Into That Wild Blue Yonder

by CptBrony

PsyOps

That night, when they returned to the room, Nikita didn’t feel like talking or doing anything any more, so she went to sleep and the young man and Colm split her cake. She decided how things would go for the time being, so Colm and the young man had to oblige and figure out their shifts. The young man opted to take the earlier shift in the hopes that he could put off waking up later and get more sleep. Colm would be awake longer, but he wasn’t the better fighter, so the young man justified it with that.

In the morning, at around what could be guessed as seven-thirty, the sun came shining through the window and cast a blinding light all over the mostly stone room. The princess groaned and mumbled, then frustratedly got herself up and moving. The young man had taken a spot next to the bed where the sun wasn’t shining just yet, so he was still asleep.

Nikita fluttered out of bed and onto the floor with a few clicks from her talons. Colm was sitting in the chair, occupying himself by reading a book from the princess’s shelf.

“What are you doing?” Nikita asked with a yawn.

“Readin’,” Colm replied simply.

“You can read?” Nikita asked. She genuinely didn’t think he could.

“Yeah, I can read,” Colm replied with offense. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“With the accent and knowing you came from a farming village or some such, I didn’t think you would have ever learned,” Nikita explained. Colm still didn’t like it.

“Well, yeah, Ah can read,” Colm said. “And I read enough to know that yer city wasn’t actually made all by you griffons.”

“Yes, my father just tells that to outsides to get them to visit,” Nikita said. “They’re natural caves. Been used as homes for many a creature for millennia.”

“Ugh,” Colm said. Nikita raised a brow, and Colm muttered to himself, “Ah don’t like it here one bit.” Nikita overheard him, though.

“Well, at least you don’t have to stay,” she said.

“What, the princess doesn’t like her castle?” Colm asked.

“NO!” Nikita said. Her outburst caused the young man to stir to life in the background. “And when my father marries me off, it’s just going to be more of the same thing.”

“Not a fan of dad?” the young man asked in a daze.

“What’s it to you?” Nikita asked defensively.

“Same thing it is to Colm,” the young man said. Nikita waited for him to sit up so she could yell at him, but he was just lying on the ground.

“Are ya gonna get up?” Colm asked.

“Do I haaaaaave tooooo?” the young man asked. Colm chuckled.

Nikita sighed. “Your life of leisure is sad yet enviable,” she said.

“Leisure?” the young man said, shooting up. Nikita startled at the sudden motion. “I got here by being crashed into in my car, half crushed, partially impaled by torn steel, falling hundreds of feet in a steel box into a river, then being dragged out of the water and into a world I could never have comprehended as real. Now I’m trying to figure out a way home, something that’s never been done before, it seems. Tell me more about my incredible leisure.” Nikita tried to say something, but couldn’t find any words.

“It’s a soft spot for him,” Colm said. “Trauma does that.”

“I’m not traumatized,” the young man clarified. “I’m frustrated to be separated from my world with no visible way back.”

“Yer traumatized,” Colm said.

“You’re annoying,” the young man said.

“I’m right,” Colm replied. The young man sighed, shook his head, and stood up.

“Is there anywhere I can wash myself and my clothes? I haven’t cleaned in literally weeks,” the young man said.

“What?!” Nikita said, reeling back.

“Neither have I,” Colm mentioned.

“My word!” Nikita said. “You two are DISGUSTING!”

Com and the young man looked at each other, then at Nikita, and then at each other again. Thinking the same thoughts, they both made mischievous grins and then looked back to the princess.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.

“I think you need a hug!” the young man said.

Nikita’s eyes exploded in size. “NOO!”

Colm stayed back while the young man lunged forward and grabbed the princess in a bear hug before she could get away. She hadn’t noticed before how badly he and the pony smelled. She practically gagged when the young man’s armpits got too close to her face.

“AHHHH!” she shouted. The young man had to think quickly, as he knew there would be a reaction by any guards outside, if there were any. It was also possible her scream would carry through the caves.

The young man threw himself and the princess to the ground, then ordered Colm to stand defensively between them and the window. Just as expected, two guards blasted through the doors, weapons drawn. Just as they came through, the young man started barking orders at Colm to check the other room while he watched over the princess.

“What’s going on here?!” one of the guards asked.

“We were standing around when the princess screamed,” the young man said. “I jumped on top of her in case any arrows came in and Colm is checking the rooms.”

“Princess, why did you scream?” the other guard asked.

“Yes, princess,” the young man said. “Why did you scream?” Nikita looked at the young man with disdain and then answered.

“I thought I saw someone outside the window,” she said.

“You two, check outside, since Colm and I can’t fly,” the young man told the guards. They agreed and went outside to see if there were any invaders. When they left, Nikita looked up at the young man and snarled.

“You’re a jerk,” she said.

“You’ll get used to it eventually,” the young man replied and patted her on the cheek.

“Alright, looks…” Colm trailed off as he walked back in, seeing the young man on the princess. Both parties looked over at him with raised eyebrows.

“Uhhh, do I need to go to another room or you two?” he asked with a snicker.

Nikita’s feathers turned red; a confusing phenomenon; and she shoved the young man away. He, meanwhile, was laughing at Colm’s comment, and rolled away to recover and avoid any wrath from the princess.

“He wishes,” Nikita said. The young man stood up and controlled his laughter.

