“You know... I can’t believe how much fun this is to watch,” Kane, the brown-furred bipedal tabby cat said with a chuckle while he idly toyed with a small dagger as he sat across from red pegasus pony with a dark yellow mane and tail.
“Hehe, yeah,” the Twilight Dusk stallion agreed with a small chuckle. “I can’t believe how Glen remains clueless with all the signs literally waving in front of her, but it does make some good entertainment.”
“Waving? I’m still surprised she didn’t catch on when Luna literally stopped in front of her by ‘accident’ in the hallways yesterday,” Kane replied, twirling the dagger between his furry fingers.
“Really?” the pegasus asked with a bit of wondered. “Glen didn’t react in any way?”
The cat let out a chuckle. “Well, I was up in the rafters at the time, you know, cat napping,” he said with a small smirk. “But if my ears were right she said something like ‘oh sorry, didn’t watch where I was going I guess’.”
“Ooooohhh,” the stallion murmured. “She said I guess eh? That implies she might have been ‘peeking’.”
Kane snorted. “Trust an ex-assassin to know when someone is lying or not,” he told the pegasus, flipping the dagger in the air and catching it with his opposite paw.
“Aww… you’re no fun anymore,” the stallion mock pouted.
“Neither are you Monty but I’m stuck with you while Silent’s out on his border tour,” Kane remarked with a small chuckle. “Anyways, I’m raising my bet, I’ll throw two thousand bits in on Princess Lulu going mad in two weeks.”
Monty let out a low whistle. “That’s a lot of bits. Must be working overtime on those contracts of yours eh?” the pegasus jested with a small smile.
“Eh, I don’t need much money,” Kane replied with a devilish smirk. “I don’t have to pay to keep the queens in my bed like you do.”
“Ha, ha, ha,” the stallion said falty while shaking his head slowly. “Still, I’ll keep my bet on that Glen will finally figure it out in a week.”
“Figure what out?” a mare’s voice spoke out beside them.
Kane and Monty turned to see Glen standing there, looking at them with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh you know, that Princess Twilight is a sadist,” Kane answered, lying smoothly.
“Yeah, and if she offers to make some cupcakes for you, make sure to ask to have extra frosting on them,” Monty added on with a joking grin.
Glen gave both of them a queer look. “Alright… I think I’ll just leave you two be,” she said as she turned around and walked off.
Kane let out a chuckle. “Extra frosting?” he asked Monty with a raised eyebrow.
“Think about it,” the pegasus replied before taking a sip of apple juice from his glass. “I mean, you should know with all those queens in your bed.”
Kane gave the stallion a confused look. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” he said plainly. “But if you don’t believe me, I can call one of them up and introduce you.”
“Nah, I got enough images running through my head, don’t need to add any more,” Monty replied.
The cat’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment before he blanched. “Monty my friend, you’re a very sick stallion, you know that?”
“I’m only like this because of beings like you,” the stallion remarked with a small smile.
“Heh, true enough,” Kane agreed before getting up from the table. “Well, I’m off duty, and I have some disturbing thoughts to get off my mind... time to go see if Emy is off work,” he added waving a paw at Monty and walking off.
“See ya, and have fun,” Monty said, waving a hoof goodbye as he finished his apple juice.
Glen walked away from the table, shaking her head. The other guards sure do act strangely around me, she thought to herself. And what the hell does ‘extra frosting’ mean anyways? She shook her head again and gave a small shrug as she took a seat at a empty table. After ordering her food, the mare leaned back into her chair and let out a small huff of air.
“Man… training is becoming a bit… tedious,” she muttered to herself. “It’s only been five days, but these wasteland lessons are just becoming a bit more of a grind than a challenge.”
“Eh, those should be ending soon,” Stonework said as the brown unicorn sat down across from her. “Mind if I sit here?”
The earth pony shook her head. “Nah, go right ahead,” she replied. “So, ending soon huh?”
“Yeah, I think you’ve got a unit on land mines, because the first time Twilight took anypony with her they got their legs blown off, and after that you’re shipping off for a week long ‘camp out’ in Everfree,” Stonework answered.
