Ghillie in the mist

     I slowly picked myself up out of the bed, and went to grab my pants first. As I was sliding them on, I tried to remember the night's events. "I refused to have a drink with Luna, then she gave me a look that tore me down, and I took a shot. It tasted good so I had another... and another... and another... how many did I have?" I put my shirt on and moved towards my boots. I heard the bed start to squeak, the pony under the covers was waking up! I started to rush getting dressed, then I realized a very very big problem with mt plan. I can only go two days without sleep IF I had a good rest the night before. In my current condition, there was no way I would make it past tonight. I still put on my boots, and put them on quietly, but I wasn't leaving. Celestia would find my concious mind. And Luna would fill me with nightmares. I walked over and opened the compartment. It was dark, no magic to fuel the lights. I eventually found a pair of sunglasses, and made my way back up the steps.

     She still wasn't up when I closed the compartment, so I decided to walk over to the balcony and look out. Peaceful. That is the only word I can use to describe the view. My original room in the castle had a balcony, and a decent view. But this was unreal. I thought back to that day. The dungeon, first meeting Celestia, and getting to talk with "Scootaloo!" I said out loud. I had forgotten to go back to her after the drinks!

     I ran over to the door, leaving my gear. I needed to show a sign that I was still in the castle. I ran out the door and started looking for anything that would tell me she was still in the castle. I rounded the corner at almost a dead sprint, crashing into a pony in a suit. I stayed up, but the guard was thrown into the wall. "Shit, sorry man. Hey, do you know if the elements are still here?"

     The pony looked at me with rage in his eyes. "You!"

     "Shit..." I said as I was picked up by Prince asshole with his white magic. I was thrown around the room like a ragdoll. And it wasn't helping my headache at all.

     "How does it feel to be bullied by someone stronger than you?" He saod as he threw me against a wall and started walking towards me. He focused all his magic on my throat, making it near impossible to breathe. "Now you can experience the humiliation of waking up, bound by alien ties, and ev..." he had focused all his magic on my throat. Leaving my arm completely free. I swung my right arm, landing a hit in the exact same place as before. He was out cold.

     "Fucking douche." I said as I spit on him and walked away, looking for a guard to tell me where Scootaloo was. They would be very close to Twilight and her friends, if not in the same room.

     I walked around for a half hour with no luck. "Where are all the guards?" I thought to myself. The castle is always filled with them, why not now? A voice popped into my head "They are all outside or in the main chambers. The assassination attempt was mighty big for us."

     I smiled to myself, Celestia's voice helped my headache, I have no idea how, but it did. "Where are Twilight and her friends staying?"

     "Western wing, third floor, second room on the right is where Twilight and Scootaloo are staying. They are awake and getting ready for the ride back to Ponyville around ten at night."

     "Thank you." I was about to cut the connection, when I remembered something very important. "Celestia... what happened last night?"

     She chuckled a little "Oh you had a little more to drink than you could handle, and so did Luna. She, however, remembers everything. Why don't you ask her?"

     My face started to get hot, I was hoping Celestia couldn't sense it. "Erm, I need to see Scootaloo first, then I will ask Luna. When she wakes, can you tell her where I'm at?" What was I saying? I guess it was best to do that though, don't want a nightmare every night for the rest of my life.

     "Of course." And I felt the connection cut. As I made my way through the castle, I was getting a lot of strange looks. Not the normal fear, or confusion. It was different. Their expressions showed something like... amazement?

     As I neared the rooms, my mind started to race, trying to put together last night's events. I couldn't get anywhere past the fifth shot. What was in those glasses anyway? It burned so bad, but tasted so good. Then there was the moon on my chest. Was it like a tattoo? It isn't ink, but like they branded me. And the most puzzling question of all, where are my socks? My mind had stopped wandering, when a hoof tapped me on the back.

     "Hey..." the voice said. I turned to see Shining Armor, with a blank expression. "...where do you think you're going?"

     "Western wing, third floor, second room on the right." I recited. I did not want to be around the captain very long.

