Our new Friends, Our new Enemies

by The Potato Guy

Chapter 43: The power of a smile

A pounding head, a now very empty stomach and most unpleasant of all, the seemingly entirety of his insides burnt by erupting bodily acids. All were uncomfortable and very debilitating, but all were mere blemishes in comparison to the sickening appearance of his surroundings.

Crystalline décor, raw and the very opposite of subtlety. No matter where he looked, this room, where Princess Twilight had practically dumped him to recover, was nothing but offensive to not only his eyes, but the very idea of pleasantness. Vibrant variations in almost artificial looking crystal, surrounding him as if it were cut directly from the ground. For all intents and purposes, this was the best Solar could describe the castle as. After all, no Pony had constructed such a monstrosity, for no Pony could ever have nightmares dark enough to conceive of such a sight. Magic had birthed this beast, and it was magic in which Solar had been dwelling his thoughts on, while he waited for Twilight to return from whichever task she had incomprehensibly told him, rushing from point to point like a fly trapped behind a window.

Magic, at least to an Earth Pony, was little more than an unnecessary privilege. An advanced parlour trick used to either further one’s selfish desires, or fuel the collective decline of society. Unicorns and Alicorns did not plow fields that kept Equestria fed and running. They did not use their abilities logistically, as Pegasi did. Those horns of theirs, like this castle, was an obnoxious offence to this world, one in which lay oppressed in its shadow, condemned to watch upon that symbol of apparent might like it was their destiny to do so. This castle, a physical manifestation of magic was but a painful reminder that those in power, those with the power, did little more than look down on those they considered lesser than them.

In the new world Solar hoped to create, he did not suggest some culling of magic users. Extra ordinary abilities, by definition, could be used in extra ordinary ways, but like the powers of the Status quo, like Celestia, magic in this form, ugly and out of place, was only a detriment to Ponykind.

When the Night had won, magic of the likes which spawned this sore sight, would be hunted out and destroyed. It would be through the skill and determination of Ponykind itself that would advance the race, not some mystical yet worthless wizardry like the Elements of Harmony.

Celestia had told her people that magic like that had kept them safe. In reality, it was but the chains in which the Princesses had convinced Ponies to voluntarily restrict themselves. To be free, and to progress, any false ideals that harmony was beneficial, had to be burned away. Root and stem.

In conclusion, Solar didn’t very much like the interior design of the place.

“Ok, ok Sorry! Again I guess!” Cutting through Solar’s internal deliberations like she knew she must stop them, Twilight finally came crashing through the door, various books, parchments and assorted medical equipment floating magically around her like flies to dung.

Solar had not worried. Twilight’s original intent in leaving him here was to more adequately treat his many wounds, thinking him as some poor Pony in dire need of help. While this had mostly gravitated to the physical side of his imperfections, a redundant piece of assistance for a Pony used to having his life on a cliff edge, the desire to play the role of saviour, was all too established in those kind violet eyes of the Princess. The world, as was known in the hearts of those willing, was falling apart. Both Twilight and Solar wished to fix this failure of society, but it was the former who wished to put it back together in her own specialised way, starting with the redemption and morally realignment of one Solar Virtue.

Unrequired aid that was best reserved for those in need, namely, the hordes of Ponies blinded by the violent intensity of the Sun. The only Pony Solar cared truly about was Luna, and perhaps by extension, the Shadow’s and those closest to her. If Twilight insisted on fulfilling her trivial role to such an extent, then at least delegate on his behalf, and get those masses on board with Luna.

“Its fine Princess, but I told you, I really don’t need any help. You think these flesh pricks even bother me?” A moot argument, Solar decided as he gestured towards his numerous bruises suffered at the hooves of the barbaric Children of the Solstice. Twilight, after all, was simply too nice a Pony, and crucially, too obsessive in her intentions, to warrant any sort of sway in such arguments.

“Yeah, you’re not getting out of this one. Not this time!” Twilight predictably dismissed with a coy smile. In reality, a simple bandaging and the like, made little difference to him. His body was simply injured, and equally so, it would heal. Those were the basics of life, as far as he was concerned. If covering his superficial wounds, which were barely even felt, made her feel better however, and maybe even grew a little closer to him, then so be it.

So Solar said nothing, indicating Twilight could replicate whatever she saw in some medical journal or whatever she had been reading. Relaxing as he felt the magically wrapped bandages wrap around his legs, a serious point was considered, if only to pass the time.

Alas, it was a risky inquiry. In doing so, the flood gates could truly be opened.

“So…The Humans. What do you think of them?” Such an open ended question could only result in an endless reply that could fill the void, and that was if some random off the street had been asked. A Princess, one as obsessively intellectual and painfully all-knowing, such as Twilight Sparkle, would wait out the end of the universe with conversation.

Doing just that, Solar instantly regretted his attempt at worthwhile small talk.

“What do I think of them?” Twilight’s retort seemed almost rhetorical to the point of appearing demeaning. Of course, Solar had his educated ideas, but the idea behind his current pout of discomfort was to hear words directly from the Princess, unfiltered by his mind, and honest in their intentions.

“Um, yes?” Solar was sure he was about to receive of tidal wave of something. Just what kind of havoc it consisted of, he need have only waited a couple of seconds.

“Solar…” Twilight then said simply and carefully. “How often do we come into contact with new races, particularly those intelligent enough to create a whole functioning society, complemented with technology, developed community and a desire to establish diplomatic questions?”

