The King Of Nothing

Once they returned to her room, Luna took the soaking cloaks and put them in a laundry basket before offering Amon a towel and a change of clothes besides his old clothes back and the books.

"You can keep those; they were tailor-made, after all," Luna commented, pointing at the change Amon grabbed once he finished drying himself as best as he could and put back his trench coat. Plus, they would work great for your flying lessons," the princess said, passing him a pair of flying goggles.

"Thanks, and Luna, thanks for tonight, in a way. I needed to blow off some steam," Amon mentions with a slight feeling of being more relaxed now.

"Don't mention it. If anyone in Equestria knows what you are going through, it is me. And speaking of blowing off steam," Luna approaches Amon with a sly smirk. "Just putting it on the table in case you wish to try. I know of another way to keep your mind occupied and away from those dark thoughts," she suggests, poking at his chest.

Amon could only roll his eyes in response. "Thanks, but I’ll pass. I don't think I have the charisma to mess around with politics." He half-joked before being surprised with a sudden kiss on the cheek from part of Luna before she whispered in his ear, "As I say, just something to put on the table."

Moving back, Luna opened the door for him as Amon left. "Anyway, Amon, I wish you a good night's rest, and just like you to remember, you would always be welcome in my chambers at any time. And this could happen."

Luna turns around and once more surprises Amon by removing her sports bra in front of him while showing her back. She hugged her chest and looked at Amon over her shoulder before giving him a wink.

"Sweet dreams, my lord; I hope this keeps you warm during those long, cold, and lonely nights," Luna finished teasing as she dropped the bra on the ground with one hand, kept showing him her back, and then started removing her shorts before the door closed in front of an astonished Amon, who could only blush and gulp hard.

Some small snickers return him to reality as he looks to his right and left at the royal guards standing guard in Luna's room. He finds out they are both mares and gives them bedroom eyes. "Ready to serve, sir."

One of them teases, making Amon flinch and walk away from the two, causing the mares to chuckle even harder."

Holy crap, that was intense; she virtually did nothing, and somehow, it was even hotter than if she had just flashed me; how did she do that?

Amon keeps questioning himself as he tries to keep his mind away from the gutter and feels a tension in his pants that scares him as he strolls, trying to keep his groin in place in embarrassment until he reaches his room.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"...so, as you can see, I have already mapped the best spots to teach any pony all over Canterlot, and these tickets are virtually the best of all of Equestria, and I wouldn't want one of my best pals to miss out, so I can just take over for you, no problem, and…" Dash kept flying around a pegasus as they both marched toward Amon's room at the crack of dawn, with Rainbow Dash's friend deciding to fly while Dash did her best impression of a busy fly.

"Dash." Having had enough, the pegasus grabbed Rainbow on both shoulders and stared at her in the eyes. "I know what you are doing, and it is just sad. This stallion chose me; you lost. It happens. Get. Over. It."

"But you know how much I love coaching others!" Dash whines in frustration as the pegasus keeps advancing.

"Nothing stops you from teaching fillies in the orphanage; go there if you want to teach anyone to fight that bad." The pegasus complained with a roll of her eyes.

"You know I'm banned from there!" Dash fires back before looking away, slightly embarrassed, "...after the little incident."

"Oh yeah, I forgot; I still can't believe you brought the centrifuge to the school."

"Hey! They wanted the whole Wonderbolts boot camp experience. I just complied. You should know that you used to love being strapped to that thing."

"True, for a grown mare that knows the basics, not six-year-old fillies and colts."

"Please, please, at least let me watch." Dash goes down on her knees and starts to beg at the pegasus.

"Fine! But I swear if you start getting bossy and all drill sergeant, I will zap you with a thundercloud. Are we clear?"

"Crystal! I will be the fly on the cloud," Dash promises to salute her Wonderbolt partner.

"Good, now tell me. Is this the room?" The pegasus asked, pointing at the door to their right where the two had stopped walking.

Dash turned to look before nodding, "Yeah, here is where the big guy lives. Speaking of, I forgot to mention, what did the princess tell you about Amon in her letter?"

"She made me vow of silence before explaining that he is an alicorn if that is what you mean." The pegasus replies as she knocks a couple of times.

"Yeah, if that's all, I should warn you… Amon is kind of on the big side of things.

"Dash, are you fat-shaming your supposed friend?" The pegasus asks in surprise at the anger glaring at the pegasus.

"What? NO! I didn't mean THAT big. I mean, he is big on…" Dash tries to explain, but at that moment, they both hear Amon's voice from the other side of the door. "It's six in the morning. This better be important, Vivi." Amon called in an irritated tone.

