//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8: Canterlot 
// Story: High Score! 
// by DanishDash 
//------------------------------//

Felix walked through his living room, although he had to walk around the pillars holding up the tiki torches. He came to the flaps in the tent that led him into the back of the police car, driving through the streets. His faceless friend was sitting next to the police officer, and they talked about something.

Felix stood up from the egg he had been warming for a bird, but he had to run to catch the jelly donut that was leaving from the station in ten minutes, or something. 

"I never thought a human's dream could be so... creative." The voice of Luna suddenly said.

It was like a switch had been flicked on, with Felix suddenly becoming aware of everything around him, for real this time. The world around him seemed to freeze, and flicker slightly. 

Felix looked around confused, not sure what was going on. "Luna?" He called into the frozen world. "Is that you?"

A gentle blue light flashed before him, and there stood Luna with an amused smile. "So this is how humans dream. Seems chaotic." 

Felix looked a little startled. "Dream? You mean this is a dream?" Then he looked at the donut train, and he nodded. "Yeah okay, that makes sense." Then he looked at Luna, his eyebrow raised. "Wait, are you part of my dream?"

She favored him with a smile. "In a sense. As princess of the night, I also have the duty to protect the dreams of our subjects. It is why I can travel through the dream realms, and fend off the nightmares that would keep our subjects from having a peaceful slumber." 

Felix blinked, trying to connect the dots. "Wait, so we are in my head." He glanced back at the giant jelly donut train. "Yeah, again, that makes sense..."

Luna looked at all the strange scenes playing out. She had frozen them, and so they looked more like sets on a stage. "Ponies' dreams are more orderly. They are more lucid in a way." She looked back at him. "Is it common for humans to have their dreams be so chaotic?" 

Felix let out a small thoughtful hum. "Uhm, yeah I think so. I mean, some can have lucid dreams, so they can shape their dreams and take part, but I think most just go with the flow while their brain is on auto-pilot." 

He couldn't help but smile a little when he thought back on some people who liked to talk about their dreams. It was always so random, and it was always funny to see them try to find meaning in every little detail they could remember. Then he looked at Luna, raising an eyebrow.

"Not that I really mind, Luna, but how come you're here?"

Luna's smile turned a little sheepish. "Well, I was curious how humans dreamed, and I wanted to see you."

Felix grinned. "So you came to visit me in my dreams? That's pretty cool." He looked around at the frozen scenes. "Uhm, this is a pretty strange place to hang out, don't you think?"

She chuckled sweetly, looking around at the strange concepts his mind had come up with. "I admit, your thoughts are really... Unique, but also, well, you." She grinned, making him smile in return.

"Gee, thanks."

"You're most welcome." Luna replied, almost coyly. "But this is your dream, you can shape it as you wish."

Felix took a moment to consider this. Then he closed his eyes, trying to think of a relaxing place he wanted to be. Soon enough the images around the two of them changed, and Luna watched with not a small amount of pride as Felix turned this random dream into a landscape with trees, a lake, and a small bridge.

When Felix opened his eyes, he actually looked a bit surprised. Tilting her head, Luna asked, "was this not what you expected?"

He looked around, smiling a little. "Well, I don't know. I wanted some place relaxing, I just didn't think my mind would take us here of all places. I haven't been here for years." He looked around at the tall trees, the sand of the shore, and the clear water of the lake. "My dad used to take me here when I was a kid. During winter, we would all come here to walk on the ice."

Felix slowly approached the water, and touched it with his hoof. His smile widened in surprise. "It really feels like I'm touching water. Are you sure this is a dream?" 

Luna giggled. "Your mind remembers much more than what one might think," she said, her eyes looking over the simple, serene landscape. "This place means a lot to you?"

Felix ran his hoof over the water's surface, amazed how real it all felt. "Yeah, well, I have a lot of happy memories with my family here." He stood up fully, turning to her as he did so. "You must have fond memories with your sister too."

The expression Luna gave him told him that yes, she did, but there was something there. He had gotten a sense of it here and there, and Celestia had told him she had a certain history. He hadn't wanted to ask, despite his curiosity into the matter, so it surprised him when Luna suddenly spoke up about it.

"I did something terrible long ago..." She said, not looking at him. Instead she walked to the water, looking out at the landscape before her. "I gave into my deepest and darkest parts, and allowed myself to be swallowed up by a darkness I didn't know I had within me."

Felix listened, his eyes going a little wider – he knew when she said a thousand years, she meant a thousand years. He also didn't think she was speaking in metaphors, but instead meant every word in the way she said it. 

Terrible events a thousand years ago, being swallowed by darkness – it's one thing when that's an NPC backstory in a game, but it was another entirely to have it be fact, plain and simple, and actually know someone went through that. What was he supposed to say or do, here?

He wanted to trot up to her, be close to her, but something within him told him to wait, to give her a moment to collect herself. The silence hung between them for a few seconds before she continued with a small sigh.

"When you go with our sister's student out to Canterlot, I know it is only a matter of time before thou learn of our past. Maybe not tomorrow, or the day after, but at some point you will learn." Luna turned slowly to face him, but her eyes didn't meet him. "I would rather thou learn of deeds from me, than from somewhere else..."

Before Felix could say something, the world around them seemed to shift. The clouds in the sky vanished, the day changed into night, with hundreds of stars, and the full moon. Both of them stood and looked up at the night sky.

"It was a time of peace. Equestria was blossoming at an incredible rate, and the future seemed too bright to us back then. Our enemies had been defeated, and it seemed for the first time in ages, Celestia and I had a chance to just enjoy the calm, and see our subjects." 

The stars moved above them, making figures that looked like Luna, Celestia, and other ponies. 

"Our kingdom prospered in those years, and so did our subjects. They showered my sister with their love and admiration, which left me feeling I was in my sister's shadow, overlooked by our subjects." Luna sighed, looking down at the water which reflected her image back at her. "I grew bitter, and jealous of the love they so readily showed to my sister."

