Between the Sun and the Moon

by Psychic Smith

Chapter 17

CHAPTER‌ ‌X‌VII

“You don’t think I was… too immature, do you?” Will asked, wringing his wrists. The banquet ended about an hour ago as Will walked with Nick back to his room. Nick had already been awake most of the day and was yawning almost constantly. Will, on the other hand, was still wide awake. Honestly, he should’ve expected that all of this time in a coma to wreak havoc on his sleep cycle.

Nick shook his head. “Naw. You saw how tense those ponies were. I think it set most of them at ease. All in all, I think that was as good of a success we could’ve hoped for.”

Interrupting their conversation, both of their stomachs rumbled causing Will to hold his stomach in discomfort. “I just wish they served some sort of meat. I know that they are herbivores, but I don’t know how much longer I can deal with this. I mean, I have never been skinnier in my life, but I don’t think this is the healthy kind of weight loss.” For emphasis, Will lifted his shirt, where his ribs showed faintly under his skin.

“I get what you mean,” Nick sighed. “All of this working out with the guards has been a great distraction, but without much protein, I can’t build any real amount of muscle.”

“Why don’t we just asked the princesses? I’m sure they’d understand.”

“I just don’t think that a society of ponies would be very thrilled with two aliens that ate other living creatures living in the same town as they did, not to mention we are staying in their fucking castle.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

As the two friends reached Nick’s door, Will realized that Nick had also been moved to a much nicer room in the same hall that he was staying.

With a quick fist bump, Will gave Nick a wave. “Well, goodnight man. I think I’m going to take a bit of a walk. See you tomorrow.” Nick gave a thumbs up before closing the large wooden door behind him and left Will standing in the hall.

Will stood there for a moment, noticing for the first time that the castle seemed completely silent. During the day, Will remembered the constant white noise of the bustling castle staff. Maids cleaning from room to room, cooks in the kitchen preparing meals and washing dishes, and the occasional sound of shifting metal as an on-duty guard moved softly were all gone now. Will just began walking, a slight breeze wafting in from the cold night outside chilled him, but Will wasn’t overly bothered by it.

In no time, Will was lost. And finally noticed that there was no dedicated guard following him. For the first time in what seemed like ages, Will was alone. Well, not totally alone. There was still the occasional guard posted here and there. As Will walked by one he thought looked familiar and waved, he only got a nod in response.

Will continued exploring, trying to map the expansive layout of the castle. It was sort of monotonous after a while. Long corridors were colored with the blue-tinted moonlight broken up by lit crystals glowing a warm orangish color set into metal pole housings. They almost looked like torches, but when Will couldn’t feel any heat coming from the crystal, it left him feeling a little uneasy. It felt like something was missing.

Eventually, Will came to a very familiar balcony overlooking the royal garden below. Stepping through the decorative glass doors, the chill of the late fall night hit Will with force. Luckily the wind-chill was low enough he didn’t freeze instantly.

As he looked up at the night sky, Will was once again mesmerized by space’s never-ceasing beauty. Millions of stars littered the sky, each twinkling softly.

Will blinked. ‘Did that star just move?’

Sure enough, suddenly the stars began to dance on the blackened canvas above. Some changed colors as they swirled around each other, and Will swore he saw the bluish-black sky lighten in an arch above his head. Soon what looked like slightly brighter purple nebula clouds began gathering. It almost looked like-

“We hope thou enjoyed the show. We may have taken some inspiration from a certain human.” In a moment, Luna stood next to Will. Luna still found it amusing that he was one of the only creatures who was taller than her.

“Luna, this is amazing,” Will said, awestruck. “You did all of that?”

“Well, the night is our domain. Our magic is able to move both the moon and stars.”

Will shook his head slightly. “It’s… There have been so many things that have changed in the past month. Wait… has it been a month? Eh, it doesn’t matter. But all of this. Magic? Talking ponies? Dream walking? Back home, stuff like this is only seen in fantasy novels. And here I am, living it.”

Luna looked up knowingly. “But thou are not happy. We know.”

Will let out a shaky breath. “I try not to think about it too much. I can’t do anything about it, so I shouldn’t let it bother me. But-” Will choked back a sob.

“We- I mean, I understand.” Luna’s voice was soft as she lifted a wing, wrapping it around Will’s back, pulling Will closer.

“You stopped talking like a medieval English woman for a second,” Will chuckled through the tears threatening to pour down his face.

“It is a bad habit. But forget about that. Every time you bring this up to me, you always stop yourself. Why is that?”

Will’s shoulders sagged, and he opted to sit on the cold stone of the balcony wrapped in the alicorn’s wing. Luna sat next to him, and she felt him pull away slightly and used her wing to keep him from going too far.

