Between the Sun and the Moon

by Psychic Smith

Chapter 5

CHAPTER V

With Will now awake, he easily became restless. The morning after Will woke up, he tried to get out of bed three times, each attempt yielding varying degrees of failure. Due to the weakened state of his legs, he couldn’t get too far.

It got so bad that Mending nearly had to strap Will down just to keep him from reopening his wounds.

After Nick had a brief conversation with Celestia before morning court, the two came up with a compromise. A compromise that left Will in a Frankenstein’s monster contraption of half wooden armchair, and half of a broken cart. Granted, it did serve well as a wheelchair, even if Nick had to push him everywhere. The axel squealed whenever Nick pushed Will through the halls of Everfree castle, and they needed a unicorn to levitate Will up any stairs that got in the way.

Breakfast went easily enough. The large fruit salad garnered no complaints from Will in the slightest as he practically inhaled the entire bowl. Will, however, was known for eating entire watermelons as a snack, still having room for half a cantaloupe after.

What could he say? Will likes his fruit and melons.

Celestia had told Nick, before she left for her morning duties, that Will and himself should expect to be summoned shortly after lunch. She had morning court to attend, and she still needed to speak with the two of them. Which left Nick and Will a couple of hours of free time.

Luckily, some things transcend dimensions. Like chess.

Granted, the ponies here didn’t have actual chess, but the board still had the black and white checkered marble pattern. They just had to scrounge together some makeshift pieces.

In a corner of the royal library, within an alcove surrounded by books covered in dust, Nick and Will sat across from each other, looking down at their battlefield of white and black. Nick’s rook in a perfect position to trap Will’s king between his bishop and pawn. That wasn’t to say Will didn’t have Nick on the ropes. On the other side of the board, Will still had a knight, and bishop, not to mention a pawn one space away from becoming another queen.

As Nick moved another pawn forward to threaten Will’s king, a smirk crossed Nick’s features. “Check.”

Will’s eyes never left the board, hyper-focused on the game in front of him. Seeing that nothing was stopping him from taking the pawn, he moved the king, removing the pawn from the board.

With Will’s king in the open, Nick moved his rook, positioning the piece for a checkmate on the next turn.

Will smiled mischievously as Nick let go of the peace. Sitting up straighter, Will moved the pawn onto the edge of the board, promptly replacing the said pawn with his queen.

“Checkmate.”

“What?!” Nick exclaimed, quickly looking at the positioning of all of Will’s pieces, noticing the one pawn of Will’s Nick had neglected. It was protected by the knight nearly the entire time, but now, Nick saw that if he moved his king, the pawn or the rook could take him, and the newly crowned queen was forcing him to make a move.

Reaching over the board, Will offered his hand. “Good game man.”

“Hell yeah good game. What does that make our tally now 5 to 4?”

“I thought this made us tied at 5 to 5.”

“You got better since the first time we played at any rate.”

“What can I say?” Will chuckled, still afraid to hurt his ribs by laughing too hard. “I learn quickly when it comes to competition.”

“I guess all those hours playing Xcom helped your chess game,” Nick joked. Will just shrugged. Too enveloped in their banter, they didn’t notice the guard that had been watching from the corner of the room step forward, a stoic expression Nick has grown accustomed to over the past week. When the two humans finally recognized the guard’s presence, the stallion cleared his throat.

“Princess Celestia has summoned you two to the private dining room,” the guard said curtly. “I shall escort you.”

Nick nodded, standing and pulling Will’s macgyvered wheelchair out from the table. “Lead on then.” Nick fell into step behind the guard as they made their way through the halls. It was strange to see a castle this empty. Even though Celestia had said she would be busy, not a single civilian pony roamed the halls of the castle. Nick was used to this. As he thought about it, Nick realized he hadn’t seen a pony not in uniform, whether it was a guard, nurse, maid, cook or butler. After a couple of turns, the guard came to an abrupt stop in front of the door, motioning for the humans to enter.

“The Princess shall be along in a moment. I will wait outside”

Opening the door, Nick was met with a familiar room and a very familiar tea set. After wheeling Will to an open spot at the table, Nick took a seat of the less fancy of the cushions. The door promptly closed behind them, leaving Nick and Will alone to wait. The silence was almost palpable.

“It’s like being called to Mr. Donnahue’s office,” Will joked.

“I never had a problem with him.”

“He gave me detention once, you know.”

“What for?” Nick asked, not quite remembering.

“Remember when I dressed up as a banana for twin day?”

“Oh yeah, when you drew the face on an actual banana and called him Jorge èl Banano?”

