Welcome to the jungle

[Hiver]

This is a continuation of New Beginnings. (MLP), if you haven't started there you want to or you will be horribly confused.

Many thanks to Arratra for betaing this one and the cover image is by Sipioc over at fimfiction.










________________







I slowly felt the last remnants of the dream realm slipping away from me like wisps of smoke in the wind, leaving me lying on the bed.

I didn't open my eyes, just relaxing for a long moment, enjoying the slight breeze from the outside, the scent of rain having passed sometime not too long ago.

A moment of calm, of relaxation. Just a moment of calm before fully waking up.

Somewhere outside I could hear birds, some sort of monkey howling far away. Hammers against wood. I could hear ponies working somewhere in the distance. Saws.

Breaths close to me. Calm. Slow. Asleep.

My ear flicked.

In. Out.

In. Out.

I spent a second listening hard. Which one was… in. Out. Sunset. That one was Sunset.

In. Out.

Sparks. That one was Sparks.

Taking a deep breath, I forced my eyes open and rolled onto my stomach, stretching before I looked around.

Sunny and Sparks were cuddled up together on the other half of the bed. I couldn't help but smile at the sight before I slowly slipped off the bed and out of the darkness bubble that strongly limited the amount of light that got through it.

Light might make me slightly sleepy, but I'm a bat. For Sunny and Sparks to sleep, we needed the bubble of darkness over the bed.

Once outside, I covered it with a bubble of silence as well to let them sleep as I narrowed my eyes against the sudden bright light of the sunset outside and I stopped, blinking and shadowing my eyes for a moment to get used to it before I yawned again and slowly moved out onto the balcony, overlooking the village.

It was very… green. But that was to be expected as it was built into the treetops. It had been the idea of one of the unicorns hired to cut wood actually, Shield Streak. There was a problem with predators? So why build on the ground when there were massive trees and the great majority of the population had wings?

Multi level constructions in the upper levels of the jungle trees, centered around the trunks with bridges between them for the non-winged citizens or ones that didn't feel like flying everywhere.

In the distance, I could see ponies move around. The sun was still well above the horizon and most everypony was still asleep, at least the ones that didn't choose to still follow a diurnal sleeping pattern. Mostly non-thestrals, but not only.

It really was so much more comfortable not to have to keep having Sunshines little ball of fun to contend with all the time.

No. The day wasn't for us. Even after just a single year here, that much was clear. To be able to be awake when it felt right…

...It was just so much better. For one thing, the oppressive heat of the day was quickly fading away.

If just my Luna was here and I could share it with her instead of just while we slept. I missed her. So much.

I took a deep breath and shook my head, stretching my wings for a long moment before I folded them again and shook my head once more before I moved away from the balcony and exited the bedchamber, closing the door behind me.

"Good evening, your highness," a voice said and I looked over to Flower Rain. She was a very light grey thestral with very long white mane, almost reaching to the floor when she stood up. Which admittedly wasn't that long as she was tiny, even for a thestral or pegasus, almost half a head shorter than even Fluttershy. Like usual, she kept her mane bundled up in a complicated bun. She was getting a small stack of papers ready by one of the tables and smiled at me when I looked at her.

"Good evening, Flower," I said, giving her a nod as I made my way over to take a piece of fruit laid out in one of the bowls, "Sleep well?"

"Very nice, your highness," she said with a smile, flicking her ears, "I… had a date yesterday morning."

I smiled at her, "Oh really? Anypony I know?"

She shook her head, "Don't think so, sir. He works at the railway station."

I nodded and crossed over to her as I nibbled at the fruit, something we had started to call a Sky Mango. They grew high in the trees and while they were purple, they tasted like a mix between a mango and a watermelon, "Well, I hope you had a nice morning. Anything interesting on the agenda today or did anything happen that I need to know about?"

Flower Rain checked her clipboard, but I already knew it was mostly by reflex, she'd know of the top of her head already, "Well, as for incidents, a Rexosaurus was spotted half an hour of flight from the village and the guard has been alerted, but it shouldn't cause a problem. Also, the shipment from Equestria seems to be delayed, none of the scouts had reported the train so far."

