Pete Powell in Equestria

Pete panted as he ran down the dark street. He heard the wings over his head and dove into a dark alley. Pressing his back to the wall to conceal himself under the building's overhang he held his breath and looked up at the sky. It was a clear night and the cold of Winter was approaching fast. The stars were bright in the sky. All except for a pony shaped patch circling over head.

Catching his breath in the moment of down time, Pete thought about the layout of Canterlot. The city's only gate, a Southern exit down the mountainside, was close by. If he could reach it he would win. The Night Guard were more capable than he had given them credit for when they bragged about how no criminals had ever evaded them. The lieutenant, a slightly larger than average mare named Wisp, had challenged him to this game.

Coming back to the moment, Pete looked up and saw a distinct lack of pony. Either he had lost her, or she had found him. Either way he decided it was time to move. As quietly as he could manage, at a dead sprint, Pete ran from the alley and towards the gate. Rounding the last corner, the gate in view, his aerial tail swooped down from the sky and charged right at him. Wide eyed with surprise, he dove and rolled under her. The mare squeaked and looked backwards, flying straight into a building. She collapsed with a groan while Pete sprinted on. It was a dead run now, less than forty yards. His lungs burned but his mind was sharp and alert.

A second batpony came from the sky, diving off the gate itself and caught Pete off guard. His mind had been sharp but with his goal in sight his eyes had forgotten to look. Lieutenant Wisp wrestled him to the ground in short succession, planting a hoof on his chest roughly. Pete groaned and laid on the cold stone street.

“You lose, 'Captain'.” Wisp somehow managed to pull off angry and satisfied in the same sentence, which impressed Pete just a little.

“Yeah, well what can I say?” He took several long breaths waiting for Wisp to get off of him. She didn't.

“Sorry might be good,” Wisp looked at the crashed mare that was slowly walking over to them.

Pete glanced over and winced. “Right. Sorry, Stellar! Are you okay?”

The tiny mare rubbed her head and pulled her helmet off. “Is it dented?”

Wisp rolled her eyes and stepped off of Pete. “It's not dented, Squeak. This stuff is harder than that wall by a long shot. It has to be to protect you from all these accidents.”

Stellar Glow, true to her nickname, squeaked and saluted. “Y-yes ma'am! Sorry!”

“Unbelievable. You are the fastest mare in this city, we tested that when you joined! It's the whole reason we let you join with how small you are, and you can't catch someone that isn't even flight capable?”

Pete rolled over and stood up. “Hey now, I prefer to think of my evasive moves as being a credit to me, not a discredit to any of you. The whole point of this was to prove myself, right? C'mon, give me some points.”

Lieutenant Wisp turned around. “You want points? Okay. You shown a complete lack of fundamentals in both stealth and evasion. It was dumb luck Private Stellar encountered you first and it was her lack of communication that kept our best away from you. You also displayed a lack of situational awareness letting me get the drop on you at the end. The first thing a smart criminal would have done is make a scene on the other side of town to distract us away from their escape route.”

Pete scratched his head, “But since you knew we were just training that wouldn't have worked. A direct rush was my best chance. Unless you expected me to, like, actually go set something on fire at the North end of the city or something.”

“No, I didn't. However, if you had been spotted in the North a few times you might have-”

“You wouldn't have moved, Wisp. I already know that you would have sat on that gate until sunrise to get me.” Pete crossed his arms and stared the lieutenant down.

Wisp growled as a stallion landed beside her with a laugh.

“He's got you pegged, Wisp.”

“No pony asked for your opinion, Shade.” Wisp glared at Pete, then turned and started trotting away. Pete looked at the other two batponies, and then followed Wisp.

“Hey, listen, I get it. I show up out of nowhere, take your position, yadda yadda. I know we got off on the wrong foot- er, hoof. But I'm here and I don't want to blunder over every single bit of contact we have. I want to help.”

Wisp turned and looked at Pete again. “You want to help? Stay in the castle and learn how to do the paper work. That's all you're going to be good for. You didn't finish training because you're Luna's special project, even in training you were the slowest and weakest recruit, you can't fly, and you're going to have more than guard duty to worry about. So do me, no all of us, a favor and stay in the castle.”

