//------------------------------// // Epilogue/Wheels in Motion (Bonus 1) // Story: Angels and Demons // by lunabrony //------------------------------// [SIX MONTHS] Angel was asleep. She lay next to Silver in the bed they shared, the quieted rhythmic pulse of her breathing a hypnotic and peaceful sound. Nothing had happened between them, but there time together was valued more than all the bits she could offer him. It had been approximately six months since his decision to live in Equestria, and every day there was something new to learn. But this wasn't to say he couldn't visit Earth whenever he wanted. In fact, an occasional visit might be just the very thing he needed. The Canterlot Library was huge, but there was material you just couldn't get here. Silver had enjoyed watching her fall into her deep sleep. During their first meetings he found that she actually snored. Something that was cured, when he put an arm across one of her wings and his muzzle softly at her neck. These days she had ceased snoring entirely. Taking in her scent he silently promised himself that he'd get all the work done before the wedding. Easing out of bed, so as not to disturb her sleep he retreated. He could be gone for an hour or two. He slipped into the special magically made pants that could alter to his shape and forced himself into the matching simple t-shirt and vest. Sunglasses. Human money would be in the in the closet he rented at the metro. Gems were gems both here and there, only more valuable on Earth, so money had not been a problem. From this apartment he knew he wouldn't arrive in a terribly populated area. He checked the second wrist watch on his arm to see what the time was over there. The watch wasn't exactly needed, but it completed the look he was going for. Time moved here in exactly the same flow as it did on Earth. Five minutes were five minutes, either way. He had not seen Alicia since the day he'd gone searching for Angel, and it slightly perturbed him. At the very least, why had she not come to check in on him? Angel had sat up in her bed, somehow her mane as perfect as ever. Only she could pull that off. "Silver? Are you alright?" Time moved at the same rate, but depending on where he usually teleported to time zones could be different. It was closing time for most places in both Equestria and Earth, but because of the timezone he was going to, he had at least an hour of rummaging around. She was awake! Oh, fiddlesticks. Alright Silver, remember that honesty is extra important here. "You're up early." Wasn't it around 1am? "I'm alright Angel, I'd hoped you wouldn't see this, didn't want you stressed." The alicorn had always been completely supportive of him. Although his trips to Earth worried her, she did not know of the danger which was nonexistant here, and she hadn't yet tried to stop him. She cast him a soft smile, for it was rather difficult to try and sneak things past her. "You know I'd help you, if only you'd ask." She said. She had never worn pants herself, although he'd seen her in a dress once or twice, a sight which always made his heart stop. "Are you going over there again?" He wouldn't ask her of that. Explaining the kind of cruelty there existed on Earth was not something he could do. Not when she was looking at him. In fact when he thought of it, he always felt ashamed. "Angel, I know you're powerful and you could probably handle yourself, but there are things I don't want you to see." They'd scar you inside, he thought. "I'm finishing some trips, some knowledge I need if I'm going to help making this world safer." He had an idea. "Why don't we go to Earth for our honeymoon? Teleport there directly after the final party? We don't have to stay long." He could find a safe spot. "Bad things? Like what?" She seemed confused. "If people there do things you don't like, why not just ask them to stop? That usually works." Such cluelessness. He was a pony now, and passed as human, and there was no reason why she couldn't pass as one as well. But she, on the other hand, just wasn't meant to be human. "I'd like that very much." She said in excitement, since she had not seen very much of his realm. He suspected she had gone back once or twice on her own, but she'd been lucky so far. "Maybe I could meet your brother, I'm sure he's very nice." "Things work differently in our world. We... do have heroes Angel, and people doing good things." And not all heroics worked in Equestria. "However its not obvious when they do good. Not always." That was vague if anything, and he sighed, feeling the weight of shame. "I won't be going there after we've bonded." He couldn't, at least Alicia had said so and though she seemed fairly random at times she had never said anything false. He was about to start saying something and stopped. Suddenly he felt inadequate and unworthy of her. Angel stepped forward, and pressed her nose against his neck. She smelled like spring, with just a hint of cherry blossoms. "I love you, Silver. I can take care of myself. Don't worry." She