“Yup.” Will laughed a bit at the memory.

“He gave you a detention for that?”

“He didn’t like the fact the banana suit had a hood.”

“Gotcha.” Nick chuckled as well.

It was at this moment the door opened, revealing Princess Celestia, her pink mane and white coat immaculate as always, a smile on her lips, and faint bags under her eyes. Nick immediately shot up from his seat, giving a bow as the princess entered. Will, being as immobile as he was, simply bent forward slightly in his wheelchair in a similar fashion. Celestia herself, lowered her head slightly in reciprocation, turning her gaze to Will.

“I heard you were giving Ms. Stitch quite the hard time this morning, William. Care to explain yourself?”

“My apologies, your highness. It’s just hard for me to sit still for too long,” Will smiled sheepishly.

“As much as I can sympathize, you should listen when Mending says to take it easy” Celestia sat on her cushion, motion for Nick to follow suit, which he obliged. The teapot lifted off of the table in a golden aura, pouring the liquid into the three cups already laid out for the three creatures. Will’s eyes widened at the display, much to Nick’s amusement as a chuckle escaped his lips.

“I had the same reaction Will, you’ll get used to it.”

“Bu- but. You have magic? You have, like, actual magic!?”

Celestia smiled in amusement. “Yes, William, I am capable of feats of the arcane variety.” Celestia was about to move on, but Will was quick to interrupt, lips moving quicker than lightning as the stream of questions poured from them.

“Wait, so how does it work? Is it all channeled through your horn, or do you have magical pathways through your whole body? Oh! Oh! If you use too much mag-”

*Smack*

Nick was quick to shut Will up with a swift strike to the back of Will’s head.

“Will, calm down. It’s incredibly disrespectful to interrupt royalty. My apologies, Princess, Will tends to get a bit... intense at times.”

“As I can see.” Celestia took a long look at Will, reading his features. ‘He acts like most of my ponies, I guess humans are just as easily excitable. Sipping her tea, Celestia glanced over at Nick. ‘At least Nicholas seems to have a better handle on his emotions. Much more polite too.’

Rubbing the back of his head, Will looked back to Celestia. “Forgive me, your highness, I shouldn’t have spoken out of turn.”

“That is quite alright.”

“If I may,” Nick piped up. “You wanted to discuss something with us?”

“Ah yes,” Celestia righted herself and cleared her throat. “First, allow me to start by asking a question. Do you know how you ended up here, in this world?”

Celestia’s question was met with a brief silent pause.

“I’m sorry, Princess,” Nick began, “but I don’t quite understand. I told you everything that had happened up until I walked through your doors. I just remember the flash of purple light that sent us careening off a bridge. Then we were just… here.” Will nodded in silent agreement.

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. Do you understand how you arrived in Equestria?”

Will shifted slightly in his chair, his back cracking as he sat up straighter. “I’m assuming it was... magic?”

“My sister and I believe so.”

“We don’t know anything about magic,” Will shrugged. “Where we come from, magic doesn’t exist.”

Celestia’s ears perked up, eyes widened. ‘An entire world where no magic exists? How are these two even alive?” With a concerned look in her eyes, Celestia lit her horn, as her eyes began glowing bright white light, seeing into the weave. For Celestia, the world around her became a myriad of colors, the auras of the ponies outside the room, and the magical remnants left by the builders of the castle blended like a watercolor painting. However, where Nicholas was sitting, Celestia saw nothing, and Will was only visible by Mending’s aura that lingered over his wounds. Neither human produced any magic at all.

“Well, that’s disconcerting.” Celestia’s eyes returned to their normal state, her pink irises easily seen in her widening eyes.

“Is something the matter?” Nick inquired.

“Well, to give a short explanation, neither of you should be alive at the moment.”

“What!?” Nick and Will exclaimed in unison.

Celestia’s voice remained flat, and matter-of-factly “Well, the simple explanation is that every creature in Equestria and beyond have some form of magic reservoir deep within them when they are born. The world around us also produces magic of one kind or another. Every living thing has this in common. When a pony, tree, dog, or flower dies, the magic that lived within them leaves their body and is released back into the world.”

“So to you, we are clinically dead,” Nick reasoned.

“Precisely.”

“Huh,” Will muttered, as he scratched the facial hair growing on his chin.

The tea, momentarily forgotten, continued to steam as all three creatures fell into silence. Will, took a moment to take a crumpet from the plate on the table, nervously chewing on it as the contemplative quiet took hold. They sat like that for what seemed like a few minutes but was probably less than one.

