Chapter 48
64 POV
I stared agape at the beautiful ring, seeing it glint brightly from the sunlight shining through the window. I reached out to inspect it further, but when i did Shining pulled it back towards him.
“Sorry man, I just can’t let anyone do that just yet… I… I already have everything planned.” Shining said timidly, growing nervous at the thought of proposing to Cadence. My mind was reeling with thoughts, so I outwardly expressed the one at the forefront.
“Shining, are you doing this just because you don’t want to be known in the history books another Captain who didn’t get married, or because you love Cadence to do this?” I asked seriously, staring into his eyes to see if he was lying.
At my words his eyes widened and he shook his head. “Hell no! It’s just… I know we’re going into a really bad situation. And if something escalates into something we can’t handle… I just don’t want to have any regrets…”
I took the answer as truth and leaned back into my chair, grinning as I did so. “Well then good luck. What’s the plan?” I asked, rubbing my cheek a bit.
“Wine and dine at one of the more exclusive restaurants in Canterlot, but knowing both of our statuses we wouldn’t have problems in getting into any one of them.” Shining explained, putting away the engagement ring. “And lately she’s been bugging me that we hadn’t been dancing in forever, so after dinner I was planning on taking her to a Ballroom where I’ll have the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra all set up to play one of her favorite songs, Estati Amore.”
“Summer’s Love? I thought I had heard her humming that a few times in passing.” I commented, knowing that it was originally a Bitallion love song until it was translated and recreated in Equestria.
“Yup, and about halfway through the song… I’ll pop the question.” Shining said, slamming his hoof onto the desk confidently. I had to applaud his confidence in the matter, knowing how serious a marriage proposal was.
“And when is the date set for this thing? I want front row tickets.” At my words, Shining froze up a bit and rubbed the back of his head. “What is it? You haven't planned this thing yet?”
He shook his head no and sighed. “Everything is set a week from now. And if things do end up going perfectly, the ceremony will be set a month from now.”
I recoiled a bit at the timeframe Shining gave me. “A month? Wedding take 6 to 8 months tops to plan out! How the fuck are you going to set things up like that?” Shining’s eyebrow raised at me, as if that was a stupid thing to say.
“Umm… we have literally hundreds of ponies willing to throw themselves at Celestia’s hooves to help plan a Royal Canterlot Wedding. A month might be too much time.” Shining said, as I mulled over the fact. I guess if the entire populace of Canterlot would help, then it might not even take a month.
“Alright… I guess, that makes sense?” I said, unsure if it even did. “So what’s wrong with the proposal happening in a week?”
“Well… you might want to take a look at this.” Shining answered, levitating a folder over to me. I plucked it out of the air and opened it up, seeing a small list of names and pictures all over the pages.
“This looks like a target list, but no crimes have been listed. What is this?” I asked, closing the folder.
“Those are the Diplomats which will be attending the negotiations of peace in Ethaxial’s Capital, Volaticus. Both Kingdoms of Capras and Mutarus have agreeded to meet to negotiate a treaty.” Shining explained, opening another drawer in his desk. “You will be attending along with Frenzy Scribe, our assigned Foreign Diplomat. Unfortunately for you, you will not be able to attend my proposal. You both are leaving in two days.”
I stared agape at my friend, scoffing. “What?! Aww man I wanted to see how much sweat would be pouring off of your body by the time you pulled out the ring!” I cried, upset that I wouldn’t be able to attend.
“Well sucks to be you. Go pack your things. Oh and before I forget.” Shining said, reaching into another compartment in his desk. “No magic again. Gryphons have implemented brand new magic drainers into the wall of the Castle. Prevents beings from using any kind of magic, so take this with you.”
Shining tossed me something which I caught moments before it hit my face, but it was just a thin black cylinder. “What’s this thing?”
“Swing it and take a gander.” I looked down at the object and did what I was told, swinging as hard as I could. Out of it popped a collapsible baton, which sparked at the end once it fully extended. “Meet the newest in Earth Pony Tech, The Shock Baton.”
I looked at the device and grimaced, attaching it to my belt loop. “But I already have these.” I said, pulling my Skeleton Blades out of my pocket and attaching them to my wrists, popping them out in demonstration. “Why do I need another concealed weapon?”
“Sometimes blades won’t cut it, pardon the pun. Plus this is less lethal than those things. What if you just want to incapacitate? You try that with your blades you might hit something vital.” Shining explained, making a bit of sense.
Of course… I wouldn’t miss in the first place…
“All right, anything else?” I questioned, retracting my blades and putting them back into my pockets.
“Yes, once you are all packed, meet with Frenzy Scribe in the Palace Library. It doesn’t matter what time you show up, he’s always in there.” Shining added, pointing at the door. “Now get, I still have some more planning for the Proposal.”
I nodded in understanding and made my way towards the door, heading towards my chamber.
