“Princess Luna will be here in a minute. Please wait here.” A unicorn guard says to me, walking away.
Wow…It’s…this place is amazing. I can see my reflection in the polished black and white checkered floor. There is a massive red rug that makes a path toward the center of the room, to which it branches out to two other rooms and one way up a flight of stairs. There are purple and blue finely decorated tapestries lining the room. The walls are a pale purple with a gold trim. There are two stained glass windows, one is a bright yellow with a sun pattern and the other is blue with a moon pattern.
“Hello?” I say.
My voice echoes throughout the room. I grin brightly. Well, if I have to wait for her…
“ECHO!” I shout. My voice reverberates around the room. I laugh heartily.
“MY NAME IS D-PAD!!”
I laugh again.
“HOORAAA!”
I laugh even harder.
“HUZZAAAAAAAAA!” A booming voice shouts.
OW, OW, OW, OOOOOOW! MY EARS!
I cover my ears in pain.
“Oh my, art thou okay?”
I uncover my ears, and turn around. I come face to face to Princess Luna. Well, rather I have to look upwards to come face to face with the alicorn princess. Didn’t think she was that tall. She has a dark blue coat and a long bright deep blue glittering mane and tail. She has light blue eyes and a darkened flank with a crescent moon. She’s wearing a black crown, a black choker with a crescent moon on it, and light blue shoes.
“I’ll be fine miss.” I say, smiling.
You forgot to bow, you idiot!
I quickly kneel down, almost smacking my face into the floor.
“We presume thou art D-Pad, are we correct?” She asks.
“You are correct miss, and why do you refer to yourself as ‘we’?” I ask.
“We choose to speak the traditional royal ways.” She replies.
“Oh ok, that’s cool.” I comment.
“Now, First of all, we would like to commend thou for thine actions in finding the missing fillies.” She compliments me.
“Thank you, but I just did what I thought any other pony would do. There was little chance I was going to find a guard in this morning’s weather, so I went and took the post myself.” I reply.
“Very admirable, however we will say that what thou did was dangerous.” She comments. “Our guards were out, not only trying to control the weather, but looking for the fillies.”
“I…I understand Princess…” I say bumming out.
“Furthermore, this meeting is not a friendly get together. Thou are to be interrogated.” She adds.
“But…but I didn’t do anything! I swear!” I exclaim.
She looks in me in disbelief. I suddenly feel my legs and wings being bound together by magic. I flop to the floor. A group of royal unicorn guards tie my limbs and wings together.
“This is only for our safety. We apologize for this.” Princess Luna says.
The guards set me in a sitting position.
“I swear! I was drinking with my fillyfriend and her roommate at their house! Ask them! They’ll tell you the same! I woke up at 5:30 in the morning! I have no clue how the storm started!” I defend.
“And how drunk were you?” She asks.
“…I…was hammered of my plot.” I admit.
I hear the guards murmur amongst one another. The guards consult with the princess.
“Unfortunately, much of thine statements are unacceptable. Thou admits to being inebriated, so thou could have caused it in his intoxicated state. ” Princess Luna states.
“But I swear I didn’t leave!! I even had my wings tied up! You have to believe me!” I beg.
“Hold everything!!”
Everypony, including myself, turned to face the voice. The gray bat-winged guard that flew away with the captain approached the gathering, panting. He is not wearing his armor, showing that he is a little shorter than the rest of the guards. He has a short black crew-cut mane and gold eyes with cat-slit pupils. He has a red lance as his cutie mark.
“He’s telling the truth.” He says, still panting. “I just got back from our test labs. The clouds weren’t moved by a pegasus. In fact, the clouds were made and moved by using magic.”
Luna nods her head. Some of the guards snicker at the bat-winged guard.
A pegasus guard approaches the group, holding a file.
“Gentlestallions…” He states. “…reports have come back from the labs. The cloud samples we have from this morning have an abnormal amount of magical energy, and they lack pegasus hooves. From this, we can deduce that at least one unicorn was involved in making them, and that they moved them using their magic.”
The guards nod in agreement and begin praising him. The bat-winged pegasus growls.
The guards untie my legs and my wings. I stretch my body and wings.
“Thank you.” I growl.
“We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience. We only wanted to be safe.” Princess Luna states.
I want to be mad, but I can’t even be mad about that. That is a totally legitimate reason.
I look over at the bat-winged Pegasus. He’s glumly walking away. I walk over and catch up with him.
“You’re Lance right?” I ask.
He turns to me and smiles.
“Oh, you’re that bat-winged stallion from this morning! Yes, my name is Lance.” He replies.
“Cool! My name’s D-Pad. Nice to meet you!” I say, shaking his hoof.
“Whoa, how come you don’t have slit pupils?” He asks, befuddled.
“I don’t know…I’ve given up on trying to understand our genetics.” I joke.
He laughs. He starts to brighten up.
“So, what do you do here?” I ask.
He bums out again.
“I was in Princess Luna’s royal guard…” he grumbles.
“What happened?” I ask.
