Chapter 9: Faith Shield's Vacation
---{Narrator POV}
(Day 1)
"Man, she is a heavy bastard," muttered Pine Apple.
"Oh, this is... nothing," commented Faith Shield while grunting. "Try lifting the princess after she's had a frustrated drinking binge. Then we'll talk about heavy."
After Dilan Shier knocked herself unconscious by way of a laughing fit, the two stallions and filly decided to carry the burden together. Though, it wasn't easy. Faith had to carry their helmets under his wings. The other ponies had strength, but Nightmare Moon's body was in a really awkward position to carry.
"Come on, you big pussies," grunted Babs Seed, "Put your backs into it."
"Yes, ma'am," answered Pine half-sarcastically, though it was difficult to tell against his straining.
---
All three of them panted heavily. Sweat was dripping down all of their heads. Faith pulled out his temp-ice-fabric and dabbed it against his head a few times. Pine held one hoof against the couch for support while catching his breath. Babs blew a wet mass of her mane out of her eyes.
Currently, Dilan was sleeping soundly along the length of the couch. Her snoring was... less than pleasant.
"I thought we'd never make it back to the apartment." Pine slumped his head. Faith offered his fabric, but his friend responded with a dismissive hoof wave.
"She sure knows how to make a first impression, though," continued Pine, "What was all that about a New Yolk City or whatever?"
"Hay if I know." Faith shook his head. "When I was first assigned to watch over her, she seemed a lot more reserved and distant."
Pine stood up and headed for an open doorway. "I'm going to go take a shower. Babs, why don't you head on out? You said you had some special work tonight."
Babs gasped. "I completely forgot about that plan!" She turned and galloped through the room's door. "Nice seeing you again, Mr. Shield. Gotta go! Bye!"
Faith's eyes followed the filly until she was out of sight. He then turned to look at the other stallion. "What's this special work that she has planned?"
"Cutie Mark Crusaders: Manehatten Squadron," Pine recited with a smirk. "Ever since her visit with the family in Ponyville, she's been reaching out a hoof to the blank flanks in our neck of the woods. They try whatever they can to reach their goal of earning their cutie marks."
"Sounds like fun," commented Faith, "But doesn't that get in the way of actually discovering what they're good at?"
"Personally, I'm just happy that Babs is making some friends," Pine stated, "She knows that the agreement is to be back by 11:30. I'm not worried."
"All right, then," concluded Faith.
"Feel free to help yourself to a wheat ale in the fridge," hollered the resident before water started running.
Faith took a long, calming breath before looking at the apartment's other guest.
---{???}
Lightning is a strange element. Magic composes of many opposing forces trying to correct themselves. Not least of which are the components of light and dark. Pegasi naturally carry the ability to split their inherent light while flying and their passive dark into storms. When these two forms of magic clash back together, it results in a quick path of energy.
Observe as I demonstrate on you!
---{Dilan Shier}
"Jumping junipers, not again!" I yelped. A floor collided with my left side. "Ow."
"Father of Celestia," breathed Faith Shield, "What is going on with you today?"
I turned my head to look before turning over to stand. "Faith Shield? Where are we?"
"Pine Apple's apartment," he answered. "We decided to carry you here after you conked yourself out at Messy's."
"Conked?" I echoed. "Ugh, no wonder my head feels like it's been hit by a 9-iron."
Faith had something in his grasp and lifted it into view. "Maybe you should keep this on for purposes other than the battle field."
I accepted my helmet by way of my hoof's phantom touch. "Yeah, I had no idea her head was so fragile."
"Her head?" he echoed. "Wouldn't the word be 'my'?"
I situated the helmet on to slide down my horn. "Well, it belonged to Nightmare Moon first. Technically, everything but my mind and soul was hers."
The vampire pony guard's eyebrow raised. "But... you are Nightmare Moon, Dill Anne."
"Oh, wait, that's right," I said in realization, "You never heard the full story that I told Princess Celestia."
It was about then that I heard the sound of a water source halting. Rubbing a towel all over his head with one hoof, the chartreuse earth pony stepped into the large room. He then proceeded to yank the towel off before shaking his head. His mane straightened out, only slightly wet.
"Morning, sleeping beast," he said with a smile. To that, I let out a quick laugh.
"Hey, you're just in time," Faith chimed in, "Dill Anne here is about to tell a story that got Princess Celestia's attention."
