Refined Starlight in a Broken Vessel

by the-pieman

Chapter 17

Once the club was finally closed, it was almost morning, so I decide to just head back to the castle. Getting inside is a lot easier now that Celestia decided to tell the guards that I could come and go as I please, unless told otherwise, that is.

Anyway, I make my way through the huge castle and get to my room generously granted to me by Celestia, which makes me rather suspicious... but the bed is comfy at least. I flop onto the bed, not even bothering to get under the covers. I’m worn out. But my mind is still running, thinking about what other things in Canterlot there was for me to enjoy. Well, actually, there was plenty I could do, but most of those ideas might end up with me being kicked out of Canterlot. And since Ponyville is out of the question, I honestly didn’t have anywhere else to go. I recall my first train ride to Canterlot, and the tickets that said ‘Appleoosa’. I wonder what kind of place that is. Eh, I can find out sometime later...

---

I’m back in Ponyville, specifically Sugarcube Corner. It’s sort of become my usual hangout aside from the library since I can get food and hang out with Pinkie. Speaking of, we had just won the prank war. Technically I won, but Pinkie decided to concede, because by this point, my pranks were getting a little crazy.

Rather than taking the victory all to myself, I figured I would share it with Pinkie. I think right now, Dash is still trying to scrub itching powder out of her coat. Pinkie raises a toast to us and our success, and we just hang out and chat, talking about the little adventures we’ve had that the other wasn’t aware of. Obviously, I stayed away from anything involving the Changelings, as I didn’t want to dampen the mood. And boy what a mood, it felt great just to sit and talk and enjoy Pinkie’s company. She’s the only person I’ve met aside from Discord who finds my kind of crazy entertaining rather than worrisome.

We’re finishing off another round of root beer floats when Luna walks in. It’s kinda strange, but I guess when you’re a princess, you don’t have to explain a lot of your actions. She’s looking around, like she’s studying the place. I guess she’s never been to Sugarcube Corner before. I decide to just say hi.

“Whassup, Luna? Grab a seat, have a soda!”

Luna looks a bit confused. “I’m... not sure I’m in the right place...”

Pinkie jumps up. “Well you are now! This is Sugarcube Corner, it doesn’t matter if you’re a princess or a party-pooper, we’ll make sure you have a great time!”

Luna was still looking around, now even more confused. “I’m sorry, I expected something... rather different, I suppose.”

I get up and wrap an arm around Luna. “Uh, the place looks like a giant gingerbread house. What in the world were you expecting?”

Pinkie thinks for a moment before brightening up. “Balloons? Music? Cake? Wait, we have cake already... uh...”

Luna interrupts. “Pardon me, but I would like to borrow Anthony for a while.” She leads me outside and I sit on the steps by the door.

“So Luna, what do you want with me?” I grin. “Aside from the obvious?”

“I assure you Anthony, that even in your dreams I do not harbor any attraction to you.”

I chuckle. “Fine, fine, I’ll drop it. So really, what do you want?”

“I wanted to see how your mind works. As I said... I’m not sure I’m in the right place. I assumed it would be a bit... darker here.”

“Nah, the weather ponies don’t have a storm planned until Wednesday.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Huh? I don’t get it.”

Luna thinks for a moment. “Anthony, how did you get to Ponyville?”

“On a train, duh!”

“And do you remember the train ride? Do you even remember leaving Canterlot?” That got me, because I didn’t.

“That’s odd... why wouldn’t I remember...”

“Because it didn’t happen, Anthony. You just brought yourself here to Ponyville. You’re asleep.”

“So... I’m dreaming?”

“That’s correct.”

“Well, this is the first time I’ve had a dream tell me I’m dreaming. Usually I figure that out on my own.”

“I am not part of your dream, Anthony. As princess of the night, I am also princess of dreams. I wanted to see what you were like under all of your humor and... rage.”

“So let me get this straight. You’re walking around in my mind, while I’m asleep?”

“Yes, that is correct. Though as I said earlier, I expected something... different.”

“Like what? A giant monster or something?”

“Well, that would make a bit more sense to me, given where I am. You aren’t the most stable or calm pony I’ve met. I expected your dreams to be... similar.”

“What, so just because my head is messed up, my subconscious should be as well?”

“Not necessarily, but that’s usually the case.” she shakes her head. “Either way... why’d you dream about Ponyville. Why not your home?”

I sigh, leaning back. “Luna, if there was any way for me to be sent back, I’m pretty sure you, your sister, or Twilight would have discovered it by now. As far as I’m concerned, this is my home now.”

“But, none of us have even tried looking for a way to send you back, yet.” she admits. “Perhaps Twilight has, but neither I nor my sister have had time to do any research into such a matter.”

“Really? Huh. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. I like this place better anyway. Sure I’m a freak of nature in Equestria, but at least it’s because I’m not a pony. When you’re an outcast by your own species... it’s different.”

