//------------------------------// // Chapter Two - Questions Of Anything // Story: Shadow Of Night // by AmethystProtector //------------------------------// Shadow Of Night By: AmethystProtector //------------------------------// Chapter Two - Questions Of Anything Luna had spent the night alternating between looking at the stars and looking the Sugarcube Corner storefront. During the first hour she could only see the shadow of the unknown Alicorn moving around inside the bakery's lobby. But the near the start of the second hour she seen the Alicorn start washing the inside of the store's windows. Luna watched as he cleaned with a speed most ponies could hardly imagine, but she was too far away to tell if he was using magic to augment his speed. She watched as the Alicorn deftly maneuvered outside to clean the outside of the windows, appearing to not even tuck in his wings to do so. Within a few moments he went back inside and his shadow disappeared, leaving Luna to ponder what she had just seen, yet her mind just seemed to refuse the sight as reality. The night had passed with neither hide-nor-hair of the Alicorn pony, yet the light remained on and the cart still station just outside the shop. She had long forgotten viewing the night sky and just sat focusing her senses towards the town and pondering what she had seen earlier this night. She had even forgotten the passage of time, not even aware of anything but the little bakery and mysterious Alicorn. That is until she heard a pony clear its throat nearby. Luna looked up in startled surprise, only to find her sister Celestia looking down at her with a look of concern. “Are you alright dear sister?” Celestia asked, concern and a hint of fear tainting her naturally sweet voice. Luna quickly stood up, running her hoof through her mane in embarrassment. “Yes, of course, everything is fine,” she blurted out. She could tell by Celestia's face that it was an especially unconvincing recovery. Then she really knew that her sister thought something was wrong when she looked over at the telescope that was still pointed towards Ponyville. She was relived when Celestia let the subject drop. “Shall we start the day my sister?” she asked cautiously. Luna's heart dropped with those words, for when Celestia spoke them, Luna knew that she was referring to her attempt to bring about eternal night. She had spent over a thousand years exiled to the moon for her actions. Although since her return, Celestia had welcomed her back with open arms, she still was cautious around Luna, especially when she looked sad or lonely. Luna mustered a brave face and said, “Of course, let a new day shine.” Celestia seemed to relax as they started to change night into day. Once finished, Celestia turns to Luna, “Would you like to join me for breakfast before heading in for the day?” Luna knew that Celestia normally asked out of courtesy, believing that she would refuse, as she usually did. But tonight her focus had been on the storefront and she had forgotten to eat before her sister had awoken. “Actually...” Luna could see Celestia struggling to hold back a cheer of happiness, “I would enjoy having something to eat with you. But if you can give me a few moments, there is something I need to attend to first.” Celestia’s excitement was barely contained as she took her sister into a big hug. “I’ll go tell the chef the news and I’ll wait for your arrival.” Celestia broke the hug to look into her sister’s eyes. “We’ll dine overlooking the courtyard to celebrate.” She paused for a moment before trotting into the castle. Luna sighed in frustration at the genuine happiness her sister showed. She would rather eat alone as she normally did, but she couldn’t bare to disappoint her by turning down her offer then getting a meal to eat alone. She turned back to her telescope in hope of seeing the Alicorn again. A few moments passed before the Alicorn came out the door to Sugarcube corner. He pristine dark coat and mane were covered in white as he locked the door, but his horn and wings were clean. As he walked to his cart, his exhaustion was clear even from this distance. He got behind the cart’s harness and began moving towards the Everfree Forest, staying in sight of her telescope for only a moment longer before disappearing into the morning’s fog. With her curiosity sated for now, Luna returns the telescope to its storage position before reluctantly heading to meet her sister. //----------------// Shining Armor awakens to the sounds and sensation of the train slowing to a stop. The light voice of whom he presumed to be the conductor announced the arrival into Ponyville and noted the time until departure. He had slept soundly during the ride, a testament to the exhaustion he has felt over the last few weeks. He gathered his things and waited for the announcement to depart the train. Soon, he was on the train platform, orienting himself to the new surroundings. He had never been to Ponyville before and was exited to see his sister, but he knew that with the just rising sun his sister would be asleep after another late night studying. So Shining Armor begins walking to the Ponyville Hotel to freshen up and drop off his things. Upon arrival, he is greeted by a young stallion behind the counter. He appeared to be very tired, obviously not a fan of the overnight shift he’s about to finish. After paying for the room for two nights and taking his key, Shining Armor goes to the second floor and enters his room. He was surprised by how fresh and comfortable the small single room was. There was a small living room with a couch and coffee table. Near the back was a small yet functional kitchen with the bed room branching off of it. He didn’t have long to stay so he dropped his saddle bags then quickly transferred the gifts he brought into the much lighter messenger bag he brought with him. Going back to the lobby, he makes it in time to see that a young mare is now behind the counter with the stallion, apparently preparing to take over. “Hello again Captain Armor,” the stallion called to him as he came down the steps. “Is everything alright with your room?” The mare also turned to him, a bit of curiosity in her eyes. “Yes, I found everything to be excellent,” he said as he approached the counter. “I did wonder however, if there was someplace that might be open this early for breakfast. I haven’t yet eaten since my arrival.” The mare was the first to speak up, “Of course Captain Armor, I believe that the Sugarcube Corner should be open by now and they always have a wonderful selection of breakfast treats.” “That is true,” the stallion chimed in, “but I don’t think that they have left yet.” The mare turned to him with earnest confusion on her face. “I did not tell you yet, but the Cakes had checked in last night. As far as I know, they’re still here.” Shining Armor had not expected to find anything that would arise suspicion so early in his quest. “So, is their stay here unusual?” “Yes,” the stallion said, “you see, they live above their bakery. When I asked last night, they