3rd Person POV
Ghost was sitting in his new room in his disguise, not wanting to frighten anypony with his eyes. He was reading a book given to him by Applebloom, who told him it was a really good love story about vamponies and a teenage mare going to a new school, but right now it was physically hurting him to keep reading.
“This is literature these days?” He whispered, holding back the urge to light the book on fire. “I’m gonna go find Applebloom and give this back…”
Ghost hopped off of his bed and held the book in his magic, opening the door and walking towards Applebloom’s room. He was about to knock, but his ears perked up when he heard something on the other side.
“...but he didn’t……helped us…”
“...care if he…… shapeshiftin’...... love sucker?”
“...help it… who he is…”
At the sound of something smashing and a shriek from Applebloom, Ghost turned around and gave the door a good buck, sending it swinging open. He swept the room with his eyes and saw Big Mac standing over Applebloom, one of his forehooves planted deep in the wall behind her as if he threw a punch at it.
“What going on in here?!” Ghost yelled, glaring at the large farm pony, who easily towered over him.
“Ghost! What are ya doing here?!” Applebloom said frenzied, slightly shaking a bit.
“I came to return a book. Now I’ll say it again. What’s going on in here!?”
“...Ah’m gonna go back and work on the East Orchard… Ah hope fer your sake ya don’t do anythin’ stupid.” Big Mac growled, looking down at Ghost who just returned his glare. Once Big Mac passed Ghost and left the room, Applebloom fell onto her belly with a shaky sigh, tears now beginning to stream down her face.
Ghost dove to her side and grabbed one of her hooves, holding it gently. “Applebloom, what happened in here?” He asked slowly, trying to calm the frightened filly down.
“Why… why is mah brother actin’ like that Ghost? Why… why is he so angry with you?” Applebloom sobbed.
“I’m gonna go talk to him. He’s just uses the threat of violence to try and deter me from getting close to your family, but it’s not gonna work. I’ve seen way scarier things than him.” Ghost said confidently, getting up and walking towards the door.
“G-Ghost!” Applebloom choked out, not being able to use her voice for a few seconds.
“Yeah?”
“S-Stay safe…”
Ghost grinned and waved his hoof. “Don’t worry Applebloom, I’m not gonna let anything come between you and I.”
As Ghost walked out of the room, he missed the faint red mist coming out of Applebloom.
Ghost POV
East Orchard, East Orchard… he said he was coming here. I was going from tree to tree trying to find the large red Farm Pony. He wasn't but a few seconds ahead of me, yet he had somehow managed to completely evade me.
“Big Mac? Where are you!? I wanna talk to you! Please come out wherever you are!” I called, not wanting there to be hostility towards each other anymore. The sun was starting to set, tinges of orange beginning to shade the sky.
“Ugh… stubborn as a mule…” I muttered, walking up to an Apple Tree and headbutting it in frustration. The tree shook, causing a large red apple down onto my head. “Ow… what the heck?”
I looked up to see that on the Apple tree I had headbutted, there were dozen of apples hanging on by the thread of their stems. If they weren’t picked now when they are ripe, then this entire tree could grow a spoiled crop.
I look over my shoulders and squinted my eyes, wanting to see if I could buck this tree all by myself. I took in a deep breath, and spinning on my forehooves, I turned and delivered a heavy kick at the tree trunk. The tree shook with vibrations from the root to the leaves, causing at least a dozen apples falling towards the ground. Before they could hit the ground, I managed to grip all of the apples in a magic hold before they could hit the ground, preventing them from bruising.
“Heh, piece of cake.” I gloated to myself, setting the apples onto the ground harmlessly. I began to look around for a bucket or something to contain the apples, when I heard a loud thunk behind me. I turned quickly and saw Big Mac standing behind me, an empty tub now in front of me.
“Uh… Hi. I was… uh, looking for you. I wanted to talk about what happened back there.” I said, a bit nervous now that the large stallion was now in front of me.
“Look. Ah’m gonna make this short and simple, just the way ah like it. Ah don’t trust ya. Ah know what changelin’s do, and ah won’t have any of it near mah family.” Big Mac said, with a hint of threat behind his words.
“Look, saying that 1 Changeling is just like the rest is like saying… like saying…” I began trying to think of a simile he could understand. “Is like… saying every apple in the bunch is exactly the same!”
I waved all of the apples I had in my telekinetic grasp in emphasis. “Look, each has the same shape but what about what’s on the inside!” I took each apple and split them all in half, showing the pairs to Big Mac. “Take a look at this one.”
I brought a pair of half apples up to Big Mac, who look at their insides. There was a worm burrowing through it. “This apple is no good, filled with nothing but bad stuff.” I brought another half up to him. “Now look at this one.”
This pair was clean, with nothing but apple-y goodness inside. “This one isn’t like the others, nice and clean. Perfect in every way. This is the kind of apple you want to have sold at your stand. How does the old saying go? ‘One bad apple ruins the bushel?’”.
