The Long road for love and life book one

After losing to Rainbow Dash and having had a laughed at the spectacle of her winning celebration just above one of the many balconies, i was about to enter the window door when they opened from the other side by a stressed out ponie who was dressed in golden with a blue star in the center of the chest plate of his armor,

as the window door was opened, and just from the look that i was met with i knew something was very wrong even before the white stallion opened his mouth. "Sir a situation has developed and both Luna and Celestia need to see you now, Follow me!" I swallowed a lump in my throat and silently followed close behind him, Rainbow Dash had silently agreed that this was the right course of action and had left me to it shooting off with audible whoosh and a pop, as the air rushed to fill the void that once was filled by her.

i entered the vacant room which was bare except for the courtens , each step taken by me and the yet unknown stallion still seemed to reverberate making it sound like ten ponies were walking instead of one and a changeling, my mind began to races with numbers and probability of what this might be about, i wanted to ask the stallion but since i was not told the why of the situation it seemed futile to ask. we continued in silences with only the clip clop of hooves hitting the stone of the castle, which so times was muffled by the occasional rug,

this continued up and down stairs and along the many side passages, until we reached a large archway which blocked my view by the big Black and purple ornate doors, which seemed to depict a tree that was devoid of leaves but also depicted ponies playing around the base of its trunk, if you looked hard enough you could just make out the seem that split the door in two, right down the it's center.

"I have my orders Paul this is as far as i can go, i do not know what this is about but if you have done something then may whatever you believe in help you, if you are truly innocent or it is something else than good luck to you, as you have friends in the guards but our duties come first," he said solum and true "thank you, and if i see you again you will have to tell me your name, as i know about as much as you do sir."

this seemed to be acceptable, " i will but i must say this before you can continue and it is not my name, and if you are innocent then i will buy you a drink and i will tell you my name sir,

Sherbet Lemon brings forth the waters of life my dear brother" he said as he trotted away, i was about to ask when the doors opened, in a sound that made them seem to be thousands of years older,

i was met by a view of a vial of pure white light, i entered at a normal pace when a familiar feeling of being stretched and pulled and scrunch and squeeze me which filled my senses, after it had stopped i found myself in a grand hall covered in white marble with a golden trim on the borders and pillars which seemed to far apart to be anything else than decoration, i did not have that long to take in the sights as i solum voice broke me from my shock and ore.

"It is good to see you Paul" came the joy less tone of princess Celestia, which made me turn around to see that Luna Twilight and a pink alicorn were looking at me from behind a elongated table, which from my view looked like a sword with four alicorns behind it, from what i had heard from different conversations i could honestly say that the pink alicorn is the one they called Cadence,

"you needed to see me princesses" i said in a calm manner while my mind still raced with the questions. Luna was first to speak "thou has done nothing wrong, but we.....I have wronged you it would seem" Celestia continued " , Indeed... Paul has Moonlight seemed a bit off to you?" "Princess what do you mean?" i said as a sudden sense of dread shock and pain grasped me as every fiber of my being began to scream is Moonlight alright? is she safe?

"Paul you have to understand something, Moonlight is not a nomal Bat pony and has served Equestria well over the many decades that we have knowing her, but she is a Sengiwing pony or a vampire if you prefer, she and her brethren have served us well, and the fact that she has saved our lives on more than one occasion that is why we have summoned you to canterlot, their has been an incident and we believe that she was involved." "what kind of incident are we talking about?" i asked not actually wanting to know, but more out of a needing to.