The human raised his hand to object, but Wisp extended her wings and flew away before he could manage a syllable. Pete dropped his arm and made a sound of frustration between a grunt and a sigh. He knew things wouldn't be easy but he didn't expect someone like Wisp. Internally he realized he should have, but somehow he thought being released from training and appointed by official word of the princesses would make them think differently. Clearly he had been wrong.

He walked back to Shade and Stellar Glow, the stallion laughing at something. Pete stood next to them and gave a short wave. Stellar Glow blushed lightly and nodded while Shade wiped a tear from his eye.

“I can't believe you made her crash into a building!” Shade was out of breath and wheezing with laughter.

“I just rolled. I mean, simple maneuver right?”

“Totally, I'm just saying,” he looked at the small mare in front of him and chuckled more, “That's like classic rookie stuff. It's no wonder she's still a private.”

“What do you mean still?”

“W-well,” Stellar Glow paused and bit her lip, “I've been in the guard for four years now. Most ponies get promotions every couple of years at least.”

“But Squeak here keeps messing things up. One time she tried to give first aid to an injured robbery victim, and she ended up cocooning him in gauze!” Shade explained between laughs.

“I-I'm just not very good at the whole guard thing,” the small batpony admitted. “I always wanted to join but...” She sighed and looked at the castle.

Pete felt a tinge of regret about his appointment to captain with that. He didn't want to join the guard, it was just the only choice he had at the time, and here was somepony that did want to join and despite her lack of skills she got in. Where was the fairness in that? Little by little Pete was starting to feel that he didn't belong with the Night Guard.

Despite his best efforts Pete hadn't managed to evade his new comrades for so long, the night was still young. Patrols resumed and he trekked back to the castle to grab his armor. It had been custom made which felt like more than he deserved. As he walked through the Night Guard barracks he saw Wisp setting at a desk, her helmet to the side, staring at paperwork. Stopping in the doorway, he turned and knocked on the frame.

“Can I come in?”

Wisp looked up with a scowl. “You're a superior officer, you don't have to ask.”

“Act like a superior, you'll get mad,” Pete walked in and stood in the middle of the room with his arms out in example. “But on the other hand if I act like a rookie, you get mad. What's the right move there?”

“There isn't one.” Wisp continued to read the pages in front of her rather than look at the human.

“All right,” Pete shrugged and pointed at the lieutenant, “then get your flank back out there, Lieutenant. There's patrolling to get done.”

“What?” The mare looked up indignantly.

“I have paperwork it looks like.”

Wisp looked down at the desk, then to Pete. “There's more to being a captain than-”

“I know,” Pete held up a hand to stop her, “but part of that is also listening to your officers, right? You made a lot of good points tonight about my capabilities. I can't keep up with you all, not yet at least. So maybe learning the official side of things before getting into field work is a smart move.”

The Lieutenant stared at Pete for a minute before putting her helmet back on and heading out the door. She stopped in the same spot he had just outside and said, “This doesn't fix anything.” Pete nodded without looking and went to the desk.

Stacks of paperwork nearly a foot tall were organized on the desk, which lacked a traditional in and out box. Pete grabbed the first sheet and began reading. It seemed to be a maintenance request form. Apparently the Night Guard had some dented training equipment. He sat the request back on the stack it came from and started reading the top of each stack, followed shortly by the second page to see if there was a trend or theme to each stack. Any kind of organization would be helpful.

It was slow going but by morning Pete had sorted each stack, working out what had to be sent, had been received, and needed a second opinion. That way he could easily keep track of what was most important and what could be done later. He had also fashioned a sign for new paperwork and requests that needed to go out, for the sake of his own sanity if nothing else. The half dozen stacks he had sat down to were now much more manageable and that was the hardest thing to deal with. Having signed all the papers he felt he could reasonably approve with minimal knowledge, Pete leaned back and stretched.

Wisp knocked on the door and walked in, her armor removed and revealing her short mane and gray fur. Pete had noticed that batponies were all the same color, dark gray fur with purple manes and tails, and yellow eyes. In that way they all had a definite fear advantage even without the armor. Like they were constantly in some kind of uniform.

The Lieutenant looked at the organized stacks, as well as the signs Pete had hung and looked at the human quizzically. She had clearly never seen a well organized office before. Pete gave a short explanation of his changes to the paperwork, Wisp nodding as she understood. Certain stacks were for certain types of forms, and then they were arranged based on whether they were finished, filed, or needed to go somewhere else in the castle.

