Striving for Perfection

"In the endless wilderness of space." A disgusting voice sings in my head. As if the voice of a disgusting singer torn from an ancient cassette accompanied by intelligent musicians screams and spins in my head causing great suffering. It's like every move this idiot makes hits me in different parts of the brain. My eyes are closed and I have neither the strength nor the desire to open them. The body, or at least its position in space, is not felt at all. Slowly, like a half-dead engine, my brain started to start.

First, the last memories surfaced. It all started when I was in a bar and took Overclocking. Then the bartender served me absinthe. I drank it. . . and that's it. Some blurry flashes, feelings and nothing else. The clearest thing I remembered was one phrase. Brilliant thoughts and world wars. Who said this, what meaning did the author put in and when? Nothing. Empty. Just the fact of the phrase's existence.

Like the second turn of a key, my brain once again tried to start up. There was an exhaust of random, mixed and twisted thoughts, after which the brain stalled again. Individual phrases without information from the sender and quickly crumbling meaningless sounds. Random thoughts cut off in half. And the unceasing voice of a disgusting singer who continues to beat me on the brain from the inside. He is the only one who makes complete words and sentences here.

For the third time, my brain made another exhaust of random thoughts and was able to continue rattling. My brain started up and began to analyze gradually. At first I started to feel a terrible thirst in my throat. Then I felt the invisible lines moving and taking on the image of creatures. A dog on the main street, one pony within a few yards, and two voids. It feels like the lines in the two areas have parted to the sides and gone out of my perception. These holes without lines are moving somewhere. It's a mismatch, and it's annoying.. Then I felt a shiver all over my body as if it was shaking from the cold. As soon as I thought about the cold, I began to feel it and instinctively began to chatter my teeth. I felt that I was sitting and leaning my back against something solid. When the pain from all these factors became unbearable, my brain began to form one thought after another.

Did you celebrate well, crybaby? I hope so, because it's time to get back to work. Three hundred and sixty-three and ideally three hundred and sixty-five days of tireless work. Now, crybaby, open your eyes and go save the world. Without the perfection that you and only you want and can become, we will not see freedom.

I slowly, cautiously opened my eyes and saw darkness. I was in some room where there was humidity and slow dripping of water. Slowly turning my head to the left, I saw a closed door from under which the light shone through. I tried to get up, but the trembling along with complete disorientation brought me back to my place. My brain, already wound up to the current maximum, began to throw ideas.

Do you remember the rooms in the hotel, crybaby? The only place in your hotel where water can drip is the bathroom. Get up, wash up and go out. Us are waiting for blind eyes that have not seen perfection and degraded minds that do not recognize you as such. Wait, you're not perfection, crybaby! You're just almost. If you don't pull yourself together, you will remain an unnecessary Mr. almost. Make do with the minimum possible time to get back on the right track.

I started to get up slowly, carefully, holding on to the wall and using my shaking hands to balance myself. I was able to hold myself only on slightly bent legs, as if I could not be a normal upright. My vision was able to adapt to the darkness and I was able to make out the mirror and the outline of the shell. Slowly, I began to hobble towards her, straining everything I had to stand on my feet. In the end, I got to the sink and turned the faucet to the side. Without hesitation, I took to the water in my hands and splashed it in my face. Only then did I realize that the tap was running infernally hot water.

Idiot! You yourself know that you can't trust anyone. Everyone is jealous of you, wants something from you or wants to eliminate you. Even this crane can't be trusted. Turn the other way and wash normally. WE. LOSE. TIME.

I hissed from the hot water but did not scream. I turned the faucet handle the other way and carefully brought my finger to the water. I felt a strong cold and after making sure that the temperature was stable, I splashed water on my face again. After repeating the process several times, I leaned over to the tap and started drinking, wanting to overcome thirst. I swallowed the water without hesitation and began to slowly hobble to the exit from the dark bathroom. On the way, I turned to the wall to get additional support. Walking slowly along the wall, I reached the door from under which the light was coming through and turned the handle.

I was blinded by a bright light that made me close my eyes with my hands. I, guided by touch, began to look for a rope switch. Finding something, I abruptly pulled down and the light turned off. When I relaxed and took my hands away from my face, I saw that the lamp was sagging heavily, as if it would fall at any moment. I carefully walked forward, not wanting to be under a falling lamp. I made it to the main room where the light filtered through the curtains in sufficient quantities to see but not enough to blind me. I saw how Rising was lying on the bed and threw the blanket on the floor. Judging by his closed eyes, he is sleeping and is not going to wake up any time soon.

Check the drawers and the safe. Now it is above all.

I turned my head to the corner of the room and breathed a sigh of relief. Two drawers, a safe and a bag are still in place and in the same form in which I left them. They were supplemented by a huge bag lying on its side and from which several gold coins fall out. I don't have any memories of what happened last night and this. I could say that this is alarming, but in fact I am more concerned about a headache, trembling all over my body and two voids where there are no lines.

Well done, crybaby, you're starting to think. Grit your teeth, clench your hands into a fist and deal with these voids.

I put my hands in my pockets to check my gear. A knife, a phone with a broken screen, keys, a piece of paper, a card with a smaller card, a card from a mercenary shelter and bags of money that have lost weight from constant spending. I pulled my hands out of my pockets and shifted my hand to a thin dagger that was clamped between my belt and trousers. I took my hand off the dagger and noticed my bare, uncovered chest. Where's my red T-shirt!? Did I work on it for so long that it just disappeared!?

