//------------------------------// // L0ve and T0lerance // Story: Zer0 H0ur // by Vorizmordu //------------------------------// Their business concluded, Zero and the two princesses sat in silence. Finally, much to the relief of Zero who for once found the silence intolerable, Twilight and her friends returned with news that dinner preparations were complete and it was ready to be served. Celestia led the group to the dining hall which was magnificient, though Zero assumed a majority of the rooms in the palace were beautiful as well. He was too caught up in his thoughts, however, to admire the beauty of the architecture as something in the back of his mind bothered him. He did not like the way Celestia had full control over their conversation moments ago. It seemed he had no leverage over her, however a sinister thought came to his mind. He would be able to deface the "pure" image of Celestia before her very own subjects if he played his cards right. He picked up his pace as he made his way to his assigned seat, eager to enact his simple yet sweet revenge. Zero finished his meal expediently, finding it quite delicious. However, he had much bigger things on his mind than a good meal. He knew at some point Celestia was going to have to have to tell Twilight and the gang about the compromise she and Zero had made earlier. He sat in waiting until finally Celestia spoke up, just as he had anticipated. "Now that you have all had your fill, there is a matter of great importance I must share with you.", Celestia began, "The matter concerns your friend Zero here and a...favor he has asked of me.", Celestia informed, twisting the conversation earlier into something that almost sounded innocent. Zero only gave her what he thought was a pleasant smile, allowing her to continue. "After thanking him for his service to Ponyville, he began to ask questions concerning the Elements of Harmony." She stated with a sly wink towards Zero. He chuckled at how a supposed image of all that is good could be so diabolically evil. "Instead of giving him an explanation myself, I found it would be much more efficient to learn it from each of you individually. And in order to aid him in his endeavors, I am allowing him to live in a recently vacated home in Ponyville. I'm hoping I am not asking too much of the six of you but I believe you'll be able to sate Zero's curiosity with a month's time in Ponyville. So can you do it, My Little Ponies?", She finished with a warm smile. "Zero's going to be able to stay in Ponyville for a while longer? That sounds great!", exclaimed Twilight. Zero had forgotten he had said he was a traveler, which must of made it sound like he was not going to be staying in Ponyville long. "This is awesome! He'll finally be able to show me some of those sweet moves of his!", Rainbow Dash commented with excitement. "Yay! We're gonna be the bestest friends, Z!", shouted Pinkie. As the rest of the six agreed, Celestia turned to face Zero. "This is of course okay with you, correct?" He gave a genuine smile as he began response. "Of course, your majesty. But would it be too much to ask of you to stay out of my mind?", he asked loud enough for the whole room to hear. The ponies at the table exchanged confused glances with one another before Princess Luna spoke. "Stay out of thou mind? What doth he mean by this, sister?", She questioned Celestia. Before the other princess could respond, Zero continued his attack. "She has been invading my thoughts for the last week, even speaking to me on occasion." A devilish grin spread on Luna's face, "I only thought thou read his mind when he stood before us. If thou are so interested in this mysterious stallion that thou must forcibly insert thyself into his thoughts, maybe just simply asking him-..." "Quiet, sister!", hissed Celestia, not liking where this was going. "Is this true, Princess?", questioned her faithful student Twilight with a frown. Celestia knew she had to get the situation under control, so she opted to turn the attention to Zero, "I only did it because he is not from this world!", she shouted, earning gasps from the assembled ponies. Zero quickly retorted, "Am I not like you?/ Don't I share a pony form?