This tsunami, right upon him now, was one of condescending hidden excitement. A daydream turned reality for Twilight, and a disbelief for others who did not too share that dream. Still, Solar took the bait.

“I feel you’re about to tell me that all this is quite rare?” He asked in return, doubting his better judgment in teasing Twilight like this.

Yet if this was a tease, it was surely one worth teasing. For his own sake, it was always worth winning the Princess over with interest and friendship, but for Twilight herself, it was, plain to sincere obsession, a chance to talk about that what she loved.

“Rare?!” She exclaimed, genuinely shocked that Solar could say such a thing. “Are you kidding me, Solar? Sure, we get little snippets of information regarding other creatures, but as one meticulously noting those developments, let me tell you, this is big! Like, really big!”

In truth, in regards to the scientific significance of it all, Solar cared little. Other races, plentiful and varied in their differences, existed. That was a simple fact of life, and his long travels on the run from law and civilisation had introduced him with many of them. Where Humanity had made its mark in the category of worthiness to his interest, was because they were preciously so secretive to the point of suspicion. While Twilight delighted in this blank spot, treating it as a hole to fill with knowledge, Solar’s scepticism was more tactically placed, and more for the good of the realm, and not just his curiosity.

While he never said it out loud, the details of an average Human life mattered little, except if it related to the stability of Equestria, and the rule of Luna’s Night.

Regardless, Twilight would be playing scholar here, and that had its uses at least.

“What about the Dragons? I’m pretty sure we didn’t know half as much about them until a couple years ago.” Of course, if one had bothered to actually travel, and by that, Solar did not mean a package holiday and the like, then anypony could have known a more complete understanding of the brutal society that Dragon kind so loved. The question in this instance, was merely to gage Twilight’s full frame of mind.

“Well yeah! And may I add that it was me and my friends who helped unveil that chapter of the Equestrian-Draconic relations!” Self-satisfaction, particularly of the prideful variant, was never becoming of a Princess. With only a raised eyebrow to satisfy his displeasure, Solar at least relaxed in the knowledge that Twilight’s role, in terms of anything consequential, was limited.

Realising this to be near bragging, Twilight returned to topic with an awkward laugh, and a nervous shuffling of her wings. “B-but the point is…that even with all we learned with them, it’s nothing compared to the potential these Humans have to offer!” Already the Princess seemed to have put any past shame well and truly behind her. Tantalising as they truly seemed to her, Humanity was simply too big a catch, for an academic like her.

From this, is was now clear enough to Solar to believe that Twilight had a vested interest in at least some of the increasingly turbulent developments. Through mere interest, the Night now had a walking encyclopaedia in its possession.

“So why reveal themselves now?” Solar put bluntly. “Why come to us so suddenly when they have maintained a state of complete visible latency?” That was the only question Solar cared about, for undoubtedly, it would provide an answer Celestia did not want him to have. Twilight was not supposed to have that answer, but if anything, what little help she could give right now could easily snowball into something far more jeopardizing for her future enemies.

“Uh, well, right now, I’m not quite sure…” Twilight answered predictably, a failure in knowledge that clearly shamed her somewhat. “But there are many, well you know…bad guys out there…” Twilight, about to continue her point, then momentarily gave a quick perceptive gaze towards Solar, and just for a moment, that nativity that had defined her all but vanished, leaving an acutely aware and intelligent mind. “…As I’m sure you know…” Solar did not quite know if Twilight was indeed referring to him in such a way, given her previous points regarding his past, or if she was simply suggesting that a well-travelled and powerful Pony like him would know about evil forces existing.

Continuing, Solar would learn that it may have been a little of both.

“…So realistically, I guess it could be the case that they feel pressured to seek help, even if they didn’t initially want it.”

Solar could have sighed. Witnessing that soft nativity return, it became clear that that overbearing burden, the desire to spread friendship and harmony, was allowed to continue to dictate her actions. Seeing what she desired to, Twilight most likely say the Human’s as but a reluctant and new student to the school of thought the Princess lived her life by. As she understood Solar to be, by design, it was foolish hope that Twilight saw in Humanity. Dangerous, but a drop of hope remaining in their souls, all in begrudging expectation of a better, far more harmonious life.

To her, both Solar and Humanity were unfortunate and tortured souls, desperate in need of redemption. Through love as he had been, he had been saved.

A utopia of Twilight’s, existing in nowhere but a precarious predication of what the future might behold, should these lies be believed any longer. Yet what she saw in him, did provoke a brief review of how exactly he had got here.

And it was during this thought that a silence, of Twilight’s own making, came to be. Finished with the assorted bandaging and disinfecting of Solar’s bruised body, she stood there awkwardly, eyes shifting in their own discomfort and a face of slight pain. If this pitiful show was for Solar however, then he did not want it. In what honesty he could see, then Twilight staying out of harm’s way, but fighting for the Night, was the best case scenario she could hope for. Friendship would not halt the coming storm and nor would it rent its small worth to any of the hope that Twilight stood by.

As far as he was concerned, Equestria was already done for. Twilight could however, salvage what was best about it.

Yet still in silence, the Princess could not take the weight of ignorance. Like a starved dog, she seemed about to leap at anything that would satisfy her pain. Solar, however, was in no need of some bleak sermon for what she considered good, even if it was for Solar himself. The initiative had to be with Twilight providing use.

“Did ambassador Victus seek this help from you?”

Twilight was taken back. A verbal injury that Solar had chosen to inflict instead of seeking the chance of healing that his soul was apparently so in need of. To the Princess of friendship, this was not only a slap in the face of the current important conversation, but a dedication away from the ways of peace.

