Living with the Night

Chapter 4

Doubts and Shopping

Connor felt pain, a slow numbing pain through his body and muffled voices. His vision was blurry and could barely make out the beeping of the heart monitor. The vices became clearer and recognized the voices of the six mares, stallions and Nurse Red Heart. “We’ve kept him in the coma for over a month.” Red Heart stated.

“How far did he fall?”

“About three kilometers.” Thunder stated.

“By Celestia’s beard.” Pierce stated. Connor blinked a few times and his vision was getting better.

“He doesn’t look too good.” Caramel said.

“Yet, I’m sure that I still look better than you.” All head turned towards the hospital bed to see the man coughing.

“No fucking way!” Dash said as she and the ponies crowded around him.

“Back off all of you!” Red Heart ordered as a Unicorn stallion with a white coat barged into the room. “Give him some space!” The doctor’s horn ignited and scanned the man from head to toe.

“How are you feeling Mr. Rowe?” Connor tried to move but his body wouldn’t obey his commands. His eyes shrank and he feared the worst.

“Doc, why can’t I feel my arms or, or anything for that matter?”

“We had to use a paralysis spell on you so we could operate and so the healing spells would take effect.” He stated. “Your wounds haven’t healed yet so it’ll be sometime before you can move.” Connor let out a sigh of relief at the words. The man heard sniffling and saw the six mares wiping tears away.

“Did I miss something? What happened to Tirek?”

“He’s back in his cage.” Twilight stated. “We’re just happy that you’re okay.” With that the pink mare wrapped him in a bone crushing hug. Connor was being suffocated by the pink mare’s breast as she hugged him harder.

“Pinkie...can’t...breathe!” Applejack pried the party mare off of him and took in enough air to fill a tire. “Thank you...Applejack.”

“Pinkie the poor fella just woke up from a coma and now yer try’n to kill him.”

“Oops, sorry about that Connor.” He nodded at the pink mare.

“So when am I getting out of this joint doc?”

“Not for a long while I’m afraid.” Connor groaned. “Your spine is still in pieces and you’ve got severe bruising throughout your body. It’s nothing less than a miracle that your brain is intact. Somepony up there must like you.”

Jesus, how bad was I hurt?