Calm down, T-shirt probably burned down when you were fighting in the mountains. Unquestionably bad, but at least you have a coat left. But you still screwed up.

I sighed and quickly began to fasten the buttons on my coat. Because of the shaking in my hands, it was very difficult for me to button my coat. In the middle of the process, I was stopped by a knock on the door. The knock is very persistent, strong and furious, as if the one who knocks is ready to knock the door off its hinges. In principle, I can also do this, and if he doesn't finish hammering at the door, then I will knock it off its hinges myself.

"Knock yourself on the head." I said as I walked to the door and buttoned my coat. Without thinking, I put my hand on the door handle and surprisingly was able to open it. Yes, it looks like I forgot to close the door to the room. In front of me I saw two familiar ponies with barely concealed rage on their faces. A good conversationalist and a terrible ruler. Laurel and Hardy. Silent Bob and Jay. White and black. Celestia and Luna.

The situation is undeniably dubious. If anything, take Rising and throw it at them like a projectile. Having confused them, use the knife for a sick purpose. It's just a plan in case diplomacy fails.

Celestia opened her mouth to start talking, but she was abruptly interrupted by Luna, from which the rage was oozing, "Why did you do this?"

"First of all, you told me yourself that you need to say hello first. Secondly. . ." I started to say, but Luna interrupted me again.

"Don't get off topic. WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" asked Luna, emphasizing every word.

"Don't interrupt and don't yell. It makes my head hurt even more. Secondly, I don't remember what happened yesterday." I said, taking a few steps back so that annoying interlocutors could enter the room. Fortunately, they took the hint and entered the room, closing the door behind them. A second's respite and the look of Celestia was able to calm the moon a little. Quite a bit.

"First of all, I have to ask. Who is this?" Celestia asked, pointing with her hoof at the sleeping Rising.

"This? One of my soldiers." I replied, trying to ignore the headache.

"And what is he doing here? " Asked Celestia, continuing to ask questions.

"Wait, I need to prepare everything I need. " I said walking up to the safe and taking the documents that were in it. It will be inconvenient to explain everything without props. For some unknown reason, when the princesses are nearby, the invisible lines diverge so far that I can't feel them.

"It all started the day after Christmas. When I woke up, I was attacked by mercenaries. Despite the hangover, I was able to repel their attack and take the first tip. Seeing this, I went to Manhattan. " I said, showing Celestia a thin dagger with an inscription telling about the place of production.

"So you met with a deadly danger and decided to play detective. Do I understand correctly? " Celestia asked, clearly not happy with my decision.

"Believe me, I hate detective stories and was not happy with such a prospect. Why didn't I ask for help? I wouldn't have been able to pay. And please don't tell me about kindness and the like. I know that free cheese is only in a mousetrap." I said saying obvious and unquestionable things.

"We'll discuss it later." Go on now. Celestia said, putting off a series of questions for later.

"When I arrived in Manhattan, I found a workshop where this dagger was made. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to look at the necessary documents, so I had to climb through the window into the workshop under the cover of night. There I found the right document, but in order to avoid problems and suspicions, I decided to copy the information from the document to the sheet. " I said, pulling out of my coat pocket a folded piece of paper on which I had previously copied the information from the document in the workshop. Celestia took the sheet and began to read it to herself along with Luna.

"This is interesting information, but how does it relate to the assassination attempt on you?" Celestia asked while Luna was silent and thinking.

"I just needed to find out the name of the organization to which the mercenaries belong. I'm not interested in the rest." I replied, wanting to end the conversation as soon as possible.

"Go on. Celestia said with a deep sigh.

"Then I met with the mayor of the city wanting to satisfy my personal interests and get some information. As a result, I found out that it would not work to break into the headquarters of the mercenary organization directly because of the remoteness, but there is a hidden base in Equestria. Then the mercenaries attacked me for the second time. At the cost of some wounds, I was able to capture and interrogate one of the mercenaries. During the interrogation, it turned out that the mercenary base is located in the north of Equestria in the mountains. By the way, then in the city I met and took two of my soldiers as assistants. Flying Night and Rising Moon. Rising is right here in front of you at the moment. Where Flying disappeared I have no idea." I said out of the corner of my eye looking at the still sleeping Rising. Maybe it's time to wake him up?

"What do you mean by interrogation?" Celestia asked with caution.

"I knew you were stupid, but not that stupid. I did the things that first came to my mind. He broke his knee, tore out his fang, punched him in the jaw, hit his head on the table, cut off three fingers and tortured him with water. " I replied, listing everything I had done.

"Just tell me what happened next. " Asked Celestia, clearly stunned by so much violence. Luna, on the contrary, does not seem surprised by this.

"I went to the mercenary base together with Flying and Rising. There I ran into two mercenaries who were hunting me and a group of crossbowmen. Every single one of them was killed. I found this map and interesting documents in the mercenary base." I said, handing Celestia a map, a lot of letters and a signed document. Celestia, along with Luna, looked at everything I provided for a long time. I saw their eyes slowly widen as they familiarized themselves with the material. After reading this ton of waste paper, silence reigned in the room for a few seconds.