She closed her eyes, trying to find the strength to go on. She didn't want to, but she knew she had to. Opening her eyes again, she looked to the stars once more, which showed Luna running away from Celestia, looking to what seemed like a larger version of herself.

"Celestia didn't mean to leave me behind, she isn't like that, but nevertheless I felt alone. My bitterness and jealousy turned into anger and hate, and so I slowly gave into the darkness that had been given birth deep within my heart."

Felix watched as Luna was consumed by the larger pony, transforming her into something Felix could not recognize. It was an alicorn, but it seemed wrong, even with the limited details the stars could show. 

"And so I rebelled against my sister, I refused to relent the sky to her and her sun." Felix watched as the star figure of Celestia confronted a scary-looking Luna. "Celestia pleaded and begged for me to stop, but I was no longer myself – I became something else, something terrible. I became Nightmare Moon."

If he'd been back home, this sort of story might have made Felix laugh. After all, didn't this just sound like a fantasy-version of a teenaged temper tantrum? Some edgy kid's story of how they embraced darkness and got back at the ones who had made them feel isolated? Except Luna was that angry, edgy teenager, it seemed – and rather than getting a chance to grow out of it, to learn to deal with her emotions and find a healthier avenue, her magic had made it real.

Because she was living in a world where magic reacted to emotions and made them real. And she just-so-happened to be some sort of mysterious alicorn super-magic-pony with more power than she knew what to do with.

Holy crap.

Felix shuddered slightly just thinking about it. How was someone supposed to cope with that? What would he do if his innermost thoughts and feelings ran the risk of flooding into the real world?

Suddenly, Celestia's careful, patient demeanor and very deliberate way of speaking and acting was seeming a lot less voluntary and a lot more... mandatory.

"There could only be one way to settle our dispute, and it was too late for words..." Luna continued, and looked on in shame as stars made a sort of tapestry of the battle that followed. They depicted an epic battle between what came near to two goddesses, which was a terrifying thought. 

"Celestia didn't want to hurt me, and in her hesitation and doubt we gained the upper hoof. We had her beaten, and victory was in our reach, but then..." The stars seemed to vanish, leaving only six burning brightly. "In desperation, my sister used the elements of harmony, hoping it would end the battle."

The moon's glow seemed to become brighter for a moment, and when it faded, a figure of a mare seemed burned into it. "She did not know what would happen, but when she used them, the elements banished us to the moon for a thousand years..."

The sky returned to normal, clouds and sunshine followed. Blinking a few times, Felix turned to Luna, who looked even more ashamed than before. Felix thought about what he could say, but before he had a chance to, Luna continued.

"Even when we came back to Equestria as Nightmare Moon, we tried to plunge the world back into an eternal night, and get revenge on our sister. Were it not for our sister's student and her friends using the elements of harmony, I fear we might have succeeded this time."

"But you are here, you're Luna again..." Felix said, feeling the words jump out a little clumsily as he tried to imagine Luna as this Nightmare Moon, but he just couldn't. There had to be more going on than he understood – what did it mean for her to be swallowed by darkness? It didn't seem the right time to ask.

His words might have come out a little clumsily, but nevertheless, Luna favored him with a small smile. "Yes, and I have Twilight and her friends to thank for that. However... my crimes, while forgiven, still linger in the mind of the ponies of Equestria, and I don't blame them."

Felix wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what he could say. Luna just smiled gently, maybe out of slight amusement. "You don't need to say anything, friend Felix. I did not share this because I wanted you to feel bad for me, I just wanted you to hear the story from me..."

"It's a lot to take in, Lulu." Felix admitted. "I mean, gosh, I've been here for like two days. It's a lot to process." 

Luna nodded understandingly. "Forgive me, I did not want to burden you with my story..." 

Felix looked a little bemused, but then trotted closer to her, and pulled the slightly larger alicorn in for a warm hug. "Thank you for telling me, Luna." There was more to be said, and more to share, they both knew it, but for now, Felix was just happy Luna shared this with him. "It must not have been easy for you to tell me, but I am glad you trusted me enough to do it nonetheless."

He felt how Luna tensed for a moment, but then hugged him back with just a little more force than before. Something told Felix she had really needed to get this story off her chest, and Felix was happy to lend an ear. The two stayed like this for maybe a minute, when the world seemed to shake gently.

"What was that?" Felix asked.

Luna chuckled, breaking their embrace. "You are waking up, it must be morning."

Felix had completely forgotten they were in a dream, but now that he realized it, it only seemed to wake him up faster. He looked at Luna, who took a few steps back. 

"Where are you going?"

Luna giggled. "You are waking, I cannot stay here. We shall speak again soon enough. Thank you for listening to me, Felix. You really are a good friend."

Before Felix could reply, everything went black, and it was like his mind went back to sleep, right before he started to wake up. Felix groaned, then yawned as his eyes fluttered open. He was awake, and back in the room Celestia had assigned him. 

He felt kind of awkward. Just a few seconds ago, he had felt wide awake in his dream. Although now that he was awake in the real world, he felt just as groggy and tired as he did every morning when he woke up. 

It seemed even powerful god level tier dream magic could not help him with how slowly he woke up. Yawning, he let himself plop back into bed, and enjoy the comfy warm nest he had built for himself.

"Just five more minutes..." He mumbled.





One quick morning routine, and Felix was walking – or, trotting, because he was a pony now – alongside Twilight and Spike down the streets of Canterlot. He regretted not being able to speak more with Luna after their meeting in his dreams, but Celestia told him at breakfast that she slept in.

Fighting off nightmares, apparently tiring work. That kinda seemed obvious in retrospect, but wasn't Luna technically asleep while she was doing that, too? The whole thing was confusing, but Felix figured he could put off learning about dream magic for now. 

