Night Fury was having a nice time bowling in the Bowling Center. He was doing okay for a creature whose culture did not have bowling as a sport.
Almost! Almost! He said to himself as he was about to shoot all the pins.
He threw it and… he missed. He lost the game.
"Dang it!"
"Sorry, uh Mr. Night Fury, it looks like I am the winner today!" said some other contestant.
Night Fury was angry he lost. But after a few minutes, he felt happy again. It was a nice game even if he failed the fifth time.
It wasn't like having the party four weeks ago where he talked with Luna but he needed time for smaller activities.
He decided he would play another game when suddenly…
Bump
He saw a gray cross eyed mare with some mail.
"Whoops, sorry sir. But I have a package for um, Mr. Night Fury?"
"Yeah, that's me." Night Fury confirmed, taking the letter from the mail mare and waving a goodbye as she flew off. Night Fury took a seat on one of the benches on his lane and looked at his letter, his eyes widening as he saw it was from the princesses.
"A letter from the princesses, I wonder what this is about?" He inquired, extending one claw and opening the letter to read it.
Dear Night Fury,
You have proven your interest, care and love for us Ponies. Despite a few cultural misunderstandings like with your intake of meat, overall you have proven quite a curious and interested guest. For this reason, we ask you to go beyond just a warrior but also my original description of you: Ambassador. Far from being a mere formality, it is an important job to advance one another's cultures. With some training you may help to usher a golden age not just for ponies but for your people as well. Please visit me and my fellow princesses in the palace tomorrow. We will discuss what you must do.
May this letter find you well,
Princess Celestia
Night Fury wasn't sure what to think. He never really thought about what exactly the role of ambassador meant. He always thought of himself as a warrior. Would he have to go to boring council meetings?
Or maybe I'll meet some cool new people! Yeah, this is my chance!
He was not so sure what this would entail but he decided he would just go through with it and get ready for this new job. It might be tough but it couldn't be tougher than having to train to be a warrior.
It's settled, I'm going to meet my new destiny tomorrow!
"Yeah!" he roared.
"Ahhh, don't hurt me please! The horror! The horror!" said Roseluck, one of the drama queen flower ponies as she collapses to the ground.
"Let's hope I won't scare anyone as ambassador." Fury thought as he took his leave to prepare to meet with the princesses tomorrow.
The next day…
Night Fury arrived in Canterlot the next morning, stepping off the train and revving up as he took off towards the castle. He began to wonder what his new role would be like as he got close to the main gate, anticipation filling his mind as he was simultaneously excited and nervous as he raced through the streets.
Come on Fury! You've faced Cragodiles, Manticores and an evil dark unicorn lord! This will be easy. I just have to remember what Twilight said to me about being professional and not making silly jokes when doing ambassadorship. He said to himself. Well, I won't make too many. He chuckled to himself as he couldn't resist.
Twilight along with Rarity when they found out what he was doing, they proceeded to train him in professional etiquette. Fury regretted casually telling Twilight about stuff like this as she made him spend over 10 hours doing boring rehearsals. Next time, he'll try to keep it to himself even though he knows it will probably come in handy in the end.
He finally made it to the gates.
"Halt, who goes there?" One of the guards asked.
"It's me, Night Fury, remember me? We had a great party here?"
"It was a good party, but I need identification!"
"Sigh, fine." Fury gave the guards his papers to which they then opened the gates.
Back in my village, if someone knew you, they would just let you in. But here you need identification. I'm not used to this.
Fury walked to the throne room where he saw not just Celestia but also Luna and Cadence. They seemed pleased that he had come.
"Ah, hello there Night Fury." Celestia went up from her seat to greet him. "It's good to see you again."
"I agree." Cadence said. "Also you look quite professional! Even your fur is brushed!"
"Yeah, let's just say Rarity threatened terrible acts against me if I refused to get my hair looking professional." Fury laughed and cringed at the memories.
"Ah, that figures." Cadence chucked. "It's interesting to see someone match my husband Shining Armor's obsession with dress code." Fury also chuckled, thankful he wasn't part of the Canterlot Royal Guard.
"Let's not delay any longer." Luna interrupted. "It's time for us to talk about your new occupation." She said professionally.
