A Stranger to the World

by Perceptive Key

After Dark...

Chapter Eight
After Dark...

Alex walked down the halls with Hart and the Elements accompanying him. The last rays of the sun filtered through the ornate, stained-glass windows and splattered vibrant colors all across the pure marble floors. Alex kept his gaze focused straight ahead, but kept his mind open to all of the twists and turns of palace so he could memorize the layout should he happen to find himself without a guide. The group continued on, but the silence was broken by Twilight.

"So, Alex, are you coping well?" she asked with concern.

"Huh?" Alex looked down at the mare that was trotting along beside him, previously unbeknownst to him. "Uh, yeah, I'm doing better now," Alex answered, "the initial shock is gone and... acceptance... of my situation is starting to set in."

Twilight smiled but her look turned to a thoughtful expression, unsure of how to respond. "Good... I guess...? Uh..."

"Greetings programs!"

Everypony cried out at Witt's sudden greeting, but... he was nowhere to be seen. That is, until everyone looked up. To their surprise, Witt was walking on the ceiling, looking down at the group with a wide smile. "How are you all this fine evening?" he asked jovially.

"What are you doing, Witt?!" Twilight sputtered, "Are you insa-" Twilight's shocked expression changed to an irritated frown. "Oh, yeah. Right."

"I was feeling rather low for a moment," he said, "so I decided to turn my frown upside down! Literally!!!" he laughed. Witt wiped a happy tear from his eye. "Ah, this is much more fun then the time I base jumped off the tower," he added with a chuckle. "Good times..."

"How did you get up there?!" Alex asked, recovering from the surprise.

"Simple reverse-gravity spell," he explained, "very tricky stuff, but lots of fun at parties." The unicorn sighed and jumped up to the floor, his body somersaulting through the air, landing on all four hooves while he gave a dramatic pose. "Falling with style," Witt grinned.

"Where are you off to, Witt," Twilight questioned.

"I was on my way to Celestia's room for a game of chess, but then I was on my way to find you six," he pointed back at her and the remaining Elements, "regarding some issues with... temps pour planifier son voyage." Witt raised an eyebrow at her.

Alex noticed that a surprised look came over both Twilight -and Rarity's- faces. "Quand est-il arrivé?" the former asked excitedly in Prancian.

"J'ai détecté le bruit il ya quelques instants. Il devrait être à la périphérie de la ville," Witt replied with a smile.

Alex just gave him a confused expression while Twilight beamed and turned back to the rest of the group, "I'll be right back, everypony." With that, she hurriedly ran down the opposite end of the corridor. Alex and the others watching her run through the hall and disappear around a corner.

"Where's she off to?" the human questioned the remaining ponies.

"She'll tell you if she needs to," Rarity replied in annoyance, though it wasn't directed at anyone in the present group.

"Okay!" Witt said, "I'll be off. Oh, and, Alex," he turned to look up at the human, holding out his hoof, "take this." Lying in Witt's hoof was a small, golden key tied around a thin metallic chain. "I needed to give it to you."

Alex took it with reluctance. "Um... what do I need this for?" he asked with uncertainty.

"It's one of my special keys that I made," Witt explained. "Wherever you are, just simply find a door with a standard lock, insert the key, and when you open the doors... poof," he emphasized a small explosion with his hooves, "you'll find that the new passageway will lead back to your room."

Alex weighed the metallic object in his hand and nodded, "Sounds useful."

"You better believe it," Witt said. "I'll see you at the training fields tomorrow, Alex." He turned to Hart, "please be sure to lead him there by, at the latest, ten in the morning, Doctor Hart."

The grey pony grumbled, but a quiet "fine" was heard. Hart glared at Witt angrily.

"Farewell," Witt smiled to them all. He walked up to one of the glass windows and pushed it open like it was a door. As he stepped through, Alex could just make out Celestia on the other side, frowning at Witt as he entered. "Hello, Cel!"

