A Lunar Lesson
Some nights ago...
A lone guard wandered down a small street within the middle districts of Canterlot. Their silver armor held a sheen from the polish applied earlier that day, it gave a slight glare as they passed under the soft glow of a street lamp. One which revealed the bored look of a white furred stallion with maroon hair into a high and tight style haircut which was common among guards. He let loose a yawn and stretched his arm over his head as he walked.
He was on the larger side, an indicator that he descended mostly from the earth tribe. His name was Maroon Skyjumper, Private First Class in the Canterlot Guard. Which turned out to be somewhat fitting name for him. As he had a maroon parachute that was flanked by a pair of wings for a destiny mark, and was quite the thrill seeker; for he somehow managed to survive, as a colt, a jump from a cliff using only a homemade parachute. His poor mother almost busted a blood vessel that day.
Anyway, the bored guard continued on his usual route, patrolling the small neighborhood of 23rd and Mane Street. Thus the thud of his boots echoed throughout the quiet neighborhood. As always, he had started from ol' Granny Panera's Bakery and planned to end it at the Withered Inn, both well established businesses within Canterlot. The bakery being a staple of his diet, as the BLT was to die for and the young mare at the register was quite the catch. Where as the Withered Inn was supposedly centuries old and served some of the best traditional lagers in the district, a good spot to hit on the off duty time.
While he pondered these wonderful things, a dark shape zoomed overhead. It left only a slight swell of wind in its wake. His ears went upright in an instant and before thinking, ran to a nearby home and scaled it in a matter of moments through the rush of sheer excitement. Though as soon as he crested the building and gave a look around, the dark shape was already gone. He thought it was strange but not an uncommon occurrence, as it was probably just a pegasus in hurry that night. Probably late to get home to the missus.
"Lousy birdbrain, speeding this late at night." He pondered passing up a report but ultimately decided it wasn't worth the effort since the offender was already long gone.
"Hopefully one of Sky Patrol will nab 'em." He landed back onto the street and dusted himself off a bit. Once again bored, the guard resumed his patrol. Little did he know what he had witnessed.
It was on a mission-
Wind whipped across their body as they flew across the districts of Canterlot on a fast descent trajectory.
-of their own volition.
They spotted the target building and began to prepare to slow their descent-
They had to admit, it was nice to get out and do some field work.
-with the activation of the tactical descent enchantment, and quickly directed their wings up and away to bleed off speed. As practiced, they made a very sudden stop with the aid of the enchantment, doing so quietly and with grace.
Not even the fresh powdery snow stirred.
There on the roof of 'Cliff's Crafts' was none other than the princess of the night herself; Luna, who wore a slim fitting dark blue robes decked out with the latest enchantments used by Equestria's best. Now this wasn't for no reason, for she suspected that there was something dangerous, and it was dwelling right in this very neighborhood. As only a powerful creature could have bewitched her very own sister, probably with some foul unknown magic. She had seen the symptoms of it herself; the emotional distress, the strange behaviors, and above all a weird almost unnatural type of happiness.
All evidence of a foul bewitching!
Now where was this creature? By using an informant network, she had kept tabs on her sister. What they had noticed was regular visits to a store called 'Cliff's Crafts'. She had looked for any files on the resident but it seems someone had decided to pilfer them first before she could. Which only served to raise even more red flags for Luna.
Thankfully, said trusty network had some information, which told of a tall imposing pale creature which managed to be allowed residence in Canterlot not long ago. Reports were conflicting, but one thing for sure was whatever it was, it was definitely evil and was the most likely culprit.
With a feline grace she dropped down onto a small terrace for the bedroom window on the second story, and with a quick spell, she made short work of the lock. She quickly slid inside with nary a sound and shut the window behind her. She looked around the rather spartan living area, there was a dim light source and quickly found its origin. The stairway which led downstairs. Interesting enough, she couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary, even when this close. It must be a powerful practitioner to fool even her senses. Whatever it may be, she was about to find out as she carefully crept toward the stairs.
