//-----------------------------
// Chapter: Loud Noises and Not-So Stuck Up Noses
// Author: Air Psyren
// Editor: Midi
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"Move. Move! MOVE!" I practically screamed out a lung at Beelzebub.

"I can't," He responded calmly, "You are standing in my way. I can't mo-"

"Go the other way!" I yelled. I swear I was about to burst a blood vessel.

"I can't. If I do, I'll leave cover. I already took 26 shots to the chest. Who knows how much more I can ta-"

I screamed again, "Your health regenerates!"

"Does it?" He asked.

"YES!"

"Are you sure?"

"YES!"

"Okay. Leaving cov-"

Suddenly a pony swerved around the corner and tossed in a candy bomb. I stared at the bomb for a few moments. I turned to shout at Beelzebub to move, but then it exploded and different assortments of candy penetrated my body. As I fell, I spun enough to see that Beelzebub was caught by the blast as well. My eyes widened and then I went black.

GAME OVER

I cursed loudly before turning to Beelzebub, growling.

"It's not my fault," Beelzebub explained calmly, "You wouldn't get out of the way."

I never wanted to choke another pony more so than I did right then. I had figured that Beelzebub would be a great gamer if he tried, but because of him, my KD was 12 kills to 14 deaths. That's bad! I usually go 16 to 1.

Beelzebub sat down, his controller glowing with his magic. Beelzebub managed to get 1:24, only getting one kill by stealing my injured target.

I yelled in frustration.

Suddenly, the doors opened and another of Luna's guards, an earth pony, walked in. He had similar coloring to Beelzebub, only his eyes and mane were violet.

"Ah, hello Amon." Beelzebub greeted.

Amon spoke in a rather nasally voice, "Hello Beelzebub. It's nice to see you are bonding with the candidate, but I must ask that the two of you are more respectful and lower the volume. All of your yelling is disturbing some of the other guests."

My mind flashed to the other candidates. I knew one of them was Trixie, a magician who lost her home thanks to a bunch of dolts bringing an Ursa Minor to Ponyville. Moments like those make me so glad I live in the sky. The other was the golden mane, uh... Ice Queen! We didn't talk much, but when we did, I believe I made a fool of myself. Finally there was an orange earth pony. I didn't know her name, but from what little interactions from her I got, I believe she was a Luna fan girl. I can't help but wonder what these ponies' introduction forms looked like.

"Isn't there only 3 other guests here besides me?" I asked as I started another game, taking Beelzebub's controller away so he couldn't play. I needed to avenge myself.

"Two, actually." Amon stated. "Miss Trixie and her guard, Puloman have left to Ponyville."

That caught my attention. I figured that Trixie would have loved to live this life of luxury as long as ponily possible. Guess you can't always judge a pony by their personality.

"I see," Beelzebub bowed his head, "Please apologize to them for us. We shall keep it down."

"BUCK!" I yelled as I got headshot.

Beelzebub smacked me in the side, hushing me.

Amon rose an eyebrow and shrugged. "Sure..." Amon began to walk out, but then he stopped and pulled out a letter, "By the way, sir." He turned to me. I really wish these guards wouldn't call me sir. "A letter from Fancypants has arrived for you."

He tossed the letter towards Beelzebub, who caught it with his magic. Amon then proceeded to leave.

A few seconds after he left, I continued to play muttering, "He seemed like a jerk."

Beelzebub simply sighed and opened the letter and read it aloud for me.

"Dear Master Psyren,

"I must say that was quite a spectacle last night at the party and I do hope you are doing well. I would hate for you to be unable to attend dinner at my mansion. My wife and I are looking forward to having a chance to talk to you.

"Consolations,
"Fancypants"

"That's it?" I asked, sort of disappointed.

"Well, he is an important man," he replied, "Well, dinner here is typically around eight, so I suppose we should leave around--"

"Whoa there, buddy," I stopped him, "I have no intention on attending."

I swear, if I had a bit for every time I saw Beelzebub's jaw drop, I'd have enough money to permanently live in Canterlot.

"B-but si- Psyren!" Beelzebub started stumbling over his words. A rare sight indeed. "I figure you would jump at a chance to dine with Fancypants, considering he funded a lot of your favorite gaming companies."

"I'm actually surprised you know about that, Beelzebub." I chuckled a bit.

"It was on your file."

Again with the file. "What do you--"

"Never mind. Back on topic, why would you skip this chance?"

I sighed before turning to him, "Because there is no point."