“For now, just try to get some rest,” he then turned to the group. “and visiting hours are up.” The girls said their goodbyes and the nurse checked the chart one more time before leaving the man alone in the room. Connor stared back at the ceiling of the hospital room and silently cursed himself.

~~~

The man’s eyes shot open and he felt cold sweat on his body. He stood up and walked into the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. He shook his head and groaned as he looked at the bags under his eyes. Haven’t had that dream in a while. He quickly pushed the thoughts out of his mind and made his way downstairs.

The human opened the fridge and found next to nothing. Right I forgot to go shopping yesterday. He checked the milk in the fridge and found that it was not spoiled. He grabbed a bowl and found a box of ‘Lunapuffs.’ Sure they were a kid’s cereal, but they were good.

After he had brewed some coffee, one of the few things that didn’t go bad, he sat down and started looking through the paper. A few hoof steps coming down the steps caught his attention. The man’s eyes widened as he saw the Princess of the night wearing a tight fitting black T-shirt that was low cut at the top and was cut off just above her belly button. The Princess opted for a pair of short shorts that showed off her amazing ass. Connor was using all his mental power to avoid staring when she bent over to look for the milk. “It’s already out.” He said not looking back.

Luna closed the fridge and levitated a bowl, coffee mug with a spoon over to the table across from the man. Once again, his restraint was tested as her shirt showed a good portion of her cleavage. Do not look ahead. Do not look ahead!

Do I have something on my face? An all to familiar voice rang out in his mind.

“Jesus!” He said in surprise.

“No, I am Luna.” Connor face palmed.

“Okay, we need to lay down some ground rules while you’re staying here okay? Number one; Don’t go into my head without permission, it’s a huge invasion of privacy. If you want to psychic chat then let me know.”

“How?” Connor scratched his head and thought for a moment.

“I got it.” He grabbed his earlobe and tugged it lightly. “When I do that then you’re allowed to do the psychic thing.”

“What about me?”

“Rub your ear or something.”

“Pardon?” Connor reached over and rubbed the tip of her right ear. This caused Luna’s face to blush and her wing to spring up like wound up jack in a box. She growled at the man and stuck him to the ceiling with her magic.

“What the hell!?”

“Touch our ears again and though shall know the wrath of the night!” She said as her face was blushing profusely.

“Fine! Just put me down!” Luna’s horn glowed and set the human back on his feet. “Fine so just rub your own ear when you want to do the psychic thing. Okay?”

“Very well.” She said in a cold tone.

“Number two; and this is gonna be personal, do you have a boy friend or girl friend?” Luna scowled at him. “I’m just asking so I don’t accidentally walk in on anything I can’t un-see.” I’ve gone through that enough already.

How so?

“What did we just talk about?” She threw on a sheepish grin while making a squee noise that Twilight and the other mares can do to add to their cuteness factor. Seriously, how do they do that?

“Sorry, and to answer you question, no, I do not have a special somepony.” Her words had a hint of sadness to them and Connor felt a bit guilty at the question.

Nice one idiot. You just made her depressed. Say something to cheer her up!

“That’s surprising.”

“Hm?”

“That you don’t have somepony I figured that the line of ponies wanting to date a Princess of Equestria would be a mile long.” Luna stared at the man and a small blush came to her face. She quickly hid it and cleared her throat.

“Thank you. So what are our plans for today?”

Our plans? Well, I guess I could use some help shopping.

“I need to run to the super market for food. Then play the day by ear I guess.” With that The tow went to their rooms to get changed. Connor selected a standard red shirt and blue pants. He grabbed his wallet and his cane. He hated using the thing, but would rather suck it up than suffer the wrath of an overworked, underpaid nurse with hair trigger anger.

The two walked out of the house and headed towards the supermarket at the far end of town. The shopping center was fairly large and had everything the eligible bachelor needed to keep himself fed. They walked into the store and grabbed a cart and started walking down the isles and putting things in the basket. The two had not talked since they’d left the house and the awkwardness was rising. “So do you have any food allergies?”

Kill me now.

“No, none that I know of.”

“Good wouldn’t want you to die on day two now would we?” Luna just raised an eyebrow at the words.

“Are thou okay? You seem nervous.”