"You have worked well this week. Despite the fact that you had to rest. " Said Celestia.

"But that doesn't change what you did," Luna said, returning to this topic.

"I don't remember what I did yesterday. " I replied, casting an irritated glance at Luna.

"Was he with you yesterday? " Luna asked, pointing with her hoof at the still sleeping Rising.

"Wake up!" I said, coming closer to Rising and shouting right in his ear.

"What? Where?" asked Rising slowly waking up. Probably I still had to teach the soldiers to wake up quickly. Yes, I definitely missed an important thing and was too soft.

In any case, you need to find out from him what he knows.

"Rise, Rising. Great things are waiting for you. A report on what I did yesterday for the "highly respected" ladies." I said, waving my head in the direction of the princesses. Rising blinked several times and saw the princesses in front of me. He opened his mouth in a silent scream.

"Calm down. Just forget about the existence of the authority of others." I said while I covered his mouth with my hand.

"Easy to say." Rising hesitantly squeezed out.

This is no good.

"Think logically. You're going to talk about what I did yesterday. If I did something serious, then you will definitely remember it. If it makes you feel better, then I am ready to act as a guarantor of the absence of condemnation in your direction.

"Tell you what you did yesterday, right? " Asked Rising after a long silence.

"Yes."

Rising took a few breaths in and out to gather his strength and began to briefly tell: "Yesterday you were in a bar and, as you put it, took Overclocking. Then the bartender gave you absinthe to drink, and you became very ill. In this bad state, you started wandering around the city. First you climbed on the building and started shouting incomprehensible things. Then you went to a club where you sang a song. I liked it by the way. Then you went to a bar where you talked to the barmaid. You have a nice conversation and you said that you might come back again. At the end of the first half of the day, you went to the casino where you first lost and then won."

"Wait, you mean you won at the casino? You can't win in a casino." I said, raising an eyebrow and doubting the quality of Rising as a source.

"But somehow you did it." Answered Rising himself without having any guesses. Or not wanting to share them.

"Okay, go ahead. I said with a sigh.

"Then you destroyed the monument to the ponies who united the pony tribes. After that, you stood up for the girl in the alley who was attacked by three Earth ponies. I and Flying helped you. Then you did something to the police station that caused a strange explosion. According to you, not one pony was injured. After blowing up the police station, you went to the big pony statue wanting to destroy it. I talked you out of it and you went to the hotel. I fell asleep and then I don't know what happened."

Partial demolition of the police station. Just think for a second. You did it while drunk. What if that's not what speaks of your superiority, crybaby? But you can't do without criticism. This is undoubtedly a spectacular action, but I would prefer something bigger and more destructive. Maybe the whole Canterlot? In addition, if no one died during the destruction, then people will forget about it in an hour or two at most.

"Now guess, Daniel Ctumer, what exactly you did wrong. " Luna said, calling me by my full name.

"If you expect repentance, there will be none. I really don't understand why I should feel guilty. " I answered, knowing perfectly well what exactly Luna didn't like.

"Then I need to tell you one important thing. Do you remember telling me that you combined your dark and ordinary magic, which is absolutely forbidden to do? As a result, the resulting mixture can remain in the air like ordinary magic and cause harm almost like dark magic. In other words, the area where that explosion was is now life-threatening. " Luna said with undisguised condemnation.

"How life-threatening is it?" I asked, still not feeling guilty. Or anyone's at all.

"If someone stays in that area for a long time, they can get serious damage to internal organs. Especially the lungs." Luna said, continuing to press me unsuccessfully.

"It doesn't sound like anything scary." I answered with a shrug.

"YOU have paralyzed the work of the police station." Luna said, continuing to push me harder and harder. It's getting boring.

"I have a thousand and one reasons why I don't care. Starting from the obvious that I didn't know about the consequences and ending with the fact that they couldn't notice the danger. Let's stop at the last point. If law enforcement agencies are not able to protect even themselves from an attack, then how can we talk about protecting civilians? No response required. Since the activities of the police station are paralyzed, then all its employees are obliged to engage in mass and comprehensive development. By the time the station starts working again, its workers must embark on the path of perfection. To suppress emotions in yourself, to set one goal that is above all and go to it at any cost. In my understanding, the goal of a real guardian of law and order should be the destruction of any crime." I said hoping that this tirade would make Luna shut up.

"We will go now with my sister and discuss what to do with you." Luna said, barely restraining her rage and turning towards the door. Obviously, she is annoyed by her own wrongness.

Great job, Crybaby. Another one has fallen to the dust. This year promises to be better, more even than last year. Although it seemed that the ceiling of happiness had been reached. It would be nice to look at what is happening on Earth right now. Hopefully, I'll be back before the fun begins.

Celestia and Luna left the room along with all the evidence I provided and slammed the door shut. I heard them stand up in the hallway and start talking so softly that I couldn't hear anything. Rising exhaled after unconsciously holding his breath. Or consciously I do not know. In any case, after exhaling, he stands and seems to gather his strength. A couple of times he opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came up. He looked around the room for a topic of conversation. In the end, he found a topic.

"Where's Flying?" Asked Rising after inspecting the room.

"I have no idea." I answered, returning silence to the room. Rising focused his attention on me and after the inspection made a startled sigh.