Twilight Sparkle took over control of the proceedings "Paul after you left a body was found we know it could not of been you due inpart to the evidence that the body had been completely drained of blood and had been skillfully butchered, the pony in question had been presumed missing for about a month, Luna and Celestia and Cadences, as well as i know that you were not evan at sea when this had of occurred, but we are all worried about her as it was a very close friend of her family of sorts, the easiest way to put it would be to say a distant relative of her family who was not shall we say infected by the condition."

i felt a bit of relief at the news but still knew that this was not over and that i will go throw much worse, Cadences now took over " Love is a strong emotion especially when it involves family, and we need you to try and find her before she does something that will hurt her and you" "so you want me to find her and then what? somepony has hurt her and from what i understand you......"

i cut myself off as i got a bad feeling, like part of me was in pain, i closed my eyes and focused on the sensation, it was close and yet so far away from me, it was coming from far below me, almost as though i was standing right on top of it, without much effort as i felt my magic rises up from my horn and like an extra eye it probed its way down through the many layers of the castle, my tendrel eye past through the many rooms and chambers of the castle which held no significance to me.

i could hear the princess's talking but i focused on my task, i was concerned when i could only see nothing but black for a few feet until i saw a large cavon which had what would look like many walkways made out of stone with a sheer drop below them each one headed off into the darkness with only the torch lights to show the path was still their, but at the furthest distances the lights merged to form an orange line, i scanned the area to get my bearings to plan for another spell so i would reappear above the closest walkway when i felt a burning sensation again and it was closer.

"am sorry, she is in trouble" i said quickly and sharply as i changed my spell and i opened my wing casing and spread my wings as i was enveloped in my magic, if the princesses protested i did not hear them properly and i did not care to listen, once on the other side i did fall a little bit but i was soon hovering silently, i then rotated and landed on the roof of the cavern and i closed my eyes and found the direction, i opened my eyes again and ran towards the source which was right up against the cavern's wall that was closest to me.

after a short gallop i was almost at my destination,i could hear what sounded like plees for the pain to stop and for it to end if it will not,when i was at the wall of the cavern i once again sent my magic wandering eye through the solid stone, it was not long before i could hear and see what was on the other side of the wall, their was one door that had a beam across it to keep it locked from the inside, their was blood on the floor that had been smudge and splattered, that is when i saw Moonlight thanks in part to what i can only guess to be a roaring fire.

to say that Moonlight was in a bad way would be an understatement, Moonlight was hanging from the wall by her front hooves and her legs were also shackled to the wall, she had a swollen black eye various cuts and bruises, some of the cuts had been cauterized and she also had burn marks but that is when i noticed her wings were missing.

"why are you doing this" Moonlight tried to say "ha hah, i think you know why don't you, you're a vile evil monster and i am the monster hunter, killing you will be fun for me and once am done with you i will go for the rest of you'er family i think i will keep those little lovely wing for my mantle piece" the male sounding voice said with a maniacal laughter in his tone, i did noticed that the speaker was a griffon when he came into view and was holding onto a yellow hot tipped iron bar and was slowly walking back over to moonlight.

I stopped my spell and focused, again i was engulfed in my magic but this time when i appeared on the other side i gave a bright white flash as i appeared behind him, the griffon dropped the iron bar from his talon to cover his eyes, i then grabbed the iron bar in my magic as i ran towards him, with my magic i levitated the bar so that the hot part would hit is head once it was over him i let it go and jumped, as expected once the bar was released from the magic it landed on his head and he screamed in pain and spread his wings in pain, which was exactly what i wanted him to do as i grabbed them in my magic and pulled myself towards him while i was still in the air, i also opened my mouth and aimed for his back with my fangs bared.

i soon felt my fangs pierce his flesh as his wings joints snapped and crack like twigs under hoof, i felt my venom pump into him as i forcibly pushed it out through my fangs, i relished my bite and my magical hold on him still moving through the air by the momentum which i used to flipped and spined to land in front of Moonlight and to land facing the griffon who did not look to happy.