“Well, that leaves the second possibility,” Celestia spoke up, acquiring the attention of both Will and Nick.

Nick raised the cup of tea to his mouth. “And that possibility is…?”

“You died in your world, and your souls ended up here.”

…

…

…

“Well that sounds highly improbable.”

“Forgive me. Even though I am the ruler of this land, I am no expert in the matters of the arcane. That title would belong to my teacher.”

“Well, why can’t we ask him then?” Will said, just a bit too loudly.

“He went missing about a year ago,” Celestia said solemnly. “The only pony I know who could answer a question like this would be his protege. Clov-” Celestia paused, eyes widened in revelation. Words from the past week flashed in her mind.

“Luna... You don’t think that Clover cast the same spell Master Starswirl did before he disappeared?”

“Am I the only one who saw the purple light yesterday?”

“Clover the Clever…” Celestia’s voice finished a hint of surprise in her voice. One Nick easily picked up on but said nothing.

“Well, if you think she could help,” Will chimed in.

“If anypony could deduce what happened, it would be her, yes,” Celestia said, lacking the emotion her voice carried before. “She should return within a few days at the least. I know it’s not ideal, but it seems you will be staying in the castle a bit longer. In the meanwhile, what do you plan on doing while you are here?” Having noticed Celestia’s eagerness to change the topic, Nick placed his cup of tea down on the table, scrutinizing the details of the princess’s face.

“Well, first we need to focus on getting Will better,” Nick began.

“Come on man, there’s no need to worry about me,” Will waved a hand dismissively. “I just think we need to be getting home.”

“Listen, Will. Do you think your family would be fine if I brought you home like you just received the Purple Heart? Not to mention, we have no idea what magical transportation would do to your body.”

“It’s better than not going home at all!” The room went silent at Will’s outburst. His knuckles turning white from his grip on the armrests of his wheelchair. Celestia turned her gaze pointedly to Will.

“I understand your want for returning home, William,” Celestia scolded, “but you must understand that matters like this require patience. It’s just a discussion about plans moving forward. Try and calm yourself.”

Furrowing his brow, Will released his grip on the wheelchair, placing his hand on his chest as he inhaled. Will held his breath for a few seconds before exhaling, moving his arm in front of his torso.

“Alright then,” Will sighed. “What is this plan then?”

Nick decided this would be the best time to jump in. “First things first, we need to get you back on your feet.”

“I concur with Nicholas.” Celestia’s gaze softened slightly as the tension in the room ebbed away.

“Okay, I’ll admit it, it has only been a day, and I am already hating being chair bound.”

The conversation became a lot more relaxed as plans were being made. Between the two humans and the alicorn princess, the three agreed that Will should start the road to recovery as soon as possible. Any plans of returning to Earth would require Clover the Clever, but she had yet to return, and Celestia hadn’t received any response to the letter she sent Clover. It wasn’t long before the teapot was empty, and conversation ran dry.

“Alright, I believe that is everything that we can discuss at the moment,” Celestia said. “We will have to have another conversation when Clover returns, but I fear that I must return to my duties.” Celestia stood up, levitating the empty teapots and teacups onto their silvered platter. “Please enjoy the rest of your day. Oh, and William, after you speak with Ms. Mending, I wish you luck in your recovery.”

Will grimaced shamefully as she said this, not willing to accept any subtle forgiveness from the princess. He promptly bowed forward in his wheelchair. “Thank you, Princess, I apologize for my earlier transgressions.”

Celestia smiled good-naturedly. Seeing a creature as troubled as William was very similar to what Celestia saw in Luna for quite a while. Full of worry and spite. Not to mention quick to anger.

“It is quite alright William, now if you’ll excuse me.” With that, Princess Celestia opened the door, allowing two guardsponies to enter, motioning for Nick to stand.

Leading the two humans out of the royal sitting room, the guards directed Will and Nick out of the restricted wing of the castle. Nick watched as Celestia turned off the hallway, ascending a long, seemingly curved staircase, the entrance to which was guarded as well.

As the humans were lead back to the public wing of the castle, a blur of blue blasted past the group. The air displaced in the thing’s wake was strong enough that Will was pulled forward by the vacuum that was left behind in the empty space, causing him to nearly fall out of his chair.

A new voice asserted itself. “So! This is what has my guards talking.”

As Will looked up, he was greeted by the sight of a pegasus mare hovering above him, the beat of her wings caused bursts of air to buffer t. She had a light blue coat, a windswept grey striped mane, and was decked out to the nines in regal-looking armor. The guards escorting Will and Nick stiffened, standing at attention as they saluted.

