“I feel like I need to-” I began, shouting back at Weiss as she clung to my back and resting her snout on my shoulder as we returned home to Canterlot Castle/Dungeon.

“Don’t.” Weiss interrupted before I could adequately apologize. “It wasn’t your fault that he did what he did. It wasn’t even your fault for wanting to go and meet them.” I couldn’t quite see her but I could imagine the leaking water works coming from her eyes trailing behind us.

“I still brought you there; I still let you go with Spike. I should have known or at least suspected something like that would happen.” I replied, the heat from Spike’s violations still burning within me but with the wind ripping at my face I couldn’t help but let it drain from me.

“And just how would you have known? What would have tipped you off? He looked perfectly respectable at first when all four of us were in the throne room.” came the reply, though it took me slowing down to let the engine of the bike grow slightly quieter to hear her.

“Can I ask what happened, or not yet?” I turned my head towards the emotionally scarred baby dragon, unsure how long I should wait to talk about what’d happened to her.

“I-” Weiss sounded like she was just as unsure about it as I was. “Let me process first. It’s nothing against you but I want to talk to my brother first.” I had to shrug to that; given their longer blood relationship I couldn’t hope to be the first she’d come to about it.

Swinging onto the right side of the tracks, we sped along kicking up dirt and gravel as we passed by the incoming train to Canterlot; aiming to get onto the bridge that would lift us into the Canterlot Mountain Range before the train all but consumed every inch of track and we got stuck behind it till we entered the city.

“Are we going to make it?” Weiss asked nervously, noticing how quickly the train was closing the gap between the bridge and us.

“Sure we are. Unlike the train we’ve got another three gears to go faster with!” I grinned at the same time that I hit the throttle, shifting up into fourth and already approaching the train engine rather steadily. Just not fast enough yet. Accelerating further I shifted into fifth and got as close as I dared to the coal car, steadily running out of road.

“We’re not going to make it!” Weiss screamed into my ear as I merely grinned and shifted into sixth, throwing all our combined weight forward to accelerate faster.

With my right leg technically above empty space as the gravel dropped away beneath us and my left leg being threatened to be ripped off by the cow catcher of the engine, I swung us onto the bridge ahead of the train with Weiss threatening to pass out from the excitement.

“I told you we’d make it.” I shouted back as we slowed back down again, staying just ahead of the engine behind us.

“Never do that again!” the prepubescent female demanded, slamming her fist down on my shoulder furiously. “I don’t care if we end up behind a slow moving train, don’t do that again!”

“Oh come on, that was exciting!” I retorted, sitting back up again to relax.

“No, that was terrifying!” was my response as all light faded away temporarily as we passed through the first tunnel; the bikes headlights coming on automatically in response.

