The Quiet Kid: Sicut Vult

by aegishailstorm

May We All

" Joey, I need a damn break."

"From what?"

"From all of this. It's one disaster after another, one day I'm gunning down manticores on main street, and the next I have to contend with a rabid cockatrice or magical plague. I find joy in all of this, but it just wears me down. I'm sick and tired of it. I require a break!" William exclaimed, his friend took a step back and chuckled, scuffling his muzzle as he did.

"Oh really, you 'require' one?"

"Yeah! Hey, what the hell do you do all day? Oh, that's right, you tend to your garden and play hoofball in the park field outside of town! You offer out free hugs and help Spike sort books in the castle library!" The alicorn's eyes grew wider.

"I found something that I enjoy. That's all, before I was sucked into a portal in the center of my living room and turned into a pony I had nothing going on in life! I was still looking for a job, and then, when I came here, I liked it better than Earth. I get to have fun, laugh, and go to bed every night to the sound of chirping crickets and a bright Equestrian moon with no light pollution in sight. I don't even worry if I accidentally forget to lock my doors! I know my all my neighbors, and, as a bonus, I never have to buy any new clothes! Or really any, for that matter." He looked around, a smirk rolled across his face as he furrowed his wings and set them to rest on his sides.

William took his hat off and wiped his brow, sidestepping a carriage full of potatoes as he did. He pointed off towards the Everfree forest. Then the opposite direction towards Mount Canterhorn.

"At the risk of getting blowing to cinders by one of the many of the eldritch creatures that reside here. Monster attacks in town used to be an almost weekly occurrence!"

Joey gestured towards William's sidearm. "Earth was far more dangerous." His friend nodded. But William continued, "Yeah, but at least you know what you're getting there. Terrorists, crackheads, murderers, thieves, scammers. Here, you can never tell."

"Equestria's got all those things as well."

"True, but they're tamer." William pointed out, resting his hands on his belt. " Look bud, this ain't up for discussion. I love Equestria as much, if not more than you do."

"You are probably right, however... With your friends you must not fight." Both William and Joey turned to face the zebra mare, who drew off her cloak and smiled back.

"Zecora." She nodded at the mention of her name.

"Yes William, have been right here listening for quite a while, resting my hooves, for, as Applejack say's, I have had to walk a country mile." He smiled, " You're a rare sight around town. What are you here for?"

" Believe it or not, I have been invited to teach poetry at Twilight Sparkle's school, and I must admit, it is quite a relive. I have gone night insane from spending so much time alone, for a while I believed that I had accidentally hit myself in the head with a stone."

"Hmph." William crossed his arms and pointed at her with his left hand. " I've got some old copies of Shakespeare's plays and Dante's Inferno, if you'd like to read 'em. Although, they're a bit headache inducing if you aren't used to the style of literature."

"Thank you for you offer William, you are always a great service when it comes to filling my mental coffers." William arched an eyebrow.

"That's an... Interesting way to put it, I'll see if I can dig them out of storage later." She responded with an affirmative nod, then galloped off. William put hand on the butt of his sidearm.

"I still don't see what's wrong." Joey added. William turned and glared at his friend. "But to clarify-"

"Just a few months ago we went on that camping trip together." William facepalmed and groaned. "That wasn't a vacation, that was work!"

"Care to make a disticnction?"

"Wha- ugh... It's impossible to argue with you." His friend smirked, and pawed the ground with his forehooves. His expression grew sympathetic.

"Where were you thinking of going?" William fixed his cap, and motioned for his friend to start walking with him.

"I'd normally say the mountains, or the woods. I've got both of 'em right here. Temperate rain forests? Humboldt back on earth? Too risky." The Quiet Kid pondered over his options as the pair walked out of town and headed towards the lake on the northeastern side of town. He looked out across the murky blue water. He turned his head, and spotted an old, grouchy stallion with a beret and a fishing pool.