Luna was always the most serious of the princesses. Even though she and Fury were friends, Fury noticed how in this professional setting she seems as formal as if Fury just met her and he was one of her new guards.
"Very well." Celestia agreed, now ready to get down to business. "Night Fury, today you prove to be a worthy ambassador."
"Sounds good to me! You already like me after all!"
"Yes, but others have not yet met you," Celestia said. "Many of the politicians of Equestria are curious about who you are. And some are even suspicious of you. Though your heroic stand against Sombra has eased many into giving you a chance."
Fury was relieved at this. Then he thought of something.
"Wait, is this why you had me go to the Crystal Empire? To prove my worth to other ponies?"
"Well, that is one of many reasons. I definitely would not want others to meet you too soon before you made a reputation with them." Celestia said.
"Especially since you have a bit… how should I say…" Cadence was trying to gather the words.
"Unprofessional?" Fury predicted with a somewhat unamused look.
"Yeah that one." she admitted. "But now with your positive reputation, we can now make you officially an ambassador."
"Well, if that's the case, then bring it on. Let's see what's in store." Night Fury said confidently as he followed behind the three royals to the conference room to meet with the rest of the elites.
"Halt!" Luna said. "You can't just walk in there and talk to them."
"How bad can it be?" Fury asked. "I'm a hero."
"True, young one." Celestia said. "But that can go sour instantly. Even if it might be a bit boring, we need to talk to you about what your new occupation requires of you."
"I see… Well what am I to do?" Fury asked.
"As ambassador you will explain to the others a bit of your people's cultures and customs. You will explain what your political situation is. And how your people can benefit Equestria." Celestia explained.
"Ah, that makes sense." Fury said.
"For this reason," Cadence said, "it's absolutely important to give them a good impression of your people and culture. They might not be inclined to be so pleasant with your kind otherwise."
"Great no pressure…" Fury whispered to himself.
"And that means NO STEALING FOOD or any other shenanigans!" Cadence said, reminding him of that infamous adventure of his. "Back then we were just being casual, but this one is very important."
"Don't worry Cadence-"
"Princess Cadence, you need to get used to referring to us formally at least while we're in this palace." Cadence corrected him.
"Don't worry Princess Cadence," he said, slightly annoyed that he has to refer to a friend that way. "I'll be on my best behavior. I won't do any of those shenanigans. I am capable of showing maturity."
"Well that's good, ambassador." Celestia said with a smile. "Just remember this job won't last forever. Just follow this Guide to Royal Courtesy Volume III that Twilight made you read and you'll be good to go."
"Ugh, reading the book was the most tedious thing of my entire life."
"Well, guess what? It gets worse." Celestia said bluntly. "But the results will be worthwhile in the end. And after you get done talking, you can go to your room and be back to your normal self. And to make it easier I gave you a list of tips on etiquette, summarized from Twilight's book." Celestia handed him a scroll of tips which Fury found much more manageable.
"This is way easier to look at than that book, thanks. I'll try my best." He said sincerely. "So when will I begin and who will I meet?"
"You will meet different important Equestrian politicians, military officers and so on. From Canterlot's mayor, to the Head of our Armed Forces, to Senators." Celestia said. "You'll be meeting them in one hour. So enjoy yourself until then. And be aware some can be a bit… annoying." Celestia said thinking of some certain ponies.
Especially a certain nephew of mine. She said to herself.
Fury wondered what ponies made her cringe so hard but it seems he'll find out once he gets going. After all, Twilight gave him answers to probable questions the others would ask him. So he was confident.
"Alright I'll be ready to handle these fellows!" Night Fury said with confidence. "If I can handle King Sombra, I can handle some high and mighty politicians!"
One hour later…
Night Fury had just finished reading off the tips and rehearsing them when he heard a knock at the door. He jumped slightly as he was a little distracted making sure he was covering all his bases. He opened the door to reveal a familiar white stallion, clad in golden armor with a stone solid look.
"Shining Armor, what can I do for you?" Night Fury said in a strong tone, refraining from speaking casually as he had rehearsed earlier.
"Ambassador Fury, the princesses are waiting for you in the conference room. Please, follow me."
"Alright. Lead me there."
