something about the two of you having a long night?” he said, smirking out of the corner of his mouth at you, and you don’t know why, but you blush a little.

“Nothing happened, nothing. Just, she wanted to show me something. But yeah, it was a bit of a rough day, and that night was a drain,” you admit as you lift off the table, and the pair of you start walking down the corridor.

“Heh, I didn’t think it would. The Princess isn’t that kind of mare after all. Still, she has taken in interest in you, more so than anypony since Twilight left the palace, so I’m inclined to help you. Of course, both Princesses have asked us to show you all courtesy, so that doesn’t hurt,” he says, leading the way down the corridors of the palace.

The trek is actually a few minutes long, with the pair of you getting lost twice, because, the Captain claims the palace staff enjoys switching landmarks like statues at stuff around, at the insistence of the Princess of course, to make life more interesting. Luckily, it’s not too far from your room to where he wanted, and after a while you find yourself entering an office.

No really, it was an office, like the one you’d been working in. Desk and everything. Behind the desk though, that was different, as there sat a pony, in this case, a lime green mare you’d met the other day, the Lord Chamberlain of the palace, who was talking to herself as she went over what looked to be spending reports.

“Lady Applebee,” said the guard captain as he trotted in, sounding a bit cold, compared to the more friendly tone he’d been using while the two of you had chatted on the way to the office.

“Ah, Captain, just the pony I wanted to see. I had questions about your….incident the other day, and the cost of healing implements you used,” says Applebee as she looks up from her reports. The earthpony mare used a similarly cold tone, and you realize quickly that the two don’t like each other, probably not uncommon among military men and the ones who balanced checkbooks.

“Hmph, you’ll find I was within all regs in regards to that occurrence,” he countered, then holding a hoof towards you as Applebee started to respond. “And before we begin, the Little One has a few questions to ask you.”

You feel put on the spot, as both of the ponies turn towards you, and idly, you consider just flitting away, but a quick glance behind you shows that the door you’d come in was closed, probably weighted to do so to keep the air in the castle out of this room, which felt dry and musty with all the books and scrolls inside it.

“Yes? Was there some matter of bits you’d like to discuss?” she asked.

“Uh, well, no, I just, I wanted to know where everypony is…I mean, not everypony, just my friends, the Element Wielders, Octavia and Vinyl, and the Professor and Deasly. The Captain thought you could help with that,” you say.

“And what do I look like, somepony who keeps tabs on the comings and goings of everypony in the city?” demanded Applebee with a bit of a rough edge to her voice.

“Yes,” was the Captain’s simple response, drawing the eyes of the mare to him as they narrowed. She didn’t do anything though, getting up from where she’d been sitting and moving towards a small bookshelf behind her, drawing one of the tomes off the shelf by hoof, and then returning to her seat.

“Hmm…let’s see, Ms. Sparkle is spending the day with Princess Luna in the library, the pair of them asking not to be disturbed. Ms. Rarity was invited on a day trip with Fancy Pants in his new yacht, and Ms. Rainbow Dash went along, since the off duty Wonderbolts had been invited as wel. Ms. Fluttershy is in the gardens with Hayseed and his team, tending to the animals. The Apple brother and sister went out to ‘see some sights’ in the city, and Ms. Pie is in the kitchen, baking,” she read off.

“Misses Octavia and Scratch retired to their home when they were told you weren’t to be awakened, according to my information they said something about fixing some windows,” she said idly.

“As for the Professor, he was barred from entering the grounds on order of Celestia, who didn’t trust him not to sneak into your room for some test or another, so he and his Apprentices are in that shack of his outside of town. I have a report that one new one arrived with the morning light, a Strong Arm, and another is expected back sometime today,” she finished, slamming the book shut, and then quickly returning to her numbers.

“Um…thanks,” was all you can think of to say, while the Captain salutes, and then turns, opening the door for both of you. The instant you’re outside, he slams the door shut with his magic, probably a little harder than he’d intended, given his expression.

“Argh, that mare, I should report her to the Princesses for violating their orders,” he said with an angry growl to his voice.

“She did share the information,” you remind him as he trots away, and you hover in the air next to him.