Cliff tinkered away in his office with an intensity unlike before. Recently he had received an influx of orders, which he was desperate to try and catch up on. Being a principled man, he always hated being tardy on anything and liked to be early in most cases. That meant he usually ended up working late. The main order that was slowing him down, was a matching set of bracelets for a wedding. The poor mare in question, Sugar Swirl, was a friendly local in the neighborhood who he had become acquainted with. She had recently been engaged to Sprung Spring, the store owner next door, who specialized in fixing various contraptions. Unfortunately for all of the residents in the neighborhood, she had gone full 'bridezilla' and was practically having a meltdown at the drop of a hat. Not wanting to draw her ire, he just said yes to everything without thinking, what a smart principled man.
Once his work began on the sixth bracelet, a slight uneasiness bubbled within him. He felt a voyeurous gaze directly on him, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand rigidly. He did not show this and continued on the bracelet. Briefly, he flashed a glance upward at a piece of reflective silver on his work table. From that image he saw a dark shape in the stairway to his living area. It was moving closer. To Cliff, time seemed to slow down as the adrenaline kicked in and his eyes sent a simple message to his brain in that moment.
Fight or flight?
His answer?
Fight.
Quickly from the holster in his waistband Cliff drew a simple throwing knife and launched it toward the threat. Luna, caught off guard, only managed to jerk her head back in time to avoid a serious wound. The razor's edge sliced the edges of her hood and with it, a few strands of her hair. The knife continued onward and lodged itself into a magical lantern, causing a bright flash and casting the whole room in darkness. Luna saw spots in her eyes from the quick contrasts in lighting and before she could collect her wits, she felt a solid kick to the gut that sent her sprawling backwards. The strong impact of the blow only served to daze her further and if she was a normal pony, that may have been the end of the fight.
Fool.
She activated some of the enchantments on her robes, one being nocturnal vision.
The darkness is my domain.
She saw the next strike incoming, a back kick straight toward her head. She moved her head slightly to left, allowing the blow to near miss and with unnatural reflexes grasped him by the leg. The man felt the surprisingly strong grip and had only a moment, before a strong pressure on the joint in his foot causing him to collapse to the ground in pain. Luna smirked, but the creature was crafty and quickly spun out of her foot lock. The two quickly separated, now facing off in the dark room which was barely lit by the light from the front store room.
Cliff began to reach for his next knife but it was too late. Luna was fully recovered and a brilliant hue of magic filled the dark room. Luna then released it and sent a powerful spell of sleep straight into his chest. So powerful it was potentially lethal, even for a large creature, but she wasn't taking any chances.
Ha! That should knock you out for awhi-
It didn't, as the man albeit with some sluggishness, bared down on her with a knife and aimed for a quick jab to the throat. Only for Luna to perfectly see his attack with her enchantment, dodge and redirect his stab into a lock. He didn't realize it until a precise strike to the head finally knocked him unconscious.
SKIP
Cliff awoke to a harsh light blinding him, until his eyes slowly adjusted. He tried to move but felt the tug of leather restraints that forced him to be seated in the metal chair. At the exertion, he was reminded of the blow from earlier as his head spun whenever he tried to focus. After a few more moments of wakefulness, it cleared and he shook his head to dispense the last of its evils.
He took a moment to look around and-
Strange, he was in a completely different place. Now surrounded by concrete, with a single conventional light bulb for lighting in the center and a metal door, which stood on the opposite end of the room. He checked himself but was shocked instead to see different clothing.
My old uniform?
He examined the faded olive drab outfit and on his shoulder, the patch of the 82nd Airborne Division, but before he could ponder it any further. An explosion rattled the very foundation of the room, jostling the light and spilling some dust from the ceiling onto the floor.
Then he entered. The loud slam of the metal door declared his entrance and Cliff's eyes snapped right to him. First thing that jumped out to him was the officer cap on the man’s head. It had the crest of the Third Reich and below it a skull and two bones.
The Totenkopf.
The man stood before Cliff in the full regalia of an SS officer, noted by the two lightning bolts on his collar and the dark crisp uniform. The Captain, evident by the rank on the very same collar, had a small pair of glasses nestled on his face and a high strung look about him with hollowed cheeks.
Schutzstaffel? And an officer at that... just where-
"Ah you are awake, Sergeant Clifford Ketchum," the SS Officer said with a modest german accent. Cliff continued to stare at the man and remain silent.
