Alere

* * * * * P.O.V: Royal Day Guard * * * * *

You had just finished your lunch break and started your boring daily patrol through the corridors of the castle when you heard hoof steps and something like hoof steps, but softer, coming from behind you. You turned around to see a grey mare and some sort of hairless ape creature.

The strange pair had stopped in front of Princess Celestia's chamber doors. The grey mare said something unrecognizable to the ape and started walking in your direction. She had walked a little away from the ape then turned back to to say something else to it. After she had finished, she turned back in your direction and started walking again, but now with a visible smile on her face.

The ape walked into the Princess's chambers with a curious look on his face, and after a few seconds, you heard a rather loud slam and saw the doors had shut. The grey mare's ears perked at the sound. She checked behind her and giggled with glee at the now ape-less sight.

You were about to ask her what she was doing here when a bright flash filled the corridor. Where the grey mare stood was now the Princess of the Night with a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Y-your highness," you stammered out as you gave a deep bow.

"Greetings. Please rise, I have a task for you," said the Princess.

"Of course, Princess. What would you like me to do?" You asked her.

"I need you to tell the rest of the guards that in a few minutes, a strange creature that walks on two legs will surely come barreling through the corridors. They are to leave him be, because he means no harm and is in no way a threat to us," she said through a chuckle.

"As you wish Princess," you replied and gave another bow before speeding off to find the nearest guards so they could relay the message.

"Oh this is going to be good," Luna said evilly.

* * * * * P.O.V: Red Hearts * * * * *

Thoughts were racing through your head a million miles a minute, but the only one's that were not riddled with filth and dirtiness was, 'How the fuck is this happening!?' and 'How the Hell do I get out of this!?' Your eyes darted around looking for a way out.

Celestia took a step closer and asked, "What's wrong Red? You seem a little tense," as she gently brought a hoof down your back, sending shivers up your spine.

"This is so wrong on so many levels," you said quietly.

"Oh don't be like that Red. You want this just as much as I do," she replied.

"What makes you think that!?" You half shouted.

"Well it could be that I'm an immortal goddess with knowledge and power beyond your comprehension, or I could be using my magical abilities to arouse you, or I could just be wrong," she said in a voice filled with both power and lust.

'Oh god. I hope she isn't doing the magic thing,' you thought to yourself.

"But I'm sure you are not carrying a flashlight in your pocket, so I assume you are at least slightly enjoying this," she said suddenly, causing your face to turn redder than a tomato.

"Listen. This is all a bit weird for me, so I'm just gonna head on out now," you said as you tried to walk past her.

She extended a wing to block your path and said, "Oh no you don't. You are going to sit right there on that bed and we are going to have some...Fun..." as she lifted your body in her magic and levitated you over to her bed.

"Now you just wait right there and I will be back in a few minutes," she said before a bright flash of light filled the room, making you cover your eyes. You looked around and noticed that the Princess had disappeared.

'I swear, I'm going to need to constantly carry a pair of sunglasses with me if this keeps up' you thought as your sight cleared.

'Strange. Why would she just leave me here? Well, now that she is gone, I might be able to get the hell out of here, but she could be back any second so I better get looking for an exit.' You thought to yourself as you inspected the room. Your eyes fell upon the large doors that you entered from.

"Might as well," you said, walking to the doors. You approached the doors and gave them a push, but to no avail.

"Should have known. It's never that easy," you said under your breath.

You started looking around the room again hoping for some sort of escape hatch or secret doorway. When you found nothing, you walked over to the balcony and opened the large glass doors. You took a step to the edge of the balcony and looked over the edge. You noticed you were about ten stories up and there was a garden at the bottom. Upon closer inspection, you noticed a cart with a large pile of hay in it directly under you. You then immediately walked away from the edge and started looking for another way down.

'No way in hell am I doing that again,' you thought.

You started looking around for some sort of hand holds to lower yourself down when you saw a series of bricks poking out of the wall in a very convenient pattern that lead to another balcony about twenty feet to the left.

'I'm starting to feel as if I'm in a bad video game, what with the jumping, running, getting sever injuries and now extreme wall climbing,' you thought as you gripped the first of the bricks.