As Fury was walking he felt a bit more nervous just like he was when he first fought that Cragodile.
He finally made it, with Shining opening the doors. And it revealed a variety of different well dressed ponies in the conference room. Far from the fun nature of the parties he was at, he could tell there was a certain formality here.
He walked inside. When he did so, he heard the announcement from Shining Armor.
"Attention guests, we thank you for coming today to greet our New Ambassador from the exotic Jungles of the East! This young creature has helped save the Crystal Empire and possibly even Canterlot from potential devastation. Citizens of Canterlot and beyond, meet Night Fury, the first Speed Shifter in Equestria!"
Trumpets sounded. And then Night Fury went to the podium to deliver his speech.
"Hello everyone, how are you all doing? My name is Night Fury, but you probably already knew that, heh." They just stared at him blankly. Realizing he told an awkward joke at the wrong time, he had to recover.
"Well this place is a great land, and a great spectacle for someone like me. As someone who was in the jungle for a while away from large cities, I was astounded by this great city! And I thank you all for welcoming me to this great city and land!" Fury said. "And I hope to get to know you all better!"
There was applauding in the crowd now which was probably a good sign. But he was not sure if he won them over as it could just be forced clapping.
What can I do… Maybe I have them ask me questions! Yeah that would be a good idea!
"Well, how about you ladies and gentlecats- I mean, uh gentlecolts ask me some questions. Since I am a lost confused cat as you can tell from my mistake."
He actually got a small chuckle out of the crowd with that. He remembered a tip from Celestia to let your mistakes turn into wit to win them over.
"Mr. Day Fury…"
"It's Night Fury," he said, a little annoyed.
"My apologies, I'm curious about your name Night Fury, where does it come from?" asked a unicorn mustachioed stallion with a monocle. Night Fury almost laughed at his look but he had to keep it in.
"Well in our culture, we are given names from birth that are only used for identification. But once we become of age, we come up with a new Warrior Name based on the characteristics of the cub. Maybe they fight efficiently and mostly use obsidian-forged weapons and they would be given the name Obsidian. Or maybe it's based on the color of their aura they get when they run. My father's cousin, Amethyst, emitted purple flames from her aura. Or sometimes they are named after a certain love for something or a substantial event in their lives. Like my mother, Black Ice was given her name because she loved ice and she slipped on some too. In our culture, even embarrassing events can be used in our names. So we have to be careful." He spoke with a chuckle. It seems the crowd is enjoying him so far.
"Overall in spite of it being a so-called 'Warrior Name' it's used for every event or special aspect even if not related to fighting and even for non-warriors nowadays. Not everyone is a warrior in our village."
"Um, that is nice. But what about you Mr. Night Fury. What does your name refer to?"
"Ah let's see, it's been awhile since I thought of that," he was trying to get back his memories. Oh now I remember, Dang it!
"I'm assuming it's probably because he was a stealthy fighter at night! And he took out his foes with stealth!" said a pegasus general with a scar. "We could probably use a fellow like you to bring back that warrior spirit of our pegasus soldiers from long ago with stealth!"
"Um, actually, General…"
"Call me General Torrent!
"Well, actually it was simply that I was sneaking into my friend's mother's candy supply. And it was at night in the shadows. And the Fury part? It was not from defeating my foes, but was however from how many cookies I was able to eat in one sitting."
The general laughed at this but then he looked at Fury's face and realized it was not a joke.
"Wait, you're serious?! Your name is that way because of sneaking some sweets?!" he said with great disappointment and a hint of anger at the stupidity of it.
"Well for me as a kid, my greatest battle was the battle of hunger and sweets! And I won and snuck out of there! And even though my mother scolded me greatly, my father told me my sneaking skills could be very useful. So that's my story, sir!" He looked back at Fancy Pants.
Unlike the disgusted look of General Torrent, Fancy Pants was laughing at this ridiculous story.
"Oh Night Fury, you are something else! I think we are going to like you very much!"
"And so will I!" Night Fury said now starting to warm up to everyone.
"Excuse me sir! May I ask you one last question?" Someone deep in the crowd cried out.
"Um, who is it?"
"Give your Prince room for me to see him!" said a posh voice as the crowd moved revealing a white unicorn with a suit.
