Chapter 10: Nocturnal Encounters
Chapter 10
{C} {T} {D} Hiccup {C} {T} {D}
The flight to Canterlot was uneventful and we arrived at the checkpoint soon enough. We landed in front of the main checkpoint booth. A cream colored mare had a very light cream colored mane and tail and she had some kind of mechanical timekeeping device as a cutie mark. She greeted us, though she eyed Toothless warily. In fact, I don’t think her eyes ever left him, like she expected him to go into some bestial carnivorous fury and she didn’t want to be caught unawares.
I just heaved a sigh, honestly sick of ponies expecting the worst from Toothless.
“It’s okay miss—?” I started, before realizing that I’d never asked her name.
“Timekeep,” she supplied.
“It’s okay, Miss Timekeep. Toothless won’t hurt you as long as you don’t hurt him or me. Otherwise, he’s just a fun-loving goofball,” I informed her, before feeling myself in a standing embrace by Toothless, who also then proceeded to lick the back of my neck, giving me chills up and down my spine.
“Really? Really!? Ugh! Now I’m starting to think that you’re doing this just to spite me!” I shot Toothless an annoyed glare, which was only reinforced as he chuckled in his own dragony way.
Timekeep briefly giggled, raising her … right hoof to try and mask her amusement. I proceeded to play wrestle with Toothless, while Rainbow got checked through the checkpoint booth.
“Okay, Rainbow Dash, I have you written down in the logbook for arriving at this checkpoint, so if I could get your signature here …” She hoofed over a piece of paper attached to a thin, but rectangular plank of wood that was just slightly larger than the piece of paper that was secured to it. Apparently, there was some sort of coiled spring which provided the clamping effect needed to hold the paper down to the clipboard.
Rainbow took some kind of writing tool and signed the paper, hoofing the clipboard back to Timekeep.
“Alright Hiccup, Toothless! Time to see if Princess Luna will see us during her Night Court,” Rainbow informed as she started to fly once again.
I re-attached Toothless’ flight gear and our bags and climbed back into the saddle, as I felt the wind from Toothless powerful wingbeats kick up all kinds of dust into the air, before we got far enough away from the ground that the wind from Toothless’ wings weren’t kicking up all that stuff. We flew in the direction of this massive fortress-like structure, while having an appearance of regality and an aesthetic appeal. We landed outside of the gate and the guards let Rainbow through, but quickly crossed their spears barring Toothless’ and my own entrance to what I guess was the castle of this kingdom.
“Hey! What gives?” I cried, confused about the reason I was being treated as a threat.
“We must ask that you relinquish any weapons on you,” one of the guards stated gruffly.
“What if I need to defend myself against an attacker? How am I supposed to do that without my weapons?” I asked, feeling somewhat upset that they were trying to take away the tools that I used to attack my enemies and defend myself from their attacks.
“That’s what we’re here for,” the other guard replied.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen. I’m not just going to leave myself defenseless against an enemy. I don’t care how good you are as guards, I’m the alien in this land, I’m not just going to allow my weapons to be removed, just because you don’t want anyone that isn’t a guard to have a weapon inside the castle. Invaders and assassins wouldn’t obey that rule if they were wanting to get into the castle. Besides, overconfidence can get you dead real quick and I’d rather not die because I decided to trust you guys with my own protection,” I responded, crossing my arms and staring firmly down at these guards. I saw Rainbow watching all of this taking place. If I had to hazard a guess, she looked rather confused.
“Then unless one of the princesses state otherwise, then we can not permit you to enter the castle,” the first guard explained.
“Hey Rainbow! These guys aren’t going to let me pass, so I guess you’ll just have to take care of your business with your princess without me,” I called out to her.
“This is stupid, but alright. Catch you later, Hiccup!” Rainbow called back, as I began to unload the bags from Toothless and remove the flightgear from him, and setting it all beside me, while I reclined against the stones of the castle’s wall.
