Chapter 7
The day had arrived. And though Princess Luna had hoped that its arrival would help to brighten the young Dreemurr’s spirits, they remained decidedly below ground.
At least when she had mentioned there had been some changes to the tour she’d planned, such news piqued his curiosity.
While Asriel was still resting, the Princess letting him sleep in a bit today, she finished going over the preparations. She had originally thought to follow through on the suggestion of bringing water and snacks… But after some thought on it, she decided to simply bring a water bottle for them both.
Technically, Luna could do a few days without eating or drinking, and Asriel had started to note his own portion sizes might need to be smaller if he was going to eat three meals a day here. So chances were the big meal they’d get at the restaurant she’d made reservations with would last him the day.
That did make her pause for a moment as she pondered the young Monster’s dietary needs. The fact that matter based food was much more filling for Monsters had led her and a few mages to do some digging, revealing that most food (and indeed, everything else) seemed to be made up of about three quarters matter, and one quarter magic.
Which made their world very different to the one Asriel had come from. Where, as far as the Monster’s knew, everything was, with the exception of the highly magical environment of the Underground and Monsters themselves, made up almost universally of physical matter. If things had been different at some point… Monsters nor Humans remembered.
It would be so interesting to visit his world… I wonder if it is anything like the one that Starswirl once visited. Luna thought to herself as she resumed her work, picking up the camera they were bringing and making sure it had film and its magical battery was charged. She also had an amulet her sister was lending her that would allow her to transform into a less… noticeable form.
That one she wasn’t entirely sure of to be honest. Perhaps her sister had grown tired of the ideation and adoration of their subjects to an extent. Or maybe she was truly sincere in stating that it was nice to sometimes just go out and be Sunny Day, a bright and cheery unicorn who enjoyed bringing smiles to the faces of others.
Then again, I’ve longed for such attention from our subjects. Celestia has had to deal with it, and so much more, for a millenia. She winced as that thought briefly flitted through her mind. She sighed and pushed it out of her head, reminding herself there was something more important to do right now than dwell on her own past.
Namely, cheering up her young charge.
“Alright, I think that’s everything…” She pulled out a list just to make sure, double checking both what was with them and each of the destinations they were going to.
Start with a visit to Donut Joes for breakfast, then swing by a local comic book store. Take a stroll around Canterlot Park. View the races at the Cloud Stadium. Lunch at Raffine’s Fancy Dining. Check out either the Art Gallery or the Dance Studio… then just stroll about wherever our wanderings lead us.
That first one had been recommended rather strongly by not only Princess Celestia, but their niece Princess Cadence, and the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor. She had visited the place once so far with her sister, but didn’t exactly see the appeal to the place.
But then, she’d never been as big on sweets as Celly had.
Satisfied that everything was situated and sorted, Luna hummed a little tune to herself as she made her way up to Asriel’s quarters. A quick check with her magic showed that the young Monster was still fast asleep. So she quietly pushed open the door and crept up to her young ward’s bed.
She couldn’t help but smile a bit as she saw him resting so peacefully. She almost felt a bit bad for coming in to rouse him, but she had already given him an extra hour and a half.
So, with a soft nicker, Luna leaned in and nuzzled the adorable goat. “Rise and shine young one~” That earned some shifting, but didn’t seem to be enough to rouse the Monster, so she added, “Today is a special day, remember?”
Asriel shifted some more, rolling onto his side as he muttered something. Something which made Luna briefly freeze in place and her heart skip a beat.
“Mhmm… five more minutes Mom…”
Luna’s head spun a bit, briefly wondering if Asriel had said such on purpose and meant it in reference to her. Even as her rational side quickly reminded her that he was doubtless not really awake, and said such out of a sort of habit from before…
She’d be lying if she said the thought of hearing him call her such didn’t make her heart flutter and grow warm.
Shaking her head and refocusing on the now, rather than past desires and wishes of a family of her own, Luna chuckled and reached up to tickle at the back of his neck. “Now, now, you’ve already gotten plenty of sleep. Up and at’em Asriel~!”
The light tickling was what did it, drawing forth some precious and cute bleats that made her own smile widen further as Asriel was drawn forth from his slumber. The smile he gave her was a tired one, and his eyes still didn’t shine as much as they had just a week previous. But he was smiling a bit at least, and that counted for something in her book.