"I was beginning to worry you would never wake up. You are so... vital to the war effort after all." The officer took a few steps towards him and promptly after, a man in a lab coat opened the door to roll in a cart full of imposing medical instruments.
"You may not be so talkative now but." The officer picked up a large syringe and gave it a flick.
"You will be soon." A wicked grin twisted the Officer's face until it was almost unrecognizable as human and took a step forward only for the sound of static to fill Cliff's ears and a bright void to blot out his senses.
Cliff sucked in a large breath through the nose and his head snapped up in sudden wakefulness. Immediately he looked down to examine himself and let out a sigh of relief. He was still tied to a chair but at least he was back in his office, with his normal clothes on. The lamp was fixed but unfortunately, the assailant was still here. Their identity obscured by their hood and robes.
"Welcome back, foul creature." She said to him, with a natural air of authority about her.
"Foul creature? You're the one who busted into my-"
"No games beast. Now what are you?! Is this some manner of altered form?! A trick to appeal to a mare's desires?!"
Cliff's face colored slightly. "Well uh I appreciate the compliment but this is just my normal appearance, and I'm actu-"
"-No! More importantly, what have you done to mine sister!"
"Your, sister?"
The strange woman stepped forward, unveiling her hood and dispersing the enchantments which helped conceal her. It revealed a slim dark blue mare with teal eyes. She had blue hair and tail, both styled into tight buns while also being exceptionally tall for a pony, somewhere just under six feet.
She seems familiar. Where have I seen her before?
"You proclaim to be ignorant to the Princess of the night?! Does the white unicorn named Sunflower seem familiar? Is it not apparent? T'is Princess Celestia!"
"Uh- that's- wait you're Princess Luna?! And she is- that makes- holy shit." Cliff stared blankly at the princess, intensely looking at the air in front of her.
"A-are you okay?" The night princess asked with a bit of guilt to her voice. She waved a hand in front of him but to no avail as he remained statuesque.
Before Luna could worry any further, he returned with a shake of his head as if to physically dispel himself of wild thoughts. "Yes, that was...a big surprise for me. Just needed a few moments to process it all. But no I am not some creature, at least not to the nicer folk. I'm just a human, we're actually pretty similar in biology from what Sun- I mean Celestia told me."
Luna eyed him carefully and at this point she was getting the feeling that she may have overreacted just a little bit in this situation. As there was that chance he may be just exot- foreign, just foreign. Yep, definitely that one.
"Hm, I have never heard of a human before but I shall take your word for it... but you still need to explain the nature of your relationship with my dearest elder sister. As she has been acting very odd lately and the only change has been the regular trips she makes to here."
"Well, you see... your sister and I...uh..."
"Yes get on with it."
"Were kind of... interested in each other."
Luna stood there with a blank look on her face.
"As in, we're uh courting-"
She almost fell to the floor and had to brace herself against the wall as the word courting struck her like a sledgehammer.
"-as you would call it but it's nothing official. Right now, we just enjoy each others casual company."
She recovered from that brief shock and let out a sigh, with quick use of her horn she undid his bonds. "You did not lie, as far as I could tell, and obviously you are not a threat that I originally thought. Otherwise you may have tried something by now."
Cliff let out a small breath of relief and gave a stretch, glad to be free of his restraints.
"This... relationship is a revelation to me and I still desire to speak with you on this matter."
Cliff nodded. "Let me get you a chair then, I'll be back in a moment." The man then moseyed on over to the next room to look for a nice chair.
While he was in the other room, Luna continued to look around his office. She was definitely interested in the strange three color banner he had on the wall. She reasoned it may be his family banner or of the kingdom he came from. Her curiosity was further piqued by all the strange objects on display. She immediately recognized the mask from Zebrica, she believed it had something to do with a rite of passage of a warrior if the design was any indication; by the aggressive bright colors, stoic face and various carvings of feral animals. As for the stone mug-
Her thoughts were interrupted by Cliff reentering the room, who had brought a nice wooden seat from the store display and set it down for her, upon which Luna promptly took her seat. Though as soon Cliff seated himself, she asked him a question.
"Tell me of you how you came to be here... Mister?"
"Just call me Cliff."
Luna gave a nod.
"Well, right when I first arrived to this world-"
Luna's left ear twitched slightly.