What was clear was that Lulu took the whole thing really seriously. Even with night-court suspended, she was still hard at work helping people cope with their emotional problems across Equestria.

How fucking cool was that? Why did this girl lack self-confidence again?

"I'm so glad we got a chance to spend some time together," Twilight's excited voice broke his internal review with a jolt. "We didn't really get a chance to talk yesterday."

Hadn't they talked a whole lot? Though, really, it was more like an interview. This was definitely more casual. Yeah, okay, Felix could see what she meant.

"It's definitely good to get a chance to hang out in a less, uh, official setting. And I really appreciate your showing me around Canterlot!"

Twilight giggled. "It really is the pearl of Equestria. There is so much history here, and you can learn a lot about ponies." Her expression became thoughtful for a moment, then continued. "But I wouldn't hold Canterlot as the standard. Ponies all over are different."

Felix nodded. "I get it. People back home are different depending where they live, like city and country folk."

"And there are a lot of snobby nobles in Canterlot, too." Spike said with a note of mild disdain. 

"Nobles?" Felix asked.

Twilight sighed. "Yeah, Canterlot is the cultural center of Equestria, and it is where Princess Celestia and Luna live."

Felix nodded, understanding. "Ah, so naturally the nobility followed suit."

"Exactly, but they're not all snobbish, honestly." Twilight quickly added. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea. A lot of ponies living here are really nice and friendly."

"Don't worry, Twilight." Felix smiled. "I get it. Don't judge on stereotypes, and all. I'll just have to figure it out if I run into one – assuming I don't instantly run them off with my total cluelessness." 

They shared a laugh while Felix thought about it. It wasn't like he'd ever had to deal with nobility back home – and even if he had, that would have been in the context of a modern, democratic society. This place had nobles at the height of their power, including all that decadant better-than-thou stuff Felix had read about in school. Would he even be able to get through so much as a 'How-do-you-do' before they smelled the commoner on him and turned away in disgust?

Well, then again, he seemed to be doing alright with a pair of princesses, didn't he? Although he had a feeling they just might be the best of the bunch, so he should keep his expectations for other nobles a bit lower.

No bias on his part, this was just a reasonable conclusion based on evidence and facts. Lulu was the best, and some of that bestness naturally rubbed off on her awesome sister, and that's just how it was. Sorry, nobles. Them's facts.

"Felix? What's so funny?"

Whoops, he'd been snickering to himself, and now he was grinning like an idiot, and Twilight looked all confused.

"I was just thinking, maybe I'm the one who will have standards too high to interact with the nobles." Felix stuck his nose up in the air and put on his best haughty face, which was only severely ruined by the giant shit-eating grin he still had plastered on. "After spending time in the company of such fine individuals as yourselves, however could they hope to compete?"

Twilight was just at the start of an eyeroll and a smile when Spike chipped in, in the flattest tone of voice and accompanying look of distaste, "They couldn't."

Felix bust out laughing at that, and soon the other two followed suit. "Damn, Spike!" Felix breathed between laughs. "Most people would play down a compliment like that, but not you!"

Spike puffed out his chest. "You're hanging out with the smartest pony in Equestria and her number-one assistant! We're not going to lose to anybody."

Twilight's face was turning a few shades of red at this point from the crossfire of praise she was under. Felix idly wondered how that worked with fur while they all shared another laugh. Soon enough, they entered a large entrance hall, which was exactly as one might expect from a fantasy magical palace. A big staircase, red carpets, and stained windows, not to mention the huge-ass front door.

There were a few ponies scattered around. Some merely trotting along, others standing in a group of two or three talking about stuff. These were not guards or the serving staff. The way they dressed told Felix they were of the nobility. 

Twilight took him to the large double doors, walking into a large courtyard, with a beautiful fountain in the center. Looking back, Felix saw just how massive and yet beautiful the palace was. He could only imagine how it looked from afar. 

"It's awe inspiring, isn't it?" Twilight asked with a small smile. All Felix could do was nod. "I used to look at the palace from my window when I was a filly. It always gave me the push I needed to study hard, so Princess Celestia would accept me into her school."

It wasn't hard to understand why. It was hard not to feel a sense of pride looking at the royal palace, and Felix wasn't even from here. As they continued towards the golden gates, Felix took note of the ponies coming and going. 

"So, what are all these ponies doing here?" He asked, seeing there were so many different looking ponies trotting to and from the palace. 

Twilight perked up a bit more, and Spike gave a playful groan as he knew Twilight was going into tour guide mode. "Well, the palace serves as not just the princesses' home, but it is also the seat of the government of Equestria." Twilight replied, then stopped as she looked at the ponies coming and going. 

"Princess Celestia also holds day court, which is an opportunity for all ponies who wish to see the princess. Some come with concerns, for advice, disputes, or to simply see Celestia."

Felix thought back to what Luna had told him about night court. He could understand a bit more why it hurt that no one trusted her enough to bring their concerns to her. At least for now, she didn't have to worry about that, and got to work with Celestia a bit closer for the time being.

"I see..." Felix mumbled, glanding back at the palace, wondering if Luna was still asleep. Then he smiled, returning his focus back to Twilight. "Alright, I think I have seen enough of the palace, time to explore the big good guy city!" Twilight giggled, and Spike grinned before turning around with him, and walked outside the grand front gates of the palace. 

Felix barely took three steps before his eyes widened, and his eyes darted around. The road up to the palace was wide, with neatly cut trees providing shade for ponies walking on the sidewalk. The buildings were mostly residential, or official buildings, so it wasn't too exciting, but Felix enjoyed seeing ponies going about their day.

The road leading directly to the palace was one of four main roads in Canterlot. All leading to the city center, which was a very large plaza. The city was a beautiful mix of stone work, parks, trees, bushes, grass areas, and canals. The canals were fed from the three waterfalls coming from the upper mountain, which he could see from a distance. 

Everything was very clean, and despite the city's size, it seemed rather easy to navigate if you could just find one of the four main roads.