"Is that right?" Pine responded. "I'll drink to that." He trotted over to a refrigerator. "You guys want one? There's plenty to go around."
"All right!" Faith smiled.
"Eh... I'll pass." I waved a hoof dismissively. "Princess Luna consumed enough alcohol for the both of us the other day."
The glass bottle in Pine's hoof slipped a bit. He flailed around against that and the fridge door, as the bottle juggled in place. He finally managed to hold it still as he turned to look at me with wide eyes. He didn't see Faith hiding his chuckling behind a wing.
"Really?" Pine managed to say, "It sounds like a fun tale, and I'm only hearing the preview." He grabbed another bottle's neck between his teeth. He then trotted back the way around the couch.
"Well, yeah." I took a few steps. "In fact, it starts out on the day I died."
---
"That's when I left my fate to the judgment of the Elements of Harmony."
I left my entire audience (all two of them) speechless. One had his jaw daring the floor to come closer. The other had his mouth closed with the only visible shock being in his eyes. Try to guess who was who.
Pine looked down at his ale bottle in disbelief. "How is the cap still on this thing?"
"Let me get this straight." Faith waved his hoof around. "You're actually... a colt?"
"Well... yeah," I confirmed.
"And you're trapped in Nightmare Moon's body," Pine continued.
"Looks that way." I scratched my neck.
Faith stood up from his seat on the couch. "Excuse me. I need to drop something." He then proceeded to grab a nearby trash bin. He tossed his full ale bottle into the bin and resumed his open-jawed look of bewilderment.
Pine took a slightly subtler approach. He set his bottle on the floor in front of him. Following that, he used a hoof to shove the ale to his right.
"So," he said with a cough, "what's it like being a girl?"
"Honestly," I said with a winged shrug, "I don't really see the difference except for my voice. Sure, there's all the pony anatomy that I didn't have before, but I don't think that's enough to qualify as a gender-specific viewpoint."
"Uh-huh." Pine rubbed his chin. "Why is your tail red again? Last I checked, Nightmare Moon had a purplish night sky for both her tail and her mane."
"There's an angry demon living in her tail," Faith remarked snidely.
"No, seriously." Pine deadpanned.
"Actually, that may be closer to the truth than you think." I curled my tail around to bring it to the forefront. "When we were dealing with the corrupted Element of Loyalty, I heard a deep voice talking to me. My tail seemed to act with its own goals, not bound to what I wanted it to do."
"Seriously?" Pine's eyes opened wider.
"Still, it managed to release Rainbow Dash," I admitted. "It's probably a lesser evil even if it is a demon."
"So..." Faith paused. "Just don't show any hatred and it'll leave us alone?"
"That seems to be the case," I answered with a nod, "I don't sense that presence at all right now." I wagged my tail a little for emphasis. Nothing spoke. No dark crystals were formed anywhere.
The front door rattled. Someone trotted in all covered in what appeared to be blue-stained splotches. The door quickly turned shut as she entered. When she pulled her goggles off, I recognized the spring green eyes.
"My goodness, Babs Seed!" I exclaimed, "What happened to you?"
"What? This?" she responded, "Oh, nothing. The C.M.C: M.S. just got through realizing that paintballing isn't any of our special talents." She smiled around the blue splotches. "On the bright side, we've got something fun to return to in the future."
Pine looked to an analog clock on the opposite wall. "Is it that late already?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Huh. I guess it is."
"I'm going to go freshen up," declared Babs as she stripped a paint-covered vest off and tossed it to the side. She then proceeded to what I assumed was the direction to the restroom.
Pine stood up and stretched. He then walked through the doorless doorway.
"The guest room's through the first door on the left here," he called over his shoulder, "Goodnight... boys." I could have sworn I heard him chuckling under his breath.
Faith sighed. "Sorry about that. Pine can get a little... um..."
I shrugged my wings. "I'm not even mad."
The sound of water cutting off indicated that Babs was done with her shower.
"Well, that's good," Faith continued, "Besides, I think Nightmare looks good on you."
I tilted my head while looking at him. "Huh?"
The vampire pony's golden irises showed in full. His wings scrunched tightly to his sides. A slight tint of red appeared on his left cheek. I was reminded of that look one of my coworkers had when they talked about my boss only to realize at the worst possible instant that he was right behind her.
