RiE Chapter 8 (Not proofed)

Talos was here. Thalmor can suck my dick.



>One Month later
>You have settled into your new life in Ponyville
>The ponies here have been quite accepting of you
>Most welcomed you with open arms
>Those who didn't seem to not trust you more than anything.
>You have become friends with many of the ponies here including Twilight and her friends
>She has been giving you lessons every day teaching you all about Equestria
>Occasionally you have a lesson about magic. However it is much harder to for her to describe to someone who is not a unicorn than she thought it would be
>Every other day you have training with Star as he teaches you how to use different weapons and generally tries to kill you through workout routines
>For some reason you feel like you have developed an affinity for the spear but that is probably from your having to use one to survive
>You have been painting every day since you have arrived
>Rarity has helped you sell them by displaying them in her boutique
>You sell a few here and there but only enough to buy more supplies and put back some money for later
>Today you are out at the lake with a sketchpad trying to decide what to paint next
>You idly draw the shoreline as you let your mind wander
>After a moment you hear a giggling in front of you
>Lowering your sketch pad you see Pinkie Pie stretched out on her side staring at you
>This should be entertaining
>"Can I help you Pinky?"
She giggles before saying "Anon, I want you to draw me like one of your french girls"
>She bursts into a fit of giggles and rolls around on the ground
>You start to laugh but then it hits you.
>How in the hell does she know that reference
>"Uh Pinky? Where did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" she asks with a smile on her face
>"That joke! The one you just made."
"I didn't make a joke I told you to draw me."
>"But..." You decide not to push it. You rarely understand this pink puffball and when you do it just gives you a headache. "Fine I will draw you if you want Pinky"
>Flipping to a new page you start to draw her
>"Hold still for a few minutes will ya?"
>She immediately goes perfectly ridged. Not even her mane moves when a gust of wind comes by.
>After about ten minutes you have a decent sketch of her
>Tearing out the page you hand it to her "Here you go Pinky"
"OOOOH THANKS! I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS SUCH A LOOKER!" she giggles again "I was supposed to tell you something."
>She stops and thinks for a little bit
"Oh yeah the Cakes wanted me to ask you to come by. They said something about a commission."
>That got your attention. Commissions are what you have been lacking.
>The only one who has commissioned something was Rarity who had a painting done of Opalescence that she hung in her room
>"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"WELL DUH! It's because I wanted you to draw me! I knew you wouldn't if I told you beforehand silly billy!"
>Celestial sisters save me from the whims of this cotton candy pony
>"Pinkie go tell them I am on my way. I will grab some stuff and meet you there."
"Okie-dokie-lokie!"
>She says cheerfully before hopping away
>Heading back to your place you duck in the doorway and grab two packs of painting supplies you had ready.
>Looking at different sized canvases you decide to bring the three most common sizes just in case they wanted you to get started right away
>About 20 minutes later you arrived at Sugarcube Corner cursing the decision to hide you on the outskirts of town
>Heading inside you are greeted by the light ringing of the bells on the door and Pinkie yelling
"WELCOME TO SUGARCUBE CORNER! OUR SPECIAL TODAY IS PEANUT COATED CARMEL DIPPED APPLE WEDGES! MADE WITH APPLES FRESH FROM SWEET APP-"
>She looks up from setting a tray of chocolate dipped strawberries in the display case
"Oh Anon its you! Why didn't you say anything? I will go get Mr. and Mrs. Cake."
>You don't bother telling her that you never had the chance to say anything with her yelling
>Placing your bags on the floor under a nearby table you lean your canvases against the wall
>Before Star started working you that trip would have exhausted you
>Relishing in your new found stamina you fail to notice Mr. and Mrs. Cake enter the room
"Anonymous so great to see you!"
>Mrs. Cake's cheerful greeting snaps you back to attention
>"Hello there Mrs. Cake, Mr. Cake. Pinkie said something about a commission?"
>you smile and nod at both of them
>"Anon how many times have I told you to call me Cup!"
>Mrs. Cake was one of the first people other than Twilight and her friends to open up to you
"Anon next week is our little Pound and Pumpkins first birthday party. We were hoping you could make a family portrait to commemorate that."