“That’s a moot point. The Princesses ordered us to treat you with all Courtesy. Luna even said to treat you as one of the Wielders or Herself, and to see that-argh!” he kicks out with his back hoof during a growl, and sends a pot flying. On instinct, you rush after the pot, getting between it and the wall, catching it, and then forcing it to slow, the thing getting covered by a light aura of many colors as it comes to a stop an inch from a nearby wall.

“By Celestia, I apologize,” He says as he turns back towards you, and then uses his own magic to replace the pot on the short table it had been sitting on.

“It’s okay, we all get mad sometimes, and want to smash something,” you tell him.

“Yes, but I’m a captain in the Royal Guard, I should be able to control myself better. That mare though, she always knows how to get under my coat,” he says, the two of you moving away from the Chamberlain’s room.

“So, what do you wish to do? I’m sure you could visit your friends, even the two on the yacht, if you hurried,” he said after you finally turn a corner and are out of sight of the door.

“Well, that sounds like fun, but I think I should go back to the Professor’s. He’s doing tests, and who knows, maybe I can find some way to be helpful to the Princesses. They’re being really nice to me, and I figure I owe them,” you admit, a statement to which the Captain nods.

“I’m sure they expect nothing of you in return for their generosity, but it is kind of you to want to reciprocate it,” he told you, as you just kept floating with him for several minutes, until he stopped at an intersection and turned to you.

“Do you want an escort to the Professor’s domicile, or are you just unwilling to leave me and my shining personality?” asked the Captain as he turned towards you, and you smile at him, then scratch the back of your head and chuckle in embarrassment.

“Um, well, you see, I kinda don’t know where the Professor’s lab is. I’ve been there twice, but that was both times from the ground, and I was riding Octavia, so…” you let the end trail off, and the Captain lets out a full bellied laugh while starting off down one of the halls seemingly at random.

“And you were more interested in the company than the route,” he finishes, and you just nod, getting another laugh from him as you continue on down the hall.

“That’s fine, I was young once myself,” he admits, and you suddenly blush furiously shaking your head and denying everything, which only gets the Captain to laugh even harder at you.

“Are you saying Miss Octavia is not pretty than?” he asks through gasping breathes, and that question gives you pause for a moment, as you think about her body, and then shake your head at the image.

“I really don’t know. I’m not a judge of equine beauty. I’d never met one before coming to this world. I mean, she’s got a nice personality. She was really sweet to me, even when I was something strange. Heck, as soon as she realized I wasn’t a bug and so didn’t want to squash me, she was all about getting me some help,” you admit, and it was the Captain’s turn to nod thoughtfully.

“Heh, such is the way these things start. Though I would be careful. Canterlot mares tend to be choosy about their partners, but once they’ve got their eye on one, they rarely turn aside until they’ve got him,” he tells you, and your mind boggles a bit at the thought of Octavia liking you, in that way, a boggle that’s banished as you find the Captain stopping in front of an open door in the castle’s side, looking out over the city.

“Ah, I knew I’d find this place,” he said, looking out towards the distance, squinting a little.

“There! Do you see that small shape in the distance,” he says, pointing with his hoof, and you have to focus your eyes a bit, trying to bring the thing into a better view, but finally you nod.

“It looks like a deck of cards that’s not been straightened,” you tell him.

“Indeed, that’s the Professor’s Lab, just beyond the city walls. I think the Princesses put him out there to keep him away from the ponies in the city. Still, if you can fly as fast as I’ve heard, you should be able to make it there in a few minutes,” he informs you, and after some quick head calculations, you figure he’s right.

“Thank you Captain, it’s been a pleasure meeting you,” you say to him.

“Heh, it’s been interesting talking with you too Little One, but I must return to my patro-oh no,” the words on his lips change instantly, as a sudden brightness fills there air, and for a moment, you think it’s some kind of lightning strike, even if the sky outside is crystal clear. However, the light source suddenly reveals itself to be a miniature sun, streaking through the sky from behind the castle, and falling straight towards the Professor’s lab, where it lands with a burst of flame that could be seen for miles around.