//------------------------------// // Even Flow // Story: Of Night and Stone // by Kirb //------------------------------// Of Night and Stone By Kirb Chapter Nine Even Flow NOTE: This chapter contains song lyrics which have been removed to comply with the FIMFiction rules. The original version with lyrics can be found here. Elisa stood outside and watched as the sun set, lighting the horizon bright red and dimming the rest of the light to a deep blue. When there was no trace of the sun’s light, the clan finally awoke with their normal roars. They brushed themselves off and turned to see the human standing in front of the door. “Elisa,” Goliath began. “There’s somepony I want all of you to meet,” Elisa said. “Ugh, again?” groaned Lex. “Every evening you’ll want us to meet someone new. Next thing you know, the entire town will know about us and we’ll have to be defeating some idiotic gargoyle KKK called ‘The Quarrymen’ or something.” “Please,” Elisa laughed. “That wouldn’t happen, that would be stupid.” “I hope you’re right,” Lex muttered in response. Elisa continued. “No, we’re going to keep all of you a secret for now. There are only two ponies this night, and to be honest I only just met them today.” “How’d it go?” Broadway asked. “Well…” … Two hours earlier, Elisa found herself falling--falling from a great height, seemingly from the top of the headquarters of David Xanatos, the Eyrie Building, down to the streets of Manhattan. Helpless, she couldn’t grab on to anything. She shut her eyes as the ground rushed toward her. The impact never came. Surprised, she looked up to find Goliath had grabbed her and was carrying her up into the sky. She smiled and looked into the gargoyle’s eyes. He smiled back, and then let her go. She was afraid she would fall, but then found that she had wings of her own! “Goliath!” she cried. “I’m a gargoyle!” He was already gliding away, so Elisa glided after him. Over the brightly lit skyline of New York City they rode the air currents, past the green-glowing Statue of Liberty, the majestic Chrysler Building, and into the clouds. She couldn’t see through the thickness of the clouds, and when she reemerged, he was gone. “Goliath?” As Elisa glided, she sensed something next to her in the clouds. She turned her head, expecting to see either Goliath or another gargoyle. Instead, she saw a pony. This dark blue mare was about two heads shorter than her, and was a pegasus… or was it a unicorn? She had both large wings and a long horn. Her ethereally flowing mane and tail were of a sapphire blue color, with a grayish blue aura surrounding. She wore a black tiara, a black necklace with a white crescent moon shape, and some gray hoof armor. Her cutie mark consisted of a white crescent moon over a dark purple background. “Am I interrupting something?” the mare asked. “Whoa!” Elisa interjected. “Who are you?” The night blue mare gracefully flapped her wings while she was speaking, so it was clear that she was flying as opposed to gliding. “I am Luna, Princess of Equestria.” “Oh yeah, I remember hearing about you!” Elisa looked around. “Um, we should land somewhere, shouldn’t we?” Princess Luna nodded. “That would be wise.” They began a slow descent to the rooftop of a building on 42nd and 5th Avenue, while the red and white taillights of the cars shimmered below in the night-darkened streets. When they finally set down, Luna folded up her wings and looked at Elisa. “You are Elisa Maza, correct?” Luna began. “Yeah, that’s me.” Luna opened her mouth to speak once more, but Elisa interrupted her. “Wait, let me guess. This is all a dream, right?” Luna nodded. “Unless your spontaneous transformation into a gargoyle and inexplicably being back in your home city were not enough to tell you that.” Elisa smirked. “I also figured from the fact that I’ve had this dream before. But you weren’t in it.” “Elisa, you need to wake up,” said Luna. “Something very important is going to happen today.” “But I always sleep in! It’s what I have to do when I work the night shift! Besides, you can’t tell me what to do, you’re just part of my dream.” Luna did a diva neck shake. “Actually, I am really communicating to you. My sister Princess Celestia and I are both standing next to your bed, and I have entered your dreams.” “Entered my dreams?” Elisa gasped. “You can do that now?” “Yes, I am the Princess of the Night. It is my duty to come into your dreams.” “But it’s daytime. And