The Monster and the Crystal Prince

by Revenant Wings

Chapter VII - Flight of Fancy

A week passed. Douglas had now been in the Crystal Empire for a month, under the service of the Elite Palace Guard for a week, and an escort to Prince D’Amore Temporus for a week.

Douglas was enjoying his new job. And, what’s more, the nightmare hadn’t returned. Douglas assumed that the long days with Prince Tempo were part of the reason; Tempo worked constantly even when it seemed like he wasn’t, and was rather keen on including Douglas in whatever he did. So Douglas never actually stood around except for the first hour when he was in his office, and even then Douglas’ mind never actually went back to the nightmare for a long time.

There was one day when Prince Tempo stayed in the office for longer than usual. When the hour mark passed and Prince Tempo showed no sign of coming out, Douglas wondered if something had happened and he needed help. Douglas waited a minute or two longer before knocking on the door three times as was the custom.

‘Enter, Douglas,’ Prince Tempo said.

Douglas opened the door and looked at the Prince. He showed no signs of being ready to go with papers all over his desk and a fountain pen in his blue magic. He appeared to be writing notes on something and was in the middle of something.

‘...do you have any meetings today, your majesty?’ Douglas asked.

‘Actually, I’ve made sure to get everything done yesterday and cancelled my appointments today,’ he said. ‘I’ve forgotten to tell you I’ve made an appointment for you at ten o’clock at the University to select your classes. We’ll be going there when I’m done.’

The University! Amidst the roller coaster of a month, Douglas had nearly forgotten. ‘Oh!’ he exclaimed. ‘What time were you thinking of going, then?’

‘I think we’ll leave at nine-thirty,’ Prince Tempo said. ‘Maybe earlier, depending on how long it takes for me to finish looking over this proposed tax reduction.’

‘Very well.’

Prince Tempo smiled at him. ‘Thank you for checking in on me, though.’

Douglas nodded, then quietly closed the door.

The University! Douglas had quite nearly forgotten it indeed. He had no idea what he wanted to do with himself when he graduated or what he wanted to pursue. He’d spent a year going over the absolute basics but had no idea where he wanted to go after that. Perhaps he could spend another year clearing out the basic requirements before getting into the meat of things.

Douglas pondered his options and found a solution that fit with his plans: a basic literature class, sociology, psychology, and an introduction to chemistry class. The schedule would fit most of the remaining basic requirements and allow him to move on to advanced classes when he finished this semester. He wondered what he would have to do to make that fit with his Guard schedule and how open the Prince would be to it.

When the Prince came out of his office, Douglas told him of his plans. The Prince listened to him thoughtfully, and once more Douglas could almost see the gears turning rapidly in his mind, examining the various situations and possibilities.

‘That could work,’ he said. ‘One may be an evening class, but the others could fit into one of the weekend schedules. We’ll have to talk with Track Record at the Student Planning Offices and see what happens, but I see it fitting.’

‘But for now,’ Tempo continued, ‘I’ll take you to the University itself and we’ll speak with a counselor. The campus is old and so are the professors, but you’d be hard pressed to find a subject and education route we don’t have available.’

Douglas and Tempo walked under the legs of the Crystal Palace and along the street towards the guard barracks and the University. During which time, Douglas was surprised to see how much the ponies seemed to adore Prince D’Amore Temporus. Foals came up to and hugged him, and he would give them a hug in return, after which they’d go giddy and run in circles. Mares and stallions alike greeted him with waving and cheerful shouts, which Tempo returned regally yet personally.

‘You are very approachable for a prince,’ Douglas said when they had left a large crowd of admirers behind.

‘I’ll take it that’s a lot coming from you,’ Tempo commented.

‘Very. But it’s true. I mean, none of the ponies are afraid of you, and you’re probably the closest pony to me.’

‘That is saying a lot since you were with Princess Celestia and Luna for a year.’

‘Yeah, but they’re more benevolent bosses. They didn’t actually try being my friend.’

‘Well, you certainly aren’t a monster. You’ve actually been quite pleasant company.’