said gently. "You talk about Earth, but I've seen so little of it. I'm coming with you." She spoke in a voice indicating she wasn't entirely asking anymore. He thought about it for a while. It was late a night, not much would be happening, and they wouldn't be far from the library. The hourglass was around his neck and he considered this a lot. Going there was always frightening if he suddenly lost the hour glass or lost track of time he'd be completely exposed. "Can you use that illusion spell you were talking about on both of us?" That might be safer. The alicorn brightened up immediately. "Oh, yes!" she said excitedly. If worst came to worst, she might be able to fly away, but he'd only ever seen her fly once. Though he was fairly certain she took to the sky when he wasn't watching. "And if you see something you don't like, we can return here." This last part was added with a bit of reluctance, mainly just for his satisfaction. Not seeing her fly always stung him, having wings and being able to seemed like a great joy and she felt uncomfortable doing it. Hopefully there would be a pegasi or an alicorn between his kids. Though if that failed, he had other ways. He wasn't sure what he had expected when the illusion was applied. Beyond just the general feel of a set of interlocked spells surrounding him, he couldn't sense looking different. She looked the same, he looked and felt the same. Ditching the pants, shirt and vest he safely stored the hour glass inside a cupboard. "Ready?" He asked her. This was going to be strange. It wasn't that she hated doing it, it was that he couldn't do it. Always thinking of others, she was far too kind and thoughtful to fly in front of him, which despite his protests, she seemed to consider exceedingly rude. Angel snuggled up against him, her tail flicking against his legs, and her horn glowed. The ground fell out from under him, and he found himself human once more, slightly dizzy. He was alone, and his head hurt for the first time in months. Since living with Angel, she made sure his pain almost never came back. A warm rush of wind picked up, as if they were standing in a wind tunnel. The ensuing feeling was extraordinarily strange. He still felt like a pony, in fact, he could still feel every one of his four legs on the ground underneath solid hooves. But looking down, he appeared very much to be human. Although he could feel his back legs, he could not see them. Across from him sat the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, dressed in jeans and a green sweater, with curled blonde hair. "It is a bit disorienting, isn't it?" She asked. Looking about, he'd find they were in front of a library. For some reason, they always seemed to end up in front of libraries. Blonde, of course, she had been almost white as a pony. He shifted around a bit, watching his simulation of a body keep up step. Even Luna, famed originator of many illusions spells, as he had learned, would probably be impressed by this spell work. He smiled at her "You look beautiful, glad to finally see what you would be like as a human." Looking around he saw the familiar late night, one hour before closing time, milling of people going about their business. Tall buildings extended up everywhere. Cars streamed by. "On earth... people... live a lot more densely." Angel was staring at her hands, clenching and unclenching her fists. She looked amusingly disgusted. "I don't like this, it doesn't feel right." She said, before looking up at the towering buildings. Her eyes widened, and she craned her neck up so far he saw her nearly fall off the ledge she was sitting on. She wan't used to such magnificent structures. "Don't like what?" He raised a hoof and watched his the faux hand raise in turns, flexing with his intentions of moving it. His nerves were up and he was on end. He wasn't sure what to think of the architecture of Canterlot, sometimes it looked quant and sometimes it was silly. He wondered what she thought of the towering modernistic structures of glass and steel. "If we want to cross the road we'll have to wait for a green light." They had traffic lights in Ponyville. In Cloudsdale at least, hopefully she had seen something like that, but he returned to her bad feeling. If their illusions was off it they had to go home. "The illusions are holding up?" "Yes, they're holding up. But I haven't used a human form in a long time, and you never get used to -" She paused, and turned an adorable shade of red. She had just realized he'd been human before becoming a pony, and he'd adjusted just fine. Canterlot had horse drawn carriages and trains, but no automobiles. "Oh, good, we have green lights in Equestria as well. What do you do for an orange light?" He couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "Orange means be ready, green means go, red means don't go... but if turns red while you're going you just keep moving." He interlocked his hoofs around hers, and watched their fingers intertwine. If he ever meet Alicia again he wondered if she