“That, I understand.” she says. “For a while, I was an outcast as well. But that’s a story for another time.”

“It wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with Nightmare Moon, would it?”

She startles, looking at me with surprise and shock in her eyes. “What!? How do you know...”

“Twilight told me the story of how she met her friends, and she couldn’t exactly do that without mentioning Nightmare.”

“D- do you think that I...”

“No way. Come on, look at yourself. You’re not evil. If anyone around here was to become evil, I think my chances are a lot higher.” Suddenly my mind flashes back to the vision I had. I shudder.

I should get Luna out of here before things start to get dark. “Well, I appreciate your company, princess, but I think I’d like it if you left.”

“What?” She looks confused, and a touch hurt.

“If you want to talk, you don’t have to be in my dream, just... just ask me.”

“But why can’t we talk here?” she asks, not comprehending, “After all, we’ve been doing so thus far.”

“I... I just don’t want you here. Now that I realize this is a dream, I’d rather you left. My mind isn’t a nice place.”

Luna takes a cursory glance around. The sun is shining, just a few wispy puffs of cloud in the sky, there’s birds chirping... all that happy-feely garbage. “This doesn’t seem so bad to me.”

“Luna, please. I’m afraid I have to say that tonight it was just luck.” I say, trying not to think about the possibilities, lest it summon the less desirable ones. “You are right to think that, at times, my mind is a scary place.”

She pouts. “Don’t try to make yourself seem what you are not.” her tone edges on the ‘talking down’ spectrum. “I know I expected more danger here at first, but your mind is no darker than that of any other foal I’ve met while Dreamwalking.”

I sigh. I need to prove it. I don’t want to, but... “Alright Luna. You didn’t quite ask for this, but I warned you. You want to see every aspect of my subconscious?”

“It can’t possibly be that bad. Your bravado suggests otherwise, but I feel you are merely putting up a front.”

“Would you like to see another dream I’ve had?”

I close my eyes. If this is a dream, I can change our surroundings. I choose Ponyville. The way I remember it in the vision. The buildings crumbled. Dust coating everything in sight. Then... myself. Luna and I look down upon the me from the vision, laying in the dusty cracked dirt completely alone for the rest of my nigh-immortal life and the cause of it all. I end it there. We’re back in ‘normal’ Ponyville. I’m shuddering. I never want to do that ever again. “Luna... just... leave my dreams alone, okay? If you just want to talk, I’d much rather we do it while I’m awake.”

Luna nods somberly, looking at me with... pity. “Yes, I... suppose that is for the best. I will let you rest now.”

“Thanks.” I go back inside Sugarcube Corner. The sight of Pinkie at the table waiting for me, smiling... I feel better. I’m not going to be that person, I can’t be, now that I’ve stopped Chrysalis. I sit down with Pinkie and enjoy the rest of my dream.

---

I don’t want to get out of bed. I wish I had one in Ponyville. I should probably get one, but where would I put it? There’s not much room at the library, and I can’t just put it in Twi’s room. Maybe... maybe I could get my own house in Ponyville. That sounds like a nice idea, but where do I get that kind of money?

Eh, I’ll figure it out later. Agh, shit! My eyes are assaulted by a blinding light and I realize that my rather large windowed room has a perfect view of the sun at sunrise, and my bed positioned just so that said view aims the climbing sun directly into my eyes, robbing me of any chance of getting back to sleep. Now I get why Celestia set me up in this room.

Groggily I pull my street clothes on, picking them up off the floor where I tossed them last night. I walk out into the hallway connected to my room and down a staircase comes Celestia. She looks all prim and perfect as usual, but she definitely still looks tired. Awake, alert, but tired.

‘Morning’ she says, and ‘Morning’ I reply.

Not much of a conversationalist in the early morning either. A pony dressed up in serving clothes comes up to us and seats us at a table across from each other.

A different server pony brings out some drinks for us, a mug in front of me and a teacup in front of Celly. I look down at the mug and can tell by the unappetizing smell that it’s coffee. Ugh. Celestia looks at me and I look at her, exchanging a glance of... something. Too early to think. Wordlessly we reach for each-other’s cup and drink from it, the tea warming me up inside, Celly downing the mug of dark coffee in a few gulps.

As if on cue, we both ask each other at the same time. “How do you drink that swill first thing in the morning?”

This leads to another half-awake exchange of stares and a shared shrug. “Tea is better than coffee.” I explain simply.

“I can’t stand it.”

“Then why do they bring it? Can’t you tell them not to?”

“Oh, but I’m a princess, of course I like tea, don’t be silly.” comes the mocking reply, Celly finally showing hints of sarcasm and various other ‘unfashionable tendencies’. Guess it’s true you don’t know someone until you spend an early morning with them.