“Oh fine, whatever. I don’t expect to be doing much riding this in the future anyways.” I mumbled the latter half given that I didn’t see any reason for me to leave the Castle anymore and i’m sure Weiss was feeling similarly.

~~~

“That was a quick trip.” Princess Luna welcomed us at the door to the Dungeon as we rolled in ahead of her in neutral, letting gravity drag us into the darkness. “I hope it was a pleasant one.”

“Nope, and it will very likely be the last one that we take in a long time.” I replied while fighting to keep the bike from impacting the stone surface of the walls as we descended. “How was your nap?”

“Apparently more pleasant than your trip. What happened?” Luna sat back near the door as I all but killed the engine and walked it into the nearest empty cell.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Weiss crossed her arms over her chest protectively as her head spines shielded her face when her head dropped downwards. I pulled myself off the bike without kicking Weiss in the back of the head as she stood on the tail of the bike, sulking.

“Oh dear, I hope it wasn’t too traumatic.” Luna replied in concern as I gave Luna the look. “Oh, it was.” I entered into my work cell and got to work on hopefully finishing my chair finally.

“Well, on a slightly more cheerful note,” Luna announced after a minute of her watching me working methodically. “My sister and I were wondering if you, as a human, would have any idea of how to permanently get rid of attacking Manticores. There’s a pride of them threatening a town near to the deserts south of here.”

“Luna,” I began, setting my tools down and received a glare from the alicorn with the lack of appropriate title. “Princess. Human’s don’t even know what a Manticore is, let alone how to adequately fight them. Best I can do would be kill a few of them and hopefully the rest of them would get the idea and stay away.”

“Erm, kill? You don’t know any peaceful methods of removal?” Luna inquired hopefully, settling down nearby; just out of range of flying debris.

“I’m not the type. Even if I was I don’t know anything about Manticores; what they like and don’t like. What scares them and what angers them? If I had in-depth knowledge about them, then maybe I could throw something together. Fact is, Princess,” I wasn’t sure why I added so much inflection in her title, maybe just to make sure that I said it. “Is that I know a number of ways to kill a person; both with the target aware that it was doing so, as well as without them aware.”

“Why in Equus would you have such skills?” Luna demanded in concern for me; or for humanity. “That cannot be normal skills for humans to possess, could they?”

“No. Not yet. If the wars on Earth continue then it may end up that way.” I replied, setting my tools down to take a seat on the chair. I just had to take out the large block of wood that made up the legs/stump of the chair, carve out the legs themselves and it’d be more or less ready for finishing.

“Wars? There are more than one? Equestria has not had a war in over a thousand years, let alone more than one!” Luna allowed herself to roll onto her side, her legs stretching out beside her before going limp.

“Yes well, last I was aware there was a war of religion concerning a group of radical extremists from the Middle East. They’re more or less conditioned to kill anyone they call ‘infidel’ which is everyone who isn’t one of them.” I explained, resting my chin in my palm.

“Not only that but they’ve misplaced hundreds of thousands from another country and my country wanted to bring them all in without proper screening. That’s nothing more than just welcoming in the radicals to come and attack us.”

“You’re world is concerning me. Perhaps it would be better if you remained here where it’s peaceful?” Luna suggested, looking at me from the corner of her eye in all casualness.

“Ehh, we’ll see. Honestly I'm more concerned about me being here at all.” I stood up and exited the cell, Luna following after me curiously. Entering into my private room I shoulder rolled onto my mattress which I noticed had been replaced with an actual queen sized bed frame and spring mattress.

“And why would that be?” Luna edged me on as I rolling onto my back on the right side of the bed. Luna, before either of us was aware, rolled onto the bed beside me and got comfortable on her side, watching me curiously.

“Because one, my human nature will pollute your country; exhibit motorbike.” I replied, gesturing to the bike across the hall from me. “Two, this world is already polluting me; exhibit Eye.” I turned my head to look directly at the Princess next to me, the heat from her body radiating outward and warming my left half.

“If you’d like I can fix both those issues with a flash of magic.” Luna suggested calmly and quietly given how close we were; she probably could have licked my face had she the inclination.

“We’ll see. The third thing is how close you seem to be getting to me. You’re already spending most of your days down here with me and now you’re laying with me on my bed. Thanks for replacing the old one by the way.” I added, making Luna’s face flush purple for the third? Fourth time today?

“Oh!” Luna spun and hopped off the bed suddenly before adjusting her collar and crown. “My apologies, I wasn’t- I hadn’t- It wasn’t my intention-”

“Oh relax. I didn’t think anything of it. I just want you to know that for whatever emotional attachment you’ve produced for me, I don’t feel the same.” I announced, rolling onto my back and folding my fingers over my stomach as the sound of glass shattering echoed through the cavern. “Don’t get me wrong, I'm sure you’re a great person/ pony/ alicorn thing and you have a lovely personality. But I’m just not interested in a cross-species relationship.”