“There we are~! Now, do you remember what today is?” At his half-asleep nod, she gave the tuft of fur upon his head a light tussling. “Good. Then hurry up and get cleaned up so that we can be off. The day is awasting~”
“Alright, alright, I won’t be long.” Asriel said with a light chuckle. Luna smiled, and let him know she’d be waiting outside for him. And true to his word, all it took was a few minutes before Asriel joined her. Though he yelped as she used her magic to set him upon her back.
“I know you can walk on your own, but consider this part of the tour.” Luna remarked, before adding, “Besides, you still look like you’ve got some waking up to do. Just to the carriage that’s waiting for us, alright?”
Asriel harrumphed just a bit, but didn’t contest it. However, as they made their way outside, he asked, “Do we really need to take a carriage?”
She raised an eyebrow at that. “Canterlot is quite the large city. Are you sure you want to hoof it?”
The barest hint of a smirk formed on Asriel’s muzzle as he countered, “When you’re letting me, sure.” This got a nicker out of Luna, but Asriel was quick to add,
“Canterlot is big, but from what you and Princess Celestia have shared with me, it doesn’t sound like it's much bigger than the whole of the Underground. And I used to walk around and explore it all the time.” His expression grew a bit distant then. “It was how I found Chara, after all.”
Humming at that, Luna gave a simple nod then as they reached the carriage. “Very well, just let me grab my saddlebags and we can be off.” Her horn lit up, floating them from it as she told the Lunar Guard who was going to do the pulling they could return to their normal duties. As she trotted back over to Asriel, she inquired,
“Do you wish to walk the whole way? Or would you like me to teleport us to where we shall enjoy a quick breakfast?”
Teleporting was something that, for whatever reason, Asriel wasn’t super fond of. While he was growing used to it, she had noticed there was always a brief hesitance to it. The most Luna had been able to get out of him to explain it was “Something in my past”. So as a general rule, she didn’t offer it unless it would save time. And usually, he preferred walking.
In this instance though, all Asriel asked was, “How far to where we’re going?” After informing him it was on the far side of the city, closer to the train station, that seemed to decide it for him.
“Teleport. I’m hungry already and just woke up. I’ll be famished by the time we got there.”
Chuckling at that, Luna just smiled and draped a wing over him as she asked, “Ready?” Receiving his nod, she gathered her magic, and in the wink of an eye, they left the palace grounds.
-*-
Reappearing in a burst of night blue light, Asriel relaxed as he cast his gaze about. The area they’d arrived in seemed to be a mix of residential and commercial, with many of the stores in the area seeming to be geared towards tourists. Which made sense, with the train station nearby.
They appeared to be at an intersection of sorts, with five different roads leading off to other parts of the city. Ponies of every sort within Equestria, but predominantly Unicorn, were bustling about as they went about their day.
Or well, they had been bustling about. Now however, they were all gazing at the two of them. And it was hard to tell who had more of the attention- Princess Luna, or himself. What wasn’t hard to tell was that quite a few were startled by their sudden arrival. A handful were so startled that they whinnied and dashed off.
Everyone else however, recovered readily enough. Many proceeded to dip into slight bows, with others inclining their head. Some had their eyes closed, out of deference perhaps. A few seemed awed to be in the presence of a Princess, even as they shot curious or wary glances towards Asriel.
However, there were a few whose gazes seemed to be filled more with fear… or trepidation. And again, Asriel wasn’t sure if such was meant for him… or his guardian.
If Princess Luna noticed such, there was no outward sign. Instead, raising her voice just a bit, she called out, “Be at ease my little ponies, your Princess is simply taking a tour of the city with our ward. Continue about your business, and may harmony always guide you.”
It took a moment, but the ponies did indeed return to their business. A few tourists with camera’s took pictures and seemed to linger. Aside from flashing them smiles and nods though, Princess Luna proceeded to pay no further heed to them as she raised a hoof and pointed.
“Our destination is over there.” Luna said as Asriel directed his gaze towards what appeared to be a donut shop of some sort. Emblazoned underneath a large donut was a rather simple and to the point “Joe’s Donuts” in bright blue letters, contrasting with the pink paint of the icing and sprinkles.
Nodding his head, Asriel followed after as they made their way inside. There were only a handful of ponies all of whom took notice of their presence.