They arrived at the University and went to the main offices. They met up with Douglas’ assigned counselor, a wizened brown pony with a grey mane and beard and sharp green eyes named Forward Thinker, who took Douglas on a tour of the University, which seemed to take up two whole blocks of the city. When they had finished the tour, they went to the Student Planning Offices and had a meeting with Track Record, and together they reviewed Douglas’ transcript.

Douglas told the counselor and Track Record of his plans for the semester and his hope to finish out his courses. Only one problem came with his plan: he needed one more math course, a Nutrition course or a physical activity class, and an art class. It would have to be taken in two semesters. But they went over his schedule and looked at what Tempo would allow to be taken out – flexible but no more than two whole days away a week – and settled on a schedule around the weekends: Nutrition on Friday evenings, the sociology class on Saturday mornings, and the psychology class and the literature class on Sundays. Each class met one time for two and a half to three hours, left enough of a break for meals, and didn’t overwork him in conjunction with the Guard. Douglas thought it a fine compromise.

By the time they were done, it was already almost noon. Prince Tempo stretched his wings again and asked Douglas once again what he thought about lunch.

‘Can we do it somewhere quiet?’ he asked. ‘I’m not sure I like the crowds.’

‘Don’t like being stared at?’ Tempo asked. He giggled. ‘Of course. I know a place not too far from here that would do nicely.’

They walked over a few spokes and came to a small restaurant with a Neighponese theme. A waiter quickly secured a table and they were sat down at a table near the window overlooking the street. Douglas ordered a tea and water and Tempo ordered the same thing and they sat in silence for a moment.

After a while, a question appeared in Douglas’ mind. ‘How come you need a personal guard? It seems like the town adores you and I can’t imagine any threats.’

‘You’ve heard about the Changelings and King Sombra in your history classes, correct?’

Douglas thought back. ‘Yes. The Changelings are shapeshifters that feed on love by draining love energy out of creatures. And King Sombra was the tyrant ruler of the Crystal Empire before you took over the throne.’

‘Correct. You see, because of my position, I have been attacked by Changelings once. I spent some time with Gleaming Shield back in Canterlot and we became very close. Nothing happened between us, though; I found myself interested in her as a friend but not as a long-time partner. But because of that I was attacked and captured by Queen Chrysalis. If it wasn’t for the quick thinking of Twilight Sparkle, Gleaming Shield would have remained a thrall of the Changeling queen and I would have been stuck in the caves below Canterlot.’

Douglas was surprised. He knew there was some dark figures and times in Equestrian history, but he hadn’t figured it would have been so dangerous now. It all looked so happy...

‘As for King Sombra, Gleaming Shield came up with me when the Crystal Empire reappeared a few years ago, but with it came the tyrant King. He enslaved the ponies before, and we spent all our energy defending it from him again. But for Princess Celestia’s quick thinking and sending Twilight Sparkle, her prized student and expert in magic, up here to help me again, we wouldn’t have been able to hold off his attack.’

‘Wow...’ Douglas said. ‘I remember reading about King Sombra and how he damaged and hid the Crystal Heart. We only barely went over the events leading to the return, as it was new enough it wasn’t in our textbooks.’

‘It has only been a few years,’ Prince Tempo said again. ‘We haven’t been around much. But the Crystal Heart is important. You could say it’s the keystone of Equestrian civilization, what inspires friendships across the kingdom.’

‘So, small as you might be, your protection and that of the Crystal Heart at the base of the Palace is a key strategic move.’

‘Correct. Admittedly, most of the problems we have tend to be down south and concern Princess Celestia and her domains more often than not. Things have been pretty peaceful up here, and it is my sincerest hope they stay that way.’

A waiter brought their drinks and took their order. Douglas got a sweet teriyaki chow mein with vegetables and something that apparently smelled and tasted like chicken. Prince Tempo told him it was called “soy” and served as something of a rich protein substitute, and proceeded to order the same thing. Whether it was out of convenience or him actually liking it, Douglas didn’t know.

‘Do you ever go down there?’

‘On occasion. If there are more important matters that Princess Celestia wishes to talk to me about, things that concern the Crystal Empire or trade agreements with other nations and the like, she writes me and I head down there for about two or three weeks until the matter is sorted out. I make a few house calls to former colleagues and friends, and head back when my business is done.’

‘Busy?’