The city had a large collection of shops, cafes, restaurants, theaters, libraries and so, so, much more. It wasn't hard to see why Twilight described this place as a cultural pearl of Equestria. She did her best keeping her explanation of the city's history easy to understand, as there was a lot of Equestrian general knowledge he did not yet possess.

The royal college and university were grand, although they did not move onto the campus grounds. Twilight and Spike had to leave in a few hours, and it would be easy to be caught up in one area for too long, so for now they mostly stuck to the main roads.

There were a lot of side roads and alleys on every side, each of them seeming to hide even more interesting sights, shops, and history. As a history lover himself, Felix found himself drawn to the small sideroads, before Twilight quickly got him back on track. 

After about three hours, Felix started to get a good picture of the main geography of Canterlot, at least he would be able to navigate without getting lost, as long as he were close to the main streets.

The four main roads lead to four different areas of Canterlot. The one Felix had come from let to the palace. 

Another led to the more tourist oriented district. There were a bunch of hotels, the grand station, and the warehouses for cargo that was brought on large airships. 

The sky docks were really amazing, and Felix figured he could spend hours watching the ships arrive and depart. It was a smart way to keep the main cargo coming in and out of Canterlot to the sky, thus not getting unnecessary train traffic, that would make the noise and logistics more annoying for the residents. 

The third road, which was right across from the one leading directly to the palace, was the noble district. Everything that was most expensive, which was houses, apartments, manors, restaurants, cafes, shops, anything you could think of, was up that road, likely why Felix didn't see a lot of ponies traveling that road.

The fourth and final road was the one leading directly to the city gates. This was the busiest of them all, but thankfully the roads were so wide you did not need to worry about bumping into every pony. If ponies didn't come by train, or the few airships that carried passengers, ponies would have to travel up the mountain road, and enter the city here.

Felix enjoyed seeing ponies that looked like they had traveled far. Almost all of them had that childlike sparkle in their eyes as they entered, looking just as much in awe as he did when he stepped out of the palace gates. 

At this point a few hours had passed. Felix only became aware of it when Twilight suggested the three of them find a place to have lunch. They found a small corner cafe, and decided to sit outside under the shade of a tall tree.

Felix ordered something safe. He might have a pony body now, but it still took some effort to convince his mind that he could eat stuff like hayfries, or dandelion sandwiches.

As they waited for the food, Twilight looked at him with a big smile. "So how do you like Canterlot?"

"I love it." Felix answered honestly, feeling a bit of the giddiness return. "We've not even scratched the surface of what there is to see yet, and I can't wait to explore the city some more!"

Twilight smiled, happy to see some pony so enthusiastic about taking a tour to see the sites. Spike let out an amused snort, sending Felix a slight grin. "You almost sound like Twilight."

Felix shrugged. "It's not every day that I get to explore a fantasy realm. So why not throw myself fully into it?" Then he turned to Twilight, tilting his head slightly as he remembered something. "Twilight, can I ask you something?" Twilight nodded. "If you are Princess Celestia's student, how come you don't live at the palace, or at least in the city?"

"Oh, well..." She blushed a little, seeming a little embarrassed. She let out a small laugh. "Well, you see, before I went to Ponyville, I was rather..."

"She was a mega shut-in who rarely slept, ate, or showered if it meant she had to leave a book alone." Spike cut in, enjoying the look Twilight was giving him.

"Spike! That is NOT why the Princess sent me to Ponyville." She huffed.

Spike just shrugged, still smirking. "Might as well have been."

Rolling her eyes, Twilight returned to look at Felix. "There is a small level of truth in what Spike is saying." She glanced at him, sending him a small glare. "Although not about the shower part." She mumbled, then continued to explain. 

"But yes, when I stayed in Canterlot, I only focused on my studies. Princess Celestia wanted me to go out and meet ponies around my own age, you know, make some friends." She smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "I didn't really understand the value of friendship back then..."

Felix smiled a little. "And now?"

"Now I don't think I could live without it. The Princess sent me to Ponyville to oversee the preparations of the Summer Sun Celebration, but really I think she wanted me to go out and socialize. It was then that I met my five best friends. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy." Her smile grew, and her eyes were full of warmth as she spoke of her friends.

It didn't take much for Felix to get her to tell him about them. As the food arrived, she told him about how she came to live at the library, although the way she skipped through the summer sun celebration seemed a bit strange. 

Twilight happily shared some of the experiences she and her friends had been through. From something as simple as helping Applejack with the harvest, to standing up to a freaking smoke-snoring dragon. 

Felix listened with such attention he almost forgot to eat, while Twilight – assisted by Spike – happily told him about their friends, their new home, and some of the adventures they had been on. 

'If I ever get home, then this would make a great TV show...' He thought, and took a bite of his cheese sandwich. 

The conversation continued, Twilight kept talking about her friends, and what it was like living in Ponyville. Felix was happy to let her do so. Never really one to talk much about himself, this suited him nicely.

"And so I write a letter to Princess Celestia every week, detailing what I've learned about friendship." Twilight explained, taking a sip of her juice.

Felix had to suppress a small giggle. So far all he had seen of this world had been so light-hearted and innocent. Of course, this world wasn't free of danger – Twilight had made that quite clear. Even so, if a massive dragon could be cowed into leaving a mountain by giving it a stern look in the eyes, how dangerous could this place really be?

His thoughts once again turned to Luna, and what she had told him about Nightmare Moon. The threat she had posed to Celestia and Equestria had been very real, and she had paid a very harsh price. Being stuck on the moon for a thousand years? Felix wasn't even sure if he could imagine living that long all alone.

"Felix?" Spike asked, making Felix look up from his plate.

"Hm? What?"

"You okay?" 

Felix managed to smile a little at the dragon, nodding as he did so. "Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about something."

"About home?" Twilight put in. "Your family, your friends?"

