Pete Powell in Equestria

“I'm sorry about the other day,” Pete called from the office to Stellar Glow as she passed by on her way out for the day. He stood up and walked to the doorway to continue, “I wasn't expecting … well, that stuff about hundreds of years.”

The small guardsmare blushed and looked away. “I-I suppose I could have led into that better.”

Pete managed a grin, “You could have, yes, but I think things were just as awkward for you as they are for me.” He paused for a moment and then sighed. “Human life expectancy is generally eighty years, if that. Some live longer, some don't, but if you lived eighty years in the human world people would say you had a very long life.”

“Only eighty years?” Her eyes went wide as she thought about all the extra time she and most ponies had. “I'm sorry, I didn't know.”

“It's okay. At least it will be, once I have some more time to really process that. I have a mare I'm interested in,” he said it slowly, “and she's a pegasus. So with what you told me yesterday she's going to live through three of my lifetimes, two of them without me.”

Stellar Glow couldn't find the words to respond to that, instead she nodded weakly. What could she really say that would help?

“Anyway, I got this pounding headache so I think I'm going to go turn in early, but I hope we can keep talking. You know, later, after the headache and stuff goes away.” He smiled, “You're not nearly as bad as you or other's say you are.”

She blushed and muttered a thank you before darting off out of the barracks. Standing alone, most of the paperwork done, the young man took in the minute of silence. No guards getting ready, no locker room talk, no discussions on what to do with what form, no orders. Peace and tranquility. It was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, despite everything going on in his life.

Then he noticed there was a literal weight off of his shoulders. Without thought he slung his sword off and looked at it. The weapon was suddenly formless. A writhing mass of black. He dropped the former sword out of fear and disgust and watched it wriggle on the ground for a time before returning to its previous shape as a longsword.

Pete took several steps back and shook his head. Turning around and bracing himself on the desk for a moment, he tried to collect himself. It couldn't be real. There was no way what he had seen was real. Celestia and Luna had both inspected the sword along with the best magicians in Canterlot. Nothing was wrong with the sword.

Is that what you're going to go with? That a sword which breaks the laws of this world is normal?

The voice, again. Pete looked around but all he could see was the sword on the floor. There were no ponies around, no one but himself. Slowly, he approached the sword and picked it up. He sent thoughts to it, or he thought he was, trying to get it to respond. Nothing. A cold silence hung stagnant in the air, disturbing the human far more than any voice.

Trying desperately to shrug the encounter off, he left the barracks, sword in hand, and made his way back to the castle. He stopped for a moment at the entrance to watch the sun in its beginning movements across the sky. Finally wincing away from the bright light he ducked into the castle and went to his room. One last task awaited him before he could sleep. In his room on an ornate oak desk that had been freshly pressed against the wall when he signed the Princesses contracts, by the window, was a new stack of papers.

Pete slid himself into the matching chair and skimmed the papers. Letters from the Elements of Harmony, five of them at least, about the humans they had taken in as well as letters from the humans themselves. Maxwell's was on top, briefly talking about living with Pinkie Pie in Sugar Cube Corner. Even in letter form the boy was reserved as the page was half blank. Pinkie's letter was longer, but mostly because her writing was atrocious. Pete struggled to make most of it out, but it seemed like she was making friends with all of the humans.

Lance had moved in with Rarity and seemed to be having just as easy a time. His fancy font and small letter size, however, was just as hard to get through as Pinkie's large squiggles. Lance had been working partly as receptionist and measurement taker while Rarity focused on sewing and design. At least that was what he gathered after reading Rarity's letter. The two were cordial, but not close. Something about that was surprising as the two seemed very similar.

Xander was with Applejack and Pete was glad to finally read a letter with no issue. The large man was also to the point. He enjoyed the physical activity and it seemed apple picking was foreign enough to the Apple family to be entertaining. Thankfully Xander's muscular body was perfect for the labor because Pete couldn't think of anyone else that could help if he wanted to trade homes. Applejack was equally succinct, mostly focused on how useful Xander was around the farm and it didn't bother her if he had to stay longer.

