Icarus

*//Begin audio log Transcription\*

Update:...Navigation restored.

Update:...Flight systems repaired.

Current Location: Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Equestria

So it’s my third day here in Equestria, and it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster of emotions. If I’m being honest, I’m quite shocked that I’m not in cuffs right now.

--

I woke up at 0600 in the bed of the ambassadorial suite in the castle. My mind was still reeling from the events of last night, but I had to set my emotions aside. “What was I thinking? I mean her of all people? She was never in my league anyway.”

I walked up to my mirror, “Just get to work. You should have seen this coming, after all, you chose this life, you chose the lonely path.”

I sighed and shook my head, “I know I chose this path…...but now, I regret doing so… For a chance with her, I’d give it all up. I know that I don’t believe in that whole love at first sight shit, but…well I think I fell for Celestia.”

Stepping away from the mirror, I put on my clothes before walking onto my ship and donning my light armor, I figured that I wouldn’t be needing my heavier exo armor for today. For weapons I took my pistol and my shotgun along with some spare power cells for both of them.

I walked out of my room, and as I did, the guards stationed by its doors saluted me. I saluted back and made my way to the throne room. Looking out the windows as I walked by, I saw that the sun was just about to start to rise, which made me wonder if Celestia was even in her throne room yet. I soon got my answer as when I opened the doors, the room was empty. Now I think it would be obvious what I did next, but for those of you who can guess what I did, I took the opportunity, and with no one around, I sat down on the throne.

“Now where’s a camera when you need one?”

I didn’t get an answer, because not even a minute after I sat down, the door opened, causing me to jump out of the throne as a guard walked up to me and saluted me. I saluted back and he spoke.

“Princess Celestia would like me to escort you to the royal garage, she would like you to accompany her to the festival today.”

“Festival? what festival?”

“The festival of friendship. It was Princess Twilight's idea. the day you arrived was one of the last days of preparations for the event.”

“I see.” I walked up to the guard as he smiled, I pointed at him, “You didn’t see anything. Tell Celestia I'll be there soon, but I need to grab something from my room first; would you mind sending along a unicorn who is very skilled with teleportation to my quarters?”

He responded by nodding, turning around and walking off as I made my way back to my room to get ready.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on my door. I opened it, and to my surprise, Twilight was on the other side of the door. “Well then, this is unexpected.”

Twilight smiled back at me, “Well, they said that you needed a unicorn who was skilled with teleporting, and I’m one of the best. May I ask why you needed help?”

I smiled at her and walked to the doors that lead into the garden where my ship sat. “Wait here and you’ll find out.” She did so, and I walked into my ship’s cargo bay, out of her view. Making sure my Shotgun was secured in its position on my back and that my armored helmet was on my head, I got onto my Hoplite. With a flick of a few switches, its engine turned on, and I slowly rolled it out of my cargo bay. I got a small kick out of Twilight’s reaction, so once the motorbike was off the ramp, I got off it and walked up to her. “I’m going to need you to teleport me and my ride to the garage.”

Once she wiped the look of shock off her face, Twilight walked up to me and my Hoplite, “I’m sure that this is not necessary; in fact, I think Celestia wanted you to ride with her in her chariot. In fact, I think she said something about wanting to schedule another dinner with just the two of you again.”

I raised my hand up to scratch the back of my helmet, “Right…. About that…I don’t know if I should…I mean it seems just a little…. unprofessional.”

“How so?”

“Well, my job is to keep her safe, and as such I should probably avoid any…personal relationships…I mean don’t get me wrong, she’s an amazing mare, and she deserves to be with whoever makes her happy, but…well I think I should keep my personal feelings separate from the position that you both appointed me to.”

Twilight looked at me funny for a second, but then nodded her head, “Go ahead and get on your…whatever you call it.”

I did so, and not even a second after I sat down, my vision went white for a second, and when it cleared up after a few seconds, I saw that I was in the garage, right in front of a shocked looking Celestia, and her guards who were pointing spears at me. Once they saw it was me, they stood down, which was good because I fell to the ground shortly afterwards, which caused Celestia to gasp and run to my side, “John! Are you alright?”

I nodded and took off my helmet, “Yeah, my stomach just feels horrible.”

I heard her giggle as she helped me up, “First time you’ve experienced a teleportation spell then. Take a few deep breaths, then get ready to leave.”

I did what she said, and then I got back onto my bike. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Celestia smiled at me, “John, I’ve told you once and I’ll tell you again, my friends call me Celestia.”

I nodded as I got back on my bike and rolled it up next to her carriage. “I’m ready, I’ll ride alongside you. Normally I’d ask to take point, but since I don’t know my way around the city, I’m going to defer to your guards for guidance.”

Celestia looked at me, “But I thought that I had requested that you ride in my carriage alongside me?”

“You did, but…. Well I’ll explain later, long story short, I’ll be able to offer better protection to you if I can stay with my equipment...plus its been a long time since ive had a valid excuse to take this thing for a joy ride.” I patted my bike.

Celestia sighed, “Very well.” She looked to the guard’s pulling her carriage and nodded, signaling them to begin moving forward, and I did the same, matching their speed and holding off of the right side of the carriage. The ride itself wasn’t that long, maybe only 15 minutes, and oddly enough, our destination was the same plaza I landed in only days before. Once we had arrived, I shut down my bike and put its kickstand down as I scanned the crowd and skyline for any potential threats. Aside from some storm clouds on the horizon, I saw nothing to indicate that there were any potential threats. However, i also dint want to be caught with my pants down. I raised my left hand up and toggled the communications on my mobiholo and started to speak. “Apollo, Godfather, message.”

“Godfather, Apollo. Send traffic.”