“Me nervous?” He let out a face chuckle. “No, I’m fine. I’m,” His eyes started to wander around the aisle looking for something to compare himself to. He settled on a jar of green vegetables at the far end. “cool as a cucumber.” The amount of internal face palms he was giving himself were astronomical. Luna giggled at the words and looked at the jar.

“I believe that these are pickles.” If face palms were a currency then Connor would be richer than Blueblood.

Universe, I beg you, make something, anything happen to get her to lighten up. Except-

“Hey quartermaster!” A young voice rang out. Connor turned around to see Pip with a smile on his face.

Damn it! Connor could easily imagine the commotion the colt would cause if he found out that the human was living with Princess Luna. The young colt walked up to him and saw the disguised Princess.

“Who’s the lass?” He said in a pirate accent. Luna put the box of cereal back and saw the small colt. A wide smile spread across her face.

“Well, if it isn’t our favorite little sub-” Connor gave a sharp tug on her tail and pulled his ear. Luna’s face was beet red and glared daggers into him.

He doesn’t know it’s you Luna and if he does find out then we’re dead!

Fine, but we shall get you back for pulling the royal tail!Connor noticed the bright blush on her cheeks.

“Favorite what, and who ye be lass?” Luna couldn’t help but giggle at the words.

“I was referring to,” She looked into the shopping basket and grabbed the first thing she could reach. She grabbed a bundle of bananas and held them up. “my favorite banana brand.” Connor was stifling his laughter earning him another death glare from the Princess.

“She’s my new roommate Pip.” The colt looked at him in surprise.

“Ye been recruiting without the captain’s permission? Mutiny!” Luna crouched down and smiled.

“I assure you captain that I shall do no such thing.” Pip raised an eyebrow, but let it go.

“What brings you here Pip?” Connor asked.

“Just looking around.”

“Well, why don’t you pick out a box a candy?” Connor stated.

“Really!?” Connor gave a nod at the words and watched the child run down the tiled floors.

“Whew, we dodged a-” He was cut off as he felt a sharp stinging in his rump. He grabbed his butt and silently cursed in pain. Jesus Christ that hurt!

Let that serve as a reminder not to pull the royal tail! Right, how could he forget the fact that everypony’s tail could be used as a makeshift whip? He learned that lesson the hard way when he accidentally did the same to AJ, yet for some reason she let out a soft moan when he did it to her. Luna’s wasn’t as bad as that first encounter because he doubts that Luna can use it as a substitute, close range lasso.

“You know little Pipsqueak?” Luna said as she and Connor went down the hallway.

“Yeah, we hang out sometimes.”

“You hangout with small children?” Connor knew she was messing with him and just rolled his eyes in response.

“In a big brother kind of way. Every boy needs a positive male role model in their life and it gives me an excuse to be childish sometimes. Win, win in my book.” He said as they approached the check out.

“Thou enjoys being childish?”

“What’s the point of being an adult if you can’t be childish every once in a while?” Luna had to admit that she enjoyed the pranks she would pull on the guards, and occasionally her sister. Connor paid the mare working at the register and grabbed what he was able to carry while balancing with the cane.

“Want some help?” Luna asked holding two bags.

“No, I got it.” He said as he put the plastic loops through his arms. “Okay let’s head home.” With Pip trailing in front of them with a small bag of ‘Gummy Ursas’ in his hand. Luna tapped Connor on the shoulder and rubbed her ear. The man nodded and tugged his own.

Do young Pipsqueak’s parents know you hang out with him? Connor bit his lip at the words.

Pip doesn’t have any parents. Luna’s eyes shrank at the words and let out a gasp.

WHAT!?

Ow! Not so damn loud, you’re gonna give me a migraine!

What happened to them?

From what Gold Skies told me, they dropped him off when he was two and never came back. I guess they didn’t want him anymore.

Gold Skies?

She’s the mare that runs the orphanage. Nice mare, really cares for the kids.

I had no idea. Connor saw The Princess wipe a tear away.

Don’t worry about it. You couldn’t have known. Pip doesn’t like to talk about it, so please don’t bring it up.

I understand. So how did you come into the picture?

Well, after Twilight explained that I wasn’t a threat and I got settled, not a lot of ponies liked me, safe for Twilight and her friends. One day I was walking through the park and I see Pip about to climb a tree trying to get his paper airplane down from a high branch. I didn’t want him to break his leg so I went up and got it for him.

“Oy! Landlubbers,” A familiar pirate accented voice snapped them out of their conversation. “ye been real quite since we left the docks. Ye be planning a mutiny?” Connor chuckled at the words.