“I was kicked out for deserting my post.” He grumbles.
“Wait… but you were taking the captain to get medical attention! That’s not fair! They can’t kick you out because of that!” I exclaim.
“Yeah, but I’m just a low-life. They’re not going to listen to reason from me!” He growls, starting to get angry. “Not even three months into the guard, and I get kicked out! It’s because I’m a pure-bred bat-wing Pegasus, that all the reason they need! Why congratulate me?!? You know, I could smash all of their…”
“Easy now, let’s not make a big scene…let’s go get some lunch, I know a place.” I say, pulling him away from the crowd.
I decided to take him to a local sandwich stand in Ponyville. It took some doing, but the ponies now seem to be able to accept Lance. He’s starting to cheer up, but I can tell he still needs someone to vent to.
We approach the sandwich stand. I order a daffodil and cabbage sandwich, and Lance orders a dandelion and tomato sandwich. We get our sandwiches, to which I pay for them, and sit down at a table.
“You almost lost your cool back at the castle.” I say, taking a bite out of my sandwich.
“I know.” Lance says. “I just…when you’ve lived most of your life with bat-winged heathens, you tend to get pissed off very easy.”
“You lived with the bat-winged pegasi? Like the actual criminal bat-winged pegasi?” I ask, shocked.
“Born and raised.” He states. “Both my mom and dad were bat-winged pegasi. I grew up in their society. Quite an interesting lot, they are.”
“So how old would that make you?” I ask.
“21 years old, I left when I was fifteen, and that was six years ago.” He replies.
“Same here! I don’t know where I came from, but my foster family has taken care of me for as long as I’ve been with them.” I comment.
He starts mauling his sandwich. He scarfs as much as he can in his mouth.
…Okay…
“What was it like, growing up with them?” I ask.
“Well, when you weren’t stealing from other communities and beating the Tartarus out of innocent ponies, you were avoiding the older pegasi who were into child molestation and did anything for sex. And I mean anything.” He says, his mouth bulging with his sandwich.
“Really? That’s a sounds a little over-exaggerated.” I admit.
“When you live in a godless society, a lot of over-exaggerated shit really happens.” He replies, swallowing his food.
“So, you couldn’t take it?” I ask.
“I got out of there as fast as I could. When I finally turned into a grown stallion, I flew away from my home.” He replies.
“What happened to your parents?” I ask.
“Can we stop talking about this?” He asks, looking very uncomfortable.
“Oh, um…I’m sorry.” I apologize.
“I don’t like talking about my home…I still suffer from the memories I wish I could forget.” He whimpers.
“Perhaps we should change the subject…Are all Luna’s guards bat-winged pegasi?” I ask.
“Yes, Princess Luna picks her bat-winged pegasi from those who wish to abandon the old ways and wish to make a difference in society.” He replies. “They don’t get to see a lot of action though. They scare most ponies away, and they’re not well respected by any group. Usually they’re dispatched when the other guards would be ineffective…”
“How so?” I interrupt.
“We can see in the dark. If its pitch-black out, we are very effective.” He continues. “And the guard works in the shadows. You’ve probably never seen them, but they’ve seen you…heck, there’s probably one in Ponyville right now, and nobody knows about him, watching and recording all suspicious activity.”
Well, if I didn’t have a reason to be paranoid before…
“So…I don’t understand. Why kick you out on the basis of being a bat-wing pegasus?” I ask.
“It’s a tad complicated. All of the guards, including Luna’s guard, are all delegated by captains. The captains get together to judge a guard if he is unfit. As I said, Luna’s guard is not very well respected, so the other captains claimed desertion. My captain didn’t see it as that, but he was out voted. So he chose to kick me out of the guard, and the other captains agreed.
“Well, that’s a bunch of bologna.” I comment.
“I wouldn’t say that. Princess Luna’s guard is very ruthless. You really buck up, and they beat you until you can’t move. If you are seen during a covert mission, your put in a small, pitch-black room with no light or openings, and forced to stay in there for three days with no food or water. I think getting kicked out was the kinder thing to do.” He says.
“Dear Celestia…I have a little bit of trouble seeing why getting kicked out is something to grump about.” I comment.
“Well, I don’t have any background in any other jobs, or any other skilled abilities beside how I got my cutie mark.” He explains.
I look at his red lance cutie mark.
“Jousting?” I guess.
“Impaling ponies with a lance.” He says.
I gulp hard.
“Well…that explains it…” I say uncomfortably.
I finish up my sandwich.
“Well, sorry to run, but I got to get home. I have to get my sandwich board and bell.”
He gives a quizzical look.
“I’m a pegasus for hire, and those are my advertisement and attention getter.”
“Ahh, that does explain it. Well, have a good afternoon, and thanks for the sandwich!” He thanks me.
I fly off towards my house.
Ahh, home sweet home. Looks like dad just finished painting the house a bright red. He even fixed the shingles. You know, it’s been only a week and a half since we moved into this old two-story house. In that time, I got a girlfriend, made a new friend, and became accepted in a society. Things are finally taking a turn for the better.
