Difficult Start
Chapter three: Difficult Start.
Moonlight greeted me once again as I awoke in that room from my last dream. And again, I was only a watcher in my own body. My dream-me stood up and walked to the familiar closet, looking into the mirror like last time. There was something new; a scar down my left eye.
After a few moments, I turned and left the room. However, this time I turned another way, going along a much larger hallway lined with various doors. I made my way towards the biggest pair and pushed them open, entering what seemed like a mess hall.
It was small, however, and only a few ponies were already in there. Most were pegasi like me, but there were a few others with bat-like wings and sharp, fluffy ears. They were smiling at me, showing piercing sharp teeth.
I walked past the doors, making my way to the head of a large table positioned in the middle of the back of the room.
“Centurion!” They all cheered, bringing a smirk to my muzzle.
I spoke, but it wasn’t really me. My voice came out crisp and sharp, a leader giving a speech to soldiers, “I know that we all face a hard time. Some of us have suffered under the day, others have died in the recent griffon war because the sun princess would rather waste our lives on the front lines than risk her own soldiers. Not anymore, I say! The night princess has promised us freedom under the light of her moon! No more will we be treated as lesser beings because of our preference for the dark! No more will we be looked down upon with spite and disgrace! They will know us, and they will respect us or fear us, but they will never again look down on us!” I cried out, slamming a hoof down on the table for emphasis, the loud thud of an armored hoof against wood echoing through the halls.
“We are brothers and sisters under the moon, we are the stars that protect her, and we will not die off at the whims of the sun! Tonight, we dine as a family, and we remember what we have to lose. And tomorrow, we begin the dawn of a new night. The eclipse is upon us, my family, and we will be the ones to usher it in with blood and steel!” I exclaimed the final part as a shout of desire and enthusiastic anger. The voice sounded alien to me, foreign.
Everypony in attendance let loose a wild cheer and thunderous applause, deafening me and most likely everypony else in the room. The sound brought a wicked smile to my lips.
“Hoorah, Centurion Night Glider! For the Princess of the Night!” they all shouted as they lifted their drinks.
I raised my drink with them as the doors behind me opened. Again, I was blinded by the light coming in as I turned towards it, passing out in blackness before I could catch a detail of the new arrival.
***
I awoke bathed in sweat and greeted by a faint beam of moonlight seeping through the window into the room I occupied in the farm. It was still rather late in the night, but the dream seemed to wake me rather abruptly.
Even after this dream I still had no idea what it was all about, but at least I knew who was involved. After everything I said in that dream, the Princesses of the Moon and Sun were involved.
What in the hay do I have to do with them? This makes no sense...
Sighing in irritation, I pushed the sheets off of me and sat up in bed, groaning quietly with the effort. My head swam and my wings had cramped up against my back at some point in the night, but it was better than laying there and feeling confused. Usually I’d fly around whenever I had weird dreams like that, but that was when I was in my own house and there was no one around to disturb if I had to get up in the middle of the night. The farmhouse was quite the opposite; if I got up to go for a flight to clear my head, I would wind up waking up the whole family.
No matter how restless I was, I wasn’t about to go and disturb the Apples after they had so kindly let me under their roof. That didn’t mean that I would be able to get back to sleep immediately, though.
Why am I dreaming about this? I can’t remember ever being involved with the Princesses or anything else that matches my dreams.
Shaking my head quickly, I sighed and turned so that I was leaning with my back against the wall and my head rested against it, staring off at the other side of the room. I had no idea why I always had dreams like that, they were confusing and always succeeded in giving me a headache when I thought about them for too long.
It’s almost like there’s something to remember, but something’s stopping me from remembering it.
I chuckled. That was simply unlikely. There was no way that there was anything of significance that had ever happened in my life, let alone anything worth blocking my memory over. Chances were that I just had a bad dream, and that was all that there was. It could have even been that I just read something that made that scene pop into my head.
Or Starlight Glimmer not only took my cutie mark, but some of my sense.
I actually had to laugh a little at that. It reminded me how often Sugar Belle told me that sometimes my head seemed to be full of air, and that it depended on the day whether it was hot air or just air.
Raising my head from off the wall, I took a moment to stand up on the bed and stretch my limbs, feeling the satisfying pop that came from my bones falling back into place. As comfortable as the bed was, I was definitely not used to it. I was sure that I’d get used to it in a few nights, but for the moment, I was locked from the embrace of sleep by the vile jailor that was my bed.
