Pete Powell's Life as a Pony, and Beyond

Pete emerged from the bathroom just a couple of minutes later. He hadn't wanted to muss up his suit clothes any more than he already had, so he found a quick change was in order. Stepping out into the room, however, he noticed the absence of a certain royal. Doing a very short once over of the room, he locked onto the bouncing pink mare he'd confessed to moments ago.

“Where's Luna?” He asked as if he expected Pinkie to tell him that she was hiding in the closet.

“Dunno,” she responded, “She left just a bi~t after you went into the bathroom.”

“Did she say anything at all?”

Pinkie stopped bouncing on the bed and shrugged, “Just that she had something important to do.”

“... how exactly did she say it? Anything unusual about her tone?”

“Nnnnope, it was pretty normal.”

Pete shifted his tone to a very near monotone, “Like this?”

Pinkie smiled, “Yup! Kinda tired sounding, maybe she went to bed?”

In his years of service Pete had grown to know understand that tone. It was Luna's sad tone. The voice she put on when events didn't quite transpire the way she wanted them, and for this instance Pete could guess why.

“If she'd waited two freaking minutes,” Pete groaned, “Pinkie, I've gotta go find her.”

“Why?”

Pete sat next to the mare on the bed, picked her up, and snuggled her to his chest.

“For better or for worse you shown me something tonight Pinks.” He said his words solemnly, just below speaking tone. “It doesn't stop with you. I- … I love Luna too.”

“I know,” she replied with a smile.

Pete gave a small chuckle and squeezed Pinkie tighter, “I don't think she does though. So I've got to go make sure she knows. Otherwise she might think up some stupid reason to keep away from me.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Because she's silly like that. She isn't used to folks wanting to be around her, so she'd rather push them away before they hurt her.”

Pinkie's eyes got sad as she looked at Pete. “You mean like you were, back in your world?”

Pete blinked. She was right. Luna was doing exactly what he would do. Tell everyone that he hated them, and that they were unimportant so that he wouldn't feel hurt that they didn't like him. Reflexively he pulled the mare closer to his chest, and she hugged him tighter in response.

“Yeah,” he whispered, “Exactly like that. So I have to go find her.”

Pinkie nodded and Pete left. Running a hand through his hair Pete looked down either side of the hall. Taking a moment to think about where Luna would be, he exhaled then started towards the Princess of Night's bedroom. He was worried about the kind of state she might be in, and really hoped that she wasn't upset to the point of slipping back into the old Canterlock. His worries proved unfounded, however, as reaching his destination revealed that Luna was not in.

Muttering to himself, mostly curses, but trying to pass a few ideas occasionally, he figured that she might not have been lying completely. Perhaps there were some duties left to attend to. Namely the party. It was getting late, and certainly the mysterious disappearance of the only alicorn princess in attendance would have affected the party. Pete expected it to be over by this point, Luna had been gone for over an hour. So she may have gone to apologize to the gentry that remained, and help oversee clean up. It was a long shot, but all he could come up with at the moment.

He turned and started to move down the hallway, back towards the ballroom, when fatigue hit him. The whole night had been draining both physically and emotionally, and it was catching up all at once. Pete growled in frustration before slapping himself on the face. Righting himself he stuck out an arm and snapped his fingers, focusing on the ballroom and exerting magic. At the click of his fingers he teleported to the center of the room, and found it deserted.

Scratching his head in confusion, the captain looked around. There were a couple of maintenance workers, and a few maids. Coming full circle his eyes eventually fell on a pure white pegasus with a golden mane. Princess Sunstreak. After a moment the pegasus turned her head, and her eyes locked with Pete's. They stared at each other, and then she rolled her eyes and waved him over with a wing. Having no way out Pete walked over beside her, the princess staring out the large window into the garden beyond.

“Captain,” she said as he approached.

“Princess,” Pete nodded, standing beside her with his arms crossed casually.

“How are you this night? The events of the evening would have left me utterly exhausted.”

“Much as you describe. Quite tired, however, it seems Luna has run off somewhere and I need to find her before I can retire for the evening.”

Sunstreak laughed, “Are you always this formal?”

“Only around the royalty I like,” Pete smirked.

The pegasus gave a mock bow, “I'm honored.”

The time Pete laughed. “So, what brings you out here at this hour?”

“Trying to unwind from the party,” she replied, righting herself and resuming looking outside.

“Can't do that in your room?” Pete asked, turning to look out the window as well.

“Not unless I feel like being swarmed by servants and pestered by messages from the other royals.”

“Ha, welcome to the world of royalty, Sunstreak. Imagine being Luna or Celestia.”