“Apollo, orders are as follows. Climb and maintain angels 3 hold current position designated IP Olympus, recon for any potential threats. How copy?”

“Godfather, Apollo reads all. Alert when ready to receive AC check-in.”

“Apollo, Godfather, Combat Ops suspended until further notice. PIDs not possible at this time. will alert if the situation changes, out.”

“Apollo rogers. out.”

As I did this, Celestia got off her carriage and walked up behind me as I got off my bike. “Who were you talking to John?”

“A friend.” i replied as i took my helmet off and strapped it to my side, but not before taking the headset out of it and donning it. I walked up next to Celestia and nodded, “He’s helping me keep an eye on things today. so far we’re in the clear.” I pointed to the clouds I saw earlier, “The weather may end up putting a damper on things later on, but in terms of overall security, we're in the clear.”

“Thank you, John…. But why are you wearing that armor on your body?”

“Protection.” I replied. “And this is my light armor: it offers some ballistic protection, but that’s about it. It’s essentially cardboard compared to my heavier exo-armor, but that stuff is meant for if I expect to be in heavy fighting or a crash landing, so it’s going to be way more durable.”

Celestia looked at me with some worry. “But why do you need such protection? Equestria is a peaceful world.”

I smiled, “If I’m wearing this, it’s mainly because I don’t expect much of anything to happen. But it’s better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. Like your guards.”

That seemed to calm her nerves as she smiled at me and we began to walk through the plaza area I had landed in. Me, I just kept my head on a swivel and let her enjoy herself.

About an hour into the festivities, I took another look at the sky, only to see that the storm clouds were now overhead, and as I looked at the clouds, a dark realization hit me. I looked to Celestia as I drew my Destroyer of my back, “We need to exfil now.”

Celestia looked at me and smiled, “Calm down John, it’s just some weather.”

I shook my head and grabbed her, “Those aren’t clouds, that’s a smokescreen.” As I grabbed her, she recoiled back, and was about to shout, but just as she did, an airship broke through the smokescreen, followed by another, and then another, and then a small fleet, and as they passed over us, doors on the side of them opened, and ape-like creatures wearing masks and armor of their own jumped out, with one of them landing in front of me and bringing a spear to bear on me. Without hesitation, I fired my Destroyer, and watched as the gun fired a wave of energy into the soldier, stunning him and dropping him on the ground.

“Godfather, Apollo. multiple unknown contacts inbound on your pos. requesting orders.”

“Yeah no shit, Why weren't they picked up on radar?” I looked back to Celestia, “Stay behind me, and stay with me.”

She looked at me with some worry, “Where are we going? What are you doing?”

“Somewhere defendable and my job.” And with that we began sprinting back my bike and her carriage. “Apollo, Godfather, rally to my POS, combat Ops approved. Ready for AC check in.”

Celestia tried to stop me by putting her wing in front of me, “John, we need to stand our ground and fight.”

“If we weren’t so heavily outnumbered, I’d agree, but right now, my job is to keep you safe, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Godfather, Apollo. AC check-in is as follows. Call sign Apollo, airframe Scythe, current position IP Olympus at angels 3. Ordinance, times four Missiles and guns. Capabilities, IR,Thermal, and night vision. PLaytime indefinite. Abort code is wave off. How copy?”

“Good copy Apollo. Move to my position and await further orders. ceiling angels 1.5, floor 100. ”

“Apollo copies all.”

It took us a minute to get back to the carriage, and once we did, I saw that it was surrounded by royal guards fighting off the ape-soldiers. Realizing that precision was needed, I swung my shotgun onto my back and I pulled out my pistol. I put myself in front of Celestia and in rapid succession, fired a stun charge into each ape.With the current danger dealt with, the pony guards to move them aside and looked to me. I looked up the streets ahead of us and I saw them filling with more of the creatures I just shot, and seeing that there was no way to feasibly get out of here I had to change plans.

“Everyone make a perimeter around here now!”

the guards nodded as celestia looked to me with a worried look in her eye “John, just what do you think you are doing?”

I smiled as I took out a small IR grenade and planted it on my bike. “Calling my friend for help.” I keyed open my comms again. “Apollo, Godfather. alert when ready to receive CAS 5 line.”

“Apollo on station. ready for 5-line.”

“Game plan as follows, Type 1 control, Visual, Guns, no interval. friendly pos marked with IR beacon. Target infantry located 20 meters north from friendly's and closing. danger close authorization Juliet Charlie.”

“Contact on IR sparkle,targets 20 meters north. danger close authorized.”

I couldn't help but smile as I peeked my head over my cover at the advancing army. “Apollo. Cleared Hot. Give em hell, over.”

As soon as I finished that sentence, the air around us was filled with a mix of the roaring of engines, and the sound of another song from my playlist of earth's past. Sabotage. All of the ponies around me began to search for the source of the music, and the army that was advancing on our position seemed to be curious about it too as they started to do the same. A split second later the sea of soldiers was stopped as my ship appeared on the horizon, and opened up with a dizzying volley of fire from its guns. the soldiers in front of us were cut down and what was once an enemy force of terrifying size, was now cut down to a few troops who were running in fear.

“Godfather, Apollo. gun run complete. Be advised, 100+ hostiles advancing on your position from the streets north, south, and west, requesting immediate re-attack.”

i looked around at our position. i had the advantage of technology, but they had the number. it was only a matter of time before we were overrun. I turned to Celestia. “We've bought ourselves some time, but we need to get out of here. get everyone to the open area of the plaza where i first landed.” I took a smoke grenade off of my side and handed it to her. “When you get there, pull the pin on this and then toss it on the ground in front of you, it's how our ride out of there will find us.”