Jake was with Twilight acting as a second assistant under Spike, who had felt the need to include his own letter. Twilight was happy to have an extra set of hands and Jake had volunteered for some studies that were being used to figure out why Pete could cast spells and none of the others could. Jake's letter was several pages long and was clearly written by an overzealous fan, causing Pete to worry about Twilight's sanity in the long term. Spike's letter echoed Twilight's feelings on having another set of hands to help out, but the part that was most interesting was the signature. First Assistant Spike.

Finally came Fluttershy and Lucy's letters, both of which were simple single sentences. “Lucy is doing fine, and so am I.” “Fluttershy is nice; I'm okay.” Flipping the sheets to the back he felt sure there was more, they sent a whole page after all, but there was nothing. He had spoken to Fluttershy more than this, and he felt she would be more worried about speaking directly than writing.

“Maybe... I'll have to go down there one of these days.” Pete mused as he noticed the lack of a letter from Dash. “Just to be sure everything is okay.” He grinned to himself and slid the letters into a drawer on the desk.

The next evening Pete's head felt much better and he set out early from his quarters to find Celestia. If he was going to Ponyville officially he would have to inform her after all. What he discovered on his trip to the throne room took precedence however.

Several halls away from his destination a shadow caught his attention. Many thoughts crossed his mind, ideas on what he had just seen, but his limited training with the guard told him to ignore those thoughts. Instead he pursued the shape down the hall, speeding up while staying on the thick carpets that lined the middle off the halls to keep the noise down. Rounding the corner he caught another glimpse of the shadow. Pete sped up.

After the second corner he finally saw the shape in full, larger and lower to the ground than a pony. He continued the pursuit, wondering where the guards were as he moved from corner to corner. Whoever he was chasing was moving erratically, up and down halls, left and right, seemingly randomly. That was when it struck Pete. The intruder was dodging the patrol. Too many turns had left him confused with his location in the castle. He could shout and alert the guards, and the intruder. Speed became his primary focus, after another corner he peeled his shoes off mid jog, his feet making less noise bare. Faster, he pushed on, trying to stay out of sight each time the shade rounded a corner. He needed to catch them quickly but it wouldn't work if they saw him coming.

One last corner and they disappeared. Panting, Pete looked around. They hadn't gone down the hall, nor doubled back. The only room was a supply closet, also empty. At a loss he leaned against a wall and sighed. He looked up and saw it. The figure had wings and had flown up. It was looking away from him, out of a tall window. Pete looked for anything he could use to climb the wall but there were no holds, nothing he could stack, and he had no idea how far a winged guard would be. He contemplated shouting for a moment but a noise stopped him. A thick click. Working his way to the wall the intruder was perched on Pete could see something in its claws. A griffon, and it was holding a crossbow.

Pete made a face as he tried to figure out when, if ever, he had seen a crossbow in Equestria before, but if they were griffon weapons his point was moot. This was an assassin, ready to fire, and he was the only one there to stop it.

Silently he pulled his sword from its sheath on his back and tried to focus. A bow? A gun? Something with range, something he could use to hit a far away target. Nothing. The blade didn't change on will, or it couldn't turn into a projectile. Suddenly frustrated and running out of time Pete reeled his arm back and threw the sword. It changed as it left his hand, shifting mid flight into a dagger, and sinking into the griffon's back. The assassin shouted and the clatter of a crossbow on stone came from outside the window, and the sound of her body hitting the floor echoed inside the castle a moment later. With reflexes Pete had never had before he threw himself on top of the sniper, pulling his dagger out of her back and pinning her down.

“Don't move,” he held the blade in front of her face for emphasis.

“Like I could!” She groaned in pain from both the weight of the human and the gaping wound in her back.

“Well, don't think about it then.” Pete realized the retort was weak, but she was really killing his buzz. She was, after all, his first official act as a night guard. He just hoped the sun still being up didn't invalidate his impromptu arrest. Then again, there might be a bigger problem if making off duty arrests excused assassins.

A second later a pair of guards galloped around the corner and stopped. They looked at each other and then slowly started to step forward, the unicorn raising a spear in his magic. Pete rolled his eyes.

“Hurry up! We've got an attempted assassination here.”

“Calm down, and keep quiet!” the pegasus shouted, a warble in his voice. “Who are you?”

Pete looked at the two in disbelief. He was the only human in Canterlot, and he lived in the castle. How did guards in the castle not know who he was? Rather than argue he dug into his pocket with his free hand and tossed his badge over to the two guards.