"No," Felix assured her. "But they are on my mind..." He raised a hoof and gave it a little wave, as if waving away the topic itself. "I don't want to talk about it." 

Twilight gave a somber nod, but then tried for a little smile. "You haven't told me much about yourself. Do you have friends like mine?"

Felix let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "No, I don't have friends like yours. I barely see my friends." Seeing Twilight's confused expression he continued. "I am kind of a loner, and we are all scattered around the country, doing our own things. So meeting up every day is not really on the table."

"Don't you write to each other?"

Felix shrugged. "Occasionally, but we all have different lives now. It isn't like when we were kids." He let out a small chuckle. "Some of them are even starting to get kids of their own." 

That thought was still strange to him, as none of them were even thirty yet. Still, they had their life in order, and seemed happy about it, so who was he to judge?

"Anyway, as I said, I am a loner. So it will take a while before anyone will even notice I'm gone." Felix said with a small smile, but the mere thought did give a twinge of pain inside him.

Twilight frowned. "I'm sorry, Felix."

Felix just shook his head. "Don't be, it could be a lot worse." His smile turned more genuine. "Of all the places I could have turned up, I'm glad it's a world as magical as this."

Both Twilight and Spike smiled now, but Twilight's quickly faded as she noted the time. "Goodness, we should probably finish up and get going. Our train leaves in 25 minutes."  She waved over a waiter and paid for their meals. "We should be able to make it comfortably to the station if we leave now."

"Alright," replied Felix, quickly finishing his sandwich, "Let's go." 





They followed the now-familiar main road, which led to the station and sky docks. On the way, Twilight and Felix talked about this and that, with Spike contributing now and again. Mostly, Felix took in the sights, trying to glean new details of the small shops and homes of the ponies.

At some point, they passed a small flower shop. Beautiful dark-blue flowers with an inviting, gentle glow caught Felix's attention from the storefront.

"Felix!" Spike called from further up the street. "You coming, buddy?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry!" Felix called back, glancing at the flowers one last time before catching up to Twilight and Spike.

"Saw something you liked?" Twilight asked, tilting her head to the side.

Felix chuckled. "Yeah, perhaps. I might go back to take a look before I head back to the palace."

"Wasn't Sergeant Saber supposed to meet us at the station?" Spike asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, Princess Celestia wanted to make sure Felix got back alright."

Felix blew a raspberry, rolling his eyes as he did so. "It's not like it's complicated to find the palace. It sticks out like a sore thumb." 

"A sore what?" Spike asked.

"Oh, human reference." 

"Oh."

"Anyway, I think I'll be okay." Felix assured her.

Twilight quickly nodded. "I think so too, but I think it is also in case you want to keep exploring the city. Help you with questions, and cultural understanding." 

"Yeah, okay, that makes sense..." Felix admitted, although it still felt weird to be assigned a guard. Then again, he was on friendly terms with Saber, so perhaps he should just look at it as friends hanging out?

"Not that it matters anyway." Spike said, gaining both pony's attention. "Because I can't see Saber anywhere."

They looked ahead, seeing the large building of Canterlot central station. Twilight thought about it, then looked at the very large clock on top of the building. "Well, we are a little early, and perhaps she is waiting for us at the platform with our stuff."

She turned to Felix with a smile. "Want to come inside and see us off?"

Felix thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head. "As much as I would like to, I think I will head back to that flower shop we passed before."

"Are you sure?" Spike asked. "What if Saber is on the platform waiting?"

"Well, if she is, just tell her to wait at the main doors, I won't be long. If she isn't, then I should be back to see her before long. Worst case scenario, I'll just head to the palace."

Twilight thought about it for a moment, then gave a nod. "Alright, I don't see the harm in that. If I see her, I'll tell her where you went, perhaps she will meet you there."

"Sounds good."

Glancing up at the clock once more, Twilight took note of the time. "We better get going." She turned to Felix again with a warm smile. "It was really nice meeting you, Felix. I hope you come to Ponyville to visit."

Felix smiled back. "It was nice meeting you too, Twilight, and you too, Spike." Felix chuckled, holding up his hoof, to which Spike bumped it with his tiny fist. "And yeah, that would be pretty cool. I'll ask the Princess if I can come by soon. We just need to assign an adult to accompany me." Felix joked, making Twilight giggle.

The three said their final goodbyes, and when Twilight and Spike had vanished through the large doors, Felix turned and went back to the shop with the beautiful flowers.

The bell above the door announced his arrival, and a mare swiftly came out of a backroom near the counter and smiled at him.. 

"Hello, welcome to my shop! I'm Daisy. How may I help you today?"

Daisy Luck: Lv 5.

Felix smiled back, and gestured to some flowers near the display window. "Hello, Daisy. Well, I just came by your shop, and I spotted those dark blue flowers there."

Daisy smiled, knowing instantly what he was talking about. "Ah yes, the Night Shades." She trotted closer to the window, and Felix followed her. "Beautiful, aren't they?"

Felix nodded. "Yeah, very." He looked at the price tag, not sure if the amount written on it was a lot. Not that it mattered, he didn't carry any money, but he hoped he could earn some soon. "Are they expensive?"

"Hm, yeah, a little. They are hard to grow, and very exotic. Although it depends how many you need, and if you want them mixed in with a bouquet." Daisy admitted. 

"Well, I just need one." 

The mare smiled a little more. "Well in that case, I would say it cost about the same as a bouquet of normal flowers."

"I see, well, you can probably tell I don't have any money on me now, but I hope to come back with some later." Felix admitted sheepishly. "You wouldn't happen to have a quest I could complete? Maybe some big rats in your basement that need to be driven off?"

The mare looked confused, then shook her head. "Uhm, no, I don't even have a basement."

Felix shrugged with a slight grin. "I figured, but it never hurts to ask..." He chuckled.

"Although," Daisy then continued. "If you want, I may have a small job you could do as payment for the flower."