"Catch anything?" He was met with a grumbling. "Nope, fish are all down toward the bottom this time of year." William turned back to Joey, he smirked.

"Joey, I think I know where we're gonna go."

"Boo!" A bright pink earthpony mare sprang out of the water and bounced towards the old stallion with a fish in her mouth.

"We should probably..." Joey had already broken into a gallop. William followed close behind at a close jog.

"Nope! Not dealing with that!"

"You're actually proposing that we take an aquatic vacation? Anywhere local is too cold." The alicorn asked inquisitively as William waited for his coffee to finish brewing in his home kitchen. He leaned up against his countertop and wagged a finger at his friend.

"Good question."

"Are you going to answer it?" William reached into the back pocket of his jeans, and, after a moment, pulled out a. He unfolded it, and passed it over and into his friend's magical embrace.

"Moonlight Palms Seaside Cottages?" He passed it back to William, who nodded and set it on the counter as he went to pour the contents of the coffee mug into 2 separate cups. "Yep. Saw that nailed to the front door of town hall, and I thought to take it. Here, I hope you like medium roast."

"Of course." Joey responded. Taking the glass in his forehooves. William sat down next to him and kicked his feet up on the coffee table.

"How far is it?"

"Is that really a problem? You can just teleport." Joey shot him a scowl, and set the cup down to point at his horn.

"I'm not the best at it! Or have you already forgotten me dropping you through a roof and into somepony's front room?"

"You also saved me from my own tactical nuke. Granted I would have saved my self. But you intervened first." The alicorn ruffled his wings.

"Well, where does it say it is?"

"Apparently, get this- It's out past the Hayseed Swamps in the far southeast. Down by Seaquestria." Joey shirked at it's mention.

"What? What is it?" William asked as he took a gulp of his drink. breathing in through his nose as the hot drink rolled though his mouth and down his throat.

"I... I can't swim." The alicorn hung his head in shame and sighed.

William stared at him with a confused expression. "You can't be serious. I saw-"

"That was a year ago! And I had gone though that merpony transformation thing. That's different!" William set his cup back on the table and set his hand on his friends shoulder.

"Well then, now's a great time to learn."

"I tried to a few months ago during the summer, I can barely get in knee deep."

"Why couldn't we just go skiing? I thought you loved the cold." William shook his head. " I do, but I need to get away from this town for a while." The expression on his friends face told it all. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure bud. Don't worry about it, you don't even have to get your hooves wet if you don't want to. There's plenty of other stuff to do there." This statement resulted in a smile from the alicorn, who put his wing around his friend.

"Oh alright, it's supposed to be fun, right?"

"Yeah. And why are you making such a big deal about this? It's not like you're changing species. We're literally going on vacation. There's no need to freak out."

"So... You'll teach me?"

"Of course! Now go and get your things packed. We'll leave in the morning. Just... Be sure to keep it a secret. I don't want any of our neighbors finding out. Especially you know who." He nodded with understanding, and galloped out the front door. William stood on his front porch and watched him go.

"Heh, doesn't know how to swim. Oh boy is he missing out."

After a night spend pondering. William got up and went through his routine as usual, then, after making sure his house was locked up, walked out onto his back porch, and was greeted by his friend and a pair of saddlebags.

"Is that a-" His friend chuckled. William looked down at his shirt.

"Yes, I like Hawaiian shirts. Red and white, palm trees, Hibiscus flowers, and AR's." His friend smiled. " Of course, but aren't you just the slightest bit cold?"

"Not on the Island I won't be, from what I can tell, the climate'll be nigh identical to Kauai. Hope ya like humidity and 80 degree rain."

"Going somewhere?" The two of them froze, and looked over at Crimson Starwatcher.

"Oh, well..."

"We're going on vacation." Joey blurted out suddenly. William scowled at him, and then turned back Crimson. Who smirked back at him.

"Heh, sound's fun. Wait a moment, I'll some stuff, and then we can go." She bounded off towards her house. William looked back at Joey and checked his watch.