“Ah, mornin’ Princess Luna!” A stallion behind the counter called out as Luna picked out a table that didn’t have anybody else nearby. “Menu’s are on the table, I’ll be over in a moment!”
“Get whatever you like.” Luna remarked, though she quickly added, “Though do keep in mind we’ll be having a bigger meal later.”
“I’ll stick with something simple and small.” Asriel said, though as he looked over the menu, he found himself having a bit of a hard time doing so. Asriel wasn’t as much of a sucker for sweets as Princess Celestia was (which Luna constantly teased her over), but there was such a wide variety on display before him.
And absolutely all of them looked delicious.
By the time the stallion, who as it turned out was the owner, Asriel hadn’t managed to narrow his choices down. He let out a nervous laugh and shyly rubbed the back of his head, while Luna just chuckled softly and ordered the regular sampler plate for the two of them.
At least choosing a drink was easier, Asriel going for a chocolate milkshake. He sipped at it slowly, wondering if it was as sweet as the kind Chara had talked about in the past. Course, he nearly spit some out when the sampler arrived and he saw the stacks of donuts.
“Do not worry Asriel.” Luna said with a smirk. “We won’t be eating all of these.” She leaned in and whispered, “We’ll save a few for later. And a few we can keep for my Sister when we return to the palace.”
She rolled her eyes at that bit, but her muzzle bore a wide smile. Asriel gave a nod, though he eyed the platter uncertainly. “I gotcha. Still, that is a lot of donuts… I don’t know what to try first.” And he needed to be careful with how much he indulged in too.
Luna raised up a fork and knife. “That is, fortunately, a simple enough thing to solve.” With a quick use of fine telekinesis, all of the donuts were sliced or diced into quarter pieces.
Asriel gave an appreciative nod at that, finally digging in as he grabbed a piece each of the various donuts. When put together, it was the equivalent of three donuts, which was probably a bit much for him. But that way insured he’d have a better idea of what he would and wouldn’t like in the future.
Alternatively, as one empty plate later would attest, everything was delicious. “No wonder your sister and so many ponies like this place.” Asriel said with a soft groan, giving his middle a slight poke as it bulged just a bit. He hadn’t been able to help himself to another full donut.
“Donut Joe does know what he’s doing when it comes to his trade, that’s for sure.” Luna remarked, smirking as she got up. “I suppose it is a good thing you suggested we hoof it for our day out and about. It will give you a chance to burn all the energy they’ll give you.”
Groaning a bit, Asriel slumped out of the booth as they made their way out onto the streets. “Not wrong there. So uh, where are we off to first?”
From out of Luna’s saddlebags, came a folded up map of Canterlot. The Princess let Asriel snatch it from the air as she started down the street and hurried after her.
“Well, Shining Armor suggested a place called a ‘comic book’ store that is a few minutes from here.” Luna noted, frowning just a tad as she commented, “He showed me a few. I am not entirely sure I get the appeal of them, but he said young ones your age are often quite fond of them.”
Asriel gave a nod at that. “I am a fan of them hehe, though we didn’t have many to enjoy down in the underground. Chara used to talk about a bunch the library up in Ebott had though. Said when Monsters were free, he’d show me all his favorites.”
Luna glanced at her charge briefly, wondering if perhaps this was actually going to bring him down a bit. But instead, Asriel seemed to perk up a bit as he said, “I’ll have to see if there’s any that he’d have enjoyed, so I can read them for the both of us.”
Relief washed over Luna, who nodded and gave his head another soft ruffle. “That’s the spirit. Still, if that is the case, perhaps you can enlighten this rather old mare just what is so enticing about these comics.”
Asriel chortled a bit at that, his mind briefly recalling how his Mother had often used a similar description for herself. Then again, like his Mother back in the Underground, Luna was actually rather old, so he supposed they both weren’t wrong.
Even if neither of them looked a day over thirty.
Still, Asriel was more than happy to share all that he knew about comics. Much of which was just reciting what Chara had told him. It was a good way to pass the time, as Luna’s assessment of “minutes away” was a bit more based on them going by carriage rather than foot.
Luna still didn’t quite seem to find them as interesting as proper books could be, though that changed somewhat once they arrived at the comic book store and they began to browse about. And boy, was there a veritable selection of things to choose from! There even seemed to be Equestrian equivalents for some of the series or characters that Chara had told him about.