"Mr. Amon, my name is Cloud Chaser. I heard you called me to instruct you how to fly. I could have come later, but they told me they wanted this lesson to be discreet, so I arrived this early. Or you don't mind other ponies watching?" The mare asked with a smirk at the door.

They both hear a long sigh before Amon replies, "Just give me a moment; I'm… not presentable," Amon calls before stepping away.

"Well, he is not a morning person, but at least he doesn't sound like the grumpy type. Now, what was that about him being big, Dash?"

"Yeah, I mean, the stud is tall, Chaser, like real tall."

"So he is tall, what about it?" Chaser asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I don't think you grasp the idea. When I mean tall, I mean…" Once more, Dash was interrupted when the door of Amon's room opened, and the stallion stepped outside to look at the mare. Thanks to the morning light and their position, Cloud Chaser found herself under the stallion's shadow as she looked up at his imposing frame, making her feel like a filly staring down at a Ursa Mayor.

At that moment, Amon decided to wear something appropriate for their training rather than his usual clothes. This consisted of a silver sweatband on his forehead and wrists, a tight, long-sleeve gray shirt with a green line on the right side of his chest, comfortable blue jeans, a brown cape to hide his wings, and his trusty backpack.

In his right hand, Amon was holding a flier that he brought closer to his face before lowering it and comparing the mare in front of him with the one in the image of a light purple mare with a silver spiky long mane comb with a ponytail, a black sports bra on top of a loose dark purple shirt, matching her tight shorts, flying goggles, and headband announcing flying lessons, satisfying that it was a complete match and smiling as a result.

"Yes, just as I remember, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Chaser." Amon formally greets her with a small smile.

"J-Just Cloud would be enough, Mr. Big, A-Mon! Amon, I mean!" Cloud Chaser tells, trying to compose herself from the fright Amon’s figure gave her.

"And hi to you too," Dash says, expressing some irritation at being ignored as she crosses her arms. "So, care to tell me again how you knew Chaser before me, dude?"

"Sure, just as soon as you tell me what you're doing here wearing that," Amon replies with a blush as he turns his head and covers half of his eyes in embarrassment at Rainbow Dash's choice of wardrobe: a one-piece spandex suit in dark blue that matches her natural fur color, making it harder to ignore as Amon at first though she was wearing nothing at all if not for the yellow lighting pattern that passes through her extremities and half of her stomach, as well as the flying goggles on her head.

"It calls a flying suit the official Wonderbolt flying suit." Dash flies in front of Amon and poses proudly in front of him. "Just a little bit of a perk you could have had if you had chosen me as an instructor, isn't it awesome?"

"It doesn't leave anything to the imagination; that is what it is!" Amon complains, closing her eyes and confusing Cloud Chaser a little.

"Oh, grow up, big guy! We both know you were curious," Dash teased him, poking his cheeks. "And admit it, you like what you are seeing. Why else did you ask for a Wonderbolt to teach you? Even if it was the wrong one. Like this, you have a nice view, and I can fly like I'm wearing nothing at all."

"Wait, you are also a Wonderbolt?" Amon asks in shock, which only freezes Dash in place and confused from being completely ignored again as Cloud Chaser was only confused.

"...Yeah? You didn't know it? Didn't you say that you remember me?" Cloud Chaser asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, from your flying lessons in the park and this flier. I have seen your work with children while I was looking for cans, bottles, and whatever else that could be recycled." Amon shows her said flier. "I didn't know you also served in the army," he says before saluting her. "Thank you for your service, ma'am."

"The army? I… wha… what are you talking about?" Cloud Chaser asks as she picks up the flier, looking at Amon back and forth in confusion.

As a result, Dash could only groan and facepalm hard: "For the last time, the Wonderbolts are not part of the royal guard!" Dash complained in irritation.

"Wait, can we go back to collecting recycling at the park? The only ones that do that at the park are those living…"

"...on the street? Yep, that is me, Amon, the king of ponies experiencing homelessness. And that is where I found you. Hope you don't mind that."

"N-No, it's not that it's just me… I have so many questions," Cloud mentions, holding her head in confusion.

"It's okay; Dash can fill you in once she changes."

"What is wrong with what I'm wearing?" Dash asks in confusion.

"Well, he does have a point," Cloud Chaser nods. "I wasn't going to say anything because I thought you were going to a photoshoot or something later, but our uniform is for shows or training at the academy, and the princess asked us to be discreet, so that is eye-catching."

"Yeah, that's too much, so please, can you change it to something more modest? Preferable with layers, lots and lots of layers, please!" Amon replied.

Dash only groans and rolls her eyes. "Fine! You're lost. I will change into something less flashy, then. Just wait for me on the rooftop."