I frowned slightly, "That's by almost a week. A day or two has happened before, but a week?"

She frowned, "Think anything has happened?"

"Too early to say. Just keep me updated."

Flower made a small note, "Yes, sir. As for the schedule today, there is a budget meeting at four and court just before then at three. At five we have an inspection of the village defenses scheduled with Princess Midnight. The rest of the morning is free so far."

I nodded, "So nothing until three?"

She shook her head, "Nothing scheduled. But there is a stack of reports and other paperwork a hoof high waiting for you," she said with a smile.

I eyed her suspiciously, "...Didn't I outlaw paperwork last week?"

"I'm afraid that even the power of alicorn royalty has its limits, your majesty," she said with a playful smile, giving me a small bow, spreading her wings elegantly.

I just shook my head with a smile, taking a bite from my breakfast, "Oh well, I guess I just have to try again later."

Oh well, it could have been worse. One good thing about this place compared to Canterlot, no bucking nobles, no bucking diplomats and absolutely no boring receptions!

Flower Rain jumped off her chair and gathered up her clipboard before she paused, "Oh, and you wanted me to remind you that we are a month from Hearth's Warming."

I nodded, "Well, hopefully the train will arrive with the stuff or I might be in trouble."

She smiled and nodded, "Goes for most of us. Oh, and Lady Sunset talked to me yesterday and brought up a good point, we're not too far from the two year anniversary of the founding of Nocturnis. She was wondering if anypony has thought of making that a holiday yet. Last year was too busy for everypony to really plan much, but now..."

I blinked at her, "That's… a good point. We should do that, shouldn't we."

 

[IdiotBall]

WOOOOOO!

 

[theaceoffire]

She was wondering if anypony has thought of making that a holiday yet.

Click to shrink...

WOOOOOO!

Click to shrink...

PARTY!

//Bring out the... uh. Water kegs? And um. Apple Cider I guess.

//And the GOOD hay, that Timothy hay stuff!

 

[Finagle007]

So very, very happy to see this back! Also, obligatory.

 

[Vaalintine]

Sleeping with someone NOT Luna? That's rather disappointing. I liked it better when it was just him and Luna, others being involved removes the romance from it.

 

[LordEdric]

Yes, it's back, now I get to reread the whole thing to catch up again

 

[Raphael]

PARTY!

//Bring out the... uh. Water kegs? And um. Apple Cider I guess.

//And the GOOD hay, that Timothy hay stuff!

Click to shrink...

I was gonna respond that in his version of Equestria they've GOTTA have alcohol, but considering that hot sauce wasn't really a thing, the burn from alcohol might be controversial.

 

[Noveljunkie367]

I've waited so long for this, does anybody have the update schedule for this if there is one?

 

[Hestia&theCourt]

Sleeping with someone NOT Luna? That's rather disappointing. I liked it better when it was just him and Luna, others being involved removes the romance from it.

Click to shrink...

??? It's not like love is a zero-sum resource where he only has so much of it to give and has to split it between three people. Like, you're well within your rights to prefer just Luna and to say so, but to say it "removes the romance" kinda indicates you're saying monogamy is automatically more romantic than polyamory. It's not, it's just simpler and plays better with our society's amatonormativity.

 

[Raphael]

??? It's not like love is a zero-sum resource where he only has so much of it to give and has to split it between three people. Like, you're well within your rights to prefer just Luna and to say so, but to say it "removes the romance" kinda indicates you're saying monogamy is automatically more romantic than polyamory. It's not, it's just simpler and plays better with our society's amatonormativity.

Click to shrink...

I mean, there are definitely logistics reasons for monogamy over polygamy, but that doesn't make polygamy a bad choice, just a different one.

 

[Hiver]

Compared to Canterlot, my throne room was significantly smaller. I was actually pretty sure the entire palace of Nocturnis could fit into the Canterlot throne room. But I liked mine more. For one thing, there was very little in the way of walls, the structure had a roof of course because of... well, rain forest. It's in the name.