Blinking and forcing herself to address the bluntly put sudden question, Twilight gave into the ways of shadow with a quiet and sad sigh.

“I became aware of your association with him just the other night, when I was among you and your other friends.” Solar noted that her final word was all too intentional in meaning. Ever the optimist in such ways, Twilight saw what she wanted to in the forces of the Night, and saw at least a group Solar could call home. For that, she was granted a grain of respect.

“But only now I am starting to understand that your own personal alliance with his Humans is more than just friendship…”

Again, Twilight was not wrong. Mirroring the conversation and reactions she had demonstrated back in the rotten house, there clearly seemed no great passion or enthusiasm for the form that had bound the Human and the Night. Still, as was established earlier, if Twilight was anchored by the tough necessity of the struggle, then this melancholy could be isolated from evolving into anything resembling a return to Celestia.

“Yeah, you’re correct there.” Solar said contently, shifting on his bed to rest against hard crystalline walls, though not without a pained frown, never forgiving which cruel forces had ensured this ugly wall in the first place. “Though with him, it saves him from falling into the company of anypony far grumpier than me!”

A joke, one both born of truth but also willingness, and one appreciated by a vastly diminished Twilight.

“Oh Solar!” She began with a fresh smile. “You’re not so bad. Even here in Ponyville, there’s plenty of cranky Ponies! And just wait until you meet Cranky the Donkey!” While pleased about Twilight’s sudden return away from despair, Solar could not escape a very quaint thought that could have only come about as Equestria’s safety grew in importance to him.

Of dozens of other creatures and species, so many were opposed to Equestria’s way of life. An age old fact that would undoubtedly persist even as Solar fought to usher in a better land. These agitators to Ponykind could not be swayed, unlike the malleable Humans, and thus were, by definition, not welcome to the prosperity of the nation. Becoming ever clearer in its sincerity, an Equestria that put the all Ponies first was a truth undeniable to him, and persecuting Ponies because of their shadowy ways, such as the Thestrals, while simultaneously allowing meddlers and troublemakers to live freely among them, seemed baffling in its design.

If victory did ever find him, Solar was sure to evaluate the status, the binding to Equestria that these other creatures were lacking.

“And Blank Canvas? How did that…Pony find you?” Pondering of an Equestria rebuilt, and one without the unstable constructs that had made up its previous iteration, Solar had brought his mind to Blank.

“Oh, Mr Canvas?” Twilight echoed quite chirpily, a contrast to the troubling nature that was Humanity, and the moral reflection they shone upon Solar. “Well he sent me a letter explaining how he was a friend and old associate of yours, so I decided to enquire further, and he told me…um…well what you basically explained to me earlier.” A nervous laughter accompanied her recitation, and one surely citing the discomfort felt as the Night became even her last resort.

Regardless of the confirmation instilled by Blank, into the Nights leadership, Solar still raised an eyebrow. Twilight would take this as just a reaction of surprise, but it was the purpose behind this support of Blank’s that so interested the Shadow. Too many times recently has Solar questioned his sanity and wisdom in cosying up with that manipulative Pony, a fear entrenched in truth as somehow Luna’s hoof had been forced to accommodate Blank’s power hungry needs. Blank Canvas was a potentially powerful ally, but equally a potentially destructive weapon. He was not safe to use, such was his deceptive ways, and this now only seemed all the more reliable in its danger, as Blank had set his eyes on a second Princess.

His reasons mattered little, for they all stemmed from his parasitic desire to have Equestria as his garden of exploitation. His idea of the future was objectively worse than Celestia’s but in order for him to achieve that goal, he need work with the Night. On pure principle. Solar was put on this planet to only ensure that cohesion with Luna’s Ponies remained true and beneficial. Beyond that, Blank had to be stopped at all costs.

So for now, having Twilight manipulated by two Ponies needn’t be so frowned upon. Until Blank overstepped his use, then Solar could work with what he now had.

“So you’re still all good working with us?” Asked Solar, a hint of care nestled within his voice. “I never said it would be tea and cupcakes like you’re used to here.”

Twilight only scoffed in return. A far more jovial laugh offered this time.

“Which is totally fine, Solar!” She playfully chastised. “May I remind that me and my friends have done our fair share at battling also?” A mock brawl then orated through bodily movement, as Twilight merrily gave a few jabs with her hooves into the space between her and Solar. “Equestria may have turned out a very different place if we hadn’t stepped up, which I may or may not have seen during an incident with a conflicted Unicorn, not too long ago.” Cryptic speak from the Princess, which Solar could have pressed upon. Twilight, as seen in the resolve behind her fights, was a Pony fighting for harmony and friendship. Her experience, while nothing to think so limited, was simply not analogous to the gritty defence of the land that Solar now fought in. Twilight’s enemies, while powerful, had seldom left a land butchered and in anarchy, as Solar’s enemies would, if they won.

“And let me say…” Twilight noted intently, finally acquiring a cushioned seat with the use of her magic. “…I don’t care how tough you are, and how much you want to constantly put on that grimace of a demeanour, some of Pinkie’s treats are irresistible!” Now Solar truly did wish to grimace, least of all because of the pink abomination being brought up, mistakenly interpreted by Twilight as embarrassment at this truth being called out. “Hey, I know even you couldn’t say no to a triple frosted, double chocolate sponge cake with strawberry jam and cream!”