“I- I just don’t want to be a bother. I don’t want to be a burden that keeps crying about his problems. I may be far from home, but you and Princess Celestia still need to run a kingdom.”

“Would you like to talk about it?”

Will rubbed his eyes clear with the back of his tunic’s sleeve. “Maybe another time.”

The two sat there for a moment, listening to the soft wind whistling through the garden below. The cold eventually started to get to Will, and he unconsciously shifted closer to the alicorn princess. Wrapped up in her wing, Will felt a lot warmer, and not so alone.

A thought came to Will a few minutes later. “Luna, what is a Cutie Mark?”

Luna giggled slightly. “I see that little Jewel’s question has piqued your interest. How in-depth would you like this explanation.”

“Well, maybe we could get out of the cold first? And a cup of tea maybe.” Will’s eyes brightened as another idea popped into his head. “Wait. Do you have chocolate in Equestria?”

Luna blinked owlishly. “Well, chocolate hadn’t been discovered up until a few years ago. When the Everfree was formed, a couple of ponies stumbled across it. Now they make it into solid bars of sweets using milk, vanilla, and sugar. Why?”

“Luna, do you think the chefs would mind if I borrowed some ingredients and a pot?”

“William, what do you have planned?”

“Oh, nothing much,” Will said with a smirk, the previous sadness slowly leaving his features. “I’m just about to give you a little taste of one of Earth’s greatest discoveries.”

In no time, Luna convinced the remaining kitchen staff to allow Will to use a few ingredients and their equipment. Having never used a wood-fire stovetop before, Will needed a few pointers from Chef Julienne.

One by one, the ponies that worked the kitchen came out to see what Will was doing, forming a circle around him and Princess Luna.

Will was lost in the familiar process. He started warming the cow’s milk in the closest thing he found to a saucepan, then opting for a larger pot when he realized the eyes of curious ponies all but surrounding him. He paid them little mind as he added in the freshly ground cocoa powder and sugar slowly, continuously stirring.

Wait, how do ponies have cow’s milk? Do they have dairy farms? Will decided that was another question for later.

Then, he found a couple of pieces of unwrapped bars of milk chocolate. It was strange seeing the chocolate in such a basic form. No brand name or anything. But when he tried a piece of it, Will hummed at the familiar taste. It wasn’t as sweet as the chocolate back home, but he preferred dark chocolate anyways.

Finishing it off with a splash of vanilla, Will was hit with the aroma of his childhood. He smiled to himself as he brought the pot to the plain teacups that were laid out and began portioning it out in equal amounts. When he was done, the kitchen ponies each grabbed a cup, smelling the hot chocolate while they waited.

Chef Julienne stepped forward with his own teacup full of the drink. His cream-colored wing cradled the cup in front of him. His mane was greyed with age, and there were noticeable bags under his eyes, and deep frown lines creased his features like the old stallion hadn’t smiled in years.

“Please, your highness, allow me to try ‘zis drink first. Somepony must make sure it iz safe for consumption, no?”

Luna shook her head but yielded to the elderly stallion. “By all means.”

With a nod, Chef Julienne wafted the aroma. With a raised eyebrow, the stallion took an experimental sip, and his eyes widened in shock and struggled to keep the liquid in his mouth. A kitchen aid stepped in to assist.

“Chef, is everything alright?”

Waving his hoof dismissively, the chef swallowed the drink. “No, everyzing is okay. Just still hot.” Will cringed internally, swearing that he should’ve warned the chef about that first. Chef Julienne blew on his hot chocolate before taking another sip.

Will had his fingers crossed that he followed the recipe correctly, but any fears were dashed when Chef Julienne gave a small grin.

“Mmm, delicious. I do say, human, what exactly is zis?”

Will breathed out a sigh of relief. “It was an old recipe from my grandmother. I was worried I didn’t make it right.”

“Well, zat mare taught you well,” Julienne said as he continued to drink the hot chocolate.

As more and more ponies tried the warm treat, excited chatter broke out among the kitchen staff. Some ponies came forward to ask questions, many of which Will couldn’t answer. He was no expert when it came to cooking, but he still had a few other treats he promised he could make for them sometime. Chef Julienne nearly pleaded with the human for the recipe, which Will gave without fuss, a kitchen aid writing down every word Will spoke.

Meanwhile, Luna just sat back with a smile, watching how Will’s demeanor changed entirely. The depressed human was gone, and he reveled in the attention of the ponies. Eyeing the teacup meant for her, Luna levitated the cup of steaming liquid to her mouth and swallowed the contents.