Dash shoves a bunch of papers to Cloud Chaser before flying away.

"Rooftop?" Amon repeated in surprise.

"A good spot to get accustomed to the wind and wing movement. Don't worry, we’re not gonna push you off or anything like that; we aren’t birds."

"Right… thanks for clarifying that." Amon nods a couple of times.

"And speaking of clarification, while we go there, can you tell me how a freaking Alicorn a symbol of clear royalty and nobility, ends up looking for change in the streets?!"

Amon could only sigh and shake his head. "It's kind of a long story, but I suppose I can give you a short version on our way there," Amon suggested as they both started walking.

Once they reached the end of the stairs, Amon reached the point of the story where he arrived in Canterlot.

"...after that, I spent the next two months just surviving as best as I could, with the help of Purple and his friends, until a powerful blizzard forced my hand, harming me in a way a couple of bandages and twigs could not save, and well… my secret got exposed. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that having wings made you royal."

"It's not just having wings! Amon, what you… This is so much; no wonder the princess asked me to keep quiet. And you seriously don't remember a single thing? You just woke up one day in the middle of nowhere like this?" Cloud Chaser asks in astonishment, pointing at himself with both hands.

"And cursed whenever I go, that part is important, but yeah, that pretty much sums it up." Amon nods a couple of times. "And before you ask, no, I am not, never was, and never will be a prince, royal, noble, or any other figure of power; I'm just Amon, and that is how I'm gonna remain."

"Y-you're kidding, right? You are not serious about just saying no to your destiny."

"That is just a myth, Cloud; destiny is the sum of all our decisions in life, not some random encounter you get one time, and my decisions simply don't include sitting around on a fancy chair with a metal ring on my head all day. That's all."

"But… you… ascended! You… that… you're right… It doesn't make… who are you?!"

"I told you, I'm just a random pony wanting to learn how to fly, that is all," Amon replied casually.

"But… Do you realize what ponies will kill to be on your horseshoes? Do you have any idea of the honor of being crowned an alicorn? What are you simply tossing away like a free sample at a supermarket?!" Cloud asked in astonishment and disbelief at what she was hearing.

"Oh, believe me, they made sure to tell me in detail; I know the quote-on-quote privileges of growing wings. Almost sounding like a cult," Amon replied, holding the handle of the door to the rooftop, shivering a little before continuing. "I know exactly what I could earn and told them 'no thanks.'" Amon finished and exited the castle and headed towards the rooftop.

Said rooftop looks more like an arena or perhaps a training area with how there was a concrete straight layer on the floor, various metal posts holding plastic giant rings, and perches for the pegasus to use, one of which was currently occupied by Dash per, his request, changed into an avian sweater, and jeans on top of her uniform as she was playing with a ring close to her push it slightly until the two exits the castle.

"About time you two arrived, what? Did you get lost?"

"Is anything not a competition for you, Dash?" Cloud complained with a shake of her head and a sigh before looking at Amon.

"Also, shouldn't you and your friends be getting home? Don't you have work?" Amon adds.

"Special royal assignment, Bob," Dash pokes his nose. "If there is a national security alert, we are excused indefinitely. Plus, Twilight and Starlight are doing egghead stuff, AJ and Pinkie are gathering supplies for our trip, and Rarity said something about making disguises," Dash listed, and Amon counted with his fingers.

"Hey, there is one missing; what about Fluttershy?" Amon asks, and Dash shrugs.

"Don't know. She said something about needing to talk with some Bliss guard mare, and I haven't seen her since. Don't worry about it."

At that moment, perched on a nearby tower, the two pegasus in question kept an eye on the group. "A... are you sure it's okay for me to be here, Ms. Wind?" Fluttershy asked nervously, holding a telescope in her hands.

"For the last time, just Bliss is fine, and yes. Brick and I do this all the time; it's just some harmless birdwatch," the guard replies with a smirk. "Listen, from all the crap Mark gives you, I understand you are in a sensitive spot right now and need to put your thoughts in order, but there is nothing wrong with some fanning over stallions. So think of this as a healthy way to release stress."

Bliss nods and pats her back. "I should go back; my shift is about to begin; just remember to lock the room when you leave."

"T-Thank you," Fluttershy nods with a little smile and some heat on her cheeks before using the telescope to see Amon's training more closely.

"Well! That take care of that so don’t worry about it. And by the way, don't think I buy any of that crap; nobody is capable of rejecting the crown if they knew what they were refusing. You haven't grasped the full image, and once you do, I bet you will change your mind."

Amon could only shrug. "If that is your opinion, that is fair. For now, let's stop with politics; we came here to train, right?"