If Twilight would ever eat her words, then now would surely be the perfect banquet for it. There was no way in Tartarus that Solar would stoop so low to indulge in an overly extravagant, unnecessary waste of food and intently sweet aversion to all that remained right I the world, that was the creation of the equally such creator. Not a chance.

“In fact, I bet you would kill for a cute date with Princess Luna, just eating sweet things!” The mere mention of his beloved’s name caught his attention like a desperate peace to a destructive war. While Twilight had winked in a friendly manner, and had intended no ill will, hearing his secret admitted out loud so plainly, and in such a derogatory way, did not command the respect that Solar offered in return. In fact, and without intent or plan, anger was suddenly received by a defensive and loyal partner to the Princess of the Night.

“Don’t presume to understand what we share, Princess. I will not awaken this secrecy that unites the Princess and I with this debase again.”

Solar’s answer was carefully put, and calmly said, but not for one second did this warning become mistaken for cordiality, nor did Twilight understand it to be anything less than one cold hard fact.

Back off, and don’t talk about him and Luna.

Socialness ended there. Affectionate agreeability could not survive the bitter isolation of Solar’s personal life, even with a Pony as close to his love as Twilight Sparkle was. Not only did the covert nature of his duty warden any intrusiveness into he and Luna, regardless of any good will, but on a deeper level, through a sense of both care and possible fear of the future, Solar could not allow any fond affiliation in his relationship.

For such a new experience, and the severe liberalism of his unpreparedness in such things, Solar dreaded that possibility of failure. In war, defeat meant a failure of the self, and a suffering of life. If he did not win this fight he was waging, then what he was so lucky to share with Luna would capitulate as the rest of the Night would. Allowing that bond to encompass others, even friendly allies, would make that love something more, and the greater the connection, the greater the fall. At this point, silence on the matters of the heart were not just to protect them from enemies, but also to protect friends.

However strange a responsibility, Solar would not afford others to plunge into his downfall.

“Speaking of Ponyville however…” At this point, Twilight sat in her seat, almost afraid that she shared the room with a Pony who could possibly massacre her at any moment. While that fear was totally unfounded, for Solar very much needed the Princess alive, the very fact that Twilight had been so crudely shut out of a life that she was not only seeking to help, but one who in any other circumstances or time, would need and even appreciate her, hurt her greatly. Twilight had been denied her own responsibility. Her purpose and soul of purity shot down in fear of a war waged against the failings of the force she was meant to represent.

Solar did not lay blame at the hooves of young Twilight. She had fought and tried more than most did in their lifetimes, but if Solar could ever say he gifted somepony empathy, then today was that day. Twilight may sit there uncomfortably, and ushering in a silence of her own foolish yet blameless doing, but Solar would not apologise for training her as if she was a pet in need of discipline. While now she suffered in her own way, it was infinitely preferable to joining Solar collectively, in his possible crushing loss.

“Hmm…yes?” Eventually arriving, but in no great haste, Twilight’s answer clearly had no heart in it. Her mind was instead focused on the impediment of harmony that now befell her, all too hurtfully so. While Solar was under no illusion that Twilight had not encountered such obstacles to her offered hoof of friendship, he was sure that, in not actually being her enemy, that this was a new experience. There was no winning him over to her side, for defending Equestria was a mutual interest shared between them.

So that left Solar with one painful option. To show actual support.

“Hey…” He started off, unable to escape the distaste spewing from this mouth, and the unfortunate, albeit slight, acknowledgment from a still visibly subdued Twilight. Unable to find the words, Solar sat there in his own silent predicament. His eyes shifting from side to side as one afraid of public speaking might do, this champion of the Night, and the Pony who was willing to take on a Goddess and her army, could barely even look Twilight in the eye. The foolish and pitiful display he was currently showing was additionally all too clearly mirrored back this anxious look and soon enough, Twilight seemed more curiously concerned for Solar, as if he had never spoken before.

“Look, I’m sorry for sounding so harsh. I’m not mad at you in particular or anything.” Pausing for moment to assess if this regrettable act of surrendering his pride had any impact on Twilight, Solar looked into those grieved yet practically devout eyes with increased confidence that at least he seemed the regrettable type. “Not used to all this…emotional distribution.”

A fancy way of telling the Princess that he hadn’t much partook in the feeling forums of the world.

Embarrassing as it may have been however, and quite certainly a new stain on his one stoic and fierce outcast persona, Solar at least apparently had a knack for saying exactly what Twilight needed to hear. Blinking a couple times, and shaking her head of any past despair, she returned to look at Solar with renewed confidence and spirit, the former of those joys saved for him.

“That’s ok!” she spoke gently and sympathetically, standing up from her seat to walk over to Solar. “We all have to start somewhere. Even I was once avert to all this friendship business. But through hard work, determination, and most importantly, the care of my friends, I became a Princess of all things. Haha!” The monologue did nothing for Solar, who along with probably everypony else, knew of the unlikely rise of Twilight Sparkle to royalty. The closing snort that was apparently meant to be a laugh, however, did nearly instil a humoured smile on his lips.

“Yeah, well, I think your starting line is a fair bit ahead of mine, Princess.” A lamentable admittance, by design of course, but not one so fabricated by Solar. Even if he wanted to Princess to change him so, it would be a long and arduous journey, not least of all because of Twilights early advantage, in terms of the age started.

It was then, with near sharp recoil uttered, the Princess landed a softly rested hood and Solar’s shoulder, who had now found himself rigid and straightened up with tension. Perhaps there was no need to feign emotion to Twilight, nor act a created character. Right now, his posture betrayed all too many real emotions.