{C} {T} {D} Rainbow Dash {C} {T} {D}
I flew away, feeling disgusted about the Royal Guard’s inflexibility and refusal to adapt to situations that aren’t covered in their training. I thought that Hiccup had made some good arguments and I honestly thought that the Royal Guards should’ve understood and let Hiccup through, weapons and all. Perhaps I’d have to talk to Princess Luna when I saw her. I made my way through the castle until I stood before the great doors to the royal throne room. I approached Regal Scroll, a mare with a buttercup yellow coat, and an almost golden platinum mane and tail. She was a unicorn mare with a partially unscrolled scroll, but with a miniature copy of Celestia’s sun in the lower righthoof part of the scroll. It was only natural, since she had gotten her cutie mark prior to Luna’s return and Equestria only had Celestia as its sole ruler. However, apparently she had gotten reassigned to be Luna’s herald.
“Heya Regal! I need to see Princess Luna. Hopefully the wait won’t be too long.”
I couldn’t help but smirk as she scoffed in exasperation at what I had said and watched as she rolled her eyes.
“Oh yes, Rainbow Dash, the wait shall be excruciatingly long,” Regal responded, before heaving a sigh. “I’ll go let Princess Luna know that you’re here for an audience with her. Just wait here until I return.”
“Sure, sure,” I replied dismissively, my mind wandering over to what had happened earlier with the Royal Guards barring Hiccup’s entrance into the castle and wondering if he was okay. I hoped he wouldn’t think ill of ponies, or even the Royal Guard, even if they were being extremely inflexible regarding things not covered under their protocol training.
The doors opened wide, the royal guards lighting up their horns to magic the doors open. I could hear Regal announcing me as a petitioner to Luna’s Night Court.
“Announcing the Lady Rainbow Dash, Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, Hero of Luna’s Purge, Sealer and Reformer of the Chaos god, Hero of the Canterlot Invasion, Hero of Tirek’s Usurpation, Defender against the Equalism Propaganda.”
“Princess Luna! I need to speak to you regarding matters of international importance,” I greeted her.
Yeah, I was being extremely informal with her, but I was one of the few ponies who was her friend and among the few ponies who didn’t fear her for once having been Nightmare Moon. She was as much a victim of the Nightmare as the ponies who lived during her first appearance one thousand years ago.
“Night Court is adjourned for the rest of tonight! Regal, I thank you for your services rendered unto your kingdom and her sovereigns. You are dismissed for tonight,” Princess Luna announced.
“Come, Rainbow Dash, follow me,” Luna instructed as she led the way to a door tall enough and wide enough to comfortably let Princess Celestia through. I followed her through the maze of halls until we arrived at two large doors carved from some kind of black wood. Luna’s cutie mark was engraven into the wood with the moon being painted white while the rest of her cutie mark was painted in a dark purple. Luna’s horn lit up and she opened the doors and ushering me into her room, closing the doors behind the both of us.
“Now that we are alone, inform us of this thing which you believe may cause something of an international problem,” Princess Luna commanded.
“Right, well, Hiccup, Toothless and I rescued a bunch of foals from a slaver’s ship. We sailed to the nearest port after we had overtaken the ship. We had initially intended to turn the foals over to Bearmingham’s local law enforcement, so that efforts could begin with reuniting the rescued foals with their families. I went to inform the Mayor about what was going on and I had left Hiccup and Toothless with the ship and foals. When I went in to see the mayor of Bearmingham, he was—” I choked out, as my tears flowed hot down my face, my ears flat against my skull as I continued, though there were several times where I had choked on a sob. “He—he was sexually abusing a young filly.” It took me about a half-hour to regain my composure. It was seriously uncool, crying like that in front of the princess like that and I felt a little ashamed and embarrassed that Luna saw me lose my cool like that. “We managed to rescue that filly along with the other foals which we had rescued from the slaver’s ship and left Bearmingham as though Cerberus was after us with a vengeance. We hoofed them over to the New Yoke Royal Guard division, where they said that they would do everything in their power to reunite the foalnapped foals with their families. I thought that you and Celestia might want to know about what the Mayor of Bearmingham and his cronies were up to,” I explained.