"Right, what we came here for," Cloud Chaser nods, getting excited. "Okay, first of all…"

"...We are gonna do a couple of wing exercises, stretches, flaps, and feather inspection; you are gonna need all of those…"

"DASH!" Cloud pinches the other pegasus' ear and pulls her away. "What did I say? WHAT DID I SAY?!" Cloud asks her in irritation, "I'm the one teaching, not you, I'M-"

"I was just making a suggestion, that's all," Dash shrugs nervously until Chaser pulls her ear harder. "Okay! Okay! You are the teacher; I'm not gonna interrupt!"

"Thanks," satisfied Cloud Chaser, let go of Dash, and looked at Amon with a smile. "As I was saying, I'm gonna need to know what I'm working with, so backpack and cape off."

"What?" Amon asks in surprise.

"Both will get in the way and for someone that has never flown before, trust me, the last thing you want is something entangled with your wings. You need to be in tune with your body fully before putting something on it. So please take both off."

"But… I don't want to lose them."

"Don't worry; Dash will keep an eye on your belongings," Cloud offered with a calm smile.

"I’ll what now?" Dash looks at her partner in surprise as Amon thinks about it and then sighs in defeat.

"F-Fine, for the sake of things, I will trust you. Both of you better not take anything, Dash; you hear me?" Amon warns her before handing his cape and backpack to Dash, who promptly is brought to the ground as she struggles to stand up.

"For Celestia's sake! What the heck are you carrying here?! Rocks?!" Dash complains with a red face.

"Hey, those were my surviving tools, so be careful with them. Only half of them are rocks."

"Wait, so there ARE actual rocks in here?" Dash asks in astonishment before sniffing it, and her nose recoils. "Ah! And when was the last time you washed this?"

"I don't know, since I came to Canterlot, maybe?"

"That was almost 3 months ago!" Dash yells in horror.

"Suck it up!" Cloud Chaser yells at Dash before looking at Amon once again. "Okay, big guy, spread those wings," she instructs. After taking a deep breath, Amon does as instructed, remembering what he learned in the infirmary.

Picturing his wings as extra hands and ever so slowly relaxing, he extended both of them as far as he could go. Soon both wings were fully extended for the mares to see.

"Nice, very nice," Cloud mentions as she strokes her chin in wonder. "Wait, are those claws?" Cloud asks, noticing the two hook-like tips at the base of Amon's wings.

"Long story, the doctors aren't sure why I have them. One has a theory that it may be a 'male of the species' situation. Don't worry about it." Amon dismisses her surprise with a wave of his hand. "So, how long do I have to keep them stretched?"

"Well, you can relax now unless you are happy to see me," Cloud jokes with a smirk before getting confused and then feeling an awkward silence when Amon looks at her with a strange look. "You know, because of the wings?"

"I don't follow," Amon says with a shake.

"What do you mean you don't follow? You never had sex-aid classes?"

"Ah! H-he was born an earth pony and… homeschool… in an all earth ponies hamlet!" Dash quickly intervenes. "Right, big guy?"

"R-Right, what she said."

"I thought you said you just woke up with no memory in the middle of nowhere," Cloud says, confused.

"Yeah, that happened after I woke up."

"Wait! So were homeschooled somewhat after waking up in the middle of nowhere and… what you were just so happened to stumbled into an earth pony hamlet?"

"Hey, if your school is your home, that is called homeschooling, even if that is an orphanage, so it counts," Amon doubles down.

"Orphanage?! What? How old were you when you started traveling?!" Cloud asks in a panic.

"Twelve," Amon responded immediately, which only served to scare and surprise Cloud Chaser and Rainbow Dash immediately. "It is a sensitive subject, so please drop it and start the lessons." Amon insisted with some irritation.

"Of course! Of course I… Ah… I just… you poor soul, I could never imagine… give me a moment." Cloud excused herself and flew away to a nearby perch so she could collect her thoughts.

"Nice cover story, dude," Rainbow Dash compliments with a slow nod. "How did you have that fake backstory locked and loaded so fast?"

"On occasions when visiting cities, there were those circles of fires where the less fortunate and I gathered around barrels of fire to fight off the cold. To pass the time, we sometimes exchanged stories, so I tried my best to pay attention and form my own sad past in case a situation like this happened. I concluded that it was easier for everyone this way. The trick is to give enough information for a general idea and not demand more details," Amon explained with a small, proud smile.