“No captain, nothing of the sort, I assure you.” The skies started to grow dark and Connor felt a few raindrops on his head. “Best head to shore cap, a storm seems to be brewing.”

“Aye! I be seeing you both on the morrow!” He tipped his imaginary hat to Luna who could only giggle. Damn that giggle was cute! “Avast, turn East!” He said as he wandered off.

“Pip,” Connor said. “East is that way.” He pointed in the opposite direction.

“Then West it is!” Connor rolled his eyes at the young colt.

Pray tell, why does he always talk like a pirate?

Oh that’s my fault too. Luna raised an eyebrow at the words. I show him one Pirates of the Caribbean movie and look what happened. With that last thought he reached his home and the two started putting the groceries away.

“Where should I put the ice cream?”

“In the freezer.”

“Where is that?”

“The basement, second door on the right.” As the words left his lips he dropped what he dropped the loaf of bread he was holding and scrambled towards the Princess. “No wait!” He tripped and ended up crashing into the mare making her drop the ice cream as she fell. Connor’s head was pounding as he felt his face land on something fuzzy, soft and...perky? As he raised his head he saw what could only be described as pure anger and embarrassment. Connor’s face went bright red as he realized he just motor boated the Princess on the Night.

“Lecherous little pervert!” Luna yelled as she got to her hooves and got ready to shoot a volley of spells at him.

“It was an accident! I tripped, I swear!” Luna growled and took a deep breath. “Look I’m sorry okay, but for the love of god, do not open that door!”

“Why not? The ice cream will melt.”

“I’ll handle it.” He said as he took the cold package.

“What are you hiding from me?” She asked as she narrowed her eyes.

“Remember those plushy spiders you brought to life last Nightmare Night?” Luna’s face went red in embarrassment. “Well, they had to go somewhere and they seem to like damp, warm places. So my house was the logical choice when Winter came around. Twilight put an enchantment on the door to keep them down there until she can find a spell to deal with them. I usually do an inspection once a month and clean house, but seeing as I’ve been incapacitated for the past three months, I’m worried of what happened down there.”

“I see. Well, shall we go then?”

“You want to see these things?”

“I might know a way to deal with them.”

“Oh I know a way, kill them with fire!” The man hobbled over to the downstairs bathroom and pulled out a bottle of body spray and duck taped a Zippo lighter to it. He gave a quick demonstration of the makeshift flame thrower and reluctantly opened the door. Nothing but dark steps leading down was all the man could see. He reached fro the wall and flipped the light switch, nothing happened. Oh just fucking perfect.

I hardly think that this is ideal.

Get out of my head! Luna snapped her fingers and a small glowing orb of light hovered in front of the two as they made their way down the dark depths. They reached the concrete floor and saw large white box. Connor slowly opened the lid and a cloud of cold air came out. He quickly put the ice cream inside and quickly ran back up the stairs with Luna trailing behind. Once at the top he shut the door and sighed in relief. “We got lucky.”

“Where are they?”

“Hopefully they,” He grabbed a set of nearby sunglasses. “bugged out.” Luna just face palmed and giggled.

“That was the worst joke ever, of all time.”

“At least I’m trying.”

“Well if there’s nothing more that needs to be done I’d like to continue with Modern Warfare 2.” She said as she walked over to the couch and turned on the console.

“Thought you were playing Black ops?”

“I did, but I got bored. I started playing campaign in MW2, I was just so captivated by the story and Ghost is my favorite character of all time.” Connor rolled his eyes and walked over to get a drink.

“What mission are you on?”

“Makarov’s safe house.” The man froze and bit his lip.

“Oh, then I’d brace myself if I were you.”

“Why?”

Twenty-five minutes and forty-five seconds later.

“C’mon Luna something like that had to happen.” Connor said as he banged on the bathroom door.

“No, it cannot be that our shining night has fallen!” She cried into her palms.

“It was a plot twist to help enrich the storyline, and if you’re gonna eat all those cookies
then you’re paying for the next box.”

“These sugary disks of dough and chocolate will never fill the hole he left in our heart!” Connor groaned and rubbed his scalp thinking of a way to coax her out of there. She’d been crying non stop for over half an hour.

“Would Ghost really want you to be curled up on the floor mourning him or seeking revenge against the man that killed him?”