"Really?" Felix asked. "Because that would be great."

The mare nodded, and turned around. "Let me just check something in the back, then we'll see what we can do." 

"Thank you." 

She smiled, and trotted over to the counter. Just as she was about to walk through the door to the backroom, the bell rang again. 

"Just a moment!" Daisy called from the back.

Felix took his eyes off the flower and noticed two stallions walking inside– a unicorn and an earth pony. Both looked normal enough, although there was something about them Felix didn't like. The way they were moving around, the way they were browsing, it seemed off, somehow. Like they weren't really interested in what they were looking at, just going through the motions.

Felix shook his head. He had no reason to suspect them of anything, so why was he so on-edge? He tried to ignore it and return his attention to the flower, wait in peace for the storekeep and all that, but he just couldn't – he kept glancing at the newcomers, keeping tabs on them. He also felt like they were doing the same to him.

He wrenched his attention off of them, and instead focused on a large vase. This gave him a view of the store without it being as obvious he was looking around – and that's when trouble started..

The two moved closer to the counter a bit too fast for Felix's liking. With a well-practiced motion, they had opened the cash register, levitated the money into some saddlebags and started to move out of the shop again. It happened so fast, and so silently, Felix's wouldn't even have noticed if he hadn't paid attention.

On reflex, he whirled on the thieves and yelled "Hey! Stop right there!"

Felix had never liked thieves, but he had never really liked conflict either. He'd never seen anyone steal anything before, and of course he always liked to imagine he would do something if he did see it, but now that it was happening, he had surprised himself.

He wasn't the only one surprised! The two thieves jumped in shock and bolted for the door. The unicorn used his magic to open the door, and the two leapt outside with Felix in hot pursuit. 

"STOP! THIEVES!" 

As Felix ran out of the store, he was sure he saw a glimpse of a shocked Daisy Luck coming out of the backroom, but he was already gone. Ponies around the street either didn't understand what was happening or were too surprised to react in time.

The thieves made use of this, and ran down one of the side roads. Felix followed, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what he could do! He'd never done anything this rash before in his life! Sure, maybe he would call out thieves, but he couldn't imagine himself chasing after them!

The hell had gotten into him? Something about all of this just bothered Felix on a deeper level than he'd expected. It's not like he'd have tried to run down someone swiping from a store in his past life, so why did this seem to piss him off so much more? He didn't have the time to sort it all out, but he also didn't feel like he should just stop himself and let the thieves escape, either.

The two thieves kept running, moving into different small side roads and alleys, making it hard to keep up. Felix just barely managed it, probably thanks to the training Saber had provided him. Soon enough, the chase came to an end as the thieves ran into a closed-off alley.

Felix came to a stop, panting, but still ready for... uhm, for what exactly?

He hadn't thought this far ahead, he'd just acted. Now he had them caught, but they were two against one, and Felix wasn't exactly sure how far two thieves were willing to go to get away.

Above their heads, Felix saw their levels.

Thief: Lv 8.

Thief: Lv 9.

Okay, that wasn't good. They had higher levels than him, and Felix had only learned to walk and run yesterday!

Still, he was here now, so there was no backing out. Felix gave them his best intimidating look he could muster, puffing his chest out. "You two! Return what you have stolen, and you can leave!" Felix didn't really want to let them leave, but he wanted to avoid fighting two opponents. 

The two thieves looked at one another, and silently came to an understanding. Both sneered, and turned towards Felix, both getting into what Felix could only interpret as combat stances. 

"Move out of our way!" The earth pony growled.

Felix glared back at the stallion. He didn't want to fight them, but he had a hard time feeling intimidated by two brightly-colored little ponies! Come on.. "Fuck you! Give that lady back her money, you asshole!"

Felix's mind went into overdrive. Had this been back in the human world, he would never have done anything like this. Yet somehow here, he felt empowered, he felt more confident and brave. 

The two ponies shared a look of shock at Felix's outburst – whether because of the profanity or simply because of how obviously aggressive he was being, he had no way of knowing.

"We won't tell you again." The unicorn warned.

"Return the money." Felix repeated, which seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. There was no going back now, it was time for combat.

For a moment, Felix imagined the encounter song from one of the pokemon games. He wondered if his gaming powers would let him fight like that, turn based and all. At least he'd have some idea of what to do, then, even if he had no clue how to fight with this body. As it was, he tensed up to leap towards them, only to immediately see stars. 

Before Felix even had a chance to react, the earth pony had rushed him and, punched him right in the face, eliciting a worrying crack sound. One moment he had faced the two thieves, and now he was on his back, seeing the blue sky above him, and covering his bleeding nose. 

"Fuck! You piece of shit!" Felix cried out.

"Felix!" Some mare yelled above them.

"Damn, it's the guard, run!" One of the thieves said, and Felix could hear them galloping away for a moment.

"Stop right there!" 

A stallion yelled, and Felix felt and heard several hooves coming into the alley. He didn't see what was going on, but he heard what sounded like a quick struggle, and the two thieves letting out defeated grunts by the end. Before Felix could turn over to see what had happened, a familiar face came into view above him.

It was Saber, giving him a worried look. "Are you okay?"

How the hell was he supposed to know? He hadn't ever studied pony anatomy before! This long part on the top isn't supposed to leak this much, right? Bah!

"Yeah..." Felix replied, his voice a little strained as he kept a soft pressure on his bleeding nose. "Just peachy..."

Saber landed next to him, and gently helped him to sit up. She leaned in a little, trying to get a better look at his nose. "That doesn't look too good, can you remove your hooves so I can take a quick look?" Felix nodded. "Good, tilt your head back a little."

Felix did so, and removed his hooves so Saber could get a better look. At the corner of his eye, Felix saw how the two thieves were surrounded by six town guards, already putting them into chains and securing the money. 