“That’s ok, because you’ve already started your journey, and have left that starting line way in the distance!” Solar did not truly appreciate the hoof on his shoulder as if he were some random pony down on his luck, and certainly the cheesy encouragement was barely applicable to an individual convicted onto a far more violent path. Still, this was a whole new world he had entered, and how he would rate his stay here once finished, honestly remained to be seen.

“I have no doubt you’ll reach the end, Solar, even if you don’t think you will right now. And when you do, I promise you that you’ll be asking yourself how you ever wondered what friendship could be!” Only now did Twilight remove her hoof and move back to her seat, leaving a caring smile on her face as an everlasting substitute. “And in time, you could be a perfect case study to show that just about any Pony can embrace friendship, no matter of their past.” There was no part of him, not alternate realities of him even, that enjoyed being labelled a case study. Such a derogatory and diminishing description to his being, and all too late did Twilight realise her mistake. “I-I mean- If you want! O-of course!”

Twilight expected retaliatory action, and it was well within Solar’s right to give it. Why he didn’t, was not because of the fearful look of penitence on Twilights face. However much he hated it, this was exactly how he wished to be seen by this Princess. A project to work on, and a hope of a future in which she may flaunt her successful results. This way, Twilight would not dare give up on him, less she experience the true fear of a world so devoid of friendship, that it would sooner rip itself apart than unite.

Retribution was needed however. How could Solar not demand it?

Slowly and methodically removing himself from the bed and walking up to a near petrified Twilight, Solar found himself towering over the famous Alicorn, in more ways that physical. His eyes narrowed to the point of calculating danger, it was here Twilight got a taste of that destructive and felonious beast of Equestria’s syndicates that she most likely had snooped in on. Nothing was said, and nothing need have been, for the humbling had been accomplished, and all it had took was the fear of death, as Twilight had stared up at the long horrifying shadow that Solar suffocated her in.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle…” Solar almost growled, much to the small purple Pony’s silent panic.

“Y-yes?...” Stuttering did not do her answer justice. Barely even comprehensible to the ear, Solar looked upon the sight of a meek and a soon to be broken emotional wreak. If this was the Pony whom had saved Equestria on countless occasions, then Solar would have asked for a second opinion.

His face then lowered to Twilight’s own, who could barely react as if she were prey playing dead to Solar’s predatory moral terror. Barely a few inches away now, the Princess awaited her judgment, her fate dictated by Solar’s simple words.

“Would you mind directing me to the shitter? In all these little meetings I’ve been having, my once strong Earth Pony body has been tested to breaking point.” Positions of extreme power, constant actions of consequence, and a life so brimmed to the edge with responsibilities, Solar could have been forgiven for believing life had been put on hold. Alas, regardless of his need to the cause, the familiarities of existence, that all Ponies were accustomed to, finally came knocking.

A strange question asked, Solar realised, given that most words departing his lips as of late had been full of intrigue, passion and political significance. Mundane in nature, it was enough to make him smile, and that was before he computed the extent of a Twilight Sparkle, so sober in raw awareness, that she now could barely even abide with the reality that all this was indeed just a joke.

“Sorry. Restroom, Princess. Forgive my crudeness.” All part of the evening the scores, as Solar continued to play the part. And even it must have been now, as Twilight only now just began to close her gaping jaw, and return to a world in which she was now eternally thankful she was still living in.

“I-I-I…Y-you…WH-what?”

Beautifully executed, If Solar could dare say so. Alas, it was only cruel to prolong the Alicorns bewildered perplexion, least of all because the fun was now over, and Solar had got the revenge he wanted. Furthering this, was only time wasted as Twilight battled with shock.

“Relax, Princess!” Solar announced in good spirits. “I’m just playing around with ‘ya!” But for all the good that did, Twilight could not seemingly escape her new found perspective of life. Even as an Alicorn, it was precious, and could end at any moment.

“B-bathroom?” She stuttered, staring blankly into nothingness. “Y-yeah. Sure.” Her mind was clearly elsewhere, prompting a downtrodden sigh from Solar, who even in victorious humour, still did not win the vindication he had been looking for.

“It was a joke, Twilight.” He said far more seriously, but interestingly, far more honestly, as one friend would to another. “You know, to ensure a bit of laughter?”

Twilight blinked in response, evidently playing back Solar’s words endlessly in her head.

“Laughter? Joke?”

“Yes. What else?” At this point, Solar just wished to move on, if only for the sake of his poor bladder. Teasing Twilight had not proved to be as rewarding as he had once hoped it to be.

And then, finally, it hit her.

“Oh!” She exclaimed, as if an age old puzzle had been solved. “Yeah! I get it! Because you’re just messing around, and don’t really want to murder me. Right?” A belated understanding that Solar just had to live with, provided that final affirmation wasn’t because of any remaining doubt that Solar, in fact, was about to kill one of Equestria’s most beloved Ponies, in her own home, while simultaneously needing her to no end.

“Sure. You got it.” Solar had intended his words to be as dry and emotionally basic as they ever could be. A deep sigh put into native language. Yet again curiously, he found himself speaking as if he was having a good time, and that the smile on his face was genuine. Even more so, the playful bash of his torso into the side of Twilight’s own, did ensure that curiosity quickly evolved into a form of questioning into just how much he had changed during his time back in civilisation, and more importantly, with Luna. “So…Can you show me now? I wasn’t joking about that part.”