"My wings you horrid bug i am going to kill yo........" the griffon then collapsed into a heap as the toxin went to work making him fully paralysed and out cold. i then turned my attention to Moonlight, and i was close to tears by the sight of her but i held them back, i then used a spell to free Moonlight who briefly fell but i caught her before she could hit the stone ground below and i floated her over to me and placed her on the ground gentilly "Paul why are you here for? i am a monster" Moonlight said in a sad sleepy tone "my dear Moonlight you are not a monster, but i will use one to help you, now this will feel weird and it might hurt" i said as i placed my lips on her head as my horn light up and sent a tendril of magic that wrapped around the griffons head.

as i fed on the love of the griffin i pushed it back out and into moonlight in the form of a healing spell, i kept this up until the git, i mean griffon had the worst nightmare's in his life that he will not wake up from for quite a while, but moonlight was still in a bad way, but she was able to speak a bit stronger "Paul why" Moonlight said with a strange senices of regret as i stopped taking from the griffon and removed my lips to look at her, "because i do love you Moonlight, just remember that no matter what happens i love you"

i said as my horn light up and i sent her more of my magic to heal her, as this went on i noticed my vision had turned green and i could feel the tingling sensation of love leave me as i kept giving, soon i was hit with the sensation of being hit by a steel slab as everything went black, but i felt happy especially when a strange thought crossed my mind in the form of i can almost call a song it went; Hello Darkness my old friend, i have come to see you once again:

it was nice but i felt nothing but happiness as i fell to the ground no longer in pain but at peace, knowing that Moonlight was safe as the darkness took me into it's warm embrace.

???

"Hey Paul you know i had a strange dream about you today"

"oh Lura what was it about, as i can not guess, but as long as it does not involve monster, then i would call it a good one"

"i dreamt that we lived in a house with a front and back garden and we had two cats, you went to work each day and came back at night, but that was a dream, and this one will be ending soon as you need to look after Moonlight"

"why does that name sound so familiar to me"

"it is this place, i need to go, you need to move on and focus on your Moonlight, if i can check up on you i will but she needs you, she needs you and i need you to let me go, as you can not follow me, i will not let you"

"i know Moonlight i love her i truly do but i will not forget you Lura and thank you, i hope everything works well for you but i have to go Moonlight needs me and it is not my time is it?"

"no it is not your time yet, bye Paul and look after Luna as you would me",

and with that the dream faded away, but to tell the truth, i do not know what it was, but the darkness began.

i began to hear a familiar BEEP! BEEEP! and then the sensation of pain in my horn which throbbed and i felt my reserves were nearly empty but i knew i would live, i stird and that is when i heard a familiar voice telling me not to move and that i have been out for about three weeks, so slowly i opened my eyes "cristal?" i manage to say as i noticed one was already beside me, i fed eagerly on it which made everything feel better, after that was done i sat up "thank you but is Moonlight going to be ok? is she up yet?" i said as the memory of her hanging up assaulted my mind vividly.

"Moonlight is fine but the griffon might not be able to fly again, but after what he had done to Moonlight, well let's just say we are having a hard time finding the changeling antivenom but since he is safe why waste it, he has not shown any sign of being allergic just bad dreams. i looked at her titling my head slightly and squinting.

"we have met before haven't we?" "indeed but i did get an apology from the Princesses as you did not catch my name apparently the first time we met, it is Dorria and if you want to make any jokes just remember who out ranks you and gets to inject you and so much more" she said matter of factly with a smirk as she turned off the heart monitor and released me from the machine's tendrils "i was not going to do any thing of the sort mis dorria, but can i or rather may i be allowed to see Moonlight please" i said in a respectful tone.

"only if you put this on by order of the princesses" she grabbed a strange looking thing that looked like a pipe had been cut twice painted black and filled with dark blue padding it had a hinge that looked like it could fit around a pony's leg, it had a black shiny screen on it with various knobs underneath. "what is that thing? that can not be a tablet" she gave me a sigh "this is now part of security here in the castle and is now standard issue for all employees of the princesses and the ministry's" she said as she showed her front right leg but hers had a screen with yellow coloration.

"could i have mine on my left then as i prefer to have my right free" i said as i lifted it up "sure one moment ..... and their we go" all i huard was a click then my vision changed, "i will leave you to get acquainted and please take your time to get accustomed to it, as it is a bit disorientating" Dorria said as she left with the heart monitor in tow, all i could see was green words which read scanning one moment please....

then things went weird as text appeared in front of my eyes. .