I take the teapot and refill my cup as Celestia does the same with her coffee.

Then comes the food. Platters and platters of everything from hash browns to waffles. I grab a muffin and Celestia just grabs the plate of pancakes and starts on it immediately.

“I didn’t expect a princess to eat like a dumpster.” I comment, eyebrow raised as she devours the pancakes, finishes off a plate of waffles, and starts in on the salad bowl of fruit salad.

She pauses for a moment to reply. “I’ll have you know raising the sun is very hard work and doing it everyday requires a lot of energy to burn.” Then, she polishes off the fruit salad and starts in on the gallon of oatmeal.

I shrug. “Whatever excuse you need to think you aren’t gonna end up fat...”

“It has taken a full millenia of near inactivity and overeating to become eleven pounds overweight. I think I will be perfectly fine, Anthony.” her response is a bit more harshly toned than I expected. I must’ve hit harder with that comment than I’d expected to.

“Okay, geez, just warning you. Most people don’t eat like a horse every day.” I pause, realizing how accurate that statement is now.

She gives me a look of ‘Really?’ from across the table, and goes back to finishing off a thirty-egg omelette.

“So, say you didn’t have to expend all this magical energy. How long until you’re so fat your legs don’t touch the ground?” I ask, recalling the time the exact thing happened to Garfield. “Rough estimate.”

“Several more millennia.” she says, unamusedly, working on another plate of pancakes. These are slathered in syrup and butter this time, and jam to boot.

I sigh at the voracious spectacle. “And here I am capable of sustaining myself on a muffin. Must cost a lot when you eat out.”

“Being a local Ruler has its privileges.” she replies, to which I have to concede the point.

“So speaking of being a ruler, I get that here in ponyland, a princess isn’t just a booby-prize position and a token damsel... so what do you do all day?”

She takes a napkin and wipes her mouth clean, back to being reposed. “Most days of the week, I settle policy disputes, oversee requests for various projects, settle account books, do some accounting, and sign off on petitions that have garnered enough support and are a good idea. Four days a week, I preside over Day Court, and settle disputes between individuals, and resolve complaints brought forth by the common pony.” the explanation is a little dry, but seems... well, busy.

I just stare at her. “You move the damn sun and you’re a politician? Jeez your job sucks.”

“Would you rather have somepony with with a hundred-year vision taking control and running equestria into the ground? As wonderful as my subjects are, it has been proven far too often that a vicious, but charismatic pony can lead many to a much darker fate.”

I roll my eyes “Still... you don’t go out and do anything? When do you get days off? Every month or so?”

“Oh, if I can get enough things cleared off early, and no emergencies or false alarms crop up, I have a chance to take a day off...” she thinks for a moment, going over the calculations in her head. “Every ten to thirty moons.”

“Shit girl, you need a vacation.” I say, thinking it over myself. Thirty moons, if that means months, is just a bit less than three years. “You’re in charge, right? Just say ‘I’m the fucking sun goddess and I want a break!” or something.”

“I cannot abandon my ponies for my own pleasure, Anthony. I bear the responsibility for leading them, and I will not let them down in that regard.” she says, slowly standing. “Now, I must attend my morning duties... there has been the eleventh request to tear down Canterlot’s lower district in order to build a grand swimming pool, and I need to veto it before the chance expires.” she says, and I see a glimpse of the tired Celestia again.

“Well have fun with that, Jellyfish.” I say, cracking a joke about her political position.

She gives me a narrow-eyed look, and my smile falters a touch. Then, she simply leaves, with no further snipes or comments.

“Fine, can’t take a joke, I get it.” I huff, “Seeya later, then.”

I think back to the other day, when I met Cadence. Princess Cadence. That really is a surprise. She’s hardly like Celestia or Luna, and she’s not a bad mare either. I wonder what her story is. I’d like to meet her again. I walk out into the hall and approach a guard.

“Hey, do you know where I could find Cadence?” I ask him.

He looks at a clock across the hall. “I believe she may still be asleep.”

I fold my arms across my chest. “Humor me, buckethead.”

With a sigh and rolled eyes, the guard leads me down a few hallways. After a while, I feel like we must be on the other side of the castle. The guard stops at a door and speaks. “This room belongs to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. If you have any more questions, ask somepony else.”

“Well fine, see ya later, Mr. Friendly.” He walks off, going back to his post. Mi Amore Cadenza? Yech, no wonder she told me her name was Cadence. I’m about to knock on the door, but I think about the time... if she’s asleep, I wouldn’t want to be rude. I give the door a gentle tap. No response. I try a little harder, this time I get a reply from the other side. “Who is it?”

I grin “Doris.”

She’s obviously confused. “Doris? Doris who?”

“Doris locked, that’s why I’m knocking.”

I hear her laughing and she opens the door. “Anthony! Hehee~, that was funny!” Oh, wow, she just tittered.