‘Yes. But I like to combine business with pleasure, and as hectic as it may seem I enjoy myself down in main Equestria.’

‘Are you due for a trip soon?’

‘A yearly summit takes place when your next semester is done. I’ll expect you and a few other of the Palace Guard to come with me then. But that is still four months out and it takes not much planning to get there, so I won’t worry you with the details yet. Suffice it to say that I’ll give you the information a month before we go and everything will have already been arranged.’

‘So what did you do before the Crystal Empire reappeared?’

‘I managed internal affairs: trade agreements between cities, immigration and emigration, education, and environmental issues. I think trade and education matters transferred to Princess Celestia and environmental issues and immigration and emigration went to Princess Luna.’

‘They since have smaller Directors that manage those departments,’ Douglas said. ‘Though, if there is an issue with any one of them, they do go to Princess Celestia or Luna depending on the department.’

‘That would not surprise me,’ Prince Tempo mused. ‘It’s easier to have a series of underlings to manage the small stuff and bring the bigger ones to you. But the Crystal Empire is small enough – only our main city and three or four small villages that technically fall in the territory – that I don’t mind wading through the small stuff. It’s harder when the population is bigger, though.’

The waiter arrived with two steaming bowls of orange noodles in a sweet brown sauce with vegetables and soy pieces, along with a small ball of white rice. Douglas was pleased to find the soy in his meal tasted like a mixture of chicken and pork but slightly more flavorful and was quite content to slowly eat his meal with a fork, savoring every bite. Prince Tempo used a set of wooden utensils he called “chopsticks”, which he held like the fountain pen and slowly grabbed bites of food by pinching them and bringing them to his mouth.

Douglas tried using the chopsticks. He failed miserably and managed to only grab and keep hold of one noodle every time. He quickly went back to the fork, but Tempo said it was likely he was getting on the right track. But he didn’t know.

Over lunch, Prince Tempo talked more about various exploits he’d been through. There was a story of a strange creature called a draconequus named Discord faking sickness and Prince Tempo and Twilight Sparkle nearly getting eaten by a Tatzlworm. There was a story of the last Equestria Games where Twilight and her friends had tried making a good impression to choose the Crystal Empire for the site of the Games only to find out who they thought was the Games Inspector was a random tourist, and a case where young dragon named Spike saved the Games when a cloud turned to a block of ice by flaming it.

Douglas could hardly believe what he was hearing; it all sounded so outlandish to him. Then again, he thought, I am sitting talking to a pink horse with a unicorn horn and wings, so who am I to say what’s outlandish and what’s not?

And so he laughed and enjoyed himself at every flourish the Prince placed on his stories. He enjoyed hearing about them, and was glad he was able to hear more about the Prince and not just focused on him and who he was and his background.

When lunch was over, they walked back to the Crystal Palace, still laughing and joking about Prince Tempo’s stories of Discord that apparently happened after a reformation, though he was still a sort of demi-god of Chaos and unpredictable at best.

‘How come we’re going back already?’ Douglas said as he noticed they were heading towards the Palace. ‘Do you have a meeting you’re remembering?’

‘No. Actually, I wanted to show you something.’

They approached the leg of the Crystal Palace that had the lift. But instead of pressing the button for the floor they wanted, Prince Tempo took his horn and placed it into the hole above the button. His horn glowed with magic and the glow soon spread to the lift controls. The lift slowly started to rise and Prince Tempo took his horn out of the hole.

‘What exactly do you want to show me?’ Douglas asked curiously.

‘Wait and see,’ Tempo said. ‘I promise you’ll enjoy it.’

The lift kept rising, even past what Douglas thought was the floor with the mirror on it. The door opened into a small hallway with a skylight but no window. The entrance to the staircase was on the other side, and a double door made from the crystal sat in the center. Tempo walked forwards and stopped at the door.

‘It should be noted I hardly let anyone in here but my personal escort,’ Tempo said.

The doors opened and Tempo walked in. Douglas followed behind him warily, entering the room behind him and feeling a slight rush of breeze as the doors closed behind him.

The room was a large, circular thing with three windows – one in each direction apart from the door – and a large skylight that allowed the light to flood the room. At one side, under one of the windows, was a large four-poster bed with deep pink drapes and a soft red and white blanket. On another side stood an ornately-carved desk with a mirror. Hidden off to one side was a door that led into a large shower and bath.