>Mr. Cake asks getting straight to the point
>"Gladly. First we would need to go over some things."
>The next thirty or so minutes were spent discussing location for the painting and what size they wanted
>The constant sound of customers coming in and out of the store and Pinkie greeting them fills the background of the conversation
>They ended up deciding on having the painting be set outside their store around one of the tables and they went with the largest canvas that you brought
"So Anon how much do you charge for this sort of thing?" Mr. Cake asks
>Hmm how much should you charge? Its looking about 10 bits for the paint another 15 bits for the canvas.
>It should take you at worst 3 days of work but most likely much less than that
>"How does 75 bits sound?"
>They sit there with shock on their faces. Did you ask for to much?
>"If that is too much we ca-"
"Too much? No Anon that is HALF of what we expected to pay."
>Mrs. Cake seems thrilled
>Damn you really need to sit down and find out how much painters here charge for their work
>"Consider it a discount for how nice you all have been since I have arrived."
>"Ohh nice save there brain" you think to yourself
>"Now that THAT is settled when do you want me to start painting? I brought most if not all I would need if you want to start now."
>They talk it over for a bit finally deciding to start now
>Mr. Cake goes to retrieve Pound and Pumpkin from the back of the store while Mrs. Cake tells Pinkie to watch the store for a bit.
>Pinkie stares at Mrs. Cake for a few seconds before she asks
"But am I not going to be in the painting?"
>Her eyes seem to grow twice their size as they fill with tears. She bites her lower lip and looks pleadingly at Mrs. Cake
>Mrs. Cake looks at you and you can see her silent begging for help
>No way. This is not something you are getting involved in. You turn away from her whistling
"I am sorry Pinkie but Me and Carrot want this to be only family. Not that we don't consider you one of the family"
>Pinkie seems to deflate with each word. Finally her hair goes limp and she says
"Ok I understand. I will watch the store"
>None of the usual pep fills her voice. Its almost as if she got a shade or two darker as well
>As strange as she was you have come to like this pink reality defying pony
>"Pinkie how about you come by my house one day after I finish this for the Cake's and I will paint something for you. You can even be in it if you want"
>She seems to pick back up at this but her hair is still limp
"Really Anon? Do you mean it?
>"I mean it Pinkie. I Pinkie Promise."
>Before you get the last syllable out of your mouth you have a pink cannonball flying at your face
>Pinkie latches around your neck screaming
"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU ANON YOU ARE SO NICE! YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD FRIEND!"
>You are not quite sure what to do as she hangs from you like a scarf
>Looking over at Mrs. Cake she smiles at you and mouths "Thank you" as she turns and makes her escape  out the door
>"It's no problem Pinkie. Now if you let me have my neck back I need to go get set up."
>She drops from your neck before walking back behind the counter
"THANKS AGAIN ANON! I WONT FORGET THIS."
>For the next three hours you painted. Focusing mainly on getting the foals painted while they could be kept still
>After three hours you realize its getting late and you tell the Cakes that you will be here tomorrow to continue
>After some goodbyes to Pinkie you stash your supplies and the painting in a storage room and leave
>Checking the sun you realize you will be late
>The time for strolling is over
>You break into a run
>The grouped together buildings that make up the outskirts of Ponyville slowly give way to open land dotted with houses
>In the distance you can see the series of three houses that make up yours and the guards homes
>Directly behind it is the last remnants of the sun setting over the distant mountains
>Taking a right you leap over a low gate that enters into an open pasture
>You begin to make your way up the a small hill as the fatigue of sprinting for almost a mile hits you
>Your run slows to a panting trudge
>Finally you reach the top of the hill just in time to see Luna rising into the air
>You stop to catch your breath and appreciate the beauty of the moment
>As she lowers to the ground you stroll over to her
>A week after she first arrived in Ponyville she showed up on your doorstep
>Every week she comes to hang out with you most of the night
>It seems Celestia decided that Luna should maintain her distance from you so that you can appreciate living as a normal pony
>When you asked Luna what she thought about it you could not stop laughing
"If my sister thinks to control whom I speak to then she may kiss my cutie mark"
>Your first two weeks of her showing up were wonderful
>You would sit in the field with her and laugh about whatever antics happened at court
>When you heard what she ordered for Blueblood you almost pissed yourself
>She said he still smells like bronze polish
>However last week when she showed up she was livid
>It seems the griffon ambassador had arrived. However he was not alone.