There were also some glow crystals by the ceiling because not all of the inhabitants in the village could see in the dark, but they didn't give off more than was necessary for reading. If somepony wanted more light, they could bring their own.

Other than that, it was fairly simple and set at the top of the 'palace', giving a good view in each direction and made mostly of wood, the same as the rest of the village. What I really liked was the throne. Originally it had also been out of wood, but about a year and a half ago a Rexosaurus attacked the village. Luckily we had prioritized the construction of a pair of ballista. It didn't enjoy the visit one little bit. So I now had a Rexosaurus skull throne with Rexosaurus leather seating. Of course, it helped that by that time everypony in town had already accepted the truth as it was.

Thestrals are omnivores.

Not quite as hardcore at it as humans are, but we needed at least a bit of meat in our diets, ten percent or so seemed be optimal.

When Sparks gave me that report, I couldn't stop grinning for a week.

Now that has been a bit of a transition for most ponies. Took a while for most to get used to but I think the stint in the 'Pony blood is food' state actually helped, because compared to that, eating meat was way less disturbing. Helped it tasted amazing I think.

"Moon Glow, you're first," I said and got comfortable on my seat, idly picking through my small plate of fruit slices and small pieces of grilled meat. This was when I usually had time to eat during the night, so might as well multitask.

Moon Glow nodded and checked her notepad quickly, "Other than the report of a Rexosaurus, there have been reports from the hunting team that there seems to be a migration of large herbivores approaching from the west. They are significantly bigger than an Rexosaurus and from their spikes and almost tortoise-like shells, they might be what those things usually hunt. The hunters don't think they would be worth trying to hunt however. While they are big, they seem too difficult to take down. Also, too much meat."

Moon Glow wasn't my Guard Commander and despite her name was a pegasus, but she was usually the one to deliver me the report for the day when it came to the guard or hunting teams that worked with them unless there was anything critical, leaving my actual commander free to focus on her tasks. Also, she was in charge of my personal guard which just made it practical.

I nodded and ate some mango before I frowned, "Sounds about right," I agreed, "But if they are their usual prey, they may attract more of them. We should up our patrols."

"Already on it, sir," Moon Glow agreed, "That's it from the guard right now other than that the smiths are reporting that we are running a bit low on steel for ballista heads."

I looked at Tight Bit, "Bit?" I asked the thestral. He was tall for a thestral and so thin he almost looked unhealthy. His coat was a dark grey and his darker mane cut short. His mark was one of a money pouch.

Despite what his name and appearance might make you think, his personality was quite different. When he first arrived here, he had been quite a dour pony, that's true. But his mood has steadily improved since he did. I didn't ask for details, but I suspect his life had been hard before he came to Nocturnis.

Bit smiled and adjusted his glasses with his hoof before looking down at his papers, "Actually, your highness, we're not doing too badly," he said, "While the supply of iron bars is currently low, we are expecting a large shipment with the next train. It seems to be delayed however."

I nodded and Moon Glow spoke up again as I looked to her,

"No sign of it from the scouts," she agreed, "But with some luck, it will arrive tomorrow as it has never been this late. We have a lot of ponies waiting for their mail as well."

"And likely more immigrants," I agreed with a nod, "How's things looking at that front, Hardy?" I asked, turning to look at the third pony.

Hardy Brick was an earth pony with a dusty yellow coat and short brown mane. He was in charge of construction around the village. He scraped his hoof against the floor before he answered with a nod, "Going well, sir. One habitation wraparound is getting close to finish, that's another ten two pony homes and five for larger groups. We have another craftspony wraparound at about seventy percent and then a habitation one at halfway done."

A 'wraparound' as they had started to be called was basically one of the giant treehouses that made up the village. It was built among the thickest branches of the massive tree and 'wrapped around' the main trunk into a full circle as well as several stories into the air. They were all securely anchored to the trees.

I nodded, "Good work. Hopefully no more than twenty will show up. How many do we still have that live in the bunkhouses?" I asked, looking at Bit.