“Captain of the Night Guard? For like the three days, but still! Come on. Get your flanks over here and... cuff her?” Pete suddenly realized he had no idea how ponies restrained each other or other species for that matter. Cuffs weren't standard issue either.

The pair looked at each other again, and then at the badge on the floor. Within a few seconds their pace doubled. The pegasus darted over and relieved Pete of his position on top of the griffon while the unicorn applied some kind of magic to her paws and claws. At that point the guards noticed the dagger in Pete's hand and the wound on the griffon's back.

“Where was she?” the pegasus asked, looking around for more blood.

“Up there.” Pete turned around and pointed at the window near the ceiling.

The winged guard flew up and looked around. Below on a roof was the weapon, and across from the window was a sight familiar to anypony. A series of stained glass windows that lined the throne room. Wide eyed the pegasus floated back down and explained what he'd seen. The unicorn looked down at their captive.

“Should I … heal that?” A moment passed between the three, realizing who the griffon's target was they seriously considered leaving it.

“Probably should” Pete said, breaking the silence, “Might cause an incident if the other nations get wind we don't do captures.”

“Then for the record, I'm doing this under protest.”

Pete shrugged and walked over to retrieve his badge while the unicorn worked his magic. Badge in pocket he turned his attention to the dagger. Something about it was familiar. It was silver all the way, even the handle, and slightly curved, with a series of serrations on the back. At an angle it looked like a very small wing. He tried once again to change the weapon's shape, focusing on its old form. It bubbled and then shined, turning back into a longsword. Without question, Pete slid the sword back into its sheath and placed it on his back. Ignoring the fact the griffon's blood had vanished when the blade changed.

It took a couple hours to get the griffon into the dungeon, processed, and put in a cell. By that time word had been passed to the princesses about the capture and both of them were anxious to question the would be assassin. Pete was in the middle of filling out the last report, one of the infamous police filings he had always heard of in Law and Order, when Luna and Celestia entered.

“Where is she?” Luna's eyes were blazing with anger.

“Settle down, Luna. This isn't the first foiled assassination attempt we've been through.”

Pete let out a single ha, “Guess I should have just let her take the shot then?”

Celestia smirked, “But then who would we praise as a hero?”

“Please don't,” Pete cringed and sat the quill he was writing with down, “I didn't want to be a captain either. Stop trying to push me into the limelight.”

“Someone has to eventually, Pete. Good press about your kind in Equestria would be beneficial to relations between ponies and humans.” Celestia was always scheming something it seemed to Pete, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing. From getting a job back on Earth without telling him to helping him get both of his positions, it wouldn't have surprised him to learn she had hired the assassin herself.

“You didn't plan this, did you?” Pete was unsure now that the idea had crossed his mind. “Like, you didn't hire a hitman, or woman... or griffon, whatever, so I could stop them, did you?”

Celestia smiled for a minute more, even Luna started to look shocked before the Princess of the Sun laughed.

“How ridiculous! First of all, anyone I hired to try and kill me would have more than likely tried to steal secrets first, or sell the guard patrols to someone else. I wouldn't compromise castle security like that. Secondly, I wouldn't know where to find a griffon assassin. A pony one, perhaps, but not a griffon.”

The last statement sent a shiver down Pete's spine. Celestia was very frightening in an offhanded manner, now that they were in Equestria. He was learning more and more about her every time they interacted and not all of it was sunshine. She was definitely the ruler of an entire nation. It was in everything she did in the castle. The way she walked down the halls, the look in her eyes, even the tone of her voice. The Celestia he had gotten to know on the roof of his apartment was almost totally different than the one that stood in front of him.

Luna had already moved into the interrogation cell, presumably convinced that her sister wouldn't hire someone to try and attack either of them. This left Celestia and Pete alone and provided the perfect opening for Pete's original intention when he left his room that evening.

“So, I think I'm going to take a couple days here soon and visit Ponyville.” He tried to act calm despite Celestia's words.

The princess paid his shaken voice no mind. “Take days off, or as an official of Canterlot?” She grinned at the human, clearly one step ahead.