The mere mention made her shudder, “No thanks, I have enough problems with my own territory, let alone the whole of Equestria.” The pair sat in silence for a moment before the princess once more spoke. “So, why are you looking for Luna?”

Pete tensed, “There's … something important I have to tell her.”

Sunstreak cocked an eyebrow, “So important it can't wait til morning?”

“No, I have to do it now, while I've got the courage.”

Her eyes went wide in surprise, “What could possibly be so mighty a notice that the Dread Captain needs courage to speak it?”

Pete smirked and looked sideways at the princess. “Wasn't that a touch formal?” The princess stuck out her tongue and Pete laughed. “What I have to tell her is … personal, and if I don't say it tonight I'll either wimp out forever, or she'll find some way to avoid talking to me.”

Sunstreak laughed, the sound oddly musical to Pete. “You sound like a school colt reading to confess to his crush!”

“That's oddly accurate.”

Slowly the laughter died, and she stared at him. “You're serious? … She's taken on the form of your kind, and you haven't said that you love her? It's fairly obvious that you two are...”

“Yeah, seems that way, right? But the thing is there's … there's this other mare, and we've been together for a long time. We were exclusive, married even.”

Sunstreak gasped, “Wow, that's a pretty big deal. So I guess herding is out.”

Pete nodded, “And that was fine, but now, tonight, I've found that she's not the only one I love. I'm afraid of what she'll think, but I've already told another mare, and then everything that Luna's done... I can't ignore that stuff.”

“What happened to her?”

“... We died.” Pete had no other explanation, and it almost seemed silly to try and hide it. Sunstreak was once more visibly shocked.

“DIED?!”

“Yup, close to 3,000 years now, more like 2 and a half though. I don't know when, if it was when I was alive before, or sometime after we died, but I fell in love with others. I'm working on finding them, her and my friends, but now I'm worried about how she'll react when she gets back. If I don't do this though I don't know if I could go another two hundred years of living.”

“Who was she?”

Pete smiled, “Rainbow Dash, former captain of the Wonderbolts and Element of Loyalty.”

Princess Sunstreak looked at Pete, her eyes squinted. Then they became as big as plates, and bigger, with realization.

“THE Rainbow Dash?! YOU'RE HER MATE?!”

Pete physically recoiled from the shouting. “Yes! Sweet Luna, why is that so shocking?”

The pegasus princess recovered, then bowed. “Please, forgive me. I-I should have known. Who else would hold such a strange name as Pete?”

“Thanks,” the man in question replied, sourly.

Sunstreak righted herself and shook her head. “No, I what I mean is … Among the races there are ponies we idolize as being perfect representations of our race.” She paused, then her eyes once more enlarged. “You're searching for the ancient Element Bearers! Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity!”

Pete sighed and nodded, “Yes, my friends.”

“Well, it's actually them that we idolize, or some of them any way. The earth ponies,” Sunstreak continued, spurred on by Pete's quizzical look, “idolize Applejack. She's what they see as being the perfect earth pony, strong, honest, hardworking, and very family oriented. The unicorns, Twilight Sparkle. Smart, an avid student, curious, determined, and well versed in magic.”

Pete stifled a laugh, “Yeah, don't forget a bit obsessive compulsive, occasionally paranoid, and so dedicated that she once went an entire week without sleep trying to figure out what ended up being a spell to make pudding faster.”

The princess bit her lip, trying not to laugh, “Well, we do gloss over such failures in our heroes. All the races are guilty of that as well. And, of course, we pegasi idolize Rainbow Dash. Fierce, loyal, quick as lightning, and a genius of flight. We've all heard the stories about her, and her family. None of them ever describe the stallion she was with in much detail though. The best we'd been able to uncover was his name, Pete Powell. We had no idea where such a name came from, but the stories always put him in the same spot, very close and important to Rainbow Dash.”

Pete closed his eyes and began to recollect his past. “I was a unicorn. Luna's student in the same way that Twilight was. It was pure chance that I met Rainbow, one of Twilight's experiments went horribly awry and the Elements of old and the princesses found themselves in my world, the human world.” Sunstreak gasped. “They were trapped for a time with me, and as they were Rainbow and I grew closer, closer than I'd gotten to the others anyway. When the time came for them to leave, she came back, feeling my life was in danger. … She stayed trapped with me in my world for 5 long years. When the others came back we refused to be parted, and so Celestia and Luna changed me into a pony. I came out a unicorn, much to the disappointment of both me and Dash.”

“Why?”

“Simple,” Pete smiled, “I wanted to fly. When we came back here things became very serious between us, and I'm sure history has the rest. We got married, had some foals, then died. Now I'm back, and now there's complications.”