“And that, Lieutenant, leads me to this stack.” Pete tapped a modest stack of papers on the “In” side of the desk.

“What about them?”

“I need your advice on how to proceed with them. They're more than simple requests and inter-castle forms. Since I'm new to this whole … world I figured I could use your input on these. Just until I get a grasp on what I'm doing in here.”

“When would we start?”

Pete shrugged, “Tomorrow night?”

Wisp thought about it for a minute and then sighed. “Fine, tomorrow,” she turned to leave, but looked back momentarily. “This doesn't mean I'm okay with you, human.”

Pete responded with a face but said nothing. He sat back down and exhaled slowly. Exhaustion didn't describe it. Exasperation would have been better, but he was too exhausted. Minutes of silence passed as Pete sat in the office, eyes closed and head leaned back. He was so out of it he missed the sound of hooves on stone. It was the eventual throat clearing that made him sit up and quickly look around.

“Wha?”

“Oh! S-sorry, sir,” Stellar Glow, the smallest pony Pete had seen, was standing in the doorway. “I didn't mean to bother you, sir. I was just wondering what you were doing?” She spoke at a deliberate pace, clearly trying not to stutter in her usual way.

Pete looked around for another moment and then stood up. “I guess I'm not doing anything. Night's over, right?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Hey, relax with that. I'm barely even a guard, let alone qualified to be captain. Wisp was right.” Pete stepped out from behind the desk and moved towards the door, Stellar Glow backing up at the same pace he approached. “I'm more of a greenhorn than you, so at least when we're off the clock drop the sirs.”

The mare nodded in return, “Yes sir!”

Pete shook his head and chuckled. “Have a good day, Stellar.”

He turned and started walking away, then noticed hoofsteps following him. Glancing backwards he saw Stellar Glow slightly to one side and behind him. At first he thought little of it, the exit was in the same place for both of them after all. Once they were outside however she continued following him. Eventually, Pete turned around and raised an eyebrow.

“Is there something else?” He ran a checklist of things through his mind, possibilities of what he could have forgotten.

Stellar Glow squeaked and blushed, “W-well I was wondering if m-maybe you wanted to hang out, s-sir.”

Pete blinked and crouched down, still taller than the mare before him at half of his height. “Stop with the sir.”

“Y-yes, s-” Stellar Glow covered her mouth with a hoof and blushed brighter than before.

“Okay. You want to hang out … with me?” Pete gestured at himself for effect. “Why?”

“Well, I...” The mare took a deep breath. “I've been in the Night Guard for a really long time and everypony that joins starts out being really nice to me but after the first night or two I usually screw something up and then they laugh at me and they act really different. But you didn't do that, you even asked if I was okay and almost no pony ever asks if I'm okay after I make a big mistake so that was really nice of you and I'm not tryingtoaskyououtonadateIjustwanttobefriends!”

Pete reeled at the speed of her speech, especially the end which he still wasn't sure he caught. Apparently she wasn't just the fastest flier in Canterlot. The mare could give an auctioneer a run for their money. He realized that he must have sat too long however, because Stellar Glow turned crimson and then darted up into the sky. She clearly thought he was going to turn her down, or that he was thinking of a way to dismiss her kindly, rather than trying to parse her motor mouthed speech.

“I didn't say no!” He stood up and stared at the patch of sky the batpony had just flew into. Moments later she floated back down in front of him.

“Really?”

“Yeah, well I mean, friends are good, right? And I didn't exactly make any friends in basic training and the only other friends I've got live in a whole other town. So, why not give this a try.” Pete sighed and then put on a smile. “Whether I'm in my world or this one I've gotta make an effort.”

“Why's that?”

“That's a very long story, Stellar.”

Noticing the expectation in her eyes, Pete rubbed his shoulder and started explaining his past with the Elements of Harmony and Princesses. The pair wandered into the city as Pete talked, Stellar Glow absently traveling to a cafe she frequented while Pete followed. The batpony was engrossed with portions of the tale, the human's pacing keeping her from asking any questions because she didn't need to ask. Everything important was explained and covered eventually. Pete conveyed the majority of the time he spent in his home with the eight ponies and finished with his collapse and awakening in Canterlot.

“Wow.” Stellar Glow's eyes were wide and almost sparkling. “You're so lucky! The Elements of Harmony and the princesses all together. That's incredible.”