“Land mines eh? Oh joy,” Glen said with a small sigh. “But a camp out in the Everfree? You mean Everfree Forest?” she asked.
“Yep, we of the Dusk Guard call it ‘try not to get eaten, turned to stone, or have your gender swapped, week’,” Stonework replied with a shake of her head. “It’s not very short, but it sums the experience up nicely.”
Glen let out a sigh. “I just hope I don’t run into any patches of killing joke,” she muttered.
“You mean poison joke?” Stonework asked her. “The stuff is harmless, mostly. It’ll just swap your gender or something like that.”
“Not where I’m from,” Glen replied flatly. “I’ve heard it kills you in an ironic way, in the planet’s eyes that is,” she explained, shivering a bit. “Even the monsters in the forest stay clear of those killer planets.”
Stonework nodded slowly. “Well, you shouldn’t have to worry too much about that kind of thing,” she said. “I’m going to be out there with you, though in your case I don’t think I’ll need to save you.”
“Right… are we allowed to bring weapons?” Glen asked.
“Nope,” Stonework replied with a smirk.
The earth pony stared at the unicorn fatly. “You know… I’m beginning to think Twilight enjoys watching ponies flail around defensively as things try to mow them down. What’s the point of being a guard if we can’t fight a threat properly?”
“Do you really need to learn to fight?” Stonework asked her with a raised eyebrow.
“No, but I don’t like running all the bloody time,” Glen replied.
“Look Glen, Twilight only recruits from ponies who have fighting experience,” Stonework explained. “So, she doesn’t worry about giving them combat training until they’ve experienced the worst that they can possibly face without a weapon... week three is when the fun starts.”
A slightly sour ‘tsch’ escaped Glen’s mouth. “Easy for you to say with magic to aid you,” she muttered in a bit grouchy tone. She then gave what she said a bit of thought before shaking her head. “Sorry… just don’t like entering into a fight weaponless… makes me feel like I’m missing a hoof.”
Stonework shrugged, ignoring the first part. “Don’t worry about it, that’s kind of the point really.”
“Yeah… well it’s working.” Glen said as her ears drooped slightly. “Not only am I half blind, but now I feel as if running on three hooves. It’s only a matter of time till I stumble and fall.”
The other mare reached over and gave Glen a comforting pat. “Just wait till week three, like I said, that’s when the fun starts.”
“I’ll try, but after the shit I’ve been through, you’d think I’d have been qualified to join this group automatically,” Glen said.
“Yeah, but then the others would feel robbed,” Stonework pointed out. “It’s what it is Glen, no point in complaining about it.”
A disturbed look cross Glen’s face and she suppressed a shiver. “Don’t say that line... please... brings up bad... memories.”
“Oh... sorry,” Stonework said with an apologetic frown. “I didn’t mean to.”
“I know... it’s just... can we change the subject,” Glen asked, or more like insisted.
“Sure,” Stonework said. “How are things going with your dream training?”
Glen smiled slightly. “It’s going well, I can almost create my own small whole little world all by myself,” she replied. “Granted only for few minutes, but it’s still something impressive for only a few days of using dream magic. At least that’s what Luna said..”
Stonework’s eyebrows shot up. “Damn Glen, you must be a natural or something!” she exclaimed. “That’s great to hear!”
Glen chuckled lightly as she shrugged her shoulders. “Thanks… though I think it’s just because I’m a fast learner and I’m paying more attention to Luna’s lessons than the training to be a guard.”
“Oh I wouldn’t sell myself too short if I were you,” the unicorn said. “Dream magic is some tough stuff. I’ve heard that some ponies try for years and never get it down.”
“Well, I guess Luna is just a good teacher then,” Glen said with another small shrug.
A small smile crossed Stonework’s face. “I’m wouldn’t put too much stock in that. I’m sure you’re just as responsible,” she said, still smiling. “So, what do you think of our dear Princess of the Night?”
“She’s nothing like I imagined from all the tales or posters I’ve seen of her back home,” Glen replied. “Though, this being a whole ‘nother Equestria, can’t say I’m surprised. Still, she’s been a good, if not only, best friend I’ve had in a long time.”