"What happened?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and waiting for the two princesses to return.

"Y-Your h-hand." Rising replied by raising a shaking hoof and pointing at my right hand. I focused my attention on my right hand. The palm is normal, the thumb is also, the index finger is similar, the middle one is normal as always, the ring finger is normal, the little finger is black and charred at the end. Everything is as usual. No, wait.

I looked at my little finger. The whole part of the little finger where the nail was charred as if it had been in a terrible fire. The skin was charred and turned black. Although most of the little finger remained intact, it is still annoying. Most likely, I won't feel anything with the tip of my little finger anymore.

Objectively speaking, the loss is not big.

"Rising, do you have any ideas?" I asked, knowing that this definitely did not happen until yesterday.

"I have an idea." Rising answered uncertainly. It seems that he believes in this idea less and less every second.

"Tell me." I said, trying to ignore the little finger.

"When you were playing at the casino, there was something strange. You inhaled sharply and for a moment I felt some kind of warmth in the air. Then I noticed that several cracks appeared on the roulette ball. Maybe it's all somehow interconnected?" Asked Rising being unsure of his theory himself.

"If this is all the information, then I do not know. There are too few details and I don't have a single memory of what I did at the casino." I replied, trying to forget about the existence of a burnt little finger.

The door opened and the two princesses returned to the room. Judging by the expression on Luna's face, she is dissatisfied with the final decision. On the other hand, Celestia seems confident that she has made the perfect decision.

"We have made a decision, but before it is announced, I want to ask you, Daniel. Do you remember the city you attacked?" Celestia asked as if she wanted a specific answer. No, go to hell, I won't say what you want.

Quickly, a philosophical approach to the stage!

"A very strange statement. The attack is most often used as part of the conduct of hostilities between countries, which I, as an adherent of a wide range of left-wing views, do not approve of. Or do I approve? Our reality is so complex and confusing that it is so difficult to hold one opinion, especially considering that people can judge you differently depending on their own views. For example, you are a kind social Democrat and as a result, from the side of the Socialists you are just a moderate nationalist capitalist and from the side of the real nationalists you are a damn communist. How difficult. . ."I wanted to continue my speech on a distant topic, but Celestia interrupted me.

"This town is called Ponyville and there is an interesting situation. The Guards defended the city, but unfortunately did not get a well-deserved rest due to the general workload of the Solar Guard. There's just no one to replace them. But the newly recreated Lunar Guard is free and its soldiers already have basic training." Celestia said, stopping so that I could finish her thought myself.

No, I'm out of your plan.

"So what?" I asked, deliberately raising an eyebrow. It turned out so-so considering that the last time I attended a drama club was at the age of fourteen. Although it's even good that I gave up the path of an actor. It was originally a stupid dream.

"You already know the answer. Celestia replied, still wanting me to finish the thought. Well, it's time to go into the breach.

"Celestia, I fundamentally don't want to do what you want. I am already forced to follow your orders, which does not give me much pleasure. At any convenient opportunity, I would prefer to resist. I know you want me to finish your thought. I won't do it. "

Celestia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before saying, "You and the Lunar Guard soldiers will be filling in for the Solar Guard garrison in Ponyville. Indefinitely."

She clearly has a real purpose. If not several. It's better to keep this in mind.

"Is that all?" I asked, wanting to end this conversation.

"By and large, yes." replied Celestia.

"Rising, do you remember telling me about the girl in the bar? Showing the way, I'm going to pay her a visit." I said, turning to Rising and catching everyone in the room by surprise.

"Uh, of course." said Rising uncertainly, who was able to scrape together the strength to say at least something. Judging by the voice and facial expression, Rising finds this action strange.

"Lead on." I said, pointing to the door. Rising was dumb again for a few seconds trying to process the situation. As a result, he was able to get out of his stupor and go to the exit. I took a gym bag and put a huge bag of gold coins in it. The bag took up almost the entire bag, but it still fit and allowed the bag to be closed. After making sure that the bag was closed, I followed Rising, who did not have time to go far. When we had already reached the stairs to go down, I heard both princesses begin their movement.

I hope they remembered their duties and went to work. I need to get over my headache and go to fucking Ponyville without them. I still hate the names that ponies come up with.

After descending the stairs and finding myself in the lobby, I went to the reception desk and silently put the keys on the table. The girl at the reception desk said something, but I didn't hear anything clearly. She could hardly have said anything useful. Ignoring the girl, I continued to follow Rising and hope that the princesses will fall behind.

Even though they seem willing to follow me. Or pursue. I don't know.

Rising left the hotel and started looking around trying to remember the route. I closed my eyes from the bright light and breathed fresh air. This helps to distract for a second from the parched throat, the sun hitting the eyes and the headache, although not completely. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that both princesses also stopped nearby, which caused my irritation. They're not going to get behind me.

"Why are you standing here? Don't you have responsibilities that need to be poorly performed?" I asked, turning to Celestia. Because of the contract with Luna, according to which she does not climb into my dreams in return for my respectful attitude, I cannot insult her. I have to get out of it.

"After what you've done, I'd rather keep you in sight. I can afford to pay a little attention to the sullen captain." Celestia answered while Luna was silent.