‘Your room?’ Douglas questioned. ‘But, why did you bring me here?’

Tempo went to the window directly across from the door and opened it; it was not a window but a glass door leading onto a balcony. Tempo turned around and motioned for Douglas to come over.

Douglas hesitantly obeyed. He approached the prince, then walked out and onto the balcony with him.

It was quite the sight. They were standing almost seven stories up from the ground floor, the ponies almost seeming like ants as they scurried about below them. The sun caught the crystal buildings and pathways and foliage so that they all glimmered and shone with a brilliant sheen, a rainbow of colors reflected on the side of the Crystal Palace. From here, Douglas could see the large dome where the train had stopped at a station, surrounded by flags from all the provinces of Equestria. He could even see beyond the city itself, to the grassy fields that extended out in all directions, and even to the snow fields beyond that.

‘This view is amazing.’

Tempo took Douglas’ shield in his aura and set it down inside the room. ‘Want to get an even better view of it?’

Douglas looked around. ‘How is that possible? I mean, this is the prime seat in the house for viewing the city.’

Tempo took off his golden breastplate and sidled up to Douglas. The mischievous smirk and twinkle was back in his eye.

‘I have wings...’

Douglas looked to the balcony, then back to the Prince. Tempo ruffled his wings and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

‘...hell no.’

‘Aw, come on!’ Prince Tempo went into what looked like a play bow. ‘It’ll be fun. And you’ll get to have the sensation of flight.’

‘You have a twisted sense of “fun”. And I’m not entirely sure that’s the safest thing. What if I fall off, especially at this height?’

‘It’ll be alright. Take off your breastpiece and climb on.’

‘I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.’

Prince Tempo smirked. ‘That’s an order, Lieutenant.’

Damn you and your orders, Douglas thought.

But he unbuckled his breastpiece and set it next to his spear before hoisting a leg over Tempo. He adjusted his legs until they were behind Tempo’s wings and leaned forward, taking hold of the alicorn’s neck.

‘Are you ready?’ Tempo called.

‘Nope.’

‘Too bad!’ Tempo shouted. He gave a whoop and started flapping his wings.

Douglas saw the ground begin to shrink away and held on tighter to Tempo’s neck. Tempo didn’t seem to care; he started flying higher and higher until they were high enough to clear the rail.

‘Hold on, Douglas!’

‘This is absurd!’

Douglas’ cry didn’t matter. Tempo was rocketing forward over the balcony railing and down towards the streets below, hooting and hollering as they went.

Douglas felt himself slide forward and closer to the alicorn’s neck, screaming as they plummeted towards the ground. He clung with arms and legs to the pink alicorn as Tempo pulled out of his dive and did a barrel roll up into the sky, laughing and hollering the whole way. He gave a large, swooping turn and straightened himself out until he was slicing through the air like a bullet, screaming under and through the legs of the Crystal Palace. Tempo’s course continued in a large humpback through one of the main roads of the main city, and soon he was doing a large banking turn out into the grassy fields.

Tempo’s body evened out and only occasionally rocked with the flapping of his wings. ‘Let go and hold out your arms!’ Tempo called.

‘I’m gonna fall if I do that!’ Douglas shouted, already winded and his voice hoarse from screaming, half figuring adrenaline was the only thing keeping him going.

‘Trust me!’ Tempo said. ‘You won’t fall. I won’t let you.’

Carefully, Douglas unhooked his arms from their death grip around the alicorn’s neck. Even more carefully, he let himself sit up completely straight. It wasn’t long before his arms were spread out to the sides. Tempo was still rocketing through the air and the window was blowing through his hair and whipping through his clothes, but there was something about the experience that Douglas kept doing it.

He felt exhilarated. He felt alive. He felt free.

Tempo began to slowly ascend upwards. It was just enough to create a feeling of weightlessness in Douglas, and he began to feel as though he was actually flying. His medium-length hair whipped around behind him as though it didn’t dare touch his head, the wind tore through his clothes and he could feel it in his bones.

He could hear himself whooping and hooting and hollering. ‘This is amazing!’ he shouted over the rushing wind, feeling a grin become plastered on his face. ‘This is unbelievable!’