“What about you?”

“I'll be right behind you okay? I'm gonna try and buy us some more time to get you out of here safely.”

Celestia shook her head, “I wont leave you. How will i know if you're safe? How do i know that you wont do something crazy?”

I smiled at her as I took the headset off my head and handed it to her. “Just speak into this and I'll be able to hear you okay.” i lifted up my mobiholo and keyed open the com “I'll use this to talk back to you okay?”

“That's not good enough.”

I stood up and I put my hand on her neck as I looked her in the eyes. “I promise that I will come back to you.”

“You better keep that promise.” And with that her and her guards took off.

I smiled as I saw her running to safety and i lifted up my mobiholo. “Apollo, Godfather. Negative on re-attack. New station on net, Call sign Hera. she's moving to our first landing site for extraction. look for orange smoke.”

“Apollo copies everything. Interrogative, How many for extract?”

“Hera will tell you how many once you get to her…...Apollo Ready for change in command. Transfer all scythe command authority to Hera.”

“Transfer of command authority requires authorization.”

“Authorization, Lakeside.” I replied as I turned to my bike.

“Authorization approved. Hera now in command.....It's been an honor sir.”

“Keep her safe Apollo, out.” And with that I turned back to my bike and opened up the power supply as the 3 streets in front of me began to fill with more soldiers. Seeing that they were moving closer and closer to me I picked up the speed of my re-wiring. One of the soldiers at the front saw this and responded by throwing its spear at my location. it whized over my head and stuck into the stand behind me. I respond by pulling my pistol out and firing a few shots over the bike. it took me only another 5 seconds to finish my wiring job. so i pulled my destroyer off my back and peaked over my cover to find myself face to face with one of those ape-like creatures, only this one was different. This one was taller, had all white fur, and a staff with some sort of crystal on it.

He smiled at me menacingly “So you are the one who took out my troops.”

“Yep.” I replied as I fired an energy blast right into his chest. The blast sent him flying back into his troops and left him on the ground. I walked up to him and pulled a pair of cuffs off of my side. “I'm also the one whose about to arrest you and take the crown of yours as a trophy. Now drop the staff, stay on the ground, and keep your hands where I can see em”

“I think not.” he replied as he pointed the staff at me. I saw a blue light emanating from the crystal on its top. But before I could take cover, a lightning bolt came out of the top of it and hit me, sending me back into my bike, knocking it over. The impact itself was hard. hard enough that i could feel a few broken limbs, and the HUD in my helmet was displaying warnings to prove it. My bike itself had no signs of damage other than a small whine that was starting to emanate from the engine. “I think i'm going to give you one chance to save your sorry skin. Join me and help me rule the world, and maybe, just maybe, I won't destroy that princess pony you've been trying so desperately to save.”

I tried to give my response by lifting my gun to fire, but before I could I was hit with another blast of lightning.

“I didn't give you permission to move slave!” he responded “Now BOW! BEFORE! THE! STORM KING!.” each word was punctuated by a kick to my body

The whine started to grow louder and louder as i keyed open the comms on my mobiholo. “Shes not just a princess. she's my friend….maybe she could have been more than that.”

The storm king laughed, “Of course her personal slave is in love with her! how couldn't i see it?...oh well, it matters not.” He grabbed a spear and leveled it at my throat. “Your life or the princess. choose now slave.”

The whine from the engine was loud enough that I had to speak louder to be heard over it. “I'm not a slave. I am Celestia's personal bodyguard. I am a freelancer…..but more importantly, I'm also good with electronics and making things go boom!” I could feel the engine behind me heating up more and more as the whine grew to a screaming tone, and my engine started to glow. The king dropped his spear and started to run, but he didn't get far as he was hit in the leg by a bolt from my pistol. “Oh no you don't. you stay here and die like a man!” I dropped my gun and looked up at the sky. “I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise Celestia...I'm sorry I couldn't tell you I lo-”

before i could finish the world around me disappeared and was replaced with a white light. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a cigar, but as I did a hand appeared. it was attached to a human in armor that was blackened by fire. “The mission isn't over yet Launchpad.” He took the cigar and as he did, I woke up in the suite that I passed out in the night before.

--

Surveying my surroundings, the first thing that I noticed was that I was not in the same place that I fell asleep in. I was still in the room that was given to me, but instead of the balcony where I dozed off under the stars, I was now in the bed, with a dark blue alicorn sitting at its foot and staring at me. Instinctively I reached for where I had kept my pistol, but I found nothing.

“Your weapon has been placed back in its safe, and it will remain there until I know what to make of you.”

“Who the fuck are you and why are you in my room?”

The alicorn stood and spread her wings, “I am Princess Luna, Princess of the Night and master of the dream realm. I am also Celestia's younger sister.”

“Oh, so you’re the coffee-drinking sister who drives her up the walls.”

Luna looked to me with what looked to be a hint of annoyance, so I tried my response again, “May I ask why the hell you’re watching me sleep or why you broke in here?”

She began to walk around the bed as she spoke, “It’s quite simple, I had to make sure that you weren’t a threat to this land, or my sister. Her, Twilight, and Cadance all seem satisfied by your previous actions, but I was not. I decided that in order to fully prove your intentions I would manufacture a circumstance in your dreams. One that seemed real enough to you, but also allowed me to see who you truly are.”

I turned so that my legs were hanging off the right side of the bed and I was facing Luna. “So did I pass or what?”

“You sacrificed your life for my sister, that itself is admirable, but then I saw something else…You care deeply for her, don’t you?”

I sat there mystified; how the fuck did she figure it out? “I feel a connection to her if that’s what you’re asking. Do I want to make something more of it? Yes, but I won’t.”

