Ale stepped outside into the fresh morning air, stretching his limbs with audible pops satisfactorily. Shrugging his arms forward while shaking his head he began walking towards work. It had been two days since his Earth – er, Equis shattering news. Ale still wasn’t quite sure how he felt about his newly gained immortality. While he did have a strong argument Luna did make a good point. Plus there wasn’t much he could do about it anyway since it’s irreversible. However, if he somehow, someway was able to make it back to the UNSC he was worried that they would enlist him to a never ending service to the military. This was pushed back to the back of his mind since it was unlikely that would happen, much less actual contact.
On a better note Ale had enjoyed his time off, restless though he was. A lifetime of military service with most of it spent on or behind enemy lines made him extremely attentive. Being in the same wooden room for an extended time became boring real fast. After Twilights relentless onslaught of questions had finished, with many questions rejected due to classification protocols, Ale had fallen asleep. He was awoken the next day by a certain cyan pony crashing through his window. After ensuring she was okay and assuring that her apology was unneeded, Rainbow had enlightened him about her dreams about being a Wonderbolt. Upon questioning what a Wonderbolt was Rainbow went on a lengthy tangent about their history. As far as Ale could gather the Wonderbolts were founded when they needed an air force to counter the threat of an ancient griffon war. Now they sounded like they were purely for recreational purposes. Twilight had chased her out soon after, irritated that she had to repair yet another hole in her house.
The large warehouse came into view and Ale nodded at the guard. He was more than surprised when the guard bowed to him.
“Excuse me, but may I ask why you’re doing that?”
“News has spread down throughout all military, guard, and public peacekeepers that you are now Princess Luna’s royal consort. You are ranked as a high profile subject.”
“Uhh… okay?” Ale quickly continued walking, attempting to leave the awkward atmosphere behind. ‘Royal consort? I wasn’t informed of this. Luna’s got a lot of explaining to do.’
Ale punched in as he walked through the staff entrance of the warehouse. Workers were bustling about, their tasks on their minds. Ale checked his mailbox and read his assignment. As per usual his boss had him moving various items around the warehouse. This didn’t bother Ale since it was relatively easy for him to do. Throughout the day his fellow co-workers had visited him briefly here and there; glad to see that he was better from his mysterious ailment, Ale thankful that nopony knew the specifics of what had happened.
It was a little after midday when he finally finished his work and was able to leave. Ale was walking towards the library when he noticed ponies moving through the streets towards the town center. Curious, Ale began walking in the same direction. There was a large crowd of ponies surrounding a wagon, jeering at whoever was pulling it. Ale spotted the mane six at the back of the crowd and moved over to them.
“What’s going on?”
AJ turned around, “It’s that no good Trixie. She’s back in town and nopony is happy about it.”
“And…?”
Rainbow Dash answered, “And the last two times she was here she caused a mess and humiliated us. She almost took over the town last time.”
Ale, being far taller than the surrounding ponies observed the accused blue mare. She was trudging along with her head down, attempting to navigate through the mob. Ale could see that the fur on her face was matted, an obvious sign that she had or was crying. The mob was hurling insults at her, Ale hearing words like ‘whorse’ and ‘harlot’. Some were going as far as throwing food at her.
Ale was shocked that the seemingly peaceful backwater town had turned into a hate filled mob. He looked towards the mane six, most of them watching with rapt attention. AJ and Rainbow were smirking, Rarity looked a bit conflicted, Pinkie’s mane was deflated while Fluttershy was predictably hiding behind her mane. Twilight on the other hand looked disgusted. However, nopony seemed to make any move to stop the crowds tirade. Ale sighed as he figured he might as well do the right thing.
With surprising swiftness and agility for someone as heavy and big as Ale, he phased through the crowd and faced them.
“That’s enough!” The crowd fell silent, Ale’s presence infallible to miss. “You can all go home now. Everything is under control.”
A few in the crowd called out things such as, “She shouldn’t be here,” and, “She should be banished.” This riled up the crowd again, sounding as if they were baying for her blood. Failing to grab their attention again Ale pulled out his sidearm and fired a single blue bolt into the air. They fell silent quickly, fearing the unknown capabilities of his strange weapons.