That actually made him stop for a moment, glancing up and over to Princess Luna as his mind seemed to combine that with what he’d learned of Equestrian geography. And recollected what he knew about the surface from the books and things that filtered down to the Underground, and what Chara had learned before he fell into their prison.
He was rather tempted to ask if perhaps anyone from Equestria had visited Earth at some point in the past. Or if there was magic that let them peer at other worlds, or even other dimensions. Asriel still had no way of knowing just how far from home the mysterious figure had taken him after all.
Asriel decided to save such a query for later though, given that Luna was now looking at several comics herself as a half dozen foals had gathered around her and were telling her all about their favorites and what ones she should take a look at. When they weren’t asking her all kinds of other questions, to her bemusement and delight.
Asriel couldn’t help but smile at that. Even as a flash of memory flitted before his eyes, of himself and Chara enthusing to Toriel about their adventures in the Underground. Where the gaggle of foals stood the two inseparable siblings, and in Luna’s place was Toriel herself.
However, just as the smile was widening on his muzzle, the mental image shifted. Or perhaps a better word was, it transformed. And briefly, for something like a fraction of a second, it was Toriel, looking down at a single, solitary entity with an encouraging smile, unaware that the friendly smile it bore was hiding something malevolent.
And in the next fraction of a second, that entity turned, and smiled at Asriel. Dark cackles echoed in Asriel’s head. And then he felt something tugging on his pants leg and-
“Uh, m-mister, are you alright?”
If not for the clear concern in the voice, Asriel might have let out a terrified bleat then. The image and laugh lingering in his mind and leaving his thoughts scrambled. As it was, his awareness of the world around him returned, and he found himself looking down at a unicorn foal with a brown coat with white splotches. The foal, a filly, was gazing at him with wide eyed wonder, and a bit of concern.
“O-Oh, uh, y-yes, I-I’m alright.” Asriel quickly fibbed, laughing a bit nervously as he tried to shake the moment off. It was at this point he realized he was now the center of attention, the other foals now standing just a foot away with Luna right behind them.
From the look on Luna’s face, she wasn’t exactly buying it as he tried to recompose himself. Fortunately, the filly offered a bit of a distraction as she beamed and bounced in place as she excitedly asked,
“Good, cause I wanted to ask, can I feel your fur? You look so fluffy!”
Asriel could only blink at that. Out of all the things he would have expected a random child here to ask, that wouldn’t have been on the list.
“I, erm, I… don’t see why not?” Was all he could offer. And as he’d find out a moment later, it seemed that answer was accepted by all the foals. Who proceeded to ponypile him, the little unicorn filly being the first to glomple him to the ground and the others all taking advantage of that fact.
The whole thing left him a flustered mess, and he had to spend a few minutes fixing his fur once they got off him and asked a bunch of other questions. Their curiosity it seemed had led one of them to ask the Princess who he was. Luna, it seemed, had told them he was a creature from a far away land she was watching over.
It led to at least one of them asking if he was a pet, which earned an indignant bleat from Asriel and a gentle reprimand from Luna. Course, with that not being the case, the unicorn filly reached a conclusion that she just had to share.
“That must mean she’s your Momma now, right? A G-Guard-ian is like a parent, right? So you’re adopted by the Princess?”
“N-Not exactly… b-but not entirely wrong, I-I guess?” Asriel replied, only partially catching how Luna seemed to freeze up and her eyes widened to the question. His response seemed to reverse this, as she nodded.
“Similar, but not quite, my little pony.”
The filly seemed to think that was sad for some reason, but the others simply skipped past it and proceeded to bombard both Asriel and Luna with even more questions.
The arrival of several older ponies, siblings or parents, brought an end to such queries. An attempt was made to apologize for them bothering them. Though Asriel was quite certain such was mostly directed towards the Princess.
Luna waved such off though, commenting how she had always enjoyed being around children. Asriel didn’t miss the soft undertone in her voice when she said such. Nor that the smile on her muzzle seemed ever so slightly sad.
Asriel was tempted to inquire about such, but he found himself longing more to try and distract himself from his memories turning on him as they had there. And while there was plenty to look at here, Asriel didn’t think comics were going to properly cut it.
Perhaps then, it was lucky that just before they got out of earshot, Asriel heard one of the colts ask their parent if they could, “Go to the Arcade next.” Eyes going wide at hearing that, Asriel hurried over to Luna and asked,
“There’s an Arcade here in Canterlot?”