"I think it's broken..." Saber sighed. "Nothing doctor Peppermint can't fix, though." She looked over at the rest of the guard, giving the two thieves a look Felix had never seen her use before. "Take those two away, and get the bits back to their rightful owner!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The guards replied.

There was an uncomfortable pause.

"Uh... who's the rightful owner?" asked one of the guards.

The thieves shared a look. "Us...?" one of them ventured, hopeful.

"Daisy Luck, the flower-store owner," Felix put in with annoyance, though it was a little funny watching the thieves lose heart. The guards nodded to him and set off.

Saber saw them off, then looked back at Felix with a more gentle and worried look. "Let's get you back to the palace."

"Thanks..." Felix mumbled, trying to avoid letting blood trickle into his mouth.





"And that's why I propose we make a commission, and look further into this very serious matter." 

Luna restrained the urge to scream. Her sister might be able to pretend to give equal consideration and care to each and every matter the council brought forward, but simply avoiding unnecessary deployment of the Royal Canterlot Voice was the absolute limit of what Luna could manage at the moment, and she felt it was fair.

Given that she'd just had to sit through a lengthy, detailed monologue about napkins!

"Thank you for that detailed explanation, Minister Prickly. But I think the issue of the napkins can be solved without the need of a commission if we just talk to our supplier and make them correct the simple mistake." 

An hour! On napkins! Before her banishment, they'd have been discussing famine! War! Whatever the heck Discord was getting up to, or whatever the latest monster Starswirl had accidentally unleashed was!

Napkins for an hour! As though the ruler of the nation had nothing better to do!

Then again... she didn't have anything better to do, did she? That was why she'd told Celestia she wanted to be more involved, why she'd been invited to these meetings so she could get back into practice with governance. She resolved her duties in the dream realm, she held her unattended night court – there simply wasn't enough to keep her busy.

Which meant listening to drivel like this. Apparently, Equestria was now such a comfortable place to live that meaningless nonissues like these were sometimes all there was to talk about, apparently.

This was a good thing, right? Sure, Luna reasoned. It was a good thing they were that peaceful... as long as they didn't lose track of the bigger picture. The point where people started to forget that trivial issues were trivial, that appearances are not as important as substance, there would be a real problem.

It was an attitude she had definitely spotted a few times among the nobles of Canterlot, and it made her want to stay shut inside. But she had wanted this, and it wasn't like everything the council brought forward was vapid, so she would endure the occasional bit of eyerolling tedium.

There were some issues that genuinely sounded quite interesting. Luna still had to do some research to fully understand how things worked in the modern era, but it was clear some ponies genuinely still had ambitions, or wanted to solve real problems.

Napkins! Honestly!

Luna raised an eyebrow as a small side door opened and a maid stepped inside. It wasn't unusual for staff to come and go, to make sure every pony had everything they needed, like water, tea, or some fruit, but this maid looked a little worried as she approached Celestia. 

Celestia calmly leaned closer to the maid, and her eyes went ever-so-slightly wider as the maid whispered something to her. 

She gave a small nod to the maid, and then sat up straight again. "Ministers, a private matter that requires our attention has just been raised. I know we still have an hour left, but if there is nothing urgent I would like to conclude the meeting for today." 

The ministers looked a bit surprised, if not a little disappointed. Although none seemed to think they had anything important enough to keep the Princesses from a private matter. 

"Thank you, everypony." Celestia smiled, and the ministers all got up, bowed, and left the large meeting room. 

Once the last pony had left, and the door was closed, Luna turned to her sister. "Sister, what is the matter?"

Celestia's smile faded, and she looked at her. "I'm afraid Felix got into a fight in Canterlot. He's gotten a minor injury, but he is alright. Doctor Peppermint is with him now."

Luna's eyes widened, and her eyes fell flat. "An injury?! Even if they say it's minor, why would he be with the physician if so?"

Celestia smiled gently and lent a comforting wing. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, sister. Don't get too worked up now – that won't help him either, hm?"

There was probably some advice on leadership and governance in there, but Luna wasn't of a mind to care. Still, Celestia's calm tones at least got her mind on track so she could put her concerns into words.

"He is still brand-new to this world and his body! Any traumatic events could have serious repercussions for his mind, sister. Prithee, we must go see him!" Luna said, and sprang to her hooves.

Celestia stood as well, and in a flash, the two sisters teleported to the front door of the infirmary. Luna didn't wait around – she moved to the door and almost burst it open, but managed to control herself just in time. She'd barely started to open the door as she heard Felix groan and wince in pain. 

"FFffudge, it hurts..."

Peppermint sighed. "If you just sit still, I can mend your snout in a second."

"I know, I know, I can't help it..."

As the door fully opened, the princesses saw Felix sitting on one of the beds with Peppermint standing in front of him and Saber standing beside the door. When Saber saw who it was she quickly came to attention, while Peppermint simply looked relieved – and Felix looked embarrassed.

Peppermint bowed. "Your highnesses." 

"Sorry for intruding, Doctor," Celestia said. "But we heard Felix had an altercation."

Luna quickly stepped forward, and moved closer to Felix, who held a red stained cloth to his nose. "Are you alright, friend Felix?" She asked, her eyes filled with worry. 

"Yeah, I just decided to do something stupid, and chased after two thieves..." 

"But where was thine guard?" Luna asked, reflexively switching to old ponish. She looked back, and quickly found Saber, who started to look rather nervous. "Guard, why was thou not with Felix?"

"Uhm, I..." Saber stammered.

"It's not her fault." Felix quickly said, letting out a grunt as the snout still hurt a lot. "We came too early, so I decided to go to a shop I had seen."

Luna frowned, her eyes becoming more gentle as she looked at her friend. "Why did you not wait for your guard?"

Felix let out a small chuckle. "I'm not a child, Luna... I figured there was no harm in going to look inside a small shop."

Luna wanted to argue, but she found she could not. "But you got hurt..."