"Fifteen, sir," he said, not even checking his notes, "They should get first pick."

We were technically still running this entire thing on crown money which was what even made it possible for me to afford all of this. But the line of credit was getting up to numbers that I really didn't like the look of. Last time I saw that many zeros in a row, I was playing pinball.

"How are we looking for exports?" I asked Bit.

He smiled and shook his head, "Steady but slow. What wood isn't used for construction is being transported to the edge of the forest to be sold. Even with the river going in the right direction almost all the way, moving them to the train isn't easy. But some of the herbs and fruit are showing great promise for exports other than what we do already."

I sighed softly and nodded, "Well, at the moment it's the best we can do. But I think you're right that fruit and other herbs are likely going to be a major export in the future."

"You're not wrong about the timber," Hardy agreed with a sigh, "Well, at least once most of the construction is done, we can sell more of it. We are getting pretty good bits for it, it's good quality lumber."

"And other goods," Bit interjected, "The train leaves here with a cargo cart full of fruit and some of the local wines have already started to sell extremely well even after only six months."

I frowned at him, "How're the figures looking? With all our exports, ignoring current construction costs... Are we covering our expenditures?"

Bit sighed softly, "...No, sir. We're just barely making enough to cover our interest payments to the crown and that's including our taxes."

I shook my head, "It will get better once we start to ramp up local businesses, not focus everything on building the town."

I really, really hope so.

"What's everypony's morale like?" I asked, turning to the forth pony in the room.

Fluttershy looked amazing. Okay, that's not quite fair, she had always looked amazing. There was a reason she had been a model after all and her real form wasn't exactly worse looking than her old illusion.

But that wasn't it either. It was the way she carried herself after almost two years of not being afraid of being discovered. She didn't hide behind her mane when she spoke anymore, I hadn't heard a stutter from her in months. The transformation was... amazing.

"Almost everypony is doing good," she said with a small smile, "Some I talked to would like if mail service was a bit more often than once a month when the train arrives, but they're understanding. We might want to look at hiring some mail pegasi that dosn't mind flying to the closest village. Some are worried about the creatures of the forest, but that's not new and understandable, some of them are quite dangerous to unaware ponies. A few miss where they lived before, but in all they are glad they moved here. Most ponies are doing good."

Everypony liked Fluttershy. I mean, how could you not, she was just so... Fluttershy. So I had recruited her to keep a hoof on the pulse of the town in addition to her animal tending duties. Her observations so far matched what I gathered from their dreams. No unusual surges in bad dreams, most ponies seemed to get sleep like they should.

"That's good to hear."

"Also," she continued, stretching her wings for a second before relaxing again, "Some ponies are curious if we are planning anything for the anniversary of the creation of the city."

"Founding Day," I agreed with a nod, "I think that would be a good idea, we're a bit short on holidays right now."

This summer has been odd. There was a petition handed in this summer that we don't have the Summer Sun Celebration in Nocturnis. Midnight and Sparks had both been a bit... Well, agast isn't too strong of a word. It was as much a celebration of Celestia as it was for the longest day of the year. But if the great majority didn't want it... and I had put it to a general vote... something like 83% of the population didn't want it.

So we didn't do it. Not as a town anyway, everypony was free to do as they wished so there was a small thing with the ones that wanted to show up and we had held a private ceremony just for us.

But if they didn't like that one, it meant that some others were likely out as well and ponies needed things to celebrate. Which meant that we needed to find some new ones.

"We'll figure something out," I said and looked at Fluttershy, "Think you can get with Sparks and Sunset and figure something out? I think you three together can come up with something good, fun and symbolic. Flower can help you organize it."

Fluttershy smiled and nodded with a small graceful courtesy, half spreading her wings, "Of course, your highness."

I nodded and then turned to Flower Rain, "and on that note, I think it's time to open things out to the public."

 

[Noveljunkie367]

this is great keep up the good work

 

[Vaalintine]

??? It's not like love is a zero-sum resource where he only has so much of it to give and has to split it between three people. Like, you're well within your rights to prefer just Luna and to say so, but to say it "removes the romance" kinda indicates you're saying monogamy is automatically more romantic than polyamory. It's not, it's just simpler and plays better with our society's amatonormativity.