told me they needed to stay here for the next few nights.” Shining considered this but thought that starting his first day of investigation with an interrogation might not be wise if he wanted to keep a low profile. “So is there someplace else that might be open?” “I’m sorry Captain,” the mare began, “but since this is the day after the Summer Sun Celebration, I doubt that the other shops would be open if the Cakes aren’t.” Shining tapped his hoof on the counter out of frustration. He had neglected getting something to eat last night and he had hoped to get something to eat before diving into the investigation head on. He would have to wake his sister and mooch some breakfast from her under the ruse dropping off the gifts. “Well, I guess I’ll figure something out,” he said to them before turning to the door. But he stopped halfway when his senses alerted him to sounds coming from the stairway he had comedown from. Perking up his ears and filtering out the distant and distorted sounds. Something about the sounds tugged at his memories as he turned back to the ponies, “The Cakes have children right?” “Yes, but how did you know?,” the mare asked. Being fresh and alert, she had caught on that Shining did not know about them when he arrived. “My sister told me a bit about them when she wrote me a while back.” Turning back to the staircase he said, “I think I hear them coming down now.” He moved back to the counter as the two other ponies watched the steps, awaiting the reveal. Mrs Cake followed her husband out of their hotel room, securing the door behind her. She silently regretted taking the far room on the second floor. They had chosen it because they did not want to disturb the other guests in case Pound or Pumpkin Cake had become noisy, and that was the only room that had no guests beside or below it. But now they had to deal with the drawback of the added distance as they hurried to open the bakery as close to their normal time as possible, seeing as they were already late. Cup Cake was happy to have had a wonderful and relaxing night’s rest in the quiet and clean suite they had rented, but she could not help but feel they had put their trust in the wrong pony by allowing Starless Night to work for them overnight. But she had decided last night to not bring it up with Carrot again. She felt that no matter what happened, she and Carrot would be able to work something out together. They made it down the stairs to the lobby floor, having kept the kids mostly quiet. As they approached the door, focused entirely on making it outside quickly until they turned around and stopped upon unexpectedly hearing their names. “Mr and Mrs Cake?” asked a pure white Unicorn stallion as he approached from the lobby counter. “Hi, I’m Shining Armor, Twilight’s Brother.” Mrs Cake’s Eyes grew with recognition dawned on her, “Shining Armor! Its a pleasure to finally meet you. We would love to stay and chat, but we really do need to head to the bakery...” “That’s perfect!” he exclaimed as he moved passed them, holding open the door for them as he replied, “I was just heading there myself.” She looked at Carrot as he turned to her with his eyebrows raised as if silently asking ‘What did we just get ourselves into?’ She responded with a weak shrug and a meek smile before heading out the door. The trio walked out onto the road with Shining Armor falling in step behind the Cakes. At first they walked in silence. The unexpected company and the less than perfect start to their morning had a negative effect on the Cakes sociability. Mrs Cake broke the silence first, not one to make any-pony feel uncomfortable. “So, Shining Armor, what brings you out this way?” He moved closer to the pair, having fallen a bit behind, distracted by the sights. “I was looking to take a break from the hectic schedule I’ve been on. I thought I could spend some time with Twilight and give her the gift I brought from the Crystal Kingdom. I would of came to see her anyway, but on my way back to the Crystal Kingdom, instead of staying here for a while.” “So is she going to meet you at the bakery?” Mrs Cake asked, curious as to the connection to the reasons he gave for his visit and his accompaniment to the bakery. “Breakfast,” he said flatly. “I just got off the train ten minutes or so ago and I have yet to eat. The clerks at the desk said you are the best stop in town and then you just happened to come down just as I was about to leave.” “Oh,” she responded cautiously. She couldn’t help but feel nervous at the second strange arrival in as many days. But she quickly put aside her fears to keep the conversation going. “So, you’ll be our first customer of the day. Do you know what you’ll have, or...?” “For me its always coffee and a danish in the morning, but seeing as I’ll be walking a lot today, I’ll be getting something else. Maybe you have a specialty that I might enjoy?” “We’re here,” Mr Cake interrupted. The trio stood at the door, with the Cakes taking a deep breath before unlocking the door. The tension was clear to Shining Armor, but he kept silent. The Cakes stepped into the bakery and were surprised by the level of cleanliness given to the lobby area. The tables, floors, walls and glass display cases glistened with incoming sunlight. They felt instantly guilty for doubting Starless’, and by proxy Mr Weathervane’s, trustworthiness. With a cough from Shining Armor, they kicked back into gear, with Mr Cake taking the children upstairs and Mrs Cake inviting Shining in then heading into the kitchen. Mrs Cake saw that starless had given the kitchen the same level of attention that he gave the lobby. Although it was not yet finished, he did clean a large portion of the things that they would need for the day and moved the unclean items out of the way. With her preliminary check complete, she began prepping the standard food for the day and Shining armor’s breakfast, content that the bad things she had imagined to happen while they were away had not passed. //----------------// Dear Rocinante; I have enclosed my preliminary report regarding my first day in Ponyville. Needless to say, due to the chaos caused by the recent holiday, any unusual occurrences may have gone unnoticed during or after the event. Many shops did not even open at their regular schedules today. I was however able to see my sister and her friends while in town and was able to unload the gifts I had brought from the Crystal Kingdom. I will get some things from here for my return as I have found something that you might enjoy. I’ll bring it with me upon completion of this mission. Also, I think that I may have found a suitable candidate for the Lunar Guard. I have yet to meet this pony, but I have been told many good things about him. I’m to meet him tonight after sunset. I hope that he can be of service to your team so that you may have some down time. Even if he can or cannot be of use to you, when I return, I shall take a position within your ranks so that the weight your team has supported can be lifted. I look forward to returning soon, Shining Armor