"Feathers, I just said that out loud. Didn't I?" he muttered. He quickly performed a faux pas yawn. "Well, heh heh, it's been a long day. We've got so much we can do in this city over a week. Don't want to be too tired to experience it. Right? Goodnight!"
Just like that, I was looking at an empty couch.
Where did he learn to run so fast? I wondered as I saw the trail behind him. And what was that all about? I sighed. He has a point, though. I am tired. I guess exposition will do that to me.
I decided to head to the restroom. There was a nightlight of sorts to guide nighttime wanderers to its location. There was still a bit of steam wafting about from a filly's shower, but it was otherwise clean. For the first time in what seemed like forever, I looked at my reflection in the mirror.
Wow, that's... somewhat intimidating. I leaned in a bit closer. Yeah, those are draconian slits. I opened my jaw and wiggled my tongue around. Sheesh, look at those fangs! No wonder Ponyville was so scared of my smile. I probably looked like I was going to bite somebody's head off. I rubbed a hoof under my chin and hummed. Yet Manehatten seems to be immune to that kind of intimidation. I set my hoof down and nodded. Yep, I'm in New York all right.
After taking some usual bathroom actions, I wandered back into the living room. The couch was so comfortable the first time that I slept in it. I didn't want to change a good thing.
---
(Day 2)
I was having trouble understanding one little thing. Was hay supposed to be a side dish, a main course, a milkshake ingredient, or breakfast cereal? Because in the less than one week long time span that I've been in this world, I've seen it served in all four forms. I understood that a vegetarian menu was limited, but did that really call for dried grass to be in everything? I thought fruits and veggies existed all across the color spectrum.
Meh, whatever, I decided with spoon in mouth, I guess it's no worse an idea than several cardboard cereals I came across back on Earth.
"Morning, folks," greeted Pine as he reached for a seat. "Sleep well?"
I buzzed my lips. "More or less."
"Was there another dark premonition in your dream?" inquired Faith.
I shook my head. "Not so much a premonition. It was more like an affirmation of what already is. I heard that demon's deep voice again. It didn't say anything coherent. Rather, it just laughed in the background in an echoing kind of way."
"Sounds like it's satisfied laughing in its little corner with whatever menial secret it knows." Faith gave a reassuring smile.
"There was something else, though," I said after swallowing another mouthful of hay flakes. "I can't quite pin down what it was, but there was another, fainter whisper. It felt... well... different than whatever's in my tail."
"Different good or different bad?" Pine asked while poking a juice box.
I illustrated my uncertainty by lifting my front hooves and imitating a weighted scale.
"Different neutral," I finally went. "I didn't really get a sense of what side she was on. I just felt the faint presence there."
Pine paused mid-sip. "She?"
"Well, the whisper sounded feminine," I set my hooves down as my mane picked my spoon back up. "I don't know. I'm still new to how dreams relate to reality in Equestria."
"They don't always have to," pointed out Faith, "Perhaps you're just stressed with all the other things that have happened recently and the dreams decided to grab something random to cope with it."
"Sure," added Pine, "Take your time. Relax a little. This is practically your vacation too. Isn't it?"
I looked down at my empty cereal bowl and chuckled.
"Yeah, you're right." I managed a smile and looked at these ponies. "Thanks."
"No problem," returned Pine, "Offering advice is the least I can do for a pony close to Faith... no matter which way he swings."
I performed a double-take. "Wait, what?"
Faith, on the other stand, did a loud spit-take with his coffee. "Pine Apple! It-quay the inging-sway."
"All right." Pine lifted his hooves in mock defeat. "I've got to head to work anyway. See you two later."
I was looking at an empty seat.
Seriously, how do these ponies vacate the premises so quickly? I wondered.
Meanwhile, Faith Shield was busy guzzling the milk out of his bowl. Was this normal behavior for pony men? I honestly had no clue what they were doing or talking about anymore. He slammed his dish down (amazingly without breaking something) and cleared his throat.
"So... how about we go fly around Central Park?"
Well, my fear of falling from heights seems to have been desensitized with all of my airborne struggles.
"Okay."
"Great." Faith scratched his neck briefly before turning his attention to the apartment's other resident. "See you this evening, Ms. Seed."
The filly seemed preoccupied watching an electronic screen and holding a... video game controller.
How does dexterity work with such a device? Wait, stupid question. Phantom phalanges. Forgot about those for a second.