In my pain-ridden head, some kind of answer could not form, so I had to accept it. But we cannot leave this completely unanswered. I exhaled slowly, clearly letting her know that I was annoyed by her presence. Very, very bad, I would even say a final failure. I was saved from the final failure by Rising, who was able to remember the road and start moving in the right direction. I quickly started following him wanting to forget my past action. What was I even thinking about when I was doing this? To sigh discontentedly like a child is so stupid, so stupid.

Just calm down, crybaby, it was just a misfire. Another misfire. YOU're better than the others anyway. They will make similar misfires until the end of their days and you will achieve perfection and you will not make any more mistakes. The main thing is to keep going to the goal. Take it step by step.

I calmed down a bit and just continued to follow the Rising slowly getting used to the sunlight. After a few minutes, I was able to take my hands off my face and start looking at the world around me normally. Looking at the street and not meeting a kneeling headache, I realized one thing. There is a plus in finding princesses next to me. Due to the fact that next to them the invisible lines move so far apart that I can't feel them, I can perceive reality normally without experiencing an overload of perception. This is a plus, no doubt, but I would still prefer to get rid of them as soon as possible.

"By the way, what happened to your clothes?" Celestia asked as if this was the perfect moment to talk. Do I have to say that this is not the case?

"Got dirty during the sweep of the mercenary base. Translating into your language, I killed a dozen people and got dirty in their blood." I said after looking at my clothes for a second. From my perspective, the upper part of the pants starting from the knees were painted green and the lower part of the coat up to the chest was painted red. Surprisingly, at first glance it is not clear that this is blood.

"And it suits you to walk like this?" Celestia asked with a voice conveying disgust that I keep walking around like this.

"I don't care." I said with a shrug. Why should I care about my appearance?

"You do understand that this information will be revealed, then the ponies will start to be afraid of you? Appearance are very important, do you understand?" Celestia continued to ask questions as if she wanted to achieve something. What exactly? I have no idea, and it doesn't bother me.

"Do I understand this? Yes. Am I afraid of public outrage? Not really." I answered without turning to Celestia and hoping to end this pointless conversation.

I was listening to Celestia takes a breath to say, so I quickly interrupted her, "If you are so dependent on communicating with me, then let's talk about interesting topics. For example, let's talk about what we will do with those whom my evidence points to. "

"About half of the signatures on the list are unknown to me. However, the other half belongs to influential nobles, some of whom I did not expect to see. I'm still thinking about what to do with them. " Celestia said, accepting my rules of the game and telling useful information with bitterness in her voice.

"I don't see any ground for reflection here. Gather the troops, plan an operation and at the most unexpected moment kill all the guilty. Their funds will be nationalized and directed to the construction of new factories. Nothing complicated. " I said, continuing to follow the still silent Rising.

"It's out of the question." said Celestia in a firm and stern voice.

"It's actually not a bad idea." Luna added, going against her sister's opinion. I felt a tension between the two horses behind me.

"I have a headache without you. Don't even think about starting a pointless argument in my presence." I said in a tone not suggesting refusal.

"Or what?" Both princesses asked at the same time, as if provoking me. I stopped for now, not looking at the princesses, but already creating tension. Rising stopped in place and looked at me as if he wanted everything to be resolved peacefully.

Do you remember the fight with Luna? You lost badly back then. Maybe you've become stronger, crybaby, but there's no guarantee that you're stronger than Luna. Besides, her sister is here. It is better to avoid a direct physical collision. But a brief and verbal one is quite possible. Anyway, just in case, prepare for a physical confrontation. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

I abruptly turned towards the princesses, shortened the distance and put my hands on the lower part of their cheeks. I felt that the princesses were surprised but not shocked by my rapid movement. With my fingers, I felt the right area where I could feel their calm pulse.

"I know you have a hidden purpose. All these miracles of yours, generosity and willingness to talk on my terms. All this is dust in the eyes and nothing more. I submit to you following the contracts, which in fact rests on the honesty of all parties involved. Most people consider omission to be a lie. Very few people will want to cooperate with such deceitful people like you. About as few people have seen my really dark side, but believe me, no one could get it out of their heads. But you seem to be asking for your lies. The question remains. Are you ready for the consequences of a total hunt that "chuckle" can happen at any second? " I said it softly enough that only the two princesses could hear me. Throughout the monologue, I stuck in a passive aggressive voice. With my fingers, I felt that not significantly, quite a bit, but the pulse of the princesses increased. I took my hands away, turned away and gestured to Rising that I was ready to follow him.

Far from the best that could be said. Too loaded, long and confusing. Just in case, get ready for their answer. In the sense of a physical response.

While I was following Rising, which resumed its movement, I began to prepare for the actions of the princesses. I began to carefully, slowly pull the magic tentacle out of my right palm so that it twirled around my hand but remained invisible to others. I wrapped the tentacle around my shoulder and tied it in a simple knot. This required a very strong concentration, but it turned out to be possible. As a result, the tentacle began to function as a spring ready to release its power at any second. To unclench this spring, it is enough for me to release an uncomplicated knot that will quickly launch my hand forward to strike. These are the best things I can do now considering all the limitations.