“Ambassador stuff actually, yeah. You know, read those letters, none of them were alarming really. Lucy and Fluttershy didn't say much though so I figured a quick trip down there, a little eyes on.” He chuckled nervously, unsure if he should or could be as open as Celestia was acting.

“I'll speak to my sister about it, Pete. I'm sure the Night Guard can survive a couple of days without their new captain.”

Pete nodded and excused himself from Celestia's presence. An hour later he was still nervous as he entered the barracks and sat behind his desk in there. Thwarting an assassin was one thing, Celestia's demeanor was another. He decided he'd rather fight a dozen assassins than deal with the idea of Celestia knowing how to hire one. Too many dark possibilities opened up about the quiet, nice pony culture he'd been getting used to if he thought about the Princess of the Sun paying off death squads.

Rather, he decided to try and keep himself occupied. More papers needed signing, minor decisions made. The room was quiet save for the sound of writing and paper shuffling. Pete liked it that way. Something about busywork satisfied him. It was like the real life equivalent of grinding in an RPG. Instead of killing orcs you just signed paperwork, and things got done. Quills were difficult to work with, and he wasn't sure why they didn't just have pens laying around, but it added to his sense of accomplishment every time he signed something. Scratching filled the room and drown out his thoughts between rustles of paper. Within an hour the intrusive thoughts were silenced.

Every few hours a patrol would stop in as well, the head of which would report any unusual happenings, and then they'd go rest for their next shift. This provided another more social distraction. The city was never monitored by less than seven Night Guards at a time from sundown to sunrise. Which meant meeting dozens of new faces each night and building a rapport with the ones he'd already met. From the sky there wasn't anything the patrols couldn't see or hear. Response times were shockingly fast as well. Pete could easily see why no one had ever escaped them. It also meant their reports were generally short and simple. Though he could also see how Stellar Glow's simple mistakes bothered them.

The small mare was accident prone at best and a complete klutz at worst. It was a wonder she had managed to get into the guard, but her flight times put everypony else to shame. She was just a first responder, not meant to do much more than tend to victims and point the bigger guards in the right direction. With that she had managed to make several big mistakes a year preventing her from being promoted. According to her it wasn't that big of a deal, but Pete couldn't imagine she was so passionate about joining the guard that she didn't want to be anything more than a rookie her whole life.

Of course he also wondered what her cutie mark was supposed to be. Most of the guards he had seen were almost stereotypical in their marks. Swords, shields, sandbags, staves, weapons and armor. Stellar Glow's was an arrangement of three lights, like bright stars. Perhaps they simply represented her speed, like light from stars. Or maybe it was like a beacon of hope, like guards are supposed to be, a positive influence. In either case though why were there three of them? Cutie Marks had always been a mystery to him. They meant something for each pony, but what it meant wasn't always applied in the direct sense. Even thinking like that he couldn't find a way to apply Stellar's cutie mark to guard work.

Pete pondered question of the pony posterior for most of the night, a phrasing he found himself smiling at even as he read report after report. He wrapped up his work just before the last patrol came in for the night, including the wondered about Stellar Glow. Almost as if on cue the small mare stopped by and Pete shouldered his sword and followed her out of the barracks. Speaking with her was something he had been looking forward to. Partially for more information, but not just about pony culture. The more he had thought the more he was curious about the mare herself.

The two made the journey once again to the cafe Stellar frequented, Pete paying more attention to the city around him this time. Canterlot was mostly quiet at night and it took some time to get going in the mornings. Shopkeepers opened doors and windows, set out signs and products. It reminded him of Ponyville's bazaar in a way, but it was still very different to human cities. Of course he reminded himself that places like Manehattan existed and were probably much more like human cities, but for the center of Equestria's power Canterlot was very much closed during the night. There was a certain fascination watching the ponies go about their morning business with a bright eyed look most humans didn't get until the mid afternoon as well. Some of them stopped and stared at Pete as he walked down the road behind Stellar Glow, a few even waved which he responded to in kind.

A nervous silence settled in once they had sat down at the cafe and began looking at the menu. Pete realized he had no money, Stellar Glow realized their outing looked a lot like the beginning of a date. Trying to distract himself, Pete sat the menu down and looked at Stellar. She blushed lightly in return and tried to distract herself with her own menu.