Oh no. This is the one Celestia told me about. B-b-
"My name is Prince Blueblood! It is nice to meet you, savior of the Crystal Empire!" Blueblood proclaimed.
Even though Blueblood was complimenting him, he could tell there was something a little condescending in his eyes. Like he was planning to take Fury down from his reputation.
"Well thank you very much, Prince Blueblood!"
"You're welcome. I would just like to ask you. Do you believe you are a great hero who saved the Crystal Empire?"
"Um, in a way," Night Fury said. "But I did have help from Spike and Twilight Sparkle. They were also heroes. Though I was the one who defeated Sombra." he said with a bit of pride.
"Hmmm, I see." Blueblood said. "would you say they were assistants to you saving them?"
Night Fury was confused why Blueblood was asking these things. But he decided to keep on going.
"Yes, but they were very helpful."
"I understand. But I must say… it seems unfortunate you would only list Twilight Sparkle, one of the greatest heroes of Equestria as a mere assistant. Maybe I misunderstood."
Now Night Fury saw what Blueblood was trying to do. Make Fury look like he was taking credit for saving the Crystal Empire solely.
"Listen here you! I did not imply that whatsoever! Twilight did a lot. She helped discover the clues that I would have not been able to do!" He said with a bit of offense to his honor.
Blueblood would not relent.
"Yes but Twilight Sparkle has worked as a Student of Celestia for years! She has proven her credibility to Canterlot! Not just her but the Sparkle family has always been helpful! Twilight even had to spend time with some ruffian friends just to be able to save all of us from world ending threats!"
Night Fury was angry. He was supposedly trying to speak for Twilight. Even though he was pushing beliefs Twilight would never agree with. And most certainly Twilight would not agree that her friends were "ruffians".
"But you, Night Fury! You have taken advantage of Twilight's humbleness! Maybe you forced her to give you the Crystal Heart! It would make sense since you are warriors who get everything by force!" Blueblood ranted about him.
And then Blueblood spoke in front of the audience.
"My good friends, I am tired of seeing good ponies' reputations be forgotten because of some prankster feline who has no respect for anyone!"
Some of the other ponies were debating if what Blueblood was saying had a point.
Night Fury was raging at this point. One of the worst things one could do with a Speed Shifter was to falsely accuse them and to ruin their honorable reputation. It was a tradition to cut the liar's arm. He knew many times where this happened in his village.
Maybe I ought to do the same to you, you pampered prince!
"And besides maybe he wants to win our trust so that he could rise up in our government and take over us like Sombra did!"
Get ready you little brat for I am…
Wait what did Twilight say?
He remembered how Twilight told him that there would be those out to get him at court. And that one should respond not with violence but by addressing their arguments. It reminded him of what his own mother told him.
Especially not with ponies, for Speed Shifters tolerate a little bit of threats. But not the more peaceable ponies.
Okay, I'm going to shut down what Blueblood is saying right now!
"You know Prince, you sure seem to know a lot about Twilight Sparkle."
"Well I don't know her too well personally but I know she and her family have made many contributions, of which we only know you to have one. And that itself is questionable."
"But do you really know Twilight? Do you think when you call her friends ruffians, do you think she agrees with that?"
"Well I'm not sure but-"
"Well I have been with her all this time! I have talked with her. She herself scolded me for being ill disciplined. That is true, but she also said how she appreciates not just her own accomplishments but the accomplishments of others." Fury said.
Fury's anger was transformed into confidence.
"It might be hard for someone like you to realize this, but not everyone does things for their own sake. Sometimes they do it for the sake of friendship! And that is more important than looking good in front of others!"
At this point the audience was now surprised that this exotic creature spoke more about friendship than a pony.
Meanwhile Blueblood felt embarrassed at this point.
"Well I… I-I care!" Blueblood said pathetically. "You just do not understand me!"
"I don't. But in my village I have seen a lot of my own kind try to do things for their own glory with no care for others and from personal experience you seem not to care that much. In fact I don't even know if you care about Twilight or if you just want to make yourself look like a hero."
Blueblood was not able to argue back at this point.
"Grrrrrr…"
"My advice, Prince, is perhaps instead of trying to pretend to help others in public, you just help them out. And maybe actually go see Twilight and learn about friendship from her."