“Well, that’s good to hear,” Stonework said with a small smile. “I’m glad that you’ve found someone like that.”
“Thanks,” Glen said. A serving pony came by and place Glen’s order of chicken, mash potatoes, and corn in front of the mare. “About time,” she whispered to herself she rubbed her hooves eagerly.
Stonecutter finished her meal and gave Glen a smile. “Well, enjoy your meal Glen, I’ve got to go serve Court duty... watching the paint dry was more interesting.”
“Okay, see ya,” Glen said as she scrooped up some mash potatoes, just before muttering ‘what’ with her mouth full.
“I still can’t believe it didn’t work...” Luna grumbled to herself as she walked along the corridor. “I did stick my plot in her face and all I got out of it was a ‘I must not have been watching where I was going’... this is ridiculous,” she continued, shaking her head.
“What seems to be the trouble my daughter?” a familiar female voice spoke out from beside her. Luna jumped in surprise and found herself blushing as she looked her mother in the eyes.
“Oh... hi mom... nothing really,” Luna said with a small pause between her words.
“Are you sure about that Lulu darling?” Faust asked her with an inquisitively raised eyebrow.
“Well... I’m having mare trouble,” Luna admitted. Faust’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Lulu, I sat you down and talked to you about that centuries ago! Please don’t tell me we have to talk about the birds, the bees, and the Divine again...” she said looking alarmed.
Luna gave her a look so flat it could curdle milk.
“Ha. Ha. Ha,” she said emotionlessly.
Faust pouted at her and put a wing around her shoulder. “Oh daughter, I’m sorry that you are having problems wooing dear Glen, but in the end I believe it will be worth it.”
“Is this some sort of Divine foreknowledge?” Luna asked her.
Faust chuckled and shook her head. “Do you know how many forms I’d have to fill out in order to get knowledge of the future like that?” she asked rhetorically.
“Then what makes you so certain?” Luna asked in frustration.
“Because I’m just that awesome,” Faust told her jokingly before giving Luna a nuzzle. “Have faith daughter.”
Luna looked down and then nodded slowly before looking up again and asking. “So... how is Wistala doing? I heard that you saw her at the tournament and...”
“She’s doing well,” Faust answered briskly before giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek. “Now I must be off.”
“Goodbye-” Luna stopped when she realized she was standing once more in an empty hallway. “-mother,” she finished with a grumble.
Glen stood still as she focused on keeping the dilapidated apartment building from collapsing under its own weight. Luna lay nearby on a loveseat, her chest facing Glen while her tail flicked lazily from side to side. Unfortunately, Glen wasn’t really looking at Luna as she had a far off looking twinkling in her eye as she put every ounce of her mind on the room around her.
Her breath was steady and slow as she gazed around the old apartment, her old home in the Equestrian Wastelands. Her workbench stood in the corner of a room, filled to brim with junk and parts she collected during her trips outside. A dirty yellow refrigerator leaning against the kitchen counter, it barely worked and had rotten food the mare never took the time to clean out. A radio with a distinctive bullet hole resting underneath a window, the rays of the sun coming in as a deep shade of red as they landed on a worn-out bloody mattress.
Glen let out a small sigh at the memories she had here, both the good times and the bad, but she wasn’t the least bit sad to no longer be living in the room. The mare closed her eye and let out another sigh, this one drawn out longer than the last and when she open her eye the room was gone. A small smile grew on her lips as she focused her eye on Luna’s face.
“So, how long was that?” she asked.
A smile played across Luna’s face. “Ten minutes Glen, very well done,” she said. “Very well done indeed.”
“Nice,” Glen said, her smile growing before it faded and grew into a small pondering frown. “Now if only I can actually move in the worlds I create without them fading away,” she murmured.
“A worthy endeavor,” Luna said with an encouraging nod. “Let me know if there’s anything you need help with.”
“Well... how you would suggest I tackle this?” the mare asked the alicron. “I mean I can create the worlds... but every time I tried to take a few steps, I just lose the focus and it falls apart.”