"-years ago, don't know how many exactly. I started as a jack of all trades sort, I wandered the lands far east of here making my living as I go in some very remote places. That was until, in my journey I encountered my first real civilization."
He cleared his throat. "It was evil beyond belief and out of necessity I became a mercenary for a period of time, as it was the best way to ensure my survival in a land so savage. It was during that time, I heard stories about Equestria. A land of peace, prosperity and a government that wasn't corrupted by tyranny or money."
Cliff examined Luna, whose ears were pointed toward him with attentiveness but a neutral look remained on her face. "Anyways, it was from that moment I knew I needed to head west because of the opportunities there and to escape a land of war and slavery. I'm almost certain, that most ponies don't realize how nice it is here. The rest of the world is still tearing itself apart; wily warlords, petty princes, and hungry hordes are a thing of the past here."
Cliff gestured broadly to the whole room. "That's how I collected all these mementos, from my journey to here, usually they were gifts from thankful folk or an object from an important event in my life during that time. Anyways, once I finally made it to the Celestial Coast of Equestria, I applied to become a resident which eventually lead me to Canterlot where I resumed to make crafts and set the sword down for good. With the money I had left, I bought this old shop and overtime I met some interesting folks who were the neighbors. They were kind; but the rest of Canterlot, well it's a fifty fifty unless they were a noble. Nobles generally are disgusted with me and most others not of their own kind."
Luna nodded.
"And what of this other world you imply to originate from?"
Cliff scratched the back of his head and let out a breath.
"That's a lot more complicated and long of a story. I'll gladly tell you at a later time. Just understand I came from another world similar enough to this one."
Luna had a pensive look on her face as she digested all the information.
"I still have some more questions but that shall do for the time being."
Cliff tapped his fingers together idly.
"So, am I next on the deportation list?"
Luna went wide eyed for a moment and pressed her ears against her head. She was going to quickly respond to tell him wasn't the case until she saw the mirthful smirk on his face.
"Of course."
It was his turn to go wide eyed until Luna poked her tongue out and gave him a small smile with a happy twitch of both ears.
"I jest, you seem to have integrated into our society well enough in spite of my subjects and I dare not deport the love interest of my sister-"
Cliff gave a big smile.
"-who I have yet to approve of," she said, giving him a hard stare of a protective sister.
Cliff coughed, feeling a bit awkward.
"Well I heard you like coffee, would you like some?"
"Verily."
Cliff grabbed a small silver coffee percolator and a tin of coffee grounds.
"These were just ground by me not too long ago, I know a mare named Bouncing Bean who runs a small coffee shop down the way. Always has some quality beans that are freshly roasted."
Cliff sat the small percolator on the magical stove, the stove which Celestia normally uses to brew her tea, and slowly heats it to the appropriate brewing temperature. Not too long after it made a loud noise of air quickly escaping through the lid. Cliff promptly poured the coffee into a small cup on a saucer and sets the percolator off to the side.
"A stove top espresso, a little thing I brought from back home."
He then presented her with the small concoction.
She gratefully accepted it from his hands and brought the cup up to her face to give a whiff. It was surprisingly not that acrid and there was some interesting almost dessert like aromas.
So, she took a sip. A second sip. And a third for good measure.
She set the cup back down and was still for a moment, until a bright smile broke across her face.
"Huzzah! I approve! You may court my sister."
"Wow, that quick huh?" He said surprised.
"As long as you care for my sister, as much as you cared about this cup of espresso, then I foresee no issues. That and I can tell you are, at the very least, a rational worldly person who can actually handle themselves unlike most of my subjects these days. Though as payment for my approval I may inquire about this..."
"Oh so you want a bribe now?" Cliff said with a faux harsh look on his face and a bit of a playful edge to his tone.
Luna saw through his ruse.
"Of course, and I will require regular payments as I may become your sister soon. So you better spoil me with coffee and dark chocolate, otherwise I may annoy you all the way to the grave." She stated with a solid poker face and her ears at rigid attention.
The two looked at each other for a few moments, Cliff cracked a small smile and Luna let loose a giggle then the two fell into a small bout of laughter. After they recovered, Cliff took his seat again and spoke.