Pip Buck mad in association of Equestrian and human knowledge and technologies. E.H.K.T

special and user stat's

greetings Paul, age 29, Male, works for Classified no more available data by royal decree

intelligents 6, charisma 3, strength 6, perception 2, agility 8, Luck 8

perks

changeling training +2 to intelligents +2 to strength +2 to perception -5 to all attributes when in deep water.

honest feeding: gain health from friends and allies alike, why not its freely given

but can not repair broken limbs or a broken heart. health restores 20% faster per person with you and gives +2 to charisma this perk will only be available if carmare is good, but only +1 to charisma and 10 % if neutral and -5 to charisma and 0% health if evil .

adaptive magic: think it, do it, learn it, magic come as easy as breathing just remember the spell, but remember Deep water bad, grants magic regeneration follows honest feeding, except if evil i mean you could just take what you wanted to, who's going to know right? take 50pt of health and 50pt of magic per second from target if evil karma is reached.

flight of the cave changeling: you could fly blindfolded and still land after performing stunts, and why stop their you can run upside down from a ceiling perfect for exercise, grants movability in the air but reduces your top speed by 50pt.

venom: you carrie enguth poison to in compensate one manacore, just a pity the manacore can kill you fifty times over.

hardened hide: the term it is but a smudge, rings true just as long as it is not a high calibre or a critical hit, reduces damage by 10% but reduces carrying weight reduced by 20pt regardless of strength.

Queens blessing: your armored hide has been modified by the Queen, just as long as you are a good boy or girl depending on your mood, reduces damage by an extra 15 points and reduces weight limit by 22pt but only if you have good karma.

Power of the Crystal: restore your health and magic by 50pt per second by feeding on what else but loc-love Crystal.

Hidden knowledge: not available

changeling sight: see that i knew you could it's pitch black but not for you as you can see further than a pony without a charm or spell, who needs cats eyes while in complete darkness? not you. but suffer temporary blindness if a bright light is used while in their. depending on light levels.side note does not affect enemy detection or perception,

changeling of the night: you are as silent as can be, but do not stand in direct light as they still have eyes.

grub (child) at heart, your time in the hatchery paid off so much so you can speak to any child to keep them calm even during a thunderstorm, also helps to speak with Fluttershy.

Quick learner: you can learn thing that are new quickly now who's a smart ponie

fast reader: you do not simply read books you almost eat them, read books fast grants an extra skill point if granted one

collective hive mind control: disabled by mother's blessing

mother's blessing: collective hive mind disabled, also grants silver tongue, but be careful it can turn to lead. gain access to the collective

knowledge of any hive but you can not be controlled by any hives Queen.

bonds of love, you can always find a love one if they are lost like a companion, but you can feel the emotions and feelings of your hearts desire to make .

after the text had cleared another message appeared.

"starting setting and demo in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1" said a monotone neutral female voice.

"Hello their new user my name is please assign a name for me by using your horn or say my new name is followed by your request, so for example, my new name is pip you will hear a tone then i would repeat the name, all you would have to do is say confirmed when prompted give it a try" the female voice said.

"my new name is Little Light" i said still wondering if i was losing my mind when the female voice repeated "my new name is Little Light is that right?" "confirmed" "ok then my name is Little Light, let us continue, do you want to change my voice? you can go back to the previous part if you need to change the name to suit the voice selection, this went on for five minutes until i found one that remained me of Lura but was off by a mile, it was how ever what i thought was suited for Little Light.

the rest of the settings were things like brightness and text color which i changed to blue, it was not until l saw and learned how to use a Pip Buck delta star, their was another tutorial which talked about storage and items and finances although i thought it was quiet off as i could not really see how i could possibly have that many Bit's, but what caught my eye was s.t.a.s which can make it easier to hit multiple targets more accurately.