The question had Luna turning to him, and giving a slight, curious tilt of her head. She blinked, and then asked,
“An… An Arcade? What is that?”
Asriel’s jaw flapped open and closed at that. How could she not know what that was? Chara would have considered such a crime, and would have demanded such be rectified. As soon as possible, in fact.
And Asriel was more than happy to do so.
“Something that you and I have to go see! C’mon!” Asriel wasted no time, hurrying off and after the gaggle of children so they could get directions.And as soon as they had them, Asriel was off like a lightning bolt. As he raced ahead, darting around ponies, Luna had to take to the air to keep up and keep him in her sight.
He stopped only once he was standing in front of the place, a wide grin now gracing his muzzle. A few seconds later, Luna alighted beside him, giving him a curious eye as he practically vibrated in place.
“Asriel, are you feeling well?” Luna asked, tilting her head as she took in the rather bright and, admittedly, a bit garish exterior of the arcade. “One moment you are-”
“Questions later!” Asriel cut her off, grabbing one of her hooves as he pulled her towards the door. “You’ll see why I’m so excited after I show you what’s inside! Chara would love this!”
Luna simply shook her head, not quite sure of that. But perhaps this was a sign that whatever had nearly spooked the Monster before wasn’t anything to truly worry about. And it couldn’t hurt to humor him. This trip was to make him feel better after all.
So it was that Asriel dragged Luna into the dimly lit, yet neon light and bouncy music filled building, not quite sure what to expect. But delighted all the same to see her young charge so exuberant.
-*-
Several hours later…
“I simply cannot believe I didn’t know that such things existed! I am most certainly going to have to have a talk with my sister and see what else I have missed out on!”
Asirel could only chuckle, eyes twinkling in delight as they finally made their way out of the arcade. What had been meant to be a short little side jaunt had taken up quite a bit of the day, and even gone into the night. Princess Luna had gotten so absorbed in things that she nearly even forgot to raise the moon.
And the only reason she remembered was because she felt her sister starting to do so, and had promptly dashed out the arcade to take care of her royal duty.
Once she’d gotten a taste of one game, she’d wanted to try each and every other one. And since the place was decently sized and supposedly boasted nearly a hundred machines…
The vast majority of them weren’t all that more advanced than the things that the Monsters had scavenged from the Junkyard section of Waterfall. And more than a few seemed to literally be games he and Chara had played, just with the characters being ponies.
But they had a blast trying out all of them, taking turns for all the single player machines and testing each other’s skills on any of the multiplayer ones. Asriel was quite impressed to find that even though she was new at this, Luna seemed to be a very quick study when it came to these games.
They’d even spent so long there they wound up having to get their lunch at the small restaurant the Arcade had in it. Not that Asriel was going to complain, as what they did get was really good. But once finished, it was right back to playing more games! The Princess had even gone back to a few of the ones they’d started out on to see if she’d gotten any better after spending so much time on the others.
Course, this meant that most of the rest of the touring of the city was kind of thrown out the window. What with it being midnight and all, a fair number of the places Luna had thought to show him were closed. Which left Asriel expecting them to start heading back towards the castle.
Luna however, seemed to have other ideas. “Asriel, would you be so kind as to climb upon my back? There is a park here in Canterlot I’d like to take you to, and I know how uncomfortable you still are with teleporting…” She smiled brightly as she added, “Besides, Canterlot seen from the air and in the light of my glorious moon is truly a sight everyone should see at least once.”
Despite all the activity they’d just had, Asriel wasn’t feeling all that tired. And he couldn’t think of a reason to say no. Even if he was a little anxious… this would be the first time he’d be flying higher than a few feet if one didn’t count his time in the God of Hyperdeath form.
Clambering aboard, he made sure he was comfortable and had gently wrapped his arms around the lower portion of her neck. After he affirmed that he was situated, Luna gently pushed off the ground and took to the air at a gentle pace arcing ever higher.
The young monster didn’t bury his face into Luna’s neck as they ascended, but he did for the moment keep his gaze affixed to the star studded canvas above them. Only when Luna leveled herself out and began to almost lazily glide did he hesitantly pull his head back so that he could look down on the city.
And had his breath taken away.