Click to shrink...

I'm not talking about the merits of monogamy/polyamoury, but that adding more people into his and Luna's relation deleted it and lessened the overall quality, making it feel cheap and less meaningful. There was never any real compelling reason for them to firm a Herd in the first place other than ponies saying Blank Page should have one because he became an alicorn pony. Him and Sunset were never in Love, they were merely friends. Adding more has just consistently failed to live up to the standard of him and Luna.

That's not to say Hiver can't write a good polyamourous relationship, they did that very with in the Planeswalker Dragon stories.

 

[Hestia&theCourt]

I'm not talking about the merits of monogamy/polyamoury, but that adding more people into his and Luna's relation deleted it and lessened the overall quality, making it feel cheap and less meaningful. There was never any real compelling reason for them to firm a Herd in the first place other than ponies saying Blank Page should have one because he became an alicorn pony. Him and Sunset were never in Love, they were merely friends. Adding more has just consistently failed to live up to the standard of him and Luna.

That's not to say Hiver can't write a good polyamourous relationship, they did that very with in the Planeswalker Dragon stories.

Click to shrink...

Ah, now see, that's a valid criticism. Not one I'm sure I agree with, mind, but at least this point of view makes sense.

 

[Norgarth]

keep in mind with the fact that in MLP the female ponies vastly outnumber the males, groups of 1 male and several females may be common.

 

[Hiver]

I slowly entered the workshop/lab and looked around. It was always interesting to visit Midnight and Sparks labb, they always had something new going on. This time the center of the room was made up by a big obelisk, looking to be carved from grey stone, faint lines running through its surface and where it narrowed to a sharp tip, it glowed softly.

The rest looked familiar, bookshelves covered most of the walls, covered with books and scrolls and piles of paper. Something in a bulbous flask was boiling over a small flame on one of the desks, releasing a small amount of green steam.

"Hello?" I asked as I looked around, "Anypony here?"

"Oh, hey Page," Sparks said as she poked her head out from behind one of the machines, "One second."

I nodded and settled down to wait, knowing better than going poking around. Well, I did now anyway, last time I turned blue for a week... it even stayed like that in the dream realm unless I actively changed it.

Both Luna and Celestia laughed themselves silly over it.

"You're here," Midnight said as she trotted in from the other room, carrying what looked like a baking tray with a circle of much, much smaller obelisks on it, "Good... evening," she said and then frowned, "That still sounds so odd to say as a substitute to good morning."

"I know," Sparks agreed and scooted out from beneath the machine and rolled onto her hooves, "I say it wrong all the time."

"Well, if it fits," I said and shrugged my wings before looking at the floating baking tray, "Is that what you wanted to show me?"

Midnight glanced at it before she nodded, "Actually, yes," she said and put it down on the ground before moving around next to me and handing me a pebble, "Toss it into the circle."

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Iẗ́'s not going to shoot away and put a hole in something, will it?"

Midnight smiled, "Almost definitely not."

I gave her a wary look and Sparks moved around to my other side, poking me with her wing before brushing it against mine,

"Just toss it."

I took it in my magic and tossed it into the circle. Absolutely nothing happened, it flew through the air and bounced off the baking tray and then rolled onto the floor.

"Impressive," I said with a slow nod, "You seem to have removed any sort of disruptions to gravity."

It's rather funny, Sparks and Midnight's eyerolls are completely identical. And often in sync too!

Sparks gave me a firm push and I almost stumbled forward, putting my hoof into the circle. Or at least, that was what should have happened. Instead my hoof stopped in mid air and I could feel a solid shape beneath my hoof.

"What the buck..." I started and felt with my hoof. It slid smoothly without any real friction along what seemed to a dome that started just outside the tiny obelisks. I frowned and felt around it as I walked in a circle before I picked the pebble up in my magic again, floating it through the space beneath my hoof. No resistance, no different feeling of it at all even.

