Guitar Strings and Dragon Wings

Chapter 24

Wallace stirred awake, still somewhat dazed. Rubbing his tired eyes, he stretched out a kink in his back. He looked around and noticed the sun was going down.

"Where is everyone?" he asked himself.

"They're in the library, Wally. You've been out for a while now." he recognized Pinkie's voice.

"Hey Cupcake. I see you put a new shirt on me." He noted.

Pinkie sighed. "Well your last one got ripped up pretty good."

"Oh yeah, the fight. Did I win?" he asked.

"I would… call it a draw." She stated bluntly.

He stood up and wiped some dust off of his pants. The temperature had clearly dropped a few degrees as the afternoon sun bathed the grass field in orange radiance. It was refreshing.

"Let's get going." He stated. After only taking a few steps he felt an icy breeze penetrate his cut skin. "Ugh that stings."

"Wait Wally. Princess Celestia said you have to take it easy." She dashed over to him and put a hoof on his shoulder.

"It's nothing I can't fix."

He lifted his shirt to reveal his battle torn skin. Using one hand he began to meticulously infuse his energy into the cuts, letting it seep in. He worked his blood back and forth, using the heat he gave off to coagulate it. After doing this for a few moments he had formed scabs over a great deal of his injuries, well on their way to being completely healed.

"When did you learn how to do that, Wally?" Pinkie asked.

"This morning. They should be healed by tomorrow." With the pain nearly gone now, he continued back towards the treehouse with Pinkie at his side.

"Does the Princess know you can do that?"

"No, but she'll probably find out anyways sooner or later. I do have a question I want to ask her though."

"And what would that be?" she asked.

"You remember when I picked you up using my power yesterday? Well I tried the same thing on Jiggs today and my energy just passed right through him."

"I do remember that. Hmm… that does seem a little weird."

The violet gem on Wallace's diadem flickered for a split second. Instantaneously he gripped his head in pain.

"Ah… I got a little headache." He shook his head some and the pain subsided.

"Are you alright?" she asked concernedly.

"Yeah yeah, I'm good." He shrugged it off.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back at the library Twilight was saying goodbye to Fluttershy and Applejack, who had responsibilities to attend to back home. Honestly Celestia had hoped they would stay considering the worst that might happen but she knew it was better not to push it.

"Are you sure you can't stay AJ? We could always use your help here." Said Twilight.

"Sorry Twi. I know this is important but I can't leave everything to Big Mac and Applebloom. They'd kill me if I knew I was slacking on my work."

"Don't you think they'd be more understanding than that?" she asked.

"Well yeah, o'course. But I got chores I need to do in the morning that no one else does except me."

"Same goes for me Twilight." Said Fluttershy. "I'd like to stay until something bad happened, ok not really, but you know what I mean. I have things I have to do at home too."

"But guys…" egged on Twilight.

"It's okay Twilight." Said Celestia reassuringly. "They have others that depend on them and I see no reason to keep them from that. Everyone I think has had a very hectic day."

"You can say that again." Said Jiggs with his arms crossed. "I got an idea, why don't I go with Jersey, help her finish her morning chores faster than usual and then we come back here first thing when we're done."

"I-I don't know. I don't usually do well with help." Applejack replied.

"What about last time you said that?" commented Twilight.

"That was different." Scowled AJ.

"What do you think Princess? Would you be okay with that?" Asked Jiggs.

"Well… I don't really see the harm in it. You just can't let anyone know about the dragons. That is priority number one." She pleaded.

"Sure we won't tell. But don't you think everyone is going to find out sooner or later?" He asked.

"I hope it doesn't get that far." There came a long silence after she said that.

"Well in that case I need to be going." Said Applejack.

After saying goodbye to a few of her friends and letting Jiggs pack a few things in a duffle bag, they made their way outside past the guards. Twilight and her friends waved goodbye to them.