the next part of the tutorial talked about how to use healing potions more effectively by using the interface and medical diagnostics which comes as part of the A.I interaction and learning program which had (live trial) next to it, it went on to say how the A.I will make cracking encrypted terminal or to pick almost any lock as long as i have bobby pins easy as pie, and how the spell matrixes will also help to keep track of your current objectives and will also gave place names on the map,and it had a side note attached fast travel available to unicorns but what got me was (and Changelings).

the rest could wait until later Right now i need to find Moonlight i thourt as a display appeared in my vision at the top was n. e. s. w. as i turned my head left and right , thats when in the top left of my vision a list appears, New quest finding Moonlight, i noticed on the compass part were little blue dot moving all around me in between the little markers of the compass, but then a new note was added just after the first new waypoint was found on my map along with new marker added canterlot castle.

"ok i thought lets give this a try" i said out loud as i pushed myself off of the bed as time stopped a note appeared. friend and foe tracking system, your current settings are friendlies are blue and enamels are red, if you are sneaking and have raised suspicion the marker will be yellow use discretion.

the text disappeared and time resumed as i landed, and i promptly followed the way point but before i reached the doorway another text box appeared new objective available my Princesses along with new quest marker added. i had a sinking feeling that this was something that i would have to get used to, but it did have it's advantages i thourt.

the view from the doorway was one of different ponies rushing about most likely doing their duties, when a space came i took it and followed the way point, it did not take me long to notice that it did not help to find the right floor but when i manage to find the stairway i decided to go up as i had a strong sensation that she would be above me, and once again i followed my feelings and found them to be more reliable.

as i climbed the staircase which was almost empty except for one or two members of the castle staff who did not have a Pip Buck, and a few soldiers from the Luna court who did look a bit startled to see me and, took a double look just to make certain that i was a friendly i supposed, but that did not faze me neither did the other several that i received other soldiers from both courts as i climbed ten floors, i finally come to the top of the stairway and was met with a view of a picture of a brilliant night sky with some clouds which covered the moon slightly, the wall behind was painted a light purple which had a silver border,

the white and gold trim of the sun court stopped abruptly at the top of the stairway to meet the purple and silver of the night court hallway, i proceed along the hallway following the feeling which brought me to a reception desk which had a female Batpony behind it that was looking curiously at me with a ornate silver door behind her.

"can i help you? Sir?" the Bat Pony said with some confusion as to my own sexality, "you are correct miss i am a male, and my name is Paul a" "Your the one that saved Moonlight, and almost killed yourself to save her, correct?"

she said excitedly to which i merely noded and added "she was in danger but if i had of known sooner i would of been their sooner, i just wanted to see her, if she wants to see me that is as i feel like i have failed her"

the Bat Pony looked at me like i had just said a bunch of nonsense which i probably did. "you have just woken up haven't you?" "yes ma'am" "well she will be pleased to see you, after all she stayed at your side when she could, just one moment please" with that she got up and proceeded to go through the door.

a few moments had passed and then the door was flung opened and Moonlight came bounding over the desk and my hud display turned red as she hit me right in the face with her right hoof, "ommff" was all i said from the impact but i still remained standing that is when i noticed that she had a Pit Buck too. "that is for saying you had failed me you stuben stupid idiot and this" she said as she turned my head in her hooves to face her as she became blue again and then she kissed me "and that's for saving me from that nut" she kissed me again only a bit longer "and that is for given me my new wings, but that still no excuse for trying to kill yourself, understood" i could not help but noded in agreement.

"you are right Moonlight it was stupid of me but you know i would do so again if needed, but our discussion can wait until later as for now i need to know what has happening and i thourt it best to, one make sure that you are ok and, two to see somepony that can fill me in on what i have mist without feeling like i am asking for more information than i need" i said with a smile as i brushed her hair away from her golden eyes .

Paul was about to continue when the sound of hooves running towards them from the corridor to the left of him took his full attention, and the attention of the little crowd of female Bat Ponies and other female Luna guard, that had gathered to watch the spectacle of Moonlight and Paul,

the one that was running towards them was an orange unicorn who was covered in a golden armor which had a blue star in the center of the chest plate and his PiP Buck blended in with his armor except for the screen which stuck out like a cast on a broken leg, his helmet was also golden and had a blue tuft of feathers standing rigid on top. the unicorn stopped in front of Paul and Moonlight and gave a salut.