/Am I that different?", he continued his flow, savoring the moment, "I have done nothing/ Against you or your people/ Yet you still judge me?", he was visibly angry at this point, much to the understanding of the ponies, "I shall prove myself/ I accepted your challenge/ And it shall be done." His six companions were speechless as they awaited a reply from their leader. She noticed their gazes and spoke up, in a much humbler tone. "I-I....You're right. I have been to harsh, but I cannot simply take your word. I must see first hand that what you say is true. And so with that, my decision stands true, you shall still abide to our compromise." "Understandable.", Zero finished with, his response so cold that it could cause shivers, which it did, even to Celestia. As silence hung about the room for a full minute, Luna finally broke it as she spoke once more. "Do not worry, sir Zero. We shall watch our dear sister to make sure she no longer probes thy mind.", she gave him an assuring smile. Zero calmed himself, granting the Princess of the Night a smile, "Many thanks to you/ It is refreshing to see/ One princess is sane." He stood up from his seat and proceeded to leave the dining hall. He walked through the streets of Canterlot, which were much less crowded than earlier. He no longer admired the beauty of the city, for only one thing was on his mind. Showing Celestia what he was capable of. After a couple of minutes wandering the streets, he managed to stumble across the train station he had arrived from. Noticing his train wasn't to arrive for another half hour, he took a seat at one of the appropriately placed benches, taking a moment to rest his eyes. His rest was cut short, however, as the voice of Twilight sounded before him. "Zero...", she spoke in a soft tone. He opened his eyes to see that all six of his "friends" were there. He gave them a quick nod before closing his eyes once more. "I'm sorry...I don't know what's wrong with the Princess, but I'm sure she didn't mean it.", the lavender mare attempted to assure him. "You have nothing worry about, big guy. With your amazing skills, you'll be able to show up the Princess, no biggie.", added Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow's right, darling. We all know your a kind hearted, caring, compassionate, handsome..." As Rarity continued listing qualities of Zero, she noticed he was giving her a curious look. She laughed nervously with a blush, "You get my point." "Besides, Z's my newest friend!", stated the ever energetic Pinkie, "I'm not gonna let anypony take him away!" "He has been nice to us so far... and saving Rarity was pretty heroic... I wish I had that kind of bravery.", murmured a quiet voice that belonged to Fluttershy. "Ah'm sure he'll be just fine. Ah might not know him as well as yall do, but it seems to me he's got a good heart", concluded Applejack. Zero couldn't help but smile at all the support the six ponies were giving him. He wasn't smiling due to the thoughtfulness of it all. No, he was smiling because he knew he was already winning the challenge. He again wondered why Celestia thought this was a worthy challenge. The train ride home was uneventful. Upon arriving back in Ponyville and separating from his companions, Twilight remained to show him to his new residence. It was a normal house like the rest, but lied at the very edge of town. As he and Twilight parted ways, he took time to examine his new abode. It was small but not cramped, perfect in the eyes of Zero. It was enough for him to be comfortable, but not too big as to draw any unwanted attention. After taking a quick tour of his home, he found his bedroom and took his place in his bed, which was much more comfortable than the couch he had recently been sleeping on. It took very little time before sleep descended upon him. He was awoken by the sound of knocking on his door. As he grudgingly got up and answered the door, he wasn't surprised to see Twilight once again. "So how's the new house?", She asked with a smile. He responded, "It is...sufficient. Is there something you need?" "Actually, I thought I might be able to help you. I figured we should waste no time beginning your lessons about the Elements of Harmony. The best way to accomplish this, in my opinion, is to have you set dates on when you would spend the day with each one. I'll leave the order up to you.", she explained. The thought never occured to Zero on which element he would begin with. Honesty? Like hell. Loyalty? Considering he was previously a hired assassin, loyalty was not well known to him. Laughter would have been an acceptable start, but he was not quite ready to spend a whole day in the company of Pinkie. Generosity? Only generous act he's ever committed was mercy killing. He then thought about kindness. Though it wasn't exactly his cup of tea, he would be spending the day with Fluttershy, whom he had noticed is extremely quiet and would make bearable company. It would be an easy start, or so he thought. After comfirming that Kindness would be the first element he would tackle, Twilight left him with a wish of good luck. He didn't need luck where he had skill. After downing a quick breakfast thanks to the fully stocked larders that came with the house, Zero gathered his belongings, opened his door and stepped outside. He gave a light smile at the task before him. "My challenge begins/ Nothing shall stand in my way/ Success awaits me./"