"See you tomorrow!" Yelled Rainbow Dash.

"See Ya!" replied Applejack.

Jiggs waved his hand vigorously with the duffle bag wrapped around his shoulder. "Hey tell Wallace that he doesn't have pass out after every fight."

Packie acknowledged and waved in return. "Will do! Good fight earlier!"

"Yeah good fight!"

The friends all watched as AJ and Jiggs disappear into Ponyville, bound for Sweet Apple Acres.

"Guess I should be going too." Said Fluttershy.

"Not without me you're not." Replied Packie.

"You want to… to stay with me again? Are you sure?"

"Of course I do. I want to help you take care of the animals in the morning."

Twilight spoke up. "Hey wait a minute, we can't all split up again."

"She's right, Patrick." Said Celestia. "If we all get separated…"

"Wait a minute." He interrupted. "If she's leaving by herself then she could be in danger. The necklaces… these 'elements'… what if the dragons target them first? Jiggs went with Applejack so she'll be fine, and I think one of us should go with Fluttershy just to be safe, and I volunteer."

"But… Patrick… grr…" mumbled Twilight. His few oversteps in logic annoyed her slightly.

"It's true Twilight." Said Celestia. "He does have a point."

Fluttershy withdrew a little. "Oh, I didn't mean to be a burden on anyone."

Patrick smiled at her. "Hey, no one's a burden here except Wallace." He said jokingly. "This is just about making sure everyone is safe."

She smiled in return. Something about his new charisma she found so intoxicating. He overflowed with confidence, and she honestly couldn't help herself but to agree with everything he said.

"Okay I've changed my mind. Can he please come with me?" she asked Twilight.

Twilight pointed to Celestia. "Don't ask me, ask her."

"Yes he can." The princess agreed.

"Alright!" Packie yelled triumphantly. "I'll go get my stuff." Without a word of warning he took off to go gather some knick knacks.

Rainbow placed her leg over Fluttershy's shoulder. "If he starts acting out, just let me know and I'll give em what for."

"Oh, I don't think that'll be necessary." she chimed.

"I almost forgot to mention…" said Celestia. "If you are in trouble the other elements will glow brightly. That way, we'll all know if you need us."

"And Fluttershy, dear," said Rarity, "could you please give Patrick a nail file? His fingernails are much too long."

"I can do that too." She replied. "Though I really hadn't noticed."

After more friendly banter and planning Packie had his stuff gathered and was ready to leave. He and Fluttershy made their way out, with the sun getting ready to pass over the horizon. Miles away Celestia knew that Luna would soon be getting ready to raise the moon.

After the final pair left, Twilight started getting things ready for the rest of her friends to spend the night. It hadn't dawned on her until that moment but Wallace and Pinkie Pie were still outside.

"Oh no! How could I forget about them?" she asked herself.

Almost on cue her front door flung open and the two of them entered, with Wallace's arm dangling over Pinkie's shoulder. Celestia's posted guards entered behind them.

"Where is everyone?" asked Pinkie.

Twilight stopped what she was doing. "There you are! Fluttershy and Applejack left, taking Anthony and Patrick, but everyone else is upstairs." She said calmly. "I was just getting everything ready for everyone to sleep here for the night."

"That's so nice of you Twilight!" said Pinkie.

"What was I gonna do, make everyone sleep outside?" she asked sarcastically.

Wallace let go of Pinkie and found a chair to sit in. He reclined as much as he could and took a deep breath. "How are you gonna fit everyone including the princess and her guards here?" he asked.

"Believe me it's not the first time I've had a big sleepover. Plus the guards have agreed to take shifts on watch."

The unicorn clad in golden armor made his way over to Patrick. He was silently judging him but was courteous nonetheless.

"I hear the princess has given you vast power, human." Nova said.

"You could say that." Wallace turned a cheek at him. "Though until I can control it better I have to wear this fancy item on my head."