“And people say knock knock jokes are dead. Anyway, I didn’t have anything better to do, so I figured I’d come see you.”

“Awww, thanks! Here, come in.” She opens the door wider to let me in. Her room is actually rather small, the main difference from mine is the double bed and a private bathroom.

“Not a big fan of being a princess, I take it?”

“Oh, I’m fine being a princess, I just... I’m not as concerned with formalities and such around friends.”

“I can tell, Mi Amore Cadenza.” I say, using her full name to guage her reaction.

She winces at the name. “Ugh, please don’t tell me you’re going to be calling me that?”

“Only if I want to annoy you.” I say, acknowledging her hatred of the name.

“Thanks, I think. So, anyway, what are you?” she asks quizzically, then continues quickly to forestall my next comment, which she apparently anticipated. “I mean I know you’re a human, but where’d you come from?”

I wrap my arm around Cadence and give her a smile. “Well, you see Cadence, my mommy and daddy liked each other very much, and-”

She giggles. “Not like that. I mean, what exactly is a human?”

“Well, in all honesty, it depends on who you ask. There are lots of theories.”

“Oh really? Like what?”

“Well, some people believe humans were created in the image of a higher being or by magic. Some say we evolved from apes. Then there are those that think we’re the result of a monkey and a pig doing the Horizontal Tango.”

“Horizontal... oh. Oh.” A blush spreads across her face accompanied by a dirty grin and giggle. I take it she’s never heard that euphemism before. She continues. “And which one do you believe?”

“I honestly don’t care. I’m here and that’s all that matters. Though the idea of a pig screwing a monkey is hilarious.”

She shakes her head. “Heh, you really are quite something, Anthony.”

“Aw, thanks!” I give her a hug. Wow these ponies are soft. And her wings are very fluffy. Then the door opens.

“Good morning Cad- What!?” Suddenly I’m being tackled to the floor. “Cadence, run, I’ll take care of the monster!” I see my attacker is a white unicorn stallion, I can also see that he’s really angry.

“But, Shining-” Cadence’s voice is full of exasperation, and the unicorn on me has a look of almost comical devotion to the moment.

“I’ll handle this, go!”

Cadence’s face screws up into a look I’d expect from my mom, and the next comment confirms to voice, though not quite as I’d expected. “Shining Armor, you get off of him this instant!”

He backs off and looks down. “Yes, dear.”

Cadence sighs, a hoof on her forehead below her horn. “Well, that wasn’t quite how I wanted the introduction to go, but I guess it’ll have to do.” She uses her magic to pull me to my feet. “Shining, this is Anthony. I met him two days ago. He’s very nice.” The stallion shoots us a sheepish, apologetic look. “Anthony, this is my husband, Shining Armor.”

“You certainly know how to make an entrance, Mr. Armor. Not to mention an impact.” I snark my greeting. My ribs twinge angrily.

“I’m sorry, I just... I thought you were attacking her...”

“No way, she’s actually nice to me.” I walk a bit closer to Shining, eye narrowing. “And for your safety, I’d suggest you don’t do that again.”

“My safety? I’m captain of the Royal Canterlot Guard, and a Grandmaster Barrier Adept. I’m the best of the best.” He puffs out his chest in a way not dissimilar to Spike mentioning he’s Twi’s assistant.

“Oh yeah? Ask Celestia. Unless I’m mistaken, I’ve held the record for best performance on your little training regiment since four months ago.”

This got a surprised “What!?” from both of them.

“Yeah, your little entrance exam was pretty lame.” I say, striking a pose of casual indifference to drive the comment home.

“You think so, huh? How about a little friendly competition?” Shining challenges, a smirk to match mine.

“Sure. Out by the gardens behind the castle.” I turn to Cadence. “What do you think? Sound good?”

The princess rolls her eyes and shakes her head, evidently used to this kind of competitive spirit. “As long as neither of you get hurt badly, I suppose you can settle your little testosterone competition.”

---

Shining Armor and I are now staring at each other from across the field. Cadence has a whistle, and she’ll decide when the match starts and stops.

“You know, you can still back out, Anthony.” he says, raising his voice only a little to carry it across the field. “I’m not going to go easy on you.”

“Now? Heck no, I’m not gonna run from a challenge.” I say, already sure of my victory.

“I warned you.”

The whistle blows and I Spark up, giving Shining and Cadence quite a surprise.

“Bring it on, four-legs.” I call out, doing the kung-fu-movie ‘come at me’ stance for effect. Let’s see what ya got.”

Shining charges at me, and I do the same. At first, all we’re doing is butting heads. I don’t have as much forward push, but I’m more resourceful. I use my right hand to push on Shining’s side, making him fall over. Arms rock. Speaking of...

I rush at my opponent, and attempt a punch, but he’s put up a magical barrier. I keep punching it, but I can’t break it. Shining smirks. “That the best you have?”