besides, isn’t it a little creepy to just watch and interfere with someone’s dreams?” Luna raised an eyebrow. “Trust me, some ponies dream some crazy things that will make you turn white.” She shuddered. “Especially my sister…” “Well, I still don’t see why I have to awaken at this point…” Luna sighed. “In that case, it seems that I have no choice.” Her horn lit up with a cobalt blue color, and before Elisa could object, her world was flooded in white and she found herself as a human again, lying in her bed. She was still drowsy from her dream as she looked around the room and tried to make sense of the situation. “Ugh…” “Hello, Elisa was it?” a voice spoke. Elisa turned her head to see Luna and Twilight standing behind another winged unicorn, only this one was about as tall as Elisa. She had white coat and a similar ethereally flowing mane and tail with shades of light blue, turquoise, lavender and pink. She wore a golden crown and necklace, both with a purple gem at their center, and gold hoof armor. “Oh.” Elisa groggily pushed the covers from her chest and rolled out of bed. She stood up to face her two visitors. “Yeah, that’s me. You must be Princess Celestia!” She held out a hand for Celestia to shake, but then she saw Twilight facehoofing. “What?” “Bow!” Twilight whispered. “You’re supposed to bow!” Elisa groaned. “Well, sorry! I don’t know how to act around princesses!” she whispered back. “It is okay, Twilight,” Princess Celestia interrupted. Twilight sheepishly nodded. The princess turned back to face Elisa. “Anyway, Elisa. I have heard a lot about you, and about the.. well, you know…” Elisa cocked her head. “Princess, we’re not in public. You can talk about the gargoyles.” “Right, sorry. And I would love to talk about the gargoyles--that is, once you get dressed.” “Huh?” Elisa looked down to see that all she was wearing was a black T-shirt and a pair of white panties. Her face flushed with a rosy brown. “Oh. Yeah, I’d better get dressed.” “Alright, I will give you your privacy.” The princesses and Twilight turned around and headed downstairs. When Celestia turned to leave, Elisa saw her stylized sun cutie mark. As they left, they could hear Elisa groan, “Ugh, 4:30 in the afternoon? Too damn early…” “Is she always this irritable?” Celestia asked Twilight. “Only today,” Twilight replied. “To be fair, we did awaken her much earlier than she is used to.” “She is one of the few I know who stays up at night and sleeps during the day,” said Luna. “Until we meet these gargoyles, of course.” Luna and Celestia sat down at the kitchen table while Twilight walked over to the cupboards to get some cereal for Elisa. Twilight opened a beige wooden cupboard with her magic and grabbed a box of Horn Flakes. “So, my student,” Celestia began, “there was one section in your last letter that interested me.” “Hm?” Twilight replied while she levitated a white bowl out of the cupboard. “Oh, yes. Tell me!” “Well…” Before Celestia could continue, loud electric guitars and drums blasted from above. Celestia looked up. “Um, Twilight, what is that?” “Oh, that’s just Elisa playing music from her boombox,” Twilight answered as she pulled out a spoon and placed it on a napkin next to the bowl. “She sometimes plays from that when she wakes up.” “Her music is very… loud,” Luna commented. A baritone voice began singing now. ♫ “Interesting lyrics,” said Luna. Her head began nodding to the music. “Indeed..” Celestia was more confused than anything else. “Anyway, Twilight. You mentioned another pony who has formed a strong bond with one of the gargoyles.” ♫ “Yeah, Pinkie Pie’s sister, Maud,” Twilight responded as she poured the light brown cereal into the bowl. “She’s been spending a lot of time with Brooklyn, the second-in-command to Goliath.” ♫ “Interesting. And is this Brooklyn a male or a female gargoyle?” “Oh! Um, male.” “I see…” Twilight cocked her head to the side. “Princess, what are you thinking about?” There was a short instrumental breakdown. Princess Celestia answered, “Oh, I was just wondering about something. Nothing important.” ♫ “Twilight, this is a song from Elisa’s world, right?” asked Luna. “Correct.” Twilight poured the milk into the bowl of cereal. “I think she calls it ‘grunge.’” “I see,” Luna replied. ♫ “Princess Celestia, what were you wondering about?” Twilight asked, closing the milk carton. On the side of the carton there was a picture of a grey pegasus mare with yellow green mane and crossed golden eyes that had gone missing. “Well, I was wondering how strong a bond you were talking about.” Clearly Celestia was thinking about something. ♫ “Well, she saved his life once, if that puts it into perspective. It doesn’t really make sense that they’d be friends, since Brooklyn has a brash, sarcastic personality and Maud has no personality whatsoever.