"It is not so bad. You'll get used to it... I got used to mine in about a week. Consider it just… extra security."

"Whatever you say man."

The unicorn held out his hoof. "Your name?"

"Wallace Eadler. Yours?"

"My name is entirely unpronounceable, so I usually just go by Nova."

Wallace shook his hoof in a friendly shake. "Nova it is."

"The princess has not stated it to me yet, but I will probably be your supervisor for your training."

Twilight ran over to Pinkie and grabbed her hoof. "Let's go upstairs." She whispered in her ear.

"But why?" Pinkie Protested.

"Just come on." Said Twilight forcefully. Reluctantly Pinkie followed her, not wanting to leave her new best friend open to interrogation. There came a loud bang of a door shutting.

"Now." said Nova, "The princess has instructed me to share any knowledge I have with you that relates to your power. I am highly skilled with all forms of magic and have been training in the art for many years. By most accounts I have no superior, save for the princesses themselves. Before we are interrupted by our gracious hosts, is there anything you would like to ask me?" He sounded gruff after a long day.

"Yeah." Said Wallace, "How do I pick up people?"

"You mean like levitation?" he asked.

"Well yeah. I mean I've done it before with my pink friend there, but I couldn't do it on my other human friend earlier while we were fighting. So what gives?"

"I think you've just answered your own question." Said Nova.

"Umm... how so?"

"Well, you were able to levitate your pony friend because she trusted you. However, during a fight there are aggressive feelings between you and your opponent. If I had to take a guess I'd say your power can not directly influence the bodies of anypony… or body, unless that being has put some trust into you. Does that make sense?"

"So I could only pick her up because she trusts me?"

"I believe so." Said Nova.

"Hmm…" Wallace thought for a time about how he could work around this catch. If he could manipulate anything then some stupid dragons shouldn't be much of an issue. But apparently his power was given to him to be used for only benevolent purposes.

"I'll have to find a way around that." He mumbled to himself.

"I warn you," said Nova, "your power isn't exactly like unicorn's power. If what I've been told is true then you have figured out ways to utilize it more effectively than we have. Just don't go abusing it." He finished bluntly.

Wallace let out a nervous laugh. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Good." He replied. "Let's keep it that way."

"Excuse me?" a soothing voice said.

"P-princess!" Nova stammered. He pulled a quick turn to address her. "I was just doing as you instructed. Giving the human any advice I could."

"I see that. Has he been helping you Wallace?" she asked.

Without a word Wallace gave her a satisfactory thumbs up.

"Glad to hear it." She said ironically. "Now since Twilight is letting us stay here, I think it's about time we were all properly introduced. Guards?"

Her attention directed to the Pegasus ponies clad in golden armor. "How are you two holding up?"

"Can't complain your majesty." Said one.

"Likewise." Replied the other.

"Good. Please remove your armor. You too Nova."

"B-but your highness." He protested.

"That's an order Nova." She hissed. "While we are staying in Ponyville I cannot have you three garnering attention everywhere we go. We've caused enough trouble already just being here."

With no further protesting all three guards removed their golden chest plates, leggings, and helmets.

As their attire was removed the guards let down their pinned up manes which was traditionally cut to a shortened length for typical royal stations, though with rank came privileges. The first grey Pegasus let down his silky sky-blue hair which had been concealed underneath his helmet. His wavy mane was somewhat unkempt and would probably need a thorough brushing. His eyes were smooth and low containing irises as blue as the deepest oceans.

"How should I address you?" asked Celestia.

"My given name is Azure Fury, but you may address me any way desire Princess." He sounded like a young adult, probably mid-twenties as Celestia would assume. No doubt he was most likely handpicked for his prior experience or talents. His torso was somewhat barrel-chested and he had a thin waist, a combination that enhanced his natural flight characteristics.

"Good to have you Azure." She said.