“And why, pray tell, not?” The emphasis that she placed on the ‘not’ told me that I was on thin ice.

“Because it’s not meant to be. For starters I’m not exactly the type of person that any woman, let alone a princess would be interested in, and second, I’m a mortal. So even if some miracle happened and we fell in love, it’s only going to end badly for her, and I won’t do that to her.”

“I see…and because you plan on returning back to your home?” Luna replied. She paced around the room a bit more, keeping an eye on me the whole time.

“I don’t even know if I can go home….or if I even want to.” I pointed out to my ship, “And to be honest that ship is the closest thing I have to a home anyway.”

“And what of your…profession?”

“This may sound crazy, but I don’t enjoy my work…not anymore anyway. I mean the work we did was good but…”

“We?”

I sighed, “Me and my old partner. He got me into this whole freelancer shit to begin with.”

“And where is he now?”

Again the image flashed through my head of a ship exploding mid air. “Gone…..”

Luna looked at me for a minute before she understood what I meant. She didn’t say anything more, she just sat there. After about 5 minutes of tense silence she spoke. “You have passed my test. I will let my sister know the good news, but you can expect to see more of me.”

“Why am I going to see more of you?”

“Well, it's simple, you carry with you a burden of your past actions. I used to do the same, therefore I’ll put it upon myself to help you unburden yourself…….and because you seem to be the only other being in the castle who truly enjoys coffee.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she just smiled at me, and with a flash she was gone.

I walked into my ship and saw that my clothes and pistol were on my ship's bed. I put on my clothes and sat down in my pilot's seat, looking at the Hawaiian figure that sat atop it. “Of course she's Celestia's sister…which means if she was watching me, it’s not too far of a guess that Celestia saw what was in my head like Luna did….which means I should start packing.” I walked back into the room that was given to me and collected the few personal items I had put in there before walking back into my ship and closing the door. Just as it shut I heard a faint sound, similar to one made by a unicorn's horn when it started to channel magic. I turned around with my pistol drawn only to have it taken from my hands and disassembled by none other than Harmonia.

“You know, I’m starting to get pissed off that everyone is fucking with my pistol.”

“Then maybe you should stop pointing it at everypony you meet.” Harmonia replied.

I turned my seat back to my console and started my pre-launch routine. “Well if everpony would just fucking knock instead of say, teleporting in or watching me sleep then I might just do that…..So why are you here?”

“It's simple.” She replied. And with a wave of her hoof, my ship powered down.

“Hey!”

“Just where do you think you’re running off to?”

I sighed and turned my seat back to face her. “What makes you think I’m running?”

Harmonia raised an eyebrow at me.

“Okay fine, yes I'm running.”

Her response was simple, “Why?”

I chuckled, “Look around you…look at me. I'm not meant for a comfortable life or…relationships. Plus Celestia's sister just went through my head, and god knows what shit she saw in there so…yeah.”

“So…what?”

“So it's only a matter of time before I end up in prison for my past, I mean for fuck’s sake! I've killed people, Harmonia!”

She raised up her hoof and opened her mouth but I stopped her.

“Yes I'm aware that they were murderers or pirates or other…unsavory individuals and it was all legal and done in the defense of good people, but look at me and then look at the world that I'm in. The worst vice that I've seen possible in this world is eating too much cake. So can you blame me for wanting to remove myself from paradise before I either directly or indirectly destroy it?”

Harmonia chuckled at that last bit, “I suppose that this means that you don’t want to see this morning's issues of The Canterlot Chronicle or The Canterlot Gazette?”

“I'll read them. Probably won’t like what I see, but…I think I'll read them from somewhere else in this world.”

Harmonia shook her head, and with another wave of her hoof, my ship started up again, and my HUD came alive as Apollo informed me of the changes.

“Location:...Updated...

Navigation:...Active...

Current Location: Canterlot City...

...Displaying GPS to HUD...”

And like that a course popped up heading towards the forest.

“Now you can go wherever you please in this world and I won't stop you, but if I can make a suggestion?”

“What?”

“Perhaps you're not running because you fear your past actions. Perhaps it's because you fear what your future can be…and who you can be with. Just think about that for me.” And with a smile she disappeared, with my pistol reappearing in the holster on my side.

I turned back to my console and paused. I looked back to the figure on top of my console and I slowly lifted my ship off the ground and punched the thruster to full, following the direction of my HUD.

--

It was about an hour later when I found my landing spot. It was a clearing next to a lake in the middle of some place my nav system called “The Everfree Forest”. Another half hour later and I had set up camp and lit a fire. The place seemed secluded enough for me to be able to live my life without disturbing the ponies of this world, but I still left myself a way to watch them. As I stood in the open cargo bay door, I looked out across the lake and up to see Canterlot. With the mobility offered to me by my vehicles I would be able to get to any point in this world in minutes, meaning that if need be I could respond to any danger or threat…and I could watch as the inhabitants of this world grew and prospered. Taking my chair and one of the smaller pieces of wood from next to the door, I set up the chair next to the fire, took out my knife and began to carve.

A few hours later I looked down at my carving and what was once a stick was now an alicorn with its wings spread wide. I set down my carving next to my chair and went into my ship, walking out with an MRE. As I tore open my brunch a familiar face walked out of the woods. Twilight walked up to the fire pit and sat down next to me, “I had a hunch that you would come here.”

I got up from my chair and walked into my ship, “Twilight, please just leave me be.”

“I’ll admit, it was Princess Luna who helped me narrow down the list of where you would go, so from there it was only a matter of a few teleportations.”

“Twilight.” I pressed, “Just leave me be. If you want to send someone to check up on me from time to time and bury me when I kick the bucket that would be greatly appreciated…but I need to not be in Equestria.”