“Captain Hurricane,” the mare said introducing herself. Nick figured she would’ve been a higher rank than the guards he had seen if her armor was anything to go by. He offered a hand and was about to greet the mare before Hurricane interrupted him. “I’d say it was a pleasure to meet you if I knew anything about you, but I don’t.”

‘Wow, she’s kinda a bitch,’ Will thought to himself. Captain Hurricane definitely held herself in high esteem with the heroic pose and an almost narcissistic grin the captain gave as she lowered herself to the ground.

“You humans have been a thorn in my flank since you showed up, you know that? Having my guards escort a hairless monkey and his crippled friend when they could be on Everfree duty… I will never understand those princesses.”

Nick’s eyebrows raised at that. None of the ponies he has met have ever talked about their ruler in such a negative way. This mare was a guard captain? This mare was a hothead!

‘Keep your mouth shut, Will’ Will thought to himself. It was taking most of Will’s effort to not jump out of his wheelchair and clock the mare in the muzzle. Rage was making Will grip hard enough to turn his knuckles white.

“Got something to say, Monkey?” Captain Hurricane teased with a smirk.

‘Don’t do it!’ a small part of Will screamed.

‘Oh Lord, now she’s done it.’ Nick knew what was about to happen, and was already pulling Will’s wheelchair backward slightly.

“What did you say?” Will snarked, a scowl etched on to his face. “Sorry, I must have missed it. You see, I’ve already had a pretty shitty day, and to be honest, I’m choosing to be deaf to bullshit coming from a plucky goose that thinks she’s all that. So could you say that one more time?”

Great, Will, now you’ve done it.

However, instead of the violence that Will, Nick, and the Guards were expecting, Captain Hurricane’s smile only grew larger.

“Huh. This human has some balls! I think we’ll get along just fine.”

“What?” Will was dumbfounded. Like an idiot, he just insulted a high ranking military official, and she wasn’t about to kick his ass?

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. If you were one of my recruits, I’d be making you do latrine duty for the next year for that little comment.” She held up a hoof for Will to bump, which he did even though he was still a bit confused. “But from a creature from another world? It’s good to see somepony has a spine. Even if that spine only comes out when he’s about to come out swinging.”

Disarmed by that comment, Will allowed himself to relax back into his chair. He was about to speak before Nick stole the words from Will’s throat.

“I hope we haven’t been too much of a bother then.”

“Oh, you have.” Captain Hurricane’s words caused an eyebrow to rise slightly on both Will’s and Nick’s face. “You got any idea how hard it is to keep ponies eyes away from two aliens, one of which towers over most stallions by two heads?”

“You have been hiding us?” Will questioned.

“Of course. It’s the only way we’ve been able to keep the public from going into a full bloom panic. Your friend here made quite a spectacle of himself when he carried you out of the Everfree, and strolled right up to the castle.”

“My bad,” Nick interjected.

“Don’t apologize.” Captain Hurricane’s voice was stern, but Nick didn’t feel like she was reprimanding him. “You got guts. From what I was told, you carried William here for a little over a day in the Everfree. Most of my guards wouldn’t take a leisurely stroll an inch into that cursed forest. And more wouldn’t even look at the forest without a blade at his side. I’d kill for a few guards with guts like that.” The two escorts glanced at each other, slightly ashamed, but those expressions faded quickly as they caught the glare of their captain.

“True,” Nick said, holding up a finger. “But bravery is a double-edged sword. Bravery sometimes leads to rash decisions, and rash decisions lead to mistakes.”

Will knew that sentiment too well. “Dad always said to respect danger. To fear it. That way, when you finally face that danger, you don’t underestimate it. ‘Fear the blade, because if you don’t, you’ll take shortcuts and suffer from your own negligence.’”

“When did your dad become a philosopher,” Nick asked.

“I never said he was. I may or may not have embellished on the wording a bit. I bet what he actually said was, ‘be scared of the saw, so you don’t chop your own finger off.”’

Both Nick and the captain chuckled slightly. It wasn’t very funny, but both of them understood the sentiment. Regardless, the captain used her wings to lift herself into a hovering position again.

“Well, as fun as this was, a captain must tend to her guards. Until next time!” With that, the captain bolted down the hallway with one flap of her wings, the displaced air causing Will’s hair to poof out wildly.

“Well, she was a character,” Will commented. One of his escorts let out a snort.

“You don’t know the half of it.”

Comments

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I am fairly certain that Hurricane is a direct ancestor of Spitfire, and a 'on my mother's, father's, mother's, father's side' ancestor for Rainbow Dash.