"I'm sorry Psyren, but I am afraid I do not understand." Beelzebub explained.

"Simply put, Facypants only showed interest in me because I mentioned I was staying here at the castle. He only believes that if I become Princess Luna's assistant, I'll be another life-line to use when he needs it." I take a breathe before continuing. "And I won't go because doing so will only make him hope more that I become the assistant, which I do not see myself achieving."

Beelzebub rose an eyebrow. "And why is that?" He asked quizzically.

"One, I am lazy; two, I have no motivation; and three, I am a weakling. It is near impossible for me to succeed." I sighed before rearranging my self on the floor for comfort.

"Psyren--"

"No," I interrupted, "I'm not going to do something so troublesome."

Beelzebub sighed. "Why do you condemn yourself to defeat before you even fight?"

"Because it makes life easier," I told him. I fiddle around in the game before moving my character forward, Around the corner a camper slashed me with a candy cane, killing me instantly. I yell a large arsenal of curses that would make Princess Celestia faint.

Amon throws the doors open again. "What did I say about making such noise?" He talked in a low and rather menacing growl. Apparently the tone was enough to get Beelzebub to stand ready. "You are disturbing Miss Ice Queen greatly."

Ugh. It would be her. I had heard that ponies from Canterlot were stuck up and snotty, but I never knew that they were so spoiled that they can't take a little noise.

"Oh, yes," I said, not even hiding my sarcasm, "I promise I won't yell anymore."

Amon growled a bit before disappearing through a door. After he left, I drop my controller and walk over to my suitcase. "I won't yell anymore..." I grumbled. I pull out a strange device I was given at work.

This pony, you see, lived with one of my coworkers, Bon-Bon. She had this strange belief in creatures called humans and had a friend of her's craft this strange device of a human's 'hand', or well three of them. When you shook them,they made a lot of noise.

Anyways, this pony went on about a rant on why humans were real, but while most people left in annoyance I stayed and 'listened' (I was actually thinking of my newest video game.). This touched her and she gave me the device in thanks.

I took the noise maker in my mouth and began to walk towards the door earning a quizzical look from Beelzebub. Chances are if he knew what it was, he'd have taken it from me. It was time I had taught this 'Queen' a lesson. I began to shake the noise maker and began to trot up and down the hallway.

Within seconds, Amon had burst out of Queenie's room and tackled me to the ground, the noise maker spitting out of my mouth and spiraling across the floor. "Are you trying to upset the lady!?"

"Yeah! I am!" I retorted angrily, "Nothing ticks me off more than rich little twats who take such small things like noises seriously!"

For a second I thought Amon would have hit me. Probably would have if Beelzebub wasn't behind him, ready to defend if necessary. "You arrogant little..." Amon grit his teeth. He glared over to Beelzebub, who suddenly relaxed. Suddenly Amon bit my wing (which frickin' hurt) and pulled me into Ice Queen's room.

The room was surprisingly smaller than mine. It has a single bed with light blue sheets with a vanity mirror to the side. However I did not see Ice Queen until Amon pointed her out. What I saw stung like a knife.

Ice was in the farthest, most dark corner of the room. Shaking rapidly, her hooves rested over her head, eyes wide and heavy breathing.

"Ice Queen is a phonophobe. She hates loud noises." Amon said bitterly, "Whenever she hears loud noises, she gets uncomfortable. If they continue, she begins to lose reason and panics. I'm sure you didn't notice it, being the selfish pony you are, but Ice Queen was very uncomfortable when you all first met Princess Luna."

Each word hit me in the gut. I had nothing to say to this. I made the unreasonable assumption that she was just another stuck up, selfish pony. It turned out that I was the selfish one. I felt sick.

"If you make anymore loud noise, I will consider it a direct attack on the lady. Then I will be forced to take even more personal action. Now. Get. Out."

I could sense his hostility and quickly went out of the room. Outside of the door, I stepped on the noise-maker. I stomped on it immediately, crushing it into pieces.

Much Later...

So why did I end up accepting Fancypants invitation? I just wanted an excuse to leave the castle. After my stupid mistake, I had felt just horrible. I could feel Beelzebub just staring daggers of disappointment into me. I couldn't even play my games or enjoy them. Everything I seemed to do here usually ended with me making a donkey out of myself. I really do not belong here in Canterlot.

Beelzebub said nothing to me on the way to Fancypants, and that just made me feel all the more bad. I would be much more comfortable if he just scolded me like he did with the Prince Blueblood incident.