     "Why are you going to Twilight's room?" His voice contained anger and confusion.

     "Listen, I just want to see Scootaloo, find out what happened last night, and go home."

     He eyed me cautiously."What do you mean find out what happened last night?"

     "I had a little bit more to drink than I could handle. Woke up this morning, only in my underwear, and in a room that wasn't mine. I have no idea what I did last night."

     He shifted his weight over, into a less formal stance. A small grin appearing on his face. "You really have no idea what happened?" I shook my head. "Well, I really don't know much, exept for a couple rumors, but from what I heard, you and the Princess had a pretty good time in Canterlot."

     "So... We didn't just stay in the castle or theater?"

     He shook his head. "Rumors said you went into almost every buisness from here to the train station."

     I rubbed the back of my head. "How much did I spend?"

     He laughed and shook his head "Not a single bit." I let out a sigh of relief.

     "While it has been good to find out some of the events, I must no go find Scootaloo." I turned and left.

     "Whatever floats your boat." He said, returning to his duties.

     I eventually found the rooms, and went right where Celestia told me. I knocked on the door, hoping they were still there. "Just a minute!" Twilight's voice sounded through the door.

     I saw a purple aura of light cover the handle, and the door swung open. I looked around the room, it looked pretty similar to the one I had my first visit. "Hey Twilight, where's Scootaloo?" I asked, noticing no signs of her or her things.

     "She's on her way to the dining hall for breakfast with everypony else. I was just about to head down."

     "You wouldn't mind if I walked with you, would you? I'm kinda confused. And maybe you can help me." I looked away sheepishly.

     She grinned a little. "It's about last night isn't it?"

     "How did you..." I started, then realized Shining had known about it, how would my employer not?

     "Word gets around pretty quick here. Come on, let's get something to eat." She said as my stomach growled.

     "First off, what was that drink I had? It burned, worse than I imagined, but it tasted good."

     "It is a special brew. "Moonshine" is what it's called. Very expensive. Only two ponies in all of Equestria can make it." My eyes got wide.

     "Moonshine?" She nodded "That is illegal where I come from, its not hard to make, but it's dangerous if you don't know what you're doing."

     "Not hard?" She looked at me kinda odd. "If it wasn't hard, there would be more of it right?"

     "There probably isn't a lot of it because not many ponies know how to make it. It's a very detailed process. Stills, sugar, corn, fire, thermometers, proofs, and it's very important you have zero leaks. A very good chance you will lose money and possibly blow the still sky high."

     "And how do you know so much about it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

     "My highschool chemistry teacher didn't like textbooks. He would explain how things worked, and draw them on the floor. Someone asked about alcohol, we spent two months learning about all the different alcohols, and I just remember moonshine pretty well." I shrugged.

     "What all did you learn in your chemistry class?" She was curious, I couldn't blame her. Only two ponies in this world could make moonshine, and an alien learned how to in a high-school chemistry class.

     I just laughed a little. "A lot. He wasn't like normal teachers. He had all these stories from his grandpa, a paratrooper in World War two, and him working for a funeral home, he had stories of different incidences. Shotgun killing three people, explosion severed a man's head. It wasn't pretty."

     "How does that tell me what you learned?" Her eyes were flat. She didn't want to hear death stories.

     "My bad. Anyway, we learned the periodic table, reactions, molecular structers, but the thing that got me, was he secretly gave us the molecular set-up for multiple heavy drugs. Only myself and one other person caught on to it. And it is probably good, a bunch of coke-heads in my class." My memories flashed back to actually walking into a bathroom with people rolling marijuana on the sink, and the sound of someone snorting something coming from the farthest stall.

     "And he was still able to teach? He doesn't sound like that great of a teacher." She shook her head at the thought.

     "He did something right, we had the third highest scores in the state for science." I said matter of factly. "Anyway, you said you knew something about last night?"