“Not even close.” I speed up, throwing a flurry of punches, impacting the barrier. I can see Shining begin to sweat. Eventually I break the barrier, and Shining backs up. “Woah, you’re good!”

I’m pretty winded from the effort it took to break through that shield. Not sure I could do it again. Still, I respond with “You haven’t seen anything yet!” Igniting, I surround my arms in flames. It’s mainly to impress him though, I’m not going to burn him. This is just a friendly competition after all. Nevertheless, Armor puts up another bubble shield, this time around me.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Shining smirks as I try and punch the shield. Wait... The shield is solid! I turn off my flames and just stare at Shining. “You think you’ve beat me?”

“Try and get out, if you think you can still win.” I grin and go intangible, and simply walk out of the pink bubble, making Shining Armor gasp. He tries an offensive spell, but it’s not fast enough and I cancel it before it hits me. Now he’s really freaked out. I rush up to him. He tries another shield around himself, but I just walk through it like before, push Shining onto his side, and sit down on top of him. He can’t get the leverage to throw me off, and he’s accepted that magic doesn’t work. With a frustrated sigh, he taps the ground twice with his hoof and Cadence blows the whistle. I get off Armor and help him up before Powering down.

Cadence walks over, looking me over appraisingly. “Wow, you certainly are something else, Anthony.”

I shrug. “Eh, they’re just powers. If I couldn’t use them and Shining Armor didn’t have magic, I’m not sure I’d still win.” I turn to Shining and hold out my hand. “That was fun. You were pretty good.” He shakes my hand with a hoof and nods his thanks.

“You are good at magic though.” I say. “Kinda reminds me of Twilight...”

Shining Armor raises an eyebrow. “Twilight Sparkle?”

“Yeah, you know her?” I ask.

The couple shares a laugh. “She’s my little sister, and Cadence is her old foalsitter. How’d you meet her?”

“She was the first pony I met when I came to Equestria.” I decide to recount my adventures, and after a while, Shining is called to... do something. So Cadence and I just sit and talk like before at the cafe. After telling my stories to so many ponies, I sort of want to tell them about my experience with the Changelings... but I’d rather only have to tell it once, so I guess I’ll wait until I have a chance to get everyone together to tell it. I’m just glad I’m not going to run into Queen Chrysalis again.

As we’re talking, I start to get hungry. “Hey, I’m gonna go inside to get something to eat; wanna come with?”

“No, I have a better idea. Let’s stay out here.” She calls over a guard and requests that he bring food and a blanket. After he comes back, we set up the blanket and eat.

“Picnics on command.” I say with a chuckle. “Neat. Wish I had a power that let me do that.”

“I admit, there are some advantages to being a princess.” She takes a bite of her sandwich. “So you live with Twilight in her library? Do you like to read?”

“Yeah, better than doing nothing. I uh, bought a book yesterday. It’s actually rather similar to a book from my world, here.” I hand her Travels in Wunderland and she takes the book. “The version in my world is an incredible work of fiction.”

“F- fiction?” she says, gaze darting back up to me in surprise. Not sure why, though...

“Well, yeah. I mean, look at some of this stuff. It’s nonsense. Entertaining, but-”

“Nonsense? This is all real!” Cadence says, surprising me. “Jabberwocks, Cheshire Cats, Jub-Jub birds, all of them! They are real, dangerous creatures. Well, maybe not the Cheshire Cats, if they’re kept content, but still...”

“Oh, come on.” I scoff. “I know this place is all magical and stuff, but there’s no way Wonderland is real.”

Cadence looks at me. “I’ve been there, once.” Her tone is solemn, and serious.

I am speechless. Wonderland exists. “I... I’m not sure if I should be excited... or scared. Some of these creatures are outright horrors!” I pause. “Do you... do you think we could go? Just to see it? Not now, but, later?”

Cadence fluttered her wings, a concerned look gracing her features. “Well... I can ask Auntie Celestia, but it’ll have to be a month at the earliest. There’s a lot of preparation to go through if you want to go for anything more than a peek.” She scrunched her face in concentration, trying to remember some of the things off the top of her head. “Soap and string, copper bells and brass teakettles... and a full set of Vorpal Blades for the entire group. And, of course, the three-day training in using those blades.”

“And don’t eat any suspicious mushrooms.” I say, recalling Alice’s shrinking and growing experience.

“Don’t eat anything you didn’t bring with you, personally. They may not be malicious, but those Cheshire Cats are a touch mischievous.”

“Yeah, if what I remember from it is accurate, we’d be in for quite an adventure. Though I wonder if going there would affect my powers? Does the environment affect unicorn magic?”