“I understand why you want to distance yourself, but if anything you need the exact opposite…and Celestia-”

The second she said that name I spun around. “What about her? Is she alright?”

Twilight smiled at me, “She is fine.” I relaxed a bit when she said that. “And the concern that you’re showing tells me that the assumptions that Cadance had were right.”

I heard another voice from behind me which caused me to turn around with my hand on the grip of my pistol. As I did that, I saw a pink alicorn that was about a foot taller than twilight standing behind me with a smile, and next to her was the captain. “Of course I was, Twilight! I’m the Princess of Love. Situations like this are definitely within my wheelhouse.”

I moved my hand off my pistol and bowed, “Princess Cadance, my apologies.”

She smiled at me, “No worries, I probably should have announced my presence earlier.”

Twilight walked out of the ship as the three ponies made their way to the fire and sat down with Twilight motioning for me to follow, “Come join us by the fire.”

I hesitantly walked down from my ship and sat down across from them, all the while wondering what I had done to warrant this visit, and what exactly was going to come of this. Twilight seemed to notice my uneasiness and she smiled at me, “Don’t worry John, Cadance and Shining are here to help you; in fact, we have good news.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Twilight looked to Cadance, whose horn began to glow, and images of me appeared, more specifically images of me next to Celestia. “It’s quite simple, I know that you have feelings for Celestia.”

I opened my mouth to speak but Cadance rose up her hoof and stopped me, and as she did, the visions around us vanished. “And don’t try to deny it. I started picking them up just after you saved Celestia when she was disguised as Majesty. I also felt your fear, and thanks to Aunt Luna I now know why. Much like Luna, your past still haunts you, so when you arrived here in Equestria it must have seemed like an illusion. But then Celestia came along and claimed you as her friend. After all you had been through and who you had lost, you thought you had your whole life mapped out. That it was just going to be you, your ship, and your job. Then a beautiful mare comes along and sends your plan to the Sun. So, you tried to push that fear of not knowing your fate back and bottle it up. I'm assuming that when Luna revealed that she took a dive into your dreams, that you couldn’t hold your fear back anymore.”

“So I ran.” I replied while looking down at my carving. “I couldn’t process that there was a chance that I would have anything other than my ship, my job as a freelancer, and the loneliness that it entailed, so I ran. And what makes it even worse is that running hasn’t helped me. I still feel the same way about her…”

“But,” Cadace interjected.

“But…Well, look at me and look around you, I don’t exactly fit in, and try as I might, I know that deep down I'd never be able to change on my own. Sure, I could hang up my undersuit and my guns……actually scratch the suit, I love flying, but my point remains.”

“Celestia can help you change,” Twilight replied.

“That’s just it, I can't get attached to her.” I snapped back. “I know that she knows the pain of losing someone close to her, and I refuse to put her through that again.”

Cadance shook her head, “So you’d hurt yourself your whole entire life by denying your heart what it wants and you think that Celestia is not only going to be fine with that, but that it won’t hurt her as well?”

“I didn’t think that I’d be worth her time or tears,” I replied.

Cadance sighed, “Sometimes you stallions miss what’s right in front of your muzzles.”

“What do you mean?” I replied.

Twilight stood up and smiled, “Equestria is a land of peace, tranquility, and magic. No matter the problem, we always find a solution.”

“I don’t know if you can cure what ails me,” I countered.

Cadance got up and put her wing around me, “WE may not be able to.” Her horn glowed and a picture of Celestia sitting across from me at dinner with not only a smile on her face, but a smile on mine, appeared in my hands. “But SHE can….And yes, I'm the one that took that picture. I'm sorry, but as the Princess of Love, I cannot allow a moment like that to pass without being documented.”

I looked at the photo and as I did, my memories of that night came to the surface of my mind. The two of us spent the night talking and laughing over an amazing meal.It was something I wanted to do again…and again…and again and again and…I think you get the point. I put the picture in my pocket and looked at the three ponies near me. “Okay, you win. I'll come back, but what do I do about…you know?”

There was a chuckle from Shining Armor, who had stayed quiet up until this point. “Just tell her how you feel, dude, and if worse comes to worse, send a letter to Cadance asking for help. I mean, aside from being the Princess of Love, she’s one of three ponies who know all there is to know about Celestia.”

I put on a smile of my own, “So I’ve basically got the Princess of Friendship, the Princess of Love, and the Captain of the Royal Guard as my wingmen?”

The captain laughed, “Pretty much, yeah.”

--

By the time I touched down back in the garden it was 15:30. I opened the cargo door and two princesses and a captain walked out behind me. They waved goodbye for the moment and it wasn't long before there was a bright flash off to my side. I looked towards the flash and my vision was filled by a towering mass of white with a flowing mane as she swept me up in her hooves. “Oh my friend, I was worried about you. Where in Equestria did you go!?”

“Well, aside from giving Cadance, Twilight, and the Captain a flight…Well, I got scared for a bit, but thanks to some help from some friends, I was able to find a way to work through my fears.”

Celestia smiled at me, “That’s good.” Then in a flash, her wing came out and smacked me in the back of the head. “That’s for just up and leaving without any warning. Do you have any idea how much that stunt you just pulled worried me?”

I lowered my head, “I’m sorry, Celestia.”

She shook her head, “Sorry won't cut it.” Hearing those words cut deep, but at the same time I expected to hear it. What I didn’t expect was what Celestia did next. “You can repay me by joining me for dinner tonight. This one will not be a test, just two friends enjoying a nice meal.” She walked up and put a hoof on my lips, “And don’t even think about saying that you don’t deserve it. Thanks to Luna, I now know quite a bit about you, and let's just say that you, her, and I shall be having a few talks in the coming days.” She turned around and headed towards the door where the other three ponies were waiting, but just as she got to the door she turned back. “I'll come by to get you at 6:00 for dinner.” And with that she turned and left, leaving me alone.