Grunting as I arched my back, I settled back down into a comfortable laying position and snuggled in, using a wing to pull the sheets back over me. It would take a while, but I still had a few hours left until sunrise, so I figured I might as well try to get some more sleep.
Closing my eyes and settling in, I was quite prepared to fall back asleep until my ear twitched at the faint sound of voices coming from the room over.
“Cut it out, Dash!” Applejack’s faint voice filtered through the wood quite softly, followed by the sounds of her giggling, “You’ll wake everyone up!”
My eyes shot open as I found myself suddenly more awake than the nightmare had caused me to be. What was Rainbow Dash doing in Applejack’s room in the middle of the night?
“I guess we’ll just have to be extra quiet then, right?” a scratchy, tomboyish voice followed Applejack’s, which I could safely assume belonged to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow’s voice was followed by a fresh bout of giggles and the sound of wood squeaking under shifting weight, the same sound that the bed I was in made whenever I moved around on it.
A blush crossed my cheeks, burning across my face as my ears folded backwards slightly. I didn’t need to be in the room to figure out what they were doing, I wasn’t that clueless. Still, that didn’t change the fact that Applejack and Rainbow Dash were currently doing that in the room next to mine, and the walls were thin enough to hear everything.
It was going to be a long, long night.
***
As the first rays of suns invaded the room, I was still lying awake, staring at the ceiling. Just about two hours ago the noises had stopped, but I still had the image in my head. And the sound in my ears. After all I had seen in my town, I would’ve never guessed that.
They always told me how great friends they were. Who would’ve thought that they were so much more?
There was something else, however. The noises, they weren’t only disturbing, they also hurt. It was like an indicator of something.
Maybe after years alone I miss having a special somepony?
No, that couldn’t be the case. All that time, I had managed well enough alone, and my flight habits, along with other things, would only disturb a relationship. I had to admit that I didn’t even have a single clue about anything like that. Banging my head against the headboard, I tried to get the images and thoughts to leave my head. Sadly, to no use.
Why do I even care?
I had no answer for that. I was never the romantic type. But years without any other kind of relationship got on your shoulders pretty quickly. And right now, I had serious problems getting all those thoughts away.
Before I could even continue to break my head about it, the door slowly opened and Applejack stuck her head through it.
“Good mornin’, sugarcube. You awake?”
I nodded, trying to avoid any mental images and the heavy blush that threatened to take over my cheeks once again.
“Well, come on then! Breakfast’s ready!” she called cheerfully before stepping back into the hallway to wait for me.
After that night, it’s no wonder why she’s in such a great mood.
I shuddered lightly before climbing out of the bed and following her. We made our way down the stairs and through a small corridor, reaching the kitchen. Just as we got there, I immediately wanted to turn back upon seeing the prismatic tail escaping the kitchen perfectly in time with our arrival. Well, a second too late maybe, because I still managed to catch a look.
Of course, I pretended not to see anything, at least for Applejack’s sake. I wasn’t about to call her out on it, it was her business and I’d do my best to keep it that way.
Even if I can’t get it out of my head.
Shaking my head quickly to clear that thought process, I quickly waltzed into the kitchen and took a seat at the table, curious as to what the Apples would have made. For some reason, I had the sinking suspicion that whatever dish they made would feature apples.
Applejack walked past me to the kitchen counter where she picked up a covered platter of something, which she deftly carried back to the table and set down in front of me. Lifting the cover, she revealed a small stack of pancakes, which gave off an aroma of apple and cinnamon.
Ten points to Night Glider, hehe.
Licking my lips at the sight of the food, I looked up at Applejack and raised an eyebrow, “Aren’t you going to eat with me?”
Applejack chuckled, “Sorry, sugarcube, the rest of the family’s already eaten earlier. We figured you’d want to sleep in, since us farm folk get up mighty early. Don’t worry though, I’ll be out in the fields if you need anything,” she said before wandering out the door and tilting her hat in my direction as she left.
I wonder how she managed to get up to eat so early with that sports session last night. Or maybe she ate during...
Quickly looking around to ensure that nopony was there, I crashed my head upon the table, trying to forget it. Without luck once again.