“I see. You have my thanks, Rainbow Dash, for bringing this to our attention. I shall consult with my sister in the morning about what you have informed me about what is going on in Bearmington and we’ll decide how Equestria will respond to this revelation that you’ve made us aware of. Is there anything else you wish to speak with us about?” Princess Luna asked me.
“Well, I’m travelling with a couple of aliens and when we arrived at the palace gates, the guards refused to let him pass, even though he gave reasonable counterarguments regarding as to why handing his weapons over to them would increase the risk to him, since by doing so he would be dependant upon the guards to defend him, and however long it would take them to get to where he was, should he be attacked. They were being complete mules about their ‘no weapons, no entry’ rule, though. Shouldn’t the Royal Guard be flexible and adaptable to stuff that isn’t covered by their rules and protocol? Maybe I’m just upset that I had to leave my friend outside of the palace gates. It just doesn’t feel right to me. But yeah, that happened with the Royal Guard tonight,” I informed Princess Luna.
“An alien? So is it a gryphon? Or perhaps a young dragon? Though, that doesn’t explain why he’d be so unwilling to part with his weapons,” Princess Luna mused aloud, her right forehoof stroking the underside of her muzzle.
“No, I mean alien as in nothing this world has ever seen. I’m a bit unclear, but there’s apparently a massive cloud somewhere in the world is responsible for bringing him and his dragon here. His dragon is nice, unlike a lot of dragons we’ve encountered. And … well, Hiccup’s appearance is one of those ‘you have to see it for yourself,’ kind of things,” I informed Princess Luna.
“Take us to this ‘Hiccup’ of yours. I’m rather curious about this visitor from another world,” Princess Luna admitted.
I’ll spare you the boring details of finding our way out of the maze-like castle, only that it took awhile and was rather boring. We exited the front gates, the guards inclining their heads in respect and obe- obe- er, it sounds like obey science. Maybe I’ll ask Twilight about it later, if I even remember to ask her. I found Hiccup resting against the Castle wall, Toothless curled up around him. I watched as Toothless’ head shot up and his slitted yellow eyes looked at me and then Princess Luna, before he began to nudge Hiccup in his shoulder, causing the Viking to awaken quickly.
“Hey, Rainbow. Did you finish with whatever you needed to go into the castle for? Who’s your friend?” Hiccup asked as Toothless uncurled, permitting Hiccup to brush himself off and rise to his feet.
“Er, this is Princess Luna, co-ruler of the Equestrian Kingdom. Luna, this is Chieftain Hiccup of Berk. With him is his friend, Toothless,” I introduced the two to each other.
“Welcome to the Kingdom of Equestria, Chieftain Hiccup. We apologize for our guards behavior earlier. They mean no offense, even if they’re a bit … inflexible. But, let us not tarry out here. Come and tell us about your world and what it’s like,” Princess Luna greeted. “Toothless may of course join us, if he would like to.”
“Hey Luna, I’ve been meaning to ask this, but I noticed that you’re not speaking in ye olde Equish anymore. You’re a lot easier to understand, I’ll admit,” I inquired of Princess Luna.
“It pleases us that you have taken notice. It would seem that my linguistic and dictation teacher’s work have paid off. Others among my subject have admitted that they’ve found it much easier to understand me now that I do not speak in the ancient tongue. They still fear me, that I’ll return to being Nightmare Moon and once again plunge the world into eternal night. We … are at a loss as to how to ease or eliminate their fears,” Princess Luna responded.
We entered a moderate sized reading room, Princess Luna casting some kind of spell which caused the logs in a large fireplace to light up and begin burning. Luna used more of her magic to float several large cushions over to Toothless, picking up in her magic and then setting him back down with the cushions beneath him. He, not used to not being groundbound when he wasn’t flying growled in surprise, but calmed down after he’d been set back down on the cushions.
Luna and I settled down on special cloud poufs with a magically imbued slipcover over them to prevent them from falling through the cloud like anything not enchanted with pegasi magic would. Hiccup sat between Luna and I on a pouf stuffed with something soft as he sank about halfway into the cushy cushion.