“Not really, but there are some places where enough of the natural magic of the land has seeped into it, and formed Geas Groves, Literal Life Paths, and other dangers. Most of the names of things there are based on things they resemble from here, but Blueish was a genius researcher. We’ll be bringing the Bestiary he compiled, no matter what. You should read it, Twilight will have a copy.” Cadence grinned a little wider. “It was a gift for her when she was twelve. She spent a week falling asleep in the book while reading it. It’s one of the few that really challenged her.”

“Well, I’m not a book, but I certainly challenge her sanity. According to her that is. She’s nice, but... She’s a little emotional sometimes.”

“She’ll probably insist on coming along. I believe the delightful Ms. Pie has relatives there, so she might want to join us, too.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t put it past Pinkie to have some family roots in Wonderland.” I pause, considering those words. “Actually, that might explain a bit...”

“From what I hear, it’s where her grandmother on her mother’s side hails from, though I heard this grandmother’s not an earth pony.” She gently raises a small, capped thermos, and poured herself some tea. “A rather rare break from the traditions around Stony Hollow.”

“So, if we leave in a month, and we stay there for, say another month, and return, there should be... two years before we release Discord. Yeah, sounds good to me.”

“Assuming the stay lasts a month here, of course.”

I lean back and resume the small talk. “So, what is there to do around Canterlot for those who don’t have money or look like a pony?”

“Usually?” Cadence shrugged. “Finish catching their connecting train to somewhere else.”

“Joy.” I grouse, unhappy at the prospect of a day spent being bored. “Oh well, at least I can go home tomorrow. I think Twi will have cooled off by then.”

“Don’t you have money?” Cadence asked, looking genuinely concerned. “How do you get food?”

“I... ask for it. You know, I don’t really eat much. It’s weird but... I don’t get that hungry. Dunno why. For all I know, it has something to do with this.” I spark up, allowing her a better look at my Star Form.

“Oooh, wow! That’s so neat... can I... Can I touch you?” Cadence was a bright-eyed as a child, a wide, open expression on her face as she leaned towards me.

“Only if I let you, I can turn intangible, that’s how I can do the ‘walk-out-of-the-bubble’ trick. But yeah, go ahead.”

As gentle as a feather, she pokes me in the chest with the ‘knuckle’ of her wing, then begins poking at my chest with her hoof. A tiny spark jumped to her through the silk of my shirt. She giggled, sounding giddy as a foal. “It tickles! I didn’t know you could make electricity.”

“I... I didn’t either. There’s a ton about this power I know nothing about. Anyway, I’m willing to bet my shirt doesn’t change as much as my skin does.”

Cadence giggled and coyly hides her face. “Why, Anthony, I didn’t know you felt that way!”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” I pause, then grin. “But you aren’t complaining, are you?”

Her grin grew only wider. “Of course not. I am the Alicorn of Love, after all.”

“Just for clarification, I am only joking around, I have no intention of having a romantic relationship with any pony whatsoever. I’m a human, so I’m gonna stick with them... even though now I may have even worse luck with that.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry yourself, I can tell just fine. But I think you and Ms. Pie would get along well.” her voice dropped and an impish grin formed on her face. “Very well, I think.”

My eyes must be absolutely huge, heck, I’m so shocked I powered down just from the comment. “Subject change! Um... Uh... Drat, I got nothing.”

“Muahahaha! I have another tally for my awkward-list.” Cadence’s diabolical laugh is surprisingly scary, most likely because of how poofy-pretty-princess-like she appears.

“Yeah, sure. Check this out!” I Spark up; take off my shirt and show her the white pulsing energy-core that replaces my heart.

“oooOOOooo...” She reaches out once more puts a gentle hoof on my chest, ignoring the thin arcs of electricity jumping to her. “It’s so warm...” As she whispers that, I can feel the warmth of the center of her hoof, past the hard part. It’s firm, but rather soft. It also feels vaguely like it’s forming a suction-cup effect.

“Heart of gold, nothin’ baby, I got a heart of nuclear fission!”

She looks at me, smiling but with a clear look of confusion. “Of what now?”

“It’s science stuff, Twilight might find that a bit more entertaining... if she thought any of my jokes were.”

“I’ve never heard of it before.” she says, her hoof still on my chest. “What’s ‘nookey-lar fishing’?”

“Hahahahahaha... oooooh, man if you weren’t serious that would have been even funnier.” I calm down from my laughing fit. “Nuclear fission is, well... think of it like... er... well, you know how a star radiates light? Well, that light comes from the energy it produces. And that’s what makes it so bright. A star may seem small, but it’s got a huge amount of power to it. Eventually though, the energy burns out, which is why stars die.”

Cadence’s eyes are forming tears as a look of horror crosses her face. “But you’ll be alright, right? Your star isn’t going to ‘burn out’ soon. Is it?” Suddenly, Cadence seemed to be struck with an idea. “Wait, I should bring you to aunty Luna! She’ll know!”