Sunstreak thought for a while on the problem. It was true that herding while married was a terrible crime, even the most lax of marriages could break from such a violation of love and trust. Simultaneously she wondered if a two thousand year old marriage still held, and what being brought back from the dead affected in it. Surely Rainbow Dash would see that there was a chance that she might not have came back at all. On the other hoof, it's possible that the former Element of Loyalty would be the most upset by such an event from the stallion she married.

“Well, I can see why you're so worried about that. I think though that, of all ponies, she would be the most hurt by what you're doing. … but also, being your wife, she'd be the most accepting.”

Pete floundered in confusion for a moment before managing to utter, “What?”

“I know, it sounds confusing, but hear me out. I think that, of any pony, she would be the one to understand how you feel. If this is really important to you, and judging by what Luna has done it is, then she'll understand why you did it. Even if it hurts her for a while, I think she'll understand.”

Pete clenched and unclenched his fist a few times, thinking over what Sunstreak had said. Finally he nodded. “Thanks,” he said, with a smile, “I feel a bit better now, but I still have to find Luna. If you'll excuse me.” He gave a short bow and started to walk away, wondering where the Princess of Night could have gone.

“She went to her room,” Sunstreak said, Pete turning to face her, but the princess remained facing the garden. “She came by earlier, to talk to a couple of diplomats, then told them she'd speak to them later and retired to her chambers.”

Once more Pete said thanks, then teleported to the outside of Luna's room, grumbling. He had to have JUST missed her on his way to the ballroom. If he had, in fact, walked there, this night would have been over with half an hour ago. Rubbing his face in irritation, he knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Luna asked from inside, not in a curious way, but in a demanding tone.

“It's Pete,” he replied, removing his hand as he spoke.

There was a pause before she responded with, “I'm sorry, Pete, but I've just gotten into bed. Can it wait for tomorrow?”

Again, her voice was more authoritative than questioning. Pete ran his hand through his hair again, letting out a loud sigh.

“Nope,” he said plainly, then opened the door and walked inside.

Luna was standing, still in her ball gown, in front of the wall mounted mirror. She had been looking at herself in the mirror, but was now focused on her uncouth intruder. Pete shut the door behind him and sighed again, looking at his princess and clucking his tongue. After a moment Luna's mouth gaped open, then fixed into a slight snarl. Irritation filling her veins she walked up to Pete, intent on telling him off, for a variety of reasons, when he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a kiss.

Luna struggled for a moment, confused more than anything, but soon melted into the kiss. It was long, and passionate, lasting over a full minute. Luna was slightly shocked at the display of romance, more beyond its sudden happening, with how into it Pete became. She had seen him kiss Rainbow before, but never like this, and guessing by how he'd kissed her like this the previous night it was special. When the kiss was broken, both were panting, and Luna almost dared to admit that she was aroused to Pete.

After catching her breath Luna shook her head and looked right into Pete's eyes. “What is the meaning of this?”

Pete responded by laughing, and placed his forehead on hers. “You had to run away,” he whispered, “Luna. That confession wasn't just for Pinkie.”

A blush slowly creeped up Luna's cheeks. “Y-you can't mean-” she stuttered.

“I do Luna. I love you. I've loved you since you started to teach me about my dark magic, all those years ago. I put it aside, I had to be faithful to Rainbow Dash. After everything that we've already done though, I can't ignore it any more. I love you, and Pinkie, and Dash. I can't imagine a life without you three, even if we're not all together in a herd. You three are just perfect to me.”

“But Rainbow Dash will certainly-”

“We'll worry about that when it happens,” Pete said, sadness in his tone. “I might not find her at all, or she might be happy with whoever she's become. No matter what though, I can't let this sit inside me any more. Two and a half thousand years is long enough Luna.”

Tired, physically and mentally, Luna could not raise any more objections. She was worried, she had not intended for any of this to happen the way it had. She was happy, by far was she happy, but if Rainbow left Pete … the human would shatter. Luna knew him that much, it would break him. She didn't want to be part of that, but he had forced it upon her now.

Moments later, at Pete's request, Luna found herself once more in his room, Pinkie Pie snoring lightly on the bed. As the pair of humans laid down and began to drift to sleep, Luna couldn't help but feel fear. This was more than she could have asked for. Not only would she restore humans to Equestria, but now she had a family, a complete family, and a herd. This was wonderful, it filled her with unspeakable amounts of joy. What killed her though, what filled her with dread, was that her happiness would come at the cost of another's. As she started to fall asleep Luna did something she'd never thought she would do. She prayed silently to her sister. She prayed to Celestia that everything would work out, that everyone involved could be happy. Then she did something familiar. She cried, because she could not believe that even her sister, the Goddess of the Sun, could make everything work out the way she wanted it to.