Alternative Reality

by Crystal Night

Stage Four: Time to Talk

Infinite glanced at the clock, his thoughts drifted towards what was happening back in Mobius.
He's been long since he arrived to this place. Surely Eggman would be losing the war, without his help.
However, he didn't feel or wanted to go back, not yet.
So much happened in the last few hours. First this place, then meeting the princesses, and now some weird looking dragon?
His stomach grumbled. For good reason, he skipped breakfast.
After leaving his room, he made his way towards the kitchen. Infinite had a good hint where the kitchen could be.
Upon reaching the dining hall, he knocked on the door, when no reply came from the other side, the jackal opened it, revealing the room was in fact empty.
"Much better this way." - he muttered.

Once inside the kitchen, Infinite was surprised to find his breakfast on the counter. He looked in the fridge and manage to find a bottle of orange juice, he grinned. "No one is going to need this", his stomach grumbled again, "I know already..."
Taking a small bench that had been left in a corner and removing the mask, he begun eating his breakfast.
Several minutes passed away in silence. That was until the kitchen door opened.
"Oh, I didn't expected to see you here." - said a familiar voice.

"I can always leave."
Luna took a moment to think before answering.
"No."

Her reply made Infinite stop eating, and he gave Luna a quick side way glance. It was obvious by the look on her face, she had something in mind. Nevertheless, he resume his previous action, ignoring whatever the princess was doing.
Apparently the princess also decided to eat something too. Luna levitated a slice of her favourite cake, Mooncake.
She went for the fridge and surprised to find her orange juice wasn't there. "That's odd..." she glanced around the kitchen, until her eyes rested on the bottle next to Infinite. 'Oh...'
Not wanting to press her luck, she ate her cake in silence, her back facing Infinite's.
That's when a half-empty bottle of orange juice standing on a red cube showed up in front of Luna.
"You can ask, I don't bite."
The lunar princess grabbed the bottle with her magic.
"Thank you."

"Perhaps I started this with the wrong hoof." - started the princess.

"What do you mean?"

Luna cleared her throat, glancing at Infinite.
"I'm princess Luna, pleasure to meet you." In response, he chuckled. "...at least I'm trying."

"Pleasure to meet you as well, I'm Infinite." He placed his mask on, turning to face her. "I must admit, I'm quite impressed with your fighting skills. Luckily for you the Phantom Ruby wasn't fully charged, or the outcome would be much rather different."
She gave him a cocky grin.
"If you want a rematch, just let me know."

"Oh, I will." Infinite left his things in the sink and was about to leave when Luna called for him.

"Can you stay a bit longer? Unless you have other things to do that is."
He pondered for a while.
"Well I don't have anything to do, so why not?" He sat in front of her. "I'm quite curious about this, can you really control the moon?"

"Yes I can."

"I once created a sun."
Luna almost spilled her drink.
"Wait, really?" Infinite nodded. "That's actually quite impressive I must say, but how do you know I can do that?"

"There's a few books lying around in my room, one of them was about you."
Luna looked away for a brief moment, something that Infinite took notice.
"What else was there?"
He shrugged.
"I'm not much of a reader, however since you're here, maybe you can tell the rest."

"There's not much to tell."
After a few minutes, the jackal came up with a small idea.
"Let's make a deal," She gave him warning look. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad I can assure you," Luna nodded. "If you tell me your story, I'll tell you my real name."

"Why should I believe you?"

"I have made many deals before, never once broke any of them. Now, do we have a deal?" - Infinite held out his hand. Luna a moment to think, knowing his real name wasn't much, but it was a start. She shook his hand. "Oh, I almost forget to say, you can't tell to your sister, it will became our little secret."

"Alright, where should I start?"

"How about the beginning?" - he chuckled.

---

They spend more than an hour in the kitchen. Lucky for them no pony decided to interrupted their conversation.
Infinite for most part paid close attention to Luna's past and she once was Nightmare Moon. During that part he could tell she was struggling to fight her emotions, most likely regret and sadness. This mare was truly impressive, amazing even.
"And I guess that's all."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know about the um...you know."

"It's ok, it belongs to the past now..."

"Well, a deal is a deal, my real name is Zero."
Luna smiled, not only for knowing his name, but also for sharing her past with someone who didn't judged her previous actions.
"I like it, however Infinite sounds much better. I can call you Zero once in a while, right?"

"When we are alone, yes. Remember, don't tell your sister."

"Tell who?" - Luna asked with a smile.
They shared a quick laugh.
"Perhaps I misjudge you."

"Likewise, though I don't know your story."
Infinite rose from his seat.
"In time I might tell you." The mask's right side blinked red for a second, which only made Luna a bit confused. "Do you have other business to attend?"

"Hmm, no, not really, why do you ask?"

"I don't know this place too well, maybe a tour would help."
They left the kitchen just in time as they crossed paths with some of the kitchen staff, getting a few over the shoulder glances.
"Are you trying to court me?"

"W-What? Of course not, don't be ridiculous!"
The blue alicorn giggled.
"I'm just messing with you, Zero." Lucky for Infinite that she couldn't see his face under the mask, or Luna would be able to see his light blush. "Let's start with the gardens."

Infinite nodded.

---

Meanwhile Celestia sat in her throne, having a meeting with the captain of the royal guards and some guards.
"Are you certain of this?" - inquired Celestia.

"Unfortunately, yes. Several ponies have gone missing for the past few days." - the captain explained.
Another guard stepped forward.
"We even doubled our patrols."

"This is quite troubling I must say, I need to speak with Luna about this."

"We'll report back when we get more information." The guards saluted and left the throne room.
Celestia glanced to her right.
"Find my sister, tell her I must speak with her at once." The guard nodded and left the room in a hurry. The solar monarch looked out the window. "What's going on?"

Author's Note:

Sorry for the wait. I like to take my time when writing.
I hope you enjoyed.

Comments

[sonicandmario826]

Kind of surprised Infinite is getting along so well with Luna.

[Crystal Night]

9232122
Sometimes 'bad guys' have to play the 'good guy' role in order to achieve their goal. Infinite knows his stuff well.

[Stardust Pie]

"Unfortunately, yes. Several ponies have gone missing for the past few days." - the captain explained. Another guard stepped forward. "We even doubled our patrols."

Okay, that’s pretty strange. I’ve got a hunch Zero has nothing to do with this.

[Crystal Night]

9342640
That's actually a good one.