“What are thou talking about?” She sniffled.

“There’s still two more missions left and if Ghost were here then he’d want you to get the job done. Not crawl inside a cookie box and drown in sugary deserts.” Connor leaned against the door and heard a shuffling of hooves. The door creaked open to show the Princess’s mane a mess and her mascara running down her fur.

“Very well.” She said as she wiped her eyes. The Princess sat down and picked up the controller. She was kicking all kinds of ass and was seeing red as she entered the chase scene with General Shepard. “YOUR FEEBLE BOAT SHALL NOT SAVE THEE FROM OUR WRATH WRETCH!” She yelled in her royal Canterlot voice. As the credits rolled she sat back and panted as sweat appeared on her head. “Huzzah!”

“Feel better?”

“Indeed, I have avenged my companion!” A loud growl echoed through the house and the Princess blushed brightly.

“Well, I say that you deserve a meal after that.” He chuckled. “Question, do you like meat?”

“We haven’t had much experience with it.” Connor nodded and pulled out a tray of pre-made meatballs and some pasta. Luna helped set the table and waited for the man to finish cooking. “You can cook?”

“Of course. Lived on my own for years, had to learn or starve.” He finished the sauce and served them each a plate.

“This isn’t pony meat is it?”

“Course not, it’s immoral to eat horse and pony back on Earth. Granted some cultures still do it, but I have no intention of doing so.” Luna took a bite of the meat sphere and smiled.

“It’s really good.”

“Family recipe.” The two began to dine and chat. After dinner was finished, Connor put the dishes in the dishwasher and thought of an idea. “Mind if I ask something?”

“What?”

“What did Blueblood say to you that made you kick him across Canterlot?” Luna lowered her gaze and hid behind her hair. “I mean, I know Blueblood is an ass, but to get under your skin, he must have really struck a nerve.” Luna adjusted her seat on the couch and sighed.

“While we were meeting with the ambassadors, Prince Blueblood showed up and started shooting his mouth off.”

“No surprise there. I thought Blueblood wasn’t allowed in political affairs.”

“He isn’t, for reasons you can easily imagine.” Connor knew the Prince’s views on other races, more specifically anyone or anypony that wasn’t of noble blood. He also found the fact that Connor’s country used democracy instead of the monarchy system to be abomination. “So he barged in during the meeting and demanded a seat at the table. Everyone refused to allow him and then he said that I had no place there either since all I do is raise and lower the moon.”

“Prick.”

“A mare can only be insulted so much before she, how you say, ‘lose her cool?’” Connor nodded. “So I stood up, calmly walked over to him and kicked him right through the main window.” Connor laughed at this while Luna stayed silent. “There is one thing though.”

“What?”

“He was right.” The room grew dead silent and Connor looked at the Princess in shock.

“No he wasn’t. Blueblood was just looking for an excuse to bitch and moan.” Luna turned to look at the man with her big sad blue eyes.

“All I really do is lower and raise the moon. I rarely go on political trips to other countries and I don’t even have half the duties I had before I was banished.” She shivered as she fought against her tears. “I used to help Captain Artemis coordinate the royal guard at peace and war times. I’d see over the courts for the most vicious crimes and,” She let out a long sigh before continuing. “I felt like I actually made a difference and helped my country.”

“Come on, don’t talk like that. You decorate the night sky better than one of Van Gogh’s paintings.”

“Who?”

“Famous painter from my world. Your night sky is beautiful.”

“And how many ponies actually take notice of my work?” She said as she frowned. “I put hard work into my craft and no pony gives a damn!” She was clenching her fists so tight that the nails could split the skin. “Even after my return we are still trapped in our sister’s shadow.” She looked into the man’s eyes with tears flowing down her cheeks.

“Do you have any idea what that’s like? To be unappreciated when you try so hard to stand out.” Luna hung her head and unclenched her fist. “We apologize, we should not burden you with our-” The mare was cut off as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Her first instinct was to break away, but this was not an attack, the arms were comforting and warm. Luna felt something warm inside of her and sat frozen in place.

“It’s no burden Luna. Everyone has problems, you, me, Twilight, I’m sure even Celestia has issues.”

“Now all I’ve done is make them yours.”

“That’s what friends are for Luna.” He said as he rested his chin a top her head. “We help each other deal with their problems.” Luna felt her heard beat a little faster.

“You are our friend?” She asked in a shaky tone.