Not even a second after she closed the door, I felt a familiar presence behind me. “If you're going to say ‘I told you so’ just go ahead and say it.”

Harmonia walked up beside me and chuckled. “I was right, but more than that, I’m just happy to see that you are starting to come out of that shell of yours.”

“Maybe,” I replied, “I’m just surprised that you didn’t tell them where I was immediately.”

“You’re not a prisoner here. If you want to leave you that right, but it should tell you something that they came looking for you.”

“It does, and if I'm being honest, I'm still in disbelief about it.”

“Don’t worry, you'll do fine.” She turned around and motioned for me to follow her before gesturing to a spot in front of the mirror. “Stand there.”

“Why?”

“It's simple. You have a dinner date with a Princess and since Rarity has yet to finish your clothing order, I’m going to have to provide you with a suit.”

I chuckled, “What are you? My guardian angel? The guardian of this world, or a fairy godmother?” I then moved in front of the mirror, “Well, come on then, wave your wand and make me handsome.”

“Keep making jokes and instead of a suit I’ll make a dress.”

I turned my head to face her, “Now you’re the one that’s joking.”

Harmonia’s face lit up with a grin as a small tape appeared out of nowhere, “Oh, you should know that I’m not. Perhaps a nice off the shoulder, floor-length gown with a corset back for you?”

I put my hands up, “Okay, okay, you made your point. I’ll stop with the jokes… For now.”

“Good.” She replied, as she moved the measuring tape around. “There we are. And for you I think I have the perfect idea for a suit.” Her horn flashed and the clothes I had on had been replaced by a charcoal black suit coat and pants, with a red button up shirt and black tie. I looked at the lining of the suit and saw that there was a place for me to hide my pistol, and the lining felt…different. “Ah, I see you spotted the hidden features. Since you have a position as the princess’s guard, I saw it fit to include a place for you to conceal your weapon, and the lining is a special one. It is immune to puncture by knives, spears, or bows, and is even immune to light attacks from magic.”

“So my suit is also a suit of armor?”

“To some extent,” she replied. “It's also resistant to stains and wear and tear. But if you damage this suit the next thing I put you in is going to be a dress, am I clear?”

“I will do everything in my power to keep this suit from damage,” I promised, “And thank you for the suit…. I don’t know how I’m going to repay you for all you’ve done for me.”

“You can repay me by taking advantage of this second chance and by listening to Celestia and Luna’s advice.”

I nodded. “I’ll do all I can…though I’m pretty sure that Celestia and Luna will make me listen.”

“Because they care about you.” Harmonia responded before her horn flashed and the suit that I was wearing was replaced by the clothes I had on before. “I’ve put your suit in the closet, and I’ve placed a few of this morning's papers on the table by the fire if you want a good laugh while you wait for Celestia, but if I could make a suggestion?”

“Sure, what’s the suggestion?”

“Even though the smell of wood and smoke does fit your rugged image, I would advise that you take a shower before your date with Celestia.”

“I wouldn’t call it a date, it's just a dinner with my friend.”

Harmonia looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Given the discussion I had with Celestia and Luna, I'm pretty sure that it is in fact a date.”

“Wait, why were you talking with them?”

“I've had interactions with them before; in fact, some of them were rather similar to the ones i've had with you, but if you must know, I was informing them that you are truly not a threat, and that it was I who brought you here.”

“You didn’t need to do that.” I replied, “But thank you anyway.”

“Oh but I did, you see, I said that I have taken the mantle of your guardian angel. Now go shower up. Your date will be arriving in a couple of hours.” And with a smile, She disappeared.

Since I was alone again, I picked up one of the newspapers that Harmonia had set on the table and sat down as I read the headline.

The Canterlot Gazette

Canterlot Under Attack!

Strange creature attacks and is defeated by Princess and the Royal Guard.

“Wow, I didn’t think my choice of music was THAT bad.” I placed the paper down and picked up the other paper and as I did I saw a picture of the guards leading me away from my ship. “And let's see what you think of me...Oh, this one even has a picture of me.”

The Canterlot Chronicle

Another Beast for the Dungeons

Horrid creature tries to attack our beautiful capital and is defeated in short order by Princess Twilight and the Royal Guard.

Both articles went on in further detail, but to be honest, I didn’t really need to read on. If the title was anything to go by, I think I already knew what they were gonna say. That, and when I took a look up at the clock on the wall and I saw that I had only about an hour and a half left to get ready, and not wanting to incur the wrath of my guardian angel, I got up and made my way to the shower.

--

Like she had stated earlier, Celestia came knocking at my door exactly at 6:00PM. I got up to get the door, having showered, shaved, and gotten dressed in my suit. But what I saw on the other side of the door made my jaw drop. It was Celestia, but she had swapped her normal attire for a simple purple sequin dress that stopped just above her hooves and shoes, both of which matched her eyes perfectly. Her mane was braided and off to her right side. Her crown had been swapped out for a pair of silver earrings, and on her eyes was magenta eyeshadow. She smiled at me and batted her eyes as I stood there dumbfounded, “How do I look?”

“I-I-I.” I shook my head quickly before responding. “Absolutely stunning.”

Celestia's smile widened as she looked at me, “You don’t look so bad yourself, you know.” She lifted up her hoof and brushed it against my suit coat. “I didn’t think that Rarity delivered your clothes so fast, and I can sense that this fabric has some strong magic imbued into it, so I do have to ask, where did you get that suit from?”

