A mare and her dog

by cammera

Night 44, fragment eight: for fires to alight

"Se-ru-nea" whispered Quibra "Surane's central park. I've heard they have a thousand orange trees here" he turned to look around, squinting at the darkness.

The leaves rustled around them despite the lack of breeze, and Applejack kept looking at Quibra. His gauntlets were gone now, along with the backpack and light armor he had worn. She touched her head curiously, and found that there was no hat there.

She winced, expecting the next to happen.

An old stallion approached them, carrying a paper lamp in telekinesis.

-º-

Spike, now in the second layer of armor and preparing for the third and last, was still stretching when Reddo entered the room, talking quietly with another gryphon.

"Spike?" she called him "Can you come?"

He gave a look to a nearby guard he had chatted with, who didn't seem to know about it either, and walked to her.

"You know Princess Luna personally, yes?" he nodded "Can you answer a few questions?"

"As far as I am authorized"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I don't want any state secret," the other gryphon whispered something to her "Oh? I don't think so. What I wanted to know was her hostile capacities when in dreams" she explained "It doesn't have to be exact, just an idea"

"Wait" Spike took a moment to process it "You are telling me you don't actually know what the dreamer can do? The crazy powerful and influential guy who's been going mad for weeks?"

She had told him to leave formality aside, after all.

"Years. And not properly, no. The last time a dreamer acted with hostility was centuries ago"

"Well..." Spike cringed "You ever met Discord?"

-º-

The stallion breathed with difficulty, staring at them mutely. His coat was a gray-blue tone, and his eyes were a washed out green color.

"You" he said after a moment "What are you doing at our home? And what are you?"

Both Applejack and Quibra just looked at him, flabbergasted by the question, before reacting and confirming that yes, nudity seemed to be the only change to their shapes.

"So? You are in my home. Answer" he walked closer, squinting "What are you?"

Quibra shook off the surprise, "I am a diamond dog" he said simply.

"A diamo- oh, the old guy talked about you. And you?" he turned to Applejack "What are you? You don't have wings, or a horn. Are you some sorta anti-alicorn? An ali?" he laughed at his own joke.

"An earth pony. I am an earth pony" Applejack looked at him in wonder "Who's the old guy?" and before she had time to stop it, the words slipped "Aren't you old already?"

"What? I am a year and a half old, lady. But what are you doing here? This is our home, you can't enter it. Old guy's rules."

"We were..." Applejack paused for a moment "Visiting"

"Visiting? the stallion's face turned like that of a curious dog "I didn't know we had guests"

"Yes, for-" Quibra paused "-King Hlaoo sent us. He couldn't come personally"

"Jim? Jim's a bastard" the old stallion's face was practically a rictus when he said the name "Of course he didn't come herself, all the better. Come, I'll take you to the old guy" he walked off without waiting for an answer. When they didn't follow immediately, he turned back to them, fire escaping from the lamp and enveloping him "I told you to come!" he screamed, ambers escaping from his mouth.

They gulped and followed him.

Comments

[Aatxe360]

This chapter is the same as last chapter. Word to word.