When Faith called to her, she popped out an earphone from the obviously named body part.
"Huh? Oh! See you Mr. Shield and Ms. Shear." She then promptly returned to her gaming session. "I've got you this time, Shaded Fox!"
A few dishes in the sink later, Faith and I were heading out the door.
---
The actual 'flying' around Central Park barely lasted the first few minutes. Shortly thereafter, we were sitting on a wooden bench. Faith looked preoccupied, so we ended up sitting with our bodies turned away from each other. It was a relatively nice day, what with the sun shining and clouds almost nonexistent against the blue sky.
So, it's not very authentic to bustling city atmosphere, I thought. Wait, this is technically a real city. I just implied that... ugh. I've got to stop trying to force Earth standards onto the standards of this planet called-
A random baby cried in a stroller while the mare pushing said stroller was doing her best to shush the noise.
The only thing that way of thinking is going to get me is a huge headache.
A small crowd of ponies gathered around what looked like a hot dog vendor. Wait, could ponies actually eat hot dogs? Although upon more scrutiny, they looked more like full carrots... with the tops still on... covered in condiments... in a bun. I guess that was one way to avoid dealing with health and safety regulations.
There were a few fillies running around while tossing a frisbee back and forth. One of them even performed a cartwheel before catching it.
"May I ask a bit about yourself?"
I turned my head around. "What's that now?"
"I mean, you told me about your after-death experience," Faith continued, "and I can piece together the parts that I lived alongside, but I've yet to really know you." He turned back to face the same direction as the rest of his body. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to."
I blinked, rubbed my chin, and cleared my throat in that order. "I guess I hadn't really decided what I wanted to do in life until after my first university semester. Helping others feel better just appealed to me. I didn't exactly want to be forced into the blood department. I never went after that Ph.D. I settled for Master's. Medical clerk was the highest position I aimed for."
At some point, Faith decided to return his eyes to look at me.
"I didn't have many hours dedicated to free time, but occasionally when I did have it, I'd play a quick game. The other times were dedicated to hanging out with my weird friends... that I liked hanging out with."
My eyes followed a nearby hummingbird, but I wasn't actually looking at it so much as giving my eyes a point of reference.
"What about you?" I asked, "What can you tell me about yourself?"
"Gee, where would I even start?" wondered Faith.
"Eh, maybe around five years ago," I commented with little forethought, "or before you were Princess Luna's guard. Whichever came first."
"Well, I learned most of what I know about combat from... my... dad..." He looked down at the walkway. "But it wasn't until my initial training in the Royal Guard academy that I met Spirit Sword." Light returned to Faith's eyes. "He helped round out some of the edges in which I was rough. In return, I helped him develop a tolerance."
"A tolerance?" I echoed.
"Yeah," Faith affirmed. "It was an unofficial test. If he could put up with me, then he could put up with any pony. After all, my sense of humor would kill the unsuspecting."
A snort escaped me. I chuckled into my own mane.
"See, you can withstand it because you've been around me long enough to develop that tolerance."
A pony wearing sweats and a headband jogged by.
"You're the laid back, patient defense. He's the serious, straight lined offense." I closed my eyes. "A shield and sword. Your specific tasks may be different, but you both protect."
"Hey, I can be serious too!" he insisted.
"Well, yeah," I agreed, "When you need to be. But you don't always have to be. Being able to rest is just as important as being able to work when you are called to do so."
"So... do you think Spirit can find a laid back side?" Faith wondered.
"You've known him longer than I have," I pointed out. "I'm sure you'll be able to find something safe to tick."
The sun had moved a considerable distance since we sat down. Just how fast was time passing?
I stood up and hopped off the bench. "We should probably head back soon."
"Yeah," he agreed as he got up and spread his leathery wings.
---
(Day 3)
"How did I get roped into this?" I wondered.
Somehow, Faith and I had become members of the gym down the street. He literally shoved me the distance between the apartment complex and the gym. I think he said something about wanting something else to add to his bragging rights when he went back home. I don't know. That little detail got lost in a number of other topics that I couldn't keep up.
So, there I was with one of the gym's trainers showing me the rundown of push-ups... with her wings. I don't know how that works either. Wings could be used to do push-ups. Well, considering quadrupeds don't have arms to bend in the traditional sense, I guess ponies had to improvise their workouts.