"Plus, I sprinkle a little bit of a famous fictional character from my world called Amumu; my story is a bit like his, so I imagine I should just adopt it as my own. Hope I didn't just ruin the day for Cloud Chaser."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Maybe you should have thought of that when choosing who should train you," Rainbow smirks. "But don't worry, I can fix this. Just let me do some damage control and…" Rainbow's idea flew out of the window when the second Cloud returned and didn't waste time hugging Amon.

"I'm so sorry, Amon, you poor wounded soul! I promise things will get better from here on out," Cloud Chaser says with tears in her eyes. The emotion and speed of her action make her not realize how she accidentally brought Amon's face to her chest as she hugged harder.

In the tower, the second Fluttershy saw that she was petrified, her wings expanded and crisped from a new and unknown feeling coursing through her veins: anger.

"Ah, thanks? Ah, Miss Cloud, could you please…?" Amon asked her while he patted her back twice as she got the idea and let go of Amon.

"Right, right, the lessons," she faked coughing and looked away. Sorry for getting sidetracked there; let's get started. Your feathers seem to be a mess, and that could be a big issue, so for today, I'm gonna teach you the proper way to preen, and then we can do some laps around the field."

"Ah, like jogging?" Amon asks with some intrigue.

"Kind of," Cloud Chaser mentions with a shrug before looking at Rainbow Dash. "Here, Dash, help me demonstrate."

"Sure, okay dude, pay close attention to my wings; I'm gonna blow your mind; just flex and relax when I tell you, and you will be…"

"Dash, I swear I'm getting the thundercloud right now!" Cloud warns her with finality, prompting Rainbow Dash to stay quiet. Once she does, Cloud Chaser looks back at Amon once more with a calm smile.

"As I said, we can move on with the launch-off exercise after preening. You need to control your wings and train them to open and close in time to catch the wind under them for impulse and know when and how to jump."

"Okay, I'm listening," Amon replied with interest.

"Okay, then pay attention to Dash's wings as she demonstrates how to flap for lift off… SLOWLY." Cloud finished glaring at Dash, knowing her partner all too well.

“Ah come on Cloud! At least let me do a couple of flips” Dash whine

Cloud just sighs in irritation and pinches the bridge of her nose. “If I let you do a show after training, would you stop whining?”

“Just let me do five of our special moves to sold him about wonderbolts” Dash tells in excitement

“I will let you do 1”

“What about 4?”

“2”

“Deal!” Dash tells with a chuckle and a smirk “See that Amon that is is how you negotiate”

“O…k so can we move onto the demonstration?” Amon asks, blinking a couple of times.

“Right, ok the lift up rush consists of 3 fundamental steps, the running start, where you simply run with your wings retracted on your back fully, Dash?” Cloud asks her partner and Dash to comply turning around and show how to place the wings fully horizontal and compress on the back.

“This way your wings don’t drag you back with your wings and make you lose balance. Then it the net pose where you kneel and stretch out your wings”

Dash goes on one knee with the tip of her fingers on the ground and her wings fully stretch out at each side of her body

“And finally the jump/flap, the easiest and final step”

Dash does that and create a dash of wind jumping a couple of feet before returning to the ground “You do that in quick succession and you would be in the air” Cloud finish with a smile

“Just remember this is to place you on the sky, once there it would be a manner of balance and adjustment, you can’t just flap your wings all willy nilly once in the air. That would only make you spin around without control until you hit something” Dash continued as she approached Amon.

“You need slow strokes and flaps to gain distance, then it’s a matter of finding your own rhythm in the air to stay airborne indefinitely. And once that boring part is done we can move to AHHH!”

Dash's explanation was interrupted when a thunder hit her rump, making her jump forward from the shock with Cloud Chaser on top of a thunder cloud glaring at Dash. While Fluttershy can’t help but to blush and look away from the surprise and what happen

“I warn you Rainbow Dash, I warned you!” Cloud informed as Dash stood up.

“It was ADVICE!” Dash glares back with electrified mane and still fuming “What now I can’t even give those?”

“Dash, please get off of me” Amon asked gently from beneath Dash catching her attention as Dash realized how the scare and hit caused her to jump his chest first into his face bringing both down.

Realizing what she did Dash blush a little as she stood up, her crotch for a moment grinning against Amon making her gasp for a second before she jumps back quickly from the surprise and blush even harder. The glare from Amon prevents her from making any comment as she nervously chuckles “Sorry for that. B-but considering you motorboat me, we can call it even”

Amon keep staring at her before closing his eyes and sigh nodding once trying to not make things more complicated for either of them

Is my face some kind of breast magnet? Why does this keep happening with any mare I meet?

Returning down Cloud Chaser tries to break the awkward silence “A-Anyway, what do you say we start the preening of the wings and then some mild jogging to practice the first and second steps?”