The alicorn simply looked at him with a knowing smile.

Tempo peaked and went down again in a long, fast swoop. Douglas almost grabbed on with his hands, but Tempo’s easy banking kept him on balance. Tempo continued in a long S-shape that went back through the legs of the Crystal Palace before gliding around to the fields again.

‘Grab on,’ Tempo called back. ‘I’m gonna bring us back to the balcony.’

Douglas grabbed on and held on for dear life.

Once his arms were secure, Tempo rocketed towards the base of the Crystal Palace. With a long curve that just barely passed over the ground, he began to soar straight upwards. Douglas felt his legs give way and he started dangling as Tempo shot up seventy-five feet.

‘My legs aren’t on anymore!’ Douglas shouted in panic.

‘We’re almost there,’ Tempo said. ‘I’m not gonna let you fall.’

Despite his reassurances, Douglas felt his hands slipping. They had almost cleared the balcony and came in for landing when Douglas slipped. Tempo was just high enough he cleared the railing and started falling to the ground.

He didn’t even make it past the balcony before the alicorn caught him. Tempo had done a lightning quick one-eighty back around and had caught Douglas in his hooves. Wings flapping and his front hooves holding Douglas fast to his chest, Tempo eased Douglas’ speed and brought him back up and over the railing, setting him gently down on the balcony.

‘Douglas!’ Tempo called. ‘Are you okay?’

Douglas shook and trembled. He tried answering, but he vomited all over the balcony.

‘Oh, Celestia!’ Tempo said, terrified.

‘I’m sorry about the mess,’ Douglas managed to spit out.

‘No, it’s not that. Don’t you go passing out on me.’

‘Tempo…’ Douglas said weakly. ‘That was amazing.’

Douglas faintly heard the sound of magic. A blue aura surrounded him and he felt himself being gently lifted off the ground. Tempo’s words began to fade, despite their increasing volume and panic. Soon, the alicorn himself was merely a pink blob and Douglas was laid down on a red surface.

The pink blob was heading towards the door. Douglas tried reaching for it, but it was gone. He felt his strength give way and collapsed into darkness.

---

Off in the distance was the sound of running water and a ringing in his ears. A slight humming came from the same direction, barely over the sound of water. That soon shut off and the humming remained. It wasn’t long before hoofsteps took the place of the water.

Douglas tried calling out, but could barely moan.

The surface underneath him moved slightly, and he could feel something warm and soft and feathery touch his back and cover him.

‘Shh…’ came a quiet, soothing voice, barely over the ringing. ‘You’re still weak.’

Douglas tried moving. Nothing wanted to respond.

‘Not bad holding out for nearly 7 G’s,’ Tempo’s voice came through clearer. ‘The doctor’s said you’ll be okay.’

Douglas tried to voice his approval, but even that failed him.

He then noticed the soft surface. It didn’t take long for him to realize he must have been on Tempo’s bed in his suite. They had gone for that flight, but as soon as Douglas came back he must have vomited and lost consciousness.

Douglas wondered if that would be considered embarrassing.

Finally, there came movement. His fingers started to obey him. He reached out, but since his arm couldn’t move, he only grasped the blanket.

‘Shh…’ Tempo said soothing and reassuringly, taking a hoof and gently stroking his hair. ‘You need to rest. That took a lot of energy out of you.’

There was a faint sound in the background. The sound of a unicorn doing magic. Douglas wondered for a moment if there was a pegasus in the room, but remembered an alicorn had a horn of a unicorn and the wings of a pegasus.

Something stroked his hair. It was a strange feeling, to be petted as one might pet a dog or cat, but it was strangely calming. Douglas relaxed his grip on the blanket and tried voicing something again. It didn’t work.

‘You’re okay. You’re safe.’

Safe? Oh, yeah, Douglas thought. I nearly fell from the railing. Thank god he caught me.

But how long had he been out? There was no sound in the room except for a bird chirping outside. Once Tempo had climbed next to him on the bed – a rather awkward predicament, Douglas thought – that had been the last of the hoofsteps. So the doctor’s had already come and gone… but when?

‘You’ve been out for nearly an hour. The doctor’s left about fifteen minutes ago.’