>He brought a small council (some kind of emergency jury for trials) and about twenty guards with him
>As soon as they arrived demands started being made for you to be turned over to face "Griffon Justice"
>When Celestia refused they started threatening to send out bounty hunters for you
>When Luna arrived at the court they demanded she leave. They refused to meet with someone who harmed guards in the defense of a child murderer
>Celestia had stopped Luna from throwing them out on their ears
>Looking over at you sadly Luna walks up to you and does something she has never done before
>She rests her head on your shoulder
>Doing what felt natural you put your arms around her neck and gave her a hug
>"What's wrong Luna?" you have never seen her upset like this
"Do you remember those gryphons that attacked you? Today the Ambassador decided to show us the pictures of what I had done to them. One of them may never regain function in his hind legs."
>You feel warm wet drops on your neck as she begins to cry a bit
"I did not want to hurt them like that. I only wanted to protect you."
>She takes her head off your shoulder and looks you in the eye before laying down on the ground beside you
>Following her lead you sit beside her and start stroking her mane
>You remember the first time you felt it. You expected it to feel like hair however it felt what you imagine solid fog would feel like
>"Luna I am sorry. I don't know what to say. I know you would not have hurt them on purpose. You are not that kind of pony. This right here proves the truth behind that. Don't blame yourself for this. I am the one who deserves the blame."
>Seeing her like this breaks your heart. You cant help but blame yourself for her pain.
"Anon you are not the one that hurt them. When I saw what they had done to you." she pauses and something flashes in her eyes "I wanted them to suffer. If you had not been injured so badly I think I would have done something terrible."
>She seems to stare off into the distance
>"When you saved me you looked different than you usually do. Was that you that did those things or was it...her?"
>Once again she looks into your eyes before placing her head in your lap
"It was both of us. I felt her again surging through me. All the hate I thought the elements had purged from me came back. Since then that anger has not gone away. It sits in the back of my heart"
>You can feel the shudder going through her
>Not a single word that fits comes into your mind. You just say the only thing that you can think of
>"I'm sorry."
>She stays there for a short time while you keep petting her mane before she pulls out of your grasp
"I am sorry Anon. I did not desire to burden you with my fears. I usually turn to Celestia to assuage my darker emotions. However with everything that has happened lately and what she saw today."
>She pauses and stares up into the night sky
"I feel she would not have been able to. Thank you for being a true friend."
>You throw yourself back onto the ground and stare up at the sky for a few minutes
>Spotting a shooting star you smile. Shooting stars occur much more often here than they do back on earth
>The sound of shifting causes you to look over and see Luna laying on her back parallel to you
>"Luna what is your moon castle like?"
>You have often wondered about it and this lets you change the subject
"Lonely and cold. Only the guards who I have gifted with the Night Form to can survive there. There is only one room I truly enjoy. The top room of the highest tower is my viewing room. From it I can observe this world and all the universe."
>"What is the night form?"
"It is a physical change I can enact upon a pony. It grants them the ability to see in the dark and survive and even fly without air. Celestia has a similar spell that marks her personal guard."
>That explains a lot "So is that why all of her guards are white?"
"It is. She wanted the guards to match each of our chosen colors. She tried to make their cutie marks match but after some problems she gave up."
>"Do you think the spell would work on me?"
"I do not desire to try it. We developed the spell in the days of the unicorn court. During the trials we had so many mistakes. My sister had perfected her spell on Unicorns but not on earth ponies or pegasi. I remember there was this one earth pony who volunteered. Celestia cast her spell and the mare went crazy. She would speak of things no one understood. Her body became almost elastic in nature. She even seemed to be able to teleport occasionally."
>For some reason that reminds you of Pinkie Pie
"We tried for weeks and we were unable to revert the change we enacted upon her. She later had children and one of them seemed to share the same abilities. So not only had our spell changed form but her vary nature. It was a great lesson about meddling too much with our subjects. I dare not try the spell on you because of it."