You had made it halfway there when you noticed a bright flash from the room you just escaped from. You picked up your pace and made it over to the other balcony before Celestia walked out. You rushed past the glass doors and into a dark room in hopes that Celestia didn't see you.

You examined the room you had found yourself in and noticed the complete change of scenery from Celestia's chambers. There was a large bed with deep blue blanket and a rather amazingly large flat screen T.V. The room was surprisingly dark even with the sun starting to set outside. You looked up and saw the ceiling was absent and in it's place was an illusion of the night sky.

You were about to walk through the room and to the exit when a voice stopped you.

"Red? What are you doing here?" Asked the voice from behind you.

You looked over your shoulder and saw Luna fly in from the balcony. You turned around and put a finger to your lips as to tell her to be quiet. She gave you a curious look and said, "I do not understand.".

"It means to be quiet," you whispered.

"Why must I be quiet in my own room?" Luna asked.

"Because Princess Celestia has taken an interest in me and I would rather avoid a situation like that, so I am trying to get out of this place and I don't want her to know I'm here," you replied in a hushed voice.

"I see, but that does not explain why you are in my room," she said.

"It is the only way I could escape," you answer.

"I see," she replied as she brought a hoof to her chin.

"So, if you excuse me, I need to go," you said as you made your way to the door, but was stopped by a midnight blue wing.

"I will allow you to go, but know this. When my sister wants something or somepony, she tends to get them. Do try to be careful Red," she warned as she lowered her wing.

"I will. Thank you," you said with a nod and headed out the door.

You, again, found yourself in a large corridor with many other corridors branching off of it. Not wasting any time, you run as fast as you can in the opposite direction of the sun Princess's chamber door.

You noticed that the guards just simply looked in your direction when you ran instead of trying to stop you or even questioning why you were sprinting right past them, but that didn't matter to you. The only thing that did matter was getting out of there as fast as you could.

You had just made your eighteenth turn when you found yourself in the same corridor you entered the castle. Without a second thought you rushed to the large doors that were the entrance to the castle. You were almost within arm's reach of the doors when a large white "Thing" dropped down in front of you, effectively blocking your path. 'Shit,' you thought.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Asked a very seductive voice. You started to panic so you looked around the corridor for a solution when you spotted a dark figure behind one of the pillars that lined the corridor. The dark figure seemed to be laughing.

'What the hell? You thought to yourself.

"Now It's about time you stopped wasting all of your energy running around and start using it on me," she said as she inched closer to you. You looked at her for a moment, then at some bored looking guards, then back to the still laughing hiding figure. You thought for a moment and looked back at Celestia.

You put on your creepiest smile and said, "You know what? Let's go. I feel like getting down and dirty anyways.".

Celestia stopped short and looked a little scared for a second. She glanced over to the hiding figure who had stopped laughing and stared at you slack-jawed. She then looked back at you and said, "A-Are you sure. I'd probably be way too much for you.".

"Oh trust me when I say I've been around the block a few times and I think I could handle you quite well," you said as you cupped your chin and examined her as if she were a new car. "I've got to say. I don't know what I was so afraid of. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my night than by "Having fun" with you Princess." As you said this you could see Celestia starting to sweat from nervousness.

You started to walk closer to her and asked, "What's wrong Princess? You look nervous. What? Were you not expecting this to happen?".

"What do you mean by that?" Celestia asked, backing away from you.

"What I mean is, did you not expect me to catch on to your's and Luna's little game here?" You answered as your creepy smile turned into that of a playful one. Celestia stared at you for a minute before her cheeks turned a sort of pink.

"How did you know about that?" Celestia asked in a still nervous voice.

"I will admit, it was a little difficult. My first clue was when you left me alone in your chambers. The real Molestia would never do that, she would get right to business," you said, putting air quotes around the word business.

"My second clue was when I ran through the halls, I was never stopped by any guards. Even If they knew I would be meeting you, they would still question my sprinting down the corridors," You explained.

"I guess that makes sense," admitted Celestia.

"And third, I might still have been fooled if not for Luna over there giggling like a school filly," you said as you lazily pointed over to the hiding figure without looking. Said figure walked out from her hiding place with a look of shame apparent on her face.

"I must say though, your performance was pretty convincing," you said.

"Oh uhh, thank you, I guess," Celestia said.