I strained my vision as much as possible and turned my head so that I could see the princesses out of the corner of my eye so that in case of an aggressive move by the princesses, I could quickly respond. I noticed a tremor in Rising's knees at every step caused by the stress of this conflict. Unfortunately for myself, I heard that the princesses decided to continue following me, but so far they have not taken any action. It seems that they are developing a plan to attack me.

Or, along with the hangover, you got paranoid. In any case, it's better to relax a little. If they are going to attack, it will convince them of your unpreparedness. If they're not going to do it, then you won't look so aggressive.

I lowered my shoulders a little, just a little, and turned away from the princesses. I was still confident that the princesses would make some kind of move, despite the fact that every second this probability became less likely. Undoubtedly, the tension in the air remained, but not as strong as before. In such an atmosphere, I continued on my way to the bar where Rising led me. As a result, we got to an unremarkable place next to which hung a barely noticeable sign with the inscription bar.

"Right here." Rising said, pointing with his hoof at the entrance to an unremarkable establishment. There was stress in his voice because of the tension between me and the princesses.

Why strain and worry if you are not a participant in the conflict? There's no need.

I entered a room where every table, chair and lamp was different. I could have focused on this, but the headache and efforts aimed at maintaining the spring required me to focus on the main task. Drink some water and maybe find out about what I did yesterday from a different point of view. Keeping this task in mind, I began to look around the room in search of someone similar to the bartender. But I didn't find anyone. I went to the table hoping to find something on it to call the bartender, but that wasn't there either. I slowly and carefully loosened the knot of the magic tentacle, which caused my hand to hit the table sharply and loudly. The spring from the magic tentacle still exists, but it has weakened a little.

"Wait a bit! A woman's voice shouted from the pantry. I sat down on a bar stool to relax a little and gather my strength. In my condition, linking a few words into a sentence is already a test, and I also need to hold the spring during the conversation. If I just let her go, I'll just hit the air.

And this, in turn, may raise some questions.

"What do you want? A." The thestral girl stopped, opening her mouth and seeing who was in the room. She had gray fur and lilac hair. Her fur looked much thicker than the other ponies. No, it probably just seems to me.

"Yes, I was definitely here yesterday. I need a glass of water." I said out loud, giving myself an account. She continued to stand with her mouth open, concentrating on the princesses. Luna saw the admiration in this, probably, and continued to stand as if bathed in the rays of glory. Celestia stood tensely, as if trying to find the right words. Rising looked at me as if I had to do something.

You know what? I'll do something.

"Meet this is Celestia and Luna. You don't have to worry about their situation. While I'm around, the concept of good, evil and authority does not exist. Say and preferably do whatever you want. Under my supervision, no one will judge. " I said, pointing with my hand first at Celestia and then at Luna before putting my hand on the table.

"Is this one of your 'genius thoughts'? "" She asked as if she was using some kind of a secret phrase. It seemed my speech was able to relax her a little.

Brilliant thoughts and world wars. The only phrase I remember after I drank the damn absinthe.

"I don't remember what happened yesterday. So you know better than me what that means. I actually came here just to get a different perspective on what I was doing yesterday." I said, immediately revealing all the cards. How could I hide the fact that I don't remember last night? No way.

"I understand. Well, I can't tell you much. Yesterday you came here accompanied by two thestrals. You were already drunk but decided to have a drink here. I give you a strong beer according to a family recipe and we have a dialogue. You said various phrases and I wrote them down in order to extract inspiration from them in the future. " The thestral girl said with a tiny bit of resentment and annoyance.

Well, I don't care what she needs these phrases for. But it would be nice to know what exactly I said while I was drunk.

"Show me what you wrote. I'm interested to know what I said while drunk." I said trying to behave peacefully. With the stress caused by a headache, it's very difficult.

"Look. If you can make out the handwriting." She said with her head pointing to an inconspicuous notebook lying on one of the cupboards with drinks. I got up from my seat and stretched out towards the notebook. I loosened the knot on the magic tentacle a little again, which caused my hand to lunge towards the notebook. My burnt little finger hit the locker, but I didn't feel any pain. It looks like the nerve endings are burned out too.

I grabbed her notebook and went back to my seat. Opening the notebook and quickly flipping to the last page where the text was present, I began to read to myself. It was very difficult because the handwriting was small and had a very strong slope.

Unbearable lightness, and tolerable heaviness. Unbearable ease is to live like an ordinary person and obey the laws of the majority. It looks easy, but for some it is unbearable (for whom?). Tolerable heaviness is to live like a lion. Fight with all possible methods against the current world. It's very hard, but some consider it the only method of existence. (Who thinks so?)

World wars. If two billion people live on earth (and this is not the case), then the death of two hundred million is insignificant. In other words, the value of life is determined by the total number of lives. This is a very strange and even a little creepy way of looking at things.

I put the notebook back in its place. I'm a little impressed with what I did while I was drunk. I usually took a small dose and did not lose my composure completely. Getting drunk to such an extent is a first for me. And looking at these phrases, a thought is born in my head.

These thoughts turned out to be reasonable and true as always, but at the same time an ordinary barmaid was able to realize and analyze them. In other words, when drunk, you, a crybaby, are much more effective. Maybe for a more effective activity you need to drink more and more often? Three times a year and a little bit is too little. Maybe you need to get drunk every Friday as well as last night?