“I already talked with Luna. Sadly, yes, I will die. My time on this mortal plane is wearing out as we speak. I fear that I will eventually fall into the grasp of death and pass on. Oh, if only I had longer than a couple thousand more years!” I say with as much sarcasm and sappiness I can form in my voice.

“That is so sad!” Cadence suddenly buried me in a hug, sounding absolutely serious. “I don’t wanna have to bury you one day!”

“I- what? Cadence, ponies don’t live forever, do they? I could probably outlive any of you! Seriously, thousands of years!”

Cadence pulled back for a moment, her eyes a touch watery. “W-well, I guess you haven’t been told that Alicorns live until they’re killed. Or, y’know, they gather enough power to ascend to another plane. Or maybe they just disappear, we’ve never had a good answer on the exact results. But Alicorns just get bigger as they gain power, not older.”

“Huh, well, that explains a lot about Celestia and Luna, I suppose. But really. If I didn’t have this star power, I’d have, like, fifty more years, tops. This is a gift!”

She looked at me again. “Yeah, but if you’re only here for a little while then... well, maybe then you not being around will stop...” Her eyes went watery again, and she suddenly couldn’t meet my gaze anymore. She begins to wipe at her eyes with a hoof-ankle. I should probably look up the term for that later.

I hold her to calm her down. “Cadence, humans aren’t even meant to live this long. I’m not sure if I want to have those three-thousand years. I accepted that I was going to die when I found out I could die. I think I was, like, five or something. Seriously. I don’t mind, why do you need to be sad for me?”

“I- well, Alicorns have perfect memory for any face they’ve ever seen. I only remember...” she sniffled again. “I only remember my parent’s faces. I don’t remember their names.”

“Well, then you can rest assured that if you had to remember any face for all eternity, you get to have mine, aren’t you lucky?” I wink, powering down again.

Her smile returned, like the sun sneaking out from behind the cover of a cloudy day. “Well, I suppose your big, monkey-pig face is too memorable for anypony.” She hugged me again, the feeling of downy feathers on my skin reminding me that my shirt was still off.

On the other hand, this was really soft.

Stupid dilemmas. They never play fair. It was also nice; warm, and I was still kinda tired...

---

Sunlight speared my eyeballs, which was totally unfair, because my eyelids should have been in the way. Oh, wait, it’s just noon. I get up and decide I should probably put my shirt back on. Then I notice Cadence isn’t around. Where’d she wander off to?

Off to the side, I noticed her lying on the grass, a book in her magical grip. By her side was Shining Armor, under one of her wings as he also read the book.

“So, do we get someone else over here, or keep it a menage à trois?”

Shining’s face turned a brilliant shade of red rivaled only by crayons and firetrucks, while Cadence seemed utterly nonplussed. “Non, ce n'est pas un problème. Je ne savais pas que vous saviez prançais?”

“Hey, I know all kinds of things. I think we broke Shining though. I fear his brain froze, assuming I was referring to the slang term.”

“Oh? Oh, yes, I suppose that would be what he thinks of first. Aussi, savez-vous plus prançais, ou juste un peu?”

“Uh... I got, like, half of that. Sorry, I’m not entirely fluent. Uh... a little less, I suppose?”

Cadence giggled at my lack of comprehension. “Close enough, I’ll stop teasing you for now. Also, if you’d like some money to spend, I could give you fifty bits to use. Consider it a gift, from me.”

“I’ll take it, thanks. I don’t understand why all the stuff needs to be so expensive around here.” I roll my eyes and shrug. “Oh well, that’s the ‘fancy’ life I suppose. If it doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket, it’s not worth having.”

Cadence shrugged. “It’s considered rude not to reciprocate the value of gifts given in unicorn culture. To give a lesser gift is to show you’re of a lesser station. It’s something that was hammered into my head for a long time. Oh, Anthony, if you’d like to apologize to Twilight, I believe that she doesn’t own the most recent version of Lookinglass Gates.”

“Thanks, that might work. She certainly likes books. What do you think her reaction was when she learned she’d get to live in a library? I bet she looked like this.” I give the dumbest, most mind-draining stupid happy face I could imagine.

Cadence snickered. “Now now, don’t make fun of ponies when they aren’t around to defend themselves. It’s no fun and no fair.”

“I think I see why Shining likes you so much. Or he’s just very lucky. Anyway, I’m going to return to the mall. My kingdom needs me.”

She nods sagely. “Well, good afternoon, then. And may the Force be with you, always.”

I walk off laughing, ah Star Wars jokes, they never get... Star Wars exists here! Oh dear god, I need to see this! But for now, I shall return to Castle Blockfort, lest I return to find it raided by a band of rogue Transformares. The pun still made me retch a little, but it was better than some.