"Lift with your carpus feathers," the trainer told me. When I attempted to push, she shook her head. "No, not your alulas. Your carpus feathers." I tried shifting weight to a slightly broader side of my wings. "That's better. Now keep it steady."
I snuck a glance over to where Faith was. He seemed to be busy in an alternating weight-lifting. Pull with one hoof, release that one hoof's weight, pull with the opposite side's hoof, and release. I could've sworn that I had seen this scene before, but I couldn't quite place where.
---
Gears whirred, fans blurred, and my trainer told me she'd be right back. I was literally trotting nowhere. But then, simultaneously moving and remaining stationary was the whole point of a treadmill. My wings were killing me, but onward I stepped. I even chanced a slightly more rapid pace for the belt that I treaded.
I felt my heart pumping faster and the sweat building up all over me. It sounded as though a horse were galloping right where I was running. I suppose that was appropriate considering what I was and what I was essentially doing.
When I started hearing irregular whooshing noises, I chanced a glance down at the ends of my hooves.
Are those sparks flying? I wondered.
Suddenly, bluish-white sparks were racing all over this little machine. Before I could say 'short-circuit', the wall that was about ten feet in front of me decided to introduce itself to my head and my back. The worst part about that greeting, though, was that my wings' soreness decided to check on everyone.
At least I had my helmet on this time, I thought before falling from my awkward position to the floor. Ow.
"Dill Anne!"
I heard the clanging noise of metallic pounds dropping before the only guard pony in the gym rushed over.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he brushed some of the wall debris off of my neck.
"I've had worse," I replied while my wings winced slightly. "I consider being conscious after an accident to be an improvement over my last record."
It was about then that I took a good look around the place. Ponies in various attire were staring in bafflement. The wall had an impression of a Pegasus in an upside down crucifixion pose. The treadmill's belt was at a standstill while the occasional spark raced along the top. To top it off, my trainer chose that moment to walk in calmly... only to drop her cup of smoothie mid-sip.
Nervously, I trotted over to her. "Um, thank you for your time today. It was a great workout. But, uh... I'm going to call it a day. 'Kay, thanks. Bye!"
I think I discovered how Pine and Faith could so quickly vacate the premises when they wanted to. That, or I just ran out the door really, really quickly.
"Wait for me!" called Faith as he followed in full gallop.
---
(Day 4)
Pine Apple was up early today. He was done cooking a large stack of pancakes by the time I got up. There was even something sizzling that looked like bacon. Though when I tried a strip, it kind of tasted more like someone had poured salt all over some hay. It wasn't bad. It was just... different.
Whatever it was, Babs Seed couldn't get enough of the not-bacon. She scarfed it down like there was no tomorrow. Meanwhile, I took my sweet time buttering my pancakes and eating small forkfuls. Faith, however, seemed distracted by something outside the window.
"Has any pony else noticed that the moon is still out this morning?" he asked.
Pine instantly shut the stove off and ran over to the window. "What?"
"Well, that's not so unusual," I commented after swallowing another bite. "Back in my world, the moon could still be seen partially during a clear day."
Faith pointed at the window. "This isn't partially."
I stood up and walked over to that window and looked around at the outside. The sky's colors were divided into equal halves. The sun was up in the blue half. A full, glowing moon floated in the purple half. It was like looking at one of those expressive paintings.
"That's... not normal," I admitted.
A puff of blackish-blue smoke suddenly materialized in front of Faith's face. There was a popping noise. A scroll dropped that was tied by a pin with a design carrying both Spirit Sword and Faith Shield's cutie marks. You'd think I had gotten used to magical paper, but I hadn't.
Faith quickly undid the seal and unraveled the scroll. His eyes scanned back and forth across the parchment. He let out a gasp. He then hurried over to the table and gulped down a whole pancake.
"Well, Pine, good buddy," he said, "thanks for letting us stay."
"Hey, thanks for sticking around," Pine returned the gratitude.
"Come on, Dill Anne," Faith motioned with a wing, "We've got to catch the next train!"
"Wait, wait, wait," I interrupted, "What the heck is going on?"
He held the door ajar.
"The princesses have vanished."
---
Faith Shield,
Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have vanished without a trace. On top of that, the Everfree Forest has apparently sent an invasion of plants.
Get your flank back to Canterlot right now!
Spirit Sword