It was like ambrosia. The sweetness hit her tongue, with the slight bitterness of chocolate soon to follow. As the warm liquid traveled down her throat, a warmth emanated from her stomach that relieved all the tension in her body as she seemed to melt like the chocolate bar used to make the hot cocoa. Luna was brought back to reality when she heard somepony snicker in the room.

Opening her eyes, Luna found Will eyeing her with an amused expression. “I take it you like it, Princess.”

Luna hummed to herself. “We believe thou have found our new favorite beverage.”

Will took notice when Luna reverted to her usual, archaic speech patterns, and raised an eyebrow. Luna, in turn, lit her horn, as Will felt a light pressure in the back of his head.

“I’ll tell you later,” Luna’s voice echoed through Will’s skull. Luna’s lips didn’t even move.

Telepathy, huh? Cool.

“Now, Chef Julienne, We believe William and I shall make use of the royal dining room. Thou needn’t stay up on our account. Thou and thine staff are dismissed for the night.”

“Nonsense, your highness,” the stallion in question dismissed. “I shall have somepony to serve you. However, you are right. I am very tired. I shall retire. Your highness, mazter William, I bid you adieu.”

With a chorus of thanks from the kitchen staff, Will followed Luna to the dining room, each carrying a full wooden stein of hot chocolate with them. Entering the room Luna summoned her cushion and sat, Will taking the seat across from her. Luna shook her head and moved around to sit next to the human. Will smiled down at the princess, before looking into his stein with a distant expression on his face. Luna was quiet for a moment, waiting for Will to speak. When he did, Luna was silent as she listened.

“It tastes just like how mom made it. I think I get so upset because I worry about them so much. Dad hadn’t been doing okay since he lost his job.” Will quickly corrected himself. “He wasn’t sick or anything. He was just so… upset. He was doing so well for himself, but now he’s washing dishes at a sandwich shop during the day, and cleaning a bar at night.” Will laughed to himself. “Huh, I’m worried about them worrying about me. Heh… I miss them a lot, but even if I never got to see them again, I just wish they knew I was okay.” Hearing those words leave his mouth made tears threaten to start again.

Luna interrupted that train of thought. “So, Cutie Marks. Where shall I start?”

“Huh?”

“Well, a Cutie Mark is the symbol that represents a pony’s inner magic. Usually, it is an indicator of what the pony most enjoys or their talents.” Luna motioned to the white crescent moon on her black spotted flank. The distraction seemed to have worked, as Luna now had Will’s full attention. “When a pony comes of age, their Cutie Mark usually appears during an event where their inner magic is most prominent. When a pony becomes what Harmony has destined them to be. Usually, there is a large celebration when a filly or colt gets their Cutie Mark.”

“Huh,” Will paused taking that all in. “So it’s like a right of passage? Where the filly becomes a mare, or a colt becomes a stallion?”

“Precisely.”

“Neat.”

“There is much more I could teach you if you’d like. I might need to utilize the services of Ms. Clover. Now that you have magic yourself, I could have you casting in no time. Possibly within a month, depending on how well you take to it.”

“Really?!” Will’s excited exclamation and ear to ear grin made the princess laugh behind a hoof before nodding.

“Really.”

Their conversation carried through the night before Will finally succumbed to the sweet embrace of sleep in the waning hours of the night.

-~xXXXx~-

Nick was enjoying a dreamless night of sleep when a loud knocking at his door jolted him awake as he bolted upright. The door opened quickly, and a uniformed pegasus mare zipped into the room, lighting a candle quickly.

“Up and at’em! The sun only waits on the princess,” Captain hurricane shouted.

“Jeeze not so loud,” Nick picked at his still ringing ear. “What time is it?”

“Three hours before sunrise. Come on, training starts now!”

Nick blinked, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. “But the guards don’t start training until two hours after sunrise!”

“Yeah, you’re right. You start early.” Nick could hear the cheeky grin on the blue pegasus’s face.

“And why is that?”

“Because now you’re training with me! You’ll need it if this plan of mine is going to work. You have ten minutes to dress, eat, and get your flank to the front gate, understood?”

Eyes widening in understanding, Nick jumped out of bed, saluting. “Yes, ma’am!”

Comments

[Crystonian]

Their going to get sick soon if they don't get enough protein. That's a problem.

[OneLonelyPickle]

10192524
Not a problem, I will keep reading slowly over time and comment when I have something to say

Could you do me a solid and check out my story "The Storm's Challenge" ? It's a WiP but there is enough released already to get a good idea of the story, I think. Cheers!

[Marmo]

10188681
Im pretty sure they'll be fine sith some milk eggs and nuts. Maybe also fish who knows