I’m never going to get this out of my head…
Figuring that it was best just to get breakfast over with and then meet up with Twilight, I quickly dug into the pancakes and wolfed them down, quite satisfied. I may not have been able to stand in the same room with Applejack at that moment, but she was certainly an incredible chef.
Probably incredible with her hooves, too… UGH!!!
***
With my belly full and my forehead quite sufficiently bruised, I made my way towards the castle in Ponyville, deciding to fly there instead of trot. After my flight last night, I had a pretty good idea as to how to get around Ponyville from the sky, and it gave me a chance to clear my head. There wasn’t much that a good flight couldn’t solve.
Well, except erasing images of squeaking beds out of your head.
I sighed and shook my head feverishly, trying my best to forget about what I’d heard for the past few hours of moonlight. I didn’t want to get to Twilight with that sort of image in mind, that’d look really bad on my part. Plus, I doubted that it would make a good impression as her new student.
Especially if it gets too much and I pop a wingboner in front of her, duh. Ugh! Brain, shut up, this isn’t helping!
Focusing on halting my increasingly perverse thoughts, I turned down towards the castle and landed in front of the steps. Shaking off some of the cloud residue on my feathers, I turned towards the stairs and quickly trotted up, stopping at the door to pound on it a few times.
I only had to wait for a few moments before the doors popped open. Instead of being pulled in a lavender aura, though, Spike popped his head out through the crack between the doors. Recognizing me, he pulled his head back through the door and pulled it open more so that I could walk in.
“Hey, Night Glider! Twilight’s in her study, she’s been waiting for you,” he said, closing the door behind me as I entered.
A blush creeped across my cheeks, “Oh, sorry about that! She hasn’t been waiting long, has she?” I asked, worried that I had been keeping my new mentor waiting.
Spike shook his head, “Nah, she spends most of the day reading in there anyways,” he said before he began plodding off down the corridor towards, what I assumed, would be the study.
Following closely behind him, I let out a thankful sigh at his words. At least I hadn’t botched up the meeting time yet, so I was off to a good start.
We traveled in relative silence for the most part, save for the sounds of his feet on the crystal floor, and the echoing of my hooves. The corridor seemed to go on for ages, but after a few moments, he stopped in front of a single, unassuming door. Reaching up, he knocked on it twice before stepping back and gesturing for me to go ahead.
This time, the door was enveloped in the familiar lavender aura and pulled inwards. Through the doorway, I could see a warm room with a few bookshelves, a desk with neat lines of ink and parchment, a small fireplace and a few cushions in front of it. It looked like everything that a study should be. Or at least, I assumed it did, since I never really had the chance to see anyone else’s study beyond Starlight Glimmer’s, and I didn’t trust a thing about that mare.
Twilight was sitting on one of the cushions by the fireplace, just raising her head from a book she had been reading. Smiling over at me, she waved, “Good morning, Night Glider. Come on in,” she said before turning to her book and closing it gingerly.
Nodding, I quickly stepped forward and over to the fireplace. After standing awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to do, Twilight noticed my discomfort and gestured to the cushion next to hers. Giving an awkward chuckle, I quickly sat on the aforementioned pillow, getting comfortable next to her.
Twilight turned towards the door, “Spike! Can you bring us some tea, please?” she called out towards the dragon in the doorway.
Spike gave a little salute, “You got it!” he said before closing the door and plodding off down the hall excitedly. I had to admit, the little dragon was like an enthusiastic little brother to Twilight. Kinda cute, in a way.
Twilight turned her attention back towards me after a moment and gave me a kind smile, “So, how was your first night in Ponyville?” she asked, a look of curiosity on her face.
If my coat weren’t so dark, the blush that rose to my cheeks could have been seen from miles away. Clearing my throat after a moment, I replied in a rush, “Oh! It, uh, was good! Yeah, pretty good! Just a little stiff this morning,” I said, biting my tongue and immediately regretting my choice of words.
Twilight blinked a few times, raising an eyebrow. No doubt she had picked up on how quickly I had answered. In an effort to repair any mistake I had made, I continued, “I just had a bit of a bad dream. Made me toss and turn, so I was kinda cramped when I woke up,” I explained, hoping that was enough to make her not fall under the impression that I was weird or something.
Giving a nod of understanding, Twilight visibly relaxed a little. Looking in thought, she spoke, “What did you dream about?” she asked, tilting her head a little as if she were examining my brain through my skull.