“Oh.” Luna’s voice was low and dripping with disappointment. “I see. I apologize for wasting your time then.”

“Now hang on.” I sat up, halting Luna’s rejected walk of shame. “I never said you were wasting my time.”

“Go on.” Luna requested, otherwise remaining quiet as she wiped a hoof across an eye.

“I like having you visit me here. If it was just Weiss and I things would get rather boring rather quickly with just work on my mind. I appreciate you taking the time out of your daily life to come visit a flawed creature such as myself.” I explained, resting an arm on my knee with the other posting behind me. “You want to lounge next to me on my bed, I'm fine with that. You want to stare at me curiously, I’ll get used to it. But I cannot reciprocate whatever interest you have in me.”

“You understand that most of what is required for me to allow myself to lay next to you involves the hope of you feeling the same as I? Without that, I likely won’t be able to bring myself to do it.” Luna replied, sitting back with watery eyes.

“So then don’t lay with me. Sit with me.” I offered, scooting back to rest against the headboard. “In my world it’s not uncommon for animals of any species to be best friends with a human and cuddle with them. It just shows they think of the human as part of their family.” I explained as Luna stepped onto the mattress again and got herself comfortably sat next to me. “I don’t expect you to adopt me as family, yet or even ever, but at least let me be a friend.”

“I… I appreciate that, I do.” Luna replied, letting herself lean backwards and land against the headboard, sitting with her rear hooves out like I was. “I think I understand why Miss Heartstrings sits like this so often; it’s quite comfortable.”

“Who?” I asked in confusion, as three burps followed by deep thuds echoed through the room from the next cell over. “Excuse you!” I shouted to Weiss.

“Your materials are here!” Weiss shouted back, as though she could care less about mannerisms. “Could you get them out of my room please?”

“I’ll need help to do so, maybe from a friend?” I requested, holding a hand up in offering to the Princess next to me.

“I would be glad to.” Luna replied, placing a hoof in my palm momentarily before twisting herself off the bedside and onto her hooves. I did the same and landed on my feet before staggering a bit, pressing a hand to my head.

“Woah, head rush.” I mumbled before recovering. “Alright then.” the two of us exited my cell and entered into Weiss’s room where three huge blocks of wood sat upright, blocking most access into the deeper sections of the cell.

“I don’t know about you, but these are actually very lovely woods.” Luna remarked, picking the second larger of the two blocks of wood with her magic as I grabbed the smaller.

“Agreed. And soon they will be three very lovely pieces of furniture.” I grunted under the weight as I very slowly carried it into my workshop.

Setting the block down, Luna and I returned to the third and final piece, working together to lift it given that both of us was straining to carry it ourselves.

“So how do you plan to turn each piece into furniture?” Princess Luna inquired once we’d set the final block down on it’s side against the wall, then stacked the other two on top of it.

“A lot of cutting. One idea would be for me to take massive saws and cut panels from the blocks and then shape those, where as another idea would be to simply carve the furniture out of it, creating so much more work for myself.” I explained, breathing heavily as the two of us stared at the blocks of wood before us.

“I can’t imagine that the saws we have would be very helpful, or human accessible.” Princess Luna remarked, sitting down as I leaned against her body.

“Probably not. If you’re up for more magical probing, I can help you conjure up some human accessible equipment that would certainly help me immensely.” I suggested, feeling Luna’s heartbeat and lungs in my back. She certainly felt powerful, even through just her muscles.

“Perhaps another time. I’m still weary from the last time. I imagine that the equipment you wish to create won’t be small like that engine so I'd like proper rest before then.” Luna replied, looking back at me over her shoulder.

“Ehh, fair enough. Just don’t keep me waiting, hoping to get some new equipment if you never plan on providing.” I replied, giving a friendly shove against the pony I laid against.

“Not to worry; I am not one to go back on my word. You shall have your equipment.” Luna replied, leaning back in an attempt to shove but the way she sat prevented her from being at to do so very well. “Now, back to the issue with the Manticores. You’re positive that you have no way to have them leave peacefully?”

“Completely. I know nothing about Manticores so I wouldn’t know the first thing about getting them to leave. Do you not have ponies who could help?” I shook my head in reply, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Well, there is one mare in Ponyville who has an affinity for dealing with animals. Regretfully she’s quite busy, so she says.” Luna rubbed her chin with a hoof in thought. “Nope, I can’t think of anypony else.” The mare sighed. “Very well, how would you go about killing them? I request quickly and painlessly.”