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Why are you asking?” ♫ “Only curiosity, my student,” Celestia answered, though something else was up. “Princess, what are you getting at?” ♫ “Well, if you must know, I am wondering if there is more than just a simple friendship between the two of them.” Twilight gasped. “Princess Celestia! Are you thinking they’re romantically involved?” ♫ Celestia’s white face turned a crimson hue. “No! What? No!” “She really is,” said Luna, making Celestia blush even more. ♫ “Princess, if it makes you feel better, Elisa, Pinkie and I spied on the two of them last night, and I think they’re a really cute couple.” “It’s not even that,” said Celestia. “It’s…” Before she could elaborate, the ponies heard footsteps descending the stairs and the music getting closer. “Ah, here she is,” Twilight said. “I was worried her cereal would get soggy.” ♫ “She sure has her music turned up loud!” Celestia chuckled nervously. As a pony, she had larger ears than humans, and was therefore much more sensitive to loud noise. ♫ Twilight squinted her eyes and gritted her teeth, obviously reacting to the approaching music. Luna was the only one who seemed unaffected by it. ♫ Elisa entered through the door, now wearing her standard attire and carrying a small black and silver boombox from which the music blared. Celestia was now covering her ears. “Alright, so what’s up?” Elisa yelled over the lyrics. ♫ “Elisa! What is this?” Twilight yelled to her angrily. “Pearl Jam!” Elisa yelled back. “Isn’t it great!” In response, Twilight trotted up to Elisa and slammed a hoof on the ‘off’ button. “Elisa, we have important matters to discuss.” “Fine…” Elisa set the boombox down as she sat. “Hey, thanks for getting me breakfast!” “You’re welcome!” Twilight replied. “Princess, you were saying something?” “Ah, yes,” Celestia began. “You see, Elisa--” “May I have some of your music?” Luna blurted out. “Um, sure!” Elisa finally said after a pause. “But I don’t know how you would listen to it, since all I have are CDs and you play your music from vinyl records.” “Can we talk about this later?” Twilight asked impatiently. “We have more important matters to discuss.” “Indeed,” Celestia concurred. Elisa grabbed her spoon and began eating. “Elisa, Twilight has informed me about the gargoyles.” “What about them?” Elisa muttered through a mouthful of cereal. “We think it would be wise to meet them,” Luna spoke. “As leaders of the country, it is our duty to know everything that is happening.” “So Twilight just gave you permission to meet them today, without clearing it with me first?” Elisa finished chewing, then continued. “This is a lot to throw at me at once. They’re going to be surprised about this, you know, and they don’t like surprises.” “Elisa!” Twilight snapped. “They’re princesses! If they want to meet the gargoyles, we should let them!” “Elisa,” Celestia spoke, “gaining the trust of the gargoyles is very important. Twilight told me earlier that they are not quick to trust just anypony, as they have been betrayed in the past.” “Yeah, but their duty is to protect the castle,” Elisa reminded, “or in this case, Ponyville. As long as you don’t betray them, they’ll trust you.” “I hope so,” Luna said. “As princess of the night, their actions are in my domain. Besides, we need to prepare them for meeting the public.” Elisa’s eyes widened. “Meeting the public?” She shook her head. “Oh no. Ohhhh no.” “What?” Luna asked. “Luna!” Celestia whispered. “I told you, they are not ready for it. With all the recent chaos of the changeling attack, they would be paranoid. We must wait for the right time.” “Oh, right.” Luna looked down, and Elisa could have sworn her mane stopped flowing for a second. “Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, “these are things that we need to adjust to--not only Elisa’s arrival, but also the gargoyles. But I’m not sure today is the day to do it. Elisa just met you, and she hasn’t told the gargoyles yet. Do you understand me?” “Yes, Twilight,” Celestia nodded. “But I believe that it is better to act