He’d already known the city of Canterlot was bigger than new home. And he’d seen some of it here and there from the various towers when he and Luna would go to stargaze from them. But this… it was something else. It reminded him of a fictional city from a movie series he and Chara had gotten to watch, in happier days long since past.
Towers and buildings alike gleamed in the light of the moon as it shone down upon the land unhindered by a single cloud. The lights from dozens of buildings twinkled like the stars themselves, an earthly reflection of the heavens above.
It really was something else. Even the view from the palace towers didn’t do the same justice as seeing the city from the air. And he got to enjoy it for quite a few minutes as Luna lazily made her way through the sky. Then she was angling down towards a large park, quite a bit of which was at least partially cloaked in shadow. Only the occasional streetlamp offered much illumination, save around a large pond situated near the very center of it.
At first, Asriel thought she was going to land them there, but then she changed course for one of several archways that led into the park. As soon as she landed, he hopped off and hummed a bit in thought.
“Is it normal for there to be so few lights in this park? Especially if folks visit it at night?”
Luna just smiled, and took a few steps past the archway. Asriel’s eyes widened as he saw several lanterns along the path begin to glow dimly.
“Only some of the lights remain on if no one is within the park. When there’s many visitors, the lights get brighter.”
That was a clever idea. It’d keep light pollution down and ensure that animals living in the park might not be too disturbed. Though, on the flip side, the lights being kept low when not many were around seemed rather risky. A side of him that Asriel was working very hard to ignore helpfully pointed out that sneaky sorts would do well with the lessened light if there weren’t many visitors about.
Shaking his head, Asriel hurried after Luna as she continued forward on the path. A soft, relaxed smile graced her face as she remarked, “It isn’t my sister’s personal retreat. Nor is it the lovely garden our old castle boasted. But, I still enjoy a stroll here every so often.”
Glancing about the path, he saw well tended bushes and shrubs, and lines of beautiful flowers that were a pleasure to see be it day or night. The tree’s scattered about were tall and offered a partial canopy, offering some shelter from the sun or rain but also letting one catch glimpses of the heavens above. The soft sound of crickets trilling through the night air with the occasional glimmer of a lightning bug added to the peaceful, serene atmosphere.
“I can see why. It really is a lovely place.”
Luna gave a slow nod, but otherwise remained quiet as she led them through the park. Asriel began to wonder if she had a specific destination in mind, but eventually settled on the thought this was just a good way to unwind after the excitement of the arcade. He let himself enjoy the peace and quiet as their wandering eventually led them to a clearing, where a large pond with a small dock and some rowboats sat. A few benches were scattered about around it, and a cozy looking gazebo sat nearby, half shrouded in shadow thanks to a rather large tree growing nearby.
Luna eventually made her way to one of the benches, settling down on it and sighing as her gaze turned to the pond. Some of the lightning bugs that were out and about seemed to be dancing, almost like they were putting on a show. Crickets and other insects of the night sang along, and if he didn’t know better, he’d have sworn they were actually putting on a performance together for the two of them.
Settling down beside Luna, he listened and watched, utterly transfixed. The Princess smiled, remaining silent as the little show played out. She did her best to hold back a little laugh when Asriel bleated in surprise at the end once it stopped and the lightning bugs bowed then flittered off across the lake.
“T~That was… th~they were actually dancing?” Asriel squeaked, quickly adding, “Were the crickets actually-?”
“Yes. It's something they only do if someone comes to this pond at night. The park caretakers trained them well.”
All Asriel could do was flap his mouth open and close a few times at that, while Luna nickered in amusement. After a moment though, she glanced down to Asriel and asked, “Are you doing alright, Asriel? Feeling any better?”
Asriel squeaked a bit at that, and rubbed his head a bit sheepishly. “Yeah, I’m doing fine. This has actually been a rather fun outing actually. Why do you ask?”
“Mhm, well, you’ve been quieter the last few days. And there was that moment earlier at the comic book store…”
“O-Oh, uh yeah…” Asriel nearly clammed up at that. He had no desire to talk about that, but the worried look on Luna’s face made him at least share, “I-It was something to do with my past. B-Bad memory.”
“Are you sure that’s all it was?” Luna asked, her tone nearly overflowing with concern. “You looked like you’d seen a ghost. Would you like to talk about it?”
That’s not too far off the mark, Asriel thought to himself, but shook his head as firmly as he could. His answer to such hadn’t changed, and likely wasn’t going to. Even as a voice loved to whisper every so often, there may come a day when he had no choice but to do so.