I quickly turned to the two alicorns, "You made a size permissible shield bubble?"

Midnight nodded, looking more than a little smug, "And the real deal would pull power from the closeby layline. One of the reasons Twi and I recommended we settle just here."

I quickly looked over at the big hunk of rock sitting in the middle of the room and then back to her, "It scales up? How big?"

Sparks shrugged her wings, "Math is a bit unclear on the maximum size," she admitted, "And it still needs to be tested against the magic negating properties of a Rexosaurus. But the bubble would cover the entire city. Maybe the entire valley. We'll need several hundred at best, thousands at worst. Depends on how efficient we can get it."

"Not that it's perfect," Midnight admitted, "I would still not like to spend a lot of time on the ground here, there are a lot of nasty things small enough to pass through even if it works against larger predators like rexosauruses. But it would make it easier on the Guard."

"But if it works, it could be amazing," I said and looked at the circle again before I jumped up to stand on the sphere, "Now this is cool. How quickly can it get deployed?"

"They take a while to make," Sparks said as she looked up at me, "And they still needs to be tested against an actual Rexosaurus. They are magic resistant after all. But it should work."

"Oh! We can use it to trap one!" I said with a grin and jumped down to her, "I want to ride one into battle!"

Sparks twacked me with her wing, "No! Bad!"

"Okay okay!" I quickly said and retreated out of reach with a grin.

Never let me have any fun.

 

[Baran3]

"Oh! We can use it to trap one!" I said with a grin and jumped down to her, "I want to ride one into battle!"

Click to shrink...

Dinoriders?

Spoiler: Awesome!

Yes, that would be a very impressive sight.

... Yet, why not? I mean the idea is to use local resources for the new kingdom.

And it would use the available herbivores as a food source.

"And the real deal would pull power from the closeby layline. One of the reasons Twi and I recommended we settle just here."

It's written Leyline... At least according to my RPG Rifts.

 

[Hiver]

The forest was dark all around, the moon out above but the thick vegetation blocked out almost all the light even to thestral eyes.

My right ear flicked at a slight sound cutting through the general sounds of the forest around me. A slight rustling of leaves that couldn't be explained by the wind.
Because there wasn't a breeze.

I froze for half a second before I bolted.

The jungle erupted in a rustle of branches behind me and I jumped over a fallen branch, running hard through the jungle. The grouńd too soft and covered in vegetation for there to be any thundering of hooves, nor was the area clear enough for it.

I had to dodge every couple of steps, changing direction, jumping over something, ducking beneath something.

A normal pony would have been screwed in the almost pitch black. A thestral would have been caught too, they couldn't keep this pace up without flying.

But I was a thestral alicorn and I had the strength and stamina of an Earth pony.

Jumping over a moss and vine covered rock, I landed on it's side and threw myself to the side as something massive pounded over where I had been a split second later, it's claws scratching on the stone as it went rolling off.

That bought me a couple of seconds and I changed direction.

There was the sound of crashing branches behind me and something hit me from the back, sending me rolling.

Ow.

I breathed heavily, sucking in air as I struggled to get my breath back as a large shape moved above me, a pair of luminous eyes looking down at me as I felt hot breath down at me, smelling faintly of wet wood.

"Got me… good boy," I said and reached up to rub the Timber Wolves chest.

"Wruff!" The wood spirit said and a big leaf like tongue licked across my face.

Laughing, I pushed him away and struggled up to sit, rubbing his side firmly with a hoof, "None of that now!"

"Wruff!"

Fern pushed me over by bumping his head against my side. I laughed and rolled with the motion, getting back onto my hooves, standing up and shouldering against Fern, my hoof going up to rub firmly at his side, patting firmly with a hoof against tree sound.

Fern had really taken to his new environment, at least when allowed to roam freely beneath the town. He didn't like the platforms or living up there at all. Keeping him up there would have been cruel.

So I had no choice but to let him run freely in the jungle.

He was getting real big too, at least a head larger than even Celestia would be if she were here and twice as massive.

The last six months or so he had stopped growing so he seemed to be an adult now.