“Leave.” With the simple command the mob broke up and began returning to their business, not before shooting glares at Trixie and Ale. The mane six walked to him, Twilight thanking him for his intervention. Remembering Trixie, Ale turned around finding the blue mare looking at him with fear filled eyes. He stepped forward to introduce himself when a half burned bird landing right in front of him halted his words. Other than a small gasp from Fluttershy an awkward silence settled over the group. Unsure of what to do Ale settled for drawing his hand back to him and instead giving Trixie a little wave.
Trixie, already overcome with grief of being rejected everywhere she went and encountering crowds similar to the one she had just endured started trembling, the alien finally breaking her mental barricade. She fell to the ground and began sobbing. Twilight stepped forward intent on helping Trixie, giving Ale an annoyed look. Ale simply shrugged. The other five mares passed him, Fluttershy glaring at him when she noticed Ale subtly pushing the bird under the wagon with his foot.
Ale simply leaned against the wagon while the others talked with Trixie. Her story consisted her being mistreated everywhere she went. Rainbow Dash and AJ lost their angry looks and instead looked to her with sympathy. Ale zoned out for awhile, imagining himself eating a nice 72 oz steak, laughing mentally as he pictured the looks his new friends would give him if they witnessed his daydream. He was brought back to earth when he heard them exchanging apologies, seemingly finishing their conversation. Trixie looked at Ale and smiled hesitantly.
It soon disappeared when she looked around and asked, “Where did the bird go?” Ale looked away while placing his hands in imaginary pockets, whistling nonchalantly. The mares gave him suspicious glares but didn’t press the issue.
Twilight turned to Trixie, “Where will you be staying?”
“I was going to take my wagon to Whitetail Woods and camp out there. I don’t have the funds to stay in a motel. Don’t worry though, I’ve done it plenty of times.”
Pinkie jumped up, “Don’t forget about the party later!” Trixie nodded, the mane six and Ale turned and walked away.
After a minute or two of silence Ale asked, “Everything go well?”
“For the most part. Trixie apologized to us and we to her,” Twilight responded. “Pinkie is throwing a party later today to officially welcome her to Ponyville. You’re invited as well.”
“That’s good.”
Twilight looked up to him, “Thanks, for dispersing the crowd. I don’t think Trixie could have taken much more.”
“No problem. By the way, you could have stopped the crowd yourself.”
Twilight looked a bit confused. “How? They didn’t listen to me before when Zecora first came to town.”
“…Really? Twilight, you’re a princess.”
Realization dawned on Twilight causing her to face-hoof, prompting giggles from her friends. Ale simply shook his head.
---------------------------------------------------
Ale arrived at Sugarcube Corner at the appointed time of the party. He was carrying a vegetable pizza, having made it when he learned that ponykind had yet to discover the universe altering presence of pizza. Faint music could be heard, signaling that the party had already started. He stepped inside and glanced around. A moderate amount of ponies were attending and were currently milling around. Ale looked at a banner and smiled inwardly as Pinkie had once again combined two parties in one.
‘Get Well Ale/Welcome Trixie’
His musings were interrupted when the pink devil herself showed up.
“What’s up Sparty?”
Ale looked at her in confusion. “How did you… you know what, never mind.”
Pinkie tried to stifle her giggles with a hoof. “So what do you have there?” Pinkie was pointing at the box in Ales hand.
Ale opened the box, presenting the pizza to Pinkie while saying, “I give you, heaven.”
Pinkie tentatively took a slice and bit into it. After a few moments of chewing her eyes widened to the size of saucers while her mouth hung agape. Ale snapped his fingers, hoping to break her out of her stupor. When she didn’t respond Ale got desperate. He wasn’t sure if breaking this seemingly impossible pony would damage the universe. So with renewed vigor he began poking her. It then escalated to a slap.
Meanwhile Twilight had been enjoying her discussion about magic with Trixie. She had excused herself to get more punch when she saw Ale lifting said punch over Pinkies head. With a flick of his wrist the punch drenched Pinkie. After a few moments of no response Ale dropped and shattered the punch bowl on Pinkies head. Twilight rushed over to Ale.
“What are you doing!?”
Ale spoke quickly, “I don’t know what happened! She just froze up.”
Twilight shook her head. “Ale, there’s only one way to break Pinkie out of this state.” Twilight then picked up a cupcake and smashed it into Pinkies face. Ale watched in annoyance as Pinkie slowly blinked her eyes. She licked her lips, seemingly gaining life as the sweet frosting brought her back to the living. She looked at Ale and inhaled.
