Nightshade: Into the Fire

by JustPonyboy

Chapter 1

A gray metal pony in all white cleared his throat as he entered the room, "Sir the Prince has done that for years now, even attending formal meetings with Celestia in lavish dresses and gowns. I would say he looks quite nice. Plus, you'd be surprised by how many potential suitors he has. Male and female."

"I'm sorry what?"

Nightshade blinked and rubbed his eyes, ⁣Had I just...

"We're discussing Ace's recent choice of attire. I see it as a sign of maturity. Could you imagine Celestia walking into an official meeting in a hoodie and jeans?"

That gained a smirk from Nightshade, but his mind was partially occupied. He was nigh passed out on the floor of Pandora all alone, he swallowed hard. Now I'm here... Discord really wasn't lying. Nightshade hid his panic and kept talking as if nothing was amiss.

"So glad of you to join me, Computer. Also, suitors? Isn't Celestia a huge deterrent? With her death glare and the 'send you to the moon' thing?"

The metal pony bowed, if anything he maintained the same mannerisms as a butler.

"Of course, but Ace won't let her do that... Probably. They'd have to be pretty dedicated, after all, Ace may be an adult in age, but they're a bit short in the mental area."

"You're right, Ace probably has good standards what with basically having the 6, specifically Rarity, giving him the ins and outs of manners and being proper."

Once Pandora finally landed, both Nightshade and Computer stepped out into the morning rays of sunlight directly in the Valentine Manor's front lawn.

"Home sweet."

The place looked new, with fresh paint, no broken windows. I guess in this reality we never had to abandon the place.

Nightshade was about to chime in until he heard a distant roaring engine, "What the hell is that?"

He looked down the dirt road as dust billowed, and the sound grew louder.

"Oh, that must be Stri-"

A zebra-patterned motorcycle darted past the two, power sliding to a halt, destroying a part of the lush front lawn. When the dust cleared, two figures sat on the motorcycle. The one on the front hopped off shaking out her blonde mane as she walked towards Nightshade, even in their new form he recognized her. For a guard her age, she had a nice figure. Her name never left his lips as she closed the distance with a chuckle.

"Nightshade," She smiled wide, "Sorry about the lawn. Thanks for the ride, though, it gets me where I need to go."

"Yeah, no problem."

Nightshade peeked over her shoulder where another pony sat with hands over their ears and twitchy wings, the gray pony seemed occupied with the surroundings as they slowly looked around. Short black chin-length hair that fell gently over one eye, looking recently cut. Their jeans and leather jacket coated in a light dusting of dirt from the abrupt stop.

"Oh yeah." Strike walked back over to the bike and assisted the raven-haired pony off the ride. She then removed the pony's hands from their ears, "Nightshade, this is Prince Ace O'Hearts."

Nightshade stared in silent awe before he reset, Ace had been nearly taller than him and had a massive pair of wings. Of course in that world, they had walked on all fours not upright on two legs, but he towered over the prince by a good foot or so. His wings seemed to retain that size somewhat, but his horn was nowhere to be found.

Nightshade awkwardly waved, "Hey."

Strike then put Ace's hands back over his ears and handed Nightshade a few documents, "Alright, Luna spoke to you earlier, but I'm here to double-check. Here's a list of his allergies, spells he isn't allowed to cast, and please tell Speed and Endie not to corrupt him too much. I mutter a curse one time in front of him, and he never forgets it. Celestia tore me a new one for that. Alright, 30 days and you can send him back to Canterlot. Official business going on, and they can't keep an eye on him all the time."

Strike threw one leg over onto the other side of the bike, giving one last wave goodbye before speeding off and leaving Nightshade and Computer with Ace.

Computer approached Ace, bending down and gently removing the hands from his ears, "Are you hungry?"

A silent nod was the only response.

"Well then, I guess Nightshade won't mind if we use the kitchen for a bit?"

Nightshade muttered a 'sure whatever' as watch Computer offer a hand and Ace took it before all three of them marched up the path to the home.