“I've been wondering something,” Pete said carefully. “What made you join the Night Guard? I mean, I look at the others and it's pretty obvious what their talents are, but I don't quite get yours and how it relates.”

“I get that a lot actually!” She chuckled nervously. “I really like flying. My cutie mark appeared when I went out late one night and flew up into the sky. So far up that my village and even Canterlot were just specks. The stars looked really beautiful and, well, it just appeared.”

“That sounds wonderful. I'm actually kinda jealous. Flying is something I wish I could do. But no wings.” He chuckled lamely and redirected the conversation. “So when did you decide to join the guard?”

Stellar Glow blushed and looked at the ground. “I really liked Batmare.”

“Who?”

“Batmare. She's a c-comic book superhero. Using her wits and training she fights super powered criminals even without her own powers.”

Pete's mouth hung open for several seconds before he realized how rude it looked and rushed to compose himself. She joined the Night Guard because of the Equestrian equivalent of Batman. He realized that most would probably think that was stupid, but Pete found it cute. Stellar Glow idolized a superhero so much she joined what was essentially the police to do what they did.

“I'm a little envious of that too,” he finally replied, regaining his composure. “You're pretty lucky in my book I never idolized anyone to that extent. Luna just sort of gave me this job after we found out I can do magic. Didn't really have anywhere else to go or anything else to do.”

The mare across from him nodded, “Away from your home, your friends, your family. Stranded somewhere completely unknown to you.”

Pete smiled at her words. “Exactly. I didn't have any noble intentions. In fact it started as a joke.”

“Princess Luna is notoriously bad at taking jokes.”

“Four months of basic training for sarcastically saying my trip to talk to the humans in Ponyville meant I was a guard? Bad is an understatement.”

Stellar Glow giggled into her hoof. “What word would you use?”

“Dreadful?”

“That does have a certain weight to it.”

They continued chatting about small things for a couple of hours. Insights were gained about each other, small and large. Pete's heart condition, which he admitted seemed to have vanished, Stellar's nickname and its obvious origins, to her small size. She hadn't grown much as a teen and after years of concern her family took her to a doctor. Stellar Glow had a tumor restricting growth hormones leading to her diminutive size even as an adult.

“That's harsh. I'm sorry you went through that.” Pete was trying to sound sympathetic but he was at a loss for words. Something that happened far too often considering his past as a writer.

She smiled, “It's okay. Sometimes things have to happen the way they do. It's part of life.”

“Yeah, I suppose so. No use trying to change things out of your control, right, Stella?”

“Stella?” She giggled, he couldn't tell if it was at him or at the name.

“Stellar! Sorry, Stella's a human name. You're very close.” Pete scratched his head and looked around at the street. The sound of hooves on stone was getting louder every minute. “Guess I forgot I was in Equestria for a second. Slip of the tongue.”

“Don't worry, and stop apologizing,” she giggled again, “It's awkward for both of us.” The mare bit her lip for a second and waited for Pete to look back to her before saying, “Besides, it's a better name than Squeak.”

Pete chuckled in response and the two kept talking until they started yawning. That was when Pete had to draw the line and make his way back to the castle. Stellar Glow parted ways with him up the street and the human continued to the castle alone through the morning bustle of the city. Once again the guards at the front gate were surprised to see him so late in the morning, almost noon, but said nothing. He climbed stairs and passed through empty halls to his darkened room. From there everything was silent again, and he dropped into bed, tossing his sword on the desk.

The beds of Canterlot, at least the one Pete was given, were actually very large. He imagined two or three ponies could fit comfortably on the downy soft bed. There was no proof, but he thought it likely arose from the princesses. Their larger bodies needed larger beds, and to keep dignitaries pleased all the sleeping chambers in the castle were fitted with the same kind of bed. It made sense to him if nothing else. Within moments he found a comfortable position on the bed and his consciousness faded.

The rest of the week proceeded along that same path. Pete would wake up, bathe, dress, head to the barracks, do paperwork, listen to reports, speak with Stellar Glow, and return to the castle in the morning. It was simple, repetitive, but most jobs were. As days went on the stacks of paperwork shrunk more and more. Less time was spent reading and signing, and more time was spent sitting around. Laziness like it had begun to bother Pete.