With any other Princess, the following reaction of apologetic regret would have been as simple in meaning as a plea against the possibility of an embarrassed and messy guest, or even a ruined castle. Twilight, as unique in her role as Solar was to his, respectively, could not be so easily boxed in. Her remorseful reaction could have ranged anywhere from failing to plan for this eventuality, to not having any restrooms strategically places throughout the castle, each placed so that regardless of a Ponies position, relief was never more than a few feet away.

“Oh my gosh! Yes! I mean, ok, I’ll show you!” Gears began turning in Twilight’s head as Solar looked upon with trademark plainness, albeit increased struggle. “As in…taking you to the place. Not to show you how to do it or anything!”

Stress poisoned the bright mind of this Princess, who could now only make matters worse for herself with unnecessary technicalities and rectifications of points that needn’t have been so. In trying to avoid sounding weird, the irony now was that she had advertised that awkwardness like her friendship diary going on sale.

Truly, Equestria was in need of actual leaders.

“Yeah, thanks.” Solar muttered in response, feeling nature call more and more. Alas, genetics could also curse him, and without the ease, yet traumatic, ability of teleportation, or the rapidness of flight, Solar was forced to hold back his body, and walk with Twilight.

If he were to survive this trip with his dignity intact, then conversation of substance was needed.

“Why do I get the feeling that, if I was a Human, you would have jumped at the chance to…study…any bowl related activities.” Solar’s question was a crude and indecent one, something that he personally paid no mind to. As far as he was concerned, for their own good in this new world, it was others who needed to adapt to his way of doing and saying, and not vice versa. A decision proved as Twilight acted accordingly to the obscenity unleashed upon her.

“What?!” She awkwardly defended, almost to the point of arisen suspicion on Solar’s end.

Surely she hadn’t already?

“What with ground-breaking nature of their discovery and all.” Solar added, content that Twilight’s suffering could outweigh his own. “I’d have thought you’d jump at the chance to learn those kind of…fundamentals.” In truth, learning how Victus and co relieved themselves wasn’t exactly up the alley of interest for Solar. Even in such an extreme examples that fit his shadowy businesses, there were so few situations, so little obligations to the cause, that warranted Intel about this sort of biology. Campaigns of disinformation, plots of poison, even a plot so deep in the realms of fantasy such as magically controlling these ape like creatures had not the requirement of learning how a Human did a shit. But the vulgarity of the question, for Twilight, may have proven difficult because of previous study.

“Solar I-“For all the momentously shocking and even humorous reactions this could have enabled Solar, it seemed that even the book smart Twilight had not lessened her standards to such depravities. A shame, he decided. That sort of moral staining could have made for textbook blackmail material.

“You really are quite something, aren’t you?” Twilight asked in disbelieving amazement, an eyebrow raised at the nature of her apparent new friend.

“A higher compliment than I ever deserve, Princess Twi.” Solar shrugged as he disguised an underlying smirk.

These were things Solar could only get away with Twilight, or a Princess he had fallen for and received their love in return. To her credit, Twilight Sparkle was not born of royal stock, and thus had a far more grounded personality, in terms of regality. Her scholar like interests were not normal, but at least her background could be described as such, which made for easier conversation. That and a figurehead better suited to sway other, more ordinary, Ponies to the Night.

“Mhm.” The Princess gently glowed in response, any malice replaced by the annoyance shared only within the bonds of friendship. “But I’ll actually have you know that I, in fact, never tried such a thing.” Pride, if it could ever be labelled to a Pony who indeed didn’t snoop in on another being reliving themselves, became Twilight. Her head held high as she led the way, and a boastful smile that told Solar that she wasn’t a pervert, this was apparently her move against the far more adapt boorishly playful nature of her companion.

“Yeah, sure you didn’t Twilight…” A meaningless jest to pass the time, complete with a flustered Princess. Alas, this viewpoint was one solely held by Solar.

“Hey! I didn’t!” Either in on the joke and playing along well, or truly afraid that news may get out regarding her dirty behaviour, Twilight reacted passionately yet gracefully. Yet of these possibilities, Solar was sure it was the latter.

“And next you’ll tell me that you haven’t built a secret lab under this place where you experiment on the captured Human’s and other missing beings.” Only when the tease had been inflicted, and expectation of a flustered defence seemed likely, did Solar realise his mistake, at least in terms of keeping Twilight on side.

Twilight never voiced her sadness, perhaps in fear of making matters worse for herself, but there became no doubt. One of these missing beings was none other than her friend and fellow Element, Rainbow Dash. A nuisance in Pony form, and an egotistical liability, but this was a true assessment only currently seen by Solar. Twilight would not be convinced of this yet, and regardless, a friend was a friend, and losing such a thing would surely hurt. To avoid melancholy, Solar needed to keep the attention on the Humans.

“At least you can say you are Equestria’s best…first even…authority on Humanity. Their biggest fan you could say.” Now suffering the effects of karma, it was Solar’s turn to pain. In order to distract Twilight from despair, such a friendly and out of character action was needed, and this took the form of possibly the biggest smile and wink combination he had ever attempted. Even doing this simple action made him feel dirty.

Twilight took a moment to both register the kindness, and to readjust her emotional state away from sadness. She knew Solar’s effort was unlike him, which carried both the jubilation of seeing a Pony both trying and evolving, but also the gloomy sobriety that this comfort was only needed because her family of friends was one member down.

In this moment of silent contemplation, and fear that his actions had not worked as intended, Solar awaited Twilight’s response. In the mind of the Princess, he knew, wrestles two ideals. To be a loving and loyal friend, and to have the decency to worry about those she had lost, or the Princess of that principle, and be all the more for it.