     "Oh yeah, anyway, after you drank more than anypony could possibley consume, you and Luna went out towards a fight club, apparently you won about five-hundred bits from betting on who would win. You lost it all the next fight."

     "Figures...." I said out loud.

     "I don't know what else happened, a lot of rumors though. There was one that you got a brand of a moon on your chest..." she looked up at me. "That is the most ridiculous one though, I mean, why would you get a..." I cut her short as I raised my shirt, revealing the planned burn. "Oh... so it's true..." her eyes wide.

     "More rumors, what else was there?" I said, lowering my shirt.

     "Well... there was one that you slept with Luna..." her eyes got even wider than before when I started rubbing the back of my head. "You didn't!" She said. She stopped right where she was standing, using her magic to stop me as well.

     "I woke up this morning in her bed... I don't know what happened last night." I pleaded.

     Twilight though for a second. Then giggled to herself. "Rarity's going to get a kick out of that." She said, releasing me from her magic as we walked into the dining room, they were waiting on us. And they were all staring at me. I didn't like it.

     A voice chimed into my head. "Smile Michael, nothing horrible happened.

     I let out a audible sigh of relief, she must have felt me being anxious or something. I took my seat next to Scootaloo and her friends, who were completely oblivious to the night's events after the play. My head was still throbing, I wanted Celestia to speak to me. It actually helped tone it down. Rarity spoke to me first. "So... we heard you made a new friend last night." They all turned to see my responce. Playing with my words would be my best bet.

     "Everyone is a friend until I have reason for them to be an enemy." They all looked back at Rarity. Defeat crossed her face. I smiled on the inside. 'One down, five to go, four if Twilight doesn't say anything'.

     Applejack spoke next. "'Ah heard ya' lost a lot of money..." they all looked back at me.

     "If I come out with the same amount I went in with, I lost nothing." They started to see what I was doing.

     "You had a couple drinks with the royalty didn't you?" Rainbow dash asked, flying inches from my face. Why did they care so much?

     "Yes, when you stop an assassin, ponies want to pay people back."

     "And it was a special drink wasn't it? A drink nopony, save one or two, know how to make."

     "I wouldn't say special, it's dangerous to make, but not hard." A look of confusion in her eyes, Twilight explained the still. She flew back to her seat.

     I started eating my food. It wasn't the most desireable. Salad, some fruits, and a cheese omelet. I could barely hear Fluttershy. "Ummm.... I heard you chest was.... burned..."

     "That drink was a little stronger than I thought. It burned." Yeah, that would work, I told myself.

     Pinkie bounded over to me, and motioned for me to bend over for a 'secret.' I didn't reject, I bent down and let her whisper into my ear. "I heard that you...." she started giggling to herself. "That you woke up with the Princess."

     I whispered back. "That would imply we had the same sleep cycles, but they differ greatly." She was confused, she just shrugged it off and went back to her seat.

     All the ponies looked to Twilight when she started to clear her throat. "Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, would you mind letting us speak alone?"

     "No problem." Sweetie Belle said, as she and her friends left the room.

     "Michael. We know that something happened last night. We just aren't sure what are rumors and what are true."

     "You know more than I do, I can't remember anything." I said, leaning back in my seat. "All I remember was a few shots, and waking up in a room that wasn't mine."

     "The memories are probably hidden somewhere in your brain." Twilight stated. "We could always try to access them that way?"

     "You really want to go prying through my head after what happened a couple nights ago?" I raised an eyebrow at Twilight.

     "What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash chimed in, she had no idea what they were talking about.

     "I'll tell you later." Twilight said, never breaking her eye contact with me.

     "No, why don't you tell them what happened Twilight..." I rocked my chair back, leaning forward. Never blinking.

     "No, we can discuss it later, there are more pressing matters right now."

     Celestia's voice popped into my head. "Your buddy's up, and a little upset with you. I suggest you stop whatever you're doing and assure her you are still here."

     "Gotcha." Is said cutting the connection, and looking back at Twilight. "Why don't you tell them what you found when you were snooping around in my head." I got up, and started to leave, to be stopped by pink blur.