Though he had spent years lethargic and hidden away he still felt he should be doing something while at the barracks. Paperwork at least contributed but sitting around for hours was a waste, even to him. He tried to start writing but found it difficult trying to draft with a quill. Certain he would speak to Celestia about pens, at least for his personal use, Pete found himself at a loss as what to do with his time. At some point he decided anything was better than sitting and he made his way to the Night Guard's personal training room, a large indoor facility with practice dummies for various reasons, ceilings high enough to fly in, and a rack of weapons to train with.

He wasn't interested in any training weapons though. In a single movement Pete removed the longsword from his back and looked it over for what felt like the hundredth time in his life. There was nothing different about it now than there was the last time he looked at it or the first time. Plain, simple, functional. He knew there was more to it than that. Focusing his will on the sword he envisioned the black thorned version he had used against the chimera months ago. Within moments the blade writhed and shined, changing into the dark, curved, and prickly form Pete had thought of. He looked it over, careful of the sharp spikes, and then tried another shape. A claymore, a larger and heavier weapon than the longsword. The sword complied, changing in the same disturbing way. Once more he tried something outlandish, a bow or a gun, but the sword remained unchanged. What was the limitation?

Pete tried something else, a staff. Pure wood, much like a bow would be, and it changed. He couldn't figure out the rules to the transformation. Perhaps it was limited only to melee weapons. Another idea formed and he imposed his will on the weapon again, changing it this time into a scythe. Overall he felt impressed with that change and gave it a couple of experimental swings. It was awkward, as anyone would suspect, and Pete dropped it multiple times. However, when one swing jerked his body too far he fell over. Expecting to hit the wall, Pete braced himself but found the blow never came. Wildly, he looked around. He was floating and half of his body was through the wall.

Panicked, Pete pulled himself back through the wall and looked down at his body. He wasn't solid. The room around him was visible through him, though he could still see shades of himself. Cautiously, he pressed his hand against the wall and found himself once more passing through it. Somehow he had become intangible.

His body wasn't on the ground, so he hadn't died accidentally, and thus he wasn't a ghost. At least not in a traditional sense. With a thought he changed the sword back to its usual shape and watched his body. On command his form returned when the sword was finished, and Pete stared at the blade in amazement. It granted him more powers than just the ability to cast magic it seemed.

Nights were spent from then on in the training room after paperwork was finished, trying out new weapon forms and seeing what abilities they held. Ideas about how to use his intangibility came easily enough, but if the other weapon shapes gave similar passive powers they were more subtle. The longsword's in particular evaded him, or perhaps, he thought, it gave no benefits being the weapon's usual shape. A baseline as it were. Or perhaps its effects were so subdued and minute that it didn't matter. Either way, Pete increased his training time, Stellar Glow often finding him in the training room after her shift rather than the office.

After another week, the autumn chill starting to linger throughout the days, Luna came to visit Pete in his room one evening. He had just finished bathing when she entered. As usual as ever, the human couldn't tell if she had just woken up or bathed, or not. The princess was almost unchanging now that she was back in the castle, as was Celestia.

Pete bowed as she entered. “Your Highness,” he said just above a whisper.

“Why are you so quiet?” She chuckled and spoke a regular tone.

“I'm not sure. I mean, it's almost night. Maybe somepony's sleeping around here.”

“Well, the only pony that should be asleep, or rather the only someone, is you.”

The human blinked and raised an eyebrow. “Me? I have to get to work.”

“Indeed you do,” Luna smiled, “Tomorrow morning in Ponyville.”

Understanding brushed onto Pete's face. “Right, wow. I forgot I talked to Celestia about that. Its been... almost a month?”

“Two weeks,” Luna clarified and stepped forward, “I did not want to pull you away from your new training however.”

“How do you-”

“They are my barracks, Pete Powell. There is little that goes on in them without my knowledge.”

“That's a little creepy, Princess. I mean ponies are getting dressed and undressed in there. Thinking about you watching them it's a little-”

Luna rolled her eyes and opened the door with her magic. “Get some more rest, Pete. My sister and I have cleared your visit to Ponyville and you will leave in the morning.”

Without waiting for another retort or question the Princess of the Night left, leaving her captain alone with his thoughts.

“How the hell am I supposed to get back to sleep after sleeping all day?”