"Sorry I can't play more with you," I said and sighed, standing up on my rear hooves, one hoof against the woof spirits chest for support as I reached up to rub firmly at the side of his neck.

My weight did absolutely nothing to cause him to move and Fern wruffed and gave the top of my head another lick.

"So, meet any female Timber Wolves around here yet?" I asked. If there was such a thing in the first place.

Huff.

"Yeah, haven't heard any howls," I admitted, "other than yours I mean," before I frowned and dropped back down onto all four, "I may have to try to import some. But… invasive species. Maybe it would be fairer to try to return you to the Everfree Forest."

"Wruff," Fern said and laid down, panting softly, leafy tongue hanging out. Even laying down, he was taller than I was right now.

Timber Wolves were pack spirits. I tried to spend as much time with him as I could, but everything was so busy. He seemed to do okay, but he had to be a bit lonely.

"I'll try to come see you again tomorrow, okay?" I asked and rubbed his shoulder with my hoof, "We can play some more then, okay?"

He sniffed at me and then sneezed.

I smiled and hugged the large spirit briefly before I stood back and turned, taking to the air and the lower branches, landing before Solar Shadow, one of my guards.

He saluted briefly as I did before he looked down at Fern as the large wood spirit looked up at us in turn.

"Don't worry," I told him, "You know Fern wouldn't hurt a pony."

Solar Shadow shook his head, he was a dark, dark grey thestral with a sun cutiemark, "Doesn't make any of us feel any better about that sort of thing, your highness," he said quietly, "Nopony has ever tamed a Timber Wolf before. They are pony eaters."

"Maybe the wild ones are," I admitted, "But Fern was raised in captivity and has never showed any hint of wanting to hurt a pony in his life."

"As you say, your highness," he said with a slight frown.

I smiled at him and then glanced upwards, "We should get back to town, it's starting to get a bit late. The meeting with the hunting guild should be in just a little while."

Today's twenty minutes of scheduled fun was over.

Back to work.

 

[IdiotBall]

If past Author Page could see Prince Page now. XD
Oh, the horror!

 

[Doccer]

Fern is a good boy.

 

[LordEdric]

I needed to reread the earlier chapters to just to see how different this page is from before

 

[Avernus]

I needed to reread the earlier chapters to just to see how different this page is from before

Click to shrink...

For one thing he really wanted to avoid, well, nearly everything he's been sucked into doing by circumstances and his sense of responsibility. He wanted to write stories, hang out with his girlfriend and avoid public notice and politics as much as possible. He didn't even like the title of "Lord".

Instead he has loads of responsibility, politics is literally his job now, is far away from Luna, and he's a Prince rather than just a Lord.

 

[Norgarth]

For one thing he really wanted to avoid, well, nearly everything he's been sucked into doing by circumstances and his sense of responsibility. He wanted to write stories, hang out with his girlfriend and avoid public notice and politics as much as possible. He didn't even like the title of "Lord".

Instead he has loads of responsibility, poltics is literally his job now, is far away from Luna, and he's a Prince rather than just a Lord.

Click to shrink...

He's also gone from a Unicorn to to a Thestrial-style Alicorn.

Past Page: "How the frack did I end up with wings? Especially Bat-wings?"

 

[Avernus]

Past Page: "How the frack did I end up with wings? Especially Bat-wings?"

Click to shrink...

"Bat wings? Fangs? Please tell me I didn't go all 'Darth Page'!"

"No, that's a different timeline."

"Oh, good...what?!"

 

[Hiver]

Rain poured down outside as I looked out the open window into the darkness, slight lights from the city below were still visible, but the wall of rain obscured most of it.

There was something said for the weather of Nocturnis. Rain was intense but didn't last long… at least during this time of the year.

The rainy season was different as we discovered during the first spring and early summer. Instead of thirty minute rainstorms a couple of times a day, it was thirty minute breaks in the rainstorms that otherwise lasted for weeks.

It had been a good thing we built in the massive trees then or we might have needed boats.