Seeing her face lighten up, even by just the slightest of margins, and play along with Solar’s tease, Twilight Sparkle managed to actually gain a degree of respect from her opposite.

“Hehe, you’re exaggerating too much there, Solar.” Twilight said with another awkward giggle, as if she really did have something to hide.

This was mission success to Solar however, who now had his curiosity peaked. Still somehow walking through this labyrinth of a castle, a decision was made to press the Princess further regarding Humanity, if only to tease her more, should her knowledge not satisfy him.

“Uh huh.” He playfully dismissed. “Then what about the dozen or so papers you’ve written for the scientific journals.” His words had immediate effect, permitting Twilight to escape any pit of misery, all with the scowl she reserved for him.

“Hey! I don’t have any!” With an admittedly endearing voice crack, Twilight tried in vain to avoid being labelled some geek on Human matters, but as far as Solar was concerned, irritating the Princess like this was already a fun past time. “And don’t you smile like that, Mister! I’m a Princess, remember? I deserve your respect!” Solar was at least glad Twilight was finally in on the joke, despite her reactions carrying quite the amount of authenticity.

“Would a Princess be truly afraid of quesadillas?” A small and until now, completely pointless, titbit of information Solar had uncovered in a file during his tenure of leader of the Shadow’s. Right now, both were wondering how this obvious fact had circulated.

“NO! W-What?” Pathetically trying to feign ignorance, that high and mighty attitude that Twilight had just put on now came crumbling magnificently down. “N-no! No uh!”

Solar would not name his source, having not known it. Yet Intel provided by the Shadow’s was seldom proved incorrect, so this disarmament of personality would have to do for now.

“We know a great many things, Twi. Maybe even the fan club you’ve set up for Humanity!”

The joke was quickly becoming overused by this point, and Solar wasn’t sure how long he could maintain continuing it as well as holding his bladder. In regards to both things now, letting them end seemed appropriate.

“Solar, I’m really not as obsessed about them as you think I am.” From feeling the need to burst, to know asking himself if Twilight really was in on the joke, Solar took the bait.

“Yeah, okay…” Ousting Twilight’s unfortunate literal interpretation of his words, it was with great disappointment that he returned to watching crystal walls move by as he walked, an act preferable to any alternative now.

But Twilight again did not stand for this tired dismissal of her defence. To her, Solar was simply either thinking too little of her, or charging his teasing to new levels.

“I mean it!” She replied with increased vigour. “If you really must know, Yes, I do find them interesting. Like I said, it’s just so rare we get to meet creatures like this…and species with such a capacity for advanced technology! Oh and that are so willing to exchange with us and…” Twilight quickly realised unchecked rambling, and the questioning raised eyebrow of Solar. “Ahem. I mean...while they might be fascinating, and while I might want further opportunities to study them, I’m not that stupid, Solar.”

You don’t say?

“I’ve actually seen more than you think I have of the world, and…and I b-bet I’ve even fought things more dangerous than anything you have!” Notably, Twilight did show some apprehension as challenging Solar as she did, proving to him that any attempt at joking had gone over her head, or at least long gone. Curious, but nothing compared to the lies spurting from her mouth.

For her sake, and indeed his own, now he vowed to withdraw from frontline conflict for a while, Solar did not retaliate.

“I really want Victus and his people to share in our harmony, as I do with you.” Solar had his confirmation. Verbal proof that Twilight saw, in him, a soul to save. As if he were that simple, or even the job. Still, reason enough to fight with him, he decided. “But the matter of the fact is, as even I don’t know much about them, I don’t know how…um…wise it is to fully trust them.”

Solar could not believe his ears. The Princess of Friendship, faltering in her role. If such a destructive force like he, the Pony who wished to see Equestria burn and be born anew, could seem to show hope for change, then what was so special about Humanity that warranted them so final a decree? Surely Twilight’s very purpose was to never give up on anypony of creature, even if all seemed lost to misfortune and evil fate.

As this Princess, the ability to redeem most have come as second nature to her, so why now did she seem so at odds with herself?

Either she was a Changeling, and this indeed was not the real Twilight, in which case Solar was all too glad to restart his violence with that deceptive race, or she was so much a fool that she forgot her very self.

Solar dare not speak as he formulated his answer, leaving Twilight increasingly isolated by her brash comment, and slowly held captive by it. Yet try as she may, and however much she enforced passion into herself, this little charade was seen as plainly and clearly as what it really was.

An act. A play to appeal to Solar’s judgment, after failing it greatly today.

Twilight was not stupid, at least intellectually speaking. She was well read, well-spoken and in some regards, well experienced. Her mind was not some feeble thing to trick with simply crafted designs, nor was it one that could not learn. Today, it was a mind under siege, albeit one kinder than Solar had expected, and being a Princess, that simply could not be. Learning from the pressure inflicted by Solar, and adapting from that, Twilight surely now understood it not to be in her benefit to act so passive around this dark agent of state. While her innocence would always reign, Solar saw this act as at least an attempt at challenging that weakness, and to lessen that nativity that she had allowed herself to build up under the watchful and suspicious eyes of Solar Virtue.

That, or she was actually playing along well with the joke, which actually fit in with her acclimating mind.