“Well, to be honest, aside from details such as calling your males, ‘stallions’ and your females, ‘mares,’ there really are a lot of similarities, appearances notwithstanding. Well, and we don’t have magic, or fly without the aid of our dragon friends. That and Berk only has the communal drinking hall and the Mighty Mead tavern, instead of these ‘restaurant things’ that I’ve seen widespread throughout your cities and towns. There may be other cultural/specie differences which I’m overlooking, but I really haven’t been in your nation long enough to discover what those differences are,” Hiccup informed Luna and I.
“The people of Berk have a tribal organization. Each Viking has a purpose, though nearly all of them are combat ready, whether through the brawls that happen in the communal drinking hall, or because of someone or something invading our island and the waters and skies surrounding Berk. We have farmers, ranchers, a blacksmith, tailors, a glass and pottery industry and the fishing industry is perhaps the largest focus as far as Viking job occupations go.
“The governmental system employed by Berk is a Chieftain style of rule. This position is passed down to the firstborn son or any sons which the Chief may have. If the Chief has no sons, then the person best suited for managing the affairs of Berk is promoted to Chief. I became Berk’s chief after my father died protecting me from Toothless after he fell under the control of an Alpha dragon which which we were combating at that time. So if my wife Astrid gives birth to a son, then he’ll be the next to inherit the authority and title of Chieftain of Berk,” Hiccup continued to inform Luna and I.
I started nodding off, since I was a day pegasus and that is the sleeping cycle to which I’m accustomed to. Soon I surrendered to the siren song of sleep and didn’t know anything until I woke up the next morning.
{C} {T} {D} Hiccup {C} {T} {D}
I watched as Rainbow Dash ended up lying belly down on the large cushion she had been sitting on as she gradually surrendered herself to the embrace of sleep. Princess Luna used her magic to pull a blanket over Rainbow Dash. I reclined a little farther back, propping myself up with my elbows as observed Luna for a moment before continuing telling her about what my homeland was like.
“Also, if you ever get the chance to visit Berk, you’ll notice that we’re a tool using society. We’re also willing to tame animals to help us with whatever purpose we set them to. From domesticating horses and oxen to pull plowshares, to befriending dragons to soar through the skies and their various useful abilities. Whether it is using a dragon’s fire to keep a kiln or forge running hotly to using their ‘seeing-ears’ to find where schools of fish swim beneath the surface of the ocean, or to help us navigate in a dark cave without torch or lamplight. We’ll even use tools for multiple purposes. Like a hammer could be used to pound in stakes or hammer in a wedge to split wood, but you can also use it as a weapon and crack skulls and break bones. Prior to my induction as Chief of Berk, I was apprenticed to the island’s blacksmith, Gobber. Thanks to his mentorship, I gained the skill and knowledge that I needed to be able to invent tools which an average Viking would have never thought of. When I first met Toothless, I had used a bola launcher to try and eliminate the dragon’s aerial advantage. But when Toothless crashed to the earth, half of his tail fin had been ripped or shredded off, which rendered him incapable of flight. After I had gained Toothless’ trust, I spent time in the smithy forging a manmade tail fin. Then through a series of trial and error, I would modify the manmade tail fin into what he has on now. And my manmade lower leg and foot was designed and crafted by my smithing mentor, Gobber,” Hiccup told Luna.
“Also, Vikings respond to threats or anything that is causing them trouble or difficulty with brute force. They, depending on their preference of war implement, will either slash or smash their enemies until the object of their anger stops doing whatever is making them angry. This has stayed true even after we’ve befriended dragons. Only now, where the Viking might have used an axe or hammer, they can now use a dragon’s abilities to whatever purpose that the Viking desires. Don’t want to sail around an island? Just get a dragon with an air blasting ability and tunnel through the island. Don’t want to use sticks and wool to get that forge started? Get a dragon with a firey breath to heat that forge up! Don’t want an infestation of vermin? Get one of the little dragons and let them roam freely,” Hiccup informed, and scratched the back of his head with a brief, low-volumed chuckle.