I shook my head from side to side. This is a bad, disgusting and meaningless thought. It's better to forget about it. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that a glass and a carafe of water were placed next to me. My eyes widened when I saw a remedy for thirst, and I quickly grabbed a decanter to quickly pour everything into a glass. After filling the glass to the brim and spilling some water, I put the decanter on the table and grabbed the glass with my left hand. I quickly poured all the water into myself and put the glass on the table with a loud bang. I noticed everyone in the room staring at me.

"What happened?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and filling the glass with water a little more calmly.

"There you are!" A man's voice shouted from behind. I turned back and saw a duo of centaur and Minotaur. The centaur was blond with long hair and square sunglasses with white frames. How could he have noticed me? A little behind him stood a minotaur with red matted hair, a square cap on his head and round glasses with a red frame. Seeing them, a stupid thought suddenly formed in my head.

The greatest duet of all time and peoples "Bespectacleds".

"Who are you talking about now?" I asked, turning around. The only customers here are me and my annoying campaign. Although Rising has become tolerable and even useful.

"About you, you devil, you know!" He said with fury in his voice, taking an aggressive step forward.

"Rising, who is it?" I asked, turning to him. If they get into a fight, I will definitely win, but I would like to know the reason for the conflict.

"These are the musicians with whom you performed on stage yesterday. They didn't sing well and you took it upon yourself. You promised to meet them at the hotel at two o'clock in the afternoon." Said Rising with a huge stress in his voice. It seems one more conflict, and he will faint. Although I'm probably exaggerating.

I started looking for a watch in the bar. After a few turns of my head to the sides, I found the watch and looked at it. Nine in the morning. I turned to the intruders and said, "It's nine o'clock in the morning. The meeting won't be for another five hours."

"Do you think I'm really stupid, dude? You didn't say which hotel and where, you know. I've been running all over town with my bro to find you, do you know? " Said the centaur in an enraged voice. His manner of speaking with repetitive words is annoying.

"Congratulations you found me! Better than any princess in another castle. Now what will you do? " I asked, drinking water from a glass that I had filled a little.

"I don't know, damn it. I'll make you apologize for such inappropriate, damn, behavior and drag you into the band as a soloist. " The centaur replied, starting to repeat another word. The genius of repeating the same words.

"So, as I understood, yesterday I deceived you. Or didn't think it through. In any case, taking into account the testimony, factors and guidelines, I plead guilty. I apologize for the unjustified lie. " I said, trying to keep the balance between monotony and excessive experimentation. On the one hand, I want to say it without emotion at all, but then he just won't accept it as an apology. On the other hand, I can try to go into expression and get maximum emotions, but then it will look like a performance. As a result, I got a crooked balance. Through each word, the level of expressiveness was slightly varied and my body language as such was absent.

Why am I straining for them? Judging by the Rising story, they are just losers whom I rescued yesterday. I always knew that I was a bad singer, but even if I was able to save them yesterday, they are even worse.

"Damn, dude, really respect for understanding. Now let's go make history with us, do you know?" He said, closing the distance and raising his hand as if he wanted to shake hands. My mouth opened to refuse, but suddenly my brain began to build a chain of individual ideas that give an incredible result.

It was right in front of my eyes the whole time. Undoubtedly, it is necessary to get out of this planet, but there is something that I so refused to notice. This whole planet is a field of experiments. A place where you can try out all the ideas in practice. First perfection, then absolute freedom. But in between there will be the most dangerous stage. The destruction of global ideas that by their nature suppress dissent. How can this be done? To govern the country. What does it take to become the ruler of a country? Strength and support of the population. The force is an army in which I occupy a high place. The support of the population is obtained in the course of propaganda art. In music. These musicians are my blessing and my reward for my long labors. They are the keys that open the way to governing the country and from there to absolute freedom at hand. The chain is exposed. The achievement of perfection with the parallel expansion of influence, the seizure of power and the road to absolute freedom. Having finished with this, you can start looking for a way out of this planet.

I smiled with all my teeth and grabbed the centaur's hand for a handshake. Grabbing his hand tightly, I said, watching the princesses out of the corner of my eye: "Unfortunately, I'm being taken to a small town called Ponyville for work, but I have an idea. I recently hit the jackpot and have good funds. By giving it to you, I'll pay for a trip to the town and some house to rent. How's the idea?"

"Damn, dude of course! It's really cool, thanks. Well, did they drive to the train station?" He asked in a happy voice and made some kind of gesture. I couldn't see what he did because I was concentrating on the princesses. Celestia skillfully hid all her emotions about this, but Luna turned out to be different. She looked at me with a look that conveyed incredible rage, anger and disappointment. Apparently she doesn't like the idea that the captain of the guard is also a member of a musical group. Not that her opinion is taken into account.

"Yes, of course go, I'll catch up. I have to pay the bill, you know?" I said, opening my bag, which contained a huge bag of money. The centaur nodded and pushing his silent friend slowly walked out of the bar. I looked at the thestral girl who was following the musicians with a startled look. When she saw that I was boring her with my eyes, she was distracted from the musicians.

"That'll be five bits." She said after looking at how much water I drank. Once the almost full decanter was half empty. I silently pulled out the required amount and put it on the table and was about to go after the musicians, but I was stopped by Luna's voice filled with anger.