“Of course. I’m letting you stay in my house aren’t I? I wouldn’t do that for a total stranger and I may not look it, but I know how it feels to be unappreciated.”

“How so?” She said as she wiped a tear away.

“My four older siblings are talented beyond belief so it’s a little hard to stand out. Not that my parent would give me credit even if I earned it.”

“Why?” Connor gave a small cringe at the question.

“Let’s just say that I’m the black sheep of the family.”

“I thought your kind was an advanced species of apes?” The man face palmed.

“It’s just an expression Luna. My point is that so long as you enjoy doing it theres no reason why you should complain. Sure you make the night sky awesome and you feel down that not a lot of people take notice, that’s normal. You want to be congratulated for your accomplishments as you deserve.”

“Now you’re making me sound selfish.” Connor groaned as he tried to think of a new tactic.

“Wanna know what I liked most about being hospitalized for three and a half months?” Luna looked at him in confusion. “It gave me a chance to take in all the little things that ponies and people, myself included, take for granted everyday. Gave me a chance to stop and smell the roses. One thing that I never knew that was so beautiful was the moon and the night sky.”

“Thank thee for that reminder.” Her tone was dripping in sarcasm.

“Hang on, I’m going somewhere with this. It gave me a chance to really see what I was missing out on. Back on my world the sun and moon raise and lower themselves, so theres really no reason to care. Most people don’t care how something works so long as it does what it’s supposed to do. I realized how much work you put into the sky and I feel guilty that I didn’t realize it until then.” Luna wiped the tears from her eyes. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that there will always be praise, even if you don’t know it. Someone will always be there to appreciate what you’ve done.”

“We doubt that.”

“What about Pipsqueak? Doesn’t he count?” Luna gulped. “Whenever he’s not going on about pirates you’re usually the topic of conversation.”

“R-really?”

“I’m quoting him on this,” He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “Luna is the best Princess ever.” Connor did a poor copy of the colt’s British sounding accent. Luna could only chuckle at the words. “Just ask him or any of the kids in Cherilee’s class, I know that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle think rather highly of you.”

“We helped them with some personal problems a while back, no big deal.”

“Yes, it is a big deal. You help ponies in a way that Celestia never could. That has to count for something right?” Luna remained silent and sighed.

“I...I suppose so.” She said as she wiped the tears away and broke the embrace. “We thank thee for the kind words.”

“Hey don’t mention it, what are friends for?” He smiled. “Now I say that we sit back, relax and kill some grunts.”

“Grunts?” Connor put in ‘Halo Reach’ and Luna chose her spartan. Female, midnight blue with a Unicorn call sign. “So what is our objective?” She asked as Connor loaded the first mission.

“Kill evil space aliens.” Luna scored a headshot off of an elite with her pistol and set her controller down and folded her hands. “What are you doing?”

“Taking a moment to honor the enemy.”

You can’t be serious.

We are.

Damn it Luna!

“We apologize evil space lizard, but thou was in our way. I will be sure to send your family flowers and-”

“You do realize that while you’re giving him a eulogy, his alien friends are shooting you in the face.” Luna frowned and picked up her controller.

“Well, that is just rude!” The human decided to quit halfway through the storyline and just decided to watch Luna kill the alien scum. Soon he faded off to sleep on the cough as the sound of bullets flying and explosions played in the background. Connor awoke hours later to see the game paused and felt a wetness on his pants. He looked down and his face went scarlet red.

Princess Luna was fast asleep on his lap and had a small drool trail on his crotch. The man took a moment to regain control of himself and shut off the entertainment center before taking the mic off the Princess’s head. He carefully scooped her up bridal style and brought her upstairs.

Damn! She’s heavier than she looks. In her sleep, Luna had wrapped both arms around the man’s neck and was nuzzling his chest. His blush levels increased ten fold. Connor reached her room and carefully laid her down before removing her arms from his neck and tucking her in. He took a moment to admire how cute she looked sleeping. He closed the door and made his way to his own room. He took off his drool soaked pants and went for a pair of gym shorts, it was surprisingly humid that night so he decided to go without a shirt. As soon as his head hit the pillow he let sleep take him.