"WITT!" she shouted angrily, "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO STOP USING WINDOWS AS D-!" The window/door slammed shut, cutting her off from the ponies' -and human's- ears.

Alex and the others stood in silence for a few moments. "That was... interesting..." he started. There was another brief, uncomfortable moment of nothing before Alex asked, "Let's try out that key, shall we?"

There were murmurs of assent that shifted through the group, and so they continued down the hall, looking for a door to test the key. While they were walking, Alex decided to make an attempt at a conversation, considering the fact that he had only spoken to the other ponies once, at the library. "So... that Witt... pony... That guy reads levels of crazy, eh?"

To his surprise, he actually got some response. "He's nothin' but a troublemaker," Applejack said with an obvious layer of irritation.

"He nearly killed me this one time!" Rainbow interjected. "If that had happened, then the next generation of Wonderbolts would have been destroyed!"

"Once again," Alex thought, "ego."

"He's not entirely dangerous," Fluttershy whispered, her voice just barely audible.

"He's super-duper-extra-kooky-wooky insane!" Pinkie voiced, her eyes growing wide as saucers.

"Not to mention that his suit is a crime to the entire history of fashion," Rarity complained, gaining her a few "really" looks from those present.

"Hey, a door," Alex said in dulled monotone. He was right, a door was right to their left (paradox-esque, huh?), and, luckily, it had a simple lock that was a perfect size for the key. "Ready to test it out?" Alex asked them all.

"Alright," they all answered simultaneously.

Alex quickly turned back to the door. Their answers in unison really spooked him, so he took out the key and thrust it into the lock. "Here goes nothing," he whispered. With a simple turn of the wrist, the key released the bolt and the door opened slowly. On the other side was, as promised, Alex's room. He gave an impressed whistle, "It worked? Wow." He stepped through the door and into the awaiting confines of his lavish prison cell/guest suite. At least, that's what he considered it to be, seeing as that he wasn't leaving this place anytime soon.

"Alex?" Hart approached him, but he remained on the other side of the entryway with the other mares. "I'll be returning to my chambers, as well," he informed Alex. "But... I'd rather take the long way."

Alex turned to face the grey pony. "Alright," he nodded, "I'm gonna stay up a bit. My unconsciousness has thrown off my internal clock, so I'll get to bed eventually."

The pony nodded understandingly, "That's expected. Well, I'll see you in the morning."

"You, too," Alex waved. "'Night girls," he repeated the gesture to them.

"To you as well, darling," Rarity replied.

"'Night, Alex," Applejack said.

"See ya later," Rainbow added.

"Goodnight," Fluttershy whispered.

"Keep an eye out for creepy, dream shadows," Pinkie Pie exclaimed excitedly.

"Umm... okay...?" Alex tried to sound aware of... whatever those were. The human silently shut the door, leaving the technicolor equines to their own devices. He sighed and made his way over to his bed, putting his hands down on the mattress and propping himself up.

"I never liked the white one," Devilin commented from somewhere behind Alex.

The teen didn't even turn around from his position and remained staring at the bedsheets. "What do you want Devilin?" he asked curtly.

"Hurtful," he gave a fake gasp.

"Just go fuck yourself, asshole," Alex cursed. "I really don't need to see you right now."

"That's quite humorous, considering the fact that you haven't even seen me, yet."

Alex released an exasperated sigh, "Just... leave me alone."

"I don't feel like it. So... how about I stand on the balcony, while you mope in your friendless, semi-depressed state," he suggested teasingly.

"Like I said," Alex repeated, "go fuck yourself."

A sigh was heard, and a pale hand came to rest on Alex's shoulder. "I'm doing this for your betterment, Mister Harper," Devilin said. "You just need to break out of that hard, little shell you've got around yourself."