Big Mac was still giving me a look i didn’t like, but it was much less hostile than before. “You can’t let the few bad ones ruin the existence of one thing. Not all Changelings are bad. They’re just rare.”
I let my words settle in for a few seconds, hoping that I got through that thick skull of his. Big Mac just continued to stare at me, before he turned around and began to walk back towards the house.
“Ugh… worth the shot…” I said, dropping the apples onto the floor, not caring that I had just ruined about a dozen apples.
“Hey, aren’t ya comin’? It’s almost supper time.” Big Mac called, causing me to look up in shock. Big Mac had stopped and was now looking back at me, a blank expression on his face. “Ya hear me? It’s almost supper.”
Although I couldn’t gain anything by eating, I felt ecstatic as I ran towards Big Mac and began to walk alongside him as we walked back to the house, a warm feeling in my stomach. At least U had gotten him to at least stop threatening me.
Next step, make sure he doesn’t try and get me when my guard is down.
64 POV
I had finished packing everything I had, including a proper holster for my new Shock Baton. Frenzy Scribe was apparently related to Penman Scribe, the original Royal Advisor to Princess Celestia, in someway. He was also described as ‘twitchy, shaky, but damn smart’ by some of the other Royal Guards.
I was making my way towards the Royal Library, wanting to meet this scribe before we left for negotiations. Once I arrived, I looked around to see thousands upon thousands of books littered all over the place, creating what looked like a makeshift maze. Taking a closer look, every book was about Politics, Gryphons, and Negotiating.
“Hello?! Anypony in here? Frenzy Scribe?” I called, as I heard a loud crash of books falling to the ground.
“Right here! I’m right here! Don’t you worry about me! I’m over here!” Another voice called out, speaking in a very fast tone.
“Uh, Frenzy? That you?”
“Yup! That’s me! Don’t you worry! I’ll be right out!”
I continued towards the voice, until a pile of books next to me began to shake and rumble. All of a sudden, Frenzy jumped out of the pile of books and darted his head back and forth, until his eyes finally locked onto me.
“Hey there, name’s Frenzy, Frenzy Scribe, but you already knew that didn’t you? You’re Project 64, human created 21 years ago by biologist by the name of Lab Consilium! You’ll be my bodyguard during the Peace Treaty negotiations!” Frenzy called, listing off things i didn’t know, like the name of my creator.
“Woah, slow down. Yes I’m your bodyguard. But what was that about Lab Consilium?” I asked, wanting to know more.
“Oh him!? He passed away a few years after you were made, terrible accident in one of his labs. Yep! Couldn’t even ID him without his dental records!”
I had to stop this guys motor mouth before I got a headache. “Alright! Just drop it! I just wanted to talk about what’s going to happen in Ethaxial.”
“Oh! That’s gonna be easy! The Gryphons need the gems, which only we have. We need things such as Coal and Oil to power trains, which only the Zebras have. The Zebras need land for farming, which the Changeling Kingdom has, and the Changelings need proper building and architecture, which the Gryphons can provide.” Frenzy took a deep breath. “Everypony gets something they need, while giving something they can provide easily! Easy peasy!”
My mind was still trying to comprehend what he had just said, but if he thought it made sense, he was the expert. “Alright, perfect. But I still need to do some snooping around to see if anything fishy is going on behind the scenes. Just do your job, and I’ll do mine.” I said, crossing my arms.
“Got it! Just make sure I don’t get my neck sliced and I’m sure we’ll do alright. And don’t worry about the mess, these books are all enchanted to return to their place after an allotted amount of time.”
Guess that was why he was making such as mess. “So tell me about yourself Frenzy, what do you like?” I asked, trying to maintain a conversation. I needed to make sure this guys wasn’t completely off of his rocker.
“I like research and reading. Basically anything that helps me expand my knowledge.” He said simply, now talking in a normal pace. “I mean, I know that everypony around here thinks me some kind of nutcase, but I’ve never thought that wanting to learn was that nutty.”
I nodded and grinned at Frenzy, reaching out to shake his hoof. “Good to know Frenzy. Look, it’s getting late and I’m sure you’re tired, lets head back and get some shut eye.” I offered, causing a large grin to plaster over Frenzy’s face.
“Oh no worries! If I ever need to sleep in the place, I always got this baby!” Frenzy said quickly, reaching for a book on the shelf and pulling it out a bit. A click later and the entire bookshelf came down, revealing a cot, radio, and mini refrigerator. “Voila! Instant shelter! Want anything out of here?”
Frenzy opened the fridge to show me an assortment of Soda, Alcohol, and small snacks.
“What kind of Whiskey do your got?” I asked, remembering the last time I had tried to drink my oppurtunity got taken away by Twilight.
“Ah, sweet Apple Cinnamon Whiskey. Nectar of Celestia right here. Want some?” Frenzy offered, holding out the bottle in his hoof.
“Do I ever…” I sighed dreamily, watching as Frenzy pulled out two glasses. This was gonna be awesome...