could hand him another hour glass, it might be fun to show her what it felt like to be a human. "Come across." They passed a hotdog stand. The smells of frying fat he enjoyed as a human, as a pony it was about one of the most noxious scents he knew of. His stomach almost turned. "Hurrying on." Their fingers curled together, and she smiled at him. As they passed the hot dogs, although she wasn't entirely sure what they were, her face made the same involuntary reaction his did. She hated the smell. He felt her tail curl around his back leg, both of which were technically nonexistent. Her fingers pulled away from his, and she stooped to pull up a flower growing between cracks in the asphalt. For a moment he worried she was going to eat it. "The gryphons eat meat too." He had never seen one, but she spoke of them. It was just something to say, her seeing fried meat wasn't embarrassing. Never had bacon smelled as awful as this. Two vegetarians having a violent reaction to the sight of meat, eh people wouldn't notice. He gently tucked her away from the scent, wanting to get as far away from as he could as well. Inside the clean library. "There, that's better. Sorry about that Angel." He watched the flower she had picked. "Some flowers are more elegant on Earth." As soon as they were inside the library, Angel gave a squeal of delight, and ran into one of the aisles. She would be alright here, few bad things could happen in a library. The librarian was busy stamping books being returned. A librarian who he'd seen before. Alicia stamped the book she was holding, and placed it back on a cart. "Thank you, come again." She said cheerfully. "Hello... Newman. Or was it Norman?" She winked at him. It was a welcomed sight. "I keep bumping into you on accident?" He asked, knowing that she probably only showed herself when she wanted to. Lifting up his right hand, he showed her the wedding band. His human analogue showed her a wedding ring on a finger. "Thank you Alicia. If I can find something that'll be worth a truckload of fun for you, I'll repay it." The draconequus was just that, a draconequus, looking completely out of place with her fur and feathers. But nobody was giving her a second glance. "I'm always watching out for you, Norman. Congratulations." She said. "Any foals on the way?" She asked with a playful grin. "Not until I'm done here." He smirked, looking over to watch Angel. Feeling a bit like a parent watching out for her, protecting her innocence. Was that right of him? He turned to Alicia. "Am I doing the right thing keeping her in the dark? Protecting her from this place?" "I think you are." Alicia said. "I would only bring her here if I could keep an eye on her. Discovering the evils of this place... for her it'd be like a child discovering there is no Santa, only to a much more profound degree. I think she'd be devastated if she knew." Alicia said. "I personally think you both belong in Equestria, where you're safe. I know you weren't born a pony, Norman. But she loves you." He nodded and smiled faintly. Shikata go nai. It was beyond something he could reach. He wasn't as innocent at heart as the ponies could be, and if he really wanted he could make the hairs of the worst of them stand on end. "This world isn't all bad.. I want to show her a little of it. You know, just for one day. She showed me a whole new world, and I've kept her from most of mine. Can… you give me another hour glass? Just a honey moon visit, an island in the Pacific." "It's yours. It'll be waiting for you when you return to Canterlot." She said. "I-... oh crap. You better go get Angel." She said suddenly. He didn't hesitate for a moment, and shot down in the direction he had seen her pass along. What had she found? What had found her? Idiot, he should have been by her side every step of the way, not just relied on blind luck. For a passing moment he wondered what his human body looked like sprinting at the rate he was. The worst of the worst flew through his mind. He had never wished to be back on four legs so badly. Although his human self was, for the moment, an illusion, he could not run as fast as his pony self, and magic would surely be seen. He found Angel standing in an aisle looking very confused, surrounded by books on War and Crime. She didn't seem to fully understand yet, and was only just about to open one. He ran towards, not tackling her but kicking the book away from her at all speeds. He shivered, if it landed close he'd rush over and kick it away. "Angel... please, lets go home now." A plea. Never would he rush at her, but he'd bark an order at her even if that would scare her. Angel didn't understand, she hadn't seen enough. But he'd come within seconds of her asking questions, questions he couldn't possibly answer. "What is all this?" She asked, but the tone in his voice scared her so much she could only nod. "Okay." She locked fingers with him, and anyone looking in their direction at that moment would see a flash of light, and emptiness where they'd been a moment before.