Alex shrugged Devilin's hand off his shoulder and spun around to glare at the executive. Devilin was now wearing a dark blue, pinstripe suit with a red tie. "You're just trying to trick me," the human said coolly, "but it's not going to work." He began to advance, forcing Devilin to back away. "I'm not going to break anytime soon, and I will return to Earth."

The path of both brought them closer to the outside balcony...

Alex pointed an accusing finger at the smartly dressed character, "You have taken everything away from me!"

"Correction," Devilin said coolly yet defensively, "I'm simply improving upon what was already there."

The inched closer to the balcony's railing...

"I'm really sick of you!" Alex fumed. "You have a lot of nerve to bug me right now, because I am extremely pissed off!"

"That's nice," Devilin remarked.

"Fuck you, man!"

"I'd rather not. You're not really my type."

They were at the marble rail now, and Alex was pushing forward, causing Devilin to back against it. "Now, Mister Harper," Devilin sounded slightly panicked now, "Let's not do anything rash."

"You don't know me," Alex said, fists clenched, "and I'm going to prove it." He stared right in to Devilin's eyes, "I'm going to walk back inside right now, and you're going to fly away, teleport, or whatever you do to get to where you want. Now, FUCK! OFF!" Alex slowly unclenched his fists and took a step back, giving Devilin space to steady himself.

The executive brushed off his suit and straightened his cuffs. "That's much better," he commented with a small laugh. "I hope you didn't do that to your parents."

Alex spun on his heel and charged Devilin, wrapping his hands around the man's neck. "SHUT!!! UP!!!" He pulled Devilin away from the rail and forced him forward. The executive lost his footing and was pinned up on the edge.

"I'm liking this anger," Devilin commented. "It suits your inner nature."

Alex scowled, "You know NOTHING ABOUT ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!" He lifted Devilin towards him and pushed.

The businessman stumbled back and, before losing his footing a second time, grabbed the front of Alex's shirt. Their current momentum brought Alex along, the two of them being carried over the banister.

"I'm not easily beaten, Mister Harper," Devilin smiled darkly. He instantly vanished, leaving only Alex to fall from the balcony.

Alex fell from the tower, the ground racing towards him with increasing speed. He did the only sane thing he could.

"SON OF A BI-!!!"

And he slammed into the ground.

One Minute (and three seconds) Later...

"HHUUUUUUUNNNNNGGGGHHHHHH!!!"

Alex sucked in a fresh blast of air, rushing down his throat and filing his lungs to the point where they were about to burst. He exhaled slowly, allowing the CO2 to escape his system and disperse into the outside air. Alex lie where he was for a few more moments, breathing carefully, returning his respiration levels to normal.

Alex grabbed his head. "Son of a bitch, Devilin!" he swore under his breath. "I'm going to kill him!"

"What you are about to do shall be far from killing, Alex."

The human went wide-eyed and slowly turned to his left. He was lying in a bed of short, vibrantly green grass, and could also see a dark shape through the semi-darkness of his half-alive haze. "Wh-who's there?"

The shadowed figure stepped forward and a blue glow emitted from their, now noticeable, horn. "I do not take well to strangers trespassing in my private quarters," the figure said, female by the sound of it. They stepped even closer, and Alex's vision cleared even further. He quickly realized who it was that stood in front of him.

Alex gave the dark blue pony a weak smile. "Princess Luna, right?" he asked the alicorn standing before him.

Author's Note:

Akward confrontation, ahoy! Now, I know I promised an explanation about the cuffs from a few chapters ago, but I was able t extend this scene and I had to delay it a bit.
Devilin is really a pest.

ALSO!!! Try translating the French, but I can't guarantee that you'll understand it... >:^D
Muah ha ha...
Feeling: spiteful.

Comments

[The Read Later List]

A story with a main character with the name Alex... I approve.

[Perceptive Key]

The name had been bouncing around in my head for weeks before I wrote it. It's a pretty kick-ass name.

[Mr Skeleton]

2733133that makes two of us