“Wowzee!Whatwasinthere?Itwasthemostawsomeliciousthingihavevertasted!Ittastedlikethemoonhadcollidedwiththesunandcreatedtheultimatespacefood!Manmyheadhurts!Whyisthereglasseverywhere?HeyTwilightyouhave-MMMPH!”
Ale clamped Pinkies mouth shut, feeling a sense of déjà vu. After a moment he released Pinkie. She inhaled deeply and started to speak until Ale lifted a finger. She was still releasing sound, lowering her tone as Ale slowly dragged his finger down in front of her. She stopped when Ale drew back his hand.
“Now Pinkie, what is it you wanted to say at half the speed and volume please.”
Pinkie looked at Twilight. “Twilight, you have to try the food Ale brought. It’s indescribable.”
Twilight looked at the food Ale was holding. She lifted a slice with her magic and took a bite. She closed her eyes and almost moaned out, “Oh Celestia…”
“…”
The next few moments resulted in Twilight sharing some of the food with her friends. Since Ale had only brought one pizza a replication spell was used. However, the horrors of a replication spell wielded by a very powerful and quite frankly disoriented alicorn newly addicted to cheesy goodness proved too much for Ale. He fought his way out of the now indoor cheese trap and collapsed outside. He stood up, struggling against the copious amounts of cheese stuck to him. With trudging steps he wandered through the town, using his promethean vision to navigate to the nearest lake.
-----------------------------------------------------
Ale sat down against a tree, his armor clean of cheese. He began staring into the nights reflection in the lake. The gentle ripples warping the stars gave a pleasant feeling to Ale. He leaned over and picked up a smooth stone, gently skipping it several times over the waters surface, disrupting the serene picture. A few moments later another stone skipped out, far outdoing Ales rock. He looked over in mild surprise, only to find Luna standing nearby.
“Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all.”
Luna walked over and settled on her belly next to Ale. They both were content to observe the night in peace. Ales voice echoed lightly across the water. “Are you still jealous of your sisters sun?”
Luna closed her eyes gently, pondering his question. Her teal orbs opened while she responded, “No. More ponies may revere the day but there are many ponies that enjoy the wonders of night in this day and age. Many take time in nights solitude to think and wonder. The time of dreams inspire them to improve themselves and the world. Romance and passion also roam rampantly under the cover of darkness.”
Luna sighed deeply, smiling at her subjects new found love in the night. She soon looked over to Ale. “How are you feeling?”
Ale tapped his chest. “A little pain here and there with a smidge of fatigue.”
Luna nodded, “It will pass in time.” She looked out over the lake. “There is another reason why I have sought you out. I need your assistance in a weeks time. My sister and I are visiting the Crystal Empire to meet with our niece, Princess Cadence. We are to negotiate with the griffon king about recent border skirmishes along the boundaries of the Crystal Empire.”
Ale nodded in understanding. “So I’m going along as a deterrent against invasion as well as a bodyguard I presume?” Luna nodded. Ale stood up and stretched, cracking his back loudly. “Well then, I better prepare.”
Luna stood and faced him. “We will arrive via carriage and pick you up. It’s a two days flight to the empire.”
Ale shuddered at the memory of the horrid things. “Wait, how about I pick you and your sister up along with however many guards in my pelican? I estimate the two day flight will be shortened to a little over three hours.”
Luna looked thoughtful. “I agree. I will send further instructions when we are ready.” She then looked nervous as she circled her hoof in the dirt. “You know, it would be much easier if you stayed at the castle.”
Ale smirked under his helmet as he responded, “Are you inviting me to bed so soon? We haven’t even been on a proper date.”
Luna blushed madly as she stuttered gibberish. Ale chuckled as he pulled his helmet off and cupped her face, kissing her right cheek gently while effectively haltering her speech impediment. A minute later he pulled back to see Luna smiling. She leaned forward slowly, attempting to prompt a kiss from Ale. He complied as he slowly leaned forward towards her, the beautiful teal orbs closing as they neared. With a devious grin that would unease Discord Ale pulled back suddenly and pushed Luna into the lake with a loud splash.
The cold water shocked Luna as she shakily stood up in the relatively shallow water. She turned towards Ale only to find him laughing madly as he ran from her. While irritated at his actions she smirked evilly as she called out, “Don’t think you’ve gotten away with this! I’ll get you back… soon.”
Ale chuckled at her warning as she disappeared from view. He soon however stopped when a realization struck home. A cold sweat broke out over him as he remembered a very important feature of the night princess.
She was the ruler of dreams.