"Oh and don't worry. I don't really want to. . . you know," you explained.

"Oh, okay," Celestia sighed.

'She sounds almost disappointed. Hmm . . . Better to just ignore it and move on,' you thought. You all stood around awkwardly for a few seconds before you remembered Lyra. 'Shit!'

"Listen Princesses. It has been a fun and very interesting visit, but I have arrangements with a friend that I need to get to, so if you would excuse me. I need to get going," you said as you rushed past Celestia and out the doors.

You took five steps outside before being stopped by one of the two guards from before.

"Excuse me sir, I have a message for you from Princess Twilight Sparkle," said the left guard.

You turn around and answer, "Lay it on me." only to receive a curious glare from the guards.

"Just tell me," you said as you retracted your palm from your face.

"She has asked us to inform you that she has gone back to Ponyville and there is no need to look for her," said the guard on the right. 'Why do I get the feeling I will need an exorcist if I hang around these guys too much longer?' You mentally asked yourself.

"We do not know sir," they replied in unison.

"Okay fuck this! I'm out!" You yelled as you ran the fuck away from those creepy bastards.

After walking up and down Canterlot for an hour and a half looking for the address that Lyra gave you, you had just given up, and whenever you asked somepony where to go, they would storm off like you had just insulted them. That is until a pony named Fancy Pants gave you the proper directions.

"You are going to want to continue down this street and take your first left, and it will be the third building on your right," said Fancy Pants with a smile.

"Thank you Fancy Pants, but I must ask. Why did you actually talk to me, where as everypony else thinks they're too good to even look at me?" You asked.

"Well my boy, that is because I still have enough sense to remember that everypony is as equally important as everypony else, and I was not always as rich and famous as I am now. I used to be an everyday working pony when I was younger, but that is a story for another time," he said in a way that reminded you of your grandfather.

"Oh, well thanks again Fancy Pants. You have been a huge help!" You exclaimed as you walked away. He waved a friendly goodbye and you waved one back before turning and setting on your course .

When you finally made it to your destination Luna had already risen her moon and brought night across Equestria. You looked up at the two story building with curiosity. After standing there you heard the sound of a very familiar song playing .song Not wanting to interrupting the music, you waited for the song to end.

*song plays*

Now that the music had stopped you decide to make your presence known. You knocked on the door several times to let the occupants know that you were there. You heard voices coming from the other side of the door before it opened to show a unicorn mare with alabaster fur, a pair of glasses with purple lenses, and a blue mane and tail with stripes of lighter blue going through it. She looked up at you and asked, "Who are you?" in a slightly scratchy voice.

"My name is Red hearts, but you can just call me Red. I was told by my friend Lyra to come here," you answered. She raised an eyebrow at you and looked back into what your were guessing to be her house, and yelled, "Lyra! Is the friend you were talking about some sort of big monkey thing!?". A familiar voice called back, "Yes! Is that him!?", to which the mare in front of you answered, "Yeah!". Then Lyra's voice replied with, "Then let him in!". The mare shrugged and motioned for you to follow her with her head.

You followed the mare through the cluttered house and into a back room. In the back room was Lyra sitting on a large black plush couch, a mare earth pony with a grey coat and a black mane and tail sat on the same couch with a bored expression; muzzle deep in a magazine, a large D-J table, several instruments that lined the wall, a cello that set next to the grey mare, and five gold records that hung on the wall above the instruments.

Lyra hopped up from her seat and walked over to you. "It's about time you got here. I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to show. What took you so long anyway?" She asked excitedly.

"As much as I would like to tell you what happened, I don't think I should. Not only will you not believe me, but I think it would be considered treason, so lets just say I've had an interesting day so far," you replied only to get curious looks from all but the grey mare.

"O-Okay then, let's get the introductions out of the way!" She exclaimed happily. "Red this is Vinyl Scratch, she is a DJ / music producer," she said. Vinyl held her hoof out and you shook it while you said, "Nice to meet you Vinyl Scratch.".

"Please, just call me Vinyl. Nice ta' meet you too," she said as she gave your hand a nice shake back. "And Red this is Octavia." Lyra continued, gesturing towards the grey pony. You walked over to her and extended your hand. Octavia tore her eyes away from the magazine to look at you. When she saw you her eyes immediately widened then she took hold of your hand and shook it vigorously with a huge smile on her face. Both Lyra and Vinyl both looked at each other curiously before Vinyl asked, "What’s got you so happy Octavia?".