“Also, Vikings have a fascination with things made in far away lands. Whether it’s some kind of jewelry for our females, our women and girls; or a foreign tool that helps accomplish something in someway. Which is why the arrival of Trader Johann is always anticipated to not only see the exotic goods that he brings us from the far away lands to which he travels, but also to hear the stories of the sights that he has seen and the wonders which he has witnessed.
"Also, a typical Viking’s favorite pastime is drinking, fighting, and boasting. Which is why the festivals held by Berk are always anticipated, because then we can do all three at the same time!” Here Hiccup interrupted his speech about information about his homeland and chuckled in a low volume, amused-sounding tone of voice. “We’ll even throw a festival just to do those things. From dragon racing festivals, to heralding in spring, to birthdays!”
Princess Luna looked at the young male with interest. “Indeed? Perhaps our ponies and your species are not so different after all.” Though she noticed that now that Hiccup wasn’t talking about his homeland so much, his head would tilt forward, and then he would jerk and straighten his posture as he too was feeling tired and struggling to stay awake. She giggled in amusement at his efforts against that siren song of slumber. She began to sing a lullabye which had become popular amongst the mares who had foals in this modern age, peering through a slitted eye as she watched Hiccup slowly lose his fight to stay awake a little more with each time he’d temporarily awaken.
She arose from her cushion, once she was satisfied that Hiccup was inexorably embraced by that irresistible seductress called slumber and closed the door gently behind her. She maneuvered to the throne room and summoned one of the royal pages.
“Find Chief Maid Immaculate and inform her that her princess summons her,” Luna ordered.
“It shall be done, your Highness. Do you require anything else?”
“We are feeling somewhat peckish. After you dispense with your primary duty to inform Chief Maid Immaculate of my having summoned her, I order you to head to the royal kitchens and issue an order for baklava to be delivered posthaste unto me.”
“Will that be all, your Highness?”
“For now, you are hereby dismissed to execute my orders.”
“Of course, your Highness,” the page replied, bowing before her with respect and reverence before leaving the royal throne room to execute Luna’s will as he had been ordered to do.
* * * {C} {T} {D} * * * {C} {T} {D} * * *
Chief Maid Immaculate, an earth pony mare, with a white coat the hue of the purest, sunlit snow and her mane, which was a hue of the golden straw of ripe fields of wheat, and sapphire blue eyes, entered the royal throne room, approaching the Nocturnal Throne in which Luna presided, watching her chief maid as she approached.
“You summoned me, your Highness?” Chief Maid Immaculate bowed before her princess at the base of the throne’s dias.
“Please have the maids transfer the guests slumbering in the royal tea room to a vacant ambassadorial suite or best room if no ambassadorial suites are available. There is a dragon, but he shall not harm you. Rainbow Dash is one of the other occupants. The final occupant is a biped. I’m not really sure how to describe his appearance, but he’s the final occupant who isn’t either the dragon or Rainbow Dash. You may resume your normal duties once you have executed my will.”
“I understand, your Highness. Will that be all?”
“Yes, Chief Maid Immaculate, that will be all. You are hereby dismissed.”
“Yes, your Highness,” Chief Maid Immaculate replied and bowed with reverence and respect to her princess before turning about and trotting to summon a squad of maids to execute Luna’s orders.
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Update!
Alive or just death throes?
8170576 derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/7/31/62924__safe_twilight+sparkle_look+before+you+sleep_animated_clapping_cute_eyes+closed_happy_smiling_solo_twiabetes.gif I'm excited! Are you excited?
~AG~
8170601 It's alive until the story ends. I would have had it up sooner, but I was waiting for the editors which I had previously worked with to go over it. Since they never got back to me, then I decided to do my best editing the chapter myself and then release the chapter for your reading pleasure.
~AG~
Interested, I'll give this a shot :)
IT LIVES. THANK ARCEUS ABOVE IT LIVES!!