"We should really get going-"

"Going where?"

"Gah!" William jumped, and looked behind him, he was greeted by the batish face of Nightshine, looking down at him from her perch on his roof. She swung herself upside down and looked him in the eyes.

"The beach. Some nice seaside cottages on a tropical island." The alicorn responded without question. The batpony mare's eyes brightened.

"Oh wonderful. I love the ocean!" William scratched his head. "Derpy better not come reeling around that corner next."

"Oh don't worry, she's too busy chasing a butterfly to ask." She furrowed her brow and added, "I wish I was joking."

"Understandable. I'd hate to have to look after two ponies that didn't know how to swim." He rubbed his brow. "You do know how to swim, right?"

"Oh of course!" Crimson replied, setting herself down by Joey. William glanced over at her bags, two large shapes stuck out of the rear that were definitely not her wings.

"What's in the bag?"

"You'll find out." She smiled, and whisked her tail around. Nightlight set herself down next to William.

"Is is private?"

"No."

"Is it-"

Nightshine cut the both of them off with a comment of,"I guess I'll be going with you 3. I'm out on leave anyway. My subordinates can take care of the barracks while I'm gone. I trust the rest of them enough to not turn Canterlot into a crater." William gave her a thumbs up. "So... Anything you've gotta grab before we leave?" She shook her head.

"Nope. I'll be fine like this, although now that I think about it... Nope!"

"Alright Joey, take it away!"

"You said it's like Kauai, I say it'll look more like-" The group disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Meanwhile...

"Sir, nothing we've done so far has worked." Grogar's bell floated in silence over it's ornamental map table. Frosty Fields had had nothing but time since the failed attempt at getting rid of the Quiet Kid.

"We cannot get to him through anger, or emotions. Nor can we attack him directly, so... Let us make it personal."

"But how?" A wave of aquamarine light shot out from the bell. " By bringing in a few new players."

"What do you mean by that?" Frosty asked the bell.

"He'll know. Oh, he'll know..." Another bombing laugh filled the cavern. The unicorn mare looked at her master in confusion.

"-The Virgin Islands!" William, Joey, Crimson, and Nightshine appeared on an open grassy expanse, surrounded by coconut trees and low hanging mangrove trees. Lining the knoll at intervals of around 20 or so yards each was a mixture of bright cottages.

"Hey, guys." Crimson murmured. She tugged at William's pant leg. He turned, and gazed out at the shinning blue expanse of open and the white sand beach about 150 yards from where they stood.

"Last one in the water's a-" William held her back."

"Hol' up. We've gotta check in first. He set his hand on his sidearm, and pointed over at the check in cabin. It was painted white with a large arched roof. Off to it's right side, he spotted an open air restaurant. To the right, stood a flagpole with the Equestrian flag flapping in the wind. He sighed and breathed in the salty sea breeze.

"Wow, it's surprisingly calm here. Usually, there'd-" He winced at the sound of a foal crying in the distance, and a pack of dogs barking.

"Nevermind, c'mon. Let's go." Crimson turned around a sulked back along.

"Hello there, welcome to Moonlight Palms. How may I-Oh, an alicorn." The unicorn stallion working at the front desk paused to lower his shades.

"And... Hey, haven't I seen you in the papers before?" William groaned. "We're here to check in. The unicorn peered over at Crimson and Nightlight. Then looked back at a clipboard and flipped though a few pages.

"What would you be under?" William set his hand on the countertop. "We'll be paying up front."

"No need sir, they're with me." The four of them turned to find Luna trotting through the front doors.

"This is where you've been while Twilight's busy making a chaotic mess of things back on the mainland?" William crossed his arms.

"Err... Thank you Princess." Joey bowed his head, William pulled him back up, and Luna laughed. "It's just Luna for now." The stallion at the counter raised his hoof.

"Beachside, or up towards the mango trees?"