Douglas felt himself go cold. How had Tempo known he was wondering that? Sure, it might have been one of those things that it was obligatory to mention, but it seemed odd how he pointed that out about when he was thinking that.

But then there came a warm feeling again. Douglas let himself fall into the fog that was beginning to overtake him again. His body finally responded to movement and he tried turning himself from his chest to his side.

‘It’s okay.’ Tempo’s calm voice was surprisingly clear though the humming of magic was fading. ‘Just relax. You’ll probably be sick if you move too much too fast.’

Douglas stopped trying to move. He just lay there on the bed, feeling Tempo’s wing over him like a blanket and Tempo’s hoof gently stroking him. He felt his eyes open, but everything was still formless blobs. A giant slab of pink dominated his vision, while red covered him from below.

Tempo continued calmly speaking to him, but Douglas couldn’t make out what he was saying. He felt sluggish and slow to respond. His vision was back but still unclear. He moved his head and found that two purple orbs were looking back at him, but he couldn’t make out the rest of Tempo’s head except for a multi-colored blob on his head where his mane should be.

A warmth entered Douglas’ soul as he stared. There was something strangely intimate about the prince’s gestures, but Douglas found himself not minding them one bit. Douglas closed his eyes; he almost wanted to sleep here for a while, the soft, warm bed and Tempo’s gentle, soothing murmur slowly coaxing him to a more relaxed state.

He’d never felt like this before. Not even around Angela.

Douglas’ mind halted, then raced along at breakneck speed. Where had that thought come from? Why was he comparing Tempo to Angela? Why after this time was he even thinking of Angela again? He had talked with Tempo about her, but that was nearly a week ago. Why was he suddenly remembering about life before passing through the gate?

And suddenly those thoughts halted. Tempo’s eyes looked almost sad and reproachful.

‘Are you okay?’ Tempo’s voice came out of the haze. ‘Is everything alright?’

Douglas’ vision started to clear. The blue aura surrounding the horn faded away. Within seconds, Douglas was off the bed and backed away from the prince. Tempo had been stretched out alongside where Douglas had been lying on the bed. A single wing, the one that had covered Douglas, was up and Tempo was looking like Douglas had hit him.

‘What’s going on?’ Tempo asked. ‘Why are you so afraid?’

‘No…’ Douglas said. ‘I… I shouldn’t.’

‘Shouldn’t what?’

‘I…’ Douglas sputtered out. ‘I c-can’t… I c-c-can’t do this…’

‘Do what?’

Douglas felt his eyes get blurry and wet. He couldn’t bear to even look at the prince, and covered his eyes with his arm. ‘I don’t know…’ he said.

Tempo got up off the bed. He reached out a hoof to Douglas. ‘Come here…’ he said.

‘No!’ Douglas jumped backwards. ‘Stay away!’

‘Douglas!’ Tempo said. ‘Calm down! It’s okay! You blacked out and lost consciousness after coming back from the flight. The doctors said you needed to rest.’

Douglas was panting furiously, but eventually he calmed down. Tempo hazarded coming a little closer, but Douglas was now calm enough he accepted the alicorn’s hoof around him. ‘I’m sorry,’ Tempo said. ‘It was my fault.’

Douglas said noting. He simply let his quivering body slow down and eventually go still. Once again he felt something inside his soul warm and eventually he was completely calm.

Tempo let go. ‘Now, are you alright?’

Douglas nodded.

‘Do you feel sick?’

Douglas shook his head.

‘Alright. Come. Sit.’ Tempo motioned to the bed.

Douglas came and sat down over on the bed.

‘So,’ Tempo said. ‘Aside from the passing out, what was it like having a taste of flight?’

Douglas thought back. The haze had completely cleared. ‘It was exhilarating. I felt free and alive. I don’t know if my stomach could handle it again, but that was a one-of-a-kind experience.’

Tempo smiled at him. ‘I’m glad you liked it. I probably got a bit carried away.’

‘It’s alright.’ Douglas nodded and looked at the floor. ‘It was fun. If nothing else, I’ll always remember that feeling.’

Tempo gave a warm, approving smile to Douglas. ‘Glad to have you on board. Lieutenant,’ he added with a wink.