>Holy shit...could Pinky Pie be descended from that mare? That is something to file away and tell Twilight about
>The conversation continues for a few more hours
>Eventually you drift off to sleep

>You are awoken to the sound of hoof beats near your head
>Opening your eyes all you see is night sky around you in every direction.
>However there is no moon in the sky and you don't recognize any of the star formations
>You notice a weight on your chest as well as a scent of lavender
>Opening your mouth to say something all you can get out is "Wha-" before your mouth is filled with hair
>It takes you half a second to realize that this is Luna's mane
>Using your hands you gently move her mane out of the way
>You are greated by blinding sunlight and Star's smiling face
"Morning Sleepyhead!"
>"What time is it?" you ask groggily
"Well it's about 8 in the morning. Bro care to tell me why Princess Luna is sleeping on top of you?"
>Shit there goes the secret meetup
>"She-"
"Is she your special somepony? I knew you had good taste man but-"
>The weight on your chest jerks ever so slightly
>"NO! Jesus we were just hanging out but I was tired and ended up falling asleep. I guess she did as well. You cant tell anyone about this. It was supposed to be a secret"
"So a secret rendezvous under the stars. Bro you didn't tell me you were that romantic! So when are you going to get married?"
>"Star I swear if I didn't have a princess sleeping on my chest right now I would punt you across this field."
>You hear a chuckling from your chest
"Please do Anon. Thine friend here is interrupting my rest."
>At that Star freezes. He thought Luna was asleep.
>You feel the weight recede from your chest as she slowly stands
"Ahh well it is good I was awoken. I should have been back at the castle by sunup."
"Princess I didn't mean to offend I was joking with Anon. I-"
>Luna laughs out loud this time. She gives him a smile
"Star Sword is it not? Well do not worry I was not offended at thine jesting. However as Anonymous had stated you are to tell nop0ny of this."
"Understood Princess!" He salutes "I shall keep my mouth closed."
"I shall see you next week Anon. Keep thine self safe until then."
>You nod and wave at her. She turns into her mist like form and shoots off into the distance.
>You stretch working out the kinks that formed after sleeping on the hard ground
>Back protesting you turn to Star and ask "So what am I in for this morning on training?"
"Not to much today. Once you get your armor on we are going to do laps around Ponyville. I saw how slow you were running back here yesterday night. Rainbow dash has agreed to hang around and help "motivate" you"
>You stare daggers at him. You hate running in your armor, he used those goddamn pony air quotes that piss you off, and he is having Dash train with you.
>Dash is a cool mare. Dash, Star, and you even go out for drinks occasionally. She is also a living terror during your training.
>It does not help that Star was head over heals for her and does not know she is into mares
>You found out when she accidentally let it slip when she was drunk two weeks ago
>She swore you to secrecy.
>However she did tell you that Rarity has a thing for colts in armor
>Maybe you can do both of them a favor...

>An hour later and you were sweating your ass off while Dash and Star screamed in your ears
"RUN FASTER YOU GIANT MONKEY! GRANNY SMITH WOULD LEAVE YOU IN THE DUST!"
>Fucking Dash
"COME ON RECRUIT GET YOUR FLANK MOVING! LIVES DEPEND ON YOUR SPEED! WHAT IF ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS WERE IN DANGER!"
>Fucking Star
"You can do it Anon! You're the bestest knight in Equestria!"
>Fucking Pin...Pinkie just climbed way up your friend list
>"Fuck" *gasp* "both" *gasp* "Of YOU"
>As you come around to Twilight's house for a third time you see her standing with a group of guards.
"Whoa whats going on."
>Slowing to a walk, much to the relief of your muscles, you make your way over to them
"-as to be some sort of mistake. Why would the princess order-. ANON!" she sees you and trots over. "Why do these guards have an arrest warrant for you?"
>"What?" you Dash and Star exclaim at the same time.
>One of the guards walks over to you and presents you with a scroll
>You read it and sigh
>"Seems I am to be arrested in the name of the Griffon Kingdom. I am to stand trial upon my arrival in Canterlot for murder."