"Mangos?" Nightshine's voice filled with sudden enthusiasm, which she quickly shook off. Resuming her regular alert pose.

"Beachside for all of us."

"Will that be one cabin for all of you, or separate ones?" The four looked around at one another. "I'd be fine sharing a bed with any of you." Crimson murmured. Joey raised an eyebrow, and William frowned.

"One cabin, separate beds for all of us." The stallion twirled his pen in the air with his magic, then began writing on the paper.

"Our cabins only go up too three beds each." William shook his head. "Nope. Not not happening. And I don't think any of us would be too keen on sleeping on a couch." Crimson, Nightshine, and Joey all shook their heads.

"Alright, so two separate cabins, one bed for each of you?" William nodded. "Cabin's A and B. Right down the knoll and to the right. Under the bananas trees, the two closest to the water.

"Alrighty."

"First one-" William stopped Crimson again. "We've gotta go and get set up first."

"If you need anything, just come to the front desk. I'm here half the time, the other half you'll be asking for a green pegasus mare named 'Riri'. She'll be happy to help you out." He gave them two sets of labeled keys, then went back to reading his surf magazine.

"I've got to be going, I promised a some ponies down by the beach I'd play a game of Volley ball with them!" Luna turned and trotted off towards the far side of the grounds.

"C'mon."

"The humidity here is exhausting!" Nightshine complained. William tossed her a grey baseball cap. "There. Now you don't have to go on and buy one!" She smiled and winked back.

"Well? Let's see what we're working with."

About a minute of walking later, and the group stood in between their two cottages. William tapped the grass with his boot.

"Alight y'all, I will be in cabin B. Anyone wanna make any picks?" Crimson leaned in and smirked.

"I'll go with William." He shook his head. "Nope, not gonna happen. I like privacy, and you have less of a notion of personal space than Pinkie Pie."

Joey grinned awkwardly." I'll stay with you, Crimson." She turned and looked over at the alicorn, looking him over from horn to tail. Her smirk grew wider, and she rustled her wings and nudged his hoof away with a paw. "Haha! Wonderful!" Joey rolled his eyes, and looked back at the wolf-pony.

"Great! You two'll be in cabin A, that leaves-"

"You and me." Nightshine sounded a little annoyed at the prospect. But seemed to accept it. "At least it's someone I know." William waved her over, unlocking the front door and stepping aside to let her go first. "Take your hat off and wipe your hooves.

"And if I don't?" She sneered. "William glanced at her. "Then I'll make that hat disappear right off your head." She grinned and mumbled, " I was going to take it off anyhow." He nodded, and did the same with his mossy oak hat. Directly off to his side was the dinning table, ahead of him was the kitchen, pantry, and the entryway into the living room, a screen door took up the side outlooking the ocean, giving them a wonderful view of the beach from their front porch. Taking another right from there led to the master bedroom. With one large king sized bed, a bathroom with 2 doors that led into the second bedroom.

"Who'll take the big bed?" William raised his hand. Nightshine scowled, and took a step towards it, rearing up like she was getting ready to pounce.

"Race ya to it!" William jumped and rolled onto it, sprawling out and staring up at the ceiling.

"First." Nightshine mused, flapping her wings as she reclined back next to William.

"Really, what evidence do you have that you got here first?" She sighed. "Coin flip?"

"Nope. I don't gamble. Especially when it comes to beds."

"Then fight me." She replied, baring her fangs in a playful manner. "Trust me, you don't want me in the same bed as you. I'll be biting the sheets all night long." William chuckled.

"Who said anything about staying in the same bed?" He sat up and swung his legs over the side. Nightshine rolled out of bed and onto all fours.

"C'mon, we can deal with this later. Let's go down to the water. I told Joey I'd teach him to swim as a pony."

"He can't now." Nightshine asked with a cock of her head.

"Nope, apparently not."

"Well then, It's about time he learned. And I've got a few idea's on how I can help him."

Comments

[AmlpfanREADER]

Nice another update