The other Pegasus placed his helmet upon his neatly stacked set of armor. His mane was curlier than his counterpart's but they looked eerily similar. His hair coiled into tufts of red bouncy locks. Astonishingly, just like Azure his eyes matched the color of his mane, with him having the deepest red rubies for eyes. He was noticeably thinner and tight framed compared to his comrade, perfect for achieving maximum speed.

"And what should I call you?" the princess asked.

"The name is Astral Phase, your highness." He bowed.

"You two seem so... similar. Are you related?" she asked.

"We're brothers." Said Azure.

"The fastest of the Royal guard." Said Astral.

"Good. I expect great things from the both of you."

"And you won't be disappointed." Added Nova. He had just finished stripping and taking off his helmet as well, letting his sleek black mane fall neatly down the length of his neck. His vivid indigo coat would shroud him well on a dark night, though his bright emerald green eyes would probably give him away. "I picked these two to come with us, because of their extensive flight and combat records. Both are stainless."

"You sure know how to pick em, Nova." The princess said delighted.

"Don't I?" he asked confidently.

SNORE*SNORE*

He was abruptly cut off by the sound of someone sleeping, loudly. They turned their attention to a corner and found Wallace, balled up in a sleeping bag with headphones in his ear, with some unbearably loud music playing.

"How can he sleep with that garbage playing?" asked Nova.

"I have yet to figure out these humans, Nova." Said Celestia. "You'll get used to it I suppose."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"And this is the guest bedroom, where you'll sleep." Said Applejack.

Jiggs had a look around, taking a note of the amenities. There were red quilted sheets covering a bed which would just barely fit his entire frame, a window overlooking the barn and nearby orchards, a desk containing one candle which was lit, and a small closet space.

"It isn't exactly a four star hotel or nothin', but it's the best I've got." She said.

"It's perfect. Thanks Jersey." He chimed. Taking care not to mess up the bed he placed his duffle bag on top and began taking things out; some toiletries, clothes, his cheap off brand mp3, and a charger.

"Oh sorry, but there's no plug in this room." She admitted.

"Doesn't matter." He assured with a smile. "Already charged."

At that moment little Applebloom came up the stairs. "So why is Mr. Macho stayin' here?" she asked.

"Because I'm here to help your sister with her chores in the morning." He stopped AJ before she could respond. "And anything you guys need help with, just let me know."

"Oh alrighty." The little filly said. "Goodnight Mr. Macho." With a hop and a skip she made her way down the hall and into her room.

"Goodnight kiddo." He called down after her.

"I don't believe it." Said Applejack. "I never pegged you for the sweet type, especially after seeing your fights today with your friends. I honestly kind of pegged you as a potty-mouthed jackass."

Her heart sank a little when she didn't get an immediate response.

"Yeah well, when all we do is hang around each other all day we talk differently than we do than in public or with people, or ponies... that we care about. We aren't bad guys." Jiggs took off his shirt letting his muscles be cloaked in candle-light, and walked up to the door to get closer to Applejack. He locked eyes with her. "We just don't know when we're going to die, and if it should be tomorrow then we'd like to have a little fun today, while we're still young. Sorry if that bothers you." His voice was just barely above a whisper, calm and collected.

"No. Um…you're right. Sorry I just…oh… just goodnight." She broke eye contact with him. "I'm out the door at the crack of dawn. Don't make me come get you." She stormed off down the hall in somewhat of a rage, holding back something inside she wanted to tell him.

"I'll be there." He called after her.

After a letting out a long sigh he shut the door and found himself now alone. He twiddled with one his silver bangles, leaving marks wrapping around his wrists. Looking out the window he could see a brilliant starry night sky against a deep violet background. The moon, shining bold and bright, reminded him again of the beauty of the land he now lived in. Sitting on his bed he pulled a book out of his bag. It was one his favorites from his How-to series, "How to Read Body Language."