Even so…
“No. I’d rather not. Not yet.” He replied, and Luna gave an understanding, if saddened nod at such. They sat in silence for a time, Asriel not looking up and keeping his gaze to the ground and the pond. He tried to think of something else, anything else, and he quickly found something to focus on as he recalled Luna’s own, albeit much briefer, moment.
“W-What about you? I saw you freeze up when that filly asked if you were my mother now.”
Luna stiffened at this, her gaze getting very distant. Asriel worried suddenly that he might have gone a step far in asking such. Especially given his own reticence. “Y-You don’t have to answer… it was just something I noticed, that's all.”
“It… is alright. It is just not something I have shared such outside of my sister for a rather long time.” She replied slowly after a moment of silence. She continued to gaze out over the darkened pond for a good minute before simply remarking,
“I have always had a fondness for children. And have desired to have a family. My sister and I’s ascension to being Alicorns though… made pursuing that desire quite a bit more difficult than it would have been otherwise.”
Asriel didn’t quite understand why that’d be at first. Though as he considered what they’d told him about Alicorns, perhaps it had something to do with them being ageless? He waited a moment to see if she would share anything more, but when she remained silent, he let it drop.
They remained there for about an hour, relaxing and simply enjoying the serene quiet. Asriel did break the silence here and there to ask what some of the other plans for the trip through Canterlot had been, and expressed interest in checking out some of the other places another day. Much to Luna’s delight.
Once they got up and left the park Luna inquired if he was feeling better. And while Asriel could have done without that brief moment in the comic book store, he found himself nodding and smiling widely.
“Yes, I think I have. Though, just because we didn’t get to see those places, no reason to call it quits. Surely there’s plenty to do even at this time of night.” He glanced about the streets which, while not as busy as they would have been before, certainly weren’t deserted.
Luna hummed a bit. “There are certainly things to see in Canterlot’s nightlife. But some of them are… not quite age appropriate.”
Asriel blushed at that, chuckling a bit. “A~Ah, well st~still, not all of them are. So surely some could still be interesting to see?”
Nickering, Luna replied, “I suppose at the very least, we can see what places will be open for a while yet. You can decide if you want to take a look at them as we find them.”
Letting out a happy bleat, Asriel followed Luna through the streets of Canterlot, eager to get to see a bit more of the city before they headed back home.
-*-
Celestia was raising the sun by the time they returned to the palace, with Luna taking but a moment to let her moon set and finish ushering in the day. They were both tired, but satisfied from the little outing they’d done. Asriel was certainly looking forward to more such trips in the future, as well as a day when he’d feel fine exploring the city on his own.
The rest of the evening and early morning had mostly been spent walking, with little stops here and there whenever one of them saw someplace that caught their eyes. The most notable had been a nice little cafe that had a griffin playing some rather smooth jazz on a saxophone. And supposedly had amazing poetry nights twice a month. Something he remarked he’d like to attend at least once, and to which Luna happily promised they’d find time for.
But once he got back to his room, with his paws aching from as much walking as they did, Asriel was more than happy to crawl his way under the covers. And it took only a few minutes before he was happily drifting off to a peaceful, if dreamless slumber.
That, at least, was Asriel’s expectation. After all, an entire month with neither dreams nor nightmares had left him rather used to the tranquil nothingness his sleep had become. So when a haunting, dark, maniacal laugh echoed about the void, that was all the warning the young Dreemurr got that this day’s rest would be anything but peaceful.
Nor, it would turn out, the days that followed.
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All hail Gamer Luna, may her high scores be never eclipsed.
Welp. Excrement, meet rotary air circulation device.
Fun fact: Asriel Dreemurr is an anagram for SERIAL MURDERER.
11509870
nicker is actually the term for a sound horses make. I was actually corrected since at one point I was spelling it with a K which turns it into another word entirely :P
11510534
Oh I guess that's another word that I never heard of before I guess but okay cool
11510534
So when the next update?
Oh god damnit it’s the tunabas or whatever it’s called.
In also gamer Luna has been born woohoo.
11518192
Likely be a bit. Am working on a chapter for another undertalexmlp story (the side story to this one) as well as an asoiaf story.
11519663
Bit I must ask does the person who did this have a deviantart page?
And is Luna looking for a plus one?