Once in the mall, I return to the bookstore and pick up a copy of Lookinglass Gates. The old stallion behind the counter seemed happy I’d returned for another book, and I got it for only four bits. Once I made my purchase, I decided I’d at least give the new book a quick read. Remembering what Cadence said, about all this being real... I never was so scared of Wonderland before in my entire life. And the urge to go there had never been stronger either. I wonder what this Blueish guy might have missed. Whatever I see there when I go, I’m sure it would make for a neat story to tell everyone when I return. Deciding I’d read enough of the gargantuan tome, I got up and returned to the toy section.

---

The noble King knelt in the blasted ruins of his once glorious castle. The casualties of the fight had been numerous, many of his woolen soldier’s missing entirely, likely dragged away by the savages who destroyed the entire royal palace. None of the Mother and Kitten sets were left, the monsters. A lone sword, forged of the finest wood, was all that lay on the remnants of his mighty throne.

As he wept, he cried out in frustration. He swore out his revenge to the heavens above, “You bastards will regret not taking the Furbies, this I swear!!” The fact that Equestria didn’t have Furbies notwithstanding.

He stood, his royal countenance streaked with tears of rage, and looked upon the cruelly sundered bricks of his once-great home. A lone soldier, cloth face miraculously unscarred from the previous stampede of barbarians, was still laying on the ground by the main gate.

“M- my king...” she sputtered out, and the King went to her side. “There were too many of them, and it was a twenty-percent-off sale. We never... never stood a chance. I’m so sorry... my... k-” her voice trailed off into a death rattle.

Once more, the king cried his fury to the heavens, only stopping when a great titan, clad in cerulean cloth, appeared. “Sir, you need to quiet down, please, you’re scaring the customers.”

Unable to fight the titan in his current state, the king could only nod numbly. He’d get his revenge. Someday. Not today, but someday...

---

But for now, I’ll just find some stuff to buy. I’m in a toy store with a sack full of money, the end result should be obvious. I go down the aisles and look for various sundries that pique my interest. Technically that covers everything in sight, but I have to limit myself to my budget. My purchase will include the faithful soldier, though. She will be avenged...

I decide to get a squirt ‘gun’, some ‘Earth Magic Stones’ that are just natural magnets, a build-your-own mini trebuchet kit, a home Arcane Circuitry set, and a slingshot. Obviously I purchased the slingshot in the only appropriate way one should; by holding it over my head with both hands after paying for it. The odd look I got from the cashier was rather entertaining as well.

Anyway, after my purchases, I have six bits left. I’m probably going to have to ask Celestia for help getting back to Ponyville. My thoughts turn to when I was with Cadence, how I generated those sparks when she touched me. I Spark up and try to replicate it. I hold up my hand and concentrate, and watch as tiny arcs of electricity leap between my fingers. I try the other hand and it’s the same. Thinking about my fire powers, I try something similar. I look at my reflection in a shop window, and I see myself covered in wild zigzagging lines of yellow-white energy. I can control electricity! But... I want to do more. I want to be electricity...

I feel an current surge up my spine as my body is surrounded by the crackling arcs, my Spark form has changed color to a more yellowish tone, but my aura definitely still blue. My body is generating electricity like a dynamo! Not only that, but I feel... lighter.

After testing out my new power, I discover that my ability to increase my speed was really just a minor manifestation of my Dynamo form, and now that I fully realized it, I could move even faster! I no longer had to fight the wind, I could hit my peak at will, and though I can’t fly, I feel I don’t need to. Unfortunately, using this new form tires me out much faster. I’ll need to get more practice; learn how to control this better, but I’ll save that for when I show Twilight, she’ll definitely want to see this!

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Poor Antony, cant even French Cadence.

Given pity money? Get the right neighborhood and he can make a good living out of that, with his gimpy legs and terrible case of mange etc.

Dynamo? Now we really need to have a feline race elsewhere, just so he can pick up the TurboCat Special Extreme Edition with flying ejector seats and posable dolls.

Theyre not dolls, theyre action figures.

[Grabnock]

Nuclear fusion, not fission..

[the-pieman]

6823850 That was intentional. it's harder to come up with a way to mispronounce "Fusion" as it's a more common word. As such I decided to have Anthony be wrong. It's an accident on his part, but fully intended on my part.

[the-pieman]

6822769 A great mystery has been revealed to me. Why was this comment downvoted? I think it's hilarious.

[the-pieman]

6826818 It's still true. His Heat form is a branch of his star core abilities. Now, he'd be breaking the rules if he mixed his heat or dynamo form with size enhancement or coal manipulation.

If you would like a list of his powers I can supply you, just be warned that there are spoilers for future powers he hasn't discovered yet.

[Sigmacipher]

6826857 I think there is a lot more neat abilities to come.

[StormLash99]

I just noticed something... Why the fuck is this in the Displaced group? Is there a detail I'm missing here or some shit.

[Pony of the Shadows]

and the story gets better with each breaking moment