“Harmonia.” I replied, “She thought that I needed something nice for tonight.”

“Oh, how thoughtful of her. Though I'm sure that you would look just as dapper without her assistance.”

“Yeah, I’ll have to thank her for the suit, and I'm not so sure I want to reply to that last part.”

Celestia tilted her head slightly to the side, “Why is that?”

“I'll tell you over dinner.” I replied, “It’s a bit of a funny story.”

Celestia smiled again, “I look forward to hearing it. Now then, shall we be on our way?”

I smiled back at her and followed her out the door. As we walked through the castle halls I expected us to turn to go to one of the dining rooms I was in earlier, but to my surprise, we just kept walking until we had left the palace all together. “Uh, Celestia, where are we going exactly?”

“I decided that instead of eating at the castle, we could enjoy a meal at one of the city’s best restaurants. The food is amazing, and its location allows for some of the best views in the city.”

I looked up at the sky which was beginning to change to a mix of orange, pink, and blue as Celestia began to lower the sun. “Well then, I’m looking forward to it.”

The walk to the restaurant took us about 30 minutes, all the while ponies were stopping dead in their tracks as Celestia and I walked by. Some of the looks were that of awe, and others were of pure hatred and disgust.

“I can’t wait to see what the papers are going to say about this.”

Celestia looked around and then looked back at me. “Pay them no mind, my friend. Tonight is about us. Now come along, we have reached our destination.” In front of us stood a restaurant with a single floor; it was mostly white on the outside and had what looked to be an open design, allowing for its patrons to take advantage of the views of Equestria. I looked up at the sign above the entrance and I saw the sign of the place, “Cliffside Restaurant.”

At the front door there was a pony standing behind a podium Celestia and I walked up and the pony at the front bowed. “Good evening, Your Highness. Please follow me and I’ll show you to your seat.” He picked up a single menu and Celestia responded to this by putting her wing around me. “I’ll be dining with my good friend tonight.”

The waiter looked at me and then Celestia and paused for a second before grabbing another menu and leading us to a couple of seats out on the balcony. I sat down across from Celestia and smiled as she did the same, while the waiter poured some water into our glasses before leaving. “You were right. The view from this place is beautiful, though it pales in comparison to you.”

“Oh my, thank you John, and may I say, you look quite handsome yourself.”

“Thank you.” I replied as I lifted up the menu, “So seeing that I’ve never been here before, what would you recommend?”

“The last time I was here there was this very nice masala dish, let me see if I can find-Ah yes, here it is.” She turned her menu around and pointed to the dish in question with her hoof.

“Hmm, Paneer Tikka Masala….Sounds pretty good.”

“Just be warned, it can be quite spicy.”

“Don’t worry, I have a lot of experience with spicy foods.”

Celestia smiled, “Do tell.”

I chuckled as memories of my past came to my mind, good ones for once. “Back when I worked with a partner, we’d often end up camping out on the empty area of a planet that was more secluded so I could see the stars, and so we could save on expenses. I'd secure the area and start up the fire while Icebox would cook. He wasn’t exactly a gourmet chef, but at the time, he had the energy to actually try to make something creative where I would have gone with something simple, or possibly an MRE. Anyway, since Icebox was the ‘chef’ among us, he started to grow some of the more common ingredients, one of them being Jalapeno peppers.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, his ship's cargo bay looked more like a greenhouse than a cargo bay, and I have no idea how he was able to keep them all alive, but he pulled it off, and his peppers…Well lets just say they had quite the kick. I still remember some of the pranks that he pulled on me with them.”

Celestia giggled, “I'm sorry, but I too have suffered at the hands of the jalapeno, courtesy of my little sister…What did you do in retaliation?.”

“Well, my area of expertise aside from flying, was technology. If I had to choose my best retaliation though, it would have to be the one night I snuck onto his ship and programmed his food processor to spit out nothing but ice.”

Celestia laughed wholeheartedly, and I joined her. By the time both of us had stopped we were smiling at each other while all of the restaurant’s patrons were staring at us. Celestia noticed my gaze and she used her wing to turn my head to face her. “Pay their glares no mind, my friend. The focus of tonight is us, not the tabloids.”

I was about to open my mouth to reply, but our waiter walked up. “Welcome to tThe Cliffside Restaurant. May I take your order?” I took a quick look at the waiter and I saw that her coat was a very familiar shade of pink, but she was missing her wings. It didn’t take too long for me to realize what was happening, and a wave of nausea came over me. “Excuse me for a second.” I stood up from the table and walked back into the restaurant, following the signs to the Colts restroom. Once in there I took off my suit coat and splashed my face with some water.

“You don’t think it could be a set up do you?...No, it can't be. I mean sure she invited me out to dinner, but I was told that the tests were over…….So it's Cadance trying to play a little game of matchmaker then. Afterall she did tell me back in the woods that-”

“Excuse me, you are going to need to leave now.” A snooty voice cut off my self-monologue. I turned around to see a white unicorn with a gold mane in a suit coat standing behind me. “Pets are not allowed on the premises., I thought that Celestia of all ponies would know that, but it seems that she has forgotten.”

“Look man, I get that the news hasn’t depicted me in the best light but-”

His horn lit up and grabbed my arm, “I see I’m going to have to take things into my own hooves then. Let's see how a night in the dungeons sits with you, foul beast.”

I grabbed my suit coat as he dragged me out of the bathroom, and as we entered the main restaurant again, I regained my senses. I drew my pistol from its concealed holster in my coat and put it against the back of his head. “You’re going to get one warning. Stand down or as Celestia’s personal guard, I will be forced to take action and defend myself.”