I quickly shook my head in response, “It’s nothing, Twilight, don’t worry about it. Just your typical confusing nightmare,” I replied quickly, not really up for talking with her about it yet. It was just a dream, there was no reason to worry my mentor about it if there was any way I could avoid it.
Twilight seemed unconvinced, but she gave a little nod and took her straight position on the cushion again. Giving a gentle smile, she reached over and set a hoof on my shoulder, soft as a kitten, “Okay, but if you want to talk about it, you can always talk to me,” she said, giving me a reassuring pat before reclaiming her hoof.
It was at that moment the door swung open, granting access to the little dragon with a tray containing a full tea set. He plodded over to the cushions and set the tray down between us gently. The teapot smelt distinctly of mint, and there was a small plate with croissants stacked on it. After the breakfast at Applejack’s, this seemed like the perfect way to settle down.
Giving a grateful smile to Spike, Twilight nodded at him, “Thanks, Spike. You can have the rest of the day to yourself, but please make sure your room is clean,” she said, speaking to him quite like an older sister or even a mother.
Spike seemed quite joyful at this, “Thanks, Twilight!” he exclaimed before running out of the room. I could have sworn that he tripped somewhere in the hall, but Twilight didn’t seem concerned, so I wasn’t about to question it. He was a dragon, I was sure that he was used to stuff like that.
Using her magic to close the door, Twilight turned back towards me, “So, you want to learn about friendship? That’s not a subject that you can really just teach, there’s not many books on the subject. It’s something that you have to work at to really get a hoof of. But, I’m your...mentor. So, I’ll do what I can to help introduce you to what the magic of friendship really is,” she said, visibly flinching at the word ‘mentor’.
I nodded eagerly, “Thank you, Twilight, I really appreciate you trying to help me,” I replied before turning towards the tea. Using my wings to delicately grasp the teapot, I gingerly poured the minty beverage into the two cups and set the teapot back down. Looking up at Twilight, I gave a little smile, “It’s still new to me, so I’ll take whatever help you can give.”
Twilight nodded in response, a brief flash of sympathy crossing her features. Picking up her cup in her magic, she brought the cup to her nose and gave a quiet sniff before letting out a sigh of contentment. Holding it next to her in her magic, she spoke, “I know what that feels like. Don’t worry, I’ll do what I can to help you,” she said, giving a reassuring smile.
Deciding to let my own tea cool off for the moment, I returned her smile, “I’m not worried. I’ve got the Princess of Friendship to help me, what could go wrong?” I exclaimed happily, my smile turning into an excited grin. Learning friendship from the Princess of Friendship, it seemed like the perfect deal.
A small chuckle escaped Twilight’s lips as she nodded her agreement, “Yes, I suppose you do have it going quite well for yourself,” she agreed, taking a sip from her tea. After a moment of swallowing her sip, she looked back up at me, “So tell me, Night Glider, what did you do before you were in Starlight Glimmer’s town? Where did you come from?” she asked with wholehearted curiosity.
I had no idea in all of Tartarus how to answer that.
Stats
Page generated in 0.025 seconds
Total duration
990 users online
8,751 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
If they keep writing all night... I'd probably bring them coffee XD
Damn it had to end with that question, I have been waiting for this to pop up the whole time.
I must admit that I'm quite excited about this story already, this new chapter is exactly what I needed right now.
just a bit sad that it felt like a short chapter, but then again most chapters are when I'm enjoying them so much!
Can't wait for the next one, have fun with it!
edit: but at the same time you are practically doing 2 stories at the same time per post and thinking of it like the it don't seem so short now!
6050534
You didn't get it xD
6051020
Thanks!
We try to write a chapter every few days.
Our plan for now is to publish a chapter once we finished writing another.
We are three chapters ahead so expect more soon
6051253 smart thinking on that! And I'm good on waiting now that I know it's at lest already written... well as long as I don't have to wait a month for an update... though I guess it don't really matter because I already wait that long on some stories... ah well I'll see it when I see it.
6051643
The only story that takes one month to update is Dashing for me.
For the rest I try weekly.
6051253 didn't get it?
6051707 once a week, OK I'll be looking forward to it!
6053868
The AN got a special meaning
6053896
Well, depending on our mood maybe even earlier
so we have an AppleDash ship and I wonder why Luna hasn't pickup on these nightmares. Once I could see but twice?