"This probably won't do me any good since everyone that lives here is a pony. How am I supposed to read pony body language?" he asked himself.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Packie and Fluttershy were about five minutes away from her cottage, watching the sun finally sink over the horizon. The moon was already starting to replace it high in the sky. Their path snaked around taking them past trees and other homes until the foliage started to recede.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. "You didn't really say much after your fight."

"Oh, about that…" he paused. "So I held off on telling you, but right before the princess showed up I sorta kinda… had a little freak out moment, during the fight."

"Little freak out? What do you mean?"

"Umm… that part I'm drawing a blank on. I don't really remember it but Jiggs said I was thrashing uncontrollably, and nothing he was saying was really getting to me." He let out a deep breath, glad to get that off of his chest.

"So you had a little hissy fit? I did hear you let out a horrible yell. I might even call it kind of a roar."

"Yeah I did that too. Heh." He laughed nervously. "But he pulled me out of my rage by reminding me... of something."

"And what was that?" she asked.

He smiled at her. "He reminded me of you."

She didn't respond but instead felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Any time he talked about her in a nice way, she simply found herself speechless.

"I thought you might do that." He smirked.

After a few minutes they were about to come upon her cottage when Packie suddenly stopped. He shrugged his shoulders and listened intently.

He caught a whiff of something in his nostrils. His senses had increased so dramatically that he had forced himself to stop paying attention to them, but he couldn't ignore this.

"Wait." He told Fluttershy. "Do you smell that?"

"Smell what?" she asked frightened.

"Get behind me!" he strategically positioned himself in front of her with his arms outstretched, ready to attack. Wordlessly she obeyed, staying close behind him.

"The stench is so heavy." Said Packie. "I think there's someone following us."

"W-w-why would someone be following us?" she stammered.

"I don't know." Keeping her behind himself he bared his teeth at the open night sky, but there was nothing there. His eyes darted around rapidly, trying to catch sight of something.

"A-are you sure there's someone?" she asked.

"I… I can't tell. Just stay close to me." He ordered.

They slowly began to make progress back up to her front door. She took the key from her secret spot and opened the door hurriedly.

"Quick get inside."

He rushed her in, making sure that nothing in the home was out of place, then he locked the door. Taking up a position at a window, he looked out across her property looking for any suspicious activity.

"See anything?" she asked trembling.

"No." he peered for a little while longer before breaking his attention.

"Sorry it's just that I—"

He was cut short mid-sentence when she wrapped her forelegs around him in a tight embrace. She buried her face in his chest, teary eyed. "Don't ever scare me like that again!" she pleaded.

"I…I'm sorry." He returned her gesture by putting his arms around her.

They held each other for a few long seconds, listening to each other breathe.

"How about I make us some tea?" he asked.

She released her embrace and sniffled a few times.

"Tea sounds nice." She said smiling.

While she made her way to her living room, Packie went into the kitchen. She had shown him the night before everything he would need to make tea or coffee, as she had a vast selection of both. He picked out a batch of grey tea leaves and packed them into a pouch while he boiled some hot water. The concoction was left alone to steep for a minute or two, and afterwards he added a spoonful of honey to the two mugs he had prepared.

She had laid across the ottoman when he came in holding the drinks. He sat down on the green sofa next to her and kicked off his shoes. The aroma of the tea caught her attention, forcing her to sit up.

"That smells wonderful." She noted.

Packie delicately handed the mug over to her which she took in one hoof. "I'm not even gonna ask how you hold that. I know better now."

She took a few sips of the hot liquid. "It's perfect." She said.

"Glad you like it." He replied warmly.

They sat for a few minutes, sitting in silence and sipping tea. It was getting quite dark outside.

"So you want to help me feed the animals tomorrow?" she asked.

"Definitely. It just amazes me how you communicate with them so easily." He took another sip.

"It's quite easy really. It's my special talent. You see these butterflies?" she pointed to the mark on her hip. "That's my cutie mark. You've probably noticed already but everypony has one."