     "Wait! Why can't you tell us?" Pinkie pleaded. The image of a helicopter gaining altitude popped into my mind. I tried pushing it out before it would be engulfed in flames.

     Chills ran down my spine. "Because, I don't want to talk about it, and I have somewhere I need to be." I manuvered my way around Pinkie. I felt all their eyes drilling into my skull. I didn't care, I had to find out what happened last night.

     "Halt, who are you!" The guard in front of Luna's room screamed at me. He wasn't the normal guard, this one was much smaller.

     "The only one that walks on two legs, dumbass." I said as I went to enter the room. I was stopped by a dark grey aura of magic.

     "Only if you have an appointment can you see the Princess of the night. And there's no way I'm letting a monster just walk in."

     "You're new aren't you?" I asked, leaning on the magic field, if he dropped it, I would get through, but I was putting a great amount of pressure, causing the rookie to strain.

     "None of your concern." He said sternly. A drop of sweat running down his face.

     "Alright, listen. It's obvious you're new here. I can tell just by the way you're struggling. And I also know that Luna had a crazy night last night. Now, if you do not let me through this door, not only are you going to be in a very large amount of pain, you will also very likely be chewed out by the Princess. That's not something we want. Is it?"

     "How do I know I can trust you? An assassin tried killing her last night! How do I know you're not another?"

      I laughed louder than I should have. "Who do you think killed the assassin? Wasn't any of you ponies. No. It was me, now let me through the fucking door."

     "Make me..." the guard said.

     I stood up straight, to full height, and cracked every bone possible. I brought my hands up to my chest, and was about to swing in the same pattern I had hit the prince multiple times. I started twisting my shoulders, allowing my arm and first to obtain as much momentum as possible. But halfway through the swing, we both heard a noise from inside the room. Screams

     The guard dropped the magical barrier as I threw the door open. As I entered the room, I bent down, picking the pistol up from the ground, chambering a round. I raised the pistol, ready for anything. The rookie's horn violently glowing. I made a quick scan of the room. Luna sat on the balcony, holding something with her magic. Nothing else. No assassin. No struggle. No murder.o Just Luna, reading the paper.

     I lowered my pistol and began walking towards Luna, but was stopped by the grey magic once again. "Oh no buddy, you're not ge..." he was cut off by Luna.

     "Guard, why are you keeping hin from approaching me?" She asked, walking over towards us.

     "Well with the assassination attempt at the play, I just thought..."

     "While I thank you for protecting me, Michael is very close to me. He is not a threat. Now, please, leave us. Return to your post."

     "Yes, Princess." The guard said. He walked out of the room, gently shutting the door behind him.

     "Why didn't you wake me like I asked?" Luna asked, walking over to the bed. "I asked if you would wake me so we could go to breakfast."

      "Luna, I can't remember anything from last night. I don't remember you telling me to wake you up. I only remember a few shots. After that, there's nothing." I looked into her eyes. They started to turn a little glassy.

     "You mean.... you don't remember.... anything?" She sat down on the bed.

     I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but all I've heard is a few rumors." I walked over to the bed.

     "It was so much fun, surely you remember just a little?" I shook my head.

     "I can't remember anything. It's out of my control. I wish I could remember, it's pissing me off that I have hours of conscious activities out of my head. They're probably still in there, but in a place I don't want anyon... pony, going." I hoped she understood. But of course, she didn't.

     "I just can't believe it. After everything we did." Her sad eyes looking into my eyes. The eyes of a killer.

     "You know, the way I got in here was because we heard you scream. What was that about?" I really was curious about that.

     She levitated a newspaper from the balcony over to where we were sitting. "Are you ready for this? I guess that reporters followed us from the play."

     I grabbed it out of the air. "Maybe I can remember if I read som..." I was cut short rather rapidly by the paper. The title "Princess of the night, and Prince of death." A picture of me and Luna. Embracing. Lips locked.