After we arrived, I was directed into the house by some of Fancypants' guards. Fancypants' house was a bit bigger than Blueblood's, and even had a pool in the front yard.

Beelzebub stayed behind with the carriage, leaving me all alone. Honestly I didn't like that. I may have only known him for about three days, but Beelzebub has that sort of parental quality to him; the kind you hate disappointing. I stepped out of the carriage and looked back to see Beezlebub was planning on staying in the carriage. For the first time since I arrived in Canterlot... hell, the first time probably in years, I felt alone.

I walked to the gate of the mansion and was let in by two Earth Pony guards who stepped aside as soon as I gave my name. The inside of the mansion was spotless, shining with gold plating on the walls and ceiling. The floor was crafted out of a sweet smelling mahogany. Very classy.

"Air Psyren, I presume?" a stern voice called out, startling me.

I turned left and saw a servant looking down on me from the top of a staircase. I let out a rather meek, "Yes."

"Good, come. I shall show you to the dining room." The pony walked down the stairs and wandered into another room, where I quickly followed.

The dining room was surprisingly small. It was about half the size of my bedroom so it really didn't seem much like a dining room as much as a storage room. However, it was indeed the dining room as Fancypants and Fleur were both sitting around the table with plates of food set out.

"Ah, Mister Psyren! How good it is that you could make it!" Fancypants said, tipping his head.

Fleur gave me a happy nod, which probably made me go red...

I took a seat across from Fleur, with Fancypants directly to my right. The food in front of me surprised me. It was like a typical meal I would have at home. I didn't see any orderves or caviar (thank goodness). There was no specialty hand made food. Just... my kind of food. Hay burgers, fries, corn.

Fancypants apparently picked up on my confusion as he quickly addressed the meal. "Ah, yes. I grew quite fond of your kind of food shortly after meeting one of the Apple Family. With your visit I believed now would be the best time to have it." He sounded proud, yet not arrogant. He had a certain charm I could not place my hoof on.

I thought back and remembered some manners, and respond polity, "Thank you for your generosity."

"Not a problem, my good fellow! Please! Eat and enjoy!" he said.

I nodded and tried to eat my food as properly as possible.

Then Fancypants spoke up again. "By the way, how do you believe you will fare in the contest?"

Here we go. I silently sighed in my head before looking over to Fancypants. I didn't butter my words. "Not well."

Fancypants rose an eyebrow. "Oh? And why, may I ask, is that?"

"I was assigned to report on love," I responded without skipping a beat. I paused to take a bite of food. "But I don't believe it's possible for a simple, rather weak, pegasus like me becoming the assistant of someone as great as the princess. Honestly, I think the people who have the best chances are Ice Queen or that Trixie unicorn."

"Bah!" Fancypants threw a hoof out in defiance. "Please. A noise-sensitive noble and a washed up mage? I refuse to see them capable of measuring up to someone like Princess Luna."

I rose an eyebrow. "And yet, you see me as one who can?"

Fancypants seemed to scoff, "Of course not. She's a princess. But I do believe you have the ability to become close to doing so."

"I'm afraid I don't-"

"You remind him of himself when he was younger." Fleur interrupted me.

I stared at her quizzically.

"It's true," she shrugged.

"Yes, while I did have a good bit of money growing up, I was nowhere near as influential as I am now. In fact, I kept to myself. Then, however, I began to realize that connections can lead to success." Fancypants explained.

"Connections?" I asked tilting my head.

"Correct!" he said. "Imagine... a game of Marenopoly. You essentially start out with nothing more than money in your wallet and the piece on the board. But! As you buy property you gain new connections. Building on top of one another will make you more powerful, if you will."

"And you think I can become... powerful." I asked skeptically. Surely it couldn't be that simple.

"Think of it like this. Your goal is to learn about love, yes? Well, how about you start out simple, observe the minor love of the people around you, then focus on the bigger picture when you feel ready. Use what you've learned previously to aid you. Make connections with your experiences, with the people you meet, and the knowledge you acquire."

I listened to Fancypants silently, taking his words in. I could make connections... but can I even do that? I voiced my concern to Fancypants and Fleur just laughed.

"Oh please, you can't say you haven't at least made one connection while you were here. Think. A friend? An acquaintance?"

A friend. My mind flashed to Beelzebub. I've only know him for a few days, and he honestly pissed me off sometimes, but... through thick and thin, he stood by me, scolded and taught me things that not even my father would normally bother to teach me. He was stern but gentle... And now he's furious with me...