The guy that suggested we build up here instead of on the ground with more defenses got a big raise for his suggestion, let me tell you that much.

Something roared fair in the distance. Didn't sound like a Rexosaurus, but still big. Maybe one of those herbivores?

Flicking one ear, I turned back to my desk and picked up the next paper on my desk with my magic, a candle flickering next to me on my desk to make it easier to read.

Nightvision or not, some stuff even we needed a bit more light for when inside during a rainstorm in the middle of the night.

It's not magic. Needed at least some light for it to work.

A light moved into the room and I looked up, "Hey Sunny."

"Hey," Sunset answered, her horn glowing as she crossed the room to lean against my side, "You done soon?"

"Mmm," I agreed and touched my horn to hers as I draped my wing across her back, "You?"

Sunset nodded, "Yep," she agreed and then stretched slightly before resting her head against my shoulder, "Went out with a scout team today."

"Oh?" I asked and looked at her, "Did you see the newcomers?"

Sunset nodded, "The herbivores? Yeah, massive things. Like big turtles almost with really long necks. They're absolutely massive with big shells, the ground shakes as they walk. Way bigger than even a Rexosaurus."

I hmmed, "Wonder what they taste like."

Sunset rolled her eyes and poked my side before she pulled back, "Twi still at their lab?"

"Last I saw them," I agreed with a nod, "But that was like… four hours ago, so likely yes?"

Sunset moved over to one of my shelves to pour us a drink each before she returned, "They spend so much time in there, even ignoring the time they spend decursing thestrals daily."

"Sunny, they are happy as a clam doing that."

She shook her head, "It's not good for either of them. I try with Twi and I know Tempest does her best with Midnight, but she has her own troubles and…" she said and set the glass down by me before she sighed, "I don't know."

I sipped the drink and looked at her, "I know. I try to as well, but she seems okay."

"She misses her friends," Sunset said with a small frown, "Only Fluttershy is here. It's difficult for her. She tries to hide it, but… I can tell. She's the princess of friendship for Celestia's sake!"

"I know."

Not like I could avoid seeing it myself.

Sunset finished her glass and rounded the desk again, moving to give me a small nuzzle, "And you miss Luna."

"I see her almost every day."

"But it's not the same."

I closed my eyes and sighed, nuzzling back and then giving her a small kiss, "...It's not," I admitted, "It's not the same. But it's not forever and I need to be here."

She sighed softly, "I miss her too."

"I know," I admitted and held her close as she rested her head against my neck, "There is a bit still until Hearth's Warming. I was thinking…. Maybe we could go visit Canterlot? Invite Twi and Midnight along too? And Tempest of course."

Sunset flicked one ear and was silent for a long moment before she sighed and shook her head as she pulled back to look at me, "It's just the second Hearth's Warming of Nocturnis. You have to be here for that, you know that."

That was one holiday from the rest of Equestria that had not been chopped along with Nightmare Night. I mean, who didn't like good food and giving gifts.

She was right though. Me not being here for that wouldn't exactly give the right message. Would be like a huge signal that I didn't see Nocturnis as my home. It was, but it would look like I didn't think so.

"Buuuuck," I sighed and groaned, resting my head against the top of hers, "Who's idea was it to put me in charge anyway? They should be fired."

Sunset grinned briefly and nuzzled at my chin, "Who else?"

"Well," I admitted, "I had to do something."

"I know. That's part of why I love you," she said and smiled slightly, glancing at my desk "Another couple of hours?"

I looked at the stack of papers and I sighed, "About. Should be done in time for dinner or so," I agreed, "Assuming that nopony shows up with another pile of stuff."

"Give me time to herd Twi out of the lab anyway," Sunset said and kissed my cheek, "There is that new play debuting after dawn. Want to go?"

"Love to," I said and nuzzled, "So… date or… should we invite Midnight and Tempest?"

Sunset hesitated and then shook her head, "Not today? Date night sounds nice. I want to do something with just you and Twi."

"Sounds good to me. But it's morning."

"Mor-" she started and then rolled her eyes, "I'm never getting used to that."