"Well, that's because I'm an idiot newb in this world. Had I been in my own world, I would probably have stayed out of it..." Felix said with a small sigh, and a small amount of shame. "Besides, Peppershaker can fix me right up, right?"

+1 XP! Felix idly noted with slight amusement that he got tiny bits of XP for nicknaming everything, now, apparently.

Peppermint sighed. "Yes, if you're finally ready to let me do it."

Felix hesitated for only a brief moment, then nodded. "Alright, doc..." He lowered his hooves and the cloth.

Both Luna and Celestia winced as they saw the injury. Peppermint – used to treating guards with injuries like this – was less disturbed. He leaned in closer, gave it a quick examination, and then nodded. "Alright, this isn't too serious. We just need to drain some of the fluid and apply a basic healing potion, then give it some time to heal."

As exciting as the prospect of using a bona fide healing potion sounded, Felix couldn't help but feel a little concerned. Especially about the 'draining fluid' part. "Will it hurt?"

"A little, but just for a second. We just need to wash your nose out first." Peppermint assured Felix.

"Alright, do what you have to do." Felix said, bracing himself. 

Peppermint retrieved a nasal spray-bottle and carefully set it in Felix's nostril. The sudden rush of very-cold liquid caused Felix's breath to catch, but it wasn't as bad as this sort of thing was back home. At least his nostrils were a lot farther from his eyes.

"Alright, try blowing your nose out for me."

Felix did so gently, and discovered a whole new dimension to the pain of the injury he had. Still, despite it feeling like the top of his snout had just burst into flames, he managed to clear his nose and breathe normally.

"If I didn't know better, I'd almost imagine you'd done this before. It seems like you can breathe properly, so we're using the potion now."

"Didn't you know? Back home I grew a snout and broke it all the tiii-YIYIYIYAAAHOLYSHITWHAT—"

Felix was cut off mid-quip by the sudden application of the potion to the top of his snout. Where before it was on fire, now it was on electrical fire, and some sensation he couldn't quite describe but felt like it resonated with the deepest part of him.

A little static interference touching his soul, almost.

Felix dully realized that must be what magic felt like – dully, in the back of his mind. Because the front of his mind was concerned with his entire body spasming in shock at the unfamiliar and incredibly invasive feeling on his face, at least until it died down.

The entire room had gone quiet and still at his little outburst.

Peppermint whistled. "Well that was new."

A few moments of silence reigned as Felix gingerly clutched his snout, finally broken by Saber saying, "Oh, right. I guess you've never felt healing magic before, huh? Based on what you've said."

Felix nodded slowly, prompting a round of laughter from Saber and a sigh of relief from Luna as she exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "So that was all that was!"

"But don't you feel better now?" Peppermint smirked.

Felix sighed, nodding. "I do..."

Luna placed a comforting wing around him, making him blush a little. He didn't mean to whine, but he had never broken his nose before, or been in an actual real fight. This was still very new to him.

"I'm glad you were not hurt any worse than this, Felix." Celestia commented, then turned to Saber. "I trust whoever did this is in custody?" 

Saber gave a firm nod. "Yes, the thieves were apprehended and taken into custody." She then gave a small smirk. "I would even add if Felix hadn't run after them, we wouldn't have found them."

Felix snorted. "I delayed them at most..."

"We wouldn't have even known the shop was robbed if you hadn't raised the alarm, and if you hadn't given chase we would have soon lost them." Saber insisted. "It was a brave thing you did. Not many ponies nowadays still raise the hue and cry and give chase like that."

Felix looked down at the floor, his cheeks burning a little at the praise. And, hue and cry? That sounded like something he might have heard of in a history book, but he hadn't consciously invoked any law or tradition. He'd just, well... "Well, the owner was kind enough to help me, so I couldn't just stand by and watch her get robbed..."

He felt Luna give him a small squeeze with her wing, and he could practically feel Celestia beaming at him. All of it made him blush even more. 

"I'm curious, Felix. What was it you were trying to get in the shop?" Celestia asked.

"Oh, well." Before Felix could answer, there was a small knock on the door, and the maid from before trotted inside.

"Uhm, forgive the interruption, but a mare wanted me to deliver this to master Felix." She trotted inside with a bouquet and a card. 

Felix quickly spotted five beautiful night shade flowers mixed in with the bouquet – the other flowers serving as a complement to make the night shades stand out even more. The maid trotted over to Felix, placing the flowers on the nightstand next to the bed, and handed him the card.

Felix quickly opened it up.


'The guards told me what happened.

I'm so sorry that you got hurt, but they promised you would be alright.

Thank you so much for helping me. I hope this arrangement helps you forget the injury, and shows you a bit of how grateful I am for what you did. 

Please drop by whenever you want. You're always welcome in my shop.

Sincerely.
Daisy Luck.'


"You did something great today, Felix." Celestia smiled, then leaned in with a smirk. "Maybe you really are the chosen one." She teased, making Felix laugh.

"Yeah, not the greatest start to an adventure in a fantasy-land I've had, let me tell you. Then again, definitely not the worst, either..." He sighed, then turned to the flowers. "At least I managed something." Taking the flowers, he turned and offered them to Luna, who looked startled as he presented her with them.

"F-for me?"

Felix smiled sheepishly. "Y-yeah, I wanted to cheer you up... You have shared so much of yourself with me these last few days, I wanted to show you how much I appreciated it... So, yeah, for you." 

The blue glow from the flower seemed to burn just a little brighter as Luna took them. "Night Shades..." She smiled. "My favorites." 

Felix chuckled, feeling his cheeks burn again. "Yeah, I thought of you when I saw them."

Now it was Luna's turn to blush. She looked at him, leaning in just a little, and planted a small peck on his cheek. "Thank you, Felix. I love them." 

Felix blushed even more, but didn't say anything as Luna pulled him in for a hug. Celestia, Peppermint, and Saber in the meantime left the infirmary, letting the two of them enjoy the moment alone.