"Corporal Moonlight, special Agent Paul, i am head of Twilight's personal Guard Flash Sentry, princess Twilight Sparkle sent me to gather you two and i am to escort you both to the throne room" Flash Sentry said before he started to turn red at the realisation that he was outside the Luna guard Female dormitory entrance.

he gave a "Lady's" which seemed to not have the desired effect as the female guards gave a "bye Moonlight" and a "it was nice to see you Paul" as they all went back through the silver door, all except for the receptionist Bat Pony who seemed happy to see him, as she held Moonlights helmet. "hi Flash Sentry, you know you still owe me lunch" she said with a wink in his direction. "well i should be free this evening if all goes well miss shadow" he said a lot happier than he intended but such is the way of new love, "Oh, mr Flash you are a dear, i will see what happens to, but, you can call it a date" midnight shadow said with a twinkle in her eyes.

as this exchange went on Moonlight picked up and placed her helmet given a "well no rest for the wicked, is their Midnight?" she gave a little chuckle before continuing "well we better go before they send more ponies to look for us, coming Paul" "after you my lady" and with that we walked past a day dreaming Flash who quickly came back to his senices, and court back up to us both and proceeded took the lead.

as we walked Moonlight explained to me that the humans and Equestrian science and magic had developed what in our world is called a Pip Buck, but they called there's a Pip boy, i had to stop myself from laughing at such a weird name, but she also went on to explain that the griffon had used a spell on himself to fool us into thinking we had been having Lunch with Lyra Heartstrings, who was in the human R&D labs in the human world working on special projects.

the griffon however was using a shimmer cloke and a unknow spell of which too came from the zebra nation and is against equestrian law, while i was out it was found out to be a lot more complex than a simple vigilant anti goin at it alone as he had funding but all the lead turned out to be either a dead end or lead to a corps. it would appear that some pony is trying to undermine or disable the Equestrian government, but that was only speculation, and that the princesses would know more about it than her as it was over her pay rate.

i did ask Moonlight to simplify it for me as i was not that used to such terms and she explained that it was a quicker way to explain the chain of command and if i wanted to know more i would have to ask her boss the princess for permission, as you can imagine this conversation was met by a snicker from Flash Sentry.

"really Paul, you did not know that one? oh my Celestia we are doomed" Flash Sentry said mainly out of shock at such a thing being said and tried to deflect his own self confidence, Moonlight looked at me with a look that said can i say something to him? i just shocked my head as i felt that the silence would be the best indicator of his forpar (mistake).

this continued as we went through the many hall ways and passages going up and down many passageways, but the Luna coloration was still very visible with the odd suit of recently outdated armor and the odd painting with various depictions of ponies of different types and sexis but all had some depiction of the moon in one form or another,

one that caught my eye was of a Bat pony that closely resembled Moonlight, the lady was wearing a dark velvet dress with her haven golden hair which draped over her left shoulder, she holding a glass in her right hoof which held a red liquid, she stood by an open window which had a new moon in the top right of the picture which illuminated a town or part of a city in the foreground, to her left was what looked like a line of books on the shelf, their was also a table just slightly to her left but due to it's promasens( it was slightly in front of her), with the lighting being in front of her as suggested by the shading, all the pictures were of a high degree of quality.

but Moonlight did catch me looking at this one with interest and give a slight giggle at me pretending not to have any intrest in it at all, eventually we came to appeared to be a dead end with nothing but a wall which did not seem out of place except for the picture which was the only one with Luna in it she was standing on a green field covered in flowers during the evening setting sun was in the foreground, Flash Sentry's horn light up and the wall faded away,

this did set off a few warnings to me especially after what moonlight had already been through, but as i turned my head to see her she just gave me a reassuring look that said, i am fine and it is as safe as any other place in Equestria.