"What do they mean?" he asked.

"They appear whenever you find your special talent, your true calling. My cutie mark consists of butterflies because I'm very gentle and kind. Neat, right?"

"Yeah, it is." He took another sip. "I wish humans had that. Most of the time people go through life never knowing what their true calling is."

"That… sounds terrible. Going your whole life without knowing what you're supposed to do…"

"Well that's one way of looking at it. Think about it this way, though. A human could be good at anything; be a musician, artist, scientist, teacher, doctor… the sky is the limit. What's good about being human is that… you don't have to settle on just one thing for the rest of your life."

Packie set his mug down on a nearby table. Taking this as a cue, Fluttershy stood and sat back down next to him on the sofa, with an audible thomf*.

"You make 'being human' sound like an offer no one could pass up." she delightfully admitted.

They chatted into the wee hours of the night, knowing that bed time was approaching. Fluttershy had worried about Angel, her pet bunny, but remembered she fed him that morning.

She had prepared some vegetarian dishes which Packie found delectable. He never admitted to her that humans eat meat on a regular basis and decided to let sleeping pigs lie, knowing this would probably make her panic.

When bed time finally came they hugged each other and she left him to sleep on the sofa again.

Packie was having trouble finding a comfortable sleeping position since he could hear everything within the cottage ten times louder than normal, especially the clock.

TICK*TOCK*TICK*TOCK*

To combat this influx of noise he placed an extra pillow she gave him over his ear, sandwiching himself in quiet bliss.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fluttershy, alone in her room, had enjoyed another night with Patrick and was starting to fall asleep.

"I'm glad he finally calmed down." She said quietly to herself. "He really was starting to scare me."

She heard a slight tap on her window.

Tap*

She leaned up and looked to see nothing there. With a roll of her eyes she flipped over to look the opposite direction.

"Probably just a bug." She whispered.

She laid for a few more minutes in total silence, looking at the light from the moon that was cast upon her wall. It was bright enough to dimly light the entire room.

TAP*

She leaned forward again and gazed out again into the open night sky, seeing only the stars and the large moon they seemed to gather around. The trees of the nearby forest seemed to glisten in the light.

In a fit of annoyance she pulled the covers over her head slightly turning back away from the window.

"Just got to shut it out." She whispered again. "Just a bug."

She felt herself slip in and out of consciousness, remembering the day she had with her friends. Packie's fight became clear in her mind, how he seemed to be so confident. It made her want to be more confident, not be so afraid.

"I can be confident too." She asserted quietly.

TAP*TAP*

She flung herself over hurriedly. Nothing was at her window again.

She pushed the pillow to her head.

"Shut it out. Shut it out." She said worriedly.

The pillow made everything quiet, and shutting her eyes seemed to help her focus.

About half an hour passed with no noise, things returning to absolute quiet.

She let her eyes open and gazed at the surface of her wall, looking at all the shadows the moon made. The trees outside her window had made intricate shapes upon her wall. Branches reached out in all directions, as far as she could tell from the shadows.

Each tree was clearly defined except one, it warped.

The shadow of this tree seemed to sway in some slight breeze.

It had two clearly defined branches reaching directly out from its thick trunk.

"Hello Mr. Tree's shadow. Why don't you go to sleep to?" she whispered to her wall.

The tree's shadow continued to sway back and forth. One of the smaller branches moved ever so slightly out of place.

The branch reached out slowly and the rest of the tree seemed to follow.

It reached slower and slower until it was about to completely stop.

Tap*

The shadow of the tree slowly turned to the side and split wide open… exposing a dense smile of serrated teeth.

Fluttershy felt a surge of icy fear go down her neck and through her spine.

She slowly removed her covers watching the reaction of the shadow.

It stayed in place.

Inch by inch she turned her head, to face the moon and trees out her window…

She wished she hadn't.

Trees don't stare back at you...