We managed to rescue that filly along with the we had rescued from
1. Along with the others we had rescued from.
8170893 Thank you for pointing that out. Fixed. Thanks the other sans!
8170905 it's habitual by this point so it's no problem.
8170627 hey if you need an editor I can help you with that
8171349 I'll PM you when I'm ready for Ch. 11 is ready for editing, and I'll see how excellent of an editor you are. Thanks Rainbowblitz.
8171377 no problem my friend
8170613 Am I excited? HELLZ YES!
Equalism Propaganda.
derpicdn.net/img/2015/5/11/894222/full.png
8172119 derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/1/5/202867__safe_edit_edited+screencap_screencap_rainbow+dash_applebuck+season_cute_dashface_draw+on+me_so+awesome.jpg I'm excited for the next chapter!
8175398 Personally, I found the Cutie Map episodes far too Socialist in Starlight's Equalism propaganda for my comfort. Those two episodes was perhaps the scariest I've watched in the series so far. Even Princess Luna's/Nightmare Moon's attempt at genocide on a planetary scale wasn't that scary in the pilot episodes.
So Luna's all like, "So a mayor was raping a kid, cool whatever. Now show me the weird aliens!"
The conversation at that point felt very bizarre. Like the story quickly shoved the disturbing revelation to the back seat in order to get back to the crossover stuff rather than blend it into the discussion in a more natural way.
8178600 Please keep in mind that she's having to deal with the actions of another country. If it was something that was occurring within the boarders wherein she rules, then I'm sure she would have sent a task force to apprehend those parties involved in the crime(s). But it isn't so easy to punish governmental officials of another country for behavior your country doesn't approve of. She could declare war, but then isn't something which a monarch (or diarch in this case) does lightly. Because there'd be a conscription of the citizens, war supplies to gather and deliver, war councils to attend, and the consequences of war. She also needs to communicate major decisions which may affect Equestria with her co-ruler and sister Celestia. Luna doesn't take immediate action because she's aware that her decisions affect more than just her. If she wasn't a ruler then she could go all, dark knight avenger and bring her brand of vigilante justice to the streets, but even that brings a set of problems, such as the land's law enforcement considering such acts criminal and pursuing the one(s) responsible for being a vigilante.
Luna cares, but she's also smart enough to prioritize things which she can address now vs. things which (for whatever reason) she needs to discuss with Celestia, because its either an international incident, or the consequences of her ruling would affect the subjects of their nation.
Luna would love to get her hooves on the Bearmingham mayor and his cronies and make an example of them, if she could do it without it affecting Equestria negatively.
8178890 But this is Luna! Going Dark Knight Avenger on evil child abusers is what everyone expects her to do!
Or at least invade the dreams of every guilty party and torment them with nightmares more horrifying than all the bad acid trips ever until they off themselves.
Telepathic abilities of any sort are incalculably useful when you know how to apply them. Why else do you think the CIA tried legitimately to determine if such abilities could exist? Even the remote chance someone with the ability to slip even a figurative toe into someone else's mind was too staggering a tactical advantage to be ignored.
8181496 Except that she's supposed to be Princess of the Night, and not the Dark Knight Avenger. With great power comes great responsibility. Also, as Guardian of Dreams, her duty is to dispel the nightmares of her subjects and provide guidance to the dreamer. She doesn't use her dreamrealm in that manner because she doesn't feel that such actions would punish the criminals responsible. Let's just say that those criminals had better never fall into Luna's hooves, or else 'unpleasant' consequences might arise.
8185678 Feh, Luna's so lame. Not even willing to use dream powers to torment baddies.
What sort of brooding antihero is she supposed to be?
8185951 She's not the terror that stalks in the night
She isn't the IRS collection agents coming to collect overdue taxes
She's not Nightmare Moon!
8187416 But she IS the terror that flaps in the night.
Cuz she has wings and is out at night.
Because Darkwing Duck reference.
8572347
I would prefer you didn't comment on something that happened two years ago...
I'll be waiting for the next chapters to come out.
Pls no foreve dead
Update plz I love this story
2022?
2023?