"Oh it's nothing! Nothing at all!" Octavia replied, still beaming up at you. Lyra took this as her queue to start up a new conversation. "So Red, you said you could play the guitar right?. Wanna play us something?" She said, gesturing to the lined up instruments. "I guess I could play a little something, but you will have to deal with my singing as well," you replied as you picked up a electric guitar and tuned it to your liking. You played a few notes to get a feel for the instrument. Satisfied, you began to play your favorite song ever.

**---

You've got the touch**

You've got the power, yeah

After, all is said and done

You never walk, you never run

You're a winner, you got the moves

You know the streets, break the rules

Take the heat, you're nobody's fool

You're at your best when the going gets rough

You've been put to the test but it's never enough

You got the the touch

You got the power

When all hell's breaking loose

You'll be right in the eye of the storm

You got the heart, you got the motion

You know that when things get too tough

You got the touch

You looked to the three mares that you were playing for. Vinyl was bobbing her head to the music and Lyra was doing the same, but Octavia was sitting still with her eyes closed and her lips moving. 'Is she singing along!?

You never bend, you never break

You seem to know just what it takes

You're a fighter, it's in the blood

It's in the will, it's in the mighty hands of steel

When you're standin' your ground

And you never give in when you're back's to the wall

Gonna fight till the end and you're taking it all

You got the touch

You got the power

When all hell's breaking loose

You'll be right in the eye of the storm

You got the heart, you got the motion

You know that when things get too tough

You got the touch

You're fighting fire with fire

You know you got the touch

You're at your best when the going gets rough

You've been put to the test but it's never enough

You got the touch

You got the power, yeah

You have just finished the song and you never felt more energized, or confused in your entire life. How was Octavia singing along with you? 'That song was from back home! There is no way she should know it word for word!' You thought. You were about to confront her about it when Lyra and Vinyl ran right up to you.

"Dude, that was totally amazing! I've never heard anything like it before!" Vinyl exclaimed. "Yeah! That was great Red! Do you know anymore songs like that?" Lyra asked you excitedly.

"Yeah, I know quite a few, but I don't think I can do any more right now," you answered.

"Awww! Why not?" Lyra and Vinyl asked in a way that reminded you of two little fillies. "I just have to think right now," you replied.

"Well I suppose I could play something if your mind is focused on other things," Octavia offered. You nodded to her and she got ready.

You tried to think of any possible reasons as to how Octavia was able to sing along with the song, but you couldn't find any logical possibilities. The more you thought about it, the more you just wanted to think about something else, because it was really ragging your mind. You looked up to see Octavia playing her cello. The sight her playing the instrument reminded you of Tavi.

Tavi. You always felt a pain in your heart when you thought of her. You had so many happy memories with her, like when you two would hang out at the mall or walked in the forest behind your house, but the think you two did the most together was play music. You would grab your guitar and head over to her place and you two would just play for hours and hours without any breaks. She would always play this one beautiful song that would always make you feel a series of emotions. Anything from sadness to joy. This song always put a smile on your face no matter how it made you feel.

'Damn, I really miss those times. She would always play me that song when I was feeling bad, which caused her to play it so much that I can still remember every note of it. I swear I can hear it now, even just thinking about it. It's so clear, like I'm actually listening to it.'

'Wait. . . '

You look up at Octavia and listen deeply to her music and you hear it.

'. . . '

'. . .'

You shot up and your eyes suddenly widened in realization just as her song finished. She looked up at you with a smile and tears building up in her eyes as you dropped to your knees. Your shocked expression changed to that of pure happiness as she rushed towards you and jumped into your embrace.

"I missed you so much, Red." Octavia said as tears ran down her face.

"I missed you too, Tavi. I missed you too," you replied with tears streaming down your face as well.

Octavia's loneliness belongs to FIMprov.

FIMprov has a new channel which is AstrumVisProductions

Go listen to his stuff, I rather like it, so it must be good, right?     Right?     Right!?

Remember to tell me what you think and thanks to macandcheese6 for editing.

And thanks for reading!