"I'll be frank with ya' Princess-"
"Just Luna is fine."
Cliff nodded.
"-Luna, I'm a bit worried now."
"How so?"
"Well she's a princess for Christ's sake-"
"So? You are well this very moment or have you already forgotten that I am a princess too?" Luna gave a slight pout with an annoyed twitch of the left ear and in that moment he definitely saw how they were siblings.
"No it's not that, it's different since we're... courting." He let out a sigh. "Like what if the Sunny I know isn't who she really is? She's a Princess... well I don't know how to act like a high society type, I'm a plain fella at heart. Formal and respectful when I need to be, but beyond that..."
Luna placed the now empty cup off to the side.
"Do you want to know a secret Cliff?"
He looked at her curiously.
"The Sunny you know is the exact same as the Princess Celestia in every manner except appearance. If anything, Sunny is probably a more accurate portrayal in comparison to the facade that is the Princess mask. You do realize that she almost assuredly depends on you. I may have said she was acting strange but upon reflection, it is because she has started to act as less of Princess and more of a normal pony as of late."
She took a moment to lean back in the chair and cross her arms.
"I am honestly envious of my sister, that she found someone she cares for, but it bemuses me a bit that she picked someone so exot- ahem- foreign..."
She coughed awkwardly.
"Regardless, just remember that she is still the same person you care for before you knew her station and that you must remain who you are, the person she cares for."
Cliff gave her a begrudging nod.
"You're right, it’s probably a bit silly that an old guy like me got his head wrapped around this like some youngster."
"Probably another trait she enjoys about you, nobody wants to be around a dusty old elder."
"Well you're one to talk, aren't you both about-" Cliff halted mid sentence, as the death glare of Luna dared him to say another word about their age.
"Never mind..."
Back to the present...
"She didn't do anything rash did she?!"
A look of worry consumed Celestia's face, knowing all too well how protective her sister could be.
"No not at all, we just had some coffee and chit chatted for a lil' while was all." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Though, there was something else I found if you care to explain."
He reached into his pocket and drew out a single laminated news clipping, which read 'Celestia has two new silver spoons?!'. On it was a not so gracious picture of a surprised Celestia and in her hand a very distinctly crafted silver spoon. Celestia gave a small cough and her faced turned a light shade of red, more so at the embarrassing photo.
"Now the picture may not be too great but I'm almost sure that's my work and-"
Celestia jumped up to try and grab the clipping while he was distracted but Cliff quickly jerked it out of her reach. She gave him a pout and her right ear twitched angrily in sync with her flicking tail. "Give that clipping to me! I've been trying to rid the papers of that picture ever since that day. And especially you of all ponies can't have it!"
Cliff chuckled and now had a huge smirk on his face.
"Oh and what are you gonna do miss princess? Take it from me?"
He jiggled the clipping in the air to taunt the pouty princess who then tried to use her magic but Cliff's resistance made it no easy task and she quickly gave up on that method.
"Cliff you got two seconds to hand it to me..."
He just smiled and mockingly polished his clipping.
"One..."
She dropped down into a stance and Cliff remained as he was.
"Two!"
Celestia leapt toward him with surprising speed and tackled him onto the shore where he landed with an OOF. The princess on top of him kept him pinned down and applied a quick kiss to further her assault, the poor man could not resist her distracting tactic. She then quickly snatched the clipping out of his grip and used a spell to quickly dispose of it. The two remained there, with heavy breaths from the excitement, Cliff not minding his current predicament as Celestia remained on top of him.
"I got your clipping~"
"That's alright, I got copies."
Celestia cheeks puffed angrily, but she let out a breath of defeat instead. Rather, she decided to lay on top of him instead, nestling into his chest once more.
"You know you are a handful right?"
He chuckled but gave no response as he started to drift off to sleep land, the events of the day and the booze finally catching up.
"Hey Celestia, don't you think-"
He stopped speaking as soon as he heard a soft snore come from his chest, looking down he saw her peaceful face and two ears that cutely twitched every so often.
I guess it can wait.
It wasn't too long until he followed suit and drifted off to sleep.
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I love it.
So he's from ww2 Intresting
Yes. This is nice
Mmm I maybe be in the minority here but I do think the tonal shift with Luna was rather sudden. Going from breaking into his house and assulting him to them both being friendly was a bit to quick I think.