Pete blushed lightly and looked away. “I know, I know. It's actually kind of embarrassing now that I'm here. There's ponies that practically fight for the attention of those eight, and I had them all to myself for more time than anypony's probably had in their life.”

She nodded in response. “Well, except the Elements of Harmony. I knew Twilight and her friends were important to Celestia, but I thought it was just because Twilight is her personal student.”

“Wait,” Pete held up a hand, “You didn't know they were the Elements of Harmony?”

“Not at all. The Elements are like a... a covert team. Anypony could be an Element of Harmony, and there's been different groups through the ages.”

Pete leaned back and considered the idea. It made a certain amount of sense. The Elements attracted to special ponies and they had been used by the princesses before. There was no telling how many ponies qualified to use the Elements before the current bearers. Along with that, it was possible that if something happened to the current Elements that new ones would emerge in time. Just like Twilight and the others had when Nightmare Moon returned.

Pete's contemplative silence made Stellar Glow nervous and she scrambled to think up a new question. Something innocent that would bring him back to the moment. What to ask was the only question she could think of for the longest time. Until a mild breeze blew the edges of Pete's shirt, attracting her attention. With only a mild blush she made eye contact.

“Umm, so, why do you always wear clothes?”

“Oh,” Pete jerked, startled out of his own thoughts, “Well, humans don't have the natural cover that ponies get. Our...” He cleared his throat and spoke a little quieter. “Our genitals are just kind of there when we stand up and since we walk like that they're always just kind of there. So we have to cover up. Us without clothes would be like you walking around with your tail up.”

Stellar Glow blushed brightly and sucked in her lips, her eyes wide and nervous. Pete realized suddenly what he'd suggested and he reached for a new topic. He looked around the street for something innocuous, something that would lead the discussion away from raised tails. Cultural questions came to mind. He was still new to the world and having more information on that would help.

“So I noticed there's not a lot of stallions around, especially in the guard. What's up with that?” He smiled anxiously, trying to be casual.

“Th-the birth rate of males is one in four.” The small mare took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “For every three fillies a colt is born, roughly. Which is why we follow the herd system for relationships, roughly three mares to each stallion.”

It was Pete's turn to blush, and he did so liberally. That had slipped his mind the past few months. If he ever got to work things out with Rainbow Dash there would likely come a day where she brought in another mare, or two. He had no idea about the etiquette of that situation. How do you reject somepony? How does one make an approach? What determines when they're part of the herd? Is there's a signifier? What if he was approached by somepony from a herd, how would he know? How does leaving a herd work? Did he even qualify since he wasn't a pony?

Stellar Glow once again misinterpreted his silence.

“It's okay though! The birth rates are pretty balanced because of how long pegasi and unicorns live.”

A shiver ran down Pete's spine and he stopped blushing.

“What's that mean?”

“Well, the average pegasus lives for over two hundred years, same for us batponies too. Unicorns can live for several hundred, some of them up to six or seven.” She made a face. “Earth ponies get the bad end of things though. One hundred years is usually the limit. They're always looking to make big families because of that.”

Pete wasn't sure what to do with this information. There was no way to process it so quickly. Questions were popping up too rapidly for him to phrase them, assuming that Stellar Glow could help with them anyway. The sounds of the increasingly busy streets faded away as his mind raced. An internal buzzing filled his brain and he could barely pay attention to anything

“I have to go,” he finally said, standing up from the table. “I'm sorry. Really. Thanks for, you know, telling me stuff.” Pete turned and shuffled into the crowd, meandering in the direction of the castle. Stellar Glow tried to say something, but couldn't find the words. The whole talk had been a short but massive disaster to her.

It was almost noon when Pete got back to the castle. Even the guards could barely hold their surprise as he dragged through the castle entrance and plodded his way to his room. Once inside he stripped, tossing his sword to the floor, and collapsed on the bed. His body was sand, his mind was an ocean, and his soul was a storm. Since arriving in Equestria Pete hadn't dreamed a single time. Despite the overwhelming amount of things going on in his mind it never saw fit to haunt his dreams, but he could feel this was different. Even as his vision blurred and went dark.

Emptiness was the best way Pete could describe his surroundings. Not light, not darkness, they didn't fit. Rather it was a lack of anything at all and yet it somehow felt very full. It was a paradox. Unsolvable and beyond his mortal comprehension. It relaxed him in some way.