"What happens if you break a connection?" I asked quietly, staring at me food.

Fancypants laughed, "Please, my boy! If it's a true connection, they are always salvageable!"

"True connection?"

"A connection that can always be repaired. For example, going back to Marenopoly, in order to pay of a debt you can sell off a property, hence breaking the connection. But if you play smart and know what to do, you can regain that connection. Same if it's a friend. If it's a true friend, chances are, they are just mad and waiting for an apology."

"An apology... That can't always work can it?"

"It can if it's a true connection. Of course there are more ways to apologize rather than saying sorry. In fact, some require and different form." Fancypants went back to eating as Fleur took over explaining,

"Think of a bird flying into a window. Now normally the bird would be extremely mad at the owner of the house for having such a clean window. It won't accept a sorry. However, if you nurse it back to health, the bird will forgive you, even returning to visit occasionally."

Weirdest analogy I've ever heard.

I taok these words to heart and closed my eyes, thinking of how to fix things. Then wires connect in my head and I smile. "Thanks for the food, Mr-"

"Please, just Fancypants," he insists.

I respond accordingly, "Thanks for the food, Fancypants." I quickly bow my head to him and Fleur. "I need to leave now."

"I understand!" he laughed. "Oh, and Psyren?"

I looked at Fancypants as I stood.

"I'm not sure if you realize this, but within this time, you've made two new connections."

I stare blankly as I look back and forth between Fancypants and Fleur. I then break into a small chuckle. "Yeah... I guess I have..."

I turn around and walk out with a small smile on my face. The carriage was sitting outside waiting for me. I step inside to see Beelzebub still there, just as stern as before. "Hello, sir."

So much for calling me Psyren. "Hello, Beelzebub," I said bowing my head.

"I suppose you'd like to go home?" He asked.

"Actually, I'd like to go get something from the train station" I told him with confidence.

He raised an eyebrow.

Much Later...

I leaped out of the carriage, three tickets in mouth. I trotted into the castle, Beelzebub following behind with a quizzical look.

"Why did you get three tickets to Ponyville?" he asked me.

I told him he had to wait and see.

I walked through the halls and made my way to Ice Queen's room. Amon stood outside and stopped me from entering.

"No," he said.

"Yes!" I said through my teeth.

Amon spread him self, blocking the door.

"Haven't you caused enough trouble?" Amon snarled.

"Yeah..." I smirked, "I have!" I looked back and saw Beelzebub trying to process what the heck was going on. Couldn't blame him; even I didn't like my idea, especially since it involved getting past a ROYAL GUARD, who ws essentially better than me in every way. Only advantage: flying. Problem: we're indoors, so, not enough room to be mobile. Other problem: I got the stamina of a one legged mare doing a marathon. I needed a plan, a way to get past him...

Screw it.

"HRAGH!" I lifted of the ground and propelled myself at Amon with my wind speed backing my weight. Unfortunately, Amon stood on his hind legs for a moment and smacked me away. I hit the ground hard and cough as a burning sensation runs through my body. He was as strong as he looked! The tickets flew from my mouth towards Beelzebub.

I forced myself up, "Move! I have something for Icy," I groaned.

"Icy?" Amon's face hardened. "How dare you have the gall to say her name in such a friendly manner! After what you did-"

"Enough!" A magic bubble surrounded me and Amon. Beelzebub walked towards us shaking his head. "While he is a bit reckless, I believe that he should be given a chance."

"Another chance?" Amon broke out of the bubble simply by headbutting it. "After what he did, why should I--"

"Quiet!" Beelzebub hissed, "I'm not sure if you realize this, but your yelling may be causing dicomfort to the one you are trying to protect!"

Amon grit his teeth before turning towards me. I flinched bad enough that it would have gotten made fun of back at Flight School. "You have three minutes. If you do anything to cause her discomfort then may Celestia have mercy on your soul!"

I gulped as Amon stepped out of the way and allowed me to enter. I was once again in Ice Queen's chambers and she sat at a desk surrounded by crumpled papers, probably trying to make progress on her 'poverty' project.

I cleared my throat to announce my presence. I meant for it to sound more... professional, but it sounded like I was coughing up a loogie.

Ice Queen jumped at my strange, monstrous coughing noise and turned to me. "Oh... it's you." She didn't seem angry to see me. In fact, she mostly seemed really uncomfortable. "Do-do you need something?"