But on the other hand the story isn't suppose to be about Luna and Cliff fighting so its understandable to get that out the way quickish.
Other than that, very good, top cozy.
So they sleepin' in d bush.
IN D BUSH??!
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Interesting back story for cliff. Haven't seen many ex soldier type stories in a while
American, British or Canadian? Serious question.
9689773
The two big A's on the 82nd Airborne patch stands for All American. You can probably fill in the blank from there.
Loved it! I think this is the start of a good relationship!
Between Luna and Cliff of course
This story... I like it! More!
Cliff's last name is Ketchum? Good name for a collector of living beings. Since there are no Pokemon in Equestria, I'm going to assume that he'll end up with a large harem of lady ponies.
Gotta ketchum all, after all.
It's always important to keep several copies of embarrassing pictures squirreled away, she'll never find them all
That dream/flashback, did he die during interrogation or some of that rumored occultist shenanigans those nazis were doing, was involved?
Nice
9690076
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9689721
I imagine she took a peek in his dream, and his answers helped clarify some things. But yes, that requires a bit more interpolation than I'd like.
9690991
Fixed it, let me know if you see anything else that is confusing.
I just did a revamp of the whole story in a new and more consistent format. Let me know if it's an improvement or not.
You're doing a great job! Please go on like this. I like the story so far and how emotional and romantic it is. (I hope my english writing ist not bad :D )
Two lines by different people shouldn't be on the same paragraph. It catches most off-guard, so it's best to separate lines if they belong to different characters. But that's just me nitpicking.
Looking forward to the next chapter~
Wait so Luna fucking ATTACKED him and Cliff was just fine about it?
9689769
Want to read mine? My OC is an ex-soldier too... although he was kind of a Spartan/Vanguard hybrid.
9710333
Sure! I always loved reading about spartans so I'm sold lol
9711336
Thanks! He might appear to be OP at first, but that's part of the plot.
9689685
Dammit, I had the thought two weeks too late to be original. That was going to be my comment.
Anyways, now that I feel a need to elaborate to avoid copycattery, I love it. It's nice to see a simple, well written and enjoyable tale about two people/ponies/beings enjoying casual time that ultimately brightens their lives and leads to something more than they might've hoped.
I hate pony magic!
9690219
For a moment, I was thinking it was Luna's doing, using his own memories in a dreamscape setting to "interrogate" him. Although it ended quickly and the officer wasn't Luna dressed up as one. (I suspect she could probably do that if she really wanted to)
9730870
She would look much better than the one in his memories!
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9700953
To be fair, he attacked her and it’s possible she was just going to observe him or something until he justifiably went Rambo on her. She deserved it, though.
She is very lucky that wasn’t a fire arm.
9700953
Yeah, that doesn't sit right with me. Then she just does an about face without an apology? Having Luna in the story if she is allowed to go up and kick someone in the dick (metaphorically) and not have consequences doesn't make sense. She didn't attempt tk actually find anything out, she just personally attacked him in his own home, kidnapped him, and declared him evil. For her to just go "oh you're in love" and then everything is fine is stupid. Her qctions should have him dislike and distrust her greatly given she did it all without any apology or remorse. Really, if Luna can just do whatever she wants and get away with it then why not remove everyone else and make her the protagonist? I was liking the story until now, but if Cliff just lets others walk all over him like Luna it doesn't bode well for later chapters.
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FOR THE EMPEROR AND FOR THE FLUFF
I hope she was surprised that his killing instincts worked through her sleep spell. Makes me proud of humanity.
Most writers (and authors) know basically nothing about history and do no research and either take whatever Wikipedia says at face-value or just uses "common knowledge" (like the Crusades and Inquisition (they're the opposite of the common knowledge of them) and about war over religion, which doesn't really happen although using it as an excuse for land-grabs does, and whatever Hollywood depicts. It's insanely frustrating. Good rule of thumb is to ask yourself "why do I believe this about history" and when your answer doesn't have several scholarly citations from multiple conflicting sources and sides and lacks archaeological evidence supporting those sides, you haven't done enough research to actually claim to have any idea of what the truth is.
Yeah, they're kinda...infantile.