“You must keep move your focus on it in the back of your mind,” Luna said as the world around them changed to that of a mountain top, Luna lay upon a red heart shaped bed with invitingly warm sheets as a cold wind rolled over Glen. “The world does not need your constant concentration to stay cemented, it simply requires you to know that it is there,” she said.
Glen shivered a bit as she eyed the heart shaped bead a bit with a small raised eyebrow. “Okay... but how exactly does that work?” she asked, glancing her eye away from the bed and at Luna. “I mean… it sounds reasonable when you say it… but how do you put it into practice?”
“Hmm... how to explain it,” Luna murmured and then smiled. “Think of it as if it is an idea you must keep in the back of your mind. You know that it is what you are working towards but you do not give it your entire focus,” Luna explained.
Glen nodded her head. “Alright… I’ll give it a try,” she said as she shift her eye downward and tried to do as Luna instructed. However, nothing was changing. Glen tried, and tried again as she attempted to conjure up the apartment again, but the world refused to shift.
“Come on, work,” the mare muttered in annoyance.
“Glen,” Luna said, drawing the mare’s attention back to her. “Instead of trying to change the entire area, perhaps it would be best to start small. Make something, and then see if you can walk around it without it vanishing,” Luna suggested as the scene around them vanished and they appeared in Luna’s bedroom.
“Something small? Okay,” Glen said as she contemplated what to conjure.
“Indeed, I would suggest that it be something that you know very well,” Luna suggested as a violin hovered over from a stand against the wall and she began to play if softly. “Like my Stradivarius here, she was a gift from my... mother many years ago and I know everything about her.”
“Right... something familiar,” the mare murmured. “There are lots of things I could think of but… what will it be?” Glen asked. Suddenly an idea came to her mind and she simply closed her eye and let the idea float to the back of her head. She let out a small hopeful sigh and open her eye back up.
A small gasp of shock left her muzzle as her vision show Luna’s room clearly, but half of it was covered by her thick hazel mane. She nervously raised a hoof up to her face, hesitating a bit before she brushed her mane away from her face. She blinked before she looked at Luna. “Is it... is it working?” she asked nervously.
A smile stretched across Luna’s face and a mirror appeared before Glen. “See for yourself my little pony,” Luna replied, still grinning.
Glen gazed into the mirror, seeing herself staring right back with two soft green eyes. “I... I...” the mare was speechless as she tilted her head around, side to side, her two eyes reacting normally. “It’s... working... it’s actually working,” she said, a delightful smile growing widely on her face.
Luna smiled and walked over to Glen, putting a wing around her and hugging her close. “I’m so happy that you have managed this feat Glen,” she told her. “Just remember... it is not real and may never be... so do not become too enamoured with it.”
Glen blinked blankly as her smile slowly faded and her face dropped a little. “I... know... but...” she glanced back up at the mirror.
“I know,” Luna said, giving her a small comforting nuzzle to the side of the cheek. “But there is danger down this path... in the past I have had students who have become so in love with their fantasies that they prefer them to reality and eventually they rot away in their bodies... I do not wish to see that happen to you as well.”
“I... understand,” Glen said. “Still... it gives me something else to look forward to each night.”
“Something else?” Luna inquired, looking at the mare with a surprised expression.
“Yeah,” Glen replied, glancing her eyes up to Luna. “I… really enjoy our time together. You’ve been a great… friend to me.”
Luna’s eyebrows rose in surprise, and then a soft smile touched her face before she gave Glen another nuzzle. “Why thank you Glen... it is very nice to hear that... I do not have a great many friends.”
“And neither do I... I guess that’s why we work so well together,” the mare said with a small chuckle.
Luna chuckled as well. “The friends without friends hmm?”
“Yeah... the friends without friends,” Glen agreed with a small smile.
The alicorn gave her a third nuzzle before stepping aside. “Now then... perhaps you could recreate your old room and walk in it.”
Glen nodded her head and for the rest of the night Glen showed Luna her old room and some other famous spots of her wasteland.