I pick up my sandwich board. Now where is that…Oh yeah! I left my bell inside the house. I walk over to the house and push open the front door. I hear something fall on the floor.
“Hey Mom, could you hand me my...”
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
I slowly open my eyes. I’m lying in a hospital bed and have an IV in my left front hoof and a mask blowing air into my nostrils. I have stiches and bandages in multiple places around my body. I look up at the green ceiling and then the blue walls. I move my right front hoof upwa…Why can’t I feel my everything?
A nurse pony comes in. She takes the mask of my muzzle
“You’re awake. Do you feel okay?” She asks me.
“Auuaauaagh I han feeer mah bowry.” I manage to speak.
“That’s just the anesthetic. It will wear off in a few minutes.” She cheerfully says.
“Oaahkaaah. Whar ahmmai?” I sputter.
“You’re in Ponyville Hospital. A young, gray, bat-winged pegasus brought you in. You were brought here with multiple lacerations and first degree burns.” She says.
That would explain the stiches and bandages…
“Sho whad igshactly habbined?” I sputter.
“You were blasted backwards about 20 meters.” She replies. “An explosion happened inside the house you were at. Why it happened is still unknown, but were lucky that you were outside the house.”
“D-Pad! You’re awake!”
My mom and dad rush into the room.
“What did I tell you, Windstorm…tough as steel. Just like his dad.” Forge says.
“How are you feeling?” My mom asks me.
“Well, I’m thdarting to feel ma mouth. Tho thath a pluth.” I say, still messing up my words.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” My mom says, lightly hugging me.
“Oh, I do apologize. Am I interrupting something?”
Octavia is standing in the doorway.
“Octabia!” I shout, happily.
My mom and dad turn to Octavia.
“No we just came to see our son.” Forge replies.
“Oh! You are his parents? He talks about you two quite a bit.” Octavia replies.
“Wait, I know you…Octavia, right?” Windstorm asks.
“Yes miss.” Octavia replies.
“Oh, it is so wonderful to meet you! D-Pad talks very highly of you. He calls you a sweetheart, a kind and accepting pony. I can’t praise you enough for your kindness to him, even if he is considered evil because of his appearance. You brought hope to our son and us as well. You don’t know how happy you’ve made us.” Forge complements her.
“Thank you, sir.” She thanks Forge.
“So, how was your meeting with the Princess?” Windstorm asks.
I heave a sigh.
“That…That witch! How dare she accuse you of doing such a terrible thing!” Windstorm huffs.
“I can’t be mad at her. She had a legitimate reason to question me.” I reply, pushing myself to a sitting position.
“But to tie you up! Has she no respect?!” Octavia growls.
“I agree.” My dad adds. “If she can’t face you as a normal pegasus, then she has no right to make accusations about you.”
The three begin to talk amongst themselves. It is then I notice that the rest of the family hasn’t shown up yet.
“Hey, not to be mean or anything…” I interrupt. “…but where is the rest of the family?”
“They have to pick up the house and try to keep the house together. The explosion blew up part of the house. We’re going to have to repair most of the living room, and much of the dining room.” Windstorm replies.
“How did it happen?” I ask.
“We don’t know.” Forge replies. “Everyone was out of the house. We took a trip to Cloudsdale to sell our silver trinkets. We were going to come back later this evening. No one saw anyone go in. All we know is that whatever caused the explosion was very powerful.”
I lean back and sigh.
“Give me a second to think…” I say.
I close my eyes and think for a bit.
“How long am I going to be here?” I ask the nurse, opening my eyes.
“At least two days.” She replies.
“Dad, I know this is strange, but I need you to do something for me.” I say to my father.
“What do you need?” He asks.
“I want you to find that bat-winged pegasus that brought me to the hospital. He’s a gray stallion with a black mane and a red lance as his cutie mark. Have him look at the house and where the explosion happened. He was part of the royal guard, so he may have seen something like this.” I reply.
“He should still somewhere in the main square of Ponyville. I’ll go and get him.” He says walking out of the room.
“What do you need the pegasus for?” Octavia asks.
“It seems too perfect. An explosion happens at the house that we just moved into. Very few ponies know that we live here. The explosion happens when nopony but I was coming back home earlier than the rest of my family, and the explosion happened after something fell on the floor. From this, I assume that I was the intended target. I don’t know about you mares, but this whole scenario sounds slightly suspicious.” I explain.
“That sounds a little extreme…but I will let your friend look at it.” My mom says.
“Thanks mom.” I reply. “And not being mean, but do you mind if I take a nap?”
“Of course! You don’t need to ask.” My mom giggles.
My mom walks out of the room.
“I’ll come back tomorrow. See you then!” Octavia says, leaving the room.
“Bye!” I shout.
I lay back and close my eyes. Man, one heck of a day, I tell you. I saved a couple fillies form some wolves made of wood, became accepted into a society, met and be interrogated by royalty, met another friendly bat-winged pegasi, and got blown away by an explosion and wound up in a hospital.
Celestia…my life is weird.