“Very poetic,” a familiar voice called from the emptiness. Which suddenly was not empty.

Pete sat up and found himself on a floating chunk of dirt and grass in the middle of all the nothing. Before him was a man younger than himself, but remarkably similar in some ways. His hair was wild and pure black, matching his clothes, but the face reminded Pete of himself. Like looking into an alternate mirror. That was probably possible.

“I'm here to give you just a little tease, Pete Powell. You've gotten the whole magic thing going, Equestrian magic that is, so I've decided you need something to go with it.”

“What are you talking about?” Pete stood up and looked around at the floating patch of land before facing the man once again.

“My name is Kayn,” he continued, “and I am the reason you have that sword.” Kayn raised his hand and pointed at Pete's side.

Pete grabbed his side and found his sword belted to him. “How did this get here?”

“Because I willed it.” The man laughed, “Actually this is a dream, of sorts. Luna isn't the only one that can visit people in their sleep. And unfortunately this is the only place I can visit you right now.”

“Why? What's going on?”

“Relax, Pete. I'm here to teach you some more about your new powers. I know today was hard, learning all the cultural stuff. But I need you ready, more ready than you've ever been before.”

“Before? Before when? Look, can you just answer some questions and stop being all mysterious and, well, stupid.”

Kayn smirked, “Straight to the point. I like that. Okay, here's what I can say. There's something coming, Pete. Something big, and something new. Something I haven't seen before. That's a problem because I can see the whole goddamn multiverse. I have seen some shit, and I have stopped it, but this is new and I have no idea how to approach it. That's where you come in. Now, this isn't quite the first time I've tried to get you to help me, and it hasn't worked, yet.”

“Hasn't worked? When did you-”

“Let me finish,” Kayn's voice took the same tone as Celestia's had, and some how took the wind from Pete's sails. “I've reset the clock on you more times than most people can count. There's an enemy coming, and enemy that has a penchant for darkness. The physical stuff not the typical nighttime whatever. It's something new, unique to the Equestria you're in. The more I get in the way the more my enemies can, and they would make things a lot harder for everyone. So I chose you. There are a few reasons for that, but I'm limited in more ways than one.”

Kayn stepped forward and held out his hand. Energy swirled in his grip before coalescing into a white katana. He held the blade up, making sure Pete could see every angle. Then, in a single motion, he swung the blade and a wave of energy coursed out. Pete stepped back, but was soon knocked down as the patch of ground under him rumbled and separated from the part Kayn was on.

“Your sword is similar to mine. It's a manifestation of your soul, in a manner of speaking. Learn how to use it, harness it, and you can do much greater things than shoot a few fireballs.”

With another smirk, Kayn crouched and then leapt into the air. For a moment it seemed like he was flying, but then he came back down, slamming hard into the ground. Yet, he was fine. Kayn stood and brushed some dirt from his hoodie and then smiled at Pete. Once more he held his sword out, making sure Pete was watching as it shifted into a replica of Pete's own. It shifted again into a shape Pete had never seen before. Some kind of dagger with serrations on the back. The shape reminded Pete of a wing.

“With enough focus and willpower you can do extraordinary things, Pete Powell. I've given you this power. Don't waste it on paperwork.”

Painkillers were all Pete could think about as he dressed for the night. The stress from the day before had given him a rough sleep and a dream he couldn't recall clearly. There was a knock at the door as he pulled his boots on, and he called for whoever it was to enter. Princess Luna stepped inside with a wide grin on her face.

“To what do I owe the honor?” Pete rubbed his forehead.

“I was informed today that you returned rather late in the afternoon.”

“Yeah, I went and talked with one of the mares in the Night Guard.”

“Stellar Glow, I know.”

“Then why are you here?” Pete realized how that sounded, but the throbbing in his skull was relentless.

“I simply wanted to remind you not to overlook your other duties between wooing the hearts of my thestrals. My sister does want you to do your ambassador job as well you know.”

Pete realized the insinuation, but was at a loss for a retort. Instead he promised not to be out of the castle so late again and continued getting ready. The smile slowly dropped from Luna's face, but Pete was in a hurry. He couldn't wait for the night to be over so he could try sleeping again. Luna soon understood that she had picked the wrong time to tease her captain and excused herself as Pete slung his sword across his back. He groaned on his way out the door as he realized the night would be filled with more paperwork and Lieutenant Wisp's advice. It was going to be another long day.