"Do you understand what you're doing? Are you sure you're sane?" Luna asked, trembling with rage.

"Yes, I am engaged in creating. Don't worry, I'm not going to shirk my job. I've worked, the soldiers are resting, and I'm going to study music." I said it honestly. That's part of my plan. There is a part that I didn't mention. When I find someone sensible as a junior commander, I will throw all the work for him and I will do the promotion of the group and self-development in my spare moments. Perfection has not been canceled.

"Do you realize how much you undermine the image of the crown and your own!? By their very appearance, it is clear that they will not perform anything decent. And I very much doubt that you will change that. Most likely you will make it even more indecent." Said Luna with a certain contempt and a bit of a compulsion. It's like she wants to put such pressure on me to abandon my plans. No.

"Yes, you guessed it." I said calmly, continuing to sit on the chair as if everything was fine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Rising pressed his ears to his head and began to back away as if something terrible could happen.

Luna gritted her teeth and began to tremble even more with rage. Her mane started to develop faster and seemed to get a little bigger. Something like an animal ready to attack.

This is aggression, don't you think? I think the time of the performance is over.

I abruptly got up from my chair and took a long step with my right foot towards the moon, putting my left hand behind my back. In my left hand, I quickly made an ordinary arrow rune and raised my hand high in the air as if I was preparing to strike. For a second it seemed to me that the eyes of Luna took on a predatory look and Celestia was preparing to stop her sister. I ignored this and completely untied the knot on my right arm, which allowed me to deliver an instant blow to the chest. The blow was so instantaneous that I didn't have time to clench my hand into a fist and hit just with the palm of my hand. As a result, the blow reached the target and forced Luna to retreat a few steps back without severe damage. I jumped back and braced myself for the two princesses' response. As an additional measure, I wrapped a magic tentacle around my fingers so that I got a brass knuckles. As a result, I have a loaded arrow rune in my left hand and my right hand is better adapted to close combat.

Everyone in the room stared at me. Rising froze in place as if trying to process this situation. Celestia stared at me as if she wanted some kind of explanation for my actions. Luna began to take quick breaths as if she was terribly tired and needed rest. For a second it seemed to me that fear and a semblance of internal struggle flashed in Luna's eyes, but I waved it away.

This is definitely some kind of trick. We continue to wait and think over options. For example, you can take a carafe of water and throw it at the one who makes the first move.

I took a cautious step towards the table so that in case of an attack, I could take a carafe of water and throw it at the enemy. All the attention of my right eye was focused on the decanter and calculating how best to throw it. Suddenly I was distracted by the quiet and even, it seemed, guilty voice of Luna.

"We have to go. " Luna muttered before trotting out of the place. Everyone in the room watched the moon and judging by Rising's sigh, he believes that the conflict was resolved relatively peacefully.

Maybe, maybe I can continue this performance a little more. It's up to you, Celestia. Make at least one good decision in your life and put the brakes on the conflict. It's better for you to continue in your position now. Consistency is important to me.

Celestia took a deep breath and exhaled, looking at me before saying, "You didn't mean anything good for my sister while you were doing this, did you?"

"Guess." I said, continuing to wait warily for an attack. If anything, the decanter and the charged rune are at my disposal. Yes, definitely a great weapon.

"In fact, this is a violation of our agreement, namely the part about the fact that you don't touch the pony. But I forgive you this time. Consider yourself lucky to accidentally do good." Celestia said after taking a few steps towards me with sincere gratitude in her voice. Having reduced the distance, she rose on her hind hooves, maintaining her balance with rare flaps of her wings. She spread her hooves to the sides as if she wanted to. . . hug. I rolled my eyes as if giving a refusal.

The next second I realized that my jaw was hurting terribly, and I myself fell to one knee. Concentration was completely lost, which caused the rune and the magic knuckles to dissolve. I heard Rising's startled sigh and several of his steps towards me. Despite the huge pain in my jaw, I didn't feel anything break or bend. I felt Celestia lean into my ear.

"This is for everything you've done. Especially for my sister." She said briefly in a malevolent and vindictive voice before walking out of the room. I struggled to stand on two legs and clenched my teeth trying to contain my rage. I clenched my hands into fists and directed my thoughts to calm down. If I get started, I won't stop.

She hit me too fast. At the moment, my chances of defeating her are close to zero. However, if I remember correctly, there were a lot of books near Ponyville from which I learned the basics of magic. Maybe I can learn some new techniques? In any case, it is better to postpone the rage for the future.

I sighed and walked out of the restaurant. I heard Rising following me, muttering to himself. I didn't pay attention to it and after leaving the bar, I looked around the street in search of footprints in the snow. Fortunately, I found a track of six tracks that obviously belonged to two musicians. Before I was going to run after the musicians, I heard the question Rising.

"Does it hurt?" He asked with caution and pity.

"Very much." I answered, running my hand over my jaw. Despite the fact that I didn't get serious wounds, my jaw still hurts terribly. It was as if I had been hit with the intention of just hurting without the intention of hurting.

"If you want to follow me." I said, following the trail at a brisk pace and waving Rising goodbye.

"I'm with you!" Rising shouted, starting to run fast to catch up with me. I chuckled softly and shook my head before focusing on the path to the musicians.

A jerk but so loyal. Perhaps he will be suitable for the role of junior commander.