sooner than later. The time to act is now. The gargoyles can be powerful allies, or more powerful enemies. Which would you prefer?” “Uh, sister?” Luna interrupted. “Elisa is out.” They looked over to see that the woman was slumped over with her eyes shut and her mouth open. Celestia rubbed her chin. “Strange. This is the first time one of my speeches has literally put somepony to sleep. At least, the first that I know of…” “Oh, it’s not your fault,” said Twilight. “As I said, she’s not used to waking up so early.” Celestia didn’t seem to listen. “Sister, will you enter her dreams again?” “I think I have a better idea, sister. Cover your ears.” Luna took a deep breath, then yelled at the top of her lungs. “BY THE POWER OF EQUESTRIA, WE COMMAND THOU TO AWAKEN!!!” Elisa sat up straight in her chair quickly and stared at Luna with a shocked expression. Twilight sighed. “I’ll get the coffee.” … Lex raised an eyebrow. “You blasted Pearl Jam, talked back to the princesses, and fell asleep?” “Hey, I think she has taken sarcasm lessons from me!” Brooklyn grinned. “Alright, I was awakened two hours early! Can you really blame me?” Elisa chuckled nervously. “I’m cranky when I’m tired. You’ve been around me long enough to know that.” “So the princesses are waiting here for us?” asked Goliath. “We had better prepare ourselves. We should bow, correct?” “Twilight said that was the right way to do it,” said Elisa. “Certainly don’t try to shake her hoof.” Goliath wrapped his wings around himself. “Then let us introduce ourselves.” He started walking towards the door. The other gargoyles followed him. “Hopefully this goes better than the last time we met with royalty,” Hudson muttered. Goliath looked back at him. “You mean with Princess Katharine, back at Castle Wyvern?” Goliath asked, stopping in front of the door. “Aye, laddie,” Hudson replied. “Remember what happened then..” “Trust me, this will work.” “Should she trick you, lad, I am afraid of what could--” “Hudson,” Goliath reassured. “It will work.” He opened the door to the Town Hall to see Princess Celestia talking with Twilight and Princess Luna. Celestia looked up and gasped upon seeing Goliath standing in the doorway. Luna followed her sister’s gaze and gasped, too. Twilight nodded, which was a signal for Goliath to enter the rest of the way, followed by Brooklyn, and then the other gargoyles one by one. Even at her height, Celestia was still shorter than Goliath. The gargoyles formed a row behind Goliath, who stepped forward and bowed to the princesses. The other gargoyles followed his lead. Celestia glanced over at her sister, who looked back. Then Celestia stepped forward. “You must be Goliath,” she said warmly. Goliath stood back up to his full height. “I am Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria. And this is my sister, Luna, Princess of the Night and Dreams.” She held out her right hoof. Luna walked up next to her sister. “On behalf of everypony, we would like to welcome you to Equestria.” She similarly held out her right hoof. Goliath bent over once more and kissed Celestia’s hoof. “Thank you. You are much more accepting than the last princess we had to deal with.” Celestia gasped again and blushed upon hearing Goliath’s deep voice. Luna did the same, and her face turned even redder when Goliath kissed her hoof. Both princesses shifted their stance, doubtlessly thinking of long nights doing unspeakable things with Goliath. “Yes, well…” Celestia giggled softly but nervously. Then she looked back down at Twilight. “Twilight, we will be right back. My sister and I have something to discuss.” “What?” Luna was surprised, but then Celestia’s horn glowed and the two alicorns teleported away. Elisa walked up to Goliath. “Did you really just kiss her hoof?” she asked. “You told me not to try to shake it.” Goliath smirked. “Elisa, do I sense some jealousy?” Elisa blushed. “No! None at all!” “Elisa, you know I am yours,” Goliath reassured her, taking her by the shoulders. “I would never betray you like that.” Elisa smiled once more. “Thank you, Goliath.” “Hm,” Twilight muttered. “I wonder what Celestia and Luna are talking about?” … In another room of Town Hall, Princess Celestia and Luna were in quiet conversation, their heads together. “The voice,” remarked Celestia. “The voice,” Luna repeated. “It’s epic,” Celestia complimented. There was a long pause, then Luna asked hesitantly, “Tia?” “Yes, sister?” “I came.” “Me too.”