“I know just the thing.” I replied, sitting up to move to my desk with some papers strewn about it. With a inked quill I set to drawing out the individual parts and pieces of a rifle, making sure to label what piece was made of metal or whatever.

“What is it?” Luna inquired, watching me draw over my shoulder.

“The pieces of what will kill the Manticores quickly and if I shoot them in the right places, painlessly. I’ll have to put it all together myself but that won’t be a problem.” I explained, sitting back to view the diagrams of the pieces. “They’ll be relatively small so you won’t have to worry about creating something the size of the motorbike.”

“Fine, I will do my best.” Luna nodded affirmatively before closing her eyes and beginning the magic.

A minute of swirling magic later, I had the parts and pieces of a brand new rifle sitting on the table before me.

“My, I never considered how draining it would be to magically create something not from our world.” Luna complained, sitting back and placing a hoof against her head. I held a hand out to my bed, indicating that she could lie down again.

“Well, save the feelings of regret that you created this for me until after I’ve taken care of the Manticores. How far from Canterlot are they?” I asked as I began the process of building the large calibre gun.

“At least a few days trot from here.” Luna replied, flopping down on my bed once her mane had solidified. I was hoping that it’d be within a couple kilometers so I could just snipe from a castle tower, but if the desert was a couple days run from here; I’ll have to pack for a trip then.

“Well damn. I don’t want to bring the bike in order to properly get in position without alerting my position; even if I did I would still need you to follow along with me to bring me to the location.” I replied as the bolt carrier clicked into place and I began to work on fixing the scope to the rifle.

“What were you hoping for then? I’m not building you a new machination to use.” Luna inquired with a slight scowl.

“No need. I figure I'd just get a lift from you. You know where you’re going and it’d be the most silent form of travel.” I explained, opening the bipod to set the heavy weapon down on the desk before me.

Picking up the empty magazine I began stuffing the nearby .50 calibre rounds into the box until I couldn’t fit anymore into it.

Calmly inserting the magazine into the rifle and giving it a smack to ensure it locked in place, I pulled back the bolt and chambered a round ensuring that nothing went wrong in the gun’s creation before dropping the magazine again and ejecting the second round that had been chambered.

“You- you mean to ride me?” Luna demanded in shock, nervously squirming around on my mattress. “You could at least take me to dinner before we do that.”

“Hah, funny, Princess. It’s actually quite common for humans to ride on horses’ backs in my world. I don’t have any practice or experience doing so myself, but I'm sure between two sentient creatures such as ourselves we can work it out.” I replied, leaving the reloaded magazine on the table next to the black Barrett.

“S-still. I’m not all that used to being ridden; save for by small creatures like Weiss and Eben.” Luna replied, covering her face with both hooves. “I’m not sure if I’m emotionally ready for such a commitment!”

“Woah hang on a second; I think you’re taking this entirely out of context here! Or you’re messing with me right now.” I put both hands up in self defense, trying to remain calm as Luna removed both hooves from her face and sat up, grinning wildly at me.

“That’s what you get for breaking my heart.” Luna replied dropping the smile and looking away from me, offended.

“Well at least you’re not curling up into a ball and crying yourself to sleep; I think I can deal with this kind of behavior from you in retaliation.” I mumbled, turning back to the rifle before me. “Hello old friend.” I whispered, running my hand over the gun’s body. “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Afghanistan I believe. You ready to go hunting again?”

“Why are you talking to it like that?” Weiss stared at me in concern as she entered into the room and hopped up onto the bed next to Luna. “That’s just weird.”

“Oh but you must understand that Barrett and I have been through hell and back when I was in my world. The things we’ve seen we can’t unsee. The things we’ve done we can’t undo. The lives I've taken...” my voice dropped away as my mind reeled backwards in time.

“Suddenly, I feel a whole lot better about having you on our side.” Weiss announced, receiving an agreeing nod from Luna. “I’m also a bit nervous that you’d actually kill that pervert Spike.”

“Oh believe me, if we ever run into him again I'll punt him straight to the next town over.” I announced as I returned from my own personal hell, my face stricken with grief and consolidation of purpose.

“I see… Do you wish to deal with these Manticores now while you’re brooding so heavily?” Luna wondered as she worked at quickly preening her wings magically.

“Yeah, might as well.” I replied standing up and picking up my weapon by the handle to insert the magazine, leaving it unchambered for safety. “Weiss, you stay here. See if you can’t start cutting away the excess material according to the blueprints in the workshop while I'm gone.” I demanded, carrying the rifle out of the cell as Luna jumped up and followed me out. “I’m going hunting.”

Author's Note

Ok, so I don't know just how much human influence I'm going to drag into this story, but I'm already going to be editing the tags of this story again.

And no, there really will be no chance between Luna and main character.