“Alright, now that that’s over-“ Before he could continue, the guards from before returned, and everyone went stone-faced.

“Report?” the young man asked.

“Nothing, must have escaped,” the guard said.

“Alright, be extra vigilant, then,” the young man said. “Never know if he’ll return.”

“We will have griffons looking for him,” the first guard said. “YOU two need to be especially vigilant.”

“Will do,” Colm said. The guards left to go file some report or something, and the trio was left alone once more.

“Are you two really such troublemakers?” Nikita asked.

“Well, according to history, we use our trouble to solve other troubles,” the young man said.

“Think of us as trouble displacers,” Colm said. “It’s still there, just… changed in nature.”

“How did I get stuck with you,” Nikita asked. She hadn’t minded until now.

“We have been asking the same thing,” Colm said. “Don’t worry, we’ll only engage in our rampant hooliganism in private. Your public image is safe.”

“Great,” Nikita said sarcastically.

“Lighten up, eh?” Colm said. “Ah’d’ve thought a princess would appreciate a break from the drudgery of royalty.”

“…” Nikita didn’t want to respond.

“We can both see you know it’s true,” the young man said.

“Come on,” Colm said. “We aren’t gonna talk to anyone about what goes on. As far as we care, ya don’t have to be a princess with us.”

“I AM a princess,” Nikita said. “I AM royalty. I will behave and be treated as such.”

“Not much of a way to make friends,” the young man said.

“Power is more than friends,” Nikita said robotically.

Neither Colm nor the young man said anything for a moment. Nikita wasn’t looking at them, and they knew something was up. Colm stepped forward and sat next to her.

“Do ya really think that?” he asked her. She didn’t respond. “Ya think the Tong had power without being friends with each other? Ya think mah village had power ta survive recent events without our friend the human?”

“Friends are power,” the young man said. “Power can be taken by a group, but rarely an individual. For us mortal beings, power can only come from collective cooperation and understanding. Without each other, we cannot have power or authority over anything.”

“You mean to tell me my father had no power? Despite his lack of friends?” Nikita said.

“Your father has respect and friendship with the griffons he works with, as well as respect from the populace,” Colm said. “Without their respect and admiration, they wouldn’t follow him. He derives his power from them.”

“Listen to Colm,” the young man said. “This is one of the few times he will ever say something so truly intelligent.”

“See?” Colm said. “He has the power to say that because I respect and like him. If I didn’t, I could make an outlandish claim that he is causing trouble and the guards would take him away.”

“While I don’t like that particular example, that’s exactly it,” the young man said.

“So what, I should just, make friends?” Nikita asked. “Griffons don’t just do that. How can I just walk outside and make friends?”

“You don’t have to walk outside,” Colm said. “And they don’t have to be griffons.”

Nikita slowly turned her head to look at the pony and human assigned to protect her. When she looked at them, she saw flashy, toothy smiles that betrayed the inner goofiness of these strange beings in her presence. They were nothing like the griffons she lorded over; they were friendly, open to relating to her. They didn’t look at her as a higher being than them, just as another griffon.

She realized; if they really didn’t want to stay, they could probably leave. It might be hard, but it would be doable. There were ways down that they could take one night, and the young man was a good enough fighter that he could take any guards they ran into and incapacitate them long enough to escape. They weren’t actually being forced by her father to stay, at least not in the sense that they were being oppressed.

Colm put out his hoof to the princess and held it there. The young man then walked over and put his hand next to it. Neither of these beings sought power or glory or fame, or advantage over others. They just wanted to live their lives and have a good time along the way. And they could see Nikita as something other than an object of power.

Slowly, the princess took up her claw and shook the hoof and hand of the pony and man before her. Their smiles increased in magnitude and intensity at their success of getting her to open up a bit. She knew that it started as a job for them, but they didn’t seem like the types to take everything so seriously.

“Okay,” she said.

“Wonderful!” the young man said. “So, what does Nikita do for fun?”

“I’m usually in here all day, so I read a lot,” Nikita said.

“Sounds boring,” the young man said. Nikita nodded. “Why don’t we go outside, get some sun?”

“Outside?” Nikita said, eyes bulging. “I cannot go outside.”

“Why not?” Colm asked.

“It is dangerous,” Nikita reasoned.

“With us there?” the young man chided. “Please, it’s more dangerous sin here without than out there with us.”

“Enemies of the state and enemies of YOU may be hiding in wait,” Nikita said.

“I can handle both of those,” the young man said. “YOU need to learn to have some fun.”

“He’ll pull security and Ah’ll be by yer side,” Colm said.

“I think it’s a bad idea,” Nikita said.

“When was the last time a good idea was fun?” the young man asked. Nikita couldn’t answer. “I thought so. Let’s go!”

Without the ability to counter-argue, Nikita agreed to the plan and the trio left her room to make their way outside. They would have to descend the tower as secretly as possible to avoid the guards, but if they could make it just outside, they were golden.

But Nikita had been right about one thing; enemies lurked everywhere, some with more personal grudges.

Comments

[Crimson Eon]

yay, friendship magic!

[Sharp77]

And then.......there were three

[That One Brony Dude]

I think I'll make more friends, because I want to be great and powerful. Power! Unlimited power!

...and that's how good jedi like Windu are killed. More importantly, that's also why Star Wars characters can't have nice things.