     Under the picture, the story. "During the Hearth's Warming Eve play last night, an assassin tried to take the life of Princess Luna. A knife held by the assassin was inches away from the Princess' neck, when a deafening *boom* echoed through the theater. The boom was the result of a highly destructive alien tool, called by its carrier. A "Barrett." This high-tech weapon has the ability to shoot small pieces of metal at impossible speeds, leaving whatever it hits, in a bloody mess. Chances of survival are miniscule." A picture of me holding my Barrett up in the balcony, with a circle around the gun.

     "How did they know its name?" I asked Luna, she shrugged.

     I continued to read. "And who was behind the tool? An alien assassin that refers to himself as "Michael D. Johnson." He has been in Equestria for a while now. But why hasnt anyone heard of him before now? Because he doesn't get out much. He follows a very strict schedule, and works in the Ponyville library. His job title: Civilian Protection.

     "But why is he refered by us "The Prince of Death?" Besides his actions with our Princess, he doesn't shy away from taking a life, or temporarily knocking a pony unconcious. Prince Blueblood approached the beast, and started threatening him. The beast counted down from five as Blueblood continued to fire insults. Once his time was up, Michael brought his arm back, and knocked the Prince unconcious.

     "After this, Michael used super strong alien ties to tie up Blueblood, and take him back to his seat. After that, Michael went up to have a drink with the royalty, only to turn it down, and head to a orange pony Scootaloo. Our sources tell us, the monster had adopted her as his own child. Even with the species diversity. But he doesn't stop there.

     "He headed back up to the balcony where he shared a few drink of Moonshine with the royalty. It was obvious he never drank, he was almost immediately intoxicated. This is where our real story starts.

     "He and the Princess headed towards the fight club, where he won about five-hundred bits on the first fight! But lost it all the next. They left and started towards a club, the one owned by Vynal. He and Luna stayed in the club for a little over an hour. Dancing with everything they had. They left the club and just started hitting buisnesses up and down the streets. Never once did the alien drop his tool.

     "As they started heading back to the castle, Michael decided he wanted something memorable. He and Luna walked across town, to an old brander. Once they arrived, they were obviously asked what and where. His responce? See for yourself." A picture of me without my shirt, screaming at the camera. Middle finger high.

     "After this, they went back to the castle, where the Princess of the night, and the Prince of death decided to crawl into bed. But that's not the most shocking part! He started shedding his clothes, revealing that this whole time he had on socks! He removed them, throwing them on the ground. We were able to grab them without either of them noticing. The final events of the night included Luna wrapping Michael in her wings, and drifting to sleep. We will continue to follow him, bringing you the most recent news about our alien friend. Or foe?"

     On the back, a picture of me walking down the street, looking to my right. My Barrett in my hands, and the AK on my back. The title? "Michael just days before he killed around thirteen or fourteen ponies. (Exact number is unsure)"

     I dropped the paper to the ground. I felt a warm sensation on my back. I turned to see Luna had gotten closer to me, snd had wrapped her wing around me. I didn't understand how the feathers could contain so much warmth. But I didn't care. It was warm. "Luna, is all this true?" She nodded. I let out a sigh of relief.

     "Why did you sigh like that?" She asked, eyeing me cautiously.

     "There's a couple of movies called "Hangover" that are exactly what they sound. They get drunk and wake up with no memory of the night before. I'm glad it wasn't like those though. Could be very bad." I laughed to myself.

     "Michael, you realize you will be swarmed by news crews from all over Equestria right?" She was concerned about my safety?

      I smiled and returned her embrace. "Don't worry Luna, I can handle a little paparazzi." I said, winking.

     She sadly picked up a teddy bear that had been on her dresser, tears started welling in her eyes. "I just can't believe you don't remember." She said, hugging the bear.

     I put my arm around her. "Hey, don't worry, tonight I'll induce a dream, then I can watch what happens. But I suggest you don't enter them tonight. Tomorrow is probably safer." I said. Luna put her weeping head on my shoulder.

     "I just wish you could remember now."