"Well... I felt bad about what happened earlier today, so..." I began. Suddenly I realized something. "Uh... I'll be right back."

I ran out of the room leaving Ice Queen with a bewildered look. Outside Beelzebub sat with Amon. I saw the tickets floating and quickly snatched them from Beelzebub's magic. Beelzebub rose an eyebrow but stayed silent as I ran back into the room.

I dropped a ticket on Ice Queen's floor. "And what is that?" she asked.

"It's a ticket," I snarked.

"I can see that. I mean, what for?"

"For a train."

"A train... where?" Ice Queen began to get slightly frustrated.

"A train to Ponyville," I said, deciding to stop messing with her.

"And why did you give this to me? You realize we are competitor's right?" she asked skeptically.

I scoffed, as if to reject such a truth. "Perhaps, but hey, I felt sorta bad about what happened earlier today so I decided to make it up to you."

"But-"

"Just take them," I insisted, "I highly doubt you'll witness many cases of poverty if you stay here in Canterlot."

"I guess I see your point..." she muttered.

"Good! Then away I go! Best of luck to you, Icy!"

"Icy?" She rose an eyebrow at the nickname, before she began to bust her gut laughing. "Very well, I shall accept your gift. Feel humbled by my graitude."

Now it was my turn to laugh. It's funny, I always believed that Canterlot ponies were stuck up and spoiled. And while that is true for some, others are genuinly nice people, even if they don't want to show it.

"Good! In two days is our train!" I told her.

"Wait... two days?" she asked.

"Yep, the day after the Wonderbolts show tomorrow." I explained.

"And you're leaving Canterlot, too?" she asked.

"I have a job, ya know." I chuckled.

"Ah, yes. The turtles, I forgot."

Oh, sweet Celestia. Does she actually believe I study turtles? Well, it would be rude of me to shoot down her beliefs, so I give some parting words and take my leave.

As I opened the doors, Amon fell forward. Apparently, he had been listening through the door. He let out an embarrassed cough and brushed himself off before giving me a nod and walking into her quarters.

I looked towards Beelzebub, who now had a small smile on his face.

As we walked towards my room, he asked me, "Okay, so you bought a ticket for Ice Queen in order to make up for what happened earlier today... so why the other two tickets?"

"Elementary, my dear Beelzebub," I responded cooly, "One of the tickets is for me as well."

"And what of the third?" he asked.

"That ones for you!"

"Eh?" Beelzebub stopped walking and stared at me.

I jumped to turn around and smirked at him, "I figured you're going to stick with me for this contest, right?" I asked,"I may as well take care of your arrangements as well!"

"Well..." he began, "as a royal guard, I can get on the train for free if it's official businessmen. And since I'm guarding you, it counts as such."

"So... I have a spare ticket..."

"Yep."

I sighed as I lay my head on the wall. So much for being an amazingly nice person. Now I'm just a nice guy.

"Still thanks for the offer," Beelzebub responded, "It will be my honor to continue to serve you through this contest."

"..." I smiled inside and reflected upon Fancypants' words. "Hey, Beelzebub. Pen and paper, please."

Beezlebub lifted the utensils and began to write my message:

Dear Princess Luna,

Today I learned jack shit about love.

"Sir!" He cried after realizing what he had just wrote.

"Sorry, sorry! Cross it off!"

nothing
Today I learned jack shit about love.

However, I did learn about connections and how they influence everyday life.

Connections bind us together, our likes, our differences, our bonds. Connections are important and should be treasured more than anything, even love. For without connections, we are nothing but empty shells. Love couldn't exist without it. Not even happiness.

I am the type of pony who likes to be left alone. However, no pony can stand to ever be alone. That is why we have connections.

Your (most likely not) possible assistant,

Air Psyren

With that, I went over to my bed. I was tired and worn out.

Beelzebub rolled up my letter and had it float to his side.

"'Night Beelzebub." I called to him.

"Good night... Psyren." He walked out, shutting off the lights and closing the door.

I felt all fuzzy inside from my happiness.

---

Thank god this is finally done. Thank you Midi for your wonderful assistance as well as a thanks to my faithful readers. I hope this story lives up to your expectations. So up next, I will have a Dream chapter. Also: Some may notice the break of third person in the 1st chapter with Luna. Best explanation. It was a dream. Now who should he give the final train ticket to? After the dream we get to meet the Wonderbolts and the Pegasus of the Mane Six. See you then. This is Air Psyren psyning off.