“Don’t you think so…Solar?” Realising Twilight had been put out in the cold as she waited a response, Solar now looked upon a quizzical face. Did she truly mistrust the Human’s to the extent she implied? That surely was at odds with the Pony she was, rather that the Princess she needed to be. Her role was important, do doubt, but she had been Twilight Sparkle long before the title of Princess had been rammed onto it by Celestia. As shown countless times today, Twilight was a kind, honest and loyal Pony. Friendship truly personified, and as she believed in Solar of all Ponies, so would she believe in the members of a race she currently seemed obsessed about.

“Hmm?” He finally replied, feigning ignorance to the answer he had discovered. “Oh yeah, definitely! Which is why having Victus close isn’t such a bad idea.” A half-truth, since having Victus on board was indeed beneficial to the Night, but if Twilight wished to play this game with him, if only to shut her up, Solar would play along,

And just like that, practically all fear and apprehension left Twilight Sparkle, apparently content that Solar agreed with her all too serious joke.

“Oh gosh! Phew!” Came that sigh of relief which gave way to a smile that almost suggested a test had been passed, which created enough sense for Solar, knowing that Twilight indeed considered such assessments crucial to her success as a Pony. If any more evidence was needed that Twilight had merely jested about her unwillingness to align with Victus and his people, then this surely was it.

“Honestly, I just want to ensure that this cooperation, w-which I totally want remember, goes well and doesn’t, you know… end up with another force of evil hurting Equestria. It has suffered too much, and I always just hoped that my friends and I would be enough to protect it, but if what you say about the Princesses is true…then I just want to be sure that nothing catches us unaware.”

Solar was considered impressed. Playing the role of Princess so well, even to the point of wise suspicion, and judgement enough to leave little to chance. He would have congratulated her out loud perhaps, were she actually committed to these plans, and not just saying them to inspire his favour. Sure, Solar knew her love of the land to be genuine, and her wish to keep Celestia and Luna together, this was after all the nativity he would work to use. Still, there was simply no way Twilight would betray herself like that, and not give Humanity the same courteous love she gave to him.

Friendship was magic, and who was she to deny other creatures that gift. Not Twilight Sparkle. This much was known between the two Ponies currently walking the castle hallways. A trait as true as the air they breathed, and as beguiled as Twilight currently was by forces which would use her loving bonds for a better world.

“Agreed.” Solar replied with a magnanimous smile, intent on maintaining his approachability and trustworthiness to Twilight. “If you weren’t already busy with kicking the sorry ass of many a villain, I’d have you recommended to join the Shadow’s in an instant” A simple lie of course, but one complimentary enough to make Twilight blush with appreciation, which was, indeed, quite the sight.

“Hehe” She giggled nervously, but delightfully sweet. “I don’t think so, Solar. Unless you have a position where I can just sit and read century’s old plots and secrets. I’d prefer that to all the, uh…dirty hooves business.”

Solar couldn’t help but quaintly chuckle at this request, actually considering her scholarly skills in any administratory role.

“Yeah? I had no idea that the great Princess Twilight Sparkle would be so up for a life of clandestine intrigue!” He joked, a smile remaining on his face that Twilight gobbled up with greedy gratitude. “I bet there’d be a shit ton of rumour you could validate with us!”

No doubt that Twilight adored the recognition Solar was offering her in such an ancient and mysterious organisation. Even being a Princess, this was quite the nod of respect she was getting, and it was more than enough to raise Solar’s estimation in her books.

“Oh my…” Twilight said under her breath, nearly blushing like a filly offered shallow endorsements of physical beauty. “Well thank you for the offer Solar, but there’s only so much privacy I want to be in on…”

Solar considered himself at odds with Twilight’s comment, mainly because the meaning that she clearly was intending was lost upon him.

“What? Why? Imagine all the good you could do!” Solar now found himself almost trying to sell of job, as if he was a Pony long tied to the organisation, and prideful of his service. Twilight however, seemed all too uncomfortable with the matter.

“Well, erm…” Twilight dared not look Solar in the eyes, choosing instead the rub the back of her head with almost embarrassed distraction. Only then did Solar realise the two of them were no longer walking.

“Oh.” Came a noise from Solar, understanding his destination had been reached. “Oh, I get it!” Twilight truly had an odd timing for her jokes, either extending them beyond all belief or using one to gain Solar’s respect, but this time, it at least served to remind him that nature could wait no longer.

“Yeah, so…I’ll be right back, ok?” Waiting was too much an ask, Solar now realised as he barged into the bathroom, and only just managing to shut its tall door behind him.

It was now he was finally alone, and not In need of entertaining Twilight’s better nature for his own benefit. Before the deed was done however, a new smile emerged, and Solar felt the power of friendship, radiating from the Princess of it, who now slowly fell for his plans.

Author's Note:

A little thing I was thinking while typing this chapter.
Is Solar manipulating Twilight and swaying her over, or is she rubbing off on him?

Basically, the aim behind this chapter was to see where Solar would be led, the more and more he experienced that world he had missed out on. throughout his life.
Now this doesn't mean he's going to go all soft because of Twiggy, but it does raise the question of how much he has changed, going from your standard violent lone wolf, to willingly playing the part for the Princess of friendship.

Are Solar's goalposts moving, despite his constant thirst for power? I guess we will see...

Also happy birthday to me, it being my birthday and all.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

How many chapters long will this story be?

[The Potato Guy]

9945592
Right now, I havent got an exact number. But I'm thinking of staying with it for now, and probably continue with a sequel, once the story currently being told comes to an end. So more chapters to come, but not a large amount

[The Potato Guy]

9946879
Ah thank you very much! I probably wouldn't have caught them without someone pointing them out. Appreciate the help. Will rectify immediately