At this point Blueblood was about to object but realized everyone was not on Blueblood's side. He failed to win them over. So instead…
"I am so sorry, Night Fury. I was just a little frustrated. I had a bit too much wine. I will go and have a rest. You are a fine creature, Night Fury." Blueblood said trying to reverse the bad reputation he got. "So let us support Night Fury everyone!"
It was obvious to Night Fury that Blueblood was not really apologizing. But Fury decided he had enough of Blueblood and just wanted to get to the snacks. He had done his job and he will watch out for that pampered prince next time.
"Very well, Blueblood. If your apology is genuine, then everything is fine. Otherwise, you might want to rethink your life and maybe start to be a little less whiny."
The audience laughed at Blueblood with that.
"I am just going to leave now. I just remembered I have to organize my Faberge egg collection. Farewell!" he said ungracefully leaving the room.
The room was a bit silent after that.
"Well everyone I am sorry for all the trouble. But I know this everyone. I don't think I'm better than anyone or should I say anypony else. I just want to help the ponies here. And I just want to say, I also thank Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor and all the others who have helped save the Crystal Empire. I'm just one part. And I hope we all can cooperate for a brighter future amongst our two races! Thank you everypony!"
And the other ponies gave an applause for this Night Fury.
Fury realized he won another battlefield. The war of politics. The part that his father talked about less but was no less important.
After a few minutes. Everypony came to eat delicacies. Night Fury was not too interested in most of the high class Canterlot cuisine. Except for the sweets which were world renowned. Though not as great as his own mother's spicy and sweet coco drink.
"I see you are enjoying yourself now." Princess Celestia said to him.
"That's for sure, princess. I felt exhausted after that whole ordeal! Sheesh! What is up with that Blueblood?"
"He is a bit insufferable, I will admit." Celestia laughed. "You just have to watch out for him. But he does have his uses. He does have intelligence, he just uses it to prop himself up."
"I can tell," he said, annoyed.
"Don't let him get to you though. And I know he has a heart… somewhere. He seems to love his family. He just does not show that love to anyone else."
"Yeah that's for sure." he chucked. "He seems to also like Twilight! Ha ha!"
"Probably more accurate to say he likes her reputation and her family's good name but not her as a pony," Cadence said walking by. "But enough with Blueblood, let's talk about you!"
"My apologies, Night Fury," Clestia said. "I forgot to tell you about your performance. It was excellent! You have proven quite a diplomat. You did tell a few more jokes then Twilight probably would have wanted."
"Yeah sorry, I couldn't resist."
"Do not apologize. This is what makes you charming. Twilight has her own way but she is not quite as how we should put it… fun. Which is something great to see from you."
"Thanks princesses! I'm quite glad we did that. And quite frankly… I didn't want others to be put to sleep like Twilight did."
Celestia and Cadence laughed at this.
"Well, do you still want to be an ambassador?" Celestia asked.
"Well, I think I'm starting to get good at talking and introducing myself. I guess my years of trickery have paid off here. So maybe I will! At least as long as I don't have to do these jobs all the time." Night Fury said.
The other two laughed and Night Fury proceeded to eat and he noticed something. Luna was not present.
Where is she? Wait, I see her at the corner. Maybe I'll talk to her.
He walked over to Luna.
"Hey, what did you think of my little talk?" Fury said.
"Quite a lot better than how I would have gone about that. I probably would have silenced him into submission. Then again, I am a princess of Equestria and you probably could not do the same." Luna remarked. And then she smiled. "You have quite a talent. And I look forward to being able to converse with you more now that you will spend more time at the palace."
Night Fury smiled. They did write letters to each other. But it would be nice to talk directly.
"My sentiments exactly." Fury said. "Look out Equestria! Here comes Night Fury, your new ambassador!"
"Even if he is a little childish." Luna playfully said.
"Yeah!... Hey!"
They had a nice talk for the rest of the night.
Meanwhile…
"You might have won today Night Fury. You may have succeeded in humiliating me. But I shall have my revenge some day. For my name is Prince Blueblood!"
He said out of his tower mansion at night, looking at the palace.
"Just you wait, Night Fury, just you wait."