His magic still surrounded my arm, but he turned to face me, “You dare threaten me, beast? I am PRINCE Blueblood, and you are not my aunt's guard, you are a beast she tamed as a pet!” A devious smile grew on his face as his voice lowered. “But I see you are going to need to be taught some manners.” And in the blink of an eye, I was thrown into an empty table which shattered as I hit it. I quickly recovered and fired two quick shots with my pistol on its lowest stun setting at my attacker. Unfortunately, all this seemed to do was piss him off.

“You vile beast! You attacked me! HELP! GUARDS! THE MONSTER IS ATTACKING ME!” He then levitated up some bread knives in his magic and sent them flying at me. I was quick enough to grab a piece of the table to block the ones flying towards my head, but I winced in pain as I felt One of them cut my right arm and the right of my chest and torso, all of which were unprotected since i hadnt gotten my suit coat back on. Thankfully, Harmonia’s magic lining in my pants kept my legs safe. Seeing he was out of ammo for the moment, I dropped my impromptu shield and fired off three bolts at maximum stun into his chest. He dropped like a rock, and I went over and checked his pulse. It was running high, but otherwise still normal. I picked up my suit coat and placed my pistol back in its concealed holster just as two unicorns and a pegasi guard burst into the restaurant’s main door, and Celestia through the door to the outside balcony. I looked to her and I was about to explain myself, but I was tackled by one of the unicorns and I found myself in magic hand-and-leg-cuffs.

The pain on my wounds was excruciating, but that didn’t stop me from making a quip as I was being restrained, “Hey, buy a guy some coffee first.”

The guards didn’t seem to appreciate my joke. “You are under arrest for assault and battery of a noblepony; you have the right to not incriminate yourself; you have the right to have a lawyer on your case. If you don't have one, one can be assigned to you. Do you understand?”

Celestia stomped her hoof and I swear that the entire place shook. Her wings spread wide and she walked up to me and with her own magic, removed the restraints placed on me by the guards. “This man has committed no crime. He acted in self-defense within the capacity allowed him as my personal guard, and I officially pardon him.” She then looked to Blueblood, who was still lying on the floor unconscious. “Take Blueblood back to his home, and inform him that he will be responsible for half of the damages caused by his actions. The royal family will pay the other half.”

The guards saluted as their princess ordered. Celestia helped me up, and as she did, she noticed my wounds. She looked to one of the waiters who watched the whole thing unfold and floated some bits over to her with her magic. “Please inform the chefs that our order will be to-go.”

The waiter nodded and went into the kitchen before returning with two bags which Celestia took into her magic with a smile. “Thank you, my little pony.” She then looked at me, “Now let’s get you back to the castle.”

She put her wing around me to help keep me stable, pun not intended, and we walked back to the castle in silence. I knew I had fucked it up, and I figured that once I was back and patched up I’d be asked to leave.

As we reached the living section of the castle, I made a move to go back to the room I was in, but Celestia stopped me. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Oh…I thought that after what happened you’d want me gone.”

“Perish the thought.” She replied. “First, you are going to follow me up to my chambers, I’m going to patch you up. Then, you are going to finish the date that you owe me.”

Her words made me stop dead in my tracks. “You still-”

“Yes. And don’t think that I didn’t notice that our waiter bore a striking resemblance to Cadance.”

“Wait, I thought that was your doing.”

Celestia chuckled as she lead me up the stairs, “So I see Cadance is planning something for us.”

“Well, she is the Princess of Love.” I countered, which seemed to make Celestia pause for a second before continuing.

Eventually we reached the doors to her room: they were a set of double doors with Celestia's cutie mark on them, and they were guarded by two guards, one on both the left and right side. They saluted as Celestia approached and opened the doors, and for a second I hesitated.

“Come along, Johnathan. You can either follow me or I can mother you in front of these guards.”

I smiled at her and chuckled at her mock-threat as I followed her inside her room. She then closed the doors, took off my suit coat which was now stained with blood, and removed my shirt and undershirt. “Now stay here while I go get some bandages.”

There was another voice from behind me. “Don’t worry, he won't be going anywhere.”

“Ah shit.” I turned and winced as Harmonia walked around the bed and in front of me. “Hi Harmonia, I take it that you were paying attention to tonight's activities?”

She nodded, “I was, and if I remember correctly, you promised me that you would keep my gift to you intact under threat of a dress.”

“Well, in my defense, most of it still is and I didnt start it.” I ventured

Celestia walked up to me with what looked to be some kind of ointment and gauze. She looked to Harmonia and smiled, and of course Harmonia smiled back. “After i get him patched up, one of you is going to tell me what ‘Threat of a Dress’ means.” She began to place some ointment on the bandages and wrap them around my torso, arms, and chest. “Your wounds aren’t deep, but I’m wary about using magic on them. I don’t want to run the risk of harming you accidentally.”

“Don’t worry about him.” Harmonia cut in, “Aside from the fact that he can take it, Humans are not negatively affected by magic. I'll leave him to tell you about my threats himself. I just figured that I would drop in to let him know that I intend to keep my word, but that I’m not angry at him for what he did tonight.”

Celestia nodded. “I see, thank you.”

Harmonia smiled, “A pleasure as always, Celestia.” She then looked to me with a more devious smile, “And as for you, there will definitely be bows, perhaps even some flowers on it.” And then she disappeared just as Celestia finished the last bandage, leaving me and Celestia.

“Welp, I’m doomed.”

“You are definitely going to explain just exactly what she was talking about, but first.” She levitated the two bags from earlier over to a table on the balcony, and placed them there with a glass of wine, some glasses, and candles. “We have a date to finish.”

*//End audio log Transcription\*